TELL ME A STORY
"Once upon a time, there lived—," the little girl sitting beside her rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically at her words.
"Ugh, don't start with those silly fairy tales again," her face was set in a grimace of disgust. "I want you to tell me a story about real people."
"…Alright."
Kyoko shifted and leaned against the arm of the sofa on which the two of them sat and pulled the girl closer against her side. Once the soft yellow blanket was tucked securely around the child again, the story began anew.
"It was the first day of the Tanabata festival and a young woman, who normally worked in one of the food stalls, was excited to be attending as a patron for the first time in years. Someone she was very fond of had invited her to go with him so they could enjoy the attractions together."
"How horribly cliché," the small girl yawned.
"Oh, hush," Kyoko scolded gently. "Anyway, she dressed in her best yukata—technically, it was the only one she had but it was still her best—and, with her hair pinned up and just a hint of makeup, she was ready to impress and skipped happily to the festival."
"But," her voice lowered slightly and took on a serious tone for the next part. "when she was nearly at their meeting spot, she found him holding another woman. Hiding behind a nearby tree, she overheard them talking and discovered the terrible truth."
"Oh, boy, here we go," her singular audience member deadpanned.
"If you don't have anything nice to say, I will not continue this story," she threatened the girl whose eyes went wide with shock.
"S-sorry. Please finish the story," she begged. "I'll be good, I promise."
"Good, now where were we? Ah, yes…"
"Why did you even invite her here?" the other woman asked impatiently. "I thought you only wanted to be with me."
"I do," he soothed her. "But, I figured she'd help us get some free food from her vendor pals so that I can save my money to buy you something nice from one of the jewelry stalls."
"Oh, you're so sweet!" her voice trilled and irritated the young woman hiding behind the tree to her very core.
Having helped out at the festival for many years, she was often offered food by the other stalls in return for her assistance, but the fact that she was being used for such a thing caused an intense pain in her heart; the pain of betrayal. The absurdity of the whole situation caused a cruel laugh to escape from her lips before she emerged from behind the tree, removed her sandal and threw it directly at his head. It hit the target with a sharp, solid tone.
"Don't think you'll be getting any such thing from me," her voice was like a poison-tipped arrow, sharp and deadly. "It's a good thing you're wearing such lightweight clothing as I hear Hell is rather warm this time of year. I suggest you there at once and do not come back."
With that, she stormed off in the opposite direction of the couple who stood in shock at her words.
"But, what about her shoe?" a tiny hand clapped over a tinier mouth after realizing they promised to be quiet.
"Well, she very well could not storm off properly wearing only one shoe," Kyoko chuckled. "She retrieved it first and then left. After walking clear across to the other side of the festival, she sat on a bench and told herself that she would not cry over something so foolish. As a strong woman with a warrior's heart, she refused to let it get the best of her. Just then, she heard the sound of a man laughing and turned angrily to find who was mocking her."
The young woman spun around to glare at whoever it was and her eyes met with a tall man in a dark yukata wearing a fox mask. Dark hair framed the concealed face, adding a striking contrast against the mostly white mask.
"Do you mind?" she asked, her curiosity as to why he was wearing the mask was replaced by annoyance at his laughter.
"That depends," his voice was slightly muffled by the mask as he spoke. "Are you seriously going to sit there and pout like a jilted lover for the rest of the evening?"
"How dare you!" the young woman became indignant. "What I do is of no concern of yours. Do you make it a habit to frequent festivals and insult women who want to be left alone?"
"Only the ones who seem incapable of making the most out of their situation," he scoffed. "I'd bet a tidy sum that you don't even know what to do at a festival by yourself."
"That's what you get for making assumptions," she rose haughtily from her seat. "As for me, I'm going to go enjoy myself, alone."
She visited and chatted with several of the vendors she knew and enjoyed the delicious food while looking at the items for sale in the other stalls. The strange, mask-wearing man would periodically cross paths with her as she made her circuit around the festival grounds and she began to actively avoid him until she realized how childish she was behaving and, instead, gave him a small acknowledging nod each time they encountered one another, which he kindly returned. When she later found him struggling to scoop goldfish into the small bowl in his hand, she silently knelt beside him and expertly scooped several into her bowl and handed it to him.
"There are always several that are slower than the others. The trick is to go after them," a small, condescending smirk formed on her lips. "Though, I bet that mask isn't doing you any favors."
The child giggled at this, "Did they end up becoming friends?"
"You'll find out soon enough if you are patient and listen to the whole story."
Small fingers picked idly at the threads on the blanket as the girl nodded, looking anxiously up at the woman beside her, begging her silently to continue.
He found her after that, trying to win a stuffed swan from a shooting game and managed to get it for her on the first try.
"It's easier to see the target when you're taller," he said matter-of-factly with a nonchalant shrug.
She narrowed her eyes at him and quickly grabbed the toy from his outstretched hand before leaving in a huff. They continued in this fashion for a couple hours, until they were both laden with random prizes and toys. The time seemed to fly by and they, unknowingly, found themselves walking side-by-side late into the night. Noticing the hour, the young woman stopped in her tracks and gave her erstwhile companion a bow of farewell.
"I should be getting home," she explained. "But, I suppose I should thank you for encouraging me to have fun rather than sulk bitterly."
He nodded once in acknowledgement, "Will you be coming back for the remaining days of the festival?"
"That depends," she raised an eyebrow at him. "Will you also be here?"
"Well, I thought we made a pretty good team towards the end there," he crossed his arms in front of him. "I'd be hard-pressed to find someone as skilled at scooping goldfish as you. But, if you wish to be left alone, I promise I won't bother you."
She thought carefully about her answer before replying, "I will come back, I think. Your company wasn't entirely unpleasant… well, after that first part anyway."
He laughed at this, his mask shifting against his face.
"However, I have one condition," she paused carefully. "You'll remove that silly mask on the final day when it's time for the fireworks. I can't imagine what you think you're hiding under there, but consider it as recompense for your behavior earlier."
"Well, what did he say?" the girl was clearly excited now as she had handfuls of the blanket clutched tightly in her fists.
"He agreed and said she would know where to find him the following evening," Kyoko smiled at her enthusiasm. "She was about to question this when someone bumped into her, causing the items she held to fall to the ground. By the time she had gathered her things once more, the man had disappeared into the crowd."
"Go figure, they always disappear so mysteriously," her little fingers wiggled back and forth before her face for added effect. "So, what happened next?"
Deciding he most likely meant for her to go to the bench where they originally met, she headed straight for it the following evening and, sure enough, he was there waiting for her. They spent the majority of the next two evenings talking. The young woman talked mostly about herself; about growing up in the small town, about her family, and about the time she spent working during the previous years' festivals.
One memory in particular stood out for her from when she was just a child. Having scraped her knee in a fall while running ingredients to a nearby tent, she sat in the back alley behind the stalls dabbing gently at the blood with a handkerchief while fighting back tears. A candied apple entered her line of vision and she looked up to see who was holding it to find a boy, only a little older than her, looking at her consolingly. They became fast friends that night, laughing and playing together, to the point that the adults around her teased her about having a boyfriend at such a young age. However, they soon parted ways when she learned he was only visiting the area with his family. However, she never forgot about him after all those years had passed.
"So, what brings you here?" her wistful gaze turned curious as they sat together on their bench—they had taken to calling it 'their bench' at this point in commemoration of their first meeting. She realized he had not said much about himself at this point.
"I… decided I needed to get out of the house more often," he said in a noncommittal tone.
"Then, you live nearby?" she pushed.
"Somewhat," he shrugged.
"You're never going to give me a straight answer, are you?"
"I thought women liked it when men are enigmatic and reserved," he said with a laugh.
"Well, with that mask on, you're less enigmatic and more eccentric," she rolled her eyes but laughed with him all the same.
"That won't be much of a problem soon," he pointed out. "The fireworks will be starting shortly."
With a sudden jolt, she realized that he was right. After tonight she would see his face. She wondered if she was prepared for whatever might be revealed. A scar or some disfiguration she could probably handle, they had become friends, after all, and to shun him because of the way he looked was terribly shallow. However, she half-considered that maybe there was no face beneath the mask and he was a spirit of some sort that frequented festivals as it was easy to blend in with people there. That was impossible. She immediately rid her head of the fantastical notion and looked back at him.
"I'm looking forward to it," she gave him a small smile.
"Great, now I'm nervous," he shifted awkwardly. "I'm going to find a restroom. I promise I'll be back."
"You'd better be," she warned. "You may be callous, but I never took you for someone who'd break a promise to a lady."
"I'm not. Especially when there is no lady present," he teased.
"Oh, go powder your nose already," the young woman pushed him off the bench with a slight shove. "And get back here before the fireworks start."
Many minutes passed and people started gathering closer to where she sat on the bench in anticipation of the upcoming pyrotechnics. She wondered if her seat-mate really did intend to abandon her and panicked for a moment. They never told each other their names. It seemed unnecessary as they only ever spoke to each other during their time together. That would need to be amended when he came back. If he came back.
As people walked past, suspiciously eyeing the bench on which she sat alone, her hands and legs fidgeted nervously. She tried her best to appear as if she were nonchalantly waiting as opposed to anxiously fearing that she had been forsaken. A quick glance at her watch told her the show would be starting any minute. Looking up again to stare down another couple as they walked past, her view was abruptly blocked by something red and blurry. She allowed her eyes to adjust to the object that was before her and only barely held back a gasp as she recognized what it was. A candied apple.
"I promised I would come back, didn't I?" her eyes travelled up the arm holding the apple to the face that still wore the mask.
"So you did," she offered a smile. "I appreciate you keeping your word."
"I never break a promise to a lady," he motioned for her to take the item from his hand, which she did. "Now, as for the next order of business—"
His other hand slowly reached up to remove the mask. This time, she could not prevent the gasp that escaped from her mouth when she looked at his face for the first time. It may have been several years, but it could have only been yesterday as far as she was concerned. Those bright eyes and that unruly hair. The years had transformed his childishly handsome features to make them more pronounced and lean but she would never forget that face.
"It's you!"
"Yes."
"… Why?"
Tears sprang to her eyes without warning and he reached out, in spite of himself, to brush them away, his hand coming to rest on her cheek. Her face took on a vivid shade of crimson but she did not pull away.
"To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure," he shrugged. "I recognized you the minute I saw you rushing past me to sit on the bench but I didn't know how to approach you."
"And so you chose to make fun of me instead?" she looked at him accusingly.
"I panicked," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry. Knowing how much time had passed, I assumed you had changed and I didn't know what to say to you. But, I finally got the chance to come back and I had to see you again. Even after all this time, I could never forget about you."
"Neither could I," she shook her head. "I had a few friends over the years but you were always special to me."
A short, strangled noise came from his throat before he embraced her tightly and narrowly avoided crushing the candied apple between them.
"So, why wait until you could see me again at the festival?" she pressed herself further against him, clasping her hands together behind his back. "Do you live that far away?"
"What better time to reunite than during Tanabata?" he smiled into her shoulder. "It's as if the magpies have brought Orihime back to Hikoboshi once more."
"That is unbelievably corny," she laughed for a good while before pausing to catch her breath. "But the sentiment is appreciated."
It was far from a declaration of love, but it was a good start at the very least. They held on to each other as they continued to sit on their bench and, above their heads, the first explosion of shimmering light appeared.
"And they both lived happily ever after?"
"No, little one, that only happens in fairy tales," Kyoko said with a bemused smile. "You said you wanted to hear about real people, remember? They had their ups and downs just like everybody else."
"Thank you, mama," the girl stretched up to plant a light kiss on the woman's cheek. "It was a very good story."
"I'm glad you liked it. Now, off to bed with you!" she shooed the girl away with her hands and watched her run off to her room with a soft sigh.
"Funny, I don't remember meeting you at a festival," a soft, deep voice spoke from behind her.
"Who said the story was about us?" she looked over her shoulder.
He raised an eyebrow at her in response.
"She said she wanted a story about real people," Kyoko shrugged and smiled, standing and moving towards the source of the voice. "I just put a new spin on an old story."
Kuon's green eyes sparkled with a mix of admiration and amusement, "Considering she already knows how we met, I'm surprised she didn't figure it out."
"Ah, well, that is because I know the quintessential secret to storytelling," she winked at him as she approached him and his arms wrapped around her.
"And that would be?"
She beckoned for him to lower his head so she could whisper in his ear, "True love is always the same story. It just wears a different disguise each time."
-END-
HAVE FUN STORMING THE CASTLE: So, meimeibunny asked if I'd write a story based on an image (it is now the cover photo for this collection of stories for your convenience but should you read this at a much later date, you can find it on page 25 of chapter 248 in the online scanlation by Impatient Scans). Full disclosure, everyone, I usually don't take requests as the stress of trying to do right by someone else's prompt while still retaining my own style of writing is often too much for me to handle. However, this one seemed like an innocent, fun one that I most likely couldn't screw up so I gave it a shot. Should anyone else approach me with a request, I will be honest with you as to whether or not I want to do it. I hope that's okay!
Anywho, hope you all liked it! I realized about halfway through that it felt like The Princess Bride. I should probably watch that movie again just to get it out of my system. Also, yeah, I totally got the mask bit from Hotarubi no Mori e, because I love that it's such a heart-wrenchingly beautiful story. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.
AUTHOR OUT!
