"You... know each other?" Twilight queried after tucking the book safely under her left wing.
Zecora said nothing, but she continued to smile warmly as she looked at Hiroki. He seemed unwilling to speak. The samurai's posture had grown very stiff, having made himself to stand as tall and as proudly as he could manage, though he'd tilted his head so that the brim of his hat concealed his viridian green eyes. Everypony save for the zebra held their breath as the tension had suddenly risen once again while the two looked at one another. Another gentle gust of wind and blew in around them, causing the branches of the cherry tree to rustle jovially and knocked a few of the cherry blossom petals to the ground.
"Hey, what did he call Zecora?" Spike leaned in to whisper to Ditzy, thinking she might be able to tell him. She'd read the book after all, so she probably knew more than Twilight.
"Uhh... I don't know, that word wasn't in the book." Ditzy tapped a hoof against the side of her head as she rolled her eyes thoughtfully, trying to remember.
"Have I said something I shouldn't have?" Twilight shrank a little, feeling a bit antsy at this lack of an answer.
Zecora's smile only grew warmer and she let out a faint chuckle as she shook her head. Walking over to Hiroki, he tensed and grew even more rigid when she was closer to him than Ditzy had been, his hat still tipped to hide his eyes. The zebra lowered her head with an amused smirk, craning her neck so that she could peer up and under the rim of his hat. She let out a much louder, heartier laugh when she straightened herself out and suddenly put one of her front legs around his neck, bringing him in for an endearing hug. It was debatable whether or not he found this contact welcome, but his own left leg went around Zecora's shoulder and he returned the gesture, eventually allowing a faint smile to tug at his mouth.
"You have given no offense, do not be fooled by his defense." Zecora issued a coy grin as she shot a look at Hiroki, the samurai having lowered his head slightly once again while his ears pinned back. Was he... embarrassed?
"Well how come he's not saying anything? Y'know it's -rude- to just not say something when somepony asks you a question!" Rainbow Dash smirked, more than delighted at making sure the samurai got a taste of the awkward medicine.
"I... sumimasen." Judging by the way he bowed his head low they were given the impression he was apologizing in some way. Applejack came to his rescue and nudged Rainbow Dash with an elbow to shush her. He sauntered over to the door to the restaurant and disappeared through it, but Isamaru remained.
"He simply feels it not his place, to share how we first met face to face." Zecora nodded lightly as Hiroki vanished. The zebra placed her hoof on Isamaru's head and gave him a few firm pets, the sesame dog's composure all but lost as he panted and wagged his tail happily, leaning forward into the pets bestowed upon him. "We stayed together through one night, up 'til next morning's first light."
Judging by the collectively raised eyebrows on Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow, they'd all come to the same conclusion. Her slightly cross-eyed gaze made it difficult to tell what Ditzy was thinking, if anything. Zecora blinked a few times as she tried to make sense of their curiously suggestive stares and it hit her. She let out a short laugh and shook her head, waving one of her hooves dismissively.
"I had suffered from grave misdeed, he came to me in time of need. This I have always known, 'tis not safe to travel winding roads alone..."
Her voice trailed off into an explanation involving her crossing paths with Hiroki when they passed one another, each travelling opposite directions. She gave no specific details as to where, but it was before she had come to settle outside of Ponyville in the Everfree Forest.
She described walking a poor excuse for a road, little more than a dirt trail that ran through thick, steamy jungle. Heavy vines hung from twisting tree branches and little sunlight was able to pierce the foliage. Zecora had opted to stop when what little sunlight there was grew too faint to effectively see where she was going, knowing just how disastrous it could to wander right off the designated path. Towards the end of her second day travelling the dark jungle trail she had the distinct impression something was following her, further exacerbated by feelings of being watched that same evening.
A sleepless night was had.
The third day was no better. By the time the sun was setting she could no longer hear the ambience of the jungle, no smaller creatures or insects, but her ears could still detect the rustling of leaves some distance away. Though the trail was becoming harder to see, the feeling of being followed turned her casual stride into a slightly more urgent canter. She kept moving even though the sun had set and after she felt a great enough distance was gained she began to slow, only coming to a stop when she saw a light ahead.
It steadily drew closer at a pace that matched that of her earlier casual stride. When it was close enough she could make out the figure of a pony wearing a round hat, accompanied by a mid-sized dog. The light turned out to be a paper lantern he was carrying, lit by a group of fireflies. He kept on coming, showing no signs of stopping.
Perhaps he hadn't seen her?
The light would be perfect to illuminate the path in front of him, but it would make seeing into the distance difficult. When the pony and his dog were almost on top of her the latter looked up and smelled the air. The canine perked his ears and stared directly at her. He suddenly lowered on all fours, hunkering down and let out a fierce growl. Zecora's first impression was that he was growling at her. The auditory warning from his canine companion made the pony stop dead in his tracks.
The pony kept the lantern up but with one hoof he reached back and a sword was suddenly drawn. Curved steel flashed as the blade reflected light and it was moved out to one side, at the ready. The reflected light danced across three pairs of eyes, twenty or thirty paces back in the dark, followed soon by a dull snort, the agitated growl of a large feline, and the low hiss a serpent. The massive form of a chimera bearing a jaguar's spotted coat, a black ram's head protruding from it's back, and the long tail ending with a head of a cobra, hood extended prowled forward into the lantern's light. Without so much as a warning the samurai pony passed Zecora his lantern and pushed her to get behind him, galloping forward to meet the chimera head on with the faithful dog charging alongside him.
"So you were attacked by a chimera?" Applejack had a look of moderate concern. Her own personal experience told her just how dangerous chimeras can be.
"And he fought it off? With a sword?" Rainbow Dash found herself interrupting, staring wide-eyed like a young filly during story time.
"Girls, let her finish!" Twilight rolled her eyes. Zecora chuckled and shook her head.
"With the battle's end, the beast had roared. Defeat had been it's just reward. There is only this left to say, they most definitely saved the day. Hiroki and Isamaru did not hesitate to protect, and thus have my deepest respect." Zecora nodded and found herself looking up at the cherry blossoms covering the tree's branches.
It sounded like there was more to the story, but that was where she'd chosen to end it. Rainbow Dash looked ready to interject about it and though Applejack wouldn't deny that she also wanted hear more, she looked to blue Pegasus and shook her head as if silently telling her to let it go for now. The zebra turned her head and smiled past them, closing her eyes and bowing her head deeply. They all turned to see Hiroki now standing just outside the door to his establishment as he returned the gesture. How long had he been there?
Had he just come out, or had he been standing there while Zecora regaled them with her tale?
"And now my dears, I bid good day. It is time for me to be on my way. I hope you visit some time soon, perhaps not so late in the afternoon." She smiled at the stoic and silent samurai, then looked to Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow, and Ditzy, giving them a fond wave. Zecora crossed the bridge and disappeared beneath the rays of the still setting sun, it's position now just over the horizon.
"Yeah, I better get going too. Good seeing you all, and nice meeting you!"
Ditzy Doo waved excitably to Hiroki to which he nodded in response as she departed as well, flapping her wings and performing a less than graceful takeoff. Rainbow Dash passed her ball to Spike and slapped him on the back in a friendly manner, causing his legs to buckle as she nearly knocked him over before taking off into the sky herself. Applejack turned to smile at Hiroki, tipping her hat to him.
"Dilly dallied a bit too long, gotta be gettin' my cart back to Sweet Apple Acres." She waved a farewell and turned to canter back across the street, only to find herself accidentally walking right into the cherry tree.
It shook with the impact and she grimaced, pulling her hat forward to hide the embarrassment in her face. Flower petals rained down around her, but a single whole blossom fluttered forward. Hiroki strolled over to pluck it out of the air and Applejack looked up to see him tucking the flower into her mane before giving her a single pat on the back. There was something about the look in his eyes that told her he'd done that very same thing at least once. After a hastily muttered goodbye to he, Twilight, and Spike, she was soon strapped to her apple cart and disappeared with it down the road. The sesame dog leaned forward and stretched, letting off a wide yawn before it sauntered up to Spike, his nose prodding the dragon's clawed fingers as it sniffed curiously. It wasn't long before Isamaru had vanished into the open door to the restaurant.
"I must finish my chores, please do not think your company is undesired." The steel gray samurai looked to Twilight, his head tilted a bit to one side.
"Of course, I don't want to keep you from your responsibilities. I have my own after all, I probably should be getting back to them..." While that was true, Twilight grinned sheepishly as she knew the first thing she'd do when she returned to her castle would be to read this new book cover to cover.
"You are most welcome at any time, Twilight-hime." Hiroki turned his back to her to follow his faithful companion.
"Can I ask you something?" Twilight called out to him and Hiroki stopped. He said nothing as he looked over his shoulder at her under the brim of his hat and past the sheathed sword on his back, but gave a nod. "What brought you to Ponyville? I mean... if you don't mind me asking..."
"To find the perfect blossom." Hiroki cocked his head slightly as he peered at Twilight, then nodded his head towards the majestic cherry tree. What did that mean? She wasn't at all sure what she was expecting him to say, but that most certainly wasn't it. He left her to contemplate its meaning as he bowed his head politely and turned forward, disappearing through the door and letting it shut behind him.