Chapter Three: The Sweethearts
"Do you understand now, Humbert?" Hasho asked softly, making his blonde student nod solemnly as he arched his back and stretched silently before accepting a wooden practice sword from the tall dark man.
"Good," the samurai approved, suddenly taking the boy by his shoulders, and turning him to face the tiny brunette, doing stretching exercises of her own with an identical wooden sword in one hand.
Hasho grinned warmly at his daughter, keeping the tender smile on his face as he looked at his young ward. "Now remember, this is only for practice, so don't take it personally if you lose the first few times. Unless that boarding school gave you fighting experience, which I doubt-"
Humbert shook his head, the smile on his face making it clear that he was close to laughing at the idea.
"-then you have less training than Haru. Go easy on him, sweetie," he gently admonished his daughter, who bowed prettily.
"Yes, Papa," the girl chirruped before turning her eyes to her opponent, and relaxed her body into a standard fighting stance, holding the practice sword's tip towards the ground.
The blonde boy echoed her stance, his calm green eyes on his skinny friend as he shifted his own practice sword between his hands slowly in preparation to strike.
The first stroke was given by the little brunette, a little slow as she tested his strength carefully as he blocked her, and made a strike of his own.
Haru narrowed her eyes in concentration as she continually tested him for weaknesses, choosing to end the match after five minutes of dodging his somewhat clumsy blows. She wheeled around his wooden blade with ease, and rapped his wrist with her hilt just enough to force him to drop the sword as she simultaneously hooked her foot around his ankle to trip him.
Humbert was lying on the ground before he understood what was going on, and Haru was sitting on his stomach so that he wouldn't be able to get up again.
"You've got good instincts, Humbert," she told him with a giggle. "I bet if you practice hard, you'll be able to really challenge me by this time next year."
His soft green eyes were still dazed, but he was still looking at her warmly. "As you wish."
"But do you wish it?" Haru asked him, leaning deeply into his chest, almost like she could force different words out of him for once since the three months he had arrived with her father.
Humbert winced slightly, but then he grinned even wider at her. "Yes. I do."
"Ah ha!" Haru crowed happily, rolling off his stomach so that she could hug him around the shoulders. "You finally said something different!"
The blonde boy smiled sheepishly as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, one nervous eye on her father in case he objected. "You just act so funny every time I say 'as you wish', I can't help myself."
"She does, doesn't she?" Hasho laughed, relieved that his ward was finally talking for real. 'Of course, I knew she'd break his shell before six months.'
ooOoo
Haru stopped picking wild berries long enough to sit by the cool stream, and dip her feet into the sparkling water. "How many berries do you think we've gathered, Humbert?" she asked as her twelve-year-old companion joined her, setting his own basket aside.
"I'd say around three hundred and fifty," he said while casually, leaning more into the water to grab one of the reeds that grew in it, pulling it up by the roots. "Which means about ten jars' worth of jam. Eight, if we can persuade your mother to make one or two pies."
Haru shook her head in amazement as she watched him take out the knife her father had given him, so that he could start cutting off the roots and extra leaves. "I just don't understand how you can come up with those numbers so quickly."
"I didn't exactly waste all those hours I spent in that boarding school," he reminded her as he finished carving the reed into a single straight piece, and then started carefully drilling holes. "Some of the other boys played all the time and neglected their studies, but I wanted to please Father so, that I forgot to play at all."
"But weren't you bored, with only books for company?" the slim brunette asked him, watching him play with his knife and the reed.
"No, never bored," he said carefully, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "A little lonely sometimes, but never bored. If not for you, I would probably have always been content with only books for company."
"I was lonely, before Papa brought you here," she confided softly. "Mama was always busy, and you know how much Hiromi loves talk more than play."
"Oh yes," he agreed fervently, tying the knife back to his side before holding the altered reed up to one eye so that he could look down the hollow space of it. "I sometimes wonder if she can talk for a solid week without needing to take a breath. That girl could outtalk a politician."
"I wouldn't go that far," Haru giggled as he inspected his creation. "Why were you messing with that reed?"
Humbert grinned at her mysteriously, and lifted one end of the reed to his mouth, and placed his fingers over the holes he had just drilled. He took a deep breath, and let it out through the reed, moving his fingers off and on the holes to make different notes that flowed into each other almost magically.
Haru stared at her best friend in amazement as he serenaded her, his warm eyes locked on her as his fingers kept dancing over the makeshift flute. The song was almost like that of a bird's, but not quite.
The brunette closed her large eyes in contentment, and leaned over just enough to rest her head on the blonde's shoulder. "Every time I think I know everything about you, you go and prove me wrong. Promise you'll never leave, Humbert?"
His hands twitched slightly as he played wordlessly, and he glanced down at the half-grown girl nearly cuddling at his side.
His green eyes sparked with many emotions, as he looked at the girl that unknowingly held his heart. Worry, fear, a helpless devotion… but a fiery determination of something he didn't dare to tell her.
Not yet, at least. He just knew she wouldn't be happy with what he was planning to do in another year, and he didn't want to fight with her any more than he had to. She could still whip him in a fight any time she felt like it, and he had never been one to go looking for trouble.
ooOoo
Humbert took a deep breath as he ran one hand through his thick gold hair nervously one morning, after he had turned fourteen. He wasn't really looking forward to what he was about to do, but time was of the essence.
He took another deep breath, and slipped down the stairs a good fifteen minutes before Haru usually woke up.
Hasho and Naoko were already up, sitting at the modest table in deep conversation. They looked up as their blonde ward made his way closer to them, his heart pounding loudly in his chest.
"Good morning sir, ma'am," he said respectfully, his green eyes glowing with respect. "Can I borrow a moment of your time?"
"Of course, Humbert," the tall samurai said with a light chuckle, pulling one of the other chairs loose from the table so that the young man could take a seat. "What's on your mind?"
The blonde boy took another deep breath for courage. "I… first of all, I wanted to say how grateful I am, that you have taken me into your home, and made me feel like part of your family. My years here have been quite possibly the happiest of my life, but…" he trailed off, wondering how to present his request.
"But," Naoko prodded him, making the boy sigh.
"I know you've been worrying lately, about… having me in the same house as Haru. It was fine when we were children, but we're not children anymore. The people down in the village mean well, but… people are starting to talk."
"Go on," Hasho urged him, his dark eyes unsurprised.
Humbert took another deep breath. "I think it's time I left to seek my fortune. We all know that I'd sooner die than do anything improper with Haru, but I don't want the family's reputation to suffer for my sake. And…" How was he going to put this in a way that they wouldn't want to kill him?
"You would like to earn a place in the world by your own hard work?" Hasho asked gently, his dark eyes becoming intent.
Humbert nodded gratefully, and then lost his cool demeanor without warning. "I love your daughter!" he suddenly cried out, getting out of his seat so that he could kneel respectfully at the man's feet, his forehead touching the cool wooden floor in absolute submission to the man's will. "And I want to prove myself worthy of her. She deserves better than what I can give her right now, but if the two of you and she can see fit to give me maybe five years to prove that I can give her what she deserves, will you allow me to court her? I've loved her for years, and I swear that I'll be good to her if she accepts me."
Drat it, why did he have to lose his self-control at such a critical moment?!
Hasho chuckled a little, and slid out of his chair to pull the boy to his feet enough to lock eyes with him. "I already knew that you loved Haru, Humbert. That wasn't news to me." He slapped one of the blonde lad's shoulders in a congratulatory manner. "But wanting to prove yourself for her? I'm proud of you, my boy. You're the son I've never had, and I would be thrilled if you married my daughter one day."
"Really?!" the green-eyed youth said happily, making the mother giggle into one hand.
"I guess all that really leaves is the question of where you'll go," Naoko said around her laughter. "I'm afraid that we can't spare old Moriko, which means that you would have to walk to wherever you were planning to go."
"I was thinking about walking to the village and hiring myself out as a cabin boy to a sea captain. The fact that I can read should help in my favor."
"It helps tremendously," Hasho assured him, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "A couple of the captains that sell fish to the village know and respect me, Humbert. Would you like a letter of recommendation to help you land a position?"
"I would appreciate that, sir," the young man said while bowing gratefully. "I'll go down today, and see who's anchored in the harbor."
"The harbor?" Haru suddenly asked as she descended the stairs, tying a wide piece of cloth into her hair for a ponytail. "Why do you want to go to the harbor, Humbert?"
The blonde boy froze, and then slowly turned to the love of his life, a nervous smile on his face. "Good morning, Haru. How did you sleep?"
"Just fine, but why were you talking about the harbor?" she asked him persistently, walking up to him until he could see his reflection in her beautiful brown eyes.
"Um…" Humbert hesitated as he watched her parents quickly but quietly withdraw from the room, wearing matching smirks on their faces.
The light in Haru's eyes faded slightly as she studied his nervous face. "Are you leaving?" she asked sadly, although deep down, she already knew the answer.
"Just for a few years," he consoled her, wrapping the girl up into a warm embrace. "The villagers are starting to talk about our slightly scandalous arrangement, now that we've grown some."
"Let them talk!" the slim brunette replied hotly, clinging to him like a lifeline. "We know the truth, so why do their opinions matter?! Please, Humbert. Don't go," she sobbed into his shoulder as he rubbed her back soothingly and rocked her gently in his now muscular arms.
"But I need to go, Haru," he whispered, steeling his resolve so that he wouldn't be able to back down again. "Unless I get a real job, I won't be able to afford to marry you."
She looked up at him sharply, her mouth slightly agape. "Marry?" she whispered softly.
He nodded, and kissed her cheek respectfully. "I've loved you since the moment I saw you, Haru. Where else am I going to find a girl that randomly gets into physical fights with her father, and win occasionally?"
"Probably nowhere," she said numbly, looking up into his beautiful green eyes. "But you really want to marry me?" she asked excitedly.
"No one, but you, Haru," he said fervently, holding her closer than ever. "Will you wait for me, until I can give you what you deserve?"
"I don't need much, you know that," she whispered, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder lovingly. "Promise to come back as soon as you can, Humbert. I love you, and I won't marry anybody but you. I love you too."
"I promise," he whispered just before stealing a chaste kiss from her. "I'll come back for you as soon as I can."
ooOoo
As it so happened, a ship was ready to set sail the very next day, and not only was the captain was an old friend of Hasho's, but he also had need of a cabin boy.
Humbert stood at the end of the wharf, his familiar bag slung over one shoulder as he locked eyes with his sad fiancée. He tried several times to say goodbye, but the words stuck painfully in his throat, painfully aware of her parents standing a good distance away, having already said their own goodbyes.
Without warning, Haru threw her arms around his neck, and clung to him before planting a kiss of her own on his surprised lips. "Watch out for those sky pirates," she said with a sarcastic smile.
He squeezed her lovingly, and whispered into her ear just before pushing her away painfully and walking up the plank to the waiting ship.
"As you wish."
Haru came to a startling revelation, as she watched the ship slowly disappear into the distance, one that made her cry anew and run for her parents.
Every time Humbert had ever said 'as you wish' to her, what he was really saying was 'I love you'.