Constant
A warrior only feels at home in the battlefield…
He may fight for peace or freedom…
But in the end, when the conflict comes to an end, the warrior is destined to struggle with the change…
Never again will he fight with his allies…
Never again will he stand on the field of battle…
And soon he will forget the feeling of holding his weapon…
All his victories and moments of glory will eventually be nothing but a distant memory…
So is only natural for the warrior to seek something that reminds him of those days…
And because of this, the lines between enemies and allies disappear in a blink of an eye…
He was a little surprised when she walked into the small clearing, he was sure that she was already aware of his presence. Is not hard to notice an old warrior clad in purple armor.
She stood near the trees for a moment before finally walking over to him. She stopped just in front of him, hands in her hips looking at him with an amused expression. He noticed that she too was clad in her silver armor.
"I didn't expect to find you here, so far away from your home Shimazu" she spoke; her voice still had a little hate in it. She respected the man, but she still hated him for killing her father.
Yoshihiro nodded to her in greeting "I just came here to think" and his eyes moved to the beautiful full moon above them "I like the tranquility of this place".
She scoffed audibly "And here I had the idea that the great Devil Shimazu enjoyed the sounds of a battlefield more than anything else" the sarcasm was evident in her words, but he ignored her.
"There are times of peace now, an old warrior like me has nothing better to do in this peaceful days" he said solemnly, his voice almost sad.
Ginchiyo nodded, she knew that the words of her rival where true. In this days, there was no reason for her to carry her sword (she noted that he wasn't carrying his war hammer either).
For a moment they stood silently before each other, their eyes focusing on the moon that shone beautifully in the dark skies, surrounded by countless stars.
"Where is your man, is he not with you?" he asked suddenly, looking around the clearing. The Tachibana lowered her head a little, as if trying to hide her face from her rival.
"Muneshige left on a journey" her voice was cold, but the Shimazu could see the pain within her eyes. She was a proud woman, he had no doubt about that, she would rather die than let anyone (especially him) see her in a moment of weakness.
So he chose not to ask when the boy was coming back, because he was sure that she did not know that answer. He knew she loved him, he saw them on that fateful day in the Ishigaki Plains, surrounded by fire and soldiers, holding each other
Not wanting to upset her further, Yoshihiro opted to rest against a tree near the edge of the clearing. After a few moments she moved to sit beside him (not very close mind you).
No more words were spoken between them…
When it was almost midnight both warriors parted ways without a word...
The next night Ginchiyo found herself standing at the edge of the small clearing, a small smile gracing her lips.
Yoshihiro was a couple of feet away from her, clad in armor and holding his trusty war hammer on his right hand. He started to move then, attacking invisible enemies with wide swings of his weapon.
"I thought that you enjoyed the tranquility of this place Shimazu…" she spoke while walking further into the clearing, the small smile still on her lips. Yoshihiro stopped mid-swing and nodded to her in greeting "I do enjoy it, but these peaceful days are driving me crazy" then he nodded towards his hammer "Besides, I don't want to forget how it feels to hold my weapon".
Ginchiyo nodded, she too was having a hard time adjusting to these days, trading her beloved armor for a kimono was not something she desired. The idea of never wielding her sword again made her feel empty, restless.
She stepped away from him and walked over to the nearest tree, she gracefully sat on the ground, resting her back against the tree trunk and stretching her legs in front of her. The gentle breeze that traveled throughout the forest helped to relax her restless mind and body.
Then her attention returned to her rival, he was once again swinging his hammer in wide arcs, spinning around to apply more power to each attack.
Their styles of combat were…very different.
He used pure raw power to overwhelm his enemies and crush opposition, his great armor and body allowed him to withstand a lot of punishment.
While she in other hand used her speed and swiftness to quickly dispose of her enemies, combining her speed with quick slashes of her blade and the power of thunder.
Then she let out a quiet yawn, she was very tired and the cool breeze was not helping to keep her awake.
…
"Wake up"
Her eyes snapped open when she felt a hand on her shoulder; she looked up to find an amused looking Yoshihiro.
"Its almost midnight, you fell asleep"
Her cheeks turned red (how embarrassing to fall asleep near her hated rival!) "T-Thank you for waking me up" she murmured just loud enough for him to hear her.
The old warrior nodded with a broad smile "No problem lady Tachibana" and then he turned around a walked to the center of the clearing to pick up his hammer, he nodded towards her and quietly disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
The next night she found him on the same spot, training once again with his hammer. A smirk found its way onto her lips, today she was prepared to have a more direct view of his strength.
He stopped for a moment and nodded towards her in greeting, taking note of the sword in her right hand, her beloved serrated sword.
"Tell me Shimazu, are you in the mood for a good sparring match?" her voice carried the proud tone that was characteristic of her, but the smile on her lips was genuine.
"I'm always up for a challenge lady Tachibana, but I must warn you…I will not hold back" she walked closer to him and stopped a few feet away.
"Fair enough, I will show you that the way of the sword of the Tachibana is more than a match for your brutal ways of combat!" and then she fell into her fighting stance, holding her sword with both hands in horizontal position.
The Devil Shimazu let out a hearty laugh and he too took his stance, holding his war hammer in front of him.
"We will see about that!"
And the two rivals clashed in a rain of fire and thunder…
Days turned into weeks and weeks in months…
The two rivals continued to meet every night, sometimes they would train until midnight, while other days they opted to rest under a tree and look at the night sky.
Sometimes Yoshihiro would tell her about his younger years, the battles he fought and the victories that made him famous. On other hand, Ginchiyo often talked about her dear father, the things he taught her, that the honor of the clan was priority, without honor a warrior was nothing more than a killer.
Life is full of ironies, because she was telling histories about her father to the very man that had killed him.
And as the days passed something changed within the Lady of the Tachibana…
The life on her family's castle became enjoyable, even peaceful. Many of the servants and maids would often see their mistress walking on the hallways with a contented smile on her lips.
Muneshige's sudden departure troubled her mind no longer, because she knew that eventually he was going to return, he was always on her heart…even when she spend the most part of the days waiting for the sun to sink in the horizon so she could go to that clearing in the middle of the woods.
She started to train with the help of her maids in an effort to improve her skills and finally beat her rival during one of their sparring matches (they always ended in a Draw, she was simply to fast for him and he was…too stubborn to lose).
But her life in the castle was not the only thing that changed, many times she had tried to deny it, but the truth was that she, Ginchiyo Tachibana, enjoyed the company of her rival. With him around, simple things like training and stargazing were rather enjoyable, each day she will find herself looking towards their night meetings.
And that was very wrong…
He was her enemy; he was a Shimazu, the man who had killed her dear father, the foolish brute that enjoyed battle more than anyone else.
But the sad truth was that she no longer hated him…slowly but surely he was forcing her way into her heart.
And she, the proud lady of the Tachibana, could not allow such thing to happen…
She had to put a stop to all; it was the right thing to do…
And yet, she could not help but to feel sad with her decision…
There was something different that night, Yoshihiro could almost taste it in the air, and even the wind carried the promise of something unexpected.
Then the soft sound of footsteps reached his ears…
The Shimazu turned around and was…surprised of what he saw…
There stood Ginchiyo Tachibana, her silver armor was gone; she was now dressed in a beautiful purple yukata, her short brown hair moving gently with the wind. She was beautiful, without her armor, she looked almost fragile.
She stepped closer then, in the silence of the forest the only sound that could be heard was of the grass being crushed under her sandals. Yoshihiro nodded in greeting, but he could feel that something was not right.
"Please do not speak…" her voice was unusually soft and tender "Because of you, my life in these peaceful days has become more enjoyable, sparring with you keeps me from losing my edge, for that I thank you" her gaze was fixed on him, she had a blank expression on her face, but there was sadness on her voice, Yoshihiro was sure of it.
Ginchiyo stared at him for a moment; a sad smile finally appeared on her lips "I will no longer come to this place, I have decided to face this changing times on my own, but I will forever cherish the moments that I spent here".
Yoshihiro remained silent; no matter how hard she tried Ginchiyo could not see the slightest hint of sadness or anger in him. The Tachibana let out a sigh "To show you that this is my final farewell, I came to you dressed like this, because from now on I will adapt to this new life by myself".
She walked a couple steps towards him, and slowly reached for his left hand (he was holding his war hammer on his right), holding the cold metal of his gauntlet with both of her warm feminine hands she looked up to him and smiled.
A beautiful genuine happy smile…
"Thank you my dear enemy…" and then she was gone, walking away with the same elegance that she used in her every move.
A moment later, the Shimazu turned around a began his nightly training, the small clearing already felt colder and emptier without her, but Yoshihiro wasted no time in those useless thoughts.
The servants and maids were surprised by the sudden change in the lady of Tachibana, the smile had disappeared from her lips, she now moved through the hallways quietly, almost like a ghost.
She tried to forget about that clearing in the forest…and she wanted to forget about him. She tried to spar with her armed maids, but it proved to be useless, none of them were a match for her, none of them could match his strength.
And when the moon shone brightly she would gaze upon the night sky almost longingly, like if she was trying to recall memories of a happier place…
And so…a year went by…
With his great hammer in hand, Yoshihiro neared the clearing for another night of lonely training, the moon and the stars had been his only company for a long time.
And then he felt it, the familiar feeling that something was amiss…
Moments later he stood at the edge of the clearing, the moon and the stars, his faithful companions welcomed him with a shower of beautiful rays of silver light.
It only took a moment for him to notice that he was not alone, a very familiar figure stood in the center of the clearing. Yoshihiro was…surprised, he was sure that he would never see her again.
She was standing tall and proud, her silver armor gave off a faint glow as the moonlight reflected on it, in her hand the wicked sword with the serrated blade.
She was silent; her expression betrayed no emotions…
Yoshihiro advanced towards her stopping a few feet away from her…
"Lady Tachibana" the old warrior nodded to her in greeting…
Only for a second Yoshihiro saw a flash of sadness and pain across her eyes…
At the very next moment she was in front of him, her sword held high above her head…
"DIE!"
CLANK!
Yoshihiro barely had time to block the blow; his fighting instinct took over, pushing the Tachibana back and spinning around to deliver a swing with his hammer.
She jumped back to avoid the blow and charged back towards him, Yoshihiro clashed with her halfway blocking her swing with the handle of his war hammer.
"Have you gone mad woman?" the veteran pushed her back once again creating a healthy amount of space between them "Why are your attacking me?"
Ginchiyo paid no mind to his words, her eyes stared at him with a burning hatred "Shut up and die!"
She charged him again, but the veteran was ready, with a swing of his mighty hammer a blow to her right side sent her flying, she impacted the ground hard, her body rolling on the ground like a rag doll.
Yoshihiro stared at her while she slowly lifted herself from the ground, gone was the elegance that was so characteristic her every move and fighting style.
"You're not even fighting correctly; I refuse to take part on this assisted suicide!" and with those word the veteran threw his hammer aside.
Ginchiyo stared at him in shock, the hatred was gone from her eyes "N-NO...pick up your weapon you fool!" she was screaming "Take your weapon…I'll kill you if you don't!" she sounded so…desperate, almost terrified…
The Shimazu remained unfazed by her words "What the hell happened to you?" he roared, it was infuriating to see a fine warrior such as her in such shameful condition "What happened to your resolve?, you told me that you would face this times of change on your own!"
"You wouldn't understand!" she replied "He's not coming back, he's never coming back!".
She launched herself at him, sword ready for the final blow…and then she swung the blade, a pathetic blow that Yoshihiro easily countered punching blade out of her hands, then he took hold of both of her wrists holding her in place.
"That was a very weak attack lady Tachibana, where you really trying to kill me?" but the Tachibana ignored him struggling to free herself from his grasp.
"Let go of me you fool!" she screamed, she was trying to hard to sound angry, however to Yoshihiro she sounded more a like a child on the verge of tears "Tell me, is the absence of your man such a great pain that you, a warrior, would behave like this?"
She stopped instantly and stared at him in shocked silence, eyes wide…
"You don't get it!" she pushed against him with all her might, Yoshihiro was caught off guard by her sudden move and so both tumbled to the ground.
Wasting no time the Shimazu tried to climb to his feet, however, he was stopped almost instantly when a small drop of crystal clear liquid landed on his cheek.
She was crying…
There was sadness in those eyes…so much sadness…
"You don't understand…" she began softly "Muneshige is gone…but that is not the cause of this pain…" her tear filled eyes stared straight at his "I have missed you…I have longed for your company for too long"
The veteran remained silent, years on the battlefield were useless in this kind of situation, what could he said to try and comfort this fine warrior, this fragile woman.
"I tried to get rid of these shameful feelings…" she paused for a moment "I tried to go on with my life…but you…" a sob, more tears slide down her cheeks "You killed my father and many of my clansmen…I want to hate you!"
The Shimazu let out a soft sigh, his body relaxing on his position on the ground "Then do so lady Tachibana, hate my with all of your heart, I will gladly accept if that helps to quell your pain"
She in turn let out a sad laugh "I can't…not anymore...are you such a fool that you can't understand my feelings?" the cold feeling of the metal of her gauntlets took him by surprise.
Her small hands were moving gently caressing his face…
Despite the tears and the pain of her heart, Ginchiyo managed to smile, a very small ghost of a smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"I'm so tired of fighting against my heart just to protect my honor…" and for a moment she remained silence, her hands still on his face "I have missed you…I have missed you more than my own husband…you my enemy, my rival…"
"I'm so tired Yoshihiro…" and slowly she rests her head in his armored chest, her eyes close and soon she's sleeping. Yoshihiro carefully traces the dried tears on her cheeks and then his arms wrap around her small form, in her sleep she snuggles closer to him.
And so Ginchiyo Tachibana sleeps peacefully in the arms of her rival under the moon and the stars in the middle of that clearing…
A small smile on her lips…
And her heart finally at peace…
I'm very happy with how this turned out...I tried to write a not so fluffy romance, this is a little more spiritual...
Please review and tell me what you think!...and thanks for reading!