A Date With Sumire

Takao left the south side guard headquarters early the next morning with more dread than when he’d entered. He found Sumire waiting for him with an impatient frown. She’d been in an irritable mood since finding out that Takao had a guard shift today. Instead of accepting that he couldn’t be her guide, she’d insisted that he get the day off, and had warned that if he didn’t at least try, she would get him the day off herself. Not wanting to find out what that meant, he had tried, and his attempt had not turned out well.

“Well?” Sumire asked, still frowning.

“I got the day off.” Takao lied. Not wanting to make her mood worse; he decided to save his bad news for later.

“Really? That’s great!” She said, a dazzling smile returning to her face. “Let’s go then! First things first, breakfast! I want meat!”

Takao sighed, something he found himself doing a lot these days.

“Yes, yes. I know a place.” Takao said leading the way.

Sumire walk by his side, her head on a swivel, eyes darting from shop to shop, as if trying to take in every last detail, not wanting to miss a single thing. All the while, her purple eyes sparkled with genuine wonder, and her smile grew ever wider. Takao couldn’t help watching her. When she caught him staring, though, he quickly averted his gaze, and hoped she couldn’t see the red creeping into his cheeks.

“You know, your pantry really was abysmal. Why don’t you buy food?” Sumire asked, referring to his nearly empty pantry.

“I told you, cooking requires magic, and I can’t use magic. Therefore, no need to buy food for my pantry.” Takao explained for the third time that morning.

“And I told you, you can use magic. I was invisible last night, and the only way you could have seen me is by using magic.” She retorted. “Impressive magic at that. Not just any spell can see through my invisibility.”

Takao opened his mouth to respond, but Sumire dashed off to peer through a pastry shop window before he could.

He thought about what she said. Had he really used magic? He didn’t think so. Maybe Sumire hadn’t been invisible? But a giant dragon above the town would have certainly caused a panic. Someone would have raised the alarm, and people would be talking about it today. No, she must have been invisible, but he also couldn’t believe he’d actually done magic.

Takao was interrupted from his thoughts when Sumire pulled him into the pastry shop. They left with an assortment of breads and pastries, including the town’s famous dragon role. It was modeled after Sumire twisting herself into a spiral, and was flavored with sweet brown spices and covered in a sweet white glaze. Sumire claimed she’d never made that shape in her life, but said she still liked the novelty of it.

Takao led Sumire through the busy morning streets and pointed out different buildings or shops as they went. Among them were— Furegaki’s Pottery, Turi’s Armor and Shields, and The Sleeping Gibba. More than once, Sumire stopped to buy more food or investigate an interesting shop, which often resulted in her receiving a discount or free item. Though, no one knew Sumire was The Sumire, she had such a charming and genuine personality that she instantly endeared herself to others. Her nature seemed so strong that some even called out to her just to give her some free food.

“Miss with the horns!” One vendor had called out as Takao and Sumire had passed. “Your dragonian, yes? From the south, then?”

“That’s right.” Sumire responded casually, and with an accent Takao didn’t recognize, but found out later is a southern dragonian accent.

“I’ve got a special new item I’ve been working on, based on a dragonian recipe. Give it a try and tell me what you think. Free of charge, of course!”

Takao watched this continue everywhere they went till mid-morning, when they finally arrived at the restaurant he had planned for breakfast. Despite all the food she’d already eaten, Sumire ate three servings of bone-in lockhorn steak before Takao managed to cut her off by enticing her with Garden Market’s famous array of local delicacies and foreign foods.

After crossing the Saku river, Takao made the point of stopping at the charred ruins of Sumire’s temple. Most of the burnt remains had already been removed, and workers were in the process of removing the rest. Takao located a dragon cleric among them, who could tell them about the temples' reconstruction.

“Many people are interested in the temples’ reconstruction.” The dragon cleric, Kusumoto explained. She was an elderly woman, who Takao had met a few times before. She wore the dragon cleric’s white ropes with a dark purple sash that identified her as high ranking. “If you want to send prayers to Great Sumire, we have set up a temporary space in Whitegrove. It’s near Sila’s Tavern. I’m sure you know the place, Takao, right? We’ve met before. And you are?” She asked Sumire.

“This is Sumire.” Takao answered for her, trying to move on quickly. “And we were actually more interested in the temples’ reconstruction itself. Will it be bigger? Grander? Things like that.”

“Ah, well, it’s still being planned, but we would like to make it a bit bigger. Unfortunately, the town has grown since it was built, so our space is limited. Your name is Sumire? You’re named after Great Sumire, I take it?”

“That’s right. She’s well known in Nettai, my dragonian village, and I have the honor of sharing her name.” She answered sweetly, again using her southern dragonian accent.

“How wonderful! I didn’t know Great Sumire’s nobility had spread so far beyond Teien.” Kusumoto said happily.

After hearing several stories about Sumire’s greatness from the dragon cleric, all of which brought a smug smile to Sumire’s face, Takao excused them before she could begin another one.

“You must be convinced by now, right?” Takao asked as they started toward Garden Market.

“Convinced of what?” Sumire responded curiously.

Takao wasn’t sure if she was messing with him or had actually forgotten the purpose of their outing.

“That the town is still devoted to you? That you don’t have to destroy it?”

Takao was sure he saw recollection flicker across her face before she turned away. When she turned back, he thought her cheeks were redder than usual.

“Ahem! Of course! I thought that’s what you meant, but I wanted to be clear. Well— it’s too soon to say. I’ll have to see more of the town first. Now then! Let’s hurry to the market!” She declared and quickened her pace.

Takao hurried beside her, and she continued the rushed pace until they reached the market, preventing Takao from continuing the conversation.

Garden Market was a large open area with an extravagant round fountain in the middle featuring a grand stone carving of Sumire in her dragon form. Around the perimeter of the market were shops, café’s and restaurants of a huge variety, many famous for their high quality goods or delicious food. The majority of the market consisted of tents, carts, or stands spread throughout the rest of the space while leaving plenty of room for pedestrians and leaving the space adjacent to the fountain free. Flowerbeds, trees, and small fountains were also interspersed throughout the space, giving the market a pleasant feeling comparable to a park.

As they approached the market, Sumire’s eyes lit up at seeing the multitude of expansive shops. Takao couldn’t help but smile at her child like wonder and how easily she got excited. He let his minor grievances with her fade and decided to enjoy the rest of the day as best he could.

Takao let Sumire lead him through the maze of shops, stopping often to examine goods for sale or purchase food. As before, she continued to receive discounts and generously sized free samples. Just as he was actually starting to enjoy himself, he heard a familiar voice call his name and nearly dropped his food in panic.

It was the one person he hadn’t wanted to run into. The one girl who he hadn’t wanted to see while with Sumire. It was the girl, he’d been wanting to ask out for years, Nanako.

Sumire’s Exposé!
Dragonian’s are part human, part dragon. They look human, but have distinctive dragon horns on their heads. They prefer warm tropical weather, so don’t often travel north. All dragonian’s trace their ancestry to a single dragon human couple.