When the music rose, Sakura took off her covering cloth. In a second, all the guests stood up and praised her.

So, the makeup was successful! Sakura began to say h.e.l.lo to everybody like a star walking on the red carpet at a film festival. Her dress from the Tang Dynasty and her gestures reminiscent of modern celebrities astonished all the guests!

In order to give Yos.h.i.+moto and the guests enough of a surprise, she kept the makeup secret until the banquet was started. It was lucky that the ancient j.a.panese cosmetics didn’t miss her target. She had studied makeup techniques during modern times and for this occasion she chose the makeup style of Audrey Hepburn. Her only regret was that the clothes Yos.h.i.+moto didn’t include the color black, so she couldn’t make a little black dress.

“What a pretty girl!”

“As I mentioned, she’s certainly a beauty!” 

“Where did Master Imagawa find her? Didn’t she come from a whale house?”

“Master Imagawa would never go near a whale house. Your knowledge is so shallow. That girl’s clothes are from the ancient China’s Tang Dynasty. Our kimono is from the same dynasty.”

“Is it? I’ve never seen a girl dressed in this style. It looks especially elegant!”

Though Sakura was dancing with Yos.h.i.+moto, she could hear everything the guests talked about secretly. At first she was so irritated when hearing the phrase “whale house,” but later when she heard the correct praises, she started to smile.

So the ancient j.a.panese still respected the Tang culture. She followed Yos.h.i.+moto to the middle of the tea house, winking as she threw kisses to the audience.

The music started again; Yos.h.i.+moto invited her to dance. Her easy style of blowing kisses to the audience successfully made them give up the conservative manner and the men began to invite the ladies standing beside them, to try learning the new dance.

Sakura was confident with her charms; she knew it from the desiring eyes of the dukes. But the fact that in this time, she could achieve such great success and make everybody join in the festivities with them, this reality surprised her and made her even love herself better. For certain, the technique of Audrey Hepburn’s makeup was more attractive than Kyoto’s white face.

“Is my dancing better?” Yos.h.i.+moto asked in her ear.

“Sure . . . but you are too close to me.”

“In fact, I want to keep even closer.” His eyes were covered with some fog of tenderness.

“Yos.h.i.+moto, we are dancing!” Sakura notified him of the environment. She knew he wouldn’t be as forceful as Harun.o.bu.

She was right. Yos.h.i.+moto didn’t make any other moves. He just kept dancing with her, one circle, two circles. . . Sakura almost forgot that she was wearing a pair of clogs. The music was The Blue Danube; she asked the players to turn it into j.a.panese-style folk music. They didn’t fail her trust; the new music was more interesting. Yos.h.i.+moto’s dancing skill had surpa.s.sed hers. She became faint when dancing with him, the ancient gentlemen. She could feel the romantic sense in his steps, and his scent of sandalwood made her think of Provence lavender.

“I want to be with you forever, Sakura.” Yos.h.i.+moto kissed her forehead slightly.

Sakura was woke up from the kiss with surprise.

The dancing couples around them also noticed this special sight and they began to mutter, “Master Imagawa also fell for someone?” and “What a surprise!”

She stopped her steps, staring at him, not knowing if she should reject his sudden confession in such a romantic atmosphere.

Her eyes looked around with irritation. Suddenly she saw a special guest that made her body stiffen. There was someone sitting in front of the west window, holding a cup of wine. He drank down the wine until the cup was tipped bottom-up. Behind the wide sleeves was a pair of eyes that burned with flames.

Harun.o.bu! How could he be here today? Sakura was still in Yos.h.i.+moto’s embrace. She hadn’t made a mistake. The man was indeed Harun.o.bu. However, he was calm and still, without the previous anger or urgency. He simply glared at her existence, never changing his focus, and drank one cup after another.

“Yos.h.i.+moto, how about we talk about this issue later? I feel uncomfortable now. I should go back to my room to get some rest.” Sakura pushed him away lightly and left the tea house from the back door.

Why did the heavens send her a thunderbolt from a clear sky? She lay down on the bed without any strength. Looking at the ceiling, she remembered that the first meeting of Yos.h.i.+moto and Harun.o.bu was several months later; when the relations.h.i.+p between the Hojo Family and the Imagawa Family broke, Harun.o.bu sent soldiers to support Suruga and tried to mediate between the two families. Was this a bad result of her time-traveling?

Feeling exhausted, she then fell into sleep. When she woke up, the noises of the outside had already ceased. She asked the maid waiting outside, who told her that the banquet had already ended an hour ago.

“Ended? Then, where is the master?”

“He is in the Water Pavilion, receiving Master Takeda Harun.o.bu. He said it is his first time meeting Master Takeda.”