After drifting off on Kaneki's couch, despite how hard he fought it, Tsukiyama was rudely awakened by scuffling and whimpering from the adjacent bedroom. As Tsukiyama listened, still half asleep, he was jerked into alertness by a shriek of pure terror of pain. The sound that Kaneki had somehow made in his sleep was more reminiscent of the animalistic callings of Yamata no Orochi than to any human noise.
Tsukiyama stumbled towards the bedroom, mindless to his disheveled state, and stumbled towards the bed in the dark, following the pained noises until his knees bumped into the mattress. He was able to make out the outline of Kaneki's body in the dim light, tangled in the sheets, twisting and turning with a pained look on his face. His eyes were half lidded, trapped somewhere between consciousness and a bad dream.
Tsukiyama reached out to wake him, not liking how the pained expression distorted his delicate features, only to be jerked down suddenly. The instant that Tsukiyama laid a hand on him, intending to wake Kaneki, he was yanked down by a limb with strength disproportionate to it's size. Tsukiyama was jerked onto the bed and Kaneki was perched above him, eyes wide and fearful, hand poised back, with his bruised black nails elongated into claws prepared to strike. In that moment Tsukiyama felt a pang of fear, at Kaneki's wide unfeeling eyes, before they began to soften.
They sat there for a moment, while Kaneki's grey eyes softened and gained lucidity, and his nails shrank back to their normal, blunt state. Tsukiyama could feel his body relax, as if tension was being released from a rope pulled taut. The slight body, too light for all the strength and power it displayed, sagged against him, before Kaneki dragged himself out of the bed and glanced around confusedly.
"Tsukiyama-San... What happened?" Asked Kaneki, an odd amount of apprehension in his voice.
"You don't remember?" Tsukiyama asked, curious as to how much Kaneki retained from the animalistic dragon form of Orochi. "You transformed into a large dragon, and Yomo-San, Uta-San and I subdued you. You collapsed from the venom of the spider yokai you fought, and we brought you here."
Kaneki glanced away, refusing to meet his eyes once he heard that. "Did I... Hurt anyone?" He seemed so scared and young in that instant, standing in the low light, hair mussed up and in his face, mottled purple under eye rings even more pronounced than usual, and misty grey eyes wide and scared.
"Non, non my friend. Just a scratch or two, easily healed using a sliver of our power." Tsukiyama said, purposefully omitting his still aching ribs. It was nice to see Kaneki making new faces, but worry and pain did not sit well on such beautiful features.
Kaneki sighed at this, and stood straighter, relieved. He then seemed to notice his state of dress, still wearing nothing but an oversized jacket and some bandages.
"Um, Tsukiyama-San, could you leave me alone for a moment?" He asked, glancing down at himself then away, cheeks flushed faint pink. Tsukiyama also noticed just how bare and simply gorgeous he looked, illuminated faintly by moonlight filtering through a window, and felt heat rush through his body. Tsukiyama was tempted to make a move right there, but recent events, and the exhaustion and soreness still weighting down his limbs dissuaded him. After one last lingering, hungry glance, he complied with the request.
"Very well Kaneki-kun. I will be nearbye should you need anything," now that the danger was passed, Tsukiyama felt that he was justified in the flirty smile he shot Kaneki on the way out the door. Kaneki, now his usual self, seemingly having recovered from the stressful day before, shot Tsukiyama a mild glare.
He exited his room a few minutes later, wearing loose sweatpants and a tank top that displayed impressively defined musculature in his arms and torso. Tsukiyama stared quite shamelessly, ignoring the slightly flustered glare he received in return.
Kaneki made his way to the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, "Tsukiyama-San would you like coffee? It's morning now, about five. I won't be sleeping again."
Tsukiyama couldn't help but wonder if that had less to do with the fact that it was morning, and more to do with the nightmares that he had been having. Perhaps those rings under his eyes were not simply due to the prodigious number of novels that Kaneki possessed.
"I would like some coffee, thank you." Tsukiyama said, returning to the couch and combing his hands through his disheveled hair, re tucking his shirt, and generally trying to make himself look less like he had passed out on a couch after getting in a fight.
When Kaneki returned with coffee, Tsukiyama was happy to drink it in companionable silence with him, while watching him subtly. It was stronger than most, though Kaneki drank it with no regard to his tongue, which was probably burnt at this point. Perhaps that was good, given Kaneki's despondent posture and hooded eyes, though his features were carefully blank, giving away nothing but a look of contemplation. The sun was rising, highlighting his pale complexion with rosy light.
Snapping out of his reverie, Kaneki turned to face Tsukiyama, setting his empty coffee cup on the table with a thunk, jarring in the early morning silence.
"Why didn't you follow my order and kill me then?" He asked abruptly, making Tsukiyama jump. The peace in the atmosphere was shattered by the piercing gaze that pinned Tsukiyama in place. "I was holding myself in human form for you. You should've done it. I probably would have recovered. I have advanced healing. I know that I hurt you, I can tell." Kaneki seemed relatively distressed, eyebrows creased in worry again. "My memory of when that happens is always fuzzy, but it's coming back slowly. I'm sorry for making you do this, but next time you can't hesitate." Kaneki said firmly, nails digging into his own palms.
Wordlessly, Tsukiyama stood, holding himself at full height, before striding around to stand directly in front of Kaneki, placing a finger under his pointed chin and tipping Kaneki's face up to him, drawing his eyes from where they were boring a hole in the rug. Tsukiyama then swept into an exaggerated bow, kneeling on the rug and taking a pale bony hand in his own. Kaneki's hand was bony and cold, stiff with tension and clenched in a fist. Tsukiyama massaged it until it relaxes open, and he pressed his closed lips to the sharp knuckles.
"You are my charge, my master, and I will never again disobey you. Is this satisfactory, Kaneki-kun?' He asked, maintaining his grip on Kaneki's hand, humid breath warming the cool skin. He glanced up, to need whose eyes set in flushed skin. Kaneki tugged his hand away and broke eye contact, seeming to be searching for a proper answer.
"... Yes. Tsukiyama-San, please get up. I appreciate your service." Tsukiyama rose, stepping back a little.
"I am your sword Kaneki-san. It is your right to use me as you wish." With one last coy smile, Tsukiyama swept towards the door, falling into a slight bow once more, before gliding gracefully out, calling a 'farewell ' over his shoulder as per usual.
Upon arriving at his own place of residence, Tsukiyama sat down, feeling the ache in his side more strongly. He found himself thinking of Kaneki, but not in the way that he normally did. Usually those that held Tsukiyama's fascination did so only in a physical sense, and indeed Tsukiyama did have fantasies of Kaneki flushed in early morning light, or backlit by moonlight in only his shirt, but now he found himself wondering how Kaneki slept, what sort of books he liked, and what exactly that nightmare had been about. Tsukiyama shook his head, wondering if the poor sleep was getting to him, and decided he needed a bath to decompress. His mind was not functioning as usual, and this was worrying. Kaneki Ken was a physical fascination. Nothing more, nothing less.
A/N: lol Tsukiyama is in denial. So yeah here's the aftermath of the fight, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you very much for reading, and please leave me comments criticized or suggestions. That would make me very happy.