Last night had been an... Interesting night. She had gotten in contact with a western merchant bringing goods from his homeland. She didn't remember the name of it, the pronunciation was too weird, but he had interesting goods, that was for sure. The jewelry was pretty, there was no questioning that, but the drinks he had... Compared to sake, sake felt like water in terms of wealth. Much sharper taste, stronger alcohol, and all kinds of fancy spices. She could care less about the fanciness of it though, it had been an interesting night for sure. He had given her a free bottle of the wine after winning over him in a western board game. Luckily, he spoke Japanese, so they could understand one another.
The game had been interesting though. Each player had 16 pieces, and the goal was to simply get rid of one specific piece the opponent had while protecting your own. Eight of the 16 pieces could only move forward and diagonally, but the rest had special features about them, which made the game a lot more interesting. He had called it 'beginners luck' when she won, not that it mattered though, and he had given her another bottle of the wine she had bought a small glass off just to try it. The victory had been well rewarding, but then again, what was a win without a reward? They had tried a couple other games as well, though most of them were too complicated to win in without planning beforehand, so the merchant naturally won, to Kotone's annoyance.
In the end however, the night had been well spent. He had told stories from the west as well, and despite that most of them sounded so dumb Kotone didn't even consider believing them, they were still very interesting to listen to, if so only for the entertainment value.
Her half-drunk self had even ended up purchasing one of the games he had, paying a ridiculous price of course, but then again, her drunk self didn't know better. She had been drinking about the same amount as she would with sake, which had left her as a giggling wreck barely managing to get back to Yousuke's garden, finding herself a nice tree to climb up into (Which took more attempts than she could count on her fingers) before she ended up falling asleep, the hexagonal wood box containing the game left by the root of the tree.
The game had been interesting though. Each player had 16 pieces, and the goal was to simply get rid of one specific piece the opponent had while protecting your own. Eight of the 16 pieces could only move forward and diagonally, but the rest had special features about them, which made the game a lot more interesting. He had called it 'beginners luck' when she won, not that it mattered though, and he had given her another bottle of the wine she had bought a small glass off just to try it. The victory had been well rewarding, but then again, what was a win without a reward? They had tried a couple other games as well, though most of them were too complicated to win in without planning beforehand, so the merchant naturally won, to Kotone's annoyance.
In the end however, the night had been well spent. He had told stories from the west as well, and despite that most of them sounded so dumb Kotone didn't even consider believing them, they were still very interesting to listen to, if so only for the entertainment value.
Her half-drunk self had even ended up purchasing one of the games he had, paying a ridiculous price of course, but then again, her drunk self didn't know better. She had been drinking about the same amount as she would with sake, which had left her as a giggling wreck barely managing to get back to Yousuke's garden, finding herself a nice tree to climb up into (Which took more attempts than she could count on her fingers) before she ended up falling asleep, the hexagonal wood box containing the game left by the root of the tree.
Eventually though, she did wake up. Yousuke's page, Sasuke was it, had passed the tree she had been sleeping in. Most of the alcohol had already been processed, a completely obsolete yet bloody useful ability she had somehow attained at some point. Her eyes followed him as he made his way over to the house Yousuke lived in and she used to store her things (What little she owned) before then to disappear into the villa, which made her lack something to focus on, which made her slowly drift back into sleep after taking a last small sip of the wine.
Her sleep was apparently not going to last long though. The young page had found her after a short amount of time, too short for her to fall properly to sleep, but more than enough to surprise her. She was normally not that easy to find, but then again, when one of her feet was hanging down from the side of the branch, along with a green bottle of wine was hanging between two of her fingers, she wasn't exactly invisible.
He had called her name, and she snapped out of the short sleep, almost falling off the branch, though saving herself with the foot that had been hanging down the side of the branch. She had managed to curve it, so she ended up hanging solemnly for it. She had however lost the grip of the bottle though, so when she fell, the bottle did so too. She managed to save it however, along with some of the liquid, though almost 1/4th of the wine had been poured into the young boy's hair. Kotone climbed up on the branch again and looked down at him.
"Seriously, at least attempt at drinking it, I know it might be fashionable, but still, use something cheap for your hair needs, not my wine" She mockingly said as she climbed off the branch and jumped down to the ground, holding her palm over the bottlehead to avoid more of the liquid being spilled. She could hear the boy mumbling something, though it was too low to hear it, so she dropped the topic and looked at him, leaning back on to the tree, taking another small sip of the bottle.
"Now, what is it? My time is more worth than yours, so speak up" She wasn't exactly pleasant to be around in general, at least for most people, but mocking the boy was almost too fun. She just hoped he wouldn't quit, it was by far too amusing to have him around. "Yousuke received a letter earlier, and while I didn-" Kotone didn't second guess cutting off what sounded like the start of a ten-minute monologue. "Thanks, that's enough, your voice screams in my ears, just tell me what is going on" She brushed some of her hair behind her ears while waiting for him to speak up. "Yousuke wants to see you" was the answer she received. Short, straight to the point, far better than the monologue she had been expecting. "Before you go, have you seen any of the others?" He asked. She picked up the board game and shrugged casually. "If I knew, why would I tell you? That's like telling the end of the story before the beginning, look, have fun, and don't pour more wine in your hair, or if you do, at least buy it yourself" She could see him rubbing some of his hair with two of his fingers, the hair all wet from the dark-red wine.
They left one another, she heading for the mansion while he headed for who knows where, somewhere at the very least. Not that it mattered too much to her at all. She was most likely the first one to be found, at least she thought she were. She walked up to the entrance to the villa and entered it, still wearing the slightly baggy golden yellow pants from the day before, with a kimono jacket thrown over it, despite not being closed properly, leaving the area in between exposed, revealing the bandage pressing her bust down. Along with that, a pair of simple sandals went along with it. She walked up the stairs and entered Yousuke's office, without knocking, as always. No honorable bowing or similarities either, she just entered and sat down, putting the game behind her and the wine besides her. "Good morning to you, Yousuke-Sama" While she wasn't all that grand when it came to honorifics, she had at least enough respect for the man to use the appropriate title for him.
Her sleep was apparently not going to last long though. The young page had found her after a short amount of time, too short for her to fall properly to sleep, but more than enough to surprise her. She was normally not that easy to find, but then again, when one of her feet was hanging down from the side of the branch, along with a green bottle of wine was hanging between two of her fingers, she wasn't exactly invisible.
He had called her name, and she snapped out of the short sleep, almost falling off the branch, though saving herself with the foot that had been hanging down the side of the branch. She had managed to curve it, so she ended up hanging solemnly for it. She had however lost the grip of the bottle though, so when she fell, the bottle did so too. She managed to save it however, along with some of the liquid, though almost 1/4th of the wine had been poured into the young boy's hair. Kotone climbed up on the branch again and looked down at him.
"Seriously, at least attempt at drinking it, I know it might be fashionable, but still, use something cheap for your hair needs, not my wine" She mockingly said as she climbed off the branch and jumped down to the ground, holding her palm over the bottlehead to avoid more of the liquid being spilled. She could hear the boy mumbling something, though it was too low to hear it, so she dropped the topic and looked at him, leaning back on to the tree, taking another small sip of the bottle.
"Now, what is it? My time is more worth than yours, so speak up" She wasn't exactly pleasant to be around in general, at least for most people, but mocking the boy was almost too fun. She just hoped he wouldn't quit, it was by far too amusing to have him around. "Yousuke received a letter earlier, and while I didn-" Kotone didn't second guess cutting off what sounded like the start of a ten-minute monologue. "Thanks, that's enough, your voice screams in my ears, just tell me what is going on" She brushed some of her hair behind her ears while waiting for him to speak up. "Yousuke wants to see you" was the answer she received. Short, straight to the point, far better than the monologue she had been expecting. "Before you go, have you seen any of the others?" He asked. She picked up the board game and shrugged casually. "If I knew, why would I tell you? That's like telling the end of the story before the beginning, look, have fun, and don't pour more wine in your hair, or if you do, at least buy it yourself" She could see him rubbing some of his hair with two of his fingers, the hair all wet from the dark-red wine.
They left one another, she heading for the mansion while he headed for who knows where, somewhere at the very least. Not that it mattered too much to her at all. She was most likely the first one to be found, at least she thought she were. She walked up to the entrance to the villa and entered it, still wearing the slightly baggy golden yellow pants from the day before, with a kimono jacket thrown over it, despite not being closed properly, leaving the area in between exposed, revealing the bandage pressing her bust down. Along with that, a pair of simple sandals went along with it. She walked up the stairs and entered Yousuke's office, without knocking, as always. No honorable bowing or similarities either, she just entered and sat down, putting the game behind her and the wine besides her. "Good morning to you, Yousuke-Sama" While she wasn't all that grand when it came to honorifics, she had at least enough respect for the man to use the appropriate title for him.