RP Log: Kikumaru Eiji, Kite Eishirou & Oishi Syuichirou
Rating: PG
When: Sometime before Eiji ran off to stay with Gakuto
Where: The cave infirmary
Summary: Kite and Eiji... bond.
He had been coming to that cave so often, that Kite was starting to think of it as his second home on this island. His first was his lodge, built by his own two hands, in the trees, when it had been just himself on the island. But he had started to come to the camp area more often and to this particular residence. All because of who lived inside. There had been nights that he had even sat there in the cave. Slept there, mere feet away from the medic he was so fond of...and growing even more fond of as time went on. Especially after their kiss.
He now made sure he came down almost daily, to the other teen would know he had survived the evening alone in the jungles. That was why he was there now. To let Oishi know he was still very much alive and maybe crash for a while in the spot on the floor he had claimed for himself. Only when he went inside, there was already someone in HIS spot.
Red hair. Small frame. Kikumaru Eiji...Oishi’s doubles partner and the one person other than Oishi’s former buchou that Kite felt even vaguely threatened by. He didn’t like that feeling. It made him do bad things while on the defensive. Like walk up to the curled up form and lightly nudge it awake with his foot. “Oi...You’re in my spot.”
The soft curled up bundle on the ground whined at the intrusion. Eiji lay on the ground, almost kitten like and snuggled deep within the multiple blankets that have been enforced upon him since his abrupt arrival. For the first time since Eiji had arrived, he was innocently obeying his partner's orders and sleeping in the infirmary until Oishi returned. Another whine escaped the redhead, as he realized Oishi wouldn't have nudged him in that way.
He opened an eye and looked up to see an unfamiliar figure. "Nyah...?" he didn't have very much of a vocabulary when awoken in such a way. His gibberish was something his friends had gotten used to by now. Eiji pulled himself up into a sitting position and watched Kite with a quiet gaze, unsure of what was going on. While gazing curiously at the other person he rubbed at an eye with a curled up fist.
Oh wait. This was Kite. The person that Eiji saw all over the journals as being linked with Oishi now. He hadn’t seen Kite since his graduation from Seigaku so many years ago. He smiled quietly at the other, not having heard the earlier accusation. "Hiya~" he greeted quietly, still not fully having found his voice yet after the nap.
The Okinawan was well aware of Eiji’s catlike antics. He didn’t claim to understand them and frankly, he didn’t think he wanted to. If the red head wanted to be thought of and treated like a cat, then so be it. Kite was more concerned with the very uncomfortable closeness between the smaller teen and the gentle medic. That small Nyaing ball was a threat to him. Kite didn’t deal well with threats. But he wasn’t the sort of person who would really attack others in their sleep. No. He wanted them to be awake so he could see the looks on their faces when they realized that the Hitman was after them.
He crosses his arms in his usual fashion, ignoring the sudden shooting pain that came from it. Gritting his teeth a little, he retained that tough posture even as the other woke up. In a way, it reminded Kite a little bit of his baby sister. But Eiji wasn’t family. Kikumaru wasn’t even close to family. He doubted the other, game maker though he might be, would never allow someone like him at any Seigaku gatherings.
He frowned at the greeting and pushed his glasses up, approaching. He kept scanning the other. measuring. Weighing. The other boy wasn’t at all a physical threat to him, even with the gymnastic ability. He still didn’t drop his guard. Instead, he stood in front of the red head and nodded once. “Kikumaru-kun. I see you are following your friend’s advice for once. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to know that. But you might want to find a different corner. This one is mine.” Oh yes. Possessive and territorial. The worst of both worlds.
Eiji rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and continued sitting there. He pulled the blankets even tighter around his body and half yawned once more. Moving would take a lot of effort and what really is the difference between sleeping here and sleeping in another place? For some reason though, Kite really wanted to sleep in this corner and was really serious about it. Well...thinking about it for a moment, it was a really comfortable corner so it made some sort of sense.
The thoughts in his mind blurred into one another as he wasn’t really coherent enough to make any sense to himself. Oishi did say that Kite may drop by and if he was to drop by Eiji wasn’t allowed to jump on him. That probably also meant that Eiji had to do what he said. The redhead pulled himself onto his feet. Oishi probably would be back sometime soon and if he found Eiji not being compliant, he’d probably get another lecture. After everything that had happened recently, it was better to be the good boy for now. He still has yet to give Oishi his apology hug.
Without thinking about anything else in particular, Eiji pulled himself onto his feet. The important thing right now would be to give Kite what he wanted. He left the blankets where they were in the corner and shuffled himself over to where Oishi normally slept. Then, with no further thought or hesitation, the boy crawled under the blanket there and resumed his nap. It wasn’t weird to Eiji. He used to randomly nap on Oishi all the time, it was rather comfortable that way ... At least until Oishi finished reading the book he had and needed to lean over to grab another.
Hard eyes watched the cat-like red head. So this was how it was to be. He supposed he could make an attempt to be just a little nicer to Eiji...after all, he liked Kikumaru’s friend...a great deal. So he would be around the red head more. But to get Kite to like someone, even as a friend, it was like getting blood from a turnip. It was possible...but only if you threw the root vegetable at someone’s head really really hard. He wasn’t a huggy person. He wasn’t happy go lucky. Eiji was his exact opposite. Oil and water. Cat and dog.
Where Eiji moved was even worse. That was Oishi’s spot. Even he hadn’t had the pleasure of sleeping there. And Eiji was there like he did it every day. He could feel the jealousy and possessiveness creeping up. He knew those feelings were ridiculous. The fact was Eiji probably had done that every day. It was Kite who was the outsider here. Kite who had come like a pirate in the night and stolen the medic away from Seigaku’s cat. That didn’t help the feelings of animosity he felt. Feelings that he could only explain as feeling only second best. Now that Eiji was here... Oishi wouldn’t need his company any more. It was a bitter pill he refused to swallow.
Instead, he dropped down to his normal spot to glare at the huddle under the blankets. “He’s had to put up with a lot.” He mused. Not just here, but with Eiji’s clingy antics as well. Or at least what the Higa buchou saw as clingy.
After a few moments, Eiji opened an eye to watch the person from under the blanket as he remained hunched down in the corner. Did he really enjoy the corner that much? Deep blue eyes watched the form that was huddled down. He was injured wasn’t he? Why else would Oishi warn him not to jump on Kite if he decided to visit. He shifted a little under the blanket, a red fluff of hair popping out before a pair of blinking eyes could then be seen. He was supposed to be nice, right? This was the person who was special to Oishi. A different kind of special than Eiji was.
When Eiji had finally returned home, he had been bundled into the corner and ordered not to move for a while. The redhead wondered if Oishi made everybody do that or if he was the only one. Though, it made sense, Eiji was always “do before think”. He shuffled a little more so his head came out from under the blanket and he lay really close to the edge. “Hey.” He began...not too sure on what to continue with. “How did you get so hurt?” Eiji continued on curiously. Since sending Oishi the emails not too long ago, the redhead hadn’t really paid too much attention to what happened online, instead he actually obeyed orders for once and slept. He owed Oishi at least that much for what he had done for him at the new years party. Whether the action was or wasn’t welcome was its own argument.
It must have been somewhat of a huge fight to end in injuries like that. Someone else for Oishi to worry about. Eiji smiled quietly. Since junior high school, the vice captain had always worried about everyone’s injuries. “Oishi’s going to have a big panic when he comes home.” Well...as home as home could be anyway.
He did enjoy that corner...for many reasons. The first was it gave him an unblocked view of the mouth of the cave. No one could come in or out without his noticing. No one could sneak up on him. He’d learned a long long time ago, under the torture of the Higa coach that paranoia wasn’t just all in his head. Here, more than anywhere else. It also gave him a view of the other sleeping area. When he slept over, he could lay awake for hours, just watching the sleeping form across the room. Guarding Oishi from the things that might or might not be out there.
But it was a red head there, and not his medic. But it would seem that Eiji was making the attempt to be friendly with him. He had no reason not to try back. “This? You should see the other guy.” The other guy happened to be Hiyoshi of Hyotei and he did look quite a bit worse than him, which wasn’t saying much. “But the two of us were just sparring. Having some fun.” He didn’t expect for Eiji to understand. Not many on this island did get it. Perhaps 4 people on the island actually got the way the Higa buchou’s head worked when it came to that sort of thing.
“And he did panic a little.” He admitted. “But he’s good at what he does. I’m just here to get my ribs rebound.” And to see Oishi, though that he didn’t think needed to be stated.
Eiji laughed a little upon the response that he received to the questions. This person was really interesting. It seems that hurting people and getting hurt was as fun to the other as perfecting a new backflip was fun to himself. Everyone liked different things. He paused for a moment to think about what was fun for which people.
The boy shifted off the bed, still cocooned in the blanket that made him feel warm and protected. He pulled the blanket tighter around him and shifted closer to Kite, sitting there quietly and watching him with an intrigued expression. There was something else that everyone was doing on the island which seemed fun.
Talking to Oishi ended up with the other warning him to stay away from a certain person. Talking to Gakuto resulted in him being told to spend more time with that certain person. He wondered what Kite would say. "So..."
He paused and thought about it for a moment. Eiji had always been told his train of thought was a bit strange and jumpy but surely this question wouldn't be too much of a stretch. "Kissing people isn't just for fun, right?" he tipped his head, red locks swaying to one side. "How do you know if you want to kiss someone?"
There wasn't a reason Eiji left off the word again. But the idea that he had initiated the second kiss with Kenya did leave a slight tint of red on his cheeks.
Kite was not used to such non-linear thought. Sure, sometimes some of his Higa might do that, but not as often as Eiji seemed to. He was proud of himself when he didn’t react more than a simple lift of the eyebrow. ...He wondered. Did Eiji know he and Oishi had kissed. Did he knew that he would be kissing Oishi again...and again and probably do a lot more to him. And if so...he wondered what Eiji thought of him. He knew that back in the day, all of Seigaku had hated him and thought of both him and his team as terribly evil people. But Tezuka had more or less forgiven him...Oishi seemed to have put that past behind them as well. Perhaps...just perhaps...Eiji didn’t think Kite would follow type and hurt Oishi. He wouldn’t. He would sooner cut off his own arms than hurt Syuichirou.
Still, the question was one that made him ponder. “Depends on who you ask.” He answered, vagely. “I’m not the relationship expert on the island.” He just knew that he wanted to push Oishi down and have his way. “But for me, kissing is a serious thing.” At least this time it was. He’d never been too serious about any of the girls he’d been with...but it was different with Oishi.
Hm. Blue eyes blinked curiously at the answer he received. Well that didn't answer anything at all. He was still right back where he started and with that he shifted closer to the other man again, now just a few paces away from him. He peered at the serious expression for a moment and responded to it with a slightly childish one. "Serious thing hm..." His eyes glanced up towards the ceiling. "I used to think about kissing Oishi." The redhead declared bluntly. Though the thought hadn’t crossed his mind since junior high. He laughed a little at the idea.
Eiji thought about Oishi for a moment. Then he thought about Kenya. Oishi felt warm and comfortable but the latter made strange butterfly like feelings. He laughed again.
That made him react. Nothing else in the world would, but that...it set him off like a short fused firework. He managed to keep the explosion in though. He had promised Oishi. He’d not fight. He’d not punch Eiji in the face...There would be no strange and unexplained deaths. “Used to.” He stressed. There was a very possessive tone to his voice. “You used to.” But not any more. Oishi was his, damn it.
Oblivious to the angered person before him, Eiji nodded. "Back in junior high school. Kissing Oishi now would feel funny." The grin on his face only widened at the thought. "I love Oishi." The words rolled off his tongue easily. "He'll always be my Golden Pair." The voice became slightly wistful. "But... I don't think about him like that." Dark blue eyes watched back at the intense gaze that was upon him.
Subconsciously Eiji did want to put the other at ease. Since he was young, all the redhead really wanted was for everyone around him to be happy. But especially his partner. "So..." His tone picked up the usual jovial tune again. "You didn't answer me. How do you know if you want to kiss someone?"
It put him a little at ease until he heard that word. The one word that ruined...well everything. Love. Eiji...loved...Oishi. They were a pair. A matched set. It was like he’d been stabbed. He knew deep down, as competitive as he was, there would be no winning against the likes of Kikumaru in a battle for the medic’s heart. Especially since the word love was so foreign to the Higa. He’d maybe used it three times in his entire life and even then it had been like dragging a confession of him him through extreme torture. He just wasn’t that free with his words or his feelings.
He crossed his arms despite the pain and glared. even in the dim lights of the cave, his glasses flashed in a deadly manner. “You just know.” He grated. “You think about them all the time and you want to make them happy. You’d die for them. You’d be hurt and sad when we get off this island and find that you can’t be together any more. That is how you know.” Because that was how he knew he liked Oishi. Because it would hurt a hell of a lot, when he went back to Okinawa and the medic returned to Tokyo. It was a separation he didn’t want to think about at the moment.
Eiji blinked a few times through the explanation. If that was the case then he'd been thinking about it all wrong. "Well... That's how I feel about Oishi. So I do love him." Well he knew that already. He wondered then what he felt about Kenya. He doesn't feel like kissing Oishi but he loved Oishi with all his heart.
On the flipside, the confused boy thought about the kiss with Kenya but wasn't sure if he'd be utterly depressed if he didn't have the chance to see him again. Though, he did want to see Kenya again, that in itself wasn't the question. "I love Fuji too." He grinned at the other and curled up on the floor near Kite as they continued the conversation. "Don't you love Oishi?"
A twitch. He had promised but it was becoming very difficult for him to keep his temper. He wished Eiji would stop saying that. Stop saying that he loved Oishi. Every time he did, it reminded Kite of just how emotionally restrained he was. Just how much more time Eiji had with his doubles partner. They had a history that Kite couldn’t even touch. It was galling.
And Eiji was now in arm’s reach. All he had to do was put his hands around that small little throat and squeeze.... His head went back and he let it thunk hard against the cave wall. Restraint was so hard sometimes. And then there was that question. A question he wasn’t ready to answer seeing as he had been living with deep denial for all this time. “I...have feelings for him, yes.” But he wouldn’t use the word. “And I don’t care what you or the rest of Seigaku think about me.” Except he sort of did. “Syuichiou is...an important person to me and I’ll not go away without a fight.” He could be damn stubborn when he wanted to be.
The confusion in the depths of Eiji's eyes remained with that declaration. "What do you mean...? Why would I fight you?" He chuckled a little at the idea and stretched under the warm blanket. Anything or anyone that made Oishi happy also made Eiji happy. Maybe it was their synchro ability that had developed or maybe it was just the amount of time the golden pair had to spend together. Eiji couldn't help but be happy for his best friend.
"Feelings for him.." He thought the idea over in his mind for a while and the declared happily. "You love Oishi, too." A quiet smile settled on his face. It was a different kind of love they each shared for the previous vice captain but love all the same. Eiji tentatively reached out and prodded at Kite with his finger. The redhead was used to attaching himself and anyone and everyone in his path but this person felt different. He did want to give the man a hug though, he looked like he needed one.
Sharp eyes followed the finger as it prodded him. He caught it on it’s way back and frowned. He, for a moment, considered breaking it. He didn’t like being touched either. But he had promised. So he let go with a dark growl. Maybe he did...Maybe he did love Oishi, but he wasn’t just going to say it to someone. No. He’d say it when he was damn well ready to, and only to Oishi himself. He didn’t even try to explain the complexities of the ways of the Higa or why he was so positive that there would indeed be a fight. Somehow, some way, there would be a fight. He just had to be ready for it.
He still refused to answer and just grated out, “Don’t do that again.” It was the only warning Kikumaru would receive.
"Hmm..." Eiji rolled over onto his back and stared up towards the ceiling, his finger up in the air in front of his face. He was definitely not like the rest of Seigaku. He turned slightly to peek towards Kite again. "Why..? Do you hate me?" He blinked once and again before turning away again. "I don't hate you." How could he hate anybody that Oishi liked? Then Eiji paused for a moment before sitting bolt upright with wide eyes.
"Kenken was angry too!" Eiji muttered quietly as he sat there. On the night that Oishi had the argument with Kenya, the speed boy had told Oishi that such a declaration would be for Eiji's ears only. This had to be what he meant. "Ah! I'm sorry." He dropped his head for a moment and sighed. When it was a different kind of love... You had to be a bit more careful. "That's why you don't like me huh?"
“No. Because I don’t like being touched.” There. He had said it. He wouldn’t say why he was so adverse to it. Just that he wasn’t cool with it was enough. People didn’t touch him. They avoided him. It was just that simple. It was part of being the Hitman and looking like a yanki. But he could easily find a million reasons not to like Eiji. But he wanted to at least tolerate someone that Oishi cared for, even if he was the enemy.
“And I don’t dislike you.” He just didn’t know what to make of someone like Eiji. Not at all.
"Really?!" He smiled happily as he sat there and a wave of relief washed over him at that point. "That's good. Well... Sort of." Eiji couldn't imagine what it was like to not want hugs or to be close to people. He hugged people all the time and it made everyone happy. "I like you." He declared honestly. Kite hadn't done anything to make Eiji think otherwise after all. Scary people aren't scary until they actually hurt you after all... That and Oishi would have warned Eiji if Kite was that dangerous.
He nestles back down into the blanket and watched the man with calm blue eyes now, quite glad the issue had been resolved. "That's why Oishi told me not to jump on you."
He almost laughed. Oishi had warned Kikumaru about him. He wasn’t surprised. But he wasn’t going to let the red head think it was simply because he wasn’t a loving person. “No...He told you not to jump on me because if you did, my initial reaction would be to throw you across the room and break your neck.” It wasn’t a threat. Merely the truth. Kite had been fighting far too long. His self-preservation tendency around people was very high, regardless of how much of an adrenaline junkie he was becoming out here. Plus there were his ribs. His ribs might not take even the slight weight of Kikumaru. But he wasn’t about to reveal such a weakness.
“So save yourself some pain and just keep listening to Syuichirou.” Because he’d hate to have to go and kill Oishi’s best friend. A loving relationship wouldn’t go very well after such a thing.
Kite was a very interesting person. And he called Oishi by his first name. There was definitely something happening there. Eiji never really called anybody by their first name either actually. It was never really of importance. Taka was called by his first name though well... Everyone called him by his first name. Oishi was much more fun tho.
It made his best friend sound tasty. Though there was one person he did call by first name. Kind of.
Eiji nodded a little and yawned as he lay there. "I try to listen to Oishi... But sometimes it gets really boring." He peeked up at Kite and smiled towards him. "You say interesting things. I'll save my pouncing for Seigaku. It's okay." Then after a pause he looked at Kite. "We're having a Seigaku party. You want to come play too?"
More than that. Oishi was allowed to call Kite by name. Only 6 other people had that honor, and none of them were here on the island. He was definitely fond of the more level headed member of the Golden Pair. And he couldn’t help but chuckle at the complaint. With how much Oishi did worry about people, he was sure it must be hard for anyone to sit still for as long as he might want them too. Something Kite was going to learn all about because of his damn fool promises. He’d just have to find some other way to kill the time.
His expression changed again at the invite. He doubted he would be very welcome at all. He was the soul team orphan on the island. Oshitari called him one of the ronin. Oshitari for a while had been the other team-less person. “I don’t do parties.” He sometimes went, but always stayed on the fridges. But he had also made a promise to himself to be more social. “But if I am welcome...I might as well.” He might as well meet the people whom Oishi found most important, if only so he would know why he wasn’t allowed to kill if things went wrong and they ran out of food.
Seeing Kite laugh was a good sign. “Yeah...come. Inui will make parfait. It’ll be good. And Oishi can stop worrying about everyone for a while because we’ll all be in the same place.” Whether or not that in itself was a good idea will show for itself later. Eiji stretched once more under the blanket and a yawn passed his lips.. He’d been there all day and that in itself was a pretty good accomplishment on its own but laying around was beginning to make him drowsy. Probably another thing that Oishi was banking on.
“It’ll be so much fun. And Momo and I will be able to play tricks on everyone.” He grinned and curled up a little more. “Then Tezuka will probably give out laps some more.” It would be the usual fun, Seigaku way of doing things.
Inui’s parfait. He was certain it would contain the juice somehow. Kite liked the juice. He was probably one of the few who could drink any and all of it, even Azou without so much as flinching. And Oishi not worrying sounded great as well. But if Momoshiro even thought of trying to play a trick on him, Kite would show him why it was unwise to prank someone with no since of humor. That and he wasn’t about to run any laps that another buchou assigned. But it did...almost sound like fun.
Blue eyes closed slightly as he lay there close to the other man. Maybe he should invite Kenya to the party as well. Everyone should be able to bring a friend. The more people the better. Fuji had someone and Inui had someone. For Momo, he would have to find a way to invite Kamio of course. "Everyone will like you. You say funny things."
Kite still doubted that very much. He was sure that he wouldn’t be at all as popular as Eiji let on. But he was sure that there was no arguing with Eiji. Not when Eiji looked like he was about to fall asleep. Kite wasn’t enough of a bully to argue with someone who would probably just fall asleep halfway though the argument. Instead, he just crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. He just hoped Oishi would get there before he too nodded off. He didn’t want to stay around too long if Eiji was there too.
Oishi walked into the cave to find Kite leaning against the wall and Eiji lying prone at his feet, quite clearly dead. Oh god! This was all his fault! He should have ensured they were always kept separate. Perhaps he could have kept one of them with him at all times or cocooned Eiji so that he was incapable of jumping anyone. Dropping the bag of herbs he had been out collecting, Oishi dashed across the room to drop beside his doubles partner.
“Eiji....” One hand touched the warm face. Warm?! Corpses were cold.
It briefly crossed Oishi’s mind that Kite might have slow roasted his kill but then he waved the thought away. No fire for one thing. He turned to look up at Kite, a guilty expression crossing his face.
“Eishirou, I’m sorry, I just thought....”
That you might kill someone. What a great thing to say.
He swallowed. “Eiji tends to jump anything that moves without warning.” It was all too easy to see how a meeting between his two closest companions could have developed. Moving back from the sleeping boy, Oishi sat down beside Kite. Perhaps it should bother him more that he considered the man beside him capable of murder. Or at least, it should be more concerning that such thoughts came so closely followed by desires that had nothing to do with restraining dangerous people. Quite the opposite.
A soft whine filtered out into the room a moment after Oishi moved his hand away. Eiji shifted so the blankets covered more of his body and he nestled down further. “Oishi....” A dreamy voice spoke very softly, followed by a very light snore. “Parfait...” The blanket covered him completely after that, only messy red locks visible as he drifted further into sleep. Dreams of endless parfait, tennis and friends playing through his mind. A moment later one more whimper of “Ken...be nice...” before complete silence was all there was beneath the blanket.
Sharp eyes turned to the medic he so cared for. He wouldn’t betray himself or the stabbing feel when Oishi ran to Kikumaru first. His face remained unreadable as the other checked to make sure that the red head was still alive. So, that was how it was. So that was how little Oishi trusted his word. It hurt. It hurt Kite in a way he didn’t think he could be hurt any more. But he supposed it was only fair. He had never shown himself to be anything but a fighter, so of course it was normal for others to think he had gone and killed someone.
“You thought I kill him for annoying me.” He deadpanned and shifted against the wall. “I made you a promise, Syuichirou. I might be a lot of things and none of them good, but I am not a liar.” He let the other sit next to him however and looked at the red head that was now dreaming. Dreaming of his partner and ice cream and other silly things that made no sense to the Okinawan.
He shifted once more and stared at the ceiling again. He supposed he should leave. Come back later. Maybe soothe his wounded pride a little. But he was here now, and he was to stubborn to leave just yet. “He’s invited me to the Seigaku party.” And he wouldn’t go if Oishi didn’t trust him. And maybe that was why he hurt so much. Because he trusted the medic and the medic didn’t trust him back.
Oishi watched Eiji as the other mumbled and tried to decide if his last comment meant he had to go and kill Oshitari Kenya. Kite’s words, however, drew his attention away from the snoozing boy to fix firmly on the one beside him.
“No,” he said decidedly. “I didn’t think you’d killed him for annoying you.” He looked towards the cave entrance as the light streaking in to bath half the cave floor in yellow warmth. “I thought he might have jumped you from behind, causing you to flick him into the stone.”
While the fact that Kite had developed such reflexes was rather alarming, he couldn’t really be blamed for not being able to drop them instantly. Eiji would have been more at fault for ignoring Oishi’s repeated instructions. But, one should never speak ill of the almost-dead.
“It isn’t about trust, Eishirou,” he said softly, turning to look at the face that was refusing to show any emotion. “It’s knowing a small fraction of what you’re up against.”
That was, himself. Oishi would never want Kite as an enemy and this wasn’t the first day that he thought Kite had exactly that; battling himself for the sake of others on the island. Awkwardly, Oishi put his hand on the large one beside him. After being used to Eiji who would hug a brick wall if he thought it looked sad, it was more difficult knowing when contact would be welcome with Kite.
He looked down at their joined hands. “And Eiji shouldn’t have invited you to the Seigaku party,” he said. His eyes raised again to looked at the ones behind the sharp angled glasses. “I think that is my right.” He gave a small smile.
He supposed he could forgive Oishi for that. It was true that had he been jumped, injury or no, there would be a broken red head instead of a sleeping one. Plus there was just something about Oishi that made it impossible for Kite to remain mad at him, regardless of the wounded pride. The hand on his didn’t hurt matters either. He welcomed that touch, at least this time. It meant that the one he liked wasn’t afraid of him.
He shook his head a little when Oishi admitted that Eiji shouldn’t have invited him. It was nice to know that Oishi had been the one that wanted to extend the invitation. “Then, that’s no problem.” He answered, sort of grinning back at the other man. “I never heard that invitation for your partner. I wouldn’t have gone anyway.” Not unless it was Oishi who wanted him there. Then, he’d be there. He’d be there and he would force himself to enjoy being a part of a team that wasn’t his for a moment.
Oishi tipped back his head against the stone wall, closing his eyes briefly. Then, as if he were starting a new conversation, he said, “There’s going to be a party for Seigaku soon. Will you go with me?” Fingers curled around the hand they lay over.
His lip quirked upwards at the request. Even if he wasn’t welcome, regardless of what Eiji said to the good, he supposed he could go after all. He didn’t move his hand out of Oishi’s grip. Just let it stay there. Let himself be anchored to the floor, even if only my one gentle hand. “With you? Of course I’ll go with you.” He answered. “I’ll even try to be on my best behavior. At least this time, we have no pillows to throw at one another.” Or a geriatric coach in a almost see through nightie. And thank god for that one.
“Or.... yes.” A frown crossed Oishi’s forehead as the same vision flashed across his mind also. “Although Eiji might enjoy a pillow fight.” He lifted his free hand to cover a yawn. He supposed Kite had really dropped by to have his ribs checked and rebound. He should see to it and he would... soon. “Can you stay a while?” he asked, tilting his head in Kite’s direction, his eyes half closed.
It seemed that that scaring memory was one still shared. If his nightmares weren’t about real threats and more painful memories, Kite would surely have them about that. Not that he thought about it for long. Not with Oishi yawning like that. The medic was tired. When was the last time Oishi had rested, he wondered.
He scooted a little closer, as if to offer his shoulder. It had enough muscle on it that it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. But he didn’t make any mention of it being so for him. Instead, he answered the question with a cool statement. “I can stay a while. You can rest. If anyone comes in for a medic, I’ll take care of them. And if it’s really bad, I’ll make sure to wake you up.” Or just kill the poor suffering bastard to put them out of their misery. No need to wake Oishi for that.
Oishi nodded, his head falling sideways onto Kite’s shoulder. His assistant would take care of everything. That sounded ….. sounded ….. Perhaps it was best Oishi never finished that thought. It would only have kept him awake.
When: Sometime before Eiji ran off to stay with Gakuto
Where: The cave infirmary
Summary: Kite and Eiji... bond.
He had been coming to that cave so often, that Kite was starting to think of it as his second home on this island. His first was his lodge, built by his own two hands, in the trees, when it had been just himself on the island. But he had started to come to the camp area more often and to this particular residence. All because of who lived inside. There had been nights that he had even sat there in the cave. Slept there, mere feet away from the medic he was so fond of...and growing even more fond of as time went on. Especially after their kiss.
He now made sure he came down almost daily, to the other teen would know he had survived the evening alone in the jungles. That was why he was there now. To let Oishi know he was still very much alive and maybe crash for a while in the spot on the floor he had claimed for himself. Only when he went inside, there was already someone in HIS spot.
Red hair. Small frame. Kikumaru Eiji...Oishi’s doubles partner and the one person other than Oishi’s former buchou that Kite felt even vaguely threatened by. He didn’t like that feeling. It made him do bad things while on the defensive. Like walk up to the curled up form and lightly nudge it awake with his foot. “Oi...You’re in my spot.”
The soft curled up bundle on the ground whined at the intrusion. Eiji lay on the ground, almost kitten like and snuggled deep within the multiple blankets that have been enforced upon him since his abrupt arrival. For the first time since Eiji had arrived, he was innocently obeying his partner's orders and sleeping in the infirmary until Oishi returned. Another whine escaped the redhead, as he realized Oishi wouldn't have nudged him in that way.
He opened an eye and looked up to see an unfamiliar figure. "Nyah...?" he didn't have very much of a vocabulary when awoken in such a way. His gibberish was something his friends had gotten used to by now. Eiji pulled himself up into a sitting position and watched Kite with a quiet gaze, unsure of what was going on. While gazing curiously at the other person he rubbed at an eye with a curled up fist.
Oh wait. This was Kite. The person that Eiji saw all over the journals as being linked with Oishi now. He hadn’t seen Kite since his graduation from Seigaku so many years ago. He smiled quietly at the other, not having heard the earlier accusation. "Hiya~" he greeted quietly, still not fully having found his voice yet after the nap.
The Okinawan was well aware of Eiji’s catlike antics. He didn’t claim to understand them and frankly, he didn’t think he wanted to. If the red head wanted to be thought of and treated like a cat, then so be it. Kite was more concerned with the very uncomfortable closeness between the smaller teen and the gentle medic. That small Nyaing ball was a threat to him. Kite didn’t deal well with threats. But he wasn’t the sort of person who would really attack others in their sleep. No. He wanted them to be awake so he could see the looks on their faces when they realized that the Hitman was after them.
He crosses his arms in his usual fashion, ignoring the sudden shooting pain that came from it. Gritting his teeth a little, he retained that tough posture even as the other woke up. In a way, it reminded Kite a little bit of his baby sister. But Eiji wasn’t family. Kikumaru wasn’t even close to family. He doubted the other, game maker though he might be, would never allow someone like him at any Seigaku gatherings.
He frowned at the greeting and pushed his glasses up, approaching. He kept scanning the other. measuring. Weighing. The other boy wasn’t at all a physical threat to him, even with the gymnastic ability. He still didn’t drop his guard. Instead, he stood in front of the red head and nodded once. “Kikumaru-kun. I see you are following your friend’s advice for once. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to know that. But you might want to find a different corner. This one is mine.” Oh yes. Possessive and territorial. The worst of both worlds.
Eiji rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and continued sitting there. He pulled the blankets even tighter around his body and half yawned once more. Moving would take a lot of effort and what really is the difference between sleeping here and sleeping in another place? For some reason though, Kite really wanted to sleep in this corner and was really serious about it. Well...thinking about it for a moment, it was a really comfortable corner so it made some sort of sense.
The thoughts in his mind blurred into one another as he wasn’t really coherent enough to make any sense to himself. Oishi did say that Kite may drop by and if he was to drop by Eiji wasn’t allowed to jump on him. That probably also meant that Eiji had to do what he said. The redhead pulled himself onto his feet. Oishi probably would be back sometime soon and if he found Eiji not being compliant, he’d probably get another lecture. After everything that had happened recently, it was better to be the good boy for now. He still has yet to give Oishi his apology hug.
Without thinking about anything else in particular, Eiji pulled himself onto his feet. The important thing right now would be to give Kite what he wanted. He left the blankets where they were in the corner and shuffled himself over to where Oishi normally slept. Then, with no further thought or hesitation, the boy crawled under the blanket there and resumed his nap. It wasn’t weird to Eiji. He used to randomly nap on Oishi all the time, it was rather comfortable that way ... At least until Oishi finished reading the book he had and needed to lean over to grab another.
Hard eyes watched the cat-like red head. So this was how it was to be. He supposed he could make an attempt to be just a little nicer to Eiji...after all, he liked Kikumaru’s friend...a great deal. So he would be around the red head more. But to get Kite to like someone, even as a friend, it was like getting blood from a turnip. It was possible...but only if you threw the root vegetable at someone’s head really really hard. He wasn’t a huggy person. He wasn’t happy go lucky. Eiji was his exact opposite. Oil and water. Cat and dog.
Where Eiji moved was even worse. That was Oishi’s spot. Even he hadn’t had the pleasure of sleeping there. And Eiji was there like he did it every day. He could feel the jealousy and possessiveness creeping up. He knew those feelings were ridiculous. The fact was Eiji probably had done that every day. It was Kite who was the outsider here. Kite who had come like a pirate in the night and stolen the medic away from Seigaku’s cat. That didn’t help the feelings of animosity he felt. Feelings that he could only explain as feeling only second best. Now that Eiji was here... Oishi wouldn’t need his company any more. It was a bitter pill he refused to swallow.
Instead, he dropped down to his normal spot to glare at the huddle under the blankets. “He’s had to put up with a lot.” He mused. Not just here, but with Eiji’s clingy antics as well. Or at least what the Higa buchou saw as clingy.
After a few moments, Eiji opened an eye to watch the person from under the blanket as he remained hunched down in the corner. Did he really enjoy the corner that much? Deep blue eyes watched the form that was huddled down. He was injured wasn’t he? Why else would Oishi warn him not to jump on Kite if he decided to visit. He shifted a little under the blanket, a red fluff of hair popping out before a pair of blinking eyes could then be seen. He was supposed to be nice, right? This was the person who was special to Oishi. A different kind of special than Eiji was.
When Eiji had finally returned home, he had been bundled into the corner and ordered not to move for a while. The redhead wondered if Oishi made everybody do that or if he was the only one. Though, it made sense, Eiji was always “do before think”. He shuffled a little more so his head came out from under the blanket and he lay really close to the edge. “Hey.” He began...not too sure on what to continue with. “How did you get so hurt?” Eiji continued on curiously. Since sending Oishi the emails not too long ago, the redhead hadn’t really paid too much attention to what happened online, instead he actually obeyed orders for once and slept. He owed Oishi at least that much for what he had done for him at the new years party. Whether the action was or wasn’t welcome was its own argument.
It must have been somewhat of a huge fight to end in injuries like that. Someone else for Oishi to worry about. Eiji smiled quietly. Since junior high school, the vice captain had always worried about everyone’s injuries. “Oishi’s going to have a big panic when he comes home.” Well...as home as home could be anyway.
He did enjoy that corner...for many reasons. The first was it gave him an unblocked view of the mouth of the cave. No one could come in or out without his noticing. No one could sneak up on him. He’d learned a long long time ago, under the torture of the Higa coach that paranoia wasn’t just all in his head. Here, more than anywhere else. It also gave him a view of the other sleeping area. When he slept over, he could lay awake for hours, just watching the sleeping form across the room. Guarding Oishi from the things that might or might not be out there.
But it was a red head there, and not his medic. But it would seem that Eiji was making the attempt to be friendly with him. He had no reason not to try back. “This? You should see the other guy.” The other guy happened to be Hiyoshi of Hyotei and he did look quite a bit worse than him, which wasn’t saying much. “But the two of us were just sparring. Having some fun.” He didn’t expect for Eiji to understand. Not many on this island did get it. Perhaps 4 people on the island actually got the way the Higa buchou’s head worked when it came to that sort of thing.
“And he did panic a little.” He admitted. “But he’s good at what he does. I’m just here to get my ribs rebound.” And to see Oishi, though that he didn’t think needed to be stated.
Eiji laughed a little upon the response that he received to the questions. This person was really interesting. It seems that hurting people and getting hurt was as fun to the other as perfecting a new backflip was fun to himself. Everyone liked different things. He paused for a moment to think about what was fun for which people.
The boy shifted off the bed, still cocooned in the blanket that made him feel warm and protected. He pulled the blanket tighter around him and shifted closer to Kite, sitting there quietly and watching him with an intrigued expression. There was something else that everyone was doing on the island which seemed fun.
Talking to Oishi ended up with the other warning him to stay away from a certain person. Talking to Gakuto resulted in him being told to spend more time with that certain person. He wondered what Kite would say. "So..."
He paused and thought about it for a moment. Eiji had always been told his train of thought was a bit strange and jumpy but surely this question wouldn't be too much of a stretch. "Kissing people isn't just for fun, right?" he tipped his head, red locks swaying to one side. "How do you know if you want to kiss someone?"
There wasn't a reason Eiji left off the word again. But the idea that he had initiated the second kiss with Kenya did leave a slight tint of red on his cheeks.
Kite was not used to such non-linear thought. Sure, sometimes some of his Higa might do that, but not as often as Eiji seemed to. He was proud of himself when he didn’t react more than a simple lift of the eyebrow. ...He wondered. Did Eiji know he and Oishi had kissed. Did he knew that he would be kissing Oishi again...and again and probably do a lot more to him. And if so...he wondered what Eiji thought of him. He knew that back in the day, all of Seigaku had hated him and thought of both him and his team as terribly evil people. But Tezuka had more or less forgiven him...Oishi seemed to have put that past behind them as well. Perhaps...just perhaps...Eiji didn’t think Kite would follow type and hurt Oishi. He wouldn’t. He would sooner cut off his own arms than hurt Syuichirou.
Still, the question was one that made him ponder. “Depends on who you ask.” He answered, vagely. “I’m not the relationship expert on the island.” He just knew that he wanted to push Oishi down and have his way. “But for me, kissing is a serious thing.” At least this time it was. He’d never been too serious about any of the girls he’d been with...but it was different with Oishi.
Hm. Blue eyes blinked curiously at the answer he received. Well that didn't answer anything at all. He was still right back where he started and with that he shifted closer to the other man again, now just a few paces away from him. He peered at the serious expression for a moment and responded to it with a slightly childish one. "Serious thing hm..." His eyes glanced up towards the ceiling. "I used to think about kissing Oishi." The redhead declared bluntly. Though the thought hadn’t crossed his mind since junior high. He laughed a little at the idea.
Eiji thought about Oishi for a moment. Then he thought about Kenya. Oishi felt warm and comfortable but the latter made strange butterfly like feelings. He laughed again.
That made him react. Nothing else in the world would, but that...it set him off like a short fused firework. He managed to keep the explosion in though. He had promised Oishi. He’d not fight. He’d not punch Eiji in the face...There would be no strange and unexplained deaths. “Used to.” He stressed. There was a very possessive tone to his voice. “You used to.” But not any more. Oishi was his, damn it.
Oblivious to the angered person before him, Eiji nodded. "Back in junior high school. Kissing Oishi now would feel funny." The grin on his face only widened at the thought. "I love Oishi." The words rolled off his tongue easily. "He'll always be my Golden Pair." The voice became slightly wistful. "But... I don't think about him like that." Dark blue eyes watched back at the intense gaze that was upon him.
Subconsciously Eiji did want to put the other at ease. Since he was young, all the redhead really wanted was for everyone around him to be happy. But especially his partner. "So..." His tone picked up the usual jovial tune again. "You didn't answer me. How do you know if you want to kiss someone?"
It put him a little at ease until he heard that word. The one word that ruined...well everything. Love. Eiji...loved...Oishi. They were a pair. A matched set. It was like he’d been stabbed. He knew deep down, as competitive as he was, there would be no winning against the likes of Kikumaru in a battle for the medic’s heart. Especially since the word love was so foreign to the Higa. He’d maybe used it three times in his entire life and even then it had been like dragging a confession of him him through extreme torture. He just wasn’t that free with his words or his feelings.
He crossed his arms despite the pain and glared. even in the dim lights of the cave, his glasses flashed in a deadly manner. “You just know.” He grated. “You think about them all the time and you want to make them happy. You’d die for them. You’d be hurt and sad when we get off this island and find that you can’t be together any more. That is how you know.” Because that was how he knew he liked Oishi. Because it would hurt a hell of a lot, when he went back to Okinawa and the medic returned to Tokyo. It was a separation he didn’t want to think about at the moment.
Eiji blinked a few times through the explanation. If that was the case then he'd been thinking about it all wrong. "Well... That's how I feel about Oishi. So I do love him." Well he knew that already. He wondered then what he felt about Kenya. He doesn't feel like kissing Oishi but he loved Oishi with all his heart.
On the flipside, the confused boy thought about the kiss with Kenya but wasn't sure if he'd be utterly depressed if he didn't have the chance to see him again. Though, he did want to see Kenya again, that in itself wasn't the question. "I love Fuji too." He grinned at the other and curled up on the floor near Kite as they continued the conversation. "Don't you love Oishi?"
A twitch. He had promised but it was becoming very difficult for him to keep his temper. He wished Eiji would stop saying that. Stop saying that he loved Oishi. Every time he did, it reminded Kite of just how emotionally restrained he was. Just how much more time Eiji had with his doubles partner. They had a history that Kite couldn’t even touch. It was galling.
And Eiji was now in arm’s reach. All he had to do was put his hands around that small little throat and squeeze.... His head went back and he let it thunk hard against the cave wall. Restraint was so hard sometimes. And then there was that question. A question he wasn’t ready to answer seeing as he had been living with deep denial for all this time. “I...have feelings for him, yes.” But he wouldn’t use the word. “And I don’t care what you or the rest of Seigaku think about me.” Except he sort of did. “Syuichiou is...an important person to me and I’ll not go away without a fight.” He could be damn stubborn when he wanted to be.
The confusion in the depths of Eiji's eyes remained with that declaration. "What do you mean...? Why would I fight you?" He chuckled a little at the idea and stretched under the warm blanket. Anything or anyone that made Oishi happy also made Eiji happy. Maybe it was their synchro ability that had developed or maybe it was just the amount of time the golden pair had to spend together. Eiji couldn't help but be happy for his best friend.
"Feelings for him.." He thought the idea over in his mind for a while and the declared happily. "You love Oishi, too." A quiet smile settled on his face. It was a different kind of love they each shared for the previous vice captain but love all the same. Eiji tentatively reached out and prodded at Kite with his finger. The redhead was used to attaching himself and anyone and everyone in his path but this person felt different. He did want to give the man a hug though, he looked like he needed one.
Sharp eyes followed the finger as it prodded him. He caught it on it’s way back and frowned. He, for a moment, considered breaking it. He didn’t like being touched either. But he had promised. So he let go with a dark growl. Maybe he did...Maybe he did love Oishi, but he wasn’t just going to say it to someone. No. He’d say it when he was damn well ready to, and only to Oishi himself. He didn’t even try to explain the complexities of the ways of the Higa or why he was so positive that there would indeed be a fight. Somehow, some way, there would be a fight. He just had to be ready for it.
He still refused to answer and just grated out, “Don’t do that again.” It was the only warning Kikumaru would receive.
"Hmm..." Eiji rolled over onto his back and stared up towards the ceiling, his finger up in the air in front of his face. He was definitely not like the rest of Seigaku. He turned slightly to peek towards Kite again. "Why..? Do you hate me?" He blinked once and again before turning away again. "I don't hate you." How could he hate anybody that Oishi liked? Then Eiji paused for a moment before sitting bolt upright with wide eyes.
"Kenken was angry too!" Eiji muttered quietly as he sat there. On the night that Oishi had the argument with Kenya, the speed boy had told Oishi that such a declaration would be for Eiji's ears only. This had to be what he meant. "Ah! I'm sorry." He dropped his head for a moment and sighed. When it was a different kind of love... You had to be a bit more careful. "That's why you don't like me huh?"
“No. Because I don’t like being touched.” There. He had said it. He wouldn’t say why he was so adverse to it. Just that he wasn’t cool with it was enough. People didn’t touch him. They avoided him. It was just that simple. It was part of being the Hitman and looking like a yanki. But he could easily find a million reasons not to like Eiji. But he wanted to at least tolerate someone that Oishi cared for, even if he was the enemy.
“And I don’t dislike you.” He just didn’t know what to make of someone like Eiji. Not at all.
"Really?!" He smiled happily as he sat there and a wave of relief washed over him at that point. "That's good. Well... Sort of." Eiji couldn't imagine what it was like to not want hugs or to be close to people. He hugged people all the time and it made everyone happy. "I like you." He declared honestly. Kite hadn't done anything to make Eiji think otherwise after all. Scary people aren't scary until they actually hurt you after all... That and Oishi would have warned Eiji if Kite was that dangerous.
He nestles back down into the blanket and watched the man with calm blue eyes now, quite glad the issue had been resolved. "That's why Oishi told me not to jump on you."
He almost laughed. Oishi had warned Kikumaru about him. He wasn’t surprised. But he wasn’t going to let the red head think it was simply because he wasn’t a loving person. “No...He told you not to jump on me because if you did, my initial reaction would be to throw you across the room and break your neck.” It wasn’t a threat. Merely the truth. Kite had been fighting far too long. His self-preservation tendency around people was very high, regardless of how much of an adrenaline junkie he was becoming out here. Plus there were his ribs. His ribs might not take even the slight weight of Kikumaru. But he wasn’t about to reveal such a weakness.
“So save yourself some pain and just keep listening to Syuichirou.” Because he’d hate to have to go and kill Oishi’s best friend. A loving relationship wouldn’t go very well after such a thing.
Kite was a very interesting person. And he called Oishi by his first name. There was definitely something happening there. Eiji never really called anybody by their first name either actually. It was never really of importance. Taka was called by his first name though well... Everyone called him by his first name. Oishi was much more fun tho.
It made his best friend sound tasty. Though there was one person he did call by first name. Kind of.
Eiji nodded a little and yawned as he lay there. "I try to listen to Oishi... But sometimes it gets really boring." He peeked up at Kite and smiled towards him. "You say interesting things. I'll save my pouncing for Seigaku. It's okay." Then after a pause he looked at Kite. "We're having a Seigaku party. You want to come play too?"
More than that. Oishi was allowed to call Kite by name. Only 6 other people had that honor, and none of them were here on the island. He was definitely fond of the more level headed member of the Golden Pair. And he couldn’t help but chuckle at the complaint. With how much Oishi did worry about people, he was sure it must be hard for anyone to sit still for as long as he might want them too. Something Kite was going to learn all about because of his damn fool promises. He’d just have to find some other way to kill the time.
His expression changed again at the invite. He doubted he would be very welcome at all. He was the soul team orphan on the island. Oshitari called him one of the ronin. Oshitari for a while had been the other team-less person. “I don’t do parties.” He sometimes went, but always stayed on the fridges. But he had also made a promise to himself to be more social. “But if I am welcome...I might as well.” He might as well meet the people whom Oishi found most important, if only so he would know why he wasn’t allowed to kill if things went wrong and they ran out of food.
Seeing Kite laugh was a good sign. “Yeah...come. Inui will make parfait. It’ll be good. And Oishi can stop worrying about everyone for a while because we’ll all be in the same place.” Whether or not that in itself was a good idea will show for itself later. Eiji stretched once more under the blanket and a yawn passed his lips.. He’d been there all day and that in itself was a pretty good accomplishment on its own but laying around was beginning to make him drowsy. Probably another thing that Oishi was banking on.
“It’ll be so much fun. And Momo and I will be able to play tricks on everyone.” He grinned and curled up a little more. “Then Tezuka will probably give out laps some more.” It would be the usual fun, Seigaku way of doing things.
Inui’s parfait. He was certain it would contain the juice somehow. Kite liked the juice. He was probably one of the few who could drink any and all of it, even Azou without so much as flinching. And Oishi not worrying sounded great as well. But if Momoshiro even thought of trying to play a trick on him, Kite would show him why it was unwise to prank someone with no since of humor. That and he wasn’t about to run any laps that another buchou assigned. But it did...almost sound like fun.
Blue eyes closed slightly as he lay there close to the other man. Maybe he should invite Kenya to the party as well. Everyone should be able to bring a friend. The more people the better. Fuji had someone and Inui had someone. For Momo, he would have to find a way to invite Kamio of course. "Everyone will like you. You say funny things."
Kite still doubted that very much. He was sure that he wouldn’t be at all as popular as Eiji let on. But he was sure that there was no arguing with Eiji. Not when Eiji looked like he was about to fall asleep. Kite wasn’t enough of a bully to argue with someone who would probably just fall asleep halfway though the argument. Instead, he just crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. He just hoped Oishi would get there before he too nodded off. He didn’t want to stay around too long if Eiji was there too.
Oishi walked into the cave to find Kite leaning against the wall and Eiji lying prone at his feet, quite clearly dead. Oh god! This was all his fault! He should have ensured they were always kept separate. Perhaps he could have kept one of them with him at all times or cocooned Eiji so that he was incapable of jumping anyone. Dropping the bag of herbs he had been out collecting, Oishi dashed across the room to drop beside his doubles partner.
“Eiji....” One hand touched the warm face. Warm?! Corpses were cold.
It briefly crossed Oishi’s mind that Kite might have slow roasted his kill but then he waved the thought away. No fire for one thing. He turned to look up at Kite, a guilty expression crossing his face.
“Eishirou, I’m sorry, I just thought....”
That you might kill someone. What a great thing to say.
He swallowed. “Eiji tends to jump anything that moves without warning.” It was all too easy to see how a meeting between his two closest companions could have developed. Moving back from the sleeping boy, Oishi sat down beside Kite. Perhaps it should bother him more that he considered the man beside him capable of murder. Or at least, it should be more concerning that such thoughts came so closely followed by desires that had nothing to do with restraining dangerous people. Quite the opposite.
A soft whine filtered out into the room a moment after Oishi moved his hand away. Eiji shifted so the blankets covered more of his body and he nestled down further. “Oishi....” A dreamy voice spoke very softly, followed by a very light snore. “Parfait...” The blanket covered him completely after that, only messy red locks visible as he drifted further into sleep. Dreams of endless parfait, tennis and friends playing through his mind. A moment later one more whimper of “Ken...be nice...” before complete silence was all there was beneath the blanket.
Sharp eyes turned to the medic he so cared for. He wouldn’t betray himself or the stabbing feel when Oishi ran to Kikumaru first. His face remained unreadable as the other checked to make sure that the red head was still alive. So, that was how it was. So that was how little Oishi trusted his word. It hurt. It hurt Kite in a way he didn’t think he could be hurt any more. But he supposed it was only fair. He had never shown himself to be anything but a fighter, so of course it was normal for others to think he had gone and killed someone.
“You thought I kill him for annoying me.” He deadpanned and shifted against the wall. “I made you a promise, Syuichirou. I might be a lot of things and none of them good, but I am not a liar.” He let the other sit next to him however and looked at the red head that was now dreaming. Dreaming of his partner and ice cream and other silly things that made no sense to the Okinawan.
He shifted once more and stared at the ceiling again. He supposed he should leave. Come back later. Maybe soothe his wounded pride a little. But he was here now, and he was to stubborn to leave just yet. “He’s invited me to the Seigaku party.” And he wouldn’t go if Oishi didn’t trust him. And maybe that was why he hurt so much. Because he trusted the medic and the medic didn’t trust him back.
Oishi watched Eiji as the other mumbled and tried to decide if his last comment meant he had to go and kill Oshitari Kenya. Kite’s words, however, drew his attention away from the snoozing boy to fix firmly on the one beside him.
“No,” he said decidedly. “I didn’t think you’d killed him for annoying you.” He looked towards the cave entrance as the light streaking in to bath half the cave floor in yellow warmth. “I thought he might have jumped you from behind, causing you to flick him into the stone.”
While the fact that Kite had developed such reflexes was rather alarming, he couldn’t really be blamed for not being able to drop them instantly. Eiji would have been more at fault for ignoring Oishi’s repeated instructions. But, one should never speak ill of the almost-dead.
“It isn’t about trust, Eishirou,” he said softly, turning to look at the face that was refusing to show any emotion. “It’s knowing a small fraction of what you’re up against.”
That was, himself. Oishi would never want Kite as an enemy and this wasn’t the first day that he thought Kite had exactly that; battling himself for the sake of others on the island. Awkwardly, Oishi put his hand on the large one beside him. After being used to Eiji who would hug a brick wall if he thought it looked sad, it was more difficult knowing when contact would be welcome with Kite.
He looked down at their joined hands. “And Eiji shouldn’t have invited you to the Seigaku party,” he said. His eyes raised again to looked at the ones behind the sharp angled glasses. “I think that is my right.” He gave a small smile.
He supposed he could forgive Oishi for that. It was true that had he been jumped, injury or no, there would be a broken red head instead of a sleeping one. Plus there was just something about Oishi that made it impossible for Kite to remain mad at him, regardless of the wounded pride. The hand on his didn’t hurt matters either. He welcomed that touch, at least this time. It meant that the one he liked wasn’t afraid of him.
He shook his head a little when Oishi admitted that Eiji shouldn’t have invited him. It was nice to know that Oishi had been the one that wanted to extend the invitation. “Then, that’s no problem.” He answered, sort of grinning back at the other man. “I never heard that invitation for your partner. I wouldn’t have gone anyway.” Not unless it was Oishi who wanted him there. Then, he’d be there. He’d be there and he would force himself to enjoy being a part of a team that wasn’t his for a moment.
Oishi tipped back his head against the stone wall, closing his eyes briefly. Then, as if he were starting a new conversation, he said, “There’s going to be a party for Seigaku soon. Will you go with me?” Fingers curled around the hand they lay over.
His lip quirked upwards at the request. Even if he wasn’t welcome, regardless of what Eiji said to the good, he supposed he could go after all. He didn’t move his hand out of Oishi’s grip. Just let it stay there. Let himself be anchored to the floor, even if only my one gentle hand. “With you? Of course I’ll go with you.” He answered. “I’ll even try to be on my best behavior. At least this time, we have no pillows to throw at one another.” Or a geriatric coach in a almost see through nightie. And thank god for that one.
“Or.... yes.” A frown crossed Oishi’s forehead as the same vision flashed across his mind also. “Although Eiji might enjoy a pillow fight.” He lifted his free hand to cover a yawn. He supposed Kite had really dropped by to have his ribs checked and rebound. He should see to it and he would... soon. “Can you stay a while?” he asked, tilting his head in Kite’s direction, his eyes half closed.
It seemed that that scaring memory was one still shared. If his nightmares weren’t about real threats and more painful memories, Kite would surely have them about that. Not that he thought about it for long. Not with Oishi yawning like that. The medic was tired. When was the last time Oishi had rested, he wondered.
He scooted a little closer, as if to offer his shoulder. It had enough muscle on it that it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. But he didn’t make any mention of it being so for him. Instead, he answered the question with a cool statement. “I can stay a while. You can rest. If anyone comes in for a medic, I’ll take care of them. And if it’s really bad, I’ll make sure to wake you up.” Or just kill the poor suffering bastard to put them out of their misery. No need to wake Oishi for that.
Oishi nodded, his head falling sideways onto Kite’s shoulder. His assistant would take care of everything. That sounded ….. sounded ….. Perhaps it was best Oishi never finished that thought. It would only have kept him awake.