My Soul Will Find Yours 81 A Secret Between Us Women

Night fell and so did the temperature. The maids took out three cylindrical open-topped ceramic containers called hibachi, put some glowing charcoals in them, and placed each one in the center of the parlor, bath, and bedroom respectively. As my fingers were numb from the cold, I immediately positioned them near the traditional heating device to warm them. Although watching snow fall for the first time was indeed a sight to behold, the freezing temperature that came with it is something that I will have to work on getting used to.

That night, the ooku's head physician came to examine my wound. I didn't ask for the details but she knew that I hit my head on the floor.

"My lady, your wound is healing fast," she said after disinfecting then applying some salve on it. I heaved a sigh of relief when it didn't sting. "I see no sign of swelling and it appears to be closing up well."

"When can I take a bath?" I asked as soon as she was finished.

"Tonight is fine, but don't stay too long. You may also wash your hair but I suggest doing it tomorrow."

"Thank you," Kaname said before escorting the woman outside. I noticed that they were talking in hushed tones before the shoji slid shut.

~~~

The next day, while Kaname was in the omote, I had a surprise visitor. I just got out of the bath when Ryuko-san told me that Mami was waiting for me in the parlor.

"Good morning, Lady Mami," I gave her a bow before taking the cushion opposite hers.

"How have you been, Lady Hinata?" she asked while warming her hands near the hibachi.

"I'm doing well, thank you for asking," I replied rather cautiously. I couldn't tell what was on her mind because, while her face was not caked with makeup, it was also void of any emotion.

She suddenly giggled, affording me a glimpse of her two dimples. "You don't have to be careful around me anymore, third wife. You have proven your trustworthiness."

"What do you mean?" I asked after replacing my teacup on the low table.

She reached out to take my hand. "Thank you for doing what I couldn't do to Ayaka," she said softly. "Ever since she arrived, she has been a constant thorn to my side."

"Huh?" I tried to pull my hand away but she held it tightly.

"I misjudged you, Lady Hinata. I thought you were like one of those commoners who jumped into the jeweled palanquin after being chosen by the shogun."

"You're tactless, as always," I narrowed my eyes at her. "Tell me, what game are you playing?"

"I'm not playing any games," she let go of my hand to flick an invisible speck of dust on her lap. "Besides, why would I when I've heard so many good things about you from the shogun? He is not someone who is easily fooled, so I trust his judgment."

"Can you get to the point?" I was starting to get impatient. This Rach.e.l.le lookalike was starting to get on my nerves.

"Ayaka is dangerous," she looked at me squarely. "She is a wolf in sheep's clothing. She tried sabotaging my relationship with the shogun before, but unfortunately for her Lord Kaname and I have an agreement."

"I know this already," I said. "Why else do you think did I act the way I did in the osuzu roka?"

"And it was so satisfying to see her being unmasked!" she held her cheeks and closed her eyes, the smile on her lips showed her happiness. "I wish I had the opportunity to hug you right then and there but Kaname-sama has been monopolizing you."

'Eh? So it's Kaname who's monopolizing me now? She doesn't think it's the other way around?' I thought to myself.

She opened her eyes, there was a glimmer of admiration in them. "I also wish I'm as strong as you. Unfortunately, I was too scared and because he didn't believe her lies, I thought I'd just let her get away with it."

"Aren't you both friends?" I asked. "You visited her when she was sick, you even wanted to kick me out of the room, remember?"

"That was my way of protecting you from her," she replied. "She starts her plans with acting innocent and pure, when she thinks you've fallen for her trap, she unleashes her claws."

"Did you really have to resort to such a tactic?" I still did not believe her. "You even slapped me."

Her face reddened, "And for that I deeply apologize." She moved closer to me, grabbed my hand, and slapped her face with it. "There, we're even now."

I gaped at her. She used my hand to slap her face! And it wasn't even a weak slap, the force she used was as strong as the one she gave me before!

"You're insane," was all I could say.

"Lady Hinata," she smiled at me once more, her black teeth and reddening cheek made her look a bit scary. "Take good care of the shogun. I am his official wife but only you can wholeheartedly protect him. Ayaka, while she claims she loves him, is dangerous. He deserves someone who will give him her all and I know that person is you."

"Why can't it be you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"You will find out when the right time comes," she was being cryptic again.

"When will that 'right time' be?"

"Don't worry, you own his heart. No one can take it away," she was obviously avoiding the question. "I'm happy to see that you feel the same way as him. Although I think you need to be extra patient with him as the shogun can be immature sometimes."

I noticed that her words contained no hint of bitterness and jealousy. "Tell me about it," I shook my head helplessly.

"Can you keep a secret?" she giggled again. "Did you know, when he visited me and ignored you completely, he kept on pestering me to a.n.a.lyze your reactions? He wouldn't stop asking me to confirm if you were jealous because he chose to visit me. Ah, that man… I sometimes wish I could smack him for being childish."

"He did?" Okay, I admit I was very curious now. I lowered my guard a bit.

"Yes!" she laughed. "As soon as we entered my room, he'd bombard me with questions! Like, did I see how you reacted, what did your facial expressions mean, was he going overboard? On the fifth day, I've had enough so I told him to be honest and just go to you!"

Mami and I continued to talk until Kaname got back from the omote. After paying her respects to him and giving me a wink, she left.

"What was that wink for?" he asked.

"It's a secret between us women."

"Oh?" he pouted a bit. "It's nice that she finally let go of her prejudices against you and paid you a visit."

"Yeah," I said, noncommittal.

"So what did you talk about?" he tried to act like he didn't care but his eyes betrayed him, they were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with inquisitiveness.

"Girl stuff," I said nonchalantly.

"That's all?" he looked somewhat relieved.

I turned my back to him as my metaphorical horns twisted out and a mischievous smile curled my lips. "We also talked about… You."

"What?" I heard him follow me out of the parlor and into the bedroom. "Oi, Hina, what did you talk about me?"