31_days | [April 28] [Gokusen] Sword

Title: Sword
Day/Theme: Bloodstain on the bed.
Pairing/Character: Ooshima Kyoutarou, Kuroda Ryuuichirou
Series: Gokusen [Manga]
Rating: R

:::

Someone opened the door. He didn't look up. There were footsteps, a firm thread that revealed the identity of the visitor.

“How is he doing?”

Kyoutarou grunted and then remembered who he was talking to—he said: “No change. Hasn't woken up yet. The doctor said that's not a bad thing, considering...”

There was a hum and then a touch on his shoulder. The hand pressed firmly, and there was strength in the curl of the fingers. Kyoutarou looked up at Kumichou and gave voice to the emotion threatening to choke him. “I'm sorry, Kumichou.”

Kumichou didn't look at him. He kept his gaze on the figure on the bed. Kyoutarou knew how disturbing it was, how unpleasant it made one feel to look down at Sawada laid out like that. The boy was unconscious, skin unnaturally pale, breathing shallow and still a little rapid. Sawada had passed out before they had reached the doctor. The doctor had taken care of the wound on his leg and had given him fluids and a blood transfusion, but the kid had yet to wake up. Kyoutarou hadn't left his side.

That was two hours ago.

“Why are you apologizing, Ooshima-san?” Kumichou asked, sounding almost casual. Kumichou moved around the bed to stand opposite Kyoutarou. He didn't glance at him.

Kyoutarou watched him carefully. He wasn't fooled. He could easily the tightness around the older man's eyes, the deliberate way he kept from looking at Kyoutarou.

“I've failed you, Kumichou,” Kyoutarou said, voice rough with thinly held emotion. He ducked his head and closed his eyes. “I've failed this family. The Young Master was my responsibility and I...I've failed the Young Master.”

There was silence. Kyoutarou could feel the Kumichou's gaze on him, an added weight that forced his head down further. He gritted his teeth. “I know what I've done is unforgivable but I beg you to let me atone for my actions.”

He heard the Kumichou snort. He kept his head down. “I think you've paid for your stupidity with your own flesh and blood.”

Kyoutarou opened his eyes and glanced at his right hand. His middle finger was wrapped thickly in gauze, covering the stump it had become.

“And you didn't fail completely,” the Kumichou continued, tone still cold and aloof; “Sawada still lives so no need for any added measure.” The threat hangs there, in the air above Sawada's bed. Kyoutarou lives because Sawada does, too. Otherwise...

Kyuoutarou pushes to his feet and braces himself on his thighs. He looks up at Kumichou. The Kumichou is looking at him, eyes flat and dangerous. “Command me, Kumichou, and I'll see to it personally.”

Kumichou doesn't look away when he says. “I want their heads, Ooshima-san. I want their eyes, their tongues, their still beating hearts. Do you think you can do that, Ooshima-san?”

“Yes, Kumichou-san.”