Chapter 11
First kiss

8 years ago…

Ayaka watched in wonder and quite confused as Kazuha held a simple tree leaf to his lips and made it sound like some strange kind of flute. When he told her that it was possible and Katsumoto had taught him how to do it, the future Heron Princess was quite skeptical… until he demonstrated it to her.

That afternoon they were in their favorite place at Kamisato Estate: the main courtyard with the cherry trees. They were both already ten years old by then. The presence of one in the other's house was already the most usual. Their sword skills had improved exponentially in the past couple of years, and Ayaka had continued her rigorous studies, becoming more prepared and knowledgeable about different complex subjects that Kazuha often didn't understand.

But the feeling used to be mutual because there were some topics that Kazuha seemed to know better than Ayaka, and that didn't come in any of the many books that the girl used to study. And, apparently, how to play a simple leaf into a musical instrument was among them...

"It's almost like magic," Ayaka exclaimed, astonished.

"Nothing like that," laughed Kazuha, slightly amused by her reaction. "Try it; it's not very difficult."

At that moment, he extended the leaf to her so that she could take it and try it. Ayaka stared at the thin green leaf, with more surprise in her eyes. Although… this was more for another reason this time.

That leaf… touched his lips. Does he want me to…?

A slight blush appeared on her cheeks. She quickly shook her head, trying to dispel any thoughts that had no place in her mind. And before Kazuha could question if she was alright, she promptly took the leaf and brought it to her lips. However, she stayed a few inches away from them, thoughtful.

Don't be silly, Ayaka. Indirect kisses don't exist…

And convincing herself of this, she placed the green leaf between her lips and began to blow. Something sounded, definitely, but nothing even close to how harmonious and musical Kazuha had done moments ago.

The boy, in turn, tried to stifle a laugh without much success.

"I don't get it," Ayaka mumbled with some frustration. "How do you do it?"

"It's simple," Kazuha replied, suppressing his urge to laugh. He reached down to pick up another leaf similar to the first one. "Look, put it against your lips like this, just like me."

Kazuha repeated the same act as before, again creating a small tune. That proved it hadn't been just luck.

Ayaka tried one more time, getting the same (or worse) result as before.

"Put it a little lower," the light-haired boy told her, "the air has to go through the top. And don't press your lips so tight."

The young Kamisato frowned slightly. A part of her still felt incredulous about all that and thought that maybe Kazuha was somehow playing a prank on her. However, by placing the leaf and her lips just as Kazuha was describing, at one point, the sound she made when blowing sounded better, much better.

"Yes! It sounded!" Ayaka exclaimed excitedly, almost jumping. Quickly she placed the leaf back to her lips. She blew hard… and the leaf shot out into the air, leaving her fingers to now float in front of her and begin to fall.

Again, Kazuha had to force himself not to laugh, while Ayaka's face turned red; a little out of sorrow, a little out of anger.

"Don't worry," Kazuha pointed out, approaching her. "It already worked once, so it will work out again. Let me help you."

Kazuha stood right in front of her, bringing the leaf in his hands to the girl's lips. She, still somewhat frustrated, let him accommodate it, hoping that this way she could do it better. Ayaka reached out to take the blade out of reflex, her fingers meeting Kazuha's.

Ayaka winced slightly and looked up, meeting the deep crimson eyes of the boy in front of her. And only then did she realize how close they really were to each other. And he seemed to notice as well because the astonishment became visible on his face and a noticeable reddish blush.

Kazuha rushed his hands away reflexively, and Ayaka did the same. The leaf they were holding ended up falling to the ground, but neither paid any attention to it. Their gazes were fixed on each other's and on nothing else...

They both remained in their position, neither moving back nor advancing and without saying anything. After a while, Ayaka was the one who seemed to dare to quietly express what was going through her mind at that moment.

"Ka… zuha…" she murmured slowly, almost stammering. "Are you… going to kiss me?"

That question wholly disoriented the boy, and the blush on his face became even more abundant. The first thing that crossed his mind was to quickly back away to make space between them and directly say "no"; that had not been his intention.

However, he did not back down; not a single step. And instead of saying that, what came from his lips was a very different question:

"Do you… do you want me to do that?"

Ayaka muttered, letting out a little nervous giggle right after.

"I... don't know... But we're getting married, right? And couples who get married kiss each other… sometimes."

"I think so," Kazuha nodded slowly. "But I don't know how to do it."

"I'm not too sure either... But it must be... easier than making music with a leaf, right?"

A small smile played on Ayaka's lips, trying somehow to look more confident. But of course, she was just as nervous as Kazuha, if not more so. Her face was completely red, her voice could barely be heard clearly, and her legs trembled slightly. Still… her excitement seemed to override it.

She would never admit it, but she had thought about it a couple of times lately, and she was seriously curious to try it. And if it was with Kazuha… then it would be fine…

But he was a little hesitant. Ayaka thought that maybe he didn't want to, and inadvertently she could be putting pressure on him. But at the same time, he hadn't backed away, nor had he refused; that was a good sign, wasn't it?

Suddenly, she noticed how Kazuha breathed deeply through his nose, perhaps trying to calm down. Ayaka waited expectantly. After a while, and without saying anything, the Kaedehara boy began to tilt his face towards her. Ayaka's breath hitched at the sight of him. Even so, her body began to lean towards him as well. At the last moment, however, Ayaka stepped back.

"Do I… have to close my eyes?" the girl asked, afraid it was a too obvious question.

"If you want, I guess," Kazuha answered, unsure.

Ayaka took a deep breath, stood straight, and closed her eyes. Kazuha watched her in silence for a few seconds. He hesitated a little again. His heart was pounding so hard he felt it in his throat, and his mouth was dry. But he wasn't going to back down now. He wouldn't admit it either, but he was also very curious...

"Ready?" he asked slowly, to which Ayaka simply nodded quickly, without opening her eyes.

Kazuha approached again, very slowly, stopping a few inches away. He noticed how Ayaka trembled a little with the closeness, and her breathing was held. He closed his eyes too and steeling himself, closed the small distance that separated them and pressed his lips quickly to hers. He stayed in that position for only a couple of seconds before rapidly pulling away again.

Ayaka's eyes snapped open; very, very open. And if there was anything left on her face that wasn't dyed red, at that moment, it disappeared. She brought her fingers to her lips, covered them, and then turned away, bending her body forward as if something ached.

All of this worried Kazuha.

"I'm... sorry..." the boy murmured, anguished. "I did it wrong?"

"No, no..." Ayaka muttered quickly. "Don't worry... In fact..." She slowly turned her face towards him, just a little. And by moving her hands away from her lips, she revealed that they were actually drawing a subtle and cute smile. "It felt... nice..."

Kazuha was surprised to hear her say that, and he quickly turned away in embarrassment. He approached his fingers to his own lips, touching them a little with its tips. Did it feel nice to him too? He wouldn't know how to describe it. His body was tingling a little, and his heart was really racing. But, perhaps the most important… was that he thought he would like to do it again.

"Do you want to keep trying?" He heard Ayaka comment suddenly, catching him totally off guard and pulling his attention back to her.

"Huh?" He exclaimed in amazement, his eyes wide.

Ayaka was slightly startled by his sudden reaction.

"Ah... I'm talking... about the... leaf..." Ayaka stammered slowly, spreading in front of her the new leaf that she now held between her fingers, similar to the one she had a few seconds before.

"Ah, yeah," Kazuha agreed, desperately wanting to regain composure.

And for the rest of the afternoon, the young Kaedehara kept trying to help his friend play the leaf like a flute. Neither of them mentioned the kiss again, although neither could really stop thinking about it…

Present time…

Ayaka and Thoma's search for some information about Katsumoto was not bearing the best fruit. They spent most of the afternoon walking around the city, asking people if anyone had seen him or had any idea of his whereabouts. No one could tell them too much. They were even lucky enough to find a couple of the victims of the previous heists, with one of them even recognizing the man in the drawing as one of their attackers. However, they were not able to tell much more than that.

But Ayaka did not lose hope. Her motivation seemed quite strong, and Thoma was certainly impressed by this. That is why he was willing to continue supporting her as much as possible. But the night was already approaching, the street lanterns were turning on, and the number of people were becoming less. If they didn't find something in the next few tries, it would be time to tell his mistress they would have to rest for today.

Their next stop would be the Naganohara Fireworks Shop. Perhaps her friend Yoimiya could be of more use to them; she moved in somewhat darker environments than most, after all. And not only because of her secret business but because of how well she got along with the children of the city who were almost like her little spies.

When they arrived, they spotted Yoimiya arranging some boxes of pyrotechnics on the store's porch. They actually looked a bit heavy. One of them seemed about to slip from her hands as they passed close, but Thoma was quick to catch it before that happened.

"Careful with that," Thoma commented slightly teasingly, taking the box from her hands to place it with the rest.

"Ah, Thoma," Yoimiya murmured, surprised by his sudden appearance. And turning her gaze to the side, she realized that he hadn't come alone. "Ms. Kamisato… Hadn't you already left?"

"Yeah, but…" Thoma muttered, stacking the box he brought on top of two others. "We had to go back for some business."

"Is it about the fireworks?" Yoimiya questioned, curious. "Because I assure you that everything is going well. But if you want to check it out for yourselves, I could…"

"No, no," Ayaka hurried to clarify with impetus. "We totally trust the work of the Naganohara family, don't worry. Actually, it's not about the festival."

This reply and the tone Ayaka had used when saying it gave Yoimiya the impression that she might be referring to that "other business."

"Ah, so… it's about the sparklers, right?" she murmured slowly and quickly looked around, searching for any questioning or curious glances before continuing. "Because of that, I have a little news, but... maybe it's not the best time."

"Maybe later," Thoma said seriously. "Besides, it's not about that either."

That confused Yoimiya even more. If it wasn't the fireworks for the festival or that other matter, she couldn't imagine what it could be. Although the fact that Thoma came to visit her from time to time was not very unusual, really. But if he came with her mistress, it wasn't usually just to say hello.

Ayaka, at that moment, approached her and handed her the pamphlet they had been teaching all afternoon.

"We're asking people if anyone has seen this man and if they might have any leads to his whereabouts."

Yoimiya looked at the pamphlet curiously and took it between her fingers to look closer.

"Who is he? A criminal?"

"He's part of a group of ronin that have been attacking travelers along the way," Ayaka pointed out.

"Ah, yeah… I heard something about that. But isn't it the Tenryou Commission's responsibility to handle these issues?"

Ayaka seemed to hesitate a bit when answering, but Thoma immediately jumped to her aid.

"Normally, yes. But they asked the help of the Yashiro Commission to urge people to share any information they may have to catch them as soon as possible."

"Oh, I get it..." Yoimiya whispered slowly, discreetly turning her gaze to Ayaka.

The young Kamisato felt that the explanation had convinced her; it wasn't really a lie after all. But equally, just by noticing how she looked at her, Ayaka knew that Yoimiya was also wondering the same thing that several that afternoon had done: "why was the commissioner's younger sister doing that job directly?"

Yoimiya turned her attention back to the pamphlet for a second look. However, after a few seconds, she slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen him. To be honest, I have been so busy these days with the orders for the festival that I have hardly set foot outside this site, not even to play with the children in Hanamizaka. But if you let me have the drawing, I can ask the clients or some of the children…"

"No," Ayaka exclaimed quickly. "I'm sorry, it's just... it's the only copy we have..."

"Right now," Thoma added appropriately. "And we still have to keep asking, but I'll try to bring you one more later, okay?"

"If it's an excuse for you to revisit me, I am okay with that," Yoimiya commented with an obviously playful tone that puzzled Ayaka a bit. Was it part of their "complicated" friendship?

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Naganohara," Ayaka commented once she handed the poster back to her.

"Please call me Yoimiya, or I'll have to call you princess."

"Please don't…" Ayaka answered nervously. "Let's go, Thomas."

"I'll catch up with you in a second, milady," the servant instructed. "Go ahead a little; it won't take long."

Ayaka was a bit confused by the request but still had no problem complying with it. She only nodded in response, then approached a group of people standing across the street, talking.

"Were you saying something about the sparklers a moment ago?" Thoma asked once Ayaka had moved away, whispering slowly.

"Ah, yes," Yoimiya agreed and, also speaking in a low tone, murmured, "Master Masakatsu's people contacted me this afternoon, and..."

She fell silent at that moment when she saw out of the corner of her eye that two Tenryou guards were approaching walking down the street. Thoma noticed them as well.

"Why don't you come to the cellar, and I'll show you?" Yoimiya offered, jerking her thumb toward the shop door that led right into the underground cellar.

Thoma looked across the street to where Ayaka was showing the group of people the pamphlet, and they were looking at it carefully.

"Okay, but let's do it quickly," Thoma replied. He wasn't particularly concerned that something bad might happen to his mistress; he knew she could care for herself quite well. But it was still in his nature to be a bit overprotective. Something that Ayato paste to him, for sure.

Both entered the cellar as they had proposed. The place was dark, so Yoimiya lit an oil lamp to give them some light. The warehouse was full of fireworks and gunpowder, so they had to be very careful with the fire if they didn't want to fly through the air with everything and the entire store.

"The buyers of the large order of false visions are already in Inazuma," Yoimiya informed her companion; it was no longer necessary to speak in code any longer down there. "They arrived yesterday. Master Masakatsu reviewed their letters of recommendation and accepted the request. They plan to deliver it the night of the festival."

"Any information on who the buyers are?" Thomas asked curiously.

"Not that they shared it with me, at least. You will understand that just as Masakatsu is discreet with the identity of his benefactors, he is the same with his buyers."

"I get it," Thomas agreed. There was no way to demand something more. He and Ayaka both knew the conditions before they got involved. Yet, the Kamisato had decided to support them with her own money.

"He guarantees me that they come on behalf of someone he trusts," Yoimiya added. "But he is also aware that the amount of money that Ms. Kamisato gave this time is quite significant. So if she wanted to meet them in person, Masakatsu said he could arrange it. He obviously knows she couldn't do it herself, but maybe you want to meet with them instead."

Thoma thought about the proposal for a bit. It certainly wouldn't hurt to at least have a face in mind. And not so much because of the money, but because of the negative implications that this could bring if any of this were known from the outside.

"I will consult it with Lady Ayaka and let you know the response," the Kamisato servant said after a while. "But not right now. She… has other things on her mind."

"Is everything okay?" Yoimiya questioned, feeling somewhat intrigued. "I certainly noticed her a little weirder than usual."

"What do you mean with weirder?" He mumbled with a slightly jocular tone, although the comment seemed a bit inappropriate to him. "She's okay. And about the buyers," he jumped quickly to try and change the subject again, "if the delivery is during the festival, it might be a good idea to see them that night before they get the merchandise."

"Oh, does that mean you'll come to the festival this time?" Yoimiya muttered, apparently very interested in that part.

Thoma smiled slightly at him and shrugged.

"Only if I get the night off."

"Your idea of a night off is participating in a clandestine exchange?" Yoimiya asked suspiciously. "Well, if you get a chance, I'll book you the best spot in all of Inazuma to watch the fireworks, okay?"

"I'll try to make room in my schedule, then," Thoma agreed, knowing that he was sort of closing out a little date.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to think much about it right now... as if he could have it at any other time...

When Thoma returned to the surface and said goodbye to Yoimiya, he crossed the street to meet Ayaka again. He immediately saw her a few steps from where she had last time, but she was no longer talking to anyone. She was in her place, standing right in front of a bulletin board, which she was staring at. Even so, she noticed his proximity, so when he was at her side, she turned to see him.

"Look, Thoma," the young noblewoman murmured, pointing her finger at the board. Specifically, she pointed to an exact copy of the pamphlet they brought with them, with the same face drawn on it. "The Tenryou guards who came this morning mentioned that they had put up some of these on the bulletin boards. I wonder if they managed to get more information than we did."

"We've already asked most people, but no one knows anything," Thoma pointed out, though not precisely pessimistically. "Perhaps what we can do for today is go straight to the Tenryou Commission and see if they have any updates."

"Wouldn't that be suspicious?" Ayaka asked, a little unsure.

"They requested the support of the Yashiro Commission, right?" Thoma answered, shrugging. "And it is still a matter of time before they find out that the Heron Princess has been on the streets asking about this issue."

"I guess you're right," Ayaka whispered, a little embarrassed. She really hadn't wanted to be discreet about all of that.

"We can say that you are concerned about the safety of the festival-goers on a personal level, which is why you wanted to take action on the matter in your own hands. Sounds convincing, doesn't it?"

In fact, it did sound convincing, or at least enough. Ayaka was beginning to realize that Thoma was far better than her at coming up with plausible explanations and excuses, not to say that he seemed to be good at lying when necessary. She wasn't sure if that was a remarkable attribute in a housekeeper, but she was glad to have him on her side.

"And who knows?" The blond boy added right after. "Maybe we'll get lucky, and they already have this Katsumoto guy in jail, and you can interrogate him from inside a cell."

"That wasn't the scenario I imagined… but I guess we can try it," Ayaka commented, already more than convinced that it was the best plan of action.

The two of them then began to head towards the Tenryou guard headquarters.

Author's Notes:

Over the years, I've had to write a lot of first kisses, but I think this is the first time I've gotten to do it between two ten-year-olds. I hope I got it right, as I had to rewrite the whole scene a couple of times before I felt comfortable with it.

In this chapter, we also saw some interaction between Thoma and Yoimiya, exposing more their "complicated friendship." I'll be honest, I don't know if we'll see more of them, so they stop being "implicit." For now, we'll leave them that way. After all, we have to focus on the imminent reunion of our two protagonists.

As a final comment, I just want to let you know that I'll go on a trip next week and not return until May 29. During those days, I will try to continue writing as soon as possible, but it would not be possible for me to publish. I know we've kept a pretty steady update rate up to this point. I just hope you'll bear with me until I get back. I hope everyone is all well.