'Okay. Now that we know we're going to Kyoto, we need to decide what we're actually doing,' Hina said.
After dinner, Hina transformed.
Notebook out. Laptop open. Expression grim.
'I want to—'
Before Saki could say another word, Hina stuck her hand out.
'I already know what you're going to say.'
She pulled up a picture of a bamboo forest and tilted the laptop toward her.
'Does this satisfy your samurai urgency?'
Saki stared at the screen, eyes shining.
'You really are a mind reader, Hina.'
'No.' Hina turned the laptop back toward herself. 'I've just known you long enough to predict your nonsense.'
She wrote 'bamboo forest' in her notebook.
'Next.'
Kasumi raised her hand like a student waiting to be called on.
'I'd like to try walking around in a kimono… if it isn't too expensive.'
Hina nodded and turned the laptop toward her.
'This one's about this much.'
Kasumi looked at the screen for a few seconds. Her fingers tightened in her lap.
'Actually… never mind. I don't have to.'
Hina glanced at her. 'We can look at other ones.'
'No, it's okay,' Kasumi said quickly. 'I think I just liked the idea more in my head.' She laughed, but it came out thin.
Hina studied her for a moment, then gave a small nod and wrote it down anyway.
'I'll leave it on the list for now,' she said.
Eri immediately raised her hand. 'This lord must visit a castle to compare their pathetic standards to this lord's own.'
'Castle,' Hina muttered, adding it to the list. 'We could do Kiyomizu-dera, then work the rest around it. This is only a rough draft for now.'
'Not enough training locations if you ask me.' Saki slammed the table.
Kasumi had already started whispering to herself.
'Kimono rental… then train fare, food, hotel…'
I leaned slightly to the side. She was staring at her phone now, clutching it tightly.
Eri had gone strangely quiet, so I glanced over.
'Castle…'
She was grinning like a mad emperor.
'Hina, where else would be epic for me?' Saki asked, grabbing Hina by the shoulders and shaking her. 'Come on. Think with passion.'
'Saki, this is just a draft. It will change.'
'Then change it.'
'Saki.' Hina stared her down. 'You see this.'
She shoved the notebook at her face.
'This is temporary. It'll change. This isn't just your holiday, Saki. I'd like to enjoy at least part of it before I die.'
Hina looked one breath away from snapping, but Kasumi cut in first.
'Let's… all calm down.'
'Fine,' Saki muttered, retreating to the sofa.
Hina rubbed her temple.
'Is everyone okay with that?' Hina asked. 'Because we can always look for something cheaper?'
Kasumi glanced at her phone.
'I'm… okay.'
Hina gave her a look, but let it go.
'Di-ran.' Hina looked at me. 'Are you okay with this?'
I nodded.
'I'm just a piggy bank.'
Saki, meanwhile, had already given up on contributing and pulled out her phone.
'Let's go, triple kill! Take that, you noobs!'
'Hina. How have you not strangled her yet?'
'Well. She has saved me many times in the past, so much so that I lost count.' She glanced at Saki and gave a light chuckle. 'Honestly… I don't even know if I will be sitting here without her.'
Her gaze lingered on Saki for a couple more seconds before going back to the laptop.
'Now then. Accommodation.'
'Fit for royalty,' Eri declared. 'This lord will not accept any that is beneath this lord's standards.'
'Are they hacking?! How did they kill me?!' Saki shouted. 'This game is rigged!'
Hina smiled with terrifying calm.
'I'll be right back,' she said.
She stood, walked into the living room, and stopped in front of the sofa.
The rest of us watched in silence.
'Saki. If you're going to play, can you keep it down?'
Saki looked up.
'So is that a no, then?'
Hina took deep breaths, but each time, it got shorter and shorter.
'Do you know what I am doing right now?! I am trying to plan our trip, so the least you could do is give me some peace and quiet! I can't think when you're shouting things like "Take that!" or "Hina, let's play together!" I. Am. Busy.'
Saki's body slumped into the sofa. A white spirit floated out of her mouth and drifted upward.
'Sorry, Saki. I didn't mean to yell,' Hina said, massaging her temples. 'I'll play with you later, but not right now, okay?'
Spirit Saki stopped floating and looked down.
'Really?'
'Yes. Really.'
Spirit Saki's cheeks turned faintly pink as she floated down and went back to her body.
Saki blinked.
'Whoa. I just had an out-of-body experience.'
Hina returned to the table and sat down.
'Now where was I?' Hina said, rubbing her chin. 'Right. Accommodation. So how many rooms should we get?'
Eri looked between them and raised her hand.
'This lord can share a room with her servant.'
'Are you sure?' Hina asked.
'Yes. This lord already lives with her servant.'
Hina searched for cheaper hotels and eventually found one we could all agree on. By 'we,' I meant Kasumi.
Kasumi looked over at Eri with sympathy.
'You live with him?'
'Yes,' Eri said gravely. 'This lord has endured much.'
Kasumi patted her shoulder. 'I'm so sorry.'
Am I really such a bad roommate? After everything I did for you, this is the thanks I get?
Hina jotted down a few more notes, then closed the laptop.
'New plan,' she said, running a hand through her hair. 'Next weekend, we are all going shopping for Kyoto. In person. Together. And if anyone messes around, I'm leaving them there.'
'The last condition already sounds impossible.' I glanced over. 'Especially for someone in this room.'
'I object,' Saki said from the floor.
Hina shook the notebook at her.
'Would you like additional correction?'
'No,' Saki grumbled.
Eri adjusted her glasses.
'As the lord, I do need to go shopping to allow me to govern my people better.'
Kasumi silently watched.
'Good,' Hina said. 'Then it's settled.'
I looked around at the people gathered in my house and let out a long sigh.
I already needed a vacation from the vacation.