Heart of the Warrior Chapter 20: End of the Beginning
Fandom: Cybird Ikemen Sengoku
Previous Chapter
Yukimura Sanada x Male!OC
TW: NSFW Implied
Sweat dripped down the rider's brow, his eyes frantically scanning his surroundings. Every shadow darting around him frightened him, their dances like wolves chasing down a panicked deer. His horse was as breathless as the rider himself as it galloped down the night-covered road. The rider clutched onto his horse's reins tightly, causing the knuckles of his hand to turn white. He kicked his horse to gallop faster, yet the beast was already barreling down as fast as its legs would allow it.
The rider quickly wiped the sweat from his brow. The darkness of night and the wind zipping past him made him more alert to the approaching imminent danger. Wishing to evade his potential pursuers, he quickly tugged his horse's reins to the right. Nearly slipping on the dirt path, the horse swerved to the right and darted down a side road through the forest. Adrenaline raced through the rider's veins, his lungs pumping air in and out. He could not be allowed to fail his lord lest he is captured and tortured. With the evidence that his lord's enemies gained strength in the shadows, the reward of land and recognition was far too great to pass on. If he could just get past the forest and into friendly territory—
His entire body was suddenly risen high up into the air. He nearly screamed as his legs gripped his saddle tightly. His horse squealing madly as it jumped up onto its hind legs sent a rush of fear through his spine. The rider tried to hold onto his horse, but the faint glint of a three-pronged spear next to his face caused him to choke. The rider desperately tried to regain control of his horse, but a darkened figure below him kept waving a spear at its face. The rider started to draw his sword when suddenly he heard the approaching sound of hoofbeats. Before he could react, another horse violently collided with him. The rider was thrown off his horse. He tumbled onto the ground below, nearly breaking his leg as he desperately rolled away before his horse fell on him.
The man with the spear let out a huff as the rider of the other horse dismounted.
"See," Thai merely commented as he dropped onto the ground. "Told you it would work."
Yukimura sighed, lowering his yari. "You and your 'Wild Boar Plans,' Thai..."
"What? I told you it worked! Gimme some credit, would'ya? You know how hard it is to think on your feet?"
"Is that what you call it, dummy?"
Thai lightly shrugged, a smirk plastered between his lips. "Whatever works, works."
"Pfft! Do you read those in a book, or do you just make them up as you go?"
Thai shrugged. "I thought you loved my sayings."
The felled rider quickly scrambled up onto his feet as the two men calmly (and rather nonchalantly) walked towards him. The rider went to draw his sword but was swiftly kicked down by Thai. Thai's heel shot forward at the rider's hand; the force of the kick sent the rider straight down. The man tumbled back down onto the ground and tried to get up but was met by Yukimura's spear. The rider let out a defeated grunt. His eyes narrowed fiercely at the two warriors.
Thai squatted down, narrowing his eyes to better look at the rider. He let out a sarcastic whistle. "Hiroshi? Is that your head I see there?" Thai asked. The rider, who Thai and Yukimura both knew as a servant, Hiroshi, sighed. "Damn, man," Thai chided. "What happened? Did Nobunaga have a better 401K?"
"A what?" Yukimura asked.
"Go ask Sasuke," Thai joked.
Using this distraction to his advantage, Hiroshi again tried drawing his sword. However, Thai was quicker. The foreigner stomped on Hiroshi's hand. Hiroshi howled in pain as he squirmed around his pinned-down hand. "Dammit, Hiroshi!" Thai sighed in annoyance. "Would'ya stop tryna reach for your sword!"
"Y-you!" Hiroshi growled through his gritted teeth. "Y-you're only...grr...delaying the inevitable! Lord Nobunaga will come, and when he does, all of you will—"
Yukimura twirled his spear around and struck Hiroshi's head with its butt end. Hiroshi fell down to the ground unconscious. "Damn," Yukimura sighed aloud. "Hiroshi was a spy all along?"
Thai shook his head in disappointment. "That's a damn shame; I always kinda liked the guy."
Yukimura's brow raised. "Really?"
Thai shrugged. "I-I dunno! He's just so...polite when he does stuff."
"Jeez." Yukimura twirled his yari around, letting it gracefully land across his shoulders. He leaned on his right leg and waited as Thai turned the unconscious Hiroshi around and bound his arms and legs. "Who knows how many of our lord's attendants are really loyal," Yukimura commented aloud.
"Well," Thai said as he tied the last rope. "Just like with Hiroshi here, all we can do now is to either wait and see if one of them breaks or round 'em all up and interrogate them."
"Both those options suck," Yukimura said. "Your 'Wild Boar' approach won't always work."
Thai threw Hiroshi onto his back. "I told you," Thai quipped as he stepped over to Yukimura, "it's called 'Thinking-on-my-feet." Thai placed a quick peck on Yukimura's cheek, making the latter scoff. "And, I never claimed I was good at actual planning."
Yukimura smirked and rolled his eyes. He followed Thai back to his waiting horse. Luckily, Hiroshi's horse stood idly by, Thai throwing Hiroshi's body across its back before leading it back to his horse. "All I know is that we better throw him in the dungeon quickly before Lord Kenshin finds out," Thai added. "He definitely won't be happy 'bout this."
"Lord Shingen won't be happy either," Yukimura said. He looked up at the night sky as he put his spear down. "We should go. It's getting pretty late."
Thai let out a loud yawn as he grabbed onto his horse. "Yeah..." he agreed. He tiredly mounted his horse. "We should. You got a lot of miles to walk if you wanna make it back to Kasugayama by sunup."
"Huh!? What are you talking about!?" Yukimura gawked.
"Dude, you left your horse somewhere in the middle of the forest," Thai said. "I'm pretty sure the damn thing ran off."
Yukimura scoffed. "As if, dummy. Watch."
Yukimura put his thumb and index finger in his mouth, letting off a loud whistle for his horse to come. His hands moved to the sides of his waist, waiting confidently for his steed to gallop back to him. Thai rolled his eyes as he sat back on his horse. A minute went by, and Yukimura's confident smirk slightly disappeared. Luckily for the two of them, Hiroshi was still unconscious.
"How much you wanna bet that your horse already booted back to Kasugayama?" Thai asked.
Yukimura didn't answer, instead choosing to cross his arms.
Thai nodded slowly. "I bet you five gold coins."
"...six...and a massage."
Thai whistled lowly. "Alright then. Your horse was about...five, six minutes out. Whoever wins gets six gold coins and a massage for thirty minutes."
Yukimura's confident grin returned. "Bet."
"You're on."
Thai chuckled softly as they waited to see if Yukimura's horse returned. Yukimura let out a cocky snort as he saw a few bushes in the distance start to move. Thai, however, was trying desperately hard not to laugh. Yukimura stepped forward and leaned on his spear before facing Thai. The bushes started moving more, signaling the arrival of something.
"See, Thai," Yukimura said with a cocky grin. "Looks like you owe me—"
Thai looked at the bushes as a dark shape jumped out. "Hey, Muramasa!"
"Muramasa!!?"
Yukimura turned around in time to receive a big glomp from the large wolf-dog. He was nearly thrown off his feet as he received a barrage of licks at his left cheek from a tail-wagging happy Muramasa. Thai heartily laughed as Muramasa barked. With his cheek thoroughly licked by the large wolf-dog, Yukimura wiped his cheek with his kimono sleeve.
"Muramasa!?" Yukimura cried out. "What are you doing here?"
Muramasa barked once more. "I think he says, 'You owe me six gold coins and a massage,'" Thai chuckled.
"Jeez!" Yukimura sighed aloud. "So, my horse really is lost?"
Thai shook his head. "Nah, he went back to Kasugayama."
"How do we know that?"
"Cuz when you literally jumped off of him to intercept our sleeping friend here, your horse did a 180 and booked it back home."
Yukimura's shoulders and jaw dropped. "Seriously!? You knew!?"
Thai shrugged. "I told you he was gone."
Yukimura picked up his spear and marched over to Thai. "No, you did NOT!"
Yukimura suddenly grabbed onto Thai's horse and mounted it just behind Thai. Thai calmed down his jittering horse as Yukimura angrily repositioned himself behind Thai. "Yuki! What're you—"
"Hey! I said I'd give you a massage—not walk back home for the entire night," Yukimura sneered. Thai guffawed as Yukimura wrapped his free arm firmly around Thai's waist. "Now, let's go. I'm tired."
"You didn't say the magic word," Thai mused.
Yukimura snorted. As Thai looked back, Yukimura placed a light kiss on his cheek, making Thai blush. "Please," Yukimura yawned as he rested his chin on Thai's shoulder. "Hurry up and go."
Thai rolled his eyes. "Fine-fine."
For the past few weeks since returning to Ueda, Thai was finally healthy enough to retake missions. Unknown to Thai at the time, his return to active duty would not be a slow start. Keeping the silence about Ueda's secret alliance with Kasugayama meant rooting out the potential spies that hid in Kasugayama. Shingen already knew of their presence, always happy to keep his enemies close to him, but now it was a matter of ensuring their reports would not make it back to Azuchi. Hiroshi was just one of the few spies who tried to escape back to Azuchi, and there was no telling how many more would escape.
After dropping Hiroshi off at the dungeon and taking extra precautions not to stir the sleeping sword-happy dragon from his slumber, Yukimura and Thai found themselves at another impasse. Thai closed the door leading to the dungeon, the duo alone in a darkened hallway inside the castle.
"Here," Yukimura groaned, handing Thai six gold coins. "Although, you didn't earn this."
"What?" Thai scoffed. "I won that bet fair and square."
Yukimura flicked Thai's forehead, making the latter squeal. "You didn't tell me my horse returned to Kasugayama."
"I told you I thought it ran off," Thai whined. He began to follow Yukimura as the Peerless Warrior started to walk in the direction of Thai's room. "You're just being a sore loser."
"And you're being such an abysmal winner," Yukimura complained. "Hurry up."
"W-well hold on," Thai said as he stopped. He pointed behind him. "Your room's that way?"
Yukimura turned around. "I know," he said, "But your room is closer."
"B-but, your room is bigger, and a lot cooler in there."
"Your room is big enough," Yukimura argued.
Thai began to stammer. "W-well..." He began to chew on his bottom lip as Yukimura groaned.
"What's wrong, Thai?" Yukimura asked.
Thai scratched the back of his neck. "...okay, so, in no way am I saying that I don't want to spend the night with you," Thai said. "But, maybe we should also figure this situation out."
"What situation?"
"That...we live in two separate rooms," Thai explained. "A-Am I gonna eventually...I don't know...move in one day, or are we just going to switch rooms every now and then?"
Yukimura crossed his arms. "Hm...I actually never thought of that," he said, "I kinda wanted to keep the separate rooms, but....uh, can we just talk about it tomorrow? It's pretty late, and I need sleep."
Thai let out a silent exhale. "Y-yeah, sure."
The two made their way back towards Thai's room, the silence between them thick. Once inside, Thai shut the door, Yukimura already making himself at home on Thai's futon. Yukimura let out an exhausted, strained sigh and stretched his arms high above his head. Thai, meanwhile, began to change into his sleepwear. He threw off his kimono and hakama before beginning to wear his yukata.
"Leave it off," Yukimura said.
Thai turned around with a cocked eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Leave it off," Yukimura sleepily said. He began to undress from his clothes, Thai noticing that Yukimura never went to grab his own yukata.
Thai snickered softly. He threw his old clothes into his closet and quickly retracted his hand before covering his entire arm with his yukata. "Oh? You thinking of what I'm thinking?" Thai's grin widened.
Yukimura stifled a gasp before crossing his arms. "No, dummy!" he grunted. "J-just..." His cheeks began to show their usual flustered red.
"Aww, Yuki," Thai mused.
Thai knelt down next to Yukimura. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against Yukimura's. Yukimura groaned in both slight embarrassment and satisfaction. Their hands met as Thai deepened the kiss, his tongue pushing itself through Yukimura's lips. Yukimura grunted in response as he pushed back against him with his own tongue. Thai merely giggled in response as he broke away from the kiss.
"I think your body is amazing, too," Thai quipped.
Yukimura scoffed, his eyes bursting open. "Th-Thai!" he stammered. "Dummy! That was so tacky and not at all what I was going to say!"
Thai shrugged. "Eh, I thought it sounded better in my head," Thai said.
"W-well," Yukimura said. "You kept complaining that your room is not as cold as mine, so just leave off your yukata."
"Is that really the reason why?" Thai joked.
"Pfft, let's just go to bed, okay?" Yukimura sighed. "C'mere."
Yukimura wrapped his arm around Thai. He brought him down as he lay on the futon, Thai nestled firmly on top of his firm chest. Yuki shut his eyes immediately, letting out an exhausted sigh. Thai, on the other hand, was still wide awake. He rolled off of Yukimura, choosing instead to lay next to him. Thai wrapped his arms around Yukimura's right arm and placed his lips on Yukimura's shoulder. The Peerless Warrior smiled, his other hand reaching over to pat Thai on the head.
"Hey, Yuki?" Thai said. "How come you want to keep separate rooms if we're just gonna be sleeping in one of them each night?"
Yukimura groaned softly, his hand falling from Thai's head. "I dunno," he sighed. "Won't it seem weird that two guys move into the same room?"
"Oh, of course," Thai said. "The two guys, whose relationship is now known across the castle thanks to our mischievous lord, moving into the same room would definitely seem weird to people."
"Okay." Yukimura rolled his eyes. "I see what you mean, but it's only been a few weeks."
"Yeah, I get that," Thai yawned. "It's a pretty new thing for you."
Yukimura nudged Thai closer. "'Pretty' is a word for it."
"I'm 'pretty' now?" Thai giggled. "I thought I was 'cute'?"
Yukimura yawned. "Yes, I have a 'cute', 'pretty', wild boar that is keeping me up at night."
"Sorry-sorry," Thai said as he closed his eyes. "I'll let you sleep."
"Finally..."
Thai nuzzled closer to Yukimura, tightening his grip around the latter's arm. The two relaxed, letting the darkness of the room whisk them away to sleep. Or, rather, they tried to.
"You're awake, aren't you?" Thai grunted.
"No thanks to you," Yukimura grumbled, his eyes opening.
"Sorry," Thai apologized, his eyes opening as well.
"Whatever," Yukimura tiredly said. He turned around and faced Thai. His hand reached up to Thai's face and caressed his cheek. Thai giggled softly. "How about this then?" Yukimura said. "Let's focus on defeating the enemy."
"Were we not doing that earlier?" Thai dryly quipped. "I distinctly remember driving my horse into another."
"Duh, dummy!" Yukimura chuckled. "But, we do that and we get to go back to Ueda, then we can get a room together."
Thai rolled his eyes, but his lips perked up into a smile. "Sure-sure," he said. "Although it's going to be a weird family reunion for you two, I bet."
Yukimura nodded, his hand sliding down Thai's cheek and onto the futon. "Yeah," he sighed. "Let's just hope he doesn't betray us. We need his help."
Thai nodded silently. "...weird question, but remember when you guys ambushed me and Nobuyuki?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Why'd he call you 'Nobushige'?" Thai asked. "Was that your actual name?"
Yukimura nodded. "Yeah, that's my name. Nobushige Sanada," Yukimura answered.
"Nobushige..." Thai repeated softly. "Why'd you change it?"
Yukimura shrugged his brow. "When Lord Shingen and I were exiled, we went by different names to avoid suspicion from enemy spies that possibly followed us," Yukimura explained. "I went by 'Yukimura' for so long that it stuck."
"That's it?" Thai asked.
"Yeah," Yukimura said, "What? Were you expecting something different?"
"I dunno," Thai said, "I'm just tired."
"We would've been asleep if you weren't constantly bothering me with questions," Yukimura snarkily commented.
"Sorry," Thai sarcastically remarked. "I guess you should just run laps until you fall asleep. I'll wait for you here."
Yukimura scoffed before climbing on top of Thai. Thai's eyes widened, a devious glow in Yukimura's auburn eyes. Before Thai knew it, the Peerless Warrior's hand reached under Thai's yukata, revealing a small bottle. Thai stifled a gasp, his cheeks turning red as he averted his gaze from Yukimura. "Don't act like you didn't know it was under there," Yukimura said with a smirk.
Thai guffawed as he looked back up at Yukimura. "Hey, you were the one that put ideas into my head. I thought tonight would be the night."
"Well..." Yukimura murmured as he lowered himself onto Thai, placing a deep kiss on the smaller man's lips. "If you're still up for it, I think we can both find a way to get a good night's rest."
Thai giggled. His legs rose around Yukimura's waist before wrapping snuggly around his muscular body. His hand delicately laid itself across Yukimura's chest, eliciting a faint gap from the Peerless Warrior. "You sure about this?" Thai asked. "I thought it was late?"
"Of course," Yukimura smiled. "Frankly, I was wondering when we would get to this point. Besides, don't I owe you a massage?"
Thai chuckled. "Well, alright then—mmhm!"
Yukimura stole Thai's words with another wild kiss. Their tongues clashed and soon Yukimura tore off Thai's yukata. Their deepened kiss ignited a frenzy inside the two men, their hearts beating wildly within their chests. His hand reached Thai's cheek as his hips rose, pulling Thai's hips upward.
Their lips finally parted, Yukimura resting his warm forehead atop Thai's. "Are you ready?" Yukimura softly gasped. A nod from the smaller male was all he needed to continue.
Their passion burned throughout the night, their love hidden in the dark. Their night together marked the mutual start of a new life together—a promise to one another to face the coming war for a future together.
One and a Half Years Later....
The fire was larger than he would have expected. Even in the cool night shrouding the forest, Thai could feel the heat of the flames devouring the infamous temple of Honno-Ji. He felt almost sorry for the demon warlord that was inside the temple, yet he knew Nobunaga's death was for the better.
He turned to Sasuke next to him, his stoic look behind his glasses glowing with the light of the fire ahead. Thai patted him on the shoulder and lightly shook him, yet the stoic shinobi didn't react. Thai's other hand reached inside his kimono and took out his flask. He promptly unscrewed the cap and tilted the flask, allowing some of the dark-colored bourbon inside to drip freely onto the ground.
"Nobunaga wasn't one of the 'homies,' wasn't he?" Sasuke asked.
Thai snickered. "Wh-What? No, just...I mean, yeah, he's our enemy, but damn. What a way to go."
Thai took a swig of his flask before capping and returning it to his kimono. "Are you alright? Wasn't it Nobunaga you kinda liked?"
"I've grown a fondness over all of history's warlords, not just Nobunaga. Although, yes, it is a solemn moment. I feel we should observe a moment of silence for Japanese History's most ambitious warlord."
Thai shrugged. "What the hell, why not?"
Sasuke bowed towards the temple as Thai began to draw a catholic cross across his head and chest. He began to silently say a prayer to himself, yet he knew with Nobunaga gone, his life with Yukimura had a far better outcome.
Now it was just a matter of mopping up the enemy forces and...wait!
Sasuke and Thai gasped as two figures ran out of the burning temple. One was a dark-haired man donned in black armor and the other was—
"Holy shit!" Thai cursed aloud. "Oh, my God! Is that...?"
"It's her!" Sasuke confirmed after taking out a pair of modern-day binoculars. "And that's—"
"Goddamn Nobunaga," Thai said, "Life certainly is a Mystery."
5 notes
·
View notes