Kuroko was asleep in Kagami's spare room. He lay on his side with his back to the wall and his face toward the door, as if he needed to keep a watch out even in unconsciousness. His body was curled up in a ball, his knees almost touching his chest. He was already covered with blankets, but Kagami fought the urge to go fetch about ten more from the cupboard and pile them on top of him, just to make sure. Kuroko needed to be warm, and he needed to feel safe and sheltered, and...
Kagami turned away from the doorway where he'd been standing, watching Kuroko sleep, and rubbed a hand over his face. He should go to bed too, probably. Wow, this had been a long day. They'd both been through the wringer, physically and emotionally, though it was obviously worse for Kuroko.
Kagami plodded into his bedroom and fell into his desk chair, immediately hunching forward to stare at his phone, held in both hands. The list of instructions from Himuro dominated the screen.
From: Himuro
Treat any wounds.
Make sure he has something to eat and drink.
Tell him he's safe.
Be kind and gentle.
I don't know why I'm telling you all of this, Taiga. I know you already know. I guess I'm just shocked and I'm stating the obvious.
Oh, there are a few more things you should do, too.
Try to take pictures of any wounds for evidence for the police.
Write down everything you witnessed in as much detail as you can. You should do that as soon as possible, while it's fresh on your mind.
When he's ready to talk, listen with all your strength. You might want to try recording it for evidence. But don't do anything without his consent.
These will be important for later, when you're able to persuade your classmate to go to the authorities.
Also, very importantly, don't take too much of the burden onto yourself. You're going to have to let this go.
Kagami stared at the last one. He didn't understand it at all. He had no intention of letting Kuroko go. Never. Why the hell would Himuro ask him to?
To: Himuro
Thanks, Aniki. You've been a big help. But what do you mean, I'm going to have to let this go? That's not gonna happen.
Kagami turned to his desk and set the phone aside as he pulled a composition book and pen toward himself. It was a good idea to write down everything he could as soon as possible. Kagami's mind was hardly a steel trap, and he knew this was all important. Already, some of the awful insults Kuroko's father had thrown at him were fading from Kagami's mind, not least because they were so terrible that he didn't much like remembering them. What was it he had called him? A filthy little beast?
What the hell. What kind of father said that to his son? Not a good one, that was for sure.
Slowly, laboriously, Kagami began to write. He started at the beginning, several weeks ago, when he had first started to realize that something was wrong with Kuroko. It was all evidence.
His phone buzzed with a text notification. Grateful for the distraction, Kagami set his pen aside and picked it up.
From: Himuro
I mean that I know you, Taiga. You get caught up in things. You care too much. It's good that you care about your classmate,
but you can't fix everything on your own. Once he's ready to talk to the authorities, you have to let them take it from there.
Kagami frowned. Himuro still wasn't making any sense.
To: Himuro
Of course I'll let the police take care of whatever they need to do. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop looking after my classmate.
I already told him he's safe and that he'll never have to go back to his old home. That means he's staying with me.
From: Himuro
See, that's what I mean, you can't just... You can't just have some random kid move in with you FOREVER because you feel sorry for him.
This is so like you, Taiga. You always let your feelings overwhelm you. It makes me worry about you. I don't want you to get hurt.
To: Himuro
I'm not going to get hurt. I have no idea what you're talking about. And I'm not getting overwhelmed by my feelings.
This is the only natural response to have to this situation. I don't understand why you're worried. I'm fine.
From: Himuro
NO, that's not... Okay, this isn't working. I'm going to call you. Words on a screen are obviously not enough.
Seconds after that message arrived, the phone began to ring. Kagami startled a bit at the loud noise coming from his cupped hands, and he quickly accepted the call to make the phone shut up. He didn't want to wake Kuroko with this nonsense.
He put the phone to his ear. "Aniki?"
Himuro responded with a loud sigh. "Taiga."
Despite the situation, Kagami was glad to hear his brother's voice. Some of the tension he'd been carrying in his shoulders began to bleed away. "What exactly are you trying to tell me, huh? Why would you worry about me? There's nothing to be worried about."
"I'm worried because this is a big mess, Taiga, and you're caught up in it. I don't think you're ready for it."
"I'm fine," Kagami repeated. "I chose to get involved. Yeah, I'm not ready for it, obviously, but I can fix that. I asked you for advice, didn't I? I'm not a complete idiot."
"I know you're not an idiot. That's not the problem here."
"Then what is the problem? I don't understand you."
Himuro blew out a breath, noisy in the phone. Kagami frowned but didn't move. He held the phone jammed against his ear and listened as hard as he could.
"The problem is that...this is a big deal, all right? Your classmate is going to have a lot of problems. Abuse is... God, it's awful. Here in Japan they call it 'murdering the soul.' Dealing with the physical wounds, that's the easy part. Your classmate is going to need an enormous amount of support. For years. Maybe for the rest of his life. You're just a teenager, yourself. Your dad isn't around...and don't think I don't worry about that, too. And damn it, Akita is really far away, so it's not like I'm around either..."
Kagami grunted. "Now you're talking like I'm the one who needs support."
"Maybe you do. You definitely will, if you're taking on something like this. So maybe you should think about taking a step back. Not tonight, not tomorrow, but when you can. When your classmate has other people he can rely on."
"Not gonna happen. I'm in this, Aniki. I get that you're saying it's a big commitment, and I don't know what I'm getting into. But I'll figure it out. We'll figure it out."
Himuro groaned loudly. "Dammit, Taiga..."
Kagami clenched his teeth. "And don't you think maybe you're underestimating me? What makes you think that I can't handle this, or that I can't figure out how to handle it? Do you have that little faith in me?"
"I have all the faith in the world in you, idiot. You have common sense and you learn fast. Not to mention how unfairly talented you are at basketball. But this big heart of yours...it gets you into trouble. Do you remember the kitten? Because I do. I remember the kitten."
The corner of Kagami's mouth curled up at the memory. The kitten had been tiny, and helpless, and adorable. He did not regret that incident for one second, even though it was a major contributing factor to his current fear of dogs. "Yeah, I remember."
"Remember how you couldn't play basketball for three weeks because of the stitches? I'm just worried that this situation is going to turn out like that one. You're gonna end up in the middle of pack of wild dogs before you realize it, and you're gonna get mauled again. I don't want to see that happen."
"It won't. Don't worry about me, Aniki. I'm fine. It's my...my classmate that you should be worried about. I already confronted his father once, and the guy couldn't lay a finger on me. It's not going to be an issue."
There was a soft thumping noise on the other end, as if Himuro was banging his head against a table or a wall. "Dammit, Taiga, that's not what I meant..."
Kagami blinked. "You were talking about the wild dogs. I'm telling you that I'm not going to get mauled again. Right?"
"That was...supposed to be...a metaphor..." The thumping continued.
"For what? You really should spell these things out for me."
"For...emotional problems. For suddenly having a roommate who will have issues with post-traumatic stress and self-esteem and probably depression. For things you and I can't even begin to guess. This is...uncharted water. I did a little research after you texted me, but all it taught me was that neither of us are qualified to deal with this."
Kagami frowned. He thought he'd already made this clear. "Then we'll figure it out. Me and...my classmate. We'll work through it together. I'm not giving up on him, Aniki. Stop asking me to."
Himuro was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, resignation tinted his voice. "Sounds like you've made up your mind."
Kagami nodded, even though his brother couldn't see him. "From the moment I realized what was going on, yeah. I'm in this for the long haul. And I know maybe that sounds stupid and naive, coming from 'just a teenager,' but I'm serious. I've never been more serious about anything in my life."
"I know." Himuro's voice was sober. "If nothing else, at least having this conversation has convinced me of that. I'm glad I called you, anyway, even if we didn't really accomplish anything."
Kagami smiled, broad and genuine. "I'm glad you called, too. I...I really did appreciate hearing your voice."
"It's been a long day, huh?" Himuro sighed. There was a rustling on the other end as if he was settling down somewhere, getting comfortable. "At least promise me you'll take care of yourself, even while you're busy taking care of your classmate. Okay?"
"I promise."
"Good." More rustling on the other end. Himuro's voice went quiet, grumbling, "I just don't get why you're going to such lengths for some classmate you haven't even known for a whole year yet..."
Kagami said nothing.
"I mean, I know how kind you are and how quickly you get attached to people. You think you talk a big game, acting stand-offish for the first thirty seconds, but after that it all goes out the window. I suppose it's possible that you could be this devoted to someone just because they sit near you in a classroom. But you've been so busy with basketball and everything that happened there, I didn't think you had time to make friends with anyone else…"
Kagami felt his face turning red. Never let it be said that Himuro Tatsuya was stupid. Let him chew on any oddity long enough, and he would figure it out. There was nothing Kagami could say that would stop what was coming next.
"Hey, what are you going to tell your team?" Himuro asked. "Aren't they going to think it's strange that you suddenly have a roommate? Or will…"
Kagami braced himself.
Himuro's words cut off with a loud, horrified gasp. "Oh. Oh my God."
Kagami leaned his head on his hand. His eyes were beginning to droop.
"Your classmate… It's Kuroko, isn't it?"
"You figured it out," Kagami said dully. He was so tired that his eyes were starting to cross. And he still needed to finish that writing.
"You said once that you and Kuroko were in the same class. But I never, never would have guessed…"
"No one did. Please don't tell anyone. He's not ready."
"I won't." Himuro's voice had gone very quiet and very serious.
"Do you understand now, at least? You get why I can't step back from this, no matter what it costs me?"
"I understand. But this just makes me even more concerned for your well-being. I know how close you two are. Seeing Kuroko in this much pain must be unbearable for you."
Kagami did not disagree.
"And you said you confronted his father, and he couldn't lay a finger on you…"
"Yeah," Kagami let out a breathless little chuckle. "He's a very small, pathetic man. Stronger than he looks… But nothing I couldn't handle."
"Taiga, tell me what happened."
Kagami glanced at the composition book. He didn't know if he had it in him to tell this story twice.
"Could you...write it down for me, then? I started writing what I remembered, but then you called, and I'm...I'm really tired, Aniki."
"Sure. I can do that." Himuro's voice was warm and kind. Kagami listened to movements on the other end, the squeak of a desk chair, the ruffling of paper. "Tell me everything."
Kagami got up from his own desk chair and lay down on his bed, sprawling out with one hand holding the phone to his ear, the other clenched loosely over his stomach. Then he started to talk.