Kumari sat down to rest near a tree, enjoying the relaxing sound of water flowing nearby. Ichimaru had gone scouting ahead, while his sister went clean up the mud from her clothes. From where he was, he could hear her bathing at the river, and that thought make him blush, as well as brought Ichimaru’s words to his mind.
“Well, it seems Sazume is going to delay us until she gets rid of all that mud.”
“And whose is the fault for that again?”, Kumari replied. “Anyway, it’s getting late, we should stop and rest for a while.”
“Agreed. I’m gonna check on the surroundings, just to be sure we’re safe.”
“Good idea. I’ll keep an eye on Sazume.”
“Hey! That’s my sister you’re talking about!”
“Not literally ‘keeping an eye’, you moron!”
“Sure… Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t, okay?” Ichimaru warned, and then thought for an instant. “I mean… Don’t do anything I WOULD!”
“Ichimaru…” Kumari snarled.
“You know what I mean!”
He laughed at that and leaned his head against the tree, looking up to the sky. When he was tired of the constant changes in his life, he searched for the steady, immutable presence of the stars, and that always brought him peace. It felt like stopping time, or even making it go back. Soon his mind was away, at the vague memory the invitation had evoked. He wished to remember the first time he saw the fireworks, but it was too far away in the past.
“Are you always thoughtful like that, or just when I’m around?” Sazume asked while dropping the socked boa with a wet noise.
“I’m just trying to understand how I got here. It’s barely a year since my father died… and I’m already a free noble. Oh, with your brother as my vassal.” He couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Everything changed so fast in my life, just to think of it makes me dizzy.”
Sazume sat down by his side.
“I doubt your life had changed so much. You changed.”
“Yes, maybe you’re right.”
“It was Ichi, wasn’t he? He has that effect on people. Personally, I’m surprised you didn’t kill each other so far.”
“The thought did cross my mind…”
They laughed together.
“And then, you showed up again, and...”, he turned his eyes to her, “all of a sudden, it looks like we’re back to that night, a year ago, when I still was your father’s servant. Feels like it was yesterday…”
She smiled at that thought.
“Time does fly. Sometimes, I understand why Ichi is like that. To wish to act as a kid forever… I admit it tempts me too. But, before we realize, we’ve grown up and have to face the responsibilities of being and adult. To do what’s expected of us…”
Kumari observed her, curious. He had the impression that she wanted to say something else, that the last phrase was incomplete, but he dared not asking. He just saw her quivering in cold under her wet clothes, so he took of his kimono’s upper coat. For his surprise, she didn’t refuse as he put it over her shoulders, and offered a kind smile in return. A lady shouldn’t accept that courtesy without denying it at least once, but, away from her father, she wasn’t afraid to show the taste for the wild life she shared with her brother. Kumari was happy to see she was comfortable enough around him to ignore those formalities.
He wanted to ask about the fire demons of which they had spoke of before, but decided it could wait. Silently, they turned their eyes to the stars, wishing that moment of peace could last forever.
