Fading into the Sumizome Blossom - A Reminiscence
Note : Josui is another name for Kanbei.
Underneath the beautiful Sumizome tree, a memory resides. Kuroda Josui remembered all the happy, sad, melancholic, memorable times with a certain someone. That someone is… Takenaka Hanbei.
The day started when Josui visited again the Sumizome tree. He ponders at the pink cherry blossom swirling around the area. The place is his last meeting with Hanbei, after all. He recalls the event once again.
"Kanbei-dono, don't you love how beautiful the cherry blossoms are?" The 'young' strategist paused for a moment. He spun around the tree with euphoria and excitement.
"The tree is indeed beautiful," Josui replied ,"Seeing this tree is a rare occurrence, I assume."
Hanbei stopped spinning and walked up to him. Even though it is nearly invisible, Josui could see him wobbling. He knew that his illness is getting worse as he speak. He caught the little boy in his arms when he was about to fall. The raven haired boy just smiled at him and asked,
"Do you know that… when people die here, they fade and they soon will become the new cluster of cherry blossoms here…?"
Josui was awfully shocked by that statement. He then sternly replies back,
"Hanbei, you're not going to die here."
The 'younger' boy could only smile at him as his legs started to fade away. Josui could see that this is his final resting place, and he could not change his fate. Hanbei reaches Josui's face by his arm and moved it closer to his face while half of his body was already starting to fade. Josui did not know what was going to happen next as his face moved closer to him, he then closed his eyes.
For a while, it seemed like only the blossoms was breezing through him. Suddenly, he felt a warm, soft feeling on his lips. At first, Josui was really shocked. Eventually, his tongue entered the boy's mouth and felt the slow but gentle movement of Hanbei's tongue dominating over his. After a while, he took out his tongue from the boy's mouth and a warm tear dropped from his face as the whole of his body fades away to beautiful pink blossoms of Sumizome. One last sentence was said before he disappeared.
"I will be… watching you… from the blossoms…and… I will always… love you… till… the end…"
Josui dropped to the ground and bursted out with the cold tears that he held back during his life. He then keeps the boy's yellow hat that dropped when he died and embraces it as though he was still there.
The reminiscence ended with a fluttering new blossom that symbolizes his farewell.