NOTES: AU. Cheesiness. Sanada-Yukimura-Yanagi.
Please put on TVXQ's "Sennen Koi Uta" when you read this chapter and the next one...
Severed
A long time ago in Kanagawa, three friends lived together in a small wooden cottage atop Rikkai Mountain.
The oldest of the three was named Yukimura Seiichi. He had a single hobby of creating music on his biwa.
Then, there was Sanada Genichirou. His interest, like the other, was to create music, to create song. However, he did this not with a musical instrument, but with his sword.
The youngest of them all was Yanagi Renji. He differed from his two friends in that he neither played an instrument nor wielded a sword. He listened well, for his loss of sight from a childhood accident, in turn, sharpened his hearing.
Even with his single disability, Yanagi still held a special place in their trio. For his hearing had been so keen that it caught every flaw, however tiny and dismissible it was, during their practices. He gave them valuable advice on improvement.
It was because of Yanagi, that Yukimura reached his full potential as a musician.
When Yukimura played songs of the calm river and the energetic waterfall, Yanagi felt himself become a single droplet of water being carried in the lazy river current, then being pushed off a cliff at the edge of the waterfall to drop down and down into the deep pool beneath.
When Yukimura played melodies of remembrance, the images of childhood rose from Yanagi's memories, and his heart staggered unsteadily from being intoxicated by nostalgia.
Of course, Yanagi did not only help Yukimura improve his biwa playing. He helped Sanada improve his swordplay as well.
It was because of Yanagi, that Sanada reached his full potential as a swordsman.
When Sanada hustled to the tempo of the wind, Yanagi imagined himself as a delicate blossom of spring, blown to pieces by the sharp gale.
When Sanada crept to the silence of the forest, Yanagi felt as if he had been strolling along a trail, the maples trees around him painted the color of bright autumn.
When Sanada danced to the beat of fire, Yanagi melted from the heat of mid-summer.
When Sanada rooted himself like a mountain to the ground, Yanagi became the ice and snow lying frozen atop the cliffs in winter.
Sometimes, Yanagi sat and listened to the harmonic music his two friends created together. And Yanagi felt himself being basked in eternal light, as if he had already died and ascended to heaven.
Because of the two, Yanagi not only mastered the technique of perfect hearing, but also became exceptional at imagining and reminiscing. His environment, his childhood days could not be any more vivid in his mind.
He was forever grateful of his two companions.
Unfortunately, the trio's peaceful and happy days ended shortly when Yanagi fell sick from terminal illness and passed away.
Soon afterwards, Yukimura cut the strings of his beloved biwa. He would never play again, for he thought, he will never find another listener as skilled as his dead companion.
Sanada, too, broke his beloved sword. He would never dance again, for he thought, he will never establish such a close bond with another, even if he were to find a better listener.
The two agreed upon burying their companion in the small, fishless lake near their wooden cottage.
Yet, as they lowered their companion's body into the freezing waters of winter, they found themselves unable to let the other go, unable to let their love go.
They resolved to follow the other to the afterworld.
Their bodies sank to the bottom of the lake as they lay down beside the other. They held his hands. Even in death, their grip on the other's hands did not loosen.
Winter came and went. But the lake, miraculously, never defrosted.
It preserved their bodies, as well as their love beneath, eternally.
Explanation:
A biwa is a Japanese lute. It is derived from the Chinese pi pa.
Inspired by the 84th story in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. "The cutting of harp strings has always been a sign of intimate friendship," is also from the book.