By Monmon
Disclaimers: Read Chapter 1.
The next morning, Rukawa woke up to the chirping of birds outside of his cottage. He blinked groggily and stretched his limbs and muscles languidly. He looked to the prone figure on the bed and gently touched the man's forehead. The man was breathing normally and there was no sign of the fever that sometimes followed poison infections. He was relieved to see that the man was doing fine and he determined that the man should be up and walking in one or two days. He changed the bandages and applied a salve on the man's shoulders and ankle to ensure faster healing. He also covered the poison wound with some bandages to make sure that it didn't get infected. He stepped out of the cottage after eating some cold stew for breakfast and went to deal with the dead horse. He cremated the horse and buried the ashes deep within the earth. He then started his daily fighting exercises to keep his body in shape and limber. After several hundred punches, kicks, etc., Rukawa made a stop at one of the natural hot springs in the forest which produced all of the mist in the forest, and took a long hot bath. A few hours later, since Rukawa dozed off during his bath, he emerged refreshed and clean. Rukawa got some water from a well, picked up some firewood and started to walk back to his cottage.
His mind drifted to the events last night. He wondered why he felt compelled to save that man. 'Who exactly is he?' He remembered seeing the King's crest on his armor and sword and deduced that he was a warrior of the King's army and probably one of high rank due to the quality of his weapons. He normally did not use his power to heal his patients. It drained so much from him and if he was not careful and used too much power, he could die due to the drainage of his life force. But last night, his intuition demanded that the man must be saved immediately and at all costs.
As he neared his cottage, he saw a girl calling his name. People could not get near his cottage since he kept a protective barrier on it at all times. He put it there to keep out thieves, animals and unwanted visitors.
He stopped a few yards from the girl. "Hey."
The girl spun towards him. She immediately got hearts in her eyes as she took in his snow-white smooth skin, icy, blue eyes, and silky black hair.
Rukawa sighed disgustedly. He hated all girls that acted this way towards him and usually avoided them like the plague, but this one was Murakiri Asako, the daughter of the village mayor, Murakiri Isao. So he had to at least talk to her out of respect for the mayor. "What do you want?" He hoped his voice would make her snap out of her trance.
Asako shook herself and snapped out of her daydream. "Rukawa-kun, my fa- the mayor wants to know if you would be joining us for the Spring Festival which is in about a week. He wants to have you as a guest of honor." Seeing his expressionless face, she quickly added, "You don't have to do anything. You can show up whenever you want and leave whenever you wish."
Rukawa looked at her silently for a moment and then sighed. "I'll see."
Her eyes brightened to the fact that Rukawa did not automatically reject the suggestion.
"You can go now." Rukawa was already walking away from her and towards the cottage. He passed through the protection barrier and disappeared into the cottage.
She lowered her eyes in disappointment that he did not stay longer. She waited around the cottage for a few minutes hoping to catch another glimpse of the dark-haired man, but with no such luck. She finally left to return to the village.
Inside the cottage, Rukawa started a fire to cook some stew for dinner. Cooking and managing the fire well is essential for making medicine and therefore he excelled at both. He walked into the bedroom to check up on his patient. The man had tossed his covers onto the floor. Rukawa picked them up and covered the man with them once again. He looked at the sleeping man curiously. The man's hair was still standing straight up from his scalp. His face was handsome, but as the man slept, it also looked childlike and innocent. The man looked to be only a few years older than him. He wondered once again who that man was and what had happened that night.
Rukawa shrugged the questions from his mind and walked out of the room closing the door softly behind him. He finished cooking the stew and ate it. After cleaning the dishes and pots, he sat down by the fireplace and took out the handkerchief that held the poisonous dart.
'Hmm... I wonder what type of poison it is. I didn't have enough time to analyze what it was yesterday.' Taking small vials of different colored powder off a shelf, he poured some of the contents of each of the vials in a bowl and then mixed them together. He then poured a glass of boiled water and dipped the tip of the poisonous dart in the water and then placed it aside. He then placed the glass on the ground next to the cloth. He then poured the powder in the glass, careful not to spill any of it. He then chanted a couple a few words and then sat back and waited. A few minutes later, the blue and black powder swirled to the top of the glass, the red powder dispersed throughout the glass, and the yellow and green powder stayed at the bottom of the glass. He conducted more tests like this and after going through several books about poison and several hours later, he concluded that the poison originated from the far kingdom of Aiwa. Rukawa frowned. 'This type of poison is very rare here and Aiwa is at least a hundred leagues from here. So why is it here? And why use it on that man?'
He yawned, putting the thoughts in his head temporarily to rest. He was exhausted. He carefully rewrapped the dart in the handkerchief and placed it in a sealed jar on the top shelf. He then cleaned up his little experiment. He set up some blankets on the floor by the fireplace, lied down, and promptly went to sleep. Kit, who was sleeping in the corner by the fireplace while Rukawa was examining the poisoned dart, woke up, crawled into the blankets with the man and fell asleep again.
Sendoh was warm. He hadn't felt this warm since last year before the war started. He shifted towards his side and opened his eyes slowly. He blinked blearily as he took in his unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly, memories of his chase after the baron flooded his mind. He tried to get up but he fell back down on the bed with a groan. His arms and legs were stiff.
"You're finally awake," said a cold, musical voice.
Sendoh turned to look at the source of the voice and his heart caught got caught in his throat. He stared into the bluest eyes he has ever seen. The boy had snow-white skin and short ebony black hair, which almost covered his piercing blue eyes. He was wearing white healer robes and was holding a basin in his arms. His face was blank and expressionless.
"You... saved me?" Sendoh asked dazedly.
The boy nodded slightly and put down the basin that was full of hot water on the table by the bed. He lifted Sendoh gently into a sitting position on the bed. Sendoh could feel warmth seeping into him from the boy. Sendoh took a closer look at the boy's face and realized that the boy was much older than he first appeared to be. Sendoh estimated that the young man was just a few years younger than him. The young man soaked a white towel in the basin and rinsed it. He handed it silently to Sendoh.
"Thank you," Sendoh took the cloth and washed the grime from his face. "My name is Sendoh Akira. Who are you and where is this place?" Sendoh asked with a charming smile on his face.
"Rukawa Kaede. My home. Let me change your bandages." The man replied slowly in a cold and impassive voice.
Rukawa pulled up a chair next to the bed and began to unravel the bandages. Sendoh studied the young man silently with a smile on his face. His touch was gentle and soothing. Rukawa applied a salve to his arms and ankle and then neatly bandaged them again. He stood up and coolly said, "Wait here."
Rukawa walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a tray. On the tray were two full bowls of hot stew. It was then that Sendoh realized he was starving. Rukawa placed the tray on the table and handed him one of the bowls. Sendoh quickly downed the stew and discovered that it was delicious. Rukawa handed him the second bowl and set the empty one on the tray on the table. Sendoh ate the second bowl a little slower savoring the taste. "So you live alone?" he asked.
Rukawa nodded slightly. 'Hmm... so he's not really talkative.' Sendoh thought. "So how long do I have to wait before I'm fully healed?"
"One to two weeks."
They watched each other silently as Sendoh finished eating the stew.
"You're part of the King's army?" The way Rukawa said it made it sound more like a statement than a question.
Sendoh gazed at him with surprise. "Yes."
"Why were you in the forest?" Rukawa asked curiously.
"I was chasing after some bad guys and instead of capturing them, they escaped and wounded me." Sendoh answered playfully with a smile. "How did you find me?"
"Walking." Rukawa answered cryptically.
Rukawa stood up and collected the empty bowls. "Get some rest." After saying that, he walked out of the room. Sendoh stared after the slender figure thoughtfully. He sank slowly back down onto the soft bed. He glanced at his surroundings. The room was neat and clean with many different sized jars and bottles on the shelves. There was also an assortment of books on another shelf. He was also surprised to see a wide variety of weapons in the room. His own armor and sword was on a chair by the far wall. His thoughts wandered back to his savior and with the mysterious deep blue eyes. 'Who are you, Rukawa Kaede?' was his last thought before he drifted off into a deep slumber.
After tending to his patient, Rukawa decided to go to sleep early. He was excited that his patient finally woke up. He had many questions that he wanted to ask Sendoh but the man seemed to be very guarded and wary. Rukawa did not mind it much since he still had a couple of days to satisfy his curiosity about this stranger in his home. He lied down on the blankets on the floor and quickly fell to sleep in span of two seconds. Kit, returning from one of his night hunts, jumped into the cottage from a window and curled up beside Rukawa.
Lieutenant Koshino saluted smartly at General Fujima Kenji. "Sir, has any report of General Sendoh's whereabouts come in yet?
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. No word has come in yet." General Fujima's eyes were understanding and sympathetic.
"Thank you."
Koshino turned around and walked out of the general's office. He walked back to his room. In his room, pulled aside the window's curtain and walked out on his balcony. Sendoh and him have been friends since childhood and have entered the army together. They had been together through thick and thin, and were like brothers. Sendoh disappeared when the battle at the encampment commenced and there was no word from him for two days. Koshino looked up at the beautiful night sky, praying silently, 'Sendoh, where are you?'