𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐈𝐑! ❀ 𝐊. 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐈 [ˢʰᵒʳᵗ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ]

⑨ 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨

It took two years for Kimika to graduate from close combat to weapons training. She'd perfected her defenses and attacks and could now knock Hirose down with little to no effort. She'd learned the tips and tricks from close-combat specialists and dared to say she was almost as good as Keigo.

She'd been training with knives for about six weeks now. The first time she held one, she was surprised at how perfectly it fit in her gloved hand. It felt like an extension of her body. As she fought with it against armed opponents, she found it quite satisfying to hear the hiss of the blade as it sliced through the air. Keigo, too, had found his ideal weapon. Using those larger feathers from his wings, he created katanas that were just as sharp and even more strong than metal blades.

The two of them had sparred against each other so much that neither of them could ever get a hit-- they knew the other's moves too well.

They were starting to get to know each other a lot more, too. Now that they shared a room, a lot of nights contained late conversations that lasted for hours on end. The two had opened up to each other on levels they'd never considered. They both knew their pasts and their aspirations for the future. They each knew what the other liked and disliked and everything in between.

The first real test of their friendship happened in the middle of the night. Their shared room was quiet, both twelve-year-olds fast asleep in their beds. Keigo's blankets were kicked to the floor. He preferred to wrap himself in his wings and sleep that way. He was snoring peacefully when it started.

Kimika, who had previously been tucked safely under her covers, had screamed.

Keigo jerked awake. At the sound of her cry, he sat up as his wings shot out in alarm. He quickly glanced around the room, looking for an intruder or something to provoke that kind of reaction. When he was met with the emptiness of their room, he turned his head.

Kimika was thrashing on her mattress. Her covers had been thrown aside and the pillow was forgotten. Her face was stained with tears, sobs echoing throughout the room.

Keigo leaped to his feet and went to her bedside. An almost overprotective instinct washed over him when he saw her. He had to admit-- he'd taken quite a liking to the girl when he first met her. He couldn't ignore the way his heart raced whenever he saw her. But now, his heart was racing with worry.

"Kimika!" Since they were alone, with no audio sensors in the room, he deemed it safe to call out her real name. His hands wrapped around her shoulders in a gentle yet firm grasp. He shook her, pulling her into a sitting position. "Kimika, wake up!"

After a few more seconds and several more cries of her name, her eyes blinked open. Immediately, she shoved the boy away from her. "Don't... don't touch me!" She scrambled back, sinking into the spot where her bed met the corner of the room. Her eyes were wide and terrified as she stared at the blonde in front of her.

Keigo held his hands up innocently. "Hey, calm down. You had a nightmare. Are you okay?" He tried to reach out, but she curled in on herself even more. He felt a pang in his heart at the action. It was just like when they first met. She was scared of him. No, that wasn't it. She was scared of hurting him.

"I zapped you away," Kimika cried. Her voice cracked from the sobs that built up in her throat. "I touched you and you disappeared and I couldn't bring you back and I never saw you again--"

"Hey!" Keigo waved his hand in front of her face. "It's okay. I'm right here-- I'm not zapped away." He reached for her hand. She tried to jerk away, but he persisted and grabbed her small fingers in his own. He showed her the material that was secured around her skin, protecting everything in the room from her power. "Look. You're wearing your gloves. It's all okay."

Kimika sniffled and wiped her eyes with her free hand. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I get nightmares, too."

An awkward silence filled the room. Kimika was still cramped away in her corner. Keigo now knelt on her bed, one of her hands in his. The two of them found comfort in the contact but didn't know what to do next.

"Do you..." Keigo trailed off, flustered by his thought. Deciding it was better to ask than to regret, he continued. "Do you want a hug?"

The white-haired girl in front of him was quiet. She stared at him in surprise. She'd never had a hug from anyone since before her quirk had manifested. Then, it was like she carried the plague. No one wanted to touch her. Keigo was much the same. His parents hated his entire existence-- a mistake from a night that shouldn't have happened. He'd never felt that kind of love either.

So, Kimika moved forward. She crawled over and placed herself next to him on the mattress, circling her arms around his torso. In return, he engulfed her and hugged her tightly against him. Kimika buried herself in his warmth. The fires were not in her mind anymore. During her nightmare, they had been raging and destroying everything in their path, but as soon as she accepted Keigo's embrace, they died out. Completely.

She didn't want to leave his arms.

Keigo realized that he wasn't shaking anymore. His constant state of nervousness faded away when she touched him. He sighed in relief, resting his cheek on the top of her head. She was so small compared to him, so petite, so fragile. Where he had the beginnings of muscle and strength, she had only flesh and bones. He liked how she fit so perfectly in the spot beside him.

He didn't want her to leave his arms.

Neither of them wanted the moment to end.