[Fic] That Place We Cannot Reach - Chapter 29
“What took you so long? Something happened, right? What happened?”
“Wow, hey, calm down, I just got here!”
“Tell me!”
Juri freed his hand from Jin’s grip with an angry yelp and took a step back. Jin sighed in frustration and agony and tried to touch him again, but Juri raised his hands in defense.
“Am I allowed to take a breath?”
“You were supposed to come back yesterday. What happened?” Jin let out with worry evident in his voice. “Something is not right.”
“Yes, ok, something is not right. Can I go to my room now?”
“Juri!”
“Please…you’re not the only one who’s missing someone!”
Jin’s brain finally caught up with the reason Juri was here and he stopped pressing him, lowering his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“I promise, I will talk to you tomorrow. He’s fine, you don’t have to worry.”
“He’s not hurt, is he?”
“No.” Juri assured him. “He’s ok, but there are a few problems…I will tell you, I promise.”
“Is he going to come back?”
Juri bit his lip. That was a question he had no answer to; it was something Kame should accomplish on his own. It was true that he had neglected KAT-TUN by coming here, and Juri sure felt guilty since he was the one who had told him to do so, but he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him now.
“He has to.”
It wasn’t a response Jin would like to hear, but lying would be even worse at this point. Jin was left standing still for a second, then muttered something about spilling the truth to KAT-TUN here and how Juri should be prepared for possible upcoming questions. Then he walked away quickly and Juri let out a sigh. He had promised himself he would try and be happy for Yasui’s sake, but Jin being the first to talk to had definitely ruined that promise.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Kame pulled the sleeves of his sweater and brought his hands to his mouth, blowing to warm them up. The air that was coming in from the open window was freezing, but he still refused to close it. The sun was about to set, painting the room red and gold; the sound of the waves could be heard clearly from where he was standing, but he wasn’t sure it could calm him down. Not this time. His lovely Okinawa couldn’t offer him the peace of mind he desired today.
There was a knock on the door, but he didn’t reply. He knew that whoever it was, they would come in with or without his approval. It wasn’t like he wanted to be alone; he was just not in the mood to open his mouth for trivial things like “come in”.
“Hey.”
He turned around slowly as Ueda walked up to him and glanced at the window. The question mark in his eyes made Kame crack a smile.
“Hey.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Just cold.”
“Well, I wonder why.” Ueda replied sarcastically, closing the window quickly. He looked at Kame again and then rested on the wall, crossing his arms to his chest.
“Won’t you come downstairs? Dinner is ready.”
“I was about to do so.”
“Liar.”
Kame shook his head, but his smile of defeat gave him away. Yes, he wasn’t about to come down. In fact, he only wanted to keep staring outside until the sky became dark blue, until the stars started shining like fireflies…until the sound of the sea became louder and louder as the wind would get stronger. Maru’s idea of coming to that beach house was brilliant. It would help them find themselves and start anew, but this was only the first night and Kame needed time. Time he didn’t have.
“I’m sorry. I guess…I’m not as hungry as I wanted to be.”
“If you intend to insult Maru and Junno’s effort, then we are not making any progress.” Ueda replied quietly. “They did their best to cook delicious meal for all of us and your attitude won’t help.”
Kame licked his lips. Ueda hadn’t sounded angry or disappointed. But he was definitely unhappy with how their youngest member still refused to look reality in the eye. He wasn’t going back to that world for at least a week and he really should try to do something to change his moody attitude.
“I’m trying, I swear. It’s not that I don’t want to be here, believe me. If I didn’t want to, I would never come back.”
“Kame, I believe that. But you have to try and get over it. Besides, even if we haven’t found you out, with Juri there, you’d still have nowhere to go right now. So just forget about it and ease up, will you? If you make Junno sad, then it’s the end of KAT-TUN.”
Kame’s hesitant smile returned on his face after hearing that and Ueda patted his back. How many times had they pressed the “restart” button during their career? How many times had they gone through difficult conversations and bitter-tasting tears? Why was he so stubborn now, when all he had ever tried to do ever since they were first formed was to bring the group on top of the world? Why was he so determined to sulk forever for a lost love and an illusion that was about to drive him crazy with the way he kept trying to delve deeper into it? What was wrong with forgetting about it for a few days?
He took a deep breath and suddenly, the room felt cold again, the actual cold that made him want to put on a jacket. Suddenly, he could smell the scent of the sea, he could get blinded by the lights of the room, he could actually feel Ueda’s presence warm next to him…he could be the Kame everyone knew again.
“No, we can’t make him sad.” He let out and the voice that came out was perky and vivid and it made Ueda grin as well. He pushed Kame’s hair behind his ear to take a better look at his face and mumbled something that Kame didn’t understand. He thought of letting it slip at first, but then decided that he didn’t want them to keep living with secrets. “What did you say?”
“I just realized that you look younger now than when we…when I…hit you.”
“…thanks, I guess?”
“No, I mean…more mature and yet more carefree at the same time.” Ueda tried to explain himself. “Don’t go back there, Kame. You can look back once or twice, but your eyes have to be set forward, to the future. Don’t waste more years dwelling over something that is over.”
“It’s not the same now.” Kame whispered. “This time it’s real. It’s…”
“How real can a relationship in a fake world be?”
“Judging by how fake my relationship was here, I don’t understand how you can actually ask that question. Anyway, I promised to forget for now.” Kame replied quickly, before Ueda could corner him again with another tough question. He rubbed his hands once more to warm them up and then headed to the door quickly. They had taken many days off, there would be time to discuss things. He didn’t want to add Maru’s whine about the food getting cold in his problems list.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Juri…”
“…no…”
“Come on…”
“…not now…”
“But you have to wake up, we’re going to be late for breakfast.”
“I can live without breakfast.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Yasui said with a frown. “You keep coming back skinnier and skinnier, you know that? Don’t they have food in your world?”
“I’m going to eat your tongue if you keep talking. Can’t you give me 5 more minutes?”
“No.” Yasui replied in determination, grabbing his pillow. “Get up. Now!” he yelled, smacking Juri’s head with it. The latter let out an annoyed groan and raised his hands, trying blindly to grab the pillow. Yasui hit him again and it was then that he cracked one eye open and hid under his own pillow. Yasui laughed evilly.
“You want it that way? I have no problem at all.”
He tossed his pillow to the side and jumped on Juri’s back, pressing the boy’s pillow down to the mattress with his hands, trapping Juri’s head underneath. There was no reaction for a few seconds, but then Juri’s hands were up in the air again, trying to hit Yasui and make him remove his hands from his pillow. Yasui laughed again, but then a pained yelp escaped his lips when Juri’s nails found his skin and scratched with all their might. He pulled back and Juri lifted his head along with the pillow and took a deep breath from his mouth. Then he tilted his head, making his pillow fall right next to Yasui’s and turn around with a victorious smirk.
“You just had to be a smartass, right?”
“Do I have to make a war just to wake you up every morning?” Yasui whined. “Look, I’m bleeding!”
“Awww, the poor boy is bleeding…” Juri let out, making his voice sound like that one of a baby’s. “You big liar, I barely wounded you.”
“I’m going to kick you.” Yasui threatened with a death glare, but Juri took his pillow in his hands and threw it on his face, then threw the sheets off him and jumped out of the bed. Yasui tried to follow him with a furious growl, but his legs got trapped in the sheets and he ended up on the carpet with a curse, making Juri burst out laughing.
“Ok, maybe we should go for breakfast after all.”
“You are going to be my breakfast!” Yasui barked, kicking the sheets away and rubbing his hurt knee. “I am going to eat you alive, you asshole, come back here!”
“Nope, nature is calling!” Juri chirped innocently, locking himself to the bathroom. He could clearly hear Yasui’s steps behind the door, but there was no furious knock or any other yell. He was left standing with his back on the wood for a few minutes, wondering what to do. He had clearly heard Yasui approaching, but then any sound had stopped and he had no idea where the boy was. Yasui could be scary like that sometimes, doing things Juri never expected. Not bad things, just…not normal.
“Are you sure you’re not trying to avoid someone?”
Bang. There it was.
“What do you mean?”
“Did anything happen while you were on the other side? Are you trying to avoid KAT-TUN? Is that why you don’t want us to go for breakfast?”
Juri glanced at the mirror; he had that guilty look he hated on his face. It was true that it wasn’t only his exhaustion that wanted to keep him in bed; Jin had made sure to tell him that everyone knew and he wasn’t sure he wanted to face them right after spending such a beautiful night with Yasui. He hadn’t even told his own boyfriend what had happened with Kame. Yasui would definitely be thrilled to have him here for a whole week, but would he be able to comprehend the price of it?
“I…maybe you’re right. A tiny bit.”
“Ok, then can you unlock the door and have a proper talk with me?”
He did so, and Yasui gave him an encouraging smile and walked in the bathroom before Juri could walk out. He grinned even more when the younger one raised an eyebrow.
“I thought we were going to talk…”
“We will. But you should wash your face before. You have to speak with a clear mind and water will help you with that.”
“Ok, doctor.”
Yasui chuckled again and patted his head, and Juri suddenly felt better. Maybe talking to someone who would actually support him before meeting the others wasn’t a bad idea…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The morning that arrived found KAT-TUN sleeping on the couches of the living room. There were no curtains hanging and the balcony doors allowed the light of the sun to penetrate them and fall right on the young men, who refused to open their eyes. A few meters away, the table they had eaten their dinner on was still a mess. They had left their plates and glasses without washing them, too bored and excited to bother with cleaning. Following Ueda’s advice had been good and easy; Kame had forgotten about the pain inside his chest and he had spent his time making comments on the meal Junno and Maru had cooked, laughing with Junno’s lame jokes and Maru and Ueda’s continuous bantering. Nobody had dared say something that would ruin the magic of that night. They had a whole week to do that.
Eventually, though, something started vibrating in his pocket and Kame couldn’t keep sleeping anymore. With a quiet groan, he rose to his feet, taking care not to touch Maru who was resting comfortable at the other end of the couch, and tiptoed to the corridor, trying to ignore the cold surface under his feet.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Kame…it’s me.”
Because of course he didn’t need to introduce himself; Kame would recognize his voice even if he had been lost in a snowstorm. He brought his hand to his mouth to suppress his yelp and took a peek in the living room. The other 3 were still sleeping.
“What do you want?”
“Are you ok?”
“Fine. Jin, what’s wrong?”
“I was just…curious about something. I didn’t know if I should ask you or not, but in the end…”
“Ok, ok. What is it?”
“Yesterday morning…Maru came to me. We hang out from time to time and yesterday…while we were talking, he mentioned something about the 4 of you going on a trip.”
“…yeah, so?” Kame asked impatiently. If it was only about the trip, he could have called anyone, why call him? And why so early? Did he really like torturing him?
“I was surprised, because a trip with all of you is not something you’d often do…and he told me that it was basically to help you get over your troubles.”
Of all people, why had Maru chosen Jin to tell that? Had he lost his mind? What could Jin do anyway aside from giving him a call out of pity? Kame gritted his teeth; he could at least hope that Maru hadn’t gone into details about his “troubles”…
“I’m fine. Really. Thank you for your concern.”
“He also asked me if we have met recently.”
“…and what did you tell him?”
“That we haven’t.”
Well, at least he had been smart with his replies. Kame sighed in relief and moved even further away from the living room. He didn’t want them to know what had taken place between him and Jin during the time he had been sick. He didn’t want Jin to know how much he was struggling to find his balance between those two worlds that he loved and treasured. He didn’t want anyone to know; KAT-TUN were currently just guessing things, they weren’t aware of how big the wound in his heart truly was. And Juri, who was the only one who could see how much he was hurting…he wasn’t mature enough to be there for him. And Kame wasn’t sure he wanted him, either.
“Thank you.”
“I knew you wouldn’t want to let them know. I’m sorry if I put you in trouble.”
“I’m sorry too.” Kame let out with a bitter smile. “I’m glad you called.”
“You are?”
“Yes.”
“Well…ok then.” Jin’s happy voice echoed in his ears as if it was a voice from 10 years ago, proud and childish. Something inside Kame’s chest started hurting again and he coughed to clear his voice and end the call as painlessly as possible.
“So…talk to you later.”
“Sure. Take care, Kame.”
“You too.”
He clutched his phone tightly in his palms and took a deep breath. This conversation had been safe and smooth, unlike the last time they had met. It was thoughtful of Jin to let him know about Maru, but it didn’t change the fact that Maru had chosen to let Jin know that Kame was in pain. Why? What had he been trying to accomplish? Was he hoping that Jin would talk to Kame and would take his mind away from that fantasy world that scared them so much? Or maybe it was just a rushed decision, a desperate call for help because they couldn’t handle the situation as well as they wanted to?
Whatever it was, it had to be resolved soon. Maybe not right after waking up, but definitely before the end of the day. Kame made a mental note to ask Maru about it as soon as possible and then he made his way back to where his friends were.
..............................................................................................................
A/N: I am so sorry for the delay! I hope I would have the time to write once holidays started, but in reality, I am working even more than I did before holidays -___- But nevertheless, the update is here^^ Hope you liked it!
“Wow, hey, calm down, I just got here!”
“Tell me!”
Juri freed his hand from Jin’s grip with an angry yelp and took a step back. Jin sighed in frustration and agony and tried to touch him again, but Juri raised his hands in defense.
“Am I allowed to take a breath?”
“You were supposed to come back yesterday. What happened?” Jin let out with worry evident in his voice. “Something is not right.”
“Yes, ok, something is not right. Can I go to my room now?”
“Juri!”
“Please…you’re not the only one who’s missing someone!”
Jin’s brain finally caught up with the reason Juri was here and he stopped pressing him, lowering his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“I promise, I will talk to you tomorrow. He’s fine, you don’t have to worry.”
“He’s not hurt, is he?”
“No.” Juri assured him. “He’s ok, but there are a few problems…I will tell you, I promise.”
“Is he going to come back?”
Juri bit his lip. That was a question he had no answer to; it was something Kame should accomplish on his own. It was true that he had neglected KAT-TUN by coming here, and Juri sure felt guilty since he was the one who had told him to do so, but he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him now.
“He has to.”
It wasn’t a response Jin would like to hear, but lying would be even worse at this point. Jin was left standing still for a second, then muttered something about spilling the truth to KAT-TUN here and how Juri should be prepared for possible upcoming questions. Then he walked away quickly and Juri let out a sigh. He had promised himself he would try and be happy for Yasui’s sake, but Jin being the first to talk to had definitely ruined that promise.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Kame pulled the sleeves of his sweater and brought his hands to his mouth, blowing to warm them up. The air that was coming in from the open window was freezing, but he still refused to close it. The sun was about to set, painting the room red and gold; the sound of the waves could be heard clearly from where he was standing, but he wasn’t sure it could calm him down. Not this time. His lovely Okinawa couldn’t offer him the peace of mind he desired today.
There was a knock on the door, but he didn’t reply. He knew that whoever it was, they would come in with or without his approval. It wasn’t like he wanted to be alone; he was just not in the mood to open his mouth for trivial things like “come in”.
“Hey.”
He turned around slowly as Ueda walked up to him and glanced at the window. The question mark in his eyes made Kame crack a smile.
“Hey.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Just cold.”
“Well, I wonder why.” Ueda replied sarcastically, closing the window quickly. He looked at Kame again and then rested on the wall, crossing his arms to his chest.
“Won’t you come downstairs? Dinner is ready.”
“I was about to do so.”
“Liar.”
Kame shook his head, but his smile of defeat gave him away. Yes, he wasn’t about to come down. In fact, he only wanted to keep staring outside until the sky became dark blue, until the stars started shining like fireflies…until the sound of the sea became louder and louder as the wind would get stronger. Maru’s idea of coming to that beach house was brilliant. It would help them find themselves and start anew, but this was only the first night and Kame needed time. Time he didn’t have.
“I’m sorry. I guess…I’m not as hungry as I wanted to be.”
“If you intend to insult Maru and Junno’s effort, then we are not making any progress.” Ueda replied quietly. “They did their best to cook delicious meal for all of us and your attitude won’t help.”
Kame licked his lips. Ueda hadn’t sounded angry or disappointed. But he was definitely unhappy with how their youngest member still refused to look reality in the eye. He wasn’t going back to that world for at least a week and he really should try to do something to change his moody attitude.
“I’m trying, I swear. It’s not that I don’t want to be here, believe me. If I didn’t want to, I would never come back.”
“Kame, I believe that. But you have to try and get over it. Besides, even if we haven’t found you out, with Juri there, you’d still have nowhere to go right now. So just forget about it and ease up, will you? If you make Junno sad, then it’s the end of KAT-TUN.”
Kame’s hesitant smile returned on his face after hearing that and Ueda patted his back. How many times had they pressed the “restart” button during their career? How many times had they gone through difficult conversations and bitter-tasting tears? Why was he so stubborn now, when all he had ever tried to do ever since they were first formed was to bring the group on top of the world? Why was he so determined to sulk forever for a lost love and an illusion that was about to drive him crazy with the way he kept trying to delve deeper into it? What was wrong with forgetting about it for a few days?
He took a deep breath and suddenly, the room felt cold again, the actual cold that made him want to put on a jacket. Suddenly, he could smell the scent of the sea, he could get blinded by the lights of the room, he could actually feel Ueda’s presence warm next to him…he could be the Kame everyone knew again.
“No, we can’t make him sad.” He let out and the voice that came out was perky and vivid and it made Ueda grin as well. He pushed Kame’s hair behind his ear to take a better look at his face and mumbled something that Kame didn’t understand. He thought of letting it slip at first, but then decided that he didn’t want them to keep living with secrets. “What did you say?”
“I just realized that you look younger now than when we…when I…hit you.”
“…thanks, I guess?”
“No, I mean…more mature and yet more carefree at the same time.” Ueda tried to explain himself. “Don’t go back there, Kame. You can look back once or twice, but your eyes have to be set forward, to the future. Don’t waste more years dwelling over something that is over.”
“It’s not the same now.” Kame whispered. “This time it’s real. It’s…”
“How real can a relationship in a fake world be?”
“Judging by how fake my relationship was here, I don’t understand how you can actually ask that question. Anyway, I promised to forget for now.” Kame replied quickly, before Ueda could corner him again with another tough question. He rubbed his hands once more to warm them up and then headed to the door quickly. They had taken many days off, there would be time to discuss things. He didn’t want to add Maru’s whine about the food getting cold in his problems list.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Juri…”
“…no…”
“Come on…”
“…not now…”
“But you have to wake up, we’re going to be late for breakfast.”
“I can live without breakfast.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Yasui said with a frown. “You keep coming back skinnier and skinnier, you know that? Don’t they have food in your world?”
“I’m going to eat your tongue if you keep talking. Can’t you give me 5 more minutes?”
“No.” Yasui replied in determination, grabbing his pillow. “Get up. Now!” he yelled, smacking Juri’s head with it. The latter let out an annoyed groan and raised his hands, trying blindly to grab the pillow. Yasui hit him again and it was then that he cracked one eye open and hid under his own pillow. Yasui laughed evilly.
“You want it that way? I have no problem at all.”
He tossed his pillow to the side and jumped on Juri’s back, pressing the boy’s pillow down to the mattress with his hands, trapping Juri’s head underneath. There was no reaction for a few seconds, but then Juri’s hands were up in the air again, trying to hit Yasui and make him remove his hands from his pillow. Yasui laughed again, but then a pained yelp escaped his lips when Juri’s nails found his skin and scratched with all their might. He pulled back and Juri lifted his head along with the pillow and took a deep breath from his mouth. Then he tilted his head, making his pillow fall right next to Yasui’s and turn around with a victorious smirk.
“You just had to be a smartass, right?”
“Do I have to make a war just to wake you up every morning?” Yasui whined. “Look, I’m bleeding!”
“Awww, the poor boy is bleeding…” Juri let out, making his voice sound like that one of a baby’s. “You big liar, I barely wounded you.”
“I’m going to kick you.” Yasui threatened with a death glare, but Juri took his pillow in his hands and threw it on his face, then threw the sheets off him and jumped out of the bed. Yasui tried to follow him with a furious growl, but his legs got trapped in the sheets and he ended up on the carpet with a curse, making Juri burst out laughing.
“Ok, maybe we should go for breakfast after all.”
“You are going to be my breakfast!” Yasui barked, kicking the sheets away and rubbing his hurt knee. “I am going to eat you alive, you asshole, come back here!”
“Nope, nature is calling!” Juri chirped innocently, locking himself to the bathroom. He could clearly hear Yasui’s steps behind the door, but there was no furious knock or any other yell. He was left standing with his back on the wood for a few minutes, wondering what to do. He had clearly heard Yasui approaching, but then any sound had stopped and he had no idea where the boy was. Yasui could be scary like that sometimes, doing things Juri never expected. Not bad things, just…not normal.
“Are you sure you’re not trying to avoid someone?”
Bang. There it was.
“What do you mean?”
“Did anything happen while you were on the other side? Are you trying to avoid KAT-TUN? Is that why you don’t want us to go for breakfast?”
Juri glanced at the mirror; he had that guilty look he hated on his face. It was true that it wasn’t only his exhaustion that wanted to keep him in bed; Jin had made sure to tell him that everyone knew and he wasn’t sure he wanted to face them right after spending such a beautiful night with Yasui. He hadn’t even told his own boyfriend what had happened with Kame. Yasui would definitely be thrilled to have him here for a whole week, but would he be able to comprehend the price of it?
“I…maybe you’re right. A tiny bit.”
“Ok, then can you unlock the door and have a proper talk with me?”
He did so, and Yasui gave him an encouraging smile and walked in the bathroom before Juri could walk out. He grinned even more when the younger one raised an eyebrow.
“I thought we were going to talk…”
“We will. But you should wash your face before. You have to speak with a clear mind and water will help you with that.”
“Ok, doctor.”
Yasui chuckled again and patted his head, and Juri suddenly felt better. Maybe talking to someone who would actually support him before meeting the others wasn’t a bad idea…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The morning that arrived found KAT-TUN sleeping on the couches of the living room. There were no curtains hanging and the balcony doors allowed the light of the sun to penetrate them and fall right on the young men, who refused to open their eyes. A few meters away, the table they had eaten their dinner on was still a mess. They had left their plates and glasses without washing them, too bored and excited to bother with cleaning. Following Ueda’s advice had been good and easy; Kame had forgotten about the pain inside his chest and he had spent his time making comments on the meal Junno and Maru had cooked, laughing with Junno’s lame jokes and Maru and Ueda’s continuous bantering. Nobody had dared say something that would ruin the magic of that night. They had a whole week to do that.
Eventually, though, something started vibrating in his pocket and Kame couldn’t keep sleeping anymore. With a quiet groan, he rose to his feet, taking care not to touch Maru who was resting comfortable at the other end of the couch, and tiptoed to the corridor, trying to ignore the cold surface under his feet.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Kame…it’s me.”
Because of course he didn’t need to introduce himself; Kame would recognize his voice even if he had been lost in a snowstorm. He brought his hand to his mouth to suppress his yelp and took a peek in the living room. The other 3 were still sleeping.
“What do you want?”
“Are you ok?”
“Fine. Jin, what’s wrong?”
“I was just…curious about something. I didn’t know if I should ask you or not, but in the end…”
“Ok, ok. What is it?”
“Yesterday morning…Maru came to me. We hang out from time to time and yesterday…while we were talking, he mentioned something about the 4 of you going on a trip.”
“…yeah, so?” Kame asked impatiently. If it was only about the trip, he could have called anyone, why call him? And why so early? Did he really like torturing him?
“I was surprised, because a trip with all of you is not something you’d often do…and he told me that it was basically to help you get over your troubles.”
Of all people, why had Maru chosen Jin to tell that? Had he lost his mind? What could Jin do anyway aside from giving him a call out of pity? Kame gritted his teeth; he could at least hope that Maru hadn’t gone into details about his “troubles”…
“I’m fine. Really. Thank you for your concern.”
“He also asked me if we have met recently.”
“…and what did you tell him?”
“That we haven’t.”
Well, at least he had been smart with his replies. Kame sighed in relief and moved even further away from the living room. He didn’t want them to know what had taken place between him and Jin during the time he had been sick. He didn’t want Jin to know how much he was struggling to find his balance between those two worlds that he loved and treasured. He didn’t want anyone to know; KAT-TUN were currently just guessing things, they weren’t aware of how big the wound in his heart truly was. And Juri, who was the only one who could see how much he was hurting…he wasn’t mature enough to be there for him. And Kame wasn’t sure he wanted him, either.
“Thank you.”
“I knew you wouldn’t want to let them know. I’m sorry if I put you in trouble.”
“I’m sorry too.” Kame let out with a bitter smile. “I’m glad you called.”
“You are?”
“Yes.”
“Well…ok then.” Jin’s happy voice echoed in his ears as if it was a voice from 10 years ago, proud and childish. Something inside Kame’s chest started hurting again and he coughed to clear his voice and end the call as painlessly as possible.
“So…talk to you later.”
“Sure. Take care, Kame.”
“You too.”
He clutched his phone tightly in his palms and took a deep breath. This conversation had been safe and smooth, unlike the last time they had met. It was thoughtful of Jin to let him know about Maru, but it didn’t change the fact that Maru had chosen to let Jin know that Kame was in pain. Why? What had he been trying to accomplish? Was he hoping that Jin would talk to Kame and would take his mind away from that fantasy world that scared them so much? Or maybe it was just a rushed decision, a desperate call for help because they couldn’t handle the situation as well as they wanted to?
Whatever it was, it had to be resolved soon. Maybe not right after waking up, but definitely before the end of the day. Kame made a mental note to ask Maru about it as soon as possible and then he made his way back to where his friends were.
..............................................................................................................
A/N: I am so sorry for the delay! I hope I would have the time to write once holidays started, but in reality, I am working even more than I did before holidays -___- But nevertheless, the update is here^^ Hope you liked it!