"Hey, Master, what are you guys up to." They knew that voice anywhere. He was Shirayuki's bodyguard after all, he should be nearby, but they had hoped they would have some alone time.
Sighing, Zen raised his head towards the tree that Obi now perched in. "We were just enjoying each other's company in the safety of the palace garden. There are also tons of guards outside, so we don't need you looking over our shoulders right now."
Obi gave that sly smile he always did when he thought he had someone backed into a corner. "No can do Master," he shrugged his shoulders, glancing to the side. "I'm Miss' bodyguard, gotta do my job. And the whole essence of that job is keeping her in my sight when she is in potentially dangerous situations."
"She isn't in a potentially dangerous situation, she is with me." Zens voice was laced with irritation.
Obi lowered his arms and his voice, as he gave Zen a sly, cat-like stare. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Don't want you two getting too comfortable right?"
Shirayuki blushed as Zen went mad. "Why you little! How dare you insinuate such a thing!" He ran towards the tree just as Obi jumped off gracefully onto the wall.
"Looks like I made you mad," he said smirking. "Well, I'm done here." And with that he disappeared behind the wall.
Zen angrily sighed, his eyebrows furrowed. "I swear sometimes he gets on my nerves," he muttered under his breath.
Shirayuki walked up to Zen, laying her hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Zen. I mean, being in another castle that we are not familiar with, we have to be more careful."
She was right on that fact. They were visiting a neighboring country's castle, trying their best to cement an alliance. "Yeah, maybe, but he just wants to annoy me." Zen still seemed irritated, glaring at the spot that Obi had only recently occupied.
Shirayuki turned his head towards her. "To be honest, I always feel safest when he is watching my back and I'm in your arms."
He returned her warm smile, fully turning into her hold and resting his hands on her waist. "You always have a way of making everything seem better."
They were leaning slowly in for a kiss when a voice shot out, "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
They broke apart suddenly, glancing to where the shout had come from. Zen ran off towards the exit of the garden. "Stay here!"
"No way," Shirayuki responded immediately, running right behind him.
"You can be so stubborn," Zen gritted, pushing open the door.
There were guards fighting off what looked like bandits. Scanning the area, he quickly found Obi fighting two of them.
"They look like plain thieves," he wondered. "But why would thieves attack a heavily guarded castle? What are they after?" He didn't have any time to think further though, as some of the bandits headed towards him and Shirayuki.
Zen unsheathed his sword to fight, trying to keep them from her, though she was doing pretty well at defending herself even without weapons. After the time she got kidnaped, she wanted to get better at keeping herself safe, as to not be that much of a burden to Obi, Zen, and the others.
Obi had spotted them, and was trying to make his way over. "Master! Miss! Get out of here!"
Before Zen could respond, Shirayuki did. "Nope, you said yourself, as my bodyguard, you have to keep me in your sight in potentially dangerous situations. If I left, you wouldn't be able to do your job."
Obi smirked. He knew that she wouldn't leave, but he had to ask. He hated it when she was forced to be in a fight. To be honest, he still felt like he failed, letting her get taken. He was unable to protect her. He refused to make that mistake again, for next time, the result could be much worse. So he didn't stop till he was by their side, fighting with them.
He noticed her having difficulty with a bandit wildly swinging his sword. Obi slid in from behind her to block and elbow him in the ribs. Then he knocked him out with a hard hit to the chin.
Looking back he saw one thief armed with a throwing knife, aiming at Shirayuki. He grabbed her arm, pulling her to his chest while he pivoted on his heel, blocking the knife that now made its way into his back.
Shirayuki blushed at the sudden contact, unsure of what was happening until she heard the cry of pain from Obi.
"Obi!" Her and Zen cried out simultaneously.
Obi let go of his hold on her, reaching up to pull the knife out. Running on pure adrenaline, he sprinted towards the bandit, pinning him down with the knife pressed against his neck.
Unadulterated anger was in his eyes as he interrogated him. "Why are you here?! What is your plan?!" He would never forgive this man. He might not even know his name, but he tried to kill Shirayuki, and that was more than enough to earn Obi's hate.
The thief was scared to death, stuttering out his answer. "We..we were supposed t...to kill the visiting prince."
This only made the anger rise. Obi gave a glare that would scare the bravest of men. "I can't let you do that."
He lifted the knife, making the thief think he was going to kill him. And as he was begging for his life, he turned the knife around and knocked the bandit out with the handle.
He rose to his feet, looking around to see that the battle was over. He noticed Shirayuki and Zen running over. At this point, his energy was starting to dwindle, pain making itself known.
Shirayuki stopped in front of him. "Obi! You're hurt!"
"Don...don't worry miss," he said, voice void of any strength. "It's...it's not that bad." Before he could even finish he started to fall forward, his head collapsing onto Shirayuki's shoulder as she caught him, before they both fell to their knees.
She could feel his breath on her neck, and noticed how it was rapid and labored. She heard him strain to speak and lowered her head to hear. "Mas...Master is gonna kill me."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Why would he do that?"
He gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Cause I'm so close to you. He always...seems to fume whenever a man is this...close."
Shirayuki gave a slight smile at the statement. "Well, I don't think you need to worry about that. Just focus on breathing as deeply as you can. I'm gonna have to lay you on the ground okay?"
There was a long anxious pause before she heard a weak, "Yeah."
Zen took off his cape, rolled it up, and placed it on the ground so Shirayuki could rest Obi's head on it. Then she went to work on examining the wound.
It was in his upper back, in between his spine and right shoulder, which meant that, thankfully, his spinal cord had not been damaged.
Trying to get a better view of the wound, she moved his shirt away from the cut, causing him to grimace in pain.
She looked at his face, sympathy in her eyes. He looked tired and was obviously in a great deal of discomfort. She hated causing him any more, but she had to. "I know it's painful, just be patient. It'll be over soon."
She pulled out some paper and wrote some specific herbs and spices down. Then she gave it to Zen. "Please find Ryu, ask him to get these and bring them to the medical room, ASAP."
"Got it," he stated, running off.
An hour later
They had successfully cleaned and wrapped the wound, though Obi had nearly passed out a couple times. He now rested on a bed, with Shirayuki watching him.
She sighed, looking over at Zen who was also keeping a close eye on him. "He always does such reckless things. It makes me worried that someday it will lead to..." Her breath hitched, unable to finish her thought.
Zen got up and went over to sit beside her. "I know how you feel. But don't worry, I'll make sure that doesn't happen." He put his arm around her to bring her close, resting a soft kiss in her hair.
Shirayuki closed her eyes, resting in the warmth provided by his touch. "Just make sure you keep yourself safe too."
He gave a small chuckle in response. That was just like her, wanting to make sure everyone was ok. "Of course."
Begrudgingly, Shirayuki got up. "I have to get more herbs to redress his wound, I'll be right back."
"Ok," he said, watching her leave. Then looking over to Obi, he noticed that he was waking up.
Immediately, he went over to the bed, kneeling down. "Obi?"
Obi's eyes opened slightly. He seemed confused at first, but then he gave a weak laugh. "Man, I was hoping I would wake up to Miss' beautiful face, but here I am seeing Master's mug instead."
Zen gave him a glare before standing up. "Well, you seem to be feeling better," he muttered.
After a bit of silence, he spoke again. "You scared us Obi."
Obi gave him a questioning look, so he continued. "For a moment, it seemed Shirayuki thought you were gonna die. It scared her, scared me too."
Obi took a breath, cringing at the discomfort it caused. He strained to speak, though because of how exhausted he felt, it came out as a mumbled whisper. "I just did my job."
"Oh it's fine for you to do your job, that's what I expect. But if you ever scare Shirayuki like that again, you'll have to deal with me."
Obi was a bit surprised at the statement, however, he closed his eyes with a smile of contentment. Being reminded that he had people who cared for him was reassuring, and it felt nice.
Then his eyes opened once more, and his smile became mschievous. "So Master, did you see how close I was to Shirayuki?"
Zen twitched as he tried to keep his cool. "I wasn't going to mention that, seeing as you had no choice. But if you're implying that it bothered me, you're wrong. I don't see the need in talking about this."
Obi had gone full taunt mode now. He might've been weak, however, the look on Zen's face was too good to stop now. "You're bothered by it all right. I thought she was yours, but you let me get so close. Why is that?"
Zen, starting to get more irritated, growled at him. "Obi, drop it."
"Oh, she also smelled very nice, like flowers. Her neck was quite smooth too."
That did it. "IF YOU WEREN'T ALREADY INJURED RIGHT NOW, I'D DO IT MYSELF!"
That made Obi laugh, his voice the loudest it had been since he woke up.
And that was what Shirayuki saw when she walked in. Zen red and fuming, Obi laughing, and the sun brightening up the room.