Chapter 4 I just got into the clothes and he wants me to get out of them? But…it would feel nice to be as clean as what I’m wearing. He is doing far too much for me. Perhaps this is his way of apologizing for bruising me all week. In any case, he is doing too much. I don’t deserve this. For five years now, I’ve been nothing but a pleasure girl. I am undeserving of such kindness. “There should be other women here who can help you with your clothes.” He grins and briefly teaches me how to ask for help while giving me some money. We will be separated here. I will not have his knowledge while I am bathing. I am both relieved and nervous about this revelation. (Kenshin grabs his wife’s ponytail. “Hold it! Sessha told you. We don’t have the money. You will have to wait until they come out to see more, that you will.” Kaoru scowls at the man, but gives in.) I am nervous. All these women know each other. I have no idea what anyone is saying. I’m completely in the dark here, but the steam coming from the other room calls to me. I step into what must be an entrance of some kind. There are small buckets with shoes in them. I guess I must remove my shoes. I have noticed this a lot. Every place has somewhere to put your shoes. I guess it is a custom here. It makes sense. This way the floor doesn’t get dirty with dirt from outside. Women are staring at me. I have never felt more foreign than right now. What do I do? I observe for a brief moment. People have buckets, towels, things to wash with. I have nothing. Perhaps that is where the money comes in to play. “Hello…” I stop a woman. She is looking at me funny. “Um…” How do I say this? I point and give her a questioning expression. I hope she understands. How did Enishi say that? “I don’t…s-speak…” “Oh…you’re not from around here huh? Here. Let me help you.” She takes me by the hand. I guess it worked! Thank the gods! I am taken to a small counter. The woman speaks rapidly in Japanese. All the things I need are set on the counter by a bath house worker. “Do you have money?” I don’t understand. I stare at her. I’m confused again. She takes out a couple coins from her purse and shows them to me. Ah! I see. Yes. I nod. I have money. “What’s your name honey?” That word. It’s the same thing Oibore said when I met him. When he told me I had a pretty name. “Liya? Ni.ne?” No. she doesn’t understand Chinese! It is her turn to be confused. I make a frustrated sound and try again. “Liya.” I rest my hand on my chest. Then, I gesture toward her and nod. Hopefully, that will work. “Oh! Noriko.” We smile at each other as I hand the worker my money. I know I gave too much. Hopefully, the worker won’t jip me with the change. I will have to have faith. * * * I wonder how she’s faring. Most likely, she’s already getting frustrated. She’s smart though. She’ll figure things out. I pay the employee for my supplies and proceed to the changing room. I haven’t had a good bath in a while. I wonder if this bath cleans your clothes like that one in Kyoto does. I guess I’ll find out. Damn. It doesn’t, but it comes close. You have to wash your own clothes, but at least they have spots to hang them up to dry. This is going to be interesting. * * * There are so many shameless women here. They’re all naked as the day they were born, but no one seems embarrassed. This tiny towel isn’t doing much to cover my own body. Everyone is staring at me. “Liya…you have so many bruises!” She gestures to my injuries. I smile and wave her off. This is very embarrassing. And to make matters worse, I don’t get to hide under the water yet. Bathing is separate from soaking. At least the thick lather will provide some sort of protection against this incessant staring I can’t seem to get away from. I bathe quickly, yet thoroughly. My body feels lighter now that all the grime is off of it. This is a nice feeling. The feeling of being clean. I like this. * * * I haven’t let myself relax this much in a long time. This is certainly a step up from where I was before. You were right Onee-san. Liya has been good for me. It’s only been a week and I am already feeling very relaxed. Now if only this confusion regarding the Battousai would go away. He is obviously a different man now. Not a bloodthirsty killer. He has managed to find happiness with that Kamiya girl. I wish I could attain such happiness. I’m too much of a monster to get it though. Of course, so is he. Why is he happy and I am not? It’s not fair Onee-san. I close my eyes to see Tomoe. She makes an attempt to brush my hair out of my face and smiles sadly at me. ‘It’s just not fair…’ * * * “I don’t…Help…?” I hold up the kimono and a colored chord or two. Maybe Noriko will help me again. She has sort of taken me under her wing. If she is not already married, she will make a good wife some day. She’s very patient. “Let me guess. Her boyfriend bought her that and she has no idea how to put it on.” “You got it.” Noriko takes hold of the articles of clothing and sifts through them. Her eyes glitter. I think she likes them. They are very pretty. Exquisite silk and such a delicate pattern. I like them much better than my dress, but my dress is easier to put on so I will keep it. It is also easier to take off, as the gang’s boss found out three years ago when he bought it for me. “Liya…” She gently prods. I turn my attention back to the dear woman. Slowly, she holds up each article, presenting it as she tucks and ties it into the proper place. I have been moved to a long mirror so that I can see what is happening in the back. Her fingers are very skilled. I hope to be able to do this some day with as much ease as she is able to. Her friend giggles at the intensity of my watchful gaze. “I think she’s learning Noriko-chan. Is she married?” The obi is presented to me. I smile and nod my understanding. “No. She blushed when she entered the bathing area. A married woman would not blush quite as much.” They giggle, I assume, at my expense. That’s alright though. I deserve it. I don’t know anything about this place. It is normal for a foreigner to be laughed at. I don’t mind. “Let’s give her the obi-musubi! We can make her pretty for her boyfriend.” They seem to be enjoying making me pretty. I feel a bit like their doll, but that is also alright. I kind of like being primped for once. The gang boss had the prostitutes primp me for him and his men. I hated it. They made me look like a little whore. These women are much nicer. They are making me look my age and making me look proper. I feel much more at ease in their hands. “Liya…are you paying attention?” Noriko’s friend taps my shoulder. I smile at her and watch how to make the obi look like a flowering side-ways bow. It’s very elaborate, but it looks very nice. I will try my best to learn how to do this by myself. Before my parents were killed, I prized myself on my knot art techniques. Hopefully, this won’t be much harder to perfect than that. Someone is brushing my hair. I never asked for this much attention. I feel like a princess. It’s Noriko’s friend. They are being far too nice to me. I will have to thank them somehow. I don’t want to insult them with money, but there must be something I can do. I haven’t done my knots in a while. Maybe I can make them something. I will have to have Enishi show me where the chord shops are. But I don’t have any money. I don’t want him paying for my gift to these women. I need to thank him even more than Noriko and her friend. Too many debts and I’ve only been here a week. “Is your boyfriend waiting for you outside?” I don’t understand. What did she say? I look to Noriko. She smiles and waves off her friend’s attempt to communicate. I guess whatever they asked has already been answered. “She doesn’t speak Japanese, Sakura. We will see when we all exit together.” He’s not here yet. What do I do now? I look around at all the people in the street. Not one looks like Enishi. “Liya…Do you want to walk around with us?” Noriko’s hand gestures to the shops nearby. I guess, if we stay near to the bath house, it’s okay to go with her. “Duo xie…” I give her a slight bow and smile. She and her friend did so much for me. I know they don’t understand what I just said, but it makes me feel better that I at least said it. They giggle and bow. “Oh…Liya!” Noriko points to her friend. “Sakura.” So her name is Sakura. Very pretty name. “Sakura…” I nod and smile as we walk to the nearest shop. * * * I glare at my clothes. They’re still not even close to being dry. I at least want them to be no more than damp before I put them on. Hopefully, Liya has found some friends or has decided to do some minor exploring on her own. This’ll be a while. The bath fires have allowed the clothes to dry somewhat rapidly, but they’re still not drying fast enough. Luckily, no one’s stuff is going to get burned. This bath house is pretty resourceful to have a safe spot near the fires like this. * * * Oh, silk chords! I can do knots with these! But…no money. I close my eyes and pray to the gods to give me luck. I will pay Enishi back soon. My skilled fingers choose two long strands of red silk chord. These will do very nicely. Smiling, I hand the store keeper a few coins. She blinks and hands me back half. I am called over to a small booth. Quickly, I join the two women. Chopped ice? With syrup? They have that in Japan!? I used to love when mama made this! “I’ll pay this time Sakura! Don’t worry about it!” Before I can say anything Noriko pays for three shaved ices. I blush and thank her as best I can. Too much. These people are too kind. I need to find a place to make my knots so that I can properly thank them. Luckily, we sit at a small table by the water. It’s very peaceful here. I am liking this place more and more. My new friends watch with fascination as I twist and weave a chord around two of my fingers. I haven’t lost my touch after five years. This will be a satisfactory gift for now. I pull it tight and make quick work of a pair of slider knots. One is done. I begin the other and end it just as quickly. Why are they clapping? It wasn’t that hard. I smile and hand each of the women one ‘endless knot’ necklace. Bowing, I use this to show my gratitude for their help in the bath house and for the shaved ice treat. They have accepted them with awe. I don’t deserve such praise. It was really a very simple gift. “I see you found friends.” I look up to see Enishi. Smiling, I nod and turn to my friends. They are staring at him with suppressed horror. What is this all about? “…Enishi…meet Noriko and Sakura. They helped me in the bath house.” He smirks. Light teal eyes fall on my gifts. Nodding his approval, he speaks to the women. They don’t seem to let their guard fall entirely, but they don’t look like they’re going to run away anymore. In fact, they just look very surprised. “I did not come here to hurt anyone. Thank you for helping her.” They nod shakily. Black eyes dart from him to me as if they’re asking me how I ended up with a man like him. Enishi whispers in my ear. Ah! So that’s how you say it! “Ari…Arigatou…” I manage with a slight bow. * * * Author's Notes: Ni.ne = more or less 'And you?' (Mandarin) arigatou = thank you (Japanese) Kimono stuff again: http://www.kikimimi.ne.jp/www/sortie/Ekimono.htm The obi-musubi is really pretty. It's apparently used often for the coming of age (20 yrs old) ceremony. Liya is twenty, but no one knows this yet. Noriko and Sakura chose this tying method simply because it's pretty and it stands for happiness. It looks like a fluffy bow that is turned diagonally. I thank this website: http://www.ainj.com/public_bath.htm for it's wonderful info on Japanese public baths. For the sake of the story I took some liberties with it. Such as, I thought it would be pretty gross for Enishi to put on his dirty clothes after he took a bath. That's okay though. I'm sure people can deal with the artistic license. Chinese knotting is a very pretty art form: http://www.knottingartist.com/ I have no idea how to do it, but I wish I could.