Gift fic for lady_gemma Part 2
Title: Unbalance
Pairing/Group: Ohno/Nino, Arashi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU
Notes: For lady_gemma. I hope you enjoy it, and that it’s what you wanted. It was fun to write :D ♥ And thank you to the person I constantly spammed with this and complained to, and who checked it over for me ♥♥
Summary: (Fantasy/Historical AU) When life as you know it ends, what do you do?
When Ohno woke the next morning - after having taken hours getting to sleep due to the nagging worry about his and Nino’s current situation - Nino was gone. From the amount of light creeping in through the window he could tell that it was still fairly early, but he got up anyway, fairly certain that he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep if he tried, and wanting to find Nino as quickly as possible - they needed to sort things out.
He could hear the soothing clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen - a sound which always comforted Ohno, a reminder of his mother - as well as the sounds of hushed conversation from Sho and Aiba in the next room, probably trying not to wake Jun, and the sounds of Shikaoka beginning to wake; people walking, talking, laughing, and someone whistling as they began to open up their shop. Sounds like these calmed Ohno - they were such ordinary things, and Ohno had always liked normalcy and stability - and he found himself growing more determined to go and face Nino; to attempt to sort things out between them.
He dressed before making his way downstairs, standing in the kitchen doorway as he watched each individual movement that Nino made as he prepared breakfast alone - Nino must’ve insisted on doing it, because Ohno couldn’t imagine Yukina and Koichi’s mother agreeing to let someone help her with her job, let alone take over the making of the meal entirely.
Eventually, Nino turned around, their eyes meeting for a moment before the younger man looked down at his feet. “It’ll be done in about half an hour.” Nino mumbled, hastily turning back to his task. Ohno didn’t move from his position, watching Nino for a few more moments before speaking up.
“Nino I want to talk.”
“I’m busy, Ohno.”
Ohno internally winced at the tone of Nino’s voice - harsh with a tiny hint of sadness, which Ohno was certain he wouldn’t have noticed had he not known Nino so well and for so long - as well as the sound of his name, no longer the usual ‘Oh-chan’ or ‘Satoshi’. He knew that what had happened probably shouldn’t have - it had been the exact thing they’d been trying to avoid - and he also knew that Nino’s coldness was nothing more than a façade; Ohno was certain that the other didn’t blame him; Nino was entirely blaming himself, as always.
Whilst it had only been a kiss - usually something fairly small and not particularly important - for Ohno and Nino it had been much more; it had been the gateway to something that they both wanted, but knew they shouldn’t have. Ohno was positive that had Nino not come to his senses and rushed away when he had, things would’ve progressed much further.
“Nino, please.”
Nino remained silent, and after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting for a reply that never came, Ohno backed away from the door dejectedly, making his way upstairs to see Jun, Sho and Aiba.
The atmosphere at breakfast that morning was different. Jun, Sho and Aiba did their best to keep up conversation with light hearted banter and discussion of what they should do that day - and the family played along - but Ohno and Nino, whilst sat next to each other as always, didn’t say a word.
Nino hadn’t eaten a thing, instead choosing to rearrange each item of food on his plate individually and transfer grains of rice to one side of his bowl and back again, one by one. Ohno hadn’t eaten much more than the other, although he had made sure to mumble his appreciation for the little food he had eaten, just loud enough for Nino to hear.
The underlying atmosphere of awkwardness in the room was becoming increasingly unbearable, and the moment the last person had finished eating, Ohno and Nino were uttering their final words of thanks for the meal and announcements of leaving, before making their speedy escapes - Nino heading directly for the door to head into town, whilst Ohno made for the stairs, all too ready to just go back to their room and be alone.
Not long afterwards, once Ohno was sat dejectedly in the corner of the room, he was cornered by a worried looking Jun, Sho and Aiba, who didn’t seem to care too much about his wish to just be alone - Ohno suspected that they didn’t intend to leave until they had an explanation.
“You slept with him, didn’t you?” Aiba questioned the moment he stepped through the door, never one to bother with subtlety when it came to such matters.
Ohno looked up at Aiba with a sigh and a shake of his head. “No. I didn’t.”
“Well what happened then? I’ve never seen you two that awkward.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Ohno stated, looking back down at the floor ‘not unless it’s Nino that I’m talking to’ he added mentally, idly tracing patterns on the tatami next to him. He could feel them watching him, concern evident in their eyes no doubt, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at them, fairly certain that he’d end up telling them everything if he did - something he was sure Nino didn’t want.
“Maybe you should go and find Nino. It would be bad if he got lost or something.” Ohno mumbled after a long silence, in which the other three had watched him expectantly. Jun responded with a nod. “I’ll go.” He turned to leave the room, and Sho and Aiba moved to sit in front of Ohno, not planning on leaving until they were told everything.
Ohno listened as Jun left the building, hearing Yukina ask if they were going to go out on the horses later. Although the sound of Jun’s reply, and the door sliding shut had been the last Sho and Aiba heard of Jun before he left, Ohno could still hear the gentle slap of his sandals against the ground as he walked down the street; he focused on the rhythmic sound, prolonging his avoidance of Sho and Aiba’s questions for as long as he could - finding other things to focus on helped him to ignore the expectant gazes being sent his way.
Silence hung awkwardly in the room until Ohno finally spoke again, glancing at the two men in front of him. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Sho raised an eyebrow. “Too bad, because we do.”
Ohno sighed and silence fell over them again for another few minutes. “I…” He trailed off, not entirely sure what he’d been planning to say next.
“You…?” Aiba prompted, causing Ohno to sigh again.
“I want to talk to Nino first.”
They waited in silence for Nino and Jun’s return, Aiba and Sho shooting worried glances at each other every so often. Ohno sat listening for the sounds of Nino and Jun’s footsteps getting closer, sighing every so often as he fell into thought about what he was even going to say to Nino. Eventually the sound of those footsteps came, and Ohno sat up quickly, watching the door with hopeful eyes.
When the door slid open, only Jun was standing there, and he made his way into the room, sitting down with them. “He’s in our room. He says he wants to be alone.”
Ohno’s face fell and he slumped against the wall again, disconsolately. Jun, Sho and Aiba all stood again before making their way out, finally leaving Ohno in peace. He could hear the sound of Yukina chatting excitedly to Jun, followed by the discussion of whether they should go on the horse ride or not. He could clearly hear the sound of Koichi asking whether Ohno and Nino would be accompanying them, and Sho’s reply that they wouldn’t, but he was more concentrated on the sound of Nino’s breathing, which he could hear on the other side of the thin wall that he was leaning against.
“Nino?” He was positive that the other heard him - the walls certainly weren’t thick enough to allow Nino to not hear him - but got no response. He had given up on getting one when he heard the tiny mumble from the other.
“Later. I’m not ready to talk yet.” Nino knew that Ohno had heard, despite how quiet he had been - Ohno always heard - and the words brought Ohno a small amount of comfort. He could wait until later, if he had to.
When the others returned from their horse ride, Ohno and Nino hadn’t moved, and it was already time for dinner. With a small amount of persuasion they were both convinced to come down and at least sit with everyone for the duration of the meal. Ohno made an effort to eat more than he had at breakfast, aware that they were leaving Shikaoka the next day, and he would need the energy to travel. Nino made an effort as well, eating a small amount - although it was significantly less than everyone else, it was at least something.
The atmosphere at the table was heavy. Everyone felt a reluctance to say goodbye, although they knew that they had to. Sho thought that maybe, once they had completed their mission they would return to Shikaoka; there wasn’t anywhere else for them to go, and they all liked it there - they already felt at home, after being there for only two days.
Although they slept in the same room that night Ohno and Nino had yet to speak, the awkwardness still clear and strong between them despite the few words they had exchanged earlier, which had given Ohno a small thread of hope. They slept on opposite sides of the room, each of them facing away from the other; perhaps from fear of the same thing happening again if they were too close - if they even gained eye contact.
The next morning they packed up, loaded the horses and said their goodbyes. The prediction about things being tearful on Yukina’s part had turned out to be completely accurate, and Jun found himself crouched in front of the girl, patting her head soothingly as he promised multiple times to come back and visit as soon as he could; this seemed to calm the five year old somewhat, and she gave Jun a quick kiss on the cheek, her face bright red as she did so. Jun smiled at her and patted her head once more before standing and climbing onto his horse, Rai, determinedly ignoring the amused smirks from his friends, who had already mounted their own horses; even Nino couldn’t help a small smirk, although it was admittedly half hearted, compared to usual.
Nino had asked Jun if he could share Rai with him, but Jun had refused; his request to swap with either Sho or Aiba had been refused as well, and so he was sat behind Ohno on Yoshi as usual, his hands barely holding onto the other. Jun, Sho and Aiba had no doubt decided that the fastest way of getting Ohno and Nino to make up would be to prevent them from avoiding each other wherever possible, but with Nino’s loose grip on Ohno’s robe they couldn’t help but worry for his safety - it would do nothing to keep the other balanced whatsoever, all it succeeded in doing was making the pair look extremely awkward.
“Nino,” Ohno mumbled, quietly enough for only Nino to be able to hear him. “I know you don’t want to, but you should hold on tighter. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Nino tentatively wrapped his arms around Ohno’s waist, still managing to look every bit as awkward as he had before - He could deal with being in the same room as Ohno, but being so close wasn’t helping him to push his feelings back at all, rather, it was having the complete opposite effect.
After a few more goodbyes, promises to come back, and tears on Yukina’s part, they rode out of Shikaoka, heading towards the next town, Yurizawa. According to Sho, they should reach Yurizawa by the end of the day and there was a village en route, Iwarisu, in which they planned to stop for lunch.
Nino was glad that the day was set to be a short one, because sitting so close to Ohno was pure torture; he found himself liking being pressed up against Ohno’s back far too much, which in turn made him feel increasingly awkward and pathetic.
The journey to the village took a few hours, and so by the time they arrived in Iwarisu it was time to eat lunch - their timing had been planned meticulously by Jun and Sho, who had spent hours working out the route they should take. Their meal was eaten in what appeared to be the village’s only restaurant, and whilst the food wasn’t particularly exciting, it tasted good and came in large portions; Neither Ohno or Nino came close to finishing their meals, and Aiba suggested that in future they should just share a portion, because it was pointless ordering them a full meal each with them acting the way they were.
The rest of the journey to Yurizawa passed fairly quickly, and in relative silence on Ohno and Nino’s part; Jun, Sho and Aiba made the effort to keep up conversation, but Ohno and Nino never showed a sign of even contemplating joining in. If anything, rather than the two of them making up - as Jun, Sho and Aiba had no doubt intended when they refused to switch horses - they had been looking increasingly uncomfortable with each other; although Sho still didn’t know what had happened between the pair he had his suspicions, and it was his theory that by forcing them together wherever possible they would eventually have no choice but to give in to their feelings.
There was no doubt in Sho’s mind that Ohno and Nino were putting so much effort into hiding their feelings for the sake of the group - he knew that Nino, at least, was positive that the two of them being together would create some sort of tension between them all - but even so, Sho didn’t think they had thought about things properly; if anything, it was the awkwardness and tension that hovered around Ohno and Nino which would drive them all apart. The act of trying to keep everyone together was achieving the exact opposite, and Sho hoped that it wouldn’t take too long for both Nino and Ohno to realise that.
The rooming arrangements that night were the same as before, at the insistence of Jun, Sho and Aiba, all of whom were determined to fix things between Ohno and Nino, despite them not knowing exactly what it was that had happened. That night passed much like the last had - with Ohno and Nino facing opposite ways, on different sides of the room.
It was clear to everyone that nothing had changed in the course of that night, and Sho could only hope that they would finally make up on the last stretch of the journey. The final part was to take three days, with no stops in any more villages - for Torayama lay alone, at the foot of the highest mountain in the country, part of the mountain range which separated their country from the next, the country which was plotting attack and had already killed so many of the people the group loved.
Two days were spent in Yurizawa with little change in the situation, other than both Ohno and Nino beginning to eat more. The town was nice enough, but everyone was too preoccupied with what was happening between Ohno and Nino to really notice much about it, as they had done with Shikaoka.
It came as a relief to Jun, Sho and Aiba when they left on the twelfth morning of their journey, although Ohno and Nino felt the opposite; in Yurizawa they had been able to escape, but when they were travelling together there was nowhere for them to go - they would have no choice but to be together the whole time.
It became obvious that after a day of permanent closeness, the barrier that Ohno and Nino had constructed between them was beginning to wear down. They were both tired, physically and mentally, and as they all remounted their horses on the thirteenth day, Nino couldn’t help but hold onto Ohno a little tighter than he had the day before, lean in a little closer - his guard was falling, and Ohno was more than ready to let his own drop as well.
The change didn’t go unnoticed by the other three, and that day as they rode past rice fields and through forests, there was more conversation - more smiles; the tense, awkward atmosphere that had surrounded them was slowly beginning to change back to the old, familiar one in which they were able to laugh and talk. The one that Jun, Sho and Aiba had been missing so much.
That evening after they had eaten, Nino grabbed Ohno’s wrist and led the other away from the small clearing in which they had set up camp for the night. When he felt they were far enough away from Jun, Sho and Aiba he stopped and turned to face the other.
“We can’t keep going like this anymore, Oh-chan.”
Ohno couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face at the sound of the familiar nickname - one he hadn’t heard in days.
“I know.” Was his simple answer as he reached a hand up to cup Nino’s cheek, his thumb stroking the skin beneath it gently; the action was a mimic of what he had done that night in Shikaoka, just before they kissed.
“It’s worse this way, isn’t it?” Nino showed no sign of pushing Ohno’s hand away, instead moving closer, not even trying to break the eye contact they held. “We’re making things worse for everyone by trying to ignore it, aren’t we?”
“Yes.” Ohno nodded, then began to lean towards Nino, no longer able to resist.
His lips brushed gently against Nino’s in a simple kiss - one that in all its briefness conveyed everything that they had wanted to say and do for the past six days - before he pulled back a little to look at Nino. “So let’s stop ignoring.”
With that Nino gave a small smile as Ohno pulled him into another kiss, this one slightly more desperate - both of them were craving each other after having held back for so long.
It wasn’t long until Nino’s hand were in Ohno’s hair, and Ohno’s hand was resting on the small of Nino’s back, the gentle pressure of it comforting to the younger man. The kiss was slow and loving, and for all the desperation they felt to be close, they knew that they had all the time in the world.
This time when they broke apart, it wasn’t for Nino to run away, and just that fact made Ohno happier than he would care to admit. They exchanged smiles before moving away from each other, Ohno taking Nino’s hand in his own before leading him back towards everyone else.
When they returned, Aiba took one look at their hands, fingers laced together, before shooting them a knowing smile and nudging Sho who was next to him. Nino rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep the smile off his face as they made their way over to sit down on the blankets with everyone else.
Jun, Aiba and Sho didn’t find out the details of what happened in the first place, or the details of their making up - nor were they too bothered by that fact, because finally things were right. The change that fell over the entire group was remarkable, all of them happier than they had been for quite a while.
That night Ohno finally found himself able to think about his mother with a smile on his face; she would’ve been proud of him - he was being true to his feelings.
When they woke the next day the happy atmosphere remained, but as they got closer and closer to Torayama it gradually became more serious. The closer they got, the harder things began to hit them; they were going to have to relive that day again - it had been two weeks since it happened, but somehow it seemed like so much longer, as though months - or even years - had passed; they had come so far since the event, without having to think of it too much, but if they were going to share the news of such destruction there was no way of avoiding the memories of fear and pain.
It went unspoken that Sho and Jun would be the ones to talk - they had always been better at that sort of thing - and Sho spent much of the journey thinking about what he was going to say. The thought that they wouldn’t be seen by anyone of importance, hadn’t occurred to him until that point, but as they got closer to the capital, his doubts increased.
They were from a mountain village - albeit a rather large one - and had no connections. The emperor was the emperor and they knew next to nothing about him. As worries ran through Sho’s head he realised how unlikely it was that their mission would be a success - he wouldn’t be surprised if the guards turned them away the moment they arrived; they were normal citizens, normal people didn’t get to give messages to the emperor, they just didn’t. Normal people didn’t even get to meet anyone of vague importance - that was the way things worked.
These doubts continued to run through his head for the entire journey, and by the time they finally reached the capital, to say that Sho was nervous would’ve been a vast understatement. The others seemed to have been sharing his thoughts, because as they rode through the bustling streets none of them spoke - their expressions shared the same sceptical quality.
They gained a little more hope from the fact that those living in the capital seemed to be watching them with awed expressions - there was no doubt that these people were poor, and the group of five were dressed far better than them, although their clothes were certainly not the most impressive. More than the way they looked, however, the villagers could sense something about the group, somehow it was clear that they had been through a lot, both on their journey and before it.
As they reached the gates of the castle, one of the guards approached them. Sho was given more confidence from the fact that they weren’t immediately turned away. It was Jun who announced the purpose of their visit - the fact that he was the only one with his own horse seemed to indicate that he was the leader, despite that not being the case.
“My name is Matsumoto Jun.” He began calmly. “We’ve come from Kikuyama, in the north west, with an important message regarding an attack from the northern country.”
The guard nodded, informing them to stay where they were before opening the gates and making his way through.
He returned ten minutes later, a striking man dressed in warrior’s clothing by his side.
“My name is Watanabe Tetsuo - captain of the armed forces. I hear you have a message?” The man was tall and carried an air of confidence - like most warlords, Ohno supposed. He looked imposing and dangerous, and the way he spoke was harsh, yet Ohno didn’t feel as though the man would harm them - if the captain himself had come to listen to them, he must care about the citizens of the southern country quite a bit.
The group of five bowed their heads towards him before looking up again, Jun looking the man in the eye as he gave the message as clearly as he could, knowing it wouldn’t be appreciated if the message wasn’t concise.
“There has been an attack, sir. The army from the northern country crossed the large range of mountains in the North West, where there were no defending soldiers, and destroyed our village. I don’t know where they are now - probably around the west coast, by my guess.”
Watanabe nodded in understanding, appearing to like Jun’s attitude and manner of speaking - he used the right amount of formality, whilst remaining to the point.
“How many survivors?”
“Just us five, sir.”
Watanabe nodded again, muttering something under his breath about the brutality of the northern country’s army - the black devils - and how it needed to be stopped.
“You’ll be staying in the castle tonight. I believe the emperor may wish to see you tomorrow. I’ll make sure you’re all properly looked after during your stay.”
They saw a man who appeared to be around their age approaching, and Watanabe spoke again. “This is Suzuki. He’ll take your horses for you and make sure they’re taken care of.”
Jun nodded and climbed off of Kano quickly, allowing Suzuki to take the horse, and lead it in the direction of the stables. Two more men, slightly younger looking came from the same direction - stable hands by the looks of things - and once everyone else had dismounted, they took Rai and Yoshi as well.
Watanabe gestured for them to follow him, and they did so, all five of them slightly amazed that they had actually made it and been taken seriously. This time they had three rooms, and so Jun took the smallest to himself; the rooms were far grander than any they had been in before, and by the time they had been shown around by Watanabe, their things had already been moved into them.
That night they ate their dinner together in Sho and Aiba’s room, after it was decided that they were too tired from travelling to go down and eat with Watanabe - proper discussion of the message they had brought would have to wait until the next day. After eating they all went down and bathed together, before changing into the sleeping robes that had been loaned to them; they were all surprised at how well they had been treated. It may have been because Watanabe had taken a liking to them, Jun in particular with his straightforward yet polite manner - on the other hand, it may have been because Watanabe had a sense of guilt, as he was the one who hadn’t made the order for that part of the border to be protected - whatever the reason, all five of them were grateful.
Once they were changed they made their way back up to their rooms where futons had been set out for them, saying mumbled ‘goodnight’s as they each entered their allocated rooms. It wasn’t long before Ohno could hear the sound of gentle snores from the rooms either side of his and Nino’s; everyone was tired, but with him and Nino being alone together properly for the first time since they got together neither of them felt as though they could sleep.
As the sounds of night time fell over the castle - the sounds of snores and steady breathing from across the castle, guards holding quiet conversations, dogs barking occasionally - Ohno couldn’t help but move closer to Nino. They watched each other quietly, both knowing exactly what they wanted, yet still hesitating, wondering if it would be counted as too soon, or something they shouldn’t do in the castle, as the emperor’s guests.
These doubts were soon forgotten as lips were brushing against each other, tongues were meeting, and Nino found himself pinned beneath Ohno. Lips brushed across every millimetre of skin they could find, across cheekbones, foreheads, down necks, anywhere. Ohno’s hands skimmed down Nino’s sides to rest on his hips, and lips met lips again, kisses becoming more heated, more demanding; this time neither of them stopped.
They woke before everyone else the next morning, naked bodies curled around each other in the futon that they had ended up sharing. The first rays of sun were streaming through the window, casting a light glow over them as they lay there together. It was only when Ohno heard the first sounds of movement from the staff that he disentangled himself from Nino and crawled out of the futon, reaching for his sleeping robe. He gave Nino an apologetic look as he pulled the robe on, and handed the other man his own.
“As much as I would’ve loved to stay like that with you longer, Kazu, I don’t think it would’ve been too appreciated by anyone who walks in. It’s probably best if our hosts don’t know.”
Nino didn’t say anything, crawling out of the futon to pull his robe on as well; he knew Ohno was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
He crawled back into bed, and watched as Ohno slid into the other futon, which was set directly next to his.
“We should at least look like we slept separately.”
Nino nodded, reaching a hand out towards Ohno. Ohno took the outstretched hand in his own with a smile, his eyes flickering shut; they may as well get a bit more sleep before someone came to wake them.
A couple of hours passed before Watanabe came to wake them - something neither Ohno nor Nino had expected, as usually it would be a maid who did such things. He informed them that the emperor wished to meet them all after breakfast, and that a maid would be bringing clothes for them, then taking them downstairs to eat. Ohno and Nino nodded their understanding, and watched as Watanabe left to move onto the next room - Sho and Aiba’s. A maid entered the room once Watanabe had left, laying out two robes, far more exquisite than any either of them had worn before, composed of deep, dark colours and subdued patterns - it was to be expected, really, as it was the emperor they would be meeting.
The maid left them in peace to dress, and they did so quickly, making sure they looked presentable. Truthfully, Nino was surprised. He could see that Watanabe had been as well when he delivered the news; to have the emperor actually want to meet them was unexpected - they had been thinking only of delivering their message to someone like Watanabe, who would pass it on.
Once they were both dressed they left the room and saw the maid waiting at the end of the corridor, Jun next to her. Sho and Aiba joined them soon after and the five of them were taken down to breakfast. The meal laid out for them was enormous, yet none of them could eat much, their nerves getting the better of them.
Once they had eaten as much as they could manage they waited for a while before Watanabe came to tell them that the emperor was ready to see them. Nino and Ohno reached for each other’s hands - an unconscious action - as they were led down various hallways, stopping in front of a door which Watanabe opened to reveal a spacious room with a man sitting at the far end.
They were all surprised by the man in front of them as they took their seats and bowed low; the emperor looked surprisingly ordinary. There was no doubt that the clothes he wore were fit for a man of his status, but the regal feel that they had expected him to exude wasn’t there. What was even more surprising was the way the man inclined his head towards them once they were sat upright again.
“I believe I owe you an apology.” He straightened his posture again, casting his gaze across the group of five.
They were all too stunned to do anything - emperors didn’t apologize to people like them, it just didn’t happen.
“From what Watanabe tells me, we’ve failed you; I’m truly sorry for your loss.”
It was Jun who reacted, shaking his head before bowing again. “Your highness doesn’t need to apologize.”
“Please, sit up. I don’t wish for this meeting to be too formal - just tell me your story. I’ve heard from Watanabe, but I don’t believe it’s the same as hearing it from you yourselves.”
Jun did as he was told, sitting up and looking at the emperor.
“It is as you have been told; approximately two weeks ago the army from the Northern country obliterated the village we are from, after crossing the mountains that separated us from them. We believe everything has been destroyed, and the five of us are the only survivors. I’m sorry to say I don’t know where the soldiers are now - by my guess they are either making their way down the west coast, or are lying in wait in the mountains again.”
The emperor nodded his understanding before shooting Jun a curious look. “I hope you don’t mind me asking how you five managed to escape.”
“Not at all, your highness; simply put, we were lucky. I had been in the forest anyway, when I was returning to the village I heard screams, and saw smoke - when I reached the edge of the forest many buildings on the other side of the village were on fire, my house is - was - close to the forest, so I went inside and it was empty. When I looked out of the upstairs window I could see the soldiers, so I grabbed whatever things I could and ran.”
The emperor turned to the other four, glancing over the men who had been silent up to that point. “How about you?”
Nino was the one who spoke first, his voice quiet but clear. “I packed whatever I could, broke a window and ran, your highness. My family were in the front of the house and didn’t manage to escape - I heard them die. It saddens me to say I wasn’t strong enough to try and save them. The four of us met on the way to the forest, and came close to death many times; Aiba saved us on every occasion.”
It was at this point that Ohno cut in, reaching out to squeeze Nino’s hand gently in reassurance. “I watched them kill my mother, father and sister. They came for me last, so I left an illusion of myself, took on invisibility for a short time and ran outside, where I met Nino.”
The emperor raised an eyebrow in curiosity, studying Ohno carefully. “You took on invisibility and left an illusion?”
Ohno nodded his confirmation. “I have the same, rare skills that spies have your highness. They’re not well trained, as I had to teach myself, but it was enough to escape.”
“Do the rest of you possess any skills?”
Aiba took the opportunity to speak up, casting his eyes nervously around the room. “Matsumoto is highly skilled in black magic, Sakurai has the same level of skill with white magic, and Ninomiya is moderately skilled in both. I was training to be a warrior.”
“You saved their lives?”
“After seeing the soldiers kill my family I was angry, your highness. I hadn’t been able to get there fast enough to save their lives, as I had been upstairs. I think the anger gave me extra strength, somehow, and I cut the soldiers down where they stood. After that I fought any soldiers that stood in my way, and by some miracle won. After finding Ohno, Nino and Sho I just wanted to stop anyone from hurting them too.” Aiba explained, not even noticing that he had reverted to using his friend’s nicknames.
“My story is much the same as the others.” Sho began, after the emperor turned to look at him. “They set my house on fire, and I managed to get out through the back door. I couldn’t reach the front of the house, where my family were.”
“You’ve all been through a lot. Again, I must apologize. Troops will be sent up to guard that area - it saddens me to think that it’s already too late for so many people. I haven’t yet heard of any destruction from the west coast, but unfortunately I can’t see much reason for the soldiers to have retreated into the mountains. I hope we aren’t too late for anyone else.” The emperor looked over them carefully as another question came to mind.
“What will the five of you do now? You have nowhere to go back to.”
“We were thinking of going back to live in a town we passed through during our journey, your highness - Shikaoka.” Jun answered. At some point during their meeting with the emperor nervousness had been forgotten, and the conversation had lost much of its formality.
“I see.” The emperor thought for a moment, before looking at Jun directly. “I feel it necessary to give the five of you some money, to start your lives again; if you do not feel that you could accept it as compensation for all that has befallen you, then I ask you to think of it as payment - after all, you were messengers, and I can consider you my employees for that one task.”
The group of five bowed deeply, Jun speaking up with words of thanks. “In that case, we must thank you for your kindness.”
“You may stay here as long as you need before leaving. I recommend that you take a walk in the gardens before your departure - they’re beautiful this time of year.”
After that, Watanabe led them out of the room - looking just as stunned as the rest of them at what had just occurred.
Two months later saw them back in Shikaoka, all living together in a spacious house and having set up a small shop. They had remained in the capital for the better part of a month before eventually leaving. The sum of money they had been presented with had been fairly large, and they had been more than ready to protest at the amount, but after some convincing had accepted. As well as money, they had been offered two more horses, but declined the offer; during the course of the journey they had become accustomed to sharing - liked it, even - and so they had left in much the same manner as they had arrived, only carrying a sense of accomplishment and joy at having been able to do something to bring peace to the souls of those they loved.
Yukina had been overjoyed at Jun’s return, and it had been revealed that she had cried for a full day once they had left. It was obvious that the family they had become friends with during their short stay in Shikaoka were relieved to see them return in high spirits, their mission achieved, and Ohno had noticed them watching him and Nino briefly - no doubt checking whether things between the two of them had resolved.
They all knew that their life in Shikaoka would be a happy one, much like their life in Kikuyama had been, and whilst they still frequently thought of those that had died - remembered them and prayed for them - they felt that they were now able to move on, as they were sure everyone would have wanted.
That day would be one which they would never forget, but finally the balance in their lives had been restored.
Pairing/Group: Ohno/Nino, Arashi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU
Notes: For lady_gemma. I hope you enjoy it, and that it’s what you wanted. It was fun to write :D ♥ And thank you to the person I constantly spammed with this and complained to, and who checked it over for me ♥♥
Summary: (Fantasy/Historical AU) When life as you know it ends, what do you do?
When Ohno woke the next morning - after having taken hours getting to sleep due to the nagging worry about his and Nino’s current situation - Nino was gone. From the amount of light creeping in through the window he could tell that it was still fairly early, but he got up anyway, fairly certain that he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep if he tried, and wanting to find Nino as quickly as possible - they needed to sort things out.
He could hear the soothing clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen - a sound which always comforted Ohno, a reminder of his mother - as well as the sounds of hushed conversation from Sho and Aiba in the next room, probably trying not to wake Jun, and the sounds of Shikaoka beginning to wake; people walking, talking, laughing, and someone whistling as they began to open up their shop. Sounds like these calmed Ohno - they were such ordinary things, and Ohno had always liked normalcy and stability - and he found himself growing more determined to go and face Nino; to attempt to sort things out between them.
He dressed before making his way downstairs, standing in the kitchen doorway as he watched each individual movement that Nino made as he prepared breakfast alone - Nino must’ve insisted on doing it, because Ohno couldn’t imagine Yukina and Koichi’s mother agreeing to let someone help her with her job, let alone take over the making of the meal entirely.
Eventually, Nino turned around, their eyes meeting for a moment before the younger man looked down at his feet. “It’ll be done in about half an hour.” Nino mumbled, hastily turning back to his task. Ohno didn’t move from his position, watching Nino for a few more moments before speaking up.
“Nino I want to talk.”
“I’m busy, Ohno.”
Ohno internally winced at the tone of Nino’s voice - harsh with a tiny hint of sadness, which Ohno was certain he wouldn’t have noticed had he not known Nino so well and for so long - as well as the sound of his name, no longer the usual ‘Oh-chan’ or ‘Satoshi’. He knew that what had happened probably shouldn’t have - it had been the exact thing they’d been trying to avoid - and he also knew that Nino’s coldness was nothing more than a façade; Ohno was certain that the other didn’t blame him; Nino was entirely blaming himself, as always.
Whilst it had only been a kiss - usually something fairly small and not particularly important - for Ohno and Nino it had been much more; it had been the gateway to something that they both wanted, but knew they shouldn’t have. Ohno was positive that had Nino not come to his senses and rushed away when he had, things would’ve progressed much further.
“Nino, please.”
Nino remained silent, and after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting for a reply that never came, Ohno backed away from the door dejectedly, making his way upstairs to see Jun, Sho and Aiba.
The atmosphere at breakfast that morning was different. Jun, Sho and Aiba did their best to keep up conversation with light hearted banter and discussion of what they should do that day - and the family played along - but Ohno and Nino, whilst sat next to each other as always, didn’t say a word.
Nino hadn’t eaten a thing, instead choosing to rearrange each item of food on his plate individually and transfer grains of rice to one side of his bowl and back again, one by one. Ohno hadn’t eaten much more than the other, although he had made sure to mumble his appreciation for the little food he had eaten, just loud enough for Nino to hear.
The underlying atmosphere of awkwardness in the room was becoming increasingly unbearable, and the moment the last person had finished eating, Ohno and Nino were uttering their final words of thanks for the meal and announcements of leaving, before making their speedy escapes - Nino heading directly for the door to head into town, whilst Ohno made for the stairs, all too ready to just go back to their room and be alone.
Not long afterwards, once Ohno was sat dejectedly in the corner of the room, he was cornered by a worried looking Jun, Sho and Aiba, who didn’t seem to care too much about his wish to just be alone - Ohno suspected that they didn’t intend to leave until they had an explanation.
“You slept with him, didn’t you?” Aiba questioned the moment he stepped through the door, never one to bother with subtlety when it came to such matters.
Ohno looked up at Aiba with a sigh and a shake of his head. “No. I didn’t.”
“Well what happened then? I’ve never seen you two that awkward.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Ohno stated, looking back down at the floor ‘not unless it’s Nino that I’m talking to’ he added mentally, idly tracing patterns on the tatami next to him. He could feel them watching him, concern evident in their eyes no doubt, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at them, fairly certain that he’d end up telling them everything if he did - something he was sure Nino didn’t want.
“Maybe you should go and find Nino. It would be bad if he got lost or something.” Ohno mumbled after a long silence, in which the other three had watched him expectantly. Jun responded with a nod. “I’ll go.” He turned to leave the room, and Sho and Aiba moved to sit in front of Ohno, not planning on leaving until they were told everything.
Ohno listened as Jun left the building, hearing Yukina ask if they were going to go out on the horses later. Although the sound of Jun’s reply, and the door sliding shut had been the last Sho and Aiba heard of Jun before he left, Ohno could still hear the gentle slap of his sandals against the ground as he walked down the street; he focused on the rhythmic sound, prolonging his avoidance of Sho and Aiba’s questions for as long as he could - finding other things to focus on helped him to ignore the expectant gazes being sent his way.
Silence hung awkwardly in the room until Ohno finally spoke again, glancing at the two men in front of him. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Sho raised an eyebrow. “Too bad, because we do.”
Ohno sighed and silence fell over them again for another few minutes. “I…” He trailed off, not entirely sure what he’d been planning to say next.
“You…?” Aiba prompted, causing Ohno to sigh again.
“I want to talk to Nino first.”
They waited in silence for Nino and Jun’s return, Aiba and Sho shooting worried glances at each other every so often. Ohno sat listening for the sounds of Nino and Jun’s footsteps getting closer, sighing every so often as he fell into thought about what he was even going to say to Nino. Eventually the sound of those footsteps came, and Ohno sat up quickly, watching the door with hopeful eyes.
When the door slid open, only Jun was standing there, and he made his way into the room, sitting down with them. “He’s in our room. He says he wants to be alone.”
Ohno’s face fell and he slumped against the wall again, disconsolately. Jun, Sho and Aiba all stood again before making their way out, finally leaving Ohno in peace. He could hear the sound of Yukina chatting excitedly to Jun, followed by the discussion of whether they should go on the horse ride or not. He could clearly hear the sound of Koichi asking whether Ohno and Nino would be accompanying them, and Sho’s reply that they wouldn’t, but he was more concentrated on the sound of Nino’s breathing, which he could hear on the other side of the thin wall that he was leaning against.
“Nino?” He was positive that the other heard him - the walls certainly weren’t thick enough to allow Nino to not hear him - but got no response. He had given up on getting one when he heard the tiny mumble from the other.
“Later. I’m not ready to talk yet.” Nino knew that Ohno had heard, despite how quiet he had been - Ohno always heard - and the words brought Ohno a small amount of comfort. He could wait until later, if he had to.
When the others returned from their horse ride, Ohno and Nino hadn’t moved, and it was already time for dinner. With a small amount of persuasion they were both convinced to come down and at least sit with everyone for the duration of the meal. Ohno made an effort to eat more than he had at breakfast, aware that they were leaving Shikaoka the next day, and he would need the energy to travel. Nino made an effort as well, eating a small amount - although it was significantly less than everyone else, it was at least something.
The atmosphere at the table was heavy. Everyone felt a reluctance to say goodbye, although they knew that they had to. Sho thought that maybe, once they had completed their mission they would return to Shikaoka; there wasn’t anywhere else for them to go, and they all liked it there - they already felt at home, after being there for only two days.
Although they slept in the same room that night Ohno and Nino had yet to speak, the awkwardness still clear and strong between them despite the few words they had exchanged earlier, which had given Ohno a small thread of hope. They slept on opposite sides of the room, each of them facing away from the other; perhaps from fear of the same thing happening again if they were too close - if they even gained eye contact.
The next morning they packed up, loaded the horses and said their goodbyes. The prediction about things being tearful on Yukina’s part had turned out to be completely accurate, and Jun found himself crouched in front of the girl, patting her head soothingly as he promised multiple times to come back and visit as soon as he could; this seemed to calm the five year old somewhat, and she gave Jun a quick kiss on the cheek, her face bright red as she did so. Jun smiled at her and patted her head once more before standing and climbing onto his horse, Rai, determinedly ignoring the amused smirks from his friends, who had already mounted their own horses; even Nino couldn’t help a small smirk, although it was admittedly half hearted, compared to usual.
Nino had asked Jun if he could share Rai with him, but Jun had refused; his request to swap with either Sho or Aiba had been refused as well, and so he was sat behind Ohno on Yoshi as usual, his hands barely holding onto the other. Jun, Sho and Aiba had no doubt decided that the fastest way of getting Ohno and Nino to make up would be to prevent them from avoiding each other wherever possible, but with Nino’s loose grip on Ohno’s robe they couldn’t help but worry for his safety - it would do nothing to keep the other balanced whatsoever, all it succeeded in doing was making the pair look extremely awkward.
“Nino,” Ohno mumbled, quietly enough for only Nino to be able to hear him. “I know you don’t want to, but you should hold on tighter. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Nino tentatively wrapped his arms around Ohno’s waist, still managing to look every bit as awkward as he had before - He could deal with being in the same room as Ohno, but being so close wasn’t helping him to push his feelings back at all, rather, it was having the complete opposite effect.
After a few more goodbyes, promises to come back, and tears on Yukina’s part, they rode out of Shikaoka, heading towards the next town, Yurizawa. According to Sho, they should reach Yurizawa by the end of the day and there was a village en route, Iwarisu, in which they planned to stop for lunch.
Nino was glad that the day was set to be a short one, because sitting so close to Ohno was pure torture; he found himself liking being pressed up against Ohno’s back far too much, which in turn made him feel increasingly awkward and pathetic.
The journey to the village took a few hours, and so by the time they arrived in Iwarisu it was time to eat lunch - their timing had been planned meticulously by Jun and Sho, who had spent hours working out the route they should take. Their meal was eaten in what appeared to be the village’s only restaurant, and whilst the food wasn’t particularly exciting, it tasted good and came in large portions; Neither Ohno or Nino came close to finishing their meals, and Aiba suggested that in future they should just share a portion, because it was pointless ordering them a full meal each with them acting the way they were.
The rest of the journey to Yurizawa passed fairly quickly, and in relative silence on Ohno and Nino’s part; Jun, Sho and Aiba made the effort to keep up conversation, but Ohno and Nino never showed a sign of even contemplating joining in. If anything, rather than the two of them making up - as Jun, Sho and Aiba had no doubt intended when they refused to switch horses - they had been looking increasingly uncomfortable with each other; although Sho still didn’t know what had happened between the pair he had his suspicions, and it was his theory that by forcing them together wherever possible they would eventually have no choice but to give in to their feelings.
There was no doubt in Sho’s mind that Ohno and Nino were putting so much effort into hiding their feelings for the sake of the group - he knew that Nino, at least, was positive that the two of them being together would create some sort of tension between them all - but even so, Sho didn’t think they had thought about things properly; if anything, it was the awkwardness and tension that hovered around Ohno and Nino which would drive them all apart. The act of trying to keep everyone together was achieving the exact opposite, and Sho hoped that it wouldn’t take too long for both Nino and Ohno to realise that.
The rooming arrangements that night were the same as before, at the insistence of Jun, Sho and Aiba, all of whom were determined to fix things between Ohno and Nino, despite them not knowing exactly what it was that had happened. That night passed much like the last had - with Ohno and Nino facing opposite ways, on different sides of the room.
It was clear to everyone that nothing had changed in the course of that night, and Sho could only hope that they would finally make up on the last stretch of the journey. The final part was to take three days, with no stops in any more villages - for Torayama lay alone, at the foot of the highest mountain in the country, part of the mountain range which separated their country from the next, the country which was plotting attack and had already killed so many of the people the group loved.
Two days were spent in Yurizawa with little change in the situation, other than both Ohno and Nino beginning to eat more. The town was nice enough, but everyone was too preoccupied with what was happening between Ohno and Nino to really notice much about it, as they had done with Shikaoka.
It came as a relief to Jun, Sho and Aiba when they left on the twelfth morning of their journey, although Ohno and Nino felt the opposite; in Yurizawa they had been able to escape, but when they were travelling together there was nowhere for them to go - they would have no choice but to be together the whole time.
It became obvious that after a day of permanent closeness, the barrier that Ohno and Nino had constructed between them was beginning to wear down. They were both tired, physically and mentally, and as they all remounted their horses on the thirteenth day, Nino couldn’t help but hold onto Ohno a little tighter than he had the day before, lean in a little closer - his guard was falling, and Ohno was more than ready to let his own drop as well.
The change didn’t go unnoticed by the other three, and that day as they rode past rice fields and through forests, there was more conversation - more smiles; the tense, awkward atmosphere that had surrounded them was slowly beginning to change back to the old, familiar one in which they were able to laugh and talk. The one that Jun, Sho and Aiba had been missing so much.
That evening after they had eaten, Nino grabbed Ohno’s wrist and led the other away from the small clearing in which they had set up camp for the night. When he felt they were far enough away from Jun, Sho and Aiba he stopped and turned to face the other.
“We can’t keep going like this anymore, Oh-chan.”
Ohno couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face at the sound of the familiar nickname - one he hadn’t heard in days.
“I know.” Was his simple answer as he reached a hand up to cup Nino’s cheek, his thumb stroking the skin beneath it gently; the action was a mimic of what he had done that night in Shikaoka, just before they kissed.
“It’s worse this way, isn’t it?” Nino showed no sign of pushing Ohno’s hand away, instead moving closer, not even trying to break the eye contact they held. “We’re making things worse for everyone by trying to ignore it, aren’t we?”
“Yes.” Ohno nodded, then began to lean towards Nino, no longer able to resist.
His lips brushed gently against Nino’s in a simple kiss - one that in all its briefness conveyed everything that they had wanted to say and do for the past six days - before he pulled back a little to look at Nino. “So let’s stop ignoring.”
With that Nino gave a small smile as Ohno pulled him into another kiss, this one slightly more desperate - both of them were craving each other after having held back for so long.
It wasn’t long until Nino’s hand were in Ohno’s hair, and Ohno’s hand was resting on the small of Nino’s back, the gentle pressure of it comforting to the younger man. The kiss was slow and loving, and for all the desperation they felt to be close, they knew that they had all the time in the world.
This time when they broke apart, it wasn’t for Nino to run away, and just that fact made Ohno happier than he would care to admit. They exchanged smiles before moving away from each other, Ohno taking Nino’s hand in his own before leading him back towards everyone else.
When they returned, Aiba took one look at their hands, fingers laced together, before shooting them a knowing smile and nudging Sho who was next to him. Nino rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep the smile off his face as they made their way over to sit down on the blankets with everyone else.
Jun, Aiba and Sho didn’t find out the details of what happened in the first place, or the details of their making up - nor were they too bothered by that fact, because finally things were right. The change that fell over the entire group was remarkable, all of them happier than they had been for quite a while.
That night Ohno finally found himself able to think about his mother with a smile on his face; she would’ve been proud of him - he was being true to his feelings.
When they woke the next day the happy atmosphere remained, but as they got closer and closer to Torayama it gradually became more serious. The closer they got, the harder things began to hit them; they were going to have to relive that day again - it had been two weeks since it happened, but somehow it seemed like so much longer, as though months - or even years - had passed; they had come so far since the event, without having to think of it too much, but if they were going to share the news of such destruction there was no way of avoiding the memories of fear and pain.
It went unspoken that Sho and Jun would be the ones to talk - they had always been better at that sort of thing - and Sho spent much of the journey thinking about what he was going to say. The thought that they wouldn’t be seen by anyone of importance, hadn’t occurred to him until that point, but as they got closer to the capital, his doubts increased.
They were from a mountain village - albeit a rather large one - and had no connections. The emperor was the emperor and they knew next to nothing about him. As worries ran through Sho’s head he realised how unlikely it was that their mission would be a success - he wouldn’t be surprised if the guards turned them away the moment they arrived; they were normal citizens, normal people didn’t get to give messages to the emperor, they just didn’t. Normal people didn’t even get to meet anyone of vague importance - that was the way things worked.
These doubts continued to run through his head for the entire journey, and by the time they finally reached the capital, to say that Sho was nervous would’ve been a vast understatement. The others seemed to have been sharing his thoughts, because as they rode through the bustling streets none of them spoke - their expressions shared the same sceptical quality.
They gained a little more hope from the fact that those living in the capital seemed to be watching them with awed expressions - there was no doubt that these people were poor, and the group of five were dressed far better than them, although their clothes were certainly not the most impressive. More than the way they looked, however, the villagers could sense something about the group, somehow it was clear that they had been through a lot, both on their journey and before it.
As they reached the gates of the castle, one of the guards approached them. Sho was given more confidence from the fact that they weren’t immediately turned away. It was Jun who announced the purpose of their visit - the fact that he was the only one with his own horse seemed to indicate that he was the leader, despite that not being the case.
“My name is Matsumoto Jun.” He began calmly. “We’ve come from Kikuyama, in the north west, with an important message regarding an attack from the northern country.”
The guard nodded, informing them to stay where they were before opening the gates and making his way through.
He returned ten minutes later, a striking man dressed in warrior’s clothing by his side.
“My name is Watanabe Tetsuo - captain of the armed forces. I hear you have a message?” The man was tall and carried an air of confidence - like most warlords, Ohno supposed. He looked imposing and dangerous, and the way he spoke was harsh, yet Ohno didn’t feel as though the man would harm them - if the captain himself had come to listen to them, he must care about the citizens of the southern country quite a bit.
The group of five bowed their heads towards him before looking up again, Jun looking the man in the eye as he gave the message as clearly as he could, knowing it wouldn’t be appreciated if the message wasn’t concise.
“There has been an attack, sir. The army from the northern country crossed the large range of mountains in the North West, where there were no defending soldiers, and destroyed our village. I don’t know where they are now - probably around the west coast, by my guess.”
Watanabe nodded in understanding, appearing to like Jun’s attitude and manner of speaking - he used the right amount of formality, whilst remaining to the point.
“How many survivors?”
“Just us five, sir.”
Watanabe nodded again, muttering something under his breath about the brutality of the northern country’s army - the black devils - and how it needed to be stopped.
“You’ll be staying in the castle tonight. I believe the emperor may wish to see you tomorrow. I’ll make sure you’re all properly looked after during your stay.”
They saw a man who appeared to be around their age approaching, and Watanabe spoke again. “This is Suzuki. He’ll take your horses for you and make sure they’re taken care of.”
Jun nodded and climbed off of Kano quickly, allowing Suzuki to take the horse, and lead it in the direction of the stables. Two more men, slightly younger looking came from the same direction - stable hands by the looks of things - and once everyone else had dismounted, they took Rai and Yoshi as well.
Watanabe gestured for them to follow him, and they did so, all five of them slightly amazed that they had actually made it and been taken seriously. This time they had three rooms, and so Jun took the smallest to himself; the rooms were far grander than any they had been in before, and by the time they had been shown around by Watanabe, their things had already been moved into them.
That night they ate their dinner together in Sho and Aiba’s room, after it was decided that they were too tired from travelling to go down and eat with Watanabe - proper discussion of the message they had brought would have to wait until the next day. After eating they all went down and bathed together, before changing into the sleeping robes that had been loaned to them; they were all surprised at how well they had been treated. It may have been because Watanabe had taken a liking to them, Jun in particular with his straightforward yet polite manner - on the other hand, it may have been because Watanabe had a sense of guilt, as he was the one who hadn’t made the order for that part of the border to be protected - whatever the reason, all five of them were grateful.
Once they were changed they made their way back up to their rooms where futons had been set out for them, saying mumbled ‘goodnight’s as they each entered their allocated rooms. It wasn’t long before Ohno could hear the sound of gentle snores from the rooms either side of his and Nino’s; everyone was tired, but with him and Nino being alone together properly for the first time since they got together neither of them felt as though they could sleep.
As the sounds of night time fell over the castle - the sounds of snores and steady breathing from across the castle, guards holding quiet conversations, dogs barking occasionally - Ohno couldn’t help but move closer to Nino. They watched each other quietly, both knowing exactly what they wanted, yet still hesitating, wondering if it would be counted as too soon, or something they shouldn’t do in the castle, as the emperor’s guests.
These doubts were soon forgotten as lips were brushing against each other, tongues were meeting, and Nino found himself pinned beneath Ohno. Lips brushed across every millimetre of skin they could find, across cheekbones, foreheads, down necks, anywhere. Ohno’s hands skimmed down Nino’s sides to rest on his hips, and lips met lips again, kisses becoming more heated, more demanding; this time neither of them stopped.
They woke before everyone else the next morning, naked bodies curled around each other in the futon that they had ended up sharing. The first rays of sun were streaming through the window, casting a light glow over them as they lay there together. It was only when Ohno heard the first sounds of movement from the staff that he disentangled himself from Nino and crawled out of the futon, reaching for his sleeping robe. He gave Nino an apologetic look as he pulled the robe on, and handed the other man his own.
“As much as I would’ve loved to stay like that with you longer, Kazu, I don’t think it would’ve been too appreciated by anyone who walks in. It’s probably best if our hosts don’t know.”
Nino didn’t say anything, crawling out of the futon to pull his robe on as well; he knew Ohno was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
He crawled back into bed, and watched as Ohno slid into the other futon, which was set directly next to his.
“We should at least look like we slept separately.”
Nino nodded, reaching a hand out towards Ohno. Ohno took the outstretched hand in his own with a smile, his eyes flickering shut; they may as well get a bit more sleep before someone came to wake them.
A couple of hours passed before Watanabe came to wake them - something neither Ohno nor Nino had expected, as usually it would be a maid who did such things. He informed them that the emperor wished to meet them all after breakfast, and that a maid would be bringing clothes for them, then taking them downstairs to eat. Ohno and Nino nodded their understanding, and watched as Watanabe left to move onto the next room - Sho and Aiba’s. A maid entered the room once Watanabe had left, laying out two robes, far more exquisite than any either of them had worn before, composed of deep, dark colours and subdued patterns - it was to be expected, really, as it was the emperor they would be meeting.
The maid left them in peace to dress, and they did so quickly, making sure they looked presentable. Truthfully, Nino was surprised. He could see that Watanabe had been as well when he delivered the news; to have the emperor actually want to meet them was unexpected - they had been thinking only of delivering their message to someone like Watanabe, who would pass it on.
Once they were both dressed they left the room and saw the maid waiting at the end of the corridor, Jun next to her. Sho and Aiba joined them soon after and the five of them were taken down to breakfast. The meal laid out for them was enormous, yet none of them could eat much, their nerves getting the better of them.
Once they had eaten as much as they could manage they waited for a while before Watanabe came to tell them that the emperor was ready to see them. Nino and Ohno reached for each other’s hands - an unconscious action - as they were led down various hallways, stopping in front of a door which Watanabe opened to reveal a spacious room with a man sitting at the far end.
They were all surprised by the man in front of them as they took their seats and bowed low; the emperor looked surprisingly ordinary. There was no doubt that the clothes he wore were fit for a man of his status, but the regal feel that they had expected him to exude wasn’t there. What was even more surprising was the way the man inclined his head towards them once they were sat upright again.
“I believe I owe you an apology.” He straightened his posture again, casting his gaze across the group of five.
They were all too stunned to do anything - emperors didn’t apologize to people like them, it just didn’t happen.
“From what Watanabe tells me, we’ve failed you; I’m truly sorry for your loss.”
It was Jun who reacted, shaking his head before bowing again. “Your highness doesn’t need to apologize.”
“Please, sit up. I don’t wish for this meeting to be too formal - just tell me your story. I’ve heard from Watanabe, but I don’t believe it’s the same as hearing it from you yourselves.”
Jun did as he was told, sitting up and looking at the emperor.
“It is as you have been told; approximately two weeks ago the army from the Northern country obliterated the village we are from, after crossing the mountains that separated us from them. We believe everything has been destroyed, and the five of us are the only survivors. I’m sorry to say I don’t know where the soldiers are now - by my guess they are either making their way down the west coast, or are lying in wait in the mountains again.”
The emperor nodded his understanding before shooting Jun a curious look. “I hope you don’t mind me asking how you five managed to escape.”
“Not at all, your highness; simply put, we were lucky. I had been in the forest anyway, when I was returning to the village I heard screams, and saw smoke - when I reached the edge of the forest many buildings on the other side of the village were on fire, my house is - was - close to the forest, so I went inside and it was empty. When I looked out of the upstairs window I could see the soldiers, so I grabbed whatever things I could and ran.”
The emperor turned to the other four, glancing over the men who had been silent up to that point. “How about you?”
Nino was the one who spoke first, his voice quiet but clear. “I packed whatever I could, broke a window and ran, your highness. My family were in the front of the house and didn’t manage to escape - I heard them die. It saddens me to say I wasn’t strong enough to try and save them. The four of us met on the way to the forest, and came close to death many times; Aiba saved us on every occasion.”
It was at this point that Ohno cut in, reaching out to squeeze Nino’s hand gently in reassurance. “I watched them kill my mother, father and sister. They came for me last, so I left an illusion of myself, took on invisibility for a short time and ran outside, where I met Nino.”
The emperor raised an eyebrow in curiosity, studying Ohno carefully. “You took on invisibility and left an illusion?”
Ohno nodded his confirmation. “I have the same, rare skills that spies have your highness. They’re not well trained, as I had to teach myself, but it was enough to escape.”
“Do the rest of you possess any skills?”
Aiba took the opportunity to speak up, casting his eyes nervously around the room. “Matsumoto is highly skilled in black magic, Sakurai has the same level of skill with white magic, and Ninomiya is moderately skilled in both. I was training to be a warrior.”
“You saved their lives?”
“After seeing the soldiers kill my family I was angry, your highness. I hadn’t been able to get there fast enough to save their lives, as I had been upstairs. I think the anger gave me extra strength, somehow, and I cut the soldiers down where they stood. After that I fought any soldiers that stood in my way, and by some miracle won. After finding Ohno, Nino and Sho I just wanted to stop anyone from hurting them too.” Aiba explained, not even noticing that he had reverted to using his friend’s nicknames.
“My story is much the same as the others.” Sho began, after the emperor turned to look at him. “They set my house on fire, and I managed to get out through the back door. I couldn’t reach the front of the house, where my family were.”
“You’ve all been through a lot. Again, I must apologize. Troops will be sent up to guard that area - it saddens me to think that it’s already too late for so many people. I haven’t yet heard of any destruction from the west coast, but unfortunately I can’t see much reason for the soldiers to have retreated into the mountains. I hope we aren’t too late for anyone else.” The emperor looked over them carefully as another question came to mind.
“What will the five of you do now? You have nowhere to go back to.”
“We were thinking of going back to live in a town we passed through during our journey, your highness - Shikaoka.” Jun answered. At some point during their meeting with the emperor nervousness had been forgotten, and the conversation had lost much of its formality.
“I see.” The emperor thought for a moment, before looking at Jun directly. “I feel it necessary to give the five of you some money, to start your lives again; if you do not feel that you could accept it as compensation for all that has befallen you, then I ask you to think of it as payment - after all, you were messengers, and I can consider you my employees for that one task.”
The group of five bowed deeply, Jun speaking up with words of thanks. “In that case, we must thank you for your kindness.”
“You may stay here as long as you need before leaving. I recommend that you take a walk in the gardens before your departure - they’re beautiful this time of year.”
After that, Watanabe led them out of the room - looking just as stunned as the rest of them at what had just occurred.
Two months later saw them back in Shikaoka, all living together in a spacious house and having set up a small shop. They had remained in the capital for the better part of a month before eventually leaving. The sum of money they had been presented with had been fairly large, and they had been more than ready to protest at the amount, but after some convincing had accepted. As well as money, they had been offered two more horses, but declined the offer; during the course of the journey they had become accustomed to sharing - liked it, even - and so they had left in much the same manner as they had arrived, only carrying a sense of accomplishment and joy at having been able to do something to bring peace to the souls of those they loved.
Yukina had been overjoyed at Jun’s return, and it had been revealed that she had cried for a full day once they had left. It was obvious that the family they had become friends with during their short stay in Shikaoka were relieved to see them return in high spirits, their mission achieved, and Ohno had noticed them watching him and Nino briefly - no doubt checking whether things between the two of them had resolved.
They all knew that their life in Shikaoka would be a happy one, much like their life in Kikuyama had been, and whilst they still frequently thought of those that had died - remembered them and prayed for them - they felt that they were now able to move on, as they were sure everyone would have wanted.
That day would be one which they would never forget, but finally the balance in their lives had been restored.