A/N: Annghhh I'm so tired. I'm in the middle of mid-terms but the worst of it is over. I did my very best to get his chapter out quick! I only hope that I can keep that up.
This chapter is sort of a... hm, how to put this lightly... a "get things cleared up and out of the way" chapter. I really hate resorting to basic fanfic tactics sometimes, and by that I mean the old "well Imma just wrap everything up the best I can in one sitting" but hey, it has to be done. And I promise you that the next chapter starts all the fluff and stuff you've been waiting for since the start.
lol wouldn't I be such an ass if I just stopped updating right after this!?!? AHAH I wouldn't do that to you guys, though. I know how that feels. (Oh 'Forget Midgar', when will you ever update DX)
Mah, I can't wait to get my hands on my Tokyo Majin DVD'S tomorrow...
Not much to say this round. You guys are so nice to me about not being so hard on myself that today I am going to spare you the whining. I hope you enjoy, my loves.
Disclaimer: Do not belong to me. I think I die a little more on the inside every disclaimer I have to write.
Warnings: You're basic everyday use of language and yadda yadda. Grammar, yadda yadda. Gay, yadda yadda...
As always, thank you so much to all of my reviewers. You guys really have no idea how welcoming and comfortable you make the Air Gear sections to write for. (Imma try to keep these short-ish this time around. "Try"....)
Sandy11-1990: lol You sound so excited XD Thank you so much for your eagerness and for the review.
Gotyu: I can't believe you've been around for so long! As always I appreciate your compliments with all my heart.
PheonixShadow: Yess, feels good to BE back. So glad I could help rid you of those work worries. I've actually decided to keep the Ringo/Emiri thing on the fence. Leave it open for the readers to decide what they want with them for now. I hope your papers turn/turned out okay!
TheaBlackthorn: Well, messing up everyone's lives is one of the perks of being the writer, lol. Keep reading, love, thank you for the review.
Slifer: Thank you! Don't worry about short reviews, thank you for taking the time! I like to show that there are other characters, rather than just ignoring that they are there and need to be dealt with.
KidAngel: How are you, love? FaS likes waking up to YOU! I hope everything is alright with you (sorry I'm so dead around DA and Ygall) and of course, thank you loads for reviewing.
SutekiKage: LOL I believe most of this story results in 'poor kazu'
Masi: pfft, Masi, bulkin' up my review page XD I'm so sorry I haven't been reviewing lately, I will! Thank you as usual for your spazzing compliments and comments on characterization and the like, and for taking the time. ...We love beating up the boys.
ArrowAeroAir: Aww, thank you hun, thank you so much! lol well my writers block tends to be this thing that comes and goes frequently, but hopefully even with it I can still produce something readers will like.
Seiji-kun Chiaki-kun Eiji-kun: Blocks are the worst aren't they? I'm so glad you feel so dedicated to finishing this story, that means a lot to me since it's been going on for quite some time now.
zioh: Well thank you hun!! I'll be doing my best, okay?
Dubya See: lol I dunno I get told I'm my worst crit sometimes. Or a lot of the time. I don't think writers are supposed to settle and like their work, how else can they get better? So glad you're enjoying, hun!
Nightshade47: Ahh, I try *really* hard not to make angst seem too over the top or overly depressing. I just try to make it as real sounding as I can when the time is right. You are so sweet to say those things, thank you so very, very much!
mirielle: I feel like rushing is a not really a lack of dedication, but an eagerness to update that can really mess with the quality of a story. Tho really, I'm just struggling here and there XD I'm glad we got to PMing each other, you're a very sweet person. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you yet.
Flawless Beauti: LOL your excitement is too much! Writing when you have a block is really hard, but when you have such wonderful reviewers you somehow find it in you to get it out anyway. Hating Riffle is good XD Thank you loads for your words.
Endy: I love it when you find the time to review because I feel really happy when you do. I love how you pick at little things and look at the big picture, makes me feel like you're really paying attention. Thanks so much Endy, for all your support.
Kerrilea: Thank you so much for all of your patience, then, it is very much appreciated. The AG fandom is full of such nice people! No more imagining dear, the next chapter is here! lol that ryhmed...
geebabbie: I really... REALLY wish I could have seen you doing that, lol! YOU dear, made MY *night* better by sharing that with me. XD Thanks so much for all the cheer and comments.
forgetfull: Oh no worries dear I have no intention of leaving FaS to dust. Thank you right back at you for being just as awesome, ok? You've been reviewing FaS for some time now and I want to thank you.
AngeliqueIsDreaming: Baw there is no sucking at reviews, dear, and yours was so wonderful! 3 days for all my crap chapters is pretty good! I'm super excited that this story makes you that happy, and giving REASON is one of my biggest nit picks. I get antsy when people don't give at least a small reason to pair people up.
Sagri: Hi dear, how are you? Don't you fret about me giving up on FaS. Sometimes things take up my time but FaS will see through to the end. For English not being your mother tongue, you sure are AMAZING at it, and amazing at giving great reviews. Your words meant a lot to me, so thank you!
dogcollar600: LOL probably! XD I really like that you have opinions of most of the characters at this point in the story, lol. Thanks muchly for the review, darling.
minoki: Thank you for checking back and for still reading! LOL I remember the first chapters too, they make me shiver at how horrible they were! I'll fix them someday. Thanks for the review and loyalty!
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I hope I got everyone again. I'm really tired (I always am when I do this) so if I misspelled anyones name or accidentally skipped over someone, I'm very sorry.
Reviews have certainly lessened since I took that long gap to update, and I was so worried that a lot of people had given up on this story because of it, or lost interest. I am so, so happy to see that I still have a lot of my readers waiting for me and supporting me even when life slows down production a little.
I love and appreciate every last review that I get, and every reader I have, and I hope you guys can stick with me til the very end!
Thank you!
~C.V.
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Air Gear
a fiction by Crimson Vixen
Significant Insignificance
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Kazu now felt that he could readily admit that he no longer understood the logic of actions movies. He'd had time to think on it, after all; all the scenarios that could play out if Ikki even felt like coming to get his ass, and finding little to no sense in any of them because nothing ever played out like they did in the movies. Free time had given him the legroom to think about these things.
Why was it, anyway, that the hero always dove straight for ropes around the captive before anything else? No, no, Kazu shook his head ever so slightly at this, didn't have the energy to do it much more than he did. You should always go right for the gag first and foremost – not doing this is crucial for avoiding a very common mistake. Because, and Kazu had taken the time to run through it enough times to know, if you save the gag for last, how is the victim ever supposed to warn the protagonist that it's a trap?
But there was something that Kazu did understand and relate to. And that was how the hostage could be so impulsively quick to sacrifice themselves with a 'Forget about me! Do what you have to do!' and risk their own life to save that of the guy that had originally been trying to save them. And while being a hostage makes you feel like a burden, there is always going to be some small part of you can't help wanting to be saved.
But sacrificing yourself in the end was… so understandable. When you cared enough about the hero, it sounded so easy.
This wasn't the movies though. No, it felt way too real and he was way too sore for it to be. What they neglect to tell you in books and films is how hard it actually is to announce you were willing to die for the hero that had taken the time to find you, because that too, had two very irritating flaws – or contradictory truths, if you will.
Kazu figured that he could try to be like those films if it ever boiled down to it – because his mind had been running images and circumstances all day – by telling Ikki to save himself. But if he did that, he was saying he was willing to give up things like touching, feeling, seeing… possibly ever kissing the boy ever again.
Selfish as it was, Kazu did mind.
He wanted to be saved.
He wasn't going to snivel or beg for his life by any means, but he didn't want to die either. Ikki had told him that fearing death only meant you had something to live for. That only cowards were not afraid of it.
Action movies were stupid in so many ways. Of this, Kazu was certain.
He didn't know how much time had passed. He only knew that his joints were getting stiff and his skin was feeling raw, he was hungry and he decidedly hated being blindfolded. Every once and a while he could hear things – sounds, voices, whatever – but he felt too disoriented, and sound bounced off the walls too much for him to ever grasp which direction it came from.
He hated that after all of his attempts at trying to protect Ikki, the idiot was going to burst in all on his own anyway. Talk about wasted efforts.
The door creaked open – and Kazu knew it was opening because he'd learned by now that the annoying whine of metal meant someone was coming or going – and Kazu felt himself stiffen. There was no way for him to know when he would be approached or touched so the blonde figured that being constantly ready for anything was the best he could do for himself.
The sound of feet shuffling on the ground came to an abrupt halt just in front of him, and Kazu blinked behind his blindfold. There was a chance he was already crazy and hearing things; he still had no idea how long he'd been there.
Despite prepping himself for contact Kazu was still startled when someone hit him open-palmed in the chest and pulled away with a fist full of his shirt. Kazu turned his head to the side, mouth twisted into a scowl.
"Why do you keep coming back?" the blonde snarled casually. He received a heavy shake for it. "You're wasting my time."
"There's some big talk," Riffle grumbled crankily, pushing Kazu back and letting him swing for a moment. The bullet crossed his arms and stared the other rider down, feeling more and more disgusted as he did. This little runt sure was causing a big fuss. And he couldn't say he liked the swirling fits of hatred and rivalry he felt from just looking at the kid. He hated that stupid face of his, and that stupid attitude as well… and those horrible legs that made the jet keep up with him in a race.
Why did he keep coming back?
Riffle's eyes fell to the boy's dangling legs, and in his current flash of rage, swept a foot out to give them a good kick. Kazu was obviously not ready for a strike there and sucked in an audible breath. Empowered by the reaction, Riffle gave it another sharp kick, and then another, and another. Once he was satisfied, he gripped the blonde fiercely by the shoulders and squeezed. Kazu kept his scowl in place.
Kazu turned his head and glared, even though his eyes were hidden. Somehow, he was sure Riffle could feel it.
"Must be easy to fight when your opponent's a sitting duck."
"You got that right," the bullet bit, grabbing for Kazu's fingers on his right hand and giving a relentless squeeze before twisting them in a direction they both knew fingers were never meant to go. There was a sickening series of pops that made Kazu feel ill. He knew what broken fingers felt like and sounded like and this wasn't that feeling – they were being dislocated instead. There was no helping the short howl that ripped from his throat, and there was no mistaking the satisfied chuckle that dribbled from Riffle's grinning lips. He released the boy's hand and watched him aggressively nibble at his lower lip. He sneered. "Don't try to push my buttons, brat."
"Tch," Kazu spat quickly. Just like he'd said before, Riffle was just wasting his time. Kazu set his lips into a thin line, trying to show just how final his words were, and that he was through dealing with him for now. Riffle's ears burned; this kid was absolutely infuriating. How could this twerp harass him like this when he was blind and immobile? Harmless.
"Face it," Riffle finally said, turning his back to the blonde to leave. "You ain't got nothin' left. Not your boyfriend, not your life, not your dignity, and lets not forget about that little race we had."
The bullet walked with a sense of pride, feeling fairly content and boastful with his parting words. That is, right up until he actually reached the door; the second his hand wrapped around the knob, Kazu's sudden voice sliced through the thickness of the damp air like a siren, but quiet enough to confuse Riffle as to whether or not he was actually supposed to hear him.
"I would win, you know."
Riffle gave it his all to resist falling into the trap, but his ego was thrashing with it's claws exposed, ready to shred apart any indication that he was second best. Fingers fisted, temper successfully boiled, he turned. Kazu's neck was visibly straining to support the weight of his head. From behind the rag wrapped around his eyes he could see the creases on his forehead from a crumpled brow. His fingers were obviously agitating him.
"What was that, you little faggot?"
Kazu flinched at the word but kept his head raised.
"I would win," he repeated. "If we ever raced again."
Riffle jolted, unable to control his feet from flat out marching to Kazu to give the blonde a good hard punch to the right temple. And it was only after Kazu had gone quiet and he dangled lifelessly with his head fallen to his collarbone that Riffle was able to leave the room uninterrupted. He didn't know if Kazu was actually dead or playing dead, or if he was just smacked into temporary submission, but either way, that just wasn't his problem.
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Shit, shit, shit!
Ikki's lungs were on fire in a way he knew resting wouldn't mend. So he didn't. Ikki ran, flew, as fast as he was able to. Wind like a lion's roar in his ears, his own breathing was steady but difficult, and in his hand he tightly clutched a torn piece of paper that told him everything he needed. He hardly noticed the way the amount of people lessened as he dashed further through the streets. The atmosphere grew heavy and the stench grew stronger.
He caused gusts of wind to storm behind him in his wake, and Ikki couldn't say that he was upset or worried or panicked at the moment. If there was any one way to describe how he was feeling, it was enraged. He had finally confirmed that Kazu was an idiot and so was he. They'd let things play out for far too long and these were the consequences they were dealt with, but damn, if Ikki wasn't going to do whatever he could to beat those consequences into the next life.
After he'd gotten everything he needed, he'd left Sano in bed with a rushed thank you and a promise to 'not get dead'. The Iron Clock was suffering a chronic headache and stiff, aching limbs. Akito had attempted to latch onto him as he left but he'd kindly pried the boy off and shooed him to Sano's bed side and announced, demanded, that he was going to do this alone. And when Akito had expectantly protested, Ikki was gratified when Sano took the smaller rider by the shoulder and held him back, nodding at the crow to confirm that he would explain everything to him. And someone would be home soon enough to tend to both of them, Ikki knew, so he'd wasted no time making a beeline for the door and challenging the wind with his feet.
It already felt like it had been forever ago, but then again maybe that was just because Ikki felt like he wasn't going fast enough. What kind of shit did he and Kazu dive head first into, anyway? Why had Kazu kept it from him for so long? Shamelessly Ikki could admit there was something between him and Kazu now, though it wasn't anything he could put a name to, but he definitely saw it. Definitely felt it. And even though it hadn't gone too far past the awkward stage of experimenting and feeding hormones, there was much more to it. Kazu had been there from the very start, probably would be there to the very end, so Ikki wasn't going to let the idiot flake out of it now just because of something like this.
To be perfectly honest Ikki had a hard time taking them seriously when Sano told him it was in a place as cliché as an old abandoned factory near water that hadn't been touched in years, with rusted metal and smoldering oils and the smell of burning fat in the drains. The area would more than likely be practically empty – a ghost town – save for the occasional suspicious hooded shadow that might speed walk past a moonlit lane, contemplating mugging him with a candy bar and taking his wallet that contained a whopping 6 yen and an old business card from the ramen place that he'd taken when he worked there.
Of course, he hadn't actually gotten there yet and those were all just things his mind supplied for him when he'd heard about what kind of place it was. There was really no telling what he could hope or not hope to expect, just that he had to watch his back and his front and his peripherals while he was there, not to let his gaurd down because of the way things looked, and to focus on his objective and not get side tracked.
Sano had told him to get in, get him, and get out. Don't be a hero.
But obviously Sano didn't take into consideration that sometimes, heroes are called heroes because they have to be, not because they choose to be.
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Sano tried to be understanding. Tried to be, and thought he was succeeding at it pretty well, but that didn't mean that he want to have to do it.
Not too long after Ikki had left, the patch had been somehow switched without his knowing and Sano's headache was pounding now that Agito was dropping profanities left and right. Why the fuck did he have to deal with this shit? What the hell did Akito even see in that idiot? What kind of moron runs off to do something like that all by themselves? Why was that beanpole stupid enough to get caught in the first place anyway?
Agito's eye jolted every which direction, trying to direct his anger in one particular spot and furious that he had to deal with the way Akito was inwardly pining to chase after the Crow.
To avoid any damage, Sano reached a hand out and cupped it heavily on Agito's shoulder and pulled him back until his spine hit the edge of the bed. There was resistance at first, until Sano reached around the smaller rider and slipped a thumb under the white cloth patch and slid it to the other side.
The tenseness in the Shark's shoulders lessened and the struggling ceased. Sano slowly let his arms drop to his sides to let them rest, and watched as Akito turned around and looked up to him.
"You good now?"
Akito thinned his lips and pulled himself up to the bed, careful of Sano's still stiff body and sitting just next to the brunette. He wrapped his thin arms around the Time Keepers and gave a light tug.
"We should go after him," he pleaded, not wanting to go alone. Sano shook his head and pulled his arm free.
"Something tells me he wouldn't be too happy about that," he muttered. Not quietly enough, it seemed, since Akito blinked wildly and reach out to regain hold of his arm.
"We need to help!"
"No, actually, we don't."
And when Akito only stared at him with questioning eyes, Sano released a tired sigh and inwardly prepped himself to explain. He didn't have any kids of his own, so it wasn't like he knew how to tell them these kinds of things. Things like people needing to go out and do things without the help of friends because it's so self inflicted and personal that a person can feel like they have to do it by themselves. Surely Agito would understand those kinds of reasonings - not fully agree with it, but still understand it - but Akito was another matter entirely.
Not that he was worried about the Crow, either.
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Onigiri's pinky was the happiest pinky on the face of the planet. At least, this was how he felt. He tightened the digit and felt Yayoi tighten her own pinky around his in response. Every now and again they would pull in attempt to keep each other balanced, because it was fairly difficult to stay sitting upright on shoulders as bulky and bumpy as Buccha's.
The Tank moved at a steady, average pace, keeping a watchful eye on where he was going. Avoiding low branches and the like, taking sharp turns slowly, and providing his two passengers with a refreshing breeze instead of a bullying, voice overpowering wind.
He felt only slightly uneven, what with Onigiri's bulk settling on his left shoulder and Yayoi's much lighter, hardly even there weight on his right. Occasionally he'd feel their interlocked hands bump slightly into the back of his head but he can't say that he minded. He'd readily told them he'd ride them around on their date, after all; an oversized limo to wherever they desired.
Not like he had anything else to do.
First it was picking Yayoi up from her place, then dinner at Onigiri's dad's ramen shop, and now they were heading to the park. Buccha was their escort of course, since Onigiri and his girl had decided that they were going to take a day out without AT's. Buccha wondered sometimes if Onigiri tried too hard, acted too strongly, but Yayoi seemed to buy into him every time, and she seemed genuinely interested, which was nice. Buccha thought they looked good together, anyway.
He also couldn't help noticing how comfortable their sporadic silence was, like the two were already content with company alone. And when they did talk, it was full of variety, from best friends to dreams to the time they first met to the time they started dating, to their agreed opinions on the Ikki-Ringo-Kazu-Emiri development. This, Buccha found to be rather intriguing. He would curiously start listening whenever he heard any of the names being dropped, finding it rather hard in the first place to avoid overhearing such conversation from being so close to the source of gossip, and would sometimes give his two cents in the topic. It was interesting though, wasn't it? And both Onigiri and Yayoi seemed to share thoughts that mirrored each others and to Buccha's own.
It went a little something like this: Emiri is changing, Ringo is learning the hard way, Ikki is wising up, Kazu is getting what he deserves. Ringo is hurting but her and Emiri are relating. And Ikki is honest with himself now and Kazu is getting the attention he'd been denied by the crow in the past. The boys are curious and the girls are coping. All of them have support from at least one direction or one other person, every one of them is confused and one of them is in slight denial but everyone's feelings were obvious to everyone but themselves until just recently.
As Buccha carefully took the next corner, his thoughts nestled into the idea. The three of them – Onigiri, Yayoi and himself – had to ultimately agreed in the end, that in retrospect, it was a story that had started to evolve way before anyone one of them could see it. Perhaps the very moment Ikki and Kazu met, or maybe the instant Ikki felt inspired to become what he wants to become, or maybe – and of course the thought was silly but it was still an option! – it was something as simple as providence.
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Ringo pressed her back further into the wall, the concrete beneath her creating a chill to her thighs. Emiri was next to her in a similar sitting position, close enough to be seen as a friend but far enough away to seem like nothing more than that. Ringo very often found her eyes traveling to her knees, finding them to be suddenly very intricate when she didn't want to look elsewhere.
It was getting late. Not dark, but the sun and the moon were cautiously sharing the same sky, and every time Ringo looked up, the sun was inching closer and closer to the horizon as if it were intimidated. She could feel Emiri looking up to it as well, mostly because she didn't feel the burn of someone staring at her from the side.
Her lips tingled, still allowing time to lessen the electrical currents still trying to surge through them. Was it really just to grab her attention? To shut her up? Certainly it had calmed her down but…
Ringo finally forced her head to turn, finding Emiri was indeed looking heavenwards with a slight, reminiscent smile curving her mouth. Then she saw the girl bring her arm up so quickly it startled her, and extend it to its full length. Her hand curved, fingers curled, and she stayed like that for a moment, one eye squint shut to help her aim.
Blinking, Ringo followed the line of her arm and saw the moon, far away and surrounded by space and clouds and other things they couldn't actually reach, and yet at the same time still trapped between Emiri's practiced fingers. There was a slight look of longing in her expression, still not fully over the blonde that had taken so much of her thoughts for so long. Still hurting a little, but doing what she truly felt was right.
Ringo stared for a moment, feeling her curiosity bubble beyond her control. She'd seen Kazu do it on a few instances, and some of their friends knew about the small trait, but she'd never actually looked into it herself.
But Emiri was fondly holding the pose and Ringo more so now than ever wanted to experience it. Silently she held her arm out and slowly, very tenderly, took the moon between her pointer and thumb, almost like she could scare it away if she moved too fast or pulverize it to dust should she apply too much of the slightest pressure.
And Ringo looked, almost awed at how tiny it felt, weighted only with the common knowledge of how enormous it actually was, and this is what lead her to understand; how herself and everything around her was so small. It made a girl feel significantly insignificant under all those pretty colors and lights.
She wasn't sure what it was she suddenly felt she understood, but it gave her a strange sense of relief. She dropped her hand to her lap about the same time that Emiri did, and they finally looked at one another in acknowledgement.
It wasn't that she felt irrelevant to Ikki, per se. If she took the time to be brutally honest with herself, there would be no doubt she meant something to the crow. Even if she had been wanting so much more, she at the very least had him in her life. And maybe it didn't mean being pegged as insignificant, but rather, just a piece in something much, much bigger.
Not that it still didn't hurt.
Revealing thoughts like that were never easy to cope with. Especially, Ringo thought, when it was about something as fragile as feelings, like love.
Maybe she was just too much of a girl in that sense. Too wrapped up in ideas of love and fate and romance. In retrospect it didn't seem like the set of goals for most teenaged boys. And surely Kazu never asked the crow to romance him, or be sensitive and gentle or do something like you see in the movies in a place where people can see them. Probably never asked him why do you love me or spewed his feelings and try to force feed them to the boy. And Ringo could honestly say that she couldn't picture Kazu as the type to get upset over things like not holding hands or forgetting a date. No standards or expectations. Just respect and feelings and friendship.
Like they just… were.
And, oddly, being so unromantic like that… seemed romantic.
"Ringo?"
"Ah! Yes?" the girl jumped, slightly appreciative of the interruption on her thoughts before they strayed into places she would never be able to get out of.
"I didn't… When I… I mean I hope that wasn't–"
"It's fine, really," Ringo offered, surprising herself with the honesty of it. The air felt still and only slightly less awkward than it was before. Her lips were still waning the bolts of Emiri's touch. It was a feeling that was difficult to handle and hard to understand and although it wasn't what they were aiming for, it was also very unromantic.
Somehow, Ringo felt okay with that.
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Ikki could remember a time – though grossly, it was many times – where he'd brutally ignored Kazu in the past. The blonde's loyalty had been on a constant high for as long as he could dare to remember, and Ikki could now admit that he'd gotten so used to it being there, so sure that it would always exist, that he'd often overlooked it. He could recall at one point, right around the time that Akito had first shown up and started hanging around, he had given his teammates numbers and ranks. He couldn't remember the exact number he'd given to Kazu, but he did remember that it wasn't a well deserved 2.
He also remembered the times he'd built up his confidence. Being positive Kazu could win his first real race as a storm rider (and being shocked someone as fast as Kazu would even feel inferior in the first place) or even more recently, tossing cans for the guy to catch for practice purposes, among other things. Things that easily could have been overlooked but through all of Kazu's mutterings Ikki could see the appreciation shining just underneath. He could still hear something Kazu'd said to him at one point: "Don't build me up just so I can fall, Ikki."
To which he had given him a good shove to the shoulder for.
Then, vividly, and somewhat randomly, Ikki could effortlessly remember pressing Kazu's shape deep into the couch cushions and tasting things he, up until then, never knew a boy could taste like. He could still feel the shock of guiltless shame and awkward comfort. And even though he'd already known the color, Ikki always thought about how blue Kazu's eyes looked whenever he threw him to a wall or dropped him to a bed and devoured the space between them.
He hoped that as his mind started to drift to other things, his speed wasn't suffering for it, but Ikki fell quickly back into thoughts of Kazu's skin, fresh and soft, warm and addicting, his hair like golden feathers, his voice like a savior amidst an ear cracking war, and a body so willing and accepting. Trusting.
Little, seemingly insignificant things at a first glance, that Ikki felt were still important things to know.
Ikki briefly listened to the melodic whine of his AT's against the pavement to see if he'd lost time by losing himself to his perverted and fond thoughts, only to find that his speed had actually increased. Shamelessly, it could have been lust driven, but motivation and logic were strong and the burn on his legs screamed at him guilt, regret, worry, need!
He knew where he was going by now. He'd looked at the wrinkled and abused scrap of paper enough times to memorize, no, engrave it into his brain. Sculpted flawlessly into his mind as much as the angles of Kazu's face, the hunch of his shoulders, the wall of his insecurities or the air to his words. And for a moment Ikki wondered when the hell he started thinking about shit like that in such a retarded, mushy light, and why the hell it'd come to him so simply. He blamed it on the thick layer of concern that was wrapping around him and downright refusing to let him go.
Ikki violently shook his head. Either way, the point was, Kazu had always been there, and he'd never not be there. And today, the only reason he wasn't around was because of something he'd undoubtedly caused. Ikki only wished that he could go even faster than he was, so that there would still be someone to save by the time he got there, because he didn't want to be coming back lugging heavy weight in his arms; after all the body of a boy is at its heaviest when its dead.
Ikki figured the only way to really remedy the entire mess was, of course, to get him back and hope that it would, inevitably, restore order.
His thoughts must have distracted him long enough, however, to make him lose track of time and distance, because soon he had to force himself into a screeching halt that almost made him topple over completely.
The moon had finally overcome the sun and was sitting proudly among its throne in the deep, endless abyss of the sky, staring down at Ikki accusingly as if trying to anticipate his next move, while the crow himself straightened his back and stood tall and finally released the paper from his hand. The scrap was defenseless against the wind and went careening out of control into the hopeless darkness of the night, never to be handled so vitally ever again, and Ikki felt and heard himself breath from his nose. He resisted the powerful urge to go recklessly barreling through the front doors with a self-made battle cry and instead eyed the place up and down, finding it impressive but not that impressive; a little cliché, really, as expected, and only being able to conclude that he hated this place because somewhere deep inside its belly was Kazu, but the important thing was this...
He had finally arrived.