Chapter Three: Overload
That night, Kazahaya could not sleep for reasons he had no aware of. His mind was focusing on something other than sleeping. It was bent around Rikuo and his power. Could Kakei and Saiga have a special power too? He wasn't sure but he would bet his bottom dollar on it. That's the only way Kakei would know so much about him. He pushed away the blue comforter he had used to the back of the couch. Kudo sat up and stood to his feet to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. Maybe that would help him sleep.
As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he heard light footsteps stalking him in the halls. "Who's there?" he asked cautiously. There was a few seconds of silence before he could walk into the kitchen. He pulled a glass from the tall cabinets and turned the sink onto the cold water.
"What are you doing up this late?" a loud and deep voice boomed out. A body slowly advanced toward him and pressed firmly to Kazahaya's back. It fit perfectly with him. Just like puzzle pieces meant for each other.
Kazahaya froze dead where he was standing. His arm was too short to reach the light switch from where he stood. He had no other choice than to take physical action. "Stay back!" he shouted and threw the water collected in the glass back behind himself. He heard a grunt before the lights went on. The person he had splashed was none other than Rikuo.
Rikuo wiped his face off with his wet sleeve but only got his face wetter. His face showed nothing but total annoyance. His black hair stuck to his wet face like glue as did his shirt.
"Rikuo? What are you doing up this late?" his words came out more demanding rather than a question. Like a mother does to a child, he cupped his cheek with one hand while trying to wipe Rikuo's face off with the sleeve of the other.
"I asked you the same thing." He said blankly. He stood there and allowed Kazahaya to dry him off even though he would poke his eye and pull on his hair every now and then.
"I couldn't sleep." Kudo spat honestly. "Hereālet me go get you another shirt." Was the last thing he said before dashing swiftly out of the kitchen to grab his soaked partner a shirt from the dryer. He returned within minutes with a new long sleeved black shirt with a green marijuana plant on each of the shoulders. He didn't understand why Rikuo was obsessed with long sleeved shirts. He never once saw him in a T-shirt that showed above his elbows.
Without so much of a thank you, Rikuo took the shirt. His large body slumped over into an arch as he tugged it off. As his shirt went up and over his back, Kazahaya saw the reason he didn't wear short sleeved shirts. He had odd shaped black designs on his back. There was one on his left shoulder blade that connected to his right shoulder blade and looked almost like a dog demon. On his shoulder, there were two other designs that looked like thorns.
"Oh wow . . . what are these?" Kazahaya asked curiously and ran a finger to trace out the black tattoo. This seemed to upset Rikuo in more ways than one.
"That's one of your business!" Rikuo snarled at him and twirled his body around. He quickly snatched Kazahaya's hand in his own and gripped it hard so that he could not run when he broke out into a yelling fit.
"Don't touch me!" Kazahaya cried out and tried to pull away. Before Kazahaya had time to react, Rikuo's emotions were injected to him through the connections of their palms. A strong wave of heat traveled through his body, focusing on the center of his stomach. He could feel everything. His anger, pain, and everything else that the psychic was going through. Rikuo's past was rewound in the back of his mind then played right in front of him. He fainted and fell to his knees, holding onto Rikuo's hand.
"What the Hell?" he asked. He thought that Kazahaya was just playing with him to get away from the yelling. He jerked the empath to his feet and held him up by the hand he never let go of. "Enough with the jokes." Himura growled deeply to him and shook his body.
"Ughh . . . " the unconscious Kazahaya groaned in an agonizing way. His entire body quivered as the racing waves of heat continued to build up in a tight ball in his stomach, making him feel what Rikuo was feeling. Beads of sweat gradually began to pop up along his face.
Himura noticed the facial expression of grievance overpower his sweet and childish ones. He looked almost like the day he had found him in the snow. On the verge of being numb and deadpan. A frown took his lips. He scooped the feather light body into his arms and started back into his own bedroom. He allowed him to take his bed for the night while he took the couch. Before leaving, he pulled the thin white sheet up to his chin.
"Rikuo . . . " Kazahaya whimpered softly.
When he heard his name being called out, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. He saw his beautiful body toss and turn in his sheets. It was so tempting to crawl into the bed with that boy. He tried to refuse, but his conscious told him other wise. Something possessed his body and carried his feet to the bedside then forced his form into the bed. His body continued to be manipulated by his thoughts as he made their puzzle pieced bodies fit back in place. The cotton T-shirt Kazahaya was wearing felt good against his bare chest. One arm went to tangle around the empath's waist and brought him close. This seemed to have a great calming effect on him because his jumpy body stopped. The closeness of Rikuo's body was all he needed to put those terrible pictures in his mind on pause and make his dreams come back.
