Well, I've update finally after another month, excuse me, more than a month...the only excuses I have is that this chapter was a pain to write and I'm lazy and I have a life! Gomen nasai.

Thank you to the reviewers; hope you guys are all still alive. Oh, and thanks Jouhaiichi, the second review gave me a good laugh and I decided it was time to type just a little faster! I've already finished chapter 9 so it will be posted next week, promise! (It takes me almost two months to write four pages??? Lords help me.)

Honor and Loyalty

Chapter 8: Denial

He shifted along the forest grounds near the Mibu Clan and sat down against a nearby tree to rest, hoping that no one would bother him while he was deep in thought. He just wanted some time to himself to think.

It had only been one day since Yukimura-sama had joined the Mibu Clan and Saizo had been ordered to keep track of everything going on around the area. Thankfully Kamanosuke and Jinpachi had been generous enough tonight to give him some time off. He hadn't been sleeping much lately and he guessed it showed by how cranky he was.

Saizo had been walking the halls of the Mibu clan for the entire day and knew the place quite well already. Of course there were some areas too well guarded even for him to get into.

There had been some difficulty guarding Yukimura-sama in the middle of enemy territory. He had a terrible tendency of waltzing around the Mibu Clan and finding trouble. The biggest problem was Chinmei, although some would disagree and say that Shinrei was the problem due to his constant complaints of letting Yukimura join, Chinmei was the one who followed Yukimura everywhere. Saizo kept a close eye on the man...monster, thing whatever it was. He doubted it was human.

The Juyushi were still busy finding Sakuya, but Saizo had a vague idea of where she was. It was just a matter of timing the meeting right so that none of the Mibu noticed.

The final matter that bothered Saizo the most was that he was intentionally trying to avoid Yukimura-sama, which might he add was a feat in itself. Trying to avoid Yukimura-sama while hanging from the rafters above his head was...impossible.

"Hey Saizo, isn't the wall pretty in here?"

"Saizo, could you go get me some sake? I can't believe the Mibu don't have any sake in this place, no wonder they're all so uptight!"

Saizo was used to his lords bantering, he'd grown up with it for plenty of years, but the tension that seemed to have formed between his lord and him after the request for him to find a way into the Mibu Clan hadn't eased much. At least not for him, he couldn't much speak for Yukimura-sama and his usual easygoing manner.

Sometimes Saizo wished he could be like that. Not a care in the world, he almost envied that lifestyle, but he was a constant worrier and someone had to try and talk some sense into Yukimura-sama. Saizo literally tore his own hair out over the frustration his lord caused him sometimes. How could he sit back and watch Tokugawa take control over the land!?

But Saizo knew better... There were brief moments in time when Yukimura's mask of the fool would fall; showing Saizo what had been created after Mizuki's death. That brief moment when his eyes would flash vehemently and the eternal smile vanished leaving behind the true leader of the Juyushi. Those were the moments when Saizo actually feared his lord, unable to read the emotions that seemed so foreign on his face.

What was it he had wanted before all this started? A chance to see past his lord's mask and understand him better? What the hell had he been thinking?

He had promised himself that he would show how much he cared about Yukimura-sama by protecting him and keeping him out of harms way... and here he was in the middle of nowhere avoiding him. Irony must have had a good laugh today, force-feeding his own words back down his throat, while his mind calmly proclaimed, 'What the hell are you doing, Kirigakure!?', And really he didn't know anymore what he was doing or going to do for that matter.

Several events had complicated this situation beyond recognition. For one that...what would you call it...a half-kiss? That made for a lot of stress. Though now after having gone over it plenty of times in his mind he was pretty sure the...half-kiss ... was meant as persuasion to get him to find an entrance into the Mibu Clan. It was something Yukimura-sama would do, that much Saizo was certain of.

Then the time after treating Yukimura-sama's wounds when his lord had calmly rested against him. There had been no reason for the action and logic just didn't seem to drive anything that his lord was doing at the time. Saizo lifted one of his hands and could almost feel the soft touch of a hand running along the imaginary line where the cut had been. Nobuyuki-sama's sword cutting through the palm...

Although it wasn't that strange for Yukimura to show affection to the Juyushi it was strange that he seemed to be directing all of it at Saizo. He usually did it as a joke or to tease the others, but this...this was a little much, wasn't it? Or was Yukimura actually playing with his feelings for entertainment?

" Hello?? Anybody there?"

Saizo jumped out of his deep reverie pulling himself back to the real world only to find the object of his troubles sitting cross-legged in front of him and waving a hand near his face.

" Yukimura-sama?" Saizo murmured in wonder.

" Hey, where were you?" Yukimura asked his smile widening as he sat back.

" Huh?" Saizo was utterly confused his mind still backtracking.

" What are you thinking about?" Yukimura repeated more slowly, as if he was talking to a child.

Saizo had half a mind to tell him the truth about what he was thinking, but logic and reason won over the battle and he shook his head pulling at imaginary worries that he should have had at that moment, but didn't, until he found one that made sense.

" Demon Eyes Kyo is expected here in two days time," Saizo replied evenly.

" And?" Yukimura inquired.

" And that's it. What? Is there something I'm forgetting?" Saizo asked tensing under the suddenly scrutinizing eyes that watched him.

" Hmm...Yes, I think there is something your forgetting or more likely not mentioning..." Yukimura said calmly before sitting up on his knees.

As if in slow motion the world seemed to lose interest to Saizo's eyes as his lords face moved closer to his and a hand rested almost comfortingly on his shoulder. Saizo couldn't have moved even if his frantic mind had wanted to as Yukimura's other arm wrapped around his waist.

" What are you going to do, Saizo?" Yukimura asked softly.

Saizo shook his head almost hoping that the bashful reflex would make Yukimura pull away, but his lord was unbothered by the reaction and instead pulled closer until suddenly Saizo realized he was being hugged.

He didn't know why he couldn't seem to relax in the simple gesture, why his body seemed to have turned into a living statue in his lords' arms. It was just a hug after all, something Yukimura did on a regular basis to others. Sasuke was always whining about his lord's gestures of affection.

Saizo knew he should pull back, maybe resist, and maybe even hate Yukimura-sama for doing this. The man had plenty of whores; he had plenty of people who would gladly sleep with him. What was Saizo compared to those beautiful woman with their loving personalities? Why the hell did he even think that his lord would want him in such a manner?

Saizo's personal debate was cut clean away when a shadow in the gloomy darkness seemed to move on its own towards Yukimura and him.

" What the?" Saizo had just enough time to rip himself out of his lords' arms as a sword swung in a sideways arc straight for him.

He pushed Yukimura roughly to the side and a searing pain erupted just under his collarbone where the sword just barely cut open the skin. If he hadn't moved any faster either he would have been beheaded or his lord would have been killed. That thought made him grit his teeth as he looked up at the Mibu clan symbol that decorated the shadows cloak.

Yukimura had managed to regain his balance and was making his way over with his sword drawn at the ready. The shadow shifted nervously on its feet before it made up its mind to leave. Yukimura didn't bother following it and Saizo knew that it would be impossible to trail the Mibu warrior in this darkness.

" How bad are you hurt?" Yukimura asked sheathing his sword and walking over to Saizo.

" It's not deep," Saizo replied pulling himself to his feet and covering the wound with a hand. "I just wasn't expecting it."

" Damn, he must have followed me when I left," Yukimura hissed kicking at an imaginary stone on the grassy slope. "There's a village nearby, I think we should stay there tonight until morning."

Saizo nodded dismissively as he looked down at the trail on the ground near his feet. There were two footprints side by side moving away from the area and beside them was a small trail...almost as if the person had been dragging something.

" Saizo, come on," Yukimura murmured near his ear and an arm gently wrapped around his shoulders and this time he didn't feel like making the effort to push it away as it was becoming a steadily comforting weight, banishing away the sudden pure terror that had run through his veins as that sword came inches away from killing his lord.

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I decided to stop the chapter here before I became melodramatic. I could probably go on and on and on...

Side Note: In case there are errors in this chapter, please point them out to me, I might recheck over it later, but it's 2:00 am and I'm about to pass out in front of the screen, so later!