FSE

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That midnight, the full moon illuminated the village of Minasato a bright blue as it stood in the middle of the starless sky. In the silence of the streets the blowing of the cool autumn breeze could be heard and, approaching the river, the transparent waters that flowed neither too quick nor too slow, it giving a distorted reflection of the sky. Such a scene was perfect for Ten as he sat by the riverside with closed eyes to meditate, immersing himself with the sounds of nature. But his time alone was cut short when he heard the bushes behind him rustle. Alarmed by this, he stood up and turned to his back, the wolf prepared for an attack as he saw a shadowy figure come near.

He shouted. "Who's there?" As the figure came closer to the light, Ten saw that it was Kouya in his usual getup, him relaxing his stance upon seeing the husky's familiar face.

"Ten? Never thought you'd be here," Kouya said with a smirk.

"Oh? Why is that so?" Ten asked.

"For as long as I can remember, I'm the only one who comes to this exact spot."

"Perhaps your scent might have attracted me to this spot. I remember smelling something familiar while walking around here."

"What?"

"It's nothing. That aside, what's your business in this place tonight?"

As Ten sat back on the stony ground, Kouya took off his shoes and socks before walking towards the edge of the river, sitting down as he soaked his feet in the water and breathed a sigh of relief. "I come here whenever I want to think about things or when I just can't sleep. You?"

"To meditate."

Finished with stating their intentions, the two kept themselves silent as they enjoyed the serenity of the place once more. Ten closed his eyes again as he felt the breeze brush his fur. Kouya on the other hand looked at the water and fiddled with it using his toes; a funny quirk he acquired back in his childhood days. A moment later, as something came to Kouya's mind, he turned to the wolf and asked something.

"Hey, Ten. Wanna know how I became a musician?"

Ten raised a brow in surprise. "Are you sure you want to tell me?"

"I don't mind. We're friends already, right?"

Ten thought about the question. It won't hurt to know more about him, won't it? After all, they've been hanging out with each other the past few weeks now, Kouya going to the dojo and him to the music store. This was a good chance for them to get closer. Turning to the husky again, he gave his approval. "Go on."

And word for word, Kouya told Ten what he told Hiroyuki at the same place during the summer: his start in guitar playing, his fateful meeting with a street musician, and the fight he had with his father at the end of middle school which led to him moving out. This time, the story didn't end at that point as he continued with what happened during the summer: the letter from his mother, their agreement, the competition, and the talk with his parents about his resolve.

"I take it Nishimura had a hand in the latter?" Ten asked.

"Yeah. He was the one who convinced me to go through with it."

"I see," Ten said, nodding his head as his opinion of Hiroyuki got a bit higher.

"How about you now? Anything you'd like to tell about yourself?"

Thinking that the question was fair, Ten chose to tell Kouya the story of how he got his scars, him getting them during his sword training as a kid. When the husky asked why he was subjected to such a thing, the wolf began to tell of the roles of the main and branch families of the Kodori clan, him being part of the latter. After that, he didn't say much more.

"Do you have any plans for yourself aside from just being Shun's bodyguard?" Kouya asked.

"As members of the Kodori clan, we cannot turn away from the duties given to us," Ten said. "Even so, I can understand the sentiments of Shun-sama and Gaku-san in wanting freedom from it. Perhaps a change would be desirable."

Kouya smirked. "Guess Iwao-jiji's got a lot on his hands eh?"

After a word of correction to the husky for addressing the clan head with such informality, Ten got up and sat next to him, plunging his feet into the cool water as he looked up to the sky, marveling at the view of the moon. Kouya followed suit and, losing himself in a daze moments later, fell asleep and rested his head on the side of Ten's arm, surprising the other. At first the wolf wanted to wake him up, but upon seeing Kouya's peaceful sleeping face, decided to let it pass.

"This is alright," Ten said to himself.