KAMI ༘ monoma neito

ʚɞ18

"Neito?!"
The lady calls,
searching high and low
for the blonde.

The lady juggles her brain
to recall if she had done something
to upset the man.
But she could not remember anything.

She had kept going back
to the shrine office
and to the haiden.
But still,
she could not find him.

"The waterfall!"
The lady exclaims.
She bows before the torii gate
and rushes outside the shrine.

She ran towards the waterfall,
almost tripping now and then
out of haste.
When she had arrived,
hearing the loud waters
with hopes of finding the man there.

But he was not.

The lady
walks back to the shrine.
"Maybe he was out
to get us some wood."
The lady says
as she slightly shivered.
Winter was certainly approaching.

It was late afternoon
when she had arrived
back in the shrine.

"Neito!"
The lady shrieks
as she sees the blonde
in the middle of everything.
He was facing the haiden.

He turns around
with a solemn visage.
"Noble lady,
you must go back
to your family,
they must be worried."
He says,
not even explaining to her
why he had disappeared
the whole morning.

"Neito,
where have you been?"
The lady asks
when she stands
before the man.
But the blonde
gently ushers her
to exit the shrine.

"You must leave now,
noble lady.
Your betrothed
must be waiting for you as well."
He says
but the lady stops on her tracks
and faces the man.

"But Neito,
I thought I have told you
that I do not love the man
and that he loves anoth–"

"Noble lady."

The lady's eyes widened.
Why have I only noticed this?
That the man had not called her
by her name anymore
since last night.

"Neito,
is there something wrong?"

"Nothing.
I think it is time
that the real Kami
will now bestow you a lover,
for you have done good
in this shrine."
The blonde answers.

"Neito...
why are you letting me leave the shrine?
Can I not stay here with you longer?"
The lady asks
with sorrowful eyes.

"No,
I have told you.
It is time for you to leave
and meet your bestowed lover–"

"But I have fallen for you,
Neito!"
The lady exclaims
which surprised the man,
even the lady herself.
She steps away.

"Neito,
we had a good time together,
have you not at least
felt something towards me?"
The lady asks
even though it felt a bit shameless
to do so.

"Noble lady...
I know I feel something
towards you.
I really do...

But I cannot stay with you."

The lady felt her ears ringing
as her eyes widened
in shock.
"Why is it, Neito?
Is it because I am a noble?
I will gladly leave my wealth for you!"
She says
as she gestures herself.

"Noble lady,
I must admit," the blonde says,
his voice beginning
to shake.
"I enjoyed being with you.
I no longer felt alone
and thought
that Kami had finally answered
my prayer of being with someone
I know I will love."
He says
and his eyes start to water.

"But lady Y/N...
have you not recognized
this face?
Have you not seen
a resemblance of my face
to that of your servants?
Noble lady,
your family took my parents!"
The blonde raised his voice
and his tears began to fall.

"Monoma...
Do you not recognize
that name?!"
The man asks
as he holds the woman
by her shoulders.

"Noble lady,
I want to be with you,
but if I choose to stay,
being with you will haunt me!
Tell me,
what happened to my parents?!"
The blonde asked
once more.

Monoma...
The name flashed
in the lady's mind
with familiarity.

The lady's eyes
began to sting
as she remembered
what happened to them.

As if a movie
rolling the credits,
the flashbacks appeared
of a certain couple
that had died of exhaustion.

"Neito...
I am sorry...
I should have known–"
The lady apologizes
with quivering lips
as she too had cried
with the blonde.

The man
lets go of her shoulders
and looks away,
wiping the tears on his cheeks.

"Leave,
noble lady.
I wish not to see you again."