"Ya lazy dogs! What are ya' lazing out here for? Get back to yer patrol!"
In the main harbor area of Naka city, the capital of the Province of Kiko, there is a gang well-known by the townsfolk.
"T-The Boss is here! Everyone! Line up and welcome her!"
They handle every kind of misdeed and things that ail the common folk. From robbery of high-value goods, selling illegal items at back alleys, kidnapping of children from rich and/or noble families and many more things that not many people in this peaceful state would dare to even think of committing.
"Hyak-!"
"Hmph! Is this all that ya laggards can do?!"
"We're sorry Boss! We won't let this happen again!"
They are the Fubuki-gumi or Snowstorm Mafia. The uncontested organized crime group of Kiko.
The sound of their incoming footsteps sends the townsfolk shrieking at the top of their lungs, mothers would hide their children at the deepest confines of their homes while the men would either wait in front of their stores and homes to give them offerings to spare their families or immediately lock their doors and windows and pray to the heavens to not let the ruffians to break into their homes.
They are the worst of the worst. The Land Guard cannot defeat them. They keep on chasing them but none of their pursuits bore any good fruit. They keep on finding them, but all of them hide perfectly in the shadows and alleys of the cities. They would visit the homes of its known members, but little do they know that even those simple-looking family members are members of the group themselves!
They work in hidden ways… but one name is well-known about this group. Every person in the city knows the name of its leader who made the group as powerful and influential as it is now.
And her name is…
"Misanagi Rinne. That is the name of your new boss."
"Ya got that, chumps?"
After her high-chinned statement, a blonde-haired girl who is her second-in-command, asked before hitting a baton on the floor inches away from the frightened group of kids.
"Y-Yes, boss!"
"Fufu!"
"Haah… this is ridiculous."
The 8-year-old child of the Misanagi clan, the child who is also the Daimyo's political secret weapon, is the leader of the most prominent gang in Naka city.
"Ne-ne! What can you say about this, Kaguya-san?"
"Haah… I am impressed of your leadership ability, Master Rinne…"
"Kuhahaha! As expected from my trusty left-handman! You sure know how to flatter me!"
Before we get further into this insanity, I believe introductions are necessary.
My name is Kurayama Kaguya, born in Aoya village inside the Aoyama Domain. I am 15 years old, and I went to the capital under the patronage of the Daimyo who was asked by my stepmother to take me in as a maidservant in Naka castle.
"Next! Let's go to South Naka! In the 5th district!"
"As you command, Boss!"
"Of course, Kagoya-san* has to give me a basket ride there!"
"I will not do that again! And please, stop using that joke about my name!"
"Eeeehhhh?!"
"Don't "Eh?!" me! I am your chaperone, not your palanquin bearer!"
*(T/N: This is a Japanese phonetic joke. I translated it and here is what it means: Kaguya is written in hiragana as かぐや.In Kanji, Basket is かご in hiragana. Basically, Rinne, who still has a limited knowledge about Kanji, still uses Hiragana and as such, made a mistake by calling "Kaguya" as "Basketya". This is really lame as a joke, but it highlights just how young she is.)
In the end, even when I said that I wouldn't lift her to the where she wants to go next, I still ended up lending her my back as she clung her arms to my neck and rode on my back.
"Nyahaha! They better know that I'm coming for them!"
"They sure should do it, or else, they'll taste a hit from my Zangetsu!"
Meanwhile, the girl with a corn-colored hair and eyes that resemble the open sea, shouted while raising a stick that she uses to scare other kids to obey her boss.
"Haah… You two, Sister Camilla and Lady Chiyo will spank you if you two continue to do this…"
"Isn't that the reason why we always go around with you?"
"Yeah, yeah! When we're with Kaguya-san, we won't be scolded!"
Hearing the two twerps make up that alibi, I can only sigh as we continue our trek to the 5th district where they wanted to go.
"Misanagi-chan! Here, here!"
"Ah! Baa-chan!"
While we were walking, an old lady saw us and bid us to come closer. Rinne seem to know her, so I walked towards her before lowering Rinne down.
"Are you going around to inspect your gang members again?"
"Yup! The boss needs to see her men or they'll stray away from our principles and agendas!"
"And I'll help Rinne-sama as her right-hand man!"
"Ohh? Ohohoho! You two sure are diligent with your work. Wait up, let me give you some treats…"
""Treats?!""
As the two kids shouted in surprise, the old lady went inside and took out two small bags of bite-sized cookies.
"Cookies!"
"They're like the ones before!"
"Ohohoho! I see that you are pleased with my offering."
"I sure do! Keep up the work, old lady!"
"-!"
I almost jumped up in nervousness when the brat suddenly talked informally to her, but she didn't seem to have taken offense in it and simply laughed heartily.
"Ohoho! Everything for our great Fubuki-gumi boss."
"Mm! Now, let's continue to our base! Yukari! Lead the march!"
"Roger that!"
As the two began to walk away, I turned to the old lady and bowed to apologize for what the brat did earlier.
"Umm… Sorry about her words. She's too much of a kid to even sense proper attitude when talking."
"Oh, no, no… You don't have to worry about that, child. It's not like I am a stranger to how naïve children can be when they're at that age."
"Still…"
"Anyways, the daimyo would prbably let her do this anyway…"
Hearing her statement, I asked her about what she may mean.
"It's already obvious to anyone who has at least a sliver of knowledge about politics… Rinne-chan is the only blood-related child of the Misanagi clan. She will be instrumental to the stability of Lord Iwasawa's power. The fact that she lives in Naka castle is something that signifies such a position…"
"I… see."
"But Lord Iwasawa sure won't deny her the right to be a child… to have a childhood that she can reminiscence once it has passed… I believe such a thing is something that Iwasawa-sama would encourage her to have… And because of that, I want to be a part of her childhood, even as just a kind, random old lady that gives her treats sometimes."
After hearing her reply, I noticed that the house behind her was small. Small enough that only one person can actually live comfortably in it.
This made it clear to me. The old lady is living alone and her interactions with Rinne gives her happiness…
"Thank you for treating Young Lady Misanagi well."
"My, my… Thank you too, child."
After giving her a grateful bow, I followed the two as we approached the farmlands of Southern Naka's 5th district.
"Uwaaahhh!!!"
"Come on! Get your grip together!"
Only a few steps away from the small dirt mound that they call as their "gang's base", we heard the crying of a child along with another kid who is calming the other one.
"Boss!"
"What happened here, local captain?"
Another young child, probably a bit younger than Rinne, ran towards us and bowed in front of her. She asked him what was wrong and the reply was something that was overly dramatized again.
"We lost to them! We lost to those bullies again!"
"Kuh! Them again! Ptoo! Ah! Urrggggh…."
Yukari, trying to act like the loud and rowdy sailors that she idolized for their tough attitudes, spoke and spat out her drool. But rather than spitting it away, it hit her foot.
"Haah… please stop doing that…"
"Nnnnnrg…"
I spoke and took out a flask of water to wash her foot while she is grumbling.
"Those guys again, huh?"
"We lost Mi-chan and Ka-chan! Even Kota-kun was swept back to their house! Why are they always attacking us?!"
Rinne looked worried about how the "loss" of their "men". But she breathed out and spoke loudly.
"You don't have to worry! You don't have to cry! Are you forgetting who we are? We are the Fubuki-gumi! We won't let ourselves beat without a fight!"
"Yeah! What if they beat us now? We'll beat them back more later! So, wipe your tears and stand up! We will go and save our men!"
"URAAA!!!"
If only… if only those words were spoken by grown-ups with the right context, this would be an epic rallying call. But because it was done by children, it can only mean one thing…
"As always, we'll be depending on your distraction, Kaguya-san!"
"Haah… as you wish, Young Lady-"
"Oi! I am your boss right now! Drop the young lady thing!"
"Alright, alright… As you wish, Boss."
They'll be sneaking their playmates out of their homes. And because I am forced to obey her shenanigans, I have to distract the parents of their grounded playmates.
"Excuse me, is someone there?"
"Coming…"
As the door opened, an adult lady wearing an apron and a simple yukata usually worn by farming families, welcomed me. Behind her is a boy who recognized my face and immediately looked at the window where Rinne and her cronies are waiting.
"E-Excuse me, I am Kurayama Kaguya from Naka castle."
"Oh! A maidservant from the castle? Please come in, I'll prepare some refreshments for you."
"Ah, no, no… I just want to ask a few questions in lieu of the Agrarian Ministry office."
"Ah! I see… I forgot to count the days, it's already near the monthly inventory for our land…"
"Y-yes… It sure is getting near."
I spoke while looking past her where Rinne and some kids are prying a window open to let him out.
"Umm… My husband is currently away and working in the fields, but I think he kept our planting and harvest ledger updated… Let me get it for a moment-"
"W-Wait! I have a question before that!"
I hurriedly interjected before she can turn around and see her son stepping out of the house.
"I want to ask if you've already received your monthly supply of fertilizers from the Ministry. I remember that the clerk responsible for this area lost his records, so they are also asking me to clear that up."
"Ah, yes. We did receive our fertilizers. Our harvest went great because of it."
"I see, I see."
As I saw them successfully sneaking their playmate out, I agreed to her reply, and she turned around to get their ledger from a shelf.
"This is our record."
I received the booklet and looked at it. Inside of it was a complete and detailed list of both planted and harvested produce from their land. It even has the weights and number of baskets that they harvested from the early spring harvest of winter vegetables.
"I have copied it now. Thank you for your service to Kiko's people through our food needs."
"Oh my, no need to be so formal, miss. If anything, we owe all of this prosperity from Lord Iwasawa. If not for his agricultural reforms and irrigation and fertilization programs, we wouldn't be able to do anything like this."
"Well, that's true…"
As I bowed to bid my goodbye and left the scene, I can hear the woman that I was just talking to earlier going around the house and calling for her son's name.
"Now I know why the 5th district's Land Guard Station always has Kidnapping cases… It's just parents ditched by their kids to play outside without their permission."
After I got back to their dirt mound "base", I saw them happily laughing with each other while eating the cookies that Rinne received earlier.
"Nyahaha!!! Mission success! Thanks a lot, Kaguya-san!"
"…"
"Nguwaaa! Why are you pinching my cheeks?!"
"You brat. I am getting eaten by my conscience right here and all you'll do is thank me?"
"Uwaaah!!! Let go of me! I'm your boss! This is not how you treat your boss!"
As she continued to complain and struggle, I let go of her and sat at a nearby stool to clear my mind.
"Mm! These cookies are great!"
"Ah! I'm so happy to be out of home!"
"Of course, the Fubuki-gumi shouldn't be separated!"
Thinking back about the words of the old lady earlier… childhood… what kind of childhood did I have before all of this happened?
My mother died when I was still young due to a famine. My father, not wanting me to grow up without a motherly figure, married a woman who would later become my stepmother and lone guardian after his untimely death due to a spreading disease in our village.
Because both of my parents are no longer alive, I became distanced from the world. I still had my stepmother and my young stepsister, but because I cannot feel the same amount of connection to them as I did to my deceased parents, I ended up studying martial arts at a local master's school and became renown for my fighting style that catches most of my opponents off-guard since they usually don't expect a girl like me to wipe the floor with their beaten asses.
I had the opportunity of receiving the guidance of Lady Aoyama Chiyo about being someone who can protect their self while preserving their ladylike qualities. She told me that "Ladylike qualities are usually honed at the confines of a home. A good woman is a good housemaker where she can show off her talent and sense of responsibility by keeping the place entrusted to her in good shape." Hearing that, I decided to work as a waitress in my stepmother's restaurant for a short while before she told me that the Daimyo is inviting me to work at the capital as maidservant.
Knowing that Lady Chiyo is also there, I accepted the invitation and went to work in the castle, learning all kinds of jobs and chores that a woman must know well about….
Childhood… indeed, did I even have anything like that at all?
I can't remember anything about playing with other kids. I don't have any memory of playing pretend or escaping from home to play with other kids…
"Kaguya-san?"
Yeah… I think I don't have any childhood to speak of.
"Mm! You're spacing out again!"
As I snapped out of my trance, Rinne placed a cookie on my mouth.
"W-what?"
I asked as I bit it and held the remaining part of the cookie.
"We're moving! This base is now secure!"
"…Okay, Young-"
"Muu! I said call me boss!"
This brat… she's beginning to annoy me big time…
"Okay boss, hop on in."
"Yay!"
As I lifted her up on my back and we walked away, we passed by the house of the farmer lady earlier where she is crying while two Land Guards are talking to her.
"Ma'am, this is the 4th time that you reported your son missing this week. You should already know that they must be playing around somewhere."
"Yeah. They're kids after all."
"I know that! But every time I stop him from escaping, he just keeps on going out one way or another!"
The two Land Guards sighed with the request that they can already sense behind her words.
"Alright, alright… we'll catch them and bring them home."
"Kid duty again… this is worse than the firemen that reach for kites caught in the powerlines."
"I know…"
As we went further, I prayed silently, wishing that my conscience will let go of me just this once for my part in the act earlier.
By the time we got to the city proper, Rinne went down from my back as her cronies gathered around to walk at the streets.
"Rinne-chan!"
"Boss!"
"Here are our offerings!"
Some homes and stores forked over some snacks and drinks which they took and thanked for with high-chinned tones and choice of words. But even with that slight misbehavior, the adults didn't seem to have minded it at all and just laughed it off.
"I am beginning to suspect that the Fubuki-gumi won't be stopping because of these offerings that you guys give."
"Bah. Don't sweat the small stuff. We're just giving them what we can give them. They are kids, why would we stop their fun?"
These are the usual replies spoken by the people whenever I complain about following the kids in their childish gangster-pretend game.
"Nyahaha! I think we have to start our next agendas now!"
"That's right, Boss! We have to make up some new stuff to entertain our guys!"
At an abandoned house that they set-up as their "main base", the kids began to talk to each other about other stuff to do.
"How about we steal some of the food from that store? We'll surely have our bellies full every time we want to!"
Translating this from their childish brains, what he meant is lining up in a store to get some rice porridge. The only thing is, that store gives out rice porridge for free as a charity project for the poor or hungry so there is nothing really wrong about it.
"Nah. Let's pull some of our contacts and exchange our goods with them. Some of the people here aren't giving us any of the good stuff so we have to rely on illegal sources."
This might sound like a drug trade, but what they meant is exchanging candies with the children whose families run candy shops for some random item. I oversaw one myself when I was trailing Rinne and she exchanged a shiny stone she got from a river for a few toffee rolls.
"You guys are too self-centered with your plans! We have to think of the good of the group. We should invite more members and take them from their homes so they can enjoy their freedom."
This is the one that bothers me a bit. Since they sneak their playmates without the knowledge of their parents, they might slip up hard next time and end up being scolded for a kidnapping case of a noble's kid.
"No."
"Eh?"
"We shouldn't plan too much yet. It is still too early in the season for us to do some big thing."
"But boss, we might end up acting up too late."
"Calm down. I know what I am doing. Are you doubting my knowledge?"
"N-No… I don't."
Rinne sighed and looked around the place, looking at the faces of each of her members.
"I made the Fubuki-gumi to make everyone happy. We might be the feared gangsters of Kiko, but we can't forget about enjoyment just to expand our power!"
As she said those words, I remembered someone that had almost the same vision as a leader.
"Hiro-nii taught me that as a boss, you have to make everyone happy even if you have to delay your wants. Is that clear?"
"""Yes, boss!"""
I knew it… she is acting like Lord Iwasawa.
As evening fell, everyone went back to their homes. Some seem to be worried about being scolded while some are just calm as they probably have a secret way into their homes.
"Yukari-chan. Let me bring you to the chapel."
"Mm. Thanks a lot, Kaguya-san!"
While Rinne is sleeping on my arms, exhausted with our trip today, I joined Yukari back to the chapel where she is living at.
"Yukari! Why are you late again?!"
"Ahh… playtime was too fun… Ehehe…"
"Don't giggle like that you brat! If I am not a nun, I would've spoken a lot of nasty things right now!"
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!"
As Sister Camilla pulled her ear and brought her in to scold her, I excused myself as I brought the sleeping child back to the castle.
"Mm… Muu… haaaa…."
"Rinne, are you awake?"
"Ah. I'm awake…. Is dinner done?"
"Dinner? It's already morning. Why are you asking about dinner?"
"Eeeekkkk!!!"
"Tell me, did you come home late again~?"
With a sweet yet threatening voice, Chiyo-san made the kid's hair stand on its ends as she knew what would come next.
"W-w-wait! C-Chiyo-nee! This is-"
"A misunderstanding? What kind of excuse are you going to make up again today?"
"Eeeekkk! N-Nothing!"
"If you know what you did and you want me to scold you less, go down to the dining room to eat your breakfast and head straight to the study room. You'll spend the whole day practicing your calligraphy and reading Chinese classics, alright?"
"Y-Y-Yes! I-I'll go now!"
As she scurried away from the room, Chiyo-san turned around to look at me who was just as guilty as the brat.
"Are you also scared of me, Kaguya-chan?"
"I… Yes, I'm sorry, Lady Chiyo."
I am older. I have enough sense to know that it would be pointless to make up reasons when asked about my misdeeds.
"…Don't be."
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Lady Chiyo's scary aura was gone, and her expression turned to a placid smile.
"I know how hard it is to resist Rinne's cuteness and annoying demands so I can't really blame you for bending to her wants."
"Thank you for understanding."
Chiyo-san looked out of the window and spoke.
"Iwasawa-sama sure keeps everyone he loves near to him, huh?"
"Yes. Near enough that he begins to influence them with his ideals and attitude."
"…"
"Do you miss him, Chiyo-san?"
As I said that, Lady Chiyo turned around to hug me which I gave back with both arms. Only a while after, she began sobbing and I tried to comfort her.
"As a lady… longing for the man she loves is one of the greatest joys and pains… Didn't you say those words to me when Iwasawa-sama left for his trip?"
"Mm… I sure did."
"…He will surely come back. Iwasawa-sama isn't one to forget about his promises."
"I know… Hik! I know that…"
Being a refined and grown lady… but having no childhood to reflect to… Wanting to be like her but unable to be like her due to my inadequacies… For me, that is the pain that I have.
I can't become like Lady Chiyo. So, I at least want to become more like Lady Chiyo.
"Mm… Muu…"
"Young lady… your calligraphy is getting messy."
"Muu! Stop pointing that out. My hand is just too shaky because of this heavy brush!"
"Young lady, your voice is getting too loud, and your words lack refinement."
"Aaaaargh!"
You have to pardon me, Rinne. I want to get back at you for everything you made me do yesterday.
"…"
I may not like the fact that I get ordered around and do all kinds of awkward stuff…
"Boss!"
"Huh?"
But I don't hate it.
"You guys, what are you doing here in the castle's window?"
"We're here to bust you out, boss. We heard that you were being kept here."
"Is that so? But how did you get in?"
"Your left-hand man let us in from an escape tunnel."
Hearing that, she turned around and looked at me with wonder.
"Do you want to go around the city again, boss?"
"Haha… Nyahahahaha!!!"
I didn't have a childhood, but it doesn't mean that I cannot have one.
"Let's get this started! Fubuki-gumi! Let's go all around the town!"
"Yay!!!"
"Kaguya-san!"
"Yup!"
I knelt down and made her cling on my back as I lifted her out of the window.
"We have to save my right-hand man. Everyone! Let's go to the weird stone house with weird windows!"
"The princess isn't here!"
"She escaped again!"
As the guards were alerted of our disappearance, the bells rang and Rinne directed us out of the place.
"Everyone! Run to the tunnel!"
"Don't get caught!"
This act of irresponsibility and sense of responsibility are conflicts in my life. But if I am to decide…
"Hey! Get back here, you brats!"
"Stop!"
It's not too late for anyone to experience being a child and be happy in their life.
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