Hibiscus (Yaoi)(BoyXBoy)

Chapter 13: Once More

His entire body felt stiff, as if his joints were in places that they should not have been in. He tried to move but they would not budge and the slightest of movements made his wounds ache all the way to his bones. The room smelt faintly of antiseptic and there was a constant drip in the background.

Yuki attempted to recall the previous moments as his blue eyes adjusted to get accustomed to the lightning within the room. He remembered this place, but familiar as it was, he knew that this was not his room. Recollections from before came slowly to his mind in a haze. He remembered dialling for someone on his cell and then there was darkness. And here he was.

The sheets the covered him were a dark crimson, with hibiscus flowers as embroidery on the top layer. The dark wood and stark white washed walls made this place familiar. He was at Massaki's apartment, connected to an intravenous drip. The male did not like the sound of that, but he was thankful that someone had come when he called. Though he was not expecting it to be the crime lord.

"You're awake." A male's voice came from the doorway as Yuki tried to sit up, wincing slightly in pain. "You shouldn't be moving around."

The male walked over to help the other. He was taller than Yuki was, with dark hair that was swept neatly to the side. The male had broad shoulders that his jacket framed nicely and the same clean-cut suit that men of his trade would wear. Clean cut and expensive too.

"Who are you? My mother?" Yuki sneered the best that he could, accepting the support that the other male had offered and finally sat up. He was panting slightly from the effort.

"Kokusui-sama said that you'd be a difficult one. I'm Kia Kou and I'm stuck here babysitting you." Kia replied the assassin with vague amusement.

Yuki's perfectly sculpted brows furrowed. He was not accustomed to being talked down to like a child; he was more often than not, capable of taking care of himself. Other than occasions like this one, he would normally be unscathed. Even bullet wounds that he had incurred on his previous missions had not required such heavy medical attention.

"I'm not difficult to deal with." He said indignantly. "I just like to think of myself as feisty when I'm not in the best of moods."

"Feisty, indeed." Kia replied with mock sarcasm. He pulled up a chair from the dresser and settled at the assassin's bedside. "I'm not going to beat around the bush but what happened?"

The assassin had subconsciously raised his hand to the bruise on his right cheek. He looked at Kia, expression grim but slightly sorrowful. "Have you ever heard of Chrome?"

"Chrome." Kia repeated thoughtfully. "Is that a code name? If it is, then yes, I've heard about him coming to Japan."

"Chrome..." The young male hesitated for a moment. "Chrome was once my partner, lover even. He taught me to shoot, fight and gave me my first weapon. He gave me something to look forward to while we were still children."

"What happened?"

"We were posted to different countries, with vastly different roles. He was a hit man. The best one any could hire. And I who was equipped with a more specific set of skills, was sent here." Yuki said, his voice sad and eyes wandering towards the window panes and the city line beyond. "We broke up. It's been years now and he turned up at my doorstep today."

"So he hit you because of that? Out of the blue?" Kia was slightly confused now, wondering why would Chrome have hit the other assassin without reason.

"No, he said some stuff and then I retaliated. It was hurtful retaliation. I partially regret what I said but I had to anyway." He gave a tired laugh, wincing in pain as he did so. "It looks ugly, doesn't it?"

"The bruise will go away." Kia said reassuringly when the assassin had pulled his hair to cover the blemish on his face. "Won't he come after you?"

"I think I can handle myself just fine." Yuki snapped before shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

Kia smiled. He reached over and ruffled the assassin's long locks before making his exit. "Don't worry about it. You'll be safe here." He cast a backward glance at Yuki before shutting the bedroom door behind him with a slight click.

Yuki gave a slight sigh before readjusting his position and slipped into a peaceful slumber.

+

He woke up a couple of hours later, the sun had set and the city lights were lit, it was a beautiful view from his room. Yuki knew he could not stay. Part of him wanted to, but the other wanted to leave. He was wild and free, determined to be elusive and mysterious.

"The view's beautiful, isn't it?" A deep and throaty voice came from the doorway, light from the living spilling into darkness of his room.

The crime lord had entered so silently, Yuki had failed to notice his entrance. It troubled the assassin slightly that someone could sneak up on him like that but shrugged it off for the moment.

"Thanks." The younger male muttered avoiding the crime lord's piercing gaze.

"Kia told me about the bruise. How it happened." Massaki said quietly, it was a kind of quiet that made the assassin's skin crawl. "I must say I'm not too happy with his work."

He reached out to touch the bruise on Yuki's face, but the other male jumped at the motion and cried out when his wounds seared with pain in protest to the movement. Massaki retracted his hand, a small smile on his face.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" The assassin growled slightly, his expression indignant. His muscles were tense, adrenalin pumping through his veins readying him for flight response if the other were to attempt to touch him again.

The crime lord let out a low chuckle, a deep, throaty one that made it feel like velvet against his spine. "I am rather."

"You know that I'll hunt you down even if you did save me." Yuki said icily. He was not going to let go of his targets that's easily.

"That's what makes it interesting." Massaki smirked before exiting, leaving Yuki in darkness once more.