Ryu X Male Reader (18+) ~ The Secrets of the Mountain

Flow like Water

The next morning, (Y/N) rose at dawn, orange rays of sunlight waking him up from his slumber. He made breakfast and opened the door to enjoy the sunrise, he was surprised to see Ryu already up and apparently ready to go somewhere. The man was so quiet during the night (Y/N) had almost forgotten about him. He handed him a cup of the same hot beverage he was drinking.

(Y/N): "Good morning, I can see you're an early riser !"

Ryu: "Good morning."

(Y/N): "Did you sleep well ?"

Ryu: "I slept great. Thanks for letting me stay."

(Y/N): "Don't mention it. So what are you going to do today ?"

Ryu: "Probably train some more."

(Y/N): "You like this mountain too, don't you ? I love it here."

Ryu: "It's nice. It's peaceful."

(Y/N): "Do you know how long you'll be training here ?"

Ryu: "..."

(Y/N): "I don't mind you staying at my place you know ? There's plenty of space for two."

Ryu: "I wouldn't want to bother you."

(Y/N): "Nonsense ! Think about it, you'll tell me once you've figured it out."

(Y/N) finished his cup and stepped inside the house to change clothes for the day. Ryu left his cup outside and followed the directions (Y/N) had given him to find the clearing again. It was a fresher day, the clouds made it bearable to train even in the middle of the day. Ryu was able to focus all of his energy and all of his thoughts into his practice only. He liked clearing his mind like that. He took a break and looked up at the cloud-covered sky. At the same time, (Y/N) was working around his house, harvesting ripe fruits, watering growing vegetables, repairing damages caused by the weather or wild animals. There was a lot to do but, by habit, (Y/N) didn't mind. He wondered if Ryu would come back for lunch but it didn't seem like it was happening so he kept his meal for when he would come back. While he was eating outside, he could swear he was hearing Ryu shout in the distance (the clearing was not far away), like the shouts he would let out each time he landed a hit.

Both men worked up quite a sweat during the day and they could be proud of what they had accomplished in their respective fields. When Ryu came back (without getting lost this time) and he saw (Y/N) was still working on something, he was quite impressed. (Y/N) was fixing this sort of wooden tool shed in his vegetable garden. He was lifting a damaged beam with both his arms and trying to get it back into place at the same time, holding a tool between his teeth.
When he noticed Ryu was back he dropped the tool and asked him for help. He would have waved at him but the wooden beam was too heavy to support with one hand only. Ryu approached at once and raised the beam above his head with less trouble than (Y/N). His sturdy body and his powerful veiny arms were a wonderful stand-in for a pillar and allowed (Y/N) to fix the beam much quicker. After it was done he thanked Ryu and shook his hand, before telling him there was a river nearby if he wanted to clean himself up. Ryu lifted his arm and did a smell check near his armpit area, and fair enough the last two days of training had left on his skin the strong scent of musk, sweat and earth.

After a short walk under the tall trees, Ryu finally reached the river (Y/N) was talking about. He got closer to the stone-covered river bank and put his hand in the water. He was surprised by its warmth, and it was really clear. The river was wide and the flow was important because of the important supply of water granted by a tall waterfall to his right. (Y/N) had mentionned some sort of small natural pool right next to the course of the river, separated by big unmoving rocks but still letting water in and out at a much slower rate. Once Ryu spotted it, he undressed and left his clothes on the side as he dipped his feet in the crystal-clear water. At the pool's deepest point, the water reached Ryu's hips. He bent his knees and sumberged himself up to the neck and let out a sigh, the warmth felt very good. Then he stood back up and splashed some water on his face, ran it through his short dark hair and let it flow down his muscular back. He cleaned himself of the filth and stayed in the pool some more time, enjoying the sound of the waterfall. As he got out and dried his body, he told himself that this would be a great spot for meditation. He put on his clothes, thinking that it may have been a good idea to wash them as well.