Hey everyone, a new story! This one is not based on any specific fairy tale like my others, just the fairy tale of life in general. Standard disclaimer applies and please remember to read and review, tell me what you think. More reviews = the next chapter up faster!
Mia21
Kaoru sat at her father's desk, hers now really, and studied the tidy ledger that listed the business accounts and the school's account, running her fingers through her hair and sighing for the millionth time. No matter how many times she did the math, the truth was that unless her father's shipping business did a lot better than it had been, she wasn't sure it would survive. Perhaps she might need to do the same as the other shipping families had done and add trading over land to the mix. The storms had been fierce this year and only a few of the ships had managed to make it out, or back.
Her father had been gone now for two years and she was surprised she had managed to hang onto the reins that long. She wondered, since they were short on money due to nothing coming in, if her brother's clothes could be patched up, again. She really wished she had learned how to sew rather than her father's sword style, although it really didn't matter, even if she could sew they couldn't afford fabric for new clothes. Sighing again, Kaoru heard her friend Tae's hello.
"Kaoru!" she yelled, walking into the study. "You look…tired." Tae surmised.
"I am. I've been pouring over this business ledger and cannot find a solution." Kaoru told her.
"The solution is simple, dear. Take a vacation. Perhaps you'll get some brilliant idea if you're away from all of this."
"That sounds wonderful, but where would I get the money for a vacation? And who's going to watch over Yahiko?" Kaoru grumbled.
"Here," Tae said, dropping a small purse of money on the table. "And I will watch over your brother of course."
"Tae…" Kaoru began but Tae held her hand up.
"Ah, ah, ah. We took a collection at the Akabeko just for your vacation. Promise me you'll go."
Kaoru nodded, tears filling her eyes. "That's so nice of everyone! Okay, I'll go."
"Good. Okashi hotel in Shimane is expecting you. Little sun and sand may do you some good."
Standing, Kaoru moved to hug her friend. "Thank you Tae."
A week later found Kaoru relaxing in a beach chair in front of the Okashi hotel. She watched a group of teenagers play a game with a ball before switching her attention to the ocean when she heard the people around her go "ooohhh."
Sitting up, Kaoru shaded her eyes and studied the ocean, noticing several sailing ships slowly go by. She rolled her eyes, thinking those nobles that the ships belonged to were at least enjoying their free time, but couldn't they do that in a less showy way?
While she was looking, Kaoru took the moment to study the far off dark clouds, knowing they were bringing in another storm, as if they needed one more.
She left the beach and returned inside that afternoon as the clouds loomed closer and it grew colder. She hoped all of those nobles had made it back to the docks, good thing Shimane was a shipping town and had more than one.
After dinner, Kaoru retired early, hoping she would be able to sleep through the tempest outside. She was able to fall asleep, but was awoken sometime after midnight by a deafening crash of lightening. Getting up, she slipped out her balcony doors to watch the storm rage around and through Shimane. Staring out into the ocean, Kaoru watched the waves roll and break, but as she stood watching, she saw the last thing she wanted to see at that moment, a ship trying to make its way into Shimane and one of the docks. Holding her breath, Kaoru flew through the hotel and down to the beach, her eyes still on the struggling ship. When it was swamped by a huge wave and did not come up again, Kaoru did perhaps the most foolish thing she could do, she stripped off her robe and dove into the water. A strong swimmer from a life spent as the daughter of a shipping merchant who was often taken sailing, Kaoru knew that if she spent most of the way under the water, only breaking the surface for breaths, she would be alright. As she drew near the sinking ship, Kaoru saw that all of the lifeboats were gone and she hoped that meant the crew had abandoned ship. She began to turn back towards the shore when lightening bolted across the sky, lighting up the water and she saw a sailor half floating, half sinking. Swimming over, she turned him face upward and realized it was an unconscious male, dressed in a baggy white shirt that – as it was wet – was going to make him weigh a stone more, not to mention the weight of his sodden boots and cotton trousers. 'It would be a man.' Kaoru thought, locking her hands under his arms and beginning to tow him to shore. The return trip took much longer, Kaoru finally finding a floating plank of wood to half rest the unconscious man on. Finally reaching the shore, Kaoru dragged him onto the sandy beach. Making sure he was still breathing, she studied his face and the strange cross-shaped scar that adorned his left cheek. She only had a few moments to study him before staff from the Okashi began pouring outside. Not wishing a big fuss to be made of her rescue, Kaoru ducked behind the snack shack on the beach. When the staff had successfully picked up the drowning victim and taken him inside, Kaoru slipped back in through a side door, returning to her room and changing before going back to sleep.
