Threads of Silk
Takes place in Episode Seven of the series
In the distance, she could hear the sounds of drunken laughter and singing: men willing themselves to forget their sorrows and fears in this time of oppression by seeking the company of beautiful women and a bottle of sake. She was not surprised: it was hard to find genuine friendship when betrayal was more the norm than the exception, and it was usually so much easier, so much safer, to simply pay for the illusion than risk the dangers of reality.
But here, far away from the chaos of the rest of the world, in this inner sanctum of peace and quiet, she could forget what she was, and leave the illusions behind. Here, she was just a woman, in love with a man, and nothing more.
She saw him sitting on the ledge overlooking the twinkling expanse of the city. There was a contemplative look in his eyes; one that she knew meant he was thinking of those days in the past when he had lived a far more dangerous life.
She smiled as she walked up to him, her kimono rustling softly behind her. "You are deep in thought again, darling. If you keep that up, those wrinkles will be permanently etched into your brow."
He looked up at her, and he smiled, the action smoothing out the lines on his forehead. "Ah, there you are, Yukino-san."
Yukino sank down onto the cushion next to him, arranging her kimono so that it was not in the way. "I had wondered where you'd gone after that ruckus."
He laughed sheepishly by way of apology. "It couldn't be helped."
"Oh really?" Yukino asked teasingly. "And did you realize that you may have scared poor Kotori-chan half to death, Shichiroji-sama?"
Shichiroji blinked, concern filling his features. "Speaking of which, where is she?"
"I am here."
Yukino looked over her shoulder, and smiled as she looked at the figure in the doorway: a young woman clad in a fairly simple kimono, with straight black hair that was tucked behind her ears. Yukino stood up, and moved to young woman's side, placing one hand on her shoulder. "Come and sit with us, Kotori-chan."
Kotori cocked her head slightly to one side, the milk-white expanse of her eyes staring at nothing - or at something. Yukino could never tell when it came to her. "Do you wish me to play something for you and Shichiroji-sama?"
"If you wish it," Yukino replied with a smile as she gently guided Kotori to another cushion not that far away from where she and Shichiroji were, taking care not to bump the beautiful koto that Kotori carried with her. After making sure that she was safely seated, Yukino went to take her place beside Shichiroji again, though part of her gaze was still fixed on Kotori.
Kotori had come to the Firefly House not too long after Shichiroji himself arrived. Yukino remembered it so clearly that she could still smell the rain that had been falling on that day, as well as the way that Kotori had clung to the long metal case that, when she opened it, revealed the most beautiful koto that Yukino had ever seen.
She had been blind already when Yukino met her and took her in, but she could not help but wonder why that was the case. Judging from her movements, she had not always been blind, though she learned quickly enough how to adapt to her new circumstances. Also, the koto hinted at something else, something that Yukino found a little troubling: connections to the Imperial Court, if one were to go by the elaborate mon carved underneath the soundboard of the instrument.
As it turned out, Kotori was a virtuoso with the instrument that she carried with her, and could play it with great skill even though she was blind. When Yukino asked her, long ago, where she had learned to play it, Kotori replied that she had been taught how to play by her mother, but beyond that she would say no more.
The "little bird" - for that was what her name meant - was an infinite mystery, and although Yukino wished that Kotori would speak more about her past, and how she ended up wandering the Village of Respite, blind and alone, with nothing but her koto for company, Kotori never spoke about her past.
A cascade of notes interrupted Yukino's thoughts, mimicking the gentle fall of water into a stream. She sighed as Kotori's magic worked its spell on her - and on Shichiroji. She leaned against him, feeling for his hand with her own, and tangling her fingers with his. She murmured: "Do you think we will ever find out about her?"
Shichiroji shrugged. "I don't know. She's never said a word about her past, though it's easy to tell that she's from the Imperial Court, or at least highly favored there. There's no mistaking that mon under her koto, even if she tries to hide it." A small frown crossed his face. "Even her playing style is familiar. I seem to remember it at one Winter Court or another, but I can't put my finger on it."
Yukino squeezed his hand. "Did she run away? And if so, why?"
"I don't know." Shichiroji chuckled, and looked at her. "There are questions even I can't answer, you know."
Yukino smiled teasingly. "Really? And I thought that you samurai were all-knowing."
Shichiroji was about to answer, but Kotori stopped playing then, and murmured: "Someone is coming."
Yukino glanced over her shoulder at the young woman, who was seated straight and stiff, like a deer that has caught the scent of a predator, and she knew that someone was indeed approaching. Blindness might have taken away Kotori's sight, but they had sharpened her other senses almost to the point that she had the hearing of a bat and the nose of a wolf.
She felt Shichiroji stiffen slightly next to her, and when she turned to look, she saw a man standing on the ground just below them, clad in white garments and with his long hair falling in waves all around him.
It was then that Yukino knew that the day she had most feared had finally come: it was time for Shichiroji to leave her.