Chapter 7: The Market
Fuji walked back to his room alone since his men were off to training like he wanted them to. Fuji knew what his power was capable of and right now training was not necessary, and so he thought. Growing up, he liked to do things that no other people can see or predict because he liked the thought of being unpredictable and clandestine. That was his strength, and no way was he going to give it away.
"Mmm…what should I do?" Fuji sighed as he straightened out his clothes. He just changed into another outfit, a less fancy one from the one he wore at meetings.
Fuji walked out of his room, looking back and forth to find his next destination. In the end, his stomach decided that he needed to head over to the kitchen because it was rumbling in hunger.
Almost nearing the kitchen, Fuji spotted a maid carrying a large empty bamboo woven basket by her side. Curious, he approacheed her.
"Hi." Fuji greeted her near her ear from behind
The girl flinched, dropping her basket in the process. "Lord Fuji." She greeted back with a flushing face and mumbled under her breath. "You scared me. Can I do anything for you?"
Fuji shook his head and bent down to pick up the fallen basket. "Thank-Thank you, My Lord."
Fuji grinned wider. It was funny how people always stuttered when they interact with him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm heading to the market. The head Chef sent me out to get groceries for dinner preparation." She answered politely with her head a little bow down. It wasn't polite for a low class maid to have eye-to-eye contact with the royalties and those of nobility ranking.
The reverence maked Fuji somewhat uncomfortable, but Shiraishi did say that it was a custom for this Kingdom. Fuji decided to just go with the custom and not make it difficult for the maid. "Ah. Can I come?"
"Of course, if you're My Lord wishes." She answered curtly.
o0o0o0o0o
Standing far away, under the shade of a tall red maple tree, deep red eyes stared directly at Fuji with disgust and malice. "Tsk, lowly hanging out with the low class."
The pair of scheming eyes lingered on the Sage even when she heard footsteps coming closer from behind.
"Lady Minori."
"What is it?" Minori inquired deeply as she continued to scrutinize each of Fuji's movements as he left her sight. She turned around and started to walk the opposite way with her maid following behind.
"Milady doesn't seem to like the Ambassador much." The maid said with a slight expectant tone in her voice, as if she knew what Minori was thinking.
"Hmph. I don't like the way Tezuka-san was exceptionally closed to him, especially during the battle this morning. It angers me." Minori said with a tint of anger in her voice. Her eyes stayed sharp ever since they laid on Fuji. "I don't like that…even though he's a male. He looks too much feminine; I don't like that either, but it wouldn't be a problem if his face is distorted, right?"
"Milady, you don't need to worry about him. He won't be an obstacle between you and Tezuka-sama. Your beauty is much more refined than his." The maid responded slyly. Her eyes twinkled with a scourge of malice. "But if you're still worry, then I can distort his face for you. It is not worth having your precious hands for the job." The maid grinned more satisfactorily as her lady's frown turned into a smirked that meant evil.
"That's alright. It wouldn't be well for my brother if the Ambassador is injured during this time. Besides, time is never too short." Her chuckle grimmed.
o0o0o0o0o
Fuji and the kitchen maid, she said her name was Ayumu, left the castle through the side door, which led them directly to the farmer's market; whereas the main gate led to the city square.
Fuji was excited to leave the castle wall; he had wanted to feel and see what the Kingdom of Hyoseirokkai was like. This was indeed the first time in his life that he got to go outside the Kingdom of Peace and experienced the 'real' world.
Kingdom of Peace was an independent nation and mostly private from the surrounding kingdoms. Only few people entered and existed every year as tradesmen. He grew up within the kingdom since he arrived from his home village somewhere far away at the age of 6 with his only family member, Yumiko, his sister.
The sight of the crowds gathered around the vegetable and fruit stalls excited him. The assorted foods were very different-looking from the ones they had back at his Kingdom.
"Ne, what are we going to get?" Fuji's eyes twinkled, not from the sun light, but from a child's excitement.
"It says here." Ayumu reached into her shirt pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. She unfolds it and scans it over. "Chicory."
Fuji eyes looked over to the grocery list. A confusion look appeared on his face. "What's a Chi-co-ry?"
"It's a small vegetable that looks like a cabbage with a yellow head." Ayumu informed him patiently. She was surprised to find how innocent the Sage was to the real world.
Fuji noded in response of understanding as Ayumu explained the plant Chicory in more details.
After getting the image in his head, Fuji looked around energetically, scrutinizing every stall in order, looking for the chicory. "Is it that one?" He pointed to a stall full of the said vegetable.
"Hai!" Ayumu nodded. Both walked over and buy a morsel before hunting for the next item on the list, which isn't many.
Ayumu knew where most things were located since she was a daily shopper, so they finished the search quick. On their way back, Fuji suddenly stopped by a certain fruit stall that caught his curious eyes; although they were always closed, he could see exceptionally well. The fruit's color ranged from yellow to green, and it looked somewhat like a star. Absentmindedly, he made his way to the stall through the crowded street.
"My Lord?" Ayumu asked, seeing Fuji had led himself away from their path back to the castle. She diverted her eyes at what he was looking at and smiled softly. She truly admired his carefree and easy-to-excite behaviors, only because most people she worked for were always too stiff or difficult. She followed Fuji to the stall and stood beside him. "That's called a star fruit, a very juicy fruit that has a unique sour taste. Would you like to try some?"
Fuji smiled happily at her and nodded. He picked up a green one and brought it up to his mouth. Unfortunately before he could taste the nice-looking fruit, someone bumped into him, causing the yellow fruit to fly out of his hand and land in the middle of the street. His eyes followed the yellow object as it made its way to the ground before him. When it landed, he moved lithely around the people over to the fruit.
Fuji stood above the fruit and about to bend down when he felt someone collided into him making him fall over on his knees and palms. Then, someone else tripped over his body and fell on his back before Fuji. It was like a domino effect. A few more people fell after the first man tripped over him as a result of them grabbing on to whatever near them to stabilize their posture, but failed and dragged the people around them down along.
After Fuji stood up and dusted himself, he looked at the man who tripped over him on the ground rubbing his bottom, thinking with a slight frown…mmm…he looks mean… The man wore very fancy clothes that looked very expensive. "Are you okay?" Fuji asked with both concern and contemplated anxiety.
The man growled in return before looking up at Fuji. "Who the f--." He stopped in mid sentence when he got a clear look at the person above him. His growl faded. He stood up gruffly and dusted his clothes, shifting his gaze away. "Do you know what you just did?" He sneered loudly at Fuji once he made eye-contact with Fuji, but apparently the Sage's eyes were closed.
Fuji flinched a little at the loud voice that directed right at his face, making him stepped back a few steps. The man before him was no older or younger than himself, but his stature was way tougher than Fuji. "I…I apologized for what happened." He stuttered from the temporary intimidation. Fuji wouldn't worry, but he was on a mission, and he wasn't to make any trouble.
"Did you think apologizing will do it? Damn it, I just bought these." The man showed Fuji the dirt marks on his shirt and pant, yanking them out toward Fuji to make his point. "What are you going to do about this?"
Ayumu hurriedly ran over to stand in front of Fuji, bowing frantically to the man that Fuji happened to offend. "Please forgive My Lord; it was an accident. I'll reimburse your clothes and your injuries."
Soon the crowd gathered around them, making something so trivial crucial. Instead of helping out, the crowd just stood aside as if tempting a fight to break out. Fuji hated it; the people here were rude and apparently not pacifists. Fuji fixed his attention back to the problem in front of him. He deduced that the man was troublesome by judging at his attitude and the dirty smirk on his face. Right then, Fuji knew the man wanted something more than just mere reimbursement, but he didn't know what.
"I don't want a slave's dirty money." The man remarked rudely, spitting a disgust look at Ayumu.
"Ayumu, there's no need to beg him for forgiveness." Fuji grabbed Ayumu's upper arm, who nodded in understanding. Fuji turned to the man. "What do you want?" Fuji asked sternly.
"What do I want?" The man asked incredulously; and when Fuji's face didn't waver, the man contemplated for a while before smirking. "How about this, you give me what I want and I'll forget all about this. Surely, I don't need any more money when I have more than enough to spend." He stepped closer to Fuji and then bent down to Fuji's eye level.
"Well then, what do you want?" Fuji asked again calmly, his eyes were still unopened, but his usual smile was gone.
"Come home with me, and then I'll tell you what I want." The man reached out to lift Fuji's face up with his finger. "What do you say?" He grinned wider while licking his lips.
"No." Fuji slapped the man's arm away and took a few steps backward. "Why don't just say how much you want. I'm sure I have enough for you to spend a whole night at the brothel." Fuji said nonchalantly, yet with a slight of irritation that tempted to test his limit.
The man's smirk turned into a frown. Fuji noticed the man's men have gathered behind their master. "Do you know who I am? Who the hell do you think you are giving me that shit!?" He glared at Fuji; it seemed like Fuji did a great job provoking the nobleman. "I just told you I don't want money, and I bet I even have more wealth than you."
"I don't care and I don't want to know." Fuji's eyes opened into a slit and glared back. Of course, Fuji was little worried about making a scene, but his stubborn and not-easy-to-back- down personality kicked in. "If you don't want the reimbursement, then we are leaving." With that, Fuji turned around and motioned for Ayumu to follow him.
The man's temper boiled up, which went unknown by Fuji. The crowd began to dissipate at the uneasiness aura the man give off behind Fuji's back. How dare he ignore me!! Does he know who I am? "Boys!" The man grimly commanded his men, who nodded and immediately circled around Fuji and Ayumu.
Fuji heard scurrying footsteps behind him and then around him. He turned his head to make a headcount of the people invaded them.
"M-My Lord." Ayumu trembled with her body writhed in fear. She stepped closer to Fuji.
"What do you want?" Fuji asked, looking directly at the man.
"You don't know who you are involved with, don't you?" The man asked slyly, approaching Fuji. He walked around Fuji, examining him from head to toe. His smile twisted. "Looks like you're not from the city, maybe one of the regions? But, with pale skin like yours, you could be a foreigner from another kingdom."
Fuji gives no hint of responding to the question.
Seeing how the man got irritated by Fuji's ignorance toward the man, Ayumu whispered to Fuji. "He's the youngest son of the wealthiest merchant in this kingdom, Master Hoshiko Kai."
"Ah…I see. I thought you'd be someone to be reckoned with." Fuji made no surprising remark, which ticked off Hoshiko more. "Just another useless son abusing his father's wealth to do whatever he wants under his father's prestige. Since you have so much time and money to spend, go shop yourself a new pair of clothes. I have things to do rather than mopping around futilely like you." Fuji spoke calmly, but with reprehension. "Ne, Ayumu, shall we go?"
When Fuji turned his heels, Hoshiko's arm reached out to halt Fuji at his step by grasping onto his shoulder. Instinctively, Fuji's arm flung out to hit Hoshiko's face, but was blocked by Hoshiko's free hand. Fuji turned his head to face Hoshiko, making an attempt to shrug off Hoshiko's grasp. Unfortunately, Hoshiko wasn't a normal citizen. His grasp was too strong for Fuji's physical strength. That was all the reason why Fuji was a strong elemental user.
"Heh! Who do you think you are giving me that attitude of yours?" Hoshiko scoffed, tightening his grasp and succeeding making Fuji winced.
"Let me go!" Fuji demanded, not losing his temper yet. His face showed a little discomfort.
Hoshiko grinned widely at Fuji's protest. He liked hard-to-get people and Fuji happened to fit his desire well. Seeing Fuji squirmed helplessly under him turned him on even more. He leaned down and whispered seductively into Fuji's ear. "How about going home with me?"
"W-What?" Fuji flushed angrily as he tried harder to pull away from Hoshiko's strong grasp. "No! Let go!"
Ayumu dropped her basket unceremoniously and hurried over to Fuji, helping him prying off Hoshiko's hand. "Please let go." She begged.
Ticked off at Ayumu's fiddling hands, Hoshiko shoved Ayumu to the ground, making her land on her back as she stumbled backward.
"Ayumu!" Fuji tried to dash over to Ayumu, but Hoshiko's arm slid from his shoulder down to his lower arm, preventing him from reaching Ayumu.
Hoshiko yanksed Fuji back to stand next to him, but what he heard next made him freeze on the spot.
"Let. Him. Go." A rough voice demanded from their backs. Fuji and Hoshiko immediately turned around to find an annoyed Atobe and a crossed Hiyoshi beside him. Hiyoshi unsheathed his sword out 2 inches.
"Eh…Lord Atobe…" Hoshiko quickly loosened the grasp on Fuji's arm, looking slightly nervous at Atobe.
Ayumu immediately ran over to Fuji and pulled him away from Hoshiko's reach.
"Atobe-san." Fuji acknowledged the new comer calmly as he rubbed his arm that was hinted with a purple bruise.
"What were you doing?" Atobe asked formidably, approaching Hoshiko with a serious look plastered on his face. He walks passed Hoshiko to reach where Fuji and Ayumu stood.
Shaking off his nervousness, Hoshiko put a sly smile back on his face. "Nothing. I was just trying to make a new friend."
Even though Atobe was Lord, Hoshiko can be considered as powerful as the other man, only without the regal honorific. Hoshiko happened to be one of the few master wielders in the Hyoseirokkai Kingdom. His power and father's prestige made him acknowledgeable with other well-known men.
"If that is the case, you didn't need to use strength." Atobe turned back to look at an unfazed Hoshiko.
"Ah, my apology. I didn't know that he happens to be your friend. You can't blame me for disrespecting him in any ways, right?" Hoshiko said with ignorance, saying as if he knew the fault, but also knew that his fault could be pardoned no matter what just because of his social status.
"No, I can't. But apparently, he's not my friend. That's where you're wrong." Atobe responded, earning a puzzling look from Hoshiko. "He is actually His Majesty's guest from another Kingdom. Though you're right about it not being your fault, but you just picked someone wrong to mess with." Hoshiko's face paled. Atobe wouldn't be the man to lie.
"Ah…that's…" Atobe smirked at Hoshiko's lost for word. Hoshiko turned to Fuji and smiled a friendly smile. "Your name is Fuji, right?" Fuji made no response, and only stared back. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. Forgive my foolishness. I didn't know who you are."
Fuji shrugged it off and turned around. "Pathetic. Let's go, Ayumu."
Atobe flashed a scoffing smile at Hoshiko before following Fuji.
That bastard! Hoshiko seethed in anger as he stared holes into Atobe's back. Always ruining my fun. His Majesty's eh? Tsk. I so want to get my hands on him.
o0o0o0o0o
Atobe and Hiyoshi walked back to the castle with Fuji and Ayumu, more like guarding.
"Thank you." Fuji said out of the blue.
"Just don't get into any more trouble." Atobe waved it off. "Are you okay though?" Atobe asked with concern in his pompous voice.
"Hm? Ah, yeah." Fuji replied. They stopped on their track after entering the castle gate. "I'm heading to the kitchen." Fuji said.
"Eh? Why would you be going there? If you want company, I can--" Atobe frowned at Fuji, but stopped abruptly when Fuji chuckled.
"Really, I don't need company. I just want to cook something." Fuji said airily.
"Fine, just don't burn or cut yourself." Atobe sighed and walked away.
"Ayumu, shall we go?" Fuji cocked his head aside to look at the departing back of Atobe.
"Hai, My Lord." Ayumu replied cheerily, glad to be back inside the castle.
Fuji asked to be alone in the kitchen after the chefs finished with the preparation for dinner. He remembered before, he used to make chocolate-buttermilk cake for everyone in his kingdom, batches after batches. Life was eased in his kingdom; people live mutually happy together.
After the servants dropped off all the ingredients he needed, Fuji began to whip the ingredients together.
"Hm hmhm hm mhm." Fuji hummed as he baked. No one knew how he could bake with his eyes closed.
Tezuka had just finished talking to his bourgeoisies and now they were off on their own for the preparations. He happened to walk by the kitchen's vicinity to reach the battle ground when the noiseless environment piqued his awareness. It was supposed to be the hour that the chefs run all over the place to prepare dinner, but today was different. The place was unusually serene. His curiosity wandered over to the kitchen house when he heard a crashing noise. Quickly, Tezuka ran over.
Stopping in front of the door, he stared widely at the person in front of him who was covered in brown goo that looked like mud. "Fuji-san?" He asked uncertainly.
The youth looked up and smiled brighter when his name was called. "Tezuka-san. What are you doing here?"
Tezuka then straightened himself. "I should be asking you that." He said stoically, which earned an amusing chuckle from Fuji.
"I'm baking, isn't that obvious." Tezuka frowned. "Would you like to join?" Fuji asked cutely. He smeared off a baking-mix stain on his cheek with his pointer finger and then put it in his mouth, sucking it off with a satisfying moan.
Tezuka shuddered and blushed slightly at the image in front of him. "No thank you. I don't savor sweets." He refused quickly.
Fuji pouted and then put the mixing bowl down with the spatula. "You have to try my chocolate cake. It's different from the others because my ingredients are…particularly extraordinary. It'd boost the energy that you will need for tomorrow."
Tezuka rose his left eyebrow, giving Fuji a questioning look as if he didn't understand what Fuji just said. How would sweet boost your energy? Sweet gave Tezuka headaches.
"Come and help me." Fuji walked over to Tezuka and pulled the taller youth over to the counter by his arm. Tezuka reluctantly followed. "My arm is getting tired from making so many batches."
"Hn." Tezuka grunted, not in a way that meant he neither complied nor protested. Fuji chuckled again and handed Tezuka the mixing spoon and bowl with the unfinished battered mix.
Tezuka held onto the spoon tightly and mixed the batter in randomly rough direction, splashing some batter out of the bowl to land on his clothes.
"Hehehe. Ne, Tezuka. You've never cooked before right?" Again, Tezuka grunted, stopping the mixing motion. Fuji took Tezuka's hand that held the spoon into his. "This is how you do it." Fuji guided Tezuka's hand with his in a smooth battering motion.
Tezuka unconsciously noticed the world around him went slowly, and everything seemed so dull, except for the figure beside him, glowing ever so brightly. Tezuka looked down at Fuji's face as they mix the batter together in one motion. He had never felt this conscious about someone before, and it was a weird feeling on him.
His trance broke when Fuji looked up into his eyes with opened cerulean eyes. Tezuka quickly diverted his eyes to the batter.
Fuji immediately let go of Tezuka's hand and moved away with an awkward atmosphere between them.
Tezuka cleared his throat. "Is this done?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's done." Fuji stuttered nervously as he took the bowl and poured it into a round baking pan.
Seeing how Fuji had to use some strength to hold up the mixing bowl, Tezuka came over and took the bowl away from Fuji's hands. "I'll do it." Tezuka poured it in the pan and then put it in the baking oven.
"Thank You." Fuji said softly, after regaining his posture.
"Are we done here?" Tezuka asked.
"Nope, we still have one more batch to go. And this time, you are going to make it all by yourself." Fuji smiled widely up at a frowning Tezuka; it seemed like his shyness disappeared. "Of course, I'll be helping you." Again, Tezuka grunted.
The smile was just too sweet for Tezuka to decline, probably sweeter than the cake that he was going to bake.
Tezuka was able to learn what Fuji put in the cake. The ingredients were well-known in their Kingdom to increase stamina and boost energy. Though, he was surprised to find out that the cake tasted sweet without much sugar added to it. He actually enjoyed baking with Fuji. Never in his life had he find doing something this exciting and fun to do. All the other times, he just found what he did challenging and dynamic, not fun.
After the baking lesson, Tezuka and Fuji rendered the kitchen back to the chefs and left for the teahouse that located next to a stream at the back of the castle.
"Tezuka-san." Fuji called. They sat side by side, only separated by a tea table, staring out into the patch of flowers before them.
"Hn?" Tezuka responded, shifting his gaze to look at Fuji.
"Have you ever loved someone so dearly to you?" Fuji turned sideway to meet Tezuka's eyes, except his own wasn't opened.
The question surprised him. "Yes." Tezuka looked away. "My parents."
Fuji chuckled softly, making Tezuka turned to look at him again, raising a quizzical look in Tezuka.
"Of course." Fuji paused, and then turned back to the scenery in front of him. "How long have you last seen them?"
"3 years ago during the war." Tezuka replied faintly.
"You must have had wonderful memories with them before then." Fuji's voice filled with sadness that didn't go unnoticed.
"Yes. What about you?" Tezuka saw Fuji flinched a little. Fuji's eyes opened quickly, but closed as quick.
"My parents also died in a raid; except it wasn't a war…it was a barbaric raid." Fuji paused. "After my little brother got kidnapped, our village got raid. My parents along with the others died protecting their children and their home, but we were weak. We lost and a lot died, the women, men, old, young, all ages." He let out a heavy sigh, but kept his smile on. "My sister and I were lucky to escape to the Kingdom of Peace. We dwelled there until my sister left shortly 5 years after."
"Fuji-san." Tezuka called gently.
Fuji lifted his face to look back at Tezuka.
"What is it?" Fuji opened as he was surprised at the stoic face that was now replaced by a concern expression. No, it was more like empathy.
"You don't need to act strong. It's okay to show your weakness once in a while." Tezuka smiled a certainty smile, assuring Fuji's comfort.
"It's not that easy."
"You've never tried."
"You don't understand. You don't understand any of it."
"I've been through it."
"Not like what I went through…It's not the same."
"No, but...similar."
"I can't be weak…I have a duty to protect those around me."
"I know. But, a moment won't harm."
"Tezu-ka-san."
"My Lord! Master Fuji!" Fuji quickly snapped his eyes close. "Dinner is served." Tezuka looked pass Fuji and nodded to the maid. She bowed back before leaving them.
"Shall we go?" Tezuka asked. Fuji nodded silently and both stood up. Fuji was about to turn out of the teahouse when Tezuka called his name. "Fuji-san."
Tezuka was right behind him when he turned around. Tezuka brought his hand up to Fuji's face and brushed his thumb over the lad's cheek, carrying a crystal of droplet away.
When did I--Fuji was shocked that a tear escaped his eyes without him noticing. He blushed when he realized what just happened. "Tezuka-san."
Tezuka smiled, one that melted Fuji's heart. "A tear shouldn't flow on you cheek." Tezuka walked pass Fuji out the door.
Fuji smiled, a genuine smile.
"You coming?" Tezuka turned his head around, hinting Fuji to join in his steps in which Fuji did so happily.