Beta by Lovely Patty!
Honorific dictionary:
Bocchan- Young Master
Sama- Master/Lady
San-Miss/Mr/Mrs
Kun-attachment between friends.
Sensei-Teacher/Novelist/Doctor (Sakura is referring to Kakashi as a doctor)
Dono-Miss/Mr/Mrs (formal)
The Fragrance of Love and Wine
Chapter I: The Transitory Moments of A Changing Life
-4 July, 1903: Ushiku, Japan-
The call of a new day pulled him back from his heavy slumber, much to his own reluctance. Was it really morning already or was someone playing with the rooster again? He shifted slightly on his bed to squint at the open window from which he had climbed through last night. Sunlight poured through the window in small patches, touching every crook and corner of darkness that was cowering underneath the tables and chairs, warming up the previously cold and neglected room. Deciding it was better to go back to sleep, Neji closed his eyes, allowing the shadows behind his retinas to once again be the shield from the new day.
Waking up meant having to meet with the Main House members and he wasn’t in the mood to be lectured so early in the morning.
The smell of alcohol and vomit clung to his robes like cheap perfume, probably because he had thoughtlessly climbed into the bed after a night of celebration without changing. His usually starched, white shirt was tarnished with odd stains of yellow; the brown plaid vest was in an equally miserable state. He pulled the white sheets over his head, ignoring the loud cries of both animals and humans alike on the other side of his door. A light tap on the door indicated that it was due time he woke up.
He threw the bed coverings aside and sat up. “What is it?”
“Your water is ready for you Neji-bocchan.”
“Come in.”
Neji nodded, waving a hand to usher the servant away before pushing himself off of the bed to approach the awaiting silver pan. Only then did the fullness of last night’s events come slamming back with ridiculous ferocity. His body became overwhelmed with the onslaught of fatigue, the effects of a hang over he supposed. The steps that led him to the round wooden table were awkward. While one foot seemed to walk in one direction, the other refused to abide by his commands. The pain, which coursed through his brain, left him unsettled, as the dark room became a steady blur of gray and black. A migraine from the excess consumption of alcohol, he concluded shortly there after.
The water rippled as he dipped a genteel hand into the polished wash pan, carefully cleaning away the dirt and grime lodged deep under the surface of his nails. His pale eyes lingered over the reflection peering under him. A familiar impassive, unblemished face glanced up at him from the translucent water; white eyes conveying little emotions, a high slender nose, perfectly arched brown eyebrows framed his eyes. His usual low ponytail was unkempt; strands of loose hair falling from the black band which held it.
Neji pulled the white face towel from under the pan and dipped it into the water, soaking it thoroughly before bringing it up to his face. The cool fabric glided over the bridge of his nose, onto the underside of his neck, then over his eyes. Even as the towel fell away, everything that had been there before remained perfect.
He was perfect.
He made it an effort to be so.
How long has it been since the beginning of the Meiji Restoration? Thirteen years? Maybe fourteen? In a world driven by constant vanity, it was the survival of those whom where born with privileges. Poor, inadequate humans had no position in the new Meiji Era. It was the pursuit of change that garnered success and those that resisted it, became the victims of the past. They lived in a new era, an era where supposed ‘freedom’ was free to not only that of the aristocratic hierarchy, but to that of the working class as well. Where was this so-called ‘autonomy’?
He lifted his head away from the pan to stare at the calendar. White eyes widened as they fell upon the circled date after traveling through rows of criss-crosses. Multitasking, Neji moved to unbutton the wrinkled vest slowly with his nimble fingers while approaching the calendar nailed onto the cracked plaster wall. So yesterday had been his birthday? The arrival into manhood now that he was eighteen years of age signified a newborn independence. And yet, he couldn’t see beyond the doors of this cubicle of a room. This was the world in which the Main House had so vigilantly constructed for him.
Once again, a light knock was issued from his door, dispersing his scattered thoughts. He stripped the offending shirt off and donned a freshly pressed one. His plaid auburn pants weren’t tarnish to the point that it would’ve been deemed indecent so they stayed on. Taking a deep breath, Neji walked over to the door, sliding the wooden door to reveal his guest.
“I’m……that is….”
Neji looked on at his cousin with distaste adorning the normally emotionless face. Here was the rightful heir to the winery business, this meek stuttering idiot of a girl. The girl that had ripped him away from what should have been rightfully his in the first place. When he spoke, his contempt for the trembling girl was well hidden. “May I help you Hinata-sama?”
If anything, she seemed to become even more uncomfortable under his intense gaze, not that he was making any effort in the first place to strike fear into her. It was just in her timid nature to withdraw from human contact. His eyes never missed any sign of weakness she chose to blatantly offer.
Some would even call him blessed for having such powerful insight for one so young.
“Father told me…that..you….were to deliver the flasks of sake to the next village,” Hinata averted her pale eyes to avoid looking at her emotionless cousin. Yet, there were things to be done, sake to be sold. “I’m…going to wait…for you outside.”“Don’t. Just leave the carts there and I’ll deliver them to the storage after I’m dressed.” That signaled her escape, which she gladly took without a second thought.
“I’ll…see..you later then, Neji-niisan.”
“Goodbye, Hinata-sama.”
It had rained the previous night, leaving the damp earth raw and naked. All that meant for her was more debris to brush aside. She did have the crisp air to be thankful for though. Working under the burning sun, sweating profusely with each stroke of her mop against the wooden floor always left her weary at night. Even though she had a long day of cleaning ahead of her, the weather was very much agreeable.
She had woken early to greet the new day. It was always best to wake early each day to avoid the Main House family members. They had a tendency to have, as Chouji would kindly put it, a stick shoved in several uncomfortable places. Hence, that would explain the reason behind their crankiness each day.
The Hyuuga manor was formidable to begin with, almost a village of it’s own. Those who were the considered relations of the Main House lived within the confines of the main mansion. While the others, branch members, were left to live in small houses behind the barnyard. When she had first arrived to work, she had found herself lost from its vastness. The sizeable estate also left her working endlessly, from one end to another. However, she had never actually cleaned the insides of the Main House. It simply just wasn’t part of her duty.
Picking up the broom lying on top of the hay pile, she gave the sweeping utensil a few tentative brushes. “Alright boys, up and at it! I’ll sweep the barnyard and you can handle the bags of rice. Make sure to sack them up properly in the barn or the Mistress will give all of you a severe beating.” Her eyebrows knotted in frustration when not one of the boys stirred from her call.
Yamanaka Ino frowned in confusion as the moving bodies failed to comply with her orders. They were simple, move the sacks of rice from the barnyard, back into the barn itself. Was the task really that hard or were the workers just resisting?
Her hands clutched onto the stalk of the wooden broom tightly as the distance between the brunette decreased with each heavy step. She felt the sopping dirt seep into the thin soles of her slippers, but it did little to dwindle her hasty gait. Who dared to snooze right under her nose? Who told him to sleep because she certainly had not!
“What are you doing, Shikamaru? I don’t remember the Main House paying you for being lazy.” She fumed hotly at the sleeping form. His laziness was infamous and yet they still hadn’t bothered to relieve him of his job, which was beyond even her. The humidity also did little to ease her anger as she approached the young man.
He snorted out loudly before propping himself on the sacks of rice he had so carefully built to sustain his weight. “Che, I don’t recall them paying you to be a banshee.” That ripped a head-splitting screech from her lips, much to his chagrin. “Alright, alright. I’ll get to work. Feh, women.”
“Who is in charge of this?” A look of disapproval was written clearly across his handsome face. Surely they could have provided the Main House with better service than this. Loose bags of rice lay thoughtlessly thrown upon the ground, while the grains of rice nearly covered the entirety of the dirt road.
The two friends immediately ceased their argument to greet the recognizable voice.
“Good Morning, Neji-bocchan!” The two called out, their heads bowing in respect as the young master made his way to them.
Neji nodded, indicating that they could once again lift their heads up. “I want to know where the carts are. The ones that Hisashi-sama had left for me to deliver to the next town.”
“Hisashi-sama left the sake in front of the storage room, I think. Would you like me to direct you to the room, Neji-bocchan?” Ino offered politely, although her mind wanted otherwise.
“Alright,” With a curt wave, Neji left to do his biddings.
This was a man that held all the power in his hands and yet had nothing at all, someone she definitely didn’t want to deal with. She had always found it strange how he chose to separate himself from the rest of the family. Even though Hyuuga Neji was the third successor of the family business, and he, by no means, led an arduous life, had a drawback with his life. What that hitch was exactly, she couldn’t see. The death of his father had left him the master of the Branch family, granting him power to rule over them as well as the winery shop. He held the shop records, and watched over the labor. And yet, he seemed to have some form of bitterness that loomed as constant as life.
It was no mystery that his father had been the younger twin of the two Hyuugas born. So that separated him from living the life of luxury and of even more extravagance? According to her schedule, a usual morning did not usually consist of rendezous with angst-ridden young men.
“Did you hear about last night?” Ino asked under her breath. It wasn’t a rhetorical question so he chose to shrug slothfully in response. She was going to tell him whether he had answered ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ “Well, they said that Neji-bocchan got extremely drunk, to the point that he dared to attack Hisashi-sama. Not physically, of course. They said he-”
An anguished howl split the crisp air, cutting through her gossip. Ino rushed frantically into the barn where the cry had initially came from. Shoving the door aside, she ran inside with Shikamaru following quickly in her steps. Sure enough, she found her childhood friend sprawled under the heavy bags of rice but made no move to help him. Shikamaru was quick on his feet to lift the weight off of his friend. “Thanks for coming, Shikamaru. I thought I was going to die.”
“Can I ask you what on earth you were doing in here the first place, Chouji? If I remember correctly, they placed you on the fields, didn’t they?”
Chouji shook his head tentatively, a red flush covering his portly face. “It’s just, I couldn’t do the work because it was too hot so I thought I could come in here and help Shikamaru out.” He looked up to see the expression on her face before pressing to get a word of approval from her. “I know what you’re going to say Ino. I promise I won’t be lazy! I’ll work extra hard here.”
“I guess you can stay here. You know it’s not up to me, who’s allowed to stay and who has to leave, Chouji. If I could, Shikamaru would be out on the fields right now, working himself crazy for the money he makes.” Ino commented wearily.
It was only a half-truth. No doubt, Shikamaru would’ve probably somehow found another way to doze away like he usually did, staring at the endless blue skies like they once had in their childhood. Those were pleasant memories of a remembered time. In a time where there weren’t as many anxieties of where the next meal was coming from or whether they had enough to pay for the landlord or not. But now they resided in a new era. The dangers of changes were still new to them since they were born in an old system only to grow up in a new government. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t welcome the new changes. Opportunities blossomed for those who were willing to work hard to earn a living to sustain themselves. She, like her friends, worked to maintain a family of at last two.
Her father had been involved in the coming forth of the new government himself. Although, she was never told the full extent of his accomplishments, it left little doubt in her mind how powerful an influence he was in their village. Every one of the civilians in the village held some form of respect for him, even the Hyuugas. In many ways, even their fathers shared the same destinies hers had. Very much like the three of them, their predecessors were as close as curry and rice. One could even be led to believe that it was predestined; the three were born to be friends.
Shikamaru turned to face the blonde woman. An eyebrow arched up in curiosity as he tried to read her thoughts, which he soon found was pointless. “Women are so confusing.”
“You just work too hard, Ino.” The pudgy youth announced, pulling what she guessed was food from his large bag. A large black box was placed in front of them as the taller boy moved to join his friend. Chouji patted the empty seat beside him upon the dry hay. “Take a break and have some lunch with us! If you work too hard and die, who’s going to be around to yell at us for being lazy?”
Sighing, the blonde girl brought a hand up to message the oncoming headache. In many ways, her two friends remained as untouched as ever. “I don’t know…”
She eyed the open door, contemplating whether taking a break with her companions was worth it. “We might get fired if they catch us, guys. I really need this job to support my family. You know how father can’t work because he recently got that injury on his knee.”
“I brought some dangos for you,” Shikamaru produced a tray of miniature sticky rice balls draped in sweet sauce. She mentally cursed her friend for knowing her lifelong weakness. Even as she tried to reason against joining them, her determination steadily crumbled away as her clutch on the broom fell. “I know you want it, Ino. I made it especially for you, you know? Why don’t you stop being so troublesome and just join us.”
Finally agreeing, the blonde growled, setting aside the broom before succumbing to her friend’s wishes, all three of them temporarily forgetting the burdens that their young shoulders carried, which had predestined them to live their lives in bitter destitution.
“Will you get up already, Old Man?” Jiraiya watched as the young man, barely seventeen summers passed, rushed from one side of the house to another, grabbing whatever articles, happened to fall in his path. The two of them lived in a remotely small house. Calling it a shack wasn’t getting more toward the technical end, but they led relatively easy lives. It wasn’t anything to be proud of, a small bed for himself while Naruto slumbered upon the clay floor after a long day’s work each night. It had been that way since they had first bought the house and only through Jiraiya’s insistent complaints had the blonde forfeited the comforts of his bed, earning a pan in his face and several salted jellyfishes to decorate the reddening flesh.
A typical day consisted of him sleeping away from an intense night of ‘studying’ and Naruto finding odd bits of after school jobs here and there in order to support them. With what little money he made from selling his novels, Jiraiya would save just enough to send the small boy off to school. There were days when he, himself, would decline his sacred sake in exchange for paying for Naruto’s tuition.
Although recently, he had personally built a raft for the blonde youth, allowing him to ferry passengers from one bank of the river to another. It was proved to be both lucrative and convenient since they did not have to pay any type of fee to any landlord. Their home was located relatively near the dock. So right after school every single day at exactly three in the afternoon, Naruto would run home from class, backpack still slung over his shoulder, and greet his waiting customers with a wave of his hand, his face still perspiring after his mad dash from school.
“Alright, already. I’m up, brat. Don’t forget to bring home some of that sake from the inn.”
“That was a one time deal, and beside, you have arms and legs. Go make us some money so I don’t have to fish for jellyfish again. Unlike you, I get sick after eating salted jellyfish with rice for an entire month!” The blonde explained angrily while trying to tie the small embroidery upon his bright orange shirt.
A subtle wind caught his attention as he kneeled over to reach for his matching pants. When had there been such a big hole in the wall? It hadn’t been there last night when he arrived home…
“For God’s sake, you useless old fart! Couldn’t you at least have used the door? I mean, there’s a good reason why we had one built in the first place right?” He yanked the article over his legs, unbuttoning them once they rode beneath his slender waist. Naruto glanced at his weathered condition. So now getting new clothes would also become a part of his already immense agenda.
Naruto blinked his large blue eyes before sighing exhaustedly. Pieces of paper, both crumbled and unused, laid scattered around the outline of the man’s bed. “Can you please at least do something about the mess on your bed? I spend half of the money we make, or I make sounds better actually, to buy you paper. Do you have any idea how expensive it is? Can’t you be a lot more careful with what you write? I don’t get it in the first place. What is it exactly that you write in your novels?”
The white haired-man took on a sudden sparkle and pulled away the covers of his bed to show the blonde what he had been hiding underneath him in the first place. Naruto stumbled backward, away from the bed in alarm. “What the hell is that? That’s what you take my hard earn money to do? Draw girls in…those offending articles of clothing?”
“Tsk…tsk. You just don’t appreciate real art, brat.”
If he had been near the bed, Naruto was sure he would’ve fallen upon it by now. Instead, he chose to gather the compost. “I think you’re going to have to redefine your definition of art.” He mumbled, looking at his reflection from the broken mirror next to the wrecked window.
“What are you doing now?”
“I’m not sure. Something just feels like it’s missing, but I can’t put my thumb on what it is exactly.” Naruto scratched his golden locks as his eyes scanned over the room. The hand stopped when he realized what it was he had been searching for in the first place. “Where is my bandanna?”
“Which one?”
“The ONLY one, old man! You know, the one that’s orange with the blue spirals on it.” The blank look on Jiraiya’s face “For god sake’s do something!
"At this rate I’m going to be spending the rest of my life making money to support a drunken old fool who writes pornographic novels. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
He stared back at the accusing blonde boy.
Naruto reeled back in incredulity. To think if this man hadn’t been almost a nanny to him, he would have found his drunken self out on the streets. “You really aren’t ashamed? How can you admit something like that with such a straight face on?”
“The bandanna is on your head already. Hurry up or you’re going to be late for school.” Jiraiya announced, fully getting off of the bed to approach the youth. “Work hard, brat.”
The blonde rolled his eyes in answer. “Shouldn’t I be saying the same for you? Sometimes I wonder who’s the guardian around here. Anyway, the leftovers are on top of the table. Heat them up with the stove when you’re hungry.”
He laughed shortly before rubbing the blonde’s locks, making the head accessory fall into the azure eyes. To think a kid would be the one giving orders twenty years ago would have been out of the question. “Just go already.”
With a minute smile and a trouble-free wave, Naruto departed into another day.
-4 July, 1903: Wakkanai, Japan-
He hadn’t arrived at the shores of Hokkaido expecting such a large mass of people to greet them, or to welcome the homecoming passengers. The saline sea breeze had left him more than just a little uncomfortable; so at the first sight of land, a feeling of relief rushed through the core of his soul.
“Come on, Sasuke. It really wasn’t that bad, was it now? Here you were upset about traveling for more than three days on the sea.” Sasuke turned to face his accomplice, albeit reluctantly. Sharing one cabinet with the man had left him even more nauseated than he had first anticipated. Living in such tight corridors meant having little privacy and he was none too happy to be forced into it. By all means, Kakashi wasn’t bad company at all. The doctor spent most of his time reading novels, and from the looks of them, they weren’t of any type of medical context.
“If you weren’t my doctor, I would’ve thrown you off of this stupid boat with my own hands.” The raven-haired Uchiha sneered through his teeth as Hatake Kakashi leaned onto the metal rails, joining the many tight bodies that had also decided that it was best to greet their loved ones at a distance first. A familiar face amongst the crowd on land immediately sent him staggering away to hide behind the packed bodies.
“What is she doing here?” Sasuke screamed over the boisterous crowd, irritation evident in his barking voice. There were a number of adjectives, which could be used to describe him. Lone, stoic, dark, all of those words were practically his trademark. At that present moment, the words: wary, angry, and annoyed seemed to fit him a whole lot better.
“I sent a telegram to Sakura-dono telling her that you would arrive within a week’s notice when we were staying at that inn located in Moscow. She was quite ecstatic that we were returning to Japan and told me that she would take upon herself to greet us when the White Maiden docks upon the shores of Hokkaido. So don’t blame me for telling her that that we were arriving here…”
Sasuke glared at the young doctor, knowing that his downfall was at hand. One by one the people departed from the ship to meet their loved ones. He followed the moving mass without a second thought, hoping that somehow his worries would float away with the flying clouds above him, to the floating water beneath.
Closing the distance once they got on land, the pink haired girl offered the weary travelers an earnest smile. Sakura hesitantly knelt in salutation before speaking, her voice nervous from his presence he supposed. “How was the trip, Doctor? Did you sleep and eat well? I heard that the Russians were barbaric with their European ways. They didn’t bother you too much, did they?”
“No more savage than we are, Sakura-dono. Perhaps you can show us to where we are staying?” Kakashi commented tolerantly, earning a stare from both youths.
“If it isn’t too disrespectful for me to ask you, Kakashi-sensei. Why are you still wearing your white mask?” Sakura asked politely, wanting to move away from the topic. The edginess in his voice had indicated that she had mistakenly treaded into delicate territory. A new subject matter was the best way to go.
“Oh, this?” Kakashi took the bait and answered, all thoughts of her vulgar remark wiped from his mind. “The mask makes me feel a lot more comfortable. It also blocks off the negative energy which radiates in mass proportions from my dear seventeen-year-old patient.”
The pink haired girl nodded in understanding, sidestepping to reach the awaiting carriage. She waited until they got on before stepping in after them. “Take us to the Haruno resident four blocks down to the right,” She turned back to the two men.
“How about you, Sasuke-kun? Your lungs are no longer bothering you, I hope?”
“Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.” Sasuke answered offhandedly. “How long do we have to stay at the Haruno’s, Kakashi? I want to get back to Ushiku as soon as possible.”
The silver-haired doctor caught the hurt look flash blatantly across the young girl’s face and reprimanded his young patient for being insensitive. “We will stay as long as I see fit. You are in no shape to do anything other than rest. I will see to it that you won’t move any other part of your body when we reach the Haruno’s residency. You should be grateful that we are allowed to stay at all.”
“Whatever.”
Kakashi leered at the young raven-haired man. Leave it to the stoic Uchiha to be completely anti-social. “So what are we having for dinner Sakura-dono?”
She lifted her head up, happy to be of some assistance. “What would you like, Kakashi-sensei?”
“I’d like…”
And so the rest of the trip to the Haruno’s consisted of a list of what Kakashi would’ve liked for dinner. Sakura nodded with enthusiasm with each word the doctor spoke while Sasuke chose to stare at the passing scenery outside of his window.
“Miss? Miss? You must ferry me across the river. I have a deliver to make to the other town so please be hasty about it!”
“I don’t have to ‘be hasty’ anything. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going back to my school work.”
“Miss…”
“Hey, if you’re trying to address me, at least get the gender right?”
“Can you feel that, Ino?”
“Who would sneak into the barnyard at this hour of the night though? Didn’t you lock the door carefully?”
“Damn, this is so troublesome. There just has to be a thief running around this late at night.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll catch him and take him down myself!”
“Or not. We should just report this to a branch member. They can handle this.”
A/N: What do I have to say about this? It’s a cross between Country Spirit and Rurouni Kenshin. To address the couples in this fic, there’s certainly going to be yaoi so if this isn’t your kind of fic, please don’t read it. Initially, I was going to have it be NejiNaru. We’ll see how things go. The next chapter will undoubtedly be about Neji or Ino.... Probably then….. who knows? Have fun while reading my first fic and if you care enough, leave a review.