Yo sup, guys? How's all doin'?
Gosh I love this line from Hanzo in the game.
Here's another chapter for y'all so go ahead, enjoy, and don't forget to leave a vote or comment, loves. ^_^
Ok, let's go.
In the stillness of the serene night in Hanamura, you finally had the chance to pick up where you had left off before Hanzo's predicament took over the situation--admiring the sudden gift Satoshi unexpectedly gave you before leaving back with his family to their province.
You found the opened parcel where you hid it off some time awhile back: under the flimsy protection of your thin mattress. Fishing it out, your hand darted for the silky fabric, and a connection was established. You wanted to wear this garment, no doubt about that, and tonight seemed like the best time to do so. The servants and most of the palace residents were more than likely to be dozing off right about now, and the call of duty would ring again tomorrow and hinder you from this special moment.
So with a smile, you began to undress, sliding the sleeves off your smooth shoulders and replacing them with the longer sleeves of your rare, exquisite gift.
***
The best part of the night aside from lying down on your warm bed, resting your weary bones against the mattress, and swimming in a world of dreams was the fact that in these few dark hours you could have anything you desired, you were free to at least pretend that you were who you've always wanted to be, with all your hopes and dreams, free from the appraising eyes of this self-righteous world that wanted to put everything and every person in some overblown pecking order.
At that moment, you weren't (Y/N) the servant girl: That night you were an esteemed lady of the court, walking by the plants inside the palace gardens moments after ditching her bodyguards in search of her secret lover, the lord of an enemy clan. With your hair down and a smile spreading your lips, you let the wind caress your features as it carried the distinctive scents of the towering maple, sakura, and the omoshiro plant.
You smiled, bending down ever so often to smell the wide variety of flora in Lord Sojiro's garden. You'd pass by here in the day, and oh do they look lovely with the sunlight shining down upon them!
You hummed in approval, heading off to the area where the koi swam by the flock, the pond where you nearly fell in before when you were a child. The kimono had a small train trailing behind, so there was a slight drag in your stride, but it barely bothered you. All that swam in your head was the sight of a small wooden bridge up ahead that curved over the waters of the said pond. If it wasn't the molding wood, another significant feature were its quaint red railings, resembling a house's framework either up close or from a distance. Young reeds were starting to grow along the pond's edges again, hiding families of insects between its flimsy green stalks and no doubt angering the gardener that will tend to the spot the next morning.
Enthralled by the beauty of it all, you succumbed to the glory of its simplicity and leaned your weight against one railing, your sparkling eyes training themselves on the big graceful fish beneath the waters. Just like them, your thoughts wandered in circles: First you drifted back to your parents, then to your future, then the sights that lie on the other side of the world, then you mulled over the very act of looking for them, wherever they may be.
But despite these intrusive thoughts cramming up in your head, you felt as light as a feather.
You felt invincible.
"I didn't know you come here at night too," a familiar voice came from your right. "I almost mistook you for some lost geisha."
"Lord Hanzo..!" you gasped, more out of surprise than anything. You jumped back and the koi darted away in alarm as your composure shattered at the sight of him. "I...no, this is my first time actually. I decided to take a walk out here because I couldn't sleep." You quickly bit your lip. "Are you alright now?"
The man nodded in response, eyes flying to the side until his brown gaze landed on your form once more. "Is that what Satoshi gave you?" he asked.
"Yes." You couldn't help smiling. "I think it's really beautiful. I don't know what came over him that he'd choose to buy such an expensive garment for my sake, but I am very grateful."
"It fits you," Hanzo added. "You look stunning."
"You flatter me, Lord Hanzo," you laughed softly, a light pink tint rushing over your cheeks. "It's just the kimono." You tried to hide the warmth on your face by turning to the side, but the gesture only elicited a chuckle from Hanzo's chapped lips.
"I'm not one to throw out compliments in the open where it isn't due," he pressed on. "I meant what I said--you do look stunning."
"Well, thank you Lord Hanzo," you whispered your gratitude, tucking a loose lock of your hair back behind a tingling ear. "I appreciate the compliment."
Not uttering another word, the clan heir hid his hands behind his back and tucked them as best he could inside the hems of his loose grey kimono, speckled with black squares and fastened at the waist with a thin brown obi; apparently his jammies for the night.
Cute.
You looked over to where he then set his hard gaze, the swimming koi in the pond, and you saw the exact expression of peace and tranquility setting over his body just as you had before his sudden arrival. You remembered the contenting feeling that took over you awhile ago in your solitude, and you wondered if your presence was hindering Hanzo from getting to that level of happiness you felt; the freedom of detaching himself from being clan leader for a few hours a night. Immediately remorse spread through you, and you spoke up in accordance to the guilt in your heart before the atmosphere could weigh any heavier.
"Am I intruding, Lord Hanzo? You look so deep in thought, like there's a lot going in your mind," you inquired, noticing the flicker of the moonlight bouncing back from his tawny eyes. You put a foot forward, readying to dash away at the very mention of disapproval.
"No," he answered honestly, "I like your company. Even if we're not doing anything, I still feel...happy...merely by being around you."
"R-Really?" you whispered. You had your doubts on whether or not he was coming off to you, but with his subtle advancements reaching your head, it became difficult to stay on leveled ground, and assumptions of the clan heir harboring romantic interests for you sprung up left and right no matter how hard you told yourself that it was very impossible.
A part of you fought to think critically, while a bigger part of you had long deviated from reason and danced on cloud nine. You couldn't help it--his handsome face, his piercing stare, his intellect, his wit, his voice--oh you could listen to that man read a phone book for hours on end!
You'd be a liar if you said you weren't very attracted to him. But no way in a million years had you ever thought on actually acting upon your feelings.
Would he even feel half the same way with a lowly servant girl?
"(Y/N)," he continued curtly, sighing as he inched closer into the space between you. "There's something I've, uh...there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
His statement piqued at your interest. "W-What is it, Lord Hanzo?" Half-expectant and half-scared, you patiently awaited for his answer.
The wind picked up, and your untied hair swayed by the locks like a dancing person in the strong breeze. Hanzo could only stare, mesmerized by the raw emotions sculpting your face, the glimmer of the moonbeams dancing in your eyes, your half parted lips ready to reply at whatever he had to say. The exceptional piece of work that wrapped you dimmed in brilliance, and the silken fabric lost their shine. It only made you look like an esteemed lady, but he knew you would do well even on your own skin. Hanzo thought that you've always been lovely, like a little blossom that brings smiles to the faces of people.
Certainly, you've made him smile, and he realized he wanted to keep smiling, to feel this fulfilled.
And he wanted to feel all that with you.
"(Y/N)," he began once more, "I know that your role as a servant in this palace will hold you back from dropping the formalities with me, from being comfortable in your own skin around me. I need to know, do I still scare you? Make you fidget?"
You were surprised he'd say such a thing. Sure you acted as such before when he first made you his personal servant, but within the months they've spent together, you began to know him well enough that you seeked for the very sight of him for comfort, the sound of his voice to soothe your aching head.
"You don't," you said, "I...I like being around you, Lord Hanzo. I'm happy whenever it's just the two of us together, because I get to see a side of you other people don't."
"Which is?"
"Well, I'm very certain others here hold you in such a high place that they treat you with deference in whatever you do. I think you're really just a kind man who loves the clan, one who doesn't know how to show emotion very well."
"Am I...am I a grouchy butt?"
"What?" you exclaimed before breaking out into a fit of laughter. "No! Well...you do look grumpy most of the time, and I think it sets people off in the wrong direction." You calmed down before saying, "I think you're a great man."
"Because I'm clan leader?" Hanzo lifted a brow.
"No," you answered. "You defended me even when you knew I can't give you anything in return. You looked out for me and cared for me: your mere servant girl. You never looked at me any differently."
Taking a breath of courage, you grabbed at his hand. "You have a good heart, Lord Hanzo, and that's what I love about you."
"Then take it," he said, "I've long given it to you anyways."
"I beg your pardon?" you gasped softly, hoping all of this weren't mere fragments of your imagination.
"My heart sings at the sight of you, (Y/N)...it longs for your heart to become one with it, it longs for your affection, your love." Hanzo inched even closer, all the while trying to keep his voice from cracking. "(Y/N), w-watashi wa anata wo aishiteimasu."
"H-How long-"
"Ever since we were children I've always been attracted to you. Then when I proceeded to go and take on the clan business more seriously, my feelings fleeted for awhile, but glimpses of you walking by the hall as you clean rekindled the yearning I had for you."
"Then, why didn't you tell me sooner?" you asked, unable to comprehend how all this unfolded so suddenly.
"I...I was scared," he admitted with a tint of insecurity. "I knew I have the burden of the curse holding me back, and I couldn't bear bringing you into that dark part of me. When you found out, I thought for a certain that you'd shudder in fright at the sight of me--" He raised a hand to tuck away the loose lock of hair that strayed with the wind. The skin where his fingertips grazed warmed with red, and you bit your lip.
God he wanted to kiss them.
"But you didn't," he whispered. "You stuck by me...and if ever someone else should have possession over my heart, there would be no better woman than you. I know for a fact that you could never bring yourself to accept anything free coming from me. I know that you always see me as someone superior to you...but just this once, this one time, please--won't you accept my heart?"
"Hanzo..." you whispered his name. You were so moved by the raw vulnerability in his confession, tears streamed down from the sides of your eyes as you stared at his in awe. "How could you want something as special as this with someone like me? I'm not rich, I couldn't add to the clan's gold; I'm not that beautiful, I don't get listened to; I'm not influential, I couldn't bring more power to the clan; I'm not a court lady--I'm a servant girl. Why would you want someone who can't help you in rising the clan for the better to be standing by your side?"
He paused, knowing such a question was coming his way. In response, he held your chin and leaned down to press his forehead right against your own. With his face merely inches from yours, he let go of your chin to cup your trembling jaw. "Because I want someone who can make me rise a better man--for you and the clan."
"You can have any woman you want," you said, putting up one last line of defense as his features neared yours. "Anyone would want you."
"But no one could love me better," he replied, and with that, he sealed your parted lips into a soft kiss that exuded newness and unfamiliarity. The defense you put up crumbled into pieces as his persistence seeped through your cracks and won you over. That was the last time you were going to stop him, and so you gave in to your desire and kissed him back with just as much ardor.
It wasn't hard to tell that this was his first time, and his inexperience only made you want to take more of him. He wrapped your dazed being into his strong arms as he continued to smother you with his longing. You wrapped your arms in turn around his broad chest and held on to him as your legs wobbled with weakness.
"Hanzo," you breathed out.
"Please," he whispered lowly, looking into your sheened orbs, "tell me that you love me too..."
There was no need for second thoughts.
"I do," you said, running your fingers against the sides of his fair face. "I love you, Lord Hanzo. I need you-"
He kissed you again and your head floated back up to the heavens as you felt him claiming you as his own, and you him. His lips were so warm, his hands were so eager on you, his skin was comforting, his scent was intoxicating--oh, he was maddening!
"I need you too, (Y/N)." He panted after pulling away from the searing kiss.
"Then I'll stay with you, Hanzo. It shall be us against the world."
He bent low to embrace you, and he laid his chin on top of your head. The night got colder as the wind whistled in the groves and in the trees. In its gentle hand it carried the scent of tiny sakura petals that floated by with the breeze. But in the heat of each other's embrace you both felt like you had everything--more than what the richest man in the world may possess. You've never smiled as wide as you did in that moment, and you held on to him as tight as you can.
Needless to say that in the still hours of that night, the court lady finally found her lord.
<3 you both are official now!!
Yass! If you enjoyed the story, don't forget to vote, loves! :* see y'all in the next chapter.
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