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Snippet #2598874

located in Alternate Universe || Edo Japan, a part of Recrudescence, one of the many universes on RPG.

Alternate Universe || Edo Japan

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Character Portrait: Reiko Hino Character Portrait: Ayla
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Reiko hummed happily to herself as she fastened Sayuri’s obi in place, the pale blue of the fabric a sharp contrast against the hue of the kimono itself. Her own yukata was much simpler in design, the colors duller, though both were suitable for going out into the town. Reiko never made much use of all the nicest pieces in her wardrobe, most of them inherited from her mother, but she felt absolutely no reservations about sharing them with Sayuri. In fact, she probably would have given them all to the other girl if she thought her adopted sister would ever accept.

It had been about twelve years ago that the human girl had been introduced to their household, the last survivor of a pitched battle somewhere to the south, somewhere near Edo. Her father had rescued the child from what was sure to be a fate of poverty, death, or work in one of the brothels in the red lantern district, and brought her here, where the household had sort of collectively looked after her. Her father had officially adopted her, and so even after he died, she was a welcome ward of the house, though Reiko knew that some of her brothers weren’t especially keen on a human sharing one of the family names. Too bad for them—Sayu was here to stay.

And today she was free, so Reiko was taking her into town to meet Ayla. It had occurred to her that it must be awfully lonely, living like Ayla did, with only a brother for company most of the time. Not that there was anything wrong with brothers, of course, but there were things you could only get out of friendships with other females, and it was Sayuri herself that had taught Reiko that, as she grew up and they became closer, in the manner of two women rather than a lady and a little girl.

With sure hands, Reiko wound Sayuri’s dark hair up into a simple, but flattering topknot. The length was not as absurd as hers, but there was still a fair amount of it to be dealt with, and Reiko never bothered to hide the fact that she enjoyed doing her friend’s hair this way. It was soft and shiny, and pleasant to work through with her bare hands. A small, glittering ornament provided the final touch, and she stepped back, smiling softly into the mirror.

"Looks like we’re ready. This one hopes you’re hungry; Ayla-san owns a restaurant and this one would feel bad if we didn’t go there to eat!”

Sayuri had never been one to tell Reiko no, so when the older Hino spoke of venturing into town, Sayuri had happily obliged. She sat, motionless, while Reiko played with her hair, fixing it in a way that always looked pleasant. A gentle smile played on her lips, listening the brush strokes and the way her hair moved with Reiko's careful hands. Once she was finished, Sayuri turned and grinned at her surrogate sister. "Of course, I'm hungry. Can't you hear my stomach?" she replied, and as if on cue, her stomach released a small growling noise. A faint blush covered Sayuri's face as she placed a hand over her abdomen.

"I was only joking," she stated nervously. Still, she managed to smooth herself over and coughed into her hand. "I am surprised that a woman owns an establishment. Oh, but I don't mean it that way," Sayuri stated, waving her hands in front of herself as if to dismiss the idea. "I only meant it that those who are not from this village own such things and are still women," she corrected herself. She wondered how the woman fared before coming to their lord's village. Surely she didn't own a restaurant before? That, however, was a question for another time.

"Forget I mentioned anything. I am hungry, Reiko-chan. Let's go get something to eat. I would like to meet this Ayla-san, of yours," she confessed.

Reiko of course took no offense whatsoever, merely smiling a little wider and nodding. "Mhm. We shall!” The two left the estate without much difficulty, seeing as how they had every right to, and though the path down to the village was a little bit slower due to Sayuri’s presence, Reiko didn't mind at all, nor did she mention it, and the two passed the time as they always did, chatting about this and that. At one point, the recent negotiations between the Fujiwara house and a southern human daimyo came up, but only because the daimyo would soon be visiting, it seemed. It had been a very long time since the estate had any guests, indeed, which made it quite an interesting piece of gossip.

Other than that, though, their banter was light, and they walked with linked arm, stopping to greet many of the villagers they knew before eventually making it to Ayla’s restaurant. The signboard out of the front read simply ‘cuisine,’ and so she took it that the place didn’t have a name as of yet. Entering through the open doorway, the women seated themselves at a small table, and were soon given menus by a young waitress, a local village girl named Hana. Ayla had said she would join them, so they left an extra place for her as well.

Sayuri sat in comfortable silence as they awaited Reiko's friend. She decided to read the menu, instead, and glanced over the recipes. There was one that caught her eye and as another person approached the table, she set the menu down. It didn't take her long to realize who this person was, given the white hair and pale blue eyes meeting her own dark gray eyes. It took her a moment to realize that the woman, Ayla, was giving her a questioning look, and that she had been staring at the woman for what was longer than necessary. Immediately, Sayuri allowed her eyes to widen slightly, and muttered an apology. An amused smile crossed Ayla's face as she took a seat in the empty spot.

"You don't have to apologize, I'm used to it," Ayla replied, leaning on her hands as she stared at the young woman. She could tell by her scent that she was a human, which oddly reminded her of geraniums. There were, however, other scents softly mingled with hers, scents that were not human. Was she being used as a source of food? That didn't seem right. If that were the case, the young human wouldn't be human. "I'm glad you made it, Rei-Rei-chan," she stated, taking her attention off of Sayuri and placing it on Reiko. "Is she your mistress, Rei-chan?" she teased, watching as a faint blush spread across Sayuri's face.

"I am nothing of the sort!" Sayuri blurted, allowing the red to brighten. Ayla raised a questioning brow before chuckling lowly.

"Oh? Is that right?" Ayla questioned, keeping her gaze on Reiko.

"That's not very nice, Ayla-san,” Reiko said, her tone mild, but her eyes glinting with faint amusement. "Sayuri-chan is this one’s sister. Tou-chan adopted her about twelve years ago.” She smiled fractionally—just a bit. Reiko wasn’t one to grin or flash her teeth when she smiled, mostly out of cautious habit. Her fangs were not always visible when she did, but she didn’t want to risk it amongst humans. Sayu knew, of course, what she and her brothers were, but most did not, and everyone had been impressed by their father that things were better that way.

"But of course, if this one were interested in having a mistress, this one might ask Sayu-chan. She is very smart, and kind, and pretty, too.” Her smile widened just a little, as though she hadn’t said something hopelessly embarrassing for her friend, and she hid it behind one of the menus, her shoulders shaking just faintly with well-stifled laughter.

"Oh? Now I'm jealous, Rei-chan. And here I thought you would have chosen me," Ayla spoke, a frown tugging at the ends of her lips as she grasped Reiko's hands from the menu. It was enough for the blush on Sayuri's face to turn into a bright, tomato red, color. She rubbed her hands up and down her face, much to Ayla's amusement, but only succeeded in turning her face red. "You should know, Yu-chan, that I do not like sharing, but in this case," she stated, releasing Reiko's hands and gently grasped Sayuri's. Sayuri felt as though her heart were going to jump from her chest at any given moment, and her vision seemed to blur.

"You are a horrible onee-chan, Reiko-chan," she managed through light stutters. Ayla, however, could not contain the small fits of laughter that finally escaped her, and let Sayuri's hands go. "And you, Ayla-san, are a horrible person," though the blush receded, a small smile perched itself upon her lips, Ayla's own turning into a feral grin.

"I've been called worse," she stated, shrugging her shoulders in the process. She was being completely honest about it, too. "So Tou-chan adopted you, eh?" Ayla questioned, slightly curious as to why a vampire would take in a human ward. There must have been some reason behind it, other than as a late night snack. The red finally subsided from Sayuri's face as she glanced down, folding her hands together and letting them rest on her lap.

"Yes, that is right. Fujiwara-dono adopted me when I was eight. If it weren't for him, I don't know where I'd be right now," and it could have been any place, really. She was, and would be, forever grateful to the Lord for showing up when he did. "But I am glad he did save me, because I got to meet Reiko-chan," she continued, smiling as she glanced at her surrogate sister. Ayla tried her best not to sigh at the story. Just who was this lord to have done such a thing? She set the thought aside, though, and turned towards Reiko.

"Well, then I am as well, because then I wouldn't have met you either. Sorry Rei-chan, but I think I might take Yu-chan from you. I think she'd make a better mistress for me, wouldn't you?" Ayla spoke, moving her hands so that she placed them gently on Sayuri's. Sayuri's face turned a lovely shade of red, again.

Reiko snorted, the sound turning into a series of giggles, and shook her head. "But Sayu-chan needs someone gentle, Ayla-san. You’re much too willful to be her type, is it not so?” She leaned to the side, knocking her shoulder into Sayuri’s in a playful sort of way. Honestly, she was just as bad as Sayu when people teased her this way, and she knew her friend was about at the limit of what she could take before dissolving into a puddle of embarrassed goo, so she decided to ease up on her a little, just in time for the waitress to come back with their drinks and appetizers, as well as to take Ayla’s order.

"Mm, it smells delicious!” The appetizers were dango, actually, but they smelled of some unique spice or another, and she picked one up delicately, nipping off the end of it and smiling. It was quite something—plain food given a little more taste by an innovation in preparation rather than basic constitution. "Did you come up with this recipe, Ayla-san?”

"And how do you know someone willful isn't what she needs?" Ayla continued, however; she pulled back in time to see Sayuri's body shaking slightly. She chuckled lightly, glanced at the waitress, and placed her order. There was only one dish she liked, and it was one of her own. Sayuri, however, looked like she was about to pass out before taking a drink of water set before her. Ayla blinked slowly at Reiko's question, and a frown appeared on her face. She was tempted to say yes, that the recipe was indeed hers, however; this one, oddly, belonged to Aram. He couldn't cook for the life of him, and she was hesitant to try the ingredient. As it turned out, though, the food became better. She never thanked him for that, actually.

"No, unfortunately. The recipe is one my brother made. Don't get me wrong, I love the man, but don't... just don't ever ask him to cook for you unless you have a death wish," she stated in a serious tone. Her gaze did not waver from its position, causing Sayuri to raise a brow. Was his cooking that dangerous? Surely it wasn't too bad, was it? It was enough to cause Sayuri's blush to fade, and a look of curiosity crossed her face.

"You have siblings, Ayla-san?" she questioned, the slight curiousity peeking through her voice. Ayla nodded in response, and a light brightened behind Sayuri's dark eyes. "Are they your older siblings, or are you the oldest?" she found herself asking, leaning a little further on the table. It was nice to have siblings, even if Reiko was the only one who tolerated her. "I bet they have hair as pretty as yours," that caused Ayla to snort, startling Sayuri in the process.

"No, they do not have the same shade of hair as I do, thankfully," she responded first. "And I only have one older brother, now. I... lost my oldest a long time ago," she continued, trying to keep her voice from softening at the last sentence. "But that is a story for another time," she stated, waving a hand in front of her as she tried to grin.

Reiko’s eyes softened. Knowing what it was like, to lose someone precious like that, she wasn’t going to make Ayla talk about it if she didn’t want to. So instead, she shifted the topic. "We have six brothers,” she said, shooting Sayuri a knowing look. Really, only a few of them ever paid much attention to their human sister, but perhaps that was to be expected. When you were as old as some of them, she imagined the dozen years Sayu had been with them were not nearly enough for them to have become accustomed to her, certainly not enough for most to pay her much mind. There were some who were colder than others, but it wasn’t like any of them actively disliked her, either.

"Tatsuya’s the oldest. Then there’s Jirƍ, Tsubasa, Kentaro, Daichi, and Takahiro. Actually, all of them except for Takahiro are this one’s half-brothers, but that doesn’t make much of a difference. Most of the time.” They’d been a little contentious along the family lines recently, but she didn’t feel the need to dump all of her family issues on Ayla in a casual conversation like this, and furthermore, she knew for a fact that some of them would be unhappy with her if they’d learned she did so.

"It’s a pretty big household, which means things can be quite chaotic sometimes, with the eight of us, staff, retainers, and so on, but it’s also quite enjoyable.” Since Sayu had just essentially outed her as the former daimyo’s daughter, she didn’t feel the need to be as delicate about her position as she had been. "You’re welcome to come visit, if you ever have the inclination.”

Sayuri gave an apologetic smile as Ayla listened to what Reiko was saying. She seemed to have a large family, how did they manage that? Surely they didn't have much to their name, right? It took all of five seconds to realize that the lord Reiko had spoken of before, and the one Sayuri mentioned, were one and the same. It all fell into place for Ayla, as she chuckled lightly. "Rei-chan, you had me fooled. Here I thought you were some commoner like myself," she stated, leaning on her hands. Sayuri blinked slowly as she glanced between the two. What would have given Ayla that impression? She glanced towards Reiko, and it made a bit more sense.

"It is because Rei-chan does not dress as a lady of the house should," Sayuri chimed in softly. "Perhaps we ought to change that, Ayla-san?" she stated, turning to face Reiko with an innocent smile. Ayla's grin, however, wasn't so innocent. She let a soft humming noise be her response as her gaze fixed on Reiko, sharp like a predator's fixed on its prey. "Since Rei-chan has invited, perhaps we can make use of this invitation," she added.

"I do believe you are right, Yu-chan. Reiko has invited, and I would be a poor friend indeed to refuse. I would like to see Rei-chan out of her clothes, after all. I'm sure it'd be a delightful appearance once she was adorned in proper clothing," Ayla spoke, allowing the mischief to coat her words. She only teased, though, and wouldn't do anything of the sort. As appealing as it sounded, dressing up the princess to see what was beneath that layer of hair would be entertaining, however; she had a feeling Reiko wouldn't be too keen on the thought. Of the visit, maybe, but not the undressing and being dressed portion of the visit.

Reiko appeared to choke on the mouthful of water she’d been about to swallow, and only just barely managed to get it down before erupting into a fit of coughing, her face just about as red as Sayu’s had been earlier. "You will do no such thing. This one dresses perfectly well, thank you.” She’d never been one for pretty things, honestly, feeling that they were wasted on someone like her. Even now, Sayuri was dressed more like a lady of nobility than she was. More than that though, the thought of being dressed up like a doll, while not entirely unappealing as a way to amuse herself and her friends, was generally something she preferred to do to others. Why waste the effort on her when Ayla would look so much better in red? Or blue, or violet. Really any color.

She wrenched her thoughts away from that though, and hastily changed the topic. "A-anyway, Ayla-san, what made you want to open a restaurant
?” Lighter conversation was probably better for the moment.

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