Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

44 • Aftershock

When she stumbled out of the bedroom, Chifuyu—now blond again since the single-use dye had been washed off—was lounging on the sofa, legs dangling over the armrest and his phone beside his ear. However, as soon as he saw Reina, he immediately sprung up, dropping his phone and making his way toward her.

"Rei! Oh, my god!" He stiffened when Reina placed her forehead on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she leaned into him. "Are you okay now, Rei?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her as he let her lean on him. Reina dropped a lot of her weight on him, but Chifuyu didn't comment. They simply made their way to the sofa. "Akise-san said we should be arriving in Tokyo in a few more hours or so. Harui also came back to change clothes and went out again." The bastard didn't even bother asking for her condition. "Asshole."

"Don't...don't hate him too much," she said softly, squeezing his shoulder as she pulled away, glad to know that Chifuyu was well enough to insult Harui. "If he's the type of brother to cry every time his sister gets injured, Father would've killed us before we could meet Mirai, biological son or not, and...you're trembling, Fuyu."

"Am not."

"It's fine to be scared, y'know," she reminded, moving to squeeze his hand. "I couldn't sleep for days the first time someone held me at gunpoint. It's okay...I'm...I'm sorry this happened. You weren't supposed to...I'm sorry."

"I'm fine." He wasn't and he was sure Reina knew that. Neither the hot shower nor the, begrudgingly, soft sweater, nor the hot chocolate Akise ordered could stop his hands from trembling. He didn't even know when it started. He just knew his hands had already been trembling while he was showering. The reminder that he nearly got shot and actually managed to save Harui from dying.

Holy fuck, he nearly died.

Before he could spiral, Reina pulled him by his shoulders and forced him to place his head on her lap, her bandaged fingers running through his damp hair. "Victoire and Harui used to do this when I was a kid, helped prevent panic attacks." Her smile was uncharacteristically soft, and so was her voice. Chifuyu found himself relaxing under her repetitive actions. "So, just breathe, Chifuyu. Breathe. You're safe now."

"Harui did...this?"

Somehow, he couldn't picture it. But then again, Harui must've at least acted like a loving older brother if Reina loved him so much. After all, she had murdered her own father, so Chifuyu could guess that mere blood ties or having the same surname wouldn't make Reina automatically love someone. But he just couldn't picture Harui doing what Reina was currently doing.

"Whenever he could."

"I...that's un...expected." Chifuyu took a deep breath, slowly exhaling before repeating the process a few times. Reina's nails scratching his scalp helped ground him to the present, a reminder that he had succeeded in the first half of the mission and the future should've already changed for the better. However, there was one thing that was still bothering him, and he would very much like a change of topic.

"Are you...planning to leave Hokkyokusei?"

The hand on his head froze and Chifuyu felt the way Reina tensed. Craning his neck, he saw the way Reina clenched her jaw, nibbling her lips as if she didn't know what to say. Or rather, she didn't know what she should say.

"I'm sick of this," she finally admitted, and Chifuyu sat back up on reflex when she began palming her face. He reached out to take her hands, squeezing them in assurance and for her to stop aggravating the wounds on her face. Reina sniffled, looking down at her hands as she clenched her fists.

"Every time I fight, every damn fucking time, I...I always lose control. With Moebius and Valhalla...with those bastards at Kanagawa...the house...just now...every damn time, I always"—she gritted her teeth—"why do I have to rely on exaggerated sob stories and Hokkyokusei to keep my records clean? Why can't I just...have the damn control I need to fight without the urge to just...kill? I'm sick of this but...I dunno if I wanna leave."