Chapter Text
Akaza hissed in growing annoyance. He could taste the scent of rain in the air. That wasn’t all too surprising, considering it was spring. At any other time he might have been happy about an incoming storm, what sane naga hated water? But considering the still bleeding hole in his stomach, he wasn’t sure how great wind and rain and mud would be for him right now.
He still couldn’t believe this was happening to him again. How many times had he been forced to move territories? Why did that rainbow eyed bastard even want his territory?! He already possessed a large section of the forest considering how strong his magic was.
His damn magic. Akaza couldn’t do anything very impressive. He had heightened senses when it came to danger, and he could see auras. That, and he was faster than most. Those abilities were most likely the only reasons he had survived this long, considering how young he had been when he had first been left on his own, by all means natural selection should have taken care of him a long time ago, but somehow he had gotten lucky enough with his magic development to just barely survive.
Still, even if he was grateful for what magic he had, he couldn’t help but be jealous of the naga that had developed more… offensive magic. The second that ice spike had stabbed into him, he had lost the fight. The injury made it so that it was next to impossible for him to do anything but dodge, and even then, he still sustained more and more injuries. In the end he could either let the other finish him off, or flee.
As the rain started pouring down, the ground below his scale beginning to slick with mud, making his wounds sting even more, Akaza couldn’t help but wish he had just let the other naga kill him.
Where was he even going? Where could he go? He had moved around this forest so much that he knew it like the back of his hand. That included other naga’s territories. The places uninhabited had less food, less water, or were too close to human trails. If Akaza wanted to claim territory he would have to fight for it, and right now he was in no shape for that.
Thunder rumbled over head, the crack of lightning a little too close for the sound to be comfortable, a pounding headache starting to develop behind his eyes. He groaned. He wasn’t even sure of all the places he had been injured. He reached up to touch his neck, hissing softly at the sting. Those claws had been so close to his throat…
Despite the pain, he tried to put pressure on it, using his other clawed hand to press against his stomach wound. He needed these injuries to stop bleeding already, at this point he was going to pass out from blood loss. That fact that he hadn’t already was a miracle. And sure, maybe the fact that he was more focused on moving instead of his still bleeding wounds wasn’t helping much, but he knew for a fact that if he stopped moving he was going to pass out, and if that happened he would be defenseless on the ground.
Normally if he didn’t have a den or burrow to return to at night, he would sleep up in a tree. But the very thought of rough bark scraping along his tail wounds made him shudder, so he kept moving.
It didn’t take much longer though for the pain in his skull to fade into lightheadedness. Despite his best efforts to stop the bleeding, it clearly wasn’t working, and it wasn’t like he was putting pressure on all of his wounds, just the two worst ones.
This sucked. He was going to pass out and die on the forest floor. At this point he really did wish he had let the other naga finish him off, at least then he wouldn’t have fled like a coward before dying.
He barely registered the texture of the ground below him change as he moved across an unnatural path where all foliage and trees had been cleared out. The faint scent of humans hit him, even through all of this rain. Great. If blood loss didn’t kill him tonight maybe a human would.
He was just past the unnatural trail and slithering through grass and foliage again when he lost feeling in every part of his body, not even processing his upper half thudding to the forest floor before he lost consciousness.
The sun was high in the sky this Saturday afternoon, the storm clouds having cleared up soon after dawn. A good thing too because now Kyojuro could go for a hike! One of his favorite parts about where he lived now was the forest trails just behind his house. Though it had pained him to move out, his mother had insisted. After his parents got divorced there really was no reason for him to stick around. Senjuro was living with his mother, and as for his father… well he honestly wasn’t sure. Contact had been cut rather quickly and though Kyojuro felt some guilt over that, he guessed this was the best-case scenario considering everything.
He sighed, shaking the thoughts away. He was meant to be on a relaxing hike! Not ruminating about his parents' divorce.
Birdsong permeated throughout the area, the plants still dripping with rainwater from last night's storm. He tried to walk this trail as often as possible. When he had first started working as a history teacher, he had become a bit of a workaholic. Tengen had taken notice and started dragging him away to the gym. Mitsuri had also caught on and started inviting him out more. The conjoined efforts of the two had been enough to make Kyojuro realize he hadn’t really been living very healthily, so he had started to make an effort to do things for the sake of his own enjoyment whenever he found the chance.
The forest was large with trails running through it for miles, Kyojuro tried to go farther and take different paths whenever he knew he had the time, it was always interesting and fun to slowly build up his own mental map. Of course he knew there was most likely a map of the forest trails online, he didn’t bother looking one up though, he thought it would take the fun away from exploring. Of course there were on occasion trails that had been blocked off and overgrown, or warning signs not to venture away from the paths, but that was fine, there were still plenty of trails that Kyojuro didn’t feel too disappointed about those.
He understood as well. It was a large forest. There were bound to be plenty of wild animals that were best left undisturbed. The signs and abandoned trails were there for the people's safety.
Kyojuro’s foot suddenly caught on something, a tree root maybe? He stumbled just barely catching himself from face planting into the still slightly rain-soaked dirt. He huffed a laugh at himself for being so spaced out, straightening himself up as he glanced back at what he had tripped on, only to have to do a double take.
Blue and gold scales.
Kyojuro felt his heart sink into his stomach as he stared at the much too big snake tail peeking out of the foliage and resting on the dirt trail.
There was no way…
If he was right, he should really turn around immediately. Go home and maybe tell someone…? Get this trail blocked off?
Unfortunately, Kyojuro was far too curious for his own good at times. He found himself slowly stepping off the trail, slowly following the snake tail till his eyes locked onto what he had feared. A naga. He was looking at a naga.
He once again felt the urge to turn around. He didn’t know a lot about naga, but he knew they were territorial. There was a reason so little research had been done on them. The general consensus was just to leave them alone and they will hopefully leave you alone.
Kyojuro was just about to turn and leave as quickly and as quietly as possible when he finally seemed to see the creature before him, and his heart dropped for an entirely different reason.
What he had thought were just red markings on the naga was very clearly blood. Taking a hesitant step closer, Kyojuro noticed that the creature's tail was covered in wounds, dried blood and dirt caked over what once no doubt shimmering blue and gold scales. Kyojuro winced as he looked closer at the naga’s human-looking half. What looked like claw marks ranked along the side of their neck dangerously close to their throat.
This naga wasn’t asleep, they were unconscious. The only reason Kyojuro didn’t jump to the conclusion they were dead was because of the fact that he could hear the creatures breathing, steady, but rasped.
Had they been in a fight? Over territory maybe? Was that why they were here? Kyojuro was sure if a naga had been living so close to his house he would have at least known something about it! What was he supposed to do about this? The poor thing looked half dead. Should he call someone? Who was he even supposed to call? Shinobu? She was a doctor. Maybe Obanai? He worked with reptiles…
Kyojuro was snapped out of his worried thoughts as the naga before him breathed in harshly before letting out a hissing cough. They shuddered, their face twisted into a grimace, exposing their fangs, before they fell slack again. Did Kyojuro even have time to run home and figure out who to call? He didn’t bring his phone on hikes, finding that it took away the point of it all, maybe that was rather foolish of him now that he thought about it. Though it wasn’t like he lived far away from town, he wasn’t confident that anyone he called would get here fast enough, and that was if he called the right person who would even know how to help this creature. If everyone said to just leave them alone, would he be told to do just that?
Without thinking further about it, he knelt down next to the naga, gently placing a hand on their shoulder and pushing, trying to get them on their side. He sucked in a horrified breath at the sight that greeted him. There was a horrible wound in their stomach, almost as if they had been impailed by something, blood and dirt covered the far too pale skin, and Kyojuro wondered if their skin was just like that or if it was a result of blood loss. He really hoped it was the former.
Was there anything that could even be done at this point? It was a miracle the creature was still clinging on as they were! But something about that fact made Kyojuro’s heart twist. They had clearly been traveling since last night's storm if the mud covering their body and scales was anything to go by. They must have passed out from blood loss hours ago and yet here they were still breathing and clinging to life…
And here Kyojuro was overthinking and wasting time!
Kyojuro took a deep breath, steeling himself as he reached around the naga’s torso, careful to avoid the worst of their injuries. Their head fell limp as Kyojuro grunted, lifting the creature up. He quickly realized that the heavy snake tail was no doubt going to drag along the ground if he carried them this way, would that make the tail wounds worse? He was just about to set the naga back down and reevaluate when the creature moved.
The previously limp tail suddenly wrapped around Kyojuro’s torso twice before stilling again, almost constricting around his legs as well, but not quite. It had taken everything in Kyojuro not to drop the naga in panic, thinking for a moment they had woken up, but the creature was still very clearly dead weight. The only thing showing any sign of strength was their tail, he could feel it squeezing around him, not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to keep the tail from slipping from him.
Some kind of coiling instinct maybe…? Too keep them from falling out of trees? Naga often slept in trees, didn't they?
Kyojuro shook his head. That wasn’t important. What was important was that now only the end of the naga’s tail was resting on the ground, much better than before. Deciding this was the best he was going to get, he readjusted his grip, one arm under the naga’s shoulder blades and arms, his other supporting the base of their tail. He wobbled a bit, the creature wasn’t light by any means and he could already feel his arms and legs burn from the extra weight, but there was no way he was backing out now. It wasn’t like he had that far to go anyway.
Trying not to think about how sore he was going to be after this, he stepped, or more like stumbled back onto the trail. Readjusting his grip again, he started walking.
It didn’t take long for Kyojuro to get used to the weight, finding a good pace and no longer stumbling every few steps. He silently thanked Tengen for being so persistent and dragging him to the gym once a week, otherwise he doubted he would be able to do this at all.
The journey back to his house felt way longer than the way out had, but he guessed that made sense considering everything.
The naga hadn’t so much as shifted since he had started walking, their ragged breathing the only thing he could hear. The wounds were all clotted… there was no way they were getting away with this without an infection… if that was the case…
Kyojuro once again shook the thoughts away. He could help. He would help. Or at least he would do his best. If worst comes to worst then… Kyojuro would just have to deal with it.
He reached his backdoor, thanking his past self for forgetting to lock it on his way out. It was a habit he had been trying to curb but, in this case, he was grateful for it.
It had been a bit difficult to shift the naga’s weight enough so he could support them with one arm, but once he managed it, he quickly opened the door before using both arms to support them again, worried his arm would give out if he wasn’t quick enough. He let out a sigh of relief once he was inside, making sure the naga’s tail was all the way past the door, before closing it behind him with his foot.
He paused for a second, his own labored breathing joining the naga’s raspy ones. His mind was momentarily blank as he struggled to get his thoughts in order and figure out what he was supposed to do now. He looked down as the naga, still covered in dirt and blood. Cleaning them up and getting a better look at their wounds would be the next move right? Right. Of course it was. If both of his arms weren't full, he’d slap himself.
He quickly made his way to his bathroom. His bathtub was a fair size, but definitely not big enough for the entire naga to fit. Without another option, he carefully set the creature down, their head rolling limply to rest against the edge of the tub. Getting the naga’s tail to let him go had been a whole different battle. Though the tail wasn’t squeezing him painfully by any means, it had still taken a lot more struggling for the tail to finally fall away from him, going limp once more. He tried his best to handle it carefully, letting the tail rest over the edge of the tub and along his bathroom floor. That was fine, the worst of the injuries was on the naga’s upper body anyway.
Kyojuro had to take a moment to sit down. He felt as if he just went through one of Tengen’s two hour workout sessions. Every muscle in his body ached and he felt exhausted. He couldn’t let himself rest for long though, not with the time sensitive situation on his hands.
He turned on the water, making sure the temperature wasn’t too hot or cold. He was fairly sure naga were cold blooded…?
Next he grabbed a wash cloth and got to work cleaning the dried blood and dirt from the naga’s body, trying his best not to cause the wounds to start bleeding again, but that was unfortunately inevitable.
As he worked he finally got the chance to really look at the creature. Their face was incredibly human in appearance if not for the pink scales lining their face and pointed ears. Their features were masculine… were they male then? They… he? had short pink hair and upon closer inspection he noticed his eye lashes were the same shade. His skin was incredibly pale, almost white, turning a pale ice blue where his tail started. The most noticeable feature though was the dark blue, tattoo-like markings along his face and torso, lines of the same shade continued down his tail.
The work was tedious and Kyojuro had to drain the water a few times so the naga wasn’t sitting in dirty water. He never so much as flinched when Kyojuro went over his wounds which was rather concerning, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that he could still clearly hear the naga’s breathing, he would have assumed the worst.
The bleeding was slow, and the fact that the naga was indeed still alive proved any and all major arteries were spared. It didn’t make them any less life threatening though.
Kyojuro had decent first aid training, he had to, to become a teacher after all, but he knew he was way out of his depth with this.
Even so, he grabbed the gauze and disinfectant solution he had in his cabinet and got to work disinfecting and wrapping up the naga’s neck and torso. The gauze seeped red not too long after but not concerningly quickly. Not able to think of anything else to do for those injuries, Kyojuro turned his attention to the naga’s tail. He still had yet to clean it but there was no way he was going to fit it into the tub. Oh well, he could clean and dry the bathroom floor later.
Get another washcloth, not wanting to use the same one, he got to work cleaning, disinfecting, and wrapping the wounds. He found himself running his hand gently over the smooth scales, the blue color fading to brilliant gold along the edges.
Kyojuro soon found himself with nothing left to do, and as he tossed the dirty wash cloths into a hamper and sat down against the bathroom wall, the situation he had just put himself in, finally hit him.
There was a naga in his house. In his bathtub. Practically a wild animal known for being less than friendly towards their own kind let alone humans. Though he guessed “animal” wasn’t the right word. Their intelligence was on par with humans despite their animalistic nature. Yet another reason why it was recommended to just leave them alone. Any research done would just be unethical. Unfortunately that was as far as Kyojuro’s knowledge went.
With a heavy sigh, Kyojuro got to his feet, casting one last worried glance at the naga before heading to grab his phone. He needed to do some research. He really hoped he didn’t break any laws doing this.
Once he retrieved his phone from his bedroom, he returned to the bathroom, the naga’s breathing the only comfort he had to assure him he was still alive.
He decided to start simple and just search ‘Naga.’
The results weren’t very helpful, telling him what he already knew. He found some articles on naga encounters which were all pretty much just cautionary tales of why they should not be messed with.
He was able to find some articles with factual information on them. Basic facts. They were carnivores, cold blooded, solitary, highly intelligent, extremely territorial. Once again all things he already knew.
Kyojuro decided he should be more specific, searching ‘Injured naga.’
He got even less results, but he did eventually find the answer he had been looking for. An answer he did not like. It looked like he had been correct about the fact that naga were meant to be left alone in all cases. On the rare occasions injured naga had been found, authorities have encouraged people to leave the area until the naga recovered and left or died.
A small bubble of anger welled in Kyojuro’s chest. Was that really what he would have been told to do if he had called someone? Just step back and wait for the poor creature to die when his life could be saved? If their intelligence was so high, wasn’t that akin to finding a human on the side of the road from a car accident and then just… leaving them there?
Not only that but humans helped injured wildlife all the time! Why would naga be treated less than that?
Kyojuro set his phone down on the bathroom counter, running his hands through his hair with a frustrated sigh. No one had to know. He’d do what he could to help the naga. Doing anything different felt wrong.
He let his gaze once again fall to the creature. Naga were intelligent. Surely he would understand that he was only trying to help… right?
Deciding to shelf that thought for later, he looked down at the now dirty and wet floor. He also noticed his own clothes were rather dirtied as well.
With a sigh, he forced himself onto his feet. He would go change and then clean his floor and then after that… well he would figure it out.