Chapter 3: Something Isn't Right
About two weeks passed, and the friendship between Akina and Shuichi only grew. It was a good thing that no one in the village knew who he really was, or they would have accused him of trying to lure Akina to her doom. For there were still rumors of missing girls all across the countryside.
However, Akina was oblivious to these rumors, and continued living her life in the simple way she had always known. She followed a routine nearly every day. After eating breakfast with her parents, she would work on mending or sewing, or go to market for something they might need. Then the noon meal, and after that, she would take a basket and go on her daily walk- which always ended up going by Shuichi's farm at some point. He was never too busy to at least stop and talk for a few minutes, and sometimes invited Akina in for tea. She always had some sort of snack for him, and when they had tea, they ate it together.
Yes, Akina very much preferred spending her afternoons this way. Before she had met Shuichi, her free time was usually spent at the home of one of her suitors, sewing with their mothers and having to listen to all their comments about their wonderful sons.
It was hard being one of the only eligible young women in the small village, even more so when most of the eligible young men agreed that she was the most suitable of all.
So, as you can imagine, Shuichi didn't exactly have an easy time settling in to his new life. If he ever did go into town, people were usually as brief as possible when speaking with him. Akina's home was the only one he was invited to. And her suitors- well, they were usually as rude as they could be without suffering from social disapproval. Philippe in particular hated Shuichi, and was planning something he could do to get rid of this stranger whom Akina had taken a liking to so quickly.
This was how things went for those two weeks, until one afternoon when Akina walked by the farm as usual, and Shuichi was not there.
"That's strange," she wondered. "The corn planting isn't finished yet, so why wouldn't he be here?"
Looking up at the sky, Akina guessed the hour to be about 4, and although it was rather late for extending her walk, she decided to go to the castle and see what had prevented Shuichi from coming that day.
It really was a lovely day for a walk. There weren't any clouds in the sky, and only a gentle breeze that caressed her face. Akina smiled happily as she walked along, stopping now and then to smell a flower, until she came to the imposing structure.
Now that she knew who lived there, it didn't seem frightening at all.
She paused in the courtyard a moment to take in the scents of the lovely roses, and then walked up to the front door and knocked. There was no answer. Akina knocked again, louder this time, and still no one came.
"Shuichi?" she called. No reply.
Finally, she tried the doorknob, and to her surprise, the door opened. Akina knew very well that if Shuichi was here, he wouldn't mind. So she closed the door behind her and began to look for him. She called every few minutes, but there was never any answer.
When Akina reached the door to the library, she stopped. The door was wide open, and she could see Shuichi laying on one of the daybeds inside, asleep. But not just asleep- he looked as if he were ill.
"Oh, Shuichi!" Akina gasped as she rushed inside to kneel on the floor beside the bed. "Can you hear me? Are you all right?"
He stirred, and opened his eyes a little. "Akina..." he whispered as he closed them again.
Akina felt his forehead, which was warm, but he looked so pale! "You're not well, Shuchi," she said, trying to stay calm. "I'll go and bring the village doctor here, and maybe he can help you." She rose to her feet, but as she turned to go, Shuichi reached out and caught hold of her arm tightly.
"No," he managed to gasp. "I'll... be all right. No need... for a doctor."
"But Shuichi!" Akina protested. "You're so pale! How long have you been lying there?"
He winced a little. "I'm... not sure... I was trying to research... some new plants..." and he turned his eyes toward a book that lay beside him.
Akina knelt beside the bed again. "Shuichi, please let me go. You need help!"
"No," he said again, shaking his head slowly.
"But I can't just leave you here like this! What am I supposed to do?" she cried, distraught.
Shuichi opened his eyes again, looking into her upset face. "If you want to help... stay with me, like you did... before..."
"Please, Shuichi..."
He cut her off, his eyes clearly pleading with her. "Just stay... please..."
Akina was silent for a moment, then she finally nodded. "All right... I'll stay here. But you must sleep."
"I will... I promise..." Shuichi smiled a little as he closed his eyes, and within a few minutes he was fast asleep again.
Akina sighed and gently loosened his hand from her arm. Then she took his hand in hers, whispering, "You really are a strange man, Shuichi..."
She was tired herself from her long walk and worry over Shuichi, so before she knew it, Akina was asleep as well. Her head rested against the side of the bed, close by Shuichi's, and their hands remained clasped as the two of them breathed peacefully.
The afternoon wore away, and when Shuichi next opened his eyes, the sun had just set. There was just enough light to see that he was not alone. Turning his head slowly, he saw that it was Akina, deeply asleep. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed while one arm lay on the cushions.
It was only then that Shuichi noticed the warmth in his left hand, and tilting his head up as far as he dared, he realized it was because Akina's hand was held in his. His face flushed a bit when he saw it, but when he looked again at her face, somehow even more lovely while asleep, he decided there was nothing to worry about. So he settled back down, not wanting to ruin the peaceful moment, and without noticing, he gently squeezed Akina's hand.
Which was enough to awaken her.
Shuichi tried his best to keep his heart from beating too fast as Akina's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up straight. "Oh, dear... it's late," she said quietly, and looked at Shuichi, seeing that he was awake.
He smiled at her. "Thank you for staying."
"Don't worry about it," she told him. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better now, thanks to you."
Akina smiled back, and then she realized that their hands were still clasped. Quickly, she snatched her hand away, blushing. Shuichi looked confused as he muttered an apology, looking away from her.
"It's... it's all right," stammered Akina as she stood up. "I... I must get home now, it's nearly dark..."
As she dashed from the room, Shuichi struggled to get up. "Akina, wait!" he called, but as soon as he jumped from the bed, he tripped over a leg of it and fell flat on his face on the stone floor.
Hearing the thud of his body falling, Akina returned to the doorway to find him sitting up on the floor, holding a hand to his nose. "Are you all right?" she asked as she came back into the room to kneel beside him.
He nodded, but didn't take his hand away. "I banged my nose, that's all."
Akina reached into her pocket and brought out a handkerchief. "Here, take this," she said as she handed it to him, blushing again.
Shuichi hesitated before taking it. "Thank you..."
"You're welcome," she replied, smiling a little as she got to her feet. "I really must be going now, or I won't get home before nightfall. You stay here and rest."
"You'll be all right?"
"Of course." Akina paused at the door and looked back. "Take care of yourself." And she left.
As she hurried home, Akina couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Shuichi. Was it one of those headaches again? Or something else? Why won't he tell me, or let me do something besides sitting with him until he's well again?
She came to no conclusions, though, and arrived home none the wiser. Her parents were obviously worried because she had stayed out longer than usual and missed supper. Akina reassured them that she was fine, silently ate her meal, and went upstairs to her room without another word.
About an hour later, just when she was thinking it was time to get ready for sleeping, there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Yes?" she asked.
"Akina, Shuichi has come to see you," replied her mother's voice.
"Oh!" She wasn't sure what to do, he never came this late. "Ask him to come up here, please. I was about to prepare for bed."
"Very well, but he must not stay long."
"I know, Mother," Akina smiled as she went to the door and opened it to hug her mother before she went back downstairs.
A moment later, Shuichi entered the room, looking a little nervous, but his face brightened right away when he saw Akina standing before him. "I wanted to make sure I hadn't offended you earlier," he began, shifting on his feet a little.
"Oh no, not at all! What made you think so?" exclaimed Akina.
"Well, you see, you left in such a hurry."
"I did have to get home before dark, you knew that!"
"I suppose I did..." Now he looked sheepish. "I also wanted to return this." And he held up the handkerchief Akina had lent him earlier.
"Oh, you really didn't have to come all this way to return it tonight!" Akina exclaimed.
"I wanted to," Shuichi replied simply.
"Well... thank you..." Akina said gratefully as she stepped forward to receive it, but Shuichi smiled and held it up out of her reach.
Looking puzzled, Akina reached for the handkerchief again, but he only held it away from her again. "Shuichi, what are you...?"
He laughed softly. "Since I had to come all the way here, you have to work a little to get it back."
Akina pouted, while trying to keep from laughing at the same time. "You're teasing me!"
"Maybe a little," Shuichi admitted, but he still wouldn't let the handkerchief down.
Akina jumped around, trying to snatch it from his hand, but he was tall enough to always hold it just out of her reach. Finally, after she was obviously tiring, he let his hand down. Before she could grab the handkerchief, however, he swiftly stepped behind her and took it in both of his hands, then held it over her eyes like a blindfold.
She froze, suddenly quite nervous of what might happen next. She was aware that he had leaned close to her, and she twitched nervously when she felt his breath upon her ear and neck.
"Do you trust me?" Shuichi whispered, with a tone in his voice she had never heard before.
After a moment of hesitation, Akina slowly nodded, not trusting her voice.
The handkerchief was drawn back, and she found herself staring at a delicate gold chain with a locket shaped like an oval hanging from it. She gasped, but before she could say anything, Shuichi's warm breath was on her ear again. "May I?"
She nodded again, and he fastened the necklace around her throat. Looking down at it, Akina couldn't keep a smile from her face. "You're so kind to me, Shuichi, and I hardly know how to thank you..."
Suddenly, Akina fell silent as Shuichi took her by the shoulders and slowly turned her around to face him. There was a look in his eyes that Akina had never seen before, and she couldn't make up her mind if that was something to be afraid of or not.
And before she knew it, Shuichi had brushed a light kiss upon her lips and dashed out of the room.
Completely taken aback by the shock, Akina stood still for a full minute before falling backwards onto her bed. Did... did Shuichi just... kiss me?
She hardly knew what to do. None of her other suitors had dared try such a thing with her, as she was considered too young for relationships of that level. And yet... she wasn't angry. Truly, Akina felt as if she didn't mind the kiss at all.
It was... sweet. And somehow, she felt herself wishing she could experience it again.
As Akina rose from the bed and went to change into her nightgown, she said quietly, "It seems there's a good chance it will happen again... if I don't get too embarrassed first..."
Of course, Shuichi's behavior the night before was all Akina could think about the next day. She was so preoccupied in her thoughts, she burned the toast she made for breakfast and spilled a glass of milk on her father's plate of food. Apologizing over and over, she got herself out of the house as quickly as she could, not wanting anyone to guess why she was so clumsy that day.
Needing something to do until it was the right time for her walk, Akina decided to call on the families of her neighbors. Little good this did, for everyone watched her glowing, happy face, and wondered what had brought about this change in her. Never did she look like this when around anyone before!
Finally, it was late enough to walk, and to prolong her encounter, Akina took a roundabout way past the farm. Now that it was finally time to face Shuichi again, she was getting rather nervous, just as she thought she would.
I have to do it, or Shuichi will know something is wrong, she told herself as she approached the farm. Sure enough, there he was, working in the field as usual. Oddly enough, he didn't rush over when he saw her, but waited for her to come close to him before straightening up and greeting her.
"Hello, Shuichi," she replied. "Listen, yesterday..."
"No, please, allow me," he broke in. "I must apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was very rude of me to take such a liberty, and I'll understand if you're angry with me."
"Why... no, of course I'm not angry!" Akina exclaimed. "I was just... just..."
"Hm?" Shuichi pressed her.
"Well, I... I was... a little confused, actually," she finally said, looking away. "No one's ever done that before..."
Shuichi smiled. "I see. I had thought that perhaps you might have."
Akina shook her head. "Never. No one ever dared. It might have been deemed disrespectful, since I'm young. The other young men were probably told not to do such a thing with me... and I'm rather glad of it."
They laughed together, and Shuichi said, "I should have guessed that from the start, seeing the way you act around them."
"How could you know? You never have seen me with them," Akina pointed out when she got her breath back from laughing.
"That's true," he agreed. "So you're not angry?"
"No, not at all," Akina answered. "I'm actually glad you were the first."
"Then I'm glad to have had the honor," Shuichi said, looking deep into her eyes. "So... why were you confused?"
Akina blushed. "Well... why did you kiss me?"
"Oh... well, you see..." Now it was Shuichi's turn for his face to redden. "You were so kind to me yesterday, and... I... I suppose I couldn't help myself."
Smiling, Akina stepped closer and took his hand. "It's all right, then. As long as nobody knows, there was no harm done. But unless we want everyone to get suspicious, we have to remain friends for the time being, and no more."
"I understand," replied Shuichi as he clasped her hand warmly. "Then we shall be friends."
The two of them talked a bit longer, and after leaving him the cake she had brought, Akina slowly walked home. She was glad that the encounter had gone so well, only...
Somehow, I wish we didn't have to pretend...
Little did she know that her new admirer was thinking the same thing at the same moment.
Not too bad for an idea started almost two years ago! I can't believe I still remember how this story was supposed to go! I have to get through the original part quickly, though, so the demons can start showing up. Please review!