My second Kotaro/Hanzo story, once again inspired by Hanzo's ending in SW3. Kotaro might be a bit OOC but I wanted to try something different with the pairing.
Has anyone ever noticed that Kotaro's name is misspelled in the character list?
Disclaimer: I don't own nothing.
Hanzo walked over the battlefield. The fight was over, his lord had won the war and united the country. In one big final battle they had been able to defeat the enemy forces at Osaka. Hanzo had played a big role in it. Like always.
Suddenly he came across a body, he never would have expected to see among the dead.
Kotaro Fuma.
The other was lying face down on the ground, completely motionless. Hanzo knelt down next to the body and turned it around. There he saw the reason for the other man's fall: a long bloody gash that ran from the left shoulder across his chest nearly to the right hip. The cut didn't seem deep enough to reach any organs, but such a big wound combined with several other injuries obtained during the battle seemed to have caused enough blood loss to bring even the famous Kotaro Fuma down.
It was a shame, the other had been a very skilled ninja and a formidable rival. But apparently even such a great warrior wasn't immortal.
Cautiously he examined the big chest wound. He really would like to know who had been skilled enough as a warrior to harm the other in such a way when even Hanzo himself had never been able to. When he carefully touched the gash he caught a slight movement. A twitch of the head. Kotaro was alive?
He reached for the neck, feeling for a pulse. It was weak but it was there. Kotaro was indeed alive.
Hanzo didn't think, he acted.
The big gash on the chest was still bleeding and if he wanted to save the other he had to stop the bleeding. He took Kotaro's scarf and pressed it on the wound. With the cloth from Kotaro's waist he made a makeshift bandage. This would do to avoid further blood loss, but he still needed to clean and treat the wound. But for this he needed to get the other man away from the battlefield, away from dirt and death.
He found a horse that was wandering around aimlessly on the battlefield, lifted the other man on the back of the animal and covered him with a blanket. Being caught saving a warrior from the enemy army wouldn't be very wise.
-x-
"Hattori-sama, welcome back. I am so happy, that you are alive and unharmed. I heard that… Is that an enemy ninja?"
"As you can see he is no ninja from our clan."
"Hattori-sama, you-"
"I have to go to our lord and see if he is in need of my services since the situation in this land has changed after our victory. Our guest is badly injured. You will treat his wounds and care for him to the best of your abilities until I'm back."
"But Hattori-sama, he is an enemy! If it becomes known that there is an enemy in your house, you will be declared a traitor!"
"I know. And since you will also be involved in his care, you better make sure that it will stay a secret. The fewer people know about his residence in our house, the better. I have to leave now."
"But Hattori-sama…"
-x-
"Hattori-sama, welcome back."
"Has our guest awakened yet?"
"I'm afraid not. But it seems that his condition has improved."
"Good. I will take over now. No one is to enter his room unless I say so."
Hanzo closed the door after himself. There, on the futon in the corner lay his guest, Kotaro Fuma. He looked at the other man. He indeed seemed to be better than five days ago when Hanzo had left to meet his lord. His breathing was strong and even and the colour had returned to his face. At least as far as it applied to Kotaro. It seemed that his housekeeper had taken good care of his guest. (But after serving in the house of a ninja clan for over forty years she probably was used to treating wounds.) He would have to change the bandages in a few hours. For now he would meditate. After all that had happened during the last few weeks, he needed to find his inner peace again. He sat down next to the head end of the futon. This way he would notice if something was wrong with his guest.
Some hours later his meditation was interrupted by a quiet noise coming from the futon next to him. Hanzo opened his eyes. It seemed that his guest was getting restless.
When the other slowly opened his eyes he seemed to be disoriented. When he spoke, it was quiet and raspy: "Where am I?"
"You are in the old main house of the Iga clan ninjas, my house."
Kotaro's head whipped around to indentify the owner of the voice. When he recognized Hanzo his face got a panicked expression and he frantically tried to get up.
Hanzo leant over the other man, carefully pushing his shoulders back on the mat. "Hey, easy. Be careful or you will open your wound again. You're safe, I'm not going to harm you." Since Kotaro was still very weak he soon surrendered and lay back down. Hanzo released him and knelt next to him. "You are badly injured and have lost a lot of blood. I was able to stop the bleeding in time but I suspect you are still very weak and tired which is no wonder considering the size of the wound on your chest. But since the wound wasn't deep enough to harm any organs you should be better soon."
The way the other regarded him, he expected Hanzo to attack him any second. But who could blame him. If Hanzo had woken up in the presence of his enemy, injured and defenseless, he wouldn't have acted any different.
Their silence was disturbed by a coughing fit from Kotaro. After helping him up to drink some sips of water Hanzo carefully lay him back down and kept on waiting for Kotaro to talk. He didn't have to wait long.
"Why am I here?"
Hanzo had never seen the other so weak. "I found you on the battlefield in Osaka, after the battle had ended. At first I thought you were dead, but then I saw that you were still alive and I brought you here. Like I said, this is the old house from the Iga ninja clan. It had been our head quarter before Oda tried to destroy our clan. We still have it, but we barely use it anymore. That is why there are only few people around. I have been away for the last few days and my caretaker has treated your wounds. She is also the only person in this house that knows that you are here." During his explanation the other had listened intently but without showing any emotions.
"That is not what I meant and you know it." Kotaro regarded him suspiciously. "So what now, I am your prisoner? You want to know the secrets to my ninja techniques? If that is the reason why you have brought me here then I have to disappoint you. I will never tell you my secrets."
"No, that's not-"
"Or maybe you plan on giving me to your lord as a present? To show him how powerful you are, being able to catch the mighty Kotaro Fuma? If that is what you intend to do then I must tell you that I will be dead before you can bring me to him. I wouldn't ever sink so low as to be his prisoner." By now was Kotaro snarling like one of his wolves.
Hanzo sighed. If he wanted Kotaro to heal, he would have to assure him that his fears and accusations weren't true. "You can put your mind at rest. I am not interested in your secret techniques and you are not a prisoner, neither mine nor my lord's. You are my guest and free to go whenever you want. Although I doubt that it will be quite some time before you will be able to do that. You lost a lot of blood and although your body is very strong you will take a while for you to recover." Kotaro didn't seem convinced that Hanzo wouldn't harm him. Hanzo could see the tension in the others body, ready to defend himself. "I won't hurt you in any way. I promise you that as long as you stay in this house you are my guest and as my guest you are under my protection. I won't let any harm come to you."
Even though Kotaro looked at Hanzo questioningly after his declaration, he seemed to relax slightly. After some moments he even chuckled. "You will protect me? Are you sure the wound didn't kill me and I am now in hell? Because something like this couldn't ever happen." He lay his head back and closed his eyes. A smirk appeared on his face. "But I have to admit that this is a rather interesting hell that I have landed in, don't you think Hanzo?"
Hanzo didn't have an answer to that, but he could see that with the tension gone Kotaro now had trouble staying awake. "You should sleep some more. I will come back later and bring you some food."
With these words he left the room.
-x-
When Hanzo entered the room the next morning he saw that his guest was awake already.
"Good morning Kotaro." Hanzo closed the door and walked through the room. He noticed that Kotaro didn't return the greeting.
"I brought you some food. You should try to eat something to keep your strength up. But first I need to change your bandages." He knelt down next to the futon, putting the bowl with rice that he was carrying down next to the futon, along with some clean bandages. "I should have done it yesterday evening but you were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you. You need your rest to get better."
"How very considerate of you." He could almost feel the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Hanzo rolled his eyes. "You must be getting better if your sarcasm is back already. Can you sit up? It would be much easier to change the bandages."
He saw that Kotaro had problems sitting up but he refrained from helping him. He doubted that a man as proud as Kotaro Fuma would want his help with something like this. When the other was sitting Hanzo started to remove the bandages. He couldn't help but notice how big Kotaro was, even when he was sitting. "You can lie down while I apply the salve."
With the bandages gone he took a careful look at the big gash across the other's chest. "You were lucky that the cut didn't go deep enough to injure any of your organs. It was the blood loss that was the problem. But it seems that the wound is healing pretty well, probably thanks to your excellent physical condition. Will you tell me who is responsible for a wound that nearly did cost you your life?"
When the other didn't answer, Hanzo took the pot with the salve that was standing next to the futon, took a good amount of the salve and began applying it on the wound.
He started at the top carefully covering the gash on the shoulder, over that strong pectoral and down to those rock hard abs and…
Hanzo stopped, mind gone completely blank, hand still lying on the other's abs. He kept on staring. He had never seen a chest that was as strong and well defined as the one that belonged to the man lying before him. The dark wound was standing out against the pale skin that was stretched across muscles that were…
His gaze went up to Kotaro's face. When Hanzo saw that the other's eyes were fixed on him, a nearly demonic grin on his face, he was glad, that he still wore his mask.
Hanzo stood abruptly. "It might be good if we left the wound uncovered for some time. You should try to eat something. I'll be back in a few hours."
He left the room.
-x-
When Hanzo returned it was already afternoon. He again was carrying a bowl with rice and a water pitcher with fresh water. The other was sleeping peacefully.
At least it had seemed so, because when Hanzo knelt down next to the futon to put down the rice and water, Kotaro opened his eyes.
"I wasn't sure if I would see you again so soon."
"I brought you food and fresh water. And I have to bandage you up again." He took some of the salve to rub it across the wound. He made sure to spend as little time as possible with this task and was glad when Kotaro didn't mention the incident from the morning again. "Sit up." He noticed that Kotaro was much faster than in the morning. Then he started wrapping the bandage around the other.
He worked in silence until he heard Kotaro speak. "Why are you doing this?"
Hanzo hesitated. "It wouldn't be wise to leave the wound uncovered during the night."
He felt Kotaro's gaze at the back of his head. He knew that this wasn't the answer Kotaro had wanted but he didn't know how to answer the question in the way the other had meant it.
Suddenly Kotaro spoke again. "You know that I could kill you when I get better? Sneak into your room when you are sleeping a cut your throat."
Hanzo looked up, trying to read the other's expression. Like so often he couldn't.
"Yeah, I know."
When he was done with the bandages he collected the empty bowl and old bandages from the morning. Just when he was about to stand up he heard Kotaro speak again.
"Hey Hanzo, where is the bathroom?"
Hanzo looked at him incredulously. They were going from death threats to mundane just like that? "You won't be able to go on your own. I'll help you."
Together they managed to get Kotaro on his feet. He had his arm around Hanzo's shoulder, leaning heavily on him. Hanzo couldn't help but notice again how big and powerful the other ninja was.
-x-
After some days they had settled into a routine. Hanzo changed the bandages every day and they always ate together. Kotaro still slept a lot to recover from the blood loss. When he was awake Hanzo kept him company. They didn't talk much, usually they just sat there in silence or played a game of shogi. Hanzo had to admit, that there was a side to Kotaro that he never would have expected.
-x-
Hanzo was changing the bandages again when he heard Kotaro speak. "Why are you still wearing your mask?" It had been several days since Kotaro had woken up but this was the first time that they were talking about anything personal.
"I am a ninja, why shouldn't I wear a mask?" Hanzo asked flatly. He didn't look up just kept on doing his task
"Well, you haven't left this house for the last week and the only people you see are me and your employees. There is no need to hide your face."
This time he did look up. "As you might remember, we have been enemies for years. You have given me no indication that anything has changed. I might have saved your life, but that doesn't mean that I really trust you."
"Right now you are changing my bandages while I sit here completely defenceless. I would not do that if I didn't trust you." Kotaro looked at him like he was stating the obvious.
"No, you don't trust me. You are sitting here because you know that I took your weapons and you wouldn't stand a chance against me in a fight in the state you are in right now."
Hanzo picked up the old bandages and walked to the door.
"It was Tadakatsu Honda." Hanzo stopped when he heard the other talk, standing halfway across the room, back still turned towards Kotaro. "Some days ago you asked me who had inflicted this wound upon me. In the battle of Osaka I was hired to kill your lord. But when I appeared before him I met Tadakatsu Honda and his Tonbogiri. He isn't fast enough to hit me under normal circumstances, but he was smart enough to use his chance when I was distracted for a second. At least I could dodge his hit enough to avoid being cut in half. But the wound was enough that I had to retreat."
When it seemed that Kotaro had finished his explanation, Hanzo walked to the door and left the room.
-x-
When Hanzo entered the room with his dinner, Kotaro saw that the other was no longer wearing his mask. He had also shed his hood, so that his head was now bare. Kotaro was surprised how young the other looked. He had long hair that was tied in a ponytail. The scars were keeping his face from being too pretty.
He was nothing like the man Kotaro had imagined him to be.
-x-
"How come you never got yourself a new master?" Hanzo could see that his question had surprised the other.
Kotaro blinked. "Why would I look for a new master? I like being free. Besides, I doubt that there is anyone out there that would be able to be my master."
"But you were with Hojo-dono for several year."
Kotaro's face got a sad expression. "That was different. He wasn't like all the other lords in this country. He wasn't simply my master, he was my friend."
"How can you know that it won't be like that with a new master?"
Kotaro shook his head. "It will never again be like it was. And I won't settle for anything less. Then I'd rather stay without a master."
"But aren't you lonely sometimes?" He couldn't imagine how it would be to live completely alone.
"Sometimes, yes. But I still got my wolves to keep me company. Besides, I could ask you the same Hanzo."
Now it was Hanzo's time of being caught off-guard. "Why should I? I live in the Tokugawa household. And even though I don't socialize much, there are always people around me.
"You might not be alone, that's true. But are you sure that you are not lonely? Is there anybody that really understands you? Anybody that you could call a friend?"
He looked at Kotaro. He didn't see any sign of teasing or malice on the his face. The other looked serious. He had never thought of Kotaro as a man of such deep thoughts. And he had brought up something very unpleasant with his questions. Something Hanzo couldn't deny.
-x-
"Don't you have anything better to do?"
Hanzo looked up from the shogi board where he was contemplating his next move. "What do you mean?"
"It has been over a week since I woke up. In all that time you have been with me several times every day which means that you haven't been with your lord at all. Did he kick you out?"
Hanzo had to keep himself from leaping over the board between them and attacking the man sitting across from him. "How dare you!" He swept the shogi pieces from the board. "He didn't kick me out. My lord isn't ungrateful." He looked at Kotaro. The other man didn't show any reaction to his outburst. Hanzo took a deep breath to calm down again. "The war is over. What my lord needs now are people that can help him rebuild and rule the country. Not people like me. That is why I asked for his permission to stay in Iga for some time. There are still some members of my clan with him and if he should need me, he will send for me."
Kotaro smirked. "So you asked your lord for time off to take care of me?"
Hanzo lowered his gaze. "Nobody except for the people in this house knows that you are here. If my lord would find out about it, he would probably execute me for treason."
There was a heavy silence, Hanzo was looking at the empty board. From the corner of his eye he saw how Kotaro started collecting the shogi pieces that were lying on the floor and place them on the board again.
"You want to start another game Hanzo?"
-x-
It was early morning and Hanzo was on his way to Kotaro's room, carrying their breakfast.
He didn't know what to think anymore. During those days that Kotaro had been in his house, his picture of the other man had changed a lot. On the battlefield he had experienced Kotaro as a big brute who liked to degrade his enemies with words and actions.
But that wasn't true.
Kotaro had a strong and forceful character and he could be brutally honest to the point where he seemed almost spiteful. But most of the times he was rather quiet. They didn't talk much and rarely about things other than the weather or the progress of Kotaro's injuries. But the silence between them never felt uncomfortable.
When he had found Kotaro injured on the battlefield, he had acted on impulse and brought the other to his house. But was beginning to comprehend why he had done it. Kotaro was a lot like him and they were able to understand each other. Even without words. And he was starting to trust him. There weren't many people that had seen his face in recent years.
Hanzo opened the door.
Yeah, and there was that.
Kotaro was standing at the window with his back to the door. Carefully he was stretching his back and arms that were stiff from lying around and sitting for so long. He wore his pants but was shirtless. There were bandages around his torso, but Hanzo still could see the strong muscles in his back, shoulders and arms. Kotaro was basking in the rising sun that was shining through the window, his red hair almost glowing. It was a sight for the gods.
Kotaro turned his head when Hanzo closed the door.
There was a small smile on the other's face. "Good morning Hanzo."
-x-
"Have you ever considered leaving your lord to live a life free from all obligations?"
Hanzo looked up from his meditation. Kotaro was leaning against the wall. Apparently he had been watching him for quite some time.
He was very confused by the question. "Why would I leave my lord?"
"Didn't you tell me some time ago that he doesn't need you anymore, now that the war is over? Do you want to spend the rest of your life playing messenger for your lord? What a waste of talent!" If Hanzo didn't know better he would have thought that Kotaro was almost angry.
"I can't leave him. When Oda destroyed the ninja clans in Iga he was the one who took us in. That is why I have pledged my allegiance to him."
"Don't you think you have done enough to pay back his generosity? If it wouldn't have been for you and your clan, he probably wouldn't have won this war. I think you have done enough."
Hanzo looked in Kotaro's eyes. He was looking for something, but he didn't know what.
Finally he spoke again. "I wouldn't know where to go."
Then he averted his gaze and went back to his meditation.
-x-
"Your wound has almost healed. In a few days you will have recovered your full strength." Hanzo finished changing the bandages. It was probably the last time he had to do it. After finishing he leaned back and looked at Kotaro "You know, I always thought that you are a very strange ninja."
The other looked at him curiously. "Why would you say that?"
"A ninja is a shadow, he is neither heard nor seen. That is why we dress in black and dark purple. We are silent and strike from the dark. But you are none of that. You don't care who sees you." He scoffed. "And nobody can miss your bright red hair."
Kotaro looked amused. "So you say I am a bad ninja because I have red hair?"
"No, you are far from a bad ninja, you are just unusual. Most ninja are rather small, athletic and rely on their speed. But you are huge, very strong and muscular."
There was that grin again. "And I take it that is something you like." From one second to the next the mood between them changed.
"What?"
"Come on Hanzo. You don't think I don't notice how you look at me? Especially when you change my bandages."
Hanzo could feel the panic rising. "No, I never do that. You must be mistaken."
"I might be an unusual ninja, but I am still a master in reading people and gathering information." Kotaro started leaning towards him. Hanzo tried to avoid him and leaned back until he finally fell on his back. "And believe me, there is no mistaking that look you give me every time you think I don't see it."
Hanzo started crawling backwards, trying to escape the other, but Kotaro kept coming after him. Eventually Hanzo's head hit the wall. He was lying on his back while Kotaro was leaning over him on hands and knees.
"I know that you want me!"
Then Kotaro leaned down and claimed Hanzo's lips. For the first few moments Hanzo was too shocked by the other's sudden action to do anything. But then he started responding tentatively, growing bolder with every second, grabbing the other's shoulders.
Only when he felt a tongue at the seam of his lips did he realize what he was doing. He opened his eyes and instead of gripping his shoulders he pushed Kotaro away. Surprised by the action the other fell to the side. Hanzo looked at him with a mixture of panic and arousal.
Then he fled from the room.
-x-
When Hanzo came back in the evening with their dinner, Kotaro was gone.
-x-
Hanzo was sitting in his room, meditating. It had been three days since Kotaro had left and it didn't seem that he would come back.
It was probably best to pack his things and go back to his lord. With Kotaro gone there was no reason for him to stay in Iga any longer. It was true, with the war over there weren't many things that a ninja would be needed for. But at least he could pass the time with the occasional assassination or messenger job. And being busy meant less time to think.
He heard some strange sounds coming from outside of the window. It sounded like a pack of dogs. He stood up and walked towards the window. If there were wild dogs outside his house he would have to take care of them.
Suddenly a huge shadow appeared before him at the window. It was Kotaro.
Hanzo smiled. "I wouldn't have expected to ever see you in this house again."
"There were some things I had to take care of. I had to assemble my wolves first, but there is still one member missing in the pack." Hanzo had never seen Kotaro's gaze so intense. "I want you to come with me Hanzo."
He regarded Kotaro carefully. "Come with you? Why?"
"Didn't you tell me that the you wouldn't leave your lord because you didn't know where to go? Therefore I am telling you, come with me. Together we will walk across this land. No lord and no responsibilities." Kotaro extended his hand. "Just you and me and my pack."
Without a word Hanzo picked up his mask and sickle and grabbed Kotaro's hand.