Running Solo

Chapter 15 - Souro Aizaku

~Faihato's Perspective~

Thud!

"You got me! I'm down!"  Aizaku wheezed.

"I win again!" I sing-songed happily as I climbed off of his chest.

"How do you even do that?" Aizaku whined as he sat up. He pulled his knees up towards his chest and rested his arms on them. His hands hung between his knees and he dropped his head to join them as he struggled to catch his breath. "You knocked the wind out of me that time." he said, still sounding a little breathless. 

"Wanna try again?" I asked with a wild grin. Aizaku groaned towards the floor. Then he looked up at me with pleading eyes.

"I need a break." Aizaku said in defeat. I raised an eyebrow. "Please, Fai-chan?" he begged.

"Alright, Aku-chan." I said seriously. He looked up at me, surprised and suspicious. I knew the 'chan' would catch him off-guard. I held my hand out towards him. He frowned suspiciously, but took my hand and let me pull him to his feet. "Just know that after, we're going to drill the basics back into you." I said, my grin widening. Aizaku's eyes widened comically and he opened his mouth to protest.

"But, Fai-chan! I already-" he started. I held up my free hand, the other still gripping his, and interrupted him.

"Your form was sloppy in your blocks. That's how I was able to slip past your guard and flip you-"

"Onto my back." Aizaku finished with a grudging frown.

He let go of my hand and walked to the edge of the mats. He picked up his water bottle, walked a few feet to the wall, and then slid down it with a sigh. He took a long drink as I grabbed my own bottle of water and sat down beside him. I took a small drink as Aizaku wiped his mouth with the back of his left hand, his right still holding his water bottle. He set his water bottle down beside him as I studied the room.

We were in a small abandoned warehouse in one of the rougher parts of town. The floor was covered in mats except for this little strip of concrete we were sitting on. Most of the windows were high on the wall and had been boarded up, letting in very little light. The night was fairly clear and the moon was almost full, so there was a lot of moonlight seeping into the room. It made it easier for Aizaku to see and meant we didn't have to waste our money and resources on light. I'd managed to clean out the warehouse all on my own when I'd first found it a few months after my mother died. I'd only had a few small and old mats in one corner of the warehouse then. Then about a year ago I'd met Aizaku.

I was on my way to the warehouse, running stealthily across the rooftops, when I heard someone breathing heavily on the next rooftop. I paused on the edge of the rooftop I was on to try and make out the person in the dark and cloudy night. It was a boy, about my age. He was covered in bruises and a little bit of blood was running down his chin from a split lip. There were tear stains trailing down his face, but his eyes were dry and they weren't puffy or red. I approached him carefully, and fully human, and made sure that he could hear me coming. He stiffened and his head whipped around to watch me.

"Hello." I said quietly. "Do you want help? I can take you to a hospital." 

The boy's eyes widened in fear and he shook his head wildly. He started scooching back from me, so I stopped moving closer.

"Alright. I won't take you to a hospital. But, I do know first aid. Do you want me to take a look at you instead?" I asked holding my hands up slowly, but not moving any closer.

The boy curled in on himself as he studied me. He nodded hesitantly.

"Alright. Just a little ways away there's a small warehouse where I keep some first aid supplies. Would you mind coming with me there?" I asked gently, crouching down to his level, but still not moving closer.