By Monmon
Disclaimers: Read Chapter 1.
Upon reaching the village, Rukawa had his worst fears realized. Ignoring the people that were clamoring around him with questions, he observed the deathly pale man on the bed with his healer sight. The mayor had lost a large amount of blood and the wound in the mayor's head was much too deep. There was a large chance that the mayor would fall into a coma or suffer from brain damage if the mayor didn't die in the next couple of hours. He had no choice. He had to save the mayor, and in order to do so, he had to use his powers and suffer the consequences later. Seeing Akio hovering nearby, he called the boy to him.
"Akio, please come over here."
The boy scrambled up to him quickly and looked up at him expectantly. Rukawa took out a small packet of herbs from one of the many pockets in his robes and handed it to the boy. "Boil these in a pot of water for thirty minutes."
"Yes Healer." Akio bobbed his head up and down before hurrying off to do his bidding.
Rukawa looked around the crowded room and ordered everyone out. After closing and locking the door on the last of the stragglers, Rukawa immediately strode back to the mayor's bedside. After taking a seat on the bed, he cleared his mind and gently laid his fingertips on the forehead of his patient. He took a deep, calming breath before stretching his senses towards the wound. He was instantly attacked from all sides with the pain and confusion in the mayor's mind. Hastily erecting a shield, Rukawa probed for the deepest part of the wound. Sweat was pouring down his face and he felt his shields weakening from the onslaught of the mayor's emotions as he frantically searched. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a small area pulsing in an ugly dark red color with black streaks running through it. He quickly latched his mind to it and prayed that he found the right spot. Rukawa poured his power into the spot as he carefully watched in his mind's eye. As his power drained gradually from his body, he despaired when he saw that the wound did not change. 'Oh no. I picked the wrong spot. I couldn't save the mayor. Just like I couldn't save my parents.' His vision blurred as tears prickled in his eyes. Suddenly noticing a change in the mayor's condition, he rapidly blinked away his tears and watched in relief as the wound closed and healed without a scar before his eyes. He wanted to laugh but was just too tired to do so. He laid his head on his arms and fought his dizziness when his ears registered Akio's voice at the door. Taking a couple of deep breaths to regain his composure, he slowly got to his feet to not jar his aching head and slowly made his way to the door.
Akio was waiting just outside the door with a tray in his hands. On the tray was a pot full of a strong black tea and a clean bowl and a spoon. Akio was balancing the tray on one hand and holding his nose with his other to avoid the stench of the medicine. Rukawa moved aside to allow the boy to place the tray on the table right by the door but did not allow the boy to see the mayor. He ushered the youth back outside and quietly thanked the boy. Akio's disappointment at not being allowed to see the mayor vanished in light of the healer's gratitude. Rukawa quickly closed the door again and stared at the black tea. He poured it carefully and slowly into the bowl with slightly shaking hands. Ignoring the spoon, he picked up the bowl carefully with both hands and quickly gulped down the medicine. Suppressing his nausea at the stench, he closed his eyes and waited a few minutes. When he opened his eyes again, the fogginess and dizziness had disappeared from his mind leaving him feeling refreshed. Not to be deceived by the temporary effects of the medicine, he picked up the clean bandages that some sensible soul had left by the bed and quickly wrapped it over the mayor's fading wound. After having done so, he opened the door and informed the mayor's relatives and concerned villagers that the mayor would be all right. He then left the house leaving explicit instructions to feed the mayor lots of soup and to make sure that the injured man had lots of bed rest.
Someone shaking him rather impatiently jostled Sendoh out of his dreams. Tensing up immediately, his eyes shot open to see Rukawa looming over him with a tinge of desperation and concern in his normally unreadable blue eyes.
"What-" Sendoh started to say before getting cut off by the kitsune-eyed healer.
"Get up. We have to go back." Rukawa said as the healer hastily hoisted him up. An arm wrapped around his waist and his own arm was pulled across the healer's shoulders and held securely there.
Sendoh shook his head slightly to banish the sleep from his eyes and tried his best to keep up as the healer set an alarmingly fast pace back to the cottage. Sendoh stumbled quite a bit as branches seemed to pop up from the ground, and he nearly lost his footing as he was dragged forward. Pain shot up his legs as his bare feet scraped along several sharp stones. 'It's strange that I didn't notice the amount of branches and stones on the path when we were going to the hot springs. But then Rukawa was being a lot more considerate then than he is now.' Sendoh bit his lower lip to keep from crying out in pain.
"Rukawa, can't we go a bit slower? Poor wounded patients like me can't handle this kind of pace." Sendoh intended the question to become out lightheartedly but it came out as a pain-filled grunt. Sendoh looked at the healer and realized that the blue-eyed man did not even register that he had spoken. The fox-eyed man was muttering something under his breath and had a look of determination on his face. Sendoh stumbled again but he ignored the pain and tried to lean closer to hear what the healer was saying.
"…hurry… must hurry…"
'I wonder why Rukawa is in such a hurry. Is something going to happen?' Sendoh thought worriedly. He suddenly noticed that Rukawa was breathing rather heavily and sweat dripped down the side of his flushed face. 'It is actually a bit cool tonight and I doubt that Rukawa has been doing so much exercise to warrant the amount of sweat that his body is producing.' He thought with some amount of concern. 'What the hell is wrong with him?'
He sighed in relief as the cottage came into view. 'Finally, this hellish walk is coming to an end.' Sendoh thought.
The fox-eyed healer did not lessen his pace even with the cottage in sight. The man simply charged right into the cottage and then into the bedroom. Sendoh was deposited none too gently onto the bed. Sendoh watched warily as Rukawa swayed slightly on his feet before his dulled blue eyes rolled to the top of his head and he fainted. Sendoh barely had the time to save the healer from cracking his head on the floor. He reached out as the kitsune-eyed healer started to fall and grabbed a hand, tugging the healer onto the bed. The healer fell on top of him. Wrapping his arms around the man on top of him, he carefully maneuvered them so that they were lying side-by-side facing each other. He looked down at his feet and winced when he noticed that his feet were covered in small cuts and bruises. 'Oh well. I guess I'll just request that the healer take extra good care of me when we wake up in the morning.' He smiled at the thought and then looked over at Rukawa's feet, which were clad in woolskin boots. 'I'm too tired to do anything about them. He'll just have to be a little bit uncomfortable tonight.' He then pulled the blankets up and over the both of them.
As they lay there, Sendoh reviewed the events of the day. 'Rukawa was fine when we were together at the hot springs and then he had to leave on some sort of 'urgent business'. I wonder what it was…' Sendoh was jolted out of his thoughts as he noticed a pair of eyes on him. He lifted his head slightly off the pillow and stared directly into the wary emerald eyes of a fox. He waited silently as the Kit assessed him with his eyes. Finally, the fox blinked and trotted over to the side of the bed, curled up and then went right to sleep. 'It seems that I've passed a test.' Sendoh thought rather amusedly. He turned his attention back to the man in his arms. 'He looks quite like a fallen angel.' He thought almost absentmindedly as he lifted a hand and brushed back ebony bangs that partially concealed the pale, ethereal face. As if the hand had a mind of its own, it caressed one side of the face and ran its fingers through silky, ebony locks. 'Hmm… so soft…' Finally realizing what he was doing, he snatched his hand back as if burned. A big yawn burst forth from his throat putting a stop to all thoughts for the night. He snuggled down into the blankets and the warm figure beside him and closed his eyes. He drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
Koshino was working late reading up on some military reports that might hint at the location of the ex-Baron Sawakita. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes tiredly, when he heard a sharp knock on the door. The door flew open without waiting for a response and an excited Aida Hikoichi rushed in. "There's word back from General Sendoh." Aida blurted out when he caught his breath.
Koshino stood up immediately, fully awake. "Well what is it, soldier?" Koshino demanded of the younger officer.
Aida straightened up at the tone of his voice and handed him a piece of wood. He immediately recognized the designs in the wood. Koshino smiled for the first time in days. "Thank you, Aida. You must be tired. Take the rest of the night off. Go back to your room and get some rest." Aida nodded and left the room.
'Sendoh, I knew you were still alive. You better hurry back soon. You still have to capture and arrest Sawakita.' Of course, Koshino would never tell Sendoh that he was worried about him. Koshino was just glad that his friend, and brother, is still alive. On that thought, he felt that the reports could wait until the next day and promptly went to bed.
'Hmm…Eiji-kun will not be happy with this turn of events.' The dark figure thought as he spied upon the conversation between Aida and Koshino. He turned and stealthily flitted away in the shadows. The time will soon come when and he no longer had to pretend to be loyal to the king and prince. Soon he will be reunited with his Eiji-kun. He smiled eagerly to himself as he let himself be engulfed by the darkness of the night.
When Rukawa returned to consciousness, he felt very safe and warm. He recognized the texture of his own bed and blankets surrounding him. He stretched a bit and realized with a frown that he was still wearing his boots. 'What happened last night that would make me so tired that I couldn't even take off my boots??' He thought in no small amount of consternation. He suddenly remembered the mayor's accident and the medicine that he asked Akio to make him. Everything afterwards seemed to be a big blur. 'Well it seems that I made it home safely enough.' Then his whole body tensed up when he realized that someone else was in bed with him.
Sendoh watched with a soft look in his eyes as the dark-haired healer shifted and stretched slightly. He had to stifle a chuckle as an adorable little frown appeared on the normally expressionless face. He waited patiently for Rukawa to realize where he was. He didn't have to wait long when he felt the body beside him tense up and sapphire-blue eyes popped open. Fox eyes widened in shock and the dark-haired man shot upright in bed before he could stop him. A soft groan reached his ears as the healer buried his most likely aching head into his hands. Sendoh immediately sat up and pushed Rukawa down so that he was lying back on the bed.
"You should be more careful! It can't be that much of a shock to wake up next to the tall, dark and handsome Sendoh Akira, and I was a perfect gentleman last night! Lots of people would kill to be in your place at this moment!" Sendoh said good-naturedly with a grin on his face.
A snort was his only answer.
"Aw, come on. I know you enjoyed waking up to my lovely face!" Sendoh poked the kitsune-eyed healer lightly in the chest.
"…" Rukawa ignored the comment and turned to the other side of the bed facing away from him.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. But don't I at least get an explanation for why you had to drag me all the way back to the cottage last night? You nearly tore my feet into ribbons."
A dark blue eye peered up at his face before transferring its gaze to his feet. A small gasp of surprise escaped from the healer. Sendoh had to push the healer back onto the bed again as the dark-haired man attempted to get up again.
"There's time enough for that later. Right now all I want is some more sleep and judging from how you are holding your head, you're not feeling that much better. So just get some more rest and then I can get my explanation and you can wrap up my feet." Sendoh wrapped an arm around the startled healer, making him stay in bed. "Besides, you make a good bed warmer." Smiling at the blush that covered the other man's face, Sendoh closed his eyes once again and let sleep overtake him.
Rukawa stared in shock at the slumbering man before him. He tried to squirm and wiggle his way out of the spiky-haired man's arms but froze when the other man mumbled something under his breath and shifted even closer to him so that they were nearly cuddling. Sighing in defeat, Rukawa closed his eyes and relaxed. His last thought as he slipped into the arms of Morpheus was that Sendoh's hair was still spiky.