мѕ.gяα¢є αη∂ мя.муѕтєяу •𝔐𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔨𝔢•

𝓝𝓸𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾 𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓

"Yes." The pearled smiled but looked at the ground to hide it. She was glad to have found him.

  After Genkei woke up from his brief rest, Kayo moved her head, trying to find her two friends. She knew they weren't there when most of them came back to reality, but the tan girl wanted to find them as soon as possible. Finally conceding one of her wishes, the people she was looking for showed themselves, and even better for her, it seemed like Shinju was in a better mood than before the final confession.

"Oh! There you are, guys!" Kayo got up and ran toward them with a smile on her face.

"We will shortly arrive in Edo. " Kusuriuri informed while the two girls hugged each other, although it was Kayo one crushing Shinju.

"I thought we would be stranded with no way back." Genyousai laughed a bit, pleased knowing that he could still thrive in Edo.

"I was more worried about the food..." Tamon commented. When they discovered they were in the Ayakashi's sea, they feasted most of the food thinking it would be their last days. Of course, the Bakeneko trio knew they would live but accepted the meals nonetheless.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot I still had some sweets left." Shinju intervened.

"Then, let's celebrate our victory!" The minstrel quickly exclaimed.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." The dark-haired girl still felt the guilt from her pranks.

"If he wants to eat it, let him," Kusuriuri smirked, almost whispering in Shinju's ear.

  Shinju sighed and took out the wagashi. This time around she couldn't determine which one had been filled with spicy pepper, so she just handed one and hoped for the best. Fortunately for the man with make-up, that warashi hadn't been messed with, so he just ate with delight, not understanding Kusuriuri's desire for fun. Seeing that Genyousai didn't get tricked, he made a tsk sound with his tongue.

"Oh, he got lucky." Kayo laughed.

   The atmosphere was positive. The clear skies, the feeling of relaxation after the adrenaline, and knowing that they were all safe helped them be at ease and interact with each other as if they had been friends. This comfy aura didn't reach everyone, though. Hyoue was still shaken up from the events. His mind was weak and corruptible. He could be guided by anyone, as he was manipulated by his own master to kill hundreds of innocents and not-so-innocents. This meant that the Ayakashi still had a bit of control over him, unlike Shinju who was able to stop whining about life and the traumatic experience.

"I see land!" Sougen shouted in excitement. His hands were resting on the balustrade of the sides of the ship. A hard wave of air came by, it would have been a normal wind if it wasn't for the fact that it came with a scent. Incenses, foods, and other materials. They were near the port and some merchants.

"This means that in less than ten minutes we will be there." Genyousai tried to act smart, as always.

"I guess so..." Kayo couldn't comprehend how the minstrel knew how long it would take just by looking. Like Shinju, it was her first time traveling by boat.

  After a while, the ship reached its destination, and they arrived in Edo, the capital of Japan. The city where the most important people lived. The reign of the Shogun concluded in a military dictatorship, laying down new rules about how everyone had to live. Not even the high-ranking Daimyos could escape from the law. Samurais like Hyoue also suffered changes, as they were no longer used for wars and were deprived of their lands, making them either change their title to peasants or serve another person. There were also a lot of laws applied to the merchants and peasants, as Shinju and Kusuriuri are. The laws that these two have broken are: being a merchant and wielding a katana, display of jewelry, and flashy clothing, traveling without a permit, being a traveling woman, stating your surname in public, consuming/vending pornographic content, assault, mockery of samurais and upper classes and many more that have to come. They couldn't care less, of course. It had been a while since those laws were introduced, so many merchants began ignoring them and doing whatever they pleased.