"I can relate to what you're going through."
The air was thick with dust rising from the rubble that littered the ground, and yet through it all, Shou ran quickly, with confidence in each step. As he treaded over the rubble like it wasn't even there, he looked almost triumphant, even though the battle was far from over. Ritsu couldn't remember what the world around him looked like. It was a darkened world with only rubble from fallen buildings. There was no end in sight, and Ritsu had no Idea where Shou was leading him. But he could still see the back of Shou's jacket, and he followed it closely, as though it were a beacon guiding him through the dark. He was something to hold onto. Someone to follow. Someone to be.
It was always impossible.
The ground rumbled below the two of them. Shou did not notice, so Ritsu said nothing. They kept moving forward.
The rubble began to break apart and fall into holes and crevices. Shou did not notice, so Ritsu wanted to believe it didn't matter. They kept moving forward.
A hole opened up between the two of them, and just like that Ritsu could no longer follow from behind. But Shou did not notice, so Ritsu didn't call out. He just stood still and watched as Shou kept moving forward.
He kept moving forward.
He kept moving forward.
He fell.
Ritsu awoke with a jolt but soon recoiled in pain and agony. But even as he attempted to quell his pains, every slight movement brought his awareness to a new pain in a new spot. And the cold hard floor he was rolled over on didn't help. As Ritsu's eyes adjusted to the scenery, he was relieved that his ears still seemed to work. He could Teru's voice talking from down the… hallway? Were they back in the ruins? Ritsu tried to listen in on the conversation.
"...mber the place we were when we got kidnapped?" He paused, for a moment, then started again. "Yeah. I don't know."
Ritsu was curled up in a fetal position on right side, back turned to the source of Teru's voice, but he could tell that he was probably on the phone. Ritsu tried to get a better view of the world around him. As he moved his head slightly, he could tell that it was resting on his own hoodie like a pillow, and resting on top of of his body like a blanket was Teru's track jacket. He tried to prop himself up to get a better look, and he noticed both of them were slightly burnt and ripped around the sleeves.
"I don't know, but are you in contact with Suzuki-kun?"
Fuck!
At the sound of the name, Ritsu panicked and tried to quickly turn around. But as he rested his left arm on the ground he let out a strained yell.
For a few seconds, he couldn't focus on anything but the stinging pain that ran all the way up his left arm. It hurt more than any other part of his body. Just simple pressure was too much to handle. But under his heavy breathing he could hear Teru swearing, as if he had just noticed that Ritsu was awake.
"Oh, uh it's nothing I just…" Teru's voice was now panicked and fast, "Well, we just might need a healer is all anyway okay thanks bye!"
Ritsu could hear Teru quickly hanging up the phone and jogging toward Ritsu's writhing body.
"Oh my god, Ritsu."
Ritsu's vision was blurred by the pain, but he could tell Teru was kneeled down next to him. And he could feel Teru's hands grabbing him from the back by the shoulder and laying him down on his back with Ritsu's head resting in Teru's lap.
And then there was relief, accompanied by a warm yellow glow.
"Take deep breaths," said Teru, calmly. Ritsu did as he was told and did nothing but breathe for the next minute as Teru continued doing whatever he was doing to his arm. And during that minute Ritsu got a good look at Teru.
He was wearing a bright purple tank top that appeared to be the only clean thing on him. Everything else was dirty or bruised. His lip was red and purple, yet amazingly enough it wasn't swollen. But Ritsu couldn't say the same for his right eye or his right shoulder. Both were black and blue and Teru's eye was almost swollen shut. His hair was a mess, sticking out in all directions and curling into knots. Not to mention it was full of dirt and ash. Once Ritsu's breathing had calmed down, he decided to speak.
"You look terrible."
Teru slid back and let Ritsu's head fall onto the hard ground as he stood up. "Okay that's enough," said Teru in an irritated tone.
Ritsu groaned, but his arm did feel a little better than before. The pain was still there but it wasn't unbearable.
Teru walked around to Ritsu's left side and stared down at him, clutching his right shoulder with his left hand. His entire right arm seemed limp, but it was hard to tell for sure since it was surprisingly (almost freakishly) muscular.
"I'm not the best at healing more serious injuries," Teru started, straight-faced and serious, "But I can at least kill the pain and reduce some of the swelling. Those were second degree burns, though, so try not to use your left arm at all."
Ritsu brought himself to a sitting position using his right arm and looked down at his left forearm to see a rather grotesque mass of ugly red blisters and swelling that caused him to cringe. Teru continued speaking.
"If it helps any, we're both in the same boat. I somehow managed to dislocate my right shoulder in that last attack. So between the two of us, we have two arms."
"Did I lose…?"
"If I won, I sure as hell don't feel like a winner." As he spoke, Teru looked down at the floor and lowered his brow. Ritsu was intrigued.
"What happened?"
Teru looked up, pulling himself out of his melancholy expression and spoke again. "I misjudged my own strength. I've been practicing teleportation, but I hadn't perfected it yet. So when we exploded, I couldn't escape your barrier and I was blown back and dislocated my shoulder in the process. If I had passed out like you did, we would have both burned to death. But I put a barrier around the trees and let them burn until there was nothing left to burn. So luckily, we didn't start a forest fire."
"You mean you didn't start a forest fire."
"No. I mean we . I wouldn't have started that fire if you didn't attack me in the first place!"
Ritsu could tell that Teru was starting to get pissed off. But Ritsu's exhaustion left him with no filter. And he was too tired to really care. But Teru's tense expression relaxed itself with a sigh.
"I called your brother and told them where we were and that we were injured. Nothing else."
"Why not?"
"Because that's your job. You have a lot of explaining to do, and it's gonna be a while before they get here. So, before you explain anything to them, you're gonna explain everything to me."
Teru bent over and reached his left hand out. Ritsu paused for a second, and then grabbed it with his right. Teru's grip was firm and steady despite the damage he took, and pulled him easily. But Ritsu's legs were weak, and once Teru let go, Ritsu began visibly struggling to keep himself up. Teru caught him again, and let Ritsu put an arm around him for support. A yellow energy surrounded both of them, and without warning, Ritsu found himself being lifted off the ground. If he had the energy, he would have reacted with more than a simple startled grunt. But he wasn't in the mood to question Teru, and they both rose out through the hole in the ceiling and landed gently onto the roof of the building. From there, Teru gently led Ritsu to the edge, where you could perfectly see the aftermath of the fight.
Surrounding the entire building was what looked like the start of a moat that would surround a castle, only messier and filled with a few toppled trees. In the corner there was a pile of ash and charcoaled trees, still fresh with smoke rising from the remains of the fight.
"So," Teru started again, "Explain."
Ritsu snorted, and Teru looked at him as if he had lost his mind. The snort turned into a giggle, and that turned to a full hearty laugh.
"How…" gasped Ritsu through his laughter, "How the hell am I gonna explain this?!"
Teru could only watch in surprise, as Ritsu let go of him and collapsed to his knees, practically wheezing.
"It's so fucking stupid!" That was the only explanation Ritsu could offer to Teru. That was the truth. It was just so fucking stupid. It was so big and grand and stupid. And Teru couldn't help but let out a snort at the sight of Ritsu absolutely losing it on the roof. And he began to laugh as well. And soon, the two of them were practically collapsed in tears, gasping for air.
It was just so fucking stupid.
