Series: His Sakura (Chapter 22)
Title: His Sakura
Pairing: Sakumoto (other pairings may be appearing later)
Setting: Early Edo period. Historically incorrect and purely fiction.
Rating: PG-13
Beta-ed by the lovely
ivenclaire
Summary: When Jun ended up in a castle.
Chapter 1 >> Chapter 2 >> Chapter 3 >> Chapter 4 >> Chapter 5 >> Chapter 6 >> Chapter 7 >> Chapter 8 >> Chapter 9 >> Chapter 10 > Chapter 11 >> Chapter 12 >> Chapter 13 >> Chapter 14 >> Chapter 15 >> Chapter 16 >> Chapter 17 >> Chapter 18 >> Chapter 19 >> Chapter 20 >> Chapter 21 >>Chapter 22 >> Chapter 23
“I give you my utmost support!” Satomi declared with a sparkling face, a smile threatening to split her face into two. Well, that was what she had initially told him before her face changed into a fuming, angry monster not long after Sho decided to tell her about Matsumoto Jun - or rather what he did to him.
“So much for being understanding,” Sho sourly grumbled to himself after his wife had kicked him out of the mansion - his own mansion, nevertheless - and screaming at him, “Don’t come back until you’ve properly apologized to him!”
Frustrated, as Sho made his way towards the town, he kicked the pebbles littered on the street he was walking on. Of course he had apologized. It just wasn’t his fault that Matsumoto hadn’t forgiven him yet. And why did Satomi choose to be on Matsumoto’s side rather than on her own husband when she doesn’t know Matsumoto at all? Huh, he really can’t understand women.
Muttering a curse under his breath and his face as sour as plum, Sho decided to head to Matsuyama Kenichi’s - one of his two close friends - house alone. He dismissed the samurais that usually accompany him earlier. He missed his friend. Between him and Sakamoto Masayuki, he was the least likely to judge him since he was kind of a crazy character himself. Perhaps they could have a talk and Kenichi might take his mind off things for a while before he has to head back to Sakura tomorrow.
*
The dried leaves made a crunching sound under Jun’s feet as he stepped onto them on his way towards his Saku-chan. He darted his eyes onto the ground, seeing that in just a day, so many leaves have already scattered on the ground. Ah, autumn is really coming, Jun thought fleetingly. As soon as he reached his usual place under the tree, Jun held his hands in front of him and put them together in a praying gesture. He recited his usual prayer with closed eyes. Then, he paused, hesitation hit him all of a sudden. His eyes slowly opened as a certain thought came to him. From now on, would his prayers include the well-being of Sakurai too? Clearly, his life and Sakurai’s are interconnected now and until the unforeseeable future. Minutes passed by and Jun was still contemplating. In the end, he omitted Sakurai from his prayer. He would later decide what to do after he’d have enough time to fully give the matter a thought.
Should he give a care about him anyway? Aside from Sakurai being his master, or whatever title he was to him, he meant nothing else to him at this very moment. Right?
Jun gave a shrug because there was a more important thing happening on this very day. He doesn’t really keep up with dates, but he will not forget what today means for him.
“Happy birthday to me…” he whispered to himself, smiling a little at his tree. “Saku-chan, won’t you wish for me?”
He looked at the tree, half-expecting it would give any sort of reaction to his question. Of course, there’d be no reaction, but it didn’t disappoint Jun. He chuckled to himself, thinking how demanding he was to his precious tree. The very existence of Saku-chan was enough to keep him company, he didn’t need anything else. Although, if he’d be really honest to himself, he still has his family back home, and also his friend… Satoshi. The thought of his only friend made him sigh though. He swore to himself that he would deal with Satoshi’s matter later.
He came closer to the tree bark. His hand extended, touching the lean, coarse bark. “The coming months is going to be hard for you. Please be strong…”
A gush of wind pushed some of the leaves out of their hold on the branches, showering Jun with the leaves. Jun caught a few stray leaves with his hands, touching them fleetingly before letting all of them fall to the ground. Saku-chan would be out of her leaves in no time, and even if it was hard to see his tree naked without all those greenery, Jun knew it was needed for Saku-chan to bloom later.
He spent a few more minutes under the tree, cleaning the ground around it and sweeping the dead leaves out of the way. Takeshi-san came not long after, taking over the cleaning from him. Jun chuckled good-heartedly when Takeshi-san managed to berate him for doing a work he wasn’t supposed to do.
“It’s alright Takeshi-san, I’m used to doing all these work anyway,” said Jun when Takeshi was looking distressed.
“It was then. But I don’t want to get a scolding from the lord if he sees you doing it now,” told the old gardener.
“Don’t worry. You won’t get a scolding because I’ll protect you from him,” Jun told him back rather convincingly, patting the gardener’s back and it relieved Takeshi-san a little. Jun wasn’t absolutely sure about it but he would try with all his might to not let the innocent gardener receive the wrath instead of him - if that ever happens.
When the sun started to burn their skins, Jun found himself being pushed by the gardener back towards his house with such a simple reason of not wanting Jun’s skin to turn dark. Jun merely laughed at that unreasonable excuse.
However, he indeed went back to his house when his stomach began alerting him that he needed to take his lunch.
As he walked idly back to his house, the memory of his dream last night came back. His tree had managed to distract him temporarily, but it resurfaced now that he has nothing to do.
Jun sighed. Would he see the mystery man again?
He got lost in his own thoughts before he jerked back to reality when he heard a familiar voice calling him from the back.
“Jun-kun!” It was unmistakably Satoshi. Jun smiled instinctively before his smile dropped when he remembered what Sakurai revealed to him about his friend. He remembered his angry feelings towards the matter, his disappointment towards Satoshi, no, Ohno to be exact. Jun clenched his hands into balls, reining his temper in so he won’t lash stupidly, but it was hard. He breathed harder, closing his eyes, wondering what he should do. In the end, he didn’t turn but instead walked as fast as he could towards his house. He didn’t know whether Satoshi followed him or not, but at that time, he didn’t care much.
The wooden floor on the veranda made a protesting noise when his buttocks landed on it after sitting rather grumpily. He hugged both of his knees, putting his chin on them, and pouting like a child in a sullen mood. After taking a few regulated breaths however, his senses came back to him. He bit his lips when guilty feelings seeped into him for leaving his friend without any explanation.
He was being unreasonable. He could be losing his only friend. Would he really want that? He didn’t think so. Besides, Jun didn’t want to be alone. But another part of him argued, does Satoshi even consider him as a friend? If he does, then why did he keep it a secret? Satoshi had so many chances to tell him before but why he didn’t? He supposed he wasn’t important enough to be trusted with such a secret - if Satoshi really meant to keep it as a secret. When he thought about it like that, somehow, his heart sank further.
Jun jumped in surprise when he felt a presence on his left. He found his friend looking at him unsurely. Satoshi could be a silent ninja when he wanted. Jun turned his head away, he wasn’t sure what to say.
“Jun-kun…”
Jun hummed noncommittally, ignoring his friend. He heard something was being pushed towards him on the floor. He turned to look and found a paper box beside him. His eyes turned to his friend questioningly.
Timidly, with a tinge of shyness, Satoshi said, “Happy birthday Jun-kun.”
That birthday wish effectively washed whatever dark feelings and resentment he held for Satoshi. Jun felt like crying, his vision blurred as he looked at his friend. Satoshi remembered his birthday and it reminded him that here, he only had Satoshi who cared for him. How could he forget that? How could he only focus on that little thing when the whole picture was more important? Jun swore to be a better person.
“Thank you…” Jun choked a little.
Satoshi hummed happily before he went quiet. However, his eyes couldn’t mask his anticipation of seeing Jun’s reaction for his gift.
The whole thing suddenly felt awkward for Jun. He treated his friend with disrespect but then suddenly forgot about his bad manner when he was presented with a gift. But to him, it was hard to actually apologize all of a sudden, because then, he would have to explain why he was apologizing in the first place. He just didn’t know how to breach the topic, because now, what seemed important was to open Satoshi’s present. So, Jun decided that the matter would be handled later on.
Tentatively, he reached for the box carefully and tried to open it. Jun didn’t miss Satoshi’s questioning gaze when he saw Jun’s bandaged hand, but thankfully, Satoshi chose not to say anything at that moment.
The small box was filled with dango. The small white spheres came in threes and were held together by skewers. Jun’s face lit up. He hasn’t eaten dango for such a long time he has nearly forgotten how they tasted. In his excitement, he turned his whole face towards Satoshi, his good hand patting the floor beside him enthusiastically, gesturing for Satoshi to sit too. Seeing Jun’s excitement, Satoshi’s face broke into a relieved smile before he went to sit opposite Jun.
With crossed legs, Jun put the box in front of them. He took one skewer out and held it in front of him. The smell was amazing. He pushed the box towards Satoshi so his friend could eat them too.
Jun took a bite and immediately hummed his pleasure. He was sure his eyes were shining when he looked at Satoshi appreciatively.
“It’s super delicious!” Jun exclaimed happily as he stuffed more dango into his mouth.
Satoshi was smiling widely before he picked one up for himself. They shared the sweets with non-stop exclamations of ‘delicious’ coming from their mouths.
It wasn’t long before Jun was chewing the last dango. As he was licking his fingers, he asked Satoshi curiously, “Where did you get this?”
Satoshi swallowed his dango before he answered casually. “I went out to the town this morning and I bought these from the hawker on the street.”
Jun stopped licking. He stared at Satoshi in shock. He was quite stumped by the information. He didn’t know Satoshi could freely visit the town outside the castle.
“You went out?” Jun asked. He couldn’t hide his surprise.
Satoshi went still, realizing that he just gave Jun a shock. He nodded voicelessly, face downward, looking rather awkward.
“They allowed me to follow them to get fresh ingredients from the town,” Satoshi added hesitantly. Perhaps he knew that by revealing such information, it would make his friend unhappy. And it surely did.
Upon hearing it, a tinge of jealousy surged up inside Jun. Satoshi could go out to town while he couldn’t. He was stuck here - inside the compound of this house - while his only friend could freely go anywhere he wants without restriction.
He was suddenly mad. It was really unfair! Life was unfair to him! Irate, he turned his body away from Satoshi.
“Since when?”
“… A few months ago…” Satoshi answered tentatively.
“And you didn’t care to tell me about this?”
Satoshi went silent. He never mentioned that he was an Ohno, why would he mention this to him? Jun thought madly.
“Of course they’d let you out. You’re an Ohno. Your uncle can easily give you permission,” spat Jun bitterly.
Jun could feel Satoshi freeze behind him. Somehow he felt satisfied.
“How… how did you know about that?” Satoshi asked in shock.
“So, you really have no plan to tell me?” Jun spat back.
“I…”
“I thought we are friends? Friends don’t keep secrets from each other!”
“But… I thought…”
“You thought what?”
“… You never asked… so I thought…” Satoshi was clearly having trouble explaining properly, but it wasn’t necessary because what Satoshi said shut Jun up. Jun just realized, he never asked further about Satoshi, and there was no reason for his friend to reveal anything about himself if he didn’t want to. But then how would he know if Satoshi doesn’t tell him anything?
“At least you should have told me about it…” Jun felt a sudden weariness. Being mad to his only friend made him emotionally tired.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know that you’ll be angry about it… I thought it wasn’t important…”
“Not important? Am I not important to you?” Jun asked silently. Now his anger had turned to sadness. Satoshi just said that it wasn’t important. So who was he to him then?
“No, no- I meant… of course you’re important! It just that it never occurred to me that you would like to know about me…”
Jun froze. Did Satoshi really say that?
“Of course I want to know all about you… We’re friends after all…” Jun said sadly.
This whole thing was just a mess. No matter how good friends they are, they obviously have communication issues. They need to rectify that fast.
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you,” Satoshi said. His head was tilted downwards, showing so much remorse. His body sagged for a while before he gave Jun a surprise by prostrating in front of him. It shocked Jun, and he immediately asked Satoshi to sit properly again. No matter how wrong Satoshi was, he didn’t need to do that. Jun wasn’t a lord that Satoshi needed to kneel to.
Jun heaved a sigh. He was wrong too, and he needs to apologize for being overdramatic. He fetched both of Satoshi’s hands and held them into his. Satoshi stared at their joined hands before with glassy eyes, turned his gaze towards Jun. It made Jun’s heart clench.
“Satoshi, I’m sorry too. We are both at fault for not being honest with each other. And I’m sorry for being angry when you don’t know why I was angry. It was just, when it was Sakurai who told me about your name, I was disappointed because I didn’t find out from you first. I felt ashamed because we have been together for over a couple of years but it’s like I don’t know you at all. I feel like a bad friend for not knowing such a simple fact. And I feel bad too for not showing interest to know you more…”
“Jun-kun…”
“Then when you told me that you’ve more freedom than I do, I got jealous of you. I thought your family connection must have been the reason that you have your freedom…”
“But it’s part of my job…” Satoshi added.
“I guess… Since I didn’t know at first I thought you have the advantage. It’s shameful of me for jumping at you. I hope you forgive me…”
Satoshi stared at him for a moment before he surged forwards and pulled Jun into a crushing hug. Sobbing hard, Satoshi reiterated to Jun that he was the one at fault and that he apologizes profusely for that. Jun apologized too, and since he is really easily moved to tears, he couldn’t help from crying too.
The sound of footsteps walking towards them broke them apart. They turned to look at the person approaching them and found that Shunsuke was watching them suspiciously. They still had their hands on each other when Jun realized why Shunsuke was watching them strangely. Jun asked him what he wanted and it turned out that he just wanted to ask whether Jun already wants to take his lunch. Jun looked at Satoshi first before he nodded at Shunsuke.
“I’m sorry again Jun-kun…” Satoshi repeated when Shunsuke had gone inside. With a smile, Jun reached out to wipe the remaining tears on Satoshi’s. Satoshi did the same to him too. They cleared their snot using their sleeves. It was quite disgusting and they laughed too much at that.
“I’ll accept your apology if you’ll come and eat with me…”
Satoshi’s face lit up in an instant. “Of course!”
Jun grinned. He pulled Satoshi’s hand to go with him inside the room and they shared their lunch happily, all their misunderstanding was left behind.
After they finished their lunch, they moved to the edge of the veranda and dangled their legs above the ground in leisure. Satoshi ended up giving Jun a brief summary of his life. Jun listened to his story carefully, absorbing all the information and remembering them by heart. Basically, Satoshi came from a lower ranked samurai family, with his uncle being the only one in the family who managed to become successful. That is if being the head of the food affair in Sakura Castle was considered being successful. But Jun thought that having a position in the castle was indeed a testament to the family’s achievement.
Satoshi has an elder brother that would take over the family’s property so Satoshi was sent to the castle by his father to work instead. Satoshi didn’t mind being here since he himself enjoys his current job. At least he wasn’t being a disappointment to his family. And no, he didn’t know any martial arts when Jun probed deeper. He didn’t train for it either since he was not interested. Jun thought that might be the reason his father didn’t give much thought about making Satoshi his heir.
They let silence engulf them when Satoshi had finished. Jun stared at the small garden in front of him. The greenish view calmed his eyes and it cleared his head.
Jun figured that that was probably why Satoshi doesn’t use his family’s name that much. From Satoshi’s story, he could gather that Satoshi wanted to be independent and he wanted to prove to himself that he could survive with his own effort. And Jun couldn’t fault him for keeping quiet all this time. And that made him even guiltier for doubting his friend.
Therefore, he apologized to Satoshi again. Satoshi’s only reaction to that was to pat his back with a smile on his lips that told Jun that it was okay. Then, he leaned and rested his back on the floor, a hand tucked under his head and his eyes staring at the wide sky. A few seconds later, Jun joined him. With the sun partly covered by the floating clouds, together in the veranda, they enjoyed the warmth of the last summer air. They didn’t need to say anything to know how their bond has gotten stronger than before.
A tug on his bandaged hand pulled Jun out of his lull. He flitted his eyes towards the hand then to Satoshi who was already turning his body towards him, cradling Jun’s injured hand. Jun could read the question in Satoshi’s eyes even without verbal confirmation. It was obvious from the curious and concerned look Satoshi threw at him.
It was really hard to tell the truth to Satoshi, because for sure, he would be so worried for him. Therefore, he ended up telling most of the truth. He told him that the injury was inflicted by himself, though he omitted the part where his injury was the result of his failed suicide attempt. At least Satoshi didn’t ask further and Jun didn’t want to be reminded of it either.
They turned quiet again, letting the silence be carried away by the wind.
Jun was getting sleepy and he was sure he had dozed off a few times. He turned to look at Satoshi who had closed his eyes, his breathing steady on his chest. He turned towards his friend, staring at him until he closed his eyes and fell into a comfortable nap.
The sky had turned dimmer. Jun rubbed his eyes. Disoriented, he thought at first that it was already morning and he had slept through the night, but after blinking several times, Jun found that it was still late afternoon, and judging by the orange glow on the horizon, the sun was setting. Then, Satoshi stirred.
“Ah I’m sorry I fell asleep…” murmured Satoshi as he pushed himself upright, one of his hands was rubbing his eyes. Jun said it was alright, that Satoshi could sleep as long as he wanted. Satoshi’s grew wide after he observed the surrounding, and without any warning he bolted to his feet. Jun followed in confusion. He looked at Jun in horror.
“What’s wrong Satoshi?”
“Oh no, it’s my turn to cook and I’m late!” exclaimed Satoshi in distress.
“Oh.” Jun looked at his friend in temporary shock. Okay, he forgot that Satoshi still has his duties. Then he said comfortingly, “It’s okay Satoshi, I think you still have time.”
Satoshi looked at Jun and then his eyes dropped at Jun’s stomach.
“You’re not angry at me right?”
Jun was confused. Why was Satoshi asking him whether he was angry?
“It’s my turn to prepare your food this evening and now I’m late. What should I do? They must be angry at me right now. I made you hungry!”
“You cook for me?” Jun was surprise by Satoshi’s revelation.
“Ah yes, I’m in charge of your evening meal now…” said Satoshi, a tinge of red rose, decorating his chubby cheeks. His hand went to his nape to scratch it, looking at Jun unsurely, probably expecting Jun to complain about the food he prepares. Instead, Jun said affirmatively, “They were delicious.” Because they were. And it made Satoshi smile so widely at him.
Somehow he felt happy that his own best friend was the one cooking for him.
Then Jun smiled when something came to him.
“It’s okay Satoshi, I can wait. You don’t have to worry. In fact, I think I’m really interested to see you cook for me!”
“You want to see me cook?” Satoshi asked, stunned.
“Yes.” Jun replied simply.
Jun ended up following Satoshi to the kitchen after Satoshi lost the struggle to make Jun stay put in his house. Jun told him since it was his birthday that day, Satoshi should make him something special. Satoshi relented and let Jun be on his side, fascinatedly observing him cook.
The fragrant smell of Satoshi’s cooking filled the kitchen. Jun saw how skilled Satoshi was with the knife, cutting the fish so excellently, preparing the vegetable so expertly. It was like he was handling a katana in his hands; only that it was a lot smaller. Even if he wasn’t interested in the real katana, he had successfully channelled his inner samurai to his kitchen knife.
There were other cooks and a few helpers in the kitchen. They were initially shocked when Jun showed his face in the kitchen, but after that, he was ignored by the staff. According to Satoshi, to them, Jun’s current status is not clear. The only thing that they know is that Jun is no longer a slave. Of course there were rumours flying around the castle about Jun, and sheepishly, Satoshi relayed to him that all of them thought that the house was a reward to him for being a boy toy of the daimyo and his right-hand men. Well, they weren’t far from the truth, Jun thought in distaste.
So, it wasn’t a common knowledge that he was made a concubine then? Obviously, all the attendees to his ‘mini wedding’ were being honourably tight-lipped about it. However, Satoshi told him they seem to understand that if they prodded into the matter further, they would face dire consequences. That was why Satoshi couldn’t explain the truth to change their twisted perception of him. Jun told Satoshi that he didn’t care. Let them think whatever they want then, he added further when his friend apologized to him again for something that he wasn’t guilty of.
He realized that Yamada was there too, at the further back of the kitchen, cutting the vegetables into tiny pieces. Jun realized that Yamada had stared at him a tiny fraction too long with a look that Jun couldn’t decipher, but Jun shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it. Instead, he greeted him with a small bow before he went back to observing Satoshi.
Not long after that, Jun was digging into his food enthusiastically, Satoshi watching him with satisfaction on his face.
Jun thought how his birthday had ended brilliantly for him today as he patted his full stomach with his good hand.
A/N: *crawls from under a rock*
Hi there! *waves to anyone who bothers*
It's been a while. Yeah, I know my productivity has gone down lately *blames rl* But of course I'll continue writing until this is finish.
And... Can you believe that I'm participating in not only one but two fic exchanges this year? What have I done? lols Somebody saves me!
Okay so back to this story. In a few days - on Oct 7th to be exact - will mark the two years anniversary for this story since it was first posted (back when very very few reads it lols). I thought of posting this chapter on that date, but since I've made you wait for so long already, I'll post this today. Ah I still can't believe it's already two years...
And also, you'll probably think how long this story is going to be and where the hell is Nino and Aiba right? Well, don't be shock when I say this is not even half-way yet (haha) and Nino and Aiba will have very prominent roles in the second half of the story. In what role? You'll have to wait for that ^^
And also this chapter is a month late
Something is wrong with Lj today my setting seems so weird. Sorry about that