𝐒𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 - ★彡[ᴀʟʜᴀɪᴛʜᴀᴍ]彡★

𝟎𝟏 - 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍

Eyes that were empty, devoid of life were not befitting the spotless and unblemished character that was Inori at the time. Sweat had dribbled down her face as she had hid her hands from my view with a fear that I hadn't expected from her.

    And upon seeing that, I found myself rendered completely speechless.

    "I apologize but I must be getting back to my home soon," she dipped her head to conceal her expression from view, "please excuse me."

    Her iromuji kimono brushed my shoulder as she passed me. For a few moments I stood bewildered by the streambed as I questioned whether the sight of her had been an illusion spawned from my own mind. Walking over to the place where Inori had been sitting, I crouched down and found her gloves were still lying there. Due to the winds being strong enough that day to whisk them away, I picked up the gloves in my hand and felt their silky smoothness. I have to return these to her, don't I? I internally grimaced at the thought of having to personally go to her household and for the townsfolk to mistakenly label me as a suitor, yet these gloves seemed to be personally embroidered with a shiny golden thread. If there was a chance that these were important to her, then I couldn't in good conscience leave them here to be lost to nature.

    Perhaps I had been foolish to think that because of Inori's beauty and grace she would live an ideal life, but at the time it had been the vision that I always labeled her with.

    The following days I earnestly practiced my skills out in the mountain range, trying my best to get the encounter with her out of my mind. The coarse and rocky terrain was rough to maneuver at best and almost impossible at worst, the wind buffeting me from side to side and limiting my vision. Although this was physically challenging, it was freeing for my mental state. To be able to live—even if only just for a few days—without the constraints of my responsibilities was liberating. I was surrounded by nature and nothing more, the beauty of this earth prominent when not tainted my man-kind's creation.

    The sound of the morning birds' chirping awoke me on the dawn of my eighth day in the wilderness, their chirps bleeding together into a harmonious ringing. Although my feet were sore and my complexion somewhat blemished, I rose at dawn and began my trek back to the village.

    Streaks of orange had painted the evening sky by the time I returned home, my family greeting me and inquiring about my experiences. I indulged them in length on the trivial encounters I had, save for my encounter with Sato Inori. Once they had their fill of my ramblings we headed into our separate rooms for the night: I accepted the chance to rest in a warm home with gratitude.

    The following day, if I remember correctly, was a cloudy one. I walked to the Sato family's abode and found that a number of men had crowded at their doorway. How exhausting. My eyes, albeit rather unwillingly, were drawn to Sato Inori. Her long hair had been styled into braids and she was wearing an iromuji similar to the one I had seen her in last. She almost had the appearance of a goddess, her pale skin and thinned lips similar to that of a porcelain doll. Her dark eyes flickered upwards and met mine for a moment, widening with surprise upon seeing me.