Chapter 18

The dawn of a new morning on Tsuiraku was much less eventful than the night before had been. After contemplating the bells until the last chime for the evening echoed across the village, Kaede had graciously partaken of the onsen located behind the resthouse. It had been a novel experience for her as even though the back palace had its own lavish bathhouse, there were servant women that scrubbed the higher members of the court, like Kaede and Sumire.

Taking a bath completely devoid of anyone helping or conversing with her had somehow made it all the more relaxing to the young oiran before mentioning that the spring Nagato maintained was open-air. Staring up at the night sky had added to the leisurely experience and Kaede found herself enamoured with the idea of getting used to doing things this way. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the conversations, but with the lack of privacy it felt like she still had to be dutiful as a member of the court instead of just enjoying a simple soak.

Maybe that, along with sleeping in an actual bed, led to Kaede feeling particularly refreshed so early in the morning. She had awoken with the morning’s second chime, the sun already high enough in the sky to blanket the village in warm light and the bustling main road of Tsuiraku seemed cheerful as she stretched before changing into another outfit provided by Yurika before heading downstairs.

The ensemble this morning was a dark blue andon bakama paired with a lighter blue hakamashita showcasing a large white koi fish that appeared to be trying to swim from Kaede’s torso to her back. She had paired it with a simple blue tie, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. The bells, the source of her unease the night before, were laid out carefully on the green silk that they had been bundled in upon the bedside table.

Kaede was unsure of what to do with them at this point nor was she sure if she could explain the situation from the shrine properly to Gakuto and Yurika. It was too unbelievable and surreal, there was no way they wouldn’t find it absurd! They might even think she was being particularly peculiar, not that she’d blame them.

She was still having a hard time wrapping her head around it herself!

With those thoughts swimming in Kaede’s head, she made it to the kitchen and, after bowing gratefully at Yukiko, took her place at the table where Yurika was already eating.

“Morning, Kaede-chan! Did you sleep well?” The island girl’s cheerful demeanor filled Kaede with warmth and her worries momentarily evaporated as she looked over the simple spread of rice, some kind of local fish and fresh bread waiting for her. It was a much more manageable amount of food for the young oiran compared to the previous night’s dinner.

“I did! The bed was very pleasant, especially after soaking in the onsen!” Kaede said before clapping her hands together, thankful for the breakfast before picking up her chopsticks and hungrily digging in.

Yurika smiled, glad to see that Kaede was back to her cheerful self as she turned back to her partially eaten meal. The two girls ate in comfortable silence before they heard the back door open and close, Gakuto stepping into the kitchen wiping sweat from his forehead.

“Morning, Gakkun.” Kaede said, her voice muffled around a piece of bread.

Gakuto sat down next to her, surprised that the court lady was breaking her etiquette by talking with food in her mouth. “So the assimilation to island life is already complete, I see.”

Kaede stuffed the last bite of bread in her mouth and covered it with her hand before giving him a slight glare. “That’s rude, Gakkun! Yurika here hasn’t said a word with food in her mouth, she would fit right in at the Imperial court!”
“Fank you, !” Yurika said, her cheeks stuffed with rice as she turned to the young guard before swallowing quickly. “Proper etiquette isn’t just reserved for palaces, Gakkun!” She narrowed her eyes at him harshly, aggressively pointing with her chopsticks. “You just think all us island folk are backwater fools, don’t you!?”

Yukiko brought some fresh tea to the table before staring at Yurika, before shaking her head.

“You know your argument falls apart when you point at people with your chopstick, Yurika…”

Yurika flushed with shame, turning back to her rice and scarfing it down before picking up her area and hurrying to wash the dishes. Yukiko chuckled as she laid a fresh rice bowl out for Gakuto and Kaede couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.

Gakuto wondered if she was wishing for her relationship with Hinoki to be like that but the longing from her observing the young family at the hanabi wasn’t written on her face. He took his own chopsticks and shared a quiet thanks before devouring the rice in record time.

Yurika returned to the table as he was working on his second helping leaning on both of her hands, her gaze turning to Kaede. The young oiran seemed much more present this morning than she had after they returned from the shrine and she wondered if all of that was just a façade or if the previous night was an aberration.

Kaede turned back and tilted her head curiously, her green eyes meeting Yurika’s brown ones. “Is everything okay, Yurika-chan?”

“Hm? Yeah, I’m good, Kaede-chan.” She smiled, unsure on if she should press the issue before deciding to change the subject, turning to Gakuto.

“You were up early to train, Gakkun. And you trained before going to bed last night. Are you the type that only has training on the brain?” She grinned, wanting to give back some teasing after her own embarrassment regarding etiquette.

“I have other things going on up there, y’know?” Gakuto’s mouth was full as he was plowing through his third bowl of rice.

“And you talked about islander etiquette…” Kaede said as Yurika snickered.

“Soldiers don’t have etiquette training.” Gakuto said matter-of-factly, removing a few grains from around his lips with his thumb before licking them off.

“Obviously!” Yurika said as she and Kaede shared a glance, both laughing in amusement. Gakuto stuffed the last of the rice into his mouth, chewing it only a couple of times before swallowing, unsure of what was so funny to the two girls.

After they both cleared the table of their dishes, despite Yukiko insisting that they didn’t need to as guests, Kaede and Gakuto returned to the third floor accompanied by Yurika. Gakuto noted that the island girl seemed likely to continue to stick close to them while they remained on Tsuiraku.

Kaede came to an abrupt halt once the trio reached the third floor before turning to Gakuto and Yurika, reluctantly bringing her hands together in front of her chest. Both exchanged a glance before they waited for her hesitation to disappear.

Sure enough, Kaede nodded her head emphatically as if she had just finished a mental argument with herself and looked up at both of them with firm resolve in her eyes.

“I need to discuss something with the both of you!”

Gakuto and Yurika locked eyes once more before nodding slightly, answering in sync:
“We’re all ears!”