Chapter Text
“Thank you for your cooperation, Hyoga. I’m looking forward to building a new world with you.”
Hyoga quirked his eyebrow almost imperceptibly. Ukyo wondered if Tsukasa noticed. If he did, he didn’t say anything, simply offering Hyoga the patented Tsukasa Smile.
“I’ll show you to the fortress, I’m sure this has all been quite a shock to your system so let’s relax and have some food for the evening.”
The three men turned to leave, Ukyo lagging behind a little. Despite his tendency for smashing statues (killing people, Ukyo), Ukyo liked Tsukasa and could see that underneath it all he was just doing what he thought was best for everyone. He had been nothing but kind to Ukyo and, from what he had observed by his side, he was a good leader. No one went hungry or cold on his watch and he seemed to have a genuine care for each and every member of the so-called empire. For now, he was the best chance humanity had at survival. But this Hyoga…
He stood tall and stoic, matching Tsukasa’s pace. To the untrained eye, it might look as though he could never match Tsukasa in battle – but Ukyo knew better. He had seen how easily he took down a legion of the kingdom’s strongest warriors using his own weapon. Yes, it was impressive, and the kingdom needed all the protection it could get, but it made Ukyo uneasy to say the least. He couldn’t get a good read on Hyoga at all.
For one thing, he had barely glanced at Ukyo at all from the moment he was revived, despite him accompanying them the whole time. Sure, compared to Tsukasa, his strength and charisma were severely lacking, but he had barely caught his eye at all. His attention was trained on Tsukasa and only Tsukasa. He seemed barely interested in the state of the new world, something which Ukyo found hard to believe. He had seen his fair share of revivals in the last few months, and they all had at least displayed some kind of shock upon seeing just how much of the world had eroded. Ukyo could empathise, it had taken him a few days to get over the initial revelation. Yet Hyoga’s expression had never faltered beyond quietly listening and observing. He couldn’t be that disciplined, could he?
Tsukasa had already made it clear to Ukyo that he envisioned Hyoga having a commanding role alongside them, essentially for him to become Tsukasa’s right hand. It hadn’t escaped his attention that Tsukasa and the others saw Ukyo as Tsukasa’s closest confidant, but there were some things that he knew that Tsukasa wasn’t telling even him. He was preparing for something. The idea made Ukyo nervous. What did he specifically need Hyoga for? Was he keeping it from him because he could sense Ukyo’s discontent with his statue smashing?
Ukyo wasn’t particularly worried for himself. Even if Tsukasa were aware of his distaste, he wasn’t a cold-hearted killer and it wasn’t as though Ukyo could pose any threat to him. He still trusted him enough to guard his and Hyoga’s first meeting after all. No, it was whatever Tsukasa had planned for Hyoga’s first mission that set Ukyo on edge. They were discussing it now up ahead. Hyoga had only been revived for a couple of hours and Tsukasa was already briefing him to head out on a scouting mission in the morning.
If it’s just a scouting mission, why not send me or Homura? And wasn't Gen already in that area? Ukyo pondered to himself. Nevertheless, that’s all that they were talking about for now. I’ll just have to keep an eye on those two.
Back at the camp, Hyoga never left Tsukasa’s side. This was common for new revivals as Tsukasa’s presence did offer a strange comfort. Ukyo had clung to him for the first few days, too. A group of them were sitting in a circle around the fire, sharing a meal. Ukyo sat across from them sandwiched between two muscular giants. He wasn’t weak by any means but being around the other big fighters in the group did leave him feeling rather diminutive. He tried to ignore the mental image of being crushed between narrowing walls as he watched Hyoga’s face in the firelight. Tsukasa had summoned Homura over and was introducing her. Apparently, she was to accompany him in the morning. It was hard to tell with the mask obscuring his expression, but Hyoga seemed to be smiling and engaging in the conversation. Maybe there was nothing to worry about after all.
Ukyo felt a little tension leave his body, but that only seemed to open the floodgates to his exhaustion. As a member of the navy, his body was well used to late nights and early mornings, but the level of alertness he needed for this stone world was still foreign to him, and the sun had set many hours ago. He rested his cheek on his hand, still not taking his eyes off Hyoga. He felt his eyelids begin to droop and decided to close his eyes for a long moment.
He jumped awake when a large, calloused hand clamped down on his shoulder. Well, clamped maybe wasn’t the right word he thought upon hearing Tsukasa’s gentle whispering in his ear, but where Tsukasa was concerned even a gentle pat could feel aggressive when he takes you by surprise. Even his whisper so close to Ukyo’s ear sounded so loud at first that Ukyo could hardly focus on the words. He turned his head to face Tsukasa’s looming form behind him.
“Sorry, Tsukasa, what was that?”
Tsukasa smiled patiently in response, “I was just saying that I was going to turn in for the night, are you ready to go?”
Ukyo flushed when he realised the situation, Tsukasa must have noticed him closing his eyes (no, sleeping…) and come over to collect him and spare him the embarrassment.
“Ah… sure…”
Ukyo straightened up as Tsukasa addressed the group, “Goodnight, everyone. Please, continue to enjoy yourselves.”
The rabble cheered and called their goodnights. Ukyo’s sensitive ears rang at the volume, but he did appreciate the camaraderie even if he felt strangely separate from it.
“I’m sorry about that, Tsukasa. I’ll be fine on my own if you want to stay up.”
Tsukasa shook his head, solemn.
“You know I can’t do that, Ukyo. Besides, it’s been a long day.”
Ukyo understood. Tsukasa had advised that no one was allowed to be left alone at night. The winter had been difficult for many, and Tsukasa despised that any members of the empire had been lost to something as trivial as an animal attack or the cold. It was much safer to stick with someone, and Ukyo was thankful to have Tsukasa nearby.
“I’ll get the fire started,” Ukyo said as they approached the part of the fortress-like cave they called home. Just one more corner to turn.
“Ah, that won’t be necessary.”
Ukyo looked at Tsukasa in quiet confusion as they rounded the corner but understood as shadows from firelight began to dance across Tsukasa’s face and he heard the familiar crackle.
“Oh,” he laughed softly, “It’s really not like you to leave a fire unatte-”
He stopped in his tracks as upon looking at their “room”. Animal hides lay around a small campfire, all meant to keep them warm through the night. That wasn’t odd. What was odd was that Hyoga was sitting upright on one of the hides, his spear lying beside him.
Oh.
Ukyo wasn’t sure why he didn’t expect this, or why he felt so unsettled by the sight. It made sense that Hyoga would stay with them, Tsukasa had as good as said it when he implied the role he had envisioned for him.
Hyoga stared at them quietly. Ukyo produced a smile. Nothing from Hyoga. Nice.
“Ah, did I not mention to you that Hyoga will be joining us? I apologise.”
“Oh no don’t worry!” Ukyo met Tsukasa’s eyes, “I was just a little surprised. Long day, you know?”
Tsukasa hummed in agreement and moved to sit on the hide beside Hyoga.
Reluctantly, Ukyo settled down on his own hide, watching carefully. How could Tsukasa trust him enough to sleep next to that man, and with his weapon of choice so nearby? Ukyo really had a bad feeling about him, did Tsukasa not feel the same? Or is he just so powerful that he doesn’t have to worry about suspecting anyone?
He shook the thought away as he lay down properly. Tsukasa was careful. There was no way he would overlook such a threat. Ukyo was just being paranoid. Hyoga needed his spear in case there was an attack in the night. Heck, Ukyo’s own bow was still on his back for the very same reason. Not everyone could fight off attackers with their bare hands like Tsukasa. He stared into the fire as he contemplated the situation.
Even if Ukyo didn’t trust Hyoga at all, attacking Tsukasa or him in the middle of the night would only result in his own demise. Tsukasa never let his guard down. It was kind of incredible how quickly he could spring into action. Hyoga must be able to sense this as a skilled fighter himself. Besides, it wasn’t as though Ukyo himself were helpless. He was military trained and had his own weapon. Plus, his hearing would alert him to anything amiss right away. Not to mention his own anxious nature meant that he wasn’t quick to let his guard down either.
He needed to stop overthinking it, but that was easier said than done. He pulled the animal hide around himself and continued to stare into the fire. Tsukasa and Hyoga spoke to one another in hushed tones, but nothing Ukyo needed to listen in on. Mainly pleasantries and further explanations of the state of the world and Tsukasa’s vision.
To be so young and so jaded… What must Tsukasa’s life have been like before the petrification? Ukyo wondered not for the first time. He felt his eyelids droop again just as Hyoga leaned closer to Tsukasa, whispering something in his ear. Tsukasa smiled and Ukyo’s exhaustion finally won, dragging him into a deep sleep.
~
“AH!”
Ukyo was instantly alert at the sound, eyes open and hand on the bow at his back. A few hours must have passed – the fire had died down to a glowing ember. Ukyo crawled through the darkness to where Tsukasa lay and reached his hand out, feeling around the hide.
Nothing.
Ukyo’s heart pounded in his chest. Tsukasa wasn’t here. He crawled to where he had last seen Hyoga and felt around as his eyes began to adjust to the darkness.
Nothing.
He felt his hands begin to shake and tried to control his breathing. Okay. Okay. Okay, so they aren’t here. He should have heard a commotion or even them getting up to leave. He always heard when Tsukasa got up to go to the bathroom for God’s sake. How could his ears fail him now?
“Tsukasa?” he called softly. No response. “Hyoga?”
“Ah!” he heard again. It sounded like a cry of pain. Dammit! He crawled in the direction of the sound. How could he have let this happen? He should have listened to his own intuition and warned Tsukasa. Now he was being attacked and…
*CLATTER*
He heard the sound of a spear rolling around the floor just as he bumped into something. Hyoga didn’t have his spear with him. Why on earth would he attack Tsukasa without it?
He stood up fully and crept soundlessly in the direction of the fight. As he got closer, he could hear muffled cries of pain and laboured breathing. The sounds weren’t coming from Tsukasa.
Ukyo’s whole body tensed and he felt moisture begin to creep across his brow. If Hyoga were truly unarmed, this could be utter slaughter. Even if Hyoga had attacked first, this wasn’t right. He was too much of a coward to do a damn thing about the statue smashing, but Ukyo had broken up many fights among the people, this would be no different. Whatever this was about, nobody had to die over it. Steeling himself with that resolve, he continued to follow the noises.
Feeling along the cave wall as he went, Ukyo went over the situation in his head. Now that he had calmed down a little, his rational mind realised that the sounds he was hearing were quite unusual. It was clear that the pained exclamations were Hyoga’s, but apart from the couple of louder ones, the sounds were unusually muffled. The quality wasn’t obscured by distance – Ukyo’s ears could tell – no, it was as though Hyoga’s cries were being deliberately covered.
Ukyo froze in place. Tsukasa wasn’t… torturing him, was he? Thinking about it, he could imagine Tsukasa pushing someone for answers, but what on earth could Hyoga know mere hours after being revived? All of his old world knowledge would be irrelevant save for his fighting skills unless…
Could Hyoga have known the man who revived Tsukasa? Ukyo still hadn’t heard the full story. Tsukasa hadn’t brought it up to him and it seemed wrong to pry and ask others when he seemed to have such a sadness when he spoke even the minimal amount that Ukyo knew. The emotion which Ukyo knew Tsukasa hid deep within him when it came to that situation could surely dredge up the motivation to torture someone for answers.
He shook his head. There was no use in wasting time speculating. A lump began to form in his throat as he realised that the sounds were leading him to what was essentially a holding cell for any would-be criminals or intruders. Once he was reached the cell door, he was sure. Tsukasa and Hyoga were definitely in there.
Why wouldn’t he discuss this with me first? Ukyo felt a little hurt even knowing the limits of his own trust in Tsukasa. Of course, he was still worried for Hyoga…
Not wanting to barge right in and cause a scene, Ukyo stood on his tiptoes to peer in through the small gap that acted as a peephole in the door and…
Oh.
Oh.
He clamped his hand over his mouth to keep from exclaiming and slid down onto the ground, face flushed hot.
He began to berate himself in his head. Why. Why. Why hadn’t he seen this coming? Thinking back on it, it was obvious now why the sounds seemed so strange. But still! This was the stone world. Ukyo himself was no prude, but those thoughts hadn’t even crossed his mind during the last few months of adjusting to survival in a primitive land. He had forgotten to take into account that Tsukasa was still only a teenager despite his authoritative presence. Hyoga, too, was a mere nineteen.
Thinking about his terrible mistake, Ukyo could only curl in on himself and shudder in shame. All he could do now was hurry back to the room and forget he had seen anything and try his best to meet their eyes in the morning.
For all the care he had taken in navigating in the first place, he put at least half of his stealth stats into speed this time around. Thankfully, he could move quickly without making much noise. He just wanted to go back to bed and pretend this had all been a terrible dream. The fire was practically out now. He just grimaced at it and turned over, wrapping his animal hide all the way up around his ears.
A little while after, Ukyo couldn’t be sure if it was five or twenty minutes, two quiet pairs of footsteps approached the sleeping area. They were back. Ukyo was curled up like a cat, praying they wouldn’t make too much noise for Tsukasa to notice they must have woken him.
Hyoga settled down almost soundlessly, but Tsukasa took his time looming over Ukyo’s form. He tried his best to even out his breathing and kept his head tilted down until he heard crackling wood. Thank goodness. Tsukasa was just fixing up the campfire. He felt Tsukasa’s gaze pass over him once he was done before he headed back to his usual spot.
“We’re fortunate he was so tired tonight,” Tsukasa whispered, and Ukyo could hear the small smile on his lips, “any other time and he definitely would have heard us.”
Ukyo prickled.
“My apologies, Tsukasa-kun. Indeed, we were rather fortunate.”
Ukyo just rolled his eyes and pulled the brim of his hat down.
Yep, super fortunate.