Of bratty demons and mushroom heads

CHAPTER 13

"It's almost over," Sanada mumbled trying to calm down his rather bored (and thus obnoxious) kohai. Hiyoshi was done with his matches, his last one having just finished, the trick was keeping Akaya amused enough to keep him from running off and making trouble. Until then, Sanada had been doing a rather good job and the younger boy had stayed out of trouble. But now, his eyes were fixed on an amazing hand to hand match that was taking place nearby; he didn’t notice the chibi demon wandering off to find his boyfriend.

The tournament had been a success, which Hiyoshi was now proud to say he was a large contributor to. With Akaya’s assistance he had chosen to participate in two different kata contests, using nunchucks and sai, as well as one combat match. He had won one of the two kata contests and his combat match. He had also been running around in between all his matches in order to make sure everything else was running smoothly. All in all, it had so far been a very good and fulfilling day.

He had spotted Akaya and Sanada together, and a few other familiar faces in the crowd once or twice, but hadn’t yet had the time to talk to anyone. He was eager hear what Akaya thought of the tournament, and maybe even ask what he thought of his matches. After all, he had specifically trained harder than usual this time in order to make himself look cool in front of his boyfriend. It may have been a somewhat shallow reason, but it was true. He just spotted Akaya and was about go over to him when he was approached by Suzuki Keisuke.

Suzuki Keisuke had been a student with him at his father’s dojo for many years. They had trained together numerous times while growing up. Keisuke had always been very friendly towards him, but he wouldn’t call them close, or even friends. Although he wasn’t a student at the University, Keisuke had come today to participate in the tournament and was the opponent Hiyoshi had beaten earlier in the finals for the combat matches.

Akaya wanted to congratulate his boyfriend on his wins and maybe steal a kiss or two or five... He had to admit, watching Hiyoshi use nunchucks had been pretty hot. He wandered around, dodging half naked competitors and judges only to find his boyfriend a few minutes later talking to another man. He didn't think anything of it until he saw the look on the other man’s face. He knew that look. He was an expert at that look. It was a look that said 'You're so cute. I'm going to fuck you until you can't walk, later.' No one gave HIS Wakashi that look, except HIM. Walking over, his back straight so he stood at his full height, which was actually noticeably taller than Hiyoshi, he put on his best cocky smirk and slung an arm over his boyfriend’s shoulder. "Who's your friend, Wakashi?" He asked, not too subtly stressing that he was using the man’s first name. ‘He's mine.’

Keisuke’s eyes narrowed immediately as the strange seaweed headed man approached. This did not bode well. When the stranger touched Hiyoshi so openly he couldn't help but glare at him, until Hiyoshi’s eyes turned back to him, then he smiled pleasantly. "Suzuki Keisuke," he introduced himself in a pleasant tone. ‘Get off of him you little freak’ he ran a hand through his short brown spike hair and turned his attention to Hiyoshi. "How do you two know each other?" he asked politely, now completely ignoring the obnoxious boy.

Hiyoshi had only just gotten through the re-introduction formalities with Keisuke when Akaya approached them and literally seemed to drape himself on top of him. “This is Kirihara Akaya.” Hiyoshi introduced simply to his training mate. It wasn’t in Hiyoshi to be able to actually introduce him as his boyfriend, but he wasn’t going to lie and just call him a friend either. Akaya might be hurt by such a statement, not to mention he knew he sucked at lying. “Our schools played against each other when I used to play tennis back in middle school, and now he goes to University here with me.” It was a simple yet true enough statement. “Akaya, Keisuke-san used to train with me at my father’s dojo.”

Akaya was happy that Hiyoshi didn't immediately push him away or even try to move away from him at all; maybe he was becoming too predictable? Either way he didn't like the look the 'childhood friend' character was giving him. "Come on Wakashi," he said with a teasing tone, "Don't be shy. He looks like a pretty accepting fellow." He turned his eyes on Keisuke and smirked devilishly so Hiyoshi couldn't see him. "Wakashi is my boyfriend." he said firmly, making sure the stranger understood their relationship. Hopefully that would make him back off.

Keisuke’s smile widened, not faltering for a moment, though it never reached his eyes. "Boyfriend, huh?" This was not how things were supposed to go. Judging from the look in Kirihara’s eyes and how comfortable they were around each other, they had to have already fucked. Damn it. He was supposed to be Hiyoshi’s first, not this sea weed headed moron.

Hiyoshi glared at Akaya and pinched his side hard to make him back off. Hadn’t the brat learned by now that he didn’t appreciate talking about it in public? Especially in front of someone who had connections with his father? Keisuke and him weren’t that close. Shit. He was going to be angry at Akaya later. For now though, the damage had already been done. Turning his glare away from Akaya, he looked back at Keisuke with a look of resignation. “More or less, but I would appreciate it” he smacked Akaya upside the head, “if you didn’t spread it around.”

Akaya yelped loudly and leaped away, drawing the attention of a few people passing by. From the stands, Sanada’s voice bellowed 'AKAYA!' and the little demon shrunk back. How did he do that? He wasn't even near Sanada... Well whatever, it sucked that Hiyoshi was probably mad at him, but at least he got his point across to the new guy. The smack to the back of the head didn't even faze him, but the people that had stopped to stare quickly looked away and continued on a bit faster.

"Of course," Keisuke said with a little very fake laugh, "I wouldn't want to cause trouble for you Hiyoshi-san." Causing trouble for Kirihara however, he was definitely planning on it.

“Thank you.” Hiyoshi replied gratefully, before quickly changing the subject. “You did well in your matches. You’ve improved since we last competed.” He only had a few minutes more before he had to go check the judges table, and he would much rather spend that time with Akaya, but it would be rude of him to disregard Keisuke.

"Thank you, I've been training hard so I could beat you," Keisuke said with a little laugh. At least Hiyoshi understood how hard he trained.

"Naa Wakashi," Akaya said, interrupting the other boy, "Come on, I'm sure Sanada-fukubuchou wanted to talk to you before your next match." He wanted to get his boyfriend as far away from this guy as he could, as fast as he could. He was a threat and Akaya did not like people trying to take his things.

“I’m done with my matches for today.” Why was Akaya acting like this? They would definitely be talking about this later. “You’ll have to excuse me Keisuke-san. There are some things I have to attend to before the final matches. I hope we’ll be able to meet up later if time permits.” With that, he gave a polite bow, and dragged Akaya away with him.

Keisuke watched the two walk away and frowned. He'd let them go for now, but this wasn't over yet.

Once they were out of earshot, Hiyoshi turned on Akaya. “I don’t know what that was all about, but I don’t have time right now to talk about it.” He looked over his shoulder and saw Sanada not too far away. “I’ll be done in about a half hour, okay?”

"Yeah, alright," Akaya said trying to sound as impartial as he could even though it hurt a bit that Hiyoshi was mad at him for trying to protect him. "Just... Wakashi... Do me a favor?" He said quietly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Stay away from that Suzuki guy, okay?"

Hiyoshi gave him a puzzled look. For what reason would he ask that? “Why would you want me to…?” He shook his head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve known him basically my whole life.” When he saw Akaya’s facial expression, he added with a sigh. “We’ll talk about this later. It’s not like I’ll be seeing much more of him anyway after the tournament is over. You can go back to the room though and I’ll meet you afterword if you’re feeling uncomfortable.”

"I'm not leaving," Akaya said quickly and frowned, "but just... trust me? Ok?" he ran his fingers over Hiyoshi's hand lightly. He knew the other man would be furious with him if he kissed him in front of everyone, so this would have to do for now.

Akaya was serious about this. Hiyoshi could only nod at the request. It still seemed ridiculous to him, but if Akaya felt that strongly about it, then he would try to appease him for now. Seeing it was almost time for the last set of matches to start, Hiyoshi had to say a quick goodbye before hurrying off to the judges table.

As the other man walked away, Akaya let out a quiet sigh and took his seat on the bleachers again.

Sanada glanced over at him; arms crossed over his chest, and raised an eyebrow. Something was obviously bothering the younger man, but he knew the other would talk about it when he was ready. There was no need to ask.

"I don't trust that guy..." Akaya mumbled and shoved his hands into his pockets. He was not happy about letting Hiyoshi go off on his own, but at least his boyfriend had agreed.

Right on cue. Sanada uncrossed his arms as the match he'd been watching came to an end, "Who?" Surely he didn't mean Hiyoshi?

"Some guy Wakashi trained with as a kid. He's trying to steal him," he growled quietly. Maybe Sanada would know what to do. He did have amazing fukubuchou powers after all.

"Trying to steal him?" Sanada repeated a bit skeptically. It seemed ridiculous, but then again... if anyone would be able to tell, it would be Akaya. He didn't even want to think about how many people his kohai had wooed away from their lovers. Trying to put himself in the other boy’s place, he pictured what would happen if he saw someone very obviously trying to steal his boyfriend away. Just the thought made his heart pound and all the hairs on his neck stand on end. The worst part was he probably wouldn't even realize he was being hit on. Suddenly, it hit him. That was what was bothering Akaya the most. Hiyoshi didn't seem to be the sharpest katana on the rack when it came to that sort of thing. "Just trust in him," he said quietly, making sure Akaya’s attention was on him, "That's all you can do. Trying to do more will upset him. He cares about you, Akaya. He won't leave you."

As Sanada started speaking, Akaya frowned. He knew the other man was right, but it was hard to hear. He wanted to be able to do something about it because he wasn't good at trusting people when it came to relationships. He'd watched too many people throw away a partner they 'loved' for a fling (usually with him). It had been enough to make him never want a relationship. Hiyoshi had changed that. He'd made him want to try, but he was scared of loosing him to someone that had more in common with him. Sanada was right though, he just needed to trust in his boyfriend’s feelings for him. "Thanks fukubuchou."

"Hnn..." Sanada hummed and turned his attention back to the last few matches that were taking place.

Akaya wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it looked like all of the matches were over so now they just had to wait for Hiyoshi. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom," he mumbled and jumped off the bleachers before heading off to relieve himself. He walked into the bathroom with a sigh. The tournament was over and everyone was leaving so the place was empty, just the way he preferred it. He walked up to one of the urinals and started unzipping his pants. He hadn't even gotten the zipper half way down before he heard the door open. He glanced over at it and frowned when his eyes met Keisuke’s. Great. Just the person he didn't want to see. He kept his mouth shut and just took care of business.

When he finished, Akaya zipped up his pants and turned to face the other man who was leaning against the sink watching him. Ok, that was a little creepy. "What the hell are you looking at?" he asked as he walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

"I don't care what your relationship with him is. I knew him first. He's mine," Keisuke growled and glared at Akaya. The smug look in the idiot’s eyes was pissing him off and he wanted to just slam his face into the sink. And it just grew when the guy smirked.

"He's yours, huh? Really? That's funny because you know, I could have sworn he was in MY bed last night," Akaya set his hand on the other man’s shoulder and gave it a pat. "Move on buddy, it's not going to happen."

Keisuke growled and grabbed Akaya’s hand. He'd be damned if he was going to let the weakling talk to him like that. He held the wrist tightly and bent it back, so that he could control the other boy’s actions. It wouldn’t have been hard to get out of, but this guy was obviously untrained. He manipulated him up against the wall and pressed the other man’s face into the cold tile. "I think you misunderstand, buddy. If you don't back off and stop tainting Hiyoshi-san, then I will make sure you regret it."

Akaya couldn't help but laugh that cold demonic laugh he was notorious for. Yeah, the guy could probably kick his ass, but he knew Keisuke’s type. He wouldn't let Hiyoshi be taken away from him.

The weakling had the nerve to laugh at him?! How dare he! To show it was not an empty threat, he grabbed Kirihara by the back of the hair tightly and slammed his face into the tile. Even he wouldn't be able to laugh after that.

Akaya tried to take a step forward and stumbled as the room started to spin. Definitely a concussion. This was not good. As his knees and hands hit the floor, he let out another quiet curse. Hiyoshi was going to be mad at him.

Just for good measure, Keisuke gave the other man a swift kick to the jaw, knocking him over to his side, then a kick to the stomach to roll him onto his back. He wasn't getting up. He'd make sure of it. Once Hiyoshi saw how weak the man was, he'd definitely leave him.

Akaya looked up at him with narrowed eyes that were quickly turning red. He'd make this guy bloody too, as soon as he could figure out which one of the four was real.

Hiyoshi had gotten out a little later than he’d anticipated. Once he had the okay to leave from the other members, he went in search of Sanada and Akaya. Hopefully Akaya would explain to him why Keisuke put him on edge earlier so afterwards they could go out to dinner or something. Maybe some of their friends would like to come along, too.

He found Sanada, but was told that Akaya had gone to use the facilities. After waiting a few minutes, and being a bit paranoid of leaving Akaya alone in this atmosphere when in a bad mood, he decided to go wait for him by the bathroom. When he arrived at the door, he heard a painful grunt that sounded painfully familiar coming from inside. Swinging the door open, he would never forget that scene. Akaya was on the floor, blood dripping from his face, looking disoriented, and Keisuke was above him… looking like he was about to kick him. He was so shocked by the image, his body reacted automatically.

When Keisuke went to kick him again, Hiyoshi grabbed and shoved him, knocking him back against the wall. Before Keisuke could respond, he already had positioned his elbow against the other man’s jugular. If he tried to move, he’d crush his windpipe. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He asked in a deadly serious tone. “Akaya? Are you alright?” He called out immediately after, not once looking away from the fucker in front of him.

Keisuke didn't even have time to react after the door opened. The next thing he knew he was up against the wall with an elbow to his throat. What surprised him the most was that it was Hiyoshi. "I was just---" How could this have happened? Why was Hiyoshi attacking him?! This wasn't his fault! The weak punk deserved it for being so cocky!

Instead of four Keisuke’s, all Akaya could see now was the spinning ceiling, and was that Wakashi’s voice? Crap, he was delusional... He forced himself to sit up and was greeted by the fuzzy image of Hiyoshi pinning the other guy up against the wall. A new wave of nausea hit him. "I've been better..." he mumbled and tried to stand, only to fall back over, "What are you doing here Wakashi?"

Fuck… Akaya’s voice was off, and he could hear him moving and then fall. He obviously at least had a concussion. He wanted to go to him but had to take care of Keisuke first. Tone icy and gaze fixed, he seethed, “I don’t know what the fuck you were thinking, but if you try anything else, I swear I’ll make it so you’ll never be able to use your arms or legs ever again, no dojo will take you after this anyway.”

Keisuke looked as terrified as he felt, it was all he could do to nod and not cry. He'd never seen this side of Hiyoshi. He'd seen him serious before, but he'd never seen him actually angry. It was terrifying. His plan had backfired and now he didn't know what to do. Hiyoshi was stronger than him; he couldn't win if he fought him, though he didn't really want to anyway.

Akaya reached up to touch his forehead and winced. That was definitely going to leave a mark. He looked at the other two men and frowned. His boyfriend was hot when he was forceful like that, but he could tell how scared the other boy was. "Wakashi, let 'im go. He's not going to do anything." he mumbled. He didn’t know why he felt bad for the guy who'd just given him a concussion, but he did. He knew it would kill him to be in that guy’s place.

Hiyoshi considered his options. The man he had once respected as a fellow martial artist was clearly not this person. “I thought better of you,” he said solemnly before slowly backing away without letting his guard down. “If you ever come near me again, or if I even see you anywhere close to Akaya, I won’t be so forgiving. Now get out.”

As soon as Hiyoshi backed away, Keisuke tried to calm himself. But the cold words were too much, and he ran.

Once Keisuke was gone, Hiyoshi finally let out the breath out he’d been holding and rushed over to Akaya. He helped him sit up slowly, steadying him in his arms. Running a hand gently through his hair, he tried to figure out the extent of damage that had been done. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, feeling horribly guilty. “I think we should take you to the hospital to get checked out. How many fingers do you see?" He held up two fingers.

Akaya winced as he sat back up and the world began to spin anew. "Sorry for what?" he asked, smiling at the other man despite the blood still dripping down the front of his face. Damn head wounds bleed too much. He tried to focus on the fingers but found doing so made him feel very, very sick. "Ugh… um... ok six… but I know that's not right... So, uh... four?" he guessed then groaned, "No, not the hospital. I hate that place. I'm fine, really." He smiled again, trying to reassure Hiyoshi.

If Hiyoshi had been the emotional type, he would have started to tear up, but as it was he just leaned over and kissed the top of Akaya’s curls and said in a dead voice, “Try two. You have to go to the hospital, I’m calling for help.” He pulled out his cell phone. “I should tell Sanada-san, too.” Angry didn’t even begin to describe how upset he was at the moment. He would make sure that Suzuki Keisuke never was able to study martial arts again.

Akaya frowned and grabbed at the phone. Of course, he missed and grabbed the mirage phone first, but on the second grab he got the real one. "Stop," he said somewhat firmly, "I'm not going to the hospital, just... let's go home, okay? I've gotten a concussion before... It's not that big a deal..."

“You can’t even stand up on your own!” Hiyoshi yelled back, not meaning to take his anger out on Akaya, but was having trouble containing himself. “Did that bastard hurt you anywhere else?” He looked straight into Akaya’s disoriented eyes. He may be a good liar, but he better not hold anything back about this.

Akaya winced at the yelling that mixed with the quiet ringing in his ears. "Hey, keep your voice down," he forced a little laugh then met Hiyoshi’s eyes. "A kick to the jaw," he pointed to the sore red spot on the other side of his face, "and a kick here," he pulled up his shirt to show off the already bruising skin on his side, "That's all." he assured.

Hiyoshi sighed and had to close his eyes for a moment to compose himself, counting down in his head. “Fine.” He relented. “I’m taking you home, but if there is anything else wrong, or I sense you still need to go to the hospital after an hour, then you don’t get a choice. Understood?” He was NOT happy, but they couldn’t stay here on the cold bathroom floor where someone could walk in at any moment, and Akaya wasn’t the type to be forced into anything.

"Alright..." Akaya agreed and gave him a little lopsided smile. "Then let’s go..." He forced himself to his feet again. He wobbled, but didn't fall this time. He refused to ask for help. This concussion was worse than his last one, but there was no way in hell he was going to tell Hiyoshi that. Maybe he'd get Sanada to take him to the doctor later after his boyfriend went to bed. Man, Sanada was going to be pissed...

It was hard for Hiyoshi to watch Akaya trying to stand up by himself. He could tell Akaya was being stubborn and trying not to show how much he was hurting. That was even harder. Why couldn’t he trust him even a little bit to take care of him? Well, he didn’t have a choice right now. Without saying a word, he brought his arm around Akaya’s waist to help support him. He was glad by this time the tournament was well over and almost everyone but the few remaining to finish up the cleaning were left. Trying to be nonchalant about it, he guided both Akaya and himself towards Akaya’s room, which thankfully, wasn’t very far away.

From the bleachers, Sanada watched the other two walk out of the bathroom. He'd seen Keisuke run out no more than a couple minutes before and it didn't take a scientist to figure out what had happened. He pulled out his phone and sent Hiyoshi a text message. 'Good job today. Take care of him. He's stubborn and probably doesn't want you to see him hurting, don't let him push you away.' He closed his phone and shoved it in his pocket before standing and walking out the door.

Akaya smiled again as Hiyoshi wrapped the arm around him. "Thanks," he mumbled and draped his arm over his boyfriend’s shoulder to help support himself. As they trudged toward his room, he tried to force his eyes to focus, but only ended up giving himself an even worse headache. "Ugh... I want an ice cream," he mumbled, half-jokingly

Hiyoshi was relieved that Akaya wasn’t pushing him away and even let a tiny smirk escape him at the ice cream comment. They didn’t say much on their way to Akaya’s dorm, but once they arrived, Hiyoshi felt relieved. He felt both physically and emotionally drained, but there would be no time to rest. “I’m going to get a wash cloth and some bandages. I think you know better than to fall asleep right now. Are you going to be okay if I leave you alone for a few minutes?” He knew he really shouldn’t, but he needed to get Akaya cleaned up.

Akaya sat down shakily on his bed, grateful to be off the hard tile bathroom floor. "I'm sure I'll manage," he smiled and chuckled a little, even though the action sent pain blossoming through his torso from the large bruise. Man, he probably bruised a rib too. Shit. "I'm sorry to trouble you," he said humbly. He felt bad for inconveniencing Hiyoshi when he knew the other man probably wanted to sleep. He'd had a busy day and hard matches. He wanted to give him a massage and snuggle up in bed with him, but it didn't look like that was going to happen this time.

“You’re not troubling me. I’ll be right back.” Hiyoshi hoped the disappointment wasn’t apparent in his voice and face.

He got what he needed in a hurry, and even stopped by a vending machine in the hall to get Akaya an ice cream. On the way, he noticed the email from Sanada. He was hesitant to read it, and once he did, felt even more anxious, when he probably should have been thankful. The ‘He doesn't want you to see him hurting’ was obvious. He knew that. It was part of why this upset him so much. Akaya never showed him his vulnerable side. Why was he still trying to hide from him? Hiyoshi tried so damn hard to open himself up to his boyfriend, but maybe there were just some things that his brat would never reciprocate. However, this was not the time to think about it. Taking care of him, as Sanada had pointed out, was his first priority.

As soon as Hiyoshi left, Akaya hauled himself back to his feet and waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hall before opening the door and trudging toward the bathroom. He used the wall to keep himself upright but could feel each step getting harder, and he could feel the bile rising in his throat as the world spun around him. Suddenly he really wished his boyfriend hadn't left his side. Damn it. He hated being useless. He was a grown man! He could take care of himself. He took another step and felt his knees give out under him. He caught himself on his hands and knees, but the motion only helped to upset his stomach more. Fuck, if only the room would stop spinning.

On his way back, Hiyoshi was outraged to find Akaya in the hallway, back on the floor again. Running over to him, he seethed between clenched teeth, “What the hell are you doing, brat? I told you I’d be right back!” He had to take everything he’d been holding in one hand while the other guided Akaya slowly up by the waist off the hard carpet to lean back against his chest. He nearly hissed from behind him into his ear, “Where are you trying to go?”

Hiyoshi’s angry scolding was like music to his ears. He wished the other had picked him up a different way though because he felt the bile in the back of his throat this time. He swallowed it back down, but just barely, "B-bathroom," he managed to whimper out before he clamped a hand over his mouth. He was not going to throw up in the hallway, he wasn't that pathetic.

Oh. Hiyoshi adjusted his hold on Akaya and quickly half led, half carried him, only the few more steps down the hall it took to get to the bathroom. Escorting him to the nearest stall with a stone faced expression, he could feel his anger and guilt growing by the second but refused to let it show.

As soon as the toilet was close enough, Akaya fell to his knees and proceeded to lose everything he'd eaten in the past couple hours. After he'd finally stopped, he just sat there groaning, and gave a few last dry heaves before looking over at Hiyoshi. "S-sorry..." he mumbled and reached up to flush the toilet, "You uh... is it too late to take you up on that offer to take me to the hospital?" he frowned and rubbed at his eyes. He felt pathetic. He didn't want Hiyoshi to see him looking weak. He wanted to always be able to smile for the other man.

Was it bad that Akaya asking him to take him to the hospital made him smile? Some of the tension left him. “Of course not, idiot. There’s no reason for you to be sorry.” Once he was sure Akaya was done, he helped bring him over to the sink so he could wash his mouth. He then pulled his phone out and pushed the speed dial for his personal taxi service. “The taxi will be here in a few minutes. I’ll grab a few things for you out of your room in case you have to stay over night and then we’ll go out to the curb. Okay?”

Akaya groaned and pouted at Hiyoshi, "Nooooo… I don't wanna stay there overnight. Hospitals freak me out," He rinsed out his mouth and leaned back against the counter. He reached out to his boyfriend and waited to be assisted, once again feeling like crap for being a burden on him. Why was he smiling?

“You’ll stay over night if they tell you to.” Instead of helping him away from the counter, Hiyoshi took a second to lean into Akaya for a brief hug that he needed. ‘Stop making me worry like this, brat.’ He said mentally to Akaya, but not daring to say it out loud. Instead, he offered, “If you’re good while we’re at the hospital, you get this.” He said, leaning back to show him the ice cream bar. “Or whatever other kind of ice cream you want. Don’t worry, we’ll only stay as long we need to.”

Akaya looked ready to cry (he blamed the head wound) and he wrapped his arms around Hiyoshi, pulling him back against him again. "Thank you Wakashi..." he said against the other man’s shoulder. He couldn't wait to eat the ice cream, because Hiyoshi had been nice enough to buy it for him, "I'm sorry I'm a pain..."

“Yes, you are a pain.” Hiyoshi turned his head into Akaya’s curls and breathed in his scent. “Always a pain… but you’re my pain, and I don’t plan on getting rid of you any time soon.” It was very out of character for him to say something like that, but it felt good to say. There were still a lot of issues for the two of them to work out, but right now they had a taxi to catch. “I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of bathrooms. Let’s go.”

Akaya smiled against Hiyoshi’s shoulder and kissed it gently. "Good, 'cause you're stuck with me whether you like it or not," he teased and slowly pushed away from the counter. "But yeah... I don't want to be anywhere near tile for a while..." He chuckled and waited for Hiyoshi to help him toward the door.


They had been at the hospital for almost four hours before the doctors finally gave the okay for Akaya to leave. Akaya had to have an MRI scan done to make sure there was no lasting damage, which there wasn’t (thank goodness), but due to the concussion and other injuries, he had to rest and not be physically active for about a week. Akaya had behaved fairly well while they were there, at least as far as Hiyoshi could see. Hiyoshi hadn’t been allowed in during some of it, so he’d waited in the waiting room for more than half the time. The only time Akaya had whined was when he’d been told he couldn’t play tennis for a week, which was expected. Hiyoshi had a feeling he had a hard battle in front of him to actually get Akaya to follow through with that. Good thing his own schedule was finally somewhat clear and he would actually have time now to stay in and chain him to the bed if need be.

The taxi dropped them back off at the campus and Hiyoshi was now leading them back to Akaya’s room. “Do you want that ice cream I promised you, or do you just want the one I got you earlier? I left it in your mini-freezer before we left.”

Finally, he was free! Akaya hated hospitals, hell, he was pretty sure all of Rikkai hated hospitals, but it didn't matter. He was out and he wasn't nauseous anymore which was awesome. The only side effects he still had were the occasional dizzy spells and a killer headache, but he'd taken some medicine for the headache. His jaw still ached from the kick and his ribs were sore as well, but he'd had worse. He hated being banned from playing tennis, but the way the doctor had described his brain rattling around inside his head had grossed him out enough to do as the lady said.

As they walked back toward the dorms, Akaya felt the aspirin kicking in and smiled. "Both!" He said happily and laced his hand with his boyfriend’s, squeezing it gently.

They were still out in public. Hiyoshi almost froze and pulled his hand away when he felt Akaya’s hand in his, but forced himself not to. He kept telling himself he could get used to this; he could push his embarrassment away. “Alright,” he answered, trying to cover any discomfort he might feel with a smirk. “How does the small ice cream shop on the east side of campus sound? I think it’s still open.” And it was the closest.

"I love that place!" Akaya said happily and squeezed the other man’s hand again, "You're totally treating though," he smirked and looked over at his boyfriend. He was grateful to him for not teasing him or thinking he was stupid for getting hurt. For going to the hospital with him, even though he really wished Hiyoshi hadn't had to see him like that. At least he could smile now and show Hiyoshi the way he made him feel.

“Don’t I always?” Hiyoshi mock sighed as he squeezed Akaya’s hand back. The embarrassment was still there, but Akaya was a good distraction. When they arrived at the ice cream counter, he ordered himself sweet potato and green tea swirl then turned towards Akaya, “What would you like?” They were the only ones at the stand right then, probably because it was getting late and it was too cold for ice cream.

"Heh heh," Akaya looked over the menu happily and got a mouthwatering mix of chocolate and chocolate chip cookie dough. Almost instantly after it was handed to him, he dug in, reveling in the sweet chocolaty sugary goodness. The first bite made him feel better immediately and it only helped to secure that, yes, ice cream was magical, no matter what his senpai said.

They walked with their ice cream back to Akaya’s room. Hiyoshi was glad that the brat was looking much better than earlier, although he really needed to change his shirt. Akaya hadn’t let him grab an extra set of clothes earlier, insisting he wouldn’t need them. “You should change.” Hiyoshi pointed out as they entered the room.

Akaya set his ice-cream down on the desk and looked down at his stained shirt. He'd gotten blood on it, and the smell of bathrooms and the hospital didn't help. He pulled it and his pants off and threw them into the corner so he was left only in his boxers. He picked up his ice cream and started to eat again with a happy grin, "There, better?"

Hiyoshi nodded with a chuckle, and then sat down tiredly on the bed to finish his own ice cream and watch a half naked Akaya. If it weren’t for the nasty bruises forming on his boyfriend’s side and face, he would have said it was moments like these that made the world tolerable. He then broke the silence by asking the question he’d been meaning to ask Akaya for over 5 hours now, “Did you enjoy the tournament?”

Akaya looked over at his boyfriend and grinned ear to ear like he didn’t have a bandage on his forehead or a bruise on his face, and sat down next to him. "It was really, really cool! You looked great out there and you kicked ass!"

Hiyoshi leaned back against the wall, smiling back at Akaya’s enthusiasm. “I should have won that one kata match.” He thought back only slightly annoyed over it. “The only reason they gave it to the other guy was because I think the judges judged me harsher based on my status and previous performance.” It really wasn’t fair in his opinion, but he wasn’t going to complain about it. It was just a small fraternity hosted tournament. “I was happy with the combat matches though, Kei…” He stopped abruptly. Shit. He didn’t want to think about his final match with Keisuke. That was going to be a sore spot for a while.

Akaya watched him talk and his smile didn't even falter when Hiyoshi thought of Keisuke and stopped talking. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. "You were amazing," he whispered with a little smirk.

Hiyoshi smiled gratefully and pulled him in for another soft kiss that ended up dragging out for a minute or two, not that he was complaining. It left him feeling much more relaxed, relaxed enough to ask the question that had been nagging at him. “What happened, anyway?” He knew it may be better not to ask or even bring it up, but he really felt like he needed to know. “Why did you ask me to stay away from him in the first place? And how did the two of you end up like that?” Suzuki-san and he had never been close per-say, but he still couldn’t believe it had happened. He was almost afraid of the answer since he didn’t want to think that Akaya had actually instigated it. He refused to jump to that conclusion.

Akaya snuggled up to Hiyoshi’s side and rested his head on the other man’s shoulder with a little frown. "When I saw you guys, he was giving you the look...." he mumbled, "It's the ‘I'm going to sleep with you later’ look. I got worried..." he finished off his ice cream and set the container aside. "When I went to the bathroom, he stood there staring at me and we talked for a minute before he grabbed me and hit my head against the wall. Then kicked me, then you showed up," he smiled a little and kissed Hiyoshi’s cheek.

It took a minute for all of what Akaya said to sink in. Akaya was the master of how to make a long story short, sometimes missing crucial facts, but right now he was focusing on his first sentence. “The look?” Hiyoshi felt the need to laugh. “That’s ridiculous! He’s never said or done anything like that before.” Even the thought made him feel uncomfortable. He gave Akaya a look that insinuated ‘are you sure you didn’t bang your head before you came to the tournament?’ Truthfully, it was difficult for Hiyoshi to imagine anyone feeling that way about him. It still confused him sometimes why Akaya did. “Something must have happened to make him angry enough to take it out on you like that.”

"Yeah, the look." Akaya sat back to look at Hiyoshi with a look that said, 'You don't believe me?' "I know that look Wakashi," he said firmly and added quietly as an after thought, "I'm a master of that look," he leaned back against the wall and stared at the other side of the room. "Yeah, he was pissed off because I'm with you and not him."

“It’s not that I don’t believe you…” Hiyoshi sighed. There was just no way. “I just think it might have been misinterpreted. If he really felt that way towards me, don’t you think in all the years we’ve known each other, he would have said something or I would have noticed?” He knew that supposedly Akaya had a lot of experience in these types of things, but maybe he was just misreading the circumstances. “I’m not trying to make excuses for him or anything, but that’s seems like a pretty absurd reason to attack you. Are you sure?”

"Of course I'm sure," Akaya growled and moved over to sit on the edge of the bed, "He said that you are his and I'm just in the way. You just probably never noticed. The guy's crazy. Who knows what's been going through his head."

Hiyoshi didn’t want to believe it, but… if what Akaya said was true… That meant that he was partly to blame for what happened. Hiyoshi’s eyes went wide at the realization. Did he just never notice as Akaya had said? He knew that he had, on more than one occasion, been tempted to thoroughly thrash Shishido for multiple reasons, all having to do with Choutarou. Of course he hadn’t gone through with it, but when he was younger that had mostly been due to Choutarou’s interference. When he was angry, really angry… it was sometimes hard to hold his temper back. If he had noticed Keisuke’s feelings for him as Choutarou had… could he have prevented this? He suddenly felt very ashamed and had to cover his face, not wanting Akaya to see him. In fact, Akaya had every right to be angry at him over this. Akaya looking at him as if he had been betrayed from the other side of the bed only made it worse.

In the end, all the martial artist could do was whisper out a broken, “I’m sorry.” He got up from the bed, wishing he’d never asked in the first place.

Akaya watched Hiyoshi stand and sighed quietly. Somehow they always came back to this. At least for tonight he wanted to change that, to make everything right again. He stood and moved to wrap his arms around Hiyoshi. "Look, I'm not upset. I'm happy I got to fight for you, okay? And yeah I got in one good hit, so it wasn't just me getting wailed on. And most importantly, it's not your fault," He assured quietly.

Hiyoshi had a hard time believing that this wasn’t in some way his fault, but Akaya obviously wasn’t going to hold it against him, and would probably not be too happy if he became upset in front of him. Not to mention, he didn’t want to appear weak. Determined to put this aside and beat himself up for it later in private, he turned around in boyfriend’s arms, trying to not to sound too fake when he joked, “I thought you were the one who’s supposed to be the pain.”

Hiyoshi was forcing himself. Akaya frowned. "Hey listen to me," he growled quietly. "It is NOT your fault Wakashi... Why don't you believe me?" he asked quietly. Man... He hated when the doctor was right sometimes. He'd been warned of his emotions being a bit over the top for the rest of the day, but he hadn't believed her until now.

Hiyoshi was tempted to respond but thought better of it. He had already decided to lock his thoughts and words away to be dealt with later on his own. “I get it. It’s not my fault,” he replied smoothly. Though he may not be good at lying to others, when it came to lying to himself, he was a champ. He leaned forward and kissed Akaya’s forehead. “Let’s just drop it.”

Akaya frowned again, but let it drop as well. "Whatever," he mumbled and hugged Hiyoshi closer. He couldn't force the other man to talk to him, no matter how much he wanted to.

Problem gone for now, Hiyoshi began running a hand through Akaya’s hair. Akaya was nice and snuggly against him, but he didn’t like the fact they were still standing in the middle of the room. It would probably be best if they just went to bed. He trailed a few kisses down the side of Akaya’s face. “I need you to let go of me so I can get undressed for bed.”

At the word ‘undressed,’ Akaya’s ears perked up and he smirked. "You don't need me to let go. I'll help you," he said silkily and slid his hands up under Hiyoshi’s shirt before tugging it up.

Hiyoshi chuckled as his boyfriend more than happily began the task of undressing him. It was almost comedic how predictable Akaya was when it came to this kind of situation. Hiyoshi had become way too used to it and even had started to enjoy it.

Once he got Hiyoshi’s pants undone, Akaya pushed them to the floor and ran his hand’s slowly up the other mans thighs. The beautifully defined muscles always left him speechless. He bent to kiss along Hiyoshi’s chest and sighed happily. No matter how long the day, this was enough to make him feel better.

Hiyoshi let out a barely whispered groan as he let himself be maneuvered by his boyfriend. He hated to admit it, but every once in a while he liked it when Akaya took control like this, in fact, sometimes he preferred it. “Wouldn’t you rather continue this on the bed?” he asked amusedly. He already knew the answer though; Akaya was always ready to go, no matter where they were.

"Hnn... If you want," Kirihara murmured and slowly backed up and crawled onto the bed. He laid himself out in a rather seductive pose and waited. Hiyoshi wouldn't be able to resist him, he was sure of it.

Sometimes it was really hard not to laugh outright when Akaya was so blatantly trying to seduce him; it was cute (and almost always worked). He contained himself though since right now he wanted Akaya on top of him and not pouting at him. He followed Akaya onto the bed and kissed him lightly on the lips, letting Akaya think whatever he wanted. He then proceeded to nibble and suck at Akaya’s lips, encouraging him to follow as he backed up and lay down on his back, positioning Akaya over him.

Akaya smirked as Hiyoshi kissed him and didn't put up any resistance as he was pulled on top of his boyfriend. He let their hips rest together; rolling them slowly and patiently against each other as he trailed his lips down the other man’s neck. He could taste the saltiness of old sweat and the bitterness sent shivers down his spine. A quiet groan filled the silence, but he couldn't tell who it came from, him or Hiyoshi. It didn't really matter.

Hiyoshi wanted to keep going, wanted to feel Akaya’s lips on him, and keep up those amazing hip movements. After today, he wanted to get lost in the act. Let Akaya take control. His eyes closed and his lips let loose small sounds of satisfaction. However, his guilty conscience caught up with him and he laid a hand on Akaya’s head, gently indication for him to stop. “You need to rest…”

Even before Akaya felt the hand in his hair, slowly tugging him away, he knew they were going to have to stop. He was already starting to feel the pain in his side, cramping up his muscles and his jaw was aching. Damn. He hated it when Hiyoshi was right. He let out a sigh and nodded. "Yeah. I know..." he mumbled.

Frustrated at having to stop, but glad that Akaya had agreed without a fuss, Hiyoshi leaned up to place one last small kiss on Akaya’s lips. “Goodnight,” he said with a small smile, wrapping his arms around the other boy lightly, carefully avoiding the bruises.

Pulling the blanket over them, Akaya snuggled up to Hiyoshi’s side and closed his eyes, groaning as the movement aggravated the bruise on his side. "Hmm... Naa, Wakashi..." he mumbled, exhaustion already catching up to him and pulling him toward sleep, "You gotta teach me how to use nunchucks later..." He trailed off into a light snore as his breathing evened out and sleep stole him away, leaving no room for argument.

Hiyoshi listened to the soft sound of Akaya breathing next to him, the smile never leaving his face. He looked like such an innocent little brat when asleep, despite the forming bruises, which oddly seemed to add to his charm. He gazed fondly at that small pointy nose and dark eyelashes that rested against slightly tanned skin. Dark locks that were soft to the touch and tangled so easily in his hands. Akaya’s slightly parted lips which had felt so good on his were breathing evenly.

He reached over to Akaya’s alarm clock (which of course was shaped as a tennis ball) and set it to wake him up in two hours. Doctor’s orders. But it wasn’t often that Akaya fell asleep before him, so Hiyoshi would stay awake a bit longer and take advantage of the view.