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It was the first warm day of the season, and things were, thankfully, quiet for once. Onari took the opportunity to pack some things and sneak off into the woods. Now he sat on a log beside Javert, enjoying the sun and warm air. Javert was slowly, silently making his way through the meal Onari had brought for him.
Onari looked at the small campsite he’d set up, and was fairly proud of himself. At least now Javert had a tent, a sleeping bag, and some proper blankets. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Maybe next time he would bring some towels and a line to hang laundry. Onari wondered if he could sneak a washtub out without anyone noticing.
“Here.” Javert held out the empty container. Onari laughed and took it, closing it before setting it by his feet.
Turning back to Javert, Onari patted his shoulder lightly. “How are you faring out here? It is not too cold at night is it?” Javert merely shrugged in response and gave a small grunt. The weather had held out, at least. No rain meant Javert hadn’t needed to seek shelter inside. As much as Onari still wanted to take him in, he knew it was on Javert’s terms.
Javert had thought back on the night of the storm constantly in the days that had followed. In part, he regretted it. It seemed to have caused Onari to grow more attached to him, which he didn’t want. It would only make it harder on him when he turned back to Ganma World and it’s army. Or when Igor would finally put him out of his misery. Still, Onari’s words hung in Javert’s mind.
”For what it is worth, I think you would be much happier here.”
He was still struggling to figure out what happiness even felt like. Javert looked at the hand on his shoulder. The same one he’d clung to through the storm as though his life had depended on it. Looking at it a certain way, his life had depended on it. It still did. Javert brushed the hand off of his shoulder. “Are you going to start coming out here now? Don’t you have anything better to be doing?”
Onari chuckled, “Well, I thought that you are probably starting to run out of paper.” Onari rest his hands in his lap and shrugged, “And it is not like anyone inside really needs me for much of anything at the moment. It’s better if I stay out of their way when I am able.”
“You’re not useless.” Javert grumbled.
The comment startled Onari slightly. He hadn’t thought he’d been implying such a thing. He smiled and shook his head. “No, no. Of course I am not. Takeru needs my support as much as anyone else’s. I took the place of his father after he passed away, so Takeru looks to me for the strength that his father is not here to give.”
Javert looked to Onari, thinking of the Emperor and of Prince Alain. “You… took his father’s place?” How? Was this a thing that was commonly done? Who would be taking the Emperor’s place for Prince Alain now?
Onari let out a thoughtful sigh, “It was so very sudden. I was younger than Takeru is now. I knew nothing of how to care for a child, even one as old as Takeru was.” Javert fell quiet, watching Onari’s face. He looked troubled as he thought of it. More concerned than Javert could ever remember seeing him. “I had not even been his father’s disciple for a year, yet he treated me as though I was one of his family. He… said that was simply how it was done here. We are all family.” Distance crept into Onari’s voice, and it unsettled Javert to see the calm that he envied so strongly just fade away. Onari wrung his hands anxiously, “I had… been a bit of a troublemaker at that age, before Ryu took me in.”
“...That time, at the building Igor took over?” Javert knew Onari would understand what he meant with the question.
Onari laughed, but it sounded different than it had all of the other times. Onari didn’t sound amused or pleased. Somehow the laughter sounded sad, and it unsettled Javert even more. “It was never that extreme. Not really.” Onari said softly, “I used to think that perhaps I was, but looking back, I was all bark and no bite. I just liked to think I was tough, I suppose. I did some damage, but nothing that couldn’t be undone. Then I met Tenkuji Ryu and he showed me how meaningless it was to act that way.”
Javert noticed Onari’s hands were still again, folded in his lap. That eased him slightly even if the tone of Onari’s voice still felt off. “Do your allies know?”
The question held much more concern than Onari expected from Javert. “Shibuya and Narita… You know them. You abducted Shibuya a few times…” Javert grunted an interruption, as if annoyed that Onari would bring it up, especially in such a lighthearted tone. Onari laughed, the way he always did, and it eased Javert’s mind. “...The two of them know.” Onari continued, “They have their own stories that brought them to seek the same path I have. They shared with me, and so I shared with them. But Takeru and his friends… No. They were too young, and there is no reason for them to know that about me.”
For a minute or two, things fell quiet again. Javert wasn’t really sure what to do with that information. He looked to the ground, only bringing his gaze back up when Onari’s hand laid over his. “Do you follow me everywhere?” Onari asked gently. Javert quickly looked away, pulling his hand back.
“I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so reckless.” Javert scolded, “How many times have you tried to fight Igor? You and that stupid woman! Are you looking to die?! If I don’t keep an eye on you so I can step in if you do something stupid, then you’d get yourself killed!”
Onari wrung his hands again, but he smiled the way he always did when Javert protested. Javert wasn’t sure what to make of it. Normally Onari was so simple. Even if Javert could never figure out why Onari was so kind to him, his emotions were always fairly easy to read until now. Had he overstepped some boundary? Had yelling at him put an end to the tenuous truce they shared? Javert was calculating escape plans when Onari spoke.
“I am grateful for your protection.”
Javert’s thoughts froze. Grateful… Javert couldn’t bring himself to look at Onari. “It’s just an exchange for the food you’ve brought me and the shelter you’ve given. I don’t like being indebted.” But Javert didn’t sound as sure as he told himself he felt about it.
“I do not help you with the intent of gaining your protection. You owe nothing to me for any of this.” Onari assured him, “You do not deserve to die, so I offer you the means to live. I enjoy your company, so I came to sit with you. You chose to accept my offerings and to communicate with me. You could have done one or neither of those things.” Onari placed his hand on Javert’s shoulder. “The fact that you are faring so well is all that I had hoped for in return.”
Javert looked up as he felt Onari press down on his shoulder, using the leverage to rise from sitting. The confusion on Javert’s face caused Onari to smile, “If this makes you feel uncomfortably indebted to me, I will return to just leaving food and cease communication.” If he hadn’t been watching for it, Onari might not have seen the slight panic in Javert’s eyes. He turned back toward the temple, looking at it through the trees. “Though…” Onari tapped a finger to his cheek thoughtfully, “If my company is not bothersome, there are a few other things I want to bring that I think would continue to make it easier for you to get by.”
There was a rustling of dead leaves as Javert rose. “No matter who is sent… I will not allow them to harm you.” Javert looked at the campsite Onari had built for him. Was it a home? He wasn’t sure, but it was as close as he had ever come. “Only you. I won’t step in on anyone else’s behalf.”
Onari laughed. “...Fair enough.” He thought, though, that Akari probably needed it more. He was sure that, by now, she was a target for Igor. But she was strong, and she was still working on ways to fight for herself against the Ganma.
“Do you really believe I can be happy here?”
When Onari looked over his shoulder, Javert’s back was to him. Onari wasn’t surprised. The question was vulnerable, so of course a physical barrier would be put up. “That is entirely up to you.” Onari responded. Javert didn’t look back as he heard the leaves snapping beneath Onari’s feet as he headed back to the temple. If it was possible, he knew he still had a long way to go.