The practise field was deathly still for the couple of seconds it took us to consolidate the facts. Then my heartbeat started up again, and I was dropping my sword to run to Satoshi's side, screaming his name as I did.

Satoshi had landed flat on his back, and his eyes were closed, but he was still groaning, and when I crouched near his head, there was a murmured stream of cursing coming from his mouth, so I knew he was okay. "Ah shit, my back…"

"Is he alright?" Hanzo asked of me as he and Kotone came closer. He gave a huge sigh of relief when I nodded, repeating it under his breath as Kotone stared at the damage. The spear in his hand was loose in his grip, kept there by instinct more than thought.

Now that the event had passed and the shock was wearing off, I was able to collect my thoughts better, the pieces falling back into place when I glanced at the shattered wall behind me.

Having come out to let us know we were missing a meal, Hanzo had seen Satoshi preparing an attack and had grabbed a random spear from the rack. It wasn't the type he usually used though, so the wall he summoned in front of me was somewhat shoddy, enough that the first attack to hit it made it shatter into small pebbles. But as I stared harder, watching Kotone bend down to pick one of the stones up to see if it was real, the absence of any ice slammed into me, and I was able to recall the slash I had given just a second after the wall started to grow.

Spotting my face, Satoshi gave a grumbling laugh, "Before you ask Botan, yeah, that was you." Tilting his head Kotone's way, he gave a small nod at the stone she held, "Air, another one that can be used to boost speed, but if you can store it and displace it like Sayomi just did, well, wind's a powerful thing without help."

Getting him on his feet proper took a few seconds, but between us, Hanzo and I managed it, and he led the way back inside, continuing to talk as he did, "Whatever's inside you is feeding off your power. Somehow your eyes blocked you from using your aura, since you were fine doing it when they were sealed. So whatever's stopped you seeing our auras, means you got yours back as well."

"Well, I think it's obvious what's done that." Hanzo spoke without looking at any of us, and casually, like we were talking about the weather. Strange considering the effort he went through to prove part of the problem.

"You've given this a lot of thought." I said, ignoring Hanzo. I caught him sending me a look out of the corner of his eye, but when I ignored that too he gave up.

"Well, we drunks are known for our thoughtfulness. That, and I felt the power behind the punch you threw at me in Mino. No offence Botan, but you've never been great at throwing punches."

Throwing him a quick glare, I fell into silence again, forced to concede the point. Still, while we were discussing this… "I spoke to Lady Oichi."

"What'd she say?" Hanzo asked at once, keen to give me no chance to keep him out again.

Sighing to myself, I gave a small shrug, "She said that she sees his eyes in my face, that he sees everything I do."

"You mean the demon she put in you? That sounds like trusty information."

"We don't know it was Lady Oichi who put him there!" I snapped. Satoshi wisely assessed the situation and pulled Kotone away, promising to get some food saved for us. "Besides, it's not a demon, I refuse to give him that title."

"Who? You're saying this like I'm supposed to know, Yomi!"

"Oda Nobunaga!" I took another deep breath, keeping my eyes closed until I was sure they weren't red or shifting. "That's why Lady Oichi calls me her brother. Because he's what's possessing me. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"What?! Yomi how could I possibly-"

"Well then something's bothering you! Since you proved your almighty theory that I'm not alone in my own mind, you've been keeping away. If it's that you're scared of, I don't know what to tell you. Otherwise, you're scared of me!" I was panting by the end of that, any concern for my eyes gone. It had been along time since I promised myself nobody close to me would fear me again. I'd happily kill myself if it ever happened.

Hanzo stared at me, disbelief in his face, "You…you idiot!" His words pushed me back a step, eyes wide like he'd hit me. His rage was something I'd seen so many times before, but now that it was aimed at me, I understood why those he shot it at backed down. "Do you seriously think that I'm scared of Oda? He's dead, and if Oichi is telling the truth, getting rid of him is as simple as calling in an exorcist. And scared of you? Hell would freeze over before that ever happened." He blinked hard, and only then did I see the light bouncing off the tear building in his eye. It wobbled on his bottom lashes for a second before dropping, its descent halted when he scrubbed his cheek, steeling once again.

The sight was strangely sobering, especially with the dying sun hitting us from the side, and I straightened back up, trying to reach for him, only for him to move away again. "You know, I was an idiot to think I could ever marry you."

"What?" It came out with the last breath I could manage. Hearing what I know we'd been dancing around laid out so plainly winded me more than Satoshi's kick to my gut had. In the few seconds it took me to catch my breath again I wracked my brain hard, trying to find any point before Mino when things seemed to be going the slightest bit wrong. "Just tell me." I finally whispered, "Tell me what I did wrong. Or is this a case of, 'it's not you, it's me'?"

"The latter." Hanzo sighed, without a trace of humour in his tone. He took a few seconds to think about how he was going to phrase everything, finally landing on something, "When I went with Kojuro to deal with Hanbei, Takenaka asked me what I had to offer. I thought he meant about fighting, and you know how that ended. When I asked Satoshi to help prove my theory, I realised what he was really asking. What do I have to offer you, in comparison to what you already have? What poky cottage could compare to the mansion you already have? How could I ask you to go back to housework or cooking, when you already have people doing it for you?"

"Is that what this is about? The house? Natsuki and the others? I didn't know about any of that!" I was back to shouting again in my confusion.

"You didn't have to! The fact is that there's nothing I can give you, and by marrying you, I'd be tearing you from all of that. You're not the only one desperate to avoid the mistakes of your parents." With that last remark, Hanzo turned on his heel to walk away again, asking me to tell the others he wasn't hungry.

Shaking with rage, I pushed forwards after him, tilting in front of him just as he reached the corner. "It's polite to wait for an answer when you ask a question. And since you're obviously in a hurry, I'll make mine quick. What can you offer me? Try happiness. Or, if that's not good enough, how about an actual family? It's never been about what you can offer me; it's always been about what I can offer you." I snarled, making sure my shoulder bashed into his as I returned to my previous destination, making it halfway there before deciding I wasn't that hungry either.

Satoshi poked his head into my room after I stopped throwing things at the walls, ducking back behind the door when he saw me holding another vase. "Botan, out of curiosity, is there any china left in this castle?"

"Get back in my sights and say that!" I had been planning to fling it at the wall, but since it was his fault I was so angry, his face was the next target.

I wasn't expecting him to actually look in, directing his eyes to all the shards on the floor. "Don't move, Botan, you'll cut yourself to ribbons." His head went back behind the screen, and I heard his steps go across the hall. I glanced at my bare feet, lifting one up and looking for a place to put it. It was forced to go back to its original spot, only for the tip of a bokken to start sweeping the china out of the way, Satoshi dropping it when he was close enough. "Botan…"

The vase dropped from my hand onto the floor, rolling away harmlessly as I flung myself into my uncle's arms. "I'm sorry Botan. I didn't know that's what it was about."

My fingers curled to meet each other, entwining to keep the comfort close. Satoshi obliged, resting his head on top of mine and rubbing my back when I needed it. I wanted him to say something, but it seemed the inability to know how to deal with these situations was definitely from my dad's side of the family.

It wasn't long before Satoshi's hold on me was more to keep me on my feet than for comfort, and after a quick shake of my mat to get any shards out of it, he gently ordered I get some rest, lingering just long enough to use the bokken to sweep the broken pieces to the other side of the room to avoid slicing my feet in the morning. "Things will work out, they usually do." He promised, ruffling up my hair before leaving, closing the door with a soft tap.

Even though I was exhausted, sleep didn't come right away, letting me hear the soft words being exchanged outside my door. "How is she?"

"Tired, upset, but heartbroken would be the best term for it. Do yourself a favour Kotone, don't fall in love. It doesn't kill you, but the landing does."

There was a tiny pause, "Wow, you are more eloquent when you've had a few."

"Haha, never doubt my niece when she's talking about my boozing. Goodnight kiddo."

"Night, Satoshi."

Curling into myself, I closed my eyes at last, feeling sleep pull on me. It felt like I was falling endlessly, limbs flailing trying to find purchase in the darkness.

When something finally grabbed my wrist, I glanced up at my rescuer with a smile, only for the expression to drop at those bright, red eyes. Oda smirked down at me, his grip growing looser with every second until he finally let go. I barely had a chance to scream before he was grabbing at me again, this time pulling me up to eye level by the tips of my fingers. "I built you up, Young Blade. Remember, I can just as easily tear you down again."

"You don't own me any more." I snarled, losing the effect when he smirked again, and let me go again.

"We'll see about that. This game has only just begun."