One and Only

Ch. 17 Inauguration

  Just as we thought, the ceremony took a whole 13 minutes. I took an oath in front of the ancestral shrine and lit a pedestal on fire. The fire is to stay until the next day with a few people taking watch to make sure nothing happens.
  I was quick to run back to my "room", which in actually was what was left of the main house with plaster littered walls and half painted, to throw on a pair of leggings and a large tunic shirt.
  "Hey, you ready? I wanna eat," Satoru knocked.
  "Yeah, you can come in." I said as I finished pulling on the shirt.
  "Oh that looks comfy, let me borrow it sometime." He joked.
  "Yeah, of course. I think it'll look good with those pants." I joked right back.
  "So, do ya know what we're eating?"
  "I think a whole pig? It's been in a smoker since last night. And some other things, but the pig is the most important."
   "Ohhh shit, really? So it's been smoking for what? 16 hours?"
  "Closer to 18," I replied excitedly. "Alright, let's get going!" I grabbed Satoru's hand and lead him towards the courtyard. The sun was beginning to set, the sky was painted with hues of pinks and blues. The warm glow of the lanterns that we had hanging across the yard gave it a cozy feeling, the smell of food filled the air.
  "There's our Clan Head!" Called out one of my clansmen. I couldn't tell if it was because of the sunset or the alcohol, but his whole face was pink. I looked down, embarrassed. I felt a gentle squeeze on my hand, I didn't realize I was still holding on to Satoru's hand.
  "Oh," I whispered. "Sorry, I can let go-" His grip tightened. I could feel the tip of my ears burn. I smiled and kept the loose hold of his hand.
  "Mai-sama! This way!" Dazai called out, gesturing for me to go towards one of the many round tables that occupied our small courtyard. "You looked beautiful in your Kimono, just as your mother did." Dazai pulled me a tight one-armed hug.
  "Thank you," I happily returned the gesture. "Is this where we'll be seated?"
  "Yes, Tatsuya added an extra chair for Gojo-sama to sit with you." I smiled.
  "I'll have to thank her later." I replied cheerfully.
  "Now, come. Sit. Food and drink will be served in just a moment." Dazai pulled out 2 chairs for Satoru and I to sit.
  "Nee-san! You looked really pretty today!" Himeko ran up and hugged my arm.
  "Thank you, Hime. Come sit, we're going to eat soon. Where's Mafuyu?" I asked, looking to where she came running from.
  "Nee-nee!" I heard her giggles.
  "Right here, My Lady." Tatsuya sat Mafuyu down at the table, herself sitting in the chair next to her. Tatsuya has been our families nanny and instructor since my mother was born. So, she has always been by Mafuyu and Himeko's side.
  "The Head family has gathered!" We heard Dazai announce. "Let the feast commence!" The sound of drums and a shamisen began to play. Laughter and the sounds of glasses clinking together nearly drowning out the music. Plates of pork, rice, vegetables, and more began to pile onto the circular table. Both Satoru and Himeko were quick to pile their plates with anything they could get their hands on. I laughed as they fought over a particularly fatty piece of the Roasted pork. Mafuyu was happily eating some noodles that Tatsuya was feeding her.
  I smiled to myself, only 3 months ago my clan was on the brink of being wiped out. And yet, here we were. Eating, drinking, celebrating, living. The Yamazaki Clan is not one that can be easily defeated nor overcame. I will do everything in my power to make sure that we prosper.

  "Man, I'm stuffed!" Satoru loudly proclaimed. "That was great, thanks for the food." He called out to Dazai, who only waved him off.
  "It's the least we could do since you came all this way," Tatsuya said. "But it's quite dark now, and the Gojo estate is more than 3 hours away."
  "Well, I'm sure we can accommodate him for the night." Dazai came over.
  "Oh, Satoru can just telep-"
  "Oh, that would be great!" Satoru interrupted me. "It'd be another sleepover. Right, Mai?" He turned to me.
  "Another?" Dazai questioned.
  "Yeah. Satoru, Suguru, Shoko, and I had a sleepover a couple months ago. It was fun." I finished.
  "Can we have a sleepover with Nee-san too?" Himeko asked.
  "I'm sorry, young miss. You have studies to attend to in the morning. Perhaps, you'll be able to next weekend?" Tatsuya suggested, looking over to me.
  "If I don't have any assignments, we can have a sleepover and watch a bunch of movies until morning."
  "Yes!" Himeko cheered.
  "Now, I shall instruct some of the maids to get a room that best accommodates our guest for the night."
  "Oh, he can just stay in my room." I suggested.
  "Don't be absurd, My Lady. The first time was one thing, but this is different." Tatsuya protested.
  "It's not like anything gonna happen." I defended.
  "I'm not the most comfortable with the idea either, Mai-sama." Dazai cut in.
  "Nothing will happen, I promise. Besides, even if I did try anything, Mai would probably rip off my arms or something."
  "This is true," I agreed with Satoru.
  "I don't know.." Dazai continued to protest.
  "Let our Head live a little!" An older member named Shigeo came forward. During the battle he ended up losing hearing in his right ear and also becoming partially blind in his right eye. He suffered from some damaged done on the right side of his body, he shielded some of the younger staff members who were able to survive that night.
  "Shigeo-san," Tatsuya was preparing to lecture the older man.
  "Oh, don't be such a shrew! Let Mai-sama enjoy this night with her friend. They both have said nothing will happen anyway! You two!" Shigeo shouted to the 2 young girls who were about to prepare the room. "Bring an extra futon to Mai-sama's room. And plenty of blankets and pillows! No doubt those two will stay up most of the night watching horror movies." I couldn't help but chuckle at him. He was the one that got me into the horror genre anyway. While my father was away at missions, he would always help me sneak into his room where we would watch the classics like Worm Humans.
  "Ugh," Tatsuya sighed out in frustration. "Do as you like then."
  "Well, I guess that's that." Dazai agreed. Shigeo had always been a stubborn man.
  "I'm holding your words as true." Dazai looked at the two of us.

  "Ohh, we can make a fort with all these blankets!" Satoru exclaimed happily. He threw himself on the futon and piles of blankets and pillows that the maids brought in. Honestly, it was kind of overkill.
  "No way, you'd probably bump into something and knock it all down. I don't want my hardworking to go to waste." I shot down.
  "Your hardwork? Who says I wouldn't help you?" Satoru asked.
  "You know damn well you'd just sit and watch me struggle."
  "True, but you could have a little faith in me." I punched his arm. He just laughed as he rubbed the sore spot.
  "Alright, give me a minute. Go sit over there." Satoru shooed me away to the other side of the room.
  I watched as he layered the blankets on top of one another and made a sort of rim with the pillows. On the side opposite to where I had my TV, he made a makeshift throne. He fluffed the last pillow and did a pose, almost as if he wanted me to be in aw of his work.
  "Good job," I gave in. "Can you hand me the remote? It's on the chair next to you." I said as I crawled into the nest.
  Satoru handed me the remote while bringing over one of the larger blankets. He threw it over me, fixing the end so that it would cover our feet. Satoru got under it and got himself comfortable next to me.
  "So, what should we watch first?" I asked as I began to flip through the channels.
  "It's only like 9, none of the good movies are out for another hour. Maybe we can watch some anime," he suggested.
  "Mmkay," I clicked onto the channel that was playing One Piece.
  We ended up not even watching it. Rather, we began to talk about some random things that we remembered that happened the few days prior.
  "God, you should have seen it! The guy was so confused when he couldn't touch me." I smiled at Satoru. I enjoyed when he talked about his missions, they sounded so much more fun than the ones I was given.
  "Kinda like the first time we met," I said.
  "Hmm?"
  "You know, when we were at the vending machine. I was getting a drink and it ended up spraying all over the place. I got all wet and yet your tall ass was as dry as the desert."
  "Oh, yeah! Yeesh, I was an ass to you back then." Satoru made a face.
  "Back then? It's only been a few months," I huffed out. "Plus, you're still an ass."
  "Oh, but you love me now!" Satoru teased. Throwing his arms around me, giving me a tight hug.
  "Yeah, yeah," I agreed, patting his arm.
  "Aw, c'mon! Tell me you love me," Satoru pushed.
  "And fuel your ego more? No thanks." I tried to free myself from his hold.
  "Okay, fine. What if I told you?"
  "Huh?" I looked at him, my face contorted in confusion.
  "What if I tell you that I love you." I couldn't tell if he was joking or being sincere. His stupid sunglasses were still on.
  "..Then I guess I'd tell you.." I replied gingerly. "But if you do, you gotta take off the glasses. It'd be more sincere, ya know?"
  "Alright," he agreed as he took of this sunglasses and placed them on the chair next to our pillow pile. He turned back to me, looking straight to my eyes.
  "I love you, Mai." I could feel the heat rush to my face. I tried to search for any inclination that he was joking or tricking me. And yet, I couldn't find anything.
  "I.. love you too," I almost whispered back. A part of me wasn't sure if I was saying it for him or as a realization to myself.
  Over the past few months, Satoru has always been the one that I could go to and feel comfortable with. I was vulnerable with him, I let myself relax the most with him. He never really made me feel like I was in any sort of competition for his affection or that I was just a thing to give him any sort of amusement. Even when he was surrounded by his fangirls. If I asked him to do anything with me, he  always would. With Suguru and Shoko, sometimes we would make up an excuse to just hang out in the dorms with each other. Not to mention they way he is with my sisters. They adore him, always willing to play with them or get them gifts and sweets. He always made me feel important.
  "See? That was nice, made me feel happy." He smiled. He turned back to the TV and immersed himself in the anime.
  It was roughly 1am already, and we were in the middle of watching a censored version of Worm Humans 2. I couldn't pay any attention to the movie. I was so caught up in my head over watch happened that I couldn't think of anything else. I kept sneaking glances at Satoru, but he didn't seem to notice. At least, that's what I thought.
  "Do I have something on my face?" He turned towards me.
  "What??" I was honestly shocked.
  "You keep looking at me, is there something on my cheek?" He began to brush away at the nothing that was on his face.
  "Oh.. uh.. no.. there's nothing there." I said quietly. I tried to hide my face by looking to the floor, letting my hair fall forward.
  "Mai?" I felt his hand gently grab my chin and guide me to look at him. "Are you okay?"
  His face was only a few inches from mine. I felt my heart racing. I was afraid that even he could hear how loudly it was beating in my chest. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. The way his lashes fanned over his eyes, his eyebrows knitted together in concern, and his lips. They were slightly parted, as if wanting to say something. I don't know what came over me. The next thing I knew, I kissed him.