One-shot
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom, it's a marvelous creation of Hara Yasuhisa, all the credits to him.
This is the beta-ed version, thanks to 100thAngel who did the corrections for me!
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"It gets a bit depressing with just the two of us, huh?"
Shin was standing at the top of a hill, with crossed arms he looked to the sun rising in the horizon. His expression was serious and had hints of worry. Some meters away from him, Ouhon, also watching the sunrise.
"…" he closed his eyes and remained in silent
"Geez the same as always, you're a pain in ass, you know?"
The 5000 men commander said annoyed and picked the booze jar tied to his back. He opened and dropped the wine on the ground, at the precipice, and smiled. Still with his eyes closed, Ouhon's eyebrow twitched as he listened to Shin.
"This is for Mouten, he was the one who reunited the three of us since the start… That guy was really admirable."
For the second time, Ouhon twitched, this time, he almost tore his sleeves from the force he was gripping it, and a vein popped out on his forehead.
"Hey, say something, he was your friend too!" Shin demanded "I know you don't like me, but you were in pretty good terms with that guy, right? You talked to him as equals…"
The Young master of Ou family opened his eyes, visibly irritated and glared to Shin which glared to him back. A second passed without any of them saying a word, until the protagonist broke the silence in an insolent tone:
"What? Got something to say? Huh?"
"Indeed. I do." he frowned in disgust
"So, say it right away!"
"It's only…" he seemed to search the words "Don't act like he's damn dead, your idiot!" and then, he snapped completely "He's just sick!"
As if he was relieved, he breathed deeply and Shin burst into laugh. The sound of his declared enemy laughing unstoppable was definitely annoying, not to say, Shin was almost rolling on the ground.
"Aha- Y-your expression right now…" Shin breathed to talk "Haha… Mouten would be laughing at you too…"
He couldn't control himself, his belly was already hurting, but he didn't care. A menacing aura emanated from Ouhon, he was ready to pick his spear and make another hole for Shin o breathe.
"Hey, hey, calm down, Mouten was the one who smoothened the mood, but since you're the serious guy and he's not here, I'm the one who lasted to accomplish the task…"
. . .
On Mou's household,
A sick Mouten sneezed on bed. His loyal serant and vice general came running to his aid.
"OOOoooh! Young Masteeer is getting worse!" he cried exaggeratedly
"Hum… I'm fine… Don't worry… But I have the impression someone is talking about me…"
. . .
Back on top of the hill
"Why did you even requested my presence here? I don't have time for idiots." Ouhon growled.
"We're going to visit him!" Shin raised his hand in excitement.
"Who decided that?"
"I did!"
"I'm not going then, good luck, ex-slave," Ouhon said and started walking away.
"Oh…" Shin put a hand over his mouth, his expression one of mockery. "Could it be? You're afraid of crying in front of this slave when you visit your dear friend?"
With Shin's declaration, Ouhon paused. He turned, with a more menacing aura than before, glaring with despise at his enemy while the latter smiled victoriously. Shin knew how to provoke his comrade easily; after all, he's been doing it for years now.
"Unlike you I don't allow my emotions to interfere on my duties… And you're the one who will cry… You're the one who made a big deal about visiting Mouten in the first place."
"Hey, you-"
The entire journey to Mou's household was filled with their bickering.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
Mouten's servant came running into the room. He was out of breath and had to pause for a brief moment to recover. His eyes were wide as he exclaimed,
"Mouten-sama, Shin-dono of the Hi Shin unit and Ouhon-dono of the Gyoku Hou unit are here to visit thee!" He then promptly burst into tears. "I'm so proud of you! Young Master has such good friends!"
"Eh? Oh, I see… So they came. Let them in." He started sweating from the fever and grabbed a cloth to wipe at his face while he said with a tiny smile, "You don't need to cry, seriously…"
The man bowed deeply and left the room. In a matter of seconds, before he could even see his friends, Mouten heard their overbearing voices from down the hall.
"I'm not even going to rebuke that!" Shin's voice grew louder.
"Don't waste your time," Ouhon's irritated voice was a bit lower than Shin's.
Another tiny smile crept onto Mouten lips. The house seemed more vivid than before but it also sounded like things would get problematic. When he was not near them, his two friends would fight. In fact, it was a miracle they could even reach a consensus to visit him.
They stepped inside the room but while they did stop walking, the two continued to fiercely argue with each other as if nothing else in the world mattered. They only directed their attention to their sick friend when they heard a lone, profound sigh.
"Ah~" Mouten exclaimed, exasperated. "You two can't get along when I'm not around, huh?" He wore a playful grin to match his tone, "You know, I can't babysit you guys forever. Just set aside your differences and talk to each other properly, okay? Making so much noise inside the room of a sick person isn't very polite…"
"Mouten!" Shin's tooth appeared on his bottom lip, "You look well!" he put his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.
"It's not my fault you've chosen a loud countrified guy to get friendly with," Ouhon's phrase was almost a scolding. "Just one minute more with this guy and I'd have killed him."
"So what if I'm countrified?! I'm in the same position as you now!" Shin yelled out in response.
"Ah, don't say it, Ouhon," Mouten sweatdropped. "And Shin, don't provoke this guy, you know how serious he is about everything…"
"Hahaha! You're right!" Shin laughed at his archenemy, "That guy doesn't know how to play!"
"It's better than not knowing how to be serious." The spearman countered.
Shin, frustrated, began pulling his sleeves up. He was just about to swing his fist when Mouten intervened. The fate of his room was at stake.
"Can't you fight outside…" He smiled, "Anyway, I'm grateful you both came all the way here, but I'm fine."
"Well, actually we heard from a certain someone that you had a terminal disease." Shin said worriedly.
"Terminal? Certain someone?" While repeating this, Mouten could already picture the most likely perpetrator in his mind. It couldn't be anyone else but his most loyal subordinate.
"It would be very disastrous, if not shameful, for someone from the Mou lineage to die of disease…" Ouhon completed, crossing his arms.
"Hey, hey, could you at least worry about my health instead of my family lineage here?" he coughed.
"Oi, are you sure you're fine?" Shin asked concerned.
"Yes. It's only the flu. I'll get over it in no time…" Mouten guaranteed, hitting his chest proudly.
"Sheesh… What are we supposed to do now?" Shin sat on the ground, bored. "I was expecting something more dramatic…"
"Says the person who was already making a funeral for you…" Ouhon provoked.
And the bickering between the two captains started once again. Mouten laughed, delighted at the sight. He'd never say it out loud but they were the only ones who could make him laugh so openly without a care. However…
A crashing sound startled the sick man. When Mouten finally opened his eyes after a fast cloud of dust invaded his room and passed to the outside garden, he could finally see.
"Oh, God… They're really fighting inside my room…" he thought, not believing his eyes.
He then closed his eyes and sighed deeply. They were great friends but how would he explain to his father how two 5,000 man commanders ended up fighting in his room and destroying it? His headache was only starting as they continued battling.
Maybe he shouldn't even try to do anything about it; after all, it was the most entertainment he's seen all week. With that resolve, he quietly observed the furious combat that was now happening in the garden outside of the house.
"Should I have pretended to be ill with a terminal disease? ...No, no, they will be fine…maybe."
By sunset, both Shin and Ouhon were stopped by some guards of the house. Of course, their explanations were not enough and they were forced to pay for the damage they caused. As for Mouten, he was able to sleep comfortably through the yelling and cursing outside, waiting anxiously to be on the same battlefield as his companions again.
