The Moon Princess

The Snake

Hey! It's me again! This took its sweet time but here is the second part.

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Glossary

Hakama: Japanese traditional trousers.

Sarashi: A long strip of cotton cloth that was used to bind the chest.

Habu: Venomous snake originally from Okinawa, Japan.

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The faint sound of birds chirping woke up the princess from her pleasant sleep. Brusquely, she sat realizing she had lowered her guard for the very first time in so long. She caressed her face in frustration. This was a mistake that could have earned a free pass to the afterlife...

"..."

She could hear Chouchou's soft breath coming from the closet. The pale princess sighed. While she was grateful the kunoichi didn't try anything funny during her sleep, she was disappointed with how little alert she was. Assasins could have entered the room at night and slit both of their necks like to big deal.
She shook her head thinking she should be thankful and happy instead. Chouchou had passed her first test.

Tsukihime stood and stretched her long, bony arms. Then she would search for her clothing, wash her face, comb her extensive wavy light blue hair and apply her almost imperceptible makeup. This duty should be performed by her maids, but the princess would never allow it. Her maids would think of her as someone kind but proud, so they would respect any of her desires.

When she was ready to get dressed, she searched for her tiny bell. If it was shaken 3 times, Karin would come and help her with her clothing...

"Nom nom nom..."

Tsukihime chucked. There were some strange sounds coming from the closet. Was Chouchou dreaming about eating? She couldn't believe it.

"..."

Slowly, the princess approached the closet and opened the lattice door trying not to make any disrupting sound. The room was still dark, but the faint sunshine allowed her to see Chouchou clearly. She laid upside down, her face buried completely against the futon's pillow. Tsukihime had never seen anybody sleeping like that before. With so little class... Yet she was very into the down to earth picture she was looking. "I better wake her up," she thought. Her long pale fingers shook the exposed shoulder of the kunoichi as she wondered if Karin ever offered sleepwear to her bodyguard; Chouchou literally slept with the clothes she came with.

"Nom... Nom... Uhm..."

After a while, the robust bodyguard incorporated herself while scrubbing her still closed eyes. "Robust indeed," Tsukihime thought when her attention drifted into Chouchou's plum chest, poorly covered by her almost undone kimono. She was... Thrilled. Her bodyguard was unique in every way. From her fun but moody personality to how she looked like. Chouchou was a big woman in comparison to all the girls of her entourage. Tall, somewhat chubby and she wore a hakama which was usually worn by men. But those weren't the only reasons why the kunoichi had an imposing presence, she was also mixed, featuring the darkest copper skin and golden eyes that Tsukihime had seen in her whole life. Chouchou was like a colorful flower in the princess' perfect blue sanctuary.

"W... What?"

Chouchou realized the pale woman was looking at her chest so she covered herself in a defensive manner."Is she jealous or...?" a sudden chill ran through her spine. The sole thought of the princess lusting for her made her really upset. Not because she was a woman too. Afterall, Chouchou came from a village where marriage between them was mandatory... But let's face it, sometimes you don't need a greater reason to hate someone. Chouchou's gut was telling her to do so, and her gut never failed her.