Awakening

For several days, Takeda and Yoshikawa served as tour guides, driving around Lei Yin and the others everywhere they went.

In the past few days, they visited Lake Biwa, Sagano, Sanjusangendo, Nishi-Honganji Temple, Kiyomizu Temple, Ginkaku Temple, Arashiyama, Kinkakuji, and several others famous tourist attractions.

This time, their visit coincided with one of the two grandest festivals in Kyoto, the Gion Festival (Gion Matsuri). So their surroundings were particularly lively.

Gion Festival is held from July 1st to 29th in Yasaka Shrine. Legend has it that in the year of 869 AD, there was an epidemic plague in Kyoto. At the time, the people prayed to the god of the Yasaka Shrine, Susanoo-no-mikoto. Sixty-six stylized and decorated halberds, one for each province in old Japan, were prepared and erected at Shinsen-en, a garden, along with the portable shrines (mikoshi) from Yasaka Shrine. This practice was then repeated wherever an outbreak occurred, and later on evolved into a festival.

With the start of the Gion Matsuri, the Takeda Family slowly began to visit their relatives.

As a traditional family and on such an important day, Takeda was forced by his father to wear a Kimono at home. This command made Takeda very upset, but under the power of the old man that was acquired over a long period, he had no choice but to unwillingly obey the command.

This was the first time for Lei Yin and Naoko to see this rebellious youth, who always wore earrings, ripped jeans, and dyed hair like a street gang member, to wear a Kimono. In particular, after he wore the Kimono, he looked as if he was trying to grab the small fleas that continuously pester him. Seeing this scene, Lei Yin and Naoko could not help but laugh.

In contrast, Yoshikawa, who was also required by his family to wear the Kimono, was much more natural and did not show any resistance.

Although when she was still a teacher in high school her subject was English, Naoko also came from a very traditional family. Her gentle and elegant temperament were well suited to wear the Kimono. Therefore, taking advantage of this festival, Lei Yin deliberately took her to a local Kimono shop to buy her a Kimono. In addition, he also wanted Amy to dress as well, to see if it suit her.

In the Kimono shop, when Naoko came out from the dressing room wearing a set of long sleeves Kimono which was painted with birds and flowers, in addition to the shop owners, everyone who saw her showed a stunned expression.

“Lei, what do you think about this set?” Naoko whispered to her sweetheart.

Lei Yin went over to hold her shoulders to take a closer look for a moment before he smiled and then said: “Don’t dress like this to someone else’s wedding. Otherwise, the bride will be angry.”

Naoko suddenly blushed and bowed her head.

Seeing Naoko’s pair of shy eyes and her touching beauty, the shop owner almost shed a saliva, while Takeda and Yoshikawa heavily sighed in their hearts, lamenting about their friend’s good fortune. How could such a creature find such a stunning girlfriend?

Then it was Amy’s turn to try. Because the formal Kimono dress was very tedious, Lei Yin asked a sales lady to help Amy put them on.

After Amy went into the dressing room, Lei Yin noticed that Naoko was looking at a set of brightly colored gorgeous flower Kimono wedding dress in a daze.

Knowing her thoughts, Lei Yin took her hand, gently caressed it, and said: “If you like, just buy it. When I marry you, would you like to wear this as you wait for me to come and pick you?”

“Lei....” Naoko turned her head and looked at him with eyes full of tears and, after a while, finally leaned into his arms, and gently wept.

Lei Yin softly stroke her long hair.

Seeing this, Yoshikawa sighed and said to Takeda: “Fortunately this guy has no interest in Haruko. Compared to him, I am just a high school boy, and you are yet to graduate from kindergarten.”

“Go to hell.” After he cursed, Takeda can’t help but watch with envy at the two people embracing each other.

Compared to adults, children’s kimono was a lot simpler. Not long after she entered the dressing room, Amy came out wearing a pink kimono.

Compared with Naoko’s mature beauty, Amy’s cuteness gave off another distinctive visual impact. This kimono wearing little girl was like the larger variant of Japanese dolls, making other people can’t help but want to hold her tightly in their arms.

“Lei, this dress is really strange.” Amy felt the novelty of wearing a Kimono for the first time. She enthusiastically looked at its long sleeves and flung them around every now and then.

Lei Yin knelt down, told her to circle around, and then said: “Kid, you look great in this.”

“Really?” The little girl opened her big and round eyes to look at him.

“Of course it’s true.”

“Then I’ll wear it.” Amy very happily clung on his neck.

When Lei Yin was about to pay for their goods, Takeda said: “Masashi, you’re not going to buy one for yourself?”

“I don’t like to wear a Kimono.”

Takeda was very pleased and pat him on the shoulder, “Me too, I don’t like it either.”

Takeda did not know that Lei Yin’s reason was not as simple as that. The origin of Kimono came from the Tang Dynasty. It evolved from the Tang Dynasty’s clothing style. However, in the modern times, Kimono has become Japan-specific clothes. Lei Yin could not stand the uncomfortable feeling about this subject. Not because he felt disgust or hate, but rather he felt resistant about it. No matter where his rebirth was, at his core, he was a Chinese. After all, when he was hit by the lightning, which turned him into a spiritual body, he was already a mature adult. Time may change a lot of things, but some entrenched habit and ideas are difficult to change. Instead, they will deepen as times goes by.

After they returned to Takeda’s house, Yoshikawa saw a red sports car parked at the gate. He turned to Takeda and said: “It looks like your cousin is here.”

“Haven’t seen that guy in almost a year, I don’t know how he is now?”

“You’ll know it when you see him.”

When they went to the garden, when Takeda’s three younger cousins saw Amy dressed in a kimono, they immediately ran and surrounded her.

After a few days together, despite the language barrier, these little kids liked the cute and well-behaved Amy. Moreover, Lei Yin wished for her to get along with the other children, so, Amy slowly stopped resisting in playing with them.

When they came at Takeda’s room, a burst of laughter came from the inside. Takeda recognized the voice of his cousin so he opened the door. Sure enough, he saw the tall figure of Kanoyama Akiji and three other people with the same age and similar build as him were playing cards. Takeda has seen these three other people before, they were all Kanoyama Akiji’s high school classmates.

Hearing the door was pushed, Kanoyama Akiji turned around and saw Takeda. He immediately smiled and said: “Hidetoshi, long time no see.”

Takeda sat down beside him, “Yes since you went to college, I had not seen you in a year. How are you?”

“Not good, not bad either. Yoshikawa, you’re here too, and this is....” Kanoyama Akiji looked at Lei Yin and asked.

“He is my college classmate and good friend, Gennai Masashi.”

“Hello, my name is Kanoyama Akiji, Hidetoshi’s cousin.”

“Hello.”

Kanoyama Akiji turned to Takeda and said: “I heard from aunty that you got admitted to Teikyo University, is that right?”

Takeda proudly said: “Of course, it’s true.”

“I never thought you could get into Teikyo University, it’s really surprising.”

“This is my strength.”

When the two men spoke, Naoko, who just came from putting her newly purchased Kimono on her room, opened the door and went in.

After she came in, she was surprised to see so many people inside and immediately said “Excuse me” and then quietly sat down beside Lei Yin.

This sudden appearance of the top beauty made Kanoyama Akiji and his several of his classmates stunned for a moment, and they unblinkingly looked at her as she moves.

“Hidetoshi, this young lady is....” After they came to their senses, Kanoyama Akiji immediately asked Takeda.

Takeda said: “She Masashi’s girlfriend, Hase Naoko, she is here with Masashi.”

Thinking that this top beauty was actually the girlfriend of this ordinary looking boy, the four people were amazed, and simultaneously cried out in their heart, What a pity.

At this time Lei Yin said to Takeda: “Since your cousin is here, we are going back to our room, you play with your cousin.”

“Very well, I’ll be looking for you not long after this.” Takeda knew that Lei Yin did not like to talk with strangers, so he won’t force him to stay.

Upon seeing the top beauty as well as the more-and-more-not-pleasing-to-the-eyes boy stood up to leave, Kanoyama Akiji and his several friends felt both pity and frustrated.

When they went to the door, Lei Yin suddenly stopped, and then pushed out the door in a hurry and rushed outside without even putting his shoes back.

Yoshikawa had never seen him like this, immediately turned around and asked: “What’s the matter with him?”

“I don’t know,” Naoko said while putting on her shoes to follow him.

Takeda and Yoshikawa did not know what happened and had to follow.

Kanoyama Akiji and his several friends thought that they could see something exciting so they quickly followed.

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