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This was a simple hunting trip…
A friendly competition…
Then why…
Ogata's body froze staring ahead, his rifle held tightly in his shaking grasp, his breath coming in short, his chest felt too tight; his unfocused unblinking eyes were on Vasily’s body, sprawled on the ground, a deep red dyeing the snow under him, unmoving. He is screaming at his body to please move but it is not responding, no matter how much he tries.
His trembling body gives up on him and he falls to his knees, a knot on his throat, a despaired scream all he can hear.
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They had developed a sort of tradition in the last couple of months; they would go into the woods or the fields of the area they were in and have a little competition to see who shoots their dinner. Currently Ogata had the advantage by two, and he was planning to make it three. He was walking beside the other man. Just the two of them, and the quiet sounds of the forest surrounding them; they were approaching a field they had passed the day before to hunt a duck for dinner.
Vasily had told him he had seen some when looking for animals to draw in the area, he said he hasn’t had duck in some time so he wanted to give it a go, try it on a hot pot like it was cooked in Japan. A comment that made something twist on Ogata’s gut and made him unable to look at the other when he agreed. Ogata had pushed those feelings as deep as he couldn’t but their shadow kept resurging whenever he thought about their future meal.
The closer they got to the field the harder it became to ignore those feelings; with quacking of the ducks becoming louder and more and more frequent so did the phantom of unpleasant memories. Ogata couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten duck, the last time he had shot one had been months ago, when he was still with Hijikata’s group.
They had cooked it but he excused himself from eating it saying he was going to prepare himself for the search they were doing of the prostitutes killer than day. He didn’t had an appetite that day and he is not sure he even has one at the moment. But for Vasily he is willing to at least hunt it. And he wouldn’t throw a game just because he doesn’t feel like eating what they are going to be shooting at.
When a particularly loud quacking was heard Vasily pointed excitedly in that direction and quickened the pace, Ogata stayed a few meters behind looking for vintage points he could use in the area. When he suddenly felt a presence move by his blind side, whipping his head fast gripping his rifle he saw…
…nothing.
It must had been a little animal that ran past him. They were alone in the area, there was no reason for him to be on high alert.
He shouldn’t let those ridiculous feelings affect him like this, it's not fitting of a sniper; even less one that was going to defect the other on their duel that afternoon. Letting go of the breath he didnt notice he was holding he looked ahead to where Vasily had run off to but instead of seeing the other sniper it was…
HIM.
THAT DAMN WRAITH.
It wasn’t looking at him; its back was to him but it was impossible to confuse it; that annoyingly sweet aura, that stiff posture, the perfectly placed cap that was no a centimeter out of place; it was there standing a few meters from him, looking around as if trying to find something, allowing him to see a glimpse of that bloody hole in his head.
Ogata felt his blood run cold and his body going stiff; the grip on the strap of his rifle deadly tight, hand trembling from the pressure being applied, his teeth cracking with how hard he was grinding them.
Why …
Why was it intervening on his game with Vasily?
Why wouldn’t it leave him alone?
Why was it here ?
The dead were supposed to be gone .
Ogata barely noticed his body moving, reading the rifle and looking at the other through the scope. That apparition was always, always getting in the way. He had tolerated it getting in the way of his kills, but he can't, he just can’t tolerate it being here , for his special time with Vasily, it was just for them and them alone. It has to leave; it has to.
His mind felt like it was being scratched; laud static and the trumping of his own heart all he could hear.
Just one shot
One more and he will be free.
He will never have to see that specter ever again.
The grip in the rifle is firm, in spite of all the nervous energy cursing his body, he keeps his cool where it matters the most, he can just get rid of it with just one shot. He readies his breath; and at that moment, it starts to turn around in his direction, the trail of blood that follows the movement catches his attention drawing his gaze to its eyes, their imposible clear coloring startles Ogata, his finger pressing the trigger and…
The next thing knows is the sound of the bullet leaving the cast.
… then Vasily’s body is falling backwards to the snow.
Ogata’s breath coughs in his throat at the sight, Vasily’s body hits the ground with a sickening crush and Ogata feels like his whole universe is shattering in that moment.
No no no no no no no no no
Why…
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The first sensation he had coming back to consciousness was pain ; his head was killing him and there was an incessant throwing on his left shoulder. The last thing he remembers was staring at a duck, turning around to tell Ogata and then a… shoot. He lifted a hand to his injured shoulder and came out bloodied, he blinked.
Who?
Ogata .
He tried to sit up but the pain didn't let him move much. Grinding his teeth, he fought against the dizziness and soreness; he needed to be sure Ogata was safe. If someone in the area shooted at him that means the other man could be in danger. With a lot of effort he managed to sit down, looking frantically around for signs of another person, but instead what he saw was Ogata, kneeling on the ground, hands tight around his body, rifle trapped between them.
Was he…?
From there he didn’t see any sign of blood, just a lot of disturbed snow around him, as if he had dragged his body forward; he seemed uninjured but he could dismiss the thought of the other man being hurt. He keeps a watchful eye on the area; nothing seems to be in the area, not even animals; the other sniper must have taken care of whoever shot him. That knowledge almost gets his rigid body to relax. When he hears, faintly, really faintly, heavy breathing, coming in in quick succession.
If his assessment is correct, there is just one person besides him here, and maybe he is hurt after all.
With effort, he gets his body to stand up, and slowly walks in the direction of the other man, keeping an eye out just in case. It starts to unnerve him how the other doesn’t seem to notice him, he is not being quiet, his elaborated breath loud and his legs draggin in the snow. Usually, even injured, Ogata keeps himself alert enough to fight off any possible attack, but he just stands there, the closer Vasily gets the better he can see the other man. His eye staring unfocused ahead, he can see the slight tremors of the other’s frame.
He hurries his pace, ignoring his own pain.
“Ogata.” He calls in a whisper once he is in front of him, but the smaller man seems unable to hear him. Vasily gets to his knees, a hand hovering over the other’s shoulder waiting to see if he reacts “Ogata?” still nothing. The Russian man frowns and slowly places his hand on the shoulder; all he gets is a light twitch; Ogata doesn’t seem to notice he is there.
What happened?
“Ogata!” He shakes the other a little and his only response is a whimper, Ogata recoiling more into himself. “Are you hurt?” He gives the other man an once over, physically his body seems to be uninjured, is he having another episode? They had a few times where the other man got lost in his own head. Has mentioned being haunted by a wraith that just he can see. But it never got like this. Ogata just got a bit shaken but now?
Now he looks like he lost it.
Vasily keeps trying to shake him out of it but doesn’t seem to work; neither does calling him out, his own voice coming more and more raw as he overuses his recovering mouth and Ogata still doesn’t respond, just stares into space, his breath getting worse and worse with each second, his lungs struggling to get air into them.
He needs to snap him out of it soon . He looks around but there is nothing he could use, nothing but…
Ogata may get mad at him but it's his only way.
He grabs a handful of snow with his injured arm and throws it on Ogata’s face, hoping it would get a reaction out of him.
It does .
Ogata's body shudders once again, his eye looking at him, still unfocused, and when Vasily thinks it didn’t work he sees it, some sense of awareness coming back to those black pools. But all his hopes get instantly crushed when Ogata's face just crumbles with agony, a strangled sound leaving his throat as he jerks away falling on his ass on the snow, arms releasing his body and rifle, one behind for support and the other one going to his mouth as to quiet the sobs building in his body.
Vasily reaches in his direction, the other man lets out a wail retroceding, his trembling body barely keeping his balance with his breath getting more erratic by the second. He seems to be trying to say something between dry sobs but it all comes out as a mangled mess.
Vasily can’t take to see him like that.
“ Hyakunosuke !” He yells grabbing for the other man, capturing his wrist with his injured arm. The shriek that comes from his mouth is something he has never heard in his life before, making his heart ache even more. “ Please. ” he follows in a lower voice, trying to persuade the other closer to him. Ogata's head shakes from side to side, garbled words coming at a quick pace, but he can faintly understand the pleases and noes .
It’s breaking his heart to cause the shorter man distress but he can’t let him go now. He uses his superior strength to force his body forward, trapping him between his arms. Ogata's body froze when they got in contact, just small trembles here and there even his pleading had stopped. He patiently waits for the other to react, preparing himself for anything.
When what feels like an eternity passes, he feels one of Ogata hand clutching at his injured shoulder with painful desperation, the other laying between their chests grabbing at the fabric of Vasily’s clothes. At that Vasily could feel the breath he had been holding out leave, his body relaxing just a bit.
“Vasya.” He hears the weakest whisper coming from the other man's mouth, not even when recovering from his injuries he sounded so exhausted .
“Here,” he murmurs, cradling the other’s head with his hand as he guides the shorter man to lie on him. This close he could feel the other’s body tensing and immediately relaxing followed by the faint sound of sobs. He stayed there, with Ogata’s head against his heart cradling the other man as he weeps, mumbling apologies that make no sense to him.
Eventually, the cries stopped, and his breath came back to a more regular rhythm. His hold on Vasily loosen than before, but still there, as if he was afraid of him banishing if he lets go. When he looks down Ogata's eye is open, staring at the distance, and for a moment Vasily worries he is back there, but then his focuses on him. Once again Vasily's heart feels like it's about to break ; he never saw the other man as worn-out as he looked at the moment.
“You are alive,” Ogata whispers against his chest. Vasily nods, grabbing one of Ogata’s hands, positions it against his own check, Ogata’s fingers caress the scarred tissue there, before closing his eyes. “I thought… I thought you were gone.” He confesses in a broken voice.
“My shoulder.” He says, his voice rough. “It already stopped bleeding.” He says closer to the other ear to not raise his voice much.
“I’m sorry.” Ogata mutters quietly, slowly moving his hand to the injured shoulder.
“It's fine.” Vasily rests its importance, noticing the other tension in those words. “None of us noticed the shooter.” At that Ogata just to let out a bitter laugh, moving away from Vasily’s body, sitting in front of him with some effort a nasty smile on his face, his hand on the Russian shoulder the only thing keeping them connected.
“There was no one else.” He lets out, his grip on Vasily's shoulder getting tight. “Vasya, it was me,” He confesses with an unsteady smile. Vasily’s eyes open wide, staring at the other who is avoiding his gaze. “I…” He starts closing his eye slowly letting go of the shoulder. “I thought you were someone else.”
Vasily blinks for a moment, trying to understand the situation. Who? But before he could ask, Ogata starts rambling, his hand going down the length of Vasily’s arm.
“I… saw him. There. Standing, mocking me and I… I couldn’t take it. This was our private time. Our little game. He… he doesn’t have the right to be here.” Ogata says grabbing Vasily’s hand on his own “I just thought that if I shoot him again, he would be gone for sure…” Ogata looked him in the eyes. “I’m sorry.” A tear rolls from his eye, voice weak and so, so tired. Vasily’s own hand closes on Ogata's, taking it to his lips to kiss it. His other hand went to the other head, moving the loosened hairs from his face, on a resemblance of his typical haircut.
“I understand.” is all he says, Ogata leaves out a mirthless laugh resting his forehead against his, their hands still united. He will not let something like this get between them, they will overcome it, just like everything else that had been on their way.