Work Text:
Did it work?
He looked around. Mouths were moving but he couldn’t make out their muffled voices.
I can’t hear heisuke…
His vision blurred. He felt the edges darken.
Uh-oh … I overused my powers…
The world faded to black.
---
“Did his heart really just start beating again?!”
“Quick compress the wound!”
“Shin?” Heisuke tried to reach the blonde, however, his distant eyes looked past Heisuke.
Suddenly, the blonde fell over. With a thud he hit the floor.
“Shin!”, Heisuke shouted. Shit
“We need to go to Granny Miya! Quick!”
Heisuke carried Shin while the other two carefully transported Taro.
Please be okay. Both of you.
-----
“Quiet, Piisuke! Shin’s asleep!”
Huh?
Shin slowly opened his eyes. The bright rays of light blinded him.
Where was he?
The world was blurry when he regained consciousness.
This wasn’t his room… this was ...
Granny Miya’s?
“Pii!”, a bird shouted. Piisuke.
“I said quie- Oh, Shin! You’re awake! Thank god!”
Heisuke? Why weren’t they at the Sakamoto’s-
“Mr. Sakamoto-!”
Immediately, Shin shot up, however, he a gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him and pushed him back down. He flinched.
What the-
“Slow, brat. You went miles above your limit. You stay in bed.”, a familiar voice next to him said. As he looked over, he immediately recognized the face.
“Old man? What-“
“Yea dude, we were really worried for you.” Heisuke joined them on the side of his bed.
“How many times do I need to tell you not to overdo it?” Asakura scolded, putting the magazine away which he was reading and crossing his arms.
Shin’s eyes darted between the two. Slowly, he became aware of the dull pain that surged through his whole body. His sore muscles ached and a steady migraine puncured his head, an aftereffect of overusing his powers.
“Sorry…”, he quietly mumbled, averting his eyes.
“You’re gonna fry your brain if you keep on doing that!”
In reality, Shin knew that. He knew when he went over his limit, yet he couldn’t seem to care. As long as the other’s are save …
“Dude, we need you too you know?” Heisuke stated. The blonde didn’t respond.
Sighing, Asakura stood up and left the room. Shin questioned it momentarily before remembering what he had wanted to ask.
“Where is Mr. Sakamoto?”, Shin slowly sat up, this time not being pushed back on the bed again.
Heisuke pressed his lips together. “Miya’s working on it.”
That … wasn’t very promising. A pang ran through Shin’s heart. What if he doesn’t make it?
What would he be without Mr. Sakamoto?
Shin swallowed, averting his eyes to focus on his hands.
Why was he here if he couldn’t even save the one who saved him?
Was he even worth anything?
He just couldn’t be useful, could he?
Lost in thought, Shin didn’t realize Asakura returning.
“His heart was beating when we got to Miya … I don’t want to make false promises, but hearing about that Sakamoto guy and Miya’s capabilities, I’m sure he’ll make it.” Asakura stated, effectively interrupting Shin spiralling. Extending his arm, the old man offered Shin a glass of water, which the blonde gratefully took. “Until then all we can do is hope.”
All we can do is hope. Silently, Shin wondered. They had to be nearby, right? Maybe he could get a read on how Miya’s doing … maybe get information on Mr. Sakamoto’s state … Shin expanded his telepathy-
Immediately, a sharp spike ran through his head. Shin’s hand flew to his head as he doubled over. “Shit.”
He definitely overdid it. The headache was worse than any pain he had ever experienced after overexerting himself. Letting out a shaky breath, he watched the other hand in his lap tremble.
“Shin? What’s wrong?”, Heisuke instantly worried, eyes locked onto Shin.
“Seriously, brat?! He’s trying to use his ESP! You’re trying to fry your brain, don’t you! Will you ever listen to me?”, the old man again scolded, although his tone was laced with the same amount of concern as Heisuke’s “Did feeding you and changing your diapers didn’t leave any respect for your old man?”
“Hey! Leave that out of it, I’m 21 years old!”, the blonde shot back.
“Obviously not old enough to have a good sense of self-preservation!”
“Hey hey! Hate to say it but have other problems at the moment.” Heisuke interfered.
Shin sighed. With his telepathy being out of commission, Shin felt more useless than ever. Not only that, but also did Shin eventually notice the eerie silence that stretched out between them.
Usually, when he overdid it, he could still hear muffled thoughts, as if underwater. His powers would grow foggy, unintelligible, but they were never completely gone.
The silence that occupied his head now deeply unsettled Shin. It was almost louder than anything else.
Just, nothingness.
Shivers ran down his spine.
Something to think about later.
Right now, they had to deal with their problems at hand … Mr. Sakamoto being on the brink of death and Slur still being after them. Shin swallowed. He couldn’t fight like this. He needed to go back on his feet.
He didn’t have time to heal fully, and using his mind control to keep going was out of question. He had to push through it anyway, even if it hurt-
“You’re thinking something stupid again, I can see it.” Heisuke mused, staring intently at Shin again.
“Huh?! Have you ever seen your thoughts?” the blonde retorted, to which the other just laughed.
The two bickered a bit, and for a moment Shin felt his shoulders relax. Even when their situation is anything but ideal, he could still count on his friends. He felt eternally grateful for Heisuke being there with him right then.
Observing the two, Asakura smiled. However, soon the corners of his lips fell again.
“Shin, we never really get to talk after … everything really.”, the older man started. “Seeing you at the lab again, I was happy. Relieved to see you were doing well.”
Shin didn’t like the tone the old man was speaking with. He didn’t want to have that conversation.
“Old man, please…”, Shin tried, however, Asakura continued.
“I care about you, brat. Please, I beg you, stop putting yourself in danger.”, Dark eyes locking onto Shin’s. “I wouldn’t know what to do if something were to happen to you.”
Shin couldn’t respond to that. He averted his eyes.
“I’ll leave you two alone for a bit.”, Heisuke suddenly said, leaven the room quickly.
“You don’t need to-“ Shin tried to stop Heisuke, but the door already fell shut and with that, Shin’s only way out if this conversation. No option to change the topic by talking to Heisuke. Or generally lift the mood by talking to Heisuke.
This will be awkward.
A few moments passed where none of them spoke.
“Shin, what did you do, all those years?”, Asakura eventually asked.
Shin exhaled. What did he do?
He remembered the time on the streets, years, too many years. He thought back to when he met Mr. Sakamoto, though he immediately buried that memory again. That day was still a sore spot for Shin. Echoes of the days where Mr. Sakamoto taught him to fight reverberated in his head. The crushing weight of when the older man left without a trace. The lonely years as an assassin. And at last, the moment when Shin reunited with Mr. Sakamoto again.
Don’t forget, they never looked for you when you ran away.
Shin shook his head.
“I … I tried to find my dad.” Shin began. He didn’t want to think of his name, nor did he want to think of his face. The face that ordered to throw him overboard, the disgusted, regretful face when his dad pointed the gun at him, the struggling face as he saved Shin, the hopeful face once Shin got off the ship, telling him to live. He swallowed.
His dad couldn’t decide whether to like his own son or to kill him. Either way, he ended up being killed by him.
Too many memories. Burn them.
Wanting to get this over with quickly, Shin decided to leave that part out and quickly summarize the last few years. “I met Mr. Sakamoto. He taught me to fight. I became an assassin. Now I’m here.”
“Did you find him?”, Asakura carefully asked. “Tasuku, your father.”
Shin hesitated. Even when trying to avoid it, his father’s name was mentioned anyway. What a shame. Nontheless, he couldn’t talk about it. Not really.
“I did.”, he answered truthfully yet hoped Asakura would get the message. Don’t ask further.
Asakura sighed, thinking for a bit. “I wonder what he’s up to today. He really was an asshole, wasn’t he?”
At that, Shin looked up at him, eyes wide. He doesn’t know?
Should he tell him?
Shin fidgeted with his hands. At last, he decided Asakura should know. “He died.”
Not quite believing the blonde, Asakura observed Shin, brow furrowed. “He … died?”
Shin nodded.
“How did you..?” Shin knew what his question was. Like always, the day would never leave his memory. Always following him. Shin couldn’t get rid of it, no matter how hard he tried.
Something would always pull him back to the day.
His father’s face, laced with fury. His father’s body, bloody from the shot wound Shin himself inflicted. His father’s indifference when ordering to throw him overboard and later pointing a gun at him. His father’s hopeful last thoughts, followed by an explosion.
Shin couldn’t keep it buried. No matter what, something always dug it up.
This time, it was Asakura’s curiosity.
“I was there.”, Shin again responded honestly, though he swore to himself that he wouldn’t go further into details.
“Shin, shoot. I’m sorry.”, Asakura furrowed his brows further, his face changing into an empathetic one. Shin mistook accurately identified it as a pitying one.
“No no really, as you said, he was an asshole.” Shin laughed it off. “Let’s just not talk about it anymore.”
Asakura sighed, however he respected Shin’s wish and didn’t mention his father again.
The door flew open.
“Guys, Miya just talked to me.” Heisuke rushed in. “Taro is stable. He’s alive.”