[ZoSan Fanfiction] Saving You [chapter 2]
There's nothing but clouds - all white and calming. He felt his body was light like a feather, floating over those soft clouds. He didn’t know why he was floating. Maybe that was the end of the young swordsman. It must be that - his mind was at peace, he could barely hear or feel his heartbeats and his body never felt calmer. His breathing was light, barely could be heard. He opened his eyes and let out a sigh, calming his soul even more.
Looking up was nothing, just pure whiteness; just clouds, moving slowly and making all the worries drift from the young man. Suddenly, a shining star fell from the clouds, passing the swordsman’s face. It was a small, star-shaped snowflake, and one by one, many snowflakes fell from the puffy soft clouds. The swordsman noticed them and turned his head. Snow fell past his face and continued to fall down. He turned around, to face to world below him. He was still up in the clouds but on his thought, they moved away, showing him the big and wide field, slowly becoming white from the falling snow. On that field he saw a person, swinging around with something. He quickly realized - it was him! But, it was him from when he was still a little kid, swinging around with the bamboo swords, trying to get stronger. The young man smiled at the view, remembering the old days - no matter the weather, whether it rained and wind blew like crazy, or was it sunny with no clouds, or if it snowed heavily, he would always go out and practice his swordsmanship to get stronger for the future.
Snow was clearing up and the field became green with wild flowers appearing here and there. The nice spring breeze was blowing, making the grass and the leaves rustle. The sight of the beautiful and untouched nature was overwhelming, simply breathtaking.
The young swordsman that was freely floating in midair came closer to the field, wanting to see his young self, aimlessly trying the new moves with his wooden sword. Soon, another person came to the field, this time a young girl. She was also wielding a bamboo sword, challenging the little kid to a duel. They fought with pure joy in their eyes. They really enjoyed themselves, making the already grown up swordsman wanting to go back in time and do all of those kiddy stuff again.
Suddenly, he felt someone grabbing his left hand, making him flinch and look at that person. He looked down and saw that same little girl that was practicing with his young self on the field. She smiled at him, her warm smile wrapping around his heart. He smiled back and held her hand tightly. They looked back at the two kids having a practice match in front of them. The gentle memories flew back to swordsman’s mind, making it all nostalgic for him.
A young girl that was holding his hand poked him gently, making the swordsman look at her again. Her smile widened and she pulled out the white katana behind her back. She let go of swordsman’s hand to give him the white katana. He smiled back at her and accepted the gift with both hands, politely and how it should be - full of respect. She kept her smile and stepped away from her friend. The girl waved to the swordsman and started running from him, laughing happily. The young man reached out his hand but his legs couldn’t move, he couldn’t go after her.
A sharp and piercing sound came up; making the swordsman shut his eyes and his ears. As soon as the sound muted, he slowly opened his eyes but only to find himself in dark. For some reason, he was back to be in his child form.
It was night and he was in a dark room. Outside, a big storm was letting it all out. Thunder was striking and rain hit the wooden walls with the hard wind making everything fiercer. The young swordsman quickly recognized where he was - he was standing in his old dojo, where he would practice for hours, not giving in to the pain. The night he was just experiencing resembled “that night”. As he remembered it clearly and recognized the time and place, the young swordsman shifted his gaze in front of him.
There, in the center of the dojo was standing a tall black figure. It held a long katana whose blade shone on the full moon moonlight. It was covered in blood which slowly slid and drip off the blade. Swordsman’s eyes widen, his breath muted and his heart skipped a beat. He was once again frightened, like he was on “that night”, 10 years ago. In front of that black silhouette were two human bodies, lying in a pond of blood. A thunder stuck again, lightening on the horrible scene. Swordsman started shivering in fear, holding onto his friend’s dear katana he received as a gift. He recognized the bodies - it was his dear friend, a young girl who always practice with him, and her father.
“Zo…” a girl lifted her head, trying to call out for her best friend. But the boy just stood there, unable to move a bit.
The assassin with a bloody katana noticed the boy and turned to him. He shook off his katana to get rid of the blood that was on it. The young swordsman took a step back and held the white katana more tightly against him. The assassin was coming closer by the second and the boy couldn’t move anymore. His body was swallowed by the fear. The black assassin jumped and in a flash came to the boy, swinging his katana, ready to attack. The blade of the sword shone brightly on the moonlight and in an instant slashed in front of the boy’s face.
He opened his eyes, panting heavily. A sharp pain came across his chest, reminding him that the wound was still fresh. Discarding the pain, he tried to sit up, but that only resulted with more pain in his chest. That caustic pain stroke again, making the red stains on the bandages, wrapped around swordsman’s chest, to become redder and wider. The swordsman noticed that he’s wounds were treated, his chest bandaged and that he was in the futon. But, he really didn’t have time to worry about those little things. He looked around the room he was in, searching for his treasured belonging.
‘It’s not here… It’s all empty! Where is it?! Where is it?!’
His thoughts were screaming but no matter how much he turned and looked around, he saw nothing but a wooden walls and paper door, shoji. The young man stood up, pain striking again. His legs felt numb and tired, his whole body hurt so terribly much, he could barely stand it. He had to find it! He had to find his friend’s memento! By any means necessary, he couldn’t lose it!
He went to the door and slid it swiftly. That move of his left arm sent another instant pain in his chest wound that was coming from his left side of the chest and went all the way across and to his bottom right side of the stomach.
His panting stopped as his eyes met with the world from the outside the shoji doors. It was a clear sunny day, nothing like that rainy and dark day he was pursued. A light breeze spread across the beautiful garden. Autumn was a season with golden themed colors, with every shade present. The golden to orange leaves were all over the ground and that weak wind barely moved them. The birds that stayed home chirped happily, giving more to the beautiful scenery.
But, the swordsman couldn’t enjoy the view forever - he had to find the thing he was looking for! When the pain from his wound calmed down, he continued to walk and search. He ran over the veranda as fast as he could but the pain got back fast, making the swordsman fall on his knees. It was a great fall, making a loud sound and silencing the birds in the trees.
The swordsman started panting again, trying to bear with the pain. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
‘I can’t stop now… I must… I must find it!’
“Tch…” the short sound came above the wounded swordsman, followed with a long sigh. The young man opened his eyes to look up but he still couldn’t see it all clearly; his vision was still blurry, his strength still didn’t come back.
“You wake up and start running already? What kind of an idiot are you?! I can’t carry you to bed again, you know.” the same voice spoke up again. All that swordsman saw was someone, wearing a kimono… with golden hair? But, he couldn’t keep it up anymore - he fainted on the unknown veranda, on the sunny autumn day.
“Damn… this guy is such a pain…” the mysterious golden-haired being said, looking down at the stubborn man in front of his feet.
…
The same situation, the same dream… the same ending - the blade flashed in front of his face, making him wake up out of that nightmare with sweat build up on his forehead. When he woke up this time, the pain in his chest wasn’t so harsh; it hurt less than that other time. He also noticed that the bandages were replaced with the new ones, wrapped more tightly around his chest. He sat up, looking around the room - he was in the same futon, sleeping on the same tatami floor, in the same empty room. And that reminded him! He needs to look for his treasure! He closed his kimono and slid the door to the side.
It was, again, a nice and sunny autumn day with birds chirping and a bit chilly wind blowing, blowing away the golden, red and orange maple leaves. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking but… There was something else on that veranda… not something, but someone!
Sitting on the edge of the veranda was a human-like figure, dressed in a beautiful very light orange kimono with orange to golden ginko leaves printed on it. The leaves seemed more like they were painted on that kimono, using watercolor paint and delicate brushes. The hair of the being was golden, making him look really magical. That person was like painted on the picture, having such a beautiful hair, wearing that beautiful attire, surrounded by a beautiful nature, beautiful colors of the autumn.
“A human?” a swordsman said to himself but the person heard him as his ears wiggled to the sound of other voice.
The person let out a puff of smoke and turned his head to look at the swordsman. He was holding a red pipe with golden flower on it and golden beginning and the end. He frowned at the sight of the young swordsman but still didn’t move. His other two features made the swordsman change his mind, widen his eyes and slightly open his mouth.
“A fox?” the swordsman said with a same tone as before, a sound of small bells ringing filled his ears.
Looking up was nothing, just pure whiteness; just clouds, moving slowly and making all the worries drift from the young man. Suddenly, a shining star fell from the clouds, passing the swordsman’s face. It was a small, star-shaped snowflake, and one by one, many snowflakes fell from the puffy soft clouds. The swordsman noticed them and turned his head. Snow fell past his face and continued to fall down. He turned around, to face to world below him. He was still up in the clouds but on his thought, they moved away, showing him the big and wide field, slowly becoming white from the falling snow. On that field he saw a person, swinging around with something. He quickly realized - it was him! But, it was him from when he was still a little kid, swinging around with the bamboo swords, trying to get stronger. The young man smiled at the view, remembering the old days - no matter the weather, whether it rained and wind blew like crazy, or was it sunny with no clouds, or if it snowed heavily, he would always go out and practice his swordsmanship to get stronger for the future.
Snow was clearing up and the field became green with wild flowers appearing here and there. The nice spring breeze was blowing, making the grass and the leaves rustle. The sight of the beautiful and untouched nature was overwhelming, simply breathtaking.
The young swordsman that was freely floating in midair came closer to the field, wanting to see his young self, aimlessly trying the new moves with his wooden sword. Soon, another person came to the field, this time a young girl. She was also wielding a bamboo sword, challenging the little kid to a duel. They fought with pure joy in their eyes. They really enjoyed themselves, making the already grown up swordsman wanting to go back in time and do all of those kiddy stuff again.
Suddenly, he felt someone grabbing his left hand, making him flinch and look at that person. He looked down and saw that same little girl that was practicing with his young self on the field. She smiled at him, her warm smile wrapping around his heart. He smiled back and held her hand tightly. They looked back at the two kids having a practice match in front of them. The gentle memories flew back to swordsman’s mind, making it all nostalgic for him.
A young girl that was holding his hand poked him gently, making the swordsman look at her again. Her smile widened and she pulled out the white katana behind her back. She let go of swordsman’s hand to give him the white katana. He smiled back at her and accepted the gift with both hands, politely and how it should be - full of respect. She kept her smile and stepped away from her friend. The girl waved to the swordsman and started running from him, laughing happily. The young man reached out his hand but his legs couldn’t move, he couldn’t go after her.
A sharp and piercing sound came up; making the swordsman shut his eyes and his ears. As soon as the sound muted, he slowly opened his eyes but only to find himself in dark. For some reason, he was back to be in his child form.
It was night and he was in a dark room. Outside, a big storm was letting it all out. Thunder was striking and rain hit the wooden walls with the hard wind making everything fiercer. The young swordsman quickly recognized where he was - he was standing in his old dojo, where he would practice for hours, not giving in to the pain. The night he was just experiencing resembled “that night”. As he remembered it clearly and recognized the time and place, the young swordsman shifted his gaze in front of him.
There, in the center of the dojo was standing a tall black figure. It held a long katana whose blade shone on the full moon moonlight. It was covered in blood which slowly slid and drip off the blade. Swordsman’s eyes widen, his breath muted and his heart skipped a beat. He was once again frightened, like he was on “that night”, 10 years ago. In front of that black silhouette were two human bodies, lying in a pond of blood. A thunder stuck again, lightening on the horrible scene. Swordsman started shivering in fear, holding onto his friend’s dear katana he received as a gift. He recognized the bodies - it was his dear friend, a young girl who always practice with him, and her father.
“Zo…” a girl lifted her head, trying to call out for her best friend. But the boy just stood there, unable to move a bit.
The assassin with a bloody katana noticed the boy and turned to him. He shook off his katana to get rid of the blood that was on it. The young swordsman took a step back and held the white katana more tightly against him. The assassin was coming closer by the second and the boy couldn’t move anymore. His body was swallowed by the fear. The black assassin jumped and in a flash came to the boy, swinging his katana, ready to attack. The blade of the sword shone brightly on the moonlight and in an instant slashed in front of the boy’s face.
He opened his eyes, panting heavily. A sharp pain came across his chest, reminding him that the wound was still fresh. Discarding the pain, he tried to sit up, but that only resulted with more pain in his chest. That caustic pain stroke again, making the red stains on the bandages, wrapped around swordsman’s chest, to become redder and wider. The swordsman noticed that he’s wounds were treated, his chest bandaged and that he was in the futon. But, he really didn’t have time to worry about those little things. He looked around the room he was in, searching for his treasured belonging.
‘It’s not here… It’s all empty! Where is it?! Where is it?!’
His thoughts were screaming but no matter how much he turned and looked around, he saw nothing but a wooden walls and paper door, shoji. The young man stood up, pain striking again. His legs felt numb and tired, his whole body hurt so terribly much, he could barely stand it. He had to find it! He had to find his friend’s memento! By any means necessary, he couldn’t lose it!
He went to the door and slid it swiftly. That move of his left arm sent another instant pain in his chest wound that was coming from his left side of the chest and went all the way across and to his bottom right side of the stomach.
His panting stopped as his eyes met with the world from the outside the shoji doors. It was a clear sunny day, nothing like that rainy and dark day he was pursued. A light breeze spread across the beautiful garden. Autumn was a season with golden themed colors, with every shade present. The golden to orange leaves were all over the ground and that weak wind barely moved them. The birds that stayed home chirped happily, giving more to the beautiful scenery.
But, the swordsman couldn’t enjoy the view forever - he had to find the thing he was looking for! When the pain from his wound calmed down, he continued to walk and search. He ran over the veranda as fast as he could but the pain got back fast, making the swordsman fall on his knees. It was a great fall, making a loud sound and silencing the birds in the trees.
The swordsman started panting again, trying to bear with the pain. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
‘I can’t stop now… I must… I must find it!’
“Tch…” the short sound came above the wounded swordsman, followed with a long sigh. The young man opened his eyes to look up but he still couldn’t see it all clearly; his vision was still blurry, his strength still didn’t come back.
“You wake up and start running already? What kind of an idiot are you?! I can’t carry you to bed again, you know.” the same voice spoke up again. All that swordsman saw was someone, wearing a kimono… with golden hair? But, he couldn’t keep it up anymore - he fainted on the unknown veranda, on the sunny autumn day.
“Damn… this guy is such a pain…” the mysterious golden-haired being said, looking down at the stubborn man in front of his feet.
…
The same situation, the same dream… the same ending - the blade flashed in front of his face, making him wake up out of that nightmare with sweat build up on his forehead. When he woke up this time, the pain in his chest wasn’t so harsh; it hurt less than that other time. He also noticed that the bandages were replaced with the new ones, wrapped more tightly around his chest. He sat up, looking around the room - he was in the same futon, sleeping on the same tatami floor, in the same empty room. And that reminded him! He needs to look for his treasure! He closed his kimono and slid the door to the side.
It was, again, a nice and sunny autumn day with birds chirping and a bit chilly wind blowing, blowing away the golden, red and orange maple leaves. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking but… There was something else on that veranda… not something, but someone!
Sitting on the edge of the veranda was a human-like figure, dressed in a beautiful very light orange kimono with orange to golden ginko leaves printed on it. The leaves seemed more like they were painted on that kimono, using watercolor paint and delicate brushes. The hair of the being was golden, making him look really magical. That person was like painted on the picture, having such a beautiful hair, wearing that beautiful attire, surrounded by a beautiful nature, beautiful colors of the autumn.
“A human?” a swordsman said to himself but the person heard him as his ears wiggled to the sound of other voice.
The person let out a puff of smoke and turned his head to look at the swordsman. He was holding a red pipe with golden flower on it and golden beginning and the end. He frowned at the sight of the young swordsman but still didn’t move. His other two features made the swordsman change his mind, widen his eyes and slightly open his mouth.
“A fox?” the swordsman said with a same tone as before, a sound of small bells ringing filled his ears.