Shades of Time

Shi’s head hung a little and she peered through her lashes at Tenpou, who was still fussing with her boots. Odd, she thought, no one had taken her boots off since she was little and that had been one of the servants. She sighed and tried to roll her shoulders only to half gasp in pain when one refused to move much. Damn it.



“Tenpou.”



He looked up at her from his place on the floor, noting that she still looked entirely too pale. “What is it?”



“Weird request. Put one hand on my back at the shoulder blade and the other on the opposite side.”



He looked at her puzzledly for a moment before moving to do as she’d asked. He frowned, remembering what had usually happened when someone asked him to do this. Before he could move his hands to stop her, Shi had pitched herself forward and slightly sideways and Tenpou heard the almost sickening crack and grind of her shoulder popping back into place.



Shi had clenched her teeth on a scream and was breathing heavily before rolling her shoulder that was still between Tenpou’s hands to test it.



“Gods, that really hurts with broken ribs!” she ground out.



“If you would have told me your shoulder was out I could have gotten it back in socket a little easier,” Tenpou said, going back to his work pulling off her boots, finally yanking them off and tossing both to the side.



Shi shrugged as best she could. “It doesn’t matter. I hope Kenren got Thies to the healers okay.”



“I’m sure he made it there in record time.”



“Probably,” Shi said with a sigh. She tried peeling the partially unbuttoned tunic away from her skin only to find it stuck to the wounds. “Great. I’m going to have to soak in the tub with my uniform on.”



“One of the drawbacks to blood drying against wounds,” Tenpou said, helping her into the tub. Shi sank into the warm water up to her nose, trying to will away the hurt in her side for a few moments.



The water in the tub had almost instantly turned red and Tenpou sighed a little. He hated to have to keep moving her but he really didn’t see that he had any choice. She certainly wasn’t going to get clean if she had to sit in a tub full of bloody water.



Shi seemed to sense what he was thinking. “Maybe it would be better if I tried the shower.”



“Probably,” Tenpou said, helping her get out again. Then leaning over to pull the plug from the drain.



“Gods, this is just a mess,” she said. “But at least it got the blood washed off enough to get the uniform unstuck.”



“True. Let’s get you out of it then,” Tenpou said, reaching around her and turning on the shower.



Shi avoided the urge to sigh, knowing it would hurt abominably. She really didn’t have any choice but to let Tenpou help her if she ever wanted to get clean again. Unfortunately, that also meant him seeing her naked. She turned her back to him. She peeled the cloth away from her skin, grimacing as more wounds and bruises were revealed down her chest and stomach.



He stared in horror as the wet tunic and undershirt were carefully removed. Four long, ragged marks scored Shi’s back from her left shoulder to her right hip, cutting through the phoenix tattoo that was the mark of her clan. Something had literally tried to rip her open and had done a fairly good job of it. How she’d found the strength to pull not only herself but Major Thies as far as she had was beyond him.



Shi put out one hand to brace herself against the wall. She felt Tenpou hovering behind her and when he moved, she glanced over her shoulder at him. Staring in shock for a moment as she took in that he was starting to unbutton his own shirt, obviously intending to join her in the shower.



“What the hell are you doing, Tenpou?!” she said, trying to turn and swaying dangerously, managing to catch herself before toppling over.



“Shi, you aren’t going to be able to stand long enough to take a shower on your own. Plus, I’m soaked in blood as well,” he said, as though it was perfectly logical and acceptable for them to be taking a shower together. Actually, it wasn’t an unusual thing for people to bathe or shower together. There was no false modesty among those in Heaven and being nude in front of someone else was almost as common as being clothed.



“Whatever.” She sighed and winced from the pain that shot through her. The gods really did hate her, she thought, allowing Tenpou to help her back into the tub. She leaned forward a little, bracing her hands against the wall of the shower, letting the water run down her hair and neck. She avoided glancing back as Tenpou got in behind her and pulled the shower curtain closed.



For his part Tenpou thought he should have gotten a medal for acts of heroism. Gods knew it was that just by managing to keep his hands off of her except to help. The muscles of her shoulders and back were defined without being too masculine and there was a lean grace about her that marked a fighter of merit. Even injured she was amazing to look at and he mentally kicked himself yet again for being blind to what was right in front of him. He forced himself to stare at the injuries instead of at her body because that would be a disaster of epic proportions at that time.



Shi barely managed to stifle a moan as Tenpou’s strong fingers began to massage her scalp and through her wet hair, working through the strands to remove the caked in blood.



“I’ll give you all day to stop doing that,” she finally managed to say.



Tenpou chuckled behind her, continuing to run his fingers through her hair. He finished cleaning the blood from her hair and body, managing to get himself reasonably clean as well. Shi resisted the urge to squirm under his hands, knowing that it wasn’t anything like interest, it was simply practical matters.



Once they were both clean they managed to somehow get Shi into her sleep clothes and Tenpou into a guest robe until his clothes were cleaned. Shi was almost instantly asleep after Tenpou had pulled the covers over her and said he was going to go fix something to eat.



Tenpou closed the door to Shi’s room and leaned heavily against it a sick feeling sinking into the pit of his stomach. He’d come very close to losing her today. That thought alone made him queasy. He couldn’t lose her. Not now when he’d just about gotten things figured out. Well, gotten his own feelings figured out at any rate. He still had no clue if any of her feelings for him could be salvaged.



He had just started for the kitchen when he heard the front door slam shut. “Konzen,” he said aloud. Had to be. And sure enough, the other man met him halfway up the hallway having just opened his mouth to call for Shi.



“What the hell are you doing here, Tenpou?” Konzen asked, eyeing the robe curiously.



“Keep your voice down, Konzen. Shi just went to sleep,” Tenpou said, motioning for the other man to follow him into the kitchen.



“I just found out about this. How is she?”



“Hurt, exhausted, she’s lost a lot of blood and has some fairly serious injuries.”



“And of course, she refused to go to the healers,” Konzen said, grinding his teeth in frustration with his friend.



“Did you doubt it?” Tenpou said, pulling a cigarette out and lighting up. Watching for a moment as the smoke curled from the end. “She said that there were others who were worse off and that the healers needed to focus on them instead of on her.”



Konzen snorted. “Sounds about right.”