忍ぶ感情 Shinobu Kanjyo
Title: Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: twenty-one
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Part 2: Shinobu Kokoro ( Chapter eight, Chapter nine, Chapter ten, Chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen)
Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo ( Chapter fifteen, Chapter sixteen, Chapter seventeen, Chapter eighteen, Chapter nineteen, Chapter twenty
Jun had reviewed the details of the mission with Kame earlier that morning and was almost ready to leave; he just needed to check back in with him once before everything was finalized.
Kame had said, “I might have to find another person to go with you on this one. It’s not that hard, but since you’ll be transporting something rather large, you’re going to need some backup. Why don’t you meet me at the front of the Main Building this afternoon before you take off and I’ll see if I can round someone up?”
Jun had shrugged and nodded, actually happy to have the company on the mission. Even though he wanted to get away from the village and the stifling feeling he was having with trying to avoid Ohno, he rarely took single ninja jobs, and when he did they weren’t ever overnight. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he could handle going by himself, he had just gotten so used to be around people all the time, especially Arashi. And ever since they had been attacked with Yokoyama and Mao, Ohno wouldn’t allow him to leave the village alone, anyway.
But Leader wasn’t around now, so it wasn’t like he was objecting to this one. He probably wouldn’t even find out about it until Jun was gone and back again.
Readjusted the traveling bag on his back, Jun continued to walk down the familiar hallways of the Main Building. Nino and Sho had left on a similar mission the day before, so it would just be Aiba and Ohno alone tonight. In the back of his mind, Jun was hoping that he’d worry Leader a little and maybe spur him into giving a final response to the confession Jun had forced him more than a week ago, even though he knew how calm and collected the older man could be.
To his surprise, when Jun walked out the front doors he saw Kame talking lightly with Ohno, who was wearing a traveling pack similar to Jun’s.
He paused in shock, since it had been a while since he’d been close enough to Ohno to read his facial features, but both of the other men turned to him straight away, Leader suddenly looking just as apprehensive as Jun was and Kame smiling enthusiastically.
“Hey, Jun! I found someone to go on your mission with you!” he said, indicating Ohno and pretending like nothing was wrong between them, that the two Arashi members weren’t acting completely awkward with each other.
The swordmaster looked like he’d been caught off guard.
“Did you tell him it was me?” Jun asked quietly under his breath, trying not to show how disappointed he was with the fact that he even had to ask. He was averting his gaze from Leader and trying his hardest not to seem upset at the prospect of going on a mission with his love interest.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; actually it was the complete opposite. This was a good opportunity for the two of them to be alone.
But if Leader didn’t want to talk to him, the captain wasn’t exactly going to be good company, and this would probably only make things tenser between them, compared to if Ohno was left to work out his feelings on his own.
“Well, no, but…” Kame’s hopeful expression faltered as he looked between Ohno and Jun. “I didn’t think it would be a problem…”
Jun forced a smile.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said to his friend, then turned to Ohno, trying to make his expression seem calmer than the grimace that was currently there. “Leader, you don’t have to go with me, I’ll be okay by myself.”
There was an awkward silence as the swordmaster met his gaze, but it was unwavering instead of nervous like Jun thought it would be.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll go with you. Kame says you’ll probably need the help and I signed the contract already.”
Jun began to bit his lip gently, not sure how he should react to the response, and then turned to Kame as if he would know the answer to Jun’s unspoken question.
But Kame was smiling and patted him on the back. “Well, you two better be off. You have to pick up the helm early tomorrow morning.”
Jun nodded, not believing that this was happening, and then gazed at Ohno tentatively. He was looking back, once again with caution, and they simply stared at each other for several seconds before Ohno ducked his head and took off, Jun following right behind him.
Kame watched them go, not understanding why Jun wasn’t ecstatic right now. After talking with Touma and Yamapi, it was obvious that there was something going on between the two Arashi members, and Touma had mentioned that Ohno had been avoiding Jun for a little while too, although the reason for that wasn’t very clear. But the fact that Nino, Sho, and Aiba wanted the two of them pushed together made a little more sense, now. Kame just hoped that this would all work out as well as they seemed to think it would.
+++
They weren’t talking.
They had been traveling at a moderate pace, Jun following Leader sometimes really closely, sometimes giving the older man a little room, but the banter that Jun usually facilitated hadn’t started yet, and he wasn’t sure it would.
After looking back on the entire trip, which took up most of the evening and a few hours into the night, Jun didn’t think they exchanged any words, except when Ohno had mentioned he was going to avoid the city in their way and go around the outskirts instead. And Jun hadn’t even verbally responded to that, just nodded.
They were just a little ways off from their destination when Ohno gradually slowed his pace and the two of them began looking for an acceptable place to sleep. It wasn’t cold enough to need a fire and it would only be a pain to start anyway, and Jun didn’t feel like eating anything either. He’d wait until morning and force the rations down his throat before they took off to the outlying monastery in which they were to pick up the item, and he told himself that was good enough.
The two men glanced at each other shyly and then both looked away at the same time. After Jun averted his gaze to his feet for a few seconds, Ohno shuffled over to the cover of a tall tree and began removing a few rocks from his desired bed, and Jun allowed himself to turn and watch him, just for a moment.
When Leader laid down on his side and snuggled into the soft dirt at the bottom of the tree, Jun finally followed him and sat down right behind the older man, close enough that they were almost touching, but not quite.
He stared at his hands for a few seconds, still feeling on edge, looked over at Ohno, who was turned away from him, and then gazed back at his hands. Trying to swallow his anxiousness, Jun opened his mouth to say something before they settled into sleep together, but he’d only gotten out a quiet, “Leader,” before he was interrupted.
“I haven’t decided yet. I still need time.”
Jun nodded, but was a little relieved at the casual tone his friend was using. It told him that he really hadn’t reached a decision, and he was fine with allowing more leeway before demanding an answer. Better than anyone, Jun knew how hard it was for the swordsman to change his perceptions, especially when he had been so indoctrinated by Jyani.
And besides, if what Mao said about the longer the better was true, Ohno should be ready to fall into his arms at any time.
Jun finally allowed himself to lean back, looking up at the sky through the branches of the tree, and sighed, slowly drifting off to sleep, listening to Ohno’s steady breaths next to him.
+++
Satoshi’s eyes slowly fluttered open and he wondered when he had fallen asleep. He had trained himself to only doze, always alert, while he was outside of the village, but he had been dead to the world up until a few seconds ago. Ohno tentatively looked around him, noticing that the sky was barely starting to change from pitch black to dark blue, and was relieved that they weren’t put behind schedule because of his lack of discipline.
As he felt something tickle the back of his neck, he stiffened, immediately sensing Jun behind him. The younger man was pressed up against his back and his arm was flung gently over his waist, which was probably the reason that Leader had slept so well, although it had been so long since they had shared a bed with each other. Jun’s chest was gently brushing his back as the other ninja continued to breathe deeply, still fast asleep, and the air from his mouth was coming out gently onto Ohno’s skin.
Afraid to stir and wake him, Leader cautiously pulled forward a little and turned his head to look at Jun. But he was gradually waking up too, and so Ohno directly, and as gently as he could, pulled himself out of the embrace and stood, dusting off his outfit of excess dirt and looking anywhere but his friend. He could feel the heat rushing to his face and even though it was probably too dark to be noticeable, he didn’t want to seem flustered at the intimacy they had been sharing.
Ohno began rummaging through the pack he’d brought with him for some breakfast, his stomach already twisting from skipping dinner the night before, and within a minute Jun was slowly sitting up, rubbing his eyes. Leader turned back to him hesitantly and then smiled as he saw Jun’s disheveled hair with a leaf sticking out of it at the top.
Knowing that he should be more cautious but realizing he was listening less and less to his brain lately, Ohno picked up the baggage, which had been left just a few feet away in some underbrush, and his sword, which had stayed within arms reach the entire night, then slid back over to the illusionist.
He sat down next to him, where he had been sleeping not even five minutes ago, and began opening the package of rice balls he had brought, offering one to Jun as he yawned.
Jun smiled groggily, but took the offered food, eating it quickly and probably not tasting much of it. Ohno returned the grin and then took a bite of his own breakfast, taking more time than Jun had and slowly becoming more and more alert as time passed.
Still without anything exchanged between them, the pair fixed their clothes and pulled their masks into place before starting off again, but instead of the tense atmosphere that they’d had yesterday, they were comfortable, like something had changed in the night they had spent next to each other.
They arrived at their goal in less than an hour, and immediately met with a group of servants who worked for their customer from a nearby city.
The helm, something of an heirloom, had been passed down through almost twenty generations of a war clan, but they had been wiped out in the last five years and had promised the artifact to their enemy as a display of surrender. Of course there were many rebel groups that didn’t like the idea, and so the reason the ninja had been hired was to deliver the item quickly but with enough protection to keep it safe. Also, in this way, they could use a third party instead of delivering any of their good men into the clutches of their adversary when it wasn’t required.
Ohno examined the object carefully to make sure it fit the description that it should, and then replaced it inside of a chest designed uniquely to carry the treasure. The box wasn’t too large, but it was heavy, and Jun suggested they take turns carrying it throughout the day. It would probably take at least that long to haul it across the prefecture, and it would be quite a risk to go very late into the night, just because it would be easy to get outnumbered that way. And although the pair didn’t have the same qualms about killing enemies that Nino and Aiba did, it had become second nature to Jun to take the path of least confrontation on that front.
After everything was settled, Jun volunteered to take the chest first, and Ohno didn’t object at all. They fashioned a carrier with a slab of wood and Jun’s mesh net and before long they were trekking down a winding road towards the next prefecture. Although it was a little risky taking a path that was heavily traveled for something as important as this, it way was straightforward and gave the ninja a lot of room to see what was coming at them.
They went until lunch with little problem, and Jun had actually started chatting again, like he usually did. He told Ohno about Aiba’s crush, which drew a chuckle from the swordmaster, and then slowly moved into the fact that Kame was Touma’s roommate (not mentioning anything about Kouki, just in case it brought up unwanted relationship tension between them), and then finally started explaining what kind of plans he wanted for their new house. Ohno liked the idea, too, but wasn’t sure he wanted to move out of the Main Building yet, even though it was getting cramped and none of them had any personal space anymore.
Of course, Jun neglected to mention that, if he got his way, there would only be three rooms in the new house: one for Sho and Nino, one for Aiba, and one for him and Ohno.
They had a short meal break and Ohno took over the crate after that, the conversation turning a little less consistent. Instead of jumping from topic to topic without any breaks, Jun instead let it drift, sometimes allowing silence for an extended period of time, and usually just simply commenting on the scenery around them.
But Jun should have known the mission wouldn’t go completely smoothly, not when the two of them were together.
Although the pair had tried to speed up their movement to prevent an ambush that they sensed coming an hour earlier, the box was too heavy and it was impracticable for Jun to fall back and try to take them alone. If he would have been carrying the box instead there would have been no problem with the swordmaster holding them off long enough for him to make an escape, but as it was, Ohno wasn’t willing to let his friend try to take them on alone, especially since they didn’t know how many were coming.
Jun had the suspicious that the only reason Ohno took the mission in the first place was to keep an eye on him, to make sure nothing happened with mysterious ninja or a disgruntled relative, and although that was endearing, the illusionist also found it a little stifling too. Jun could protect Ohno just as avidly as the older man could protect him.
But they continued on, trying to avoid any confrontation, until Ohno had to dodge a well aimed arrow, and then they stopped to take their stand in the middle of the road.
There was only one archer, luckily enough, and although he had been on target the first time, the next three shots were far too wide and of no threat. In fact, the rebel group altogether was pretty small and Jun almost felt bad about what the duo was about to do to them. These men just wanted to keep their pride intact, after all. They weren’t bad guys, really, at least not in the sense that Jun was used to thinking of his enemies.
He took his spot in front of Ohno, even though the older man was telling him to back up, and threw a pellet into the pathway of the men coming after them. As expected, one of them stepped on it, unable to avoid the item and not having any idea of what it was, and it released a burst of gas around the troupe. Jun could tell it would only affect half of them if he was lucky, and it would take a few more minutes to do so, but once it started working it would leave the men paralyzed until tomorrow morning at the very earliest. That’s how he wanted to take care of them, but he knew the same trick wouldn’t work twice, so he pulled out two throwing knives and grasped them tightly in his hands.
The archer shot again and Jun darted to the side to avoid it, trusting in Ohno to do the same. The illusionist didn’t have anything to protect them with like a shield, and his knives weren’t long enough to be used to deflect the projectile, so he would just have to take care of the ranged weapon in a second, assuming the archer didn’t fall victim to the poison that had been used a moment ago.
Before the rebels had even reached the ninja, they started falling onto the ground one by one, and although some of the men stopped in their tracks, afraid of the sudden and silent attack, Jun had to begin defending them immediately, his weapons bared. One of them had a club, which was easy to dodge, and he promptly landed a cut on the burly man’s shoulder. The other had the usual sword, which was simple to deflect since he was nowhere near as skilled as some of the men Jun had been forced to fight before now.
A few seconds and a fresh wound in the shoulder later, the man with the club collapsed with his comrades, even though it was obvious he was trying to resist the poison, and before any of the other enemies had reached them, Jun had landed a temple hit with the butt of his knife, knocking the swordsman unconscious and possibly causing more damage than he’d meant to.
Ohno was backing up and so Jun did too, causing a few more of the men to pass out before they reached their treasured helm.
The archer notched another arrow and so Jun had no choice but to lose one of his knives to attacking the man and disabling his movements. They were cheaply made, since he never discarded his good ones like that (at least not when he couldn’t retrieve them), but he had a limited amount on him during a mission, so it was better to fight in close combat than at a distance and save what weapons he could.
Jun pulled out another knife, which was tucked into the waist of his pants, and twirled it around in his hand, getting used to the heavier weight than the one he had been using a second ago.
There were only three enemies that were still coming at them, the rest either collapsed on the ground in various lengths or those who had stopped to aid the fallen. They were dressed and equipped similar to the previous adversaries, one of them with a heavy club and the other two with swords.
Jun tripped the man with the club, sending him heavily to the ground, then blocked the simultaneous attack of the long blades and finally rotated his wrist, making the swordsmen lose their balance. While they were recovering, Jun jumped and twirled, kicking one firmly in the temple, and the other one he stabbed in the side once he landed.
The injured man fell, losing his weapon in the process, but by then, the one with the club had recovered. He was easily taken care of, though, first blinded by kicking some dirt from the road into his eye and then tripped once more, although this time Jun followed up with a punch to the man’s chest, making him lose his breath and begin hacking, trying to inhale correctly.
With all threats neutralized, Jun turned back to Ohno and grabbed his hand as they retreated together.
The pair ran as far as was possible with the heavy item still on Ohno’s back, and once they couldn’t go any farther they ducked into a group of trees to catch their breath.
Jun watched the pathway closely to make sure they weren’t being followed, but he was confident that after a confrontation like that, the group wouldn’t dare pursue them. Ohno hadn’t even been required to draw his sword.
Finally letting himself relax a little, Jun leaned against the truck of the tree they had chosen, and Ohno struggled with trying to get the item off his back. He did after a second and sat down next to the younger man, pulling his mask down with labored breaths and grinning at Jun, still high from the excitement of the attack.
“Wow, you did really well,” he complimented and Jun couldn’t help but beam at the praise.
But they needed to keep moving, so after a quick break Jun picked up the box and the two took off again.
+++
A/N: Happy Friday! I'm tired but doing good I think.
Since I feel like it and all you wonderful people deserve it and because the chapter breakup is weird I'll be updating against in a few hours! :DD Updated!
Chapter twenty-two
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: twenty-one
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Part 2: Shinobu Kokoro ( Chapter eight, Chapter nine, Chapter ten, Chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen)
Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo ( Chapter fifteen, Chapter sixteen, Chapter seventeen, Chapter eighteen, Chapter nineteen, Chapter twenty
Jun had reviewed the details of the mission with Kame earlier that morning and was almost ready to leave; he just needed to check back in with him once before everything was finalized.
Kame had said, “I might have to find another person to go with you on this one. It’s not that hard, but since you’ll be transporting something rather large, you’re going to need some backup. Why don’t you meet me at the front of the Main Building this afternoon before you take off and I’ll see if I can round someone up?”
Jun had shrugged and nodded, actually happy to have the company on the mission. Even though he wanted to get away from the village and the stifling feeling he was having with trying to avoid Ohno, he rarely took single ninja jobs, and when he did they weren’t ever overnight. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he could handle going by himself, he had just gotten so used to be around people all the time, especially Arashi. And ever since they had been attacked with Yokoyama and Mao, Ohno wouldn’t allow him to leave the village alone, anyway.
But Leader wasn’t around now, so it wasn’t like he was objecting to this one. He probably wouldn’t even find out about it until Jun was gone and back again.
Readjusted the traveling bag on his back, Jun continued to walk down the familiar hallways of the Main Building. Nino and Sho had left on a similar mission the day before, so it would just be Aiba and Ohno alone tonight. In the back of his mind, Jun was hoping that he’d worry Leader a little and maybe spur him into giving a final response to the confession Jun had forced him more than a week ago, even though he knew how calm and collected the older man could be.
To his surprise, when Jun walked out the front doors he saw Kame talking lightly with Ohno, who was wearing a traveling pack similar to Jun’s.
He paused in shock, since it had been a while since he’d been close enough to Ohno to read his facial features, but both of the other men turned to him straight away, Leader suddenly looking just as apprehensive as Jun was and Kame smiling enthusiastically.
“Hey, Jun! I found someone to go on your mission with you!” he said, indicating Ohno and pretending like nothing was wrong between them, that the two Arashi members weren’t acting completely awkward with each other.
The swordmaster looked like he’d been caught off guard.
“Did you tell him it was me?” Jun asked quietly under his breath, trying not to show how disappointed he was with the fact that he even had to ask. He was averting his gaze from Leader and trying his hardest not to seem upset at the prospect of going on a mission with his love interest.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; actually it was the complete opposite. This was a good opportunity for the two of them to be alone.
But if Leader didn’t want to talk to him, the captain wasn’t exactly going to be good company, and this would probably only make things tenser between them, compared to if Ohno was left to work out his feelings on his own.
“Well, no, but…” Kame’s hopeful expression faltered as he looked between Ohno and Jun. “I didn’t think it would be a problem…”
Jun forced a smile.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said to his friend, then turned to Ohno, trying to make his expression seem calmer than the grimace that was currently there. “Leader, you don’t have to go with me, I’ll be okay by myself.”
There was an awkward silence as the swordmaster met his gaze, but it was unwavering instead of nervous like Jun thought it would be.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll go with you. Kame says you’ll probably need the help and I signed the contract already.”
Jun began to bit his lip gently, not sure how he should react to the response, and then turned to Kame as if he would know the answer to Jun’s unspoken question.
But Kame was smiling and patted him on the back. “Well, you two better be off. You have to pick up the helm early tomorrow morning.”
Jun nodded, not believing that this was happening, and then gazed at Ohno tentatively. He was looking back, once again with caution, and they simply stared at each other for several seconds before Ohno ducked his head and took off, Jun following right behind him.
Kame watched them go, not understanding why Jun wasn’t ecstatic right now. After talking with Touma and Yamapi, it was obvious that there was something going on between the two Arashi members, and Touma had mentioned that Ohno had been avoiding Jun for a little while too, although the reason for that wasn’t very clear. But the fact that Nino, Sho, and Aiba wanted the two of them pushed together made a little more sense, now. Kame just hoped that this would all work out as well as they seemed to think it would.
+++
They weren’t talking.
They had been traveling at a moderate pace, Jun following Leader sometimes really closely, sometimes giving the older man a little room, but the banter that Jun usually facilitated hadn’t started yet, and he wasn’t sure it would.
After looking back on the entire trip, which took up most of the evening and a few hours into the night, Jun didn’t think they exchanged any words, except when Ohno had mentioned he was going to avoid the city in their way and go around the outskirts instead. And Jun hadn’t even verbally responded to that, just nodded.
They were just a little ways off from their destination when Ohno gradually slowed his pace and the two of them began looking for an acceptable place to sleep. It wasn’t cold enough to need a fire and it would only be a pain to start anyway, and Jun didn’t feel like eating anything either. He’d wait until morning and force the rations down his throat before they took off to the outlying monastery in which they were to pick up the item, and he told himself that was good enough.
The two men glanced at each other shyly and then both looked away at the same time. After Jun averted his gaze to his feet for a few seconds, Ohno shuffled over to the cover of a tall tree and began removing a few rocks from his desired bed, and Jun allowed himself to turn and watch him, just for a moment.
When Leader laid down on his side and snuggled into the soft dirt at the bottom of the tree, Jun finally followed him and sat down right behind the older man, close enough that they were almost touching, but not quite.
He stared at his hands for a few seconds, still feeling on edge, looked over at Ohno, who was turned away from him, and then gazed back at his hands. Trying to swallow his anxiousness, Jun opened his mouth to say something before they settled into sleep together, but he’d only gotten out a quiet, “Leader,” before he was interrupted.
“I haven’t decided yet. I still need time.”
Jun nodded, but was a little relieved at the casual tone his friend was using. It told him that he really hadn’t reached a decision, and he was fine with allowing more leeway before demanding an answer. Better than anyone, Jun knew how hard it was for the swordsman to change his perceptions, especially when he had been so indoctrinated by Jyani.
And besides, if what Mao said about the longer the better was true, Ohno should be ready to fall into his arms at any time.
Jun finally allowed himself to lean back, looking up at the sky through the branches of the tree, and sighed, slowly drifting off to sleep, listening to Ohno’s steady breaths next to him.
+++
Satoshi’s eyes slowly fluttered open and he wondered when he had fallen asleep. He had trained himself to only doze, always alert, while he was outside of the village, but he had been dead to the world up until a few seconds ago. Ohno tentatively looked around him, noticing that the sky was barely starting to change from pitch black to dark blue, and was relieved that they weren’t put behind schedule because of his lack of discipline.
As he felt something tickle the back of his neck, he stiffened, immediately sensing Jun behind him. The younger man was pressed up against his back and his arm was flung gently over his waist, which was probably the reason that Leader had slept so well, although it had been so long since they had shared a bed with each other. Jun’s chest was gently brushing his back as the other ninja continued to breathe deeply, still fast asleep, and the air from his mouth was coming out gently onto Ohno’s skin.
Afraid to stir and wake him, Leader cautiously pulled forward a little and turned his head to look at Jun. But he was gradually waking up too, and so Ohno directly, and as gently as he could, pulled himself out of the embrace and stood, dusting off his outfit of excess dirt and looking anywhere but his friend. He could feel the heat rushing to his face and even though it was probably too dark to be noticeable, he didn’t want to seem flustered at the intimacy they had been sharing.
Ohno began rummaging through the pack he’d brought with him for some breakfast, his stomach already twisting from skipping dinner the night before, and within a minute Jun was slowly sitting up, rubbing his eyes. Leader turned back to him hesitantly and then smiled as he saw Jun’s disheveled hair with a leaf sticking out of it at the top.
Knowing that he should be more cautious but realizing he was listening less and less to his brain lately, Ohno picked up the baggage, which had been left just a few feet away in some underbrush, and his sword, which had stayed within arms reach the entire night, then slid back over to the illusionist.
He sat down next to him, where he had been sleeping not even five minutes ago, and began opening the package of rice balls he had brought, offering one to Jun as he yawned.
Jun smiled groggily, but took the offered food, eating it quickly and probably not tasting much of it. Ohno returned the grin and then took a bite of his own breakfast, taking more time than Jun had and slowly becoming more and more alert as time passed.
Still without anything exchanged between them, the pair fixed their clothes and pulled their masks into place before starting off again, but instead of the tense atmosphere that they’d had yesterday, they were comfortable, like something had changed in the night they had spent next to each other.
They arrived at their goal in less than an hour, and immediately met with a group of servants who worked for their customer from a nearby city.
The helm, something of an heirloom, had been passed down through almost twenty generations of a war clan, but they had been wiped out in the last five years and had promised the artifact to their enemy as a display of surrender. Of course there were many rebel groups that didn’t like the idea, and so the reason the ninja had been hired was to deliver the item quickly but with enough protection to keep it safe. Also, in this way, they could use a third party instead of delivering any of their good men into the clutches of their adversary when it wasn’t required.
Ohno examined the object carefully to make sure it fit the description that it should, and then replaced it inside of a chest designed uniquely to carry the treasure. The box wasn’t too large, but it was heavy, and Jun suggested they take turns carrying it throughout the day. It would probably take at least that long to haul it across the prefecture, and it would be quite a risk to go very late into the night, just because it would be easy to get outnumbered that way. And although the pair didn’t have the same qualms about killing enemies that Nino and Aiba did, it had become second nature to Jun to take the path of least confrontation on that front.
After everything was settled, Jun volunteered to take the chest first, and Ohno didn’t object at all. They fashioned a carrier with a slab of wood and Jun’s mesh net and before long they were trekking down a winding road towards the next prefecture. Although it was a little risky taking a path that was heavily traveled for something as important as this, it way was straightforward and gave the ninja a lot of room to see what was coming at them.
They went until lunch with little problem, and Jun had actually started chatting again, like he usually did. He told Ohno about Aiba’s crush, which drew a chuckle from the swordmaster, and then slowly moved into the fact that Kame was Touma’s roommate (not mentioning anything about Kouki, just in case it brought up unwanted relationship tension between them), and then finally started explaining what kind of plans he wanted for their new house. Ohno liked the idea, too, but wasn’t sure he wanted to move out of the Main Building yet, even though it was getting cramped and none of them had any personal space anymore.
Of course, Jun neglected to mention that, if he got his way, there would only be three rooms in the new house: one for Sho and Nino, one for Aiba, and one for him and Ohno.
They had a short meal break and Ohno took over the crate after that, the conversation turning a little less consistent. Instead of jumping from topic to topic without any breaks, Jun instead let it drift, sometimes allowing silence for an extended period of time, and usually just simply commenting on the scenery around them.
But Jun should have known the mission wouldn’t go completely smoothly, not when the two of them were together.
Although the pair had tried to speed up their movement to prevent an ambush that they sensed coming an hour earlier, the box was too heavy and it was impracticable for Jun to fall back and try to take them alone. If he would have been carrying the box instead there would have been no problem with the swordmaster holding them off long enough for him to make an escape, but as it was, Ohno wasn’t willing to let his friend try to take them on alone, especially since they didn’t know how many were coming.
Jun had the suspicious that the only reason Ohno took the mission in the first place was to keep an eye on him, to make sure nothing happened with mysterious ninja or a disgruntled relative, and although that was endearing, the illusionist also found it a little stifling too. Jun could protect Ohno just as avidly as the older man could protect him.
But they continued on, trying to avoid any confrontation, until Ohno had to dodge a well aimed arrow, and then they stopped to take their stand in the middle of the road.
There was only one archer, luckily enough, and although he had been on target the first time, the next three shots were far too wide and of no threat. In fact, the rebel group altogether was pretty small and Jun almost felt bad about what the duo was about to do to them. These men just wanted to keep their pride intact, after all. They weren’t bad guys, really, at least not in the sense that Jun was used to thinking of his enemies.
He took his spot in front of Ohno, even though the older man was telling him to back up, and threw a pellet into the pathway of the men coming after them. As expected, one of them stepped on it, unable to avoid the item and not having any idea of what it was, and it released a burst of gas around the troupe. Jun could tell it would only affect half of them if he was lucky, and it would take a few more minutes to do so, but once it started working it would leave the men paralyzed until tomorrow morning at the very earliest. That’s how he wanted to take care of them, but he knew the same trick wouldn’t work twice, so he pulled out two throwing knives and grasped them tightly in his hands.
The archer shot again and Jun darted to the side to avoid it, trusting in Ohno to do the same. The illusionist didn’t have anything to protect them with like a shield, and his knives weren’t long enough to be used to deflect the projectile, so he would just have to take care of the ranged weapon in a second, assuming the archer didn’t fall victim to the poison that had been used a moment ago.
Before the rebels had even reached the ninja, they started falling onto the ground one by one, and although some of the men stopped in their tracks, afraid of the sudden and silent attack, Jun had to begin defending them immediately, his weapons bared. One of them had a club, which was easy to dodge, and he promptly landed a cut on the burly man’s shoulder. The other had the usual sword, which was simple to deflect since he was nowhere near as skilled as some of the men Jun had been forced to fight before now.
A few seconds and a fresh wound in the shoulder later, the man with the club collapsed with his comrades, even though it was obvious he was trying to resist the poison, and before any of the other enemies had reached them, Jun had landed a temple hit with the butt of his knife, knocking the swordsman unconscious and possibly causing more damage than he’d meant to.
Ohno was backing up and so Jun did too, causing a few more of the men to pass out before they reached their treasured helm.
The archer notched another arrow and so Jun had no choice but to lose one of his knives to attacking the man and disabling his movements. They were cheaply made, since he never discarded his good ones like that (at least not when he couldn’t retrieve them), but he had a limited amount on him during a mission, so it was better to fight in close combat than at a distance and save what weapons he could.
Jun pulled out another knife, which was tucked into the waist of his pants, and twirled it around in his hand, getting used to the heavier weight than the one he had been using a second ago.
There were only three enemies that were still coming at them, the rest either collapsed on the ground in various lengths or those who had stopped to aid the fallen. They were dressed and equipped similar to the previous adversaries, one of them with a heavy club and the other two with swords.
Jun tripped the man with the club, sending him heavily to the ground, then blocked the simultaneous attack of the long blades and finally rotated his wrist, making the swordsmen lose their balance. While they were recovering, Jun jumped and twirled, kicking one firmly in the temple, and the other one he stabbed in the side once he landed.
The injured man fell, losing his weapon in the process, but by then, the one with the club had recovered. He was easily taken care of, though, first blinded by kicking some dirt from the road into his eye and then tripped once more, although this time Jun followed up with a punch to the man’s chest, making him lose his breath and begin hacking, trying to inhale correctly.
With all threats neutralized, Jun turned back to Ohno and grabbed his hand as they retreated together.
The pair ran as far as was possible with the heavy item still on Ohno’s back, and once they couldn’t go any farther they ducked into a group of trees to catch their breath.
Jun watched the pathway closely to make sure they weren’t being followed, but he was confident that after a confrontation like that, the group wouldn’t dare pursue them. Ohno hadn’t even been required to draw his sword.
Finally letting himself relax a little, Jun leaned against the truck of the tree they had chosen, and Ohno struggled with trying to get the item off his back. He did after a second and sat down next to the younger man, pulling his mask down with labored breaths and grinning at Jun, still high from the excitement of the attack.
“Wow, you did really well,” he complimented and Jun couldn’t help but beam at the praise.
But they needed to keep moving, so after a quick break Jun picked up the box and the two took off again.
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A/N: Happy Friday! I'm tired but doing good I think.
Since I feel like it and all you wonderful people deserve it and because the chapter breakup is weird I'll be updating against in a few hours! :DD Updated!
Chapter twenty-two