A/N: Weee, finally a new chapter. Chris makes sure Kaito doesn't get the wrong idea, Rio tells Kaito all about Ryoga's gooey centre, and I totally am amused by the idea of Ryoga's mother being a really important oceanographer or marine biologist or something and her and Faker are going to embarrass the boys by talking about them when they were tiny babies next chapter. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and keep them coming and enjoy, ok? Cool.
Kaito hummed softly, opening his eyes a crack. The early morning light was coming in through his windows, lighting up Chris' body perfectly. He closed his eyes again as Chris' fingers brushed his hair gently. He hadn't know how much he'd missed this until he was living it again. Chris had done what he always did, focused all Kaito's attention on him.
"Are you feeling any better this morning?" Chris said softly.
"Much," Kaito replied. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he murmured, stroking Kaito's hair. "You know I'm here to help you. It was rather nostalgic. It was good to go back to what we had."
"But… isn't it wrong?" he said quietly. "Doing this if we have no feelings for each other?" Chris sighed and Kaito opened his eyes. "You told me… this should only happen between people who truly care about each other. Right?"
"You were young when I told you that," Chris replied. "It's wrong to do this under the pretence of genuine affection. But… given that neither of us are under the illusion that this is anything more than a release of pent up frustrations, I see nothing wrong with it. You were aware that this is simply a physical exchange, aren't you?"
Kaito nodded. "I know. And it did help."
"I'm glad." They fell into silence and Kaito closed his eyes again. Then Chris shifted and moved out from under him, sending Kaito falling to the mattress with the thud. "I'm going to have a shower. You have until I return to get your thoughts in order and prepare for the day. Then you will have a shower, get dressed, have breakfast and face the day rather than hiding away in your room sulking like a petulant brat."
"And if I don't want to?" Kaito hissed, pulling the covers back up to his chin. "If I'm not ready to face the world?"
Chris raised an eyebrow. "Kaito, I have dealt with you before. And you seem to be forgetting I have spent a great deal of time with the biggest brat in the world."
"Thomas isn't that bad I'm sure," he muttered.
"I can deal with him I can deal with you."
"I'm not getting up."
"Then I won't look into getting you back into the hospital and at Ryoga's side where you want to be."
Kaito scowled and Chris turned away to the bathroom. Was there any way for him to get back to Ryoga's side? If Chris could do that… maybe it was worth getting up and trying. Maybe it was worth trying to deal with this. But then… if he couldn't be with Ryoga, if he had to leave him a second time…
Could he handle that again?
Rio wanted to smile as the car stopped outside the hospital. Mother Grace smiled and opened the door for her. Finally, she was home. It was bittersweet really. Inside the hospital was her brother, her twin, her other half… and he was sick, seriously sick and maybe dying. She just hoped he was surrounded by the people he loved.
"Thank you for the ride home, Mrs Tsukikage," Rio murmured.
"It's nothing, dear," Grace replied. "You've given me the greatest hope of having my Miki return to me."
"Miki doesn't want to be changed."
"Glory and Miki are not the same creature," she replied, getting back into the car. "Don't make the mistake of thinking they are."
"Thank you anyway."
Grace smiled and nodded as the car pulled away. Taking a deep breath, Rio turned and looked up at the hospital before walking slowly through the doors. She paused at the desk and smiled at the nurse there. One of the regulars.
"Where's Ryoga?"
"Rio! You're home!" she turned and found Haruto bouncing over, wrapping his arms around her. "You're home!"
"Haruto," Rio murmured. "Are you here to visit Ryoga?"
"Yeah!" he said, nodding quickly. "Akina should already be here with Miss Tomiko. She gets here really early. And Father's here to talk to Mrs Shark."
"Mrs… Shark…?" Rio repeated with a frown.
"Rio," came her mother's voice. She turned and found her storming over. "Your brother is in critical condition and you only just show up?"
"I'm sorry," Rio murmured.
"Ami?" her mother frowned and looked up as Rio turned to Dr Faker. To her amazement her mother's anger seemed to fade and she hurried over to him. "It is you. Kamishiro Ami."
"What's going on?" Rio whispered to Haruto.
"Dunno," he replied. "But we need to go to Shark and Akina."
"Right, of course," Ami said. "Come along, Tenjo. I didn't realise these boys were yours, they always refer to you as Faker."
"Ah, yes, a stage name, I suppose," he said. "To be honest I hadn't considered Ryoga to be yours either. I never put two and two together."
Rio frowned. Her mother knew Faker. This was going to go down well with the boys. Haruto hurried with her to Ryoga's room. Akina was already lying on the bed at Ryoga's side. Rio frowned. How early did she get in to lie there with him? She almost wouldn't be surprised if Akina had to be forced out of the bed each night. She seemed to love Ryoga a little too much for her own safety.
"How do you two know each other?" Haruto said, looking back their parents.
"Ah, Dr Kamishiro helped Byron, Kazama and I when we were looking for sunken ruins," Faker replied. "When researching sunken ruins it's very important to have someone who knows what dangers lurk in the deep."
"I suppose it must be," Rio muttered.
"It was silly of me not to realise they were your boys," her mother laughed. "I remember your little blondie running around after your lab assistant. Kaito has certainly grown."
"Mmm, and he and Christopher thought no one knew about them."
"Shhh," Akina snapped, opening her eyes to glare up at them. "Shark's sleeping."
"Yes dear," her mother said softly, patting her head. "You've done a wonderful job looking after him."
"Where is Kaito anyway?"
"He left the other day," Ami said with a frown. "He didn't say a word just left. He hasn't been back since."
Rio scowled. If what she'd heard about Kaito and Ryoga was true, why wasn't he there at Ryoga's side? She sighed and walked forwards slowly, taking Ryoga's hand gently and squeezing. He'd been in a coma for days. Who knew what the consequences were going to be? What if there were complications? What if he woke up with memory loss, or brain damage or who knew what? She wasn't a doctor, all she knew was that this kind of things was serious and Kaito should have been there.
"Please," she whispered, leaning over and kissing his cheek around the mask. "Wake up soon. And be safe." She frowned and stood slowly. "I'm going to find Kaito." Haruto nodded slightly and their parents frowned. "If he expects me to approve of their relationship he needs to get his ass in gear and be here waiting for him to wake up like everyone else who loves him. The only excuse I will accept is that he's out hunting the people who caused this."
She strode out before they could stop her, ignoring anything they said. Kaito had to be at Ryoga's side or she was never going to accept him as Ryoga's boyfriend. And soon, she decided the best thing to do was to take the direct approach.
Ice Queen Rio: Where are you?
Kaito: Heading towards the school.
Ice Queen Rio: Head towards the hospital. Via the river.
Kaito: I'm glad you're home safely.
Ice Queen Rio: Just do what I told you.
She made her way down to the river and walked along, waiting to bump into Kaito. He'd better have a damn good excuse why he wasn't there with her brother. And why she'd had to come out and find him rather than being at Ryoga's side. No matter how long it took, once she'd decided she was done with Kaito, the only thing that would steal her away from Ryoga would be making the people responsible pay.
"You have to learnt to deal with your emotions more constructively," said a familiar voice.
She frowned and saw Kaito's recognisable figure coming towards them, a taller figure at his side. Kaito was glaring up at him. "I deal with my emotions just fine, Chris."
Chris? Of course, Christopher Arclight. Thomas' brother. "Kaito!"
The pair fell silent as she stormed over and before she could stop herself, she slapped Kaito hard across the face. And rather than say a word to defend Kaito, Chris raised a hand to his lips, chuckling slightly.
"You're here with this pretty boy rather than with my possibly dying brother?!" she scolded. Kaito frowned, rubbing his cheek. He opened his mouth but Rio wasn't going to listen to his excuses. "He could never wake up, Kaito! He could be dying! And if you want to be a part of his life you have to deal with the fact that he is a little accident prone and sharp objects seem drawn to him and he isn't exactly known for diving away from danger, he likes sharks for crying out loud! So you have to get a grip and get used to being in hospital with us because it's a regular part of our life!"
Kaito frowned and lowered his head, glancing at Chris, who just smiled. "I'm not getting involved, Kaito."
"You said you'd help," Kaito hissed.
"I said I'd look into helping," Chris replied. "Now, answer Rio."
"Rio…"
"No, shut up and listen!" she snapped, fists clenching as she glared at him. "My brother is a dork. Ok? He's one of the biggest dorks you'll ever meet. He's a complete loser and he act cool, like he doesn't care what anyone thinks, and like he doesn't feel anything, but that's just his stupid barriers. He puts up theses shields, like he's really tough. But he's not."
"Rio, I know-"
"I said shut up! He is really delicate! He's really strong, he goes through all this pain and keep going, nothing can stop him. But inside he's of this gooey centre."
"Gooey centre?"
"Yes! He's soft and weak and scared." She shook her head quickly. "He's always scared, Kaito! When IV framed him for cheating, everyone left him. I wasn't there and our parents tried to be supportive but everything I hear, Dad didn't do a great job of hiding his disappointment and they had to work more and more to make ends meet. So he was alone. All his fans left him, his friends left him. Everyone abandoned him! And even when he moved, they still didn't want to get close so he shut himself off from the world because everyone leaves! He's scared and he's lonely and he's opened up to you because you of all people should understand that!"
"Rio…"
She sighed and shook his head. "And now you're just another person who abandoned him for something that wasn't his fault."
He frowned and gazed down at his feet for a moment. Kaito didn't normally look this awkward. What was wrong with him? Had her words really hit home that hard, or was there something more? "I care a lot for your brother, Rio. I really do. But… your father has told me that I can't be near him anymore."
Rio scowled. "Dad said that?"
"Yes. And that if I come near him again, he'll take the step of moving the entire family out of the city."
"Right," Rio huffed, taking hold of his wrist and pulling him along. "Let's sort this out right now!"
Kaito shot Chris a glance but Chris did nothing to help him. Rio wasn't about to let Chris boss her around either though. Kaito was coming with her and that was that.
"Kaito…"
Akina sat bolt upright and everyone in the hospital room jumped at the movement. It had been so quiet Haruto had barely heard it, but it had happened. Shark had spoken. It was barely a word, just a small breath but it was it definitely Kaito's name. Haruto frowned. Was he going to be upset when Kaito wasn't there?
"Shark?" she whispered.
"Shark?" Haruto cried, hurrying over. "Shark?!"
"Kaito…" Shark breathed. His fingers moved a little and Akina jumped from the bed, grasping Haruto's hand. "Kaito…"
Mrs Shark had hurried out to get a doctor, and Mr Shark and Akina and Haruto watched as Shark's fingers moved a little more. He was going to wake up. He groaned a little and Akina jumped up and down, shaking Haruto's arms.
The doctors hurried over and Akina and Haruto were hurried out of the way. But it had to be a good sign. He had to be getting better. He had to be about to wake up! Haruto wasn't sure how long they'd been outside before the door opened again and the doctors came out. Akina was inside almost before Haruto could register it but he was hot on her heels.
Shark was still lying in bed, breathing mask still over his face, skin pale and eyes hazy, but at least he was awake. His parents were sitting on either side on of him on the bed, each holding a hand and his mother stroking his hair as they spoke to him softly. It was obvious Shark was going to be sick and weak for a little while longer. But at least he was awake.
"Shark!" Akina cried. His parents turned and got off the bed, letting her scramble back up and sit with him again, tears slipping over as he reached up and she grasped his hand tightly in both of hers. "I was so scared, Shark… I thought you were never going to wake up… they-" she hiccuped and Shark gave a soft tired laughed. "They said you might not wake up, Shark."
He smiled and pulled the masked from his face, smiling up at her. "I'm not that weak. I'd always come back to you. Hey… where is everyone?"
"Yuma and the others have school," Haruto said. "But Kaito was here loads until a few days ago. Now it's really had to get him out of bed."
Shark frowned and Akina put the breathing mask back. "You have to rest. No more talking."
"But, I want to see Kaito," Shark argued, his voice muffled through the mask.
"Shh," she said firmly, wagging a finger at him. "You behave and get some rest. If Kaito is in bed, you have to be in bed too. If Kaito doesn't turn up, then you will have to be strong enough to go kick his ass later!"
Smiling slightly, Shark nodded and closed his eyes, breathing softly once more. Haruto frowned. Everyone thought Kaito had left because he didn't want to be with Shark but that wasn't true! Kaito loved Shark, he would do anything to be with him, Haruto was sure of that. No matter what Kaito said, he knew he loved Shark! He didn't understand why Kaito refused to admit it. Or why he refused to get out of bed. The last time he'd shut himself in his room and refused to get out of bed was when Chris… Oh. Now he got it. He'd shut himself away when she left too. That was it. Back then, Kaito had allowed him to curl up with him. And when Chris left, he'd been more like this.
He hid away when he was hurting. When he'd been left. He was scared of losing Shark.
"He's scared," Haruto whispered. Akina turned to him. "He's scared and hurt because he's worried he's going to lose you."
"Actually," Faker said.
"I'm not scared," Kaito said. Haruto turned and Kaito was in the doorway with Rio and Chris. Mr Shark glared back at him but Kaito ignored him and strode in, standing at the foot of the bed. "I- I was scared. Believe me, I was. I wanted to be here with you too."
Shark smiled slightly and Haruto pulled Akina from the bed and turned to the rest of the room. "They need time alone."
"Over my dead body," Mr Shark snapped.
"That can certainly be arranged," Chris said, holding out his hands for the children. "Come on, let's get something to drink, Haruto, and you can introduce me properly to your friend."
"You- you're IV's brother," Akina stammered.
"Yes," he said, taking their hands and leading them out. "I'm Chris."
"Christopher, that's it," Mrs Shark said, snapping her fingers. Chris smiled and glanced over his shoulder they followed. "I remember catching you and Kaito on Byron's desk when you were supposed to be doing homework."
Kaito glanced back. "You're… Dr Ami? Your mother is Dr Ami?"
"Who?" Shark breathed, the mask still making it hard. "She's just my mother."
"She worked with our fathers," Kaito said, glaring at Shark. "She is one of the greatest minds on earth when it comes to the oceans. How the hell are you her son?"
"Out!" Haruto demanded as Shark muttered about how rude he was. Rio glared at her father and shoved him out and Akina pulled the door shut. "Maybe they'll finally work things out."
"I hope so," Akina murmured.
"I can't believe you banned him from seeing Ryoga," Rio hissed, glaring at her father.
Mrs Shark paused and frowned. "You what, love?"
"It's inappropriate."
"They care about each other."
"He's too old."
"Sweetheart," Mrs Shark said, suddenly looking very intimidating. "I think that he's good for Ryoga. He is mature and sensible and honest and is a very nice boy. It had taken this long for Ryoga to have friends, let alone a sensible relationship. Do not ruin this for him. I have barely forgiven you for everything else, don't destroy his first love as well."
"Everything else?" Rio said quietly.
"Don't worry, dear," Mr Shark said. "It's nothing."
"So…" Kaito said quietly.
There was a heavy silence between Kaito and Ryoga. Kaito didn't know what to say. Since he was here, he had to make the most of it, right? And after everything Rio had said and what Chris had said… But his mind just focused on how weak and fragile Ryoga looked right now. His eyes were barely open and he was so pale and drawn out and the mask over his face didn't help. But then, Rio was right, the twins were constantly in the hospital so it shouldn't have been so strange. But since Rio had awoken, and Ryoga had his soul back, it wasn't anything serious. Ryoga would fall off cliffs and get hit by rubble and so on, usually saving Yuma.
"Kaito," Ryoga breathed, raising a hand slightly. Kaito moved around to the side of the bed and gently took his hand. "Why were you refusing to get out of bed?"
"Because your father said I was never allowed to see you again," Kaito murmured. "I was struggling with it. I did want to be here."
"And…" He smiled softly behind the mask, pulling Kaito closer so he had to sit on the bed. "You duelled Honour?"
"Yes."
"I assume you won?"
"Yes."
Ryoga smiled and drew him down slightly so Kaito was leaning over him slightly. "But… you don't have the Number? Or Honour's soul?"
"No…" He frowned slightly. How had Ryoga known that? "I'm sorry. It's that Number that put you in this mess. I-"
"Shh," Ryoga purred, slowly pulling down the breathing mask. His fingers slid up to Kaito's collar and Kaito smiled. Perhaps things weren't going to be difficult. Perhaps Ryoga's father would relent and they would be allowed to be together. "I will face him next time. Now… where the hell is my Shark Drake?!"
"Shark Drake?"
"I know you have him!" Ryoga snapped, pulling him down and glaring up into his eyes. "Now give him back or I can't pound Honour and Nightmare Shark into the ground!"
"Calm down," Kaito said softly, gently holding him down on the bed. "It's ok, I promise it'll be ok. I don't know what's going on with you and Shark Drake but don't get so worked up. Just rest, Ryoga. I'll be here when you wake up."
"You'd better be," he murmured.
He pulled Kaito down and pressed their lips together softly. Kaito smiled into the kiss, gently sliding his hand into Ryoga's hair. This was going to destroy him if he couldn't remain with Ryoga. But it would be worth it if things worked out.
He pulled back slightly, noticing Ryoga wasn't as into the kiss as he normally was. He glanced down at the younger boy and couldn't help laughing. Ryoga was lying there with his eyes closed, apparently having fallen asleep now he'd got what he wanted. He sat back on the bed and gently placed the breathing mask back over his face before tucking him in and settling in to wait for Ryoga to wake up again. Then, he noticed his extra deck was open and Ryoga's hand was resting by it. And grasped in his hand was Shark Drake.
Kaito sighed. Apparently the kiss had only been to get his card. Was he always going to be second best to a sea dragon? The thought almost made Kaito laughed but instead he sat at Ryoga's side and waited. He'd had Shark Drake all this time and not realised? He'd assumed Shark Drake had returned to Ryoga's deck once the duel was finished. It had never occurred to him that it could still be there and he'd had too much going on to check.
Not that it mattered. Ryoga was just sleeping now, no longer in a coma, and having his partner always calmed him. Now Kaito just had to hope they could stay together.
In the Next Chapter: Kaito has to face Shark's father, and he and Shark have to deal with their parents telling baby stories, and Yuma arrives at hospital a bit late.
Feeding Frenzy
