Birds Eye
When the first blossoms of the sakura peaked through the snow, a young man rode from his small village to the peak of a softly blanketed hill. He sat for a moment, the chilly air making his breath puff around him in a smoky veil. Carefully, he removed the soft cloth hood that hid his raptor's eyes from the morning light. Takao was a juvenile northern sparrowhawk, his soft brown and white feathers slightly ruffled by their bumpy ride. His steely storm cloud eyes opened wide and the small hawk screeched happily at the sight of the open space before him. He hopped restlessly on the thick rawhide glove encasing his master's left hand. "Yes I know, I'll let you go." the man loosened the thick brown trappings that held the bird's legs in place. "But you'll come back won't you Takao?" He reached up to gently stroke the back of Takao's head. The bird screeched again and flapped his wings, launching into the chilled pre-spring air. Midorima Shintaro smiled as he watched he beloved hawk spiral and dive with a triumphant shriek, landing whatever prey he had set upon. Takao was a wild animal, and Midorima knew that someday the little hunter may choose to return to his natural habitat, but there was always a hope that they would be together until the end.
It was a warm summer afternoon when that dream crashed down. The young scholar had set Takao out early in the morning for hunting, and was now waiting for his little friend to return. He didn't begin to worry until the sun began to dip behind the trees. "Where are you Takao?" he murmured. A soft knock at the door made the green haired man turn. "Master Midorima?" one of the house servants arriving to offer him dinner. He slid the shoji screen aside and met with a sight that made his blood run cold. "I found him like this." the woman was near tears as she cradled the small, bloody bundle in her arms. Midorima was frozen in place, the world shattering into tiny pieces around him. "No." he whispered. Reaching forward, he took the blanket. "Leave." he commanded. The woman flushed and shut the shoji as quickly as possible. Takao looked like he was peacefully resting, his wings tucked in at the sides, but the shaft of an arrow pierced his chest, blood slowly oozing from the wound that had crushed Midorima's heart as well as the free-spirited birds own. Midorima clutched his beloved friend to his chest, sobbing hard as the soft feathers brushed along his cheek. Gathering strength through his tears, the man wretched his head back and screamed into the slowly approaching night. "TAKAO!"
"Shin-chan?" Midorima's eyes snapped open, a concerned face coming into view. "Were you having a nightmare?" the green haired shooting guard reached a hand up to cradle his hawk-eyed friend's cheek in a strangely tender gesture. "I was. But that's all it was." he murmured. Takao grinned and covered Midorima's larger hand with his own smaller one. "Shin-chan's dere is showing." Midorima grunted and slapped the soft hand away, but he couldn't hide the blush on his cheeks. "Shut up Takao."