Up in Smoke: A Heisei Kumi fanfic (33/36)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Hikato, Chiitaro, Ariyama
Rating: R/NC-17
Warnings: Graphic Violence, Minor Character Death, Strong Language, Explicit Sex, Major Character Death
Genre: Slice of life/Angst
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone.
Summary: After months of peace an attack leaves the Heisei Kumi reeling, and when an old enemy returns to the area reclaiming that peace starts to feel impossible.
A/N: The next installment in my Heisei Kumi AU, this one starts in the last days of December 2016 and continues on into 2017. If you'd like to read the other stories in this AU, please check out my masterlist. All Heisei Kumi fics have 平成組 next to their titles, to mark them as part of the AU!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32
The next few days passed relievingly quietly, everyone drained from that Wednesday’s events. They could taste the stress in the air, filling in the gaps between conversations during the day. And Keito could hear the distress at night, as one by one they would all be torn from fitful sleep by nightmares, left staring into the dark as the imprint of flames faded from their eyes, and they gasped for air, hearts pounding in their chests. Keito himself would drift between Hikaru’s bed and his own, always telling himself that a change in location would help him sleep. It never did. It would be better, Keito thought, if there was any certainty about the outcome of the Wakaba massacre, but they still didn’t know if Ichinojo was dead. If the war was over. And while they’d been told he’d pull through, not being able to see Takaki prevented full confidence that Takaki was really going to be okay.
Every morning Hikaru called the hospital, and every evening he called again, and every time he’d hang up the phone and sit still, his face stony, before deflating with a long sigh, shoulders drooping. It happened like that every time twice a day for the first three days. It was on the fourth day-Keito and Hikaru the first ones in the kitchen, Keito feeding Hikaru breakfast in between sentences-when instead of his face falling into a blank professionalism Hikaru’s whole body came alive, an electricity in his movements as he spoke. And although Keito already knew what Hikaru was going to say, it was a huge relief to hear the words fall from his lips when he turned, his eyes wide with excitement as he announced
“Takaki is stable enough for visitors. They said that because he’s on serious pain medication he probably won’t really be awake, and we can’t stay too long, but his last two surgeries went well, and we can go see him.” The relief on Hikaru’s face was overwhelming, and Keito could feel it rushing through his own body, so happy to have something to celebrate, to liven everyone up, that he stood from where he’d been eating his breakfast and wrapped his arms around Hikaru’s shoulders. Hikaru squeezed him tight in his arms, breathing out a quiet 'Thank god.' Keito pulled away, Hikaru’s energy contagious, and he declared
“I’ll go tell the others. We need to get ready to go. We have to see him!” Hikaru nodded, and Keito was already halfway up the stairs when he paused, turning around and pointing at his boyfriend, saying seriously “Don’t you try and get dressed yourself. I saw the blisters on your hands last night. I’ll be right back.” At his stern tone Hikaru nodded, a small affectionate smile splitting his face, and it made Keito feel good, smiling back before turning and crashing up the stairs hastily, already calling for Yuto as he went. Keito found his roommate sitting up with Inoo and Yabu in Inoo’s bedroom, the three of them all sitting around Takaki’s bed, in which Yabu was still confined, propped up on some pillows, all three of them still in their pajamas, hair ruffled from having just gotten out of bed.
Upon the news that Takaki was finally stable enough for visitors both Inoo and Yuto got to their feet, and Inoo declared
“I’m going to see him.”
“Can you make it?” Yabu asked, and Keito was glad that the older man had asked, because while he too was concerned about Inoo’s health-Inoo hadn’t walked any further than town, and while that had been a full week prior, the hospital was twice that distance-he didn’t want to be the one to question it, afraid that he’d offend the other man. Inoo just shrugged, seeming unaffected by the possibility of him collapsing in the street.
“I have to. I need to see him.” Yabu met Keito’s eyes, concern in his gaze, and Keito just shrugged, not able to explain Inoo’s actions without a long discussion about Keito’s speculations involving a romantic relationship between Takaki and Inoo; something he was sure Inoo would not appreciate. Instead, he just said
“I’ll make sure he gets there okay Yabu.” That seemed to be enough for their second in command, the older man nodding, his eyes trusting, and Keito turned to go, saying “I have to tell the Ariokas, and Chinen.”
“I’m going to go get dressed.” Yuto said, limping out of the room behind Keito, and when they were in the hall Keito asked
“Will you be okay, doing all that walking?” Yuto shrugged.
“Probably. I’ll bring my cane just in case.” Keito nodded, relieved. He’d forgotten about the cane Hikaru had given Yuto to use when they’d gone to Ryutaro’s funeral. With that for support Yuto would truly probably be okay for this trip, which lifted a layer of stress from Keito’s shoulders. He couldn’t carry both Inoo and Yuto. Keito found Daiki and Yamada in their room, Daiki sitting up in bed, while his husband slept. Yamada was still bruised, and he had stitches running down his chest and right leg, and while the swelling in his face had gone down, he most definitely wasn’t going to be out of bed for another week or two. Still, when Daiki heard the news about Takaki he broke out into a relieved smile, a few curses falling breathily from his lips, and after a long moment he asked
“Is everyone going to go see him?”
“Everyone who can. Not Yabu; but Inoo and Yuto both want to come, and Hikaru and I were planning on going. I still haven’t found Chinen yet to tell him, but he probably will. Why?”
“Someone needs to stay here with Yabu and Ryosuke, just in case they need something. They can’t get out of their beds.” He was right, Keito realized. They couldn’t just leave Yamada and Yabu all alone in the house by themselves. Daiki glanced down at his sleeping husband, brushing his bangs from his face, and he said “I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure? We could talk to Hikaru, I know you want to see Takaki.” Keito offered. Daiki shook his head.
“It’s fine Keito. Look, Yuto and Inoo haven’t seen any of Takaki’s injuries, they have no idea what state he’s in, and they need to see him. Chinen has been literally worrying himself sick, and the Kumi-cho has to go. And the Kumi-cho is going to need your support, even if he doesn’t say so. I’ll stay. Besides, even if I did go I would worry about Ryosuke the entire time I was gone. I’m the logical choice.” Keito nodded, Daiki’s reasoning startlingly solid, and the older man leaned back into his bed, gesturing to the door. “You should go find Chinen, and tell him. He’s going to be happy.”
Chinen was happy. Keito caught him coming out of the shower, the smaller man exiting the bathroom with a towel around his waist, his hair damp and half in his face. When he told the former leader that they could go and see Takaki his whole body relaxed, shoulders slumping, head bowed. When he looked back up at Keito his eyes were shining with unshed tears, and his voice was soft as he murmured
“Thank goodness.”
“We’re going to go see him today. Daiki is going to stay with Yamada and Yabu, but everyone else has started getting ready to go to the hospital.” Keito told him, and he wanted to do something, to comfort Chinen somehow, but he didn’t know what to do, and Chinen nodded, straightening up and brushing his hair out of his eyes, declaring with much more confidence than he’d displayed seconds earlier
“Good. I’ll put on some clothes, and then we can go.”
“Sounds good.” Keito said, and Chinen nodded, heading toward Yabu’s bedroom, where he’d been sleeping ever since Ryutaro had died. Keito watched him go, wondering for a moment just what Chinen was going to do once Yabu was well enough to go back to his own room. If Chinen would ever go back into the room he’d once shared with Ryutaro. He sighed, and pushed the thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time for those thoughts. He needed to go downstairs, and help Hikaru get dressed. They were going to go and see Takaki. A new smile tugged on his lips at that thought. They were going to go and see Takaki. Fuck. Yes.
It took a while to get both himself and Hikaru all ready to go, Keito still insisting that he do almost everything for his leader himself, Hikaru’s hands still looking painfully raw, the blisters on his palms doing nothing but get bigger. They’d called the hospital about it, but they’d been told not to pop them if they could avoid it, and as a result Hikaru’s hands were near useless, thick yellow blisters swelling up in the joints of his fingers keeping them from bending. And so Keito helped him shower, and dressed his hands, brushed his teeth and got him clothed, and Hikaru was past protesting after the first few days, instead just thanking Keito quietly, and if they were alone he would press a kiss to Keito’s cheek or lips.
It wasn’t long after they were both dressed that the five of them able to go were out the door, Chinen leading the way, while Keito fell into step with Yuto at the back of their group, the older man starting out the journey at a surprisingly brisk pace, Keito hoping that perhaps it was a sign he was really starting to be back to his old self. As they got closer and closer to the hospital however, both Yuto and Inoo really started to fall behind, Yuto’s limp becoming more heavily pronounced, while Inoo’s breathing simply got more labored, his feet dragging. It wasn’t until Hikaru proposed that he carry Inoo the last few blocks that Keito stepped in-Hikaru didn’t need to be trying to pick anyone up with his hands in the state they were in-and so he picked Inoo up, carrying him piggyback the last few streets, Inoo insisting on getting off and walking on his own once the hospital came into view.
It took some explaining once they got there to assure the hospital staff that they weren’t patients. Between Hikaru’s bandaged hands, Yuto’s limp, and Inoo’s weakness they looked like a truly ragged group. But then one of the nurses recognized them-a lady Keito had talked to frequently, back when he would accompany Shoon for his regular checkups-and she took them to the burn ward, showing them to Takaki’s room. They all paused outside the door, and after a few long moments Hikaru said
“We should go in a few at a time. No need to overwhelm him. Besides, they said over the phone that we can’t stay long. Just a few minutes each.” His words were met with nods, Chinen already reaching for the door knob as he said
“I’ll go first.”
“You too Kumi-cho.” Keito said, catching Hikaru’s eye and gesturing for him to follow. Hikaru nodded, setting his jaw, face serious, and the two of them entered the room, while Keito led Inoo and Yuto over to a row of seats pressed up against the wall, both of the other men collapsing into them, visibly relieved to be off their feet. They sat in silence; fatigue on their part and anxiety about what they would see behind that door on Keito’s kept any words lodged, unable to move past his throat. Time stretched blankly forward in the silence, Keito counting tiles on the floor as he listened to Inoo’s heavy breathing and the rustle of their clothes as they shifted in their seats. He checked his watch. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Yuto sighed, resting his head on Keito’s shoulder. Finally, twelve minutes later Hikaru and Chinen came out of the room, gesturing for them to go in.
Both Keito and Yuto got to their feet, but Inoo stayed in his spot on the bench, and he said
“You two go. I want...I want to spend some time alone with him. I’ll wait my turn.” Keito nodded, and he and Yuto swapped places with Hikaru and Chinen, Keito holding his breath as he passed through the door, and into Takaki’s room. Takaki was hooked up to a lot of wires, machines of all sorts clustered around his bed. A heart monitor beeping reassuringly amongst the group. Takaki himself was lying on top of his sheets, just about his entire body wrapped in bandages, with casts on his forearm and thigh, tubes running out from underneath the bandages in multiple places. He had oxygen tubes coming from his nostrils, and his eyes were closed, chest rising and falling steadily in sleep.
His left arm, the one that hadn’t been burned, wasn’t bandaged, but it still had stitches running most of the way down, a few IVs stuck in his arm there at the end of the long line of sutures. At first glance things looked even worse than Keito remembered; he hadn’t been expecting the left side of Takaki’s body to be getting much attention, under the impression that his right side was the only side that had gotten hurt. His face at least, looked unscathed, his long hair splayed out across his pillow out of his eyes. Keito just stood there at the edge of Takaki’s bed, afraid to reach out, afraid to touch him, and instead he just watched the older man’s chest rise and fall, comfort in the consistency of it.
He and Yuto didn’t talk really, the two of them just standing there side by side, taking it all in, processing Takaki’s body there in the bed, the implications that being bandaged from the chest down entailed. Still, despite that it was a relief to lay eyes on him. To look at him and not see charred skin peeling off of glistening muscle. It was after a few minutes of silence that Yuto finally asked
“Does he look better to you?” His voice was low and quiet, serious, and Keito nodded.
“Yeah.” Yuto nodded back, his face not giving away any of his feelings.
“Okay.”
They were only in there for another minute or two before Yuto sighed, pulling himself up to full stature, taking some of his weight off of the cane and back onto his two feet, and Keito took that as the signal that it was time to go, glancing back one last time before he followed Yuto out the door. The other three all looked up as they came back out into the hallway, Inoo standing up and making his way over, Keito holding the door open for him, able to see Inoo’s body trembling with fatigue. He was going to be carrying Inoo home, he could already tell. With that thought in mind he plopped down on the row of chairs the rest of his housemates were all crammed on, squeezing in on the end with Hikaru, slipping his hand in between their bodies, offering it up. Hikaru laid his own hand in Keito’s, palm up so as to not bother his burns, Keito running his thumb over Hikaru’s knuckles in slow circles in what he hoped would be a comforting gesture.
Inoo was in Takaki’s room for about ten minutes, and as soon as he came out Keito went to his side, wrapping one arm around Inoo’s waist. Inoo looked over at him with wide, wet eyes, his cheeks tear stained, his whole body trembling. Keito just sighed, pulling Inoo close, and Inoo’s breath came out in a whine in his ear. They exited the hospital almost comically, a few people staring at them as their little group hobbled out, and as soon as they were around the corner Keito pulled Inoo onto his back, able to tell just how exhausted he was. It was a long trek back to the house, and he could feel Inoo’s fatigue.
It took over an hour to get home, Yuto himself shaking and falling behind, despite his cane. And Hikaru fell in at his side, Chinen leading the pack as the sun arched across the sky, Keito following the smaller man, his eyes on Chinen’s back. Once they arrived at the house, everyone made for their bedrooms; Keito helping Inoo into bed, Yabu awake and watching from over the top of the book he’d been reading. Inoo rolled over and fell asleep almost instantly, and it was once he was definitely asleep that Yabu asked, voice quiet
“How is Takaki? Did he look good?” Keito shrugged.
“He looked...alive. I mean, he was definitely better than Wednesday.” Keito sat down on the edge of Yabu’s bed by his feet, and he sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes for a moment, trying to collect himself. Trying to tell Yabu what he wanted to hear. To be honest, without getting emotional. “He was burned all over here-” Keito gestured to the areas on his own body. “-and it looked really bad. Worse than Hikaru’s burns. Today he was all bandaged up, so I couldn’t really tell what the burns looked like, but he was breathing regularly. They had him on oxygen, and he was asleep.” Keito paused, biting at his lip, and he glanced over at the older man, seeing serious concern in his eyes, and he offered “I do think he’ll be okay. He’ll live.”
Yabu nodded, and he sighed, saying a quiet thanks before turning back to his book, looking just as weary as Keito felt. He wandered back down the stairs, to find Daiki in the kitchen, standing over the stove, cooking. Daiki nodded at him in greeting, waving him over and sitting him down in a chair, before placing a bowl of curry rice down in front of him with a spoon, saying quietly
“Eat. You’ll feel better.” Keito blinked up at him in surprise, but he murmured a quick thanks, finding once he started eating that he was quite hungry. He ate three helpings, Daiki preparing another bowl and offering “You should take this to the Kumi-cho. He looked like he was...stressed when you guys got in, and he shut his office door.” Keito nodded, rather touched by Daiki’s thoughtfulness, and he took the bowl, knocking softly on Hikaru’s door. It took a couple of seconds for Hikaru to respond, and when he did Keito found him curled up at his desk, phone cradled between his shoulder and ear, one hand hovering by his cell, the other lying on his desk, palm up.
He looked rather engrossed in his phone call, and Keito tried to stay quiet, Hikaru’s eyes flicking up to him just as Keito set the bowl down on his desk. He didn’t say anything, but he smiled just a little, and Keito leaned in, pressing a kiss to his forehead, before turning away, letting Hikaru get back to work. Now was not the time for interruptions. He would check in with Hikaru tonight. Curl up with him in bed and make out until they fell asleep all wrapped around each other. Keito needed the release. They both did. But not now. He could wait.
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