Work Text:
"The four of us will be together again for sure!"
Luke's shout rang out into the alley, both a rallying cry and a promise. What he wanted right now was to let the words to sink in, to embrace Mokuma and Chesley a second and third time each, and to process all he had just lost and gained—but there wasn't a second to spare for something as frivolous as "want". He shoved the ache down inside him, spun on his feet and began to sprint away.
"Luke! Wait!"
Mokuma was lucky he'd called out so soon. A few seconds more and no force of will could have stopped Luke's adrenaline-filled body from focusing solely on its destination. As it was, he'd just enough awareness of his surroundings to skid to a halt at the man's concerned tone.
"What's wrong?" Luke asked. His mind was screaming at him to keep moving, making his legs shake as he waited for a response. The ninja ran up to him, puffing despite the relatively short distance Luke had travelled. Guilt bloomed amongst Luke's already-muddled emotions; he shouldn't have made his injured friend chase him.
"I, ah, have something for you," Mokuma panted, hiding his pain by looking downwards as he rummaged through his pockets. Despite the man's obvious haste, Luke's desperate brain insisted the scene was progressing in slow motion.
"Um, Mokuma-san, can't it wait?" Every beat of his pounding heart signalled another moment closer to his partner's last, and it was beating terribly fast right now.
"I'm sorry. But it won't do Aaron any good if you pass out before getting to the heliport." The man finally tugged something out of his pocket. "We didn't know what state we'd find you two in, so I grabbed these from the hospital cafe just in case." He revealed three items—two triangle-shaped objects in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He thrust them at Luke's chest. "Have them on the way. Now, go! Get our Beast back!"
Mokuma grabbed Luke's shoulders, swivelled the young man in the direction he'd been running toward, then gave him a slight push. Luke didn't have time to comprehend what had just happened. He instinctively clutched the items to his chest, stuttered out some form of gratitude and dashed away, through the alley and into the streets of Blossom City.
Luke had a good mind for directions. Even though he'd barely been on Mikagura Island for three weeks, he knew exactly how to get to the heliport. In fact, he knew several ways. By foot, by bus, by cab... but which was quickest?
He frowned as he ran. A vehicle would absolutely be faster than his own feet. It was late on a weekday night, so the start and stop of a bus at every other station wouldn't be too much of a problem. And while he couldn't think of where to catch a cab, he knew there was a stop just around the block for a bus that went straight to the heliport.
But I can't wait around. If there isn't a bus already there or arriving soon, I'll have to keep running instead. With this resolution, Luke flew around the corner, ready to accept whatever he found there.
Yes!
Although the stop was still a good hundred metres ahead of him, the bus to the heliport was, by some incredible luck, parked right beside it. The stack of miracles Luke had been granted over the last hour added one more to their number. His mind whirled at the improbability. He'd need at least a few more to save his partner's life, wouldn't he? Would the universe really keep granting them? Regardless, he wasn't about to waste a single one. He pumped his legs until they threatened to fling off his body and yelled out from his burning lungs.
"Please! Wait!"
With Luke still forty, thirty, twenty metres back, the bus flashed its indicator to move away from the stop... and then flung open its doors. Luke flew up the bus's side and leapt into the generous doorway.
"Thank you," he coughed out, the words barely decipherable between his panting breaths. The bus driver offered a bewildered but compassionate nod and gestured for him move to the seats.
"This is part of the city loop. No need for a ticket," she stated robotically. Luke nodded back, grateful that a bus fee wasn't something he had to deal with right now, then stumbled down the aisle. Dozens of empty seats awaited him. He settled on one near the bus's back door with an exhausted thump. The vehicle rumbled and began to move.
Even though Luke was sitting down, his body and heart continued to tremble with nervous energy. Knowing there was nothing more he could do for now, he attempted to distract himself from his worries by casting his eyes around the bus. As he'd predicted, it was practically empty at this hour. His only fellow passenger was an old woman seated in the very back row. She offered him a smile, which he returned.
The brief diversion worked well enough. His breathing began to settle and his hands, previously clamped tight with stress, unclenched. It was his grip's release that brought Luke's attention to his lap and the items now laying there. The gifts from Mokuma.
The water in the bottle glistened under the white bus lights. The sight made Luke's throat ache. God, it had been two days, right? He hadn't eaten or drunk a thing in all that time. The sudden awareness of his body's mistreatment smashed into him with a wave of dizzying fatigue. Luke desperately clawed at the bottle's tightly screwed lid, fearing he was about to faint from dehydration, and just barely found the strength to twist it free. He chugged the life-giving liquid down his parched throat. Although it wasn't really important, he was quietly grateful for the lack of passengers—he was guzzling like he'd been wandering in the desert for days.
Once his thirst was quenched, Luke turned his gaze to the two triangular, plastic-wrapped items. Or rather, the two previously triangular items; they were now smushed into oblong shapes. He must have crushed them against his chest as he ran. He squinted at the writing on the outside of one.
Onigiri: Tuna and Mayonnaise Flavour.
"Onigiri," he repeated in a daze, thinking back to when he and Mokuma had shared the ones Sui made in Maika Village. He'd never bought one from a store before and, in his fluster, hadn't recognised the familiar shape.
Despite the water he'd just filled it up with, Luke's stomach let out a terrible whine the second it realised there was food in his hands. The weakness in his body was as much from hunger as it was dehydration. Luke cast a guilty stare up at the sign behind the bus driver's seat—"no food", it said, along with a picture of a cross through a hamburger. But Mokuma had been right. This was an emergency, and he couldn't risk collapsing from starvation over something as minor as good manners. He pulled the plastic away from the snack.
Where Sui's onigiri had been decorated by just a strip of seaweed, this one was completely covered in a dark wrap of the stuff. To be honest, the cracked texture didn't look that appealing. He reminded himself that this was from a hospital cafe and to keep his expectations low. Regardless of how it tasted, the rice would be good for his stamina. Luke, egged on by his ravenous stomach, pushed aside his reservations and chomped down on the onigiri.
Ah. It's...
Oh, how Luke loved being wrong. His mouth filled with the comforting and familiar flavour of rice, mixed with the tang of mayonnaise and tuna from within the snack's depths. When he glanced down, he realised just how full the onigiri was of the delicious concoction within.
"Mm... mrgh..." Luke couldn't help shoving another bite into his mouth. His body was practically writhing with joy at the gift of food, let alone something so delicious. His eyes began to tear up. To think, even hospitals on Mikagura had food this good.
"Rice alone is fairly tasteless," Luke mumbled to himself between bites, "but to use its texture as a backdrop highlighting the contents within... and the addition of a complete seaweed wrap means every bite has that extra salty spark. Mokuma-san, it's—" Luke paused suddenly, holding the last chunk of the onigiri in his fingers.
Mokuma-san... Mokuma-san gave this to me... Like he always does...
Gunshots rang out in his head. One, two, three, four. Mokuma slumped to the ground.
Mokuma-san, I really thought I'd... you'd...
His eyes weren't just watering anymore. Heavy tears had formed, flooding his vision and rolling down his cheeks. Luke shoved the last part of the onigiri in his mouth and hurriedly rubbed his coat sleeve against his face as he tried to calm down. Why was he crying about this now? Mokuma was alive. He'd given Luke these onigiri with his own hands. The two of them would share many more meals in the future. He hadn't lost anything. Not yet.
These onigiri... Luke, hand still wiping the last sticky trail away, reflected on the other squashed triangle in his lap. What had Mokuma's exact words been?
"We didn't know what state we'd find you two in."
You two. Two people. Two onigiri.
Luke delicately picked up the second onigiri, handling the snack like glass.
Sorry, Aar... Luke. I guess I broke my promise. I cried before I could call myself a hero for real. But I hope this—he stuck the onigiri into his pocket—can at least start to make it up to you.
Luke's eyes shot to the front of the bus. The heliport was coming up. He slammed the "stop" button next to his seat with renewed energy.
I promise you... Team BOND is going to be reunited real soon!