Baked

The Price of Dango

Kiari peaked through the window near her sofa.

She didn't know why, but she had this unnerving feeling ever since she woke up. It was evening now, though they had already stopped for the break and continued moving.

She could tell that Kouen was feeling the same, he wasn't reading any of scrolls and had his eyes on the windows as well. Something was up but they didn't know what.

For Kouen, it felt as though they were being followed, yet there was nothing that prompted that when he investigated. He already ordered the guards to be on high alert, so things shouldn't be too bad.

They weren't that surprised, it was sort of bound to happen. Their trip had been suspiciously peaceful, though it'd be great if it could stay that way so they could get to the port, which was only a day away now.

Puckering her lips, Kiari sat back down, crossing her arms. She was hoping nothing would happen, and if something did happen, she wouldn't have to use her magic, at least not in front of everyone.

She looked up to Kouen, he held a serious expression, it was actually quite scary, but throughout the days Kiari had spent with him, she'd come to realize that that was pretty natural of him.

With a small gulp, she decided to distract herself by starting a conversation. "Kouen, what are you going to do when we get to the port?" She asked with a soft voice, kicking her feet back and forth.

He glanced at her, releasing the tension he had. "First, we have to get more supplies. After that's done, we'll start heading to the military camp."

"Oh, how long will that take?"

"Only a few days."

"Hm, what are you going to be doing there?" She asked innocently, having a smile. Kouen stayed silent, giving her a blank stare. So she has no idea... Hm...

He cleared his throat, looking away. "Your yukata's sliding off."

"Eh?" She looked down, seeing that one of the sleeves to her white yukata had indeed slid off and exposed her upper chest. Unfortunately, she wasn't wearing any shirt under since it was getting hot.

Her face turned red as she started to process everything.

"Eek! I'm so sorry!"

~

     The next day, it was once again early morning. They had finally reached the port last night, and rested in of the nice inns. Fortunately, there was no bandit attack.

Kiari was outside next to the docks with her father that had gone on the ship to make sure everything was alright for departure.

She was changed back into her cheongsam, no longer trusting the yukata.

Sighing she looked around, she had hoped she'd see Kouen but there was no sign of him.

As she was looking, she spotted a small Dango shop that instantly had her walking to it. She had already eaten, but a small snack shouldn't hurt.

She pulled out a small red bag she had, taking out some silver coins. She smiled, her birthday had earned her a lot of money.

"Hello! How much does your Dango cost?" She asked, having a glittering smile as she looked up to the slim man inside the food cart. He was quick to attend to her.

Handing him the money, she snatched the Dango from his hands. "Thanks!" With a gleeful smile, she started to munch away.

Though after she ate the first one and was about to grab the next, she started to feel dizzy.