Stern Bild seemed normal. Kotetsu wasn't sure what to expect when he got off the train. The city was there, loud as ever in the afternoon. People moved about, rushing as if each and every one of them had somewhere to be. Kotetsu made himself one of them, bee-lining it to Barnaby's apartment. Realistically it was probably the least safe place to go if Barnaby had warned him not to go back. Regardless, he couldn't help himself.
People looked at him strangely as he hurried. Did he really look that much different than the others rushing about? Kotetsu wondered if he had something on his face. He made a mental note to check the first mirror he came across, though he didn't care about that. He needed to get to Barnaby's.
He got there quickly enough and entered the passcode to get in. He took a deep breath, and walked in and-
Nothing. It was normal. It was empty as usual, with his lone chair and the big television screen. Kotetsu made his way in slowly. There could be an ambush. He searched every corner, every inch, and found nothing. There was no evidence of Barnaby even making it home and he supposed that made sense. Barnaby had likely gone straight to Maverick's.
Kotetsu checked the mirror and saw nothing on his face. He frowned and left. Why was he getting all the odd looks?
He found his answer soon enough as he walked back to the street. One of the giant television screens mounted on a city building blasted the 'special report' music and mentioned a murderous NEXT.
Kotetsu stared with everyone else. He didn't expect Samantha's face to show up there, as murder victim number one. He was reeling from that when Barnaby's face showed up as the second victim of a 'gruesome attack'."
Kotetsu's mind was too busy going directly into panic mode for him to listen. Bunny, his Bunny, he was...he couldn't move his mouth to scream, to yell a name, to do anything. Everything hurt, his mind raced as he saw Barnaby's face. How could that be? He shut out the noise from the city around him, focusing on Barnaby completely.
He was surprised that he had enough attention left to catch the name and picture of the accused murderer: Kotetsu T. Kaburagi.
"That's not...!" His eyes were so wide it almost hurt. What! He didn't do anything! He'd just gotten there...and he would never kill someone anyway! Something was wrong...He slowly started to calm as he realized that news had him wrong, and maybe Barnaby...
Fear came back again. He was going to throw up. He was going to throw up in front of all the people who were watching him, all staring at him because...because that was his face up there.
Somehow he gathered himself together enough to activate his powers and get the hell out of there. He ran and ran until his powers were out. No one could see who he was at that speed. When he stopped he was under a bridge. It was a small bridge and the dark area under it was filthy and littered with trash. It was leading to the outskirts of town. He had run quite far, even in his less-than-five-minutes. He guessed he was safe enough for the time being.
It didn't matter, because all Kotetsu needed was a place to have a complete breakdown. He punched an empty box, kicked what he could, tore up what he could, as tears poured down his face and he tried not to scream. He couldn't stay completely silent, his crying louder than he felt comfortable with. It didn't help that he made noise throwing and breaking things. 'Bunny's gone he's gone he's gone...maybe he's not gone...but what if he is, Bunny Bunny!' The panic in his head was too much to bear.
He eventually collapsed into a pile, his face buried in his arms as he kept crying. He had no idea how long he'd been there, and it didn't matter. Kotetsu knew he had to find the truth, but he couldn't function. It was impossible.
"Bunny...please be okay," he sobbed over and over. He kept crying even as his throat and eyes hurt. He passed out like that as the stress and fear finally sapped him of the last of his energy.
He couldn't be sure what time he woke up. It was nighttime, that was easily established. He was alone, and extremely cold even through his brown coat. He wished he had a blanket or his other clothes...it was then he realized he'd left his bags at Barnaby's apartment, out of habit more than anything.
A violent shiver ran through him...Bunny. Kotetsu slowly climbed to his feet. He felt numb, but he wouldn't get anything done by staying under a bridge and losing his head. If he did that, he wouldn't find out the truth at all, at least likely not in time to keep things from getting worse.
That is, if they could get worse. If Kotetsu did figure out why he was on the news, and learned Barnaby was in fact gone...
His first thought was to go join him.
Kotetsu nearly punched himself, Barnaby would never want that, never approve of it. He couldn't leave Kaede either. Such dumb thinking! But he wouldn't know how to go on...
He tried to distract himself, looking at his hands and jacket...he was filthy. He imagined he looked pretty bad too due to all the crying. Well, he'd go clean up, maybe, and then figure out what to do. Truth be told he had no idea how to start on getting to the bottom of the news story, and he wasn't sure he would be able to in his mental state.
There was a good chance his apartment was not safe. So Kotetsu made the choice to go back to Barnaby's. He was well aware that might make him even worse, but he needed some hope to cling to and being in Barnaby's apartment would make it harder to accept he was gone. Plus, he had to wash his face.
Taking a deep breath he started on his way back. And he had to move carefully. He hadn't gotten far before realizing there were wanted posters plastered up with his photo. "Why?" was all he could ask when he saw the first one. He'd never kill anyone. Everyone knew that. Didn't the other heroes try to help him? He knew they'd stand up for him for sure...
He had to hide behind anything he could fine whenever people showed up. Kotetsu even started walking with a newspaper he found open and in his face so it would look like he was reading. It worked for a little while, until he actually did start reading instead of looking where he was going. He nearly fell on his face.
The trip back to the apartment was uneventful, but nervewracking. Once he was inside he could breathe. He again poked around and found no one there watching him. He stared at Barnaby's chair, felt his chest tighten, and forced himself to go take a shower. Even that felt wrong, but what else could he do?
He very nearly lost his head again in the shower, remembering the day before with Barnaby. But even though he cried, he didn't completely lose his shit, because what the hell was that going to do? He stepped out of the shower slowly, energy dying away again. His accidental nap earlier had not been restful.
Once he dried off and changed his clothes he went to Barnaby's chair and sank into it. He turned on the television just to get bombarded by the gigantic image of his face, again. He nearly turned off the screen but he needed to calm down, watch the news story, and see what he could get from it.
According to the reporter on screen, apparently Kotetsu had beaten and killed Wild Tiger's partner and his aunt with his own hands. It was awfully convenient to hear that they couldn't find a motive. Kotetsu fled the scene and was moving on foot but was seen in the city by multiple witnesses, and was likely after Wild Tiger.
Funeral services would be held in a couple of days and citizens were already leaving flowers and stuffed animals in a 'shrine' in front of the Apollon building. Kids were crying, people were crying, and it was just too much. Kotetsu hung in there, watching the broadcast as it talked about Barnaby's life. Thankfully it didn't dwell too much and eventually the news moved onto a bank robbery. The place was on fire. Kotetsu smiled a little as Blue Rose showed up for the rescue, and then he turned off the TV. He curled into a ball as he tried to figure out his next move.
Wild Tiger was him. The higher ups knew that. Lloyds knew that. They knew Kotetsu wouldn't hurt Barnaby. He didn't see any way that anyone in that entire freaking building could see Kotetsu as anything other than head over heels for his partner. No one had called him..
Kotetsu sat up straight, and then made a dash across the room for his call bracelet. He hadn't thought of it before! "This has to give me some answers," he muttered as he tried to call Lloyds, or anyone really. He didn't get far. He was disconnected, and couldn't call anyone.
He sat back on his knees, eyes wide. Disconnected? What the hell did that even mean? He tried again, and had no luck. His phone? He dug that out. He had gotten an updated one through the company, and he had an idea...
And he was right. He tried to use it and couldn't call out. None of the heroes had tried to reach him, and he imagined Nathan would have several things to say upon seeing the news. Well, it seemed he was on his own, isolated. Lonely again. He sighed. "Must it always be like this?"
"Like what?"
Kotetsu jumped to his feet upon hearing a familiar voice, and struck a ridiculous karate-type pose. He was ready to deck just about anyone who wasn't Barnaby, in hopes that it would make them produce his Bunny.
But he wasn't ready to deck Ivan, who cowered in front of him. "What the..Ivan what the hell?"
"I kind of followed you."
Kotetsu blinked. "Uh..."
"Hey, Ivan, do you think anyone will care if I finish off this cereal or...shit!" A box of some dull looking wheat cereal hit the floor and spilled as Edward of all people stared at Kotetsu.
And Kotetsu stared right on back, having no idea why the hell he was seeing Edward. "The hell? You...you're a damned criminal, why are you in Barnaby's apartment!"
"Don't hit him Kotetsu!" Ivan immediately inserted himself between Kotetsu and Edward. "He's with me. He's not bad anymore he's...he's with me."
"Yea, okay, not bad anymore? I totally believe that, sure," Kotetsu growled, not in the mood for criminals to be hanging out in his boyfriend's apartment. Though technically, he was one. That thought dulled the anger about seeing Edward.
"After my brother died I..."
"Don't bring that creepy fucker up," Kotetsu snapped and was surprised at the words that left his mouth.
Edward glared at first, the man had been his own blood after all. Ivan moved closer to him and put a hand on Edward's arm. Edward visibly relaxed, looking troubled even as Ivan whispered something to him. Kotetsu couldn't hear it.
Then Ivan turned to him. "It's true, Mr. Tiger...he took a wrong direction and wound up with Jake and all, but...he wants to help."
"Correction, I want to help out Ivan. I could really give less of a shit about you," Edward added in.
"Edward..." Ivan sighed.
Confusing, but Kotetsu could go with it. He didn't like or trust Edward, but the same didn't go for Ivan. "Whatever. So...you guys want to help me?"
"Yes," Ivan replied.
"The other heroes?" Kotetsu asked.
"Well..." Ivan exchanged glances with Edward. "Something is wrong with them. The other night we all got invited to an event hosted by Maverick. I didn't go because I was with Edward. The next day everyone was acting strange."
It didn't take a genius to know something happened at that event. The questions were what, how and most importantly, why. "How were they acting?"
"I used your real name and no one knew it, when I asked if you had come back yet. They all seemed kind of angry. And they-"
"Was Barnaby there?" Kotetsu asked, trying to keep calm.
"No." Ivan shook his head. "No one's heard from Barnaby, last we heard, well..."
"He's apparently dead. We don't know any more than you do." Edward folded his arms.
"So no one has seen him..." Kotetsu's gaze found the floor.
"Doesn't mean he's actually dead."
Kotetsu looked up sharply at Edward. "What good would it do for someone to pretend he is?" he asked, voice thick. "How would they explain it when he isn't?"
"Maybe they tried and only think they succeeded," was Edward's answer.
It wasn't an answer Kotetsu liked much, thinking about Barnaby being hurt and needing to endure it. He just nodded.
"Everyone was acting so strangely that I had a feeling I should get out of there. I found Edward and we kind of...started looking for you. This was before the broadcast."
"Me?" Kotetsu asked, and Ivan didn't reply. What was so special about him that Ivan had purposely left the others to find him? He was flattered, sort of, but didn't get it.
There was no answer as they all stared at each other. If there were two people Kotetsu never thought he'd be working with...well damn, there they were.
"Maybe we should actually do something," Edward suggested dryly.
"Well..what should we do? Look for Barnaby?" Kotetsu asked.
"Idiot. We can't wander this city searching, you and I are both wanted," Edward pointed out. "We need to go directly to Maverick, we'll still be out there where others might see us, but it gives a direction for us to go in."
"You're right," Kotetsu agreed, though in his head it was because starting at Maverick's was the best place to begin finding the truth about Barnaby. "...Can we go now?"
"Um..." Ivan scratched his head.
Edward walked up to Ivan and laid his hand on his back, and Kotetsu swore he shot him a look that said 'MINE'. "Let's go. We'll have to be careful."
Ivan agreed. Kotetsu hurried to change into clothes he could go out in, using as much as he could to disguise himself and even Edward, and then they were off.
Unfortunately, the trio didn't get far.
They'd gotten down a few streets, and were actually pretty close to their target location when a jet of ice shot out at them in an alley. Kotetsu barely managed to dodge, jumping one way as the other two went the opposite. He landed on his side and pulled himself up to see Blue Rose pointing one of her guns at him. "I got you, murderer."
All Kotetsu was able to spit out was "That's not your catchphrase!" before more ice came his way.
He had no choice but to activate so that he could get out of the path. The other two didn't have any sort of super speed, he knew, and he worried – but she wasn't interested in them. Blue Rose didn't even seem to have an interest in Edward. She was coming after Kotetsu.
Kotetsu didn't want to fight her. He really, really did not want to hurt her. He didn't feel like being frozen anyway. "Hey, Blue Rose, you know me!"
"I know your face from the wanted posters, yes," she said, again pointing and shooting her gun. Kotetsu jumped to the top of a dumpster and perched there. He could outrun her, but...he would learn nothing.
He was contemplating what to do next, surprised that she gave him a moment to do so.
Then he felt an impending sense of doom and heard a familiar yell. Kotetsu rolled out of the way, landing hard on the ground since he rolled right off the dumpster. It was a good decision as the dumpster was suddenly smashed and Rock Bison growled at him, something about being a lowlife.
"Antonio!" Kotetsu said in surprise, and was charged at.
"How do you know my name, scum?" Antonio had Kotetsu slammed against the wall, crushing him.
Good thing he had those powers. Kotetsu shoved him off. "Hey stop it! It's me! What's going on?"
Antonio took a swing at him, and then another and another. Blue Rose came in on the fight again too launching sharp daggers of ice at him. It was too much! Kotetsu tried to focus as things came at him rapidly, what was he going to do? He barely noticed as a pool of sand appeared by Blue Rose and Edward launched out, taking her down in a hard tackle.
Kotetsu shoved Antonio off one more time before both of them just stopped what they were doing and watched Blue Rose. She certainly wasn't badly hurt, but there was the lingering feeling that simply knocking her over was a bad, bad idea.
So Kotetsu darted around Antonio, trying a rather pathetic tactic. He stopped in front of Blue Rose and held out his hand. "Hey, come on, I'll help you up."
Edward looked at him like he was crazy, while something flickered across Blue Rose's face...
And the wall to their right exploded. Kotetsu fell back himself while Edward hurried returned to his strange little quicksand-teleportation thing. Clouds of dust and debris rolled out from where the wall had exploded out and a bright pink could be seen stepping through.
"Bunny?" Kotetsu asked hopefully.
Nope, it was...well it was him. It was his suit, though in a pink and red color that didn't work at all, but Kotetsu had more to worry about than just the image. He scrambled backwards as the fake Tiger shot at him with a bright pink wire. It wrapped around his leg and started to drag him back.
"Shit shit!" Kotetsu clawed the ground which only hurt his fingers. It was then that he noticed his power had yet again just left him. He had barely noticed. He gave up clawing since it only made him leave blood, his mind panicking as he tried to figure out what to do. Antonio was approaching. Blue Rose was getting up.
Edward came up again near her but she turned almost immediately to catch him and he jumped away. Ivan...Kotetsu had no clue where Ivan even was. Why didn't he turn into someone who had some sort of say? Couldn't he assume some fake authority and stop the others?
Two things happened at once.
A blue and green fireball hit and snapped the wire, and a blur swooped in quickly. Kotetsu felt himself getting scooped up in someone's arms. He was being carried away, to where he didn't know but he was too surprised to ask or do anything.
He was dumped unceremoniously inside a dumpster that time, laying on a pile of smelly but bizarrely comfortable trash bags. He didn't see his rescuer, who bounded off immediately. He had an idea...but why would he leave? He stared into the sky, searching for stars despite the city lights, and realized that it was about dawn. The darkness cleared just barely, or were his eyes just messed up?
He would have liked to give it more thought, but Kotetsu was unable to keep from passing out right then and there.
"What is your problem? We're on the same side."
"He is a murderer."
"It was an accident! He didn't mean to do it. He was trying to help."
"Someone was still killed. My code of justice doesn't allow that."
"ACCIDENT! What's wrong with you? He didn't choose to kill someone."
"That doesn't matter."
The voices all sounded the same to Kotetsu and he wondered momentarily if they were in his head. He shuddered, slight panic in his mind that somehow he was back with Night Terror. He didn't want to be back there and he tried and tried to wake up…only to realize he was awake.
"Mr. Tiger?" Ivan questioned, looking at him.
Kotetsu realized that he'd sat up at some point after waking up. He slowly fixed his eyes on the scene in front of him – Ivan, Edward and.. "Lunatic!" he blurted before he could stop himself, and then he shivered. It was daytime, but still cold so late in the year. He remembered in the back of his mind that Christmas was coming, and he needed to plan it for Barnaby.
Barnaby…
"He's awake. I no longer need to be out here." Lunatic watched him. It was unnerving.
"But…what if that…that strange Tiger shows up again?" Ivan asked.
Lunatic didn't answer for a moment. Kotetsu got the sense he was conflicted, though he couldn't understand why. All he knew about Lunatic was that he was kind of insane with his whole justice thing. Kotetsu was supposedly a killer and- "Why aren't you after me?" he asked. "You have this whole thing about killing murderers don't you?"
"You killed no one," Lunatic remarked.
"How do you know? I mean, I didn't, but how do you know?" Kotetsu started to stand up out of the garbage. He couldn't imagine how bad he probably smelled.
"You do not kill. Watching you, you are a person who does not kill. Even when they deserve it."
"No one deserves it," Kotetsu mumbled.
"You have your ways. I simply correct them once in a while."
"Hey!"
"I have lingered too long," Lunatic decided finally. It occurred to Kotetsu that he had only ever seen him at night anyway, barring the fight with Jake. That had been special circumstances. "He will be back soon anyway."
"He?" Kotetsu asked, confused, but Lunatic took off. He watched him go and rubbed his forehead, shifting his focus to Ivan and Edward. "You two didn't tell me you were cooperating with that creep."
"We weren't," Edward supplied.
Ivan nodded. "He came to us. I guess we're wanted now for 'helping the fugitive'."
"Huh." Kotetsu frowned. Whoever had set up the situation they were in…he suspected Ivan had avoided it unintentionally, so the criminal used what he could. And it was pretty handy that Ivan was with Edward since he was still wanted. They looked like some twisted little gang, he was sure. He didn't know what to do about it.
"We need to move," Edward spoke up. "The police will get here eventually."
"Where do we go?" Kotetsu asked.
Ivan and Edward looked at each other before Edward spoke up again. "I have a place I've been hiding. But…only Ivan is allowed in…" He slowed down, as if unsure of what he was about to say and that was a first to Kotetsu. Edward seemed pretty sure of what he was up to and how he felt about Kotetsu, even if Kotetsu himself didn't understand anything that was going on.
"I just need somewhere to hide. When I know my next move, I'll leave," Kotetsu promised him. He didn't know his next move though. He felt like a total dumbass, not knowing what to do. Why would they bother to protect him? If anything he should protect them. He felt himself slipping back into his own mind at an alarming rate and at a completely inappropriate time to boot. "Uh…"
"We'll go." Edward still looked unsure. "I don't know what else to do. Let's go."
"Okay…wait." Kotetsu remembered Lunatic's words. "Is there another person with you?"
Both men shook their heads.
"Then who was Lunatic talking about?" he asked, even though he doubted they knew.
"We don't know. Although someone did help us back there, with the fake Tiger." Ivan shrugged.
"Fake Tiger…" Who had replaced him? Again, his brain asked why over and over. He wanted to find Maverick or Lloyds, someone in charge. But if Maverick though he killed Barnaby, he would not be his friend. "Ivan, you never saw-"
He was cut short as something crashed into him, knocking him over painfully and onto the cold concrete ground. He preferred the garbage, and he growled as he tried to pick himself up. Someone held him down though, and all he could do was struggle. "Hey! Hey!"
He heard cries of surprise from Edward and Ivan, and waited for them to rush to help him. They didn't. Kotetsu yelled in confusion and tried to rise up to push whatever it was off his back. He tried and tried before realizing he could use his powers. He didn't want to. He stopped moving and focused, about to activate them.
Then he was free. Kotetsu immediately got to his knees, and slowly to his feet. His opponent wasn't in front of him, and he whirled around to see…
To see Barnaby.
At least he thought it was Barnaby. The blonde man in front of him looked like he'd been to hell and back. His hair was messed up, face bruised, his hands shook, his shirt was off and his torso was covered with dirt and blood. Kotetsu's eyes went wide at the blood and he noted an ugly, deep gash that stretched diagonally across his chest. Barnaby still had on his jeans, which was the only normalcy Kotetsu could find.
Almost scarier than the gash were Barnaby's eyes. They were wide, panicked looking, red rimmed and irritated looking. Barnaby himself looked like a combination between scared and afraid.
Kotetsu would have liked to run right at him and hug him. Something told him that would be a very, very bad idea and he held himself back, letting one word slip through his lips. "Bunny?"
Barnaby blinked a couple of times. He remained looking like a frightened animal, though he spoke. "Kotet-Kotetsu?"
"Yes!"
'…Murderer."
"What…no!"
"Yes you are," Barnaby said, glaring.
"I…okay. Then explain how you're standing here if I murdered you."
The glare turned to confusion. Barnaby kept watching him. "I don't know."
In addition to Kotetsu being wanted, apparently Barnaby had lost his mind. Okay. Kotetsu could deal with that. He could. There had to be a way to deal with it. "Bunny…"
The name, he noticed, had gotten attention the first time. And he was rewarded yet again with a response, though Barnaby studied him first. "Kotetsu!" He moved toward Kotetsu finally, quickly.
Any urge Kotetsu had to defend himself against Barnaby melted away. Barnaby wasn't about to attack him. Kotetsu sighed in relief when Barnaby wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in his shoulder. Kotetsu smiled.
And then he cried. Kotetsu clung tightly to Barnaby as tears ran down his face. It was a happy cry since Barnaby was alive. He cried when he thought he was dead, and cried when he wasn't. Kotetsu wondered when he became a crybaby, but it didn't matter as he and Barnaby lowered themselves to the ground in their embrace. Both sat on their knees since it offered far more balance for them than standing. Kotetsu's hand roamed Barnaby's back, his neck, his hair; he touched everything he could to establish Barnaby was real.
When that wasn't enough he drew back to looked at him, one hand cupping his face where there were no bruises. Barnaby's eyes still looked strange. Kotetsu pressed their foreheads together.
"What happened to you?" Kotetsu managed to ask.
"Maverick," Barnaby replied and closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. He opened them and looked at Kotetsu in surprise again. "You killed Samantha." His eyes softened. "No, you didn't…why did I think you did?" He appeared to be asking himself and not Kotetsu.
"What happened to your face? And…shit, Bunny!" Kotetsu pushed him away a little more, harder than he meant to. He looked at the injury across Barnaby's chest, and the blood that had gotten on his own clothing. "You need a hospital!"
"Oh, that." Barnaby looked down, his hands on Kotetsu's waist. "It won't heal."
"…Hospital!" Kotetsu repeated.
"No. Can't. Everyone thinks I'm dead."
"So, we'll prove them wrong and I'll be innocent!" Kotetsu didn't see the problem. Was it so complicated?
"Maverick will hurt someone else," Barnaby said. He leaned forward to hide against Kotetsu's neck once more.
Kotetsu was still digesting the idea of Maverick doing something to Barnaby, since it wasn't hard to guess he had hurt him. "Maverick hurt you?"
"He killed my parents."
"What!" Kotetsu yelled, and winced as it echoed off of the buildings around them. He wished he could see Barnaby's face.
"He can plant and modify memories. So I never knew."
That was terrifying, to put it lightly. "Why?"
"For the show, he said for the show, Mom and Dad didn't agree when he set up crimes, he's a member of Ouroboros, he raised me…no he didn't raise me, he just told me he did…" Barnaby babbled, trying to sort out his thoughts. And while normally Kotetsu would have allowed him the time to do it, he was more concerned about that wound.
"Barnaby, seriously, your chest…"
"It went numb hours ago."
"It..Bunny that's not a good sign!"
"It's fine." Barnaby finally picked his head up and looked at Kotetsu. "She used venom."
"Eh?"
Barnaby sighed. "The NEXT who did this, she poisoned it not to heal. But it's also not getting worse."
A torture wound, Kotetsu figured. It was likely for short term torture, since the pain seemed to have worn off. While he couldn't be sure what Barnaby meant about it 'not getting worse', he was still panicked at the idea of infection. "I…"
"Please kiss me."
Kotetsu wondered if he should have kept on about the injury, but he didn't think about it really. He was eager to kiss Barnaby and when their lips met he pressed deeper. Maybe if he kissed him deeply enough Barnaby would always be safe. Kotetsu didn't want to stop. He wanted his bed and Barnaby beside him, under him, any position just to be together.
He only stopped kissing when he heard someone clear their throat. He looked up sheepishly at Edward. "You two can do that when we're out of here. We still need to hide or have you forgotten that?" He seemed irritated. Ivan stood behind him, cheeks beet red.
Barnaby shivered. Kotetsu felt the cold seeping back; he had sort of forgotten about it. Barnaby was shirtless and injured. They had to get him somewhere. "Bunny? We're going to a safe place."
"Okay…"
"Are you okay to travel?" He could guess Barnaby had been out and about for a while at that point, but the question was still valid.
"Yes, as long as you stay with me."
"Always, Bunny." Kotetsu stood and lowered a hand to help Barnaby. He took it and pulled himself up, hands clinging to Kotetsu's arm immediately.
"I love you. Maverick tried to make me forget that. He tried to take you away." Barnaby whispered.
That was scary. Kotetsu swallowed. He depended on Barnaby, likely more than he should, but he couldn't help it. "I love you too. Fuck him for trying to take that away from us." He meant that, and the sentence came out with such hatred that he surprised himself. His head supplied that Barnaby was his. Maverick couldn't take him away. He nearly voiced that.
Edward spoke before he could. "Okay. Let's get moving."
Barnaby shivered again and Kotetsu knew it was best to get moving.
As much as Kotetsu hated to admit it, there were some pros to Edward having teamed up with Kriem, Eric and Jake so long ago. They had resources, even from jail. Jake had not been jailed a poor man, even if his money was not acquired legally. Kriem had been on the outside with plenty of advantages, and well, she needed somewhere to live.
And that's how they wound up in a small house in one of the less populated areas of Stern Bild. That didn't mean there weren't many people. They still had to be very careful and time themselves right to get into the place. They were nearly caught a couple of times, though Kotetsu couldn't mark exactly when and how. He just had that feeling.
Relief washed over him when they were in the house, door closed, windows covered by blinds, hidden away. It was a two bedroom house, managing to be two stories with one bedroom and bathroom on the second floor and living room, kitchen, second bathroom and second bedroom on the first. It was also crammed with a bunch of creepy teddy bears, and Kotetsu sort of remembered the one holding the camera when he was in the stadium. The image flashed to his mind and he felt his spine tingle, crawl.
He really hated that memory, even if good came from it all in the end.
He couldn't think about that as he forced Barnaby to drink some water and led him to the downstairs bathroom. They all had to discuss what to do next, but as quickly as they had gotten there, Edward had practically stormed upstairs and Ivan fell asleep snoring on a black and red extra-gothy looking couch. He got it. It was time to rest, get back their energy, and lick some wounds.
Or at least, treat Barnaby's. The blonde hissed in pain when Kotetsu tried to treat his chest. "Stop it!" he whined. "There's no use! Unless you know what poison she used and how to treat that, there's no point!" He sat on the edge of the bathtub, which was, of course, black.
"We still need to keep it clean and covered! What's your problem? You're smarter than this!" Kotetsu growled back.
"It won't do any good!" he protested again, though not as strongly. Barnaby sighed and fixed his eyes on Kotetsu. "Are you going to clean it?"
"Uh-huh. And your face, and your hair, I don't suppose I can get you into a shallow bath?"
Barnaby looked offended. "Ugh, around you!"
Kotetsu stared.
Barnaby shook his head. "Shit…dunno what that was. I forgot we were together for a second."
"Oh." Kotetsu tried not to be hurt by it. He reached for one of the zillion red washcloths and dampened it with warm soapy water. He held Barnaby's face in one hand, avoiding the injured area like before. He gently brought the washcloth against the bruises and Barnaby flinched, but nothing more. He actually began to relax as Kotetsu carefully cleaned his face, removing dirt, sweat, bits of blood he hadn't noticed before, and probably the salt of tears. He washed behind his ears briefly before tossing the washcloth into the sink. "There," he said, smiling at Barnaby's pretty face.
"That feels better…thank you."
"Of course…but your hair is still gross. About the bathtub…it would help me wash your hair," he told him. If it weren't for the wound he'd have suggested a shower.
Barnaby nodded, no signs of the earlier brief protest. Kotetsu wondered how fucked his memory was.
After a few minutes they were both settled in the tub, Barnaby sitting with his chest to Kotetsu's back, or he would be if Kotetsu hadn't left a small space to allow him to wash his Bunny easier. "How bad is it?" Kotetsu finally asked as he carefully worked shampoo into Barnaby's hair.
There was no need for Barnaby to ask what he meant. "I can't remember a lot. I remember a lot about you and I, though sometimes my mind seems to hit a blank spot. I can't remember our first kiss, though I know we had one, but I can remember the first time you said you loved me."
His stomach clenched at the thought of Barnaby losing such important memories. "Well…that's okay, I guess," he managed to say. It wasn't. He wanted Barnaby to remember everything, from the first time they argued to when they first had sex.
"He tried to pull everything away." Barnaby moved his fingers under the water. "After he told me the truth about the day my parents died…I know I must have found out before. Several times. And each time he took it away while calling it a 'gift'."
"And…he's a NEXT with memory powers…" Kotetsu murmured. "How come he could make you forget who killed your parents, but not me? I'm not complaining, though."
Barnaby shrugged. "My guess is that you're presence in my life is too strong to eradicate. I don't know how deep his powers go, not the technicalities. All I know is that it hurt so badly as he tried to pull you away. I screamed a lot and made him angrier."
Kotetsu kissed the back of Barnaby's neck, hating the thought of Barnaby screaming in pain. "I see…"
"I still don't know what he wanted to do once he took away those memories. Because even if he took them away, you would still exist in the real world, as do the other Heroes and people who know us."
"Well, right now he's got me up there as a murderer who killed you and Samantha. And even with everyone who knows us, he's getting away with it. He messed with them." It was as simple as that. But how?
Barnaby fell silent for a little while, before piping up with "He drugged me."
Kotetsu froze. He had been rinsing Barnaby's hair. "Dr-dru…"
"I couldn't use my powers that way. I could barely function. The only reason I stayed awake was because of the pain." He trembled and Kotetsu hugged him to his chest. "When he gave up and I blacked out…I woke up with a gun to my head."
Kotetsu swallowed and buried his face in Barnaby's still wet hair. He had a lot of thoughts going in his head, including the conclusion that Maverick had likely drugged and brainwashed anyone that could help them. How he managed to do that…Kotetsu actually didn't care.
He was far more concerned about what happened to Barnaby. "And then?" he asked, his voice thick.
"As I was no longer of use to Maverick, he wanted to get rid of me for good. He wasn't there when I woke up in a dark room..garage maybe… but his Ouroboros goons were. That's when I got hurt…" The gash, Kotetsu knew. "I had trouble using my powers. They kind of beat me up…" He trailed off. He sounded embarrassed.
"And?" Kotetsu prompted anyway, not about to let Barnaby shut down on him. He kept his arms around him, bodies pressed close together.
"After they'd had their fun one was left to kill me. And…he talked to me instead. He said a couple of months ago I saved his little boy during a hostage situation, something unrelated to Ouroboros. And for that, he didn't want to kill me, at least right there. So he shot the ceiling twice for appearances, and when he left I heard him telling someone he'd finished up, but not to go in until Maverick was back. I don't remember how long I was lying on that floor. As soon as I felt my powers return, I was outta there. I don't know if anyone there saw me…seemed empty."
Kotetsu didn't know what to say. He said a silent prayer in his head, thanking that man for having enough humanity to let Barnaby live.
"And…now I'm here. And I know as little about what's happening now as you do. But we have to go after Maverick…we have to." His voice came out a desperate plea.
"Not right now," Kotetsu whispered in his ear and leaned forward more to kiss his cheek. "I wonder…what he was planning that he decided you were useless because he couldn't make you forget me?" Seemed to him that with a power like that, Maverick could do plenty of other nasty things
"I don't know. I think he decided that his efforts were best used just to get rid of me…" Barnaby sniffed and Kotetsu was surprised to see tears roll down his cheek. "That's all I ever was, Kotetsu."
"Eh?"
"I've been this thing he steered into being a hero for his own uses. Maverick never loved me. I meant nothing to him, and he made sure I didn't mean anything to anyone else. I can't remember having any friends for very long." He put his face in his hands.
"Bunny…" Kotetsu didn't know what to say. He had no idea what memories were real for Barnaby, or what had been taken away.
"I don't know who I am, what I used to like, who I used to like…I don't even know why I stay away from others. I was so lonely before we met," he said softly, still crying without outright sobbing. "What do I do?"
For once, Kotetsu had an idea. He took Barnaby's hands, drawing them away from his face and squeezing them. "We'll find your old memories…and in the meantime, make new ones."
"But it's not that simple…"
"Why? Why does it have to be complicated?"
"What if we find out I was someone else? Not someone you'd like? What if I did something horrible?"
"We'll get through it." Kotetsu truly believed that. He couldn't see anything Barnaby would have done or said in his past to make Kotetsu stop loving him then. Barnaby didn't strike him as the kind of person who would do any such things, even under Maverick's 'control'. He conditioned him to be a hero from the sounds of it, and at worst had probably isolated Barnaby in a dull life.
Not that such a thing wasn't horrible. Barnaby had year upon years stolen from him because of someone he trusted. The only person he trusted, in fact, aside from Kotetsu. Barnaby continued to cry and Kotetsu held him, kissing him and trying to provide what physical comfort he could.
He didn't know what he could do mentally. Barnaby needed more than he could give since it had to be something that needed approach on proffessional level. He'd probably get his own therapist.
"Bunny, we are both so messed up."
"A-are we?" Barnaby stuttered, and took a deep breath.
"You don't know who you are, and I hate the me I know."
Barnaby turned to look at him, eyes puzzled. "No, Kotetsu, don't…."
"Maybe hate was too strong a word. Point is, we both need help. But we can't let that keep us from being happy, or trying to."
"Easy for you to say," Barnaby snorted.
Kotetsu kissed his nose. "Harder than you think, actually." Being happy was still a struggle. Barnaby's problems were far worse in comparison but…that didn't make it any easier.
After the bath Kotetsu was able to apply some ointment to Barnaby's injury. He bandaged it overly securely with the bandage fabric circling around his back twice before Kotetsu decided it was snug and safe. Only then did he let Barnaby get dressed again.
He also noticed Barnaby having trouble staying awake the whole time he took care of him, so off to the bed they went. Kotetsu didn't feel tired. He had to rest his body, but he didn't feel it. He was too worried to be tired.
They sank into the purple…and black…bed in the downstairs bedroom. It looked like it'd never been used which was good. Otherwise it would have given Kotetsu the creeps. The room was windowless and dark. It was perfect for their needs.
Barnaby had snuggled right up to Kotetsu with a happy sigh, his eyes flickering to his face. "Kotetsu, you should sleep."
"You're one to talk."
"I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open to look at you. I want to look at you…but I can tell you're not even going to try closing yours." Barnaby wrapped an arm around Kotetsu's chest and kissed along his collarbone.
"Bunny, what are you doing?" If there was ever a time not to fool around with each other…well that was it. And when Barnaby started kissing and nibbling his collarbone like that, he knew damn well where it was headed.
"Relaxing you." Barnaby kissed his chest, and moved his arm even though he'd just put it around Kotetsu. His hand lowered under the blankets, under the waistband of the ugly pants Kotetsu found to wear.
Kotetsu's breath hitched and he found himself unable to tell Barnaby to stop. Even after such a short period of time his body still craved his lover's touch, his talented hands. "Bunny…" he had intended a last bit of protest but it came out more like a moan.
Barnaby kissed him, soft but needy against his lips and in his mouth. The last traces of Kotetsu's thoughts about not fooling around in the bed slipped away. There were worse ways to fall asleep -not that a handjob was bad to begin with.
