LOVE TESTAMENT CHAPTER 16
The ambiance of the village was beautifully serene, yet not completely with the loud voices of the village people working in the early morning.
Fuji felt relaxing as he fed the chickens and chicks the cornmeal Chi gave him. Although the luxurious life he had was no longer here, he enjoyed the common's life of eating bread and vegetable as the main course of every meal.
The feathery touches on his hand felt nice when the little chicks ran to him for their breakfast.
"It's nice here." The sudden arms around his shoulders startled a little. Ever since he had lost his power, he couldn't detect the approaching presence of anyone anymore, including Tezuka. Because of it, he always got startled when someone neared him without his knowledge.
Tezuka's sharp eyes didn't miss it, but he thought it'd be better to not bring it up. It would destroy the morning glee. "We are going to leave this place tomorrow. What do you think?"
Fuji smiled and leaned back into Tezuka's chest. "I think I will miss this place very much. It already feels like home for me."
"I feel the same too."
Fuji knew that it was half true because for someone like Tezuka, he would not be able to live a life like this for so long. Tezuka had talents and power. A place like this would only bore him in time.
"You know, we can always come back here."
Tezuka smiled and bent his head to kiss Fuji's forehead. "Of course."
A moment later, Chi called them in for breakfast.
After breakfast, Chi gave them a tour around the village.
The moment they stepped out of Chi's property, Fuji noticed how close Tezuka was to his side. Slowly, Tezuka wounded his arm around Fuji's back as they walked to Chi's neighbor.
"This is Hideaki." Chi introduced to a pitch-black hair male with a big smile on his face as he walked over to them on the other side of the fence.
"Good Morning, Fuji-san, Tezuka-san." Hideaki greeted them amiably.
"Hideaki! Where's my hat?" A voice from his house boomed out.
Hideaki chuckled and scratched his head embarrassingly. "Sorry, my mom always misplaces her hat. Now I have to go find it for her." He excused him self politely.
Chi giggled. "His parents are very nice, but they are forgetful sometimes."
Fuji and Tezuka merely smiled.
A second later, a old woman with gray hair come from the house. "Oh hello there!" She immediately went over to the fence when she saw them. "How are you all doing?"
"We're doing fine, aunty."
The woman shook her head and chuckled. "Why are you still calling me aunty? You should call me mom more often!"
Chi blushed, and from the look of it, Tezuka and Fuji understood the hidden meaning.
The woman turned to the couple and pretended to whisper to them. "Chi and Hideaki like each other. They just don't show it, but I know for sure they like each other."
Chi blushed harder and faked an angry pout. "Aunty!"
The woman laughed. "Yah! When are you going to marry my son and be like this couple here?" She pointed to TeFu couple, who blushed shyly.
"Ah, young people these days are too shy." She teased them good-naturedly.
The woman excused her self when Hideaki came back with his mother's hat. Hideaki offered to come with them on their tour.
Chi dragged Fuji out of Tezuka's arm as she showed Fuji the food stands at the small market. "Hot pies here are the best. You should try some. Aunty! 4 hot pies please."
"4 hot pies it is!" The saleslady said enthusiastically and quickly wrapped up 4 hot pies.
Chi paid and gave each one a hot pie. "Come on, try it."
Fuji nodded and took a bite, only to huffed in alarm when the hot pastries touched his tongue. He gasped for air. "Hot! Hot!"
Tezuka immediately went over and blew cool air into Fuji's opened mouth to distinguish the hot pastries on Fuji's tongue.
Hideaki blushed as he looked at the mushy scene in front of him, imagining himself and Chi in TeFu's positions.
Chi only giggled and looked away as she ate her hot pie carefully.
"It is called hot pies for a reason." Tezuka murmured when he stopped blowing air into Fuji's mouth.
Fuji pouted. "Hey! I just forgot."
Tezuka chuckled deeply at Fuji's unresistingly cute pout. "Here." Tezuka took the hot pie from Fuji's hand and blew on it. "Open up."
Fuji smiled blissfully and opened up as told, allowing Tezuka to openly feed him the now cooling pie. "Mhm. Its delicious." Fuji licked his lips.
They didn't notice how lovey-dovey they were to each other when Chi cleared her throat. "Let's hurry, we have more places to go."
After browsing the market, they went to the meadow outside of the village. There were a few people herding their animal stocks on the vast land.
Fuji was fully amazed when he looked at the white sheeps being circled by a white dog. "Wow."
Chi looked at Fuji's amazed face. "Have you never seen this before, Fuji-san?"
Fuji looked at her with his wide eyes. "No. Where I live, we rely on the wind to gather the animals."
"The wind?" Chi looked at Fuji with a confused face.
Tezuka and Hideaki stood together behind the 2 'ladies'. "So, how is marriage life for you?"
Tezuka's left eyebrow shifted upward initially confused about his marriage life. "Oh. Happy." He bobbed his head up and down lightly, satisfied with his answer.
"That's nice."
"What about you?"
"Eh?" Hideaki seemed nervous. "I'm not married."
"I know. When are you and Chi going to get married?" Tezuka replied.
Hideaki blushed and he stuttered. "I-What makes you s-say that?"
Tezuka smiled and placed an encouraging hand on Hideaki's shoulder firmly. "Don't worry. She'll accept you." With that, he retrieved his hand and walked to his lover.
Chi looked back when she saw Tezuka approaching from the corner of her eye. "Fuji-san said the wind was used to round up the animals back in his hometown. But I think it's impossible." Chi pouted confusingly.
Tezuka merely smiled and looked at Fuji who defended himself with a stubborn look. "It's true. We don't use the dogs to round them up."
Tezuka chuckled and ran his hand through Fuji's hair. "Where we came from is different." Obviously, the village was very much shielded from the hectic power-hungry life out of their border.
"I think we should head back for lunch." Hideaki said and looked up into the sky to signal that the sun was at its zenith.
Chi nodded and they headed back into the village.
When night fell, many of the villagers that they met earlier came to bid them farewell on their journey tomorrow. Fuji and Tezuka were given many dried food and drinks so they could take with them along the road. The Elder even offered them another horse, but Tezuka refused, saying that they owed the villagers too much and accepting the food and drink were too much already.
Tezuka had money, but the currency differed so they really had nothing to give back to the villagers.
Everyone left TeFu couple once they finished packing and got ready to sleep.
"Tezuka." Fuji spoke up in the dark from where they both lie in each other's arms on the hammock.
"Hn?"
"We should do something for them."
Tezuka shifted a little. "What's on your mind?"
Fuji propped himself up and sat on Tezuka's torso. "I saw how everyone was refilling their water barrel early in the morning. Maybe we should do that for them." He suggested.
Tezuka nodded right away and both silently left the house.
Not only did they refill the water, they also watered every gardens in the village. Tezuka used his power to make everything happened while Fuji pointed out what he wanted to be done.
As they passed a house, they saw the hanging clothes on the clothing line.
Tezuka understood with one look at Fuji and he used dry wind to dry off the hanging laundry.
Tezuka took Fuji's hand and they both walked back to their hammock as silent as the summer breeze.
The villagers once again came to see them off at the gate early in the morning, before the sun rose.
They walked through the wood, hand in hand, enjoying the shades when the sun rose above the horizon. The morning dew formed on the branches and leaves and fell to the ground, moistening their way.
It was chilly, if not cold.
Tezuka pulled Fuji closer to his body, wrapping an arm around Fuji's shoulder. "Are you cold?"
Fuji's lips were quivering slightly. "A little bit." He pulled the cloak the villagers gave him as a farewell gift tighter to his body.
From within his body, Tezuka released heat to warm Fuji's body. "Better?"
Fuji nodded and slowly his lips became redder.
When they reached the border of the wood, Tezuka helped Fuji up the horse and they road through the wide meadow together, heading to Sarabia.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Oishi pulled his horse to a stop outside of the castle when Minori started to thrash about and wanted to get off the horse.
Along the road, Oishi tried his best to be patient with the mundane princess. It didn't help especially when Momoshiro and Echizen kept complaining of having to wake up early. Inui merely rode ahead to be on the look-out.
"Let me off!" Minori kicked Oishi's horse stubbornly although Oishi told her that he will let her off when they enter the castle gate.
"Alright! Alright!" Oishi said frustratingly and let the princess jumped off, who lost her footing and fell on her bottom.
"Ow~" Minori whined as she rubbed her bottom and stood up. He glared at the 4 bourgeois. "Wait until I tell my brother about this. You all will get punished for all your delinquent behaviors!" She shouted and stomped off. Good thing the castle was only about a mile away.
"Aish! I'm going crazy here!" Oishi hissed, kicking the dirt. Delinquent behaviors? What did I do?
"Chill out, Oishi." Inui pitied Oishi for having to ride with the princess the whole way.
"I should be the one being frustrated. You haven't told us what happened, and where is Tezuka?" Momoshiro once again complained.
"Jeez! I told you I will tell you later!" Oishi sighed exasperatedly and jumped back on his horse to follow the princess.
Echizen and Inui sighed and shook their heads simultaneously.
Momoshiro pouted. "I just want to know…"
As soon as the guards saw the princess, they sent a messenger to report to the King.
King Kutei met Minori half way to her residential wing. "Where have you been since yesterday's night?"
"Oni-san!" Minori whined and pretended to be in tears. "Tezuka left!"
The 4 bourgeois appeared shortly and greeted the King with respects, keeping their gaze low on the princess.
"What are you talking about?" King Kutei looked at his sister confusingly.
"I saw Tezuka packing and leaving after twilight." Minori crossed his arms and glared at the lords.
"…" King Kutei blinked, still not aware of what was going on. It was normal for Lords to travel. "Maybe you need some rest." He suggested.
Minori bluffed her mouth and widened her eyes. "Oni-san! Tezuka is leaving for good. He is not coming back ever again."
King Kutei frowned and regarded the lords who still had their heads bowed. "Can anyone tell me what Minori is trying to say?"
The bourgeois looked up and Oishi spoke without wavering. "Like what the princess said, Your Majesty."
"What!? Are you telling me that Tezuka has abandoned his Province?" The Lords kept silent after the King exploded. "And for what reasons?"
The bourgeois casted their gaze back to the ground, except for Oishi.
"Oishi?"
"Tezuka left a resignation note without a reason, Your Majesty." Oishi answered composedly, lying about the note part.
"Why is it like this when our enemy is on their watch!?" King Kutei's face reddened in frustration. The spy situation was yet to be resolved and one of his Lords had gone missing without a trace. "What are you going to do about the current food shortage in your province?" He switched the topic.
"Yukimura-san is currently sharing his food supply with us, but we are in the process of refilling the dry waterways and replenishing the soil." Inui said.
King Kutei nodded in approval of the reply. "I need to call for an emergency meeting with the Lords. You all may be dismissed back to your province."
The bourgeois bowed and retreated out of the castle silently.
"Oishi, now should be the time to tell us of what is going on." Inui spoke up, stopping Oishi's steps.
"Tezuka is gone. He's not coming back."
The 3 shared a glance at the obvious reply. Oishi proceeded to get his horse untied from a tree outside of the castle gate.
"It's the Sage, isn't it?"
Echizen's remark stopped Oishi from getting onto the horse.
They stood still and Echizen scoffed. "I knew it."
"What does Fuji-san have to do with Tezuka's case?" Momoshiro asked without a clue.
Inui suddenly came to a realization. "Ah!"
Momoshiro turned to Inui. "What?"
"They eloped together, right Oishi?"
Oishi turned around and sighed heavily. "Yes, it's true, but please do not tell anyone of this."
"We won't."
"Che. What happened to don't let your guard down?"
Oishi sighed and then smiled. He knew Echizen didn't mean to sound reprimanding. "It's love Echizen. You will know when you experience it."
"I guess that makes sense." Momoshiro slowly pondered. "But I wonder where they are now."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Yukimura had returned from the emergency meeting called by the King. He knew something was wrong when Tezuka, who was always early but never late, didn't show up.
It confused him.
Why would Tezuka leave his province when it needs him? He knew Tezuka was a responsible man and would never leave things unfinished unless something very urgent came up.
"Seiichi." The familiar voice called to him from behind and soon he felt arms circling his waist.
"Gen." Yukimura said softly.
Sanada frowned when he saw the contemplating look on Yukimura's face. "What's wrong?"
Yukimura sighed and leaned back. "Tezuka is missing and no one knows why." He turned around to look at Sanada. "Seriously Gen. I know Tezuka well enough. He wouldn't just leave without a word like that."
Sanada sighed and looked to the ground on the side.
"What's wrong Gen?" Yukimura cupped Sanada's face. He could see the hesitating look in Sanada's eyes when the man looked up. "You know something."
Sanada shook his head. "I'm just tired."
"Don't hide from me, Gen. I know you know something. It's like you knew Tezuka is missing before I told you."
Sanada sighed heavily and stood up, letting Yukimura's hands falling to his side.
Yukimura stood up and moved to stand in front of Tezuka. "Tell me. I worry for him."
Sanada nodded, albeit hesitantly. "He came to our Kingdom and took Fuji away."
Yukimura's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean…"
"Yes."
"Wow."
Sanada took Yukimura's hands into his.
Yukimura turned his gaze back on Sanada's face. "Gen, why didn't we think of this before?"
Sanada smiled and pulled Yukimura into an embrace. "Because we don't have their courage."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Wah~!" Fuji's eyes enlarged as he looked at the hectic life in the capital of Sarabia. People were everywhere, crowding every space on the streets. The noises and chatters vociferously filled the air.
Fuji excitedly moving his feet and pointing to things that caught his eyes.
Tezuka only chuckled and reached out to hold onto Fuji's wrist in case the shorter male got lost. "We need to get a place to stay first."
Fuji pouted but eventually listened to Tezuka.
All of the inns were packed with no vacancy left.
"Is it like this every day?" Fuji inquired the innkeeper of the last inn in the big city.
The woman in her mid-forty laughed. "It is not every day. It is because this upcoming Saturday is the youngest princess's birthday. Everyone is getting ready early to give her a big surprise. And the people take this chance to make it a festival."
"Oh~" Fuji cooed. He turned to Tezuka and spoke quietly. "Well, I guess we came at the wrong time."
Tezuka simply agreed with a nod. "There should be somewhere we can stay temporarily."
Fuji turned back to the innkeeper and rephrased what Tezuka just said. "By any chance, do you know a place where we can get a place to stay temporarily?"
The innkeeper tapped her temple with his fingers as she thought. "Well, the only place might be the temple in the south-eastern part of this city. Usually, they will take travelers in if they don't have a place to stay, but I'm not sure if they will let females stay in their temple overnight though. It's a policy."
After thanking the innkeeper for the information, Tezuka and Fuji left asked and headed for the temple using the directions that the innkeeper gave them.
"Can't believe she mistook me for a female again!" Fuji pouted.
Tezuka smiled and grabbed Fuji's hand. His other hand held the horse reign, leading it beside him.
"Big place, like a shrine." Fuji saw many people who were coming down the stairs with good luck charms in their hands. He marveled at the size of the temple once they were at the foot of the set of grand concrete stairs. "There must be over 100 steps."
"Yeah." Tezuka said. A few people who arrived after him used their wind power to transport themselves up the stairs. The rest who had no power had to walk up the stairs the harder way.
Fuji looked at them with envy.
"If you're not tired, we can walk." Tezuka offered. He didn't want offend Fuji's lost power.
Fuji widened his eyes. "I'm tired!" He didn't want to climb the stairs under the heat of the sun.
"Alright. Hold on a sec." Tezuka said and let go of Fuji's hand to lead his horse to the stable where the groom was standing.
After getting his horse checked in to one of the compartments, he took their baggage and fixed them on his back.
"Ready?" He looked at Fuji, who gave a nod in return. Unexpectedly, Tezuka lowered down and swooped Fuji off his feet, carrying his wife in bridal style and he boosted them up the stairs.
Once Tezuka's feet were back on the concrete, Fuji let out a breath of relief and blinked rapidly. That had scared his wits.
AN: This is a bonus chapter! I have had many people who asked me if this fic is going to be mpreg. And the answer is no, otherwise I'll put up a warning. I don't think many people would want to read another mpreg fic by me, so I'll postpone that idea. Anyways, hope this chapter makes up for the previous slow updates. Thank you those who reviewed and also silent readers.
And my last words: I wish you all a safe and happy weekend. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful to you readers for giving me inspirations to write, especially those who make themselves known by reviewing.
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