Bonus Short Stories
The Season of Dancing Flowers
On a day not long after Rio first visited the village...
It was springtime, and cherry blossoms were in full bloom. When the gentle wind blew through, the cherry blossom petals would flutter and dance in the air. As the sun made its way across the sky, work began to slow down. Rio was walking around the village, led by Ruri and Sayo.
“Come on, Rio. It’s over here.”
Ruri’s arm was entangled with Rio’s as she pulled him insistently.
“I don’t mind following you, but could you tell me where we’re going, Ruri?” Rio said to Ruri’s back.
To be honest, Rio had no idea where they were heading. He had just finished his work and stepped out into the garden to train when the two appeared and whisked him away, just like that.
“Ahaha. I wanted to introduce you to some work friends of ours. Everyone’s actually gathered already, and they’re all really curious about you, Rio. Isn’t that right, Sayo?”
“Yes. Everyone was asking us questions during work today, too. About you. They all said they wanted to meet you, so...” Sayo said hesitantly.
“That’s right. Everyone’s so persistent, saying they want to see Rio. Since it’d be a huge mess if they all came to the house at once, we decided to bring you to them instead.”
“I see, so that’s what this is all about. In that case, please lead me there.”
Rio was very grateful for their actions, since he wanted to familiarize himself with the village as quickly as possible.
“Leave it to me. Now, let’s go! Leading one customer to their seat!” Ruri laughed happily and pulled Rio’s arm.
A smile tugged at Rio’s lips as he started walking. However, when he turned to look behind him, he saw Sayo standing there as still as a rock.
“Sayo?”
“...What’s wrong, Sayo?”
Sayo snapped back to her senses with a gasp when the other two addressed her. “N-No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how you two looked close...”
Ruri cocked her head in thought before calling Sayo closer to share her brilliant idea. “Really? Hmm... Ah, then you can come over here, too, Sayo!”
“O-Okay.” Despite her confusion, Sayo hurried over.
“Okay Sayo, you’re on my other side.” Ruri said.
“Huh...?”
“You’re going to help me guide Rio around from my other side, okay? Then the three of us will be close.” Ruri pulled Rio’s arm closer as she spoke to a shocked Sayo. She seemed to be telling Sayo to do the same as her.
“Haha...” Rio grinned bashfully. It didn’t seem right to resist, so he gave in.
“Eh, ah, umm...” Sayo blushed and looked between her arm and Rio’s.
“Come on, everyone’s waiting! Hurry it up!” Ruri said, spurred Sayo into movement.
Rio forced down his embarrassment and tried offering his arm to Sayo. “...Erm, please look after me, Sayo.” If he showed any embarrassment here, the mood would become unbearable.
“O-Okay. Then... Excuse me.”
Sayo nodded hesitantly and quietly slipped her arm around Rio’s. She seemed a bit nervous as she stared up unblinkingly. The three of them lined up together, and Rio smiled with a shy but peaceful smile.
“All right, now let’s head out for real. Let’s go!” Ruri nodded in satisfaction and walked them down the path between the rice fields in the direction they had to travel in.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew around them, and the scenery around them became dyed a pale pink color
Way Home
In the village chief’s house, less than one month after Rio started living with Yuba and the others. Rio, Yuba, and Sayo were doing a bit of handiwork together. Suddenly, the front door opened, and Ruri energetically burst in.
“I’m home! Whoa, huh? Sayo hasn’t gone home yet? Everyone’s already wrapped up and gone home.” Once she stepped onto the clay floor, Ruri spotted Sayo in the living room and widened her eyes.
“Oh, is it that time already? We were completely focused on our work.” Yuba paused in her work and looked at the outside scenery through the open front door.
Rio stopped his work and directed his gaze outside the front door too. “It’s gotten a lot darker.”
“Sayo, you should head home soon. Rio, will you walk her back?” Yuba requested.
“Sure, I got it,” Rio agreed immediately. “Shall we go, Sayo?”
“I-It’s fine. I can get back by myself. I don’t want to trouble Sir Rio like that!” Sayo’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she rejected Rio’s offer.
“Sayo gets scared easily, so you have to walk her back. It’s already dark, so there won’t be many people walking around the village either, you know?”
“That’s right — there’s no need to be so reserved. Just have Rio walk you.”
Ruri and Yuba shook their heads in unison.
“Are... Are you sure?” Sayo looked at Rio inquisitively.
“I don’t mind,” Rio said lightly, putting on his shoes to go outside.
“O... Okay. Then, if you would please.” Sayo nodded excitedly and followed after Rio in a fluster.
“Rio, just because Sayo’s cute doesn’t mean you can make a pass at her when you’re alone!” Ruri said with a wicked grin.
“Huh...?”
“I would never.”
Rio denied Ruri’s words with a sidelong glance at Sayo, along with a bitter smile.
Ruri laughed flatly. “Ahaha, I’m just kidding. Go on, then. Look after Sayo,” she said, leaving it to Rio.
“Yes, let us go... Sayo?” Rio nodded and looked at her.
Sayo had frozen on the spot, however, and was staring at Rio in a daze. When Rio called her name, she flinched with a gasp.
“Ah... Y-Yes! P-Please be gentle with me! I’ll be in your care!” She bowed her head vigorously.
Rio’s eyes widened until they bulged.
“Ahaha, why would he have to be gentle if he’s just walking you home... What do you mean, Sayo?” Ruri laughed in amusement after a moment of silence, holding back her giggles.
“Huh...? Ah... N-No, that’s not it!! I-I didn’t mean it in a weird way!” Sayo denied with a great flurry of gestures.
“I see, I see. A weird way, huh? I wonder what way that is?” Ruri turned an inquisitive eye onto Sayo.
“N-Nothing...” Sayo replied, turning bright red and ducking her head.
“Come on, now. If you’re going to fool about, then do it outside. It’s getting later and later.”
Yuba, who had been watching their exchange pleasantly, offered a lifeline to the gradually shrinking Sayo.
“Okaaay. See you later, you two. Rio, Sayo’s afraid of the dark, so make sure you stick to the village roads!”
“I understand. Let’s really get going, now, Sayo.” With a faintly strained smile, Rio invited Sayo along, who remained frozen near the doorway outside.
“Yes,” she said.
“Are you afraid of the dark, Sayo?” Rio asked Sayo after they left the house and started down the road.
“...Eh, ah, umm... I’m not afraid, I’m just easily scared. When I’m alone, it’s kind of... I even get scared by the wind blowing the grass... J-Just like a child, right?” Sayo said with an embarrassed grin.
“No, I’m sure there are adults out there who don’t like that, either.”
“...Thank you very much. I’m really glad that you’re walking me home after all. It seems like everyone’s gone home already, so if I were alone now, I would have gotten scared and ran the whole way back.”
“Even the village falls completely silent at night, after all.”
“Yes... Achoo!”
As the two of them talked, Sayo started to feel a little cold and gave a cute sneeze. It was late spring, so the nights were still a little chilly. That day had been rather warm, however, so Sayo was only wearing thin layers.
“Here you go, Sayo.” Rio took off his own jacket and covered her shoulders.
“...T-Thank you very much,” Sayo thanked him timidly. Rio couldn’t see her expression in the dark, but scarlet red was staining her cheeks.
“Shin must be hungry by now, so let’s hurry. He’ll worry if you’re too late,” Rio said, hastening his pace a little bit.
“...Okay,” Sayo replied with a conflicted expression. She wanted to be together with Rio for just a little bit longer.
A Maiden’s Woes
In wintertime, on the first night of Komomo’s stay in the village, Komomo took Aio — her personal assistant — and Ruri to visit the village chief’s bathhouse.
“This is a splendid bath. Did Sir Rio really make this all by himself?” Komomo asked Ruri with a look of awe as they entered.
“Yeah. Rio knows a lot about everything and is super crafty with his hands. He used spirit arts and built this in less than two weeks. It’s become an essential facility in our village,” Ruri answered with a hint of pride.
“There are multiple bathtubs, too,” Aoi said as she looked around the room with deep interest.
“Yes. Having a single big bath would make it much more difficult to change the water, so it’s done this way to make it easier to adjust for the number of people bathing.”
“I see.” Aio hummed at Ruri’s explanation, exceedingly impressed. “It was certainly made with a lot of thought behind it, then.”
“Now that Rio’s filled the hot water for us, let’s get in before it cools. Otherwise, your body will get cold, too. Uugh, so chilly.” Ruri immediately headed towards the washing area.
“We have to wash our bodies first, right?”
“Allow me to wash your back, Lady Komomo.”
Komomo and Aoi followed after Ruri.
“I can wash your back next!” Komomo said to Ruri.
“Ahaha. Thank you, Komomo.”
When the sociable Ruri and overly-friendly Komomo were brought together, the two had become fast friends on the first day. They already opened up to each other enough to speak fondly to each other.
“Ruri, did I miss any spots?”
“It’s fine. Thank you, Komomo,” Ruri said after Komomo had washed her back thoroughly.
“Then, I’ll wash your front next,” Komomo said, winding her arms around Ruri’s chest from behind and hesitantly moving the towel.
“Huh...? Ah, huh?! W-Wait a minute! Komomo?!” Ruri started giggling at the ticklish sensation. Suddenly, Komomo’s hands stopped.
“...Hmph. They’re big,” she murmured.
“A-Ahaha. I’m going to ask just to be sure, but what are you talking about?”
“Your chest! Even though you’re only five years apart from me...” Komomo pouted her lips somewhat unhappily.
“W-Well, you’re still growing, Komomo.”
“...Really?”
“Y-Yup! You are. Right, Aoi?” Ruri nodded forcefully with a panicked face and turned to Aoi for help.
“Y-Yes. That’s right, Lady Komomo. I was about as big as you when I was your age,” Aoi said, bobbing her head enthusiastically.
“But... Even though Aoi’s several years older than Ruri, Ruri’s bigger than Aoi?”
“Ugh...”
The shock was enough to freeze Aoi’s hands from where they were washing Komomo’s back. She then brought both her hands up to cup her own chest.
“A-Ahaha. Well, individual results may vary.” Ruri evaded the point with a bitter smile.
“...I heard that lords prefer women with larger chests. Do you think Sir Rio is the same?” Komomo questioned in a somewhat worried way.
“L-Lady Komomo?! Why would you ask something like that?!” Aoi asked, taken aback.
“Aoi, now is not the time to point out trivial matters like that. What’s important here is Sir Rio’s preferences. What do you think, Ruri?” Komomo shook her head resolutely, pressing Ruri further.
“Huh? Ahaha. Umm, who knows...?” Ruri tilted her head stiffly and gave a dry laugh. Komomo’s expression darkened with sadness.
“Ah, t-then I’ll ask Rio next time I see him! Aha, ahaha...” Ruri promised for some reason, most likely because of the awkwardness rising within her.
“Really?!” Komomo’s expression bloomed brightly.
Ruri nodded with a shrill voice. “Y-Yeah. B-But I’m only going to ask. I don’t know whether he’ll answer or not...”
G-Geez, why am I agreeing to this so easily?! This is too embarrassing to ask! Ah, what am I going to do?! How am I going to ask him?!
Ruri was full of regret.
Cold Bath
During the first summer of Rio’s stay in the village, there was a day where they experienced a heatwave rarely seen in recent years. The villagers suspended their farm work and hid away inside their homes.
“Uugh, it’s hot.” Ruri sat on a cushion in the living room and fanned the chest area of her kimono.
“Ruri. That’s unsightly. What would Rio think if he came in?” Yuba scolded, furrowing her brows.
“It’s fine. I’ll fix it as soon as he comes in.”
“Good grief...”
“Where is Rio, anyway?”
“Who knows. He didn’t say he was going out somewhere, so maybe he’s in his room?”
Neither of them had any clues as to Rio’s location, but the front door opened and none other than Rio appeared.
“H-Huh? Rio, did you go out?” Ruri flinched and pulled her clothes straight in a fluster.
Ruri’s chest area entered his gaze for a moment, but Rio casually averted his gaze. “...No. I was doing my daily training in the garden, and then I took a cold bath in the bathhouse.”
“Eeh? You should rest on a day this hot. But a cold bath... I see, a cold bath. That’s right, that’s a good plan! Yup!”
Ruri had widened her eyes at the thought of Rio swinging his sword in the heat wave, but when she heard about the cold bath, she stood up vigorously as though she had had an epiphany. The momentum made her drawn-together kimono fall open at the chest once more.
“Erm... Then, do you want to get in the bathtub? I can prepare it for you right away.” Rio whipped around in an instant and walked outside the front door.
“Eh? Ah, erm, yeah! Please! Ahaha... Sorry.” Ruri grinned apologetically and properly fixed her messy clothing.
“This child is so much trouble,” Yuba sighed in exasperation. Yuba gave Ruri a harsh lesson on the ways of behaving like a lady, then Ruri headed for the bathhouse after finally being released several minutes later.
“Geez, today’s incident was just an accident. I might have been careless a few times when Rio came, but still... It’s all because of the heat wave today. I have to lift my spirits and get into that cold bath… It really is too hot today...” Ruri pouted her lips, venting her dissatisfaction. As she fanned her chest area to cool down as she usually did, she reached the bathhouse. Then, when she reached a hand out to the bathhouse door, Rio exited the bathhouse.
“Ah, Ruri. I just finished the preparations. Go... ahead...” When he saw Ruri fanning her chest, he froze in surprise.
“A-Ahaha... S-Sorry, Rio,” Ruri apologized, hiding her chest with a twitching smile.
“N-No. I’m the one who’s sorry...” Rio apologized awkwardly.
“R-Right. You were supposed to be here. I really am being careless, aren’t I? Ah, keep this a secret from Granny. She just got mad at me earlier.” Ruri put her hands together and pleaded earnestly at Rio, as though in prayer.
“Sure, I don’t mind, but... Shouldn’t it be the opposite? With me saying ‘sorry.’”
Ruri tilted her head in contemplation. “Huh? Hmm. Now that you mention it, maybe? But it’s my fault — I was being careless,” she said, grinning shyly.
“Haha. I’m going to go now, so cool yourself down to your heart’s content.”
“Yeah. Thank you... Ah, Rio. Do you want to get in, too?” Ruri asked inquisitively.
Rio shook his head bluntly. “No.”
“Ahaha, just kidding.” Ruri laughed flatly.
“Please, take your time.” Rio smiled somewhat happily and took his leave. Then, just as he arrived at the front door, Ruri screamed.
“H-Hyah! So cold! R-Rio! Make it hotter!”
...Guess I cooled it a little too much. Rio turned on his heel with a wry smile. He was met with the sight of a completely unguarded Ruri once again, but that’s another story for another day.
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