Chapter Text
Kunikuzushi let out a painful cough into the handkerchief he was holding, pulling back to find an all too familiar crimson staining the white. He sighed, taking another pill to soothe the ache in his throat and lungs. This was an average day for the boy. Waking up to half the day gone, being served food he could barely hold, and spending the remainder of his day in a fit of pain that came from all over his body. At least he had his books and his trusted close companion, his samurai Kazuha to entertain him and take his mind off of the pain. Life had practically always been like this for Kunikuzushi.
He was born a fragile and small thing, to the eternal ruler of Inazuma herself, the Raiden Shogun. Meant to help rule, yet with none of the health to do so. He was always weak, only getting worse with age. Before he realized it, he could barely stand on his own, much less go outside in fear of getting a horrific illness or infection.
It had been years since he was allowed to leave the confines of the palace, the last time he could remember was when he was still a tiny child, only just learning how to run around and play. It was all taken away much too quickly, after he had one day stayed outside for too long, catching a simple cold that had left him bedridden and almost comatose for more than two weeks.
It only escalated from there, with more infections, diseases, and disabilities that left the Raiden Shogun to restrict all outside contact and claimed that her poor child was too weak to help her rule in the future. It had remained that way, with many years of only his maids and mother being his only social contact to the outside world. Though when he was still young, his mother had gotten him a personal samurai to help care for him and his safety at all times, one from the esteemed Kaedehara clan. His name was Kazuha, and much unlike what Kunikuzushi had read in books before of the strict and harsh ways of these warriors, this samurai was soft and caring, showing him the ways of poetry and song.
They fell for each other quite quickly, and Kuni thought of Kazuha as his new world, the outside one meaning a bit less to him now that he had him. Kazuha was tender, always making sure Kuni was comfortable to the best of his abilities. Whenever the sickly boy was suffering in one of his worse bouts of illness, he was always there to rub his back comfortingly and feed him personally when Kuni didn’t have the energy to do it himself. He would stay by his bed all night, watching over him and making sure to be right next to Kuni when he awoke from a nausea induced nightmare. When he couldn’t fall asleep from how much pain he was in, Kazuha would play him a song that seemed to instantly soothe his nerves.
Kunikuzushi learned a lot from Kazuha, and he always wanted to listen to the stories he had to tell from the outside world. He had tried to sometimes beg Kazuha to secretly let him go outside for just a few minutes to experience all these wonders himself, but Kazuha would only give him a sad look through his maple red eyes, shaking his head and claiming he couldn’t risk putting Kunikuzushi in danger like that.
In this way, Kazuha reminded him of his mother. Always putting his health above his heart, even if Kunikuzushi himself wouldn’t care about facing the worst disease just to get more than a glimpse of the world around him. Just because he was a frail, small thing that seemed to need constant care didn’t mean that he was completely helpless. He had passions, dreams, and ideas that he wanted to show and explore to the whole world. But everyone around him seemed to disregard that. He sometimes felt more like a sad, beaten doll to be fixed and kept safe than his own person with aspirations much like everyone else.
“You should eat some more miso soup, you’ve barely touched your other foods these past few days. You're getting even more thin than you already are. To be healthy, you need to have a balanced diet.” Kazuha’s worry broke Kuni out of his thoughts. “Even if I do eat, my body won’t be any more ‘healthy’ than it is now. Plus, my throat hurts too much to even try.” Kuni mumbled.
Kazuha looked at Kuni with sadness and pity. “It’s only soup. It shouldn’t have any large or sharp ingredients that would hurt it even further. Please, just a few more bites at least?” He knew Kazuha hated seeing him this way, depressed and unable to do anything. But he couldn’t help it. When he didn’t even have the energy to write or read, what else was in life? Simply pain, and the breaking of Kazuha’s heart.
Kuni eventually gave in, eating a bit more of the Miso soup, and it did at least quell the hunger in his stomach that he hadn’t even noticed over the rest of his bodily pain. Kazuha put the soup bowl down on the side table before turning his attention back to Kuni with a more serious expression. “Your mo-the Raiden Shogun is coming later to visit you. I wanted to help improve your health a bit more before then, but it seems you've been stricken even more sick than we realized. I’ll try to fetch more medicine for you. Before then, rest up more.” Kazuha placed a hand on Kunikuzushi’s forehead, caressing it gently and brushing strands of hair away from his face.
Kuni groaned, complying and laying down as Kazuha’s hand followed to pet him more.
Kunikuzushi was currently living in an estate that had been gifted to him by his mother farther from the capital, secluded as if even his place of stay being surrounded by people would contaminate him. It made him see his mother less frequently, yet she still made sure to visit or rather ‘check up’ on him as much as possible. He placed an arm above his eyes, covering them. “If she sees me like this, she’ll force more appointments and surgeries on me. And I despise those more than anything.” He sat up again, clapping his hands together. “Please Kazuha, is there any way you can make her stay away a bit longer? Please?..” Kazuha sighed tiredly. “My dove, you know I cannot do that. I do not wish to upset or hurt you, but if the Raiden Shogun has medical ideas that could potentially help you, I myself cannot pass up the opportunity to see you in better health.”
Kuni looked away, closing his eyes. “At this point, I'm already a lost cause...” The samurai looked at him sadly, hearing these words so many times ached his heart. He only wanted to care for his lover so that they could be happy together. “I’ll go fetch some more medicine. I’ll wake you up in a while.” With that, Kazuha left the room to let his object of affection rest up.
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Kazuha silently grabbed the top shelf of pills, pouring two out into his hands along with a glass of water. It seemed they had overdosed Kuni with too many pills that damaged his health beyond what they were expecting. These pills contained a lower amount of what they fed him to keep him ill. Kazuha would never admit it to himself nor his lover, but he was apart of Raiden’s scheme to help keep Kunikuzushi sickly and sedated.
The first time young Kunikuzushi had caught a cold, the Shogun had obsessed over his health, and found a demented love that came from caring for his vulnerable body. She enjoyed watching over him and keeping him completely safe, with no one else allowed to be as close to him as her. When he became his usual self again with the small cold passing eventually, she couldn’t help but feel.. Disappointed. Who was going to care for Kuni and keep him completely and utterly safe more than her? What if he became hurt, or preyed upon for others' own gain? She couldn’t stand these thoughts that invaded her. She needed him in her constant care. More than anything.
The Shogun managed to create pills that would differ in severity of affecting his health. If she was feeling more obsessive than usual, she would feed him the more damaging ones. She was in a state of mania too deep to ever recover from. She loved him more than anything, even if that love in truth was a toxic and abusive one.
“It’s alright my dear Kunikuzushi. Mother is here to help you. Keep sleeping, you’ll feel better soon.”
The Shogun still had her duties as the ruler of Inazuma though. Especially with the recent rebellion occurring on Watatsumi Island putting even more demand on her. As much as she despised the thought, she needed someone else to help care for Kunikuzushi. The maids and guards were worthless to her, and wouldn’t provide her relief if they cared for him. She turned her head to the Kaedehara clan. A loyal adepti-related clan that had had close relations to the Raiden Shogun for centuries. They dealt with the dirtier aspects of Inazuma, raising skilled assassins and samurais.
At a single request, they handed over one of their very own kin to her. A red and white haired samurai that would be the heir to the clan if not for his elder brothers. The clan must have been confident in the boy, as heirs to the clan had adepti blood in them, meaning that they could serve forever until a death by someone else’s hands claimed them. She tasked him with taking care of Kunikuzushi’s health and safety, making him report back to her on any changes Kuni went through. Even Kazuha himself hadn’t expected to fall so immediately deep in love with the boy. To a lesser extent than the Shogun, he also found pleasure in being constantly by Kuni’s side, and him relying heavily on Kazuha for all his needs. Even if it meant poisoning the poor boy, he would do it to ensure their everlasting love.
Both Kazuha and the Raiden Shogun knew of each other's desires for the single boy, and fed off of each other for their own gain. For Raiden, the samurai ensured that her beloved child was kept safe and taken care of (as well as the fact that Kazuha had no qualms of poisoning Kuni and thus would not go against her will), and for Kazuha, the ruler supplied him with all the tools necessary to ensure that he and Kuni would be together for the rest of their eternal lives.
He breaks out of his musings as he hears footsteps nearing him. He turns away from the pantry and steps outside into the hallway. A maid's eyes light up at the sight of him and walk over to him. “Master, her excellency has arrived.” Kazuha hums. “I see. I shall greet her at once.” With a flick of his hand, the maid disappears, scurrying down the hallway out of sight.
He puts the medicine and cup back in the pantry, and started down the hallway to the mansion's entrance to formally greet the Raiden Shogun. He absently wondered what she had in store for their beloved Kunikuzushi this time.