Hunted

It had been a bad day for everyone. Especially Rex. Nele felt guilty for being such a brat; shouldn't have said those things to Kyun. Sure, he did rather Kyun hate him than pity him, but that was going to far. Wouldn't be surprised if Kiyoshi was disgusted by him too after that, but he intended to make amends somehow.

He walked down the hall, carrying a couple bags from the store he went to. Didn't buy much. Just some tea that might help Kiyoshi, pain pills, light snacks in case Kiyoshi got hungry, a few other odds and ends for himself and beer for everyone else. All of it he charged to Leandor's credit card, of course. It was annoying that the cashier demanded to see his ID, but he had it ready.

The door was locked again. He forgot to take a key. Cringing, he gave it a quiet knock. He suspected he'd have a bit of trouble before they let him in, but maybe one of the nice ones would answer... Like... Choi?

Nothing happened. After waiting for a while, he knocked harder. More time passed, but finally the door opened to reveal that Korean he had hoped for. A vague smirk was plastered on the guy's face, and he quickly stepped aside to provide passage without a word.

Nele sighed with relief and gave Choi a sheepish smile as he walked inside. He put the bag with the beer on the coffee table and then looked around. No one else was in sight. A good thing and a bad thing. "Where is everyone?"

The Korean closed and locked the door behind him, then shrugged. "Around in the other rooms, I guess. Can't say I've paid much attention." Despite it being early in the evening, Choi stifled a yawn, then started walking slowly in the direction of the couch.

Great help he was. As far as Nele could tell, Takuya wouldn't likely be alone in his room, and Leandor wouldn't willingly be alone with Takuya. That was concerning. Where was that mocking fool? He wandered over to the bedroom door he shared with Kiyoshi and lifted his hand to knock. Stopping himself, he figured if the prick Takuya was in there doing something he shouldn't be, Nele didn't want to give him a chance to not get caught. So without further hesitation, he opened the door and walked in.

Luckily nothing bad was happening. Kiyoshi was laying down and Takuya was sitting by his head, chattering in Japanese. "Hey..." Nele put the other bag on the dresser top and picked a kitten up off the floor. "What did I miss?"

Both the other youngsters looked over at him in silence for a bit, then Takuya eventually decided to talk. "The girl came around. Stefania Mancini..." he frowned a bit, then shrugged. "And you, any exciting news?"

"No, I just bought some things." He frowned to himself as he stepped over another two kittens wrestling in the middle of the floor. After taking a seat in a chair by the window, he looked down at the purring critter in his hand. There was no way he could meet Kiyoshi's eyes while he was feeling so guilty. "The cunt has a name now? What did she want?"

Takuya didn't hesitate as long this time. "She tried to kill your blond buddy. Had the guts to go for it in the courtyard, even. That head can't possibly be working right."

He looked up at that and studied the other man. Was he kidding? No, that would be a sick thing to joke about. "Shit! That fucking twat! Do you know why she would try to kill him? I mean, Lea was a friend of the Mancini family, so why the fuck would they turn against him?" Nele stopped when he noticed the kitten getting jumpy so he toned himself down a bit. "Is he okay?"

"I hope so. It looked rather unsettling with all that blood, but I don't think she got around to stab him deep. You could check up on him, though. I'd think he'd appreciate that." He paused a bit, then added in a contemplative voice. "Why? I don't know. Maybe I should ask Ramesh later tonight..."

Blood? Seeing both Rex and Kiyoshi injured in one day, he didn't want to see anyone else he cared about like that. Of course there was little choice. Refusing to see Leandor just because of his own self-pity would be selfish and cruel. He gazed over at that cute Japanese he cared about so much, still not quite able to meet Kiyoshi's eyes. "Do you want something to drink? I bought some tea and some snacks. Are you hungry at all?"

The black-haired Japanese smiled at him. "I suppose there'll be a dinner to eat soon, but a little bit of snacks can't hurt, right?" He chuckled lightly as he pushed himself up, the sound ending in a pained groan as he leant his back against the wall.

He got up right away and went to the bag. The kitten was clinging to his arm with its tiny claws so he plucked it off and put it down near its siblings. Snatching the bag off the dresser, he turned to go sit down on the floor next to the bed. "Let's see... I've got a packet of crackers, chips, chocolate bars, chewy fruit thingies, and some weird looking cookies."

With a bit of surprise in his expression, Kiyoshi chuckled again, this time remaining still and avoiding potential pain. "You're like a café! Chewy fruit sounds refreshing... thanks, Nele."

Gazing at the two other youngsters for a bit, Takuya eventually spoke up. "I can make us that tea if you want..." Despite that topic being less serious, the yellow-haired Japanese still kept that calm, deep tone with a slight frown on his face. It was strange to see the guy like that, but in a way it was a big improvement.

Nele pulled the fruit chews out of the bag and opened the package quickly before handing them over to Kiyoshi. Fishing around in the bag again, he located the tea and held it out to Takuya. "I don't think anyone's in much of a cooking mood. We could just order in. I'll pay for it."

Takuya shrugged. "Nah, I'll make dinner in an hour or so." He accepted the tea, then wandered quickly out of the room.

Popping one of the fruit thingies into his mouth, Kiyoshi chewed absent-mindedly for a bit. When he finally swallowed it, he patted the bed next to him. "Sit here? There's something I want to talk to you about..."

Oh no. Sounded like what he'd been dreading. Nele hesitated, unsure of whether he wanted to be reminded of that fatally moronic mistake he had made, but there was no way he wanted to disobey Kiyoshi. Abandoning the bag on the floor- only to have it immediately attacked by a gang of kittens – he got up onto the bed beside the Japanese. "... What is it?"

It took a while before Kiyoshi started talking. "When all this is over, and we get a new place to stay..." His voice trailed off, and he started playing idly with the package in his hand. When he caught himself, he smiled sheepishly for a second, then put on a more serious expression and claimed eye contact. "I'd like for you to move in with us. Think you'd want that?"

Nele nearly passed out from shock. He gawked dumbly at Kiyoshi for a moment while the words slowly began to register. That had been the last thing he expected. As soon as his brain was able to function again, he moved closer to Kiyoshi and slid an arm around his waist, careful to avoid hurting him. "I've been a huge Jackass. You aren't mad at me?"

Looked like the Japanese needed a few seconds to think about that. "Why would I be mad at you? Can't see any Jackasses here, all I see is a sexy redhead I want to fuck..." With a light sigh, he added, "I'm sorry I might not be in shape to tonight." Kiyoshi brought a hand up to slowly graze Nele's cheek.

"Living with you would be fucking awesome, but I don't think the others would be all too hard-up with that idea." He rested his head on Kiyoshi's shoulder. Moving in with that group was bound to require some serious ass-kissing if there was any hope of being accepted. "Maybe I should apologise to Kyun."

Kiyoshi's free hand wandered over his torso, and he let out a light cough. "I didn't expect you to do that, but if you would, that could help..." With a deep breath, he moved his fingers up into the red hair. "You know, you're right, it's not my call. In theory it's Taro and Jeong-Hwan's, but in practice, Luo and Kyun can get their way."

The door opened again, and Takuya walked into the room with three clattering tea cups on a small tray. "Tea's ready! What are you guys talking about?"

It was probably safe to assume Takuya was the last person who would support him. Nele sighed and watched the tiny felines playing in the bag for a moment. Getting Luo's backing would probably be just as impossible, but maybe Kyun wasn't hopeless. It might even be easy if he could win over the mouse first. How hard could that be? That rodent liked everyone. "We're talking about how to kiss Kyun and Luo's asses. Any suggestions would be much appreciated."

The yellow-haired youngster gave a weak smile. "You seemed to be doing a great job with Kyun's until today. Arguing with him is a faux pas, though. I mean, I think you're great fun because I like that sort of thing. He'll hold it against you. Hell, I should know. I don't think he's very fond of me." He shrugged, then moved over to sit on the bed next to Kiyoshi. "Luo's real easy, though. I think the only one he doesn't like is Taro."

"You know, once upon a time, Lea was more of a fuck-up than me. I miss those days." Nele sighed and absently gave Kiyoshi's neck a light kiss. "Think Kyun would forgive me if I say sorry to the mou..." He trailed off, forgetting the rodent's name for a moment. "... Jillian, no! Julian?"

"What do you think Kiyoshi? He seems rather fond of you... I wouldn't know how to make him forgive, I'm not good at that." Takuya held up the tray over towards the others, retracting it when both had retrieved theirs.

Kiyoshi seemed lightly annoyed at that. "Oh, give me a break. He's got so many things to dislike you for, if you apologise for one it doesn't matter. Not that I think you even tried that." He rolled his eyes, then focused on the redhead. "That could work. I don't know."

Nele frowned in thought and gazed down at the tea. Had to place it safely on his lap and hold it with one hand so he wouldn't have to retract his arm from around Kiyoshi. He didn't want to let go yet. "It's worth a shot, I guess. I'm no good with guys like Julian though. It's too hard to talk to them without saying something offensive. I'd get Lea to do it for me, but he'd do something stupid like cop a feel." His eyes drifted up to consider Takuya. "You've figured out this is because I want to live with Kiyoshi, right?"

"Ah." Takuya said as if that cleared up a big mystery. He blinked slowly while taking a long sip of the tea, gazing over at the opposite wall. "You know that you need more than forgiveness for that, right? You need someone to stand up for you when the big guys comes around, and unfortunately, that can't be Kiyoshi."

"The big guys? What big guys? I don't like the sound of that..." Way to be the bearer of bad news. Nele looked back and forth between Kiyoshi and Takuya. That just sounded like more people to be hated by, which wouldn't likely help his case very much. "Big guys, as in small, but important, or big guys as in big?"

"They're bigger than you... about Kyun's size, I guess." Takuya's tone was a calm monotone, apparently not focused on mocking at this point. "It's their gang. Comes down to them whether you can stay or not."

Maybe continuing living with Leandor wasn't such a bad idea. Surely Lea would find a nice condo somewhere and welcome him in. He shook his head, knowing he'd do all he could to stay with Kiyoshi, regardless of the big mean obstacles standing in his way. "In order to get in good with them, I have to have Kyun or Luo backing me? I fucked things over pretty securely with them. How is it even possible?"

Takuya stretched his arms out to the sides. "Well, you know me, and I'm still here. How hard can it be?" He laughed lightly, then pushed to his feet. "You two'll work it out. I'd better go check on the dumbfuck." Flashing a brief smile, he turned towards the door, cup in hand.

As if the dumbass would be doing anything different. Nele took a sip of his tea and then lifted his head enough to gaze curiously at his favourite Japanese. "I guess we can work it out later. I'm just glad you're okay. I'm sorry I got you hurt..."

~~~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260