When It's Over
"When it's over, shall we go watch the cherry blossom?"
She had slide open the door to reveal her beautiful wife, who was up till this moment, ignoring her presence.
Her wife looked up from the embroidery that she was working on, surprise evident in her gold eyes.
There was a moment of silence, the needle that she held within her fingers stopped in the middle of its motion.
There were birds chirping outside, carefree and lively.
"Do you not like to watch them with me?"
The dying question left her mouth, when her insecurities caught up with her.
"I do… But what of your duties?"
"It will be over soon, my love."
She reached out her hand and caressed those cheeks she used to kiss at night; she missed the feeling of them on her lips.
She retracted them immediately after, feeling undeserving to touch Kotori with her dirtied hands.
Night guard duty had taken the luxury of being by her wife's side during those unholy hours.
She could not leave the young shogun's side, especially at night, not when Rin was only fifteen.
Those accursed barbarians in the north had waited so long for this chance for the previous shogun to pass away and it was this period that the heir, Rin, was in the most danger.
Umi's duty was immerse, not only as a general, but also as Rin's god-sister.
She would protect Rin with her life if she needed to.
Kotori was embroidering on her wife's clothes, one set that Umi didn't really have the chance to wear.
Not when her wife was always donned in armor.
It had became her way of passing time, when her general was out fighting god-knows-who.
Kotori hated yet loved it when the door to her room slides open in the mornings, so gently, as if the general was afraid to wake her sleeping wife.
Umi is back.
She had long since given up pretending to be asleep, yet Umi remained gentle handling everything she touched.
The only exception was her heart.
Umi was a heartbreaker and a very good one at that.
Whenever the door had slide open, she could feel her heart pound.
Is Umi hurt?
It became the first question that came to her mind ever since the day when it wasn't Umi who had came in.
"The general was injured in battle!"
She could remember that moment as clear as day, when a bloodied member of the guards had informed her so.
She felt her heart stop and everything was fuzzy till she reached the palace.
Little Rin wouldn't let Umi come home that day, not when the general almost couldn't walk.
It wasn't the first scar that she saw but it definitely was the worst one she had seen.
Red marred the white skin behind Umi's back, the midnight blue tresses seemed even darker than usual, tainted by a color that wasn't supposed to be there.
A doctor with hair the color of death had told her that Umi would be fine, the scar however, would retain its history.
They had spent the night, and a few days, in Rin's chambers, the little shogun wouldn't let Umi out of her sight.
She had learnt of others who were important to her general, and vice versa.
Nishikino Maki was the name of the doctor, one who was indebted to her general, so as she said.
Hoshizora Rin was the name of the little shogun, one who was Umi's precious little sister.
The other general took over the guard duty for the meantime, one that went by the name of Ayase Eli, and for her wife, Toujo Nozomi.
The cooks, Koizumi Hanayo and Kousaka Honoka, were also especially kind to Umi, often dropping by during their breaks.
Kotori wondered how they had learned of Umi's favorite dishes, when they were her own creation, recipes that she hadn't told anyone.
The bloodied guard that fetched her was Yazawa Nico, the tiny body betraying her skill and elegance.
She had learnt that the blood that night was not Nico's, but from the person that was lifelessly lying on Rin's bed.
The memory had haunted her ever since the war began.
Kotori began to fear the sound of sliding doors.
The door had slide open that morning, a gentle one; it was Umi.
It was no surprise when her wife walked in, so she concentrated on finishing this tiny detail of the embroidery.
"When it's over, shall we go watch the cherry blossom?"
She had looked up in surprise, the tone of Umi's voice was making her concerned.
It had been a while since Umi had used such a tired and sad voice.
It had taken her a moment before she could answer, and before she could, Umi tossed her another question.
"Do you not like to watch them with me?"
There was a mildly panicked expression on Umi's face, one that Umi always makes before she backed out of any plans.
"I do… But what of your duties?"
It was endearing, of how Umi was still a little nervous even after so many years.
"It will be over soon, my love."
A calloused hand had reached over and touched her cheeks, trembling slightly, as if the owner too afraid.
Umi's hand left her cheeks a little too soon, and she felt her heart clench tight.
It wasn't nervousness, she realized, it was Umi being insecure again.
The war was not only breaking her, it was breaking her wife as well.
Umi's hands were clenched tight, as she spoke her next few words.
"Perhaps you would like to spend your time with others?"
It was a smile that wasn't happy, one that Umi gave whenever she left for battles.
She could feel the tears whelming up, as she firmly said no.
She could see Umi's fingers digging into her palms, as she continued to spew words that broke her heart.
"If I don't make it back, can you promise me to find someone else?"
Umi might be the general, but she was her idiot.
"Someone else to watch cherry blossoms with you. Someone else who is more worthy…"
She reached over and covered Umi's mouth; it was becoming too painful to breathe.
"I will only love you. So make sure you come home."
They had spent the night together, a rare occurrence, with her showering Umi's scars with kisses.
Umi was extra gentle that night, as if any action could break her.
She had kept Umi's mouth occupied, least she spew forth more heart breaking words.
She wasn't going to let Umi do this to them both.
When they finally decided to rest for the night, sleep had never came so easily.
It was always comfortable around Umi. She was safe and felt belonged by her side.
When morning came the next day, Kotori realized that Umi was never going to change her heart breaking attitude.
On the table was a divorce letter and a little note, placed beside her unfinished embroidery.
"In case I don't make it back. Be happy without me."
Ayase Eli was a sharp one, she has to, and it was her nature as the senior to look after the younger ones.
Ever since the war had begun, Umi was looking forlorn every passing morning, being away from her wife was taking its toll on her.
It had been three months, the falling pink petals signaling that season of cherry blossom was over.
She could understand how she felt, since she had left Nozomi back at home as well.
Honestly, they weren't sure if they could win this battle.
They were down to a few hundred men, Nico leading the main army in another battle somewhere else.
"Duck!"
It was a warning that wasn't made in time, and an arrow pierced the tired general on the shoulder.
"Tch."
The arrow was broken off in anger, as Umi unsheathed her katana.
The horse Umi was riding made a loud noise, as the young general charged towards the enemies, egging her horse on.
"Umi!"
The volley of arrows seemed to cower at the sight of the charging general, as she broke the enemy lines.
"What a troublesome person."
Eli rode after her immediately, and her men followed suit, motivated by the sight of their unbeatable general.
She needed to make sure she fulfill the promise to bring Umi home.
Nozomi had came over daily ever since the morning Umi went for war.
She told her tales of the little band of guards, of how Umi often sneaked into the kitchen to watch Kotori herself cook, then lamenting to Honoka and Hanayo.
It didn't take long for the cooks to figure out the technique; the general was always telling them how her wife cooked her favorite dishes.
It soon became a trend for the generals to share their home recipes, and the cooks enjoyed their look of delight whenever Umi and Eli tasted their dishes.
It had made the war a little easier, it made going through this a little easier.
Nico had taken to sewing, a little fact that had surprised the entire band of guards, who knew that the little midget could actually sew?
When they had left for their final battle that morning, everyone had a little charm in their breast pockets, courtesy of Yazawa Nico.
It was an agonizing wait, but Nozomi made it slightly better.
Kotori left the door opened then, ever since Umi left, because she wasn't sure if she could stand the sound of the sliding door.
When the door slided closed that dreadful morning, Kotori felt her heart stop once more.
Nozomi had entered, closing the door while in tears.
Her idiot was a heart breaker indeed.
They had won the war, but lost the battle.
Nico had returned, with no sight of the other two generals.
All Nico found at the battle scene was Umi's broken katana.
It has been two days since, two days of utmost silence, as she cried in the room alone, Nozomi too distraught to come over.
The third day was a wet one, the impeding storm had blown the door open, and the sound of the door sliding had given Kotori a shock.
"Shall we go watch the cherry blossom?"
She swore she saw Umi then, a little bloodied and a little pale, but it was her Umi alright.
"Umi-chan?"
She reached out for Umi, feeling a cold breeze hit her like a wave.
The flurry of pink petals had raided her room then, and the image of Umi was washed away as the petals dissipated.
Nico had came over on the fourth day, the normally talkative midget was oddly quiet.
"She would've like it if you completed the embroidery. It was all she talked about during the first week."
She had picked up the unfinished piece then, after Nico had left, the trembling fingers making mistakes that she normally wouldn't have.
Red dyed the cloth as the needle made a wrong turn.
"I would've like it if she came home too."
Honoka and Hanayo had come over next, telling her that there's still hope, and their men were out there eagerly looking for their missing generals.
No one else could lead them as well as the missing two.
"Umi always blushes when she talks about you. We should share recipes and cook for them together when they're back!"
Kotori wondered if she could ever produce dishes like that ever again, if she had no one to cook for.
The most important ingredient in cooking was love after all.
The letters on the desk were a little torn, the recipient had spent countless hours crying over the last letter addressed to her by her wife.
It was heartbreaking to read, but it was a trace of Umi, it was something that she had left behind.
Kotori wondered if she could find another person who writes like this.
The door slided open, Kotori had left it closed after Nico had brought back the news.
There was no point in leaving it open.
It barely made a sound when the door was opened, and Kotori didn't look up, too concentrated on finishing the embroidery.
What's the point of looking up when it's just going to be the rest of the guards checking if she was okay?
She made one final movement, and it was done.
It was one of Umi and her, and she finally completed it after three months.
A bloodied charm was dropped on her lap, a wilted pink petal was sewn on it.
"Shall we go watch the cherry blossom next year?"
It was a face she saw in her nightmares, a face she saw in her dreams.
Umi is back.
"I was too late, it wilted, give me another chance?"
Tears cascaded down her face, three months of bottled up feelings was unleashed.
She swore Umi was the densest general she had ever seen.
"Idiot."
A/N: Something that I've forgotten to upload. It was written a long time ago. I was only reminded when I was uploading the kiss prompts because I wrote a kiss scene for this.