[Log] Fishing for Gentlemen (Yagyuu, Kirihara)

[laser_megane]

Characters: Kirihara Akaya, Yagyuu Hiroshi
Location: The Island
Time: June 22
Rating: PG-15 for some adult concepts
Summary: Akaya and Yagyuu go fishing :-)

Akaya made sure that he had everything he wanted in his pack before heading to the caves. He’d found the perfect spot for fishing and just relaxing in general, and gotten it all set up. There was a fire pit, fishing tools, and even a few blankets to lay on or use as pillows. He’d also managed to grab a bottle of lotion that he could use to give Yagyuu a back rub. He more than deserved it with all the work he was doing. Turning toward the cave that Niou and Yagyuu were sharing, he poked his head in and knocked on the wall. “Hey, Yagyuu, ready to go?”

Yagyuu closed the bag he had packed and looked up. “Certainly, Akaya. I just need to put my shoes on.” He got up, put the bag over his shoulder and walked to the front where his shoes were. As he slid them on, he smiled at the younger man. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for agreeing to go with me, I was worried I would have to pry you away from something. You haven’t been working yourself as hard as you were last time I saw you, right?” Yagyuu’s smile made his stomach do flips and his palms start sweating. He had to admit to a bit of jealousy since Yagyuu got to see Niou all the time. ‘Though really, I need to make the effort to go see him and not just expect him to come to me.’

“I have eased back on the work I have been doing, yes,” Yagyuu said. “Actually I’ve been working on my homework; what I can of it. I know I will be behind when we get back and have been trying to minimize the amount of catch up I’ll be doing.” He smiled again. “And how have you been? I apologize for not seeking you out myself, I’ve...been meaning to talk to you.”

“I’ve been good. I’m totally off my cane now, and hopefully I can be done with wrapping it in another month or so. I’ve also been doing some exploring, and I found a nice spot for fishing in freshwater.” Akaya couldn’t help smiling back at Yagyuu as he started toward the path he had found. The ground was smooth, but he’d hidden it well to keep others from stumbling upon the spot.

“It is likely that you could go without wrapping now,” Yagyuu commented. “What strengthening exercises, besides walking, have you been doing?” The way to their destination had been cleverly disguised he noted, yet the path itself was well cleared. Apparently Akaya had been coming there a lot.

“Swimming and wading into the shallows mostly. And I remember some of the exercises I was assigned before the cruise, so I’ve been doing those too. I just hope the fish will be biting as much today as they have been lately.” He adjusted his pack a bit and hoped that he hadn’t forgotten anything that they might need. “You look like you’ve been getting a bit of sun at least. That’s good for you since you haven’t burned. You haven’t burned, have you?”

“A little,” Yagyuu admitted. “Back when we were ferrying stuff off the ship. I haven’t since then, however. I’ve been much more careful.” He looked down at Akaya’s ankle. “I could recommend some exercises, if you like. Or better yet, you could ask Yanagi-kun or Inui-kun for some. They’re probably your best choice,” he admitted. “Or Seiichi. He’s also very knowledgeable.”

“I’m glad you didn’t burn too badly at least. That’s never fun to go through, especially with such a limited supply of aloe available.” Sticking out his arm, he stopped Yagyuu suddenly. “Kite’s been through here laying new traps. Try to step exactly where I do for a little bit, ok?”

The traps were fairly obvious. Yagyuu guessed that Kite knew that Akaya was using this path regularly and was simply having a bit of fun with him. Or it was Niou. However, Niou hadn’t pulled a prank in a very long while. But he let Akaya take the lead and show him around the traps. “Actually, I used one of Jirou-kun’s home remedies. I have to wonder if somehow knowledge is beamed directly into his head while he is sleeping,” he said with a small smile. He decided to set aside for now the topic of the talk they needed to have and simply enjoy spending a nice day with his former kouhai and friend.

Akaya grinned in amusement as they walked. "Somehow, that wouldn't shock me. With how much he sleeps and how smart he is, there's clearly some trick he knows that the rest of us are missing." He knew Yagyuu had mentioned that they had things to talk about, but he hoped they could wait until reaching the clearing.

Aside from the traps the walk was quite nice. The canopy overhead kept the sun from beating down unmercifully and Yagyuu could hear the cries of birds as they carried about with their business. “He found a source for mint leaves. He won’t tell anyone where they are, but he has been making mint tea on that dehydrator. It goes really well with fish stew, I must say,” Yagyuu said, willing to make small talk.

“Huh. I might just have to barter with him for some of that. Though I’ve been grilling fish instead of making a stew from them. I even managed to find a grill rack that I set up over the firepit where we’re going. And don’t worry, I will handle all of the prep for the food. It wouldn’t be fair to invite you out here and then make you do all the work.” Akaya smiled and strained his ears to see if they were close yet. He could just barely hear the sound of water from a section that was a bit closer to the waterfall, so they were just over half way.

“I did bring a spice rub to try,” Yagyuu admitted. “It will be nice to have some grilled freshwater fish, rather than the tropical fish that we’ve been eating.” He wondered how much further it was to their destination. At least, with a clear path, he didn’t have to worry about getting lost.

“Sounds good. I’ve been eating them plain, so a little flavor will be nice.” Akaya grinned as he pushed a low hanging branch out of the way. He could see the clearing just up ahead. “We’re almost there. Are you hungry, or would you rather chat for a bit before I catch us some lunch?”

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind wading in and helping you catch them, if you don’t mind,” Yayguu said. “I could use a change of pace. We could chat while we fish, if you like.”

“Ok, sure. I should have a spare set of stuff. Do you want to fish with a rod, a net, or a spear? I’ve tried all three myself. The net works pretty well because the fish are too dumb to swim around it.” Akaya nodded mildly as he raised his arm to shade his eyes for a moment as they left the cover of the trees. On the ground were several blankets, one spread out and a few other rolled up to be used as pillows. A little farther away was the fire pit with a flat stone on either side. There was a water bucket between the stones, and back toward the trees, away from the blankets, was a rock that clearly got moved a lot based on the look of the dirt surrounding it. “Well, here we are.” Akaya stepped over to a tree that had been hollowed out by some force of nature and pulled out all of the gear that was inside. There were nets, spears, fishing rods, and sharp knives for cleaning the fish, as well as a few cooking utensils.

“Very nice,” Yagyuu said. “Have you been camping here as well, or is this simply a day trip spot?” he asked, taking in all the niceties and improvements the other had made. “I think I’ll stick with the net, if you don’t mind. I’m fairly fast with a spear, but I wouldn’t want to make a mistake that might cost us our enjoyable afternoon out. He wondered what the rock was for, but didn’t ask just yet. Instead he sat his pack down next to the spread out blanket and sat to remove his shoes and roll up his pant legs.

“A few times, yeah. Sometimes just for a quiet place to think, others to give Marui and Jackal some privacy.” Akaya handed the net to Yagyuu and took the pole for himself. The soil around the base of the tree was moist, and it didn’t take long for him to find worms. Reaching down into the tree trunk, Akaya pulled out a beat up plastic tub that had once held caviar. Digging out a handful of worms, he dropped them in the tub and stood up again. “There. Now I have bait.” Toeing off his own shoes next to the blanket, Akaya walked over the the edge of the water to see how things looked. “I think it’ll be a good day today. Looks like there’s plenty of fish in the water, so I won’t be surprised if we catch more than we can eat. This will be a good spot for you, I’m going to be a little downstream, but not so far that we have to yell to talk.”

Yagyuu nodded, then stepped into the stream. It was cold. Which wasn’t a bad thing on such a warm day, but the initial shock took a little getting used to. “So...what would you like to talk about?” Yagyuu asked, peering down at the fish and prepping the net. He figured he’d give Akaya first crack at the conversation, rather than simply bludgeoning into his topics. “We’ve already discussed how well your ankle is doing,” he pointed out. Actually, the repeated soaking in cold water probably contributed a lot to his rapid recovery.

Akaya sat on one of the rocks next to the fire for a moment as he unwrapped his ankle. Tossing the bandage back over to his shoes, he waded into the water carefully and cast his line. “Well, I’m not too picky. Anything in particular you’d like to start with?” Part of him wanted to jump into explaining what had happened with Niou several weeks prior, but he didn’t want to risk it being a sore subject. He had no idea how things were between the former doubles partners, after all.

“Well, the weather has been fairly tame of late and it is likely to continue to do so until the storms start coming in earnest, so that would be a rather dull topic. Although, if your roof should leak, you know that you are welcome to come shelter back at the cave,” Yagyuu said. “It might get a little crowded with five, though,” he added with a small smile. He held the net by the handle and slowly lowered it into the water, not trying to catch anything yet, simply wanting the fish to get used to his presence.

Akaya snorted softly in amusement. “Eh, Marui and Jackal can go crash in a different cave. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful that Momo built that shack, but I don’t spend much time there. Marui and Jackal are good friends, but they aren’t the roomies I was hoping for.” Feeling a tug on his line, Akaya pulled it in and unhooked the fish he’d caught before dropping it into a little isolated trench he’d made a bit away from the stream. It would keep the fish fresh without risking losing it. Baiting his hook with a new worm, he cast the line back into the water. “Hopefully we’ll be rescued before the hurricanes and other storms start rolling in.”

“It’s already June,” Yagyuu pointed out. “This is when the storms start up.” Having lulled the fish into hopefully forgetting he was here, he used the net and, with a modified golf swing, swooped up two fair sized ones. “Ah! It worked!” He looked over at Akaya. “What do I do with them now?” Aside from taking any leftovers to Jirou for drying. “Actually, Jirou-kun is building a smoker now. Said that if Kite could catch us a pig or two, he’d cure them. Smoked fish is also a good way to preserve them,” he pointed out. He waded to shore. “And I am sorry that you did not get the roommates you wanted, especially since you didn’t like living in the cave with Niou and I.”

“In my bag should be some line with metal hooks on it. I got it from Sae, the hooks should look sort of like carabiners. If you want to take some fish back to Jiroh-san, that’s the best way to do it. But they’re slippery buggers, so let me know if you need help.” Akaya smiled as he pointed over to his backpack. “Check the very front zipper, it should be in there. And it’s not that I didn’t like staying with you and Ni-Masaharu, I just was craving the sun more. And at the time, I wasn’t sure either of you wanted me crowding your space.” The last part was softer, almost to himself, as he added a second fish to the artificial waterhole.

Yagyuu noted that Akaya called Niou by his first name now, something he himself only did when the two of them were alone. But Akaya was much more open with his emotions and obviously there were feelings for Niou there. He nodded in thanks and checked for the hooks in Akaya’s bag. “How do I attach the fish to them?” He brought the line over to the side of the bank and waited for instruction. “I understand that you crave the sun, Akaya. Just as Niou dislikes it.” He smiled. “And, until recently, Niou wasn’t sleeping in the cave either, and you weren’t crowding me, I assure you.”

Akaya took the line from Yagyuu and reached into the net to grab one of the fish. Opening the bottom hook, he forced it through the skin of the fish’s jaw before closing it again. “Just like that. And yeah, it’s bleeding a bit, but that’s pretty normal.” Akaya the proceeded to hook the other fish that had been in the net. “If you say so. Leaving the caves helped keep me from doing anything stupid and screwing things up between the three of us. If I had stayed there, I don’t know if Masaharu and I would have made the progress we did a few weeks ago.” The urge to kiss Yagyuu was powerful, but it would have been too soon and likely ruined the mood. “There’s a branch on the hollow tree that you should be able to hang the line from.”

“All right.” Yagyuu tried to duplicate Akaya’s trick, but ended up with the hook through the gill and mouth instead. He shrugged, not seeing a real difference, except for the lack of blood. He hung the fish up in the tree, then grabbed the net again and went back into the stream. “How would you have screwed things up, if you don’t mind my asking? Or would you prefer to speak of the progress you made with Niou?” He waited in stillness for the fish to calm once again.

“I don’t know, I just...even when I try my best, I feel like I screw things up sometimes. And Masaharu seemed so angry with me the day we went to get fruit when all the water was screwed up. I didn’t want the two of you to start hating me or something.” Akaya shrugged a little sadly before plastering a smile on his face. Niou and Yagyuu were way too important to risk blowing things with. “He told me about his mother. And he told me to keep the necklace. The day he gets it back will be when he just leaves for good, he said. So I told him he wasn’t ever getting it back that way. Of course, I nearly blew things by trying to put a label on what we are just to clarify where we stand. Ended up with no label on us, but I think I’m...no, I know I’m falling in love with him.” Akaya smiled a bit at Yagyuu before focusing on his line again. The fish weren’t very big, so he was hoping for at least two more before he stopped to clean them.

“Ah.” Yagyuu wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. “I am glad that he opened up to you about his mother,” he finally said. “Her death impacted him a great deal, as well as you have undoubtedly noticed.” He debated how much of his own relationship with Niou he should reveal at this point. He bent down and waited for the fish to calm down again.

Akaya nodded. "I did. He seems so sad so much of the time. I hope he can start smiling more in the future." Biting his lip a bit, he hesitated before continuing. "You can help him smile more when I'm traveling for tournaments again. Though I will fly the two of you out to see me if I have a tournament that corresponds with a school break for you and Masaharu."

Yagyuu smiled a little and nodded, just before he struck swiftly and scooped up, with a twist of his wrist, three fish this time, one of which was fairly large. “Ah!” He straightened up and waded back ashore. “I think he’s starting to come around,” he finally said. “He and I have been talking. About...things,” he said, not clarifying just then. “And I know how hard it is to get that man to open up, trust me. That he shared that information with you means that he is trying.” His smile returned and he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Wow, you’re doing really well with that. Giving you the net was a good choice.” Akaya gave Yagyuu an impressed grin as he pulled in his third. “Things, huh? Talking about things is important in relationships. I’m really glad that he’s trying though. It...makes me feel like I’m right and that it will be worth it for all three of us to be.”

“He does need time, though,” Yagyuu said. He strung the fish up with the others. “Niou does not respond well to pushing, after all,” he said with a wry grin. “I’ve learned that the hard way over the years.” Looking to change the topic for a few minutes, he held up his catch. “Are we eating these or are they for later? Will you show me how to clean them?”

“Yeah, if you want to learn, I’ll be happy to show you.” Akaya took a look at the five fish on Yagyuu’s line. Looking at one of the more average sized ones, he pointed it out. “We’ll add that one to the three I caught and have those. If you would carefully go pull the bundle of knives out of the tree, I’ll get ready to start cleaning the fish. I’ve got them wrapped in a cloth, but the blades and the points are still sharp.” He smiled and moved over to push the rock back that had the marks in the dirt around it. Under the rock was a good sized pit that had two buckets in it. Taking out the top bucket, Akaya filled it with water before moving his three catches into the container. As he moved back to the hole in the ground, he grabbed the grill rack off of the fire pit and set it over the bucket. He’d been out there just yesterday to make sure there would be fresh wood in the pit, so a single match was more than able to get the fire going. Taking the bucket and grill rack over, Akaya set the rack on top of the rock and knelt in the soft ground over the second bucket.

Yagyuu carefully retrieved the knives and the fish Akaya had pointed out and brought them over to where the other was kneeling. “What exactly are you doing?” he asked, perplexed.

“Getting ready to gut the fish. I do it in the bucket, then I take the bucket back to the beach so that anyone who wants to catch sharks can use it for chum.” Taking the knives from Yagyuu, Akaya unrolled the fabric and pulled out a short blade. Picking up one of the fish by its tail, he stuck the knife in at the base of the tail and pulled it down through the fish’s belly.

“That’s fascinating,” said the medical student. “But really, you shouldn’t do that in the air. Especially as you are doing it to live fish. You could miss or be deflected and really hurt yourself. My stitching is quite good, but I don’t need to practice it that much,” Yagyuu said, rather concerned about the other’s technique.

Akaya smiled a bit and lowered the fish down much closer to the bucket in the ground. “I wanted to make sure you could see what I was doing. I can gut it closer to the ground. Don’t worry, I won’t cut myself.”

Yagyuu’s lips twisted in a wry grin. “Ah, but if you knew how many statements similar to that I’ve heard over the years that have been followed with, ‘Ouch!’ you would understand my concern better.”

Akaya used the back of the knife to help scrape out the internal organs of the fish before bracing it on the side of the bucket to cut off the head. “Ok, good point. I’m sorry I made you worry, I promise to be more careful from now on.” He gave Yagyuu a soft smile before switching knives and scraping the scales off.

“So, are we having anything with our fish?” Yagyuu asked, relaxing a bit now that Akaya was no longer waving the knife in the air.

“There’s some fruits in my bag that we can have with the fish. I’d offer other protein sources, but I’m too slow to catch any of the small mammals or birds, and I don’t know how to make traps like Kite does.” Once the scales were gone, Akaya cut off the tail and used it to help debone the fish as much as he could. “I never can manage to get all the bones out before cooking it, so just be careful when you’re eating, ok?” One the tail and spine were gone, he cut the two sides of the fish apart and laid them on the grill rack before starting the process over on the next fish.

“Kite has been offering lessons to people. Although, your fishing is going quite well. You could also offer to trade your freshwater fish for red meat. Although people might be getting tired of fish of any sort. I know I would be grateful for a little tofu, myself.” He plucked the fish back off the grill. “Rub works best if you put it on first.” He fished the container out of his pack and rubbed the seasonings onto the fish before laying it back on the grill. “Do you want yours with or without?” he asked.

“With, please. I was going to wait until all of the fish was on there before doing the rub, but if you don’t mind putting it on the fish after I’ve cleaned them, that would be greatly appreciated.” Akaya smiled as he handed over the second fish. “I’ve been considering offering the chum to him in exchange for something from one of his snares, but I would almost need the bucket to be full before doing that, and it’s not quite there yet. Putting the rock over it keeps it from smelling much while I work on getting it reasonably filled to trade with people on the beach at least.”

“Ah, so that is why the rock and the...interesting odor from the bucket,” Yagyuu said. He added the rub to the second fish, then placed it on the grill as well. He observed Akaya as he sat back and waited for the third fish. The other was more tan and looked in the peak of health and fitness, but still had that...slightly pinched, hungry air about him. Not for food, but for emotion, for love, Yagyuu guessed. He sighed to himself. He couldn’t give Akaya what he wanted, not Niou and not himself, for that matter...if Akaya still even wanted him. He hoped the other would understand and accept what he could offer.

Akaya chuckled a bit. "Yeah, that's why I try to keep it away from where the rest of the camp area is." Looking at Yagyuu as he handed over the third fish, Akaya's smile fell a bit. "Is everything ok? If the smell is bothering you, I can finish up with this. Or are you thinking about the other stuff we have to talk about?"

“I’m fine,” Yagyuu assured him. “I’m upwind of it, mostly.” He rubbed the last fish and added it to the others, then sealed up the rub and went and washed off his hands. “I was thinking deep thoughts and I apologize. This is a lovely day with a good friend and I should be concentrating on that, yes?” he said with a smile.

Akaya gathered up the knives and moved to wash his hands and the blades in the water. "Hey, deep thoughts are ok. But we can talk about that after we eat." He gave Yagyuu a slight smile as he dried the knives and wrapped them back up.

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Yagyuu agreed. He looked at the other’s bag. “Shall we get the fruit ready? The fish likely won’t take very long. Although,” he said, looking back over at the stream, “I wouldn’t mind catching a few more. Between sharing with Niou and tithing some to Jirou-kun, the ones I have won’t last long.”

“Hmm, why don’t we eat these for now, and then I’ll help you catch some more before we head back?” Akaya carefully moved the rock back over the bucket and carried the grill rack over to the fire. Once it was stable, he went to put the knives back in the tree trunk and pull out a small, hard case. Inside was a spatula that worked very well to turn the fish. ‘Really, it’s amazing what I was able to find in the caves. Yagyuu and the others were quite thorough.’ As he pulled out the spatula, he nodded at his bag. “There should be some bowls and some chopsticks in there with the fruit. And getting the fruit ready is a good idea. Would it be rude of me to ask you to do that while I take care of cooking the fish?”

Yagyuu nodded. “As long as you don’t comment on my unusual method of cutting the fruit up, certainly.” Practicing surgical technique on fruit was fairly common in the dorms. They had to get the practice somewhere after all. He pulled the bowls, chopsticks and fruit out of Akaya’s bag.

“Hey, cut fruit is cut fruit. I’m not one to pick at the little details like that.” Akaya grinned as he checked each piece of fish to see how it was faring. The rub that Yagyuu had chosen smelled heavenly to him, and his stomach growled audibly as he sat on one of the rocks next to the fire.

He supposed that, after having to gut and clean the fish, Akaya was entitled to the easy job of watching the fish cook while Yagyuu cut up the fruit. It also helped that Yagyuu had excellent knife skills. He made short work of the fruit and divided it up into the two bowls. “There we are. Too bad we don’t have any rice. I miss being able to have rice with every meal,” Yagyuu said rather wistfully.

Akaya nodded fervently as he flipped the pieces of fish over on the little grill. “Oh man, I know. You think Jiroh-san could figure out how to make some? He’s good at inventing stuff like that, right?” Akaya’s stomach continued to growl as he watched the fruit chunks go into the bowls.

Yagyuu laughed a little. “In order to make rice, first you must have rice plants. Find him some and I’m sure he’d be able to make it edible. Without that...he’d have to be able to do magic. While he is a miracle worker, that’s too much to ask of one man, I think.”

“Good point. And I’m sure that any rice on the ship was spoiled by seawater before you and the others could get to it.” Akaya turned the fish fillets over one more time. “If you’re ready with the bowls, the fish is done. But do remember to be mindful of bones. I really don’t want you to choke on this.”

“The part that got wet we just rinsed and ate immediately,” Yagyuu pointed out. “The rest is being portioned out fairly. We just can’t have as much of it as we want, which makes it hard. Quarter cup a day, uncooked, per person, isn’t a lot. And the stores are dwindling.” He sighed. “So, where are we going to eat, now that we’ve made ourselves hungry for something we cannot have?”

“Eh? I’ve been missing out on even that much rice?” Akaya pouted for a moment before shaking his head. “Nothing to do about it now I guess. We can sit on the blanket, or we can eat over here by the fire. Oh, and I did bring water in my bag too.”

“No,” Yagyuu said. “Fair is fair, everyone gets theirs. Yours is in the store room waiting for you. Lucky you, you have a fair amount waiting if you haven’t been collecting it daily like I have.”

“Ah. I didn’t know it was being saved for me. I’ve done without so far, you and Masaharu can split it up between yourselves.” Akaya smiled brightly at Yagyuu and hoped he would understand the gesture. Just because he couldn’t make them happy emotionally with ease didn’t mean he couldn’t try to make things a little easier on them both in other ways. He really didn’t know how to explain how important the formers doubles partners were to him, so he would have to show them that through his actions. ‘And they say actions speak louder than words, anyway.’

“That isn’t how it works, Akaya,” Yagyuu said. “Although I am touched that you want to share with me and with Niou. I cannot take away your rice, that would be very impolite.” He paused, then smiled, just a little smirky. “Of course, if you wanted to invite me to eat with you again, I would be happy to share your dinner. Even if you didn’t share your rice,” he added honestly.

“I’ll keep that in mind for when I come collect my share of the rice. Maybe next time, Masaharu will join us and fish with us. I’ll have to find another rock to sit on if he does.” Akaya smiled and took the bowls from Yagyuu so that he could fit the fish over the fruit. “So, are we sitting here by the fire, or over on the blanket?”

“It’s a nice day out and quite warm, I think on the blanket would be nice,” Yagyuu said. He picked up the chopsticks and grabbed a couple of bottles of juice out of his pack and walked over to where the blanket lay. Since his shoes were already off, he sat down and smiled up at Akaya.

With both bowls in hand, Akaya walked over and sat on the blanket next to Yagyuu. The view of the river and its opposite bank were always very soothing for him. Taking a pair of chopsticks and a bottle of juice, he smiled. “Itadakimasu.”

Accepting his bowl, Yagyuu said the same, then dug in. The freshwater fish was a delicious change from the same old thing he’d been eating and he found himself devouring it and the fruit quite quickly. Stopping for a moment so that he didn’t choke, he sipped at his juice and struck up some conversation. “The fish is delicious, I’m quite impressed,” he said. “How did you find this place, Akaya?”

Akaya might have gotten a bit used to the taste of freshwater fish, but the addition of the spice rub had him eating just as quickly. "Mm, I found it thanks to Masaharu. A couple weeks ago, he asked me to come see him because he had someplace he wanted to show me. That place ended up being a waterfall upstream from here. I went back on my own a few days later and started exploring the shore which led me to this clearing."

Yagyuu nodded. “That makes sense. Niou has been doing quite a bit of exploring it seems.” A couple of weeks ago...that would have likely when what Niou had told him about had happened. He was curious to see if Akaya brought it up or not. “As have you. Like I said before, this seems to be a very nice little sanctuary.”

‘It really is. And you’re welcome to come here whenever you want.” Akaya smiled warmly at Yagyuu. Part of him wanted to talk about that excursion with Niou, but he still needed to make Yagyuu feel wanted and valued. Talking about having sex with Niou wasn’t the best way to go about that.

“Thank you, I appreciate the offer,” Yagyuu said politely. He wondered if Akaya even wanted to talk about it. It was a rather awkward subject to bring up. ‘Hey, that guy we both like, I had sex with him!’ doesn’t just flow off the tongue. He wasn’t sure though how to hint that he was already aware of it, that Niou had told him. “So...Niou told me that he told you about his mother.”

“Yeah, he did.” Akaya paused and wondered exactly how to broach the subject of the elephant in the proverbial room. “We talked some more after that, and one thing led to another and we were...intimate. But I don’t want you to think that that’s all I want or to feel pressured to do anything you aren’t ready for.” The look in Akaya’s eyes showed genuine concern over the fact that Yagyuu might feel forced to do something he didn’t want to do yet.

Yagyuu blinked. “Why would I feel pressured because you had sex with Niou?” he asked. “He came to me and told me what happened, just so you know. He...says he is not ready for a relationship with you yet,” he said, looking down at his bowl.

"Yeah, I know. I can wait, just like I can wait for you too. I'm a hell of a lot more patient than I used to be." Akaya murmured as he glanced up from his bowl.

“That’s a good thing.” Yagyuu sighed and put down his empty bowl and chopsticks. “To be honest, while I am willing to give being a trio a try...it’s up to Niou. I am not willing to enter into a relationship with you without him. He said, out loud, that he is concerned that, because he is not ready, you and I might form a bond and leave him behind. I assured him that the bond between he and I is not that easily broken,” he said with a small smile. “But I will not jeopardize his well-being by being hasty. When and if he is ready, then you and I can explore a deeper attachment, but not until then.” He looked over at Akaya. “I’m sorry. For what that is worth.”

Akaya nodded and gave Yagyuu a soft smile. "I understand. The last thing I want to do is drive a wedge between the two of you, that's not what I want. I would like the chance to get to know you better than I do. Simple stuff, like what you like and what you don't."

“That sounds quite reasonable. I would appreciate becoming better friends with you, Akaya,” Yagyuu said with a smile. “To learn more about you as well.”

Akaya's smile had a bit more happiness in it as he took Yagyuu's bowl and chopsticks to the water and washed them with his own. Laying the dishes out to dry, he sat back down on the blanket and took a long drink from the juice that Yagyuu had brought along. "So, where shall we start?"

“Tell me about yourself. You went pro right out of high school. Is it something you enjoy? Do you miss not having gone on to college?” Yagyuu said, pushing up his glasses. “Have any interesting stories to tell?”

“Nah, I was never the academic type. Hell, I’m still not, but that doesn’t mean I won’t push myself when I retire to get a college education and go teach. As for interesting stories...” Akaya trailed off with a smile before launching into a tale about what drove him to perfect his English. As he spoke, he made sweeping gestures with hands as he explained how he had managed to embarrass himself in such a grand way during his first trip to New York. “Of course, having food poisoning didn’t help one bit. I’m just lucky that the guy I ran into didn’t sue me for something. It’s not like I could understand what he was saying, and it was hard enough to keep my stomach where it belonged.”

Yagyuu chuckled. “I’d like to say I was surprised, but your English skills weren’t very good back in junior high. It was so easy to lie to you about what people were saying,” he admitted.

Akaya crossed his arms and pouted at Yagyuu. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying you lied to me about what people were saying? That’s not how a gentleman is supposed to act, you know.”

Akaya was still cute when he pouted. “Yes,” Yagyuu said. He smiled over at the other man. “I’m also the one that started the Seaweed nickname. I figure now is a good time to come clean,” he said.

Akaya’s pout took on a playful edge as he moved closer to Yagyuu. “So I have you to blame for that, huh? I think it’s time for some payback.” Without warning, he surged forward and pushed Yagyuu to the ground. Not one to waste time, Akaya started attacking any and every place that he thought might possibly be ticklish.

Startled, Yagyuu rolled with Akaya. After a moment he figured out what the other was trying to do. He flushed as he was only ticklish in a couple of spots and at certain times. “Akaya! Stop!”

Akaya did as he was asked, though not without a pout. “So not fair. I’m the only one out of the three of us who is ticklish, and I just know you and Niou will both take advantage of it.” Flopping down to lay on the blanket, he used Yagyuu’s stomach as a pillow. “I guess I’ll just have to resort to this.”

Yagyuu raised an eyebrow at that. What was it with men using his stomach as a pillow? He worked out hard to make sure there was no flab there, it couldn’t be that comfortable, was it? “Resort to what? Napping on me? I’m not sure that is what a nap attack means, Akaya,” he said, amusement coloring his voice.

Akaya smirked and got comfortable. “Too bad, I’m not moving. Now, I told you a story, now it’s your turn for a story. Surely, you’ve had interesting exploits in med school.”

After a moment, Yagyuu smirked and then told Akaya about his first day practicing on a cadaver. It was interesting, after all. And definitely not a story he would ever tell Niou. But he was not one to bow to pressure or coercion. He would have thought Akaya would have remembered that. Perhaps he was confusing Yagyuu with Niou?

“Wow, so they just let you hack up dead people for practice? I’m not sure if that’s creepy and weird, or kind of awesome.” Akaya chuckled and turned to look at Yagyuu. “Well, we’re even on stories now. What next? Ask me anything at all.”

Yagyuu frowned and pushed Akaya away from him. “How did you get, ‘hack up dead people for practice,’ out of that story? And never, ever use that phrase around Niou.” He sat up and brushed himself off. “We were practicing our surgical skills. For your information, the cadavers were pigs. We were not, ‘hacking.’”

Akaya nearly jumped as Yagyuu shoved him away, curling into himself on instinct. Staring at the ground, he cursed himself mentally as he apologized. “I-I’m sorry. You said practicing on cadavers and I assumed...and I would NEVER say that in front of Masaharu. Gods, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”

Sighing heavily, Yagyuu slowly reached out and gently patted Akaya’s head. “You could have asked,” he said calmly. “Please don’t over-react, Akaya...unless,” Yagyuu paused and pushed up his glasses. “Have you been the victim of abuse, Akaya?” he asked softly. “Your body language...”

“Did I tell you about my ex who I caught in bed with two people I hated? He was nothing but a gold digger, and if I didn’t win at a tournament...let’s just say that coming home wasn’t a pleasing thought.” Part of Akaya wanted to lean into the hand patting his head, but there was a deeper, more primal part, that made him curl a little tighter. He hadn’t reacted this way around Niou, because there hadn’t been yelling. He could handle physical threats of dominance, but raised voices directed at him revived old instincts. Instincts that told him to become as small of a target as possible.

“Yes, you had.” Yagyuu frowned. “You did not mention that he was physically and emotionally abusing you as well, Akaya.” The pats to Akaya’s head became slow, soft strokes as he tried to soothe the other man. “I am sorry if my tone reminded you of those bad memories. I am...rather sensitive about my profession and do not appreciate it being taken lightly,” he explained. Then he sighed and attempted to pull Akaya into his lap. “Would you like to talk about it, Akaya?”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said that about your schooling. And it’s not exactly something I’m proud of. I’m from Rikkai, I’m supposed to be stronger than that, you know?” Akaya gave a wry laugh at himself as he let Yagyuu pull him closer. He wanted, almost needed, the contact, but refused to force anything. Even if all he wanted was to curl into the other man and forget about his past, even for a little while. “He didn’t hit me. He knew I was stronger, so he didn’t try. But mentally and emotionally...he had the upper hand and he knew it.”

“It is really hard to fight that,” Yagyuu said. He put Akaya’s head on his shoulder and held him, soothing his wild hair. “I’m very glad that you broke up with him. Even if it took him doing something monstrously stupid before you did.” He recalled Akaya saying something about having been checked and given a clean bill of health since then, back when they were on the ship and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Akaya trembled a bit in Yagyuu’s arms before the hand petting his hair stopped the shaking. He always felt so ashamed of himself whenever he told anyone about that part of his past. “I wanted to do it sooner, but I was scared. He’d made me feel so dependent on him.” Taking a deep breath, he mumbled softly as he cautiously curled into Yagyuu ever so slightly. “Sorry for dumping all this on you. You’ll...let me tell Masaharu about it myself?”

“Of course.” Yagyuu rocked slightly as he continued soothing Akaya’s hair. “Above all else, Akaya, I am your friend. You can always come talk to me. And if anyone ever tries to do something like that to you again, please, do come see me? There are non-lethal ways of dissuading people like that,” he said, his glasses catching the light.

Akaya chuckled softly and closed his eyes as he forced himself to relax. ‘I’m safe. It’s ancient history, and he’s been out of my life for years. I’m safe. Yagyuu is safe.’ Akaya chanted the mantra in his head for a few moments before daring to hug the man comforting him. “Thank you. He’s ancient history now, but some things don’t disappear so easily. I had no idea I would still react like that, I’m sorry.”

“Have you had an opportunity to get some counselling?” Yagyuu asked. He hugged Akaya back. “Of course you wouldn’t know. Do tell Niou soon, please? If you react like that around him it will concern him too.”

“No. It’s...I never had the time to go to one. And it was just so easy to make excuses. I had my friends and my coach and they helped me see that what he had been telling me was wrong. And I’ll tell Masaharu soon. I don’t want to make him worry.” Akaya buried his face in Yagyuu’s shoulder. He wasn’t sure he could look at the other man and not see pity or disappointment in his face.

“We all do things that are...less wise.” Yagyuu took a deep breath. “For example, until recently I was harboring an unrequited love for Niou. Until I finally took a chance and talked to him about it.”

“Yeah? It’s about time. I think the whole world knew you two had it bad for each other in middle school.” Akaya smiled at the thought of the people he cared so much for being happy. ‘I just hope there’s still room for me.’

“Seriously?” Yagyuu asked, frowning. “I thought he hid it quite well, personally. At least, I never figured it out.” He sat back a bit. “Huh. Well, perhaps we just weren’t ready. With all that has happened in Niou’s life and all.” He kept soothing Akaya’s head.

Akaya chuckled softly and dared to give Yagyuu’s neck the lightest brush of his lips. “He might have done a good job of hiding it from you, but it was easy to see from the outside.”

Yagyuu tensed a the light touch to his neck. “Ah, Akaya. Please don’t do that. I like you, a lot, but as I said, I am waiting for Niou. He needs time.”

Akaya pulled back slightly. "Gomen. I'm pushing too fast, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? Other than wait? I want you two to be happy, but I want to be happy too."

“Just...calm down, Akaya. What is that saying? ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ If you want a relationship that is going to last, take some time to make sure the foundation is secure,” Yagyuu said. He gave Akaya a measuring look, wondering if the other understood what he was trying to say. “No, you don’t have to wait passively, but pushing isn’t going to get you there any faster.”

“I know. And I’m trying to not push, I really am. I just...I don’t know. I feel like there should be something I can do to help things go in the right direction, but I don’t want to screw it up and ruin anything.” Akaya nodded and gave a slight shrug. “Though I am kind of curious about something. I know you’re big on being proper and all that, but even after all these years, why do you still call Masaharu by his last name?”

“Just be yourself, Akaya. Let us get to know you. When you try too hard, you come across as rather needy and desperate. Is that the real you?” Yagyuu asked, skeptically. He copied Akaya’s shrug. “Niou is Niou. I call him by his given name when we are alone. It’s more special that way, for one. Although, I did recently drop the honorific,” he said with a slight blush.

Akaya smiled and nodded, and carefully did not chuckle at the adorable blush painting Yagyuu’s cheeks. “I think I can do that. If I’m not me, who else am I gonna be? So, what made you finally drop the honorific?”

“Seiichi has been after me for some time to...loosen up. Let go of the bindings that I have placed around myself in order to fit into the Gentleman’s mold. Plus...we grew closer. On the ship. He...kissed me,” Yagyuu said. Then he corrected himself, “Actually, he was teasing me, trying to make me think he was going to kiss me, but not doing so, so I kissed him. Then we kissed again. That was really good.” He wondered how long it would take Akaya to notice that he hadn’t been using an honorific for him either since the day they escaped from the boat.

Akaya grinned a bit at Yagyuu’s response. “He doesn’t suck at kissing, that’s for sure. What made you drop the honorific for me? You haven’t used it since the crash.”

Was that something he really wanted to hear from someone else about his lover, Yagyuu asked himself. Did it bother him that Akaya and Niou had been intimate? He’d told Niou that it hadn’t. And it didn’t. He could do without Akaya commenting on it like Niou was the Flavor of the Month, though. He answered Akaya absently as he contemplated some more, “I realized that you are a close friend, Akaya. And I wish to show my close friends that they are close to me and not hold them at a distance.” Would it bother him if Niou and he were to discuss Akaya that way? Hm. Would Niou even do such a thing with him? Okay, what if Niou and Akaya were to discuss him that way? Ah. That was it. Yagyuu wasn’t the type to engage in such discussions, was all. That satisfied in his mind, he smiled slightly. “Yes, kissing Niou is quite enjoyable.”

Akaya bit back the comment that he desperately wanted to make about how kissable Yagyuu was as well. It wasn’t easy, but he didn’t want to push too hard too fast. “So you said you’re waiting for Niou to be ready for things to go further, but are you sure that’s the best choice for you? What if he feels ready before you do?” He carefully kept his voice soft and calm, not wanting to start a fight over anything.

“I’m waiting for him to be ready for things to go further with you,” Yagyuu clarified. “Things between us...have progressed quite nicely, thank you very much.” He couldn’t help the slightly smirky grin as he said that. “As for you and I, I feel that we are progressing at a good rate. We are deepening our friendship and getting to know one another better, after all. If Niou is ready to go to the next level before I am, that’s fine. Despite rumors to the contrary, we are two different people.”

Akaya nodded a bit. “That makes sense then. And I agree about what you said about us. So, do you have any other questions for me?”

“How about some general questions? Do you still enjoy manga and video games? What’s your favorite color? And does Jackal-kun feel as though he is still babysitting you?” Yagyuu asked with a sly smile.

Akaya stuck his tongue out at Yagyuu before chuckling. "I do still like Manga and video games a lot, my favorite colors are red and blue, and I sure hope he doesn't feel like he's still babysitting me. Any others, or is it my turn to ask?"

“Red and blue?” Yagyuu asked skeptically. “Aren’t those Seigaku colors? You aren’t trying to switch loyalties are you?” He shifted them so that he could see Akaya’s face better. “He and Marui are living in your hut now; are you certain you know why?” he asked with a slight smirk. “And certainly, you may ask.”

“I like all primary colors. Yellow is just...a little too nostalgic some days. And we all wore red during the U-17 camp. And the time we got the wrong uniforms on accident.” Akaya chuckled. “Yes, I live in the honeymoon suite. Which is why this spot is so comfy and functional. They’re like brothers to me, but they need some quality time.” He contemplated for a moment before asking his own questions. “Ok. What is your favorite food? Who is your favorite band or musical performer? And do you miss switching with Masaharu like you used to do back in middle school and the beginning of high school?”

“I like soba. Ones made just from buckwheat,” Yagyuu said. “I don’t really have a favorite. I do have several musical performers and bands that I listen to, however. And...sort of.”

Akaya gave Yagyuu a curious look. “What does ‘sort of’ mean?’

Yagyuu took a deep breath and considered how to answer the question. “I enjoyed the way I was able to let go. To not be me with all the bindings and wrappings and baggage that being the Gentleman brings with it. However, being Niou also has its drawbacks. He is not as free as some think him to be,” he said seriously. “And, until recently I really missed the closeness we once had. When he would come over and hang on me. Unless he was me and I was doing it to him,” he said with a bit of a smirk. “We spent so much time together that, when he stopped everything to help with his mother and then after her death...I felt as though a part of me had been severed. Like someone had come up and ripped away one of my arms,” he said softly.

Akaya cautiously moved to hug Yagyuu. “I can see how that would be hard. And it’s been so long since you two switched, you wouldn’t be able to anymore, would you? Not that I want to challenge you to it. I like being able to tell you apart.”

Smiling, Yagyuu shook his head. “Don’t suggest that to Niou. He likes a challenge. Besides, as long as no one notices the height difference...well, not that we would, of course. Or you might find yourself talking to the wrong person about himself,” he said, starting to grin a bit. His grin was a bit sharper than usual, actually. After all, his inner Niou was never as far from the surface as he convinced people it was. “But naturally you’d be able to tell us apart. Right? Akaya?”

Akaya smiled in return. “Hmm, I think so. Give me some more time with the two of you and I’ll be more confident in that ability. I didn’t think you were that much taller than him. Maybe it’s because I haven’t really seen the two of you standing side by side to notice it.”

“A little more than in junior high, but not much. And it is easy enough to disguise.” He smirked again. “No one figured us out in junior high, after all. Even those who thought they knew either of us best.”

“Good point. You’re already smirking like him.” Akaya grinned and bit back a soft laugh. The sight of Yagyuu smirking while the light reflected off his glasses was quite the tantalizing image, and it reminded Akaya all over again why he had a weakness for meganes.

“Already?” Yagyuu tilted his head to the side. “I’ve never stopped. Most people never see me smirk, however. You are among the lucky few I...let down my guard around, I guess.”

Akaya’s grin softened as a light blush dusted his cheeks. “You’ve let your guard down around me? Thank you. For trusting me enough to do that. I kind of suspected as much, but to hear you say it is nice.”

“Oh.” Yagyuu looked away for a moment, then back again, feeling rather on the spot. “I...I’m a fairly subtle fellow, Akaya. I usually don’t say things like that out loud. I...apologize in advance for all the things I don’t say in a way you can understand.” He hugged the other for a brief moment, then relaxed his arms, leaving his hands resting lightly on Akaya’s arms.

Akaya cursed mentally as he felt his cheeks grow a little warmer in response to Yagyuu’s brief hug. “I-it’s ok. If there’s something I don’t understand, I’ll ask you to clarify it.”

Yagyuu nodded, then sat there for another moment. “Akaya. It’s getting rather warm to be sitting here like this. How about we maybe catch some more fish?”

Akaya stretched and stood up. Offering Yagyuu a hand, he helped the other man up before looking at the fishing tools again. “Do you want the net again?”

“Actually, I was better on the baseline,” Yagyuu said, smirking a little. “Oh, you mean fishing, yes, please.”

Akaya laughed lightly at Yagyuu’s joke before pulling the net out for him again. Handing it over, he pulled out the fishing pole for himself. “Cute. Oh, I should look and see if I have more line to hang these on.” Walking back to his bag, Akaya knelt down and went digging until he found a second line with holding hooks.

Yagyuu stepped back into the icy stream and let the water settle around him for a moment or two as he had before. “Hm, a couple of these fish look pretty big. Wonder if I could catch one. Akaya, do you know the weight limit on this net?”

Akaya thought on that question for a moment. “Boy, I don’t know. Is there a tag on it anywhere that says? If there isn’t you’ll need to ask Saeki-san when we go back to the beach.”

“If there was one, it’s gone now,” Yagyuu said, looking down at it. “Oh, well, we’ll see if it can handle a bigger fish, if I get lucky.” He stilled and waited, staring down into the water.

"He had it for ocean fish, and those are typically bigger than river fish, so I'm sure it be fine." Akaya baited his hook again and slowly stepped into the water. He didn't want to slip or disturb the fish, after all.

Yagyuu laid in wait for one of the larger fish. A couple of times, one or two of the smaller ones would swim into his net, then out again, but he held still. Patiently, even though his feet felt like blocks of ice and he was starting to lose feeling in his calves and ankles, he held still. Finally, after probably ten minutes of stealth stalking, one of the larger fish finally drew near to the mouth of the net. With a dip of his shoulder and a twist of his hips, Yagyuu exploded into action, whipping the net around the fish and hoisting it up into the air. It was heavy! So much so that he staggered on his numb feet and started to fall. Fighting to keep the net up and out of the water, he went to one knee, soaking himself from the chest down in what was, in his new position, waist high water. “Gya!” he shouted. Using both hands to keep the now violently thrashing fish above the water, he struggled to stand back up, then fought his way back to shore on feet and ankles filled with the pins and needles of returning blood flow. “I got him!” he said, his voice low and fiercely triumphant. “I got him!” He hooked the fish to the line through the net, then collapsed onto his back on the nice dry, warm blanket. “I’ll...fix that in a minute,” he told Akaya, panting a bit.

Akaya had tossed his pole onto the bank when he heard Yagyuu slip into the water. moving closer in case his help would be needed, he watched the other man win the fight against the large fish. As Yagyuu collapsed onto the blanket, Akaya stepped over and unfolded one of the ones that he used as a pillow. Draping it over Yagyuu’s legs, he smiled before moving back toward where his pole was laying. “Take your time. You got quite a beast there.”

The blanket across his legs was a welcome warmth. He nodded at Akaya, but waited to catch his breath before speaking. Gasping like the fish he had caught was not very gentlemanly, after all. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he managed to sit up and speak relatively normally. “I intend to enjoy eating him. A lot,” he said, pushing his glasses back into place.

Akaya laughed lightly. "Sounds like a good plan. Let me know when to carve him up if you want to have him here."

Yagyuu shook his head. “Thank you, but I’m going to share him with Niou, then take the rest to Jirou for preservation. Food preservation, not taxidermy,” he clarified, just in case.

"Alright, that works too." Akaya smiled and put a new worm on his hook before wading back into the water.

After another few minutes of drying out, thawing out and staring at the clear blue sky, Yagyuu asked, “How are you doing over there?”

Akaya looked over his shoulder with a smile. "Oh, not too bad. I got a fairly good sized one sitting in my little pond."

“Why do you put them in your own little pond where you have to catch them again, rather than stringing them up like you have me doing?” Yagyuu asked. “And where did you learn to fish?”

"It keeps them fresh so I can wait and not have to cook them all at once." Akaya smiled as he pulled another fish out of the river to put in his little pond. "I took a trip in the US about a year ago and got to do a camping thing. One of the things they did was teach us how to catch and clean fish."

“Let me guess. You had to pay for this privilege, too,” Yagyuu said. He sat up finally and looked over at Akaya. He had to admit that with the tan and the smile and the increased mobility that all this healthy outdoor living looked good on the other. “Americans are very odd. Did they do that thing where if they think you don’t understand what they are saying, they speak louder?”

"Some of them did, yeah. But my English is much better now. And it was all part of the cost of the trip, so there wasn't an extra fee. They included the coat because the outfit doing it provided the gear."

“Coat?” Yagyuu asked, cocking his head to one side. He was starting to warm up, so he removed the blanket from over his legs.

"Sorry, meant cost. I hate weird slips of the tongue like that." Akaya flushed softly as he laid his pole down.

“It’s fine, that happens to the best of us,” Yagyuu said with a smile. “Going to take a break for a while?”

Akaya smiled and flopped down onto the blanket next to Yagyuu. “Yep. I have my dinner for if I decide to stay out here tonight, you’ve gotten some awesome catches, and my feet are cold. It’s break time in my book.”

“Don’t forget to get some fruits and vegetables in your diet as well,” Yagyuu, the medical student cautioned. “You should also make sure to eat something with fiber and get vitamins. I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I get plenty of fruit with my fish. I eat it like we did earlier with the fruit under the fish all cut up and combined. If you can recommend something here I can get more fiber from, that would be good. I’m not sure I’m getting enough from the fruits.” Akaya nodded along with Yagyuu’s words. ‘Well, dating two doctors, I know I’ll always be healthy at least.’

“Let’s see,” Yagyuu said. He pointed at a different finger on his left hand as he spoke, “Sweet potatoes, yams, taro, eggplant...surely you’ve noticed the peppers that grow everywhere? Just make sure to take out the seeds and inner membranes, that is where the true heat is located. There is also bok choy, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, chard, squash and water chestnuts. There is food everywhere, if you know where to look, actually. The fruit is just easier for most people to identify.”

Akaya nodded along as he tried to remember each of the vegetables that Yagyuu was listing. "I'll have to keep my eyes out for those around here. I can use my computer to figure out what they look like."

Yagyuu stood up and slipped his shoes on. “One moment,” he said. He walked into the tree line and was gone for several minutes. When he returned, he had his button up shirt off, revealing the tank-style undershirt he wore. The shirt he was now carrying was full of brown and green things. He walked back to the blanket, toed off his shoes and sat down again. “This,” he held up a bundle of tubers, greens still attached, “is a sweet potato. These are the leaves.” He told Akaya where the best places to look were. “Just don’t strip a location bare. You need to leave a couple of plants to reseed,” he cautioned. He then showed Akaya the bundles of chard he’d found. “It’s a little early yet for tomatoes and squash, but you know what bok choy looks like, correct? And eggplant?”

Akaya swallowed thickly and tried not to drool over the sight of Yagyuu in just a tank top. Focusing intently on the plants that the other had brought back, he nodded along. "Yeah, I do. I'll have to go check more into the jungle for those."

“Excellent. Well,” Yagyuu said, looking down at the vegetables in his now dirty shirt. “Got a pot? I’ll cut up the potatoes and show you how to make soup, if you like. Sweet potatoes and chard are quite delicious together, actually.”

Akaya thought about that for a moment before getting up and checking inside the tree. Coming back with a small one, he handed it over as he looked at the grill rack set up over the currently dying fire. “Will this be big enough? When I brought it out here, I got the smallest one since I didn’t need it to be any bigger.”

Yagyuu shook his head. “No, you’ll want a bigger one. Tell you what, I’ll take these with me and make soup and you can come over for dinner tomorrow, how’s that?” he asked.

“Ok, I can do that.” Akaya nodded and smiled. “If you want me to bring any fish with me, I can do that. Just for the extra protein to go with it.”

Smiling a bit, Yagyuu asked, “Actually, do you think you can find some crawdads? Those go really good in soup.”

Akaya contemplated the request for a moment. “Yeah I can try to find some. They look like little lobsters kind of, right?”

“Yes. And taste like them too. But they’re a freshwater crustacean,” Yagyuu said. “Too bad there is no good substitute for butter...we could grill them.” He sighed. “Oh, well. All in all the food isn’t too bad here, actually.” He picked up his shirt again and took it over to the stream and washed off the leafy greens and the tubers, also removing the tops off the latter. Then he laid them out to dry for a bit. Damp vegetables rot quickly.

“It really isn’t. I’m grateful for that much at least. Otherwise we’d all be in big trouble waiting for rescue. I still can’t believe it’s taking so long. Even with us being in the Bermuda Triangle.” Akaya watched Yagyuu wash the vegetables before returning to the blanket. His shoulders were looking a little stiff, and Akaya wondered how he would react to a massage. “Hey, can I ask you to do something for me?”

“That depends,” Yagyuu said. “Is it illegal, immoral or something I’ve told Niou I wouldn’t do?”

Akaya shook his head. “Nah, none of the above. Just come over and lay on your stomach for me, please?”

“Alright.” Yagyuu kicked his shoes off and laid down on the blanket, pillowing his head in his arms. “Like this?”

“Yeah, just like that.” Akaya swallowed nervously as he carefully straddled Yagyuu. He kept his weight on his knees so that he wasn’t sitting on the other man as he leaned forward and started running his hands over Yagyuu’s shoulders. Finding some rather large knots almost immediately, Akaya began kneading them with his thumbs. “I thought you looked tense. I just didn’t realize how tense.”

Yagyuu groaned as Akaya started working on his shoulders. “Ooh...apparently so. Ah.”

Akaya chuckled softly as he kept working. “You know, I’m used to seeing knots like this from tennis, but you haven’t been playing tennis lately. This island has you more stressed than you’re letting on, doesn’t it?”

“There’s a lot to be done. Gathering food, keeping the cave clean, studying for when we return,” Yagyuu said, matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to starve, nor do I want to deplete our resources.”

“Both of which are perfectly understandable. But if you need help with anything, come ask me, ok? I’m a heck of a lot more mobile and able than I was when we first got here.” Akaya’s voice had a thread of worry in it as he started digging at more knots closer to Yagyuu’s spine.