Saiou no Hana
BL
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Historical
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Drama
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BL | Historical | Drama |
Shion had been left completely alone in the world. He couldn't bear the thought of driving Kagamine away.
"There's no such place," he answered, reaching gently to take the youth's hand.
"No. I suppose there's not." Kagamine paused. "I'd follow you to the ends of the earth, Shion, and so if you object to me taking this with us-" He tossed it aside with a sigh. "I'll be happy to honor your wishes."
Shion watched it fall away with a strange heart-wrenching feeling.
That wasn't what he'd wanted at all.
The boy pulled Shion's body close against his shoulder, and together they awaited the dawn.
"Shion, wake up!"
He felt his eyelids quiver open. Kagamine's worried face frowned down at him.
"Are you all right? All of a sudden, you just started jerking and shaking and groaning-"
"I'm- fine. Just- a nightmare."
The boy's features took on an odd, determined set. "We're not leaving here today. Not with you in such a state."
Shion sighed, reaching up to stroke his hair. "I'll be okay, Kagamine. They're just dreams. They can't hurt me."
The youth vehemently shook his head. There was a wild, desperate look in his eyes. "It's a bad sign, having nightmares before you undertake a long and dangerous journey."
Shion smiled up at him. "I thought you didn't believe in omens."
"I don't. Not at all, but- I do believe in you."
"Kagamine-" Shion lifted his head and kissed him, a small and ultimately futile gesture of reassurance.
"I've always depended on my instinct," the boy murmured. "I'm not sure where it comes from, or why, but it's right more often than not, and at this particular moment, it's telling me that something is fundamentally wrong. That we shouldn't go."
"We can't stay here, Kagamine."
"You're really set on doing it anyway?"
Shion nodded gently. "It's nothing but anxiety. I've never even left the province before, and to be completely honest, the horses scare me."
Kagamine gave a light, half-hearted push to his shoulder. "Horses aren't scary. They're a samurai's best friend."
"But neither of us are anything remotely approaching a samurai."
The faintest glimmer of a smile attempted to show itself on Kagamine's face.
"We ought to eat something before we go," he suggested.
"Shouldn't we see to our provisions instead?"
The boy gestured towards the sack he'd left sitting behind them on the floor. "You're going to be absolutely sick of eating rice by the time our journey's over. Come have something else while you still can."
Shion just stared at the bag for a moment. Then he sighed.
"If we're ever forced to pay for the all the things you've stolen-"
Kagamine shrugged. "I would've eaten it all anyway, if I'd stayed behind like the daimyo wanted."
This youth was a little ruffian, albeit an adorable one. Shion supposed that, if he'd been orphaned as early as Kagamine, he might be far less opposed to this sort of needful theft.
"You must've been a charming child," Shion murmured quietly, closing the screen behind them. "I wonder that no one ever picked you up and took you home with them."
"Twins are considered unlucky, no matter how cute or how charming. Besides," he added shyly, "I never would've gone anywhere without my sister."
Shion reached for his hand, and the boy grinned at him. "I don't think there's anything unlucky about you, Kagamine."
"Well, I suppose you'd know."
Their steps wound downwards until they emerged in the open space below. Kagamine peered around the corner.
"That's strange," he murmured. "Toshi's not here-" He turned towards Shion with a worried frown. "Wait for me a moment."
Together they lifted the packs onto the horse's back, and Kagamine turned and kissed him.
"It's time to go," he breathed, a little anxiously. Shion gave him a reassuring smile.
He led the horse towards the gate, with Shion following close behind him. Kagamine seemed to be taking deep breaths, his back tense and stiff, as though readying himself for some conflict. By the time they reached the guard, he was nearly trembling-
"Toshi?," he breathed. "What are you-"
"I came to see you off on your grand adventure, and also to give you *this*-"
The young samurai handed him a small pouch, then quietly slipped a dagger out from his sleeve.
"But, Toshi-"
"Please take it. I cannot do much else to aid you and your courageous companion." He nodded to Shion. The disdain with which the young samurai had regarded him before seemed to have completely vanished. The youth paused for a moment. "I see you have Lord Kamui's horse."
Kagamine gave him a lopsided smile. "Of course. I have an important message to deliver."
"While you are delivering this message, take care. There will be bandits along the road, and I have reason to believe they may be better armed than one might expect."
Shion frowned at this, but Kagamine seemed completely undeterred. "Between the three of us," he boasted, with an affectionate pat to the horse's head, "we can get through any danger."
"He is a fine horse," Toshi admitted, smiling. "Ride well, my friend."
He clapped a fond hand to Kagamine's shoulder. It might have been Shion's imagination, but the boy beside him seemed to tear up a bit before collecting his composure. He nodded mutely.
"Come, Shion." Kagamine pulled at his hand. "The whole wide world awaits us."
The boy's enthusiasm was infectious. Even with all this talk of bandits, Shion left the fortress, smiling.
"I don't mean to alarm you, Shion, but it appears we're being followed."
Kagamine's voice was quiet as he led their horse along in an easy trot. They'd left the village behind them, heading north along the road. It was already further than Shion had ever ventured before, and the bamboo forest which surrounded them was entirely unfamiliar.
He pressed his forehead between Kagamine's shoulders. Feeling their slight movement as they swayed gently back and forth was comforting to him. Familiar, somehow.
All of a sudden, he started. This wasn't the first time- he'd done this-
"What's wrong? Did you hear something?"
He felt the body's body stiffen against him.
"No," Shion whispered.
One of Kagamine's hands moved to rummage around in his garments until he found what he was seeking and pressed it into Shion's fingers. His counterpart stared down at it in surprise.
"If anything happens to me, run, and take this with you."
"But, Kagamine-"
"I swore I would always protect you. I need to protect this, too. It's the most valuable thing I have on me."
Sudden flashes flickered through Shion's mind.
*Arguably the most valuable thing in this entire province.*
"No one outside the fortress knows of Kamui's passing, which means his seal could still be misused." The boy bent over to whisper something to their horse-
He remembered. He could see it.
"Kagamine," he breathed, "don't-"
"Someone's trailing us. I have to lose him." One of the boy's hands fell protectively over his forearms. "We're breaking in to a gallop, so hold on tightly, Shion."
But the danger wasn't behind them. It lay somewhere out there, in front-
The trees rushed past them, the air, the retreating light of the sun. It felt as though two worlds were meeting, blurring at their edges. Shion no longer knew to which one he belonged. All of it had somehow become equally unreal-
There was a shrill sound, like birdsong, only no such bird had ever existed. The boy's grip tightened on his arm, but Shion didn't feel it.
"What the-?"
That was all Kagamine had the time to say before Shion felt himself being thrown to the ground. The searing pain tearing at his back brought him crashing back into his body. The saturated earth was pooling with blood. His, or-?
Kamui's horse lay a few paces away from him. His forelegs lay a few paces further than that, having been sheared from his body completely. Shion fought back the urge to vomit.
Kagamine- where was he?
"It's useless. You're injured and outnumbered."
Someone's voice. A stranger.
"I don't care!," Kagamine spat out.
Shion saw him then. He must've been thrown from the horse as well, but somehow he'd managed to stagger back onto his feet. He was holding Toshi's dagger out before him, clutched tightly in his trembling hands.
"What do you think you're going to do with that?," someone else jeered.
"I'll kill every last one of you with it." He was trying to force the shakiness out of his voice.
Something cold fell against Shion's throat, and Kagamine stared at him with eyes gone wide with fear.
"You'll do no such thing. Now drop it."
Wordlessly, he complied, and someone else began laughing.
"Hatori is going to pay us handsomely for you, boy. You should've known better than to ever run from him."
The dagger didn't move from Shion's throat. He couldn't bear to meet Kagamine's eyes. He had failed, yet again-
"What do you want to do with this one?," whoever was holding it asked from behind him.
Someone crouched in front of Shion, lifting up his face. The man was younger than he'd expected. For some reason he reminded him of Kagamine. If Kamui hadn't found the orphan boy and taken him in- would he have resorted to this kind of thing as well?
"Check his back."
Someone pulled at him, causing the most excruciating sort of pain, but in another moment, Shion found himself sitting upright, staring into a set of bemused eyes.
"You're pretty enough, aren't you? Beaten, but not broken."
He kept silent as the man raised a hand to brush back his hair.
"Don't you dare touch him," Kagamine growled.
"Relax," the bandit called back over his shoulder. "I'm not interested. Others, however-" He gave Shion a singularly unpleasant little smirk, not really so different in form from Kagamine's, although its intention was far darker.
"We'll take him with us. It's possible we'll find a buyer among Lord Hatori's men, and if not-"
The man shrugged easily, rising to his feet.
"Bind him up, and take care not to injure his face. We'll camp here tonight and head back to the fortress tomorrow. Hatori's advance force should have arrived by the time we get there."
CHAPTER V
They kept Shion and Kagamine separated that night, going so far as to split the group into two camps. Their leader, whom the others called Amasu, seemed to appoint himself as Shion's personal guard. He found this infinitely strange, when the one they'd been searching for and who obviously held the most value for them was Kagamine.
"Here," the man murmured, passing along a piece of roasted meat. "It'll put a little color back in your cheeks."
Shion just stared down at it.
"Suit yourself," Amasu said with a shrug. "No sense in wasting good horsemeat."
Kamui's horse. The one they'd cut into several pieces while it was yet still alive. Shion leaned over and promptly emptied out the contents of his stomach, mostly bile.
The man casually passed over a jar of water. He sighed before taking it up in his still-bound hands and pouring it with some difficulty into his mouth as the bandit gave him an amused look.
"What were you doing out here with him, anyway? You don't seem like the kind of man who'd thrive on danger." Amasu grinned and shook his head. "Not like that reckless brat who fancies himself a samurai, riding around on a borrowed horse and waving a borrowed dagger. In truth, I think I rather like him." He sighed. "Perhaps I should've gone to see to him instead. It seems he's far more talkative than you are. Hasn't shut up since the moment we pulled him away."
"If I were to talk," Shion murmured, "I would ask how you know Lord Hatori's men will be coming tomorrow."
He was fully prepared to be beaten for this. What he was not prepared for was the sound of Amasu's vibrant laughter.
"You're a clever one, aren't you? My dull-witted companions shouldn't be left alone with the likes of you for even a moment." The man leaned in close towards him. "Hatori paid us to come here and cause a little trouble, even gave us weapons. Good ones, too." He shrugged. "I suppose he knew the boy would try to run away before he came to claim the province, so he promised to pay us for detaining him as well."
"But that means- he must have known-"
"About Kamui's death?" Amasu nodded. "I found it suspicious as well, almost as though the man himself was behind it." He tore off another huge chunk of meat with his teeth. "Not that it really matters to me, of course. After this little errand is accomplished, we'll take our money and go somewhere else." Amasu shook his head. "I really hope that someone will show you their favor. You'd be a terrible liability to travel with."
In other words, if no one wanted him- Shion was going to die, and this man was going to kill him.
"It's nothing personal, you understand. In fact, I like you just as much as the boy. You remind me of those people who were kind to me, once." For a moment, Amasu's face had a sort of far-away expression. Then he shook it off. "If I have to put an end to you, I'd prefer to think of it as showing a certain kind of mercy. This world wasn't made for either one of us, but I found a way to survive it."
"Amasu," Shion repeated. *To survive.*
The man gave him an encouraging look. "Perhaps you will as well."
Kagamine was led away from him without Shion ever glimpsing his face again.
A man named Yuma, who'd introduced himself as Hatori's first lieutenant, stood around with several other soldiers, perhaps ten or twelve of them in all, roughly equivalent in number to the company of bandits Amasu presided over.
"It seems that Kagamine was not the only one you brought us."
He felt the man's curious glance fall over him, staring hard at the ground as though he wished to bury himself in it. If no one took him in, someone else would accomplish that for him soon enough, Shion considered darkly.
"How much?"
The question surprised him. Shion stared up at the man in mute disbelief.
"Three hundred pieces," Amasu answered with a confident air.
Yuma shook his head. "That's too much. He's thin and frail, and you've no guarantee of his health."
The bandit bowed to him. "Two hundred fifty, then. I can assure you he'll serve your purposes well."
Several of the men laughed. Yuma himself seemed amused.
"Is anyone interested?" Yuma's voice again. His gaze swept across the assembly.
"Keeping a servant is expensive."
"None of us have that sort of money to toss around."
One of the men nudged at another's shoulder. "Not individually, perhaps, but if we were to pool our resources-"
That thought made Shion's face blanch utterly white with fear.
"I will give you five hundred gold coins for him."
All the murmuring hushed. Shion dared a glance in the voice's direction, knowing exactly who it was he'd find there.
Amasu laughed nervously. "That's far too much," he whispered, leaning in to Yuma's ear. "Can you vouch for his ability to pay?"
The samurai nodded slowly. "That boy is Lord Toshiwara's eldest son. His family is far wealthier than any one of ours."
The man glanced back towards Shion, who simply stood there, stunned speechless, staring out at Toshi's calm face.
"Is anyone willing to make a counter-offer?"
There was a grumbling, muttering chorus. Shion had been so certain no one would be willing to take him, but the fact they all seemed so desperate to have him now seemed not to bode very well for his future. And Toshi-
What in the world did the youth want with him, in order to be willing to pay such an extravagant price?
"Very well, then. I suppose he's yours, my lord."
Young Toshiwara approached him. Shion hadn't noticed it before, but he seemed to walk with a rather pronounced limp.
"I truly hoped I would never see you again, Shion."
He placed a heavy bag in Amasu's hand, which drooped with its weight. The bandit made a little gasp of delight. Toshiwara didn't bother looking at the man at all. Shion got the distinct impression he'd planned to do this before he and Kagamine had ever left the fortress behind.
"Lord Yuma, I humbly ask your permission to take him into the village. I will return alone at dusk."
The man watched him silently for a moment, then nodded.
"Toshiwara-" He paused. "Meet with me once you have returned. We must discuss arrangements for sending you home."
Toshi's face wavered for a moment.
"Of course, my lord."
He turned away without another word, and Shion followed behind him, still not understanding what had just happened to him in even the slightest way.
"Lord Toshiwara-"
"Toshi," the youth corrected quietly.
"Toshi, thank you. From the bottom of my heart."
The young samurai turned at last to glance behind him. Shion was bowing low, and the youth placed a hand on his shoulder with a sigh.
"You were dear to Kagamine, and to Kamui before him. I could not stand by and watch those men fight over you, as though you were nothing more than a scrap of meat someone had tossed from the table."
"Is that why we are going into the village, then, my lord?"
Toshi nodded. They began to walk once more. "I do not trust any of them, Shion. If I were whole, as I was once, no one could stand against me, but, as it is, with this ruined body-"
"I was not aware you had been injured." Toshiwara returned his gentle inquiry with silence. "I have some skill as a healer. Perhaps, if you would allow me to examine you-"
"Nothing can be done for me, Shion. It has been too long, and even if you could work some miracle and make me again able to fight, I have quite lost the will to do so." He shook his head. "My lord is dead, and I refuse to accept another."
Saying these words was equivalent to treason, but Toshiwara didn't seem at all hesitant to speak them. If he was willing to give up his ability to walk in order to avoid being forced into Lord Hatori's service, there must've been a convincing reason behind it.
"Those bandits," Shion murmured, "had the weapons you spoke of. Their leader, that man, Amasu, told me that Hatori supplied them."
Toshiwara turned towards him suddenly and drew a finger across Shion's lips.
"Not here," he urged. "Wait until we are someplace more private."
Shion nodded softly.
They continued several more paces. "Toshi," he whispered, "what do you want with me?"
The youth turned to gaze at him. His eyes held a thoughtful look.
"I only wished to save you from an unpleasant fate. I did not think to ask anything of you in return."
Shion could see that he was being absolutely honest. What he'd done- reminded him so much of Kagamine-
Slow tears rolled down his cheeks. Toshiwara sighed, then put an arm around his shoulder, drawing him close. The scent of his body was strangely familiar-
Lean in closer
Push him away