EE Chapter 8

# Chapter Eight - "Curious…"

### Junko

    Our first morning in Kyoto started with the interminable chiming of a bell in the hallway. It stopped for what felt like an eye blink - but which I later found out from my snuggle buddy was nearly twenty minutes - then started up again right outside our thin, sliding door. Kanon wiggled her way out from underneath the kotatsu to go see what the fuss was while I tucked my head under the blanket and away from the sunlight pouring through the windows. The soft sound of footsteps from more feet than had been in the room just moments prior drew close to my hiding spot, and a mild commotion seemed to be going on directly above me. Someone started poking and lightly kicking at the blanket with their foot - it wasn't hard to guess who - and tried to flush me out like a badger or a hare. Groggy, I slid out from my impromptu bedding and sat upright, squinting at whatever it was that now topped the table.

    "Good morning, Ms. Sakaguchi. I'm so sorry that you didn't find your bedding comfortable last night." Megumi was overly cheerful for such an early hour, assuming it was in fact an early hour, and I was not nearly awake enough for her guessing games. "Oh, I see neither of you made use of the futons. Curious…"

    "They were fine…" Kanon took over, handling this argument for me. "We just fell asleep warming up."

    "Oh, well then, I'll make sure you have extra blankets tonight so you can be more comfortable." I rubbed my eyes awake and slowly adjusted to the light. Megumi had taken a seat beside the table, and my stomach lurched a little at the smell of what she had brought with her - our breakfast. Not that there was anything about it that was in any way specifically offensive to any of my senses. It had simply snuck up on me, and honestly I'm not sure that I'm not still full from last night's feast. She must have sensed that something was off with me, because she looked quite concerned.

    "Ms. Mitsuboshi, Ms. Junko, are you sure it's alright that I join you both for your morning meal? I don't mean to intrude on your privacy, but mother is across the hall telling absolutely horrid stories about me as a child."

    "Really?" I made a fuzzy mental note to ask Rinko or Dam-Bi about that later. "No, it's fine. It'll be nice to enjoy a quiet meal with you. Why would you be intruding?"

    Kanon turned as red as the small salmon filets Megumi had brought with our breakfast. I immediately thought something must be wrong, that she had already started and was choking on a bite of food or had a fish bone stuck in her throat, but as I reached over and patted her on the back it occured to me how this may look to someone who hadn't been here with us the night before. How dearly I wished I could crawl back under the table until the weekend was over, but instead I did the next best thing.

    I changed the subject entirely.

    "Megumi, everything smells delicious. Is this your mother's handiwork again?“

    "Yes, a very simple breakfast, but very nutritious and warming. It seems father overdid it just a bit last night, so we made sure to keep it simple." The girl to my right giggled slightly until I gave her my best sisterly look, at which point she ceased doing anything only slightly, laughing quite loudly between bites of her rice. I'm not sure this is how this is supposed to work. "Did you two have any plans made for today?"

    "Not really. I figured we'd just do whatever the group wanted."

    "Well, in that case…" Megumi slurped some of her soup, purposely leaving her sentence hanging. "...the girls in the other room have some ideas. Some of us thought a visit to the temple may be nice. Ms. Han has it on her list of places to visit while in the country, and the others think it would be fun to drink from the falls. Ms. Hanazawa in particular."

    "Right… How's the legend go? The waterfall feeds into three streams and you can drink to make a wish for love, health, or success?" Trying to use an old superstition to wish for Interlunium's success is exactly the kind of thing Rinko would do, too, even though it's taking some liberties with the exact legend. And for her it would probably work, because for Rinko things like that always work for no reason.

    "Love?" Kanon muttered, barely above a whisper. Soft pink eyes that I'm learning I pretty much turn to mush over pleaded with me. It was, frankly, a little overdramatic. If over half our group were already onboard, whether or not we were going to end up going to the temple was really just a formality. Maybe Kanon assumed that since we'd formed this new dynamic I was going to oppose her out of sheer principle, but I really hope that isn't how I've been coming off to her. Plus, to add to the pointlessness of her display, this wasn't an idea I was opposed to at all. If I'd been forced to offer an idea of something to do I probably would have tried to think of something that would let us get some exercise after last night's meal, get some sun to warm us up, and would let us see or do something memorable as a group. Given those criteria, I think a trip to Kiyomizu-dera temple is a surprisingly enjoyable suggestion.

    And even if it weren't, I probably would have caved anyway. Given the proper preparation it's possible I may be able to resist Kanon's puppy dog eyes, but knowing both her *and* Rinko want to go means that I would have been bound to give in at some point.

    I… really hope they never figure that out.

    "That's fine with me. I've heard the views are breathtaking, and there's no harm in making a wish now and again." In fact, at some point, I'd taken up the habit of wishing on shooting stars, and probably quite a few things in the night sky that merely look a bit like a shooting star. If I'm to believe that a star can hold the power to grant our most fervent desires, who am I to say that a waterfall won't be just as effective?

    "Excellent. Then I'll let the rest of the group know. Please, Ms. Junko, Ms. Mitsuboshi, make sure to eat your breakfast. I predict you'll need your energy. You wouldn't be the first to find love under this humble roof."

    Megumi made a graceful exit, stopping at the door to turn back and give us a wink and a smile. Once more, both of us were stark quiet. Enough so that I could practically hear the rushing of blood to my ears.

    "I think Megumi thinks that…"

    "Uh-huh…"

    "We should probably correct her…"

    "Uh-huh…"

    Both of us looked at each other, no doubt pondering the same sorts of questions silently, then as one we practically fell over laughing at the notion that our separate quests for love could ever possibly intersect.

    "Finish eating, Kanon. Then we need to get ready to see a waterfall about some wishes."

\_\_\_\_

# Chapter Navigation

* Next Chapter
* Previous Chapter
* Back to Contents