Little Kiku Drabble #5:: Cuddling in a blanket fort
He was exhausted – but right now he was panicking more thanwhen the surprise attack was announced. Kiku had requested to enter the battlefield? What was the child thinking? The boy had barely learned basic martial arts! Yao certainly was not about to let the boy experience the horrors of war.
He reigned his horse to a stop once he got back to the base camp and jumped off swiftly, searching for an official – not an officer. He had seen enough of those. After flitting his eyes back and forth a few times, he finally identified cotton and silk clothing among the makeshift tents. Quickly approaching the official, who has Kiku by his side, he widened his eyes in question.
"What is Kiku doing here?"
The official bowed before speaking.
"He insisted that he had an important message for you."
Yao furrowed his brow. An important message? Kiku wasn't one to lie. Yao nodded and gestured for Kiku to follow into Yao's tent – a little more comfortable than the others – many sheets and rugs used for the floor to make it bearable, as well as a writing table and a few chairs. An unused cot lay in the corner. Kiku stared at the bed.
"Kiku? What did you need to tell me?"
He looked down at his feet, playing with his fingers. Did he not want to tell Yao, now?
"Kiku…" Yao sighed, slightly exasperated. He wanted Kiku back to safety so that he could rest his mind and concentrate on the troops. He sat down in a chair and turned to face his little brother. "Kiku – why are you here?"
The boy bit his lip before whispering something barely audible. Yao shook his head.
"I can't hear you – speak up," he commanded, a hand reaching up to his temples to massage them – he was getting a headache. For a few moments, he heard nothing, and then a small whimper. He looked up to see his brother barely holding back tears. He messed up again, didn't he?
"Oh, Kiku – come here." He kneels down to the ground to bring the child into his arms, hushing and patting his back. It was the least he could repay for making the child so upset. Kiku tried to wipe away his tears with the back of his hand before continuing in a small, raw voice.
"You only come back once a month now, and Yong-Soo and I miss you so much. Every time you come home – you're hurt all over. Can't you stop fighting? We – we're so scared.
"Oh Kiku – if only you knew." Yao had practically threatened his generals in order to get those visits. But for his brothers, it wasn't enough. "I will fight as hard as I can so that I can come home again soon, alright?"
"No! Don't – stop fighting! I don't want anyone hurt anymore."
"Kiku… I have to fight, I don't have a choice."
"Why?"
"Oh – it's very hard to explain, Kiku. But I promise that you will understand one day."
"But – we need you home now."
"Kiku." Yao stood up and sat the boy down in a chair, and he himself sat down in his own chair. "I can't leave right now, because my soldiers need me to help them. But I will be able to come back home and stay home once the battle is over, alright?"
"When will the battle be over?"
"I don't know, Kiku, but I will try my best to make it as soon as possible."
"Next week?"
Yao laughed humourlessly. "I hope."
Alas, a week later, Yao's troops were able to drive the invading forces away, through some intense thought put into their strategy. And Yao, still recovering on the battlefield, sent a messenger ahead of him to alert his brothers that he would be returning home for good. After all, they had suffered long enough without his presence. When he was healed sufficiently to return, he was greeted with cheers and smiles from his brothers. As well as quite the surprise in his bedroom.
"Hey – what did you do to my room? It's a mess!"
"It's not a mess! It's a fort! Like the one we live in right now! It was Kiku's idea!"
Kiku tried to shush his younger brother, but to no avail.
"Kiku said it would be better for the hurt places on your body if we had soft stuff everywhere."
Kiku's hands crept up his face, and Yao could see his ears turning red.
"Yeah, and I thought it was a good idea, so we decided to put pillows and sheets everywhere so that you don't get hurt. We even made a tent for your bed so you will get better faster, because you always say that you have to stay in the hospital tent to get better! This is the same thing!"
Kiku started to back out of the room and Yao hooked his finger on Kiku's collar.
"Kiku? Is what Yong-Soo said true?"
Kiku nodded his head slowly, still hidden by his hands. Yong-Soo spoke up again.
"Can I sleep with you tonight in the fort? Because I miss you and Kiku doesn't like it when people are sleeping in the same room as him."
Yao rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to flick Yong-Soo on the head. Instead, he lifted the younger one into his arms and took Kiku by the hand.
"Both of you are going to sleep with me tonight. In this tent contraption of yours. How does that sound?"
Both his brothers agreed wholeheartedly. Yao knew that some of the sheets would be stained with blood after, but it didn't matter at that moment. Not at all.