>> Interlude
＊
──This is a story from the Sengoku era.
It is a story entwined with a flute.
・
・
・
"Lord Myouju, are you free?"
"I'm going to sleep now."
"In that case, there's something I'd like to ask of you for a moment."
"Suuju, were you even listening to me??"
Undeterred by such a retort, Suuju said, "It'll be over quickly," and forcibly grabbed Lord Myouju's sleeve, starting to walk down the corridor.
The destination was a room. Peeking inside, Lord Yoriiichi and Young Moon were sitting facing each other, knees touching. In their hands, flutes.
He could guess. It was a bothersome matter. Something that would never end quickly. It was a reenactment of the dawn flute incident.
Lord Myouju tried to escape. But he tripped over Suuju and fell. When he got up and tried to run away again, this time his hakama hem was grabbed.
If he tried to escape like this, it was only a matter of time before his lower garment came off. Lord Myouju lacked the courage to dash out like Thunderclap and Flash in his fundoshi in the broad daylight of the corridor.
Eventually, as Suuju indicated with a jerk of his chin, Lord Myouju obediently sat on a cushion. It was a complete defeat.
"Now, the flute contest between Lord Yoriiichi and Young Moon begins!"
"Wait, wait, what suddenly started?"
"This contest marks its seventh occasion!"
"Did this insane chaos increase that much without me knowing?"
"I, Suuju, will handle the live commentary, and we have Lord Myouju for the analysis!"
"Hey, what's with Rengoku over there in that referee outfit with a fan? Is he the judge? Is Rengoku really the judge?"
"Now, let's hear the aspirations of the two players!"
Ignoring Lord Myouju's retort left alone, Suuju turned his gaze to Young Moon.
Since Young Moon couldn't speak, he used gestures instead. Even expressionless. There was no way to gauge his level of aspiration. It just looked like a mask thrown on land flailing about.
Someone call Lord Michikatsu for interpretation. Ah, right, he wasn't here due to a mission.
"It seems his enthusiasm is sufficient. Now, Lord Yoriiichi."
Next, Yoriiichi, who received the gaze, stood silently holding the flute tightly. Standing tall with an expressionless face, he showed no sign of opening his mouth.
His gaze simply looked down at Young Moon, and Young Moon looked up at him.
Perhaps invisible sparks were flying between the parties, but from this third-party perspective, they were just looking at each other. Because these guys, both are expressionless.
"Yes, let's assume this side's enthusiasm is sufficient too."
"Hey, Lord Yoriiichi can speak unlike Young Moon!"
"Then, Judge Rengoku, please."
"Good! Both players, face each other... begin!"
Peehyaーーーーー!
Pee-yurururuーーーー!!
"It's too louddddddd!!"
With a volume even greater than during the dawn flute incident, Lord Myouju, who couldn't bear it and shouted, was by no means at fault.
"Flute sounds loud enough to drown out Lord Myouju's roar! Both players are off to a smooth start!"
"Forget that! Explain the current situation to me already!"
As Lord Myouju shouted against the flute sounds, Suuju nodded with a hollow smile.
By the way, the flute sounds were loud, but Judge Rengoku was loud too. It seemed he was heated up as well, not falling behind Yoriiichi and Young Moon.
He shouted, "I endured it, I endured it!" but what exactly did he endure? Lung air, lung capacity. Please, run out immediately.
"Actually, you see. After that widely rumored dawn flute incident."
"Ah, that was a dreadful incident."
"The two of them, taking advantage of Lord Michikatsu's absence, suddenly started blowing flutes loudly and noisily."
"Even though they know they'll get scolded if Lord Michikatsu finds out, they still do this?"
"We were reaching our limits too. So, you see."
"So?"
"We turned it into an event outright."
"Try a bit harder to stop them."
The direction of the effort was completely wrong.
"We did try. Thanks to that, both of them used to start blowing flutes without warning, but lately, they come to me or Lord Rengoku first before starting. It's a great improvement."
"Where's the improvement in that?"
"We can mentally prepare for the noise."
"That's regression, you idiot!"
"Please call it resignation."
Suuju cut off there and turned his gaze to the two in the flute contest. His eyes, having reached a state of resignation, were terribly dull and cloudy. If this guy used Water Breathing now, it seemed like a vision of muddy water would appear.
"Now, Young Moon, realizing the disadvantage in lung capacity! As if supplementing the insufficient flute sound, he stomps the floor here!"
"Don't add more noise to this discord! My eardrums are about to burst!"
"Here comes the intervention from Judge Rengoku! Is this a foul... no, it's passed! Expressing sound with his whole body, he receives high praise from Lord Rengoku!"
"Rengoku, are your eardrums made of steel!"
"Oh my, Lord Yoriiichi is slowly lifting his right foot!"
"Wait, Lord Yoriiichi can't let this slide! The floor will break! It'll break!"
"What is this! The judge silently shakes his head! Allowed for Young Moon but rejected for Lord Yoriiichi, hasn't he lost fairness as a judge?! Analyst, Lord Myouju, what's your view!"
"It's fine! Lord Yoriiichi is okay with this! A rabbit's hopping is cute, but a bear's stomping is scary, right! Isn't that so, live commentator Lord Suuju!!"
"Lord Myouju, that statement is bamboo forest. Two... no, three bamboo forests worth of outrageous remarks."
"Don't say it! I realized it after saying it too! Stop it, Young Moon, don't look this way!!"
"Oh, anger from being treated like a rabbit increases the flute's momentum! Young Moon stomps the floor and spins around in place! Artistic points added!"
"Lord Michikatsu, please come back quicklyyyy!!"
Unfortunately, Lord Michikatsu was absent on a mission requiring overnight stay, so the noise continued until deep into the night.
・
・
・
The flute contest came to a close with Yoriiichi's victory.
Thus, 7 wins out of 7 matches. Yoriiichi, boasting lung capacity like an elephant uncle, raised his fist in an 'I'm winner' pose with a relaxed expression, while Young Moon, who had blown with all his might, collapsed on the floor, shoulders heaving.
For reference, Suuju quickly left the room as soon as the match ended, and Lord Myouju also fled before Young Moon could take revenge.
Rengoku also left his spot, but he had gone to fetch water for the two who had fought with all their strength, so he would return soon.
"......It was a good match."
When he offered a hand to Young Moon, who was catching his breath, Young Moon slapped it away as if he had no need for mercy.
Even with training, it was a child's strength, so it didn't hurt. Instead, a strangely pleasant feeling surged in Yoriiichi's chest.
Young Moon, undaunted despite consecutive losses. Perhaps the eighth contest would occur soon.
Yoriiichi looked forward to it immensely.
"Young Moon, this flute is an item filled with memories of me and my brother."
Yoriiichi suddenly spoke up, showing the bumpy flute. It wasn't to boast.
"From the day I swore to strive daily without neglect to become a righteous and gentle person like my brother, I thought this flute would never hold meaning beyond that."
For Yoriiichi, this flute already held meaning equivalent to his brother himself.
He had long believed that this meaning could never be overwritten by anything.
"But now, when I look at this flute, I don't just think of my brother. The Flame Hashira, Suuju, Lord Myouju, and other Hashira. And Young Moon, I think of you too."
The memories with his brother hadn't faded. It's just that the memories in this flute had increased one by one with people other than his brother.
"Every time I compete in the flute with you, new memories accumulate in this flute. That makes me so happy I can't bear it. And I feel immeasurably reassured."
No matter what happens in the future, even if he makes a mistake and stops in anguish── it seemed like the memories accumulated in this flute, all the connections made so far, would quietly push his back.
If a person's life is a single thread, connections with others turn that thin thread into a thick, strong rope. As flexible as the number of people, as vivid as the number of people.
Yoriiichi quietly closed his eyes. And sent gratitude to his mother, who was no longer in this world.
The heart that blessed this name while thinking of connections between people now finally arrived with joy and realization.
"......I am truly happy."
Yoriiichi murmured sincerely, clutching the flute dearly. Young Moon, who was lying down, blew a 'pee' sound with a camellia fruit. That sound seemed like an answer to Yoriiichi.
So Yoriiichi also blew the flute. The out-of-tune flute sound and the camellia fruit sound mixed together──
Ah, like this, another memory.
This is a story from the Sengoku era.
It is a story entwined with a flute.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register