Komi Komi Literature Club!

Chapter 45: The Second Day At Kyoto (N/Y)

"Man, you gotta be kidding me...what a jerk." Natsuki mumbled to herself. She shook her head and sighed. Yuri was able to see that Natsuki was in an upset mood by the expression on her face as she was making her way over.

"Is everything alright, Natsuki? Why the long face?" Yuri asked worriedly.

"Our partner just ditched us. She said that she'd already made plans with her friends in another group. I told the teacher about it, but looks like we're on our own today."

"Ah," Yuri sighed. "Very well. It's not like we've decided on what to do anyways, so regardless, that'll be one less person to worry about in making a decision." She pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true. Well, what're you in the mood for? Some more historical stuff, I assume?" Natsuki asked, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"That would be nice. But what would interest you? I know that there's a lot of nice shops in the downtown area." Yuri brought up.

"Eh, I don't feel like shopping really. But I would like to do something in the city." Natsuki suggested.

"Of course...then I have a proposal. I have one thing that I would like to do more than anything else. And then afterwards, we'll do whatever you like." Yuri offered. Natsuki's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? You sure?"

"I think that seems fair especially since what I want to do may be a little out of the way. Have you ever been to the palace?" She asked. Natsuki shook her head, but now her interest was piqued...

The Kyoto Imperial Palace was like a more impressive version of all of the shrines and temples they had gone to see yesterday. A huge plot of land had been dedicated to all that this landmark had to offer. It looked like they could spend a whole day just here if they really wanted to.

"Jeez, this is impressive, but I guess it was for royalty, so..." Natsuki commented, looking up at the sheer height of the main building.

"I don't want to completely overtake the day, so I'm limiting our time here to a simple tour of the grounds and a chance to walk the garden. I believe it will only take a few hours at most." Yuri summarized her simplified itinerary.

"Okay. Well I'm not gonna rush you or anything." Natsuki said in reply.

The plaza itself was so large in scope already. As they made their way inside, much like the shrines from yesterday, Yuri and Natsuki found themselves being transported back in time. It was hard not to imagine what their surroundings would have looked like centuries ago.

"Wow, I gotta hand it to you, Yuri. This was a really good choice." Natsuki said as they went on their scheduled tour. Yuri was surprised at first by Natsuki's genuine praise, but when she looked over and saw that Natsuki was taking pictures of the different rooms, she could see that she was being genuine.

"I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself as well. I've always wanted to come here so I suppose now I can cross this off of my 'bucket list'," Yuri said, making air quotes with her hands. "There's more that I would like to do here in the future, but for now this is certainly satisfying." She said with a content smile.

"I almost feel like I should be wearing a kimono just to allowed in here," Natsuki joked. "What do you suppose life was like for royalty back then?" She wondered aloud.

"I'm sure it was quite strict. There were many rules implemented on people who held royal or even just high status: you could only be seen at certain times, in certain places, wearing certain things; not to mention rules of engagement and general behavior in public and in private." Yuri expressed.