The Wandering Samurai and his Beloved General (BL)

Lanling had expected to see at least some trace of helplessness, if not anger, on Haruki's face. But when he saw Haruki's starry-eyed expression instead, his own face betrayed a rare moment of uncertainty, at a loss for words.

"Why... do you look happy?" Lanling asked, his tone quiet as he silently grabbed the bottle, closing it tightly before securing it within his ring, out of reach of prying hands.

"Because!" Haruki exclaimed, his excitement palpable as he grabbed Lanling's hands. "Because you're saying that I mean so much to you that your enemies would target me just to hurt you!"

"O-Oh." Lanling could only blink in response, unsure how to react.

"Don't worry!" Haruki's eyes sparkled with excitement as his smile brightened like the sun. "I won't let them touch even a single strand of my hair! And when I'm strong enough, none of them will be able to touch you either! I'll be the perfect knight to you, Lanling!"

He grinned, showing his white teeth, and giggled uncontrollably.

Lanling's hands remained firmly held within Haruki's rough palms. He seemed to stare at them calmly, but beneath the surface, a ripple of emotion passed quietly through him. An indulging smile quickly masked whatever feelings had threatened to appear.

"Mn, alright," Lanling said, his voice soft. "I believe you."

Haruki giggled some more, his hands flailing as he swung them left and right in his excitement. He vaguely remembered having a long list of questions in his mind, and this seemed like the perfect time to start asking them. But in his giddiness, his mind went blank.

"Alright, it's deep in the night. Go to sleep. We're heading somewhere tomorrow."

"Okay~"

Haruki skipped out of the tent and happily entered the one next to Lanling's, which sent him into another fit of giggles. Who could explain why he was brimming with happiness when nothing particularly eventful had happened? It was simply the fact that their tents were next to each other, and if he really tried, he could sometimes hear Lanling speaking with his subordinates. That alone made him feel so close to him!

In his silliness, Haruki fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Perhaps it was the deep mental clarity he'd reached recently, or maybe his strength was growing after days of training, but in the stillness of sleep, Haruki finally pried open a small part of his lost memory, and it came to him unbidden, in a dream.

The scene was simple. The background was so blurred he couldn't make out where he was, and in the darkness, only the other person's small red lips and pale skin stood out clearly. He felt himself holding the other's delicate hands, and his own cheeks lifted into a smile. He knew he was smiling widely, though it was laced with pain.

"Don't worry! I'll never let them hurt you! I promise I'll be your perfect knight!"

Suddenly, the sensation of falling from a great height jolted him awake. He was drenched in sweat, his hands tightly clutching the quilt, wrinkling it into a mess. It took him a moment to realize that his words from yesterday had triggered the memory.

Haruki held his chest to calm his uneven heartbeat, and the image of the child from his memories flickered in his mind. In his delusion, he convinced himself that it wasn't impossible for it to be Lanling despite how feminine the child had looked. But soon, he stopped thinking about it altogether.

It was great that a memory had come back to him, but there was really nothing he could take from it. Judging by their ages, that memory was at least 10 years old! Even if he wanted to find the child in his dream, it would be incredibly difficult.

So, he pushed that thought aside and focused on the outing instead.

As he eagerly listened to Lanling's warnings about their destination during breakfast, a strange thought began pestering his mind. Could he... think of this as a date?

There was really no reason not to, especially since they were going to be alone! Just the two of them!

Yes, they were going out to hunt wandering spirits, and there was still a high chance of danger, but it was going to be him and Lanling. Important things had to be confirmed three times, so when they were finally about ten minutes away from the encampment, alone together, Haruki was once again in heaven!

"... Haruki, focus. You've made it too windy. It'll be hard for the spirits to approach," Lanling's voice held a soft chuckle as he whispered, being extra careful not to startle the spirits away.

"Ah—oh! Sorry, sorry."

In Haruki's arms, jars filled with white orbs added to his bright, excited appearance. As he held them securely, he looked almost like a lost child in the fae realm. It was a little comical, but at the same time, heartwarming.

He also wore a wide smile that made him look younger than his age.

For reasons unknown to Haruki, it wasn't until they had been hunting for nearly half an hour that Lanling finally handed him a large sack to use. Until then, Haruki had spent the entire time hugging the jars, looking like a lost child. In his happiness, he hadn't realized that someone was secretly taking pleasure in the image he unknowingly created.

Still, he diligently carried out his duties, switching between being a spirit captor and a sack guardian.

"This time, try creating a net. You don't have to materialize it as one, but the important thing is to gather the spirits in one spot." Lanling demonstrated by creating an electric dome around three spirits, trapping them in place. "With my element, it causes too much energy, but it shouldn't be a problem for you."

As if on cue, Lanling felt a drop of sweat trickle down from his temple to his chin, and he subconsciously wiped it off.

Haruki immediately looked away, his mind wandering as he wondered why the air had suddenly grown warmer.

Quickly, he raised his hand with his palm facing forward, imagining the wind encircling three more spirits and willing it to gradually tighten. The spirits bounced around wildly as soon as they realized they were trapped, but Haruki had cleverly compressed them, leaving them no escape.

Before they could break free, he had already secured them in jars and buried them deep inside the sack filled with other wandering spirits.