"I suppose I better go check on her."
Gengyo decided that it was probably for the best to take his bow and arrows with him, in case someone else came to the lake in the meantime.
"Now, which way did she go?"
He had not been paying much attention to the departing Akiko, a.s.suming that such a task would be well within her capabilities.
But now that such a thing had revealed to not be the case, he was in a rather poor position when attempting to find her.
"I"m guessing she went along the path she came from yesterday… so let"s head there."
Gengyo pushed his way through the foliage before looking around for any signs of Akiko"s pa.s.sage through here.
There were minor disturbances in the soil, and a few broken plants, but that was not evidence of particularly recent use of the route.
Still, it was likely that since this was the route she was familiar with – the route that she came to and from the lake by – then she will have seen a patch of bamboo nearby.
"Mm. That seems probable, as she seemed to know where some bamboo could be found."
Continuing further down the route, the route became less clear. The vegetation was less dense and it was difficult to see any evidence of a recently used path through it.
It was embarra.s.sing, but Gengyo could do nought but resort to one thing.
"Niwa-san! Niwa-san, its Miura! Shout if you can hear me!"
His voice echoed around the forest, but even after waiting a solid minute for a reply, Gengyo could hear nothing.
"Of course it isn"t going to be that easy."
Gengyo thought to himself with a sigh.
Deciding that it was likely better to continue forward and hope for the best, he trudged onwards.
He continued to call her name as he went, listening intently for a response.
After having to jump over a stream, he began to doubt that the path he had chosen was correct.
"I really can"t see that girl being able to clear the stream with a jump… Though perhaps she could just walk through it?"
Past the stream, the trees grew spa.r.s.er, allowing a much clearer view of what lay ahead.
A thick, fallen oak tree barred the path forwards. Its trunk must have at least been 2 metres in diameter, which meant that one would have to climb two metres in order to cross it.
"There"s no way she managed this…"
Even with the aid of all the branches, it was highly unlikely that Akiko - the daughter of n.o.bility – was capable of such physical feats. If it was Rin on the other hand, her success was all but guaranteed.
"May as well use it as a vantage point I suppose."
With swift movements, Gengyo hauled himself atop the fallen tree.
Dusting off the crumbly bark that had stuck to his clothing, he surveyed the area.
"Mm… There"s really nothing noteworthy."
He looked all around him, trying to map a bird"s eye view of the area in his head so that he might make predictions about Akiko"s path.
Such a line of thought proved unfruitful however, and in the end he had to resort to a more basic form of action.
Filling his lungs with a deep breath, he prepared for his loudest shout yet.
"NIWA-SAN! NIWA-SAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? IT"S MIURA. SHOUT IF YOU CAN HEAR ME."
His voice filled the empty surroundings, bouncing off trees as it was transmitted further into the forest.
He cupped his ears for a good two minutes, hoping with all his heart for a reply.
But in the end, nothing came.
"My G.o.d, this is troublesome."
Gengyo could not help but curse at the difficulty of this supposed rescue mission.
"She probably went home to eat or something."
Climbing down from the tree, he headed back down the path he had followed, intent on looking for alternate routes that she might have followed.
"He-p he-p."
A whisper on the wind caused Gengyo to stop in his tracks.
"Am I imagining it?"
"NIWA-SAN? CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
After a few moments of silence, he heard it again, louder this time, but still rather faint on the ear.
"Help!"
"That"s definitely her".
A rush of adrenaline pa.s.sed through the worn-out Gengyo and he made his way toward the source of the noise with haste, calling all the while.
"NIWA-SAN!"
"Miura-kun! Over here!"
She now seemed to be about a hundred metres away, as her replies were getting stronger.
Gengyo charged through the plant life that tore at his clothes, as he rushed toward Akiko with a strong sense of urgency.
"Here! Miura-kun! Over here!"
There he could see Akiko sprawled against a tree, her face white and twisted with pain, nursing her ankle.
"Niwa-san… what happened?"
He had his own theories, but it was better to hear it from the person in question.
Akiko looked embarra.s.sed at that, nodding toward a large root that was sticking out of the ground.
"I tripped on the root… and my ankle really hurts."
Gengyo nodded, trying to convey his understanding.
"Okay. Do you mind if I take a look at it?"
Akiko looked a little hesitant, slightly worried about giving someone who she had only met recently access to her wounded foot. But then she nodded timidly.
Gengyo moved quickly, undoing her sandal as his cold hands pa.s.sed over Akiko"s feet, feeling for any abnormalities.
Akiko flinched at his touch, but allowed him to do his thing with much resistance.
"Ow!"
She complained as Gengyo"s fingers made their way to a more sensitive part of her injury.
"Mm. It"s not broken. Just a sprain. In a week, or perhaps two, you"ll be fine."
Akiko looked relieved to hear that, but a second later she was rather aghast.
"Two weeks? But that"s when the ceremony is! I don"t want to spend all that time inside, before spending the rest of my life with that evil toad!"
Gengyo could understand her feelings, but at the same time he was not about to encourage her to do anything rash.
"I understand Niwa-san, but you really won"t be able to walk on this foot for a good few days. It would be better if you rested."
Akiko did not reply, but Gengyo could see tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.
"We can"t stay here all day, and it"s getting dark. Let me take you home."
Akiko did not respond, instead she simply stared toward the sky listlessly.
Gengyo sighed.
"How did I get caught up in this…"
He paused awhile, searching for a new approach.
They sat in silence for a time before Akiko"s gaze fell onto him.
"Miura-kun, how were you planning to take me home?"
Grateful that she was finally speaking, Gengyo made haste with his reply.
"I supposed that I could carry you on my back."
Akiko put a finger to her chin as she thought about it.
"…Like a horse."
Gengyo winced a little at that.
"Perhaps not a horse… maybe a n.o.ble prince?"
Akiko looked at him up and down before shaking her head.
"Nope, definitely a horse."
"Okay…"
Gengyo could only shake his head and accept her evaluations.
Akiko giggled at his response, before remembering her situation and looking more depressed again.
"Come on… I"ll carry you home, and then you can get a nice hot bath or something, eh?"
"Mm… That"s all I"ll be able to do from now on."
She was mournful in her reply, but did not resist Gengyo"s attempt at movement.
He helped her to up, as she stood on a single leg leaning against the tree.
"Okay… I"m going to pick you up now. Wrap your arms around my neck and put your legs on either side."
"I know how a piggyback works."
"Right."
Gengyo gently lifted her up, locking his fingers behind him to support her rear as she wrapped her arms around his neck and put her legs by his side.
Akiko blushed slightly – unbeknownst to Gengyo, who was more concerned about her weight.
"You better not be getting any weird ideas…"
"I wouldn"t dream of it my lady."
"…Not this again."
"Haha, sorry - Niwa-san."
He walked steadily through the forest, doing his best to avoid any low hanging branches so that Akiko wouldn"t be snagged.
Of course, that was easier said than done, and she made sure to voice her complaints fervently each time it happened.
"Horses are meant to look after their riders! I"m getting scratched to ribbons by all these branches."
"Yeah… But I"m not a horse."
They had to take frequent breaks, as the acc.u.mulated strain quickly wore Gengyo down.
"By stopping so much, are you saying that I"m heavy?"
"No. Not heavy. Just fat."
She pouted and chopped down on his head.
Gengyo mock stumbled, pretending that he was going to fall over.
"Stop it! Even if you"re pretending it"s still scary."
"Mm. I got hit in the back of the head by something, apologies Niwa-san."
…
…
"So what now?"
They stood at the outer wall surrounding the land holder"s mansion, and Gengyo was rather hesitant to go inside.
"What do you mean? We go inside, of course."
"Won"t it be bad for you to be seen with me?"
It was only then that Akiko realised his point.
"Ah… true. It would be bad if father found out about my foot as well."
"Why would that be bad?"
"Well, he"ll stop letting me outside on my own."
"But you won"t be able to go anyway with that foot."
At this, Akiko smiled slyly.
"Oh, but I will."
Gengyo had a bad feeling about this.
"She"s going to say something troublesome…"
"…How?"
"You"re going to carry me."
Gengyo sighed.
"I thought as much."
"I"ll be honest Niwa-san, the thought of carrying you every day isn"t very appealing."
"How rude! You should be honoured to carry your landholder"s daughter."
"I"d rather not."
Akiko realized he was serious. Whilst he had helped her, it was merely out of goodwill, but his charity would not extend that far. They were relative strangers after all – he had no reason to go out of his way to help her.
"…A deal then?"
"Mmm. Are you offering to reward me for my services?"
"Yup. Anything you like, I"ll get it for you."
Gengyo purposely gazed toward Akiko"s chest, who in turn, recoiled, covering herself with her arms.
"Anything but that!"
"Haha. Okay. Well, how about you owe me a favour? I imagine it"ll be useful to have the landholder"s daughter – as you keep mentioning – owing me a favour."
Akiko thought a while, trying to see through whatever trick she supposed Gengyo was playing on her.
"Okay… but it can"t be anything too crazy. And no perverted stuff!"
"Deal. So how is this going to work?"
"I"ll be waiting here each evening. Come and get me and carry me to the lake."
Gengyo raised an eyebrow at that.
"How are you going to get here on that foot of yours?"
"I"ll get s.h.i.+bata to carry me – she should be able to do this much without getting told off."
"Heh… Alright."
They both nodded, completing the arrangements and then silence reigned for a while.
"Uhh, but how are we going to get you inside now?"
Akiko"s satisfied smile faded as she realized her oversight.
"Uhm… I suppose just carry to that bench over there, and I"ll wait and hope that s.h.i.+bata pa.s.ses by."
"Good enough for me."
Gengyo was rather eager to have this whole thing done with, so he picked her up and carried her toward the bench inside the courtyard with haste.
After placing her down and making sure she was comfortable, he left without a word – not wanting to alert any of the household of his presence.
Akiko was less subtle, and called out to him.
"Don"t forget our promise, Miura-kun!"
With a palm to his face and a shake of his head, Gengyo walked away, a little apprehensive as to what the future would hold.