The rain came and left in a haste, leaving a lingering smell of wet ground, mixed with roasted sweet potatoes.

The smell made Lyris hungry. Following the aroma, she found a small vending cart by a corner of Tokyo street. It was not her first time trying roasted sweet potatos, but the first time trying one from a cart. It was more delicious than she had expected! The warm roasted sweet potato made Lyris happy, especially in this kind of weather.

She decided to share that little happiness with someone, so she took out her phone in one hand, the other still held onto the bag of roasted sweet potatoes.

“Chisei Gen! Chisei Gen! Listen!”

The reply came almost immediately after the message was sent.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Lyris giggled to herself, or her gemini – the one that was floating around her. Chisei Gen replied so fast! He must have thought something had happened to her. That meant, he cared.

“Oh, nothing. There’s just someone selling delicious roasted sweet potatoes by Kabukicho!”

“Oh? Is there anything strange about that?”

“It’s different from where I came from. They sell roasted sweet potatoes in ovens made out of remodeled oil barrels.”

“You sound like some kind of expert.” Chisei seemed to be more relaxed with his reply. “I guess you like to eat roasted sweet potatoes.”

“I want to tell you about this because it’s so rare to see it.”

Lyris found a seat by the riverside while waaiting for Chisei’s reply. She sat down on a bench and gazed at the other part of the city, across the river. It was nighttime. All the city lights turned into stars. She thought of what Chisei would be doing at that moment, and felt thankful for his replies to her messages, despite the busy life of the High Patriarch.

“Have you done much traveling?” He asked.

“Yes, I like to travel outside the country when I have time.”

Lyris loved traveling. That was why she appeared in Tokyo, while she was supposed to stay in Cassell and do her essay. She thought a change of air would be nice. And another reason was that she wanted to see Chisei Gen.

“I admire that kind of life. I travel for business, but it’s mostly just to handle local affairs. I’m also quite busy with work, so I don’t have much time to take a vacation.”

Lyris let out a sigh as she was reading his text. Chisei was always, always busy. He seemed to work all the time when his eyes were open! She doubted he would actually rest at night. That guy was the man of work. He breathed in work.

But he had once or twice talked about his dream. Surprisingly, it was not becoming the most successful person in the world; nor bringing his clan to the most glorious days. He only wanted to be a sunscreen vendor, living his life freely somewhere in a French beach…

How could a High Patriarch, the Emperor of all Hydras have such a thought? People would laugh at his dream, and tell him to snap back to reality. But Lyris did not. She listened carefully to all his thoughts. To her, it was brave of Chisei to have that dream, and to keep it alive inside his heart even though the world told him to let go.

Lyris enjoyed another roasted sweet potato from the bag as they exchanged messages about how Chisei missed the beach in France. Her gemini sat beside her, teasing her for wanting to be there with him.

“This beach sounds like your first love. No wonder you’re so obsessed with it.” Lyris replied lightheartedly, with a snickering emote.

“Lyris, you must be joking! What do you mean, first love?”

A finger tapped on the phone screen repeatedly, Lyris was thinking of what to reply next. But another message came:

“Speaking of which, actually, I didn’t grow up in Tokyo.”

“Oh, really?” Lyris quickly replied.

“When I was a child, I lived in a small mountain village… But what about you, Lyris? Where did you grow up?”

“I’ve been in the city since I was born. I’ve never lived in the countryside.”

Lyris replied, but she wished she had lived in the countryside too. She wanted to know Chisei more, and to know about the life he had lived long before becoming the High Patriarch who only knew work.

Lyris stared at the phone screen. She took notice of the three dots popping up next to Chisei’s avatar, indicating that he was typing something. But long minutes passed by, the dots kept appearing and disappearing. She grew nervous. Would Chisei prefer girls from the countryside than city girls, like her?

But his next message was something she could not expect, “Would you like to go and see the village I lived in? The scenery is quite nice.”

Lyris was sent to the clouds! She stood up from the seat, with her phone held close to chest, and she started dancing around with her gemini.

“Is he asking me out? He must be asking me out!”

Lyris beamed and danced, ignoring the curious eyes of the passerby. She kept dancing until her gemini reminded that she had not replied to Chisei yet.

“Oops! How could I almost forget?!”

And she hastily sent him a message, “Of course! I’d love to!”

That night, Lyris danced with her gemini gleefully all the way back home.

 ***

 On a sunny morning, Lyris dressed in her favorite blue floral dress that matched her eyes color and waited patiently by Tokyo street. With every car came in sight, she tip-toed, gazing at it with a fluttering heart.

Chisei arrived at last. He was wearing casual outfit; a white shirt and dark pants, black shoes, and even a pair of glasses. He was completely different from the every-day-High-Patriarch-Chisei-Gen. And that made Lyris’ heart beat too fast! As if it could jump right out of her chest and fall into Chisei’s hand when he stood there, reaching a hand out towards her. She could not help but sneak glances at him all the way to his hometown. Chisei caught her a few times. He only turned away and smiled to himself, which made her heart flutter even more.

Katori Town was not far from Tokyo. Lyris was excited, and a bit nervous. It was her first time being here, and she was with Chisei!

The view was very different from the city. Lyris took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air and the fragrance of grass. This place, it was beautiful, and it belonged to the young Chisei. Lyris turned around to look at him. His eyes spoke nostalgia, and she was thankful he had taken her to this place with him.

They decided to take a stroll in the forest. Lyris had so many things to ask, but she wanted Chisei to speak first, to open up first about his childhood.

“When I was a child, I lived here, in this village with green forests, flowing streams and hanging stoves in wooden houses. In the summers, I practiced holding my breath in the streams, and watched the fish swam past my eyes. In the snowy winters, I chiseled holes in the ice to catch fish, which I’d then cook into a soup… Those early years were the happiest in my life.”

They reached a small wooden house which seemed to be abandoned for so long. It was locked. Chisei gazed at it with an unspoken sadness in his eyes.

“Is this… your old house?” Lyris softly asked.

“Yeah.”

“I assume that you don’t want to come in…”

Chisei turned to look at Lyris. Though his face showed no emotion, his hazel eyes betrayed him.

“I’m sorry, Lyris… But I’m afraid that once I unlock the doors, memories of the place would escape… The good ones, and even the bad ones…”

“We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to,” said Lyris. She was worried about him. “When we talked on the phone, and on the way coming here, I thought you only had good memories of this place… But it seems like I was wrong.”

Chisei looked down on the ground, advoiding her eyes. He must have done it wrong. He should not be so emotional and weak in front of Lyris. She did not come here for a sad Chisei, did she?

But Chisei would never know, Lyris felt utterly happy that he had shown her another side of his. She took his hand and said, “If you have bad memories about this place, how about creating good ones to replace them?”

Chisei seemed surprised. “Replace the bad memories?”

“Yes! You just told me about catching fish in the streams, and cooking soup,… That sounds really fun! I haven’t done anything like that before. I want Chisei to teach me how to hold my breath, catch fish and use hanging stoves! So when I think about this place, my mind will be fillied with memories of Chisei! And Chisei will remember the memories with me as a part of this place too!”

Was it a faint blush she caught on his face? Chisei smiled softly as she gazed down on her beautiful face.

“Lyris, you know that it will take a lot of time to learn all of those, right?”

“No problem! You just need to bring me here again and again and again, until I learn all!”

Chisei’s smile turned into a big grin. “I’ll take you here as many times as you want.”

When he saw her beam, he thought it was even more radiant than the most beautiful sunrise on the mountain that he could remember. That day, Chisei took Lyris to the streams and they caught lots of fish. They made soup and roasted sweet potatoes together when the sun set. Chisei had never met a beautiful city girl who was willing to get her dress dirty and do all the hard work she was not familiar with.

By the end of the day, they both sat down on the hill looking up at the stars. Lyris, though exhausted, still kept a smile on her face.

“I’ve never had this much fun… Thank you, Chisei Gen.”

Chisei looked at her and smiled, without saying anything. Lyris had to ask out of curiosity.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“You have dirt… on your face.”

“Huh?!” Lyris tried to brush off the dirt on her face sheepishly. Chisei always liked beautiful girls. How could she let him see her being ugly, even for just a moment?

“Don’t worry.” Chisei said softly. The wind messed with his hair as he placed a hand on her face, a finger caressed her cheek. “You’re still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on.”