-Remembering Saruwatari-
Bonus 1: Drabble with Jakotsu
The group had stopped for the night in a small sheltered plain. The trees grew all around it, making it more of a small little circle. I sat next to a sleeping Prentiss as Bankotsu, Suikotsu, and Renkotsu left to search for food. Only Jakotsu, Ginkotsu, Mukotsu, Kyokotsu, Saruwatari, and I were awake. Jakotsu shifted and then put his arms in his large sleeves. He was staring at me while he shifted. Was he getting ready to ask me something?
"Um, Masato?" He started nervously. "Um, do you have any relatives?"
I blinked; confused that such a question would come from him. I shifted in my seat as all eyes turned towards me. Prentiss' head snuggled into my side softly. I cleared my throat and slightly nodded.
"Of course I do. You've seen my father, brother, and sister, haven't you?"
"Well, yeah, but we didn't see much more than that. Where's your mother?"
"She's kept in bed, crippled with sickness."
"Will she get better?"
"I don't know."
"What's her diagnosis?"
"We have not gotten her a doctor. Our family cannot afford it." I said sadly. I would like to know what my mother has, so that perhaps I could help her.
"Does your mother respect you?"
"I would hope so."
"My mother didn't respect me. She did not like the path that I chose regarding relationships. She wanted me to fall in love with a woman, but I instead got to liking men. I don't think she ever forgave me for that, and she lost he respect for me. I didn't want to gain that whore's respect anyway. When did her opinion count?"
I stared at Jakotsu. He hadn't opened up to anybody like this, apparently. Mukotsu, Kyokotsu, and Ginkotsu stared at him as he clenched and unclenched his fist in his lap. I placed Prentiss on the ground and walked over to Jakotsu. He had his face in his hands now, breathing in and out deeply, his shoulders shaking. I didn't know if he was crying of if he was shaking with rage. I sat besides him on his place on the rotting log and gently put my hand on his back. He tensed, but relaxed and started shaking again.
"Jakotsu, it's alright. You can be whoever you want to be. People will judge you along the way. They think it's not normal, but to you it is. It's only you; you don't need anyone else's opinion. Screw them; they don't know anything. They can't read your mind or your emotions." I thought and pondered. Jakotsu had stopped shaking. "I remember overhearing my mother and father talk one day. After my brother, my mother only had daughters. After me, most of them died stillborn. My father said that I was a mistake…he said I should have been carried away from this world."
"That's terrible!" Jakotsu exclaimed, his face shooting up from his hands.
"I was unexpected," I continued, "My mother and father had to make room for me. They spent a multitude of money, and I was thought to be a burden on my family. My brother got the most attention as the only son, and thus, I was left to rot inside my little shell. When I got Saruwatari as an heirloom, it was the happiest day of my life. I had someone to talk to, and this someone respected me and loved me. Saruwatari thought I should exist."
"When I met Bankotsu, life had gotten better for me. He didn't think I was abnormal or anything. He took me in stride, and I was glad. Nobody regarded me as a abnormality anymore."
"I was still an abnormality, even when Saruwatari stayed with me. Hey, talking to a monkey doesn't look all that attractive to a couple of normal people, does it?"
"You talk about normal people like they're different from you."
"If they're not weird, then I don't like them!" I declared, folding my arms across my chest and sticking my nose in the air. Jakotsu and I started to laugh, and soon Bankotsu, Renkotsu, and Suikotsu came back in the camp with a large boar. When they found Jakotsu and me laughing together, they stared at us, confused.
"Um, are we disturbing something, you two?" Bankotsu asked, setting the boar down on its rump.
"No," I said in between laughs, "No, we were just waiting for you."
Jakotsu smiled at me and nodded, grabbing the boar. "I'm freakin' starving! Let's eat!"
We all cheered and started to carve the boar. Prentiss woke up and smiled as Jakotsu and I talked the night away with the others.