Mm...
So comfy.
So warm.
But a bit hard...?
Enju opened her eyes tiredly and let out a soft yawn. Something was blocking her view.
Her forehead was touching a certain hard surface.
What is it?
She backed away a little from the smooth, yet hard surface. She glanced up half-awake.
As long as she saw the white nagajuban, she gasped and let go of her arms from the boy's waist.
Niisama... Right... I.. I'm in niisama's room. B-b..but why is he this close to me...? And why was I circling his waist...?
This is... nothing but an embarrassment. I thought I was hugging a pillow. I even hugged it so tightly... I mean niisama.
"Enju."
"...!"
Enju's body reacted and jumped as she suddenly heard Chōjirō's voice. She backed away from him like a hamster and returned to the separate tatami bed, facing towards the opposite direction, a wall.
"Enju, I see you're awake."
"..."
I can feel niisama's eyes on me after hearing the sounds of blankets shifting.
"..."
"I see you sneaked into my room to sleep again."
This is embarrassing. I was... hugging him a while ago.
But I shouldn't ignore him... This is no good... I need to say something.
"G-good morning, niisama."
She spoke awkwardly... to the wall, but she thought it was loud enough for him to hear anyway.
"Aa, good morning, Enju."
But her embarrassment faded as Chōjirō didn't seem to mind at all. His tone was way too nonchalant, too calm... that it even made her feel sad.
He doesn't care. He doesn't care about things as trivial as that.
"We better get prepared for our morning training sessions."
Then I shouldn't feel this way too... but why am I feeling this nervous?
"Yes niisama."
I tried to answer as calm as he did.
"So how was the mission Chou-nii?"
Ennosuke asked casually as Chōjirō brought out a sack of shurikens for his disciples to practice ninjutsu.
"Aa, it went well."
"It's been four days! Chou-niisama!"
The youngest amongst his disciples, Kasumi, who was one year younger than Enju, exclaimed as she stood beside Enju.
"We were all worried about you Chou-niisama! Especially neesama..."
Kasumi looked up slowly, meeting her gaze.
"I'm sure Enju-neesama was worried sick about niisama yesterday! Kyara-neesama told me she didn't even eat dinner!"
Kasumi said innocently as she blinked her eyes at Enju a few times.
"K-Kasumi!"
Enju panicked.
"Yes Chōjirō-dono, Enju-sama went to sleep without finishing up her meals properly yesterday."
Gekkamaru reported to Chōjirō as if he was telling his parent one of his siblings had done something wrong.
"Gekkamaru... everyone... you all snitched on me."
Enju muttered to herself as she pouted at Gekkamaru's comment.
Chōjirō put down the training materials on the concrete ground as he finished setting up the equipment they needed. He then turned to Enju eventually.
"Enju, is that true?"
"N-niisama, I just didn't have an appetite..."
Enju averted all their funny gazes and looked down to the ground with slight embarrassment.
Needless to tell, everyone in the village knew she admired Chōjirō. Though that might not have been true to Chōjirō himself, he never knew－never paid enough attention to that－or, he pretended he didn't know anyway.
Niisama is going to scold me.
"Look me in the eye when you're answering, Enju."
Chōjirō spoke strictly as he looked at her with furrowed brows.
Niisama is mad...
Knowing that Chōjirō was waiting for her to look at him, Enju looked up from the ground gradually... she then met his eyes tensely.
"Having an appetite or not doesn't matter. If you don't eat your meals properly, you'll burn yourself out even before you've realised. You won't even be able to focus on your training then."
"But... niisama, s-see, I practiced the ninjutsu you taught me a lot... while you was away. I'm sure I can focus on my training! I can even show you now! If you want..."
"..."
...
Why is everyone looking at me like that...? As if I've said something wrong...
Niisama is sighing... he's walking towards my direction.
"Everyone, Enju and I will return to the village now. Do your usual warm ups for 15 minutes, then for another 40 minutes, start practicing throwing shurikens towards that wooden target stand I just set up there. After that, go grab some water and rest, return here to practice the different ninpou I taught you all, until Enju and I returned, clear?"
"Yes, Chou-nii!"
Answered all his disciples.
"Gekkamaru, make sure they're training and taking little breaks properly."
"Yes, Chōjirō-dono..."
"See you."
"W...ait! Chōjirō-dono!"
Gekkamaru called reluctantly. But eventually walked towards him, with an expression filled with worry.
"Gekkamaru, what is it?"
"Chōjirō-dono... Enju-sama was..."
Gekkamaru swallowed the rest of his sentence, thinking maybe it wasn't necessary to tell Chōjirō about the thing he had on his mind after all. Instead, he said...
"I'm worried about Enju-sama. She was feeling down lately... she tended to skip meals very often. Especially, when you was away. Chōjirō-dono..."
"Gekkamaru, no need to get in a sweat about that. I appreciate your concerns towards Enju. Don't worry, I'm now going to take good care of her. Now, go training."
Chōjiro smiled faintly at him as he patted his head, a simple appreciation towards Gekkamaru's effort of taking care of Enju, and always staying by her side... something he wouldn't do... or, couldn't do.
Chōjirō-dono...
He walked away.
Enju-sama was worried about you the past few days.
Enju-sama didn't smile much... when you was away.
Enju-sama is thinking about you all the time.
"I can accompany Enju-sama instead."
As much as I want to stay with Enju-sama at all times, even now... I didn't propose that to Chōjirō-dono.
Because I know...
...
Enju frowned as she saw Chōjirō patting Gekkamaru's head from afar, praising him for some reason.
...I should have been the one patted on the head by niisama.
The scene attracted her invidious attention. She pouted at the sight and hung her head. Looking down aimlessly at the grass...
Sometimes I wonder... what it is that I'm really pursuing. Why do I want to undertake a mission so much? Why do I even want to become a strong shinobi like niisama? Is it because I want to serve the village that badly?
More than one shadow was casted over the grass. Just next to my shorter one.
Eventually, I looked up. Somewhat embarrassed. During the last four days, I couldn't stop thinking about niisama. I missed him.
And now, I simply feel happy to be able to see him.
He's looking at me with a strict glare from his sharp green eyes, crossing his arms. That's how niisama is like when he's a teacher in front of his disciples.
...
"Enju, come."
"...Yes."
...
Why are we returning...? I thought I could prove niisama how well I've practiced the ninpou he taught me. And the special technique too... Now nothing's going well and I'm being scolded. How great.
Enju had lost count of the number of times she pouted, but she was displeased about the outcome.
Kasumi and Gekkamaru... If only they didn't tell niisama...!
"Enju, you're putting the cart before the horse."
Niisama starts walking forward, with me behind him.
"You need to eat your meals properly even when I'm away. That's one of the basic principles to become a strong shinobi."
Not wanting to be left behind, I quickly followed his footsteps. But... it feels a bit weird to walk side by side with him... What should I do now?
"I'm sorry, niisama."
But I don't want to be left behind.
"Did you not enjoy yesterday's meal? Or was you feverish?"
I just started walking. Slowly. But... I feel like my hand wants to hold onto something, just anything for me to follow niisama's pace.
"... I just didn't feel like eating it."
I think I want to... hold niisama's hand.
"Why?"
... Oh, now that I'm closer to him, I can see it more clearly, niisama's purple shinobi outfit is quite long... like a dress.
Enju thought as she walked closer to Chōjirō, behind his back.
"I felt lonely."
Young Enju simply replied to him whatever answer she had in her mind, without overthinking deeply.
The colour of the fabric isn't that sharp and doesn't attract me that much, but the length of niisama's shinobi outfit gains my attention, something for me to hold on... I think? I guess I'll go ahead and clutch that instead...
"..."
Niisama didn't reply to me after I told him I felt lonely.
Young Chōjirō stopped at a sudden and turned his head slowly, behind him. He then lowered his gaze, just to find his younger cousin clutching his clothes with one of her hands.
Eventually, his eyes rested on Enju's profile.
Enju felt strange whenever Chōjirō looked at her in the eye, as her niisama normally didn't really care about anything or anyone besides his missions.
As Chōjirō was looking at her, she thought his expression was emotionless as always, until she looked into his eyes deeply.
She realised. A kind of emotion was emitting from the eyes of her beloved niisama. But she couldn't quite tell what kind of emotion that was.
Fatigue? I knew it! Niisama is exhausted after the long mission!
Enju thought as she frowned at him in an adorable way.
But actually, that wasn't the case. Hidden inside his cold and emotionless glare, it was a tint of sadness, not fatigue.
He was staring at Enju with concern.
"A-are you tired from the mission...? Niisama?"
She asked bravely as she was still looking up at him with her large blue eyes, her right hand still holding tightly onto the hem of his long dress.
"No, a shinobi should be able to do that much."
He answered plainly. But his eyes full of concern had contradicted his stern tone of voice.
Lonely? When she has all her friends around her?
"Was the mission... fun?"
"..."
I thought she didn't feel this way. Well, but killing one's heart is one of the prominent factors to become a professional shinobi. I might as well even tell her loneliness is essential...
Though I have my doubts about Enju becoming a professional and emotionless shinobi. All due to her overly kind personality.
"Someday, I want to go on a mission with niisama too! I practiced a lot when you was away! I'll let you see how much I've improved, I've been practicing the special ninjutsu niisama taught me all the time!"
Young Enju smiled innocently as she enthusiastically spoke to the person she admired the most about her own progress in ninjutsu. Although slightly embarrassed, she felt happy when he looked at her in the eye, because whenever he focused on her profile, it made her feel like... he actually cared about her.
Chōjirō turned his head to the front and started walking again, with Enju clutching his clothes behind his back.
"That's nice, Enju. Your attitude is something to be praised."
Niisama praised me... But...
He isn't patting my head like how he just did with Gekkamaru a while ago.
"However..."
Niisama and I are walking into my estate. Father seems to be away today. There're just the two of us in the common room.
...!
I smell something delicious!
I didn't realise how hungry I was until the smell of tasty yakizakana flowed into my nostrils...
"Gruuuu..."
...
Such an embarrassing sound has escaped from my small stomach.
"..."
"...niisama."
Enju called out to him with innocence as she hung her head with a slight blush, still holding Chōjirō's clothes tightly with her right arm.
"I was right after all. You're starving, Enju."
"..."
"Ara~! Ohiisama! Chōjirō-sama! I see you've come to grab some food to fill up your stomach! Come! Here's a yakizakana I just grilled."
A certain villager, named Misa, spoke enthusiastically as she saw the young shinobi of their village coming towards the chabudai.
"Sit there, Enju."
Chōjirō sat in seiza under the chabudai as he ordered.
"Oh sorry... I just grilled one, I didn't know you two would be back from training so soon!"
"Oh, no. That's for Enju. One is enough, thank you for your concern."
Enju kneeled on a thin pillow under the chabudai, also sitting seiza across her cousin.
"Niisama, you brought me here to have food...?"
"Everyone grabbed their onigiri for breakfast already, but you went straight ahead to the training grounds after leaving my room and getting changed didn't you? You was the first one to arrive the training grounds this morning after all."
Enju hung her head down again and bit her lower lip as her reply.
"You need to take care of your own well-being. It's your responsibility."
Yes indeed... I was too excited to show niisama how successfully I can finally land on the ground with balance after the high jump. So I went to the training grounds without grabbing any breakfast...
"Kasumi though...! Her cooking skills have been improving dramatically! I bet she'd be such an excellent itamae-san in the future! Mufufufu..!"
Misa giggled as she brought out the one yakizakana she finished cooking on the chabudai.
"That's great to hear. Thank you for teaching Kasumi with patience, Misa-san."
"No problems at all! Chōjirō-sama! Ohiisama! See you then!"
"..."
"..."
Enju's gaze wandered back and forth nervously between the aromatic yakizakana on the chabudai and flinty niisama in front of her, making her fidget in her seat.
"You didn't only skip dinner yesterday, but you also skipped breakfast today too. You must be starving, aren't you? Now go ahead and dig in, Enju."
After hearing Enju's stomach growled before, Chōjirō thought it was no doubt she could eat a horse. But instead, she pouted at the food softly with a troubled expression.
"Enju, why are you not eating?"
Chōjirō's unrelenting aura made her even more tense than before.
"I think... niisama should eat instead. Niisama must be awfully exhausted after the long mission."
Enju pushed the dish towards Chōjirō timidly. Sounds of the friction moving between the plate and the table could be heard clearly in such quiet environment.
"... I see, you must be not liking yakizakana after all."
"...? Oh, no... I love it... I just... want niisama to eat-"
"Gruuuuuuuu..."
"in..stead..."
Enju's stomach growled at the yakizakana again.
...
"Enju."
"I'm not that hungry niisama! My stomach is just acting weird!"
Enju insisted as she pressed her hands on her stomach, as if preventing it to let out any more embarrassing sounds.
"Niisama needs to eat..."
She muttered with egg on her face as this was the second time her stomach growled in front of him.
Stupid tummy! Don't growl in front of niisama, you hear me?
She scolded her own stomach in heart as she thought it might have listened to her if she did that.
"You're strange... Enju..."
Chōjirō muttered as he picked up a portion of the fish with his chopsticks in front of him, making sure to remove the bones too.
Enju smiled at him seeing niisama eventually started to eat.
...No.
She thought he started to eat-
Until the fish had reached to her mouth instead.
She widened her big blue eyes and looked up at him in confusion as Chōjirō spoke softly.
"Open your mouth, Enju."
"..."
But she zipped her mouth even tighter.
"Enju, don't be stubborn."
His voice was stern as usual. But it was also mixed with gentleness, confusing Enju a little bit while seeing him holding the chopsticks in front of her, waiting for her to obediently follow his orders.
"..."
"Come. Aa..."
Chōjirō leaned in closer to her as he mouthed.
But his hair was in the way. So he tucked one of the sides of his short purple hair behind his ear, while the other side was still dangling in the air.
Enju's mouth loosened at the sight of her cousin.
Niisama looks so pretty.
If she didn't know him, she would have thought Brother Chōjirō was a girl.
Seeing Chōjirō opened his own mouth, and was that close to her, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't help herself but unconsciously followed niisama's mouth gestures as well.
"Aa..."
Chōjirō put the small portion of yakizakana inside her mouth softly and she immediately closed her mouth right after he fed her.
And swallowed the fish even without chewing.
"...!? Enju!!"
Shocked by her behaviour, Chōjirō stood up quickly in haste. He rushed towards her with a cup of water in one of his hands, his other grabbing her chin carefully, urging her to drink.
"Drink, Enju."
He ordered after she choked on the fish.
"Um...!"
Chōjirō wiped off the excessive water flowing out from the corners of her mouth with his right thumb after she stopped choking.
"...niisama."
Enju muttered as she shifted her gaze slightly downwards to the ground in shame, but her chin was still lifted up by niisama, as he was cleaning her face.
How much more embarrassing could I be? Whenever I'm in front of niisama, I'm always like this... Someday, niisama would be fed up with me. Because I'm so annoying to him.
"Um... Here you go. All clean now. Remember to chew your food before swallowing next time. No matter how hungry you are."
Chōjirō spoke flatly as he returned to his seat after wiping off the water from the corners of her mouth with his thumb, his black shinobi gloves still on.
Maybe his tone was too flat. As if all the concern and perturbation he just showed to her were a lie.
"I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble, niisama."
Enju's gaze was still on the ground as she apologised in embarrassment.
"Now finish up eating it."
Chōjirō looked at her straightly as he spoke with strictness, pushing the dish towards Enju as he planned to feed her again.
However, a pair of small hands stopped his action. They pushed the plate back towards him again on the other end of the plate.
"Please... I want niisama to eat too. I want us to eat together."
Said Enju as she bravely looked at him in the eye this time, but her gaze was wavering slightly.
"I already ate onigiri for breakfast this morning."
"But niisama, I know you're tired. You need more food and lots of rest to replenish the lost energy from your body too. So please eat more."
"Enju..."
"We can share, niisama."
Enju picked up a portion of the fish with her chopsticks, just like how Chōjirō did before.
"I'll feed niisama too."
Said Enju as she put the food in front of his mouth with an innocent smile, simply hoping her niisama would eat.
"En-"
"Niisama, say Aaaa..."
"Enju.."
Oh.
"Aaaa...?"
I attempted to feed niisama again as I mouthed, hoping he would follow me too. Just like how he did before.
Niisama is... Mm...?
What kind of expression is niisama making now?
Young Enju found it somewhat funny and tilted her head slightly to the side as Chōjirō revealed an expression she rarely saw.
An expression with slight bewilderment and shock.
"Niisama, what's wrong?"
But turned into a very soft smile eventually.
Chōjirō didn't realise himself, but he was happy at that moment somehow. So he smiled unconsciously.
Seeing his smile, Enju lifted up the corners of her mouth even more as she started moving her chopsticks closer to his mouth.
"Oh... nothing... bu-"
He was about to resist when-
Enju pushed her chopsticks towards his lips with her little strength, forcing them to part.
"...!"
Didn't expect that, Chōjirō had no choice but to greet the portion of yakizakana she fed him－ filled with tiny scattered fish bones inside the meat.
"!!"
Feeling the slightly sharp texture of the thin fish bones, he couldn't help but make a grimace of pain－ only for a second.
Not wanting to disappoint young Enju, he quickly chewed the bones into pieces while ignoring the slight pain scratching the insides of his mouth. He then smiled at her softly. Very softly.
"Niisama finally ate!"
Enju showed him an assured smile, feeling so relieved to see niisama ate properly.
Getting slightly elated, she closed her eyes in front of him and opened her mouth this time.
"Niisama, feed me again."
She was smiling with slight embarrassment, but innocently, and happily...
"Aa..."
Chōjirō replied reluctantly as the shock he received before still hadn't entirely gone.
"...Open your mouth then, Enju."
...
I can feel the heat on my cheeks again. Well it's a hot weather after all so... I guess it's not something surprising.
Enju thought as she opened her mouth obediently.
They ended up taking turns to feed each other with their chopsticks.
－With Enju smiled sheepishly all the way.
And Chōjirō was always fed with fish bones.
Author's note
Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Chapter 4 is on its way and I'm excited to write more about Enju and Chōjirō!
Thank you for reading!
PS. Inspired by the official scene where Enju and Chōjirō were in the inn after Chōjirō was poisoned. Hanzo ordered two dishes for them but they were sharing one together...! How cute!
(Hanzo was mama in Chōjirō's route)