Onimusha: Monogatari » Places

         

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Yuzuki straightened, lifting an arm to her brow to wick off the thin sheen of sweat that she’d worked up. Summer was well on its way now, and in the few weeks since the battle with Nobunaga’s troops, the little damage to the town had been repaired. Some of the farmland would not be fertile again for many, many years, because of all the blood, but she’d gone out in the days after to perform a purification ritual on the grounds so that they would not hold any curses, only to find another priest doing the very same thing.

It was hard to believe it, but it was her master, from Edo. It had been such a long time since she’d seen him, she’d immediately flung herself into his arms and bawled like a baby. He’d taken it with tolerant patience, and they’d spent the next few days catching up. Apparently, of all the consequences, he was about to be married to Yujin’s sister, Asami. He’d been planning on having the local shrine monk perform the ceremony, but now that they’d run into one another, he’d asked her if she would and of course she had agreed.

So now she was preparing the shrine for the wedding, which she was sure would be well-attended, by her friends and his. At the moment, she and Masurao were working on decorations, and somewhere else, she knew Tatsuki was making a lot of food. The battle had been such a short time ago, but it seemed faraway somehow now, even despite the ongoing evidence. The Dragon had taken Oda Nobunaga’s eye, and the morale of his troops had shot up, knowing that their leader had in some way bested the son of an oni king. Yuzu wasn’t sure how much difference it really made, but she was glad that everyone was in a good mood.

“Mao-Mao,” she called shyly. She was still a bit tentative about their relationship, now that the battle was over and they had the time to take it at whatever pace they wanted. Yuzuki had never considered that such a thing might happen to her, and so it had caught her rather unprepared. She supposed that this strange thrill in her stomach whenever she saw him, the way she just kind of couldn’t help but stare at him sometimes and think of how wonderful or kind or handsome he was—these were things that most people learned to deal with in adolescence. But her adolescence had been spent in a temple, and she’d never had so much as a crush to deal with before now. But it was nice, even if it was a little embarrassing.

“Can you help me carry these?” The plants were in large ceramic vessels, but she wanted them to go on the other side of the garden, closer to where the ceremony would be held.

Masurao had suffered little injury, though to say he was without them would have been a lie, during the battle. He had spent the first week just recovering, and then the second week watching over Yuzuki. The battle had taken a lot out of all of them, but from what he had heard from Yujin, the battle was theirs, but the war wouldn't be until Nobunaga was dead. Of course, the oni King was as injured as them all, and would no doubt be recovering as well, and then forming new plans that would likely take years. That is, of course, if he could replace Sakaki, the blue-skinned oni felled by Naomi. Who knew how long it would take before Nobunaga could find another advisor as skilled as Sakaki had been? Those thoughts, however, were for a different time.

Masurao was currently helping Yuzuki with decorations, something he had been thankful for. Even with all of his new skills from the battle, he still couldn't seem to go very far without dropping a plate. Had he been told to help Tatsuki with the food, he might have just died. This was a special event for someone special to his Yuzuki, and he didn't want to mess anything up. He smiled when Yuzuki called out to him, and turned to give her his attention. It was still odd, this feeling he felt every time he saw her. It was as if everything in the world revolved around her, and every thing that wasn't her, felt obsolete. Even though he knew what he felt for her, it still felt odd. It wasn't a bad thing, though, and he was glad to have realized what it was in time before he lost her to another.

"Ah, are you sure you want me to carry those?" he questioned with a hesitant voice. Of course, if she didn't want him to help her, she wouldn't have asked. He stood from his spot, and walked over towards her, lifting one of the vessels in his hands and reached for the other one. As he reached for it though, something pushed him, causing him to lean too forward and lose his balance. He juggled with the vessel in his hand, trying to keep it from falling, however; every thing seemed to move in slow motion as the vessel dropped out of his hand. The sound of the ceramic breaking on the floor echoed sharply in Masurao's ears, and his eyes widened in fear. He hadn't meant to drop it. It just fell. His eyes snapped to Yuzuki, watering slightly.

"Yuzu! I'm sorry," he nearly cried, falling to his knees and folding his hands out in front of him, his eyes pleading for her to not be mad at him. "It was an accident!" he continued.

Yuzuki pursed her lips for a moment when the vessel shattered, but in the end, the inching smile overtook her face. He was kind of adorable, when he was afraid he’d done something wrong. Her eyes shining with mirth, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, the fact that he was on his knees making them about even in terms of height. “Silly Mao,” she said, nuzzling into his neck. “It’s fine. I’ll just put the plant in a new pot later, and we’ll use the other ones for now, okay?”

She pulled back slightly, crinkling her nose in amusement, then rested her forehead against his. “I’ll forgive you… if you kiss me.” her tone was playful, and suddenly, she leaped away from him. “But you have to catch me first!” And just like that, she was off like a little human-shaped shot, dodging around various decorations in the garden area.

Masurao blinked slowly, and relaxed his muscles when Yuzuki nuzzled into his neck. He smiled softly and made to wrap his arms around her, however; she spoke and left him. Blinking owlishly where she was moments before, he tilted his head in confusion. He had to catch her, for her to forgive him, and kiss her? A mischievous smirk planted itself on his lips as he stood. His height would give him a bit of an advantage, if not the slight boost to his own speed for being what he was, however; he would not cheat. With that in mind, he took chase after Yuzuki, smiling and laughing all the while dodging various objects. He didn't need to break anything else. When he finally caught her, he snagged his arm around her waist and hoisted her up with one arm, raising an amused brow at her.

"It seems I have caught you, Yuzu," he stated playfully, rubbing his nose against hers in the process. "And now that I have, you said I have to kiss you in order for you to forgive me, right?" he stated, placing her down but holding her in place with both of his hands along her waist. He held her gently, so that if she wanted to, she could just pull away from him with ease, hwoever; he leaned down until his face was dangerously close to hers. With their lips just a hairsbreadth apart from each other, he changed direction, and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"You didn't say where, though," he stated, grinning like a madman in the process.

Yuzuki laughed in response, still breathing a little hard from the mad dash through the garden, her eyes alight with the sort of simple, easy joy to which she was predisposed. “I didn’t,” she admitted. An oversight she would correct the next time, perhaps. But for now, it didn't really matter, because he was still near enough, and she reached up, tangling her fingers in his wild hair, and stood no her toes, kissing him properly. “But I think that’s okay.”

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While Yuzuki and Masurao had been left in charge of the garden, Tatsui had been cooking for the wedding since morning, and Makoto, having little else to do for the moment, had decided to go see her, and make sure she was taking breaks regularly enough. When he reached the kitchens being used for the task, he found a small army of people at work. Of all people, he met eyes with Miki, and she grinned at him. “You’d be here for Tatsuki, wouldn’t you, milord?” He nodded slightly, and the smile on her face stretched wider.

Apparently Kokone, Miki’s lover, had been under his command during the battle, and had been quite keen on regaling others with the tale of how Mako, the lord’s son, had saved his life during the course of it. This had endeared him to his father’s people a great deal, that and the fact that, like his father, he had taken the field himself rather than allowing others to do it on his behalf. He suspected that his favor and authority was about to be used to give Tatsuki an extended break, but he didn’t speak up to stop that from happening. He was, after all, a selfish man, and he’d told her so himself. He found he rather liked monopolizing her time, and now that the fighting was done for now, he planned to spend a great deal of each day with his wife.

Tatsuki took a deep breath, stirring the pot once more as she checked on another dish. She'd been cooking all day, mainly because she was used to cooking such large meals for people. She had been told to take a few breaks here and there, but she simply could not afford to. There were pots that needed stirring, meat that needed to be checked on, and water to be boiled. Even with all the others taking their spots, she just couldn't take that chance. Plus, this was for a wedding for her sister, Asami. She wanted to make everything perfect, or as perfect as it could be. So when the ladle was taken from her hand, and she was shoved out, she sighed heavily, and glanced up at the one responsible. She raised a brow and folded her arms against her chest.

"Would it have killed you to at least let me finish the eggs?" she stated, however; the tone in her voice was relaxed, and she smiled instead, shaking her head. "But I suppose the answer to that would have been yes," she added, removing the apron from her form, and folding it on the nearest table. "So what do I owe the pleasure for milord's visit?" she stated, her lips tilting up in a light smirk.

Mako raised an eyebrow, his hands folded into his sleeves, and glanced down at her from the corner of his eye. “Don’t you start with that, too,” he said, his usual neutral tone inflected with a bit of playful complaint. One of his hands slid out of the corresponding sleeve and trailed lightly down hers, his fingers dancing along the skin of her arm with a feather-light touch, Stopping when the callused digits brushed her palm. He laced their fingers together, pressing his palm to hers and then bringing their joined hands upwards, brushing the back of hers against his lips.

“Is it so bad, to want to see my wife?” The word rolled over his tongue, something languid and luxuriant in the way he said it. He lowered their hands back down, held only loosely and kept together mostly in virtue of their tangled fingers.

After a moment, he looked at the ground. “I know what your answer was, when it seemed we were in danger of dying so soon after. I wanted… I wanted you to know that if you have changed your mind, or do change your mind at any time in the future… I will understand. You are no more bound to me than you wish to be, Tatsuki. I know that sometimes, marriages are… cages, especially for women.” He could not help but think of her former fiancé when he said it, and stopped walking, turning to look her directly in the eyes.

“If this… if I ever become a cage to you, if I ever make you feel less happy than you would be without me, then… promise me you won’t stay. I don’t want to make you unhappy, not even for a moment.” He knew, of course, that their lives would not be perfect, but he could not bear the thought that their relationship should become something she hated, a prison. And no matter what other men forced their wives to do, Mako wanted her to know that her happiness was the most important thing to him. More than his own. More than anyone’s.

"If that is what milord wishes," she replied, her tone light and teasing. She smiled when he brought their laced hands to his lips, and rolled her eyes in a playful manner. The smile, however, disappeared when he spoke, and was replaced by a frown. She released his hand and took a step back from him, her eyes set in a narrow glare. Is that what he truly thought of her? That she would be so shallow as to think of something like that? Sure, they weren't going to have the picture perfect marriage, but that was what one did for love. They endured and worked through it, and found new reasons to fall in love all over again. At least, that is what she believed. Her gaze never relented its glare, and she curled her fists.

"Do you really think so little of me, that you would believe that I would ever think I would be caged by you?" she stated, her voice low and barely above a whisper. That actually hurt, to know that he could say and think something like that. "Even if I did, even if I thought I was caged, to have it be you doing the caging," she spoke, stalking towards him in the process. She wasn't as strong as an oni, she wasn't even a hanyou, however; that did not stop her from shoving Makoto into a nearby tree. She was angry with him at the moment, and she needed him to understand something. "I would let you do it a thousand times more, because I meant everything that I said to you. I am yours, and only yours," she spoke, leaning closely to him so that their lips were just a hairsbreadth apart.

"And you are mine. I told you, I am a selfish person. These," she began, taking his lips with hers into a slow, languid kiss, "are mine." She had spoken with her lips still laced with his. Her hands trailed down his chest before leaving one to hover over his heart. "This is also mine. And you are right," she continued, finally pulling back to allow them some room. "I wouldn't be happy without you in my life. To even suggest that...," she paused, folding a hand in front of her before glancing away. "That hurts, Makoto. I could never hate you. I could never hate being with you. You are the only person I have given myself to, and I did so willingly because I love you. If there was a chance that I would stop loving you, I would not have married you," even if they didn't have the proper wedding, she still considered herself to be his wife.

"Do I... do I make you unhappy, Makoto? Is that why you are asking this of me?" she stated suddenly. A sudden fear spiked through her being as she turned to stare at him. "If that is true, and you wish to be free of me, then tell me so. Do not lie to me. If I make you unhappy, and you have found someone who does, then tell me. Just...," she stated, taking another step backwards. Hearts had the nasty habit of changing, and it was something she knew all to well about. Hers would never change, she knew that. She would die before that happened, however; not many people could claim the same. Was their another woman somewhere that had caught his fancy? Was it because he was a Lord now? Of course, titles and ranks had never bothered her, but that didn't mean they didn't intimidate her. With titles came new opportunities, and he was the son of an Oni Lord who had just bested Nobunaga, the son of the King. There was no doubt that there would be suitors, more suited than she was, to be his bride, to carry on his legacy.

And it terrified her.

“No,” Makoto replied quickly, shaking his head. “No, Tatsuki, you make me the furthest thing from unhappy, I just…” He supposed that, in some way, her anger at him was justified, and he could not argue with the incontrovertible logic—though logic wasn’t the word most would use—of her lips on his, but he didn’t think he’d been wrong to say it. He just… he didn’t want her to ever feel trapped by him, and he was not confident he would make the kind of husband anyone would want for an extended period of time. “It is only that there is still so much we have not discussed, and I…”

How did one explain something like this? Carefully, he moved his arms so that they were wrapped around her, such that he was surrounding her, almost as though he were trying to make them as much one person as they could be in a situation like this. He didn’t want to let her go—of course he didn’t. But there was more than just what he wanted, and it was important, vital, even, that she understand that. “All my life,” he started softly, his voice scarcely more than a gentle murmur into her hair. “I have been told that what and who I am is a crime against nature. That I should not exist. That I am ugly and undesirable and unwanted.” Uncontrollable, freakish, a monster. Of course, his family had not believed so, but it was hard, sometimes, to take the words of so few against those of so many.

“I know you would never believe those things of me just because I am hanyou, but… it is difficult, to forget what I have always known.” Those thoughts, those memories, those judgements—they did not go away simply because someone, however important, said that they were not true. His mother and his siblings and his aunt and uncle and Yuzuki had been saying they were not true most of his life. His father clearly didn’t believe that they were, nor did any of the humans or oni here, who were used to and perfectly accepting of hanyou and others in-between. But this was not the environment in which he had been raised, and part of him would always fear that eventually, they would change their minds and see him for whatever monster he really was, that all those people had seen in him before.

“I just… I wanted you to know that, in case it is true, in case I am what I have always believed myself to be… I love you enough that I would want you to feel comfortable escaping from that. I do not want to be the kind of man that makes his wife believe that she is inferior or unworthy or owes him anything simply because she is his wife. If I… if I stop doing right by you, if I stop being right for you, I want you to know that you do not have to suffer that. I cannot bear the thought of being the reason you suffer.” He was still unconvinced that he was worthy of her love now, but he was willing to take it on faith that he was, if only because it seemed to make her happier. But there was just no guarantee that he always would be, and he wanted her to be able to leave him if ever he should become that monster.

"You... are an idiot, Makoto Yoshida," Tatsuki replied, her voice bland as her face was. She stared at him, trying to read his face, but sighed in the end. "Do you want to know something?" she questioned, her voice retaining the soft, gentle tone. "Remember when I told you that Masurao saved my life from Oni? Do you not think that warranted me the right to despise them? To think of them as nothing but mindless creatures who only killed for gratification? Do not think I should hate everything about them, including those who have Oni blood running through them, such as yourself?" she began. Anyone in their right mind should have hated everything about the Oni and Hanyou, but she didn't. She sighed softly through her nose and shook her head.

"I don't. I don't hate them, nor those who carry their blood. I am grateful that they had given me a second chance at life, to create something that wasn't expected of me. If... if Hidehiko was still alive, I would have been caged, and miserable, and there is no doubt that I would be suffering. To be with you, it is a choice that I am making, and one that you are allowing me to make. If the day ever comes that I stop believing you to be the one for me, it will be the day I can no longer live, because who else out there, in their right mind, could ever love me, and allow me to be as I am? They do not want what I am. They want an obedient wife who will be at their every call," she stopped speaking, her voice cracking just lightly. She took a shuddering breath and continued.

"Maybe they are right. Maybe what and who you are is a crime against nature, but who are they to know what nature deems to be a crime? They cannot assume to know anything of nature, for even nature itself creates things that are different, but with reason. Nature shows that it does not matter who or what you are, something or someone will come along to love it all the same. They will see no flaws, no imperfections in it. It is why Nature creates things that way," she continued, and released an aggravated sigh. She ran a hand down her face and shook her head. She smiled softly in the process, though, and huffed.

"You know, I don't like you right now, Makoto Yoshida. You are making your wife ramble and you know she doesn't like doing that. Now shut up about all of this nonsense of being unworthy and being the right one and me leaving you. I am never leaving you, no matter what, end of story. Now come here and be my husband," and she reached forward, clasping her hand on the front of his shirt, and pulled him towards her. "Because frankly, you talk too much to," and with that, she sealed her mouth over his.

Makoto couldn’t help the amusement that seeped through. She really was something else when she got worked up by something. He’d tried to tell her he wasn’t suggesting that she would ever think of him as such a monster, only that he could not promise he would never become one. Still, though her words were not enough to dispel his fears—no words would ever do that—he was willing to believe that she meant them, because he could not do otherwise but believe her. His hands moved up to cradle her cheeks, and his mouth turned up in a small smile.

“Apologies, love,” he murmured between kisses. “I shall endeavor to be silent hereafter.”

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Naomi sighed heavily. The three weeks after the battle had not been quite as smooth for her as they had for everyone else, and this was, perhaps, the crowning moment of her precipitous unease. She pursed her lips at herself in the mirror, Smoothing her hand down over her opposite arm, then through her hair, already a few inches longer than it had been when she fled Nobunaga. It had always grown much faster than most people’s did—it would probably be back to its former length in a year or so.

She was delaying. She knew she was. She owed him an answer. And even if she didn’t… she owed this to herself. It was dizzyingly difficult to move on from the period in her life when she had been a revenge-oriented prisoner, because in all truth, she did not ever really believe she was going to make it past that point in her life. For all her carefully-laid plans, she had not one contingency option for this moment, this moment when she could choose as she liked. Of course, this further development only made matters more complicated, and while in one sense, it restricted her options again, it also opened up many others she would never have even thought to consider. Not in a thousand years.

Well… she would need to know a few things before she could make any decisions. And the person who could provide those answers was Yujin. So she stood from where she was and headed outside, tracking him to a field nearby the shrine, where the wedding would be later that day. If she strained her ears, she could hear what sounded like Yuzuki’s bell-like laughter, and Naomi smiled softly, turned towards the sound, and then looked back down at where he lay. “Giving up on her yet?” she asked, referencing an earlier joke. “She seems especially happy with your brother, after all. The noble thing to do would be to step aside.” Naomi settled into a seated position beside him, enjoying the sensation of the breeze playing over her face and neck.

Yujin, though happy for his sister, just couldn't bring himself to exactly help as the others had been. Tatsuki was cooking, Yuzuki and Masurao were decorating, and he was just laying down staring at the sky. A small smile crept over his lips as he closed his eyes, relishing in the cool breeze as it passed by. He should have known that his sister had chosen a human of all things, to marry, and it didn't surprise him as much. Given her attitude before, and from he used to know, it was hard to believe that this was the same Asami Fujiwara. The one who had always despised and hated humans as much as the rest of the family. Or was it that she did so in order to survive in their family? Either way, it didn't matter. She was marrying someone she loved, and he would be happy for her. A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he glanced up to the owner.

"Now, who ever said Oni was noble? You'll see, I'll have little Yuzu crawling to Oni in no time," he stated, chuckling as he sat up. He reached over towards her, grabbing her so that he could pull her into his lap, and held onto her waist, burying his head in her hair. "But then again that won't be the proper thing, seeing as Oni belongs to Mimi. She said so herself on the battlefield, if I recall. And Oni quotes 'Fish, bug, or oni, you’re still mine.' Does that not sound familiar?" he stated, smirking into her hair in the process. She was right about one thing, though, Masurao and Yuzuki seemed to be a lot happier ever since their little intervention. Really, it was called for and it had bugged Yujin daily. The smirk disappeared from his face, however, and he pulled away, turning her lose to sit beside him once more.

"Has Mimi finally decided?" he questioned, his tone void of all playfulness it held earlier. She had never answered him on the battlefield, and he hadn't thought to press the matter. She would tell him when she was ready, however; he wouldn't deny that it bugged him, just a little. To not know where her future lay, it was something that had frightened him in a sense. It frightened him because he wasn't so sure she had a future with him in it. He had told her he would never cage her, that she would be free to do as she wished, and how she pleased. It was her life. It had always been her life, and who was he to try and take that away from her?

Naomi smiled slightly. Those had indeed been her words, and she could not say she regretted a single one of them. Tilting her head to the side, she reached up behind her, looping an arm behind his neck such that her fingers toyed with the hairs at the nape of his neck, her back pressed against his chest and her head tipped back to look up at him through thick lashes. “Is that so? I suppose I’d better take responsibility then. Nobody wants a stray oni wandering around…”

His words grew a certain seriousness thereafter, though, and so did her expression. Mimi folded both of her arms in her lap for a moment, looking down at them through half-lidded eyes. “I think… that what I do will depend quite heavily on how you feel about something.” She licked her lips, her throat suddenly feeling much drier than it had been, and slowly, she wormed her hands under one of his, turning it over for a moment to trace a circle in his palm with the tip of her finger. No use delaying, she supposed, but the thought that this might be the last time she got to be with him like this… she was glad she was facing in the same direction as him, making her expression harder to read, because she wasn’t sure what was showing on her face right now. Perhaps it was just that—uncertainty.

Carefully, she laid the hand, palm-down, over her obi, covering the back of his hand with her own. “You wouldn’t be able to feel it,” she said softly. “Even I can barely sense it yet, and my ki is very attuned to what’s going on in my blood. But…” She paused, and steadied herself with a deep, shuddering breath. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the inevitable. “But… there is a child there. Your son, to be precise.” She knew that male children tended to run on average at a higher temperature than females, even before it was possible to tell which it was by any other means of ki detection. And she knew it was his child because she had always been especially careful to take a certain kind of herbal tea while in Nobunaga’s household, to prevent exactly this. But she’d completely forgotten in the days before and after her arrival here—there was too much else to think about.

“I’m not… obligating you to anything, Yujin. I just… you deserved to know.”

To say he was curious now, would be an understatement. He was curious from the moment she spoke, and when she took his hand. He was confused, to say the least, when she laid his hand over her obi, however; it made sense when she finally spoke. He blinked at her a few times, tilting his head to the side as if he misheard something. A child? His? A son? He was going to have a child? Or, more precisely, he had fathered a child? He blinked slowly, retracting his hand and gazing at it as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Faint, but still present, a smile crossed over his face and he shook his head. She had spoken that she wasn't obligating him to anything, and perhaps she was right. He wasn't obligated to anything, because this is what he had chosen. He had wanted to make a life with her, if she'd still have him. Now, she was carrying his son, and something swelled inside of Yujin. It was a sense of pride, and the faint smile morphed into a cocky grin.

"And I suppose you think I am just going to walk out of your life, after all the things Oni has told you?" he spoke, a faint hint of amusement lacing his voice. Perhaps he should be taking this a little more seriously, however; he wasn't exactly sure how to be serious on the matter. It meant a great deal to her, he could see that, but she also meant a great deal to him. He sighed softly, running a hand through his hair in the process. "And what if Oni wants nothing more than to make Mimi his? What if Oni wants nothing more than to see Mimi raising his child, with him? Will she stay then? Or will she still leave? Because honestly," he spoke, leaning in close to her, brushing his lips with a ghost-like texture over hers. Their lips never connected, though, and he remained hovered.

"You would wound Oni deeply if you left," he spoke. "But as I have said before, I will never cage you or make you feel trapped. Oni, though, would be honored if you stayed, bore his child, and any after should Mimi so desire, and make a family with him. It has always, and will always, be her decision. And as I've said before, I will be here no matter what decision you make," he stated, this time, closing the gap between their lips in a soft, and tentative kiss. He would admit though, that there was a certain type of fear lingering behind it. A fear that she would choose to leave him anyway, and possibly not carry his child. He would not be angry with her either way. He could never be angry with her. "Because you know Oni will love you no matter what you choose."

Turning herself around to face Yujin more properly, Naomi spent a long moment just searching his face. Perhaps she was looking for any hint of a lie—for how many sweet lies had she been told in her life? Certainly many more of those than sweet truths. But she found that, no matter how healthy and active her skepticism on other matters, she simply could not doubt him. She loved him too much, and to hear that this development need not be an obstacle, need not be a hindrance… she couldn’t have hoped for anything better. Because she found that, unprepared though she was, terrified though she was at being the mother of another person, from conception until her death, she wanted it. It was a longing she would have never thought herself to have, before she met Chikkun and Sora. And perhaps… perhaps this was the universe’s way of telling her that it would be all right. Of giving her a chance to make it right this time. It would have killed her in some way, but she would have raised the child on her own if he wanted nothing to do with it—and many pureblooded oni would not.

But he wasn’t another oni, he was Yujin, and so she believed him. And his words made her heart so light she could almost swear she was going to float away on the next breeze. “If that were what you wanted,” she whispered softly, pressing a tender, chaste kiss to his lips, “then I’d say I’ll stay with you forever.”

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