AN CH 3: Hmm. Just realized it's Yen's mom's MAIDEN name that Hosui. Which means either Aya doesn't have a father, or his mom never took the name. Buuut, we're just going to ignore that little detail. I have no idea what Aya's father's name would be anyway. Hosui works well enough for now. Pity I didn't remember it sooner or it could have been incorporated. But by this point Yen's already called Aya's father Hosui. Still not entirely sure what I'm doing with this... But it's going as it will. Hmm... Read & Review please!

Yen sometimes wondered about who had come up with the phrase 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.' The statement was certainly true for him, even if he doubted its creator had been in quite as awkward a situation as he found himself. Cousins, both heirs to gakushi bloodlines, but only one of them a gakushi. Families estranged, constantly worrying about how his cousin was being treated. He sighed. Once. Just once in the past six months had he come across him, and what he saw had not been heartening. What kind of parent made his child sit out in the rain for hours without even waterproof clothes?

His first impression of Aya's father hadn't been very positive either. Sealing maga wasn't strange for their occupation, but the man had seemed so uncaring about the event, using his own son as bait. It pissed him off.

"Yen? Could you come help set the table?" He glanced up to see his mother in the doorway. It was a rare day that she cooked.

"Sure, Mom. I'll be right there." He got to his feet letting his all but forgotten homework slide off his lap.

"Are you ok?" she asked. "You've had a strange look on your face lately. Like you're worrying about something."

Yen smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine. I've just been thinking."

She still looked worried for a moment, hesitating. "I know it's asking a lot for you to start taking over with your duties as heir at fourteen… I know that it's stressful."

He shook his head. "I'm fine Mom, it's nothing like that. I have been balancing work and school for years. I just have some things that I needed to think about."

A mischievous look glinted I her eyes. "Is it about girls?"

Yen rolled his eyes. "No. No matter how much you and Jin try to bring everything back around to my interests in women, for the last time, I'm not thinking about girls."

"There's that nice girl you always visit, Kirishima-san? She's pretty cute."

"We're just friends Mom. And weren't you in the middle of cooking?"

His mother paled. "Oh, shi—"

He held back a laugh as she dashed down the hall. Even when she tried to be motherly, she'd always be his unorthodox parent. His smile faded, the frown returning to his face. It wasn't like he could tell her or Jin that the reason he wasn't looking at girls and why he was so serious lately was due to his cousin. His duties as heir were difficult, but truly he was more worried about Aya than he was about his own situation. He had his family to guide and support him. Did Aya have his?

After dinner—which was surprisingly still edible—he was unexpectedly taken aside by his father.

"Yen, could we talk for a moment?"

Yen glanced at Jin where he was complaining about having to do the dishes and arguing with their mother. He raised an eyebrow.

"Just, you," his father clarified.

Shrugging, Yen followed him down the hall, Koga padding by his side. His maga companion had grown a lot in recent years. Soon he wouldn't be able to move easily indoors with him out. The thought distracted him, adding a bit to the loneliness he was feeling. He snapped back to attention when his father slid the door shut behind him. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

He was studied for a moment, then words came with calm detachment, much like most assignments his father gave. He listened patiently, knowing his father would reach his point eventually. "You have been a gakushi your whole life, trained since you could first recognize Koga as your maga, and you have learned all that the books in our home can teach you about maga. Alongside their knowledge is your own experience, which has allowed you to grow. But you are still growing, still learning."

Yen nodded, without interrupting. Of course he was still learning. He was nowhere near his father or grandfather's level yet, even if he was a fast learner. As a perception type, it was understandable that he learned faster than fighting types like Jin, but there also lie some of his problems. He could easily identify his enemy, but defeating it required more strength than he often had. He could capture, but not fight. He tried to balance by learning to fight and defend, but it wasn't his nature, and it often caused more difficulties in the long run.

"One day you will be family head. You are already taking on duties befitting of this role as its heir. But you have yet to learn much about the clans outside of our own." His father sighed. "You know of gakushi who use the skills of music or dance in their abilities to fight. You use them as well. You also know of the Kamen Kugutsushi that act as our opposites, chaos to our order, who use maga for their own purposes. But you have yet to experience much in the gray areas of our world."

A tiny frown was forming on Yen's face. "You mean Aya's father, don't you."

The Ragun head nodded solemnly. "Aya's clan works a bit differently than ours. They too are born with Maga and know their Omi name, but they are less mediators of the maga as they are controllers. They capture spirits on their territory and are capable of controlling them. In the past they were the equivalent of mercenaries if you were to consider our clan more like guards. We protect and mediate. They capture and turn the power against greater dangers they might come across. This came about likely due to a strange ability that is occasionally born into their family… a sort of empathy link with maga created by the accidental—or purposeful—separation of a maga from its gakushi at birth. It leaves a void needing to be filled…"

"And attracts maga…" Yen finished, feeling chilled. "You mean that Aya has this ability, don't you?"

"Yes." He watched his son carefully, noting the mixture of worry and disgust on his face.

"Was he born that way or…?"

"That is something that I would like to find out. Even for the sake of a clan, it is frowned upon to force a child into this state. After all, it is like removing a portion of its soul. This occurring naturally is rare enough, and it is valuable to their clan due to their strength through captured maga, but even if one were born that way it would be a terrible burden."

"I've been…worried," Yen said slowly. "Ever since I crossed paths with Aya on that assignment. He didn't look like he was doing well. They had him sitting for hours in the rain. I don't know how their policies work, but it seems obvious that he's viewed less as a person than as a tool." He bit his lip, seeing Aya shiver in his mind all over again. He wondered if he had actually gotten out of the rain or if he had stayed like he had been told. "I want to help him."

"If we could get away with interfering, I'd have done something about the situation already," his father said seriously. "But I can't. It would be a serious breach of the fragile relationship we currently have going. When your aunt married into their family I had hoped…but of course things don't turn out the way we want them to."

This was, Yen reflected, probably the most he had seen of his father's thoughts in a long time. Usually he kept aloof as a sort of mentoring figure, but ever since he had become heir, he had slowly begun to know his father as a person, not just as a goal to live up to. "I know this would be unusual," he said hesitantly, "but perhaps I could act as a go between or something? Hosui-san didn't seem particularly happy with me, but as he is married to my aunt he couldn't outright reject my presence. Not without provocation."

The sealed maga in books from Aya's family are related to the stolen books from the kamen kugutsushi

There was a considering silence, but it quickly turned into a shake of the head. "No," came the decision. "We can't spare the effort at the moment. Another problem has come up with the Kamen Kugutsushi. They are taking an interest in sealed maga again. Maga that have been sealed for centuries are showing up and causing havoc. The problem is, we haven't figured out where they are coming from yet."

"Really?" It was rare for his father not to know something as important as that. Then again, these weren't the training assignments he had gone on with Jin all those years ago. His father no longer knew how they would end up, and he could no longer guard his back all the time.

"No, although most have come from the north. It isn't our territory to patrol, but they have been crossing over to our land. I'm planning on meeting with the head to our north. He shouldn't be letting the maga get out of hand."

"I should patrol," Yen decided. "If a maga disrupts something Koga and I will clean it up. I should probably tell Jin to be on his guard too."

"No." Yen blinked and glanced up. "I have a different task for Jin. He's going to be out of town for a while, and he shouldn't have something to distract him from his task. Knowing him, he'd worry about Erei and forget his task completely."

Yen was frowning, but he covered it quickly. Patrol without Jin? Sure, they no longer did everything together, but the idea of withholding information didn't sit well with him. He wouldn't have any ready backup either. Perhaps Mikami would be in the area. If he got in over his head, the defensive type gakushi would at least help him to escape. "Of course, Dad," he said, outwardly showing no sign of his thoughts. The older man was equally unreadable when he glanced up. It seemed that the more he got to know him, the less he actually knew…and the more like him he became. Yen felt that his habit of keeping secrets had grown rather than shrunk in recent years, his questionable relationship with Aya aside.

"That's all for tonight, Yen." His father said smiling. "I'm sure you are busy with your homework, so I'll let you go for tonight."

Yen nodded, retreating to his room. And it was his room now that Jin had gotten his own the year before. He sighed as he opened the window. It wasn't raining that night, but the air was cold. It would be winter soon. The moon was just poking out from behind the clouds, a thin sliver of silver light through dark grey. Something white flashed in the corner of his vision, and Yen turned to follow the progress of a small paper bird. It slid in a lazy arc through a faint breeze before coming to rest at his elbow.

"Is is from Kirishima-san?" he muttered, picking it up and flipping it over. The familiar spell markings were the same, but the handwriting on it wasn't Kirishima's. "Aya…" He glanced around quickly before feeling a bit silly. There wasn't anything odd about receiving a message. It happened all the time with missions or if his parents needed to contact him. Still, he felt self conscious. It was from Aya after all.

He flipped it over again to read the writing.

Watch your back. The maga have been restless lately. Father is too stubborn to ask for help, but we are managing. There have been odd rumors going around about the Ragun. I thought you should know. Be safe,

~ Aya

It was almost funny that it came just after the discussion he had had with his father, but it made him feel warm all the same. Unconsciously, he traced the letters. Should he write back? Would Aya get in trouble if he wrote back?

Yen wanted to write back. To communicate with Aya after so long, even through written messages at a distance was preferable to nothing at all. But too many messages would not be good either. They were usually only reserved for important messages, and while he thought communication was important, he had a feeling that Aya's family wouldn't agree. One message, though… One message couldn't hurt. Just one of many for the heir of a clan, right?

Feeling guilty without quite knowing why, he pulled a matching paper bird from his desk, hovering over it as he tried to decide what to write. It was stupid, he thought. He was just writing to Aya. It didn't matter what he said, it was writing at all that was important.

Kamen kugutsushi are moving again. They might be the source of maga problems. Thank you for the heads up. Try to stay out of danger if you can. If you need help, let us know.

~Yen

It felt like he should write something more, like 'love' or 'missing you,' but he didn't. It would have felt too cliché and too lonely. He was missing Aya, but admitting it on paper wouldn't make it any better. Yen sighed and folded its wings, moving to the window. It was dark out, and raining again. "Don't get wet," he muttered to the message, then he tossed it out into the night. Aya would get it later, and then everything would be fine. He might even respond eventually… If he could get away with it without drawing suspicion. Yen sighed. It wasn't likely he'd get a reply. He wouldn't even hope for as much.

He shut the window as he heard Jin stomp down the hall. Predictably, his brother poked his head into the room.

"G'night. Mom wants you to pack your own lunch in the morning. She has a deadline to meet soon."

"When doesn't she?" Yen said rolling his eyes. "Good night, Jin."

His brother paused for a moment more. "Did Dad say anything important earlier?"

There was a moment when Yen knew he should feel guilty for leaving his brother out of the loop, but as usual it never came. He wondered if it was because he rationalized the necessity to the point where his subconscious even agreed. "Just some stuff about missions. He has a task coming up for you."

"Really?" Jin's eyes lit up. "It's been forever since he's given me anything to do. I want to go kick maga butt!"

Yen smiled. "I'm sure there will be plenty. You realize he would give you more tasks if you stopped rushing in head first? I can't always be around to pull you out of your messes."

His brother scoffed. "Ah, I can handle myself fine. Sora 'n me'll beat anything that comes at us."

"Your grammar's slipping again."

"So? You're the next head. I'm just the muscle. No one will expect me to talk all fancy like you."

"Jin…"

Sensing an oncoming lecture, his brother ducked out fast. "Later, Yen-nii."

"Good night, Jin," Yen repeated. He flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Koga manifested across the room and looked at him questioningly.

"Am I still doing my job correctly?" he asked. "I'm keeping things from Jin, and from Dad. I'm taking too much of an interest in my cousin, which in turn means I'm meddling in his clan affairs. And I find myself wanting to ignore all protocol and just up and take Aya away from there. You know?"

He listened to Koga's response for a long while. "Yeah," he said finally. "It's not rational at all. That's how these things go, though, right?" He sighed. "And we both know just how much experience I have in that…" Yen was glad his maga was smart. If he had been talking to Sora, his sarcasm would have been missed completely. "Hmm. I don't know where this is going, Koga. You'll help though, right?" He smiled at the warm emotions coming from his partner. Koga was wonderful. His last thought before drifting off to sleep was if Aya would ever be able to have a partner to fill his void like Koga did for him…