CHAPTER 3
Arisa slid the door close behind her, sweeping the room attentively to make sure she was alone in the dojo. Satisfied to notice there wasn’t a living soul in the place, her eyes fell next on the familiar stand of bokken. She had been visiting this place in secret a few times now since her arrival at the clan Ashikaga. Without further ado her feet led her to the stand, and she took one of the wooden swords into her right hand. With her left one she brushed the wooden surface in appreciation, the fond memory of a certain training session progressively invading her mind. The face of her beloved Nobunaga appeared clearly, and Arisa’s features relaxed as she let herself go back in time.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” was Nobunaga’s hesitant reply when she requested to take kenjutsu lessons that day of Fall.
“Why?” Arisa frowned, looking back in confusion at her 19 year old childhood friend who was holding a bokken in his right hand. The boy had been training alone and diligently in the dojo for an hour now, like every afternoon for two years. “I know you are perfectly capable of teaching me.”
“It’s not a matter of skills,” her interlocutor replied, avoiding her questioning gaze in unease. He placed his bokken back on the stand, his back still turned to the other girl when he continued. “I’m not sure your father would approve of his daughter learning to fight.”
So that’s the reason, Arisa mused in amusement. She drew closer to the boy who was deliberately turning his back to her, but who looked back at her in curiosity when she encircled his arm gently. She leaned forward - taking in his startled expression as their lips were now just a few inches apart - before murmuring softly. “He doesn’t need to know.”
Arisa left a lingering kiss on his cheek, Nobunaga’s eyes softening at the intimate gesture. Arisa could tell she was not far from convincing him successfully. Indeed, Nobunaga was now gazing at her with a devotion that always managed to make her heart race. The 19-year-old boy wasn’t very good at expressing his feelings out loud, but such a deep emotion in his eyes always spoke louder than words.
When his lips still refused to produce a positive answer to her demand a few seconds later, she knew she had to put an end to his last shred of resistance. She caressed softly the small scar underneath his left eye - result of an unfortunate fight he got involved into a few years ago - before slipping her fingers inside his hand. It grew stiff at the contact, and Arisa saw Nobunaga looking over her shoulder in alert.
They were both currently alone in the dojo, but Arisa was conscious of the risk she was taking if someone happened to come in at that specific moment, and witnessed such a scene. The irrepressible need to be closer to her beloved one was just sometimes too strong to resist. No one in the clan knew they were romantically involved. And no one could. Especially not her father, the shogun. Her father had taken Nobunaga under his wing at a young age, and made him a member of his personal guard as soon as he reached 18. A great honor. The 19-year-old boy with black, shoulder-length hair respected his shogun highly. But there was an insurmountable obstacle to Arisa’s relationship with her childhood friend. Nobunaga wasn’t of noble rank. As a result, their love was forbidden.
Arisa squeezed his hand lightly before letting it go reluctantly. Nevertheless, she refused to take a step back, and looked straight into his eyes when she spoke up. “Please, Nobunaga. I’ve always wanted to learn kenjutsu. Besides, we barely see each other lately. I just want to spend time with you.”
At her desperate words, Nobunaga finally tore his eyes away from the door to gaze at her. The painful reality hit him. She was completely right. Indeed, they had been separated a lot lately, due to his obligations towards the head of the clan, Arisa’s father. He gave her a soft nod, finally relenting. “Alright, I will teach you sword fighting.”
Arisa’s eyes lit up in joy, and she grabbed quickly a bokken off the stand. Nobunaga let out a small chuckle at her enthusiasm. He took a wooden sword as well, and walked towards a very decided Arisa who was now standing in the middle of the dojo, watching his every move in expectation. He stopped a few feet away from her, slightly hesitant as he observed the feminine form in concern. “Please tell me when you wish to stop. I don’t want to exhaust you.”
“Who do you take me for?” Arisa scoffed, sounding terribly offended by the assumption. “I’m not a frail girl.”
Nobunaga was momentarily caught off guard by her somewhat harsh tone, before distinguishing a glint of mischief in her brown orbs and understanding he was being teased. He shook her head in agreement, amused. “Of course you’re not. You’re one of the strongest persons I’ve ever met, Arisa.”
“So, that’s where you’ve been hiding all this time?” The questioning voice pulled Arisa out of her thoughts instantly. Her fingers froze on the bokken, and she turned to stare at the son of the shogun currently standing on the doorstep of the dojo. So lost in her precious memory of her first training with Nobunaga, she had unfortunately not heard the door sliding open.
Ashikaga-dono watched her carefully for a little while - waiting patiently for any sort of reaction on her behalf - until it became obvious by her lasting silence that she was not going to grant him with a reply. Hands clasped behind his back he took a few steps towards his wife-to-be, his gaze falling in curiosity on the bokken in her right hand. “Have you practiced kenjutsu in the past, Oni-”
“How did you find me?” Arisa cut him off, much displeased by the sudden appearance of the other man. The dojo was her little sanctum, a safe place where she let her mind drift off to fond memories. And he had caused the image of her beloved to vanish with his unexpected intrusion. “Have you asked my maid to spy on me again?”
“This could indeed have been the case,” Yoshiaki conceded, understanding full well the reason behind the other woman’s suspicious look. After all, the young maid assigned to her had betrayed her no so long ago by divulging her intention to flee. “But no, I’ve been doing the observation myself. I noticed your recurrent disappearances right after dinner.”
Yoshiaki’s mouth tugged into an amused smile at Arisa’s appalled expression. Since her arrival at the clan, the latter had always done her best to keep her mask in place when they faced each other. Her words were nothing but straightforward when they spoke, but she always kept her composure each time she addressed him. Somehow, Yoshiaki guessed it couldn’t possibly match what she was really feeling deep inside. That’s why he found her sudden slip surprising, but definitely not unwelcomed. He always valued honestly above all.
“I haven’t trained in a while,” Yoshiaki admitted. “But I would be happy to do so with you. I know I have been very much confined in my quarters lately. Unfortunately, work gave me little free time.”
“You’re mistaken if you believe I want to spend more time with you,” Arisa retorted, placing the wooden sword back on the stand and moving towards the exit in determination. Just as she was about to reach the door, the voice of the shogun’s son stopped her in her tracks.
“We’ll be married in three months,” Yoshiaki stated calmly.
Arisa’s lips twitched in annoyance, not appreciating in the least being reminded of this imminent event. After all - even if it had already been two months since her arrival at the castle - she kept having a hard time accepting the truth. And her latest escape plan had miserably failed because of her maid’s betrayal. Never again after that day she found the occasion to flee the castle. Her actions were always closely monitored each time she happened to leave the vicinity of the castle. In fact, she could practically feel the eyes of the guards boring into her back at each step she took.
“None of us wanted this wedding, but we have no choice in the matter,” Yoshiaki continued on the same tone. “Destiny has brought us together to unite our two clans. I solely wish to know you better, Onishi-san.”
At those words, Arisa slowly turned around to look at him. She knew his offer to be genuine. Ashikaga-dono wasn’t a deceiving man; of this she was certain. Nevertheless, it didn’t make the whole situation more acceptable. Her nights were continuously filled with visions of her dear Nobunaga, and her wish to be reunited with him had not faded. No matter the fact that their reunion was becoming more unlikely as the weeks went by. Somehow, she refused to completely lose hope of finding him again. Hope was the last thing that was preventing her from losing her sanity in this place.
“Did Nobunaga teach you kenjutsu?” Yoshiaki didn’t let Arisa’s silence deter him. On the contrary, he took two bokken from the stand and approached the woman who was cautiously keeping her distance, offering her without the slight hesitation a wooden sword. “Please train with me, Onishi-san.”
Arisa gave him a defiant look - stubbornly refusing to comply to his wishes - until grabbing not so gently the training weapon from his left hand. She could feel herself losing her calm gradually, and she knew it had something to do with the name he had so casually uttered. “Don’t say his name.”
Yoshiaki didn’t react and Arisa stared at the bokken in her hand, ill-at-ease. Until now, she had always practiced kenjutsu with only one person: Nobunaga. The idea of having another partner for the activity didn’t please her at all. In fact, the sole view of a bokken reminded her of her childhood friend. But at the same time, she couldn’t ignore the fact she had deeply missed practicing sword fighting these last two months.
“Will you allow me to take lessons if I agree to this?” Arisa heard herself asking. Startled by her own words, she kept her gaze on her bokken, wondering why she was relenting so fast. She shouldn’t be giving in to this man’s demands. What on earth was she doing?
“Yes, if it pleases you,” came the immediate reply.
Arisa looked up in incredulity. She had voiced the request without thinking, and she certainly didn’t believe it would be accepted. After all, her father never wanted her to learn sword fighting, proclaiming it wasn’t befitting of a girl. Even less of the daughter of the shogun. And, just now, her interlocutor had agreed in the blink of an eye, without the slight hesitation. Why?
Frustration washed over Arisa as she was witnessing again the unfailing kindness of the son of the shogun. Even after being brought to this foreign land and forced to marry this man, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him. The son of the shogun wasn’t a bad person. Just like her, it was victim of the circumstances. The only difference was, he seemed to have put up with this new situation much faster than her.
Arisa raised her bokken, her gaze fixed firmly on her opponent who was patiently waiting for her in the middle of the dojo. Her feet led her to him, noting the pleased smile on his lips as she came to stand in front of him. Arisa breathed in and fluttered her eyes close, letting Nobunaga’s teachings come back to mind as she let her body relax.
When Arisa gazed back at the son of the shogun, the latter distinguished the strong determination in her brown eyes. Without further ado she moved her right feet forward, clear sign that she was about to give the first hit. Her head was void of any negative thought when their weapons met in a clashing sound. Nobunaga may physically not be present by her side, he was accompanying each and single one of her attacks. And - as she cleverly defended herself against Ashikaga-dono’s dexterous bokken - she knew he would always stay in her heart, no matter what.
Rena stilled her bokken at once when the director shouted “cut”. She lowered her weapon and took a step back - aware of her heart beating fast inside her chest due to the physical exercise - and exchanged a smile with Yosuke. She may have been rehearsing this scene with her fighting coach for a few days now, it nonetheless proved to be a very energetic scene to shoot. Thankfully, Yosuke was an efficient sparring partner: they moved in perfect synchronization during the whole scene. Their mutual unfailing professionalism had enabled them to wrap up the scene in one take. Rena couldn’t be more satisfied by the positive turn of events.
More physical scenes awaited her in the following episodes, but she was done for now. The training session between her character and Yoshiaki was the last scene she had to shoot for the day. It was not dark yet outside, but it was already 6:30 PM. It was time for her to make her way back to her hotel.
As she progressively left the large set to join the dressing room, her thoughts went to a certain ace. Jurina was still enjoying her holidays at Mayu’s beach house, and she couldn’t wait to hear about her cheerful narration of her day. She had missed the enthusiast Jurina so much these last months, that she was more than glad to finally have that side of her back.
Rena checked her phone as soon as she stepped in the taxi. She was now back in her everyday clothes, and had taken a quick shower to remove all the sweat she had accumulated during her day, mostly during her last fighting scene. Rena indicated the name of her hotel to the driver and as the car moved forward, her attention went back on the white device. To her surprise, she discovered that Jurina was still not connected on LINE. She arched an eyebrow at the strange occurrence. The 19 year old girl always liked to connect a few minutes before the time agreed, just to make sure she didn’t miss a single moment of their precious time together.
Come to think of it, Jurina had not confirmed earlier that she would be present on LINE. They typically chatted as soon as the older Matsui left the set and joined her hotel, but the latter always liked to check first with Jurina that their schedules matched well. Indeed, it happened a few times in the past that they needed to postpone their conversation to a bit later, when a night event was taking up Jurina’s time.
The fact that Jurina had not replied yet to her 1 PM text was very curious. Jurina never took so long before texting back, even when she was working. An hour was the most it had ever taken her to reply. And it had already been six hours now. Rena pondered over sending her another message, when the driver distracted her by announcing they had arrived at destination.
Rena tilted her head towards the window in surprise, taking in indeed the familiar sight of the entrance of her hotel. So engrossed in her thoughts, she had not felt the time passing by. She put her phone away and thanked the driver, paying her due. As soon as she got out of the car, her fingers encountered her phone again. While moving mechanically towards the lift, her eyes stayed glued on the device as she took the decision to send another text to Jurina. Just as she was about to push the button to call the elevator, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
“Rena-san!”
The older Matsui looked up instantly and turned around, startled to see Sayuri waving at her from the entrance of the restaurant room. She didn’t even have time to react that the younger girl was already approaching fast, and had encircled her arm before she realized it. “Where are you going, Rena-san?”
“I’m going back to my hotel room,” Rena explained, confused by the strange question.
The shooting had ended. Where else could she possibly go? Her days at Kyoto went like clockwork. As soon as she left the set of the drama, she joined her hotel room to meet Jurina on LINE. Then, she went out for a bite, and got back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep. Was something supposed to happen today that she forgot? She didn’t have the best memory in the world; it could totally be possible. However, it was Wednesday. As a result, it couldn’t be her weekly dinner in town with Sayuri and Yosuke.
Rena was really wondering what was wrong with her co-star when Sayuri shook her head at her, looking very unsatisfied by her answer. She barely had time to place her phone back inside her bag that the young girl pulled her arm, and started dragging her towards the direction of the restaurant of the hotel. To say that Rena was a bit shocked by her action would be an understatement. As they stood in front of the closed door of the restaurant, Rena gave a puzzled look to the other actress.
“You know what day it is?” Sayuri broke the awkward silence that was starting to envelop them.
“It’s July 27th.” Rena frowned, failing to see where she was getting at. “Why?”
Rena was pretty sure she never saw the other girl rolling her eyes before, but that’s exactly what happened. The latter even let out a defeated sigh, before exclaiming. “Yes! It’s an important day!”
“Sayuri, I don’t underst-,” Rena didn’t have time to question her further that the young girl pushed the door of the restaurant room with one hand, and pulled her in with the other. Rena widened her eyes in surprise when she faced a room full of people. But not any ordinary people. Crew members. Actors. All the people standing in the room and looking at her were working on
Destiny. What was the reason behind this gathering? She had not been informed about it; of this she was certain. Rena was about to ask Sayuri for an explanation, when her eyes caught sight of a birthday cake on a table. That’s when realization hit her.
“Happy birthday!” Sayuri’s excited voice sounded next to her ear. The room soon joined her in her congratulations, and Rena heard the words falling from the lips of all the people present in her room. Her feet stayed stuck on the ground, at a complete loss for words.
From her peripheral vision Rena saw Sayuri letting go of her arm and joining Yosuke who was standing by the cake. Both sent her an inviting smile, but Rena was still having a hard time getting over her initial shock. Of course, she was perfectly aware that she turning twenty five today, but she didn’t expect her colleagues to throw a party for her. Despite her surprise, she couldn’t help but feel moved by the thoughtful attention.
“Happy birthday, Matsui-san.” The director of the drama approached her from the left side of the room. “Sayuri organized this little gathering. I hope you don’t mind.”
“She did?” Rena exclaimed, astonished by this new piece of information. She gave a quick look to Sayuri over the man’s shoulder, before bowing politely to him. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you very much.”
Rena thanked a few more people who came to congratulate her, before diverting her attention to a grinning and seemingly very proud of what she had achieved Sayuri. The girl may be very talkative during the day, she had carefully kept this gathering secret from her. And the thought that she was at the origin of it? Rena would never have imagined it. In fact, she was pretty sure she never mentioned the date of her birthday to her. How did she come to such knowledge? Rena made a mental note to ask her later.
“Come and taste the cake!” Sayuri exclaimed, waving at her near the cake.
Rena smiled at her exuberant enthusiast and approached willingly, listening attentively while Sayuri explained in great detail that she had personally chosen and bought the cake from one of her favorite bakeries in Kyoto. According to her, their cakes had never disappointed her so far, so it should be very tasty. Rena did look up once or twice from the cake at that, not believing the girl would go to such great lengths for her birthday.
“Thank you very much, Sayuri,” Rena spoke up, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. “I’m deeply moved you did all this for me.”
What Rena didn’t expect, was to see the other girl blushing in reaction. It was actually very subtle, as Sayuri’s cheeks had only slightly turned pink. But it was definitely not the fruit of her imagination. And now, to top it all, the usually extrovert girl was acting unexpectedly very shy, avoiding her gaze a little. Rena’s mouth tugged into an amused smile at her unforeseen but cute behavior.
“Sayuri is always full of surprises,” Yosuke intervened, the same amused expression plastering his features as he observed his young friend’s emotional reaction. When Sayuri shyly kept quiet he turned towards the older Matsui, and offered her a plate and a kind smile. “Happy birthday, Rena-san. Please enjoy your cake.”
After chatting a bit with her two co-stars and tasting the - positively delicious - strawberry cake, Rena’s next thought was to join her hotel room. However, she quickly realized she couldn’t exactly do that. Unfortunately, etiquette was preventing her from leaving yet. It had already been half an hour since she entered the restaurant room with Sayuri, and - even if a few crew members had left - there were still a lot of people present. The birthday girl couldn’t possibly be one of the first persons to leave. After all, they had kindly organized this party in her honor. Not only it would be improper, it would also be very impolite.
As a result, the older Matsui took advantage of the situation to make small talk with a few other people. Even if she spent a lot of time on set with crew members and actors their conversations remained strictly professional. Moreover, the opportunity to speak with those same people outside of the working place never really presented itself before. The only exception concerned her two co-stars, Yosuke and Sayuri, with who she had unexpectedly bonded with quite fast.
For so many years, she had been a shy and introvert girl. But, as she engaged in a few conversations and discovered how natural it felt, she realized she truly wasn’t that person anymore. Of course, she still enjoyed spending time alone the most and valued her privacy above all. But those kind of conversations didn’t make her nervous as they used to. If anything, she was completely capable of handling herself in public. Not a trace of unease could be seen on her face each time she addressed a new person with a polite smile.
It was 9 PM when she finally decided to join her hotel room. At some point during the party, she had sent a message to Jurina to warn her that she would be a bit late. And, when she left the restaurant room and checked her phone out of curiosity, she was surprised to discover she had not received any answer. Those were two messages Jurina had not replied to. Now, Rena was starting to get a bit worried by her girlfriend’s unusual silence. She had not made contact with her all day.
Rena stepped inside the elevator and pushed the button of the second floor, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for Jurina’s strange behavior. Another time, she would have feared something bad happened to her during rehearsal. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time the young girl would injure herself, or even faint. No matter how many years went by, Jurina still deliberately ignored the physical limits of her body. Her wish to outdo herself was always her main objective; the rest didn’t have the slight importance.
But the older Matsui knew it couldn’t be the reason for Jurina’s current lack of reply. The latter was spending a peaceful week holiday at Mayu’s beach house, surrounded by close and loving friends. She was in a safe environment. Her physical activities were limited. And Rena knew she could count on Mayu to make sure the SKE member was eating properly.
When the doors opened at her floor Rena gazed pensively at the empty, dark corridor - wondering what to do about the odd situation - before deciding she had to know what was going on, and calling Jurina. Rena stepped inside the corridor and dialed her number, pressing the phone against her ear the moment after.
It rang. Once, twice. And a few more times. Rena stopped counting at some point, taken aback by the lack of reply. It soon fell on voicemail. Rena lowered her phone and paused in her steps. She stared at the screen at length, desperately wishing her brain could come up with a simple explanation for the inexplicable situation she was facing.
“Why isn’t she answering?” The feeble murmur left Rena’s lips.
Her feet moved forward again, but her steps were more uncertain. Jurina wasn’t present on LINE, and not answering her phone. Something was wrong. Rena dialed the number another time, hoping her second attempt would be more fruitful. She couldn’t be more wrong. It rang a few times, and Jurina never answered. But Rena noticed a slight difference in the previous pattern. To her confusion, there was an echo in the phone. In fact, it strangely looked like her call was ringing not far from here.
Rena turned at a corner, wondering why on earth she was hearing this persistent, inexplicable echo. While still holding the phone, her eyes suddenly fell on a feminine silhouette waiting in front of a room at the far end of the corridor. Rena squinted to try and distinguish who she was, but the girl had her back turned to her. Wait, that wasn’t any ordinary room. It was room 22.
Her room. And, as she studied the silhouette attentively, she realized the girl seemed awfully familiar. In fact, it almost looked like…
The phone almost slipped from her grasp when the new presence finally turned to look at her. Yes, she could recognize that characteristic expression of hers amongst thousands. Only one person on earth could give her such a bright and loving smile. A person who had entered her life in 2008, and captured her heart a little more than a year ago. She let out a shocked gasp.
“Jurina!?”
TO BE CONTINUED
Topic: Heartbeat (20/20) + Partners (23/23) + Destiny (41/41 END) [WMatsui] - REPLIES (Read 365205 times)