Wasted Nights chapter 6

[yun_miyake]

 Title: Wasted Nights

Pairing: 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.

Betaed by  ladygiggles thanks so much for always helping me with the grammar errors. 

 

Tokkaido route was the main road created by Tokugawa shogunate to link Edo and Kyoto. It had 53 stations in total and it needed 17 days to reach Kyoto in perfect weather. Ohno’s trip, however, would be ended in Osaka. If everything went as planned, they would reach their destination within 15 days.

They would travel on foot since the horses couldn’t stand the cold air and there would be some route in which they needed to cross the river. They only brought minimum luggage with them so it wouldn’t weigh them down in the end. It had been a while for Ohno to leave Edo, his last travel to Kyoto was around five years ago. He led the group with Jun right behind him. Ninomiya, Aiba, and Sakurai were walking a few steps further behind them.

Ohno knew that Jun was disappoint with his decision, from the appointment of Ninomiya and his choice to bring Aiba and Sakurai along. It was unusual to bring samurai who were not the official member of Edo troop in a mission like this. But Sakurai and Aiba had better fighting skill; their strength was equal to three samurai all together. Ohno didn’t need to worry of losing the battle, should the rebellion groups attack them on their way.  

Ohno recalled the battle of Sekigahara. He was there, taking a part in the battle. He was still 18 back then, but Lord Yoshino had already included him in the main troops. It was the day he wanted to forget the most in his entire life. There was blood everywhere, dead bodies, remains of human bodies, screams from the injured person, and the spooky atmosphere in the air.

Ohno suffered broken bones on his right shoulder, but he didn’t realize it until the battle was over. He trained his left hand to use sword during the three-month-period when he couldn’t use his right hand. As he turned 20, his skill in using double sword had already spread across Edo castle. Lord Yoshinao summoned him and commanded him to stay at his private quarters where Ohno could train all he liked. That was also the time when he was introduced to Kabuki theater.

For 15 years since Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu came into power, the peaceful era was spread across Japan. There were no more conflicts between daimyos, thanked to the Sankin-kotai system where the daimyo had to travel to Edo and spent the whole year there before returning to their respective place. Ohno knew there were still a small number of Toyotomi’s supporters that denied Tokugawa shogunate, but those groups were decreasing in number for the recent years since more and more daimyo swore their allegiance to the shogun.

He had heard that those groups had been conducting guerilla movement; disguising as kabuki players, farmers, travelers, or even samurai. But as the time went by, they began to realize that their movement had no advantage. There was no way to bring back Toyotomi clan into power with most of the daimyos stayed loyal to the shogun. The only motive which still trigger them was the desire to revenge for their family or their friends’ death during Sekigahara battle.  

Ohno’s mind returned to the present time; he glanced at Jun who looked very cold in his travelling cloak. He turned his head behind, seeing Ninomiya, Aiba, and Sakurai walk in silence. They would soon reach Nihonbashi station, the first station from Edo castle.

“We’ll take our first stop at Nihonbashi,” Ohno told Jun who conveyed the message to the other three.

They entered a teashop, trying not to attract attention, but it was impossible. Everyone’s eyes were on them as they entered the shop, their appearance as samurai was very obvious.

“Samurai from Edo,” Ohno heard one of the visitors told his friend in a loud whisper.

They sat separately; Ohno, Ninomiya, and Sakurai were at one table, meanwhile Jun and Aiba at the other. Ohno mentioned their order and waited in awkward silence; he particularly never talked face to face with Sakurai. The man was looking outside, seemed in deep thought. Ninomiya, meanwhile was looking around the room as if checking someone he probably knew.

“Why did you choose me to become a part of your travel companion?” Sakurai asked all of a sudden. He shifted his gaze to Ohno, his jaw hardened.

“You have more advance skill,” Ohno answered shortly.

“I never got any impression that you admit my skill,” Sakurai said with low voice.

“Sho-san, it’s an honor to travel with Ohno-san. He values your skill more than you knew,” Ninomiya chirped in with a smile on his lips.

Sakurai inhaled a deep breath and didn’t say anything until they left Nihonbashi. Ninomiya walked beside Ohno this time, telling him that Sakurai was too stubborn and that he actually a nice person. Ohno was half-listening, he didn’t care if Sakurai hated him, their safe travel to Osaka was his priority right now. Sakurai was bounded to his obligation to serve him for now, he couldn’t just leave, no matter how he hated to be in this pack.

The darkness had come when they finally reached the outer part of Edo. They spent the night nearby Kawasaki Station, in an old inn belonged to a woman whose appearance looked fierce. The room where they slept was large enough to occupy five of them. Sakurai took the corner which was the farthest from Ohno. They ate dinner in silence and went to sleep not long after; all of them were too tired to stay awake for too long.

From Kawasaki, they continued their trip to Kanagawa. The freezing air blew their face as they walked along the road which located right next to the sea. Ninomiya shivered coldly, so did Aiba. They grinded their teeth and walked while lowering their body to minimize the impact of the cold wind.

“We can’t continue, we’ll die from coldness,” Sakurai said. His lips turned purple from the cold, but he still stood strongly.

“He’s right, Ohno-san. We need to take cover from this wind,” Jun chirped in.

“Alright, we’ll take a rest as soon as we find teashop,” Ohno said, fastening his traveling cloak.

Nino approached closer and walked closely beside him. He hid his hands inside his traveling cloak, trying to block the cold.

“Are you alright?” Ohno asked. It was their first conversation since they left Edo. Ohno couldn’t erase the feeling that Sakurai always frowned in dislike every time he and Ninomiya together. If his guess was right, he had just gotten himself into a more complicated stuff than what he expected.

Since he became a samurai, Ohno had refrained himself from relations which would attach him to somebody. He had been trying to put his highest loyalty to Edo, to the shogunate. But the kissing incident with Ninomiya at his dojo had torn down his principle. For the first time in his life, he desired someone to be at his side. As one of the greatest samurais in Edo, it wasn’t hard for him to get a partner. The daughters from the daimyo would be more than happy to become his wife. But Ohno wasn’t interested in women and he knew it since the very beginning. Having Jun by his side all the time didn’t help him either. Jun was good looking, loyal, and would die for him, but Ohno’s feeling for him wasn’t romantic, it was more like brothers.

With Ninomiya, everything was different. The man showed something like ‘grab me now or never’, a strange thing which had attracted Ohno to him.

“I’m fine,” Ninomiya replied, smiling weakly at him.

They found a cramped teashop and entered. There was only one table left, but the visitors stood immediately when they spotted the swords on their waist.

Ohno took a seat on the tatami and he was glad that Ninomiya chose to sit next to him. The shop owner approached them and asked their order with the utmost politeness.

“You must be very cold,” Ohno said, grabbing Ninomiya’s cold hands to his lap and rubbed them to make them warmer. Ninomiya’s face blushed, but Ohno didn’t let go. He kept on squishing Ninomiya’s hand until the shop owner came with five cups of hot tea.

“We shouldn’t travel in winter,” Jun said, sipping his tea carefully. His nose was reddened from the cold wind outside.

“Our daimyo loves travelling in winter,” Aiba replied. “He always says that winter brings him good luck,” he chuckled dryly.

“I love winter, too,” Ninomiya said. “You know, it’s easier to steal in winter…”

Sakurai coughed and gave Ninomiya a meaningful gaze.

“Steal?” Ohno asked.

“Oh, I mean, it’s easier to stay chill in winter, avoiding fights,” Ninomiya grinned awkwardly.

“Your muscles will be freezing in this coldness,” Sakurai chirped in, glancing shortly at Ohno before sipping his own tea.

“You’re right,” Ninomiya answered, avoiding Ohno’s eyes on purpose.

Ohno looked back and forth from Ninomiya to Sakurai; he was sure that they hid something. Sakurai’s expression was firm, Ninomiya meanwhile showed an ignorant attitude.

They decided to stay over at the nearest inn since the wind had become stronger and it would be impossible to continue their trip in this condition. They got two rooms, one for Ohno and Jun and the other one for Sakurai, Ninomiya, and Aiba.

Ohno was returning from the bathroom when he heard Sakurai and Ninomiya spoke in low voice beyond the closing door, but their voice could be heard clearly.

“Be careful, Nino. Don’t slip on your words,” Sakurai said.

“Don’t worry too much, Sho-san. I can make up stories, you know,” Ninomiya answered lightly.

“Listen. I know that Ohno-san has an eye on you,” Sakurai said with an obvious bitterness in his voice. “But it doesn’t mean he will forgive everything you do.”

“You forgave me,” Ninomiya said.

Silence followed.

“I shouldn’t have taken you to Edo,” Sakurai said after a long pause.

“That again. Are you worried that my skill will be better than yours after intensive training in Edo?”

“You’re hiding something from me,” Sakurai’s voice went higher. “It seems that you were already very good in using sword, even before joining the training in Edo.”

“What if I did?” Ninomiya replied calmly. “Are you going to tell everyone who I really am? Go ahead, Sho-san.”

Ohno gulped. Did he put his trust to a wrong person? Like what Jun had told him? His weird interest to Ninomiya had blinded him from his logic. He tried to listen again, but Sakurai and Ninomiya’s voice was no longer heard.

He returned to his chamber, finding Jun who was still wide awake. Jun was extremely silent for the rest of the journey; he didn’t try to hide his dislike towards Ninomiya – just like how Sakurai didn’t try to hide his dislike towards him. Ohno felt that he had made a huge mistake by appointing these men to travel with him. He thought that the journey would unite them, but now he had to realize he had made a wrong calculation.

“You’d better take some rest,” Ohno said to his underling.

“I have a hunch that someone is following us,” Jun said in a tiny voice.

“Don’t worry too much, Jun-kun. Nobody knows about our trip, except Lord Yoshinao and Kotaki,” Ohno replied.

“Does anyone know that you took part in Sekigahara battle?” Jun asked. It was the first time he showed an interest on Ohno’s involvement in the battle.

“Only a few people,” Ohno said.

“Do you remember how many people you’ve killed in that battle?” Jun asked, stepped closer to Ohno, revealing their height difference even clearer.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Ohno shook his head. He never counted how many people he had killed for his entire life as samurai. He was trained to be fearless since he was a child; before Edo period began, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill people he didn’t like, but this peaceful time had changed something in him.

“I’m sorry,” Jun apologized. “I just…I’m being a paranoid. I’m afraid that someone is targeting you because you’ve killed their comrade in that battle. Toyotomi’s supporters are still swarming out there, they might recognize you and…”

Ohno patted Jun’s shoulder in a friendly way, “Everything will be alright, you’ve imagined things, Jun, a samurai never afraid of death, remember that.”

“I know, but as your underling, I don’t want you to die in a pathetic death.”

“Thank you for your concern,” Ohno smiled at the taller man. He tried to get some sleep, but he couldn’t close his eyes. He thought of Ninomiya and Sakurai’s conversation which he had overheard.

What should he do about Ninomiya? The selfish side of him wanted the man to stay close to him; perhaps appointing him as his sandal bearer like Jun. But the more logic side told him that he should investigate more about Ninomiya’s background.

Ohno rose off of his futon and walked outside. The cold air swept his skin; he didn’t expect to find Ninomiya at the veranda, looking up to the dark sky, hands crossed over his chest.

“Too cold to sleep?” Ohno asked.

The man turned around and flashed a weak smile at Ohno – he nodded.

“Have you been to Osaka before?” Ohno asked again.

“A long time ago, when I was younger,” Ninomiya replied.

Ohno stepped closer to him; it had been a while since he kissed Ninomiya in his dojo.

“Cold?” he asked.

Ninomiya nodded, letting Ohno pull him into an embrace. He had forgotten his intention to find Ninomiya’s background as he held the man in his arms. It seemed that Ninomiya possessed some kind of magic power which could pull Ohno to him. He leaned closer, capturing Ninomiya’s lips – they were cold, but they still drunken Ohno in the best way possible.

They didn’t care how cold the air was, all that mattered was Ninomiya in his arm. The man replied the kiss, his hand caressed Ohno’s skin, his lips produced a soft groan that made Ohno shiver – a shiver which had nothing to do with the coldness.

“Let’s move to somewhere warmer,” Ohno whispered.

Ninomiya nodded; they found an empty log which located outside of the main building. They tried not to make any sound when they undressed each other quickly. Ohno had no time to consider whether it was right or wrong. There was no guarantee that they could get a better chance next time, it was better to grab it now, while they could.

Ohno had done sex with boys a few times before and from the way Ninomiya moved, he knew that the man was also experienced enough. They couldn’t do a full course in this coldness or they would freeze to death. They came in each other’s hand, panting hard as if they had just finished a sprint.

“It’s been a while,” Ninomiya whispered.

The embarrassment was clearly painted in his face, but he managed to give Ohno a satisfying smile.

“You’re so beautiful,” Ohno said, leaning closer and giving Ninomiya another kiss on his lips.

“Thank you, Ohchan,” he replied.

Ohno smiled wider; he caressed Ninomiya’s cheek, tracing his jaw and leaning closer once again. When they returned to Edo, he would make Ninomiya as one of his underlings so they could stay close to each other as much as they wanted. A true samurai shouldn’t have sex inside a dirty log, but Ohno wasn’t a soldier at the moment, he was just an ordinary man in love.

He had thrown his self-pride as an honorable samurai for this Ninomiya. A man he barely knew, yet, he had already caught Ohno’s heart.

***

They continued their journey in a very slow pace for the next few days. The strong wind had stopped, the air was still freezing, but they got good weather for the rest of the week. Ninomiya stayed close to Ohno all the time which was clearly annoyed Jun and Sakurai. The only person who wasn’t affected by the gloomy atmosphere between them was Aiba. He commented on every single thing they found on their way, even though none of them was enthusiastic enough to reply to his monologue.

They reached Kanaya station on their sixth day; it was where they needed to cross the river to the next station. Two samurai from Ochi clan would accompany their trip. They welcomed Ohno in great respect and prepared dinner for them prior to their departure.

Ohno never guessed that night would be the last time they enjoyed a peaceful journey.

The five of them shared a large room with five warm futons. It was Ohno’s self-policy that he slept with swords still on his kimono belt when he shared a room with other persons, regardless they were his underlings.

“Have a nice rest, Ohno-san,” one of their companions bowed at Ohno while closing the sliding door.

Ohno approached his own futon between Aiba and Ninomiya; he hadn’t had good sleep for nights due to the severe coldness and the obligation to stay alert. But tonight, they were inside the Ochi clan’s territory which was very loyal to Edogawa shogunate, nothing would attack them here and with that, Ohno finally drifted to sleep.

***

It was his best chance; once they crossed the river, everything would be too late.

Nino opened his eyes, he could barely see inside the dark room, but he knew exactly what to do. He slowly pushed himself off of the futon and woke Aiba up. The latter was wide awake; they nodded at each other and moved without sound.

Nino fished a knife from his kimono sleeve; he was ready to kill if one of the sleeping men awake. He took the naginata sword from Ohno’s belt carefully and turned at Aiba. They didn’t need to kill tonight, their task was to draw the details map of Edo castle, the number of troops, the hidden gates, and the weakest point. Stealing the naginata was optional, but Nino couldn’t leave the possession of Toyotomi in the hands of Edo samurai.

“Quick!” Aiba said quietly.

With the last glance at Ohno, he followed Aiba’s steps towards the door. Two samurai welcomed there and the four of them ran into the darkness. They would be heading to the temporary headquarters to convey the report.

They ran as fast as they could; the darkness and coldness accompanied their steps. Nino’s chest was hurt, but there was no time for them to stop. Ohno could awake anytime and knowing how good the man was, Nino was sure that he could catch them up if they slowed their steps down. He was torn between guiltiness and the obligation to accomplish his task.

He had been a member of Toyotomi supporter since he was fifteen, disguising himself as a thief. If he was lucky enough, he would be able to overhear the information from the samurai he passed by. For years, he had tried to approach samurai by stealing from them, but whether he was too skilled or the samurai was too stupid, that nobody had ever took him seriously, until he found Sho.

It was a gamble, though. Sho could have killed him in the process, but once again, the faith had sided with him. Sho liked him and Nino knew how to make advantage of it. He pretended to be an innocent and suffering thief who had no choice but to steal in order to live. Sho trusted him and brought him to Edo, just like what Nino had planned.

In Edo, he met with Aiba, a samurai of Mogami clan who was also a member of Toyotomi rebellion group. Nino’s skill in swords had caught Ohno’s attention and the rest was history – the Akatsuki captain was in love with him. The latest part was not in Nino’s plan; he shouldn’t have let himself involve in any love stories. Everything seemed more complicated because Sho was also had a crush on him.

He had no time to be in love, but at the same time, he couldn’t deny Ohno.

If only they met in another circumstance, perhaps everything would have been so different.

More than once, he had thought to give up on the mission, but he couldn’t just throw away his dedication to Toyotomi. He had been working so hard for years, it would be a waste if he stopped now.

“Keep running!” he heard Aiba’s voice.

“Do you think the sword is a big deal?” Nino asked Aiba while panting hardly.

“Of course, if it’s not, they wouldn’t travel that far just to hand over that sword,” Aiba answered.

They finally slowed down when the dawn came. They changed their clothes to worn out kimono and wore a cloth around their head to hide their chonmage. Nino clutched the naginata sword in his left hand; it was covered in an ugly fabric. They would meet their group leader nearby mountain Nokogiri, from there, they would arrange strategy on how to infiltrate Edo castle. Their purpose was to kill the Edo troops, as many as they could. It would be a suicide mission, but they wanted to convey the message that Toyotomi supporters were still active and still lived in the most hidden part of society.   

Nino looked up to the clear morning sky, wondering how was Ohno’s reaction when he realized that Nino and Aiba had disappeared, along with the naginata sword. Nino convinced himself that they would never meet again, but he had no regret. He had given up himself that night to the captain, it was a beautiful memory that he could bring to his grave.

He followed Aiba’s steps, their way would be rough from now on. There was nothing but death that waited for them.

***

Fifteen years ago

Injured and hungry, Nino dragged his feet towards the woods, away from the battlefield. The cold wind swept his skin; bringing the scent of death to his nose. Most of the samurai from western area were dead; Nino didn’t know what happened to his comrades from the same troop, they separated in the middle of the battle. The eastern samurai outnumbered them within no time; they slaughtered their enemy like grass on their way.

Nino winced as he felt the pain from his fresh wound; there was a huge slash on his shoulder, blood still poured from it. He saw the other survivors of the battle, one of them still had an arrow stabbed into their back. Tokugawa forces had killed most of Toyotomi’s samurai; including Nino’s friends. He had no time to grief for them; Tokugawa troops would have killed him if he stayed any longer in the battlefield.

He walked far enough and made sure that nobody followed him. He took a rest under a tree while taking care of his wound by wrapping it with the fabric he tore apart from his kimono. He looked at the dark sky above; he would die eventually here either from hunger or blood deficiency.

He was too young to die, there were still many things that he wanted to achieve, he hadn’t been to Kyoto, he hadn’t fallen in love, he hadn’t become a fine samurai. He closed his eyes, trying to forget the pain on his shoulder but it was impossible.

Nino heard footsteps approached him. Maybe it was someone from Tokugawa troops who was tasked to chase for the remain of Toyotomi’s forces.

“Oi, open your eyes!” a heavy voice was heard.

“He’s heavily wounded,” another voice said.

Nino opened his eyes and saw two men; they wore kacchu* with Toyotomi symbol.

“Let’s go away from here if you want to live,” they said to Nino while helping him to stand.

He did what they said. He didn’t want to die – not now. He wanted to take revenge to Tokugawa troops, no matter how long it took.

For the last fifteen years, Nino had been training very hard, particularly in using swords. He was left-handed that it was difficult for him to use the usual sword which was made only for the right-handed samurai. He had trained harder than anyone, preparing himself to fight the Tokugawa samurai when the time came.

Two men who saved him – Sakamoto and Inohara introduced him to the hidden group who still supported Toyotomi clan when he turned twenty. He had become the prominent spy for them, using his miserable look. Nino didn’t really remember how he had become so skilled in stealing; he needed the money for the group, to purchase weapon and the other necessities.

His grandfather had taught him that he had to stay loyal to Toyotomi clan, no matter what happened. Their defeat in Sekigahara didn’t mean that their spirit had lost. Toyotomi’s supporters still considered that Tokugawa Ieyasu wasn’t a proper leader for Japan. Rebellion was important to teach them a lesson.

***

“Nino, are you alright?” Aiba asked him.

“I’m okay, Aiba-san.”

“That Ohno-san, he loves you, doesn’t he?” Aiba said as they climbed the path to the mountain.

“Probably,” Nino shrugged.

“It must be hard, having a crush on your enemy,” Aiba replied. “I don’t blame you, he’s charming after all.”

“I just entertained myself,” Nino answered. “Nothing more.”

It wasn’t the honest answer, but Nino couldn’t think of other words to describe his feelings. He didn’t plan to fall in love with Ohno; it just happened as if it was part of his journey. It was a huge mistake and he knew that, but he couldn’t control himself when Ohno was around. He wished he could tell Ohno that his feeling for him – unlike everything he had done – wasn’t a lie.

It was too late; there was no way back for him at the moment.

To be continued

 .