Made another chapter cover. Continuing to struggle with facial expressions, after having a sudden realization that everyone i’ve ever drawn in this life was more or less like 😐 or 😠. hmm not much progress? (Mutsu is supposed to wear a poker face though lol)
“Where is Hyogo?” Mutsu’s question reached Tahomaru along with the sound of hooves.
She caught up with him and kept slightly behind.
“I dismissed him for today.”
“You are being too soft with him, waka. He slacks off too much recently.”
Stop lecturing me! Tahomaru barely suppressed his outrage. He jumped from his horse and walked to the cliff with the big lonely tree near the edge. He heard Mutsu do the same a few steps behind him. The high autumn grass was rustling ever so slightly underneath her steps. Their horses were puffing heavily from the fast ride. Other than that, there was no sound. The clear sky was stroked with the shadows of the clouds and the birds flying so high that his eyes hurt to look into that sharp blue infinity.
“Because I want to be here; do I need a specific reason to be where I want to be?” Tahomaru snapped, unable to calm down. His mind raced. His head was spinning as if he were about to fall into the sky.
“My apologies, waka,” Mutsu said formally with a deep bow.
Tahomaru tried to remember the words he had intended to say. He closed his eyes and took one long breath, then another. Mutsu waited patiently, watching him in silence. He knew she was watching him, probably with worry, her body relaxed but ready to react in a fraction of a second; her right arm ready to snatch an arrow and place it on the string of the light hankyu bow that her left hand would get off her horse’s back the same instant. She never let her guard down, not even here, on this serene field, where Tahomaru used to run away as a child to hide among the high grass from the world that wasn’t fair. She would always find him, and her hand would be gentle yet there would be a strain in it, and her eyes would glance all over the field and to the faraway forest, calculating any possible danger. She would never let her guard down.
“Something isn’t right. I have always felt it,” Tahomaru finally uttered, and those were not the words he had been preparing. His gaze was wandering over the horizon where the hills were glowing scarlet with the vivid colors of autumn. Somehow, it was not pretty. It seemed as if blood had been spilled all over the land. “Things are not as they are supposed to be. Something is off and has always been. Have you ever felt the same, Mutsu?”
There was a long silence behind him. She would never waver when answering his questions. She would never make him wait. But now, she did, and it could mean a lot of things.
“I have, waka,” Mutsu replied at length.
What exactly? Tahomaru wanted to demand but held himself back. It was his time to speak. “Yes. A lot isn’t right. My parents holding secrets from me. My mother’s indifference. The sadness in her eyes. The fact that I am being protected by you, too.”
“Have I not proved myself, waka?” Mutsu’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but there was steel in it, cold and razor-sharp.
“You have. And it is not right either.” Tahomaru took a deep breath and turned around to face her. His heart was racing as if he were about to step from the cliff and blow into the blue height. “I want to be the one to protect you, Mutsu. Always wanted to be. Even before I could understand what it means.”
Read full chapter on AO3
