Chapter Seven
It was two days following the funeral that Eishun found himself in Mathias's quarters. The demon sat on the floor, cleaning Yunagi when the Head Elder entered the room, his face contorted in rage.
"What the hell have you done!" He snarled as he entered the room.
Mathias did not even hesitate his ministration of cleaning the nodachi. "Setsuna's finally awoken." He concluded.
"Oh, yeah she's waken up, a regular ball of energy." Eishun snarled. "Doesn't have a clue about what happened to her over these last few days. And from what the Healers can tell me, she doesn't have a single clue who her parents are! Or who you are for that matter!"
"Good." Mathias said as he continued to run the blade over the sharpening stone.
"Good. Good! That is all that you have to say for what happened." Eishun snapped.
"Yes," Mathias said, "She'll be happy now."
"She has no idea who her parents are!"
"That doesn't matter anymore." Mathias said. "They're not around anymore."
Eishun's hands were balled into fists, "Damn you, Mathias, what kind of monster are you!"
Mathias stopped for a moment, then resumed his activities. "Exactly the sort of monster you think I am. I thought after all of these years you would have learned what sort of demon you've been dealing with."
"You bastard!" He snarled. "What do you think you were doing?"
"Saving her life," Mathias said, for the first time looking up at Eishun. "They were going to kill her because of who she was related to. Do you understand that, they were going to kill her because she is my granddaughter. Because she has white hair, red eyes, and white wings," His voice was flat and dripping with acid, "They were going to kill her because she looks like me, because she is related to me."
"So what, you erase everything she ever loved for what?"
Mathias was silent for a moment and Eishun glowered at him pressing on, "You tell me why you did it?"
"Because if I hadn't she wouldn't be alive any longer!" Mathias snarled, "Don't you get it. She has nothing Eishun. She has nothing and it's all my fault!"
"Bullshit!" the man snarled back, shocking Mathias. For as long as he had known the younger man, he had never used such profanity. "That girl still has you, and now…" He shook his head.
"Mishima Naoyuki escaped." Mathias said softly.
The Kansai Association Elder looked at him puzzled, forcing Mathias to explain. "He was the Shaman who killed Tomoe and Sasonosuke." He admitted heavily, "And he was the one who planted the idea to kill them all. During the chaos at the Mausoleum, he somehow penetrated my barrier and escape," he sighed heavily, "I was so lost in my bloodlust that I didn't care any longer. But he escaped and I couldn't detect him. He's most likely gone to the other tribes and told them of what happened."
"So what?" Eishun hissed.
"I can't take care of Setsuna." Mathias stated.
"Because of this Mishima person?"
"Because now the entire Crow People will be after me…will be after her." He explained. "I can take care of myself just fine, I have been for the last eight years, but Eishun." He sighed heavily, "Eishun I wanted to spare Setsuna of that, she can't go back to the People, and I can't take her with me. The only place that she will be safe is here, at the Kansai Association where the People are too afraid to attack. Someplace where she can start anew."
"Because you're going to be on the run?" Eishun asked.
Mathias sighed, "No, because I still intend to kill Mishima."
Eishun balked, "Haven't you learned anything yet, Mathias. It doesn't matter!"
Mathias glared at the other man angrily, "Yes it does, he killed Tomoe and Sasonosuke, and I will kill him!"
"Do you know where he is?"
"No." He said flatly, "He's gone to ground."
"So you have no leads."
"Not yet."
"So it could be months, or years before you ever discover him, right?" Eishun asked.
"It could be, but I don't think so." Mathias grated.
"But you don't know that." Eishun sighed, "You're about ready to go crusading off to kill this man, and leave Setsuna behind, a girl who has just lost everything important to her. A girl who you're responsible for why she has forgotten her parents. So you can do what, seek vengeance?"
"I want justice." Mathias snapped.
"What you did in that Mausoleum wasn't justice, Mathias." Eishun snarled, "And I won't have you attempting to hide behind some pretext that it was. You butchered those demons!"
"Call it whatever you want, Eishen, it doesn't matter."
"Oh yes it does." He sighed, "You know, Nagi was telling me how much you cherished your children, how much you cared about family. Well, from what I'm seeing, you would rather run away from your family just to serve your own needs." He snapped. "Think about what's good for them."
"Eishun, the last thing Setsuna needs in her life is me." Mathias stated heavily as he finished cleaning the nodachi.
"I'm beginning to see that." Eishun hissed. "All right, I'll take care of Setsuna. But I will make one stipulation." He demanded.
"Okay." Mathias said.
"If you leave her here, you can never again be a part of her life."
Mathias stared at the Head Elder levelly. "Think it over carefully Mathias." Eishun demanded, "Are you willing to throw her away just like that, for this quest of vengeance."
Mathias shook his head, "No Eishun, I'll agree to never see her again so long as you promise me that she'll grow up protected and happy."
That was not the answer that the other man was looking for. "You're still attempting to cop out of your responsibility."
"Think of it as you will." Mathias said as he sheathed the nodachi, "After all, we've never been able to see eye-to-eye about anything, why start now." He handed the weapon over to him. "I believe this was yours." He said coldly.
"You're really going to do this?" Eishun demanded.
"I made the decision the moment I erased Setsuna's memories." Mathias said indifferently.
Konoe Eishun took the offered sword and shook his head incredulously, "You truly are a bastard." He said and left.
A week after that terrible night, Mathias found himself leaving the Kansai Association, with Nagi walking in step with him.
Despite everything that had transpired, Nagi has still attempted to reconcile the two over the spat regarding Setsuna. While Nagi agreed with Eishun about Mathias's responsibility to Setsuna, Nagi could not fault the concern that the demon had about the girl's well being. To be honest, Setsuna would be treated better here at the Kansai Association than she would in Mathias's care, especially if all of the Kyoto Crow People were now gunning for him. It seemed like pretty straightforward logic that the best protection was to keep the girl in the one place demons feared to tread.
Although, at the same time, Nagi had been rather pointed about stating that Mathias too could stay at the Kansai Association and raise Setsuna, something that Mathias was not about to do. It was a point of contention that the demon refused to relent over. In his mind, he was going to find Mishima and kill him, and if he had to discard Setsuna in the process then so be it.
In one night, the man that Nagi has seen Mathias grow into had now completely reverted back into the demon that he had first battled during the Recapture of the Great Bridge so many years ago.
"I still think you should reconsider." Nagi tried one more time to persuade the demon to step back from the precipice that he now hovered over.
"I wish I could, Nagi." Mathias said as they walked towards the entrance to the headquarters. "Eishun and you may think that I'm doing this for selfish reasons, but the truth be told, this has as much to do with my promise to the Princess as to anything else."
"Really?" Nagi asked, his mind returning to thoughts of Princess Asuna.
"'How do you see the world?'" He asked, reciting the question that the Princess had asked him on that fateful day. "'Do you see it for what it is, or what it can become?'" He paused and stared at Nagi, "should we just accept this world that has such evil that would murder a three-year-old girl just because of who she is? Or should we attempt to change that world by ridding ourselves of the evil that allows such things to happen?"
Nagi nodded, "How about you help create that world by being with the girl who survived that tragedy and make certain that she grows in a world where she is loved?"
"I've done all that I can for Setsuna." Mathias said bitterly, "Now I'm going after that evil."
Nagi wasn't convinced, and he sighed as he realized that in his last moment he was unable to convince his old friend about what he was about to commit to himself. "You're really going to abandon Setsuna, never see her again?" He asked.
"If there is one thing that I've learned Nagi, it's that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
"Then why don't you try stepping back and looking at what you're going to do to that girl by abandoning her?"
Mathias sighed, "Because Nagi, the people who become close to me don't exactly have happy endings." He admitted finally, "You just saw what happened to Sasonosuke and his family because I interfered. If I stay here with Setsuna, the same will eventually happen to her." He offered a sad smile, "That's a part of my pact after all. I am an instrument of death; that is the price of my immortality." '"'
Nagi was floored by that statement.
Mathias nodded somberly, "You take care Nagi. I hope that I'll see you again." With that he entered the courtyard before the main entrance.
"Stop the ball!" A young voice cried out, and Mathias looked over to see a small red ball rolling towards him. He knelt down and scooped it up, and looking over to see two young girls racing after it.
"Thank you very much." The girl that Mathias immediately recognized as Konoe Konoka beamed happily.
"I'm really sorry about letting it slip past me, Ojou-sama," The girl behind her apologized.
Konoka smirked at the other girl as she recovered the ball. "You don't have to apologize Setchan, it's not that big a deal. See we have the ball back."
Mathias looked at the other girl in surprise. Her hair was black, and her eyes were now brown but it really was Setsuna, he quickly realized, and offered a smile to the girl. Eishun was cleverer than he gave the young man credit for.
"Thank you very much for recovering the ball." She said bowing very deeply.
All Mathias could do was offer a smile to the young girl. "It's not a problem at all Setsuna. Just play and have fun." He said, and soon enough the two girls were once again playing with the ball.
Mathias walked towards the entrance; He paused momentarily as Eishun stood there, glaring at him.
"You still have a choice." The man said.
Mathias looked over to where the two girls were playing, then nodded, "Thank you, Eishun-dono. I will never forget this."
"Neither will I," Eishun said coldly as Mathias the Ala Ferrum left the Kansai Association.
