KiriBakuKami

Chapter Seven

Eijiro POV:

We stepped into the bathroom. He was sitting by the wall just next to the door with his legs crossed, and had bruises all over and a bloody nose, and tear stains all down his cheeks. That was about what I expected. What really broke my heart was his vacant expression and the small, plastic, orange cylinder he was holding and fiddling with the lid of.

"I wonder if they would leave me alone if I were dead," he mumbled, messing with the pill bottle as if it were a fidget cube.

"Denks..." I sat down across from him. Kat followed suit, plopping down next to me.

"I don't want to do it. I know you guys would care. I don't wanna hurt you like that," he said slowly, and I sensed a 'but...' coming. "I just... wish it could stop. For a second. It hasn't even been a day yet and I already wish I could die." The silence that followed couldn't be described as particularly awkward. More just tense.

Kat eventually put his hand out and Denki looked up, tilting his head. He seemed confused as to what the outreach was for.

"The pills, Denks," he said softly. "I think we'll all be a little more comfortable when you're not holding that bottle anymore."

"Sorry," Denki replied quietly, placing the bottle in his palm. Kat sighed, getting up to put them back in the open medicine box.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. You're just... not in your right mind," I offered. "I'm not gonna say that's fine, but don't be guilty for it. Please," I added, desperate to see him smile again. I got the feeling it would be awhile.

He nodded wordlessly, having returned to staring forward blankly. I took a deep breath, looking him over. He didn't deserve it, any of it. I hadn't even been the one getting beat up and heck, I could feel the bruises as if they were my own. Everything ached so much. And it was just a shadow, an imagination, just an idea of how much pain he must actually be in. And that was talking physically. I didn't even want to imagine what was going through his head.

"C'mon, let's go back to your room," I said, and he nodded again, getting up to his feet unsteadily. He seemed hesitant to use me for balance, so I took the liberty of picking him up. He tensed for a second and I felt bad for startling him, but he relaxed a little, wrapping around me like a koala, and buried his face in the crook of my neck. Kat ruffled his hair as we went back.

His door shut behind us and I sat down on the bed, still holding onto him. It wasn't until I was still did I realize how much he was shaking, and that a small spot on my shirt was thoroughly soaked through.

"Try to think about it like this. You got through the first day, you survived. You're still here," I murmured, running my fingers through his hair. "That means we've got less than a week left."

"Don't forget about us, by the way. You say the word, and we'll kick their asses to kingdom come and back," Kat added softly. He took Denki's hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. I wanted to tell him we couldn't do that, but there was no doubt he'd fight me on it. That would only hurt Denki more. Besides, it seemed to calm him down just a little.

"I know," he said finally. "I'm just... tired. Of them. Of everything." He burrowed deeper into my chest. "And, uh... Inu told him 'bout us three. He's really pissed about that." Denki pulled back and frowned when he noticed that some blood had gotten on my shirt from his bloody nose, but didn't apologize. I was grateful that he hadn't. "I'm sure you heard him say he was letting me off easy but he's never hit me so hard before."

"I guess we make him real mad then. That's a bad thing though, I'm assuming," Kat sighed. "Which sucks, because usually pissing people off doesn't have consequences for other people. And you're the last person I want it to have a consequence for."

"Sorry for ruining that for you," Denki smiled sadly.

"Stop apologizing or I think I might cry," I said genuinely, inhaling deeply. "Look. We aren't mad at you for dragging us into this. No one is, except your shithead of a dad who doesn't deserve that name in the first place. And your cousin, I guess."

"And my aunt and uncle, and my mom, and probably—"

"Stop it," I cut him off. "They're not important right now. And that wasn't my point anyway." I tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "You're still guilty for telling us about any of this, aren't you? You feel bad for making us worry for you when we could've been enjoying vacation by ourselves." Slowly, he nodded. "I wouldn't choose to be anywhere else than where I am now, and I mean that. Because then you'd be all alone, dealing with this shit by yourself. And who the fuck knows where that would get you? Heck, I'm scared that if Kat and I weren't here today, you would've forgotten about us and downed that whole bottle without a second thought. And I can't..." I took another deep breath, wiping away my own tears. "We can't lose you like that. You don't deserve to die like that. Please don't regret bringing us, because I don't want to think about what would happen if you hadn't."

He stared at me, his eyes seemingly lost in space for a moment too long, before he wiped away my own tears with his sleeve. "I'll try," he finally said. "I know you'll get upset, but sorry. For scaring you like that."

Just this once, neither of us told him off for apologizing.