My Path to Happiness
It is the alternate version of village life for Kazu x mei and her friends .
Happy reading.
"I do not wish to ascend the throne. And I and my friends are grateful for the immense support, trust loyalty you all gave me and guided me on this mission. My journey with you all ends here, as my main task was to destroy the gate and avenge the deaths of innocent lives . And after this mission, I wish to live my life peacefully . I am also aware of the consequences of my decision, and we by now have an idea of what the country's reign under Yoshugara Swada would be like, and that's why I have one last proposal for you all ."
Mei waited for her allies to reply. She was not surprised that her allies were still a bit shocked upon hearing her decision. Had it been any other person, they would have seized the opportunity of ascending the throne with no opposition from other nations or allies.
The island emperor was the first one to come out of shock and replied,
"We respect your wishes Mei Hattori, working with you was indeed a great experience , an experience that will be remembered for a long time . We accept your decision and would like to hear about your proposal ."
Mei felt relieved that they were ready to hear the proposal. Mei bowed down and continued.
"Before I present my proposal ,I request that this talk and details of the proposal be between us and no other person outside this room shall ever know about the proposal'.She stopped for a moment, waiting for their confirmation. Upon getting the positive affirmation , she took out some scrolls that Takao had prepared earlier and handed them over to the island emperor.These scrolls mention in detail the proposal and its conditions . If you agree, you must sign the proposal."
For the first time after the whole mission, she left the room with a sincere smile on her face, and for the first time, she felt the burden on her shoulders was lifted. Mei and her friends left the palace immediately and safely . Like earlier, no one could trace their tracks.
................................................................................................. While returning back to the village, Mei noticed the path was covered with thin layer of snow. Winter was early this year , ringing in the new season, a new reign, and new beginnings. ------------------------------------------------------------- Four autumns have passed since the battle . Kazu and Mei have now married for four winters and they were blessed with a little baby boy almost two years ago. Kazu and Mei were over the moon when they got the news . Kazu took great care of her, making sure she ate properly every day and did not overstress herself. When he was on a mission, her friends and clan people, especially Grandpa Chogan, made sure Mei was fully rested and didn't do any heavy work.
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Speaking of her friends...
After the battle, things changed for the better. Thanks to the proposal Takao prepared , the clan was getting more orders than ever and even welcomed a new member from Mei's former samurai team .
They were all shocked when Takao announced before leaving the palace that he had accepted Yoko as a part of the clan. Mei was glad Yoko joined the clan,as she liked to train with her and Shino. Very soon, Yoko became one of the best shinobi among others and got well accustomed to clan customs and traditions .
And maybe in these periods of training ,love bloomed between Takao and Yoko, and they decided to get married just a few months after Kazu and Mei got married .
Shino was welcomed into the clan , she now accompanied Mei and Yoko on missions and orders from the clan.
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'Aaaaawww'... 'Aaaawww' 'Looks like you have completed your nap' , Mei whispered. She walked back to the cradle placed beside their bed and gathered her little baby in her arms to pacify him .
Now, now... hush... hush... hush... hush... mother has arrived.'"Haru" mother is here.but the baby seemed to not care. He just cried more.
Picking up the staff in one hand and Haru in the other. She took him for a stroll in their garden, where he immediately crawled off to see the flowers and catch butterflies in the garden.
Mei began to water the plants when she felt a pull on her dress and saw that little Haru wanted to be in her mother's arms. He also held out a small cherry blossom flower for his mother.
'a..h..h..h..a..m..a.m..a'
Taking the cue, Mei accepted the flower and took him in her arms. He was once again happy to be back in his mother's arms.
'Thank you ,my little one , it's beautiful .' In response, he just giggled .
She looked at her child's face. He had his father's eyes and hair, but he was as curious as Mei and always kept them on their toes. The moment he started to learn to crawl, he would explore the place all by himself as much as he could and grab at every new thing he found interesting. Grandpa Chogan had a hard time keeping all the herbs out of reach and for Kazu his weapons, as lately Haru found them more interesting than the wooden toys his father made for him.
Kazu and Mei never complained they just enjoyed these moments.
"Do you want to visit your Aunt Shino"? Mei cooed to Haru ,who was too busy admiring the flower he got for his mother ignoring her mother's question.
I guess that's a no then! ' Nevermind !! Let's not disturb her. She is apparently waiting for your would-be Uncle Arai.
Mei was not surprised when Shino told her that she liked Arai, and now that he was visiting the clan, she wanted to confess her feelings without any further ado. Mei was sure that the former ronin wouldn't refuse Shino's feelings as he too liked her .
Haru, noticing someone's presence excitedly started to reach out to that person, almost jumping out of Mei's arms.
Haru..stay calm, Haru.." But Haru was too excited to listen to his mother. A small smile appeared on her face as she heard a familiar voice.
Her beloved man,her Kazu, was standing behind her , unhurt. She missed him dearly.
Kazu was happy to be back from the mission and meet his family. He was a man of few words , but his affections and emotions were reflected in his eyes. It has always been their eyes through which they communicate their unsaid words and emotions. Earlier , he used to be a little aloof , but now after Mei and Haru's arrival in his life , he has found peace in them.
He takes them in his embrace, softly giving a kiss on both of their foreheads.
"How are you both?" "I'm fine, better than fine now that you're back; I missed you.""I missed you too, fluffy one," he said, holding her chin and kissing her lips.
They went back to their house. Mei put up the kettle on the hearth , while Kazu played with Haru, who was now busy playing with a wooden toy made by Kazu during his mission.
"I think our little shinobi is quite fond of knives and shurkien. The other day, he found your bag safely hidden under the table."' Mei informed
She poured tea into two cups and handed one to him .
"You really are curious little shinobi?" Kazu asked his son, who now found out another hidden Shurkien from Kazu's robes.
Kazu gently took the back Shurkien from his son's firm grip.
"Aaa,whhh!" Haru protested The shinobi chuckled at his response. 'my little kitune' , you might hurt yourself and still have time to learn about weapons. I will teach you everything, but at the right time. " The shinobi pacified his son.
Kazu and Mei were not surprised by his attraction to weapons . He was both a shinobi and a kitsune.
Two months back, Kazu had taken Haru for a stroll in the village , and Haru got frightened on seeing the jounin turning into a tiger ,resulting in him turning into a little black fox cub immediately in Kazu's arms . He took four days to return to his human form. All this time, Mei, too, took fox form so that her child did not get scared away by the sudden change.
Seeing Kazu and her little one busy , Mei was once again occupied with her thoughts . She wondered if she would have been happy if she had decided to ascend the throne. She thought, 'No, I would have felt like a caged bird in a golden prison,' she thought When she was in Okiya, Mei always wondered if she would have any family to call her own and now she had her answers in front of her.
"What are you thinking , beautiful one? She felt a light tender kiss on her shoulder.
Nothing important. I remembered a poem by Matsuo Basho, "Only time does know how many paths there are left to find happiness."."
'And did you find your path, beautiful one'? Kazu asked.
She knew Kazu knew the answer , but she would never get tired of answering it. Smilingly ,she took hold of his chin and lovingly looked into his eyes.
"Yes, I have found my path, a very beautiful path , which leads me to a house on the outskirts of a village hidden between beautiful mountains , to the house of the man who is in front of me."
