A Winter's Treasure {Tengen Uzui}

Take a Break

A week has gone by ever since Nagisa had decided to stay at the Uzui Household on the condition that she'll be their housekeeper. And from the first day her duty started she has been giving her all to make sure that no spec of dust or dirt would survive in the surroundings.

The cinnamon skinned girl would wake up with the Sun and prepare a nice breakfast for the Hashira and his wifes. Then, once they were all done eating she would clean their mess and get to work on the house cleaning.

She would usually begin from their bedroom and change their covers and pillows when needed. Then, she would mop the floors and then dust the furniture. As the morning ended and afternoon was around the corner, she would get to make lunch. With the help of Hinatsuru and Suma she had learned how to prepare Tengen's favorite meals. Which would make him very happy and praise her cooking out loudly whenever he ate it. Nagisa would only blush and humbly thank him. She couldn't recall the last time someone had praised her cooking. If it even happened to begin with.

Once lunch was over, she would once again clean their dishes and take an hour to rest the food out. Once she had recovered, Nagisa would do the outside tasks. She would sweep around the house and tend to their garden, making sure to pull out any bad herbs that could poison their plants.

Then, at last, she would clean the bathrooms and showers. Making sure everything was glistening for the Hashira and his wives to use. And her as we'll, of course. But she was doing this for them. Afterall, she wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for them. And she was determined to pay her debt with them.

The hard working girl would have finished her tasks by near the sunset. Even though she would be very tired, she always had a huge feeling of gratitude in her chest for the rest of the evening. 

However, that day didn't go like usual. It all started with the same routine, with Nagisa waking up with the Sun and getting breakfast ready. Soon, Tengen and the girls stumbled out of their bed with messy hairs and sleepy eyes.

Breakfast also went normally until they were all about done. Nagisa was about to take their dishes to the sink when Tengen stopped her.

“Nagisa, me and the girls were talking and we had decided something” The white haired man started and the brownish haired girl looked at him confused.

“You have been working non stop around here. You really should take a day off once a week. If you keep overworking yourself you'll end up back in your futon, and that'll be really unflashy.” Tengen said with a gentle smile while the girls were nodding in agreement. Even Makio.

Nagisa was surprised. But very flattered. They had surprised her yet again by treating her like a human being and respecting her limits. She then smiled and bowed at them. 

“Thank you, Mr. Tengen. And thank you girls. I promise I'll make the most of my day off.” Nagisa thanked them humbly. 

They all smiled at her. Then, Tengen jolted in his seat as if he remembered something.

“Oh!! I also have something for you, dear Nagisa.” He said taking an envelope from his Yukata and handing it to her.

“Here, open it.”

Nagisa raised an eyebrow before taking the envelope which had her name written on it. When she opened it, her eyes widened and she gasped. It had money inside!! About 150 thousand Yen!! Nagisa felt as if her heart would pound out of her chest. She looked at Tengen and his wives confusedly. 

“I-Is this…. For me??” She asked dumbfounded.

They all smiled and nodded. Then, Nagisa shook her head as if she was trying to wake up in case it was all a dream. When she realized that It wasn't, she did the reasonable thing to do and placed the envelope at the table, which confused them.