The final battle against Nemesis cost everyone. A lot of them sustained injuries bad enough they had to go to the hospital, Gingka especially. Amongst those people had been Kyouya as well, and Masamune debated whether to pay the other boy a visit or not. He was already there for Gingka anyway, and so far he still hadn't really had a chance to just have a regular conversation with the other. The few times they'd seen each other was during the championships and world-ending catastrophes, and that didn't really leave any time for bonding.

Following the directions a nurse had given him, he stood in front of the hospital room and debated his decision. It would be weird, right? To just go in there, and exclaim he was here to see Kyouya. The other probably didn't even remember his name. Or maybe he thought him annoying. The last thought didn't matter, he decided, because when had that ever bothered him? So, with as much bravado as he could muster, he opened up the door to the room and came face to face with a horrified Kyouya.

"Idiot! Don't you know how to knock?!"

The other huffed, and underneath the disgruntled and angry expression on his face, Masamune noticed a slight blush, that got hidden when the other hurried to pull a shirt over his head.

This time he'd seen the bandages clear as day, but it wasn't surprising. Not this time. He'd sustained pretty serious injuries, and Masamune didn't doubt that he'd broken a few ribs.

"Your chest always gets it the worst, huh?" "What? What's that supposed to mean?!" "Well, whenever you're injured you're always wearing bandages around your chest. How often have you broken your ribs at this point?"

Kyouya's expression was not what Masamune would have expected. Instead of a scowl, or a glare, the other seemed surprised, and almost a bit worried. He averts his eyes and crosses his arms in front of his chest, almost as if to hide it.

"You noticed?" "Well, yeah. You wore bandages after your weird exhaustion battle with Gingka. And when I saw you on Battle Bladers you were wearing them, too. By the way you really shouldn't fight when you're injured."

Kyouya seemed alarmed, his eyes widening.

"It was on TV?!" And before Masamune could respond, Kyouya took a deep breath, very obviously forcing his expression from alarm to an indifferent scowl. An expression Masamune had gotten used to seeing on Kyouya, but never before had he noticed how fake it looked. "You watched me on TV?"

Masamune decided he wouldn't push the matter any further, because it simply wasn't his place. Him and Kyouya barely knew each other. Instead he grinned and nodded, taking a seat on one of the chairs close to Kyouya's bed.

"Sure did. Battle Bladers might not have been a prime-time event in America, but I watched all of it. And I was rooting for you." A grin. "You were pretty powerful. Still are. You impressed me, and I'm not easy to impress!"

Kyouya's lips tugged up into a smirk and Masamune realized that it was the right thing to say. After all, that was exactly what he needed. A good conversation starter. And who didn't like listening to other people praising them?

"I thought 'Wow, I have to meet that guy'. And even if you didn't win, you still left an impact. The same thing can be said for the world championships. You know, I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get to properly battle you. I'd been planning on that." He stuck out his tongue. "So I'm challenging you to a battle whenever you're feeling better."

That, too, seemed to be the right thing to say, because Kyouya's smirk widened.

"You got guts, coming in here when I'm injured and challenging me to a battle. I'm sure I could kick your butt even with all my injuries. You'll see!" "But that wouldn't be any fun, would it? I want you at full strength!"

With that the ice was broken, and Masamune spent a lot longer talking to Kyouya than he'd originally intended. They'd hit it off, surprisingly, and Masamune had to admit Kyouya did seem like an alright guy to hang around, and he hoped the Leone blader thought the same.