fic for ica_90 (2/2)

[nino-mod.livejournal.com]

For: ica_90
From: negai3104

Part 1


Jun’s tracking skills take them outside of the city. As zombies, and military-trained ones at that, both of them have quite large staminas. While they can’t run as fast as vampires, both of them are able to go for a long time. They've been travelling at full speed for almost an hour now, and neither zombies have broken a sweat. Aiba and Sho are able to keep up with their pace, despite the slower pace they’re used to when running. They're actually travelling from tree to tree, jumping over them while Jun and Ohno are running by foot. Ninomi is running beside him, keeping at Ohno’s heels and makes the occasional excited bark. Ohno looks up at the trees and wonders if Nino has ever even stepped out to such a place with this much nature.

“Are we getting closer, Jun-kun?” Ohno asks as speeds up a bit. He can hear Aiba and Sho picking up their pace as well, easily adjusting to the change in speed by jumping faster above them.

“Yes! His scent is getting stronger!” Jun replies as he jumps over a large boulder. Ohno jumps after him with ease and turns around, looking up. Aiba and Sho are currently engaged in conversation while jumping on the same branches of each tree. Ohno has always admired how graceful vampires can be. Unfortunately, they’re whispering to one another and while Ohno’s ears are quite good at hearing conversations at lower volumes, it’s not sensitive enough to pick up hushed conversations.

“Are you guys okay?” Ohno calls out to them as he and Ninomi both jump over another boulder. Ninomi barks at him in excitement.

“Yes, Oh-chan!” Aiba exclaims down at him enthusiastically. Sho is nodding beside him.

Suddenly, Jun comes to a halt and Ohno almost crashes into his friend from behind, but Jun manages to grab him before they collide and possibly tumble off the cliff they’re standing on. Behind them, Aiba and Sho slow immediately in the air before jumping down beside them. Ninomi plops down beside Ohno’s feet, tail wagging slowly.

“This is it.” Jun nods his heads towards the estate in the distance that's located in the middle of the field. “From the looks and smell of it, it’s pretty well guarded. We’ll have to be careful.” Ohno squints his eyes for closer examination and blinks in surprise when he realizes that he recognizes this place.

“Isn't this--?” He begins in surprise.

“This is the Chinen estate, Ohno-kun,” Jun supplies with a frown and drops the backpack down on the grass. “If I'm not wrong, Chinen Yuri may have something to do with it.”

“But he's from the outer circle, isn't he? There's no way he would've known,” Ohno replies in frustration. Aiba pokes him in the shoulder.

“What's this ‘outer circle’ you're talking about?” Aiba asks curiously.

“And who's Chinen Yuri?” Sho adds as he steps closer to them, standing next to Aiba.

“I met Chinen-kun during my army days,” Ohno begins, “he wasn't exactly a soldier or someone who was under my command during the war, but he did work for me… I guess. He's a younger zombie.” He purses his lips. “The outer circles are basically our followers. Or our alliance members.”

“He worked as the messenger in between bases during the war,” Jun continues when he senses that Ohno isn’t going to reveal any more information. “He's not gifted at combat, but he's very fast.” Jun turns to Aiba and Sho. “Are you two able to fight?” Jun needs to know if he has to watch these their backs, alongside Ohno’s.

“Uhh… I have some combat training but I'm afraid I don't have the military training you guys have…” Sho says with a frown as he turns his gaze to Jun. “I don't know if that will help.”

“If you can fight, it should be fine. The zombies that are circling the estate right now are ordinary guards. The military-trained ones are located inside. I can smell Nino and Chinen,” Jun says as he sniffs the air again.

“Which area of the estate, Jun?” Ohno asks as he rummages through the backpack Jun has been carrying. He takes out a pair of leather gloves and slips them on. Jun removes the sword he has been carrying all this time and hands it to Ohno.

“Thanks, you’ve been taking good care of it!” Ohno remarks as he inspects the blade carefully.

“Of course.”

“Where is he held captive, Jun?”

“East wing. Our left.” Jun pats down his blazer and inspects his guns. He looks at Aiba and Sho. “Do you guys need weapons?”

Aiba and Sho both shake their heads. “I have a nunchaku right here,” Aiba announces and pats his backpack.

“And I don’t really use weapons,” Sho offers sheepishly. Ohno looks at him in astonishment.

“Really? Wouldn’t that get tiring after a while?” Ohno asks as he rearranges the sword on his back. Sho chuckles and bumps his bare fists together.

“You would think, but no, I fight much better without a weapon.” Ohno nods in admiration. He looks down to examine his footwear.

“Sakurai-kun, Aiba-chan, you may stay here if you don't feel comfortable going in with us. I can't risk you getting hurt,” Ohno says as he looks up at them both when he’s done. “Kazu wouldn't want you to get hurt on his account. And I wouldn't like it either.”

“But who's going to back you up, Oh-chan?” Aiba asks. “I'll be fine. Don't worry about me.”

Sho nods and takes off his tie, stuffing it in his pocket. He loosens the buttons at the collar of his shirt. Finally, he removes his glasses and tucks them into Aiba’s backpack.“And I as well, Ohno-kun. We want to help get Nino back, he's our friend.” He sends him a grin. “Besides, I don’t think I’m too hopeless.” He chuckles.

Ohno looks at them both worriedly. “Are you sure?” He sighs when they both give him stern nods. Ninomi barks up at him. “Fine. But if you guys are injured or can’t go any further, please let me know or try to escape.”

“That won’t happen, Ohno-kun,” Sho says determinedly, “We’re not going to abandon you.” Aiba nods frantically beside him.

“Thank you guys. Please try to stay close to me if you can, or Jun.” Ohno turns towards the taller zombie. “Ready?”

“Whenever you are,” Jun says with a smirk and readjusts the bag behind him. He places his palms on the guns.

“Jun, take my six!” Ohno commands as he stretches his arms. Jun gives him sharp nod. “Aiba-chan and Sakurai-kun, stick close as you can to me or Jun! I’ll be in front.” When the two vampires give him their agreement, Ohno smiles at them all. “And don’t get hurt!” Without any further warning, Ohno leaps off the cliff. The others follow behind him, and he can hear Aiba letting out a loud shout of excitement.

When Ohno lands on the ground in a roll, he unfurls himself quickly and starts sprinting towards the estate. Due to the open field, sneaking into the estate isn’t possible. The only way he can get in is to literally force his way in. He tries to avoid violence as much as he can, having seen enough of it during the war, but this is Nino. The man he has married, promised to love and protect, the man who has chosen to be with him forever. He will do anything to get him back beside him, no matter what.

Ohno can hear the other three’s footsteps behind him, all dashing after him through the grass at high speeds. Taking his sword out of his scabbard, he darts towards the gates of the estates. As he draws closer, he can see the zombies finally picking up on their presence and begin to pull out their weapons for attack. Some of the guards are fleeing for backup, but Aiba and Sho get to them before they could. Aiba throws his nunchaku at the fleeing guards, knocking them face forward on the ground. When the guard hits the ground, he’s already moving on to the next target, weaving through the escapees with ease.

Sho takes the other side, weaving his way through the guards quickly and efficiently. Ohno watches in fascination as Sho barely even lifts his weapon (that Jun had tossed at him earlier before jumping after Ohno). He can see why Sho mainly uses his fists and legs to fight; he’s talented enough to forgo weaponry. Ohno can tell he has some martial arts training from the way he moves and the way he hits his opponents. And he’s strong. One punch from the vampire renders most of the guards useless. Sho takes down the guards at a fast rate through power, while Aiba renders them useless through his quick speed. Seeing that his vampire friends are more than capable of taking care of themselves, he moves forward.

“Once you’re done here, get inside!” Ohno shouts at the vampires. He hears them both give an affirmative cry in response. He looks behind him. Jun’s back is facing him and he’s aiming at the enemy with his purple guns as he’s running, twisting, and flipping in the air . He’s shooting down zombies at a rapid pace with a white liquid that’s supposed to renders them paralyzed for two hours. It’s a concoction that Jun had made with the help of Mina.

Distracted at making sure his companions are alright, a guard manages to get in front of him, their own gun in hand aiming at his heart. Ohno quickly ducks and swipes his sword upright in the air and right through the gun, slicing in half. The guard looks at him in disbelief, and Ohno quickly punches him in the face and knocks him unconscious with the butt of his sword for good measure.

Ohno slices and slashes his way through to the main entrance. As he reaches the front doors of the estate, three guards appear out of nowhere, all brandishing swords of their own. Ohno pauses, bringing his sword in front of him. He scans their faces and notes that they all have the same neutral expression. Hiding his surprise, Ohno realizes that these guys are the ones that he has to be careful of: these are the ones that have trained in the military.

The four of them are locked in a heated staring contest. Ohno doesn’t keep his eyes on one opponent for more than two seconds, nerves on end to gauge who will attack first. He’s no stranger to fighting multiple opponents at once, however vampires are very tricky in numbers because of their incredibly quick speed. However, zombies are even stronger in higher numbers which is contributeed to their amazing teamwork and their ability to predict what their teammate will do. It’s why he and Jun have been able to survive for that long during the war. Behind him, he can see Jun still fending off the other attackers in the courtyard from advancing towards him. He’s finally joined by Aiba who dashes through in a blur and knocks back several zombies at once with his nunchaku.

A rapid movement at the corner of his eye and Ohno quickly raises his sword to meet the one aiming for his face. Grunting, Ohno pushes the enemy back and kicks him square in the chest before raising his sword again to meet another one coming from his other side. The other two are now charging at him and Ohno pushes back at the sword before jumping back. Flipping his sword over, Ohno charges at them again, aiming for the taller zombie first, feinting for the chest but actually cutting off the head in one clean motion swiftly. The other two gapes at him, but Ohno doesn’t stop. Running towards them now Ohno lets out a cry as he attacks them by swiping his sword at them. He manages to get one on the arm while the other one had been able to dodge. The injured one cries out but tries to fight back. Ohno quickly bends down to avoid the sword aiming at his head and he quickly swipes his sword across the zombie’s legs. The zombie screams as he falls down into two before Ohno silences him with one clean cut across the neck, removing it from the rest of the body. Disconnecting a zombie’s head from their body is the only sure way to kill them. Due to their strong regenerative skills, limbs can be easily grown again. By removing the neck from the body it’s the only way for the zombie to be killed. Ohno grimaces as his sword is now covered in layers of blood.

He’s about to head for the last one but Sho appears out of nowhere and sends a strong kick to the remaining zombie's back. “Go!” Sho shouts, grabbing the zombie’s arms and twisting it behind them. “We got this!”

Ohno nods in thanks as he can’t afford to waste any more time. Nino’s in trouble. Sheathing his sword, but never letting his grip go, he quickly runs up the steps of the estate and kicks the door open, surprised that the doors aren’t even locked. East wing, east wing. Jun says Nino’s in the east wing he chants as he quickly heads to the right. The estate is filled with servants who look startled and frightened by his sudden appearance. At least none of them try to approach him, immediately getting out of his way when they see him. Several of the bigger servants try to intercept him along he way, but he knocks them unconscious with his scabbard. This is a rescue mission, and he wants to avoid as many casualties as possible. As he dashes down the grand hallways, Ohno feels a sense of dread building in him when the scent of Nino’s blood is getting stronger as he approaches his destination.

I hope I’m not too late. Wait for me, Kazu.


“My, my, look what a ruckus your friends and husband are making.”

Nino glares at the male zombie in front of him and spits at the spot in front of the man. “Go fuck yourself!” He snarls and doesn’t flinch when the man appears in front of him and runs a knife down his arm. Blood drips out slowly from the wound before closing up again, the skin looking completely unblemished.

“Now, now, Ninomiya-san, I wouldn't do that if I were you,” Chinen sings-songs as he walks around Nino slowly. Nino glares at him as he follow the male zombie’s movements. “Behave, or you wouldn't want me to injure you to the point where your husband wouldn't recognize you, hm?” He brings the knife closer to the vampire’s face, the tip of the blade brushing slightly near his eye.

Nino scowls and tries to move his arms but the chains he's tied with are solid and positioned tightly around him. He can't move his limbs at all. He can hear the fight outside through the window and Nino fears for his friends. He knows that everyone is capable of holding their own against the guards and soldiers that are situated around the estate, but there's always that chance that someone will get hurt. Nino doesn't want that to happen on his account. He doesn't even want to think about Ohno getting hurt. His adorable and sweet husband getting injured? He could never forgive himself. He knows Ohno is a very talented fighter, seeing as he had been in the army and all, but it's been years.

Trembling with the thoughts of his friends and husband possibly getting hurt because of him, Nino wishes there is something he can do to help out. But he can't. Tied up in the anti-vampire chains, he's useless. Chinen is standing by the window and watching the chaos outside. Nino feels powerless and there is nothing he can do. For the first time, he feels helpless.

Everyone, stay safe.


Ohno curses to himself as he opens the door to the wrong room again. He should have waited for Jun to catch up with him. The younger zombie would have been able to find Nino in less than one minute. Why are there so many doors in this place?! He thinks in annoyance as he shoves a terrified servant out of the way of the door. Nothing.

Ohno proceeds down the hallway while trying to distinguish where Nino’s smell is coming from. As he reaches closer to the main window at the end of the hall, a sharp iron scent hits his nose. Nino! The smell suddenly disappears and Ohno realizes it's coming from the last room of the hallway. “Kazunari!” He screams before reaching the room.


“Satoshi!” Nino cries when he sees his husband burst into the room. Ohno looks relieved when he sees Nino is in one piece and starts towards him.

“Kazu-!” He freezes. Nino feels something pressing against his scalp. A gun?

“Stop right there, General, or I’ll shoot,” Chinen says cheerfully as he cocks the gun. Ohno narrows his eyes at the former messenger. “And put the sword down please. You don't want me to accidentally shoot him out of surprise, hm?”

“Why are you doing this Chinen-kun?” Ohno asks in frustration as he slowly puts his sword back in its scabbard. He has to be ready to move just in case the other male did something unexpectedly. He scans his surroundings, but the room is completely bare. There’s no furniture other than the chair Nino’s sitting on, and there are anti-vampire chains wrapped tightly around him. “What do you want?”

Chinen giggles and pushes the barrel of the gun more on the back of Nino’s head. Nino feels himself automatically flinch. He grimaces when he feels a sharp pain at where the gun has contact with his scalp. It’s an anti-vampire gun. And then suddenly Chinen stops. Nino can’t see Chinen’s face but he knows that it must have been bad because Ohno looks taken back.

“Want? Want?!” Chinen thunders stonily, “What I want is to know why you have betrayed us, General?” He snarls and puts more pressure on his head with the barrel of the gun. Nino winces this time and he can see Ohno grit his teeth at the sight. Nino fidgets as he tries to relieve the pressure of the gun off his head. “Why is a great zombie General and heir to one of the greatest clans of our kind married to a blood sucking vampire?” He spats in disgust. “Why have you married our enemy?!”

“So that’s what all this is about,” Nino grumbles. Figures. He’s not surprised it has to do with their marriage. He knows it’s too good to be true if they never encounter situations like these. He’s honestly surprised it’s happening a year over their marriage though. The following months after their wedding ceremony, Nino had been on alert the whole time, waiting to see if any kidnapping incident would appear. Eventually he began to relax when they entered the fifth month of their marriage. Ohno hadn’t been too worried though. I’ll protect you, Kazu-chan Ohno had promised. Cute, but Nino had not been as positive about it.

“Chinen-kun, please don’t do this,” Ohno begs as he holds his hands up in a truce position and slowly shifts closer to them.

Chinen doesn’t seem to notice and laughs maniacally. “Did you know, General, that many of your followers know about your marriage?” Ohno freezes. “Exactly. It’s spreading. Soon, everyone will know about your marriage to this filth.” Chinen shoves the vampire’s head. “Oh, how you have fallen. Maybe I should end you both right here and now?” He pulls at Nino’s hair and Nino winces as he feels the sharp jab of pain from the action. “Because leader, I don’t think you would love one of these filthy creatures out of your own will.” Chinen snarls at Nino. “You enthralled him didn’t you? You have him under your spell?”

“Chinen-kun, no! I’m not under his thrall or anything!” Ohno shouts as he begins to creep closer to them. “Please--”

“Stop coming closer!” Chinen roars.

“Ugh, stop yelling…” Nino groaned as his ears begin to ring at the volume. The fact that Chinen is standing next to him doesn’t help.

“Shut your mouth, you filthy vampire!” Chinen roars as he wraps a hand around Nino’s throat. Nino’s eyes bug out in shock as he feels the zombie tighten his hand around his neck.

“Kazunari!” Ohno shouts and starts to make a dash towards him.

The next few events happen in a blur.

Several gunshot fills the air, and Nino lets out a cry of pain. Ohno looks at him in horror and runs towards him, screaming at him in panic. At the same time, Jun, Sho, and Aiba with Ninomi at his heels have made their way into the room and are dealing with Chinen. Jun had been the one to shoot Chinen in the leg so that the zombie could be immobilized while Aiba tackles the zombie on the floor and disarm him. The weredog stands above them, growling at the zombie to make sure he’s unable to move. Unfortunately, what they had not taken into account was Chinen accidently pulling the trigger by accident due to the shock of being shot. Sho punches him in the face hard enough to knock the young zombie out.

“We need to get out of here!” Sho shouts as he and Aiba begin tying up Chinen’s arms and legs.

Nino gasps as the pain envelops his whole body, and the smell of blood fills the air. Ohno is shaking beside him and quickly slices the chains away. “Oh my god, Nino!” Ohno cries as he pulls off the chains around his body quickly. He inspects the wound. The bullet is lodged into his thigh, and Nino’s blood is pouring out quickly at an alarming rate. “We need to get him back to the Ohno estate! Now!” He shouts to Jun, who runs over to them after making sure Chinen is completely immobilized.

Jun leans down to inspect the wound. “This is bad,” he remarks, “the bullet has incredibly strong anti-vampire charms on it. Satoshi-kun, this was one of our own from the war.” Ohno pales.

“That means--” Ohno begins to shake. No, he doesn’t want to think about it.

“We need to act fast or Nino will die!” Jun exclaims. He turns to Aiba and Sho who are watching them in panic. “Aiba-san, can you carry Nino? You’re the fastest! Sakurai-san, you carry Chinen. We need to get back to the Ohno home grounds to get medical help for Nino. Aiba-san, do you know where it’s located?”

“On it!” Aiba shouts as he runs over to pick up Nino. Ninomi barks once and picks up Aiba’s bag with his teeth. Nino’s skin tone has taken on a frightening ashy grey colour. Jun turns to Ohno, who has remained quiet the whole time since his outburst.

“Satoshi-kun, we have to leave!” He drags Ohno up by the arm. Ohno lets himself get pulled. “He needs medical attention immediately! We don’t have time!” Ohno grunts and follows Sho and Aiba out the window, Jun at his side.

It’s chaos outside. There are bodies everywhere, unconscious from the three’s efforts earlier. “Aiba-san!” Jun shouts as he and Ohno run behind them. Sho is behind Aiba and Ninomi with Chinen in his arms. “Get to the estate quickly!”

“Yes!” Aiba cries and picks up speed, disappearing in a blur. The weredog is right at his heels. Ohno looks on desperately at Aiba’s and the furry companion’s retreating backs.

Please, Aiba-chan. Get there as fast as you can.



“How is he?”

“Quiet. Withdrawn.”

Nino sighs as rubs at his temples. Sho and Aiba are crouched beside his futon, both of them with concerned expressions on their faces. It’s been six days since the incident. According to his friends, Ohno had not left his side once, only leaving when Jun had come by and forced Ohno to eat. Sho had called the school to let them know that Nino would not be available to come to work for the next week or so due to a family emergency. Aiba had left his shop in the care of his girlfriend, Erika. Sho still goes to work, but comes to visit him after his classes are done. But ever since Nino has woken up, Ohno has not stepped into his room once.

“I’m worried for Oh-chan,” Aiba remarks quietly as he watches Ninomi snuggle under the blankets of the futon at Nino’s foot. “He’s been sparring with Jun-kun the past few days, he doesn’t talk as much as he used to, and he’s always cooped up in meetings.”

“He’s deliberately trying to avoid me, I see,” Nino scowls. He doesn’t know what Ohno is trying to do though. Meetings? The fact that Ohno has been talking less is worrisome. Ohno has always been a quiet man, but the fact that he’s become even more aloof is concerning. “And Jun-kun?”

Sho frowns. “He’s been hanging around Ohno-kun as much as he can. He’s trying to get Ohno-kun to react.” Nino nods. That’s something at least.

“How are you feeling? Do you need more blood?” Aiba asks as he watches Nino pull the covers up more, earning a whine from the weredog. Nino apologizes to his furry namesake.

Nino grimaces as he recalls the night they got him to the Ohno estate. He had been in so much pain then, excruciating pain. The anti-vampire charms had managed to travel through his entire body by the time they reached the estate, and Nino honestly thought that he would die. Fortunately, the Ohno clan had several doctors on site, including one who knew vampire biology very well, and had managed to help him. Since a zombie’s blood is poisonous for a vampire if taken in large amounts, the doctor had mixed Sho and Aiba’s blood with droplets of Ohno’s blood to help him recover quickly since Ohno possessed extremely fast regeneration skills. By adding some of it to Sho and Aiba’s blood, the doctor hoped that it would give him a speedy recovery.

Nino manages to recover in two days. He still isn’t feeling one hundred percent yet, but at least he’s not feeling the excruciating burning pain, like his veins are on fire. The doctors had to remove the anti-vampire charms by feeding him the blood to let his body flush out the toxins. Sho, Aiba, and Ohno had stayed the whole entire time, cutting themselves constantly to give him blood. Jun had stood by the door to keep any unwanted presence out.

He’s grateful really, for his friends. Going into enemy territory with only the four of them to rescue him… It means a lot. Nino knows he would have done the same for any of them as well, but the gesture still warms him. He really needs to thank them properly after somehow.

He shudders. Chinen had been crazy… The zombie was clearly not in his right mind the whole entire time he kept him prisoner. The last he heard about the zombie from Sho was that the Chinen clan was kicked out of their alliance with the Ohno clan. There was probably more that happened, but since Sho isn’t a clan member, Jun probably hasn’t told him the full story.

He’ll ask Ohno for the details later, but right now, he really needs to see his stubborn husband. Pushing himself up on his arms, Nino tries to push himself up on his elbows. Sho is already at the other side of him, placing a steady hand on his back to help him up.

“Kazu-kun, what are you doing?” Aiba asks warily. “You shouldn’t be getting up yet. You’re not fully healed.”

“Masaki, I need to see my husband.” He winces as he feels a sharp pain at his thigh. He sighs in frustration. Even if his strength is back for the most part, his body still isn’t one hundred percent; it frustrates him. He hates feeling weak.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? You can barely walk without wincing in pain,” Sho points out. Nino shakes his head and wraps an arm around Sho’s shoulders.

“I have to see him. Please, guys, take me to him.”

Sho and Aiba exchange a look but both of them nod.

“Okay, but let us know if it gets too much,” Sho warns.

Nino chuckles tiredly. “Of course.”


“Satoshi-kun, Nino requests an audience with you,” Jun says behind him. Ohno’s standing in front of his koi pond, watching the orange and white fish swim freely in the water. “And he says that you better see him or he’ll kick your ass if you don’t.” Ohno frowns and turns around to meet his friend’s amused face.

“Tell him I’m busy,” Ohno replies. Jun shakes his head.

“He’s quite adamant about it. Actually, he’s-”

“Right here.” Nino cuts in at the door to the backyard. “Satoshi, we need to talk.” He’s leaning against the screen doors with a pissed off look. “You need to stop avoiding me.”

Ohno sighs at his husband tiredly. “I wasn’t avoiding you, not deliberately--”

“Yes you are. Why are you lying to me?” Nino snaps. Jun looks back and forth between them, giving Ohno a bow before taking his leave. Nino and Ohno hardly notice the zombie’s disappearance. “And if you’re blaming yourself, stop. It’s not your fault.” He slowly makes his way over to his husband, limping all the way through. Ohno doesn’t move to help him, instead he’s glaring at the ground.

“But it’s because of me that you were in that situation!” Ohno shouts. “If it wasn’t because of me, you would’ve been safe.” He looks haunted and Nino wants to slap him because of it.

“Satoshi, that may be, but I don’t care. The situation can easily be the other way too. Angry vampires may go after you because I married you.” He clicks his tongue and he holds a hand out. Ohno easily accepts his hand and pulls him into an embrace. Nino sighs into Ohno’s shoulder. “We’re never going to have it easy, Satoshi…”

“I know,” Ohno mumbles into Nino’s hair. “I just wish it doesn’t have to be so.”

“Same. But you know what?” Nino pulls away from him a bit and looks into his eyes. Ohno looks tired, older than he’s supposed to look. And Nino knows it’s because Ohno has been worrying himself to death the past several days over the whole matter. It hurts to see his husband so distraught with the whole ordeal. “I don’t care, as long as I can be with you. I love you. Never forget that. We knew what we were getting into. And besides, we have our friends and family to help us.” He places a hand on Ohno’s tanned cheeks. “Never forget that,” Nino whispers, “we have the support from others who don’t care about old prejudices.” Ohno closes his eyes. “So please, don’t carry on this burden by yourself. I don’t regret marrying you.”

“I don’t regret marrying you either,” Ohno replies as he opens his eyes to look at his husband again. “You’re the best thing that has happened to me, and I love you too. But Kazu… I don’t think I could handle it if you got hurt because of me again…” Nino sighs and pulls Ohno in for another hug again. He wraps his arms around Ohno’s waist and breathes in the scent of his husband.

“And you think I could if the same happened to you? I know you can take care of yourself, but it still terrifies me to think that the same situation could easily happen to you,” Nino says tiredly. “But I’m done with being scared. We can’t keep living in fear like this.”

“So… Are you suggesting we tell everybody?” Ohno asks in confusion. Nino shakes his head.

“No, not yet. That would be a terrible idea. But others are beginning to know. I don’t think we have to hide it anymore, but we should be more careful.” Nino grimaces. Most likely his family will know about it by now too, if Chinen’s story is correct. The marriage is spreading. “We just won’t say anything. Let them think.”

He feels Ohno’s grip around him tighten. “Are you sure?” He’s hesitant with Nino’s choice, but Ohno knows they can’t hide their marriage forever, especially when his father steps down from the Head position. Ohno will eventually have to let his followers know he’s married. That’s a whole other headache in itself. He feels Nino nod.

“Yeah,” he mumbles quietly. “We don’t have to do everything at once. Just gradually. We’re going to be living for a long time anyway. We have all the time in the world.”

Ohno smiles. Yes they do. And thank goodness for that. It reassures him that Nino will always be at his side, aging slowly like he is. Their lifespans are quite close to each other’s. Ohno can’t wait to see how an older Nino will look in the next few centuries.

“I’m sorry,” Nino wheezes and lets out a pained groan. Ohno pulls away to look at his husband in alarm. “Can we sit down for a bit? My leg is killing me.” Ohno glares at his husband before bending down to pick him up bridal style. Nino shrieks in surprise. “What are you doing?!”

“Don’t think I’m not mad at you. What were you thinking about leaving your bed?” Ohno scolds him as he begins walking back to the house.

Nino glares back at him and pinches the zombie’s cheek. “If I didn’t, you would never visit me and just mope around in the gardens all day!”

Ohno pouts. “I wasn’t moping.”

“But you were avoiding me. Really. Your husband?!” Nino whines as he snuggles closer to Ohno. Ohno laughs. “Why are you laughing? Also, don’t think I’m forgiving you that easily. I heard from Masaki and Sho-chan that you’ve been sparring with Jun-kun a lot lately and not speaking. If that’s not moping, I don’t know what is.” He glares at Ohno.

“Kazu, you’re supposed to be injured! Why are you so active?” Ohno cries as he carries Nino to their shared bedroom.

“Because I’m your husband, and I can! And what do you mean by that?”

As the couple continue to squabble down the hallway ignoring the amused looks from the servants, their friends watch on in exasperation.

“They seem back to normal,” Aiba says with a giggle.

Sho looks at them in fascination.“Are they generally like that?” He asks in surprise. Jun sighs and rolls his shoulders. “I expected it from Nino, but not Ohno-kun.”

“Yeah, for the most part. Nino generally brings out that childish side in Satoshi-kun. They’re either acting like an old married couple or like newlyweds,” Jun replies with a frown. “It’s disgusting.”

Aiba bursts out laughing at Jun’s response. “Well, they wouldn’t be the Ohno and Nino we know then, eh?” He watches with interest as their squabbles seem to up in volume down the hall, mostly coming from Nino. The servants have stopped to listen too, some of the women giggling behind their hands.

“No,” Jun says a small smile forming on his lips, “I guess they wouldn’t.”

“They’ll be okay,” Sho adds and winces as he hears Nino yell about his leg and Oh my god, Satoshi, are you trying to open my wound again, and Ohno’s surprised yelp. “Well, for the most part.”