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Kuro felt regret starting to seep through his entire body. He was wrong about Morisawa. Morisawa did nothing wrong, and yet he… “I’m sorry, Morisawa…” He clenched his fists. No one was there to listen to him. No one could hear his sorrowful confession. He had to fix what he had done somehow.
The tokusatsu film on the screen in front of them flashed brightly as the villain began wreaking havoc on a city he couldn’t bother to remember the name of. The seats in Yumenosaki’s AV room weren’t as close together as Kuro would have liked, but he managed to tentatively press right leg against Morisawa’s left. His eyes flicked between the action on screen and towards Morisawa, who passionately went into detail explaining the film to him.
“…He can’t transform for his own personal gain! He can’t use it just to show his good side to people, or just because it’s easier to do things by transformation!” Morisawa gestured excitedly towards the screen, starry-eyed as he watched Ultraman maneuver the debris and rescue the survivors, while explosions sounded in the background.
“Huh… Oh, it’s like how policemen can’t fire a gun like it’s nothing.” Kuro watched the show with more interest than he thought he could give. He wasn’t the biggest fan of heroes, but Morisawa made it seem that much more enjoyable. Or maybe it was just that he liked being with Morisawa.
Morisawa lit up, proudly declaring, “Yep! Using your immense power only for the sake of justice — That’s exactly what being a hero means!”
“Speak up, brat. You talk hot shit, but you can’t back it up at all, huh?”
“I-I’m…”
Kuro watched as a couple of the older members of RYUSEITAI cornered Morisawa.
Morisawa’s voice shook as he curled in on himself. “P-Please, I didn’t mean—”
The taller of the two stepped toward Morisawa with his fist raised. “Shut the hell up. You think you can—!?”
Kuro took satisfaction in the crunching sound of his fist crashing against the left side of the bully’s head, causing them to totter for a second before collapsing. He glared at the other shaken bully and grinned as they turned tail and ran.
As much as Kuro enjoyed spending time with Morisawa, he was beginning to get a bit anxious. He lied about needing to go home to make dinner, but he should’ve expected Morisawa to want to walk home together. He needed to think of a foolproof excuse to— “…Hmm?” He suddenly sensed another presence in the school, on the same floor. Goosebumps trickled down his neck from the strength of the aura. How did he manage to let such a powerful presence get so close to them? Had he really relaxed that much around Morisawa?
“Kiryu!” Morisawa snapped Kuro out of his thoughts, a worried look on his face.
“Ah, uh, sorry for spacin’ out. We need to keep it down a li’l. I’m pretty sure that there’s someone else here in this school, so you can just leave your stuff here for now.” Kuro lightly scratched his scalp in frustration as he considered their next move. “…I’ll get you somewhere safe, just leave the rest to me.”
Morisawa stared blankly at Kuro for a moment before fixing him with a stern glare. “You bastard.”
Kuro’s eyes widened in shock before he started laughing. “Woah there, Morisawa, what would the kids think?”
Despite his attempt at joking, Morisawa only seemed more upset. “Is this really the time to be laughing? If a friend of mine is about to do something stupid, then I’ll do whatever it takes to stop them! I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to do, but I won’t let you go ahead with it.”
“Even if there’s a terrorist who’s plannin’ to place a bomb in the school?”
“A what!?” Morisawa’s face whitened, but after a moment, he seemed to resolve himself again. “Y-Yeah, that’s exactly why I have to stop you. I won’t let you hurt yourself.”
Kuro grinned smugly, standing up straight to look down at Morisawa condescendingly. “Go on and try, then.” The presence he sensed before suddenly grew in intensity, and his entire body tensed. “…Wait, this ain’t the time to be playin’ around. Okay, okay, let’s just head home now.” He sighed discontentedly. “I shoulda known that it was stupid for a delinquent to try to play hero…”
Morisawa’s eyes softened from stubbornness to compassion. “You’re a hero in my eyes, Kiryu. You’re always saving me. Isn’t it enough that I see you that way?” he asked sadly.
Crap. Kuro put a comforting hand on Chiaki’s shoulder. “Yeah, I suppose it is. I’m such a lucky guy, y’know? To have someone like you believe in me.”
Morisawa smiled shakily, pleased, but clearly just as nervous about the potential danger they were in.
Kuro stepped over the body of the bully he knocked out and walked towards Morisawa.
“Y-You hurt him! Is he okay!?” Morisawa rushed towards his collapsed senior and put his fingers to their neck. After a few seconds, he breathed a sigh of relief, moving on to check the side of his bully’s head.
“That’s an interestin’ way t’ say thank you, glasses boy,” Kuro deadpanned.
Saying that only caused Morisawa’s body to go rigid. He didn’t look any more relieved than when his seniors were tormenting him, if not more afraid. “I-I um, thank you a lot, Kiryu-kun, b-but did you need something?”
“Stand up.”
Morisawa’s face paled. “U-Uh… Are you going t-to…?”
Kuro mentally face-palmed at how that must’ve sounded. He took a deep breath, continuing in a softer tone, “Get up, Morisawa. I need to tell you somethin’.”
“I-Is it,” Morisawa swallowed, “Something bad…?”
Kuro smiled reassuringly. “Actually, it’s kind o’ the opposite.”
As the two of them made their way down the dark hallway, Kuro stayed behind Morisawa, keeping close enough that he would be able to jump in front of him should anything happen.
“I can tell what you’re doing, Kiryu,” Morisawa vehemently whispered.
“Hm? What do you mean by that?” Kuro asked innocently.
“I told you that I wouldn’t let you put yourself in harm’s way for me. If you’re not going to give that up, the least you can do is let me protect you too,” Morisawa replied, determination etched into his face.
“Protect me?” Kuro chuckled. “What, you’re gonna stop the big bads~?”
“As a hero—!”
“No offense, Morisawa, but I don’t think anyone would be intimidated by a cute face like yours~♪”
Morisawa pouted childishly at him, his cheeks tinting an endearing light pink as if to corroborate Kuro’s statement.
Kuro chuckled at Morisawa's antics before suddenly stopping in his tracks. He detected a pair of clumsy footsteps not too far from him and Morisawa. And judging from the sudden cautiousness of their movement, the owner of the footsteps had heard them.
“Kiryu, is something the ma—”
“Shh,” Kuro quietly shushed. He signaled to Morisawa to get closer to him. Once Morisawa was close enough, Kuro whispered, “Stay behind me. Try not to make too much noise. If I hold out my hand, it means to stay where you are. If somethin’ happens to me, I want you to run. Do you understand?”
Morisawa’s eyes widened. Either he was too shocked at how serious Kuro sounded, or he realized the severity of the situation, because he nodded without protest.
Kuro knew that the best-case scenario would be to take down the perpetrator without getting harmed, but with Morisawa behind him, he was reconsidering the best course of action. Maybe I should just try to make it to the exit. That’d probably be the best way to protect Morisawa.
The steps moved about the shadows, slowly approaching, and stopping behind a pillar close to the two of them. Strangely, the presence behind the pillar felt different than the intimidating aura Kuro had felt before. Still, if he and Morisawa tried to sneak past, they would be leaving themselves open to an ambush.
“Who’s there?” Kuro called out. A part of him still hoped it was just a student who left something behind bumbling around, and that there would be no need for a confrontation.
No one responded.
Exhaling slowly, Kuro held out his hand to Morisawa, who clenched his fists and nodded. Kuro slowly approached the pillar that the footsteps stopped behind, and his suspicions were confirmed when he heard a light squeaking of shoes shifting on the floor. He braced himself for finding out who was behind the pillar, and—
“Behind y—!”
Before Morisawa could finish his sentence, Kuro turned around and blocked the broom handle that went straight for his head. How the hell did they…!? The attacker kept their momentum, swinging the broom around to aim for his ribs, and Kuro defended against it as well. He tried aiming a punch at their gut, but the broom quickly parried him, and the end was jabbed into his chest.
The force of the hit sent Kuro back a step, but his assailant left a small opening recovering from the recoil. Kuro pushed through the pain and kicked his attacker in the stomach, knocking them over, and he saw a flash of blue as they slid past one of the windows.
Kuro stepped towards the disoriented shadowed person, the moonlight briefly illuminating his face as he walked past the window.
His assailant quickly stood back up, gripping their broom, poised in anticipation.
Before either of them could make a move, someone jumped in between the two of them, waving their arms frantically. “W-Wait! S-stop, ’s not what ya think!”
Kuro stopped and watched as the panicked figure stepped closer and into the moonlight. “…Kagehira!?”
Kagehira nodded fervently. “Yeah, ‘s me. Nghh, I was scared y’all were ‘bout t’ hurt each other…”
“Is that Kiryu-sama?” The figure behind Kagehira spoke up, also stepping in front of the window. “Ah, it appears that there was no need to be worried.”
“Fushimi?” Kuro sighed with a breath of relief. “That explains why I couldn’t hear your footsteps. I was worried that I was gonna have to hurt ya.”
Fushimi chuckled. “It is quite a relief Kagehira-sama stepped in, or I may not have been the only one hurt. I must admit, your combat skills are quite excellent. Perhaps we should spar again one day.” He paused before adding, “For your benefit, of course.”
Kuro rolled his eyes. It was obvious that Fushimi enjoyed the fight as much as he did. He was much more precise and skillful in combat than Tetsu or the runt. The exhilaration from the adrenaline pumping through him slowly began to calm down, but his heart was still racing.
“Kiryu, are you alright!? I saw Fushimi hit your chest!” Morisawa rushed forward, causing Kagehira to scream in surprise. He gripped Kuro’s shoulder with one hand, putting the other around where Kuro was hit.
Kuro put his hand on Morisawa’s, pressing it to where his heart was quickly beating. “Well, I know I’d feel a lot better if my hero could give me a feel-better kiss,” he teased, accentuating his point with a wink.
Morisawa flushed, his expression changing from worry to annoyance. “Don’t joke around like that. I’m serious here!” He looked down, saying quieter, “I don’t like seeing you get hurt…”
Before Kuro could respond, Fushimi cleared his throat. “Apologies. While I do believe we are in no real danger anymore, it is not good to stay too long after hours. After all, we are not meant to be on the premises this late at night… Speaking of which, why were you two here at this hour?”
Kuro rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Uhhh, hanging out?” he replied as Morisawa yelled, “Watching tokusatsu films!” Kuro glared at Morisawa, who only grinned sheepishly back at him. He turned to the two of them, asking the same. “And you two?”
“Hahh, I kinda fell ‘sleep,” Kagehira giggled. “’n Yukkun had somethin’ he had t’ pick up.”
Kuro raised his eyebrow at the nickname.
Fushimi coughed awkwardly into his hand. “A-Anyway, as Kagehira-sama said, I had something to pick up for the Young Master, but now that I have acquired it, we can leave.”
Kagehira nodded in agreement. “Yeh, ‘m jus’ glad we didn’ hafta face that terrorist that people ‘ve been talkin’ ‘bout.”
Kuro sighed, “Yeah, but a part of me was hopin’ that I’d have chance to take them down.”
Morisawa frowned at that. “Kiryu, I really think we should leave that stuff to the police… You already do a lot to protect us, so don’t put yourself in that kind of dangerous situation.”
“Okay, okay, I got ya.” Kuro patted Morisawa’s head. “I wouldn’t want to worry you; I’m supposed to protect you.”
“I made a promise, remember? I was going to do my best to make a good life for myself as well, so you wouldn’t have to always worry about protecting me.”
“Apologies for interrupting again,” Fushimi cut in, “but I am able to offer a ride home for all of you. If you would like.”
Kagehira sighed gratefully. “I-If it wouldn’ be too much trouble… ‘course Oshi-san would wan’ me t’ come home in one piece…”
“Don’t worry about troubling your driver with us, we planned to walk home together anyway!” Morisawa exclaimed cheerily.
Fushimi still looked a bit uncomfortable despite Morisawa’s confidence. “Are you sure, Morisawa-sama? It really would be of no expense to the Himemiyas if we were to provide a short drive for you and Kiryu-sama. It can be quite dangerous at this hour of night.”
Kuro glanced over at Morisawa to see him giving Kuro an indiscernible look. “…Ah, uh, yeah, I think we’ll be good. We can take care of ourselves, y’know?” Judging from the smile on Morisawa’s face, he said the right thing.
“Very well, then. Please, do be careful.”
“So… you wanted to apologize?” Morisawa still looked a bit skeptical, nervously adjusting his glasses.
“Yeah,” Kuro sighed. But if I knew you were gonna make me carry this scum all the way to the infirmary, I would’ve at least left ‘im half-conscious. “I was actin’ like a real dumbass for what I said to ya. What I did to ya. The day we met, I promised you that I don’t hurt good people, but it looks like I couldn’t even live up to that.”
“Don’t say that! You were just worried about your little sister. Like you said, you didn’t really know anything about the situation, so it would make sense if I was to blame. I’m sure anyone would have done the same thing in your position,” Morisawa reassured, offering a sympathetic smile.
“Yeah, ‘cept you,” Kuro huffed. “You’re too nice to ever do somethin’ like that, and I shoulda known… but I…” Damn it, I didn’t want to cry. This is real embarrassin’.
Morisawa put a hand on Kuro’s shoulder as the tears threatened to sting his eyes. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s okay to cry, you know? You’re such a strong person, Kiryu. Please, let me help you again.”
And Kuro did.
Kuro watched as Kagehira and Fushimi climbed into the limo and gave a short wave as they waved goodbye back to him.
Morisawa waved his arms wildly as if he forgot it was one hour past midnight. “Get home safe, you two!”
After the limo had gone out of sight, Morisawa stayed for a few more seconds before turning and smiling at Kuro. “I guess this is our cue to start going!”
“You might wanna calm down before you wake up the whole neighborhood,” Kuro suggested.
“Ah! You’re right! A hero would never disturb the public peace, HA HA HA~☆”
Kuro didn’t have the heart to tell him that he hadn’t lowered his volume at all. “So… why’d you refuse to take the ride from Fushimi? You and I both know it’d be safer and more convenient to go by car.”
“I didn’t want to trouble them of course! I’m sure you won’t mind either, right?” Morisawa replied, not looking at Kuro as they started down the path.
Kuro shrugged, not particularly believing Morisawa. “I suppose not.”
A comfortable silence fell between the two of them as they continued down the street.
Kuro had to admit it; it was nice, walking down the street together. He didn’t have to worry about Morisawa making it home safely if he could keep him in his sights. Although, if he really wanted to ensure his safety, they should have accepted the car ride. He wasn’t concerned about making it back home alive, but he wanted to make it back, preferably in a state that would leave him able to drop his sister off at school the next morning. Still, saying no to Morisawa was too difficult of a task for him. He wondered if it had to do with how he felt about Morisawa, or if he somehow felt indebted to him after what he did.
“Kiryu?”
“Hm?” Kuro glanced questioningly at Morisawa.
“Are you okay? You’re frowning again.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” It felt like Morisawa was just trying to make conversation, but Kuro wasn’t trying to dance around any issues. “So… what’s the real reason that you refused the car ride?”
Morisawa tensed beside him. “I… already told you, didn’t I? I didn’t want to trouble them.”
Kuro rolled his eyes. Despite always trying to make things easier for others, Morisawa could always be stubborn at the most inconvenient times. He decided to stay silent to pressure an answer out of him.
After half a minute, Morisawa finally spoke up again. “…I’m… I’m still upset at you.” He looked off to the side of the road, but Kuro could still envision that cute pout on his face.
“Eh? For wha—”
“But mostly… I’m mad at myself.”
“Huh!?” Kuro exclaimed dumbly.
Morisawa turned to Kuro, tears glistening in the moonlight. “When we came across Fushimi and Kagehira… I froze. And even if things turned out alright in the end, I still let you get hurt. I couldn’t do anything to help…” He stopped walking.
“Morisawa…ah.” He quickly realized the two of them reached the front of Morisawa’s house.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I, uh, should go…” Morisawa gave Kuro a watery grin and turned to go inside.
Before Morisawa reached the doorknob, Kuro grabbed onto Morisawa’s arm. “Hold on. You’re just gonna make me feel bad then leave like nothin’ happened?” he asked in mock offense.
“I-I didn’t mean…” Morisawa looked down, tears falling to the ground.
“Morisawa…” Kuro gently cupped Morisawa’s cheek, and Morisawa looked up at him. “Listen, I’m not good at this kind of thing, but I’m gonna need you to bear with me.” He took the confused look Morisawa gave him as a sign to continue. “I know I shouldn’t be the one to tell you this, but you’re bein’ too hard on yourself. And even though you can accept help when you’re at your limit, you’re still too damn stubborn to accept it normally. Don’t get me wrong, that’s one of the things I love about ya…”
Morisawa’s breath hitched.
“…but it’s also one of your greatest weaknesses. I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m not good at askin’ people for help either. Heh, it’s definitely why you get pissed at me so much. But… for you, I’m willin’ to try a little harder. How about we both try to rely on each other a little more, ‘kay?”
“I, uh, y-yeah, okay!” Morisawa’s face shifted from a frail expression to a shy smile as he wiped his eyes.
Kuro brought his hand down from Morisawa’s cheek to his shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Seeing Morisawa nod, Kuro turned to leave, but he suddenly felt a hand grab his arm and a pair of lips gently press against his. His eyes widened in shock.
Morisawa looked just as panic-stricken as he hurriedly stumbled towards his front door, fumbling with his keys. “G-Good night, Kiryu. W-We must rest well; after all, a hero’s job is never done! HA HA HA~☆”
Morisawa’s false bravado combined with his flushed face made Kuro want to pull him back in, but before he could, Morisawa hurriedly closed the door. “We” … “a hero’s job” … so you meant me too, huh? He smiled to himself as he started making his own way home. It’s a promise, Morisawa.