Chapter Text
The first unit returned from battle, tired, hungry, grumpy, and injured.
The battles they endured had been tough. It was wave after wave of non-stop fighting, little to no rest, and their rations had been steadily running out to the point where a meal for one had to be shared between six people. It was brutal, and it got the group into an awful mood. Izuminokami, who was appointed as the captain, had to take most of the work of splitting meals, leaving little for himself. Even when everyone else offered to provide a bit of their portions, Izumi turned those requests down.
Atsushi, Hirano, Horikawa, and Mutsunokami were the first ones to pile into the four repair rooms, having the least injuries. Out of the six Touken Danshi, Izuminokami was injured the heaviest, but it was thankfully not life-threatening enough that it required immediate treatment.
Ishikirimaru was the sixth member of the team who needed repairs. His injuries were moderate, so he would wait with Izuminokami while the others got their repairs done. Compared to the usual kind smile he always showed, his expression was dark as he and Izumi continued to banter, which they had been doing since the end of the last battle. While they were usually all smiles at each other, their current situation was everything but that.
"All I’m saying is that it was reckless of you to dive in front of me like that!" Ishikiri scolded, shaking his head in disappointment, "You could have died! I can take a few more hits, but you were already badly injured!"
Izumi growled, looking away from Ishikiri with his arms crossed and with a frown on his face. He tapped his foot, waiting for the rambling oodachi to finish his rant.
"Seriously, what were you thinking?! How brash could you get? Your actions have consequences, Izumi!"
Izumi snapped at Ishikiri, halfway through the lecture. "It's because we were fighting at night in an enclosed space!" he hissed, lurching at Ishikiri, "And we all know how terribly you perform during nighttime, especially in such a narrow area!"
"I'm more resilient than I look, you know? Just because I cannot fight well in an enclosed space doesn't mean I cannot hold my own!"
"Yes it does! You got yourself stuck in a wall twice! I had to butt in before anything else happened!"
"You're lucky you didn't break!" Ishikiri argued back, the fatigue eating away at his patience, "You were already badly injured, who knows what would have happened to you!"
"Well, maybe I should have broken so I won't have to listen to your yapping!"
Ishikiri froze.
The atmosphere in the room grew tense. Silence washed over the two.
There was nothing else to be said. Ishikiri turned away from Izumi, the expression on his face grim. Izumi gritted his teeth, turning away as well, shoulders squared.
The silence was heavy.
Really, really heavy.
Suddenly, Ishikiri got up.
"I'm taking a walk."
"Hey-"
"Not now, Izuminokami."
Izuminokami. Ishikirimaru only called him that in serious situations.
Izumi watched as Ishikiri left the waiting room, not letting his injuries bother him. They were only minor injuries, anyway. Usually, Ishikirimaru would take Izumi by the hand and they would leave the room together.
But this time, Ishikirimaru left without Izumi.
Izuminokami sat by himself in the waiting room, shaking his legs. Under his breath, he muttered a few angry remarks under his breath. “I’m not weak,” he angrily grumbled, “I could have taken a few more fucking hits! I’m Izuminokami Kanesada! I’m nothing if not resilient!”
"Yo, you two are up next."
Atsushi’s voice startled Izumi, who tried to act as if nothing had happened right after he jumped. He could see Atsushi hiding a grin under his hand while Hirano looked rather amused. The two of them looked around for Ishikirimaru, but found that he was not in the room.
“Where’s Ishikirimaru-san?”
"Went for a walk." Izumi replied quickly, getting to his feet. There was a fake smile plastered on his lips. "I will go first."
He waved the two tantous goodbye as they left and he entered the infirmary. Once they were gone, he dropped his facade and sighed tiredly as he sat on a bed, waiting for evaluation.
Two of the staff, Ichisuke and Yonsuke, were waiting for the last two swords, their faces hidden behind a white cloth. The other two helpers, Jisuke and Sansuke, were tending to Mutsunokami and Horikawa.
“Both of you can go ahead first, but please don't do anything reckless. Especially you, Mutsunokami-san!”
“I hear you loud and clear, Jisuke!”
“I sure hope so. Come back in three hours to collect your blades.”
“Thank you very much!”
Jisuke and Sansuke waved the two goodbye as they left the infirmary, then turned their attention to Ichisuke, who was checking on Izuminokami’s condition. “We’re gonna have our lunch first,” Sansuke said, bidding their two colleagues goodbye as they left the room.
Gingerly, Ichisuke examined Izuminokami’s blade. "Where's Ishikirimaru?" he asked, "He's supposed to be here with you, right?"
"He's taking a walk. He should be back soon."
The two helpers exchanged glances from under their cloth, feeling doubtful upon hearing the deadpan voice from Izumi. Still they did not push for questions.
"Jeez, you sustained really heavy injuries…”
Ichisuke lifted Izumi’s blade, observing it carefully. They pointed at a few cracks and scratches that were inflicted upon the metal during battle. “You were struck really hard here, like it was a last minute defense against something. Any more strikes, and you would have gone down.”
Izuminokami said nothing about that. “How long will it take?”
“About a day or so. I recommend you stay in the infirmary until we can minimise your current injuries.”
“But the others-”
“The others were fine enough to be able to roam the citadel,” Yonsuke said, “They still have to be mindful of what they should do, of course.”
Izumi went quiet. He had heard those words from Yonsuke many times already. Unlike humans, the injuries on a Touken Danshi’s body cannot heal on its own. The blade itself must be repaired for the physical injuries to be healed. Depending on the severity of the damage, some Touken Danshi would have to stay in the infirmary, while some could still roam the citadel. Of course, they had to be careful about sustaining new injuries, as it will then be reflected on the blade.
And if new damage appeared on the blade, Sansuke would not be very happy about it. The last time it happened, that sword got a very harsh scolding and had to stay in the infirmary until the blade was completely repaired.
So Izuminokami wasn’t gonna argue. Not like he had energy to put another one on his plate…
“Oh, Ishikirimaru-san!”
Izumi whipped his head to the door, where Ishikiri was smiling kindly to Yonsuke with his sword already in his hands. "I apologise for the delay."
"Oh, it's no problem… As long as you don't go incurring anymore damages, you'll be fine."
Yonsuke laughed heartily while Ishikirimaru smiled at him. The staff brought the blade to a holder and unsheathed it. Carefully, they examined the edge of the blade, then the surface.
Izuminokami stared at Ishikirimaru. The oodachi would usually join him in sitting together while waiting for the results, but Ishikiri wasn't even looking in his direction. It made him feel bitter, but it wasn't as if he wanted to look at Ishikiri, either.
Ishikirimaru turned around. Izuminokami quickly looked away, turning his sights to Ichisuke, who was repairing his blade.
" Any more strikes, and you would have gone down. ”
For some reason, those words pissed him off.
That was exactly what Ishikirimaru had told him, and he was not happy to hear it again. Especially from someone else.
"Alright, looks like your damages aren't too severe. You can go ahead and do what you want to do, but just be careful."
"Very well. Thank you."
Just like that, Ishikirimaru left the room without saying a word to Izuminokami.
Izumi felt disappointed. He didn't know what to expect, but it was certainly not being left alone.
Whatever, they'll forget about it soon enough. They argued before, but it never stopped them from loving each other.
The fight will become irrelevant tomorrow. Ishikirimaru will return to his usual self, and so will Izuminokami himself. Things will be back to normal.