CHAPTER 19- FAMILIAR SHADOW

The following night found Hotaru back in her own parlor, sewing by candlelight. Fatigue pulled down on her, but she pulled back up with a determined scowl. 'Until I pass out, I'm going to finish this kimono!'

This dress wasn't to be hers, but an older woman from the village who asked for it. Thanks to Tomoe's early teachings back in Kyoto, Hotaru had been so proficient at sewing that she made a business out of it. It didn't pay much unless the dresses were formal, but it did provide a lone young woman with a comfortable life. She could not complain.

Finally, she came to the last bit of stitching, along the sleeve of this fine work. Practically trembling with the urge to sleep, she gritted her teeth and began. "Just a little more! A little more!"

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"GAH!" She pricked her finger again! Whether from the slight pain or the sleeplessness, she irritably rose to her feet and wobbled to the door. "Who could it be at this hour??"

She slid open the shoji and came face to face with a tall, lean figure, shadowed by the night.

For a moment, her heart raced, but it was suppressed by a quirk of her eyebrow. "Um...can I help you, sir?"

The figure cocked his head, apparently puzzled. "That's your greeting to me after all these years, Hotaru-chan?"

That voice...

Hotaru's eyes widened with shock. She knew that voice. She knew this man!

Her knees giving out, she whispered his name. "Tokaji..."

He caught her before she could fall and held her there. Immediately, she found the strength to wrap her arms around his waist, as well as the strength to cry. "Tokaji! Oh Tokaji!"

He smiled and cradled her in his own arms, the same steely, warm arms she had known as a child.

"I made a promise to you, didn't I?" he whispered.

After a moment, she calmed herself down and smiled lovingly. "Yes, yes you did."

With that said, she rose up on her toes to finish what Tokaji said they would finish.

THE END

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