White Lilies

"Oh! How beautiful!"

Curiously, Benitora glanced over at Yuya from his place on Muramasa's porch. His arms were thrown back behind his head, and he had been dozing peacefully until the bounty hunter's voice had pulled him from his dreams. "Huh?" the young man called out, rubbing sleep out of his eyes and sitting up. He ignored the urge to wince at the bright sunlight streaming into his eyes. "What's that, Yuya-han?"

Shiina Yuya looked over at her friend and smiled, pointing towards an outcrop of flowers near where she was standing. "Look, Tora," she said cheerfully. "Lilies! My favorite."

"Eh?" Benitora forced himself to his feet and wandered over to where the girl stood. "What's that?"

Yuya let out a nearly inaudible sigh at her friend's inattentiveness and motioned towards the flora once more. "Lilies," she repeated.

"You like lilies, Yuya-han?" asked the young man, a plan forming in his mind. He suppressed a devious smirk and agreed obediently, "They're real nice."

"What's your favorite flower, Tora?" asked Yuya, delicately plucking the orange flower from its place and bringing it to her nose. The blissful smile she gave Benitora sent shivers up the boy's spine; he rarely saw the blonde girl so at ease with the world.

"Oh…" mumbled Benitora. "I… I like…" No flowers were coming to mind, but he told himself not to panic. "Uh…"

Yuya hid an amused grin and suggested, "Lotus blossoms?" He shook his head. "Azaleas? Magnolias?" Both negative. "How about… hydrangeas?"

Tora paused. The name sounded awfully familiar… where had he heard it before? And then it hit him: years before, Torii had taken him to a festival in a tiny village, and one vendor had been selling bouquets of purple hydrangeas. As a joke, Benitora had bought them for his companion. "Yeah. Hydrangeas," murmured the young man with a faraway smile.

"They're my second favorite," said Yuya happily, playing with the flower in her hand contentedly. Soon, however, her expression darkened and she said, softer, "My brother liked lilies. There were always some in our garden at home. White ones—he said he liked those the best." Yuya bit her lip and turned her face towards the sky, away from her friend, almost as if she didn't want the young man to see her grief. "It's strange… those flowers were almost—"

"Don't worry, Yuya-han!" beamed Tora, cutting the girl off. He put a caring hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. She gave a weak smile and, eager to put his plan into action, the warrior told her, "I'm sorry, Yuya-han. I have to go. I'll be back later!"

Surprised, the young woman nodded, and Benitora raced off, giving no thought to the feelings he might have hurt and thinking only of his idea.

It didn't take Tora long to find Muramasa. The quiet man was outside the back of his house, making dinner for all of his guests. With that sad smile in place, he turned immediately when Benitora called out to him and waved a silent hello.

"Muramasa-han!" repeated Benitora, running up with a huge grin. "I'm glad I found you!"

"What do you need, Benitora-san?" asked Muramasa softly, setting his cooking implements down and focusing his attention on the young man before him. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes," panted Tora, winded from his sprint. "I was wondering if you could tell me where I'd find some white lilies… nice ones, like you might find in a store…"

"As it so happens," said Muramasa, a knowing smile spreading across his face, "I know exactly where you can find some. Come with me." With that, he moved away, gesturing for Benitora to follow.

"Th-thank you, Muramasa-han!" cried the young man, hurrying after the swordsmith and into a patch of forest behind the house.

After they had been walking in the dark, forbidding woods for five minutes, Benitora began to doubt that Muramasa knew where he was going, but at that moment, the forest opened up. At the sight before him, Tora could do nothing but gape.

"This is my garden," said Muramasa, stepping aside as his guest stumbled forwards and stared. "Take as much as you need."

Stretching out before the two as far as the eye could see was a gigantic field of flowers. The darkness of the forest didn't touch this place, and the sun shone down on the flora and fauna brightly, illuminating the entire plain in a warm glow that seemed almost unreal.

"Muramasa-han!" exclaimed Benitora. "How…"

"Many years of effort went into this garden," replied the mysterious man, walking gracefully forwards through the flowers. Muramasa came to a stop before a patch filled with lilies of all sorts of shapes and sizes, and gently plucked a snow-white one from the bush. Holding it up for Tora to see, he asked softly, "Is this what you were looking for?"

"It's perfect!" exclaimed Tora, jogging up to the swordsmith and selecting a few to bring back to Yuya. "Thank you so much, Muramasa-han!" With that, the young man began to trek back through the woods, only to be called by Muramasa before he could get very far.

"I suggest you let me guide you home," said the man, smiling. "I don't want you getting lost."

"Oh, that's fine, Muramasa-han!" chirped Benitora, the white flora crushed to his chest. (Muramasa feared that he might destroy them in his enthusiasm.) "I'll go on ahead!"

"No, no, I insist," said the swordsmith mildly, "seeing as you were about to go in the wrong direction."

"Huh?" Benitora exclaimed, glancing around in confusion. Humiliated, the young warrior flushed bright red and allowed Muramasa to catch up with him.

"Yuya-haaan!" cried Tora upon his return, hiding the flowers behind his back and racing up to the young bounty hunter, who still stood where he had left her. He grinned at her happily and exclaimed, "I'm back!"

"So I see," smiled Yuya.

"Look what I got just for you, Yuya-han!" Benitora tore the white lilies out from behind his back and held them out to her, beaming expectantly. "Do you like th—Yuya-han?"

The bounty hunter looked downcast as she accepted the flowers. "Th-thank you, Tora," she whispered, fingering one petal as if it would turn to dust in her hands. She looked so terribly sad, and Tora couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Surely it hadn't been a bad thing to get her this gift—wouldn't it remind her of happier times with Nozomu?

"What's wrong, Yuya-han?" asked Benitora worriedly. He felt uncomfortable with the sorrowful stare she was giving the blossoms.

"Oh, it's nothing, Tora," said Yuya quickly, apparently realizing that Tora didn't understand. "I—I'll go put them in some water." With that, Yuya turned and all but fled, not bothering to turn back as one delicate lily fell from her arms and into the dirt.

Benitora stared at the fallen flower dejectedly. What had he done wrong? He was always trying to do things to get him in Yuya's favor, but nothing ever seemed to work. "Why is it always me?" he muttered, and resolved to go ask Yukimura for advice. Surely he'll be able to help me!

The tactician was lounging in the back room of Muramasa's house, draped ungainly over some crates and fast asleep. A party had happened the previous night, and Yukimura had apparently drunken himself into a deep slumber—one that lasted until Tora came and rudely woke him up by calling his name over and over, in a nearly mantra-like state.

"Yukimura-han!" exclaimed Benitora, shaking the dark-haired man back and forth. "Yukimura-han, wake up!"

Eventually, the warrior stirred and sat up, rubbing his head sluggishly. "Shh, not so loud," he said softly. "Now, what is it, Tora-san?"

Benitora shifted uncomfortably and avoided the older man's gaze. "Well, I gave Yuya-han some flowers today," began Tora, grateful that he had apparently caught Yukimura's more serious side, "but she didn't like them. In fact, they made her downright sad. I thought reminding her of happy times with Nozomu would cheer her up!"

Yukimura seemed to already know what had gone wrong. "And what kind of flowers were they, Tora-san?"

Benitora looked at the tactician's eyes, puzzled. "White lilies," he said. "Why?"

Yukimura laughed loudly, only to immediately regret it as his headache flared up. One hand flying to his forehead to nurse the pain, the handsome man said, softer, "Oh, Tora-san. White lilies represent death."

"What?!"

"Didn't you know that?" continued Yukimura, not missing a beat. "White lilies would remind her of Nozomu's death, not of happy times."

"But… she said that her brother had liked those the best," murmured Benitora. All the same, he thought about his talk with Yuya more, and soon his heart leapt into his throat when he recalled her words. 'White ones—he said he liked those the best. It's strange… those flowers were almost—' …A premonition! completed Tora, furious with himself. If he had only let Yuya talk, this whole mess could have been avoided.

"Don't worry about it, Tora-san," said Yukimura, smiling now as he reached into one of the crates he had been sleeping on. Benitora's eyes widened in surprise when the dark-haired man pulled out a red rose and offered it to him. "This might work a little better, hmm?"

Accepting it wordlessly, Tora nodded his thanks and rushed off to locate Yuya.

The moment he stepped outside, Benitora spotted her. The bounty huntress sat below an old tree beside Muramasa's house; she was leaning against its old trunk with her eyes closed, and if Benitora hadn't known better he would have thought she was asleep. Slowly and silently, the young man walked up and sat next to her with only a soft sigh to betray his arrival.

"Tora?" came Yuya's voice, but her eyes remained closed. She felt some pressure on her ear and her eyes snapped open, but Benitora was already gone and the only sign he had been there was the crimson flower resting behind her ear.

Plucking it from its place, Yuya twirled the blossom in between her fingers and smiled, making a mental note to thank her friend later.

manga-based, takes place during vol.11-12, when kyo and co. are at muramasa's.
as much as i hate tora, i enjoyed this. hope you did too! sdkyo is not mine; that honour is akimine kamijyo's.
—n a n a