Chapter 2

"You look pissed," Yukimura noted.

"That little," he grumbled, "I finally managed to talk to him and he didn't even give me the courtesy of answer."

"Maybe he needs time to think about it."

"He could have said that," he snapped

"Or, he could just not want to be a part of the Takada."

"He still, could have said..."

"We've been over this before," Yukimura rolled his eyes; "He's a silent mercenary for a reason. You're lucky he even let you talk to him. Now please, can you stop going on about him for two minutes."

"Look who's talking," Sasuke smirked. He let the subject drop when he saw the confused look on the tiger cubs face.

"I might head back to Oshu in a few days. It's been ages since I've been able to fight Masamune-dono, and I think I'm finally strong enough to beat him."

"What will you do if you do?"

"Huh?"

"Once you reach that goal what will you do. Takada owns half the land and the Data owns the other. After you defeat him there will be nothing left. What will you do?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about that a lot. I have to defeat him for the Takada so we can finally take over, but I do like just hanging out with him as a friend. I have a doubt that he'll want to still be friends with the person who's killed his dream."

"Everyone wants to take over the land of the rising sun. You'll be killing a lot of peoples dream."

"I know but before, when we were talking he said that he wanted to take over to show his dad that he didn't shame his family name because of his eye, and to show his mother that she was wrong. He has such ambition that I cannot..."

"Yukimura."

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever think that...never mind," he hopped into a high tree branch, "I need to report back to Shingen and then I have some errands to run but I should be back before night fall."

"Fuma related errands?" Yukimura teased.

Sasuke rolled his eyes not deeming the question with a response.

It was three more days until he saw Fuma again. Surprisingly enough it was on his day off. It's must of been Fuma's as well because the man was sitting by a tree covered in birds. He couldn't help but smile softly when he saw the other man grinning as he held a tiny sparrow in his hand.

Sasuke approached slowly so he wouldn't scare the birds away. He sat down next to him. The other ninja didn't pay him any attention.

"What do you feed them to keep them around you like this," Sasuke was more so mussing to himself knowing Fuma wouldn't answer.

"I don't feed them. They do it themselves," came a quiet voice.

Sasuke smiled. Fuma was opening up him, "That's kind of cool."

Fuma put one of the birds on Sasuke's knee, "You could say that."

He wasn't shocked by the quiet that over took them. Fuma probably wasn't even supposed to be talking to him. He scotched a bit closer to be in his personal space. He was trying to see past the mop of hair that Fuma kept covering most of his face.

Fuma turned to him and gave him a small smile a light blush covering his cheeks. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. He could tell that the other man was beautiful. He quickly chided himself for thinking that. Ninja's weren't allowed to have relationships together so that they wouldn't be distracted on the field.

"I thought about your proposal," Fuma said. They were still close, causing Fuma's breath to fan his neck.

"Really," he said shakily.

"Yes, I might stick around for a while. That doesn't mean I'm going to be working for you. I do things on my own accord. I will, however, not attack Kai as long as I am here."

"That's great," Sasuke nodded, "I don't think the Tiger of Kai will give you a room for free if you're not working for him, but I have a spare room."

"Thanks, I've been having a hard time finding a stable place to stay since the Hojo was destroyed."

Sasuke couldn't help but feel guilty at the mention of the fallen clan. The Takada had been celebrating their victory as Fuma mourned the loss of his loved one's.

Things didn't change much once Fuma moved in. If he moved in. He couldn't really tell if and when he was around. Again, probably because of his upbringing as a silent mercenary. He wasn't supposed to be seen or heard. It must have been a pretty lonely existence not being allowed to let anyone beside your employer know that you were alive.

Sasuke shook his head, he was glad that the Sanada's had very loose protocol for their ninjas.

Now he'd changed shifts with some of the other ninjas in charge of watching the boarder and was sitting at home, finally able to call it a night. He just sat down on his couch with some left overs that he found when the door burst open. He immediately dropped his food moving stealthily and quickly to the front door to see who it was.

Oddly enough, it was Fuma who was causing all the noise. The other ninja was using objects around the room to hold himself up. From head to toe he was covered with blood and smearing it over everything he came into contact with.

Sasuke rushed to his side helping to support him, "What happened?" he asked, all but dragging the man through the house until he could deposit him on the couch. He pulled out the first aid kit and started to clean the blood off of Fuma. Most of his injuries were just small cuts on his arms. The only thing he seemed to be suffering from was lack of sleep.

He started to peal of pieces of armor, proving his previous thoughts. He hulled the man up once again making his way to the bathroom so the proses could be easier. He stripped him down, even taking the time to remove the helmet. I wasn't' as easy as it sounded. On more than once occasion he had to avoid a trap that Fuma had set up on his person.

He filled the tub with enough water to clean the other man before setting him down in it and whipping away all the blood. There was still no sign of injury meaning that Fuma probably just over worked himself. Just to be safe, Sasuke checked the small scratches to make sure they weren't poisoned. They weren't but it is better to be safe than sorry.

He took a wash cloth and started to remove the face paint. He moved to clean the dirt out of his hair but hesitated. Fuma's hair was the only thing that kept his face hidden from the world one his helmet was off. Then again, he was all but passed out at this point, so it should be okay. He worked out the clumps of dirt in his hair. He moved Fuma's bangs out of his face trying to contain his excitement.

Fuma face was completely at ease, his heavy lashes fluttering lightly in his sleep. Sasuke ignored it went back to work. Eventually, he toweled him off dressing him in a sleeping kimono. He laid him down gently