Kintsugi: the golden repair // Hanemiya Kazutora x Reader

Chapter Four am I more than you bargained for yet?

Kazutora felt relief wash over him when Y/n came back down the stairs out of her school uniform. She now sported worn-in sneakers, baggy jeans, and a slightly oversized band shirt. She looks like herself again. The two of them made their way to a popular public park. The entire way there Kazutora had been just as talkative as Y/n usually was. He asked her about how school was going, her homeroom, her classmates, her teacher. He listened carefully to all of her answers, and answered her questions with just as much enthusiasm. It made Y/n happy that Kazutora was being himself again. She knew by now that he was short-tempered, picking and choosing what kind of attitude he held towards others on any given day. She didn't blame him for most of his behavior, having overheard the environment he grew up in. Plus, he's a boy. Their brains just work differently. He thinks he's being funny in school and the stuff they find funny is usually dumb. She didn't expect an apology because she had comprehended that most of the things he did were to show off in front of other guys. I'm meeting his new friends today, but the way he made it sound...I don't think they go to school with us. He's in a really good mood today so he probably won't pick on me as much in front of them. And if he does I'll just go home. It's alright I get to enjoy his company now and if he starts to be a jerk, I'll leave.

The sidewalks were full of people, going to and from work and school. The sounds of the city no longer made Y/n nervous. She had become used to the background noise, and loved that everything around her was so easily accessible. Living in such a vibrant place felt like the entire world was at her fingertips. She recognized the area and could race Kazutora through the streets. Having grown taller and broader since they had met, his speed finally outpaced her own. Y/n spotted Kazutora further into the park approaching a group of boys. She recognized Baji Keisuke but not anyone else.

Y/n caught up, waved, "Hi guys." and stood next to Tora. He looked down at her and then to his friends with a cocky smirk, "This is Y/n, Y/n these are the guys I was telling you about." He pointed at each boy, naming them. "Draken, Mitsuya, Pah-chin, and you already know Baji." The boys all looked a little confused, the last thing they expected was for Kazutora to bring a girl with him to hangout. Baji spoke up, "She's his neighbor." They all smiled back and greeted her with hellos.
"Woah a dragon tattoo?!" she stepped up right in front of Draken, "That's sick."
"Thanks," the tall boy pointed to the side of his head and flexed his other arm, "it lets punk know not to mess with me."
"I've got one too," Mitsuya spoke up now, "but my mom made me grow my hair out to cover it." She turned towards the him, big eyes and big smile. "Wow." She turned to Kazutora, "These guys are a lot cooler than the idiots that follow you around at school." He lit up, a proud smile on his face and was about to swing an arm over her shoulder when Mikey popped up out of nowhere. He had positioned himself in between the two and faced Y/n. He was holding a basketball by his side and had a lollipop in his mouth. "Baji told me about you. Let's be friends." Kazutora snapped his head towards Keisuke who was pretending that something in the sky deserved all of his attention. "Okay!" Y/n was giddy with the fact that Tora's friends had easily accepted her.

She snatched the ball from under Mikey's arm, "Alright short stack, let's go play." Mikey smirked and headed towards the empty half court, "We'll make teams. Come on guys." Everyone except Kazutora followed behind Mikey. He hated the way everyone just stopped what they were doing to listen to whatever the blonde said. What is she doing? She's my friend, he can't just say they're going to be friends and get what he wants. He's so arrogant. Why did I even bring her here? I don't even like her. She doesn't need to be friends with any of them. The idea of Y/n getting home from school to hang out with Mikey instead of him popped into his mind, enraging him.

"I don't understand this game I'm going to be the ref." Y/n looked towards the boy who had spoken up, "If you don't understand the game then how can you.." Mitsuya put a hand on her shoulder, laughing "Pah's an idiot. Don't mind him." Mikey picked the teams. Draken, Kazutora and Baji vs Mikey, Mitsuya, and Y/n. Mitsuya looked over the obvious height difference between the teams, "You don't think maybe you put us at a disadvantage." Mikey closed his eyes and gave a sincere smile, "No way, we'll kick their asses."

 The game commenced. Mikey could jump, connect his shots, and was able to quick steal the ball from whoever had the misfortune of dribbling. Mitsuya was good at defense and communication. Y/n figured out quickly that if she passed him the ball, he'd catch it. Y/n was having so much fun she didn't notice the sour expression on Kazutora's face. He was getting sick of the ball being stolen from him, his missed shots, Mikey's ability to be good at everything, and Y/n's stupid smile. Baji yelled to his teammates, "I got Mikey." running up to stop Mikey from being able to advance to the basket. Draken was using his height to loom over Mitsuya, making it clear his friend wasn't going to be able to receive the pass. "Y/n!" Mikey bounced the ball behind Baji's back and Y/n grabbed it. She bounced it off the cement court twice. One hand lightly holding the side of the ball, her dominant one cupped up under the ball. She bent her knees slightly, bending her elbows deeper. She went to stretch up straight, ready to send the ball to the net when a force knocked her breath out of her lungs. She fell to the ground with a loud smack.

 Kazutora had run up to her right side to throw all of his weight into side swiping her. The ball bounced off the ground and rolled away. Y/n felt pain surge through her arm, her left elbow and forearm had taken the brute of the blow. The skin of her elbow had peeled and blood was flowing in a thick stream, dripping off its tip. Her forearm had a friction burn, pearls of crimson started beading through her skin.

"That's a foul." Pah-chin spoke up, very matter of fact. "Obviously." Mitsuya's tone was sour and he started walking towards his teammate. His own sisters hated seeing blood, it always made them cry harder. Draken's vein on his forehead starting to become prominent, and Baji was frozen in shock. He had never seen a girl get hurt so badly before. Kazutora was breathing heavy and his smirk fading when he saw his friends' reactions. 

The pain was stinging badly now and her eyes were watering. Y/n could feel pieces of rubble in her cuts. Mitsuya sat down next to her, lightly picking out the pieced and asked if she was alright. Mikey's entire presence had become threatening. Waves of anger were coming off of him. He planted himself in front of Kazutora, leaving little distance between them. "We don't hurt girls." his eyes remained dark and narrowed but he began to grin, "Want me to do that to you?" Kazutora swallowed the lump stuck in his throat, "I, ah, I," he looked over his shoulder at Y/n. Her face held no hatred or sadness, just disappointment. "Y/n, I didn't mean to be so rough. I swe.." Mikey roughly pushed Kazutora out of his way to get to Y/n, "Yeah right." Mikey mumbled. "I mean it, Y/n you gotta believe me I didn't think you would get so hurt." She sniffled and gave an unconvincing smile, "It's alright Tora. But I'm all done playing today. I'm going to go home."

He acted before he thought about the consequences. He had let his impulses control the situation when he pushed Y/n. His intention was to show her that girls shouldn't play with boys. He wanted her to just admit that she wasn't tough enough and go sit on the bench. She could watch the game, and then he wouldn't have to watch her smiling and laughing and hanging out with his friends. She would have to watch him, be distracted by him, and actually pay attention to him. The thought of her actually getting hurt, being injured, never even crossed his mind. Now seeing her bleeding, wincing and eyes cloudy with tears, he was riddled with anxiety. Two parts of his brain argued back and forth. I really messed up. I mean I really hurt her. Of course she got hurt, that's what she gets for playing with a bunch of guys. If you hadn't have hurt her she would've eventually. It's her own fault for not accepting that she should've just sat out.

Mikey spoke up, "I'll walk you home." She nodded and avoiding eye contact as he helped her up. Mitsuya turned to Kazutora, "That was fucked up." he followed after the two that were now walking away. Draken passed by next, "Definitely a dickhead move." Pah-chin grabbed his bag off the bench by the court, pointing a thumb to the others, "I'm going with them. See you guys later." Baji began walking away too. He just sighed deeply and shook his head. He looked at Kazutora with little emotion, "Let's get out of here man. I'm hungry anyways." Kazutora couldn't move and had to watch them all leave him behind.