The Kumi-cho is...me? (Sequel to A Kumi-cho's Duty): A Heisei Kumi Oneshot
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Hikaru-centric, Hikabu (friendship)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, I guess.
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone. The end.
Summary: When Shoon disapears without warning and leaves the Kumi to Hikaru, Hikaru doesn't know what to do...
A/N: Two things. #1: This is probably going to be confusing unless you've read two things; my muli-chap Heisei Kumi - My new Family. You can find Ch1 here; I have a tag for the multi-chap on my LJ where you can find the rest of the chapters if you would like; and the oneshot that this is the sequel to, A Kumi-cho's Duty, which you can find here. #2: This takes place before The Heisei Kumi starts. Years before. Therefore there is no Keito in this fic, and all of the boys are a lot younger than their current ages, okay?
So...tell me what you think!
Hikaru woke to the sound of cursing. Loud cursing. Confused and worried, he blundered out of bed, slipping on a pair of jeans and hurrying down the stairs to see what all of the ruckus was about. He was immediately face to face with Yabu; a look in his friends eyes that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"What happened?!" He caught sight of Inoo, who was crying, big, loud tears; flopped in a chair at the kitchen table. His eyes took in everyone's shell shocked faces, and he felt the worry ballooning inside of him. Daiki, the one that had been cursing, jerked his head toward a piece of paper lying there on the table. Understanding that the paper had the answer to everyone's distress written on it, he walked over to the table; picking it up. There, written in shaky but familiar handwriting, was the following:
Dear Everyone,
I'm appointing Hikaru as the next Kumi-cho. Goodbye. I'm sorry.
Yamashita Shoon What. The. Hell?!? His mind raced in a spinning numbness. The Kumi-cho had just been there last night, smiling and giving him an embarrassing kiss on the forehead before he went off to bed, a smile on his face, as always. He hadn't given any sign that he would be leaving. That there was anything wrong. Yes he had. One. Hikaru's thoughts flew back to the conversation they had had 12 days previously.
"If anything was to happen to me...or if I can't be here anymore, or suddenly leave; whatever the scenario, I want you to watch over the Kumi for me." Hikaru had agreed to the request, meaning his words but not actually thinking he would ever have to follow through with them.
"If I were to appoint you as the next Kumi-cho, would you accept it?" He looked down at the words on the page, reading them in stunned horror. He had meant it. He had made Hikaru the Kumi-cho. He was numb with shock; unacceptant. He went to the door of Shoon's office, knocking once. Twice. Three times. The others watched him.
"He...he's not there, Hikaru." Hikaru pushed the door open, looking around. The room was simple, clean, as always. Yet something about it felt a bit too sparse. It was the pictures; he realized. They were all gone. He rushed to the adjoining bedroom. The only thing there was a fully made bed, and bedside table, complete with reading lamp. The closet was empty, the walls bare. It was as though no one had ever been there. The private bathroom was the same; all furniture there, empty and ready for another's use. This had been planned for. Shoon had planned to leave. He'd known that he was going to leave them...yet he didn't explain himself. He didn't give one explanation, or even say a proper goodbye. Hikaru wanted to collapse into a chair crying, like Inoo. He wanted to curse like Daiki. He wanted to-
"I want you to watch over the Kumi for me." He couldn't. He had a responsibility now. A responsibility to watch over these people, and pull them all back together. To lead and comfort them. He stepped out of the office, and returned to the rest of the Kumi. His Kumi.
"So, now what...Erm...Kumi-cho?" Yamada asked; his eyes conveying what he really wanted to say. Tell me it's going to be okay; I need someone to tell me everything will be okay… Hikaru pulled the small boy into a hug, and assured him.
"Everything is gonna be okay..." ...somehow.
Takaki sent a frown his way.
"Did you know? That Kumi-cho was leaving?" The pretty boy asked, a scared accusation in his voice. Hikaru shook his head violently.
"No! He didn't tell me anything!"
"Fuck; shit; damn!" Daiki muttered, punching the concrete wall, scrapping his knuckles and causing them to bleed. The words seemed to portray exactly how Ryutaro felt, the little boy looking as though he too would like to curse and punch the wall, almost as though Daiki had stolen his idea. He settled for kicking a chair. The chair toppled over, a crack splitting the seat, climbing up the back, and snaking down one of the legs. Ah well. They...they wouldn't need that chair anymore anyway.
Chinen approached Hikaru, grabbing his tank top and forcing Hikaru's head down to his own level. There was fierceness in the little boy's eyes. It was scary.
"He appointed you Kumi-cho. He's left us. If he's not back in two days, then I don't think he should have a say in the matter." His voice was a stage whisper; serious and threatening. "I'm challenging you for the title of Kumi-cho. In two days, we'll have a fight; we'll decide it then. Agreed?" Trying to process everything, Hikaru nodded. It was fair. Shoon had...abandoned them. They didn't have to listen to his wishes any longer...technically. It still felt wrong though.
The rest of the day was spent each to their own, no one knowing what to do with themselves. Hikaru holed himself up in Shoon's office; and alone he allowed his own questions, the ones he had forced to the back, to take hold of his mind. What were they supposed to do now?! What was he supposed to do now?! He had just lost Taiyo, and now this; now he had such a large responsibility on top of everything. However, those were small compared to the main question. WHY?! Why had Shoon abandoned them? Why now; when they needed him most? Why hadn't he at least explained his decision? Did they mean that little to him? Hikaru forced that thought from his head, not wanting to even consider it. He had known Shoon since he was 7 years old. Longer than anyone. Shoon loved them; he knew that he did.
But if he loved you, then why'd he leave? A little voice in the back of his head nagged. His heart didn't have the answer to that question. So, he decided to look for clues. He leaned forward, gently pulling the desk drawer out, and examining the contents. He spent hours rifling through all of the papers, planers, and miscellaneous items Shoon had kept. He learned nothing; except that Shoon had left everything well prepared for him. He had left notes and labels on everything, explaining the Kumi's relationship with so-and-so, and if they were meeting them, what the meeting was about and why. It was all very efficiently done.
He would have been grateful. He was too upset to truly care about how much easier the organization would make the upcoming situation. Soon, there was a knock on the door, and Inoo peeked his head in.
"Dinner." Hikaru nodded, standing and following his friend out, going to sit in his usual spot at the table, to find that his chair was gone. Then, he remembered; Ryutaro had broken it. A fear rose in his chest as he looked around. The only chair left was the one at the other end of the table. The Kumi-cho's chair. Shoon's chair. Everyone pretended not to notice as he nervously made his way over, sitting quietly. Everyone except Chinen, who blatantly watched him, expression blank. Hikaru pretended not to notice.
Dinner was spent in complete silence. The only sounds were the sounds of chewing and the occasional "Please pass the..." He didn't attempt to make conversation either. He was too uncomfortable with sitting there, as their leader. For now; he had to remind himself. He had said he would fight Chinen. That night he slipped into his bed, thinking about the upcoming fight. Some part of him still believed that he wouldn't have to fight at all, that Shoon would come back, and provide some logical explanation, apologize, and everything would go back to normal. The logical part of his brain knew that was ridiculous. He had never even seen Chinen fight full out before; he hadn't been near the little boy in their last raid. He had been...with Taiyo...and Chii had been off with Ryutaro and Daiki. There were rumors that the boy was very acrobatic in his fighting technique...that would be interesting. Like Yoda; Hikaru thought, for a moment, before pushing the thought out of his head. That was stupid. After a while of thinking about trying not think about anything he went to sleep, Shoon's last "Goodnight." whispering at him in his dreams.
The next day he woke with a hope that Shoon had returned, but his hope was shattered when he found his housemates downstairs; sullen and in various stages of anger, frustration, and sorrow. Dang it. He flopped down on the couch, not feeling hungry, when Yabu approached him.
"Hey." His tall best friend said with a small half-smile. Hikaru smiled back, motioning for him to sit on the couch. Yabu did so, resting his head on Hikaru's shoulder, Hikaru's arms wrapped around his skinny waist; like usual. They sat in silence for a while, before Yabu asked
"What're you gonna do tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. When you have to fight Chinen." Hikaru didn't respond, and Yabu sent him an understanding look.
"Wanna practice a bit? Train and keep your mind off things?" Hikaru nodded. Why not? It would be good. They untangled themselves and slipped off their shirts, making their way out to the alley, where Yabu turned and smiled, saying
"Come." Hikaru knew his friend was nervous. He had always been able to beat Yabu simply due to their differences in muscle massーYabu's body simply wasn't filling out as fast as his was.
"Let's start slow." He said; remembering when Shoon would say the same thing to help when he was nervous. So they did. And after a couple of minutes they were joined by Yamada, Yuto, and Inoo, who sat around, backs against the outside of the surrounding buildings, watching. Eventually Yamada stepped up; pausing the fight.
"I can probably imitate Chinen's fighting style...if you want we can spar; it'll be closer than Yabu-kun's anyway, since I'm so short..."
"Thanks; Yama-chan." The fighting started up once more, Yabu stepping back and letting Yamada fill in his place. Hikaru found it much harder to fight Yamada; the little boy was a much smaller target, constantly moving, trying to get behind Hikaru, doing kicks and flips higher than Hikaru was expecting, keeping him on his toes. But Hikaru was stronger, and Yamada was out of his comfort zone, and eventually Hikaru got him on the ground, pinning him there. When he did that, Yamada gave in immediately, curling up in a little ball and hiding his face. Hikaru let him go, surprised by the sudden timidness.
"Sorry...?" Yamada's scared expression made him think he'd done something wrong. Yamada shook his head.
"Again?" He offered, standing up and brushing himself off. After a moment to consider his opponent's wellbeing, Hikaru nodded. Yamada seemed perfectly fine now. They practiced all day, and after a quick, awkward, silent meal, Hikaru retired to bed, exhausted, trying to ignore the nervous flutter in his chest. Tomorrow was a big day.
"Thanks, Hachibee." Hikaru looked up, and stared into Shoons big, shining eyes.
"You're Kumi-cho now. Take care of them for me." Hikaru was confused.
"What? Shoon, what d'you mean?!" When Shoon didn't react he felt a bud of fear bloom inside of his hollow body. Blood began seeping through Shoon's white shirt. Confused and scared Hikaru ripped the shirt off of his lifetime friend, to see his torso embedded with hundreds of pieces of glass, the glass fragments all giving way to Shoon's blood. He looked up into Shoon's face, shocked by how pale he was.
"Mayo?! MAYO! NO!" He was yelling, and when he shouted Shoon's childhood nickname a single tear rolled down his friend’s cheek, as his eyes glossed over, and lost their focus. 'Take care of them for me' a breath whispered, as Hikaru stared in shock at Shoon's corpse. He shook him, begging him to wake up; crying and yelling. Shoon couldn't be dead! No! He-"
"HIKARU!"
Hikaru woke with a jolt, sitting up and nearly whacking Yabu.
"Wh-wha...?" Disoriented, sweaty and shaking, he tried to figure out his surroundings. The one thing that drew his attention was Yabu, who was looking at him worriedly.
"You had a bad dream." Yabu told him, his voice tentative. Hikaru wiped his face, feeling sweat and tears on his cheeks. It had been so vivid; his dark eyelids still showing the corpse whenever he shut his eyes. He slowed his breathing, trying to calm himself. Yabu crawled into bed with him, slinging a skinny arm over his shoulders, weaving his fingers into his hair, calming him down tremendously.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Hikaru asked after a minute, realizing how late it was. Yabu nodded.
"It's okay though; I wasn't sleeping very well anyway." They sat in silence, just being with each other, a comfort in their essence. At one point they managed to fall asleep, not waking up until late in the morning. When they did wake, the others all gave them weird looks, as though they knew a guilty secret. Hikaru ignored them, not caring. They could assume what they wanted. He was still fatigued. He was just about to get some breakfast, when Chinen approached him in a businesslike manner, saying
"Now? He's still not back, as expected." Hikaru really had wanted to eat breakfast, he was feeling slow and sluggish, but if he refused with the excuse that he wanted to eat first he would seem pathetic, and that was not a quality a Kumi-cho possessed. So, he nodded. They would have the fight now.
They went outside, facing each other, removing their shirts; no need to get their clothes dirty. The others made a circle around them. Hikaru felt so wrong about all of this. Chinen was like, half of his size! He didn't want to kill him. But the little boy’s body was ripped, his arms and stomach showing off his muscle. He smirked, and said in that high pitched voice
"Come." He didn't look scared at all. Hikaru took a deep breath, and rushed the boy, swinging a fist as he did so. He missed, Chinen bending backward into a bridge, pushing his weight onto his hands, lifting himself up in a handstand and kicking Hikaru in the shoulder, just barely missing his face. Woah. He flipped back onto his feet, and Hikaru swung his leg up, attempting to kick him when his balance was off. He hit the Chinen in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards. The little boy turned quickly, and rushed him, aiming a punch at Hikaru's face. He pushed the hand away, following through with one of his own, hitting Chinen on the forehead. At least, he thought it was the forehead. His opponent recovered so quickly, he wasn't sure. The fight continued on for 10....20....30 minutes, Hikaru feeling himself grow tired, cursing himself for underestimating his opponent. He didn't know if he could make it. Chinen spun about, leaping onto Hikaru's back, pulling all of his weight down on one side, forcing him off balance. In shock, Hikaru hit the ground, and Chinen pounced, raining his fists down on Hikaru's face, unrelenting. Hikaru grabbed the little boy’s torso, trying to force him off, but it failed his body slick with sweat and blood, Hikaru's arms exhausted. Finally, he heard Yabu's desperate voice yell
"STOP! Don't hurt him anymore! Do you want another one of us gone?!" Hikaru couldn't see, blood getting in his eyes, but he felt Chinen stand up, and move away. Everyone stood there, shocked, disbelieving. Finally, in a shaky voice, Inoo announced
"Winner: Chinen Yuri."
Ryutaro stepped forward, and bowed to Chinen, his bangs hiding his eyes, and he said quite seriously
"Congratulations.....Kumi-cho."
Pairing: Hikaru-centric, Hikabu (friendship)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, I guess.
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone. The end.
Summary: When Shoon disapears without warning and leaves the Kumi to Hikaru, Hikaru doesn't know what to do...
A/N: Two things. #1: This is probably going to be confusing unless you've read two things; my muli-chap Heisei Kumi - My new Family. You can find Ch1 here; I have a tag for the multi-chap on my LJ where you can find the rest of the chapters if you would like; and the oneshot that this is the sequel to, A Kumi-cho's Duty, which you can find here. #2: This takes place before The Heisei Kumi starts. Years before. Therefore there is no Keito in this fic, and all of the boys are a lot younger than their current ages, okay?
So...tell me what you think!
Hikaru woke to the sound of cursing. Loud cursing. Confused and worried, he blundered out of bed, slipping on a pair of jeans and hurrying down the stairs to see what all of the ruckus was about. He was immediately face to face with Yabu; a look in his friends eyes that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"What happened?!" He caught sight of Inoo, who was crying, big, loud tears; flopped in a chair at the kitchen table. His eyes took in everyone's shell shocked faces, and he felt the worry ballooning inside of him. Daiki, the one that had been cursing, jerked his head toward a piece of paper lying there on the table. Understanding that the paper had the answer to everyone's distress written on it, he walked over to the table; picking it up. There, written in shaky but familiar handwriting, was the following:
Dear Everyone,
I'm appointing Hikaru as the next Kumi-cho. Goodbye. I'm sorry.
Yamashita Shoon What. The. Hell?!? His mind raced in a spinning numbness. The Kumi-cho had just been there last night, smiling and giving him an embarrassing kiss on the forehead before he went off to bed, a smile on his face, as always. He hadn't given any sign that he would be leaving. That there was anything wrong. Yes he had. One. Hikaru's thoughts flew back to the conversation they had had 12 days previously.
"If anything was to happen to me...or if I can't be here anymore, or suddenly leave; whatever the scenario, I want you to watch over the Kumi for me." Hikaru had agreed to the request, meaning his words but not actually thinking he would ever have to follow through with them.
"If I were to appoint you as the next Kumi-cho, would you accept it?" He looked down at the words on the page, reading them in stunned horror. He had meant it. He had made Hikaru the Kumi-cho. He was numb with shock; unacceptant. He went to the door of Shoon's office, knocking once. Twice. Three times. The others watched him.
"He...he's not there, Hikaru." Hikaru pushed the door open, looking around. The room was simple, clean, as always. Yet something about it felt a bit too sparse. It was the pictures; he realized. They were all gone. He rushed to the adjoining bedroom. The only thing there was a fully made bed, and bedside table, complete with reading lamp. The closet was empty, the walls bare. It was as though no one had ever been there. The private bathroom was the same; all furniture there, empty and ready for another's use. This had been planned for. Shoon had planned to leave. He'd known that he was going to leave them...yet he didn't explain himself. He didn't give one explanation, or even say a proper goodbye. Hikaru wanted to collapse into a chair crying, like Inoo. He wanted to curse like Daiki. He wanted to-
"I want you to watch over the Kumi for me." He couldn't. He had a responsibility now. A responsibility to watch over these people, and pull them all back together. To lead and comfort them. He stepped out of the office, and returned to the rest of the Kumi. His Kumi.
"So, now what...Erm...Kumi-cho?" Yamada asked; his eyes conveying what he really wanted to say. Tell me it's going to be okay; I need someone to tell me everything will be okay… Hikaru pulled the small boy into a hug, and assured him.
"Everything is gonna be okay..." ...somehow.
Takaki sent a frown his way.
"Did you know? That Kumi-cho was leaving?" The pretty boy asked, a scared accusation in his voice. Hikaru shook his head violently.
"No! He didn't tell me anything!"
"Fuck; shit; damn!" Daiki muttered, punching the concrete wall, scrapping his knuckles and causing them to bleed. The words seemed to portray exactly how Ryutaro felt, the little boy looking as though he too would like to curse and punch the wall, almost as though Daiki had stolen his idea. He settled for kicking a chair. The chair toppled over, a crack splitting the seat, climbing up the back, and snaking down one of the legs. Ah well. They...they wouldn't need that chair anymore anyway.
Chinen approached Hikaru, grabbing his tank top and forcing Hikaru's head down to his own level. There was fierceness in the little boy's eyes. It was scary.
"He appointed you Kumi-cho. He's left us. If he's not back in two days, then I don't think he should have a say in the matter." His voice was a stage whisper; serious and threatening. "I'm challenging you for the title of Kumi-cho. In two days, we'll have a fight; we'll decide it then. Agreed?" Trying to process everything, Hikaru nodded. It was fair. Shoon had...abandoned them. They didn't have to listen to his wishes any longer...technically. It still felt wrong though.
The rest of the day was spent each to their own, no one knowing what to do with themselves. Hikaru holed himself up in Shoon's office; and alone he allowed his own questions, the ones he had forced to the back, to take hold of his mind. What were they supposed to do now?! What was he supposed to do now?! He had just lost Taiyo, and now this; now he had such a large responsibility on top of everything. However, those were small compared to the main question. WHY?! Why had Shoon abandoned them? Why now; when they needed him most? Why hadn't he at least explained his decision? Did they mean that little to him? Hikaru forced that thought from his head, not wanting to even consider it. He had known Shoon since he was 7 years old. Longer than anyone. Shoon loved them; he knew that he did.
But if he loved you, then why'd he leave? A little voice in the back of his head nagged. His heart didn't have the answer to that question. So, he decided to look for clues. He leaned forward, gently pulling the desk drawer out, and examining the contents. He spent hours rifling through all of the papers, planers, and miscellaneous items Shoon had kept. He learned nothing; except that Shoon had left everything well prepared for him. He had left notes and labels on everything, explaining the Kumi's relationship with so-and-so, and if they were meeting them, what the meeting was about and why. It was all very efficiently done.
He would have been grateful. He was too upset to truly care about how much easier the organization would make the upcoming situation. Soon, there was a knock on the door, and Inoo peeked his head in.
"Dinner." Hikaru nodded, standing and following his friend out, going to sit in his usual spot at the table, to find that his chair was gone. Then, he remembered; Ryutaro had broken it. A fear rose in his chest as he looked around. The only chair left was the one at the other end of the table. The Kumi-cho's chair. Shoon's chair. Everyone pretended not to notice as he nervously made his way over, sitting quietly. Everyone except Chinen, who blatantly watched him, expression blank. Hikaru pretended not to notice.
Dinner was spent in complete silence. The only sounds were the sounds of chewing and the occasional "Please pass the..." He didn't attempt to make conversation either. He was too uncomfortable with sitting there, as their leader. For now; he had to remind himself. He had said he would fight Chinen. That night he slipped into his bed, thinking about the upcoming fight. Some part of him still believed that he wouldn't have to fight at all, that Shoon would come back, and provide some logical explanation, apologize, and everything would go back to normal. The logical part of his brain knew that was ridiculous. He had never even seen Chinen fight full out before; he hadn't been near the little boy in their last raid. He had been...with Taiyo...and Chii had been off with Ryutaro and Daiki. There were rumors that the boy was very acrobatic in his fighting technique...that would be interesting. Like Yoda; Hikaru thought, for a moment, before pushing the thought out of his head. That was stupid. After a while of thinking about trying not think about anything he went to sleep, Shoon's last "Goodnight." whispering at him in his dreams.
The next day he woke with a hope that Shoon had returned, but his hope was shattered when he found his housemates downstairs; sullen and in various stages of anger, frustration, and sorrow. Dang it. He flopped down on the couch, not feeling hungry, when Yabu approached him.
"Hey." His tall best friend said with a small half-smile. Hikaru smiled back, motioning for him to sit on the couch. Yabu did so, resting his head on Hikaru's shoulder, Hikaru's arms wrapped around his skinny waist; like usual. They sat in silence for a while, before Yabu asked
"What're you gonna do tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. When you have to fight Chinen." Hikaru didn't respond, and Yabu sent him an understanding look.
"Wanna practice a bit? Train and keep your mind off things?" Hikaru nodded. Why not? It would be good. They untangled themselves and slipped off their shirts, making their way out to the alley, where Yabu turned and smiled, saying
"Come." Hikaru knew his friend was nervous. He had always been able to beat Yabu simply due to their differences in muscle massーYabu's body simply wasn't filling out as fast as his was.
"Let's start slow." He said; remembering when Shoon would say the same thing to help when he was nervous. So they did. And after a couple of minutes they were joined by Yamada, Yuto, and Inoo, who sat around, backs against the outside of the surrounding buildings, watching. Eventually Yamada stepped up; pausing the fight.
"I can probably imitate Chinen's fighting style...if you want we can spar; it'll be closer than Yabu-kun's anyway, since I'm so short..."
"Thanks; Yama-chan." The fighting started up once more, Yabu stepping back and letting Yamada fill in his place. Hikaru found it much harder to fight Yamada; the little boy was a much smaller target, constantly moving, trying to get behind Hikaru, doing kicks and flips higher than Hikaru was expecting, keeping him on his toes. But Hikaru was stronger, and Yamada was out of his comfort zone, and eventually Hikaru got him on the ground, pinning him there. When he did that, Yamada gave in immediately, curling up in a little ball and hiding his face. Hikaru let him go, surprised by the sudden timidness.
"Sorry...?" Yamada's scared expression made him think he'd done something wrong. Yamada shook his head.
"Again?" He offered, standing up and brushing himself off. After a moment to consider his opponent's wellbeing, Hikaru nodded. Yamada seemed perfectly fine now. They practiced all day, and after a quick, awkward, silent meal, Hikaru retired to bed, exhausted, trying to ignore the nervous flutter in his chest. Tomorrow was a big day.
"Thanks, Hachibee." Hikaru looked up, and stared into Shoons big, shining eyes.
"You're Kumi-cho now. Take care of them for me." Hikaru was confused.
"What? Shoon, what d'you mean?!" When Shoon didn't react he felt a bud of fear bloom inside of his hollow body. Blood began seeping through Shoon's white shirt. Confused and scared Hikaru ripped the shirt off of his lifetime friend, to see his torso embedded with hundreds of pieces of glass, the glass fragments all giving way to Shoon's blood. He looked up into Shoon's face, shocked by how pale he was.
"Mayo?! MAYO! NO!" He was yelling, and when he shouted Shoon's childhood nickname a single tear rolled down his friend’s cheek, as his eyes glossed over, and lost their focus. 'Take care of them for me' a breath whispered, as Hikaru stared in shock at Shoon's corpse. He shook him, begging him to wake up; crying and yelling. Shoon couldn't be dead! No! He-"
"HIKARU!"
Hikaru woke with a jolt, sitting up and nearly whacking Yabu.
"Wh-wha...?" Disoriented, sweaty and shaking, he tried to figure out his surroundings. The one thing that drew his attention was Yabu, who was looking at him worriedly.
"You had a bad dream." Yabu told him, his voice tentative. Hikaru wiped his face, feeling sweat and tears on his cheeks. It had been so vivid; his dark eyelids still showing the corpse whenever he shut his eyes. He slowed his breathing, trying to calm himself. Yabu crawled into bed with him, slinging a skinny arm over his shoulders, weaving his fingers into his hair, calming him down tremendously.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Hikaru asked after a minute, realizing how late it was. Yabu nodded.
"It's okay though; I wasn't sleeping very well anyway." They sat in silence, just being with each other, a comfort in their essence. At one point they managed to fall asleep, not waking up until late in the morning. When they did wake, the others all gave them weird looks, as though they knew a guilty secret. Hikaru ignored them, not caring. They could assume what they wanted. He was still fatigued. He was just about to get some breakfast, when Chinen approached him in a businesslike manner, saying
"Now? He's still not back, as expected." Hikaru really had wanted to eat breakfast, he was feeling slow and sluggish, but if he refused with the excuse that he wanted to eat first he would seem pathetic, and that was not a quality a Kumi-cho possessed. So, he nodded. They would have the fight now.
They went outside, facing each other, removing their shirts; no need to get their clothes dirty. The others made a circle around them. Hikaru felt so wrong about all of this. Chinen was like, half of his size! He didn't want to kill him. But the little boy’s body was ripped, his arms and stomach showing off his muscle. He smirked, and said in that high pitched voice
"Come." He didn't look scared at all. Hikaru took a deep breath, and rushed the boy, swinging a fist as he did so. He missed, Chinen bending backward into a bridge, pushing his weight onto his hands, lifting himself up in a handstand and kicking Hikaru in the shoulder, just barely missing his face. Woah. He flipped back onto his feet, and Hikaru swung his leg up, attempting to kick him when his balance was off. He hit the Chinen in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards. The little boy turned quickly, and rushed him, aiming a punch at Hikaru's face. He pushed the hand away, following through with one of his own, hitting Chinen on the forehead. At least, he thought it was the forehead. His opponent recovered so quickly, he wasn't sure. The fight continued on for 10....20....30 minutes, Hikaru feeling himself grow tired, cursing himself for underestimating his opponent. He didn't know if he could make it. Chinen spun about, leaping onto Hikaru's back, pulling all of his weight down on one side, forcing him off balance. In shock, Hikaru hit the ground, and Chinen pounced, raining his fists down on Hikaru's face, unrelenting. Hikaru grabbed the little boy’s torso, trying to force him off, but it failed his body slick with sweat and blood, Hikaru's arms exhausted. Finally, he heard Yabu's desperate voice yell
"STOP! Don't hurt him anymore! Do you want another one of us gone?!" Hikaru couldn't see, blood getting in his eyes, but he felt Chinen stand up, and move away. Everyone stood there, shocked, disbelieving. Finally, in a shaky voice, Inoo announced
"Winner: Chinen Yuri."
Ryutaro stepped forward, and bowed to Chinen, his bangs hiding his eyes, and he said quite seriously
"Congratulations.....Kumi-cho."