What up, folks! Here I am! I didn't read over the older chapters, because I felt like I wanted to write another chapter, though I took my time with it... Oopsie!
The good news is, that I'm writing on the next chapter already, my ideas are flowing and that's good! So I hope, you don't have to wait too long for the next one ^^
Tayuya laid on a log and slept. She misused Yato's sleeping bag as a mattress. Her own sleeping bag served as a blanket. In addition, due to the extremely heavy and long-lasting rain, Yato put his cloak on top. Yato had gathered a pile of moss for a pillow and put the bag for the sleeping bag on it. Tayuya had been invalid with a severe fever for three days now, and slowly he was beginning to get seriously worried.
When Tayuya opened her eyes after a long sleep, she saw the campfire in front of her and behind it Yato, who was casually leaning against a tree and smoking a cigarette. He was standing there in just a black, fitted t-shirt. When she looked around a little, she noticed that he had thrown the coat over her as an extra blanket. The continuous rain didn't stop. Luckily Yato had stretched a tarp over them. If you didn't look at it too closely, it almost looked a little cozy. "Has it ever stopped raining since we've been here?", she asked.
Yato was a little torn from his thoughts by her. "Not a second!" he replied. First and foremost, young Ganan was worried about what might have happened to Asuma and Kurenai. Did they make it to the village safely? Could they have been mugged? If they did make it to the village, where is the medic squad he was hoping for. All in all, he was a little worried, but as always, he didn't show it. In Tayuya's condition, the last thing that would aid in her recovery was any additional worries or inner turmoil that leaked out.
"Aren't you cold?", she asked.
"Don't worry! How are you?", he asked caringly.
"Mostly better, but I'm not at 100 percent yet.", she said. "I think I'm fit enough to travel back though.", she suggested.
"I don't think so!", Yato objected. "With the weather and your still unstable state of health, that would be a daring deed, forget it! Otherwise, you'll get sick in a matter of a few meters again."
"And again, you know better! But because I'm not quite fit yet, I'll put a stop to it this time. Plus, it's cozy and warm under your coat!" she joked. "Are you really not cold? The thin shirt doesn't seem like it's holding you warm."
"While it's touching that you care about me, I'm fine!", he lied. Actually, it was uncomfortably cold with the rain and the climate.
"Didn't you ask for some medical squad? What's taking them so long though?", Tayuya was curious.
"I don't know...", Yato answered dryly. He didn't mention that he was worried about Asuma and Kurenai. Somehow I feel slightly weakened. My psyche has actually recovered and I was physically stable. What is wrong with me? He mused. "You should eat something to strengthen yourself. I think you'll be fit enough by tomorrow so that we can finally start our way home.", Yato planned. "There's still an apple in my backpack that I took with me from Konoha. If you clean it up a bit with the rainwater, that should give you a decent boost of vitamins."
"Yeah yeah...", Tayuya brushed off his kind. Something puzzled Tayuya. She had seen Yato shirtless several times before, but she had never paid close attention to his body. It was only now, at such a strange time, that she realized what an athletic build he had. The fitted black short-sleeved shirt emphasized everything very well. It wasn't that typical show-off body that boys compare themselves to. It was a well-defined, lean, athletic body. Has he always had such a perfect body, or has he been working out lately? She wondered. After noticing how long she was looking at his body, she pulled herself out of her thoughts once again: Oh man! I see… I can't be at 100 percent yet when I think of such nonsense! She smiled mischievously to herself and mentally shook her head.
Yato, on the other side, was also extremely thoughtful. On the one hand, he was worried about Tayuya's state of health, on the other hand, he was worried about the fact that the makeshift camp he had set up wasn't very well camouflaged and theoretically an enemy could appear at any time. He also couldn't forget about what Tayuya had said to him in the hospital. And as before, the uncertainty about the two Jōnin and the requested medsquad left him with an uneasy gut feeling.
"You're so oddly taciturn, what are you thinking about?", Tayuya remarked.
"About many things at the same time! But first and foremost, I want you to get well soon!", he replied. He has been struggling with a very bad headache since they have been in the camp. Actually, they drove him insane, but in order not to get Tayuya worried, he didn't make a face.
"Don't you want to share your thoughts with me?", she suggested.
"Not really!", he replied coolly.
"Why are you always acting mysterious?", she teased. However, she also noticed one thing: He seems so suspiciously distant today? Did something happen? The fact that Yato was trying to keep any worry from her, worried her more and more. But once again, there was that uncomfortably spooky moment where it seemed like one could hear the other's thoughts. Yato smiled warmly at her for the first time since they had been stranded in the rain.
"Don't worry. I'm not thinking about anything important!", he said.
"Bullshit!", she negated. "Maybe I'm a little weakened and maybe not the most empathetic, but I'm not stupid though! So, spit it out already! I can clearly see that something is bothering you!", she nailed him. Yato apparently couldn't help but answer her.
"Ever since Kakashi's speech at the hospital, I can't get out of my head what you have just said...", he said while sitting down next to her on the tree trunk and resting her head on his legs.
"You worry too much!", Tayuya tried to avoid a lengthy discussion. With success.
"Maybe you're right.", Yato relented. "Do you mind if I lie down? I've been up for almost three days straight now?", he asked.
"Why the hell were you up three days?"
"To take care of us. In your flu-like state, I couldn't have kept you safe if I'd slept myself!". he replied.
"You're so cute when you're worried!", Tayuya herself couldn't believe that she said something like that. To cover it up a bit, she made a funny face. "But of course, lie down!"
"Thank you!", Yato gave her the slightly thicker blanket and just covered himself with his own coat. The two switched positions: She sat down and grabbed some more of the remains of last day's food and Yato lay down and rested his head on her lap. It didn't take long for Yato to fall asleep. Tayuya couldn't explain it, but for some reason she felt her heart beating a little faster. Almost automatically, she slowly lowered her head, held her hair out of her face with one hand and… kissed his forehead. It was to be expected that he couldn't show a reaction. The feeling that then spread in Tayuya's chest was difficult to describe. My chest feels very strange... It felt nice to do that. Apparently, I can no longer deny a certain affection for this lovable git. But somehow this feeling in my chest also hurts. This mixture of pleasant and caustic is something I could puke of! She blushed a little, but not so much that you could see it from a few feet away.
"Hello?", an unfamiliar voice called. Tayuya was immediately on alert. Her expression became serious, and she turned to the direction of the voice. There were three masked people standing there.
They seem to be ANBU… She thought leery. "Who are you and what do you want?", she asked seriously.
"We're the Medic Team from Konoha!", replied the center female voice wearing a white fox mask. While answering, Tayuya gently slapped Yato's cheek to wake him up. "It was said that two shinobi from our village couldn't continue their journey home due to health issues!", the platoon leader explained.
"Why did it take you so long?", Tayuya asked grumpily. Yato was awake by now.
"We're sorry. We came as fast as we could, but the weather conditions didn't make it easy for us either.", answered the man to the right of the troop leader. He wore a white owl mask.
"Can we trust them?", Tayuya asked Yato.
"Yes, I recognize her voice!", he answered her. He straightened up and eyed the three medics.
"So what are the problems?", asked the leader and walked over to the two.
"She's had a bad flu the last few days and she still doesn't seem quite fit to me.", Yato explained. The fox mask wearer felt Tayuya's forehead once, then she felt her lymph nodes.
"Yes, you still seem to have a slightly elevated temperature, how fit do you feel?", the doctor asked.
"Actually, I'm as fit as a fiddle!", she replied energetically.
"That's nice, but you should still hold back a little.", while the leader took care of Tayuya's state of health, the third in the group began to take care of Yato. He wore a white bear mask. He did one chest and back pat down and did some general checks. "I'll give you a remedy that reduces the slightly elevated temperature, so that you're fit enough for the way back.", explained the troop leader for Tayuya and took out a package with small, green lozenges and gave her one.
"Hanate?", the man with the bear mask pointed out to his leader.
"What is it?", she replied.
"He appears to be severely hypothermic!", he explained. Tayuya looked at Yato, startled and outraged. He didn't look as if he was too much in pain, but she looked him deep in the eyes and for the first time could see how bad he was. Hanate walked over to him and examined him.
"And by the looks of it, he's been in this state for quite a while…", analyzed the leader of the healing squad. She sat him up and threw a warming blanket over his shoulders. "If you walk around in a tight shirt for several days in the cold, you shouldn't be surprised!", Hanate reproached.
"Your overprotectiveness will bring you to death one day!", Tayuya added. Yato's reserves were now exhausted. Ever since they set up the makeshift camp and Yato regained consciousness from the fight, he has constantly fought his physical urge to collapse. Now that he knows help is there, he no longer fought his discomfort. Because of this, he did not comment on the remarks made about himself. The medics then carried out rudimentary treatments. The man in the bear mask piggybacked Yato, who was barely able to stand, and the small group headed towards Konoha. Due to the easier weather conditions since the torrential rain subsided, they made it the same day. However, they reached Konoha in the dead of night.
"Master Tsunade is still awake awaiting your report and worried sick!", Hanate explained.
"The way he looks, he's not going anywhere to make a report!", said the red-haired Kunoichi.
"We should escort him to the hospital.", the man in the owl mask suggested.
"Absolutely not!", Yato protested.
"Yato, you can hardly stand anymore.", Tayuya commented worried.
"Don't worry about me! I will immediately go to bed at home and recover. Tayuya can you give the report for us?", he asked his teammate. An awkward silence fell over the five. Yato's behavior was somehow unusual.
"All right." Tayuya broke the silence. She made a head gesture to one of the ANBU to let someone secretly accompany him. The ANBU vanished and Yato handed Tayuya a fist for a fist bump.
"I'll see you at home then!", he said with a faint smile. Without comment, Tayuya bumped in. If she didn't know better, she'd think Yato was well into his 80s, shaky and weak as he kept his feet.
He'll never get home safely in that condition... She thought. So, the two parted as agreed and she stood relatively quickly in the Hokage's office, because she only wanted to make the report and then go to bed as well. She was infinitely exhausted and tired from the somewhat rushed journey home.
"I see you both arrived safely. That's good news! Where did you leave Yato?", Tsunade asked.
"After I was out of action for three days on the way back due to a heavy flu, it has now gotten to him too. And if I'm honest, I'm not 100 percent fit yet either.", she reported.
"Damned! That's something I hoped I wouldn't hear..." the Hokage got upset. "Unfortunately, I have an urgent follow-up mission for both of you, but I can probably forget that then.", she lamented quietly before raising her voice a moment later. Annoyed, she grabs her head and yells: "TOUGH LUCK!"
"I don't know how urgent the mission is, but if I can recover by noon tomorrow, I might be able to leave tomorrow late afternoon... Is it a difficult mission?", Tayuya asked.
xXx
Visibly struggling with his own ailments, Yato had almost made it to the door. However, he stopped in a rage and turned around: "You know... your spying skills are lousy!", he complained to seemingly nothing.
"Sorry. Neither troop leader Hanate nor your mate had any confidence that you would make it home safely in your condition.", a voice answered. Shortly thereafter, the man with the owl mask, who had previously taken care of the two with the Medic team in the forest, appears in front of Yato. "So can I assume that you can manage the rest of the way without me?", he asked.
"I didn't need help, so I don't need it now!", the young Ganan replied grumpily. The ANBU nods its head once in agreement and then disappeared. "That really annoys me!", Yato lamented. He walked the last few meters to the Ganan house and opened the small gated estate. With the last of his strength, he dragged himself up the stairs and into the bedroom before collapsing onto his bed like a wet sack and his vision began to fade.
xXx
After Tayuya had given her report about the course of the mission to Tsunade, she was now on her way to the mansion. As she turned onto the appropriate street, a wind picked up. Am I being followed? Tayuya was confident enough that she was never afraid in such situations, but this suspicious emptiness made her slightly uneasy. She made her next steps with sharpened sense perception. The wind died down. There was a brief rustle in a small ornamental bush by the wayside. Tayuya looked at it skeptically, but bit back any reaction. When she finally went through the door of the property and the front door as well, the uneasiness was gone again. She tried not to make too much noise going up the stairs since everyone was already asleep. When she got to the bedroom and saw Yato, a chill ran down her spine. He was breathing very heavily and was hunched over on the bed. She quickly scurried over to shake him. "Hey Yato, are you having a nightmare?", no matter how hard she shook him, he didn't wake up. Panic slowly swept over her. Suddenly the light in the room went on and Yato's grandmother was standing in the door.
"Don't worry, sweetie…", she soothed the upset redhead. "There's nothing you can do for him right now."
"Huh?", Tayuya was puzzled.
"When he's sick, it always hits him so hard." Yato's grandmother explained calmly. "An irrepressible power has slumbered within him since time immemorial. Early on, the suspicion that he was carrying a bijū stubbornly persisted. But actually, pretty much everything speaks against it."
"A power? A bijū?", Tayuya was confused. "If it's not the power of a bijū, then what is it?", she asked angrily.
"Well, my dear… Unfortunately, I don't know. Nobody really knows. What we do know is that this significant course of his flu is due to the fact that once he is infected, his immune strength weakens rapidly, which is probably related to this ominous power...", the grandmother continued to drill. After a moment of silence, the two looked at each other. "You can sleep downstairs on the living room couch, it's very comfortable," she suggested.
"No! I feel like it's kind of my fault that he got sick. That's why I'll stay with him.", Tayuya replied. After the two exchanged a few words with each other, Yato's grandmother left the room and went back up to her room through the lower living area. Tayuya lied down next to Yato, who was making hectic and slightly sideways rocking movements the whole time. Again and again, he made a pained face. Though Tayuya had grown accustomed to many things through her years with Orochimaru and numerous hunts for Nukenins with Yato. But she already noticed in the fight against Junyin that it was getting harder and harder to see Yato suffer. I can't fool myself anymore. Somehow this idiot got through to me... I hate to admit it, but I can't bear to see him suffer like that. She rolled onto her back and stared at the sloping roof, lost in thought. Is this the stage where you talk about having feelings for each other? Does he feel the same way? She laughed silently. What a stupid question! Haha. He's so stupid, if he had feelings he probably wouldn't even know. But as stupid as he's acting... Somehow, I don't believe that he feels the same way... So, I should get that out of my head real quick! With her right hand she gripped the sheet a little tighter. I should rest as much as possible, so I'm fit for this mission tomorrow! She finished her train of thought and let her eyelids droop.
xXx
The red-haired Kunoichi was up unusually early that morning. In her sleep she must have hugged Yato and remained in the big spoon position. Strange. She rated. However, she noticed that Yato was still asleep, but at least was calm. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen a little later and made herself some coffee. Yato's grandmother sat in the armchair and read through the morning newspaper. "Well, up so early? That's unusual for you morning grouch.", the old lady commented.
"I don't know either...!", she replied in her usual, morning-annoyed apathy. Completely unnoticed, a certain person snuck down the stairs with his hair completely disheveled and wrapped in a blanket.
Without looking at him, she greeted her grandson: "Well, who do we have here? How are you?!", she asked afterwards.
"Absolutely awful!", Yato replied, sniffling loudly. "But Tayuya's body heat seems to have calmed me down a bit during the night." Tayuya blushed and turned her head away so no one could see it.
"Well... Haha, is that so!", the redhead commented insecurely and strangely for her.
"Did Tsunade say anything yesterday?", Yato asked.
"Oh yes!", the blush suddenly disappeared from her face, and she was able to answer seriously. "She had a follow-up mission for us. However, since you are disabled, I will go on this mission alone. I still have the morning today to recover a bit before I set off.", she reported.
"Nonsense... I'll be fit again by this afternoon!", Yato intervened. Shortly after he started talking like that, he had a little coughing fit.
"A likely story!", Tayuya replied.
"You don't even know what's ahead of you! You will at least need a backup!"
"In your current state, I'll have to take care of you additionally!", she argued very logically. "You'll stay, you germ factory!" Yato couldn't really contradict Tayuya's rational description.
"You're right of course, sorry,", he corrected himself. "I'm just worried..."
"Now come on, don't shit yourself! This will be a pure reconnaissance and espionage mission, which should not last long. Tsunade said something like two days, I'll manage that without you." Meanwhile, during the conversation, Yato had prepared tea, which he drank while leaning against the kitchen counter.
"So, what's your plan now?", he asked.
"I'm going to do what you usually do. Read myself into a very long order and prepare. I was planning on leaving in about three hours."
"Would you like me to help you?", he offered.
"By Kami! Go to fucking bed and get the damn well, instead of constantly bugging me with your offers of help!", she became impulsive. Without further words, Yato leaves the living area towards the bedroom. Meanwhile, the somewhat upset redhead unpacks the Hokage's offer and threw herself into an armchair.
"I'll go to the market then. I wish you every success on your mission later on!", said Yato's grandmother.
"Thank you very much and have fun!", Tayuya wished her afterwards. She began to read her way into the assignment but noticed how quickly she got bored. Man! I already know why I always leave it up for Yato to do it! That's so dull! I'd rather have my ass pecked by a cactus than read mission instructions! How does he stand that? Instead of reading the bingo entry, she gets lost in thought. I could have a look at Sabakis. From there I could also march directly to the Hokage's office to start the mission. Yes, that sounds like a good idea! She puzzled out in her head. She went upstairs again to tell Yato what she intends to do. "Well, I'll stop by Sabaki's on the way to the Hokage and then I'll be off!", Yato lay in bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"All right, good luck and take care of yourself!", he wished her. When Tayuya arrived in front of the tailor shop, she heard from outside that a customer must have been upset.
"How's that even possible? The hem is said to be freshly sewn, but fringes right away on the first day? That's cheap quality!", yelled the outraged customer.
"How do I know what you did to the pants? If you don't know how to properly handle your clothes, the best tailoring in the world is of no use to you!", Sabaki defended herself.
"How can you say that? Weren't you taught any manners? 'The customer is king!' – have you ever heard of that?", asked the angry man. Tayuya stepped in and threw the purple cloth of the entrance aside and suddenly grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him slightly off the ground.
"But what I hear here is an asshole and not a customer!", Tayuya defended her friend. "The customer is king in the ass! Now watch out, you snooty hooligan, if you have a problem, you're welcome to address it in this store. But if you put on such a show again, I'll rip your ass so far that the feudal lord's carriage can turn in it, we understand each other!", she looked deeply into the man's eyes with a deadly glare. The man had to swallow loudly and nodded wordlessly. Then Tayuya lowered the man back to the ground.
"Well... It would be quite nice of you, if that will be corrected by tomorrow, Ma'am,", he argued sheepishly.
"You can pick up the suit trousers again in the morning! You will not incur any further costs as a gesture of goodwill.", Sabaki replied.
"Very nice, very nice! Thank you very much!", the man thanked and fled from the tailor shop. As soon as the man left, Sabaki charged at Tayuya from behind the counter.
"Hey, sweetiepie!", she called and hugged her from behind.
"Please! Don't call me that again, or I'll probably puke!", the redhead replied ironically. Both laughed out loud.
"How are you? I heard you two were on missions! How was it? And where did you leave our favorite idiot?", Sabaki asked.
"Oh he! He was a complete failure on this mission except for one crucial action and I had to save his ass! And then he just got sick!", complained Tayuya, who of course clearly described the situation in her favor.
"I can't imagine that Yato wouldn't be helpful on a mission. He's always so reliable.", the blonde dressmaker mused.
"Well, seems like nothing's impossible with him. Maybe you can stop by his place later, he'll be happy to have visitors.", the Kunoichi suggested with an inviting smile.
"How come? You're not with him?", Sabaki wondered.
"No. I have to go back to the Hokage's office in a moment. Immediately afterwards I got another mission, which I now have to deal with on my own due to Yato's actual state.", Tayuya explained.
"That rascal! But of course, I'll stop by after work!", Sabaki agreed.
"Cool! I'll be off then! I just wanted to drop by."
"Nice of you! Good luck!", Sabaki said goodbye. Just a few minutes later, Tayuya found herself in front of Tsunade's desk. The final details were clarified, but as usual for Tayuya, she was too lazy to listen properly and quickly annoyed, which is why she only processed a fraction of the information. On the way to the main gate of Konoha she greeted Izumo and Kotetsu and from then on, she was on her own.
Let's see... It takes half a day to get to the destination. So I should be there by tonight. However, it is risky to venture into unfamiliar territory at night, which is why I should set up camp for the night three quarters of the way. I don't have any equipment with me now. I don't know if the enemies have sensor ninjas with them, so it might be suspicious if I unleash chakra nearby... Means I'll have to build a little shelter. She mused. She spent the whole way mentally making a battle plan. I hope I'll find enough moss so I can get some sleep. When I think about it, I already wish for my bed. I can't even talk right now... As the setting sun turned the sky orange, it was time for Tayuya to stop and build her shelter. She spread branches and piled moss under a small ledge. It used to be perfectly normal for me when I was alone. Just when I needed a break from Sakon, Kidomarou, and Jiroubou, I let myself be sent on individual missions. She began to revel a little in the past as she laid thin logs into a rectangle and filled the center with her branches and moss. I've spent the last two years with Yato by my side and somehow, I've forgotten how to be alone... What is he probably thinking now? He's probably half dead in bed thinking about me, haha! she fantasized mischievously. He probably misses me! He has nothing left to snuggle up to at night hahaha! Without me the guy is so lost! A wide grin spread across her cheeks. She lay down in her makeshift bed and listened a little longer into the night. She wasn't particularly tired yet and the more time passed, the more she realized how alone she was. The background noise around her was also relatively low. From time to time the courtship call of a single tawny owl could be heard. "Fuck off! Damned! I can't stand it!", Tayuya roared into the night. "That stupid idiot, why did he have to get sick!", she cried out loud when she realized that she wasn't coping as well with being alone as she had thought. She was less afraid of anything. In fact, over the last few years she had gotten used to having someone by her side with whom she could talk about anything. And when she didn't want to talk, Yato was still good enough to get upset with him in her thoughts.
xXx
Yato lay in bed. Since he had noticed for a long time that he couldn't sleep, he took a non-fiction book from the bookshelf in the living room. It was a book that dealt with the teaching of Katon-Jutsu. He spent several hours absorbing the knowledge. As he read, he imitated, to a lesser extent, breathing techniques that were described or postures that could be imitated while seated. But even though he was engrossed in the non-fiction book, that background noise remained, as if something was missing. After several hours of intensive reading, he decided to put the book aside and let his thoughts wander. He usually did this with a cigarette on the roof. However, it was a cold night, and he was sick, so he decided to take the duvet up to the roof and wrap himself in it. But before he got down to business, he made himself a cup of tea, which he also took with him onto the roof. In the radiant light of the full moon, he looked out over the streets of Konoha in his field of vision. He sat there, knees up and had the blanket draped over his shoulder. He was holding his tea in his right hand, with his ring and middle fingers through the handle, gripping the cup in his hand while puffing on his cigarette now and then with the other hand. He gazed dreamily into the night and wondered how his significant other was doing. Has she arrived yet? Is she fighting? I am sure that she will do well. I can hardly think of anyone who could defeat her in her current form. But what if she meets a member of the Akatsuki? Strong as she undoubtedly is, I don't think, that she would consider tactically retreating from a fight... She'd rather fight if she had cut off arms and legs... She'd still fouly rage over her enemy with freshly invented insults… And I'm stuck here... What a bummer! If only I could at least sleep...
