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Jealousy is not an unfamiliar emotion to him. Similar to anger, he finds it useful to twist and tugs its strings, manipulating it like a master puppeteer and watches the outcome, regardless good or bad, behind the scene. They called him a trickster, a kitsune, snake and some less than favourable terms to describe him out of his sight or hearing. But he always knows and it matters not. Until, she comes along.
As he watches her asking the young male questions about the properties of different herbs and how he guides her hands as she prepares a remedy, a sour sizzle settles in his gut. When he hears her deadpan banter with him in the kitchen, he couldn’t help but pauses his footsteps to listen in, a slow winding constriction in his chest.
Each passing day since her arrival, he notices little things that occurs around her happens for a reason. Whether or not she wills it, things just seems to go her way, even the chatelaine notices it and she can be oblivious as their resident bookworm. His lord and the faithful nanny of the castle are charmed by her straight-forwardness and tact since Day One, and that is not an easy feat. Irritation sets in as he recounts all the encounters she has with the other warlords and realize that she hasn’t approach him for anything, not even a chance meeting along the hallway.
One day, he notices the other vassals having a lengthy conversation with her, their voices drifted over to his side, muffled but pleasant. That is, until his name is brought into the conversation. The oppressing silence is overwhelming. He chooses to walk away, not wanting to see her expression change after listening to them. This time, a heavy weight presses hard on his chest, he suppresses the urge to rub it.
As much as it pains him to admit, he wants her attention on him. The why still eludes him and he tries not probe too deeply into his psyche. With his gift of information gathering, he understands that she’ll always spends her spare time in the backyard. As he approaches the venue, he hears the twank of the bowstring, followed by the whistling sound of the arrow before it strikes its target.
There, before his very eyes, was her dressed in hakuma, her sleeves held back with silken rope. Arrows stood tall in a row beside her as she relaxed her stance. What had him stopping in his tracks is the distance between her and the target. Curious, he keeps himself still, silently watching as she plucks another arrow of the ground, sets on her bow and draws the string. She sights the target less than three paces away before releasing the arrow again. If he’s to compare her with Ieyasu, her form more refined, graceful like a drawing come to life.
A sudden stillness sets around her. Tilting her head, she slowly turns her body and faces him. Nodding in acknowledgment, she quickly tidies her arrows. Sensing her urgency to depart, he quickly intercepts, and helps her remove the arrows from the target. Murmuring her thanks, she waits for him to give her the arrows. But he didn’t want to, instead he gestures her to follow him. He heard her soft shuffle of her footsteps as they walked; him in front leading, she behind trailing.
Finally, they stop under the shade of a huge sakura tree. She makes a sound of awe as the flowers sway together with the wind. The silence between them makes him aware of the quickening pace of his heartbeat. Turning his gaze at her, he speaks.
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It is nearly sunset by the time they depart from the tree, she walks in the direction towards the chatelaine’s chamber, he heads back out of the castle to his residence. In his hand is a small bento box, half empty; a gift from her, in a form of lunch. Something for him, according to her, using her knowledge on medicinal herbs and culinary skills to prepare this special lunch. When he asks her for the reason, she blushes and waves off his question. Despite his lack of taste on the food, he could tell she spends a lot of effort in the preparation.
A warm stirring begins to pulse inside of him as he recalls her promise to pack lunches for him whenever he comes over to Azuchi Castle. He realizes he didn’t get any answer as to why she went out of the way to avoid him and yet letting him find her at her favourite spot, with a bento just for him. He’ll ask her the next time round.