Reminiscin'
Fandom: Sengoku Basara
Pairing: Sarutobi Sasuke x Kasuga
Rating: G
There are times when all he can think of is her.
It had been in the early days of autumn, when they'd last spoken to each other as brothers in arms. He remembered that day, air warmed by the sun, a smell carried over by the light breeze, crisp but sweet. Like camellia flowers.
The sun's early rays lighting up the forest - making the richly colored foliage glow in hues of red and orange and yellow – and further through the half-opened sliding doors into the sparsely furnished room. There was a tea-pot, sided by two cups sitting on a tablet. And Kasuga kneeling down before it, pouring the steaming water into the cups. A ritual she had performed for as long as Sasuke could think.
He had watched her, sitting in a formal seiza form near one of the sliding doors. Watched the sunlight wash around her slender form, catching in her light hair. She, completely unaware of his presence. Sometimes he worried about her inexperience, about her not always paying attention to the surroundings.
But he could only protect her so far, and now he had to let her go. Let her take life into her own hands. He made his way fully into the room and sat down across from her. At first she had startled, but just as quickly hid it under a motionless face. Offering him a cup of tea, then taking up her own. It's the last time they'll be able to do this together, but he doesn't know that yet. Instead, they just sit in comfortable silence, as the smell of green tea and camellia flowers fill the space around them. It is only after the tea is finished that he looks her in the eyes…and passes her a dagger. A fine work of art, a token passed down in his family.
Holding onto it with both hands until she accepts the gift. There was surprise showing on her face – because hadn't he been the one who always pointed out all of her flaws – but he didn't elaborate. It was a gesture in itself. Her mission an assassination, his weapon in her hands. It meant more than any words he could have told her.
I trust in you and your abilities. I trust upon you a heirloom of my family.
I know you are able to finish this mission.
Then, without a word passing between them he rises; there was something strange flashing through her eyes when she looked up at him, something even he – master of observation - couldn't quiet put a finger on.
Her abilities, his trust in her, the mission a final test.
There was something else he wanted to bestow on her. So before making his way into the courtyard, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. Gentle and featherey-light. The barest touch of lips.
Come back home safely.
That's what he wished for, what he told her without ever using words.