Gaining Your Love: a Heisei Kumi fanfic (2/14)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Ariyama
Rating: PG-13
Genre:Romance
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone, c'mon guys.Summary:Long before the Heisei Kumi knew Keito Daiki makes it his mission to make the stunning Yamada Ryosuke fall in love with him, and it's going to be much harger than Daiki expected. So! For anyone who read my Heisei Kumi fic, this is the Ariyama spinoff I said I'd write! And if you didn't read it, please go check it out. The first chapter can be found here.
A/N: So, second chapter! Yay! Sorry, this got up a bit later than I would have liked. Please enjoy~
Previous Chapters: 1
That night during dinner the only topic was the raid; fighting techniques and plans of strategy. Everyone was nervous; they hadn't had any trouble with the Wakaba in a long time. It would be their first attack with Chinen as Kumi-cho.
"Alright, everyone pair up." Chinen announced the next day, when they all gathered in the alley after breakfast for their first group training. Daiki searched for Inoo, his friend coming up behind him and picking him up in a hug, a smile in his voice.
"You're with me, buddy."
"What do we do....?" Daiki asked, looking around. Inoo too scoured the alley, and they both came to the same conclusion.
"We fight."
With a smirk, Daiki lunged at Inoo, aiming for his face, almost teasing. With a mirroring smirk Inoo dodged, ducking low, aiming his own kick at Daiki's chest. Daiki jumped out of the way, and a curse rang through the alley, causing everyone to turn and stare. It had been Yabu, who was now nursing a bloody lip, the older boy looking furious. Ryutaro, who had been his sparring partner, was looking worried, eyes searching Yabu's face.
"Let's....not try to actually kill each other, okay? The point of this is to get stronger." Hikaru suggested. Everyone nodded. Hikaru's attention immediately went to Yabu.
"You okay Yabuchii? Let me see..." He was saying as Daiki and Inoo turned their attention back to each other.
"Well then....no killing, Dai-chan. I know that'll be difficult." Inoo said in a singsong voice. Daiki rolled his eyes.
"I can be gentle too, ya know." Can I? Even as the words left his mouth he wasn't so sure. He had never even considered how to hold back in a fight. From the first time he had ever punched someone it had always been a 'kill or be killed' in his mentality. Inoo knew this.
"Oh yeah? Prove it." His friend challenged. Daiki strengthened his resolve. He just had to believe that he could be gentle.....right? It was worth a shot. Daiki tried to hold back; tried to make his punches not so sharp, not so fast, not so....mean. It was hard. So hard. He wanted to take that finishing blow so badly....and next thing he knew, Inoo was on the ground, and he was standing over him. Oops. Inoo groaned, and Daiki leaned down, offering him a hand and pulling him back to his feet. Inoo's eye began swelling up, and they both knew that it would be a nice shade of purple by dinnertime. Daiki looked over him, worried.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Inoo said, reading his mind. Daiki nodded, knowing he was forgiven.
"Let’s take a break." They sat down next to each other, backs against the outer wall of one of the buildings, watching as their housemates fought their own mini battles. Daiki found his eyes drawn to where Yamada and Hikaru were going at it. Hikaru looked huge and menacing next to the littler boy, despite Yamada's katana. Daiki watched Yamada's quick movements; the look of concentration on his face. He was graceful, everything flowing together like a dance. It was captivating-Daiki watched him with baited breath. Yamada, in all of his grace, seemed almost fragile, like glass. It was almost distressing to watch him fight; Daiki found himself wishing that Yamada would never have to fight again, and once Yamada and Hikaru took their own break he stood up, walking over and examining the boy for injuries.
"You....are you okay?" He asked carefully. Wiping the sweat off of his chin, Yamada nodded. Daiki let out the breath he had been holding, a warm feeling rushing through him, and he bit his lip, trying to hide how much he actually cared about his question. Standing behind him, Inoo giggled a bit, whispering so that only Daiki could hear.
"So, now you're gentle, Dai-chan? Ryosuke sure does seem to be bringing out the best in you." Daiki turned around suddenly, knowing that Inoo wasn't expecting it, and slugged him in the arm.
"Shut up, Kei-chan." He muttered. Inoo winced, but didn't retaliate, save for one of his best 'You know I'm right.' smirks.
From then on in the days that followed Daiki always had an eye on Yamada, watching to be sure he wouldn't get hurt. Whenever the younger boy did get a cut or a bruise he would worry, forcing Yamada to let him look at it and assess it. Yamada would always protest, not comfortable with the examinations. He offered to spar with Daiki, but Daiki refused, feeling sick at the thought of attacking him.
On one of the days after training and dinner they all sat around in the living room talking strategy. Everyone had ideas and input, and they talked well into the night, the younger ones one by one putting themselves to bed. Yamada stayed downstairs, trying to pay attention, but eventually he too dozed off, his head falling onto Daiki's shoulder gently. Surprised, Daiki glanced over at Yamada, smiling when he noticed that the younger one was fast asleep, his face peaceful. The poor kid must have been exhausted; he'd been working hard all day, and it was past his usual bedtime.
"I'm gonna put him to bed." Daiki announced, painstakingly repositioning Yamada and picking him up in his arms, holding him close to his body so that the younger boy wouldn't jostle. He felt Yamada's heart beating, smelled that scent of roses that always whispered whenever he was nearby, and he felt so calm, so happy. He was a third of the way up the stairs when Yuto's voice called
"Hey Yama-chan, I know you wanted to stay up and listen, but it's getting really-" Yuto turned to corner, appearing at the top of the stairs and cutting off his sentence just as Yamada's eyes blinked open. He looked around wildly, confused and scared for a minute, writhing in Daiki's arms. Oh shit- Daiki tried to put him down gently, but Yamada ended up falling onto the stairs, before clamoring up them, almost crawling, up past Yuto to the bedroom he shared with Ryutaro. Daiki went to follow him, to explain himself, but Yuto blocked his way, looking frustrated.
"I-I was just.....I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Daiki tried to make Yuto understand. He hadn't thought that Yamada would know! He wasn't trying to "force himself" on Yamada or anything-
"You bastard! You know he doesn't like people-doesn't like you touching him, especially unexpectedly! You should know better than to pull a stunt like that! You-you're just making things worse. I've been trying to cure him; to make him not so damn scared. To help him. You're just getting in the fucking way...! Why can't you just....just LEAVE HIM THE HELL ALONE?!" Yuto's voice got steadily louder as he talked, and with it Daiki felt anger churning inside of him, all of the happiness that had been there moments before evaporated. He'd only been trying to help! He hadn't meant for Yamada to wake up! He had been careful. He had been gentle. He was just trying to do something for someone he cared about. Was that so bad?! He glared as Yuto talked, and he didn't want to hear anymore. He was about to sock the younger boy in the face when Hikaru jumped between them, giving them both glares that meant 'you had better drop it now or you're going to have so much shit coming your way...' the threat was understood, and they both went their separate ways, Yuto disappearing into Yamada's bedroom. Daiki had to go past the door to get to his own room, and he couldn't help but hear Yuto talking gently with Yamada, comforting him. Jealousy flared up in the already furious fire in his chest, and he forced himself to his own bedroom, doing his best not to cuss or kick things, and he sat on his bed, waiting for the fury inside himself to die down.
After an immeasurable amount of time Inoo came in, a sympathetic look on his face.
"Hey." Daiki didn't respond.
"I heard what happened....you've gotta be more careful." His friend warned, sitting next to him on the bed. Daiki glanced at him. Was Inoo gonna give him this lecture too?
"I wouldn't be saying anything, except I happened to overhear Yamada and Yuto talking...and..."
"What? You 'happened to overhear' them?" Daiki asked, and Inoo blushed guiltily.
"Dai-chan, you know how bad I am about eavesdropping. That's how we first met, remember? Anyways, I was listening to them talk in Yamada and Ryutaro's room..." Daiki was all ears now. "...and you just made things harder on yourself. He was really upset for a while, crying and shit, but Yuto and Ryu calmed him down. Then...Yamada asked them what they thought of you. He said that he had really taken a liking to you before this," at this a little spark of happiness rose in Daiki's chest "but he doesn't seem to trust himself at all. He said something about 'not being able to pick good friends in the past' and asked them if he could trust you."
"And?" Daiki asked. Inoo sighed.
"And Ryutaro, who definitely hung out with the ex-Kumi-cho way too much, because his maturity is like, insanely huge by the way, Ryu said that that was something Yamada had to decide for himself. So basically, as of right now you have to earn his trust....I guess." Inoo finished, weakly. Daiki processed all of that in his head. Yamada didn't trust him. He had upset Yamada so much that he had cried all because he hadn't had the heart to wake him up. He had been so nice. He had worked so hard at not messing up...and now...
He felt a deep sinking through his chest, a stinging hurt at the back of his throat. His body felt heavy. What was wrong with him? He felt his face scrunching up, and a tear made a trail down his cheek, as his body shook. Despair, frustration, and unrequited love broke him down, and he cried. He didn't know when Inoo pulled him into the hug; all he knew was that he found himself sobbing on his friends shoulder, Inoo's voice gentle in his ear.
"Dai-chan, I know love can be hard...but listen to me. You're gonna have to decide just how much he means to you. If you truly love him then you'll put him first. You will be patient, and wait for as long as it takes. It's gonna be hard, but you've just got to decide that Yamada is worth it." Emotionally spent, he shut down, drifting off in the comfort of Inoo's arms.
Everywhere he looked was solid white. Blank emptiness. It was a calming blankness, not unnerving as it could have been. He looked down at his hands. There, around his wrist was a red silk ribbon, the color of blood. It ran all the way down the floor, and as his eyes trailed it he followed it, picking it up and bundling it as he walked, his footsteps making no noise. Soon up ahead he caught sight of a huge sakura tree, its pink petals floating gently on a nonexistent breeze. He got closer, and as he did so the ribbon began to change color, the lengths of blood red now fading and dulling until it was a sad gray. His eyes followed the now gray ribbon until he became close enough to the tree to see a figure lying underneath the tree. As he walked he began to make out the persons features. Yamada. The boy was asleep, curled up at the base of the tree's trunk. Daiki's ribbon trailed along the ground to his wrist, where the gray end was wrapped tightly. He took a step into the shadow that the tree produced, and as though alerted of his presence Yamada's eyes blinked open.
"What is this?" Daiki asked, gesturing to the ribbon as Yamada pulled himself to a sitting position. Yamada examined his own wrist, looking at the ribbon for a few moments before saying
"It's our bond."
Daiki was confused. Their bond? But...he didn't like the way it looked. He tried to go to Yamada, but as soon as he took the first step the branches of the sakura tree pulled themselves together, shielding the younger boy from him, the ribbon's length the only thing keeping them connected…
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