Firestone Hot Springs kutsurogi no jikan

not the settling kind.

shinjou is jubilant in his informality. he is rough and grins easily, things that kaede has come to appreciate in a life too long for her years.

of course, he also wants to know why she is alone.

kaede drops more willow into the heated water. "masa-sama has offered me a place in his kumi."

the lift of her eyes is very brief, a joining that would not satisfy shinjou, or so she hopes. "i do not travel alone."