A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I'm back in college and a lot of my time has been devoted to school work. I'm trying to bring my GPA up so I can study abroad in Japan next year (wish me luck!) I'll still be working on this story, and others, but updates might be slower due to school (that's why this one took so long!)
Anyway, those of you who offered to do fanart, by all means just go for it! Make sure I get to see it though, hehe, I would be estatic! I love you all so much, your comments and critisims and love keep me going! Thank you all so much!
I always seem to miss some grammar issues as well, so please try to overlook them for me. My apologies in advance!
I don't know if I like this chapter. Just to cover my ass I'm going to say sorry if Ikki seems a little OOC. I warned you! But either way, yay for Ikkazu hints!
I'm going to try to make these 'thank yous' short, but... don't get your hopes up. Sorry but they've been taking up a lot of the page, know what I mean?
Jade Mouse: Did you get my response message? If you are still planning on drawing, I'm looking forward to seeing it! Thanks for the offer, by the way, and the review!
Vilde0806: Thank you! Being adored feels good, lol! I like to try and dig into character's feelings - glad you think I pulled it off!
Arani: I knew that a non-Kazu chapter would leave you dangling. For some reason, I have no issues seeing Onigiri and Yayoi together, ya know? And as for Kazu, well.. there's good and bad things. Read!
ren'ai-iki: sweet, innocent,e smexy Kazu is in this chapter so you get to find out, my dear! I will bribe you all I can for you to get writing. Hop to it, girly!
DeyaGlenn: Aww, I know it can be hard to watch your favorite character get hurt or dissapear. Hope the update satisfies!
yuarshy: Even though it's been a while since your review and my update, but welcome to the Air Gear fandom! I am happy to serve and feed your Ikki x Kazu lust!
Emi Sue: Oh, Emi Sue, you were too nervous to read it right away? How cute! Well I can promise you, you WANT to read this chapter!
Blizzaris: I always love getting reviews from you. So long and full of love! I'm way ahead of you - I had planned on filling this chapter full of Kazu to make up for the lack of him in the last chapter. After all, this is a Kazu centered fiction, and as a plus, this is not only a Kazu chapter, its an IkkiKazu chapter!
E-san: I know I know, my updates are getting longer, it seems. I'm sorry but keep reading. Your loyalty makes me so happy.
shoxxic: I haven't seen or heard anything from you in a while, my dear, I'm starting to worry about you! I hope seeing what happened to Kazu will bring you back to life! I miss you!
Kals: It's been a long time since Kazu was seen, I know. I will show him some mercy for you, or rather, Ikki will show him some love. Wanna see what I mean? Read on, dear reader, read on.
SUPAxLinner: I did, I did!
LavenderShell: Thank you! Sorry for the long time it took to update.
iKat.13: Sorry about that... But this chapter makes up for it, is a couple of ways! I think... I have to tortue my readers, or else they won't keep coming back, ya know?
Jenova-chan: The BEST? Thank you - of course there just is not enough out in the world, so I figured I'd start the trend. Enjoy!
WAITWAIT! The title is not what you think!
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Air Gear
a fiction by Crimson Vixen
Wrap Around
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He did not want Ikki to see him like this. He did not want his leader to know he'd lost a race. He did not want his best friend to look down on him or worse, pity him. He also did not want to lie about it to him, but how could it be avoided? After all, he didn't want to go back, but he had to, eventually.
Luckily, no one was there to greet him when he allowed himself to go back. He called out to confirm it as he quietly shut the front door behind him.
No Ikki, none of the girls, not even the pervert. He made his way to the bathroom to clean up best he could, looking into the mirror and feeling disgusted with himself. He wasn't fully able to meet his own eyes in his reflection, so he focused on everything else. It didn't make him feel all that better.
The left side of his face was a little swollen; a yellow stain of a fist marred his jaw, which still felt a little stiff. His right eye wouldn't open all the way and his face was a battleground of dirt and scratches, among other things. Old blood from a bloody nose was caked over his skin and a split lip taunted him, but as if that wasn't enough, his clothes were slightly torn. Amazingly, like always, his hat managed to survive another trial. It sat loose and rumpled on his head. He was afraid about what was on the parts of his body that he couldn't see. To put the icing on the cake, he needed a shower, bad. Walking around like that for a day or so really stunk a person up.
Kazu growled; he thought he'd left the bullying era behind him when Ikki threw his hands up and formed the next generation of the Eastside Guns.
Slowly, nervously, Kazu gripped the bottom of his shirt and started to lift it up. He forced himself to close his eyes so he wouldn't be tempted to look back into the mirror. He could already feel the marks on his torso stretch when he lifted his arms over his head. He didn't want to see them, too.
"…Hello?"
Kazu jerked his head to the door with a terrified look in his eyes. A deer in the headlights, he felt like, as he just stared at the wooden barrier that protected him from that female voice and the sound of the front door opening and closing. With little time to react, Kazu did the only thing he could think of… he locked the bathroom door. He couldn't go out looking like that, it'd be humiliating.
Go figure, Kazu huffed with his ear pressed against the door, that the footfalls of whoever was home came towards the bathroom and stopped just outside. There was a silence, then a very timid, unsure rap at the door.
"S-someone's in here!" Kazu responded hastily, regretting it immediately.
"Kazu!?" came the surprised counter. It was then that Kazu could identify the voice as Ringo's, concerned and surprised, and relieved, with good reason. He hadn't come home last night and never gave anyone any indication of where he was or what he was doing.
"Y…yeah, I'll be out in a minute!"
"Ka…Kazu! We've… We've all been so worried about you! Are you ok? What happened? Where have you been!?" She had to stop herself. She was going a mile a minute, and leaving the boy no time to answer any of the things she was asking. Her heart was pounding, relieved to know he was back, and that it would be a load off of Ikki's mind...
"Give me a minute!"
Ringo blinked. Why did he sound so frazzled? Feeling a little ashamed, she stood closer to the door and listened. Something about the boy's voice sounded off. Within a few seconds, she could hear the sink water running, then splashing right after that.
In the bathroom Kazu rubbed ferociously at his face, trying to clean the dried blood sticking to his skin and his hair, which he noticed was also a big knotted mess. He watched the small pool of water in the sink turn pink before swirling down the drain.
How was he going to go on hiding all of this? Even if he did manage to clean up nice it would do nothing for his clothes, for his bruises, the nasty dark circle around his eye, for his slight limp. He took a moment to rub at his right leg as memories flooded back into him. They weren't too happy to find a racer of his speed, and his leg had suffered for it. Luckily, it was just a warning.
He checked the room for towels so he could just take a damn shower but he didn't see any. Just his luck they'd all be dirty when he needed them. And something told him Ringo was still standing on the other side of the door, just waiting.
And Ringo, hearing all the rustling and splashing, grew even more curious and anxious. She felt like she had been worrying about a lot of things lately, but at the same time, felt like it was justified.
"Uhm… Ka-"
"I'm just cleaning up!" Kazu shouted a little harshly. The girl bit her bottom lip. It felt wrong to just walk away, not when Kazu had been technically missing and then suddenly found. Yet she forced herself to respect his wishes, and had turned to leave just as she heard a crash and a prolonged curse.
"Kazu?" she tried nervously, still blushing bright red and once again trying to listen through the door. "Are… are you sure everything's alright?"
Kazu was sure on some days, Ringo's concern was commendable, cute, but not today. He growled from his position on the floor, having tripped in his frantic rush to get cleaned up. Bottles and other toiletries littered the floor around him. Trying not to curse too loudly, he began throwing things back into place. His eyes were beginning to sting in pure frustration, and his rising anger only made him clumsier.
"Uhm…"
Kazu froze when he heard Ringo mumbling quietly on the other side. She sounded shy and unsure, but spoke anyway.
"…You were gone for a while," she said, now resting her forehead against the door. "I don't mean to bother you or anything Kazu, but… It's just that Ikki was really starting to get worked up, even if he tried to hide it. I'm just… I wanted you to know that I'm glad you're alright. And... I'm sure Ikki will be, too."
Kazu thinned his lips and continued his clean up without giving a response. Ringo's concern made him feel all the more guilty, even if most of her concern for him extended from her concern for Ikki. He wasn't sure why it bothered him. Maybe he was just too occupied and flustered to be thankful.
He rushed through undressing himself all the way, careful to watch his footing this time, and tenderly stepped into the shower. The water was hot and burned his skin but in a way it was soothing to him, so he let it drench his sore body. He scrubbed himself thoroughly, shampooed his hair at least three times to make sure he cleaned it out as much as he could. When he was done, he threw his ripped sweatshirt around his waist like a towel – he hated how dirty it was but it was the only thing he had at the moment – and briskly scrubbed at the tub with his fingers to erase any evidence of blood and dirt.
He then took a deep breath and stared at the bathroom door. His fist tightened around his sweatshirt and he grit his teeth.
The door flung open and before he could even take his first step, he froze in place when he saw Ringo sitting against the opposite wall, just waiting, apparently, hands looped around her folded knees. Her head shot up at the sound of the door opening and Kazu swiftly marched towards the stairs, hoping that holding a hand up over his face wouldn't look as stupid as it felt. Ringo gasped regardless, from the sight or from surprise he didn't know, though it was nothing he didn't expect.
"Wait!" she shouted loudly, and against his will, Kazu listened.
He kept his back turned, practically felt her staring at him and his tattered clothing, the marks that littered his once smooth back, thinking the questions he prayed she wouldn't voice.
Struck with a fear of being looked down upon, Kazu said the first thing that came into mind.
"It doesn't matter what happened. The important thing is, I'm back," he muttered. Then, he added, "I'm sorry." As if it covered for his disappearance and all the grief he may have caused.
Of course when he thought about it, he knew that avoiding the eyes of his friends today didn't mean he could keep doing it. A black eye, a limp… things like that rarely went unnoticed. But that wasn't the point. His words to Ringo were a silent request. One that wanted to keep it from Ikki anyway, for as long as he was able to. At least until he was able to break it to him himself. He only hoped Ringo would do this for him. If anything, he was happy she didn't try to stop him when his legs were able to move again, and he rushed upstairs.
She was sure Kazu didn't want news to travel fast about this, but Ringo was determined to inform Ikki of the return of his friend. Ikki had been silently fussing over it and deserved to know Kazu was finally home. With an apology of her own slipping out under her breath, she pulled out her cell phone.
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Ikki wasn't sure if he was furious or not. Maybe he was just thankful in a way he hadn't felt before. Whatever it was, he was racing home, hand still tucked into his pocket and clutching at his phone. When he got home, he strutted straight up to a pacing Ringo, finding that he didn't have many words to share.
"Where?"
Ringo jumped at his directness and pointed towards the staircase. Her brows furrowed at his strange cold behavior when she answered.
"In your room…" she mentioned softly. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from telling the boy exactly what she'd seen, even though she was sure Ikki would find out all on his own by the end of the night. She watched as Ikki treaded up the stairs with a bitter expression, hand clutching tightly at the railing. Even out of her sights, she was startled when she heard a pound on a door and Ikki yelling.
"It's my room so you better let me in!" the crow shouted, then quietly, right next to the door so only Kazu could hear, added, "I'm really not in the mood for this."
Not a minute later, there was the click of a lock and Ikki was able to step inside.
"Could you please shut the door behind you?"
Ikki did so. Then felt around for the switch.
"Why are the lights off?"
"No, don – !!"
Too late. The lights flicked on. Kazu quickly cupped his hands over his face. Oh, he'd never felt so embarrassed in all his life.
It wasn't hard to see something was wrong either way, and Ikki tried to let his bad mood slide.
Tenderly, slowly, the crow reached for Kazu's wrists and eased his hands down, revealing ashamed blue eyes that refused to look directly back at him, and a dark ring around one of them.
"You probably think I'm pathetic," the blonde spoke up immediately, attempting to break the tension, feeling uneasy with Ikki's eyes on him and his own eyes everywhere else. Ikki's brows lowered, almost dangerously.
"What the hell have you been doing?"
Ikki instantly linked Kazu's discolored face and averted gaze to his strange behavior over the past few days. Not that he was able to make complete sense of it all just yet. All he knew right now was that Kazu looked exhausted and battered, and wearing his clothes - a sweatshirt and shorts - and that they were a bit too big on him.
Kazu raised his fingertips to the tender flesh of a rather ugly bruise by his temple as if he were reminiscing. He winced when his skin protested and he twitched his fingers back. Telling Ikki would only make him look worse than he already did. The crow was already uncomfortable letting Kazu fight without him around. He wasn't sure he could handle Ikki having no faith in him.
"It's not as bad as it looks," he growled defensively, turning his head to the side. God this was hard.
"How good or bad it looks isn't important," Ikki argued. He reached out and grabbed the blonde by the chin, forcing Kazu's head to turn back, ignoring the grimace he made, too focused on the matter at hand. "What is important is why."
"Does it really matter?" Kazu tried, perhaps a little too hard, determined to escape this, fruitless as he knew it was.
The crow let out a sigh, not even trying to hide how unfooled he was. He took a hold of Kazu's arms at the elbows and held firmly.
"You know it does."
Huh… Kazu had a hard time recalling Ikki acting this attentive before. At least not towards him. Was this how the crow worried about people he cared for? Kazu couldn't help cracking a small smile, unsure as to why.
"Don't dissapear on me, come back and then act like nothing happened," Ikki growled, and Kazu's smile vanished in an instant, keeping his eyes to the side. No matter how this ended he didn't think he'd like it. The blonde blinked heavily, biting at his lip when he could sense Ikki looking at the discolored skin around his eye. He gasped when Ikki rolled up the sleeves that were covering the bruises along his arm. He could hear Ikki sigh through his nose, a noise that sounded rather disappointed, at least to Kazu's ears.
"Someone grabbed you," Ikki said softly, a statement more than a question. He easily put his fingers onto the bruises, and it was all too simple to see that someone with larger hands had gripped him there. Then he ever so gently cupped the side of Kazu's face to get a better look at his eye. His dark eyes captured Kazu's light ones for a brief moment and he seized the opportunity. "Where were you last night?"
Kazu swallowed with difficulty.
"At the fence."
That said, Ikki's brows shot up to his hairline.
"Again?" the boy nearly growled. "You and that fucking fence… Why there?"
Great, Kazu gritted his teeth. This is exactly what he didn't want. Ikki was acting like an overprotective parent and it wasn't very becoming.
"I didn't want you to see."
"But I see you now," Ikki countered. "And I don't like you hiding shit like this from me. So last night, fence... Ok. What about before that?"
Of course Ikki would want to know… But how could Kazu explain himself? The fence and I got into a tiff and I lost?
The more time went by, the worse Kazu felt. After all, Ikki was right. Ikki was always right. All he was doing was feeling sorry for himself and spending all his time at the fence wasn't helping. But as much as the fence helped him, giving him a place to think and all, it didn't do anything for Ikki, and that was more upsetting.
"Sorry, man. I didn't mean to piss you off."
"I'm not-" the crow started and then stopped when he realized he should lower his voice. "I'm not pissed off. I just -- !? Man, we're supposed to be best friends."
"We are, but... Dude come on. Look at me - this is embarrassing for me."
"Okay, just… okay." The crow let his shoulder droop a little. Embarrassing, yeah, ok, he could understand that much. "Why are you wearing my clothes, anyway?"
"My clothes are downstairs. Forgot to grab them," Kazu hummed, pulling out something white and battered with a small grin. "'Cept for my hat. Didn't wanna go back down and…"
"Ringo," Ikki nodded, expression still dark and angry, hands still clutching at Kazu's elbows. Briefly he had to admit that Kazu looked good in his clothes, or maybe it was just baggy clothes in general. Quickly the crow shook his head – why on earth would he even bother with such thoughts? – and, in spite of himself, let himself laugh, and he let his hands finally drop to his side.
"Long as you're in one piece, dude."
Kazu forced himself to smile, knowing full well that this was far from over. Ikki wasn't happy, no. But this is what Ikki did when he doesn't know how to show certain relief. He laughs. Kazu laughed with him and when their awkward laughter died down, a grumbling sound was left slicing the silence.
Ikki gave him a look, and Kazu place his hands over his stomach to cease the growling but to no avail. During all the commotion from the race to now, he had forgotten to eat, and was simply famished. He looked to Ikki apologetically, already comfortable with meeting the crow's gaze because when Ikki looked back at him, he wasn't even aware of the disfiguring black eye, just his eyes.
Just him.
"I'll be right back," the crow promised as he left the room, leaving Kazu in the dark to fall back onto the bed with a gigantic sigh. He let his eyes drift shut – ok so it wasn't as hard and ego-crushing as he had originally thought it was, but it was still difficult to let Ikki see him like that. His reaction wasn't like he expected, though he wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting.
In the dark, eyes closed, body aching and screaming for rest, it didn't take long for him to start drifting off to sleep. He was almost there when Ikki's voice broke through to him.
"I'm turning on the light, ok?"
"Hmm? I'd rather you didn't…"
But Ikki flipped it anyway, with his elbow, as his hands were full. Kazu blinked; had Ikki brought him food? The aroma of ramen made his stomach growl loudly and the jet shrunk back a little. He didn't have to do that for him…
"Careful, it's hot," Ikki warned, handing him the bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Kazu didn't like feeling so helpless… but he was hungry! And it wasn't really being 'helpless' if you didn't ask for the help in the first place, right? He gratefully thanked him for the meal and started slurping noodles. "I'll make more if that's not enough."
As he swallowed burning hot broth, Kazu licked his lips and tried his best to offer Ikki a genuine smile. The crow really was concerned for him, and it was strange how much it was showing. As he continued eating, he hardly even noticed Ikki crawl onto the bed and sit behind him. He choked a little on his noodles but managed to forced them down.
"Ikki?"
"Shut up and eat," the crow mono-toned. "I'm patching you up. Don't think we're done, either."
Kazu forced the next mouthful down his throat. He figured as much. Ikki never let things like this go just like that. Flattering, though, to know that someone like the crow was thinking about you – made you feel... special.
Stupid, Kazu thought to himself. Stupid to be thinking that way. He's my friend, of course he would think about me.
Kazu blushed.
Think about me.
Then he sneezed.
"Cover your mouth."
"Sorry."
The bed where he was sitting sunk a little and it took a second to gather that Ikki's knees where on either side of him. Ikki was just behind him.
This was certainly awkward. Kazu sat slouched on Ikki's bed, eyes glued to the floor and empty bowl set aside. Everything that Ikki had being doing for him so far felt, for lack of better words, unreal, and it was taking a while to let everything soak in. He had plenty of time to think about it though, while Ikki tried to fix him up. He sat there with his hands folded in front of him, Ikki's body heat close at his back. He was quite capable of taking care of himself, Kazu figured, but Ikki was obviously insisting, and Kazu didn't dare try to make him do otherwise.
The crow slid Kazu's dirtied hat off his head, pushing the blonde locks aside to look for damage on his head. Every second that ticked by that he looked over his friend's battered body, the more furious he became. Kazu should have called on him! Should have let him help! Ikki gritted his teeth momentarily and then refocused on what he was doing. The way he was digging through Kazu's hair almost made the blonde fall asleep, it felt so good.
When he saw no damage underneath all that thick hair, he asked, just to make sure.
"Did you hit your head anywhere?"
Kazu hummed as he thought back, trying to replay the fight in his head. There was one point when he fell backwards and hit the back of his head against the concrete. That was about it.
"Yeah," he said quietly, pointing to the base of his skull and lowering his head to give Ikki a better view. He had a hard time finding his voice tonight. It was too hard to sound like he wasn't humiliated.
Ikki parted Kazu's hair in the back until he caught site of the small gash, grimacing at how hard he must have hit to leave such a mark. He turned to gather some bandages and starting wrapping it around the blonde's head. When he was done, he made Kazu outstretch his arms.
"Those bruises will go away on their own but I want to take care of those cuts," Ikki mentioned, smearing what felt like some soothing aloe on the red mounds that streaked across his arms before wrapping them, too.
"Ikki," Kazu barked suddenly. "I don't want to be a mummy by the time you're done."
He turned slightly, looked up to Ikki's face, taken aback by the crow's lack of response. His eyes looked dull, zombie-like, like he wasn't paying attention or just didn't have it in him to retaliate. After a moment, his features darkened and he spat in a low voice.
"Shut up."
Eye immediately drawn back to the floor, Kazu zipped the lip and let Ikki finish the job on his arms. Ikki's hands were warm and surprisingly soft.
"Where else?"
"Uhm," Kazu uttered, practically afraid to speak now. He'd never heard his friend speak in such a tone before and quite frankly, it was terrifying. "My… my back."
Without another word, Ikki scooted closer behind Kazu, his breath nearly on Kazu's ear. The blonde stiffened in surprise when Ikki lightly placed his fingers atop his shoulder blades and glided them down to his vertebrae, ghosting them over the marks that had been carved into him. Nothing too deep. Nothing that wouldn't go away on its own with time, but still hard to look at. Ikki wanted to wrap them up anyway, regardless of Kazu accusing him of being too wrap-happy.
Because he didn't want to have to see them.
Thankfully, this time when he pulled out the bandages, Kazu raised his arms to make it easier, and kept his mouth shut obediently. His head hung low the entire time, too tired to fight back, too ashamed to defy his team leader.
Ikki was surprisingly good at this. He seemed to know what he was doing as he slowly circled the roll around his torso, arms grazing his sides now and again, head hovering just over the crook of Kazu's neck. When he was done, the bandages weren't too loose or too tight. Even when he took a deep breath, he didn't feel constricted.
"Any more?"
Off the top of his head, Kazu could mention a few other areas that were sore and scraped, but nothing serious and nothing that he wanted Ikki to be worried about. Certainly he didn't want anymore wrappings than he already had. But when Ikki squeezed his shoulder lightly, he couldn't stop himself.
"…My leg. The right one."
Ikki scuffled a little behind him and crawled off the bed, kneeling down in front of Kazu and taking a hold of his right leg by the ankle.
"Where exactly?" He asked.
Kazu blushed and clashed his knees together. He was in shorts, really baggy shorts. Baggy enough that if you really wanted to look, you could just... and sure they were both boys but… The jet blushed even harder. Luckily Ikki wasn't looking there, or at his face. He was too focused on his leg and looked positively pissed.
"U-uh…" the blonde mumbled, trying to mentally pinpoint the source of pain on his leg. He could feel his cheeks burn hot when he answered.
"Thigh."
He had to bite down and choke back a gasp when Ikki's hand rested gently on his knee and slowly started to slide upwards, further, further… His whole body tensed uncomfortably, teeth gnawing a little too hard on his chipped lip and causing it to bleed. Why did this feel so…
He didn't know how to describe it. Ikki didn't seem to think any of it was wrong or right or anything in between. It was innocent and platonic, and he was stupid for even thinking it was anything but! They were both straight after all. They'd seen each other's naked bodies, in gym showers and in bathrooms, but this was something different. Ikki's hand was crawling up his leg, inching up and under the shorts he was wearing. Kazu coughed suddenly, amazed that his brain was able to gather such thoughts. Perhaps the blow to his head was harder than he had assumed.
Once Ikki's hand reached a certain point on his thigh - which was... really high! - Kazu gasped painfully and jerked away, hissing through his teeth and feeling ashamed because of it. He gazed worriedly at Ikki, afraid of what he would think, what he would say, but the crow never looked back at him. He frowned deeply.
"So, right here?" he asked softly, pulling Kazu back and poking the same spot as before. This time Kazu was able to prevent himself from making any audible signs of pain.
"Yeah."
Ikki probed at it a little more. He wasn't a doctor, but as he pulled the fabric of the shorts back, he could see there was a gigantic, blue-black bruise there, the skin raised a little, and about the size of his hand. Annoyed, Ikki cursed. There was nothing he could do for that.
"How much does that bother you?"
And damn it all, Kazu, for some reason tonight, didn't have it in him to lie to Ikki. Not tonight, when the crow was wearing a face like that.
"A little."
"Anything else?"
Kazu shook his head, no.
He waited for Ikki to say something, anything to break that terrible silence that was threatening to eat him alive, but instead, the crow stood and made his way back onto the bed and reclaimed his spot behind him.
"Someone… Who did this?" Ikki growled, but Kazu didn't answer, just stared at the ground. Ikki didn't pry at him for it. He put his hands on either of Kazu's shoulders. Then the blonde felt Ikki rest his head against his back.
The jet was confused by this behavior, wasn't expecting it. Didn't know how to react to it. He inhaled deeply and then let it go, allowing Ikki his peace while he rested against him, and didn't even dare himself to question it.
"I can't believe you," he murmured against the skin Kazu's back. "I can't fuckin' believe you."
When Ikki finally pulled away, he swiftly crawled off the bed – as if he just couldn't make up his mind where to stay – and stopped at the door, hand resting on the handle. He bowed his head but slid his eyes over to the blonde.
"Like I said, those bruises will go away. So will the cuts if you leave them alone. As for your leg, just try to stay off of it for a little while. Try to take it easy."
Voice still feeling raw, Kazu could only nod. He was just about to summon up the wits to say something but Ikki had already left the room, shutting the door behind him. Seconds later, Kazu let out an agonized growl between his teeth, pounding a tender fist down onto his knee. He rested his head in his hands, fingers digging into his hair and threatening to disturb his fresh bandages, and tried to will the pain and stress away, with little avail. Not many things soothed him anymore. Not that stupid fence, not running – hell, right now, he didn't know if he could. At least, not as fast as he would like – and not his friends. All his mind could think about was what a wreck he must have looked like in front of a person like Ikki, and the race that he so derisorily lost, and most of his ego with it. Being in a state of such weakness was like a knife to his heart, leaving a mark so big, it would take more than Ikki's bandages to heal it.
The world was crumbling around him and he was falling with it. To add on to things, he was starting to pull Ikki into a place he didn't deserve to be. He knew Ikki was angry, he knew Ikki was upset, and he didn't know how he was going to forgive himself knowing that he was the cause of it. He had set out to prove himself and ended up disappointing the very person he sought out to impress. Kazu shook his head while still in his hands. Oh what a mess. So damn irritating!
Maybe he really was just a worthless asset.
Something bubbled in his chest and he reached out and yanked a pillow to his chest. Taking a deep breath he pressed his face deep into the feathery piece of fabric and pushed out a muffled scream.
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Ikki leaned against the door for a while after he shut it. There weren't enough words in existence to explain what he was feeling. Or he just didn't know what he was feeling. Relief? Well, yeah. Rage? Guilt? Probably. Was there something else..?
The crow shook his head violently to clear his thoughts. How could Kazu go out and do something so stupid without him? Alright, he didn't know for sure what Kazu had done, just that it had landed him in a state that obviously mortified him. Ikki knew it was hard for the blonde to endure the check up he was just given, but somehow he must have felt how important it was to him. But Ikki just couldn't let go of how uncomfortable he was feeling seeing his friend like that, and not knowing how or why, and then feeling angry with himself for not being there to prevent any of it.
When he lifted his head he was almost startled when he saw someone standing there. Waiting out in the hall stood little Akito, arms resting at his sides and brows creased with concern. "Ikki-kun," he whined, and Ikki forced himself to look directly at him.
"Yeah?"
Akito fidgeted for a moment before finally saying in a small voice. "Maybe, you should… I mean, shouldn't Kazu-kun go to a hospital? Or at least the doc-"
"I'm taking care of it just fine," Ikki cut in dangerously, feeling unnecessarily offended. All Kazu needed was some rest and then he would be fine. He turned his back before he said something he would later regret, and padded down the stairs, leaving Akito alone in the hall with a quivering lower lip, and Kazu mutely cursing himself in his room.