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Dyed peach hair with brown roots visible. Untied, it reaches the end of his neck in a private, calm scene. Yeyasu lays next to the man he wants to call his lover, his partner, but all of that comes with excesses of blood and complications. There's a dragon tail wrapped around his waist, and he sees a droplet of blood coming from Fuji's lips as a result of it.
Compelled, the shogun kisses the man, tongue grazing his lips and tasting the iron in the demon's blood. He doesn't expect the tail around his waist to tighten its grip and to feel Fuji's tongue entwine with his. He shrieks, high-pitched like a freshly steamed kettle with skin feeling just as hot. Fuji frowns as more blood dribbles from his mouth, endeared by Yeyasu's usual skittish nature. He'd feel more endeared had the kiss not ended so abruptly, but instead he chokes out,
"What the hell are you doing to me while I'm sleeping, Shogun Stupid?"
His heart spills out blood with every thinly veiled lie, and it's charming yet so very frustrating to translate every harsh statement into one of love when everything about them is unexplored and new. Yeyasu responds with a cracking voice as suavely as he can,
"You were calling mE--ahem, something different just a few hours ago. A few smooches ago I was your Shogun Slu--"
Fuji shoots up and throws his hand over Yeyasu's mouth, embarrassment plain on his face.
"Answer the damn question, Yeyasu," and his tone is rough, hard, and murderous. It scares Yeyasu, but a lot of what scares Yeyasu about Fuji is equally arousing these days. Especially since he knows by the red on Fuji's cheeks that he doesn't mean any ill-will. Still, like a coward possessed, he answers immediately,
"EEP! I don't know! I saw blood come out and I-- I don't know! I wasn't thinking!"
"Yeah, big surprise there."
"Hey!"
Indignant and emboldened against the man who is and isn't his boyfriend, Yeyasu pushes Fuji back against the sheets of Fuji's bed. A bed that Fuji himself requested against Pirilika's insistence on a futon, not wanting to give her any satisfaction in having Fuij's bedroom be Hinomoto-style. The lights are dim in his personalized and permanent guest room on her ship. To his chagrin, his permanent ownership of the room sticks no matter how often he emphasizes the guest aspect.
Flesh comes into contact with flesh as Yeyasu sits atop Fuji's stomach, causing the bigger man to grunt. His hands feel Fuji's demonic markings, as Fuji's begin slowly caressing his hips. Coarser than the samurai's already rough skin, the righteous anger leaves Yeyasu's fingertips as he absently takes in all of the man who changed his life. Their eyes meet and Fuji coughs up blood, pained laugh cutting through the bloody vomit. He heaves,
"If you're gonna be pissed at me, then at least stay mad and do your worst, you shitty shogun," Fuji tries to chuckle, but blood begins to pool on his chest and Yeyasu's palms. It's been their arrangement thus far: Fuji's half-lidded glance after a mission, rough sex that Yeyasu has to translate into something more, pillow talk ensues, the empathy curse begins to rack Fuji's body, Yeyasu leaves, and the cycle resets.
It's love, Yeyasu wants to think. He's gone so far emotionally and physically, wants to go farther still, with Fuji. But he's died once because of his curse and no one is willing to risk a second chance.
Yeyasu wants to at least give his samurai, his flame, his hero, a kiss goodbye, but he can't even do that much. Always prone to tears, he wipes his eyes with his palms and swiftly gets dressed in silence. He's sure some of Fuji's blood is on his face. It's shameful to be marked with blood by a man who can't claim him. Fuji chases him naked, but he swiftly begins coughing.
"Yeyasu, wait- ple--"
And his heart spills out, but the words Yeyasu needs to hear don't spill out along with it. He wears a miserable grin as he allows bravado to take over,
"It's alright, Fuji. I'm the shogun! I don't want my main man dying over me! Y'know I'm not worth all that! I'll catch you later, okay? You know where you can find your Shogun Slut anytime!"
"Don't fuckin-- fucking call YOURSELF that--," but the gruff man chokes on his words. Yeyasu starts to think he always will. He closes the door, but the coughing doesn't subside as Fuji thrashes about in pain and anger.
Uneventfully, Yeyasu finally treats Pirilika to sushi. In pure bliss, she eats much as Higan would on her best day.
"Thank you soooo much, Yeyasu! You're my savior!"
With the ego boost he needed, Yeyasu chortles,
"Hyaahyahya, anything for one of my favorite cuties!"
It's a common place nickname by now, with no interest behind it. Pirilika accepts it happily, in the same way she accepts Fuji's dishonest insults. Prone to saying things they don't mean. Yeyasu wonders if that's why they're in the situation they're in now. She continues,
"Now I just have to try Sowba, then we can bring out the real list! Gnomes don't roll in the hay!"
Yeyasu chokes on sake, burning his throat. Ungracefully as ever, he says with snot running down his face,
"It's 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. Fuji already corrected that one for you. And how long is the whole list for that to apply!?"
Pirilika gleefully takes out her Netherphone and blips the list over to Yeyasu. She goes back to her meal as the young shogun mourns his wealth and his time scrolling through Pirilika's so-called "Business and Fun: Superduper Netherworld Wide Hinomoto Girls !!" list. The woman across from him beams,
"Pleaseeee show me around, Yeyasu! You, me, Ao, and Fuji can finally sightsee!"
Yeyasu shrieks, particularly at the mention of relaxation and Fuji, "I'M THE SHOGUN!!! IT'S MY JOB TO NOT RELAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Right, right. You know, Yeyasu, I totally forget sometimes! It's always so hard to meet up these days because of everyone else. It slips my mind that we only see you so much because the ship is just outside Ewwdo Castle," Pirilika sighs.
Higan spends her time in the Carnage Dimension while Ceefore cheerfully travels between Celestia and the Netherworlds with several important duties from the archangel. Suisen gets closer to Yeyasu everyday, but his sense of duty never has blank spots like his memories, so he often refuses anything but the most important of missions. Pirilika chatters, but he doesn't register any of the words.
He worries if his brother will ever fully and singularly exist as Ikki again. He worries if Fuji will choose to abandon him, refuse to see him because of whatever reason, if all of his friends will do the same, if his people will soon reject his bravado and shaky leadership.
He groans at the thought of the frayed connections within his life as he puts his head in hands. The distraught young demon feels a tap against his legs, raising his forlorn gaze to meet Pirilika's worrisome eyes. Blue, unassuming, forgiving. He's neglecting one of the few relationships that isn't frayed and disconnected in his life. He smirks,
"Sorry, Pirilika. I'm still listening," he reassures. Pirilika grabs his hand, gently squeezing it. It's almost surprising that she isn't a natural born angel. She has no home waiting for her in Celestia, but Yeyasu has a place in her home with his name on it. He starts sniffling, pitifully and pathetically. Pirilika laughs, accustomed to Yeyasu's frequent and unpredictable waterworks.
"Maybe you need to make it your job to relax! You have retainers again to help you out just like Pii-chan was helping manage the company while we saved Hinomoto!"
"It has to be me, Pirilika. I gave my word that I'd be there!"
"And you have been, so now it's time take a little break! Shogun's orders! I even bet Fuji would agree! He'd say, 'Oh my dearest friend, Yeyasu...you need to let your pear go to town!'
Yeyasu gently reclaims his hands from Pirilika's palms as he leans back and crosses his arms. With a pout and a pointed upper lip, he sullenly mutters,
"It's 'let your hair down'. And he wouldn't call me his dearest friend." He wishes he would.
Pirilika's eyebrows furrow in confusion. She taps her chin with her finger,
"But you two have been spending so much time together...I'm sure he'd choke it out for you if you asked! He's gotten a lot better about it."
Yeyasu yelps in pure frustration, knowing the disaster that would strike if Pirilika knew about their dubious relationship. He manages to articulate while flailing about,
"It's not fair! How come you can look past all that empathy curse shit and I can't! He wouldn't choke it out if I asked! I know he cares but I need to hear it sometimes! I'm not the brightest acorn on the tree! He's gotta rush after ME when I'm leaving...his. Uh," Yeyasu wishes to say the word "room", but Pirilika's face denies that wish and crushes it between her scrutinizing expression. It's not a fatal scrutiny, but it's one he knows will be painful, irksome, and most importantly, irritating. The CEO inquires,
"His?"
"His um. Rrrr. Arrr. Heart. His heart..." Yeyasu gags, but he crash lands on the word "heart". He would need no brain to know by instinct he's picked the option leading to his death. The CEO parrots,
"His heart?"
"Yeah. When I leave his heart. He. He should rush after me when I leave his heart. Since I'm a catch," Yeyasu spews the statement forcefully. His tongue has about the same texture as sandpaper, and his teeth gravel.
"A catch?"
"Uh-hyaahyaahyaa, that's right!" The shogun declares this with a madman's determination through the tears and snot that paint his face. Pirilika, with an unchanged expression, passes him a handkerchief. Gratefully but far from gracefully, he accepts it.
"Is there...Do you like Fuji, Yeyasu?"
In lieu of, "I've swallowed his cum more than a few times", Yeyasu states through gritted fangs, "It's a bit more than that."
"Wow! I knew you two had known each other before but I didn't know you felt like this for that long! I can't believe your childhood crush on him never went away!" Pirilika crafts a past that, unusually, hits the mark. Yeyasu looks to the side, perturbed thinking about how much Fuji's grown, and how much he's grown. They're endlessly at the same point in time. Children who met by chance crashing into each other, burdened by legacies far beyond them.
"It's not that one-sided, y'know..." Yeyasu huffs. Yeyasu's sure it was when they were kids, but he's caught Fuji's eye now. He hopes.
"Then you both felt the same as kids, but he rejected you already because he didn't feel the same anymore!?"
"Why the hell am I the heartbroken one in both cases!?"
Pirilika tilts her head, sunglasses falling onto the bridge of her nose, "Are you not the heartbroken one right now...?"
The question strikes Yeyasu in the chest like a hammer, but he speaks through a bruised heart,
"Yeah, but put some weight on the Shogun's name, lady! I'm a catch! I meant that! Kind of. That's not the point!!!!! Back ME up here too!"
"Okay, okay, sorry! So it's not one-sided? And he didn't reject you... Are you like...oh no! You met when you were kids, but Shogun Gachiyasu forbid you from colluding with the brutish Mugai's demon spawn...! It wasn't until you both overcame your pasts that you could be together, but it's been COMPLICATED by the fact that YOU have a LOVE curse...! Yeyasu, why didn't you tell me!? You and Fuji are scar-tossed lovers!"
The peach-haired Shogun screams.
"It's STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, and I do not have a love curse on me!"
"Then what's the big problem, Yeyasu?"
"I told you. I can't just brush it off when he doesn't tell me how he really feels like you can. I hate that I have to know he cares about me by him puking blood rather than him just saying it! And how he never really tries to overcome it and how I never want him to because it hurts him! I love him! I want him to pick me up and yell to everyone that he loves me too!"
Yeyasu heaves the statement out like he's the one puking up blood. Pirilika gasps as if the blood pools on the table between them, stagnant and vile. His emotions, stagnant and vile, stray further and further from noble. He clicks his tongue.
"We just have sex, Pirilika. That's all it is. It's fine as it is. I'm good enough for that. We're demons, after all."
"I won't accept that! Just because we're demons doesn't mean anything! My mom and dad are still head over heels for each other! You and Fuji just have to be...well I guess Fuji can't be that honest...You have to break the curse with the power of love, Yeyasu!"
"Break the curse?"
"I don't think I could bring Fuji back to life again with the infernal bow. So, just break the curse instead!"
"You want me to break the empathy curse with love."
"Yes!"
"Which would be one of the greatest acts of empathy I could do as his...his this and that."
"Well, yes. In a way!"
"Are you CRAZY!?"
"You have to bite while the tire is in the lot, Yasuyasu!" It's an uncommon nickname, but it warms Yeyasu's heart. He knows why she's using it and he appreciates her comfort. But a more pressing matter weighs on him so he responds,
" It's 'strike while the iron is hot', and how exactly would you expect me to do that, huh!?"
Pirilika wears her shades like she were an oracle scrying with a crystal ball. She announces, "Obviously, because of your past together, you have to combine your powers like you would your hearts! From children to adults having overcome a grand journey together, now you have to use the powers you gained on that journey to save each other! When you combine your total command with Fuji's ability to cut through anything, you can finally fix everything by having your beloved put his absolute trust in you! Order him to cut through his curse!"
Pirilika claps her hands together just as Yeyasu slams his against the table in complete and utter awe. She yelps at the same time as he does, another facet of spending so much time together. He places HL on the table and runs out of the restaurant with Pirilika, his tears torrential.
"You're a goddamn genius! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" He hugs her with unfettered fervor and she gladly returns the celebratory hug, ecstatic more so about the fact that she'll get to tour Hinomoto properly with her best friends soon.
"All you have to do is put one suit in front of the other, Yeyasu!"
The young shogun shouts his agreement to the open air without correction or care, "One fucking suit in front of the other!"
The suits in question, the scorned demon realizes, are hard to put forth. He tries to take the first step the next time they're together, right after an arduous item world excursion. However, there's cuts and scrapes on Fuji and his muscles are taut as he strides over to the much leaner shogun. He smells sweaty and, perhaps, Yeyasu thinks that's an incredible scent on Fuji. Yeyasu fruitlessly squeaks out,
"Hey. I need you." His brain conveniently forgets the parts of his prepared statement about the necessity of communication and talking to Fuji. A practiced hand slips under several layers onto Yeyasu's waist as Fuji's draconic tail wraps around his thigh. Any hope of a conversation is slaughtered in favor of Fuji's prepared physical apology. Fuji whispers, husky and dangerous,
"Well, Shogun? You got me."
The shuffle back to Fuji's room is swift, Yeyasu remembers. Fuji coughs up no blood that night, as Yeyasu leaves with shaky legs promptly afterwards, excusing himself by way of his shogunate duties. The physical apology that Fuji gave was cyclical, particularly enlightening, and immensely hot. Yeyasu realizes he won't be able to best the samurai just by putting one foot in front of the other, so he does the next best thing.
He avoids all calls from Pirilika and Fuji under the guise of his shogunate duties. He briefly acknowledges how unfortunate that his public service should be an escape route for him at this moment. However, the other choice is getting involved in deliriously nasty sex with Fuji that makes him feel dismal afterward. It makes him wonder if he should break their relationship off for good if this is a glimpse at longevity.
He chooses to serve his people gleefully and regretfully, not willing to dwell on it much longer. Suisen is visibly glad to have Yeyasu frequenting the castle again, so the days go by without much resistance from the shogun. Yeyasu, in all of his turmoil, finds solace in the fact that Suisen's emotions are growing more visible even through circuits, wires, and countless other souls.
Fuji's coughs have been echoing around the Yoshitsuna for days. This doesn't escape anyone's notice and most would normally be willing to interrogate him. This particular series of fits comes alongside Fuji's incredibly overbearing aura of rage, so no one besides his beloved daughter dares to break the barrier. Idly over dessert, Ao questions her dad,
"Why're you coughing so much lately, dad? Are you okay?"
Fuji hacks and wheezes at his daughter's innocent care. He tiptoes around the truth, unwilling to test the waters with what he's been trying to break to Ao for months at this point,
"I don't know, kid. My curse is acting up in weird ways lately."
"Are you lying?"
"No! No, no. It's just. It's complicated, Ao. I promise I'll be fine in a little bit," and blood accentuates his promise to illustrate that he means it sincerely at the very least. Ao's sure he's hiding something, but she isn't sure how to make him uncover it. Pirilika barges into the scene, chiming both of their names,
"Fuji! Ao! I've finally got some free time!!"
Fuji grunts, "And what the hell are we supposed to do about that, Pirsillyka?"
"Oh come on, Fuji! You're my bodyguard! My bestieguard, even! It's your job to be attached to my dip!"
"It's 'joined at the the hip', clown. And fine, since you're paying me, what are we doing today?"
Ao interrupts the banter like a gunshot ringing through the night,
"Pirilly, do you know why dad's been coughing so much?"
Pirilika, ever the open book, puckers her lips in a way that exposes at least partial knowledge of the situation. Fuji gapes, astonished and angered that Pirilika may know anything more than what he's told her. The two exchange an eye contact based conversation that's come with being near each other nearly 24/7 since they met. It's fraught with insults and denials, resulting in Fuji growling as he rises from his seat,
"Piriko..."
"I didn't even say anything!"
"You're making that stupid face so don't even try to weasel your way of out this!"
Fuji clenches one fist, and uses the other one to pat Ao's head. He speaks to his daughter in his most paternal voice as soothingly as he can from a bloody throat,
"Hey, baby girl. Pirsillyka and I are gonna have a short run together. Go play with Pii-chan, okay?"
"OK, dad!!" Ao hugs Fuji before running off to bother Pirilika's dear uncle-cum-manager. Fuji's glare pierces Pirilika as he stomps towards her,
"Speak up or die."
Sounding very much like Yeyasu, Pirilika squeaks, "Eep! Why am I being threatened!?"
"What do you know."
"Um...Yeyasu..." Fuji's hand grips Pirilika's shoulder, and Pirilika immediately knows to stop talking.
"Not a word, and I mean a word, about this to Ao."
"Yessir!" is Pirilika's response, as if Fuji is her boss.
"Good. Now let's go do whatever it is you wanted to do. Ask whatever stupid questions you have before you get on my nerves," and as usual, blood dribbles from his mouth as he says this. This indication is enough for Pirilika, his best friend, but he acknowledges it isn't enough for someone he'd like to call more than that. It's loathsome how much the past continues to haunt him and blockade the future.
The day is, yet again, uneventful; Pirilika shops and tries some matcha she's never had as she skillfully avoids the topic at hand despite being given free range to probe for once. He's grateful, if not a little disappointed, that his attempt to open up a little wasn't pursued. Or so he thinks. Pirilika's arm wraps around his forearm, a form of contact that arose to get around the empathy curse. It's not kindness if the CEO stays close to her hired protection like this, he reasons. She questions,
"What was Yeyasu like when he was younger?"
Her phone's out. He thinks she's recording, but he lets it slide. He'll trust whatever she'll do with this. Clearing his throat, he replies,
"He wasn't such a crybaby, surprisingly. Grew into that one. Clung to his dad, where I constantly ran from mine. We all thought shogun st--Yeyasu, was going to be greater than Gachiyasu. And well," Fuji coughs violently, to the point where almost Pirilika stops recording. To his urging, she continues.
"I still do. He's a great fuckin' guy. Always been sweet to his brother too. I swatted his hand away more than a few times long before he knew I had this empathy curse, too. He's nothing I am, and that's the best thing he could be," Fuji curses his body as he falls to his knees and Pirilika finally stops recording. He chokes,
"Was that good enough for whatever the hell that was?"
Pirilika helps him up and spares him a healing spell as he chokes out another "Appreciate it." She carefully begins,
"Yeyasu and I were talking about Suisen's memory a while ago, so I thought it'd be good to get a first hand account after I learned that you two knew each other! I figured it would be a little too fatal if Suisen himself asked you, so..."
Fuji spits, "You're such a goody two shoes it kills me, Piriko, " which translates roughly to "I love you. Keep being good."
Pirilika laughs, "Awww, you do care!"
"Tch. Laugh it up, rich girl."
Pirilika stops walking and looks at the vast sky of the netherworld, beautiful, wide, unending. Fuji looks to the sky, hoping he can see what she sees in the world, in other people. His best friend states plainly,
"You know, I don't have many friends back home."
"Could've guessed that much."
"Wha!? So mean!"
"Get on with it."
"Hmph! I was going to say that I miss Yeyasu! Even though it's only been a few weeks, I just...it's nice to be around all of you."
For an instant, as the curse forces blood out of him, he looks to the sky that Pirilika views and sees the world through her eyes.
Full of possibility, he lives in a world where everyone he loves does too. A world of wonder, rose-colored.
"I miss him," she sighs, dejection palpable.
He blinks, and the sky is blue yet again, and he tastes an excess of iron. But through his own lens, he lives in a world where everyone he loves does too. He says, raspy,
"Yeah. Like crazy."
Hinomoto's shogun, shedding his usual layers, lounges in a rare moment of downtime. He sips sake from a saucer as the trees drop blossoms onto the courtyard. It's only been a few weeks and his heart aches like he's been widowed from Fuji. He laments on the fairness of the situation hoping that the wayward warrior's side of the palisade is in shambles like his own.
Sandals tap the tatami. Yeyasu assumes there's no threat to be had, so he waits for whatever message to be delivered without turning around. Someone takes a seat next to him and, as their eyes meet, he yelps, almost spilling his sake.
Fuji steadies him, preventing a spill.
His unofficial lover chuckles,
"Such a scaredy-cat."
"Shut up! What are you doing here!?"
"Has the shogun banned me from the castle grounds? Am I wanted again that damn quickly?"
As usual, Yeyasu loses all composure in the samurai's presence. With a red face, he redoubles,
"I don't know! Answer the question, Fuji!"
Fuji exhales, tension Yeyasu failed to notice leaving his shoulders. He grabs the bottle of sake and takes a swig before he replies,
"Pirilika knows."
Yeyasu panics. He laments how long he spent thinking about their relationship now that Fuji's come to end it. He remembers how Fuji said he didn't want anyone to know yet, and how easily Yeyasu promised. He wants to apologize, beg, anything, but Fuji continues,
"Do you remember when we met ages ago?"
"I think about it all the time," is not the answer Fuji expects, nor does he expect Yeyasu's voice to be so watery. The samurai's eyes are trained on the tree in the courtyard and its idle bloom. He will, with no recourse or exception, die if he see's Yeyasu's face.
Even in consideration of his curse, he hasn't been good enough to Yeyasu. He thought he learned his lesson with Ao. Fuji convulses, but he powers through,
"I don't care that Pirilika knows. Talking to her sent me down memory lane is what I'm getting at," and Yeyasu sniffles as Fuji ends his sentence. The samurai wants to kiss the shogun, wipe his tears, hold him, but he has to balance everything he wants to say. He has to decide what Yeyasu has to hear and what parts of his heart are superfluous even though Yeyasu deserves all of his heart and more.
"I want people to know, Yeyasu. But I don't give a shit about everyone else knowing if you don't even know," Fuji's hands are covered in blood and he feels Yeyasu hovering, unsure if he should help. Still, he pushes through because he needs to show Yeyasu how much of his life he's willing to give him.
He remembers the air was different hundreds of years ago. Sometime before Mugai's second and final fight with the Demmodore, Fuji runs. He runs from the other disciples, the infernal weapons, even his own daughter. Yet to adapt to the constant pain of the empathy curse, Fuji recalls latching onto the way air filled his lungs to ground him. He finds himself at Ewwdo castle admiring the architecture idly. He wanders onto a rarely used backstreet, not decrepit but far closer to pristine than the main roads.
The young demon crashes into a boy a little younger than himself with short brown hair, sharp smile perfectly placed on his impish face. Fuji recalls his perfectly fit kimono. Luxurious material that would have given away the boy's status immediately, were it not for the fact that his face was the spitting image of Shogun Gachiyasu. Sitting opposite of each other, they stare at each other awestruck and dumbfounded. Two children completely mortified that someone else could intercept them while they were caught up in their own realities.
Always crashing into each other.
In his fond reminiscence, Fuji supposes that some things never change, and he knows Yeyasu's heart beats the same.
The younger boy regains his composure and casually dusts off his kimono as if it isn't worth more than everything Fuji owns. He offers his hand with that impish smile, fangs more welcoming than they should be. He squeaks,
"Are you alright? I apologize for bumping into you, most of the citizens don't walk along this path. I'm Yeyasu!" His language is prim and proper, so stunningly far from the present Yeyasu that it'd be impossible for almost anyone to form a link between the two.
Fuji, whose heart is hemorrhaging and shrieking from the memory, recognizes the distance between the two and the transformation that occurred. He's a diamond to Fuji and he's never been anything less to him, even at his lowest.
The greedy samurai never doubts that the shogun always will be a diamond to him, and he's aware that he'll grow into his moon and stars soon enough. If he can survive honesty, that is.
The young Fuji, overwhelmed and overcome with burgeoning feelings, slaps the hand away. He spews blood, and his child body can't yet brush off that kind of nauseating pain. The younger Yeyasu doesn't cry as he does now, but his familiar buzzing, fretful energy started young.
"WHOA! Whoa! Are you okay!? Do you need help!? Come with me, there's healers in the castle--"
"Knock it the fuck off!"
Yeyasu's need to quickly retort started around the same time as Fuji's did.
"w-HUH!? What do you mean 'knock it off'! You're totally dying, idiot!!"
It's not exactly empathy, and Fuji can breathe a little better than he did before. The boy stuns him even when he's angry, and Fuji's heart aches accordingly. Struggling to get up, Fuji throws whatever coin he has in his satchel for Yeyasu while he turns around. The young student shouts,
"I don't have much but I don't need your damn help. Take this and get lost!"
Fuji knows he doesn't need it, but it's all he can do. He runs and he doesn't stop thinking about the boy even after enduring another of his father's vigorous training sessions.
Hidden and fleeting meetings of this nature occur several more times, the two boys learning more and more about each other every time. Fuji never shares his name, not wanting to make an impact on the Shogun's son. He hopes he and his crush fade from Yeyasu's memory when these meetings end. Yeyasu appreciates the person that Fuji is, blunt and honest in a way no one else in his life is. For Fuji, the boy he just thought was pretty grows far beyond being the object of his affections. Yeyasu is thoughtful, kind, smart. All of the things that Fuji loved but can no longer reach out to manifest in the boy before him, taunting and torturing.
It comes to a head at their final childhood meeting. Fuji's heard of Yeyasu's exploits, the way the Hinomoto's citizens speak of his promise. They get slightly older, and Fuji begins to worry that no one will ever hold to a candle to the shogun's son. Yeyasu doesn't even know his name, after all. A hopeless relationship leading to nowhere, if one could find it substantial enough to call it that.
Winter comes, and Fuji finds the boy on a bench where they first met. Recently installed from the looks of it. He's the shogun's son. Fuji never forgets that leagues and worlds exist between them. He sits next to him without greeting, making Yeyasu yelp. He smirks,
"Scaredy-cat."
"Eep!? Oh, hey, it's you! Finally not coughing up blood for once, huh?" Yeyasu smiles with blushing cheeks.
Fuji looks away. He's always looking away, hesitant to taint Yeyasu with the monstrosity of his desire. Even in the present, he worries he'll only make Yeyasu a worse man, preventing everyone from seeing the shogun as the jewel he is.
"Finally not crying for once, huh? I just came to give you back your damn handkerchief. It's taking up too much space."
Cleaned and in pristine condition, as Yeyasu has come to expect of the boy next to him. Harsh words with kind actions. Yeyasu offers his thanks and Fuji coughs up blood. Yeyasu's accustomed to his mysterious illness, and Fuji's accustomed to the pain it causes. They've managed to grow comfortable with each other, unaware of the tumultuous times to come. Fuji's aware of how Yeyasu feels. He knew in the past, and he knows in the present.
His empathy curse has always been a good reason to run from Yeyasu, but it's never been a good reason to deny Yeyasu reciprocation. Yeyasu speaks with affection in his voice, potent venom to Fuji,
"You never told me your name. Could I ask?"
"It's not important. Especially not to the shogun's son."
Yeyasu squeals, shocked that Fuji knows something they've never talked about.
"You knew?! For how long?!"
"What? Are you serious? Since we first met, Shogun Stupid."
"Don't call me that! I didn't know! I didn't think you'd keep meeting me here if you knew... so, I was gonna tell you the truth today..."
Fuji, hearing the dejection in the boy's voice, speaks before thinking, "Don't think that. Why wouldn't I want to keep meeting you--" and in a deluge of blood, Fuji collapses. His lungs fill with his magma hot blood. He's drowning in affection, and for the first of many times he truly thinks that the pain of love is one best avoided. If his mother could die, he finds no reason to risk his life for anyone else if the same could happen to them. He doesn't want to feel that grief again, but more centrally, he doesn't want to put anyone through that grief with the empathy curse. It's worse than it's been before, and Yeyasu rushes to help him. As the pain racks his body, Fuji makes one of many decisions he regrets,
He groans, "This is the last time we can meet."
Yeyasu shoots up in shock, tears already welling up.
"Why!? That's not fair! Don't tell me not to think it's me if-- "
"It's NOT you, idiot! You're too nice! I'm the problem! I don't want to have some shitty friendship with some coward like you! I just want to get stronger!"
And Fuji pushes Yeyasu away, hurts him, for what he thinks will be the last time. The young shogun chases after him, but Fuji's a warrior where Yeyasu isn't. The wayward student shouts over his shoulder before he disappears,
"If you don't become a good shogun, I'll come back to beat your ass my damn self!"
Fuji is always running, Yeyasu chasing. Fuji is always swinging, Yeyasu waiting. If Fuji stabbed him, Yeyasu would welcome him with open arms, from the past to the present.
It's a short recollection, with many sentimental details left out. He doesn't mention his joy at Yeyasu remembering him after the kidnapping, doesn't mention that he still has a gift from the boy somewhere in his stash. Doesn't mention Yeyasu's fondest memory of a bleeding Fuji carrying an injured Yeyasu back to the castle. Yeyasu wonders how he ever could've forgot him. Fuji wishes he never remembered him.
Fuji's chest is entirely scarlet, but there's no point in this brevity if he can't get his point across before the curse claims him. He looks at Yeyasu with gritted teeth. Snot and tears paint Yeyasu's face as his look of relaxation morphs into one of guilt and melancholy.
There's no other face he wants to look at more, even as the edges of his vision blur. He hangs his head and simply states,
"Since we very first met, Yeyasu. Never for a second has it been..." The floorboards are stained, blood beginning to dry brown. Yeyasu cries and pleads for him to stop. Fuji gags,
"...anyone else. I wanted you all to myself. I still do."
"Enough! Stop, stop, stop! I don't care about that if you die, dumbass!"
"You do. You can't keep pretending you don't."
No matter how much responsibility Fuji may try to take, Yeyasu finds it natural to shoulder the burden when the man he loves is dying to tell him so.
"Well you can't damn well have me if you die, can you!? To quote your self-sacrificing ass, ' Knock it the fuck off'!"
"Then be real with me, Yeyasu. Do you never want me to say how I feel?"
Yeyasu can't answer. Tears keep falling, so Fuji takes the reigns. His kneels before Yeyasu with his head bowed for the Shogun he adores.
"Yeyasu Edogawa, I l-"
"I mean it when I say it! Fuji, get Kanzan Musashi out and cut through that damn curse!"
And even with tears in his eyes, croaking with a cracked voice, Fuji knows Yeyasu is his one and only. Compelled by Tokugawa Tengen, he gladly complies with the miraculous request,
"I'll do my worst!"
Carefully angling the Kanzan Musashi at his heart, Fuji plunges the sword through his chest. The sight, however, is far too much for the already sobbing Yeyasu to bear.
"NONONONO DON'T DO IT LIKE THAT!"
Fuji expels blood and nonetheless manages to throw a quip, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN DON'T DO IT LIKE THAT?!"
"IT LOOKS LIKE IT HURTS!!"
"YEAH, DUH, SHOGUN STUPID!"
Carefully extracting the blade from his chest, Fuji heaves as the metal leaves his flesh and spirit. Soul-forged steel radiates and resonates with the demonic markings on Fuji's torso extending to his left arm. In a blinding flash, the markings shift to a pink color, pastel and soft much unlike its usual crimson. Fuji sneers,
"...I don't think I can cut the curse fully without killing myself."
Yeyasu's heart sinks, but he was prepared for this. He resolves to treasure how close Fuji got until his lover makes eye contact with him. Fuji picks him up with ease, eliciting the squeal that his manhandling always does. Placing him squarely on his lap, Yeyasu mourns his favorite pair of leisure clothes now stained with Fuji's blood. He's snapped out of his melodramatic grieving by the touch of Fuji's palms, warm and familiar. He whispers with devout delirium,
"I said fully. Let's test it out. I love you, Yeyasu. I always have, always will. We're both demons with long lives. Keep me around for 'em. Be mine."
There's no coughing, no blood. Yeyasu screeches, and knocks Fuji over as he scrambles to hug him, latching all of his limbs anywhere he can around his partner. Fuji's horns are scratching the tatami, and Yeyasu is kissing his face and neck any and everywhere he can while wailing. There's blood, snot, and tears in abundance; every drop is symbolic of every year they waited for each other. Fuji suppresses a cough, which is a first and a miracle to the both of them. Yeyasu, in the midst of planting kisses all over Fuji, blubbers,
"I thought your horns were super cute back then, bro..."
Fuji laughs so hard it shakes the both of them. Yeyasu hits his chest with the force of a pillow, standing up for his truth,
"Don't laugh at me! They were, and they still are!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm nothing special."
"You're everything special in the freakin' world to me, so own it! That's an order from your boyfriend!"
"My boyfriend?"
Yeyasu wipes the blood from his face, but he's still red.
"Your one and only--"
The shogun is interrupted as the samurai rushes in to kiss him, wild and unchained after a lifetime of shackles. Fuji's tongue is intoxicating as it always is. He's too prideful to admit that he misses the taste of iron and the feel of Fuji's blood just a little. Rubbing his horns elicits a moan from Fuji, but even that isn't enough to draw the samurai away from the kiss. Stripping him of his shirt, one of Fuji's hands grips Yeyasu's hip with enough force to bruise, while the other tweaks and teases the shogun's nipples. There's a tail sneaking into his undergarments, and the samurai's mouth has begun marking Yeyasu's neck and chest in excruciatingly pleasurable detail.
A breeze hits Yeyasu's back as the same time Fuji's cock stiffens and begins rutting against his ass. The chill gives him a split-second of clarity in which he pants,
"Fuji, it's-- it's ah really bahhhd IDEA to do this here...!"
His lover growls, "Waited too long. Please. Please..."
Most embarrassingly, he twitches in several places at hearing Fuji beg to be with him for the very first time. With every ounce of his power, he manages to pry Fuji's head from his chest. This has the opposite of a repelling effect, as Fuji takes it to mean he wants him to start kissing somewhere much lower.
To his shock, Yeyasu finds his thighs hefted up onto Fuji's shoulders, with two hands firmly positioned to yank down his trousers. Fuji won't do anything without his consent, and Yeyasu is desperate to give it to him. His time away as the Hinomoto Shogun wins his mental battle. Not allowing further shame to be brought to his name, he manifests Tokugawa Tengen and orders,
"Fuji, stop right there!"
And still, Fuji looks at him with deep longing in his eyes, uttering,
"I'm down for this too. Whatever you want, I want, lover boy."
Yeyasu truly believes dying might be the only option. He's tempted to let Fuji draw screams and moans from him for the entire shogunate to hear, to drown in ecstasy in his courtyard for the castle to see. He wants to be called "lover boy" again. He thinks of all the people Fuji loves in his life and sighs.
"You have to go, Fuji. We don't know if something could go wrong with the curse, and you have a daughter, a mentor, and several of the homies to say a few things to."
Fuji clicks his tongue petulantly.
"You're right. Tsk. Fine."
Fuji's grip relents and Yeyasu scrambles to the other side of the room in a fit of acrobatics. Fuji snorts as he follows him like a hunting lion,
"Really?"
"You're like an incubus! One wrong move and you'll fill me up with evil ideas!"
"Real rich coming from the pervert. Also, 'fill me up'? Someone's fantasizing already," Fuji hums, cornering Yeyasu. He tilts his chin and plants a chaste kiss on his lips. The sexual heat has been replaced by a cool longing, familiar to the both of them. Slightly shorter than the shogun. Regardless, Fuji succeeds at dwarfing him, the shogun huffs. His longstanding flame cups his cheek and his sweet breath hits him,
"I'll be back tonight, Yeyasu. I promise. I love you."
Fuji runs away, and Yeyasu waits. But this time, Fuji will return, honest and happy. He doesn't mind waiting.
And as he waits, he returns to lounging after grabbing a change of clothes, watching the bloom of the tree. The blossoms fill the courtyard. He lingers on scenes of the far and recent past: the hands that were swatted away, the insults that were thrown, and the love that steadily grew beneath it all.
He realizes he didn't get to say his half of their grand declarations. In a rare scene, Yeyasu's ties his hair into a low ponytail and smiles, serenity replacing the usual impishness on his face.
He waits, knowing his samurai will loyally return to his side. His eyes close and he dozes off, dreaming of everything they've ever been, and everything they might be. His dreams are compromised of saccharine, technicolor hopes.
The moon shines as someone rouses Yeyasu from his dreams. One of Suisen's blankets is draped over his body. His lover lifts him gently, latching the courtyard doors and carrying him bridal style to Yeyasu's chambers. Fuji's marking is somewhere between the pink it transformed into earlier and the crimson color it normally is. Yeyasu traces its edges, and Fuji looks at him with adoration. He softly informs him,
"The curse isn't gone. But I can weaken it every once in a while. There's gonna be a hell of a lot more time with me hacking up my damn heart than there isn't."
Yeyasu yawns, "Sounds good to me..." He burrows his head into Fuji's neck, and he feels lips on the crown of his head.
"We can try to do more, if that isn't enough. Everyone else was fine with it. But if you aren't..." Fuji trails off with his statement, waiting for Yeyasu's answer. Yeyasu simply shakes his head,
"Don't care. Don't wanna see you stab your damn self again."
Fuji's chest rumbles, and Yeyasu wishes he could shrink and live in his lover's heart to feel that vibration all around him. The thought makes Yeyasu remember his goals before he drifted off. Fuji gently deposits him on the futon, before backing up to remove his own hakama. The change in atmosphere is palpable, and Yeyasu welcomes his other half into his arms. Calloused hands cup his ass and a tongue explores his nape, as much a chance to wake him up as it is foreplay. Yeyasu inquires,
"How'd it go?"
Fuji's amusement is plain as he exhales, "Ao, Piriko, and Ceefore all cried. Higan nearly crushed me."
"Uh-hyaahyaaahyaaa! My main man making waves! I told you everyone was waiting for you!"
"Yeah, yeah. Suisen sniffled a bit like you do all the time. The kid really is related to you."
Yeyasu's heart warms. He shares,
"You know, my dad never cried."
"Pfft, bullshit. He just never let you see it. You're like a damn geyser half the time."
Yeyasu playfully strokes Fuji's horns, causing him to buckle and moan. Helpless, only for him.
"I can tease you just as much, y'know, babe."
"Keep pushing your luck, lover boy," Fuji mutters as he grounds himself with Yeyasu's thighs. Skinnier, softer than he has. Supple skin that a noble would have, but none of the muscle one might expect of a shogun. A perfect body, according to Fuji. As the samurai explores his body, he finally finds himself conscious enough to state,
"Hey. I love you, Fuji," his hands drop from his horns to his face, directing the warrior to make eye contact with him.
"I know."
"No, no, listen. I...I'm not good enough. Everyone thought I could have been, so I'm trying to be for their sake. But only you never stopped thinking that, no matter how clearly awful I was. I love you," Yeyasu chokes up, and Fuji's hands soothe him, massaging soft skin. Fuji waits, and he gladly will anytime Yeyasu wants him to. This only makes it harder for Yeyasu to continue, but he wants Fuji to hear it while it won't kill him.
"I love you. Thank you for saving my life, my brother's, Hinomoto. You mean every- everything to me. I know you already said you didn't want to be the shogunate's right-hand demon, but be mine. Please, please, please. I'll be yours however long you want me. Even if you get bored--"
Fuji interrupts, resolute in his response.
"I won't. We'll fight, but I won't ever get bored of you, Yeyasu. I'm not a poet and I don't have a silver tongue like you do, but you're all mine till the sun fucking blows up," and the samurai's cowardly lover cries, no longer able to speak. For the first time, Fuji kisses the tears away, wipes the endless stream of water away, and holds him while he quivers.
"I'm sorry I cry so much."
"I think it's cute."
"I'm always screaming too."
"Everyone around here is."
"I--"
"Hey. Watch how you talk about my partner," and Fuji's lips connect with Yeyasu's, disconnecting any and all apologies that Fuji deems unnecessary. Thumbs wipe away the tears, and Fuji's forehead rests against the shogun's.
"When I said I wanted all of you to myself, I meant all of you. When you're being the cool shogun, or when you're being a crybaby. Tears, blood, spit, cum, whatever. Even when you're being a nasty little pervert and grabbing me everywhere you think I won't notice," Fuji retorts. Playfully squeezing Yeyasu's hand, the greedy samurai encourages him to feel wherever he wants.
"I wish you'd stay as my right hand."
"I want you even when you're being clingy," and Fuji chuckles when Yeyasu nudges him.
Yeyasu smiles, no longer producing tears, "What's wrong with being clingy, huh?"
Yeyasu's wandering hands grab, grope, and prod his greedy samurai after he regains his composure. Fuji lays Yeyasu down flat on the futon, removing both of their undergarments. On his knees, Fuji feels gigantic to the prone Yeyasu. Fuji lifts his arms to untie his hair, the pose highlighting his biceps and pecs. Yeyasu swallows, growing increasingly aroused at the sight of his other half in the candlelight. Fuji speaks with no room for disagreement,
"Tonight, I'm gonna make sure you never forget how I feel. I'm keeping you here until tomorrow night. I'm imprinting myself onto every single inch of your body. You won't ever question whether or not I love you again."
Yeyasu gulps loudly,
"TOMORROW!??!? I HAVE--"
"I told Suisen to handle it."
Yeyasu gawks at the incredibly sexy smirk Fuji has on his face. He meant it when he said he wanted everyone to know, which touches the shogun deeply. However, Yeyasu panics for his physical health,
"I already KNOW now Fuji please go easy on me I'm a frail beautiful prince much like a doe I can't handle sex so rough I love you--"
"Damn right you love me. And after this, you won't want anyone else, lover boy."
There's a hand on his dick, while the other is already lubed and teasing his hole. His tail is wrapped around his ankle. Fuji kisses him and bites his neck, drawing the slightest amount of blood and forcing a moan out of Yeyasu. It's always blood with him. Fuji chants,
"I love you, I love you..." over and over again. All of Yeyasu's senses understand that without a doubt. As Fuji bites his shoulder, he whimpers and embraces his fate as the candlelight burns out.
He's laying on Fuji's chest partially because he likes the cushion. In larger parts, it's because he's too sore to lay directly on his futon. Fuji's been massaging his body idly for about the last hour, apologetic in nature. He can only manage to squirm and groan, resigning to being Fuji's body pillow for the moment. His lover laughs, coughing. His markings are almost crimson again, which means the curse will return to its full effect soon enough. Yeyasu traces the outlines from his chest to his arm, entwining his fingers with Fuji's. Like threads of fate, Fuji's digits don't relent on squeezing and massaging his palm. Muffled in Fuji's chest, Yeyasu grumbles,
"You have to stop doing your worst."
In a falsetto, Fuji replies, " 'More, Fuji, more! Ahhh~ I'm all yours! I love you so much! Cum inside please --' "
Yeyasu musters up enough strength to cover Fuji's mouth. His voice is shrill and sore,
"That makes you even worse, asshole! Shut up!"
"Okay, okay. You're gonna pull a muscle pitching a fit, crybaby."
"It's too late for that! You pulled every muscle there is to fucking pull in my body, man! I swear you found some new ones just to mess with me!"
Fuji and Yeyasu lose all composure after that quip, melding into each other in a fit of laughter. Sacred laughter meant just for their ears fills the chamber, and Fuji wraps his strong arms around Yeyasu's waist. Still massaging, still caring. Fuji whispers in his ears, earnest and free of teasing,
"Tell me you understand now, Yeyasu."
"Yeah. Thanks, Fuji. I love you."
Fuji's cheeks redden, a rare sight for his lover. Yeyasu rushes to plant a kiss on his cheeks, hoping to keep the blood in his body.
"I love you too."
"I've gotta get up in the morning."
"Yeah."
"There's a lot to do." Between us and everyone else is unspoken.
"Sure as hell," but Fuji's grip tightens, and Yeyasu burrows as close as he can into his skin. Fuji continues,
"But let's wait 'till I start hacking up blood again."
"Might be a while."
"Yeah. Who fucking cares? We've got time. I'm not running away anymore."
"Promise?"
"You've got my lifelong loyalty, Shogun Yeyasu. But Pirilika already pays me in cash, so just pay me in pleasure."
Yeyasu snickers, "We can figure something out, man. I think a handsome samurai like you might like my Massivemune," and Fuji's hand strokes Yeyasu without intention of arousal.
"I've been known to swallow swords every now and again. Those clowns make some good damn money," and the edge of sleep's blade lies hidden in their lethargic back and forth. Yawning, Fuji adjusts their position, making sure Yeyasu is comfortable on top of him. They need to go shower, remove all the dampness from their bodies, but neither of them can be bothered.
Groggily, Yeyasu strains to communicate one last thing to Fuji,
"Why'd you like me, Fuji? When we were kids."
"The same reason I do now. You're everything I'm not. Kind, good with people, smart. And back then, you were everything I couldn't have. The shogun's cute kid who killed me just by trying so damn hard to give me a hand? I couldn't help myself."
Yeyasu considers for the first time how harsh the curse would've been on a child's body and how often Fuji came to see him. He kisses his lover lightly, and it falls somewhere between a chastisement and an apology.
"You're such a sap."
"Good. You're my partner. I'm gonna make you sick to your stomach like you make me sick to mine."
Fuji pauses before continuing, "I knew you liked me the whole time, too."
Yeyasu buries his head into Fuji's neck, "No way. Liar."
"I wanted you more 'cause of that. Sorry," but there's no more remorse in his voice.
Fuji's breath slows down, and he begins to drift off to an deep slumber. Yeyasu's eyes are trained on him, studying every element of his face. The curve of his jaw, the shape of his eyebrows. For whatever perfection that Fuji sees in him, he sees the same in Fuji.
The netherworld sleeps under an angelic moon, and Hinomoto's shogun is madly in love with a greedy samurai who loves him just as intensely. Their hearts slow to unconsciousness, beating in tandem. Blood that drove them from each other becomes blood that ties them together. It's in honesty that their salvation lies, and it's in their vulnerability with each other that their love lies. Yeyasu dreams of the man who treasures him more than anyone else, and Fuji dreams of the man who loves him and all of his worse parts. Stripped bare of their titles and histories, they lie in each other's arms, comfortable in each other's skin.
Clouds hide the moon, and Yeyasu and Fuji want to be nowhere but next to each other. Entangled in each other's lives since they met, they resolve to stay connected for much longer.