"Plain blue? But that won't work with your hair at all, Ruza."
Well, Lady Sorano would be correct, if she knew what my true hair color was. I suppose I just momentarily forgot it, or wasn't aware that umbrellas should be coordinated with your hair color. "...It's been a good while since I've needed one," I say. "I spend most of my time indoors."
"Here, this burgundy one. It's nearly the same shade as your hair." I prop the umbrella open on my shoulder and smile, and Lady Sorano nods approvingly. But amidst the burst of colors that make up the umbrellas and hand fans, I see something black. I pick it out and open it up, and see a red mitsudomoe design edged in gold. Hmm, perfect for Raiko. "That one? Hold it up, let me see…" After eyeing my look for a few moments, Lady Sorano shrugs. "...It's not the worst."
"I'll take it," I say to the owner of the stand. Lady Sorano's servant quickly pays for my umbrella and her master's fans, and we continue down the street.
"So, Miss Ruza doesn't get out much, does she?" Lady Sorano asks slyly, looking sidelong at me.
"Mainly just to buy groceries. Once every so often when one of my old school friends isn't busy, we'll have dinner together." Fairly close to the truth, actually. As a ninja, most of your free time goes to training and maintaining your equipment.
"And is Naruto one of those friends?"
"Y- yes, he is…"
"You told me you wrote him the other day about coming to help with your lessons on ninja, have you heard back?"
"No, not yet, Lady Sorano. Being a ninja, it's very possible he's busy and hasn't read my letter yet."
"Ah, oh well. Perhaps if he's able to make it here I'll invite him to supper."
"That would be very nice, Lady Sorano." It's almost embarrassing to think of Naruto's appetite being stifled by the formalities of dinner with the daimyo, but the meal would certainly be lively.
"It would be, wouldn't it? Maybe if Taizo snaps out of this funk and throws another one of his parties, I'll get you to go." Lady Sorano sees the look on my face at that suggestion, and cackles. "Lighten up a little, Ruza."
"I'm light enough right now," I say, faking a playful sneer. "Perhaps you would come with me? Your brother Taizo is fond of you, right?"
"Oh, he just can't get enough of me," Lady Sorano says dryly. "Especially these last few years since he's become a party animal... we were best friends when I was younger…" She adds, staring off far away. A disturbing flash goes through my mind, and it takes a bit of effort not to gag.
"Maybe a part of him still likes you," I suggest. "Perhaps you could team up on him with Sho and get into one of his parties that way."
"HA! Taizo would die if Sho came to one of his parties; Sho is so traditional he'd stick out like a sore thumb. I'm not sure he even knows how to do The Dougie.." Lady Sorano gives me a devilish grin. "That settles it, then. I'll what I can do to get us three into Taizo's next big bash." I smile, and try to think of how I'll maneuver around in that event- it will be a fine line between my work as Ruza and Raiko.
As we step into the clothing store a few places down the street, I catch a glimpse of a familiar face. Walking with Lady Sorano to look over the kimono and yukata doesn't give me much chance to see who it was, and I feign interest in the yukata she points out. Another glimpse: long, straight black hair. Lady Sorano gives a small tug on my sleeve, and I look down. "For you or me?"
"For me, Ruza. What do you think?" The yukata is green, the sleeves richly embroidered in golden thread.
"That's lovely! I think it would match that fan you got, too."
"That's what I was thinking. You can look around and get something from here too, Ruza." I give a grateful nod, and looking around, pick a very flowery yukata I would never wear and head to the dressing rooms. On the way I finally see the person: long black hair, and a narrow heart-shaped face- the woman I ran into before my first meeting with Yusei here in the city. Our eyes meet, and I offer a small smile before turning away and entering the dressing room. I hang the yukata on the door and shift the Transformation Jutsu, taking the appearance of Raiko. I smooth down her dark hair and loosely braid it, and step out. Thankfully, Lady Sorano and her servant aren't looking over, instead with their backs to me as they discuss another kimono. The dark-haired woman is looking over the haori racked on the wall, and I casually sidle over.
"Lovely weather the city's been having lately, isn't it?"
"It's been nice enough," She says, looking over. At first she doesn't recognize me, but before she turns back to the racks her head snaps back to me, eyes wide.
"Only those sudden showers have ruined the blue skies," I say longingly.
"Not here. This is my one day off before…" She trails off, catching herself.
"Just a couple simple questions, don't worry. You made contact with Taizo, right?"
"Yes. I have never felt so unclean."
"Hn. Did he mention any plans for his brother Sho?"
"...Whose side are you on?"
"Not Taizo's."
"...All I can say is that he told Yotsuki to hurry up." I nod, and glance over at Lady Sorano. She's placed the kimono back on the rack, and I hurry over towards the dressing room. I'm quickly back as Ruza, and I begin putting on my yukata. It's the wrong size, too large. The watched feeling awakens as I tug it into place, and I take it off. I can't bear to have the feeling on me right now, and I stride back out into the shop, looking towards Lady Sorano. I smile, and prepare myself to get ready to party...