Flower Spelling - Chapter 30.2
Chapter 30 – Shido’s Return of Gratitude Part 2
At Matsuya, the place where the men left, they set a rod on the lattice door and pulled down the shutters as a precaution.
Matsuya is constructed in the traditional machiya style, which is long and narrow. The store floor, the tatami room, the rear room, and the backyard were all located on the earthen floor that ran straight from the hidden door, and there were two tatami rooms on the first level, one in the front and the other in the back.
While they sat around the brazier in the tatami room distracting themselves with idle chatter, the iron kettle on top began to clink. Her mother, Osetsu, left her seat and Onatsu took some sweet confectionaries from the shelf.
“Don’t worry, Onatsu.”
Sogetsu noticed that Onatsu’s hands were quivering as she tried to divide it, so she gently grabbed the knife from her hands.
“Mr. Takasugi and Mr. Shido will handle it well. Even though they may look like that, they are fully licensed in swordsmanship. Although the usual sloppiness makes them appear otherwise.”
Onatsu finally smiled when she said something funny. In spite of her composed behavior, she was still apprehensive.
“Then, Onatsu, would you please fill the plates with this? I’m going to go and check on Ms. Osetsu.”
Leaving the cut-up sweet bean jelly to Onatsu, she headed off.
“Ms. Osetsu?… Ugh, it’s cold.”
Down on the dirt floor, a chill instantly crept up her legs. Perhaps it’s the fact that she was in a lit room before, but the dimness took its toll on her eyes. She accidentally bumped her foot on the hearth, wincing.
“Dangerous… Ms. Osetsu, are you safe without a light?… Ms. Osetsu?”
No reply.
As she arched an eyebrow, wondering what was wrong, a low, suppressed laugh caused Sogetsu to freeze in place and her movements ceased.
From the darkness, a figure gradually emerged. Gorozo, Isuke and??
“??Ms. Osetsu!”
Unfortunately for Osetsu, Ukichi’s thick arm was clutching her by the throat.
“Whoa, don’t move. Unless you want this woman to get hurt.”
“D-Didn’t you guys go with Takasugi and the others to…? What happened to them? Besides, how did you get in here?”
“Heh, heh. Those stupid samurai would be cowering under the cliffs by now. For us, the mountains around here are like a garden. Now, if you don’t want this old woman to be harmed, you’d better let the girl out!”
“Mother!”
Onatsu rushed to the scene, as if she had sensed a sign of impending danger.
“Onatsu, stay back!… You guys want money, don’t you? Then I’ll give it to you. So let go of Ms. Osetsu.”
Sogetsu drew out a small pale peach-colored lump from a drawstring in her pocket. Shining in the light leaking from the tatami room, it glistened.
“This is peach coral, one of the finest corals in the world. It will fetch a substantial sum when sold. I’ll give you this in exchange for Ms. Osetsu.”
“Unbelievable. How can a servant possess such a valuable thing?”
“My superior entrusted it to me in case of emergency. My master is such a fool that he spends all his money on drinking and gambling. So, what do you think? Let’s not dawdle, or my masters will be back here climbing over the cliff.”
“… Understood.” Gorozo nodded. “Hand it over to me.”
Sogetsu approached slowly, feigning to hand over the coral, and promptly flung it high into the air.
“Ah!”
Their attention was diverted to the coral.
Not letting the opportunity slip by, Sogetsu caught Osetsu’s hand, fleeing in a flash.
“… This, this is merely an ordinary stone!”
A beat later, an enraged Gorozo charged at her, growling like a beast.
??But.
“Gah!”
Gorozo was the one who screamed.
Onatsu splashed him with hot water from a boiling iron kettle. Most of it missed its mark and landed on the stones in the dirt floor, but it was sufficient to dampen Gorozo’s momentum.
“Onatsu, nice! Now while we can!”
Rushing up the stairs between the shops, they erected a stile against the wall in the upper floor room. Ugichi, who had burst into the room, crashed head-first into the partition and rolled down the stairs with his companion, Isuke, in his wake. Onatsu swung her broom through a gap created by the railing at Gorozo, who was trying to climb over the two crushed men.
“Just give up and return! I am no longer afraid of you guys!”
Osetsu was not to be outdone. Together with Sogetsu, they pushed back the impulse with all their might.
“Onatsu is right. No matter how much you threaten me, I’m not going to let you take away Onatsu! And you, if you don’t cool that burn down soon, it’ll blister!”
“Shut up! After all this ridicule, I won’t just leave quietly!”
“Why are you speaking like a woman at this time? You must have boiled your brain with all that hot water!”
“What a nuisance! Hey, Ukichi, Isuke! How long are you two drifting off? Hurry up and help me.”
The impulse gradually began to tilt, as the three men overpowered them.
“Mr. Sogetsu, we can’t go on like this!”
As if to reinforce this, more and more pounding could be heard.
They still have more comrades!?
Just when all seemed hopeless.
“Onatsu, Osetsu! ??Sogetsu! Are all three of you safe?”
“??Mr. Takasugi!”
It was the voice she had been anticipating.
Sogetsu lifted her voice to be heard outside.
“On the second floor! Come quickly! I can’t hold on much longer!”
“Right, hang in there! I’ll be right there!”
But sooner than that, the barricade was finally breached by force. Gorozo and the others pursued Sogetsu and her group as they retreated into an adjoining six-tatami room.
“Yeah, stay back, you bastard!”
Throwing whatever they could find at them, they fought back, but were eventually cornered against the wall.
Mr. Takasugi, are you still not here…?
Through the open shoji window, a glimpse of the downstairs can be caught. The high stairwell was crossed by thick exposed beams and the hard stone paving of the earthen floor was visible far below.
“Mr. Sogetsu, behind you!”
At the sharp voice, her body reacted unconsciously. She flew sideways and dodged, but Gorozo’s hand snatched her right in the side. Gorozo’s body sliced through the air and his momentum sent him crashing into an open shoji window??
“??Wah!”
He was launched over the window ledge and into the stairwell, upside down ?? or so it seemed.
That body came to a halt in mid-air.
Sogetsu swiftly reached out and grasped the hem of Gorozo’s kimono.
Gosh…!
The weight of his body was so intense that she was immediately yanked down and struck her stomach on the window ledge. She was nearly tossed through the air, when somebody caught her by the waist and pulled her back.
It’s Ukichi.
“Gorozo, are you alright?… Hey, you, even if you die, don’t let go of him!”
“Don’t be absurd!”
Far below Gorozo’s swaying body lies a solid stone floor. If he fell, injury was inevitable. One wrong blow and he could be dead.
“I-I am falling! Help me!”
“Stupid, don’t move! You’re making me slippery!”
Her arms were already straining under the weight, trembling.
“Gorozo, hold on to this!”
From the side, Isuke offered Gorozo the handle of a broom. However, from his upside-down position, he was unable to reach for it.
“Onatsu, bring all the cushions you can find from the tatami room! I’ll get the futon!”
“I got it!”
“Hey, you guys, what are you…”
“You are called Isuke? Don’t just stand there, help out! Do you want your friend to get hurt?”
“…!”
Onatsu and Isuke rushed down the stairs, with Osetsu in the lead. Onatsu, carrying a large number of cushions in both hands, was laying them out on the earthen floor.
With a slipping motion, Gorozo’s kimono was swept away from Sogetsu’s hands.
“Ah!”
Whose scream was that? Gorozo’s body, unsupported, fell upside down. At the bottom, he spotted Onatsu stiffening by the cushions, looking upwards.
“??Onatsu!”
Overlapping with Osechi’s shriek was the sound of a doorplate breaking. Takasugi and Shido burst into the shop.
Then??
N-No way…
A sensation of floating softly.
“??Sogetsu!”
The last thing she heard was Takasugi’s impatient voice, and Sogetsu’s vision darkened.
?
For a moment she seemed to have fainted.
She was clueless about what position her body was in, but she couldn’t move as freely as she like. Sogetsu’s hands, flailing blindly in agitation, caught something with a clench. Simultaneously, a moaning sound came from beneath.
“… Mr. Takasugi?”
She stopped struggling and peered down to see Takasugi and Gorozo stretched out on the cushion, overlapping each other. Takasugi had apparently caught the falling Sogetsu.
“Woah, I’m sorry!”
Finally grasping the situation, she hurriedly leaped up from the top of Takasugi, though struggling. Searching for Onatsu, she located her a short distance away from Shido. Perhaps Shido saved her. She was pale but unhurt.
Osetsu ran to her and hugged her child strongly.
Ukichi and Isuke wept and rejoiced for Gorozo’s safety, thus drawing the curtain on the whole uproar.
?
“I don’t know how to thank you for all your help. I wish I could offer some sort of thoughtful appreciation, but this is all I can do…”
Onatsu and Osetsu came to see them off at the exit of the inn and gave them dumplings to take home as a thank you.
“No, food is the best souvenir. Besides, I was only returning the favor that Onatsu had done me before. I believe they’ve learned their lesson and won’t misbehave again.”
Having been saved by the person he had wronged, Gorozo seemed to feel a great deal of remorse and, together with Ukichi and Isuke, he clasped his hands in apology. He then tore up the document in front of their eyes and offered to fix the broken doorway himself.
“Both of you, goodbye.”
“Have a safe journey.”
The mother and daughter watched the three departing figures all the way until they were too small to be seen.
“Good grief, that was a hell of a detour.”
Takasugi thrust his arms high in the air, stretching out as far as he could and turning his shoulders around.
“We’re kind of like Yaji and Kita, aren’t we?”
“Indeed. Things never stop happening with you around.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m a plague, Mr. Shido. For the record, most of the trouble isn’t caused by me, it’s caused by the two of you.”
“Well, there’s always trouble on the road. It’s more fun when there’s a bit of excitement.”
“… For me, it’s better to arrive in peace and quiet. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if I had to do all this standing around.”
“Speaking of it, how’s your leg, Sogetsu? Can you walk?”
“Yes. I’ve had half a day of relaxation so I’m fine… Oh, that’s right!”
Sogetsu halted unexpectedly, drawing the attention of Takasugi and Shido, who turned to check what was going on.
“I must go to Fujieda and try the ‘hotogisu’ pickles!”
“… You still remember this?” Takasugi shook his head in disbelief. “Your appetite for food will never wane.”
Shido walked away immediately as if he hadn’t heard it.
“What? What’s with that reaction? Wait a minute!”
With noisy voices behind.
Takasugi thought it will be best not to mention that ‘houtogisu’ is a pickled cucumber covered in hot pepper and wrapped in shiso, and tasted so hot that it could pierce the brain.
I can’t wait to see your reaction when you eat it unwittingly.