Chapter 3- Genki Satou
Sakura rode hard and fast. She didn't actually know where she was going but Tsuki No Hana had been travelling for years across Japan and knew exactly where he was going. Hours had past at it was coming up to midday; Sakura slowed her horse down and stopped at a ravine for a quick refreshing break. She sat on the bank eating some berries that she had found, Tsuki No Hana chewed on some grass and before long, they were on their way again.
Days past, Sakura was getting tired living on berries and her armour was heavy and hot. It was coming up to a week when Tsuki No Hana whinnied and slowed down, Sakura looked up to find a large house covered with flowers and blossoms. Sakura dismounted and immediately a bald man came shuffling out of the house, he was wearing sparkling white robes and looked to be quite old, at least around forty years old. He came right up to Sakura and bowed, she did the same.
"Ah, you must be Yue! Your brother, Fuuma sent word about you coming to train here!" His voice was thin and held the knowledge of several years.
Sakura thought to herself. Fuuma was the name Touya would call himself when they used to play Court! She inwardly smiled and looked up at the man, then, putting on her most manly voice, she spoke.
"Hai, I am Yue, I have come to train as a Samurai." The voice was a little forced and in between, little girly sounds would slip making Sakura/Yue sound like a boy who's voice was just breaking.
The man gave her a funny look and slightly raised his eyebrow but then smiled and invited the 'boy' into the house.
The house was pretty much bare, whole rooms were just floorboards and some scrolls dotted around on the walls, there was an eating area and a courtyard but there didn't seem to be anyone else there. The man, who's name was Ichijouji, smiled when Sakura asked why no one was around.
"Most of our students have gone their separate ways, only ten students still remain to complete their training."
Sakura was shown to her room, three other futons were there and on one of them, a boy sat, he had jet black hair and a hint of green in his brown eyes, his eyes and face gave away most of his feelings and his eyes lit up as Ichijouji walked in the room. The boy sprang from his futon and bowed low, then looked up at Sakura and bowed, but not as low. He grabbed Sakura's hand and smiled broadly.
"Hajimemashite! Satou desu. Douzo Yorishiku!" His voice was warm and calming and his grip was strong. Sakura immediately knew that this boy was trustworthy and kind.
"U...uh Yue desu. Douzo Yorishiku...." She gave a bow and Satou smiled even wider. (From now on, when Sakura is 'Yue', I'll refer to her as a boy, when she is Sakura, I'll refer to her as a girl.)
"You'll be sharing your room with Satou chan." Ichijouji stated. "He is a very nice boy and will take good care of you." With that, Ichijouji left, leaving Satou and 'Yue' together,
"You're going to love it here! I still have quite a way to go before I've finished but the boys in our room are cool!" He let go of Yue's hand and pointed to the bed nearest the door.
"That's were Kazuhiko sleeps. He's really good with the sword and.... that's where Tetsuo sleeps, he's a real ladies man…" He gave Yue a nudge and carried on talking. "That's where I sleep. You already know me! And that's your bed!" He dragged Yue over to the futon and sat him down.
"Comfortable ne?" He said as Yue, trying to get to grips with this over hyper boy, nodded a little and got comfy on the futon. Satou plopped himself down beside Yue.
"So....where are ya from?" He got comfy too, as if he was ready for a bedtime story.
"Well....I came from...." Yue hadn't counted on having to tell his life story so soon and improvisation was not one of his talents.
"I came from.....a small town near the Tomoeda province, a very small, insignificant town....very small."
Satou beamed and shuffled a little.
"I come from Hiroshima! It's so far away but my father heard that this was a top-notch martial art training centre and it's also near the Capital so I could get a lot of work! Maybe even something Imperial!" He was getting worked up now and was bouncing around the futon like a child.
He can't be any older than me! Yue thought, sweat dropping. So why does he act like a child?! Maybe he's on a sugar high......
The rest of the day consisted of genki Satou showing nervous Yue around the grounds and introducing him to all the other boys.
There was Kazuhiko, Tetsuo, Akira, Kiyoshi, Kamui, Nomura, Sakuya, Tokio and Shizukana. They all seemed to be nice and kind but some of them seemed to be trying to prove a point to their fathers. Like Kamui, he was here because they woman he was supposed to marry died of a disease, this had happened before and Kamui's father had blamed Kamui somewhat. So he decided to travel from Osaka to train here and become a man of the Imperial court. Nearly everyone wanted something to do with the Palace, even if was just mopping up the halls. Yue was a little taken aback with this obsession with the Royal Family and they all talked non-stop about what it would be like living in the Palace and being pampered and the women being beautiful there.
Finally, it was time for bed and Yue lay awake for a while listening to the sounds of the night, remembering his home, his memories, Tomoyo, Touya and Otousan. He finally dropped off to sleep and began his training early in the morning.
It was tough and he got whipped many times for falling out of line, days passed, weeks, months, Summer became Autumn and Autumn became Winter.
Sakura became Yue and Yue became Sakura.
He was no longer Sakura Kinomoto, he was Yue. No past but maybe some chance of a future. His sword handling was excellent but his physical side was a little under developed. He had become good friends with everyone and best friends with the hyper Satou and knew him inside out. His voice had become manlier but he still knew who he really was.
And everyone needs to take a bath.
It was just coming back into spring when Yue finished his training and headed for the springs. He had stayed later, like he usually did. Normally he would train until the rest of the boys had finished washing and bathing so he wouldn't have to bathe with them and ruin his secret.
So after a long day training, Yue finally got to the springs, took off his clothes and slipped into the calm, steaming water, taking his time to wash everywhere and generally relax. Now he was Sakura again. The sound of water relaxed her and she sighed deeply, closed her eyes and dunked her head under water, bringing it up after a few seconds. After this half an hour of relaxation, she reluctantly got out of the springs and into the bushes.
Whilst she was drying herself, she heard the bushed move. Quickly she spun around but nothing was there. Shrugged it off, she continued to dry herself. Another rustle came. Then another. Sakura was beginning to panic, she didn't have enough clothes to cover herself and whoever was in the bushes with her would surely find out.
Another rustle came, followed by a gasp. A boy stood in front of her; his eyes wide open at the naked girl standing before him with only a few clothes to cover up with. A few minutes went by, feeling more like hours before the boy got the courage to speak.
"Y....Yue?"
Sakura's eyes widened.
Uh oh! She had only been there for almost a year! I wonder who found her in the bushes! Will he rat her out?! Don't worry Syaoran will be in the next chapter! I know it takes years and years of training to become a Samurai but we don't have years and years! Satou's just a little crazy but he's a nice guy! Very sociable! Anyway chapter 4 will be up soon!
Ja Ne!
Sakura Clover
Sakura rode hard and fast. She didn't actually know where she was going but Tsuki No Hana had been travelling for years across Japan and knew exactly where he was going. Hours had past at it was coming up to midday; Sakura slowed her horse down and stopped at a ravine for a quick refreshing break. She sat on the bank eating some berries that she had found, Tsuki No Hana chewed on some grass and before long, they were on their way again.
Days past, Sakura was getting tired living on berries and her armour was heavy and hot. It was coming up to a week when Tsuki No Hana whinnied and slowed down, Sakura looked up to find a large house covered with flowers and blossoms. Sakura dismounted and immediately a bald man came shuffling out of the house, he was wearing sparkling white robes and looked to be quite old, at least around forty years old. He came right up to Sakura and bowed, she did the same.
"Ah, you must be Yue! Your brother, Fuuma sent word about you coming to train here!" His voice was thin and held the knowledge of several years.
Sakura thought to herself. Fuuma was the name Touya would call himself when they used to play Court! She inwardly smiled and looked up at the man, then, putting on her most manly voice, she spoke.
"Hai, I am Yue, I have come to train as a Samurai." The voice was a little forced and in between, little girly sounds would slip making Sakura/Yue sound like a boy who's voice was just breaking.
The man gave her a funny look and slightly raised his eyebrow but then smiled and invited the 'boy' into the house.
The house was pretty much bare, whole rooms were just floorboards and some scrolls dotted around on the walls, there was an eating area and a courtyard but there didn't seem to be anyone else there. The man, who's name was Ichijouji, smiled when Sakura asked why no one was around.
"Most of our students have gone their separate ways, only ten students still remain to complete their training."
Sakura was shown to her room, three other futons were there and on one of them, a boy sat, he had jet black hair and a hint of green in his brown eyes, his eyes and face gave away most of his feelings and his eyes lit up as Ichijouji walked in the room. The boy sprang from his futon and bowed low, then looked up at Sakura and bowed, but not as low. He grabbed Sakura's hand and smiled broadly.
"Hajimemashite! Satou desu. Douzo Yorishiku!" His voice was warm and calming and his grip was strong. Sakura immediately knew that this boy was trustworthy and kind.
"U...uh Yue desu. Douzo Yorishiku...." She gave a bow and Satou smiled even wider. (From now on, when Sakura is 'Yue', I'll refer to her as a boy, when she is Sakura, I'll refer to her as a girl.)
"You'll be sharing your room with Satou chan." Ichijouji stated. "He is a very nice boy and will take good care of you." With that, Ichijouji left, leaving Satou and 'Yue' together,
"You're going to love it here! I still have quite a way to go before I've finished but the boys in our room are cool!" He let go of Yue's hand and pointed to the bed nearest the door.
"That's were Kazuhiko sleeps. He's really good with the sword and.... that's where Tetsuo sleeps, he's a real ladies man…" He gave Yue a nudge and carried on talking. "That's where I sleep. You already know me! And that's your bed!" He dragged Yue over to the futon and sat him down.
"Comfortable ne?" He said as Yue, trying to get to grips with this over hyper boy, nodded a little and got comfy on the futon. Satou plopped himself down beside Yue.
"So....where are ya from?" He got comfy too, as if he was ready for a bedtime story.
"Well....I came from...." Yue hadn't counted on having to tell his life story so soon and improvisation was not one of his talents.
"I came from.....a small town near the Tomoeda province, a very small, insignificant town....very small."
Satou beamed and shuffled a little.
"I come from Hiroshima! It's so far away but my father heard that this was a top-notch martial art training centre and it's also near the Capital so I could get a lot of work! Maybe even something Imperial!" He was getting worked up now and was bouncing around the futon like a child.
He can't be any older than me! Yue thought, sweat dropping. So why does he act like a child?! Maybe he's on a sugar high......
The rest of the day consisted of genki Satou showing nervous Yue around the grounds and introducing him to all the other boys.
There was Kazuhiko, Tetsuo, Akira, Kiyoshi, Kamui, Nomura, Sakuya, Tokio and Shizukana. They all seemed to be nice and kind but some of them seemed to be trying to prove a point to their fathers. Like Kamui, he was here because they woman he was supposed to marry died of a disease, this had happened before and Kamui's father had blamed Kamui somewhat. So he decided to travel from Osaka to train here and become a man of the Imperial court. Nearly everyone wanted something to do with the Palace, even if was just mopping up the halls. Yue was a little taken aback with this obsession with the Royal Family and they all talked non-stop about what it would be like living in the Palace and being pampered and the women being beautiful there.
Finally, it was time for bed and Yue lay awake for a while listening to the sounds of the night, remembering his home, his memories, Tomoyo, Touya and Otousan. He finally dropped off to sleep and began his training early in the morning.
It was tough and he got whipped many times for falling out of line, days passed, weeks, months, Summer became Autumn and Autumn became Winter.
Sakura became Yue and Yue became Sakura.
He was no longer Sakura Kinomoto, he was Yue. No past but maybe some chance of a future. His sword handling was excellent but his physical side was a little under developed. He had become good friends with everyone and best friends with the hyper Satou and knew him inside out. His voice had become manlier but he still knew who he really was.
And everyone needs to take a bath.
It was just coming back into spring when Yue finished his training and headed for the springs. He had stayed later, like he usually did. Normally he would train until the rest of the boys had finished washing and bathing so he wouldn't have to bathe with them and ruin his secret.
So after a long day training, Yue finally got to the springs, took off his clothes and slipped into the calm, steaming water, taking his time to wash everywhere and generally relax. Now he was Sakura again. The sound of water relaxed her and she sighed deeply, closed her eyes and dunked her head under water, bringing it up after a few seconds. After this half an hour of relaxation, she reluctantly got out of the springs and into the bushes.
Whilst she was drying herself, she heard the bushed move. Quickly she spun around but nothing was there. Shrugged it off, she continued to dry herself. Another rustle came. Then another. Sakura was beginning to panic, she didn't have enough clothes to cover herself and whoever was in the bushes with her would surely find out.
Another rustle came, followed by a gasp. A boy stood in front of her; his eyes wide open at the naked girl standing before him with only a few clothes to cover up with. A few minutes went by, feeling more like hours before the boy got the courage to speak.
"Y....Yue?"
Sakura's eyes widened.
Uh oh! She had only been there for almost a year! I wonder who found her in the bushes! Will he rat her out?! Don't worry Syaoran will be in the next chapter! I know it takes years and years of training to become a Samurai but we don't have years and years! Satou's just a little crazy but he's a nice guy! Very sociable! Anyway chapter 4 will be up soon!
Ja Ne!
Sakura Clover
