"My family lived near the borders of Kounan and Kotou. My father owned a small shipping business," commenced Ayako. "He always did business with textile company and me and my father would visit them quiet often. Kourin, Ryuuen-sama's younger sister, and I had gotten to be the best friends during our repose at their village. One day, when I was nine..."
"Ayako?" Kourin looked at her best friend huddled at the foot of the giant narra tree trying to hold back her tears. However many had trailed down her already dirty and tear stained face. She tried to wipe them away with her dust covered sleeve only making it worst.
"Ryuuen," sobbed Kourin's friend, "Papa wants me to marry him."
"Nii-sama. There's nothing wrong with that. Nii-sama is--." Kourin tried to embrace her friend into her comforting arms.
Ayako pulled away. "No. He laughed at me. He said I was a tomboy. He...." Ayako choked back a sob.
"Nii-sama said that!?" Kourin couldn't believe that her beloved brother could say and do such horrible things.
"I'll never marry him. He's rude, conceited and--"
"There, there." Kourin consoled her friend and stroke her hair which was in a pony-tail. She smiled at the idea of her best friend marrying her brother. "Don't say that Ayako-san," Kourin cooed. "I'll talk to nii-sama."
"Honto ni." Ayako's eyes lightened as she looked at her friend smile.
"Uhm."
A few minutes later Ryuuen approached the same tree.
"Ayako-kun?" Ryuuen called out. "Are you there. Please come out," he appealed.
Ayako stepped out from behind a tree and sneered at Ryuuen. "What do you want?" She asked harshly trying to show her displeasure.
"Er, Kourin said you'd be here. I'd like to talk to you." Ryuuen sat down at where Kourin and Ayako sat a few moments ago and patted the seat next to him.
Kourin raised an eyebrow at him and reluctantly obliged. "Kourin said you were crying," Ryuuen asked once Ayako sat next to him and leaned against the tree. Ryuuen smiled as he looked at her. She blushed as she saw him looking at the corner of her eyes and tried to act as lady-like as she possibly could.
"As if you didn't know." Ayako pouted and crossed her arms around her knees.
"I'm sorry about how I reacted, Ayako-kun." Ryuuen apologized. "I just can't believe your father and my parents would consider a thing like that. Without even asking us." Ryuuen's eyebrows knitted together as he recounted the announcement again.
"They usually never do." Ayako sighed. "My father said I have to marry you because it will be good for the business."
"Hn." Ryuuen smirked. "If I ever marry, I want it to be for love. Ne, Ayako-kun?" Ryuuen smiled at the girl beside him as she huddled and pulled her knees closer to her.
"Hai, Ryuuen-sama," Ayako said in a small and somewhat dismayed voice.
Ryuuen could see tears forming around the corner of her eyes and he quickly reconsidered what he said. He looked at her sweet and dirty face and put a hand on her shoulder.
"But I never said I wouldn't marry you," Ryuuen smiled.
Ayako's eyes brightened as he heard his words. She looked at him trying to see if he was just saying that to make her feel better.
"I like you, Ayako-kun. I'll make you the happiest bride ever." Ayako was speechless. She didn't know what to say. The tears started to roll down her eyes now as she delighted in hearing Ryuuen's words.
"Why are you crying?" The boy was totally bewildered now. "Eh Kourin's going to kill me," he thought. "Girls. They're so strange."
"Ureshi," Ayako cried and leaped at Ryuuen, putting her small arms around his neck. "Ureshi."
"Ugh!!" Ryuuen was surprised and slammed against the tree with the force of Ayako's hug. "Baka," he said and put his arms around her possessively. Ayako smile and embraced him tighter.
Ayako finally broke off the embrace and looked at the face beneath her. She smiled at Ryuuen who smiled back at her. Ryuuen opened his mouth to say something but Ayako stopped him as she put her lips over his. Ryuuen stared, surprised, at Ayako's closed eyes. It was an innocent kiss that lasted shortly as Ayako pulled away again and smiled at her future husband's bemused expression.
"What was that for," asked a bewildered Ryuuen.
"Because I like you too, Ryuuen-sama," cheerily smiled the towering girl in front of him. "Ja-ne," she waved happily as she got off her knees and made her way home leaving a rather confused Ryuuen to unriddle her answer.
Ryuuen touched his lips. "Girls," he mumbled. "Weird." He jumped up onto his feet and started his own way home.
"We still visited the Chou every month after that. My father would bring the Chou's presents from his other voyages and everything was going well. However, after a year, we never returned to that village again. I asked my father about it but he never told me anything and never to mention them again. When I turned thirteen my father introduced me to another man, who also owned a much more larger and successful shipping company than my father. A month later, I had heard from one of my father's sailors that Kourin had died and Ryuuen-sama had disappeared." Ayako's grimaced at her remembered pain. "I was....," she looked down at her hand as she tried to put word into the feeling she had felt when she heard of Ryuuen's broken promise. "I asked my father about it again but he told me to forget Ryuuen-sama because he would only shame his name and business. Then my father married me to the man he introduced to me earlier. I would have protested but my father had allowed me no room for it." Ayako sighed trying to catch her breath to continue her tale. Nuriko looked at her and lightly squeezed her hand trying to give her strength to go on. She closed her eyes and continued. "He was ten years older than me. But he was a kind and generous man who catered to my every whim. Two years later, he never returned from a voyage to Kotou and I was told that he had drown in the sea." "My husband had left the business to me. However his clients refused to deal with the naive and inexperienced girl that I was then. Slowly we lost them one by one. Gathering everything that I could I went to Sailo and went under the name Ayanosuke to learn everything I could about my husband's business. Having had a little experience from my father's ship I was able to find employment in one of the local company. Years later I had bought a couple of ship and started my own company under my other identity. Only those closest to me know my real identity and I have not bother to reveal myself to neither my clients or my sailors." Ayako ended with a smile as she slightly raised her hands to indicate the present.
Everyone breathed as Ayako finished her story.
"Nuriko's got a fiancee." Tamahome couldn't believe it.
"What about Hotohori-sama," Tasuki blatantly asked.
Nuriko and Hotohori collectively rolled their eyes at Tasuki. While Ayako tried to decipher the comment.
"So now what, Ayako-san?" Miaka asked looking at Nuriko expecting him or Ayako to do something. Nuriko gulped not knowing what to say.
Ayako stood up and smiled at Nuriko. "Don't worry Nuriko-sama." Ayako purposely used Nuriko's seishi name, mentally distancing herself from her former fiancee. "I didn't come her to hold you to your promise." Ayako moved away from her chair and approached Hotohori. For a moment Nuriko felt a pang of jealousy as Ayako smiled at Hotohori.
"I came here for this." Ayako handed Hotohori a parchment. "I believe our agreement was 200,000 gold ryu, Your Majesty?"
"Ah, yes," was all Hotohori could say.
"Your ship will be ready the day after tomorrow. I will be going into town tonight to make the necessary preparations." Ayako moved towards the door.
"Your leaving already, Ayako-san?" Miaka asked her new friend.
"Hai. I just came here to explain my," Ayako blushed, "behavior earlier and to see Ryuuen-sama one last time." She smiled encouragingly at Miaka. "Good night Suzaku no miko, Emperor, minnasan. I hope you will have a pleasant journey." Then she turned and headed for the door.
Author's Note's: Let me see if I can answer all the questions that might come up from this chapter. First of all, a narra tree is a really big tree. I don't know another big Asian tree so I just wrote down the first big Filipino tree that came into my mind. A narra tree is a the national Filipino tree, it can grow really big and is very sturdy. Next, I don't remember exactly when Kourin died but the little flashback would have happened a year before that. Next, Ayako is a Kourin's age and a year younger than Nuriko. She had always been rash and unpredictable when she was young but she's softened up a bit on that part. Nuriko..I think would still be a bit of a romantic even when he hadn't cross dress yet. It's just him, you know. Okay so that's probably not the way a 10 year old would act at a time like that but it's more romantic that way and Nuriko is just to sensitive and understanding to act otherwise. I also don't really know how much it would be to rent a ship but knowing Ayanosuke, she would probably not make any adjustments for him and make him pay big, since he got lot's of money. As for Ayako being confused about Tasuki's comment about Hotohori and Nuriko's...cough, cough...relationship. Ayako doesn't know anything about that. She was just told that Nuriko dissappeared.
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