Rock managed to sleep through this

Kyo had never recalled the rebound ever being quite so bad.

Back then, this sort of thing always happened when Iori was subject to an internal takeover. It was one of the reasons he'd worked out a 'peaceful' arrangement with the Riot, because the battleground was his own body - and the collateral damage was always heavy.

Seriously though, Yag… you almost died...

Perhaps Iori hid it from him. Perhaps his current, incredibly frial physical condition contributed to the severity. Regardless, it hurt terribly to see his rival brought so low. That always-haughty gaze reduced to nothing more than a glazed sorrow, clinging to life by the tips of his fingernails.

At least you're alive…

Even if Kyo had been expecting it, it was still shocking. The two of them had joked briefly about the rebound before Iori went to get his soul swapped back into that body of death. He had recalled patting Iori's head and jokingly telling his rival not to cry that much, receiving a good natured punch in the stomach in return.

But holy moly, cry he did.

The moment they got out of that procedure, the moment Iori regained consciousness, he was screaming. The fucking rebound was no joke.

For fifteen straight minutes (he passed out twice in the interim) he thrashed and cried rolling tears like he was getting his insides scrambled. Kyo had spent that time standing over him frantically yelling at him, and the nurses for some sort of respite. But he knew as well as anyone, they could only wait it out. Not even anesthesia could numb this kind of pain.

But the trial didn't end with the pain.

That's when Iori began to vomit blood.

It looked like something out of a horror movie. This gaunt, emaciated creature - wracked through with pangs of torturous agony- was attempting to empty his entire circulatory system onto the white tiled floors. Kyo didn't know it was possible to lose so much blood and survive.

And it wasn't. Iori definitely would not have survived. An emergency CAT scan said the rebound had played havoc with his internals. His pancreas was pulverized. The gall bladder had exploded. It was a damn good thing they were in a hospital… Chizuru Kagura's hospital.

So, four hours of emergency surgery.

Kyo had stayed there, biting his nails and listening to the slow resonance of the Magatama against the sword lodged against his heart. The idea Iori would die? It was so foreign. Even as Kyo watched his lifelong friend falling apart right in front of him, he couldn't wrap his head around the idea.

Well. He didn't need to.

Iori was a tough fucker.

He'd survived.

Sure, he essentially needed to be put on life support for the next several hours, but he was alive. He looked like a pincushion with all the needles sticking out of him, but whatever Chizuru's doctors did - worked. He stabilized… eventually. Only after he did, did Kyo allow himself to crawl into the hospital bed next-door for a few hours of restless sleep.

Now he awakened, bleary-eyed to a commotion in Iori's half of the room.

Panic!

What was going on! Had Iori died in the night? Was he going in for another surgery? Jolted awake - Kyo staggered out of his cot, and violently tore back the dividing curtain.

"-you back down to Argentina to fatten you back up. Poor boy. Don't worry, Uncle's here for you… ah, Kusanagi-san! How are you, my friend?"

"Oh, Hi 4th!"

Iori's creepy uncle had come to visit. Per usual, he was accompanied with his typical entourage of bodyguards and advisors - all of which (the moment they laid on on Kyo) began to mutter and glare. It was on occasions like these that the bad blood between the Clans came to light. Luckily the 4th elder, the most authoritative figure in the clan, didn't seem to be stuck in that mindset. Several years ago the old man had somehow gotten it in his head that the two Heirs were in some sort of illicit Romeo and Juliet relationship, and as a result, sent Kyo a generous birthday cheque each year.

Yag mails me dildos… his dad mails me money… heh, maan… this family…

Now, the old man was seated beside the bed and was petting Iori's head like he was some sort of small animal. Iori probably liked the attention (after all, who didn't want to see their father figure after such a horrid ordeal), but was doing his best to fake displeasure with just his eyes. He glared angrily at his uncle, then embarrassingly at Kyo - who (to his dismay) made a kissing face. If Iori didn't have a breathing tube jammed down his throat, he probably would've defended himself. Alas, the only thing he was currently capable of was staring at everyone as hard as he could, with as much effort as he could muster.

Kyo shook his head and chuckled. If Iori had the energy to pretend to be mad. That was good. He'd probably be stuck here for a week or two, then he'd be released to resume his normal, highly disruptive lifestyle.

Phew… welp. Looks like we're gonna be okay...

The fourth seemed to know it as well, and after a short (one sided) conversation with the heir, turned to address Kyo.

"Well, Kusanagi. Thank you for watching our darling little heir for us. We've been trying to hire a babysitter for him for ages, but- ah, ah! breathing tube stays in! Iori, stop that. Somebody grab him!"

Yag, my darling