Arcade

The Night We Met

I am not the only traveler

Who has not repaid his debt

I've been searching for a trail to follow again

Take me back to the night we met

****

"Would you do me the honor of going out with me?!"

The first time Giyuu had met the flame hashira was when he was just sixteen and the other fifteen. Back then both boys had been rank kanoe. Kyojuro was bright. With a voice full of warmth and joy. Golden eyes that spoke levels of justice. And who would forget his fighting spirit? One that even made Giyuu feel motivated to keep going. Their first meeting wasn't something cliche where they locked eyes and instantly felt a connection.

No, they had been partnered up for a mission. A demon had been terrorizing a village to the south. Kids and women went missing and no one knew who or what was causing it. The blonde did his best to make the blue eyed slayer speak. Asking questions which Giyuu answered with a yes or no. Commenting on the weather, or simply asking what he liked to do. Small stuff that held no meaning. Giyuu ignored him for most of the time. He had no plans in getting close to Kyojuro. 

He had done that with Sabito, and his dear friend ended up dead. He was a bad luck charm. One that had death near him, just not for the water user. But for the people who got close to him. So Giyuu did his best to make the blonde lose interest in him. It worked for a while. As they did their week-long mission, the flame user didn't bother making small talk.

It...bothered Giyuu for a bit. Not wanting to admit that the boy's voice brought a sense of comfort to him, the raven head just ignored the pain in his chest. 

Then the unthinkable happened. On their second to last night of the mission, Giyuu had one of his episodes. They didn't happen often. He learned how to control them after having his first mission. The nightmare had been one of the worst yet, Tsutako and Sabito...both dead and yet he couldn’t even lift a finger to help them. They called for his help. To help them. Save them from the demon. 

Giyuu had jolted up. His mind muddled and tears running down his face. Kyojuro had shaken him, his golden eyes filled to the brim with worry. Before the water user could tell him that everything was fine and to go back to sleep, Kyojuro hugged him. For the first time since Sabito's death...he felt warm and oh so very safe. The wall he had carefully built and the chains of iron he used to close his heart were instantly taken down.

"It's alright, I got you. Let it all out." 

That was all he needed for the waterworks to begin. A sob, broken and utterly pathetic, leaves his lips. He hugs Kyojuro back. Fingers digging into the yukata he had changed to. 

Kyojuro had entered and seen his soul that night. He had seen how utterly broken Giyuu was and yet he didn't offer any sympathy or pity that many did. He wasn't treating Giyuu as if he was made out of glass. Instead he embraced him, broken pieces and all.

And Giyuu let him.

_____

And then I tell myself 

What the hell I'm supposed to do

***

"What would you do when all demons are exterminated?"

After that night, Giyuu and Kyojuro became closer. Not necessarily friends. Just frequent companions in demon slaying. Little by little Giyuu spoke back to him and answered questions Kyojuro had. They were now seventeen and sixteen, a year had passed and by now Giyuu might have considered Kyojuro a special person to him. Not a friend though. He wouldn't dare call the blonde a friend.