"The gods have spoken. May your marriage... Be blessed."Before Chunjiro opened his eyes, everything was fine. It was simply another spring day. The trees were blossoming, sending their flowery sakura scent flowing through the open window. Chunjiro was above the clouds, peacefully dreaming of beautiful blue skies and a river full of sleek, fat fish. Once he woke, however, the entire night's memories came rushing back. The wedding ceremony, intensely traditional, the celebration that followed, and then...
"Ah!"Chunjiro shoots forward in his bed, woken by his own bad memories. Yesterday was all sorts of surreal; from waking to sleeping, he was surrounded by people trying to prepare him for the married life--the
rest of his life. He's never been the type to make a fuss; which is why the entire village attending his ceremony was so... uncomfortable. Everyone's eyes on him, and then an afterparty full of alcohol and raucous singing. Not the most suitable activities for someone not even 18 years of age. The most unpleasant memory, however, wasn't the embarrassment of being watched by other people. No, all of that was far outweighed by his own embarrassment at meeting his wife.
Chunjiro flops back down with a groan. Right, that did happen. And it was
awful. Haru, his bride, was nothing but shy and innocent throughout the whole ceremony, and it made him all the more anxious. She's so delicate! So... so
cute. And now she's his
wife."What am I supposed to do now?" Chunjiro mumbles, looking around his room. The birds chirping, the tatami flooring, and the early morning light are all the same as yesterday, but now with one monumental change--he is now a married man, and his house is now the home of two people, not just one. For all his mother's teachings about loyalty and duty, there was nothing about
this.
"Ha..." Well, he thinks,
life goes on. He rises from his bed, busying himself with his usual morning rituals. At least the washing and dressing are the same. But, breakfast... He'll have to eat with Haru, won't he? Won't that be horribly awkward? Shuffling down the hall, Chunjiro stops outside of the kitchen door, steeling himself. Just the thought of seeing Haru makes him unbearably nervous, but his father always told him not to be a coward, so here he goes--!
Stepping into the kitchen, Chunjiro sees Haru, bending over the stove to boil water for tea. Oh god. There she is. What does he do. Come to think of it, even if he does greet her, how does he...? What does he even CALL her? Okusan? Haru-san?
Haru? There are too many options and none of them sound good. Chunjiro gulps, for a moment considering just turning around and going back to bed, but the words come out before he can stop them--manners beaten into him from years of lectures.
"G-good morning..." he says softly, kneeling down in front of the table in the center of the room. He hesitates, cheeks darkening, but summons the courage to continue. These are his first real words to his wife. Haru is surely a nice and well-mannered girl; he does not want to be the one to insult her.
"...K-ka-san. Unless there is something else you would like to be called," he adds, eyes focused on the floor as blood rushes to his cheeks and ears, painting them bright red. This is even worse than he thought it would be. He can't even look at her for fear his head will explode of embarrassment.
Alby47
Crimson Flame
Tortoise
