Rarely does he ever do this.
From the time you knew him from your first-year entrance ceremony to now, you've never seen Ise like this – hurt and vulnerable both physically and mentally.
Your heart sank as he looked up at you, his cheek red and angry with the slight bruise that began to form, his hand nervously raising to starch the back of his head as he always did when he felt awkward or uneasy. You couldn't tell if the tears that burned at your eyes were caused from sadness or anger as you knelt down before him, your hand slowly reaching out to cup his injured cheek.
"Natsuki," you whispered as he winced slightly at your touch. "Are you fighting again?"
He let out a light laugh, "I promised you that I wouldn't fight anymore, I kind of intend to keep that promise."
You felt your heart race slightly at his words as he mentioned the promise he made to you nearly a year ago. Your eyebrows furrowed slightly as you watched him cast his gaze downwards. "Then who did this to you?"
He forced a smile at you. "It's nothing, [f/n]. I'll be fine," he paused, his smile falling away from his lips. "Thank you for meeting me out here, I didn't think you'd come."
"Why wouldn't I?"
The text you got from him a little less than an hour ago worried you, to say the least. For Ise to text you at nearly eleven at night, asking you to meet him at the small playground near your house was something you'd never expect. There wasn't any way that you wouldn't have shown up – you knew that Ise would do the same thing for you.
"Not sure..."
You watched him as he got up onto his feet, his forced smile forming on his lips again. "I'm sorry for making you come out this late though, let me walk you home."
"Not until you tell me who did this to you." You watched him as he silently mulled over his words in his head, keeping in his feelings as he always did. You quickly began going through the people that you knew were apart of Ise's life, almost instantly thinking of the only person that would be capable of doing this to him. "Don't tell me it was him, again?"
You watched as Ise flinched slightly at the thought of him – his brother.
You couldn't help the sudden flare of anger that began to influence you. "It was him, wasn't it?" You didn't wait for Ise to respond before grabbing onto his hand that hung at his side, pulling him in the direction that would lead back to the apartment that he shared with his older brother. "Come on, I want to talk to your brother."
"What? Why?"
You could feel him tugging his hand from yours, making you turn back to face him. "Because you don't deserve this, Natsuki!" You angrily wiped away the tear that ran down your cheek continuing, "I'm not going to let you go through this anymore – I just want you to be okay, and happy. You deserve at least that, and so much more."
"I'm okay and happy right now," He replied with a sad smile. He closed the short distance that separated you until he was right in front of you. "I'll be fine if we can stay here just a little bit longer. If that's okay?"
Your shoulders slumped slightly as you leaned your head into his chest. "Of course we can, Natsuki."
You relaxed a bit more are you felt his arms raise up before encircling you in a light embrace. "Thank you for always looking our for me, [f/n]." He rested his chin on the crown of your head lightly.
"Thank you."
