Chapter Text
become a regular occurrence for Kazuha since returning to Inazuma. The unsettling atmosphere still clung to him after all this time, but his disturbed sleep was for another reason these past few days.
Even with Heizou’s legs swung across his abdomen and arms rested lightly on his chest, Kazuha still found himself lying awake. He would typically get up and make his way around Heizou’s place to keep himself occupied on nights like these with miscellaneous chores. On Tuesday, he sorted the recycling. Friday, he swept. Today, he would probably do the dishes. He would usually do them in the morning and alternate days of duty with Kuni. Today was Kuni’s day, but that mattered little to him.
Kuni probably wasn’t even home, yet.
Kazuha carefully untangled himself from Heizou, giving him the tiniest peck on the cheek before tip-toeing out of the room. The house was dark and silent, which gave Kazuha ample time to gain his bearings and ease his mind. Even if he couldn’t sleep, it didn’t mean he wasn’t tired. He squinted through the darkness of the halls, peeking into other rooms as he made his way to the kitchen to see if Kuni had returned home.
Much to Kazuha and Heizou’s disappointment, Kuni had been insistent on wandering around in the evenings and making his way back home at odd hours of the morning. He claimed he didn’t like being cooped up so close to the city, but Kazuha and Heizou had since suspected that wasn’t the entire truth. However, Heizou was adamant on not prying.
“He’ll come around,” Heizou said in bed one night after Kazuha had raised his concerns, “My intuition tells me that it’s nothing for us to be worried about. And hey, when has my intuition ever been wrong?”
Kazuha decided to leave it at that, but it still weighed on his mind. Kuni’s late-night escapades had been getting longer and longer, and he found himself ruminating about it more than he cared to admit.
It didn’t help that his suspicions were confirmed a few nights ago when he heard Kuni come home at around two in the morning, speaking in a hushed tone. At first, Kazuha wasn’t concerned. Kuni was still outside, so he couldn’t make out exactly what he was saying, but he didn’t sound like he was in any danger. Moreover, Kazuha could only recognize his scent and that of the Shogun whom he had visited a few days prior. A scent he didn’t often come by, but one that his body remembered well.
But then…who was Kuni talking to? It was possible he was talking to himself, but he hadn’t known Kuni to be the type to do so. Kazuha lay entirely still and closed his eyes, extending all of his energy to his hearing. He strained his ears to be able to pick up more than just mumbles and murmurs, but to no avail.
Heizou had already been tossing and turning, so he didn’t want to risk waking him up by getting up and moving closer to the door. He’d had a long enough day and needed as much rest as he could get.
So, Kazuha laid, and waited. With much concentration, he was only able to make out a few words like, “Here…” and, “It’s alright…”.
It was still only Kuni speaking, though.
Kazuha was confused, but he opted to keep waiting and listening. His heart which had begun racing without his noticing was starting to slow its pace. There were still many things that Kazuha didn’t know about Kuni, but not once had he given him a reason to believe his trust was misplaced. Kazuha avoided unpleasant thoughts of whatever Kuni could have been up to and let that guide him to a better mindset.
He was doing a great job, too. Until he heard two pairs of footsteps.
The door shut behind them with a painfully intentional silence, but Kazuha could still make it out. The first pair of footsteps to enter the house were undoubtedly Kuni’s. Kazuha and Kuni had been travelling together for long enough for him to recognize Kuni’s footsteps as much as he recognized his own.
The second pair, however, were quite different. They were feather-light, yet inconsistent. It was strange. On one hand, the lightness of the steps made them feel like they were accustomed to hunting – almost like a cat. Yet, at the same time, they sounded uncoordinated and lacked rhythm, much like that of a toddler. Kazuha’s heart had begun racing again and his mind wandered to places he wasn’t proud of.
The thumping of his own heartbeat was making it more difficult to hear the steps. Kazuha slowed and deepened his breathing. He didn’t feel threatened, but certainly felt something cold spreading through him. After a few moments, Kazuha’s nervous system neutralized, allowing him to listen once more.
The footsteps were now fast approaching their room with Kuni in the lead and the unknown person in tow. Unable to keep his surprise off of his face, he quickly turned over on his side to face both Heizou and the side of the room opposite the door. He tugged the blanket up a bit higher to cover part of his face too, for extra measure.
The steps stopped just outside the door, and Kazuha could feel that he was being observed by Kuni and this stranger. Kazuha tried his best to breathe naturally – or, as naturally as a sleeping person would – as the two watched them for what felt like an eternity. After some time, Kuni finally broke the silence.
“They’re safe.” He said, his head turned to face the other person. He waited a moment, as though expecting them to reply, but nothing ever came. Instead, Kazuha heard the slight movement of fabric before Kuni began moving throughout the house again, “Come this way.”
Kazuha lay awake that night until sleep finally gripped him, straining his ears for any further sounds, but none ever came. He could sense that Kuni and the stranger were still in their home, but it was as though they were just…stagnant. Kazuha knew that Kuni didn’t need to sleep and often would just sit around quietly staring blankly while he and Heizou rested, but it didn’t make sense for whoever this visitor was to do the same.
But…Kazuha had to admit that he was too relieved to care. Hearing no further sounds had crossed out one of his most upsetting suspicions. That alone allowed him to relax enough to sleep at some point that night. He still had questions, but he was aware that Kuni was safe and not doing anything that would make Kazuha sick to confront him about.
New questions had formed now. Such as, why would Kuni look at him and Heizou and say that they were safe? He assumed that was a given, considering this stranger had come into their home. If Kuni had uttered the words to himself, it would have been different. In fact, if Kuni had said these words to a child, he would also understand. However, this stranger had the weight of an adult, about the same size as Kuni. That much Kazuha could tell from their footsteps.
Kazuha’s eyes began to tire as his mind wandered. He allowed himself some rest and would think about this another day.
Today, whether he liked it or not, would be that day.
As he made his way down the hall to the kitchen this evening, the thoughts were as fresh in his mind as they were the other night. He still hadn’t come to any new conclusions; only that Kuni had been bringing this stranger to their home at odd hours a few times a week, seemingly after Kazuha had gone back to bed. Kuni had caught on that Kazuha would get up and wander the house when he couldn’t sleep and had started quietly waiting outside with this stranger until he settled down again. Neither of them would speak – they would just sit, almost unmoving. Once Kazuha had been in bed for at least twenty minutes, Kuni would bring them in.
The process was the same. Kuni would guide them to the guest room near the back of the house and – presumably – proceed to quietly sit with them once more.
The only notable difference was that this stranger’s footsteps had continued to become more coordinated. Before, Kuni had slowed his steps to match their speed, but now they seemed to be strolling in sync. Kazuha’s jealousy had settled and was now replaced with confusion. He hadn’t said a word of this to Heizou, worried that it would stress him out further alongside the case he’d been working on. That, and Heizou trusted Kuni with his whole heart. Kazuha felt bad before his suspicions and didn’t want to share them. It would bring nothing good.
Kazuha made it to the dark kitchen, feeling his way around for lights. He noticed a familiar scent and realized that Kuni had come home without him noticing for once. He couldn’t see him very well with the lighting, but he could see Kuni sitting quietly at the table holding his hands around a cup of black tea on the table. Kazuha smiled to himself, his stressors vanishing as he observed his partner from behind.
Kuni turned his face ever so slightly to acknowledge Kazuha’s presence but didn’t say anything. Kazuha bent down and planted a kiss on Kuni’s cheek before making his way over to the sink to start on the dishes. He saw Kuni raise his hand to his cheek where Kazuha had kissed him. His cheeks pulled up into a tiny smile, which warmed Kazuha’s heart.
Perhaps he was worrying for nothing.
With Kuni now behind him, Kazuha started on the dishes, “Have you been home for a while? I didn’t hear you come in.”
No response. Huh, odd. Kazuha threw a quick glance over his shoulder at Kuni, who still seemed to be smiling and holding onto the spot where Kazuha had kissed his cheek. Maybe he was just feeling sentimental tonight? It happened every now and then. At night, Kuni was especially susceptible to stronger emotions. Kazuha dismissed it as just one of those things and continued the dishes, allowing Kuni some quiet time to himself. If he wanted to talk, he would.
The two of them stayed like that for a while. Kuni continued sipping his tea and Kazuha washed the dishes, sneaking glances at Kuni every now and then. As Kazuha was finishing up, he felt a pair of hands hang around his waist and the weight of another body press against his back. He let out a tiny sigh and smiled to himself. The gentleness of Kuni’s touch was rare, so Kazuha made sure to take it all in graciously whenever he could.
Kazuha reached one hand back and lightly tickled at Kuni’s cheek, “You’re awfully affectionate today.”
Kuni’s head resting against Kazuha’s back moved in a nod as he let out a content hum. Kazuha leaned back into Kuni’s hold on him, the two of them gently swaying together. The feeling was reminiscent of the day Kunikuzushi was able to open his heart to Kazuha. A bittersweet moment that ended in a sea of tenderness. Soft, almost hesitant touches and unspoken promises to look towards tomorrow with each other. A feeling Kazuha hadn’t thought he’d be re-living so soon.
Kazuha, while floating in the moment, was still keen to his surroundings. The silence made it easier to hear the front door opening and the frantic footsteps that followed.
Footsteps that belonged to Kunikuzushi.
Kazuha’s attention divided. He forced himself out of his daze and turned to face the doorway, shielding Kuni with his body in the process. It happened so quickly that he had no time to process the specifics. All Kazuha could comprehend was that something wasn’t right, and the innate urge to protect the person behind him took priority.
So, when Kunikuzushi made it to the kitchen with a look of relief that slowly transformed into absolute horror upon seeing the scene before him, Kazuha froze. Kazuha and Kunikuzushi stared at each other in disbelief, neither of them able to take another step, but only one of them knew why.
Kazuha hadn’t changed his stance. He still defended the person behind him, but his eyes and his head weren’t aligned with one another.
The person standing before him was, in fact, Kunikuzushi. His Kunikuzushi. He didn’t need to speak, Kazuha just knew. There were many factors that contributed to Kazuha being able to tell straight away that the real Kunikuzushi was before him, but the giveaway was his scent.
Kunikuzushi smelled like Kunikuzushi.
Whoever was behind him…
That scent belonged to the Raiden Shogun.