Chapter Text
Kyo had never seen the cherry blossoms in full bloom. If he had glimpsed them when he was very young, he had no recollection of it. But he doubted he had ever seen such a breath-taking spectacle, because if he had, he surely would have remembered.
However, he did remember seeing a photograph of his parents once that had struck him. In it, they were young; both smiling and embracing each other under a tree with pink flowers. Kyo remembered thinking that it must have been precisely that beautiful display of flowers and colours that had made his parents so happy, because he couldn’t remember ever seeing either of them with such relaxed and carefree expressions. They seemed like different people in that picture, people who had nothing to do with his parents. His mother, with her dim smile that never reached her eyes, and his father, with that constantly furrowed expression, halfway between resentful disgust and thinly veiled terror; that was how Kyo had always seen his parents. And that photo with that tree full of flowers seemed to come from another world; a kinder world, where there were no monsters, and where people were happy.
He didn't know that the tree from the photo bloomed every year, just a few blocks from his home. He must have seen it some other time, during one of his brief escapes to the playground, before his mother locked him inside for good because of the incident with Kagura. But since he had never seen it in full bloom, he had never recognized it. And yet, here it was, in all its beauty, right in front of him. Exactly the tree from the photo, under which his parents had once embraced happily, without any worries in their eyes or hearts. If this tree existed in this world, within the Sohma estate, then that meant his parents had also once been happy in this world. But to Kyo, this still seemed impossible. Those serene eyes, those carefree smiles, they couldn't belong to this world, because Kyo had never seen them.
“Feeling contemplative?”
Kyo flinched as Kazuma's words abruptly interrupted the flow of his thoughts.
“W- What?”
“You have been staring at that tree for a full minute,” Kazuma said. “The cherry blossom has inspired some of the finest verse ever produced. Perhaps you were considering giving your own contribution.”
Kyo pouted, having quickly learned to recognize when Kazuma was making fun of him.
Kazuma smiled, also having already learned when to stop teasing so as not to annoy Kyo too much.
"Just kidding."
Kyo cast one final glance at the blossoming tree before turning around to walk alongside Kazuma.
“As I was saying, there’s a new class starting at the end of the month. For beginners. You could try it out. See if you like it,” Kazuma said, looking down at him with an encouraging smile.
Kyo didn’t have the chance to articulate an answer as he heard someone whispering on the other side of the path.
“So Kazuma really did take him in…”
Kyo didn’t raise his gaze, but he could sense the two gossiping ladies out of the corner of his eye.
“The poor man shouldn’t have to care for that boy just because his father couldn’t handle him…”
Kyo could feel his blood rushing, his cheeks burning, and his ears pulsing with anger.
“Imagine being responsible for such a creature.” Kyo could feel the stare of those two ladies on his shoulders. “Who would want to look after the Cat’s child?”
“Yeah, maybe there’s something wrong with Kazuma, too…”
Kyo stopped in his tracks, his fists clenched, and his whole body tense with fury. He wanted to yell. He wanted to hit someone. He wanted to look up, to stare straight into the eyes of those two ladies and tell them to shut up. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t…
Suddenly, two hands reached under his arms and the ground shrank away from under his feet as a branch of the delicate blossoms filled his vision. Before he realized what was happening, he was lifted into the air, his face just an inch away from the pink flowers, their scent filling his nostrils. He looked up at the top of the tree and thought he could reach out and touch the highest branch. He had never been lifted like this, not this high, and it gave him a whole new perspective.
“Time for a change.”
Kyo looked down at Kazuma, who was looking back up at him with the gentlest smile he had ever seen.
“From now on, you are going to breathe the air of higher places,” Kazuma said, and Kyo could see that gentle smile shining in his eyes, too. “Sound good?”
Kazuma lowered his arms, but instead of putting Kyo down, he set him on one of his hips, supporting him with his strong hands. Kyo tried to keep his balance by grabbing Kazuma’s neck.
“Sound good?” Kazuma repeated, his soft smile still on his face.
Kyo looked at him for a moment and then gave a small nod. Kazuma nodded too and gave him a gentle stroke on his cheek.
“Good.”
He held Kyo tightly in his arms and started walking again, looking ahead at the path to the dojo.
Kyo, meanwhile, fixed his gaze on Kazuma’s face.
This man was strange. It seemed like he never got angry, worried, or distressed. There were no shadows in his eyes like there were in his mom’s. There were no lines or wrinkles on his face like the ones always appearing on his father’s when his features contorted into a mask of rage and disgust. His posture was firm yet relaxed, completely carefree. His whole figure didn’t emanate any negative sentiment at all, no anger, terror, or disdain. Just that gentle smile that seemed to never leave his face. This man was indeed strange, so foreign to anything that Kyo had ever known. Foreign like that picture of his parents, happy and smiling under that beautiful tree that existed not in another world, but just a few steps away from him.
Maybe Kyo hadn’t gotten to see his parents’ gentle smiles. But this man had a gentle smile, too. And perhaps this meant that it wasn't entirely impossible to be happy in this world. Kyo didn't know. The mere thought scared him.
But at the same time, with his arms clinging around Kazuma’s neck and his head nestled against his shoulder, Kyo felt safe. And that, at least for now, was enough.
.