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Snippet #2700857

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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Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tatsuya Minamoto Character Portrait: Reiko Hino Character Portrait: Ayla Character Portrait: Aram
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Aram cracked open his eyes, only to find a pair of blue ones staring back at him. He furrowed his brows slightly, as he tilted his head as best as he could, and regarded Ayla with a curious gaze. She was wearing a frown, nothing uncommon for her, however; there was something vaguely different in the way she presented herself. She seemed tired, as if she'd been overworking herself. Maybe she had? He wouldn't know; she hadn't been home in the last few days. He'd surmised that she was out, that maybe the lure of the moon was growing too much for her.

If that was the case, then there was something here that was truly bothering her, but she had yet to divulge any information to him. Instead, he waited until she was a polite distance away before sitting up. "Ayla, is something wrong?" he questioned once he was fully up. He turned himself so that he was sitting on his futon, staring directly at her. She was, oddly, sitting in a rather formal position. Her brows still furrowed, she continued staring at him. She eventually sighed, and her shoulders slumped.

"We're both low on funds, and the work you've been doing hasn't been helping much," she finally spoke. He pursed his lips together. There was a feeling in the back of his mind that that wasn't exactly what she wanted to say, but it's what she settled on. "I would go hunting, to try and put food on the table, but the wildlife seems a little scarce right now," she continued. That was partly due to the fact that, though it was almost over, winter was still around. The wildlife should be returning about this time.

"We are doing the best we can with what we have, Ayla," he replied gently. He was certain they were, at least. Ayla merely sighed and shook her head, though. "It is winter time, Ayla. I doubt that people need their fortunes read at this time, and your restaurant doesn't have food suited to this time of year. Perhaps we could try something different, for it?" he suggested. She merely pursed her lips together.

"What of your work as the local doctor? Humans usually get sick around this time, too, and yet no one has come to you," she sighed, and shook her head. "Nevermind, Aram. We'll figure something out, but right now, we need to go into town. The market just opened and we need to get a few things, otherwise there will be no dinner tonight. That, and you need a new yukata. The one you have is worn out and has at least three different holes in it, and I will not have you looking like you live in the streets."

"And what of you?"

"I have this one," she spoke, pointing to the one she was wearing. Aram raised a brow in her direction. It looked vaguely familiar. It was white, with some gold embroidering on the sleeves, shoulders, and the bottom. His face pulled into a small smile and he shook his head.

"Give me a moment, I need to dress if we are to go out." It was only a few minutes before Aram was able to pull on a proper yukata. Once he was dressed, he and Ayla left their small home. Maybe they could take a detour today, though? There wasn't much going on at the moment, and the weather was, oddly, nice.

Despite the season, the market was bustling at this time of day; most of the villagers were of the hardy sort, clearly used to being out and about in much worse weather. The day had the feel of false spring to it—it was warmer and brighter than it had been in months. Snow was starting to melt at the sides of the road, exposing mud beneath. No doubt it had been extremely smart to clear the fields before days like this became more regular.

There was still plenty of snow around, however—more than enough to blind them with its brightness until they squinted. They weren't alone; many villagers walked with hands up to shade their eyes from the glare as well as they could. A few nodded at Ayla or himself as they passed by; a couple even offered smiles or verbal greetings. It would seem they were integrating, at least to a certain extent.

About halfway down the market street, they came across Reiko and Tatsuya, who were standing in front of what looked like the tailors'. They seemed to be talking about something; it wasn't possible to hear what it was from this distance. Still, whatever the subject, it had put a rare frown on Reiko's face. Tatsuya looked vaguely annoyed, but that was more common, for him.

Ayla seemed to brighten at seeing Reiko, however; she must have noticed the frown. She frowned in return, and glanced at him with a raised brow. He shrugged his shoulders in response. He didn't have her hearing, so he wouldn't be able to tell what they were talking about. Either Ayla wasn't focusing on the conversation itself, or she was distracted by Reiko's frown to notice. They made their way towards them, since they needed to go to the tailor as well. Might as well get that one out of the way. Once they were a polite distance away, Aram smiled at the two.

"Good morning Reiko-san, Minamoto-san," he spoke after they had noticed them. Ayla did not bow, but she didn't seem too hostile or upset about being in Tatsuya's presence. Maybe she was just getting used to him, now? Ando-san said that she'd been spending a lot more of her time with him. He pursed his lips together. Did that mean she didn't hate him anymore? The look on her face said so, but he could still see some vague traces of irritation. That might be from something else, though, he couldn't be certain.

"Good morning, Rei-Rei-chan," she greeted Reiko first with the familiar nickname. She spared a glance towards Tatsuya, though. "Good morning... Minamoto," she spoke with a strange hint of politeness. Maybe it was because Reiko was present, or maybe she was actually getting along with him, now. He could not confess to knowing what his sister felt or did. Sometimes, she was just as eccentric as he was, he supposed.

Tatsuya didn't seem at all surprised to see them. He huffed slightly when he glanced at Ayla, an inscrutable smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. It wasn't exactly a soft expression, but Aram couldn't even be sure he had those. He'd certainly never worn one in his presence before. But there was no maliciousness in it, either. Not even when he turned red eyes on Aram himself.

It was Reiko who responded verbally first, though. Her frown faded, replaced by a smile, but something about it looked a little forced. Perhaps that was the reason the spheres floating outside of their house this morning had been a dark grey color? “Ayla-san, Aram-san. It's good to see you. Are you out looking for more work today?"

Tatsuya shook his head at her a bit. “Looks to me like they're headed into the tailors', Reiko."

She blinked, then cleared her throat. “Oh, right, of course. You weren't here to, um... sorry." She colored faintly, she shook her head, seemingly at herself. “Well, please don't let us get in your way if it's important."

Ayla huffed softly, like she was keeping herself from laughing. Aram, however, had to blink a few times to even process what had been said. He shook his head, though, once he realized what Reiko had spoken. "No, not today, Reiko-san. Ayla insisted that I come with her to the market so that she might find me something more suitable to wear. Apparently, what I have doesn't meet her standards," he replied earnestly. He thought he heard Ayla retort with something along the lines of nothing meeting her standards, but he couldn't be too sure.

"What he's trying to say is, the yukata and other clothing he owns have holes in them. He needs a new one, if only one," Ayla responded, sparing a glance in Aram's direction. She raised a bored brow at him, though. "And you are not in the way, Rei-Rei. We would appreciate the... company," she continued, though she seemed uncertain of her words. She didn't seem to care too much, because she shrugged to herself.

"If you do not mind me asking, but what brings the two of you out? Are you searching for silks and fabric as well?" he decided to ask, to shift the conversation somewhat. Ayla just rolled her eyes at him.

It seemed to be the wrong question somehow, despite how innocuous it was. Both of their faces fell, Reiko's noticeably more than Tatsuya's. But even he went back to scowling. It seemed their discontent was directed elsewhere though—not at the two of them.

“We... yes," Reiko said, sounding almost pained. “This one is here for the materials to design and order a wedding kimono, and an uchikake fitting for such an occasion... and our house." She sighed, shaking her head and dropping her eyes to the floor.

Aram pursed his lips together slightly, however; Ayla was wearing an expression similar to Tatsuya's. Was she getting married? To whom? Why did that even matter? Aram banished the thought from his mind as quickly as it formed, and smiled softly at Reiko. "Perhaps congratulations is in order, then?" he spoke, a little unsure if he should. It was apparent that the situation wasn't exactly a good one, by the look on their faces, however; he supposed things, no matter how grim, always had some bright outcome. Unless he'd seen it beforehand. He had to believe in those small little moments of happiness, though, right?

"Reiko? Are you getting married?" it was Ayla who spoke this time, though she still looked just as confused as he felt. "I thought... wait," she seemed to pause in her words and furrowed her brows deeper. "Let me get this straight, to make sure I didn't miss anything. You're here to get materials for a wedding kimono, because... who's getting married?" she questioned. Perhaps he should have asked the same question instead of jumping to conclusions.

Reiko's eyes went wide for a moment. “Oh, um. No, not this one. Though... it was almost this one, I suppose." She looked pained again for a second. Tatsuya laid a hand on her shoulder and kept it there; Aram could see his knuckles shifting under his skin as he gave it a squeeze.

She glanced down at the ground before looking back up. “It's... an alliance marriage. Akarui-dono asked for one as a way of sealing the agreement between our families. He asked for this one, but... But Sayu-chan insisted that it be her instead, so..." She paused, pursing her lips. There was guilt in her eyes; that much was easy to pick out. “This one figured the least I could do would be to make sure she had the best wedding possible."

If he could see beneath her hair, Aram was certain the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. She tensed considerably and her eyes widened somewhat. "The fuck... are you serious!?" she nearly yelled, however; he shot her a glance that caused her to reel in. She shouldn't make a scene, especially when it looked like it was weighing heavily on Reiko. "It's the same thing as an arranged marriage. Who the hell does that? Seriously, the asshole. Reiko, you can't let her do this," it was apparent that Ayla was upset, however; Aram had to put a hand on her shoulder to pull her back. She glanced up at him, though.

"Ayla, stop. It was Sayuri-san's decision to do it. At least it was a choice she made," he spoke, watching as her eyes narrowed at him. He knew this was coming, but he didn't think it'd be so soon. So, she made the decision to go through with it, after all. He sighed a little sadly. That meant she really would meet her fate. Some small part, he wasn't sure, of him hoped that she wouldn't. But it looked like the alternative was sending Reiko in her stead. He wondered, if he'd been able to see Reiko's future, would she share the same fate as Sayuri if she'd been the one to wed Akarui-san?

"But Aram," she began to protest.

"Ayla, enough." it was the first time his voice had taken on such a serious note, and it looked like she visibly bit her tongue to keep from lashing at him. He could understand her anger, and why she felt the way she did. She was protective of her friends, but now wasn't the time for her to act this way. "Apologies, Reiko-san, Minamoto-san. We offer Sayuri-san and Akarui-san the best," he spoke, bowing apologetically. Ayla still looked disturbed about the idea, but she didn't say anything further.

Reiko only looked progressively more upset as Ayla spoke. Her eyes were taking on a characteristic vibrant red ring, but she did not begin to cry.

Tatsuya moved his hand up to her head, patting it with surprising tenderness and pulling her slightly towards his chest. She leaned heavily on him. He narrowed his eyes slightly. “You don't have to make her feel more guilty about it; I promise you she's doing plenty well at that on her own," he said, though even more surprisingly, he didn't snap it at Ayla.

“Like it or not, this kind of thing happens all the time when you deal with human politicians. I said we should just let the little prick rot instead of helping him in the first place, but apparently that's not an option." His lip curled somewhat; what he thought of Akarui was quite obvious.

Reiko shook her head slightly. “We can't just abandon them, Suya. He asked for our help, and he was unfairly driven away from his lands and the people that rely on him. I'm sure he just wants to feel like we support him with more than our words."

Tatsuya scoffed. “And our army's not enough, so he has to take away part of the family, too? Fuck him."

It sounded like an argument they'd already had more than once.

Aram pursed his lips together, but he said nothing. Apparently, the arrangement wasn't going to be as easy as he thought it was going to be. He understood, somewhat, where they were coming from. Amon was his family, too, after all. He shook his head, though. "But... is she happy about it?" he decided to speak, his voice gentled more than it usually was so that he wouldn't risk upsetting Reiko further. "I think, that should be the most important thing here, right? That your sister is happy with the decision. Does she not get a say in what she does with her own life?" he continued. Ayla scoffed slightly.

"Who could be happy in an arranged marriage," she seemed to mutter it to herself, though, and shook her head. "I'll see you back at home, Aram. I'm... going for a walk, elsewhere. Reiko-chan, give Sayuri my congratulations, if she's really happy about this," she spoke, and before Aram could advise her against it, she took off. She didn't stay for any response. He sighed.

"My apologies, Reiko-san, I do not mean to upset you further," he really didn't like upsetting anyone. It made him feel bad, because he could have done something about it. He could have told them exactly what was in store for Sayuri, however; there was a chance that they would want to change that. And they couldn't change fate.

Reiko sighed. “This one knows," she said quietly. “And you're right that what she wants matters. But the problem is that she's stuck in this thought that she has to repay us somehow, for taking her in. And she doesn't owe us anything. It's a sacrifice, no matter how you look at it, and this one's father never intended for her to sacrifice anything for us." She sighed again, turning her head to look up at her brother.

“This one doesn't really feel like looking at uchikake today, Suya." After he nodded, she returned her attention to Aram. “But... if Aram-san still needs a new set of clothes, perhaps this one can help? This one knows Ayla-san's standards are finicky, after all; this one would not want her to disapprove of the end result."

Tatsuya snorted. “If you say so." He paused, though, and glanced down at her. There was a question in his expression, though Aram could not tell what it was. Reiko seemed to have no such problems, and shook her head slightly.

“All right. I guess I'll see you back at the house then." He shifted his eyes to Aram, something faintly menacing in them for a moment before it disappeared.

“Farewell, Washi-san." He spared a nod, then departed.

Aram was vaguely confused by Tatsuya's statement, and the expression, but he said nothing as he left. He turned his attention back to Reiko, though, and sighed softly. "You don't have to help me, Reiko-san. I'm sure you'd like to spend time with your family," he spoke. He also knew that, even if he did find something to purchase, Ayla probably wouldn't approve of it. He really didn't need her to approve of anything he wore, actually, now that he thought about it. He just sighed further.

"But I could use the help," he supposed he should at least offer her that much. After all, Reiko was upset, and if she'd rather help him find something to occupy herself, he wasn't going to deny the company. He could only assume where Ayla was going, and he trusted her enough to be outside of the village if she had to turn. He knew she was upset, and it would probably bring forth her beast. Hopefully, it didn't.

"If you would be so kind." He hoped everything would end well, though.