Apples and Cherry Blossoms

by Archangel2401

Twice Shy

The sun was closer to the horizon than ever before while Hiroki galloped along the outskirts of Ponyville. He had to stop more than once to get his bearings as he was not entirely sure where Fluttershy's cottage actually was. Cheerilee passed him as he was brooding on which way to go and very kindly pointed him in the right direction. Now that he knew where he was going, it didn't take him long to find it.

As Hiroki crossed the stream that ran out front a sound caught his attention. He paused at the center of the bridge, his ears perked up and his viridian eyes narrowed, slowly scanning the area. There was a rustling coming from one of the nearest bushes. He touched a hoof to the hilt of his sword as the rustling grew more prominent. While it was unlikely that anything truly dangerous would be hanging about sweet, timid Fluttershy's residence, it would be most unbecoming of a samurai to be caught unaware with his hakama around his ankles. The rustling appeared to have ceased so he crossed the bridge slowly and approached the front door to the cottage.

He rapped his hoof against the door, knocking four times and waited patiently.

The bush began to rustle again. His stance immediately shifted in preparation for drawing his blade while the shrub continued to shake. It was then that something white emerged from the brush. What he initially mistook for a spirit actually turned out to be a fluffy white rabbit with large eyes staring up at him. Hiroki let out a quiet sigh and corrected his posture, though his hoof remained on the hilt of his blade. He and the white rabbit exchanged scrutinizing stares and he could see the animal clutching a wrinkled bit of paper that looked strangely familiar. Before he could inspect it more closely, the rabbit shot off like a bullet.

The front door then opened and Fluttershy slowly peeked from around the other side. She let out a squeak and her eyes widened with surprise to see a near gleaming Hiroki standing on her porch, looking like he might draw his sword.

"Hiroki! W-what are you doing here!?" Fluttershy gulped nervously. Hiroki realized his folly and immediately straightened himself, his hoof leaving his weapon and bowing a very deep apology.

"Please excuse my rudeness. I mean no ill will, I simply thought I saw some kind of imp." He let out a faint sigh. "It was only a white rabbit."

"Oh! That must have been Angel Bunny." The display of sincere apology and mention of her beloved pet rabbit helped to ease the tension and Fluttershy opened her door a bit further so she was no longer hiding behind it. "So what brings you here this evening? Oh! Is it about dinner? A-am I late? I didn't miss it did I?!"

Fluttershy quickly became flustered, her eyes widening with worry. Again Hiroki let out a quiet sigh of irritation. Who did have to thank for tipping off another one of his prospective guests this time? He very much preferred to take care of these things himself. On the other hoof if she already knew about it, then it should save him some time.

"Ah, no. You are not late... but I wish to discuss this evening with you. Do you have a moment to spare?" Hiroki offered her a small smile for reassurance.

"Yes, of course. What's on your mind?" She looked greatly relieved that she hadn't been tardy.

"Since you are aware, am I correct in assuming that you will be able to attend?" He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Absolutely!" Fluttershy beamed and nearly left the ground in her excitement. She quickly collected herself, lowering her head shyly so that her curled mane covered half of her face when she blushed. "I.. I mean if I'm invited. A-am I invited?"

"Of course you are." Hiroki gave another faint smile and couldn't help but find Fluttershy quite endearing. He nodded once for affirmation. "It would honor me greatly if you were to attend. However I do need your help with a tiny matter..."

The samurai gave a brief explanation of his choice of decoration. Paper lanterns would be hung by bamboo poles to light a 'walkway' up to the front door of his restaurant. Pinkie Pie had promised to manufacture these bonbori for him, but he needed fireflies to light them. She listened and nodded, though a puzzled look soon crept into her eyes.

"What exactly do you need me for?" she queried.

"Twilight Sparkle-hime spoke very highly of you and your way with animals." Hiroki gave a firm nod. "I thought perhaps you may have insight on the best way of gathering hotaru... ah, fireflies, as I have no time to spare going around catching them myself."

"Oh! Well that's so very sweet of Twilight... Of course I'll help, it'll be no trouble. After all, taking care of animals and critters is my special talent." Fluttershy went rosy in the cheeks, but smiled proudly as she glanced back at the cutie mark of butterflies on her rump. Hiroki let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Arigatō. Thank you so very much." He bowed his head deeply in gratitude. This caused Fluttershy to shrink a little, growing more red in the face from embarrassment.

"Oh, no need to thank me. It's my pleasure, really!" Fluttershy gave a soft giggle before she flapped her wings and gently rose up off the ground. She hovered a moment to acclimate herself to the air before she began rousting fireflies from nearby bushes.

"I leave you to it then. I must return to finish preparations, everypony should begin to gather just after sunset." The samurai bowed again and Fluttershy waved back to him before he about faced, departing at a quick trot.

He left Fluttershy's feeling a swell of pride growing in his chest. Things were looking up. Everything was sure to be ready on time. A favorable impression would be made with the Equestrian royalty. Rarity had promised to have his nobori and Pinkie Pie had assured him that she would have enough bonbori. The restaurant was clean. The grill was sparkling and fit to use. Now that Fluttershy had guaranteed him hotaru to light his lanterns with, he felt he could actually take it easy and breathe deep for a moment.

Hiroki stopped to admire the setting sun, it's glow now more akin to the red sun emblazoned on his hachimaki. A gentle breeze picked up and blew in around him so he closed his eyes to enjoy it. He still reeked of herbal bath formula, though after he'd aired out a bit he thought that perhaps it wasn't so bad.

He pondered to himself. Perhaps... she might find it appealing? When his thoughts turned to Applejack and the unexpected way they'd met one another earlier he felt the inescapable rise of heat in his face. It only took him a heartbeat to snap back into focus. Shaking his head quickly and snickering to himself, a grin tugged at his mouth as he cast his previous thought aside. Not likely.

Having lingered long enough the samurai resumed travelling through the streets of Ponyville for the fourth time that day, cantering with determination. Everything would be ready and his ancestors would be surely be proud of him. His pace slowed when he caught sight of something moving along the deepening shadows cast by the buildings against the setting sun. The shape turned left when he kept going straight, but he made out the impression of a fluffy white tail. Hiroki thought this peculiar, but turned his head forward and resumed his brisk pace. It wasn't long before he came up on his establishment.

Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Rainbow Dash were already standing out front beside his ancient cherry tree. He slowed to a halt and greeted them with a formal bow, to which they all smiled and waved back. Twilight was the only one to reciprocate a bow in return, but she looked nervous she might be doing something wrong. Rarity's voice could be heard through the open door of the restaurant.

"I know you like how that material feels, but it's been bought and paid for. Opal that is simply not yours to sit on! Opal! If you're still laying on that when he returns... Opalescence!" Rarity sounded as if steam were about to shoot out of her ears.

Twilight gave Hiroki an apologetic smile while Spike and Rainbow Dash both snickered with amusement. Hiroki raised an eyebrow and approached the open door to peer inside, seeing Rarity backing up towards him. The Persian cat had stretched herself out luxuriously over the folded banner he'd ordered, the look in her eyes daring anypony to try to move her. This was problematic, but it would be simple enough to deal with so Hiroki just rolled his eyes. Rarity turned to meet him, smiling and bowing her head apologetically.

"Hiroki! Well, as you can see I have your order just as you requested but," she said, her voice trailing off as she looked back at Opal, the cat's smug expression driven further by a long self-satisfied purr. "I'm afraid Opal is being a bit... difficult."

"It's all right. We will just have to coax her off gently." Rarity looked almost terrified at the prospect of trying to move Opalescence and Hiroki was equally apprehensive.

Their salvation arrived in the form of Fluttershy when she appeared toting a woven basket. She set it down next to Spike who attempted to take a look inside only to have her shake her head and keep the lid shut. She smiled timidly as she looked around at everyone, waving in greeting. Surely Fluttershy would be able to move Opal without much incident.

"Good evening. I was afraid performing that errand for Hiroki would make me late, but I finished it pretty quickly and I didn't even need Angel to keep me on time!" Fluttershy patted the basket gently and allowed herself a smile of delight. "Well... not that he wouldn't have reminded me, I just haven't seen him all afternoon."

"That's strange. Angel doesn't usually go anywhere without you, does he?" asked spike, scratching the side of his head.

"Well, that is true... but it's not because he's afraid. More so that he's just very picky about his environment."

The conversation prompted Hiroki to furrow his brow and wonder about his own animal companion. Come to think of it he hadn't seen Isamaru since early that morning when he'd been sent off to find Applejack. While it was true that the dog was highly intelligent and his breed was cultivated to operate independently from their handlers, this long absence was now disconcerting. Isamaru did not usually remain detached for more than an hour or two at any given time.

The faithful inu had been missing-in-action all day.

"Has anypony seen hide or hair of Isamaru...?" he asked.

"I haven't seen him since you sent him off this morning," replied Twilight. Spike and Rainbow Dash both shook their heads.

"Ohhh, that handsome dog with the lovely sesame colored coat? That's right he's yours, isn't he?" Fluttershy tapped a hoof against her chin thoughtfully. "He came by a little before lunch time. I think he was looking for apples?"

"Handsome? You mean you aren't scared of him? He looks like a timberwolf..." Spike grumbled and folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Oh no! I mean, he does have some lupine features, but he's an absolute sweetheart! I gave him a little something for lunch. I... I-I hope that was okay?" Fluttershy lowered her head nervously, afraid she might have overstepped some boundaries. Hiroki nodded lightly.

"I am sure he was most grateful for your kindness. But if you saw him at lunch time, and he was looking for apples... does that mean he had not delivered my note?" His voice faded as he pondered aloud. He frowned, furrowing his brow and thinking back. The white rabbit he'd seen earlier was clutching a slip of paper. "No... it couldn't have been-"

Hiroki cut himself off when the sound of a dog's barking assailed his ears. They perked up, rapt with attention and his eyes narrowed while he scanned around town square. Loud barking echoed along one of the side streets and slowly raised in volume. It was growing closer. The noise bounced off the side of city hall and finally the source came into view.

Angel Bunny came flying around the corner of the building, the wrinkled piece of paper between his teeth. Not more than two seconds later the form of Isamaru came bounding around after him, hot in pursuit and barking relentlessly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Author's Note:

It occurred to me that I hadn't really given a great description of his dog, Isamaru. His breed is the Shikoku-Inu, a kind of Japanese working/hunting dog (bred on the island of Shikoku).

Translations:
Hakama - Loose trousers with many pleats in the front, forming part of Japanese formal dress.
Hachimaki - "Helmet Scarf", a stylized headband usually of red or white cloth. Worn as a symbol of perseverance or courage.
Inu - Dog
Teishi! - Stop!/Halt!

Comments

[Moongaze14]

Nice chapter, as usual.

[Schroedingers_Katze]

Oh, Hiroki you saw an Imp, alright. The rare, equestrian Demon-Bunny to be exact. Tsk, tsk, Angel, stealing Hirokis notes for whatever weird bunny reasons of yours.

[DualKitsune]

Aww, Hiroki is being introduced to the most rotten creature in Equestria, Angel.