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Miya was never really good at talking thing out with kids his age. Although because of such a fact being true, he'd never admit to it, or get help either.
It really shouldn't have been a surprise when his first instinct was to punch that kid in the face. His fist was rather sore with warm blood caking his knuckles. Time seemed stuck as he looked at the kid, wondering why he had just done that. The problem wasn't even that serious, and Miya himself couldn't understand why he reacted so violently.
Everyone else around him seemed to share that sentiment. Given their looks of frozen shock, all three of them who were on the other boy's side. Silently backing him up and assessing his bloody nose. Beginning to whisper and almost hold their friend back.
A crawling burn slithered in his throat as the kid glared back at him. Miya could recognize that kind of anger the kid had. Fiery and quick to react.
It broiled for seconds on end as his friends tried to talk him out of it. Not on account of he didn't deserve it, but that they were worried for their friend. Enough that they though he would hurt him again, he'd already proven that he can hit well after all.
At the end of it the kid slugged him right back in the shoulder before stomping down hard on his ankle. He crumpled quickly to the ground, but not before dragging the kid down with him. His fingers curled as he flung his hand towards the kid's eye, gaining a knee to his stomach in return. Miya dug his fist into the kid's hair and ripped out a chunk of hair as he wheezed.
There was the possibility he could roll away on his side and run off. The thought sat in his mind as he braced his arms up in front of his chest. But realization came just as swiftly, as Miya could feel the swelling hurt in his ankle. And just how cowardly it would be to just run away. If he had thought even a moment longer, he might not have even thrown that punch.
His arm's wavered as punches persisted, hitting his shoulders and then his chest as his arms fell to his sides. Just trying to sit up more than anything, to look a bit braver despite his momentary lapse of stupidity.
"Sato- we should go. Now." One of the kid's friends called back towards, his hits faltering for a moment. Looking back towards him with a satisfyingly bloody face. The kid, apparently called Sato appeared confused. Differing between looking at him with contempt and something behind him. That something however caught his attention more before scrambling to his feet with an exhausted huff.
"You- you shouldn't have disagreed with us." Sato growled, slamming his hand into his shoulder. It was hard enough that it rebounded against the sturdy cement as Sato ran off.
Miya safely presumed the kid's had noticed the time, given it was succinctly late enough in the afternoon that their parents might have become worried if they weren't home yet. So, he resigned to continue laying here until he caught his breath enough to get up. Not that he was too lazy or hurt to do so, he was strong enough. He had proven so time and time again in S competitions.
And yet never once had he felt so, foolish. Like he had chosen the wrong route on a heavily story-based RPG. That he had accidently picked a fight because he skipped the dialogue to quickly and chose the wrong option.
It was the first time and quite a while he felt under geared. With how his brain felt so slimey and unable to process the actual points of pain in his body.
Yet someone who should have been further into the game loomed into view. Bright amber eyed Reki, with a look of concern on his face. The absolute idiot sat down next to him, looking up and down at what he assumed to be spots of blood.
Then again, it seemed to be more so a type of beating that would only leave bruises. So actually, Miya had no clue what Reki was looking at. "What the hell are you doing slime?"
Reki scoffed and gave him a glaring look of disapproval. "I could ask the same to you. You just sat here after taking such a bad beating." He reached a hand into the pocket of his hoodie, pulling out his phone.
"Wait-wait, wait. What the hell are you doing?" Miya hissed. He reached one of his hands forward to stop Reki as it dawned on him what he was doing. Just as quickly recoiling as the pain in his shoulder reminded him he wasn't exactly in the best of shape at the moment.
"I'm texting Langa, just to bring me my first-aid kit." Reki paused, coughing into his hand before quickly adding another statement. "I mean my mom wants me to have one since I'm getting older and can't rely on her help anymore.. So I have one- and I asked him to bring it over. Yeah."
Whilst Reki's latter confession seemed a bit farfetched, and the detail of him having his own personal first-aid kit more than a bit odd. There wasn't exactly room for him to be snappy at the moment. Especially in such a moment of weakness when losing was so close to being guaranteed. "Well-" He groaned, trying to think a little more before he messed it all up again. "Can you- maybe make sure Hasegawa doesn't see me? It's already bad enough that you're here."
Miya was pretty sure that Reki wouldn't listen— "Sure."
"Wait what?" He wasn't even sure he heard Reki correctly. With how quick he was to respond and how far-fetched his answer had seemed. At least in his mind.
"I said sure. I'm sure you're embarrassed enough as is. Given you got your ass handed to ya."
"Oi, tred carefully slime." Miya chuckled, waving his hand slightly. "It wasn't that bad. I got a couple of hits in. Gave that asshole a bloody nose."
"Yeah sure, I'll give you that. But you did kind of just- end up accepting your fate. I didn't expect that." The words Reki was throwing at him felt so- blase. Like he knew exactly what he was talking about, as if Reki was somehow smart enough to stir up a fight anyway. "But what caused this, in any case."
"Well, it was—"
Miya froze, he knew what it was. He had started the fight because that kid- Sato had said something so stupid. Stupid and wrong enough to piss him off. Yet his mind was drawing such a blank, not of confusion. He'd be able to recognize that. But that it was something that he knew was a blanket enough statement that Reki would either agree with Sato's side or his. And at the moment, he really didn't want to get proven wrong again. Because if he was wrong he got beaten up for nothing.
"It was.." The air tasted stale as he swallowed his breath. "An opinion. One where he was wrong. It had been a conversation until I got so angry that I punched him."
Reki froze, slightly nodding his head. "Mm. Was it something you care about? That would certainly explain it."
"Ah- yes.. I suppose that's a way to look at it." His mind couldn't quite fully recollect what Sato had said. Just that it had pissed him off badly enough to where sound seemed to halt all around him.
With the way Reki had taken the whole thing, it felt almost as if Reki had something similar happen to him once. There was just something about the way he was going about things. Maybe it was the gentle tone in his words that kept some of that normal teasing in, even if it didn't seem like enough of it. Or the fact he seemed to know exactly what to do at the moment, from questions to the silent understanding to not touch his injuries. Even that sour look on his lips, twisted enough to where it didn't seem quite natural what he was doing, like he was trying to not think or say something.
Reki's phone began to ring, and he quickly jumped to his feet. Walking around the corner to where there was this sort of alley spot that connected up to a fairly popular road. He suspected that Langa must have been told to meet up there so he could get his first-aid kit. So, Miya waited.
It was quite quiet, alone with his own thoughts. Only accompanied by the sharp stabbing like sensations from within his body. It radiated off where he assumed there would be bruises. His ankle was almost double the pain of which a bruise would give, and his stomach ached from the impact that hit it. The thought of his own discomfort passed time by somewhat well, so the fact he had waited nearly 8 minutes for Reki to return didn't quite phase him like it usual would have.
"Alright, now I'm going to need you to tell me where the bruises are. Since you aren't exactly in any shape to do it on your own." Reki set the kit right by his feet. And whilst it was sorely embarrassing, he nodded in agreement.
"He mainly got my shoulder's and a bit of my upper chest.. My left ankle too- which totally blows." Miya knew if his ankle was in too bad of shape, he wouldn't be able to skate. And frankly he loathed that idea.
"Got-cha." Reki shuffled over to his left side, a little bottle of Aloe Vera in one hand and an ice pack in the other. "It's probably just going to be bruises, since I don't see any blood stains on your clothes that are yours."
His shirt was tugged down just a bit to be able to see the newly sprouting bruises just below his collar bone. Already beginning to spot with a deep blue and nasally yellow. And whilst Reki didn't seem all too phased dealing with it, it almost seemed a bit too practiced. With the swiftness in which he was able to move on from one bruise to the next, barely reacting accept with a distant despondency left in his eye's to some.
"Uh, Reki?"
"Hm? What's up?" Reki quickly backed off, shuffling off to the side. "Did you want to talk about something?"
"..Kind of." He motioned his head towards the first-aid kit, as much as he could without causing one of his bruises to flare up again. "It's just. You seemed almost, too aware.. of this. You normally don't have this sort of knowledge for anything other than skateboarding. Because that's like the only thing you are really.. decent in."
Reki pursued his lips, clearly on edge on what he was trying to say. "Well that's rude.. But continue anyways."
"I'm mainly just wondering, why you seem to know so much. I mean- you seemed to answer before I even finished my inquiry of not letting La-Hasegawa.. see me like this. Not that I'm embarrassed—"
"Bullshit." Reki interrupted. He almost seemed hesitant despite his harshness.
"Listen Miya. I see what you are getting at. And yes, something like this did happen to me before." He sighed, retrieving a small bottle of alcohol and cotton swab. "Similarly to you, I didn't want anyone to know. Because it reflected something that I believed that wasn't true. Whether that was the outcome or the spark that started the fight I won't tell you."
Miya nearly interjected, however the sting of alcohol on his ankle pulled him away from his bitter words. "So what did happen then? This wasn't anything recent, was it?" He tried to carefully tuck away the worry warbling about in him, because he shouldn't be worried about someone as stupid as him, doing something equally as candid stupid.
To that Reki said nothing, continuing on with his head slightly turned away. "Never mind that. But like I was saying, I do understand." The item's Reki was using fell to the ground as he began to carefully wrap a small splint around his ankle. "I got hurt like you did, and I didn't want anyone to see me since I was supposed too capable enough. And if I had gotten to this kind of place already. Then I surely did deserve it."
"That's totally stupid though!" His voice raised with the growing tremble in his throat. Miya didn't like this conversation. He was always capable, just today he wasn't leveled up enough. Didn't focus on the right strategy and messed up. But unlike a videogame he can't restart, so he just needed to work harder in that category, get the right things accounted for.
Besides Reki should have known he was— he was nicer than most people he knows. Which means he didn't deserve all of what had happened to him. "You are right Miya. But we can't change that, so let's just keep on skating towards the future- yeah?"
"Hah! You and your silly skating sayings." Reki was right, but as much as he was right- he was curious. He hadn't elaborated, and that in itself was concerning. And stupidly he was the only one who seemed to notice how he didn't speak up about the more important things, "But still, this similar thing you went through. You didn't answer if it was recent or not."
Yet again Reki said nothing. "This doesn't have to do with when you ran away from the hospital, does it?"
"I.. uh.." Reki fumbled over his words. "More-so before it.. But yes, and I regret it. If not for just talking to everyone and explaining myself.. for not getting myself help."
"Well then? What happened?" Miya huffed, wobbling unsteadily as he got to his feet. His foot still hurt, but it was bit less now. "Clearly you saw what happened with me. It'd be a bit awkward if I didn't know your story now. After your whole spiel."
"Yeah," Reki rubbed the side of his neck, "yeah your probably right." He scooped up the first-aid kit in his hands. "It was when I stayed away from S, that day before I came to the hospital. I had just been, wandering sort of. And these people I used to know- wannabe skaters, like total posers approached me."
Miya scoffed. "Totally lame. I see why you ditched them."
"Well they didn't. They thought that was wrong, and well. They remembered all of that. And there was.. maybe 4 of them? Adult's but not that much older than me.. just. God this really doesn't sound good now that I'm saying this aloud." Reki laughed nervously, his hands fidgeting with the handle he held tightly between both hands. "They kind of just- jumped me, I guess. It's not really fight if you just let it happen after all. And because of everything that led up until then, I just- sat there. At least until Mr. Oka found me and told me all of what happened at S."
"I- jeez.." He shook his head. That sounded like a total train wreck, and if that's what happened. Miya could kind of understand why he ran away then. "Is that why you ran away then?"
"Huh? Oh." Reki fumbled over his words, again. "No- I.. I just, d.. didn't feel like I was worthy. To talk with you guys. Back then anyways.."
"Miya, I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you then and.." But he couldn't, Reki couldn't tell him now. He hated this. Whenever people wouldn't tell him the truth, especially when it looked like they thought he couldn't handle it. "Listen you can punch me, if it makes you feel better. I've been all too stupid recently." His hand's felt too shaky to move. Miya wanted to punch him, so bad. To punch him hard, like he totally deserved. Like he literally said he could. Or grab his hand, and make sure he didn't run away again.
"Can't we just talk about this?" Miya knew he was partially to blame for what happened. If Reki left now, he wouldn't get to understand what happened, why he left, what he did wrong. "We can talk about your issues- and mine if it make it easier! But with some food, because I'm hungry."
"... Yeah, yeah that works. I know a good mochi place." The air seemed a little less fragile as he spoke. "And you don't need to talk about it. Trust me- I understand that. You're hurting too."
Miya hadn't had mochi in a long time, he remembered it was a sweet kind of dessert of sorts. But it sounded nice, like he was getting a friend back- even though Reki was already back. "Mochi?"
"Mhm. Mochi as we talk, as friends do." Reki put an arm around his back, supporting him as they walked towards their destination. Not leaving too much pressure on his foot, it still hurt, but not as much like this. "Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah," he smiled slightly, "some mochi sounds nice."