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Kazuki wasn't sure what woke him up, but he rolled over and glanced at the clock, seeing that it was nearly time to get up anyway. With a yawn, he sat up, scratching his side as he stumbled out of his room.
He should probably get started on breakfast. Miri would be up soon as well.
When he got down to the kitchen, he was surprised to find Rei already up—probably who had woken him in the first place. It wasn't like Kazuki was a deep sleeper. Still, Rei wasn't usually an early riser.
What was even more surprising was the fact that the assassin was wearing his suit, and closing up the case of one of his rifles that he had set out on the dining table.
"Do we have a job I forgot about?" Kazuki asked with another yawn.
Rei didn't reply, simply snapped the latches on the case and picked it up. "My father called," was all he said.
Kazuki was suddenly more awake. "But is it a job?" he asked, glancing at the case in Rei's hand.
"I was the only one requested," Rei said and reached for the ring of keys that hung near the kitchen counter. "I'm taking the car."
"When will you be back?" Kazuki asked as Rei was already on his way out the door.
"Later."
The door closed and Kazuki stood in the kitchen, a frown forming on his face. It was odd for Rei's father to call him for a job out of the blue. Usually their assignments were relayed through Kyu. This was either something very important or it was some kind of test Rei's father was putting him through. Neither of which Kazuki felt good about Rei accomplishing alone.
Before he could give it much more thought, however, the sound of Miri's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and he quickly grabbed his apron so he could start breakfast. It wasn't like he could also run off last minute with Miri in the picture. Rei could look after himself, after all. There was no need to worry about him.
~~~~~~~
Rei forced himself out of the car, legs shaking beneath him. He gritted his teeth and straightened up, ignoring the pain that shot through him. He'd packed the wound as much as possible but there was still blood seeping through his makeshift bandage adding to the stain that covered his right side.
The job had gone well up until the point his target had pulled out an extra gun. The man had been a deserter to the Suwa family, and Rei's father had called him in to deal with the issue. And he had dealt with it, just like his father asked, but not before he'd shamed himself by getting a bullet to the gut.
Rei made his way to the door of the mansion, fists clenched at his side. He still had to make his report and then drive back to the apartment. He hadn't passed out when he dug the bullet out of himself, he wasn't going to pass out now.
He probably should have sought medical help, but where would he go? A hospital was too dangerous and there wasn't exactly help to find with the organization unless one's condition was critical and life threatening. Anything else and you were expected to deal with it alone.
He recalled the first time he'd been seriously injured on a mission. He'd been little older than fifteen at the time, already a cold-blooded killing machine. He'd been surprised by his target pulling out a knife. Within the blink of an eye, he'd been slashed across the ribs before the blade was plunged through his shoulder…
Rei closed his eyes briefly, forcing those memories aside. He couldn't afford to show weakness in front of his father. That never went well.
So he straightened up and walked into the mansion like he wasn't about to collapse from pain and blood loss. He wasn't supposed to feel anything. He was supposed to be a killing machine. Nothing but a tool. A tool could be broken, but it wasn't meant to feel pain. It could either be repaired or thrown away if there was no more use for it.
Rei knew all too well what the equivalent of throwing away for him would be.
Once he was let inside the mansion, he made his way to his father's office. The long walk had caused sweat to break out on his forehead and he could feel the insistent trickle of blood from the wound. He bit the inside of his cheek to bleeding, taking a deep breath through his nose as he stepped inside the office, standing straight despite how much he wanted to curl up in a ball.
"It is done, Boss," he said with a small bow, voice slightly strangled from the movement.
The man sitting behind the desk glanced at him critically. "And the evidence?"
"None," Rei replied. He blinked heavily, feeling a sudden wave of unwanted dizziness wash over him. He wavered ever so slightly, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek, before he pushed himself ramrod straight again, pressing his lips together into an impassive line.
His father looked him over critically. "You're getting sloppy, Rei." He looked back down at the papers on his desk in obvious dismissal. "You may go—don't bleed on my carpet."
Shame briefly washed over Rei. So he had been caught out after all. He supposed it would be too much to ask for his father to assume the blood was from his victim. That also would have been messy, after all.
"I will hone my skills better for next time," he murmured.
Then Rei bowed again, biting back the wince, and stiffly left the room.
He returned to the car and sank down behind the wheel. He let out a shuddering breath finally before swallowing hard against the feeling of nausea that was welling up inside of him along with the dizziness. He knew well enough that these were all symptoms of blood loss, but there was little he could do about that. He reached under his coat and pushed harder against the rag he'd used to initially stop the bleeding. He gritted his teeth, letting out a small grunt before he pulled his hand away, seeing his fingers covered in red.
Rei quietly wiped them on his already stained trousers and turned the key of the car, setting his shaky hands tightly around the steering wheel. He would fix it better once he got back to the apartment. There was no sense in worrying over it now. After all, it was only a sign of his weakness. A sign that he had gotten sloppy, just like his father had said.
Rei took a deep breath and put the car in gear. This wasn't anything he couldn't handle. As always, he would be fine. It was how he had been trained.
~~~~~~~
"Where's Rei-Papa?"
Kazuki glanced across the table at Miri as she picked at her food, pouting toward the empty chair.
"He must still be working," Kazuki replied.
"You said he'd be back for dinner," Miri whined.
Kazuki smiled at her. "I said he should be back for dinner, but even he wasn't sure when he would be back." At least he hadn't bothered to specify. Or so much as text. But that was pretty common for Rei. Kazuki definitely wasn't worried. After all, he was probably enduring some insufferable dinner at the mansion.
"Will he be back to say goodnight?" Miri asked.
Kazuki hummed. "I'm sure he'll come say goodnight to you even if you're already asleep." He smiled. "Now finish your veggies or no dessert."
Miri made a sound of displeasure but stabbed her vegetables with her fork.
Kazuki glanced toward his phone again, making sure he hadn't missed a call or text. He didn't know why he was suddenly so worried about Rei. It was like this whole domestic thing had really gotten its claws in him. But it was also odd for them to go on missions separately. Plus there was the obvious tension between Rei and his father that the younger man never addressed but Kazuki could plainly see from what he didn't say. After all, it had taken a long time for Rei to even show the modicum of emotion he did now.
Once dinner was finished, Kazuki washed up the dishes while Miri had her dessert, then he sighed.
"Time for your bath, then, Miri," he called. "I'll go get it ready while you finish your dessert."
"Okay, Papa!" Miri replied.
Kazuki left to head upstairs and started the bath, making sure the water was warm. He then smiled as he grabbed some bubble bath, getting the water all sudsy.
He was just drying his hands, when he heard Miri scream.
~~~~~~~
Rei honestly wasn't sure how he got all the way back to the apartment. He'd only bled more on the drive, leaving a spot on the seat that Kazuki would probably be pissed about. He wasn't sure he'd ever get the blood out of his suit.
He only had a little bit further to go, though, he told himself as he parked the car. And once he was back inside the apartment, he could properly see to his wound and collapse finally—maybe not in that order considering the way he was feeling. Hopefully they wouldn't have another job for a few days at least.
Getting out of the car was a monumental effort that sent his head spinning. He found he was gripping the roof of the vehicle tightly and slowly unclenched his hand. Just a little further to get inside.
He didn't like using the elevator, but he would tonight. He didn't even know how late it was. If he was lucky, Miri would already be in bed. Maybe Kazuki too. He could deal with his injury and no one would be the wiser.
Everything felt far away as he limped toward the door to the apartment. He fumbled for his keys, nearly dropped them, and finally got them into the keyhole, feeling relief as he pushed inside.
"Rei-Papa! You're back!"
He looked up and saw Miri skipping toward him. Then there were three of her and she was tilting. Or…maybe he was tilting. He reached for the wall to prop himself up against, but missed.
It was like his body was finally surrendering now that he had reached relative safety and he could no longer stop himself from the inevitable collapse.
He barely felt the impact as he crashed face first into the floor, but he could hear Miri's scream, then felt her hands grabbing at his clothes, shaking him.
Part of him wanted nothing more than to reassure her, but he had no energy left. He simply let the encroaching darkness finally embrace him.
~~~~~~~
Kazuki's heart stopped at the sound of Miri's scream. He was out of the bathroom instantly, rushing for the stairs.
"Miri!" he cried, calculating where the nearest gun was, when he barreled down the stairs to see the scene in front of him.
"Rei-Papa, wake up!" Miri was crying, before she turned around and rushed toward Kazuki. "Papa! He won't wake up! Is he dead?"
Kazuki hurriedly bundled the little girl into his arms as he went to investigate, heart pounding in his chest as he stared at Rei's still form for a long second before he crouched and pressed his fingers to the other man's neck.
There was a pulse he realized with relief, though it felt weak.
"What's wrong with him?" Miri sobbed, clinging to his neck in terror. "He has blood on him!"
"Miri, go stay in your room for a little bit while I take care of him," Kazuki told as he set her down.
Miri clung to his leg. "No! I want to help you! I want to make Rei-Papa better!"
"Miri, now," he said sternly. He didn't know how bad Rei was hurt, but regardless, he didn't want to subject Miri to anything gruesome enough to cause Rei to pass out like this. "You can see him again later. I promise," he amended.
She sniffled but turned and ran up the stairs.
Kazuki took a deep breath and reached out to turn Rei over.
The front of his suit was soaked in blood. Kazuki swiftly yanked his coat and shirt open to try and find the source of the blood.
"Shit," he breathed, eyes widening in horror.
Bandages were wrapped around Rei's waist, holding a blood-soaked handkerchief to what appeared to be a bullet wound in his side. The handkerchief seemed to have been half shoved into the wound in some poor attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Rei, you idiot," Kazuki breathed as he quickly went into crisis mode and positioned Rei's body so that he could heave him up.
It was no easy task, Rei was all muscle despite his slim build and a lot heavier than he looked. Still, Kazuki was able to lift him up and somehow managed to get him up the stairs and into the tub he usually insisted on sleeping in.
He set him down a little heavily and Rei made a soft sound of discomfort, head lolling to one side.
Kazuki ran to get their medical supplies and saw Miri peeking out of her room. He pointed a finger at her. "Miri, I told you to stay there."
"I want to help," she sniffed.
He felt bad for leaving her alone right now, but Rei arguably was in more need at the moment.
"You're helping most by staying out of the way," he insisted.
Miri sniffled again and closed her door.
Kazuki hauled the kit out of the closet and headed back to the bathroom. Rei was still where he had left him and Kazuki bit his lip, rolling his sleeves up as he set the kit down and started to rummage through it.
"What the hell happened, man?" he muttered to the unconscious Rei as he reached out to start cutting off the makeshift bandages. He hesitated slightly before he reached for the blood-soaked rag that had been stuffed into the wound.
Rei finally made a sound as Kazuki removed it. His body shifted and Kazuki suddenly found his wrist locked in a solid grip.
He glanced up to see a terrified expression on Rei's face. It was like he wasn't even seeing him.
"Rei? Hey—ack!"
It only took a second before Kazuki was flipped upside down to land heavily on his back in the bathtub, Rei looming over him, holding a knife to his throat.
~~~~~~~
Rei slammed his attacker down, fingers deftly finding the knife he kept on him, ready to slit the man's throat.
"Rei!" the voice croaked under him, hands gripping his wrists, keeping the knife just centimeters from his throat. "Rei stop, it's me!"
The voice was familiar and Rei blinked, trying to focus through his swimming vision as the adrenaline began to wear off, and pain began pounding insistently at him again.
Dark eyes under mussed blond hair stared up at him as the familiar figure appeared and Rei hesitated.
"Kazuki?" he murmured. His arms started to shake and his body felt like it was on the verge of collapse. Again.
Kazuki swiftly pushed his knife aside and sat up, catching Rei's shoulders as he sagged.
"Hey, easy, it's okay, you're back at the apartment," Kazuki told him, eyes still concerned.
Rei blinked and looked around, realizing he was in the bathtub he usually slept in. That knowledge left him even more exhausted, body giving in as the feeling of security trickled in.
He shook himself though. He still had his wound to tend to. He couldn't allow himself to pass out again yet.
He looked around as Kazuki climbed back out of the tub.
"Lay down, let me finish looking at that."
Rei blinked at Kazuki. "It's fine. I can take care of it."
Kazuki stared at him in disbelief. "Like you did earlier? I'm surprised you even got back here. How much blood have you lost anyway?"
Rei tried to push himself up, but Kazuki shoved him flat, hands firm on his shoulders.
"Stay down," he commanded. "I swear, you're worse than Miri."
Miri. Rei briefly recalled seeing her as he came in and a feeling of guilt swept over him. How much had she seen?
He hissed as Kazuki prodded his wound, cleaning blood from around it. "Is the bullet still in there?" Kazuki asked.
"No."
"What the hell happened, man?"
Rei looked away. "Got sloppy."
Kazuki gave a pinched expression as he continued to work. "Why the hell didn't you get this looked at? You should really be in a hospital."
"Can't do that," Rei responded.
"I know that! But doesn't your father have some kind of doctor on retainer?"
Rei looked away, remembering the look of disgust his father had shown at the sight of his blood. "Anyone who is sloppy enough to get shot isn't worth the trouble of patching up."
Kazuki's hands stilled and he stared at Rei. "That's what he told you?"
Rei didn't reply, just stared at the ceiling, biting his tongue as Kazuki went back to work.
For the second time that day, Rei thought back to that past injury, eyes glancing briefly down at the scar he still had on his shoulder, across his ribs—the other copious scars he'd accrued from his years in the life. When he'd gotten the wound in his shoulder his father—his boss—had barely even looked at him when he staggered back from the job, ready to collapse from blood-loss. One of the other men had simply tossed him a medical kit and told him to clean himself up.
Rei had, as well as he could. Stopped the bleeding, bandaged the injuries, and two days later woke up with a fever from the infected wound. His body had ached beyond anything he had experienced before. It had taken all his strength to stagger to his father's office, instinctively seeking some sort of help.
He should have known that all he'd get was disappointment and the instruction to clean it out himself.
"If you don't survive, then you weren't cut out for this family anyway."
Rei shut his eyes as he fought the memories, clenching his jaw as Kazuki continued tending his wound, muttering to himself as he cleaned it out.
"You don't usually do this," Rei muttered.
Kazuki stopped and looked up at him. "You don't let me."
That wasn't untrue. For obvious reasons Rei had usually insisted on caring for his own injuries. It was what he knew. It had been a long time since he'd messed up enough to get hurt this badly.
He hissed as Kazuki pressed against the wound, keeping the pressure there while he waited for the bleeding to stop.
"You can't do this kind of crap anymore," Kazuki said, surprising Rei yet again. "You scared Miri half to death."
Guilt washed over Rei, again recalling snatches of his return home. He grunted as Kazuki pressed harder against his wound.
"Call me next time you get hurt. Don't drive across the city to pass out on the floor."
Rei looked away, wincing as Kazuki again pressed harder. "Hey, you hear me?"
"I hear you," Rei replied tiredly. He was too exhausted to argue with Kazuki right now. He honestly just wanted to sleep…
He drifted then as the older man finished up with a suture kit, stitching the wound shut, then wrapped bandages firmly about Rei's waist.
"I'll get you something clean to wear," Kazuki told him as he cleaned up the medical supplies.
As he left, Rei pushed himself up slowly, leaning against the side of the tub with a hand pressed to the fresh bandages, eyes sliding shut. He reached up to take the tie out of his hair, letting it fall over his eyes. He needed to sleep.
Kazuki returned soon, hanging a pair of sweats and a t-shirt over the side of the tub before handing him a bottle of pain medicine.
"Do you need help?"
Rei shook his head and made to push himself up, but promptly sank back down as his legs refused to move and every movement send pain through his core.
Kazuki grabbed his arm and helped him sit on the side of the tub, helped him dress. It reminded Rei of when he'd barely had the wherewithal to take care of himself when he'd first moved here. It wasn't that he couldn't it was just that he'd lost the desire. It was like he hadn't known what to do with the freedom allotted him.
But had he really gotten any better? Or was he still just running on old ways. Doing things he didn't have to and almost getting himself killed for it. He was really good at his job, but that was partly because he had been trained not to care about what happened to him when handling business.
It was a lot easier to do that when you didn't have people who cared about you in return.
Kazuki sighed as he tossed Rei's ruined suit back into the tub, breaking Rei out of his dark and admittedly confusing thoughts. "Well, you look a little better now. I'll do what I can for your suit tomorrow. Can't really afford a new one right now—good thing I've gotten better with a needle and thread—"
"Thank you."
The words left Rei's mouth before he even knew they were on his tongue.
Kazuki stopped, staring at him as if he had said the most unbelievable thing. "Did—did you just…"
Rei looked away, refusing to repeat himself, but he had meant it. And Kazuki knew that.
The blond smiled, actually looking like he might tear up, but he reached out to grab Rei's elbow instead. "Come on, you're sleeping in your bed tonight. You need something comfortable in your current state."
Rei felt a brief moment of panic as he glanced toward the arguable safety of the bathtub.
"I—I don't…"
"Rei," Kazuki said firmly and the younger man looked up at him, finally meeting his eyes. "You can relax here. You have people to watch your back. You can let yourself rest for one night at least."
Rei sagged and for a moment he felt like he would simply pass out again, but he managed to get to his feet, and with Kazuki's help, staggered slowly down the hall to his rarely used bedroom. Kazuki pulled the covers down and Rei sank into the mattress with a groan. He had to admit it felt a lot nicer than the bathtub on his aching body.
"There, that's better, huh?" Kazuki asked. "Now, Miri isn't going to rest until she sees you, so don't go to sleep quite yet."
Rei hummed in acknowledgement, though he couldn't help his eyes sliding shut after Kazuki left the room, sinking further into the mattress.
"Rei-Papa!"
The shrill, worried cry and pounding of small feet had his eyes cracking open again, seeing Miri race into the room, Kazuki on her heels.
"Are you okay?" Miri demanded, rushing forward.
Rei braced himself for her impact, cringing already, but Kazuki hurried in and swept her up mid-flight.
"Easy there, Miri! You're going to have to be gentle with Rei-Papa for a little bit."
He released her and she instead crawled over to kneel at Rei's side, looking down at him worriedly.
"Kazuki-Papa said you have a boo-boo," Miri said solemnly.
Rei nodded then was surprised when Miri sandwiched his face between her hands and stared him straight in the eye. "You scared me! I thought you were dead!"
Her eyes wavered, watery, and Rei felt his throat tighten in a strange sensation he couldn't place.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"But you're better now?" Miri asked eagerly.
"Mm," Kazuki cut in for him. "Rei-Papa will need a bit of rest for a while. But he will be better soon."
Miri suddenly leaned over and kissed his forehead, pulling back with a giggle. "Kiss it better! You feel better Rei-Papa?"
The corners of Rei's mouth turned up just slightly and Miri looked satisfied. "A little," he replied.
"Come on, Miri, let Rei sleep," Kazuki said, reaching down to take the little girl back up again.
"No! Want to stay with Rei-Papa!" Miri cried, clutching Rei's shirt in her little hand.
Rei suddenly felt a brief moment of panic as well, knowing he wouldn't rest well alone in this bed where it was open and he couldn't defend himself in his current condition…
Miri fussed and Kazuki glanced at Rei, seeing something in his eyes before he suddenly seemed to understand. Rei looked away, but Kazuki released Miri.
"Alright, well, maybe Papa Rei could use a little company tonight. But you must be gentle with him."
"I'll be gentle!" Miri promised and instantly cuddled against Rei's side, warm. A genuine comfort.
Kazuki pulled a blanket up over both of them, cocooning Rei in warmth. His eyes drooped, the pain medicine starting to kick it and dull the raw pain down to something much more manageable.
He glanced up when he saw Kazuki pulling a chair over to the side of the bed.
"I'll keep an eye out tonight," Kazuki told him firmly. "No reason for you to feel like you can't sleep, hm?"
Rei couldn't say how comforting that thought was to him and was able to close his eyes almost instantly. Between Kazuki keeping an eye out and Miri's comforting warmth tucked under his arm, he finally allowed himself to sink into much needed sleep.