FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination 
mobile edition|
Author of 13 Stories |
Gaze: Thanks for the reviews! LOL! The parts are chapters now since I fell in love writing this story…lol, I'm so lame! It's just soo cute! My friend said that they should've kissed in this chapter but I thought it was waaaayyy too early for that! So, feel free ranting on about it later…after you've read this chapter! Enjoy! I change the story title coz I finally figured it all out! STUPID TYPOS!
Kenny's name is Kyo in this fic since his name is long and I forget it half the time soo yeah!
Disclaimer: You need to get your head checked if you think I own the show coz I don't! SUCK IT UP SISSY!
Part III: Garden of Remembrance
I had to lie to her. I can't believe what I was doing. Holding her hands? Who am I, a prince? I am not her keeper for eternity or her protector! Saying sorry was the last resort…even if I did mean everything I said about her! I can't let this get into me. I don't like her, and never will! Damn, sometimes I was just too old and smart for my own good…but how could I have been so STUPID, uttering those empty words just to woo that stupid girl! DAMMIT! I felt my knuckles crack as I punched the wooden wall in of my room. I'm too old for this.
Why couldn't I've told her to shut up like I'd normally do to other people! It just takes two easy words: SHUT. UP. Ever since I made her cry, I couldn't live down the fact I held her hands and wiped her tears away! I've gone too soft! Hiromi…damn. My head rested against the wall, while I breathed hard and long with anger.
"Um…I'm glad to see you're making yourself at home. Decorating your room, now, I see?" Sadayo walked into the room, folded clothes in her arms belonging to me. Plastered on her porcelain face was a fake smile and suspicion clouded her eyes. What was she up to? Icily I glared at the princess' maid of honour for trudging in my prison like that. She had no right.
"You must think I have no authority to come into your room but I do, Prince." Sadayo bitterly stated. I tried to stifle a gasp as she stared me down with those dark brown eyes. H-how did she know?
"If you think you can just use Princess Hiromi and her inherited lands to reclaim the throne, you have another thing coming to you. I won't let you use like a tool, you hear? Her family is one of the most highly respected since her father is the White Lily Principle head master."
'White Lily Principle?'
"I'm not the prince you speak of. I'm merely a noble's son who will train to be a samurai someday of a high order." I tried to wiggle my way even though it was partly true; I did wanted to be a samurai, a warrior just like my father.
"You really don't like her, now, do you?" she paused for a moment, "You're just forcing yourself to like her…but really you don't."
Did I? Do I? Will I?
I really didn't know what to answer her. Hiromi was a brunette who cried a lot. Her father describes her as an angel but I see her as a baby with a huge forehead. This person was so innocent and knew no fear but anger and its tears. She didn't need a protector; she needed a mentor about her anger problems. I wasn't needed here. I belonged back to my own castle, alone with my servants and old maids…those old hags. Now this stupid maid-of-honour is talking to me…barging into my room…telling me how I should feel?
"Why are you here?" I asked gruffly.
"The princess is venturing out with a few guards down the castle cemetery near the Hijuri Lake around the Mountain of Immortality," Sadayo informed, giving me my new clothes, "Hiromi had requested you to come with her."
I took it, frowning then said, "Why can't her father go with her?"
"He and Lord Tagekashi have business to attend to in regards of the war happening between the lower class lords in Gamogun," she replied, turning her heel and headed towards the door. Then she stopped in her tracks and glanced coldly over her shoulder,
"Bear in mind, I am watching you."
Okay stupid wench, I heard you the first time, was the response I had wanted to yell back. There was something about her that gave me the creeps. I had to find more about Sadayo…something wasn't quite right with the feeling I got from her.
We sat inside the litter and were lifted up by her guards to get to the lake. The lake was only two hours away on foot, though it felt like ages sitting inside a wooden box with the Princess herself while the arrogant noble and his friends followed behind. I uneasily sat in a black kimono while Hiromi who sat opposite of me was also in a black kimono with a design of white lilies on the bottom and her left shoulder to her bosom. Scratch that! Her hair was done up in two buns with black ribbons and in her hands lay a bouquet of white lilies. Near her feet was a small dagger, its black sheath shone like an obsidian stone.
"I'm so glad you went with me to my mother's grave," Hiromi smiled so genuinely, I could swear it was real, "Thank you." It was pleasing, and grateful…something I never got from home. That feeling...was that great satisfaction that filled your heart with leaping joy and content. I felt my lips twitch into a smile.
Suddenly the litter stopped moving and I felt lowering down the ground. I stepped out first, and placed an arm over my eyes as the sun beat down on me in a fiery feeling. I had been in the dark for long. Then I felt the lush grass under my feet even if I had my sandals and socks on. A new wave of relief came over as I sighed; I suddenly realized I was standing a hill, a long drop to the lake if I ever lost my footing. Right, like that'll happen.
I warily looked around and noticed the huge blue lake around the Immortality itself, high and mighty as a cloud of gray smoke and ash engulfed the sky over the mouth of the thunderous landmark. But the rest of the sky was blue and the cool air blew… but then something caught my eye…the cherry blossom trees…just like in the castle courtyard…Was this the noble family's cemetery?
(End of P.O.V.)
Hiromi came out with assistance from one of the guards, holding the bouquet tightly with one hand.
"Don't you just love the Golden Week?" she smiled brightly. "The cherry blossoms are in bloom…the way my mother liked it."
"It's a garden," he muttered dully.
"It's a garden of remembrance," she corrected him, with her index finger up in the air.
'Smarty pants,' Kai shot a glare.
She pointed beyond the forest and there was a stone temple in the heart of the Sakura. "Come on Kai!" she chirped, starting to make her way. Slowly, he followed her.
"I'm glad the weather is nice. It has been so gloomy lately," he said slowly, with a hint of concern.
She beamed at him and replied, "I guess it's because Mother is happy that everyone is coming to visit her grave. Maybe she's happy because someone new is here to see her. I'm really happy you came…Thank you so much…"
Tears of joy she shed slowly fell from her cheeks as she smiled once more. She stopped walking and so did he and the harder she cried. Tears never came at the right time!
"Princess…" he said soothingly, reaching a hand to her face. He then froze and his hand stopped mid air. 'Damn it! Here she goes again!'
She giggled sheepishly, "I'm sorry, it's just I'm so happy…"
Just then a smile graced his lips, "Hopeless." He then went on his way…
"You are so hopeless."
"Huh…?" she suddenly blushed at the way he smiled. He was enamouring sometimes in his own noble bratty way. Quickly, she sprinted after him.
"How long has she been dead?" he asked as he walked ahead of her, his head unturned to her.
"It has been almost seven years since she passed away. I was only a few months old so I don't remember what she had looked like, but only her name. Midoriko Ayame Hirosaki. "Princess Aya,"" she smiled quietly as she walked. "But Father said she was beautiful and good-hearted. In fact, she was the one who tended the cherry blossoms when she was my age!"
The cherry blossoms were planted outside the castle and down the hill and on the both sides of the moat. It was the first thing he noticed when he had made his way to the castle, that day Hiromi and him met. The cherry blossoms must be the remembrance, the garden of remembrance.
He kept quiet as she spoke and deeply reflected of his own mother who killed herself when she had given birth to a child, blood related to the Amaterasu goddess, a banished descendant. She had feared that she might be killed if they ever discovered the truth because he just looked like her, the true amethyst eyes and the two-toned hair. She rejected him completely even if he was the most beautiful child born of her flesh…The hatred she must have felt for his father. It tore her heart knowing the truth.
"Kai…?" she whispered as she saw him clench his fists. He tried to hide his sad gaze at her as he looked over his shoulder. "…is everything alright?" she placed a hand over his shoulder.
He nodded solemnly, as he stopped and gazed at the temple. It was fifty times smaller than the size of the Kuro no Suzaku castle and his castle took the entire hillside, and thirty times smaller than the Adzuchi no Shiro or Hirosaki Castle where his future fiancée resided.
"This temple is tiny…"
"Yes! It is!" her cheeks lit up. "I like it, it has a homey feeling."
"Whatever. But why would you want that feeling from a cemetery?" his eye twitched in confusion.
She brought the bouquet up to her face and peered up to his eyes, "Is that strange?"
"Of course…" his voice trailed off as he went into a deeper thought about his mother's grave. A grave under a golden pear tree where they had once thought the great phoenix bird stopped and perched on the same tree. Everyday, he would bring fresh flowers to her grave and no one would know but his deceased mother.
"Oh," she sighed sadly, "You have no imagination."
"Princess!" a certain noble breathed as he ran into the heart of the forest. The others came in order, Rie, Max, Daichi and Kyo.
"Takao," she called softly, smiling sweetly. Takao was her childhood friend along with the rest of the boys.
"Nice day for visiting graves, isn't it Princess?" Takao asked, "You're not having fun while I'm not here, right?"
Hiromi blushed, "Um…well…that is…"
'Feh. What's with the sweet, innocent bit?' the phoenix glared at the quiet brunette.
"Well, it figures! I had a feeling!" the blue-haired noble laughed.
The phoenix glared at the noble, "Dimwit," he muttered. "Stupid dimwit."
Rei met with them, bearing a dagger around his shoulder, "You forgot to take this with you, Hiromi." He pointed at it and she nervously laughed, "I'm sorry."
Max tagged along with Daichi who was in the middle of an argument with Takao.
"Takao and Hiromi…sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Daichi cried.
"Max, will you shut him up! Or I'll do it for him!" Takao attempted to pummel Daichi but Rei held him back. Kyo sighed and decided to stay out of the way. Kai just stood frozen, calling each one of the boys an idiot.
"Everyone's here!" she chirped, 'Hey Mom, look. My friends are here to see you!' She took the dagger from Rei and unsheathed it carefully, revealing its jagged edge…like a jagged key. The blade etched the family crest, a lily flower with the characters of Adzuchi Shiro, White Lily Principle.
With the dagger, she pushed it into the slot of the metal slot and twisted it. The locked clicked and Hiromi slid the door open, "Good morning, mother." With the bouquet of white lilies, she carried them as she went in first. She bowed in front of the gravestone bearing her mother's full name. It was a tall stone monument, taller than the seven-year old Hiromi and the eight-year old Kai.
The temple was clean and warm, just like she had told him. There was a painting of a purple Iris represent her name, Ayame in the further side of the room.
The others dropped on one knee and bowed their heads, "Princess Aya…"
Kai did too and whispered her name in respect. Suddenly he felt a cold wind blow against his cheek. Terrified, he froze in the spot as he heard whispers of,
Amaterasu…Amaterasu…Goddess of the Sun…why have you come?
"Princess Ayame," he said in astonishment. He heard her voice! HER VOICE! The Chinese noble stood close by him, a lost look in his golden eyes at the gravestone. 'Could he…? No, he couldn't have.' Rei glanced calmly at his eyes, as if to ask a question.
"We're here!" she smiled, trying not to cry. She knelt down and placed the white lilies down in front of the gravestone and finally a small vase caught her eye. Ayame. 'Three purple Iris flowers,' Hiromi thought, 'Papa did have time for her after all…' She bit her lip as she held in tears. Father had loved her dearly, just like she had.
"…Do you want some help with those?" Kai asked shyly.
"Sure!" she smiled brightly. "These flowers are so wonderful!"
He knelt next to her as she slowly, pulled each lily out, handing three to him. Then she placed the rest on the headstone. Closing her eyes, she placed her hands together into a prayer for a moment.
"Um, what about these?" Kai asked.
Opening one eye she whispered, "It's for you. My mom would've let you keep three lilies. That's what she gave the rest of the nobles here when they were born." Kai looked behind him and saw each one noble take out an iris flower. 'She must have been really important.'
'Her mother is strange…' Kai thought, 'and yet kind-hearted.'
After spending the next few moments in peace, Hiromi got up and started to leave the temple. Her bangs covered her eyes as she strode pass everyone. He warily looked and the noble boys were all deep in prayer. Quietly, he tiptoed out of the temple and ran after the princess, the lilies in his hands. Hiromi began to run too for she thought it was Takao.
He gasped at her speed, 'Boy, she's good at running away.' He grabbed onto her shoulder and she stopped. She was smiling…smiling? 'This is one weird girl', he thought, 'were all girls like this? …One minute they're all innocent then happy and then all sad then they're happy again?'
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly, plastering another smile.
"Stop smiling," he said harshly, "smile when you mean it." He crossed his arms and looked at her with disgust.
"Do I look bad when I smile? Is that what you mean?" She was so naive Kai swore that he would have hit her head a long time ago.
"No. You look fine when you smile-"
"Then how come you don't want me to?" she asked, despair written in her scarlet eyes. Was she toying with him?
"No, I want you to but—"
"But nothing. I'll smile whenever I want to smile!" Hiromi flushed, furrowing her eyebrows and planted her hands on her hips.
"Look, I want you to smile when you feel happy. I'm sure your mother would've want that, I'm pretty sure my mom too if she hadn't abandoned me," his gaze was downcast as he spoke.
"Your mom is gone too?" she asked, curious. Gently she pulled onto his arm and walked.
"Yeah, dead. She left me when I was only two years old." He replied, as he followed her. "I try to forget about it though."
Hiromi stopped and glanced at him worriedly, "Forget your mother? Why?"
"My memories of my mother," he said dully, glaring at her. By then they were out of the forest and back to the grassy hill overlooking the clear Hijuri Lake. Hiromi let go off Kai and breathed in, enjoying the fresh air. It was far better than being caged inside the castle and its walls of the former Hirosaki Castle than was once her mother's. Collapsing down the grass, she sighed in relief, "C'mon Kai, lie down!" She laughed as if Kai had three heads. He stood there like a deer caught in the headlights… "Now I know, you are strange and hopeless," he icily spoke.
"Aw, quit being such a spoilsport and sit like I asked you to," Hiromi groaned. Reluctant, he sat on the ground, a frown adorned on his face. Damn it, he thought. He swore under his breath for being more like a babysitter than a servant or a future-fiancé! He laid his head under his folded arms, and sighed and left the lilies next to him.
"Which one of your parents is of a foreign nationality?" she asked.
"My mother was from Russia. She and my father met when she escaped with the Portuguese traders and arrived in Japan with all her things and some of her riches," he replied, "She was…one of a kind, my father would insist. The most caring woman in the world, the only girl I've ever loved."
"Wow," she muttered. "Why did she abandon you?"
Purely innocent, he thought, an innocent princess who knows no fear. To meet your true love…then marry that true love…and have a baby with your true love…then she finding out that her child was to destroy the lands, salvage the throne and murder the future emperor…what despair would a mother feel? What would the people do if they found out? They'd massacre her or burn her at stake for being a witch, giving birth to a child such as this.
"She rejected me. She rejected with her whole body. She wouldn't look at me. She was always irritated…hysterical. I could tell she was broken to have me. My parents often fought and I always felt it was about me because I heard my name mentioned…One day; I told her to leave if she loved me and leave all the miseries behind. So she left. Father told me she was out in the fields and then I waited for her to come back. One day, two days…then three and soon a week passed by and no sign of her. I sat outside the gates with the guards…waiting. She never came back. A day later…we found her on the river. Dead. I could remember the smile on her lips and her lovely kimono, soaked in blood. She was happy to have left this world and entered the never world. Away from me…" his voice trailed off. He felt his eyes water and his mouth dry. He couldn't cry, not in front of Hiromi.
"I wonder if I really helped her. Sometimes, I blame myself for asking her to leave…but I thought it was for the best. My father had never lived it down. He accused me of her death…" he swallowed the huge lump in his throat.
'Kai…' she thought sadly.
"I want to forget everything about her and the bad memories." His eyes disappeared behind his bangs.
"I don't think there are any memories that are okay to forget. None," she sent him an apologetic smile. She took his hand and held it tight, "Live with all live your memories even if they're sad memories. Even the ones you'd rather forget. If you keep them without running away, someday you'll be strong enough to overcome those memories, even though the person wasn't there all your life…to be in your birthdays, attend your first Girl Festival, see your first picture that you drew or the first word in your wrote in calligraphy…I want to believe that…"
She cocked her head and leaned in to his shoulder. Surprised, he looked into her eyes. Tears flowed from her eyes and she was no longer smiling. She hiccupped and choked in her own tears and pulled onto his sleeve. 'She is too stupid to understand,' he thought, feeling a little better. She didn't understand at all…but her words touched his heart and made the pain go away. Hiromi revealed her grief…just in front of him and no one else.
He grabbed her by the waist and held her close, "…I also want to believe that…" he whispered in her ear and stroke her back. "I want to hold a memory in my heart and keep it…"
'…Just for you…Hiromi,' he thought. Maybe if he did it for him and Hiromi, he'll get stronger in no time. He closed his eyes and prayed for it to happen. They had something to share after all, besides a castle, a litter and the same back and courtyard. They had shared each other's sorrow and each other's comfort.
"Next time, when I'm around, you can cry as much as you want," he said softly.
She looked up to him, smiling still tears in her eyes, and choked in her tears, "You've got yourself…a deal."
"Princess Hiromi," a noble called her from behind.
"T-Takao, you're here," she said, a bit surprised and let go of the bluenette. The noble boy just stood there, anger shimmering in his maroon eyes, glaring at the phoenix. He held the key to the temple in his hand, just tempted to come and stab the Russian. Takao wanted to tell Hiromi the truth about his true title but it was too early though the only way to win her and Lord Yuki Naizen-no-jo Tachibana's heart. All the little girls would want the little boy…and it only took five words.
"It's you," Kai grunted, keeping his arms around her waist. He sent Takao a withering look.
"Can she come with me?" he sneered.
"No." He replied.
"Get your hands off her!" the noble ordered angrily. Steam came off his ears, completely irritated.
Smirking, the phoenix replied rather mockingly, "I only listen to her orders. You have no right to order a noble with the same level as yourself."
'I AM NOT THE SAME LEVEL AS YOU!' Takao wanted to scream and pry his hands off Hiromi.
"You guys," Hiromi warned, "don't start."
"You wanna piece of me?"
"You're on," Kai got up and ready to fight.
"THIS IS NO WAY TO ACT IN MY MOTHER'S GARDEN! Takao, he didn't do anything wrong! I was crying and—" Hiromi explained.
"—you were crying?"
"I am not anymore. I'm alright!" she placed a fake smile. She didn't want to cry in front of Takao or anyone else. She felt secure crying in front of Kai. He cared and gave her hope. He gave her comfort and gave just enough pity for her. She hated it when she was being pitied, she felt useless and too vulnerable.
"Just please…stop and we can all go home."
Takao turned and walked away, feeling regretful for not getting to Hiromi earlier. Kai stuck around with Hiromi. He picked up his lilies, still beautiful and gave one to her.
"What's this?"
"For your mother, I never gave her anything." He said, bowing his head to the side feeling ashamed. With his hand, he wiped it on his kimono. He touched the princess!
"We had a good visit today," she thought out loud, "I'm so glad I introduced the crude noble boy to you, mom. He has a kind heart inside him, covered by all that hard armour he always wears around it. Because of him, I know now how to really cope with my problems." She placed her empty cup down, her gaze lost in the stars and the full moon.
A cool wind tickled her cheek as she closed her eyes. 'So please worry about me and keep watching over me because I know Papa misses you and there is someone else out there for me…one day, he'll take care of me and ask for your blessing…Mom…so please…'
Minutes later…
Kai lazily slid the door open, checking onto the princess in her bedroom. He got tired saying his name three times at the door to announce his entrance. When he didn't find her in her bed, he checked the balcony.
"Hn?" he muttered, "Why is she sleeping here?" There, was the princess in her black kimono sprawled out on the floor, her hair sprawled out on the floor. He came over her and placed a hand on her head, "Hey. It's windy out here, you'll catch a cold." He shook her head, gently, "C'mon. Do I have to carry you in? Wake up!"
In respond, she turned with her back on the ground, laughing like a little kid, "Ha…AH HA HA HA HA!" He placed his hand under his forehead and twitched, "She sleeps like a little kid."
She was a little kid treated like a lady. She can't be blamed. How can she be so happy, even in her sleep?
He stared at her for a minute. 'How peaceful. Once she's out. She's out.' He inched in closer to her cheek where he kissed her before and called softer, "Hey…"
"I'm sorry ok?"
He ran his thumb along the side of her cheek.
'Still sleeping…
The girl I'm eventually going to marry…
Just years away…
More cooties, still I have to go through…'
He smiled. 'Cooties.' Kai looked at his hand in amusement.
