獅子舞や
大口明て
梅の花
Shishiou was always nervous when the elderly saniwa and the elder sword are together. He knows that there is some secret hiding in the dark of the smiling crescent moon.
Shishiou will always find some reason to intrude.
"I've bought some snacks!"
The Saniwa smiles at him and invites him to sit with them. A gentle and wrinkled hand pats Shishiou's head and runs through his nue's fur.
"Did Mitsutada whip up something for us so quickly?" Mikazuki is particularly good at hiding everything behind a smile, but Shishiou, having tended to the old man for so long, knows exactly how that hiding-smile looks like. The elder tachi had just come home from a long expedition, but had yet to change out of his clothes. Usually, it would be the first thing he'd do. But then again, he'd gone five days without…
"Yup! Mitsutada wanted to try out new designs for namagashi, so I volunteered you two since you're also trying out that new tea Uguisumaru got," the younger tachi blurts out.
"My, Mitsutada is a good young man. I'd only wished he'd have more time to spend relaxing instead of pacing in the kitchen all the time. Perhaps, we should invite him for our chats more often, Mikazuki?"
The crescent moon sword hums and smiles, neither giving an affirmative nor negative answer. Shishiou carefully eyes the old man as he presents the namagashi to the human.
"How beautiful! It's almost a shame to eat them. They really do look like plum blossoms, don't they?"
"Yes. Yes."
The saniwa plucked a single blossom from the plate of six. The wrinkles along the human's face moved gracefully as a smile stretched them.
"Please, Shishiou. Do hurry and give my compliments to Mitsutada. In fact, take this opportunity to fetch him so we can thank him ourselves, please." The saniwa's face is bright.
"If he's coming, why not also have Uguisumaru prepare another cup? Shishiou, would be so kind as to ask Uguisumaru if he could pour a cup for Mitsutada?" Mikazuki grinned patiently.
Shishiou, as usual, didn't feel comfortable leaving the two elders alone. All he could do was go and return as quick as possible. With the speed of a wild cat, Shishiou departed.