Book 4: Chapter 26: Sisters; In the Mountains

The mountain ranges of Mino had also welcomed the first snow of this years winter.

Lily and s.h.i.+mizu traversed through the vast snow-covered cedar expanse with a red and black parasol in hand respectively.

Lily had put on a red dress that was ill.u.s.trated with the immemorial panorama of Lake Biwa and also wore a light purple cardigan made from wool.

s.h.i.+mizu, on the other hand, had put on a short-sleeved black kimono that had azure flowers and aquamarine leaves ill.u.s.trated on it.

Unlike Lily, s.h.i.+mizu had set out with just a single set of garments and a few pieces of underwear, all of which were stuffed inside the knapsack supported behind the ingeniously bow-knotted sash.

Lily had long mentioned the ancient mirrors secret to s.h.i.+mizu and wished to take s.h.i.+mizus consciousness into the mirror s.p.a.ce so that she could take a look, but it proved impossible for her to do this. The fault didnt lie with just her though as s.h.i.+mizu was also averse to the ancient mirror since it had given her a pretty unpleasant memory.

The snow was cold to the touch, but Lilys body was still as fiery as ever. The spring sakes effects had yet to dissipate and even Lily was clueless about how to alleviate the ever-intensifying heat inside her. Fortunately, her body hadnt gone out of control yet1.

The fact that she had actually adapted to such a sensation, however, left her with a wry smile with regards to the talent possessed by her body.

The duo had been journeying through the mountains for several days now since the vast mountain ranges of Mino were pretty difficult to trek past.

s.h.i.+muzu would send glances towards Lily at every few steps like she hadnt had enough of the view.

This caused Lilys gaze to meet with s.h.i.+mizus occasionally and left her in a dazed state with a throbbing inside her.

W-What is this feeling? I never felt like this in the past, so why does meeting s.h.i.+mizus gaze embarra.s.s me now? Could it be that I have developed feelings for this girl? No, maybe its the aphrodisiacs effect.

This was a quality possessed by the bodies of girls, they tended to develop a favorable impression towards their savior.

As for s.h.i.+mizu, Lily never doubted her as she was someone who only had Lily in her eyes and would lay her life willingly if needed to save Lily.

s.h.i.+mizu noticed that Lily was avoiding her gaze intentionally while walking and felt a little miffed about it. Hence, she hardened her grip on the parasols handle and questioned Lily, Are you feeling cold, Lil Sis?

N-No, Im fine. Let me hold up the parasol for you. Eh?

s.h.i.+mizu folded her parasol quietly and stuffed it inside the knapsack on her back before taking Lilys Sakura Parasol and holding it up between them. Although Lily was taller than s.h.i.+mizu, the latter actually wasnt that short, and she held up Lilys parasol from a relatively natural position as well.

However, this left Lily with no place to put her hand, but at the same time, she felt that it would be pretty heartless of her to keep walking like this while minding her own business.

Its because of the parasol, theres no other meaning behind it.

Lily hooked her arm through s.h.i.+mizus and though unintentional, this caused her bosom to squeeze against s.h.i.+mizus arm because of its enormous measurements.

s.h.i.+mizu felt a girls warmth and softness in the truest sense of the words at this moment as she experienced an unfathomable tenderness.

As a girl in the prime of her life, s.h.i.+mizu had feelings of love too.

Just who is it that you like, Lil Sis Lily? s.h.i.+mizu surveyed the vast snowy plain ahead of them with misty eyes as she asked this question.

Eh? Is it me, or her?

Lily found herself at a loss on how to answer this question, but she also didnt want to deliberately pretend that she hadnt understood the question. Although it was possible to interpret the question in multiple ways, s.h.i.+mizus tone had made it clear that it only had one interpretation.

Lily lowered her head. Although she had linked arms with s.h.i.+mizu and even pressed her bosom against the latters arm, it was only because they were holding the parasol together.

If its the feelings between sisters, I really like them all, but if its the feelings between an older and younger sister, I hate them all, Lily knew her tone sounded a little weak.

It really wasnt her intention to give such an ambiguous answer, but there were some things that she simply couldnt explain.

You hate them all, huh. Are you planning to remain single forever, then? Or could it be that you will wed a man and have kids with him?

Of course not. You know I hate men, Lily swayed her hips in grudging denial.

s.h.i.+mizu s.h.i.+fted the parasol to her other hand and turned around to press closer to Lily, which in turn caused the latter to delink her arm from s.h.i.+mizus and retreat continuously. However, she ended up leaning back against the trunk of an old tree moments later.

s.h.i.+mizu slammed the trees trunk with her free hand while holding the parasol with the other hand, leaving Lily with no place to run.

A few clumps of snow fell down from the tree because of the vibrations and landed on the red parasol.

Who do you like more, me or Uesugi Rei? Eh? Thats Sister s.h.i.+mizu, why are you asking such a thing so suddenly? You must have compared us in your heart, right? Answer me. Who do you like more? Give me an honest answer.

I Lily seemed to have a vague answer inside her and intended to say it out2.

You dont need to say it, However, s.h.i.+mizu tiptoed suddenly and pressed her luscious lips against Lilys with quick movements, giving her a fleeting kiss.

s.h.i.+mizu felt as if a current had traveled through her body.

I fear I have my answer, s.h.i.+mizu lowered her head with a melancholic yet bashful expression.

As for Lily, even though the fleeting kiss wasnt that pa.s.sionate and ended in an instant, it still made her feel over the moon.

Her eyes filled with reluctance.

s.h.i.+mizu also kept her head lowered to hide from Lilys gaze, Forget it. I wont force you. Lets go.

s.h.i.+mizu pulled away from the tree trunk and turned around to leave.

However, Lily reached out with her dainty little hand at this moment and almost grabbed one of the sleeves of s.h.i.+mizus kimono despite knowing what kind of tempestuous treatment awaited her if she did that. Fortunately, she was saved by her rationality at the last moment and released her fingers, which caused them to just brush past s.h.i.+mizus sleeve.

s.h.i.+mizus keen senses had nonetheless alerted her and made her turn around to look at Lily who now had a fully flushed face and didnt even dare to meet s.h.i.+mizus gaze.

Lets go! Lily sprinted across the snow-covered land despite not having the cover of her parasol.

s.h.i.+mizu also folded the red parasol in her hand while looking at Lilys graceful back and chased after her.

She leaped towards Lily and grabbed her hand.

I wont let you run!

The duo tumbled into the snow as a result.

s.h.i.+mizu chucked all of a sudden as she saw Lily put up a weak resistance with a misty look in her eyes and grabbed a ball of snow before stuffing it into her cleavage.

Kyah! The sudden chilling sensation caused Lily to yelp, and s.h.i.+mizu seized this chance to run forward.

Youre so naughty, Sis! Lily grabbed a ball of snow and threw it at s.h.i.+mizu as well.

The two girls had fun playing with s...o...b..a.l.l.s by throwing them at each other cheerfully in this silent and secluded mountain range.

They looked each other in the eyes once they were tired of playing and exhaled a white cloud of breath, which was then followed by cheerful laughter.

Lily felt happiness fill her.

The two of them walked in the snow one after the other, their bodies drenched in faint sweat from playing in the snow.

A small, thatched hut situated on a hillside ahead of the woods they were in came into their view a while later.

Look, Lily. Theres a thatched hut ahead of us. It looks abandoned, so lets rest inside it while also taking shelter from the snow.

It was about three to four oclock in the afternoon right now, which wasnt that early a time for them to rest, so Lily also nodded in agreement. The duo then employed spirit probes and determined that there werent any issues with the hut.

The duo then climbed up the hillside and went into the thatched hut.

The walls of the hut were made of wooden planks and even the window wasnt made of paper. A wooden board had instead been installed above the windowsill to act as its shutter. A few wooden planks were laid out to one side of the hut and the floor had an elevation of half-a-foot from the ground with some hay piled up at a corner. The huts entranceway was built from mud and also had some weeds growing on it. A circular stove made from stones was also present inside the hut and it had a pot on top of it.

A dwelling like this was a rare sight for Lily, but this was actually the most common dwelling for the commoners of the Heian Empire. A dwelling like this consisted of the bare minimum facilities to have food and sleep while also taking wind circulation and water leakage into consideration, but thats all it had. The commoners live a pretty tough life even though the land was prosperous and peaceful.

However, such living conditions barely had any effect on a samurai womans const.i.tution as they were used to eating and sleeping outside. It was also pretty hard for their skin to roughen up because they had spirit power protecting their bodies.

s.h.i.+mizu stood beside Lily and this allowed Lily to view s.h.i.+mizus incredibly smooth, round and slender shoulder. Although it looked a bit thin, that didnt make it look skinny at all. However, she did feel that s.h.i.+mizus bosom wasnt that prominent.

So strange,

Lily chided herself internally,

Just where are you looking and what are you thinking?

Sister s.h.i.+mizu, is your body fine with the wind now?

s.h.i.+mizu nodded, Grudge is the best elixir in terms of beauty and health for us blade maidens, isnt that so?

Indeed. Haha

However, Im still not as wholesome and vivacious as you are, Lil Sis Lily, s.h.i.+mizu looked at Lilys incredibly ample bosom from the side and then look at her own, feeling slight frustration at the obvious difference between them despite both of them being women. At the same time, she was overcome by an intense, impulsive desire to dominate the woman before her eyes, Im not as womanly as you are, Lil Sis Lily.

Lily blushed when she heard this, Dont say that now, Sister s.h.i.+mizu. Youre very pretty, too.

Really? s.h.i.+mizu lowered her head with a blush on her cheeks.

A moment of silence welcomed the hut and the cohabitation made them dread the silence.

The silence made Lily feel lonely. Although she had an exceptionally beautiful girl beside her, the fact that she had to pretend they were just ordinary partners filled her heart with emptiness.

Patience and modesty are virtues. A beautiful woman needs such virtues.

Although such thoughts filled Lilys mind, her bosom heaved deeply the more she looked at s.h.i.+mizu.

s.h.i.+mizu also felt her breathing quicken a little as she looked at Lily3.

This wont do. If such a mood continues

Sister s.h.i.+mizu, well, how far are we from Omi now?

Lily raised a topic hastily as a distraction.

It wasnt actually to distract s.h.i.+mizu as she had always held intense feelings towards Lily, and they wouldnt change just because she had raised a topic suddenly. It was to distract her own mind forcefully!

This was what filled Lily with dread.

The goodwill shown by other girls, their playful words and even their pa.s.sive touches were things that Lily could somehow cope with despite suffering some loss as she wasnt willing in those cases and could use that as an excuse.

However, an aroused mind was no excuse even for her.

Is it because I withstood the aphrodisiac for a long time?

Lily shook her head with blus.h.i.+ng cheeks and took out the map from her bosom with the belief that she would be able to divert her concentration by focusing on the old and murky map to look for directions, and that she would be able to forget the stray thoughts invading her mind temporarily with a rational mind.

s.h.i.+mizu also leaned over to look at the map and this allowed Lily to relish in the blended scent of her own bosom and s.h.i.+mizus hair.

Before she even realized it, Lily had planted a kiss on s.h.i.+mizus earlobe.

Eh? As sensitive as she was, s.h.i.+mizus earlobe flushed red immediately, and she looked at Lily with slight astonishment. This was because she knew that Lily was someone who never did things like this, What happened?4

N-Nothing! Lily felt hot all over, and her skin flushed wholly. She crumpled the map subconsciously and fled towards the window at the huts corner and looked at the faint snowfall weakly.

I dont know. I

Heavens! Just what in the world have I done?! How could I have taken such a bold, excessive and proactive action?

s.h.i.+mizu, on the other hand, revealed a satisfied and knowing smile after seeing Lily so embarra.s.sed, Lets continue discussing the map, Lily. Until where had you looked just now?

Silva: Time for some yuri action?

Robinxen: Cant you just say theyre both joint second anyway?

Robinxen: This is so awkward to read.

Robinxen: How could they make the first move. Gasp.