Title: Healing the Healer
Fandom: Ronin Warriors
Characters/Pairing: Cye Mouri, Kento Rei Fang, Rowen Hashiba, Ryo Sanada. Kento/Cye implied tbh.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Canonical familial, familial illness, violence
Notes: AU and a sequel to my last fic ("A Nice Change"), although idt you need to read that to read this. If I do wind up writing more of this verse, I'll make sure you can find them in one spot on Ao3 or whatever.

It was the time of the year when it was starting to get colder, but only a little. So as long as they wore long sleeves, Kento and his friends could still enjoy their lunch outside. They had a little more privacy on the school grounds than stuck in the building, so they made their way to their usual bench. Cye and Rowen sat, while Kento paced around, hoping to get his excess energy out before classes began. Ms. Akagi had already scolded him for not paying attention in the morning. He really wasn’t in the mood for that again.

It didn’t help that his lunch was lackluster. Uncle Shuu was a fantastic chef, but he was also a firm believer that work should be left at work. Which meant Kento was left trying to pick out the freshest leftovers in the fridge and hoping for the best. Today’s offering… well, even he could only finish a few bites.

“You know,” Rowen offered sagely as he wolfed down the contents of his bento box. “You could learn how to cook yourself. I did. Cye did.”

“Yeah, tried that. Nearly burned down my Pop’s kitchen.” Kento ran a hand through his hair, probably making it even messier. It was embarrassing being the only person in a family of famous chefs that burnt water, but there was no denying it. If he had any talent, it would have manifested after countless attempts by Pop and Uncle Shuu, and Grandpa to teach him.

Kento could not cook, but he was not above begging when it came to food. There was no point in asking Rowen to share his lunch. He didn’t look it, but he had an appetite that rivaled Kento’s. He wasn’t happy about it, but that only left…

“Cye, I’m begging you, man! Share some of your lunch with me!”

“What? No!” To prove his point, Cye swallowed an onigiri whole. After several moments of uncomfortable chewing, he was finally able to add, “I’ve shared my lunch with you for the past week. Start visiting a convenience store or something.”

“And I will, but right now, you’re looking at a growing boy who needs your amazing onigiri if he wants to survive.” Kento hoped flattery would work in this case.

It did, as Cye smiled a little. “You really like them?”

“I have dreams about them.”

“Okay, that was too much information, but… very well. However, my onigiri comes with a caveat.”

Kento clapped his hands together in joy. “Name it, Cye.”

“You must allow me to feed you by hand,” Cye informed him primly.

Rowen stopped inhaling his bento for three seconds and blinked, which for Rowen, was the equivalent of one’s jaw dropping. Kento frowned. “Why?”

“Oh, I just want to see how much power I have over you.”

Kento didn’t miss a beat, kneeling down to his generous/evil friend. “You give me some onigiri; you can have all the power over me you want.” Cye laughed, muttering something about how Kento was such a dork but began to feed him some of the best onigiri he’d ever had in his life, so Kento was pretty sure he was the real winner.

And honestly? He was a winner. At least today he was. Cye’s homemade onigiri was divine like always. Rowen and Cye were here, safe, and happy. School was school, but his friends were smart and helped him get through classes. And they had the entire campus to themselves today. Well, okay, the shabby-looking kid who needed a haircut (Sanada or something) was sitting on the opposite bench, but he was quiet. He was pretty cool, too. He didn’t come to class a lot, but the few times he and Kento talked, he was all right. As soon as Cye was done feeding him, Kento resolved to take advantage of the fact that Sanada had come to school today and get to know him better.

… So, of course, that was when the day started going down the toilet.

It seemed like every school had some smug rich kid who made it his mission in life to bully everyone else. Their school had Tachikawa, the son of some successful businessman who worked for… Kento wasn’t really sure. His temper flared up every time Tachikawa pulled that kind of bull. Cye had to hold him back more than once when Tachikawa would pick on the girls or try to pick fights with the guys (Tachikawa was very, very, proud of his blue belt). But Tachikawa didn’t just get under Kento’s skin. One time, Kento had to hold Cye back when Tachikawa made a comment about how “girls who can’t make themselves look good should just not leave the house.” Another time, he had to hold Rowen back when Tachikawa made a rude comment about how Rowen’s father could have worked for his dad’s company but chose to waste all that talent teaching bored undergrads at a university.

Tachikawa was one of the few bad parts of coming to Tokyo to study. Kento steeled himself for yet another confrontation. The three of them did not fit Tachikawa’s twisted idea of what a man “should be.” Rowen was an eccentric academic. Cye had the gall to enjoy cooking and knitting. And Kento? Well, he was, heaven forbid, an emotional guy. An emotional guy who would love putting Tachikawa in his place, if Cye would let him.

But Tachikawa ignored them, sauntering over to Sanada.

“I see the guy who can’t even wear a clean uniform to school actually made it,” Tachikawa smirked. “You walked uphill in the rain or something?”

Sanada took a deep breath. “Yes.” He didn’t lift his eyes from his book. “If you don’t mind, I’m trying to get caught up on English class.”

“Oh, please. If you could do the work, you’d come to school more often.” Tachikawa’s smirk widened as Sanada flinched. He’d found a weak point, and was going to exploit it.

“I’m going to find Ms. Akagi,” Rowen whispered as he left them. Kento stood up, but Cye grabbed his wrist. “Kento, you can’t afford to get into another fight.”

“Yeah, but Sanada needs someone to protect him!”

That got Tachikawa’s attention. “Oh, someone wants to play hero?” His eyes were cold as he sized Kento up. “You know, Fang, you could make something of yourself. If you cleaned yourself up. If you found less weird friends.”

“Oh, and pick on anyone not as rich as me? Is that how you get your fun? Is that what your dad taught you?!”

Now Tachikawa flinched. “There’s no excuse in not washing your clothes and washing your hair. And besides, it’s just friendly advice. Right, Sanada?”

Sanada gave him a look. “You interrupt my studying to insult me, and now you want me to defend you from the school’s judo champ?”

Tachikawa frowned at Sanada. In a quiet voice, he said, “You will show me respect.”

It took everything Kento had not to break away from Cye’s grasp. “Respect is earned, you little—”

“It’s fine,” Sanada assured Kento with his best attempt at a smile. He stood up, gathering his books. “I’m going to go study in the library. Thanks for sticking up for me, but this guy isn’t worth our time—”

As much as Tachikawa bragged about his blue belt, he was rarely if ever physical in his confrontations. But Sanada must have played on his last nerve with that comment, because the next thing they knew, Tachikawa hit Sanada enough to send him flying. Tachikawa grabbed him by the collar, slapping him hard.

Kento looked at Cye. “I gotta go.”

“I know.” Cye hated violence, but he knew that there were times you had to fight, whether you liked it or not. He squeezed Kento’s wrist before letting go. “Be careful.”

Kento screamed at the top of his lungs. It wasn’t a stealthy move, but it wasn’t meant to be. It was meant to distract Tachikawa so Kento could wrestle him away from Sanada, and it worked.

Kento wasn’t much of a chef or a student, but he knew his way around a fight. His Ma, a kung fu champion, taught him everything she knew. She also made sure he knew judo and encouraged his love of rugby. Of course, Tachikawa was faster and had no qualms playing dirty. So, Kento went in knowing that they would be evenly matched. He couldn’t just punch his way to victory; he needed some strategy. So, he let Tachikawa get in close, and when he was busy showing off his fancy kicks, Kento grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder.

Usually, that was enough to convince someone to stop, but Tachikawa got up again (he was even faster than Kento realized), any poise long gone as he punched Kento in the face, then the gut. Kento was vaguely aware of Cye shouting, but right now he had to keep his focus on the enemy.

He managed to grab Tachikawa’s hands, and they both struggled—Tachikawa to break free, Kento to get him in position for another throw. Tachikawa didn’t get free, but he managed to get his face close enough to Kento to whisper savagely, “And when I’m done with you, that little friend of yours crying over you is next.”

That was when something in Kento snapped. What had been his usual focus in a fight warped into something red-orange and vicious and determined to destroy whoever was threatening those he loved. A tiny part of him was still aware enough that it was wrong to want to hurt someone. But Tachikawa had not only threatened to hurt Cye, he gloried in the sadistic pleasure he would gain from such an act. He could not be permitted to leave.

So, he crushed Tachikawa’s hands. Not enough to break any bones, not yet. He wasn’t done with this monster.

Tachikawa howled and stumbled as he yanked his hands away. Kento leaped at him, tackling him to the ground hard. Now Tachikawa was the one yelling something, but Kento couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t even see him, even as he was still hitting him. Images flitted in his mind of girls at the school crying, guys hiding in the hallways, Rowen sealing himself away in the library, Cye miserable, because this freaking joke of a human being had money, and he thought that made it okay to hurt others. Someone had to stop him before it was too late.

Tachikawa managed to toss him off, but before he could squirm away, Kento landed a kick to his gut. Kento bolted upright, fully prepared to land a foot on top of Tachikawa’s rib cage.

“Woah, stop, he’s down!” Sanada grabbed Kento’s shoulder. “It’s fine, it’s gonna be okay—”

“Y-yeah,” Tachikawa sobbed. “I’m sorry, I swear—”

“It’s not okay,” Kento snarled. “I know these types.” He was a rich kid. His parents tried to keep his upbringing as normal as possible, but he saw the kids of his parents’ business associates. Narcissistic little monsters and their parents were even worse. “You really think someone who chooses to pick on people he sees as weak will stop there? They get worse. They always do.”

“I’ll never do it again,” Tachikawa bawled. “I learned my lesson, I swear!”

You can’t apologize, I won’t let you apologize, because I know you’re just going to do it and get away with it again, you sorry little son of a— But Cye, who was stronger than he looked, pulled Kento away. He was also faster than he looked, placing Kento’s hands over his heart. “Hey, buddy, it’s going to be okay,” Cye breathed, gazing at Kento kindly.

Kento struggled to catch his breath, wanting to break away, wanting to stop the monster… but he didn’t have it in him. “It’s not,” he insisted.

“It is,” Cye promised. “You beat him. He’s never going to bother Sanada or anyone else ever again.”

“But he’s always going to try to hurt us, not unless I stop him.”

“Just take a deep breath and focus on this moment.” Cye was talking like Kento hadn’t come this close to killing a guy, which should have been infuriating… yet between the warmth in Cye’s hands and the trust in his eyes, Kento felt the anger melting away like snow. He was vaguely aware of Tachikawa, but it was going to be all right. He’d been defeated. Everyone was safe. Cye was safe.

… And wow, Cye stopped him from doing something he would have regretted forever. Kento squeezed Cye’s hands. “Thanks.”

Cye smiled wearily. “Any time.”

Tachikawa wiped at his eyes, trying to pull himself upright. “I-I’ll get you for this. I’ll make sure Fang is expelled, arrested—"

“Yeah, except Hashiba and Ms. Akagi will be here any second. And Ms. Akagi’s going to want the whole story,” Sanada reminded Tachikawa coolly. “So, if you want Fang expelled, chances are you’ll face similar consequences. Or we can all pretend that you and Fang got a little too rowdy while play sparring.” Tachikawa huffed, but mumbled something about how fine, he’d play along this one time, which was all Sanada needed.

--

Ms. Akagi eyed the boys warily. “So, all three of you decided to spar for fun.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kento, Sanada, and Tachikawa said in unison.

“A little too much fun, maybe,” Kento admitted.

Ms. Akagi turned her attention to Cye. “And you, Mouri. The person who covers his eyes when Fang gets roughed up in judo practice was the referee.”

“I admit, I was as shocked as you were with their choice, but they insisted. Rowen was kind enough to get you when things started getting a little too rowdy.”

She glanced at Rowen. “Do you agree with Mouri, Hashiba?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rowen said without a moment’s hesitation. “Thanks for making sure they didn’t get too rowdy.”

“Well, in that case, I guess there’s no need to go further than a warning,” Ms. Akagi finally said after a painfully long pause. “But boys, the campus is not a playground. And all of you need to report back to your class. Well, except for you, Tachikawa. You and I need to visit the nurse.” She sighed heavily, mumbling something about how she was so happy she didn’t have kids.

“You two head to class. I’ll escort Cye,” Kento told Rowen and Sanada. Because Tachikawa probably wasn’t going to bother them again anytime soon, but after that fight? You couldn’t be too careful.

And honestly, after getting that mad? He kind of needed to stick to Cye a little longer.

After saying brief good-byes to Rowen and Sanada, Kento held out his arm to Cye. “I can walk myself to class, you know,” Cye grumbled.

“You could, but you’d miss me,” Kento insisted. Cye rolled his eyes but took Kento’s arm.

When the two of them were alone, the magnitude of what Kento had nearly done, or at least had really wanted to do, hit him, and he felt his eyes starting to sting. “I’m sorry,” he confessed to Cye, voice rough.

They stopped walking. Cye rested his head on Kento’s shoulder. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not. I have a terrible temper, and no matter what I do, I can’t keep it in check.”

“You have a big heart and a strong sense of justice in a world that tries to crush such qualities.” Cye’s eyes were tired, but resolute. He smiled as he did his best to smooth down Kento’s hair. “You’re going to be okay, you dork.”

“Well, you’re insulting me again, so I guess it is okay.” Although Cye seemed pretty tired. It could be because they’d just gotten out of a stressful situation, but something deep inside Kento insisted it was more. Unfortunately, he also knew that Cye would never admit anything was wrong until he absolutely had to.

So, he let Cye lean on him as they finally made it to Cye’s classroom. “See you after school?”

Cye smiled weakly. “Of course.”

--

“Thanks for earlier,” Sanada, who sat behind Kento, whispered to him near the end of the school day.

“No problem,” Kento whispered back. “I just feel bad, you know? I was hoping to make friends with you, but Tachikawa messed that up.” Kento took immense satisfaction that Tachikawa was nursing a bruise on his cheek near the teacher’s desk.

“Well, if you want, I think we can call each other friends now,” Sanada assured him. “And you can call me Ryo.”

“Cool, call me Kento!”

Ms. Akagi cleared her throat. Ryo gulped. Rowen’s face was hidden in a book, which meant he was either trying not to laugh at Kento or catching a nap right before going home. “I’m going to interpret that as you letting us know, in your own unique way, that you’d like to do the English reading.”

“Um, yes, of course!” Kento stood up, and did his best with a story about two people sharing lunch until class mercifully ended.

--

“You walk that far to get to school? No wonder you miss so many classes.” Rowen frowned. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to sound unkind.”

“It’s fine. It’s just a fact of life.” Ryo was helping Rowen pack his many, many books (and snacks, and travel pillow) into his bag. “I don’t mind the walk, but when the weather gets ugly, sometimes I have no choice but to miss class.”

“If you desire, you can join our informal study group. We could try meeting places that are closer to your house.”

“Sure, that’d be cool. Hey, Kento.” Ryo tapped his shoulder. “Where’s your friend?”

Kento huffed, not really caring if he seemed crabby. “I don’t know, but I’m about to head back and find him.”

“No need for that,” Cye said as he joined their group. “Ah, Sanada. I see my dork has wormed his way into your heart.”

“You can call me Ryo,” Ryo replied happily. “And I guess he has.” He turned to Rowen. “Since I’m apparently Ryo to all of these guys, I think we should be on a first-name basis at this point, too.” Rowen gave one of his rare unguarded smiles and agreed with Ryo’s suggestion.

“Awesome!” Kento crowed to the heavens. “I hereby dub us the bros!”

“Yeah, we’re not doing that,” Cye said.

“Fine.” Cye was being his usual sweet/sarcastic self, but Kento still had that feeling that he was more than just really tired. “Cye, are you sure that you’re okay?”

“Yes, I promise.” Cye placed Kento’s hands over his heart again. “I’ll pick on you, but I will never lie to you. I just need to eat and sleep. That’s all. But wow,” he said around a yawn, “am I glad Sayoko is picking me up today. I think I’d have to make Kento carry me home if she wasn’t.”

“That’s right, Ms. Sayoko can drive!” Rowen blinked at his revelation. “Ryo, you could ask her for rides to school and back.”

Ryo grimaced. “Thanks, but I don’t really think I could ask a stranger that.”

“She’s not a stranger, she’s a sister of your friend,” Cye insisted. “And Sayoko is cool. She’ll agree right away, I promise. So, give me your number and address.” After some hunting for a paper and pen, Ryo awkwardly handed Cye a slip of paper. “Oh, speaking of Sayoko, here she is,” he continued as Sayoko’s practical station wagon parked nearby. As Sayoko emerged, her short bob of pitch-black hair was messy, which meant her final days as a med student were going roughly. She was dressed in earth tones, which contrasted with her brother’s love for any shade of blue when he wasn’t in his school uniform. “Hi, Sayoko!” Cye waved.

Sayako waved back… and then went pale, dark brown eyes wide as she dashed up to the boys.

“Cye, you’re sick.”

“I’m not sick, I’m just tired!”

“Fine, whatever.” Her tone left no room for argument. “You still need to rest.”

“Ms. Sayoko, is everything all right?” Rowen was the only one not too startled by Sayoko’s sudden shift in mood (or in Ryo’s case, just startled that she was all but shouting at Cye) to speak. After all, this was the woman that would joke about being the “cool mom,” provided rides and snacks at a moment’s notice, and talked to them like they were people and not annoying kids. She was protective of her brother, but to see her treat Cye like he was going to break was shocking. “Is… is Cye okay?”

“He will be,” Sayoko assured them as she spirited Cye to the car. “Okay, bye, see you tomorrow!”

As the car started, Cye rolled down the window and popped his head out. “I really am okay, guys, promise!”

“Then why does it feel like you’re not,” Kento said to himself as he and the others got ready to go home.

--

“Cye, what were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking that if I didn’t stop Kento, he’d murder that punk!” Cye hated yelling. He hated all conflict, but Sayoko wasn’t even trying to understand him. “Sorry for not wanting my best friend to go to jail! Next time I see someone I care for about to do something they’ll regret for the rest of their life; I won’t bat an eyelash, I promise.” Cye’s voice was oozing too much sarcasm to his older sister and guardian in Tokyo, but he didn’t care anymore. He would never apologize for doing the right thing.

They hit a red light, which was a good thing since it gave Sayoko enough time to take some deep breaths and collect herself. “I’m glad you stopped Kento from doing something he’d regret, too. He’s a good guy, and I know he’d never forgive himself.”

“Cool, you get it. Argument over forever.”

“No, Cye. Not this time.” The light changed, and Sayoko made a turn. “If anyone knew that you’re—”

“A freak?” Cye muttered darkly.

“No! You are NOT a freak! You are my precious baby brother and I love you!” Now Sayoko was shouting.

… And finding a spot to park by the side of the road, Cye realized glumly, trying to hide in his oversized jacket. Oh, boy. He’d gone too far. He’d said things he shouldn’t have, and now he was going to get the lecture of a lifetime.

His eyes were brimming up with tears, but he didn’t care. He was tired and his sister yelling at him was going to make things worse.

“Cye, you are not a freak.” Sayoko placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “Our father could heal hearts in the same way. I know it’s a difficult ability to live with, but that’s all it is. A gift a son inherited from his father.”

“It doesn’t feel like a gift.”

“… I know,” Sayoko admitted, her voice raw. “And I know how Mum and I kept telling you not to use it didn’t help with that. But not everyone is understanding of people who deviate from the norm.”

“Tell me about it.” Cye almost smiled. “The whole reason I got in this mess was because the brat who picks on me for knitting tried to pick a fight with Ryo, and got more than he could handle when Kento decided to pick a fight with him.”

“Wait, that jerk?” Sayoko huffed. “You should have let Kento kill him.”

“Hmm.” Cye leaned back in his seat. Sayoko wasn’t mad at him (at least not enough to yell at him), but he still felt on edge. Like every barrier and forcefield he had put up to function in society had been ripped away. “But, Sayoko, I wasn’t trying to heal some random stranger. I was trying to heal Kento, my best friend. I… I think it might take some time, but Kento would understand.”

“I agree. And I know Rowen is a good guy, and I’m sure that surfer dude with you is also understanding.”

“His name is Ryo.” Cye handed his sister Ryo’s number and address. “By the way, he needs rides to school.”

Sayoko took the paper, looked it over, then put it in her cardigan pocket. “Oh, cool, this is actually on my way to class. When we get home, I’ll let Ryo know it’s no trouble at all.”

Now Cye managed a smile. “You’re a good person, Sayoko. And a good sister.”

“Thanks. But we’re not done talking yet. Your friends are wonderful, and I’m thankful that you have them in your life now. But they’re young. Secrets can slip. Not to mention you guys are always in school or at a club, surrounded by people you can’t trust as much as your friends.” Cye wanted to protest, but experience told him that his sister was correct. They had been lucky that Ryo and Tachikawa hadn’t noticed him helping Kento back to himself, taking the negative thoughts into his own heart. “When they’re older, I have no doubt that you can share this side of yourself with them freely. But for now…”

“For now, I have to keep this to myself,” Cye reluctantly agreed. “I hate it, though.”

“I do, too. But even when you can share this with them, you need to be careful. You know that absorbing negative thoughts hurts you. Physically and emotionally. It helps people, but it hurts you.” Sayoko gazed at Cye, her eyes bright. “Dad’s dead. And Mum is…” Their mother’s health was something neither one of them could talk about too much without wanting to weep. “Cye, if anything happened to you, I don’t think I could bear it.”

His limbs were heavy with exhaustion, but Cye managed to hug his sister. “I know. And I’ll be more careful, I promise.”

“Thanks,” Sayoko said shakily. She cleared her throat and grabbed the wheel. “So, um, we’re going to get home late. Do you want me to get some take-out for dinner?”

“Not today,” Cye murmured, closing his eyes. “If you ever tell anyone, I’ll deny it, but you were right. I need to rest.”

--

Sayoko said something about ordering in instead as they entered their apartment, and that Cye could eat when he was rested up. He was fairly sure that he nodded as he stumbled to his room, shed his coat on the floor, and fell into bed, burying himself under the blanket his mother had knitted for him before she got too sick for things like that. He shut his eyes as he finally, finally, allowed himself to truly feel awful.

He hated that his father was dead. He hated that his mother was probably dying. He hated that his sister thought that she could protect him from everyone and everything in the world. He hated his “powers,” the whispered conversations Mum and Sayoko would have when they thought he was asleep about Dad and a torrent of something, and he most especially hated the dreams about a man with long white hair forcing a blue sphere into his hand.

… Cye had started crying when he thought about Mum maybe dying, and now the tears were coming down too hard to even pretend to sleep. What had he told Kento just a few hours ago? Focus on the moment? Take deep breaths? It was going to be okay?

“What a bunch of garbage,” he whispered fiercely. What good was living in the moment when the moment sucked? How could anything be okay when your father was dead, your mother was probably dying, and your sister was working herself to death to support a worthless brother who was going to lose all of his friends after leaving them like that?

Mum and Sayoko would tell him that wasn’t true, it was just leftover negative thoughts after healing Kento’s heart. But right now they weren’t here, and those negative “thoughts” felt much more real than anything else in his life right now.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

… Well, they hadn’t hung up, so it must have been one of his friends. Probably calling to tell him that he wasn’t part of the group anymore.

And okay, that was melodramatic even for him, Cye realized as he wrapped the blanket around him and walked to his desk, silently thankful that he had his own phone and own number. “Hello?”

“Cye!” Kento’s voice was equal measures of panic and relief. “I was so worried!”

“I’m fine, Kento.”

“Are you sure? Because you looked like you were gonna faint—”

“For the last time, I’m fine,” Cye snarled. “I’m not made of glass!”

Kento was silent, and Cye realized with horror that he was in the process of making his fear that Kento would leave him a reality. If he was feeling better, he would have probably started apologizing and dashing off to Kento’s to cook him an apology dinner. But right now, all he could manage was to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, Kento. I didn’t mean to sound cross.”

“Yeah, man, no worries.”

Cye frowned. “You do realize that I genuinely yelled at you there? None of my trademarked sarcasm?”

“Well, yeah, sure.” If he had hurt Kento’s feelings, it didn’t resonate in Kento’s tone, which was… not happy, but stable. “But you also had a lot to deal with at school, and I’m guessing Sayoko went into Mama Bear mode after she picked you up.”

“Oh, boy, did she ever,” Cye confessed. “I swear, if she could buy a tower to lock me away in, she would. But… but I guess I can’t completely blame her. Um, this isn’t the first time I’ve had a spell like this.” He was not lying to Kento. He was just choosing only certain parts of the truth to tell him. “However, I am pretty annoyed with her.”

“As you should be. I mean, I get where she’s coming from. I want to protect my friends and family more than anything. But she also needs to realize you’re a person who can take care of himself.”

“I know. And thanks for the support. Hold on, I’m going to move the phone to the bed.” The wires were stretched to their very limit, but Cye was able to get comfortable while talking to Kento. “The problem is, I can’t completely blame her there, either. Ever since Mum got really sick, she’s had to handle family finances and school and raise me.” It was uncomfortable admitting that Sayoko was more of a mother than his own mother, sometimes. But he wouldn’t lie to Kento. “She’s been having to do that since she was sixteen. Surprise surprise, it’s made her a little obsessed with trying to control everything.”

“Even the things she can’t?”

“Especially the things she can’t. But we did talk, and I think she’s going to try to calm down about that stuff. By Sayoko standards, at least.” Cye yawned. “Oh, by the way, I didn’t mean that about making you go to convenience stores for lunch. I’ll start packing extra onigiri that you can have in my bento from now on.”

“Are you still going to make me eat it out of your hand?”

“Of course, Kento. It’s the only civilized way to do it. Oh, and Sayoko can drive Ryo. If she hasn’t called him yet, I’ll make sure she does so no later than tomorrow.”

“Cool. Listen, I’m gonna let you go before you do more good deeds for others. Because I know you’re still a little mad at your sister, but she was right about you needing your rest.”

It was weird. Just a few minutes ago, Cye snapped at Kento for supposedly treating him like he was too fragile for the world. But now, he smiled at his friend’s concern. “Okay. Thanks for listening. I’m going to school no matter what tomorrow, so I’ll see you then. Bye.” He hung up the phone and fell asleep almost right after that.

--

Later, when Cye awoke and emerged from his room, he was surprised by the sight that greeted him. “Sayoko, since when do you cook?” It was an unspoken rule in the Mouri household that Cye ruled the kitchen. “I thought you were going to order out.”

“I had some excess energy I needed to burn,” Sayoko confessed. “So, I made us omelets with rice. No promises on the quality, and it’s a pretty simple meal.”

“Simple’s good. And thanks. I feel better, but not up to cooking.” Cye set the table and then helped himself.

After the events of the day, they should not have had a pleasant dinner. But the food was decent and Sayoko told a lot of funny stories about her fellow students, and Cye was laughing, trading stories about Kento and Rowen. Maybe the nap had been that helpful. Or maybe, as he suspected, Kento knew how to heal a heart as well.