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A long, long time ago, a man and a woman were desperately in love. They spent the long winter nights warm by the fireplace in passionate embrace. But when the spring came, and they were forced to face the daylight, their families did not approve of their love. Both of their families forced them each to separate from their heart’s true desire. They wept, but bid farewell to their love. They spent their days in bitter, aching loneliness.
If only they could see how sweet and devoted this love is, thought the man and the woman, surely my family would change their minds!
With this purpose, they worked together in secret. They stripped flowers of their nectar and pressed grains of rice together until they formed one complete shape. After many trials, they came away with a dish that was sweet enough to sway the stubbornest minds. It was a heart-shaped mochi ball.
They fed their sweet to their families, splitting it in half, and waited with baited breath.
Both their families were delighted. Overcome by the sweetness and passion that the two lovers showed, the families agreed they had been hasty and misguided, and agreed unanimously to the union.
They rejoiced, and ordered fine wedding silks and found a day known to be auspicious for weddings. The lovers were wed to their true loves, and all was well.
It is said that, on the anniversary of the wedding, couples who share a rice dough sweet pastry will have their destinies intertwined, and will one day be themselves wed.
On the warm late-winter day when Kasumi entered the normally peaceful tea house in the center of Tsuyukusa, she was overwhelmed with how busy it was.
She had seen the seats occupied more and more often as of late, thanks to the efforts of the new farmer that had moved in a bit ago, but that alone did not account for this spike. As she studied the chaos, her sharp eyes quickly picked up another pattern of interest—
Every patron was a couple.
Many of them were very affectionate, touching arms and wrists and shoulders, while others were stiff and demanding or cold. But the myriad of boys together with girls made Kasumi suddenly feel starkly lonely.
“Kasumi!”she heard, and saw Komari weaving through tables to get to her. “Boy am I glad to see you.”
“What’s going on today?” Kasumi asked, brow furrowed in concern. “Much business is good, yes, but perhaps there is such a thing as too much business.”
“Try telling that to my dad,”Komari sighed. “He’s happier than a clam that escaped an otter’s claws.”
Kasumi chuckled at the image. “You always have such creative perspectives, Komari.”
Komari blushed. “Gosh! Ya really think so?”
“I do indeed.”
They spent a moment, the chaos of the teahouse falling away, staring at each other with a calm affection.
“Komari!”Ginjiro barked. Komari winced. “We got customers that need carin’ for!”
“Coming, Dad!”she called automatically. She turned back to Kasumi with a grimace. “Sorry. Wait for me until after my shift? Assumin’ that it actually will end at some point.”
“It may go on to eternity, true. Nevertheless, I shall wait.”
“How can ya wait all that time if it won’t end? Ya can’t just sit there waiting for me for an eternity!”
“Please, Komari,” Kasumi said with a sly grin. “You underestimate me.”
“Hehe. Ya know, Kasumi, I really…”
“Yes?” Kasumi prompted. But Komari’s cheeks flushed, and she shook her head like a big dog.
“Nothin’. I’ll see ya later, kay?”With that, Komari waved, and dove back into her work.
Kasumi felt her heart skip a beat. What had Komari meant to say, she wondered. What was it that made her shy and nervous, that was prompted directly following their moment? It made Kasumi feel anticipatory, but for what, she did not know. Her eyes followed Komari as she danced through the crowds of the teahouse.
As Kasumi waited to the side of the entrance, hoping a table would free itself, Yuzuki and Hinata walked in.
“Well gee,” Hinata said in disbelief. “If even Kasumi can’t get a table, we’re doomed.”
“Good day to you, Hinata, Yuzuki,” Kasumi greeted politely. She took a step away from them to prevent any violent urges from surfacing.
“Good day, Kasumi,” Yuzuki said with a gentle smile. “It seems that Ginjiro’s latest scheme is rather a success, hm? Perhaps too much so.”
“His latest scheme?” she asked, looking over to the head chef. He was elbow deep in rice flour and rolling pins.
“Oh, you hadn’t heard?” Hinata said. “I would have thought the kids at your school would be all over it. Maybe they’re a bit too young.”
“He’s invented a legend to help sell a new dessert,” Yuzuki explained, “People are more inclined to lighter pockets if they purchase an experience or a feeling, something that normally cannot be purchased.”
“And what feeling are they purchasing with their desserts?”Kasumi asked.
Hinata grinned, crossing his arms and admiring all the couples. “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked. “Love!”
The word threatened something soft in Kasumi’s chest.
Love.
“It is Valentine’s Day,” Kasumi said in realization. Sure enough, the sign out front of the shop in beautiful lettering declared it loud and clear. Beneath was listed the day’s specials: Heart Mochi – A dessert sweet enough to capture your feelings. Lovers who share will have their destinies entwined!
Kasumi did not believe that there existed any feelings sweet enough in her to warrant needing captured by a dessert, nor had she ever heard of a legend that would claim a mochi capable of changing fate. Very bold claims indeed.
Yuzuki chuckled. “I had forgotten as well,” he told her. “But my grandparents did not. They awoke extra early to visit, saying they wished to be the very first ones to try Ginjiro’s latest confection.”
“There they are!” Hinata said, pointing to the far corner. Sure enough, Omiyo and Umekichi were tucked into the table as if it had been grown and shaped just for them, staring into each other’s eyes with unwavering smiles. Their hands were on the table, fingers mixed together, and a plate sat empty between them while two cups steamed lightly.
“My,” Kasumi breathed, in quiet awe.
Yuzuki sighed. “They’re a bit embarrassing.”
“Watching them is really sweet,” Hinata said. “I’ll be honest, if I could have a love like that, one that I could declare openly and easily for the whole world to see, and keep it until I was old and gray, I think that would be wonderful.”
“I had never given thought to such a relationship for myself,” Kasumi told them, and they know her well for neither Hinata nor Yuzuki is surprised by this confession of hers. “But regarding them now, it...it makes me melt and ache at once.”
Ginjiro then greeted them, and explained his genius business idea. He’d found an old scroll up in the attic while cleaning the other day, and the scroll told of a tale of star-crossed lovers who shared a mochi to change their destiny.
“Ain’t that just the most romantic thing ya ever heard?” Ginjiro said, sighing, looking wistfully out the window to faraway lands.
Hinata also sighed dreamily, caught up in the sweeping story.
“It is quite lovely,” Yuzuki agreed.
“I see now why your mochi is the best-selling product,” Kasumi noted.
Hinata nodded. “Mm, special promotional deal, mystical spin, it’s a smart tactic.”
Ginjiro preened. “You kids gonna get one too?”
Yuzuki and Hinata reacted oddly to this—staring first at each other, nerves alight, then ones their eyes caught, flinging their gaze away. Yuzuki tugged the sleeves of his haori, and Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. Ginjiro looked between them, eyes narrowing, almost suspicious.
“I’m afraid that, as for me, I have no need of one, Ginjiro,” Kasumi said to end the odd moment. “I could never be with a man, so something that ties my destiny to one would be misery-inducing.”
Ginjiro nodded, still chipper, though he was clearly disappointed. “Sure, sure, I can see that. I’d hate fer ya ta end up in misery over this. Just an awful shame that you won’t have a sweetheart.” He turned his attention back to Yuzuki and Hinata. “What about you boys? Make up your minds yet?”
“I’ll take one,” Hinata said resolutely. Yuzuki’s eyes widened. A knot tightened in his stomach.
“Oh ho!” Ginjiro brought a heart mochi in a red bamboo box, set the lid gently on top, and placed it with both hands into Hinata’s outstreched arms. “Who’s the lucky gal?”
“With luck, you’ll see one day, right?” Hinata answered mysteriously. “My hope is you’ll officiate our wedding.”
“Now ya got me extra curious!” Ginjiro frowned.
But before he could press further, or push Yuzuki to get one, Ginjiro was called away by another customer in the cafe. He bid the three of them goodbye and went back to work.
A table opened up, and they quickly snagged three seats. Komari came by with drinks for them, but could not stay to talk, and left as quickly as she arrived.
“That story was very moving, was it not?” Kasumi said, referring to the scroll. Ginjiro had left it with them by accident, and she thumbed along the outside edges as it sat in the center of their table.
“Indeed,” Yuzuki agreed, “It almost makes me wish I had a disapproving family so that I could have a stirring forbidden romance of my own.”
“Right?” Hinata said, nodding. “That’s why plays are so beautiful. All the fun and intensity, none of the lasting pain.”
But Yuzuki sighed in annoyance. “If this is another one of your schemes to get me to run lines for you, that’s not happening.”
“What!? But you’re the first to admit that you like the romance stories!”
Kasumi found herself tuning out their squabbling, and admiring the craftsmanship of the scroll. The words were poetic, but more elegant were the brush strokes. It was clear in each touch of the brush hairs to the paper that the writer felt the ache of the lovers acutely.
Kasumi wasn’t certain she understood romance. Men did not interest her; in fact it was only a select few that she tolerated, and even fewer that she could say she liked. Yuzuki and Hinata were among the better men in the world, and neither of them ever made her heart skip a beat or want to fight against her family to keep. In fact, if anyone made her feel that way, it was—
At that moment, Komari caught her eyes. Her face went through a beautiful and complete transformation as she did. Eyebrows drawn, stress pulling her lips down and weariness seeping in her eyes. Into a full, bright, hopeful smile that stretched her whole face. She bounded back to her work with extra energy.
Ah, Kasumi thought, a feeling sweet enough to only be captured by a dessert does exist in me after all.
“What!? You’re all sold out!?” a customer cried loudly. “You can’t be serious!”
“Listen pal, I dunno what to tell ya,” Komari said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. “I’m not splitting one with you.”
“But-but! Ginjiro said he always made enough for all the couples in town, as well as any visitors from the neighboring towns or places even further away!”
Komari rolled her eyes. “Well, we had too many visitors today! Now if you’re not going to buy anything else, get out of here, you’re causing a scene. People come to this teahouse to relax y’know.”
“You’re sure you’re all out? Not even one in the back that you’re saving?” He crawled towards Komari in desperation, trying to see over her and peer into the storage room. “You haven’t had one, there must be one you’re keeping back there! Let me have it!”
“We’re all out! None! Goodbye now!” Komari pointed very clearly towards the door and began walking towards it, but he grapped onto her wrist.
“You can’t deny me my true love!”
Kasumi had heard quite enough.
She stood and slapped the man’s hand away, then send a firm palm-heel strike to the center of his chest. He went flying out of the restaurant, tumbling into the sort dirt of the street. He picked himself up, made some obscene noises and gestures, then walked away.
“Phew,” Komari said. “Ya really saved my neck. Thanks, Kasumi.”
“It was no trouble,” she said breezily. “Now, I believe you are in your perogative to demand your break now, after that ordeal. And since there are no more Heart Mochi today, business should slow.”
Komari heaved a massive sigh that took her whole body. “Yeah, you’re right. Dad, I’m takin my break now!”
“You okay, sweetie?” he asked.
“Right as rain!” she chirped. “Just need some fresh air and a breather. Come on, Kasumi, you’re joinin’ me aren’t ya?”
Komari scooped up her hand, and Kasumi felt a warm and light feeling akin to butterflies blossom in her chest.
“Of course.”
Hand in hand, they left towards the riverside.
“Well that was intense,” Hinata said, still reeling in the chaos. Somehow the people at the center of it had been able to move on in a snap of fingers, but he and the other patrons of the shop were not so quick to adjust.
“Terrifying,” Yuzuki said, “yet at once comforting, no? It’s nice that Kasumi will be there for Komari. I can only hope that will be the case for their whole lives.”
Hinata’s eyes flicked to his box of Heart Mochi. “You mean…?”
Yuzuki chuckled. “I had thought it was something of an open secret, no? With how affectionate they always are.”
“It’s different for women,” Hinata said. “We’ve been talking about embodying different physicalities when acting, and the social expectation is that women can touch and share casual affection far more easily than men can. Their feelings can be in the broad daylight, but mine—”
Hinata slapped a hand over his mouth. He did not dare look at Yuzuki. He knew his whole face was on fire, and his heart pounded in his chest.
“Moonlight,” Yuzuki said.
“What?”
“If your feelings are not fit for daylight, then perhaps they are fit for moonlight. Whomever you intend to share your Heart with, perhaps you should plan to do it tonight.”
Hinata stared at him for a moment, blinking, hopeful. “You think I should?”
Yuzuki frowned. “Frankly, Hinata, I am hurt that you had such intense feelings for someone but did not share this fact with me. And I am frustrated that I did not see them for myself, despite claiming to be your best friend and wishing to spend each day at your side.”
“Then…” Hinata held his breath. He intended to look straight at Yuzuki as he asked this, but at the final moment, found his courage fail him critically. He tensed his hands in his lap and stared at that instead as he said: “Would you accompany me to the clearing this evening?”
Yuzuki sucked in a breath. “Yes.” The word squeezed out of him like a drop of scalding tea sneaking out the end of a pot after it had already been poured. “I will.”
Hinata looked at him again, eyes warm and alight. “You mean it? Really!?”
This time, Yuzuki looked away. “Yes.”
“Yahoo!” Hinata jumped up, causing even more of a commotion. “I have to go back to work, but tonight! Tonight!”
“Tonight,” Yuzuki agreed, looking at the precious box where Hinata’s Heart Mochi was stored, and feeling his own heart pound heavily.
Outside the tea house, Kasumi and Komari finally breathed. It was a lovely late-winter day, with the sleepiness of snow causing delicate almost-waking spring blooms to blink and yawn in the blue-soaked sun.
Komari took Kasumi around to the back of the tea house by the river, an employees-only area where no one would disturb them. The gentle winds blew.
“Allow me to see your wrist, Komari. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Komari shook her head, but let Kasumi fuss over her anyways. She liked the sensation of Kasumi’s steady poet fingers on her skin.
“Good,” Kasumi breathed. “I know you were entirely capable of dealing with him yourself, but I felt a rage boil in me the moment he touched you, and my instincts took over completely.”
Komari giggled. “I feel kinda like a princess. My strong warrior saved me today.”
Kasumi felt her face heat at this, and she stuttered her steady touch. Then, on a whisper, she said: “I’d like that.”
“Ah, jeez, Kasumi!” Komari cried. “Ya give me heart palpitations like crazy!”
Kasumi raised a concerned eyebrow. “Palpitations?”
“Yes! Look, earlier today, I… I wanted ta say… Augh, it’s no good. I’m just too much of a coward.” She then shook her head, dispelling the sadness, and scooped both of Kasumi’s hands into hers. “Things are much better now that we’re out here. I was startin’ ta get real depressed.”
Kasumi looked down at their joined hands and allowed herself a small smile. “I confess, I was disappointed to hear that all of the Heart Mochi had already been shared.”
Komari’s hold slipped. “Ya...ya were?”
“Yes. You see, I—I was hoping to...share one with you.”
Kasumi’s confession shocked her. She felt the urge to run and hide, perhaps jump directly into the river.
“Oh, Kasumi!” Komari cried in delight. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a red bamboo box.
Kasumi’s eyes widened. “What—but you said...”
“Hehe, well. I may have mislead that guy. It wasn’t in the back. It was in my pocket the whole time. It was the first one we made this morning, and I—wanted...I wanted you to be the one I shared it with!”
Kasumi cradled Komari’s hands around the box. Her heart had never been so full.
“May I kiss you?” she asked, no longer afraid of Komari’s beautiful brown gaze.
Komari nodded, then they leaned in, and shared a kiss. Kasumi was not nearly as bold as she’d hoped she’d be, and Komari too was skittish. But the understanding passed between them, and slowly but surely, their fears melted. After they pulled apart, both grateful but overwhelmed, they spent a long time in each other’s arms as they at last shared the Heart Mochi.
That night, Yuzuki met Hinata in the clearing. A few crickets, early to the spring choir, warmed their voices in the frigid night air.
“You look well,” Yuzuki greeted, and Hinata did. He always did. Bright and vivacious, in a way Yuzuki had always wished he could have been in his youth.
Hinata turned around, then displayed the Heart Mochi to Yuzuki with both hands. “I present this to you, Yuzuki. If you accept, if you’ll allow our destinies to intertwine. I’d be honored.”
“I…” Yuzuki breathed, not quite ready for this. “You had someone else in mind earlier, had you not?”
Hinata shook his head.
“But I—I often turn you down for line practice. I should have thought you’d found someone else who you could spend time with.”
Hinata set the mochi aside on a nearby bench. “What? You’ve never had...I thought you hated practicing with me!”
“You always ask me to play women!” Yuzuki shot back.
“That’s because I’m the romantic lead—that’s how romance works in these stories! Romance is between a man and a woman, and I’m playing the part of the man, so there’s no other choice if you want to help me with my lines! If the play had two men, I’d happily ask you to do that too!”
Yuzuki’s breath caught. “You would?”
“Of course I would!” Hinata insisted. He took another breath, and addressed his confession once more: “Would you accept, in that case?”
“I would,” Yuzuki affirmed.
Hinata’s eyes lit. “You mean it?”
“Yes, Hinata. If I could be a man, I would fill in the romance role for you.”
Hinata jumped up once more, then scooped Yuzuki up into his arms and spun him around. His dark blue eyes reflected the moonlight, and his smile was more beautiful and delicate than any flower. Hinata had known for a long time what his feelings meant, and now that he knew they were returned, it was all so wonderful.
“Gosh, Yuzuki, I—I have some lines coming to mind right now.”
He set him on the ground, and Yuzuki took a moment to re-orient himself. “Well, if you think words would be adequate I would be happy to share them but...”
“But?”
Yuzuki tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear. “I know of something we could exchange other than words that will make our feelings clear.” Then he looked to Hinata’s lips.
“I—y-yes—at! At the end of the scene!”
Yuzuki held a hand to Hinata’s cheek affectionately. “Hehe okay. Your lines, then.”
Hinata cleared his throat and began: “Destiny and duty will not harm us. They are not our enemies but rather our allies. If you’ll allow my love a home within your heart, the honor of cherishing yours forever will be mine.”
“Yes. Always. Is that my line?”
“There is no next line, this—this is where you kiss me.”
Gently, curiously, like stepping into the darkness, Yuzuki and Hinata kissed. Yuzuki was soft at first, then surged forwards leaning into Hinata’s lap. He puched down, his hair curtaining Hinata’s face while Hinata’s hands tugged Yuzuki closer and roamed across his arched back. Their kiss was a bit more heated than either had intended, but warm, like a lantern in the moonlight. They breathed into each other, heat shared between them, and ate the Heart Mochi while entangled in each other’s arms.
Inari grabbed two red strings from the late-winter air, tugging them from the sky until they manifested as thread in their hands. They jumped between Komari and Kasumi, then between Hinata and Yuzuki, and tied the strings to their fingers.
“Peaceful tidings, all,” Inari whispered. “By the warming light of the sun, and the cooling light of the moon, your destinies have been tied.”