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“Behind you!”
It was times like this that Atsushi appreciated his tiger senses. Akutagawa and Atsushi were currently fighting an enemy ability user, both assigned by their respective organizations to defeat the man now posing a threat to Yokohama.
Unfortunately, the man they were fighting had quite an annoying ability. He could teleport, so anytime they tried to land a hit on him, he would teleport out of the way, successfully avoiding any damage.
The enemy they were fighting had developed a slight ego during the fight, and he had begun to taunt the two each time he would teleport away. The constant teasing was pissing off Akutagawa, only making his anger of being unable to land a devastating blow with Rashomon much, much worse. The rage was messing with his head, making his ordinarily pristine fighting style sloppy. Thankfully, Atsushi’s tiger senses could cover for his mishaps.
“I got it!” Akutagawa growled back to Atsushi. Of course, Atsushi knew the hidden meaning in his response; Akutagawa wasn’t one to outright say thank you, especially in front of an enemy. Multiple fights together give you an understanding of someone, especially someone you want to learn.
“Missed me again, slowpoke!” The teleporter disappeared from behind Akutagawa, only to appear on his left side, making his presence known as he stuck his tongue out with a ‘bleh’ sound. Akutagawa reached out towards him, attempting to grab him, but he vanished once more.
Atsushi quickly spun around and lunged towards the man, his tiger claws out as he swiped, but the teleporter jumped back and disappeared, leaving only the sound of whooshing air as Atsushi scratched nothing.
The man disappeared again and reappeared a few feet behind the duo. “Jeez, you two really don’t work well together!”
“Stop teleporting and fight!” Akutagawa yelled at him as he spun around, with Rashomon flying out of his coat, various tendrils rushing toward the enemy at lightning speed.
At the same time, Atsushi also turned around and began to sprint toward the man, weaving in between Rashomon as he got closer and closer.
Without any need for prior communication, the two seamlessly worked together, a duo fighting together as if they were one.
As Atsushi swiftly approached, with Rashomon following closely behind, the teleporter froze in his tracks. Instead of the man disappearing, he stuck both his hands out, palms facing the two fighting in tandem.
It was time for the teleporter to pull his ace up his sleeve.
“Get away!” He screamed, dragging the word ‘away’ out. “Leave me alone!”
“Shit, Akutagawa!” Atsushi yelled, “Watch out!” The tiger’s mind ran through all possible outcomes and came to one conclusion, one that he didn’t think was possible with this man’s ability.
Upon hearing Atsushi’s yell, Akutagawa stopped the tendrils for just a moment to see what was happening.
“He’s going to tele-!” Atsushi’s words were cut off as he was sent away, the sound of heavy breathing from the enemy taking the place of Atsushi’s yell.
“What the hell?” Akutagawa muttered to himself as he exhaled the air he didn’t know he held in, and before he could take another breath, he was also sent away.
~~
This was another time that Atsushi appreciated his tiger senses. He was currently in a random forest in the middle of nowhere, with no clue where to go, or where Akutagawa was. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if he was still fighting the teleporter, if he was thrown into this random forest as well, or something worse. Atsushi chose to ignore the last thought.
Crunching leaves and branches under his feet seemed to echo off the night sky, the only light around him being stars, with a new moon only emphasizing their brightness. His tiger eyes gave him a greater ability to see in the darkness, a greater chance of finding Akutagawa and getting the hell out of the forest.
He first reached for his phone in his back pocket, flipping it open to see he had no reception. He then spun around, hoping to see something that would give him any clue on where to go, but he had nothing. Instead, he did the next best thing he could think of - climb a tree and get a bird's-eye view.
When his eyes landed on the tallest tree near him, he whispered a quick ‘perfect’ to himself, and made his way over. Using his claws, he cut his way through branches and brush, scratching his arms a few times along the way, until he had reached the base of the tree.
Since his eyes were now somewhat adjusted to the dark, he could see that it was an oak tree; it was old, with peeling layers of bark and large branches that likely provided great shade during the daytime. He began to scale the tree, sinking his claws into the wood as he climbed higher, accidentally ripping some of the old bark off the trunk during his ascension.
Once he reached the highest possible point of climbing, he wrapped an arm around the branch closest to him for support and used the other hand to part the leaves in front of him, giving himself a hole to see out of. Off in the far distance, he noticed rustling in a few trees, one that was extremely unlikely to be caused by an animal and much more likely to be caused by a human (or a special ability being wielded by a human). A smile stretched across his face, and he quickly hopped down from the tree; a newfound energy ran through his veins from knowing Akutagawa was also in the forest.
When his feet hit the ground, he took off running toward the rustling. With each closer step, he was able to smell figs and tea, a scent that had grown on him over time, one that belonged to Akutagawa.
“Akutagawa, is that you?” Atsushi called out as he slowed down his pace, taking the time to catch his breath.
“There you are, Jinko,” Akutagawa replied, his voice low amongst the silent forest, yet Atsushi could recognize that voice no matter how far he was.
“Stay there, I’m coming!”
Akutagawa did as he was told and remained where he was standing. He had also been trying to find an exit in the forest, using Rashomon to cut through the overgrown foliage and create his own path. His gut had told him that he would find Atsushi along the way, and it just so happened that Atsushi came looking for him.
The sound of cracking branches and leaves rapidly approached and stopped just as quickly as it had begun. Replacing the sound was instead the weight of a hand on Akutagawa’s shoulder. The touch startled him, and Atsushi’s hand kept him still as he spun around to face him.
“I found you,” Atsushi spoke softly in between labored breaths, his eyes somehow so bright amongst the dark forest, gleaming like a star.
“Where are we?” Akutagawa matched his tone of voice and let Rashomon return into his coat, no longer needing to be out and cutting things up.
“I have no clue. That damn teleporter somehow sent us to the middle of nowhere. I had climbed a tree earlier to get a better view of my surroundings, but all I saw were more and more trees.”
“You climbed a tree? How catlike of you.”
“Shut up,” Atsushi huffed at him.
Akutagawa put his hands into his coat pockets, already beginning to feel the cold night set into his skin. He didn’t shrug off Atsushi’s hand.
“Come on.” Akutagawa began walking, starting with a few tiny steps so Atsushi would follow suit while keeping his hand on his shoulder. “It’s dark. Stay close.”
Atsushi hummed in response, quickening his pace until he was in front of Akutagawa, now leading the two through the forest. Without words, Atsushi dropped his hand from Akutagawa’s shoulder, instead letting Akutagawa grab onto him.
“Try not to yank my tail this time, please,” Atsushi said as his tail unconsciously twitched with his words, reflexes kicking in from being pulled one too many times in the past.
“Maybe if you didn’t walk so quickly. I don’t have night vision like you. That’s why I’m letting you lead.” To Atsushi’s surprise, Akutagawa didn’t grab onto his tail; he had instead looped his arm around Atsushi’s left arm and returned his hand to his coat pocket. “My hands are cold.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Atsushi replied as they began to walk together. He knew that Akutagawa wasn’t wrong; he did have much better eyesight at night than he did. Atsushi also had the advantage of fur to keep him warm, which made him like a portable heater to others. Knowing this, he pulled Akutagawa closer, the lines of whether this was to keep Akutagawa warm, or for his own selfish reasons beginning to blur. Akutagawa didn’t complain.
Despite having tried to kill each other many times in the past, the pair had formed an unbreakable trust with each other. If Atsushi had to fight alongside anyone, his first choice would be Akutagawa. Not only due to how strong they were as a duo when combining abilities, but it was also because Atsushi knew Akutagawa had his back- the only person allowed to kill the weretiger was him.
Truly, Akutagawa wasn’t allowed to kill anyone, at least for the next six months. Atsushi had made him promise not to kill for six months and that once that time had passed, Akutagawa would get the chance to kill him. To Atsushi’s surprise, Akutagawa had been keeping his side of the promise.
If you had asked Atsushi when they first met, his opinion of Akutagawa would drastically differ from what he held now. Originally, he had held only negative thoughts of Akutagawa, but with time, the negatives began to be outweighed by the positives. He had started to grow fond of his grumpy rival, and his fondness had begun to blossom into something much more.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Akutagawa broke the silence and snapped Atsushi out of his thoughts.
“Honestly? I have no clue,” Atsushi replied as he shrugged his shoulders, dragging Akutagawa’s arm along in the process. “All I can see around us is trees.”
Akutagawa stopped walking, making Atsushi stop, but they didn’t unlink their arms.
“That’s a waste of the tiger’s ability. Sniff our way out of here.” Akutagawa looked Atsushi in the eyes; his face showed he was serious about what he said.
“It doesn’t work like that, you know! I have nothing to smell except trees, dirt, and you!”
“...Me?” The tiniest grin stretched on Akutagawa’s face.
“Don’t even start. We need to focus on getting out of here, not on whatever teasing you’re about to do.”
“Fine.” Akutagawa used his free hand to gesture in front of them, a wordless command to keep walking, and Atsushi obeyed. After a few minutes, Akutagawa broke the silence again. “What do I smell like?”
“Tea and figs. Are you done?”
“For now, yes.”
~~
Atsushi continued forward, hoping to find any sort of clue they may be close to civilization, such as a hiking trail or litter that someone may have left, but still had nothing—the night seemed only to get darker, as if a thick wall was settling in around them. When Atsushi had checked his phone earlier, it was around 11:30 pm, and with them walking, they must have only killed no more than an hour and a half of time, leaving them somewhere around 1 am.
He had noticed earlier his arm which was linked with Akutagawa’s beginning to shake, which had meant Akutagawa had begun shivering from the cold. As the night progressed, it would only get colder, which could very well become dangerous for them both, even with Atsushi’s fur keeping him warm.
Up ahead, Atsushi could see a clearing in the trees, a small area of flat land where they could rest.
“Hey, Akutagawa.” It was now Atsushi’s turn to break the silence.
Akutagawa only hummed in acknowledgment.
“There’s a clearing up ahead. I think we should take a break. We might be able to start a fire to stay warm.”
“We should just keep going; we’ll stumble upon civilization soon if we continue.”
“No. You’re shivering. Stop being stubborn and think about it. It’s only going to get colder, and I can only be your personal heater for so long; I’ll get cold eventually.” Atsushi pulled him into his side even more, closing the little distance they had between each other.
“I’m not shivering. I’m fine.” If Akutagawa could cross his arms in protest, he would be doing so right now. Instead, he accepted the closeness.
“Sure. We’re stopping here,” Atsushi said as they stepped into the open space. “We should make a fire. Do you know how to?”
“Of course, I know. We need some wood and dead leaves. Help me retrieve some,” Akutagawa said as Rashomon unfurled from his back, ready to slice the surrounding trees.
Atsushi did as he was told, collecting dead leaves and placing them in the center of the clearing. He couldn’t help but watch Akutagawa out of the corner of his eye, following along as he sent Rashomon up into the trees in search of some wood to chop down for a fire.
Akutagawa had a chaotic, yet calm, style of wielding Rashomon. He had the beast attached to his back under great control, a puppeteer pulling the strings of a puppet and making it dance, weaving between tree branches as if they were a dance floor, and this was a simple waltz. Rashomon was a commanding presence, yet Atsushi found himself to be captivated by the commander itself. He had seen Akutagawa manipulate Rashomon many times, far too many to count, but he still found it akin to art.
“I can feel your eyes burning holes into my back. Grab those logs,” Akutagawa said, using Rashomon to gesture at a small pile he had chopped down while Atsushi stared at him. Atsushi chose not to reply and followed instructions; he grabbed the pile Akutagawa had cut down and brought them to where he had placed the pile of leaves earlier.
Akutagawa immediately began arranging everything with Rashomon, his lack of thought showing he had done this many times. Atsushi glanced around at their surroundings- tall trees with thick branches entangled in each other surrounded them, yet this clearing seemed to have a picture-perfect clarity to it, with no trees blocking the view of the stars. It seemed as though they would be here for a while, likely until the sun began to rise and gave them more light to see.
Atsushi spotted a fallen tree off to his right, not too big yet not too small, the perfect size for two people to sit on comfortably. He picked it up with ease, thanks to the tiger’s strength, and brought it over to where Akutagawa was busy working.
“At least now we won’t have to sit on the ground,” Atsushi said, dropping the trunk onto the ground while Akutagawa was still using Rashomon, now rubbing sticks together and creating sparks, instead of arranging things. “I didn’t think you’d be so quick with this.”
“We had to stay warm as children. Without homes, our only chance was to create fires. Matches and lighters were not always available. You either learned to make fire, or you would freeze,” Akutagawa replied back, his tone seeming distant, like his mind was elsewhere. Memories of life on the streets came back to him, the process of making fire from simple sticks and leaves being a second nature now.
Atsushi hummed in response, absorbing Akutagawa’s words and comparing them to his own childhood. They had similarities, both growing up as orphans, yet were in such completely different worlds. It was the similarities they had that made them able to understand each other, to trust each other, in ways that most people couldn’t.
Only a diamond can polish a diamond, and both men have become smooth, shining rocks together.
Akutagawa made a small noise of delight, and Atsushi looked over to him, to see that a small fire had started.
“Bring more stuff to burn, Jinko.” Akutagawa turned his head back to Atsushi, making eye contact. His face wouldn’t show it, but he was happy to have got the fire going; his dark eyes gave it away as they seemed to spark just like the fire.
Atsushi smiled at him and nodded, and he couldn’t hide the twitch from his tail in excitement.
~~
Once they got the fire started and collected enough spare wood to burn throughout the night, they were able to finally take a moment to rest.
Atsushi took a seat on the log he had brought over and stuck his hands out in front of him near the fire, feeling the warmth spread throughout his hands and up his arms. Akutagawa had followed suit, sitting down and beginning to warm his hands up, too.
“I think it’s around 3 a.m., that means the sun should begin to rise soon. We can start looking around once it’s back up.” Atsushi looked over to Akutagawa. “Come here.”
“What?”
“Come here.” Atsushi patted the log next to him. “You’re still cold.”
Akutagawa stared at him for a few moments, attempting to read his facial expression and see if he was joking. Atsushi was serious. He sighed, and scooted over on the log, now by Atsushi’s side.
Atsushi wrapped an arm around him, pulling him just a bit closer.
“I want you to stay warm. You no longer need to freeze.”
Akutagawa exhaled, letting his shoulders relax. He realized there was no use in fighting; besides, Atsushi’s furry arms were quite inviting.
“Fine,” He mumbled and leaned his head on Atsushi’s shoulder. “This is not discussed after tonight.”
“Gotta keep your scary reputation up, huh? Don’t want everyone to know you had to cuddle up to me in the middle of a forest?”
“It’s simply like laying next to a house pet.”
“A house pet. Funny. I’ve been compared to many cats, but not much of the domesticated kind.”
“Would you begin to purr if I scratched behind your ears, or perhaps kick me if I rubbed your tummy?” Akutagawa teased him and brought his outer hand up to Atsushi’s arm, lightly brushing his fingers against his fur.
“What, you want to give it a go?” Atsushi teased him back. He rested his head atop Akutagawa’s and sighed. “This is a nice rest though. I think we both can appreciate being still for a moment.”
“Stillness is a breeding ground for distractions,” Akutagawa remarked. “I find keeping busy is better. Within quiet I find myself too lost in my thoughts.”
“Oh? You know, they do say idle hands are the devil's workshop. What makes you so lost?” Atsushi probed as he adjusted his shoulders slightly, creating more space for Akutagawa to come closer.
“Many things. My past, my present. You,” Akutagawa replied, his voice trailing off at the end of his sentence.
“...Me?”
“Don’t be so coy. We both know more than we let on. Something is there, in us both.”
Atsushi hummed and found himself now lost in thought. Akutagawa wasn’t necessarily wrong; Atsushi never tried to hide any sort of attraction to him, and Akutagawa never hid his reciprocation. It was more that they never found any time to focus on feelings, instead they were always caught up in some fight, be it with a threat to Yokohama or with each other.
“True. I assume we both just figured either something would happen, or it would fizzle out,” Atsushi added on. “I find myself thinking of you too. You seem to have taken place in my daily thoughts; I can’t remember the last time you didn’t cross my mind at least once.”
Akutagawa lifted his head, making Atsushi move in the process as well. He pulled back a bit from Atsushi’s arms, now being able to look at him head-on, yet still experience the warmth of Atsushi’s embrace. They both met eyes and paused for a moment, the silence of the night settling between them once more.
“Feelings are difficult to navigate,” Akutagawa spoke, a generalized statement with an underlying meaning: a search for more information. Akutagawa was not one to outright say how he felt for Atsushi, and instead, he would let Atsushi lead the conversation.
“They are. Why complicate them? As you said, we both know more than we show.”
“It may be better to accept them, as is. What do you think?” Atsushi smiled at him.
“That sounds like a better solution than what we currently have.” Akutagawa smiled back, albeit much smaller than Atsushi’s.
“Alright then.” Atsushi put his free hand on Akutagawa’s leg. He glanced at Akutagawa’s lips, then returned to his eyes, playfulness now coating his voice. “So, what now?”
“You’re playing coy again, Jinko,” Akutagawa pointed out, matching his playful tone.
“Maybe I am,” Atsushi leaned in slightly, “but so are you.” He stopped just mere centimeters from Akutagawa’s lips.
“You got me there.” Akutagawa chuckled, now taking his turn to glance at Atsushi’s lips, knowing what was to come. “Are we both going to wait for the other to act? We may be here all night then.”
Atsushi shook his head slightly, and broke the distance between the two, kissing Akutagawa. Akutagawa returned the kiss, placing a hand on Atsushi’s cheek, and rubbing it slightly with his thumb. They both pulled away.
“I didn’t think I’d make the first move,” Atsushi said lightly, looking down as he leaned into Akutagawa's hand. He looked back up to Akutagawa, a shy smile reaching his face. “Could you kiss me again?”
“Anytime,” Akutagawa whispered and pulled Atsushi back in for another kiss.