Tearless (Araluen Ekala&Squirrel

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It took awhile for Leon to wake up, though it wasn't like he really wanted to. Where he was laying was warm and soft. Something about the room he was in made him want to stay there forever and be like this. However he knew that he still had school to attend and still take on pairs that chose to seek him out to fight. That thought got his heart going only because his mind drifted onto Taishi. He sat straight up in bed wondering where Taishi was and what he was doing. Leon wondered if he was ok and as he looked around the room Leon;s eyes fell onto his friend staring at him.

Leon's brows knitted together wondering what Taishi was staring at and then he looked down at himself realizing that he was in his friends bed. "Oh um...sorry bout this. I hadn't meant to fall asleep that fast" he then slid his feet off the side of the bed and felt his back clench letting him know that it was sore. He had to fight back a wince of pain now knowing that he had done way to much the night before. "Did you sleep alright?" Leon asked as he pulled himself off the bed and stretched the rest of his body, even though they screamed back at him. All of last nights events soon came back to his mind and the pair that he had faced 'Wonder if Taishi is doing alright with all this new information' he thought to himself as he looked at Taishi till curious as to why his friend had been watching him so intently.
 
As Leon had woken, Taishi had been too absorbed in watching him that he actually hadn't realized that his friend was awake. It wasn't until Leon's words sank into his head that Taishi snapped out of it and sat back, blushing rather intently.
"I uhh.. Yeah I did, umm.." He rubbed the back of his neck as he felt quite awkward now, especially considering he knew that he'd probably been looking at Leon with a gaze that he never used in public or whilst the older boy was around. He watched Leon stretch and smiled softly at the apology.

"It's fine. You needed rest and I offered you my bed. I didn't want you walking home and falling asleep in the middle of the road or something. Oh, and you're welcome to take a hot shower or bath if you like." The blonde got to his feet, the smile and overall expression on his face not giving away any indication that the night's confrontation had bothered him at all. Taishi was just good at hiding things, really, especially his emotions - minus his sort-of break down the afternoon prior. He walked over to his wardrobe and grabbed out his own clothes for the day,
"I think Ne-chan has made pancakes; I told her when she came home last night that I had a friend stay over. So come down when you're ready." Taishi then left the bedroom, looking like nothing in the world could ever bother him.
 
Leon was preparing himself for an onslaught of questions or a lecture something but he was not expecting for Taishi to go about his day as normal and then just up and leave. That left him dumbfounded as he stared at the bedroom door. Leon wasn't sure what had just happened, only that Taishi's sister had come home, Taishi told her that he was there and that there was pancakes. So the only thing he really could do was walk over to the door and down the hall to the bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom he turned to the mirror glancing at himself and then turned away with a shrug of his shoulders. Leon stripped off his clothes and turned on the water making sure that it was decently hot before stepping under the water. Once the hot warm hit his skin he instantly relaxed and sighed in satisfaction. One of many things that he could depend on at Taishi's place was a nice hot shower. Leon washed up quickly and then shut everything off though he could have stayed under the water all day but he knew that he didn't want to waste their water and the fact that he had things to do today.

Leon dried off as much as he could and then slipped his jeans and shoes back on. However his back was still wet so he just held onto his shirt and walked out of the room. All Leon had to do was follow the smell of fresh pancakes to find Taishi and his sister downstairs. "I'm sorry to intrude on your home like this but I thank you for letting me stay last night" Leon looked Taishi's sister right in the eye and told him. He did not want her to dislike him because he knew that she was someone important in Taishi's life.
 
"You're not intruding!" Taishi pipped up after swallowing a mouthful of pancakes when Leon had finally come to join them downstairs.
"Tai-kun is right. You're not intruding. You're welcome over whenever you like." Kokoro smiled as she set another plate of stacked pancakes covered in syrup with a dollop of icecream on the top on the table beside Taishi, an indication that they were for Leon. The woman then went about cleaning, apparently already having eaten for herself earlier.
"I'll be early home today, Tai-kun, but I'll be going out again with Taro-san." Taro was her newly established boyfriend, or so Taishi liked to tease her about though the couple hadn't yet asked the other to actually be boyfriend/girlfriend despite his encouragement of her doing so.

"That's alright. It's about time you got out other than work." The blonde laughed softly with a teasing grin before he went back to finishing eating. He looked at Leon, though he didn't realize that he ended up just staring at the other's chest for a while, mouth partially open as he had a fork full of pancake ready to eat hanging just in front of his mouth.
"Tai-kun, you're staringggggg." Kokoro chimed with a soft laugh as she then left the kitchen after seeing her brother's cheeks flush red. He quickly looked away from Leon and shoved the rest of his food in his mouth. Kokoro was an very open-minded woman and Taishi knew that, though he never expected his sister to ever figure out that he was honestly interested in his friend.

With his head down a little, still embarrassed, Taishi stood and placed his now-empty plate on the sink and stood there for a moment, looking out the window that faced the fence of the yard.
"Sorry about that." He grinned as he turned around, scratching the back of his head as he did so, trying to cover everything up with a slight laugh and his smile.
 
Leon smiled at Kokoro and walked over to where she had set down the plate of pancakes however as he sat in front of them he realized that it was a big plate of food. Normally he wouldn't eat something like this and wasn't sure how much he would be able to eat of this. Leon ate healthy and that was because he had to stay in good shape just in case he was challenged to a fight. "Well thank you for letting me stay over and for the breakfast" he told her before she walked way and then he turned to the pancakes.

He was still trying to figure out how much he could eat without getting sick and without insulting Kokoro however he didn't get the chance to think it over with Kokoro comment. Leon's eyes shot over to Taishi just as he turned his attention to his friend. He hadn't even noticed Taishi staring at him but he really didn't mind. "It's fine Taishi" he decided that he would just apologize later for not being able to eat any of the food. He then got back to his feet and put his shirt back on. Leon didn't want to make things difficult for his friend so he would just take the distraction away even though Leon didn't think he was that great to look at. "So should we be getting to school so we aren't late"
 
Though of course he was still embarrassed even though Leon wasn't at all reacting badly to it, Taishi watched as his friend get up and put his shirt on without taking a bite. He wondered if maybe Leon was allergic or just didn't like pancakes. Then again he couldn't ever remember seeing the other eat anything that wasn't reasonably healthy.
"Y'know, you better grab something on the way to school. Else you'll be starving by lunch." Taishi teased lightly, a calm smile on his face as he went about acting like his usual happy self; all the while he'd grabbed the notepad and pen used to jot down messages from the phone and left a quick note for Kokoro before he turned back to Leon and nodded.

"Mmm, I think I have an exam this afternoon, or some sort of quiz, that I haven't at all studied." His words were true, though the tone in which he spoke was sarcastic for the simple fact that Taishi was the type of student that rarely needed to study for quizzes or minor exams. He then walked over to the door just around the corner from the kitchen and picked up his school bag from where he'd dropped it the night before,
"Do you think we've still got time for you to go home and get a fresh pair of clothes?" Taishi asked softly with the door half-open after glancing at the watched around his wrist. "Or maybe during lunch or something?"
 
Leon tried not to stare at him so that way Taishi could return to his normal self but he was also losing that battle with himself cause Leon liked to stare at his friend. He maybe be younger then him but for some reason Taishi seemed more like an adult then he did. With a nod of his head at Taishi comment he followed him over to the door picking up his own backpack and then looked down. He was still in his work clothes and hadn't even been home to wash them 'Just great. Now I'm getting lazy' he thought to himself and then turned to face Taishi. "I'll get something to eat no worries"

He listened to him talk about school and tests reminding Leon that he had a few tests that day as well. Though unlike Taishi he had to study most of the time but at the moment he would just wing his tests and see how that goes. "Well I know you'll do well on your quizzes. I'll have to run home here quick to change out of my work clothes. I'll meet you at the school gates, it shouldn't take me long" Leon explained to his friend and then pulled him in for a hug out of habit then he dashed out the door to get to his place before school would start.
 
After Taishi had watched his friend speed off. With a soft sigh he shook his head and finished pulling his shoes on before he began to walk. The entire time he practically dawdled, knowing that at least this time he had plenty of time to get there without needing to rush; plus it gave him time to think the night before over, and over, and over... Taishi shook his head and looked up at the sky. He should have bought an umbrella with him. Though it had been perfectly sunny not 10 minutes ago, the sky was now a dark grey and he had no doubts that it would rain before he could get to school.

Of course he was right, and about half-way to school it poured down. Seeking out shelter in hope it wouldn't last long, Taishi waited under a tree and pulled his phone out, leaning over it so that the rain wouldn't accidentally seep onto it whilst he typed.
'Leon, gonna be late. Stuck half-way to school cause of the rain. Pain in the ass. So I'll see you when I see you. Sorry.' He then tucked his phone back into his pocket after hitting the send button and sighed as he took another look out at the rain around him.

"Want to come with me?" A girl's voice sounded behind him and Taishi turned in surprise and saw a young girl with an umbrella. She would have easily been 3 years younger than him, and had her long brown hair tied in two cute braided pig tails; she looked like pictures he'd seen of his sister when she was younger. Taishi gave her a smile as he looked down at her and nodded,
"That would be nice. Thank you." He then took the umbrella that she offered to him - as he was taller he needed to hold it so he wouldn't hit his head on it's underside - and walked at the girl's pace towards the school. He had absolutely no idea who the girl was, but he was thankful he wouldn't be late and now wouldn't miss Leon; he just hoped his friend would then ignore the message he'd sent as he couldn't get his phone back out to send another one.
 
Leon finally made it to his apartment and was only slightly out of breath but his head was spinning so much. He climbed the stairs two at a time and almost ran past his door. Standing in front of his door he fiddled with his keys trying to get inside quickly and head off to school. Just as he got the key into the door his phone went off 'Oh please don't call me in today' he thought to himself walking into his apartment and read over Taishi's message. His chests stopped moving so quickly up and down, then he plopped down on his couch. 'Guess I don't have to rush now' he thought to himself as he looked around his place. "Defiantly got to do some cleaning later today" he said out loud to no one and then got off the couch.

He trudged across the living room floor and kicked off his shoes into his bedroom. Then he walked over to his closet looking around to find what he wanted to wear but unfortunatlly all he had that was clean was a pair of black jeans a white under shirt. "There has to be another clean shirt around here" he talked to himself as he searched around his room and into the little closet like area that his washer and dryer were. "Yes" Leon exclaimed as he slipped his arms through on the red button up shirt he had found over the white under shirt. Leon quickly slipped his shoes back on and headed out of the apartment.

Since Taishi was going to be late there was no reason to rush to the school campus, if they asked why he was late Leon would just blame it on work and then everything should be ok. Though halfway through his walk to school he got a couple of texts from a couple of old friends wondering where he was at but he blew those off cause he just wanted to see Taishi and be near him.
 
Taishi and the young girl, of who's name he still didn't know, finally made it to the school, however once they were there she didn't look like she really fit in. It confused the blonde until the point after he'd thanked her and she'd replied back.
"Let that fighter friend of yours that Heartless is coming for him this afternoon." The sweet voice she'd used earlier was now gone and was replaced with a bitter edge; she then disappeared off down the street and left Taishi standing there dumbfounded.

He'd just walked half the way to school with some other... He wasn't sure if she'd been the fighter or the sacrifice, but he was going to take a guess on sacrifice. The moment he dashed for cover - and thankfully the bell hadn't yet gone - he pulled his phone out and immediately texted Leon.

'Walked to school with some little girl who offered her umbrella, only to find out that apparently a pair called Heartless are coming for you this afternoon. What the hell? I'm at school now, I'll wait for you. xx'
 
Leon looked down at the time on his phone and realized that he still had plenty of time to get to school before the bell rang so he slowed his pace a little more to barely a walking pace. He looked up at the sky noticing the trees that were starting to bloom and started to daydream about the things that he would take Taishi to see that summer after he would graduate. There were so many things that he wanted to do for Taishi cause from this point on he would not separate himself from the kid. Taishi was way too involved with his world now to be left alone.

Leon was in a pretty good mood when he felt his phone vibrate, he looked down at his phone and stopped dead in his tracks. Another pair was hunting him down and they even went straight to Taishi first. 'Are you hurt?' He quickly sent to his friend while his mind worked on a plan to get rid of this pair. He didn't want to fight them cause Taishi would experience pain but he also didn't want Taishi fighting with him just yet cause that would cause him more pain and even if Leon lied to him about where he was going to be or that he would just fight the pair on his own, Taishi would know.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky once more. 'I'm not coming to school Taishi. You finish out the day and if anyone asks where I am...just tell them I got called into work' he then sent to him and turned away from the direction of the school to head back to his apartment. Since Heartless wouldn't be coming for him till noon then he might as well go home and get some sleep before the battle.
 
((Can't quite remember if we ever stated if Taishi had ever been to Leon's but to save time, I'm taking a wild guess and going for it. ^^ Hope that's ok.))
~~

Oh no. No way was Leon going to do that to him. Taishi glared at his phone as he read Leon's message. There was no way he was going to get left out of it this time. He wanted to know all about what Leon did when he wasn't at school or at work or relaxing. The whole thing with real names and spell battles... True it was incredibly confusing, but Taishi was a very curious type of person and he wasn't about to let his friend get away with blocking him out anymore.

'No. I'm coming over. You're not leaving me out of this.' Taishi then closed his phone, but didn't realize that he hadn't sent the message, and recited the way back to Leon's place, only nearly turning down the wrong streets a couple of times before he eventually managed to get there. He hoped that Leon was still here, and as he came up to his friend's door, he had to take a few deep breaths to calm him down - not only had he ran here in the rain, his heart was pounding pretty hard from a build up of adrenaline.

"Leonnn! Open up!" Taishi knocked vigorously on the door, dripping wet and looking incredibly impatient as he waited for his friend to come to the door.
"You're not leaving me out of this, so open up!!" He knew that school would have began now, and Taishi had never skipped before unless he was sick; his parents didn't care though and they weren't listed as his guardian with the school anymore, Kokoro was. Though he wasn't sure what her reaction would be when she found out that he'd skipped, but it wasn't exactly the first thing on his mind right now as he continued knocking, feeling the urgent need to tell Leon as much as he could about the demeanor of the girl that he had walked with and had told him Heartless would be coming for Leon.
 
On his way back to his apartment his eyes glazed over a little thinking about what he would do to heartless cause apparently no one was getting the idea that they shouldn't mess with him. Maybe this time he would actually try to kill the pair, that would send the message to leave him alone but that also caused an issue. Word might get back to Taishi and that would raise so many more questions and issues that he really didn't want to deal with. Leon shivered slightly from the rain and made a note that he would take a hot shower when he got home. That and maybe do some laundry before he had to work and as he rounded the corner to his place he saw a blur of someone running ahead of him.

Slightly curious as to who it was he quickened his pace to catch up to them and as he came upon his building he felt his phone vibrate. Leon's brows knitted together wondering who would be trying to contact him but coming up to his door and hearing Taishi's voice he stopped in his tracks. "I'm right here. There's no need to yell" he told his friend in a soft tone and then walked up to him. Leon shoved his hand into his pocket digging out his keys and then slipped them into the lock. "Please come in" he told Taishi and smiled down at his friend. "So why are you in school?" He questioned as he walked into his place and held the door open for Taishi to follow.

"Can I get you anything? A dry towel maybe or do you want to take a hot shower?" He began asking once his friend walked inside and then he closed the door making sure that he locked it. That was the last thing he need was for someone to come barging into his home and then him killing them with his friend there. "You look a little panicked. What's wrong? Did another pair come up to you and threaten you cause if they did I will make sure they pay for it" he told Taishi and through all of it his voice stayed level like he was having a normal conversation with someone.
 
((Hahaha awesome. THat would have been awkward otherwise.))

Taishi blinked.
"H-how'd I beat you home?" he was confused about that but then... Well, he was a pretty good runner. Especially when he was in a serious hurry. "Uh, anyway... I'm here so you don't leave me out of it. And no they didn't bother me again." He was about to start babbling on when a hot shower sounded really nice and a slight smile replaced his confused look. Quickly brushing his soaked blonde hair from his eyes, he focused back on why he'd come - and not for a shower.

"It was really weird. The girl I mean. She just sort of came up to me while I was under a tree waiting for the rain to ease up and asked if I wanted to walk with her because she had an umbrella. We walked in silence and then at the school gate that's when she said Heartless were coming for you this afternoon. But she said it really calmly, like it were a casual goodbye or something. Seriously Leon, she would have easily looked 3 years younger than me. What the hell is going on? Are little kids in on all of this too?" Taishi rambled for a little before he had to stop, panting from both the running and now his fast talking.a He'd never met anyone before that was older than what they looked - well, not by that much anyway. He had no idea that the girl that looked 3 years younger than him was in fact his own age.

He walked over to Leon, looking distressed all over again,
"Maybe a hot shower would help." He finally nodded, leaning against the nearest wall and looking down at his soaked clothing. Yeah, a hot shower was definitely in order. He couldn't stay in soaked clothes that would soon start to become incredibly cold and make him sick. That and the fact that he didn't want to ruin any of Leon's apartment by trudging water everywhere he walked.
 
Leon shrugged his shoulders at Taishi's question, he wasn't really in a hurry to get home and he had a lot on his mind. He figured he was just taking his time to get home, Leon never figured that Taishi would run here to catch him before he left for the fight. "Are you sure you want to be apart of this fight? It could be really painful....but as a fighter I will try my best to make sure you are in as little pain as possible" he told him softly as he leaned against a near wall that lead down a small hallway to the bathroom and bedroom. Leon listened to his friends recap of what had happened to his this morning and nothing in it surprised him but it seemed as though Taishi was shocked at the whole thing.

He simply nodded his head "Sometimes the pairs are really young and sometimes they are older then I am. There really is no limit of age for us. Though most of the younger kids are still in training and schooling. They don't usually fight but I guess they are now being used as messengers, unless..." things started to fly through his head as his mind worked on the situation. "The girl could have been the sacrifice for heartless and the fighter was probably near by waiting to see what you were going to do."

Leon's eyes were trained on his friend and wondered if he was going to take him up on the offer of the shower but he quickly wiped that from his mind as Taishi mentioned it. "Alright" Leon nodded his head and walked over to the bathroom turning on the light. "You can take one first" he said given Taishi and easy smile and a way to keep Taishi safe till after the fight. Though that was only a thought he was having right now and part of him was still fighting against his better judgement. Part of him wanted Taishi to dive head first into his world however the more reasonable side of him wanted to keep Taishi locked up and safe from his world.
 
At the offer of showering first, Taishi smiled and nodded his head. Had he been in a more sensible mood though, he probably wouldn't have done what he was about to do. Well, it wasn't really that odd considering how strange the day before had been... Taishi walked over to Leon and looped his arms around his friend's waist, pulling himself close into a hug, his tail wrapped around his leg and his ears drooping to flatten with his hair, blending in to make it look like he had none.

"Sorry.. I just need a hug." He murmured, not usually one for acting like this; ever since he'd moved in with his sister and, although she treated him more like a son than a brother, his body more than his mind missed the comforts of parental guidance, yet for some reason he felt that empty spot fill whenever he was with Leon, and it just made him want to melt into a puddle.

Looking up at Leon, Taishi gave a slight smile,
"You're like a teddy." He stated lightly, head cocked slightly to the side, though his ears still stayed flat; there was an ever so slight ringing, but he wasn't sure if it would get louder and more painful like the night before, or if it was just his body screaming at him to go get in that warm shower.
 
Leon watched Taishi intently seeing what he was going to do and he was glad when it looked as though his friend finally gave in. He wasn't sure if that was just because he was really good at hiding what was in his head or that Taishi was exhausted from everything. But none the less he gave his friend a reassuring smile and then felt arms around him. His tail quit moving and his ears just dropped onto of his head. That simple act made him start rethinking his plan once again but not enough to the point where he was going to completely change it.

He in turn wrapped his arms around Taishi's shoulders and hugged him back, he also leaned his head down to kiss the top of his friends head. "For you I would be anything" Leon told him softly and then released the hug. "Now it's time that you take that shower before you catch a cold" with that said Leon gave Taishi a gentle shove towards the bathroom. It would be some time or at least that was what Leon was hoping for before Taishi realized that in order for Leon to full do what Taishi wanted he had to be given an order. Taishi only said that he didn't want to be left out again so that left Leon some room to interpret it his way.
Leon stepped out of the way slight and headed over to the couch to sit for a little bit. Once Taishi was in the bathroom for a little bit he would go and change into dry clothes and grab his umbrella. Then he would take off to meet up with Heartless and hopefully finish the battle before Taishi could find them again.
 
As much as Taishi didn't want to let Leon go, he did so and his ears perked back up again and his tail swished around.
"After my shower you should tell me more about the relationship fighters and sacrifices have. I'm not stupid to see that there's more to it than just the fight." It had become more clear to him over the course of the morning whilst he'd been eating breakfast; if his friendship with Leon was based around their 'true' relationship if he was indeed his friend's sacrifice then he was sure that there was more to it all.

"No... You have to tell me." He grinned, not knowing that a fighter took orders, and just gave it. "So don't leave before telling me." He then walked off into the bathroom and began to shower, relaxing under the hot water and closing his eyes. Taishi hoped that Leon wouldn't leave him. He knew that his friend didn't want to drag him into it but he felt that it was too late. It would still take some time for the young blonde to figure things out but he was a quick learner and so long as Leon would help him understand, then he'd hopefully find his name soon enough.
 
He was a little shocked at Taishi's wanting to know more about the relationship between sacrifices and fighters, it had taken Leon a long time to realize that there was more to a pairs relationship then just fighting. But Taishi had already picked up on it and with an unease smile he looked at his friend, his tail swishing from side to side and nodded his head. He was about to take a breath but it caught in his throat when Taishi told him what he would be doing. His heart raced a little as his tail stopped for a second and his ears perked up.

Leon's unease smile turned to one of delight almost with a twinkle in his eye "I will be right here when you get out." After his friend walked into the bathroom he got up from the couch and walked into his room. Ok so his plan was shot but part of him didn't mind it. Leon turned towards his closet and triffled through his dry clothes. Finding a pair of dry clean shorts in the back of his closet and an undershirt he stripped out of his wet clothes tossing them into his hamper. Leon quickly changed into his dry clothes and made his way back out into the main area.

He looked at the couch noticing the wet spot from where he had been sitting moments ago 'well gotta leave that spot alone' he thought to himself and ventured into the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink when you get out?" He called to Taishi and then stooped to look into his fridge to see what he had only to see a pretty much bare fridge "Crap. Forgot to go shopping" he closed the fridge and just walked back into the living room and sat on the other side of the couch then what he had earlier.
 
Hearing the posed question just as he shut the water off, Taishi was simply glad to hear Leon's voice.
"Nah, it's alright." He called back as he began to dry himself, walking out with the towel around his waist and his damp hair pushed just out of his eyes so he could still see. He quickly spotted Leon and his smile grew as he walked over and came to stop behind the couch.

"So. What is there to know?" He asked, sounding relaxed but excited at the same time whilst he - without thinking about it - looped his arms down over around Leon. He wanted to know all that there was to know, there was nothing wrong with that right? had anyone been there to see them, they'd probably have been scrutinized for Taishi acting like a girl instead of the boy that he was. But Taishi didn't care. Leon was his friend, and he held a strong fondness for him.
 
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