EE Chapter 10

# Chapter Ten - "A Strange Tradition"

    "That's because I'm an incredibly complex person. I'm fascinating, I know. But which of my many wonderful qualities are you referring to, *Ms. Aihara?*"

    After our day out, Megumi and I were taking a stroll through the inn's small garden before dinner. It had seen better days - namely, we were basically in winter already, and that's not exactly a prime time for plants to thrive no matter how lovingly they're tended - but Mrs. Aihara had made sure that the entire space was still well-groomed and decorated, so it was very pleasant to saunter through even if only a few autumn vegetables were still growing. We weren't the only ones with the same idea - Rinko and Dam-Bi were jogging around the grounds and the street next to them to work up their appetites for dinner, while Pinky had taken the juniors and her moles inside to warm up and play with Momo - but we were taking things at a much more leisurely pace. I bent down as I talked, admiring a little statue of a white cat in the garden's corner, then fished around in my bag.

    "Why, at the falls earlier. I simply didn't expect you to make the wish that you did."

    "Why not?" I found a small coin with a hole in it among the loose junk rattling around my bag and placed it on the cat's head. Megumi watched me do this, her face looking like she didn't comprehend what was happening. "What? It's a thing my grandma used to do, ok?"

    "How interesting. I can't say I've ever seen someone try to bribe the lucky cat before."

    "It's not a- Megumi! You're impossible sometimes, you know that?! It used to make me and my cousins really excited when we found money on the statues. Some of the dumber ones even thought the cat was actually magic, making the coins appear out of nowhere.“

    "I see, so the coin is for…"

    "I dunno, some kid? I assume you get kids staying here sometimes, right?"

    "We do. Fairly frequently in fact. And here I had no idea."

    "What? That I follow my grandma's stupid little superstition?"

    "Well, no, though that is interesting in and of itself. More so that you like kids. I wouldn't have figured you're the type."

    "Why not? Kids are fun. I mean, I have younger siblings and they're great. Yeah, they don't usually have money to spend on concert souvenirs, and they ask for hugs all the time and get your costumes all gross with kid germs and stuff, but they're so cute! My sister Anzu is just the most adorable kid you'll ever see. She has a cute little bob, but sometimes she lets me dress her up in a matching outfit and little blonde wig, and it's like having a second little me around. But… we made the same choice at the waterfall. Is it really that surprising? It's not like I need any help with success, and everyone already loves me. I'm more surprised you went that way, honestly." I quickly stepped to the side as I saw the oncoming runners, practically falling into the garden as the two girls stampeding past laughed, not having the decency to try to avoid me. If not for a well-placed branch to steady myself I would have found myself among the carrots and squash. "No offense. You've just been all about the lovey-dovey ever since we got here."

    "Well, truthfully…" Megumi turned around to quickly examine the plants on the other side of the trail, then knelt down to examine them more closely. "...I've always just assumed I'd be lucky in that regard someday. My father met my mother under this roof. His mother married a man who worked for her father when they ran the business, and her father married my great-grandmother whose dad was a butcher in town. She helped him deliver fresh meat and eggs every day. Now, his father sadly married twice, first very young to his sweetheart who worked here with him before he took over from his much older brother, and after she passed to my distant grandmother who was staying here for an extended holiday with her parents. She was quite a bit younger than him, which was a scandal at first, but it quick-"

    "I think five generations of storytime is plenty to make your point. Which is…?"

    "Which is, if you want me to cut straight to the ending, that all of my immediate ancestors found love in this ryokan since the very first generation we tended it. Naturally, when I was young I just assumed that that's how it would work out for me too."

    "Pfft. Come on, you can do better than a baker's son or something. You're gonna be famous. You'll be able to pick anyone you want."

    "Maybe… But then again, maybe not. Some of us aren't as sure of our pending success as idols, but I hope to be around for a very long time to find out. Hence a wish for good health. I think though, that as long as I'm making people happy I'll think of myself as successful, and I know that if I make enough people happy then someday one of them will love me for it, but I can't do any of that if I'm not in top shape. I know it sounds strange, but I really believe that this place is where I'm fated to find love."

    "Nah. It doesn't sound strange. It actually sounds really… Megumi-ish. In a nice way, of course." Megumi grew quiet, playing around with one of the green orbs nestled under broad green leaves, then a second, then standing back up with her harvest of kabocha.

    "I should head in now. I promised to help mother in the kitchen, so the food should be even more impressive tonight. There are fresh yukata in the closet of Ms. Junko and Ms. Mitsuboshi, if you'd be so kind as to let everyone know. You should find that much more comfortable, and I believe a few should suit your preferences."

    "Yeah, the kimono was more fun than I thought, but it was a lot of work. You should get to have fun tonight too though, so don't stress yourself too hard. What time should we come get you for a bath?" Not that I have any desire to do that again, but it can't be any more annoying than last night.

    "I think I'll just use the shower in my parents' room. We probably won't have the luxury of a full bath before dinner, but mother, Ms. Kimura, and I may indulge after the dishes are done. But please enjoy it. I know how much fun you had last night."

    "Oh, ok. Then I guess… Wait, didn't you say there was only the one bath last night?!"

    "There is only one, Ms. Inagawa. A shower is hardly a bath." My jaw practically dropped at the nerve she was showing. Anger flared up inside of me at being tricked, only for a laugh to find its way out instead. "Dinner will be at eight o'clock sharp. Please don't be late again."

    As she gave me a frustrating wink and walked inside, I couldn't even be mad. What a completely Megumi-ish thing for her to do. I'm definitely never getting back in a tub with her ever again after that! Not even if she begs me!

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