#dominantdragons

The next few days passed by in a daze. Whatever mischief Concordium's inhabitants had been up to in the meantime, Tasuku had been blissfully unaware of as he lay sleeping. But that had been enough rest... He probably wasn't anywhere near caught up on sleep yet, but that was fine. 

He'd probably be able to sleep easier these days, anyway.

"Alright... No more laying around. I should get back to work..."

I haven't been waking Aichi-san up these past few days... I hope he hasn't been sleeping in too much... Ah, and I missed a few days worth of sparring sessions with Aragami... Well, whatever. I can make up for it.

"...?"

It was only then, as he got off the bed and slipped into his shoes, he realized just how empty the room was.

"Gao-kun isn't here...?"

I'll feel bad for just ditching him without saying anything... I'll leave a note. 

He had some stationary back in his room. He could just run there and back... With that in mind, he stepped outside of the room, though quickly learned that it wasn't necessary; the boy in question was approaching.

"..."

Tasuku was absolutely exhausted. But Kyouya's voice, the sight of those eyes so full of venom stuck with him, lingering just behind closed eyelids. His arm still hurt where Kyouya had nearly broken it, yet another awful testament as to what had transpired.

And to make matters worse, in his muddle of thoughts, he had forgotten that Gao had offered to visit him in the morning. Looking up as he neared the door, he saw the child there, in front of his door, possibly puzzling over why there was no answer.

"...Gao-kun."

A listless stroll had taken Tasuku around the facility, and he had been walking long enough so that he ended up right back where he started. He found himself heaving a sigh. He hated wasting time like this, and the worst part of it was that it did very little to lift the heavy weight that had settled in his chest since...well, everything.

What am I doing...?

What was he doing? What had he been doing for the past little while? Nothing the Tasuku in the past would've approved of, that was for sure. And there was no excuse either. No running away.

Sigh.

Looking up, he was about to begin walking again, when he heard a pair of familiar, boisterous voices. He froze in his tracks, observing the corner in disbelief. It couldn't have been, right? He couldn't be here?

But he was. 

As soon as he appeared around the corner, Tasuku's heart sank even further.