Just like she promised, Akahana had continued to train with Ryota, under the midday sun's gaze. Sometimes, the seas would be calm and gentle, the salty breeze filling her nostrils as she sparred with Ryota. Other times, the ship would be tossed against the raging waves and rain, and they'd have to stay inside. Even with those limitations, it wouldn't faze the wily fox, as he played countless songs on his shamisen, singing with passion, and it would immediately brighten everyone's day.
"How do you play that?" She asked one day, after their practice had ended.
"Oh, you just..." He demonstrated by moving his fingers on certain strings and plucking them to make pleasant sounds, along with tweaking the wooden pegs to diversify the noises. "...And that's how you play it."
"...You didn't really explain anything." Akahana said.
"Oh, uh," Ryota scratched his head. "Well, I guess I didn't." He chuckled. "I can't really explain it, I just, sort of know it." He tuned the pegs and began strumming.
Akahana sat next to him. "Well, how do you know how to play it?"
"My mother was a musician, and since I was her son, I had that natural affinity for music, you know?" He kept flicking the strings and humming slightly. "I've had this for most of my life." He tapped the shamisen. "It's sort of my best friend."
Akahana giggled. "That's one way to look at an instrument."
Ryota ears flushed an embarrassed red. "Hehe, yeah..." The two sat there for a little while, before and idea popped into Akahana's head.
"Hey, do you mind if you play a song?" She asked.
"Of course I don't mind!" He replied. "So, what song do you want? Just name it!" His fingers awaited her answer as they rested on the shamisen's strings.
"Name?" She thought a hard minute about it, but shrugged. "I don't think it has a name, it's just a lullaby my mother used to sing. It goes like this." She cleared her throat, and softly began to hum. Ryota listened, ears perked, and after she finished, Ryota nodded, closed his eyes and started strumming a tune that closely resembled the humming. It was harmonious, and Akahana could feel the nostalgia washing over her as she remembered the night where she was tucked under her covers, and her mother's voice crooning her to sleep.
"Are you gonna sing?" Ryota asked, and he stopped playing.
"What?" Akahana asked.
"It looks like you want to." Ryota said. "And besides, I think that this song means a lot to you." He readied his fingers on the strings, awaiting Akahana's signal. She gulped nervously, before she began to softly sing.
"Even as the wind blows away all we know,
And the dust settles in places unfamiliar,
Don't worry, as I'll see you tomorrow,
After the dark has turned to to day..." She paused, before continuing, and Ryota kept strumming the gentle rhythm.
"I'll be standing there underneath the willow,
Where the weeping branches trickle down,
And where the ocean's song softly bellows,
For those hearts who dare to wander and dream..." Akahana expected Ryota to stop playing, but he shook his head, and gestured to keep going.
"Oh, come away, little child!
And listen to the wild windy waves,
With curiosity in your beautiful smile,
YOU ARE READING
Blackbeard; The Legend
Fanfiction(Paused at the moment; will get back to writing after break!) The tale of the great pirate Blackbeard has been told throughout the Seven Seas. But what of her origins, her humble beginnings? Once, she was Akahana, daughter the daimyo Isamu, and ap...
