You're on a mission, and it's one that has you waking up bright and early in the morning, doing your bed, and making plans before you even have to be told to. Then again, you've been taking the initiative for some time now, so it's not much difference. But still, you know you have to find out who this "Senri, Shiki" is and how he's connected to all this. However, your mother puts a damper to this plans when she tells you you'll be going to help Yuko again today. It's not that you don't love Yuko, and that you don't enjoy her company. You were just so ready to go into town and ask all the questions you wanted answers to...
Your mother sees your disappointed face, and you can't help but notice a small smile on her lips. Was this satisfaction? A hint of triumph? Did she know your plan?
Whatever the case, it quickly disappears as she says, "Now don't you go giving me that look. You never finished helping her with her orders yesterday, so you need to go back."
You think back to yesterday, and remember the interruption you had from your stoic teacher. With a sigh, you slump your head and relent. The breakfast you had been making as you cooked up scenarios in your head on how you would get the information quickly becomes uninteresting to you. Your mom quickly grabbed the eggs she wanted, along with a piece of toast. You grab your own freshly buttered toast and add some honey to the top, not wanting to get anything else. You always lose your appetite when you get upset. And though you were doing pretty good at pretending not to be, you were still pretty darn bothered by this. You sit patiently by the window as you wait for your mother to finish eating.
It's a pretty relaxing morning overall, but something just feels... off. You listen intently to the sounds around you once you open the window. Bees buzz by the flowers underneath the window sill and birds chirp as they dig in the ground for worms. The sun shines warmly onto the spot you rest on, and for a moment, you forget everything you'd been wanting to do for the day. You're just so warm, and that singing is so soothing...
"Alright (Y.N.), let's go," your mother calls as she starts putting her dishes in the sink with a noisy clatter and grabs her things. You inhale deeply, blinking the sudden sleep away.
"Coming!" you call after her as you get up and race to your room. You're not risking losing the Seed again like yesterday, so you grab your black blag that you always use to carry your notebook and pens in, grab a thin scarf to wrap the Seed, and quickly head out the door after your mother.
The walk along to town and towards Yuko's is quite and tense. Your mother mumbles incoherently as she shuffles through papers, so you know it's not because of anything at home that she's worried. You hesitate as you find your words, but finally just ask once Yuko's home comes into view: "So, everyone you've got files on has been hurt recently?"
She stops walking for a moment, as she looks at one file in particular, then looks up at you. With a sigh, she replies, "Ask Yuko if she'd like to come over for dinner tonight." At that, she places a kiss on your forehead and heads into town another way. You look after your mother, worry creasing your brows, irritation making you huff, and unease making you squirm in place. She normally takes the long route to check on the people along the outskirts, but today she's taking the straightforward path. You fight the urge to trail behind her to find out why, but know that that wouldn't do. You have a guest to invite over after all.
The sound of chirping picks up and seems to carry a tune in the wind. You find yourself humming along as you walk to an uneven beat stuck in your head. It's almost as if you're singing a song you heard a long time ago, but you don't know the words. Before you can think too deeply on it, you arrive. The bell from yesterday distracts you from trying to find the words to the song, but you smile happily when you see the graceful cat from before. You pick up the white feline and stroke its fur. You turn in the direction your mother was heading, and see her at the top of the hill. Her blue shawl flutters behind her as you look on. As she descends into the crest that turns towards the right and out of view, the cat in your arms begins to squirm so you bend over to place it on the ground. When you get back up, you are startled to see Yuko a mere 3 feet away from you. You jump in surprise, and you hear a soft chuckle. Yuko's hand goes up to her forehead in a manner reminiscent to a salute, then she flicks her wrist as she pulls her hand forward.
"Hello."
You touch your chin with your right hand and bring it down towards the palm of your left. Then, you move your right hand into the crook of your arm and bring your left hand up, stopping only when you feel a gentle squeeze on your fingers.
"Good morning."
A small smiles plays on her lips as she turns on the balls of her feet and motions for you to come in as she walks forward. The cat follows along, wrapping itself around her feet and swishing its tail to and fro. How she doesn't trip because of it, you don't know. Though it is a sight to watch. Its tail moves like a metronome, keeping time to a beat unheard. Inside, you see a half full box of china. Along the floor, more pieces are littered around, waiting for their turn to enter the dark chambers. She walks her lithe body around the delicate china, and leans against the couch as she sits on the floor. You make your way to the opposite side of her, careful to not break any pieces. When you sit, you look around, unsure what to do. She, in the meantime, grabs pieces of crinkly paper and wraps the items. Then she gently places them along a space meant just for it. You watch her to see how she's doing her process, but she moves too quickly. When she looks up, she sees your confused face. She straightens up, putting down the jug with pretty pink flows painted along the curves as she gets your attention.
Her left hand lies flat while her right hand is curled into a fist above it. She raises the two hands fluidly. Then she pinches her fingers together ahead of her and moves them outwards in little arcs. Quickly following that, she moves her hands in circular motions inwards, right hand starting before the left. Her eyebrows are bunched up in the middle in the meantime, indicating a question.
"Help pack?"
Following her request, she repeats her motions from earlier, the way she wraps the pieces and how she gently places them inside, only much slower this time while you emulate her movements. She corrects you when you wrap the paper too loosely around the creamer piece, but also shows you too keep an airiness to them when wrapping the plates. The tea cups and tea pots are easy enough, especially considering that their concavity makes them easier to encase. But when you put them in, you need no help as it is just a large game of finding where the puzzle pieces belong.
You've always loved puzzles. That's probably why you are so determined to solve this puzzle in your life now. You soon get lost in the game of puzzle solving, unable to get to the real puzzle you'd like to figure out right now. Though, this work is really good at helping you forget about other things. You mind is unable to wander as you focus solely on where would be the best place to fit each individual piece. Before you know it, the box is full. You two are all done for the time being. When you look up, Yuko is smiling warmly at you, making you blush as you feel the sudden attention hit you. You look around nervously, then pinch your fingers together, and tap the edge of the triangles against one another.
"More?"
She shakes her head as she raises her hands at chest level, then shakes them once. Her hands go slightly down as she does so, and the motion ends with her hands palm down. She repeats the motion once more as you try to remember what it means; when you finally remember, you exclaim, "Oh! Done, right? Wait, we're done?"
A soft laugh escapes her tiny frame as she nods, then mouths the word, "Done" as she repeats the motion yet again. You give two thumbs up, then repeat "done," both verbally and physically, in response. As you two finish closing the box, a knock at the door grabs your attention. Yuko notices you turn towards the door, and gets up herself to check.
After a minute, a male voice begins to speak. "Hello, are you Yuko? I hear you do very elegant china, and I would like to buy a set from you."
The voice sounds familiar, but you can't place from where. In the meantime, you pick up the box, and gently place it the large closet closest to you. You then close the door, and turn to help Yuko. Usually, people don't come to Yuko's home to buy her merchandise. Most people wait until her wares are at the market to ask for special orders. Therefore, you figure you should go and see what you can help with considering the situation. As you begin to head over, you hear steps making their way towards your location. You're used to Yuko's quiet little steps. What you're not used to is anyone else's steps being just as quiet. But then, that's not what's most surprising about the situation.
With barely contained surprise, you find yourself whispering, "Shiki."
Guess you didn't have to go to town to start solving this puzzle after all.
