Author: Hide
The Place of Disposal
In my sleep I move, unlike in the waking world. There are places I can go, places I can’t. There are more locked doors and…
Birthdays
I think I milked a single remembered birthday for too long. It wasn’t about the birthday, not really. It was about being seen. Being acknowledged.…
Ahoy! (Off the coast near Ito, in the dark hours before dawn)
“Hey Shindou-san – I think this is Ito!” I say. We had been near the coast since Atami, which even from a distance glowed and…
Stars
(Midori) It’s quiet after everyone leaves. I hear Yagi-san and Ueda-sama speak, and then the house is quiet. Tsutomu-kun doesn’t budge from his room, the…
A Great Wrong
I enter a dark room, and drop my yukata onto a chair in the corner. Underneath, I’m still clothed, but in something more appropriate for…
A Rurouni, Tested
(Kenshin) In the dark, this one moves silently. Watching for whom I seek, the task this one was given… Behind me Kenji-kun snuffes. “I was…
A Lack of Wind
I bet Shindou-san is getting annoyed at how I’m pacing but this ship is going very, very slow. The sails hang slack in the winter…
Endurance
I always seem to come back here. The house is empty. It’s -painful- this way, without Makoto being upstairs. During those long years apart, at…
Once
It’s quiet here. It’s all become smaller. No escapes. No land of the dead to go cry to my mother in. No sister, for all…
You Know Nothing (12/28, still night)
“He’s not coming….” I hear in a soft sing-song. I look back at Emiko, who has a self-satisfied look on her face. “You know -nothing-…
A Quiet Night (12/28 Evening, late)
Makoto was a closed off to me. I tried, I -tried- but she just deflected. Talked about writing a letter to her turtle. Wanted to…
The Doctor (12/28)
(The Doctor) Sugiyama Usagi The doctor arrived, clad in a Western-style long coat and hat. I bowed in welcome. I am still the onsen’s landlady.…
Bait (12/28 Evening)
(Misao) We head to the warehouse. It’s not hard to emulate the women I’ve seen, sadly. Too many of them! I glance up at Shindou-san.…
Confrontation (12/28 Evening/Night)
(Aoshi) I drop into the dark room. My eyes adjust quickly, as I hear a cackle of laughter. “Oh ho! The great Okashira comes for…
A Message in the Hours Before Dawn (12/28)
Shinomori Aoshi The note is where I expected, given modern Oniwaban protocol. I review it. She would be better served to be more -succient-. I…
Nighttime Tea (12/27, very late)
I actually slept for a bit but the weird dreams started up again. I woke up, forgetting where I was. On a clean futon, with…
A Ninja Goes to Yokohama (12/27)
(Misao) I don’t have to look behind me to see that he’s still following me. I’ve made no effort in shaking him because I want…
Cold and Quiet (12/27 Afternoon)
After lunch, I go out on the back engawa. Snow… so much snow. And Aomori is even further north, and Hokkaido even more. How much…
Mama-Sama Waits
(Mama-sama) As an old woman, I have learned to be -patient-. As an old woman, though, do I have time? Why do I pursue these…
Weary Travelers 12/27 Morning
It’s early in the morning when the conductor calls out that the next stop is for Aizu. Hoising Ai-chan, who woke up about an hour…
A Train Goes North…
The movement of the train has rocked the others to sleep… Makoto, her mouth open, head lolling against Tsutomu-kun, whose head rests against the window.…
What?!?
I think it’s the middle of the night but Yukiko-san wakes me up and we’re going to Aizu! Right now! I’m supposed to help and…
Packing Up
I stop, for a minute, to look at Ai-chan, sleeping contentedly. For a moment, just watching her, she’s so peaceful… Makoto-chan was squirmy, even in…
Rewards for a Just Man! (Friday night 12/23)
(Miyagawa) Ah, ever since I returned it’s been perfect. As if I had jumped on my own would-be assisin, a crippled old man, for the…
A Woman on Fire (early Friday morning, 12/23)
Hands… his hands… all over me. I moan and gasp as his lips find the places on me only he knows… warmth spreading through me,…
The Onsen’s Landlady 12/22/1886 Thursday
(Sugiyama Usagi) “It was a wonderful stay, thank you,” says the well-dressed man. I bow in thanks. The woman, his new bride and quite a…
Meanwhile, in Mibu Village… (Weds Night)
ARG. I’m the bookish one. I should love this, but I like learning, not researching. I also somewhat like teaching, even to the unruly monkeys…
Miyagawa on Stage (Thursday Afternoon)
“…My father would be proud of this new Japan – one of progress, one who is moving forward to take its place among the great…
Morning Chores (Thurs AM)
“Alright, Ai-chan, time for your nap!” I say, picking up my little girl and taking her back to the room we share. She rubs her…
Burnishing the Legacy (Weds AM)
(Miyagawa) If I have to go to that horrid place, at least I was able to get the old man Yamagata to let me use…
Mama-san Knows Best (Tuesday)
(Mama-sama) I watch the pretty hostess limp around. Silly girl. But she needed to be corrected, for what she did. She brings me my tea,…
An Envelope Arrives for Fujita-san
(A simple envelope with a business card inside. Sugiyama Onsen, Ito. On the back, in Miyagawa’s writing: “This is the onsen I told you about…
Bored and Restless at Hachirou (Monday Night)
(Assistant Deputy Interior Minister, Miyagawa Kichirou) Fujita Goro… I had my “contact” inside the TMPD pull his personnel file. My contact knew little about him,…
Digging a Hole (Sunday PM)
(Midori) As the afternoon comes, the snow melts. It was fun watching Makoto-chan and Asuka-san play in the snow. I smile. They don’t know what…
Snow on a Sunday
Saya-san is having fun with Makoto this Sunday morning, where a light snow is now falling. “What are you going to tell Tamesaburou?” I ask,…
The Night is Young and Beautiful… (Friday Night 12/16)
The Night is Young and Beautiful… (Friday Night) (Assistant Deputy Interior Minister, Miyagawa Kichirou) I’m in my private suite at my favorite place. It’s nice…
A Willful Creature (Morning, 12/16)
I’m weeding in the back garden, by the vegetables. I’m not allowed out – the sword police made it clear that only the children or…
Unexpected Guests (Dinner)
(Makoto) AUNTIE SAYA IS COMING TO STAY! I’m very very excited. She said that she wants to stay longer and spend some time with me.…
The Office Ladies’ Garden (Tuesday 12/14, Mid-day)
Today I brought reading glasses, dragged in from another place… but it -is- helping. I suppose I am getting old, or just not used to…
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