The Last Cherry Blossoms

Prelude: Asakura was not an emotional man. In fact, the men who served under him often felt he was cold, but they held him in great respect. He was honorable. He was brave. And he put his men before himself. Most of the men under him had wives waiting for them at home.But it had long been resolved that Asakura would never marry. Many of his men wondered if he was attracted to women at all. He never showed interest in the courtesans in the towns they visited. They never saw him gaze at a woman with longing, or comment on the many beautiful women they encountered in their travels. Truthfully, Asakura never really entertained drink either, and who could resist a good Sake, served by a charming woman? Asakura, was a man who was focused on his work. His work was his life. To serve the Master and uphold the Bushido code. That was until this moment, this moment, when his life would seemingly change forever. Chapter one It was getting late in the evening, and the forest trail that Asakura and his men were traveling on was getting darker by the minute. He knew they were getting restless about returning home, to see their families, their wives, their children, before being sent off to war again. But he also knew they were tired, and that the local legends said the forest was inhabited by many spirits, many who liked to lure lustful men to their deaths, and there were also the less supernatural ones. This forest was well known to harbor bandits, and Asakura would not be caught off guard. He reigned in his horse, coming to a stop, "we will camp here for the night, and proceed in the morning." His men dismounted and began to set up camp. Two of his men, Miki and Oishi, began traveling through the brush in search of dry wood for the campfire. When suddenly they were caught off guard by a woman's laughter and the yapping of a dog. They were too far into the forest for anyone to travel for pleasure, but it was there clear as day. The soft laughter of a woman, and the accompanying joyful barking of a dog. Miki, being the one who was superstitious, spoke up first, "We should leave. There is no way that a lady would be out here alone. See listen?" the men paused for a moment in silence, "notice, there is no man accompanying her. This forest is full of Kitsune, that must be what it is." Oishi scoffed, "Kitsune? You silly fool, there is no such thing. I think I want to take a peek." he muttered, suggestively raising his eyebrows. Oishi began to follow the sound, Miki paused for a second, thinking about turning back to camp, but hearing the woman's laughter and the light splash of water, decided to follow suit. He found Oishi hiding behind a large tree whose roots were surrounded by brush, giving him the perfect hiding place. Oishi turns to Miki and gives him the signal to be quiet, eyes as round as rice bowls, "whaaa..." Miki starts to exclaim, only to be hushed quickly. When Miki reaches the tree and peered around, he saw what had made Oishi so excited. There was a clearing and in the center was a deep pool of water being fed by a spring, and swimming in that pool was the most beautiful woman Miki had ever seen. Asakura was growing impatient, it had been some time since Oishi and Miki had ventured out to gather firewood, night was closing in and the men were getting restless for warm food and sleep. Asakura let out a heavy sigh, and decided to go search for them, knowing how they were. It was probably some form of foolishness and let time slip past them, but one never knows. Perhaps they were ambushed by bandits and needed help. Asakura notified his men, to watch the camp, and for Toshi , who was second in command, to come find him if he hadn't returned when night came. Asakura followed the subtle path they left into the forest, until he came upon both men leering from behind a tree. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw, in case what they were watching turned out to be nefarious. But then he heard, what had drawn them there, laughter, the laughter of a woman, and when looking closer at his men, he could see they both had large smiles crossing their faces, both on the verge of giggling with their excitement.Asakura walked up behind them, clearing his throat loudly enough to gain their attention, but hopefully, not loud enough to startle the woman, he leaned down and peered between the branches to see who they were gazing at. Sitting on a stone by the water's edge was a nude woman. A woman who momentarily took Asakura's breath away. Her skin was as pale as fresh snow under the moonlight, and her lips were the color of the cherry blossoms that surrounded her bathing spot. He had never seen hair so dark before, it flowed like ink about her shoulder's and down to her small waist, her breasts were full and her hips wide, she had long athletic legs. But what was a lady of this stature doing alone, unsupervised in a place like this? Had she been kidn*pped ? He glanced at the surroundings and noticed a horse, as black as the woman's hair, tied to a nearby tree. That was a horse of nobility, he noted. A farmer would not have such a well bred animal. Then his eyes went back to the woman. He felt he could stare at her for ages, be lost in her beauty. But he snapped himself back into reality. This was not how a man of honor would behave, gawking at a woman bathing, completely unaware of his presence. So, he raised his voice, enough for her to hear this time,"What are you two doing!?!" He demanded of his men. He heard her gasp, startled, so he stepped out of the brush, eyes turned away, but he could not help but glance once more as she rushed to clothe herself in her kimono. Once she was clothed, he motioned for his men to come out of the brush. He expected to see fear cross the woman's face, but instead there was a calm curiosity in its place. Asakura spoke up," We are extremely sorry to disturb you my lady, we did not mean any harm, and hope that you will accept our apologies, we are camping near by and..." He paused for a moment, taking in her face, " are you here alone? Are you safe?" She narrows her eyes a bit before a coy smile comes to her lips. Aki had been aware that there was someone new in the forest, it spoke to her, the way the trees moved, and the animals crept, even the presence of the birds had changed. She knew they were near, but had no fear of their presence. What did surprise Aki was the man who stood before her. The other two with him, were typical, almost buffoonish, but the one in the middle, the one that they almost cowered behind, was.... well he was something else. She felt this instant attraction to him as if she had known him before. Aki steps closer to him, and he seems caught off guard by her boldness. A tiny smile came to her lips, such a large and powerful man seemed absolutely stunned by the fearlessness of a woman. Should I have screamed and scurried away, she thought to herself. Would they have felt more in power? Do they need that? The little chubby one she notes is gawking at her as if she were a goblin cat. She takes another step forward and speaks. "My name is Aki, and yes, I am alone.But my family is aware that I am here. I live just over that ridge." It was then as she stepped closer, that Asakura noticed her clothes were the clothes of a rural family. She was not nobility after all.Beauty like hers was uncommon in the peasant class, and he reminded himself of the horse nearby of noble stature. He began to question if she was perhaps a lure and there were men waiting to ambush him and his men . " I promise you I am alone, I live on the farm nearby." It was as if she was reading his mind, she looks over at her horse, " my husband's family. Well was my husband, they raise horses for nobility." "You say was your husband, so you still reside with your inlaws", Asakura inquires.Why did he feel such relief knowing she was not taken? What was it about this girl that made him feel so unlike himself? Aki nods, "Yes, I lost my husband to war. But they are very kind people, and I am much help, so they have let me stay..." She trails off momentarily, then, " would you and your men like to stay with us for the evening? We do not have much accommodation, but we have hot food and your men may enjoy the warmth of my hearth for the night." This was abnormal for Aki, but she felt the need to get to know this stranger more. As someone who is generally so calm, this man made her heart race. She wondered if he felt the same. "Mamma and Pa would not care, they would be honored to have such a prestigious guest." Asakura looked at his men, both with a look in their eyes that begged for acceptance of the offer. Asakura nodded, " We would be honored by your hospitality." Aki smiled, and Asakura could feel his heart skip a beat. "Miki, Oishi go retrieve the men and meet us back here, " this time he did not worry about them straying or being late. He knew his men too well, and Miki was one who would not refuse a good meal and Oishi would not refuse the chance to gawk at a beautiful woman. They would return in record time, this he was for sure of, but this would give him a moment to speak with Aki alone, no matter how brief,it would seem like a blessing. Aki found herself alone with this formable man. He was tall, and she could tell under his yukata that he was muscular. He had his hair pulled into a tight bun on top of his head, and carried at his side his sword. He was a man others looked up to. He gave off an air of authority that even made her strong will want to bend. " My name is Asakura, I serve under my master, Daimyo Yamauchi Kazutoyo. You said you had lost your husband to war?" She looked up at him, studied his face. He was handsome, but in need of a good shave, he presented himself as steadfast and strong, but Aki could tell by his eyes, that his heart was kind. Any doubts she had about whether or not she could trust this samurai started to fade as she looked into his eyes. He was guarded, but good. " Yes, we were only married for two years, before Koichi was called to fight when the men from the North Island came to raid our village." Asakura remembered hearing the story of this occurrence, it was nearly five years ago when it happened. She had remained a widow all this time? She sighed," My sweet Koichi, he was too soft for war," Aki had loved Koichi, she had been attracted to his softness, his kindness, he was so different from other men. She looks over at Asakura. This man is so different than Koichi, but he is also different from other men,too. Their eyes meet, she is sure there is something there now, but what? What is it about this man that is pulling me in so deeply? She questions herself, but before she could speak again, they were interrupted by voices and footsteps in the woods.