"Her name is Tatamisu Kijou, and, as I already said, she used to be my lover …"
That was how Katsu had started the story. Now, how was he going to finish it? Should he start at the beginning, from the first time he had seen her? From the middle, when their "relationship" had started? From the end, when it had broken off?
Where?
It was not a matter of which would be most comfortable for Katsu – any talking about Kijou mad his skin crawl. Any thinking about her mad him hunger for a bath. There was no comfortable place to begin – he only wanted to be sure he was making sense.
Well, it usually is considered best to begin at the beginning …
"I met her when I was fifteen. I had been living in Tokyo for five years, four of which had been spent as an apprentice under the painter Yokzoma Tishki – a man of middling reputation and extraordinary talent." Katsu smiled for a moment, remembering the elderly and often sharp voice of the man who had taken him in after Sagara-taichou … died. "He could have easily been employed by a wealthy aristocrat, wearing silks and eating the finest foods available … but he hated, absolutely hated the rich. 'I'll paint their silly portraits, and I'll take their money,' he would always say, 'but I'd rather roll in the filth of pigs every day for the rest of my life than spend one day in the employ of a pig in dragon's clothing!'" Katsu chuckled a little. "He had a terribly poor view of money – and, this will eventually get to a point, alright?" Katsu looked up at Aoshi, who nodded slightly and motioned for Katsu to continue.
Apparently, Aoshi was going to be a mostly passive listener, and let Katsu tell his story uninterrupted. For which Katsu was supremely grateful. This was going to be difficult enough as it was.
He closed his eyes, and began again.
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Yes, that was a shitty ending, I know. I hate pure expository writing like this, so the next few chapters are gong to be pure flashback. This was only to set up the stage so that no one would start to read the next couple chapters and be like: "????? What the [blip] is she [blip]ing doing, for [blip]'s sake?" And now I must write more.
Kuroiyousei: Well, thanks, I guess. And we all know that Aoshi is dead sex-ay. … And … cylindrical … objects? Wow. Wonder what their children's books must be like. *mind recoils from though* Not good image. Or a hilariously funny image, depending on perspective. I doubt the author was ready for perverted American ways.
Jane Sliver: Oh yes – definitely. ^_^ Lucky Katsu.