It was two days later.
Eric's condition was improving.
Yata's, however, was not.
The redhead had locked himself in the King's old room for two days straight, refusing to come out. Kamamoto had tried a few times to talk to him, but had almost got hit with a baseball bat by the upset teen when he pressed too hard for information.
Eric never liked Yata much, but he didn't like the other boy acting like this. Frankly, it was depressing. The rest of Homra was noticeably subdued by their worry for the teen holed up in a dead man's room.
Only Kamamoto seemed to know what was wrong with his friend, but he was silent as of what it was that was bothering the redhead.
Kosuke and Eric sat at their apartment that night, Kosuke reading a novel while Eric played some game on his phone. They sat on the couch, Kosuke on one end and Eric on the other, although the blond had his feet in the redhead's lap. They had been sitting like that for who knows how long, a comfortable silence surrounding them.
That is, until Kosuke suddenly shut his book, not even marking his page. Eric jumped slightly, peering over at his housemate curiously.
"What did that guy do to you?" the redhead asked bluntly. Eric stared, unwilling to respond. "Sorry, I shouldn't be asking, it's just- I don't know, it makes me angry that someone could hurt you. Even more so that I couldn't protect you."
Eric simply turned his phone screen off, laying the device on his chest as he crossed his arms across his chest. He let out a sigh.
"Sorry, just forget it," Kosuke tried to backtrack, realizing the blond's hesitance to answer.
"No," Eric said softly. "It's okay, I'll tell you if you want to know,"
The redhead did want to know. He waited patiently for his friend to explain. Eric closed his eyes, draping an arm over his eyes to ensure he could see only darkness.
"I was a plaything for Hikawa," Eric stated simply. "They've beaten me when they're bored, they've made me do their work when they're lazy, and they've used my body when they felt like they needed it.
"To them I was nothing. I wasn't a human being, I was simply an animal- no I was less than an animal," Eric's hands clenched into fists. "Before my parents died, they at least made me do easy tasks, chores around base mostly. But once my mom and dad were out of the picture, I was free labor. I was completely at their mercy, they could've killed me at any time."
Kosuke watched his friend closely. Eric seemed to be completely detached from his emotions, as if he were talking about something that happened to someone else. This couldn't have happened to me, there's no way my luck is that bad, I can't have that screwed up of a life.
"I don't know why I thought they would just forget about me after I joined Homra. I guess I thought Mikoto took care of them after I joined, but apparently not," Eric chuckled coldly. "They're like a weed, you can uproot them as many times as you want, but leave even a little, and they'll come back without fail."
"But they're gone now, and I won't let them hurt you anymore," Kosuke promised. Eric moved his arms away from his face to peer at the redhead, seeing that he looked completely honest.
Slowly, it was as if a warm sensation spread throughout Eric's chest, making every inch of his body feel as if it were being bathed in afternoon sunlight. He almost smiled, almost. That warm sensation could've very well been love, but Eric wasn't willing to accept that.
"Thank you,"
The following day, Yata was still sulking about who knows what in Mikoto's room.
It was about noon, and the members of Homra were all stuck in their daily routine of teasing each other and messing around before the bar officially opened.
That was about the time a certain cold-hearted woman walked into the bar. She was wearing her Scepter 4 uniform, which alerted Kusanagi that this wasn't just her coming to the bar to have a drink and a chat. Awashima looked around uncomfortably as she realized that almost every member of Homra was present.
"Seri-chan," Kusanagi said, obviously surprised at the woman's sudden appearance. "What can I help you with today?"
Awashima glanced around the bar before making her way over to the bar.
Eric and Kosuke sat on the couches a few feet away, playing some dumb game with Shohei and Chitose. They continued their game, though each of them watched the woman out of the corner of their eyes. She spoke to Kusanagi in a hushed tone, a troubled look in her eyes that none of the Homra members had seen before. Kusanagi had a strange look on his face, as if someone had slapped him or something.
Kamamoto and Bandou, who sat nearby, had a look much like the one on Kusanagi's face. Bandou tried to get the blond woman's attention, trying to talk to her, while Kamamoto simply ran his hand through his hair with a deep-rooted sigh.
Eric watched all this with interest, curious as of what a member of Scepter 4 was doing in the bar.
After a few minutes of talking, Kusanagi beckoned for Awashima to follow him, walking around the bar and going upstairs. Within moments the rest of Homra was at the bar asking Kamamoto and Bandou what the big-breasted woman was doing there.
Kamamoto darted off and followed the other two upstairs, leaving Bandou to fend for himself against the pestering questions of his fellow clansmembers. Bandou simply sat there, waiting to speak until the rest of the clan shut up.
"It's Fushimi," is all that Bandou needs to say for all eyes to drift to the stairs, up which a certain redhead had refused to move from for the past three days.
Eric never knew Fushimi as anything more than a member of Scepter 4, having joined the clan after the teen had left Homra for the Blues. Shohei was in the same boat as he was, having never really known the ex-clansmember.
The rest of the clan pressed for more details, What about Fushimi? Is he hurt? Did he leave Scepter 4 like he left us?
Bandou began to explain.
Three days ago the Blue had been admitted to the hospital after a surprise attack from a local gang. With his red aura gone and his mind being somewhere else since Mikoto's death, he'd been hit by two bullets, one in the shoulder and one in the middle of his neck. Even if he lived, he had no hope of walking ever again.
Domyoji had found him and taken him to the hospital. On the way back to Scepter 4 he'd run into Yata, who couldn't help but ask why the Blue was covered in blood.
Suddenly everyone understood why the redhead had locked himself in his room.
"But why did she come here?" Chitose asked, his voice approaching a tone that could be called frightened. "Do you think Fushimi is-"
"He's in critical condition." Bandou blurted, taking off his sunglasses to rub his eyes. Shohei gently laid his hand on his best friend's shoulder, a feeble attempt at comforting the pessimist.
Eric felt small hands grip the hem of his sweatshirt, and looked down to see Anna's deep red eyes staring up at him. Fear and concern shone in those eyes, reminding the blond that Anna knew Fushimi, and the little girl had already lost so much. Eric couldn't help but gently hug the girl closer to him.
"It's fine, it'll be fine," Eric muttered to her, knowing his words were empty but saying them anyways. As he did, the rest of Homra seemed to realize for the first time that Anna was there. Silence fell over the clan.
Before anyone could move to comfort the little girl, there was the sound of a door slamming open from upstairs. There was a ruckus of yelling, mostly from Yata and Kusanagi. A moment later Yata practically flew down the stairs, not even sparing a glance at the rest of them as he fled the bar, skateboard in hand. He was there and gone in the span of about two seconds.
Eric could've sworn he saw tears falling from his cheeks.
Awashima and Kusanagi made it down the stairs about five seconds later, Kusanagi swearing loudly and Awashima looking on the verge of tears.
"I should be going," Awashima said in a small voice that didn't seem to fit her at all. Kusanagi sighed and pulled the second-in-command into a side hug, aware of the strange friendship between Seri-chan and Fushimi. She was good at hiding it, but the bartender could tell she was hurting.
Awashima left, the bar continuing in a subdued chatter as everyone tried to act normal again. Kamamoto came downstairs a couple of minutes later, stating that he was going to go find Yata and bring him back home, which Kosuke immediately agreed to help with. Eric wanted to join them, but knew it would be cruel to leave Anna alone at a time like this.
They came back about three hours later with a tear stained Yata. Kosuke took him upstairs as Kamamoto explained how they'd found him at the hospital.
"The hospital?" Kusanagi asked, undoubtedly remembering his own visit to that forsaken place.
"He was with Fushimi," the fatso's voice dropped a few decimals in volume as he said this. There was a space of silence as he collected his thoughts. "Fushimi was awake when we got there, but we didn't have the heart to drag Yata away until after he fell back asleep."
"How bad does he look?" Bandou asked.
"I was talking to one of the doctors, they said they'd be surprised if he made it a week," Kamamoto took off his sunglasses to rub his eyes tiredly.
"I thought Yata hated Fushimi," Shohei sounded confused, having never known this Fushimi person that everyone seemed so fond of all of a sudden.
Kusanagi smiled wryly. "He likes for people to think that, but in all honesty, I think he misses Fushimi," the bartender explained, glad that Yata was upstairs with Kosuke, knowing the hotheaded teen would kill him after that comment. "They were really close once upon a time, although I don't think either of them really appreciated the other until after Fushimi left."
"Yata loved him," Anna stated quietly, making the rest of the clan fall silent for the umpteenth time that evening. Eric hugged the girl closer to him on the couch, feeling her shake slightly as she said it. "Fushimi loved him too, but he thought Yata didn't care about him after they joined the red clan."
"Why would he think that?" Chitose asked, having already stated his thoughts on the relationships within Homra.
"He thought Yata loved Mikoto," Anna then hid her face in Eric's sweatshirt as she always did when talking about their fallen King.
Kusanagi stared at his shoes, silently asking himself if there was anyone in Homra who didn't love Mikoto to some extent.
It was then that the phone rang. Kusanagi, being the owner of the bar, went to go pick up the phone, leaving the rest to talk.
"Did Yata love Mikoto?" Dewa couldn't help but ask, voicing the thoughts of a few other clansmen. Anna shook her head against Eric's chest, refusing to come out of the warmth of Eric's embrace. The blond slowly stroked the little girl's hair.
Kosuke came back downstairs at that moment, and all eyes- save for Kusanagi's- were trained on the redhead.
"How is he?" Eric found himself asking.
Kosuke sighed, taking a seat next to his best friend. "He's a mess,"
"Is there anything we can do?" Chitose asked, already knowing the answer.
"I don't think so," came the expected response.
From behind the bar came a loud BAM sort of noise, making ever occupant of the bar jump. All eyes trained on Kusanagi, who was staring at the phone as if it were going to suddenly spout out three baby demons from its receiver. Everyone waited expectantly, knowing the bartender would at some point speak.
"Get Yata down here," was all he said. Everyone's blood ran cold at the emptiness of his voice. Nobody moved for a moment, not until after Kusanagi tugged a hand through his hair and leaned heavily on the bar. Seeing the bartender's exasperation, Dewa quickly bound up the stairs to get the redhead in question.
"What happened?" someone- maybe Bandou- asked with panic tinging the edge of his voice.
Kusanagi didn't speak, only sighing and letting his head droop on his shoulders.
"Kusanagi-san?"
"What happened?"
"Oi, Kusanagi-san, is it Fushimi?"
"What-"
Yata bounded down the stairs, Bandou hot on his heels. The redhead's beanie was missing, as was the sweatshirt he normally tied around his waist. His eyes were slightly red, a fact nobody bothered to point out.
Kusanagi stared at him for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts. He took a deep breath and shook his head slightly.
"Get in the car, we're going to the hospital," the bartender said simply. Yata visibly tensed.
"Wh-why?" Yata asked, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong, that his best friend was fine, he was always fine, that idiot couldn't die on him, not now, not ever, no no no. He tried to act as if he weren't thinking that maybe Fushimi was dead, maybe he'd lost the only person he'd had left as a home, he'd gone fully stray. He tried to act as if the look in Kusanagi's eyes wasn't pity, it wasn't pain nor sorrow, it was concern, it had to be concern, but concern for him, not for Saru-kun, no, because Saru-kun was fine. Saru-kun was fine, he was fine, he was fine, he had to be-
"Fushimi isn't going to make it through the night."