I was in that state in between sleep and consciousness when the screen door in the room provided by the lady of the house opened. I slowly sat up to see a familiar tall figure walking towards me. His strides were long and impatient, revealing his urgency to get to me. He joined me on the futon, his familiar scent invaded my nostrils and told me I was home. When I felt his lips on mine, an indescribable feeling enveloped my entire body.I wrapped my arms around his neck as he slowly pushed me down on the mattress. "Anata…" I whispered against his lips.
Kaname held me so gently I felt like I was some precious gem. When he broke our kiss, I felt something wet fall on my cheek.
"My love?" I let go of his neck to touch his face. He was crying! "It"s alright, my love. I"m safe and so is Riku…"
He didn"t say anything and just continued to cry silently. I hugged him until his emotions were once again in check.
"You"re my life, Hina," he whispered, his voice hoa.r.s.e and full of emotion. "If you leave me then I won"t have a reason to live."
"My love… I…" his words left me speechless. I didn"t know what to say so I just held him tight.
"When they said that you didn"t escape the fire, I thought I was going to die," he confessed. "Please don"t do that again. Didn"t we promise that we"re in each other"s care? That we must take good care of ourselves for the sake of the other?"
"Forgive me, anata… I just couldn"t let them take Riku away…"
He sighed and captured my lips once more.
"Aside from you leg, are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked as soon as we were no longer out of breath.
"I"m fine, you don"t need to—" but then I remembered what happened in Nagahito"s room. I instantly panicked and couldn"t stop my body from stiffening.
"Hina? Are you hurt elsewhere?" he inspected my exposed skin under the candlelight.
"Anata, I…" the words were stuck on my throat as my panic and fear continued to rise. "Nagahito… H-he…"
"Shh…" something in his eyes flashed before he hugged me. "You don"t have to say it. I know everything that happened."
It was now my turn to cry. "I"m sorry I couldn"t defend myself… I was drugged, he drugged me," I sobbed.
"I should be the one who should apologize," he stroked my back in a comforting manner. "I wasn"t able to save you on time. I"m so useless! Please forgive me, my beloved..."
"Y-you"re not angry? You don"t t-think I"m d-dirty?"
"No, never!" he said emotionally. "Nothing will change my love for you, Hina. My only concern is that you might have been too traumatized."
"I a.s.sure you, he wasn"t able to enter me… He didn"t succeed. I"m still… I"m still clean."
"Hina, listen to me," he let go of me to caress my face. "Even if he had his way with you, I will still love you with all my heart. The only thing that will change is the intensity of my love for you… I will stay by your side and be your support. I will love you until you won"t hurt anymore."
"Kaname…" I buried my face on his chest and continued to sob.
"Later today, I shall once again show the world what will happen to those who dares to hurt the shogun"s family," he hugged me tightly to reinforce his promise. "Whether they are of the lowest or the highest rank in this society, I won"t back down. My family is the most important thing in my life. I don"t care if I have to kill the entire monarchy, no one lays their hands on my loved ones and gets away with it!"
~~~
On the second hour of the snake, Kaname led what the entire country of j.a.pan would call as The Death March from the country"s capital of Kyoto to the shogun"s city of Edo. It was an incredibly hot summer day and the torrid sun was beating down harshly. Riku and I were riding on a palanquin while Kaname and his men rode on their horses. Meanwhile, Nagahito, Iori, Saru, Ayaka, and the rest of the crown prince"s treasonous men walked with their hands and ankles cuffed.
As some of them were beaten and wounded after trying to escape the night before, not all of them survived the arduous walk. Some collapsed on the road and died on the spot, some were made to stand up again and endure the long and difficult punishment.
I noticed that aside from being filthy, Nagahito was unscathed. During the entire walk, he was quiet and not once did he complained. This surprised me because based on his personality, he would have been whining and refusing to move by now.
Twice, our eyes met. The first time was when he was being cuffed and tied to a horse. When he saw me walking past him, he licked his lips lasciviously. Riku witnessed the whole thing and hid behind me. I acted as if all I saw was air and ignored him. The second time was when I was about to board my palanquin. I was carrying a sleeping Riku in my arms while he was being ordered by Lord Arima to start moving.
"You"re either very n.o.ble or stupid to care so deeply for that child," he said mockingly.
I turned to one of Kaname"s most trusted men and asked innocently. "Lord Arima, did you speak to me just now?"
"No, my lady. I did not," there was a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt on the usually stern man"s face.
"Oh, pardon me then," I pretended to clean my ear with my index finger. "I probably was just hearing things."
I laughed out loud when I heard Nagahito curse, irritating him further.
~~~
Come evening, Taneyuki-san arranged for us to sleep in an inn while the lower ranks set up tents. Nagahito and his surviving men were placed in portable prison cells, including Ayaka.
"You should have placed us here earlier instead of making us walk!" Iori complained.
"Who do you think you are?" Kotaro sneered. "The death march is part of your punishment so you have no right to complain about your predicament!"
"You arrogant old man! How dare you speak that way in front of the crown prince!"
"Your beloved kotaishi is the tenka bito"s prisoner! He does not deserve anyone"s respect!" Kotaro-san roared.
"You!" Iori was so angry he had a hard time throwing a reb.u.t.tal.
"Iori, that"s enough!" Saru interrupted while glaring fiercely ag Kotaro-san.
"Oho! Shall tell my liege that you are both still full energy after that little stroll? He will surely think of ways to shut those loud mouths of yours without ordering for your decapitation!"
"Kotaro-san," I called. Lord Arima was escorting me to back to the inn from the place we ate as per Kaname"s instructions. He told me to retire early as he still had to meet with the officials of the area.
"My lady, my lord," the middle-aged man bowed at us. "A pleasant evening to the both of you."
"Good evening to you as well," I replied.
"Does her ladyship need something?"
"Hai. Please leave that man to me," I pointed my chin at Iori. "He owes me and a couple of people I met recently a lot. His fate is mine to determine."
Iori"s eyes widened upon hearing what I said. "W-what do you mean?"
"You"ll find out soon. There"s no need to rush," I told him with a wicked smile.