When it comes down to it - Chapter 8

Legal Drug

Author's Notes:

God, I feel like such an asshole. I mean, I was reading over some reviews and they made me smile. People were so into this story. And, I fell away from it. I am so, so sorry. I will try to update more often, or until this is completed. Which, I hope is soon. I'm close to high school graduation, so hopefully in these few months before I start college I will be able to continuously update. How many of you actually like Koiji? My friend, Kitty, was reading this last night and she said she didn't like him, I mentioned a lot of people don't like him. However, she's doesn't like him, really hates him, and I quote, "I REALLY DON'T LIKE HIM WITH A PASSION."

He's not that bad………. Not that, that bad…….. Okay, he could be worse!! ……more than he already is…. Lol. I dunno!

Well, enjoy chapter 8: the morning after?! Oh, la la. ;D

Warning's: yah I don't have any for this chapter yet. Maybe some more drugs, mmm… yummy.

His head was throbbing.

He didn't know where he was.

And, he was scared that if he opened his eyes he'd see something he really didn't like.

He felt some semblance of warmth next to him, and a light pressure across his waist. He couldn't remember half of yesterday, either. The growing list was starting to worry him.

He groaned as his body protested his small movements.

He flexed his fingers… that hurt, too. Pain shot up his arm, and his head throbbed more. All he wanted to do was crawl back into the dark recesses of his mind. And, he wanted to see Rikuou.

He gasped, Rikuou.

He went to visit him yesterday, hadn't he? And he was in… a back garden under the sakura tree. He frowned; he couldn't really remember anything after that except the faintest call of his name.

Did I black out…?

His eyes snapped open, nausea hitting him like an out of control bus. He squeezed his eyes shut again, forcing his arm up to massage his temple.

When he was almost sure he had fought through the worse of it… for now, he slowly cracked an eye open. The ceiling spun and corrected itself into a stable position after a moment, allowing him to focus on it clearly. He started up at the ceiling, it looked different somehow but that could just be him.

His eyes darted around the room as much as they could without him having to move his head. His body really ached, and he could use an aspirin or eight right about now.

He pushed past another wave of dizziness as the world took another nosedive. He groaned, covering his face with his hands to block out the faint light from the window. It wasn't quite morning yet, or rather, night… he wasn't sure.

He slowly turned his head to read the clock by his bed, blinking in confusion when there was no clock to be found.

He frowned again, what the hell?

He took a good look at the wall beside him, turning over onto his side to get a better look. The arm, which had been forgotten, around his waist tightened pulling him back into the position he had been in before.

He let out a cry of surprise, not expecting that to happen… or something even remotely close to that happen. His eyes widened as he took in the muscled look of the arm casually draped across him. The sculpted arm looked oddly similar to... Rikuou's.

He groaned, Don't tell me we… he turned his head his eyes widening. Rikuou lay there, sleeping soundly, his black hair fell around his eyes giving his sleeping face more of an edge. (1)

It's not like Kazahaya hadn't slept beside Rikuou before, but with him…?

Not a chance.

Did they even sleep together?

Kazahaya was pretty sure he was naked, really, really naked.

Rikuou snuggled closer to him, sighing in his sleep.

Kazahaya was really freaked out, he didn't remember loosing himself in a moment of passion with Rikuou, he didn't even know how he got here, and he didn't know why the hell they weren't still in that goddamned garden.

They should still be at the hospital, nice and safe… in not bed… and not in Rikuou's room, at either dawn or dusk.

Rikuou shifted closer to him yet again, gently resting his head against Kazahaya's shoulder.

He stopped moving, he didn't even dare to breathe.

Holy shit.

Kazahaya's eyes widened and his heart beat pounded louder in his ears. He needed to leave, he had to leave.

As quickly as he could he tore out of Rikuou's light grasp, darting off the side of the bed. He hadn't counted on the sheet, as it was still tangled around his legs, and he hit the floor with a loud thud.

A string of curses erupted from his mouth as he fought to free his legs from the vines of captivity.

"Stupid sheet…" He cursed again as kicking it off made it worse and his dizziness flared up again. He clutched at the side of his head, clenching his eyes shut. Dammit.

"Kazahaya?" A voice thick with sleep called out behind him.

He froze, and his eyes widened again.

"What are you doing on the floor?"

He could feel those onyx eyes on him, staring him down. He glanced over his shoulder, and sure enough Rikuou was blinking at him warily from the bed he had just fallen out of.

He clenched his teeth swallowing the lump in his throat; he wasn't sure what to say.

"Do you need some help?" Rikuou asked when another moment of silence had passed.

Kazahaya flinched at the voice, his shoulders tensed. Fuck, fuck, fuck! He gasped letting out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding in, when a light touch came at his shoulder.

He flinched away from the touch, turning at face Rikuou.

His eyes were wide, the pounding in his head forgotten. Rikuou flashed him a confused look, curiosity dancing in his eyes.

"Kazahaya…" He started, reaching for the other again.

Kazahaya pushed himself back hitting the wall behind him, "Don- Don't touch me.

Rikuou sighed; they were back to yesterdays 'don't touch me' line.

Kazahaya had gotten his legs free, and was clutching the sheet in his hands, he was naked no doubt about it, and he was semi using the sheet to cover himself as he also pressed himself closer into the wall.

Rikuou got off the bed and knelt in front of Kazahaya, frowning when Kazahaya wouldn't even match his gaze. "Kazahaya," He placed a hand on his face, gently guiding it to look at him, "Look at me."

Kazahaya tried to force himself away but he had no where to go, he had no choice but to look at Rikuou. "Rikuou, please…" Kazahaya pleaded with him, he wanted to go curl up on his bed and think things through. Without Rikuou!

He was confused, and scared because he didn't remember.

He liked remembering things, that way he wouldn't feel like he had blacked out which he often did when he was with Koiji. Blacking out was normal, and right now he didn't remember, which was bad.

It definitely scared him.

Rikuou looked down at Kazahaya, placing his other hand on the other side of Kazahaya's face, "What's wrong?" He asked, very concerned at the way he was acting.

Kazahaya grabbed Rikuou's wrists, glancing away, "What… happened… between us?" He asked, so quietly Rikuou had to strain to hear.

Rikuou cocked a black eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

Kazahaya sighed, pushing Rikuou's hands away from his face, "This." He waved his hand in the air groping for words, "Us."

Rikuou blinked, "Us… having sex? Look Kazahaya, that was perfectly normal—"

Kazahaya shoved at Rikuou's chest; throwing the sheet he had dragged with him at Rikuou, standing abruptly, "No, that's not the problem." He threw open the door, "I don't remember anything!" Kazahaya bolted from the room, running and locking the door to his.

He leaned back against the door breathing hard; he sunk down the floor covering his head with his hands. His breathing was ragged, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He was not going to cry, he was determined not to.

His head throbbed and he clutched at it, ignoring the frantic tone of Rikuou's voice from the other side of the door. Rikuou could just as well barge in there if he gave the door or lock a good physic blast, but he would prefer if Kazahaya opened it and granted him access.

"Kazahaya, talk to me, dammit!" Rikuou stood outside of the door--he had some decency to throw on jeans before barging out into the hall—knocking like he was half-crazy. "Open the door, we need to talk."

Kazahaya had since left the door; the urgency to vomit overtook him as he crawled to the bathroom on the other side of the room, shuddering violently on the floor after he had practically thrown up his lungs. The bile stung his throat, and his chest hurt from dry heaving.

He kicked the door shut, gripping the sink to stand and splash cold water on his face. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it was rapidly spinning out of control.

Koiji wasn't dead, and he knew, he just absolutely knew Koiji was somehow responsible for this.

'Good job,' his inner voice chided, 'what a mess you've created.'

He frowned at his reflection in the mirror, "Me?"

"That's right.'

"What did I do?"

'You've hurt Rikuou's feelings. Obviously. And maybe even fractured your already twisted relationship.'

He gripped the sides of the sink, "I… don't remember, though."

His inner voice snorted, 'So? And you act like you've never had sex before.'

He sighed, "I don't know what—"

'Yes, you do," the voice hissed, "You guys had sex, plain and simple. Now, go out there and apologize for acting like such a fool.'

Kazahaya sighed, "Leave me alone." He knew it was right, he knew they both had wanted it for a long time, and finally when something happens, he doesn't remember.

Nothing strange had happened to him; at least he didn't think so. Aside from not remembering, he was still back at the garden with Rikuou. That was where his day had left off, and that's where he wanted to pick up from. All of a sudden, it's the next day, and he's naked in bed with Rikuou.

He had lost hours.

He didn't even slightly remember something from in between the garden and waking up.

The banging outside his door had stopped, he knew Rikuou was still there but he was not ready to face him, he needed a shower, and he needed some pain killers.

He opted for the shower, then dressing.

The shower had helped him clear his mind, but his head was not any better. His body still hurt, and moving was a physical task. He pushed the pain towards the back of his mind as he silently padded over to the door; he took a breath and silently opened the door.

Rikuou fell backwards into his room; he hadn't expected the door to open so suddenly.

Kazahaya looked down at him, and mumbled a quick sorry before quickly side-stepping him, heading for the stairs.

"Ah," Rikuou scrambled to his feet, "Kazahaya, wait!" Rikuou darted after Kazahaya following him down the stairs.

"Look, I'm sorry, Kazahaya." Rikuou followed him outside and towards the front of Green Drugstore, ignoring the people on the sidewalk staring at his appearance.

Kazahaya sighed, "For what?" He asked, shooting a randomly lady a glare as she hurried along.

"For whatever I did to make you so upset." Rikuou frowned, he was pleading but he wanted to know what the hell was going on.

Kazahaya darted through the automatic doors, intending to get Rikuou's half-dressed… barely dressed self indoors. "You didn't do anything."

Rikuou shot him a confused look, "But you…"

Kazahaya glanced over his shoulder, stopping when Kakei appeared out of nowhere to dangle an aspirin bottle in his face. He grumbled a quick thank you, before turning to face Rikuou, "Shut up."

"What?"

"You're causing a scene." He gestured to the few customers staring at them from different isles.

Rikuou closed his mouth, and sighed.

Kazahaya struggled with the stupid child safety cap before Rikuou rolled his eyes and plucked it out of his hands, opening it before he had time to protest. Kazahaya blinked, grabbing the bottle stepping past Rikuou again. He shook out a few, popping them in his mouth.

God, his head hurt. He went back up front a bit and leaned against the counter burying his head in his arms. It looked awkward, but the cool countertop eased some of the pain, slightly.

"Kazahaya—," Kakei instantaneously reappeared in front of Rikuou holding out a shirt and some sneakers. He sighed and snatched them from the precog, shoving them all on. He grumbled thanks, irritated at the smile he received.

Kakei cocked an eyebrow when Rikuou spun around to face him, narrowing his eyes, "What do you know?" He demanded.

Kakei laughed nervously, "What are you talking about?"

Rikuou growled, "What do you know, precog?" He got closer to Kakei.

Kakei held up his hands, backing away ever so slightly, "I don't know what you mean."

Kazahaya sighed from under within his folded arms; he had since found a stool and was more comfortable resting against the counter, "I'm going to go throw up now while you guys argue…" He got up and walked in the general direction of the bathroom.

Rikuou looked up from harassing Kakei, "What?"

Kakei gracefully moved out of Rikuou's way, while Rikuou reached out to grab Kazahaya's wrist, spinning him around. Kazahaya's head took another nosedive, as he was not expecting the tug, and his legs gave out under him as he fell into Rikuou's arms.

"Ah, Kazahaya." He easily lifted him into his arms, "Sorry." He mumbled, heading for the back room.

They were moving and he felt more nauseas than before, "Put me down," he managed in between jolts of pain.

Rikuou gently placed him down on the familiar leather sofa, Saiga was nowhere in sight, he was probably out on a mission. Kazahaya blinked up at the ceiling, not realizing he was even on the sofa for half a minute.

Rikuou placed a hand on Kazahaya's head, frowning, "You're warm," he stated.

Kazahaya rolled his eyes, pushing Rikuou's hand away, "Obviously," he said, trying to sit up, "I'm still alive, if I were dead I'd be cold."

Rikuou pushed him back down onto the sofa, "Where are you going?"

Kazahaya sighed, "To go throw up forever if you don't mind."

Kakei laughed from the doorway, "Work it out," He smiled, and closed the door behind him.

Kazahaya glared at Rikuou's hand, it was annoying to be treated like a child. He narrowed his eyes, and turned to look over at the taller of the pair.

"Look, just so you know, if I happen to throw up on you… you can't get mad and say I didn't warn you." He glared at Rikuou.

Rikuou looked away from the door, retracting his hand as he knelt on the floor near Kazahaya, "Yeah, whatever."

The room fell into an awkward silence, Kazahaya shifted on the sofa, turning on his side to fully face Rikuou. They started at each other until Kazahaya sighed, sitting up. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, looking away from Rikuou.

Rikuou blinked, surprised, "Uh, what?"

Kazahaya rolled his eyes, "You heard me."

Rikuou shot him a look, narrowing his eyes, "What don't you remember?"

Kazahaya flinched, "Can't you just accept an apology when you get one?"

Rikuou glared, "No."

Kazahaya sighed, that sinking feeling returning, he was silent for a moment while Rikuou stared him down. He turned to face Rikuou, his glare softened when he saw the pained look in Kazahaya's eyes.

Kazahaya regarded him softly, "I don't remember what happened…"

Rikuou gazed at him curiously, he wanted to ask a million questions but Kazahaya started speaking again, "I don't know why I suddenly woke up next to you… this morning, or why you were silently breathing next to me." He brought his knees up to his chest, and rested his chin there, "I don't remember anything. I don't know what happened. I just… remember being in the garden with you."

Rikuou's eyes widened, "What are you talking about?"

Kazahaya ran a hand through his light brown hair, "I… think I lost a day."

Rikuou frowned again; he didn't like the sounds of this. "Lost a day?"

Kazahaya's eyes traveled back to his face, "Stop echoing me."

"Sorry."

"I think I might have… blacked out." Kazahaya bit his lower lip.

Rikuou shook his head, "Maybe you're just confused, but, last night you were talking to me and… you don't remember at all?"

Rikuou looked hurt, and Kazahaya simply shook his head silently.

Rikuou stood up abruptly, pacing the room, "Okay, we can figure this out. Did anything weird happen to you yesterday? Did you step into one of those time warps again?"

Kazahaya blinked, "Like, what, I used my power somehow?"

Rikuou nodded, "Yes, like when you were in the schoolgirl dress, and we recreated that moment."

Kazahaya shook his head, "No, I didn't go anywhere out of the ordinary, I just went to see you, same as every day. Nothing at all out of the ordinary. Even the receptionist was a bitch, so it must've been the same, ordinary… kind… of… day…."

Rikuou stopped pacing completely, "What is it?"

"Well, there was this one guy." Kazahaya was trying hard to remember, "The receptionist was giving me trouble again, and I threatened her… and was yanked into a staff room by this black-haired guy."

Rikuou raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"

"He just told me she was going to call security if I hadn't left sooner. I was kind-of grateful, and he bought me a soda, the one you saw me carrying." Kazahaya gestured to a similar soda can on the coffee table.

Rikuou's eyes widened, "Did you notice… you passed out after drinking that?"

Kazahaya looked at him, confused, "I passed out?"

Rikuou nodded, "It was sudden, but you did take a sip of that soda."

Kazahaya made a face, "Ugh, it was black cherry; I threw it away after that." (2)

Rikuou knelt in front of Kazahaya again, "But, you did pass out, I brought you back here myself. I came to check on you after I finished talking with Kakei and you were awake. You talked to me and everything. And, you were acting kind of strange…"

Kazahaya nodded, "Uhm, strange how."

"Well, you kept telling me not to touch you; you would get this hazy look in your eyes every time I did…" Rikuou trailed off blushing, "Uhm, and then we had… kinda… had sex."

Kazahaya groaned, he wasn't naked for no reason after all. They really did have sex, and he didn't remember any of it. He had hoped it was for some odd reason, like, Rikuou had to somehow take off his clothes for some dire reason.

"And, I'm sorry you don't remember that 'cause—"

"Rikuou! Shut up." Kazahaya rolled his eyes again.

"Ah, sorry." Rikuou shrugged.

"Whatever, we need to figure out where all that time went after I blacked out." Kazahaya was wracking his brain for ideas, but his head was pounding, and he was only making it worse.

Rikuou sighed, sitting fully on the ground, "Maybe you have some dormant condition brought on by various concussions."

Kazahaya glared, "What the hell?"

Rikuou shrugged, "Sorry, it was the only thing I could think of."

Kazahaya sighed, "Whatever! Your idea was stupid, honestly."

Rikuou laughed, this time he was really going to give Kazahaya a stupid idea just to irritate him, "Maybe there was something in your drink!"

Kazahaya froze, the can was open when it was handed to him, he thought it was extremely kind at the time, because he hated to open soda cans himself, he slowly looked over at Rikuou who was laughing as his eyes widened, "Maybe."

Rikuou stopped laughing, he hadn't expected Kazahaya to agree with him, he rolled his eyes, "No, I was just kidding--," He went to tell Kazahaya about stupid ideas and he flinched at the stare he was getting.

"You're serious?!" Kazahaya barely nodded, "No, come on, that's ridiculous. Who would put something in you drink?"

Kazahaya balled his hands into fists on his lap, "Someone who wanted to be entertained."

Rikuou's eyes widened, "You don't think…"

"Well, who else could it be?!" Kazahaya threw his hands up into the air as he panicked, "He's not dead, don't forget that, Rikuou." His words were starting to collide as the panic increased, "I mean, he has connections, all he had to do was wave around some cash and he could get whoever he wanted to do whatever he wanted. And, I don't think he's joking, Rikuou, this is a warning! Don't you see?!" He was shouting.

Rikuou grabbed Kazahaya, forcing him into a hug, "Let go of me!"

Rikuou held him tighter, "No."

Kazahaya relaxed into the hold after a minute of unsuccessful struggling, "Rikuou…" he whispered, "Please."

Rikuou shook his head, "I won't let anything happen to you, do you understand me?" He placed a kiss on Kazahaya's head. "Ever."

Kazahaya clutched Rikuou's shirt, burying his face in the crook of his neck, blinking back the rapidly forming tears. "I'm not worried about me."

"What do you mean?" Rikuou pulled back to look at Kazahaya.

Kazahaya shook his head as the tears fell from his eyes, "I'm worried about you." His voice broke, and Rikuou frowned, "Nothing's going to happen to me, I promise."

He leaned in, wrapping Kazahaya in a tight embrace as he kissed him softly. Kazahaya pulled him closer, crushing their lips together. He wasn't going to endanger Rikuou; he had already been shot for him. Next time, he wouldn't be so lucky, and even if that meant giving himself up to Koiji, he would do it to save Rikuou.

(1) Yeah, I dunno what the hell I was talking about there,

(2) I actually really like black cherry, lol.

Author's Notes:

Oh my god, guys. That was so long. It is 3:26 AM!! And, I'm tired. But, I'm happy I finished this chapter. It gets totally random with Kazahaya talking to himself, but that's okay we all do that! … Right? ………….Right………?

Heh… uhm, yep, so I finally updated, I'm posting immediately so any spelling or grammar mistakes will probably show up.

But, hey, all my chapters have typo-demons slithering around in them.

Hope you enjoyed! The drug of choice today was… aspirin!!

BWAHAHAHA!!