The New Year is approaching, and Dew Street is busy again. "The carriages that came back from the shopping street in the center of the town to buy New Year's goods were parked one by one at the door of the various maidens' houses. Kano directs the thugs and the rough maid to carry the goods into the hall, and at this time, her right-hand men Kikyo and Yuriko will definitely be on the side to help. But today, since early in the morning, the two have been missing.

"Lily of the valley!" Kano shouted into the room.

Rika nestled comfortably under the stove table, covering her ears as if she hadn't heard.

Jia Nai called two more times, but still no one answered.

There was a sound of clattering footsteps in the corridor outside, and Juzi "brushed" the paper door, panting slightly and said, "Lily of the valley, mom Sang called you!" ”

Rika glared at her angrily, and reluctantly let go of the hands covering her ears: "What are you telling me to do?" ”

"I'll tell you to go out, I might have something to tell you."

Rika was reluctant to leave the hot stove table and moaned with her eyes closed. "If you don't go, you can't do it......"

Juzi simply came in and pulled her: "Hurry up, make your mother Sang angry, you won't have new clothes for the New Year!" ”

“…… I'm not unusual. ”

Pulling and pulling, Kikuko successfully pulled Lixiang to the gate of the flower drunken house. Compared to the warmth of the interior, the cold wind on the street is really painful to stay even for a moment. Rika shuddered, tightened the collar of her kimono, and asked Kanno angrily, "What are you looking for me?" ”

The servants who were carrying goods came in and out of the door, and even though it was a cold winter, fine beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of many people.

After Kano's instructions on where the box should be moved and where the cabinet should be moved, she finally took the time to pay attention to her: "You go and find Kikyo and Yuriko, maybe on the side of the blessing tree at the end of the street." ”

Rika's face froze, and she blurted out without thinking about it: "I'm not going!" It's so cold outside! ”

Joke! The end of the street is not far from the flower drunk house in the middle of the street, and it is not close to it, so she doesn't want to run to the street in this cold weather!

Kana raised an eyebrow to look at her.

Rika nunu impatiently: "Tell someone else to go." ”

"Who do you think is more idle than you?"

Thugs and rough maids go in and out barely feet on the ground, other. The woman was busy cleaning in the house and in the backyard, and even Kano, the owner of the house in the Flower Drunk House, was divided because she had to direct all the matters on the scene. Lack of skills.

At this moment, the entire flower drunk house is up and down, except for the bellflower and Yuriko who go out, only Rika is indeed the only big idler.

I can't even refute it.

Rika had a bitter gourd face, and cursed a few words in her heart for Jia Nai and the too cold winter of Kitano Castle, before wrapping her clothes tightly and walking slowly towards the end of the street.

There was a light snow in the sky again, and Rika didn't bring an umbrella, so she could only let the snowflakes fall on her hair and clothes. In the past, every winter was spent in the Daimyo's Mansion, and the temperature in the capital was much better than that of Kitano Castle, and every winter solstice, the back garden of the Daimyo's Mansion was bound to be full of plum trees. Sometimes Rika suddenly rises, and on snowy days, she has to go to the back garden to play, and there must be a good child behind her to hold an umbrella for her to block the snow.

Winter is the season when she craves warmth, but she has to spend the coldest days alone in a foreign land.

Rika sniffed, always feeling hot in her eyes and sour in her throat. Ah, it must be a cold, remember to drink a cup of hot tea to ward off the cold when you go back later.

"Meow...... Meow ......"

A faint, faint meow of a cat came from a corner, and Rika continued on her way as if she had not heard it. One, two, three...... Eighth, nineth, tenth—the tenth step, the girl in the pink kimono seems to have taken root on the ground with her feet, and she can't take the eleventh step.

Rika frowned and whispered "Damn", turned sharply and returned to the corner, the wide cuffs brought a gust of wind, and the snow chips on her clothes whizzed down.

The stray cat in the corner looked like it was two or three months old, curled up in a small mass and shivering, covered with a thin layer of snow. Rika gently brushed the snow off its fur and carefully tucked it into the kimono on her chest to keep warm.

"For the sake of your resemblance to Peaches, I'll save you once, don't be too grateful to me." The girl said to herself.

- Not at all, actually.

Peach is an aristocratic Persian cat with snow-white fur and royal blue eyes, and the stray cat in her arms at this time has gray and gray fur on its body, and it has no beauty at all.

- It can't be compared to a peach at all.

The body of the stray cat gradually warmed up, and it was much more energetic than just now, and it arched Lixiang's chest with its little fluffy head. Rika held it in her arms, and when she looked down at it, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on her lips - but she didn't notice it.

If a photographer could freeze this picture, the person who saw the picture would not associate her with the arrogant and difficult princess of the Fire Country, but would probably get an exclamation - "Ah, what a lovely girl", and so on.

Unfortunately, there were no photographers at this time.

Rika's rare expression was fleeting without her even realizing it.

There is a large prayer tree at the end of Dew Street, and no one knows how long it has been there and who planted it, as if it had existed since the beginning of this street. Prostitute. Women can't leave Dew Street lightly, and there is no shrine on Dew Street, so a few days before the year, prostitutes. The women wrote their wishes for the coming year on a sticky note and hung them on the treetops of the prayer tree. It is said that the higher you hang, the more your wishes will come true.

When Rika saw the blessing tree from afar, she also saw the bellflower under the tree. But she's the only one, and Yuriko isn't there. The distance was a bit far, and Rika didn't want to shout in the street, so she slowly paced past.

Arriving at Kikyo earlier than she was a few prostitutes from the Wandering Girl's House next door. Woman. They were all around Kikyo, and what were you saying to me, probably cursing Kikyo for stealing their guests or something, Rika couldn't hear it so clearly.

This kind of thing happens all the time in Dew Street. Prostitution. The guests are all affectionate creatures, where are the prostitutes? The beautiful woman will stay where she is, even if she only talked sweetly to the girl of this house the night before, and she will not show mercy to the girl of that family the night after she teases her.

No matter how beautiful the mountains and seas swear, there are only stupid prostitutes. Only women will believe in prostitution. Guest's word – Dew Street is one such place.

And the prostitute. Female and prostitute. Between women, whether it is envy or jealousy, there will always be various reasons to look at each other unpleasantly, and even fight. Don't underestimate the fight between women, it's more vicious than the fist and foot intercourse between men.

Sure enough, the prostitutes. As she spoke, the woman moved her hand to Kikyo. Kikyo is originally docile and weak, even if it is one-on-one, he is not sure to win, not to mention that at this time, there are many enemies.

Is...... There's no way to fight back.

"It's too despicable!" Pear Aroma scolded angrily, and was about to walk over and draw a knife to help.

How to put it, Rika is actually not a person with a strong sense of justice, but at the moment, the intense anger makes her have no time to think about anything else - probably she can't turn a blind eye to the bullying of people she knows on a daily basis, right?

But this time there was someone who arrived at Kikyo earlier than her. Unlike the weak Kikyo, the man fought like a dominatrix, and squeezed to Kikyo's side without saying a word. Female also to color.

Looking at her usual appearance, you know that she is a woman who is not easy to bully, but I didn't expect her to ...... Then it's not easy to bully. Even the prostitutes who are bullying the few. The female does not fall behind in the encirclement, but is like a fighter who is becoming more and more courageous, beating the enemy to the ground.

In the end, it was probably a quarter of an hour, the prostitutes who started the war. The woman's face was scarred from east to west, and the wolf bèi dispersed, scolding and saying ugly words, but no one dared to stay and continue to fight with her.

Rika stood in place, dumbfounded, completely forgetting that she had originally gone over to help.

What stunned her was not the dominatrix's heroic fighting spirit and desperate way of fighting, but - the one who rushed into the crowd to save Kikyo was none other than - Yuriko, who had always been the most at odds with Kikyo.

Anyone who sees such a picture will be shocked! Yuriko! The one who never misses the slightest opportunity, and even if there is no chance, he creates an opportunity to sneer at Kikyo and go toe-to-toe! At the risk of being beaten pitifully, I saved Kikyo!

Those prostitutes. Women can't please Yuriko, but Yuriko is no better in their hands either. The bun was the first to suffer in the chaos, and I don't know which prostitute was on the chin. The woman's nails cut a long bloody streak - I hope it doesn't leave an ugly scar, or she'll be a popular prostitute. That's the end of the woman's career.

The back of Kikyo's head is taken by some vicious prostitute. The woman smashed it with a stone, and although she didn't bleed, she fainted—luckily Yuriko arrived in time, otherwise she would have really become a fish on the knife.

Yuriko turned around and half-squatted and lifted Kikyo on her back. But because he had consumed too much strength in the fight just now, he staggered and walked unsteadily. When she raised her eyes, she saw Lixiang standing not far away in a daze, and shouted in a very unkind tone: "Why don't you come over and help!" ”

Although she was vicious, Rika didn't feel her anger at all.

Rika, who hasn't recovered from her shock yet, brings Kikyo back to the flower drunken house with Yuriko.

Kikyo woke up in her room, and there was only Rika in front of the bed, who was sent by Kanno to take care of her. Yuriko is probably recuperating in her room.

"Thank you, Lily of the Valley." Kikyo didn't ask how she came back, and as soon as she opened her mouth, she thanked Rika who was helping her scoop the medicine.

Rika glanced at her: "I wasn't the one who saved you." ”

"I know." Kikyo smiled slightly, as if expected, "It's Yuriko." ”

Rika was surprised, stared at her for a long time, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Didn't Yuriko regard you as a mortal enemy, why did she go out of her way to save you?" ”

Kikyo also looked at her, and laughed unexpectedly: "You are really still a little ghost who doesn't know the world." ”

Rika wrinkled her nose and glared at her - it's so bad to suddenly attack someone personally!

"People who smile at you don't necessarily mean they treat you well, and people who speak ill of you don't necessarily hate you. - This isn't the first time you've heard of this, is it? ”

Rika is really the first time I've heard this kind of statement.

"Yuriko and I grew up together, and she targeted me everywhere on the surface, but she never secretly stumbled, other prostitutes. The woman did not dare to cross her against me. That's why I'm so stable as an Oiran. ”

"She's that person, to put it mildly, she can't spit out ivory from her mouth, but she's a friend who is very righteous. I never doubted this growing up. ”

Even when I left the room and walked down the hallway shrouded in the unwarm sunlight, Kikyo's words still lingered in Rika's ears. Rika furrowed her brows, as if she needed time to digest slowly. Since coming to Dew Street, many things have been happening that are incomprehensible to her, like stones, falling into the lake of three views that she has built in fifteen years, rippling a circle of subtle but not negligible ripples.

Because she was concentrating on things, Rika unconsciously walked into the depths of the backyard where no one was there at this time. When she was startled, she turned around and turned back, only to see a ghostly person reaching her from the shadow of the wall.

Her eyes widened, and before she could exclaim, the figure of the man in front of her was shortened. All she could see was the broom-shaped silver hair.

The man knelt down on one knee and saluted her, and the familiar voice of the long-lost voice did not take on the usual laziness and casualness, but solemnly, even with a seriousness that he did not easily show: "Sorry, princess, for keeping you waiting. ”

Rika couldn't hold back any longer, and flew over and wrapped around his neck, her heart beating hard - finally ...... It's time to leave this place.

Even biting her lower lip couldn't stop the sudden rain in her eyes, Rika simply closed her eyes, took a deep breath for a long time before stabilizing her voice and said, "I'm only here now, it's really useless to be the first technician of Konoha." ”

“…… I'm sorry. ”

As soon as they met, they complained about him so energetically, it seems that the princess is not doing badly. - Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.