Priceless Smile 2

Chapter 113: Dense

     Kazumi's now walking on the road again to her mission as she just left the old estate. As she's walking, Take landed on her shoulder.

"Seems like you just came back. How's the trip?" Kazumi smiled as she raise her arm and pat his head.

"I'm alright Master. I'm glad to have seen you here."

"Then how about life? How was it?"

"What do you mean Master?"

".... Nothing. Just forget what I've said."

With that, their scene changed again showing Kazumi visiting the Rengoku Estate. As she come in with Senjuro leading her inside, she sat outside the veranda to wait for him who went to the kitchen.

"Rengoku-san, you didn't tell us she's been visiting your place." Shinobu said with a dark aura and her usual smile.

"Well.... it's because she said so. She didn't want that many to know since she said she might encounter many questions." Kyojuro replied as he sweatdropped from their stares.

Sakonji didn't mind as Amane and Kagaya just chuckled while Shinjuro gave out a long sigh. Kazumi remained silent as she stare at the garden in front of her.

'Having my memories from my past life back is a wonderful thing but.... along those memories are all the guilt and self-loathe I had. Well, guess it'll add up to the guilt and self-loathe I'd feel in this current life of mine.'
She chuckled as if it was nothing but for them, they felt sad on how she could think of it as a joke.

"Kazumi! I made some snacks!" Senjuro called as he run to her holding a tray of sakura mochis and tea.

"Thank you. You shouldn't have bothered yourself for this." She replied watching him sit right next to her with the tray in between them.

"I'm not bothered at all. I'm happy doing this especially for you."

Kazumi hummed in response tilting her head to the side for a bit hearing him. As soon as he realized what he said, he madly blushed that he started stuttering.

"Ara~, it seems to me that Senjuro-kun has a crush on someone." Kanae said clasping both her hands.

"Yeah, but he never confessed while Kazumi's also quite dense to know it." Shinjuro replied watching his son and Kazumi.

"Sadly, it's not because she's dense. It's because she never felt that kind of love herself. It's rather confusion and misunderstanding that make it look like she's dense. Growing up with no happy childhood at all and having to fend for herself and the others, she never know how to express her feelings properly. She.... just copy what she sees that people express around her." Hanare explained with such a sad tone as her eyes are on the brink of tears.
"She only knows love that is portrayed between siblings and family and couples that she sees. She's so used to giving out love that she forgot to leave even just a tiny bit for herself. She may understand the love between couples but.... she could never tell whether someone's in love to her. Because she'll only think of it as a friendly one."

"I could say.... she's better in acting more than us." Tengen muttered out.
"I could tell Kocho's smile is fake ever since she started acting like her older-sister. But I can't with Kazumi's."

"It's Kazumi-sama idiot." Yuichiro glared at him.

"Kazumi's smile.... was never fake. She may be numb from pain and may not know how to properly express herself but, her smile.... was always genuine, always warm and calming. What she fakes are her words, her actions, and especially, her laugh." Hanare replied getting their attention.
"Her laugh may sound natural and cheery but, that's how she keeps it all in. She says she's alright, she's fine, but the truth is everything's a mess to her. She acts like she's not in pain but she's always been in pain."

Just then, their scene changed again showing Kazumi walking around a village as the snow falls down while she's wearing a scarf and a parasol that she bought. While walking, her eyes landed on a family of three eating ramen that made her stop.

'Ara~, what a wonderful family. They all look so happy eating together.'

"Excuse me young one, would you like to buy some tangerines?" An old lady asked gaining her attention.

She looked at the old lady at how she's just sitting on a thin carpet despite the cold ground and she's not even holding a parasol to cover herself from the snow. Even her scarf is tattered and is quite dirty.

"Grandma, how long have you been staying here to sell these tangerines?" Kazumi gently asked as she crouch down in front of her.

"Oh well, I think it has been five hours or more. I've been sitting here since early in the morning until now. But not a lot of people came to buy."

Kazumi then started picking up the tangerines putting it in a bag until she finished picking up everything.

"Wait young one, wouldn't that be too much?" The grandma asked looking at her in confusion.

"It's alright grandma. I'll take this home and eat it with my family." Kazumi answered handing her the money.
"And also grandma, you can take these. Please stay warm." She added wrapping the scarf gently around the grandma's neck and giving her the parasol.

"Your eyes.... ah, such a young child having such lonely eyes. You're so kind."

".... Ahaha please don't say that. I'm not that kind at all. I'll be taking my leave now."

"Yes you are. Thank you for all of these."

Just that, Kazumi walked away carrying the bags of tangerines as she look back to the grandma's spot after taking a few steps away just to see the grandma wave goodbye at her. She smiled as she started running.

'That's right, some older people often compliment my eyes like that. I wonder if I should start wearing a blindfold now like in my past life to hide them.'

"She always says she could tell what we truly feel inside from looking at our eyes." Obanai said.
"But that's what we failed to see in hers."

"I'm ashamed myself. As someone who spent much more time with her than everyone of you, as someone who was supposed to understand her the most. I'm truly ashamed at how I acted." Kagaya replied with his unusual sad expression.

As their scene changed again, it showed Kazumi who has arrived back to her estate. She arrived back with a small pile of snow on her head and some on her shoulders.

"Kazumi-sama! What happened to you?!" Mei rushed to her wiping the snow off from her head and shoulders and also taking the bags of tangerines.

"I'm alright. It's just a little snow."

"Kazumi-sama, you're not even wearing a scarf."

"It's nothing, really. I'm not even cold."
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🐷: I'm back again for some facts, oink!!!

Fact;

- the Pillars that Ringo hates the most are Shinazugawa Sanemi, Uzui Tengen, and Iguro Obanai, but it doesn't mean she doesn't hate the rest. She still hates everyone of them. She also got to hate Kanae and Yuichiro later on for siding with the rest. So when she says she could kill them, she really could without hesitation. While Mei hates Tengen the most because of his trepassing plan.

👤: Shit.... now Ringo's the real danger at the estate.

🐷: She is! Since when is she not?! She literally almost made Sanemi and Obanai permanently lose their ability to walk! Hitting them on the back with a wooden sword back then because of challenging her!