In that moment, she wasn't filled with joy but doubt. Mitsuri questioned herself.
'Am I suitable for Kotaro-sama?'
She was meeting Kotaro in disguise. She had dyed her hair black, acted a bit more refined, and hid her true self—all to appear more normal.
She wanted to get married as she was, but no one liked her. After all, who would marry a woman who eats a lot, has weird pink-green hair, and can lift boulders? It's abnormal. She is abnormal.
In these few meetings, Mitsuri understood that she didn't fit into the category of normal. She wasn't like a normal girl, so she tried hard to become one. Now she stood before Kotaro in this guise.
She was happy that he didn't dislike her and treated her with kindness unlike others, but… wasn't she deceiving him? Kotaro was doing his best, but she was trying to deceive him. And when she saw his pure smile and the outstretched hand inviting her on a date, the guilt dug deeper into her heart.
'What should I do?'
Mitsuri couldn't understand what to do. She wanted to accept Kotaro's invitation, but she felt guilty for cheating him. For her selfishness, she had disguised herself and tricked him. But what could she do? She just wanted to get married. Was she not allowed that?
'What should I do?'
…
'Hmm? Why is she standing still?'
Kotaro looked at Mitsuri standing with her head tilted down, her bangs blocking her face, making it impossible for him to see her expression.
'Is she shy?'
Remembering Mitsuri's behaviour, he concluded that must be it. The girls in ancient times were more reserved and tended to exhibit traditional feminine behaviours. Though there were exceptions, like Aunt Aiko.
'It seems I have to make a move.'
Since she wanted to go on the date, he would fulfil it. Kotaro didn't wait for her response and moved his hand to grab Mitsuri's, surprising her.
"K-Kotaro-sama…"
"Don't keep dawdling here. Let's go on the date. You wanted to go, right? I will fulfil your wish."
He thumped his chest, trying to show his pride with a smile. He, Kotaro Kenshin, too, wanted to act cool!
'Kotaro-sama…'
At this moment, Kotaro dazzled in Mitsuri's eyes. Her heart ached more, and she bit her lips instinctively. Her eyes became a bit wet, but remembering that she was in front of him, she controlled herself before a tear could fall.
'I am not suitable for him.'
She understood it. She judged that she wasn't suitable for him. Yet… Yet… she wanted to be with him.
Mitsuri Kanroji, just like her future title – Love Hashira, falls in love too quickly and too deeply. And as people say, when you truly love someone, you want the best for them. She chose the best for her first love. She decided to deny this matchmaking, wanting Kotaro to not choose an abnormal, a monster like her. But before that, she wanted to complete her last selfish wish.
'I want to go on a date with Kotaro-sama.'
"Mitsuri?"
'Did she change her mind? Or was my action of grabbing her hand too forward?'
Worried that his actions had caused Mitsuri any problems, he was about to loosen his grip, but…
Grasp!
"Hmm?"
His hand was grabbed by Mitsuri, who looked up at him and smiled.
"Let's go on the date, Kotaro-sama."
"Y-Yes. Let's go."
'She sure did have some kind of conviction in her words. But why were her eyes a bit red?'
Unaware of her inner turmoil, Kotaro just led Mitsuri to give her the best possible date experience ever.
…
The bustling town was alive with activity, and among the crowd, a couple wandered around. Hand in hand, the girl with long black braided hair and the man with brownish hair smiled and chatted as they walked through the place.
Married couples, as well as those yet to be married, looked on with envy, especially the women who urged their respective men to act like the gentleman they saw.
'Why doesn't he treat me like this?'
While the women smiled at the couple, the men silently cursed, angered by the man who was the cause of their suffering. Buddha said, "First, find the cause or origin of suffering. And there is an end to the suffering."
All the men looked at the cause of their suffering—Kotaro, the gentleman—and wanted to end it. They all wanted to follow the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. Never in their lives had they felt this devout to Buddha.
But…
"Don't gawk around and disturb them! Sigh… Learn something from him."
Their ears were grabbed and twisted, and the respective women took their men out of sight to avoid disturbing the couple.
Women of this time exhibited traditional feminine traits, but that was before marriage. Unfortunately, after marriage, these traits often changed.
'I hope Mitsuri doesn't change and stays cute like she is now forever,' Kotaro muttered in his head, only to be stunned by his own thoughts.
'Hmm! Why am I thinking like that?! Didn't I decide not to get married?!'
Unconsciously, his brain was already imagining his married life with Mitsuri, which alarmed Kotaro greatly.
'I must have been brainwashed by her!'
He moved his eyes and stared at her side profile with an intense gaze, searching for the secret ingredient facilitating this brainwashing. Having faced enough rejections, Mitsuri was quite sensitive to gazes. How could she miss Kotaro's intense stare?
"Kotaro-sama. Wha—"
"Ah! It's nothing. I was just…"
'What should I say?'
He moved his eyes frantically and then caught sight of a flower shop. Varieties of flowers were stacked around, making the shop colorful and attractive to customers.
"That's right! I felt that a flower from that shop might suit you. Come, I will get it for you."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the shop, interrupting her before she could utter a single word. As soon as they reached the shop—
"Stop. Don't say a word. I will choose the one most suitable for you."
He raised his hand to keep her quiet and then ordered the shopkeeper to show him some flowers. Now that he had promised, Kotaro didn't want to half-ass it.
"Hmm… This one doesn't look good. Weird, I thought it would go well with black hair."
Kotaro examined several flowers, placing several of them in her hair, but none caught his eye. Then, he picked the last one, a pink cherry blossom, and placed it in her hair.
"Look, isn't it good?"
Mitsuri looked in the mirror, still doubtful about her appearance, adjusted the flower a bit more, and then turned to Kotaro with a nervous face.
"D-Does it really look good?"
'You girl… So, this is your secret ingredient for brainwashing.'
This girl's actions were too cute for his own good!
===
A/N:
What do you think?
"Does it really look good?"
With her head slightly lowered to hide her shyness, Mitsuri looked up at Kotaro with nervous yet expectant eyes. And those eyes…
'You, girl… So, this is your secret ingredient for brainwashing!'
Her action struck Kotaro's heart like an arrow, making him want to shout out - Mitsuri Kanroji, I choose you!
But a character collapse couldn't happen right now. Still, he couldn't look straight into her eyes with a sane mind. Her puppy-like green eyes were too enchanting.
He wanted to dodge by turning his head, but he knew he couldn't do that. Because his action might hurt Mitsuri. She would misunderstand him.
In the short time they had spent together, Kotaro had figured out Mitsuri's personality. Unlike other girls he had met, Mitsuri seemed much more nervous and kind of desperate. Despite being such a beautiful girl, she seemed to carry a lot of insecurities about herself.
In a nutshell, her self-image and self-esteem were quite low. Mitsuri Kanroji was a girl who didn't have confidence in herself.
'Why is she like this?' It was natural for such a question to arise in his mind. And unsurprisingly, it wasn't hard for Kotaro to deduce the answer.
Marriage.
Both he and she were meeting now because of marriage. And it was a fact that this kind of date was not the first time for either of them. Kotaro had rejected many girls, and Mitsuri had been rejected by many others.
In these male-dominated times, it was very unlikely for a man to be rejected by a girl. It was rare but not impossible. Conversely, it was not rare for a man to reject a girl.
Let alone in ancient times, even in modern times, if someone is rejected so many times, they will lose confidence in themselves. Even Kotaro was not invulnerable to this.
Then, how could Mitsuri be alright?
Kotaro guessed that Mitsuri must have been rejected multiple times, enough to destroy her self-esteem. But it was still weird.
Mitsuri Kanroji was beautiful. His eyes weren't bad, nor were those of others. Then why reject her?
To this point, out of all the girls he had met, Kotaro could say with confidence that Mitsuri was the most beautiful, cute, and sexy girl of all.
Then how could one reject her?
He felt he was missing something. The more he thought about it, the more familiar Mitsuri felt to him. Her name and her situation felt strangely familiar.
'Damn! Why can't I remember?'
It felt like he was short of one last piece. With it, he would complete the puzzle.
"Kotaro-sama?"
He looked at her, still gazing at him and nervously waiting for his response. Added with her circumstances, her look made his heart melt and his instincts couldn't help but move. He didn't want anyone to hurt this girl.
But such an ironic situation. Because he too would reject her, adding one more nail into her coffin and hurting her.
Such a cute yet pitiful girl.
"Mitsuri."
His hand moved, and he placed it on her cheek. His action startled Mitsuri. It was too sudden for her. She blushed instantly because of this intimate gesture and called out to inquire about this sudden act.
"K-Kotaro-sama, why are you—"
"Shh!"
He silenced her by putting his finger on her lips, and then gave a justification for his act.
"Didn't you want to hear the answer?"
He moved his hand, caressing her cheeks and then patting her head affectionately, and then, with a smile most beautiful in Mitsuri's eyes, said the words that went deeply to her heart.
"Mitsuri, you're truly beautiful."
Though he couldn't marry her, Kotaro decided to at least instill some confidence in her. Maybe this way, he would be able to reduce his guilt for hurting her in the future.
…
"Please come again!"
The shopkeeper bid farewell with smiles, quite elated to have witnessed such an intimate scene in his flower shop. Though he secretly hoped that the man would kiss the girl and claim her as his own!
He looked at the departing couple, with the girl smiling a bit more brightly with the flower etched in her hair, enhancing her beauty even more.
"What a lovely couple!"
The shopkeeper retreated and began to water the flowers to keep them fresh, humming a trending song and enjoying the moment.
…
'That was a bit embarrassing.'
Now that he was out, Kotaro realized that what he did was a bit too intimate. Not to mention the stare of the shopkeeper... He looked happier than both of them combined. Kotaro glanced sneakily at Mitsuri to see her flushed face, which still hadn't returned to normal.
Mitsuri was still in a daze, replaying the scene of Kotaro caressing her cheek, putting his finger on her lips, patting her head… All of it was too intimate for her. Besides her father and mother, nobody else had done such things to her.
But what stole her heart was that smile. That smile that praised her while patting her head…
--Mitsuri, you are beautiful!
Boom!
Once again, the steam engine started, leaving Mitsuri in a flushed state. It was too romantic!
'It was an act of impulse.'
Kotaro didn't intend to do that, but his body acted on its own when he saw Mitsuri trying so hard in front of him. His heart just melted, and he couldn't help but pat and caress her.
It had happened. There was no point in thinking about it. Moreover, Kotaro didn't regret it. And why would he?
Mitsuri's cheeks were super soft, and she smelled quite nice too. Her reaction to it was priceless as well. Thinking of that red, nervous, and flustered state, a certain pleasure emerged in his heart.
'Should I tease her now?'
Now that he had figured out that Mitsuri was unlikely to stop his advances, he wanted to tease her more to see more of her cute reactions. He was craving it.
Speaking of craving, Kotaro remembered that he hadn't eaten yet. He felt his stomach was empty and decided to eat next.
"It's almost noon. I bet you haven't eaten anything. Let's go for lunch next, Mitsuri."
'Lunch!'
The word 'lunch' made Mitsuri return to her usual nervous state. Kotaro noticed it but didn't think much of it. He was hungry, and Mitsuri was probably hungry too. That's what he thought.
But Mitsuri was sweating buckets. This was the part where she needed to be careful. If not handled well...
'I can't let Kotaro-sama know about my abnormality!'
===
A/N:
The time for Mitsuri's identity reveal is coming!
And for extra chapters: patreon.com/cherryblooming
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