Writting for a request in the SB kink meme on LJ, go check it out if you haven't yet! We can never have enough SB fiction :3
But now, please read and tell me what you think!~
-Slashed-
They'd been going at it like this for hours. The sun was beating down on them and their bodies were covered in beads of sweat both from the heat and the exhaustion of battle. Sounds of their blades crashing against each other filled the air. The two warriors were fighting relentlessly with no sign of either one backing down or showing weakness. It would be a long time before one of them would gain the upperhand - if ever.
Still, Date Masamune could not think of any other place he'd rather be than right here on these green fields, battling the warrior of Kai at full force. He could see the other's determination in his eyes when their blades met, he was literally emitting an aura of it when he readied himself for the next attack - and it sent waves of adrenaline and excitement running through Masamune's body to know that his opponent was just as fired up about this as he was. He could get this kick out of fighting only if it was against Sanada Yukimura. Sure, fighting in itself was always at least somewhat enjoyable for the dragon of Oushu, but fighting Yukimura was something else entirely. It was more than simply fighting.
Today was supposed to be only a friendly sparring match, but of course that did not keep the two of them from putting their heart and soul into the battle. It was getting late, but neither one of them would be the one to call it quits, obviously.
"MASAMUNE-DONO!!! I WILL NOT HOLD BACK!", Yukimura roared as he pointed his lances at the one-eyed dragon once again, their blades gleaming in the light of the setting sun while he ran towards his oppenent looking very much like a comet. Masamune braced himself against the attack, he held all of his six swords in front of himself like the very long claws of a cat.
"BRING IT ON!" He felt the familiar spark of excitement run down his spine when their weapons clashed and they started into a new series of alternating desperate attacks and blocks and nothing else mattered in the world except for getting that one hit in. He swore he could feel the air sparkling around them.
After a few seconds they broke apart again, both of them immediately going into battle stance once more, facing each other and panting heavily. They were giving it their all without doubt. Still, Masamune had to tease the other, provoke him further. "You won't bring me down with just that, Sanada Yukimura!!" The two of them locked eyes, staring at each other as though they could decide the battle by willpower alone. "My flaming soul will definitely not be defeated by you!!!"
As if on cue they both started shouting their lungs out, coloring the air around them in sparks of azure and crimson as they went spiraling up into the gold tinted sky. They attacked each other with movements that were too fast for the untrained eye to see. Usually they'd lock their weapons at some point just before either of them had the chance to slash the other one's throat open after which they'd come back down to earth to take a short breath before the next round.
Today this was not the case however. Maybe something had distracted Yukimura just enough to make him let his focus slip for a split second, maybe he was blinded by the sun or more likely it was the intense look the one-eyed dragon shot him. The one that always made him tingle with excitement for reasons unknown to him, something that only Masamune could invoke in him. Whatever the reason, the result was a flash of red in the air as katanas sliced through the skin of the younger warrior, leaving trails of blood on his chest. Shocked himself, Masamune pulled back soon enough not to run the other through with his blades, but he wasn't sure how much damage he'd already caused. When he landed back on his feet, Yukimura's shout of surprise and anguish still rang in his ears.
The red-clad warrior had also somehow managed to land upright. Masamune's eyes immediately darted to the three bloody slashes on his upper body. He didn't know how deep they ran, he didn't know what to think. "I, Sanada Genjirou Yukimura, will not be beaten this easily!!!" The younger one straightened himself and winced a little, clenching his teeth together.
"I win today!", Masamune proclaimed and shook his head. He wasn't surpised however, when the other one ran towards him anyway, lances poised for battle. "Stop it, idiot. Don't bleed all over me!", he said trying to stay true to his cocky attitude instead of letting the urgency he felt seep into his words. It was so like Yukimura to go on when he could barely stand. He only blocked his attacks now and finally gave the other a powerful shove that knocked the younger warrior off his feet.
Yukimura groaned when his back connected with the ground. He lifted his head a few inches to look at Masamune with a mixture of determination and defeat in his gaze, before he abruptly let himself drop down again, where he stayed.
"Sanada?", Masamune inquired when his usually too loud oppenent went still. It couldn't be that bad, right? The dark haired teen put away his weapons and stepped closer when he didn't get an answer right away.
Yukimura had his eyes clenched shut and his right hand was clutching his bloodied chest wich rose and fell in laboured breaths.
Of all the times for him and Yukimura to decide to have their sparring session in privacy without anyone looking over their shoulders...and why the hell did Sasuke decide to grant them that privacy today of all days? He'd honestly expected that stalking monkey to jump out of some tree by now.
He didn't like the way Sanada looked. It wasn't like him to be so quiet. By now it was evident that Masamune had won the fight. He wondered why that didn't make him feel victorious. Seeing the other defeated before him didn't give him the satisfaction he thought it would. Somehow, he didn't like it at all. This wasn't what he'd planned, things had just gone out of hand a little. For a moment he contemplated his life without Yukimura in it and the smallest bit of panic rose within him.
He knelt down beside his rival and tentatively checked the gashes his swords had left on the other's chest with his fingers. They weren't lifethreatening but they couldn't be left unattended either. Especially not since it was getting darker and colder by the minute now. He dressed out of his blue jacket and tore it apart in order to make a makeshift bandage for the other. "You are repaying me that", he mumbled softly, completely disregarding the fact that he'd been the one to inflict the wounds.
Yukimura chose that moment to reopen his eyes and turn his head to look at the other. "Masamune-dono?" the words were accompanied by a cough that made a sputter of blood land on Masamune's knees. "Now what did I tell you about bleeding all over me?" Despite his words, he did not sound the least bit angry. "Masamune-dono, thank-", the younger one began, but was cut off. "Don't strain yourself", the one-eyed dragon said simply. He really didn't feel like being thanked.
Masamune stood up again and made to move away, but stopped, when he saw Yukimura try to do the same. Gently but surely he pushed him down again, taking care not to touch the injured parts. "Don't move", he ordered. "I'll be right back, okay?" The lack of protests made him worry more than anything else.
He returned half a minute later with his horse by his side. "You're not riding by yourself", he explained when Yukimura shot him a questioning look. The air of authority in his voice told the other that this matter was decided. Without another word he knelt down slightly behind the other warrior and grabbed him under his arms to help him get up on his feet again. Yukimura let out a groan and spat up some more blood in the process, but finally came to stand again leaning heavily against the other to support him, almost making both of them tumble to the ground again.
"My horse - ", he started.
"Someone else will have to get it later", the older warrior interrupted.
It took a few minutes to get Yukimura seated up on Masamune's horse, after wich the warrior swung himself up onto the back of the animal, coming to sit behind his injured rival. During the ride he firmly encircled the other's waist from behind to make sure that he wouldn't fall off. Being able to ride a horse free-handed did come in handy. Yukimura didn't seem to have any protests against this kind of treatment either and leaned his head against Masamune's chest. The one-eyes dragon let it slip without a comment. He knew that being on horseback in that condition couldn't be very enjoyable. "You alright?", he asked still hiding the concern from his voice. The other's hair tickled him a little as he nodded. "I'm...fine."
They'd been on their way for only a few minutes when he felt the first drops of rain hit his face. "Oh, shit!", he remarked. This was just not their day. Within a matter of seconds the weather went from good to bad to horrible and he had to press a shivering Yukimura against himself as though he had much warmth left to spend himself. He spurred his horse on to go faster, but by the time they finally reached the Takeda compound they were both drenched to their bones and the younger warrior was coughing violently when he handed him over to his fretting comrades.
Masamune didn't return home that night. He made sure someone went out to get Yukimura's precious horse and then he asked Shingen for permission to stay due to the bad weather, which the older general granted with a knowing look on his face.
Contrary to his rival who'd been fast asleep the second he'd hit the futon, the one-eyed dragon couldn't seem to relax at all. The day's events replaying before his mind's eye made him restless. When he figured that he couldn't do anything about that at all, he left the guest room he'd been given and made his way into the room where Yukimura slept now after the medics had tended to him. He sat down on the floor next to him and silently studied his features. He looked peacefull now except for a little cough now and then, but there was no blood coming out anymore. Watching the other sleep instilled a strange sense of peace in him and before he knew it, he was gone off into dreamland himself.
He only woke up the next morning when the first rays of sunlight already illuminated the simple room and he heard his name being uttered along with that honorific which immediately let him know who the speaker was. Still, he felt a bit disoriented waking up in a foreign place until he laid eyes on Yukimura, who was lying right next to him – at some point during the night he must have switched into a position which was actually adequate for sleep – and the last day's events came back to him.
His rival was giving him a curious look, obviously wondering what he was doing there. Silence ensued between them for a minute. After a while Yukimura began looking around the room and his eyes grew wide as he noticed something about the clothes he'd worn the day before and which now lay discarded in one corner. "Masamune-dono! I have to apologize, I bled all over your jacket yesterday! I've ruined it!"
He sounded so earnestly upset and looked so much like a lost little puppy while saying this that Masamune couldn't help but chuckle. Who cared about that? The thing was already in the trash. Only Yukimura would think of saying something like that, he probably hadn't even thought of the possibility of blaming yesterday's events on him. The one-eyed dragon shook his head, feeling strangely relieved. "Forget about it."
"I'll make it up to you!"
"You will?", he said feigning interest.
"I, Sanada Genjirou Yukimura, will definitely make it up to you!"
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, the younger one was already able to get himself this pumped up about something again...
"Do me a favor", he demanded. "Close your eyes for a second."
Yukimura looked a bit puzzled for a moment, but quickly did as he was told anyway.
Masamune leaned in to close the distance between them and pressed a kiss onto the other's lips. Instantly the younger warrior's eyes flew open and closed again after a second as a tongue ran over his lips, nudging him to open up, which he did almost automatically. He let the other explore the inside of his mouth for a while, before he figured out what to do and returned the kiss for real, making it turn into yet another fight for dominance.
Both their faces were flushed when they broke apart only after several minutes. Masamune grinned. "There, I took my reward." He stood up and stretched a little, while Yukimura stared at him, mouth still hanging a little open.
"Now hurry up and get better, I'll see you next week at the usual spot!" With that he went and and opened the door of the room, before leaving however he stopped and turned around once more. "If you're lucky you'll get another sick visit!" He grinned once more in that very cocky fashion of his and exited the room. Ignoring the shouts of "MASAMUNE-DONO!", that propably woke everyone else in the compound.