Chapter Text
Miya wrapped his arm around his stomach, trying to put the pressure on his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, his entire body ached, threatening to give out from under him as more blood left his body. He knew he wasn't going to be found, he was laying in an alleyway, far away from the main street and it was nearing the early hours of the morning. Coughing up blood, Miya curled up under a light, his hoodie giving him some slight warmth, he started to give up, figuring it would be more peaceful to die now than trying to fight for longer and dying anyway.
He closed his eyes, putting his head against the dirty brick wall beside him. He could hear cars driving down the streets, too far away for him to get help, but so close it seemed stupid to die right there, but he had already made up his mind and his mind was starting to feel fuzzy, letting go of the pain in his body. It was nice, surprisingly peaceful and only a bit messy. This is okay.
Kojiro pulled Kaoru down the market street. He promised his boyfriend some of his favorite tea if he helped him shop for food for his restaurant. Kaoru was not a morning person and being dragged out of the warmth of his bed at seven in the morning was disgraceful and unforgivable. Kojiro disagreed. The two walked in silence, Kaoru keeping a distance from Kojiro, not wanting any of the kids, seeing them together, and god forbid if they saw Kaoru being affectionate towards his own boyfriend. He also didn't feel like being grabbed and dragged towards yet another stall because something caught Kojiro's eye. Kojiro was holding two bags in his hand, filled with food for both the restaurant and the meal he was planning on cooking for their date night.
"Kaoru, do you want steak or- Kaoru?" Kojiro looked for Kaoru who had seemed to disappear into the crowd, he sighed, knowing he'd lose Kaoru eventually. But he managed to spot Kaoru before he was about to search through the crowd and roam aimlessly until he found him. Kaoru was standing at the opening of an alleyway, looking.. more like staring at something on the floor. Kojiro made his way over to Kaoru, now curious about what caught his attention.
Kaoru picked up a skateboard looking back at Kojiro who had joined him. Kojiro immediately knew why Kaoru looked so worried, the skateboard he was holding had the familiar purple X on the deck and cartoon figures underneath. It was Miya's board, the same board he went everywhere with, he was rarely seen without it unless he was in school.
"It's Miya's board," Kaoru whispered, pointing out the obvious. Kojiro nodded in agreement, trying to think of a rational explanation why his board was there, without Miya.
"Maybe he's around here, it could've rolled away when he fell or something-" Kojiro started, but it didn't sound right. Miya didn't fall, and when he did, got back up straight away and ran after his board, even if he had cut his leg up, or his arm was clearly broken. Kaoru was already ahead of him, walking down the alleyway, looking for Miya, he turned a corner and even from where he was stood, Kojiro could hear an audible gasp followed by a small what the fuck.
Kojiro ran to where Kaoru was standing, the board he was holding, fell to the floor and laying next to his feet, Kojiro looked down the alley and saw a figure curled up under a light which illuminated the green hoodie. The figure was facing away but it didn't take a genius to figure out that they weren't sleeping. The two adults ran to Miya, crouching down next to him.
Kaoru was the first to reach out, pulling Miya so his back was against the wall so they could see the damage. They thought being knocked out from hitting his head would be the worst case scenario, so they definitely weren't expecting the state of the young teen. Kaoru brushed hair from Miya's face, showing his split lip which had quickly dried, under his eye was turning a deep shade of blue and purple and a cut ran from his upper cheek close to his hairline to the corner of his mouth which was still bleeding. Although that wasn't what concerned Kaoru the most, Miya still had his hand over his stomach but when he was moved, it fell to his side, revealing the excessive amount of blood covering his hoodie and forming a pool from under him.
Kojiro reached out for Miya's arm, checking for a pulse. It was there but he could barely feel it. Worry rose in his chest and tears pricked at his eyes, he looked over at Kaoru who looked like a mess and he too was trying not to let his panic cloud his mind and decisions. He pulled out his phone and rang an ambulance, following the dispatcher's orders on how to stop Miya from bleeding out more. Kaoru helped the best he could, somehow managing to compose himself. He and Kojiro took turns in applying pressure on Miya's stomach wound, despite not knowing exactly where the blood was coming from.
They tried to talk to each other, both minds clouded with worry for the child they had been pretty much raising for the past year. Miya had a special place in their hearts, being the youngest of their friend group, and the only one without stable parents. Everyone had adopted a figure in a family Miya was missing. Kojiro and Kaoru taking the form of his parents, Miya warmed up to that quite quickly, often calling Kaoru "mom" when he was ill or tired and Kojiro "dad" when he wanted something, more often than not some of the desert Kojiro kept in the fridge just for the kids. Reki and Langa were his older brothers, which he didn't agree with for a bit. But Reki was always there to talk to, and Langa helped him with homework, especially with English and math, which he was surprisingly good at. And finally Shadow who became the designated Uncle and babysitter, Shadow was the only person who didn't agree with this but often found himself playing carpool to and from S and the hospital. He gave up arguing after the first few months.
The ambulance soon arrived, taking Miya from Kojiro's arms, leaving him feeling almost empty. Miya hadn't woken up, but his heart was still beating so that was a good sign. Kojiro and Kaoru weren't allowed to travel with Miya, seeing as they weren't family so they followed in Kojiro's car, Kaoru holding onto his hand tightly, uncharacteristically quiet. Kaoru messaged Miya's parents, telling them about the situation but as usual, his message was ignored.
Kaoru sighed, looking out of the car window, waiting for them to arrive at the hospital. They opted out telling Reki and Langa just yet, they didn't want to worry the two teens and wanted to see if there was any progress with Miya, but they did message Shadow telling him that Miya was in hospital. They finally arrived at the hospital, a few minutes after the ambulance and walked into the waiting room, Kojiro going up to the desk. Kaoru sat in a chair, quietly on the phone to his secretary, asking her to reschedule his appointments due to an emergency.
As he hung up, Kojiro returned, looking more worried. He sat next to Kaoru and held his hand gently, Kaoru lent into him scared to ask what was going on with Miya. Before he could ask, Kojiro answered his question.
"He's in surgery, there... uh, he had up to ten stab wounds, they're surprised he was still alive." Kojiro explained, his eyes filling up with tears again. Kaoru held his hand tighter, putting a hand over his mouth, scared he was about to cry. "He'll be okay.. he should wake up in a few hours, they'll let us know when he's out of surgery."
Kaoru nodded, rubbing his eyes. He was tired, the morning had worn him out yet he forced himself to stay present for Kojiro's sake, and he wanted to be there when Miya woke up. Kojiro ran a hand through his hair gently, running his thumb over his knuckles before pulling him into a gentle hug. Kaoru couldn't help but lean into him the feeling of hope only available in Kojiro's arms, he ignored the stares from others in the waiting room.
The hours passed, with no news about Miya, Kaoru fell asleep in Kojiro's arms despite desperately trying to stay awake, Kojiro glancing at the clock on the opposite wall, occasionally checking Kaoru's phone for messages from Miya's parents and messaging Shadow with updates when he had any. He mostly watched people come and go, nurses and doctors running around and talking quietly between each other, the chaos comforted him, the multiple things going on in the one room took his mind away from his thoughts of overthinking about Miya. He took no news about him as good news and he was just waiting to wake up. He hoped.
As time went on, Miya started to show signs of waking up. He stirred slightly, senses returning to him, slowly but they made him aware that he was no longer in the alleyway. The sound was the first thing he noticed, a slow yet consistent beep coming from somewhere not too far away and the sound of talking between two people grabbed his attention as he strained to listen to the conversation. The more he tried to listen, the bigger his headache got, stabbing behind his eyes like a burning knife, it surrounded his entire skull, pressing down. Miya winced, trying to open his eyes to see where he was. Bright lights above him blinded him immediately, causing him to close his eyes once again.
The last thing he noticed was the metallic taste in his mouth, it became overwhelming, causing him to feel sick. Nausea overwhelmed him as he tried to sit up, but his body couldn't hold him up. Gently yet firm hands pulled him back down, but it caused him to freak out more blindly trying to get the hands off his shoulders. Miya teared up, as his vision cleared up slightly, and after struggling for a few seconds, the hands on his shoulder removed themselves.
"Kiddo, it's okay it's just me, Kojiro." Kojiro's voice rang through the room like an echo, it comforted Miya slightly, knowing he was safe if he was with Kojiro. But he couldn't help but swallow his anxiety, still gripping his throat. Miya's vision cleared as he looked over at Kojiro, who was sitting next to the bed on an armchair, he looked worried, more than worried.. distressed almost.
"Dad.." Miya whispered, his eyes filling with tears again. He was a strong kid, or at least he thought he was. He rarely cried, especially in public or around people, and he forced himself to pick himself up after falls, good or bad, he was quick to reply to sarcastic and petty comments with his own replies and comebacks with ease, brushed off insults without showing he was hurt and joked about his own issues as a way to reassure others that he was okay. But laying in the hospital room, his stomach and head bandaged and dark circles under his eyes showed how broken he looked, he looked like a 13 year old, a 13 year old who was dragged through hell and back.
"I'm here, kid." Kojiro smiled gently, moving a bit closer to the bed, letting Miya grab his hand as tight as he could. The way Miya winced as he moved and his slow movements worried Kojiro, but wasn't surprised when Miya's grip tightened around his own. "Kaoru left to get water but he should be back in a bit."
Miya nodded, closing his eyes again, they felt heavy and his body was tired, trying it's best to heal its wounds. He wanted Kaoru, he wanted him to hug him and tell him stories, and he wanted Kojiro to tell him stupid jokes, it would take his mind away from the memories of the events that happened the night before circling his mind. Kojiro's hand pushed hair from Miya's face and gently wiped tears from his face, Miya didn't realize he was crying, he was wrapped up in thinking about the feeling of the knife pushing into his stomach, hands and feet hitting him as hard as they could, connecting with his body.
"Hey, it's okay you're safe now." Kojiro whispered, being mindful of his wounds as he comforted him. The hospital door slid open, revealing Kaoru in the doorway. He immediately saw that Miya was awake and rushed to his side, placing the bottle of water in his hand on the bedside table before sitting down next to the bed. Miya smiled at him, but the worried look on his face made Miya feel a bit guilty. He didn't know why but a wave of guilt washed over him.
Kaoru reached out for him, holding his hand gently. Miya held back, gently shifting so he was looking at Kaoru, he felt a lot safer, knowing he was in the company of his two father figures in his life, the figures he trusted the most. He knew Kaoru and Kojiro would ask him what happened and why he was in an alley and he knew they'd get mad. Not at him, but mad at whoever did this to him. He didn't have to wait in anticipation for the question.
"What happened?" Kojiro asked and Miya couldn't help but tense up. Miya played with the bandages on his stomach, pulling his hands away from Kaoru, it stung a bit but it distracted him from the question. Kaoru could see his discomfort and moved onto the bed, letting Miya move onto his lap, placing his upper body on his legs as Kaoru ran a hand through his hair, being careful to avoid his new stitches.
Miya took a deep breath, trying to think about what happened, he tried to think as early as he could. It hurt his mind a lot but he tried his best. He knew he had to talk about it and he felt more comfortable talking to Kaoru and Kojiro about it.
Miya had been skating all day, he had to get out of his house, not being able to handle his mother constantly on his back about school and skating. He was expected to juggle two, three hour skating practices a day along with school work and homework whilst being expected to maintain a social life. Miya was tired, no, exhausted. He skated down the streets, not thinking too much about where he was going.
He ended up skating down a street, where market stalls were lined, filled with various foods and drinks. Miya was tempted to buy something but the voice of his mother telling him he needed to be mindful of his weight if he wanted to get onto a national team kept him from buying anything. Miya skated down a side street, the semi busy market street seeming far away as he entered the silent road. The street seemed completely different, quiet and deserted, a weird feeling washed over Miya as he stopped his skateboard, kicking it up to meet his hands.
Out of the corner of his eye, Miya could see someone walking out from an alley, leaning against the brick wall. He got another weird feeling, he started to turn, dropping his skateboard to find somewhere safer, although he figured he was just overthinking it. Another figure appeared beside the first and before Miya could skate away, another person walked in front of his line of skating.
Before Miya knew it, he was skating down the alley, trying desperately to get away from the gang following him. He didn't know the streets that well, unfamiliar with that part of the city. Miya turned a corner, greeted by a tall wall, he reached a dead end, he turned around to run back to the main street but was stopped by the group who had followed him. They stood, blocking the exit and his escape, Miya felt himself start to panic as he backed up against the wall as two people walked towards him.
One of the guys, who looked much older than Miya, around 20, grabbed his board before throwing it to the others. Miya put his hands up to block his face as the first punch came. He fell to the floor, nose already bleeding, Miya barely had time to react before the first kick came, followed by multiple punches, kicks and hits to his body. Something in his body cracked, sending a shooting pain through his body, everything was hurting so it was hard to pinpoint where the pain came from.
Miya let out a small cry as his head connected with the floor once again, broken glass digging into his skin. His vision went for a few seconds, black spots closing his vision as the world spun. From where he was laying he could see a few pairs of legs standing not too far from him, someone crouched down next to him and started to go through his pockets once again. They did it earlier when they managed to corner him and only finding a small amount of change, they got mad.
"Don't you think this is a bit too much? He looks seven.." A voice asked, clearly concerned. The voice was cut off by a loud slap, which caused Miya to flinch away from the noise, his actions earned a laugh from the guy standing over him as he rolled Miya over with his foot.
"He's already seen our faces." A second voice argued, Miya couldn't tell who said it, the sound surrounding him was starting to blend into one. He could feel himself being pulled up before his body connected with the wall behind him, he looked up at his attacker, the glare in his eyes shooting daggers at the man. He tried to kick out, his legs only reaching the other's knee, but the kick was weak, barely doing any damage.
"You little-"
Miya coughed, the pain in his stomach had gotten worse, he spat blood on the floor as more pain blossomed from his stomach. A flash caught his attention, the silver blade of the knife in his stomach caught the light from a lamp above them. Miya didn't know when it got dark, but he didn't have time to worry about the time when there was a knife inside of him.
Miya teared up, he knew what this meant. He knew they were trying to get rid of him, he knew they wouldn't stop until they were sure he was gone. He didn't want to die, not yet anyway. He still wanted to try more of Kojiro's cooking, he still wanted to get a hug from Kaoru, he wanted to talk about skating tricks with Reki and Langa, he wanted to learn how to do makeup with Shadow, he wanted to race Adam in a proper beef. Even the less pleasant things like being scolded by Kaoru and Kojiro for not telling them about being hurt, or a less than great grade in a test, he wanted Reki to get mad at him, he didn't want to die.
More blood filled Miya's mouth as he was let go, collapsing onto his knees in front of the group. He was close to crying, adrenaline running away and leaving him in excruciating pain. He opened his mouth to scream for help but he only let out a strangled cry as cruel laughter filled his ears. Miya collapsed onto his side, gold concrete digging into his skin as his attackers started to leave. They left him. Left him to die on his own, in the middle of an alley.
He was going to die on his own.
When Miya finished, he was crying, clutching his stomach tightly as he recounted the worst hours of his life. Kaoru didn't hesitate to hug him as tight as he could without hurting him. Kojiro joined the hug, holding Miya in between them. Miya sobbed into Kaoru's chest, not worried about making his outfit dirty with his tears.
Anger was the only emotion, except for the concern Kojiro was feeling. He was ready to kill whoever hurt Miya, the child he spent his free time looking after, his child, Kaoru was feeling the same, but he was more composed than Kojiro. The two wanted to ask Miya if he remembered anything from his attackers but they didn't want to hurt Miya anymore, seeing as he looked like he was at his lowest.
"Can Reki and Langa come over..? I want them here.." Miya mumbled, wiping his tears from his face. Kaoru nodded and shot a glance at Kojiro to call the kids, as Miya was curled up on him and he was unable to move. Kojiro nodded and moved from the bed, calling Reki, knowing he was more likely to pick up, and he was probably with Langa as well.
Kojiro left the hospital room, looking back at Miya who looked in need of a nap, and Kaoru who had Carla put on a soft lullaby to ease his mind, and it worked well, Kojiro smiled at them and waited for Reki or Langa to pick up.
"Joe?" Reki answered, he never called Kojiro Joe, he said it was easier to just call him that, yet he refused to call Kaoru Cherry in public or outside of S due to the last time he messed up, he was introduced to Kaoru's fan. "Is everything okay? You're usually working at this time."
"Hey kid, long story short, Miya is in hospital and he wants to see you and Langa." Kojiro didn't think his choice of words through before speaking, which he soon regretted.
"WHAT!?" Reki screamed down the phone, causing Kojiro to move his phone from his ear, he heard Reki yell for Langa, which was followed by a loud thump, followed by a few small crashes and footsteps and then finally a Reki, what the fuck? You scared the shit out of me.
Kojiro was tempted to tell them to watch their language, but couldn't blame Langa, it sounded like he fell off a chair due to Reki's yelling. He tried not to laugh, picturing the scene in his mind.
"I didn't explain that well- I'll explain everything when you get here. Miya needs you two, I can pick you up if you wish." Kojiro offered, which Reki agreed to. Hanging up, Kojiro told Miya and Kaoru that he was picking up the two teens before leaving the hospital.
The rest of the night was spent comforting Miya the best everyone could. Kaoru read him a story to help him relax, Kojiro told him jokes, Reki distracted him by talking to him about video games and skating while Langa watched a skating tournament with him. Miya felt safe, he was safe.
He was with his family.