Warrior's Disease

A LOT of Explaining to Do

"Ugh..."

Yuya blearily opened his eyes. He sat up on the comfortable bed but was immediately pushed back by a purple-and-black figure. "Yuya!"

"Oof!" Yuya was startled, and then realized that he was in Yuto's house. "Oh, Yuto, it's you." He hugged back. "I'm alright, don't worry."

Yuto got on his knees and looked at Yuya. "You have a LOT of explaining to do, young man."

"I know," Yuya chuckled as he sat up again. He was still feeling a little weak so he leaned against the wall nearest to him. "How long was I out?"

"An entire day," Yuto answered, glaring at Yuya. "Do you have ANY idea how worried I was? I told the Hiragis that you were spending the weekend at my house!"

"Huh?" Yuya widened his eyes. "I was supposed to go to the mall with the little kids!"

"Not in this condition," Yuto shook his head. "You had a fever for most of the time you were out. I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't feeling well."

"True, true..." Yuya trailed off, lost in his own thoughts. Yuto sighed. Yuya had a habit of doing this.

"Oi, Yuya!" Yuto snapped his fingers in Yuya's face, getting his attention. "You haven't explained what you do all day running after monsters and nearly getting yourself killed!"

"Yeah, about that..." Yuya laughed sheepishly. "It's a long story..."

"Well, start," Yuto ordered, then softened his gaze. "Please."

Yuya groaned. "Fine..."

He crossed his arms. "Ever heard of Superheroes?"

"Of course I have! Marvel is the best!"

"Not those kind of superheroes!" Yuya face-palmed. "Real ones. Like those stories of fantastical sightings and people claiming they were attacked by flaming hounds and an extraterrestrial being saved them? The ones ridiculed by everyone in the school?"

Yuto stared at Yuya and realized that he was serious. "You mean those weren't fake?"

"Nope!" Yuya confirmed. "They were real, and I am one of those superheroes."

"Well, why didn't you tell me?" Yuto retorted. "I could have helped you!"

"IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET!" Yuya burst out. "Do you know how much trouble you could get into if you know? You could be captured by the king of the beasts and tortured to give him my info! That would be a very embarrassing end, don't you think?"

"Oh..." Yuto was struck speechless. "I never knew..."

"It's fine," Yuya waved it off. "So anyway, there's a portal somewhere in this city. That's where the monsters keep coming from. Yesterday I was looking for it but I got ambushed," Yuya chuckled. "That was pretty embarrassing..."

"Embarrassing!?" Yuto couldn't believe his ears. "More like dangerous! You were nearly-"

"No I wasn't," Yuya interrupted. "I could have taken care of them easily if you hadn't interfered. I was afraid of showing you what I could do, so I held back, and look what happened!"

"Well maybe if you'd let me be a superhero alongside you then none of this would have happened!" Yuto snapped back.

Yuya looked taken aback for a second. "Wait...you're right!"

"I know!" Yuto face-palmed. "That's what I've been saying-"

"No, I mean you gave me an idea!" Yuya beamed at Yuto. "You COULD be a superhero with me! Plus it would be a huge help!"

"Huh?"

"I have an extra TransWatch!" Yuya continued excitedly while Yuto gaped at him. "It wouldn't take long for it to bond to you. Maybe it could bond to your choker, or-"

"Hold up, hold up," Yuto interrupted Yuya. "What's a TransWatch? And I would happily be a superhero with you if I knew how to become one."

"Oh, right..." Yuya laughed. "My fault. So a TransWatch is what we use to transform and pull off our special attacks. You can also summon weapons with it, like my Warrior's Gold. You have to bond it to something you wear all the time, so I bonded it to my pendulum!" He held up his pendulum, which was a gift from his dad before he passed away.

"And why do you have an extra?" Yuto questioned. "If it fell in the wrong hands..."

"No, no!" Yuya shook his head. "It checks your heart once you bond with it. If it sees darkness, then the bond will be broken. People with evil intentions can't utilize these!" Yuya started rummaging through his bag. "It's got to be around here somewhere..."

"You haven't answered my other question."

"A superhero died like 5 months ago. I was tasked with the mission to find a replacement- ah! Here it is!" Yuya proudly held up the golden watch. "The inside is dark for now because it's not bonded to anyone yet. It will change color depending on who you are." He held up his own red-and-green watch in comparison.

"Cool. So, how do I do this?" Yuto asked, holding up the watch carefully.

"Press it to your choker and state why you want to become a superhero," Yuya instructed. "That will start it off."

"Alright," Yuto pressed the watch to his choker and closed his eyes. "I want to be a superhero to protect and help Yuya."

He was immediately engulfed in bright light. It went away after a second and he could see again. Yuya high-fived him. "You did it!"

"I did." Yuto looked at his watch and saw that it was how black and purple, two of his favorite colors. "The watch looks amazing."

"I know!" Yuya clapped his hands. "How, we need to start training yo-"

Yuya abruptly stopped his sentence. His pupils dilated as he started shaking. "Yuya?" Yuto placed a hand on Yuya's shoulder.

"Cramp..." Yuya whimpered.

Shoot. Yuto didn't have Yuya's medicine on him right now. He came up with another idea. "This might hurt," He warned, but Yuya probably couldn't be in much more pain than he was in right now.

He removed the blankets, revealing Yuya's trousers. "Where?" Yuya shakily pointed to his left leg. "Alright." Yuto massaged the leg until he found the exact spot of the cramp.

Yuya cried out, but Yuto could feel the muscle loosening as he massaged it. He kept soothing the muscle as Yuya's cries turned into groans. After a few minutes, the cramp went away, and Yuya could relax again. "Thanks a bunch, Yuto."

"No problem," Yuto laid down next to the tired Yuya. "So, about your Warrior's Disease..."

Yuya chuckled. "Yep, that was a hoax too. Although I really did have cancer, Warrior's Disease is not a side-effect. Warrior's Disease is just because of my superhero work. I do it so much that my legs get fatigued and the cramps happen."

Yuto smiled. "That explains a lot. Do the medicines really help?"

"Nope."

They laughed. Yuto gazed at Yuya. "Get some rest. Then we'll see about training."

Yuya yawned. "Alright..." He snuggled closer to Yuto and promptly fell asleep. Yuto buried his face in Yuya's hair and pondered the situation.

Yuya was a superhero. Warrior's Disease was not a thing, it was just fatigue. You could get killed being a superhero. Well, if that was the case, then Yuto would protect Yuya with all of his might.

Even if it meant sacrificing his life.