Chase

"Are you going to bring me home as a trophy?"

Their conversations always started this way. It started to irritate Kazuki.

Kazuki frowned, "I let you sleep on my bed while I sleep on the floor. I cook your meals, take care of you, change your bandages every day, and hide you from my people, especially away from my brother." He paused to observe his reaction. He thought, "I guess he will never trust me." He finished taking off yesterday's bandages and grabbed a fresh one.

He cleared his throat, "You're my patient." He started to apply ointment on him, "I won't let anything happen to you, so..." he paused to smile at him. He felt sure he saw him blush because the man quickly looked away from him. "You don't have to worry about anything."

He felt the man staring at him again. He must be trying to see if I'm lying or not. He let him and continued with his duty.

"Aren't...you and your men supposed to sail home in a few days?"

He stopped and looked at him, "...how'd you know?"

Yoshiro stuttered, "I—"

He shook his head, "Don't answer that. I understand how." He continued, bandaging him, "Is that why you can't trust me either?" He tugged the bandages so hard Yoshiro yelped, "Because you've betrayed me, snooping around my—"

"I just wanted to know what will become of me. If you and your men sail home, would you drag me along with you like a war trophy? I...wanted to know, to be sure."

Yoshiro did not betray him. The man feared for his life. It was evident in the tiny tears gathered around the corner of his eyes. He continued bandaging his wounds, but this time, his hands were gentle. When he finished, he grabbed Yoshiro's clothes and helped him in it despite the other man's protests. He watched as the man fixed his belt.

"Remember what I said: you are my patient. No harm will come on you as long as you are." He leaned into him and smiled, "I'm not going to poison you. I'm taking care of you. I'm making sure you sleep on clean sheets, wear clean clothes, and drink healthy food and water."

Yoshiro blushed and looked away from him.

"Hey, you're being quiet again. Are you thinking of more questions—"

"...I don't want to owe you anything. I don't have anything to pay you with."

"Is that what you're worried about?" He saw a small nod from him. He chuckled, "Do you think doctors and other medical people get paid fairly or even at all? I trained with the monks when I was younger. I used to go with them to places, assisting the wounded and the sick. We weren't paid at all. I'm used to not being paid."

Yoshiro's face turned red. The man immediately tried to hide his face but failed. Kazuki saw it already. He laughed, "You're embarrassed?" He tried to pull Yoshiro's hands away from his face gently without clutching. He wanted to see the man's blushing face in detail. In doing so, he climbed on the bed, the same bed Yoshiro was on.

Yoshiro shoved him off, "Know your place!"

His eyes widened, but he understood why. What he didn't was why he wanted to see Yoshiro blushing. He straightened his back and sat. He mumbled, "Forgive me. I was..." He couldn't find the right word. He settled with, "Too playful. I forgot our roles in society."

Silence came onto them. Yoshiro fiddled with his fingers and eyed him repeatedly through the corner of his eyes. He waited for him to say something, absentmindedly propping his hand to his cheek and still leaning in.

Yoshiro finally glared at him, "…stop that. You're making me guilty that I don't have anything to pay you with." He blushed, "N-Not right now, anyway. When I get back home, I-I will figure something out for you."

"Money is not an issue for me. I am well-provided for." He smirked, "Don't worry about that. You'll be able to pay me off one day. For now, just rest and recover, then I'll let you go home. I'm sure you already miss home—"

"You're too friendly." Yoshiro interrupted him, "Even to your enemy. Why?"

He laughed at that, the loudest laugh he had ever since this battle. It surprised Yoshiro, he knew, but he didn't care about it. He honestly did not know why either. When his laughter subsided, he looked at Yoshiro. This time, he did not smile, but his eyes betrayed him.

"Well, I'll leave you to rest now." He stood up, "Don't go snooping around again." He said it jokingly but was serious.

Yoshiro lowered his head and mumbled, "I...won't."

"Good—"

"...since you promised to keep me safe... I'll... trust you this time."

Yoshiro mumbled these words, but he felt sure that this was what he said. He snickered, said nothing, and left him. For now. Once again, he found himself smiling the moment he walked out of his tent. He felt stupid about it but kept smiling anyways.

He wore that smile until he found his brother in one of the community tents. His brother had been watching him, ignoring the generals that probably discussed their next course of action. He was still too far to hear their conversation but too close that his smile was visible. His brother raised his hand, and immediately, everyone stopped. He must've told them to walk away because now, he was free from his audience and walked towards him.

He smiled and stood in front of the doors of his tent.

"You always come out of your tent, smiling.” Nobu looked over his shoulder to peek inside his tent. He chuckled; this was why he stood at the door. His brother grabbed his shoulder, “Come on, let me see what this man who’s making my brother all giddy look like. Is he even pretty? How pretty is he——“

“Brother,” he channeled his anxiety into laughter, “Stop that. Like I said before, it’s only a ‘special patient.’ You don’t need to see or know him.”

“Oh, look at that!”

He turned to where his brother pointed at, only to see nothing. He realized what it was for, and when he turned around, Nobu was already inside his tent. He ran after him, trying to stop him from seeing Yoshiro. He felt his stomach drop as Nobu walked closer to his bed. He grabbed his arm, “Hey, maybe, we shouldn’t bother him, brother? It’s always been considered rude to walk into people’s tent.”

Nobu laughed in his face, “The rules don’t apply to us, brother. We are of the gods’ bloodline.”

So does Yoshiro here, he thought. “Still, I promised him privacy—“

“Did you also promise him the world like you do to all your lovers?”

“Hey! I don’t do that.”

Nobu smirked, “How’d I know? You’ve always been the romantic type. I don’t understand how you got that in you.” Nobu shook his hand off and continued walking towards the bed area. He examined the made-up bed, “Huh, where’d your patient go?”

He felt relieved at the same time, worried. He excused his ‘patient,’ “He must’ve gone for a walk. I told him physical activity helps him recover faster. He’s pretty obedient, you see.” He smiled and it masked his feelings of betrayal. He protected the man for what? Yoshiro’s out, probably gathering information.

“Too bad for me, eh? Maybe, some other time, I’ll meet him. I'm still curious who's making you all giddy.” Nobu grinned, elbowed him a bit, then walked towards the exit. He followed him to the door as decorum obliged him to, but Nobu stopped him.

“You don’t have to. You can stay with your ‘special’ patient today as much as you want. I’ll take care of everything else. Besides, I know this helps you recover. This was your first war, after all.”

He nodded and let his brother walk out of his tent. He turned to his empty room and processed Yoshiro’s betrayal. He walked to his bed and sat on the edge. He touched his sheets; the bed seemed as though no one slept on it. Where could Yoshiro go? He felt something touch his calf.

He jumped the moment he realized. He looked under the bed and found him. He chuckled, “My brother, he—“ He paused just to smile at him. He offered his hand, “It’s safe now.”

Yoshiro took his hand. He twitched a little when their hands came in contact with each other. The man’s hand felt cold, and he could tell he had been shivering. He helped him out, silently thanking his brother, who insisted that he slept on platform beds. He assisted him, holding him steady, and sat him down.

“I thought you betrayed me...” He didn’t realize he said it out loud. Yoshiro only looked at him. He wanted to comfort him, to hug him, but it seemed wrong. So he just sat with him in silence until he recovered.