After waving until Arlecchino disappeared, Kenshin sighed and turned back.
During these past months, the Shuumatsuban had marked a lot of places so he could move alone even if it was difficult, so Kenshin travelled to the Tenshukaku.
Someone owed him a promise, and he was going to collect it.
After an hour of walking, he finally arrived. The Tenshukaku was obviously not marked with the ink he could see, but he had entered hundreds of times by now, he knew how to enter the meeting room alone.
It also helped that he could see Ei's soul, even when the puppet was in control.
"My lady, I came to collect what I'm owed. If you have no money, your body will do" he said in a dramatically evil voice while rubbing his hands.
"How is my body worth any money?" asked Ei in her perpetual calm voice.
"Hahhh, I have no energy to explain the birds and bees to you now, no matter how amusing it would be" Kenshin tiredly said while holding onto the wall, the long walk had taken a lot out of him. "We need to go or the party will end by the time we are there".
Ei nodded and approached Kenshin. She put her hand on Kenshin's shoulder as she had done almost a year ago, and they left for the Shrine in silence, at least until Ei spoke.
"Kenshin, about the foo-".
"That can wait until tomorrow" Kenshin interrupted her. "Nobody will be hungry tonight, and we will see each other tomorrow. Tonight is a festival, so enjoy the dance".
"Neither of us know how to dance" Ei reminded him, deciding to let other matters rest. Surely Kenshin was also tired, and he needed to unwind, at least for today.
"You don't know, I learned an hour ago" Kenshin said with a smile remembering the dance with that extremely charming soul.
Ei looked at him for a while and finally nodded.
"I see".
"I don't"
They arrived at the Shrine, but when Ei tried to go to the stairs, Kenshin shook her head and took her to the back of the Shrine, where a camouflaged hatch could be seen.
They opened it, and after entering they saw a ladder that took them directly to the warehouse.
After a few orders to the Shuumatsuban members nearby, Kenshin stealthily took Ei to Yae's room without anyone noticing.
"Well, this is a face I didn't expect to be here" said Yae curiously looking at Ei. "I wanted to punish you for starting a party on my Shrine without telling me. For now, I want to know how did were you able to drag my stubborn friend out of her cold and lonely castle, maybe I can copy your method".
"I fooled her into participating in a stupid duel with me, one that I won and got the promise to have a dance out of her. Now she has to abide by the promise" Kenshin summarized the current situation as well as he could, making Yae look at Ei with a mocking smile, and Ei looked at the floor in a rare show of embarrassment.
"So now you will have a dance with my dear friend who only came to visit because someone fooled her" Yae said with hidden barbs in her words. "Go on then, as neither of you knows how to dance, I will be having fun watching" she said and a chair appeared out of thin air. She sat and looked at Ei and Kenshin with an expectant smile.
"I know how to dance I learned an hour ago" countered Kenshin with a smug smile and approaching her.
"That little girl..." Yae gritted her teeth, shocking Ei with that expression of anger. The Miko she knew was always pranking people and playing around happily, when did she start making these frustrated faces?
"Wake up woman" said Kenshin flicking Yae on the forehead, making her frown at him. "You will be the one to have the dance, but I'm sure you don't know. You know a lot of those ritual dances, but dancing with someone is different, praise your sempai. But unlike you, jealous woman I won't stand here to watch, you 2 may need some time alone after all".
"Kenshin..." Yae looked at him with a stunned gaze, one Ei was mirroring.
"Even if she is bashful and wants to refuse, she promised to dance, so dance she shall. I gave you my authority to make full use of the promise and force this stubborn woman to dance. That's all!" he closed the door leaving the 2 friends to dance and talk.
"Well, Ei, shall we?" Yae said with a smirk.
"Miko..." Ei has a rare exasperated expression.
"Miko nothing, as Kenshin said-"
"Of course!" Kenshin appeared at the door again, scaring both women with his unexpected shout. "If you want to kiss, have sex or anything in between you are free. The Shuumatsuban will make sure no one is at hearing range, so nobody will know" 'Except me', was left unsaid, and Kenshin closed the door again.
"This kid...." Yae gritted her teeth again, remembering that book Kenshin had spread all over the world.
"Miko, ignore him" Ei said shaking her head, she was already used to him, and the best thing you could do was to ignore him.
"Indeed, now you are going to give me the dance you owe him, I can't let him take advantage of my dear friend after all" Yae said with a suggestive smirk.
"He will be ashes before he could think of that" replied Ei calmly before approaching Yae and putting her hand on her slim waist.
'I wouldn't be so sure about that' thought Yae worriedly.
Kenshin had improved by leaps and bounds, and while she knew that Ei would win a hundred out of a hundred times, Kenshin's and Ei's situation was too unpredictable.
Yae considered that Kenshin had complete mastery over souls, the lesson HE was now teaching HER proved it, and Ei was basically an extremely powerful soul that resided in a puppet's body.
This clash between Kenshin's control over souls and Ei's unmatched might, but still being merely a soul makes her unable to predict the outcome.
She had no doubt Ei would win in the end, but maybe a few surprises appeared here and there.
"Miko?" hearing Ei's inquisitive voice, Yae shook those thoughts out of her head and wore a gallant smile on her face.
"Now lady, let me show you the wonders of-"
"Are you fucking yet?"
"Kenshin! Fuck off!"
"That language. Tsk tsk, I didn't teach you to be that way" but he obediently retreated, now for good.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yoimiya!!"
"Kenshin!!"
"How are you my little sunshine?!"
"Good, thank you!"
"Are you having fun?" Kenshin asked while messing up Yoimiya's hair, making her look at him with a pout.
"Don't do that! Do you know how much time it took me to-"
"Okay okay. I want to ask about the fireworks, there is a certain pink-haired lady who could use them" Kenshin said to the little girl while looking at the location Yae and Ei were in, and felt disappointed that they weren't 'getting busy'.
It's not like he thought they were lovers, he knew they considered each other only friends, but he liked messing with them.
And obviously, it would make one fine spectacle for him to watch. He would prefer to get some action himself, but alas, the woman population in this world wouldn't look at a blind guy as a potential lover. And he recognized he had been too annoying over the years, so now he was reaping what he had been sowing since the moment he was known as the 'Slapping Baby'.
Thought the guy who now had a 'wife' without him knowing.
"Yes, the fireworks are ready, but they were our last ones..." Yoimiya felt depondent at that.
"Yoimiya! Today is the festival, why are you feeling sad? If you are like this the fireworks will get wasted, maybe I should confiscate them" Kenshin said with a frown, and walked towards the launchers.
"No! Please, it was my bad!" Yoimiya grabbed Kenshin's waist, trying to hinder him.
"Then show me your biggest smile!"
"Okay!"
"Do you call that your biggest smile? Show me your real smile!"
"O-okay!"
"No, no, no. What a disgraceful smile. Let me help you"
"Phenshin, it hudts!"
"Well, it will be enough with that last one. Now go to make those fireworks mesmerize everyone here"
"Okay!" and Yoimiya left with an excited smile.
"You will make a fine parent" said Miyuki, who appeared out of thin air, like always.
"I will need to get laid first. Are you offering?" asked Kenshin with a raised eyebrow. "Okay okay, even without my ability and being blind I would have been able to sense that disgust and nausea".
"Don't joke about those things, the takoyaki I ate before tried to breathe again".
"Look at you, maki-"
"Kenshin, are you still going to do it?" asked a serious Miyuki.
"Yes" Kenshin sighed. "Now leave me alone with the fireworks, you are always spoiling the mood".
A sudden explosion in the air interrupted their conversation. The firework exploded and a pink flower bloomed into the sky.
A lot more explosions followed, and the previously dark sky was painted in a myriad of colors that intertwined with each other, making some abstract paintings whose interpretations were left to the people watching them.
Kenshin saw Yae and Ei stop dancing and looked at the fireworks in the sky.
Yae was feeling grateful and excited, while Ei was sad and nostalgic.
After a while, the fireworks finally stopped, and everything went silent for a few moments.
The silence was broken when the crowd started clapping and cheering, making Kenshin feel like he had returned to his childhood, when his only preoccupation was about how to win against the evil pink woman, and everyone was happy.
"Kenshin, how did it go?!" Yoimiya came back running, and Kenshin looked tenderly at her.
"It was the best, everyone was looking at all those fireworks with a fascinated gaze. Even I had to hold my tears back" Kenshin said while rubbing her hair, but she didn't mind this time. "Now go with your father, he probably wants to spend the rest of the night with you".
'I would have loved to see those fireworks' he sadly thought.
"Will you be okay?" Yoimiya asked a bit unsure.
"Of course!" Kenshin replied while patting his chest. "But I would feel even better if you gave me a hug!"
Yoimiya quickly hugged him without hesitation. Even if she didn't understand a lot of adult things, she heard people say that they could only eat thanks to Kenshin, and she often saw his exhausted face after exiting the Tenshukaku. Despite all of the problems he was facing, Kenshin still took the time to visit her house once a week to ask about their needs.
And now, he granted her the chance to see the fireworks she loved so much.
"I said a hug, I don't want a pat on my back!"
"Like this?!"
"Give it your all!!"
"Unngg!"
"Still not enough!. Like this!"
"Ughh, Kenshin, I-I can't breathe"
"Well, it will have to be enough. Now go to your father"
"Okay!" and Yoimiya left, a bright smile on her face.
Seeing that Yae and Ei finished and that people weren't going to leave the Shrine soon, Kenshin went to Yae's room.
"Hello hello, how did it go?" he asked with a mischievous expression.
"Disappointed you didn't see anything?" asked back Yae with a teasing smile.
"Please, I never stopped watching, the cowards here are you 2. But yes, I am disappointed, I thought I could get more material for my 4th volume"
"Kenshin....." Yae gritted her teeth, again, remembering those aberrations. When was the 3rd one written?
"I will leave now" said Ei while standing up, making Yae's ears drop, but her face didn't change.
"I will send you off" Yae said, and Kenshin nodded, deciding to wait in Yae's room.
After half an hour, Yae came back with a bright smile, but Kenshin saw how devastated she was. Yae was smarter than anyone on this island, and she understood the best how fucked up they were, and despite that Ei wasn't planning on taking back the Decrees.
Inazuma was dying.
"My fair maiden, let this chivalrous Knight disperse the dark clouds covering your brilliant mind with a dance" Kenshin stood up and theatrically said.
"Hmmm, while I am a maiden, I am definitely not a fair one. And while my mind is brilliant, you are everything but chivalrous, but as you are the only one here so this brilliant maiden will have to reluctantly agree" Yae smirked, and Kenshin saw how her sadness disappeared.
Yae put her hand on his shoulder while Kenshin put his arms on Yae's waist, just as Arlecchino taught him.
"No, jealous woman" Kenshin said with an exasperated sigh. "I'm not thinking of another woman while I'm dancing with you".
"I hope so" muttered Yae darkly. There were too many women around him.
They danced slowly, not following the rhythm of the people singing outside, they were in their own world, and nothing else mattered. Not now.
"I never imagined that the boy who slapped me and pissed on me would end up dancing with me at a 'party' in the Shrine" Yae snickered, but Kenshin was not in the mood to start a back-and-forth joke exchange.
"Maybe" Kenshin said seriously, and Yae quickly lost interest in teasing him.
"Thank you for bringing Ei here" she said and rested her head on Kenshin's chest. Kenshin was now a head taller than her, and it made Yae realize that Kenshin was not the same little kid anymore, he was now a man that didn't need her, or anyone really.
That little boy who ran behind her shouting 'Pink woman, I challenge you' was not found anywhere now, and there was only a smart, kind and sensible handsome man. A man who was fighting for the future of the country he loved so much.
"It was nothing" Kenshin simply replied. "At least for me".
Yae nodded into Kenshin's chest, silently acknowledging what was left unsaid.
"Do you remember the time you put some lavender melon juice in my shampoo?" suddenly asked Yae.
"Of course. 'Lavender melons smell nice and have the same colour as your hair, so it will be a good thing for you to clean your hair with them'. I remember saying that" Kenshin said with a wry smile.
"You made my hair so oily I had to cut it short" Yae muttered with fondness, even when it angered her a lot at the time.
"Yes, you spent a few weeks with the hair at neck length. I always thought you were prettier that way" confessed Kenshin with a nod.
"You prefer short hair?" asked calmly Yae, listening to Kenshin's fast heartbeat.
"Hmm, not really, and I can't see it now anyway. But I found your image with short hair refreshing, and I think you enjoyed the change too" Kenshin said while remembering that Yae smiled more often in those weeks.
"Maybe, boredom is a dreadful thing" Yae agreed with Kenshin's remark. "And do you remember when...."
They talked about every single prank Kenshin made, every single prank Yae made, and how their constant competition was driving everybody around them mad, even Miyuki.
"Thank you for everything Yae" said suddenly Kenshin, surprising Yae with his serious voice. "You didn't change my diapers or feed me, but you gave me everything else I needed while growing up. I thank you from the bottom of my heart".
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you are leaving?" asked Yae with a teasing smile and raised her head to look at Kenshin, and seeing his pained face she understood something. "No!"
"Sorry" Kenshin said before using his unmatched control over souls to make Yae lose control over her body. He supported Yae's limp body and deposited her gently on the ground.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Miyuki opening the door with a conflicted expression.
"No" replied Kenshin in a trembling voice, seeing Yae's soul desperately fight against the binding he used on her. "But there is no other choice".
Miyuki sighed, and hugged Kenshin gently, like an older sister would to his younger brother.
"I am proud of you Kenshin, leave Yae to me. It's the least I can do" she said while tucking Yae into her bed. "When will she wake up?"
"She was never asleep" said Kenshin turning back, he couldn't bear the sight of Yae's soul screaming for him to stop. "She will regain control of her body tomorrow at mid-day. Everything will be solved by then, one way or another". Even being near Yae's soul was affecting him, so he decided to leave the Shrine.
It was almost morning after the hours he had been talking with Yae, and he needed to work.