Insight
Tasuki POV
Chapter 4
By Mikazuki
There wasn't really that much to be done. All Tasuki had to do was set out the bedrolls he'd made Chichiri bring along on this trip. A fire wouldn't be necessary until they needed to cook, and Chichiri would be back by then...wouldn't he? Tasuki didn't mind the work, but the casual way the monk had left him to do it annoyed him.
"An errand he wants ta run..." Tasuki muttered. "Great. Just fuckin' great." He stalked off into the woods nearby to look for dinner. It wasn't that he was sick of fish...all right, he was definitely sick of fish, but he also needed something to occupy his time until Chichiri got back. Unfortunately, with his speed, it didn't take him long to catch a plump young rabbit. He held it firmly as it struggled, raising it to eye level. "I'm real sorry about this, but y'know, I don't feel like fish t'night." he told the terrified creature before quickly snapping its neck. After making sure that it was dead, Tasuki tied its body to his belt so that he could carry it more easily.
Before boredom could set in, Tasuki set about collecting wood for the fire, taking the dead rabbit with him so that no hungry scavengers could steal it. He didn't particularly want to have to kill another one... He decided that he might as well start the fire, since he had no idea when Chichiri was going to be back. Which was another annoying thing...
Tasuki fumed as he arranged the firewood. "Didn' even tell me where he was goin'...doesn' think that I might, just maybe, be worried about 'im..." Having successfully placed the logs, Tasuki unsheathed his tessen. With a sweep of his arm and a cry of "Rekka Shin'en!" he had the fire burning nicely. Sighing, he plunked himself down beside the flames, the rabbit next to him. For the first time in his life, he was sorry that his tessen made it possible for him to forego kindling. Collecting more wood and lighting a fire the traditional way would have kept him busy longer.
Eyeing the kasa on the ground beside him, Tasuki silently vowed that Chichiri would know how aggravating his little "errand" was.
*****
"Back, no da!" Chichiri stepped out of the hat that Tasuki had been trying to glare holes in.
'Finally...' Tasuki thought. "What the hell was that all about? Dammit, I had to set everything up by myself..." As soon as he's said it, Tasuki regretted using that as a reason for his anger. Chichiri knew how little work was involved in setting up. Blushing slightly, Tasuki continued with his rant. "And I hope you know that you're cooking dinner now, and--" At that exact moment, he noticed what Chichiri was holding, and everything was forgiven.
"HELL YEAH!" Tasuki ran towards Chichiri, stopping just short of tackling the mage for a second time. Reaching out, he attempted to take the sake from his friend.
"How, rude, no da!"
Tasuki growled angrily as Chichiri pulled the bottle out of his reach. He turned the glare he'd used earlier on Chichiri's kasa onto the monk himself as he reached for the sake again. Chichiri stepped backwards, frowning playfully.
"No way, no da. Not until you say please, na no da."
Well, two could play at that game...before Chichiri could blink, Tasuki had closed all of the distance between them.
Leaning in just a little to look Chichiri in the eye, the bandit asked, "And what're ya gonna do ta stop me if I don't?"
With some surprise, Tasuki noted the effect this had on his friend. Chichiri's cheeks were bright red, and his single mahogany eye was wide. And unless Tasuki was much mistaken, he was trembling slightly. 'Beautiful...' Tasuki thought, and promptly blushed. Why was he thinking this way?
Trying to ignore the flush he could feel working its way down his neck, Tasuki broke eye contact and took the wine from Chichiri, his own hand shaking a little.
Tasuki stepped away from Chichiri, his heart racing. He uncorked the bottle and took a long drink, hoping that the liquor would help him forget his confusion.
He didn't see the small smile that crossed Chichiri's face at his actions.
Sighing, Tasuki sat down next to the campfire, though he was flushed and already quite warm.
Chichiri watched him for a moment, and then sat down next to his friend. Tasuki stiffened slightly, and then relaxed. It wasn't as though Chichiri was going to do anything to him. They'd sat by a fire like this many times before. Why did it feel so different now?
Tasuki took another sip of sake and stared at the flames before him. Chichiri didn't say anything. It didn't really matter; his very presence was adding to Tasuki's confusion by the minute.
Silence reigned. Tasuki didn't like it. He'd never had trouble talking to Chichiri before. He knew that whatever he needed to say, the monk would listen to him with an understanding smile. Yet, somehow, Tasuki couldn't think of a single thing to talk about.
"You said I was cooking, ne?" Chichiri said, finally. He picked up the rabbit. "I assume this is dinner, no da."
Tasuki looked up, realizing that the sky was growing dusky. He wondered when that had happened. "Yeah, that's it," he said, smiling a little. "I'll help ya, if ya want..."
Chichiri grinned and shook his head. "No, it's only fair, no da. You set up, so I'll cook." He set the rabbit on a flat rock across the fire from Tasuki. "...Can I use your knife, no da?"
"Sure." Tasuki passed him the small dagger he carried with him. It was better than his tessen in hand-to-hand fights. And it was good for skinning rabbits.
Chichiri paused for a moment, holding the knife. He closed his eye and his lips moved silently for a few seconds. Tasuki knew that he, too, was apologizing to the rabbit, wherever its spirit might be. Tasuki looked away before he could have any more strange thoughts about his friend. He took a sip from the bottle he still held. When he looked back, Chichiri's eyes were open and he was methodically cleaning and skinning he rabbit. As though he' felt Tasuki's eyes on him, Chichiri looked up and gave him a brief smile before returning to his work.
Tasuki continued to watch him, his sake forgotten. Thoughts fluttered, half-formed and contradictory, though his distracted mind.
'He's perfect...'
'What the hell?! I mean, he is--but I don't think about him that way, he's my best friend! Hell, he's practically my brother--Why am I babbling, and why don't I sound more convincing?'
Tasuki shook his head. 'I'm not attracted to Chichiri, dammit...' Looking down, his eyes fell on the bottle of sake still held loosely in his right hand. He smiled in relief. 'This is just something to do with the sake I've had. That's all.'
'But I haven't had that much sake, and anyway, this started before I had any alcohol...'
Chichiri stood up, startling Tasuki out of his thoughts. He had the skinned and cleaned rabbit in one hand and three long sticks in the other. Setting these things down, he returned to the rock and picked up Tasuki's dagger, which he carefully wiped clean. He handed it back to Tasuki.
"Here, no da."
"Thanks." Tasuki took back the dagger, sliding it into its sheath.
In a few minutes, Chichiri was seated beside the fire, turning the meat on a makeshift spit.
Tasuki studied the patterns the firelight made on Chichiri's face. His features were thrown into sharp relief by the glow, giving him a thoughtful expression. Tasuki wondered what he was thinking about. A part of him hoped that Chichiri was thinking about him. A small part, but not so small that Tasuki didn't notice.
He cursed silently. 'All right, so I am attracted to him. Nothing wrong with that. I already knew that I liked guys.'
He looked over at Chichiri, who was watching the meat, his expression unreadable.
'But, dammit, this is Chichiri...Besides the fact that I'm his best friend, he's out of my league. Waaaay out.' Tasuki sighed. 'He'd never think of me that way.'
'At least I figured this out before it became anything more than attraction...' he thought. 'If I actually fell in love with him, I'd definitely end up with a broken heart. But it'll be easy to stop this, since it's just physical.'
Tasuki did his best to ignore the twinge in his heart that was telling him something different.
---To be continued