Chapters


	Chapter Twelve
	4th of Satsuki
	*Kouraku* - Picnic
	Makoto and Nowaki waited at the crossroads, sitting on a rock. As they waited, Makoto pointed to various objects around them, quizzing Nowaki on her vocabulary.
	“Tree. Road,” Nowaki said, watching Makoto point, “Rock. Cloud. …Tsuya!”
	“Huh?” Makoto asked, looking up the road. He smiled when he saw several people walking toward them.
	Tsuya was at the front of the group, and she carried a cloth-wrapped box in her arms. Shortly behind her, Moro and Kazana were pulling a pair of carts. Both carts held tall containers with coverings to hide their contents.
	“You managed to bring them,” Makoto observed, smiling at Tsuya.
	Tsuya gently laughed and replied, “It wasn’t easy. Kazana, Moro, and Mister Ichinori worked very hard to build the carts to carry the children.”
	“Ichinori?” Nowaki asked.
	“That’s Masayori’s elder brother,” Tsuya replied.
	“Brother? Masayori?” Nowaki questioned further.
	“You’ll meet him soon,” said Tsuya, “They should already be at the lake by now.”
	“I didn’t see them on the road this morning,” Makoto said.
	“You wouldn’t,” Kazana said, wiping the sweat from his brow before adjusting his glasses, “They live in Sakuramura, so it’s more of a straight-shot for them just to walk along the riverbank than to come all the way out here to the crossroads.”
	“Well,” replied Makoto, “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

	Nearly all of the blossoms had fallen from the ‘somei yoshino’ cherry blossom trees near the river. Only a few pale blossoms still clung to the branches, dotting the limbs.
	Masayori and his elder brother sat near the water. Ichinori was a handsome, strapping man, lacking many of his younger brother’s ‘prettier’ qualities. Ichinori looked to be at least Kazana’s age, and had long hair like his younger brother, which was pulled into a loose ponytail that fell down his shoulder. Even though Masayori seemed considerably younger, the two appeared much older and more mature than the boyish Makoto.
	“Good morning!” Tsuya called out as she waved to them.
	“Good morning, Miss Tsuya,” the two brothers replied in unison.
	Kazana and Moro stopped the carts near the lake before pulling the covers off of them. Inside large bamboo cages, Moro had been hauling three children, and Kazana had been pulling four. They had all put on more weight since the last time Nowaki had seen them, and all seemed healthier, albeit still very pale.
	“We’ve never let them out like this before,” Tsuya said, “What will we do if they try to run away?”
	“I don’t think they will,” said Makoto, “When Nowaki first went outside in the daylight she stayed very close to me. Even when she ran away while you were trying to bathe her, she still stayed close to the house. I think they’re uncomfortable in wide open spaces.”
	“Even when we let them out and gave them food, I can remember Hideri taking his bowl back into his cage,” Kazana noted, untying the door of the cage and opening it.
	Hideri was the first to come out, piqued by the mention of his name. Hanagumori followed shortly after him, while Shunrai and Inazuma remained in the cage. When Moro opened his cage up, Arashi was the first to wander out, paying no attention to the others around him. Hayate followed Arashi out, but Samidare seemed more nervous and hesitant than his brothers.
	“They really do all seem to have their own unique personalities,” Ichinori said, standing and walking toward Makoto and Nowaki. He was quite a bit taller than them, so he leaned down when he spoke, “I don’t believe I’ve had the privilege of meeting either of you yet. You must be Makoto and Nowaki.”
	“Yes sir, I’m Tsujiwara Makoto, and this is Nowaki,” replied Makoto, bowing to him. He nudged Nowaki in the side, and she mimicked his respectful actions.
	Ichinori chuckled and bowed in return, saying, “Nowaki seems to be catching on very quickly. Tsuya has told me a lot about how you’ve been taking care of this girl.”
	A faint flush spread across Makoto’s face. He hadn’t realized how much Tsuya apparently spoke of him.
	Less interested in the conversation, Nowaki watched the other children for a moment before wandering down toward the river’s edge. She waded out into the water, and began watching the fish under the rippling surface.

	In a few minutes, all of the children had joined Nowaki in the river, splashing in the water and striking out at passing fish. Meanwhile, Makoto and Moro had begun to build a small fire, while Tsuya, Kazana, Ichinori, and Masayori sat out on an unfolded blanket and watched the children.
	“No one taught them this?” Ichinori asked.
	“Well, none of us did,” replied Tsuya, “I didn’t even know they could catch fish with their bare hands until Makoto told me. This is the first time I’ve ever seen them do it.”
	Nowaki ran out of the water and jogged toward them, holding a raw fish in each hand. She smiled brightly and held both fish out to Makoto.
	“Thank you!” Makoto said, taking them from her and starting to clean them. He watched as she turned and ran back to the water to catch more.
	“What was that about?” Moro asked.
	“They’re for us,” Makoto said, “She won’t have any problem catching plenty.”
	“She isn’t nearly as greedy as her brothers and sister,” Tsuya commented.
	“Well, think about it,” Masayori said, “Nowaki lives alone with Makoto. He keeps her well fed, and he doesn’t take her food away from her. I’m certain her brothers and sister are always worried their food will be taken by their siblings. Really, Tsuya, you have the more difficult work.”
	Tsuya smiled sheepishly and replied, “It’s not that difficult anymore. It’s just like a house of toddlers.”
	“As though a house full of toddlers wouldn’t be difficult,” Kazana chuckled.
	Makoto skewered the fillets of fish he cleaned and stuck the skewers into the dirt around the fire. He noticed that Tsuya still seemed nervous as she watched the children by the river.
	“What’s wrong?” Makoto asked.
	“Oh, I’m sorry,” replied Tsuya, “It’s just that… Well, if one of the children tried to wander off, I’m not sure any of us could catch them.”
	“If one does, you can just call them back,” Makoto said, smiling, “Nowaki knows what ‘come here’ means, so see if the others understand it too. Go ahead, give it a try.”
	Tsuya looked at Makoto skeptically for a moment, before looking at the children again. She raised her voice a bit and called out, “Come here, Hideri.”
	All of the children looked toward Tsuya, but only came out of the water. The youngest child, Hideri, scampered to Tsuya quickly. The boy kept his head down in a submissive manner, watching her shyly.
	“That’s wonderful,” Tsuya said with a smile, holding out her hand to gently touch Hideri’s head. When she reached toward him, she saw the boy flinch away from her fearfully. A sad expression came over Tsuya’s face as she let her hand fall into her lap again. After a hesitant moment, Hideri backed away from Tsuya, before scurrying back to the river.
	“Very impressive,” Kazana commented, “Strangely enough, it would seem Nowaki has been teaching us a thing or two as well.”

	By the time the fish were cooked for the picnickers, the children had all caught fish for themselves. As Tsuya lifted her skewered fish fillet to her lips, she caught a glimpse of all of the children, including Nowaki, beginning to tear into their raw fish with their teeth and nails. Feeling unsettled by the sight, Tsuya looked away; “I don’t think that I’ll ever get used to that.”
	When the children ate, Samidare was the first to finish his large fish. Shifting his weight from side to side uneasily, Samidare watched the others eat, until his eyes settled on two spare fish on the ground beside Nowaki. Moving on all fours, crouched low, Samidare moved over to Nowaki’s side slowly. As soon as he was within reach, the boy quickly grabbed one of the fish and turned to make his escape. Before he could put any distance between them, Nowaki grabbed Samidare’s wrist. The boy struggled against her, but Nowaki soon proved herself considerably stronger. Nowaki sunk her teeth into Samidare’s hand, forcing him to drop the fish. Once he had let go, Nowaki shoved Samidare to the ground, before spitting out a tinge of red on the dirt beside her.
	“They really are like a pack of wolves,” Moro said, “If so, Nowaki has become the alpha female. Those that don’t fear and obey her, get put in their place.”
	“I do wonder,” mused Kazana, “if Nowaki was such a leader before.”
	“I would be surprised,” Moro replied, “She was as scrawny and weak as the rest of them back then. Now she’s healthier, not to mention she’s ‘the smart one’ of the pack.”
	“I don’t want to think any of them are dumb,” Makoto said, “I think they’re just uneducated. Once I teach Nowaki to talk, she’ll be able to tell me the best way to teach the others.”
	“Have you been making much progress at that?” Ichinori asked, “I haven’t heard her say much of anything.”
	“Nowaki knows a lot of words!” Makoto replied, indignant.
	“Language is more than just words,” Ichinori replied, “If she doesn’t know sentence structure, all of the words in the world can’t do much for her.”
	Though Makoto knew that in his heart, he still became flustered when he heard it.

	After the children had finished their fish, some of them laid on the warm grass, while others became more playful, chasing each other around trees. As the adults lounged nearby, watching the children, Ichinori commented, “Miss Tsuya is quite a talented woman to be able to handle these children.”
	Tsuya blushed brightly, looking away.
	“Tomorrow is Boy’s Day,” said Masayori. He had been oddly quiet for most of the afternoon. Masayori glanced at Tsuya and asked, “Will you be celebrating it in your household?”
	“The boys don’t have any understanding of things like that yet,” Tsuya said, “It would just be a waste.”
	Masayori then turned to Makoto and asked with a faint smirk, “Will you be celebrating Boy’s Day?”
	Makoto realized it was a backhanded comment; he replied with a huff, “I’m too old to celebrate Boy’s Day.”
	“Nonsense,” Tsuya said, “You shouldn’t try to grow up too fast. I’ll make you some traditional oak-leaf mochi to celebrate.”
	“Tsuya, you’re embarrassing the boy!” said Moro.
	Moro’s defense only made Makoto feel more embarrassed.

	When the sun set, everyone parted ways. The brothers accompanied the others to the orphanage before walking back to the village. Makoto and Nowaki walked on their own in the opposite direction, toward Makoto’s home.
	“Sometimes, you’re lucky not to understand what people say,” Makoto said quietly, “There are times when people use words in harsh ways, sometimes even when they don’t mean to. I’m sick of being treated like a boy instead of a man.”
	Nowaki watched Makoto as they walked, with her head cocked to the side curiously. She asked, “Boy? Man?”
	Makoto looked at Nowaki a moment before saying, “Yeah, a boy is a young male, and a man is a full-grown male.”
	Nowaki stared at him blankly.
	“Well, I guess we just figured out what you have to learn next,” Makoto said with a sigh.

	Next Chapter, "Tori - Birds"