Accordance

14

"I cannot. You and Hiroto have the same type of personality. Dumb." She joked, smirking. Tomo pretended to look offended.

"Me and Hiro same? Oh no no no. We are nothing like same. He too cold. I like sun. Different."

She laughed.

"Nah. Y'all both goofy as heck. Got jokes for days." He grinned.

"You truly have shown her who you are behind the mask. No one ever has seen you like that. Not since we were kids."

"Tomo, drop it."

"For now."

"Attention! Attention!" They turned to see his father standing in the center of the room. He sighed immediately, looking away.

"We will have a small tea ceremony before leaving for Mujiyama Hill. As you know, every year we travel there by foot and we want to make sure everyone has some revitalizing tea before we begin the trek." He turned to two older women who stood by the door.

"We will begin. We have a special treat. Our guest Ebere will be pouring tea as well! She truly enjoys Japanese culture. Let's welcome her!" He turned to look at her, shocked. She sat still and looked confused at all the applause she was receiving.

"Um.. why are they clapping at me?" She asked, turning her head. He cleared his throat.

"My father told us you will participate in the tea ceremony. They are showing you respect." She blushed and soon bowed low before them as they continued to clap. He felt his heart swell up at the sight of her.

"Thank you so much. Thank you." She said softly to all the claps.

"Ah, so precious. We have my son Hiroto to thank for bringing this charming young lady to us. Hopefully, this is not the last we will see of her. Soon, Ebere will leave us. Today is her last day. I hope soon she can join us again."

"Rae-chan..." She lifted to face Hana.

"They will select who they wish to pour tea. Come on." She took her hand and pulled her away from him. He watched intently as they stood in the middle of the room. Some more attractive women entered and stood in the middle as well. It was as if they were items to be sold. Irritation rose up in his chest. He watched as an older man eyed Rae from head to toe. He pointed at her and he watched as Hana gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She walked over to him and bowed. He bowed in return and as she calmly took her fukasa out of her obi, the man watched her every move.

"Mind if I pour your tea?" His blood froze. Looking up, he found a girl standing in front of him. He was grateful that his facial features remained dull.

"It does not matter." She bowed and slowly slid down on her knees and sat on the heels of her feet. She demurely bowed to Tomo who bowed in return.

"It is nice to meet you." Some of the other men close to them nearly flocked over to them, sitting as close as they could to her. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Likewise." One of them replied. He kept silent, his gaze uninterested. But, she kept looking at him. Subtle glances here and there. All he could see on her face was Iwase Eri. His mother. It figured she would try to get her way through it all.

"Especially you...Hiroto..."

"You don't know me well enough for first name basis." He spoke coldly, staring into her eyes. She looked down.