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Atsu, Oyuki and Kiku were on their way up Mount Yôtei. Atsu had told Kiku about her grandparents climbing the mountain and leaving charms in the shrine at the top before Kiku’s father and Atsu were born. The girl was fascinated by this and wanted to see the shrine for herself, so she begged until the two women agreed to take her there. Atsu and Oyuki even prepared some charms themselves for Kiku which they wanted to place in the shrine as a surprise to her.
After a long day of going up the mountain, they stayed at Hanbei’s place for the night. Atsu’s old master was delighted to see them, and he certainly hadn’t lost any of his edge. When Kiku pleaded him to train her in wielding two katanas, Hanbei treated her to the same exercise with hot coal lumps that Atsu had gone through, albeit with wooden swords only.
Atsu could see how the frustration was building up inside the girl, and yet, Kiku refused to give up. The only way they could get her to stop and have dinner was by Atsu and Oyuki promising that they would help her train the strength in her left arm once they were back home.
The next morning, before sunrise, the three of them continued their climb to the top of the mountain. A few hours had passed, and the peak wasn’t that far away anymore. Vegetation had already become fairly sparse at this elevation.
Atsu stopped briefly to take a look around and enjoy the crisp, cold air. Down in the plains, the first warm days of summer had arrived a couple of weeks ago, but up here, the mornings were still quite chilly.
Even though this was Kiku’s first time climbing the mountain, she had no issues finding the right path. Atsu watched the girl scramble up some rocks; she was so full of energy, it almost seemed as if she would climb twice as fast if she hadn’t to stick with the two women following behind her.
Watching her niece, Atsu was reminded of when they met last year, especially how the two of them spent some time with each other when Atsu arrived at Matsumae castle. Kiku immediately roped her aunt into “liberating” some medical supplies for the refugees, and Atsu couldn’t help but notice how nimble the girl was; she could climb and balance as well as the shinobi of Teshio Ridge.
And the girl had only improved since then, in no small part due to the training she received from Oyuki. For her age, she could track, move and hide better than most adults who went hunting regularly.
Atsu’s eyes moved to Oyuki. Her beloved Oyuki, the woman who looked so harmless, yet was everything but.
Atsu still remembered how she told Oyuki that the older woman wouldn’t be able to help her up a cliff with those thin arms of hers, only to find out that she absolutely could. Before finding out just how much more those arms could do. First, when they were fighting the nine tails, deliver deadly blows with the kusarigama, then, after everything was over, protect, hug, and comfort.
Atsu wanted to just stand there and watch Oyuki gracefully balance her way up a steep part of the path, but she was falling behind, so she returned her focus to the way ahead of her and started moving again.
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When they arrived at the top of Mount Yôtei, it was almost noon. Atsu led them to a fireplace, and they enjoyed a simple lunch.
“What’s that down there?” Kiku asked, looking into the crater.
“It’s an altar,” Atsu replied without even checking. Oyuki looked at her with a silent question. “I’ve been down there and paid my respects,” the younger woman added.
“Is it hard to climb out again?” Kiku asked. Atsu shook her head.
“Not really; someone set up a nice path to get out of the crater again. I think you’d enjoy it. Finish up, and I’ll show you.”
Despite the cold wind at the top of the mountain, Oyuki felt warmth creeping up inside her. There were still moments when Atsu acted a little awkward in her interactions with her niece, but they had become far less common. Oyuki enjoyed watching them become family.
They had barely finished eating when Kiku started assailing her aunt with questions about the altar.
“Hold on, we first have to clean up after ourselves,” Atsu said.
“Don’t worry, I got it. You two go ahead.” Oyuki smiled at them and nodded towards the crater. She was amazed at the energy of the girl; they had climbed pretty much without a break after they left Hanbei’s place before sunrise, and yet, Kiku could barely sit still.
While Oyuki packed everything together, she listened to Atsu explaining how to get back up from the altar. That path definitely sounded like good exercise for the girl. By the time Oyuki was done, Atsu was still using her spyglass to point out important bits to Kiku. The shamisen player got up and walked to the edge of the mountain. The view from up here was breathtaking, and Oyuki enjoyed taking it in.
After a couple more minutes, she could hear Kiku hooting and hollering as she slid down into the crater, and then steps coming up to her.
“In all the years I’ve lived in Ezo, I’ve never been up here,” Oyuki said. She sensed Atsu next to her more than she saw her. “I admired the mountain whenever I travelled past, but I never found time.”
“I’ve been up here twice since I came back. First, to retrieve my parents’ charms. And then once more to fight Takezô.”
Atsu had told her the story a few months ago, and Oyuki made her swear that she would keep it to herself. The last thing the older woman wanted was swordsmen looking for glory coming to their house under the ginkgo tree and challenging Atsu.
“But I never took the time to look at the land around.”
Oyuki turned to Atsu and noticed that the woman was looking at her.
“Then why don’t you do so now?” she asked. Atsu had that smirk on her face which Oyuki loved so much.
“Because the view right in front of me is much more beautiful.”
With a few quick steps, Oyuki closed the distance between them, and their lips met for their first kiss of the day. Oyuki put her left arm around Atsu’s waist, while her right arm went across the other woman’s shoulder blades, hugging her tightly, their bodies resting heavily against each other.
Atsu had once remarked how intense Oyuki’s hugs were, and how much she enjoyed that. Oyuki couldn’t really explain why she always held on so tightly. She had hugged many people in her life; family, friends, and even some lovers, though most of that had been before the innkeeper’s daughter became the Kitsune.
But with Atsu, it was different. Was it because Oyuki failed to protect her all these years ago? Was it because she almost lost Atsu to her quest for revenge a few times after they met again in Teshio Ridge? Or was it because she loved her more than she had ever loved anyone else in her life?
Oyuki couldn’t say, and she didn’t care. All that mattered was that Atsu was in her arms now. Every day.
Their kiss went on until they had to break it up to breathe again. Resting their foreheads against one another, they caught their breath, sucking in the cold air atop Mount Yôtei, smiling.
“I think we should get going; Kiku will be out of the crater soon,” Oyuki said.
Atsu moved her head, kissing Oyuki on the nose.
“Trust me, she’ll need more time than that.” And with those words, Atsu came back in for another long kiss, wrapping her arms around Oyuki, making their hug even more intense.
After a few more minutes, the two women finally started walking towards where Kiku would come up out of the crater, and once they were all together again, headed towards the shrine to leave the charms for Kiku.
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On the way back, they stopped at Hanbei’s place again to stay the night. After a full day of physical activity, exhaustion finally caught up with Kiku. Combined with a good meal and a few small sips of sake, the girl soon fell asleep. Hanbei and the two women enjoyed the starry sky with the remaining sake before they also turned in for the night.
The next morning, Hanbei saw them off shortly after sunrise. Kiku was full of energy again, and it didn’t take them long to descend to where they had left their horses. They needed to buy some supplies anyway, so they decided to stop at a nearby settlement to see what the merchants had in store.
The place was bustling with activity. Quite a few travelling merchants were in town that day, and the townsfolk were flocking to their stalls to see what was on offer. Fresh produce, fish, cloth, tools; everything was on display.
While shopping, Atsu noticed a familiar stall.
“Isn’t that Ginji’s?”
“You’re right,” Oyuki replied after taking a look herself. “I don’t see him anywhere, though.”
“If you’re looking for the old man, he went to the Inn with a couple of customers for some tea.” The man selling cloth at the stall next to Ginji’s had overheard their conversation. Atsu nodded in his direction to thank him.
“Shall we check in on him?” she asked. Oyuki and Kiku both agreed.
It didn’t take them long to get to the inn. When they entered, their eyes needed a moment to adapt; the soft light insight was a far cry from the bright sun outside. Just like the town itself, the inn was quite packed that day.
Atsu scanned the room, and it didn’t take her long to spot Ginji. To her surprise, Ran and Ina were with him.
“Hey, look who it is. The family from the house under the ginkgo tree,” Ina said, waving the three women over to join them at their table.
“I knew Ginji was travelling in this region, but what are you two doing here?” Atsu asked while sitting down.
“I’m travelling north to meet some Ainu,” Ran said.
“And I’m heading down to Oshima coast. The rebuilding of Matsumae castle is progressing, and they want some fireworks to celebrate,” Ina added.
A waitress arrived, bringing more tea for them and some sweets to go along with it. While the conversation at the table continued, Atsu noticed from the corner of her eye that Kiku was wolfing down all the sweets before anyone else could touch them. Oyuki had often warned her about overindulging on sweets, and Kiku had paid the price with stomach aches a few times, but Atsu had soon realized that this was a lesson kids had to learn again and again. And after going up and down Mount Yôtei, the girl deserved to indulge herself.
Ginji’s voice brought Atsu back into the conversation.
“It’s good to see how much you’ve calmed down,” the old man said looking at her. “When I first met you last year, it seemed as if you could not sit still for even a minute. You were always heading somewhere, busy with something.”
“She was quite restless,” Ran nodded.
“Driven,” Ina quipped.
“Obsessed,” Oyuki added.
“Just keep poking fun at the onryô.” The smile in her eyes betrayed the fake annoyance Atsu put into her voice.
Suddenly, a voice that hadn’t been part of the conversation so far joined in.
“She has to stay still every time Oyuki counts the scars on her by kissing them, so I guess that’s where she learned it.”
Atsu felt as if she had just been hit in the head. Her mind went blank. The former bounty hunter opened and closed her mouth a few times but was unable to say anything, unable to grab onto any thought.
“Kiku!” Oyuki burst out. “How do you know that? We’ve never done that with you around!”
The girl answered in the most nonchalant tone possible, as if she were talking about the weather.
“You never let me train with real weapons; you never let me use your kusarigama. All you teach me are your shinobi ways of disappearing and hiding.” The girl didn’t even look at them, instead still rummaging through the things on the table, trying to find more sweets.
“And the only people I can test these skills on are you two.” She finally looked up. “I’ve come home a lot earlier than you noticed quite a few times.” A huge grin appeared on her face.
Atsu had never imagined being in a conversation like this; she was at a complete loss for words. She looked at Oyuki and could see that her lover had blushed all the way to the tip of her ears. Judging by how hot Atsu’s face felt, she knew that she must have been just as red.
Looking around the table, she saw that Ran was grinning like an idiot. Ginji seemed to have made the most important discovery of his life at the bottom of his teacup, starting into it intently. Atsu could tell that he wanted to disappear into the ground just as much as she did. And Ina valiantly fought to keep a straight face...before losing badly and bursting out into roaring laughter so loud that the people at the other tables started looking at them.
Oyuki regained her composure faster than Atsu.
“So if we let you train with real weapons, you won’t spy on us anymore?” she asked with a wry smile.
“It’ll certainly give me something else to do,” the girl replied smugly.
Ina had finally calmed down again
“I like your style, kid.” She waved the waitress over, ordered a bottle of sake, and a whole heap of sweets. “I think we should be friends.”
“If you keep feeding her sweets like that, you’ll be her best friend in no time.” Atsu had finally found some words again.
“A girl needs to know how she can get what she wants,” Kiku proclaimed, beaming at all the adults around her. Once again, she had gotten her way.