The Wandering Samurai and his Beloved General (BL)

"There's a terrifying number of them."

It was such an obvious observation, yet Haruki couldn't help but comment.

"Mn." Lanling gave a simple nod.

A mischievous grin suddenly spread across Haruki's face. "I kinda want to throw a rock in the middle of all this. What do you think would happen? A crocodile storm?"

"If you want to do it, just do it," Lanling replied, his tone calm and steady.

"Ah? Shouldn't you be telling me to be careful so we don't get hurt? I can't even count how many there are at first glance!"

"No problem. I'll protect you. I can take them all if need be."

Haruki's heart skipped a beat. Lanling clearly hadn't intended to sound imposing; his words were delivered as a simple statement of fact. Yet his quiet confidence radiated such charisma that Haruki felt a blush creeping onto his face.

Seeing Haruki suddenly grow quiet, Lanling turned to him. "Well, are you going to do it or not?"

"I want to! I want to!"

Haruki's shyness quickly evaporated as the childish urge to disturb a nest of crocodiles took over. Within moments, he found a rock that suited him and began winding up. Trusting Lanling's words, he hurled the rock toward what he believed to be the center of the swamp.

PLOP!

In an instant, the area erupted as an innumerable number of crocodiles clashed against each other, scrambling for dominance over the small rock. But none of them realized that their prey had no flesh, and they continued to brawl relentlessly.

Lanling let out a soft chuckle, casually kicking aside a crocodile that had come too close. "You really have no fear."

Grinning, Haruki instinctively blasted another crocodile away with a gust of wind before unsheathing his katana. "Wasn't that quite a show? Where else could you see a bunch of crocodiles fighting for a rock? And Lanling, you clearly egged me on to do it! Hahaha!" As he spoke through his laughter, he plunged his blade into a crocodile's snout, easily pulling it out after piercing through its mouth with his newfound sword skill.

"Aye, I did."

On the other side, Lanling displayed even more power in his strikes, cutting through one crocodile's mouth after another as if it were butter, all while wearing a soft smile.

Their backs were to each other, and no creature could breach their circle. A pile of dead crocodiles began to accumulate around them, and it took nearly half an hour before the creatures finally realized that these two were not going to be their meals for the night.

Gradually, the remaining crocodiles began to retreat, sinking into the murky waters, their beady eyes still peeking over the surface, cautiously watching the two men.

Haruki collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, massaging his tired arms. "How are there still so many? I've cut through at least a hundred of them!" He remembered how Lanling had easily handled half of his side, even when his own strikes barely seemed to phase the creatures.

And yet, Lanling stood tall, holding his blade firmly in his hand. Though drenched in sweat, his demeanor remained calm and steady.

Haruki couldn't help but feel a sense of security in his presence.

"It's a nest for a reason," Lanling said, sheathing his sword and pulling out a skinning knife. He grabbed a nearby crocodile with ease and tossed it aside before skillfully processing its skin. "The local towns around here have dedicated hunters for this swamp. If they leave it unattended for just a couple of months, the roads will be overrun with these creatures."

"How is that possible?!" Haruki asked, disbelief evident in his voice as he watched Lanling's swift hands at work. "Surely they don't grow that quickly."

"Unfortunately, they do reach adulthood in a couple of days, thanks to a witch's curse that empowers this place."

A minute later, Lanling had folded a neat crocodile skin and handed it to Haruki for closer inspection.

The skin was perfectly intact, with no unnecessary cuts. Its seamlessness almost created the illusion that Lanling had peeled it off as though it were cloth.

"Lanling, your skills are insane! How do the soldiers under you even survive?" Haruki looked up from the skin, his face filled with admiration.

"It's not that difficult. Come here, I'll teach you."

And so, for the next hour or two, one taught the other how to skin, while the other—clumsy at first—followed the instructions with intense concentration.

Under the beady eyes of the crocodiles, who stubbornly continued to stare at the pair amidst the bodies of their kin, Haruki slowly became more skillful. By the end, his work no longer resembled scraps, but something far more refined.

It had been Haruki's fifth crocodile, while Lanling had already skinned fifty, filling a sack to the brim.

Refusing to be useless, Haruki hefted the heavy sack over his shoulder, and together they began their trek back to the encampment once more.

In the silence, a question that Haruki should have asked a day ago finally surfaced in his mind.

"Hey, Lanling. What kind of person was I in your memories?"

It was a question Haruki had carefully worded, knowing the answer might be broad and difficult. Rather than asking the more obvious question—whether they knew each other—he chose to focus on his previous personality instead, eager to stumble into unexpected revelations.

Lanling stopped.

He met Haruki's clear gaze, and his head shook with visible reluctance.

"... I can't tell you," he replied softly.

There was a lot behind Lanling's words—the reluctance, the subtle confirmation that they knew each other, and his honesty.

Haruki understood that Lanling could have easily lied to him, and he would have believed him. But for some reason, hearing Lanling admit his inability to explain more only warmed his heart.

"Then it doesn't matter," Haruki said, a soft smile tugging at his lips. "You exist in my present, and I'll make sure you're in my future. Whatever it was in our past can stay there."

Time seemed irrelevant in that moment as their gazes locked.

Haruki saw a multitude of emotions flicker through Lanling's eyes, emotions he couldn't fully understand. But there was one he recognized all too well... fear.

As for what Lanling feared, Haruki had no idea. But whatever it was, he was confident that one day, he would be the one to help Lanling overcome it.