Through the Eyes of the Dragon

Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Friendship

"Ah, damn... They aren't growing fast enough." Letting out a long sigh of disappointment, Tatsuya straightened to brush the moisture free from his forehead, eyes squinted against the high noon sun. Rolling his shoulders to relax them, he leaned to pluck the last of the stray weeds from his napa patch,  grunting as the day's labour burned at his muscles.

Ever since they had returned from Acqua, Tatsuya found himself gradually pulling away from the happenings of the state, constantly lost in his distressing thoughts and unable to focus on the matters at hand. Gradually, he became more and more withdrawn until, about a week ago, he began to spend most of his time tending to Kojuro's old plantation.

It was growing season in Northern Aeros, so it wasn't as if he had gone there to pointlessly waste time. Though some of the other generals were disapproving of his lack of activity, Masamune made no move to correct him.

"It's not your fault or anything," his lord had muttered around the time they got back, "So, don't go beating yourself up over something so trivial."

It was easy for him to say. Although Tatsuya had witnessed moments in which motivation completely escaped his friend, the reasons behind them were of their own extremities. For him, it was a sense of never ending isolation and loneliness. His family was gone, evaporated before his eyes.

On the contrary, the Dragon merely struggled with maintaining the peace and happiness of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. That, and the fact that he was slowly being surrounded by forces bearing just as much of a thirst for power and land as he, was his problem. Both were painful, he had to admit, but were also very different at the same time.

Stabbing his spade into a pile of unused dirt, Tatsuya puffed out a sigh as observed his work, before trudging off towards the plantation entrance. Making sure to grab his jacket and lock the gates on his way out, he frowned as a yawn shook him, blurring his vision temporarily and leaving him a bit disoriented. Oh, that’s right. He couldn’t remember the last time he was able to get a full night of sleep...

Shuffling around groups lively people in the capitol, he did his best to seem upbeat himself, though his unkempt appearance, dark under-eye circles, and sluggish movements suggested otherwise. Just as he was only a few paces away from the Pagoda, a dainty figure wriggled free from the crowd and ran in his direction.

“Mr. Namikawa-san!” Yui called, bowling into his abdomen and nearly toppling both of them with her energy.

“Oomph! Ack, Yui! C-careful now,” Tatsuya warned as he had to stagger a few steps before steadying them both. Gripping her shoulders and giving her a quick look-over in case they were under attack, he let out a breath of relief when all he got was a puzzled glance. “Ah... What is the matter?”

Beaming up at him with a big mischievous grin, Yui leaned forward to cup his rough hands in her softer, gentler ones. “I’ve been looking all over for you!  I have something to show you,” she chirped, tugging him off towards the hills.

Allowing her to drag him off towards a small patch of remote farmland, he noted its distance from the pagoda, as well as its location. It wasn’t too far north, but close enough to the Aerosian Mountains for him to realize something he hadn’t noticed during his 8+ year stay: he could see the sea. Starting from the northern edge of the capital, the hills gradually bubbled up until they loomed over the shores, but the contrast was gradual enough for him to hear the faint crash of water over rocks, unlike the sharp terraces outlining the base of the rest of the mountain range.

After taking in the familiar sound, he redirected his attention to the patch, frowning at the small amount of growth there. Most of it was small green plants whose stems, leaves, and tops had a tendency to tangle around each other, particularly toward the center. But before he could brush it off as neglect, he couldn’t help but admit the healthy shine each leaf gave off. It seemed as though it was attended to regularly... as for the congestion in the center... was there something hidden there...?