ch 8

Mai pov

She's gone...

Momiji's gone...

I watched Maki punch the wall as her fists bled red.

"Maki-nee! Stop it!"

I yelled as I ran to her whilst trying my best to pull her away from the wall.

"THAT DAMMIT NAOYA!! HE KILLED HER!!"

She screamed as I tightened my hands on her sweaty shaking shoulders.

"Calm down....She wouldn't like this..."

I whispered to her ear as I laid my head on her back.

I couldn't stop my sobs as I felt my heart ache.

"D-damn that g-guy.."

Maki whimpered as she sat down on the floor as I held on her body.

"Maki-nee....are you crying?.."

I asked her as I felt her shivering breaths as I leaned on her back.

"Why wouldn't I be!? I have tears too!"

She told me as she grasped the fabric of my clothes wrapping her arms around me.

"I'm sorry.... I'm sorry...."

Maki-nee mumbled. Her face in my chest, I felt the damp sensation of tears.

In the silence, I heard a caw.

I looked out to the open shoji doors as I held my sister who didn't seem to notice.

Outside, the dark sky filled every corner as the black birds flew only seen by the subtle light of the moon.

Momiji...

What happened to you?...

.....

(Earlier)

Momiji pov

I petted my crow gently as I munched on the candy in my mouth.

Dammit...

I gripped the hard parchment of the old book in my hand with one thought while I felt my head pang..

I'm a dumbass, aren't I?

I've been reading stuff to figure something out about my technique...

I haven't been past the first chapter but my head feels like I got sucker punched to the face.

My head's spinning.

"WHY IS THIS SO DAMN COMPLICATED!?"

I shouted while violently pressing the book on my face.

The events of that bloody massacre flashing by....

Hah.....I suppose it should be expected that this wouldn't be easy...

But...

I can't stay like this....

I need at least enough knowledge to defend myself before I could find a safe place overseas.

Thinking over the future and that girl killed before my eyes..

I've decided to leave the clan and go somewhere safer.

But, I need funds. Lots of it.

Problem is...I hardly know how to do it.

There are several ways that I don't know where to start when it comes to money.

It doesn't help that I'm going to need to hurry. This whole place is going down when I turn sixteen.

But the event that night was enough to tell me I needed to survive first.

That's why I tried studying jujutsu instead.

"Cause' you're a numbskull."

I suddenly heard a familiar voice say.

Pulling the book off my face as I put it down, I found myself looking at the green haired little girl.

Maki...

"That's just mean.... it's really hard! you should try!"

I whined as I threw her the dammit book which she effortlessly caught head on with her hands.

Her reflexes are sharp...

"Momiji...I can't even see curses but this is pretty easy... Okaa-sama already taught us this?"

She told me her honey brown eyes glaring at me like she's looking at something surreal and stupid .

"Well...."

I blurted out as I fumbled with my words.

How could I tell her that?

I wasn't paying attention..

Before getting my memories as Amy, it was a well accepted fact that Momiji Zenin wasn't very bright...

"You weren't listening were you? Again that is."

Maki sighed exasperatedly as she walked towards me flatting the book on the table in front of me.

I felt my chest tremble in irritation.

Momiji might've always been a dumbass...

But...

Amy was actually a high achiever with dreams..

Not to mention, she's 19 years old..

This was embarrassing!

"If you really wanna get it, why don't you ask Oto-sama like you usually do?"

Maki said as she sat down beside me on the tatami I laid out on the floor.

Thinking of this again....I felt a little bitter once more...

"And like usual be told that I'm a useless idiot.. Really, Maki-nee?.."

I muttered as I gulped the candy in my mouth while still tapping on my head or rather knocking on my skull trying to find my brain.

Is it even there?..

"Ok ok, Sorry. Fine, if you really.. really want help understanding it...why don't you ask the ojii-chan next door?"

She said as she pushed the book on my chest trying to give it back.

"Nee-san..."

I muttered as I realized what she just told me.

Is she crazy!?

"Hm?"

Maki answered casually as if she doesn't know "that" fact.

"Y-YOU MEAN THAT CRAZY OLD MAN FROM nEXT DOOR!?!?"

I yelled at her in disbelief as she just looked at me nonchalantly even so far as to take the lollipop I put on the table.

"What's wrong with that? Didn't you want to learn something?"

Maki said whilst casually tearing the loli wrapper as she put the bright blue treat in her mouth.

"Asides from the fact in which that lollipop's mine... Can't you just teach me yourself, nee-san? Pretty please!"

I said to her as I tugged on her sleeve while leaning my head on her shoulder trying to act cute.

"Haha..that won't work on me. Mai may fall for that a lot but no. Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to drill through your deep numb skull?"

She told me smiling bemusedly despite knowing her insult.

"So mean.... I'm not that dumb...I think."

I whispered annoyedly despite doubting myself.

"Pffffft. Ha, who knows."

Maki chuckled to herself sipping the sweet in her mouth.

I decided not to bother reacting as I laid my head on the table irritation strumming in my mind.

In that quiet, the girl beside me then stood up and patted my shoulder.

"Good luck, little sister. Anyways, where do you want to go for your birthday?"

She asked while she looked at me as we locked eyes.

"Aren't Mai-nee and you going to the festival? Can't I just tag along like usual? It's just a one day difference anyway."

I responded as I gazed at the page of the book and groaned.

"It's not my fault you were born at the twelfth hour. We might as well go somewhere different. You can tag along if you like though."

Mai said as she entered the room carrying a tray of food.

"But I can't think of anything..."

I told her whilst taking a piece of meat from the tray with my hands unconsciously.

Maki then rolled her eyes as she groaned and scolding pushed me lightly on the back while she handed me the chopsticks.

"We can just go to the carnival like usual."

Mai told me as she sat down elegantly breaking her chopsticks.

Maki on the other hand took a teapot and cups from the cabinets but sat beside me again.

"Now that I think of it... It's not fair that we always just go to places you two like...."

I mumbled as I took a bowl of rice and chewed it violently.

"Hm? You used to like the carnival....why didn't you say anything?"

Maki asked as she put a bit of soy sauce soaked veggie in her mouth.

It's surprising that she's eating veggies right now...

Although, that thought went away as her face scrunched in disgust.

"Maki-nee, Momiji, you need to eat vegetables."

Mai says plainly as she emptied the diced greens and carrots into our bowls.

"Well....I couldn't think of anywhere to go then again..."

I replied to Maki as I started to think.

I haven't been outside a lot so I don't know a many places...

It doesn't exactly help that we have a really tight budget....

Even in the festival, I don't know how exactly these two plan to enjoy themselves.

Hmmm....

Remembering that thought as that person's face flashed in my eyes...

Fushi-nee....

It's been a week. I last saw her on a Wednesday and now it's Sunday.

With that memory, my chest felt a little bitter as I put my chopsticks down at the table.

That place.....I wonder...

"I have an idea....we should go to the mountain..."

I muttered as I gazed at the floor losing myself in my thoughts.

"The mountain? But we go there everyday to get spring water? I'm sick of that place."

Maki groaned as she munched on some meat while secretly putting her vegetables in my bowl.

"There's a place I want to go there. I heard of a sweet shop just by the river."

I said eating the food in my bowl and to Maki's delight unconsciously her vegetables.

"Alright, I guess we should at least go where you want."

Mai replied.

"Mai-nee, I've been trying to get this book. Can't you help me?"

I said handing the crusty damn thing to her.

"Well, if you didn't listen when Okaa-sama explained it, there's no helping it. That's a book you'll never understand by yourself unless you're some genius prodigy."

She told me as she swiftly looked over the pages.

"Eh? Then how do people study then?"

I ended saying as I bonked my head on the table.

"Jujutsu is best learned with practical application. Isn't that what Okaa-sama said? She already told us that."

Mai responded as she handed it back.

"If it was that easy then everyone might've been a grade 1 sorcerer. Okaa-sama said that jujutsu is always refined when you put your life on the line."

Maki added while pouring me some tea.

Just....great...

...

"Maki-nee you put your vegetables in my bowl didn't you?"

I deadpanned as soon as I realized.

I only heard them both laugh.

...

I looked at the old dilapidated house as I sighed.

I need to find out more about my cursed technique. That was my resolve.

I want to know how I can lessen the pain and about the straw doll technique I might have.

If you can't understand cursed techniques from a book without the help of a another senior sorcerer, then it means I need help.

I don't know anyone.

Even if I beg the other clan members or Oto-san, I already know that they won't teach me.

Mai and Maki sadly are out of the question.

The Ojii-chan that lived here I don't know if it'll be any different but I have to try.

I walked towards the house and hesitantly knocked on the moldy door.

Only to be answered by silence.

"Hello, is there anyone there?"

I asked as my knocks turned heavier.

My nerves started to tremble. This place looked like it was just out of a horror scene.

The wood was so old that I could smell it and the fog because of the mountain weather nearby wasn't helping.

The crows I brought along flying around in the sky just made it worse.

And I brought those things!

Oh come on, dammit.

I never liked horror movies and...

Crap, the fact that horror movies can basically come true here doesn't help at all.

I felt the cold as the hairs on my skin started to rise in electric like frenzy.

Suddenly, while I was basically boiling myself in my thoughts, the door slid slowly.

Oh dammit, here it comes...

Please don't be straight out of a horror movie...

Please don't be straight out of a horror movie..

I have no plans of dying again just yet..

Looking at the open space from the door, I found my eyes on a white haired granny in an old kimono.

"Is there something you need, child?"

She said as she gently pushed the door open even wider probably feeling more relaxed to see a child.

Well.... despite slightly knowing it, I'm slightly embarrassed to have been scaring myself.

"Uh, I wanted to ask the Ojii-chan here something."

I replied while scratching my cheek embarrassment staining my nerves a trembling pink.

The sky rumbled cold turning frigid as the drops pattered harshly to the ground.

When it started to rain, the granny kindly urged me in. Her hands gently on my back.

As she sat me in an old rusty chabuudai, I heard her start prepping something in the kitchen.

Looking around me, the place looked a bit....well old and rusty.

The wood making the house was nearly dark rotten and cobwebs were littered around everywhere collecting dust.

The messy array of papers and nearly everything wasn't really pleasant to look at.

Yet.....the place was oddly homely..

Finding myself locking eyes with the granny as she returned with a steaming teapot as the scent of fragrant leaves wafted in the air, I stood still.

"I'm sorry, it isn't much but would you like some senbei and tea?"

She asked warmly as she placed the teapot on the table.

"U-uh, I-It's fine really. Thank you."

I replied as I looked at her smiling wrinkled eyes.

"I insist. I don't think the rain's stopping soon. Do make yourself comfortable."

She said as she gave me a plate of senbei and poured me some tea.

As I took the warm cup she handed me as the steam and crushed leaves slowly stained the water green, I smiled at her awkwardly.

This is a bit...

Unexpected.

Maybe the horror scene was too much but I expected to be kicked until the Ojii-chan agreed.

I never well...

expected to be so welcomed.

It's amazing how an old stranger would seem to be more welcoming than my own home.

It makes me feel guilty.

"My, the rain is getting worse...I hope it doesn't turn into a storm. See, I haven't fixed the leak on the roof."

She told me as she sat in front of me.

Her white hair waves messily in the dim room as her old white rose kimono sat loosely on her skin.

"U-uh, Obaa-chan, I was looking for the old man who lives here. Kousuke-sama."

I told her as I shyly took a sip of the tea as the gentle bitter flavor of leaf dew touched my tongue.

Her gaze looked dim as she gazed from afar watching the violent rain drops outside.

"You must be talking about my husband. Unfortunately, he died just a year ago. I'm sorry that you've come all this way."

She replied as she bit the senbei with a shaky hand.

"E-eh? But why hasn't it been spread in the clan?"

I asked her surprised shock evident in tone.

From what I knew, the old man that lives here was a member of the clan.

For unknown reasons, he left the jujutsu world and retired by the mountain just a few walks from the clan house.

Everyone just calls him a crazy Ojii-chan who lives outside the clan...

Because apparently he couldn't stand Naobito-sama who was the current clan head.

But, we heard he was a pretty respected member back then.

"Well, he isn't exactly a member of the clan. He's a Zenin by name because he married me but they're currently mourning him in his own household."

She told me as she sipped her own cup of tea with a melancholic gaze.

"I see..."

I replied feeling my mood sink like an anchor thrown in the ocean.

"Well, what was it you would like to ask him?"

The old woman asked me.

I handed her the book I brought along.

"I....was told I wouldn't be able to understand it without a senior sorcerer's help...."

I uttered unconsciously gritting my teeth as I clenched my fist.

I wasn't sure this was going to work but...

What do I do now?...

"That's unfortunate. But why come here? You're probably a member of the clan. Shouldn't you ask your father?"

She said looking at me confusedly as she curiously looked over the book.

"Oh, they didn't want to teach me..."

I replied as I bitterly took a bite of the senbei.

"What? That's odd...Hah..it nearly reminds me of that blasted Ougi Zenin. I heard he treats his daughters horribly. Given such useless children, it serves him right."

She told me as I hid myself choking on the food in my throat.

Well crap.

Call it paranoid but she might kick me out if I say I'm Ougi Zenin's useless daughter.

"O-oh....well um.... I'm an orphan...my father died in....uh...a mission.

I lied surprisingly straight through my teeth.

I'm sorry but I don't want to be kicked out in the rain. If my injuries get even more infected than they are, I'll probably have a sepsis and die.

"I see. I apologize for reminding you. Your father died valiantly. As a little girl in the Zenin, it must be difficult I imagine."

She said gazing at me with pitying eyes which I awkwardly avoided.

Hearing a ringing whistle in my ear, the old woman's eyes widened.

"Oh my! I forgot about the kettle I put on the stove! wait here for a moment!"

She told me as she ran to the kitchen accidentally knocking over a stack of papers.

"O-oh no!..-"

"It's fine, Obaa-chan. I'll pick them up."

She muttered as I interrupted her walking towards the stack of messy papers on the floor while she ran to the kitchen.

I took a breath of exhaustion.

Kneeling on the floor trying to get the papers, I groaned noticing this might take a while.

Slowly but surely by hand I gathered the old parchment in a stack on the table.

"I'm sorry about that but do you mind helping with those? You see I can't reach very low because of my back."

The Obaa-chan said from the kitchen.

Despite my irritation, I responded agreeing to do it as my nerves began twitching.

I carefully piled them not bothering to find an arrangement order due to the sheer amount as I watched the old woman wash dishes from afar.

Once I was done, it was already sunset and I think it was still raining.

Calling my crows from outside, I ripped a portion of my book I set aside and wrote a letter then handed it to the bird.

That should do it.

I wouldn't want those two to worry.

"It's quite a storm outside. Child, I think it's better for you to stay here for tonight. Let me cook some dinner as well."

The old voice told me peeking from the kitchen and returned there before I could reply.

Well...she isn't wrong..

I thought as the thunder exploded in the sky making my blood vessels jolt in shock.

Yup.....I should stay here..

Looking at the stack on the table...

I sensed a familiar odd sensation.

Taking the first piece from the table, my eyes widened...

I felt the sensation faint and weakened as it is of cursed energy.

Drowning in my curiosity...

I looked at the old lady busily cooking Donburi in her traditional coal working kitchen. I knew she might take a while.

It's a chance I might not be able to get again..

I decided to read it..

....

'The usage of cursed energy has been a practice for millennia. Cursed techniques slowly developed by clans recognized by the jujutsu world as the purest blood lines of jujutsu sorcery.'

'Thats the bare minimum knowledge to atleast be a sorcerer.'

'Cursed energy is a manifestation of emotions. Only few are able to harness it and understand to be able to cause the mass destruction it deserves.'

'Unpredictable as it is, blood is the most important thing in being able to channel it but , I , a civilian sorcerer have found ways to find a way around it.'

' A Research analysis regarding the history of jujutsu by Kousuke Minoru'

It said as I felt as if I just might've found gold in a dump.

As if bewitched, I frantically looked over the papers I stacked.

I could only say one thing...

That old geezer's freaking amazing...!

All of these seem to be hard earned analysis of books from the Zenin.

Scanning through them, the papers were filled with usual things I found in the books but the organized analysis were as if I was talking to the sorcerer himself.

The way that the red markers highlighted important details and the words were almost like a diary.

Messy as it is.....there were pointers perfectly seated on everything or nearly every excerpt...

This must've taken months if not years..

No...

These papers are the life's work of that old man.

Looking around the house for the papers I quickly added to the pile.

There are hundreds if not thousands of information perfectly analyzed objectively by experience instead of method...

There's even researches on histories of jujutsu from the Heian era to the Meiji.

This could've taken a whole lifetime.

"It seems you've taken interest in my husband's work."

I heard the old woman say suddenly snapping me out of my furious daze.

"I-I'm s-sorry...I-It's just..."

I managed to blurt out but I knew I couldn't say a word.

Looking to the old woman, she then chuckled as she put the food she cooked on the chuudai.

"I'm glad someone appreciates them so much. Even my husband found them worthless."

She said melancholicly as she set the table in front of me.

"W-what but I've never seen such a detailed description even in all the books from the Zenin clan!"

I told her as I gestured at the papers like a mad man as the paper slightly crinkled.

"Well, if my husband saw what I did to his research, he would've gone mad....there isn't much a lonely old one like myself can do other than scribble by herself out of boredom."

The old woman said as she sipped the newly boiled tea in her porcelain cup.

Her words made me tremor in shock as adrenaline kicked in my veins as I held them strong.

"Y-you wrote these?"

I asked her surprised.

"If you find them so interesting, why don't you come visit me here once in a while to take a look."

She told me whilst laughing to herself as she put a piece of Donburi in her mouth.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar caw as my crow entered from the open window.

"What is it?"

I ended up giving the black bird that question as it perched on my shoulder.

'Letter... Letter ....Maki..'

It said shakingly as it handed me a folded paper from its beak.

What happened?....

I grabbed the paper from the bird frantically as I unfolded it only to be shook in utter horror.

'Momiji, come home quick! I can't find Mai! She's been missing since after you left the house. Get your butt over here before I go there and drag it here myself.'

'-Maki'

It read as my heart started to pound.

"OBAA-CHAN! I THINK I NEED TO GO!"

I shouted as I ran out of that dilapidated house without waiting for her reply as I panickedly went home.

....

I opened the shoji doors to our room like a crazy wet patient out of the asylum.

"Maki-nee! What happened?"

I said to Maki who was holding an injured Mai in her arms while bandaging the other's wounds.

"Same old same old.....those damn little-..!"

She muttered to herself harshly as I walked towards them.

"Where'd you find her?.....Is she okay?"

I asked as I took a teapot and started to make tea.

"Found her just by the mountain. That dammit Naoya just took the rest of our funds."

Maki told me whilst growling beneath her words.

As I started pouring the steaming tea on the cup then handing it to my sister who drank it violently as if it wasn't boiling, I sat down.

"How bad is it?...."

I said as I grabbed the futon so we could have Mai lay down.

"Not much, she's just unconscious. Mai doesn't try fighting Naoya anyway. If we're just gonna get hurt either way, shouldn't we just fight the dammit even if our teeth fall off?"

Maki told me as she put Mai's unconscious body on the bed while sipping the tea I made for her.

She looked like she was shaken beyond words as her clothes looked as if she ran through the forest for hours as the leaves and twigs pierced the fabric.

"You look terrible."

I said as I grabbed some clothes from our cabinet.

"You're not any better. You smell like a wet dog. Or wet crow. You have feathers all over you."

Maki says as she caught the clothes I threw at her whilst nodding in subtle appreciation.

It took until morning for Mai to wake up.

....

I walked towards that Obaa-chan's house again.

Mai seems mostly fine despite her concussion.

It's kinda concerning that this is the best case scenario...

To think a concussion wasn't as bad as it could go..

I knocked on the door as the old lady happily let me in.

"It's good that you decided to visit again! Come, I made some tamagoyaki!"

She told me as she went into the kitchen.

I watched her go as I looked back to the stack of papers on the table.

As I sat down, I cracked my fist.

Reading over the papers, the Obaa-chan returned and laid the plate of tamagoyaki on the table.

"Your technique... it's crow manipulation isn't it?.."

She said suddenly as she looked at my crow waiting outside.

Despite my surprise, I nodded nonchalantly as I continued reading.

"How odd..."

She muttered to herself.

"What's odd, Obaa-chan?.."

I asked her as I got deeper into the documents.

"The crows.... yours look a bit different than most users I've seen... They look.."

She told unsure of her words me as she took a piece of tamagoyaki from the plate.

"Rather... peculiar is all I can say...I can't place it but something is..."

The old lady continued as I scowered through the papers.

.....

"Obaa-chan, how were you able to make such a detailed description? It's amazing!"

I said trying to quell the awkward silence.

Her eyes beamed as she took some of the papers melancholicly.

"I've always wanted to be a sorcerer.... unfortunately, I didn't inherit an innate technique...so my father told me I was better off raising children and getting married."

The old voice narrated whilst chewing the food in her mouth slowly.

"Sorry...now I'm rambling..."

She said shyly as she nonchalantly handed me the book I accidentally left here yesterday.

Nodding in appreciation, I found a part of the document I couldn't quite get...

"What's this?..."

I mumbled to myself only for the old lady to go beside me as she looked over the papers I was reading.

"Those are just barrier techniques..sadly I couldn't make anything of what my husband wrote because even he didn't know much about them..."

She told me.

"Come to think of it....you look as if you're looking for something.... Would you like me to help you?"

She then asked as I pursed my lip whilst contemplating.

Nevermind....she seems trustworthy enough...

"I'm looking for things about my technique..and have you heard of the straw doll technique?"

I replied as my head started to ache from trying to dig through the pile.

"Well, you're in luck...I actually think I know where I placed it. I hope my penmanship doesn't bother you.."

The Obaa-chan says as she stood up and handed me something from the shelf unexpectedly.

"T-thanks..."

I muttered as I flipped it open.

Scanning over the table of contents, I found what I was looking for and decided to skip right through it.

.....

'Crow manipulation allows the user to imbue crows with cursed energy and control them mindlessly into absolute obedience.'

' It is a technique first found in the Meiji Era and prospered into a technique common to even civilian sorcerers.'

...

Reading over it was almost boring...

It was denoted completely as a support technique...

I groaned. It seems asides from pestering lower grade curses my technique was almost useless for battle or defense.

Moving over the pages as I put some tamagoyaki in my mouth...

....

'Straw doll technique is technique with records for millennia. A common technique with acceptable offense and attack range. Capable of long range projectiles.'

' It allows the user to use an effigy to proxy a target allowing for perfect offense. The effigy is allowed to resonate with a target by a connection either a piece of a curse or something that it may value."

.....

No matter how I look at it..... this technique is the best thing I can use...

Either way... I'm probably best avoiding harm as soon as possible..

That piece will probably cost my crappy life.

Crappy as it is, I only have one of it.

It took a few hours before I got bored finding nothing relevant anymore.

Sitting silence staring boredly at the empty plate once full of tamagoyaki,I sighed.

The Obaa-chan seems to have fallen asleep by the couch in her living room leaving me to my own devices.

'Caw!~'

I heard my crow fly past the open shoji door infront of me.

.....

If I'm probably fresh out of the written part, practical application is the only thing left.

I decided to go to the Obaa-chan's little porch as I called my crows.

I waited a few minutes as I watched four black feathered creatures flying towards me.

"Get me something to test it out. Lower grade curses. Like usual."

I told them as they nodded and it didn't take a while as they returned holding a struggling fly head.

It's almost amazing how they always find these ones...they must be pretty abundant.

Before I could ask for it, my crow pecked at the curse and gave me a part of the fly head's wing.

I heard it whine but I decided to tune it out as I tried focusing the cursed energy to try and form the resonating chain.

After a few tries, I finally felt a cold sensation flowing through me veins as the cursed energy surrounded me whilst I finally felt the bond formed.

Attaching the piece to my Kokeshi doll I realized I accidentally brought, I pushed the doll to the wooden floor as the curse followed.

Feeling a little woozy as I lost focus, I felt the chain suddenly break of as I retched.

The fly head although alarmed noticing it's sudden freedom didn't even have to think before it ran whilst my crows tried to chase after it but failed.

I looked at the scene with a shaking view as I felt the veins in my head pulse violently. Well, of course it wasn't going to be easy.

I groaned as I bit my lip.

I needed to try harder. I don't think my limits are going to help me in a life or death situation.

It's best I figure out how much I can stretch them. I need to figure out what I can currently do and find out what needs a little more effort to be useful.

If I fall woozy like this for a fly head, what will I do when it's an even more dangerous curse.

Despite feeling bile in my throat, I looked to my black bird that was gazing at me curiously.

"Get me another one."

I said as I gritted my teeth biting out a hiss.

The bird looked at me worriedly as if asking if I was sure as my trembling reflection showed in its eyes.

Feeling the ache in my head, I decided to give in. I think I just remembered that Maki-nee told me to do something back home anyway.

I stood up taking a note from the shelves writing a letter as I left Obaa-chan's house.