Love at First Sight - Rengoku Kyojuro

Loneliness and a Sense of Longing

As the air grew damp and cicadas began to sing at night, the children from the village started coming to see her again, laughing and greeting her with smiles on their faces.

“Miss Mel, Miss Mel!” Saki cried, jumping up and down in front of the woman for a moment before being scooped up with a happy grin. “Oof, you've gotten so big, Saki! How's your big brother?”

“He's okay!” the child replied, the big brother in question letting out a sigh behind her. “C'mon, Saki, you're gonna hurt Mel. Get offa her.”

Melanthe tousled the boy's dark brown locks with a smile. “It's alright, Toma. And what did I say about enunciation? You've gotten worse since I last saw you,” she gently scolded, leaving both siblings into the house.

“Now, how does sakura-ichigo mochi sound? My tree is almost fully in bloom, it should still taste good if we take some now... My strawberries should be nice and ripe around this time. If only there was somebody to pick them for the mochi...”

“I will! I will!!” Both siblings cried out, jumping up and down, and she laughed, reaching up into her cabinet to grab a couple of medium-sized, hand-woven baskets. “Alright, let's make it a race; whoever picks the most berries gets a special prize from me, okay? Now, get ready, set, go!”

The siblings took off into the garden, out into the sunlight to pick red berries, and the woman simply watched with a smile and the occasional laugh whenever they would tussle. “No fighting! Your sister is smaller than you are!!”

Toma finally ran up, face red and out of breath. “I've got 'em!” he panted, holding out his basket of berries. Saki rushed over, hugging her basket to her much smaller form, dirt smudged all over her face from repeated tumbles onto the ground. “Me! I got more!”

Letting out a hum of amusement, Melanthe inspected the berries. “Oh, it's so hard to tell, you both got so many... I think Toma might have more, but... I think Saki is the winner, since her berries are the ripest.”

The children let out their respective cries of victory and defeat, one slouching and pouting while the other danced around with glee.

“Saki, come get your prize!” Mel laughed, and the little girl ran over to her. “What is it, what is it!!”

“It's... A... Great big kiss, from me!” The woman scooped up the child, ignoring the high-pitched squeal she gave as she peppered her with kisses, blowing a raspberry on her neck.

Melanthe noticed Toma looking upset, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek as well, whispering to keep it a secret from his sister and that he was actually her favorite; but, if he told anyone, she said she'd deny it.

The boy seemed much more upbeat after that, his chest puffed up with pride.

While she was in the kitchen making the mochi, the children were playing outside, and she hummed quietly while preparing the dessert with care. She'd ground the strawberries and sakura petals together into a paste, and then wrapped it in mochigome.

How long had it been since she'd had such a peaceful day like this...?

As if on cue, a piercing shriek filled the air, and she sped out of the kitchen in a heartbeat, ignoring the clatter of whatever she'd knocked to the ground as she rushed into the main room. “Saki, Toma–!”

Saki was trembling, eyes and mouth scrunched shut as she dangled from the back of her dress, a familiarly calloused hand holding it like the scruff of a kitten. Toma warily eyed the man, glaring at the stranger who'd taken his sister captive.

Melanthe had frozen where she stood, fiery crimson and golden hair shining in the sunlight from atop the man's head.

“...Kyojuro?”