20. âDid you just slap my ass?â
âSince weâre here, we should check out the local entertainment.â
Shiki shifted his gaze to his redheaded mentor and arched a brow. âI can only hope youâre referring to a Noh play.â
Akabayashi blinked at the younger samuraiâs suggestion then snorted. âYou actually think theyâre going to have noh play here? This is Yonezawa, not Kyoto. I was thinking more along the lines of a local izakaya or maybe a gambling house.â
âOf course you were,â Shiki replied with a sigh. âIzakaya. I want to eat a proper dinner.â
âI suppose thatâs a good enough start.â Akabayashi agreed. âSome fresh grilled yakitori and vegetables sounds pretty good right now.â
They left their bags in the ryokan they were staying at and made their way to a nearby izakaya, recommended to them by the ryokanâs owner. The first thing Akabayashi ordered, of course, was sake while Shiki focused on the meal. After several days of travel, a proper meal was pure heaven compared to the meals of dried fish and onigiri they had been eating. With Akabayashi refilling his cup, it wasnât long before both of them were drunk, not that the young lord showed much sign of it compared to his boisterous mentor.
âTime to find some entertainment!â Akabayashi declared as he emptied the last of the sake bottle into Shikiâs cup. âI asked and the ryokan owner told me thereâs a teahouse not too far from here that is putting on a womenâs kabuki play this evening.â
Shiki stared at the cup with a frown. âKabuki isnât entertainment. Itâs just a way for them to sell their girls.â He observed.
âOh come on, watching pretty girls sing and dance is perfect entertainment,â Akabayashi replied, pulling Shiki to his feet as the lord emptied his cup. If he swayed a bit, Akabayashi didnât mention it though the grin on the redheadâs face grew a bit wider.
âFine, fine.â Shiki relented with a sigh. âBetter than wasting money on gambling I suppose. At least the girls might provide decent conversation.â
âAre you saying Iâm not good conversation?â Akabayashi replied as they left the izakaya and made their way toward the tea house.
âYouâre not. Your interests range from fighting to gambling to drinking to pretty girls.â
âAll worthy interests.â
âBut not at all interesting to talk about.â
âSays the too-serious one. Youâre⌠how old?â Akabayashi paused as if trying to calculate Shikiâs age.
âSixteen.â The lord filled in with exasperation.
âAnd all you talk about is history and politics. Thatâs old men conversation. Youâre in the prime of your youth. You should be enjoying yourself! Right ladies?â He gazed at the young women waiting to serve them as they entered the teahouse. âWe are here to see the show!â
âOf course, my lords.â The girls responded, giggling at the two drunk samurai.
âItâs not old men conversation,â Shiki muttered sullenly, drawing a laugh from Akabayashi as the girls escorted them to one of the semi-private rooms. The screens on one side opened up to view the stage area while the other screens provided privacy from other guests.
âWhat do you girls like to talk about?â Akabayashi asked as the girls took seats beside them, pouring the sake. âNot politics and history, Iâm sure.â
âIâm rather fond of poetry, my lord.â One of the girls responded with a shy smile. âWe recently obtained a book of renga poetry from Kyoto.â
âPoetry! How romantic.â Akabayashi replied with a grin. âHaruya also enjoys poetry.â
Shiki rolled his eyes, turning his gaze away from Akabayashi to the stage as the actors began their performance. Despite the reputation womenâs kabuki had garnered for being nothing more than a showpiece for prostitutes, this teahouseâs girls were surprisingly good performers and the young lord found himself engaged by the story, a retelling of a love story between a samurai and a common girl. The samurai was played by a boyish-looking girl who was quite charming in the role, while the girl was a more conventional beauty whose kimono kept âaccidentallyâ slipping as the story progressed, flashing glimpses of flesh to the audience.
âSheâs a pretty one,â Akabayashi commented as the play came to its inevitable conclusion where the samurai and the girl shared a romantic embrace and a surprisingly chaste kiss.
âThe other one was a better actor,â Shiki observed, resting his head on his hand.
Akabayashi arched a brow, grinning. âIs that your type, then?â He teased the young lord. âSeems the lord likes the skinny ones.â
Shiki scowled at Akabayashi as the girls laughed. âThatâs not what I said.â He protested.
âIf my lord would like to meet her, we can arrange it.â One of the girls said with a smile. âIâm sure sheâd be pleased to attend you.â
âNo, wonât be necessary,â Shiki replied sullenly as his words were taken out of context. She had been attractive enough, he supposed, but he hadnât been thinking of her in that sense when heâd spoken.
Akabayashi just laughed. âI think my lord has had too much to drink.â He teased, helping Shiki to his feet.
âWhose fault is that?â Shiki muttered, swaying a bit before giving the girls a polite bow. âThank you for your company. Please tell your actors that we enjoyed their show.â
The girls glanced at each other in surprise at the lordâs actions then quickly returned the bow, smiling. âOf course, my lord. Please come visit again. We do a different play every week.â
Akabayshi just laughed and draped an arm over Shikiâs shoulders as they made their way out. âManners first, even when youâre drunk.â He teased Shiki as they stepped out into the cool evening air. Shiki just rolled his eyes and began the walk back to the ryokan, concentrating on not swaying as he walked. âSo is it skinny girls you like, Haruya, or pretty boys?â Akabayashi prodded with a grin.
Shiki gave him a sharp look. âI never said I liked her in that way.â
âBut you couldnât keep your eyes off her during the performance.â
âShe was a good actor.â
âAnd you never seem to pay attention to the girls when we go out drinking.â
âBecause unlike you, Iâm not interested in wasting my time with that sort of entertainment.â
âYou donât want to get laid?â
âThatâs notâŚâ Shiki clicked his teeth in irritation. âIâm just not interested in those kinds of girls.â
âThen what are you interested in? Pretty noble ladies?â
Shiki stopped walking and turned to look at Akabayashi, crossing his arms over his chest. âWhy are you so determined to drag me to these places and set me up with these girls?â
âCause I think you need to relax and learn to enjoy yourself,â Akabayashi replied, gazing at the young lord seriously. âYouâre taking everything on your shoulders and sharing none of the burdens. You donât give yourself even the smallest bit of leeway to take a step away from your responsibilities once in a while and it shows.â
âI canât afford to,â Shiki replied firmly. âI will be lord of-â
â-Lord of Sendai one day yeah, yeah, I know.â Akabayashi interrupted. âAt this rate, youâre going to overwork yourself before you have the chance to inherit.â He grinned. âWhat an embarrassing way to die⌠Especially at such a young age.â
Shiki arched a brow. âAnd getting laid is going to help? I donât think so. Just because you find flirting with women relaxing or fun or whatever, doesnât mean I do.â
âHow would you know?â
âWhat?â
âHow would you know it wonât help? Itâs not like youâve ever seriously tried.â
Shiki couldnât entirely refute Akayabashiâs words, ringing a bit too true in his drunken thoughts. âMaybe not, but Iâm still not going to go paying those girls for that kind of thing.â He replied, eyeing Akabayashi with a calculating look. A hint of a smirk crept onto his lips as he continued. âShow me.â
âWhat?â Akabayashi replied in surprise.
âShow me how getting laid will help.â
âMy lordâŚâ Akabayashiâs grin returned. âAre you⌠propositioning me?â
Shiki sighed at the redheadâs teasing and turned away. âNevermind. Forget it.â
âOh no, I couldnât possibly do that,â Akabayashi replied, smirking. âItâs my job to mentor you, after all. How could I possibly turn down a request for help?â
âNo, really, donât put yourself out,â Shiki replied, resuming the walk back to the ryokan. âYouâre probably a terrible choice anyway.â
âOh, Iâm definitely going to make you take that back,â Akayabashi replied, catching up to him in a few strides, giving Shikiâs ass a solid swat that made the drunken lord stumble.
âDid you just slap my ass?â He exclaimed, giving Akabayashi a dirty look.
âBetter get used to it, Haruya.â He replied, returning Shikiâs look with a predatory grin.
So is there going to be more to this, or...?















