Few words before the story, what first began as simple kinda fanfic about Ei and Yae, evolve into more self contained story while still using the likeness of those two characters. I hope you like it! And of course, all characters are above legal age.
Through the half open door, the small bird jumped inside of the room, its orange head looking around curiously as it started to explore the dimly lit room. It jumped closer to the girl laying in the middle of the room on a futon, under a purple blanket. The bird jumped and gently landed on Ei's head, waking her up with its sharp beak.
"Hey!" The girl snapped from the sleeping and sat down. The little bird flew around her before landing on her lap, watching her with its little black button eyes.
"Oh, it's you. Ouch..."
The bird answered with a short cheerful whistle before raising to the air again, this time resting himself on Ei's desk, curiously as ever, gazing into her family sword. Ei without a second thought stood up and tied up the futon, as neatly as she could. Then she walked to the wall where the built-in shelf was, opening it to get her clothes. Changing her pyjamas to more formal wear, she as always put on an all-black outfit, with matching wooden sandals. The tightly fitted shirt with more freely flowing pants enabled her free movement during the training.
The bird cheered as she sat down before the desk, taking out a small mirror from the hidden shelf. She carefully placed it on the desk, for the bird's enjoyment as it quickly jumped closer and looked at himself in it. Ei smiled, before grabbing her hair brush and getting to work. Her long and straight purple hair was easy to maintain, but she always remembered to take care of it. She could imagine Yae smirking as she would make remarks over her untidy appearance, or even trying to "fix it" herself.
After she was done, the mirror was stored away again, with the brush to its side, and the bird happily jumped off the desk and flew around before leaving the room. As for Ei, she did the same, standing up and walking to her right, leaving her room onto the wooden patio, overlooking the gardens. A gentle breeze caressed her face with warm wind, reminding her of Yae's soft warm breath.
Clearing her mind she raised her right hand and within seconds the little bird, with its orange head, landed on her pointed finger. The little pet of hers was the most curious bird she ever saw and even though she never wanted to have a pet, the bird became her companion of some sort the day it just flew into her room, with its broken wing. Ei alone took care of him and nursed the little creature, before it flew into the sky again, but never left. Always keeping her company after that, Ei also made sure to feed the bird if she could, accepting the little birds singing friendship.
The little bird flew off again and happily circled around the pond that was the main stage of the garden before her. It was an artificial pond, made mostly of brown shiny stone, just like the path the small stream connected to from the wild of the forest on her right. Like the image of the real sea, nothing in the garden was made in a straight line, it all was smoothly flowing with each other. Ei stepped down to the gravel path from the wooden patio to enjoy the warm and quiet weather. She took her step around the red as blood spider lilies, just growing before the much bigger green bushes that protectively grew around the stone made stream. Her wooden sandals gave a hollow sound as she stepped on a small bridge that connected two sides of the garden, just above the pond. No railings whatsoever as she was the one that repaired it.
She looked around. The first day she came here this little place was desolated, almost like it was forgotten by time. The small dojo opposite of her room was standing empty and dusty, the pond was muddy and full of weeds and the old bridge barely stood with its broken railing. Stones dry as dust had decorated the middle of the garden, like a dead snake just had laid down there with no purpose, with dead bushes around it almost like it had just shed its skin.
But now after weeks of work and care, and many little remarks from Yae about Ei's gardening skill, it was glowing with life again. The pond was clear as the sky above. A clean stream lazily and quietly flowing on the stones made them shine in the sun, revitalising the green bushes around it, just like the deeply red flowers growing in between them and the wooden patios on both sides. Spider lilies, proudly standing up and like small guardians protecting the beauty of the garden from vermits.
Ei was proud, but she couldn't win against nature itself. Across the garden, where walls should be, the tightly packed trees stood instead of it, just like across the buildings on the back. Only two little holes were visible in mostly impregnable walls. In the very middle, made of the same stone as the garden stream, was the source of it, the stone path into the forest guiding the stream from the very hot spring hidden within the caves above the Gunma Shrine. The other opening was very close to her room, near the wooden patio on the very end, a small hidden path to those hot springs.
Ei was surprised that the smell of spring was gone, as well as how tightly those sakura trees hugged the Shrine itself. Magic perhaps? Nature itself wanting to protect this place? She didn't have an answer and neither did Yae when she asked. But it wasn't important. The important thing at the moment was her stomach growling for food. And unfortunately for her she knew that Yae would not bring her any breakfast today due to her work. The Shrine kitchen would be full and she didn't want to create more work for them as they already had hands full of work, often preparing food for those in need as well as for themselves. Therefore her only choice would be the town.
The walls of the Shrine compound stood around it for a reason. Once small and lonely between the mountains of trees, the Shrine grew to the size that it is today due to the civil war many years ago. The shogunate at the time incorporated the area into its war plan as the mountains were not only the natural border of the conflict at the time, but also controlling them moved the tide of winning for the Shogun. After that the once small shrine became almost a monastery, but when the army moved away, shrine maidens left behind didn't need such a big place for themselfs. Forest training areas were reclaimed by nature, the whole western wing of the new build compound was left to dust and only the main gardens and the main buildings were left to use, finding their usefulness in religious practices again.
Ei didn't mind being alone in the western wing alone, she preferred that, to be honest. The lack of people that could interrupt her training or quiet moments, the lack of obstacles within her everyday life, She preferred that life over her old life in the castles. And yet one thing was lacking. Instant access to food.
After preparing herself for a longer walk, her family katana tied to her hip as well as the tanto, she left her little corner of solitude. Walking within the empty corridors of once military full buildings she left the shrine using the side entrance, avoiding appearing in the main gardens. She knew once she would appear, many young shrine maidens and people from the town would swarm her like a locust, due to her name.
The forest's dusty road before her would lead her to a town not so far away. Just like the shrine it had grown over the civil war years, from a small village into a prosperous town, standing proudly over the river with its new found purpose. Enjoying the forest smell, hidden from wind, she started her walk down the road.
Leaving the forest Ei walked onto the wide clearing, around the town. In the sun the high white walls of the town shone like a mirror, unpleasantly for her eyes. The old watch towers still were standing on those walls, now without anyone to look from them, and yet Ei felt uncomfortable, feeling almost like those dark wooden constructs were staring at her and the grassy plane around her. Fully exposed on the field she would maybe feel relaxed if not for those watchful towers.
Trying to let the feeling wash away she looked down on the dirt road before her and kept walking forward, finally reaching the city gates after a few longer minutes. When she looked up she saw two guards wearing full plate armour, their faces hidden behind Oni masks as well as matching red, like their whole armour, helmets. They both held long spears in their left hands, standing like towers with their steel blades shining in the sun. They both looked at Ei and raised their right fist, holding them close to their heart.
They knew her and her clan, saluting her, something she hated but would appreciate. She entered the town with no problem and sped up her steps remembering the road she needed to take to reach her favourite restaurant.
Stone roads paved the city for all to travel, merchants from afar often visited this town, fishermen from the river selling their catch, families of all kinds living within the walls to get work and possibly get rich. It was always lively and loud but Ei didn't mind such chaos. Ironically enough she felt more lonely between the sea of people than alone in her room. And even her name wasn't much of a card for all those people that would stand before her for the first time, and even if, she could use the wall of people to quickly escape any curious person.
Ei swiftly moved around people, like a snake in the grass, avoiding stopping within the crowds. Some people even moved out of the way themselfs, seeing the weapons on her hip. She walked deeper into the city, specifically going to the fishing district. Wide and open roads were decorated with tall lamp posts, those connected with colourful strings of material. on some of those strings the lanterns were hung, made of just as many different colours as the strings. The houses all around her, mostly made of wood, reminded Ei of her family city, the capital, but she did not feel any remorse or nostalgia for it.
