Hearing the unknown concept–a kiss of fealty–Azi turned to Shizu and parroted in confusion.
"What is that? Is it some kind of oath? Hmm?” Shizu had a somewhat flustered composure that Isaac couldn’t seem to understand why she had her face that way. “Shizu? You okay? You look like you're ready to explode or.. Throw a tantrum."
Surprisingly there was no answer. He patted her back to get an explanation, and was a bit worried that she didn’t talk back or yell at him for the tantrum bit. She didn’t let out a peep, instead she stood stunned silent with a boiled red tinge on her face. By Azi’s guess, the word kiss obviously got her riled up. She was such a maiden when it came to things like this, he’d tease her about these kinds of things and it was evident from their last major tussle with each other that Shizu was a tad self conscious in terms of romance. Now he understood, he couldn’t blame her, they had gotten so close to crossing a boundary this morning.
Unbeknownst to him though, it was common knowledge by all of the citizens of the Empire of Yamato that a kiss of fealty was usually done between the upper classes of society to show and swear loyalty to each other. Shizu knew her stuff, though there was another layer to this. The kiss of fealty applied and had the same connotations between Knights and their apprentices.
This was a part of her education and induction as an Ordained Knight. It was also one of the possible ways she had thought of to get Azi to concretely become her apprentice and tie his loyalties to Kujyuri. Of course, it was a drastic action, only if she wanted to desperately take ownership of him. It had slipped her mind in recent times to offer such a pact since she was still focused on testing him to see if he had what it took to be worthy of her and the position.
Right now, Azi technically wasn’t her apprentice, it was a self proclaimed and enforced title she had put on him, so if Azi had anything to say about it he could outright cut himself out of it. If she had truly wanted Azi to be her apprentice, the appointment was supposed to be done in official declarations and ceremonies. There was also an exchange of symbolic gifts, it was optional, though it added proof of an apprentice's and knight’s loyalty to each other.
Elder Sung began side eyeing them, her suspicions were on display and Shizu got the gist that she was calling her bluff on if Azi was really her apprentice. Was this an attempt to snatch Azi away? Shizu thought that was possible, Elder Sung was a noble, past tense, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t start poaching talent away from King Ozen. Would she dare? Mostly likely and there wasn’t any law that said not to.
In a sense Azi was for sale since Shizu hadn’t taken the proper measures to induct Azi, all because Shizu just didn’t want all that pomp and circumstance that came with procedure and tradition. As uptight as her outward noble appearance was at times, she was a tomboyish girl by nature.
Also, the thought of kissing a guy made her almost want to hurl. Or, due to her young and inexperienced sensibilities, kissing a man in any manner was a foreign concept. That level of intimacy wasn't in the cards for her. She wouldn't let anyone have that honor, the only exception was her little sister Rulu. If she did let anyone kiss her in that kind of way, it would only ever be if they beat her in an official duel.
Her drunk spar with Azi came to mind.
Well, he did beat me, but I was drunk, it doesn’t count.. right Kind of.. right?
Shizu's lips hardened into a tight and disdained smile put against Elder Sung’s hungry look. That all but confirmed that Sung was making a play.
“Do.. Do we have to? It’s just a discount. Using that tradition to show proof for a discount seems underhanded.” Shizu asked. “Can’t you take my word for it? He really is my apprentice, and I have my silver seal, so I could order you to give that discount you were talking about. Better yet, I can just pay for his stuff.”
“Oh I suppose you could do that.” Said Elder Sung as she puffed annoyedly on her pipe. “But that would defeat the point of what I’m trying to achieve, also, now that you said that, am I not willing to sell to you if you show such indignant behavior, what would your father think if you used your silver seal on this?”
Elder Sung moved her eyes to Azi. “And if he’s really your apprentice, then the kiss of fealty should be no issue, it’s such a minor formality. Using your seal to circumvent tradition is so petty, don’t you think?”
Shizu grimaced in displeasure. She could count on Elder Sung reprimanding her for being a nepotist and that would be an in for Sung to snatch Azi. The old lady knew her stuff about tradition and knew how far to push Shizu, even though she was above her in social status.
Saki snickered at the side. Shizu wanted to glare, but sighed instead. She then glanced at Azi, he didn’t seem all that concerned, in fact he seemed fine with whatever was going to happen.
All this for a discount on some dumb stuff he wants.. But it’s not a bad deal for me, and technically, if I do this he’ll be bound under oath. Plus he did beat me.. Only Once.. and he’s worthy of praise. She thought about where to kiss him, then shook her head. No, No, No. Not there, and that.. that time didn’t count and I.. I..
“What?” Elder Sung smirked. “Cat got your tongue.”
Shizu tried to argue, she wasn’t one to back down. At her side, Azi had no idea of what the details of this Kiss of Fealty were, in fact, this was a custom wholly new to him. He couldn’t remember it from any of the books he had studied, nor did his faint few memories of his past give any details.
He did understand from the conversation Shizu was having with Elder Sung that the custom was likely referring to how knights in fantasy tales would kiss the hand of a princess to swear a proof of loyalty, only in this case it was between knights and apprentices.
He thought about the idea of swearing loyalty to Shizu and it irked him. She was violent, prideful, and could be brash at times. These were all traits that were somewhat off putting to him in a leader or a lord he would put his faith in, nonetheless he considered it.
She's been a pain in the side to deal with, but she’s helped me these past few days. From the clothes, the tour of the village, the kengiri incident, and even now. She’s given me a lot. I should at least try to pay her back. This is a good chance to pay it forward.
Thinking that accepting would even out the scales, he made a snap decision. The discount on the items he was buying was only a bonus to this situation, what really mattered was showing his sincerity. He nodded to Elder Sung to help bring their argumentative conversation to an end.
“Elder Sung, let’s not push this on Shizu.” He said. “I can still pay for what I’m buying without the discount.”
Elder Sung grinned. “Oh such a shame. I really thought you were her apprentice.”
Azi shook his head. “No.. I am her apprentice. If you need proof then I’m fine with doing this fealty thing, but only as long as Shizu is alright with it. I know that kissing is kinda not her thing, especially with how unladylike she can be at times."
Elder Sung laughed as Shizu gave Azi a hard look. Sung focused on Shizu, who was about to go off on Azi. She stopped her with a tap of her pipe on the table to get her attention.
Sung’s earlier grin turned into a joyful smile. “Now now Shizu, your unladylike moments are not hidden to me, so there is no shame. It will be an honor to keep this event underwraps. Though, it is wonderful how the boy has given you an out.” She was warming up to Azi, flashing him a gentler smile. “You’re such a good kid, you know that. All responsible and mature.” She turned to give Shizu a reprimanding expression and asked, "So, Did you hear that Shizu? It seems your apprentice has no problem with it and he’s willing to let you choose. So? Why not?"
“I.. I.. Ugh.. Fine!” Trying to seem unflinching as she crossed her arms, Shizu nodded.
To her, this was only another way to unintentionally bind Azi to Kujyuri through a pact. That’s what she told herself. The trade off wasn’t that bad as well when she thought about it, she already nibbled on his neck that one time, so going a bit further was somewhat ok in her mind. This was only going to be ceremonial, it had no other connotations.
"Let’s get this over with.” She hissed. “Azi, to explain it simply, I need you to..."
“Waaaait a moment!” Elder Sung interrupted as she leaned over the counter. She bounded across and stood between them. For a small woman she was quite athletic and spry for someone who went by the title of Elder.
Wagging a finger at them she said. "Now Now, let me explain the steps to Azi. You just stay right over there. We have to get this right, and I know you like to cut corners on these kinds of things, you had such apprehension just now that I can’t trust that you'll explain it correctly."
She shooed Shizu away and moved Azi to one side of the room. Telling him the proper steps to the kiss of fealty, Elder Sung made sure that the sound of her voice did not leak. Sung knew of how finicky girl Shizu was and won’t tolerate her twisting the steps, plus being all secret like got the girl anxious, it was refreshing to watch.
In all seriousness, this had to be special for it to mean anything. To Sung, if Shizu had found an apprentice then she was going to ensure that this event played out well. It was rare that Shizu allowed any man to be her apprentice. And, she could see the tells between them. By how Shizu didn’t make much of a fuss, Sung knew she was trying to bottle away a certain notion in her heart.
Love? Friendship? Comradery? Who knows? But I will.
Shizu seemed worried that Azi would misunderstand Sung’s explanation, she was about to step discreetly closer to them but Saki pulled her over to whisper in her ear to ask,
“So? Where are you going to kiss him?”
“The cheek of course.” Shizu whispered back, “Where else would I kiss him?”
“Aw! Talk about boring.” Saki booed at her. “I thought you planned on getting hitched with him. He doesn't seem your type, but at this point, I think a beggar like you can’t be a chooser.”
“Don’t you start.” Pushing her friend away, Shizu stood defiantly with her arms still crossed, she was peeved by Saki’s bitting comment. “I have time to find a suitor, and he’s not going to be the one at this rate.” She mumbled.
“I see.” Saki regarded her with a sigh. “Same old same old. You really need to settle down one day, and get less picky with your type of men.”
Meanwhile, Azi listened closely to Elder Sung. Her words were toned carefully and by the serious weight behind her voice, he realized this was a momentous event. He couldn’t treat this lightly. Following tradition was crucial if he were to repay Shizu in full and breaking customs was possibly a grave offense, something he’d want to avoid, official or otherwise.
“First, kneel down on one knee and close your eyes tightly, and don’t open them no matter what.” Sung explained, “Second, grasp your hands together in front of you, as if praying. Then third, Shizu will then come to kiss some part of you, it will likely be your forehead, so try not to blush. Finally, after that, you will open your eyes and you will do the same with Shizu. Any questions?”
Azi had a couple of skepticisms if it were that simple, but he trusted her experience. After letting Elder Sung explain it a couple times more and letting her move him to get his posture right, he knelt, grasped his hands together, and closed his eyes in the formal manner Sung had helped him adjust to. It was tight, he had to puff his chest out and up, and his back was so ramrod straight that it was kind of strained.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Elder Sung was giddy at Azi’s effort to get this right. "Alright Shizu.” She said, beckoning the girl over. “He is ready as he’ll ever be, you may begin any time."
Shizu had to gulp the sudden knot of indecision in her throat. Getting on her knees in front of Azi, she grasped both of his shoulders and recited the oath about protecting Kujyuri and its people. It was a long winded speech she had memorized and she was thankful that she did since it prolonged the inevitable.
Azi stiffened up from her touch, it was funny to her that he was scared yet he resolutely shut his eyes to honor the custom with all his resolve and attention, she hadn’t missed his resolute effort in this. It was a side of him she somewhat admired.
“Don’t misunderstand this.” Shizu muttered to him. “Got it.”
“Ok Ok, I won’t.” Azi muttered back, “Though this is kind of scary since I have my eyes closed. I get the feeling you might punch me at any minute.”
“Hmph, maybe I will. But stop shaking already.” Shizu hoped Saki and Elder Sung wouldn’t hear them, or notice how nervous they seemed. She also wasn’t sure if she should take her own advice, she was just as jittery. Azi seemed like he couldn’t tell she was afraid, though that was no comfort to her. “Just calm down, you wuss.”
Shizu pressed her trembling hands down firmer on his shoulder to get him and herself to stop shaking. She wondered if physical contact was one of his pet peeves. When Azi finally exhaled one last time and nodded to show he was ready, Shizu began and reminded herself of why she was doing this.
This is only a ceremonial kiss. Only.. A.. Ceremonial.. Kiss. A kiss. A kiss on the cheek. That’s it. A kiss.. A.. kiss.. A..
She brought her face close, nothing was weird about this, she was doing this because she needed to, it was tradition, a means to an end. A mix of thoughts and conjured excuses began to spin in her head. Trying to make sense of it all and calm herself down, she inhaled softly. She was on the brink of possibly slapping Azi away. She fought that feeling.
This is just so embarrassing.
It worsened when she began to hear her ever increasing heartbeat thrum in her chest. That noise seemed to drown the inside of her head, and oddly a strange new clarity took hold as she finally pushed past her awkward emotions.
From Azi's point of view, he could hear Shizu’s soft breaths get louder in the pitch black view of the back of his eyelids. It sounded angry and menacing, like Shizu was trying to hold back a rage. He worried about when the literal punchline would come, how long this would take, or that maybe Shizu was reciting a mental prayer that was part of the process that Elder Sung hadn’t told him.
A few silent moments later, he felt a soft sensation on his lips. He almost jolted to his feet, this was a surprise. This was wrong, yet.. This felt oddly.. Right? He kept his eyes shut like he was told to do. Maybe what he was feeling was an illusion. There was no way Shizu would really kiss him, this was just his imagination because he couldn’t see.
The brain filled in the blanks.. He thought, or that’s what he tried to believe.
His self effacing effort to moderate himself carried on until he felt an intrusive pressing between his lips. Before he could react his mind was engulfed in an enticing calm that relaxed his body at the flip of a dim. Every muscle became like jelly all at once, and so suddenly.
It was like his brain was slipping away and his connection to his body began to do the same. He was so relaxed to a point where the only support that kept him from falling back were Shizu's hands as his shoulders. Then those hands moved behind his head and he realized what was happening. They were kissing, really kissing.
Before Shizu knew it, she had unintentionally kissed Azi on the lips. She hadn’t meant to. When she was about to press her lips to his cheeks, the events of this morning played out. They had been only inches away from kissing each other, yet she chickened out. She was convincing herself that a kiss at that time would have amounted to nothing, just two people caught in the moment. They would’ve argued and it would’ve been done with.
Azi didn’t like her, she knew that, but his reactions to her these past few days and the ever shortening distance between them was apparent. The back of her mind wanted to.. Try it.. To glimpse what it was like to kiss someone, though the real reason was to reconcile a moment of weakness for her, or that’s what she told herself.
She argued in her brain this was only a custom, only a custom, nothing at all, so a kiss on the lips could be within.. Somewhat.. Marginal bounds. In a sudden choice that she had thought she had thought through. Her decision was made and there wasn’t any way of changing it. There was no way to turn back time.
As Shizu felt the soft and supple touch of Azi’s lips with her own, how his shoulders relaxed, and how he began to fall forward, her heart couldn’t help to suddenly jump. Her arms snaked around to his back and pulled him in.
It was right, this was right, it really did feel right. Every part of her was saying that she was being true to herself. Again, her mind conjured excuses. The noble part of herself was telling her that her arms were there to stop Azi from falling over, that was why her grip tightened. It only coincidently pressed Azi's lips further to her own.
The two held the kiss for what felt like a few minutes. In reality it was only a few seconds for the other two observers at the side.
Saki and Elder Sung silently gawked at the sweet event playing out in front of them. While Elder Sung did want to mess with them to keep up her streak of being a mischievous prankster who took delight in the embarrassment of others, this had developed in a direction she had not expected. But she was nonetheless happy with the outcome.
Her keen eyes had already seen through Shizu’s heart. It wasn’t well known, but Sung’s thaumaturgic sight could see the moods of people. Some thought she could read minds, the truth of her abilities though were her own. And with them she had seen a strange energy between Azi and Shizu, it was why she had pushed the conversation into such an intimate event. What would happen to that strange energy they had if they grew closer? As friends? Lovers? Or as Comrades?
Now she had her answer. The two different colored energies seemed to brighten, melding and intermingling in a color wholly new. Whatever energy was between them, it had a unique property Sung had only read about in folk tales. A rare occurrence. The name of the phenomenon eluded her. She did know that the folk tale told of a destiny shared between them, but that was little help in understanding the true nature of the bond they shared on an emotional level.
Was it romantic? Sung sure as hell didn’t know, she wasn’t all knowing, only all mischievous.
In the end, the pair of kissers in front of her were definitely flustering like little kids, she could see the slight ripples of hesitation from each of their small gasps as they were fumbling through their kiss. It began to show as their faces heated. Azi was keeping his eyes closed and looked in bliss as Shizu lost herself in her maidenlike curiosity.
Neither of the two seemed to know how to disengage from the other, maybe they didn’t want to. Sung soon felt herself flush as the sweet moment continued to extend and heat up. The squirming of their lips told of how deeply they were kissing each other, and with how Shizu was a head taller than Azi, Shizu was dominating him.
Azi’s chin was turned up, his lips continuously assaulted from above as he was trapped in Shizu’s embrace. The idea of their kissing rampaging out of control into a full tongue kiss made Sung’s experienced heart roll out of control.
Such adult passion, such consummation, and between such an odd pairing.
Saki on the other hand was trying to keep herself from laughing. She had doubled over onto the ground behind the counter while red in the face from holding in her own giddiness. She shared the same proclivities for mischief like Sung, except Saki’s close friendship with Shizu made this event seem more ironic than hot, or perhaps they shared some kind of inside joke with each other.
After a good minute, Shizu pulled away from her kiss with Azi. Her gaze fell down into Azi’s now opened eyes. Azi’s seemed a bit glazed over, she didn’t know it, but she had delivered a one two punch to his brain, numbing it into a stupor.
Azi had never felt such contact before. Strangely, the numbing of his mind helped to stimulate, open up, and rebuild the connections in his brain. It was as if something snapped in place, like a puzzle coming together.
A second later, Azi came back to himself and tried to remember what Elder Sung told him to do. Her words were like a haze, his mind was caught in the blank moments of his kiss with Shizu.
A kiss? He thought absentmindedly. Yes, I have to.. To kiss.. her.
He tilted his head up and saw the prettiest girl he knew with her eyes closed and her lips pursed. Compulsion drove him to follow through.
Azi undid his clasped hands and gently reached to touch her face. He cupped one cheek and then another as he leaned in. With a soft press to Shizu’s lips, he now felt her tense. Yet again from their points of view, the kiss seemed to last for another few minutes as neither of the two had the urge to separate.
Shizu's shoulders slackened and with the roles reversing, she leaned forward into the kiss. Azi was now the one in control and Shizu was helpless. Her own chin tilted up as a kiss of Azi’s own violation descended with a heat of quivering passion.
Saki and Elder Sung had no clue when to stop them. Would they even listen? Or be lost in themselves? Could they really be kiss drunk?
“G-guys?” Saki hazarded a try to get them back to themselves. Her attempt was met with only their silent kissing and the shuffling of their hands across each other's backs.
Their pucker lips lapped at one another. Then, as they finally ease from each other mutually, their narrowed and glazed eyes saw each other, slowly opening from the shape of slits to full rounded eyes that sparkled with color. They were looking at each other as if only seeing but not recognizing who or what was there in front of them in full.
“Uh? Teacher?” Saki whispered. “What should we do?”
Sung shrugged and whispered back, “Let them have their moment, perhaps this is what they both want.”
“Huh? You sure?”
“I don’t know.” Elder Sung dismissively did another shrug. This was none of her issue. Saki deadpanned at her, finding that her teacher truly loved messing with people, the consequences be damned.
Eventually, the couple came back to themselves. Azi was the first to move. He didn’t get far since he still held onto Shizu. His own arms had wrapped around her waist. With their heads only a few inches from each other, their glazed over and unfocused eyes continued staring into one another, reflecting each other’s visages. Both of them were too inattentive to let go.
Did Azi even want to let go? Being this close to Shizu was so warm, so comforting, so.. So.. so surreal. It was as if he had found the place he belonged, a piece that seemed to fit a hole he hadn’t known was inside him.
Was it his own imagination? Probably, but his logical mind wanted to bask in this moment of illogical thinking and ideas. Ideas that he had a chance with her. A dead ring in their ears continued to sound as their minds sluggishly began to comprehend what had happened. Reality soon caught up to them and they suddenly separated from each other with bright red faces. They clattered back up to stand, Azi fell over as Shizu stepped away and ducked her head away from everyone.
"S-So um?” Azi righted himself before he fell on his face, he spoke softly. “How much was the discount? Elder Sung?"
Elder Sung glanced and paused for a second or two, then gave him a wink. "For that, you can have it for free."
Offering the bag of tools to him, Azi sheepishly accepted. His gaze seemingly turned down, never putting anyone into his view. His neck discreetly craned in Shizu’s direction.
"S-Shizu? L-let's.. go. We’re done here.. I.. umm need to get umm.. Going.. Come on.”
“S-Sure.” Shizu sighed to no availing relief. “Uh, Ahem! W-Where do you want to go now?” She asked as if she were annoyed. She wasn’t convincing. Hiding her emotions only made it harder for her to keep a straight face.
Azi gulped, he tried to come up with a reply. “Hmmm.. the.. The umm..” His voice failed him, so did his mind. “I don’t know, j-just follow me alright?” He rushed to the door. ”We need to go somewhere, b-before it gets dark."
"Fine, you can uh.. Lead the way.. I guess." Shizu reached out and grasped his hand softly as if it were natural. Azi didn’t notice and continued on his way as she followed a step behind.
Elder Sung and Saki watched the two leave the shop hand in hand like a couple would. After they left, Elder Sung turned to Saki with a face full of glee and surprise. She was utterly full of giddy excitement.
"I was not expecting that,” Elder Sung said. “Did you?”
Saki picked up on her teacher‘s wry smile and joined the fun. Today was going to be one of those love talk days between girls.
"Nope.” She said, “I was astounded by how much Shizu has changed since the academy. It used to be the norm that she would beat up any boy that got too chummy or close to her.” Saki broke out a few cups from the shelves in the back of the shop and poured a few sweet tasting drinks. “This was why her alias as the Man killer was so concrete when rumors of her started spreading. Man, talk about an upset. The gossip circles are going to have a field day if they find out about this.”
"Oh, you betcha. And yeah, I remember that.” Elder Sung puffed her pipe and accepted a cup of sweet juice. “Shizu was so mad when anyone brought up her title to her face but I am glad that she at least finally found a worthy man in her life. Only question now is if she can keep it."
"You think she has? I mean, Like.. has really found.. The one?”
“Time will tell.” Elder Sung puffed another cloud of smoke and looked at it as if scrying the future from the wispy smoke. “Maybe? Or Maybe not? I do hope for the best outcome, even if it means a few embarrassing blunders.”
“Me too, I’d love to see her have a happy ending for her married life." Saki tapped her cup with Sung’s. "I also hope someday I get to have a lover like Azi, he’d hold me tight, we’d kiss, we’d laugh, and you know, do all the lovey dovey things."
Elder Sung laughed. “I sure hope so as well.” She sipped at her cup, relishing and comparing if this sweet drink was as sweet as the kiss she had witnessed. “Also, did you forget?” She asked, cocking a teasing grin. “You’re 18 years old and still single, Saki. You better work fast or you’ll end up with your own alias. How does the lonely apprentice sound?"
“Urk, don’t even bring that up. And hey! I still have time.”
Saki started to pound the counter in mock frustration as she chided Elder Sung for her implication and fired back. The two bickered throughout the remainder of the day on the topic of relationships, marriage, and men.
In the end, Saki had to admit defeat. Her luck with men right now was as empty as the now hollow space in her cup. She could not deny her closing window in getting hitched and the fact that she lacked a boyfriend or any male friends. Her love life was as barren as Shizu’s, but that was only prior to today.
She blamed her mischievous teacher for this. Sung’s antics always seemed to mess with her, or perhaps her fickle teacher was warning her of red herrings. The old and elderly did know best.