Yoshitatsu woke up early the next day to make breakfast.
Mito was the first person to enter the kitchen.
As soon as he saw her, he paused what was doing and turned to bow to her.
"Mito-sama." He greeted her. "Good morning."
"Please, no need to bow or be polite." Mito said. "We are family so just call me Mito."
Their eyes met and Mito looked at him sternly.
He quietly sighed to himself and straightened.
She waited for him to correct himself.
"Good morning, Mito." He said begrudgingly.
He didn't feel comfortable addressing her without respect.
Mito beamed at him and walked by him with a bright smile.
Yoshitatsu glanced at her, the corner of his mouth twitching as she happily took a seat at the table.
He grabbed a tray and two cups.
Taking the kettle off the stove, he sat on the tray with the cups and brought it to the table.
He poured Mito a cup of tea.
"Thank you." She took the cup.
"Your welcome." Yoshitatsu nodded before resuming the task of making breakfast. Look
Mito casually glanced at him as she sipped her tea.
Today, Yoshitatsu was wearing a light gray yukata with a black tie around his waist and a red haori-style kimono jacket with white flower prints.
Part of his hair was pulled up into a ponytail while the rest was tied into a long braid that was loose at the end. Long bangs framed his face and covered his forehead. On his feet were tabi socks and house slippers.
He wore a tasuki (sash) to hold back the long sleeves of his kimono.
Mito looked at the boy's fair, delicate hands at work and her eyes traveled up his smooth, long arms.
Despite of what his records say, he didn't look like a shinobi at all.
She could find no traces of battle on him and he looked like someone who was healthy and were pampered their whole life.
You would think he was a noble son at first glance.
Nonetheless, she learned long ago that you can't judge a book by its cover.
He carried a sword and was disciplined so she knew he had formal training, most likely by a samurai.
The young man did live in the Land of Iron for 6 years so it wouldn't be surprising.
She grew more and more curious about her little relative.
After she finished her tea, she went to wake up her grandchildren.
When she returned to the table, Yoshitatsu was already setting the table.
The consisted of tamogayaki, broiled sweet eggplant, miso soup with water cress, grilled fish, pickled vegetables, seasoned dried seaweed, and natto.
When she sat down, Yoshitatsu placed a large bowl of fresh rice in front of her.
"Don't worry about it if it's too much." He told her. "I can just use the rest to make porridge later."
"Thank you." Mito nodded gratefully.
Yoshitatsu brought more tea to the table and started cleaning while he waited for the rest of the family to come down.
