Samurai Times

Chapter 7

It was late morning or very early afternoon when Eiri finally stirred up. He yawned, stretched his arms wide and twisted to crack his back and get out the chinks that he got from falling asleep on the soft futon. As he slowly opened his eyes as he started to sit up, feeling an inner peace he hadn't felt in a very long time. The last time he felt this good was... Wait, the last time was after the first time he and Ryuichi made love. He gasped as his eyes flew open wide and looked around the room. As he put his arms down, one arm fell onto a sleeping form next to him. He turned his head and looked down to see the back of a pink-haired head lying there. It all came flooding back to him, the scene in the village, the Shogun's command to speak, the harsh words and ... And the declaration of love he shared with the young man lying next to him. He remembered it all, and he smiled. He lay back down and rolled onto his side and put his arm around Shuichi, gently shaking him awake. "Shu-chan, we need to get up. It's late and the daimyo will be waiting to see us."

Shuichi turned under the strong arm that was rocking him back to the here and now. He had a smile plastered on his face and when he half-opened his eyes, he was met with a smile set off by the most gorgeous set of golden yellow eyes he had ever seen. He rose up slightly and said, "Good morning Eiri-san." His eyes shot wide when it finally dawned on him where he was, who he was with and what had happened. He started to pull away from the loving embrace he was in, when a strong arm curved around his back and pulled him close.

Eiri leaned in towards the startled young man and gave him a chaste kiss. "I think it's more like afternoon than morning." He pointed to the window and through the gap in the shutters they could see the western sun was at the top of the window. "See, the sun has reached its peak already." Shuichi relaxed his body and cuddled in the warmth of the embrace. He was almost back into a blissful sleep when Eiri moved his arm to Shuichi's shoulder and gave a slightly rougher push. "We need to get up. Have you forgotten that we are to meet with Seguchi-sama? He is going to need to know what we have worked out."

Scrunching his nose and putting his arms up to stretch, he groaned. "I don't want to get up; I want to stay here in bed with you."

Then Eiri chuckled, something that he hadn't been known to do for quite some time. "I would love to stay here and make love again, but we have work to do. As it is, the children have missed a day of lessons, although I doubt their parents will mind very much."

Shuichi put a hand to his mouth, covering a small yawn. He turned violet eyes upward, and he sported a little pout. "Do we have to do it now?"

"Yes, we do. But I think that we will be spending more time like this together. So, get up and dress." Eiri then turned over, removing his arm from Shuichi.

He sighed, but Shuichi followed as Eiri rolled out of bed and started picking up his clothing off the floor and end of the futon. In just a few minutes, the two were dressed. They shared Shuichi's brush, a few pink strands finding their way intermingling with Eiri's blond hair. Shuichi giggled at the sight of his hair mixed with the yellow and reached up and gently pulled the few misplaced wisps out, holding them up for Eiri to see. Eiri smiled at the pink hair pulled from his head and ran his fingers gently through his blond locks to be sure there were no more errant pink strands. Once dressed and properly groomed, the two men headed out the front door from Shuichi’s quarters.

There weren’t many people around when the men exited the small building, which was just fine with the happy pair. It would soon be known what had transpired in those small quarters, and then people would be flocking around them asking embarrassing questions. Neither man wished to have to answer those just yet. First, they had to face the Shogun and his wife. Those questions were going to be hard enough to answer.

Shuichi thought about the meeting as they marched towards the castle. They were at the foot of the stairs that led to the front door when he stopped and placed his hand on Eiri’s forearm. “What are we going to say to our master?”

Eiri turned at the touch to his arm. He was still unaccustomed to anyone touching him, and this question was indeed a good one. “What do you want to tell him?”

Shuichi looked into Eiri’s face. He expected to see the all too familiar scowl, but instead saw a grin. He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. We haven’t really discussed what we would say. I’m still not exactly sure how you feel about me. I mean, I know what happened, but…” Shuichi looked to the ground. Even though they had just made love, he still didn’t know if all their problems were resolved. After all, he knew he loved Eiri, but he didn’t know if Eiri actually loved him. “You said you had started to fall for me, but how do you really feel? I mean, I’m not Ryuichi.”

A firm but gentle right hand cupped Shuichi’s downturned face and lifted it up so their eyes could meet. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, you aren’t as smart a sensei as Seguchi-sama thinks.” The feelings were there, but he supposed that the actual words needed to be said. “I love you, Shindou Shuichi. I love you as much as you love me.”

A small smile perked up on the young teacher’s face. He turned his cheek into the hand that held his face and gave it a small kiss. “I love you too, Uesugi Eiri.”

Out of nowhere a “Well it’s about time!” was heard and the two men turned to see Tatsuha standing a few feet away, a silly smile on his face. “We were all wondering what was taking you two so long. I guess we know now.”

Eiri growled at his insolent little brother and was about to rebuke him when Shuichi put some pressure on the hand that still held his face. “Don’t be angry. Today’s not the day for anger. Besides, he only wants you to be happy.”

Eiri backed down and looked at the cherub-like features that he held in his hand. Shuichi was right; he was in far too good a mood to let even his smirking little brother get to him. He released Shuichi’s face and took a few steps towards his brother. Before Tatsuha could react, that same right hand slapped his shoulder and Eiri laughed out, “It’s just like you plotted, little brother.”

With the tension broken, the three climbed the stairs and entered the castle. There in the main hall, sitting on a cushion reading some scrolls was Seguchi Tohma. The daimyo looked up when the three men entered the hall, smiles abounding and chatting quietly amongst themselves. “Well, it seems that you have worked things out satisfactorily, Ne?”

The trio bowed to the warlord. Tohma rose from his cushion and walked toward Eiri and Shuichi, virtually ignoring his other brother-in-law. He placed on hand on each of their shoulders and gave a little clap. A big all-knowing smile was on his face as he asked, “So what have you two decided?”

Shuichi turned several shades of pink then red. He looked to Eiri who also was now blushing. It seemed that somehow Seguchi-sama already knew what had transpired, but how they weren’t certain how. Shuichi couldn’t speak; his embarrassment finally got the best of him. Eiri too was hard-pressed to answer the question, so it was incumbent upon Tatsuha to chime in with, “They finally admitted they love each other, and if the time they were alone in Shuichi’s quarters is any indication, they’re lovers by now.”

Three sets of eyes shot glares at the outspoken young samurai apprentice who slowly backed away from the other men. He bowed and then quickly ran from the room before someone did something he wasn’t going to like.

Tohma looked Eiri and Shuichi in the eyes. The eyes told him everything he wanted to know. “So, it’s true.” Eiri smiled and although still somewhat embarrassed by Tatsuha’s declaration, Shuichi managed a smile and a small nod. Tohma was very pleased. He called for a guard who was inconspicuously waiting behind a sliding door to go get his wife and invited the two other men to sit with him.

When Lady Mika entered the room, she found the three men sitting and chatting like old friends, or better still, like family. She quietly walked over and knelt just behind her husband. “You all seem in good moods. Is there something I should know?”

Tohma reached behind and took his wife’s hand and pulled her closer. “It seems we have a new member to the family.” He turned to Shuichi. “Isn’t that right Shindou-san?”

The still-blushing young man nodded. It was Eiri who spoke up. “So, you planned this all along, is that correct sister? Well, for once, I don’t mind.” He leaned over and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.

Mika started beaming from ear to ear. She was elated. This was the first time in many months that her brother could be seen smiling and the blush on the young teacher’s face told her volumes. “I’m glad you aren’t upset with my, brother. I just wanted you to be happy again.”

Eiri smiled at his sister and then at Shuichi. “Yes, I’m happy. And I plan on staying that way, too.”



OWARI!

A/N- I did some research on the subject of Shudo- the samurai/apprentice love situation before I wrote this. If you are interested in the subject there are two sites that I used.
1- http://www.androphile.org/preview/Culture/Japan/japan.htm

2-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Shud.C5.8D