Disclaimer and Standard Author's notes: Applied in Prologue. Also there will be some original characters. For now on, the original standard characters include Seiji, Sasaki, Ryu, Shiro and the main antagonist by the name of Toshie and the Sasori bandits. And we introduce little Chiriko, another original character :)
Additional Author's notes (23/11/2013): I decided to add the last bits from the previous chapter to make up the length to this one. The next chapter will officially the end so this means that I will start writing the epilogue after that. In any case, I'm so proud of myself for fixing up this story to make it more enjoyable to read and enjoy :) this chapter is dramatic and sad so...please brace yourself...
Hanamichi And The Kitsune
Chapter Nine: Victory And Tragedy
Meanwhile Sendoh and his companions tried valiantly to stop the doors from bursting open. They had gathered all sizable furniture they could find...they would hold but the slight splinters showing on the doors said otherwise. The intruders were persistent in their ramming and they knew several more blows would render the doors into splintered bits...
"Damn it! Those guys are not going to give up!" Sendoh cursed as he felt his body jolted away from the barricade due to the harsh impact.
"Akira, we have to do something! The doors can't withstand more damage. At the rate it's going, it wouldn't be long before they collapse!" Maki exclaimed as he continued pushing the barricade against the doors, "Uozumi-san's strength can do so much but even he has his limits."
"Akira! Akira!"
Sendoh turned around and found Koshino running towards him with a frantic expression on his face. The taller man ran up to his lover.
"Hiroaki, what's the matter? Did you get Kaede-kun to safety?"
Koshino's face twisted in self-anger as he shook his head, "I'm sorry, Akira. Rukawa-san won't leave! He's too heartbroken to even move. He has ordered us to leave and...and...he sends his apologies for not being a good friend to you..."
Sendoh hugged the shorter man close, "Don't be hard on yourself, Hiro-kun. I know you did what I asked you to do...oh Kaede-kun, whatever am I going to do with you and your stubborn attitude? There's no way I would leave you behind."
"Sendoh-san!" the two men and the rest of the group turned to see Youhei emerging from the secret panel at the nearest wall.
"Youhei-kun, tell us about the opposition," Sendoh requested.
"There's a young man armed with a sword...I heard that his name is Toshie. And he's not alone...the...the Sasori bandits...they are working with him. They brought a battering ram and that's how they were able to keep attacking the doors," Youhei explained before pointing to the doors and the crumbling barricade, "They'll break through soon, Sendoh-san. Those guys are not giving up until they burst open..."
Sendoh glanced at the doors and the barricade. Youhei was right...the wood was cracking and splintering from the ramming. His companions backed away when the furniture started to give way. He had to do something to fight off the intruders. The dojo would be too far to travel in order to retrieve their weapons even with Youhei's extensive knowledge with the secret passageways and paths within the castle. He looked around the vicinity...and realized that they already had their own arsenal to fight back...yes...it could work...
"Everyone! Leave the doors and let them come in!" Sendoh instructed as he pulled Koshino close to him.
"Are you mad, Akira?!" Hanagata's eyes bulged in disbelief, "They'll do us in!"
"We'll give them a surprise they won't forget, Toru. Look around us, we can use these objects to help us fight back!" to prove his point, Sendoh headed to the pile and snapped off a wooden leg of a grand table to use as a club, "We may not be as skilled as our uninvited guests but we know this castle like the back of our hands and we have strength and unity in numbers. Use everything at your disposal...the kitchen...the storeroom...the halls! Let's use everything in those places to drive them off. Who's with me?"
For his answer, his companions armed themselves with bits and pieces that made up the barricade. Koshino stood closest to his lover and looked up at him with determination in his eyes. The pounding and ramming grew fiercer and more frequent...the doors were giving way...
"We're ready, Akira. Now what?"
"Leave the candlelabras and kill off the lights. Hide in the shadows. The moment they see them as their only source of light, we switch them back on and then we jump them with everything we have..." Sendoh turned to Youhei, "Do the honours, Youhei-kun."
The castle watchman nodded and positioned himself by the switches. After making sure that everyone was out of sight, he deactivated them and the whole hall blanketed into darkness...save for the burning flickering flames on the candlelabras...
The hard work of operating the battering ram was paying off as the wood creaked and further dented under the intense pressure. Toshie and Kaze eventually joined in with the bandits to help finish off the job. After two more hard jabs, the doors broke open and opened with no protest.
Leaving the ram outside in the pouring rain, the bandits followed Toshie and Kaze. What met their eyes made them start with surprise: there was absolutely no one about and the room was shrouded in partial shadows due to the candles lighting the premises. Toshie grew suspicious. He knew there were people about...he had heard muffled voices on the other side when they were ramming the door...the makeshift barricade was evidence of human activity...
"They have to be somewhere...I know there were people there..." Toshie turned to Kaze, who brandished his dagger.
"Then we just have to be extra vigilant..."
The other bandits followed their leader's cue and took out their weapons. However...there were some who were still not accustomed in working their eyes in the shadows...
"Blast...I can't see in these shadows...lights...I need lights..."
'Yes...yes...come on...' Sendoh urged, watching several bandits making their way to the candlelabras. His other companions thought the same from their hiding places, 'Come on...go to those candlelabras..."
Soon enough, several bandits began to congregate around the candlelabras and one of them broke away from the group to pick one up...
"NOW!"
The lights abruptly switched on and the group found themselves ambushed by Sendoh and his companions as they pounced from above the staircase and came at them from their hiding places within the foyer. They had managed to disarm some of the bandits and used their weapons against them. After the initial shock of letting their guard down and after being landed a few blows, Toshie and Kaze wasted no time to scare off some of the servants while the bandits regained composure and armed themselves with their other weapons. But the minor setback didn't deter the castle residents...instead, they fought more fiercely than ever. Sendoh's pep talk before the attack was enough fuel for them to utilize their unique strengths and skills to ward off the invaders.
Hanagata and Maki were experienced fighters. They usually worked with weapons but this didn't mean that they were totally defenseless without them. Instead, they used their hand-to-hand skills to outwit the bandits and eventually managed to procure their weapons to use as their own.
"It's been a long time since I got to have a real fight," Maki commented as he blocked an attack from behind with a Bo staff he disarmed from a bandit a while ago. He threw off the attacker and knocked him out with a blow to his back.
"I have to agree with you on that," Hanagata nodded as he threw a few shuriken he had managed to pinch off the other bandits to skilfully pin his sneaky attackers against the wall so that his other companions coukd knock them out.
The two men smirked at each other in satisfaction before moving onto the next lot...
Meanwhile Kiyota, Jin and Hasegawa had scavenged in the storerooms and had found some barrels of gunpowder. They shared knowing looks at each other, there could create a special weapon with their own hands: fireworks! Using the bamboo hollowed sticks as canisters and tearing as much fabric from their clothes to use as fuses, the trio manufactured them as many and fast as they could before the bandits that were tracking them down caught up with them.
"Have at them!" Kiyota cried out as he and his two companions lit the oiled fuses and threw them at the surprised bandits.
The three young men whooped in triumph when the fireworks exploded with deafeningly large bangs, causing the once intimidating bandits to run off in fear, their clothes catching on fire. Hasegawa had another idea and gathered some of the servants to follow him.
"This is great! I sure hope we can make fireworks like this for future celebrations!" Jin commented as he threw a well-aimed firework into a small group that was harassing a servant, successfully driving them away. He winced slightly at the physical damage wrought on the floor and wall where the occupants once stood, "I sure hope that Maki-san wouldn't go ballistic over what they had done to the place..."
"I'm sure Shinichi-senpai wouldn't mind the damage if these fireworks made those idiots run away from us," Kiyota remarked with a snigger, seeing Hasegawa and some servants armed with buckets of water above the stairwell, "Let them go, Hasegawa-senpai!"
The bandits yelled in shock when they were suddenly drenched from head to foot before they were knocked out by solid punches from Maki. When the older man smiled at Kiyota, he felt his grin grow wider, knowing that he was proud of him and his companions for their great teamwork. And he was right about one thing, Maki didn't even complain of the scorched walls and the damaged floors the fireworks had caused.
Uozumi and Fujima found themselves in the kitchen and their eyes caught onto the full rubbish and compost bins. Affirming with each other, they constructed a temporary fortress and readied their ammunition. Finally, they instructed one of the servants to attract some bandits and successfully lured them into the kitchen. Before the bandits knew what they were getting into, they found themselves pelted with rotten fruit, rancid vegetables and disgusting leftovers. Uozumi, Fujima and the other servants tossed the makeshift bullets with ferocious strength. The bandits had no chance to defend from the rain of rotten food and the smells were too much to bear, which caused them to retreat back into the foyer.
"Ha ha, I never knew bad food can be put to good use," Uozumi laughed good naturedly as he tossed a very large cabbage squarely on the retreating bandit's head, making him pass out onto the floor.
"I have to agree with you, Uozumi-san," Fujima agreed as he and the taller man stood outside the protective barrier of their fortress. He tutted at the mess in the once pristine kitchen, "What a mess..."
"We'll worry about that later, Kenji-san. Let's help the others!"
"You got it, Uozumi-san!"
"Capture that weak man with the lantern! Don't let him escape!"
Youhei smirked to himself as he sprinted from his pursuers as fast as he could, his trusty lantern swinging in his hand and his makeshift club in the other. He may not have the powerful strength nor the fighting prowess as the rest of his companions but he could outsmart them...after all, he was the only one who knew all the secret passages within the castle and he would take advantage of that knowledge.
"Catch me if you can!" the man shouted as he ran around the next corner and blew off the candle in his lantern.
When the bandits turned the corner, Youhei was nowhere to be seen. It didn't help that the area was shadowed. They warily searched the area, unknowing of the panel on the wall sliding open. Youhei stepped silently on the areas of the floor that wouldn't creak and successfully knocked out each bandit with a sound blow to the head before retreating into another secret passage to prevent himself from being detected. The process continued until no bandit was left standing. Youhei finally emerged from his hiding place and tied up the unconscious bandits before leaving them against a wall. Then he activated a switch hidden behind one of the mirrors. The wall flipped, carrying the awakening bandits to a nasty surprise of sliding down the gutters and onto the muddy puddles outside the castle...
'Don't ever underestimate the power of cunning, my friends...'
Youhei relit the candle in his lantern, needing to go back to his companions. He momentarily glanced outside the window overlooking the forest. His eyes carried a tinge of worry...his daughter was still out there...
But he shook his head and tried to reassure himself. Chiriko was a strong girl...she could look after herself...and it was all the more reason he had to keep fighting so that he would be still living and breathing when she would return. With his renewed resolve, Youhei returned to the battlefield in the foyer...
"Hiro-kun!"
Sendoh moved forward to catch his lover who was skidding on the carpet towards one of the walls. He clutched the slender man in his embrace before helping him up and checked for any visible injuries. The Sasori bandit leader was indeed skilled in combat...
"Are you all right?" Sendoh asked with concern.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Thanks, Akira..."
"How incredibly touching...I suppose you both think that your combined strength will overcome my prowess...what foolishness!" Kaze mocked, his slitted crimson eyes glinting menacingly, "I shall take you both down and your miserable friends will see how pathetically weak you are!"
"You haven't best us just yet, Kaze-san! What you said were just empty threats!" Sendoh raged before turning to his lover, "Come, my love. We'll prove this bandit wrong!"
"Yes, Akira!"
The couple shouted their battle cries and charged towards Kaze.
Unknown to them, Kaze smirked...he made sure that their backs were turned to not notice a shadowy figure with a sword heading up the main staircase. They made brief eye contact with each other before Kaze brandished his spare daggers and charged towards the two men...
In the middle of the chaos in the foyer, Toshie had journeyed up the main staircase once Kaze was engaged in battle with the two leading castle residents. That was the perfect distraction he needed to start looking for the Kitsune...he would hunt down that cursed animal and attain glory for ridding the world of its beastly presence...that would teach that foolish Hanamichi to refuse him...to refuse his power!
"Let the hunt begin..."
Toshie muttered to himself, feeling assured of his hidden arsenal of kunai daggers and poison darts...he gripped his sword in readiness. He came to the corridor where his senses and gut told him to search there...he could feel a large presence behind one of these closed doors...
He began to kick open the doors one at a time, his hunter instincts tingling with growing blood lust and excitement...
"You can hide, you blasted creature...but I will find you...and I will kill you like the lowly animal you are! Then the world shall know of my prowess!"
The young man's chuckles were dark as the shadows permeating in his heart...
Sakuragi felt his heart pounding anxiously like a war drum while he continued galloping through the rainstorm. His neck and shoulder ached terribly and he could feel the thorny branches from the trees scratching his face and his arms gripping the reins in a vice. But the pains attacking his body didn't matter to him. He had to stop those terrible people from hurting his friends in the castle...and to make sure that his beloved Kitsune...his Kaede would be safe...faster...faster...he had to go faster!
'Hold on, Kitsune...please...please be okay, please be okay!' the redheaded pleaded in a silent prayer, 'I'm coming! I'm coming back!"
Haku neighed fiercely as if hearing the redhead's urgent thoughts and sprinted even faster through the forest.
"Hiro-kun! Together! Now!"
Sendoh and Koshino had somehow managed to overpower the powerful bandit and forced him to submit to their strength by trapping and pummeling him from both sides. By then, the rest of the castle residents were exhausted but they had managed to defeat the majority of the invaders. The remaining bandits that were left standing looked on powerlessly as their leader fell to his knees in defeat. Sendoh retrieved a dagger and placed the blade against the taut throat, his blue eyes now sharp with authority.
"All of you bandits! Your leader has fallen! Leave at once if you want your lives to be spared!" Sendoh shouted.
Knowing that this was the only chance to escape from further wrath, the bandits gathered up their injured and unconscious colleagues and exited the gaping entrance. Satisfied that the bandits had left, Sendoh took away the dagger from Kaze's throat, bringing Koshino in his protective embrace.
"Hiroaki and I have proved you wrong, Kaze-san. Our love gave us strength to fight on and overpower you. Leave...leave at once and never return!"
Sendoh felt unsettled when the Sasori bandit leader laughed maniacally as he shood up on unsteady legs before being supported by his fellow bandits.
"You may have defeated me and my bandits...you will never see us again...but I wonder if your master is truly safe from us...will he be alive by the time you discover it's too late? You fools! I have the last laugh...ha ha ha ha ha!"
As the bandit leader was carried out, Kaze's laughter haunted the castle walls, suddenly rendering their recent victory to be a hollow one...what did he mean about their master, the Kitsune...about not seeing him alive aga-
Sendoh's eyes widened in horror, now realizing what Kaze meant. He swerved around to search for the other individual...the one with the sword Youhei mentioned. He was nowhere to be seen!
"That man with the sword! Where is he?!"
Horrified gasps were his answer...
Toshie found himself standing before the doors at the end of the west wing. They were slightly ajar. He peeked through the gap and found his prey...his smirk turned triumphant...
"Found you..."
The Kitsune was sitting on the lounge chair, staring sadly out of the window and watching the heavy rain and the dying sakura blossoms.
Toshie stepped boldly into the room, his sword in one hand and the other armed with a sharp kunai dagger. The Kitsune turned to the intruder's direction with sapphire blue eyes filled with pain and sadness...he didn't have the strength to repel the foreign presence in his room and turned back to stare at the rain and the flowers. Toshie pulled his arm back with the kunai threateningly and was pleasantly surprised that the Kitsune made no attempt to defend himself...all the more easier to finish the creature off.
Without hesitation, Toshie threw the weapon as hard as he could, slashing the figure's side. The Kitsune roared in pain and writhed on his hind paws. Before the Kitsune could react, he was shoved by Toshie, causing him to crash out of the window and into the rainy storm. The young man laughed cruelly as he shoved and kicked the fallen figure with no mercy, making the other fall over the balcony and tumble towards the rooftops.
"Get up, you animal!"
The Kitsune remained motionless and allowed himself to be kicked. He was hanging precariously near the edge of the narrow crevice...
"What's the matter, Kitsune?" Himura leered at him, "Too kind and gentle to fight back?!"
The Kitsune turned away from the mocking words. Toshie growled at the fallen figure and strode nearer to him with his sword at hand. The Kutsune closed his eyes...it was better to end his life this way...
"No! Stop!"
That voice...that warm voice he missed so much...it couldn't be...surely it couldn't be...
The Kitsune lifted his heavy eyelids and looked down towards the battered iron gates...what he saw was a heavenly sight...it was Sakuragi...his Hana-kun...his beautiful redhead riding his horse down below. He came back...he came back for him!
"Hanamichi..." the Kitsune felt his strength and fighting spirit returning to his soul, "Hana-kun..."
"No, Toshie-san! Don't hurt him! Stop!"
Sakuragi's words didn't deter Toshie from stopping his actions but they alerted the Kitsune what was happening. The towering figure effortlessly grabbed the sharp blade in his tough paws, holding it at bay as he towered over his attacker. Toshie momentarily stilled in fearful awe at the immense height and stature of his prey before he smirked and continued fighting...the excitement of taking down a powerful beast in its fighting prime would be all the more a better prize as a hunting trophy...
"Haku, let's go!" Sakuragi cried out as he and the horse raced to the castle's entrance...
Thunder and lighting crashed, flashed and rumbled in the dark sky, creating the dramatic backdrop on the fight between Toshie and the Kitsune. The roofs had become a raging battlefield between man and beast. Toshie thrust and parried his sword in attempt to lay a visible mark onto the Kitsune's body. But the Kitsune fought back with all he had in his power. He had to get this intruder out of his home...away from his redheaded love. In a fast progressive pace, the tides of battle shifted to the Kitsune's favour, causing the man to falter and slide down one of the sloping roofs. The Kitsune pounced on Toshie, sending them both falling to the lower parts of the rooftops.
"Sakuragi-kun!" Sendoh shouted with surprise when he saw the redheaded man ride through the entrance atop his horse, "You came back!"
"Oh my God! It's really him!" Maki exclaimed in amazement and ran forward to steady Haku as Sakuragi leapt off the horse.
"Sendoh! Toshie-san is attacking the Kitsune on the roof!" Sakuragi shouted with frantic dark eyes.
"Damn it! So that's what Kaze-san meant: the fight was all a distraction! How could I been so careless?!" Sendoh cursed himself.
"Sakuragi! My daughter! Did you see her anywhere?!" Sakuragi found himself clutched by Youhei, "Where is she?! Where's Chiriko?!"
"She's with my friends. She's safe!" Sakuragi pushed the relieved man away and quickly sprinted up the staircase towards the west wing, "I have to get to the Kitsune...he needs me! Kaede needs me!"
Sendoh was stunned to the spot before he was coaxed by Koshino to follow the redhead...for the very first time, Sakuragi had called his friend and master by his first name...
The rooftops were slippery and steep and the Kitsune was suddenly thrown off to a shadowed region. Toshie, catching a few breaths himself, retrieved his sword and traversed into the shadows. He could see his opponent's silhouette nearby. He swung it and slashed the head off. But when the flash of lightning momentarily lit up the area, he saw that he had only decapitated a lone stone statue.
"Come out and fight!"
Toshie couldn't see the Kitsune anywhere...so he decided to try a different tactic to lure his prey out...he saw how the creature reacted to the redhead's presence...he could use it to his advantage...
"Are you in love with him? You love Hanamichi, don't you? Do you honestly think that Hanamichi truly loves and cares for you when he has me?!"
The Kitsune who had hiding among the statues growled in anger and jealousy. How dare that boastful fool make up such lies?! It was he who made Hanamichi smile at him! It was he who gave the beautiful redhead all he deserved! It was he that Hanamichi cared for! The Kitsune stealthily approached Toshie from behind but the man was alert and caught him fast. The Kitsune backed away as Toshie aimed his sword at him, trapping him at the crevice again.
"It's over, filthy beast! Hanamichi's with me! He's mine!"
The Kitsune's anger skyrocketed to new heights, this man did not deserve to live if he was going to mistreat his beloved Hana-kun! He released a deafening roar that could rival a pride of lions, making Toshie drop his sword in intense fear and tumble back onto the slippery tiles at the ferocity. Then the Kitsune kicked the weapon aside, causing it to tumble into the gardens below. With an enraged growl, the master of the castle grabbed Toshie's neck and dangled him over the edge, ready to drop him into the abyss.
"Please let me go! Don't hurt me! I'll do anything!" Toshie pleaded pathetically, his cruel face contorted with sheer terror, "Anything!"
A brief tense silence followed and the Kitsune was lost in his thoughts...then Hanamichi came into his mind...the redhead wouldn't want more bloodshed caused by him even if this man was a great threat...no...he was not a beast anymore. If the Kitsune had killed Toshie even if it was for a worthy reason, he would've become a killer just like the pitiful man in his grasp. His angry expression dissipated but a firm glint was present in his sapphire eyes. He brought the quivering man back to firm ground. Toshie whimpered and the Kitsune glared at him.
"Get out! I never want to see your face ever again!" the Kitsune whispered harshly and roughly threw him aside onto the stony ledge.
"Kitsune!"
Sakuragi appeared on the balcony of his room, his dark eyes instantly filling with relief when he saw the Kitsune well and alive.
The Kitsune turned around to the direction of the quivering relieved voice and saw his redheaded angel...he smiled in unbridled happiness.
"Hanamichi..."
Sakuragi reached out a hand, beckoning the Kitsune to come to him. Spurred by the gesture, the Kitsune climbed up the roofs effortlessly, mindful of the slippery tiles.
"Hanamichi..."
Sakuragi's face brightened as the Kitsune's large furry paw tenderly grasped the redheaded man's waiting hand. He supported himself on the railing to his full height, bringing his paws to gently cup the handsome face.
"Kitsune...thank goodness...you're all right..."
"You came back to me...Hana-kun..."
Sakuragi smiled blissfully, closing his eyes to savour the comforting warmth his Kitsune's paws were emitting.
But the relieved happiness was abruptly short-lived when the Kitsune roared in shock and pain. Crazed laughter echoed behind the Kitsune. Toshie was clutching a small bunch of poisonous darts and had plunged the needles straight into the Kitsune's back.
"No, Kitsune!" Sakuragi screamed in horror, "Toshie-san! How could you?!"
"I will have my prey! I will have my glory!" Toshie poised for another hit, his cruel face lit up by a menacing smirk.
The Kitsune's senses were on overload as he writhed in intense pain...it was everywhere! He swung his arms everywhere...his fingers...they weren't working...his body...it was getting heavy...
Toshie was about to plunge the darts back into the furry body when his feet suddenly lost balance. He flailed his arms, trying to find something to grab onto...but there was only thin air and rain. He felt himself falling backwards...and a vision of a devil cackling in a ring of fire passed over his vision...his screams were unheard as he plunged into a watery grave...into the depths of Hell...
Sakuragi regained his terror-filled senses and grabbed onto the Kitsune's robes to prevent him from collapsing into the abyss where Toshie fell into...he pulled the weakened Kitsune back onto the balcony...blood spilling from his strong body...
"Kaede-kun! Kaede-kun!"
Sendoh rushed up to the opening of the balcony, his lover and companions close behind. The tall man gasped in saddened shock and horror to see the Kitsune bleeding and Sakuragi laying him gently onto the damp stony ground. The small group gasped at the sight. Koshino whimpered and clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes filling with tears.
"No...no...Kaede-kun..." Sendoh shook his head in denial as he pulled his lover close, "Please...please...don't let it happen...not like this..."
Sakuragi's heart thumped so harshly that he felt the heartbeat ring in his ears. His eyes were burning and his throat felt so tight and constricted. He could hardly believe what happened to his Kitsune...the mighty master of the castle had fallen. The young man hesitantly placed a palm on the large cheek. Upon feeling the warm hand, Kitsune opened his eyes blearily to look up at the redhead he was in love with. Sakuragi gulped down the lump in his throat and tried to smile at him while he tenderly combed the fur with his fingers.
"You...you came back," the Kitsune whispered, his voice getting raspy...he could feel his breath leaving him...it must be the poison at work, "Hana...Hana-kun..."
"Of course I came back, Kitsune. I couldn't let them...I...the mirror..." Sakuragi sniffled and hugged his beloved Kitsune close, letting tears trickle down his cheeks, "This is all my fault...if only I stopped them...if only I've gotten here sooner. What have I done to you?"
"No, it's not your fault...Hanamichi..." the Kitsune struggled to breathe, feeling more and more exhausted and drowsy, "It's...it's better...it's better off this way..."
"Don't talk like that..." Sakuragi gently scolded him, "You'll be all right. We're together now...everything's gonna be fine, you'll see...Kitsune...please...I promise I'll never leave you again. You have my word. Please live...I want you to live...for me..."
The Kitsune's eyes were soft with sadness...he truly wanted to live for his beautiful redheaded love...but he knew it was impossible...he was going to die...
The Kitsune forced a shaking paw up and placed it gently on Sakuragi's left cheek and spoke to him in his most soothing voice he could muster with his failing strength, "At least...I got to see you...one last time...forgive me...Hanamichi...but...I can't live up to that...promise...always...know...that...you...are. ..the...one who...really mattered...to me...my Hana-kun..."
Sakuragi grabbed onto the paw, pressing the appendage hard against his cheek. But it started to go limp. When the redhead looked down again, the Kitsune winced before his eyes rolled back and closed...sealing the sapphire irises forevermore. The paw felt cold and stiff as stone as it fell onto the ground. Sakuragi clapped his hands over his mouth in horrified sadness and disbelief, hardly able to take in the unbearable sight. The burning of his eyes got worse...his chest hurt so much...
It couldn't be true...his Kitsune wasn't dead!
"No! No! Please! Kitsune! Don't leave me!" Sakuragi croaked hoarsely before he buried his wet face against the large chest, "Please...please..."
The tears mixed with the rainwater and trickled down his cheeks in hot trails. He grabbed the silk in his fingers and grasped tightly as he cried out his sorrow, his sobs filled with anguish and mourning. Sakuragi felt his heart splinter into a million shards...why did it happen this way...why did his Kitsune have to die before he could tell him how he felt...even though it was too late...he whispered the deepest confession that was in his heart...his true feelings for the dead being in his arms...
"I love you, Kaede..."
The last sakura blossom that was clinging onto the bare tree broke away and fluttered away into the wind. Sendoh and the rest of the group witnessed it happen and tore away from the sight of the heartbroken redhead cradling the dead body of their master. Sendoh tightly embraced a weeping Koshino in his arms while tears poured down his once cheerful face in hot torrents. Everyone was crying as sobs and anguished yells filled the air...
But none were loud and heartbreaking as those being cried by Sakuragi Hanamichi...
To be continued...