Three days of being confined to bed later, Ouka finally returned to her normal life as a Fire Soldier. A few guys from the 7th and her prepared breakfast for the entire unit.
After settling with Konro and Benimaru regarding tasks to be done that day, she went to Asahanada Shrine to tend to it.
"Whoa. The whole place is spick and span," Ouka acclaimed, slightly amazed with her surroundings. "You said the folks took care of the shrine in my absence, right?"
"Yeah." Although Ouka wasn't facing him, Benimaru looked away to hide the fact that he also helped them out back then.
Ouka clasped her hands at her back, beaming a smile at the shrine that had been her family's pride for years. "Gotta get ready for the dance ritual tonight," she said almost to herself.
"Looking forward to it." This time Benimaru directed his gaze at her in approval.
"It'll be a special ceremony tonight, since I need to offer prayers to those who turned Infernal days ago," she added.
Concern lit up in Benimaru's eyes as he scrutinized Ouka's expression. A quiet sigh of relief escaped from his lips when she showed no signs of agitation or gloom.
"Yeah," he replied abruptly. "There's nothing much for us hikeshi to do today, so feel free to get our help or anything." With those last words, he turned around to head back to the HQ.
Ouka waited until Benimaru was out of sight, then she walked to the shrine building. She picked up her kagura suzu, closed her eyes to concentrate, and began dancing.
Besides from taking care of Asahanada Shrine, the Homare family was entrusted to carry out sacred dances that served spiritual purposes to traditional ceremonies and special occasions. She'd watched her father did the dance when she was a child; during New Year celebration, summer and winter festivals, post-disaster rituals. In terms of humanity's current predicament, a post-disaster ritual could be a farewell ceremony to multiple victims of Infernalization—and the latter was the reason Ouka had to dance tonight. She was taught to dance at the age of twelve, with the expectation of becoming the next caretaker of Asahanada Shrine alongside her eldest brother.
The deaths of her father and brother(?) two years ago surely took a toll on her mind and spirit. Carrying the weight of her role as the sole caretaker of Asahanada Shrine, she kept all her negative feelings at bay and never let them eat at her. The emblem of Company 7 she held proud on her back also contributed to her mental perseverance.
Images of the mysterious white clad guys reappeared in Ouka's mind. Not only did they killed her dad and probably related to her brother's disappearance, they almost reduce Asakusa to a sea of flames.
I swear I'll make those bastards perish–
"Hit the brakes, Ouka. Your moves are hideously fast and aggressive."
Ouka immediately froze upon hearing Benimaru's voice, which led to a concomitant recovery from her erupting thoughts. She turned to look at the shrine archway, where he stood with his arms folded on his chest.
"W-why are you still here?"
Benimaru rubbed the back of his neck as he approached a flustered Ouka. "To be honest I kinda miss seeing you dance, so I thought I'd stayed behind to watch your practice for a minute."
He kept his discerning stare on her. "You're not supposed to dance like that. Is there something actually bothering you?"
"Ah, I've forgotten the steps."
"Uh-huh."
A loud sigh from Ouka, followed by a pair of slumped shoulders. "Geez, you always see through me, Waka. I wonder how you're so good at reading minds?"
An uptick formed at the corner of his mouth, but his tone remained even. "How many times must I say this?" He slackened his expression. "You're just bad at hiding your feelings."
"Your face says it all," he added when Ouka squinted at him.
"I can't help but think of those evil guys." Ouka went to sit at the shrine staircase. She hugged her knees together and laid her chin on them as she stared emptily at nothing. "And Adolla Burst."
"Well, now you don't. Because I'm here," Benimaru came to sit beside her. "Anytime your mind gets sidetracked by trifling stuff, I'll smack you back to reality."
Ouka reacted with a dry smile. "Sounds like you're babysitting a pathetic woman who does nothing but feel mopey all day."
"That might be true to some degree," Benimaru retorted. "But don't call yourself pathetic. You're not the type who gets mopey for petty reasons."
They sat in silence after that, staring into the distance. Benimaru broke the silence first by giving her a sidelong glance. "Is it because of the chaos a couple of days ago?"
Ouka blinked without realizing it as if Benimaru's assumption was correct. "I finally found the people behind my father's death. Not to mention that I possess something that our enemies want," she mumbled discouragingly.
"You're sad?" Benimaru implied.
"No. I'm furious at them."
"Don't be mad."
"Very helpful advice."
Their eyes met each other before Benimaru looked away first. He propped his elbow on his thigh and leaned his chin on his palm. "I wish Konro's here... He has a way with words that sometimes bring comfort to people."
His face was inscrutable, but Ouka managed to read him from his intonation. Her lips parted into a grin. "Now, now. Talking to you is still a good therapy for me." She bumped her shoulder against his in a friendly gesture.
"Uh-huh," Benimaru murmured.
Ouka cackled softly. "It's the truth!" She pulled herself up and brushed dirt off her hikeshi suit.
"Alright, I want to get back to dancing practice."
"See you later. I'll let you dance alone in peace." Benimaru was about to make his leave when Ouka interfered.
"Perhaps you can stay if you want," she suggested. "Just don't make any noise while I'm dancing. Yeah, you may leave too. Feel free to decide."
"I'll stay for a while." Benimaru finalized his decision in three seconds. He then returned to the shrine staircase to sit there.
Asahanada Shrine was packed with the citizens of Asakusa eager to watch the Maiden of Asahanada dancing to Hanaboshi. The sacred dance acted as a farewell ritual to multiple people who turned into Infernals at the same time. Everybody had been anticipating it in order to pay tribute to the dead. It was supposed to take place the day after the chaos with Company 8, but sadly the Maiden of Asahanada herself was bedridden.
Homare Ouka was specially-dressed for the ceremonious night. She tied her black hair into a traditional Japanese bun that is held by three long golden needles, composed by a long red ribbon which formed a five-petal flower. Her kimono was white overlapped by a dark purple one with flower petal motifs. They were tied together neatly with a big maroon bow which has white borders and covered with an embroidered ruby red robe flowing down to her feet. To add some glow to her face, she wore light pink shadow and cherry lipstick. The touch of red on her style tonight complemented her emerald green eyes in an elegant way.
"How do I look?" she asked Hinata and Hikage. Her stomach felt funny and she could feel her heart beating fast due to anxiety, but she held it back easily.
"Spectacular." The twins nodded their heads in approval. "As expected, a woman's beauty shines the brightest in their prime youth. With the right adornments, a maiden may bloom into the most exquisite flower in the garden. The lucky man who gets to pluck it will be blessed with eternal joy if he handles the delicate flower with care and love."
A wry smile appeared on Ouka's face as she tried to suppress a laugh. "Did Benimaru talk like that before?"
Hinata and Hikage exchanged quick glances as if discussing a plan among themselves. They got closer to her hesitantly.
"Um, Ouka," Hina interacted with her.
"Yes?"
"We want to give you something," Hika followed along. She took out a dark purple small pouch from her kimono band. The pouch was attached to a long black ribbon, meant to be worn on a person's neck.
"Hope you like the lucky charm," Hina said cheerfully.
Ouka's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of them giving her the pouch. She cupped her hands to let Hika gently dropped it there. "Why, how nice of you two. Thank you!" Pure bliss radiated on her face as she wore it on her neck and kept it under her kimono.
Her gaze was fixed on the lucky charm until Konro's voice echoed from outside the HQ.
"Are you ready, Ouka? You should head to the shrine now."
"Yes!" Ouka strode to the door and slid it open. Hina and Hika closely trailed behind her like two flower girls escorting a female bride down the aisle.
The way Konro stared at her resembled a father who never thought his beautiful daughter could be extra beautiful on her special day.
"You look amazing, Ouka," he acclaimed. "Go on. Walk tall, my comrade. Sorry I can't be there to watch your dance."
"Don't force yourself, Konro. You deserve some rest." Ouka was aware of his Tephrosis, so she simply let it go.
As she walked toward Asahanada Hill, she received starry-eyed looks from literally everyone who saw her. Some of them even threw words of encouragement at her, knowing she might feel nervous for the ritual.
"Good luck, Ouka," the twins wished her as soon as they arrived at the shrine. They stayed behind with the crowds while Ouka proceeded toward in front of the shrine building, alone. Stone lanterns lit the area in mellow orange and yellow.
The noise level of the crowd declined to a complete silence when Ouka raised her hands and gathered them into a fist, a gesture of prayer. She bowed down a little and remained like that for a moment, signaling her presence to the gods.
Somewhere to her left, a small group of musicians played traditional instruments to create harmonization between the art of dancing and music. Ouka unbowed at the first beat of the taiko drum. The next thing, she began dancing along with the music.
The Fire Soldier cum Maiden of Asahanada shouldering years of history performed her Hanaboshi dance as a gift to the dead. Exuding all the grace and poise of a ballerina in her refined steps, she illuminated the hearts of Asakusa folks with sparks of hope. The gentle chimes of the two kagura suzu in her grip echoed through the hill, imbuing peace and serenity into everyone's souls.
Benimaru was casually watching her dance when an old woman beside him said, "No matter how many times I see it, I never get used to how beautiful it is."
"Indeed."
"Ah, I guess it runs in the family. Shinya used to be a great dancer before he passed down the role to his kids." The old woman reminisced old memories with a nostalgic look on her face. "His moves were sturdy and fervent compared to his daughter; nimble and graceful."
Benimaru smiled at her words. "Nonetheless, the way they dance to Hanaboshi are still mesmerizing."
"Waka!"
He glanced over his shoulder to see Hina and Hika pushing themselves among the hordes of people to reach him. "Good gracious. Where did you two have been all this time?"
"We were looking for you, alright," Hina snapped.
"We can't see anything from here. Why must the adults be so tall?" Hika ranted.
Benimaru sighed and squated down to talk to them. "For the sake of being loud, get on my shoulders."
"Yay!"
Both of them got on his shoulders before he stood up again effortlessly.
"It's kinda wholesome to see Ouka in those colorful garments and makeup," Hina admitted.
"Yes," Hika continued, "She still looks like our strong Ouka despite the absence of her hikeshi suit and three-section staff."
Benimaru smiled. "A woman doesn't have to be snarky or swing a weapon around to be strong. That's what Konro told me when Ouka first joined our team."
"A woman can be sweet, simple and kind—and still be strong. Though Ouka wasn't entirely sweet to begin with. She's a pain in the ass sometimes." His voice dropped into a scorn as he said the last two sentences. "Anyway, strength isn't necessarily just physical. It can be emotional as well. Even after learning about the loss of her father and brother, Ouka stayed strong by forcing herself to move on."
His mouth curved into a playful smirk. "Boy, I had a vague recollection of her weeping while sparring with me a few times after the disaster."
"Ara, I remember too," Hika proclaimed. "Waka asked her if she needed a break or end the sparring session, but she wiped tears off her eyes and yelled, my eyesight is no longer blurry. Shall we continue?"
Hina chuckled as she shared her part of the memory. "Fufu. And she definitely stopped crying afterwards. Waka had this confused look on his face all the time."
"I don't—" Benimaru fired back.
"Yes, you did. Of course you didn't realize it yourself." Hina cut in.
A relented sigh from Benimaru. Realization suddenly flickered in his eyes. "Did you give her the lucky charm?"
Hina and Hika exchanged gleeful smirks, then answered, "Yes. Apparently, she comes to adore it, even after we told her someone else made us give it to her."
Benimaru failed to hide his genuine smile which slowly surfaced into sight. "Glad to hear that."