Work Text:
It was a black pine of majestic proportions, especially considering its habitat so close to the sea. It was uncommon for such large trees to grow on sand dunes, and yet this one had reached an impressive size of at least 20 metres, its wild and unpruned branches sprawling under the weak winter sun to create a lace-like pattern of shadows and light at its feet.
Shin, however, had not come to appreciate the botanic marvels of that little forgotten beach. He had been summoned by a subtle shift in the energy, something no one else would probably feel unless they had been exposed to it as many times as he had. And there he was, resting lazily against the tree trunk, like a snake soaking up in the heat of the sun. The Suiko warrior stalked up to the tree with every intention of kicking its occupant all the way back to the dark pit from which he should have never slithered out.
"Good morning to you, Suiko," Naaza said, cracking one eye open before closing it again, the unmistakable tinge of malicious satisfaction barely concealed by the sleepiness in his voice.
"Why are you here?"
It was an unwarranted question, Shin knew it. Kayura had let them know that occasionally—and only with her explicit permission—the mashou would be allowed to visit Ningenkai, on the condition that they stayed out of heavily populated areas and never brought their armour along. In theory it seemed like a pretty reasonable idea; but in practice it was something Shin had a hard time accepting.
Naaza shrugged but did not open his eyes, as if Suiko were not enough of a threat to bother him out of his relaxed state. "As far as I am aware, I am not breaking any rules," he pointed, with a small grin that made Shin want to boot him in the face. "Ask Kayura herself if you must."
Fucking son of a—, Shin thought, but would not grant the other more fodder to speak down to him as if he were a misbehaving kid with anger management problems. "Did you come to poison the ocean some more?" he asked instead, scathingly.
"If I wished to do so, it would be already done."
The newly established tolerance between the trooper and their former enemies was something that never sat well with Shin. So what if Seiji happened to actually enjoy the Yami mashou's visit to his family dojo? Anubis had not time and time again killed tons of creatures under his protection, the way Naaza did to the sea creatures Shin guarded.
"What are you doing here?"
"Savouring the sun, like any good person," Naaza answered, plainly, and this time there were no veiled attempts to rile Shin up with his tone of voice. It was as honest an answer as Shin was likely to get from the mashou. Still, the Suiko trooper found himself more irritated by it than he should.
"Who says you get to be a person?" Shin growled, his fisted hands trembling and clenching so hard the nails left marks on his palms. "Who says you get to sit there and enjoy the sun of a planet you tried to destroy?"
"And yet here I am."
In an impulsive gesture, Shin fell to his knees to seize the other by the collar of his kimono, shaking him out of that infuriating dormancy and making his head hit hard against the bark behind it. At last, Naaza opened his eyes, and while there was a gleam of annoyance in them, he did not reciprocate the aggression. His hands merely crawled up from his lap to cover Shin's own, and they were smooth and inhumanly cold to the touch, the sun heat having not yet been absorbed by the skin. Shin wondered for a second if there was any warm blood in his veins.
"You make too much noise," he whispered, without releasing Shin's hands.
Nasuti had once suggested to Shin that he and Naaza talk about what happened. Talk, hah!, as if there was anything he wanted to hear from that slippery snake. She reasoned that it was not for Naaza's benefit, but his own, and Shin had brushed it off as utterly absurd. But Nasuti was not only intelligent; she was wise, way beyond her years, and perhaps he could give the mashou the benefit of the doubt—for the time being.
Awkwardly pulling his hands from Naaza's grip, Shin shifted to plop himself onto the sand beside him, but not too close. That seemed to surprise the mashou.
"You will keep me company?"
"No," Shin grunted, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll just make sure you don't screw everything up again."
Naaza sniggered, but made no comment. He merely leant back into the tree and closed his eyes once more, and there was something about his quietness that Shin appreciated, as much as he despised the man.
So this was not exactly talking. But as Shin rested against the black pine bark, with the constant rumbling of the sea and the gentle warmth of winter slowly relaxing his tightly wound muscles, he figured that there was indeed wisdom in Nasuti's words. It was no prelude of friendship, no promise of forgiveness, no letting sleeping dogs (or snakes) lie, but it did something to unclench his tightly wound heart.