The Pain we Share || Aki Hayakawa

Complicated

"Funny how we only ever see each other in hospitals huh?" Aki said with a sad smile "are you alright?" He said gently lifting your chin to examine the cuts on your face, the familiar warmth from his hand making you tingle.

You pulled away from his grasp, flustered and shocked. "W-What are you doing here? How did you know where i'd be?" you stepped back and tried to process the situation.

Is Aki really here in front of me or am I hallucinating? Is this a side effect from the parasite devil?

Compared to when you last saw him, his hair was now longer, his facial features looked sharpened and his shoulders broad. His eyes were as beautiful as always, but something was off.

His expression was stoic. He ignored your question "I thought you died back then" he said sitting across the table

"Huh?" you replied, sitting back down in your wheelchair

"When the gun devil attacked. I heard that it demolished the hospital we went to as kids. I figured you were still spending almost all of your free time with your mother, and so I assumed you must've gotten caught in the shooting" he looked at your scratched up hands

"Oh... that's... a long story" you said not knowing how to reply, fiddling with the chain

"It seems we have a lot to catch up on" he said, implying that he had something to tell you too.

The air fell silent

"...Are you a devil hunter now?" you asked while gesturing to his suit

"No, I just like wearing suits and carrying a katana for fun" he sarcastically replied

You rolled your eyes "and here I am thinking you may have actually matured over the years, I can't believe people trust you with sharp objects. You should've stuck to baseball"

He made a face "and you should've been more careful. Kurose was telling me how dangerous that devil was. You're lucky you got away with only a few scratches. My partner and I were called in to retrieve the bullets right after the fight and the place was in complete ruins."

"Is that where you found the necklace?"

"Yeah my partner found it while we looked for the bullets, she thought I dropped it since it has my name on it but I immediately knew it was from you..."

She?

"...I called Kurose this morning asking where you were. I had to see for myself that you were alive and well." He put his hands on the table and stood up "I should get going now"

You scrambled to your feet "Huh? Already? Where are you going? I still have so many questions to ask you?"

"Y/n, sit down before you hurt yourself even more. I still have work to do" he said, pressing down on your shoulders to make you sit back down.

"But you can't go right now!! Aki please its been years, there's so much I-"

Aki suddenly leaned in and lightly tugged at the collar of your crewneck, revealing the cut on your neck. He took a deep breath "I promise I won't let this happen again" he mumbled.

You stared at him dumbfounded and speechless

What am I feeling right now?

"Ahem... Am I interrupting something?"

You looked up to see Kurose awkwardly standing beside you two

"No, I was just leaving. Thanks for looking after y/n, I owe you one"