Chapter 28
What a disaster.
Koguma had gotten separated from his team quite a while back, those damn Kumo-hunters more determined than they had given them credit for. Hiruzen's cocky smile was now surely wiped off his face. He hoped Danzo wouldn't freeze up with fear again, or that Kagami would do something rather Uchiha-dumb, like charging head-first at the enemy, should they end up hurting his friends. The hokage might snap his neck while stumbling over some pebbles for all he cared, for he was sure they were only being hunted because of him. That damn Senju should have just stayed in Konoha, really.
There wasn't a chance in hell he would manage getting to them now, with Asa lying unconscious next to him- blunt trauma to the head. He was lucky the man was still alive. Koguma didn't fare much better himself, limping terribly ever since he had gotten smashed against the rocks like that. His left hip had to be bruised if not outright cracked with how painful it throbbed and gritted.
Managing to get them both this far had been a miracle.
Worse still, he reeked. He had noticed a few days ago already, with both their Konoha uniforms all stiff with blood and dirt and vomit, from when the Uchiha had still been conscious and thrown up all over him. The armour he had discarded already somewhere in the last clash they had had with the Kumo, leaving him only in the shirt, trousers, scrapped bandages and boots.
Asa had needed a bath as well, so he had washed him up first, as it wouldn't do for his wounds to infect simply through bad hygiene. Not to mention that their opponents were be able to track them by their smell alone at this point. The Uchiha was now lying on the bank, wrapped in some spare clothes Koguma had been able to gather out of one of his scrolls. It should be enough to keep him warm in the icy-cold. He couldn't afford to build a campfire now.
Goosebumps crawled all over his skin that had nothing to do with the temperatures.
Kama. He wanted Kama right then. He had helped him getting close to water again by knocking him nearly unconscious, mind you, but still and after that he had been there every time Koguma had gone for a bath. Just sitting beside, either watching him or the clouds drift by, chatting away about some nonsense or something fierce he had done in a slightly lazy drawl. It had been comforting.
Well, he didn't have Kama now and he really needed a bath.
Just water. Nothing more to it. He couldn't be dependent on one person for the rest of his life to get a damn bath.
His steps were slow and hesitant as he walked towards the river, but at least he made them. Even if he was trembling when he finally tugged off his clothes, there was no one there to witness.
No one but his squad member and the dead that was.
What an irony that he had ended up back here of all places in his wild dash across the mountains. He spared a glance over his shoulder to the weathered pile of rocks heaped underneath the big red maple tree. The sight spurred him on in his stiff washing-up. What good would it do for his uncle to laugh at him? A Kuma afraid of water.
The water running down his body was brown with dirt and blood and stained the water directly surrounding his hips. His own injuries stung as he washed across the ugly scabs and his hip protested loudly with every shift in his stance, but it didn't matter. He had gotten sloppy, just like Risu had accused, every single one of his scars a reminder of his choices.
In hindsight, getting himself clean looked almost ridiculously simple compared to cleaning his and Asa's tattered clothes. He would much rather just burn them into a smouldering pile, but he didn't bring enough spare for the both of them, so they had to do.
Half an hour later, he was kneeling in front of the grave, while keeping his squad member in his peripherals (his cub, a perilous voice purred in the back of his mind). Their shirts were hanging up in the gnarly branches and drying in the breeze, boots right beside, while he was only dressed in his half-damp trousers. Asa was still wrapped up in the spare Kuma clothes to keep him safe from the snow.
"It's been a long time, Kenji-oji." His beady eyes flickered across the shallow grave. "Did Yasashiko ever come to visit? He wanted to." He shivered as an icy breeze flittered across his skin. Maybe he should just snuggle up to the Uchiha after all, propriety be damned. But those Uchiha's surely were a bunch of stuck-up people and he was certain Asa wouldn't appreciate it. "He had three cubs. I'm not the last and hopefully will never be. Especially not-" He paused. "No, I most certainly won't be."
A deep breath stretched his bare chest and the scars adorning it. He opened his mouth as if to add something, but then he closed it again, brows furrowing. He fell silent underneath the tree for a long time, only the water continuing to gurgle, the snow dropping from the trees and ice cracking as the sun hit it. "Sometimes I hate you all. I hate you for dying without waking up. I hate tousan for never acknowledging me. I hate kaasan for her pity. I hate-" He paused. "I hate."
The wind rustled through his drying hair. "I hate my brother for still not being able to remember his face. I hate Risu for not being able to save him. I hate Susumu for sticking around me even throughout hopeless battles. I hate Kama for loving me."
He looked at his bare lower hands, the scars disforming the skin. "Kaasan always chided me for using that word. Such a strong word, she said and yet I hate." He turned his hands over, seeing the healed patches here and there. "Maybe its only self-pity that I'm feeling, I don't know. Half the time I don't know what I'm feeling. There are moments of happiness-" Kama's teasing smirk when he was being inappropriate, Susumu's sulking as he brushed through his tousled hair, Omugi and Tensai patting against his cheeks when they thought he wasn't listening, Sakumo's not so subtle sniffing at him, Kagami's blissful expression whenever he looked at his family-
Ren's laughter before he died, the Nara's smug expression sending them up in the Hatake mountains, the eyeless Hyuuga staring blanky ahead without seeing, the Senju's looming down at them from the cliffside- "Angry, I think, mostly angry is what I'm feeling."
His eyes shot up to the grave once more. "I don't think I will spend the night here ever again. It was quite enough the first time around." With that he rose and pulled on his still slightly damp clothes and boots. Then he proceeded to secure his too large clothes as well as he could around Asa, before picking him up in his arms. He had to keep moving.
The river bent differently than he remembered it doing, although that had to be impossible. And the way upriver only took four hours, not half a day, even with his miserable limp. It seemed he had been rather occupied with not drowning the first time around.
The forest was messy and thick, rotten leaves adorning the ground underneath the snow, dead trees blocking old paths that had grown over with now bare bushes and new saplings sprouting left and right. It looked wild, uncared for, messy. It looked strange. Alien.
Then again, he had never seen Yama no haru during the winter.
Nature was quick in reclaiming what was once hers. It was obvious when he followed up the dirt road now thick with wilted weeds, so very different from what it had been seventeen years ago. When he had jumped and played with Yasashiko and his other cousins, while his father had led the party onwards.
He walked right up to the gap in the palisades, seeing them rotten, broken, teared apart and weathered. Fucking hell, he wouldn't be able to find shelter here either, but night was falling and he really needed to take some time to look at Asa's head injury and change the bandages he had wrapped around it.
Cold steel cut against the side of his throat, spooking him terribly.
"If you plan on killing me, then do it. I have no interest in any games." His voice was gruff and a lot calmer than he felt as he cradled Asa even closer to him.
The blade grazed deeper until it disappeared completely. "Now, how did you find your way here?" He scoffed at that question, thinking it rather obvious. This apparently wasn't the squad that had been tracking him for days and smelling them now, their scents were all off, too.
Another voice drawled in reply, "Looks like a runaway Konoha bitch. I say we kill him."
"I say we take him with and try to get some ransom."
"No one will pay you," Koguma interrupted their train of thought. "The albino will even send you a letter of thanks." Koguma and an Uchiha taken care of? Tobirama would actually smile for once.
Silence followed his remark. "The albino?" the first voice spoke up.
"That's no way to speak of your honourable hokage," the second completed, words dripping with disdain.
"How very disrespectful."
"How very defiant."
"How very interesting."
The last remark of the second voice caused a pause in their mocking.
"Who are you?"
Koguma didn't reply, nor moved from his position, afraid that any twitch might put the unconscious Asa more in danger. Without him he would try his luck, but having to defend him at the same time-
After another heartbeat, leaves rustled as both figures stepped up from behind his back and right into his sight. They were very muscular men and nearly a perfect copy of each other, except for their silver and blond hair and slightly different height. Whiskers adorned their cheeks and their noses were broad, but otherwise they had a small playful tilt to their expressions. The dark horns adorning their head were rather distinctive too.
"You a Hatake?" the silver-haired man spoke up as he pressed his blade underneath his chin and urged him to look at them. Seeing the steel so close to Asa's chest made him nervous.
"No."
"Sure?" the blond haired man pushed, his brows furrowing. "Cause I could swear you look like Yasashiko-sensei."
The silver haired man nodded. "He is a Hatake."
"He is."
"He was a Kuma," Koguma intercepted firmly. They all stared at each other for a moment, before the blade disappeared from his throat again. "Yasashiko-sensei?" His cousin hadn't told, but why should he have? They would have had to spent weeks just to exchange everything there was to know about their lives.
"Yes, he taught us," the silver haired man said, sheathing his sword. The man had to be either very arrogant or foolish to do so, but either way he was happy for it and cautiously shifted Asa in his grip. "For like three years."
"Good man."
"Good man."
Koguma regarded them for a moment. Better to play along then do anything stupid. "How are his cubs?"
"Cubs-" the second breathed, mouth agape and expression softening.
"They're fine. But they haven't seen him in months. He'll be declared dead in three weeks, although we already assume some of the Konoha scum has gotten to him and his squad."
Koguma took in a deep breath and splayed his fingers onto Asa's figure to show he had no ill intentions. "They have. He's dead and buried with his odachi. I pinned the Senju bitch responsible against a rock and cut off her head. She burned to nothing but ashes and dust underneath our jutsu." Best to establish Asa as an ally in this as well.
"Where?"
"Western mountains, in a rocky valley. A boulder marks his grave."
"Who are you?" the blond man tried again.
"Koguma. His cousin." No need to give them Asa's name unless he had to, it was most ideal if they forgot him being there at all.
Both men loosened up at the same time, splaying their hands on their hips as well. "I'm Kinkaku."
"I'm Ginkaku."
Oh, double fuck.
"The gold and silver brothers. You were the ones responsible for nearly taking down the albino, no?" They nodded at his question, still slightly wary but open in their position. Stall them- "What happened to the guards?"
"They died buying him time to get away."
Koguma's brows furrowed and his lips thinned. "What a pity he did."
The blond man cocked his head, an anticipating smirk spreading on his face. "Indeed. Yet even our own comrades don't really agree with our approach."
"Disgraceful."
"Underhand."
"Sneaky."
"They would have applauded us had we succeeded."
Koguma chuckled bitterly at that. "That they would have."
"What are you even doing here?"
"There's a large bounty to be gained for any Konoha-nin-"
"Especially after that stunt, our comrades fleeing en masse-"
"Running from the dead-"
"What a cold hearted bastard." The silver haired man tsked. "And they judge us for our underhand tactics."
Koguma shuffled on his feet, caught in his thoughts for a moment. The brothers let him. "Tell his cubs he had been fierce and brave. And he had been proud of them."
"They know," both chimed, looking solemn upon his own serious tone.
"Good." Oh, opportunities left and right, to be taken for the reaping, if only he dared. Could he? Could he betray his friends like that? Looking down at Asa's still face (cub, Cub, CUB)- it would take care of several of his problems, have him escape and get rid of that dishonourable, filthy, ice-cold bastard- "If you had a second chance, do you think the albino would get away again?"
Three heartbeats passed and then wild grins were stretching on their faces, the men's whiskers twitching with the movement.
"Yasashiko-sensei taught us better than that."
"We battled the damn Kyuubi and took from it. The Senju wouldn't stand a chance."
No, certainly not if he wouldn't be willing to sacrifice his guards this time around.
Gods, he was a terrible person.
His breathing was steaming in the cold air and coming out in a rapid wheeze. With strained muscles that made his whole body shake, he turned around his own axis, taking in the enemies lying dead to his feet until finally he found Asa slumbered against the same rock he had laid him down at. His head was lolling from side to side as if fighting against unconsciousness and Koguma could clearly spot new vomit staining his clothes. The Uchiha must have woken up again during the fight.
Seeing him save and sound eased the growl in his throat.
With rigid movements, Koguma wiped across his forehead to stop the sweat from running into his eyes, still straining and waiting for any more of their pursuers to arrive.
Something rustled to the right of him, awfully close to where Asa was seated. Using the last of his chakra reserves, he kawarimied with a dead body lying close and slashed with his kodachi at the figure appearing between the trees in a shunshin.
His blade got intercepted with a kunai.
"Koguma."
He was still panting with effort, eyes lifeless although locked still onto the figure before him. Only slowly recognition sparked within them as he gazed into the blazing red, until he lowered his sword back to his side. Koguma didn't sheath it yet, however.
"Kagami," he muttered, sounding rather questioning while he once again wiped across his forehead. The Uchiha didn't miss that the movement tried to cover up his repositioning in front of the semi-conscious Asa. It seemed Koguma wasn't quite back yet.
"You alright?" His red eyes scanned the surrounding area, seeing Kumo-nin littering the whole place, either chopped up, pinned to trees or burned beyond recognition.
"Asa needs a medic," came the gruff reply.
"I can help with that," a female voice spoke up as she appeared beside Kagami, her stance awfully wary and fingers locked beside her weapon pouch. Koguma had flinched terribly at her appearance, and her tension made his grip on the kodachi tighten. He regarded her for a long while, which prompted Kagami to not lose his hold on his kunai either. His beady-eyes were still too blank for his liking.
"You were the one to join us to the landslide."
"That I was," she agreed cautiously.
The tension seemed to rise until the point of snapping, but then Koguma nodded and took a step aside. "Help him then." Koharu shot a quick glance at Kagami, who gave an almost imperceptible nod. With purposeful steps and careful to not turn her back to the Hatake, she walked up to the injured Uchiha. Her hands glowed green around the torn, but clean bandages covering his head almost immediately and her expression crunched up with displeasure.
Beady eyes had followed her every movement as he had turned around to watch her work. Kagami immediately noticed the limp in his gait. "You're injured as well."
"It's nothing."
"Homura," Kagami called into the trees, which prompted the other man that had accompanied Koguma and Susumu to the mission with the landslide to appear. Koguma flinched once more, sword twitching in his hold and eyes flittering between him and Koharu.
"I am not as good a medic as my teammate, but can help you with that, Koguma-san."
It was silent for a long time while the man scrutinized him. In a swift movement that had everybody tensing, he sheathed his sword before giving a clipped nod. "Get on with it, then."
The injury had to be rather painful for Koguma to agree to that, Kagami mused. As if confirming his theory, his friends face twisted with pain and a low hiss came past his lips the moment Homura began healing the injury. The man immediately mumbled a low apology. He only got a disdained glance in reply.
"What happened, Koguma?"
"Same shit as you probably experienced." Another painful narrowing of eyes, which made Homura shoot him a second apologetic look. "We were being chased for days- during the same battle Asa got his head-injury, the Inuzuka lost her companion. She wandered off, I don't know where to. Maybe she hung herself from the highest branch she could find. I kept moving and tried to take care of him. We came to a stand-off today, as you can see."
Yes, Kagami certainly could as he once again took in the carnage around them. "You held them back by yourself?"
"Had to. Either that or I would have had to leave Asa behind." Finally something flashed in his eyes and his voice had gotten the quality of determination. "They died honourable at least, none turning their backs on the others." Holy shit, there had to be twenty corpses lying around them. How the fuck had Koguma managed? "You?"
Kagami swallowed hard and averted his gaze to hide his open grief. "Something much like it. Tracked for days and closed off from coming to your aid." He heard his clan-man moaning softly as he regained his consciousness through Koharu's healing. "We lost Tobirama-sensei."
It was silent for a long time, but if Kagami had been waiting for any condolences or kind words of Koguma, he was being disappointed. After a long while he looked back at his friend, seeing his expressionless face returned once more and continued, "We were being herded, played with, until we sat in a trap. There was no way out and then all of the sudden, the gold and silver brothers were there. Someone had to divert their attention to let the rest slip away-" He shook his head. "We found his body nearly three hours later, a hundred Kumo-nin dead to his feet and the brothers drowned on land."
Chakra pooled and in another shunshin, Hiruzen and Danzo appeared beside Kagami. Koguma didn't seem surprised by that at all, probably having already sensed them holding back in the trees at this point.
To their defence, Koguma had looked fucking wild down here and they had silently agreed that Kagami should go down first to not make him feel threatened by being so massively outnumbered. Having been hunted for days while trying to keep Asa safe, surely hadn't helped making the man more welcoming.
Koguma was a shinobi and a goddamn deadly one at that. Only fools would jump head-first at him in such a situation.
"The hokage dead," he stated without any intonation to what he thought of it. "Who's going to be in charge now?" His eyes flickered over to Kagami.
He had to almost laugh at that. His friend surely held too much faith in him, although he felt flattered at being complimented so. "An Uchiha? Don't be ridiculous." His voice had been light, but the words sounded bitter.
Koguma's gaze hesitated as it flickered to Danzo next, which surprised the man at first, making his lips part and eyes blow wide, but then the same bitterness Kagami's words had carried showed clearly on his face. "Don't be daft, Koguma. As if I'd ever want to be burdened with that."
Lastly, Koguma faced Hiruzen, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion as if he wasn't sure what their reactions meant. Only when he took in his solemn expression, did his face shift to realisation. It felt displeased, disgusted almost. "Must I call you hokage-sama now? Or honourable sandaime?"
Hiruzen's face turned thoughtful and his eyes were piercing. "We are friends, Koguma. No need for any formality among each other."
His lips tugged at the mention of 'among each other'. It felt almost mocking. "Very well."
"Had you encountered the gold and silver brothers?" Hiruzen suddenly pushed, his right hand resting on his hip which was coincidentally where he kept his weapon pouch.
"And life to tell? I think not."
"And yet Tobirama-sensei had been sure to have sensed them coming from this direction."
Koguma's eyes flashed at the hidden accusation and even Kagami felt angry on his friends behalf. The fuck was Hiruzen thinking? "This direction? This direction, what? East? What a vague description for such an accomplished sensor such as him. But he surely drew you a map, no?"
Danzo took a step forward, pushing right into the appropriate bubble they had let Koguma keep. Sensing the tension, Homura stepped back and to safety. "Such a defensive answer-"
Koguma roared in frustration, taking a step forwards as well- his limp was much less prominent now. "Defensive? I have been on my fucking own for almost a week, constantly running away and here I took my stand. Against eighteen opponents and I killed them all, held my ground to not let them circle back to you nor kill Asa. And you have the audacity to come here, whine about the fucking albino being dead and accuse me of doing the deed? Should I maybe have been standing right beside his killers, Asa strapped to my back?" His lips had curled back, showing bloody fangs (Oh, Kagami could never get used to it that Koguma actually used them to attack his opponents. What a nasty way to go down.) "I would have done it myself and not sent a proxy," he spat in a low voice. Danzo flinched as if slapped.
"Watch your words-" Hiruzen started.
"Watch my words? Watch my words!?" His anger was now directed towards him, whole body brimming with rage. "Who are you to tell me that? Hokage-" He gave off a nasty bark at that. "I don't give a shit about that. Don't come here expecting me to shuffle at your feet and still call it friendship."
Kagami tried to smooth things over. "Koguma, you're angry-"
"Goddamn right I am. This mission had been fucked the moment your precious sensei had shown up. He might as well could have announced it to the whole of the Land of Lightning with those flashy jutsu of his. Put a target right on all our backs with that." He spat at the ground.
Hiruzen's voice was ice-cold as he spoke up, "Enough! You won't talk of the nidaime that way. And you most certainly won't speak to me that way. Pull yourself together, man. You're a shinobi of Konoha."
For a moment Kagami was sure that his friend would erupt in fury at that, just like he had done when he had been assigned to this mission without his brother. He had seldom seen him that angry before and it had left a bitter taste on his tongue. However, his face collapsed until it was retreated and passive and his stance loosened up. Kagami hadn't missed the fact that not once he had used his killing intent on them while he had roared. He did now. He wasn't sure whether that made it better or worse.
"Yes, hokage-sama." Gruff and detached, but his chakra fluctuated around them, making the hair on Kagami's arms raise and sharingan swirl. Without another word, Koguma turned around, as good as pushed Koharu away and picked up his last remaining squad-member. Asa's taint was much more healthy now and his eyes were even open and looking out at his captain.
"Taicho?" the man croaked. Koguma simply cradled him even closer against his chest as he carried him bridal style.
He started walking in the direction of head-camp without sparing them a glance.
Koguma was sitting stiffly at the table in his tent, his fingers playing with his lips in a dreamy manner. Asa, on the other hand, was lying on his furs vast asleep. Had been for days now, but the medics had assured him it was nothing out of the ordinary with a head-injury like that.
Still, it made him worry.
His eyes flickered over to the whetstone lying on the table in front of him.
It worried him even more that Susumu and Kama had gone on a mission while he was gone. He had seen it in Kagami's eyes that he had been expecting him to flip at that and thrash everything, but he didn't. They had informed him, he had listened and then gone back to his tent with Asa.
Here he had stayed for the last three days, his only visitor a nervous and twitching medic to check up on the Uchiha. No one else had dared to enter. He hadn't let anyone else enter.
That was, until the tent flapped open with a swing.
"Uff, that's quite the killing intent you got going here," a cheery voice called out. "Might wanna screw back on it a bit, you're scaring away all the other shinobi in a hundred metre radius."
Only Koguma's eyes had snapped to the figure, but otherwise he continued staying seated and played at his lip.
"You're not gonna kill me now, are ya?" Clothes shuffled as he brushed through his hair. "It's not really my fault they sent me on a mission, you know. Neither was it Kama's for that matter. Believe me, that man had regretted taking me along soon enough."
Susumu's smirk faltered seeing that his brother still didn't react, so he stepped forward instead and plonked down on the chair opposite him. "Eh, I did nearly get him killed, whoopsie. But he's alright-"
"I know, I can smell him."
His head perched up at having him finally answer. "Yeah, he's waiting outside. Not because he wants to, but because I pushed him away and entered first, while they were still bickering about how to approach you. You're apparently scaring the entire camp."
Koguma replied nothing.
"Hey, I heard about the shit that went down-" he spared a glance at Asa sleeping on Koguma's furs, feeling immense relief seeing that his brother didn't began growling at him like he had with everyone else that had as much as breathed in his direction. Small mercies. "-I'm glad you're alright. Although they do say you limp now, especially since you won't let a medic take proper care of it."
Susumu pinched his lips upon his brother's stubborn silence. "I heard you had a fight with our new hokage?"
"New hokage," his brother scoffed with vehemence.
"Yeah, it's weird-"
"It's ridiculous. Hashirama, they had elected. Even the albino the majority could agree on. But Hiruzen," a nasty sneer spread on his lips. "Randomly assigned by the previous hokage. No election, no vote, no way to veto, no nothing. Fucking arbitrary."
Susumu tapped with his finger on his upper thigh, expression thoughtful. "I think that's why he snapped at you. He's probably scared himself that the council will doubt his position and having his authority questioned by someone he considers a friend-" He cocked his head. "Didn't exactly give him any confidence."
"You talked to him?" Koguma's gaze was accusatory.
"He came to me, right when he heard of our return. Told me what happened and explained the situation. That it might be unwise to just barge in here." Susumu smirked at that. "Pah, as if that could deter me."
"You're a fool."
"You'd never hurt me."
Something in Koguma's expression broke at that. "I might."
Susumu leaned back at the statement, mouth slightly parting and eyes narrowing in upset and confusion. "What?"
"I'm a terrible person," his brother whispered and with a flash his hand shot forward and grabbed onto Susumu's. The man didn't yelp, didn't shout, but for a moment there was raw fear flickering across his face as he flinched.
Koguma's lips pulled into a loathful sneer, his grip on Susumu's fingers soft and gentle and then he dropped his brother's clammy hand again.
"Kogu-"
"And even you think I am. You really think I would hurt you?" There was blank hurt behind his beady eyes.
"Kogu-"
"Get out."
"Kogu-" Susumu tried again.
"I said, out!" Koguma roared as he crashed his hand down onto the table.
There was utter confusion and misery in Susumu's expression and he opened his mouth several times as if to speak, but when Koguma's head dipped low, his hands clenched into fists and a growl worked its way up his chest, he got up and left with raged movements.
Not half a minute later the tent flapped open again.
"Out," he growled.
"No." Kama waltzed up right to where Susumu had sat before, plonked down with his legs spread wide and leaned forward with one hand resting on his upper thigh.
"Out."
"Make me," Kama challenged. "You'll need to make me bleed to leave, different than your no good brother." Koguma leaned forward as well, his fists on clear display on the table. With a smirk tugging at his lips, Kama spared an obvious glance at the Uchiha behind Koguma's back- he growled deeply in reply.
"Don't you look at him."
"I can look at whoever I want." Another long scrutinizing stare, which made Koguma bare his teeth at him. "He looks like shit. Weak, pathetic, ready for the taking-"
Another low growl answered his clear provocation.
"Unprotected," Kama pushed.
The table between them went soaring through the tent and straight out through the entrance. The sound of breaking wood came through to them not a second later and cut off when the fabric closed. Koguma loomed above Kama, his gaze feral, hair wild, fangs gleaming and fists groaning.
"I bet I could smother him right now," Kama continued, his own hackles raising against his will, simply a natural reaction any Hatake had when opposing an obvious predator. His lips curled with his words, letting his own sharp canines peak out. "So fragile does he look, laying there on your furs. So soft. Like a sick little cub-"
Koguma's hand shot forwards, right towards his throat and Kama's mouth turned dry and the muscles in his body tensed, but he fought the urge to flinch back-
The hand stayed hovering just above his soft skin.
"A sick little cub in need of protection," he spoke past his dry throat. He kept his gaze locked with Koguma's beady eyes.
Koguma's growl died with a shudder and his expression relaxed. Retreating his hand once more, he sat back down onto the chair now standing rather lonely in the room. After some deep breaths, he lifted his hands and began rubbing at his face.
Kama cleared his throat and forced himself to relax as well. "Rational over instinct, Kogu."
Koguma merely hummed.
"When was the last time you slept?"
"I don't know."
"When was the last time you ate?"
"I don't know."
"When was the last time you left the tent?"
Another deep breath echoed through the tent.
"He's safe Kogu, you took good care of him. Better than anyone ever could have done. You're not out there anymore, not chased by enemies." Kama got up from his spot, knelt down before him and with a gentle tug, lifted his hands away from his head. Koguma's face was wane and pale with exhaustion. He lowered his bandaged hands and slowly pulled them against his lips, where he gave them soft pecks. "You shouldn't scare your brother like that, he's not used to it."
"And you are?"
"I'm clan, just like you." Silence stretched between them. Kama still had his hands pressed against his lips and regarded Koguma through his eyelashes.
"Was Susumu a good cub?" Koguma spoke up after a moment.
Kama's eyes sparkled at the flat and somewhat forced joke. Maybe not a joke at all, but it told him all he needed to know about their dynamic. "No, no he was a terrible cub and I have no idea how you can endure him." His smirk spread against the bandages. "He didn't listen to my commands at all, nearly got us all killed with his terrible curiosity and then pranced around as if we should be grateful for his actions after all." Kama leaned forward as if wanting to let him on a secret. "I think I know now why I dislike him so- he's basically a housecat."
A startled snort answered him and it was enough to make him grin widely and chuckle in return.
"Now how about we take a bath, love?"
Koguma stilled at the pet name and regarded him for a long while. It had been a risk of Kama to use it, because he wasn't too sure if his mate would like such a thing, but he dearly wanted to call him such. Make everyone see what he was to him. Maybe it had been a bad idea coupling it with something Koguma clearly despised. However, he smelled rather intense.
"But Asa-"
"Will be fine." His words were resolute but soft.
With that, Koguma's killing intent finally dispersed.
Thank the fucking gods, Kama hadn't been too sure he could keep calm like that any longer.
They walked out of the tent a minute later and it was the first time Koguma got to see what his mood had done to the camp around him- all tents had been moved, except for Susumu and Asa's as well as those of Kama's squad. There wasn't a single shinobi close-by, although some of them dared curious peaks out of the trees, now that he had calmed down. The table was lying shattered against the base of one of them.
"They're all gone," his mate mumbled. "Pathetic."
"It had been rather intense, love." Koguma shot him another weird glance, before one corner of his mouth tugged upwards. Kama considered that as much a permission as he was ever going to get. It warmed his damn heart and made his gut flutter.
Koguma walked up to his brother, who had shot up at the fireplace beside the other Hatake and looked miserably and apologetic, but stopped at a rather cautious distance. "Had I known it would be that easy to get you off my back, I would have done it before. I could have spared myself from a lot of whining and complaining."
Susumu stilled, incredulous over the olive-branch Koguma was handing him. "Shit, Kogu- I hadn't meant to-"
His hum interrupted the man's stumbling gush. "Yeah, I know." He took a deep breath of the crisp winter air and shot Kama an impatient look. "Let's get this over with then."
Oh, Koguma might be apprehensive, but there was a hot-stream nearby and Kama was so looking forward to getting in there with his mate. Maybe he could make him associate the whole ordeal with something pleasant instead. Oh, what a treat that would be.
Kama couldn't wait.