riptide | kyojuro rengoku

XVI | hate

YOU HAD FORCED KYOJURO to rest. He had, at first, disobeyed and tried to argue with you, but you refused to take his objections as an answer. It didn't help his case when he had raised his hand to cover his mouth when he coughed a few times in the middle of your disagreement either. 

So, he was forced to stay in bed only after sailing a bit away from the coral attack site, stopping the boat at another island instead. It was safe for now and there was plenty of fruit for you to collect when you weren't looking after the Flame Pillar. He was pretty much forced to stay in bed. Any time he did try to get up, you would stop him or the pain would.

Although he was powerful, Kyojuro was clearly still trying to learn how to control it which proved to be extremely difficult. Sometimes you were tempted to summon the sea serpent on your own while he was knocked out, but you were scared he'd suddenly wake up at the waves growing rockier.

Nonetheless, if you went to a different location to test it out, you would end up ditching him, and considering there were greedy people that sailed among the waters, you definitely didn't want to risk that. You sighed, bringing a bowl full of filtered water to Kyojuro, letting a cloth soak in it before you pressed it against his chest.

He grimaced slightly, but let you do as you please. Even now, it made you pretty flustered to press his abs so firmly. With Kyojuro pretty much stuck to his bed, you had realized how much more difficult it was to navigate. He would typically hold out his hand or call out to you before you hit something, but now you stumbled over boxes and ropes more often than you'd like to admit.

"We have to keep sailing at some point," Kyojuro mumbled, growing tense again when your hands met his chest again. You bit the inside of your cheek, responding only after using your hand to trail up to his forehead. The wound had closed days ago, but there was a faint scab that you could trace with your fingertips.

He didn't question your weird habits, chuckling softly instead. "We will when you're all better again, Kyo," You spoke, freezing when he laughed again. You could practically picture him with an eyebrow raised in your direction as his hand loosely wrapped around your wrist in an attempt to get your attention.

Needless to say, he already had your attention. "Kyo?" There was a teasing tone in his words, but you knew he was just as flustered as you. If there's anything you'd learned from being on this trip with him for the past few weeks, Kyojuro had a thing for sentimentality. "It's a nickname," You muttered, the tips of your ears suddenly feeling hot.

He moved his hand down to yours that laid on his chest, squeezing it slightly despite the awkward position. "That's fine. I think it's sweet," Kyojuro laughed again before coughing harshly, leaning up. His muscles flexed and he hissed again, the scarring heat from his breathing movements costing him again.

He dropped onto the bed again, making you sigh. "I told you to stay in bed. Don't try to overexert yourself or anything," Kyojuro rolled his eyes (not that you could tell), humming contemplatively under his breath. His eyes studied your figure, noting the milky white color of your eyes.

Although you couldn't see, your eyes seemed to express emotion more than any other part of you. There was a glint of determination in them that he could read and he smiled softly, fighting the thumping in his heart at the sight. You were determined to help him. Kyojuro wasn't sure what was going on in your mind, but did you really care about him that much?

"You should rest too," 

You let out a yelp when he pulled you forward, nearly knocking the bowl of water onto himself if you hadn't quickly set it on the crate next to his makeshift bed. Your face only grew hotter and you immediately tried to get up again, but he had a steady hold on you. Kyojuro laughed harder, "Do you despise people of the Fire Village that much?"

You could tell he was joking, but you could feel yourself slump over from the slight guilt in the pit of your stomach. It's not that I despise you all; it's just hard to trust you. . . "Relax," His voice was cheery, an attempt to make you feel better. "I was joking." You could practically hear him grinning and you relaxed, letting out a sigh.

"I know,"

"I would hope you didn't despise us anyway," Kyojuro brushed your hair back from your face, his eyes landing on your own. Although you would never be able to see him unless he was underwater, he was content with that. For some reason, the Flame Pillar never got tired of looking at you. "Especially me."

His voice was quiet for a moment as your heart hammered in your chest, "You don't. . . hate me, right?" You frowned. So, this is what happens? Kyojuro had always been approved of for so long that the idea of rejection scared him; it was easy to tell. You smiled reassuringly in his direction, humming.

"I couldn't hate you, Kyo. You're too sweet for me to hate you."

Kyojuro relaxed at that, exhaling loudly and making your head moved as his chest lowered. You giggled, moving off of him in order to sit up. "However, I will hate you if you don't stay in bed like I've been telling you to. Rest at least for the rest of the day. . . night? Whatever, just rest for a bit more before you try to do anything Kyo-like."

Kyojuro slowly let go of you, his hand trailing from your own before disappearing completely. Your heart fell at the sudden absence of warmth, but you didn't attempt to steal his hand back. "Alright, I will," He said as you stepped away. You could hear his breath evening out as he laid back again, "Just as long as you do too."