Chapter Text
In the Inazuman streets, puddles splashed around him as he ran. Heizou reached the roof of Komore Teahouse and rushed inside. If his intuition hadn't warned him, he would've been completely drenched.
“I just wanted to have a nice stroll…” Heizou sighed as he took off his shoes.
A bark roused him from his disappointed thoughts. He smiled and walked toward the counter to pet Taroumaru on the head. “I’ll be borrowing one of the rooms, is that okay?” Another bark and the wag of a tail gave him the answer he needed and he headed to the last unoccupied room.
He went to the bathroom and set his wet shoes aside, then he shook off his orange haori and untied his hair as well. After squeezing as much water out of his hair and clothes as he could, Heizou put his belongings against one of the walls, slid his damp shoes on, and went to the counter to grab some food.
“Hey Taroumaru, can I have-”
Suddenly, his intuition tingled and he grabbed an umbrella from the corner before rushing outside.
“Kazuha!”
Amber eyes turned to him in surprise as he rushed over. “...Heizou?”
Heizou looped an arm around the samurai’s waist to draw them closer and held the umbrella over their heads. “What are you doing out here?! It’s pouring!”
Kazuha shook his head with a small smile and stepped back to prevent making Heizou's clothes even more wet. “You should stay in Komore Teahouse, detective. I’ll be alright.” Nevertheless, Heizou ignored his words and dragged him into the teahouse.
“Take off your shoes and follow me,” he instructed. “Kazuha’s going to stay with me, okay? We’ll be out in a bit to get some food.” Taroumaru barked and wagged his tail when Kazuha gave him a light pat before following Heizou.
Once inside, Heizou closed the door and took Kazuha’s hand, leading him into the bathroom. He took Kazuha’s shoes, scarf, and sword, and looped his hair tie around his wrist before setting everything else with his own belongings. He took a towel and tried his best to dry Kazuha’s hair while making sure not to pull any out. “Stay here, I’ll set up a futon.” Before Kazuha could say anything, Heizou had already rushed to the other room.
After a series of shuffling sounds, Heizou called for Kazuha. He pat the futon as he got off of it. “Sit here, I want to check something.” Kazuha obeyed, and Heizou opened the box on the ground. He gently took Kazuha’s right hand and unwrapped the damp bandages. Then, he used a towel to soak up the remaining water and carefully wrapped new bandages around Kazuha’s hand. After carefully examining his handiwork, Heizou let go. “There, all done-”
The faint smell of blood hit his sense of smell and he paused mid-way. Kazuha looked at him in curiosity. “Heizou? What’s wrong?”
“I smell… blood. Faintly.” Heizou looked at Kazuha again, who shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze. Frowning, Heizou gently eased his knees down and lightly pressed against Kazuha’s stomach. He drew back his hand as soon as he saw Kazuha try to hide a wince. Quickly and carefully, he untucked the layers around Kazuha's stomach.
There were damp bandages wrapped around his abdomen, and it was starting to stain with fresh red. Heizou swiftly unwrapped the bandages and threw them to one side before applying pressure to the wound with his dry haori.
Kazuha hissed in pain. “I’m sorry,” Heizou said softly. “Hang in there, okay?” Kazuha gave him a nod as he held back a grunt. In hopes of alleviating the pain, Heizou rubbed small circles on the back of Kazuha’s left hand. “Okay, I need to apply ointment.” Heizou slowly removed the haori and took out a bottle of clear liquid. “This is going to sting a little.”
As soon as the ointment made contact with the cut, Kazuha bent his head down and his grip on Heizou’s hand tightened. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, just a little bit longer, okay?” Heizou gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Once he was finished, he quickly wrapped new bandages around the wound and patted Kazuha’s hand. “Sorry about that. How does it feel?”
“What are you apologizing for? I should be the one saying sorry; your haori’s stained with blood now…” Kazuha gestured to the discarded haori on the ground.
“It’s fine,” Heizou waved off. “I’ll clean up, feel free to relax.” He packed up the medical box, picked up the bloodstained haori and bandages, and went to the bathroom. He threw the bandages away, set the medical box near one of the walls, and turned on the faucet. Carefully, Heizou folded his haori and squeezed it as he held it over the sink. His eyes widened as the crimson dripped down with the water.
There's so much blood… Heizou glanced at the closed door separating him from Kazuha. After he hung up his haori, he went back to Kazuha, who was holding his head in his hand and closing his eyes.
“Feeling lightheaded? Dizzy?” Kazuha let out a tired hum as Heizou sat down next to him. He wrapped the blanket over Kazuha, but it was shrugged away.
“You should have it,” he mumbled. “I’ll be…”
Heizou placed a finger on his lips. “Shh, just sleep for the time being.” He readjusted the blanket and embraced Kazuha, who leaned his head on his chest. Kazuha quickly drifted off to sleep, his breathing evening out.
Heizou had to shake his head several times to avoid falling asleep as well. At one point, he got so tired he decided to try to think of a haiku to stay awake.
Eventually, his eyes drifted back to the sleeping figure in his embrace. The longer he stared, the more inspiration he got for his haiku. A bright maple leaf…No, a gentle maple…? Words and phrases of poetry flew through his mind, and sometimes, he would feel a flash of inspiration disappear as quickly as it came. It was quite frustrating to not be able to catch that feeling. He wondered how Kazuha was able to create such beautiful haikus so quickly. Maybe he was born with this kind of talent.
A while later, Heizou subconsciously started stroking his hair, resulting in the samurai shifting closer to him, if that were even possible. Kazuha’s hair was soft and silky, he noted. When Heizou stopped stroking his hair as a result of dozing off, Kazuha’s eyebrows frowned a little and his grip on Heizou's shirt tightened, which brought Heizou back to reality as he started running his fingers through the platinum locks again, earning a relaxed expression from Kazuha.
Heizou couldn't help but find this reaction funny as he let out a quiet chuckle. Who would've known that Kaedehara Kazuha could be clingy?