It was the boy again. Izuki had first met the boy on a cool spring morning, with the wind rustling through the branches of the cherry tree Izuki was tucked up against. He was just there for a quick rest, his back against the trunk and his wings spread wide so they weren't crushed by his weight. That was when a young boy had called out to him from the bottom of the tree.

"Why do you have wings?"

Izuki hadn't been expecting it; he hadn't heard anything about someone being able to see youkai in this area. Which was why he had been so surprised he fell right out of the tree, ending in a heap at the boy's feet.

Izuki didn't know who had been more shocked, the boy or himself.

"Are those wings fake? Can't you fly?"

"Of course I can! You just surprised me, that's all," Izuki had said indignantly. "I'm a tengu, of course I can fly."

"Don't be silly, tengu aren't real. They're just stories to frighten children," the boy said self-assuredly.

"What do you think these wings are for then?" Izuki had replied, spreading his wings out wide and trying to look intimidating.

"Well, I guess you would know best," the boy said doubtfully, "so youkai are real then?"

"Yes," Izuki said, "we're real. Most people can't see us. So you are actually someone very special to be able to do so."

It had not been the most auspicious of first meetings, but Izuki ended up spending the whole day with the boy. He taught him about the world of the youkai, all the different types and how best to deal with each one. The boy had been surprisingly easy to talk to; he had a friendly manner even if sometimes it felt like he wasn't all there. It was dark by the time they parted ways, and also the last time Izuki had seen him. When he had come back the next day he found the village in uproar over the death of an elderly couple; their grandson, the only other person living with them, had been sent off to a monastery.

But now the boy was here in front of him again, though he was a boy no longer. The passage of time was cruel in the Human Realm, what had been a child still growing into his long limbs and big feet was – in the blink of an eye – now a confident man in the prime of his youth, broad shoulders bracketing strong arms that ended in a pair of huge hands wrapped loosely around a monk's staff. Everything about him was big now; Izuki could tell just by looking that now he would be the one who had to tip his head back to look him in the eyes.

"Hello again, Izuki. Do you remember me? Kiyoshi Teppei. We met once a very long time ago," he said, "I'm sorry this isn't a social call."

"I remember you. I see you have become a monk," Izuki said, "Why are you here?"

"I am here to find the tengu named Takao. He stole away the young doctor of the nearby village. I am here to get him back."

"I know you," Izuki said, ignoring Kiyoshi's words. "You are the monk 'Iron Heart', the youkai killer."

"Only the ones that were harming humans," Kiyoshi said pleadingly. "I don't kill indiscriminately."

"In that case, there is nothing for you here. Takao has harmed no humans, nor stolen any away. He has taken the doctor for his bride, with full permission from the doctor himself. You must leave. While Midorima has permission to be here whilst being a human, you do not."

"I'm glad to know that Midorima isn't here against his will, but I must still ask you to stand aside. I understand why he chose to come here, but in such remote areas a village without a doctor is a death sentence. He must go back."

"You have changed," was all Izuki said, taking up a ready stance in front of gate that led up to the peak of Tengu Mountain. "If you must go through then you must kill me first."

"I just want to protect people," Kiyoshi said beseechingly, "the village can't survive without him."

Izuki did not bother to reply, swiping his fan in front of him and sending a great gust of wind right into Kiyoshi's face.

Kiyoshi responded by striking the butt of his staff into the ground, the sharp ringing dividing the wind right before it reached him. He chanted as he did so, and Izuki found himself suddenly bound by the metaphorical chains from Kiyoshi's Buddhist chant.

Izuki did not struggle against the chains; he knew he would not be able to break out that way. Instead, he waited until Kiyoshi reached him to get to the gate. The moment Kiyoshi walked past him, Izuki snapped out his wings with all his strength. There was a sharp crack as the bones of his right wing snapped but his left managed to safely break out of the chains and smack right into Kiyoshi.

Going with the momentum, Izuki pushed Kiyoshi down the side of the mountain, holding tightly onto him all the while so that he could not break his fall. The two of them flipped right over a large cliff and there was a nasty crunch from both Izuki's remaining good wing and Kiyoshi's chest when they reached the bottom.

There was blood bubbling up from between Kiyoshi's lips, and Izuki could feel his own soul coming loose from his body.

"I'm sorry it ended up like this," Kiyoshi said, it sounded like he was crying even though no tears fell. "I just wanted to protect people. If I could, then I would have liked to protect you too."

"Then perhaps, in my next life, I can be reborn into a person you can protect," Izuki said kindly, he felt quite sorry for Kiyoshi now that he could feel all worldly interests and worries sloughing away from him as his soul detached.

"I would like that," Kiyoshi said, tears finally starting to trickle down his face. "In my next life, I would like to be reborn as someone who can protect you."


"Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi! …Teppei, wake up."

Teppei could feel someone shaking his shoulders. Gingerly opening his eyes, he could see Shun hovering over him, a worried look on his face.

Still half-asleep, Teppei gently brought his hand up to Shun's face. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

"You're the one crying in your sleep, I think you're the one with the bad dream," Shun replied, lightly thumbing the skin under Teppei's left eye.

Teppei scrubbed at his eyes, his hands coming away wet. "I think it was a very sad dream. But I don't think I can remember what happened in it though."

"That's alright, sometimes that happens. Your rehab has been pretty intense lately; it was bound to result in weird dreams," Shun said, lying back down next to Teppei on the futon.

"Shun, I protected everyone pretty well in our games, didn't I? I managed to protect you, right?"

"What brought this on," Shun asked, cupping Teppei's face in his hands so that they were facing each other properly. "Of course you did. And now it is our turn to protect you. So just concentrate on your rehab and on getting better, okay?"

"Alright," he said, reaching over to place a kiss on Shun's forehead. Except Teppei couldn't just stop there, so he kissed his cheeks, nose, and finally his lips too. It's been a while since they've really been together, which was probably why Shun allowed the kiss to deepen until they were fully making out, tongues twining sloppily together.

"We should stop. Your grandparents are still sleeping."

"Shun, my grandma only laid out one futon tonight. They're probably sleeping in the room furthest from ours with plugs in their ears," Teppei said as gently as he could. It didn't work, because Shun still turned bright red and burrowed his face into Teppei's chest. But that was okay because an embarrassed Shun was cute too.

"You still have to be up early tomorrow. All those exercises that needs to be done," Shun said unconvincingly.

"I'll do them. You will make sure I do them after all," Teppei said warmly, he could feel the corners of his eyes crinkling from how widely he was smiling. "But we can just sleep now, if you like."

"Let's just get through this part of rehab first, alright?" Shun said, and then added, his face bright red, "Think of it like a reward for completing this part. Something to look forward to."

"I can do that. Goodnight Shun."

"Goodnight Kiyo- Goodnight Teppei."