Challenges of Tomorrow: A New Day Awaits ~SEQUEL~

Chapter 9: Flower Festival: My Beginning With You

Flower Festival: My Beginning With You

Utau woke up when the sun suddenly hit her eyes. She squinted a bit before fully fluttering her eyes open. She smiled slightly, before getting out of bed and getting ready for the day. Once she was done, she walked out of her room and headed for their dining hall. The cook had greeted her immediately after her arrival to the room and then she sat down and waited for her food to arrive. "A very pleasant morning to you Utau-sama." Greeteed one of the cooks "I do hope that you enjoy your breakfast Hime-sama."

"Thank you very much." She replied with a smile "I take it Yuu is busy doing something else with Yukairi-san? I haven't seen them in the halls today. Nor have I seen Ikuto."

"Yes, they seem to be very busy these days, and as for your brother Hime-san, he mentioned something about meeting you in the Hinamori mansion." Said the cook.

"Ah, alright." As Utau dismissed the cook, she had a quiet, delicious and peaceful breakfast. She was used to not having her parents there with her. She was used to eating alone in the morning, but she was usually with Ikuto back then.

"I guess he's busier now." She muttered to herself. She sighed to herself and then thought "This is why I want Kukai to be here. My mornings are usually lonely when he's not here…" She was tired of the loneliness, and she just wanted her mornings to start with a smile every day, and without Kukai there every day, it just wasn't the same and possible.

Once she finished her breakfast, someone was already there, ready to collect her plate. She smiled and gave one more thank you, before leaving the dining hall and heading out. As she was walking down the corridors of the palace, she spotted Tadase, Lulu, kairi and Tsukasa in the palace garden and decided to pay them a visit before leaving for her trip to town.

"Good morning Utau-chan." Greeted Tadase.

"Morning Tadase, Lulu, Tsukasa and Kairi." Said Utau "You're all up early aren't you?"

"Time is essence Utau-chan. It cannot be wasted after all." Said Kairi with a smile.

"That's true. And there's so much to do today." Said Tsukasa "Were you planning to go off somewhere today?" he asked her.

"I'm actually waiting for Kukai to arrive. He promised to pick me up today and we'll be going to Amu's before heading for town." Said Utau.

"Ah, yes. The town should be very busy right now." Said Tsukasa. "After all, the Flower Festival is taking place yes?"

"I heard about that. Apparently people were making a really big fuss about it." Said Lulu "But I do wonder what it's all about."

"That's right. You aren't accustomed to all the village traditions here." Said Tadase "And to be honest, neither am I."

"No one from the palace seem to be quite familiar with it. In fact, if Kukai and the others never told me about it, I never even knew that such a thing existed in our custom." Utau stated.

"Yes, well that's a tad bit normal if you ask me." Said Kairi. "After all, none of the nobles usually bother to celebrate something like this."

"True, it's as if the villagers have their own personal world out there." Said Tsukasa "And I do suppose that we can no longer blame them for that. Let's all be honest, we as nobles and royals have our own ways of doing things and most of us isolate those of non-royal blood." He explained.

"These traditions in the village are the people's own way of expressing themselves and not just that, it's their way of doing things." Said Kairi.

"There are actually many more various festivals that they have there in the village, not just this one." Said Tsukasa with a smile.