Language: English is not my first language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke or any of its characters.

Chapter 4

After a tasteless breakfast, what caused Taiga to almost explode again since Daiki wouldn't let him use his spices on it in played fear he would poison him, they both now were on their way through the jungle.

Daiki had decided to take Taiga with him. His reasoning sounded in his own ears like a lie, but the redhead, after a lot of threats and more cursing at his person, eventually gave in when Daiki pointed the guys spear at him and barked not so friendly words.

Now Taiga was walking in front. His remonstrance piped down after a while and he now saved his breath for the strenuous way.

Daiki had shouldered the basket and steadily held the redheads spear in hand. He thought that he didn't really needed it, but surely was safe.

They had another tasteless meal, this time in silence, when the sun rose to its highest and the humidity weighed heavy on both males.

For Daiki there was another horrid torture beside the heavy air. Walking and only watching how little beads of sweat left rivulets down that sunkissed broad back in front of him and eventually were absorbed in the thin brown loincloth, making it even tighter over the well formed ass. He saw how those beautiful muscled legs stretched with every step. He had removed the leather ties when they stepped into the jungle and now those well defined arms could push fern and other bushes out of their way. It was torture, a delicious kind of it. He licked his lips and groaned inwardly, as he adjusted his own clothes new over his incipient hard one.

First he didn't notice that somehow the jungle had gone quiet. No bird sang and no hum was heard. He stopped in his tracks and listened. Something was wrong here. He looked at the redhead who still was walking steadily forward and opened his mouth to call him back.

But it was already too late.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a huge shadow flying in Taigas direction. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Daiki screamed and threw his basket away, as he sprinted over to the redhead who had turned at the noises behind him.

He afterwards didn't knew, how he had managed to get in between the sharp panther claws and the hotheaded idiot. But a crude, burning, gut wrecking pain shot over his back and made him, as impossible as it sounds, smile as he lost his consciousness.

Taiga screamed as he catched Daiki's lifeless body. Shock shot through his own. But he had no time. The predator was already in position to bounce at him again. Without thinking he grabbed the spear, what somehow was lying at his feet and drilled the blunt end into the ground.

Not a second too late.

A huge black body came flying and the impact of the heavy cat almost broke the spear, as it rammed deep into the predators heart.

Taiga crawled backwards, dragging Daiki with him, as he watched how the light vanished from the panthers eyes.

A fire was burning, heating the small space and shielded the two man from the heavy cold rain outside. Taiga carefully removed the bandages over the deep scratches on Daiki's back and dabbed with a water drenched clothes over it, before he applied more of his healing salve. He put the little wood yar down and wrapped it up again. Four days had gone by since the attack of the panther and the blue-haired male hadn't once regained consciousness. Taiga was at his wits end. He didn't know what he could do more. All his wisdom about plants and how to use them seemed in vain.

He put the wood potty to the side and crawled under the two fur blankets, which were covering the still feverish man. He laid to his side and gently brushed a few strands of midnight blue hair out of the guys face, but no reaction was shown. He sighed, squirmed closer and loosely draped an arm around the taller mans waist. Maybe if he felt another beings present, he would wake up soon.

A few hours later he gave him again antipyretic tea and fell into a fitful sleep. Green cat eyes were watching him, followed him everywhere no matter how far he ran. He had that dream a few times in the past days and it always ended in the same way. Daiki was standing in front of him smiling, while the predator slowly but surely circled them closer and closer. Taiga screamed at the bluenette to run away, but Daiki only smiled and then the panther was there. Biting through the cords of the tanned mans neck, driving his sharp claws deep into the flesh of his sides while broken blue eyes accusingly looked at him. He always woke up with a loud scream. His body drenched in sticky cold sweat.

Today had no difference.

After only thirty minutes of sleep, Taiga stood up again and walked over to the little water spring in the back of the small cavern. He splashed his face with the cold liquid and put his hands against the rough stone wall. He just stood there and stared into nothing. His mind wandered four days back, when he had dragged Daiki to this little hide out. He had inspected the deep wounds at his back and didn't knew if the other would life or die. And there, for a short, very short moment it crossed his mind.

'Leave him here and run home.'

He clenched his eyes and his sorrowful face twisted into a grimace. He knew why he had that dream. He knew that, for a very short moment, he was coaxed to leave the bluenette for him to die here. And it gnawed at him, ripping his soul apart. He never was a coward and certainly he would never leave an injured behind. He had thought that until that one particular moment. And he knew, that if Daiki wouldn't wake up, he could never forgive himself.

Taiga swept the remaining drops of water from his eyes and turned around. He no longer wanted to sleep and have that nightmare returned. Instead he once more controlled Daiki's temperature, maybe he hallucinated but he thought that it was not as high anymore.

He took a smaller knife and wandered outside to get more herbs for the healing tea and some roots, that he could put into the fish soup, what he had planned for later.

Taiga was humming when he came back to the small cave. He had found strawberries and hoped that Daiki could taste their sweetness. Provided that he finally would wake up. When he set foot into the small space, he instantly had the feeling that someone was watching him. He raised his red orbs and the small punnet, he was holding, fell to the ground. Without his consent his eyes filled with water, as he rushed to the tanned males site, who already was sitting up and leaned heavy against the cold stone.

"Oh my god. You shouldn't have gotten up." Taiga fawned his hands over the tall body, but didn't touch him of fear to hurt him more. Even under the tanned skin, he could see how pale the bluenette was out of overexertion when he had sat up.

"I'm fine. I can't lie anymore. Everything hurts.", The bluenette said tired.

"Uhm … ok, but don't move around too much and don't lean against your wound. It's deep and I don't want that it reopens. It was enough to deal with until I had the dirt out of it and you lost a lot of blood. So sit still and don't move." Taiga ranted on while gathered the things he had dropped.

Daiki chuckled, but instantly cursed as a burning pain shot over his back. When he could breathe normally again, he meet red anxious eyes. "You should decide if you are worried about me or want to rant. Because you are funny, if you do both at the same time and I can't laugh."

Taiga shot to his feet, "I'm not worried about you, fool. Just … ", he bit his lip and a faint red creeped up his cheekbones, while he averted his eyes. He still felt guilty and that eventually overweight everything else at the moment. So, he spun on his heels, left the sentence unfinished and began to prepare their food.

Daiki watched him in silence, as the redhead cut the ingredients and put everything, including spices from his bag, into the leather cooking pot. Once he was done, he sat down beside Daiki and held out a wooden spoon to him. "Eat that. You should be starving by now."

The bluenettes eyes never left the redheads face. "How long was I gone?"

"Four days and now eat, you fool. You need your strength to heal."

Taiga felt kind of uncomfortable under the prying eyes of the tanned man. Heat was building in his stomach and he could swear that a blush formed on his face again.

"I thought you wouldn't wake up anymore.", he shakily whispered, eyes fixed on the bowl in his hand.

Suddenly a large warm hand cupped his face and brought it up. He thought the midnight orbs could watch to the depths of his soul.

"Hey, I'm here. I'm strong. Don't worry so much." Daiki said with a soft voice, feelings bleeding into his beautiful eyes.

Taiga sharply drew air through his teeth. What he saw in the taller mans eyes made his belly produce butterflies. He lowered his head and pushed the bowl into Daiki's hands. "Eat before it gets cold." He then stood up and walked over to the fire, to stir around in the leftover soup.

His heart was hammering a mile per second and he was overly aware of the gaze on his back.

"Uhm … I will go outside, if you need something call me." He needed to get fresh air and clear his head.

"Hee~ no feeding the wounded? What a shame." A lopsided grin was shot at Taiga as he marched out of the cave. 'God, what is this guy doing to my heart?!'

TBC