“THE wisteria truly is stunning this year...” Satsuki remarked and looked at the wisteria dangling overhead. The pale purple wisteria filled the large trellis with its flowers. Although it should have posed a beautiful sight, for some reason, a sad expression flashed across Satsuki’s face.
“Is something the matter?” Shindo asked. He was highly attuned to the changes in her expressions and this was no exception. Worry was etched into his face as Satsuki lifted her head from her nest against his chest to look up at the wisteria.
“It’s almost...as beautiful...as back then...” she said.
“Back when?” he asked.
Satsuki turned to face Shindo with sadness in her eyes. “When you first appeared before me...Shindo...” she answered.
Wisteria petals danced within Shindo’s heart. Satsuki’s memories of “back then” flowed into him through her touch. Her memories appeared within his mind as vividly as if he were watching a movie.
✦ ✦ ✦
BENEATH the wisteria petals, there was a baby in a cradle. A twelve-year-old boy infiltrated the greenhouse at the Tsujikawa estate.
Have you come to kill me? A voice suddenly echoed in his head. Are you going to kill me?
The boy could clearly tell the voice echoing in his head belonged to the infant before him. The baby’s eyes shone untainted and clear. They seemed too wise for the eyes of an infant.
Raised by a band of assassins without ever knowing his mother or father, the boy was never given a name. The “job” he received to survive in this world was to “go kill the president of Tsujikawa Corporation’s newborn baby.”
He killed his first person when he was only ten. How many people had he killed “just to survive”...? He had nothing and no one to protect or defend, let alone a reason to live. He was simply there—breathing—each day.
And now the boy came face to face with this baby, Satsuki. Her wise eyes brought a strange sensation upon his heart.
You...cannot kill me, Satsuki’s voice said in his head.
Upon rushing over, Master Tsujikawa told the boy, “Live to protect Satsuki.” He wanted the boy to find a reason to live, to learn the joy of protecting another. He suggested learning such things from Satsuki.
The boy originally came with the intent of killing this man’s daughter. He had every right to order the boy’s arrest right then and there, but Satsuki’s father did no such thing. There was only one reason for his decision: Satsuki had taken a liking to the lad.
Satsuki gave the boy a name that held the “wisteria” in it. She said, God makes this wisteria blossom... You appeared from this wisteria...therefore...
Henceforth, the boy was referred to as “Shindo,” meaning “Divine Wisteria.” Not only did Satsuki spare his life, she gave him a name. He would dedicate the rest of his life to serving the baby as her retainer.
The wisteria was in full bloom. It was so beautiful, it was frightening. When they first met under the wisteria, it was blossoming as magnificently as it was this year...
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’M frightened...” Satsuki said as she snuggled against Shindo’s chest once more. “The wisteria...is too beautiful.”
She looked up at her “wisteria” through her lashes. Not at the flowers, but at Shindo.
Rustle...! The wisteria flowers quivered.
“Stay with me. Shindo, stay with me always,” Satsuki pressed.
This was the person who originally came to kill her. But from the moment they met, Satsuki placed absolute faith in him. It was as if she could see his true nature from the beginning.
“As you wish, Miss,” he replied. Shindo lived for Satsuki. He would happily lay down his life for her. Throughout the years serving at her side, Satsuki became more important to him than anything else in the world. She was the woman who gave him a “reason to live” and the “joy of protecting another.”
“It’s a promise...” Satsuki said, her voice sounding bittersweet to his ears.
Feeling endearment for that voice, he replied, “Indeed, Miss.”
The sorrow in Shindo’s voice was almost painful as it reverberated through Satsuki’s body. She tightly balled his blazer in her fists.
“I’m scared...” Despite pressing herself against Shindo’s chest, an indescribable uncertainty filled her bosom.
Rustle...! Swish...! Whoosh... The wisteria flowers quivered as if they wanted to say something. They had something to tell Satsuki...and Shindo. Perhaps they already knew what the future held for the two. Perhaps they foresaw the story that was about to unfold...