Same Landscape, but Different (2/3)
Title: Same Landscape, but Different
Author: Shattered Tenshi
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: JE
Genre: AU, Romance, slight Action
Pairing: Nikaido Takashi x Senga Kento, hints of Miyata Toshiya x Tamamori, Sanada Yuuma x Nozawa Yuuki. There's one more, but giving it out would be a spoiler.
Warnings: Language for Nika's use of the f-word, kissing, implicit mention of sex
Notes: For je_holiday 2009, written for snowqueenofhoth. Thanks to kira_shadow, uchikins, luma_chan, and sweetmilano90 for assuring me that these 23k of words aren't complete crap. Extra thanks goes to Kira and Nia for beta-ing and picking out all my silly typos. This AU is based on one of the many universes in CLAMP's Tsubasa Chronicles. Tons of cameos, though all Juniors. Originally posted here.
Summary: AU. In a world where no one exists outside of the 23 wards of Tokyo. In a world of ruins and acid rain, only the Tower and the Metropolitan Office building stands.
The acid rain burned his skin and he hated the feeling. Nikaido though surprised himself as he took off his protective clock and placed it over Senga’s shoulders...There must be quite a few burns on his body, but for some reason, he was glad that he was the one getting burned and not Senga.
By the time Nikaido arrived back at the Tower and parked his scooter, his stomach was grumbling. He could almost swear he could smell meat being cooked, but he was a few floors away from the kitchen after all, so maybe he was imagining it. It was however, close to dinner time though.
Nikaido ran up the stairs two steps at a time and was on a way to his room to freshen up before going to dinner when someone poked him on the shoulder.
"You just came back, Nikaido-kun?"
"Ah, it's you, Fukka."
Fukasawa smiled. "We were talking about you, you know. You seem to be going a lot lately, even though you can't go to the bathroom alone."
Nikaido's cheeks darkened and he scowled. "I've been saying this a lot of times! I'm not afraid of being alone. Heck, I like being alone! It's just...there are ghosts and stuff, maybe, and those are scary. It's not about loneliness."
Fukasawa just laughed. "Whatever you say, Nikaido-kun." He tilted his head. "How's training lately? I heard from Miyata-kun you guys are starting some one-on-one stuff right?"
Nodding, Nikaido replied, "Yea, it's alright. I got to work with Kitayama when it's one-on-one, since our styles are more similar and all."
As he watched Fukasawa nod, something crossed Nikaido's mind. Fukasawa had always been one of the quieter ones, and he was sure the other won't gossip or telling people things purposely or not purposely unlike someone like Sanada. "Fukka."
"Mh?"
"Have you...have you ever wondered about our rivalry with the Metropolitan Office?"
Fukasawa blinked. "What do you mean? We're read about those in the records, right? A lot of people fought to survive at the beginning years, before they settled into proper groups, and for survival, they had to do whatever they can. Some buildings eroded faster than others after all. It can't be helped that rivalries are formed."
"...we're the only two groups left though. Is there...a point?"
Giving Nikaido a look, Fukasawa laughed softly. "I would have never thought that Nikaido-kun would be talking about these things. You never worried about this before, right?"
Nikaido felt his ears grow warm and just huffed. "It's nothing. I was just wondering. Forget that I asked." He hurried his steps. "I'll see you at dinner."
The whole time, Nikaido tried to convince himself that Senga had nothing to do with all this.
Nikaido frowned as he rolled on to his side. Who the hell was being so noisy outside?
Suddenly, the room's door was thrown open. "Oi, Nika, wake up! We're going out hunting as a group together today. It'll double up as training."
Nikaido opened one of his eyes. "Watta...?"
Yokoo gave him a small scowl. "Come on! Don't take too long. Get Tamamori and Miyata out of bed as well." With that, he went out.
"...looks like someone caught Kitayama's bad mood in the morning," Nikaido grumbled to himself as he sat up on his bed. "Miyata too? Watta should wake him up himse-" He blinked as he stared at the other bed in the room, then groaned. "He stayed over!? I told him not to!" He was tempted to just curl up and sleep, but he had a feeling it'd be a very bad idea.
Nikaido got off the bed and peered at the sleeping two cautiously. Good thing they were still wearing their clothes. "Wake up, you two!" Grabbing their blanket, he pulled it right off. "Tamamori! Miyata! Get up before Wataru comes in and terrorize the room!"
"Nh, Nika?" Tamamori was the first to open his eyes.
"Hunting today. Group training." Nikaido dropped the blanket on the ground and went to prepare himself for the day.
Tamamori gave Miyata a small shove and sat up, yawning. "You could have woken us up in a nicer way, Nika."
"Blame him. I told him he shouldn't stay over, and why didn't you kick him out!?"
Tamamori shrugged. "Why should I? It's not the first time, Nika, so get used to it." He smiled and slid off the bed.
Nikaido just clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Miyata, wake up!"
"I'm up, I'm up," Miyata mumbled as he slowly sat up.
"Morning," Tamamori bent down and greeted Miyata with a kiss on the cheek.
Nikaido rolled his eyes. "Do the lovey dovey stuff when I'm not around," he grumbled.
"You always say that," Tamamori replied. "You should find someone for yourself."
Miyata nodded in agreement. "Is there someone that you're interested in, Nikaido?"
"Shut up." Nikaido threw a pillow at Miyata before leaving the room and headed towards the bathroom.
By the time the three of them went down to where the scooters were kept, the rest of the group was already waiting for them. Nikaido wondered how long it has been to see all seven of the protectors together properly. After all, after they had deemed Kitayama old enough to lead, they let the other and Yokoo take on most of the responsibilities. Makino and Nakaegawa would just laze around when there's nothing for them to do, while Uesato took care of the kitchen. Yonehana and Machida...Nikaido wasn't sure, but probably patrolling since he rarely saw Kitayama or Yokoo going out to do that.
"Late," Yokoo commented with a frown.
"You didn't give us an exact time limit," Nikaido retorted back. "We didn't take that long."
Yonehana laughed and went up to ruffle Nikaido's hair. "I haven't talked to you in a while, and you're still a brat, Nikaido."
"Hey!" Nikaido frowned, but didn't quite find the courage to whack Yonehana's hand away. Maybe the other was nice really, but his face was scary, and Nikaido was just a little wary of him.
"Yone," Machida said with a frown, a small warning.
Yonehana snorted, "Oh come on, Maachin. It's good to keep him scared. He'll be seeing a lot of me soon."
Nikaido blinked. "What?"
Yokoo cleared his throat and stepped closer to Nikaido. "I told you, right? Yonehana-kun is an expert at backflips and all that."
"I'm pretty good at them already!" Nikaido protested.
Yonehana raised an eyebrow, "So you don't even want to try working with me even once?"
"Yone." There was a pause before Machida continued, "Still, you shouldn't scare Nikaido-kun."
Compared to Yonehana, Nikaido would definitely prefer to working with Machida. The other definitely wasn't a bad fighter, his movements precise without wasting a second. Though, Nikaido was worried that he'd get annoyed at Machida's personality in general. The other was quiet after all, and Nikaido rarely saw Machida high in tension or anything like that.
"Oh, Maachin, you just be quiet and concentrate on the hunt later. You just recovered from another cold, remember?"
Then, there was that. Nikaido heard about how Machida's body wasn’t exactly strong, so it wouldn't be fun training with Machida if he was going to disappear every few days because of falling ill.
"Let's talk about this after we hunt?" Yokoo spoke. "Hiro, don’t fall asleep on your bike!"
Kitayama looked up and blinked sleepily. "What? I'm awake. Miyata, get over here."
"Huh?" Miyata blinked.
"Ah, our scooters?" Tamamori glanced at Yokoo, who looked over at Nakaegawa.
Nakaegawa shrugged lazily. "What? Maintenance takes time, you know."
Yokoo just shook his head as Uesato hit Nakaegawa on the head lightly. "Tamamori, you're with me. Anyways, really, let's go."
Nikaido snorted slightly and went to get on his scooter. By the time they all left the Tower area, he wondered what a sight it must be. A group of ten people on eight scooters heading towards one direction. It was a rare happening after all.
The so-called hunt wasn't much though really. The creatures usually don't leave signs of where they might be, and usually moving around above the ground would cause enough disturbances to lure those creatures out from underground. They would never bother digging underground trying to find a mutated creature because that would be just a waste of time.
It was rather boring really, in Nikaido's opinion, so as they headed somewhere, he tried to study the other protectors and their way of riding the scooter. At least, that was a bit more of an entertainment than the landscape.
Closest to him was Nakaegawa, and Nikaido how the other was strumming his fingers against the handles of the scooter. Was the other playing music in his head, or even creating a new song in his mind? He had heard from someone that Nakaegawa was responsible for all the original songs that he, Makino and Uesato played.
Not wanting to get caught staring, Nikaido looked on his other side. There was nothing special about Yokoo's driving on the scooter really. Tamamori wasn't that interesting either, but if there was something interesting to observe was just how clean Yokoo's scooter was. Nikaido was lazy about cleaning his scooter, but he was pretty sure Yokoo cleaned it every other day, if not every day. Right now, it looked sparkling clean, so Yokoo must have just cleaned it recently.
"What?" Yokoo had noticed him watching and raised an eyebrow.
Nikaido shook his head. "Nothing!" He didn't respond to the curious look Tamamori gave him and sped up a little.
Kitayama was leading the group, and Nikaido noted how awake the other looked. It was always like that actually. No matter how much the other liked sleeping or looked sleepy, the moment Kitayama climbed on to a scooter or began to fight, he was extremely alert, movements strong and powerful.
"Huh, I see something interesting..."
"Eh?" Nikaido blinked when he heard Kitayama muttering something to himself and changed direction.
The rest of the group naturally followed and soon, Nikaido saw just exactly what had caught Kitayama's attention. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed a familiar figure among the group.
"Fujigaya!" Kitayama called out. "Don't tell me you guys are hunting too?" He pulled his scooter to a stop some feet away and got off, crossing his arms as he stared at the group from the Metropolitan Office. Miyata looked a bit lost as to if he should remain on the scooter for a moment before sliding off as well and went to stand beside Nikaido’s scooter.
"Hah?" The male who was addressed raised an eyebrow, clearly not sounding happy. "And what if we are? That's none of your business. Out here, it's free for all, and we're certainly not planning on attacking the Tower if that's what you're wondering."
Nikaido didn't really pay attention to the...perhaps he could call it an argument going on and could only stare at Senga. The other was sliding on his rollerskates back and forth mindlessly before he caught Nikaido's stare and gave him a smile, waving.
"Do you know him?" Miyata asked in a whisper.
"Shut up," Nikaido snapped in embarrassment and went back to staring at Senga. He was right then. He never got a chance to confirm it, but considering the people he was with, riding on scooters, there was no doubt about it. Senga was being trained to be a protector. He noted how only Senga and the male addressed as Fujigaya were the ones wearing rollerskates.
Nikaido could see Senga pouting from where he was, probably because he didn't wave back. He let out a small sigh and hoping that he wasn't being too obvious, gave a slight wave, and immediately, Senga grinned.
"How come you have eleven people!?"
Fujigaya huffed, "You guys were the ones who decided to train three people, so we're training three too! Don't think we don't find out about these things!"
"Your group already had one more than us in the beginning!" Kitayama retorted back.
Nikaido could hear a sigh behind him and figured it was Uesato. Was it always like this when the two groups came across each other? This sounded like some pathetic argument between children instead of a rivalry between two groups fighting to survive.
"Taisuke-kun..." One of the protectors went up to tug on Fujigaya's sleeve.
"Let go, Tsuka. I'm going to teach Kitayama a lesson...!"
Kitayama snorted. "As if. Don't think you're superior to us just because of those rollerskates."
Fujigaya shouted, "We never thought that! Don't go assuming things, you chipmunk!"
"Who are you calling a chipmunk? And sure, you don't," Kitayama said with a smirk. "But even if you think those skates are to your advantage, you're wrong. You'll never beat me."
"Kitayama!" Provoked, Fujigaya skated forward and threw a punch at Kitayama.
"Too slow," Kitayama said, clicking his tongue as he blocked the punch with his arm.
Nikaido watched the two begin a fight with wide eyes. He had obviously seen Kitayama fight before, but his movements now were even sharper than ever, almost mesmerizing to watch. Then, there was Fujigaya. The other was fighting on his skates, able to completely control his own balance, and Nikaido had no idea how the other managed it.
The two's fight was almost like a dance. Not the same as the way Yonehana or Machida danced with music, but there's something special about it that Nikaido couldn't describe.
"Is it like this every time?" Nikaido could hear Tamamori ask.
"Mh, pretty much," Yokoo replied. "They probably enjoy fighting each other. We usually let them at it for a bit."
Nikaido resisted the urge to comment on how stupid it was. Perhaps the others felt that letting them fight it out was better instead of waiting the tension to snap one day and lead to an all-out fight. As much as they were rivals, he knew they wanted to keep the people at either places safe.
Not that anyone told him that. That's just what he had observed over the years really.
The fighting seemed to be reaching another level and just when Nikaido was wondering if they'll just continue watching, a rumble disturbed his thoughts.
Before he could even react, Nikaido watched with wide eyes as a mutated creature shot up from the ground, aiming straight for the fighting two.
Kitayama and Fujigaya were quick to separate and after a few bangs ringing in the air, the creature had already fallen with a loud thump. Nikaido blinked and looked around him, seeing a few of his group with their guns pulled out. He clicked his tongue. Perhaps group effort was something that he needed to work on.
Noticing a few arrows sticking out from the creature, Nikaido looked over to the other group and found that some of them had their crossbows out, including Senga. That made Nikaido frown. It meant Senga actually reacted faster than him. He was reminded of when he first met Senga, being saved by the other. He most certainly hoped that won't ever happen again. He should have improved enough by now.
"We got more arrows on the creature, so it's ours!" Fujigaya exclaimed.
"Hey, what kind of decision is that!?" Kitayama glared at Fujigaya. "We both attacked it!"
Fujigaya huffed. "You should train your younger ones better! They didn't react at all, unlike ours. Right, Kento, Yamamoto, Gotou?" He skated back to his group and ruffled Senga on the hair, making the other squawk with a complaint.
"It's not of your business how we train them," Kitayama said with a scowl. "I still don't agree with letting you have the whole creature."
"You're just sting-"
"Fujigaya."
Fujigaya jumped a little and quickly turned to look at a male who was shorter than the rest of the group. Nikaido tried to figure out who that person was, considering how the rest of them seemed to treat him with respect.
Fujigaya made a face but closed his mouth, skating backwards as the other stepped forward. That's when Nikaido remembered that this person was probably Yara, the leader of the protectors of Metropolitan Office.
"Kitayama."
Nikaido quickly turned when he heard Nakaegawa speaking as well. Nakaegawa gave Kitayama a look and Nikaido managed to read it quite easily. It seemed like the other had decided to negotiate with Yara instead. Kitayama grumbled to himself but backed off as he was told. After all, Nakaegawa was higher in seniority than him even though Kitayama was pretty much the leader.
Watching the other two walk up and meet halfway, Nikaido strained to hear them talk, but they were speaking too softly that he couldn't catch anything.
Yokoo hit him over the head. "Stop being so nosy."
"That hurt!" Nikaido complained, rubbing where he was hit. He caught Senga's glance and had to look away, feeling embarrassed. Senga has the worst timing, he decided.
Nikaido didn't keep track of how long Nakaegawa and Yara spent talking, but it did feel like a while before the two went back to their own groups.
Nakaegawa crossed his arms over his chest and said, "We've decided to share."
"What?" Kitayama hissed. Yonehana and Machida were frowning as well.
"I'm sure you've all noticed," Nakaegawa started. "The appearance rates of these creatures are decreasing lately. There's no guarantee if another one will show up later. Right now, the survival of our group is top priority compared to our rivalry with them. Otherwise, what we had before that was close to insufficient will really become insufficient at this rate."
Uesato spoke up, "That sounds reasonable to me. We're getting equal amounts, right?"
"Of course," Nakaegawa replied. "After we take the meat back, we'll stick close to the Tower and just do combat training there. The hunt training will have to wait another day."
Nikaido made a face. He would much rather ride his scooter and actually experience attacking from it and such.
Nakaegawa pulled out his knife. "Alright, you guys, let's go. The faster we split this, the quicker we can head back and continue training."
Makino and Uesato were the firsts to follow Nakaegawa. Yokoo, Yonehana and Machida went next. Kitayama was still grumbling to himself, but went anyways.
Left with Miyata and Tamamori, Nikaido glanced at them. "Am I the only one who thinks this whole rivalry thing sounds kind of stupid now that I've seen the people from Metropolitan Office?"
Miyata thought about it. "I guess it does seem a little like nonsense, but it's hard to tell based on one meeting, right?"
"We've heard plenty of stories about them," Tamamori added, frowning towards the direction of the other group.
"I suppose." Nikaido turned his head and looked into Senga's eyes again. The other smiled brightly and waved at him, and Nikaido felt his own lips tugging upwards.
"Yonehana-kun needs to find someone else to practice backflips with," Nikaido grumbled to himself as he tried to massage his sore muscles as he walked back to his room. It was rather hard to do though, so he opted for just rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms for the moment.
Yokoo hadn't been joking when he told him to train with Yonehana, but trying to do twelve backflips in a row was definitely not training in his opinion. Despite being able to do backflips, it didn't mean he was interested in being able to do twelve in a row. Just what kind of situation in fighting would he need to do twelve in a row anyways!?
Nikaido let out another sigh as he opened the door to his room and stepped in. He was about to flop down on to the bed when a sound from the other side of the room stopped him.
"Oi, Tamamori, Miyata! Could you lock the door if you guys are planning to do something I don't want to see!?" Nikaido threw a pillow towards them and Tamamori pulled back from his kiss with Miyata with a frown.
"You know the lock is wonky anyways."
"So?" Nikaido scowled. "I don't want to see you guys doing these things! Give me some sort of warning! This is my room too!"
Miyata pushed himself up, supporting himself on his elbows and looked at Tamamori. "So...?"
Tamamori made a face. "We're not leaving," he replied. Then he smirked, "Would you like to join us then, Nika?"
Nikaido groaned and found a sock, throwing it at them which Tamamori quickly whacked away. "No thank you!" He ruffled his hair in frustration. "Seriously, next time, go to Miyata's room or even Miyata's sister's room! Didn't you say she loves you two?"
Miyata chuckled. "That's different."
Tamamori added, "Besides, Miyacchi's room, it's being used by Sanada and Nozawa right now."
Nikaido froze before groaning. "I did not need to know that!"
"They could be just talking and wanting time alone in there," Miyata pointed out.
Nikaido scowled. Tamamori laughed. "You're acting more and more like Kitayama-kun..."
"Me, acting like KitaMitsu?" Nikaido's nose twitched, but he didn't deny it.
"Anyways," Tamamori started, "if you continue staying here, I'll think that you really want to join us..."
"Fine!" Nikaido went up to get back his pillow and threw it at Tamamori and Miyata again before continuing, "I'll leave! But don't think there'll be a second time! I'll be kicking you out of the room next time!" He turned around and started to leave the room.
Tamamori just laughed and considering how the laughter got cut off, Nikaido could imagine what the two were doing now. Grumbling to himself, he slammed the door closed and started to walk down the hallway, wondering where he should go. There were people like Fukasawa or Watanabe, but he wasn't that close to them and really, he wanted to find a place where he could rest and maybe take a short nap before dinner. He obviously couldn't do it in the group rooms since there will be people there. Perhaps, he could consider asking Yokoo or Kitayama, but he wasn't sure if that was the best idea. Kitayama might be sleeping on his own bed and if he stayed in Yokoo's bed, he would be made to clean it really thoroughly - not just the bed, but the whole room.
Walking around rather aimlessly, Nikaido came across with a room with its door wide open. If he remembered correctly, it was Nakaegawa's and Makino's room. He peeked in out of curiosity and found it empty.
"Are you looking for me or Makino?"
Nikaido flinched in surprise and turned around. "Ah, Rikiya-kun, I was just..."
Nakaegawa chuckled. "You can come in if you want. You look tired. Just finished your training session with Yonehana?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Nikaido nodded. "Yea...I was going to go back to my room, but Tamamori and Miyata were..." He paused. It wasn't a secret that those two were together, but it felt weird mentioning it in front of Nakaegawa when he didn't know how the other felt about it.
Nakaegawa just nodded and motioned Nikaido to walk further into the room. "You can use Makino's bed if you want. He won't be back until right before dinner."
Nikaido quickly shook his head. As much as he wanted to rest, it would be weird to use Makino's bed. He would actually much rather clean Yokoo's room and bed. "It’s okay. I'm planning to go find Wataru anyways."
"Mh, you mind staying for a moment though? I never asked about how you felt about the group training and meeting the protectors from Metropolitan Office. That was unplanned though, of course."
Nikaido wondered for a second if Nakaegawa noticed his interaction with Senga, but the other didn't press any further and left the questions at that. "It was...interesting, I guess," Nikaido replied. "A new experience." A rather textbook-like answer, but he wasn't sure what else he should say.
Nakaegawa sat down on his bed. "You can be more honest, you know."
"Eh?" Nikaido blinked.
"What do you honestly think?"
Nikaido paused before shrugging. Despite being told that, he couldn't exactly tell Nakaegawa that he thought the rivalry seemed rather stupid. Sure, he was known for being straightforward, but still, he knew what things to say out loud and what not to.
Nakaegawa just looked at Nikaido as if he could tell what Nikaido was thinking. "Maybe this won't last forever," he said cryptically.
"Eh?" Nikaido was repeating himself. Just what was the other implying?
"Anyways, I shouldn't be keeping you from resting. We can talk another day."
The so-called talk was rather short and abrupt, but if Nakaegawa said he could go, he wasn't going to complain. Nodding his head, Nikaido was going to just leave, but he thought better about it and bowed. "I'll see you at dinner then, Rikiya-kun."
Maybe this won't last forever. Nikaido wondered if Nakaegawa meant it in a good way or a bad way.
Nikaido shifted as he laid back against one of the many pieces of ruins, sitting in its shade. It wasn't something he did often, but Senga insisted and he couldn't really say no. The other seemed to want to sit and talk today instead of riding on his scooter. Nikaido didn't really mind though. The ruins felt rather cool against his back and sitting in the shade was always good.
"Shin-chan was trying to take over the building today," Senga started but was quickly interrupted.
"What?"
"Shintarou," Senga replied, but that didn't really answer Nikaido's question. "He convinced the other kids, even my younger brother, that he should lead!"
Nikaido blinked. "A rebellion?" Why was Senga still here then?
Senga tilted his head. "Kind of? I was the first one to find them. They were trying to sneak down to the basement and I caught them! But then my brother was being mean..." He trailed off. "But then Taisuke and Ishigaki-kun came along and got them to play something else."
"...play?"
Senga nodded. "Shin-chan is really mischievous. He's always coming up with something new to entertain himself and his friends, including my brother... They somehow get along really well."
Nikaido wanted to hit Senga over the head for misleading him. "You really should stop talking about people on your side as if I know them."
"You don't like me talking about them?" Senga's lips immediately tugged downwards.
"I never said I didn't like it, but it's confusing! You just randomly name people and I have no idea who they are."
Senga puffed up his cheeks before his eyes brightened up suddenly. "Why don't you tell me about episodes about you and your group then?"
"What?"
"You don't always want to hear me talking about my group, right?" Senga asked. "Then tell me about yours! I promise I won't bother you with questions about who's who."
Nikaido blinked, then scratched his nose. "There's nothing interesting to talk about really..."
"Really?" Senga looked disappointed. "Nothing at all?"
"Well, I don't interact with the younger ones as much as you do, and I spend most of my time training..." Nikaido trailed off. "Wait, I can't believe I didn't ask you this when we met last time, but you never told me you were training to be a protector!"
Senga blinked, tilting his head. "Nika, you never told me either?"
"Eh, that's because, um, our groups, they're..."
Laughing, Senga hit the sides of his rollerskates together as he shifted while sitting. "Well, now you know? I never went out with the full group before, so that was really fun."
"We sure pick weird times to do group training," Nikaido mumbled. "I mean, to be all out on the same day..."
"When we got back, Taisuke was fuming about how we had to share the meat with your group, so Yara-kun punished him to skate rounds around the building for like a long time!"
Nikaido raised an eyebrow. "I see..." He asked, "Is it only you and that Fujigaya that have air rollerskates?"
Senga nodded. "Taisuke obviously had them first, but then they somehow decided I have a talent for them so they decided to train me on rollerskates as well. Ah, but I did try them before training before began though since Taisuke let me..."
"Mh..."
There was a moment of silence before Senga exclaimed, "Hey, you changed the topic! You need to tell me something interesting that happened in your group!"
"There really is noth-" Nikaido stopped in the middle of his sentence when he noticed a droplet of water hitting the ground. He quickly looked up and hissed when a droplet landed on his face. "Crap, it's starting to rain." He scrambled up and pulled Senga up along with him. He stared at the clothes the other was wearing. "Where’s your protective cloak!?"
"I...didn't bring one?"
Nikaido glared at Senga. "Are you an idiot!?" The rain was starting to fall a little more, a little harder.
"You're getting on the scooter with me. It'll be faster to take you back to Metropolitan Office than your skates."
"Eh?"
The acid rain burned his skin and he hated the feeling. Nikaido though surprised himself as he took off his protective clock and placed it over Senga's shoulders.
"But, Nika...!"
"Don't complain," Nikaido hissed as he got Senga to sit up front before he climbed on to the scooter as well, starting it. "I'm not that evil to leave you out here, and since it's my cloak, it's smarter to bring you back to Metropolitan Office, so I can take it back and go back to the Tower."
Senga might have opened his mouth to speak again, but when the scooter sped forward, he fell silent and was still between Nikaido's arms.
Even the Metropolitan Office grew bigger as Nikaido drove the scooter as fast as possible, the journey still felt longer than it should have been with the acid rain hitting his body. There must be quite a few burns on his body, but for some reason, he was glad that he was the one getting burned and not Senga. He didn't quite understand the feeling, but tried not to think too much about it.
When they reached the Metropolitan Office and had shelter over their heads, Nikaido finally let out a hiss and almost fell off the scooter after he turned it off.
"Nika!" Senga slid off the scooter and supported Nikaido so he was sitting with his back against the scooter. "You should get these burns treated before leaving..."
"I'm an intruder here," Nikaido hissed as Senga touched one of his burns. "I shouldn't stay here any longer. I'll be fine. We have medicine back at the Tower too."
"Immediate treatment is important though!"
"I said I'm fine!"
"Senga?"
Nikaido was immediately alert when he heard another voice. He'd be at a disadvantage if he was attacked now.
"Bun-chan!" Senga ran up to the approaching male. "Can I borrow some medical cream? The one for acid burns?"
"Wait, Senga!" Nikaido tried to stop Senga, not understanding why the other could just run up to someone, asking for medical cream like that, especially when that someone was someone Nikaido recognized as a protector. Judging from the nickname, he should be Hamanaka Bunichi.
Hamanaka walked up to Nikaido and stared at him. "Who is this?"
"Nika!" Senga replied. Nikaido wanted to say that a nickname isn't the best introduction, but he kept silent. "It suddenly started to rain so he lent me his cloak! Bun-chan, please, can he have some medical cream for his burns?"
Hamanaka frowned. "You're from the Tower," he said, ignoring Senga.
Nikaido struggled to get up. He should consider himself lucky that Hamanaka didn't attack him right away despite recognizing him as someone from the Tower.
"Bun-chan!" Senga said again. "Medical cream!"
Hamanaka stared at Nikaido a little longer before replying, "Fine. Stay here. I'll be back soon."
Watching the other walk away, Nikaido said, "Did he just leave to get me, someone from the Tower, medical cream?"
Senga beamed. "Bun-chan is a really nice person! Well, I think everyone here is very nice, though of course, they can be mean at times." He crouched down and took Nikaido's hand, frowning when he saw the burn there. "It must hurt."
"It's alright," Nikaido lied. Well, not a complete lie. Now that they were out of the acid rain and he wasn't getting any new burns, they didn't hurt as much as before.
"...I'm sorry," Senga said, lowering his head. "I'll remember to bring my cloak with me next time."
"You better," Nikaido grumbled. "I might not be there next time."
Senga looked up at Nikaido before smiling brightly at him.
"...what?" Nikaido frowned.
Still smiling brightly, Senga shook his head. "Nothing!" He squeezed Nikaido's hand that he was still holding lightly before continuing, "Too bad you can't be somewhere more comfortable. If I bring you upstairs..."
Nikaido shook his head. "It's alright. It's just putting on some cream."
"Ah, Bun-chan is back!" Senga ran off and Nikaido wondered why he felt a little lonely when the other let go of his hand. He shook his head inwardly. He was starting to sound like those cheesy romance novels his sister read when she was bored.
...romance?
Before his thoughts could get any further, Senga was back. "Medical cream! I'll help you put it on, alright, Nika?"
Nikaido made a face and took it from Senga. "I can do it myself. Some reason, I can see you taking too much and wasting it all."
"I won't!" Senga protested. "Besides, you can't reach your back, right? I'll help you there and you can put the rest on yourself?"
"Fine, fine," Nikaido muttered, unable to say no to Senga. Turning around, he pulled off his shirt and started to put the cream on his burns. When he felt Senga's fingers against his skin, he resisted to urge to shiver and tried not to think too much about it.
Once he was done and felt Senga stop as well, Nikaido stood up slowly and grabbed his shirt, pulling it back on. "Got somewhere more private?"
"Eh?" Senga blinked at him.
"I got burns on my legs too. What, you want me to take off my pants in front of you?"
"Oh!" Senga blushed lightly. "Um..." He pointed in one direction. "We don't use that area much. You can go over there, Bun-chan and I will stay here and make sure no one come over! Right, Bun-chan?"
Hamanaka remained emotionless pretty much and just nodded his head.
As Nikaido walked away to the more isolated area, he could hear Senga started to talk happily with Hamanaka. Sometimes, it really amazed him how optimistic the other could be. He supposed Hamanaka didn't do anything to him because of Senga. Senga must be well liked, though it always sounded like he got bullied a lot too, though out of love.
He didn't take too long and soon, Nikaido was walking back towards Senga and Hamanaka. "Here." He handed Senga back the cream. "I hope I didn't use up too much."
"Of course not!" Senga shook his head. "You saved me after all!" He tilted his head. "Ah, but I saved you in the first place, right?" A teasing grin appeared on his face.
Nikaido's face turned a light red in embarrassment. "Shut up! Anyways, I'm going now."
"Eh, now? Why don't you wait until the rain stops?"
"If I'm gone for too long, Wataru and the others will wonder where I am. Besides, since it's raining right now, they had probably expected me to be back as soon as possible."
Senga pouted and shuffled on his feet. Then quickly, he stuffed the container of cream into Hamanaka's hands. "Bun-chan, you go back first! I'll come up once I see Nika off, alright?"
Hamanaka gave Nikaido a suspicious glance before nodding his head. "Alright. Don't take too long."
"I won't!" Senga gave Hamanaka a wave before turning back to Nikaido. "I should give you back your cloak." Unhooking it, he slid it off his shoulders before putting it around Nikaido, helping Nikaido hook it on. "Have a safe trip back."
Nikaido wondered briefly if Senga would do this to everyone and for some reason, it gave him a weird feeling in his heart. "Yea, I will."
"I'll see you the next time we meet then." Senga paused, still holding on to the hook area of the cloak, as if he had something else to say.
"Senga?"
Before Nikaido could react, Senga pressed a quick kiss on Nikaido's cheek and ran off. Some distance away, he turned around and waved at Nikaido as his cheeks darkened. "See you, Nika!" With that, he was running again and was soon gone from Nikaido's sight.
Nikaido stood there, frozen, perhaps a bit confused as to what happened. More like, a little dazed. Senga kissed him on the cheek? Nikaido wondered if Senga liked kissing people on the cheeks or was he special? Considering Senga never did that before to him.
Later on, Nikaido couldn't recall how exactly he got back to the Tower, but he definitely knew that the feeling of Senga's kiss on his cheek didn't leave his mind and he couldn't figure out why Senga did that. It really bothered him.
Was he special to Senga? What about Senga to him?
Nikaido knew he wasn't going to meet Senga today, which was a good thing since he still haven't figured out the meaning behind Senga's kiss and how he felt about it. As for why he knew he was not going to meet Senga today, they had actually exchanged schedules sometime ago because Senga insisted. Today was a training day for Senga apparently so the other would definitely not be out skating around mindlessly.
Easily, Nikaido was able to go back to his usual routine of just driving around aimlessly, though he must admit, it was feeling a bit lonely after he had gotten used to Senga's company. At this rate, he won't like spending time alone anymore and he would be blaming Senga for it.
Senga was really affecting him more than he realized. Nikaido wasn't stupid when it came to these things. If he was feeling awkward about these things, worrying about what he was to Senga and what Senga meant to him, it might actually mean that he had more than just feelings of friendship for the other.
That didn't mean he wanted to admit that there was a possibility of him liking Senga though. It had nothing to do with Senga being boy. After all, he knew a good amount of same sex couples from the Tower. It was just watching these couples have always managed to convince him that he didn't want a lover.
If he really did like Senga, would he be sticking to the other just like how Tamamori and Miyata, or even Sanada and Nozawa, are always together? Somehow, it was disgusting, but at the same time, if that person was Senga...
Nikaido shook his head. Was he actually thinking about it? What should he do? If he really liked Senga - not that it's true because he wasn't ready to admit that yet - would he confess to Senga? Does Senga like him too? The other could have easily kissed him on the cheek because he was used to showing affection that way to his friends. Nikaido didn't want to make things awkward between him and Senga.
Immediately, Nikaido pulled his scooter to a stop, shaking his head fervently. No, this was not like him at all. He's not the type to be that indecisive at all. If he liked someone, he would just go for it. At least, that's how he understood himself.
Before his thoughts could go any further though, some sounds distracted Nikaido. Getting off his scooter, he tried to figure out where the sounds were coming from. As he got closer, Nikaido realized it was sounds of fighting he was hearing. Not wanting to get into a fight without warning, he hid behind one of the pieces of ruins and inched closer to the edge before peeking out.
Nikaido's eyes widened when he recognized the two fighting figures. It was Kitayama and Fujigaya. Nikaido watched as the two fought against each other and blocking each other's moves. Kitayama started to kick, but before he could raise his leg up properly, Fujigaya had already blocked and pushed Kitayama's leg down.
Should Nikaido interfere? He wasn't sure if Kitayama would appreciate that though. He didn't even know why the two were fighting in the first place. Who provoked and started the fight? If he based it on the last fight he witnessed, it would be Fujigaya? At least it didn't seem like Kitayama was losing.
"You're weak today," Kitayama chuckled. "Why? You miss those air skates of yours?"
"What are you talking about?" Nikaido saw Fujigaya scowl. "I can win against you without my skates! You should be glad I'm not wearing them so I'm not towering over you, dwarf!"
Nikaido resisted the urge to snort and looked around before spotting a scooter that probably belonged to Fujigaya. He thought if Fujigaya had skates, he wouldn't have access to a scooter like Senga, but he supposed being an actual protector was different.
"Who are you calling a dwarf?" Kitayama threw another punch and jumped back when Fujigaya blocked it and tried to kick him.
"You, of course! Who else?" Fujigaya rolled his eyes and moved back into a fighting position. "Well, Gocchi is shorter than you though, but of course, Gocchi is a lot nicer than you and I like him more."
Nikaido watched as Kitayama narrowed his eyes. "Like I care who you like better!" Kitayama replied as he closed in again, kicking and aiming for Fujigaya's head.
Fujigaya hummed, "Mh, so you don't care. I see..." He threw a punch at Kitayama and when the other blocked it, Fujigaya used his other hand to grab Kitayama's collar, pulling him closer. "You really don't care?"
Kitayama growled and Nikaido watched with shock as Kitayama pulled Fujigaya closer as well and crushed their lips together. Fujigaya started to try to push Kitayama away - though Nikaido saw it all as an act because Fujigaya was the one who provoked Kitayama - but Kitayama just kept kissing him. Nikaido was proven to be correct when Fujigaya started to wrap his arms around Kitayama's neck.
Kitayama let go of Fujigaya soon and one of his hands travelled downwards. Nikaido couldn't see everything, but when Fujigaya let out a moan, it wasn't hard to guess where Kitayama's hand might be.
Nikaido's ears burned in response. "What the fuck?"
By the the time he realized he spoke out loud and quite loudly as well, it was too late. Kitayama and Fujigaya had jumped apart and spotted him.
Nikaido cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped out from behind the ruins. He raised his hand. "Yo."
Fujigaya's face was quite red. He glared at Kitayama, then glared at Nikaido. "Y-you...you better not be stealing our water!" With that, he ran off to his scooter and hopped on. He turned his head and yelled at Kitayama. "I'll really kill you next time!" A small rumbling sound was heard before Fujigaya sped off towards the Metropolitan Office.
"...is it your kink to fight before having sex, KitaMitsu?" Nikaido asked.
Kitayama quickly turned and glowered at Nikaido. "What?"
"I never realized Fujigaya was your type," Nikaido continued.
"Nikaido," Kitayama growled in warning.
"Anyways, I'll be going back now!" Nikaido ran away quickly before Kitayama could stop it and got on to his scooter, heading back to the Tower.
Kitayama and Fujigaya. What a surprise, Nikaido thought to himself as he walked down one of the hallways of the Tower. He wondered when the two started. The fights they have in front of the groups were all an act then?
"Nikaido Takashi. We need to talk."
Nikaido turned around slowly and felt a shiver go down his spine when he saw Kitayama glaring at him. The way the other had forced each syllable out didn't really help. "Uh, we do?"
"We do." Kitayama stepped forward and grabbed Nikaido's wrist. He tugged Nikaido forcefully to the meeting room and closed the door behind them.
"If you're worried about me telling others about you and Fujigaya," Nikaido said, "I won't." He paused. "Then again, it would be interesting to see how the others would react when they hear about this. They'll be really surprised I bet."
"Nikaido."
Nikaido shivered. "Joking, joking. I won't tell really."
"...there's nothing between me and Fujigaya."
Nikaido blinked. "Ha?"
Kitayama growled, "I said there's nothing between me and Fujigaya."
Raising an eyebrow, Nikaido wondered if Kitayama seriously thought that he would believe that. It was clear that it wasn't the first time something like that happened. He shook his head inwardly when he started to imagine things. He most certainly didn't want to see or imagine those things.
Kitayama cleared his throat. "I just thought you should know that, so you don't start thinking weird things or spreading rumours."
"Why the hell would I do that?" Nikaido made a face. "And anyways, if you and Fujigaya don't have anything, why were you guys about to fuck out there?"
"Watch your language, Nika."
Nikaido just rolled his eyes. "Well?" For some reason, he wasn't as scared of Kitayama as before. Not that he wanted to really admit he was scared of the other. Maybe it was because he saw that scene and how Kitayama was reacting to that now.
"Look, there really is nothing between us."
Nikaido smirked a little. "What? You were sexually frustrated then?"
Kitayama scowled, but Nikaido thought he saw the other's ears turning red. "Stop talking about me. This wasn't the only thing I had to talk to you about. I want to know about you and Senga Kento."
"What?" Nikaido froze in surprise. How did Kitayama know about Senga?
"You and Senga Kento," Kitayama repeated. "You two have been meeting, right? Fujigaya told me about it, that Senga kept talking about you. And the last time when we met the Metropolitan Office group as well, it was obvious you two knew each other. So, talk."
Nikaido wanted to ask Kitayama if Fujigaya and he can actually talk normally between the two of them, then he should just admit it wasn't just nothing between them. He held back though, figuring out that was the smarter choice. "...I just keep meeting him coincidentally. He wasn't stealing water or anything, so I didn't do anything to him." He shrugged. "That's all."
"That's all?" Kitayama repeated. "You sure? Apparently Senga sure doesn't just talk about you like you and him are just random acquaintances."
Nikaido's heart skipped a beat. What does that mean? Senga talked about him as a friend or? He then wanted to hit himself. What was he thinking about, in front of Kitayama? "Okay, fine, friends maybe?" Some part of him seemed to be protesting though and recalling how Kitayama refused to admit to a relationship with Fujigaya, it seemed to affect him somehow.
"Actually, scratch that. I like him alright?" Nikaido blurted out. "Unlike you, I can admit my own feelings!" He blinked when he realized what he had said, and found Kitayama blinking at him as well.
"...you don't tell anyone that either!" Nikaido said quickly and opened the door of the room and quickly left before Kitayama could say anything.
Well, he supposed that was one way to admit his actual feelings. Nikaido didn't have to worry about what his feelings were anymore. As for Senga's feelings though...
"They're back! They're back!"
Nikaido sat up on his bed, a scowl on his face when the commotion outside disturbed his rest. He could people running outside the hallway. Children actually, according to the voices he was hearing.
Getting off his bed, Nikaido went towards the door and threw it open. He grabbed one of the children running past and asked, "What's going on? Who's back?"
"Kiriyama-kun and the others!" The child squealed happily. "They're back from their trip!"
"They are?" Nikaido let go of the child and stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him. "How come I didn't know about this beforehand?" he muttered to himself and started to jog towards the stairs to head downstairs.
At the top of the stairs, he found Machida and Yonehana standing there. "Now, now," Machida was saying as he and Yonehana blocked the children. "They will be coming up in a bit. Why don't you guys wait up here? We don't want you guys to go downstairs."
"But we want to see Kiriyama-kun!"
"We miss Hamada-kun!"
"Nakama-kun came back with them, right?"
The children were all protesting, trying to push their way through.
Nikaido snorted lightly as he watched. He never realized their travel team was so popular among children. Or was it because it really has been a while since they came back?
"You guys, get out of the way!" Nikaido said, walking towards the group. "If you don't stay up here, the team won't come up to see you guys and just leave again."
The children quickly let out gasps of fear. "No! We'll be good!"
"Wait in the main room then," Nikaido instructed and watched the children disperse and run off once again.
Machida let out a small sigh. "Ah, you are good with children after all, Nikaido-kun. Even Yonehana with his scary face didn't do much good."
"Hey," Yonehana frowned. "I take that as an insult."
Nikaido just shrugged his shoulders. "I thought this was usually Wataru's job? Dealing with the children."
"He was already downstairs when the team came back," Machida replied.
"Ah..."
"Let's go down," Yonehana said, stepping down the stairs. "I bet Kiriyama must miss having more people to speak to. He'll probably talk non stop for the next few hours at least."
Nikaido made a face. "I'm not going down just to listen to him ramble on."
Machida laughed softly. "Just go down anyways. It's been a while they've been back, so we should all greet them."
Shrugging his shoulders, Nikaido headed down the stairs with the other two. If he really didn't want to see the team, he wouldn't have stepped out of his room in the first place anyways.
Before he reached the bottom of the stairs, Nikaido already could hear Kiriyama's voice before he even saw the other. As usual, the other was speaking really quickly in a tension that Nikaido could never match.
"Ah, Nika, Yonehana-kun, Machida-kun!" Yokoo waved them over when he saw them arriving at the bottom of the stairs.
"So, I'm guessing nothing special happened out there again this time?" Yonehana asked Yokoo.
"Yea, nothing really..." Yokoo replied.
Nikaido frowned. The way Yokoo replied made him felt like that the other was lying. Why was Yokoo holding back? Was it because he was there with them? Before he could ask about it though, Yokoo spoke again, "Anyways, those Kansai people have been complaining about being hungry, so I'll be heading off to the kitchen to overlook dinner being cooked. Uesato-kun seems to be too busy talking. See you at dinner." He waved at the three before heading off back upstairs.
Nikaido shrugged inwardly. He'll probably find out what's going on eventually. Looking around, he found Kiriyama and Nakama talking to Tamamori and Miyata. Kiriyama and Nakama had always seemed to like Tamamori quite a bit since some time ago. As for Hamada and Nakata, they were talking to Kitayama and Nakaegawa. Makino and Uesato were talking among themselves, but remained close to the group.
Furrowing his eyebrows together, Nikaido wondered if he should bother joining either group. Yonehana and Machida had already walked off to join Makino and Uesato, but Nikaido didn't feel going up to any of the groups and join in on the talking. Maybe he should just join Yokoo in the kitchen and sneak in a few bites. Not that he normally ate a lot.
"Oh, Nika!"
It seemed like it was too late to leave though as he watched Kiriyama run over to him with Nakama following close behind. "Kiriyama, Nakama," Nikaido greeted with a nod.
"Ahh, so cold even though we haven't seen each other over a month!" Kiriyama pouted.
"Well, I'm glad you managed to survive out there then," Nikaido replied, slightly rolling his eyes.
Kiriyama immediately turned to Nakama. "Junta, did you hear him!?"
Nakama just chuckled, "It's not like it's the first time."
"...true." Kiriyama was grinning again and threw an arm over Nikaido's shoulders. "So, Nika, let's sit together during dinner! You need to help me catch up on what has been going on around here!"
Nikaido raised an eyebrow. "You're asking the wrong person for this?"
Letting out a whine, Kiriyama said, "But I want to talk to you!"
"Do you have anything to share about your trip then?" Nikaido asked in return.
Kiriyama blinked. "What?"
"Your trip," Nikaido repeated. "Did anything interesting happen out there?"
Kiriyama just laughed. "Of course not!" Nikaido thought he saw a flit of something in the other's eyes. "The usual nothingness, acid rain, no miraculous new water source... Right, Junta?" Kiriyama turned to look at Nakama who nodded.
"Mh..." Nikaido didn't ask any more questions, but he was sure, they were all hiding something from him.
Part 3
Author: Shattered Tenshi
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: JE
Genre: AU, Romance, slight Action
Pairing: Nikaido Takashi x Senga Kento, hints of Miyata Toshiya x Tamamori, Sanada Yuuma x Nozawa Yuuki. There's one more, but giving it out would be a spoiler.
Warnings: Language for Nika's use of the f-word, kissing, implicit mention of sex
Notes: For je_holiday 2009, written for snowqueenofhoth. Thanks to kira_shadow, uchikins, luma_chan, and sweetmilano90 for assuring me that these 23k of words aren't complete crap. Extra thanks goes to Kira and Nia for beta-ing and picking out all my silly typos. This AU is based on one of the many universes in CLAMP's Tsubasa Chronicles. Tons of cameos, though all Juniors. Originally posted here.
Summary: AU. In a world where no one exists outside of the 23 wards of Tokyo. In a world of ruins and acid rain, only the Tower and the Metropolitan Office building stands.
The acid rain burned his skin and he hated the feeling. Nikaido though surprised himself as he took off his protective clock and placed it over Senga’s shoulders...There must be quite a few burns on his body, but for some reason, he was glad that he was the one getting burned and not Senga.
By the time Nikaido arrived back at the Tower and parked his scooter, his stomach was grumbling. He could almost swear he could smell meat being cooked, but he was a few floors away from the kitchen after all, so maybe he was imagining it. It was however, close to dinner time though.
Nikaido ran up the stairs two steps at a time and was on a way to his room to freshen up before going to dinner when someone poked him on the shoulder.
"You just came back, Nikaido-kun?"
"Ah, it's you, Fukka."
Fukasawa smiled. "We were talking about you, you know. You seem to be going a lot lately, even though you can't go to the bathroom alone."
Nikaido's cheeks darkened and he scowled. "I've been saying this a lot of times! I'm not afraid of being alone. Heck, I like being alone! It's just...there are ghosts and stuff, maybe, and those are scary. It's not about loneliness."
Fukasawa just laughed. "Whatever you say, Nikaido-kun." He tilted his head. "How's training lately? I heard from Miyata-kun you guys are starting some one-on-one stuff right?"
Nodding, Nikaido replied, "Yea, it's alright. I got to work with Kitayama when it's one-on-one, since our styles are more similar and all."
As he watched Fukasawa nod, something crossed Nikaido's mind. Fukasawa had always been one of the quieter ones, and he was sure the other won't gossip or telling people things purposely or not purposely unlike someone like Sanada. "Fukka."
"Mh?"
"Have you...have you ever wondered about our rivalry with the Metropolitan Office?"
Fukasawa blinked. "What do you mean? We're read about those in the records, right? A lot of people fought to survive at the beginning years, before they settled into proper groups, and for survival, they had to do whatever they can. Some buildings eroded faster than others after all. It can't be helped that rivalries are formed."
"...we're the only two groups left though. Is there...a point?"
Giving Nikaido a look, Fukasawa laughed softly. "I would have never thought that Nikaido-kun would be talking about these things. You never worried about this before, right?"
Nikaido felt his ears grow warm and just huffed. "It's nothing. I was just wondering. Forget that I asked." He hurried his steps. "I'll see you at dinner."
The whole time, Nikaido tried to convince himself that Senga had nothing to do with all this.
Nikaido frowned as he rolled on to his side. Who the hell was being so noisy outside?
Suddenly, the room's door was thrown open. "Oi, Nika, wake up! We're going out hunting as a group together today. It'll double up as training."
Nikaido opened one of his eyes. "Watta...?"
Yokoo gave him a small scowl. "Come on! Don't take too long. Get Tamamori and Miyata out of bed as well." With that, he went out.
"...looks like someone caught Kitayama's bad mood in the morning," Nikaido grumbled to himself as he sat up on his bed. "Miyata too? Watta should wake him up himse-" He blinked as he stared at the other bed in the room, then groaned. "He stayed over!? I told him not to!" He was tempted to just curl up and sleep, but he had a feeling it'd be a very bad idea.
Nikaido got off the bed and peered at the sleeping two cautiously. Good thing they were still wearing their clothes. "Wake up, you two!" Grabbing their blanket, he pulled it right off. "Tamamori! Miyata! Get up before Wataru comes in and terrorize the room!"
"Nh, Nika?" Tamamori was the first to open his eyes.
"Hunting today. Group training." Nikaido dropped the blanket on the ground and went to prepare himself for the day.
Tamamori gave Miyata a small shove and sat up, yawning. "You could have woken us up in a nicer way, Nika."
"Blame him. I told him he shouldn't stay over, and why didn't you kick him out!?"
Tamamori shrugged. "Why should I? It's not the first time, Nika, so get used to it." He smiled and slid off the bed.
Nikaido just clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Miyata, wake up!"
"I'm up, I'm up," Miyata mumbled as he slowly sat up.
"Morning," Tamamori bent down and greeted Miyata with a kiss on the cheek.
Nikaido rolled his eyes. "Do the lovey dovey stuff when I'm not around," he grumbled.
"You always say that," Tamamori replied. "You should find someone for yourself."
Miyata nodded in agreement. "Is there someone that you're interested in, Nikaido?"
"Shut up." Nikaido threw a pillow at Miyata before leaving the room and headed towards the bathroom.
By the time the three of them went down to where the scooters were kept, the rest of the group was already waiting for them. Nikaido wondered how long it has been to see all seven of the protectors together properly. After all, after they had deemed Kitayama old enough to lead, they let the other and Yokoo take on most of the responsibilities. Makino and Nakaegawa would just laze around when there's nothing for them to do, while Uesato took care of the kitchen. Yonehana and Machida...Nikaido wasn't sure, but probably patrolling since he rarely saw Kitayama or Yokoo going out to do that.
"Late," Yokoo commented with a frown.
"You didn't give us an exact time limit," Nikaido retorted back. "We didn't take that long."
Yonehana laughed and went up to ruffle Nikaido's hair. "I haven't talked to you in a while, and you're still a brat, Nikaido."
"Hey!" Nikaido frowned, but didn't quite find the courage to whack Yonehana's hand away. Maybe the other was nice really, but his face was scary, and Nikaido was just a little wary of him.
"Yone," Machida said with a frown, a small warning.
Yonehana snorted, "Oh come on, Maachin. It's good to keep him scared. He'll be seeing a lot of me soon."
Nikaido blinked. "What?"
Yokoo cleared his throat and stepped closer to Nikaido. "I told you, right? Yonehana-kun is an expert at backflips and all that."
"I'm pretty good at them already!" Nikaido protested.
Yonehana raised an eyebrow, "So you don't even want to try working with me even once?"
"Yone." There was a pause before Machida continued, "Still, you shouldn't scare Nikaido-kun."
Compared to Yonehana, Nikaido would definitely prefer to working with Machida. The other definitely wasn't a bad fighter, his movements precise without wasting a second. Though, Nikaido was worried that he'd get annoyed at Machida's personality in general. The other was quiet after all, and Nikaido rarely saw Machida high in tension or anything like that.
"Oh, Maachin, you just be quiet and concentrate on the hunt later. You just recovered from another cold, remember?"
Then, there was that. Nikaido heard about how Machida's body wasn’t exactly strong, so it wouldn't be fun training with Machida if he was going to disappear every few days because of falling ill.
"Let's talk about this after we hunt?" Yokoo spoke. "Hiro, don’t fall asleep on your bike!"
Kitayama looked up and blinked sleepily. "What? I'm awake. Miyata, get over here."
"Huh?" Miyata blinked.
"Ah, our scooters?" Tamamori glanced at Yokoo, who looked over at Nakaegawa.
Nakaegawa shrugged lazily. "What? Maintenance takes time, you know."
Yokoo just shook his head as Uesato hit Nakaegawa on the head lightly. "Tamamori, you're with me. Anyways, really, let's go."
Nikaido snorted slightly and went to get on his scooter. By the time they all left the Tower area, he wondered what a sight it must be. A group of ten people on eight scooters heading towards one direction. It was a rare happening after all.
The so-called hunt wasn't much though really. The creatures usually don't leave signs of where they might be, and usually moving around above the ground would cause enough disturbances to lure those creatures out from underground. They would never bother digging underground trying to find a mutated creature because that would be just a waste of time.
It was rather boring really, in Nikaido's opinion, so as they headed somewhere, he tried to study the other protectors and their way of riding the scooter. At least, that was a bit more of an entertainment than the landscape.
Closest to him was Nakaegawa, and Nikaido how the other was strumming his fingers against the handles of the scooter. Was the other playing music in his head, or even creating a new song in his mind? He had heard from someone that Nakaegawa was responsible for all the original songs that he, Makino and Uesato played.
Not wanting to get caught staring, Nikaido looked on his other side. There was nothing special about Yokoo's driving on the scooter really. Tamamori wasn't that interesting either, but if there was something interesting to observe was just how clean Yokoo's scooter was. Nikaido was lazy about cleaning his scooter, but he was pretty sure Yokoo cleaned it every other day, if not every day. Right now, it looked sparkling clean, so Yokoo must have just cleaned it recently.
"What?" Yokoo had noticed him watching and raised an eyebrow.
Nikaido shook his head. "Nothing!" He didn't respond to the curious look Tamamori gave him and sped up a little.
Kitayama was leading the group, and Nikaido noted how awake the other looked. It was always like that actually. No matter how much the other liked sleeping or looked sleepy, the moment Kitayama climbed on to a scooter or began to fight, he was extremely alert, movements strong and powerful.
"Huh, I see something interesting..."
"Eh?" Nikaido blinked when he heard Kitayama muttering something to himself and changed direction.
The rest of the group naturally followed and soon, Nikaido saw just exactly what had caught Kitayama's attention. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed a familiar figure among the group.
"Fujigaya!" Kitayama called out. "Don't tell me you guys are hunting too?" He pulled his scooter to a stop some feet away and got off, crossing his arms as he stared at the group from the Metropolitan Office. Miyata looked a bit lost as to if he should remain on the scooter for a moment before sliding off as well and went to stand beside Nikaido’s scooter.
"Hah?" The male who was addressed raised an eyebrow, clearly not sounding happy. "And what if we are? That's none of your business. Out here, it's free for all, and we're certainly not planning on attacking the Tower if that's what you're wondering."
Nikaido didn't really pay attention to the...perhaps he could call it an argument going on and could only stare at Senga. The other was sliding on his rollerskates back and forth mindlessly before he caught Nikaido's stare and gave him a smile, waving.
"Do you know him?" Miyata asked in a whisper.
"Shut up," Nikaido snapped in embarrassment and went back to staring at Senga. He was right then. He never got a chance to confirm it, but considering the people he was with, riding on scooters, there was no doubt about it. Senga was being trained to be a protector. He noted how only Senga and the male addressed as Fujigaya were the ones wearing rollerskates.
Nikaido could see Senga pouting from where he was, probably because he didn't wave back. He let out a small sigh and hoping that he wasn't being too obvious, gave a slight wave, and immediately, Senga grinned.
"How come you have eleven people!?"
Fujigaya huffed, "You guys were the ones who decided to train three people, so we're training three too! Don't think we don't find out about these things!"
"Your group already had one more than us in the beginning!" Kitayama retorted back.
Nikaido could hear a sigh behind him and figured it was Uesato. Was it always like this when the two groups came across each other? This sounded like some pathetic argument between children instead of a rivalry between two groups fighting to survive.
"Taisuke-kun..." One of the protectors went up to tug on Fujigaya's sleeve.
"Let go, Tsuka. I'm going to teach Kitayama a lesson...!"
Kitayama snorted. "As if. Don't think you're superior to us just because of those rollerskates."
Fujigaya shouted, "We never thought that! Don't go assuming things, you chipmunk!"
"Who are you calling a chipmunk? And sure, you don't," Kitayama said with a smirk. "But even if you think those skates are to your advantage, you're wrong. You'll never beat me."
"Kitayama!" Provoked, Fujigaya skated forward and threw a punch at Kitayama.
"Too slow," Kitayama said, clicking his tongue as he blocked the punch with his arm.
Nikaido watched the two begin a fight with wide eyes. He had obviously seen Kitayama fight before, but his movements now were even sharper than ever, almost mesmerizing to watch. Then, there was Fujigaya. The other was fighting on his skates, able to completely control his own balance, and Nikaido had no idea how the other managed it.
The two's fight was almost like a dance. Not the same as the way Yonehana or Machida danced with music, but there's something special about it that Nikaido couldn't describe.
"Is it like this every time?" Nikaido could hear Tamamori ask.
"Mh, pretty much," Yokoo replied. "They probably enjoy fighting each other. We usually let them at it for a bit."
Nikaido resisted the urge to comment on how stupid it was. Perhaps the others felt that letting them fight it out was better instead of waiting the tension to snap one day and lead to an all-out fight. As much as they were rivals, he knew they wanted to keep the people at either places safe.
Not that anyone told him that. That's just what he had observed over the years really.
The fighting seemed to be reaching another level and just when Nikaido was wondering if they'll just continue watching, a rumble disturbed his thoughts.
Before he could even react, Nikaido watched with wide eyes as a mutated creature shot up from the ground, aiming straight for the fighting two.
Kitayama and Fujigaya were quick to separate and after a few bangs ringing in the air, the creature had already fallen with a loud thump. Nikaido blinked and looked around him, seeing a few of his group with their guns pulled out. He clicked his tongue. Perhaps group effort was something that he needed to work on.
Noticing a few arrows sticking out from the creature, Nikaido looked over to the other group and found that some of them had their crossbows out, including Senga. That made Nikaido frown. It meant Senga actually reacted faster than him. He was reminded of when he first met Senga, being saved by the other. He most certainly hoped that won't ever happen again. He should have improved enough by now.
"We got more arrows on the creature, so it's ours!" Fujigaya exclaimed.
"Hey, what kind of decision is that!?" Kitayama glared at Fujigaya. "We both attacked it!"
Fujigaya huffed. "You should train your younger ones better! They didn't react at all, unlike ours. Right, Kento, Yamamoto, Gotou?" He skated back to his group and ruffled Senga on the hair, making the other squawk with a complaint.
"It's not of your business how we train them," Kitayama said with a scowl. "I still don't agree with letting you have the whole creature."
"You're just sting-"
"Fujigaya."
Fujigaya jumped a little and quickly turned to look at a male who was shorter than the rest of the group. Nikaido tried to figure out who that person was, considering how the rest of them seemed to treat him with respect.
Fujigaya made a face but closed his mouth, skating backwards as the other stepped forward. That's when Nikaido remembered that this person was probably Yara, the leader of the protectors of Metropolitan Office.
"Kitayama."
Nikaido quickly turned when he heard Nakaegawa speaking as well. Nakaegawa gave Kitayama a look and Nikaido managed to read it quite easily. It seemed like the other had decided to negotiate with Yara instead. Kitayama grumbled to himself but backed off as he was told. After all, Nakaegawa was higher in seniority than him even though Kitayama was pretty much the leader.
Watching the other two walk up and meet halfway, Nikaido strained to hear them talk, but they were speaking too softly that he couldn't catch anything.
Yokoo hit him over the head. "Stop being so nosy."
"That hurt!" Nikaido complained, rubbing where he was hit. He caught Senga's glance and had to look away, feeling embarrassed. Senga has the worst timing, he decided.
Nikaido didn't keep track of how long Nakaegawa and Yara spent talking, but it did feel like a while before the two went back to their own groups.
Nakaegawa crossed his arms over his chest and said, "We've decided to share."
"What?" Kitayama hissed. Yonehana and Machida were frowning as well.
"I'm sure you've all noticed," Nakaegawa started. "The appearance rates of these creatures are decreasing lately. There's no guarantee if another one will show up later. Right now, the survival of our group is top priority compared to our rivalry with them. Otherwise, what we had before that was close to insufficient will really become insufficient at this rate."
Uesato spoke up, "That sounds reasonable to me. We're getting equal amounts, right?"
"Of course," Nakaegawa replied. "After we take the meat back, we'll stick close to the Tower and just do combat training there. The hunt training will have to wait another day."
Nikaido made a face. He would much rather ride his scooter and actually experience attacking from it and such.
Nakaegawa pulled out his knife. "Alright, you guys, let's go. The faster we split this, the quicker we can head back and continue training."
Makino and Uesato were the firsts to follow Nakaegawa. Yokoo, Yonehana and Machida went next. Kitayama was still grumbling to himself, but went anyways.
Left with Miyata and Tamamori, Nikaido glanced at them. "Am I the only one who thinks this whole rivalry thing sounds kind of stupid now that I've seen the people from Metropolitan Office?"
Miyata thought about it. "I guess it does seem a little like nonsense, but it's hard to tell based on one meeting, right?"
"We've heard plenty of stories about them," Tamamori added, frowning towards the direction of the other group.
"I suppose." Nikaido turned his head and looked into Senga's eyes again. The other smiled brightly and waved at him, and Nikaido felt his own lips tugging upwards.
"Yonehana-kun needs to find someone else to practice backflips with," Nikaido grumbled to himself as he tried to massage his sore muscles as he walked back to his room. It was rather hard to do though, so he opted for just rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms for the moment.
Yokoo hadn't been joking when he told him to train with Yonehana, but trying to do twelve backflips in a row was definitely not training in his opinion. Despite being able to do backflips, it didn't mean he was interested in being able to do twelve in a row. Just what kind of situation in fighting would he need to do twelve in a row anyways!?
Nikaido let out another sigh as he opened the door to his room and stepped in. He was about to flop down on to the bed when a sound from the other side of the room stopped him.
"Oi, Tamamori, Miyata! Could you lock the door if you guys are planning to do something I don't want to see!?" Nikaido threw a pillow towards them and Tamamori pulled back from his kiss with Miyata with a frown.
"You know the lock is wonky anyways."
"So?" Nikaido scowled. "I don't want to see you guys doing these things! Give me some sort of warning! This is my room too!"
Miyata pushed himself up, supporting himself on his elbows and looked at Tamamori. "So...?"
Tamamori made a face. "We're not leaving," he replied. Then he smirked, "Would you like to join us then, Nika?"
Nikaido groaned and found a sock, throwing it at them which Tamamori quickly whacked away. "No thank you!" He ruffled his hair in frustration. "Seriously, next time, go to Miyata's room or even Miyata's sister's room! Didn't you say she loves you two?"
Miyata chuckled. "That's different."
Tamamori added, "Besides, Miyacchi's room, it's being used by Sanada and Nozawa right now."
Nikaido froze before groaning. "I did not need to know that!"
"They could be just talking and wanting time alone in there," Miyata pointed out.
Nikaido scowled. Tamamori laughed. "You're acting more and more like Kitayama-kun..."
"Me, acting like KitaMitsu?" Nikaido's nose twitched, but he didn't deny it.
"Anyways," Tamamori started, "if you continue staying here, I'll think that you really want to join us..."
"Fine!" Nikaido went up to get back his pillow and threw it at Tamamori and Miyata again before continuing, "I'll leave! But don't think there'll be a second time! I'll be kicking you out of the room next time!" He turned around and started to leave the room.
Tamamori just laughed and considering how the laughter got cut off, Nikaido could imagine what the two were doing now. Grumbling to himself, he slammed the door closed and started to walk down the hallway, wondering where he should go. There were people like Fukasawa or Watanabe, but he wasn't that close to them and really, he wanted to find a place where he could rest and maybe take a short nap before dinner. He obviously couldn't do it in the group rooms since there will be people there. Perhaps, he could consider asking Yokoo or Kitayama, but he wasn't sure if that was the best idea. Kitayama might be sleeping on his own bed and if he stayed in Yokoo's bed, he would be made to clean it really thoroughly - not just the bed, but the whole room.
Walking around rather aimlessly, Nikaido came across with a room with its door wide open. If he remembered correctly, it was Nakaegawa's and Makino's room. He peeked in out of curiosity and found it empty.
"Are you looking for me or Makino?"
Nikaido flinched in surprise and turned around. "Ah, Rikiya-kun, I was just..."
Nakaegawa chuckled. "You can come in if you want. You look tired. Just finished your training session with Yonehana?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Nikaido nodded. "Yea...I was going to go back to my room, but Tamamori and Miyata were..." He paused. It wasn't a secret that those two were together, but it felt weird mentioning it in front of Nakaegawa when he didn't know how the other felt about it.
Nakaegawa just nodded and motioned Nikaido to walk further into the room. "You can use Makino's bed if you want. He won't be back until right before dinner."
Nikaido quickly shook his head. As much as he wanted to rest, it would be weird to use Makino's bed. He would actually much rather clean Yokoo's room and bed. "It’s okay. I'm planning to go find Wataru anyways."
"Mh, you mind staying for a moment though? I never asked about how you felt about the group training and meeting the protectors from Metropolitan Office. That was unplanned though, of course."
Nikaido wondered for a second if Nakaegawa noticed his interaction with Senga, but the other didn't press any further and left the questions at that. "It was...interesting, I guess," Nikaido replied. "A new experience." A rather textbook-like answer, but he wasn't sure what else he should say.
Nakaegawa sat down on his bed. "You can be more honest, you know."
"Eh?" Nikaido blinked.
"What do you honestly think?"
Nikaido paused before shrugging. Despite being told that, he couldn't exactly tell Nakaegawa that he thought the rivalry seemed rather stupid. Sure, he was known for being straightforward, but still, he knew what things to say out loud and what not to.
Nakaegawa just looked at Nikaido as if he could tell what Nikaido was thinking. "Maybe this won't last forever," he said cryptically.
"Eh?" Nikaido was repeating himself. Just what was the other implying?
"Anyways, I shouldn't be keeping you from resting. We can talk another day."
The so-called talk was rather short and abrupt, but if Nakaegawa said he could go, he wasn't going to complain. Nodding his head, Nikaido was going to just leave, but he thought better about it and bowed. "I'll see you at dinner then, Rikiya-kun."
Maybe this won't last forever. Nikaido wondered if Nakaegawa meant it in a good way or a bad way.
Nikaido shifted as he laid back against one of the many pieces of ruins, sitting in its shade. It wasn't something he did often, but Senga insisted and he couldn't really say no. The other seemed to want to sit and talk today instead of riding on his scooter. Nikaido didn't really mind though. The ruins felt rather cool against his back and sitting in the shade was always good.
"Shin-chan was trying to take over the building today," Senga started but was quickly interrupted.
"What?"
"Shintarou," Senga replied, but that didn't really answer Nikaido's question. "He convinced the other kids, even my younger brother, that he should lead!"
Nikaido blinked. "A rebellion?" Why was Senga still here then?
Senga tilted his head. "Kind of? I was the first one to find them. They were trying to sneak down to the basement and I caught them! But then my brother was being mean..." He trailed off. "But then Taisuke and Ishigaki-kun came along and got them to play something else."
"...play?"
Senga nodded. "Shin-chan is really mischievous. He's always coming up with something new to entertain himself and his friends, including my brother... They somehow get along really well."
Nikaido wanted to hit Senga over the head for misleading him. "You really should stop talking about people on your side as if I know them."
"You don't like me talking about them?" Senga's lips immediately tugged downwards.
"I never said I didn't like it, but it's confusing! You just randomly name people and I have no idea who they are."
Senga puffed up his cheeks before his eyes brightened up suddenly. "Why don't you tell me about episodes about you and your group then?"
"What?"
"You don't always want to hear me talking about my group, right?" Senga asked. "Then tell me about yours! I promise I won't bother you with questions about who's who."
Nikaido blinked, then scratched his nose. "There's nothing interesting to talk about really..."
"Really?" Senga looked disappointed. "Nothing at all?"
"Well, I don't interact with the younger ones as much as you do, and I spend most of my time training..." Nikaido trailed off. "Wait, I can't believe I didn't ask you this when we met last time, but you never told me you were training to be a protector!"
Senga blinked, tilting his head. "Nika, you never told me either?"
"Eh, that's because, um, our groups, they're..."
Laughing, Senga hit the sides of his rollerskates together as he shifted while sitting. "Well, now you know? I never went out with the full group before, so that was really fun."
"We sure pick weird times to do group training," Nikaido mumbled. "I mean, to be all out on the same day..."
"When we got back, Taisuke was fuming about how we had to share the meat with your group, so Yara-kun punished him to skate rounds around the building for like a long time!"
Nikaido raised an eyebrow. "I see..." He asked, "Is it only you and that Fujigaya that have air rollerskates?"
Senga nodded. "Taisuke obviously had them first, but then they somehow decided I have a talent for them so they decided to train me on rollerskates as well. Ah, but I did try them before training before began though since Taisuke let me..."
"Mh..."
There was a moment of silence before Senga exclaimed, "Hey, you changed the topic! You need to tell me something interesting that happened in your group!"
"There really is noth-" Nikaido stopped in the middle of his sentence when he noticed a droplet of water hitting the ground. He quickly looked up and hissed when a droplet landed on his face. "Crap, it's starting to rain." He scrambled up and pulled Senga up along with him. He stared at the clothes the other was wearing. "Where’s your protective cloak!?"
"I...didn't bring one?"
Nikaido glared at Senga. "Are you an idiot!?" The rain was starting to fall a little more, a little harder.
"You're getting on the scooter with me. It'll be faster to take you back to Metropolitan Office than your skates."
"Eh?"
The acid rain burned his skin and he hated the feeling. Nikaido though surprised himself as he took off his protective clock and placed it over Senga's shoulders.
"But, Nika...!"
"Don't complain," Nikaido hissed as he got Senga to sit up front before he climbed on to the scooter as well, starting it. "I'm not that evil to leave you out here, and since it's my cloak, it's smarter to bring you back to Metropolitan Office, so I can take it back and go back to the Tower."
Senga might have opened his mouth to speak again, but when the scooter sped forward, he fell silent and was still between Nikaido's arms.
Even the Metropolitan Office grew bigger as Nikaido drove the scooter as fast as possible, the journey still felt longer than it should have been with the acid rain hitting his body. There must be quite a few burns on his body, but for some reason, he was glad that he was the one getting burned and not Senga. He didn't quite understand the feeling, but tried not to think too much about it.
When they reached the Metropolitan Office and had shelter over their heads, Nikaido finally let out a hiss and almost fell off the scooter after he turned it off.
"Nika!" Senga slid off the scooter and supported Nikaido so he was sitting with his back against the scooter. "You should get these burns treated before leaving..."
"I'm an intruder here," Nikaido hissed as Senga touched one of his burns. "I shouldn't stay here any longer. I'll be fine. We have medicine back at the Tower too."
"Immediate treatment is important though!"
"I said I'm fine!"
"Senga?"
Nikaido was immediately alert when he heard another voice. He'd be at a disadvantage if he was attacked now.
"Bun-chan!" Senga ran up to the approaching male. "Can I borrow some medical cream? The one for acid burns?"
"Wait, Senga!" Nikaido tried to stop Senga, not understanding why the other could just run up to someone, asking for medical cream like that, especially when that someone was someone Nikaido recognized as a protector. Judging from the nickname, he should be Hamanaka Bunichi.
Hamanaka walked up to Nikaido and stared at him. "Who is this?"
"Nika!" Senga replied. Nikaido wanted to say that a nickname isn't the best introduction, but he kept silent. "It suddenly started to rain so he lent me his cloak! Bun-chan, please, can he have some medical cream for his burns?"
Hamanaka frowned. "You're from the Tower," he said, ignoring Senga.
Nikaido struggled to get up. He should consider himself lucky that Hamanaka didn't attack him right away despite recognizing him as someone from the Tower.
"Bun-chan!" Senga said again. "Medical cream!"
Hamanaka stared at Nikaido a little longer before replying, "Fine. Stay here. I'll be back soon."
Watching the other walk away, Nikaido said, "Did he just leave to get me, someone from the Tower, medical cream?"
Senga beamed. "Bun-chan is a really nice person! Well, I think everyone here is very nice, though of course, they can be mean at times." He crouched down and took Nikaido's hand, frowning when he saw the burn there. "It must hurt."
"It's alright," Nikaido lied. Well, not a complete lie. Now that they were out of the acid rain and he wasn't getting any new burns, they didn't hurt as much as before.
"...I'm sorry," Senga said, lowering his head. "I'll remember to bring my cloak with me next time."
"You better," Nikaido grumbled. "I might not be there next time."
Senga looked up at Nikaido before smiling brightly at him.
"...what?" Nikaido frowned.
Still smiling brightly, Senga shook his head. "Nothing!" He squeezed Nikaido's hand that he was still holding lightly before continuing, "Too bad you can't be somewhere more comfortable. If I bring you upstairs..."
Nikaido shook his head. "It's alright. It's just putting on some cream."
"Ah, Bun-chan is back!" Senga ran off and Nikaido wondered why he felt a little lonely when the other let go of his hand. He shook his head inwardly. He was starting to sound like those cheesy romance novels his sister read when she was bored.
...romance?
Before his thoughts could get any further, Senga was back. "Medical cream! I'll help you put it on, alright, Nika?"
Nikaido made a face and took it from Senga. "I can do it myself. Some reason, I can see you taking too much and wasting it all."
"I won't!" Senga protested. "Besides, you can't reach your back, right? I'll help you there and you can put the rest on yourself?"
"Fine, fine," Nikaido muttered, unable to say no to Senga. Turning around, he pulled off his shirt and started to put the cream on his burns. When he felt Senga's fingers against his skin, he resisted to urge to shiver and tried not to think too much about it.
Once he was done and felt Senga stop as well, Nikaido stood up slowly and grabbed his shirt, pulling it back on. "Got somewhere more private?"
"Eh?" Senga blinked at him.
"I got burns on my legs too. What, you want me to take off my pants in front of you?"
"Oh!" Senga blushed lightly. "Um..." He pointed in one direction. "We don't use that area much. You can go over there, Bun-chan and I will stay here and make sure no one come over! Right, Bun-chan?"
Hamanaka remained emotionless pretty much and just nodded his head.
As Nikaido walked away to the more isolated area, he could hear Senga started to talk happily with Hamanaka. Sometimes, it really amazed him how optimistic the other could be. He supposed Hamanaka didn't do anything to him because of Senga. Senga must be well liked, though it always sounded like he got bullied a lot too, though out of love.
He didn't take too long and soon, Nikaido was walking back towards Senga and Hamanaka. "Here." He handed Senga back the cream. "I hope I didn't use up too much."
"Of course not!" Senga shook his head. "You saved me after all!" He tilted his head. "Ah, but I saved you in the first place, right?" A teasing grin appeared on his face.
Nikaido's face turned a light red in embarrassment. "Shut up! Anyways, I'm going now."
"Eh, now? Why don't you wait until the rain stops?"
"If I'm gone for too long, Wataru and the others will wonder where I am. Besides, since it's raining right now, they had probably expected me to be back as soon as possible."
Senga pouted and shuffled on his feet. Then quickly, he stuffed the container of cream into Hamanaka's hands. "Bun-chan, you go back first! I'll come up once I see Nika off, alright?"
Hamanaka gave Nikaido a suspicious glance before nodding his head. "Alright. Don't take too long."
"I won't!" Senga gave Hamanaka a wave before turning back to Nikaido. "I should give you back your cloak." Unhooking it, he slid it off his shoulders before putting it around Nikaido, helping Nikaido hook it on. "Have a safe trip back."
Nikaido wondered briefly if Senga would do this to everyone and for some reason, it gave him a weird feeling in his heart. "Yea, I will."
"I'll see you the next time we meet then." Senga paused, still holding on to the hook area of the cloak, as if he had something else to say.
"Senga?"
Before Nikaido could react, Senga pressed a quick kiss on Nikaido's cheek and ran off. Some distance away, he turned around and waved at Nikaido as his cheeks darkened. "See you, Nika!" With that, he was running again and was soon gone from Nikaido's sight.
Nikaido stood there, frozen, perhaps a bit confused as to what happened. More like, a little dazed. Senga kissed him on the cheek? Nikaido wondered if Senga liked kissing people on the cheeks or was he special? Considering Senga never did that before to him.
Later on, Nikaido couldn't recall how exactly he got back to the Tower, but he definitely knew that the feeling of Senga's kiss on his cheek didn't leave his mind and he couldn't figure out why Senga did that. It really bothered him.
Was he special to Senga? What about Senga to him?
Nikaido knew he wasn't going to meet Senga today, which was a good thing since he still haven't figured out the meaning behind Senga's kiss and how he felt about it. As for why he knew he was not going to meet Senga today, they had actually exchanged schedules sometime ago because Senga insisted. Today was a training day for Senga apparently so the other would definitely not be out skating around mindlessly.
Easily, Nikaido was able to go back to his usual routine of just driving around aimlessly, though he must admit, it was feeling a bit lonely after he had gotten used to Senga's company. At this rate, he won't like spending time alone anymore and he would be blaming Senga for it.
Senga was really affecting him more than he realized. Nikaido wasn't stupid when it came to these things. If he was feeling awkward about these things, worrying about what he was to Senga and what Senga meant to him, it might actually mean that he had more than just feelings of friendship for the other.
That didn't mean he wanted to admit that there was a possibility of him liking Senga though. It had nothing to do with Senga being boy. After all, he knew a good amount of same sex couples from the Tower. It was just watching these couples have always managed to convince him that he didn't want a lover.
If he really did like Senga, would he be sticking to the other just like how Tamamori and Miyata, or even Sanada and Nozawa, are always together? Somehow, it was disgusting, but at the same time, if that person was Senga...
Nikaido shook his head. Was he actually thinking about it? What should he do? If he really liked Senga - not that it's true because he wasn't ready to admit that yet - would he confess to Senga? Does Senga like him too? The other could have easily kissed him on the cheek because he was used to showing affection that way to his friends. Nikaido didn't want to make things awkward between him and Senga.
Immediately, Nikaido pulled his scooter to a stop, shaking his head fervently. No, this was not like him at all. He's not the type to be that indecisive at all. If he liked someone, he would just go for it. At least, that's how he understood himself.
Before his thoughts could go any further though, some sounds distracted Nikaido. Getting off his scooter, he tried to figure out where the sounds were coming from. As he got closer, Nikaido realized it was sounds of fighting he was hearing. Not wanting to get into a fight without warning, he hid behind one of the pieces of ruins and inched closer to the edge before peeking out.
Nikaido's eyes widened when he recognized the two fighting figures. It was Kitayama and Fujigaya. Nikaido watched as the two fought against each other and blocking each other's moves. Kitayama started to kick, but before he could raise his leg up properly, Fujigaya had already blocked and pushed Kitayama's leg down.
Should Nikaido interfere? He wasn't sure if Kitayama would appreciate that though. He didn't even know why the two were fighting in the first place. Who provoked and started the fight? If he based it on the last fight he witnessed, it would be Fujigaya? At least it didn't seem like Kitayama was losing.
"You're weak today," Kitayama chuckled. "Why? You miss those air skates of yours?"
"What are you talking about?" Nikaido saw Fujigaya scowl. "I can win against you without my skates! You should be glad I'm not wearing them so I'm not towering over you, dwarf!"
Nikaido resisted the urge to snort and looked around before spotting a scooter that probably belonged to Fujigaya. He thought if Fujigaya had skates, he wouldn't have access to a scooter like Senga, but he supposed being an actual protector was different.
"Who are you calling a dwarf?" Kitayama threw another punch and jumped back when Fujigaya blocked it and tried to kick him.
"You, of course! Who else?" Fujigaya rolled his eyes and moved back into a fighting position. "Well, Gocchi is shorter than you though, but of course, Gocchi is a lot nicer than you and I like him more."
Nikaido watched as Kitayama narrowed his eyes. "Like I care who you like better!" Kitayama replied as he closed in again, kicking and aiming for Fujigaya's head.
Fujigaya hummed, "Mh, so you don't care. I see..." He threw a punch at Kitayama and when the other blocked it, Fujigaya used his other hand to grab Kitayama's collar, pulling him closer. "You really don't care?"
Kitayama growled and Nikaido watched with shock as Kitayama pulled Fujigaya closer as well and crushed their lips together. Fujigaya started to try to push Kitayama away - though Nikaido saw it all as an act because Fujigaya was the one who provoked Kitayama - but Kitayama just kept kissing him. Nikaido was proven to be correct when Fujigaya started to wrap his arms around Kitayama's neck.
Kitayama let go of Fujigaya soon and one of his hands travelled downwards. Nikaido couldn't see everything, but when Fujigaya let out a moan, it wasn't hard to guess where Kitayama's hand might be.
Nikaido's ears burned in response. "What the fuck?"
By the the time he realized he spoke out loud and quite loudly as well, it was too late. Kitayama and Fujigaya had jumped apart and spotted him.
Nikaido cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped out from behind the ruins. He raised his hand. "Yo."
Fujigaya's face was quite red. He glared at Kitayama, then glared at Nikaido. "Y-you...you better not be stealing our water!" With that, he ran off to his scooter and hopped on. He turned his head and yelled at Kitayama. "I'll really kill you next time!" A small rumbling sound was heard before Fujigaya sped off towards the Metropolitan Office.
"...is it your kink to fight before having sex, KitaMitsu?" Nikaido asked.
Kitayama quickly turned and glowered at Nikaido. "What?"
"I never realized Fujigaya was your type," Nikaido continued.
"Nikaido," Kitayama growled in warning.
"Anyways, I'll be going back now!" Nikaido ran away quickly before Kitayama could stop it and got on to his scooter, heading back to the Tower.
Kitayama and Fujigaya. What a surprise, Nikaido thought to himself as he walked down one of the hallways of the Tower. He wondered when the two started. The fights they have in front of the groups were all an act then?
"Nikaido Takashi. We need to talk."
Nikaido turned around slowly and felt a shiver go down his spine when he saw Kitayama glaring at him. The way the other had forced each syllable out didn't really help. "Uh, we do?"
"We do." Kitayama stepped forward and grabbed Nikaido's wrist. He tugged Nikaido forcefully to the meeting room and closed the door behind them.
"If you're worried about me telling others about you and Fujigaya," Nikaido said, "I won't." He paused. "Then again, it would be interesting to see how the others would react when they hear about this. They'll be really surprised I bet."
"Nikaido."
Nikaido shivered. "Joking, joking. I won't tell really."
"...there's nothing between me and Fujigaya."
Nikaido blinked. "Ha?"
Kitayama growled, "I said there's nothing between me and Fujigaya."
Raising an eyebrow, Nikaido wondered if Kitayama seriously thought that he would believe that. It was clear that it wasn't the first time something like that happened. He shook his head inwardly when he started to imagine things. He most certainly didn't want to see or imagine those things.
Kitayama cleared his throat. "I just thought you should know that, so you don't start thinking weird things or spreading rumours."
"Why the hell would I do that?" Nikaido made a face. "And anyways, if you and Fujigaya don't have anything, why were you guys about to fuck out there?"
"Watch your language, Nika."
Nikaido just rolled his eyes. "Well?" For some reason, he wasn't as scared of Kitayama as before. Not that he wanted to really admit he was scared of the other. Maybe it was because he saw that scene and how Kitayama was reacting to that now.
"Look, there really is nothing between us."
Nikaido smirked a little. "What? You were sexually frustrated then?"
Kitayama scowled, but Nikaido thought he saw the other's ears turning red. "Stop talking about me. This wasn't the only thing I had to talk to you about. I want to know about you and Senga Kento."
"What?" Nikaido froze in surprise. How did Kitayama know about Senga?
"You and Senga Kento," Kitayama repeated. "You two have been meeting, right? Fujigaya told me about it, that Senga kept talking about you. And the last time when we met the Metropolitan Office group as well, it was obvious you two knew each other. So, talk."
Nikaido wanted to ask Kitayama if Fujigaya and he can actually talk normally between the two of them, then he should just admit it wasn't just nothing between them. He held back though, figuring out that was the smarter choice. "...I just keep meeting him coincidentally. He wasn't stealing water or anything, so I didn't do anything to him." He shrugged. "That's all."
"That's all?" Kitayama repeated. "You sure? Apparently Senga sure doesn't just talk about you like you and him are just random acquaintances."
Nikaido's heart skipped a beat. What does that mean? Senga talked about him as a friend or? He then wanted to hit himself. What was he thinking about, in front of Kitayama? "Okay, fine, friends maybe?" Some part of him seemed to be protesting though and recalling how Kitayama refused to admit to a relationship with Fujigaya, it seemed to affect him somehow.
"Actually, scratch that. I like him alright?" Nikaido blurted out. "Unlike you, I can admit my own feelings!" He blinked when he realized what he had said, and found Kitayama blinking at him as well.
"...you don't tell anyone that either!" Nikaido said quickly and opened the door of the room and quickly left before Kitayama could say anything.
Well, he supposed that was one way to admit his actual feelings. Nikaido didn't have to worry about what his feelings were anymore. As for Senga's feelings though...
"They're back! They're back!"
Nikaido sat up on his bed, a scowl on his face when the commotion outside disturbed his rest. He could people running outside the hallway. Children actually, according to the voices he was hearing.
Getting off his bed, Nikaido went towards the door and threw it open. He grabbed one of the children running past and asked, "What's going on? Who's back?"
"Kiriyama-kun and the others!" The child squealed happily. "They're back from their trip!"
"They are?" Nikaido let go of the child and stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him. "How come I didn't know about this beforehand?" he muttered to himself and started to jog towards the stairs to head downstairs.
At the top of the stairs, he found Machida and Yonehana standing there. "Now, now," Machida was saying as he and Yonehana blocked the children. "They will be coming up in a bit. Why don't you guys wait up here? We don't want you guys to go downstairs."
"But we want to see Kiriyama-kun!"
"We miss Hamada-kun!"
"Nakama-kun came back with them, right?"
The children were all protesting, trying to push their way through.
Nikaido snorted lightly as he watched. He never realized their travel team was so popular among children. Or was it because it really has been a while since they came back?
"You guys, get out of the way!" Nikaido said, walking towards the group. "If you don't stay up here, the team won't come up to see you guys and just leave again."
The children quickly let out gasps of fear. "No! We'll be good!"
"Wait in the main room then," Nikaido instructed and watched the children disperse and run off once again.
Machida let out a small sigh. "Ah, you are good with children after all, Nikaido-kun. Even Yonehana with his scary face didn't do much good."
"Hey," Yonehana frowned. "I take that as an insult."
Nikaido just shrugged his shoulders. "I thought this was usually Wataru's job? Dealing with the children."
"He was already downstairs when the team came back," Machida replied.
"Ah..."
"Let's go down," Yonehana said, stepping down the stairs. "I bet Kiriyama must miss having more people to speak to. He'll probably talk non stop for the next few hours at least."
Nikaido made a face. "I'm not going down just to listen to him ramble on."
Machida laughed softly. "Just go down anyways. It's been a while they've been back, so we should all greet them."
Shrugging his shoulders, Nikaido headed down the stairs with the other two. If he really didn't want to see the team, he wouldn't have stepped out of his room in the first place anyways.
Before he reached the bottom of the stairs, Nikaido already could hear Kiriyama's voice before he even saw the other. As usual, the other was speaking really quickly in a tension that Nikaido could never match.
"Ah, Nika, Yonehana-kun, Machida-kun!" Yokoo waved them over when he saw them arriving at the bottom of the stairs.
"So, I'm guessing nothing special happened out there again this time?" Yonehana asked Yokoo.
"Yea, nothing really..." Yokoo replied.
Nikaido frowned. The way Yokoo replied made him felt like that the other was lying. Why was Yokoo holding back? Was it because he was there with them? Before he could ask about it though, Yokoo spoke again, "Anyways, those Kansai people have been complaining about being hungry, so I'll be heading off to the kitchen to overlook dinner being cooked. Uesato-kun seems to be too busy talking. See you at dinner." He waved at the three before heading off back upstairs.
Nikaido shrugged inwardly. He'll probably find out what's going on eventually. Looking around, he found Kiriyama and Nakama talking to Tamamori and Miyata. Kiriyama and Nakama had always seemed to like Tamamori quite a bit since some time ago. As for Hamada and Nakata, they were talking to Kitayama and Nakaegawa. Makino and Uesato were talking among themselves, but remained close to the group.
Furrowing his eyebrows together, Nikaido wondered if he should bother joining either group. Yonehana and Machida had already walked off to join Makino and Uesato, but Nikaido didn't feel going up to any of the groups and join in on the talking. Maybe he should just join Yokoo in the kitchen and sneak in a few bites. Not that he normally ate a lot.
"Oh, Nika!"
It seemed like it was too late to leave though as he watched Kiriyama run over to him with Nakama following close behind. "Kiriyama, Nakama," Nikaido greeted with a nod.
"Ahh, so cold even though we haven't seen each other over a month!" Kiriyama pouted.
"Well, I'm glad you managed to survive out there then," Nikaido replied, slightly rolling his eyes.
Kiriyama immediately turned to Nakama. "Junta, did you hear him!?"
Nakama just chuckled, "It's not like it's the first time."
"...true." Kiriyama was grinning again and threw an arm over Nikaido's shoulders. "So, Nika, let's sit together during dinner! You need to help me catch up on what has been going on around here!"
Nikaido raised an eyebrow. "You're asking the wrong person for this?"
Letting out a whine, Kiriyama said, "But I want to talk to you!"
"Do you have anything to share about your trip then?" Nikaido asked in return.
Kiriyama blinked. "What?"
"Your trip," Nikaido repeated. "Did anything interesting happen out there?"
Kiriyama just laughed. "Of course not!" Nikaido thought he saw a flit of something in the other's eyes. "The usual nothingness, acid rain, no miraculous new water source... Right, Junta?" Kiriyama turned to look at Nakama who nodded.
"Mh..." Nikaido didn't ask any more questions, but he was sure, they were all hiding something from him.
Part 3