Chapter 176 - Missing

The next morning came bright and breezy. It had snowed again during the wee hours before dawn, and so, when Suzuki Ara woke up and opened the screen of her room, the scenery outside, below the dove-grey sky was painted white once more. 

The crispy scent in the air wafted in her nose, and she again scrunched her face before smiling. The sun had just risen, and so, she was not expecting a lot of people to be up and about already, but it seemed she had underestimated the diligent people serving at the Cedar Palace.

Huh?

On the far side of the hall, Suzuki Ara saw servants scurrying to and fro from one of the rooms, and she wondered what happened. Her curious nature winning, she trudged the length of the engawa towards the other side of the house where the people had been coming in and out from.

"What's going on?"

Her voice must have startled the people as all of them turned to see her.

"Miss Ara!" they all greeted, looking shocked as they tried to distract Ara, preventing her from seeing what's inside the room, but Ara was tall – taller than the average Japanese woman, and so, it was too late.

Her silver-grey eyes caught sight of the pale form lying on the futon in the room, and they widened in alarm.

"Aoi!" she cried as she stepped into the room, much to the distress of the servants.

"Miss Ara please, you should go back to your room."

It seemed they were instructed to keep Kazehaya Aoi's condition a secret, or so Ara thought, and she was about to be upset when Yayoi came. 

"Miss Ara?"

Ara turned to Yayoi, prepared to be angry in case she tried to make her leave, but the old housekeeper didn't. "What happened to Aoi? Why is he like that?"

Kazehaya Aoi looked like he'd been in a fire as he had some blisters on some parts of his body, and she felt anxiety at the pit of her stomach. This Kazehaya brother was supposed to be in Hakone, and yet, here he was just as Gin and Ryuu left for a business problem last night.

Ara wondered about a connection.

"They had trouble with one of the properties and there was a fire last night, Miss Ara. Don't worry; the Young Master Aoi only had minor injuries. He was more exhausted than injured actually," she assured her.

"Then why are they like that?"

She pointed at the servants who seemed to avoid looking at her, and she watched as Yayoi's eyes sparkled before leaning forward to whisper in her ears.

"Miss Ara, you're still in your underwear," she whispered.

Ara looked down and realized her bathrobe had opened in her haste to come here and revealed her undies. Heat crept up her face as she realized the reason why the servants were trying to make her go back to her room earlier. She thought they were instructed not to tell her about Aoi's injuries.

She was wrong.

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

"You should have told me earlier," Ara muttered as she ran away back to her room to take a bath and change into her wedding clothes.

As soon as she was ready, she returned to where Yayoi was, just outside the room where they had taken Aoi.

"Ara-sama, you're very beautiful," Yayoi told her with a very appreciative expression and a warm smile. Her wrinkles folded on her aged face and her eyes twinkled like diamonds seeing her in her clothes.

She now donned the mini halter dress with a white faux fur coat. She looked cute like a snow nymph in winter. However, excited as a bride she might be, she was more curious about Aoi's condition than her marriage registration and was actually worried about it. There was something about this that told her that it was not something simple and it was totally related to Ryuu and Gin's hurried behavior last night.

Ara couldn't help but wonder where Kou was and if he was really okay.

After telling the elderly woman her thanks, she didn't hesitate to ask her questions about what was going on.

"Don't worry about this Miss Ara," Yayoi told her with a soothing voice, trying to appease her as best as she could. "There was just a mishap at the factory in Hakone that caused an accident. But the Young Master Gin and the Koutaishidenka are already taking care of things, so everything should be alright. You should trust in him."

Because Yayoi said it like that, Ara was not left with any other choice but to accept the explanation. She just then turned to see the sleeping form in the futon inside the room.

"How is his condition now?"

The Head housekeeper gave her another reassuring smile. "He's the same as when you checked up on him a while ago, Miss Ara. But seriously, his injuries are mostly scratches. There's nothing to worry about. After today, and maybe even until tomorrow's rest, the Young Master Aoi's strength will be back soon."

"I see," Ara nodded, and sighed.

"Is there something wrong, Miss Ara? You seem so down – and that's not a good thing on your wedding day," the elderly reminded her again with a teasing smile.

"Nothing. I'm just nervous," Ara answered truthfully. "Now that there's nothing else I can think about, I only have my wedding to Kou to think of and it's making me edgy."

With this, Yayoi reached out her hand and took Ara's in hers and gave her a squeeze. The pressure on her hand was warm and reassuring. Even without words, the elderly had conveyed the message that no matter what happened, everything would go smoothly as planned.

Of course, that was probably because the one she's marrying was Kou and no one else. Just that fact alone was reassuring.

Speaking of which…

"Did Ryuu and Big Brother Kaze return last night?"

She had been told that Ryuu was totally like an old man, always waking up early to practice kyudo just yesterday. 

Suddenly, the smile on Yayoi's face faltered, and Ara's uneasy feeling returned. "He still hasn't come back right?" she prompted, her eyes searching the elderly's face to see telltale signs she could be hiding something from her, but she couldn't see anything.

"Honestly, both the Young Masters haven't returned yet from Hakone."The honest answer surprised Ara, but at the same time, she felt grateful.

However, Yayoi's answer just posted a new dilemma for the day. How was she going to be married without a groom?