Chapter Thirteen: The Confused emperor
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The next day, Miaka noticed that Hotohori is still gloomy. She did everything she could to make him smile but he'd only stare at her then walk away. Miaka soon became tired and decided to let him think first about his problem then maybe later, he'll be able to share his problem with her.
Hotohori went into his room and stared at his mirror. His reflection seemed to talk to him. What did it tell him?
"You are the emperor and yet you're doing nothing. What kind of person are you?" his reflection yelled at him furiously, "You shouldn't act like that. Go tell Miki and her mother who you really are."
"I…I can't…" Hotohori replied.
"You can't just go on like this. Someday, they'll discover your secret and by that time, maybe it will be too late."
"Too late?"
"You see, Kutou is attacking our empire. If you don't show up soon, all our men will die. Kutou will prevail. You can't let that happen."
"What should I do?"
"Admit you're the emperor and fight Kutou."
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"Mom, I think Rei has a problem he doesn't wish to tell us," Miaka told her mother as she took a bite from her sandwich.
"I've noticed that also, my dear. I guess he's feeling homesick by now. Maybe he wishes to go back to his place but is ashamed to tell us," her mother answered as she sat beside her daughter.
Hotohori came down and saw the two eating. He sat in front of the two and reached out for a sandwich.
"May I?" he asked.
"Sure," Miaka replied.
Mrs. Yuuki went out to finish her laundry, so Miaka and Hotohori were left alone. Hotohori ate silently, and soon Miaka lost all her appetite for she was feeling uneasy.
"So, shouldn't you tell me something?" Miaka broke the silence as she started to clean up.
"Me…tell you something?" Hotohori pretended to be innocent and calm but actually, Miaka's statement made him nervous.
"Yeah, you have to tell me something…something you've been keeping for a while."
Oh Suzaku! She knew it already! So I guess I ought to tell her everything then…"Miki…I…" Hotohori started.
"No, its okay Rei. I know you've been missing your homeland and you want to go home. I understand, even mother understands. I guess you could go back when you're ready," Miaka replied, smiling.
"Is that what you think I've been keeping?" Hotohori asked, surprised that Miaka doesn't know anything about his secret.
"Yeah…why, are you hiding something else from us?" Miaka asked.
Hotohori wasn't able to answer immediately and so he stared at the ceiling hoping to find the right words to say. He looked down and sideways. He saw a mirror right beside him, and his reflection told him once again to tell her everything.
"I…I…I am…"
"Good day Miki!" Tamahome came just in time.
Hotohori breathed a sigh of relief but his reflection shook its head. Hotohori smiled at Tamahome and greeted, "Good day too, my friend."
"I wasn't talking to you," Tamahome snorted.
Miaka coughed to get Tamahome's attention away from Hotohori. "What are you hiding there?" Miaka asked, referring to the "thing" he is holding at his back.
Tamahome gave the "thing" to Miaka. "You forgot to bring him with you when we left the farm," he said.
"Oh yes, I forgot to bring Taka…thanks for bringing him!" Miaka thanked Tamahome.
"I guess I'll just leave the two of you for a while and take a walk," Hotohori excused himself.
"Miaka, I have to go now. My parents and siblings are waiting for me," Tamahome also said farewell to Miaka and went after Hotohori.
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"Wait!" Tamahome yelled to Hotohori.
They were walking along the forest and there were no people around.
Hotohori looked at Tamahome who was trying to catch his breath. Tamahome fell on his knees and was breathing deeply. Hotohori stopped for a while and stared, confused.
"What do you want?" Hotohori asked as he helped the man up.
"First of all, I want to drink some fresh water from a stream nearby," Tamahome said.
Hotohori helped him walk to the stream. After drinking some water, Tamahome was now ready to speak up.
"What else do you need?" Hotohori asked as he sat beside him. Hotohori also smiled thoughtfully.
"You don't have to serve me, Your Highness," Tamahome replied.
"Just what did you say?" Hotohori exclaimed.
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Meanwhile, Miaka was busy bathing her puppy Taka. Surprisingly, Taka was growing faster than expected. After drying her puppy, Miaka decided to take Taka for a walk. As they were walking, Miaka passed by a man selling some weird necklaces, bracelets, herbal medicines, and other weird things. A necklace caught her attention because it had a pendant with a design of Suzaku. She picked it up and stared at it carefully.
"Good choice, beautiful maiden," the vendor with a hat and was looking down so his face can't be seen.
"Is this original?" Miaka asked, getting interested with the necklace.
"Yes, its pure gold," the man replied.
"Oh really," Miaka then carelessly let it slip and it fell on the ground. The pendant was broken into pieces.
"Oh, no! My precious pendant!" the vendor exclaimed. "You must pay for that! It's 200 gold ryou!"
"I wouldn't pay for such a poorly-made imitation," Miaka replied sternly. She turned her back on the vendor and walked away.
"You can't just go away like that!" the vendor stood up and yelled.
"Of course I can!" Miaka yelled back.
"Not without your puppy!"
"What the?"
Miaka then realized that Taka was no longer with her. The vendor was holding Taka in his hands.
"Give him back!" Miaka demanded as she reached for Taka.
"Pay first!" the vendor replied.
"No!"
All people stared at Miaka and the vendor. They were all waiting for the one who would give in first. The people crowding over the area nearby destructed a woman who was busy buying some vegetables and meat in the market. She made her way into the crowd and was surprised to see her daughter arguing with a vendor.
"You sly old fart! Give back my dog!" Miaka yelled.
"Pay first!" the vendor shouted back.
"Miaka, what are you doing? Everyone's staring at you," Mrs. Yuuki scolded.
"He stole my puppy!" Miaka answered.
"I wouldn't steal her puppy if she paid for the pendant she broke!" the vendor exclaimed.
"He told me it was real gold but when it hit the ground, it was broken into pieces so why would I pay for such a poor imitation?"
"But Miaka, you broke still broke it. You must pay for it even though it's just an imitation," Mrs. Yuuki said.
"Fine, I'll pay," Miaka finally gave in, "but I'll just pay you 50 gold ryou."
"50 gold ryou only? Are you kidding? Pay me 200 gold ryou or you'll never see your dog again!"
"70 gold ryou!"
"200 gold ryou!
"80!"
"200!"
"Fine, this is the last, 100 gold ryou or nothing," Miaka said.
The vendor thought carefully for a while. "Okay, here's your dog."
Miaka snatched Taka, paid the man, and walked away, her head up in the air. The crowd moved to let her pass.
"I'm very sorry for my daughter's attitude," Mrs. Yuuki apologized to the vendor.
"It's okay Ma'am. But I do hope I won't see her again," the vendor replied and packed his things.
"Where are you going?" Mrs. Yuuki asked.
"I'm going to the next town. No one would buy these things anymore in this town, now that you know these are just imitations and not genuine ones." the vendor lifted up his hat and revealed his face.
"Wait, what is that? You skin seems to peel off."
"Oh, my mask is falling off again. I guess I have to change it," he vendor said and pulled his smiling mask off his face and got another from his pocket. He put it on again.
"Oh, that was um…kinda weird…"
"Many people say that," the vendor the said farewell and walked away.
Mrs. Yuuki then followed her daughter back home.
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Now another seishi enters the scene…I know you have already figured out who it is… And wait, Tamahome knows Hotohori's secret now, so what do you think will happen? How did he discover it?I'm sorry if I wasn't able to update earlier. Last Friday, our teacher in Social Studies told us to give 10 characteristics for each region of country. Our country has 17 regions, which means we have to write 170 characteristics…and take note, it must be handwritten! Diyos ko! Alam ba niya kung gaano iyon kahirap? (My God! Does he know how hard it is?) But now, I've miraculously finished it. Praise the Lord! Aside from that, we also have other assignments and so, I was very busy. But now, I found time to update!
That's all! Please review!
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