----- 香夜 -----

                  A HAND REACHES up, hiding half of her smile as amusement flickers across her face. “What makes you think I could possibly be an ‘Elder Sister’?” Semiramis had been giving many names, from the highest form of respect to the outright the rudest. Though this one was certainly something.. sweet may she say. How utterly adorable, but the Assassin knew there was intent behind these words, it must - everyone did.

What made Kayo think Semiramis was an elder sister? Blinking, Kayo changed her posture to a thinking one. It was a rather hard question to answer, not because she had an answer but because the brunette felt like she was put on the spot. 

“If you don’t mind me rambling, then...” Easy now Kayo. “You give off  this...elegant and mature vibe!” Honestly, Semiramis reminded Kayo of the ladies of Yoshiwara, despite their occupation, they were dazzling in their own right and were so beautiful and strong in their own ways.

                    SHIROU had to keep from allowing the centuries’ old frustration at the way the province he was in was run to show on his face. women like kayo were confined to the home, and they were at the beck and call of their husbands and the men of the family. as if that didn’t make matters worse, high tax and a famine seared the land, which drove the people – peasants and ronin alike – against the shogunate. one could not fault them for starting the rebellion in the first place with circumstances like that. as he watched kayo prepare the ingredients, he gently shook his head. “my father and i used to serve a daimyou, but he was displaced, and we became ronin. i became a man of faith, and my parents were supportive of it. i led a group of men, women and children in my faith, with the aim of seeking justice for them, but…”

                   HE shook his head, derailing his train of thought immediately. “it’s quite alright. shall we?“ he eventually replied, hoping kayo did not latch on to his brief moment of uncertainty. the sudden cloud of flour filled the air, and some of it got on to his face and hands, turning them just a shade lighter. coughing a little from the cloud, his eyes glinted with amusement. “this certainly brings back fond memories, indeed. ideally, we should gradually add in the water, then fold it together with the flour. or at least – that’s how mother and i used to do it.”

“That’s correct.” Udon isn’t a hard item to make, it was merely time consuming. Especially for Kayo since it was just her and her father in the restaurant, so making noodles from scratch was very demanding since you have to make sure that they were divided out evenly and correctly. However, since Amakusa was a boy and also a Servant, Kayo leaves the noodles to him. Pushing the bowl to him, the brunette decided to take on making the sauces. Since it’ll be her first time making mapo tofu, she needs to be careful. 

So she needs obviously tofu and pork. Apparently, the more she looks at the recipe, the more simple it was actually going to be. Nodding to herself, the brunette slowly started to get to work.

10 minutes later ( because I am lazy don’t want to write details about cooking )

Clapping her hands together, both Kayo and Amakusa were a bit dirty from fixing up the sauces and messing with the noodles, but it was finally done. Mapo Tofu Udon was completed! Kayo didn’t test its taste, so she didn’t know how spicy it would be. However, it does look appealing.

     THIS WOMAN’S CHEEKS WERE so red! They almost reminded him of cherries with the intensity of it. Such made him want to reach out and pinch one out of amusement, but he was amused enough by her reactions to his granting permission to touch him. At first, he had assumed she would be too shy and would run away hiding her face; however, Kayo surprised him with what she did next. When her hands touched him, he thought she would just feel his muscles and then quickly issue an apology. That was not necessarily what transpired. 

     Instead, Kayo’s hands roamed over his abdomen to such an extent, that he could not help but grin as he bit back slight laughter that almost slipped from him. No one had touched him like THIS before, so it turned out to be expectantly a odd sensation. One could almost call it ticklish.

     Almost.

     ❝Ahahaha! I am glad you are enjoying yourself. You are a lucky woman. Most would not be allowed to even step into my space like this. You have caught me in a good mood today, so I allow this. My generosity should be remembered and praised for all days to come.❞

Kayo looked up at Ozymandias. He was a honest man and was warm like the sun. How would the brunette even begin to describe it. He reminds Kayo of a futon when one wants to take it out in the sun and air it out. Even his cape was white like a futon. She felt like she was getting sucked into the Pharaoh’s pace or was it his warmth? She honestly couldn’t tell. 

“I feel like Ojimanju-sama is always in a good mood.” 

Kayo couldn’t help but blurt out what was on her mind. The only time she would ever see him a bad mood is when somebody was trying to provoke him or annoy him on purpose, but generally he seems to be a very merry person. Regardless, she was grateful that he wasn’t angry for allowing Kayo to fully examined his abdomen like this. The Pharaoh is a very handsome man and his personality was pleasant as well, if not a bit loud, but Kayo can see that he’s actually quite popular among men and women. Which makes her want to test out another theory.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. Her cheeks pressed against his chest and she could feel his warmth wrapped around her. He was like a walking sun, he’ll be perfect to stand next to on colder days. “...” A moment passed. An awkward silence passed between the Servant and girl before Kayo began to laugh. It’s been a long time since she acted this carefree. 

  ❛  it’s  closer   to   home   than   this   zoo   will  ever  be.   ❜   a  chortle,  a  sneer  at  the  servants  that  surrounded  them  (  there  is  a  certain  madness  in  waking  up  from  death,  a  delusion  that  haunts  her  still  :  are  her  dreams  even  real?  ).  ❛  tch,  that  makes  you  sound  like  some  damn  babaa  when  you’re  as  pretty  as  a  flower.  if  only  i  grew  a  face  as  pretty  as  this  one  —  ❜  her  hand  reaches  over  and  yanks  at  her  cheek  most  deviously.  ❛  then  maybe  i  could  have  gotten  married!  hah!  ❜  letting  go  of  kayo,  she  settles  back  into  the  bench  as  she  fumbles  with  the  sweets  box.  ah,  but  marriage  wasn’t  for  the  dead.  it  wasn’t  for  the  strong,  the  smart.  never  for  the  shinsengumi.  ❛  mm,  surely  you  married  a  rich  and  noble  man.  your  father  must  have  been  proud  enough  to  gleam  a  new  shade  of  gold.  ❜ 

!!! Kayo immediately pouted when Souji decided to pull on her cheeks. She couldn’t help but be reminded of her best friend, Matsu. Hazel eyes stared straight into pale ones. Something felt somewhat off but it wasn’t her place to poke her nose to. It simply wasn’t her business after all. Once Souji finally let go of her cheek, the brunette rubbed the abused area. 

The pout on her lip was still there. 

“Don’t say such things, Souji-chan. You’re much more prettier than me.” Before Kayo could make another retort, Souji caught her off guard with the marriage statement as she almost dropped her own dango. “Me? Married? Rich and noble man?!” True, both of them were technically at the age where marriage was most appropriate for them but that was a thought that hasn’t appeared in Kayo’s mind at all. 

Now I can go buy lunch ( I doodle this in literally 10 minutes)

@falsaint

“...”

“......”

“........”

Something in her mind stopped. Like the brakes were suddenly pushed as the brunette had to take a moment to consider what just happen and what she just heard with her own two ears. Did Shirou called her ‘nee-chan’? She was used being called that by the younger children back home but to think that she would hear it from the boy’s own mouth was unexpected. They were physically the same age or did Kayo have a bigger mental gap than Shirou?

She was only born five years before him! However it wasn’t a bad feeling, in fact, she was overjoyed. The fact that Shirou felt so comfortable with Kayo and that he view her as an older sister was something she wanted to take pride in. She didn’t know if it was simply a culture thing for them however she couldn’t help but felt like she gain herself a younger brother as well. 

Moving her free hand that wasn’t captured by his hand, Kayo gently patted Shirou on the head. He said he felt tired and borrowed her lap for a quick power nap. She smiled calmly and continued to stroke his head, as if he was the twelve year old that she might have met. Who knows, perhaps the two have crossed paths. 

Kayo will keep the fact that he called her nee-chan in his sleep a secret. He was still a man after all. 

                    AS he was about to sit down and let kayo cook while he indulged in some light reading, she invited him to cook with her, something that reminded him, once again, of his past. his mother, like most, if not all women in the edo period, were confined to the house, taking care of the children and the house chores. shirou hated to see oppression in such a form, and thus, he took it upon himself to help out wherever he could. he smiled fondly at the memory, perhaps the briefest glimpse of his actual smile, then nodded, standing up as he approached the kitchen counter. “certainly, kayo-san. i don’t mind it in the slightest. we’ll need flour, salt and water, correct?” pulling back the sleeves of his hakama, he hummed thoughtfully. “i used to help out my mother with the chores at home. it was unconventional for men to do so, but i enjoyed helping her out, even if it earned father’s ire occasionally.”

“If you were part of a higher class family, I would assume so but I don’t thinking knowing how to cook and do chores isn’t a bad thing. I believe it’s a profitable investment once you become independent.” Kayo chose her words carefully. She had to painfully reminded herself that no matter how close Amakusa was to her, he already had his life ended at a young age. Kayo was fully aware of herself as an outsider therefore she made sure to draw a fine line and watch her words carefully. 

As Kayo held the large bowl in hand, she place it on the table as Amakusa make way with the flour. Udon was actually a fairly easy thing to make, most people would assume that it’s hard but it was actually just time consuming, however the tools of the modern world makes the process of making the noodles a easy process. “Alright, I hope you’re ready to get dirty.” Kayo loves to cook, it was one of her favorite hobbies. 

“No need to stress the word, M’Lady, I’m not interested. Can a man not simply tell a woman she’s beautiful?” ‘Saku’ shakes his head lightly.  “I digress, I look forward to getting to know you better. Perhaps we can have tea sometime.” It would be good to make at least one connection here.. well, one that would try and assassinate him in his sleep later.

“It makes you seem like a scoundrel, Saku-san.” Well she wasn’t wrong about that since that was the vibe he was giving off to her, however he does not seem like a bad person. “I been warned many times to be wary of the flirtatious type and should make my intentions loud and clear.” 

Kei did make it loud and clear with her in the past. 

“Yeah, HA– wait, what’s that supposed to mean, huh?”

“Pft, well DUH! Why else would they talk like that? Stupid human.”

“Bwahaha! Kayo’s getting bullied!”

“Kayo.. how beautiful. It suits you.” But surely she would ask for his name. How should he go about this? Ah. With a small bow, he introduces himself. “Let us be friends. Please, call me Saku.”

Very strong Enishi vibes. No doubt about it. However she was used to dealing with flirts. At least he wasn’t calling her hime constantly considering that she was just a tea shop girl. 

falsaint

  I just realize that my url and Jasmine’s url...

now to change ur url to falbride

I just realize that my url and Jasmine’s url match. IS THIS UNMEI?? DESTINY???

“My my, what a beauty I spy.. May I have your name?”

@falsaint

“...” 

Kayo trusted Shirou’s words. He was a honest child, that much she can tell from their interactions. She knew that he was more level headed but for him to grab onto her sleeve reminded her much like the kids in her neighborhood. Since she was one of the few oldest, most of the children wanted to play with her and when something wrong happens, they tend to grab onto her sleeve. 

“Amakusa-san...” She did not know why this Uemonsaku person could bring such fury to Shirou’s face but if the boy in front of her was holding onto her sleeve like a child then Uemonsaku was obviously not good news to himself or Kayo. A ronin perhaps? His name would have been famous a few years later in Kayo’s time.