Chapter 40
Go Together
Ayaka removed the haori from the kimono rack and gently helped Kazuha try it on. Once she saw him with the garment on, she was amazed at how well the colors suited him. The dark tones contrasted with his skin and hair color, and the warm tones converged with his pretty crimson eyes.
"I think it suits well," Kazuha stated, extending an arm to the side. In addition to the colors, the size turned out to be, luckily, more than adequate. The length of the coat and the sleeves were just right.
"I'm glad it fits you well," Ayaka sighed, relieved. She was standing behind Kazuha, running her hands slowly over the swordsman's shoulders, trying to smooth out any wrinkles. "The good thing is that the idea is that it was a loose garment. But since I didn't have your exact sizes, they had to use me as a model, and I only asked that they widen the shoulders a little. As a child, we had similar complexions, remember? So much so that we could wear each other's workout clothes without a problem. But we're not kids anymore… right?"
As she spoke, her hands slowly, almost without meaning to, ran over the boy's shoulders and arms. At her touch, the shape of his back and the thickness of his arms became more than appreciable. Yeah, definitely, he was not a kid anymore. It was clear that his body had grown fitter and stronger over the years and the time he had spent traveling and training. He looked and felt much manlier...
Ayaka jumped, almost scared to realize what she was doing, but mainly what she was thinking. She quickly withdrew her hands and stepped back, trying to keep her movements graceful and calm and not reflect her nervousness. Her flushed cheeks sure did that job well on their own.
The young Heron Princess cleared her throat a little and spoke more calmly.
"They assured me the fabric is strong enough, but I still asked for a double lining, as you may have noticed. This will help to protect and warm you more during your travels, and it will also make it more durable outdoors. Tell me, how do you feel? Do you like it?"
"It's perfect," Kazuha murmured with quiet enthusiasm. He turned to her at that moment, outlining one of his smiles that, although small, reflected a marked generosity and honesty. "And it is even more so knowing how much you thought of me when you ordered it done. Thank you very much, Ayaka."
He leaned his body towards her slightly with a respectful bow. Ayaka's face lit up again.
"No... you're welcome," she murmured, slightly nervous. "I am happy to know that you like it. I hope it helps you in your travels and… well…"
The blue-haired girl turned to the side. She felt the urge to hide her face behind one of her fans, but she had none on hand, so she slowly raised her left arm instead, slightly hiding behind the pink sleeve of her yukata.
"I also hope you think of me while wearing it," she whispered slowly, almost as if she hoped he wouldn't hear her. Of course, Kazuha did, though, and his face lit up at first with slight astonishment, but almost immediately, he smiled again.
"After these days we've spent together, it will be almost impossible for me not to think of you every second of my trip," he suddenly pronounced directly, without any hesitation. Ayaka fidgeted, surprised that he could say something like that so easily.
Ayaka felt her face burn again and her heart pound. It wasn't usual for her to show her emotions as clearly as she was surely doing. But when it came to Kazuha… she just couldn't help it.
Out of mere reflex, she walked to the side, taking a few steps away from Kazuha until her back was almost to him. She took a deep breath, trying to regain her calm and gain strength.
"I guess we should say goodbye now, right?" she whispered softly without looking at him. Her tone was perceived as somewhat cold, but a certain hint of pain was appreciable under her words. "As I remember, you have some business to take care of today, and then you'll leave... won't you?"
"That's how it was, at least until this morning," Kazuha replied, taking Ayaka by surprise, who turned to him out of mere reflex. The boy's expression had turned serious. "It seems that the matter that brought us to Inazuma was canceled at the last moment. We don't know the details, but apparently, that's how it was," he added with a shrug.
"Really?" whispered the young Kamisato, startled.
That caused a series of thoughts to sprout in Ayaka's mind in a matter of seconds. That revelation almost confirmed his initial suspicions: Kazuha and Tomo were the buyers of Masakatsu's fake visions.
Just yesterday, Thoma had confirmed that the craftsman had decided to cancel the delivery that he would make that same night, all due to the warning they had been given about the latest movements of the Tenryou Commission. And now Kazuha was just telling her that the matter that had brought them to the city had also been canceled. And if she added the other coincidences to that… Well, it wasn't unreasonable to draw that conclusion.
What did that mean? What did Kazuha have to do with this matter? Was he a follower of Sangonomiya Kokomi? Although he had told her that he had gone there to do Tomo a favor. Was he rather one of the followers of the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, and Kazuha was only helping him for that one occasion?
Ayaka wondered if she should confess to her friend how she herself was involved in this matter, but… she was pretty hesitant to take that step. Despite the coincidences, they were still not irrefutable proof that her suspicion was confirmed. And even if she was, much of why her identity as the benefactor of that operation had been kept a secret for so long was because so few people knew about it. And with the Tenryou Commission so close, it would be a bold move, perhaps even a foolish one, to make that number of people grow. But it was undoubtedly difficult to combine that idea with the desire to be completely honest with Kazuha and not feel like she was keeping things from him.
In the end, she convinced herself that keeping quiet was best, not only for her but also for Kazuha. Whether or not what she suspected was true, he said that he was only doing his friend a favor. So there was no point in involving him further and putting him at risk.
She took a deep breath, stood upright, and with more significant serenity, spoke again.
"I'm sorry," she whispered slowly. "What will you do now, then?"
"There's nothing to do, so we'll leave as planned," Kazuha pointed out. "But… most likely, it will be until tomorrow."
Ayaka's eyes widened, filled with wonder and, of course, excitement.
"You will stay at Inazuma tonight?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"It seems so," agreed the swordsman. There was then a moment of silence, in which Kazuha's reddish eyes gazed intently at the girl before him. "Tomo… he suggested we should take advantage of the occasion," he said after a few seconds. "To enjoy the festival while we are here."
"Oh," Ayaka whispered slowly, apparently looking a little disappointed. "Yes, it would be nice if you did that… I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun."
A half-smile was drawn on the young noblewoman's lips, but she couldn't keep it from looking a bit forced.
"Yes, I think so," Kazuha agreed. "But I wasn't referring to Tomo and me, but to… you and me," he pointed out suddenly, teasing Ayaka even more. "Would you like… to go to the festival together?"
"You... and me?" Ayaka mumbled, unable to get out of her astonishment. Her heart pounded violently in her chest again. "I… I… Ah… I'd love to," she replied, outlining a broad smile, but it almost instantly erased again. "But… the truth is that I don't usually attend the festivals."
Kazuha blinked a few times, confused.
"Don't you go to the festivals? Not even the ones you organize yourself?"
"Usually not," Ayaka stated, shaking her head. "Unless there is some official presentation of the Tri-Commission or some specific event that requires my presence. But never as a regular assistant. I almost always checked that everything was fine a few days before and left the rest to the delegates of the Yashiro Commission. This time, however... it was a particular case..."
Saying that, she turned her sorrowful face to the side. It would be apparent to anyone what that particular case was.
"I understand," Kazuha whispered seriously. "So you don't like festivals?"
"It's not that," Ayaka quickly denied. "It's just that…" She stopped for a moment and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't want to bother people with my presence."
"Bother?" exclaimed Kazuha, quite surprised by the naked eye. "How could you bother someone?"
"Here in Inazuma, when I go to a very crowded place, people usually notice me, and that sometimes excites them, but I also notice that it makes them a little uncomfortable. Like they don't know how to behave in my presence, you know? Besides becoming the center of attention of so many people like that... believe it or not, it gets a little awkward."
"I believe it," Kazuha replied without hesitation. "I can imagine how difficult it must be to enjoy a festival in those circumstances."
"Yeah..." Ayaka whispered slowly with worn sadness. "Don't get me wrong, I like to be a member of my clan and all the good I can do for people from my position within the Yashiro Commission. But I would be lying if I said that I don't often think how much I wish I could do more… normal things. Like going to a festival, traveling to other parts of Inazuma, or even outside of it... or choosing more freely what I can do... or with whom..."
Those words had intrinsic sorrow or pain, especially the last ones. To someone as perceptive as Kazuha, it was pretty apparent that they weren't exactly talking about a festival but much more profound things. They had previously discussed Ayaka's desire to know the world, especially outside of Inazuma. However, beyond the Border Closure Decree, Ayaka implied that her position as a member of the Kamisato Clan and the Yashiro Commission gave her little leeway for those kinds of wishes.
Kazuha's freedom to do what he wanted or go where he wanted was unmatched.
"But, Mr. Tomo, you should enjoy the event," Ayaka stated quickly, raising her face again and forcing herself to smile. "I put a lot of effort into its planning. And like I said, I'm sure you'd find it a lot of fun."
"I don't doubt it," Kazuha said quite confidently. "But if this really is my last night in Inazuma, I wouldn't want to do anything that doesn't involve being with you, Ayaka."
The blue-haired young woman gave a slight start upon hearing this, and her face reddened even more than it already was.
"We could hang out here together if you're okay with that," Kazuha proposed, flashing a beautiful smile.
"No, you really don't have to… worry about me," Ayaka exclaimed in alarm, waving her hands. "If it's your last night, you should have fun. I... I think I couldn't be a company just as fun as all the games, food, and shows we prepared for tonight."
She said so, but deep down, she knew she wanted him to stay with her that night. That they spend time together, that they eat, that they chat, that...
That anything could happen...
Kazuha turned her face to the side and placed a hand on his chin, striking a thoughtful pose. Ayaka felt a slight hollow in her chest at the thought that perhaps he was actually considering taking him up on it and attending the festival. She knew that felt bad because Kazuha thought doing what she asked him to do was absurd and incoherent. But that didn't stop a part of her heart from aching at the possibility.
"Maybe there's a way for us both to go to the festival without attracting attention," Kazuha pointed out suddenly, taking Ayaka by surprise.
"Huh? How?"
"Being unnoticeable is a quality I've had to refine all this time," Kazuha proudly pointed out. "If you attend the festival as a citizen and not as Kamisato Ayaka, there should be no problem. Right?"
"I guess," Ayaka muttered hesitantly. "Are you saying I should go undercover? How would I do that…?"
"I'll take care of that," Kazuha replied shrewdly. "If you really would like to at least try."
Ayaka parted her lips in preparation for an answer but hesitated momentarily before saying anything. The mere possibility of doing what Kazuha proposed was, to say the least, intriguing...
"If you think it's possible… yes! Of course!" agreed Ayaka excitedly. "What do you propose?"
"For now, I'll go to get some things," Kazuha said, moving quickly towards the door. "In the meantime, you just choose from your wardrobe the least fine-looking yukata you have."
"The least... fine-looking yukata," Ayaka whispered, sounding as confused as if those words were unfamiliar to her. She put that thought aside and focused for the moment on something else. "Wait! Kazuha!"
Ayaka hurried to catch up with him before he left and quickly grabbed his haori sleeve to stop him. The swordsman stopped and turned to look at her. Ayaka's face showed concern.
"You... you'll be back, right?" she whispered shyly. "You will come tonight, right? You won't leave without saying goodbye..."
Again…
"I will," Kazuha replied with steely conviction. He raised a hand, placing it gently over the one Ayaka had on his sleeve. The light brush of his fingers against her skin made Ayaka tremble a little.
Convinced that he was telling the truth, the Heron Princess slowly opened her fingers to let him go.
"I'll see you tonight," Kazuha declared, nodding, then hurried up the stairs without further ado.
Ayaka silently watched him from the door of her room until she no longer saw him. Then she parted her lips only slightly and let out a tiny whisper just for her:
"It's a date…"
She stood there for a while without realizing it, looking toward the stairs as if she expected him to return for them. One of her hands went by itself to her face, and her fingers slowly traced her lips with a soft caress. The idea suddenly came to her mind that... she wouldn't have minded him saying goodbye to her with another kiss, like the ones he had already given her before.
But he'll be back tonight, she thought, absorbed. We will go to the festival together, and we will have fun. Like two normal people; like a normal couple…
The complete materialization of that idea in her head became even more explicit at that moment and inevitably caused a pleasant tingling sensation that ran through her entire body.
And then she remembered that, for that to happen, she needed her least fine-looking yukata.
"By the Archons," she said aloud and quickly went in alarm to her wardrobe to rummage through her few options.
Thoma would find her a few minutes later right there, kneeling on the floor of the room, surrounded by all her outfits, rummaging through each piece of clothing repeatedly in exasperation. She would take one, go through it entirely, uttering a "No!" and then put it on the pile with the others to move on to the next one. And so in a cycle from garment to garment.
The usual thing was to see Kamisato Ayaka always in complete control, derived from the upbringing that forced her not to leave her emotions so exposed, especially the negative ones. But at that moment, she seemed to have forgotten entirely about that teaching...
Thoma cleared his throat a bit to get her attention.
"Milady, is everything alright?" he asked cautiously.
Ayaka was startled and raised her concerned gaze to him.
"Thoma," she pronounced aloud and then extended her hands toward him, each holding a yukata, one pink and one purple. "Which of these two looks less elegant and refined? Or rather, which of these would seem more typical for a non-noble young lady to wear?"
"I am... not sure," Thoma said hesitantly. "But I think they both look pretty expensive."
"I know!" uttered Ayaka in frustration. "I have very few clothes here in Komore, and all I have is for important Tri-Commission events or if I am summoned to an audience before the Shogun. The least conspicuous things I have are my nightwear and training clothes… could I go out with either of those two? No! What am I saying?"
She covered her face with the pink yukata, hiding her embarrassment.
"What's the matter, milady?" whispered Thoma doubtfully, carefully entering the room. "Something wrong happened? Do you need my help?"
"There's nothing wrong, Thoma," Ayaka replied, trying to sound calmer. "I just need a common yukata, not so flashy. If I had prevented this, I could have ordered something from Ogura when I went the other day."
"I don't quite understand what you're saying, milady," Thoma murmured, shrugging. "But if you need a… common yukata, you could…"
"Maybe I'm still on time!" the young Kamisato pronounced, quickly standing up. "It's still early; maybe I can go and buy something not flashy before the festivities start."
Saying that plan aloud, she hurried to the door and after even faster to the stairs.
"I'll be back in a few minutes!" she exclaimed loudly so that Thoma could hear her, and a second later, there were only her quick footsteps down the steps to the ground floor.
Thoma watched silently for a while, unable to say a word before his mistress vanished like that.
"...I could ask one of the waitresses for one," he whispered slowly, completing the sentence he had left unfinished a moment ago.
After leaving the teahouse, Kazuha headed for the main street and approached the first mask stall he found already set up, manned by a pleasant old woman who greeted him with a smile as soon as she saw him standing in front of her modest stand. In addition to the masks, which were clearly the central item, she sold sparklers and assorted toys like swords, spears, and dolls. It is obvious that this was a stall more focused on children. But what caught Kazuha's attention was seeing among the curiosities what all seemed to be toy visions made of painted wood and colored glass spheres. He couldn't help but wonder if that was allowed on the Inazuma under the Vision Hunt Decree.
"Looking for something in particular, young master?" asked the old woman in a friendly tone.
"Just a couple of masks," he replied calmly, looking up at the hanging masks.
The models were quite varied. They mainly were classic yokai representations, though there were also others that Kazuha didn't recognize at first glance, and he guessed they must be characters from some popular light novel. Although he managed to identify the masks with dark blue hair and light purple eyes. Masks that are clearly inspired by the Almighty Shogun Raiden or some character similar to her.
"You got lucky. Since the festival hasn't started yet, I have all existing models available," the woman across the booth pointed proudly. "Which one would you like?"
Kazuha ran his gaze over each of the masks on display. He definitely wouldn't go for the ones with the Shogun's face, but any other model might work for the purpose he wanted to use them for. He was mainly tempted by one of a fox and another of a raccoon.
"Hey!" he heard a loud voice from the crowd, alerting him. For an instant, he thought it might be a guard, so his hand hurried to his sword. "But it is my friend Kazuha."
Turning around, it made out quite quickly among the people walking along the main street, the rather characteristic tall and stocky figure of Arataki Itto, in addition to the long red horns that adorned his head and the smiling expression on his face.
"Itto, hello," Kazuha pronounced slowly, managing to relax the next second. He also noticed that Itto didn't come alone but was accompanied by the three guys he was with the other day.
"Did you also come like us to look at the stalls before this gets crowded?" Itto asked curiously, standing next to him and looking towards the stall he was in front of.
"Not exactly," Kazuha muttered covertly. "I'm just looking for a couple of masks for tonight."
"Masks?" Itto whispered softly as he surveyed the stall.
The eyes of the leader of the Arataki Gang were soon fixed on a demon mask with red skin, long yellow fangs, and two long horns protruding from its head. The mask of an oni.
"This is offensive," Itto snapped angrily. His gaze then moved to the mask just to the side, also red, with a sullen expression, but with a long pointed nose. "But this one is hilarious!" he exclaimed, laughing and pointing to the tengu mask.
Kazuha then took a brown and black tanuki mask and another white and blue kitsune mask.
"I'll take these two," he informed the attendant, holding up the masks for her to see. "How much would it be?"
"I'll leave you both for five hundred moras," the old woman responded gently.
Kazuha jumped up, clearly surprised to hear the price. He took his money bag and checked how many coins he had. Clearly not enough.
"Are you short of moras?" Itto asked curiously, leaning his body over Kazuha's shoulder to look down at his bag.
"It seems so," Kazuha replied calmly, quickly closing the bag. "I don't think…"
"Hey, don't worry, friend," Itto exclaimed enthusiastically, giving him a hard slap on the back that nearly knocked him to the ground. "I invite you this time, okay? Akira, give him the money he needs."
"Huh?" Itto's friend exclaimed, confused. "Me?"
"And who else?" exclaimed Itto ferociously, turning towards his friends with his hands on his waist in an imposing pose. "Hey, I remind you that we are indebted to Kazuha since it was thanks to him giving us a large part of the prize from the other day that we were able to repair the hole in the old Shinai's restaurant and that he did not throw us to the guards."
"Hole you made, boss," Genta whispered under his breath.
"You don't have to," Kazuha hastened to say. "The least I want is to inconvenience you."
"No problem," Itto stated quickly before any of the others could reply. He even dared at that moment to snatch his bag of money from Akira when he was taking it out and extract the five hundred moras from it. "I told you I would pay you back sooner or later for the trouble I caused you the other day, remember? Take it as an advance."
And without even waiting for Kazuha to reply, he extended the coins to the woman at the stall, who accepted them without any objection.
Kazuha sighed, more than aware that there wasn't much he could do about it anymore.
"Thank you very much," he said solemnly, offering them a respectful bow. "I promise to try to pay you back as much as possible."
"Yeah, don't worry," Itto muttered nonchalantly, waving a hand in the air.
"You say it easily since it's not your money," Akira whispered slowly with slight annoyance.
"Hope you guys have fun tonight," Kazuha added with a slight nod.
"You too, my friend Kazuha," Itto stated enthusiastically. "If you come tonight and feel confident, I'll challenge you to a competition to see who can win the most prizes in the games. What do you think?"
"Please, boss, it never ends well when you try to bet on it," Mamoru muttered, concerned.
"I'm sorry, but I'll be a little… busy. Maybe some other time," Kazuha apologized. "I have to go now, but I hope to see you again before I leave town."
He turned at that moment towards the street, beginning to sneak away among the people.
"Think what I said!" Itto yelled from behind him. "Never shy away from any challenge! Did you hear?!"
"What a beautiful haori he was wearing. Did you notice it?" Genta whispered to the rest of his friends. "How can a guy who is clearly poorer than us have an outfit like that?"
Ayaka came running to Ogura Textiles & Kimonos. And, as she feared, she wasn't the only one looking for a last-minute outfit, as she found the store quite crowded; some people were even lining up outside.
"Oh no, oh no," she pronounced in complete dismay. She approached the door and tried to look inside, but the crowd wouldn't let her. And they were all so focused on getting what they needed that hardly any noticed that the famous Heron Princess was standing there by their side.
In other circumstances, perhaps Ayaka would laugh at how ironic it was that it was just at that moment that her presence was so unnoticed. But the last thing she had the mood for at that moment was to laugh.
As she was trying to decide what to do, considering perhaps going to another store, she saw Ogura Mio leaving through a side door of the building, carrying three boxes stacked in front of her. Maybe she was on her way to make a delivery.
"Miss Mio!" Ayaka shouted to get her attention and hurried to catch up with her. "Hold on a second, please."
Ogura stopped when she heard Ayaka speak to her, and she turned to look over her shoulder as fast as the pile of boxes allowed her.
"Lady Kamisato," she exclaimed, surprised to recognize her and also somewhat worried. "What happened, milady? Was there a problem with the haori?"
"What?" Ayaka exclaimed, somewhat confused at first, but it didn't take long for her to understand what she meant. "Oh no, no. Everything went well with it. But I came because I urgently need a yukata."
"A yukata?" murmured Ogura. "For you?" Ayaka nodded quickly. "I thought you said you wouldn't be attending the festival."
"Well... there was a change of plans," Ayaka whispered, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, milady," Ogura pronounced, even more embarrassed than her. "You know I'd love to help you, but we've got our hands full. There would be no way to have a new yukata ready for you tonight..."
"No, that's perfect," Ayaka hurried to clarify. "Because I don't need a new Yukata. In fact, I need one common looking, modest, not fancy or elegant at all. The most ordinary and least flashy yukata you have available."
Ogura stared at her, totally confused by what she was hearing and wondering if she understood correctly.
"The least flashy yukata we have?" she repeated slowly, waiting for Ayaka to correct her. But instead, Ayaka nodded affirmatively again. "Well, Lady Kamisato... all our clothes are made with the best materials and models..."
"There has to be one that isn't so elegant, right? With some simple pattern or with a not-so-exclusive fabric. At a lower price than the others... And yes, it can be blue, but that's optional."
"Well, you could look in the discount section outside," Ogura said, pointing her face toward the storefront. "Maybe there you will find what you need."
Ayaka turned to look where she indicated, where several shelves with kimonos were accompanied by large red labels that marked their prices considerably lower than regular garments. Ayaka blinked, slightly confused.
"Dis... count...?" she whispered slowly as if she was afraid she had mispronounced it. Had that section always been there? She didn't remember seeing it before. And the best thing was that only a few people reviewed it.
"I have to go, milady," Ogura said hastily. "I need to deliver this and get back as soon as possible."
"Yeah, sure," Ayaka hurried to reply. "I'll look for something there. Thank you very much for your help."
Ogura Mio walked briskly down the street while Ayaka approached the discount section. From a closer look, she could see that they were primarily models, colors, and patterns from past seasons; some looked like they had been in storage for quite some time. Many also had not-so-prominent engravings, and others were even a single flat color.
Ayaka got excited; one of these should work.
She planned to choose any, or even the lowest-priced, one she could find. But then, one, in particular, caught her attention. At first, it was its color, a sky blue that was actually very pretty, although it was a little faded. But when she inspected it more carefully, she saw that it had a discreet pattern in a darker blue of flying butterflies at the bottom.
Butterflies, she thought in surprise, and one of her hands lightly touched one of the clips she still had in her hair.
The yukata was clearly a bit old and had some flaws, apart from the dull color that was obviously not its original shade. Under the right arm, she could see that the seams had started to sag, and there was a small hole at the junction of the sleeve and the body of the kimono. And if she looked more closely, she could see that some parts had started to unravel. And very surely derived from all these details, the price of the garment was less than a quarter of the cheapest kimono Ayaka remembered having purchased in that store.
That was definitely a garment that no one would expect the famous Heron Princess to wear, especially in public…
"It's perfect!" Ayaka exclaimed, raising the yukata high. Her voice and face radiated with happiness.
Author Notes:
I love Ayaka, which I think many of you may have noticed after reading this story up to this point. But I must admit that the whole in-game thing about her being unable to go to festivals because her presence was too problematic to people, always felt a bit… weird to me. I mean, technically, I get it, but I feel like they gave a lot of weight during her mission, and then it didn't matter as much anymore. She even started attending various events without much trouble. But hey, here we respect the lore of each character exposed in the game... except when I don't want to, hehe.