Written March 8 2022
Posted on Wattpad March 19 2022
Posted here October 17 2022

NEXT UPDATE is on October 31 2022


Kaito wasn't sure of the exact time, but he knew that it had to be late. Everything still hurt, but it had dulled down enough for him to be properly conscious rather than just slipping in and out of consciousness. He was comfortable, and warm, thankfully clean too if not a bit sweaty. The room was silent except for the low hum of electricity and the sound of a page being turned at a decent pace.

Too tired to open his eyes, he reached up to slide the mouth guard out of his mouth, ignoring the searing pain that came with the action. He hated the thing, and Kusama had promised to only use it on him if it was necessary. They reminded him of the gags he'd sometimes worn back when he'd been stupid and so full of self hatred that he'd punished himself by selling his body for money. Kusama was thankfully kind enough to agree to his wishes, despite how much trouble it would save the guy if he'd just told him to deal with it.

"Are you truly awake now? Or are you going to pass out again?" Kusama's words were teasing, but kind as he used a bookmark to mark his page before closing his book.

Kaito didn't have the energy to turn towards him "I wouldn't mind passing out again" He admitted. While he was used to pain, that still didn't mean that he liked it.

Kusama got up and walked over to Kaito's side in order to see the other's face "Do you want me to call the inspector to pick you up?" Kaito's expression was both pained and tired, his skin looked paler too.

"I'm scared to move, my nerves are still sending pain signals to my brain" Moving an arm was one thing, but moving his whole body? That wasn't something that he felt capable of dealing with quite just yet.

The doctor let out a soft sigh, gaze soft with sympathy "We both know that the best way to shake off the pain is for you to move" Movement seemed to take the edge away a lot quicker than having Kaito just stay still "It was really bad this time wasn't it?"

Kaito nodded, at least moving his head wasn't as painful, most likely because he'd probably been grinding his teeth in his sleep "It's in the lower end of the extremely bad ones" It wasn't the worst, but was nowhere close to be one of the best.

"Then we both know that you'll be fine" Kusama offered a small smile. Kaito closed his eyes tensing. The doctor carefully sat Kaito up, ignoring how the action sent a new wave of shaking through the teen's body. Fussing would just annoy Kaito and prolong the teen's pain.

It was hard, but Kaito managed to keep himself from crying out or whining as he allowed the doctor to move and rotate his arms. Why did all of his nerves have to act so weird? He hated it, but was glad that it was only during the bad times that most of his nerves got affected. What he couldn't do, was stop his breath from hitching when Kusama seemed to be about to do the same thing to his legs.

Kusama paused, having slowed his movements to allow Kaito to catch the transition "Do you want a break?" Sometimes Kaito agreed, sometimes he didn't.

Kaito's fingers curled at the edge of the bed, the small action nothing compared to the full arm movements that his body had just been forced through "I-" He bit his lip, conflicted. It took a few moments to voice a reply "No, just get it over with"

"I'll work as quick as I can" Kusama promised, starting small at Kaito's toes then working to his ankles, knees, then lifting Kaito up a bit to work on where his legs joined with his hip. Silent tears were running down the teen's face as he endured the pain. It was times like this that he really admired Kaito, the teen was made of some really tough stuff. He allowed Kaito to lay back town to recuperate once he was done.

The teen gratefully accepted the cloth Kusama offered him and wiped his face. He then turned towards Kusama "I don't think I can move my legs, I could just be too tired but the odds are slim" Another failure.

Kusama felt disappointment creep up on him "We can talk about retrying two weeks from now to see if you're up to it" If it wasn't so hard on Kaito, they'd be able to try more often.

Kaito nodded "That sounds like a plan" He paused, petting a few of his toes on his left foot "I can kinda feel a bit here"

The doctor perked up, it had been a while since Kaito had obtained any sort of partial feeling below his waist, last time it'd been a section on his right thigh that he'd only discovered while bathing "That's good, can you try moving any of your toes?"

Indigos narrowed with concentration for a few moments before Kaito sighed and shook his head "No" He felt around his toes a bit more "I can only feel a bit of the top, the tip and a little on the bottom"

Kusama hummed in thought, pleased "Try off and on throughout the next two weeks" He offered a small smile "And don't stub those toes since doing that might actually hurt now"

Kaito returned the smile "Can you call Misty instead of Keibu?" He'd feel a bit crowded if he went back home, he wanted to rest up more. He also kinda missed her after not seeing her for a few weeks.

"Sure, I'll message her, then I'll inform the inspector that you'll be with her tonight" Kusama agreed. He then eyed Kaito "Is your stomach up for food, or at least some water yet?" The teen was most likely dehydrated, but from experience, they both knew it was better for them to wait for the pain to die down. Throwing up made everyone more miserable, it was both painful and gross.

"Yeah, I could go for some water" Kaito agreed.