Goemon stretches his arms to grab me and pull me closer, hugging me.
"No, stop it!" I whine, jostling in his arms.
"No, it's different!" he insists, "I just can't allow my precious princess to catch a cold..."
"...You say that," I say, calming down, "But yet you tease me so meanly..."
"Don't take everything so seriously," he scolds, "Besides, it's not like I want to do you. Hanzo would kill me, and why kill myself over one woman?"
...Indeed, he's got lots of women who will go to him. He doesn't need me. Besides, he is just next to me because it is his role...
"Are you still cold?" he asks me quietly.
"...No..."
His body hugging me is so warm...
He squeezes me once more before seeming to fall into the bliss of sleep. It's not long before I follow, unable to help my body from snuggling against him as I fall into dreamland.
Chapter 2: Saizo Kirigakure
"What?!" yells Sasuke, "But today was my turn!
"No," Saizo says, grabbing my arm and pulling me forcefully out of the temple's dining room, "The second day is mine. You had the first day, but gave it away to Goemon, who had the fifth day. So now you have the fifth day."
I see Sasuke clench his teeth along with his fists just before Saizo pulls me completely out of sight. I do manage, however, to hear one last, sad, "Damn..." be uttered.
Once Saizo and I are in the main hall, he lets me go, but I promptly turn around, rubbing my stinging arm. "That was so mean!" I shout at him, feeling sorry for Sasuke.
He promptly hits me on the head.
"Ouch! THAT was even meaner!"
"You're too noisy," Saizo glares, "Sasuke's an idiot. And Hanzo won't be around today."
"Where is he?" I ask, scared that I truly am going to be left alone with this...this purple, cat-loving villan.
He simply sighs, and leans against a wall with his arms crossed, "You and Sasuke are the same. Getting worked up like monkeys...maybe I should have given him my turn after all..."
I frown, repeating my question, "Where is Hanzo?"
"He's gone into the next town over with Goemon to take care of the other Hachisuka ninja that are still searching for you and us non-Nobunaga ninja."
Suddenly, the realization of a question I'd never asked hits me. Looking at the floor, I ponder, "Wait...if the Hachisuka are ninja as well...why are they siding with Nobunaga?"
...
Saizo: "..."
Me: "Ow!"
He hit me on the head again!
"You're stupider than I thought you were," mocks Saizo, "The Hachisuka ninja are traitors. They go to whoever pays the most. THAT'S why they're on Nobunaga Oda's side."
So he does have ninja on his side after all...
Saizo asks me monotonously, "How sheltered were you as a kid?"
"Hey!" I yell, "I am not sheltered! Grandpa protected me as best he could!"
"Hmpf," Saizo begins walking away, expecting me to follow, "Grandpa is too overprotective."
Silently, sulkingly, I follow him towards the main doors.
"Just a joke," he says after stepping outside, holding the door for me, "Please bear in mind that you're still the Kusonoki Princess."
Right...right, I am the Kusonoki Princess... "But I still don't get it..." I say aloud.
Saizo dusts a cherry blossom leaf off his purple kimono, "It means that you're no longer a wild monkey. Moreover, a ninja has to be stealthy. You don't truly think that just because we're in your hometown that we're safe, do you?"
I don't respond.
"Nobunaga and his son will be looking everywhere for us when they realize that we aren't in Iga like they thought," Saizo explains, "I doubt that all of his soldiers will actually stay in Iga and await the 'late' ninjas. Many of them will be ordered to scout out the neighboring villages; villages that the ninja are likely to be residing in; including this one. And his search for you, the Ninja Princess, will become more aggressive. If time continues with no activity from us and our allies after that, he'll take his search even to the farther reaches of Japan."
"He's really that desperate?" I ask as we enter the town.
"Of course, dummy. He's a dictator; he'll do whatever it takes to gain power. And in order for us to survive, you must not stand out or make noise. Just be silent."
Hmm...more advice. Goemon told me to ignore my emotions and to stay calm. Saizo is telling me to not stand out and be silent...I wonder what more advice I'll be getting from the others?
Just then, a small girl runs up to me, "Ooh, Abigail, Abigail! I made these Dangos!"
Saizo stops in his path, refusing to turn around to face me. I crouch down to the little girl's height, and say, smiling, "Oh my, you did! How pretty they are! I love dangos!"
"Would you like to buy one?" the girl asks me.
Suddenly, Saizo is behind me, putting his hand over my mouth. He says goodbye quickly to the little girl (who is standing, unable to move, with a scared expression on her face), and he pulls me, holding me by the waist, into an alleyway. Then, putting his highly irritated face next to mine, he hisses, "Next time you do that, I'll feed you poisoned meat buns."
I pry his hand off my mouth, "P-poisoned–?"
He then quickly drags me into one of the buildings making the alley we'd just been in.
So...my talking to a little girl was less obvious than him cupping my mouth, scaring said little girl, and yanking me into an alleyway? Hmph, what a bully...
As I try to loosen his tight grip on my wrist, he only tightens it, receiving a pained (yet held-back...don't want to make any more noise, do I?) groan from me. I stare at him, wondering how evil this guy really is...
"Just what are you doing looking all over the shop for?" I ask him.
He frowns (just kidding! He was already frowning), and says, "I think we may have lost our pursuer...let's go." He begins pulling me outside, stealthily.
Eh? What pursuer could possibly be–?
Saizo suddenly pulls me closer to him, sharply, "You like eating dangos, right?"
As we quickly, quietly, entered a different building–this time a resturant–Saizo finally loosens his grip on my wrist. My fingers tingle as the blood flow is restored.
An old man welcomes us with a bright smile, then calls over a young girl to come usher us to our table and mats.
"Hi, Abigail!" the girl greets upon recognizing me. She looks up at Saizo, who quickly walks away, as if he'd never been with me.
"Uh..hello," I smile back, unsure...Saizo's going to me mad at me again...I ask her anyway, though, to be polite, "H-how's your grandpa?"
"Oh, he's fine," she says, handing me a small menu as I sit down. SHe looks back to the old man, "Actually, he's been looking a little worried lately, but he won't tell me why."
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, no, I'm sure it's nothing!" the young girl laughs, "He's just getting old, I'm sure."
This makes me think of my own grandpa...I laugh back... "Yeah, I know the feeling."
The girl brings me a cup of tea, "Well, I'm about to go home, but I'll see you later, Abigail! It was nice talking to you again!"
"Yeah, you too!" I wave.
After she finally leaves, I decide to focus intently on my tea for when Saizo arrives...
Suddenly, my tea is taken out of my hands...
And I'm shoved over into the next cushion by the wall...
And a warm body plops down directly next to me.
As I look up, I see that Saizo is sipping my tea. After he hands it back to me, I ask him, feeling smushed between him and the wall, "Um...why not sit across from me?"
He takes a look at the menu himself, "It goes without saying, right? It's my duty to protect you."
Augh, but you're sitting so close, Saizo...and besides the fact that I have zero elbow room, simply your presence is oppressing...
Another girl, older than my friend, walks over to us with plates. She smiles, "Here you go! Three colored dango and another green tea. Sorry to keep you both waiting!"
Surprised, I thank her as she sets the plate filled with the sweet treats down. Looking over to Saizo, I see that he is as expressionless as always as he, once again, takes a tiny sip from his tea, before taking in a large gulp. His adam's apple is interesting to watch as he swallows...
"You already ordered?" I ask him once the girl leaves. I take one of the dangos and bring it up to my mouth. Suddenly, he snatches it away and munches on it. "Eh? But that was my dango..." I accidentally whine.
"Dumb dumb," he mocks, handing the food back to me, "I was testing for poison."
"Poison testing?" I ask, "No offence, but you're starting to seem really paranoid to me."
He flicks my ear. "Offence," he says.
I sigh, rubbing my pained ear with my hand. "So who was following us earlier? I thought that the other guys took care of all the enemy ninja that were in town. And anyway, why didn't you take care of them?"
"Because a ninja should remain stealthy and unassumptive," he snaps, forcing eye contact with me, "I'm not an idiot like Sasuke nor am I showy like Goemon. Perhaps you should've chosen somebody else if you didn't want to go with me."
For a moment, he seems hurt as he takes a large, angry bite into his dango.
"I...I'm sorry, Saizo," I say quietly, "I'm letting my curiosity become too blunt...please forgive me..."
He sighs, taking the second dango away from me, "You idiot. Don't eat too much, you'll become fat."
Jeez, Saizo...you don't tell a girl that!
Ignoring his insult, I ask again, tentatively, "So...who was following us earlier? Was it more of Nobunaga's men?"
"No. It was more girl scouts."
"What?! You mean you acted like that and nearly broke my wrist with your tight grip simply due to more little girls wanting to sell dan–"
He stuffs the last dango, of which he'd eaten half of, into my mouth.
"Poison. Meat. Buns," he repeats, placing a finger to his lips, "You're annoying when you become distracted and overly excited like that. Your voice goes up in pitch. And aside from that, it's hard to be quiet and unassumptive when one is constantly bothered by those who are not quiet and unassumptive."
Guilty, I finish off the last dango. After Saizo chugs down the last of his tea, he stands up, then offers his hand to help me up. Of course, when I take him up on his offer, he grabs my wrist in another death-grip and yanks me to my feet.
Taking me by the arm and paying the old man at the front, we exit. But as we leave, I ask him, quietly, "Is Nobunaga really setting out to kill me?"
After a few seconds, he answers, "Nobunaga is not stupid. He's got some idea of what we're doing. And especially once he realizes that his plan to kill all the ninja by preemptively invading Iga is a failure, his anger and desperation will show through. He'll do anything to get his hands on the ninja princess."
The ninja princess...
After a while, I learned that Saizo initially wanted to go into town to get more supplies for the temple and for his "defenses". At one point we met up with Kotaro, who was still working to get weapons, but that lack of conversation isn't worth retelling...I haven't seen Sasuke in town at all, though. I hope he's alright...why did I have to pick Goemon over him? He's been so eager to spend time with me...even if I'm not sure if I want to be with him as much as he with me, I still can't help but feel bad.
"Hey, dummy," Saizo's voice brushes past my ears, startling me out of my thoughts, "Are you almost done? Stop being so indecisive."
Since he didn't know what to get, he left me with the job of getting the typical living supplies that we would now need a surplus amount of back at the temple. Currently, I'm browsing the shelves of soap to see what would be the best deal.
Sighing, I randomly pick several bars of the floral scented soap to put into my bag. Saizo follows me to the counter as I pay the man running the store.
"Thank you!" I smile, turning to Saizo and nodding to him; letting him know that we can finally leave.
Once outside and on our way back to the temple, I ask him, "Were you able to get everything you needed to 'strengthen our defences'?
Instead of saying "yes" or "no", he simply shoves the heavy bags he'd been carrying unto me. My knees nearly give out, as I have to readjust the cloth bags' straps on my shoulders. Though he'd only had two bags, they're much heavier than I would have ever thought!
"Why are you making me carry the bags?!" I shout at him as he begins walking ahead of me, leaving me to waddle awkwardly towards the temple.
"It's all part of your training," he responds.
"Training?!"
"Ya," he turns around, "You're a ninja princess, so it's necessary that you learn basics of Ninjutsu and have the skills nessisary to be a ninja. That includes heavy lifting. Now hurry up! You're getting fat!"
Just as I'm about to catch up with him, he takes off into a sprint towards the temple.
"Saizo, you bully!" I shout, painfully adjusting the straps cutting into my shoulder's overall circulation before attempting to dash after him.
As I reach the temple's surrounding wall, I realize that Saizo had long left my line of sight. I've got no idea where he is now! Isn't he supposed to stay by my side always? Is he neglecting his duties?
I sigh, officially exhausted, as I let the seemingly increasingly heavy bags slide off my arms with a thud. I could care less about any fragile stuff inside those darned bags at the moment.
"Princess..." a voice suddenly, softly, speaks.
I look up, "Kotaro! Hello again."
"Please forgive me for saying this, Princess, but you look tired," he says, "Are you alright?"
Giving him a small smile, I bend down to clean up the spilled items from the bags. What is this stuff that Saizo bought? String, fake flowers, small pieces of wood...what is he up to?
"Yeah, I'm fine, Kotaro, thank you," I say as the young, white-haired man crouches down to help me pick up, "You don't need to apologize. I'm sorry for worrying you."
Once all the spilled items are in their assigned bags again, he helps me up before lifting up all three bags (the only light one being mine...) with ease.
"You were carrying all of this?" he asks upon realizing how heavy the bags would've been for me.
"Yeah. Saizo had said that it was a part of my training."
"I see," Kotaro says, leading me into the temple, "Please, Princess, do not overdo yourself. You are indeed safe with Master Saizo; he is a good man; but you are still the Ninja Princess. It is our job to do such heavy deeds for you."
As we enter the temple, I realize just how much my feet hurt from all the rushed walking Saizo had me doing all morning. "I know that, but..." Kotaro points his head in my direction, although he refuses to meet my gaze. I continue, "You know...I want to be able to help if I need to. There's not much I can do with as little strength and skill as I have...so whatever training you guys say I need to do, I'll do. No matter how ridiculous it may be."
Kotaro pauses as he sets the bags down on the floor in the main hall. Looking up at me, he places a hand on my shoulder, saying "Princess...please be careful. Do not follow that philosophy so closely whenever you are with Master Goemon."
I laugh, "Haha! I suppose you are right, Master Kotaro. Thank you."
Though the edge of a smile seems to be pulling at Master Kotaro's lips, he remains stoic as usual, and simply (quickly) takes his hand off my shoulder.
Bowing deeply, he says, "I do believe that I saw Master Saizo outside in the garden. He seemed to be waiting for you."
I gasp, "Oh no, I kept him waiting? He's going to be so annoyed..."
Before I can catch Kotaro's expression, I dash out of the room, intent on finding Saizo and preparing myself for a sadistic lecture from the purple, Koga Ninja of Evil.
Oh, haha, where did I find Saizo you ask?
Sleeping. In the garden. Between two wooden poles. On a rope tied tightly between said two poles. Want me to repeat that? Alright, sure: Saizo is laying down on a rope, perfectly balanced, and ASLEEP.
As I walk up closer to him, he; smoothly and gracefully; wakes up, notices me, and then–still with perfect balance–stands up on the rope and hops down, showing off a perfect somersault in the process. Then, with a strange swagger to his hips, he begins walking towards me, slowly. I, still too busy gawking with my mouth open, stupidly stand still, temporarily unafraid for what he might do to me.
Suddenly, he's towering over me, a scarily expressionless look on his face. What is he going to do?! I'm too scared and impressed to run away, now. And even if I did, he'd probably catch me.
He leans down, taking some of my hair into his fingers. His face coming closer and closer, until...
BAM!
"Ow!" I cry, seeing stars, "You jerk!"
He head-butt me!
"That's your punishment for being so late," he scolds, unaffected by my simplistic name-calling.
"What's my punishment if I end up getting us into trouble with Nobunaga?" I ask sarcastically.
"I'll trap you in a room with Goemon," he threatens monotonously, "and an aphrodisiac."
I scoff. I was already trapped in a room with Goemon last night! Though...after all of his flirting...it really wasn't so bad. Then a thought crosses my mind:
Will I have to sleep in the same room as Saizo?
Suddenly, a horrified look sweeps across my face. Quickly, though, I notice it and shake my head. Saizo might hit me again if I become so easy to read...
Once again on the rope and showing off various gymnastics on it, Saizo demands my attention. He says, "Today, your training begins. I will be training you first with tightrope walking. It's very important that a ninja has good concentration and balance," he leaps off the rope again, "After more practice, you will be able to move as freely as that. But first," he gently grabs my arm, "let's start with the basics."
Before I know what's going on, he begins pulling at my kimono belt.
I grab at his hands in vain, "W-What are you doing?!"
He looks up at me, "What? Your belt was loose. It was going to fall off as it was if you started my training like that. I simply gave you a hand."
"Well, I'm not a child!" I snap, taking a step away from him and adjusting the belt myself, "I can take care of myself!"
"Hm, but if I don't look after you, who else will deal with an idiot like you?"
Idiot...? Hm...Saizo's mouth is just awful, except he acts just like a big brother...
Most of the time.
"You don't have much of a chest, but you have a huge butt," he says ever so maturely.
I wanted to say, 'That's not what Goemon said, yesterday,' but I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"Now," he continues, thankfully changing the subject, "let's start with the basics of not falling off the rope."
I look at him.
"Where's your reply?" he snaps.
"A...oh, uh, yes sir!" I automatically come up with.
Alright...now how do I actually go about walking across such a thin rope?
I climb up the convenient notches on one of the wooden poles–which is actually about the size of a log. At least I can stand on these.
Now several feet up off the ground, Saizo has to look up at me to say, "Hm...anyway, just give it a try."
...alright then...I will.
Cautiously...precariously...I place one foot on the rope. I take in a deep breath before stretching my arms out and placing my weight entirely on the rope...
"Yes, just like that...keep it straight," I hear Saizo say.
Until, that is, I lose my balance and plummet toward the earth with a loud, "Kya!"(1)
As I was falling, though, Saizo catches me in his arms. My hero! Haa...
Nervously, I look up, "S-Sorry!"
He takes a moment, but he does set me down. Gently, even. However, he warns me, shaking a finger, "Next time, I won't catch you. Let's try it again."
Now that determination is quickly filling my spirit, I find myself able to climb up the pole to the rope with ease. Once again, I place my foot on the rope, balancing myself with my arms and breathing evenly...
"Gya! Oof!"
I hit the ground. Harshly. He really didn't catch me this time...!
Or the next time. Or the time after that. Or the other seventy-eight times after that. Nearly two hours of Saizo's extensive training had probably left me with more bruises than I'll know what to do with in the morning and a more exhausted body than I should ever have to deal with.
And yet I'm still up on the rope; my feet now, sadly, used to the thin ground seeming to cut into them. As I make my way across (Haha! I'm halfway there!), Saizo smoothly calls to me, "That's it...without looking at your feet, focus on a distant target..."
I take another step, then another, and then...
"Kya!"
I fall again. This feels like the hundredth time I've fallen...I don't know how much more of this I can take...my whole body is feeling sore, especially my feet from this morning's walking and now from the ropes being rough on them as well...I'll never become a ninja...
Suddenly, I feel my feet being picked up. As I turn over to my back, I see Saizo sitting on a large rock that he'd been hopping on and off from as he'd instructed me, my bare, dirty feet in his lap. Embarrassed by this, I try to pull my feet away, but he grabs them firmly, holding them in place.
"Stop squirming so much," he scolds, proceeding to rub my feet with both of his hands.
Unable to help myself from relaxing into his touch, I lean my head back into the grass, defeated. No pun intended.
"Your feet get this swollen from such little activity?" he mocks, "From the looks of it, it doesn't look like you're suited to be a ninja."
...I know that. I truly do. Why must he rub it in my face?
"Don't look so sad. Why don't you just get married?"...I don't respond...he continues, "Hanzo or Goemon...even Sasuke are all eligible bachelors. Just pick one of them to marry. It's only for your own sake."
I attempt to get up, but he keeps his soothing hold on both of my feet. With a groan, I complain, "It's alright, you know! I can walk."
He looks at me thoughtfully. "Hmph," he simply states, continuing his menstruations on my feet.
Suddenly, though, he pulls me up by my arm and into his lap!
"W...What is it?" I ask, immensely surprised by his soft embrace.
He looks me in the eyes, "Your break is over. Time to get back to work."
Yet he doesn't let me go. As he holds me, I breathe into his chest, gripping softly onto the fabric of it's kimono. It's funny...it...his embrace...his chest gives one a sense of reassurance. I feel very safe; like I can do anything I set my mind to now...
Quietly, with a strange sigh, he says once more, "If you keep delaying, you'll never fulfill your role as the ninja princess."
Oh yeah, that's right...all of this isn't for me, it's for all of the ninja. Saizo is just with me because it is his role, like the other guys...it's his duty...
I look up at him. For the first time, he doesn't have a scowl on his face. It's not quite a smile, but it's at least no longer a frown. His eyes are closed as he presses his cheek against my hair...his eyelashes are really long...
"You really don't have much chest, do you?" he suddenly asks.
I jerk away, but he keeps me firmly in his lap. I stutter, "Y-your eyes aren't closed after all! Just where are they looking at?!"
Finally, he lets me up, much to my body's chagrin. He stands as well, "Don't worry. I have no interest in women."
Slowly, I climb up the pole again to get to the rope. "Eh...?" I begin, confused, "So, does that mean...you're interested in men?"
He yells, "Idiot! I don't want men either!" he sighs, sad, "You're so good at making trouble...you'll make a good couple with Sasuke..."
Holding my arms out again, ready to balance, I ask him, sensitively, "Why don't you have any interest in women? Goemon is just the opposite." He doesn't respond. "Is it because you have devoted your life to Ninjutsu?"
"Hm..." Saizo simply states.
...What does that mean?
He changes the subject, "Go on, walk, you idiot! Even though its tough, you have to keep at it. You want to be able to fight alongside us, right? And besides, you're the symbol of all ninja unity."
Stepping carefully onto the rope again, I stare straight ahead as I say, "Because the blood of Kusonoki flows in me?"
Saizo confirms it, "If your ancestors were not around, the ninja would never have come into existence."
I take another step forward, suppressing a laugh, "Though you tell me that, I was, in all honesty, brought up just like a regular kid."
"Uh-huh?" he says, deadpan.
"Ah! Ouch!"
Sigh...I fell again.
He backs away, obviously telling me silently not to expect another foot rub, as he says, "We're going to continue training until you can cross the rope. We'll skip dinner, too, if we have to."
"Eh, no way!" I argue. Then I sigh, knowing that he's not bluffing and that arguing will only receive me another head-butt or hair pull...I stand up quickly and head back up to the rope.
"Saizo, will I...eh?"
He's walking away from me, back to the temple!
I gawk for a moment, still keeping my balance on the rope until I slowly fall to the side. "Ahha, ow..." He's going to go take a nap or something before dinner, right?!
Hmph...but I should try harder. I want to be able to protect myself and others. I don't want to depend on the guys entirely. And besides that, I'm the Kusonoki Princess; the symbol of unity to all ninjas everywhere. I have to do this! For my parents...for Grandpa...for peace on earth...
And more importantly, if I can cross the rope, I might actually get Saizo to praise me!
RumbleRumble.
Ugh...my stomach is growling...my body is near it's limit and I'm covered in bruises...Hanzo, please help me!
I shake my head clear of those whining thoughts. What did Saizo say? Focus on a distant target, yeah? Ah...oh no! "Kya!"
"Augh!" I cry upon suddenly feeling a fierce pain in my knee, "Enough already! I feel like I want to cry..."
At that moment, however, a voice calls to me from above, "Abigail."
Standing over me is Saizo...
"You're crying because your knee hurts?" he asks.
Clenching my teeth, I childishly hit the ground with my fists, "I'm not crying!"
I stare up at Saizo, my view of him being upside down.
He sighs, walking around to sit next to my exhausted body, "You're really stubborn." He pats my head, "Okay...stay still."
I clench my teeth even tighter, a loud shout and hiss threatening to spill out from behind my teeth as Saizo bites my knee. When he pulls the stone out that I had fallen on, though, and the pain recedes, I can focus on nothing but the softness of his lips as they delay upon my bruised skin. My heart starts to race...I don't know what to do in a situation like this...I'm such a novice...
Saizo wipes the blood from his mouth, "This is no state to continue training in. We're done for the day; I'll carry you back inside."
With that, Saizo lifts me up carefully in a bridal-style position and heads back into the temple. I can't help but snuggle against his chest as my eyes flutter closed.
Suddenly, though, as I hear voices becoming louder around me, I shake my head to wake up. I can't show weakness now to Saizo! Not to any of them...
"Saizo! What the hell did you do?!" I hear Sasuke's voice shout first upon seeing my still-bleeding knee.
Looking up, I see Saizo roll his eyes. I decide to answer for him; looking at all the others staring wide-eyed and worriedly at me; "It's alright! I just fell during training."
"Oh..." Hanzo says. Huh, so Hanzo is back, "Saizo, you've already started training with her?"
Goemon inputs, watching Saizo walk past with me, "Even I was going to wait until my second day with her. At least get to know her first."
Saizo ignores all of them and begins walking up the stairs.
"Well," I manage to hear Hanzo say, "I suppose that since she's already started we might as well continue. Have you got that, Kotaro; Sasuke?"
My elite ninja ears manage to pick up on their nodding.
Just kidding; I have no idea what happened after that; my elite ninja ears don't exist yet. Once in my room, Saizo places me on the futon, then goes back out to get a medical kit. When he comes back, he sits down on the floor next to me, setting to quickly clean up the blood before it spills onto the sheets.
He (awkwardly?) hands me a container of salve, "Show me your wound after you've applied medication."
"It's alright, I can handle it myself," I lie, still uncomfortable with him being so close to me.
"Oh...okay," he says, setting his hands in his lap.
I sigh, sitting up carefully in order to apply the medication.
"Ah...augh..." I begin gasping from pain shooting up my nerves. Saizo begins rubbing my back in small circles, somehow managing to calm me down.
Once the medicine is set he takes a roll of bandages and begins wrapping my knee up in them.
A question I'd been forgetting to ask crosses my mind, "Is my grandpa doing okay?"
Saizo looks up, surprised. "Yeah," he says, continuing to tend to the hole in my knee, "He's just gone to a safer town with Lord Hattori–the Iga Elder. They went to see the Yagyu clan about helping us. Your grandfather will be staying in that better-protected town. He'd get in our way, otherwise."
"Oh." More silence. I watch as he finishes tending to my wound; cutting the cloth bandage and tying it up just comfortably in the front. He's probably tended many wounds in the past, for he does it perfectly.
I give a quiet laugh, causing Saizo's gaze to fixate on my face curiously."When I was little," I recall for Saizo, "Grandpa used to apply medicine for me when I fell...he must be missing me..." All of the sudden, I can't help the tears that had threatened to fall. "I...I'm crying because of the pain..." I lie, trying desperately to stifle my sobs.
Suddenly, Saizo pulls my hair.
"Ouch!" I yell, trying to hide my sticky face away from Saizo, "W...What are you doing?"
All he replies with is, "Weird woman," before pulling me against him. "I've never seen such a stubborn girl."
My sobs quiet while in his embrace...he feels so warm and fuzzy, it's calming my nerves...
"You've worked hard," he whispers, patting me gently on the head.
My crying starts up again, "You...you all have laid your lives down for me...I can't continue to be this weak, I just can't! It's not right..."
"It's alright to show your weakness," Saizo comforts, stoking my hair, "When Sasuke was little, he cried during training, too."
"Sasuke cried?"
Slowly, Saizo pulls me away from him. He hands me a strange pill, "Here. Pop it in your mouth, chew it, and swallow. It'll help heal your wounds faster."
"Oh...alright."
After I follow his directions, I gag, "Ugh! It's so bitter!"
"Yup," he simply says, moving to sit on the other futon a few feet away from mine, "The first time I ate that, I almost threw up, too."
"You could've said something beforehand if you knew!"
Now, with a smile on his handsome face for the first time that I've ever seen, he pats me on the head again.
"There, there. You feel better already, right?"
I analyze myself for a moment, "...Yeah, I guess..."
I look over at him again. He looks so kind with a smile on his face...I'd almost say he has a nicer smile than Sasuke. And it's certainly more comforting than that constant smirk Goemon has...
"What's wrong?" he suddenly asks me, getting ready to blow out the various lanterns lighting the room.
"Nothing," I say, smiling back at him as I lie down for the night.
Saizo, though, suddenly seems to remember something that unsettles him. He stops in his tracks of putting out the small flames, then asks me, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Aren't you hungry?"
RumbleRumble.
"Yes," I say, sitting back up, "But you've already eaten, haven't you?"
"No, not yet," he says, readjusting his purple kimono as he stands, "I was out collecting plants for the medicine."
What, really? Aww, that's so swe–
"Wait," I say, looking up at him, "So you already knew that I was going to get hurt?"
"It was inevitable. You actually got off a lot better than I thought you would."
...
"I don't know how to respond to that," I say.
"I don't expect you to," he replies, heading for the door, "I'll bring you some food up here."
And with that, he leaves.
Well...I suppose that it was inevitable that I get hurt. Still, though...how discomforting. Couldn't he have just helped kept me from getting hurt? Then again, I suppose that he's no omnipotent Buddha...
He's certainly no sadist, either, though. We might've gotten off on the wrong start, but now I can tell that there's no way he takes joy in the pain of others. Of those who aren't his enemies, anyway...
Later, after I'd eaten alone in my room (he's gone back downstairs to eat, I suppose, and talk business with the guys) and after I'd officially laid down for the night, I'd begun shivering uncontrollably again. I hate nights like this...as convenient as the drafts are in the hot summer nights, in the spring it can sometimes be very troublesome. The wind seems to blow in the opposite direction during the cold winter and fall, though, luckily.
As my mind was (and still is) foggy, I remember vaguely hearing the paper door leading into my room open in the night, followed by sounds of shuffling in the area behind me. Saizo must've laid down and fell asleep on his own futon at that time.
But, then...how did we both end up sleeping on his futon?
As my mind slowly comes to, awakening, it takes me a while to process the position I'd somehow managed to get into by morning. I gasp at the sight: Saizo is holding me snugly, my head against his own breathing chest and his arms wrapped around my back. His hand is holding my head close.
Finally, once I gain the consciousness to curiously look up at him, our eyes meet. He'd already been awake.
"Don't make a fuss," he soothes, frowning, "Just wake up normally."
"But..." I stutter, blushing furiously as the close contact, "Y-you are...!"
He stares into my eyes to gain my attention, "Look, you're the one who's hugging me, alright?"
"No!" I shake my head, still blushing and afraid I'll be 'punished' if he continues thinking that I'm the one who changed futons, "No, no, it's not like that! Not me, you were–!"
"Did I hug you?" he asks, realizing.
"...yeah...yeah, you did."
He frowns even more, then pulls me close, against him, again, "Hmph. It must've been really cold."
...I had stopped shivering in the night. I remember thinking in my dreams, wondering why this was. Saizo must've been cold, too, and pulled me from my own futon onto his own. I must've been exhausted to not have woken up from it...but even so, feeling Saizo's body heat and hearing his heart beat...I've never felt so secure. My heart begins beating faster...I gasp internally; I've slept through the night with yet another man! First Goemon, now Saizo? I'd imagine Sasuke will be pretty clingy, too...but Hanzo and Kotaro are so hard to read...
"I'll never get married, now," I sigh, hitting Saizo's chest with a lame fist.
"Why do you say that?"
Nervously, I answer, "I've slept in the..." (...arms of...) "...same room with two different guys in two nights!"
"That doesn't make you impure," Saizo scoffs, still holding me as punches my back, "It's not like you've stripped down nude in front of any of us; not that any of us would mind. You haven't even been a stupid, flirting air-head of a woman around us, unlike many women are. You're certainly a klutz and a ditz, but that comes naturally."
...meanie...
Saizo continues, pulling away slightly so as to see my face. He raises an eyebrow, "You've never even been with a man, have you?"
What?! I blush, looking away, "Y-you don't have to spell it out like that!"
He scoffs, propping himself up, over me, with an elbow, "In my village, preteen girls often give birth to children."
I nod sadly, "Yes, I've heard of that...but..."
"But you don't know the way to make children?" he interrupts.
I swiftly prop myself up on both elbows, too, "Th...That is..."
"If that's the case..." Saizo says, trapping me between his arms, and then setting his legs on either side of me, "Let me teach you, alright?"
After pushing me back down onto my back, he grabs my chin before stroking my cheek and moving his hand to the back of my head. What do I do?! My heart is beating even faster now and my cheeks are burning...this is just like what Goemon almost tried to do!
Except that Saizo actually manages to get a kiss in.
His lips wrap around mine as he adjusts the angle of my head to deepen it. However, I turn my head away quickly and shuffle away as fast as I can manage off to the side, as his right arm was lifted up and out of my way, no longer trapping me on that side.
He sits up, causing the morning sunlight coming in from the window to hit his confused (yet strangely amused) face. "Why are you blushing?" he asks, "It was just a joke. Don't take everything so seriously. Idiot."
But before I can yell at him, the paper door slides open with a knock.
"Princess," Hanzo greets me with a smile. His eyes glance over to Saizo, now sitting politely in what was once my original futon, before he bows lightly to me, continuing saying, "Good morning. I see you have slept well. Saizo, thank you for protecting the Princess for yesterday, and I apologize for my absence for most of the day. Kotaro will take over now," he watches as Saizo stands and helps me up, "Now, please, Princess Abigail, the workers of the temple have prepared breakfast. You have another long day of training ahead of you."
Hanzo steps aside to let me through the doorway, and then follows behind, talking quietly to Saizo. Knowing that I'll be caught if I try to eavesdrop (if I even succeed at it), I begin to walk faster, looking back once at Saizo before turning the corner and heading downstairs to begin the new day.
Author's Notes:
1) "Kya!" is, if you don't remember or don't know, what the MC (main character) says whenever she takes a spill. At least when she's with Saizo. It reminds me of Gakupo's "Dancing Samurai", except that she's a ninja with everybody else.
Speaking of the vocaloid Gakupo Kamui, doesn't Munenori Yagyu look a whole lot like him? Come on, he's a purple-haired samurai!
Yes, I know that I'm following the guys' original stories rather closely right now, but that's just to introduce everybody. It'll get more creative with Hanzo–since I can't get the Gree version and Lupi's review says that it's there, now. Is that true?–and when the real drama begins!
Also, I won't go on with excuses for taking so long to write and update this. Life's gotten busy this week with school starting back up; yadda yadda, you know the drill. I'll upload this first and then edit and update..
I haven't been disclaiming. Is that bad? Oh, well, I'll probably forget again, but if it's not obvious, I don't own the "Shall we Date?" series, including but not limited to "Ninja Love". I AM NOT THAT SUCCESSFUL YET! Haha. I wish I owned the pictures, though...so pretty!
Arigatou, all, for reading! Reviews, favorites and follows are always inspiring! Next up, as I said, is the ever-silent and adorable Kotaro...
YOU'VE GOT MAIL!
Email from Saizo: stop sleeping with other men
Hey, idiot!
Are you really already being a pain in the ass? You're hopeless. Good thing you got me to take care of you, now, huh? No one else is gonna want a big idiot like you.
So shape up! I'm not gonna babysit you anymore! Also, you're now officially my private hot-water bottle, so no more snuggling or snogging with the other guys! Goemon and Sasuke can go to a geisha house together, for all I care.
Oh yeah, and by the way; I never actually left your side when you thought that I ran away, you slowpoke. I saw you drop those bags of things I'd bought to improve this place's defenses. You broke some glass marbles that I'd spent my own hard-earned pocket money on! Your punishment? You will have to do everything I tell you from now on. Even when it's not my turn.
Hmm..let's see...what impossible thing shall I make you do? Haha, this is gonna be fun!
Saizo
(P.S. don't tell anyone else about the things we did yesterday. Not the cuddling, not the footrubbing, not any of it! Just...don't mention it again, alright? That doesn't mean I won't do it again, it's just...look, just don't mention it to anybody.)