Chapter Twenty-Six

Kyo was standing not too far from the entrance, leaning against a building, arms crossed over his chest. He looked mildly annoyed, since the reason he came wasn't even there yet. The sun had set and the sky was almost dark. His profile would have been very handsome, had he not looked so strange wearing sunglasses at a time and place like this.

-

As Saya followed their little group into the dance area, she immediately saw Kyo looking displeased. His features were beautiful in their misery, and his hair shone red under the lantern lights as it flowed forward over his forehead, bending slightly up towards the sky instead of falling flat. Saya quickly looked away, and, knowing Mahiro would make a scene once she saw him, quickly moved to the opposite side of the roped off area where there was a table with refreshments and some of the older women were talking. Mrs. Aizawa followed after her, seeing her friends, and the two of them joined a group, Mrs. Aizawa making grand comments about the styles and patterns of everyone's kimonos while Saya merely smiled and looked at the dancers. Mahiro, on the other hand, had gone straight to Kyo, with her forgotten Kazemichi in tow. The littlest of the party, Kentaro, didn't feel sad at being forgotten; he went quickly to the corner where all the boys were having silly contests dealing in all things little boys care about-whatever that may be.

"Kyo, look at my kimono! Isn't it beautiful!" Kyo wanted to express the fact that he had been there when she went to have it altered, and it looked practically the same then as it did now, but he let a smile creep up on his lips when he saw Mahiro and Kazemichi with their matching black eyes from two days ago. They were quite the pair. Mahiro mistook Kyo's smile for a smile of approval and smiled back a smile so wide that any man would have melted at her happiness. Except Kyo, who was immune to such shows of emotion, affection and the like.

"Kazemichi and I are going to go dance," Mahiro said after remembering her Kazemichi, who as sulking behind her. "Would you like to come to?" Kazemichi looked a little wounded at his girl having been so excited about asking another man to dance, but Kyo declined her request more out of a distaste for dancing rather than a favor for the poor boy.

"Well, ok, see you later then!" Mahiro grabbed Kazemichi's hand. His face immediately turning bright red, unable to hide his shock, and the two ran out onto the floor. Kyo stood there silently, in exactly the same manner as he had before the entire incident took place.

As he looked around the yard, he noticed Hotaro running around, still in his underwear, much to the disdain of several of the older housewives, and Ichiro talking with some of the men of the village. Kyo had also noticed some of the young girls were looking at him. That would actually be an understatement; their looks could only be compared to rabid wolves lusting after some piece of meat. Kyo made it top priority to not look at them, but didn't mind the attention, even if he was the equivalent of a sideshow freak at a circus. A rare oddity to be gawked at and probably poked and prodded. Only he was much more handsome.

As he continued to look around, he saw a group of the older housewives talking amongst themselves across the way from where he stood. He could see their excited and overly happy expressions and had no clue what could possibly warrant such shows of joy in such a miserable place. Truly, what did these people have to be happy about? He saw Mrs. Aizawa among them and cursed her for spreading around town that he had helped her "fix" the dryer. Then he smirked at the memory of the face she had when he came out wearing only his boxers and sunglasses while trying on the kimono. He had to admit, she did do a very nice job. It fit him well. But he still felt like a fool. It was meant to show off his chest a little, but it actually revealed down to below the indentation his pectorals made. Luckily, the angle of the sides of the robe when it was folded cut down on the amount of his chest that was actually revealed to the public, but he still felt silly, having worn t-shirts his entire life. And the sandals weren't helping much. His thoughts of how he looked were put on hold when he saw Saya. She already had a kimono, which means he must have packed it for her, but he didn't remember one (honestly, he didn't even pay attention to her underwear, so there was really no way he would have been excited about a kimono). Saya had her hair pulled back into a loose bun, like usual, but Kyo had quietly accepted the fact that he liked the way it framed her face when she wore it like that. Not that she ever wore it differently. Her kimono was plain compared to the other women's, but Kyo had thought the brash reds, pinks, purples were too gaudy; he preferred Saya's white kimono with small blue vertical stripes. The lines ran the length of the kimono, from her shoulders to the hem, broken only by her obi, which was a solid medium blue tone, matching the color of the stripes. As she turned to her side slightly, Kyo noticed how the lines, though they ran straight on the fabric, now bent with Saya's curves as she wore the kimono. No man would have thought she had a terrific body; it was "immature," though small would have been a more appropriate term. But somehow, the lines following her small curves seemed to accentuate their presence; each one created a contour of her body, until all of them together created a representation of her outer form. She looked beautiful. Kyo quickly forgot the thought, though he would have forgotten it anyway, or, more truthfully, pretended it hadn't been there in the first place, when he felt eyes looking on him. They weren't from Saya, he would have noticed; they also weren't from any of the other women she was standing with, though the thought that one of them might have seen him staring caused him to wonder just how long he had been looking at her. No, as Kyo scanned the large, open yard through his sunglasses, he found that the burning gaze belonged to Kensuke, who was not too far off from him. Kyo had not really forgotten about him, but had pushed worries about the man to the back of his mind. He hadn't thought he would show up to the dance; festivals didn't seem like his kind of scene. Kensuke slowly made his way to Kyo, who watched him. Had he not have worn his sunglasses, one could have seen the anger glint in his eyes.

"I see you looking at her," Kensuke announced, quietly so that no one else would hear and the exchange would seem more like a conversation than a threat. "She may not live in my home right now, but I am still her kinsman, and I won't let you harm her."

"Really?" That was all Kyo needed to say, as he lifted an eyebrow and smirked at the man. Kensuke's firey anger showed on his face.

"You had better watch yourself! Just because you all of sudden show up and befriend Ichiro doesn't make you a hero or all-powerful! You still have many enemies here!" And with that, Kensuke stormed off, not waiting to hear a retort. It was unclear whether or not he would have gotten one, since Kyo was filled with mirth for the first time in a long time at the thought of the old man threatening him physically. Kyo almost wanted to see him try. Almost. He knew it wouldn't be much of fight, so he'd rather forgo the experience than be disappointed.