Another chapter in the making!
Rikuo: You're pumped up aren't you?
Hydra: Of course I am! You guys are so cute together.
Itaku: We're not.
Hydra: You don't get to decide that.
Rikuo was quite puzzled about the man currently being carried in his arms. A lithe youth with all his money stowed away on him it would seem. A youth with messy dark hair and amber eyes which glowed whenever they caught the light right. His skin seemed to be slightly tanned, though he could not tell if it was the mud staining it or not. The glaringly obvious wound from that tussle was on his cheek, a gash made by a sharp object, blood dripping down his cheek. As for other wounds, he did not know of them. Rikuo was no doctor, but he knew someone who was.
~.~.~.~
Takui cradled his sore wrists together, rubbing them in hopes they would hurt less. He had given up on trying to change his saviour's, if you can call him that, mind about helping him. After threatening to kick him, punch him and send him to the police station (all which he did except for the last one) he simply did not waver. So Takui was made to be carried like a little child or a girl through the empty streets.
He asked Rikuo where was he taking him, only to be replied with 'doctor'. When he asked where this doctor may be, Rikuo looked down at him and smirked. "You'll see when we get there." This man was annoying actually. His words were slippery as an eel.
They crossed a few streets from Yoshiwara, down more alleys and taking a few shortcuts across paths of green grass. Takui kept silent and still in the other's hold, not wanting to be an even bigger burden than he was already. He feels warm. Unconsciously, he snuggled closer to the source of warmth. No one could blame him, he was out in the rain all night.
The duo came to a halt in front of a dilapidated shophouse. On the frontmost part was a sign which said 'Zen's Medicine' in block characters and a picture of two feathers crossed over each other underneath. "What is this place?" asked Takui. It didn't look like the doctor's at all. More like a shophouse which no one ever used anymore.
"It's the doctor's of course," replied Rikuo in what Takui now noticed was a deep baritone. "The place looks bad I know. But Zen, he's the best." When he said that, Rikuo's face lit up with a smile, which made Takui feel a little... odd. "Hmph. Believe what you want." he answered.
Rikuo shook his head and nudged the door open with his foot. "Oi! Zen! Are you here?" The inside of the shop was in an even worse condition. Body parts of animals hung from the ceiling like some grotesque decoration, vials and ceramic bowls were everywhere, papers and scrolls all over a tabletop. Takui could swear he saw something scuttle pass them under the chairs. All at once he began to conjure up an image of this doctor named Zen: White-haired, bespectacled, hunch-backed, raspy voice and wrinkled skin. With the madness in his brain.
It did indeed surprise him when a young man not over thirty entered from the back room. He was of moderate stature, had bright red eyes and sandy hair. He wore his yukata loosely with a feather patterned haori. Streaks of tattoos were visible on his shoulders, black liquorice. "Oh, if it isn't Rikuo!" he bellowed. "Long time no see!"
Rikuo chuckled good-heartedly and Takui could feel it reverberating throughout his whole body. "Nice to see you too Zen. Good to see you so energetic."
Zen rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm energetic! Who do you think I am, huh?" He raised a fist in mock fury while his eyes shone with a bright cheekiness.
"I apologise. I forgot, you're the great Zen!" replied Rikuo to match his joke.
Zen grinned broadly at the statement. "And keep that in mind then!"
The two were laughing at their own antics, leaving Takui to feel like the most left out person on the planet. He tugged at Rikuo's sleeve to get his attention, he wanted to be let down, examined and get it all over with. He wanted to go home and think about the situation he had tripped himself into. He didn't want to think about ruby eyes and white locks.
Feeling the tug, Rikuo snapped from his warm reunion with Zen. "Ah, how rude of me." he said as he looked at the somewhat pissed Takui in his arms. "Zen, this person here needs medical attention."
The doctor stared at Takui for a while. "Well don't just stand there like an idiot Rikuo. Bring him here." He patted on a wicker chair empty of reference materials.
Rikuo duitfully deposited Takui on the chair as Zen pulled up a stool in front of him. "Well, what's wrong with you?" asked Zen addressing Takui directly. The lithe youth shifted his eyes left to right. "I tripped and fell. Cut my cheek on something sharp. All I need is something to cover it."
Zen raised his eyebrows suspiciously. "Tripped and fell?" He brought his hands to the gash on the side of Takui's cheek. Carefully he probed the bloodied but now healing flesh, eliciting a hiss from the patient. "Watch it," he growled. Zen retracted his hands patiently. He rummaged in a drawer full of jars and plucked one out from their midst. Using the cleaned feather of a bird, he began dripping ointment from the jar onto it. "Whoa there, doctor. What are you using and why are you using that?" asked a skeptical Takui with a hand cupping his gash. Zen continued with his task before answering. "The feather of birds, they're finer than a brush. When ointment is applied onto human skin with it, it is absorbed quickly." He held up the black and white feather. "Plus, these feathers don't come cheap young man. They're from a stork known as Zenni, which is known for it's healing properties." He moved Takui's hand away and applied the ointment, ignoring the youth's hisses.
Rikuo watched them both, perched on the end of the messy tabletop. What an amusing pair they make. he mused. He examined the dirtied splotches on his black yukata, mud drying and turning it hard. Tsurara, she's going to kill me isn't she?
Zen made Takui hold out his wrists which he noticed the youth kept on rubbing. He clucked his tongue at the sight of reddened flesh and made Takui subject to various tests to make he wasn't injured anywhere else. Takui himself wanted to object the idea, but Rikuo was there watching them and he didn't want to make a fool of himself.
After several more prodding and applying of stinking ointments, Takui was certified as a healthy human being minus the cuts and bruises. Zen patted him on the back several times. "You're good to go! Just be careful next time eh?" Just like that, no questions asked about his obvious lie.
"Thanks a lot Zen." came Rikuo's voice. "How much do I owe you?"
At this Takui perked up. "I'll pay for the fees myself. I don't need your help, thanks." He began extracting the purse from the folds of his yukata.
Rikuo's brows formed a slight 'V' on his forehead. "I'm paying for you and you don't want it?" This person,he thought what is he?
"Che! Are you two idiots or something?!" bellowed Zen with hands on his hips. "You don't need to pay a single coin! It's on the house!"
"Wh- but I can't accept that! You gave me the ointment and bandages!" countered Takui.
Rikuo nodded in agreement. "He's got a point Zen, business isn't going so well right?" He glanced at Takui once. "But I'm paying."
"IDIOTS!" yelled Zen in a voice which made the whole establishment shake. "We're family aren't we Rikuo? What's all this talk about money, huh?!"
"But Zen, ..."
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" He crossed his hands in front of him. "No fees! That's final!"
Takui was stunned by the doctor's adamant behaviour. Family? Are him and Rikuo related? He shook off the slightly warm feeling in his chest as heartburn.
Rikuo smirked. Zen is zen, always so self-righteous and kind. "I got it, I got it." He turned on his heel to leave. "Thank you Zen. I'll pay you back some other day." With that, he steered Takui out the door, Zen still rejecting any form of payment in the shop.
Once outside, the first thing Takui noticed was the rain had stopped, leaving the after rain smell in the air. Fresh spring wind blew in his face, he shivered a little and hid his hands in the sleeves of his yukata to hide from the cold. A warm presence hovered over his back and settled over him. Eyes widened in surprise at the blue haori placed on his shoulders, he looked to Rikuo for explanation.
"Keep it on," he said with a soft smile playing on his lips. "You look cold." Rikuo had to admit, that blushing face of the youth's coupled with his slim hands gripping the front of his haori, it looked kind of cute.
"Uh... Thanks." mumbled Takui. He was not used to people helping him, nor was he used to people showing him random acts of kindness all the time like Rikuo was doing at the moment. He was more used to a rough lifestyle, where he lived from hand to mouth, where he had to perform indecent acts with other men to make a living. He clutched the haori tighter.
Rikuo scanned the street, still empty due to the lateness of the night. "Come on, I'll take you home. Where do you live, uh..." He furrowed his brows for a moment and smoothed them out. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."
Takui contemplated the question for a while. He shouldn't give his real name right? For some reason he felt like he shouldn't give his stage name either. He didn't want Rikuo to think he was a bad person in general. He opened his mouth and closed again quickly in hesitation, eyes cast low so that he wouldn't have to face ruby orbs.
Rikuo smiled at him. "It's alright. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."
"Takui. My name is Takui." Oh god, what had he done? But, if he didn't answer it would have been rude considering all the help he has been given. But then again, what if he was found out?
Ruby optics widened slightly. "I see. Takui." The name sounded dirty on Rikuo's lips, lustful even to Takui. "It's a good name, Takui."
His heart was speeding up, a warmth pooling in his belly. The blush formed on his cheeks and neck refused to go away no matter how much he willed it so. Why? Why does he make me feel this way? Takui mentally slapped himself several times to pull his head out of the clouds. "You don't need to walk me back. I'll do that fine on my own." He began removing the haori. "Thank you for everything though."
Two hands clapped his shoulders to stop his movements. Takui felt a gust of hot breath on his ear and he shivered. "Unless you want me to carry you through the streets again, tell me Takui. Where you live so I can walk you home." Takui could feel his words in his ear, his name on those lips so sinful. He could feel that reaction which he always felt risen, a desire. "The Bone Street..." Takui tried to control the tremor in hos voice.
Rikuo smirked and pulled away. "Come on, let's go before you catch a cold." He placed an arm over Takui's shoulders in a playful manner. "You don't want to go see Zen again do you?"
~.~.~.~
They reached Bone Street in no time. It was named so after Dutch sailors came here and saw how dry it was. Like a bone. Only the very poor lived there, those who had no other alternative. And there were many of those there. Admitting you lived on that street was a one-way ticket for nobles to disrespect you at all times.
How different Rikuo must live, from here. Takui shifted a glance to him, this man who had a peculiar air of charm around him. He must most certainly be from a well-to-do family. He sighed lightly. Fatigue was creeping in the edges, his footsteps becoming heavier. Rikuo must have picked up on this, because he moved closer to catch him in case he fell. It was annoying, the way the other male treated him like something fragile. But it was kind of nice to be cared for, even for a while.
In no time at all, both reached the doorstep to the place Takui called home. A tattered little house with multiple residents living under one roof, separated only by paper walls so thin you could hear everything that goes on in the next room. Takui was lucky enough to get the last room where the only neighbour he had was a mine worker who only came home two or three nights a week.
Takui wheeled round to face Rikuo. "We're here, I'm home. So you can go now." He flinched slightly at how his words sounded. Uncaring and flippant, the total opposite of what he was going for. "Sorry, I mean..."
Rikuo stopped him with an upraised hand. "It's alright. You must be tired after such an exciting night."
Takui felt a hint of embarrassment. How undignified he must seem in the eyes of this man. How ugly, how distasteful. "I'll return your haori, so..." The same two hands clamped down on his shoulders, the other's face so close to his. "Keep it, Takui. It may come in handy sometime." He was about to retort, to say how he didn't want it but Rikuo was off before he knew it.
"Let's see if we meet again eh, Takui?" he called as he walked bristly down the street, turned a corner and disappeared from sight, leaving Takui somewhat dumbstruck on the steps.
He hung his head in defeat. That guy, he's a total weirdo isn't he? His fingers curled themselves in the blue fabric of a still warm haori. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I shall forget all about him. I have to.
Another chapter done!
Hope you enjoyed reading! Reviews especially amuse me, favourites coming in a close second.
