Disclaimer: I (Elli Chan) do not own any of the characters you all are already familiar with that are depicted in this fanfic. B/c that's what it is: a fanfic.
Chapter 1: Kiyoshi's Past and Jakotsu, the Thief
The sun was sinking blood red behind the horizon as a whole, a group marched in silence under the heavy glare of the overseer, which matched the red glow the sun cast upon them.
"Keep moving, insects! We have to get there before evening tomorrow and we still have quite a way to cover!" The overseer barked at the them.
From under hats and scarves were faces shiny with sweat, contorted in expressions of pain and depression, as if carved in stone.
Suddenly, a resounding crack rent the still air. The sound of hooves could be heard pounding the ground and the delighted yells of men could be heard mingling with the cries of pain from the slaves.
A face suddenly appeared, ugly and distorted. His face alight with a smile of insanity, the smell of drink invading the senses.
"No!" A woman's voice. She was in pain. "Not him! Take me instead! Please not the boy!" The woman pleaded.
"Quiet you wench!"
A blade shone and the vision is clouded with red blood.
Another yell penetrated the air. This one familiar. It's mine, he thought.
Kiyoshi opened his eyes. It was a dream. He sat up and looked around. He was in the same small room given to him by the lord of the city. It's been ten years since that fateful day. Now he was thirteen and on the cusp of being a man. The sound of feet could be heard outside his door.
"Kiyoshi! Kiyoshi! Are you all right?" A woman asked.
Although she was well past her prime, she retained some vestige of beauty from long ago.
"Yes, Kameko sama. I'm all right."
"That's good. Anyway, hurry and dress. The lord wishes to start your training early today."
Kiyoshi groaned. Yet another day of learning to fight under the watchful eye of the Lord and his sensei. Kiyoshi dressed and made his way to the servant's table for breakfast. Someone brought him a bowl of rice and green tea. He down them quickly and hurried off to the courtyard.
The grass was damp underfoot and the trees were barren from the change of weather. Piles of snow could be seen here and there and the sun cast a weak light across the grounds. Kiyoshi knew he must train well today. It was not common for one as low a rank as himself to be trained differently from he others. And under the Lord's guidance, too. He turned a corner and watched the scenery change to a flat training ground with neatly cut budding grass. The Lord and Sensei were there already. He noticed that two other people were with them, though much smaller in stature, and his stomach gave an uncomfortable flip. She was there. The Lord's daughter, Aiko. His stomach gave another uncomfortable flip, but it instead of finding a beautiful sight, it was Kanaye, the advisor's son. It was said that he betrothed to Aiko, although the rumor had never been confirmed, to Kiyoshi's immense relief.
Kiyoshi took a deep breath and walked on. Trying to ignore the pang of guilt he felt as Kanaye talked endlessly to Aiko.
He reached their group and felt a rush of warmth flow through him as Aiko interrupted Kanaye's stupid story to say hello to him.
"Good morning, Kiyoshi kun." She greeted.
"G-Good morning, Aiko chan." Kiyoshi stammered.
Kiyoshi turned a blushing face toward the Lord and his Sensei, gave them each a deep bow and said, "Good morning, Sensei. I'm ready to learn."
"Good." Sensei said, though not unkindly, "I hope that today's training will go better than yesterday's." He said.
"Yes, Sensei."
"oh, and you must have noticed, Kiyoshi, that the advisor's son, Kanaye, will be studying with you. I hope that you do not mind." The Lord added, warmly.
"No, master." Kiyoshi replied, politely, giving another bow.
"That's good. Now that I have established that, you must excuse Aiko and myself. We have pressing matters to attend to. Come Aiko. And Kiyoshi-"
Kiyoshi flinched at being addressed so suddenly.
"Study hard." The Lord said with a smile.
Kiyoshi gulped down was seemed to be an entire apple and nodded in assurance.
"From the start he knew it would be a rough day. Sensei had them train for two hours, working on their speed, strength and reflexes. At one point, Sensei mentioned to the two hard working students that they would be pitted against each other as a test of their skills. Kiyoshi did not like the sound of that, but continued his work nonetheless. Afterward, they had two more hours of studying, "For what use is the body if it has not a mind that functions as well?" Sensei said. Though much of the study period was spent drawing caricatures on corners of the parchment when the Sensei's back was turned.
When he was finished with his studies he was sent back to the palace to do his household duties which were to tend to the fires and sweeping of the halls.
By the end of the day he was exhausted. And as he lay down to sleep on his mat, he dreaded what was in store for the next few months. Training under the hopeful eye of the Lord and the sneering gaze of Kanaye.
True to his prediction, training had not progressed much to Kiyoshi's taste, which is why he could be found a weeks later, sitting among the wheat fields after he had finished another grueling training, study and chores. He was laying on the ground so that he remained out of sight to those who might be looking for him. Namely Kanaye and his cronies who had taken to taunting him after Kiyoshi had come off the better after a fight that Sensei had forced them to do. He was deep in his thoughts about Kanaye when he heard his name being called by a voice he had not expected to hear.
"Kiyoshi kun! Kiyoshi kun!"
Kiyoshi sat up and peered among the fronds of wheat to find Aiko, standing among the crops, calling his name.
"Aiko chan!" Kiyoshi stood up and waved to her, completely flabbergasted at her appearance.
"Oh Kiyoshi kun! I was looking for you! No one knew where you were and I figured that you were here. This was always your favorite spot." She said delightedly, wending her way to him, struggling a little because of her dress.
"Why were you looking for me?" Kiyoshi wondered, nonplused.
"Because I wanted to play with you!" She answered in disbelief at his astonishment, a little out of breath.
She walked up to him and tripped over her kimono, causing her to flatten some of the crop and to fall right on Kiyoshi, whose training had done some good and caught her in time. His senses were filled with the scent of lilies. Her scent, He thought wildly.
She straightened herself up, her face slightly pink and contorted in annoyance.
"I have no affinity for these stupid things!" She cried, indicating her dress, "It makes it nearly impossible to get around. Kita oba chan has had to tell me off for ruining them, but I don't care. They are better used as rags than dress." She complained.
Kiyoshi didn't know what to say, for fear of appearing idiotic so he just nodded.
Aiko laughed. "Let's play tag. Remember how we would always play it in the courtyard? How I would fall and you would get worried and run to Kameko for help?"
"Yeah . . . " He finished, reminiscently.
After a few minutes, Kiyoshi heard Aiko call to him again, and was surprised to see that she had made quite a distance near the castle.
"C'mon Kiyoshi! You have to chase me!" Aiko called from a distance.
"What about your dress, Aiko chan?"
"Forget the damn thing!" She said, giggling.
She made her way through the grass where se was able to run with much more ease. He did not move but watched her progress.
"Kiyoshi kun?! What are you waiting for? Come on!" She yelled her voice echoing.
Kiyoshi proceeded to make a beeline toward her but stopped as her caretaker, Kita, came rushing into view and began reprimanding her. Kiyoshi just watched and waited until Aiko looked back and him and called, "Forgive me Kiyoshi! I must go!" She followed Kita around and the corner and out of sight and feeling that hiding again would be pointless, decided to go back to his room.
He almost made it to the door but was intercepted by Kameko who was holding a soapy ladle.
"Kiyoshi! How could you? You know the princess isn't supposed to stray so far from the castle? And out of sight of the guards, too. Something horrible could have happened."
"I'm sorry." Kiyoshi said, truthfully.
"That's not enough. You must assume responsibility, Kiyoshi. The Lord has given you a great opportunity and you must not destroy it! You are growing into a man! You must do what is expected of you, what is right!"
Kiyoshi didn't say a word, the shame sinking in, even though none of it had been his fault. He just nodded, his head facing the floor to indicate he had heard.
Kameko placed her hand under his and gently raised his head. Her face, he was glad to note, was much gentler.
"But we mustn't rush things, now should we? I can never stay mad at you. You're too adorable." she wiped her hands on her skirt and reached into her pocket and gave him a few coins. "Now be a good lad and buys some fruit from the market."
Kiyoshi walked out of the castle and made his way to the town market. As usual it was bustling with people and business, quite a few stalls occupied by men and women out to do the day's shopping. He paused at a few stalls, picked some fruit and paid for them. He stopped at an interesting stall which sold dubious golden charms when he noticed a boy, not much older than he, passed innocently by the melon stand ahead. He was dressed in the strangest clothes; he wore a red girl's yukata, which wasn't suitable wear for the time of the year or even for a boy to wear, and had painted his lips in red to match a geisha. Kiyoshi watched interestedly as the boy, careful to note that the stall owner was not looking, reached a hand into the box of melons and pulled one out, and headed for the opposite direction at a fast pace. Kiyoshi noticed that no one else around him noticed but still paid no care to it, when Kameko's words echoed through is brain as if on a reel: "You must do what is right!"
Kiyoshi groaned, but nonetheless dropped his things and ran after the boy at top speed. When he had caught sight of the yukata, Kiyoshi yelled "Hey! Hey you! Give back that melon!"
The boy looked back at him in curiosity and his face fell to discover that he was the boy that Kiyoshi had yelled to and proceeded to run as well. But Kiyoshi's training were not for nothing, and he merely picked up speed again. The boy led Kiyoshi on a wild chase up streets, down streets into allies, sometimes doubling back to catch him off. Occasionally, he would overturn a barrel whose contents would spill all over the busy street, to the angry protests of its owners.
Kiyoshi jumped these hurdles, amazed at his prowess and continued the chase. Suddenly a farmer and his sheep wound their way through the throng and the boy managed just barely to dodge them and overturn a large barrel of apples. Kiysohi, surprised at the new obstacle ran over an apple and almost lost his balance, but fortunately didn't but hurled himself over the disshelved sheep to land on top of the boy, stopping him in his tracks.
"Alright! Alright! You got me!" The boy cried in pain.
"Ready to give back what you've taken?" Kiyoshi asked, sitting nicely right on top of him, legs crossed.
"Yeah. I was only doing it for fun. You know to see if anyone would catch me."
"Oh yeah, because that's the best past time that is, stealing."
"You're one of those do gooders aren't you?" The boy asked slyly.
"What of it?"
"Nothing. But you're pretty fast. What's your name, anyway?"
Kiyoshi gazed at the boy contemplatively then said, "Kiyoshi."
"Kiyoshi huh?" The boy said, with an air of arrogance. "Well, Kiyoshi, I'm Jakotsu. Remember it, you'll be hearing it someday. Your name's pretty lame but that's okay . . . anyway, see you around!" And with that, he weaseled himself out from under Kiyoshi and ran ahead, disappearing behind those walking.
Kiyoshi watched him in amazement, before he stood up, dusted his clothes and realized that Jakotsu had taken the melon.
A/N: Well, I did my best! That's all I gotta say! Anyway, y'all may be wondering who the hell is Kiyoshi and if I own him or not and the answer is: No. He is not my creation. You'll find out soon enough who he is, if you haven't already. I imagine that the clues are really rather um dead giveaways! 'til next time then!