Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer – I don't own these hot bishies that I so enjoy manipulating.

This is a Shounen-Ai and AU fic (ie: there is gayness and it's set in some other time and place besides Shinjuuku Tokyo, 1988-present day)

Onto the story

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A Tale

By Sanada Mirako

Chapter 2

            I woke up early the next morning, to the warm sun, shining rays down on my bed, and a soft breeze blowing through my room, smelling of summer honeysuckles. I lay under my quilt for a few moments, recalling the past days events, and letting the sun bid me good morning. I suddenly remembered that Ryo, that orphan with the clear blue eyes, was waiting for me at the grotto. I hurried out of bed, donned the most inconspicuous clothes I had, and ran down the stone steps. Nurse, knowing I was going out, packed me a picnic lunch, and I taking the wicker basket gratefully, ran out the door, across the courtyard, and over the wall. A longing I did not know the origin of gripped me, and gave my feet wings, as I weaved through the maze of trees, letting the branches hit and scratch my clothes. Finally remembering myself, I stopped short of the grotto, took a deep breath, and walked the last few meters calmly. Ryo was there, with his wild hair, carefree smile, and those sapphire eyes gazing at me. The boy belonged in this wilderness, tiger that he was.

            " You are the loudest runner I have ever heard in my life."

            I blushed, before sitting down next to him, " I was in a hurry to give you this, so we could share some breakfast together." Ryo smiled, and his eyes lit up.

            " Come on. Let me show you a place where we can eat." He beckoned for me to follow him, and I did, wholly trusting him not to get us lost as he followed his own non-existent path. He finally stopped near some trees, " Come see," He dipped under the tree, and I followed him. In front of us was a rather large water hole. Feeding it was a waterfall that cascaded over smooth rocks, and let out a most harmonious melody. I stood there for a while, listening to the sounds. Ryo took my hand, and led me over the slippery rocks, and sat down on a particularly large, flat rock, already warmed by the morning sun.

            We shared a meal there. I would sit, nibbling a piece of bread and butter, watching Ryo out of the corner of my eye, who, eating this fairly simple dish, was in a blissful ecstasy, and seemed to savor each bite. After breakfast, we lay on the rock awhile, satiated, and warmed ourselves on that rock, listening to the waterfall, and letting the peacefulness of our surroundings calm us.

            " It must be nice to be a noble's son." I turned to Ryo, who was staring at the cloudless sky.

            " Say that again?"

            Ryo turned to face me, " I said, it must be nice to be a noble's son. You have that kind of food everyday, you don't have to slave your way through life, breaking your back on the field. You don't have to cater your beliefs to the whims of nobility. It must be the fine way to live."

            I smiled softly, " You missed out a lot. Being a noble means you have to do things only to please those of a higher rank than you. People will vie on you, bribe you, try to kill you if you're too powerful. You can't be who you are. At least when you're a peasant, you have the freedom to be yourself."

            " I guess."

            My curiosity of this orphan was peaked, and I had a sudden urge to know more about this mysterious boy. " Ryo, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but how did your parents die? And how'd you live after that?"

            Ryo's eyed showed an unspeakable sorrow, and he stared up again at the cloudless blue sky. He was quiet for a few moments, and I didn't urge him, " I'm Spanish. Before I was born, my parents' village was destroyed by drunk soldiers. They and 3 other people were the only ones to get out alive. Afraid, they crossed the border into France, and then into England. By then, they were pregnant with me, and the other 3 people had died through the winter. She gave birth to me, and we lived in a little town until I was 2. We were all happy; there was a lot of laughing. When I turned 2, though, a sickness passed through the village; miraculously, we were spared. But then, people started shouting 'witch!', and we had to flee, but they caught my mother. She was burned at the stake. Father settled in the middle of the woods, away from civilization to raise me. But I looked a lot like my mother; the older I got, the more I looked like her. We have the same eyes. Father couldn't stand to look at me, because I always reminded him of her, and of when we were a happy family. One day, when I was 5, he killed himself."  Ryo's voice thick and choked, his eyes gleaming brighter than before, but he seemed compelled to speak, " I stayed in the forest until I was 9, and then left the forest to London; I hoped to get a job. But people would look at me, lying in the gutters, spit on me, and say 'Spanish bastard'. It was in London where I got all these," he gestured vaguely to the scars on his arms and chest. " So when I was 12, I left London, and went back to the forest. My home was completely destroyed and plundered-not like there was much in it anyways-so I started wandering the forest, eating what I can find. Sometimes, I'll go into a town for some odd jobs, or maybe see if I can grab something off a shop, but normally, I stay here. It's the only place where I'm accepted." I looked at Ryo, at his misty eyes, and the rivulets of tears that dripped into his inky hair. Instinctively almost, I gently embraced Ryo in a small hug, to assure that I was there, and didn't give a rat's tail if he was English, Spanish, or barbarian.

            The rest of the day we spent doing mindless childhood things, catching butterflies, or picking early fruits and berries to eat, and I let Ryo slowly regain his cheerful, optimistic demeanor. When I left at the end of the day, I made a vow to myself to always watch over, and protect the Spanish tiger from whatever it was that would harm him: Fellow nobles, peasant children, and himself.

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Hmm, this came out okay, I think, pretty short, but okay. But of course, I can't read your minds, so please send in a review! Or else I'll just assume you hate it, and crawl into a little hole to cry. ^_^

Ja!

~Sanada Mirako~