"Kotetsu, can you lift your arm a bit?" Barnaby gently brought a soapy loofah up to gently scrub against Kotetsu's side. He sat in the lukewarm bathtub, shivering every time Barnaby scrubbed his skin. He felt sick, embarrassed, helpless. Why was his partner giving him a bath-he could do it himself…if his head wasn't spinning and if he was sure he wouldn't pass out and drown in the water. Barnaby lathered his hands with shampoo and rubbed them through Kotetsu's scalp, he massaged the base of the neck eliciting a moan from the older man. The blonde's hands slowed, avoiding that spot on the back of Kotetsu's neck…An Ouroborous tattoo…It didn't seem as though Kotetsu knew it was there. The mark looked as though it had been singed against his skin; the outline was sloppy and it looked more like a scar than a tattoo. Kotetsu leaned against the Barnaby's touch, enjoying and hating the treatment he was getting-he was trying to push away all the chaos that was creeping in on his mind…some kind of unknown anxiety that made his gut churn and head throb.

"How're you feeling now?" Barnaby asked as he brought his hands up to Kotetsu's temples and rubbed.

"Nghh..B-better…I'm sorry about your carpet." He whispered guiltily.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." He scratched Kotetsu's scalp a bit more until his hair was full of suds. "Lay back a little so I can rinse." He did what he was told; letting the blonde spray a bit of warm water through his dark locks with the showerhead. "Hey, Kotetsu…"

"Hmm?"

"What's the last thing you remember? How did you get to the docks?"

Kotetsu sat still for a moment, trying to remember how did he get there. He remembered something about a lab and being in the back of a truck.

"I think…I was dropped off there?" He slumped over and splashed some water with his palm watching as the ripples hit the edge of the tub. "I remember seeing the highway, and then someone dropped me off at the park…"

"Which one?"

"The south one on Silver Stage…Then I walked around for awhile until you found me." His head hurt.

"Who dropped you off there?"

"I'm not sure…the faces are blurry…" His face was hot. "I don't remember much before that….I—" He stared at the water for a long while trying to concentrate. "I was in a room before that…the back of a truck?

"Huh?"

"It's hard to remember." Kotetsu said furrowing his brows.

"Was it Ouroborous who took you?" Barnaby asked cautiously, he rubbed Kotetsu's shoulders trying to get him to relax a little.

"Uh..I-I don't know?" His head fell forward a bit and he whimpered. "Why can't I..?" And then that same voice, his voice echoed in his mind. "What's wrong with me?" He trembled.

"Kotetsu…What is it?" Barnaby leaned in. "Was…did you see Maverick? Is he still alive?" Barnaby asked, cursing himself for sounding almost desperate.

"Uh…" Kotetsu tried to remember…he couldn't see Maverick in any of the fragments so he shook his head no. "I don't think so…people in dark coats…"

"Did you recognize any of them?"

"N-No…Bunny, my head hurts." He whimpered.

"Alright, let's get you out. We'll have to blow dry your hair."

He helped Kotetsu up, his naked body shivered against the sudden rush of air and he huddled against Barnaby unconsciously. The blonde laid a towel on the edge of the tub for Kotetsu to sit and fetched the hairdryer. Kotetsu sat in silence; staring at the floor blankly as he tried to gather his thoughts together. Never had Kotetsu looked so pitiful, sure he kept things bottled up but he still acted like his dorky self while doing it. Perhaps it was just the drugs making him act this way, Barnaby was hoping so. There was no telling what Ouroborous had done to Kotetsu, especially if he claimed that he couldn't remember. Barnaby wondered if maybe Maverick was indeed alive and had erased Kotetsu's memories…but if that was true why wouldn't he erase everything including Barnaby? He frowned as he stared at his partner's naked body, he had lost most of his muscle tone and looked to be twenty pounds lighter than when he first saw him…it was frightening. The blonde switched off the dryer and laid it on the counter causing Kotetsu to perk up at the sudden lack of noise. Barnaby offered a hand and helped his partner up and slipped a pair of soft cotton pants on him along with one of his black tees. Kotetsu smiled a bit, liking the way Barnaby's shirt fit on him.

"Kotetsu…" Barnaby brought him into an embrace.

"Bunny?"

Barnaby hugged his partner harder. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"Heh?"

"You're hiding something."

"I'm not!" Kotetsu said trying to struggle away.

"You can trust me Kotetsu!" Barnaby exclaimed. Kotetsu pulled away and spun around pressing a hand against Barnaby's chest.

"B-Bunny, really I—" And then the room spun and he felt himself toppling backwards and falling onto his bottom hitting his tailbone on the tile floor. What, I fell? White… Kotetsu stared blankly at Barnaby who hurriedly kneeled down before him.

"Kotetsu! M-Maybe we should take you back to the hospital—"

"No—I'm fine...!" Kotetsu reached his hand forward to grab a hold of Barnaby's shoulder, he was feeling extremely lightheaded. "I just need some sleep…Really I…I don't wanna.." There was a screeching echo in his ears and the sound of someone laughing.

"Did you hurt yourself-are you alright?" Barnaby scooped him up, feeling a bit terrified when Kotetsu didn't answer right away.

"Sleep..I-I..just…just need some rest." He slurred. His head lolled against Barnaby's chest struggling to keep his consciousness; his partner carried him to the bedroom. The blonde gently laid him onto the bed, tucking him in with an all to soft blanket. His breath came in pants and sweat began to gather at his brow. Barnaby leaned over and brushed the hairs away from Kotetsu's face to lay a palm on his forehead, a fever. He sighed and rubbed himself between the eyes, he felt irritated-Kotetsu was refusing to see the doctor but here wasn't much Barnaby could do for him…not to mention the lack of any leads to Ouroborous. Eventually Kotetsu's breathing calmed down and he turned his head toward the window in an attempt to avoid Barnaby's gaze. The bunny plush that Barnaby had received on his birthday two years ago was on the bed, Kotetsu reached for it and hugged the stuffed animal to his chest, he giggled a bit. Barnaby smiled and brought a hand up to stroke Kotetsu's shoulder.

"…white…"

"Huh?" Barnaby looked at Kotetsu who had closed his eyes.

"..was a white van…one of the doors was dented in…had lots of tape on it…red dice in the window…" He cracked open his eyes and immediately closed them when a pang of pain hit him in the head. He groaned and buried his face into the plush. Barnaby's eyes widened, he rolled over his wrist and entered Agnes' name on his call band.

"Barnaby?"

"Yes, Agnes-Kotetsu said he was dropped off here in a white van that had a damaged door shut with tape…and uh with red dice in the window. He said some members of Ouroborous dropped him off at the south park on the Silver Stage. "

"Hmm, I'm not sure if they'd still be in the area. But that's a start at least, does he remember what the driver or anyone looked like?"

Barnaby looked at Kotetsu who shook his head weakly.

"No…"

"Alright, I'll ask Sky High to patrol the area. It might be hard to track just a white van though-Tell me if Tiger remembers anything else…how is he anyway?"

"Ah…" Barnaby turned and Kotetsu eyeing him curiously. "Do you want to say hi?" He turned the band to face Kotetsu who meekly raised a hand from under the blanket.

"Yo, Agnes…'s been awhile."

"Tiger, how are you feeling?" Kotetsu found it a little surprising to see the sincerity of her concern. He must have looked as bad as he felt. "I've felt better, Bunny's taking good care of me though."

"Well he is your precious partner after all. Try to get some rest so you can come back to Hero TV. The main reason people watch the second league is to see you, our ratings have been down since you've been gone."

Kotetsu chuckled a bit, feeling a wee bit flattered and happy that the producer seemed to care about him despite mentioning the ratings. Barnaby pulled the band back to speak with the producer.

"I appreciate the help, Agnes."

"No worries, Barnaby. But just imagine, if we found Ouroborous it would be a big news story!"

"Of course, well then—I'll check in with you later." He switched off the call and turned back toward Kotetsu who had rolled back to his side, the bunny pillow was stuffed between his arms. He moved his leg a bit to lightly kick Barnaby's butt from under the blanket, the blonde smiled and got off the bed but leant back down to kiss Kotetsu on the forehead.

"I'm assuming you don't want that fried rice right now."

"Sorry, Bunny…maybe. Maybe a little later I'll eat a bit." He smiled a bit. "Hey…can you kiss me again?"

"Hm?"

"…On the lips."

Barnaby smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips firmly against Kotetsu's. It seemed like forever since they'd last kissed…it had been a half a year hadn't it? A slight flush appeared across the brunette's face as Barnaby drew back, his face was a little hot but not in a sick way. However, Kotetsu's smile faded when he noticed a shadow behind Barnaby, his eyes widened. His other self was standing behind Barnaby, eyes a bright red with a mischievous twinkle. Kotetsu shot up knocking Barnaby out of the way and sprang up to grab at his other self-but his vision swam and he ended up stumbling off the bed instead. Barnaby whirled around, confused; and looked down at Kotetsu who had landed on his side. He looked as though he was panicking.

"Kotetsu? Kotetsu, what's wrong?"

"Where is he?" He pushed himself up, struggling a bit with the way his arms shook.

"Where's who?" Barnaby looked around, peering out the window and at the door to the living room. "Kotetsu?" The older man looked frightened, he shrunk away and bowed his head down onto the carpet.

"S-sorry…I-I." What's wrong with me? Bunny, must think I'm crazy. He curled his hands into fists, and groaned in frustration. He felt a hand on his shoulder and another around his waist. Barnaby hoisted him up and back onto the bed, this time hugging him down onto the mattress.

"Kotetsu." Barnaby leaned in close, his nose just an inch away from his partners. His eyes were full of concern, the greens of his eyes glossy as he stared Kotetsu down.

"Bunny…" And he felt guilty again, like the time he didn't tell Barnaby about his declining powers. "I think…I'm just seeing things…I think I just need a nap." He turned away avoiding the way Barnaby frowned and sat back cautiously.

"Alright, get some rest then. I'll be here."