It was close to noon when Ranmaru and Ichi finally woke up and headed up to Saki’s for breakfast. Saki was happy to hear about the nonsense of the Kabuki performance the night before, and the meal ended up lasting quite a while as, the now female again, Ranka had to explain to Ichi and Saki both how it ended. 

She was wrapping up the story when Fuji arrived, the actress/waitress following her.

“I hope you don’t mind Kane joining us for breakfast?” Fuji asked, the pair hovering near the door.

“Not sure it counts as breakfast still, this late in the day, but I should have enough for two,” Saki replied.

The pair smiled and sat down, Ranka and Saki both passing them some of the food. 

“So, your name is Kane? I’m glad Fuji asked, because I was beginning to feel like I’d run into you too many times to do so myself,” Ranka said. 

“It’s a very fitting name for her, too. ‘Doubly accomplished’ when she... well has two jobs and also can act a male role so well,” Fuji added.

“They’re right when they say Oiran have tongues both sharp and silver,” Kane said with a laugh, grabbing some pickled plums as she did so. 

“Well, I have to go work on Ichi’s lessons, but I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around. Fuji’s only nice to strangers if she really likes them after all,” Ranka said as she stood up. 

Ichi hurried off ahead of her, excited for the story reading ahead of her today.

---

Ranka found herself surprised with just how often Kane ended up floating about the Ageya. It was generally under the excuse of studying Ranka’s gender behaviour, or shamisen lessons with Fuji. It didn’t really annoy Ranka, merely surprised her, though she did worry what the Yarite might say. Fuji insisted she was charging for the lessons she was giving when one of the accountant women had raised concerns, though a fee Kane could afford was probably but spare change to an Oiran. The actress’ hovering had no impact on serving clients, though, so it was allowed.

Concerns about that largely left Ranka’s heart when she got word Tousui had found another excuse for her to leave. Or, more accurately, reused the kenjutsu excuse, saying some other friends of his wanted to meet Ranmaru and see his skills. Tousui had also, quietly, brought news that he’d managed to raise a bit more money. 

As such, Ranmaru was free again, walking through southern Edo. His heart aflutter with the thought of seeing Asa again. Climbing the tree on the edge of the property was almost down to muscle memory at this point.

Once in the tree, he checked to make sure the yard was empty before hopping down. It didn’t take long to sneak across the property amd up alongside the house, able to check the open outer doors. He didn’t see Asa at first, and was left debating if he wanted to risk sneaking into the house to hunt for her, or if waiting back in the tree for her to head out into the garden might be a better decision.

He decided to slip around the house, in order to check the front gate. A lone guard sat against the front and, from Ranmaru’s hiding place, the man looked bored out of his mind. Unfortunately, that didn’t answer the question of whether another guard might be in the house. He knew there were occasionally two guards present, so the risk remained, even if there was usually only one. 

Turning around, he decided he’d make one last attempt at checking the open portions of the engawa. Slipping alongside the house for safety, he half jumped out of his skin as he rounded the corner. Asa was standing there, a large smile on her face.

“What were you doing, sneaking around?” he asked, glad he’d kept himself quiet.

“You were checking the front. You do not do that, usually. I wondered if today was the day we ran away, so wanted to watch,” Asa replied. “Also, I thought your face would be funny. If I surprised you.”

He wanted to complain, but the innocent smile on Asa’s face caused his annoyance to evaporate. Caught up in her beauty, he brought his hands up to gently stroke her cheeks with his thumbs. Then he moved in, slowly, ensuring she’d know his intentions well before his lips touched hers. Her lips were so soft and caring against his that it sent a jolt through him. For a moment he wished the kiss could last all day, but he knew there were other matters to attend to, and that any one thing held onto for too long could lose its magic.

“I missed you,” he said, as their lips parted.

“I missed you too,” Asa replied, smiling once again. “Shall we go back to the tree?”

Ranmaru nodded and headed back to the shady corner of the yard. The pair spent a few minutes with Asa asking about the meanings of certain words that she thought she understood, but wasn’t quite sure of. 

Then, Ranmaru pulled out some paper and ink, to begin some more lessons. He’d thought of how to draw a couple of other important terms (or, in a few cases, asked Saki for help). The way the day was divided into hours was more about showing Asa how it worked, as she already knew the names of the hours, but not, precisely, how they changed with the lengths of the days and nights. Seasons and weather were next. She knew some of it, but not every term.

It was then that Ranmaru moved on to the lesson that was more for him asking Asa questions than anything: the family. He drew a simple family tree, with a brother, a sister, a mother, a father, grandparents, an aunt, and uncle, and some cousins, to cover the basic names. He saw Asa’s deeply focused face, and decided it was time to ask her about her own people.

“Since you look a little confused, I suppose things are different with your people?” he asked. “I’ve made efforts to research what the Chinese have written of your land, but... it was filled with strange tales of magical water producing children.”

“Yes. The spring of... having a child? Is there a better word for that? Before the actual ‘having’ part?” Asa replied.

“Pregnancy? For when the child is inside the mother?” Ranmaru offered.

“Yes, pregnancy. That is how it was done. Those who drank the waters would become pregnant. Then mothers,” Asa explained. 

“So... there were no men in your society?” Ranmaru asked.

“Very few lived with us. Trusted monks from the mountains could visit. Also, men from our... cousins? The Mosuo. They were trusted. Some girls would spend time with them. Some would leave with them. Sometimes Mosuo girls would come to stay with us.”

“Your cousins? Who are they?” Ranmaru asked.

“Ah, well... it is an old story. It was old in my grandmother’s grandmother’s day. Long ago, my people lived in the hills, with our spring. We would shelter women from the lowlands, with bad... husbands was the word, yes?”

Ranmaru nodded.

“Good. Eventually there were many women in our villages. Still more arrived from other villages though. So, one of our leaders said we should help other women. We trained many soldiers. The soldiers went to other villages with men and... fought. Fought many... battles, across many valleys,” Asa explained. “Soon we had a full country. But the queens got greedy. Many took husbands, rather than use the spring. Had both daughters and sons. Only daughters were given power though.”

Ranmaru nodded. “Then the sons grew jealous?”

“Yes. One gathered male soldiers from the Chinese, the U-Tsang, and our own country. My... what is a term for those before grandmother’s grandmother?”

“Ancestors,” Ranmaru replied.

“Ah. My ancestors saw we were not better than men we conquered. We had just changed who ruled. So they left the Queen and her army, returning home. Many argued about why it all happened. All felt hiding from the world was best, though. That, somehow, mixing with men was the problem,” Asa said.

Ranmaru felt himself swallow nervously. Even if Asa had hinted ideals had changed, he couldn’t help feeling a little worried.

“Ah! But then Mosuo arrived, from down the great river. We think they were from the country too. Women and men, both living happily. Elders in the time of my grandmother’s mother were... scared of them? Women travelled to see their land, though. Their women lived well, equals with men. Trust was built. Now, many would arrive... well, n-not now,” Asa said, curling up as her eyes grew distant. A couple tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Ranmaru pulled her into a hug, placing a kiss on her forehead. “I know it isn’t much, but I promise you, I will do what I can to learn your language and culture, to help you protect it.”

Asa looked up at him, a smile through her tears. “I thank you for that. I do wish I had paid more attention to the Mosuo visitors, though. So I could better know how a man is to be treated.”

Ranmaru found himself struggling not to laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m... I’m not exactly one to shy away from a traditionally feminine duty. I live and work mostly with women.”

He left the full truth unsaid. In the moment, he’d felt ready to reveal it, but had brought no rice with him this time. It would have only seemed like madness.

“As a friend, perhaps. The role for the husband or father though... I must trust what you know from your culture for that, no?” Asa said, shifting the way she sat to look at him more easily.

Ranmaru felt his cheeks grow hot. In part at the idea Asa was already apparently thinking of having children with him as the father, but, the idea of being a father in general was something he’d not thought about. Ranmaru had simply seen the role of ‘husband’ as meaning ‘married to a woman’ and not thought much deeper on the subject and how it might truly differ from ‘wife’, but ‘father’... that certainly contrasted in an obvious way with the motherhood that Ranmaru had grown up expecting.  

“Oh no. Was I too... too fast?” Asa asked, blushing herself.

“No! No... I just... I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Ranmaru replied, putting his hands on Asa’s upper arms, hoping to reassure her. “You weren’t too fast.”

She let out a sigh of relief in response, and he felt her body loosen. “I do not know how it works. To have to involve another in deciding to have a child... very complicated.”

“It happens when it happens. There is only so much control you can have,” Ranmaru replied, ignoring the question nagging at him now: could he be a father?

He knew his natural cycles as a woman were... odd, to say the least. As well, in the five years of working as an Oiran, nearly two thirds of the girls who’d started around the same time as him had found themselves pregnant at least once. He knew he had rather fewer chances to get pregnant with how his career had gone, but... all together he was more than a little worried that he might be incapable of having a child as a woman. That in turn left questions towards the ability to father one as well.

“So, you really only have a mother?” he asked, trying to shake his mind from the topic.

“Only? I had a grandmother and an aunt. A sister too. Also a cousin,” Asa replied, quite confused.

“No father, though? Not even one of those foreign men who came to visit?”

“Ah. No. No father. No grandfather. Only the spring,” Asa replied.

It took Ranmaru a moment to process that, but once he had, he was left with a thought he had to share. “I can only guess that your beauty must be a direct blessing from Benzaiten herself then.”

“Ben-zai-ten?” Asa asked, slowly sounding out the name with confusion on her face.

“One of the gods the Buddhists brought... I think her name in Sanskrit was... Sarasuwati? Goddess of water and music?”

“Oh! Sarasvati! I-you flatter me,” Asa said, blush returning to her cheeks. “I only hope to be as wise as her. Or wish to have the power of Magzor Gyalmo.”

“Maguzoro Gyarumo?” Ranmaru asked, knowing he was butchering the name.

“Her wrath form. Palden Lhamo. Defender goddess,” Asa explained. 

“Ah. For us, Benzaiten keeps her same name as a defender,” Ranmaru said, before rubbing a hand against Asa’s cheek. “I’ll do everything I can to be your defender though. Once I have somewhere I can keep you safe.”

Asa cupped his hand in her own, leaning into his hand as she held it. “I hope it will be soon. I still do not understand all of marriage, but... with you I think it would be lovely.”

Asa then leaned forward, her lips gently landing against his. Another soft and tender kiss, lasting only long enough to leave him wishing for more.

“You must go now, though. The gardener will come soon. He is very nosey,” Asa said.

“I hope I’ll be back again soon,” he said, heart aching at having to say goodbye once again. “I love you.”

“I love you as well,” Asa replied.

---

Ranka was hosting breakfast the next day, having not had an overnight customer. It was nice to have something trivial to keep herself busy, worrying about the rice and teaching Ichi about how to prepare different foods. 

Saki was the first one to show up, and was a little tired at first. After a few minutes, though, the spark was back in her eyes, and she ended up staring at Ranka.

“There’s something on your mind,” Saki said. “I’ve been more or less your big sister for long enough to notice, even when I’m not quite awake.”

Ranka felt her cheeks grow a little warm at the question. “It’s just... Asa was talking about the future, and... she mentioned that I would be a father. I don’t... I don’t know how to go about that. Until meeting her, I’d... well, I’d always assumed I’d be a mother one day.”

“Fuji and I had always thought you would be a blend of both. I suppose the pregnancy is rather different, but... that’s only 9 months. Raising a child lasts a good portion of a lifetime,” Saki replied. “We all expected you to be a brother-in-law nearly as much as a sister-in-law, and... not long after you’d agreed to the relationship trial, Kikuhiko... well, he told me he’d feel far less guilty about being dragged off on campaigns if you two had children, since the children would still have a father around, at least part time.”

Ranka blinked. The idea that Kikunosuke had been thinking that far ahead and that he was so comfortable with her condition in his plans was something she’d never realised. She’d assumed he saw it as something to work around, to live with; not something to be happy for. It was lovely to learn, but... she also had to admit it was a little painful to learn something new about how much he’d cared for her. She knew there was no point in crying over a lost opportunity like that, but she couldn’t hold back the tears.

“Big sis Ranka! Are you okay?” Ichi asked.

“I’m okay. I’m... I’m kind of happy in a way. Just a strange and painful way,” Ranka replied. 

The young girl looked sceptical, but didn’t push. Especially not when a tired Fuji entered, in need of food and tea to wake her up.