A Cinderella Story: RK Fairytale

Chapter 3: The Invitation Letter

REVISED: 05 February 2019

3. The Invitation Letter

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The light in the house was dim as Misao approached; her heart beating fast, nervousness is on her face as she thought about Shishio. She was afraid that he might hit her for her late arrival and lack of food on the dining table. Dropping the bundles of plants with the others by the side of the shed, she ran silently across the hallway and stopped at the front of shoji door.

On the other side of the door was the kitchen and inside she heard a sound of cleaning and few muffled voices. For a moment, she imagined Yumi cooking while Kamatari washing the pile of dishes with sweat dripping off their faces but the thought made her giggled and somehow, scared more than little.

She slowly slid the door and peeked in. Her blue eyes saw Yahiko stood beside the wooden washtub, wearing an apron. "Bloody hell, where is she? Shishio and the others will be here soon." said by a feminine voice from outside her field vision.

Yahiko turned his head at whoever it was and spotted Misao. "Well... She's home now." He said gratefully and dried his hands on his apron as she slid the door fully and stepped in.

"Megumi-san, Yahiko, what-" Misao's eyes went wide to see her two friends doing her responsibilities.

"We are so worried about you because you shall be home earlier! Those three were coming home sooner and you'll be dead." Megumi explained with a concern on her face.

"Yeah, I even brought Megumi-sensei here with me to cover you up and tell Shishio that you were sick. And Yutaro agreed to take the poultry by himself so I can do some work here." Yahiko added and gave her a wink.

"Oh... kiddo, you are... no one has ever done that for me." said Misao then threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Misao, I-can't-breathe..." He answered as she removed her arms on him. "Why did you take so long in the forest? And don't call me kid!"

"Hahahaha." She covered her mouth to hide her high-pitched laughter. "I... uh... I met Cho and his gang out there." She answered as she put her shoulders on her waist. She sighs.

"WHAT?!" Both Yahiko and Megumi gasped. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"Uhm... almost but..." Misao paused looking at their faces and decided to let them know what happened to her next. "Someone had saved me and escorted me home."

"Really? Well who was it? Did you know him?" asked Megumi, curious...

"No, I have never met him before that afternoon." She said with a shrug. Telling them that she was saved by Aoshi will only make them question her; she decided not to tell about it.

"Did he kill them?" Yahiko asked, curiously.

"No, he didn't but his companion samurai did. He was a noble man anyway." she paused as she heard some footsteps across the hallway. She gasped and turned to her two friends who were scared too.

As the gentle pattering sound of footsteps doomed at their ears, Megumi immediately grabbed a blanket, covered it around Misao's body while Yahiko settled her by the fire, and whispered, "You were supposed to be ill."

Expectedly, the door slid open and Shishio stepped into the kitchen. His thick dark hair was pulled back into a tail at the nape of his neck and a sword was placed on his waist. His kimono was dark blue today and his hakama was dirty white in colour. He gave her an evil grin. Misao wished she could wipe that grin off his ugly face.

"Oh, Takani-sensei, Yahiko, what are you doing in my house?" Shishio said in an oiled voice, surprised to see another pair of cockroaches in his very eyes.