#here’s your fish scale hairpin are you happy now

[stardustizuku]

Rozemyne really claims Ferdinand wouldn’t keep a promise he made to her

But that man kept even joke promises to her and has done everything to keep her safe

[broken-clover]

12 Days of Whump- Delirium

Here we are! And close to Chrimbus, too. Merry Christmas, here’s some more pain. I kid, I kid. I still hope you like this one! Thanks for tuning in, I had a lot of fun with this project!

Day 12 of the 12 days of Whump- Delirium, with Amang!

Sapphire eyes watched intently, keeping close attention on the dozen and a half boys working in front of him. His gaze was just as much worried care as it was calm observance. While the children nailed planks, looped ropes, and drilled holes, he made sure everyone was remaining safe, with no loose extremities getting snagged or nicked or banged up.

“Well done, boys, very well done!” Amane smiled warmly, offering a little clap. “I couldn’t be more proud. We’ll be as good as new in no time! Haruka, watch your sleeve, I don’t want you getting snagged on the tarp.”

“Ok, papa!”

“Sora, try to keep your arm straight when you hammer, it’ll make it easier to aim.”

“Got it, Ama-san!”

The dancer caught a blue-haired old boy as he was walking past with a box of tools. “Madoka?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I’m going to step out for a little while, can I trust you to be in charge?”

His dour expression lit up immediately. “Absolutely, sir!”

“Wonderful. Be good while I’m gone.”

As soon as Amane turned and began walking away, he heard Madoka make a panicked squawk. “Yuji, put the saw down right now!!”

He laughed at that, knowing full well that Madoka was overreacting as he tended to. Amane didn’t even break his gait as he walked away from the half-repaired caravan and towards the nearest building. Ronin-gai really was a pretty little place. He really would have liked to visit more often, when they weren’t using it as a place of refuge while the caravan was being fixed. The locals were always good at making them feel welcome. He attributed it at least in part to the open-hearted nature of their leader, even if that was a little biased.

The house he entered was simple, modest. There was very little obstructing Amane between the front stoop and the bedroom. The feeling of tatami under his feet was familiar as he kicked his geta off by the entrance. It had become an odd kind of comfort, a sensation associated with a familiar place and a familiar face.

The bedroom’s curtains were pulled back, letting in the sight of the afternoon sun and falling leaves. Amane hardly paid the sight a look as he knelt down by the bed and reached for a wet cloth.

“This one’s gotten warm, hmm?”

He dropped it in the bowl by his side, fishing around and pulling out another one that was less warm to the touch. After wringing it out to keep the material from dripping, Amane replaced the one he’d taken. Almost immediately after, he had to move to put it back in place, due to the displeased squirming underneath.

Amane frowned. “Bang, please hold still.”

He got no reply, of course, because the man was still half-conscious as best. It didn’t stop Amane from talking to him either way. “I’m going to replace the bandage now, so just try and stay calm. I promise it’ll only hurt for a minute or two.”

He tugged down the blanket that he’d tossed over Bang after the last time. The arm nearest him was wrapped in a stained bandage, which he eyed with concern and faint disgust. Despite his hesitance, he unpinned the end and began unraveling the material.

The task gradually grew more difficult as more came off. Even without being awake, Bang started wriggling and squirming, which only made the whole ordeal take longer. Amane tried not to flinch as the layers grew more soaked underneath, with rust-colored flakes of dried blood flaking off onto the tatami.

“Oh, Bang…”

With a bit of morbid curiosity, the dancer leaned in a little, slender fingers lightly fanning over the too-warm, reddened skin. He didn’t dare drift too close to the large chunk of flesh that was missing, more than slightly due to the unpleasant-smelling muck that stained the wound.

Amane discarded the old bandage immediately, using his Drive to summon some extra fabric. He continued to glance at the injury between measurements, trying to determine how long to make the new strand.

“Don’t I always tell you to not be so reckless? I’m just trying to look out for you.” The man sighed, slicing off the end of the new material with one of his hairpins. “...Then again, you did save my boys. I think Koichi would have lost his whole arm if you hadn’t jumped in the way.”

One end of the strand was carefully placed by the wound’s edge, and he began wrapping it back up. “I’m not sure why bandits keep trying to attack us. Perhaps now they’ll learn not to try. Even if they do bring wolfhounds with them…”

He laughed a little at his own poor joke, but it petered out in the otherwise quiet room. Amane leaned over to stroke a warm cheek, burying fingers in the shaggy sideburns.

“Litchi will be here soon with the antibiotics. Just hold out a little longer for me, okay? You’re strong, I know you can do this. Please.”

As he finished wrapping up the infected wound, he felt muscles tensing under his touch. He tried to be gentler, thinking that the roughness was making the injured man recoil in pain, he pulled back in shock when Bang started sitting up, rubbing at his eyes with his good arm.

A moment later, he caught sight of Amane.

“T-Tenjo-sama?”

Amane tried to push him back down, gently but firmly. “It’s alright. Just lie still.”

The ninja complied, but he continued to stare with wide, feverish eyes. After a moment, he began tearing up.

“Oh, no, no…” Amane’s face fell. “Shh-shh-shh, it’s alright. You’re alright.”

“Ten-Tenjo-sama…”

He tried to think of something to say. How bad had the fever gotten? “She’s busy right now. She’ll be back as soon as she can. I’ll look after you until then, alright? I promise I’ll take good care of you.”

In spite of his efforts, Bang sat back up. And to Amane’s eternal confusion, despite his teary eyes, he began to smile.

“Tenjo-sama! Tenjo-sama! You came back!”

“I- what?” Even with all the oddness he had seen, Amane was utterly lost. He’d heard Bang mention his beloved master before, but he didn’t have much to piece together aside from her cruel death and the fact that Bang had a great fondness and respect for her. He assumed, though the infection and fever, the man had gotten a little delirious and begun hallucinating.

He was proven wrong rather quickly, as a pair of arms wrapped around his lithe body is a bone-crushing hug. “I missed you so much! You’re finally back!”

Amane glanced around, not entirely sure how to react. He managed to push Bang off and briefly looked over his arm, just to make sure the bleeding hadn’t worsened.

The ninja tilted his head, a smile still on his face. “Aren’t you happy to see me, Tenjo-sama?”

“Ah...y-yes, that’s right. Were you good while I was out?” Amane spat out without really thinking.

He nodded fiercely. “Uh-huh! I did all my lessons! And I’m getting better at climbing walls! I managed to scale the west edge without falling once!” His grin somehow grew even wider. “So you know what that means!”

The dancer put on a nervous smile. “O-of course I do, Bang!”

“Pat my head! I did good, so that means I get a head-pat!”

In spite of the confusion and awkwardness of it, Amane had to stifle a laugh of his own as he ruffled Bang’s hair. He seemed positively elated by it, practically bouncing in place.

“Haha! I missed you so much, Tenjo-sama! I’ve got a bunch of stuff to tell you!”

Amane figured, if he kept the man talking, he wouldn’t do anything reckless. And if he was very lucky, it would tire him out enough to make him go back to sleep.

“Oh? Why don’t you tell me everything, Bang?”

“Ok! Ok!” He clapped his hands together. “I met a really cool new friend! His name’s Amane-kun! And he’s got pretty purple hair just like yours!”

He was starting to put the pieces together. It seemed that in his delirious mind, he looked just enough like Tenjo to have them confused. It took him far too long to recognize the rest of what had been said.

“You think I- that he’s ‘cool?’”

“Uh-huh! Amane-kun is super super cool! He’s got a fancy scarf too! Not as cool as my hero scarf, but he can do magic with his, and I can’t do that!”

Amane was torn between blushing and laughter, so he did a bit of both. “Aww. He sounds interesting. Is he nice?”

“Mmm…” Bang paused. “A little scary. But he’s really nice when you get to know him! We sparred under the big tree the other day!”

He could vaguely recall that fight from a few months back. He also distinctly remembered the part where they both crashed into each other, with him landing on top of Bang in a very...awkward position.

“Well, I’m very glad you’re making new friends, Bang.”

“I really like Amane-kun! He’s awesome! He can fight and is really pretty and he dances with a bunch of people, an- and he promised to show me sometime!”

That Amane recalled much more thoroughly. In fact, it had been the reason they’d been heading that direction in the first place. He had finally wanted to put on a show at Ronin-gai.

If he didn’t know better, he would have said that Bang was blushing. But with the fever, it was difficult to tell. “Are you alright?”

“Can I marry Amane-kun?”

“Wh- I-” The dancer was at a loss for words, with a blush of his own overtaking his face.

Bang hardly seemed to notice, turning away and picking at one of the tatami panels by his bed. With a few attempts, he managed to pull it back, and retrieved something from a crevice underneath.

He gave Amane a conspiratorial look as he turned back around, keeping something concealed in his big hands. “Can I show you something super-super secret?”

“I...of course you can, Bang. You can always trust me.”

With shaking hands, the ninja revealed a little blue box. He flipped the top open, revealing a beautiful silvery ring, set with a glimmering sapphire stone.

“I wanna marry Amane-kun! Then we can be heroes and dance together and stuff!”

Amane felt like he was experiencing something he wasn’t meant to. He suddenly felt much more aware of the fact that he was more-or-less impersonating someone who had been dead for at least a decade and being privy to his own surprise proposal. Then again, he wasn’t sure just how much of it had to be real, and what had to be fever-induced babbling. The ring was clear as day, though. Was it really for him? Could it be?

Just as quickly, Bang closed the box and stashed it back away. “Shhhh! You can’t tell him! It’s super-secret!”

Still, Amane nodded. “Of course. I won’t tell a soul.”

“Haha! Thanks, Tenjo-sama!”

Before the dancer would think of something else to say, he watched Bang stretch, letting out a noisy yawn. He flinched, grabbing at the bandaged portion of his arm.

“Bang, are you alright?”

“I think I hurt myself today.” He replied, tone swiftly saddening. “I think I hurt myself real bad, Tenjo-sama. Am I gonna die?”

With a little smile of his own, Amane reached out to pat his head again. “No, Bang. Just as long as you get plenty of sleep. Can you do that for me?”

He nodded affirmatively, though it was sluggish. “Can I sleep in your lap again?”

Amane tried not to go red again. “You’ve gotten awfully big. I don’t think you’ll fit.” He noticed the man slump immediately. “Ah- um, but you can rest your head on me, if you’d like! But you’ve got to go to sleep right away.”

That seemed to be enough of a compromise. “Ok!

He moved to help guide the man down, to make sure he didn’t slip or hit his head on anything. While initially a bit hesitant about the concept, Amane found the feeling remarkably pleasant. Bang found a comfortable spot leaning up against the other man’s leg, and quickly settled down.

“G’night…Tenjo-sama...”

Amane let his fingers get buried in dark brown hair once again, gently petting it until Bang fell asleep in his lap.