Serpent's kiss - Chapter 6 (END)
A persistent ache pounds in my head. Wait… headache? Wasn't the afterlife supposed to be a place without pain? Or did I end up in hell after all?
My consciousness surfaces from the blackness, and finally, I manage to open my eyes. Whatever room I'm in is lit, so I can clearly see the unfamiliar wooden ceiling above me. Doesn't look like the afterlife, hell or otherwise. Where am I…? And more importantly – why am I still alive? Didn't Hanzo stab me with a poisoned weapon?
Thinking so much sends a sharp pain through my already throbbing head. I yelp and clutch my forehead.
"Now, now. Take it easy."
At the sound of that voice, I grow stock-still. After a few moments, I turn my head, although with difficulty – and there he is. Kneeling beside my bedstead, light reflected in his amethyst eyes.
Even through the mist of my still dazed mind, I sense a flame of anger and disappointment flickering to life inside me. He betrayed me. That thought alone fills my mouth with a bitter taste. Why the hell is he even here? Is he gloating about the situation or something?
Hanzo reaches next to him, and a cup comes into view. With the other hand, he reaches for me. Weakly, I lift my hand and slap it away – or at least try to. He only stops because he wants to, as my hand feebly bounces off his.
"Don't touch me."
His expression does not change, but… am I imagining things, or is that sadness flashing in his eyes?
"Please drink it", he says, in a pleading tone I have never heard from him. "It will help lessen the severity of the aftereffects. My deepest apologies that the poison was not perfected yet."
So he even admits to have poisoned me. I am not even angry at this… just so severely disappointed.
"Who… guarantees me that whatever concoction that is, it isn't poisoned either?"
He sighs. "Nobody. And believe me, were I not immune to most anything, I would more than love to drink a sip and prove to you that it isn't poisoned. But think about it. Would I want you dead, you would already be dead and we wouldn't have this conversation."
There he goes again with his damnable logic. But I cannot really disagree with it either. If he truly wanted me dead, we indeed wouldn't be having this conversation. He would have left me rotting on that forest floor. And pretending to poison me, then rescue me only to poison me again – even in the fog that's clouding my mind, that just didn't make sense.
Not that this would make me forgive him.
"I can see the questions burning on your tongue", Hanzo says into the silence. "And I shall answer each and every one of them. I also see your anger. But first, please, drink this. It'll make you feel better. Then we can talk."
"…fine."
This time, when he slids his hand beneath my back, I don't resist. He helps me sit up so that I can drink without spilling the liquid all over me. Then, while supporting me with one hand, he reaches for the cup with the other and brings it to my lips.
Instantly, I grimace. I've never had this particular medicine, but whatever it is, it tastes awful. Worse than almost any other medicine I've ever tasted. And as a shinobi, I had done that quite a lot of times.
"My apologies", Hanzo says. "Success on making it taste better has so far eluded me."
That gets a lopsided grin from me. "As long as it's doing its job, I won't complain."
He nods in acknowledgement. "It will take a moment to take full effect, but it should already make you feel a little better."
After I downed the entire cup, he gently lowers me back down. And indeed, the pounding in my head is already growing weaker, and the fog is starting to lift.
For a little while, I close my eyes again. Exhaustion still has me firmly in its grip. When I open them, I see Hanzo watching me intently.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah… already feeling a little better, just as you said. I simply am still very exhausted."
"Yes, that was to be expected… the ingredients of the poison do wreak havoc on the body in order to gain the required effect."
"Speaking of which, I think it's time to explain yourself. You owe me some answers."
"Of course." He sighs. "That I had to stab you, I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I regret it like I regretted nothing before. And my weapon was indeed poisoned. However, as you may have gathered by the fact that you are still alive, it is not an ordinary poison. It does not kill, but it does lower all bodily functions to such a degree that a person appears to be dead. I wish I would never have had to make such a poison… and least of all to have to use it on you. But after my father summoned me for the first time because of you, I knew I had to make such a poison."
Despite everything, I cannot help but be impressed. It's been what, less than a full week between the two visits to his hometown? And in that short time, he had managed to create such an intricate poison? Leave it to master Hanzo to pull of such a feat.
But more importantly… he did it to save me?
With his observation skills, he must have figured what I was just thinking, because he says: "As much as I loathe that fact, it was the only way I saw to not only save you, but also free you from future pursuit. You have no idea how my father is. He and every shinobi from my village are like hounds. They would have hunted you wherever you fled in Mikawa, perhaps even beyond this province's border. I wish I could have told you… but everything had to look genuine. The shinobi of my clan are not fooled easily."
And returning to my own village was of course no option either. It looks like faking my death was indeed the only way out of this mess. And while I wish he had told me, while I am still angry at him for not doing so and for that feeling of utter betrayal he had instilled in me… I do understand it. Us shinobi are rather perceptive by nature, and I am certain that the shinobi of Hattori village are similarly perceptive as Hanzo.
For a long while, I remain silent, letting all that information settle. Hanzo keeps watching me, as if trying to gage what I was feeling. My face remains unmoved; a feat I actually feel a little proud of. And I also take a little glee from it, since usually, it is Hanzo who leaves me guessing and is all cryptic. He deserves a little taste of his own medicine.
But aside from the anger, another warmth rises within me. A warmth that stems from the knowledge that his betrayal served to save me. Oh, it is going to take a while for the anger to fade, for me to truly forgive him. But his actions have spoken louder than any words. He does care for me. So much so that he even goes against his clan, his father, and fakes my death only to escape their clutches. Which, by the way, could still cost him dearly if they should ever find out that I was still alive. The risk he took is not to be understated. That has got to count for something, right? I suppose there is only one thing I can say right now. Feeling a little stronger, I try and manage to sit up on my own and look him straight in the eyes.
"Thank you."
A rare flash of surprise in those amethyst orbs. His reaction, however, takes me by utter and complete surprise. Because he leans in and embraces me. That is so unexpected, so untypical for him, that I am at a complete loss of words. Seeing him so emotional, so vulnerable… feels surreal.
"I am so sorry", he says in a low voice, almost a murmur. "I am so, so sorry. I wished there had been another way. I couldn't even be completely sure that the poison would work as intended. Oh kami, the thought of losing you…"
There is pain in the voice. Pain that makes it clear that doing what he had done had not been easy at all for him. And what was that last part about losing me?
"M-master Hanzo… what do you mean?"
The silver-haired shinobi end the hug to hold me at arm's length. He gives me a smile, tantalizing as ever, but also tinged with sadness.
"Please do drop the 'master'. I am Hanzo. Just Hanzo. And I think you know exactly what I mean. This little mouse has managed to capture the serpent's heart." A pause. "I love you."
Those three simple words drop with thunderous weight. And my mind refuses for several long moments to even comprehend them. Hanzo? THE Hanzo Hattori, loves someone? And me, of all people? An unimportant, unassuming kunoichi? Even after learning just a short while ago that he cares enough for me to save my life, I hadn't expected that his feelings for me would run that deep.
Once the surprise fades, joy blossoms inside me. My own feelings for him, suppressed until now, bubble to the surface, and I allow them to. Hearing Hanzo's confession tore down all walls, all restrictions. His words were like permission for me to do so. And so, when he leans in, I do not stop him or turn away.
Our lips meet in a kiss.
It's as if all the affection Hanzo had kept locked up is now pouring into this moment. A view beneath the surface of the aloof ninja. His firm, yet at the same time soft lips display a gentleness I have never seen from him before. I close my eyes, wishing that the moment would never end.
But it has to end eventually. When it does, I lift my arms, and he willingly leans into the hug, wrapping his arms around me again. I rest my head in the nape of his neck, drink in his distinct scent of herbs and sandalwood.
"I love you too, Hanzo."
For some reason, speaking those words feels weirdly liberating. It may take a while for me to fully forgive him. But that does not change the truth of my feelings. Feelings that had been suppressed for far too long and now are finally allowed to break free from their cage.
For a while, we stay like that, simply basking in each other's presence. But even when we release each other, and my mind turns to more pressing matters, the magic of the moment is not gone. Instead, it left me with a sense of confidence in the future.
"So, what are we gonna do?", I ask. "I can't simply return to Okazaki like that."
"No indeed." Hanzo smirks at me, a glint of his old mischievousness flashing in his eyes. "I have an idea or two. But before we even bother ourselves with those, the most important thing is that you fully recover."
I can't argue against that. A wave of dizziness reminds me that I am still experiencing the side effects of the poison. No way is my mind clear enough to think about such important matters. I lie back down.
"Rest, he says. "I'm here."
"Thank you."
I smile at him and close my eyes. Slowly, I drift off into slumber. Comforted by the knowledge that Hanzo is watching over me.
And curious what the future might bring.














