Erm… a little Yami no Matsuei snippet I found while rummaging through my (very badly) scattered things. ehehehe… -.-;; it was inserted somewhere in my… photography notebook!?

"Hang in there, Hisoka. We're almost there."

His scowl clearly says 'I wish he'd just put me down', but each time his foot touches the ground, his face contorts and he hisses in pain. This isn't the first time I've carried him like this, but it still earns us curious looks. Right, I just can't wait to see how Wakaba-chan and the others will react when they see us like this again. Just like that time at the library…

"You're too quiet… Does it hurt that much?"

While others might make a lot of fuss and whine and even scream when the pain becomes unbearable, in Hisoka's case it's the other way around. The more he suffers, the quieter he becomes. He had developed the habit of taking everything by himself, silently and never complaining. Never asking for help. Never ever showing any sign of weakness.

"No, I'll be fine." He mumbles, his head starting to wobble.

"You can sleep in my arms. By the time you wake up, we'll be at the infirmary." Beam at him.

"Idiot. I'm… o… kay…"

And his head falls on my shoulder.

Really. You're my partner. I wish you'd depend on me more.

---

//Hisoka POV//

The infirmary again, huh. Wait, I don't remember when exactly we came here. Ah, crap. Don't tell me, he… all the way here…

"Hey, about time you woke up." He grins and starts ruffling my hair.

"Um… Thanks… and sorry for the trouble."

"There, there." He rubs my hair harder.

"Ow… That hurts!" Why must he always have to pat me like a dog!?

"So cute…" Chuckling again. What does he take me for, a child?

I guess… Being stuck in the body of a sixteen year old, even when I turn one hundred, he'll still treat me like a kid.

"Idiot."

You always make me feel like this.

Younger.

Weaker.

…And so far away.

Will I ever catch up with you?