riptide | kyojuro rengoku

XVIII | fever

HOT. Hot. Your head was swimming, eyes squeezing shut at the slight pang in your head. Your entire face felt warm, but everything felt so cold, your body curled into the layer of blankets that you slept on. You raised your hands to your face, the warmth radiating into your hands as you groaned. Kyojuro, who had been sleeping on the other side, was nowhere to be seen.

Judging from the motion of the boat, he had probably started sailing again, which was an odd choice considering you were the only one who could clearly detect something dangerous. You moved to sit up, suddenly feeling weak as you fell back onto the bed. "Kyojuro," You mumbled, stumbling slightly as you leaned up against the wall.

The boat stopped rocking momentarily and you heard footsteps descend into the room you were in, Kyojuro sighing as he looked for something set on one of the tables. "Kyo," You called out, coughing afterward as you sniffled. You couldn't remember the last time you were this sick. Having lived in one place for so long, you never had to worry about catching a cold.

It was always warm and humid, but after being forced to travel after so long, the lack of immunity was definitely getting to you. It was especially stupid of you to stay up at night and sit under the stars with him a few days ago which is what inevitably lead to this in the first place. "Y/n?" He called out and you leaned up, heart pattering at the concern in his voice.

"Good morning," He spoke cheerily, seemingly oblivious to your weak state. However, the boy wasn't all that dumb, pressing his hand against your hot skin. "You're burning up. . . " The concern soon morphed into disappointment and a pit of guilt filled your stomach. He had wanted to keep searching today after the tides had stopped you two yesterday.

However, here you were, now being the reason that you two couldn't go forward as efficiently. "Give me a minute to stop the boat," He mumbled, pushing your hair back from your sweaty forehead before rushing to the outside of the ship again. Although you hardly got motion sick, the rocking sensation of the boat definitely wasn't helping.

After about ten minutes, the boat had come to a halt but still seemed to be rocking ever so slightly. The waters were calm now, though, you could feel it. It didn't exactly help your guilt and you groaned, leaning back. Why did I have to get sick now? The footsteps returned and you pulled the blankets closer, feeling the boy press something cold against your forehead. 

"I would carry you out, but it's too hot out; it'd just make you feel worse." 

Kyojuro, although boisterous, he was sweet. He knew it would be too annoying to speak so loudly when you were sick, he had learned the hard way from Senjuro. The boy trailed his cold hand down your cheek, pausing all of a sudden. You froze, your breath hitching as an abrupt tenseness enveloped you both.

Your lips parted and you spoke, chest heaving. "Kyojuro?" It seemed to snap him out of whatever daze he was in, his grip gradually leaving your figure. You could practically hear him attempt to regain his composure: the fixing of his clothes, his heavy breaths, and the slight clinking of his sword as he stood up.

He didn't answer you, falling silent briefly before mumbling under his breath. "I'll get you some tasty fruits." That sweet cheery tone coated his words again and you could hear him rush away from you, still trying to make sense of his now swimming head. Did I do something wrong? You hadn't even noticed the bottle of filtered water he left you.

You reached for it, uncapping it and lifting it to your lips. The water poured down your throat as you sighed, satisfied. The cold felt refreshing, lulling you to close your eyes again as you slumped against the pile of blankets. "Y/n, Y/n," You could feel someone faintly shaking you, their cool hands pressed against your arms.

Kyojuro had tried nudging you awake, but you had fallen back asleep the first time he attempted. It was only after an hour or so that his attempts had worked. "How long has it been?" You mumbled tiredly, unknowingly leaning in even closer to the man. Kyojuro ran his tongue over his lips, a concerned look in his eyes.

"About two hours, I think. There were a few animals, so I hunted a bit. It's getting cloudy now, so there's no point in sailing." He still seemed bitter about that, pursing his lips as he drenched the cloth and placed it on your forehead again. "You should've kept going," You spoke, wincing at the soreness of your throat.

"We have to find Senjuro."

Kyojuro's heart twisted in his chest but he chuckled softly instead, rubbing your arm comfortingly before passing you a sweet pear to munch on. You took it into your own hands, biting it. "We will, we will." To be honest, he didn't know if he was saying that for you or for himself.

He had taught his brother all that he knew which is why he had so much faith, but that didn't exactly erase all of his concerns. "Where are we?" Kyojuro mumbled something along the lines of "don't know", seemingly unsure himself. Your brows furrowed momentarily at that. Why wouldn't he know where we are? He's sailing us, isn't he?

However, your worries washed away when he fixed his response with a chipper tone. "Ah, I forgot! We're near a triad of islands. There's not much there and I'm not planning to stop either; all it's really known for is a bunch of coconuts. There's another island not far off from here. We'll have to stop there before we get to the island I think Senjuro is at."

You swallowed your third bite of the pear, "How do you know for sure he's at that island? The storm could've swept him up and. . . " He tensed at your comment and you immediately fell silent, mumbling a quiet apology. You had gotten so used to the fatality of your father's death that it was easy to forget how people found it as a strange tragedy now.

Yet it was something that had happened to you.

"I just do," He responded with his usual sweet tone, taking the fruit core away from you when you finished. Kyojuro watched as you leaned back onto the soft blankets, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as he replaced the cloth on your forehead with an unsaid gentleness. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.