lets have tea
As I was walking through the lighted up streets of…
"hey" I looked at the girl
"what?" she answered nervously
"what is this town called again?" I asked
"ah its called Morodashi (bare/exposed)" she answered before continuing "its name came from being built at a flat land and being a town without any fences or walls around, that is also why its popular with merchants and visitors, because its free to get in and out" she smiled a little while looking around
I just quickly picked (stole) myself and her some clothes for the festival, more specifically- a kimono, for both of us, I got myself an half kimono, yes believe it or not its common for men to wear kimonos too, I even picked up a black and purple Haori which I found quite fitting for my looks, my hair is still white but I plan to keep it that way (4 pictures in comments)
"hmmm" I hummed while thinking about my good choice of clothes
"you know that people normally don't wear half kimono's for festivals right?" she still looked apprehensive about talking normally to me instead of respectfully even after I explicitly asked her to stop
"yeah, I just plan to wear these clothes all the time, that's why I took a couple sets" I answered and lifted the bag in my hand that held about 3 more sets of the same clothes I wore
"…I still feel bad that we didn't pay, I have a kimono at home you know?" she looked back at the street infront
"well, I thought it would be better to just steal you clothes for the festival instead of some random clothes, and it looks good on you *sigh* just be thankful" I answered her and closed my eyes for a second with the 'sigh'
"yeah…fine, I still want to pay them afterwards" she lifted her hands to get a better look at the kimono I picked (stole) for her with consideration on her face, I think she likes it
Well, It WAS quite pretty, and fitted her well, not really a fashion enthusiastic but I'm quite proud of my choice, it was black with hints of white with a couple flowers on it (picture in comments)
We are now on our way to her house to meet her grandma and reassure her that she is okay, after that… makeup? Also styling her hair, which to be honest I don't think looks good
Maybe its just the western side of me, but the makeup and hair of woman in traditional Japan just look worse than how they look without those, they look like dolls with all that makeup on them
(timeskip)
We are now infront of the grandma's house, and my companion quickly knocked on the door
I heard quick footsteps coming from inside and the door quickly opened, there was an old lady even smaller than the girl with an expectant look on her face appeared on the doorstep
She had one look at her granddaughter and quickly hugged her, I can see with my demon perceptions that she had a little pain while moving but just ignored it
'what a strong granny' I looked at them hugging with a smile
"what happened? Why didn't you come back home yesterday? Are you hurt?" she stepped back and looked at the body of her granddaughter and worries became confusion "why are you wearing a new kimono?" than she transferred her gaze to me
I gave her a small smile and lifted my hand with a greeting "yo"
"…this is…?" she slowly looked at her granddaughter with an apprehensive look
"ah! This is…" she trailed off when she realized she didn't learn my name
"Hairo Tekochi" I smiled and gave a tiny bow as a greeting "I found your granddaughter passed out on the floor last night" I said with an awkward smile "so I took her in until she woke up, can we talk about it inside?" I tilted my head a little when I asked
"ah, yes yes I'll prepare some tea, Yumiko can you please show him to the table?" she turned around after looking at me for a while with a guarded look
"come with me" my newly named companion- now Yumiko said
When we sat on pillows on the floor next to a low table, I know I should sit on my knees but that shit is uncomfortable so I sat with my legs intertwined
"sorry I didn't ask your name before Hairo" she looked at me with an awkward smile
"um actually my first name is Hairo" I looked at her after realizing my mistake
"but you just sai-" she was about to explain when I cut her off
"where I'm from we say the first name… well first" I answered "I forgot here it's the opposite, anyway… I can hear your grandma in the kitchen making tea so lets make up the story" I stopped for a second and began talking again "I found you passed out so I took you to my home until you woke up, after that I returned you here in hopes of going with you and your grandma to the festivals" I stopped while looking at her for any un-agreements on her part "is that a good enough story?" I asked her to make it clear that I wanted to hear if there were any flaws in the story
"well… where are my old clothes than?" she asked shyly
"well they were dirty from being on the floor so I of course gave you a change of clothing" I closed my eyes while answering
"I guess its good than, you are pretty good at lying Tekochi" she looked at me with an awkward smile "I'll totally believed you for a second that you found me passed out for a second" she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment
"I'm pretty good at it" smiling at the recognition "I've actually made it a habit of training lying to strangers when I was little" my smile became nostalgic when I thought of my peaceful days as a kid
"were you-… were you always-" she was trying to ask me something when I answered before she could finish
"no- no I wasn't" I answered angerly, I think I answered to harshly because she flinched back "oh… I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you" I smiled at her aporetically
"no… its ok" she nodded with a small smile on her face "if anything it shows me that you are not just acting nice" she looked to the side while admitting to think I was acting until now "at the start you were quite scary, and I thought you were acting when you acted nice, I'm sorry fo-" I cut her off
"no its alright… there is nothing wrong with being paranoid with a monster like m-"
"YOU ARN'T A MONSTER" she exclaimed loudly while I widened my eyes from shock "you are kind and respect people even though you are much stronger! you didn't kill anyone… I think?" she looked at me for confirmation
I chuckled a little while looking at the floor and put my hand on the table "no, not yet atleast" after saying that my smile dimmed a little after saying that
I know I'll need to kill people in the future, as long as Muzan still has control over me I can't disobey him, he will eventually 'use' me for things he wants done and I wouldn't be able to do anything but obey… I felt a hand on my hand and looked up to see Yumiko
"I-… I don't know your circumstances… but you aren't a bad person" she looked at me with determination and finality in her words
I widened my eyes and looked into hers, the world around stopped when I looked into her black eyes…
"the tea is- oh my!" the grandma entered the room with a tray and smiled teasingly at the scene
Me and Yumiko blushed while removing our hands from each-other quickly, she looked at the ground while I put my hand of my face from embarrassment
'…this was so embarrassing' I thought with while cringing at what just happened
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1379 words
really proud of the last two chapters, I think the speed of development is good and interaction is natural and organic
tell me what you think
C ya guys later