Awakening
When Hanbei awoke the next morning, as he had expected, Yura was nowhere to be seen. The events of the previous night seemed like nothing more than an unpleasant dream but the blood staining his yukata and the bucket of water that sat by his bedside served as proof that it was all real. He had collapsed and been carried to his room by a princess who, thanks to his selfish curiosity, had to relive painful memories. Rising from his futon with a sigh, he noticed a clean grey yukata hanging up. There was a note pinned to it.
Yura's neat writing adorned the page, the note reading: "Hanbei-san, I hope you are feeling better this morning. I left you a clean yukata to wear, apologies if it is not your style but I do not have many clothes suitable for men, and breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen. Hopefully, it is still warm. I suggest you avoid pushing yourself today. If you need anything, I will either be in the garden or in the building on the other side of the yard. As we have agreed to be truthful with one another, I felt I should tell you that you have free reign to go anywhere in the manor but you should be careful if you go to the wing where I found you last night. There are some holes in the floor from the last attack that I have yet to get repaired. It would be regrettable if you fell and hurt yourself."
A chuckle escaped him as he set the note down and studied the yukata. It was a stone grey with thin darker grey stripes. The obi was black. Not necessarily something he would ever buy but it wasn't bad. Taking it with him, he found his way to the bath and warmed the coals. He let the coals warm the water as he sat atop a wooden stool and scrubbed the blood from his skin. He felt significantly better than he had the night before, albeit still not great, so he was determined to make the day productive even if he was supposed to be taking it easy. Slipping into now warmed water, Hanbei closed his eyes and made a small noise of satisfaction as he felt some of the fatigue melting away. And yet... what Yura said last night was bothering him. If he died before finding happiness, he would become a monstrous spirit that would then attack and kill the other people in Requiem? While he wasn't all that concerned about living, as if he couldn't reunite with Hideyoshi... at least as one of those twisted beings he probably wouldn't feel anything... he wasn't so awful that he wanted to hurt any of the people who were just trying to be content. She had been reunited with her husband, given a chance to live the life with him that they never could have had otherwise, and it was stolen away from her. Glancing at the yukata... a few details fell into place. Eyes wide and his face red from the shame of taking so long to realize it, Hanbei groaned quietly. Yura was a woman. There was no reason for her to have men's yukata unless the clothes she had given him, including the one he had stained with his blood, had belonged to her husband.
He felt incredibly foolish for not realizing sooner and somewhat guilty as it was probably hard for her to see someone else in the clothes of a deceased loved one. Normally it wouldn't be such a concern but considering how much she was doing for him - providing him a room, food, clothes, and taking care of him (even if it was against his will) - the least he could do was try and show a little appreciation and maybe some more sensitivity toward how she felt about the situation. A bit of a daunting task, if he was to be honest, but it felt right. Drying off, he put the clean yukata on and neatly folded up the bloodied one. He returned it to his room before going off to get some breakfast before it got too cold. The bath was worth delaying his meal, however, as being covered in his own blood wasn't really his ideal morning. He ate, dug around for some tasuki to tie back his sleeves with, and then got to work. He washed all the dishes then found what he needed to do laundry. Setting outside his room, in the yard, Hanbei got to work cleaning the blood from his yukata, futon, and blankets. As he knelt down and scrubbed it out to the best of his ability, his gaze settled upon the building across the yard. The one where Yura said she would be if she wasn't in the garden. The doors were open and he could see her, wearing a part of dark blue hakama and other clothes suitable for kendo. In her hand was a bamboo sword. Hair tied up so it wouldn't get in the way, she was practicing drills as diligently as a soldier in the Toyotomi Army would have when Hanbei was breathing down their neck.
He watched her for a moment, observing her movements. They were fairly clean. She could easily a kill a man, something that he didn't know how to feel about. On the one hand, it was a relief that if something happened she could defend herself but... on the other hand, if he angered her enough it might be his head that rolls. Not that he expected that to happen. Coughing quietly, he elected to stop contemplating it and returned to his laundry. He finished washing, hung it up to dry, and stretched. Walking over to where Yura was practicing, he leaned against the wall and took a deep breath in.
"Good morning, Yura-hime."
The bamboo blade stopped dead mid-swing as she turned to look at him, holding it in one hand as she slowly lowered it. Grabbing a towel from off to the side and wiping away her sweat, she gave a polite if not surprised smile.
"Good morning, Hanbei-san. You know, it is perfectly acceptable for you to drop the -hime. I won't be bothered."
"Very well, Yura-san. Your skill with the sword is fairly impressive. And, uh, thank you for the clothes. Might I ask... are they Sakakibara-san's?"
"Yes but please don't worry about it. It is good for them to see some use. There aren't many, though, so if you would like we can go and find some that suit your preferences this evening," She offered, seemingly studying him with that neutral look in her eyes.
"I appreciate that but I can go on my own. I feel much better now and there are some places in town I would like to explore. Would you mind if I went?"
"Not at all. You can take some money, it should be under the floorboards in the room by the garden. Don't worry about how much. Get some yukata, maybe try getting yourself a backup blade. I know you have a sword but it is always safe to have another. I would let you use Uejitsune's but he was much taller than you, I fear the length would be improper," Yura admitted, getting a nod from Hanbei as he headed back into the manor to find the money she spoke of.
He didn't particularly want to spend her money but he figured he would take it with him and find a way to pay her back later. Walking down to the town, the summer sun beating down on him in a strangely pleasant way, Hanbei knew exactly what he needed to do. Without his mask in public, as he was so used to wearing it all the time, he did feel somewhat naked but he wasn't going to let it bother him. Waltzing into the shop that clearly sold kimono and yukata, he glanced around and looked for whoever ran it.
"May I help you?" A woman's voice called, Hanbei turning to see a woman with wavy rust-colored hair and eyes to match. "Oh! You're new, aren't you? Kuroda Keiko, at your service. I own this shop."
"Takenaka Hanbei. I was wondering if you have any sort of payment plans available or if I could work in exchange? If not, I have money," He stated calmly, watching a series of expressions flicker across her features.
"Where are you staying, Takenaka-san? I haven't seen you around before."
"The manor on the hill, with Yura-hime," He said, reverting to the more formal form so that this woman wouldn't assume they were friends.
"Oh! You're one of Yucchan's? Why are you trying to find a payment plan, don't want to spend her money?"
"... Correct," He mumbled, ashamed that she seemed to know right off the bad and a bit surprised that she called the princess Yucchan. "Are you two friends?"
"Yep! If you're one of Yucchan's, I'll make you a deal. I have a couple of custom kimono that I need to deliver. Do that for me and you can grab two of whatever free of charge, sound good Takenaka-san?"
Hanbei agreed, delivering the three different kimono to opposite ends of the own. There was blood on his hand from the coughing fits that interrupted him, which he washed off at the river before returning to Keiko with the payments he had received. Being an errand boy was demeaning and he knew it was beneath him but... he ended up with two yukata and he hadn't spent any of Yura's money. Which was good, since he needed it for other things. She was right about getting a backup blade, especially since his lovely sword wasn't exactly inconspicuous. Yura had mentioned that to him once, told him if he ever went anywhere besides their town with a blade like that there would be problems. So he stopped in to talk to the smith. He got a new sword, discounted yet again because of Yura's influence, then went looking for someone else.
Asking around, he found the man who most often built and repaired homes. It didn't take much convincing for that man to agree to return to the manor with Hanbei and fix the floor for Yura. After all, she had said she wanted to have someone fix them. He had the floor fixed and the work paid for without Yura ever seeing the man enter the property. That evening, as he explored the manor, he stumbled into what looked to be her library. Books and scrolls from various eras filled the room. Sitting on the table, next to an unlit candle, was an incredibly old looking text. Carefully lighting it, Hanbei began to read what sat before him. It was the poem, Iroha, one that Hanbei knew quite well.
Even the blossoming flowers [Colors are fragrant, but they]
Will eventually scatter
Who in our world
Is unchanging?
The deep mountains of karma—
We cross them today
And we shall not have superficial dreams
Nor be deluded.
As he was about to blow out the candle, he heard the floorboards creak and looked up to see Yura standing in the doorway with a tray of food. She was looking at him with a stunned look on her face. Giving her a faint smile, Hanbei sat down at the table and pointed to the poem.
"You like Iroha?" He asked.
"It's my favorite poem but ignoring that, Hanbei-san, did you fix the floor?"
"I got that guy from town to do it, thought I should be useful. What are you doing?"
"I knew you were somewhere down in this wing so I brought you dinner. T-thank you... for fixing the floor."
"You're giving me a place to stay, clothes to wear, and food to eat. It is only right that I try to do something for you in return," He stated dismissively.
"Regardless, it is appreciated. Would you mind terribly if we ate together?" She asked as she set the food down in front of him.
"No, I don't mind."
Hanbei, eating his food with Yura by his side, was reading texts from before and after his time by candlelight. He and Yura, engaged in quiet intellectual discussion, shared new perspectives with one another. She helped him understand more modern words that he had never heard before, explained some of how the world changed since when he was alive and how one day, as she had, he would get to see it.
"You mean... I can see those things called movies one day? Travel in an airplane?" He asked, getting a nod from Yura.
Sighing, he put the books away and blew out the candle. Collecting the dishes to clean as he usually did, he laughed and left the room with a quiet murmur. Yura, who remained sitting at the table, just barely heard him utter it.
"It feels like a fever dream when you say such things, Yura-san, always leaving me wondering when I will wake up."
As intrigued as he was, as much as part of him wanted to go and see how time had altered the world he knew, he just wanted to see Hideyoshi. He wasn't able to begin letting go... not yet. He wanted to know how seeing other times worked, especially considering he was dead, but his most pressing question was one he knew she couldn't... or wouldn't... answer. When would he be able to see Hideyoshi again?