Author's Notes: See chapter one for disclaimer and explanation (of course, you don't really need an explanation anymore, seeing as you're on chapter two and already know what this is all about).
Love, Life, and Death
By Annie-chan
Chapter Two: CourtshipIt was good to be alive! Hôjun ran through the village in search of his two best friends. It was the beginning of summer, and Hôjun had been fifteen for about a month and a half. Of course, he wouldn't be so thrilled it was summer when the weather got really hot in a few months and everything he did seemed to be accompanied with a thin film of sweat. It always happened that way in Kônan-koku. Every time the season changed, Hôjun was happy to see the old season go and the new season come in. He always wondered how he could ever have been excited about the last season when it started, but the cycle just kept on going and going and going…*
*Enter pink bunny.
The Summer Festival was just a few days away, and the town of Shôryû was a whirl of activity, more so than usual, even compared to the busiest day of the week. It wasn't the biggest town in Kônan-koku, but it was the biggest in the northern region in which it nestled into a small valley surrounded by forest and mountains, and cut through by the mighty Shôryû River. The town laid just a little ways away from the river, and there was a great, gnarled old willow tree near the bank, the only tree in the valley beyond the line of the forest around the edge. Hôjun, Hikô, and Kôran liked to play around that willow, climbing it and trying to keep it between themselves and whoever was "it" in a game of tag. His father, Tsuyosa, had told Hôjun that that tree had been there since long before his great-great-great-grandparents had first come to this valley with some of the first settlers of the town. Apparently, one of the neighboring towns thought itself to be getting too big for the little bowl of land between the mountains it lay under, and many of the families had moved out in search of a suitable site for a second town. They had found this valley and founded the tiny town of Shôryû, the Rising Dragon. A freak landslide destroyed the first town not too long after that, and the displaced townsfolk had come to live in the little town next to the mighty river, which was in a larger valley than the first town had been in, and therefore had more space for the people. Since then, Shôryû had grown quite a bit, until it took up a large part of the little valley.
But, Hôjun wasn't thinking about the history of his hometown at the moment. He was thinking about the Summer Festival in a few days, and how much fun he would have with Hikô and Kôran. They always had the best of times at the Four Seasonal Festivals, and Hôjun wasn't about to make this year's Summer Festival any exceptions.
He saw his two best friends near the southern entrance to the town, helping with the clothes some dancers would wear in the town square the night of the festival. Kôran was putting the last touches on the seams and Hikô was taking them over to the head dancer's house next to where they were working. It wasn't a big job, and the dancers were helping too, so the task was just about finished. Hikô's older sister, Yûgasa, was one of the dancers, and she had apparently talked her little brother into helping with all this. Hôjun had just come himself from making festival decorations for his father's small shop. His father was a carpenter and woodcarver, and could make anything from a table to children's toys to women's hair ornaments. Hôjun had been taking lessons, and was pretty good at it himself.
"Kôran! Hikô!" he called as he got to the spot they were working. "Are you almost done? Can you take a break for a while and take a walk with me in the woods?"
"Yeah, we're almost done, and yeah, as far as I know, we can take a break," Hikô replied. "Nêsan said she doesn't know of anymore work Tôsan and Kâsan have for us." He made a face. "We wouldn't have been doing this, but Nêsan snagged us as we were about to look for you."
"I don't think I have anything else to do, either," Kôran said softly. She always spoke softly; she had since she had turned about twelve. It was a welcome change from the raucous child she had been, according to her mother, for young ladies don't go yelling like a boy every time they went out. Kôran's tone of voice always changed when she was talking to or about Hôjun, though. It was hard to explain how, but it was somehow…different.
"All right! So, let's go!" Hôjun said. Hikô and Kôran had just finished and all three of them were anxious to get away from the commotion of the town. They were excited about the festival in a few days, but they wanted to get away from all the preparations and noise.
"Okay, let me change my shirt, though, it has a mud stain from this mor—ah! Itai!!!!!!!!!" Hikô was interrupted by a crash and his own exclamation of pain. A ladder someone had been standing on to measure a roof for hanging decorations suddenly cracked and broke. The person standing on it had managed to jump free and avoid injury, but the top of the ladder swung down, attached to the rest by just a thin strip of wood, and smacked Hikô in the shin. He stumbled back into Hôjun and fell to the ground, dragging the lighter-haired boy with him.
"Hikô! Daijôbu ka?!" Hôjun nearly yelled. The ladder falling down had startled him, giving him an energy burst, but Hikô's cry worried him, and the extra energy just made his worry worse.
"No," the older boy groaned, and tried to stand up. He promptly sunk back to the ground. "Kuso! I don't think I can stand. Damn it, I need a doctor!"
Luckily, the town medic's house was just a few doors down, and he had come when he heard the crash.
"I'm right here, now just calm down. Let me see." He pulled up Hikô's pant leg and checked for any serious injury. "You're in luck, my boy! It's not broken. I don't think it's even cracked. It's just been terribly bruised. Keep your weight off it and it should heal up enough for you to run fine in two or three days. Don't worry; you'll be on your feet again by the time of the festival! Now come over to my house, and let's get it bandaged so it doesn't get hurt anymore than it is."
"Er, okay," Hikô managed. The medic was one of those overly happy people, and his fine-and-dandy attitude could get on your nerves a bit. He didn't seem to be too bubbly today, but he always had that tone of voice that just makes you want to grind your teeth together.
Hôjun and the medic helped Hikô up and into the medic's house.
"Hôjun, you and Kôran take that walk in the woods without me. I'm not going anywhere today," Hikô said.
"But, Hikô—" Hôjun started.
"Go on! I'll be fine. You know how I hate people to worry over me anyway."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Hôjun replied. "All right, we'll come back and see how you're doing real soon."
He and Kôran said their goodbyes to Hikô and the medic and walked out of town toward the forest. They walked alongside the river to the forest edge, and they stopped and looked at an old, overgrown pathway.
"Hey, remember on my birthday five years ago when Hikô led us down that trail?" Hôjun asked.
"Yes, of course I remember," Kôran said quietly. "We kept going back to that little clearing a ways back for maybe two weeks." They both laughed. Children's interest in things wears out so quickly.
They took a more used path into the woods that led to a large clearing that seemed to cut everything inside off from the outside world. It was the perfect place for a quiet picnic or reflective meditations.
Or, Hôjun thought, for young lovers to be by themselves.
He mentally startled. Why had he thought that? He didn't have a lover, and he knew of no one to be one for him.
Or did he?
He was interrupted in his thoughts by a rustling sound and a startled gasp from Kôran. There were a few bushes in the clearing, and as they walked toward them, two large birds that had been hidden in the biggest suddenly took to the air, squawking their displeasure of having "their" clearing invaded by two of those strange, two-legged beasts that lived in the valley. Kôran reflexively grabbed Hôjun's arm when the birds burst out of the bush, for they frightened her. But when she realized the outburst was just two annoyed birds, she calmed back down. However, she didn't let go of Hôjun's arm right away. They continued on toward the center of the clearing, but stopped at the same time and as one looked down to where Kôran was holding on to Hôjun's arm.
She blushed profusely. "Ano, sumimasen, Hôjun-kun," she stammered, clearly embarrassed by her actions. She didn't look at his face, and therefore didn't see that he was blushing as well. Silence hung heavy in the air. Hôjun finally broke the silence, and Kôran minutely jumped in surprise as his voice suddenly sounded in the stillness.
"Don't be sorry," he said quietly, in a near whisper. "You've done nothing wrong." She looked up at him, something akin to joy in her eyes. Hesitantly, shyly, he slipped his hand into hers, and they continued to walk to the clearing's center. There was a sakura tree right in the center of the clearing, it's blossoms nearly gone, replaced by small buds that would eventually turn into cherries. It was a tall tree, and Hôjun remembered several I-can-climb-higher-than-you contests he and Hikô had had in that tree.
The two sat down at the base of the tree, still holding hands. Both of them still had a slight blush on their cheeks, and their voiced were hushed, as if they were afraid of breaking whatever spell seemed to be cast upon them. They talked of their families. Hanabira had turned into quite the little talker, and was probably the bubbliest little seven-year-old in Shôryû. Kôran's mother was expecting and was due within the next few months. And, judging by the size of her, there was a good chance of it being twins. As they talked, they failed to notice that they were subconsciously moving closer to one another. It wasn't until Hôjun let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders did they notice that they were so very close to one another.
They both froze when they turned their heads to look at one another. There faces were mere inches apart. And the emotions the each saw in the other's eyes…
"Kôran, I…" Hôjun began.
"Hôjun…" she whispered back.
"Kôran, I…I…" He stopped. He realized exactly how he felt for her like he realized a slap in the face. But—
In a split second, he thought, My voice isn't working…I have to show her instead; show her what I feel for her…
Before his mind could completely understand what his heart was telling his body what to do, he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers.
He pulled back almost immediately, his mind finally catching up to his heart. Their eyes were wide, and the blush had returned to their cheeks full force.
"Hôjun—" she started to speak, but stopped as he kissed her again. This time, he was sure of what he wanted, and planned to show her that he cared very deeply for her. He himself had just realized it not one minute ago.
His arms went around her, pulling her to his chest, cradling her slender form protectively. His heart thrilled when he felt her arms wrap around him, signaling him not to stop. But, he needed to stop. No matter how much he loved her, he needed to breathe. They broke apart and he held her tightly to him, feeling like he could hold her like this for the rest of his life.
"Kôran," he whispered into her hair. "Ai shiteru. Itsumo." He kissed her hair. "Always remember that."
"Hôjun," she whispered back into the folds of his tunic. "Ai shiteru mo. I—I think I always have."
His heart filled to near bursting with joy. He tightened his arms around her. "Now I know what I have always felt for you."
"Mm?"
"Ever since I can remember, I have felt something special for you, but I have never known what it meant until now. It was love."
"Really?" She looked up at him. "I have always felt something special for you, too. It must have been love as well, for it's all I can feel right now."
He smiled and kissed her lightly. "I hate to say this, but we'd best be getting back now. Hikô's waiting for us. I don't want to leave him alone too long with that chatterbox of a doctor."
She laughed brightly. They got up and walked back the way they had come, their arms around each other's waists. As they neared the town, however, shyness overtook both of them and they dropped their arms from one another almost at the same time. They blushed, and stopped walking to wait for the blush to subside before walking into the village. As they neared the doctor's house, Hôjun looked over to Kôran and smiled slightly.
Somehow, I'm not surprised, he thought. We're both so shy about something like love. I guess we can keep this our own little secret for now.
To be continued…Author's Notes: Well, how do you like their first kiss? Well, kisses (make that plural). Any questions or comments? How about constructive criticism? Any DEstructive criticism, and you'll be getting a nasty e-mail right back, courtesy of yours truly. Send whatever you want to say to mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu!