Atop the Southern Highlands Beams of morning light began to break through the narrow edges of the cloth door that hung in front of Taiyo and Aimee's tent. The mornings atop the Southwest Highlands were relatively quiet, few kinds of birds chose to spend their time in the area and much of the other wildlife had been cut off from the world due to the area's geography and elevation. Taiyo awoke to the unpleasant feeling of his ribs being jabbed by the toe of Aimee's boot. "Get up, it's time to head out," She said in an unenthusiastic tone as she walked out of the tent. "She's already dressed and changed?" Taiyo thought to himself as he lifted his body from his sleeping bag on the ground and rubbed his eyes. "Did she… change in here while I was sleeping?" He wondered, the thought making him shudder a bit, as he proceeded to get up and get himself dressed for their second day of travel. Taiyo reached for the Black and tan uniform Aimee had given him just a day earlier, his hands lingering as he took a second to think about how even in this short amount of time since they had been assigned the mission, he had already seen and learned more about her than all of their years of school together. As he slung the uniform over his shoulders, he seemed to notice the more relaxed fit it now had after wearing it for a day. "Guess she was right about it adjusting…" he said to himself as he stepped out into the early morning air to see his mission partner already working on a meal for the two of them. "Can you break down the tent while I finish up breakfast and clean up the campsite?" Aimee asked over her shoulder as she heard Taiyo's steps rustling behind her. Taiyo, who stopped just a few steps short behind her, quickly caught the smell of what she was cooking in the air, and enticed by its aroma, he simply obliged and began breaking down the tent.
After a short while, the campsite where they had spent their first night together had been returned to a simple patch of grass. The only evidence of their presence was a small now extinguished fire and a log just wide enough for the two of them to sit on. Taiyo and Aimee sat on the log eating the breakfast Aimee had prepared for them, their bags sat and resting on the edge of the clearing. "Where did you get eggs all the way out here?" Taiyo asked as he scarfed down the last of his plate, noticing that Aimee had used some of the same onion grass he had used the night before to season the meal. "A merchant was walking by early this morning," Aime replied sort of somberly as she pointed toward the nearby road. "I flagged him down to see if he had come from Ko'Gato village by any chance. I thought maybe he might have new information for us," she said as she finished up the last of her meal as well. "Did he?" Taiyo asked curiously. "No… but he had eggs, so I bought some," Aimee replied bluntly, her demeanor just as guarded as ever. "I didn't know you knew how to cook," Taiyo continued to say. "Are you implying I didn't know how to make eggs?" Aimee retorted as she stood up, snatching the empty metal bowl from his hands and proceeded to wipe it clean before walking over to her bags and packing it inside along with her own. Taiyo just chuckled a bit at her response, despite his lack of understanding of her ever changing demeanor, he was becoming somewhat used to her agitated outbursts. "Well they were good," Taiyo replied unbothered as he hoisted himself up from the seat and followed along behind her as she left the clearing and made way for the road. "Here," Aimee said as she reached into the lapel of her uniform and pulled out two small crumpled pieces of parchment paper, tossing one over her shoulder to Taiyo.
Taiyo stumbled forward trying to catch whatever she had thrown to him. As he unwrapped the paper, he realized she had tossed him a treat she must have also grabbed from the merchant. Flakey folds of bread appeared from behind the paper that now Taiyo could see was marked with a small printed title. "Bellow Bakery" had been handwritten on part of the parchment, catching Taiyo's eye before he began to dig into the breakfast pastry that had been filled with sweet strawberry jam. "Oh wow… This is really good!" Taiyo said aloud as he took a few steps forward to walk beside Aimee. "Hey did you try your-" Taiyo began to say as he looked over to his partner, only to see Aimee had already devoured the treat and her cheeks filled with the evidence of her gluttony. Aimee blushed a bit and turned her head away, trying profusely to chew faster so she could get a word in. "Hah!" Taiyo bellowed as he tried to stifle any further laughter. Finally Aimee had managed to chew and swallow the pastry, catching her breath as she wiped a bit of strawberry jam away from her mouth. "It was good alright, shut up!" She groaned as she picked up her pace and walked ahead of him once again.
Taiyo and Aimee continued along through the Southwest Highlands of Kamikochi, the two of them only making seldom conversation in relation to the mission at hand. Throughout the day as they traveled, Taiyo would intermittently ask questions about how they should proceed and what Aimee had learned about Ko'gato village and The Miruso Crime ring at hand. Stopping and starting his prodding whenever Aimee seemed to get more or less annoyed. The two of them had spent the better part of the day trekking across what could only be described as an endless field of colorful flowers and landscape, until they had finally arrived at the first real stop of their destination: Rigora Town.
As the sun began to set once again painting the sky beautiful shades that matched the flowers below it, Taiyo and Aimee made their way into the small quaint village that sat bordering one of the many breaks in the plateaus. Rigora town: known for its beautiful landscape and particularly hard to find baked goods, sat divided down the middle by a canyon-like gap between two of the plateaus, just like many of the other small towns and villages that could be found across the Southwest Highlands. Numerous bridges and walkways stretched across the almost fifty meter wide canyon, some of them wide and strong enough to house sets of vendors and small shops. Below the bridges and cascading down the face of each cliff, were even more walkways and bridges that covered the cliffside all the way down to the ocean below, where ships that carried supplies in and out of the small town were docked. Taiyo and Aimee entered the town at sunset, when most shops and vendors were closing down for the day and the local pubs and taverns began to fill up with patrons. Taiyo followed behind Aimee as she made her way through the streets lined with small wooden buildings and happy people, almost as if she knew where she was going and had a destination in mind. "Are we making camp again here?" Taiyo asked as he intrusively peered over the railing of a streetside pub patio at somebody's steaming meal. "Does it look like we're gonna make camp? Where are we supposed to set up? on a random street corner?" Aimee replied sarcastically as she continued her way on until she had finally arrived at a small building at the end of one of the many winding streets that filled the town.
Aimee stepped up onto the porch of the plain and homely looking building, it certainly did not appear to be any sort of tavern or inn they could stay at for the night, at least not to Taiyo's eye. "What are you doing?" Taiyo said in as loud a whisper as he could manage as Aimee looked as though she was about to knock on the door. "You can't just go banging on stranger's-" Taiyo was cut off as the door flung open before Aimee ever touched it. "Miss Aimee!" A young girl's voice cried out as a small child no older than three or four years came stumbling out and wrapping her arms around Aimee's legs. "Hey, Brooke!" Aimee said with a tone of voice Taiyo had never heard her speak with, something seemingly soft and affectionate. "What are you doing answering the door like that, you gotta be careful! Now go run and tell your mom that I'm here," Aimee said teasingly as the young girl ran back inside the house shouting of Aimee's arrival. Taiyo just looked on in confusion at the strange scene before him. Another moment later, a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties stepped into the doorway and greeted Aimee with just as much enthusiasm as the young girl had. She was just a bit shorter and had long dark hair parted to the side. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue, as were her daughters and from the looks of it the young woman who answered the door appeared to be pregnant with another child as well.
"And who's this you've brought along?" the young woman asked Aimee, gesturing to Taiyo who was still standing in the street just in front of the porch. "This is my new mission partner, his name is Taiyo," Aime responded, the enthusiasm now gone from her voice. "Mission partner? That's unlike you," The young woman said with a bit of a laugh as she gestured for Taiyo to come closer. "It wasn't a choice," Aimee muttered begrudgingly before stopping into the house past the woman and leaving Taiyo to make his own introduction. "Nice to meet you Mam', I'm Taiyo," he said to her politely as he stepped up onto their porch and gently shook her hand. "Well it's a pleasure Taiyo, My name is River. River Bellow ." She responded with a kind and welcoming smile that put Taiyo at ease, but her name had him scratching his head with a sense of familiarity. "Bellow… Bellow… Oh!" Taiyo reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out the crumpled piece of parchment paper from the pastry earlier in the day. "Does that mean you made this?" Taiyo asked with an innocence that made Aimee roll her eyes inside the house. "That's my mommies food! The young girl cheered as she appeared in the doorway once again with a bright smile and clinging to her mothers leg. Taiyo knelt down so he was at the young girl's eye level, "well it was delicious!" Taiyo said with a big smile, making the young girl smile even wider, bashfully running back into the house back to Aimee, "Your friend is funny Miss Aimee!" the young girl shouted as she found Aimee further in the house. "Well it seems like you have Brook's approval, Come in," River said with a warm smile as she stepped aside and waved Taiyo in.
"So how do you know Aimee? if you don't mind me asking?" Taiyo said as he ducked a bit under the doorway and stepped inside the humble home. It felt bigger on the inside than it looked from the street, the main door opened up into a well sized family room, and across from it Taiyo could see a kitchen that someone had clearly been busy in. There was a short hallway that led to a few rooms, presumably Aimee had disappeared off to one of them with Brooke, and on the other side of the family room was a staircase that led to a second floor, with more bedrooms Taiyo had guessed. "Oh she didn't tell you?" River said with the faintest of glances back at him as she continued on into the kitchen with Taiyo in tow. Once in the kitchen Taiyo could see it was even larger than he thought, with a number of clay ovens lining one side of the room and bakers' work stations all around. "Let's just say our families are connected," River said somewhat dismissively, but Taiyo was too mesmerized by the sight of her impressive baking operation to really hear her words. "Oh wow… Look at this place!" Taiyo said as he looked around, taking in all the enticing smells of the kitchen filled with baked goods and sweets. River responded with a light laugh at his awe, "thank you, I work hard to sell enough goods to support me and Brooke," River replied as she looked down at her stomach and her upcoming child with affection. "Congratulations by the way," Taiyo said awkwardly as he gestured toward her pregnancy. "Thank you," Brooke said again as Taiyo kept curiously taking a look around. "So what does your husband do while you do all the work baking?" Taiyo asked politely, but when River didn't respond, he turned around to see her expression had changed, like he had hurt her feelings somehow. Worried he had struck a nerve, Taiyo scrambled to change the subject, remembering what River had said about how she knew Aimee. "So how do you and Aimee's families know each other?" he asked rushedly, trying to mend his blunder. "I um.." River stuttered as though Taiyo had yet again asked another sensitive question, only to be interrupted by Aimee rejoining them.
"Has he said anything stupid yet?" Aimee said loudly as she moved past Taiyo, grabbed a bread roll off the counter and took a seat at the table, throwing her feet up. "Don't be like that Aimee," River gently scolded, "Your partner here seems like a nice young man," she added, as she smiled at Taiyo, dismissing the awkward moment. "Yeah well, give it time. He will," Aimee added as she took the last bite of her bread roll. "So how long are you staying this time?" River asked her. "Just tonight, we head for Ko'Gato Village in the morning, to keep up the investigation." Aimee replied.
"Well, I guess I should get the guest room ready then and put Brooke to bed, I'll likely head to bed myself afterwards, I have an early morning tomorrow. Aimee, can you show Taiyo where the guest room is when you two turn in? It was a pleasure to meet you Taiyo," River said as she fetched Brooke from the other room where she was playing and headed upstairs, leaving Taiyo and Aimee behind in the kitchen. After she had left, Aimee stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets in the kitchen, opening it as if she was in her own home and pulling out a bottle of brown liquor and two glasses before returning to the table. "Sit," was all she said to Taiyo who stood there awkwardly watching her, somewhat unsure how he had ended up in some random woman's kitchen. Taiyo reluctantly sat at the table as Aimee began pouring herself a glass before sliding him the bottle. "So where are you gonna sleep if I'm in the guest room?" he asked as he poured himself a glass. Aimee took a sip and savored the taste of her pour for a second before answering his question. "I have my own room upstairs," she said bluntly as if that didn't spark more questions for him. "Your own room? How often do you stay here?" he asked as he took his own sip, surprised by how smooth the liquor was. After his question Aimee peered at him from behind her cup, her stare as sharp as glass. "What's with all the personal questions?" She muttered as she took another sip. Taiyo squinted his eyes back at her, as if to say it was obvious why he was wondering how they had ended up here and about her connection to River. "She said your families knew each other," he added as he polished off his glass and poured another. "She did, did she? Well… that's neither here nor there, we should talk about the mission," Aimee replied with the same dismissiveness River had earlier, as if neither of them wanted to discuss the matter. Taiyo just rolled his eyes, as curious as he was, he knew trying to get Aimee to answer his questions was like pulling water from a stone. "We'll get to Ko'Gato Village by nightfall tomorrow where we can set up camp and start our observations." She said to him as she poured her second glass as well. "Observations? Haven't you been observing these guys for weeks already? Let's go in and take care of it!" Taiyo said boastfully, making Aimee sigh in exasperation. "Are you really that stupid? You read the report, we have an entirely new problem to deal with. This Wyald Reeches guy is gonna be a problem if he has any skill as a fighter," Aimee said as she scolded him with her eyes. "So? It's Two on One, we can take him on easily," Taiyo replied, his overconfidence grating her mind like a saw blade. Out of the blue Aimee's fist slammed the table, almost knowing over the bottle of booze. "Dammit Taiyo! This is my Mission, don't go screwing it up with your Ego!" She exclaimed as the knuckles of her fist turned white and Taiyo saw the same look in her eye that he had seen on the day Hiro had assigned him to the mission.
"Okay… okay!" Taiyo replied as he put his hands up to show he was done making his comments. "So what's the plan then?" He asked, trying to bring the conversation back. Aimee let out a sigh of frustration as she finished her glass once again. "Forget it… we'll talk about it on the road tomorrow," she said in defeat as she stood and put away the bottle of booze. "Your room is upstairs, last one on the left, we leave at sun up." Was all she said before walking out of the kitchen and leaving Taiyo alone at the table. He let out a long sigh, the tension of the room melting away as Aimee walked upstairs and to her own room for the night. Taiyo looked at the remainder of his drink and finished it in one sip. "I really gotta get better at talking to women," he said to himself as he shook his head and made his way to the room River had so kindly prepared for him. His mind still filled with questions as to how she and Aimee knew each other and why Aimee had her own room here in River's home. As he walked up the stairs and down the hall, past the closed doors of both women. The thought struck him, "I actually don't think I've ever seen or met anyone from Aimee's family… even as kids at school… I never saw either of her parents…"
The Next morning Taiyo woke up to the enticing smells of fresh baked breads and pastries filling the air as the sun just began to crest over the horizon. He made his way down to the kitchen after making sure to leave the guest room exactly as he had found it, only to be greeted by the sight of River and Aimee working tirelessly to get the day started. Rolls upon rolls of fresh dough lined the counters around River while Aimee seemed to be busy preparing the ovens. Taiyo groggily stepped into the kitchen, still half asleep from having to wake up earlier than he was used to. "Good you're up. Start filling up those buckets with water, we need it to steam the bread, the well is out in the yard." Aimee said to him, barely even looking in his direction as she stoked a small pile of embers in one of the ovens, meanwhile River seemed to shoot Taiyo a look that said it would be just easier to listen. With a sigh, Taiyo picked up the two wooden buckets that sat next to the back door and headed outside, the yard still somewhat dim with the early morning light. He began to fill the buckets at the small well he could see at the back of the yard, mumbling to himself as he did. "Get me up early to bake bread… I thought we were supposed to get on the road," he said sarcastically as he filled the second bucket, only to be distracted by the sound of something rustling in the bushes in front of him. "What the hell is that?" Taiyo said as he leaned in closer toward the shrubbery that lined the small yard, peering inside to see if he could tell what was making the noise. "Ahhh!" Screamed little Brooke as she hopped out from the bush in an attempt to scare Taiyo, who instantly played along and pretended to fall backwards into the grass. "You got me!" He bellowed as he picked himself up and smiled at the playful young girl. Brooke laughed uncontrollably as a child does, running back into the house to announce her success. "Auntie Aimee, I got him! I scared him!" She cheered as Taiyo picked up his buckets and followed in behind, Brooke's cries seemingly revealing more of the mystery of how Aimee knew the family. "Auntie?... Is River Aimee's sister? They look nothing alike…" Taiyo wondered as he stepped back into the kitchen and set the buckets down by the ovens.
"You know you two don't have to stay and help me with all this Aimee, I bake the rolls by myself every morning, you two should get on the road," River said, to which Aimee only responded with an eyeroll and a sigh of exasperation. Seemingly ignoring River's comment as she began to fill the now lit ovens with sheet-pan after sheet-pan of freshly risen dough. Almost three hours had passed as Taiyo and the women kept the cycle going. River set the rolls, Aimee loaded the ovens, and Taiyo was assigned the task of pulling them out and setting them on the cooling racks just outside the back door, meanwhile little Brooke ran around and played amongst the commotion. Until eventually it came time to fill and dress all of the pastries they had baked.
Rigora town had begun to come alive by the time they had finally finished, the three of them covered in flour and different streaks of jams and jellies. During the time, Taiyo's questions of why and how they had ended up here seemed to melt away. He no longer wondered why Aimee had brought them here, despite her cold demeanor and unwillingness to share anything, Taiyo was familiar with the atmosphere, it was the same as his dinners together with the rest of the Umitasora family, it was simply comforting. The questions didn't matter as much, it had become clear this was part of Aimee's family in one way or another. "Thank you, Aimee… and you too Taiyo!" River said to the two of them with a bright warm smile, a face she seemed to put on often. "I can't keep you two here any longer, you have a mission to get to!" River added as she was placing each of the pastries they had baked that morning into their own bags, now ready to be sold. Once again Aimee rolled her eyes at River's words in response, yet this time her body language seemed to change as her gaze fell to the floor, her mood momentarily becoming softer. "Just… take care of yourself River… don't work too hard," Aimee said sheepishly before giving River an awkward but sincere hug, all the while glaring at Taiyo, making it clear she knew he was seeing her in an uncharacteristic light. "Alright let's go…" Aimee added as soon as she had let River go, storming off toward the front door and grabbing her bag she had left ready earlier in the morning.
"I…" Taiyo began to say something to River but she just dismissively waved her hand and smiled, "She's always been that way, she means well… she just… has a hard time showing it," River added as she watched Aimee leave her home and head out toward the street. Another second later, young Brooke poked her head into the kitchen from the back yard, "Did Auntie Aimee leave?" She asked curiously. "Yes dear she did," River replied and although Taiyo expected the young girl to run out after her, Brooke appeared unaffected by her mothers words, happily going back to playing in the yard without any objection. "Well, I should get going," Taiyo said as he gestured towards the street where Aimee was impatiently waiting for him. "Thank you again for hosting us, it was a pleasure to meet you and Brooke," Taiyo added as he bowed his head in gratitude. "Oh, here! For the road!" River exclaimed as she grabbed a bag of rolls and pastries off the counter and handed it to Taiyo before sending him off to get moving towards their goal once again.