Unknownfate
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Chapter 21: preparation for the first date
🕑 Added 2025-06-09 02:00:03 +0000 UTCA week had passed since the meeting with the elder council.
And indeed, no punishment had come my way, not even a scolding. They barely mentioned abandoning the mission, instead focusing on my new secret technique.
I had a slight feeling that they weren’t happy that someone from the branch family achieved it. Only the fact that I was already recognized as the biggest genius in the clan and slated to join the main family made them ignore that.
Still, I was rewarded for everything I did.
Firstly, I was given a grand reward, for while my talent and engagement uplifted my own fate, this time, it was my parents who were uplifted.
They and I were moved into a larger home closer to where I would live in the future. It was not a palace by any means, but certainly a step up. It had two extra rooms, a larger garden, better lighting, and more security.
My parents were honored beyond words. They were humble people, already overwhelmed by the fact that I was engaged to Hiashi, and now this. They were good, peaceful people, the kind that would do well under my rule.
News of the reward traveled fast, likely spread by the main family itself. It was rare that such a reward like this was given out. It happened; I had only seen it once when I was four.
More so since my family was already rewarded in the manner of my engagement.
But it was the way the main family ensured that the majority of the branch family didn’t resent their rule. The idea, or at least the illusion of upward mobility, was important, even if it was rare that it did happen.
Moving had been an interesting affair. A big deal was made out of it, and my mother had been thrilled with all the extra space, dragging me shopping for days. There was always something she wanted, something we needed.
Father, on the other hand, took it in a quiet stride. He was a calm man, kind and quiet. The kind who smiled more with his eyes than his mouth. He said little about the new house, simply walked the rooms with his hands behind his back and nodded, then spent an hour tending to the small garden before returning inside. That was how I knew he was pleased.
As for me… I didn’t mind it. The garden was lovely. The hallway had enough space to move freely without brushing shoulders. And I liked the terrace. There was a spot there that caught the morning sun just right, perfect for tea and reading—or eavesdropping, if I were so inclined.
The clan as a whole was quieter around me now. Not cold. Not hostile. Just… quieter. I could feel their gazes sometimes. Like they were trying to measure me anew, figure out how someone so young could do what I’d done.
I let them wonder about that question, I just went about this new life of mine, enjoying the freedom I had.
While I was a slave in some aspects, it was hardly as bad as most fanfics liked to show it. I remember just one: someone reborn into the Hyūga Clan, someone who dug out their Byakugan to escape the cursed seal.
It was almost laughable. Digging out one's eyes wasn’t easy or safe. And it was sure to get you locked up in the dungeons for acting weird. I mean, with more than ten thousand people sealed, why would someone else react so much to it?
It would be suspicious beyond any doubt.
Life in the clan, it wasn’t bad, certainly nothing compared to being stuck in a seal, unable to move at all.
Just that, the ability to move, to stretch, that was precious beyond belief.
And I spent my free time enjoying life.
I spent time sitting on the porch steps with Sayo and Maro, sharing a plate of dumplings between us and a kettle of tea.
Sayo was laughing about something—probably one of the boys—and Maro was trying (and failing) to maintain a look of stoic indifference as he sipped his tea.
“Did you really call Hiashi-sama ‘stiff’ to his face?” Sayo asked between giggles.
I raised a brow. “He said I should be honest with him, and he was acting like his father, and I don’t want to marry Lord Tatsuo.”
Maro choked on his tea.
“That would be horrible!” Sayo gasped, looking horrified.
“Indeed, he is far too old, and too stiff, though I have seen Hiashi stiff as well.” I said, with an underlying tone that had Sayo giggling and Maro blushing.
“Yuki!” Sayo squeaked, half-laughing, half-scandalized. “You can’t say things like that!”
“I can,” I said serenely, sipping my tea, “because it’s true.”
Maro turned an impressive shade of red and quickly looked away, suddenly fascinated by the koi pond across the garden. “You’re going to give Hiashi-sama a heart attack,” he muttered.
“Good,” I said. “Then he’ll stop trying to be so composed all the time.”
Sayo leaned toward me conspiratorially. “You’re awful. I like it.”
“She’s going to get herself thrown into the elders’ pond one day,” Maro grumbled, eyes still pointed anywhere but at us.
I nudged his shoulder with mine. “You’re lucky I’m not teasing you.”
“You just did,” he said, deadpan.
“I haven’t even started.”
Sayo snorted and reached for another dumpling. “Honestly, though, I think you’re good for him.”
“Hiashi?” I blinked innocently. “Oh, I know I am.”
Maro muttered something under his breath, too quiet to catch, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked toward Sayo for just a second too long when she laughed again. Interesting.
“You okay, Maro?” I asked, letting the question hang in the air.
“I’m fine,” he said quickly.
“Because you seem a little red in the face,” I added sweetly.
“It’s warm,” he insisted.
Sayo glanced at him, puzzled. “Are you sure? You didn’t eat too fast again, did you?”
Maro gave a tight nod and focused on his teacup like it held the secrets of the universe. Cute.
I leaned back, propping myself up on my hands, stretching just a little to feel the sunlight on my face. “You know, if you wanted to take a girl to the festival next week, you could just ask.”
Maro nearly dropped his cup.
Sayo blinked. “Festival?”
“Oh yes,” I said, sipping my tea again. “I heard the lantern makers from the Land of Fire’s coast are coming in. Very romantic.”
“I-I wasn’t…” Maro trailed off, ears red.
Sayo smiled softly. “We should all go together.”
I smiled too. “I think I will go with Hiashi… but you two can go on your own, ahh, just the two of you, on a romantic evening.” I teased, causing Maro to go completely red in his face.
It was almost cute how clueless he was, I mean, Sayo had the Byakugan, even without activating it, she was more than capable of seeing his reactions, and far from dumb enough to not know what they meant.
But then again, with all the men of the clan being so stiff, we women had to ensure they didn’t get too full of themselves. I had seen it from afar before, but now, as a part of it, I found it endlessly amusing.
-----
We met in one of the quieter training fields, tucked behind one of the elder’s gardens where the plum trees stood just far enough apart to make a perfect ring.
Hiashi was already waiting when I arrived, standing tall, his back to me as he stared at a drifting petal.
Of course he was early.
“I hope you didn’t stand there for too long,” I said, stepping into the field with a teasing lilt. “You might’ve rooted into the soil.”
Hiashi turned, composed as always. “Punctuality is a virtue.”
“Yes, but so is flexibility,” I said, tilting my head. “And I don’t just mean the schedule kind.”
He sighed, but his lips twitched. Just a little.
We went through the opening forms in silence. Circular steps, palm strikes held just before impact, movements so fluid and identical that we could’ve been mirror images. It was almost meditative. Almost.
But of course, I couldn’t let it stay that way.
“Your hips are too tight,” I said casually as I ducked under one of his mock strikes.
Hiashi blinked. “What?”
“In your stance,” I explained, rising smoothly. “You’re bracing too much through your core. It makes you slower on the recovery.”
He narrowed his eyes, not at the critique, but at the way I said it.
“I’m simply concerned about your posture,” I added with a smirk. “If we’re going to look good together at the festival, you can’t be hobbling around like an old man.”
That got him.
“The festival?” he echoed.
“Mhm,” I said, stepping in and tapping the center of his chest with two fingers. “You were planning to ask me, right?”
“I—” he started, faltered. “It’s a mission-free weekend.”
“Oh, so you do know what weekends are for,” I said brightly.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, clearly rethinking everything. “I was going to mention it. Eventually.”
“Eventually,” I repeated with a hum. “Not very romantic.”
He gave me a flat look. “You keep saying things like that. If you don’t intend to—”
“To what?” I stepped in again, closer this time.
Hiashi’s mouth opened, then shut again. I could practically see the gears grinding behind his eyes.
“…I’ll take you to the festival,” he finally said. “Properly. If you want.”
I smiled sweetly. “I do want.”
We held the final stance of the kata together, palms aligned but not touching.
“I’ll even wear something nice,” I said, voice a whisper as I leaned forward slightly. “And you can act all proper and stiff, and pretend you’re not blushing the whole time.”
“I don’t blush,” he said flatly.
I looked pointedly at the tips of his ears. “Liar.”
-----
At the end of the week once I returned home the sun had dipped low enough to bathe the courtyard in soft gold. The moment I stepped through the door, the scent of sandalwood and fresh tea reached my nose—and so did the sound of my mother bustling about.
“There you are,” she said, poking her head out from around the corner. “Go sit down. We’re doing your hair.”
I blinked. “Already?”
“It takes time to prepare properly. You’re not meeting some random boy, Yuki—you’re going to the festival with Hiashi-sama.” She stressed his name like it meant I should’ve started dressing the day before.
I opened my mouth to argue—then closed it. Honestly, what was the point?
She all but herded me into the sitting room, where she’d already laid out half a dozen hair ornaments, two brushes, and a ribbon I hadn’t seen since I was eight. A steaming cup of tea waited for me on the low table.
“You’re fussing,” I said, eyeing the preparations.
“I’m your mother,” she replied, dragging the brush through my hair with the force of someone used to long silk strands. “It’s my job.”
“And here I thought your job was to keep the house from collapsing under its own ego.”
“That too,” she muttered under her breath.
I snorted softly. “You’re in a mood.”
“I’m nervous,” she admitted, fingers deft as they worked through a knot. “You’re growing up, moving toward marriage, rubbing elbows with elders. It’s a lot.”
“You say that like I’m not ready.”
“Oh, I know you are,” she said, patting my shoulder. “You’ve always been ready. That’s what worries me. The world will expect too much of you too quickly.”
There was a moment of quiet. Then—
“Don’t expect too much from him.”
I blinked again. “Hiashi?”
She gave a knowing hum. “The men in our clan are all the same. Proud, polite, slow as frozen syrup when it comes to feelings.”
I couldn’t help it—I laughed.
“My husband,” she continued lightly, “blushed for a week straight the first time I held his hand. Didn’t speak a word the entire walk home. And this was after we were engaged.”
“That bad?” I asked, grinning.
“Oh, child,” she said with a smile. “Worse. I had to propose to him, and he still asked if I was joking.”
I glanced over my shoulder, and she met my gaze in the mirror.
“They’re good men,” she said. “They just need… guidance. A nudge. Or a gentle shove off the edge sometimes.”
“Should I shove Hiashi?”
“Only if he looks particularly sturdy.”
We both laughed then, and for a moment, I let myself lean into her touch, the brush moving slowly, the familiarity of it grounding.
“You’ve done so well,” she whispered. “But don’t forget you’re allowed to enjoy things too. Let yourself smile tonight. Let him see it.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good. And if all else fails—”
“Push him off something?”
“Exactly.”
(End of chapter)
WTF? Why is Kaguya acting like a teen!? Isn’t she like a billion years old or something?
So, I have this cool trick, for whenever Kaguya or Yuki acts strange, its call handwaving it away with a cheap excuse, called, being fucking crazy from staying in the moon for so long.
The neat thing about this trick is that I can use it as much as I want, and there is nothing anyone can do about it! because, well, do you know how that kind of event will change someone? No? well fuck you then!
