Chapter Eight: Back and Forth
"Am I interrupting something?"
Sakura coloured faintly as she pushed herself away from Koichi, retreating to a more respectful distance at the side of the futon.
"Of course not Hitoshi-san", she said.
"Of course not?", Motoko bit out, advancing on them very slowly, hands convulsively switching between fists and hooked fingers, as if wishing she had claws, "You were in bed together! Who knows what you were about to do before I showed up!"
Hitoshi looked at his nephew, who was shaking his head furiously while Sakura only looked thoughtful, her mind possibly running through a number of the connotations of Motoko's outburst in a very un-lady-like fashion.
"Don't tell me we're going to have another round of what happened last time Sakura-chan", Hitoshi said, leaning back against the doorframe to enjoy the show, "Not that it wasn't fun to watch Koichi fleeing and screaming all the time, but I don't think it would be appropriate now".
Koichi shot his uncle a fierce glare as he back-pedalled from Motoko on hands and knees.
"No, I stand by the promise I made him"
"What promise?", Motoko asked suspiciously from where she held Koichi in a rather unprofessional headlock.
Sakura stood and walked over to Hitoshi, addressing Motoko over her shoulder.
"Ask him, it was at his insistence after all", and with that she left.
"Talk", Motoko barked.
"C….can't!", he choked back.
"Why not!"
"Air…need…"
Motoko looked down and realised that he was turning a faint shade of blue as she continued to asphyxiate him in her rage. She reluctantly loosened her grip and waited as he took several deep breaths.
"You do get yourself into some strange situations my boy", Hitoshi chuckled, "I guess I should leave you to calm your young lady. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you've snuck two different girls into your room and only been here a few days".
Are you trying to get me killed, Koichi thought as his uncle left, his deep laughter echoing after him.
Motoko released him as soon as the door was closed and sat between him and it with her arms folded and her face hard.
"Start talking"
"look Motoko, what happened there was an accident, you don't have anything to worry about. I don't want anyone else, and Sakura promised me she'd lay off a long time ago, you heard her emphasis that just now", he said, messaging his neck.
Motoko's expression didn't waver.
"She mentioned a promise, I assume that has something to do with the part of your story you didn't tell me", his wince confirmed her theory, "What did she promise?".
Koichi rubbed the back of his head, "I really don't think this story will help".
Motoko stared at him unblinkingly.
"…Fine…you remember I said she was always hounding me day and night for about six months?".
Motoko nodded curtly.
"Yeah, well about a week before she left, I was taking a bath…"
---- Koichi sank gratefully into the warm water of the onsen, allowing its heat to suffuse into stiff and tense muscles. Muscles that had left him hunched with stress and anxiety for nearly six whole months now.
The reason for this?
Sakura. Daughter of his old man's cousin and his best friend after a certain raven haired little girl he had met all those years ago. A girl who after all this time was still very dear to him.
Promise…one day…one day I'll find her and we can fulfil that promise, he thought, resting against the bath's edge and closing his eyes, arms folded beneath his chin.
One day he and Motoko would be together again. In his mind he pictured the bath, the door opening with a faint whisper of displaced air as a girl with long black hair that hid her eyes walked in.
She slipped gracefully into the water with barely a splash, the ripples of her entry lapping pleasantly against his back, taking up a nearby sponge and moving over to where he rested.
"Want me to wash your back?", she asked, her voice strangely familiar, even though he had not seen her since they were children.
"Sure", he responded sleepily, marvelling at how real is imagination made everything feel as she delicately plied away the days accumulated grim and eased his muscles with careful strokes of the sponge.
He opened an eye as he felt her hair tickling his face, watching as the purple tinged locks shifted in time with her movements.
Purple? Why am I imagining Motoko-chan dyed her hair, he wondered groggily as part of his brain began screaming a warning he felt her should have known by heart by now but couldn't quite place.
His eyes bolted open as he realised where he had seen that hair a lot recently, and what it meant if he wasn't dreaming.
He spun around, his eyes widening so far he thought they'd fall out of his head as he almost came face to chest with a very naked Sakura.
He let out a yelp and scrambled out of the bath, covering his eyes with one forearm.
"Sakura! What the hell! What do you think you're doing in here!".
He heard a disheartened sigh from somewhere nearby and the sound of someone else climbing, albeit more orderly, out of the water.
"I wanted to surprise you my love", he heard her all but purr, jumping at how close her voice sounded and cursing himself for it.
"Yeah well, surprise, now get out already!".
"Are you sure you want me to leave?", she asked, her voice deceptively innocent and very close.
"Oh no you don't, stay back or I'll...", Koichi trailed off, he had been frantically waving his free arm to ward her off, and now his hand was pressed against something round and soft.
You have got to be kidding me!
"K-Koi-kun?", she stammered, unsure of how to feel as he snatched his hand away like it had been burned.
"I'm sorry! Now get out!", Koichi shouted, wondering how long it would be before someone else came in and saw this.
For a moment there was nothing but the faint lapping of the bath water and his own breath. Then he heard it, the first stifled sob.
"…Sakura?", he asked tentively, hearing another.
The only reply was more sobbing noises.
Koichi shifted uncomfortably, risking lowering his arm slightly to look at her. Sakura knelt with her back to him, shoulders rising and falling in time with her misery.
She looked around with puffy eyes as something was draped over her shoulders, clutching the towel around her naked form instinctively as Koichi sat back down a little way away from her.
"Why?", she asked quietly.
"I thought you'd get cold", he offered lamely, not quite meeting her gaze.
She narrowed her eyes angrily at him.
"You know what I mean Koichi. Why don't you like me?"
Koichi scratched his head and looked away, unnerved by the pleading edge to her voice despite the indignant anger she was trying to show.
"Am…am I repulsive to you?", that brought his head back round, his eyes darting over her barely covered form for a second before returning to her pretty face, framed by soft waves of purple tinged hair.
"…No, you're…very pretty Sakura", he said, annoyed that he almost stammered saying it.
"Oh…", she said, smiling slightly, "…Then why do you refuse me?"
Koichi sighed and rubbed his temple.
"Sakura", he made sure she was looking at him as he spoke, "You're one of my best friends, always will be. But there is someone else I made a promise to a long time ago…I…I want to be with her…more than anything"
Sakura looked down, purple bangs hiding her face, "I…I understand Koichi…you love her…right?"
Koichi blushed a little, "Yeah…I do"
"Even though you might never see her again?", there was no judgement in that question.
"Yes"
Sakura looked up, a shaky smile on her face and her eyes shining with unshed tears.
"Then I promise I will not interfere anymore", her voice was determined if sad, showing just how much she believed she was giving up for him.
Koichi could only stare for a moment. Slowly a comforting smile spread across his own features and he bowed his head gratefully.
"Thank you, Sakura".-----
Koichi finished his tale and sat back silently, watching Motoko's reaction. She seemed to be deep in thought, though he had seen that she had been moved by Sakura's plight. His fiancé did have a soft side beneath her usually stoic exterior after all.
"…You rejected her, even when she became so desperate as to attempt to seduce you in the onsen?", she asked, breaking his train of thought.
"Yeah…I wasn't joking when I said you were the only girl I wanted Motoko", he was relieved to she her blush. In the absence of any observers that usually meant that he wasn't going to receive an elbow to the gut or worse.
"So then what I saw…"
"Was an accident…you know I laughed when Urashima-san told me about some of his worst days at the Hinata Sou, but I never thought any of those sort of things really happened", he thought he saw Motoko hide a knowing smile before she replied.
"Yes, Urashima had an…eventful life in those early days".
She stood and walked over to him, bending over to give him a quick kiss, "Good night Koi-kun…try to stay out of trouble till tomorrow".
"No promises", he said with a lopsided grin, "Sleep well Motoko-chan".
He lay back on the futon as she left, his mind drifting back to the last part of his tale…
---"Thank you, Sakura"
Koichi lifted his head, anything he was about to add cut off as he suddenly found a pair of warm soft female lips pressed against his own.
His eyes were wide as Sakura pulled back, cheeks stained crimson and her shy expression a contradiction to what she had just done.
"…S-Sakura?"
"It's ok Koichi", she said with a sad smile, "She's going to have you for the rest of her life…so just let me have that…I love you Koichi".
She stood and walked away, never looking back.---
He had avoided her for nearly a week after that; too unsure to risk going near her again, only to find out she had gone home.
In his mind he saw the image of Sakura in the onsen, next to his memory of Motoko from that night in the hot spring back at Hinata house.
"I need to take a cold shower", he muttered.
Knock Knock
"Come in", Koichi mumbled absently from where he sat cross-legged on the floor, a scribble covered piece of paper on his lap and a pen clutched between his teeth while he attempted to will the spider's scrawl on the page to make itself legible.
Somewhere amongst that mess was the itinerary he had written up for today for himself and Motoko. It wasn't in his nature to plan ahead for anything, but he felt he should probably put in some extra effort after last night, and besides it would take his mind off worrying what the old man was plotting.
"Oni-san?"
"Hmmm?" Koichi looked up to find Kyoko standing in front of him, leaning forward to see what he was doing but having no better luck than he decrypting his notes. He had been so engrossed that he hadn't even sensed her approaching. Maybe the old man was right, maybe he was slipping.
That thought brought with it a wave of acid that threatened to swallow his enthusiasm so he ruthlessly stamped it down.
"What do you want brat?", he asked mock severely, using his adult-to-obstructive-child voice that never failed to annoy her.
He grinned wide as she visibly stiffened, her gaze dipping momentarily into the subzero range.
"I heard that there was a disturbance in here last night"
Koichi felt the pen drop from his mouth. Kyoko smirked a little at his reaction in spite of herself.
"How…"
"The walls have ears Oni-chan", she said mysteriously, enjoying getting one up on him. One day her brother would acknowledge that she was mistress of these grounds regardless of her age. Servants overheard the strangest things, and they always told her. Even their Father didn't hear half the things she did about the goings on under his own roof.
Koichi smiled lopsidedly, "Buses have them too brat. Hug anyone interesting lately?".
He fell back laughing as she turned redder than he had ever thought it possible for her to go. He made a note to thank Su and Kitsune for dropping by that morning, even if he had had to put up with Kitsune making jokes about him having a girl on the side.
"How…"
"It's a secret", he said waggling his fingers mock mysteriously at her and laughing as she came close to an angry pout, something so rare it was unheard of for Kyoko. If he didn't know better he'd have thought there was actually something going on.
"Baka", she grumbled, smoothing out some none existent wrinkles in her kimono, "What are you doing anyway?".
Koichi held up the ink stained paper, "This? Just trying to figure out what I'm going to do with Motoko today".
"You need to write it down", chuckled Hitoshi, waving to his nephew and niece as he came in.
"Hentai", Kyoko chided him lightly, frowning slightly. Hitoshi bowed his head briefly, scratching the back of his head but not denying the charge.
"So what did you have planned my boy", Hitoshi said squinting at the paper, "hmmm, I think my eyes are finally going".
Kyoko laughed quietly and Koichi stuck his tongue out at her.
"No Uncle, Oni-san just writes like he thinks"
"But there are actually marks on this paper", Hitoshi pointed out, causing Kyoko to hide her mouth behind her sleeve and Koichi to glare at him indignantly.
"Hey! Just whose side are you on here?", he demanded.
Hitoshi's bass chuckle filled the room and he rested a hand on his nephew's shoulder, "I meant no offence my boy, but you're one to think with your heart or your gut rather than your head. It's something I like about you, makes you a refreshing breath of fresh air in this family, and is probably part of the reason you do so well in your training".
He glanced down at the 'plan' Koichi had been working on.
"But it does mean you tend to do badly with this kind of work…lets see, what did you have so far?"
"I was thinking I could take her out to the lily pond, we were there yesterday but we were on the walkway, and there are better spots", Hitoshi nodded approvingly, "Then I was going to borrow a few things from kitchen and take her into the hills for a late lunch… but that is all I can think of, I'd forgotten how little there was around here".
Hitoshi scoffed at that statement, these young folks today, they seemed to think there was nothing to do outside of a city, Koichi of all people should have known better, growing up away from most modern conveniences until he was old enough to sneak into the nearest town without anyone spotting him.
"How about the library?", Hitoshi suggested, carrying on when he saw his nephew's sceptical face, "It contains all of our Clan's history and then some, we have always been an observant people. She might even learn something about her own Clan she never knew".
Koichi settled back thoughtfully.
"How about you Kyoko-chan", Hitoshi asked his niece, "Any suggestions?"
The grey-eyed girl looked thoughtful for a moment, "Perhaps Motoko-sama would be interested in watching the instructors? I believe there is a class in the courtyard this evening and I don't doubt they would welcome you Oni-san".
"She's shown me a few of the Gods Cry techniques, so I guess it's fair"
"Yes, a picnic in the hills, a vigorous workout, and a long relaxing soak in the onsen, sounds about right hey nephew", Hitoshi grinned at the younger man.
"I wonder what Aunt Minaho would think of you making such an inappropriate suggestion?", Kyoko said idly.
A look of fear crossed the older man's face for a split second.
"So cruel to your dear old Uncle Kyoko-chan".
Kyoko smiled and stood, "I can't stay I'm afraid, I have things to attend to this morning, our guests won't entertain themselves".
"Places to go people to hug, right sis?", Kyoko stumbled a little and shot a glare over her shoulder at her smirking brother who flashed her the victory sign.
"Baka!", she said coming close to slamming the door on her way out.
His uncle raised a questioning eyebrow at him that Koichi waved off, turning the paper he had scribbled on over, retrieving his pen and setting to work on a new plan.
Kyoko slid the door aside when she heard her father's voice on the other side bid her enter.
He paused from his work, looking up from the papers he had been going over and waiting for her to settle on the opposite side of the table.
"So, what have you to report daughter, what is he planning?"
Kyoko brow creased slightly. No offer of tea, no niceties, just straight to business as if she were his spy rather than his daughter. This helped her go forth with her plan to defy him for the first time in her life.
"He plans to spend the day with Motoko-sama", she knew he would notice that she had referred to Motoko both by name and respectfully.
"Doing what?", Kenichi said, choosing to overlook her strange behaviour.
"Nothing concise has been planned", she replied.
Never lie, the truth is far more useful for deception, another lesson well learned.
Kenichi sighed heavily, "Yes that certainly sounds like him…Where did he plan to go?"
"He wasn't sure", she replied evenly, knowing that she would have to offer something else in order to prevent him from realising that she was sidestepping his questions, "But I believe he wished to show her the library".
There was very little probability that Koichi would actually go there so it was relatively safe to suggest.
Kenichi rubbed his chin and rearranged a few items.
"Hmm, I have been meaning to research a small matter…perhaps Sakura would be willing to assist me by retrieving some of the texts I require".
"I'm sure she won't mind Father," Kyoko said, thinking fast, "But perhaps I can find them for you instead. My knowledge of the library is more recent and she is a guest after all".
Kenichi shock his head, "No. You have your duties to our other guests, Sakura can take care of this I think".
"…Yes Father", she said bowing, still trying to find a way out of this situation but not knowing how as he dismissed her.
She would require help. The kind of help that was well versed in distraction and misdirection.
As swiftly as she could without arousing suspicion, Kyoko made her way toward the guest quarters, specifically the room of one Kaolla Su.
Koichi stood outside the doors to the library, scratching his head in confusion. Stretched across the doors was a yellow banner that said: "Closed for renovation".
"Erm, sorry about this", he apologised to Motoko, wondering why his Uncle had suggested the library if it was being remodelled. Then again the old guy was kind of forgetful at times.
"It's ok", she said, "I doubt we're missing much…but what now?".
Koichi crossed his arms and thought for a moment. The proverbial light bulb clicked on above his head as an idea struck him. There was a training session in the mornings as well as the evening; it might be possible to make it.
Yeah, that would work, it had seemed stupid to end the day that way anyway, better to do it now and push everything else back a little.
"Follow me", he said, "I've got today all figured out".
Kyoko let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding when she heard the sound of Motoko and Koichi's footsteps echoing back up the hall, away from the library.
It had taken a relatively short time to come up with a way of keeping Koichi away from Sakura without injuring either of them, or doing something that would instantly alert her father. This way he would just assume that Koichi had decided against the library visit and think nothing more of it hopefully.
"Is something wrong Kyoko-chan?", Sakura asked from where she sat, a pile of some of their families older collection stacked next to her as she leafed through book after book in search of whatever her father had told her to find.
"Of course not Sakura-san", she replied, collecting another of the books the older girl was done with and putting it back, glancing at the title as she did so: Sealing the Demon, a particularly old tale, and the one that had given her nightmares as a child.
She observed Sakura as she worked. The older girl certainly didn't act like she was here to seduce Koichi should he drop by. In fact apart from the one time, she had made no attempt to talk to Koichi since arriving. Her behaviour was a far cry from the actions of the love struck young woman Kyoko remembered chasing after her brother over a year ago, but she remembered how confused Koichi had felt during those times and shortly after she'd left.
"Sakura-san, I'll be leaving now, there are things I must attend to"
"Oh, thank you for your help Kyoko-chan", the purple haired girl said, smiling at her and resuming her work.
As soon as she was outside, the banner already gone, she reached into her obi and removed the small device Su had give her, pressing a button on it and speaking into it.
"Su-san?"
"Right here Kyoko, over", Su's slightly distorted voice echoed from the device.
"Where did they go?"
"They're headin toward the courtyard, there are lots of men there already, over"
Morning practice…Akira goes to morning practice!
"Are you sure about this Koichi-sama?", the greying instructor asked, eying Motoko and her training robes uncertainly.
Koichi stepped forward and lowered his voice as he heard a low growl form in Motoko's throat. She wasn't impressed by his Clan's rules about women fighting and was becoming irritated by the instructor's attempts to persuade her to simply watch from the sidelines.
"Listen", he said, "She's a Blademaster of the Gods Cry school, she has more power than even me or the old man and could easily outfight most of your students".
He held up a hand to prevent the other man's denial.
"Trust me, nothing you may have heard about the skills of the Aoyama sisters is a lie, you must remember the Clan demonstrations before her sister retired. Well she has beaten Tsuruko-sama", he watched the older man's face as that little titbit sunk in, "Exactly, now do you want to be the one who tells her she's not allowed to take part?".
The instructor gulped, caught between old prejudices and his first hand knowledge of Tsuruko Aoyama.
He nodded gruffly and tossed Motoko one of the bokkens he held, handing the other to Koichi.
He turned to face the others gathered in neat rows in the courtyard, Motoko and Koichi standing just behind him.
"Listen well my pupils! I have a special treat for you today. Behind me stands Koichi Sagura, one of our school's greatest pupils", he waited for the cheering and the whispers to fade out, glancing back at Koichi sheepish expression, "And next to him, a Blademaster of the Gods Cry School, Motoko Aoyama".
"A woman?", he heard one of the crowd snort.
There was a whisper of movement and Motoko was next to him, the girls face hard and unforgiving.
"Yes a woman, what of it?", she challenged, eyes scanning the crowd.
The instructor glanced back at Koichi who nodded silently.
"Would the man who spoke step forward"
There was a rustling as a tall man, his head shaved as tradition dictated for a student, stepped out of rank, walking to the front and bowing to Koichi and his master, while ignoring Motoko.
That really wasn't a good idea, Koichi thought.
"You have something to say to Blademaster Aoyama?", the instructor demanded.
"No sensei, I would not waste my time"
Koichi's hand tightened around his bokken, but Motoko seemed unaffected.
"I know your kind", she said, somehow giving the impression that she was looking down on him from a great height, "Men who believe they are superior just because of gender. Weakling".
"What!"
"You are weak", she repeated evenly, "Would you care to make me believe otherwise?"
He looked over at Koichi who shrugged and smirked.
"Fine, I'll show you woman", he said, retrieving the bokken strapped to his waist.
He charged, swinging the wooden blade in an overhand strike. Motoko stood her ground, hand resting lightly on her bokken's pommel.
As he neared she moved.
"Cutting Evil: Second Form!", she shouted, the blade flashing out in a wide arc as she sidestepped the charge before returning to her side.
Her opponent slid to a halt and spun to face her, "Ha! Missed me, how-"
His speech was cut off mid-sentence as his training clothes suddenly disintegrated around him and his bokken's blade fell to the floor, sliced cleanly at the top of the pommel.
"I didn't miss", Motoko said as he gapped at her disbelievingly, "Does anyone else wish to challenge me?"
Not surprisingly there weren't any offers of combat, what happened instead was far stranger. It started with the echo of a single clap, and soon the courtyard was filled with applause, leaving Motoko momentarily dumbstruck.
"Ok…who was that guy, I mean, I know that was cool and all…", Koichi asked the instructor who was looking at Motoko with a new found respect.
"That was one of Akira's group", he responded, noticing the suddenly hard set to Koichi's eyes, "Yes he has been causing quite a stir, his Bladeless technique has brought him some acclaim amongst students and instructors alike, and this is the result, my students are adopting his attitudes and arrogance".
The instructor paused for a moment, wondering whether to ask for Koichi's assistance in straightening them out but deciding against it, the younger man wasn't here to play role model for the others.
"Come, let us continue this session before they begin asking for your young lady's autograph".
Akira stretched idly as he made his way toward the courtyard. After wondering around the temple grounds he was late and he knew it. It didn't matter, he was the number one student after all, all this practice was just polish, he had already perfected his Bladeless technique and mastered the regular styles.
He ran a hand through his spiky red hair and meandered on, unaware that he was being watched.
"Su here, target in sight, please advise, over"
"Begin preventative measures"
"Understood, over"
Akira barely stopped himself when his feet were suddenly yanked from under him, sending him plummeting face first toward the ground.
"What the hell!" he shouted, looking for what had tripped him.
There between two trees was a thin piece of wire, "What?"
He looked around slowly. Why would someone attempt to halt him like this? Did the fool know who they were deal with?
Rising slowly, Akira set off again, eyes moving cautiously.
There was a movement above him and he dived aside in time to avoid the sparking net that fell from the trees above him.
"Feh, amateurs, I-", he was cut off as the ground beneath him gave way dropping him roughly into a deep pit.
Akira sat up, rubbing his head where it had hit something on the way down, "They'll pay for this, when I find them, they will pay".
Crouching him infused his muscles with a little Ki, leaping clear out of his earthy prison and landing gracefully on the ground above it.
"Is that the best you can do?", he laughed.
"Subject has escaped the basic countermeasures…upgrade to level two?"
"…Yes, I suppose"
"Yay! This is going to be fun!"
"…Why do I have a bad feeling hearing you say that?"
Akira was still laughing when the first missile hit, detonating on the ground behind him and propelling him forcibly into the underbrush.
"Son of a-" he mumbled around a mouth full of foliage as he scrambled clear. That had been an explosive, whoever this was, they weren't playing anymore.
Another warhead whistled in and he was gone in a blur before it could strike.
"Close…"
Another missile, and another and another, each skilfully dodged. He ran through the forest that had seemingly been converted into a munitions test site without his knowledge. Endless volleys of missiles, lasers, landmines, it was like some sort of twisted movie.
One landmine sent him hurtling into the air, only a handy branch grabbed on the way down allowed him to slow and redirect himself enough to avoid breaking something on impact.
Clothes torn and bloodied, he pushed on using his speed to stay ahead of the traps.
There, through the trees, he could see it! The entrance to the courtyard, he was going to make it, he-
Slam!
Akira slid down the invisible, but very tangible wall that someone had placed across the entrance and slumped to the floor unconscious.
Just before he passed out, he was sure he heard two girls yelling…
"Su-san! What did you do!"
"Oops, I guess I was a bit rough on him, my bad".
---Author Note---
Another transition-esk chapter I know, but it can't all be evil plots and deep revelations now can it lol
Kyoko stepping up to the plate in full form, but will this come back to haunt her? Find out in Chapter Nine: Yasashisa wa tokidoki zankoku dakara
Oh and Alex, you'll finally see the resolution of that issue hehe