Tashi walked out of his room, to see the girl he had picked up yesterday sitting awkardly in his chair. Is that something she does often?
Sensing his presence as he neared, Miko ended her cultivation session.
"Hi," she quickly responded, trying not to sound awkard.
"Hi..." Tashi answered, eyeing her.
"Sorry... its just a habit... there wasn't any space so I -I hope you don't mind." Miko quickly conjured a response. Tashi simply smiled and nodded, leaving Miko unsure if he had bought her explanation. He went straight to the bathroom to get ready, while Miko pondered in the living room. When he was done, he exited the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. His wet, silver hair glistened in the sunlight, his body damp. Miko couldn't help but blush at the sight of his body. Embarrassed, she quickly turned away and covered her eyes.
"Sorry..." They both said at the same time, making both of them embarrassed.
"Sorry... I forgot to take my clothes along... Its not often I have people over this early." Tashi mumbled.
"Its fine..." Miko responded, still not looking up. Tashi quickly headed back into his room to put some clothes on. Heh... She was cute...
Once Tashi put some clothes on, They decided to head out for breakfast. Tashi asked if she wanted to eat at the same place as last night, and Miko agreed, except she wanted to check it out first. When they reached, Miko was surprised her brother wasn't in. Still, she invited Tashi in and sat him down while she went to order. Yasuko still happened to be in today.
"Hi, two breakfast platters please." Miko ordered.
"Right up." Yasuko replied. She ordered two Tanuki at the back to work, while she chatted with Miko.
"Wow, how many people work here?" Miko asked.
"Well, only me, you, Miru, Ryo and these two. They came because y'know, Miru's going to come back probably in a week or longer since he is pretty mad and requested time off. Ryo went to the mountains and wouldn't be back for another week. These two are recent hires since my shop is getting much more busy. There are newer patrons comming in everyday, so I figured I could get more help. They are still kids, and they don't have parents, but this is the best I can do for them." Yasuko explained in detail.
"But, if you don't mind, can you tell me what happened between you and your brother?" Yasuko asked.
"Oh ummm... Lets just say... we have differing ideals on a particular, important topic. He might need along time to cool off." Miko was trying her best to hold tears back. She didn't know if what her brother said was true, but she thought it was for the best if he wanted to get over her future death. Yasuko simply nodded her head and didn't question further. She was still not ready. She simply gave her what she ordered, and Miko went back to sit with Tashi. They sat together and ate their meal, while chatting happily. They hit it off since the start.
Soon after, they finished their meal. Tashi left to be with his friends, while Miko agreed, although she still didn't know what to do. She followed him home that night, hoping to find some answers, but all she got instead was disappointment. Still, she didn't give up, and continued pushing on, trusting her intuition. She needed, desperately, to know what exactly was different about him.
Miko wandered through the streets through the afternoon, wanting to try some of the street delicacies available. However, she lacked human currency to exchange for, and she didn't think spirit stones were going to be accepted. Although such stones have been known by mortals before, that they could extend one's life, they didn't have the guts or experience to find it. Spirit stone nodes are found inside caves and mines in the beast half of the land, and they simply hold crystallised magic. They were forged through different ways, with fire elemental spirit stones in volcanoes, water elementals in underwater caves, lightning stones in the clouds, etc. Most commonly, rock and nature spirit stones were exchanged in the village as they were easier to find there. They are found when random places have nodes, and by coincidence.
Miko didn't have anything to do as she was literally broke. She thus came up with a solution. Taking some small pebbles she found on a deserted alleyway, she used her innate magic to cast an illusion spell on them. However, she had no idea how the currency looked like! Hence, she simply pocketed them to cast magic on later, and cancelled the spell. She headed over to Yatsuko's restaurant, where she requested to see some currency. Knowing full well kitsunes were tricksters and Miko probably had no cash on her, Yatsuko gave her some as payment for helping out for her brother. Now she was satisfied!
She went shopping, buying a few more new clothes. She also wanted to try out some of the recent local specialties, that have changed since she last came. For humans, alot changes in a hundred and twenty years. She went to try some of the most recent specials, such as ramen. It tasted pretty decent actually! More types of noodles have also emerged, other the udon in the past. Now, there were soba noodles, which she also wanted to try.
When lunchtime came, Miko was so full she had to skip it. She decided to just simply stroll around, as she needed to save money. She couldn't possibly be looking for Yasuko everytime she needed cash! She strolled around this time, just taking in the ambience and enjoying the culture. Although some things stayed the same, many have changed. After all, change is the only constant. People constantly adapt to the current, and they had to for their survival. However, most of the culture remained the same. People still got together for tea, and weddings were still a public affair. Ahh! weddings! Miko suddenly remembered this when she saw a bride walking into the groom's house. She headed over to the Inari shrine.
To her dismay, where she thought the shrine was, was no longer there. In fact, what stood in its place was a tall, magnificent mansion. She wanted to head into its gates when suddenly, the guards at the front stopped her.
"Sorry miss. You are prohibited to enter."