“So you’re -finally- back,” Sugiyama-san was initially cool, and ran off to see to her usual duties. Makoto went happily with Aiko-san, her old friend. “Glad to see that fancy school hasn’t changed Makoto-chan,” she observed. “I miss having her here.”
I nod. “But it’s a good school.” I smile slightly. “Those days… back when she used to lay in her basket…” I think back… it seems so recent yet such a long time ago. Now with no classes for a week… she’ll be with me. I can’t always impose on the Mochizukis. However, I didn’t get to ask Sugiyama-san ahead of time… if I catch up hopefully I won’t have to stay so late.
I make a request of Aiko-san… well, she’s -almost- as good as me. “Yes… I’ll get that ready,” giving the item I hand her a -look-. She leans down to smile at Makoto, “and someone’s going to come help me, ne? And stay out of your Okaasan’s hair?” Aiko-san straightens and looks up at me, and says in a teasing tone… “and I -think- there may be some tempura for lunch… we have some nice shrimp…” Makoto’s eyes light up… of cooked food that’s her favorite.
By mid-day my head is pounding and my eyes ache. These books are a -mess-. How did she -do- this! Numbers don’t work like this! And all morning I have had a stream of complaints about short pay… but after all these years I’m accustomed to how she makes mistakes and
Shortly before lunch the door slides open and I’m -hoping- it’s someone bringing me tea. But it’s only Sugiyama-san. “Yagi-san…” her voice is quieter, and I put my pen down. “How… how did it go? With your family?” Sitting down, she looks at me expectantly.
I nod and smile. “Yes…” I don’t elaborate, even if I can almost -sense- her waiting. “It was good to see them again. The children grew up so fast…” Too bad I only saw the older ones in passing. “They’re all doing well.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Oh, good then.”
After she leaves I go to the kitchen, where Makoto has tempura coating halfway up her arms and I can smell that the cause for that mess it popping away in the frying oil that Aiko-san tends. “I’m going to go take Yamaguchi-san some lunch… why don’t you get cleaned up?”
“Oh, but I almost have her lunch all ready…” Aiko-san protests, and Makoto looks so -torn-. Aiko-san looks up at me. “Who’s Yamaguchi-san?”
Ah… she -did- hear. “He’s my uncle,” Makoto beams up at her. Aiko-san only catches my eye, nodding with raised eyebrows. “I -see-.” Her amused eyes still on me, she says, “come on Makoto-chan, stay with me and tell me more about school while your okaasan goes out. I think… that the delivery from the sweet shop should be here shortly and I need you -help- to make sure it’s all good.”
Aiko-san hands me the bundle. “As you requested.” I take it from her, and bow slightly. “Thank you.” She only laughs and waves me away. “Go, go… we’ll see you soon. Now…” she looks over at the fryer. “THE SHRIMP!” As I leave she and another kitchen maid are trying to rescue the shrimp from burning…
It’s not far to the docks where Hajime works. He’s asked me to come here… and I think of how I brought him lunch years ago.
I stop by a man unloading fish from a boat. “Excuse me, where might I find Miyake-san?” He grunts and nods his head, indicating further on down. Trying to stay out of the busy bustle of the fishermen, I make my way across the dockyard, keeping my eyes out for Hajime.
(OOC – Hide is at the docks)
Monday, June 22nd 1885 – Back to work…
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“Sheesh…”
It’s unfortunate Kano did not come today. I could’ve used his help a bit more. He’s lucky to have a daughter who cares for him.
I wipe the sweat of my brow and look further down to a shed. Most of my men are still new and I do not want to take them to sea at night eventhough that is the best time to catch Tuna. They are all brawny men who could probably stand night fishing, that lanky one shows some promise but at times I do not think his heart is into it.
Pulling on the container I take some ice and dump it. That should keep it fresh until bidding starts. Standing up, I see a woman coming. For a moment I thought it was Kana but it’s not so I walk pass her to get another sack of ice.
It’s busy here… and I don’t see Hajime… I shade my eyes with my free hand as I crane my neck, trying to see…
As a man passes me by, I call after him. “Excuse me, please? Could you tell me where to find Miyake-san?” I can’t wander the docks all day…
“Hmmm?” I stop to look at the small woman over.
Could you tell me where to find Miyake-san?”
“I am Miyake and you are?” I wonder if she knows how out of place she looks. None of the women would come this far… I pull her to the side when I see the others pull up a large Barracuda. “Careful it’s slippery.”
I sigh still looking at that big fish. We were lucky yesterday but not so much today.
I bow. “I am Yagi Hide… I am looking for Yamaguchi Hajime.”
“Thank you,” I say as Miyake-san pulls me out of the way before I can collide with a group of men carrying a large fish… I shouldn’t really go back smelling of fish. I look down at the wet boards… it’s rather a mess from here on out. I look around and I’m the only woman here… I smile slightly. Much like in the times I would go to the police headquarters in Tokyo.
I lift my bundle slightly, “just a bit of lunch.” I tell him.
I try not to look too surprised at this. Usually the women would wait by the foot of the hill for their husbands to come and then have a picnic elsewhere. There’s quite a few places to the West.
“Yamaguchi…” Oh -that- one. Leaving her side I hurl the sack of ice on my back and step back to where another barrel of fish is. I need to get them cold before the sun spoils them.
After doing so I motion her to follow me. This is surprising…
Inside the shed, I push the wooden doors aside. It’s cooler in here where we stock up.
“Hoi! Yamaguchi! Someone’s here to see you!” I look around, at least alone he works fast. Most of the crates are stacked up already. You’d think the man had the strength of an elephant… How surprising.
“Thank you,” I bow again as he turns to leave. I follow Miyake-san into the shed, my eyes adjusting to the dark, shivering a little at the cooler temperatures. Must be all the ice… and then there’s the smell of this place.
I smile as I see him… working hard.
My foot slips a little on my next step, and I grab onto a pile of crates, trying to keep my balance and holding onto the bundle. It’s slippery in here as well.
She slips and I support her from the back.
“Taku… I just told you it was slippery.”
She’s small so it is easy to lift her up and put her back into place. It’s then that I see him walking over looking at me like I just did something wrong. He’s lucky of course I have not opened my mouth yet with regards to this indiscretion… That poor girl.
Not my business…
“Time for lunch. Make sure to be back in an hour.” I tell him and ignored that smoldering look as I head outside again. There’s so many things to do since Kano is not around.
I should’ve not asked her to come here…
Watching Miyake leave, I feel a rather sordid taste in my mouth.
“Are you alright?” I ask still following Miyake with my eyes. He’s a quiet fellow but who knows what goes through his mind?
Taking a rag, I wipe my hands… I can’t quite say I wipe them clean but at least dry.
I watch as Miyake-san leaves, and something in the way he looks at both of us… How foolish I’ve been to simply parade down here. I turn back to face Hajime, wondering if I should just hand him the food and leave.
“Ah… I’m fine. It’s rather slippery in here.” He doesn’t seem… ah… what was I expecting? As always meetings outside of my home are… difficult. He was married back in Tokyo then and here… ah. The cover. Saya is his wife here…
I indicate the package I carry. “I brought you soba.” Well I’m already here… And what was it he told me once? That if he asked me to come somewhere, he would take care of it? With that though I can smile. “Is there some place we can go? I have some time before I need to go back, Makoto is in good hands.”
I’d tell her I would’ve wanted to see Makoto. Of course seeing is quite different from… But I push the thought away and lead her outside.
“I’ve not had soba in a while.” I tell her as I take off the boots and replace them with something more comfortable. Going to a sink just outside the shed, I splash some water on my face it gets rather dry from the sea salt. Finally done with -somehow- cleaning myself, I’m able to grin at her. What a contrast she is in this atmosphere. Quite refreshing actually.
“Let’s walk towards the East. Maybe we can find a spot.”
“Mmm… well perhaps mine is worth waiting for, ne?” For a girl from Kyoto where udon is more the norm, I do rather well with soba. I wait for him to wash and change his shoes.
Let’s walk towards the East. Maybe we can find a spot.
I smile more at his grin, wishing I could hold his hand as we walk along… I do manage to brush against him slightly as we head off, down a little path, closer to the ocean.
There’s a small area… “I didn’t think to bring a blanket…” I kneel on the grass, untie the bundle amd begin to set out the boxes. “How has your morning gone?”
“No blanket? Hn… You’re losing your touch Hide.” I say and just sit down by the trunk of tree. Looking out towards the ocean.
“How has your morning gone?”
“Nothing worthwhile to talk about.” I take one of the bento boxes for myself and the tsuyu. This scene is so familiar that I can’t help but think about Yaso and how she’d do the same thing.
“How about you?”
I open another bento. “Inari,” I offer, as he goes directly for the soba… of course. Ah… I owe the kind cook back at the onsen, this is exactly as I requested, Hajime’s favorites. It’s a nice view up here… far from the tourist areas as this is closer to the docks.
No blanket? Hn… You’re losing your touch Hide.
“Next time…” I promise as I look back at him and smile, moving to sit next to him. “I’ll provide a -much- better picnic.” It’s a darker kimono, typical of what I wear to work, so I should be alright, sitting on the ground like this.
“Me?” I think back to that small office… “it’s been a busy morning. The books were a -mess-.” I put down the box to stretch my arms slightly, “but after not having to sit at a desk for a week… ah, but it shouldn’t be too much to untangle.”
Finishing one of the inari, I look over to him. “Are you working every day? If you have some time… Makoto doesn’t have school this week and she’ll be bored at the onsen with me every day.” I reach over and touch his arm as I look out across the water, then back at him, “I think it would be good for both of you.”
The soba is well made, firm and snappy. She offers the inari and i take a couple… Funny I don’t remember being this starved…
“I’ll provide a -much- better picnic.”
“Hmmm..” I can barely reply of course with food stuff in my mouth. Almost involuntarity and to my horror, the chopsticks doesn’t seem to stop in between the soba and tsuyu finally landing everything so I can devour them in my mouth.
I chew a bit more and then swallow. “Glad to hear your work is going well.” I say… I’d probably say a lot more but work topic just leaves a bad taste in my mouth everytime I think about the Keishikan…
“Are you working every day? If you have some time… Makoto doesn’t have school this week and she’ll be bored at the onsen with me every day.”
“Yes I am unfortunately… But you shouldn’t bring Makoto into work everyday…” I pause and think of alternatives. “You’re employer would not be happy about it.”
He eats like a man half-starved and I wonder if he did get to eat last night. “Enjoying that?” I smile, glad to see him enjoying himself, but concerned that he’s not eating.
Yes I am unfortunately…
Ah… then I’ll have to bring her with me one of these lunch times. She’d like this little place. And seeing the man she calls her uncle.
But you shouldn’t bring Makoto into work everyday… You’re employer would not be happy about it.
I frown slightly, “well until April it was more common. She’d stay with the Mochizuki’s some but I don’t like to take advantage…” Done eating, I set the box aside and lean against him slightly, looking out at the water. “Well the first year in Ito… I didn’t work. I did even less than I did in Tokyo… just tended to Makoto.” And wandered around… hours at the marketplace, wondering what I was going to do with myself. “That fall I met Sugiyama-san, and soon I had a job and that little house. And with that job… Makoto came with me. She really endeared herself to most of the staff.”
I shake my head, leaning up to kiss his cheek, “ah… you probably didn’t ask me here to lament about the past…” I look up at him. “Though I’ve wanted to tell you… before I couldn’t.”
She’d stay with the Mochizuki’s some but I don’t like to take advantage…”
Hmmm… Done with the soba, I still see a few pieces of inari. The bean curd wrap is possibly the only processed sweet I like. She leans against me and I watch her from the corner of my eye as she starts to talk about the past. I’d honestly rather not hear of these things… But I did tell her to speak what was on her mind.
Idiot… Can’t stand to hear what you did to this woman?
Looking back, I watch as the water rolls towards the shore. And I remember how fishes are free from everything… That one time we went to Souji’s grave when Hide tried to push a reality on us, that we did not share… Maa… In a way, now we do.
She really endeared herself to most of the staff.”
“She must be a wonderful child…” I say under my breath but continue to add, “Again Hide, mixing work and family matters is not a very good idea.”
And you’re the one to talk ahou? Didn’t you learn from the past? from Kyoto? Saya and even Tokio?
I barely notice her kiss my cheek and when she did so, I turned to look back at her.
“I’ll take a few days off on intervals next week. You can leave Makoto at my place…”
To be quite honest, this job never was for me anyway. I have no idea what Saya was thinking… With that I start to smoke.
He’s quiet as I speak. I reach for his hand. “I couldn’t tell you before about the time apart because I was so afraid to hurt you… that’s one fear I always carry. That I’ll hurt you again. Telling you… won’t change what happened. I wish… I wish I had been there to take care of you then,” my other hand goes to touch his chest at that scar. I smile at him, with quiet affection, “even if a man shouldn’t need that… I still would have loved to have fussed over you… to have been by your side…” suddenly I have a hard time swallowing as my throat feels so dry. I open up the container of water and take a gulp, sitting a bit away now, and I hug my knees to my chest, like a child. “Or maybe you just did as I did and had a hallucination.” I look at that ocean… one of the clearest moments in the past six years and it was just a dream.
She must be a wonderful child…
“Hai…” I smile. “She is -our- child, after all… some of the best of us but very much her own person.” How badly I want them to be as they once were… for him to know that there’s still so much he can be to her now… and from now on.
I’ll take a few days off on intervals next week. You can leave Makoto at my place…
“Good… she’ll like that.”
“You still fuss…” I inhale the smoke and look back at her with a smirk. “It can be quite annoying…”
But those days were the days I felt so alive.
Hallucinate? She hugs her knees and I wonder…
“Were you sick?”
Are you sick now?
I tap the ashes and continue to smoke. It will be time soon for me to get back to Miyake… The slave driver that he is.
“Good… she’ll like that.”
Chuckling nervously, I do not tell her I have no idea what to do with the child. Although, a long time ago I do remember spending quite a few afternoons just sitting with Tsuyoshi on the engawa as he tried to convince me that it was time for him to learn kendo… Not that I’d ever let my little girl handle a weapon. I’d rather see her take on something traditional… Calligraphy? Ikebana? Something else… Never a weapon. I showed Tokio how to handle a gun once… That was a big mistake.
You still fuss… It can be quite annoying…
“Ah… but I’m good at fussing…” I manage a small smile thought his cloud of smoke.
Were you sick?
I look at him and think of the afternoon passing us by and that strange feeling departs. Soon I’ll need to return… “Well…” I sit up and go back next to him. “A story for another day… when we have more time. It’s important and should be given the proper time.” Looking up at him… I kiss his lips lightly. Something brief but no less loving to those lips that taste like tsuyu and cigarettes.
He only chuckles -strangely- at my comment about Makoto and I wish he remembered how easy it once was between them. “Play chasing games with her… tell her stories… just -talk- to her.” I settle in close. “But much like her parents… Makoto just loves to talk to someone who cares about the things she has to to say.” I tilt my head back to see his face.
“Ah… but I’m good at fussing…”
With a smirk,I put out the cig on the ground. Her lips somehow found their way on mine and I remember a request of her the other night.
Makoto just loves to talk to someone who cares about the things she has to to say.”
I nod… I wonder how she takes things though when things are told to her. “She’s just five Hide.”
After she cleaned up the remains of lunch, I start to walk back towards the docks. “About…” I cut myself off, there’ll be another time for that too. “I’ll see you soon.” I say and show her a shorter path leading to the main road. I’m tempted to play hooky since… We have unfinished business but I walk briskly away before I open my mouth again.
She’s just five Hide.
But even the little things she thinks about at her age… the things that make her happy… or even those I know bother her, even if she dismisses them as “stupid”. I just reach for his hand and squeeze it, wanting to offer words of reassurance… but he needs to -see- it, especially with her.
About… I’ll see you soon.
I run after him and catch up, glancing around to see that we’re still covered by the trees. “Hai… soon,” I tell him in a whisper as I embrace him quickly, even if he reeks of fish… wishing that we didn’t have to go back to work but… that’s not all there is, after all. “Look for the lantern on my engawa… or… you’ll hear.”
“Take care… I’ll see you,” I step away, and turn back to smile at him as I go back down the path.
(OOC – end scene)