Starting to Heal
Just a quick drabble that was inspired by a certain someone in the Baki discord. Ships Katsumi/Doyle/Retsu, just a quick little hurt/comfort fic because I was inspired.
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He'd been in prison again for a while now. How long exactly, he didn't really know. it had to have been a few months at this point. He hadn't really wanted to, but the officers supervising him had begun bringing him stuff to learn braille so they could at least communicate with him. They kept him on a strict routine to keep up his concept of time, at least for the day. His meals were all brought at reliable intervals, so he could comfortably follow the routine that they'd set up for him. But today was different. The routine had changed. He'd been given his breakfast, but the guards hadn't left while he was eating, and the food was different. It tasted familiar, but he couldn't quite remember why. It wasn't his usual scrambled eggs, toast and sausage either, it was something else. There were eggs, of course, but this time there were vegetables, some soup, rice, and bread. He didn't really know what to think, but he welcomed the change.
Of course, he felt it when one of the guards began approaching him, but he didn't feel the need to do anything, they often got closer to hand him a rotary pad where they'd write out braille to communicate with him. What he wasn't expecting was for a hand to rest on his shoulder. He jolted out of reflex, shrugging the hand off sharply with a glare directed towards the area he was most certain the guard was standing. Was this a new guard? If so, why were they so familiar feeling? He knew that hand, he thought. There was something so familiar about it. The hand returned to his shoulder again in a quick, reassuring pat, and this time he paused. Something was familiar here. The guard settled in beside him, before grabbing his hand- he knew these hands- and setting something in them. It felt thick, rough, and it was bundled together, a tag catching his attention, though when he ran his thumb over it he could feel symbols, but he couldn't recognize any of them.
There was a familiar smell in the air as he tried to figure out what it was he'd been handed and what to make of it. Something here was so familiar. There was another guard sitting in front of him, by the food. That one was familiar too. What was going on here? All the non-familiar familiarity was making his head spin. And then he realized what he was holding: A karate belt. He'd only held Katsumi's for a brief time back before his capture, but he knew what it had felt like. He didn't know why this had been handed to him, he didn't know what was happening, but he did appreciate that he finally had a belt, since he'd lost the one Katsumi had given him in his fight with Yanagi.
The hand returned to his, pulling his hand away from the belt gently to flip his palm upward, two letters being traced on his skin. "H. I." That gave him pause. The guards weren't ever this gentle or nice with him. This was familiar. Intimate. This person knew him. He turned to face them, brows furrowed. He wanted to hope, but he didn't dare.
"Who are you?" He asked, before the hand swiped across his own again, tracing letters, and with each one his stomach swooped. "K. A. T. S. U. M. I." He blinked in shock. "Katsumi?" He asked, and the form beside him leaned in slightly, enough for him to feel the laughter vibrating through his shoulder. Another hand grabbed his and began tracing as well. "R. E. T. S. U." He swallowed thickly. Ah. Now he remembered what he was smelling. "So, what brings you two all the way over here then?" He asked, feeling Katsumi lean further into his side, his chin resting atop his head, the platter being pushed closer towards him. The belt in his hand felt heavy, impossibly so. Was he shaking?
Katsumi's arm draped over his shoulder, pulling him closer into his side. He could feel the vibrations of his voice, not enough to know what he was saying, but he knew that he was talking. Retsu gently traced a request for Doyle to eat, that they had a while to catch up and he shouldn't worry, but he simply found himself sitting there, shaking, unable to let go of the belt, unable to lean away from Katsumi's one armed embrace. The food in front of him was delicious, and he knew that Retsu had made it with his health in mind. But he could only sit there, shaking as he gripped the belt tightly in his hand. It was then that he regretted deafening himself. He wanted to hear them, his first proper friends, he wanted to hear their voices to badly, to be able to have a normal conversation with them so he could hear what they were saying, but somehow, as they both leaned against his sides and held him, he felt like he could.
He felt like he could hear Katsumi's voice as he spoke, he could imagine what it would be about. A black-belt sat in his hands, and his first two friends sat beside him, a home-made meal ready to be eaten. Was this what normal people got to experience? Friends? Food? Gifts? It wasn't all that terrible, now that he thought about it. It wouldn't stay this way, of course. They would eventually leave, and he'd stay here, in prison, without the home-cooked meal and the company that didn't hate him. But for now, he supposed, he could enjoy it. Yes, he thought, letting them lean into him as he closed his eyes. He could enjoy this for as long as it would last.
He didn't sleep, he didn't have time to do that, but he did take a moment to gather his thoughts. Retsu's hand, softer, warmer, gentler, traced up the back of his neck, though it left after a moment. He would never admit that he was ashamed that he'd leaned after him to chase that touch, but instead of leaving, Retsu simply readjusted so that he could feed him, while Katsumi leaned against his side, still talking even though he knew Doyle couldn't hear him anymore. Regardless, it brought a smile to the red-heads lips as Retsu fed him spoonful after spoonful. This was peaceful. Domestic. Not what he was used to, but it was good. The food stopped coming, clearly gone, and he searched for where he thought Retsu would be, hands meeting his cheeks to steady his face.
"Thank you. It was good. Best meal I've had since I was brought here." He admitted, and while he couldn't hear Retsu's voice or see his face, he could practically feel the smile that he shot at him. "Ah, Katsumi, I've been practicing my Seiken. Every day, a part of my routine. I think you'd be proud of my progress." He said, and Katsumi didn't answer, getting up and walking away, and while he felt despaired at the motion, it didn't take long for him to return and press a familiar tablet into his hands. Braille letters greeted him.
"You look tired but I'll be back tomorrow. Show me then." He paused at that. Tomorrow? Katsumi would be back tomorrow? He handed the box back to Katsumi after clearing it.
"Tomorrow? You'd come back and visit me again? Why would you waste your time in a prison visiting a man on death row?" He asked, and it took a moment for the box to be pressed back into his hands.
"We're here for the week. We wanted to see you so we made a vacation out of it. Sorry it took so long." He scoffed, shaking his head.
"Don't waste your time. If you're in America for a week then go sightseeing. There's gotta be something you can do." He insisted, but Katsumi grabbed his face and held it steady. He got the message loud and clear despite not being able to hear his voice. The immediate protest, his voice vibrating through the air. There was nothing to be done about it. If they would visit him, he would allow them. He would accept them. "I get it, there's no need to yell, not like I can hear you anyways. Sorry, by the way. I lost the original belt you gave me when I got caught." Katsumi's hands moved from his cheeks to his shoulders in a reassuring gesture. He could picture the smile he knew would be on Katsumi's face then.
So calm, open and reassuring. What had he done wrong in his life for the first smile like that to come from a man he had fought almost to the death? First Retsu, and then Katsumi, both men should hate him. They probably did. But if they were going to be nice, his first two friends, he would accept it. He'd had a taste of kindness, and he wasn't strong enough to ignore it. He took the initiative this time and leaned into Katsumi's shoulder, breathing in his scent to try and remember it, to ingrain it into his mind so he would recognize it any time he encountered it again in the future.
"So. What's new? What have I missed out on in the outside world? Tell me they at least caught that old bastard Yanagi." He said, and he felt Katsumi's laugh. He could almost hear it, so boisterous and loud. Yeah, this was alright.
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