❀Sakura Melody❀ .::Original Anime::.

Chapter 2 ❀An Old Book❀

Opening Theme:

Brightdown by Nami, Tamaki

It was early morning when Habiki woke up to the smell of freshly cooked eggs. Feeling hungry, he decided to cautiously climb down the peach tree, ready to flee if necessary. When his toes finally touched ground, however, and he figured out that he wouldn’t be killed for climbing down his tiny tree-branch filled prison, he became a little more confident in himself and his quest to obtain the eggs he was currently smelling.

Only one problem seemed to stand in his way: Arine, Momoka.

He understood that he was an idiot to think that sleeping in the same bed as a stranger would not be alarming to someone who lives out in the middle of nowhere, and is probably not used to seeing many people. Much less being into close contact with anyone for that matter. He wonder bluntly to himself how long this girl had been living here all alone like this; it seemed like such a lonely lifestyle to choose to go by. He knew he would hardly be able to stand a day by himself, with all communication to the outside world cut off without a second thought. He would simply go crazy from the suffocation that being alone brought with it.

But when he put more thought into it, he realized that she had to be used to it, maybe even born with this kind of life in mind. Or perhaps she wanted to escape the hectic and terrifying new rule of the menacing group of people called the ‘Dark Symphony’. He could agree with that, but after noting that she is currently living in the middle of godforsaken nowhere, she probably has no clue that their are new people in rule, or much less know that the country of Lin is even under any kind of monarchy. The only way to find out such things as that, he knew that he would have to ask her in person. The only upside that Habiki could think of to that scenario is the possibility of getting eggs and not being killed.

Feeling a little tougher, he made the choice to venture into the bokken-wielding girl known as Momoka. Swallowing the rather large lump in his throat, he inched toward the fiery lair that smelled of breakfast. When he arrived on the porch, he peeked into her home through on of the windows in the front of the household. She was there in the tiny kitchen, cooking with a skillet pan. Her glasses fogged up a lot when she sprayed cold water on the scalding skillet after depositing the food onto two separate plates.

He watched as she plucked up a plate from the counter top and turned to stride over to the door. Ducking out of view from her, he chose to make himself look casual by leaning against the front of her porch. She opened the door slowly, poking her head out and looking around for the hungry traveler she chased up into the tree the night before. She turned her head and spotted him, eyeing the plate of food in her hands. A silence fell between them before she ducked back inside, gesturing for him to follow if he wanted too. And being with the growling stomach like he was, he followed like a lost puppy.

She laughed a little bit at his eagerness to eat when she set the plate onto the table for him. Habiki sat down in a flash and was about to eat his first bite when a thought popped into his head. Looking over at her with a suspicious expression, he cocked one eyebrow at her.

“Okay, what did you do to it?” He demanded, lowering his fork. “What’s the catch?”

“Ne?” She was caught off-guard by that demand. “What are you saying that for?”

“Well, you chased me up a freaking peach tree last night, and now you are happily serving me breakfast without any kind of complaint or anything. What gives?”

Momoka smiled lightly at that, sitting down in the chair across from him. “Well, Mr. Kiyoshi, you are my guest when you stay here. I treat my guests very well before they leave me here again. Which reminds me; how long will you be staying at my tiny establishment, if you do not mind me asking?”

Habiki frowned as he munched on the last of his warm eggs, feeling more than a little relieved that his stomach didn’t feel like an endless pit any longer. Placing his fork down on his empty plate, he leaned back precariously in his wooden chair. “That depends. I’m actually looking for something, so I may be on my way quite quickly or I may just end up being your problem for a few days. Besides, I’m in no rush. There’s free food here and a lovely hostess, what’s not to love?”

“Sweet talking does not really work with me, I’ll have you know. But, I admit, I can cook pretty well. As for what you said you are looking for, maybe I can be of some kind of service?” Momoka smiled at him, eyes closed behind her black frames. If there was one thing that Momoka knew she was good at, it was locating lost things. How else would she be able to get by so easily out here alone?

Habiki shook his head at her offer, dismissing it without a seconds’ thought. “Impossible. I appreciate the offer, but you would not even begin to understand the importance of this thing. If I don’t find it soon, all of Lin will be in some serious trouble here. Some really serious trouble that this country does not need, what with we are already handling and surviving through. You’ve got it better than you think you do, Momo-chan. Nobody to boss you around, no rules to abide too. It’s truly what you would call freedom out here.”

Momoka paused to consider his words, feeling a little indifferent as she thought about it more. It was true; there was no one to tell her that she couldn’t do this or that, much less any kind of rules to be cautious of. It was a free life out here; away from the orderly ways of society. She shook her head, warding away the potential distraction.

“So, what exactly are you searching for that brought you all the way out here anyway?” She leaned forward with her arms out on the table, her eyes filled with the burning curiosity.

“You’re probably going to laugh at this,” Habiki sighed somewhat heavily, rubbing the back of his neck and staring up at the wooden home’s ceiling. “But I’m searching for a long-lost book that supposedly can control the good and bad events that happen in this world. Although the book is considered just myth, I’m convinced that it exists. I’ve been looking for it for years while my father devoted his whole life to finding this book.”

“A book? That can control such influential things? That is hard to believe. What was the title of the book?”

“It wasn’t given any kind of title; it just goes by ‘Untitled’. That’s one of the most interesting things about it. Even with my father devotion and my own, not much is known about it aside from the fact that can only be used by a select few. It is supposed to have power beyond belief, but no one really knows for sure anymore.”

“Why are you so hasty about finding it? Why not take your time and search more carefully?” Momoka asked him, itching to know by this point.

“Because I’m not the only one looking for it. The Organization currently in power of Lin, known as the Dark Symphony, are after it as well. If it falls into their dreadful hands, it’ll be the end of Lin, and maybe even this world, as we know it today.”

Ending Theme:

Sakura Biyori by Hoshimura, Mai