(AUTHOR'S NOTE: SHIZU AND AZI ARE STILL BOTH DRUNK AND SLURRING)
With winter night, lit only by falling starlight, the field echoed with all the silent chill of a gentle breeze. Shizu, not daunted by the weather’s biting cold, suddenly fell to her knees. Not because she was suffering or shivering in her shoes, no.. She had just witnessed her katana break, making it clear that she had lost her fight with Azi. That guy stood triumphant over her with a gleeful expression of victory as he pumped his fist up in the air.
"YES! I WON! I DID IT! I DIDN'T FAIL.. I.. huh?"
His cheering abruptly stopped when a strange sound caught his attention. A soft whimpering cut through to his ears. He began to notice the tears falling from Shizu’s face. Initially, he thought that she was crying over her loss, but felt that his assumption was wrong with how she was looking at her broken sword. Those eyes, they were the same in a time he could not fully remember.
"What's wha, what is wrong?" He asked and she looked up at him, then at the other broken half of her katana on the ground and then back. Again her eyes caught his attention, they were like his, from a younger memory. Like staring into a mirror, he saw the emotion of loss that paralleled him to her.
Blinking a tear at how indifferent Azi was being, Shizu began to cry even more. A river of tears streamed down her cheeks.
"500,000!" She sobbed.
"500,000?" Asked Azi, he didn’t understand what she meant. He glanced to and fro at the broken pieces of the katana. It took a moment for him to process, then it hit him. A line of cold sweat began to form on his brow.
Shizu answered his unspoken thoughts, sobbing while almost raging. "This costed me 500,000 Minos to fix and costed me so much more to get it customized!” She was clearly having a tantrum. Flailing her arms she waved her broken weapon as if it were a toy. “Waaaah, you broke my favorite weapon." She then started to pound the ground like a child who was done with the world and screamed as if the world had ended.
Her scream made Azi even get a bit sober. Through his drunkenness, it finally dawned that he had messed up. The severity of the damage he did was set in stone and he looked for a solution in Kajima. As the foremost expert in his opinion when it came to fixing weapons, he was his go to in this situation. In fact, he was Azi’s only go to on this matter.
"You made Shizu's weapon, right? You can fix it? Right?"
Kajima stared at him, that wide brow of his striking deep as he crossed his arms. "Sure.” He said. “Just give me 1,000,000 Minos and the materials."
Azi didn’t miss the sarcasm. “1,000,000 Minos!?” He scratched his head, fathoming the sheer extent of the cost. “I don’t think I can.. Umm..” Too astonished, his voice began to tremble. “C-Can y-you put it on a tab?"
"Nope."
The nonchalant refusal hit him hard. His mind raced to find a solution. He was getting his bearings, the alcohol was probably working its way out of his system. The sparring match had been long, getting all those bottled emotions out helped to get him calmer.
The fight he had with Shizu was only supposed to be a sparring match that initially used disposable weapons. Shizu had abruptly used her own, and with how she was clutching it to her chest, he knew it had sentimental value to her. He messed up big time, that was for sure.
Kajima watched on as he gave Azi time to think, he thought that this would be a good chance for him to learn a lesson in life. To never go overboard and think before you act. "How about you fix it?” He asked. “Think of it as me cashing in the favor you owe me for today's match?"
"But I have no idea how to fix her weapon."
"Well better get started on learning how, or are you going to go back on the favor you owe me or take responsibility for your actions." Kajima’s judging look made Azi gulp and that wasn’t the half of where his terror began. The kind big man Azi knew, was now letting loose a small amount of his overbearing pressure. Azi had sparred enough with Shizu to understand and feel a person's intent.
With how Shizu was laying on the ground next to him, he had no doubt in imagining that this didn’t look good. He felt like a criminal. Following Kajima’s gaze, Azi again saw Shizu’s pathetic state. He made her cry and he was annoyed by the turn of events.
If you didn’t tease me. He thought, still scratching the back of his head. Then this wouldn’t have happened.
Sighing, he begrudgingly accepted his reality.
Fine, dammit all. I’ll do it. I’ll fucking do it!
Azi approached Shizu and knelt down in front of her. "Alright Shizu, calm down, I'll fix your weapon." He gave her a compassionate smile to try to comfort her.
Shizu looked up from the ground to meet his eyes. With tears pouring down her cheeks like a river, her lip quivering in a pleading manner. "Promise?" Her voice was so shrill, like a little girl who only wanted her mommy.
Azi, unable to deny her pleading look for a second time today, grimaced in defeat. "Alright! I promise. It's going to be ok. So cheer up."
Putting a hand on her head, Azi began to pet Shizu and rubbed a bit behind her fluffy ears. Her expression turned happy out of nowhere as she pounced on him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She began to hug him tightly and nuzzled her head against him.
“Punishment! Punishment! Punishment!” She declared teasingly, irking Azi.
Nevertheless he hugged back. He at least didn’t want to argue and sullen the delighted mood Shizu was in, even if she was a sobbing drunken mess. He likened her current state to one of his past memories which was about a friend's cat that was always clinging to him when he came over to visit. Then, again, out of nowhere, a sudden bout of fatigue and drowsiness ended his recollection in a blink.
Shizu also felt the same as the post match relief had caught up to her and she began to lean forward onto him. The two of them fell to the ground. Unable to fight his drowsiness, Azi couldn’t resist the pull of gravity and landed on his back with Shizu holding onto him and him holding onto her in a mutual embrace. Their bodies made a soft thump and they laid there, snoring fast asleep and were completely out like a light in the snow.
Rubbing his temples with his thumb, Kajima grinned derisively. "I knew this was going to be a headache." He said with a smirk.
After letting out a sigh, he got to work and attempted to lift Shizu off of Azi. He tried, but no success. They had both wrapped their arms around each other in a hold that he couldn’t break without using sufficient force. They were glued to each other. When he tried to really force them apart, they unconsciously clung to each other like two animals huddling for warmth, probably due to how cold it was out here. Couldn’t blame them, it was the middle of the night and the two of them only had a basic amount of clothes on.
Shizu was showing off a little skin with how out of tradition her dress was and Azi’s tunic was thin, especially so since it was a hand me down that was likely teetering on the cusp of being scrapped.
Kajima laughed wryly at this as he muttered to himself. "Ah, to be young, but really? These two get along in such strange ways. They already became so clingy to each other. Heh.”
He let out another little laugh and then picked the two up as they held onto each other like a pair of hibernating animals. Kajima could carry the two with ease, of the three of them in the house, he was the biggest and the strongest. Oddly, as he carried them inside, he felt like a dad carrying two of his mischievous children back to bed.
I wonder if I did this with my kids before. It's been so long.
Making his way to one of the bigger spare rooms next to Azi's, Kajima got them settled. As if he had planned this, he had a stored futon bed with enough room for the two of them to fit on. This used to be where a pair of his kids used to sleep together.
Fitting. He thought.
He laid them down and then tucked them in. Again, they really were like his children. As a precaution for what he knew might happen in the future, he placed two empty buckets in the room. They’d have hangovers. They might not puke, but it was always good to be prudent. It would take forever to get the smell out if he wasn’t careful.
"Sweet dreams, ya love birds." Kajima mumbled quietly to them as the door moved to shut without a creak.
Before completely closing it, Kajima gawked all of a sudden. Out of nowhere, Azi and Shizu began to nibble on each other's necks as if they were instinctual animals. The scene warmed his heart, but he had to keep himself from laughing. He imagined what would happen when they woke up.
Nibbling Eh? Like wild animals marking their territory. I wonder, is this the start of a true romance? Or is it a bestial romance? Maybe they're like tigers from the Emperor’s legend.
He was referencing the so-called rare, and likely extinct species of animal, from the time of Divine Strife of the Emperor’s history. Tigers fought each other to establish dominance in a relationship, so it was said. It wasn’t credible if what he knew was true, but the kind of relationship Azi and Shizu shared was starting to seem more adversarial or like a rivalry.
Those thoughts carried Kajima through the night. What future would those two have together? Shizu’s lack of a fiance came to mind, though her interest in having Azi as a pet was on the table and interfering in furthering the relationship they shared.
Azi will probably say no to both.
Kajima finally dozed off for the night, yawning since these recent events had taken a lot out of his weary old bones.
***
Morning came like always, but this time Azi noticed a wet sensation on his neck. A new warm and uncomfortable way to wake up. Opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of pink skin and he could feel something in his mouth, and on his tongue.
Hmmmm so.. Soft? What is this?
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Pulling his head away, he paled. It was Shizu's neck. He just had his lips on her, the trail of drool that hung between his mouth and her neck was the proof. He saw a similar line of drool connecting her mouth to his own and began to realize what had happened.
Embarrassed, he tried to move away but couldn’t. He was in her firm grip and she resisted to let him go. Giving up since he didn’t want to wake her, and knew there was no chance of beating Shizu’s brute strength, he laid his head against the pillow he shared with her. For a third time, he got to see her sleeping face up close, a rare occurrence.
Azi had to admit again in spite of his mixed opinion, that Shizu was a beautiful young woman. With his hands around her, the touch of her skin was enticing. She was soft even through the fabric of her clothes. Her long beautiful hair flowed and glistened smoothly in such a nice color of dark brown that he wanted to stroke and comb it.
How can someone this beautiful and elegant, be such a tomboy. But even if she is violent, she is sexy in all the right ways. Oh my god, her waist is so small and her skin is so.. Soft over here. I wonder what her.. No no. Let’s not think about that. That was an accident, but what would they feel like if I touched them directly? Oh god! I'm turning into a pervert.
Realizing that his eyes wandered to a certain ample part of Shizu’s body, Azi’s thoughts were starting to walk down a possibly lewd route. He closed his eyes to focus on something else which had him trying to remember what happened after he got drunk.
Most of last night's events were intact but what was important was that he promised to fix her weapon. He felt in over his head. Nevertheless, he resolved himself to complete the task. Rising to the challenge was better than being a coward.
He didn’t want to break his promises as he did feel at fault for what had happened last night. If he had held back in the fight then this wouldn’t have happened. Shizu’s weapon would still be functional and not in two halves and deformed. The moment when he gained that unusual strength drew his attention. He mulled the strange events over.
Did I really do all that? Was that.. That glow? Was it thaumaturgy?
The faint recollection of that burning sensation in his heart seemed liquid. It welled into his muscles when he intended for it to move strength himself. As his contemplation grew, his recollections were crystallizing into full memories. If what he knew from his studies were true, then he had channeled his own energies in a way wholly unknown to him. But, that didn’t help him to evade the fact that he had to now somehow learn blacksmithing so that Shizu could have her precious weapon back. If only he hadn’t drunk so much of that sweet liquor. So good, yet so bad.
I really need to watch how much I drink in the future, but for now I need to focus. I can’t go back on my promise and I don’t want to make her cry again. So what do I need to buy to get started?
Trying to think of a list of things he could get from the market, he unintentionally hugged Shizu's back tighter the deeper he went into planning what to do. Unknowingly, Shizu’s eyes began to slowly open. The stir of her hands on his back made him notice. He kept his eyes closed and pretended to sleep, he didn’t want to get blamed for sleeping next to her. He hoped she’d forgive an unconscious idiot, rather than a conscious one.
Her eyes now wide, Shizu saw Azi's sleeping face and noticed a small red mark on his neck. That triggered her to remember that she cried in front of him like a child who lost their favorite toy. She went red in the face at the memory of those events. Drunkenly at the time, she wanted to put Azi in his place and make him understand his weakness in a fight. She failed spectacularly and wanted to curl up into a ball to hide her shame. But, all she could do was lay next to him. She couldn’t think of a way to avoid waking him up and letting him see her in such a state.
Not noticing that he was just pretending to sleep, Azi continued to keep his eyes closed. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he felt that enough time had passed for Shizu to collect herself. The calm pace of her breath was a telling sign. And the stirring around that Shizu was doing had stopped, so he pretended to wake up.
Their eyes were locked with each other for a few moments. When Azi was about to say something a reverberation ran through them all of a sudden, and it wasn’t romance. Their faces changed to a shade of deathly green. They scrambled out of each other's embrace and tried to find something to hurl into. Luckily, there were two buckets that they could use.
Minutes of suffering passed as the pair sat on the futon with a bucket in their hands as they threw up the contents of their stomachs. They felt much better after the third set of hurling and when their sights met each other a second time, they both chuckled at the turn of events.
It was strange that they shared a moment as they were hurling their guts up. This felt like an event they’d only have with people of the same sex, yet their odd matchup had a good chemistry going on between them. They were both embarrassed for themselves and for the other person.
"I guess the alcohol wasn’t agreeable yesterday.” Shizu heaved and coughed. “Let's be sure to be a bit more cautious next time."
“Yeah.. Urk.” Azi heaved, his head ducking down into the bucket. “Oh god, my throat is burning.”
“That bad?”
“Yeah.”
“Never again?”
“Yeah.”
Azi nodded to Shizu’s wise words and added. "Also, thank you for the match yesterday. If you hadn’t agreed, my drunk, idiot self would have gotten more riled up."
"Is that so? But on another topic, just where did that strength come from? You held that greatsword so easily with one hand? And your swings were so powerful."
"I think it's because I was intoxicated, but body strengthening magic seems likely. I’ve read about it and it seems like I have a knack for it, but only unintentionally. I’m not even sure if it was magic.” Azi heaved again and continued. “Ugh, this wasn’t all back. I at least remember a small part of my past. A long time ago I abstained from alcohol due to how rowdy and overly excited I get when I drink too much. This was a horrible way to remember that.”
“Oh? So you got some of your memories back. Tell me about it.” Shizu said and Azi obliged. Telling a story would help pass the time as their stomachs calmed down.
“I remember a party and then three people trying to hold me back, but they failed to contain me and I tormented them with my drunken antics. Throwing bottles, shouting, and being a dumb drunk mostly. I think they forgave me, but I promised to not let it happen again, so I abstained from drinking. I didn’t want to make myself a fool a second time."
"I see.” Shizu said. “Anything else? Anything important, like where you came from?”
“Well.. No.” Azi paused, looking distressed. He quickly shook himself. “There wasn’t much I remembered, but I can tell you that after that incident where I got drunk, I got pranked and was fed a ton of alcohol that someone slipped me without me knowing. I vowed to never go to a party without making sure to bring a full jug of water to keep me sober.”
Shizu chuckled. “A whole jug? Are you serious? How’d you carry that around at a party?”
“Easy, a bag. A big one. It was a pain to carry, but I sure got a workout.”
They shared a laugh and Shizu scrutinized him. While her exchange was friendly, underneath she was gauging him. It didn’t feel right to do so, but she was a noble and her father had plans for him. Underhandedness came in spades for people of the court.
He really has a lot of mystery to his past. What was he like before his amnesia? He seems smart yet he’s a wild card. So maybe, maybe we can use that to benefit Kujyuri. A scholar maybe? Use that head and combine it with that wild side of his and.. Wait? What am I thinking, this is getting too far.
Shizu knew that nobles had their hidden agendas. She had her own too, but she’d never stoop to manipulation people’s emotions for her own gain. When recruiting talent, she didn’t pull any strings, she’d only accept those willing.
"Anyway, Let's get to work.” She said, “You have a weapon to fix and I have to make a few rounds through the village."
"Sure, Sure. But mind if I come with you?” Azi asked. “I think I need to buy a few tools and materials to get started."
Nodding with no objection, Shizu added with a grin. "Be sure to use the Minos we gave you. You can use it for whatever you need, but I won’t be paying you for the repairs on my weapon. Also, since you did so well in yesterday’s fight, you're my apprentice from now on. As your knight, I must teach you how to take responsibility for your actions."
“Wait Wait. Don’t I get to choose to be your apprentice? What is this out of nowhere?”
“Really?” Shizu pouted at him. “Are you refusing after what you did? It’s the least you can do to accept after humiliating me and you’ve even slept in the same bed as me.” She faked a sob. “I can’t get married now.” A pause played for effect and she peeked an eye at him. “Oh, if only you accepted. I bet you didn’t know but apprentices can sleep in the same room as their knight, but.. If you don’t, I’ll now only be considered impure. I can never get married, Oh! Woe is me!”
She gave Azi a smug smile of pride as she implied that not only had he taken her beloved weapon away from her, but that he had robbed her of her proof of purity.
Azi grimaced. This was obviously an act and he had the option to fully refuse, but by the common traditions of etiquette of noble society and common sense of the Empire’s norms, he couldn’t back down. He had feared he would be eventually pulled into troublesome exchanges with nobles, he just didn't expect Shizu to play the ignorant card on him.
As if she hadn’t phased him, Azi put on a formal tone, using that posh attitude she hated. "Yes, my knight, but about what just happened this morning. I would like to formally apologize for sleeping in the same bed as you. If there is anything I can do for your forgiveness, please tell me."
"Oo-oo-H~” Shizu played along, annoyed but stepping up to the challenge of who was dominant in eloquence. She’d win/ “No need to worry~, you make for a good body pillow, little pup. You feel really warm and your black hair is fluffy and soft. But if you want to pay me back, then how about you be my body pillow whenever I want."
Azi looked away, his face reddening as his formal tone loosened. "Denied"
"Don't make me use the silver seal." Shizu threatened. “I can treat you worse.”
Azi snapped his head back and glared at her.
"Now you’re acting like a child, talk about fitting." He said.
"I'm guessing you have no qualms then?” Shizu said, even with the biting remark from him. This was a trap and Azi had fallen into it. His shoulder’s slumping, he sighed then tightened his lips. With a nearby pillow, he grabbed and held it to his chest to comfort himself as he mumbled.
"Yeah, Fine, ok, whatever.."
"Soo CUTE!!!" Shizu declared and reached for him. Unable to stop her, Azi shivered as her hand ran through his hair. He was being petted like an animal and she began to embrace him. Her soft ample chest pressed into his face. Like always he began to suffocate, painfully.
"Not this again! HUMMMMMPH.” Trapped, a lack of oxygen assailed his senses as Shizu purred in delight.
"Hmmmmmmmmm so warmmmmm. Huh? Oh!” Finally realizing she was unintentionally hurting him, Shizu flipped him around. Azi gasped as if his life depended on it.
“Oh thank god. I thought I saw heaven, or was it hell?” He whispered ruefully.
Overhearing, Shizu tugged her hands around his stomach, getting a sizable grunt of pain from him. It didn’t hurt as bad but it made it clear that she had him locked down.
“Shouldn’t you be grateful, you get to touch my breasts.” She said teasingly.
“Not in this case!” Azi shouted. “If it were my hands, sure, but suffocation is the worst way to go.”
“But, I thought all guys like having breasts pushed into their faces. Aren’t all you men perverts.”
“Hmpf! I can’t deny that, but I at least have an amount of modesty, so stop pressing them against me.”
“You know, you’re a terrible liar.” Shizu ran a hand against his check, the pulse pulse pulse of his heart was evidently increasing. “You’re excited, don’t try to hide it.”
“I.. I.. I’m not, I’m! Not!” Azi curtly refused to accept such a notion.
I’m not hiding a thing. I think.
“Oh.. really?” Shizu nuzzled her head closer and touched her lips to his neck.
“Wha-what are you doing! S-Stop. Are you trying to eat me! Is this a habit of yours? I’m not some animal you can play with, you know!”
Shizu bit a little harder, getting a wince out of him.
“Talk about hypocrisy.” She said, “I know you do this in your sleep.”
“I.. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Azi didn’t know it, but Shizu was referring to an earlier time and not this morning. Nevertheless, his stuttering was all she needed to know that he was bluffing. She snickered and nibbled harder on his neck, getting an adorable reaction as his cheeks went hot and his breath squealed in odd moans, like a puppy wincing and whining.
“Q-quit it. Stop.. Ah No.. Not there.. Stop Ah! Hah.”
Usually, it was the guy that got the girl squealing in bed. It being the other way around though humiliated Azi. Shizu found absolute fun in this turn around. Promiscuous as it was, her dominance was being established.
Heh heh heh, I win.
***
“Achoo!”
Kajima woke up with a loud sneeze. An odd sense of another subsequent foreboding headache plagued him.
“Ugh, did I drink too much? And why does my gut hurt?”
It was like his sixth sense was alarming him that trouble was to come. That or he ate a bad slice of cheese. He thought it was the latter.