was a chance that I could silence my stomach’s complaints—and if there was a chance that Kouje could have something to eat, as well—I knew that we had to take it.
I didn’t regret it. I would have done it over again, given the chance. Besides which, refusing the offer a second time would be an insult to the man, and we couldn’t afford to make any more enemies.
“It’s decided, then!” Kichi slapped Kouje’s back, looking quite pleased with himself. “I know we don’t always see eye to eye, brother, but you’ve got to at least be flexible on the road. Think like a reed, and less like a rod, hey? There’s other things they say about rods, but I can’t tell that one to you with fine ladies present.”
At once, I felt myself blushing all over again. Kichi laughed his raucous laugh and pushed aside the colored banners that hung in the open doorway. Kouje touched my hand with his own in a gesture of reassurance, and I held on to it tightly for a moment, wishing I were not quite so delicate as to be left out of all interesting conversation. It wasn’t that I felt there would be any special merit in Kichi’s joke. In fact, it wasn’t even the joke at all but rather the spirit of camaraderie behind it. As things stood, I was in very nearly the same position of isolation as I had been in the palace. No one spoke his mind to a prince if he could help it, and apparently no one spoke his mind to the sister of a strapping young man like Kouje, either.
It was the most curious sensation to be surrounded by people and yet still feel so utterly alone.
“Are you all right?” Kouje asked me, the question soft between the two of us.
“Just the heat,” I lied, knowing that Kouje would guess at the truth behind my words well enough. If I’d felt confident enough to explain it properly, perhaps I would have tried. Perhaps Kouje understood them anyway, and that was why he’d made the gesture in the first place. Whatever the reason, I found myself grateful beyond words, and I held on to his hand with both of mine as we stepped inside. Things were less lonely with Kouje at my side.
The restaurant was a small but friendly-looking affair, with a counter for customers who were only interested in drinking, and a kitchen just behind it that emitted puffs of steam and mouthwatering smells in equal measure. It was also very crowded, so that Kouje and I had to pause for a moment to get our bearings once more. It had been so long since we’d been in a place with so many people that I believed for a moment we’d almost forgotten the way of it. Then I saw the consternation on Kouje’s face pass, and his grip on my hands relaxed. I allowed myself to breathe in deeply and concentrate not on the shouting or the jostling of the restaurant’s patrons, but the wonderful smells emanating from the kitchen.
Jiang and Inokichi were already sitting at a table near the back. When Kichi saw us, he stood up and waved us over.
“We thought you’d changed your minds,” he said. “Which would’ve been pretty stupid of you, really. I’d have to question your sanity in turning down a free meal like this one.”
“My sister’s just a little dizzy from the heat,” Kouje said, as politely as I’d heard him yet. The prospect of the noodles must have been affecting him just as it was affecting me.
“The two of you are awfully private with one another,” Jiang said. “Used to living on your own, are you?”
“Something like that,” Kouje said, and he stopped just short of the table.
I looked up, to see what was bothering him, and then I understood. Jiang and Inokichi had sat down across from one another, so that there was no space for Kouje to sit next to me as he normally did. I let go of his hand, and made as if to sit down first to set him at ease. Perhaps I would have to speak to him later, just to reassure him that he did not need to be so protective there as he was in the palace.
“I’ll sit there,” Kouje said, ducking around me when I would have sat next to Kichi. “I like to watch them make the noodles,” he offered by way of explanation, nodding to me