Kuronue remained awake for a while longer, listened to Mamechiho in the other room as she went into the closet, fished out the boxes. He could hear her gasps, the quiet utterings she made to herself.

She returned, poking her head in the door, and bowed to him. "Thank you, I'm humbled by your gifts," she whispered.

Kuronue smiled and crooked at finger at her, returning it to Yukimura hair, stoking lightly. As Mamechiho came close, Kuronue leant forward and pressed his lips to hers lightly, careful to not mess up her makeup too much. He took her hand. "You deserve them. If I could, I'd see that you'd become one of the best geishas. I'll try to visit you more often, even if it's just for tea."

She nodded in that graceful way of hers, pulled the blanket that had been covering them before up again. He noted the way she used her hands, fingers straight, elegant. Every movement was smooth, like art itself. "Sleep a while longer, danna," she said softly, looked down to Yukimura and then back up to him with a smile.

She left and Kuronue settled with Yukimura. Faintly, before he fell asleep he could hear Mamechiho calling her Okasaan to tell her about her gifts.