The narrow paved streets outside are filled with an heavy fog today as the City of Flowers is covered with a light shower of heaven's sorrow as the gray of the sky tint everything in a dull shine, once vibrant reds and green reduced to ashy pink and dull teal as the result of the gloomy weather. Passerby shuffles on wooden sandals under elaborate yet sturdy paper umbrellas, most passing straight by a small teashop on Chrysanthemum Avenue and fewer giving a small smile behind porcelain masks at remembered times in the old establishment, just discussing their lives and sipping tea from exquisitely crafted china teacups.

Today is the Lovers Festival, and the whole city is in effervescence as the matchmaking week preceding the closing of the momentous event starts. The teashop is no exception, and alluring incense of roses, floral teas and luscious reds fill the space of the two storied small building.

Today is the first day of the Festival, and commonly called the Budding Day.

Pointless. Useless. Endless.

Sometimes, Kakei Maruhama forgot what day it was that day, but then again, that should be expected. Every day was the same after all. He was living a life that had no meaning, living only because the other option, death, wasn't very appealing for him. A sigh escaped his lips as he leaned against the low stone walls of a bridge. It was a foggy day, a perfect reflection of his life, everything unclear, no direction given at all. The light rain told him to take cover, but he didn't mind. There was elegance in standing outside in the rain, drops of coldness numbing his body. Poetic, almost, as his heavy garments dampened, taking on a darker color.

It was the start of the Lover's Festival that misty day, the start of a week from which he would have to suffer the worried gossip of his family's servants, the disapproving looks from his father. The young master whom, at the age of 22, was still a child. He cared little for their opinions, but it still got tiring. As other couples went out on the streets, chatting amiably in the spring rain, Kakei rested by a bridge, looking like a young man forsaken by his lover. It was all just so...his train of thought just stopped then, and the dark-haired man let out a sigh. It was getting colder now, and without any particular destination in mind, he found himself finding a direction in the form of a scent. The smell of roses and floral teas, faint in the foggy air. He took in a deep breath, and followed it, arriving at a tea shop that he did not recognize. It was a well-weathered establishment, architecture reminiscent of the buildings he had seen as a child. No, perhaps even before he was born. A rustic, pleasant feeling, it was.

Sliding open the door and removing his wooden clogs as he did so, Kakei stood there, waiting for an employee to notice and direct him to a seat.

"A rose for the young lady?"

"Ah, no. Thank you kindly, but I am otherwise engaged."

Alice waved off the old man as politely as she could. It was just the first day she had set foot in this town, and she had been showered in offers since she stepped off the train. Fortunately she had heard of the Lovers' Festival in advance, or she might well have promised herself to the porter who took her bags.

A swaggering middle-aged fellow in an ostentatiously printed yukata was coming her way now, rose in hand, so she ducked down the nearest alleyway to avoid lying her way out of another uncomfortable offer. It wouldn't be so bad, she reflected, if I thought they were after me for anything but my odd looks. She had grown used to that in the Orient, being looked at as a curiosity. She had, after all, been guilty of the same thing whenever she'd seen anything Oriental back home. Now she was just on the other side of the mirror.

Speaking of back home, the building she was now outside reminded her of the postcard she had received long ago. The beautiful architecture was what had inspired her to travel to the City of Flowers in the first place. She couldn't resist taking a look inside, and was immediately entranced by the rich scent coming from within the tea shop. She stepped in, hung her hat by the door, and looked around. Most of the tables seemed occupied, but there was a man standing by the door.

"Oh, good day."