Sengoku era, Golden Kamuy, Yakuza etc.

insta: tachibanasrealestate (Yakuza fan account)

[darkscorpiox]

Golden Kamuy Headcanon #2 – What kind of Geisha was Ogata Tome?

The only thing we know of Ogata Tome’s time as a geisha is that she worked at Asakusa. It was speculated by @goldenkamuyhunting that Ogata was born in 1882 (1, 2, 3). At that time, Asakusa had three kinds of geishas:  

Hirokoji Geishas (広小路芸者) who worked in the areas of Asakusa Hirokoji (浅草広小路), currently Kaminarimon-dori Street (雷門通り), for the dengaku-chayas (田楽茶屋: teahouses selling tofu dengaku (豆腐田楽)) located there, hence the affectionate nickname Dengaku Geisha (田楽芸者). 

Saruwaka-cho Geishas (猿若町芸者) who worked for the shibai-jayas (芝居茶屋: teahouses working for theaters, serving spectators before a play or during the entr’acte) of the three kabuki theaters of Saruwaka-cho (猿若町), currently 6-chome Asakusa: Ichimura-za, Morita-za and Nakamura-za. The theaters had a cubic ornamental structure displaying their respective crests called yagura (櫓: watchtower, turret), positioned above the entrances, and since the activities of shibai-jayas took place under the latter, the geishas working there were also called Yagurashita Geishas (櫓下芸者).  

(From left to right: Ichimura-za, Morita-za and Nakamura-za)

Sanyabori no Geishas (山谷堀の芸者), commonly called Hori no Geishas (堀の芸者), who worked for the hikite-jayas (引手茶屋: teahouses serving the patrons of red-light districts before their appointments with brothels) of Sanyabori (山谷堀), the (no longer usable) canal leading customers to Yoshiwara by funayados (船宿: houseboats) which they also used to entertain the latter. Because they work close to Saruwaka-cho, they were sometimes placed in the same category. 

(reference: JP / EN) 

Coincidentally, I found out about the existence of a kabuki actor named Sawamura Hyakunosuke (澤村 百之助) (1857 – 1899) who used to perform for one of the kabuki theaters of Saruwaka-cho (1, 2). 

Also, while I was watching the OVA of the Battle in Barato Arc (chapter 56 – 59), I heard Hijikata call Ogata “Yagura ni iru Yatsu”, the “man in the [watch]tower”.  

So, while Noda may not have implied on purpose, I like to believe that Ogata Tome used to be a Saruwaka-cho / Yagurashita Geisha.

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Hi. I have a question about Ogata and Usami's military service period. The enlisted soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army served 3 years before being discharged. After that, they were registered in reserved forces for 5 more years so that they could be drafted when a war broke out. Ogata and Usami were enlisted in 1901, and Russo-Japanese war ended in 1905. But why weren't they discharged after the war? How could they stay in the barracks up until 1907? Did Tsurumi make them stay illegally?

Well, very likely...

Tsurumi didn't force them to stay there illegally for two good reasons. The first is that they likely joined the army willingly and not merely because they were connscripted and wanted to stay in it.

This can be assumed by two things, the first is their character (Usami wants to be near to Tsurumi so it's unlikely he wants to leave the Army and we're told Ogata wanted to rise in ranks) and by the fact that instead than joining the divisions tied to their own home cities (Usmai should have joined the 2nd division, Ogata the 1st, they applied for the 7th division).

The 7th division is, in a way a special army, its soldiers called Tondenhei (屯田兵 "colonizer soldiers" but also "agricultural soldiers") up till 1904.

If you look up, many of the soldiers under Tsurumi aren't native of Hokkaido, which is a sign they willingly chose to join the 7th.

Why is that? Well, because being a Tondenhei gave you some benefits you wouldn't have if you were just to join the Army.

Tondenhei in fact were given a heioku (soldier's house), which had been built and prepared before their immigration, and undeveloped land. They weren't exactly luxurious but better than that of the ordinary people at that time. Each heison also had vast communal land.

That's because Tondenhei were meant to be soldiers, but also farmers who would colonize Hokkaido, so in addition to military work, they would do farm work and construct roads and waterways and other things and works as police.

Due to this Tondenhei's service term was twenty years (!) including three years for geneki (active service), four years for yobieki (reserve duty), thirteen years for kobieki (duty after reserve duty) with age limit of forty (more info here).

As you can see, when they joined they knew they were meant to stay.

Of course, since the Tondenhei system ended in 1904 (because by then Hokkaido was populated enough they could just conscript people from there and not give them benefit as they wouldn't be immigrants), it can be that their service term was shortened.

I don't really know, as Tondenhei are special soldiers and they didn't last that much (1874 to 1904), I don't really have tons of info on them.

Still I doubt Ogata and Usami had any interest in their service term being shortened since they clearly wanted to stay in the army.

I hope this helps and thank you for your question!

[f00t-fic]

I appreciate Ogata GoldenKamuy for being catboy representation for the kind of cats that make people hate cats.

This man is here to piss on your carpet and knock over every single full drinking glass he can find. If you touch him wrong, he will rip your face off. Sometimes he gets hairballs and he only hacks them up where he knows you'll be walking. He won't stop catching birds and rodents and leaving them in your bed. You are not getting your security deposit back because of him and he fully intends to eat your corpse when you die.

[piduai]

Interview with Noda Satoru for kotoba magazine

reposting anywhere is fine, but please credit me.

Q: While the setting of Hokkaido at the end of Meiji era does feel somewhat familiar, it was still abundant with novelty. It seems to me that the more new stuff you bring into a story, the easier it conflicts with the way people are used to reading manga. How do you find the balance?

Noda: Exploring what others have barely touched upon before has been my goal ever since I was but an aspiring mangaka. Things like baseball and soccer, magic, demons, superpowers, all the genres that have so many fingerprints on them already have never inspired a desire of competition in me.

Rather than fighting my way climbing on a huge mountain with countless rivals, I’d rather make my own little mountain, with what I, myself, find fun. My previous work was about ice hockey, this one was about Ainu as a key element. I have also considered it crucial to include human drama that anyone at all could relate to. Besides that, I was sure to include things that only I have seen and things that the people I’ve met across my life have shared with me, it was all done on purpose. This way, my original story is my own, something that only I would be capable of creating.

For example, take the scene with Ariko Rikimatsu’s father stubbornly showing his son how to carve a makiri. This was a real episode that Kaizawa Tooru-san, an Ainu artisan, has shared with me, and I depicted it as such. Perhaps Kaizawa-san’s father also wanted his son to continue their craft, but didn’t want to force him into it, or so I would like to assume.

Weiterlesen

[emae-jp]

TVアニメ『ゴールデンカムイ』× earth music&ecology Japan Label

Weiterlesen

[marmastry]

GK sketch dump

[daeva-agas]

NPC Election greetings

Part of the winner tiers include Rank 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 posting nice messages on Twitter.

[Masayuki: 30th place]

For some reason, my sons have already started preparing to rally support for the next election. As we don’t know if there will be a next one yet, they really are overeager. Still, preparing oneself for a battle that may come at us any time is a good intention. Next time, without fail, we will show you the spirit of the Sanada.

{Sorry, its a bit out of order because my bias LMAO. Really wanted to hear what Masayuki says}

[Kiyomasa: 10th place]

Hideyoshi’s been kicking a fuss because I placed 10th in the election. He was saying “Amazing, you got 10th place!” over and over. It’s really great and all to rank that high, but somehow I feel like I’m being made fun of. Oh, well. It’s the proof that you gave me lots and lots of love, right?

{Hide and Kiyomasa is Double Trouble LOL. And poor Masanori is like the awkward one in the middle.}

[Masanori: 20th place]

Someone randomly left spring onions and tofu in front of my door after the election ended. I wonder, is it because I mentioned miso soup in my speech? I’m a bit concerned because it’s not given to me directly, but it can’t be helped. I’m going to make miso soup now, so please come over if you’d like. 

{He’s a big floofy teddy bear, I swear… He’s so cute in his normal mode, and badass in battle}

[Francisco: 40th place]

It’s outrageous, I’m telling you! That Luis, he would never pass the chance to brag “I got 38th place” to me! I’m so offended! It’s just a difference of two ranks, you know! I won’t have it, I’ll definitely win from Luis next time. Please give me your support!

[Matsuko: 50th place]

After the election, everyone in the castle seems so happy. Without a doubt, it’s because we know that we’ve received love from you. It will make me so happy if we can continue to get along well, far into the future. For your sake, all of us would gladly lend our strengths.

[Kennyo: 60th place]

My, my, after the election, there’s been many requests for “Grant me miracle” or “Preach a sermon for us”~. If you want to listen to my sermons, your continued donations will be much appreciated~. I’ll give you a great bargain for your first donation, and thank you for your patronage!

{And over in the Ikesen universe, Kennyo feels a disturbance in the Force because of this nonsense. Can I say that my brain melted with every word that I have to type? I just can’t with this dumbass and the weird stuff he says D:}

[samurailoveballadhistory]

Tiger, tiger!

We have another case of the banner text being changed for the English version. The reason here is because the original battle event was a New Year event, so the papers they were holding were originally New Year Resolutions (similar to the previous New Year themed battles).

However, we’re running this event NOT during New Year in SLBP, so it all just turned into cat-themed dialogue.

“Change my name to Touda Nobunaga”

(糖 Tou is sugar, e.g konpeiTOU)

“A cat for each day”

“Become advanced in romance”

(lit. “Senior in romance”. Senior as in “higher rank/higher level”)

“Best seller”

“Make greetings with a smile”

“Be able to tidy at least acceptably”

(lit. just says “moderately tidy”)

“Be a good and generous lord”

“This year I’ll be successful”

(lit. “Gonna howl this year”. There’s an old idiom that “When the tiger howl, wind will rise”, i.e successful. I don’t know if this is a pop culture reference or anything, but there were people going around saying “I will howl this year” on the Year of the Tiger)

”Pluck it bald”

“Launching the Legend of Hideyoshi”

“Campaign to oppose throwing out treasures”

“No risk, no gain”

(lit. “Tiger cave, tiger cub”. An abbreviation of the idiom that says “If you don’t enter a tiger’s cave, you can’t catch tiger cubs”)

“Filial piety”

(specifically, towards Ibano, who he calls 爺 “gramps” )

“Shiratama gourmet tour around the country”

(Shiratama is the white mochi balls that’s usually a topping on anmitsu, but I think he actually means anmitsu by that, and not going around the country to eat just the mochi balls)

“Eat and sleep”

“Just do it“

(lit. “only action is necessary”, i.e no need for much words, just get things done)

“Stop being the one constantly teased“

”Polishing claws”

(This might be a reference to his “nickname” in the profile being “The Tiger’s Claws”. I’m assuming this actually means “improve myself”.)

“Research snake recipes”

(Hanzo, please don’t eat Haku)

“Maintain the status quo”

“Win against Kageie”

“Number one in the region”

“Overcome tone-deafness”

(Just to make sure this isn’t misunderstood: Kaede/Sougo cannot sing, and wants to be better at it. Please don’t think that he’s actually deaf)

“In travelling, a companion"

(Shortened from “In travelling, a companion. In life, compassion”. This proverb is interpreted to mean: “Just as it is reassuring to have a companion when travelling, it is important for us to care for each other as we pass through this life.”)

[thekimonogallery]

Utagawa Hiroshige’s “Children’s play warriors. Ota Memorial Museum of Art

[daeva-agas]

It’s mini-dragons being filleted and grilled like eels OMG

[odaclan]

「Honganji－リターンズ－」(Honganji: Returns)

Main Site: https://www.stars-honganji.jp/

Trailers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGbVx6U_yVk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nob8Ef737c

This is an interesting production. The story tells of how Nobunaga became possessed by the vengeful spirit of Taira no Masakado, and turned him into the “demon king” that he is. He slaughters multitudes in his path, aiming to be a god. Standing in the way of his ambitions are the people of Honganji, under the leadership of their chief-abbot Kennyo, with the assistance of the Saika gun corps. 

Cast:  -  陣内孝則 Jinnai Takanori as Nobunaga - 壮一帆 Sou Kazuho as Kennyo - 諸星和己 Morohoshi Kazumi as Saika Magoichi - ルウト Root as Kennyo’s son Kyounyo - 市川九團次 Ichikawa Kudanji IV as the wraith of Taira no Masakado

*) The trailer and earlier press releases credits 水夏希 Mizu Natsuki in the role of Kennyo, but the official cast in the website is Sou Kazuho. Perhaps the role was recast at some point.

I never thought I’d see a production where Kennyo and his faithfuls from Honganji would be shown as heroes. Even in stories where Nobunaga is the evil one, the “righteous hero” who bore the burden of stopping him is usually not people of Honganji (despite their 10-year-long squabble being fairly well-known). 

In this case I have no idea what will be the fate of Nobunaga in the end. The news releases all describe Nobunaga as “Antihero” rather than “villain”. Maybe the ghost will be exorcized?

Nobunaga being possessed or literally a demon is not new, but I think it’s apt that the “demon” in question here is the ever-feared Taira no Masakado, who is regarded with some trepidation even to this day. Nobunaga had himself claimed to be of Taira bloodline in his lifetime, so a “Taira” ghost possessing him is a fitting narrative. 

Ichikawa Kudanji also happens to be the disciple of Ichikawa Ebizou XI, who played Nobunaga a few times. A funny coincidence, there.

An interesting point is that both Kennyo and Kyounyo’s roles are performed by women. Sou Kazuho is a former Takarazuka actress, and Root is a female model (though she usually models while presenting as male). In a press conference, the staff commented that this is on purpose, this “Kennyo” character’s gender was meant to be ambiguous. They didn’t mention Kyounyo, but the appearance looks masculine. 

Another interesting aspect is that Kennyo’s costume design resembles the classic look of Tang Sanzang (Xuanzang/Sanzou Houshi), the monk from Journey to the West. 

[daeva-agas]

THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THIS THAT’S SO HILARIOUSLY MIND-BOGGLING IT’S HARD TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND IT 

Not even Ikesen made Kennyo beautiful and that’s an otome game. They made Kenshin pretty to tap into “owo Kenshin is a girl” rumours, but this is new LOL.

Although, now I feel less bad about my stupid idea of one of my characters’ backstory. Her favourite novel was this novel about Honganji and I was thinking “do Japanese people even care” because in Nobu vs Honganji stories, usually the main focus is on Nobu even though the story tries to also show the Honganji side. Guess someone somewhere would try to do it, so it would exist, even if it might not be popular/mainstream.

[samurailoveballadhistory]

You’ll notice that Nobunaga doesn’t actually answer why he’s raising arms against Honganji again, and the story doesn’t really give an explanation for why there’s suddenly war again out no nowhere.

And that’s because most people don’t know either. If there’s paperwork or letters explaining the situation better, it looks like either it’s still not been found yet or its documentation is obscure. The Shinchoukouki was unfortunately sparse with the details here, and I haven’t been able to find any other material that give me the answer.

Here’s the chronology that I managed to find, based on diaries and letters that I could look at:

- Around November of 1575, the peace was brokered. Kennyo sent Nobunaga some prized paintings and tea jar as tokens of sincerity, and Nobunaga sent a letter to Honganji acknowledging this peace. - Around February of 1576, Mitsuhide was informed that Honganji had surrendered (the above November treaty). - April 1576, Nobunaga expresses concerns about the Osaka area to his son, but the document doesn’t say why - May 1576, Nobunaga gave orders to evacuate the people of Osaka, and Mitsuhide was sent out to prepare for war. 

Apparently something happened between February and April of 1576, but I don’t know what. I suppose neither did the writer, because if they did know they would’ve likely used it in the story.

A tangent on Ikemen Sengoku (apologies if you don’t understand), since we’re on the subject. They adapted this matter of Oda and Honganji peace suddenly falling apart with a very bizarre plot involving man-Kichou manipulating the treaty for the same reason. There’s no answers here, and they don’t want to make either Nobunaga or Kennyo look bad, so they dumped the blame on a third party. 

[colourless-hydrangeas]

Why does he have to be like that? ;; (from Shingen's route)

"What was a woman again...?"

Yukimura, are you even serious?

[mamaito]

He's so romantic.

[tachibanasrealestate]

Lmao please no, don't do Daigo dirty like that 😣😂 I would forgive Daigo everything though 🥴

Source: ioritree (YouTube)

[tachibanasrealestate]

Who else can relate with Majima? 🙋🏻‍♀️😂

[tachibanasrealestate]

My first Yakuza one shot! This time it will be Daigo x female and it takes plays at the start of Kiwami 2. I hope I did well (advices etc. are always welcome 🙏🏼) and that you will enjoy it! 😄

Also, feel free to hit me up with requests! ✌🏼

Title: Realising the feelings

Another night shift at work. I really like it here though. Both the co-workers and the costumers are nice (at least most of the time), the atmosphere is elegant yet comfortable and our selfmade cocktails are all delicious. It's our trademark and we are really proud of that. 

"Rin, table no. 5 wants the strawberry one with extra ice!"

"Alright!" I rush to the counter, finish the already half-done drink and serve it to the customer.  

"Here you go.".

"Thanks, Onee-chan." I smile and nod to the man I just served. A regular and fun customer, thus he calls me Onee-chan, like a few other customers who come here on a regular basis just like my best friend since middle school, Daigo Dojima. Though he doesn't call me Onee-chan but just Rin without any honorifics and I do the same. I'm about to go back to the counter when I suddenly hear a loud thump and the door gets kicked open aggressively. 

"Yo! Any gal called Yumi in here?"

I take a quick glance at the door which was enough to recognize these gangsters as Yakuza and slowly move towards the counter.

"Hey, girl! Who told ya to keep movin', hah?!" The Yakuza who kicked the door open suddenly comes to me with big steps and takes my wrist. "Hm? Who told ya to move?!"

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I just wanted to place this ther-"

"I don't care you witch, now tell me where fuckin' Yumi is!"

"We don't have someone by this name here."

"Now lying, aren't ya? Jeez."

He lets go of my wrist with force so that I stumble a bit. 

"Aight, now let's get every woman stripped here to search for the tattoo. Go!" 

"You can't just waltz in and harass our customers!" shouts my boss while walking up to the leader of that Yakuza group. I'm really thankful that my boss is the confident one, but I wish she would know in what situations to shut up to not fuel the fire any further but here she is, complaining to a man who would no doubt give her an awful time if he wanted. 

"Hm? Why so objecting, lil' miss? Or are you the one with the tattoo?" Within one second, he takes the hem of her blouse and pushes it down so much that you can hear the material tearing apart. 

"What do you think you are doing?!" My boss holds up her hand, ready to slap him across the face. However, his movements are too fast and holds her wrist in the air. 

"Shut the hell up, man! And you don't even have a tattoo as I can see now, so who do you think you are disturbing me during my task?" He flicks his tongue and pushes my boss so hard that she falls onto her back, groaning. Out of fear, I slowly go backwards up to the wall to search for some kind of protection which I know I won't have anyway.  

"Ok, who next?"

"Aniki, the one making the drinks could be Yumi! My instinct says so!"

"Is that so? Let's see."

The men go up to her and are about to search her body for a tattoo. I take that chance to go along the wall further left to the telephone. Please, let me call the police real quick... 

"Yo, ya gal! Whaddaya do?!" A man with a strong dialect suddenly comes running towards me, pushing the telephone out of my hand. The other men follow suit. 

"Ouch!" I hold my hand in pain the man just slapped. That was some force, man...

"Ya were thinking of callin' the police, hm? Not a chance, girl." Another man comes up to me and grabs my hair violently. 

"Let's search it on her next."

"Aight, aniki."

Three men come up to me at once. Two of them holding me firmly while the other one is about to release me of my clothes.

"Please, no..." I beg, but still no chance. My blouse already got tore down and the man is about to get to my pants next when I suddenly hear someone screaming my name.

"Rin!"

Daigo? I can't see him because of the big guy in front of me but the next second, I see the man crouching on the ground and Daigo in front of me. Looking angry, he fights the two men holding me and rams them into the ground. 

"Rin! Are you okay?! Here, my jacket." Daigo comes kneeling down to me shivering on the ground. 

"D-Daigo, you shouldn't have come. You know, those guys-"

"Don't say that! I should have come and I'm glad I did." Daigo yells back at me while wrapping his jacket around me. 

"Daigo, he-!" I'm about to warn Daigo about the bat swinging man who just hit Daigo on the head. 

"Oh no, Daigo, please! I'll call an ambulance!" Daigo brings a hand to his head as he gets up again, making a sign with his other hand to show me not to worry. 

"I'll get these guys."

Daigo walked up to the remaining men and punched one of them with full force. Now that was the start of a whole fight going down. Daigo is great at fighting, you can clearly see that. However, against several fit men all at once? After what feels like an eternity, Daigo is up against 4 more opponents, when one of them suddenly hits Daigo on the back of his head with a bat again but this time with much more force which makes Daigo collapse onto the ground.

"Daigo!" I yell out, then cover my mouth out of shock. Should I call the police? But what then? If the others notice, it might be dead end and I don't want anything more to happen to Daigo. 

The men continue kicking Daigo until they notice that he doesn't fight back anymore and coughs heavily. 

"Ok guys, let's go. Only worthless people here" says the leader and the group finally leaves. I immediately stand up and reach out to Daigo and help him sit up.

"I'll call the ambul-"

"No... *cough* ...  don't. I don't want any more trouble happening to you or this shop."

"Huh? But your injuries!"

"They are not deep, just trust me."

I give Daigo one last sad look, then dial the number of the ambulance.

"Don't!" Daigo says and slaps the phone out of my hand. At this moment my boss comes running to us with some first aid materials. 

"Excuse me, Dojima-san. Can you stand up?" Without a word, Daigo listens to my boss and gets to the nearest couch alongside my boss who then begins to treat his injuries. Meanwhile, I give Daigo some fresh water and sit down next to him. 

"Daigo, do you want to go to my apartment? It's not as far as yours and you can have a quiet time there." To this Daigo just nods. Soon, my boss is finished treating his wounds and let's the crew go home for the day with the shop closed early in the night. 

I take one of his arms and put it around my shoulder to help him walking. The way to my apartment is not even far, but now it feels like an eternity. The streets are still busy at this time, so we get a lot of irritated looks but we couldn't care less about that. 

After a few minutes, we finally reach my apartment. I sit Daigo down on the couch in the living room and get him a glass of fresh water from the kitchen.

"Here you go." 

"Thanks."

Not knowing what to do, I just stand there. Looking throughout the room in search of finding something I don't even know.

"Why don't you sit down?"

"Oh, right."

I let out an embarrassed, light laugh but sit down nonetheless. Come to think of it, Daigo has visited me quite a few times, but never this late. Why did I not think this through before? He needs a place to sleep and to recover, right? Panic grows inside of me. We've been friends since middle school, our friendship getting stronger and stronger by year you could say. However, we never got into such a situation. Sure, I often helped him when he was injured or had to escape from a gang and he also helped me a lot whenever I got into trouble, but now we are kind of both involved at the same time. 

"Hey, Rin." I get thrown back into reality, my head back on line with my back again and look at Daigo. "What is it?"

"I'm glad I arrived on time. I heard some punks in town were searching for a woman with a tattoo and since you have one... I became worried and rushed to your workplace right away."

I keep looking at Daigo, still processing his words.

"I guess I made things worse for you and your co-workers, but I couldn't deal with the thought about some assholes roughly treating you... and your co-workers, but especially you."

"Y-Yeah... if they would have found out about my tattoo on my leg... if you wouldn't have arrived on time, I don't know... I'm so sorry Daigo, only because of me you got beaten up so brutally. I didn't want that!"

"Of course you wouldn't want that."

Daigo laughed a bit, now finally relaxing a bit and his back completely resting on the couch. 

"You know, Rin... I wouldn't have thought, but I seriously like you."

Shocked by his words, I turn my head to his direction and ask "Huh? What do you mean 'like'? Haven't you liked me at all during our many years as friends?" but I suddenly get wrapped by his two arms.

"I guess it has been quite some time for me to feel this way but I never realized that because I kept saying you are like a sister to me. I mean, we've had our backs since middle school, but eventually I began to see you as a woman I want to date. I mean, how many years has it been now? 13, 14 years?"

Daigo stops speaking, but still holds me tightly. The time goes by even slower than earlier. Daigo has feelings for me? Or am I dreaming right now? I just don't know what to say... I have feelings for him too, for a long time by now, but I never would have thought they were mutual. Even now I still can't believe it.

"Rin."

"I..."

"It's ok, you don't have to say anything right now. Take your time."

To this I simply nod and Daigo smiles, but I can see that it's a sad one. Feeling awkward as hell now, I recommend watching a movie to cool down and to end the night on a good tone. He agrees and we quickly decide on a movie. Comedy is the best after such a day. Eventually, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed again, yet we still have to talk about the sleeping situation.

"Hey, Daigo. You can use my bed by the way."

"I'll use the couch."

"But your injuries... I couldn't allow you to sleep on a couch with your state right now..."

"Then... and I'm sorry for asking, but if you don't like the idea of me sleeping on the couch and vice versa... and your bed is big enough for two..."

My eyes get big at this suggestion but I'm not the only one. Daigo actually becomes slightly shy for the first time ever! At least in front of me. I must say, a Daigo with slightly red cheeks is actually pretty cute. A sight to behold. 

"Well, I mean... we know each other for 10 years, right? It shouldn't be a big deal... Right?" Trying to play off my nervousness, I pretend everything would be fine with us sleeping in one bed and stand up, ready to go get ready for bed. Just then I'm about to go, Daigo holds me by the wrist.

"Rin, you don't have to force yourself." 

"N-no... it's not that. Please, don't worry, just... just get ready."

With that, I go into the bathroom and get ready. After me, Daigo prepares himself while I make the bed room ready for sleeping. I'm already beneath the blankets when Daigo enters the room and goes to the other side of the bed and lays down. 

"W-well... good night." I say quickly and turn off the light. Gosh, I'm nervous as hell. How am I even supposed to sleep tonight?! I keep having the wildest thoughts inside my head, not going to quiet down anytime soon. 

"Rin, your breathing is real quick. Are you really ok with this?"

Shocked by the sudden voice, I let out a small scream and sit up.

"O-oh, oh my god! Daigo, please! Don't scare me like that!" I say out loud, touching the place where my heart is to cool it down to which Daigo suddenly laughs. I don't know why, but it somehow relaxes me too. After his laugh ended, I smile at him and lay back down with my back towards him. Ok, Rin. Please, calm your nerves. Breath in 5 seconds, breath out 5 seconds. You can do it. You can normally sleep with Daigo next to you. You already did this years ago when you were still going to school anyway so what's the big deal? Let's just sleep well and I will tell Daigo about how I feel tomorrow with a clear mind.

I do this breathing technique for several more minutes when fatigue finally hits in. My breathing gets quieter and quieter. 

"Rin?"

"Hm?" I hum, only slightly realising that Daigo actually called me. Suddenly, I feel an arm around me.

"I hope it's ok for you, I just felt the strong urge to hold you like this... I'm just realising it now, but I've had the wish for quite some time. If you don't want to, please say so."

Too tired to reply with words, I say nothing. Instead, I snuggle up more towards him. Why does it feel so comfortable and warm... it makes me so sleepy, but in a good way. It makes me feel secure too, having Daigo near me. And it's not like I didn't wanted to be near him since I too have feelings for him.

Me not replying anything, Daigo doesn't let go of me. After a couple more minutes he snuggles his head into my hair and neck, which tickles a bit because of his beard but I'm too sleepy to react at all. The only thing I know is that it calms me down a lot and before I realized it, I already went into dreamland. 

[tachibanasrealestate]

Does Kuze look kind of sad or rather irritated? 🤔😂