Hello world! It's the first time I'm showing my writing to anyone, so please, be gentle
This short story is an introduction to the things I'm working on right now.
Enjoy!
Today was her day off. It wasn't happening very often, since according to Father long breaks could end with one's reflexes getting dull, so she decided to use it the best she could.
"Shizuka, how long do you intend to sleep?" Harunosuke asked in a loud voice as he entered her room, successfully destroying her plans. She could've known that her demon of a father wouldn't let her do what she wanted.
"It's my day off," she mumbled. "I want to rest."
"The sun is already high on the sky. You cannot waste your day in such a way," he said with disapproval. Harunosuke himself felt very brisk this morning and couldn't stand that his daughter was acting so sluggish. He figured that to make her move, he'd have to come up with an offer she would't be able to refuse.
"I want to rest," she repeated with an emphasis and held her blankets closer, hiding under them. However she knew Father too well to think that he'd give up like this. And sure enough, he spoke up again but the words were quite unexpected.
"Then how about we go to the market today?" Damn it. He knew exactly how to lure her out. She loved visiting stalls with him and he was well aware of that. She peered out of her covers, her eyes sparkling. As he saw her expression, the smile of victory flashed through his face, just to disappear in the second, as she looked up at him with a distaste. Sometimes Harunosuke was just like a child.
"Fine, I'll go down in a moment," she said nonchalantly, not wanting to give him even more satisfaction. Like father like daughter.
When Father left, Shizuka gathered herself up from the futon and turned towards the closet. She looked at its contents with a frown. The girl tried to figure out what to wear as fast as possible, so he wouldn't have to wait too long, but it turned out to be a very problematic task. She heard somebody entering her room and sighed in relief upon seeing the visitor.
"Mayuri, good morning! Your timing is perfect. Could you help me out?" she said pleadingly. The woman stepped through the door and joined her in front of the shelves.
"Good morning, Shizuka-sama. You don't know what to wear yet again, do you?" the maid guessed right away and Shizuka just smiled embarrassed. "Well, it's a given since you have so many clothes. Let us take a closer look then," she said and they began looking.
"I thought you are going to rest today. Why the sudden change?" Mayuri started, while rummaging through piles of fabrics in many different colours and patterns. "What about this one?" She showed Shizuka sapphire kimono decorated with white ivy motif.
"No, I wore that recently," she turned down quickly. "Well, I was planning to, but Father of course had to interfere," she sighed heavily.
"Kurai-sama is energetic as always," Mayuri chuckled. Her lady looked at her with a pout, only making her laugh louder.
"A little too energetic for my liking," Shizuka stated as if annoyed, but the maid could clearly see that the girl's eyes shined with anticipation, contradicting her grumble. She smiled, not for the first time finding her superiors' relationship a really adorable sight.
Shizuka went back to looking at clothes, so she also resumed the search. After a while (and about ten rejections) Mayuri held out another kimono and spoke to her.
"How about this one, Shizuka-sama?" When she saw her reaction, the woman knew that this was it.
"Oh, I forgot about this one! Yes, this will do," she said with a satisfied grin.
"Great. Now, let me help you dress. We took a lot of time choosing, Kurai-sama must be waiting."
"That's right, Father! Hurry up, Mayuri. I can't make him wait too long," Shizuka exclaimed, suddenly in a rush. They finished up quickly and the girl almost ran out of the room.
"Thank you, Mayuri!" she called out from the corridor. Then the maid heard her excited talk, just outside the house. She smiled to herself. What a cute person her lady was.
They went out, greeted by the lovely weather. The sun was shining brightly and, despite the occasional chilly breeze, the upcoming spring could be already felt and seen everywhere. Shizuka started talking to Father and soon, as they were slowly reaching the market, they were absorbed in light, cheerful conversation. When they arrived at the street, the first thing Shizuka noticed was a stall selling fabrics. She rushed there, dragging Harunosuke with her.
"Hello, what can I do for you, young lady?" the owner welcomed them with a smile.
Shizuka's eyes were fixed on the goods, looking for the pretty ones. She almost gave up, since it seemed he didn't have anything new, but then she saw something.
"Can I see the material at the back?"
"Miss you have good eye, this one just arrived," the man said and went inside, bringing out the cloth. When she inspected it closely, she couldn't stop admiring its beauty. It was light pink, with cherry blossoms embroidered here and there skilfully, making it look almost as if the petals fell right from the tree and landed on the fabric, marking it. True, it wasn't really her style, since she usually prefered intense colours, but there was something about this pink texture that made her unable to take her eyes off of it. It was love at first sight. She turned to look at Harunosuke.
"Father..." she smiled at him sweetly, pleading him with her expression. She saw him waver, but then he eyed her from head to toe and must've remembered something, because his hesitation disappeared.
"I believe I bought you a cloth last time we were out, did I not? I think it is the very one you are wearing right now." Indeed, the crimson camellia-patterned kimono she had on was a gift from Father, the one she begged out of him recently. Crap, why did we go with this one, Mayuri? she thought, angry at herself for not predicting this. But still, she intended to press Father until the end, completely not discouraged by his lack of cooperation.
"Well, yes... But look Father, this fabric looks totally different from my other ones, doesn't it?" She waved the material in front of him, attacking his face.
"I am no expert when it comes to woman's clothing." he countered immediately, stepping back a little. "But what I do know is that you already have numerous kimonos in all different colours, am I wrong?" he ended, clearly not falling for her tricks.
"But look how beautiful it is!" she exclaimed desperately, Father's stubbornness irritating her.
"I recall that you said the exact same thing about the previous four that I have bought for you," he deadpanned, though his eyes were sparkling with amusement at her antics.
"Because they are all beautiful!" she huffed annoyed, feeling that she's losing the battle. She inhaled deeply to calm herself and put on a pretty smile again. The last chance. Beg.
"Oh Father, can't you just buy it for me this once?" she chirped, grabbing his arm. "I'm not going to ask for anything again, I promise. Please, just this once?" Harunosuke looked at her, as if analysing her expression and she tried to look as innocent as possible. Then he smiled at her gently and patted her head.
"No, Shizu." Damn it. Father was really tough sometimes. She sighed disappointed, but couldn't really be mad at him, since he was showing her one of his rare smiles, the tactic she was incredibly weak against.
"I will buy it next time, alright?" he assured while glancing down at Shizuka, the promise getting rid of her frown completely. "For now, let us go on. Thank you, mister." He turned to the owner and bowed courteously.
They continued their outing and went further down the street, finding more stalls to visit. There was a lot to admire since every shop had something different to offer. The goods varied greatly; they found pretty jewellery, pottery, talismans and a lot more. Shizuka was chattering excitedly about everything, and it was clear that she already had forgotten about the previous incident. That was the power of Harunosuke's smile.
They were moving like this for quite a while, when upon seeing one particular stall they looked at each other knowingly and then headed that way arm to arm. A moment later, after deciding to take a little break, Shizuka and Father were enjoying their traditional market snack with tea.
"I didn't even know I was this hungry!" Shizuka mumbled as she started stuffing her face with delicious dango.
"Shizuka, do not eat so quickly, you will choke," Father scolded her with displeasure in his eyes, handing her a cup of tea.
"Nah, I'll be fine," she answered dismissively, busy with consuming more and more food. Harunosuke looked at her and just sighed, deciding to leave it be. His daughter was a real glutton when it came to dango. He took his own share and started eating it too, though with much less fervour than Shizuka.
"Wah, it was so good! I'm full," Shizuka said contentedly after a while.
"I do not doubt it, considering how many you ate," Father replied, eyeing the impressive pile of skewers next to her with disbelief. He shook his head, smiling briefly. A real glutton indeed.
They rested on the bench for a while longer, just basking in the sunlight. Cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom, making the surroundings look more beautiful than usual. They happened to be sitting directly under one of the trees, so they could admire it up close. For Shizuka and Father, spring was probably their favourite time of the year. There was something in this season that was appealing to both of them, even though they were so different from each other. During springtime they were going out more frequently than usual, be it to the market, the riverbank or the country, and just enjoyed their time together.
After the break they decided to head back to the house, since the sun was slowly lowering towards the west. Without realizing, they spent bigger part of the day in the town. They walked for a while, when Harunosuke stopped abruptly. Shizuka almost bumped into him and peered from behind him, curious what gave him a sudden pause. Ah, of course. She laughed to herself when she spotted the place Father was looking at. The shop selling swords.
"Father, should we go take a look?" she said, grinning up at him.
"Oh, should we? Yes, we might as well go. But just a glimpse, Shizu. It is getting late," he answered with a warning, though his expression was belying his indifferent words. Father's eyes were sparkling and he didn't seem to notice anything else. Just a glimpse. As if it was possible for you, she thought, amused by Harunosuke's reaction. They went there and exchanged greetings with the owner, who apparently knew Father very well.
"Kurai-san, welcome! It has been a while since you visited, hasn't it?"
"Yes, Fujiwara-san, it has been a while." Father answered politely, however his eyes were already stealing glances at the swords. Just like a child in a toy store, Shizuka noticed with a smile. "I got few good blades since them. Do you wish to see them?"
"Yes, of course." Then they headed towards one of the shelves and with that Father was gone. He threw tons of questions at the owner, who tried hard to keep up with him. He was especially interested in one sword, Kanemoto. Soon, they were absorbed in a heated discussion, and it was obvious that Harunosuke had vast knowledge of katanas, as he easily retorted every remark coming from Fujiwara-san. They were both enjoying this conversation, glad to be able to exchange opinions with someone as experienced in the area as himself. Shizuka decided to just leave them be and started looking around the store alone.
She also knew a lot about swords, because of Father of course, though she wasn't as interested with them as Harunosuke. Fighting - she loved it, but when it came to theoretical side of swordsmanship she was good with knowing just necessary basics. Still, she could recognize a good sword when she saw one, and the blade in front of her was definitely a splendid one. Shizuka decided to ask about it, though she knew it might be quite a risk.
"Excuse me," she started and they glared at her, clearly not happy with interruption. "Can you tell me about this blade?"
As they heard she was curious about one of the swords, they both lightened up, and the owner rushed to her side, explaining.
"Oh, Kurai-san, your daughter has a very good eye. This is one of the new katanas, Noshu Kaneuji, a truly wonderful blade." Then he started talking about the sword, not missing any detail, and Father listened closely. It really was a beautiful katana but, as it turned out, its price was just as impressive. There's no way Father would buy me such an expensive blade. What a shame. Shizuka sighed sadly, looking at Kaneuji. Then she turned to look at Father. He was slowly ending the conversation he had, since the sun was almost setting.
"Then Fujiwara-san, I will take this sword," he said, pointing at the blade they were discussing so fiercely earlier. Shizuka looked at it curiously. Kanemoto was smaller than Noshu Kaneuji and not so fancy, but there was something captivating in its simplicity. Looking at it closely it was a great blade, very clear and solid. Also the price was far more reasonable compared to Kaneuji. He thanked Fujiwara-san and they went out.
Just as Father turned to her to say something they both realized that, even though there was still a great amount of people outside, it was awfully quiet. All the men and women backed out to the side, emptying the road completely and stared at something in the distance while whispering to each other. They followed the crowd's gaze and spotted a group walking in the middle of the street, heading in their direction. She recognized the blue robes right away.
The Shinsengumi.
She heard a lot of stories about them from Father. She was told that thanks to them Kyoto had become a lot safer than it used to be. He appeared to be fond of them, though she didn't know why, despite their terrible reputation among residents of the city. Thinking about it, she glanced at townspeople. As the division was getting closer the whispers stopped entirely and everybody's eyes were down, making sure not to cross looks with any of the soldiers. She found it weird and turned to Father.
"Why are they behaving like this, Father?" she asked.
Harunosuke was looking pensively at the group, it seemed that he haven't heard her. After a while he finally answered, his gaze still fixed on the men passing by.
"People do not understand them," he said, his tone somehow melancholic. "And human beings are often afraid of something they cannot understand. It is part of their nature. But... they are good men," he ended thoughtfully, the last part didn't seem to be directed at Shizuka.
She stared up at Father, pondering over his words. Then she glanced at the Shinsengumi, observing them. They seemed to be a well matched group, the strong feeling of unity was radiating from them. Few of them had a quiet conversation, not minding the reaction of the crowd. But above all, each one of them was looking straight ahead with his head held high, pride and confidence evident in every step. She couldn't help but admire such attitude.
She looked at the crowd again, their cowardly hiding figures making her irritated somehow. People are scared of their own protectors she snorted, finding it ridiculous. This is not lack of understanding, Father is too soft. They're not even trying to understand she concluded, gazing at slowly passing group with newly found respect.
The division soon disappeared and the street returned to its loud and lively atmosphere. Townspeople began to move again, some of them starting a heated discussion among themselves. Father also snapped out of his daze and turned to Shizuka again. He held out Kanemoto to her.
"What do you think about this blade, Shizuka?" he asked excitedly, the earlier mood gone completely, making her wonder if she really saw right in the first place. He caught her a little off guard with his sudden question and she took a moment to think.
"It's clearly a very good sword. It's simple, but straightforward." she answered finally and Father looked at her pleased.
"You understand it well, I am glad." he said and handed her the katana. She gazed up at him questioningly.
"It is yours, Shizu. It may not be Noshu Kaneuji, but I believe that this one suits you better. Try it."
She took the sword and instantly knew that Father was right. The hilt fitted her hand perfectly and the weight felt very good, just as if the blade was made especially for her. She thought back to Father's conversation with the owner and how he wanted to know everything about this blade. She chuckled quietly, thinking how well he knows her and how considerate he is.
"It's great," she said, grinning at Harunosuke."Thank you, Father." He returned the smile, obviously proud of himself. Then suddenly his eyes started sparkling.
"In that case, what would you say to a little spar?" she looked up at him, the same spark appearing in her own eyes.
"You bet. Prepare to lose miserably, Father."
"I do not intend to," he answered seriously, though his gaze was full of mischief.
"We'll see about that." She smirked at him dangerously, and he returned the gesture.
"But you cannot cheat," he said after a moment, making her let out an outraged gasp.
"What are you talking about? I never cheat!"
Yes, of course, Shizu," he replied doubtfully. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow and she couldn't counter this expression, since she knew the truth.
Then he took off, leaving her behind. And there goes my day off... she thought briefly. But she didn't actually mind, since Father already woke up her competitive spirit with his challenge. She caught up to him quickly, grabbing his arm and they rushed home, both eager to fight.
Father looked down at Shizuka and seeing her so energetic, a little smile appeared on his face. He really did know his daughter very well.
One down, one more to go.
How do you like our heroine? I would love to know what you guys think, so feel free to leave a review.
See you soon!