Sakura Blooms (Yamato x Male Reader)

Chapter 5 - Found

Yamato's age: 24

Y/N's age: 26

"Lord Kaido." Y/N bowed deeply before the Governor-General. Y/N could feel Kaido's glare without looking at him. What the hell had he done to piss Kaido off so bad he had to summon Y/N to see him? There was no way he'd know about Yamato.

"Stand." he growled, and Y/N shot to his feet.

"I've been informed by a soldier that you took Yamato to a bar last night."

Y/N's eyes widened. He'd especially made sure that there were no other bookings from anyone in Kaido's army last night at the tavern.

"I appreciate you warming her bed, but there's no need." Kaido looked at Y/N coldly, and Y/N shivered. How the hell did Kaido...

Then it hit him. Bao Huang. He's dispatched all her Marys in his room but he never bothered to check Yamato's room. He thought he'd gotten rid of all of them at the tavern. Maybe he'd actually been drunker than he'd thought. He never checked that courtyard either. He didn't think there'd be any in the courtyard. Y/N damned himself to hell as he slowly looked up at Kaido.

"Name your punishment, my Lord.." he whispered hoarsely. For a few dangerously long moments, Kaido stared down at Y/N. Finally he opened his mouth to speak.

"You are too good of a soldier to dispense, Y/N. I know that you have rid yourself of your past. Do whatever with Yamato. Do whatever, Y/N." Kaido covered his face with a hand.

-

Kaido watched through his fingers as Y/N stood there, gaping. Yes, what he just said would most definitely seem ridiculous to someone who knew as little as Y/N. But Y/N had to be kept alive. Preserved, actually, was the better word. If Y/N could awaken whatever was within him, Kaido was sure, he'd be able to beat anyone. Anyone.

-

Y/N couldn't believe his ears. What motivated Kaido to keep Y/N alive and without punishment? Y/N honestly couldn't believe it. Knowing Kaido, there must be a malicious and self-gaining reason to keep Y/N this way.

Then it hit him. Maybe it had something to do with Yamato. Y/N ran from the room without waiting for a dismissal. He ran until he found Yamato, and when he found her, he broke the shackles on her wrists without a second thought.

-

Y/N stared Yamato in the eye as she watched him, a trace of fear in her expression as she opened her mouth. "H-How?" she breathed.

"The question isn't how." Y/N growled. "It's what. What Kaido is going to do to you." Y/N was indispensable, unhurtable. Yamato, however? Y/N knew that Kaido would go to lengths to keep Yamato alive and as a good heir. But Y/N knew that Kaido had hurt her mercilessly before. He could do it again.

Yamato suddenly pulled her lips back and bared her teeth at Y/N. "I need answers."

When Y/N blinked at her, confused, she went on frustratedly. "What the hell kind of relationship do you have with Kaido and Oden? You told me, years ago, that we had secrets. The thing is, I don't have a secret. I've told you everything. What's with you? Why are you so familiar with Oden yet you're in such an esteemed position in Kaido's crew?" Yamato gripped Y/N's shoulders and shook him. "Tell me. Please."

Y/N put a hand on Yamato's arm and sighed. "I can't tell you all of it. Because I don't know all of it." Yamato nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"26 years ago, Oden met the Roger Pirates and joined their crew. That's when I was born. My mother... I don't know who she was, but she was a devil fruit user. She was on the island when Oden met the Roger Pirates. And, she gave birth to me a day after meeting Oden and Roger. Then she gave me to Gold Roger to take care of.

"Something about not disobeying orders, going back to someone, an experiment. I'm not sure. And I never saw her again. Goddamit, I was a newborn baby, I don't even know if what I'm saying is true. I was six when Oden told me where I came from. I'd been travelling with Oden and Roger ever since I was born.

"When we were getting close to Laugh Tale... I fell sick. Oden made me go back to Wano with his wife, who was also sick. I'd stayed there until Oden got back... and when he was killed. I was at his execution. When Oden was killed, his disciples ran. I couldn't get away in time... and Kaido took me in. Apparently he saw the potential in me. He told me to forget my past, and he'd forgive it. Or something." Y/N didn't look at Yamato. "You can choose whether to believe my story or not. But I promise you, that's all."

Y/N then raised his eyes and looked at Yamato painedly. "Kaido won't hurt me. For some reason he's trying to keep me alive. Even though I've done things that he'd normally punish with death. But Yamato... he won't hurt me. And knowing him, there's a reason behind it that would benefit him in a way." Y/N kept staring at Yamato, eyes full of sorrow. "We should stop seeing each other."

-

"What the hell did you just say?" Yamato snarled, pulling Y/N's hand off her arm. "We should stop seeing each other because Kaido won't punish you for it? That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard." she bared her teeth in disgust.

Yamato stared at Y/N, breathing heavily. Y/N slowly smiled. "What is it?" she asked.

"I got your shackles off for you."

Momentarily surprised, Yamato quickly glanced down at her wrists. Yamato was so caught up with what Y/N had been saying that she'd forgotten about her shackles.

"How? How did you do it?" she asked.

Y/N shook his head. "I don't know. It's like that day when I got my own shackles off. I felt so angry, so full of longing, and that thing inside me snapped again."

Yamato looked at her wrists in awe.

"Now that your shackles are off," Y/N continued, "We can go anywhere, right? We don't have to stay here." Y/N's voice became an excited whisper. "We can run away together, Yamato. I never thought of that. We don't have to stay in Wano, under the rule of Kaido."

And then Yamato's eyes turned bitter, and she cast her eyes down. "Run away if you want, Y/N. But I have to stay here."