Scene XI

The Shobu Family Residence

Third District of the Residential Wards, Second Block

The house was still lit when Kaede rounded the corner of her block and, judging by the lack of hikeshi and any amount of fire in general, promptly found her District unaffected by the latest call out. To which, she was personally thankful. With all the current events going on in her family's personal drama, their home and dojo catching fire was the last thing they needed. Especially, now that Kaede wasn't sure how long they would be able to extend the latest run of bills for the shop. She had enough in savings to extend for another month or so but, if business didn't pick up soon and quickly at that, then they would run into the very likely scenario of losing it entirely. A fear which was steadily growing by the day. She had hoped the commission for the bookbinder's family would help spur a bit of interest from the neighborhood, but it hadn't amounted to more than a few cursory glances at best.

She sighed.

There wasn't any point worrying about the matter in the middle of the street. Best to get inside, warm up a bite to eat, run through a few of the Master Forms, and then try to get some sleep. Then, start the process all over again tomorrow. Maybe she could come up with some creative way to draw people back. Something bright and cheery with a bit of inclination for moving the business forward. If nothing else, she might have to go into Sumida or Taito and make contact with a few of her distributers there. If Asakusa wasn't drawing in the much needed numbers, then going through her Imperial connections was the next best option. Perhaps, set up a few displays offering a variety of traditional pieces and leave a few pamphlets giving out the shop's phone number and business hours. Yes, that sounded like a decent plan in the meanwhile. At the very least, she might keep enough money flowing in to pay the damn bills. If she could just break even, then that alone would be enough.

For now, anyway.

Kaede trudged the rest of the way down the street, her limbs tired and sore, before stepping onto the worn wood of her engawa and sliding back the front door. Only to be immediately greeted by Momo, who was in the process of opening the door from the other side.

"Oh! Kaede Nee-san!" The younger woman exclaimed in surprise, stepping back to allow her inside. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't sure when you would be returning home. I was just going to check to see if you were -"

Kaede gently raised her hands in placation as she stepped over the threshold. "It's alright, Momo. I'm back now. I'm sorry it took so long. There were a few things I needed to take care of."

Momo stopped, glancing wearily down the hall behind her as if searching for someone. Kaede followed her gaze, but the rest of her family did not appear. However, a strange, uneasy notion that she was suddenly at risk for an interrogation rose in the back of her mind.

"One of those 'things' didn't happen to be tall, dark, and handsome, did they?"

Kaede jerked, taken aback by the question and defense automatically bubbled up in protest. Momo merely offered her a knowing look which was further accompanied by a growing smile of unfathomable excitement.

"He came by, didn't he?" She asked intensely, clasping her hands together. Her pretty, brown eyes were practically shinning with stars. "Toshiro mentioned he was at the shop. Don't worry about everyone else, though. He only told me. Please, Kaede nee-san! Tell me everything!"

Kaede blushed, suddenly finding her geta far more interesting than her cousin's wife. She pulled absently at one of her sleeves and, in order to give herself some task to accomplish without having to answer, went over to the small shelf off to the side of the genkan to remove her shoes.

"There's plenty left over from dinner, so don't worry about not having enough to eat." Momo added, this time more gently, as she came over to sit beside her on the lip of the entranceway. "I made sure the boys didn't eat everything in sight. Honestly, it's like they've never seen food before."

Kaede chuckled silently, shaking her head slowly as she tucked away her geta. "They've always been like that. Anything that's remotely edible disappears faster than we can replace it. It's amazing you manage to keep up with us as well as you do."

"Bah! It's nothing, really." Momo waved a hand at her dismissingly, but her expression brightened with growing pride. "I like cooking. I'm just glad Toshiro doesn't mind being a taste-tester for anything new I suddenly decide to try out."

"He certainly lives up to the classic stereotype of 'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach', doesn't he?" Kaede giggled silently, absently raising a hand to brush away a stray lock of hair from her face. She froze, suddenly reminded of Konro's profound admittance of her appearance, and a sense of shyness crept over her then.

"But, I'm sure Toshiro's eating habits aren't what's on your mind right now," Momo added slyly and any hope Kaede had of changing the subject fell instantly at her tabi-clad feet. Momo nudged her with her elbow, mouth curving into a slightly devious grin. "Sooo . . . c'mon, Nee-san. What happened? Surely something went on, you were late after all."

Kaede shrugged a shoulder, noncommittal in any particular response, while her expression turned rather stoney. "We just talked, is all. I lost track of the time and then he had a run. Nothing new, really."

Oh yes, nothing out of the ordinary at all. As if Konro kissing her in the middle of her shop after being on the receiving end of a lecture was completely normal. Or the fact she hadn't let him run away when he fully realized what he'd done and kissed him in return. Then, there was the following conversation about her father and the passing mention of Konro's personally history. She hadn't missed that particular fact, despite the lack of attention he drew to it. Clearly it was painful and uncomfortable for him, which was why she let the matter go and filed it for later. There was also the whole breakdown in the alley, as well.

She groaned inwardly. She really hadn't meant to tell him any of that-

"Liar." Momo rebuffed, drawing Kaede out of her thoughts. "The look on your face says something happened. Honestly, Kaede nee-san, you really aren't good at keeping secrets."

Dammit.

She'd better start learning how or her father was going to kill Konro . . . and there was no way in hell she could let that happen.

Kaede's expression didn't change, but her fingers moved smoothly and with great care as she signed. "Not everything is a radio drama, Momo. We did talk. We always talk. Enjoying each other's company doesn't always end in-"

"Li-ar!" Sang a smiling Momo, tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder. If she seemed annoyed by Kaede's attempts at deflection, she hid it rather well. "If all you did was talk, what's that on your neck?"

Kaede's hand flew to her pulse point, face darkening and mouth dropping open in a wordless gape of shock.

"Ha!" Momo cried triumphantly, leaning into the other woman's personal space and forcing Kaede to lean back to avoid her. "Well, well. So, you did do more than 'just talk'."

Kaede rubbed absently at the skin there before yanking up her collar in the hopes of hiding the mark from view. Not that it mattered anymore. Momo retreated then, but her smirk remained.

"So," she drawled, putting her chin in her hand as she eyed Kaede with a look of bemusement. "How good of a kisser is he? Or am I not allowed to know?"

Thoroughly embarrassed, Kaede avoided meeting her eyes entirely. Instead, she chose to face the front door and commit the grain of the aging wood to memory. They sat in silence for a time, neither one offering up a single word, before Momo finally broke it with a breathy sigh.

"I'm glad." She said, falling back against the raised boards of the hallway floor. She tucked her arms under her head, staring up at the ceiling with smiling eyes. "Really, I am. You two've been dancing around each other for years, now. It's obvious to anyone who spends any amount of time around you. He clearly thinks the world of you, Nee-san. I don't think he's looked at any other woman, since."

Since what, exactly?

Konro hadn't been very forthcoming, other than saying he'd played the field in his more younger years than any man had the right to. Nonetheless, she couldn't lie to herself about the reality of a statement like that one. She wasn't a fool. She'd heard snippets, every now and then, but they mostly consisted of his previous tendency to be wild and prone to fistfighting. Not too unlike how Beni-chan had once been. Yet, she never caught wind of any true details or exact scenarios about the kind of young man Sagamiya Konro supposedly once was. It was all spoken of in generic, general statements and nothing more. Not that it really mattered to her before now. The age gap between them made it so that she was mostly removed from that part of him. Seven years was enough distance to place herself as being fairly young girl during the time in which a teenage Sagamiya Konro was causing mischief and, apparently, spending his off time in the arms of some faceless woman she didn't have a hope of knowing.

Now, however, she was concerned.

Kaede took a deep breath, her nerves on end.

She shouldn't jump to any preconceived notions about what she thought might have happened or why. While he had attempted to lie to her about his feelings, there was something noble (though misguided, nonetheless) about his concern; not only for her well-being in regards to her position in her household, but also her social reputation. Not that the latter was truly at any sort of risk. Still, his actions worried her. His tendency for self-sacrifice worried her. Now, whatever past he held at arms length worried her. She knew him well enough that she trusted him wholeheartedly (she wouldn't have done half of what she did tonight if that wasn't the case), but she wasn't blinded to the difficulties that had yet to be resolved.

If tonight had proven anything to her, it was this: when pressed for the truth, Konro would give it to her; even at the expense of himself. For that, she felt highly honored. It meant he, too, trusted her with the fragile parts of himself as much as she did him. Even if they feared the other would reject them for those things and never see them the same way as they once had. She meant it before, when she had kissed him so fiercely back in the darkness of the alleyway. She wanted every part of him, even the ones he was ashamed off. She didn't have to like those parts, but she did have to at least acknowledge and accept their existence.

Whatever that past contained, she knew it was serious enough for Konro to attempt to bury his feelings for her entirely. For her sake, apparently. He had admitted as much and Kaede's stomach churned sickeningly at the thought. The idea that he thought he would somehow taint her with that past made her extremely unsettled. While she couldn't say with absolute surety that she wouldn't be upset, or even hurt by whatever it entailed, she could say that she would listen to everything he had to say on the matter. That way, she could make an informed decision based on his forthcomings. She owed him that much, at least.

"From what I've heard, he's really changed from the way he used to be." Continued Momo, unaware of Kaede's wandering thoughts. "Honestly, it's hard to imagine him being anything other than the kind of man he is now."

Kaede frowned, turning halfway to gain her sister-in-law's attention. "Do you know? What they say he was like?"

The younger woman's expression slipped and became rather thoughtful. "Not really, Nee-san. He got into fights a lot, but what kind and how bad, I'm not sure. It's mostly the older folks who talk about it and, even then, they don't really go into detail. They just joke and play it off. The way he is now, the way he has been . . . I suppose everyone just accepts he made some mistakes and became better because of it. Those who know aren't going to tell, I don't think. They respect him too much."

An open secret, then.

One of which, he'd been forgiven of and for a long time at that.

By everyone, but Father.

"I see," Kaede signed slowly, hands falling limply in her lap.

"Hey," Momo sat upright, throwing a comforting arm around the older woman's shoulders. "Even if he wasn't some perfect, shining example, that doesn't undo everything he is today." The corner of her lip turned up in a rather lopsided, half-grin. "What matters is his current self, right?"

Kaede smiled tentatively, one hand coming up to grasp the other woman's arm in solidarity. She nodded, "Right."

"Besides," Momo's grin widened ten-fold, appearing cat-like. "The way he looks at you, Nee-san? It's unlike anything else. I don't think Sagamiya Konro sees any other woman besides you."

Kaede blushed, ducking her head so she could hide behind a curtain of hair. "Honestly, Momo, there's plenty other women in Asakusa who compliment him a great deal more than I do."

The younger woman raised a delicate brow at her, expression incredulous. "But, he didn't spend hours of his time tonight 'talking' to them in the nice, quiet privacy of their shops, now did he?"

Point taken. Thought Kaede.

"He's not exactly subtle, you know." Momo carried on, waving a hand to the air at an imaginary Konro. "He wouldn't be spending his precious free time chatting you up, or checking by the house looking for you, or taking goddamn years to finally tell you how he felt, if he was. The man's been in love with you since, I don't know . . ."

"The day Tsu got hurt," Kaede supplied, unthinkingly. Then, winced when her mind caught up with her.

Momo paused, blinking owlishly. "What, now?"

"It's nothing." She sidestepped the question entirely, finding interest in the light blue paint of the walls.

"Oh, no you don't." The younger woman placed a hand on Kaede's shoulder and forcing her to face her. "Try that again. Go on."

Kaede shrugged sheepishly, hands fumbling out of nervousness. "Just something he said. I don't know, I . . . didn't really catch it."

"Wait, I think Toshiro told me this story," Momo smirked knowingly. "Is this about the time when Tsubaki got hit in the head by a couple of Oji-san's students and Beni-chan carried her back to the guardhouse all by himself?"

She nodded slowly, "That's right. It caused a big fuss with Father. He wasn't pleased about her having to stay until she was well enough to come home."

If it was at all possible, Momo's smirk grew twice as large. "And you told him to shove it . . . or else."

"Well, I suppose that's one way to put it."

The younger woman threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, that's wonderful! Let me guess, Konro was standing there, the whole time, watching as you tore Oji-san apart in the middle of the chaos?"

"It's hardly something to laugh at, Momo-chan."

"Are you kidding?" Momo choked, still laughing. "It's hilarious. I bet Konro got a kick out of it, too."

Here, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Kaede, on the other hand, blushed for the umpteenth time that night and was starting to wonder if breaking a blood vessel was going to happen sooner rather than later.

"He said . . . I looked . . . commanding." She offered bashfully, ringing her fingers in between signs. "That I could be . . . very convincing . . . when I wanted to be."

Momo's brows nearly disappeared into her hairline and her mouth hung open in blatant surprise.

"My gods." She spoke in a half-whisper. Then, she smiled mischievously. "So, is that how it is? He likes forceful women brimming with confidence."

Kaede groaned silently, burying her face in her hands in despair before signing, "Which I'm not!"

"Well, not with that attitude you won't be," Momo offered offhandedly, her smile not fading in the slightest. "Maybe he likes it when you stand firm and not let yourself get too bogged down by your own self-control."

"Wonderful." Groused Kaede, miffed and somewhat embarrassed by the whole conversation. Though, there did seem to be some truth to the statement as a whole. Konro hadn't appeared put off, at any point, by several instances earlier in the night when she had gotten a bit carried away or just plain wouldn't take no for an answer. In fact, he seemed to have rather . . . enjoyed it. Encouraged it, even.

"I think I've learned by now how well an argument with a Shobu woman goes over. If you say you won't run, then I believe you, Kaede."

"Gods, you're cute when you curse. I like it."

"You're going to have to stop that before I decide to do more than just kiss you, Kaede."

"If you're not careful, I might not want to take you home."

"If you're still trying to convince me, I told you, I'm already sold."

Perhaps Konro did, in fact, like it when she just let go and didn't bother trying to put up a front when there simply wasn't a need for it. Well, she was a Shobu after all. They had a tendency to come off as hardasses from time to time. It shouldn't come to her surprise that she was just as equally capable of the trait as the rest of her family. Even if she didn't display it as blatantly as, say, Tsu-chan, for example.

"Take the compliment and run with it." Momo carried on, this time more gently. "That's my advice. Especially, when the man tells you flat out he likes that particular thing about you."

Well, he didn't tell her he didn't. That had to count for something. Right?

"And don't be so embarrassed about it," added her sister-in law as she stood up. "It's perfectly natural to find things about one another that you like. Honestly, it's nice to have someone to talk to in this house about womanly things that isn't Kaa-san."

Kaede winced in sympathy. As much as she loved her Oba-san, she didn't exactly make for an easy person to talk to. Especially, not about a topic such as this one.

"It's good to have you too, Momo-chan." Kaede meant it, wholeheartedly. With Tsu-chan gone, Momo's presence was now becoming much needed breath of fresh air. She was, at least, making things bearable. It should be easier now that she had patched things up with Konro and even furthered that relationship. She wasn't as lonely as she thought she was.

"Get something to eat, then head to bed." Momo advised, climbing up onto the floorboards of the hallway. "Don't bother with training tonight. It's much too late for it anyway. Go to sleep on a happy note, for once."

It was a testament to how tired Kaede actually was that she didn't bother to protest. "I think I'll do that. Sleep well, Momo-chan."

"You too, Nee-san." Momo raised a hand and offered her a slight wave before walking down the hallway and disappearing around the corner.