There was no way of answering that question, of course. Eventually, Eitsu dragged Tsubaki out to enjoy the summer sun, despite the former's intense disinterest in anything other than lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. Ayame came running anxiously to meet them, and Eitsu quickly diverted her into talking about what she had learnt over the past few days; the girl eagerly showed them the blisters on her hands from practising with a spear, told them how she felt asleep the first time she meditated, and rattled off a string of names of new friends.
“How does she do it?” Eitsu wondered aside to Tsubaki. “She can't even speak the same language.”
“Some people are just born to live well,” the dancer remarked.
“... there's Gāo Lì Méi1高丽梅 (gāo lì méi) – 'high/lofty' and 'beautiful plum (blossom)'., and Chén Yí Rán2陈怡然 (chén yí rán) – A common family name meaning 'ancient' and 'harmonious nature'., and...”
“It sounds like she's even picked up the tones. What on earth...”
It was a rest day for the disciples. After lunch, Tsubaki was prevailed upon by some of the younger disciples to dance. They stared openly as she performed a simple routine, a dance that portrayed a girl scooping for goldfish at a festival. Many of the older disciples, despite having chosen to continue their training that day, curiously popped their heads around the sides of buildings and the frames of windows to watch too. Tai Kikuryuu emerged from the library, clapping, as Tsubaki finished.
“Your dance is very different from anything I've seen. Amazing control. It's almost like a martial art.”
“I suppose it is my martial art,” Tsubaki reflected. The young disciples crowded around her, asking questions she couldn't understand and trying to imitate her movements.
“Tsubaki-dono, would you be willing to tell me about your experiences? I want to hear from you, both of you, and write a record.”
Tsubaki's response was a long 'hm'. Eitsu's was a grin and “Sure, but I'm still recovering my memories.”
“Let's sit somewhere comfortable, then. I'm going to turn into a ghost, sitting in the library.”
“There's a comfy stretch of grass nearby,” Eitsu recommended. “It has dappled sun at this time of the say; not too hot, not too cool.”
“Of course you've already found the most comfortable napping spot.”
“There'd be something wrong with me if I hadn't.”
When the other disciples heard that the three of them were headed to a comfortable, sunny spot, plans for a full-blown picnic immediately exploded. Disciples excitedly ran about, organising food and blankets. Somehow all of the five schools of Hanasan were ready to take part, and a sprawling picnic was laid out in the clearing at the foot of the mountains that Eitsu, Tsubaki and Ayame had first stumbled on two weeks ago.
Eitsu recounted some of the things she remembered, and left out many other things that she did. If Tai Kikuryuu noticed when she unnaturally switched between events, he said nothing.
A disciple from another of the schools, his robes trimmed in black, lightly bumped a flask of light wine against Tai Kikuryuu's head. “Hey, Cheng Guk Lung, have a drink!”
“Ow. You didn't have to hit me with it, Chén shī xiōng.”
“You're too delicate. That shouldn't have hurt.”
“You're a Second Dāntián Expert. How would you know what delicate is?”
The young man laughed and poured out some of the wine for Tai Kikuryuu, Eitsu and Tsubaki before disappearing into the lively crowd to find anyone else who wanted a drink.
“Tai-san... Your name – I mean your real name. It sounds a bit different from the others.” Eitsu eyed him curiously.
He smiled like it caused him pain. “Yes, you're right. My name... Well, without going into history too much, my name comes from the Zhū language.”
“Oh, yeah... That country you told us about earlier. Was your family from there?”
“We don't know, actually. My Grandfather and Great-aunt were orphans, they grew up in Mount- in Hanasan. But Zhū was the main language spoken back then.”
“Don't tell me,” Tsubaki said drily, “that when the country collapsed due to demons, everyone began using a different language to dissociate themselves?”
“Something like that.”
“Why do you still use a Zhū name then?” Eitsu asked, knocking back the wine and pulling a face of disgust. “Ugh, how do humans drink this stuff?”
“Straight in the eye,” Tsubaki advised. “You don't have to taste it then and it goes right to the brain.”
“Um, please don't. Well... It was a family decision. Grandfather was really proud of the name we... Great-aunt especially, made for ourselves during the Demon War. Great-aunt was one of the chief strategists who brought about peace.”
“What happened to her? Was she one of... um, what do you all call yourselves?”
“A cultivator? She was, but not to any great degree. Her abilities lay in intelligence gathering, logistics, strategy and diplomacy. I'm doing my best to live up to her legacy.” The wine seemed to have made Tai Kikuryuu very thoughtful. “It's... I won't deny, it can be hard. She was an amazing person, by all accounts. Even more so when you consider that she stood side-by-side with the strongest people of that generation, despite her lacking cultivation.”
“What happened to her?”
“She died,” he said simply. “As people do. So we remember her by keeping her name and language, despite...”
“Despite..?”
He smiled bitterly. “Well, how do you think people look at me, when I have a name in the language of a country that colluded with demons and collapsed due to its own greed? Nobody calls the place Zhū anymore. It's Gū3Could be 辜 - a crime or a sin, or 咕 - the sound an empty stomach makes, both of which are pronounced 'Gū'., the Place of Hollow Stomachs, the Criminal Kingdom.”
“Ji-e...n...gu,” Eitsu said, testing the word. “Ji-en-gu...Gu-kku...Ru...Rungu.”
“Haha, close! Keep the 'Cheng' low and flat. The 'Guk' is high and flat. The 'Lung' starts low and goes lower.”
“Ji-engu Gukku Ruungu. Ugh, this is harder than all the work I put in to become a kaibyou.”
The picnic continued well into the evening, Tsubaki being cajoled to dance several more times, to the point where a small smile began to appear on her face. Eitsu competed with some of the children in a flexibility contest, beating all the competitors by comfortably folding a leg behind her head with both hands pushed up her back to the base of her neck.
The party slowly dispersed as the moon began to set, not due to a lack of enthusiasm, but to a knowledge that normal life would be starting again the next day. Ayame waved goodbye to Eitsu and Tsubaki and hurried off to the dormitories cheerfully.
“Is this... what it feels like to have a child?” Eitsu mused, watching her go.
“You're not asking me, are you?” Tsubaki responded.
“No, just talking to myself.” Eitsu let her head drop back, her golden eyes meeting the silver moon above. It was full, and luminous, and it made her eyes shine.
“Eitsu-sama.”
“Hm? Why are you suddenly being all serious?”
“That look on your face... You're nothing thinking of going outside?”
“No... Not really. Maybe a bit.”
“Why?”
“No reason.” Her ears twitched, as though they were cat ears, not human ones, and she casually scratched at her neck as if unbothered. “Why don't you go to bed? I promise I'm not going anywhere.”
“Come with me.”
Eitsu pulled her eyes away from the moon, and looked at Tsubaki.
“I won't ask again you to love me. Too much has happened. I'm no longer crazy. But I would... at least with how things are right now, while you aren't safe... I'm offering myself. I'm offering myself to keep you safe.”
“You don't owe me anything.”
“I'm your priestess, aren't I, kami-sama?”
Eitsu prowled close. Her nose only came up to Tsubaki's chin, so that was where she nuzzled, briefly. “Are you aware of what you're saying, brat? You can't cry to me later.”
“I've run out of tears,” Tsubaki said simply. “I would have no regrets.”
“Tsu-bo...”
“Really, Eitsu-sama. I would be honoured.”
“Sounds weird.”
“If you say so.”
They retreated to their room. Eitsu pressed Tsubaki down on the bed, licking the dancer's fingers one by one. They were sweet with the sugary treats she had eaten during the party, and warm from the summer night. Eitsu kissed and nibbled her way up the sensitive skin along the inside of Tsubaki's upper arms, sinking down onto her body until they were pressed together, without letting her full weight drop. Tsubaki's slender hands stroked Eitsu's head, combed her hair, rubbed the back of her neck and the tops of her shoulders as she shed her clothing. There was a hesitation before their lips met.
“Why are you getting shy now, you shameless cat?” Tsubaki murmured, a hair's-breadth away.
“You're the one who's pausing,” Eitsu countered, her hands creeping between the folds of Tsubaki's clothing. The collars gaped, her heart-shaped birthmark shining in the night.
Eitsu thought of how it had shone through all her nightmares, through all her memories, through all her dreams. Realising what she was looking at, Tsubaki moved to cover it, but Eitsu pulled her hand away and kissed it. “Why are you trying to hide it?”
“It... holds bad memories for you, doesn't it?”
“You were afraid it would make me remember those things? That's why you kept hiding it?”
Tsubaki did not make an indication as to the truth of this statement, but her silence was enough. Eitsu leaned forward and licked the mark, relishing the shiver it provoked.
“Tsu-bo, I'll ask again. Are you sure you want this?”
“Thank you for asking. But my answer is still 'yes'.”
Eitsu tore the sash away from Tsubaki's waist pushing aside the robes to expose her whole body to the moonlight. She tucked her knees under Tsubaki's thighs and kissed the space between her small breasts, wrapping her arms under the woman so that her hands cupped Tsubaki's shoulders from behind. Held tight in Eitsu's embrace, Tsubaki sighed softly.
Eitsu sat up, pulling Tsubaki with her, the woman held tight on her lap with her legs around Eitsu's torso. The kaibyou ran her nails lightly down Tsubaki's spine, and the dancer shivered, her lower body tensing and an involuntarily little cry rolling from her throat.
“I seemed to remember you liked this,” Eitsu said. “I guess my memory was right.”
“And you liked to be stroked,” Tsubaki replied, gently rubbing along Eitsu's arms, up to her shoulder, her neck, her cheeks – It was Eitsu's turn to shiver and hold Tsubaki closer. “You still do.”
“I'm still me.”
“Yes... you are.”
Their lips met again, Eitsu's tongue rough against the inside of Tsubaki's lower lip. She curled her hand under Tsubaki's thigh, her slender fingers finding something warm and wet. Tsubaki shuddered and sighed again, her dark, unfocused eyes seeking Eitsu's narrow golden ones. “Let... Let me go... I can't touch you like this.”
“That's fine. We have time, right now.” She blinked slyly. “You're not in a hurry, are you?”
Tsubaki's response was lost as Eitsu thrust her fingers upwards, slippery and pressing towards herself as if she were trying to pull Tsubaki forward. The dancer rocked a little, unable to keep still, her head back and her small breasts shivering before Eitsu's face. The temptation was not meant to be fought – Eitsu covered her sharp teeth with her lips and put her mouth around as much of the soft flesh as she could take in, closing her eyes as her tongue sought the hard, sensitive nipple. Tsubaki gasped and shuddered, sweat beginning to gather at her temples.
“Ei-Eitsu-sama... Let me touch you.”
“I don't want to put you down, though.”
“Then turn me around.”
Seated on Eitsu's lap, now facing away from her, Tsubaki slipped her hand between her own legs to reach Eitsu, drawing breath deeply as she felt Eitsu shudder too. The kaibyou's hand slid over the dancer's thigh to return to the warm, wet place it hand just left, and her thumb slipped up a little higher.
In the silver moonlight, only their loud heartbeats and soft gasps could be heard. Eitsu pressed her sharp canines lightly to Tsubaki's birthmark, her bite growing harder as their fingers sped up. Sweat dripped down the sides of Tsubaki's face, and Eitsu's back glistened with perspiration.
Eitsu's other hand found Tsubaki's breasts again, pinching. At this sudden teasing, Tsubaki let out a cry, her lower body jerking suddenly, her hand stilling for a moment before returning to its repetitive motion between Eitsu's legs.
“Eitsu-sama... St- Stop. Let me...”
“Do you... ha... have something... something to do... tomorrow...?”
“... w-why? Mmph.. stop...”
“So why... Why should I stop? I... said before... ah... We... have...l...lots of time... right...now...” She pressed her face to the back of Tsubaki's head, gasping warmly into Tsubaki's exposed ear as she came, shuddering. Her tongue slipped out and licked Tsubaki's earlobe.
“Ah! Wait...”
“I'll give you... an incense-worth of time. And then we're going again.”
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