(Warning for mention of theoretical self-harm. It’s just a misunderstanding, but the DL crew do make the assumption for about a paragraph or two.)

Kaito stared out the window and let his mind drift as Uryuu rested against his chest, the teen finally worn out from crying but still too tired to pull away. He continued to run a hand through Uryuu’s hair, knowing how much he liked the sensation and also knowing that there was very little else he could do for Uryuu at the moment.

(Sometimes, having someone just be there was more than enough, he’d learned.)

(He hoped this was one of those times.)

He almost expected to be interrupted by Euden and the others, given how impatient Zethia had seemed to help him, but time dragged on and still no one poked their head into the room he’d chosen. And perhaps that was because the castle was so large, but… maybe it wasn’t.

(Maybe they were respecting his request for time.)

They stayed like that until Uryuu stirred and began to pull away, the teen wincing slightly with every motion.

Kaito kept his gaze on the window, giving Uryuu the illusion of privacy while he scrubbed at his tear-stained face and tried to put his appearance back in order. Only when Uryuu settled again did Kaito glance over at him and ask, “Feeling any better?”

Uryuu shrugged, cheeks pink and gaze downcast as he responded, “I guess.”

“Up for meeting a couple new people?” Kaito asked gently, leaning around Uryuu and dragging his bag closer so he could rifle through it. A spare bit of cloth, a small twist of water-focused power, and he had a damp rag in his hand that he could offer his past self. “I ran into a group of locals while you were sleeping and one of them is apparently a healer. She might be able to do something about your injuries.”

“Do you… think I should?” Uryuu asked softly, sounding so lost that Kaito’s heart hurt, remembering all the times he had felt like that but had to keep moving without pause.

“An actual healer wouldn’t be amiss,” Kaito settled on, gaze drifting away again as Uryuu took off his glasses again and started to run the damp cloth over his face. “You’ll feel better once those wounds are healed.”

Uryuu sighed and dried his face off, then tossed the damp cloth at the nearby chair. “They… won’t mind?”

“No. Zethia, the healer, was pretty insistent that I let her help,” Kaito said as he slid to the edge of the bed and stood up, glowering at his tail as it thumped against one of the bedposts.

(Having a tail was going to take some getting used to.)

(Ugh.)

Uryuu barely hid his laughter with a cough, looking away as Kaito turned to glower at him. “S-sorry,” he forced out, a spark of amusement in his gaze. “Uhm… Shiro says you look betrayed.”

Kaito snorted and took a few careful steps towards the door, still unused to the odd balance his clawed feet and tail provided. “Just wait until you two reach for your mask. See how betrayed you are then.”

“I think I’ll pass,” Uryuu said as he rounded the bed and then hesitated, adjusting his kimono with his good hand and staring at the entrance to the room. “You… sure they won’t mind…?”

Kaito took in Uryuu’s hunched posture and striated eyes — and wasn’t that a trip, seeing his own eyes looking back at him — and said, “She won’t. I’ll bring her and her brother up, so she can heal you and Euden can meet you.”

“I can walk—”

“Don’t.” Kaito gave Uryuu a flat look, knowing exactly what was going through his past self’s mind. He doubted he’d be able to change the insistence on ‘being fine’, not when he himself still fell into that trap years later, but he could certainly refuse to accept it when he knew better and there was only Uryuu’s pride on the line. “I remember exactly how much that hurt. Sit back down and let me fetch them.”

“You don’t have to. I’m not an invalid—”

“There are times to ignore you body and press on and times to listen and hold still,” Kaito interrupted again, remembering all the times Hanataro scolded him for unnecessarily pushing himself. “There’s nothing pressing right now, so… rest.”

Uryuu grimaced and hesitated, clearly torn between insisting and giving in, before he finally sighed and carefully sat back down. “Fine,” he grumbled, staring at the floor in a sulk.

Kaito pressed his lips together and turned away, trying not to laugh; Uryuu was in an unenviable position and he shouldn’t be amused by the teen’s actions, but… seeing some of it from the outside was a trip.

(Had he been like that?)

(Shit, was he still like that?)

(No, question himself later, fetch the healer to deal with Uryuu’s injuries first.)

“I’ll return soon,” Kaito told Uryuu with a nod, then stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. He strode down the hallway towards the stairs and descended, hopping down several steps at a time until he finally reached the ground floor.

Faint voices echoed through the empty hall, letting him know the others had arrived while he was with Uryuu, and it took little time for him to backtrack to the throne room where he’d promised to meet them.

“—still not sure what to do with this,” Euden was saying as Kaito stepped into the massive throne room. “I don’t want to just leave it here, but something about bringing it with us feels… wrong.”

“Then stay here with it and let me scout your city,” Kaito suggested as he padded closer, smirking at the way the small group startled at his presence. “I told you that sending a scout first is your best bet, and I’m probably the strongest here—”

“No,” Euden countered immediately, expression resolved. “I can’t ask that of you. You said you only stopped here to rest. I’m not going to drag you into—”

“You’re not dragging me into anything,” Kaito retorted with a scowl, stalking closer to the group and narrowing his eyes at Euden. “I am offering my talents in repayment for the healing of my companion.” He glanced at Zethia and inclined his head, saying, “Speaking of which, he agreed to let you look at him, but too many people at once will overwhelm him, so I must ask that only you and Euden come back upstairs with me.”

“I’m not healing him to get you to owe us,” Zethia said firmly, tipping her chin up in defiance. “This is repayment for you saving us.”

Kaito scowled at her, then at Euden with the young man nodded in agreement. “I told you already that I didn’t fight that man to save you—”

“But that is the result of your actions, and we owe you our lives because of it,” Euden said, eyes wide and kind and insistent as he stared up at Kaito. “Please, you have your own troubles, I don’t want to burden you with ours—”

Kaito flicked the young man’s forehead. “Shut it. Unless any of you have had lessons in infiltration, I am your best bet. Give me the night to get rid of the tail and claws and I can be in and out with no one the wiser.”

“‘Get rid of’…?” the tall, well-built man asked warily. “Buddy, I get you want to help, but…”

“That is not a way that his Highness will accept,” the woman with a lance said firmly.

Kaito frowned at the strange reaction, then caught sight of Euden’s concerned look and realized with a start that they thought he meant to hurt himself just to blend it. “You… realize I don’t often look like this, right?” As in never before this moment, but he wasn’t going to say that aloud. “A bit of meditation and I’ll look like a human again.”

The five exchanged looks that Kaito couldn’t quite understand, before Cleo hummed. “Why don’t we sleep on it?” she suggested, idly twisting her staff in her hand. “Euden, I understand where you’re coming from, but if he can disguise himself as a human and enter the city undetected, we’ll potentially learn far more than if any of us marches up to the gates and tries to get in.”

(What was this assumption that he was disguising himself as a human?)

(Was there some unknown race here that he currently resembled?)

(Damn, he really hated not knowing things!)

Euden sighed and glanced at his sister again, then squared his shoulders and met Kaito’s gaze. “Alright. I’ll write something for you to give to my father. Do you… know the capital at all?”

“Not in the slightest,” Kaito admitted without hesitation. “Anything you could tell me would be appreciated.”

“Alright… alright,” Euden murmured to himself, brows furrowed and gaze drifting to the side. “I’ll… sketch a map tonight, as well. Zethia, will you help me? You know some places better than I do.”

“Of course,” Zethia said with a nod, then smiled up at Kaito and motioned back the way he had come. “We should probably see to your friend first, though,” she said kindly. “Will you lead the way?”

Kaito shrugged and gestured for the siblings to follow. “Sure. Come on. Just… don’t mind if he’s sullen or snappish. It’s… been a long few months.”

“That’s okay,” Zethia said as she hurried to fall in step with him. “I’m sure we’ll get along soon enough!”

He arched an eyebrow at her, then huffed and looked away when all she did was smile at him.

(Great.)

(Another one of those types.)

(Two of them actually, if he was reading Euden right.)

(Uryuu was going to get friends out of this no matter how much he tried to avoid it.)

(Well… good.)

(Uryuu needed friends.)

(He knew it all too well…)