Ryuu tried to get ahold of Kazu all weekend, but all of his calls were rejected, and his numerous messages went unanswered.
When he saw a silhouette on the roof on Monday, he raced up the steps.
"Kazu!" Ryuu greeted, relieved and somewhat out of breath.
Kazu turned and frowned at him. "Ryuu."
Ryuu winced and went over to Kazu. "You're not still mad about my little sister tying you to a-"
Kazu gave him a death glare, and Ryuu fell silent.
"Well, I'll have you know that you broke my chair," Ryuu said, and Kazu growled.
"Yeah? Hope your rope's okay so you can abduct more innocent people and feed them to your psycho of a little sister."
"She's not psychotic; she was just..." Ryuu opened his mouth but couldn't find a more appropriate word. "Excited to see you," he finally decided on.
Kazu just raised an eyebrow before turning away. "Whatever. Just keep her away from me."
Ryuu was quiet. "Kazu, why are you trying to push everyone away?"
"She tied me to a chair, Ryuu, and you were prepared to just, what? Let her have her way with me? I'm not some lifeless doll for your own amusement," Kazu snapped, and Ryuu just listened patiently.
"Kazu, I only wanted you to meet her because you're an important friend to me, like a brother. I wanted you to meet my family."
Kazu was quiet.
"If it helps, you can think of my family as yours as well," Ryuu offered, looking out at the sun. "In exchange, I want to see where you're living right now."
"Why?" Kazu asked blankly.
Ryuu rolled his eyes. "Because I'm worried about you, man. What if you're just barely surviving on cup noodles?" He laughed, but the sound was strained. "Seriously, Kazu."
Kazu's shoulders slumped. "Are you going to make me clean up?"
Ryuu tried to hide the sparkles in his eyes to no avail. "You mean you're actually going to let me come?"
That slight moment of hesitation sealed it for Kazu. "Nope," he said abruptly, walking towards the stairs and leaving Ryuu alone on the roof.
"Well, then you leave me no choice, Kazu," Ryuu said, gripping the railing tightly. He briefly entertained the notion of waking Kazu up...
...before realizing that he didn't even know Kazu's address.
***
Kazu started walking home from school and almost immediately noticed Ryuu following him, but he decided not to let on. Instead, he decided to take the long route home and discreetly pulled out his cell phone, holding it up to his ear at an angle that Ryuu wouldn't be able to see from his crouched position behind some bushes.
"Listen. You remember how you owe me a favor? Great, 'cause I'm going to cash that in now," Kazu said, flicking his eyes quickly towards the bushes before issuing instructions and hanging up. Because Ryuu was a bit behind him, he didn't have to worry about hiding the smirk on his face.
***
Ryuu followed Kazu as soon as school got out, making sure to stay out of sight and a good fifteen feet or more behind Kazu as he navigated the city on foot and eventually disappeared inside a surprisingly normal but small house. Ryuu paused outside, suddenly unsure of his plan of action.
I can't just go in through the front door...
Suddenly, he saw a small footpath that led around to the back and, sending a quick glance towards the front of the house, he quickly hurried into the backyard, grateful upon noticing the back door.
Ryuu slipped inside, closing the door silently behind him, and turned, ready to creep through the house and surprise Kazu, but then -
Whack. Something heavy hit him in the head, and he blinked, trying to stay conscious, but with each closing of his eyelids, the world grew darker and darker...
Until there was only black.
***
Ryuu woke up a while later with a nasty headache. "What the heck?" he muttered, blinking and forcing his eyes open.
Seated across from him with a scowl was -
"Katsu?" Ryuu asked in surprise, only when he shifted slightly, he realized that his motions were restrained. Confused, he looked down to found himself bound to a chair. "Why're you here? And what's going on?" Ryuu asked, slightly panicked. The last time I saw Katsu, he was hanging out with some thugs...What if he chops me up and sells my parts on the black market?!
"Stop talking. It's annoying," Katsu snapped, frowning, but of course you had no mind to obey him.
"Where am I? And what are you doing here if you live all the way in-"
"I said shut up," he growled, then looked over his shoulder. "Kazu, how long do I have to deal with this bastard? He pisses me off."
"Wait, Kazu's here?" Ryuu asked anxiously. Kazu will save me!
Katsu just gave Ryuu a weird look at Kazu came into sight, looking incredibly disinterested. Not only that...
"You're eating cup noodles?!" Ryuu yelled, and Kazu just shrugged, ignoring him and turning to Katsu.
"Thanks," he said simply, and Katsu nodded. "You're relieved of duty." Kazu spared a glance at Ryuu as though considering how much he'd sell for.
Katsu nodded. "And with this, we're even." He looked over at Ryuu. "Sorry, Kazuhiko, that you're stuck with that guy for the next...well, however long." He tilted his head slightly, still examining Ryuu. "Do you get a lot of stalkers?"
Kazu shrugged. "Depends where I'm at. Can't say that many of them have been male, though..."
Then they both turned away, and after a short conversation, Katsu nodded, turned, and left through the back door.
Kazu...he set up a trap for me...Ryuu realized, and he had a frown ready when Kazu turned around, but he just kept eating his damn ramen.
"Untie me!" Ryuu yelled, and Kazu just rolled his eyes.
"Your cries for help remind me of something...Oh, that's right. They sound exactly like my cries for help when you tied me to a chair," Kazu deadpanned, and Ryuu hmph'ed. "Just be lucky that I don't have a sister who wants to play with you."
"Sakura wasn't going to do anything bad to you, Kazu-"
"Oh, really? So what was her plan, then? To play dress-up with me?" Kazu frowned at Ryuu as though pitying him for lack of intelligence. "My guess it had less to do with putting on clothes and more with forcibly removing them."
"Well, at least I haven't broken your chair," Ryuu said, and Kazu just shrugged.
"It doesn't matter to me. It's not like it's my chair."
"Then whose is it?"
"After Katsu knocked you unconscious, I went over and got a chair from your house, so if you break it, it's not my problem." As Ryuu made sounds of disbelief, Kazu just yawned. "I would have knocked you out myself, but that would have taken too much effort...I'm already tired enough as it is."
"Kazu, all I wanted was to make sure that you were living okay-" Ryuu began, but Kazu cut him off, holding up the cup noodles.
"Clearly, I am living a life as the lowest echelon in society. Now that you've seen the depths of my severe poverty," Kazu said, rolling his eyes as sarcasm dripped off the walls of his moderate home, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, and, considering your position, I suppose I'll have to escort you out."
Without saying anything further, Kazu dragged the chair with Ryuu in it out the front door and set it down on the sidewalk.
"Now...I'm going to go take a nap," Kazu said, sounding tired, and Ryuu yelled at him.
"Hey! KAZU! Untie me first!"
Kazu sent a lazy glance in his direction before gesturing vaguely. "Yeah, sure thing. Tomorrow morning. I'll be there. Night."
Ryuu yelled after him, but it was no use trying to motivate the sleep-deprived Kazu.
***
Eventually, the day ended with Ryuu breaking another one of his precious chairs...