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When Kirawus reaches the silkworm farm, he has to pause to catch his breath. Sprinting from one end of Lake Akan to the other for highly stressful reasons in the dead of winter would be enough to wind anyone. He's not getting old. Still, he'd better not be caught huffing and puffing like an old fart by—
"Kadokura!" He spots his acquaintance standing calmly by the entrance to the long building. Hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat, shivering in the chilly air, like he's waiting for the convict to pop out of his hiding spot. Seriously?
"Oh, Kirawus," Kadokura greets him mildly. "There you are. Where's Ushiyama?"
Kirawus's mouth hangs open before he finds the words. "He... went back to the inn... What's going on? Did Sekiya get away? What about Hijikata nispa?"
"He's fine. He's dealing with Sekiya right now. Y'know." Kadokura points his thumb over his shoulder at the large, deserted facility. "I'm keeping watch. Just in case."
Kirawus lets out a huge sigh. He may have gotten himself involved in some grisly business, but at least this particular chapter is over. "Hey," he begins, partly to distract Kadokura and partly because he wants an answer. "Do you have my knife?" He holds out its sheath, which he found abandoned on the frozen lake after checking out the first silk farm.
"Ah... yeah." Kadokura pulls it out of his pocket. "That's Sekiya's blood on there, by the way. I stabbed him. Just in the leg, though. And not very deep, since he could still walk. Sorry 'bout that, I'll clean it up for you."
Kirawus holds the dagger by the very tip of the handle. "I'm more concerned about where it's been before that. I'm going to have to give it ritual purification."
"Where else was I supposed to hide it?"
"In your sock, like any normal person would do?"
"He would've seen it sticking out!" Kadokura's voice raises defensively.
"Just admit you have an ass fixation already."
"Shut up, broke-ass!"
"Stop saying ass!"
Kadokura starts to cough, which means this argument is over. Kirawus is rolling his eyes, but when the older man's coughing fit makes him double over, Kirawus swaps irritation for concern. He'd give Kadokura his fur wrap to help him warm up, but a soaking wet Ushiyama took it with him.
Kadokura lets out a groan as the coughing subsides. "'Scuse me. Guess my body's still processing all the poison I just swallowed."
"Poison?!"
"Hijikata-san can explain it better than I can when he gets back. I'm still not entirely sure what happened." He shivers, holding his arms close to his chest and rubbing them. "God, what a day. I need a warm drink."
Their employer himself steps out of the building. "Oh, Kirawus is here too. If I had known that, I would have had you both clean up after me. I decided to give Kadokura a break this time."
"This line of work is gonna take some getting used to," Kadokura says weakly, eyes on the human hide in the old samurai's hand.
"I'd think it would be easy after the things Inudou made you do," replies Hijikata.
Kadokura grumbles. "Not to say a monster like Sekiya didn't deserve it, but…" He glances Kirawus's way. "I almost felt sorry for him. He only went mad 'cause he lost his daughter."
"Terrible tragedy." Hijikata shakes his head. "Come, let's put it behind us."
Kirawus tries not to stare at the tattooed skin dangling at Hijikata's side. Instead, as they head back to their inn, he listens intently as Hijikata explains how he neutralized his poisoning and waited for the right moment to strike his captor, and how the same dosage must have saved Kadokura's life. Kirawus remarks on this unheard-of stroke of good luck, and Hijikata wholeheartedly agrees. Kadokura, however, holds back his commentary. He's still shivering, and seems too cold to talk.
}{}{}{}{
The next day, Kirawus helps to clean the hide, since he has the most experience with a variety of leathers. The youngest member of the troupe, Kantarou, watches with intense fascination and hands Kirawus or Hijikata a tool whenever he can. They're working on the outskirts of the little town; Kantarou has the first watch once it's time to soak the skin, when Hijikata decides to head back.
"Let's see if Kadokura's awake yet, hmm?" he says to Kirawus, a little amused.
"He's one lazy guy, isn't he?" Kirawus replies. "I'm surprised you keep him around, honestly."
"Everyone on my team has a purpose. Kadokura is full of useful information about the convicts. We can't afford to be without him."
Kirawus knew this already, but he still thinks a man like Hijikata would have already found a way to collect this information without dragging Kadokura along. He also knows that Kadokura seems to feel he owes Hijikata a familial debt, or something along those lines, so maybe Hijikata just likes having such a devoted servant.
Back at the inn, Nagakura informs them, with heavy disdain, that Kadokura hasn't yet crawled out of bed. With a concerned frown, Hijikata heads to the man's room to investigate, and promptly returns.
"Kadokura has fallen ill," he reports. "Likely from too much exposure to the cold yesterday. Fortunately, we'll be staying put for a few days. That should give him plenty of time to recover."
"How many times were we involved in a battle in mid-winter?" Nagakura asks. "Exhausted, starving, wounded... and a little head cold didn't slow us down. That tanuki just wants to sleep all day."
"Let him, Gamushin." Hijikata claps his friend's shoulder. "He fought valiantly for my life. He's earned it."
Kirawus watches them exit to another room, thinking about the story of Sekiya's sadistic trial which Kadokura recounted to them yesterday over dinner. It was pretty noble of him to give up his life in exchange for Hijikata's. Maybe that was why fate decided to grant him mercy and give it back.
Later, Hijikata instructs Kantarou to deliver a bowl of stew to Kadokura's room. The boy returns within minutes, reporting that Kadokura refused on account of having no appetite. With a sigh, Hijikata mentions the possibility of hiring a doctor if he doesn't improve, which could be tricky with their situation, and how he wishes Ienaga was still with them.
Kirawus listens, but has no insight. He suspects the poison is still taking its toll on Kadokura's body, but Hijikata, who is much older, seems to be in perfect health. Hijikata is also much hardier, so of course he would heal from poisoning faster. The consensus is to let Kadokura continue to sleep it off, so Kirawus thinks nothing more of it for the rest of the night.
}{}{}{}{
It's Kirawus's turn in the morning to deliver Kadokura his breakfast: rice, miso soup, and pickled daikon. He stirs in his futon, and Kirawus has to nudge him with his foot to wake him fully.
"Ah... it's Mr. Poverty..." he mumbles. "Whatcha got?"
Kirawus sets the tray on the floor and kneels beside the futon. Up close, Kadokura is paler than before, and his eyes are a bit vacant. "I brought your breakfast," Kirawus says. "You need to eat, get your strength back."
"Ehh... I'm not hungry."
"You have to be. You didn't eat all day yesterday."
"What're you talkin' about?" Kadokura slurs. "I had dinner last night. After we got back."
Kirawus frowns. "That was the night before last. You've been in bed for over twenty-four hours."
Grumbling, Kadokura sits up, sways, and plops back down. "Have not. 'm'still tired."
Kirawus lays his large hand on Kadokura's forehead, ignoring the sick man swatting at him. To his surprise, he's not running a fever. Maybe he is a worthless layabout after all? Or hung over? Kirawus has noticed at mealtimes how Kadokura packs in more sake than food — maybe he's got a secret stash here in his room.
He decides to reserve judgment in case the lazy tanuki, as Nagakura is so fond of calling him, really does have some illness. "Come on, Kadokura." Kirawus pushes him upright, keeping a hand on his back. "Hijikata nispa ordered this food for you and wants you to eat it all."
That seems to encourage him. Kirawus continues to prop him up through his meal, but doesn't bother him otherwise. It's a bit awkward, but he's had to help sick or injured villagers back home in plenty of embarrassing ways in the past. Being a makeshift chair for an old man isn't so bad.
Suddenly he wonders what Kadokura's age is. He doesn't look too old, and his hair is still black on top, but sometimes the way he talks and his lack of stamina make him seem downright elderly. So is the way his chopsticks shake a little as he slowly brings a slice of daikon to his mouth. At least he is eating.
"Do you have a stomachache?" Kirawus asks, at last breaking the silence.
Kadokura shakes his head.
"Do you ache anywhere else? Or feel chilled?"
"'Course I'm chilled, it's the middle of winter. Feels like I'll never get warm again after running naked across the lake." Kadokura drinks some miso; its warmth appears to calm him down. "And my dick is chafed from when I fell on the ice."
"I'm not examining that."
"Tch, didn't ask you to. I'm just sayin', that's what aches the most."
Kirawus hums thoughtfully. "Sounds like you're not too sick, then. Get some more sleep, and tomorrow you should be better."
"You a doctor now?" Kadokura quips. "Won't be so broke that way, huh?"
"That's right. You'll be the broke-ass after you get my bill." Kirawus gets to his feet to pick up the empty tray. Without his support, Kadokura slumps backwards.
Hijikata is pleased with the empty tray and Kirawus's report. Nagakura, however, is less forgiving. If he's not feverish, then getting some fresh air and helping them tan their new skin is the best thing for him. Give the inn staff a chance to change his futon and air out that musty room. Privately, Kirawus is inclined to agree. Maybe if Kadokura got up and moved around, especially now that he has food in him, he'll feel better. Then they'll be done faster, and they can leave the little Lake Akan town for good. Kirawus will be glad to put this cursed stay behind him, and Kadokura probably would as well.
But after working on Sekiya's skin in the crisp air, Kadokura shivers noticeably all the way back to the inn, and even once they're settled inside for dinner. He drops his sake cup before he can drink very much of it, so it's not as though he's totally wasted. Instead he mumbles, almost incoherently, about crawling back into his futon. No one comments, though Kirawus catches Hijikata's concerned eye, which makes him worry a little more as well.
}{}{}{}{
The next morning, Hijikata announces that they have to leave — now. He doesn't go into details, but the implication is that some authority is curious about their troupe and what they've been doing, so they have to vacate the area. It's troublesome because their skin isn't finished… and Kadokura is not cooperating. He watches them hustle to pack up while looking extremely confused.
Kirawus pauses to feel his forehead again. Still no fever. But he's shivering now that he's upright out of bed. "Kadokura may have to catch up to you all," he tells Hijikata. "I think he has hypothermia."
"We can't afford to wait for him," answers Hijikata in a grim tone. "We cannot stay here, not even at another Lake Akan town. We're going to have to put significant distance behind us, and fast."
"What about one of the kotans?" Kirawus quickly suggests. "I know of a few nearby which are so deep in the woods, outsiders wouldn't think to look. We'll be safe there."
Hijikata nods. "Good. You lead the way."
Kadokura has to ride one of the horses with Ushiyama seated behind him so he won't fall off. It's a tense journey as they follow Kirawus and keep their eyes and ears peeled for followers. Once they reach the destined kotan, Kirawus negotiates their safe stay with the chief, who doesn't seem to like it. Their small village has scant room to spare for so many sisam.
"We should split up anyway," Nagakura suggests. "This might be a hidden village, but if anyone saw us heading in this direction, they could figure it out."
Hijikata agrees and tells Kirawus to stay in the kotan with Kadokura and Ushiyama. The giant man protests, but his leader points out that he's the most conspicuous of the troupe, so it would be best if he stays hidden in the woods. Hijikata, Nagakura, and Kantarou will finish tanning the skin in another hiding place, and return to the kotan to fetch them — and Kadokura had best be back to normal and ready to travel.
Kirawus has to do his fair share of convincing the Ainu that they're not criminals on the run (not really, even if two of their group are escaped convicts and one a former yakuza), and that Kadokura is quite sick and needs to get somewhere warm. After more negotiations, one of the villagers, a young man named Rametok, offers up his cise and sets up a nest of furs for Kadokura next to the hearth. Kirawus promises to repay him and his wife for their hospitality, which he means in the form of meat, since he has no money to his name and Hijikata, their personal bank, is long gone.
Exhausted after all that, Kirawus sits at Kadokura's feet and warms himself by the hearth as well. What a situation they're all in. He hopes Hijikata will remember all the tanning advice he gave him. It might be for a morbid purpose, but Kirawus hates seeing leather made poorly. He half-wishes he'd been allowed to tag along — though he is extremely comforted to be among his people right now.
He almost suggested his own kotan south of Lake Akan. The distance would have been about the same. But he didn't want to return home empty-handed, since he's on this journey to earn money for his village in the first place. And he didn't quite want to drag these characters along, either. What would his family and neighbors think of him working alongside samurai and convicts? Homesick as he is, he'd best keep away from home for now — lest he change his mind and stay there for good.
Kadokura stirs and groans. "Dr. Poverty?" he mumbles. "What's goin' on?"
"We're safe now," Kirawus tells him. "Stay under those furs and get warm."
"Where are we?"
Kirawus looks over at him, head peeking out from his coverings. "In an Ainu kotan. Don't you remember coming here?"
"Mmgh… I had a dream we were runnin' away… or somethin'."
Rametok and his wife, Tanelankemat, watch them closely. "We just stopped on our way to the next town so you could rest," Kirawus repeats the story he told the chief. "Hijikata nispa and the others went on ahead, but Ushiyama nispa is here with us. In another house."
Kadokura groans. "Hijikata… nish-pa…" he mumbles, and says no more. From his breathing, Kirawus can tell he's gone back to sleep.
"He sounds delirious," Rametok tells Kirawus in Ainu. "We'll get some medicine in him next time he's awake."
"Thank you. I would appreciate it."
By sunset, a snowstorm hits the kotan. Tanelankemat prepares a strong herbal brew for Kadokura to ward off further sickness, along with kinaohaw and satcep for dinner. Kadokura shudders at the bitter tea but drinks it all, then happily eats the soup and dried salmon. He says he can feel his insides warming up fast and life coming back to his body.
Then he braves the blizzard to go use the men's toilet outside (as Kirawus instructs him to do), and comes back with chattering teeth. "This is bullshit," he mutters, climbing back into his bed of furs. "How'm I ever gonna warm up… I wanna go back to Mutsu."
"Mutsu?" Kirawus asks.
"Mm." He pulls the furs over his head.
After cleaning up their bowls, the young married couple climb into their own bedding for the long winter's night. Kirawus is well aware that Ainu families huddle together for warmth during the coldest times; he's done so himself in his siblings' houses. He's also well aware that body heat is the best thing for a case of hypothermia, especially one as drawn-out as Kadokura's seems to be.
"Kadokura, sorry," he whispers as he works his way under the furs beside him. "We're going to have to sleep together to stay warm. Especially for your sake."
"Wha…" the older man mumbles sleepily. "What're you doin'…"
Kirawus settles on his side, pulling Kadokura's back close to his chest. "Relax, it's for our survival."
"I can't sleep like this, it's weird."
"It's not weird. Body heat is the best source of warmth. Every Ainu hunter is aware of this fact."
"I'm no hunter, lemme go." He squirms, but escape is futile as Kirawus's strong arm holds him in place.
"Shh." Kirawus shushes him as if he were one of his cranky nephews. "Don't disturb our hosts, they're trying to sleep too. Just concentrate on feeling warm, okay? There's a hearth fire in front of you, all these furs on top… you're safe and warm here while the blizzard rages outside."
Kadokura stops struggling, and his body starts to relax. "Yeah, I do feel warmer this way," he admits.
"Good," Kirawus whispers in his ear. "Go to sleep."
"Mmngh… don't tell Ushiyama. Or Hijikata-san."
"Of course not."
"Especially Nagakura-san."
"I won't, Kadokura. I promise."
He mumbles some thanks. Kirawus closes his eyes and listens to the other man's breathing patterns, which gradually become deeper. Kadokura is only a little bit shorter, yet his body feels so small in Kirawus's arms. Perhaps because he's been bedridden and not eating very much, he seems exceptionally frail. It's like he's the seventy-year-old and Hijikata is the middle-aged man still somehow in his prime. Maybe a kamuy swapped their souls as a prank. Kirawus feels himself being lulled to sleep by this amusing thought — not to mention how warm and cozy he feels, here in an Ainu cise, holding someone close and safe.
}{}{}{}{
Kadokura seems like his old self the next day. He sits up in his bedding and asks Kirawus dozens of questions about Hijikata's whereabouts, what's for breakfast, if anyone remembered to pack sake on this trip (the answer is no), and what happened to "the thing Hijikata-san was working on," as he caught himself in time to not blurt out "the skinned torso of the murdering sociopath whom Hijikata killed" in front of the young Ainu couple.
"He has it with him, don't worry," Kirawus says, checking his ammunition.
"So where are you going?"
"Hunting. The snow's let up, so we're going after fresh meat." Rametok is similarly gathering his hunting supplies.
"Ohh, good idea. What should I do?"
"Stay inside and keep warm." Kirawus hoists his rifle over his shoulder. "There's three feet of snow on the ground." He turns to Tanelankemat, who's making another batch of strong medicinal tea. "Please make sure he stays put," he tells her in Ainu.
"He can keep me company while you men are out," she says with a smile.
"Do you know any Japanese?"
"Um…" She smiles nervously at Kadokura. "Yes. A little."
"There." Kirawus nods with satisfaction. "We'll be back as soon as we can." He and Rametok leave, bracing themselves for the snow. He's gotten used to going alone to fetch meat for Hijikata's group; it'll be good to hunt with another Ainu this time.
Just as soon as they return with a fat, skinned deer, the Ainu couple is asked to go to a neighbor's cise to help them out. Kirawus says he'll make yukohaw for them all, as thanks for their hospitality. As he gets to work, Kadokura watches curiously.
"Did you stay inside while I was gone?" Kirawus promptly asks.
"Yess~" Kadokura drawls with a roll of his eyes. "I told Tanelankemat about my time as a prison guard."
"You didn't tell her everything, did you?"
"Psh, 'course not. I'm not as stupid as I look, Kirawus. I just told her what it was like guarding dangerous prisoners. She thought I was very brave." He sniffs defensively.
Kirawus holds back a smile as he divides up the deer meat. Kadokura watches him for several minutes more before he asks, "You're not married, are you?"
"I'm not," Kirawus says. "Why?"
"'Cause I thought cooking was an Ainu woman's job, but you seem to know a lot about it. Since you've made food for us a few times, and you're doing it now."
"Well, I live alone, so I have to know how to feed myself. I can't ask my sisters to do it. They have their own families to take care of."
Kadokura nods. "I see… huh. How come you don't have a wife? You're a pretty good provider."
"I'm picky," Kirawus answers wryly. This is not a topic he wants to dwell on with a coworker. "What about you? You were talking in your sleep early this morning, and I think you were saying a woman's name. Maybe there's a special lady waiting for you somewhere?"
Kadokura snorts. "Not likely."
"I think the name was… Yo… Yoshie? Is that right?"
At the resulting silence, Kirawus glances his way. He's gone a bit pale, and he looks distressed, staring at the pot on the hearth which awaits deer meat.
"Kadokura?" Kirawus asks.
He blinks slowly and looks away. "Sorry. I remembered what I was dreaming, that's all."
"Was it bad?"
"Mm."
"We Ainu take dreams seriously. They can be omens, or have hidden messages. Maybe if there's a diviner in this village—"
"I don't need a diviner to tell me what it means," Kadokura says with pain in his voice. "Yoshie is my daughter."
Kirawus pauses with his knife in mid-air. "Your… so you do have a family? In Abashiri?"
Kadokura shakes his head slowly. "No. My wife left me and took her along. I haven't seen my daughter in years."
Kirawus's mouth hangs open as he grapples for words. So that's why he pitied Sekiya Waichirou. Suddenly a few things about Kadokura make sense: why he holds himself so unconfidently, why there's an underlying sadness about him. Possibly why he drinks. Are these the reasons why his wife left… or the results? There's so much about Kadokura which Kirawus does not know, and suddenly, inexplicably, he wants to learn.
"Sorry," Kadokura says to the long silence. "Didn't mean to bring down the room."
"You didn't. I just don't know what to say. My condolences, for one thing. May I ask what happened?"
He wraps a fur around his shoulders. "It's just my luck, is what."
"Kadokura…"
"No, really. I came from a samurai family, right? Well, a lot of samurai fell to ruin when the government started changing. That's what happened to my father. Then he died in the Battle of Hakodate. I came into adulthood with nothing to my once-powerful name. My marriage was arranged, since her family had a bit of money. I did my best to work hard and provide for us, I really did."
From his breaking voice, Kirawus believes him.
"But it wasn't enough for her," Kadokura continues. "She didn't want to live that way, and she wanted our daughter to have a better upbringing. One day I came home from work and they were gone. She'd left me a letter." He takes in a breath. "She was very polite about it, of course. And she probably did the right thing. But…" He pauses, staring hollowly at the hearth. "I loved her. My Yoshie. I loved her so much, I thought I was a good father to her… but she took her from me."
Again Kirawus struggles with what to say. He doesn't have children, but he does know how important he and his siblings were to his father, and how much his brothers and sisters treasure their own. Family is very important to the close-knit Ainu, yet Kirawus has never felt compelled to start his own. Not in that sense, anyway. Sometimes it hits him, with each arrival of spring, that he's got to be more proactive if he wants to find anyone with whom to grow old. He can't be a carefree bachelor forever.
"I'm so sorry, Kadokura," he says, realizing he's been thinking about himself too much. "That was cruel of her. You didn't deserve it."
Swiftly, Kadokura wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. "Maybe I did, I dunno. I probably didn't work hard enough. Or maybe that was just her excuse to run off with a rich guy. It doesn't matter now anyway."
"Do you know where your daughter lives? Could you go see her?"
"I have some letters from her. From Tokyo. But that was a few years ago, and I haven't heard from her recently. She might have gotten married and moved on with her life. She'd be..." He looks up in deep thought. "Nineteen? Twenty? Something like that."
"You could go there and ask around," suggests Kirawus. "Someone must know about her."
"Hmph." Kadokura smiles ever so faintly at the hearth. "Yeah, if I get a handful of gold for travel expenses that far away."
"Mm." Kirawus starts adding meat to the pot. "Maybe I could go with you, and hunt for your food. You could save money that way."
"In Tokyo?" Kadokura looks at him incredulously. "It's a huge city! Not like Kushiro."
"Well, there's a lot of land between here and Tokyo, right? It can't all be populated." Calmly, Kirawus adds some pukusa to the soup. "I want to find out what Honshu yuk tastes like."
"Wait 'til you find out how much seafood there is in Tokyo. Or so I've heard."
Kirawus stops stirring. His palate has already been broadened in just the short time he's traveled with this band of sisam, so the promise of new kinds of fish prepared in new ways is extremely tantalizing. "Now we have to go," he declares.
"Heh." Kadokura actually cracks a smile. "That'd be nice. I'm tired of these Hokkaido winters."
By the time the Ainu couple comes back, the yukohaw is ready to eat. Then Ushiyama stops by to check on his teammates, so they invite him in for some. Tanelankemat says the soup is better than hers and asks Kirawus for his secret. They tell Ainu stories, especially for the benefit of their sisam audience. And when it starts to snow again, Ushiyama heads back to the cise where he's staying.
"It'll be another cold night," Rametok says, surveying the outside. "You'd better stay as warm as you can, Kadokura nispa, so you don't fall ill again."
"Yeah..." Kadokura steals a glance at Kirawus, but not for long. He seems embarrassed. Kirawus, for his part, tries not to stare at him. It looks like they'll be sharing the furs again.
"You're lucky Kirawus nispa is such a good friend," Tanelankemat says, clapping her hands together. "To help keep you warm all night long. He doesn't want you to get sick again either."
Kadokura chuckles and scratches his head. "Yeah. I dunno what I'd do without him."
"Spend more time being naked on frozen lakes, most likely," Kirawus quips.
Husband and wife exchange perplexed looks. "Just like Pananpe and Penanpe!" exclaims Tanelankemat, delighted.
Kirawus laughs. "Kadokura is definitely Penanpe."
They all take turns telling Kadokura various folk tales about the pair, which he decides is the weirdest set of stories he's ever heard. He says he wishes he had a deck of hanafuda cards so he could teach them games to play, which was how he spent his free time at Abashiri Prison with his fellow guards. His deck, tragically, was lost to the fire.
"Maybe Hijikata nispa has one," says Kirawus. "We'll ask next time we see him."
"Good idea. A smart guy like you'd pick up Koi-Koi in no time." That makes Kirawus smile.
Kadokura is less reluctant this time when they settle in under the furs, assuming the same position for Kirawus to spoon him. "Are you comfortable?" Kirawus asks softly, resting his arm across the other man's chest.
"Mhm." Kadokura goes quiet, making Kirawus wonder if he just wants to get to sleep already. Then he speaks again. "You saved my life, and I never thanked you. So thanks."
"I'm only following Hijikata nispa's orders. He wants you alive."
"Hmph. I see how it is, then." He scoots farther away. Maybe by an inch.
"I'm kidding. You're welcome, Kadokura."
He can feel Kadokura's body relax beside him. Maybe he shouldn't tease him so much; he's been through enough in his lifetime. Except when it comes to the asshole thing. Kirawus will never let that one go, it's too funny.
Kadokura lets out a sigh. "You smell like tobacco."
Kirawus blinks, taken aback. What an odd thing to note. He and Rametok smoked their pipes over storytime, so the tobacco scent is filling the whole cise. "It's just in the air," he responds.
"No, you have an extra layer of it on you. It's a good smell, I'm not complaining. It's nice."
Softly, Kirawus chuckles. If he didn't know better, he'd think the man is delirious again. "Go to sleep, Kadokura," he whispers.
"'Night, Kirawus," he mumbles lazily.
Plenty tired from all the work he did today, Kirawus drifts off to a deep sleep in no time. He has a dream in which he and Kadokura each gain a large sum of gold, and they take Kirawus's share to his kotan. The villagers rejoice and throw a feast in their honor. Then they both leave for Honshu. Somehow, while they're traveling on foot, Kirawus makes a pair of tekunpe for Kadokura, who joyfully accepts. And they eat salmon and drink sake from Tokyo, even though they're alone in the woods. Kirawus is the happiest he's ever been, sharing delicacies with his closest friend in the world, who, likewise, cannot stop smiling at him. They promise to explore more parts of the country, even the world, as long as they do it together.
He opens his eyes to sunrise peeking through the windows, and he can tell he's the first one to wake. Kadokura sleeps soundly, facing Kirawus this time. He looks utterly at peace, lips parted as he breathes deeply, steadily.
Kirawus studies him. His face has gotten scruffier from days of not shaving, but it frames his strong chin nicely. His hair, too, is a little longer than it was then they first met. Kirawus has never seen anyone retain his dark hair on top the way Kadokura does. He has to resist the urge to touch it, or to rub his finger along his stubble, because that would wake him. And Kirawus wants him to sleep as much as he can. Here in the soft furs, in his arms, warmed by their shared body heat. Safe from murderous criminals or treacherous ex-wives.
He doesn't need a diviner to tell him what his dream means, either.