A Scandal in Edo

The rating will now change to +Adult.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Luluko remembered that the last time she had been this terrified was when her parents had been buried. The realisation that she and her sister were alone with no means to fend for themselves had dawned upon her. It was only through the kindness of the neighbour who had arranged for the funeral that their family tree had been examined and the distant relatives in Edo had been found.

She had learned to count her blessings. Though it was difficult to find any in this dank room that the women had been corralled in. It resembled a cattle pen more than anything else.

It could not be hygienic with so many people crammed into one place. Luluko was beginning to feel claustrophobic and more than a little desperate.

Some of the women had used exceptionally foul language on the doushin and had been struck for their impertinence. Luluko had held onto Mai and Emiko throughout the whole episode, tight-lipped with suppressed fear and a surprising amount of anger. They had a right to be angry--even if those women had been illegally soliciting customers in bathhouses, they had probably been making do the best they could. And disrupting her uncle’s business like that!

Emiko was quaking in her clogs while Mai was biting her lips. With an unpleasant jolt, Luluko remembered that the older girl had been intending to marry Harada when he managed to wring a pay raise from Uncle Odou. What would become of them if they were not freed from this place? The doushin had just taken down their names in a perfunctory fashion for record purposes. What if they were confused with some of the other women and lost in bureaucratic hubris?

One or two of the guards had leered at them--at the women in general--and had received scowls from the bolder ones. But it was a stark reminder of just how powerless they were, right here and now.

She did not know how much time had passed before the door of the pen opened and the guard stepped in with a man dressed like a clerk. The official consulted a list and called their names.

“You three, out!” Glaring frostily at the guard, Luluko marched out with Naomi, Emiko and Mai in tow.

At the end of the long corridor, they emerged blinking into a room with actual windows.

“Suzaku-san!” she blurted out upon seeing the only familiar face amongst the men there. He barely nodded and motioned them to follow. Holding her tongue, Luluko urged the others on until they were past the doors, past the gates of the compound--this was not the time to ask questions.

Once outside, it was as though a weight had been lifted off her chest. They were ambushed by Oshiitsu, Kallen and Kaguya shortly after. Yes, there were still things to be thankful for.

“Nana-chan’s waiting for you!”

“Your aunt might actually cry when you get back--I want to see that.”

Amidst the storm of relief that encompassed them all, Luluko had the presence of mind to look to Suzaku. “Thank you--I--”

“You should go home to your sister,” he said.

Yes, she would have to go home. Her feet moved almost on their own accord. The mood of the others was contagious and buoyant--the journey home seemed so short now.

Home was a house where her uncle and aunt were. Home was where her sister had dragged herself out to the front entrance to wait for her.

“Nanari!”

“Nee-san!”

“What are you doing out here? You should go inside--it’s going to rain--”

“But I was so worried!”

“It’s all right now. You’re all tired out--you should go to bed now--”

She knew she was fussing, but she had to do something to diffuse the nervous energy that had built up within her in the past few hours. Was it so late already? Her uncle looked more ready to faint from relief than her aunt. As for Aunt Kaede--well, if she was relieved, perhaps it was because the workshop would not be short of workers. Or she was glad that Suzaku-san had been good enough to perform such a favour. It was a most uncharitable set of thoughts and she pushed them aside.

In the middle of putting Nanari to bed, it dawned upon her belatedly that he had followed them home and was being fawned over by Aunt Kaede. Luluko planned to rescue him once her sister was in bed, but Kaguya pried him loose and dragged him outside.

Intending to thank him properly, Luluko made sure that Nanari was tucked in and followed them out. The two of them were standing in the shadow of the gate, heads close together in a whispered discussion. She had not meant to listen in on their conversation, but they were not facing her as they spoke.

“--no guarantees, but I’ll see what I can find out about that,” Kaguya was saying.

“Thank you.”

“It was a little too close to home. And speaking of which, it’s none of my business, but your uncle is being investigated by an unknown party.”

Suzaku stiffened abruptly. “What about my uncle are they investigating?”

“I think you know better than I,” Kaguya said shrewdly. “I don’t know who yet, but it looks like it might be trouble. What are you going to do? If your uncle is in--”

“I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get to it, won’t I?”

In a rare fit of pique, Kaguya stamped her foot on the flagstones. “Suzaku! You’re the only relative I can talk to in this whole city! I don’t want you to get dragged down with your uncle--”

“You’ll miss me, won’t you?” he asked teasingly. “I can handle this. Thank you for telling me.”

Scowling, Kaguya watched her cousin go. “It’s your head,” she muttered as she turned around--and saw Luluko standing behind her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but is Suzaku-san in any trouble?”

“Eh, that depends . . . I’m almost sure today’s problem was entirely accidental, but there’s something else I need to check up on. Oh, I almost forgot . . . This came for you.” Kaguya fished a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Luluko. “With all the excitement, it slipped my mind, you see . . .”

Ignoring the fact that the letter had probably been opened and read previously, Luluko scanned the brief lines in silence.

"I am . . . tired of this," she said, refolding the letter slowly.

“Tired of what?” Kaguya asked.

“This. Being afraid. Not knowing what’s going to happen.” She stared at the gate and started forwards.

“No-one knows the future,” Kaguya said, obviously puzzled. “Where are you going?

“You can tell my aunt that what she’s been hoping for has happened,” Luluko said over her shoulder. “And I’m probably not coming back until tomorrow.”

If she had been looking back, she might have seen Kaguya’s mouth drop open. “Hey--are you sure? Luluko--”

But she was gone--out the gate and down the street, as swiftly as her feet could carry her.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

It had been a shock to see her face again.

Despite the urgency of the situation, it had been rather surreal as Suzaku realised distantly that he was consciously abetting a crime. But it would not be the first time.

It had been Suzaku’s job as the only male involved to go with the documents to the headquarters of the doushin. He had stood by impassively as the papers were poured over exhaustively--he was used to it and Kaguya’s forgery passed muster shortly. With luck, this matter would never resurface again--unlike other things.

The three women looked shaken but otherwise unharmed as they were liberated. They were rushed away by the combined forces marshalled by his resourceful cousin.

Like a leaf in a stream, Suzaku was swept along in their wake as they trekked back into the maze-like streets of Asakusa. Feeling rather other of place, he observed the scene of the homecoming from one corner. They looked happy to be home. She looked happy to be with her sister.

With all the people gathered together, the small house behind the textile shop got rather crowded. The woman who was her aunt was nattering into his ear while the head of the household was thanking him profusely. Suzaku really had no idea about what to do in situations like this besides falling back on rigid politeness. Kaguya took pity on him at last and came to his rescue, but she had more unsettling news for him to take home.

Finding Jino now would be impossible and he had one more issue to mull over as he walked back. Not that he could think properly with the persistent image of her face popping up in his mind.

On the way back, it began to drizzle. He gauged the distance between his current location and the Yamanote, and decided to purchase an umbrella from a shopkeeper who looked a lot more cheerful now that his wares would sell.

The drizzle developed into a spring shower--the kind that everyone said was a precursor to the blooming of the cherry blossoms--

He thought he heard his name being called and looked behind him.

"Luluko-san?"

Suzaku had never known why poets compared slender women to willow trees until then. Her hair was flapping loose from its bindings, catching stray droplets of rain as she ran down the street.

And then she was in front of him, close enough to speak without resorting to shouting over the sound of the rain. A slightly crumpled piece of paper that looked extremely familiar was clutched in her hand. "I don't want to regret this life, Suzaku-san. Do you?"

The touch of her lips against his was like a spark to oil.

He supposed later that they had been lucky that the rain had cleared the street. His arms came up to hold her and for a moment, there was nothing else in the world.

The umbrella was forgotten, coming to rest on the ground after it fell.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

She had chased after him. Something she had not dreamed of doing before.

It was going to be a day of firsts.

Her hand was on his arm, pressed between their bodies as they huddled under what little shelter the oiled and waxed paper afforded as they crossed the bridge in silence. Luluko would never have dared to do what she had, but it had come so easily that she had not thought about it. It had been like that--a blankness that had overtaken her mind as the kiss had deepened. There was just the sensation of his lips on hers and a hollow roar in her ears.

Unlike the time when she had been ferried in a palanquin to an unknown destination, her heart was not hammering in her chest as they walked through the drenched streets. There was only the present as they entered the quiet inn and were shown to a room by a studiedly incurious servant.

It was like falling off from a height. It was his eyes on her as she loosened her sash that made her pulse race. It was the rain-wet chill on her skin as she slipped off her inner robe, raising goose bumps up and down her arms. It was all this and more that made her each out for him.

He was warm to touch and she could feel his desire as she pressed close. Emboldened, she undid the ties of his hakama. He made a choked-off noise before he pulled her to him and resumed what they had started on the bridge. Strong fingers plucked out her hairpins and she shook loose her hair from its confining bun.

There would be no turning back from this.

A kind of sweet anticipation welled up from her core as they sank down onto the bedding. Was this what people meant by feeling desire or lust? She could feel every callus on his fingers on her skin as he held her and urged her thighs to part. Tensing again, she clutched at his shoulders as he entered her.

It did hurt, at first. Then it lessened as she adjusted to him and gradually began to feel that anticipation again--as thought the friction between them had started a slow fire that was building up within her. The feeling intensified as he caressed her breasts, causing her to gasp as a jolt of pleasure ran through her body.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

There were a million reasons why they should not be doing this, but Suzaku could not recall them as they move against each other.

He thought he had been going too fast when she made a pained expression, but she had urged him to continue and Suzaku thought he would not be able to stop after that. Her nails stopped digging into his shoulders after a while and she grew more responsive to his touches. Flushed and gasping, she cradled his head to her bosom as he thrust into her.

He forgot about the thinness of the walls and the hundred and one other issues that plagued his mind as he moved mindlessly towards completion. Did he shout out when he came? Suzaku could not recall as he lay with his head against her chest. Her pulse was still racing and she could barely suppress a moan as he drew out of her and gently ran a thumb over her sex.

“Suzaku--oh!” She cried out in surprise as he rubbed that small nub again. “What are you do--”

Her question was cut of abruptly as he bent to apply his tongue and fingers to her quivering flesh. He felt her shudder and cry out, muscles and limbs tensing as she found her own pleasure peaking within her.

Drowsy and content, he lay in her arms afterwards and idly played with strands of her hair. It was then that he made a wish and told her about it.

“We’ll see . . . Your cousin did say that no-one knows the future,” she said. “In the mean time, just send a note.”

The immediate future caught up with them all too soon when dawn came and they parted ways again.

Suzaku returned to his duties and listened with half an ear to Jino’s invented excuses to why he was going to have to go off alone--meaning without Suzaku.

“Jino,” he said at last, “if you’re sneaking out to chase after a girl, you could at least trust me to be discreet about it.”

He had the pleasure of seeing Jino’s jaw drop to the floor. “I mean, grow up and be upfront about it--I’m not going to judge you. Just don’t get into any trouble. She’s not a married woman, is she?”

It kept Jino so off-balance that he never asked where Suzaku had gone off to while he was not with him.

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