Knockin' Down Hesitation
We've done this before, he thought, the chill running through his slight frame, his posture softening as he looked up at the older boy, the lord of Azabu Castle, his features familiar somehow, a face he had seen in dreams perhaps.
In the velvet darkness above them, came the fluttering sparks of fireworks, a rainbow of colours washing over the face of the young lord, and in his heart, held close in the other's arms, Usanosuke Isshin felt the stirrings of something he was eager to admit, yet hesitant to define.
Not this night, not this place, but somewhere, maybe in a past life, they had done this before, the two of them drawn together, the red string of fate pulling each of them into the other's arms time and time again.
That had been what the child with the pink hair and the overly familiar manner had said in the village, hadn't it? That he and the young master were bound together. Isshin had never been one to put much stock in fortune-telling or any of that business. Born the son of a hard-working fishmonger, he had learnt that you didn't get anywhere without application, and despite his reputation as being clumsy and somewhat less dedicated than his younger brother, he liked to think that when it counted, he was the sort of man that could be depended on.
From a young age, he had become keenly aware of the injustice of the world, the cruelties that went hand-in-hand with power—the way in which those in authority always kicked downwards. As a member of a merchant family, Isshin had resolved to never be like this, and as such, had soon gathered a reputation for himself in the surrounding towns as something of a troublemaker, 'the pretty boy fishmonger of love and justice,' they had called him mockingly, and refusing to see such qualities as bad, he had taken up the title with pride.
Had you told him prior to this night that one day his path might cross with the young lord of the great family to whom the locals swore fealty to, he would have laughed at the notion; had you told him that such a meeting would lead to a night like this, beneath the fireworks, the moonlight dancing across the water lilies of the pond, the young master's arms about him as they stood upon the curve of the bridge, gazing into one another's eyes, then Isshin would have naturally dismissed such possibility as phantasy.
Yet here they were, alone together, hearts racing loud enough to be heard, the taste of gentle peach blossom tea on their lips, and for the first time in his life, Isshin felt that everything made sense, that his past was now cast in the sharp relief of this moment, the fluttering of their hearts as loud as any of the firework above them.
His expression faltered, the feeling in his chest almost too big to comprehend, and, sensing his concern, the young master frowned slightly, a look of sadness that did not suit the handsomeness of his features.
"What is it?"
A smile touched the young boy's lips, and Isshin shook his head, turning away towards the blossom of the fireworks, the light that played across the lilies and the water.
"Nothing," he said softly, smiling once more. "It's just… the moon looks so pretty tonight."