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Offering her coh Mariko, just beneath her heart

She could not understand what Ōkaly obvious Frankly Mariko expected better of him It was unwise of him to flaunt his affections in such a manner Earlier he’d claimed to appreciate Mariko’s stance on love Claieneral

This entire display was foolish A waste of his tiirl as a potential source of conflict with Ranmaru

Mariko pursed her lips It did not matter if Ōkaht be better if they were, for her purposes

With a roll of her shoulders, she pressed into the shadows, trying to determine a way to move within earshot of Ōkami and Yumi She recalled what she and Kenshin had done as children when they’d wished to spy on their elders They’d licked a finger and pressed it to one of the rice-paper screens, forh which to eavesdrop But of course the screens in this teahouse were fashioned of silk As if its builders realized the need for utmost discretion in all corners of Hanami

With no obvious way to intrude at hand, Mariko looked upward The low-hanging eave on this end of the courtyard ithin reach She could grab hold of it and shih, Mariko ht be able to hear all that passed between Ōkami and Yumi

Mariko studied the intricately for every wooden eave Theythe exterior of the main teahouse, only these were smaller Some were not yet lit, for it seeht of the full h to illuathering above

She braced a foot along a support beam and clambered onto the tiled roof, her movements masked by the steady din fro, but realized the tabi socks on her feet would not provide the necessary traction to move about freely So instead she crawled like a spider across the curved roof tiles, keeping her head low

When she glanced over the ridge at the crest of the roofline, Mariko ale

It’s not possible

There--standing by the waterfalls near the entrance of the finest teahouse in Hanami--stood a face to side A face she understood as no one else ever could

Hattori Kenshin

The Dragon of Kai had finally found her

THE SWINGING LANTERN

Mariko thought quickly, herhere?

It was possible her brother had tracked her to Inako Though it did seeh a mountainous forest, back to the imperial city But if there was even a remote possibility, Mariko knew Kenshin would be the one to do it Which meant it was also possible he knew the Black Clan was responsible for the attack on her convoy

Now Mariko was met with the consequences

Impossibly, here her brother stood

Kenshin waited beside the blue lagoon as his two hooded coate Even from a distance, Mariko could see the concern on his face

The deep-seated worry

She scrambled to make sense of it all Scraed to track her here, Mariko could not allow hiet this far

I ao back home

Her brother had not arrived at the teahouse alone Two other nobles had entered the gates with hi by their clothing The way several other attendants materialized from the shadows to assist their every need only further proved the point

When four low of the lanterns to their right, Mariko’s heart crashed into her sto Kenshin were from the inner ranks of the imperial court Possibly even ns of their crests Tried to see past their resplendent cloaks

Was it possible one of these hooded men was her betrothed, Minaht, her pulse trilling through her veins