The next day, the two resume their daily patrol but this time, neither of them is acknowledging each other. Fushimi mostly looks around but no longer looking at Yata, and Yata's more immersed in his PDA to even care for the other teen. The string and cuffs around their wrists are also burning to the touch but neither seems to even notice the searing pain shooting up their arms, all they want is to get the patrol done and over, or even find the Strain girls so that they can go about their daily lives again.
Breakfast was quieter than usual for them, with Yata casting occasional glances at Fushimi to see if he's cracked, but the other boy was so immersed in his newspaper and scotch that he had looked as if he doesn't even care he's sharing a table with the very same person he pines attention to. And this irks Yata, a lot. Not that he cares now, Fushimi's nothing more than a traitor after all.
As they walk in silence, they fail to notice the Strain girls on one of the rooftop buildings watching them from above. Neither of the girls looks happy but they didn't comment on the straining relationship between the boys. The cuffs will judge their bond on its own and provide the right punishment if they don't make up tomorrow.
Fushimi and Yata passes by them without even knowing they're there and the girls silently following them by jumping from rooftop to rooftop. They make sure that they mask their presence so Fushimi doesn't detect them, Scepter 4 agents have keen senses, especially if he's also a part of Homra in the past.
However, Fushimi isn't a genius for a reason. He stops all of a sudden, causing the girls to panic slightly and duck down behind the railing so Fushimi wouldn't see them. He looks up and scans the area while Yata stays quiet beside him, waiting to see what he does. Clicking his tongue, Fushimi decides to go up the building through one way he knows how; by jumping up the lamp post and launch himself upwards as high as he can from there.
Yata shrieks when he suddenly found himself airborne and landing in a heap next to Fushimi who silently scans the surrounding area.
"What the heck was that about? Can't you at least give me some warning before you want to do that?" Yata hisses out venomously as he rubs his sore bottom. Fushimi clicks his tongue once more and turns to the shorter boy next to him, grinning in the slightest bit.
"So you're the first one to crack? And here I thought you won't talk to me in another three days," the taller of the two mocks in his usual teasing tone. Yata turns red slightly but he didn't say a word, only standing up to brush himself clean of the dust on the roof. He too looks around, but he couldn't find anyone else there.
"You don't just do that for no reason, stupid monkey. Why the heck were you flying off all of a sudden? I don't see anyone up here, save for some pigeons," Yata shot back. Fushimi shrugs nonchalantly and walks around the roof, to make sure that nothing really is there before going back down on the ground to resume his patrol.
"I thought I felt a presence where someone was watching us from up here, not my fault if I become a little paranoid," Fushimi retorts back while popping the joints in his neck, causing Yata to wince slightly. He never liked it whenever Fushimi does that, makes him sound as if he's trying to break his neck.
Yata only raises a brow when he heard Fushimi's explanation. "You? Paranoid? I don't think those words go in one sentence, Saru. I don't feel anyone watching us from just now, I would've felt it,"
"Would you?" Fushimi asks amusedly. "I think the whole reason you didn't feel it is because you're a little too short to detect it, so that presence didn't really get to you I suppose," he laughs mockingly causing Yata to hit him on the shoulder.
"I'm not short, you stupid telephone pole!" the skateboarder shouts back vehemently causing Fushimi to laugh mockingly at him. The two then jumps back down to the ground swiftly, causing a few passerby to jump back in shock and even screaming in terror. The teenagers however, paid no mind and continue with their patrol as if nothing happened.
Ayame and Yua, who managed to hide in time, scowl deeply at the display. They had thought that the boys would put the past behind them and be friends again, but apparently even their near capture didn't help easing things any further. "I want Yatagarasu to be electrified," Ayame deadpans while folding her arms across her chest.
Yua slaps the girl upside her head and shoots her a disapproving look before going back up the roof to trail the boys as silently as she could. Ayame curses vehemently when she was slapped but follows Yua nonetheless, she wants to see if the boys would realize their mistake and starts to make up or else the cuffs will take matters into its own hands.
In the next few uninteresting hours, the boys had walked nearly half of Shizume City and still they haven't found the Strain girls, or any Strains at all. This irks Fushimi to no end as he furiously types over his PDA to see if he's missed anyone he was supposed to search while Yata looks around for any good shops to buy some snacks.
Just as Fushimi was about to continue his patrol, his hand were yanked by Yata and he turns to stare at the shorter boy in his usual bored look.
"Hey Saru, we haven't eaten anything for lunch yet, you want to buy some doughnuts from that shop?" Yata says out hungrily. Fushimi could see how those ember eyes shine with anticipation to get some food into his system, so he agrees quietly. The two made their way into the shop and got a few bag of doughnuts before walking out, Yata already devouring his first doughnut.
Fushimi merely watches the other eat silently, his own bag clutched in his free hand untouched. Yata paid Fushimi no mind if he wants to eat or not, they're still a little cold with each other after what happened yesterday, and if they're subjected to talk, only a few words suffice before they return to a state of silence.
After a while, the sky starts to darken and people are scrambling to get under roofs and bringing their umbrellas out in case it decided to rain. Though still technically winter, the weather is now warm enough to stop snow from forming and causing rain instead, but the temperature can still drop beyond freezing when it does rain.
Fushimi and Yata looks up at the darkening sky and decides to find somewhere they can find shelter when the rain suddenly pours down without a warning, causing those who still remain on the road to scamper about and find shelter.
"Really? Not a single warning?" Yata curses as he and Fushimi made a mad dash towards an old church up ahead. The church looks worn down and old, as if no one's been there to take care of it for years. But then again it's in quite a secluded area of Shizume City, not surprising that it's been abandoned. Though the church still stands tall with the glass windows still intact and the angel carvings only covered with vines and moss. Not a stone or marble out of place.
The two enters the church and Yata pulls out his soaked beanie from his head to avoid getting a headache from the cold temperature as Fushimi wipes his foggy glasses. The skateboarder inspects his surrounding and is quite amazed at the size of the chapel; he's never seen a church so huge before.
"What kind of church is this?" he asks in awe. Fushimi keeps his glasses in his pocket and runs a hand through his drenched hair with a sigh. He too looks around the place and tries to recall something about the church and its stories. He's not really a religious person, but he visited here sometimes when he was still very young to get some food from the nuns and pastors.
"This was once run by a group of bishops and nuns when I was very young, and back when Shizume city's still growing. The church is for those who don't have any place to stay, or to those who have nothing left in the world," Fushimi starts off as he sat down on one of the benches. Yata seems quite interested in the story, so he too sat down next to Fushimi, not like he has a choice; they're still bounded after all.
"I used to visit here back then, to ask for some scraps of food and a shelter whenever my parents are fighting at home," the bitter tone in Fushimi's voice made Yata feel a little uncomfortable. Fushimi hardly talks about his past, and Yata doesn't want to press because he knows that it can never be pretty.
When Fushimi stops there, Yata decides to push his luck. "You don't stay at home when they fight?" he asks. Fushimi suddenly becomes tense and Yata flinches at the sudden display, but the taller teen relaxes again and with eyes void of emotion, he shook his head.
"How can I? They'd be screaming and throwing things at each other, insulting, hitting, abusing, you name it. Not really a normal fight. So I left whenever they argue seriously, I'm tired of crying so while I was ambling about, I saw this church and the nuns brought me in. They gave me food and a place to stay for the night before I head back home when morning comes,"
Yata stays quiet throughout the whole story. He's never known that Fushimi would have such painful childhood, but then again his own childhood doesn't shine with happiness either. Being abandoned and having to fend for oneself at such a young age, stealing, fighting, and doing anything in the hopes of survival just to see another sunrise.
Fushimi then felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his most painful pasts. Yata stares at him silently, with ember eyes glowing with energy that held such gentleness in them. A true embodiment of fire. Fushimi was about to snap at him that he doesn't need the vanguard's pity when Yata smiles at him. A true, genuine, heart warming smile.
"You're not the only one with a hard past, Saruhiko," Yata starts out slowly. He was never good with words, but many people had said he wears his heart on his sleeves so he's hoping that his emotions would help him in conveying what he's trying to say. But then again, Fushimi's a genius, and they were best friends for a few years once.
"I was abandoned as a kid, got no one to hold on to and no where to turn. You were lucky to even find this place, at least you have somewhere to go and ask for food when you don't have any, I had to be a ninja," Yata grins out. Fushimi raises a brow at the small attempt at humor, but he accepts it gladly. He can see that the vanguard is trying to cheer him by sharing his stories, and for that he's thankful.
The burning pain that the two have been trying to ignore slowly disappears from their wrists. When they look down, the cuffs are glowing a gentle red light again, and the string connecting them both is slowly extending between them. Not long, but it's enough to show that the two are doing some progress at making up.
The rain outside is still pouring with a vengeance, a total storm where no one should even be outside right now. The calming atmosphere of the church eases both their emotions and even made Fushimi feel light enough to forget about their heated argument yesterday and playfully teasing Yata about his lack of nutrition ever since as a child.
Yata is irked slightly at the teasing, but he's somewhat glad to see Fushimi in his usual mischievous mood and not openly showing hostility like before. Truth be told, he's never had Fushimi giving him the cold treatment before, and he didn't like it one bit.
"Hey Saru, you still have your doughnut with you?" Yata asks as he notices the bag sitting beside Fushimi. The taller of the two lazily looks down at the bag sitting innocently beside him and nods his head. "That thing's probably soggy by now; you might want to eat it before it's spoilt completely,"
Fushimi only clicks his tongue in annoyance and hands the bag to Yata who looks up at him curiously. "You eat it, I was never hungry in the first place," was what Fushimi said. The skateboarder narrows his eyes and accepts the bag before fishing the somewhat soggy doughnut out. It's not spoilt, but the taste would be bland now that the sugary top is gone. He then splits the doughnut in half before handing one half to the blue.
"You have to eat, or else I'll have to shove this down your throat. You're already lanky enough as it is, so don't make yourself a skeleton. Eat this," Yata says as he shoves the doughnut piece up Fushimi's face. The blue clansman blushes very subtly at the gesture, but he eats the doughnut anyway.
Although instead of taking it out of Yata's hand to hold it himself, he gently lifts Yata's wrist a little higher with his free hand before taking a bite out of the doughnut. The way he lifts the vanguard's wrist is similar to how a gentleman would hold the hand of his dance partner at a ball, causing Yata to blush furiously as Fushimi continues to eat the doughnut half until he finishes it.
The vanguard is just so surprised that his brain practically shorted out, stopping him from breaking the mood by screaming and sputtering. Fushimi merely smirk when he realizes how red he'd made the shorter boy look. "Misaki, are you alright?" he calls out in his usual, sing-song voice.
With that said, Yata regains control of his brain and voice, sputtering and blushing like mad as he tries to scramble away from Fushimi. The cold wind then burst in through the crevices of the church and turning the area freezing cold and Yata shivering not a moment later. Seeing the shorter boy almost freezing his butt off, Fushimi made a last attempt to keep them both warm.
He pulls the shorter boy close to him and envelope him in a tight hug.
Yata blushes like mad before struggling to get free. "Saru! What do you think you're doing? Let go of me right now!" he shouts vehemently as he tries to break free of the other boy's strong grasp. Fushimi only holds him closer and tighter, rendering Yata exhausted after having to thrash around looking for escape.
The vanguard gave up on escaping. Fushimi's body is actually very warm and comfortable, and Yata actually misses these small moments where they'd just sit together in each others' arms and dozing off lightly. Much to Yata's surprise, Fushimi starts to hum an old lullaby that they both listen to when they wee younger. Slowly but surely, the two boys fell asleep in each other's arms and wrapped in each other's warmth.