The car stopped as it arrived in front of a large house surrounded by rice fields.
Hinata got out of the car first and then, when she was about to open the door for Sara, Sara had already gotten out of the car and was waiting for Hinata in front of the gate to the house.
As Hinata opened the gate, she looked at Sara and gave her a small smile, opening the two doors with her hands.
"Welcome home, Sara-chan"
It was just as she remembered. Home was still home, nothing changed. Even the feeling didn't change.
The front gates lead to the front garden of the house. More than 5 people were present there and were taking care of the garden, one was feeding kois.
"Hinata-chan, when did you decide to become a servant to this place?"
"I've been here since I was in elementary school. I was teached many stuff, all about mannerisms and other household chores"
She seems to be happy about it… why can't I...
Suddenly, in the back of her mind a memory about her childhood flew across, and it wasn't shiny and colorful like Hinata's life.
Sara reminded herself all of the bad things that her father did to her siblings and herself. She tried to not think that thing has changed for the better.
She knew that her father wasn't the kindest in the world.
When Sara arrived, the house was in the middle of cleaning. The servants of Mister Fujiwara were asked to clean every corner of the house. But it wasn't for Sara, it was a weekly routine. Every Friday, the house servants would take care of the front and back garden, as well as cleaning the two fields that were used for horse riding and bowing.
"Hm?"
Sara looked at the other house servants. They were wearing different colored kimonos than Hinata.
"Hinata-chan, why are they wearing white kimonos, and you're wearing a gray one?"
"It's a new rule that mister Fujiwara implemented!"
It was like a ranking system.
There are five ranks in the Fujiwara household servant.
The lowest is the red, flower patterned kimonos. They are tasked to do basic chores in the house, such as: sweeping, mopping, and throwing out the trash.
The second lowest is the aquamarine, koi patterned kimonos. There are only ten servants that stayed in this rank. They are the ones who manage the rice fields and letters that are coming in and out.
The third rank is the white, oni patterned kimonos. They usually take care of the food of the house; buying ingredients and cooking them. They would always work together to make the finest dishes for the whole house, even the lower ranks.
Then there's the second rank; the blank gray kimonos. Tasked to assist the Fujiwaras with their travels. These are the ones who usually leave the house the most, traveling far from Aomori to Kagoshima.
The gray kimonos are more skillful than the previous three ranks.
They are able to cook, clean and also manage their time.
And the for the last ra——
"——?!"
Everyone in the garden was shocked by the sound of glass shattering. But Sara wasn't fazed by it.
"What was that?"
Sara asked.
"Uhmm… it seems that someone accidentally broke a vase"
Hm… broke a vase…
Another flashback flew in front of her eyes.
When little Sara had done something wrong or broke something, there would be severe punishment. And of course, the one who will punish her was her father.
"Hinata-chan, can you check?"
"Ah… yes, yes. I can"
Hinata then walked to the opened hallway, running back and forth to check where the sound came from.
And then she turned around the corner, her eyes widened and her pupil shrinking.
On the ground, there were glass shards of a vase that the Fujiwara family bought from Indonesia a long time ago. The one who made it was dead, and it wasn't easily replaceable.
With all of the above, the one who shattered the vase can be severely punished.
And the one who——
"—There she is!"
"Huh?"
Hinata turned around to answer the voice that called her.
"You were the one who broke the vase! You must be punished!"
"B-but… I didn't do anything!"
"Liar!!"
The woman raised her finger, pointing it at Hinata. Her eyes filled with anger.
Hinata's small heart suddenly beat faster. It was natural to be scared and terrified. The one who yelled at her was a azalea patterned kimono, with a white—
"—she didn't do it, calm down"
"Huh?! Who are—"
The woman looked at the hand gripping hers, then her eyes traveled to it's shoulder, and then the—
"—?!"
The woman's heart was suddenly flooded with fear, just like Hinata's heart before.
"I know that you're the one who broke it…"
"N-no… I d—..."
"You purple kimonos sure cause a lot of trouble in this house…"
The other woman, wearing a full black kimono, sighed.
"Now go! Clean it!"
"Y-yes!! Ma'am!"
The purple kimono ran to the closet to find a mop.
.
"Huh…"
Sara saw a woman running across the opened hallway, and it made her confused about the place. Plus, the woman looked scared as she grabbed a broom from a room, Sara thought it was a janitor-like-closet.
And when the woman walked across the opened hallway again, Hinata walked back to Sara, getting her with a small wave.
"I'm sorry that I took too long"
She bowed, apologizing to Sara.
"No, it's fine"
They were between two big buildings. Sara remembered what the building to the right of her was, but the left one was new to her.
As they were walking below a bridge that connects the two buildings, Sara admired the details on the bridge and can imagine how they built it. Just by looking at it, Sara could guess how long it took the builder to build the bridge.
And after that bridge, Sara stopped in front of the front door to the main building that connects the left and right wing. The bridge was built as a bonus.
"—Mister Fujiwara didn't want us to go around to the main and then to the new right wing, so he made a bridge fo us and it's only one way"
The people in the right wing can walk on the bridge to the left wing. But once there, they can't go to the right wing through the bridge, they have to walk to the main building and back to the right wing of the house.
"So this is home now… huh?"
Sara Fujiwara said as he took off her shoes and walked onto the smooth wooden floor.