03 - A Game of Hide N' Go Seek?!
After following Shimura-san for what I felt was an endless hallway, we finally stopped in front of an unmarked shoji door and he called out to the master of the house. It made me wonder how on Earth was Shimura-san able to tell this particular door belonged to the old Master when none of the doors have name plate besides them. They all looked exactly the same to me.
"Master, I've brought the Okita sisters to you." He yelled out before promptly sliding the door open.
"Ah, sh*t. Shinpachi-kun, couldn't you have given me a few minutes to get ready?" A face popped up behind one of the many robots in the room.
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"Oops. I forgot." Shimura-san whistled innocently as he looked away.
The old man was sending him daggers for, I assume, not following through with their plan. He must've wanted to appear as a sickly dying old man in front of us to gain our pity. But, instead he appeared as a lively old man wearing oil-stained coveralls and a pair of work goggles, grinning at his newest invention. The smile on his face made me think that he still wasn't giving up on the original plan.
The old man went through a fit of coughs, convulsing unnaturally. Anyone could tell he was pretending. Shimura-san patted the old man on the back as a signal to stop embarrassing himself. Seeing that no one had fallen for his act, he shoved Shimura-san forward to get tea for us.
After Shimura-san left, the old man walked up to us and pulled us into his embrace even though he was clearly a head shorter. I spotted tears form in his eyes and aneueu's fierce glare in my direction forced me to respond back properly so I firmly wrapped my arms around him.
"You two have grown up so well. I don't see why neither of you have wed yet. The men around you two must be blind." He pulled away and looked fondly at us as if we were his own granddaughters.
"Oji-san. I'm grateful for all of the support you've given us but I can't keep calling you Daddy Long Legs. Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" I pointed out.
"Ah, yes. I'm Hiraga Gengai, a close friend of your parents. I owe them for their support back when I was young and foolish. They helped invest in my business when no one else had. Else, I'd be a goner long ago."
I nodded along before getting straight to the point.
"Is there any way I can decline this arranged marriage?"
"Sou-chan!" Aneue yelled out. I was tricked into coming but I wasn't simply going to comply.
The old man laughed hysterically and I turned to stare at aneue, wondering if his illness had actually made him insane.
"Did I say something funny?" I asked.
"Oh. Oh. No." He mentioned once his voice stabilized. "It's just odd that you had the exact same reaction as him."
I raised an eyebrow at him, still confused.
"Well, then, Souko-chan. Since you're so adamant on not marrying one of my grandsons and I don't have the heart to force either of you. How bout we play a game?"
Now, you're speaking my language.
"What kind of game?" I felt my eyes widen a bit. My interest was piqued.
"It's simple. You and your sister will live here for six months. If by the end of those six months, either of you deem my grandsons as a suitable partner, then I'll prepare the wedding ceremony. If neither of you have fallen for my grandsons by then. You're both free to leave and I won't bring up the matter of marriage again."
Alright!
"Sounds good to me. So, when are we meeting your grandsons?" I asked, eager to reject my future suitor.
The old man grinned.
"You'll have to find that out for yourself."
I blinked. Twice. Slightly irritated that he's made things more difficult than they had to be.
"Fair enough." I agreed. I just had to turn down any man who pursued me.
That sounded simple enough, right?
"If I may ask, Gengai-san. Since your grandsons know who we are, but we don't know who they are, could you give us a few hints to identify them?" Aneue finally spoke up.
"Alright. Alright." I watched the old man pace back and forth, thinking thoroughly which information he wanted to divulge without completely giving away his grandsons' identities.
The sliding door opened and Shimura-san returned with a complete tea set.
"Ladies, why don't you sit while Master thinks things over."
Aneue and I complied, watching Shimura-san pour tea into our cups in one smooth motion as if he'd done this thousands of times before.
The old man finally stopped pacing and joined us at the table in the centre of the room.
"I'll give you three hints."
I sipped my tea and nodded, urging him to continue.
"I only have two grandsons. They're rarely ever home as they both work in the Shinsengumi. We're not blood-related. I had adopted them when they were young."
Gee. That really narrows the options down. NOT! The Shinsengumi had hundreds of men. Even if she infiltrated the place, how can she be sure which one of them was his grandson. There was no distinct birthmark, etc.
"Will you really not give us more hints?" I begged.
"Nope. My lips are sealed." I watched him yawn. "And it's time for this old man to head to bed for his afternoon nap."
Stubborn old man. If aneue could look away for one second, I'm sure I could threaten him into talking.
Hearing his master's order, Shimura-san packed up the tea set and tucked his master in bed before showing us out to our bedrooms.
"I hope you don't take offence to Master's actions. He just wants to look out for you two. You never know who you can trust after all."
Aneue's room was right next to mine and we decided to separate to unpack our belongings. I had very little luggage with me. Just two suitcases of my essentials and some clothing. I figured the old man would have most of the necessities already prepared and as I opened the closet in my room, I found that I was right.
Looking through these clothes, some were quite small and frilly. It made me wonder how long he had been expecting us to move in with him. I even felt a tinge of pity for the old man. Just a tinge. I was still irritated at my current dilemma.
I headed to aneue's room to ask if she needed help with her belongings, but she had already finished unpacking by the time I came around.
"Aneue." I called out.
"What's wrong, Sou-chan?" Aneue sensed my usually calm demeanor fade.
"I want to join the Shinsengumi."
A/N: Any guesses as to who the two grandsons are? Good luck~