Hello, everybody. First: yes, I also realize that Tsubame's reaction was a bit rushed, it sunk in minutes after I uploaded the chapter. I apologize for that. Second: "gulay" is a Filipino generic term for vegetables. But when we Pinoys exclaim "Oh, my gulay!", it's just us doing a variation on "Oh, my golly!" or "Oh, my gosh!" as an exclamation, with absolutely no relationship to vegetables. Thus, when Chiki typed that in, it was a high compliment. I made her gasp. 8 )
Enough Filipino lessons for today. Sorry for the delay. Exam, One Shot, and story block. Then I suddenly got a neat idea to add in, and the first draft of this chapter was junked. Don't worry, it wasn't much, and wasn't going anywhere. I am about to introduce somebody I was supposed to introduce after many more chapters. But the neat idea made things fall nicely into place. To those who took a guess, this is where I confirm it. To those who didn't notice that I was dropping hints, I hope you like the entrance.
Back to our regular programming. Dialogue-intensive. Completed in the school library, of all places.
………………………………
"This afternoon."
"This afternoon!"
"I asked, and Tae allowed it. We're going on a little trip to the Chinese restaurant. This afternoon."
"So soon?"
"Just wear something pretty. Don't worry, you won't have to walk there."
Yahiko took the measures he should have taken weeks earlier. He insisted on that date. He asked for the afternoon off from work. He made the reservations. The little carriage was coming that afternoon to fetch them.
And farther on, he was already planning how to best say…….what he should have said much earlier. Now, he felt he was ready.
When he told Kaoru, she asked about where they would live and what they would live on. He calmly answered that he had enough money from teaching, occasional Akabeko deliveries, occasional police work with Kenshin, and competitions, to cover for a small house. During the engagement months he would earn for the kitchen needs and furniture.
"But your salary isn't much!" she said.
"So can I already ask for a raise?" he asked with a sly smile.
He got a whop on the head.
He came again to the Akabeko that afternoon. She was waiting at the door, wearing a summer kimono, her own, but one Yahiko had not seen for a while. Her hair was done the usual way, bangs to her eyebrows and hair falling to her chin. He actually liked her this way. Simple, but real.
"You look beautiful, Tsubame," he greeted with a smile.
"Thank you."
Then the open-air carriage came. He held her hand as she got on, then sat facing her as they rode to the restaurant. He liked this feeling, even if it was only once in his life. Being able to treat her like the Empress of Japan, even for a little while. Getting off a carriage and entering a fancy restaurant like other rich ladies and gentlemen, even for just one time.
It was wonderful, sitting along with foreigners with fancy jewelry and frocks, sitting along with other natives in their fancy kimonos. He was sitting there with her, in his best gi and hakama, enjoying the sights of waiters walking to and fro, helter-skelter. He envied the even richer people walking and disappearing into tables hidden behind screen doors. But sitting at a little table, across the prettiest girl in the whole establishment, was enough for him.
Tsubame kindly let him do the ordering for the both of them. He was grateful, because even as he was feeling extravagant, his funds were still tightly budgeted. He chose a specialty within their means, and several tasty side dishes. Years of helping and eating at the Akabeko were beginning to pay off, because he knew what he liked, and he knew how to save money on them.
And from the looks of things, Tsubame seemed to enjoy the noodles and the hotpot a lot. He was very happy to have done this for her. Seeing her this happy made up for all the disappointments, and the long evenings. Because, to be sure to have just enough money for this, the carriage, and some extra for a little night on the town, Yahiko had worked part-time for many nights in many restaurants, much like the Akabeko. Cleaning up, carrying loads, fetching water. He had already begun this, since the time Tsubame first refused to go to the Chinese restaurant with him.
The smile on her face made up for everything.
They kept chatting about little things, like they always did before. They talked about the decorations, and the food as well, a welcome change from all the sushi and onigiri. They did not notice a young man with a businesslike air, walking near them and past them, from the entrance and to the tables behind the sliding paper doors.
But the young man stopped at their table.
"Tsubame?"
Both of them looked where the voice came from, and were very surprised to see Jiro.
"Myoujin-san?"
"WHAT are you doing here, Seta?" Yahiko growled at him, feeling his world crumbling all around him at the sight of that silly grin.
"Oh, hello," he greeted. "I didn't know you were here, too."
Tsubame smiled shyly at him. "We didn't notice you were here as well," she said. "So, why are you here?"
Yahiko hissed at his rival. "Spying on us?"
Jiro grinned. "Oh, I've been here for an hour," he began. "My boss is coming around to meet with important clients in a few minutes, so I'm preparing for their arrival."
Tsubame bought the alibi, and relaxed a bit. Yahiko folded his arms over his chest, and glared at Jiro.
"Sorry I have not been coming over lately, but my work has been keeping me busy," he continued with a happy smile. "Yuan-san has kept me on my toes all week long. Meet with this person, close the deal with this other one, check the delivery with this company. Yare-yare, it's incredible how he works his people. "
Poor Yahiko lowered his head and wrung his hands at his lap. Jiro was once again ruining perfect plans. The annoying part of it all? Jiro did not even seem to notice. Or if he did, it was strange why there was no malice in his face at all. Or was his rival just hiding a sneer of victory? He did not know what to think.
"A—Hem."
Yahiko saw a man stand just behind Jiro. Tall enough, with average build, wearing an English suit with all the trimmings, up to a gold chain running from a button to a pocket, where a watch was partly bulging. Under a stiff bowler hat he saw white hair and a serious face hidden behind tinted glasses. A foreigner, no doubt.
"The clients are already at the booth," the man said, quite irritated. "We came in, and only the restaurant staff greeted us and escorted us. I had to go through the bother of looking for my right-hand man. Why is that?"
The first words made Jiro jump, turn around and face the person behind him. "E….E…….erm, Yuan-san!" He panicked and became a bowing machine, bobbing up and down, his face getting redder by the second.
"I will give you more work when we get back. Evidently you still have time to flirt with a woman!"
Straight, fluent, and icy Japanese. No white man in Tokyo spoke Japanese without a hint of the white man's accent. And Chinese Japanese was clipped and distinctly foreign as well. Who the heck was this foreigner?
Then it hit. Yahiko had heard that voice before, many, many years ago. He almost fell back from his chair, fumbling for a sword, as he wholly regretted leaving any sort of weapon back at the outhouse.
Jiro kept bowing and bowing to the newcomer. "My utmost apologies, sir…..," His eyes caught Tsubame during one of his descents. He stood ramrod straight as he looked in confusion from Tsubame looking oddly at him, Yahiko clenching his teeth at the newcomer, to the man trying to remember where he had seen the young man beside the young lady. "Oh, I am so sorry. Sir, these are Sanjou Tsubame and Myoujin Yahiko, my friends." He then faced the two at the table. "My boss, Yuan Xue Dai."
It did not immediately sink in that he had been called a friend by his opponent, for some reason. He was more concerned about the white-haired man his opponent evidently worked for. Yahiko rose and stood behind Tsubame's chair. "Oh, so that's the name you go by now……..Yukishiro Enishi?"
Jiro glanced at Yahiko in alarm. Tsubame looked at Yahiko. The man just smirked. "Oh, yes. One of Himura's friends, now I remember."
"What do you want with us?" Yahiko readied a fist.
"From you, nothing," the man said with no frills. He then faced Jiro with his arms akimbo. "From YOU, plenty. Get going!"
Jiro bobbed to the man, smiled and bowed to Tsubame, then went on his way.
"Lovesick fool," Jiro's master grumbled. "Sorry for the intrusion." Like a good cultured Japanese person, he bowed slightly as well and left them.
Tsubame giggled into a napkin as Yahiko went back to his seat.
"It's not funny, Tsubame," he said, his eyes kept on the booth Jiro and Enishi disappeared into.
"Yes, it was, Yahiko!" she kept giggling.
"Be serious, Tsubame," Yahiko told her. "It's bad enough that you're friends with an old assassin. But that assassin is currently working for a smuggler! We told you then, woman! It was Yukishiro Enishi and his men that bombed the Akabeko! Wrecked the Kamiya dojo! Sent Kenshin to Rakuninmura! What else do I need to tell you!"
"But Jiro said his boss is into metalworks, an honest business…"
"Shows what you know. What if that's just a cover for an illegal operation? Like before?"
Tsubame looked at him strangely.
"And what if your friend, still assassinates for him?"
Both of them thought about that possibility. How many people had been killed already, and just kept from the press? How much had Jiro done to orchestrate something that the police had not known yet? And Tenken no Soujirou did not even need permission from his master to kill off Yahiko, if he wanted to.
"But, but Jiro said, he had not killed anymore, since that time he met Himura-san…."
Yahiko sighed. "Any man can lie, to impress a girl."
Tsubame sighed and nodded. She had heard most of the common ones. "But, but, I'm SURE he's not lying! He said he's told me the truth!"
"Look, Tsubame. Until we can be sure, just stay clear of him for now, alright?"
Tsubame pleaded no with her eyes, but the young man kept his steady gaze. Finally, she nodded.
Yahiko lowered his chopsticks and gulped down a last cup of tea. "Come on, let's get outta here, if you're done. I don't want to think about it anymore. We went to have a good time, and a good time I intend to have." He asked for the bill.
She finished her tea, and said she was ready to go.
They did have a good time after that, and forgot about Jiro for the time being. They visited the night stalls, where they tried many sweet treats with relish. She made him try to catch a few goldfish, and he managed to get one for her to bring home. They tried the haunted house, and he enjoyed having her clammy hands wrapped around his arm.
They kept laughing and chatting all the way home, back to the Akabeko.
Yahiko placed his hands over his head, and looked at the starry sky. "Hey, Tsubame."
"Yes?"
"How come you never went to Kyoto? You know……"
"Oh, that?" She smiled. "He never asked."
He stopped at mid-step, and looked at her. "Really, now!"
"Yes, he didn't, it's true. I don't know why, but he didn't."
Despite winning the duel, something made Jiro hold back. Now was Yahiko's chance. He would definitely use it. He brought Tsubame under a lamppost, a few feet from the restaurant, and held her hands inside his large ones.
"Tsubame, you free for the next weekend?"
"It's about that trip to the hot springs, right?" she chuckled.
He scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Kenshin promised we can go places by ourselves if we wanted. They won't bother with us."
She wasted no time and no words. "I can ask Tae-nee-san for a few days off. I'd love to go!"
"Really? Are you sure?" he lit up brighter than the gas lamp they were under.
"Yes!"
"Yahoo!" He even gave her a little peck at the cheek. "Just you wait, Tsubame! I'll get you something special! I might even DO something special!"
"WHAT?"
He twirled her around, gave another peck, waved goodbye, and ran home with a hop and a skip.
………………………………………
Tsubame arrived at the Akabeko, both happy and puzzled. Exactly what did Yahiko mean about doing something special on their trip to the hot springs? He looked too happy, and not malicious, so he was not thinking THAT. But what if he was thinking of doing THAT? Not that, THAT. The other THAT. The big one. What if he was planning to propose? And what if she was just reading too much into what he said? Maybe he just planned to get a gift. A new dress. A puppy. Something cute. But not THAT. But what if it was THAT?
What would she tell Jiro?
Of course, she wanted to marry her feisty Yahiko-chan, she really did! But, but…….what about Jiro? What about that kiss? What about their good times together? How would she explain all that? To herself?
What was Jiro, really, to her?
Was he just the perfect man, a perfect samurai who came into her life and swept her off her feet – but nothing more? And now that the perfect mask was now broken, what was she supposed to do about the man who used to just live in her dreams?
He had admitted to spying on both her and Yahiko before. What if Yahiko was right, and he was indeed spying on them at the Chinese restaurant? Did he really mean to barge in on their date?
She decided to stop thinking about it all. She had a long happy night. She wanted to sleep in peace. She checked all the kitchen stoves and the floors and tables. They were all clean and ready for the next day. She looked for the accounting ledger, an inkwell and a pen. She sat herself down at a table with a lamp. She would at least do that. Before she thought about a husband, she had to think about being the next manager of the Akabeko.
But the numbers were mixing up in her head. It was better when she saw the items in front of her. How many sacks of rice, how many sheets of nori, how many baskets of vegetables. As numbers, they seemed very foreign. Even the abacus was not helping much, she got lost in some of the zeroes she was adding up. She went to the kitchen for a cup and pot of tea, to keep her company while she wrote.
She sighed. Why was this so easy for Tae? She was a waitress! She liked serving people, even in her shy way. She did not have a good head for numbers and planning. That was what Tae was good at! Keeping tabs on customers, remembering those who had unpaid credit. That was not who she was. When Tae allowed her to be manager, Tsubame told herself, she would get someone to balance the books for her. She would take care of the customers, make sure the Akabeko looked sparkling clean and pretty always. But the ledger? She would have someone else handle that.
She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.
She jumped in her seat. Out of frightened impulse, she grabbed the nearest thing, a cup of fortunately already warm green tea, and threw it at the person behind her. The cup broke in many pieces as it fell to the floor. She stood to run, and saw Jiro.
"You left the door partly open," he said. "Yare-yare, and this is a new gi," he sighed as he looked down at it, now much soiled with tea, then grinned at her.
It did not do anything to comfort her. It stopped her from running, but she kept backing away from him. She was not exactly sure what to do with Jiro now. What if he chose to slash her throat? What if he planned to do worse?
He peered at her notebook, full of numbers and scribbles. "What are you doing?"
"A—A—Accounting," she said. "Balancing the books."
"Really? May I see?"
He did not even wait for her to agree, he took up the ledger and looked at it. She did not have courage enough to say no.
After a few minutes, he put it back on the table and slid it over to Tsubame again. "Some of the numbers do not add up, and some of the items are in the wrong places."
"Oh," she took back the notebook, and hid behind it.
He chuckled. "You just need to be a little more systematic, Tsubame," he said, then paused as he looked at her, her pen, and her ledger. "May I?"
It took her a while to respond. But his face was earnest, even begging.
"Alright."
He smiled in gratitude.
He tore off the sheet of paper she was working on, and took up the pen. He drew several lines through a new sheet. He showed her the labels he placed above each column. He then copied the numbers from the previous sheet, writing each in a column. When he was done, she found the columns more understandable and easy to fill in. She finally knew what to do and where to place items. "Incredible! Thank you so much, Jiro!" She said that in spite of herself, in spite of her fear of him.
He shrugged and grinned. "Something I learned from Yuan-san."
She raised her guard again. "You really speak highly of your boss," she said. "But was Yahiko correct? You work for….."
"Yes, his real name is Yukishiro Enishi. I have heard about the Jinchuu attacks, and I know he planned them. But please, take my word, Tsubame. His business is legitimate. Besides, we are both closely watched by the local police, so we're not in the position to be planning anything illegal," he finished with a grin.
"You're not the kind to be afraid of police," she maintained the skepticism.
"Yes, I know," he smiled wide. "But he's like me, in some ways. He wants to use what he knows to do something right, for once. Not good, per se. Just, right. Something the police won't bother him with. So I keep working for him."
"But why a former smuggler? Why not someone else?" she pleaded. "Are you sure you really want to change?"
"Yes. As I told Himura-san, there are just days that I want to be myself, completely myself, faults and all, crimes and all. It takes one to know one, so I'm most comfortable being with Enishi-san."
"Are you not yourself with anyone else?"
"You're the only other person I'm completely myself with," he said with a sad smile. "And I still have not told you everything."
She lowered her head. That was what she was afraid of. Being told she had a changed a man, and not being able to say, he changed her as well the same way.
"You're not afraid of him? Afraid he might make you do something you don't want to do?"
He shook his head. "He's alright, once you get to know him, and stay away when he's angry," he answered, then started. "Which reminds me! He wanted me back tonight about something!"
"About what?"
"Business threat, I think," he said. "There are rumors of foul play circulating." He stood up and smiled. "Sorry I couldn't stay long, but I'm glad we got together tonight."
It made her uneasy again. "No….no problem, Jiro." She smiled slightly, grudgingly, as she said goodbye.
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My thanks to junyortrakr, Maeko-Nohara, Firuze Khanume, Chibi-Assassin, kenni, American, skenshingumi, Tenken's lover, pnaixrose for reading One Shot.
Many months ago I asked at RK Dreams what the characters of Enishi's name translated into in Chinese. The Mandarin version came out the nicest, Xue Dai (Yuki Shiro) Yuan (Enishi). The Cantonese version came out Shuet Toi Yuen. The Shanghainese version came out Shi-Te Yeu. For fear of getting in trouble at for something close to a swear word, and simply because I liked the Mandarin version better, I didn't use that. JML explained in White and Black that Chinese characters are the same for most of China, but each dialect reads it aloud a bit differently. Yuan-san will have a longer presence in future chapters, but not the next ones, I'm afraid.
Now everybody is rooting for Yahiko. Poor Jiro. I did notice while reading through the final chapters of "Yesterday's Shadow is Tomorrow's Twilight" that my Jiro is not as chipper and genki as XD's version of Soujirou. Is that a good thing? Btw, there is a reason why I don't use third person omniscient on Jiro, the way I use it on Yahiko and Tsubame. I'm not sure if I know him well enough to get into his head.
Okay, enough ranting from me. Responses.
Maeko-Nohara – Me wanna see PMK too (Popular Mechanics for Kids, hehe). Sorry you got in trouble with a teacher, reading this. Erm, many Filipino dialects have things common with Malay. Tagalog (the one I know) is a weird mix of Malay, Spanish, and English. There are other dialects closer to Malay than Tagalog. Thanks for still reading this despite the busy schedule, it's a high honor. Sorry about the wrong computation, I was in a hurry. Don't worry about your comments, they're fine.
MK zantaz – Answer above. Not fair, your pic was negative (reversed colors) on Friendster! 8 ) About Yahiko panicking: even Kenshin panicked at one point with Sou-chan. And Jiro was hell-bent on winning then. Plot? Coming, coming. But not the kind you're thinking, as based on your review. I already thought about doing that, but it wouldn't formulate correctly, so I settled for a simpler but more manageable plot. Hopefully I chose right. I'm not the girl to ask for a look into the female psyche! I'm not a girly girl! For accepting all the comments, walang anuman. It's nothing, don't mention, you're welcome. (It literally means "nothing whatsoever", but it basically means the three phrases in normal usage.)
Wingstar-chan – Thanks for liking and reading through. Zezura – How many chapters left? A lot more, don't worry, but don't expect an epic. 8 ) Thanks for liking the chappie so much, I can't believe it, considering it was a rushed chapter. Pnaixrose – Thank you so much for liking. Yes, Yahiko's getting serious! Junyortrakr – Yeah, you have the situation between the three pretty much correct. Another fight? I have none in mind, I'm saying that now. 8 ) I'm a Christian, too, btw. I met Chiki through the story Seven Days, when she rooted me on back when I was still a newbie fanfic writer. Thanks for liking. Mirune keishiko – Thanks for liking Jiro. Phases? I guess. I'm one of the writers who write with a general outline. Chiki – Don't worry about the spelling, no problem. Tsubame not very cautious? Oh, sorry. Not the impression I wanted. Thanks for liking the dialogue. About going to Kyoto? I'm not sure yet, I'm still thinking about what to do with that. Aikida – Yeah, Sou-chan got sloppy. But he also got more intense, more than Yahiko expected.