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Josuke was used to Rohan’s open hostility towards him at that point. His silent fury, however, was new and something to be in awe. His knuckles and nails were white from pressing the knife in his trembling hand while he had a stiff smile on his lips.
“It’s fine, sensei. You don’t need to peel this apple for me. You’ll end up hurting yourse-!”
The teen cut himself in surprise when Rohan stabbed violently one ripe peach, its juices bleeding and staining the pretty basket full of fruits the mangaka brought to him.
“It’s courtesy, Josuke-kun. Are you refusing my genuine ‘Get Well Soon ♡’ present?” Rohan retorted with a tone that was tentatively sweet and a smile that was more of a psychotic grimace than anything.
“Th-Thanks for your concern.” the teen stuttered, nervous, hesitantly reaching for the grotesquely big piece of bunny shaped apple from the plate the older held but retreating fast when he almost got his fingers skewered by a fork along the crudely cut fruit.
“Let me help you. You’re hospitalized after all, Higashikata Josuke.” Rohan hissed his name in a particular venomous tone he only used for him while guiding his hand to feed the younger.
Josuke gulped. The bunny was far too big to fit his mouth properly and that long fork seemed to be chosen specially to stab him in the back of his throat.
It looked like the perfect setup for Rohan to kill him inside the hospital and make it seem like an unfortunate accident.
“Ah, ha, ha, sorry for troubling you, sensei.” he could feel the sweat damping his pompadour. He didn’t think that after facing Kira, he would have to confront another psychopath just after a surgery to dislodge bamboo spikes from his flank and thigh.
“It’s no trouble at all.”
Oh, Kishibe Rohan, that throbbing vein in your temple says otherwise.
“W-Well, if you insist, I think a little bite won’t cause any harm...” the younger spoke, regretting almost immediately his decision when Rohan opened a wide grin.
He opened his mouth, waiting for the fruit to be delivered.
“Josuke, do you know anything about cyanides?”
“Cyawhat?” he asked, his mouth still half open.
“Cyanides are substances produced by certain bacteria, fungi and algae. It is an antifeedant in a number of plants. It’s a defense of the plant against insects and herbivores.” he explained when Josuke frowned at the word ‘antifeedant’. “And this defense is used as pesticide and insecticide. They are also contained in tobacco smoke and smoke from building fires.”
Before that stream of unsolicited knowledge, Josuke came to the conclusion that it was better to close his mouth.
“… ‘kay. Sounds nasty. What’s the point of these cyanides?”
“Many cyanides are highly toxic and act very, very fast. Early symptoms include headache, dizziness, fast heart rate, shortness of breath and vomiting. Then come the seizures, the heart rate becomes dangerously slow, low blood pressure, loss of consciousness and, finally, cardiac arrest. And, funny enough, these cyanides are found in substantial amounts in certain fruits, as bitter almonds, apricots, apples, oranges and peaches.”
Josuke’s eyes went from the stabbed apple that swayed in the air slowly with the movement of the man’s wrist directly to the fruit basket, which almost matched item by item what Rohan described.
“Did you know if you die you won’t give the doctors any more burden?”
The bunny apple seemed involved in an extra layer of danger now with that new information.
“Your heart monitor is beeping fast, Josuke-kun. Are you feeling unwell?”
Rohan could hardly contain the malice his entire being emanated, with his grin wide and his slanted eyes almost closed making him look like an evil fox.
“I-I just remembered I took some medicines and the doctor told me to not eat or drink anything for the next six hours, hahaha, sorry, sensei!” Josuke was desperate enough to lie, taking the risk of making the man furious if he noticed the younger wasn’t telling him the truth, but the stupidly big chunk of apple almost pressed against his lips didn’t leave him much choice.
He waited, his eyes shut tight, knowing that excuse wasn’t going to convince the other but since the backlash never came, he decided to pry one eye open just to see Rohan scowling in front of him.
“If the doctor told you then I’m not the one that’s going against their orders.” Rohan mumbled, retreating his arm, visibly upset for being denied the opportunity of making Josuke choke to his death.
Upset enough to eat the apple.
“Are you crazy?!” Josuke shouted, desperate to the point of summoning Crazy Diamond to try and take the apple out of the other’s mouth. “What about the cyanide you just told me?!”
“Ah, that.” he replied with mild surprise, like he forgot a detail, oblivious to Josuke’s distress. “The cyanide is in the seeds not in the flesh. I would need to eat about 200 seeds for it to be lethal.”
Josuke stopped for a second, finally processing the fact that Rohan wasn’t going to turn blue and drop dead in front of him, and released the biggest sigh of relief.
“Why do you like to mess with me like this?” he groaned, massaging the pain in his chest from the adrenaline the startle caused, his stand fading.
“It’s fun, you should’ve seen your face.”
“Surprised you have the common sense to respect a doctor’s orders.” the younger grumbled, trying to rile the other up in retaliation from the prank and hide how worried he got with it.
“I don’t know what do you want to imply, Josuke, but I respect professionals in their fields. Also I won’t give any more trouble to the hospital workers than they already have with a certain someone.”
Josuke could retort that he was fine and didn’t need medical care at all and was only taken after much insistence from the paramedics but probably would have in return be pointed out he looked like an eggplant at the Obon with wounds that would worsen if not treated and his mother would freak out if she saw him in that sorry state, then yes, he indeed would give a lot more people more trouble than they already had. And Rohan knew that.
He preferred to be poisoned with cyanide than admit the mangaka was right.
Better change the subject.
“So the entire basket of fruits was just an elaborate joke?”
“No, I bought it to you as a gift. This is what people with manners bring to the hospitalized. And I have very good ones.”
“But it didn’t have to be this expensive.” he mumbled, eyeing the basket full of apples, apricots, peaches and even a Yubari melon. “I think there’s my mom’s two months wage worth in fruits.”
“I also have the money.”
“You came to rub this fact in my face?”
“Maybe.” Rohan wasn’t one for brevity, however, instead of laughing haughty how he could buy Josuke’s sorry ass three times even after having a large chunk of his money (almost) cheated and a third of his house burnt to the ground, he decided to just eat another slice of apple.
“I don’t know why you go through this trouble when you hate me.” Josuke complained, mentally tired of talking with that man.
“Yes, I hate you.” Josuke, already in automatic mode, started to reply with a ‘See?! This is what I’m talking about!’ but didn’t count with Rohan continuing with a “Doesn’t mean I don’t like you.”
“Huh?”
Josuke looked at Rohan, waiting for him to complete with some sort of ‘just kidding’ but all the man did was just to stare back into the younger’s eyes, completely deadpan, still munching on the apple.
“HUUUUUH?!”
“So noisy. We’re in a hospital, show some respect.”
“I mean, this is big, right?! You like me?!”
“I never said I like you.”
“You just did!”
“I didn’t. I said I didn’t dislike you. You heard it wrong or you’re projecting.” Rohan had a slightly annoyed frown but didn’t seem angry at the younger like he was moments before. “Even so, what’s so strange about it? People change their perception of others all the time. This is how we evolve as species.”
Josuke felt a sudden rush of blood to his face when his heart monitor started beeping faster and louder than before, enough for him to worry nurses and doctors would burst his door at any given moment to check on him.
Since the Highway Star incident, he tried to win Rohan’s favor. He didn’t know why he wanted to be on the guy’s good side so badly. He thought, at first, it was just because he didn’t like the idea of being hated but it had been long since he noticed something within him changed.
However, it was better not get ahead of himself. That was probably Rohan’s weird way of showing friendship, nothing more. He was a creepy guy with no friends that didn’t know how friendship worked after all. This was obvious from how clingy he was to Koichi. It was better to calm down.
No need to get his hopes up.
“Well, it’s hard to not like Josuke-kun, isn’t it? Being so lovable and cool and the one who saved the town from a crazy dude with hand fetish.” he laughed to mask his insecurity, his chest puffed like a proud pigeon.
Rohan’s eyes were nothing more than unimpressed.
“Believe me, it’s not hard at all.” he started, his expression a little clouded, like he had a starting headache, before it cleared visibly. “But you brought peace to the town and to someone... important to me. I can’t overlook it and not be grateful for that.”
And then Josuke’s brain halted all activity when he saw Rohan smiling.
It wasn’t the psychotic or evil type the teenager was used to, but mellow and sincere, the kind that happens without the bearer’s notice, something Josuke didn’t see in his everyday basis and wasn’t aware Rohan was capable of producing.
It made him feel... warm inside.
“I may end up liking you too.”
What should be just a fleeting thought was spoke out loud without Josuke’s intent. He only became aware of what he did when he saw Rohan staring back at him, slacked chin, while the fork in his hand hanged limp.
“As a friend, I mean!” he tried to damage control but it was obvious neither him nor his powers could fix the awkwardness of the mood.
Rohan closed his mouth and put the fork on the plate before turning his gaze back to Josuke, scrutinizing the sweating teen for a good minute.
“Uwah, gross.” he finally spoke up in a disgusted tone.
“I didn’t mean it in a weird way! I-!” the teen couldn’t bare the look of revulsion in Rohan’s eyes, shutting his own and biting his lower lip, in order to endure the imminent rejection.
He should never liked someone who hated him.
Moreover, another guy.
“You can’t even be sincere. You have to make up something to cover yourself from speaking the truth.”
It took a moment for the younger to open his eyes again, perplexed.
The older man’s expression didn’t change at all beyond his usual annoyed one.
“…eh?”
Rohan clicked his tongue, impatient.
“How could I forget? It’s obvious it would be difficult for you to understand the concept of being sincere. I just didn’t think you would be this coward.”
Something didn’t click.
What was Rohan speaking of…?
Why wasn’t he simply throwing the worst of names at Josuke?
Where were the looks of repulse?
Why was he still munching on that apple and looking at Josuke like the younger was still a human being in his eyes?
“Aren’t you going to write on me for this?” he asked, still dumbfounded by the other’s nonchalant expression.
“Write what on you?”
“I don’t know, something bad!” He exploded, not believing how the other acted like they were talking about trivialities and not something potentially life changing. “Give me explosive diarrhea for an entire week!”
Now Rohan had a good reason to wear the expression of disgust he displayed.
“Are you into this?”
“No! I meant for you to punish me!”
Rohan finally swallowed what he had in his mouth, his eyes never leaving Josuke’s, which intimidated the younger even more.
“Are you one of those, Josuke?” he asked, quietly. “A maso-.”
“I think you’re doing this on purpose at this point.” the teenager interrupted the other, not keen to know where the older’s logic was taking them.
“You’re the one who asked me to give you dia-.”
But it seemed to be a very dark place where Josuke didn’t have an ounce of dignity.
“You’re missing the point entirely, mangaka!”
“Am I the one missing the point, Josuke?”
“Yeah, you’re trying to pin me as someone who’s into some really gross stuff!”
“Because it’s fitting since you act like it would be wrong to feel something for me!”
“I never said this! I mean-!”
“You mean what?”
Rohan’s eyes didn’t waver and that piercing look was what always intimidated him.
“I-I mean...” he gulped, not really sure where they were going with that conversation.
“Do you like me, Josuke?”
Were a nurse to appear at his room that moment, they were going to put Josuke in observation because he surely was burning with fever from how red and dizzy he looked.
“I never-! I mean-!”
“Heeeeh, you never, you mean… If you don’t rehearse your lies you sound dumber than usual, have you notice it? If you like me, admit it. Don’t throw excuses like ‘as a friend’, ‘not in a weird way’, it makes me feel like I’m not worth it.” Rohan’s mild expression gradually turned enraged the more he seemed to think about the matter in his very particular and egocentric way. “Do you think you’re too good for me?! Is your infatuation some kind of charity?! Do you think Kishibe Rohan is not worth the infatuation of a guy like you, Higashikata Josuke?!”
“Is this why you’re angry?!” he couldn’t help but feel astounded by that line of reasoning. “How disturbed is your mind to twist everything to be about you?!”
The older furrowed his brows but looked more in control of himself.
“Because this is about me, isn’t it?” Rohan had his nose up a bit before turning his attention back to the sliced apple, taking another piece into his mouth. “You aren’t used to pine after someone and it shows.”
He sounded irritated, like he was being forced to explain something obvious for someone that was too dense to notice it.
In this case, how Josuke’s crush was not the most well hidden secret he thought it was.
The younger felt difficulty in gulping with his mouth and throat dry, the sound amplified in his hearing by his nervousness.
“How long have you known?”
The older continued munching for awhile.
“Do you hate me for that?”
The fruit was finally swallowed.
“Are you fine with me liking you?”
“The apples from Aomori are really the best.”
He groaned. It was obvious nothing more was coming out of Rohan.
“You’re so slippery it’s annoying. It’s just a question.”
“Hoooh, I am the slippery one when you don’t even answer me if you like me or not?”
“I-I did.”
“‘I never-! I mean-!’ isn’t a confession, Josuke, as isn’t ‘I may end up liking you too’ as well as ‘are you fine with me liking you?’. I know very well what I heard and you won’t bullshit your way out of this. You won’t guilt trip me into feeding your ego.” the man replied while drying his hands with a paper towel, before standing up and gathering his belongings. “What were you waiting? For me to be touched because of your ‘not confession’ and for almost getting Kawajiri Hayato, Okuyasu and yourself killed? You’re just a spoiled brat who wants validation and praise for your reckless actions and feelings. Who do you think would be impressed with you rushing into danger like that?”
“Listen, I was trying to help and the opportunity of catching him just happened!”
“Then you should have called me! Wasn’t this what we agreed to do?”
“Sorry if I didn’t have the time. Should have asked Kira for him to wait still in his house for us to capture him. I just thought that helping Reimi-san and Shigechi get avenged was, y’know, a good thing.”
“They didn’t ask for you to be almost killed in your little show off and I certainly am not interested in someone selfish like this.”
“Yeah, you sure can recognize someone being selfish, don’t you?”
“At least, I don’t use others as excuses for my acts like you do, shithead.”
He flinched with the discomfort and shame those words caused to him.
He hated to admit Rohan was right in accusing him for being selfish. Not just for pointing out he was using this ‘avenge the dead’ as justification for rushing to danger but also for being shown how selfish he could be with his feelings.
He was the one with groupies following his every step and forgiving any of his faults, in hopes he would give them a crumb of attention and affection. But Rohan wasn’t one of them.
The mangaka was an utter jerk and Josuke thought he absolutely gave out enough reasons for all the beatdowns he may ever have received in his life but calling the younger out as the asshole he was wasn’t one of them, thus limiting himself to turn his face away and pout childishly with his pride hurt. He didn’t like to be aware of that side of his.
Still, he felt oddly light, watching from the corner of his eyes the man prepare himself to take his leave. Although he was far from being showered with praise and told the feelings were mutual, he wasn’t outright rejected either. Reprimanded for being hasty in the worst sense and pranked to the point of almost having a heart attack, sure, but the visit didn’t seem to be made with ill intentions.
“Well, you look good enough, you’ll probably be discharged soon. I’ll get going. I have work to do and already wasted time enough testifying about Kira to the police.”
He could only assume that was the mangaka’s way of encouraging him to take some action.
“Thanks, Rohan.” he called when the man was almost at the door.
Rohan turned around, looking mildly confused by that sentence.
“…what for?” he furrowed his brows before his expression cleaned in understanding. “Oh, the fruits. It’s nothin-”
“For caring, even when you act full of shit like this.” he snickered, amused by the look in the man’s face. “And for being asshole enough to not be direct but still give me hope that you’ll be sincere with me if I am with you.”
At that, Rohan’s eyes widened, the alarm of being caught visible in them but it soon disappeared when he gave out a tender smile at the teenager.
Josuke remembered feeling his heart thumping at another unexpected and rather cute sight before his vision faded into black.
He should’ve been discharged the next day but was put in observation for another after being found passed out on his bed because of a concussion caused by what seemed to be a very expensive melon.