#also this one. got very long. oopsieeee

[mirrortouchedsea]

Day 9

Kaname needed to get out of the rain, already feeling chilled to the bone. As much as he wanted to keep moving, the rain made it impossible to travel safely. He squinted and tried to find anywhere that might offer shelter before his eyes settled upon a mostly still standing chapel. With its roof mostly intact, it was better than any of the other dilapidated buildings around and he would be able to hang his clothes to dry somewhere inside. 

Upon approaching the stairs leading to the chapel, he noticed that the doors and windows were also undamaged, at least in any way that would allow for zombies to get inside. Someone must be maintaining the small building, and all Kaname could hope for was that they would let him stay until the rain moved and maybe until his clothes dried. At most a day or two if he was lucky. 

Kaname called out into the chapel but there was no response. There was a pit in his stomach, mind racing to the worst possibilities, which only got worse as he searched through the building. It looked lived in, a small cot in a room behind the altar and a shelf that looked like it held food at one point were found, alongside a small fire pit towards the back of the chapel. There was a small stash of firewood and a lighter next to the pit and Kaname briefly thought about lighting a fire to warm himself up and dry his clothes off, before realizing he could barely start a fire on his own. The past few weeks he had eaten mostly cold foods that didn’t need to be cooked and relied on blankets and clothing he came upon to keep him warm. 

He still peeled his jacket off and laid it over the back of one of the pews back in the main room of the church. His shirt, pants, and socks were also soaked but he didn’t have a change of clothes so he was stuck in them for the time being. Maybe the other person who lived here, if they hadn’t already died, would have a spare change of clothes for him. He set his bag down on the ground and laid in one of the pews. 

--- 

The sound of footsteps approaching woke Kaname from his sleep. His immediate reaction was to fight back, sitting up and springing forward at the body in front of him, hands gripping at its throat ready to tear it open. The body, no, the person beneath him grabbed at his wrists and tried to pull away. Its--their hands were warm, calming Kaname down just enough to loosen his grip on their throat, but not enough to let go entirely. There was a bag of spilled food on the floor beside them. 

Who are you, Kaname asked, still straddling the other figure. My name is Tatsumi Kazehaya and I am only watching after this church, the man responded. There was blood on his clothing, which Kaname only vaguely recognized as what a priest would wear. Kaname mumbled an apology and let go of Tatsumi’s throat, offering him a hand to pull him to his feet. Tatsumi smiled and accepted it before asking Kaname what he was doing here. I was just passing through and needed somewhere to wait out the rain, that’s all, will you let me spend the night? Of course, that’s why I’ve been maintaining the church, to offer shelter for the lost. 

Tatsumi picked up the spilled food on the floor, likely picked over from an old convenience store or something as it was mostly junk food. Not that it was easy to come across fresh fruits and vegetables anymore. Any food was good food right now. He motioned for Kaname to follow him and finally asked for his name, which Kaname only told him his given name, deciding to listen to his brother’s advice and not give out his family name. Not yet, anyway. Kaname was generic enough to not raise any eyebrows anyway. 

Kaname hated how easy it was to fall into conversation with Tatsumi. He should be keeping his guard up in case the other man was hiding his true intentions, but they ended up together by the small fire pit, Kaname’s clothes drying next to them as he warmed up in the spare set of clothes Tatsumi had given him. The knit sweater was not his style, but he couldn’t exactly turn it down unless he wanted to get sick. He already felt a cold coming on as it was, there was no need to make it worse. 

Tatsumi apologized for not having any better sleeping accommodations, offering his own pillow and blanket for Kaname to use, which he accepted, though the nights would be cold and he was strangely worried about the other man getting sick as well. Kaname spent the night curled up next to the small fire pit and Tatsumi went back to his cot. 

--- 

The next day, his clothes were still damp and everything outside was muddy. Not what Kaname would call ideal traveling conditions. Tatsumi had said he could stay as long as he needed though, so another day or two would be nothing. Kaname was still wary of the other man, though after sleeping through the night without waking was a welcome change for Kaname, as nights on the road often lead to sleeping in bursts. The exhaustion in his bones was finally starting to set in and it hurt for him to sit up. 

By the time he was up and moving, he was visibly wincing in pain. Tatsumi told him to sit down, he would go find something to ease the aches for a little while, but he should take it easy. Kaname obliged and laid back down, though this time on one of the pews again. But now he had time to think. Was his brother looking for him? Would it even be worth it to keep moving? What if he had already missed his brother because they were both traveling? Maybe it would be better if he stayed with Tatsumi, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about missing his brother that way. 

Tatsumi came back some time later, though Kaname had lost all sense of it since everything started. Had it been a few minutes? Hours? It didn’t matter. Tatsumi knelt by him and offered him some pills and a glass of water. It’ll help relieve the pain, he said. Kaname swallowed the pills before laying back down. Tatsumi told him to just get some rest, he would take care of everything else. 

--- 

Days turned to weeks and Kaname had made himself at home with Tatsumi in the small church. The two of them would look after travelers and give them a place to sleep for the night. At some point, Tatsumi had taught Kaname how to keep their wards up, which were what protected the church and made it impossible for zombies to find. With Kaname’s name entered into the wards, he would also be under greater protection from them. 

Once a week, the two of them would venture out past the church in search of food and clean water, as well as picking up anyone who needed shelter. It was on one of these weekly outings that Kaname was injured. 

He still wasn’t sure exactly how it happened, he just remembered seeing something move out of the corner of his eye before jumping in front of Tatsumi and taking the hit of whatever it was. Not for nothing, Tatsumi had told him afterwards that Kaname had given him enough time to take it down, which was worth something in Kaname’s book. He had woken up just a few moments later to Tatsumi tending to his arm, covering it in bandages and saying something about medicine. It would be almost impossible to keep the wound completely clean but he’d do what he could for Kaname. 

The concern etched in Tatsumi’s face made something click in Kaname. Even though they had been living together for some weeks, he still hadn’t felt like he could trust him, and yet he had still subconsciously jumped in front of immediate danger for the man, who in turn made sure he was going to be okay. Maybe he could finally be safe.