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This takes place between Chapter 51 and the Epilogue of The Sword of the Soul. Also, I make mention of some things that are connected to the L5R fandom, so I will put notes where I think they are necessary.

Laughter resounded in the distance, accompanied by the cheerful clink of sake cups that almost seemed to chime to the tune of the music that was playing to entertain the customers. High above, the moon glowed, an immense orb of pale light, as if happy to be freed from the thick clouds of trepidation and war that had covered it up until recently.

To Shichiroji, it seemed as if every single thing gained a more joyous aspect: the stars seemed to burn more brightly in the sky, the lamps and lanterns appeared to glow most cheerfully - even the fireflies seemed happy, dancing and flickering through the plants in the garden with abandon.

Or maybe that's just me feeling happy, Shichiroji mused as he sipped his sake again. Kambei and Nasami had left a few weeks ago, heading for Kyuden Shiden'issen, and he could only speculate on what had happened during the time between their departure and this night. A small part of him wondered why he hadn't received a message from them yet, but he decided that he could wait. He could only imagine just how busy they probably were, what with Nasami being gone so long from her Clan, and he imagined that her sudden reappearance with Kambei would cause no end of uproar.

"Roji?"

Shichiroji looked up, and smiled pleasantly at the woman who had spoken his name. "You know, the customers must have run you off your feet if you only managed to show up now, Yukino."

The geisha smiled in amusement as she walked over to kneel down beside him, as was her usual practice. "You cannot begin to imagine just how many people there are." Her smile grew wider. "Still, though I might be run off my feet, we are also turning up a very good profit."

"You're starting to sound like a merchant," Shichiroji remarked, his voice mock-teasing. "I'm getting worried."

Yukino smacked him soundly on his non-metallic arm. "Need I remind you that if the Firefly House profits, it only means better things for the both of us?"

Shichiroji laughed. "I remember." He caught Yukino's chin between his fingers, and smiled as he peered into her eyes. "I just wish that we had a moment alone together..."

"Oh?" Yukino's eyes fluttered in what Shichiroji recognized as one of her "geisha tricks," but the tone of her voice told him that her words and emotions were very sincere. "Does Shichiroji-sama have anything particular in mind...?"

Shichiroji smirked, and was just about to answer that question with a kiss when the sound of rapidly pattering feet and of a door sliding open reached his ears, and he and Yukino managed to pull back just before one of the servants poked her head in.

"Yukino-sama! There is someone here looking for you and Shichiroji-sama," the girl said, the words coming out a bit too fast and a bit breathlessly, as if she had run from one end of the Firefly House to the other just to get to them.

Yukino straightened, and Shichiroji had to admire the way that she could pull herself together so quickly, going from his beloved to the mistress of the Firefly House. "Did they give their names and their purpose?"

"They said that they were from Kyuden Shiden'issen, and that they would only give their names once they spoke to you and to Shichiroji-sama."

From Kyuden Shiden'issen? Shichiroji looked at Yukino just as she herself looked at him, and they knew: it was most likely a message from Kambei or Nasami, or both.

Shichiroji smiled, and a fraction of a second later, so did Yukino. By unspoken agreement, Yukino stood up, fixing the fall and flow of her kimono. "I shall go and see to them myself." With one last smile at Shichiroji, she turned, and followed the servant girl to wherever it was that the messengers had been asked to wait.

In the meantime, Shichiroji knew that he had to make sure that these messengers were made comfortable. It was late at night, and they would want a comfortable place to stay, along with a good meal. It was only after he had finished talking to the servants to make all the necessary arrangements that he thought to add one final touch, and with this in mind he made his way to the secluded room that belonged to the young, blind koto-player named Kotori.

He found her kneeling on a cushion on the floor, the tortoise-shell finger picks she used to play her instrument flashing gently in the light as she played. He allowed himself to stand in the doorway and simply listen, but at length, he said: "Kotori-chan, there is a favor that I would like to ask of you. We have some rather important guests, and Yukino and I would like it if you played something for them later."

Kotori paused in her playing, and lifted her head as if to look at him, but the blank orbs that were once her eyes seemed to be pointed in a direction that was just slightly askew from where he actually was. "If that is what Shichiroji-sama and Yukino-san desire, I would be glad to do so."

Shichiroji smiled, and walked over to Kotori to help her to her feet even as she picked her koto up in her arms. He caught a brief glimpse of the Imperial mon that had been carved under the soundboard, and once again, he was reminded of the great mystery surrounding this blind but extremely talented young lady.

She was a puzzle, that much Shichiroji knew as he walked down the halls next to her, not really to help her, but to make sure that she did not inadvertently trip or stumble. In the time that he had come to know her, Shichiroji knew that, despite being blind, Kotori used her other senses to compensate for what she had lost. Her sense of hearing was second to none, her sense of smell had gotten quite keen, even her sense of touch seemed to be sharper than most. She stumbled still, from time to time, and she made mistakes too, but Shichiroji chalked it up to the fact that she had not been blind for very long.

Her blindness was a topic she didn't seem particularly fond of talking about, or so Shichiroji understood. He had asked her a few times just where she had come from and why she had ended up in the Village of Respite, but she either gave him very vague answers or did not respond at all. After a while, he decided to just let it go, and not talk about it. She would give him and Yukino answers when she felt that she was ready to give them.

They had reached the small room just off to the side of the dining room where Yukino would lead the messengers to for their meal, and he reached out to place a hand on Kotori's arm: a signal for her to stop walking.

Kotori's head cocked slightly to one side. "They must be some really important guests if you are having them dine here, in private, with you and Yukino-san."

Shichiroji chuckled. "You could say that." He glanced over his shoulder, and noticed that Yukino was already approaching, leading the way for the two messengers. "You stay here for now, all right? I will have the servants bring you some food and something to drink while you wait."

Kotori smiled. "Thank you, Shichiroji-sama. And please, I will only have water to drink. Sake has not agreed with me lately."

"Of course, Kotori-chan." After making sure that the servants would bring anything that Kotori would require, he left her to go around the long way and enter the dining room from the main entrance - and stopped short the moment he saw the messengers who had come from Kyuden Shiden'issen.

The moment he saw them, he knew that they were not messengers in the ordinary sense, for one of them wore the daisho at his waist - a sure sign of one who was a samurai. This samurai was dressed in blues and silvers, and his clothes bore the mon of the Crane Clan. He was quite tall, and his long, white hair was pulled back in the familiar samurai topknot, keeping it away from eyes that were as blue as spring irises.

His companion was no samurai, for the scroll satchel at his waist indicated one who was shugenja (1): a master of the elements, a man who could hear the voices of the kami. He was dressed in robes of red and gold - a sharp contrast to the clothes of his companion - which bore the mon of the Phoenix Clan. He was shorter than the Crane, and slighter of build, but his intense amber eyes held within them knowledge of things that, so Shichiroji felt, only Kirara and Komachi, being Mikumari, could understand.

Yukino gave him a slightly worried look - apparently she hadn't expected to meet these two either. So Shichiroji took it upon himself to greet them with a polite bow. "Welcome to the Firefly House. I am Shichiroji."

The samurai smiled then, and bowed to Shichiroji - something that rather surprised him. "I am honored to meet you, Shichiroji-san. Nasami-san told us much about you, as did Kambei-san. I am Kakita Hideaki, and my companion is Isawa Seiichiro."

The shugenja bowed as well. "It is an honor to meet you, Shichiroji-san. Hideaki and I have heard much about you from Nasami-san and Kambei-san."

Shichiroji nodded, and offered them both a smile as Yukino moved to stand beside him. "We are truly honored to receive such honored guests." He gestured to where the trays of food had been placed. "Please do join us for a meal."

Hideaki and Seiichiro accepted the offer, small smiles of pleasure and relief on their faces. The four of them made small talk while they ate, and it was only later, when the food had been cleared to be replaced by cups of excellent sake that Yukino poured with a generous hand.

Shichiroji felt that now was a good time to bring up the reason why the two were here. "If I might ask, Hideaki-san, I would like to know what brings you and Seiichiro-san to the Village of Respite. You said that you were here to deliver a message, but I highly doubt that Nasami-dono would send two such distinguished persons as yourselves merely to deliver a message."

Hideaki smiled. "You are right; Seiichiro and I are on a journey, but just before we departed from Kyuden Shiden'issen Nasami-san asked us to bring this message to you, since she knew that we would be passing by here in the course of our travels." Here he reached for a pouch at his waist, and brought out a small scroll, which Shichiroji accepted and opened.

As the blonde-haired samurai scanned the lines of characters, a smile gradually spread across his face, after which he handed the letter to Yukino, who read through it, and smiled with delight.

"So she and Kambei-sama are getting married? That is wonderful news!" Yukino said with a truly delighted smile.

"Indeed," Hideaki replied, "and a great relief to her parents, I can tell you that. They were so worried that she would never settle down, but apparently, all she was doing was waiting for the right man to cross her path."

Seiichiro smiled. "I always thought that her quest for enlightenment was more a quest to find the love of her life - not that that is so bad, either. Finding true love can be equated to finding enlightenment."

Hideaki elbowed him in the ribs. "You're starting to sound like a Dragon."

Shichiroji chuckled; the easy banter between the two reminded him of how it was with his other companions, four of whom were now dead and buried, their spirits watching over Kanna Village.

"If you do not mind me asking, Hideaki-sama," Yukino began as she poured more sake into Hideaki's cup, "what is the reason behind your journey?"

At this, their guests fell silent, the latter staring into his cup with regret and sorrow. At length, it was Hideaki who spoke, and though he sought to keep his emotions in check, there was a harshness behind the words that indicated just how important this journey was to him. "I am on a quest to find my younger sister, and Seiichiro is accompanying me because he is my sister's fiancé."

Shichiroji blinked, and instinct started nagging at the back of his head. "How long has she been missing?"

"For quite a while now... She went missing in those turbulent years immediately after the end of the Great War." Seiichiro's hand seemed to tighten convulsively around his sake cup. "I...was escorting her from Otosan Uchi (2) back to Kyuden Shiden'issen after Winter Court. We were attacked by Nobuseri, and try as I might, I could not hold them all back. I was knocked out, and when I came to, she was gone, and the rest of our companions were slain."

"And then Nasami-san went off on her quest for enlightenment, and hence Shujiro-sama refused to let me go and look for her," Hideaki added. "It is only now that Nasami-san has come back that Seiichiro and I am free to look for her."

Shichiroji nodded his head solemnly. He wanted to ask if they were certain that she was even still alive, but then he decided not to. It was too personal a question, even for they who shared a certain bond of kinship because they were samurai.

It was Yukino who came to the rescue. "Well," she said lightly, "such dark and dreary moods are not suitable at all for the Firefly House. Perhaps some music would help lift your spirits? Our foremost koto player would be willing to cheer your spirits with her melodies."

Now Shichiroji smiled as he looked at Hideaki. "That's true. She can play practically anything, you know. If there is a tune you want to hear played, we can send for her and she can play it."

Hideaki looked at Seiichiro, who looked back at him. After a moment of silent communication, Seiichiro smiled - though it was a rather sad smile - and turned to Shichiroji. "Does your koto player know how to play Hachidan no Shirabe (3)?"

Shichiroji smiled, nodding. "She does. As a matter of fact, it's one of the pieces I hear her playing most often, even when she isn't performing for anyone." He glanced at Yukino, who smiled, and left the room to fetch Kotori, and returned a few moments later with the young woman in tow.

Shichiroji turned to Seiichiro upon hearing his sharp intake of breath, and when he looked, it seemed as if all the blood had drained away from the Phoenix's face, making him look practically dead, despite the warm radiance of his clothes. In the meantime, there was a soft crack, and when Shichiroji turned to the source, he saw that the delicate sake cup in Hideaki's hands had shattered in his grasp.

And at last, the pieces fell into place for him: the mon underneath the soundboard of Kotori's precious koto, the fact that she was reluctant to speak of where she had come from and what had happened to her before she came to the Firefly House, and moreover, her inimitable skill with the instrument she played.

He also finally remembered where he had heard Kotori's playing style before: it had indeed been at Winter Court, and he had been privileged to hear none other than the famous Kakita Kotone perform for the Emperor. Kotori, then, could only be Kotone's daughter: that selfsame child who, it was rumored, had restored her mother's honor by sacrificing her sight.

For a brief moment, Shichiroji wondered how he could have completely missed that particular link in all of this.

It was Seiichiro who moved first. He got to his feet, and moved swiftly towards Kotori, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

"Who is this?" Kotori demanded, her arms holding her koto - still in its case - more tightly against her, the wooden instrument keeping Seiichiro's body separate from hers. "Yukino-san? Shichiroji-sama?" With each name, Kotori's voice rose in pitch, matching the panic that Shichiroji could practically feel emanating from her.

Shichiroji stood up upon seeing the equally confused look on Yukino's face. "It's all right, Kotori-chan - or perhaps I should say, Kotori-dono."

Kotori stiffened. "How-?"

"Kotori," Seiichiro murmured, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Kotori, it's me."

Kotori jerked, and the koto slid from her grasp, and would have fallen onto the floor had not Seiichiro drawn away from Kotori to catch it and lay it on the floor a safe distance away. She trembled visibly now, and her hand reached out as if searching for something she thought should be directly in front of her. "It...it can't be... You're dead."

"I'm not." Seiichiro grasped her hand, and pulled it to his face, letting her fingertips feel the features of his face. "It's me, Kotori, really. Remember? You always said you would recognize me, no matter what happened, even if the world was remade."

Shichiroji did not know whether to feel relieved or afraid when he saw Kotori's sightless eyes pool with tears, even as her head bowed to press against Seiichiro's chest. He had never seen Kotori weep before - though it was also true that he had rarely ever heard her laugh. When she did laugh, it was soft, charming: a courtier's laugh, one that emanated from behind fluttering fans in the myriad halls of Otosan Uchi. It was not a true laugh, one that sang from the heart and soul.

"Where did you find her? How did you find her?"

Shichiroji turned to Hideaki, who was looking at him with an intense gaze swirling with emotion. Shichiroji smiled, and nodded to Yukino. "All I know is that Yukino found her on the doorsteps of the Firefly House some years ago. She took her in."

Yukino lowered her gaze to the floor. "She looked so lost and alone. It looked as if she had been wandering the Village of Respite for a long time before she had managed to find her way to the Firefly House. I took her in because it looked as if she had nowhere else to go."

"She never told us who she really was," Shichiroji explained. "I thought that her playing style was familiar, and that the mon under the koto's soundboard pointed to someone who was a member of the Imperial Court, but when we tried to ask her questions she never told us who she really was. She never even gave us her family name."

Yukino nodded. "Had we known who she truly was we would have informed someone who could have brought her back to you."

Hideaki stood, silent, and then a small smile crossed his face, and he shook his head. "No, I think it was for the best that things turned out the way they did. When you took her in, Yukino-san, you kept her safe, particularly during these last turbulent days. For that, I owe you a debt of gratitude."

Here he bowed, and Yukino flushed. "I was happy to take her in, Hideaki-sama. I couldn't stand the thought of her out in the cold, and so obviously lost."

"It was the right thing to do, and for that, I am eternally grateful." He turned to Shichiroji, and smiled. "Nasami-san and Kambei-san will hear of this when we get back to Kyuden Shiden'issen."

Shichiroji laughed. "I only wish that I'd asked her to perform for them the last time they were here. It might have brought her back to you that much quicker."

"Onii-san?"

Hideaki turned, and smiled as he approached his sister. "I'm here, Kotori-chan."

"You're not...upset at me for not sending word even if I could?" her voice was childlike, and Shichiroji wondered just how old she really was.

"No, I'm not."

"I didn't mean to worry you or Seiichiro." Her mouth trembled slightly. "I thought that Seiichiro was killed when the Nobuseri-"

"I know. We know." He drew his sister into an embrace, and smiled as he kissed the top of her head with a fondness that made Shichiroji smile. "What's important is that you're alive."

Kotori nodded, and then asked: "Are Yukino-san and Shichiroji-sama still here?"

"You really shouldn't call me that, Kotori-dono," Yukino said.

"No, I should. You took me in, and gave me a safe place to stay. Shichiroji-sama, you did the same thing. For that, I owe the both of you a debt of gratitude."

Shichiroji laughed. "Your brother already said the same thing. And no more of this '-sama' business. It's just Shichiroji now."

Kotori laughed, and Shichiroji was pleased to hear that it was a genuine this time. "All right. But you have to promise me one thing: if you ever happen to be at Kyuden Shiden'issen, please do tell me; I would dearly love to talk to you again and play for you two."

Yukino laughed, and Shichiroji smiled at Hideaki and Seiichiro, who were both grinning right back at him. "You might have your wish sooner than you think, Kotori-dono. We were invited to the wedding of Kakita Nasami and Shimada Kambei."

"What? Nasami-san's getting married?" She frowned, and turned to Hideaki, and the accuracy of that action was slightly unnerving. "When did this happen? And who is this Shimada Kambei?"

Now Shichiroji couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing, Yukino joining him in his mirth. "Ah, Kotori-dono, there's so much to tell about that..."


NOTES:

(1) In L5R, shugenja are powerful sorcerer-priests, far more powerful than Mikumari. I might be going a stretch here (since Samuraiko is more familiar with L5R than I am), but I think that Kirara could have been a shugenja due to her connection to the water kami - something that every shugenja must be able to do, though not necessarily to water alone.

(2) This is the name of the country's capital in L5R.

(3) Hachidan no Shirabe is the title of a koto piece composed by Yatsuhashi Kengyo, a blind koto player. "Hachidan" means "eight steps," and in the case of the piece it refers to the eight (hachi) sections (dan), which contains a specific number of bars (26 is the general rule). It is a sokyoku piece, meaning that it was composed specifically for koto, and belongs to the danmono, or "step-type" compositions.