This is a story that has been stuck in my computer for a while now. I decided to publish and complete it since I'm still deciding what to do with "The Island." There are so many plot bunnies in my head for that story and finishing this fic is a way to kill one of those jumping bunnies.
Anyway, updates for this one might be more frequent than usual since I've already written about ¾ of the story. It will be short, about 4-6 chapters in length.
That being said, happy reading!
[CAGED]
.Alternate Universe.
[RyoSaku / KiriSaku]
Trigger
On the way to deliver food to her grandmother
Litter Red Riding Hood met a dangerous wolf
A big bad wolf with golden eyes…
Edo (Tokyo), April 1692
Her footsteps lightly echoed in the hallway as her wooden sandals hit the floorboards. With a basket in one hand, and the other clutching the skirt of her peach kimono in a futile effort to hike it up, the petite eighteen-year-old girl ran through the wooden veranda of one of the most private sections in Edo castle. Her long twin braids flew enticingly after her form.
Why did she oversleep today? Her obaa-chan must be hungry by now.
She had the simple task of delivering lunch to her grandmother. Although the Ryuzaki family belonged to the lower class in the 17th century Japanese caste system, her clan has had the privilege of serving the ruling family for decades.
There was nothing special or notable about them. They were simply servants in the castle. Her grandmother was the only Ryuzaki who ever managed to elevate her social status. Sumire Ryuzaki's impressive intellect and varied skills enabled her to eventually become an adviser and mentor to a group of young samurai elites.
To think that she's forgotten to do a simple errand for the hard-working old woman due to her clumsiness was just unforgiveable. It was already past noon and Sumire hasn't had lunch yet. What makes things worse is that she is expected to resume her classes soon and she wouldn't have time for another break until dinner.
Sakuno halted in the middle of a hallway and turned her head toward the opened courtyard in the center of intersecting verandas. Beyond the white sand of the courtyard was a Japanese garden that harbored a modest koi pond. Over the pond was a bridge that connected the area to another garden that was in another part of the castle.
Scrunching her eyebrows a bit, she calculated her chances. She had the feeling that if she used the bridge to cross over the gardens, she'll make it to the training grounds of the castle in a shorter amount of time.
She doesn't have time to think.
Sakuno took a deep breath and just decided to take her chances.
She ran across the courtyard, to the garden, over the bridge, and then to the other garden. When Sakuno saw nothing but trees and grass in the area, she was starting to get worried as she thought she made the wrong decision. She didn't recognize the area where she was at. She didn't even know that such an area exists within the palace walls.
Nevertheless, she continued running across the garden. Perhaps, the other section of the palace was just farther than she expected.
She was in the middle of her run when something grey and furry suddenly flew across her vision. Surprised and shocked, she momentarily closed her eyes and was unable to stop the momentum of her speed until she finally crashed against a hard wall and fell on top of it.
'On top…?'
The brunette let out a gasp as she realized that she had fallen on a person. Abashed, she quickly propped up her head and got off the individual. Sakuno crawled back to give the person some space and kneeled before the individual she just crashed against.
"G-gomen nasai. Gomen nasai. I wasn't looking where I was going. Gomen nasai," she mumbled repeatedly, while continuing to bow her head to the ground.
Though her eyes remained downcast, she saw from her periphery that the person she crashed against had languidly stood up and brushed away invisible dirt from his royal black gi.
Her eyes froze in horror and her form stilled.
'Oh no…'
Involuntarily, her eyes glanced up.
She saw a grey hakama, two samurai swords at his waist that marked his ranking, a royal black gi, and the golden crest that signified his clan. His royal clan…
As her eyes roamed further up, she saw gorgeous golden eyes underneath greenish-black bangs. Their color matched the golden crest embroidered on his upper clothing. He was staring at her with a neutral expression—his face remaining blank and his eyes inscrutable.
'Oh my gosh, no…'
She had just crashed and clumsily fallen on top of His Highness, Echizen Ryoma…the crowned heir to the Echizen empire, the military regime that ruled all of Japan.
She was dead.
She was literally dead.
When she heard him taking steps toward her, her body was paralyzed in fear. Even low-ranking samurais were allowed to cut peasants out of pure whim. What more if it's the crowned heir of the military empire? Include the fact that she just rudely crashed against his body and made him fall to the ground. She should definitely not expect a punishment that was lighter than death. In fact, she would be lucky if he would make it instant and painless.
She closed her eyes in fear and bowed her head in front of him.
He stopped when he was about a foot away from her.
"Anata…dare?" he said in a cool voice, which was laced with boredom.
It was probably the first time she heard his voice within a mile distance. She found that although his voice was devoid of emotion, it was mysteriously alluring and hypnotizing. The heir was only a year older than her, and yet he was already a highly-accomplished samurai who was feared and admired by even the most skilled warriors in Japan. He was not only royal, but also cunning and deadly—the best combination of skills that people look for in a competent military leader.
Sakuno dipped her head closer to the ground before she spoke in a shaking voice.
"A…A servant girl, Your Excellency. Just a servant girl. Please forgive me! I was merely—"
"I asked who you are. Not what you are."
Her breath momentarily hitched in her throat and she tried to force the answer out of her mouth. The fact that he was asking for her name meant that he was planning a graver punishment for her. Perhaps, he's even thinking of extending the punishment to her entire clan.
She was almost in tears when she considered what the consequences of her mistake will do to her grandma and her family.
"S-Sakuno. Ryuzaki Sakuno."
There was a pause in which a gentle breeze blew against their forms. It sent Sakuno's bangs and pigtails fluttering in the air. Echizen Ryoma just stared at her.
An interruption came in the form of a lazy meow that came from their right side. Sakuno turned her head slightly toward the noise and saw a giant Himalayan cat trying to claw at her forgotten basket. When she had crashed against the young lord earlier, it had fallen off to the side where it had lain forgotten until then.
The cat apparently caught Ryoma's attention as he walked toward it and the basket it was trying to pry open.
"Karupin."
One call of his name and the cat snapped out of his current obsession with the basket. As if on cue, the feline jumped over to Ryoma's shoulder. But the cat didn't turn out to be Ryoma's target...
It was the basket.
Ryoma picked up the wooden container in one fluid movement and opened the lid. Rice balls of different shapes and forms peered up at him from the basket. Some of them had gotten deformed from the recent fall.
Swishing his tail left and right on Ryoma's back, Karupin was also staring at the rice balls as if tempted to devour them all. However, he dutifully held back and waited for his master's decision.
To Sakuno's surprise and horror, she saw the crowned prince take one of the rice balls in her basket and take a bite from it. His face remained expressionless as he chewed and swallowed the piece.
Her face instantly blanched.
Cheap rice balls were hardly the appropriate food for a royalty like him!
Aghast, she weakly protested, "E-Echizen-sama…"
"Did you make these?" he asked, now contemplating the rice balls.
She bowed her head before she softly replied a shaky "hai."
"They taste horrible," he commented bluntly.
Though Sakuno had expected him to be displeased with her hand-made food, she still felt stabbed by his words.
"G-gomen nasai," was all she could mumble.
"Don't be," he replied, taking another bite from the rice ball in his hand. "It must take incredible talent to make something as simple as onigiris taste horrible."
His insult silenced her again but she managed to muster up the courage to look up at him. She saw that he was staring right back at her. The brunette was a little unnerved by it and she was tempted to look back down, but then he made an action that stole her attention.
He grabbed, not one, but two more onigiris from her basket before laying it down on the ground beside her. She froze in anticipation as she waited for what he was planning to do next. She was once again surprised when he just passed by her without even bothering to give her another glance as he left her alone in the garden.
The next few days were pretty uneventful for the brunette. She waited and waited for the coming "punishment" that she expected Ryoma would give her. But it never came.
Nobody suspected anything either, except her grandmother. The old woman did not ask questions. She just gave Sakuno pointed looks from time to time.
More days went by and Sakuno was finally ready to forget about the incident. But then, exactly two weeks after she met Ryoma in that garden…
"Go…pick berries?" Sakuno stammered out. The supervisor of the palace girls merely shrugged uncaringly and handed Sakuno the basket. The brunette recognized that it was the same basket that she often used to carry onigiris to her grandmother during her training days.
"An odd order from a higher-up, but an order nonetheless. Go before you displease them." The older lady made shoo-ing motions and pushed Sakuno toward the direction of the place she instructed the brunette to go to.
Sakuno was confused. As far as she knew, there were no berries in Edo Castle. Even if there were, it is not the season for them.
"E-Echizen-sama…"
She covered her mouth too late. The name already slipped out before she can stop it. The crowned heir to the empire was standing under a tree in the garden when she got to the place. This time, he was clad in an elegant white gi and blue hakama. They resembled the training clothes that affluent members of the royal clan often wore when they practiced kenjutsu. When Ryoma turned to face her, she saw an annoyed expression flitting past his face.
"What took you so long?"
Sakuno blinked innocently.
"Eh?"
The crowned prince's eyes narrowed at her answer.
"Che, forget it. Just hand them over."
"Eh?"
Her oblivious answers were starting to annoy him so he just took action. He started to approach her.
Sakuno dropped to her knees and bowed to the ground out of habit. Conventionally, she was supposed to do that whenever she was in the presence of a high-ranking official. And yet, with all of the surprises, she momentarily forgot herself.
She shook a bit when she felt Ryoma's presence near her. However, like before, his target had been the basket that was lying innocently beside her.
He opened it and his eyes displayed displeasure when he saw nothing inside the basket.
Sakuno could only frown at the young lord.
"Where are they?" he calmly asked.
"Y-Your Excellency?"
"The onigiris."
If Sakuno was confused before, she was utterly bewildered by then.
"I-I wasn't aware I was supposed to bring onigiris. Gomen nasai, I'll ask the cook to—"
"I don't want theirs," he said, voice louder than usual. "Why are you so slow?" Ryoma asked in annoyance.
It was only then that Sakuno began to realize that he meant he wanted her onigiris. Now, the implication of being handed the same basket and being directed to the same location made more sense to her. It was he who orchestrated her visit to the garden. He was indirectly asking her to make him more onigiris.
Her cheeks flushed into a pretty shade of red and the maiden bowed before the heir in embarrassment. "Gomen nasai. I was too stupid to realize. I-I shall make some right away!"
Ryoma looked away from her, though he looked placated by what she said.
"I can only hide from my tutors for a few more minutes. Hurry."
"Y-yes, Your Highness!"
It has become a habit.
Her supervisor would ask her to "pick some berries" and she knew what to do.
Initially, she would just deliver the onigiris to him and leave him be. But then, one day, he had asked her to stay while he ate them. She wanted to ask why, but knew she was in no place to do so. He was appointed to be the next military ruler of Japan. He can ask her to jump off a cliff and she would be bound by obligation to follow his wish.
The young lord rarely talked when they were together. Sakuno figured he was naturally a private man. She didn't mind though. She knew she was incapable of offering any intelligent opinions about any topic that he might wish to discuss. Hence, they usually just sat together in companionable silence, almost at ease with each other's company.
Little did Sakuno know that Ryoma often observed her during their quiet moments together.
The other servants in the palace had started to become suspicious. Once, there were some palace ladies who had accidentally seen Sakuno and Lord Echizen together and had gossiped. Conveniently, they had "mysteriously" vanished from the palace the very next day and were never heard from again.
Nobody knew what happened to them. That, or nobody wanted to talk.
"I-Is something wrong, E-Echizen-sama?" Sakuno asked in her timid voice. She had seen the heir pause and stare at the rice ball in his hand.
Actually, she knew what was wrong. He had finally noticed the special rice ball she decided to make for him that day.
Ryoma was silent for a few more seconds before he asked, "Is this supposed to be me?" He continued to stare at the rice ball that was modeled after him. It had slanted angry eyes and spiky bangs that were made of cut-out seaweed.
"A-ano…"
"Is this what you think of me?"
"N-no, of course not! Echizen-sama is much more—"
He suddenly stood up and took the rice ball with him without eating it. Sakuno trembled, thinking that she had offended the young lord.
"G-gomen nasai, I won't do—"
"Sankyuu."
The brunette blinked in surprise, not knowing that it was actually the very first time Ryoma had thanked anyone in his life.
"He's going to that place again," the head secretary, who manages the personal affairs of the Echizen family, murmured to his companion. He was a data-collecting lad who wore rectangular spectacles that concealed his eyes from everyone.
"Saa, we should let him have fun from time to time. Besides, I've never seen him that interested in a girl before," said his companion who had a pleasant smile on his face. Despite of his amiable expression, he is actually one of the most deadly and ruthless samurais the Echizen empire has to offer. He has cunning skills and impressive intellect that always placed him one step ahead of his opponents.
Inui, the data-collector, grunted in disapproval.
"The higher-ups in the palace are bound to notice sooner or later. There is a high chance that it will stir controversy. After all, she is nothing but a lowly servant."
Fuji Syuusuke watched their crowned prince sneak behind the cover of a tree in the garden. When Ryoma was completely gone, he turned his attention to the cloudy sky that was hanging over the opened courtyard where they were currently overseeing the practice swings of the young samurais they were training.
"That's only to be expected. But then again, since when has His Highness cared about the rules?" A mysterious smirk appeared on his smooth face.
"It's none of our business," said a new voice behind them. They turned and saw the captain of the military force staring at them with a stoic expression. "It's time to get back to practice."
"As to be expected from Tezuka," Fuji muttered in amusement. He then went over to his own students in order to assess their skills.
Inui chose to linger for a bit longer. He stared at the spot where the prince disappeared to. He cannot just possibly let things be as they are. The least he could do was to conduct a background check on that girl.
"I'm not going to ask you questions," Sumire one day told her. "But it's better if you stay away from him."
Sakuno paused from folding laundry and sent her grandmother a look full of questions. Her grandmother just implied that she knew about her secret meetings with Ryoma. Or was she talking about…?
"He is going to be the next shogun."
Okay, so she was talking about Ryoma. Sakuno breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Obaa-chan, you have nothing to worry about. I am only doing a chore for Echizen-sama. For whatever reason, he seems to like my tasteless onigiris."
"That's not what I'm afraid of," Sumire continued, frowning. She gave Sakuno a look of distress, as if guilty that she isn't able to do anything for her granddaughter.
"You don't know what he is capable of doing, Sakuno. Your life can be easily ruined just by associating with him. And you shouldn't expect—"
"Obaa-chan…" Sakuno laid a hand on top of her grandmother's and sent her a soothing smile. "Please don't worry. I don't expect anything. I do not lie when I say that I am just doing a chore for His Excellency."
The sky outside of the servants' living quarters had started to turn orange, marking the beginning of twilight. A reminiscent smile was displayed on the brunette's face as she turned her head to look at the orange-red sky through the window in the room.
Besides, her heart is already…
Sakuno bowed low before the high-ranking palace lady that summoned the brunette to her private quarters in the Edo palace. She was surprised when a messenger told her that the honorable Lady Reika, who was chosen to be the future bride of the crowned prince, wanted to see her.
"W-what can I do for you, Lady Reika?" she asked the lady politely.
The Lady rose from her cushioned seat and scrutinized the servant girl.
"Look at me."
Sakuno had no choice but to obey. As she timidly stared up at Reika, she couldn't help but admire the proud and elegant countenance of the royal woman. Although Reika is technically two years older than Ryoma, she has everything a man wants in a woman—curves, beauty, intelligence, and class. She has long and silky black hair decorated with lavish ornaments.
Her presence alone made it difficult for a girl to feel good about herself. Next to the elegant woman, Sakuno thought she definitely paled in comparison.
"I heard some rumors," Reika said in her feminine voice. "I hope they're not true." She arched a perfect brow at Sakuno.
The brunette suddenly felt dread crawl along her spine. Surely, this couldn't be about…
"Are you seeing Echizen-sama alone?"
"H-Honorable Lady, I'm—"
"Are you or are you not seeing Echizen-sama alone?" Reika asked again, sterner this time.
"I…"
"Answer the question!"
Sakuno casted her eyes downwards in defeat. "H-ha—" Her affirmative answer had ended up as a gasp of pain. Reika had slapped her with a golden fan.
"You whore! How dare you seduce His Highness?"
Sakuno stared up at her, beseeching. "Lady Reika, you're mistaken. I was merely making some rice balls for Echizen-sa—"
Slap.
She was once again hit with the fan. "Don't you dare mention his name! You're not worthy enough! You're nothing but scum in this palace!"
Reika grabbed Sakuno's hair and pulled her up.
Some of the lady attendants of Reika winced in sympathy of the poor girl, while the others hid smiles. They felt like the servant girl deserved to be beaten. She dared to advance her rank by seducing officials? They were disgusted by her under-handed tactics.
"Rice balls, you say? What is so special about those rice balls you're making?" Reika glared at the younger girl with venom in her eyes. "I spent my whole life trying to please Echizen-sama. Every single day of my life was spent in preparation for my marriage to him. Despite of all of my hardships, my sacrifices for him, never did he taken even just a minute of his time to see me! And you're telling me that you caught his attention by merely making rice balls?" she shrieked at Sakuno, her beautiful face distorted in bitterness and anger.
And then, as if the lady had gone mad, Reika suddenly smiled.
A devious idea popped up in her mind.
Well, if Echizen-sama is truly only in love with the rice balls that this servant girl makes, then she would just have to make sure that the slave won't be able to make a rice ball ever again.
"Give me your hands."
Sakuno stared up at her in apprehension. Reika yanked at her hair again until the girl was forced to hold up her hands.
"Good girl, now where's that whip…" Reika murmured with a sweet smile on her face.
Ryoma narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar attendant girl who brought Sakuno's basket of onigiris to him. He didn't like the idea that some stranger was allowed to invade his private sanctuary.
"Where is Ryuzaki?"
The attendant girl gracefully bowed before the prince.
"She's sick, Your Highness, but she did make these for you," she answered in a semi-steady voice.
A slight frown marred Ryoma's aristocratic face. "What's wrong with her?"
"Forgive me, but I, myself, do not know the details."
Contemplating her answer, the prince turned his face away. To his annoyance, the attendant girl stayed and continued kneeling before him, feeling as if she could replace Sakuno for the mean time.
"Go," Ryoma ordered scornfully.
The girl looked disappointed but obeyed.
When he was finally alone, Ryoma opened the basket that was left for him. He looked at the rice balls inside the container. They were the shapes that Sakuno usually makes for him—bunnies, stars, and a ball with his face on it.
Except there was something wrong with their forms…they weren't as perfectly shaped as they usually were.
He took out the ball that was supposed to resemble his face. Out of all of them, it was his favorite shape. But even that one did not have its usual specific cut-outs. It only had a square piece of seaweed stuck on it…
"Echizen-sama, please, you're not supposed to be in here. This is not a place for Your Highness, only servants—"
Ryoma ignored the blubbering supervisor and barged into Sakuno's room. The poor brunette awoke from her sleep, eyes widening when she saw the crowned prince in her room.
"E-Echizen-sama…?"
For a moment, Ryoma paused on her doorway.
Sick was not the right term to describe the girl. The brunette was so pale. Her face had a number of bandages and gauzes decorating it. Her innocent eyes, which he secretly adored so much, were staring at him questioningly.
He allowed his eyes to roam down her face. Most of her body was hidden under the traditional kimono she wears but he was able to get a view of her hands, which peeked out from her sleeves. To his surprise, they were heavily bandaged.
Without speaking a word, he approached her. Sakuno noticed what he was staring at and tried to hide her hands from him. However, Ryoma caught one of her hands before she can take them away. She winced at the pressure, so he loosened his grip a bit.
"Y-Your Excellency?" she questioned, attempting to pull her hand away from his scrutiny.
To her horror, he started to unwrap the bandages.
Ryoma's eyes unconsciously hardened in cold fury when her hand was finally unveiled.
Tons and tons of small cuts decorated every inch of her frail hand. Based on the inconsistency of the horizontal cuts and the red spots around them, it seemed as if they were inflicted through repeated hits from a leather whip.
Self-conscious, Sakuno withdrew her hand from him. Ryoma inclined his head slightly downwards and hid his eyes behind his bangs. He was deadly quiet.
"I-I was careless in the kitchen. So, I…" she bluffed. When Sakuno returned from Lady Reika's private quarters, she tried to hide her wounds from everyone. Being in the lower class of society, she has no rights to complain about the incident. Furthermore, Lady Reika threatened to do the same thing to her friends and relatives if she ever told Ryoma or anyone about what happened.
"You made those rice balls…in that condition?" the young lord asked in a frightening calm manner, his eyes still hidden from her.
Sakuno had to sterilize her hands by dipping them in hot water, despite of her wounds, and then wrapping them in clean cheese cloth so she can safely handle the rice without contaminating it. Though she was able to do most of the task, she was unable to perfect the forms of the rice balls she usually makes. Her hands were shaking and were hurting too much.
Nevertheless, she did all she can to ensure that she doesn't disappoint the young lord. Apparently, it wasn't enough.
The supervisor stood at Sakuno's front door, anxiously watching them. Even the old lady had started to feel the silent fury that emanated from the prince's body.
"Echizen-sama, please, I really—"
He stood up abruptly before Sakuno could finish her sentence and left her room without a word.
The next day, word about the banishment of Lady Reika from the castle spread within the palace walls like fire. Apparently, the Lady was also stripped of her title to become the future wife of Lord Echizen. The maids gossiped about how the woman had clawed and struggled when the imperial guards came to escort her out of the castle. She fought against them like a mad woman.
Lady Reika was sent back to her home province wherein she'll live in disgrace and under the mercy of her relatives.
"Your Excellency," Sakuno began, her forehead near the ground as she was bowing before Ryoma in the garden. "I know I am in no place to question your decisions, but regarding Lady Reika, I—"
"What's done is done," Ryoma said with an uncharacteristic coldness in his tone.
Sakuno's eyes shook in agony. She felt guilty for what happened to Reika. Yes, she did not like what the Lady did to her, but she did not also wish that kind of punishment for the girl. Honestly, she can understand Reika's feelings. For someone who devoted all of her time and efforts to please the boy she loves, of course she would be upset once she hears that another girl was getting more acquainted with him.
"But, Echizen-sama—"
"Would you rather I execute her?"
"N-No!" Sakuno exclaimed, aghast. To think that he would execute his ex-fiancé for hurting a servant girl was incomprehensible to her. Servants in the palace often got hit and abused when they make mistakes. That's why it shouldn't be a big deal.
"It's a lesson for all of them," Ryoma said dismissively.
His words had an undertone that Sakuno couldn't quite comprehend. It seemed as if he didn't vocalize the rest of that sentence.
"Your hands…" he suddenly spoke, breaking the tense silence that had stretched between them. "Let me see."
Sakuno rose from her bowing position and sat on her knees. She hesitantly held her hands up to him.
With a gentle touch, Ryoma grabbed one of them and turned it over to inspect it. Sakuno could not help but blush upon the contact. She silently wondered how someone so hard and cold could be so gentle and warm at the same time.
Ryoma released her when he was satisfied to see that her wounds are healing well.
The brunette bowed her head down.
"It was thanks to the doctor Your Excellency sent to me. He gave me medicinal herbs and some creams to apply to the wounds. I was surprised that they were able to heal the cuts without leaving scars."
"Hnnn. Then next week, pick berries for me again."
"E-eh?" Sakuno blinked, surprised.
A smirk ghosted the young lord's lips, enhancing his naturally handsome face.
"Ii jyan?" was his bratty reply.
Time passed.
Lord Echizen and Sakuno resumed their frequent secret meetings.
Even though Ryoma continued to deny it to himself, he was starting to become really fond of the girl. At first, he was only interested in her rice balls. He had told her they were terrible, but he actually lied. In fact, Ryoma believes that even the finest chefs in all of Japan do not possess the skills to make rice balls like Sakuno makes them.
They were not the best rice balls in the world, but they were special. And for some reason, Ryoma found himself addicted to them...and to the girl who makes them.
Something about her smile and her innocent eyes drew him to her. With all of the materials things, money, and power that Ryoma held in his hands, she represented something that the young heir could never get in his life—purity.
Before he knew it, he began to crave her company on a daily basis. She became his sanctuary. His heaven. She was his escape from the harsh and difficult life he was forced to live, being raised with the expectation of succeeding his father to be the next shogun of Japan.
He prided himself in the belief that she seemed attracted to him too. He thought they shared something special—something that crossed the strict taboos that their different positions in society imposed on the two of them.
But apparently, he was wrong…
"Go away. I'm not in the mood," Ryoma muttered dismissively when he saw their head secretary enter the private confines of his study.
Inui bowed before the crowned heir, but did not leave the room.
"I have something important to tell you, Your Majesty," the data man said in a serious tone. "It concerns that servant girl named Ryuzaki Sakuno."
From that point on, Inui had Ryoma's full attention.
It has almost been a year since Sakuno had been to that place.
She enjoyed the sight of the cherry blossom trees in front of her. They were all in full bloom—all showing off a pretty shade of pink that Sakuno admires so much.
The maiden was in a clearing deep into the woods that was situated in a district near the Edo castle. She barely gets free days since she has duties to perform in the palace, but she had specifically requested in advance to have this particular day off.
A gentle breeze that gradually became stronger soon shook the sakura trees around her. It blew off their petals, creating a light blizzard consisting of cherry blossoms around the girl.
"I'll make them dance for you."
Unconsciously, she smiled.
She recognized that particular breeze.
It meant that he was already there.
She gathered up the skirt of her kimono and excitedly ran around and inspected the area of the clearing. He does like to play hide-and-seek.
Just because he was good at hiding.
Another smile lit up her face and she couldn't help but let out a soft giggle to herself.
That "too-full-of-himself" shinobi.
Sakuno came near the river that ran along the bank of where the sakura trees were located. She found him perched on top of a rock, looking at the flowing river in front of him. He was wearing his classic shinobi outfit that was in all black—split-toed tabi boots; socks; loose trousers that were fastened at his ankles, knees, and waist; and a loose jacket. He was also wearing the red scarf that she had given to him as a present last year. It was loosely tied around his neck and was being blown by the gentle wind that also played with his wild and wavy black hair.
He turned when he sensed that she had finally spotted him.
Instantly, a confident smile appeared on his face as his green eyes sparkled at her.
He had missed her.
"Yo," he uttered as an easy greeting, before straightening up and taking a few steps toward her.
Sakuno retuned his cheerful smile before she bit her bottom lip and finally ran toward him, closing the distance between them.
His face displayed mild surprise before he opened his arms in order to catch her. She landed on his firm chest and encircled her arms around his waist. In return, he also wrapped his arms around her shoulders, hugging her closer to him.
For a while, it seemed as if time had stopped for them as they shared the warmth of their embrace.
"Tadaima," he whispered tenderly against her ear.
Sakuno smiled against the fabric of his shirt before unburying her head and looking up at him. The sweet smile on her face inflamed the unbelievable warm feeling in his chest.
"Okaerinasai, Akaya-kun."
A few feet from the couple, a lone figure stood hidden behind one of the sakura trees. Muscles in his jaw unconsciously clenched when he heard her say the guy's name.
He leaned his weight against the tree.
His golden eyes darkened and shifted dangerously as he tried to comprehend the situation.
He cannot believe it.
What he thought was his…
already belonged to someone else.
Next chapter: KiriSaku's side of the story.
Japanese vocabulary:
Gomen nasai – I apologize; I'm sorry
Anata…dare? – Who are you?
Eh? – What?
Ii jyan –It should be okay, right?
Tadaima – I'm home
Okaerinasai – Welcome home