The cherry tree: Chapter 6 - FINAL
Title: The cherry tree (6/6) FINAL CHAPTER
Pairing: Ohmiya
Summary: Nino doesn’t believe in spirits, but his opinion changes when he meets a very special person.
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2463
Disclaimer: This chapter is co-written with zazasukie and betaed by beastlover Thanks both of you! <3 <3
EXTRA!: I want to share with everybody a wonderful drawing of Matsujun as a Celestial Messenger that forgottenkanji , a friend of my lovely beta reader beastlover , has sent me. Isn't it great? Matsujun looks gorgeus! <3
Thanks a lot for your drawing! ^____^
Previous chapter
“Nino?” a well-known voice, calling him softly, pushed Nino out of his grief-stricken trance.
“It can’t be!” The student opened wide his swollen eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and then began to beat so quickly that it was almost painful. He turned sharply to look at the owner of the voice, almost falling against the tree’s stump in his haste.
Feeling a bit dizzy, Nino stared dumbfounded at the young man who was looking at him with a slightly surprised expression. Ohno was dressed in an elegant kimono - the kind of kimono that people wore only for very special occasions. He was carrying something wrapped in a cloth that had the shape of a thin book.
“H-How is this possible?” The young student gulped and rubbed his eyes, unable to believe in the image in front of him.
“Nino?” Ohno asked again, this time with a hint of worry in his voice. “Why are you crying? Did you fail your exams?” he gently inquired looking with concern at Nino’s swollen eyes and tear stained face.
“Oh-chan!” Nino shouted and ran towards the worried man, quickly covering the few meters that stood between them. “I thought that I had lost you when I found the old sakura tree cut down!” Nino fiercely hugged the troubled man. Shaking violently, his tears began to flow again.
Ohno let the box he was carrying fall to the ground and hugged Nino back, softly caressing his hair. “Don’t worry, everything is alright,” he reassured him with a gentle whisper trying to soothe the sobbing student, “Calm down, o.k.?”
Nino simply tightened his embrace and buried his face in Ohno’s neck, stubbornly refusing to release him. He didn’t understand how it was possible that Ohno was there, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let him go anywhere, anytime soon.
They embraced for a few minutes. The young man soothingly rubbed Nino’s back in silence until the student slowly calmed down.
“Are you feeling better now?” Ohno asked him when he felt the young student finally relaxing in their embrace.
“Y-yes…” Nino hiccuped and moved slightly away so he could look at Ohno’s face. However, he didn’t weaken his firm grip on the young man’s kimono.
Ohno smiled at him and tenderly brushed Nino’s cheeks with his thumbs to wipe away the remaining tears. “Now, tell me. Why are you crying? And why did you think that the disappearance of the old tree could harm me in any way?”
“B-Because you’re the spirit of the old sakura tree, right?” Nino said, a bit confused.
“Eh? I’m not a spirit!” the young man protested with an adorable laugh.
“But you’re always dressed in those traditional clothes, and I’ve only met you here, near the old tree, and…” Nino began to list, counting with his fingers.
“It’s true that I belong to a family well-known for their relation with the ancient Japanese arts, so I’m used to wearing traditional clothes. Besides, I live near this park and I liked to practice calligraphy and dance near this tree. But that doesn’t make me a spirit!”
“B-But then h-how…” the young student protested, puzzled, feeling a sudden need to sit.
“I think it would be better if you sit down,” murmured Ohno putting his hand on Nino’s forehead, worried about the paleness of the young student.
“Is this a dream?” Nino thought feeling dizzy while the young man helped him to sit down on the stump of the old tree. Then, he went to pick up the wrapped box he had been carrying and the picnic basket that Nino had dropped in the middle of the path.
“And all those strange things that happened each time I met him?” Nino weakly shook his head watching Ohno’s return.
“But… what about your mysterious disappearances? And why the old tree blossomed after your dance? How did you do that if you aren’t a spirit?” he asked him, trying to understand.
“Eh? I don’t know what are you talki-”
“Ehem!” a voice interrupted them, “I think we have something to say regarding those questions.”
They turned around to find Aiba looking at them apologetically. He was accompanied by a young, handsome man also dressed in a traditional kimono.
“E-EH?” Nino stuttered looking bewildered at his friend, “Why is Aiba here? And why did he say that he has something to do with all those events?”
“Sho-kun!” Ohno exclaimed surprised.
“D-Do you know him?” Nino asked looking at him baffled.
“Yes, he is-”
“I was only trying to help you to meet Ohno!” Aiba exclaimed remorsefully, hugging a shocked Nino and interrupting Ohno’s explanation, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t expect them to cut down the sakura tree!” he tightened his grip on his friend’s neck, almost choking him.
“Masaki, calm down and let the poor boy breathe,” said the man named Sho, putting a hand on Aiba’s back and making the latter release his death grip.
“Let me explain to you what all of this is about. I’m Sakurai Sho, a friend of Aiba's. I teach the art of flower arrangement to Ohno. That’s why I’m wearing a kimono too,” he smiled pointing at his kimono.
Nino nodded slowly, rubbing his sore neck, as his astonished gaze jumped between Sho and Aiba.
“Well, everything started when-” Sho began to explain when he was suddenly interrupted by a clear voice sounding above them.
“Congratulations!”
Everybody raised their heads towards the source of the voice and looked -more or less surprised - at the young and handsome man, richly dressed as an imperial messenger, floating over them.
“I think there is nothing more that can surprise me after this,” Nino thought stunned, grateful for being already seated on the stump.
“I, Matsumoto Jun, official messenger of our Beloved Celestial Emperor, proudly announce that the foxes Aiba Masaki and Sakurai Sho have completed their mission successfully. Therefore, they are now considered worthy of obtaining an additional tail granted by His Highness as a reward for their efforts in paying the ancient debt He had contracted with the family of the human Ohno Satoshi!” the handsome man pompously declared and lightly clapped his delicate hands.
After those words, there was a bright light and a little fanfare. When Nino opened his eyes again, he could see that his friend and his companion had changed. Now, both were shinning with a soft, golden glow and they had fox ears and fox tails, four tails in Aiba’s case and six in Sho’s.
“YOU, you were the spirit!” Nino exclaimed, astonished, pointing at Aiba with a trembling hand and realizing how wrong he has been in his previous statement about the impossibility to be more surprised that day.
“Yes…” Aiba nodded with a broad smile, scratching one of his foxy ears, “I told you that spirits were real, didn’t I?” he smiled a bit embarrassed.
“What will it be next? Are you going to make a kangaroo appear from your school bag?” Nino asked ironically. “Because if you’re going to do something similar, please warn me beforehand. I’ve had enough surprises for today.”
“Ehem!” Sho coughed lightly, trying to grab Nino’s attention again, “As I was saying-”
Suddenly, a loud rumbling interrupted them. “Sorry, Sho-kun…” Ohno interjected blushing a bit, “Why don’t we celebrate the graduation of Nino and Aiba before that? And we can celebrate your… spiritual upgrade too, if you want.” He looked at them hopefully, softly rubbing his protesting stomach.
With those simple words, the mystical moment was broken and everybody laughed loudly. They quickly prepared the food and drinks that Nino had brought on a blanket and everybody sat around the food.
“Nino’s food is the best!” Ohno beamed munching a rice ball with a beatific smile. “Ah! I almost forget!” he exclaimed and picked up the wrapped box that was lying beside him. “Please accept this as a gift for your graduation.” he politely said to Nino and offered him the box.
Full of curiosity, Nino carefully unpacked the box and opened it. Inside there was a beautiful work of calligraphy in which Nino could read the word: “Congratulations!”
“I-I don’t know what to say… Thank you!” the young student exclaimed in awe, carefully examining the delicate piece of art.
Ohno smiled at him rubbing his nape, a bit embarrassed, “It’s nothing.”
“Well,” Sho cleaned his hands with a napkin, “I think that now is a wonderful moment to explain all the things that have been troubling you, Nino.”
Nino nodded and delicately put aside the work of calligraphy on the cloth used to wrap it. He looked expectantly at Sho.
“Everything began when Masaki and I were ordered by…” Sho started again only to be interrupted for the third time by an enthusiastic voice.
“You know, our Beloved Celestial Emperor would be extremely delighted to own a fine piece of art like this.”
They turned around, surprised, only to find Jun sitting nonchalantly beside Nino, carefully admiring Ohno’s calligraphy work. The imperial messenger noticed everybody’s gaze fixed on him and asked, becoming a bit bothered, “What?”
“We thought you had returned to His Highness’s Court already.” Aiba explained to him.
“I feel magnanimous today so I will celebrate His Highness’s reward with all of you. Be grateful!”
“Here, take one of these. They’re delicious!” Ohno smiled and handed the celestial messenger a rice ball.
Sagely, Sho decided to wait till the end of the celebration to begin with the explanations. Maybe that way, he hoped, he would be fortunate enough to be able to explain at least one or two things before being interrupted again.
~~
Finally, after everybody had filled their stomachs and had drunk to their hearts content, Sho began to explain how and why he and Aiba had deceived Nino.
“A long time ago, His Highness contracted an important debt with Ohno’s family - though I don’t know about the nature of that debt - and he promised to repay it no matter what. Then, a lot of things happened that made Our Beloved Celestial Emperor unable to honor his promise until now.”
Sho changed his position a bit to get closer to Aiba. “Our participation in this mission began when His Highness found out about my friendship with Ohno and Masaki’s friendship with Nino, Ohno’s soul mate,” he explained with a warm smile.
“W-What!? Soul m-mates?” Nino snapped his head to look at Ohno with a shocked expression. The young man looked back at him, beaming, and winked mischievously. The young student blushed intensely and diverted his gaze from Ohno’s happy face, almost missing the next words of Sho’s explanation.
“…In spite of our spiritual nature, Masaki and I have always loved to live among humans. We live common lives, make friends, getting jobs, studying and graduating like everybody else,” he smiled warmly at Aiba who nodded, playing happily with his diploma.
“Our mission was to make you and Ohno meet a few times and help you to fall in love with each other… Well, that was the original plan, but then Masaki insisted on convincing you that Ohno was a spirit,” Sho explained with a sigh.
“I just wanted Nino to believe in spirits!” protested Aiba, “He’s my best friend, but never believed me when I told him that spirits exist. This was the perfect revenge!” he chuckled evilly.
Nino frowned at him and was about to protest when he felt Ohno’s soothing hand cupping his. “Well, it wasn’t so bad, was it? After all, I got to meet Ohno,” he thought enjoying the warmth of the young man. “O.k. I suppose it was my fault for not believing in you in the first place…” he sighed.
“Yay!” Aiba clapped happily.
“First, we made you believe that Ohno could appear and disappear mysteriously into the air - though he didn’t know anything about it - like the first time you saw him. This was really easy because illusion is one of our best skills,” Sho kept explaining.
“Second, we left the sakura blossom behind when he left you sleeping in order to return in time for his lessons.” Aiba said with a grin.
“Your lessons?” Nino asked looking at Ohno curiously.
“Yes, in order to follow my family’s tradition, I receive lessons everyday. Calligraphy on Mondays, flower arrangement on Tuesdays, traditional male dancing on Wednesdays, etc.” Ohno answered nonchalantly. “It has been this way since my childhood so I’ve never gone to school. I’ve always had private tutors to teach me everything.”
“That many lessons!” exclaimed Nino shocked. “And that’s why you didn’t know how a Graduation Ceremony is celebrated!”
Ohno nodded, a bit surprised by Nino’s explosive reaction.
“And he excells in all of them,” Sho commented proudly. “He has made various exhibitions of calligraphy and has given performances of traditional male dancing all around the world.”
Nino looked in awe at the young man seated beside him and Ohno blushed a bit, rubbing his nape embarrassed.
“The last part was the most difficult,” Aiba commented. “We hadn’t prepared anything more, but when Sho saw you that night in the park, he thought that making the old tree blossom would surely convince you that Ohno was indeed the spirit of the sakura tree.”
“But Oh-chan recovered from his cold at the same time the old tree was healed!” Nino exclaimed unable to understand how the foxes had been able to time those events so well.
“Well, I must say that the perfect timing of those events was a happy coincidence for which we’re really grateful!” Sho smiled cheerfully. “What we didn’t expect was the big storm that broke the old tree and the workers who cut it down…” he sighed. “I sincerely apologize for making you worry so much for Ohno’s welfare,” he bowed to Nino with an apologetic expression and was followed by Aiba.
“So, all the times I talked to the tree and took care of it … were for nothing?” Nino asked feeling a bit betrayed. “All that money I spent on medicine for the tree, all for nothing?” he asked getting angrier with each memory.
“Well… yes?” Aiba replied not looking ashamed at all.
“Aibaaaaaa!” Nino began to growl furiously at his friend, but he was interrupted by Ohno’s lips on his cheek.
“Well, you can always think of it as an investment!” Ohno exclaimed cheerfully with a mischievous wink meant for the fox spirits.
Nino blushed intensely, forgetting all his plans about getting his revenge on Aiba. After a second, he began to smile - a big and evil smile - and rapidly turned. He grabbed Ohno’s head and planted a kiss full on the lips of the surprised young man. The merry laugh of the three spirits reached even His Highness’s Court.
END
Pairing: Ohmiya
Summary: Nino doesn’t believe in spirits, but his opinion changes when he meets a very special person.
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2463
Disclaimer: This chapter is co-written with zazasukie and betaed by beastlover Thanks both of you! <3 <3
EXTRA!: I want to share with everybody a wonderful drawing of Matsujun as a Celestial Messenger that forgottenkanji , a friend of my lovely beta reader beastlover , has sent me. Isn't it great? Matsujun looks gorgeus! <3
Thanks a lot for your drawing! ^____^
Previous chapter
“Nino?” a well-known voice, calling him softly, pushed Nino out of his grief-stricken trance.
“It can’t be!” The student opened wide his swollen eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and then began to beat so quickly that it was almost painful. He turned sharply to look at the owner of the voice, almost falling against the tree’s stump in his haste.
Feeling a bit dizzy, Nino stared dumbfounded at the young man who was looking at him with a slightly surprised expression. Ohno was dressed in an elegant kimono - the kind of kimono that people wore only for very special occasions. He was carrying something wrapped in a cloth that had the shape of a thin book.
“H-How is this possible?” The young student gulped and rubbed his eyes, unable to believe in the image in front of him.
“Nino?” Ohno asked again, this time with a hint of worry in his voice. “Why are you crying? Did you fail your exams?” he gently inquired looking with concern at Nino’s swollen eyes and tear stained face.
“Oh-chan!” Nino shouted and ran towards the worried man, quickly covering the few meters that stood between them. “I thought that I had lost you when I found the old sakura tree cut down!” Nino fiercely hugged the troubled man. Shaking violently, his tears began to flow again.
Ohno let the box he was carrying fall to the ground and hugged Nino back, softly caressing his hair. “Don’t worry, everything is alright,” he reassured him with a gentle whisper trying to soothe the sobbing student, “Calm down, o.k.?”
Nino simply tightened his embrace and buried his face in Ohno’s neck, stubbornly refusing to release him. He didn’t understand how it was possible that Ohno was there, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let him go anywhere, anytime soon.
They embraced for a few minutes. The young man soothingly rubbed Nino’s back in silence until the student slowly calmed down.
“Are you feeling better now?” Ohno asked him when he felt the young student finally relaxing in their embrace.
“Y-yes…” Nino hiccuped and moved slightly away so he could look at Ohno’s face. However, he didn’t weaken his firm grip on the young man’s kimono.
Ohno smiled at him and tenderly brushed Nino’s cheeks with his thumbs to wipe away the remaining tears. “Now, tell me. Why are you crying? And why did you think that the disappearance of the old tree could harm me in any way?”
“B-Because you’re the spirit of the old sakura tree, right?” Nino said, a bit confused.
“Eh? I’m not a spirit!” the young man protested with an adorable laugh.
“But you’re always dressed in those traditional clothes, and I’ve only met you here, near the old tree, and…” Nino began to list, counting with his fingers.
“It’s true that I belong to a family well-known for their relation with the ancient Japanese arts, so I’m used to wearing traditional clothes. Besides, I live near this park and I liked to practice calligraphy and dance near this tree. But that doesn’t make me a spirit!”
“B-But then h-how…” the young student protested, puzzled, feeling a sudden need to sit.
“I think it would be better if you sit down,” murmured Ohno putting his hand on Nino’s forehead, worried about the paleness of the young student.
“Is this a dream?” Nino thought feeling dizzy while the young man helped him to sit down on the stump of the old tree. Then, he went to pick up the wrapped box he had been carrying and the picnic basket that Nino had dropped in the middle of the path.
“And all those strange things that happened each time I met him?” Nino weakly shook his head watching Ohno’s return.
“But… what about your mysterious disappearances? And why the old tree blossomed after your dance? How did you do that if you aren’t a spirit?” he asked him, trying to understand.
“Eh? I don’t know what are you talki-”
“Ehem!” a voice interrupted them, “I think we have something to say regarding those questions.”
They turned around to find Aiba looking at them apologetically. He was accompanied by a young, handsome man also dressed in a traditional kimono.
“E-EH?” Nino stuttered looking bewildered at his friend, “Why is Aiba here? And why did he say that he has something to do with all those events?”
“Sho-kun!” Ohno exclaimed surprised.
“D-Do you know him?” Nino asked looking at him baffled.
“Yes, he is-”
“I was only trying to help you to meet Ohno!” Aiba exclaimed remorsefully, hugging a shocked Nino and interrupting Ohno’s explanation, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t expect them to cut down the sakura tree!” he tightened his grip on his friend’s neck, almost choking him.
“Masaki, calm down and let the poor boy breathe,” said the man named Sho, putting a hand on Aiba’s back and making the latter release his death grip.
“Let me explain to you what all of this is about. I’m Sakurai Sho, a friend of Aiba's. I teach the art of flower arrangement to Ohno. That’s why I’m wearing a kimono too,” he smiled pointing at his kimono.
Nino nodded slowly, rubbing his sore neck, as his astonished gaze jumped between Sho and Aiba.
“Well, everything started when-” Sho began to explain when he was suddenly interrupted by a clear voice sounding above them.
“Congratulations!”
Everybody raised their heads towards the source of the voice and looked -more or less surprised - at the young and handsome man, richly dressed as an imperial messenger, floating over them.
“I think there is nothing more that can surprise me after this,” Nino thought stunned, grateful for being already seated on the stump.
“I, Matsumoto Jun, official messenger of our Beloved Celestial Emperor, proudly announce that the foxes Aiba Masaki and Sakurai Sho have completed their mission successfully. Therefore, they are now considered worthy of obtaining an additional tail granted by His Highness as a reward for their efforts in paying the ancient debt He had contracted with the family of the human Ohno Satoshi!” the handsome man pompously declared and lightly clapped his delicate hands.
After those words, there was a bright light and a little fanfare. When Nino opened his eyes again, he could see that his friend and his companion had changed. Now, both were shinning with a soft, golden glow and they had fox ears and fox tails, four tails in Aiba’s case and six in Sho’s.
“YOU, you were the spirit!” Nino exclaimed, astonished, pointing at Aiba with a trembling hand and realizing how wrong he has been in his previous statement about the impossibility to be more surprised that day.
“Yes…” Aiba nodded with a broad smile, scratching one of his foxy ears, “I told you that spirits were real, didn’t I?” he smiled a bit embarrassed.
“What will it be next? Are you going to make a kangaroo appear from your school bag?” Nino asked ironically. “Because if you’re going to do something similar, please warn me beforehand. I’ve had enough surprises for today.”
“Ehem!” Sho coughed lightly, trying to grab Nino’s attention again, “As I was saying-”
Suddenly, a loud rumbling interrupted them. “Sorry, Sho-kun…” Ohno interjected blushing a bit, “Why don’t we celebrate the graduation of Nino and Aiba before that? And we can celebrate your… spiritual upgrade too, if you want.” He looked at them hopefully, softly rubbing his protesting stomach.
With those simple words, the mystical moment was broken and everybody laughed loudly. They quickly prepared the food and drinks that Nino had brought on a blanket and everybody sat around the food.
“Nino’s food is the best!” Ohno beamed munching a rice ball with a beatific smile. “Ah! I almost forget!” he exclaimed and picked up the wrapped box that was lying beside him. “Please accept this as a gift for your graduation.” he politely said to Nino and offered him the box.
Full of curiosity, Nino carefully unpacked the box and opened it. Inside there was a beautiful work of calligraphy in which Nino could read the word: “Congratulations!”
“I-I don’t know what to say… Thank you!” the young student exclaimed in awe, carefully examining the delicate piece of art.
Ohno smiled at him rubbing his nape, a bit embarrassed, “It’s nothing.”
“Well,” Sho cleaned his hands with a napkin, “I think that now is a wonderful moment to explain all the things that have been troubling you, Nino.”
Nino nodded and delicately put aside the work of calligraphy on the cloth used to wrap it. He looked expectantly at Sho.
“Everything began when Masaki and I were ordered by…” Sho started again only to be interrupted for the third time by an enthusiastic voice.
“You know, our Beloved Celestial Emperor would be extremely delighted to own a fine piece of art like this.”
They turned around, surprised, only to find Jun sitting nonchalantly beside Nino, carefully admiring Ohno’s calligraphy work. The imperial messenger noticed everybody’s gaze fixed on him and asked, becoming a bit bothered, “What?”
“We thought you had returned to His Highness’s Court already.” Aiba explained to him.
“I feel magnanimous today so I will celebrate His Highness’s reward with all of you. Be grateful!”
“Here, take one of these. They’re delicious!” Ohno smiled and handed the celestial messenger a rice ball.
Sagely, Sho decided to wait till the end of the celebration to begin with the explanations. Maybe that way, he hoped, he would be fortunate enough to be able to explain at least one or two things before being interrupted again.
~~
Finally, after everybody had filled their stomachs and had drunk to their hearts content, Sho began to explain how and why he and Aiba had deceived Nino.
“A long time ago, His Highness contracted an important debt with Ohno’s family - though I don’t know about the nature of that debt - and he promised to repay it no matter what. Then, a lot of things happened that made Our Beloved Celestial Emperor unable to honor his promise until now.”
Sho changed his position a bit to get closer to Aiba. “Our participation in this mission began when His Highness found out about my friendship with Ohno and Masaki’s friendship with Nino, Ohno’s soul mate,” he explained with a warm smile.
“W-What!? Soul m-mates?” Nino snapped his head to look at Ohno with a shocked expression. The young man looked back at him, beaming, and winked mischievously. The young student blushed intensely and diverted his gaze from Ohno’s happy face, almost missing the next words of Sho’s explanation.
“…In spite of our spiritual nature, Masaki and I have always loved to live among humans. We live common lives, make friends, getting jobs, studying and graduating like everybody else,” he smiled warmly at Aiba who nodded, playing happily with his diploma.
“Our mission was to make you and Ohno meet a few times and help you to fall in love with each other… Well, that was the original plan, but then Masaki insisted on convincing you that Ohno was a spirit,” Sho explained with a sigh.
“I just wanted Nino to believe in spirits!” protested Aiba, “He’s my best friend, but never believed me when I told him that spirits exist. This was the perfect revenge!” he chuckled evilly.
Nino frowned at him and was about to protest when he felt Ohno’s soothing hand cupping his. “Well, it wasn’t so bad, was it? After all, I got to meet Ohno,” he thought enjoying the warmth of the young man. “O.k. I suppose it was my fault for not believing in you in the first place…” he sighed.
“Yay!” Aiba clapped happily.
“First, we made you believe that Ohno could appear and disappear mysteriously into the air - though he didn’t know anything about it - like the first time you saw him. This was really easy because illusion is one of our best skills,” Sho kept explaining.
“Second, we left the sakura blossom behind when he left you sleeping in order to return in time for his lessons.” Aiba said with a grin.
“Your lessons?” Nino asked looking at Ohno curiously.
“Yes, in order to follow my family’s tradition, I receive lessons everyday. Calligraphy on Mondays, flower arrangement on Tuesdays, traditional male dancing on Wednesdays, etc.” Ohno answered nonchalantly. “It has been this way since my childhood so I’ve never gone to school. I’ve always had private tutors to teach me everything.”
“That many lessons!” exclaimed Nino shocked. “And that’s why you didn’t know how a Graduation Ceremony is celebrated!”
Ohno nodded, a bit surprised by Nino’s explosive reaction.
“And he excells in all of them,” Sho commented proudly. “He has made various exhibitions of calligraphy and has given performances of traditional male dancing all around the world.”
Nino looked in awe at the young man seated beside him and Ohno blushed a bit, rubbing his nape embarrassed.
“The last part was the most difficult,” Aiba commented. “We hadn’t prepared anything more, but when Sho saw you that night in the park, he thought that making the old tree blossom would surely convince you that Ohno was indeed the spirit of the sakura tree.”
“But Oh-chan recovered from his cold at the same time the old tree was healed!” Nino exclaimed unable to understand how the foxes had been able to time those events so well.
“Well, I must say that the perfect timing of those events was a happy coincidence for which we’re really grateful!” Sho smiled cheerfully. “What we didn’t expect was the big storm that broke the old tree and the workers who cut it down…” he sighed. “I sincerely apologize for making you worry so much for Ohno’s welfare,” he bowed to Nino with an apologetic expression and was followed by Aiba.
“So, all the times I talked to the tree and took care of it … were for nothing?” Nino asked feeling a bit betrayed. “All that money I spent on medicine for the tree, all for nothing?” he asked getting angrier with each memory.
“Well… yes?” Aiba replied not looking ashamed at all.
“Aibaaaaaa!” Nino began to growl furiously at his friend, but he was interrupted by Ohno’s lips on his cheek.
“Well, you can always think of it as an investment!” Ohno exclaimed cheerfully with a mischievous wink meant for the fox spirits.
Nino blushed intensely, forgetting all his plans about getting his revenge on Aiba. After a second, he began to smile - a big and evil smile - and rapidly turned. He grabbed Ohno’s head and planted a kiss full on the lips of the surprised young man. The merry laugh of the three spirits reached even His Highness’s Court.
END