ten

broken as me

Outside, Murayama and Seki were finally getting the upper hand on Ice when Furuya forcefully dragged Murayama away. Nakagoshi and Nakaoka limped thier way inside when things got hairy and were staring at the two part-timers with rapt attention as Furuya herded Murayama inside.

"What the hell, man!?" Murayama cried "What is wrong with you!? We were just getting the upper hand on the Mighty Warriors!"

"Idiot." Furuya shouted "Midori is in bad shape, Murayama-san!"

Murayama paused, exhaling sharply. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know. She was fine until the Mighty Warriors showed up, then she was sick all over the hallway. I think there's something she's not telling us, but she's only going to talk if you're there. She trusts you."

__

I was still sitting on Todoroki's couch, expertly avoiding every single one of Yasushi's questions about my short-lived love affair with Masaki.

"As entertaining as this is, Yasushi, I don't see how my sex life is any of your business." I hissed as Tsukasa sprayed rubbing alcohol on my split knuckles. It had been a very long time since I was in a fight of this scale. Even a fight that wasn't a simple sparring match.

I fought back another rush of tears as I heard footsteps in the hallway, turning my head to see Murayama and Furuya standing in the open doorway.

"Dori-chan." Murayama's voice cracked as he ran over to me, practically shoving Tsukasa out of the way "Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "I don't think I've been okay for a long time."

His face fell as he wrapped his arms around my shaking form. I got to my feet, attempting to match his height and make the gesture less awkward as I rested my head in the crook of his neck, feeling myself beginning to cry all over again.

"You're going to be all right." The boy said quietly, everybody else in the general vicinity averting their eyes, as if they were intruding on something deeply personal.

___

Minutes later, the fight against the Mighty Warriors had all but concluded, injured Oya students flooding back into the building. I'd found a change of clothes, simply putting on an oversized spare uniform. It was clean, and not covered in blood or dust, which was enough for me. Following my incredibly detailed instructions, Yasushi had managed to get the cinnamon rolls in the oven. After I finished patching up my wounds, and the guys had moved on to theirs, we gathered in the mat room where I had sparred with Murayama on my first day at Oya.

How things had changed since then.

We all sat in a circle, Tsukasa and Murayama on either side of me, Yasushi and Furuya across from me. I tapped my chipped nails on the glass of water Yasushi had brought back from the kitchen, waiting for somebody to ask exactly what had just happened.

"Midori." Murayama started "We can't help you if you don't tell us exactly what happened out there."

I stopped to take another sip of water, noting the rapt attention that Tsukasa and Yasushi were showing. They were just kids. The two of them had no idea about the true implications of being a part of S.W.O.R.D. Implications I tired so hard to avoid. When I was in school it was still just Mugen, but the way people dropped everything to join Tatsuya and Kohaku startled me.

"One night, to try and get everybody in our neighborhood to sell the land for the casino project, Ice and his goons were out terrorizing the street. Smashing windows, knocking over mailboxes. That sort of stuff, you know? Anyways, I didn't want to give in." I smiled grimly "Decked Ice right in the face."

Yasushi burst out laughing, Furuya and Tsukasa joining in. Soon Murayama and I were grimly chucking as I reached for a cinnamon roll in the middle of the circle we had created.

"Yeah, it was pretty freaking cool. Since I refused to give in, they sent Doubt after me. Two days later I was leaving the building site. I stopped to check a text from Daichi when they attacked me. Without Masaki and Hiroto, I have no idea where my life would be at. I had problems sleeping then, and I have problems sleeping now, but they're so much worse."

"Hold on." Yasushi interrupted again "Where does the sex with Masaki part come in."

Murayama choked on his water "You what!?"

I shook my head, remembering every part of the night clear as day. "It just happened. One thing lead to another, my life had gone to hell in a matter of seconds and I needed to make a conscious choice that made me feel in control again."

That seemed to effectively shut Yasushi up, the boy simply taking a cinnamon roll and chewing really loudly.

"Do you still talk to him?" Furuya asked

"He checked in on me a few times over the summer. My parents took off because they had no idea how to deal with things. I was practically alone in that house, shut in when I wasn't going to class. He made me promise not to let Doubt win. The last time I saw him was the day of the Container Fight."

The room drifted into silence, Murayama reaching for my hand. "I told you guys we should have taken the bordertowns ages ago. It had nothing to do with that petty argument with Hyuga."

"It had everything to do with that petty fight with Hyuga" Furuya interrupted

"Maybe it did. But we can't protect bordertowns."

"Murayama, it's fine. You couldn't have known. If anything, the White Rascals are as much at fault as you are for not extending their patrols." I said softly. "But there's nothing we can do right now."

After that conversation, there was nothing I could do to convince myself that everything was okay anymore. My life had changed, whether for better or worse I wasn't sure yet. But I had found a family better than the one I was born into, and I wasn't about to let Oya go that easily.

Still washed out from both the fight and the nervous breakdown, we pooled our cash and ordered takeout from an Italian place in the Township. It seemed like the rocky truce between the warring clans of full-timers had ended with Fujio's streaking prank on Yasushi, so they were back at each other's throats again before the pizza boxes had even been opened. I didn't mind though, it reminded me of the way brother's fought with each other.

Murayama drove me home, my heart no longer threatening to beat out of my chest with terror.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" He asked, parking my car in the driveway.

I nodded "Noboru should be home, I'll be fine. I might not sleep, but I'll probably call Naomi, do some catching up."

Murayama nodded in response. "Okay. Call me in the morning?"

I smiled "Of course. You sure you don't want to come in?"

"Nah. I'll just walk home."

We both got out of the car, standing awkwardly in my driveway. "Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Turns out, I'd be seeing him a lot sooner than that.

NOTES!

look at me updating twice in a day-

also yasushi being a literal shit is my new favorite branding