#kaz internally: no no no Do Not Percieve Me. You Saw Nothing.

[thiefofcrows]

       Kaz didn't give a damn about whatever became of Raito, as long as he was out of The Crow Club. He made the seemingly long trek towards his office, favoring his bad leg heavily as every step elicited a sharp pang. Around it, the pain gradually bled out, engulfing his entire left leg in a persistent ache. Kaz's head and jaw hurt like hell, the taste of blood lingering in his mouth like an aftertaste. Regardless, all of the molten rage had burned its way out of him and now, he was just tired — filled with satisfaction as well, of course, but ... Kaz found himself wishing for a dreamless sleep.

       When he entered the office, he focused first on Jesper. Concern furrowed the sharp shooter's brows ... and that concern came out as a quiet declaration that Kaz looked as terrible as he felt. He let out a scoff, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.  ❝The other guy looks much worse,❞ he rasped, a hint of amusement in his tone. Then he cast a brief glance at Yuki then back to Jesper. Kaz nodded toward the door. ❝Go on.❞ Jesper left them alone easily and only then did he notice that the hatch he used to keep an eye on the floor was open. He reached to snap it shut — and when Kaz finally turned his full attention on Yuki, it was almost like feeling a sudden shift in the air around them.

Yuki took a few steps forward, his gaze steady, and Kaz felt as though every thought, every emotion he'd felt since they'd been reunited was on display. He felt vulnerable, stripped bare of any of the armor that had kept him alive all this time. It took every ounce of Kaz's willpower to prevent himself from taking several limping steps backward. He felt an intense surge of fear that crackled deep into his bones that he hastened to stifle.

Tension wound itself through his body after Yuki had said his name like that, as a certain look flashed in his eyes. Yuki wanted to touch him, Kaz realized — but he felt relief and perhaps a slight twinge of disappointment when Yuki seemed to think better of it. The thanks felt wrong, as if he'd done some kind of selfless good deed when indeed, what he'd done had been for various selfish reasons. To unleash his rage upon the person who deserved it, to gain the opportunity to tie Yuki to Kaz in a way that was practical, a deal that could benefit them both.

❝We'll talk after you've gotten some sleep,❞ he said instead, smoothly side-stepping Yuki's gratitude. ❝I've got empty rooms at the Slat — Dregs territory.❞ You'll be safe there. The words had teetered on the edge of his tongue, but it felt like a lie. Even if he didn't say it out loud, he had a feeling Yuki would interpret what he did say that way and ... well, how he interpreted Kaz's words wasn't his problem in this case, was it?

Kaz had lead Yuki to the Slat, given him a choice of small rooms. The building, the rooms, were a bit run down looking and ugly; but it was dry, insulated and sturdy. When he noted the lock on the doors, and that Yuki was free to use it if he wished, the look he'd recieved had been nothing short of astonishment. 'I can ... lock my door?' Yuki had asked incredulously and Kaz felt another burst of rage for Raito. All he'd said in reply was, ❝Do whatever you want. ❞ He instructed Yuki to come and find him when he was ready to talk, indicating that he stayed in the attic room at the top of the stairs.

With that, Kaz left him to get settled, shifting his focus back onto the various tasks at hand.

Shame and rage burned in his cheeks as Raito was dragged to his feet, unable to make his body move the way it needed to. His arms hung at his sides, pins and needles prickling at the tips of his fingers. But the pain in his knee was significant, throbbing all over but concentrated in one spot. Like it was broken.

The bouncer unceremoniously threw him out onto the street, the double doors snapping closed with finality.

Kaz Brekker was a particular kind of bastard.

In the office, Yuki was slumped down in the chair Kaz had left him in, his head laid back and eyes closed. The bruises and the split to his lip were gone, no pain as he took in steady breaths. To the untrained eye, it merely looked as though Yuki were resting his eyes, and perhaps had fallen asleep in the process. But he couldn't have been more alert.

Yuki had gathered his power in a thin tendril and pushed it through the open hatch, down as far as he could, not quite reaching Kaz and Raito--but hovering among the sea of Dregs. Both men had extremely familiar auras, which made them stand out among the crowd.

There was no wall sealing Kaz's emotions now. His emotions weren't held back, though they were still somewhat faint thanks to the distance. Yuki felt a dangerous rage radiating from him, the caution that ravaged the other Dregs telling him that they felt it, too. Rage...

Had what Yuki said made him this angry?

Raito's aura forced its way into his mind, despite how Yuki shied away from it. His rage burned strong, but it was still no match for Kaz. That gave Yuki some satisfaction. The idea of facing Raito right now, even with his wounds gone, filled him with dread. That bone-chilling fear that hadn't released him since this whole thing started, finally eased its grip. Yuki allowed himself to believe that Kaz could do this, that Raito was no longer the scariest person in that room.

And then he was hit with pain, each man's aura intertwined until they were indiscernible from each other. Yuki tensed, but he remained still.

Soon the scale tipped and Yuki could feel a strong and constant agony threaded deep in Raito's slimy aura. But Yuki felt no relief, because a lesser pain still prodded at his mind.

Suddenly the desire to see Kaz for himself made it hard to remain seated. But it seemed Yuki would soon get his wish, as he heard footsteps up to the office. That gentle tendril retracted as Yuki opened his eyes at last, glancing over his shoulder, and he stood when the door finally opened.

Kaz limped into the room, favoring his leg in a way Yuki had never seen before. There were a few bruises on his face, which sparked Yuki's anger, and blood on his mouth that fanned the flames.

For a moment, he wondered if Raito was still outside.

Yuki was silent until Jesper was told to leave, until he heard the door click shut. He took a few steps forward. Yuki was good with words, but each time he thought of something to say, it never made it past his lips.

"Kaz..." Of course he knew that touching his friend was off-limits. And Yuki had never had an issue with respecting that. But to his shock, the urge to touch Kaz's unbruised cheek rose up in him, which he immediately disregarded.

Though he still felt the rage simmering in him, it seemed...inappropriate right now. So Yuki took in a breath, finally settling on the only words he could say.

"Thank you."