Type: Multi-chapter story.

Genre: Romance, family, friendship, angst, tragedy, historical.

Pairing: Naru/Mai, one-sided Gene/Mai

Universe: Alternate universe

A/N: Loosely based on Sengoku period (warring states period in Japan) for the environment setting (building, clothes, etc.), but also influenced by ancient Chinese lifestyle. There is no relation whatsoever to any historical events or characters.

All Ghost Hunt characters mentioned in the story belong to Fuyumi Ono and any other right holders.

Cherry Blossom Dream

- To Avoid at All Costs -

'That infuriating man! He had been hiding and silently watching me danced, yet he still had the audacity to tell me to dress appropriately?' She fumed inwardly as she made her way back to her quarter.

She huffed and puffed all the way back to her room that she received several curious stares from the servants. Once she was safely hidden inside her personal quarter, she ungraciously plopped down to the tatami-covered floor and groaned in exasperation.

"Misaki-sama, what's wrong?" Her handmaid Chiyo noticed that there was something wrong with her young miss' attitude.

Usually, whenever she was upset, Mai would spend some times in the south pavilion's garden and her mood would notably improved afterwards. This time, not only it didn't get better, she even seemed to be in a worse mood than before she went to the pavilion.

"Uugh..." Mai groaned again, this time she went as far as laying her head down onto the chabudai [1].

"Mai-chan?" Chiyo inquired once more with worry seeped into her voice. Mai usually had a very positive and cheerful disposition; seeing her in this kind of mood was not a very common occurrence.

"Chii-neechan..." the brunette started, "do you remember when I went to the south pavilion a couple of days ago?"

"How can I forget? You rashly went out to the south pavilion that night. You didn't even change out of your sleeping attire or bring a robe. And it was raining afterwards, I was really afraid that you may catch a cold," she replied candidly.

She remembered that Mai seemed to have a fitful sleep and suddenly woke up with a haunted look in her eyes. After that, she insisted that she wanted to visit the south pavilion on her own and left in a hurry. She didn't dare to follow Mai as she was afraid that the other servants might notice and report it to Sayuri-sama. She had been waiting anxiously until it was almost midnight when Mai finally returned, completely soaked with rain yet looked decidedly calmer.

She had been careful not to ask what was the dream about. She thought it might be related to the late Lady Sara, so she kept her questions to herself. She simply helped her young miss to bathe and then stay quietly by her side as Mai went back to bed. But now she was curious what actually happened that her young miss suddenly inquired about that night.

"When I returned... did I look, um... less presentable?" She asked timidly.

"Less presentable? With all due respect Misaki-sama, you looked like someone who had been drowned and then dragged away across the field. Your sleeping kimono was all muddy, I couldn't even wash out the stain! And you were so thinly-dressed too. It was a good thing that you did not encounter any of the masters or the male servants on your way back. It would be inappropriate if you had met them looking like that," Chiyo scolded her gently.

"Oh my God..." Mai groaned again in mortification and buried her face in her arms. The words "thinly-dressed" and "inappropriate" had etched deeply into her brain and she couldn't help but recall her conversation earlier with the blue-eyed young noble. She wished that the earth would crack open and swallow her whole if she ever encounter him again.

"Why? What happened? Did someone saw you back then?" Chiyo suddenly felt anxious. It would be bad for her young miss if someone had saw her and notified Lady Sayuri.

"No! Nothing happened! I was just asking, haha," the young girl answered quickly. She was definitely lying though. It was obvious from the way her eyes shifted nervously that she had been hiding something.

"Mai-chan... tell me what happened!" The handmaid asked her more seriously.

"It's nothing, really! Anyway, we're having guests for tonight's banquet right? Did you prepare my kimono? Seems that I had completely forgot to find an appropriate attire," she hastily changed the subject.

Chiyo was still eyeing her in suspicion but finally relented at her determination to keep mum on this topic. Besides, tonight's banquet was the more important issue right now.

"I have prepared two sets of attire. One is your formal green kimono and the other one is the indigo kimono. Which one would you like to wear?" She had expected that Mai would forget about her attire, so she had prepared the kimonos and the matching accessories since early this morning.

"Mm... I heard only Takigawa-sama and Yasuhara-dono that would attend the banquet, so I think the indigo kimono would be fine. It is slightly more casual but still appropriate for receiving guests," she replied confidently as she smoothly switched back into her role as a dignified young miss of the Taniyama family. There was no trace of the flustered young girl in her calm expression.

'That's right. I shouldn't dwell too much on this matter. All I have to do is simply avoid him at all costs. After all, he would be leaving by the end of the year," she thought resolutely.

And yet, she strangely felt something akin to disappointment at the thought of his expected departure.

A/N:

[1] Chabudai: a short-legged table used in traditional Japanese homes.