"Icefall in Hokkan"
by s1ncer1ty
*A/N: Something tells me I may eventually be eating my words for this, but... This is probably about as slashy as I can manage for these two. Nothing overt, but definitely much stronger than I typically care to pursue. I usually prefer to think of Chichiri and Tasuki as nothing more than close friends, but what the heck. The idea was there. Why deny inspiration? Just a little something quick, nothing too serious...
*~*
At first, it sounded like bones, rattling upon the wind that whipped through the treetop ceiling of the campsite, clicking in a rapid succession and rousing the celestial warrior known only as Chichiri from a dark, dreamless sleep. The young monk was reminded of the chatter of the venomous rattlesnakes that crawled the expansive sands of Byakko's realm; but no snakes would dare tread Genbu's region of the Four Kingdoms at this time of year.
The bitter Hokkan wind had brought with it a heavy sheet of freezing rain that coated the treetops with a thin sheen and hardened the snow upon the path to a single sheet of ice. As night fell and the temperature swiftly dropped, travel became treacherous. Chichiri had suggested that they stop for the night when his traveling companion nearly toppled head over heels upon a particularly slippery patch of ice, and they'd both tumbled to the ground in Chichiri's haste to steady him.
Tasuki had let loose a long string of curses, accusing Chichiri of trying to break his legs, blaming the seemingly unending rain for making a fire next to impossible to start -- even after chipping past the coating of ice, both travelers found the wood pulled from the branches of the trees too soaked through to be of any use. And even Tasuki, with his powers of flame, had difficulty warming the wood to a sufficient dryness.
The rain had eventually let up, and a thin fire was eventually started with damp tinder, but it was hardly enough to stave off the chilling wind that continued to bite through several layers of clothing. Neither was used to the biting cold that crept beyond the border of Hokkan; and although they'd tried to weigh themselves down with warmer clothing, sleep was difficult to come by in such a frigid atmosphere. The ground was still frozen, radiating cold through vain attempts at insulation.
But after a long, long while of concentrating his chi, Chichiri had somehow managed to drift off into a thoughtless daze that only vaguely resembled sleep -- it was hardly restful, but it would be enough to get him through the next day. If only the undending clattering would stop...
Without warning, the monk pushed himself up upon his elbows, clasping his hands loosely around his prayer beads as his lips moved to whisper a long-dead language. Though his mind was always extended to track for danger, he now shifted a greater portion of his chi to watchful.
Nothing. There was nothing to sense, there was no evil presence -- just the sound of Tasuki's chattering teeth and the thin wisps of shivering breath illuminated against the moonlight.
"Ne, Tasuki?" he whispered, even though he knew the former bandit was far from asleep.
"Huh?" With a soft hiss of surprise, Tasuki made a concerted effort to get the shivering under control. "Dammit, Ch'chiri, what're you doin' up? Weren't you asleep?"
"I could be asking you the same thing, no da."
"Can't sleep," was the too-quick, grudgingly muttered response.
"We've got a lot of miles to cover tomorrow to make up for what we lost in the ice today. I'd suggest you sleep if you can, na no da!"
A grumbling sigh escaped Tasuki, and his long coat-turned-blanket rustled impatiently as he rolled over yet again. "Easy for you t' say. You ain't th' one freezin' to the ground."
"That's not true, na no da! I'm not immune to the cold, either," Chichiri said with a wry smile. "Why don't you use your tessen to warm yourself?"
"Stupid monk! There's nothin' to burn! You saw th' state of th' fire we made with the crappy wood 'round here!" The bandit pointed a quaking hands towards the remains of a campsite fire that had dwindled to cinders long ago, dead before it was even started. "I feel like 'm never going to be warm again," he muttered in a surly tone, resigning himself to sitting up and wrapping his hands around his knees.
Without a word in response, Chichiri swiftly hopped to his feet and circled around the sputtering embers. And before he knew it, Tasuki found the monk's thick blue cloak draped across his shoulders from behind -- and Chichiri's warm body circling against his back.
"Th'... Th' hell are you doing?" Tasuki uttered in surprise.
"Body heat is one of the best ways to keep warm when you're freezing, no da." Chichiri's arms looped around his friend's chest, and he lowered his head in concentration. Chi flickered at the surface, flowed in a glowing aura in and around Tasuki's own life force.
Tasuki smirked, pulling the long swath of fabric across his shoulders, snuggling his body against the odd angles of Chichiri's chest. As with any good puzzle, the pieces would fit -- albeit somewhat awkwardly -- with a little pounding. There was something uncomfortable, the press of angles of and flatness so unlike the soft women at the brothel he'd once visited with Koji. But at the same time, Tasuki found something familiar, something innately soothing in the radiant well of Chichiri's life force. He placed one hand on Chichiri's right knee, where, as Tasuki had suspected, his chi was the hottest.
"Better, no da?" the monk whispered, chin loosely arced around Tasuki's shoulder.
The bandit smiled, the edge of a sharp canine poking out as he spoke. "Yeah. Yeah, warmer..."
"That's good."
"Don't go gettin' any freaky ideas, though! Just 'cause I don't like girls doesn't mean I like guys, either!" Though protesting, the complaint wasn't quite up to Tasuki's usual caliber. He was starting to thaw, to feel his toes and his fingertips again -- and that was all that mattered.
"Would I ever get strange ideas, no da?" Chichiri asked softly.
"I dunno. You might. Maybe."
"Just enjoy the moment. There's warmth to be found where you have the courage to look, no da."
Tasuki let out a half-sigh, the air still frosted white with his breath. Although the cold still stung his cheeks and nose, it couldn't penetrate the strong barrier of intermingled chi. The warmth was heavy, weighing his eyelids and calming his heart. "I hate when y' say cryptic things like that, Ch'chiri..."the bandit murmured with a light grin.
Chichiri smiled and nuzzled his chin against the nape of Tasuki's neck. Sleep would come soon enough for them both, a hazy slumber intertwined in the warmth of two souls, a barrier against the ice and the chill, a bond that even the harshest wind of Genbu's country could not rip in two.