Broken Bird: Chapter 5
<<= Chapter 4 Beginning Archive Chapter 6 =>>
Title: Broken Bird: Chapter 5
Author: saurgristiel (supplemented by b-sim)
Rating: G
Pairings/Characters: Hyde (Hideto) & Gackt (Satoru), Ken, KAZ (Kazu), misc OCs
Genre: Historical,
Disclaimer: Don’t own them, just the idea.
Warnings: Satoru’s regular sickness.
Words: 2,097
Summary: Satoru starts recovering but has a setback.
~~~
For the next 4 days, Hideto did a lot of talking. The incident on the way home had really scared Hideto.
For some reason, it never really occurred to him just how serious the situation was right at that moment. Whenever Satoru had a fainting spell or fell ill, Hideto didn't seem to realize then and there that Satoru could easily lose his life to such illnesses. During those moments, all he could feel was fear, gripping him. Fear and pain. All he would be able to think of was solutions to help ease the hurting that Satoru was going through. It was only afterwards that he really understood the gravity of the situation.
Hideto had wondered, several times, what life without Satoru would be like. Satoru had experienced life without him before and had almost killed himself. Hideto wondered if the pain he would feel would be so great that he would do the same. Some part of him knew he would. Did that make him a bad samurai? Did that make him weak? He didn't bother to answer those questions. He had told himself long ago that such incidents would never happen - he would protect Satoru with his life. He had told himself that. There was no actual reason to wonder about life without Satoru, was there?
But then there were these occurrences when Satoru would graze death. Or perhaps it was the opposite. Perhaps it was death teasing Satoru, toying with him. Taking him in and chewing him up before spitting him back out, scars and wounds and all.
Death was one fucking son of a bitch.
Meanwhile, Satoru did a lot of resting. It was like pulling teeth to get Hideto to let him sit up for a while,
Satoru’s doctor came in every day. He’d checked Satoru’s injuries and agreed that Mizuho had done a good job on his finger. Other than not having his medicine for a couple of days, Satoru was in okay shape.
“Okabe-san.” There was a tap on the door frame before and after the simple words. They gently roused Satoru from his light sleep and he granted admittance. The door slid open and Mizuho stepped inside and closed the door. She knelt down, facing him, and looked at the floor. “I-”
“How are you Mizuho?”
She looked up at him. “A-alright… Takarai-sama and two others had a talk with me. He’s been very generous… More than I would have thought…”
“Not a demon now, is he?” Satoru smiled nicely at her.
She shook her head. “No. He offered to help our village and he wants me to be a liaison with a couple of far out villages near us… I… I just…”
“Say yes.”
“I’m overwhelmed by his kindness.” She wiped at her cheeks.
“Mizuho,” he said as he sat up and turned toward her. No one was here to stop him so he was going to take advantage of that. “What happened to your village?” Satoru had been a “city boy” for most of his life and didn’t quite understand how things were out in the middle of nowhere. “You kept saying your brother was doing this for your village.”
Mizuho sniffed and took a deep breath to collect herself. “Our village has been losing people for several years now. We had a flood three years ago and half of the village, the younger half, left for somewhere else. My brother couldn’t abandon the elders, so his family and our parents stayed behind to support them. But everyone left is too old to move on or to farm. We’ve barely been scraping by. And with nothing to trade, we can’t get food that way either… When my brother’s wife died a year ago, he started to get desperate. He’s never killed a hostage, but you are the one he’s roughed up the most and for that I am truly sorry.” She bowed with her apology.
“But why me?”
“You have nice things, so you must have been or belonged to someone rich. That’s how he picked them. His daughter and our father died six months ago. Papa had been sickly for a while and my brother found the two of them dead in the woods, without a scratch on them.
“That was when he started getting violent, not just threatening. He always took me with him to keep the hostages calm, but now I was tending to small wounds too… I wanted him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. He always had his family’s beads with him… He was lost in his grief and sense of duty…” She broke into tears.
“Mizuho…” She didn’t look up, so he very awkwardly crawled over to her and gently set his hand on her knee. “Say yes to Hi- Takarai-sama. He can’t bring your family back, but he can help your village.” He certainly helped me… “Okay?”
She wiped her cheeks and looked at him. His brown eyes were full of encouragement. A small smile came to his lips too.
~~~
Mizuho had escorted a team to the house to clean it up and had said goodbye beforehand. She wasn’t quite ready to accept his liaison proposal.
~~~
Hideto was on his way back to his rooms, back to his Sa-chan. There had been a few things to take care of and, though he was the lord who had power over everyone in the castle, he needed to do his job. He had been reluctant at first but after some gentle assurances and a kiss from Satoru, Hideto had listened and left. Satoru did look slightly healthier anyway. Still, that did not stop him from working as fast he could, eager to return to his lover.
He slid the fusuma open and his heart skipped. Satoru was not in the room.
“Sa-chan?” He called. There was a slight movement on the porch. He ran across the room and slid the panel open.
Satoru had collapsed on the porch, panting, with a book at the end of his fingertips.
Hideto scrambled around him and pulled him over into his lap. It was a hot and sunny day and Satoru was burning and sweaty to the touch. “Sa-chan! Open your eyes for me, just a little… Let me know you’re okay…” He caressed Satoru’s cheek.
His eyes fluttered around, seeming to try to find where the voice was coming from, but his eyes didn’t fully open.
“Hey, Hideto?” Ken came into the room, starting to run when he saw the two of them. He stopped halfway, however, when Hideto yelled at him to get Satoru’s doctor..
The minutes piled up, Hideto worrying more with each passing one. After what seemed like forever, Ken finally returned and the doctor set to examining Satoru.
Satoru had a very light grip on Hideto’s hand while he panted. He whined as the doctor examined him.
“Does that hurt, Satoru?” He wobbled his head enough to be a ‘no.’
Satoru was mostly there, but exhausted.. He was just so hot. The day itself was quite warm, but he’d been okay, maybe a little lethargic, on days like this before.
“Satoru, Hideto-sama is going to help you take some medicine, is that okay?” Satoru parted his lips a little, ready for it. The doctor handed Hideto a cup. Satoru coughed a little after drinking it, but got most of it down. The doctor wiped his chin and put the cup away.
“Do you hurt anywhere, Sa-chan?” Another head wobble, which wasn’t completely true. His previous injuries and the points that ‘cushioned’ his fall hurt, but it was tolerable. He just wanted to cool off. A swim in the river or favorite lake would be so nice…
Ken stood just inside the doorway, worried for Satoru, when Hideto asked him something. “Huh?”
“Help Tanaka-sensei move Satoru inside when I get his futon ready.”
“Oh, okay.”
Ken took Hideto’s place and waited until he’d gotten lighter covers for the bed, which was just a thin sheet. He prepped Satoru’s bed and the motioned when he was ready.
Ken and Tanaka carefully picked Satoru up and carried him inside, gently laying him down. On the way, Satoru had actually turned off. Hideto removed his obi and slipped Satoru’s arms out of the sleeves. Ken looked worried when he saw the bruises on his ribs for the first time.
Laying there, just in his fundoshi, pale, bruised, sweaty, and slightly quivering, he looked so frail, so easily broken. It was barely noticeable, but Hideto could feel it (Hideto knew every inch of Satoru), and Ken could almost see it: Satoru had lost weight. It made sense, since he was sleeping most of the time and not eating very much, but it was worrying.
The doctor had left to get some things, and Ken could barely stand being in the room. Hideto looked so scared and worried as he stroked Satoru’s face.
“You… wanted something, Ken?” Hideto’s voice was quiet.
Ken sat down, a few feet from Hideto, “Just wanted to chill with you two…” Ken’s voice was equally quiet.
Hideto threw the thin sheet over Satoru, bringing it up to his chest. Whoever came in didn’t need to see Satoru mostly naked.
The doctor came back 15 quiet minutes later with 2 servants in tow. They all carried supplies: a clay jug full of cool water, small cloths, a couple of fans, some food, and medicine. One servant adjusted the fusuma for optimum airflow while the other sat and slowly fanned Satoru, careful not to overheat herself.
Ken listened closely as Tanaka explained what they were going to do to try to cool Satoru off. It all sounded reasonable to Ken, but he couldn’t help thinking, “What if?” Hideto would fall apart if Satoru didn’t make it, or was irreparably damaged. Satoru was weak enough before last week’s events.
Aside from the possibility of losing his head, Tanaka also knew that the young lord would fall apart if Satoru couldn’t defeat this. Only Ken, Kazu, and himself knew about their true relationship. He himself wanted Satoru to get better too.
Satoru shuddered as cool water was wiped across his chest and shoulders and hit by the fan. A cool cloth was placed on his forehead and he, even though unconscious, felt better. Though shocking, the cool felt good.
~~~~~
While able to wake enough to take his medicine and eat a mash containing his medicine, Satoru hadn’t really woken up yet. He could swallow, but he didn’t open his eyes. Hideto was somewhat grateful for that. He didn’t think he’d be able to take the half-lidded, half-conscious eyes of his lover.
It had been two days since his collapse and the weather had broken. It was a very refreshing day and promised to be a beautiful night. The girls had returned to their regular duties since his temperature had gone down.
Hideto sat beside Satoru, holding his hand. He’d ignored his work since then, and for the last hour, Ken had been trying to get him to go on a walk.
“NO!” Hideto growled, his eyes widening at the sound. He felt Haido stirring within him, triggered by the aggression and anger that was building up. Hideto could almost feel Haido looking for the enemy. If Haido found Ken, it would be bad. Hideto panted, trying to keep control. This was something new (he hardly ever got this aggravated) and it startled him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at its owner.
“I’ll look after him, Hideto-sama.” It was Kazu.
Hideto stared at this strategist for a moment before looking back at Satoru, unsure. Kazu was one of his most trusted men and personal friend... He was smart and he knew how to take care of people as well. Satoru would be in good hands, wouldn't he?
The two older men looked at each other and Ken offered him a wry smile, mouthing 'thanks'. Kazu returned the smile and nodded back in acknowledgement - they weren't exactly close but Hideto meant a lot to both of them. They both didn't want to see him like this.
“Come on, shorty.” Ken stood and offered his hand. “Kazu will take good care of him.”
The lord stared at the offered hand, weighing his options. After a few seconds, he decided that he would be no good to Satoru if he fell sick too. With a soft sigh, Hideto leaned down and kissed Satoru’s cheek before taking Ken’s hand and leaving with him. Kazu got comfortable and sat down beside Satoru.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Poll
<<= Chapter 4 Beginning Archive Chapter 6 =>>
Title: Broken Bird: Chapter 5
Author: saurgristiel (supplemented by b-sim)
Rating: G
Pairings/Characters: Hyde (Hideto) & Gackt (Satoru), Ken, KAZ (Kazu), misc OCs
Genre: Historical,
Disclaimer: Don’t own them, just the idea.
Warnings: Satoru’s regular sickness.
Words: 2,097
Summary: Satoru starts recovering but has a setback.
~~~
For the next 4 days, Hideto did a lot of talking. The incident on the way home had really scared Hideto.
For some reason, it never really occurred to him just how serious the situation was right at that moment. Whenever Satoru had a fainting spell or fell ill, Hideto didn't seem to realize then and there that Satoru could easily lose his life to such illnesses. During those moments, all he could feel was fear, gripping him. Fear and pain. All he would be able to think of was solutions to help ease the hurting that Satoru was going through. It was only afterwards that he really understood the gravity of the situation.
Hideto had wondered, several times, what life without Satoru would be like. Satoru had experienced life without him before and had almost killed himself. Hideto wondered if the pain he would feel would be so great that he would do the same. Some part of him knew he would. Did that make him a bad samurai? Did that make him weak? He didn't bother to answer those questions. He had told himself long ago that such incidents would never happen - he would protect Satoru with his life. He had told himself that. There was no actual reason to wonder about life without Satoru, was there?
But then there were these occurrences when Satoru would graze death. Or perhaps it was the opposite. Perhaps it was death teasing Satoru, toying with him. Taking him in and chewing him up before spitting him back out, scars and wounds and all.
Death was one fucking son of a bitch.
Meanwhile, Satoru did a lot of resting. It was like pulling teeth to get Hideto to let him sit up for a while,
Satoru’s doctor came in every day. He’d checked Satoru’s injuries and agreed that Mizuho had done a good job on his finger. Other than not having his medicine for a couple of days, Satoru was in okay shape.
“Okabe-san.” There was a tap on the door frame before and after the simple words. They gently roused Satoru from his light sleep and he granted admittance. The door slid open and Mizuho stepped inside and closed the door. She knelt down, facing him, and looked at the floor. “I-”
“How are you Mizuho?”
She looked up at him. “A-alright… Takarai-sama and two others had a talk with me. He’s been very generous… More than I would have thought…”
“Not a demon now, is he?” Satoru smiled nicely at her.
She shook her head. “No. He offered to help our village and he wants me to be a liaison with a couple of far out villages near us… I… I just…”
“Say yes.”
“I’m overwhelmed by his kindness.” She wiped at her cheeks.
“Mizuho,” he said as he sat up and turned toward her. No one was here to stop him so he was going to take advantage of that. “What happened to your village?” Satoru had been a “city boy” for most of his life and didn’t quite understand how things were out in the middle of nowhere. “You kept saying your brother was doing this for your village.”
Mizuho sniffed and took a deep breath to collect herself. “Our village has been losing people for several years now. We had a flood three years ago and half of the village, the younger half, left for somewhere else. My brother couldn’t abandon the elders, so his family and our parents stayed behind to support them. But everyone left is too old to move on or to farm. We’ve barely been scraping by. And with nothing to trade, we can’t get food that way either… When my brother’s wife died a year ago, he started to get desperate. He’s never killed a hostage, but you are the one he’s roughed up the most and for that I am truly sorry.” She bowed with her apology.
“But why me?”
“You have nice things, so you must have been or belonged to someone rich. That’s how he picked them. His daughter and our father died six months ago. Papa had been sickly for a while and my brother found the two of them dead in the woods, without a scratch on them.
“That was when he started getting violent, not just threatening. He always took me with him to keep the hostages calm, but now I was tending to small wounds too… I wanted him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. He always had his family’s beads with him… He was lost in his grief and sense of duty…” She broke into tears.
“Mizuho…” She didn’t look up, so he very awkwardly crawled over to her and gently set his hand on her knee. “Say yes to Hi- Takarai-sama. He can’t bring your family back, but he can help your village.” He certainly helped me… “Okay?”
She wiped her cheeks and looked at him. His brown eyes were full of encouragement. A small smile came to his lips too.
~~~
Mizuho had escorted a team to the house to clean it up and had said goodbye beforehand. She wasn’t quite ready to accept his liaison proposal.
~~~
Hideto was on his way back to his rooms, back to his Sa-chan. There had been a few things to take care of and, though he was the lord who had power over everyone in the castle, he needed to do his job. He had been reluctant at first but after some gentle assurances and a kiss from Satoru, Hideto had listened and left. Satoru did look slightly healthier anyway. Still, that did not stop him from working as fast he could, eager to return to his lover.
He slid the fusuma open and his heart skipped. Satoru was not in the room.
“Sa-chan?” He called. There was a slight movement on the porch. He ran across the room and slid the panel open.
Satoru had collapsed on the porch, panting, with a book at the end of his fingertips.
Hideto scrambled around him and pulled him over into his lap. It was a hot and sunny day and Satoru was burning and sweaty to the touch. “Sa-chan! Open your eyes for me, just a little… Let me know you’re okay…” He caressed Satoru’s cheek.
His eyes fluttered around, seeming to try to find where the voice was coming from, but his eyes didn’t fully open.
“Hey, Hideto?” Ken came into the room, starting to run when he saw the two of them. He stopped halfway, however, when Hideto yelled at him to get Satoru’s doctor..
The minutes piled up, Hideto worrying more with each passing one. After what seemed like forever, Ken finally returned and the doctor set to examining Satoru.
Satoru had a very light grip on Hideto’s hand while he panted. He whined as the doctor examined him.
“Does that hurt, Satoru?” He wobbled his head enough to be a ‘no.’
Satoru was mostly there, but exhausted.. He was just so hot. The day itself was quite warm, but he’d been okay, maybe a little lethargic, on days like this before.
“Satoru, Hideto-sama is going to help you take some medicine, is that okay?” Satoru parted his lips a little, ready for it. The doctor handed Hideto a cup. Satoru coughed a little after drinking it, but got most of it down. The doctor wiped his chin and put the cup away.
“Do you hurt anywhere, Sa-chan?” Another head wobble, which wasn’t completely true. His previous injuries and the points that ‘cushioned’ his fall hurt, but it was tolerable. He just wanted to cool off. A swim in the river or favorite lake would be so nice…
Ken stood just inside the doorway, worried for Satoru, when Hideto asked him something. “Huh?”
“Help Tanaka-sensei move Satoru inside when I get his futon ready.”
“Oh, okay.”
Ken took Hideto’s place and waited until he’d gotten lighter covers for the bed, which was just a thin sheet. He prepped Satoru’s bed and the motioned when he was ready.
Ken and Tanaka carefully picked Satoru up and carried him inside, gently laying him down. On the way, Satoru had actually turned off. Hideto removed his obi and slipped Satoru’s arms out of the sleeves. Ken looked worried when he saw the bruises on his ribs for the first time.
Laying there, just in his fundoshi, pale, bruised, sweaty, and slightly quivering, he looked so frail, so easily broken. It was barely noticeable, but Hideto could feel it (Hideto knew every inch of Satoru), and Ken could almost see it: Satoru had lost weight. It made sense, since he was sleeping most of the time and not eating very much, but it was worrying.
The doctor had left to get some things, and Ken could barely stand being in the room. Hideto looked so scared and worried as he stroked Satoru’s face.
“You… wanted something, Ken?” Hideto’s voice was quiet.
Ken sat down, a few feet from Hideto, “Just wanted to chill with you two…” Ken’s voice was equally quiet.
Hideto threw the thin sheet over Satoru, bringing it up to his chest. Whoever came in didn’t need to see Satoru mostly naked.
The doctor came back 15 quiet minutes later with 2 servants in tow. They all carried supplies: a clay jug full of cool water, small cloths, a couple of fans, some food, and medicine. One servant adjusted the fusuma for optimum airflow while the other sat and slowly fanned Satoru, careful not to overheat herself.
Ken listened closely as Tanaka explained what they were going to do to try to cool Satoru off. It all sounded reasonable to Ken, but he couldn’t help thinking, “What if?” Hideto would fall apart if Satoru didn’t make it, or was irreparably damaged. Satoru was weak enough before last week’s events.
Aside from the possibility of losing his head, Tanaka also knew that the young lord would fall apart if Satoru couldn’t defeat this. Only Ken, Kazu, and himself knew about their true relationship. He himself wanted Satoru to get better too.
Satoru shuddered as cool water was wiped across his chest and shoulders and hit by the fan. A cool cloth was placed on his forehead and he, even though unconscious, felt better. Though shocking, the cool felt good.
~~~~~
While able to wake enough to take his medicine and eat a mash containing his medicine, Satoru hadn’t really woken up yet. He could swallow, but he didn’t open his eyes. Hideto was somewhat grateful for that. He didn’t think he’d be able to take the half-lidded, half-conscious eyes of his lover.
It had been two days since his collapse and the weather had broken. It was a very refreshing day and promised to be a beautiful night. The girls had returned to their regular duties since his temperature had gone down.
Hideto sat beside Satoru, holding his hand. He’d ignored his work since then, and for the last hour, Ken had been trying to get him to go on a walk.
“NO!” Hideto growled, his eyes widening at the sound. He felt Haido stirring within him, triggered by the aggression and anger that was building up. Hideto could almost feel Haido looking for the enemy. If Haido found Ken, it would be bad. Hideto panted, trying to keep control. This was something new (he hardly ever got this aggravated) and it startled him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at its owner.
“I’ll look after him, Hideto-sama.” It was Kazu.
Hideto stared at this strategist for a moment before looking back at Satoru, unsure. Kazu was one of his most trusted men and personal friend... He was smart and he knew how to take care of people as well. Satoru would be in good hands, wouldn't he?
The two older men looked at each other and Ken offered him a wry smile, mouthing 'thanks'. Kazu returned the smile and nodded back in acknowledgement - they weren't exactly close but Hideto meant a lot to both of them. They both didn't want to see him like this.
“Come on, shorty.” Ken stood and offered his hand. “Kazu will take good care of him.”
The lord stared at the offered hand, weighing his options. After a few seconds, he decided that he would be no good to Satoru if he fell sick too. With a soft sigh, Hideto leaned down and kissed Satoru’s cheek before taking Ken’s hand and leaving with him. Kazu got comfortable and sat down beside Satoru.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Poll
<<= Chapter 4 Beginning Archive Chapter 6 =>>