arikanu week - day 7: free day
here you go, @arikanuweek!
************************************************************************
The fight got over ages ago. They've left, he's left, but all he sees is red. The red of that hair, the red of the ball of that long earring, the red of those cold, unnerving, eerie eyes.
Humiliation, the same kind that he felt during the fight - can it even be called a fight? - fills him. He sees him, standing with his back straight, arm in front of him in some martial arts form, confident, patient, strong. Confident that he'll win, patiently waiting for him to strike and inevitably embarrass himself. He feels the blocks, the shoves, the twists. He feels the wood, the taunts, the yells. He sees Tomiyama dozing, Togame's disappointment. He sees him again, going on and on about that adulthood nonsense, the stairs and imagination and whatnot. He wants it to stop, he wants him to stop, he wants the theater to stop, he wants Arima -
Then, the red is replaced with warm, dark brown.
Like a demon summoned by thought, Arima hunches, hands on his knees, looking at him with so much worry and concern in his eyes. There's no bruises on him, but he knows that his fight with that long mop from Furin has left its mark on him. But there's no sign of it in his eyes, just warmth and concern. For him. Because now they're not Shishitoren's beasts, Shishitoren's scum. Now, they're just Arima and Kanuma.
Kanuma smiles, takes the proffered hand. He's never going to forget today's fight and he doesn't know if he'll ever get over it. But with Arima here, by his side, it sure does feel a whole lot easier.