Undying Love – Trouble in Paradise
Author's Notes: Heya. As promised, I bring you a new chapter! As you can see, updates have been much faster now… since I'm almost finished school this year. I end school next Tuesday!
Anyways, I apologize for this chapter being a lot shorter than most of my chapters. I'll try making my next chapter longer. Meanwhile, I hope you like this chapter… and remember to read and review! Enjoy, and thanks for your patience in my updates!
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An hour later…
"So what's the Cherry Blossom Festival all about?" asked Chihiro, as she helped Raisuke hang up the various flower decorations on the grassy garden walls.
Raisuke handed Chihiro another basket of cherry blossom petals, before concentrating on how to decorate the entrance to the vast gardens. "The Cherry Blossom Festival is in honor and celebration of the spring season, where ice and snow thaw… and various plants bloom once again. It's to also pay respects to the earth spirits, who are kind enough to bless this world with their beauty."
"Oh… wow. So how long has this Cherry Blossom Festival been going on?" she inquired, reaching into her basket for a fresh handful of whitish-pink petals.
Raisuke shrugged. "I'd say a couple of hundreds of years. It's certainly lasted quite a few generations within my family. However, it doesn't compare in age to many of the other festivals or celebrations…"
Chihiro fiddled with the pretty petal between her slender fingers, staring at it curiously. "But why cherry blossoms? There are many other beautiful flowers too…"
"Because…" Raisuke said knowingly, plucking off one of the flowers on the nearest cherry blossom tree. "Cherry blossoms are the favorite flowers of the earth spirits. It is also rumored that earth spirits are reincarnations of dead cherry blossom trees from other worlds."
"I see. So for this festival, will various spirits will be arriving here then?"
Raisuke nodded. "Due to the recent success of the bathhouse, the elders, who are the leaders of the Spirit World, have honored us with the pleasure of holding the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in our gardens."
"Awesome! I'm sure the bathhouse has really deserved such an honor!" Chihiro grinned. "So when's the festival? Two weeks? One week?"
"Actually…" Raisuke corrected. "It's being held in two days."
Chihiro's eyes widen at this. "Two days?!" she said incredulously. "How will you be able to prepare the gardens and the bathhouse in time?"
The blonde grinned at this question, before he slung his left arm on Chihiro's shoulder. "That's why you and I are going to be beautifying the gardens all day."
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In Osaka, an elderly female and her two subordinates were currently overlooking the burnt ruins of what once was a sacred temple…
"This was all that was left of the temple?" inquired Haku, both amazed and disappointed that such a prominent monument was now nothing more than a mere memory. Or more like a barren patch of ashes, for that matter.
Yu-Baaba sighed ruefully. "The whole Osaka Shrine was burned to the ground; nothing was spared."
"So what do the elders think about this?" asked Hikaru, staring at the massive amount of ruins around her.
"After the meeting with the elders, they believe that the burning of the Osaka Shrine was definitely a sabotage…" the elderly woman said sternly, before continuing. "…which is why the elders have sent us to investigate the ruins for any traces that may lead to a suspect."
"Are they sure that it was a sabotage?" Curious heads turned to the redhead. "Is there really no room to consider the loss of the shrine as an accident? I would really like to think that the burning was not a result of the worst possibility imaginable."
"We'd all like to think that, Hikaru. But…" the bathhouse mistress exclaimed gloomily. "…the elders would not have strongly advocated to the strong possibility of sabotage if they saw no other way."
"No other way?" Haku said questioningly, not liking where this conversation was headed.
"Yes, Haku. The elders have made their point fairly clear; the destruction of the shrine was and could only have been the result of sabotage. The protection spell on the shrine had been lifted, and the various magical seals surrounding the structure were broken. This could only have been done purposefully by someone else who used an equally powerful counter-spell…" Yu-Baaba's eyes met those of the red-headed and dark-haired river spirits before her. "Now… let's start our investigation."
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Many hours had passed, and the darkness was starting to creep into the sky, as evening had approached. The bathhouse gardens were now coated with the thin sheet of shadow, but nevertheless, the gardens were still beautiful at night. Due to the tedious labor that Chihiro and Raisuke had put in all day, they were finally able to put up the extravagant decorations for the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival. There was no doubt that the amazingly, breathtaking bathhouse gardens were ready for the various visitors and guests in a few days.
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Meanwhile, a blonde and a brunette were seen exiting the gardens, as they headed to the bathhouse…
"I can't believe that we actually got all of the decorating done…" Chihiro murmured in thought.
Raisuke chuckled, smiling that multi-million-dollar grin of his. "I told you we would get everything done, didn't I?" It was more of a statement than a question. "Besides, it isn't like a really have a choice. Yu-Baaba made it clear to me before she left, that the bathhouse had to be ready when she came back for the festival."
"Yeah, you did. But I'm still amazed we got all the decorating done, especially with only the two of us…" Raisuke held the front gate open for her like a true gentleman. "Thanks, Raisuke. So… do you think the workers got the bathhouse ready for the festivities?"
"Oh, definitely. The bathhouse workers never fail in their tasks, especially when they know that they'll have to face Mistress Yu-Baaba's wrath, if they perform otherwise…" Raisuke visibly shivered. "The last time a bathhouse worker failed to complete Yu-Baaba's demands, there were fumes literally pouring from her nostrils. No one has dared failed her since then."
"If I was them, I wouldn't want to disappoint Yu-Baaba either…" Chihiro exclaimed empathically, biting her lower lip.
Raisuke smirked at the obvious, and let out another hearty laugh, before realizing something wrong. There was a glittery, red speckle that was heading fast towards them…
Immediately, Raisuke's eyes widen in recognition, as he realized what this was. "Chihiro, duck for cover!"