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Wasted Nights last chapter
Sep. 23rd, 2019 09:39 amPairing: Sakumiya/Ohmiya
Length: Chapters
Genre: Romance, Historical, Violence
Rating: Up to NC 17
Disclaimer: Only a borrower of their names
Summary: In the beginning of Edo period, the best samurai from different clans were expected to join training in Edo, led by the Shogun’s most trusted swordsman. The peaceful era of Edo, however, was still haunted by the survivors of Sekigahara Battle from Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s troops. Sho was chosen to join the training in Edo and he must select one of his underlings to travel with him. But nobody was qualified enough to accompany him, until one day, he encountered someone he never expected.
Note: Triangle love story and a violence, mention of blood.
Ohno couldn’t believe what had happened. He was furious over his own clumsiness; he didn’t know which one was worse, losing the naginata or being betrayed by Ninomiya. He trusted the man and more than that, he loved him. He unleashed his anger by cutting all of sakura branches at the front yard; Jun, meanwhile stayed quiet, watching him from afar. Jun had warned him about Ninomiya, but Ohno was too naïve to listen, he let himself fall deeper for the man and now he had to accept the consequences.
It was even more surprising that Aiba also disappeared. Both of them involved in the same thing, either they were part of samurai clan that against the Tokugawa Shogunate or paid spies from the supporter groups of Toyotomi. They got help from Ochi clan to escape last night; it explained why there were only four samurai in this building, they had been waiting for Ohno’s arrival, they had planned all of this beforehand.
Ohno kicked the bonsai in front of him; he had never failed in a mission, losing the naginata along with two samurai was the biggest failure in his career as the most trustee underling under Lord Yoshinao.
He summoned Sakurai; he was the one who brought Ninomiya to Edo. What puzzled Ohno was why Sakurai didn’t go together with Ninomiya and Aiba. Were there any possibilities that Mito clan turned against the shogunate? Or Sakurai, like Ohno knew nothing about Ninomiya?
“Tell me what you know about Ninomiya,” Ohno said.
Sakurai didn’t answer, he looked down to his knee, his fist tightened.
“Sakurai-san, answer him!” Jun shouted from Ohno’s side. “Your comrade from Mito-clan has stolen the valuable sword which belong to Lord Yoshinao. It’s a serious crime.”
Sakurai lifted his head and unexpectedly smiled. “He’s not from Mito,” he said.
“He’s not? Then why is he traveling with you?” Jun asked.
“He was a former thief; that’s all I know,” Sakurai said with a weak grin on his lips.
“You have brought a thief into the Edo castle,” Ohno hissed, looking at the man before him with disbelief look. “Do you know what it means for you and the whole Mito clan?”
“Mito clan has nothing to do with it,” Sakurai replied, finally meeting Ohno’s gaze. “It was all in me. I was the one who recommended him to travel with me. All you need to do is punishing me instead of Mito clan, Ohno-san.”
Ohno closed his eyes for a while. The one who deserved to be punished was himself, for trusting Ninomiya so deeply. He must take the sword back; it was an important treasure of Lord Yoshinao, the Lord would lose his face if Ohno failed in delivering the sword to Osaka.
“Why did you take him with you?” Jun asked again. “Regardless that you have known he was a thief.”
“I have the same reason with Ohno-san,” Sakurai answered with confident in his voice. His eyes locked at Ohno as if challenging him to say something. “I fell in love with him. But I’m not as lucky as Ohno-san, Nino didn’t love me in return.”
“Enough with this nonsense, we don’t want to hear about your love story,” Jun cut him.
“Tell that to your lord,” Sakurai said to Jun.
“Enough!” Ohno rose off the tatami floor. He didn’t want to discuss his feelings to Ninomiya with Sakurai or Jun. They had more urgent task to do right now – getting the sword back. “I’ll deal with you later on, Sakurai. For now, you need to cooperate with me to find Ninomiya.”
Sakurai frowned; it was obvious that he didn’t want to lend Ohno a hand, but he was attached to his duty as a Mito samurai whose loyalty was given to Edogawa shogunate.
“Yes, Ohno-san,” he answered with a clear hesitation in his voice.
Ohno had two options in his mind: sending Jun back to Edo to report to Lord Yoshinao about the incident meanwhile he and Sakurai chased Ninomiya or the three of them went back to Edo castle to seek for reinforcement. Ninomiya could be anywhere and in order to find him, they needed assistance from the daimyo all over Japan. If Sakurai’s story about Ninomiya’s background was right, it meant the guy was not just an ordinary thief, what kind of criminal could master a perfect sword technique?
Hours had passed since Ninomiya and Aiba’s disappearance. Ohno knew he must take immediate action, but his heart told him to calm down. It would be reckless if the three of them chased Ninomiya and Aiba without reinforcement. They had no idea what was Ninomiya and Aiba’s motive; they probably were the paid samurai for certain clan that against Edogawa shogunate or perhaps they were a part of Toyotomi’s rebellion groups. If the latter was the case, Ohno must be ready to receive punishment from Lord Yoshinao. He had given too much access for Ninomiya and Aiba. Ninomiya, in particular had known every nook and cranny of the castle.
Was that the real reason behind Ninomiya’s sudden appearance inside Ohno’s private quarters without permission?
Ohno heaved a deep sigh; it was a huge mistake. He was too naïve, too weak, too loose; as a samurai, he had forgotten his own principal. It was because he couldn’t control himself when Ninomiya was around; he let his feelings took over his logic and now what left for him was a deep regret.
“Ohno-san.”
He heard Jun’s voice from his side; he knew that Jun would blame him for everything. Jun had warned him a couple of times, but Ohno was too stubborn to listen.
“We’ll return to Edo and report the truth to Lord Yoshinao,” Ohno said firmly. “I’ll take a full responsibility; you have nothing to do with it.”
“I’m your underling,” Jun protested. “Your responsibility will be mine as well.”
Ohno shifted his gaze to Jun, he didn’t know what kind of punishment the Lord would give them for losing the precious naginata sword under their nose. Aside from the sword, Ohno was also responsible for letting Ninomiya join the training without a proper background check.
“The Lord will probably command me to commit seppuku after making such a shameful mistake. I can’t let you die for my mistake,” he said to the taller man.
“We’ll never know, you’re the Lord’s favorite,” Jun replied, but Ohno could sense that he doubted his own words as he spoke. “We have to find Ninomiya and Aiba as soon as we can. I have a hunch that their disappearance will endanger Edo castle.”
“If that’s the case, I will not commit seppuku before finishing them with my own hands,” Ohno said, gripping the handle of his sword. He was the one who trained Ninomiya the double technique swords; the man was good, but his skill wasn’t enough to defeat him.
“Get your belongings, we’ll depart tonight,” Ohno commanded. Both Jun and Sakurai moved to their own luggage; they left the building and headed east towards the Edo. The air was freezing, but they had no time to take a rest. Ohno tried not to think of Ninomiya; the man’s warm breaths against his skin, the man’s mild lips, the man’s fingers that touched his bare chest.
He was a criminal, Ohno told himself. Ninomiya was someone who against the shogunate and for that, there was no other choice than killing him.
***
The trip back to Edo took five days. The three of them were exhausted, but there was no way to take a rest, they had to inform the lord as soon as they could. Jun and Sakurai were silent during the trip; they drowned in their own thoughts and only exchanged words when they took a brief break and divided some food between them.
They entered Edo territory and couldn’t help but feeling anxious, particularly Ohno. He had thought about the possibility of Ninomiya’s involvement in Toyotomi’s supporter groups; it was hard to link the man with the group, but from Sho’s explanation that he was actually a thief, everything seemed related. Ninomiya probably was a high skilled perpetrator whose ability was to intrude to the enemy’s nest, just like what he did back then to Ohno’s personal quarters.
“Nothing suspicious so far,” Jun said, spreading his sight around. “Everyone will be panic if something happens in the castle,” he continued.
“Let’s hope that nothing will happen,” Ohno replied, glancing left and right. He had a bad hunch that someone was following them along the way. If Ninomiya or Aiba planned to murder them, they shouldn’t have waited until they reached Edo territory, it would be easier to finish them when they were far away from Edo – far from reinforcement.
The gate of Edo castle was already in their vision when they realized that something wasn’t right. Smoke soared above the castle; screams were heard from the surrounding area. As they walked closer, the arrows came from the direction of the castle and landed right in front of their feet.
“We’re late,” Ohno said, drawing his swords from the scabbard and ran towards the burning castle without thinking twice.
He didn’t know who was behind the attack, but there was no better explanation than the involvement of Ninomiya and Aiba in this. They probably had already informed their comrades about the entrances which were not fully guarded around the castle and given Ninomiya’s skill in fighting, Ohno was convinced that the members of Toyotomi’s supporter groups also possessed high combating skill. Defeating the guards at the entrance of the castle perhaps wasn’t a big deal for them.
The anger, nervousness, regret, and other mixing emotions rushed into Ohno’s head as he ran along the path of the castle while knocking down a few enemies who blocked his way. He didn’t dare to imagine how much damage these intruders had caused. He didn’t know how many members they had; Edo government never seriously considered them as a threat, but today’s attack had proven how wrong they were.
The attackers had made some damage on the building by firing the arrows with fire; the dry air of winter had helped them to burn faster. Ohno found some dead bodies along the path with arrow stabbed to their throat or huge slash from swords on their stomach. It had been fifteen years since he saw this kind of devastating scene, he had never dreamed of seeing it again in the peaceful era of Edo.
“Protect the main castle!” someone shouted from afar.
The samurai troops of Edo were in chaos; nobody predicted that they would be attacked all of a sudden in under the daylight. Ohno ran towards the direction of Lord Yoshinao’s personal residence on the eastern part of the castle, he met no enemy along his way. Perhaps, the attackers’ main goal was to kill the shogun first to shorten the story afterwards.
Ohno almost reached the building when he saw Kotaki was running towards him. His face showed a panic expression and he spoke quickly to Ohno.
“Lord Yoshinao is in the main castle. All of high rank samurais are gathered there, the attackers know exactly what’s going on here.”
“What the hell,” Ohno turned around and ran to the main castle now, with Kotaki right behind him.
“Why are you here?” Kotaki asked. “You’re supposed to be in Osaka by now.”
“Something happened,” Ohno answered briefly. “It’s not the right time to talk about it. We have to protect the shogun and our lord!”
“Do you have any idea who’s behind this?”
“I don’t know,” Ohno replied, but he was sure that the groups behind this attack was Toyotomi’s supporters. They had been planning all of this – very carefully.
The situation around the main castle was horribly chaotic; the attackers had already made their way into the great meeting hall where all of high-ranked samurai gathered. Ohno knocked two attackers as he ran towards the building which was full of combating pairs. It was obvious that the fighting skill of Edo troops had declined for the past decade; they were blinded by the peaceful era that they didn’t bother to upgrade their skill.
They were defeated by the three attackers whose swords ability was beyond good. Their face was covered by mask; their helmet and the color of their armor had explained that they were Toyotomi remained troops. One of them saw Ohno and without hesitation began to attack him. Their swords clashed, Ohno could see the dark eyes beyond the mask and knew the person was smiling at him.
“You’re good,” the muffled voice said.
“What do you want?” Ohno asked, pushing forward and tried to knock his opponent down, but he was strong enough to encounter it.
“We want to kill the shogun,” the man answered lightly. “We want to take revenge of our defeat during Sekigahara battle.”
“You know it’s impossible,” Ohno said, swinging his sword in his left hand to the man’s neck. The mask broke when the man’s head hit the ground, revealing a face of middle-aged man. He wasn’t dead yet, he looked at Ohno’s face and smirked.
“Our best samurai have already reached the inner part of the castle, your shogun is no longer safe,” the man said with a satisfaction on his face.
Ohno didn’t waste more time, he ran quickly towards the inner circle of the castle building. The place was already half-burned, the smoke blocked his sight, he tried his best to keep his eyes open and saw a silhouette of a man came to his direction. Ohno held his swords high and ready to attack when he recognized Sakurai’s figure in front of him.
“Nino is one of them,” Sakurai said briefly to Ohno. “Are you going to kill him?”
Ohno’s grip around the handle of his sword tightened as he heard what Sakurai said. He had prepared himself for the fact that Ninomiya was his enemy, but hearing it for real still made his blood rustle uncomfortably. He didn’t answer the man’s question and walked through the smoky corridor towards the meeting chamber. His eyes were teary, but he could still see clearly. He saw a man with a mask covering his face; he was standing tough in the middle of the chamber; all of his opponents were sprawling on the floor.
Ohno knew the figure too well; he didn’t need to unmask the man to recognize him.
“Ninomiya,” he whispered between his breaths.
The man turned around, taking off his mask and throwing it onto the floor.
“Long time no see, Ohchan,” he said with a smile on his lips.
Ohno’s eyes glanced at Ninomiya’s waist, the naginata sword wasn’t there.
“Don’t worry, I’ll never use that vintage sword in a battle. It’s too precious,” Ninomiya seemed to know what was Ohno thinking about.
“What do you want?” Ohno gripped his sword tighter, he was ready to attack Ninomiya at any time.
“It’s obvious, I want this shogunate to end,” he answered calmly. “Sekigahara battle didn’t mean Toyotomi clan was over.”
Ohno laughed bitterly. “Do you think your poor rebellion group will be able to end this shogunate? You’re dreaming!”
“Just wait and see,” Ninomiya hissed, running towards Ohno with his sword held up high. The latter was ready to encounter the attack; Ninomiya’s style in fighting was familiar to him after all. But this time, he couldn’t show any mercy to the other man.
Their sword clashed, their feet kicked each other, trying to send the other to the ground. The fire around them was getting bigger, sending unbearable hot air to them, but it was not their concern right now. What matter the most was killing the opponent in front of them. It felt unbelievable for Ohno that the man he wanted to kill at the moment was the man he loved until a few days ago.
His left hand reached for Ninomiya’s shoulder and with full force he slammed the man onto the floor; his sword in his right hand was ready to stab the man’s chest. Ninomiya smiled at him, the same smile he gave Ohno on those nights they spent together on their way to Osaka. Ohno had no choice, his country was more important than this man’s life, he stabbed the sword into Ninomiya’s body, but at the same time, he felt something on his back. He missed Ninomiya’s chest and hit the man’s shoulder instead of his chest. He turned around and saw Sakurai with a sword in his hands.
“Let him go!” he said, holding his sword above his head, ready to give Ohno another blow.
Ohno felt a sharp pain on his back, he had no armor with him, he would die if Sakurai stabbed him once again. But it seemed that Sakurai had no intention to send him to death, he helped Ninomiya to get off the floor and left the battlefield. Ohno saw them disappearing between the flame; his sight turned blurry as the pain spread to the other parts of his body. He tried to stand, but his wound was deep enough to keep him on the ground. He closed his eyes; it was the right punishment for his stupidity.
He heard noises, but the sound was getting further from him or he was the one who drew further from it. This building would disappear with the flame along with his body. No one would know that he was here; maybe it was better this way. His consciousness faded away, no more pain, no more anger, no more sadness, everything was at peace.
***
The rebellion of Toyotomi supporter groups had spread a huge shock to the entire Edo. No high-ranked samurai was killed during the chaos, but the castle suffered a catastrophic damage. Most of the suspects were killed during the battle, meanwhile the survivors would be executed. Tokugawa Ieyasu had commanded a strict investigation to all of the daimyos whether they were linked to the rebellion or not.
Mito clan was summoned immediately after the attack due to the involvement of their two samurai. Those said samurai, however, had disappeared. Many believed they were dead during the battle, but some people assumed they were on the run.
Jun had just finished explained everything to Lord Yoshinao, but he tried not to mention Ohno’s closeness with Ninomiya. He gave his objective opinion that Ninomiya was indeed good in using swords, that was why Ohno was drawn to him. He returned to Ohno’s chamber, wondering what would happen to the man.
He was the one who found Ohno; bleeding and on the verge of death at the almost-collapsed-hall in the main castle. Ohno hadn’t regained consciousness since Jun found him three days ago; the healer had done his best to take care of the man’s wound; what made Ohno’s condition even worse was the smoke he inhaled.
Jun somehow, could guess what had happened in the hall. He saw two figures limping forward exited the burning hall, but because he was facing two other rebellions, he could do nothing to stop them. He was glad that Ohno was still alive, but also worry at the same time on what kind of punishment he would receive. As Ohno’s underling, it was Jun’s obligation to accompany his lord and to accept the same punishment with the man.
It was a stupid mistake to let someone from the enemy side to enter their inner circle. Jun had a bad hunch about Ninomiya, but he had not enough evidence to prove that the man was not as innocence as he looked. If only he could do that earlier, none of this could have happened.
Ohno stirred and groaned in pain. Jun came to him immediately, touching Ohno’s forehead to check on his temperature. The skin under his touch was still burning, he changed the wet towel on the man’s forehead and waited on the bed side, but Ohno’s eyes were still closing tightly with no sign of waking up.
The man finally gained his consciousness a few hours later when it was close to midnight. Jun and the healer stayed beside him until the morning came. Ohno still needed a couple of days until he was able to talk and the first thing, he asked Jun was, “Why am I still alive?”
“Your duty is not over yet, Ohno-san,” Jun replied.
“The lord will behead me anyway,” Ohno mumbled.
“He hasn’t decided the punishment, so forget it until you’re fully recover,” Jun brought the mug to Ohno’s mouth, forcing him to drink the medicine. “Drink, it will make you feel better.”
The man did as he said. He spread his sight around with grimacing face as if trying to recollect his memories from three days ago.
“The castle is safe,” Jun said, reading Ohno’s mind. “Every suspect is in custody now, most of them died, though.”
Ohno nodded. Jun knew that he wanted to ask about Ninomiya and Sakurai, but the man stayed silent and Jun wasn’t that heartless to raise the topic which would hurt Ohno at the moment. He would tell the man about those two when everything settled down.
“What should I do now?” Ohno asked with a sad tone.
“Get some rest,” Jun said, giving his lord a soft smile. He knew that Ohno’s mind must be in chaos at the moment, he was a samurai with a clean track record and always accomplished the assigned mission successfully. It was his first biggest failure during his whole career at Edo castle.
***
It took around two weeks for Ohno to recover from his wound; he hadn’t fully recovered yet, but he was strong enough to walk outside of his room.
Lord Yoshinao hadn’t summoned them yet. Ohno never left his quarters, he busied himself by reading the reports of the attack which were sent to them a few days ago. He didn’t talk much; so, Jun mostly had a monologue for the whole two weeks. He stayed by Ohno’s side all the time, afraid that the man would do something stupid if he was left alone in the chamber.
He was telling Ohno about a little incident at the kitchen when Kotaki entered the chamber. His left hand was covered in bandage and hang hopelessly to his neck.
“Lord Yoshinao summons both of you to his chamber,” Kotaki said with a gloomy face. Jun never saw the man with such expression before, Kotaki always smiled and sometimes talked too loud for their liking.
“Alright,” Ohno said, rising slowly from the floor. He gave Jun a meaningful look before following Kotaki towards the exit.
None of them spoke when they walked along the corridor towards Lord Yoshinao’s place. Kotaki didn’t explain anything to them, he guided them in silence. Jun knew that Ohno had prepared for the worst, he didn’t dare to imagine what would happen to the man after this. Ninomiya incident was Ohno’s first mistake since he was appointed as the most-trusted samurai for the Lord. Was it enough to punish him by commanding him to commit seppuku?
The Lord was waiting for them in his chamber, Jun and Ohno took their seat on the tatami and bowed lowly to the man.
“I’m glad you’ve recovered, Satoshi,” the Lord spoke.
“Thank you, my Lord,” Ohno answered, head still bowing.
“What happened at Edo castle was an incident, it’s not your fault, so don’t blame yourself,” the Lord continued.
Jun lifted his head and turned to his right side, to Ohno whose face showed a deep regret.
“I should have done a more proper check, I trust people too easily,” Ohno said with a trembling voice. “I’m ready to accept your punishment, whatever it is, but please spare Jun-kun, he has nothing to do with it. He had warned me all the time, but I ignored him. I was the one who caused all of this.”
“Don’t be stupid, Ohno-san,” Jun said, looking back and forth from Ohno and Lord Yoshinao. “I’m attached to him forever, let me accept your punishment as well, my Lord.”
The Lord’s dark eyes swept them; a slight smile appeared on his lips. “You’re so lucky, Satoshi. Jun shows you unconditional loyalty,” he said while taking something from his left side, a roll of parchment. “The decision for both of you is not on me, regardless that you serve under my command. The higher rank samurai have decided your punishment and it was written on this parchment.”
Jun could hear Ohno’s deep breath, waiting for the Lord to read what was written on the parchment in his hands.
“The Bakufu has decided that Ohno Satoshi will serve as a keeper of Takeda castle in Hyogo. His departure will be in the beginning of spring,” the Lord put down the parchment and looked at both of them.
Keeping a castle far away from Edo was never on Jun’s prediction, but it was better than seppuku. He heaved a relieve breath and looked at Ohno; the man’s expression was unreadable.
“Thank you, my Lord,” Ohno bowed.
“Don’t see it as an exile,” Lord Yoshinao said. “Takeda castle is considered as a place above clouds, much better than Edo,” he continued.
Jun and Ohno thanked the Lord once again and left his chamber.
“I’ll find information on that castle,” Jun said as they arrived at their private quarters.
“Thanks, Jun-kun,” Ohno replied with rather a gloomy face. Jun knew that it must be very disappointing for Ohno to spend the rest of his carrier in the mountain. He was a great samurai; it would be such a waste if he had no chance to prove his skill. “I’m glad you’re with me,” he continued, giving Jun a friendly pat on his shoulder.
Jun watched the man as he walked to his room; he had no regrets following Ohno, not mentioning that they would spend their days in the mountain, far away from Edo, far away from civilization. But maybe it was for the best to both of them.
***
Spring had begun; the extreme cold had gone little by little, replaced by warmer weather – not warm enough but it was more convenient than the endless coldness. The warm weather arrived earlier at the southern part of Japan and that was where Sho and Nino lived.
They spent almost three months on the way, trying to find a place far enough from Edo. Nino was heavily wounded, his left hand never came back to normal since the Edo castle incident, but thankfully, he didn’t suffer any other permanent damage.
They avoided talking about the incident; the word ‘Edo’ was kind of taboo for them. They never mentioned Ohno’s name either. They pretended that the joint training never happened as well as the life they once had before that.
Nino worked as a street magician which was surprisingly popular enough among the people. Sho, meanwhile became a teacher at the school for farmer families. They completely threw their status as samurai since that day. Sho still dreamed about the incident; he would see Ohno stabbed Nino to death over and over again; it would wake him up in the middle of the night. He would check on Nino, making sure that he was alright.
Sho knew that Nino still couldn’t get over Ohno, no matter how he pretended that he had moved on. Sho was patient, tough. If Nino didn’t open up his heart for him, at least, they could spend their time as friends and it would be good enough for him.
“Look what I’ve got, a letter from Aiba-san,” Nino said when Sho arrived at their hut.
“Aiba? How did he find us?” Sho asked, taking the letter from Nino’s hand.
“Through one of my fans,” Nino said, grinning. “The guy who watched me playing magic trick yesterday was apparently a member of Toyotomi’s troops. He still remembered me, even though I didn’t know him. He’s on the run as well and he knew where Aiba-san was.”
“What a coincidence,” Sho said, sitting down on the floor while reading Aiba’s letter.
“He’s in Chiba, working at a teashop?” Sho rolled his eyes. “That’s so close to Edo, is he insane?”
That was the first time in months for Sho to mention Edo, he looked at Nino’s expression and was ready to apologize when Nino smiled.
“I know, what a weird guy,” Nino said, chuckling.
They laughed together, imagining how Aiba looked in an apron, serving his customers. Their life had changed dramatically, but Sho had no regrets. He heard from people on the street about what happened in Edo after the rebellion. The shogun had reformed the rules and tighten the security around the castle. No more joint training; instead, they focused more on economic development. Sho, however, kept the information to himself, their life had nothing to do with the Bakufu anymore, it was another life in the past, something they would never be able to return to.
***
Five years had passed since the rebellion, since Ohno and Jun left the capital and started their new life at Takeda castle. It was hard at the beginning, but with the bushido spirit inside their soul, they managed to enjoy their new days on top of the mountain.
Ohno had developed his new ability in painting. He would wake up early in the morning to sit down at the veranda, drawing the mist in the canvas. He still trained every now and then to keep his strength and Jun was more than glad to accompany him.
“It’s our fifth spring,” Jun said, looking at the morning light on the eastern sky.
“Time flies,” Ohno replied shortly, continuing his drawing which was nearly finished.
“Another beautiful panorama,” Jun commented, looking at the canvas. Ohno had painted countless paintings for the last three years; a few of them were sent to Edo as gifts to Lord Yoshinao.
“You know, somehow, I’m grateful to be sent here,” Ohno murmured. “It’s not a punishment, but more as a reward for me,” he put down the brush and turned at Jun. “Would you accompany me for a walk today?”
“With pleasure,” Jun said, rising off of the floor.
They walked side by side towards the line of sakura trees just beside of the castle. The beauty of the spring in the morning was beyond words. Jun looked up to the blossoming sakura, feeling grateful that he still be able to accompany Ohno up until today.
“Edo era is peaceful,” Ohno muttered.
“You’re right, just like our life here,” Jun replied, smiling to the man beside him.
The End
