My Soul Will Find Yours

I wasn"t affected by Kaname"s threat, much to my maids" confusion. In fact, they were deeply bothered by our quarrel that my being cool as a cuc.u.mber was making them even more scared.

"My lady, forgive me for prying but what will you do when the shogun comes back?" Ryuko-san asked, no longer able to hide her apprehension.

"Show him proof," I said, completely unconcerned. I grabbed my chopsticks and started flaking the grilled fish before me.

"But where will you get proof?"

"The contents of my bag are my proof." I replied. "Don"t worry, Ryuko-san, it is I who will have the last laugh."

"Forgive this old woman, my lady. I am just concerned."

"No need to apologize. Thank you for caring about me but there really is nothing to worry about." Ryuko-san still looked bothered so I added, "After I finish partaking these food, I will show you what I mean."

~~~

"Sit down, all of you," I instructed the women in the room with me. Like domino pieces, they all knelt on the floor, folded their legs underneath their thighs, and rested their b.u.t.tocks on their heels one after the other. "I am doing this because I saw how nervous you all were after my quarrel with Kaname. I am not sure what happens to the servants of women who tricked or betrayed the shogun but judging from your actions, it must not be good."

I took my phone and tapped open the camera. Pointing its lens towards the women in front of me, I continued, "As you must have heard earlier, I told Kaname that I am from the future. I was not lying, what I said is the truth. This thing that I"m holding is one of my evidences."

Nanami timidly raised one hand, I nodded at her in acknowledgment. "My lady, m-may we know what exactly you"re holding?"

"This is a cellphone. Where I come from, this is used to send messages to another person through Short Message Service or SMS. All you have to do is type on the keypad to compose your message and hit send once you"re done. I am a lousy texter and prefer calls over texting. If you have a person"s number, you can call or text a person anytime, provided that the person has network signal. I wish I can show you how it"s done but unfortunately, the technology that will allow me to do so is still centuries away from being made at the moment."

"Please forgive us but we didn"t understand most of the things you said," it was the short and slender Tsubaki.

"Sorry, I don"t have any other way to explain what I just did," I fiddled with my phone again before motioning for them to come closer. "I recorded our conversation just now. Have a look."

The five women gathered around me, their eyes glued on the 5.8" screen of my phone as soon as the video started playing.

"W-what is happening?" Tsubaki gasped, her eyes as big as saucers.

"Look! That"s you, Ryuko-san! This is magic!" came Nanami"s voice.

"And that"s you beside me, Nanami! And beside you is Tsubaki, followed by Megumi, Aya, and Yoko[1]!" Ryuko-san pointed at the screen with trembling fingers.

I smiled. "Not only can I send messages and make calls using my cellphone, I can also record videos, take pictures, and even play games with it. It"s quite expensive but with its plusses, I can say it"s worth every penny."

"W-was that really us?" Yoko asked.

"You saw our faces, didn"t you?" Aya said excitedly. "My lady, with this, you can prove to Kaname-sama that you indeed came from the future!"

"Yes, and we won"t be exiled!" Megumi said thoughtlessly. Her words didn"t escape my ears..

"Exiled?" I probed. "That is the punishment?"

Ryuko-san shot Megumi a sharp look and, with a weak smile, confirmed her claim. "That is usually the case, my lady."

"I see," I scratched my chin pensively. "That"s never going to happen, though. I"ve got your backs, don"t worry."

"Thank you, my lady," the women said in unison, relief mixed with awe evident on their faces.

~~~

Night came and, at eight o"clock, we all gathered at the bell corridor to welcome Kaname. Apparently, this happens thrice daily; the first being at ten in the morning, the second at two in the afternoon, and the third at eight in the evening. Ryuko-san explained that if a concubine becomes the subject of the question "What is her name?" it means that she is the one who will be spending time with the shogun during his visit. The most antic.i.p.ated one is, of course, his evening visit because it meant that Kaname will bless the lucky lady with a pa.s.sionate evening.

I almost gagged at the idea. Why would I want to be bedded by someone I have no affection for? It was simply beneath me.

Of course, it came no surprise that I got chosen. I pretended to happily link my arm with Kaname"s as we proceeded to my room.

We ate dinner with little interaction. Aside from asking him if he wanted more shrimp or tea, our supper was a silent affair. As much as I wanted to bring up the topic of my being a time traveler, I couldn"t because he evaded my eyes whenever I tried to make eye contact. I had no choice but wait for the perfect opportunity.

Finally, it was time for us to retire. Ryuko-san cleared the table with Megumi and Aya while the rest of them prepared the bath.

"I will be bathing here tonight," Kaname announced, it"s been the longest sentence he"s uttered this evening.

I nodded. "Then you go in first." I motioned for Tsubaki to accompany him but he said he"ll go in alone. I didn"t object, "As you wish."

When he got out of the bath, I immediately went in. Nanami, Tsubaki, and Yoko followed suit. Inside, they washed my hair and soaped my body.

I emerged from the bath in my sleeping robe. Kaname was already in the bedroom waiting for me to join him. My heart suddenly started beating faster when I saw the futon next to mine. It didn"t help that Ryuko-san"s words about the evening visit kept playing in my head.

Pa.s.sionate night.. Pa.s.sionate night..

I shook my head and went to my futon. I was about to broach the subject he so carefully avoided the entire evening when he ordered all the maids to leave.

I watched Kaname close the window before walking towards me. I saw his eyes travel from my face down to my neck then to my chest. His eyes lingered there, I saw him gulp. I frowned and looked down to see that my robe was slightly open. The valley between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s was exposed! I gasped then hurriedly adjusted my sleeping garment.

"Pervert!" I accused him through gritted teeth.

Kaname laughed then plopped down beside me. "I was just admiring the view."

I started to scoot away from him but he grabbed my waist and pinned me down. He slowly lowered his head, I automatically closed my eyes.

I heard him chuckle in my ear. "You smell nice, my lady," he whispered. I opened my eyes and watched him part my robe slightly. He ran his index finger on my exposed skin. I squirmed beneath him, his smile deepened.

I didn"t notice his other hand untie the sash of my robe so I was startled when I felt his hand on one of my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He gave it a soft squeeze. I snapped out of my daze.

"Oh no, you don"t!" I grabbed his left hand, sat up, and twisted his arm before pinning him down on the futon. With my knee at the center of his back, I placed my entire body weight there to keep him pinned.

"Argh!" he panted.

"You lecher, how dare you touch me!" I said furiously. "Just because you"re the shogun doesn"t mean you can do whatever you want!"

Despite the pain he was obviously feeling, Kaname started laughing beneath me. "Hahaha! I can do whatever I want, whenever I want! You are my property, Hinata. Never forget that!"

I looked at him with disdain. "I will never be anyone"s property!" I spat the words.

"Are women from your time really this sensitive? Tell them that they"re yours and they start snarling at you like wolves!"

"Huh, so you believe that I came from the future? You haven"t seen the evidence yet!"

"I don"t.. However, I"m sure glad that I was born in this century."

"You will never survive in my time! Your blown up ego will not be able to handle the rejections!"

Silence. And then..

"Alright, play time"s over!" Kaname used his free hand to push himself up, his move was so swift I wasn"t able to react on time. I lost control of his other arm and fell back on the mattress. Thankfully he didn"t do anything stupid again after freeing himself from my grip. "That was a nice move. I"m impressed," he complimented me as he ma.s.saged his left shoulder.

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[1] I finally decided to name the other three servants. LOL