On the day Ezaki left Kitano Castle, Kikyo stood on the balcony on the second floor of the Hanazuki House for a long time. "Facing the direction of the intersection of Dew Street, but I don't know where my eyes are.

The Flower Drunk House is located in the middle of Dew Street, which is so long that you can't see the street from the balcony on the second floor.

Kikyo's low-eyed appearance made Rika feel very unhappy.

"The heir of that herb merchant is your brother, right?" Rika couldn't help but ask, "It's so rare to have the opportunity to reunite with your family, why haven't you shown up to recognize him?" ”

If Xiude comes to Dew Street, no matter what the reason, Rika will definitely throw herself into his arms and cry about her misery during this time. Ahh Cheap Flower Willow Street.

Ezaki and Kikyo are twin brothers and sisters, even if the two parties did not admit it, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that - like the facial features carved out of a mold, no matter how big the world is, there will not be two people who have nothing to do with each other like this.

Even though there are few memories of home and loved ones, Kikyo still remembers that her hometown is Kamimatsu Castle, where there is no winter for many years, and there is a twin brother who often plays hide and seek with her.

These two points alone were enough for her to be sure that Ezaki was the brother she hadn't seen for years.

However, these days, Ezaki comes to the flower drunk house every day, but Kikyo has never appeared in front of him. Once, I lingered outside the tea room for a long time, and finally walked back with a sigh.

Rika couldn't understand the cowardice and flinching on her face.

Kikyo brushed his windswept hair, turned around and walked into the house: "Because of me, I have already accepted my fate." ”

Rika frowned and sneered, "Accept fate? How difficult it is for God to arrange for you to reunite with your family who have been separated for more than ten years, but you don't even have the courage to meet, what kind of fate is this? ”

Kikyo stopped and looked back at her, "You still don't understand, Lily of the Valley." After a few years, you become a prostitute. As a woman, when I learned that the client who came was probably a family member I hadn't seen for a long time, I would understand my feelings. ”

Rika was stunned, and when she came back to her senses, Kikyo was no longer in front of her.

Yuriko stepped out of the storage room next to her, leaning against the wooden railing of the balcony like Rika to blow the cold air.

In the afternoon, Dew Street was still in a quiet state, and you could even hear the news of Mama Sang scolding a prostitute from a wandering girl's house. The woman's scolding.

No matter how good Kikuko says, Kanai has been stereotyped as a nasty old woman in Rika's mind, but Rika has indeed never seen her scold others, not even when she speaks slightly, and she always has a good and moody look.

In contrast, Shijimi, who is about the same age as Kano, rarely has a time to calm down. The excessive enthusiasm for pets and the excessive preference for her little daughter make her fuss and fuss whenever she encounters something related to these two, and makes many unbelievable orders under her noble status.

But Rika is a mother who relies on and loves such a mother deeply.

Unlike Hidetoku, who sees others as the best candidates for her father, Rika has never imagined anyone other than Daimyo and Shijimi as her parents.

"That home, there is no place for her anymore."

It took a while for Rika to realize that Yuriko was talking about bellflowers.

Rika looked at her for some reason.

On the street downstairs, Kikyo carries leftovers to feed the stray cats in the corner.

"Ezaki said it, his twin sister is dead." Yuriko's gaze shifted from Kikyo to the colorful glass roof tiles opposite.

After so many years of no news, the Ezaki family has been killed as her.

If she's still alive, take a laughing prostitute. The identity of a woman is alive, and for the Ezaki family, a well-known medicinal herb merchant in Kamimatsu City, it is better to be dead long ago.

They must have been afraid of the rumors that the daughter of the Ezaki family had been abducted and trafficked to Dew Street as a prostitute. The woman became the laughing stock of the whole city for such a big scandal.

"The face of the family is there, and no one will admit her." Yuriko said quietly.

I don't know how much luck it takes to meet a family member who I haven't seen for years, and this miss may not necessarily have the chance to see each other again for the rest of my life, even if it is, they let each other pass by - Rika is far from understanding this twisted and submissive compromise.

Will Hidetoku abandon his sister for the sake of the reputation of the Daimyo's Mansion? - No, Rika knows that her brother would never put anything above his family.

Even if she is the princess with the worst stroke rating in the five countries, even if she willfully refuses to grow into what he expects, Xiude is often dissatisfied with her behavior this and that, but she never feels that it is a shame to have such a sister.

It's not just Xiude, but also Daimyo and Shijimi, what bullshit reputation can't compare to a hair of Rika.

Rika, the princess of the Land of Fire, is most proud not of her birth, but that she has parents and brothers who truly love each other, although no one will admit it verbally. - Rika may not be able to do so yet, but she intuitively believes that no matter what happens, her parents and brother will never ignore her.

"Kikyo she...... Isn't that pathetic? Rika muttered.

"Pathetic?" Yuriko seemed to have heard something very funny, and she laughed so much that tears were about to burst out, and the mockery on the corners of her lips was like mosquito blood on a white wall that could not be erased, "Who will be here who is not a poor person?" Then he stared straight at Rika's face, and the mocking smile became stronger and stronger: "Aren't you also one of the poor people, Lily of the Valley." ”

Rika met her gaze and unconsciously straightened her back: "I'm different from you women who give up on yourself, I will definitely leave here!" ”

The cold wind was not as strong as hers.

Yuriko was stunned for a moment.

She has seen a lot of women who want to leave Dew Street, and most of them have the mentality of fighting and gambling - it is a fluke to escape, and it is reasonable that she can't escape. No one ever succeeded, and everyone became accustomed to the fact that Dew Street was an impregnable cage.

However, Rika is not as desperate as those women, and no matter how much she is suppressed by Kano and Yuriko, she is always confident that she can get out of this place - although I don't know where her determination comes from.

The sparkle on the girl's face was out of place on this gloomy street.

Yuriko's eyes changed imperceptibly, and it was rare that she didn't say a cold word.

***

Kitano Castle is adjacent to Iron Country, and Dew Street is frequented by samurai. And because of the fame of this first flower willow street in the land of fire, many ninjas from all over the world who pass by also stay overnight for fun.

After all, in the final analysis, whether it is a samurai or a ninja, but no matter how good a man's right hand is, it can't compare to the warm fragrant nephrite in his arms.

Rika has been in Konoha Village for two months, and she never knows what a low-key thing is, coupled with the "confusing" "emotional entanglement" between her and the first technician Kakashi, so most of the Konoha ninjas know her.

It's a pity that Rika hasn't seen Konoha ninjas in Dew Street.

In December, all the lakes in Kitano Castle freeze over. Having never spent the winter in such a cold place, Rika did not dare to leave the flower drunken house with the stove on twenty-four hours a day.

"As soon as you go out, you'll immediately turn into a humanoid popsicle." Rika nestled under the stove table, and the fear on her face was easy to see when she spoke.

Juzi smiled: "It's good to get used to it in the future." ”

The noon sun filtered in through the glass windows, thin and thin, and the temperature was not felt at all.

Rika casually tucked the pillow behind her head, intending to take a comfortable nap, when she heard Kikuko's words, she closed her eyes and said, "I don't have anything to do here." ”

Juzi was stunned for a moment and looked at her, only to see that the girl's complexion was like white porcelain, and her sleeping posture was elegant, but her eyebrows were still frowning even when she was asleep.

"A girl who has never escaped can make it out of Dew Street, Lily of the Valley." Kikuko muttered a little sadly.

The breath of the pear fragrance is long and steady.

That night, there were only three or five guests in the flower drunken house, and Kikyo and Yuriko were with them in the tea room, and Rika was supposed to be waiting by her side in the morning, but because she had slept too long in the afternoon, she came over slowly.

Jia Nai told her outside the door: "These guests are all ninjas, and a random ninjutsu can turn the entire dew street into nothing, you don't want to cause trouble again." ”

Rika couldn't help but feel a strong hope every time she heard that a ninja was coming, and she looked through the crack in the door, only to find that the forehead guards in front of the men's foreheads were so unfamiliar that she couldn't recognize which ninja village they belonged to.

- Not a ninja of Konoha.

Rika was as disappointed as a wilted sunflower.

Jia Nai glanced at her lightly: "What are you expecting." ”

Rika said nonsense: "I thought it was some famous ninja." After thinking about it, he asked again: "These ninjas from the unknown ninja village actually have the money to afford Kikyo and Yuriko?" ”

As the two pillars of the Flower Drunken House, Kikyo and Yuriko are worth a lot of money, and the guests they have always received are either rich or expensive, and the poor ninjas of Koninja Village are not among them.

Kano glanced into the tearoom and slowly exhaled a puff of white smoke, Rika tilted her head in disgust and raised her hand to disperse the second-hand smoke.

"These are ninjas from Yuno Kuni, and it is said that they were hired as subordinates by the president of that shipping company, Kado, and made a fortune."

"Cardo?"

"Ah, one of the richest people in the world."

…… I don't know. It has nothing to do with her. Can't save her.

Rika pouted - when will those stupid guards and ninjas find her!

"Let's go in, why are you still stunned?"

Kano's voice once again pulled Rika back to reality.

Rika opened the paper door listlessly, just in time to hear a ninja in the tearoom laughing loudly:

“…… Speaking of which, of course, the most valuable ninja this year is the copy ninja Kakashi Hagi, didn't the princess of the Fire Country say that she would exchange the entire Kitano Castle and Konoha for that man, hahahaha! ”

Rika's hand, which hadn't withdrawn from the door frame, was almost about to break the paper door.