Ink Stained

58: kyoto, day one*

"Matsumoto Shiori, before your rambling overtakes you, hold on just one minute." She cut in, sitting up and crossing her legs, reaching back to grab her pillow so she could hug it to her chest.

Shiori was still beaming stupidly as she sat up and braced her hands behind her. "Yes?" she asked, drawing the word out.

"Sakura tree?" she repeated. "The one Hiyori-hime ate the cherry fruit from thousands of years ago?"

"The one and only."

"That happened five thousand years ago."

"Unless my mental maths is getting mixed up with how the story is, yeah, it was five thousand years ago." Shiori affirmed.

"Is it even possible for a tree to be that old?" she squeaked in surprise. "I know trees can get old, but I thought it was just in the hundreds of years, not the thousands – "

"Momozono Pai, before your rambling overtakes you, let me speak, stupid." Shiori grinned. "Before you have an aneurysm, want me to me explain?"

"You better." She muttered, her brow crinkled in awed muddiness.

"You know the reason Hiyori's so special is because she ate a cherry fruit from that tree, right? So what was so special about the tree? Story goes that it's a sacred sakura, blessed by the kiss of a Kigen. That means it's unique, and that also means that this tree can survive some serious shit and still pull through looking all glamorous a couple of thousands of years down the line."

Pai gave her dead-fish eyes. "You make it sound like the doll that managed to keep her hair immaculate after you tried to melt it when you were twelve."

"To be fair, my parents got me that doll when I wanted a new basketball."

"You already had a basketball."

"It was wearing out," Shiori said defensively. "Anyway, moving on from unfortunate dolls with good hair, do you want to come see the tree with me? I'm kind of curious to see it, considering I'm, somehow, Hiyori's reincarnation." She scrunched her nose. "Actually, I am Hiyori. That makes it weirder. I am not going to think in that direction." She shook the thought of and tilted her head at Pai with her brows raised questioningly. "So?"

Pai sighed heavily as she fought off another yawn, though she could feel herself growing more lucid by the minute. "Yes, I do. Just give me a couple of minutes to get ready, considering you ambushed me with absolutely no warning." She lifted a strand of stiff hair stuck to the side of her head. She had been so exhausted after binge-watching Nurarihyon no Mago with Shiori last night that she forgot to fix her hair before going to sleep. "I need to deal with this. My hair has gotten a drier after dyeing it. I am never dyeing my hair ever again."

"Great!" Shiori clapped her hands excitedly as she bounded up to her feet. Pai quickly scrambled up and followed behind as Shiori walked to the door. She paused before walking out. "Oh, before I go, can I, um...can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," she said, leaning on the door for support.

"Have you ever seen Kagetora-san before?"

Pai didn't recognize the name for a split-second before she remembered, first Yamajijii, then Shin, then Shouta, speak that name before. The question was completely unexpected, and had Pai's eyebrows lifting to her hairline.

"What? Of course not. Wait..." she paused. "You saw him, right? Yesterday?"

"Yeah." Shiori looked distinctly uncomfortable, as if she was regretting bringing him up in the conversation. "I did. Though I didn't actually talk. I just sat there looking pretty next to Kouta. You were right, by the way. Sojobo Kurama just wanted me there for political reasons. As in, to show off. At least that's what Kouta said."