Tsuki shook the memory from her mind. Other tengu looked at them as they walked past. Curiosity got the better of them and they were yelled at for it. Oka clung to her.
"Oka, please. Try to sit up straight," Tsuki whispered to her. "Do not be afraid of them." Oka nodded and stood up straight. She still stayed close to Tsuki's side.
"Preparations have been made in the mess hall," Suirou said looking at Kurama.
"Excellent. I'm starving," Kurama said. Nanami hung back with Tsuki and Oka. The boys would be fine without her.
"So are you excited to see Jirou again?" Nanami said in a soft voice. Low enough so no one but Tsuki would hear her.
"I am, but it will only cause me pain. So I will simply think about the task I have been given," Tsuki said dully.
"A task?" Nanami asked.
"Yes, I have to make sure all preparations for my master are set before his arrival tomorrow morning," Tsuki said without thinking.
"Ah I see. What is your master like?" Nanami asked. Damn humans and their curiosity. However, how can she describe her master in nice words.
"Our master is very strict," Oka said. Nanami looked surprised that Oka spoke. Tsuki knew that Oka will only speak to women and for a good reason. That and she won't speak when surrounded by more than a few people.
"Oh, ok. Well I'm very interested in meeting him,: Nanami said joyously.
"I think you should listen to you fox shinshi," Tsuki realized she had said something out of turn. "Forgive my rudeness, Lady Nanami. I did not mean that as an order. I think it best that you stay away from my master, as much as possible." Nanami looked at her with surprise. If Tomoe had said it to her then she would most definitely not listen. Since Tsuki said itshe hoped that Nanami would listen to her at least. Nanami didn't say anything else. Tsuki knew though that human curiosity would get the better of her and she would still try to meet with Master Fujiyama. Suirou lead everyone into the mess hall where food was already prepared.
As everyone made their way to their seats. Tsuki grabbed Tomoe's arm and pulled him outside the room. Tomoe looked annoyed and mad.
"Listen to me, fox," she said firmly but quietly. Tomoe heard the seriousness and kept quiet. "I am no threat to your Lady and Mistress, but I can not say the same for my master."
"What is that suppose to mean?" He said in a low tone.
"I have warned Lady Nanami to stay away from my master. He is not a kind tochigami. I do not want any harm to come to anyone. This meeting has to run smoothly."
"Then why invite us anyway, if you knew the consequences?" Tsuki looked away.
"I needed her to distract Jirou. As I have said before. Not just for his benefit, but for mine as well." Tomoe saw the sadness in her eyes. "I know Lady Nanami will give in to her human curiosity and not heed my words. She will meet my master. Keep her busy." She stepped back and took two steps before Tomoe stopped her.
"You say your master is not kind," Tomoe said grabbing her shoulder. She winced. "Does that mean his punishments are far worst." It wasn't a question. Tsuki didn't say a word. Tomoe let her go and she finally felt relief. Tomoe allowed her to walk in before him. His suspicion was confirmed. Tsuki was beaten. With what he was unsure. This tochigami of the Pippu Mountains already seemed like a danger. He had to keep Nanami away from him even if it meant she would hate him for it.
Tsuki sat down beside Oka. About two steps to her right there were three spots set. She assumed that the middle seat was Soujoubou's seat. Across the room Nanami sat between Tomoe and Kurama. Mizuki sat on the other side of Oka. He looked like her was holding a sacred sake jar. He looked very disappointed to not be sitting with his mistress. He did seem to get the short end of the stick a lot. Tsuki felt sorry for him. Suirou seemed to have disappeared. Hopefully he did not see through her scarf. Another door, closest to her, opened. Suirou walked in.
"So for the delay," he said cheerfully. "Lord Soujoubou will be joining us now." Behind Suirou came Lord Soujoubou. Everyone bowed where they were. Soujoubou looked at Tsuki. His appearance had not changed in all these years. Seeing him helped her relax a little. Behind him came Jirou. She gulped with wide eyes. Jirou. She thought. Do not look at me, Jirou. Even though the scarf covered her face, she did not want to risk him seeing right through it. Her heart thumped harder and faster. She wanted to hug him at last. To say how much she missed him. To apologize over and over to him.
Jirou looked at her. The look in his eyes were not the same as the man she had known. When his eyes looked at Nanami, they changed. She saw him. The Jirou she knew and loved. Her heart fluttered, begging her to speak to him. It took everything she had not to go to him. She had to ignore the feeling. It grew harder and harder with each breath.
Suirou, Soujoubou, and Jirou sat down in that order. Jirou being the one sitting closer to her. She did not take her scarf off to eat. Her fear was too strong. Her stomach was in knots and caused her appetite to crumble. The conversations among everyone kept her thoughts at bay.
"Does our food not meet your needs, Lady Tsuki?" Soujoubou asked suddenly. Tsuki looked up at him, surprised.
"I am sorry, but I must admit I can not take my scarf off in front of men," Tsuki said sitting up straighter. She tried to ignore the fact that Jirou was starring at Nanami. She noticed that Tomoe was annoyed about that fact as well.
"Really?" Mizuki said suddenly, "Then why-" Oka smacked the back of his head and motioned him to be quiet. "Nevermind," he laughed. "Lord Soujoubou, I brought this sacred sake for you as a gift for allowing us to be here." Mizuki stood up, to only kneel directly in front of Soujoubou. "It is a new recipe I came up with." Soujoubou took it and observed it.
"Then I think we should all have a drink," he said smiling. "Lady Tsuki, I do hope you can at least have a drink with us." Tsuki nodded. She could not refuse that. Maybe that is the only thing that will stay in her stomach. She lifted the scarf a little bit. Enough to take a sip of the sake. It tasted sweet. Like strawberries and bananas.
"This is a special kind of sake. It doesn't have a distinct taste. It only tastes like whatever the holder most favors," Mizuki said.
"Wow. Mine tastes like salmon!" Oka said surprised. "That's my favorite food." Realizing she had spoken too loudly, she sank back and sipped more of the sake. Tsuki couldn't help but smile at her. She patted Oka's head. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even Jirou. Tsuki saw how he looked so serious, but drinking the sake his face looked a bit softer. It must taste really good to him. She smiled at him, not realizing she was starring at him for too long. He looked at her, because he had felt her gaze. She quickly looked away. Her face felt hot. Its been so long since she blushed. At least he looked at her. It was like she was falling in love with him all over again. She can't say the same about Jirou.
"So, what brings you here Lady Tsuki and Lady Nanami?" Lord Soujoubou asked. "In Lady Tsuki's letter, she did not mention the reason."
"I'm sorry about that, Lord Soujoubou, but I was multitasking and was not thinking clearly when I wrote the letter," Tsuki spoke formally. Soujoubou nodded. "I came here to make sure all arrangements for my Master are ready. Her prefers the cold and since the air here is still a bit too warm for him, I was hoping to prepare a room for him." It's only a week before winter would actually show its colors. Master Fujiyama was a god of snow and cold. If her were to come here he would surely have a heat stroke. Tsuki was the one who usually used her power to bring winter to a single room or area around him to meet his needs. Since he will be riding a carriage it would surely keep him cool until his arrival here.
"I see. Then I shall have Suirou show you to our guest rooms. You may do what you can with the room," Soujoubou said as he sipped some more sake. "Jirou and Shinjirou can show Lady Nanami and her shinshi where to stay for the night. I assume they are here to meet with your master." Tsuki didn't say a word.
"Actually, my Lord, we are hear to help her with her preparations. She orignally asked for me to come to her aid. Lady Nanami came to see Lady Tsuki," Tomoe said. Nanami looked at him with irritation. Nanami wanted to yell at him but knew that would be unwise. They couldn't say she was there to distract Jirou from Tsuki. So she went along with it. Tsuki couldn't help but sigh with relief. At that moment it was not her place to answer anything regarding Lady Nanami. It would've been different if she were her shinshi.
"Oh, I see. Well then I suppose you will be going with Lady Tsuki to her master's room," Soujoubou said and sipped the last of his sake. He waved his hand to dismiss the group. Everyone stood up except him. Suirou lead Tomoe out first and the rest followed. Oka was the last to leave. She stopped at the doorway and looked back at Tsuki. Tsuki motioned her to go on ahead. Oka did just that. Tsuki stood in front of Soujoubou. She poured him another glass of sake.
"You can take that silly scarf off now, Yuzuki," Soujoubou said. Tsuki stood there for a moment, but still took the scarf from around her face. "It's been a while since I've seen your face, daughter." Tsuki looked away from him.
"I am not your daughter. I am not the Yuzuki you once knew. I haven't gone by that name in almost five hundred years," Tsuki said as she sat on her knees.
"Yes, but you stopped writing me almost four hundred years ago," Soujoubou said as he sipped the sake. Tsuki poured herself a cup and took a sip.
"I was forced to become a shinshi. I was ordered to speak when spoken to and all my time was to be spent at my master's side. Nothing else. I was not able to say no."
"Hmm, I see. So are you here to rekindle you and Jirou's love?"
"Unfortunately no. That is Nanami's purpose here. She is going to keep him busy while I am here. We both don't know if the very sight of me will threaten Jirou's mind."
"That is true," Soujoubou agreed as he sipped his sake again. He shook his head. "I regret having put that spell on him, my dear." Tsuki looked up at him.
Suirou looked behind him and saw that Tsuki was not there. He knew what she was doing. "I know what your real purpose is, Master Shinshi," he said softly. Oka's ears twitched.
"Do you now," Tomoe said calmly.
"I know who that wolf is. I've seen her before," Suirou said. "I never forget a face. Especially one that is so beautiful."
"Hmm, then you will tell someone then?"Tomoe said shrugging.
"Please, do not speak a word of it," Oka suddenly said. Both men stopped. This was a huge deal for her. She never really spoke to men, but she made an exception this time. "P-Pardon my r-rudeness." She bowed. She kept her head low. "Tsuki was ordered to come here. She only thought about what would happen to Jirou if her presence became known to him."
"Do not worry, I won't tell him a thing," Suirou said softly. "I know the two once shared a strong bond. Jirou was a much happier tengu back then."
"That's a little hard to believe," Tomoe said smiling.
"Yes it is to those who have not known Jirou since childhood," Suirou said as he continued walking.
"Then you really won't tell anyone?" Oka asked softly.
"I won't, but it would be nice for Jirou to have that love in his heart again. When Lord Soujoubou cast that spell on him, it took away the feeling to love. Then once Nanami came here he began to feel it again. I can not say if it is because his body remembers or the cherry blossom cherry helped him remember," Suirou said. He looked as if he were in a different world. He remembered when Jirou told him the first time he had met Yuzuki. The cherry blossoms have always made her smile look brighter. Where his exact words. Maybe Yuzuki, or well Tsuki, coming back was not such a bad thing.
Jirou lead Nanami, Mizuki and Kurama to their rooms. Nanami said something about getting everything settled before she wanted to meet him at the cherry blossom tree. He wondered if he should just go there right now. He made his way towards the training hall. He passed the door to the mess hall and saw the Tsuki woman sitting in front of Lord Soujoubou.
"There is no need to apologize for such things now. The past is the past," Tsuki said placing her sake cup down.
"I know, but I can see the pain is still there. In you and him," Soujoubou said. How can they speak to each other with such casualty? Who were they talking about? Why was she not wearing her scarf? Her scarf. Jirou looked at her face. It was beautiful. Matching the face to the voice made her even more beautiful. His heart beat faster. What is this? He's never felt like this other than when he was around Nanami. He looked at the woman again. Did he know her from somewhere?
"Regardless. I have the objective of making sure my master is comfortable. I can not be distracted," she said as she stood up. Thank you for speaking with me alone, Lord Soujoubou. It has been too long." She bowed and quickly made her way to the door. Jirou wasn't paying attention and ended up only taking a few steps back before being face to face with Tsuki. His heart beat faster when he smelled her sweet pine scent. Her eyes wide with surprise. Such beautiful eyes. He needed to stop. He loved Nanami. Right?