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Reki felt his hand slip from the railing he was cautiously holding onto. Hot tears fell down his face as he crouched down on the ledge, hugging his knees tightly. His hoodie stuck to his back painfully, the fabric stinging his open wounds.
Jump. Jump. Jump.
Reki held his hands up to his ears, close to screaming. He tried to calm down, making sure this is what he wanted to do, but five minutes later, he was still freaking out, unable to focus on anything. He leant forward slowly, his hands were no longer holding onto the railing so he couldn't back out. As soon as he committed to it, he could back out. His mind was racing, his head blurry in a dark cloud of negative and intrusive thoughts.
The sound of a car speeding behind him made his eyes pricked up, but he ignored it, he figured the driver didn't see him crouched down on the ledge, or if they did see him they didn't care. Reki leant forward, letting himself fall, the river below him rushing towards him, before enveloping him in an uncomfortable and cold hug. The last thing he heard before blacking out after swallowing a bunch of water was screams he couldn't hear properly. They sounded familiar, but Reki couldn't place it.
He just wanted to leave.
"Reki, wait!" Kaoru screamed, reaching out for Reki, his fingers grazed the hood of his yellow hoodie, before slipping out of his grasp. He leant over the railing, his arm dangling down the side of the railing as he watched the redhead disappear under the surface. Kojiro ran over next to him, desperately searching for Reki. He was already on the phone to the ambulance, his voice panicked in an unfamiliar way.
Kaoru ran down the stairs next to the bridge, searching for Reki, or signs of him. Not far from the bank, a flash of yellow caught Kaoru's attention and without thinking, Kaoru ran to the edge of the bank, reaching out and grabbing the yellow. Kaoru pulled Reki from the river, holding him close to his chest. Kaoru brushed his wet hair from his face, immediately taking notice of the blood staining his hand.
"Reki, come on kiddo, wake up please." Kaoru begged quietly, gently rocking Reki. He was soon joined by Kojiro who was still on the phone to the ambulance, he sat next to Kaoru, wrapping his own jacket over Reki to keep him warm. Kaoru was almost in tears, one of the kids he saw as his own was lying unconscious in his arms after jumping off a bridge, inside, he was a wreck. "Come on Reki."
It didn't take long for the paramedics to arrive at the scene, gently taking him away from Kaoru's arms, who wanted to let him go but half wanted to hold him tight, fully knowing he was safe in his arms. Kojiro pulled Kaoru into a tight hug, kissing the top of his head, comfortingly. Kaoru buried his face in his chest, listening to Kojiro's heartbeat which was beating faster and faster.
"He'll be okay.." Kojiro tried to convince him, but he himself didn't believe it. Reki looked pale and the blood he was losing didn't look too good. "Shall I call his parents? Or Langa?" He asked, watching Reki be put in the back of an ambulance.
He felt Kaoru shake his head quickly. He looked up at Kojiro, with a small sigh. "We should talk to Reki first.. about what happened, we need to know why he did it.. and we shouldn't tell Langa just yet, he's at school and it's best not to overwhelm Reki." Kojiro nodded standing up. Kaoru followed him to his car, as they followed the ambulance to the hospital.
Reki knew he was in trouble from the moment he woke up. The smell of cleaning supplies and overall death and illness overwhelmed him, making him feel sick, the sound of a clock ticking and muffled talking brought his attention away from the heart monitor beeping constantly beside him. He tried to move, his entire body felt heavy and his head was killing him. Something tightened around his hand which he latched onto like a lifeline. After gathering enough strength, Reki moved his head to the side, seeing a blob of pink, sitting next to him.
Cherry.
Reki moved his hand away from Kaoru's, scared he was mad at him. Although he wondered how he arrived at where he presumed to be a hospital room. He was sure no one saw him jump. That's why he chose the location, it was pretty secluded and hard to get to if you didn't know where to go.
His vision started to clear up, and he was greeted by the concerned face of Kaoru, who had resorted to brushing his bangs away from his face. He wasn't wearing his headband which usually kept it out of the way of his eyes. Thinking about it, Reki wasn't wearing any of his own clothes, only a blue and white hospital gown, even his arm guards he wore to keep his wrists from turning painfully when he fell were missing as well, although, making sure his wrists didn't turn awkwardly wasn't the main thing he was worried about.
"Kojiro, he's waking up." Kaoru said softly, moving his hand away from his head. Kaoru was soon joined by Kojiro who sat next to him. "Hey kiddo." Kaoru smiled, now turning his attention back to Reki.
Reki didn't reply, his instincts were to smile and laugh everything off, as he usually did when he was hurt or feeling like shit and it always worked. If he laughed a bit louder, or smiled a bit brighter, he would look fine. But laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and vague memories wouldn't be fixed by a fake smile. Reki felt like crying, for the first time in months, he was close to crying in front of other people, something he promised himself he wouldn't do, unless he mixed laughing in with it.
"It'll be okay, Reki." Kojiro started, placing his much larger hand on top of Reki's, which Reki pulled away from, sympathy was the last thing he needed. It was the last thing he wanted, as any attempt of kindness would surly push him over the edge and leave him in a ball of messy crying and apologies. Kojiro didn't push the comfort, he knew Reki needed time to adjust to the situation he was in, but his mind was swarming with questions, mostly of why.
Anger filled him as he realized someone must be responsible for Reki feeling like this. He wanted to know who it was so he could have a quick chat with them. The only thing keeping him calm was the hand Kaoru had placed on his shoulder.
"I-I'm so sorry... No one was supposed to find me, I was supposed to just disappear-" Reki started, tears threatening to spill. He refused to look at the adults, knowing the expression they would have on their faces. Kojiro's hand tightened, anger filling him, it wasn't anger towards Reki, it was towards the world for putting the kid through the shit he was going through.
"Reki... please tell us why you did it." Kaoru started, his voice a lot softer than Kojiro's. Reki glanced at him, taking note of the guilt that washed over him when he saw Kaoru, he looked so upset, it didn't look like he pitied Reki, just felt sorry towards the situation he was in. Reki reached out slowly to be hugged by him, he wanted to hide from the world, and Kaoru, taking the opportunity, moved onto the bed, letting Reki rest his head on his lap. Reki curled up as much as he could without his back screaming in pain.
"I couldn't handle it.. I couldn't handle everything- I-I thought it would all be okay if I just disappeared.." Reki started, staring at the wall, behind Kojiro. He felt Kaoru trace circles into his back, comforting him. Reki took a few moments before starting again, he didn't like opening up to people, especially adults but he trusted Kojiro and Kaoru, they were always there for him.
"M-my dad.. he doesn't like me.. he hates me. H-he found out that I liked Langa and-" Reki put his hand over his mouth to muffle a sob. This causes Kaoru to pull him close to his chest, hugging him tighter, but being mindful of his injuries. Kaoru was aware of the injuries on his back but didn't know the extent of it, the doctors didn't tell him due to him not being Reki's family.
"Did he hurt you?" Kaoru asked gently, wiping away tears from Reki's cheeks. Reki nodded, wincing slightly when Kaoru's arm brushed against his back. "Can you show me?" He asked gently, noticing Reki wincing from the slight touch. He shot a glance over at Kojiro who looked back at him, his eyes filled with anger. Whereas Kaoru was more of a comforting person who raged on the inside, Kojiro was someone who would love to take his anger out on whoever hurt his kids. He looked a few minutes away from going over to Reki's house and confront his parents about the things they forced him to go through.
Reki shifted forward and lifted his gown to show deep and painful cuts down his back, they intertwined and overlapped over each other. The dried blood had been washed away by the doctors when he arrived, but even looking at his back, Kaoru knew they bled a lot. Reki's entire back was white with scars that healed awkwardly, which wasn't helped by the amount of extra wounds his back received.
Reki pulled his gown back down, the silence heavy in the room while Reki started to overthink. He was scared his dad would find out. He was scared he was putting his siblings in danger, he was scared that Kaoru and Kojiro would be mad at him for not telling them sooner, or they'd blame him for it and tell him he'd deserve it. Worst of all, Reki was scared that if Langa found out he'd be disgusted by the scars, that he'd hate him and see his father in Reki.
His thoughts were interrupted by Kaoru pulling him into a tight hug, still mindful of his injuries. Reki closed his eyes, tears slipping out and down his cheeks, his hand went to his mouth to muffle the sobs. Kojiro joined the hug, his first priority was to comfort Reki, his second priority was to find Reki's father and beat the shit out of him.
"Reki, I am so sorry, you're safe now." Kaoru reassured, running a hand through his hair. Reki looked up at him, not fully believing him. "You'll be staying at mine and Kojiro's house okay? I'm sure Langa will be happy to have you at his house a few times as well, we'll figure something out for your siblings as well okay?" Reki nodded, burying his face in Kaoru's chest again.
"Hiromi and I will escort you back to your house so you can get your things, okay?" Kojiro moved away from Reki, giving him some breathing space from the sandwich hug. Reki nodded, wiping tears away from his face.
A warm feeling of safety filled him as he curled up to Kaoru's chest who held him tightly. They still had a lot to talk about but they let Reki rest for the night. He definitely needed it. Reki smiled softly to himself, closing his eyes.
He was safe, he was happier, he was okay. He was with his family, his real family.