Chapter Text
“In this world… there are those who are useful, and those who aren't.”
Red spray paint dried over the words quickly. It reeked as Rensuke walked past, must've been freshly sprayed.
He paid no mind to it. That wasn't the type of street cleaning he was about to sign up for.
He walked through the dirtied streets, stepping in puddles of what could have been water, animal defecation, or human defecation. Thank goodness he has combat boots on.
He approached a building that wasn't too tall, maybe two stories at the very most. The first floor was made almost entirely of windows that were, surprisingly, mostly unbroken.
He stepped up towards the doors and promptly pushed on them. Only to find that they wouldn't budge. He pushed again, frustrating himself. He saw an odd-looking guy with two-toned hair, sitting at the desk in the center of the room, laughing at him.
That's how he realized the door was blatantly labeled “Pull” and had handles.
What? He hadn't had any coffee today. It's not like he was an idiot. People made mistakes like this all the time.
He sighed and opened the door, hoping the guy at the desk would give him the benefit of the doubt and not joke too much.
“Can't read, buddy?” The guy at the desk cackled.
Rensuke grimaced, “It's been a rough day.”
“Uh-huh.” The odd-guy smiled knowingly before looking at his computer and typing something up, “I'm guessing that's why you're here?”
Rensuke’s face froze at the upfront question. He wasn't expecting the receptionist to assume things so non-confidentially.
“Your face is funny!” He laughed again, “It's obvious what you're here for. You don't look like the type of guy who'd come here for another reason.”
“I'm not here to hire someone, if that's what you think.” Kunigami said, face unmoving.
The other seemed surprised by this, but his smile didn't waver, “Oh? You must be the new recruit Yoichi was talking about.”
Rensuke nodded.
The other typed more stuff on his computer and then stood from his seat as the wall behind him parted to reveal a small elevator, enough for three people to comfortably fit in. The guy beckoned him into the elevator.
Rensuke was surprised, and it must've shown through his expression because the other guy answered an unasked question.
“This place is an old reclaimed government building.”
“Impressive.” Was all Rensuke could say as he joined the other in the elevator.
The doors closed and the small space slowly descended. Oh.. so they were going down. What was on the top floor?
His thoughts were interrupted by the other presences’ introduction.
“The name's Bachira Meguru.”
“Kunigami Rensuke.”
The rest of the descent was quiet save for the ding that sounded off when they reached the bottom floor.
The two walked out of the elevator, side by side, silently, all the way down the hall to an office with a gold plaque next to it that read “Isagi Yoichi”.
He recognized the name as the one Bachira had said before.
Bachira knocked on the door. “Yoichi~” he called out.
Footsteps could be heard coming towards the door, faintly.
Then the door opened and behind it stood a man with dark hair and blue eyes. He stood at about 5’8”, pathetic next to Rensuke's 6’2”.
However, this was the man Rensuke would be requesting a job from.
Rensuke bowed, “It's an honor to meet you Isagi-san-”
Isagi waved him off, “Isagi is fine. You must've been raised in one of the northern prefectures, where honorifics are still in use. That's one of the places Ego only recently conquered.”
Rensuke grimaced at the mention of the enemy.
Isagi gestured for Rensuke to step into his office, “Have a seat in here and we can begin our discussion.”
As Rensuke stepped inside, Isagi turned his attention to Bachira, “Meguru, you can return to the front now.” He bid the man farewell before shutting himself in his office with Rensuke and promptly taking a seat in the nice chair behind his desk.
“Kunigami Rensuke, 23 years old, stands at 6’2”, it's a pleasure to meet you. As you may already know, I am Isagi Yoichi, the leader of The Rebellion against the tyrannical efforts of Ego Jinpachi.”
Rensuke just nodded.
Isagi continued, “You're here today to join our efforts, correct?”
Rensuke nodded.
“Then I'm sure you realize what we do here, but just to be completely clear, we help rebuild raided villages, we kill people that abuse their power, we occasionally go into The Den – Ego Jinpachi’s fortress, so to speak – to free imprisoned refugees, we protect citizens in The Outposts – Rundown, raided cities that refugees and non-Egoists live in. Sometimes we fight crime on the streets just to try and clean up the little anarchal society we reside in.”
Rensuke finally provided a verbal response, “Sounds like an interesting job.”
“Indeed,” Isagi started, “What is your background, Kunigami? Any job experience, any connections to Egoism?”
A question Rensuke was expecting. He obliged with an answer, “I grew up in Akita with my two sisters and my parents. I went to high school there. I went to the police academy for a little bit, then this Ego bastard showed up and everything went crazy. My family was relocated all the way to the other side of Japan. I have police training, combat experience, knowledge of arms, killing experience, and a firm hatred for Ego and his shitty empire.”
Isagi typed a few long sentences down on his computer and clapped, “Great! So another one for revenge!”
“Isn't everyone trying to get revenge?” Rensuke asked as if it was a common thought to seek revenge in the type of society they lived in. Broken and discarded by a high-and-mighty government that couldn't be bothered to look their way.
“You’d be surprised.” Isagi looked at his computer screen studying a message he just recieved. His eyes shut expectantly, like he knew the outcome of everything. “Some people are running.”
Then he shut his computer and walked out of his office, beckoning Kunigami to follow.
“You're hired, by the way.”
Just as the two entered the hallway, a large flying object hurled its way towards them and dirtied the wall next to Isagi’s door with a loud thud.
Rensuke turned in time to see it hit the floor, it was a severed head. Cleanly sliced, he noted.
Isagi sighed, putting the fingertips of his left hand to his temple.
“Must you always be so brash?” He asked.
A cold voice answered back, “I wasn't brash. It's a clean cut, no excess spinal cord or anything.”
That's what made Rensuke look up from the decapitation on the floor.
His eyes were distracted immediately by a pink-haired individual. His long locks were tied back into a ponytail, his bangs disrupted his strangely feminine complexion.
“What are you staring at Carrot-top?” The man asked, and it took Rensuke a full minute to register that he was talking to him.
Luckily, Isagi responded for him, “You're a ginger too, dumbass.”
“No. My hair is red. Not ginger.”
Isagi sighed, “Kunigami, meet Chigiri Hyoma. He's our most talented - and most insufferable - field agent.”
“I fucking heard that you piece of shit.” Chigiri snapped back.
So he's a hot-head.
Isagi turned to face Rensuke directly, “He doesn't always act like this-”
Chigiri rolled his eyes and turned around to walk away.
“- What did you get hit on on your mission again?” Isagi asked, and it almost sounded genuine and not like a tease.
Chigiri flicked him off and entered a room, leaving the two alone in the hallway.
“Wow.” Was all Kunigami said.
“He always makes such a mess.” Isagi huffed ,more to himself than anyone else. “As I was saying, you're hired. Feel free to familiarize yourself with the other staff members, and look around the place. You'll be assigned a partner as soon as possible. Sorry, until we can trust you fully, you'll have to work with someone.”
Rensuke nodded, that was understandable. He just hoped he didn't get paired with the hot head.
_________
He got paired with the hot head.
“You fucking asshole! What are you thinking?! You know I work alone!”
Rensuke could hear muffled yelling from behind the door of Isagi's office. Chigiri wasn't informed of his partnership with Rensuke until that very morning, by Rensuke, when he showed up asking about their partnership. Then the red-haired man promptly walked to Isagi's office, told Rensuke to wait outside, and slammed the door open and then shut. Then the yelling began.
Rensuke pressed his ear to the door to listen.
“Not anymore.” Isagi responded to Chirigi's childish outburst.
Chigiri growled, “What the fuck did I do to deserve a punishment!?”
“You threw a severed head at me and the new recruit.”
Chigiri stayed silent for a second.
“Sorry.” He said.
“You always go too far with your killings-”
“I'll stop!” Chigiri yelled, with an emotion other than annoyance.
“Hyoma, you can deal with working with a partner for a bit. He seems like a sweet person, maybe he'll mellow you out.”
That's when Chigiri stormed out of the office, hitting Rensuke in the face with the door.
Rensuke backed away, holding his head while Chigiri groaned and walked past him.
Rensuke had nothing better to do, so after the blinding head pain ceased, he followed.
The two entered the elevator and descended to a lower floor that Rensuke didn't know was there.
The doors opened and revealed a huge gear room. Weapons, stealth suits, ropes, a coffee maker, etc. Rensuke looked around in awe.
Chigiri just walked in and approached a locked weapons case. He put a pin into the little pad by the case and it unlocked.
Rensuke hated the silence between them. But he'd be damned if he broke it.
Finally – thank God finally – Chigiri sighed and spoke up, “What size are you?”
“Pardon?” Kunigami said, not entirely understanding what Chigiri meant.
“Clothes. Shirt, pants, shoes. Unless you would like to go on a mission in your ‘Akita high boys soccer's’ sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and blue, worn-down stereotypical converse.”
Rensuke chuckled nervously, “Oh… I'm large in men's shirts and pants. For shoes, I'm men's eleven.”
“Huge ass feet.” Chigiri said as he threw Rensuke some black clothes.
It looked like a black compression turtleneck and black stretchable pants.
Then Rensuke was hit in the face with a white jacket.
“Here. A jacket will keep you inconspicuous… and warm.”
Rensuke took it with kindness and turned around to face Chigiri, who was wearing a bigger jacket, big enough to be considered a coat, it also had a hood.
“Why do you get a bigger one?” Rensuke couldn't help but ask.
Chigiri cocked his head, “Because I'm more important.”
Rensuke was miffed by the cockiness, but he could keep his cool and change the subject, “So what's our mission today?”
“Since you're new, Isagi wants us on street patrol. I can't fucking believe it, I haven't been of street patrol in a hot minute…”
That last bit of whining didn't seem to be meant for Rensuke's ears, yet Chigiri still forced him to hear it anyway.
“What does that entail?” Rensuke asked.
Chigiri rolled his eyes, “Isn't the title obvious? We walk around the streets and kill people that are causing problems.”
“You're not supposed to kill them.” A rough voice interrupted Chigiri.
Chirigi turned around to face the voice, angry, “I didn't ask for your opinion, Raichi.”
The blonde man walked up to the two and ignored Chigiri to talk to Rensuke.
He put his hand on top of Chigiri's head and said, “Is the Princess bothering you, newbie?”
Chigiri slapped his hand off his head just as Rensuke caught the nickname.
Chigiri immediately noticed that he caught the nickname and death-glared him, “don't take mental note of that.”
Rensuke nodded, knowing full well he took a mental note of that.
“What the hell do you want Raichi?” Chigiri snapped.
“To piss you off.” Raichi smirked with a shit-eating grin.
“You succeeded. A note for next time, you don't even have to try!”
Raichi, again, ignored Chigiri and faced Rensuke, “You must've made a pretty bad first impression to end up with Princess as your mentor.”
This time, it was Chigiri's turn to ignore Raichi and steal Rensuke's attention. He grabbed the ginger's arm and started walking towards the elevator.
“We'd love to stay and chat, Raichi, but unfortunately we have to go do our jobs, unlike you apparently.”
“I hope you step in dog shit!” Raichi yelled before the doors of the elevator closed.
“I hope you're working on an explosive today and you drop it in your lap and then it blows your dick off!” Chigiri shouted back.
“You wanna do WHAT to my dick?!”
Chigiri gritted his teeth and smashed a hand into the button panel of the elevator, presumably to make the doors shut, but nothing happened and the doors shut at their normal time.
When they finally made it out into the streets of the Outpost, Chigiri was still angry.
“Hey,” Rensuke began, apparently not fearing God at the moment, “Is there a reason you're so touchy with your emotions?”
Chigiri stopped in his tracks.
Uh oh.
Chigiri turned around to face Rensuke, confusion and anger burning through his expression.
“Maybe it's because I showed up to work today thinking I would be on my schedule only to be disturbed by a random tag-along.”
Rensuke gritted his teeth, this guy was really irritating, “You get that upset when your schedule is interrupted? Jeez, that guy in the gear room was right, you are a Princess.”
Rensuke could tell that ticked Chigiri off, because Chigiri was refusing to break eye contact with him. It was as if he couldn't believe Rensuke had the nerve to say these things to him.
“Go explore the south side. I'll explore the north.” Chigiri said, his voice used and almost raw for no reason at all.
“You want us to split up?”
“What are you scared of being alone in this city? Jeez, who's the Princess now?”
Rensuke grimaced, “I'm not scared. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. It's just that… won't Isagi be mad?”
“That blue-eyed-bitch can go suck Bachira’s cock. I work alone, not in tandem or harmony. I fucking hate teamwork.” Chigiri huffed.
“Whatever, edgelord.” Rensuke shrugged before opening the map on his phone. Isagi had sent it to him the night before, since the Outpost was still unfamiliar territory for him.
Before he could even situate his surroundings, Rensuke watched Chigiri leave the scene. He sighed to himself and muttered, “What an asshole.” before walking towards the southern area of the Outpost.
___________
Hyoma rounded a corner, checking his watch. It had been just ten minutes since him and Kunigami separated, and he had already made it to the Northmost end of The Outpost. It was the end closest to the Egoist walls and Hyoma didn't think Kunigami was ready to face that.
He sighed, thinking of the ginger. He supposed at least his job would be faster than usual. Hopefully Kunigami was competent.
He stepped into an alleyway, walking through approaching the exit when he saw a familiar build of armor.
His heart froze and he quickly hid himself in the shadows, putting his hood up.
An Egoist guard? What the hell are they doing out here? An Egoist wouldn't be caught dead in the Outpost.
He looked even closer, analyzing the figure.
It's not even an automated guard. It's an actual human being. They must be of a high rank.
He moved to a different area of the alleyway to get a better view.
The guard had a large build, strong arms, tall stature.
The only way a guard of his ranking would be out here is if Ego was planning-
His face sank.
No. Ego can't be planning an expansion!
He stared at nothing, trying to process his realization.
Can he?
He had to get information. He had to know what was going to happen. He had to know and his ticket to knowledge was right in front of him.
I'll just call Kuni- no.
He took his hand off his phone, abandoning the idea. He had killed Ego’s men before, he could do it again. He didn't need help.
He sprang out of the alleyway and just as the guard turned, he lunged. The guard reacted quick, too quick, and with an iron swing a hunk of metal collided with the side of Hyoma's face, launching him into the near wall and promptly onto the floor.
Ah. A bionic arm. Something Hyoma didn't account for. He laid on the floor, blood pouring down his forehead.
The guard shook his hand, as if he'd dirtied it. Then he walked over towards Hyoma.
Hyoma struggled upwards, causing the guard to stop in shock, however he didn't let it show on his face when Hyoma looked up at him.
“Still alive? Impressive.”
Hyoma’s hood fell off of his head and when the soldier locked eyes with him, the expression on his face was painted with recognition that Hyoma never wanted to see.
“Oh Lord Ego’s gonna love this.” He said in a sarcastic tone, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of the beaten-up Hyoma as he fell back onto the ground from his depleting strength.
The last thing he caught before passing out was a gunshot and a thud right next to him, followed by the calling of his name that he could vividly understand.
__________
Hyoma was running down a corridor.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
The metal of his bionic prosthetic slammed against the floor with every heavy, fleeting step.
The white walls were too overwhelming. The white floors were too overwhelming.
The fluorescents beamed down, highlighting his features in a bright, non-human-like way as he sprinted as fast as his legs, both good and bad, could take him.
His breath was heavy and visible, the hall was cold.
He could hear the sounds of metal feet clank. Clank. Clanking against the ground.
He stopped running because they were surrounding him.
So he fell to his knees with another clank, shaking and hiding his face, under his forearms. Folding himself in a manner that deemed him invisible to others.
Then he was back. Back in that awful room. Back in that bed with an IV running through his veins. Full of things he couldn't possibly know the contents of. And God smite that awful beeping sound from the monitor that reminds him he's still alive and has to endure this for another million beeps! beep, beep, beep, beep…
Hyoma gasped, taking in a large amount of air as he quickly sat up in the bed, reaching first for the IV then abandoning the plan to cradle his head which had immediately started throbbing.
It was then that he noticed the people all around him.
He took a deep breath, trying not to focus on the intrusion in his arm.
“A-” he tried to say, but even speaking seemed to be difficult.
Everyone around him seemed to be listening intently.
“You're in the medical ward.” Isagi stated.
Yeah no fucking duh – Hyoma wanted to say, but his head was too busy driving him insane. Well his head and this damn IV.
“Take..” he tried to speak again, but failed.
Aryu – the rebellion doctor – approached, “You suffered a pretty bad blow to the head, but don't worry. You didn't suffer any permanent damage. Just one really bad concussion-”
“Take it out!” Hyoma screamed through his head pain, bringing everyone in the room to silence.
Aryu struggled to raise the question, “What?”
“IV!” Hyoma groaned.
“That's where your pain meds are going in-”
“-Don't care.” Chigiri said, his head splitting.
Aryu obliged and removed the IV. Once it was gone Chigiri seemed a bit more relaxed.
“Want us to explain to you what happened, Chigiri?” Isagi asked in a tone that seemed to be condescending, maybe sarcastic. Hyoma couldn't really tell.
“No.” Hyoma said in return. Sure, he couldn't remember getting hit, but by Isagi's tone he could tell that he did something stupid.
“Don't worry, I'll tell you.” Isagi said, regardless of Hyoma's feelings.
“You were out patrolling and decided that you wanted to try and jump an Egoist soldier. You essentially got bitch slapped into a concrete wall. Then, Kunigami killed the guy and saved your ass.”
“My hero.” Hyoma spat sarcastically and rolled his eyes, still rubbing his head which he had now noticed was wrapped in bandages.
“Even when injured, he manages to be a pain in my ass.” Isagi sighed, “You could at least say thank you to your partner for saving you. Without his interference you would have been captured by the Egoists.”
Chigiri's eyes widened. He was in so much pain that he didn't even look at it that way. Isagi was right. If Kunigami didn't come and kill that guard, Hyoma would have been taken prisoner.
“How did you even know I was in trouble?” Hyoma asked Kunigami, refusing to accept that he had reason to serve gratitude.
“Your message “ Kunigami responded.
“What message? I never sent you a message.” Hyoma was correct about this, he had only thought about calling for backup, which was a moment of weakness. He never actually executed the idea.
“You're typing bubbles popped up, my house alerted me that someone was typing. I never expected you to contact me so when you did and then just disappeared, I had a hunch you were in danger.”
“A… hunch?” Hyoma asked, baffled.
“Like a Spidey Sense!” Bachira said, “You really are like a hero, Kunigami!”
Hyoma grumbled, “why then?” He unintentionally snapped, “I've been nothing but an asshole to you, so why travel across the Outpost because of a hunch?!”
Kunigami scratches the back of his head, “Because you're my partner… also, I was already done scouting.”
Hyoma made a noise that was a mixture of a sigh and a groan as he forcefully, though regrettably, laid back down on the bed.
Great. Kunigami was just a perfect guy. Kind, strong, resilient, competent, hard-working. That meant Hyoma couldn't find a reason to dislike him. Which meant Hyoma faced a new challenge, trying to figure out what it's like to interact with someone in a way that wouldn't distance them from you.
Which would have been easy, if Hyoma was willing to try. Which he wasn't.
They kept him in the medical ward all day long and when it was time for him to go home, they issued him an escort. And who better than his partner?
Hyoma stumbled out the door, an arm unwillingly draped over Kunigami's broad shoulders.
When they got outside, Hyoma parted himself from Kunigami's direct aid.
“I can walk alone.” He stumbled, tripping over his own prosthetic.
Kunigami noticed and grabbed his arm to keep him balanced.
Hyoma half-accepted the help and stabilized himself, grimacing at his metal leg.
Kunigami noticed the leg too, he noticed when he carried Hyoma back to headquarters earlier that day. As much as he wondered about it, he felt it would be insensitive of him to ask. Nevertheless the leg did look cool.
However, there was one thing that Kunigami had to ask.
“Hey, Chigiri…. That guard that hit you, we went through his things at HQ and we hacked into his phone and found out that he took a picture of you before I shot him. We were all wondering why so I figured I'd ask you.”
Chigiri grimaced, “Maybe he's just an asshole who brags about who he beats up.”
Kunigami raised an eyebrow, he didn't believe what Hyoma was saying and Hyoma didn't elaborate further. But Kunigami figured maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to pry.
“Isagi says I have to walk you home.”
“I know. I was there when he told us, dumbass.” Chigiri snapped back.
“Then c’mon. Let's walk.” Rensuke was just trying to make conversation with Chigiri, but of course the asshole wouldn't take the hint.
The two walked in silence, with only the rhythmic tap of the metal of Chigiri's leg colliding with the floor in a single step. It was a faint noise that Rensuke wouldn't have noticed if he didn't know about the prosthetic.
They walked for about fifteen minutes, until they reached a rundown apartment, which looked quite like the one Rensuke himself was living in. He supposed every Outpost living arrangement was like this.
Chigiri fiddled with his keys then opened the door.
He stood there for a moment, seeming to be thinking something over.
Then he turned to Rensuke, scanning the streets while he directed his gaze properly.
“Come in, I want to discuss something with you.”
Rensuke hadn't expected the invitation and he regretted letting his shock show through the flush in his face.
Rensuke barley found it in himself to nod as he entered the small apartment.
Inside there was a dingy sofa, green in color. There was a banged up coffee table sitting in front of it.
In the corner of the room was a bed, a small one, but a bed nonetheless. Covered in blankets and pillows and… was that a plushie of a black cat?
Across from the bed area was a small kitchenette, with a mini-fridge, a stove, and a microwave.
“Sit on the sofa, I'm gonna make some coffee.” Chigiri said, walking to his kitchen area.
“Coffee? At ten pm?” Rensuke questioned.
“Caffeine helps me sleep,” Chigiri said, pulling out a mug from his cabinet and starting up his cheap coffee maker.
“Would you like a cup?” Chigiri asked across the room.
Rensuke shook his head, if he drank coffee right now, he wouldn't sleep at all.
After a few minutes, Chigiri finally sat down next to Rensuke with a steaming black cup of coffee with no sugar or anything. It was just straight caffeine.
“You said you and Isagi searched the body of the guard you killed?” Chigiri began the conversation.
Rensuke nodded.
“I want you to tell me what you found.”
Rensuke paused for a moment, “Like what?”
Chigiri sighed, “Any identification that might tell us his identity, his status, his ranking, something?”
Rensuke nodded again, “His name was Arata Aoki. He was twenty four years old… hold on, here's a picture I took of the ID.”
Rensuke held up his cell phone that had a cracked screen.
The phone definitely didn't get good service, but the camera still worked.
Chigiri analyzed the ID.
Arata Aoki. Age 24. Ranking….
Hyoma's eyes surfed the picture for something indicative of ranking.
He's been an Egoist citizen since birth. Ah - there it is… Rank: Leader . Title: General of Guards. So he was one of four generals that looked over the guards.
Hyoma realized he was being far too quiet when Kunigami cleared his throat.
Hyoma quickly snapped out of it and said, “He was a general, right here.” He points to a corner of the ID. “Every Egoist soldier that isn't automated carries with them an ID that tells their rank. If Ego deems them useful, they get to show that they're useful.”
Hyoma leaned back on the couch, propping his feet up and sighing, “I've killed so many of Ego's men that I've picked up knowledge.”
Rensuke stared at his leg again, then back to the ID.
“Do most of Ego's soldiers have bionic limbs? Or is this guy just special?”
“Egoists have access to high tech medical treatments so if they pay the money to get a robotic limb, they can get one. If someone in Ego's crew is high ranking, Ego will do what he can to keep them useful.”
Chigiri sighed again, “But it's important to recognize specific tech. Just because someone has bionic limbs doesn't mean they're an Egoist soldier, or an Egoist at all. Some people just have regular bionic limbs, given to them by outpost doctors like Aryu.”
“Aryu can do stuff like that?” Kunigami sounded surprised.
Hyoma nodded, “Raichi builds the limbs and Aryu attaches them.”
“Is that how you got your leg?” Rensuke accidentally asked, before immediately regretting it, worrying about the reaction Chigiri would give.
Hyoma just stopped, his mouth formed into a wobbly smile.
-
“Don't! I don't need your help! Get away from me!” Hyoma yelled at the top of his lungs at the two that were trying to help him.
“Just let us look-” someone said, but was cut off.
“You can't take it! It'll - It'll-”
-
“Mhmm!” Hyoma uttered out through his nose.
“I'm sorry, that was probably super insensitive!” Kunigami said apologetically.
Hyoma just waved him off.
After a full minute of silence, Kunigami broke it, “is that all you wanted to discuss?”
Hyoma blinked a few times, Kunigami was probably tired. He'd been working all day long, and it was getting late.
“Yes.” He said, wondering why he even invited Kunigami inside for something they could've easily discussed tomorrow. Maybe it was the concussion.
“Alright then. I'll head out.” Kunigami stood to leave when Hyoma grabbed his arm.
“You should probably stay here.” He barely managed to get out.
Kunigami cocked his head to the side, “What?”
“It's too late to be out. You're new around the outpost so you could get lost and the streets are full of muggera. Just stay here and sleep on the couch.”
Rensuke wasn't going to argue, he sat back down promptly, then let out a chuckle, “Are you seriously worrying for me? I thought you hated me.”
Ah- That was a new expression he'd never seen Chigiri make. Was he… shy?
Hyoma looked away from Kunigami, “I don't… hate you. I mean… it's just.. you saved me, so I feel like the least I could do is make sure you don't die stupidly on the street.”
“In carrying a gun, Chigiri.” Rensuke fought back a chuckle.
“Right… I know that, and you are more than capable of defending yourself-”
“- Relax, I'll stay here. I'm pretty tired so it actually works out better for me.”
“Oh. Okay.” Hyoma said, getting up from the couch and giving Kunigami room before pulling the string of the fan to turn the light off, then walking to his bed.
Rensuke noticed he didn't do anything, he didn't change his clothes, he didn't remove his prosthetic, maybe it wasn't detachable?
Rensuke decided maybe it would be best to not ask him about anything and just, lay there and sleep.