Chapter 241 - Vol. 4 - 40

The Passing Festival, Part 1: Keiko

Watching Sinneah and Yumi, unfortunately, did make Keiko jealous. 

Sure, Yumi had gone out of her way to help her move around, without getting too sick from exertion, but, the way they were fighting right now, pushing each other, reminded Keiko of what she'd lost thanks to this. She didn't miss the irony that when she'd first started this whole thing, she'd looked at training Ash as a duty or a chore. Now, however, all she wanted to do was pick up a sword and start swinging. 

All she could do was hope that Ash would make more progress with the ingredients soon, and sit back and try not to hate herself too much as she watched the girls train. 

As they did though, something distracted her. Her ears perked up and Keiko looked to her left, furrowing her brows as she heard something. 

Something that sounded like music. 

"Huh?" Keiko muttered. 

The others hadn't noticed, which let Keiko know that her senses were still refined from so many years spent without eyesight. However, as the volume went up, and the sounds of trumpets and drums filled the air, they noticed. 

"Do you hear that?" Keiko asked. 

"Yeah, what is it?" Metsumi turned toward Satsuhiro, just as curious. 

"I... don't really know," Satsuhiro, for once, was at a loss. Everyone looked in the direction of the music, as Yumi and Sinneah also stopped. 

"Hm... Sounds like it's coming from the city. Come on, let's go check it out!" Metsumi suggested with a wide smile on her face. Keiko, however, hesitated.

Before she could say anything, however, Metsumi was already on her way to it, with Opah riding on her shoulders. Satsuhiro sighed and stood up, pushing himself onto his cane as Yumi and Sinneah walked over to them. 

"Here, thank you," Yumi said, passing Keiko her father's sword back as she wiped away some sweat. 

"Don't mention it..." Keiko mumbled as she took her sword. 

"Well," Satsuhiro said, "let's make sure they don't get into any trouble, at least." 

"We should probably go get Ash, right?" Keiko asked. "In case anything happens?" 

"Sure," Satsuhiro nodded. "Go ahead." 

"Alright," Keiko replied and she turned away, walking into the Manor. She could immediately tell that the servants inside were buzzing over the very thing that Keiko's group was confused about. Still, none of them gave any specific details as to what was going on, so Keiko just kept going, looking around to see if she could find the half-demon. 

It didn't take her too long, as she eventually found Ash showing Luvine some of those spellbooks she'd brought from the library. 

"So, this one heals," Ash was explaining, "which would probably be nice for you to learn someday when you start getting more stats... Keiko?" Ash looked up. 

"Ash," the Zayama approached her, "there's, ehm, something happening." 

"Is anything wrong?" Ash asked, standing up. 

"No, no, but, still... Just in case. Could you come with me, or are you too busy?" 

"Nah, come on, Lu," Ash told the little girl. "I'll keep showing you later." 

The other half-demon gave a silent nod as she waddled up to Ash's side. She didn't talk much, so it was hard for Keiko to get a read on her, but she also never really caused any trouble. 

Having heard what Keiko said though, Ash and Luvine followed her out of the Manor, where, as soon as they walked out the front door, they were met with what almost felt like an entirely different city. 

Instruments as large as the biggest weapons Keiko had seen, confetti flying through the air, colorful banners hanging from the roofs of buildings. Most surprising of all, people, festive and joyous, were marching down the street. 

At the gates of the Manor were some of the senators, including Zafir, and next to them were Satsuhiro, Yumi, and Sinneah. 

Ahead, Keiko could just barely see Metsumi dancing with Opah. 

"What... The... Fuck?" Ash asked as she took everything in. 

Keiko looked down and found that even Luvine was surprised. 

They walked forward and found Satsuhiro talking to the newest of the senators. Zafir had his hands behind his back as he watched the festivities unfold. It sounded like he'd just started explaining what was happening. 

"Luckily," Zafir told Satsuhiro as Ash, Luvine, and Keiko approached. "The Passing Festival hasn't been needed in some time, but, unfortunately, as the Arcane has tragically passed away, now, it is time to mark the end of one leader and the beginning of another." 

"So," Satsuhiro started, "will the Arcane's daughter be taking up her father's position." 

"Yes, when she is of age, she will take up her family's birthright. Until then, however, the Senate will act as stewards. Please," he gestured at the people ahead, "enjoy the activities. Amber can be... a rough city, at times, but the Passing Festival is a time of friendship and camaraderie. Make the best of it, everyone."

Having said that, Zafir walked away before anyone could ask him any further questions. Seeing him leave, the other senators did the same, and Keiko and her group were left there, alone. 

"Well, this place keeps getting weirder and weirder," Ash said, with her hands on her hips. 

"... Focus on ourselves," Satsuhiro said. "All we can do is inform the Royal Council that things are suspicious, and leave peacefully once we're done in this region." 

"Yeah, I know." 

Keiko watched the people ahead for a while. She hadn't gotten to experience much like this in her life, which had, of course, been spent mostly with wooden weapons in her hands, training at her old Zayama home. She didn't know what she was supposed to do, where she was supposed to go, and it looked like most of her group were in the same position. 

However, before long, Metsumi walked over to her and grabbed her by the hands. 

"Uoeh, huh?" Keiko was startled as she pulled her towards one of the musicians. 

"Dance with me!" Metsumi told her with a smile. 

"W-What!? B-But, I don't," Keiko started to respond, but Metsumi just shrugged. 

"You don't have to know anything complicated, just move your body back and forth! Come on," the larger woman told her as she began stepping from side to side. 

Keiko looked back at her group, almost as if asking for help, and only found them watching with mild amusement. 

Okay... Just... Just imitate her,  Keiko told herself, you've done things like this before, in training. That's it! This is just a bit of training, in... a very embarrassing way. 

However, as she stood in front of Metsumi, she started to move like her, slowly. To her right, Opah was doing movements that Keiko was fairly certain counted more as flailing than dancing, but she looked like she was having fun. 

"I-I might get sick," Keiko told Metsumi. 

At that, without stopping her side-to-side steps, Metsumi put her hands gently on Keiko's shoulders. 

"No worries, we'll take things slow. Just try to get the blood flowing!" 

Hearing that, Keiko took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. The loud music, crowds, and general chaos around her made that difficult, but she tried to steady herself and she nodded. 

"Uh, okay," she muttered as Metsumi took her hands off her and resumed her moves. 

She wasn't doing anything too special, just walking side to side, clapping, and then repeating that, but even then, Keiko felt nervous. Still, she said she would try, and so, she would. 

She walked from one side to another, feeling incredibly stiff and awkward, but Metsumi's smile encouraged her to keep going. 

"Good, good," Metsumi said. "Keep it up!" 

"Okay," Keiko continued. She snuck a glance back, to see if the others were watching, and she found that the only one whose eyes were still on her was Ash. The others were scanning the area for more things to look at, but Ash was watching her with a little smile. Keiko felt herself blushing a bit as she continued mimicking Metsumi. 

"Okay, now, do this," Metsumi said before she did a simple spin and clapped again. "There, can you?" 

... If I end up vomiting here, I will not come out of my room for a week,  she promised to herself but, taking a deep breath, she did as Metsumi suggested. 

She gave a little spin and, as Metsumi watched, she cheered for her. 

"Good job!" 

In all honesty, she almost felt like a child right now. However, in matters like these, it was easy to forget that she hadn't had a normal childhood like other members of Jade. Zayamas, especially those who were late to awaken their Spirit Eyes like she was, spent most of their time indoors, and hard at work. 

That feeling, however, began to bloom into something that made the corners of Keiko's lips pull up a little. She found herself smiling as she kept going, and her movements, though they were still slow and measured so as to not get sick, were becoming a little more confident. 

"There you go, see? Nothing to it," Metsumi told her. 

And, as she heard that, she tried her hardest to let herself feel like a regular person. 

If only for a little bit.