Chapter 514:
Shift
Yuki was the first to speak up as their Lord started to walk away with the distractingly attractive Aya. “We’ll wait outside, Master.” The discomfort in his voice came out clear for the situation that would be coming. He wanted to not be anywhere near what was going to happen. Saki looked over at him, hopeful that they would be discharged from their service.
The Lord looked back to Yuki with a stern look that didn’t accept anything but compliance. “Nonsense, both of you will remain at my side. I didn’t bring you along because I’m feeling generous to let my two valued servants get some fresh air.” He motioned to the two to return to his side.
Biting his lip, Yuki took a little longer than he needed to start moving towards his Master. There was little that he could do to refuse him. The situation that they found themselves in didn’t allow for any such freedom. “Surely, Master, you would prefer your privacy in such matters. I wouldn’t want to be a distraction to you.”
“Juro, I believe I was clear in my orders. You are to attend to us. You willn’t make this charming woman unnecessarily lift her fingers.”
Saki stepped next to Yuki and grabbed his hand for support. She gave him a quick slide glance not trying to draw much attention. ‘You tried…but this is the hand we were dealt… As servants we’re supposed to be unaffected by any of this and serve normally…’ Even as she thought it internally, she felt a little bit of revulsion over the situation.
‘I’m sorry, Saki…’ A small nod in acceptance of his fate, they stepped forward together. “Yes, Master. My apologies for causing you trouble.” Yuki and Saki joined them in the second room of the woman’s residence.
Chapter 514 – Spider’s Web
Equally lavishly detailed as the woman herself, the small room they left had merely been a sort of welcoming room, maybe something of a place to have brief visits as there was a table and chairs, but remained mostly simple. Or perhaps it was what the client paid for and each room represented their investment with the woman. Neither of them knew any of the particulars of how it worked.
The room they entered though significantly changed the whole feeling that they got. Before it felt slightly seedy and a little cheap, even with the painted up Aya, who seemed a little out of place. It now seemed like they had entered her room. There were hanging paintings simple, but effective for a sophisticated atmosphere.
They had imagined something basic for what the woman’s services were that she offered, but it felt both intimate and professional. It spoke to a woman of stunning beauty matched with grace and intelligence. Anyone could feel at ease or excited depending on what mood she wanted to create. For now, she only gave off a welcoming and calming aura that even made Yuki and Saki comfortable.
Aya directed the Lord over to the soft cushion at the floor with plans to serve him, despite his previous statement to his personal servants. “Stay with me. They can do the work.”
She smiled at him accepting his offer. “Very well. The tea is in the cabinet on the right with the cups and tray next to it. But I insist on making the tea.”
Yuki nodded and walked over as directed by Aya. It looked like a completely furnished kitchen from what he could find. A little odd in his mind that she would have such a setup, but perhaps it was as he considered, her home as well as work.
Joining him at his side, Saki pulled out the tray as he moved a couple things around. “You going to be okay? You know where this is going to end.”
He hesitated for a second before pulling out the tea leaves to place on the tray. “I’ll just try to think of it like an adult video.”
“You’ve never seen one.” The cups and kettle arranged on the tray with a canister of tea such that Aya would be able to work quickly.
Accepting the tray, he lifted it up preparing to return. “Neither have you.” They both carried ‘Help!’ in their eyes, which proved useless when it was just the two of them.
Returning to their Lord and Aya, they found them already deep into unexpected conversation. Yuki and Saki both questioned what was happening and if they might have misread the situation. “…his defeat changed the entire direction of the war. Had he considered the terrain more, he probably could have succeeded.”
“You’re correct. Though Kenji was an outsider and lacked that sort of knowledge. Skilled as a warrior, that wasn’t going to be enough.”
“He should have listened more to Ichiro, his strategist. The war could have gone very differently.”
‘Talking war?’ Yuki thought, not really sure how they got to that as their starting point for conversation. It was hardly the sort of pillow talk he expected to be here. It had to be probably the least thrilling sort of subject, but they were both deeply engrossed that they didn’t even notice him arrive. “The tea.”
Aya tilted her head back towards Yuki giving him a gentle smile and accepted it back. “Thank you. I can take it from here.” He caught himself with a little bit of surprise as he noticed something familiar in her expression. It made some amount of sense, he knew, but it still caught him off guard. Yuki let his lips part just a little, managing the barest of efforts to hide his reaction from her.
While she lit a fire to heat the water, Yuki went back to Saki’s side as they kept themselves at the perimeter of the room. Keeping his sights forward as trained by the estate staff, they stood on standby for new orders.
Softly under his breath in their practiced routine, Yuki whispered to Saki. “She’s a remarkable woman. It’s all an act.”
“Are you that surprised?”
“I know it’s her job. But she’s committed to the role. It’s like she’s managed to almost convince herself of the lie.”
“Don’t get dragged in.”
“It’s like a mirror…”
Saki ended their conversation without a reply getting them back to their job and hopefully getting Yuki to focus. ‘She’s a strange one. I’m not sure what to make of her…’ Watching the two continue their discussion, she couldn’t really follow it even if it all made sense. It seemed a little mismatched to be having an intellectual forum in such a place. Yet that was what happened.
Aya continued as the water slowly heated. “It makes me think of Matano in the west.”
“Matano’s not bold enough to make such a play. He’s too cautious to fight a battle so evenly matched with Lord Matsushina.”
“But he could have the advantage from the forest to the north.”
“Crossing over the rough terrain. Interesting tactic, though with riflemen they know that they would suffer heavy losses before making it to the gate.”
“Maybe under the cover of night.”
“Low visibility we would have difficulty.” Saki listened to them discuss tactics until the water boiled. Despite what she expected from the woman whose job was a completely different service, she held a deep conversation with the Lord. A smile never left his face as they talked. She might have had beauty, but none of that played into things right now.
The night continued to grow longer with each passing hour. Small orders were all they were given, but considering the situation it wouldn’t be much else. Tactics changed to philosophy and history, Saki lost track of everything that they talked about.
Eventually, they moved over to the bedroom as they feared. The whole time there was mounting tension of a will they or won't they, leaving the two wound tightly. Final confirmation that it would be happening only gave them a slight amount of relief. As personnel had to at least remain nearby, they were thankfully given release from having to share the same room. It still meant that they had to sit just outside to answer any call or threat.
Soft breathy noises came from the woman likely having started. The first little exhale that came out of tone left Yuki’s face red. He looked over at Saki as they searched for support to get through the night. It wasn’t a matter of them being adults or even Yuki having spent more time alive than Saki, they were on the narrow edge of intruding into a normally private matter. None of it was about maturity. They shouldn’t have been there.
However, to their surprise they continued to talk for some reason. Even while they went about whatever various acts that entertained them. “I’ve heard that the Okita Clan is in danger with no heir.”
“With the Nataga and Shobo, it’s not a concern.”
“Oh, you have moved quickly. The Okita have been one of the longest supporters.”
“We can’t afford weakness.”
“No, not with tensions increasing. Perhaps, Kaoin will be of value in these times.”
“With their only daughter, she’s a strange one of promise, but in the end she’ll still end up married off. Securing allies will be more important.”
“Is that so, she’s got a curious reputation about her. Her value would likely improve whoever backs her first.”
“A woman,” he laughed a little, “You make amusing suggestions.”
Their conversation continued turning from talk to advice and back. Aya didn’t hold back on her opinions, which normally would have been a problem, but the Lord accepted her. After their long night together she raised his view of her that he no longer saw her as a mere decoration.
A break came in their chatting as they had other things that they focused on. Saki heard sounds and words that she had never known in her life. The only way she could keep herself together was to treat it as sort of an educational experience. It allowed the embarrassment of such an intimate matter fade to her background.
Time passed and they picked back up where they left off as though nothing happened. It felt a little unnerving how casual they were about everything that transpired. Saki couldn’t believe that they could act like that after what happened, though she never had been in such a situation. So she didn’t know how she would be. It clearly came with experience.
Yuki sighed a little with relief that things went smoothly. He worried that they might have been called upon to do something, but they kept their privacy. Though listening to their chatting through the rice paper, he couldn’t help but find it all very strange. “Have you noticed?”
She looked up at Yuki finding that he had less of a stressed expression about him than she expected. “What do you mean?” That he noticed anything amongst what happened was a little shocking for her.
“The woman Aya, have you been listening to what she’s doing?”
‘What she’s doing?’ None of it really came forward for her. But her mind was hardly on what they were talking about most times. “It’s all just a bunch of random stuff.” If there was meaning behind she couldn’t see it, though she could not focus.
“She’s been playing him all night. Easing him into things and she started working him for information and then gave advice. She’s scheming something.”
Saki lifted her leg to get her foot up. “You think she’s a spy?”
“I don’t know, but she’s not a normal woman for sure.”
Looking at the door where their Master and Aya remained, Saki had to make a call. She hadn’t been paying as close attention to what Aya was doing as Yuki clearly. Somehow he managed to keep his focus. As she looked back at what she did remember hearing she couldn’t make a solid decision. Parts of it did add up to what Yuki said. There was something off about the woman.
Before she could make a move, things went quiet in the room. Saki immediately went on the defensive, pushing aside the okumi of her tight kimono so that she could move more freely. Her ears heightened to listen for any hint of a noise from the other room. ‘They could have just gone to sleep…I can’t intrude without cause…’
The stillness of the room left only the soft controlled breathing of Yuki nearby that she could filter out easily. Even the outside traffic barely even made it through the well controlled room. She could hear a slight shuffling of feet, but nothing more. ‘Someone’s coming…did she notice us?’ Remaining cautious, Saki stood up in a defensive stance prepared for whatever. Her eyes confirmed quickly that Yuki mirrored her making use of their training given them while under their Master.
A slight parting of the door gave them a strong whiff of the sweet perfume that Aya wore making it certain that she was the one at the door. She then slid it open as her gaze came across the two with them stepping back and averting their eyes. Aya ignored any modesty in front of them, almost intruding their space with her confidence. With a graceful movement, the door closed behind her leaving the Lord alone as she confronted them. “And what will the two of you do with your suspicions?” Aya seemed to tower over them with her presence somehow stronger than any of the times before. She commanded everything in the room with effortless ease.
‘Who is this woman?!’
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