A/N: Aha, long awaited, yes? So very, very sorry for the endless wait, guys. You have no idea how sorry I am, but I've been thinking about this fic almost like, every other day so it's not that I've forgotten or lost intrest. This block has been SERIOUSLY kicking my ass for a little over a year now, and I'm a little fed up.
Not much has changed as far as me thinking my writing is crap. This chapter may suffer a little more than others due to the long wait and the huge gap in writing. I'm taking two writing classes at school (Finally I'm back) and so it's been taking up some of my time and forcing me to squeeze what little creativity I have left out of the toothpaste bottle, and we all know how hard that can be sometimes.
Anyway, no real excuse other than a block really. I posted a new one shot that pretty much says what I'm about to say next, and that's that I have SUCH a massive appreciation for ALL of the readers/reviewers that have stuck around this long!!! I have so much respect for every last one of you that are still reading this thing, or even still reading my stuff in general. Your loyalty and support have done wonders and keep me coming back. The Air Gear fandom is still the friendliest and most supportive I've ever come across and I'm just so so sorry for taking so long!
So thank you! Thank you so much from the bottom of my little writer heart!
What else is there... Ah, just the usual speech about how I hate how this chapter turns out, mostly because I'm more or less forcing myself to update even though my writing hasn't pulled out of its slump still, yet, WILL IT EVER?
I don't know if its ffnet or my computer that's making my keyboard act all weird and skipping letters even though I type them... I hope its ffnet. (whine)
Mm what else is there? I really missed everyone. AND! I had trouble with the title thanks. Kitten helped me decide in the end, hur hur, but the title is Incentive (coz you can't read, right?) as in like... 'reason' or 'motvation' or.. GET IT DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE? CUZ IKKI HAS REASON NOW TO... oh nvm. You guys are anything but stupid.
Warning: possible errors and typos and shit, mostly coz once again I'm fixing this all up and editing and post while I'm dead tired and the screen keeps blurring every five minutes XD ahah! Uhmmm, a bit of torture here but nothing really graphic.
Disclaimer: Not mine. They belong to Oh!Great, tho tbh I'm starting to question what that man is thinking. But IkkiKazu still FTW!
I hate it I hate it I hate it (stress stress)
The biggest and bestest of my thank yous this time, readers/reviewers. Before I go into replies I just want you to know that I recognize every last one of you when you review, be you new or old, long time reader or new to the fandom. If you're still hanging around after so long you have my gratitude.
Thank you so much! You may not remember what you've written in your reviews but!!
Slifer: Action sometimes gives me a world of trouble, although I like having it there coz I have trouble reading a long story if there is NO action at ALL. Thanks for the well wishes. Things are not perfect but they are much, much better than they were. Thank you for your support.
SutekiKage: Mahhh, I know they need to be together. I WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN! Thank you for taking the time to review, really.
DL: I'm so terribly sorry! It seems like I keep making you wait longer and longer for updates. Where and when is Komuricon? I've never heard of that one. (Interested)
Kerrilea: Thank you so much! The reuniting is coming! Eventually... Until then, let us watch the build up to that point, shall we? Thanks for reviewing, hun.
Nobodies Have Hearts: I bet Ikki is thinking the same thing, aha! I can't say I really enjoy writing Sano, at least not recently, but I like him as a character. He adds fun drama to things. I hope you're still around, hun. Thank you.
KidAngel: God I haven't talked to you in forever. I'm so sorry! Forgiveness please!?? Thanks so so much for the get well wishes, they really do mean something to me. You've always been very kind to me, and I hope this chapter still fits your fancy, even after that long gap.
Cataclysmic Disaster: I always have to take my time typing your name XD. That WAS a pretty weird coincidence, tho not unheard of! What would be REALLY weird is if it happened again this round. I'll try my best to fit in awkward sexual moments when and where I can in the future. Thank you for all of your support!
geebabbie: Aww thank you so much hun! The excitement has prolly died down for you by now but here's hoping that you're still around for this one.
Flawless Beauti: Gosh, thanks so much for the get better hugs. Your reviews are so sweet and nice, and thank you for the compliments, darling. Thank you thank you thank you for reviewing and for reading.
lexicalsanctuary: Jet fuel! How fitting. Glad it made you so happy and hyper (tho thats certainly helped along with your jet fuel) Point is you took the time to review and for that I'm so thankful!
Sladinji: Sorry, cliffhangers and me trying to stay on fairly good terms. I can't say the inspiration has been very... inspiring. But reviewers like you give me plenty reason to try regardless. Thank you for reviewing hun.
ArrowAeroAir: You are always hanging around my stuff and saying such wonderful things! I'm sorry I've been lacking in reviewing peoples things, including yours, but don't think I'm ignoring you. As always thank you for your awesome comments and for your constant support. I'm so glad I could give you something so enjoyable.
PheonixShadow: Good lord are you sweet or what? Your compliments are so nice and very appreciated. Sometimes fanfic tactics are nice to resort to when things get tight, but even while doing that you found nice things to say about it and for that I thank you very much! I had a great time at Otakon btw, thanks!
Swendaii: Don't worry, I sometimes still have a hard time believing people who don't know Air Gear come and read this shit story. God, thank you so much for your long and thoughtful review. You desect certain things and really tell me the tactics and methods of a chapter that you like and its so nice to read. So thank you!
Gotyu: Now you are someone I know for a fact to be hanging around here somewhere. You've been so unbelievably loyal to me, my fics, Kitten's art, Air Gear and all the way to things like Moukemono. I can't thank you enough for the support you've been giving me/us.
slyswn28: Thank you so very, very much! It feels good to be back, even though its a second or third return for me.
SpitFirre: Wow! Thanks! Yes, my beloved Kitten-chan is one hell of an artist, isn't she!? I'm so pround... I'm glad she brought you around, you're such a wonderful reviewer! So many sweet things to say and I can only say thank you so much! Really, thank you! To be able to touch emotions like you say, its SUCH a compliment.
BlackFlameRose: lol I'm sorry, the lack of confidence has always come with the territory of me. But at least I still post things, yeah? You're another one thats been around for a while and you too, I appreciate every review you bother to send. Thanks so very much hun.
Seiji-kun Chiaki-kun Eiji-kun: Hah I'm getting better at typing that name. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but thank you for coming back to me anywayyyy (opens arms) It's so sweet you read the notes too. Thank you darling, for reviewing and reading. Means so much to me.
TheaBlackthorn: hah! My apologies. I don't think this chapters end is as bad tho. I had a fantastic time at Otakon, thank you!
Forgetfull: So many nice things to say! Thanks, as always, for the comments and for your time. Otakon was amazing! I go every year (or I try to anyway) so maybe if money is working for you next year we can meet up! That would be so awesome!
blackkatt13: There are more chapters NOW, love, aha! Thanks so hard for the compliments. I'm so so glad that you're that into the story, it makes an author feel really good about what she does. Thank's so much for your energy and support!
dogcollar600: Oh thanks hon! Sorry about not updating sooner, thought, but yessss, thank you for reviewing!
Ikichi: Ikichi, Ikichi... Still so fun to say. I find myself saying your name outloud whenever I get to it. I have pics of the YamaGoku cosplay if you're interested, lol, and Kitten-chan has a few posted on her DA in comic form. So much fun. A Basil cosplay would be so awesome and cute you should totally do it! Oh and! ahah thanks for the review!
Sleeping Willow: So happy I could make you enjoy it so much darling! Worth the wait you say! Well I sure do hope so this round!
mirielle: I know its horrible to worry I'll lose people with my long waits for updating, but the way readers are always supporting me and this story regardless just blows me away every time! Your kind words and support are so needed and much appreciated, so thank you so very much.
Sorcerer of Darkness: It wasn't a fast update and I'm sorry! (sob) Oh gosh you're welcome I suppose! I didn't know I could do something like that for anyone, it makes me feel so awesome inside! It's a shame about that improving comment though, lol, I doubt not writing well for so long will make this chapter too great, but your support and encouragement will make me try!
Koi Musouka: LOL I accept all forms of review, spam or short or long, normal or spaztastic!! I don't find gushing to be annoying or anything, I find it absolutely flattering. Your review was so very kind and thought out and I thank you! I hope you keep reading.
Peachi Bunni: I DON'T KNOW WHY DID I DO THAT!? (disstress) lol good good you're supposed to hate the bad guys ahah! You seem so eager and I'm so glad, and also sorry for the wait of course. Thank you for reviewing hun!
shoxxic: Oh shoxxie darling I've been MISSING you! You are so amazingly sweet to jump around the lame ONE SIGNED REVIEW PER CHAPTER PLZKTNX just to continue reviewing for me. And what you have to say is always so nice and fun to read! I get to see more of shoxxic in the future, yes? Thanks SO much for the support you've been giving.
Nightshade47: Yay I'm back AGAIN! I always come back, block or no. Anyway your comments are something I'm very appreciative of. Not just the ones on FaS either, I mean. Thanks so much, really!
xYellowCrayon-Chan: I just want to say that I think you're very sweet to be willing to actually take the time to not only leave a wonderful, nice review, but to come back and leave a second one to add in an afterthought. You are too kind hun, thank you so very much!
Highwalker13: muhhhh, cliffhangers make people want to come back tho (whimper) Sorry for the long wait, really I am. Thanks for reading.
Cold-Lover: Oh thank you! That means so much to me! I love seeing new people wander into the fandom, the IkkiKazu ship is a wonderful one, with some of the nicest people you'll find! Thank you thank you, really, for your kind words.
Crisstaei: I love me good cliffhangers. IkkiKazu is such a sweet, imo canon pairing and there just is never enough of it. Thank you for the support, your shipping of the pairing is part of what keeps things like this alive.
Masi: long blubby reviews are long and blubby. Thank you for all the time and effort you take to put into your reviews, and for even reading in the first place when I myself have gotten so lazy and stiff and UNWRITABLY INSANE!!1! Thank you for all the mentions and dedications and patience, thank you so much.
LadyKatt: Aw thank you hun! I can't believe people read this whole thing, lol. It's so hard for me to fathom. Don't worry I have every intention of finishing this story to the very end. (heroic pose) Thank you!
Sandy11-1990: BahhHHHH I'm sorry for taking so long! Poor Kazu indeed, and poor readers for being left off on such a horrible note. I know its been forever but the update is here! Are you?
beanstalk1019: You re-read? I don't have the patience to read though most of my stuff that I write so HAH thats a really nice compliment. Side characters are in this story simply cuz they have to be, but lately I've been finding myself shrugging at the 'what about them's cuz really, this is a fic about Ikki and Kazu and the rest is going to be left up to the reader's imagination. Thanks for the awesome review!
Endy-love: Endy we need to chat again soon. I feel so much better after our last chat and I crave another. I think a phone call is in order soonish? I know you're around somewhere!
Kitten: Are you happy I updated? Are you caught up yet? Hmmm...? I don't want you to go back to Ireland (sob)
Once again, thank you to every last person who reads this story and for those who keep coming back. Thank you so much!
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Air Gear
a fiction by Crimson Vixen
Incentive
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If Ringo or Emiri had felt compelled to chase after him, he didn't know; Ikki didn't risk craning his neck to look behind him. His own frayed breath was like the thunderous fuel that kept him going, and he ran and burst through the front door – which was a bit easier to throw open than he would have liked – of the house that now felt like an abandoned piece of history. The door whined quickly and painfully for the split second it was swinging on the hinges before slamming disastrously into the wall.
He barreled through the house, heart tearing and careening in ten thousand different directions with every upturned piece of furniture he saw, and with every bit of evidence that showed there was indeed someone that had been in his house – that there had definitely been a fight of some sort. This did nothing to calm his nerves; not when no one was responding to him when he called out. Two, three times, and no one calling him back.
No one in the house that Kazu was supposed to be in.
The crow was, however, struck hard with fear and somehow, relief (which as he found, was a rather unsettling thing to have mingling in his stomach), when he came stumbling into his bedroom and set eyes on a bulge slumped up against the far wall.
The first thing he focused on were the arms and legs, thinking, maybe, but the limbs were too long and too rounded to be Kazu's. A pair of glasses, cracked and bent, lay to the side and an oversized shirt clung to the body. The hair was a chocolate brown and Ikki knew who it was. He also knew then that something, someone, had been able to put the Iron Clock out of commission.
…To see the keeper of time sprawled and trodden and unconscious on his bedroom floor like that sent chills through his already cold body. His eyes jumped all over the place for anyone else that might have been around, or a clue – something. Torn sheets, broken glass, overturned furniture, blood splotches on the wall and over the carpet, everything… everything but Kazu, Kazu, fucking Kazu!
"Hey!" Ikki blurted, breaking himself out of his mental search before he lost it, and throwing himself at Sano's still unmoving body, nearly collapsing on top of him. The crow fisted his hands in to the battered fabric of the Time Keeper's shirt and gave him an uncertain shake. There's no way the guy could be dead, right?
Telling Sano to wake up, shaking him kindly to throttling the man around like a thing, it was all doing nothing. Sano's eyes remained heavily closed, his sleeping face neutral.
"Damn!" Ikki spat, keeping his hold on the older man but loosening his fingers a fraction. His legs were too shaken to move. Sano was hurt but alive – he could see his chest rising and falling after he'd taken the time to actually look. But Kazu was missing completely. And it was one thing for Ikki to feel threatened by something or someone, but to have someone just… gone and having no idea where he was... was something he wasn't growing any feelings for anytime soon. To make it even worse, the last thing he'd told the idiot was that he didn't want to see his face.
Well no, no, wait. Just wait a minute. Ikki allowed himself to breathe. Maybe Kazu wasn't actually missing. Maybe he never came to the house at all, and the attack on Sano was… just on Sano. Maybe Kazu wasn't even around when it happened.
For some reason, Ikki's throat started to burn.
He gave the room another look. A mess – an absolute disaster, and it couldn't have happened too long ago. He was gone less than an hour and no one else seemed to have beaten him to the scene. And what a scene; Ikki could hardly recognize the room as his own. Everything that had once been on a flat surface was now turned to its side. The floor was littered in everything imaginable, crunchy and crackly under anyone's step. A war zone.
But what churned Ikki's stomach the most, and he was doing his best to avoid looking at it but was failing horribly, were those ever-present blotches of blood sprayed across the wall. Just a little bit, nothing like people like him would see in a horror film. More like the splatter of a properly struck jaw. Either way, Ikki could hardly peel his eyes away.
It was all just so real. Right there in front of his face and staring at him. He was better than this though; so much better. Things like this weren't supposed to be intimidating to him. But Sano is dead weight in his arms and the place is a mess and he doesn't know what to do or who to call or where to look…
Giving the Iron Clock another shake and getting little response, Ikki's eyes gravitated back to what used to be his room. And while he'd thought he'd gotten a decent look of it all before, something different captured his eye this round.
Kazu's hat was always too easy to recognize – too stark in a room so cluttered, and too quick to register in Ikki's brain as something familiar.
Regretful to leave Sano's side but eager and fraught in his new discovery, Ikki scrambled to the knit cap abandoned on the other side of the room but in still in plain sight, as if he was meant to spot it. As he approached the said hat, he saw the cream colored paper torn and pinned to it, decorated with almost delicate writing. Dedicated to him.
He read it slowly at first, incising everything in his head; every word, every punctuation mark, even the way the thick ink soaked into the paper.
'We'll be waiting.'
Once he'd had his fill of the sickening read, his eyes flicked from Sano to the note, then to Sano again more times than he could count. The tiny piece of paper crumpled easily in his hand when he clenched it into a fist. His eyes could have blazed red for a moment – there was no way he would be able to see for himself but he at the very least felt the heat rise up to his ears – and Ikki bared his fangs.
"Wake up, pervert!"
His knees cracked painfully when he dropped to the floor and tightly gripped at Sano's boney shoulders. Ikki growled; this whole… not responding to him thing was really starting to aggravate him. No clue, no riddle, just a stupid note telling him to they were waiting, and considering Sano was obviously here when they were, the only logical explination he could think of was to wake the pervert up. The older rider was more than likely the key to finding Kazu's whereabouts, if anything, and it was a horrible and annoying place to start since the man would! Not! Open his fucking eyes!
"God!" Ikki threw blindly, well aware that his vocabulary was starting to escape him. His digits were still curled, now too stiff to actually uncurl, lost and suffocating inside Sano's shirt.
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Emiri got a nice fistful of the back of Ringo's jacket before the girl got the chance to get too far, and she yanked back with an impressive amount of strength. Ringo's knees buckled underneath her and she wobbled as she turned to face Emiri, who was ready with an equally intense stare back. Ringo had, after all, gotten to be rather predictable.
"Don't," Emiri warned.
Ringo's mouth dropped open to speak but she was quick to shut it; Emiri was right. There was something serious and alarming about the expression Ikki had been wearing when he left; something urgent and annoyingly incomprehensible and she found herself just longing to understand and be a part of his world because god, it just felt like there was so much she was missing. But perhaps what was most frustrating was that somewhere inside, she knew she wasn't going to be able to.
Whatever it was that she had been hoping to be with Ikki, it was fading.
But, she realized as Emiri's fist tightened around her jacket to make sure she didn't lose her, perhaps she was blinded… She had been so busy chasing after him that she almost didn't see how far away he really was, lost in something she wasn't even remotely close to. It didn't involve her. Ikki's problems weren't about her. His eyes were never on her.
Something made her lip tremble. She's seen it herself, hadn't she? The way he looked at him. At Kazu, Kazu, it was always Kazu these days. It was Kazu, Ikki and Kazu, him and him, they, them, together. Whenever she thought of Kazu she couldn't stop her mind from rushing to flashes of the blonde pressed into the cushions of the couch, only because Ikki was leaning over him.
What was the most she'd ever gotten? A peck on the cheek…
As the frustration started to nibble at her stomach, Emiri moved her hands from Ringo's jacket to each shoulder, making sure they were facing each other because she could see Ringo receding into her thoughts. And when Ringo turned her head to the side, Emiri gripped her face, lowering her brows, aggravated.
"Stop sulking," the track runner ordered. She hated seeing her friend this way but at the same time, she'd lost someone too, so it wasn't like she didn't understand. But they couldn't spend the rest of their lives falling into depression over losing something they wanted but never actually had their hands on in the first place.
Ringo's eyes narrowed and her lip curled awkwardly, visibly offended. She angled her neck to look off into the distance, in the direction that Ikki had fled, squinting her eyes angrily as if she could still see him if she did it hard enough. Emiri wasn't letting up her hold on her shoulder, clutching a little harder even, to prove that she was intent on standing her ground.
Admittedly, Ringo's stubbornness was starting to take a toll on Emiri's patience. Ikki didn't really seem like the type of guy you pulled into a kiss and suddenly he was wooed into thinking he's made a mistake and he's with the wrong person because they didn't kiss like that, and while she wasn't expecting Ringo to toss what feelings she had for Ikki out the window, she knew that wanting Ikki to fall for her… wasn't going to make him fall for her.
Ringo wasn't paying her the attention she was asking for and so Emiri puffed out her cheeks and turned them red. She gave Ringo a quick nudge, forcing the girl's head to finally face her, angry brows knitted down and nose crinkled. Her lips opened to protest but Emiri was done listening to it.
She went on a whim, on instinct, on pure, idle, up to now unknown curiosity. Bold. Brave. Quick. They were the things that Kazu had taught her. They were the things that made her fall forward and steal a quick kiss.
Ringo might not be one of those people either; the ones that were swayed by things like a kiss. But it got her attention, anyway.
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He scoffed.
Hours had past since he'd switched rooms and his bones were still aching. Ikki had known he was smaller than the Iron Clock and the guy was pretty thin, all things considered, but that apparently didn't make him any lighter.
Ikki was fairly certain Sano's head had bumped off a few walls on the way over too, or that his legs had gotten caught turning corners while dragging the older rider down the hallway and towards one of the girls' bedrooms. His room was in shambles and hurt just to look at, let alone to clean, and the other room didn't seem that far away. Not until he actually started to strain himself lifting the taller boy to get there.
But for as ungraceful as his efforts were, he'd reached the bed, not made but definitely not in pieces like his own. Annoyingly, and worrisomely, Sano had not stirred during the entire trip.
With a groan, Ikki managed to heave Sano onto the bed, rolling him towards the middle and looking left and right before hoisting the covers up to the time keeper's chest. Ducking his head close to Sano's he stared intently, trying to observe for any sign of life other than the steady small gusts of air that shot from his nostrils to show he was breathing. The twitch of a lash, maybe, or a flinch of the nose. When he got nothing Ikki brought his hand into play and flicked at the brunette's innocent temple, getting a very little sense of accomplishment when it resulted in a furrowed brow and nothing else.
At least he now knew that the guy wasn't totally out of it.
Ikki pulled up a chair and propped it up next to the bed. As he sat he continued to stare, starting to feel the weight of stress and lament ambush him now that Sano was moved and the silence had a chance to show its ugly face. He wrang his hands; these weren't the kind of feelings he'd ever prepared himself for, or thought he'd have to.
He's the impatient type, really. Kind of having this thing for getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Instant gratification, Kazu had once smirked and told him. Pure, selfish human nature.
Tch. Even missing in action, Kazu was ever present in his thoughts.
His nails found their way to his jeans, fingers curling and grabbing at his legs in agitation, or at least what he assumed was agitation. Why wasn't he waking up?
Ikki brought his hands to Sano's arm and poked rather harshly, watching the body in the bed jiggle and budge but still show no sign of actually waking up because of it. He tried again, hits instead, then again but harder. There was really no time for this, Ikki inwardly fumed. His best friend was out there somewhere with people he knew nothing about, save for the stuff Kazu had tried to tell him only hours before, and while his attention span was retardedly stiff at the time, he'd heard enough to know that Sano needed to wake up soon so he could find the idiot and apologize.
Or find him anyway.
For a moment Ikki fell into thoughts he didn't want to mingle with. He didn't even know what these guys looked like or exactly what they wanted from him, or why they felt the need to pull a stunt like this. He didn't know what relationship they'd formed with Kazu in the past however long it's been and he didn't understand what part he played in this. He also didn't understand why he'd been so slow with so many things. Slow with Kazu and slow to act on other, more personal things, sooner. He wondered what might be different if he had taken the time to follow Kazu when the jerk ran off or if he'd asked him harder questions. Or if he'd been more abrupt and direct, or at the very least, open an ear when the guy started to talk.
Ikki didn't much like having to learn lessons this way, or any way, because that usually meant that in some way shape or form, he had been wrong. He hated being wrong.
But Kazu was missing. Stolen, from right under his nose. And Ikki didn't just want to get him back, he wanted to get even.
With a renewed sense of purpose and rage, he stood from his chair and thwacked his palm to the side of Sano's face, tired of waiting for the guy to sober up.
"Come on, perv, wake up," he demanded fiercely, baring his teeth as if he could intimidate the man into listening to him. He thought for a mere second he saw a sign of life and used it as an open invitation to give it another go. Ikki slapped repeatedly at Sano's opposite cheek, tapping again and again until he was sure he saw a split second grimace.
Suddenly the world was at a standstill when Sano finally, fucking finally, cracked his lids apart. It wasn't anything graceful or full of hope – his eyes were reddened and bloodshot. He looked like shit (hung over and exhausted would have been a lot more accurate but Ikki shook the thought away), and there was crust in the corners of his dark eyes. Words were lodged in Ikki's throat at first when he attempted to speak. Figured they wouldn't come out when they were most important.
He coughed instead, trying to clear his throat from all the vexation that had been trying to smother his voice all day, and calmly said the time keeper's name. See if he was actually coherent before he said anything else. Sano blinked heavily and sluggishly, but was eventually able to focus his gaze onto Ikki's surprisingly needy face. Ikki knew by the look on Sano's face that he already understood the situation, but it didn't help him form his words any easier. Ikki felt his mouth opening to demand answers but no sound came, and his silence was rudely interrupted by Akito trotting into the room with extra pillows piled up in his tiny arms, and somehow, a glass of water.
He handed Sano the glass or water and helped the older rider to a sitting position while he placed the newly brought pillows behind him for back support. Ikki watched for about a minute, a look of total incredulity streaming off his face before shooting a hand out to grip Akito by the collar of his jacket, turning his little body around to face him.
"What do you think you're doing!?" he inquired briskly. It had been hours, though granted it had already felt like days had gone by, and as far as he'd known, no one else was home. He must have just gotten in and never said a fucking word abou it!
Akito's fingers rested at the bottom of his sheepish lips. What an awkward thing, Ikki thought, to meander on in and see the situation and see it fit to bring Sano pillows and water as if it solved everything. Maybe the runt didn't grasp the gravity of the situation…
It wasn't a slumber party or some shit like that; Ikki had spent the past few hours tapping his foot at the side of the bed, occasionally feeling tired when his thoughts took him over completely and resorting to folding his arms on the edge of the bed and tucking his head away in the curve of his elbow. He didn't dare leave Sano's side at the risk of missing when he woke. And every second that passed was another second that Kazu was gone. One more second that he was possibly in trouble.
Ikki can't recall every last thing that Kazu had attempted to tell him, but words like kill stood out clear as day. And that thought stuck in his head in a way that stifled any clear thoughts he might have had, because it only takes one second to ask for information and one second to give it, but it also takes only one second to take a life, should anyone feel the need to.
The crow felt ill.
"I was just trying to help," Akito explained, looking up at Ikki innocently and honestly. Ikki bit the inside of his cheek; Akito really should have spoken up sooner that he'd come home. To be honest, he was getting a little tired of not knowing things. He set Akito down gently and shooed him off to the side.
"You want to help? Go sort through my room a little bit. And come get me if you see anything weird."
At first Akito pouted, jutting out a lower lip because he'd obviously been set on staying in the same room and 'helping' more. Keep Ikki company and all that. Though while the thought was actually rather appreciated and thoughtful, Ikki wasn't sure he was willing to let those little arms wrap around his waist from the side to 'comfort' him. Thankfully, Akito had reluctantly nodded and dragged his feet out of the room, wanting to be obedient but also trying to show just how disappointed he was that he was being ushered away.
Ikki held his breath and returned his eyes to Sano the very instant Akito was out of the room. His hand, clammy and warm, clutched at the Iron Clock's wrist and tugged. He was never one for much tact and he didn't see any reason to gain it now.
"Look I know you feel like shit but…" he started, trailing off so as he didn't have to actually say it. For some reason things that would normally roll off of his back were bothering him today.
Sano returned the look, not disagreeing that he felt (or looked) like shit, but also sympathetic with Ikki's urgency. But while Ikki had a lot of questions, he realized now that he hadn't considered where to actually start with them. Who were they? What did they want? What happened? Where did he have to go? Why did they do this?
"Why didn't you do anything?" he grumbled darkly. His voice was low and he saw Sano blink at him, swallowing unfounded blame. Ikki didn't fully understand the situation, he knew that much, but he knew there were a couple of AT riders out there who had it out for him, and that they had their hands on one of his team members. He also knew that Sano was here when it happened. "Why didn't you stop them?"
At a time like this, Sano knew that fighting fire with adolescent fire was a dangerous route, but Ikki was letting guilt stab through his judgment and pointing accusing fingers wasn't going to get them anywhere, and it wasn't going to bring the jet back. Still… Still the Iron Clock couldn't help but feel defensive at the mercy of this fuming crow.
And besides, Ikki needed something to cool off that hot head of his.
"I think another question would be," he licked his dry lips. "Where were you?"
Sure enough, there was a very noticeable hesitation on Ikki's part, face dropping and shoulders slumping. He wasn't there; he was the reason Kazu had returned to the house in the first place. Ikki brought a hand to his face and gave a rough rub at his eyes and nose, scrub off what he could of his temper be fore sitting back down on the chair and facing Sano once again. He wasn't going to tell him he was sorry, but Sano knew this was the closest thing he was going to get to one.
Ikki fidgeted. Maybe they started off on the wrong foot.
"What can you tell me?"
There. Much more discreet than before.
Sano brought his hand to his forehead and spread his palm across it. Either his head was pounding from an injury or he was starting to feel the bruise form where Ikki had so carelessly smacked his head against the door frame on the way in. The older rider took a slow breath, thought a little, then let his hands rest at his sides.
"Grab yourself a pen and paper first."
--
--
When Mantis asked him if this was frustrating for him, Kazu didn't say anything but all he could think was yes, yes, oh god yes. Mantis nearly cooed at him, flicking a slender finger out to touch Kazu's cheek and make him flinch. Kazu struggled to keep his eyes from closing again; he'd been drifting in and out of consciousness and in the process, had lost track of just how long he'd been missing. Minutes or days; he just didn't know. All he knew was he was uncomfortable and sore, sporting an impressive headache and drowning in constant reminders of just how much he'd messed up. ..Mantis wasn't helping any.
"And to think this all could have been avoided if you were more careful."
Kazu thinned his lips, biting back the countless things he could have said, wise enough to his predicament to know better and not seeking to complicate it more than he had to. He wasn't completely awake yet, was pretty sure he felt a concussion or at the very least a giant lump across his head, and knew that he was in no position to talk smack. Yes of course it was frustrating – he didn't even know why he couldn't move his arms at all. Or why his feet felt so numb and loose.
If there was a little more light in the room maybe he could get a better grasp of where he was and have a better chance of finding a way out. He tried to blink himself into more awareness – it would definitely be a good place to start.
His thoughts burst abruptly when a fist embedded into his gut. The wind rushed out of his lungs and left him coughing hoarsely, hands instinctively trying to cover his mouth and finding, frustratingly, that he couldn't.
"Runt isn't even paying attention!" someone drawled. Kazu could identify Riffle's voice in his sleep. He can't see the guy, but he didn't have to, nor did he want to. A guy like that could get a real kick out of seeing someone like him struggling just to stay awake, nice and pretty and in their hands, but Kazu wasn't going to give Riffle the satisfaction of knowing he knew.
"Don't worry about that," Mantis assured, sounding only slightly agitated with Riffle's abrupt nature. "He's here, isn't he?"
"And if its any consolation to you, Riffle," Weaver piped in from the other side, and Kazu swallowed thickly. He was a little disoriented from hearing all their voices coming from different directions. Made him feel surrounded. Trapped. "You can do whatever you want with the kid. Just don't kill him."
How benevolent.
There was a moment where Kazu heard nothing, for a split second thought that he'd gone deaf because god figured he wasn't suffering nearly enough already, but then there was the slap of Riffle's hand on Weaver's shoulder, like they were the best of chums now, like he had a sudden change of heart and was saying hey yeah, you're right.
"Now we're talkin'…" he grumbled happily. Kazu felt his mouth turning to sand because he was sure that the footfalls he heard fading into the distance were those of Weaver and Mantis heading out of the room, leaving him alone with the guy who hated him most, who he in turn hated just as much. No doubt Riffle's grin was smug, hands possibly propped triumphantly on his jagged hips. Or at least that was what Kazu was mentally picturing. He wasn't going to actually look at him.
Not that it mattered in the next instant. He heard a rustling and lifted his head on pure instinct, only to feel something press against his lids and tighten at the back of his head. He felt the jab of Riffle's finger prodding at his newly wrapped blindfold, bruisingly so, right between the eyes.
"…You're such a coward," Kazu finally managed to croak, voicing his thoughts before thinking it through. Riffle's hand was quick to capture his chin in a vice grip, startling the blonde's blue eyes wide from behind the cloth. The bullet's unkempt fingernails dug into Kazu's skin and forced a grimace, but the boy refused to make a sound.
"Don't try an' rile me up," he warned bitterly, already pissed by being in the same room with the other speed rider. "It won't end well."
Kazu jerked his head to the side to remove the filthy hand from his face, earning a scratch along his cheek by doing so. He heard Riffle spit off to the side.
"You know, they said not to kill your ass but I don't ever remember hearing the boss say anything about you having to be alive when that guy comes," he pondered aloud, typically and predictably trying to scare him. Kazu refrained from taking the bait and kept his head turned to the side. Riffle's hand shot out, grabbed something that wasn't him and shook it, which in turn caused his body to sway.
Finally Kazu was able to understand he was dangling from the ceiling, arms pinned to his sides in an almost unbearably restraining grip, and his feet were made to feel useless only because they were dangling too. Tips of his shoes hovering just about the ground.
"Nothing to say?" Riffle pressed, pulling on the rope and swinging Kazu a little closer, until their foreheads were practically touching. "You're usually flappin' your trap by now."
Still, Kazu remained quiet, only enraging the other rider by the distinct lack of response. Brows dropped dangerously low, Riffle swung an uppercut to Kazu's unsuspecting jaw, throwing the blonde's head back and causing him to chomp on his tongue with the force. He grimaced and released a ragged breath, blood seeping through his once white teeth and over his quivering lips. But still, no real sound. Nothing.
It was a game he didn't want to play because he and Riffle both were the type that didn't like to back down. The speeding bullet was desperate for some kind of cry, some kind of audible sense of long awaited satisfaction that he was winning, so he snaked his hand into Kazu's golden locks and tugged the blonde's head back to get his attention. If that was how he wanted to play…
"Fine, then."
Kazu knew he was at a major disadvantage but he still had the sense to tighten his stomach before the punch he knew was coming hit. What he didn't expect was for the hits to keep coming – punch, kick, punch, uppercut, kick, left hook, elbow – and eventually his defenses diminished and he felt sick swinging and twirling from that rope, and he could no longer keep the painful sensations to himself.
With one particular hard hook to his side, Kazu spewed a wretched, sickly gasp, coughing. And Riffle stepped back.
"That's more like it…" he breathed, eyes still fuming but slowly starting to dim down now that he'd gotten a reaction. "I don't give a shit about what happens to you, you know. I mean all that matters in the end is that kid coming out of hiding, but..."
Hiding, Kazu inwardly jeered. Ikki wasn't hiding. He had been hiding Ikki. Hiding Ikki because Ikki was too brash and too quick to jump into situations like this.
"And…" Kazu stopped to take in a slow breath. "And if he – "
"Don't try to pull a fast one on me. He'll come. You're like… his little girlfriend or something. Cute," Riffle shrugged bitterly and cleared his throat like the word tasted something awful, not catching the way Kazu's face twitched. "I mean you do kinda…"
Riffle reached out and snapped a finger against the blonde's temple, harder than Mantis' had been, then took a step back to give Kazu a good look over. Drooping head to dangling toe. Kazu couldn't see the stare, but he could feel it, and his shoulders squirmed awkwardly, biting at his lip.
"Don't worry, brat, I ain't like you," Riffle laughed playfully, a hint of disgust mixed in the undertone. He slipped his hand around Kazu's throat to give a good hard, quick squeeze before pushing him back, leaving him to swing to and fro. "I ain't no faggot."