They meet again on the battlefield.

Kisuke is late this time, having been caught up in clearing out a monster nest, and isn’t paying attention to his senses the way he should. He’s late, and the Invasion has already begun, and who knows how many people have already died because of his incompetence—

He skids to a stop on the edge of the battleground, eyes widening as he takes in the sheer devastation, the dead and dying monsters, the torn up ground…

And Erich in the midst of it all, exhausted but still fighting, emerald power flaring around his body like roaring flames, tearing through the monsters that remain.

Kisuke wills himself to turn away, to leave before the man spots him, but—

There are more monsters pouring through the Otherworld Tear, the Invasion larger than any other Kisuke has seen to date, and if he leaves…

If he leaves, he doesn’t know if Erich will survive.

So he draws his blade and plunges into the fight, carving a path to Erich’s side without a second thought; they’ve fought together before — fought well together before — and for all he suspects that Erich wants him dead, he doubts the man will sink to stabbing him in the back.

(Erich seems more like a stab-in-the-front sort of man.)

(It’s refreshing.)

Erich casts a startled look his way, then bares his teeth in a grin and says, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Maa, I was a bit delayed, sorry!” Kisuke replies as he settles in to fight at Erich’s side. It’s almost like breathing, if Kisuke’s being honest, the two of them flowing around each other as if they’ve done this all their lives, and in moments they’ve regained the upper hand. They start pushing the monsters back, destroying the invaders with negligent ease, and then—

“Look out!”

Kisuke looks up. Looks over. Curses at the sight of a Behemoth’s head emerging from the Tear, a bright cerulean orb of power already gathering in its mouth.

A Behemoth’s Cero will wipe them and the town behind them off the map.

He can’t let that happen.

“Awaken, Benihime!” Kisuke cries before he can think better of it, plucking at her awareness and rousing her from her rest. She uncoils from within his soul, stretching through his body to reach beyond him, layering crimson power across his blade as he keeps fighting, keeps killing, his attention on the Behemoth as he waits for the right moment—

“Nake, Benihime!” he shouts, slashing his blade through the air as the Behemoth fires its Cero.

Behind him, Erich sucks in a shocked breath as crimson blasts slam into the Behemoth’s cerulean Cero, the two attacks wavering in the air for one.

Brief.

Moment—

Kisuke crows his victory as the Cero evaporates into a small shockwave that knocks lesser monsters aside, then darts forward, another “Nake, Benihime!” calling forth a second arc of crimson blasts that tear through the monsters before him. He leaps. Brings his blade to bear. Cries “Kamisori, Benihime!” as he slashes down, and—

The Behemoth shrieks once, high-brittle-final, before its head tumbles to the ground and its body falls back within the Tear.

(*What barely suitable prey it was,*) Benihime scoffs in his mind as she begins to withdraw, then pauses to peer through his senses. (*So this is who you’ve been so wound up about,*) she purrs, presence draping across his mind with a sensation like sharp nails across his shoulders. (*How interesting.*)

(*Hime…*) Kisuke tries, hoping that he can dissuade her from… from whatever she’s intending, though the effort only earns him a throaty chuckle.

Honestly, he can understand why she’s fascinated, because he’s fascinated too; Erich is using the opening Kisuke gave him to completely destroy the few remaining monsters, his body limned with emerald power and his eyes practically glowing. It doesn’t take long before the battlefield is still and the Tear slowly, reluctantly closes, leaving behind another ruined area littered with bodies.

As if the Tear’s presence was the only thing keeping him up, Erich immediately crumples as his power fades away.

Kisuke bolts to Erich’s side with a curse, barely remembering to sheathe Benihime before he gets close enough to appear a threat. He kneels at the man’s side, scanning for any hint of a wound, but—

“Just tired,” Erich grunts as he reaches up with one trembling hand and shoves sweat-soaked hair out of his face. “I’ll be fine after some rest.”

“Maa… will you… let me help you back?” Kisuke hesitantly asks, then flinches at the bone dry look Erich levels at him in response. “It’s fine if you don’t want me to! But you seem, uhm, that is…”

Erich stares at him for a long moment, then huffs and holds out a hand. “Getting back up by myself is going to be… difficult,” he admits with a grimace. “Help me up and I’ll give you directions to my place here.”

“R-right, yes. I can do that.” Kisuke swallows at the implied invitation back to Erich’s dwelling and forces himself to focus; now isn’t the time to get lost in daydreams, especially with Erich in no condition to do anything but sleep.

(Still, a man can dream, can’t he?)

(Wait, no, damnit!)

(He needs to stop getting distracted!)

Ignoring Benihime’s wicked laughter, Kisuke pulls Erich’s arm over his shoulder and wraps his free arm around the man’s waist, then grunts as he heaves them both to their feet in an awkward, almost drunken stumble. Erich tenses in his grip, gaze slanting wary-uncertain-cautious, then breathes a soft sigh and slumps into Kisuke’s side, letting Kisuke carry most of his weight.

The trip back is slow and painful, the ground too torn and strewn with monstrous bodies for it to be anything else, but they make it back to town in one piece. From there, Erich directs him through the winding streets to another large, multi-family building, then up the stairs and down the hall.

Kisuke already suspects he knows where Erich’s room is: there’s a bucket and a tub set beside one door in particular, both filled with steaming water, just like there was at Erich’s other place. “Do you have people do your laundry at every town?” he asks in amusement as the approach the door.

Erich shrugs awkwardly and straightens up a bit, tugging at his blood-stained shirt in an effort to work it free. “Monster blood stains quickly,” is all he says.

Kisuke snorts but concedes the point: part of why he wears such dark clothing is because of how easily monster blood stains things. He just… finds it amusing that people simply leave buckets of steaming water outside Erich’s door any time a fight happens. “Come on,” he says as he skillfully fishes Erich’s key out of the man’s own pocket and unlocks the door, ignoring Erich’s offended squawk as he does. “In we go. I’ll take care of bringing your clothes back out.”

“Someone’s handsy tonight,” Erich mutters as they enter the room. “And when I’m in no state to appreciate it, too.”

Benihime cackles in Kisuke’s mind as his mouth goes dry and his mind swirls with ideas. “I’m certain I could still make you feel good,” he blurts out, then immediately ducks his head as his cheeks flame.

(Oh heavens above, what has he just done?!)

(Erich is going to kill him!)

“I might just take you up on that,” Erich says with a smirk, then slips free of Kisuke’s grip and settles on a stool with a soft groan of relief. “Though I make no promises on how long I’ll stay awake,” he admits as he starts to pull his clothing off, completely unbothered by Kisuke’s presence.

Kisuke’s mind goes blank-still-fuzzy at Erich’s words, his body acting on instinct to accept the man’s clothes as they’re handed to him.

(Erich wants…?)

(Erich— Erich still wants him?)

(Really?)

He swallows back his disbelief and forces a smile on his face. “Maa, that won’t be a problem at all,” he promises as he steps away to drop Erich’s soiled clothing into the tub of steaming water in the hall, then grabs the bucket, closes the door, and returns to Erich’s side with it. “If I can help you sleep, I’m certainly not going to complain.”

Erich gives him a considering look, then leans over to pull the washcloth from the bucket and wring it out. “There aren’t many who’d agree to that,” he says as he swipes the cloth over his skin to wipe away the worst of the grime.

“Aha, well, I’m hardly your average person,” Kisuke jokes weakly, then takes a steadying breath and leans over, plucking the washcloth from Erich’s hand before the man can protest. He rinses it out, wrings the excess water from it, then straightens up and begins to carefully clean Erich’s body. He takes it slow, watchful for any wounds, and just… lets himself enjoy the moment.

Erich leans into his touch with a quiet hum, head tipping down until his chin is touching his chest and his breathing begins to even out. It’s clear he’s enjoying it, especially when Kisuke gives in and rests a hand on Erich’s shoulder. That earns him a soft, pleased noise and a tiny shift to press closer.

Even the way Benihime is humming beneath his skin isn’t enough to bother Kisuke; her presence is warm-familiar-known and she doesn’t feel bloodthirsty, just curious.

It’s soothing, if he’s being honest; Benihime rarely involves herself in his personal life, but she does tend to make her opinions known if he accidentally wakes her. That she seems to like Erich is… it’s good. It’s a relief. It means he won’t have to be on guard at all times.

Kisuke drops the washcloth into the dirtied water and gives Erich a quick once-over; the man is as clean as he can get without a proper bath, and Kisuke hasn’t yet found any wounds, but he still worries. Worries enough to gather his flagging strength into a healing kido, to press it deep into Erich’s body—

Benihime crows her victory and rushes through his arm, using his kido as a bridge to dive into Erich’s body, her influence arcing through the man and tearing a pained cry from his throat.

“No!” Kisuke yelps as he hauls at Benihime’s presence, trying desperately to yank her back, to pull her away before she can do something irreversible—!

(*He has been wounded time and time again,*) she whispers in his mind, a smug-cheerful-pleased chuckle in her words. (*Feel how ragged he’s been run, my Kisuke. Feel it!*)

And through her, he can: a lifetime of combat has carved its mark deep into Erich’s body, with deep, hidden scars taking their toll on him one battle at a time. And Benihime sweeps into them, pressing the sense of damaged bone-injured joint-scarred muscle into Kisuke’s mind as she sinks her nails into each bit of damage, each spark of pain—

“He didn’t agree!” Kisuke protests, ragged-helpless-aching as Benihime drags strength from his body and into Erich’s. As she tears apart Erich’s old wounds and repairs him. Strengthens him. Builds him anew.

Erich gasps and slumps forward, toppling from the stool and to the floor, tearing away their connection as he does. He groans, weakly shoving himself over onto his back, and stares up at Kisuke with wide, confused eyes as he forces out a breathless, “K-Kisuke…? What…?”

Kisuke scrambles to his feet and stumbles back, legs barely holding him after Benihime’s unexpected actions. She’s purring in the back of his mind, pleased-content-satisfied, and it makes him sick with shock; Shinigami contract with Otherworld Beings to gain their strength, but this… he’s never heard of a contract spirit doing something so against their partner’s will!

What else has she been holding back? What other things has she done that he doesn’t know?!

“Kisuke…?” Erich prompts again, pushing himself up on one trembling elbow. “You okay…?”

“Sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t know— she’s never—” Kisuke takes a breath, his hand trembling with shock as he shoves it through his hair and looks away, unable to meet Erich’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” he forces out with as much strength as he can, before he turns and bolts.

(There’s no way Erich will want him around after that.)

(What has he done?!)