Author's Notes: See chapter one for disclaimer and explanation.
Love, Life, and Death
By Annie-chan
Chapter Four: BetrayalIt was spring again, soon after Hôjun had turned eighteen. He and Kôran were to be married in two weeks, and the weather was wonderful. Hôjun couldn't have been more content.
He sat in the back of his father's shop, staring at a rectangular piece of wood, trying to decide what best to carve out of it. He wanted to make a little gift for his beloved fiancée, but was in the dark as to what. His mind drifted back to that day in the flower patch, the day he had proposed to her. That day still held him in awe, for it was the day they had both promised to love and cherish the other for all time. He smiled wistfully as he remembered. It then struck him what he would make her: a hair ornament shaped like the pink flowers in the patch, the flowers that so resembled cherry blossoms. That decision finally made, he picked up his carving knife and set to work.
Maybe she could wear it at our wedding if I make it pretty enough, he thought. A boyish grin spread across his face at the thought. Our wedding…if only it would get here sooner!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
One week left. Hôjun hadn't finished the hair ornament he had started. In fact, he hadn't gotten very far with it at all. What with the work in the shop to be done and the preparations for the wedding, he hadn't had much time to himself to work on it. It didn't concern him too much, for he could finish it in an hour and a half to two hours if need be, but he didn't want to rush it. He only wanted his best work possible for a gift to his dear Kôran.
Something was amiss, though. Hikô had seemed to be getting rather distant from both of them. Yes, he seemed happy enough when they announced that they were getting married in the spring, but since then, he seemed to be drifting away. That deeply troubled Hôjun, and he knew Kôran was concerned about it as well. What was ailing their best friend? And why was he not seeking their help? The three of them had always been pretty open with each other about their problems, so what was holding Hikô back this time? It just wasn't like him. Hôjun had broached the subject to him once, but the older boy had completely avoided his questions and changed the subject as quickly as he could. Hôjun didn't try to talk with him about it since, but he still was extremely worried about his friend.
Work in the shop had been done for the night, and Hôjun took up the unfinished hair ornament and began to finish carving out the blossom shape. Hanabira, now ten years old, came up behind him and watched him work. He never minded her doing that as long as she didn't chatter nonstop in his ear, as was her fashion, but she never abided by that rule for very long. Only about two minutes had passed since she had started watching, and she piped up with her enthusiastic twitter of a voice, "Is that for your iinazuke, Aniki? Is it?"
He would have reprimanded her and told her to go somewhere else if it had been any other time or any other question, but this time and question, he merely grinned and continued working, a slight blush staining his cheeks. Hanabira merely took this as a cue to keep talking.
"OH! It is! Can I see it? Can I? I bet it's going to be really pretty when you finish it! You always carve the best hair things! The one you gave me for my last birthday is just adorable! Did I tell you that already? I think I did. Or maybe I didn't. Oh well, if I didn't before I did now. What color are you going to paint this one? I think blue would look cute on her, or maybe purple. What do you think? I'm sure it'll look good on her if you're making it for her. I bet you know exactly what would look good on her. Do you know what she's wearing for your wedding? What are you wearing? I know what I'm gonna wear. I'm gonna wear—"
Hôjun had had enough. No matter how much he loved his little sister, she grated on his last nerve ends when she got going like this.
"GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!" he roared. She jumped back with a look of surprise on her face. She then walked away to her bedroom with a hurt look. He wasn't worried. She'd forget it all in ten minutes. She always did.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tomorrow. Tomorrow, they would be married. Hôjun had butterflies as big as Suzaku in his stomach, and his entire family was in high spirits. It would be the first wedding among the children. Hanabira was too young, and Taiyô, twenty-two years old, hadn't found a girl to love yet. Not that he had no luck with women; he just hadn't shone any special interest in any yet. There was one named Shinsetsu that he was starting to spend more time with, and Hôjun thought that she was a perfect match for his niisan. He hoped their relationship furthered. It would be nice to have a kind young lady like her as a sister-in-law.
Hôjun had just put the finishing touches on the gift for Kôran, and just in time. The wedding was tomorrow afternoon under the willow tree by the river, which was in full bloom. The perfect spot for them to be married, in Hôjun's opinion. At the moment, he was carving out the legs for a chair as he waited for the paint to dry on the hair ornament. He had found the perfect shade of pink, and had taken great pains to get the paint job just perfect.
She'll love this, he had thought as he put the painting utensils away. I hope Hanabira has kept her mouth shut about it as I asked her to. After all, what was a surprise gift if it wasn't a surprise? Just an ordinary gift, that's what it was, not nearly as satisfying to give.
It wasn't that far into the day, and he hadn't seen Kôran yet. With a smile, he let his thoughts drift to her and wondered what she was doing…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, near the willow tree by the river, Kôran was standing by the riverbank, watching the water drift by. The level had risen a bit, signifying an increase of rainfall in the mountains. It wasn't much, and nobody was worried much about it. The Shôryû River changed its water levels off and on like this all the time.
Kôran wasn't thinking about the water levels in the river, though. Her mind was as far away from that as it could possibly be. She was thinking of the next day, when she would be married to the man who completed her soul, who was her reason for existing, who loved her more than she even thought possible. He had been her friend for longer than she could remember, and now he was to be her husband, and she was to be his wife. She let her face dissolve into a girlish smile. Oh, if only tomorrow would get here soon!
"Kôran?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned and beheld Hikô, the man she had come to love like the brother she never had. She was the oldest in her family, with three sisters, two of them twins, younger than her. She smiled and invited him to stand beside her. He complied, but said nothing. Something seemed to be bothering him, which seemed to be happening a lot lately. Her smile disappeared, and she was just about to say something when he spoke softly, almost in a whisper:
"You're really looking forward to tomorrow, ne? You look like you don't have a care in the world." She couldn't identify his tone. It was quiet and seemingly flat, but underneath lay an emotion that Kôran could not place.
She looked out toward the water. "Yes, of course I am," she answered. "I think I've been waiting for this day my entire life. I've always known that I loved Hôjun, I think. It's just something that seems so natural to me for us to be together."
Little did she know that every word that passed through her lips was like an assassin's knife ripping through his heart. His hands clenched at his sides so hard he was sure he would break the skin, and his head bowed forward slightly, his bangs hiding his eyes from view. He started to tremble, partly from the pain in his palms from his fingernails, partly from the pain in his soul from her unwittingly murderous words. He felt as if his soul was dying within him, as if he was wasting away due to his intense, yet unreturned, love for the exquisite creature that stood beside him, totally unaware of the unspoken passion he held for her.
She noticed his trembling and was immediately worried. "Hikô?" she questioned, laying a hand on his arm. "Daijôbu? Do you want to talk about anything?"
He felt her hand on his arm, and his body reacted before he realized what was happening. He faced her and grabbed her upper arms tightly. She gasped, unprepared for and surprised by his sudden action, and she looked up into his face, wide-eyed. His eyes were strangely intense, and they drew her gaze as if she was physically being made to look into them. She was about to protest his seizure of her when he spoke, his voice strong, yet with a slight tremor underneath.
"Kôran, I do have something I want to tell you, something you probably won't expect," he started, staring into her beautiful eyes. "You and Hôjun are to be married tomorrow, and I want to tell you something before you are his forever." He seemed to almost choke on the words "his forever." The tremor in his voice was getting stronger.
Something in the back of her mind told her to get away. Part of her was terrified of the man that held her in such a firm grip like this. The pleas in her mind got stronger with every word he said until she indeed tried to pull away. However, he only tightened his grip on her.
"Hikô…hanase…" she pleaded, her voice almost breaking. Something was terribly wrong with her friend, and she felt the overpowering need to get away before he did something.
"No! Not until I tell you this! You need to know!" He tightened his grip harder as she again tried to pull away. Something told him that he was bruising her delicate skin, but he paid it no heed. He pulled her closer until their faces were mere inches apart. The fear in her eyes hurt him terribly, but he had gotten this far, there was no way to back out now. He stared into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity before he finally whispered his secret.
"Kôran…I love you…I love you with all my soul."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It should be dry by now, Hôjun thought as he walked over to check on the hair ornament. It was dry, as he thought. Now is as good a time as ever to give it to her.
He picked it up and ran out the door, in search of his love.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kôran was stunned. Hikô, the man she thought of like a brother, had just confessed to loving her. This can't be happening, she thought. It can't be right. It can't!
"Hikô…you can't really mean that," she said aloud. She tried to keep the unevenness out of her voice, and she wasn't sure if she was succeeding or not. "You know I love Hôjun. I…I know you don't really mean what you said. Hôjun and I will be married tomorrow, so you should forget about this crush. You'll find a girl you really will love, so don't dwell on me. I—"
She cut short when she saw the look in his eyes. Tears were threatening, and a look of unimaginable despair dominated them. She tried to pull away again, but he held firmly on.
"You…you think I don't mean what I said…th-that it's not true…that it's only a crush?!" His voice was rising in intensity by the second. "No! No! I do mean it! I love you, Kôran! I love you more than I ever could love anyone in the world! I-I want you and Hôjun to be happy together! I do! But—" He broke off, choking back tears. It was a minute before he could continue. "I want you and Hôjun to be happy together, but I had to tell you of my feelings! I…I couldn't pretend I only thought of you as a friend anymore! Don't you see? It's not just a crush! I really do love you! I—"
"Hikô, no," she said, barely above a whisper. "It…it can't be true!" The fact that Hikô was in love with her horrified her. How could they be friends after this? How could Hikô and Hôjun be friends after this?! "Hikô, forget about this. This never happened."
"You still don't believe me," he replied with a touch of bitterness. "Fine, then. I'll prove it to you." Before she could say or do anything, he pulled her up against him and sealed his lips over hers.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He couldn't find her in the village, but her mother told him that she was probably by the willow tree by the river. He grinned.
We'll be married there tomorrow, he thought with a thrill of happiness. He set off for the riverbank in high spirits. Well, he had been in high spirits for the last month or so, so right now was no different. The willow tree wasn't far from the town proper, and he was soon walking up the hill on which it sat upon. He started to run, anxious to give her the gift he had taken great pains to make just perfect. He got to the tree and looked around it, a smile on his face.
The world dropped out from under him. The smile on his face was immediately replaced with a look of shock and horror. There, right on the edge of the river, stood Kôran…in the arms of his best friend, Hikô…kissing him. His arm fell limply to his side, the hair ornament he had so lovingly carved falling to the grass with a dull thud.
"Dô shite…" he whispered, completely numb. Oh, Suzaku, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His hand went up to his mouth, unconsciously trying to stop the thin, pitiful wail that emitted from his throat. Too late…
Kôran shoved back from Hikô with enough force to break his hold completely. She froze, both in terror and shame, at the sight she saw. There, half behind the willow tree, stood her beloved iinazuke, his hand up to his mouth, his face twisted in anguish. As she watched, he began to back away, slowly shaking his head back and forth, as if trying to deny what he had just seen.
"Hôjun," she said, her voice pained. "I—"
She got no further. Her voice failed to work as he whimpered once, twice, then turned with a choked cry and fled.
"Hôjun!!!!!!!!!!!" she cried after him, but he didn't stop. She started to run after him, but stopped when she nearly stepped on something in the grass. A hair ornament, freshly painted. He must have made this for me…to show his love…and I…I…
She collapsed to her knees, clutching the hair ornament tightly to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Kôran, I—"
Hikô. Sudden, unfamiliar rage swept through her body. She leapt up and rounded on him furiously, slapping him viciously across the face, raking her fingernails across his cheek. He gasped in surprise and pain, bringing his hand up to his injured cheek. The skin wasn't broken through completely in most places, but nasty red welts were sure to form. He turned to look at her, and the anger drained from her like water through a sieve when she saw tears begin to flow.
"Hikô…gomen nasai…gomen nasai!!!!!!" With that, she turned and ran down the hill, toward the town. Hikô watched her until she disappeared into the streets of Shôryû. After she had vanished, he dropped to his knees. He cried quietly, hardly making a sound, the tears dripping silently off his quivering chin. His soul felt as if it had been scorched by the flames of the mighty Phoenix God himself.
To be continued…Author's Notes: Well, I got this one done fast. Like it? Don't like it? Please send any comments to mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu! No flames allowed, though.