Atusa

Inaw

I quickly tidied my modest home as best I could before the soldier's arrival, the only guest I usually ever got was Asirpa, as well as Kirawus who would occasionally saunter in to smoke tobacco or drop off something he had hunted. I had heard through Asirpa that this was the beginning of a courtship he had planned, something that I would have considered until I set eyes upon the sisam. Surely a marriage to even the youngest son of a fully Ainu would have possibly been a way for me to become more accepted in the village, but I could not remove my mind from the captivating amber eyes belonging to Sugimoto. I threw fresh kindling on the hearth and plucking the dried meat or satkam that hung from above it, I wanted to be a good host after all. I poured some of the potable water from a jar into a tin container and set it near the hearth to boil before running outside to pluck pine needles from the nearby trees, which I then tossed into the water. I was told a long time ago that the Japanese were partial to tea, I didn't have any wine to offer him so this would have to do. I felt somewhat self conscious as I looked upon the meager rations I had to offer him, surely it would not come close to what the rest of the village had presented him. 

He arrived just as I had removed the pine tea from the heat, I heard a shuffling outside and opened the deer hide that functioned as a door to the outside. I felt that heart fluttering feeling once more as he gave me a warm smile as I motioned for him to come in, I shuddered slightly as he brushed past me before I retied the door flap. "Ipeyan." I said motioning to the food and tea that sat on the mats in the middle of the room, "Sorry, please eat." I corrected myself before sitting down across from him, I was glad that the Japanese was slowly flooding back into my mind the more I spoke. "Not much offer."  I said turning out my hands gesturing at the house. Sugimoto shook his head before grabbing a piece of dried deer meat, "Hinna hinna." He said enthusiastically before tearing off a piece and chewing roughly. I smiled at his enthusiasm, he was already learning the customs, I was sure Asirpa was owed the credit for this. The solider watched me as I modestly sat down, holding the fabric of my attush so it did not come open.

Sugimoto's eyes scanned the entirety of my camp, they lingered over the various Russian books stacked near the woven mat I slept on. "You speak Russian? Is that what you are?" He asked curiously which kind of concerned me, he had clearly fought in the recent war and I'm sure had several bad encounters with Russians. "Aca." I said, I couldn't remember the word for father. "Aca solider." I said motioning towards the cap on top of Sugimoto's head, he seemed to be understanding "Your father was a Russian solider." I nodded in response before continuing "Nanna Ainu." I motioned towards the north with my index finger "Sakhalin." I didn't notice his friendly demeanor change, instead he then proceeded to tell me about his whole ordeal and the search for the Ainu gold. I had only heard rumors about it, along with the story of the slain Ainu at the hands of one of their own.  Sugimoto then informed me of how Asirpa had decided to search for the gold along with him and find out what became of her father in the process.

"She mentioned your name, said that she would want you to come along." He said taking a deep inhale of the tobacco I had offered him from a pouch, I let out a short laugh at the idea that she didn't want to leave me here by myself. "So would you want to?" He pressed, his eyes staring deeply into my own, the light of the fire made his gaze more intense. "I-Is okay for you?" I asked looking down, I could feel myself becoming flustered at his stare. "Y-yea I think it's a good idea, you both know the area well according to everyone in the village." He said scratching the back of his head, a small blush spread across the bridge of his nose. "I go." I said quickly, I was sure there was nothing but the monotony of everyday to look forward to if I stayed in the Kotan. How could I not say yes? If anything it meant that I could somewhat assure Asirpa's safety, something that I had promised Wilk I would always try to assure before he disappeared. In addition to Asirpa's safety I was also able to spend more time with Sugimoto, it would give me time to perfect my Japanese so that we could better understand one another. 

The gold couldn't have been the farthest thing from my mind, all my needs were met without the use of currency so when he brought up how I would be given a share I quickly waived it off. "You really care about her, huh?" He said giving me a genuine smile, I could tell that even in the short amount of time he had grown fond of the young girl as all of us had. "Matak." I said with a nod, I quickly scanned my mind for the word in Japanese "Little sister." I added triumphantly. "Ma-tak." He repeated trying to imitate the sound I had made, it was comforting to see someone trying to grasp our language that was slowly vanishing from the world. "Good." I said at his attempt, he scratched the back of his head and grinned at my approval. Sugimoto explained to me that we would be leaving the Kotan early tomorrow, he had also been surprised to learn that I had a Berthier rifle as well as a Remington 1890 that I had hid in a small dug out under a woven rug. "You know how to shoot?" He said seemingly impressed, I was sure he did not expect an Ainu woman to be in possession of these things. "Yes." I reassured him as I put them back in their hiding place, I used them to hunt but had kept them hidden. 

The night drew on, I tried my best to answer the various questions he had about Ainu ways and the language, and his curiosity about me was evident in some of these questions. "How do you say beautiful?" He asked, he was laying on his side with his head resting on his hand seemingly comfortable in my little hut, he had been inspecting a makiri that I had fashioned. "Pirka." I said, again with him repeating it a few times before holding up the blade in context. When he handed the makiri back to me he took the opportunity to grasp lightly onto my out stretched wrist, I was slightly taken back but quickly relaxed, shuddering slightly at his touch. "Pirka." He repeated as his eyes scanned my face, he used the fingertips on his free hand to push a small strand off of my face "Pirka menoko." I could feel my cheeks heat up as a flustered smile took over my face, he grinned at my reaction before releasing my wrist once again pleased with my reaction to his compliment. When he went to get up I felt a tug at my heart, even though I knew we would be leaving tomorrow I still felt the full ache of knowing I would once again be by myself until then. 

"S-stay." I said before he could open his mouth to excuse himself out into the night and back to Huci's hut. "Would that be appropriate? I mean for a woman to be alone with a man who isn't her husband? I don't want to offend anyone." He said hesitantly, I could understand that he didn't know our customs and wanted to remain on good terms with the village. I waved my hand dismissively in the direction of the Kotan, I felt it was explanation enough that they didn't really care what I did on top of the hill. Sugimoto seemed pleased with this answer and removed his hand from the door flap and sat back down as I readied a mat for him to sleep on. When he had gotten comfortable he noticed my tonkori propped up on the side of the stack of books, I handed it to him for inspection. When he handed the instrument back to me I positioned it and began to play 'Uchaore Irekte' a song that was suppose to mimic two Ainu men arguing, it was surprisingly peaceful given the context. The song must have lulled the solider to sleep because shortly into the song I could hear soft snores emit from him. I smiled before placing the instrument back, I grabbed one of the many bear hides that I had and covered his sleeping form. As I laid down on my own mat I knew I would not sleep well, I was too excited for what was to come.