By the watergate
by Komillia

Notes: Inspired by the theme for Radat town and the vocalized version of it "Her Sigh". The lyrics for that song fit Yoshino and Freed more but the overall melody reminds me so much of Apple and Shu that I've been listening to it while writing this. I haven't finished Suikoden III yet (Brother decided to take the PS2 with him just as I was about to fight the last strategic battle grumbles) so I hope that there aren't any glaring errors here. I hope you enjoy!

Last time she had visited him at his house she had barely said five sentences before being thrown out.

No, the right word was escorted out. Even when it was work done by his servants his treatment of her never stooped that low as to actually throw her out. Looking back she thought that perhaps she would not have been thrown out so quickly if she not gone straight to the point and instead acted more as a friend, one that had known him longer than anyone else.

That was why Apple sat in the parlor of Shu's house and desperately tried to think of small talk.

A servant had showed her in a few minutes ago and served her a cup of tea while she waited for Shu. According to the servant he would be returning shortly from a meeting with traders and would be informed of her arrival as soon as he came back. Twenty minutes had passed since then, not that Apple minded. It gave her an excuse to think through every word she was going to say and the tea calmed her nerves slightly.

What is there to be nervous about? she thought and set down the tea cup and the saucer on the table before her. It's just Shu.

A clock was hanging on the wall to her left. Despite this being the first time in years she visited Shu she was already very familiar with the clock's placement on the wall. It had been there when she, Riou and Nanami had come to Radat to ask Shu to join them all those years ago. Back then it had been the same, it kept ticking and she kept waiting while trying to think of what to say. Perhaps it was the fact that she had not seen him for long or that this time there was no particular reason for her visit. Her lack of purpose, or at least her unawareness if there was a purpose or not, was what made her nervous and the reason why she had spent the last twenty minutes preparing herself for what to say when Shu actually arrived.

She could hear the maid sweeping the floor in the hallway. The servant who had showed her in earlier was busy discussing something with the chef in the kitchen. Suddenly Apple wondered if they were the only ones aside from Shu to stay in the house. Were there any children who were currently out playing? Was there a wife who had gone to shop?

Blushing at the thought, Apple picked up the tea cup again and raised it to her lips. She drank all the tea in one large gulp, ignoring the almost burning sensations in her mouth. The hot tea seemed to warm her entire body as she drank it and by the time she set down on the tea cup again she felt slightly calmer than she had been before. She did not even hear the footsteps in the hallway.

"A visitor?"

"Yes, Lord Shu. Her name is Apple, she insisted upon waiting for you so I showed her to the parlor."

"Thank you, I'll take care of it from here."

"Yes, sir."

At that moment Apple looked up and met a pair of eyes she had not seen in fifteen years. Time seemed to stop for a moment and she was briefly reminded of the first time she had met him as a child. Back then he had been so tall, witty and with eyes that shone with cunning and intelligence. She had looked upon him and the natural curiosity inside her told her that she had to know more about him.

Now was not that much different from back then. Although the difference in height between them had decreased, she felt as if she was meeting him for the first time all over again. Physically he was still the same Shu, a little older and with a few gray hairs. But there was something different about his eyes, something that Apple couldn't quite put her finger on. The only thing she knew for sure was how all of the sudden she was no longer nervous but curious.

"Apple."

She smiled at him, almost relieved to know that she had not changed and aged beyond recognition over the years.

"Shu."

He smiled back at her and pulled out the chair on the other side of the table. As he sat down still with the smile on his lips, it occurred to Apple what was different about his eyes. They had the same calm and gentleness that Master Mathiu had once possessed.

"It's been a long time," Shu said.

"Forgive me for not coming and visiting earlier," Apple apologized. "I've been..."

"Busy with the war in the Grasslands?" Shu finished for her.

Apple gave him a surprised look and wondered how he could possibly know what she had been up so recently. Her role in the war had been relatively low key. After all, she had given up on being a strategist and left that spotlighted role to Caesar instead while she preferred to act as his mentor. Not that the boy needed her help, he was a Silverberg after all. Still, she wondered how Shu knew about this.

"I thought you had retired," she replied.

"I have," Shu answered. "That doesn't mean that I still don't have contacts."

Noticing that her tea cup was empty, he reached for the tea pot on the other end of the table and refilled it for her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She was not really that thirsty but she sipped at her tea again. At the same time she could hear the cook being scolded by another servant somewhere else in the house. Shu paid no attention to the bickering in the background and instead continued to look at her.

"So what brings you here to Radat?" he asked.

I really don't know, Apple almost answered but stopped herself just in time. Somehow telling the exact truth did not seem to fit in with the conversation. She was still unclear on whether she had come to Radat for the sake of the town itself or if it was just to see Shu.

"I'm thinking about going back to Toran," she said instead. "Back to Seika."

"I see."

Shu leaned back slightly in his chair and there was a long moment of silence. Apple wondered whether his mind was suddenly filled with memories of his childhood and Master Mathiu, just like hers was whenever someone mentioned Seika to her. But then again, Shu had reason to think bitterly of those memories while all her memories, save for one, she thought of with joy.

"So I hear you are quite the trader nowadays," Apple said, a little eager to change the subject.

Shu chuckled.

"I've been quite the trader for a long time. There's no need for small talk, Apple."

Feeling as if she was a young girl again, Apple blushed and looked down at her hands.

"Sorry... it's just been so long since I saw you."

When she dared to look at Shu again, he was smiling at her. It was not a broad smile, Shu had never been capable of smiling broadly. His smiles were subtle but they always reached his eyes. She had learned that a long time ago, on a lazy Sunday afternoon of childish riddles and tricks when she had finished all her homework and had nothing else to do.

"Why don't you stay here while you are in Radat?" Shu offered. "There's plenty of room."

"I couldn't... and all my things are already at my room at the inn," Apple declined politely but Shu shook his head lightly.

"I'll have someone bring them over here."

All Shu had to do was to look into the hallway over his shoulder. One of his servants came walking out of the kitchen immediately, Apple couldn't even guess how the servant had known when to come in without having to be called. With a simple order, Shu sent the servant to the inn to pick up her belongings and install them in the guestroom. Once the servant had left, Shu turned back to Apple.

"It's good to see you again, Apple."

And she smiled.

It had been a long time since he had good company over for dinner. Dinners with other traders were different and having dinner all by himself was something that he had gotten used to but never enjoyed. Having Apple in the house, on the other side of the dining table, made him feel something that he had never noticed that he lacked before. Perhaps joy of being in the company of an old friend. Perhaps relief in not being alone.

"So... no children here," Apple said lightly as she looked at all the empty seats between them.

The thought of him having children almost made Shu laugh out loud.

"No, none here," he answered calmly instead. "I guess it never crossed my mind."

"To have children?"

Apple was looking at him curiously again.

"To have a family at all," he clarified.

"Oh."

He took a spoonful of the soup. It was delicious, as usual. The chef he had hired made such good food that sometimes Shu wondered whether being served so much good food would make him appreciate the efforts less. Of course it was crucial to have a good chef, especially when other traders came by for dinner. But good food was wasted in a household that only consisted of one master and four servants. Those thoughts brought Shu back to the subject of family and he looked at Apple again as he reached for his wine glass.

"So how is Sheena?"

"Sheena?"

"Your husband."

Although one could not tell, he struggled to get those last two out of his mouth. He had never liked the womanizing boy and had never understood why Apple had chosen to marry him of all people. Being the son of President Lepant of Toran brought priviledges and power to Sheena, but Shu knew Apple well enough to know that she would never marry anyone for power or status. That was why his jaw had dropped to the floor When his contacts in Toran had delivered the news of the upcoming wedding between Apple and the son of President Lepant.

Shu saw Apple shift her position in the chair a little and she proceeded to stare right down at the soup as if she found it very interesting.

"Ex-husband, actually," she corrected quietly with what looked like a faint blush on her cheeks. "We divorced many years ago. Hardly a year after the wedding."

"I see."

His answer to her revelation was calm although inside he felt an extreme sense of relief for her sake. Divorces were uncommon but it was better to end things early than to drag them on and on before it was too late to do anything about it. Sheena was a womanizer and could never be worthy of Apple. If only news of her divorce had travelled as fast as news of her wedding Shu would not be sitting at the end of the table feeling somewhat stupid for worrying about her all those years.

"Looks like we both have failed in the family department," Apple said lightly with a smile on her lips.

There was no bitterness in her words, nor anger or resentment. Shu wondered how Apple could think about her marriage and smile. It did not take a genius to figure out what had caused the divorce but trust was still trust and a promise still a promise, two things that were important to Apple.

"How can you think of it and still smile?" Shu asked bluntly. "He cheated on you."

"I never told you that..." Apple started but her voice faded and was replaced by a quiet chuckle. "I guess it's not that difficult to tell. I wish I hadn't been that blind when I first married him... I thought that he would change. But it was a long time ago, Shu. I'm over it now, it's in the past."

There was an awkward moment of silence in which Shu just stared at her. She did not know why and perhaps she felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze but when Shu looked at her he saw her for what she had become. Older, wiser but in the end still the same Apple who knew when to throw away pride and when to forgive.

"You are a much better person that I am, Apple," Shu said jokingly, although deep inside he meant it.

"Enough about me now..." Apple put down her spoon and it was her turn to stare at Shu. "Tell me what's going on in your life."

As soon as she spoke he started to search his mind for anything interesting that he might have to tell her. The only thing that came up were numbers, names, goods, transportation and everything else that belonged in the mind of a trader. It was a sad conclusion when he thought about it.

"I wish I had something to tell you about," he admitted after a while. "But there is not much interesting here. I trade and make money."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Then why do you keep doing it?" Apple questioned. "Do you even have a reason... a purpose for what you are doing? If not, perhaps you should consider something else."

"Why do I get the feeling that you want me to join another army?" Shu joked and Apple burst into soft laughter.

"Not this time," she smiled. "I'm just here for a normal visit this time. But if I'm not entirely wrong, Shu... are you sure that making money is all that you want to do in this world?"

Shu opened his mouth to answer but at that time the grandfather clock in the hallway made its presence. Hearing the sound of the clock, Apple slowly rose from the dining table.

"It's getting late, would you mind if I call it a day?"

For the first time during their entire conversation she showed a sign of tiredness by covering up a small yawn with her hand. It did not take long for Shu to realize how long they had been talking. It was already dark outside and the candles that had been lit had almost burned down completely. No wonder she was tired.

"Not at all," Shu answered and rose as well. "It's been a long day."

"Yes... it has. Goodnight, Shu."

"Goodnight, Apple."

With that Apple turned around and headed up the stairs to the guestroom. Shu watched her leave and listened to her quiet footsteps until they could no longer be heard. Silence settled upon the entire house, the kind of silence that he was used to with him being the only inhabitant of the house.

Suddenly he found that kind of silence uncomfortable.

It was early morning when the citizens of Radat woke up to another ordinary, peaceful day. It was early morning when people woke up to the sound of birds and water from the watergate. It was early morning when the sun shyly shone from the back of a cloud and the air was still a little cold. It was early morning when Shu and Apple walked down the street together, the former carrying a modest bag that belonged to the latter.

They walked through the streets of Radat in silence as they had done since they left the house. Even back at Shu's house they had scarcely said anything aside from "Good morning" to each other. But the decision had been made and after more than week of in each other's company it was time to part ways.

One to an abandoned childhood home in Seika, the other back to the silence of a house too big for one man.

The two of them walked the half mile in strict silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. But by the time they neared the watergate, silence was replaced by the sound of water flowing and the voices of others. It was when they reached the water gate that Apple suddenly stopped and turned to Shu.

"This is enough... you don't have to follow me any longer," she said and tried to force a smile to her lips. She did not quite succeed. "Let's just... say goodbye here."

"Okay then..."

Apple reached for her bag and Shu handed it over to her. It had not been heavy at all and she could have easily carried it all the way by herself, yet he had not taken no for an answer when he had offered to carry it.

"I guess this is goodbye," he said but unlike Apple he did not try to smile. "Come and visit me whenever you want, you'll always be welcome."

"Thank you... it means a lot."

She did a slightly better job at forcing a smile this time. Suddenly Shu reached up with his hand and gentle touched her face with his thumb. Although too shocked to move, Apple's cheeks turned into a deep red shade.

"Don't smile if you don't want to," Shu simply said. "It's okay to admit that you're sad sometimes... even for you."

"The same goes for you," Apple almost whispered. "You will write to me, won't you?"

The nod he made sent a true, although faint, smile to her face.

"Goodbye Apple."

"Goodbye... Shu."

With that, she turned around and walked away. Perhaps it was the result of spending time with the librarian Emilia during the Dunan Unification War and reading the romance novels she had recommended. Back then she had envisioned walking away from a man like Shu to drain the power of her and each footstep would be like walking with weights and chains attached to her feet.

But it wasn't. It was easy. Each footstep was no different than the other and by the time she had crossed half the bridge she thought about how easy it was to walk away and leave things the way they were. Perhaps that was what it was supposed to be like, easy to just walk and let go. It was then that Apple stopped walking.

She stared ahead, noticing how she was standing at the exact spot where Shu had pretended to throw a coin into the water and told her to find it in exchange for his help. Memories of searching for the coin in darkness and ice cold water with Riou and Nanami came back to her. It had taken hours for them to find the coin. Back then, the one thing she had really wished for had definitely not been easy to accomplish.

There was a reason as to why certain things were easy. There was also a reason as to why other things were difficult. Right now, the only thing Apple could think of was the hardest thing she could do and what she wanted most were the same thing.

She turned around and saw that Shu was still standing where she had left him.

"Shu!" she called. "I'm going to open a school in Seika!"

Perhaps the most difficult thing of all was change.

"...come with me!"

And by the watergate, she waited for his answer.