When I woke up and staggered out of bed regretting all my life choices. Souma was still asleep on a futon on the floor with a thin line of drool coming out of his mouth. I wrinkled my nose as I looked at him and noticed my other visitor.
Ren was still in the same place he had been the night before, with papers and books scattered on the low table and the floor around him. He motioned me over and I collapsed on the pillow in front of him.
The mornings were hard. He handed me a cup of juice and some fruit. I thanked him before turning my attention back to Souma, who was still drooling quietly.
Lucky bastard.
The night before, after finishing the last session I would have with Sasaki Sensei for a few weeks, I was on my way back to Yugen with sore thighs, because the idiot thought it would be fun, putting into practice everything he taught me the last month.
Since Sasaki sensei is a Ninjutsu specialist, he would be the one to instruct me in learning how to use the other chakra natures.
To which I was very excited. That is why he is so interested in my chakra control, as he confirmed that he is preparing it, to implement the Nature transformation.
Because I have a primary affinity towards fire and a secondary one towards lightning, I would have an easier time mastering the other chakra natures, according to Sasaki sensei's words.
I'd be like a freaking Avatar.
He left me some exercises to practice with my partners and also lent me some regular training weights to give more weight to my practices.
I had planned a good bath and a long night's sleep as the next day we would start training with the boys, to prepare them towards the Chunnin exams.
However, I had two people who killed my plans, waiting anxiously at the entrance of the Yugen district.
Damn it.
Souma and Ren were leaning against the huge gates of Yugen. They had their backpacks on with clear intent. It was already dark so I couldn't get a good look at their faces.
I almost slapped my face when I remembered that I told them they could spend a night in Yugen. But with the preparations and training, I had completely forgotten.
They still didn't notice me, maybe if I turned around and escaped, they would return home, I might have some luck.
As I was about to put my plan into action, slowly backing away, as I turned around to escape, a voice interrupted my genius escape plan.
"We saw you Azami, now get your ass over here." Souma's voice was heard along the street leading to Yugen's massive gates.
I closed my eyes as I sighed. There goes rest.
I turned to them with a big exaggerated smile and started walking towards the entrance of the district. "Guys! What a nice surprise, I didn't see you there." I said with my best fake smile.
The guys looked at each other rolling their eyes.
"We literally saw you coming and when you saw us here, you were going to turn around to escape." Ren said pointing his finger at my face.
"Are you sure it was me, I must have been mistaken for another similar girl, and don't point directly at people directly, it's rude." I ended up pushing his finger away with a quick slap.
Souma reached out a hand and shook my forehead." Someone with your same silver highlights? Right down the street?" He said to make a point.
I looked away and focused my attention on a street stall that was about to close.
"Come on Zami, you won't leave us on the streets tonight, who knows what dangers lurk the streets of Getsu." Ren said in his poor attempt at a joke.
I looked at him with what I hoped was an intimidating look. Ren held up his hands in mock surrender before pushing part of his silver locks away from his face.
"What do you say tonight, we stay with you. We need to talk about what happened." I had never heard him so serious.
I looked at both boys assessing my chances of getting out of this without being rude, but I sensed that these two were not going to back down.
I know Souma's stubbornness all too well and Ren always gets dragged into their shenanigans.
I rolled my eyes upwards and pushed both boys into the Yugen district.
Stupidity always insists.
Thanks to whoever is upstairs (or downstairs), that Mrs. Kaede attended her son Kenji's engagement party, the bastard finally managed to snag a girlfriend to put up with his nonsense, Kaede mentioned that she was a healer from the Fujioka Clan.
Anyway, it was better that Kaede wasn't in Yugen. The moon knows she would find ways to embarrass me in front of Souma and Ren.
I sent the boys to my room as I went to the kitchens for some snacks for the night.
The kitchens were empty, which was to be expected considering how late I was, but I went to the storerooms where they kept the leftovers from dinner. I opened the heavy doors and poked my head inside. Looks like there were smoked pork kabobs with cold salads today.
I grabbed a tray from the shelf and loaded it with food until it was full. I also grabbed a pitcher of water that was kept cold in the huge coolers in the building. All this I did mechanically, while mentally preparing myself for what was to come.
All right Azami, you can do it! You've survived worse. Counting a gunshot and a stabbing. Sure, one of those times I failed and ended up in this fictional reality, but who cares about the details, right?
On the way to my room I had to lean against the wall to take a deep breath and counted to ten. I composed my calm, expressionless expression and continued walking with the tray in my hands.
When I entered my room, both boys had settled there, Souma was lying on my bed and Ren sat on the floor in front of my small table.
I set the tray down in front of him and motioned Souma over. The three of us began to eat in relative awkward silence.
"So..." Souma said lightly.
"Here we are." Ren continued.
"Just like before." I said.
Could this get any more awkward? Where are the emergency missions when you needed it?
"I think we could go straight to the point." Ren said cautiously.
I set the pork skewer stick down roughly on the table and looked at him.
"And what's the point of all this?". I replied scathingly, through gritted teeth. But Ren didn't flinch at my brusque tone and replied just as scathingly.
"You know very well what we talked about, I already told Souma everything to update him on the situation between us, I know I shouldn't have...". I stopped him while frowning angrily.
"I'm sure of what you said then, I know very well what they say about me in the clan compound, that because of me I almost destroyed the village, or that I'm a fucking sleeper agent from another village, or that the honorable Mochizuki clan are not my family, because there are no records of my birth!, believe me, I rephrased that question several times when they took me to the interrogation department as if I was a fucking criminal!".
I exploded out of nowhere at Ren. By the time I realized what I said it was too late. Souma and Ren were shocked by my outburst. I relaxed my shoulders and ran a hand over my face as I sighed.
"I'm sorry, I was out of line, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that Ren, your mother is right not to want you to hang out with me, she is your blood, you should follow her." I said to Ren.
But this time it was Souma who interrupted.
"Enough Azami!, family has nothing to do with blood ties, that's an illusion.". I look at Ren and then at me. "Family is anyone who stands by you even in the worst moments, supporting you in everything. That person is your family."
All his usual jovial attitude was gone and a cold tone settled in his voice.
"Now, you duo of bastards, let's calm down and start from the beginning or I swear to the moon I'll beat the shit out of you until everything is cleared up."
I swallowed saliva and watched Ren mimic my action as we gave each other a meaningful look. Which said that Souma was serious.
Because Souma was the first of us to truly rage, rage against the big towns and the indifference of these towns towards Getsugakure.
Souma can find passion in laughter, in hard work, in conversation. He loves to find community, family and camaraderie in Getsu. He doesn't warm up when it comes to bickering, anger and fighting. Quite the opposite: He gets cold.
And a cold Souma is dangerous.
I began by recounting the day I caused the storm over Getsugakure, I showed him my right arm which bore the scars of the lightning that had struck and the tattoo that formed on me that day.
Souma reached out his hand to trace all the marks, he asked if it hurt to which I denied. I told him that I was taken to interrogation and how I then started my private lessons with Sasaki sensei.
Ren continued with his part, by telling how the storm was seen over the village and how then the whispers started in the clan, about me being taken to interrogation, a day after the storm passed.
"So our clan, they are not one hundred percent sure what caused the storm?".
"They have assumptions, since nothing was ever made official, my mother told me to stay away from her, but I didn't believe any of the rumors!". He said with conviction at my direction.
Souma's nostrils flared.
"That's not good, we're inculcated from childhood that we're all children of the moon, yet when one of us needs help, they turn their fucking back." Raise a hand to cut him off.
"But they were right, even though it wasn't intentional, I did cause that storm and if Hiro hadn't stopped me, we would be telling a very different story from my prison cell." I said completely serious.
Souma shook his head in contradiction. "But as it is they treat you like you are a criminal, and I know you Azami, you love Getsugakure with all your heart and I would put my hands on fire for you that you are none of those things you are accused of."
Ren stood up from the table with a solemn expression "You said it yourself Souma, I also love Azami as if she was my sister and that day when everyone was pointing fingers at her I left her alone, I don't deserve her forgiveness, I better leave so you two can catch up." She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door.
"Ren, come here, don't be an idiot" Souma tried to stop him.
I... I didn't want him to leave either, so I said the first thing that came to my mind.
"Lord Subaru is my biological father! ". I said out of the blue.
He froze in the doorway and turned around, facing her with a mask of disbelief. I also heard rustling from Souma's neck as he turned to look at me.
"What the fuck!" I whisper dumbfounded.
The truth I don't know why I said it either. It just came out of me before I could process my thoughts.
Ren walked back into my room, left his backpack lying around and sat down in the same spot as before.
"He's not aware that I know, or maybe he is, I've never talked to him, but I know."
"How the fuck did you find out?" Ren said leaning over the table. His plans to leave were completely forgotten. Souma stood next to him still perplexed.
I let out a laugh and spread my hands out towards my entire room.
"Look around and tell me why we are not in the Mochizuki compound, because, despite having the clan birthmarks, I was not allowed to live there since I was born, have you ever heard of any clan child, orphan or not, being raised away from the place where all their relatives are."
The boys still said nothing, so I continued in a bitter tone.
"It was to hide the presence of a bastard born to the head of the Mochizuki clan, so as not to disgrace Lady Fumiko with my presence and not to question the rights of little Kanato and the other baby on the way, no." I shook my head. "There was no place for me there."
Souma was quick to shake his head.
"But it shouldn't have been like this, you had a right to grow up with us, you should have grown up with us, taken our lessons together, I won't think less of you just because of this. Children shouldn't pay for the sins of their parents, Azami this is not your fault." Souma said to make me feel better.
Ren cocked his head to the side, raising his jealousy at Souma. "Very expressive... words mate. I agree with him." He continued loudly, drowning out all the excuses coming from Souma.
Which I appreciated, only the moon knows when the boy would stop. "And it's true, everything would have been so different, you are a blood Mochizuki, no one can take that away from you. And you are your own person, I must apologize once again for what happened that day." Ren said with determination.
I sighed and smiled slightly.
"In any case, I don't need it and I think I'm doing just fine on my own. Mistress Kaede made sure to raise me the best she could and I think I turned out pretty well didn't I?". I said the last in a threatening way.
"You're great, I knew it from the moment I saw you at the academy." Souma matched my smile.
"Oh I remember, Souma was kind of envious of you at the beginning of the academy, and I also remember, afterwards he couldn't stop how cool you were, until he finally decided to get closer to talk to you." Ren's lips stretched into an unexpectedly wicked smile as he turned to the side.
Souma blushed and stammered out a few words "Asshole, it was supposed to be a secret!". He smacked the back of Ren's head.
I cupped a hand to my mouth to stifle the laughter coming from my stomach. The boys also started to laugh out loud and we managed to get all the tension out before established.
I smiled at the two boys in a sad way. "I'm glad to at least be able to count on you guys, and even though I don't say it very often, you two are very important to me."
"You are also important to us, we will stick together and keep the promise we made at the academy." Ren promised.
"The big villages won't know what I hit them." Souma said darkly under his breath.
It was also time for good news, so I told them about the home I am building on the hill behind Kyoto district. They were surprised before asking me for all the details and then promised to help with whatever I need with considerable enthusiasm.
"That could be our own barracks, of course it is still your home, so we will cooperate as much as possible." Souma said in good spirit.
Ren suddenly put on a thoughtful expression and turned to my direction. "What about your mother Azami, do you know who she is?". I ask seriously and with Souma waited for my answer.
I thought about it for a few seconds as I returned to my calm expression and answered them softly.
"I don't know." I swallowed and showed the marks on my right arm again. "But I know that she is related to this and I also know, that she is not from this village, considering that I was born during the time when Lord Subaru was engaged to Lady Fumiko."
Ren lowered his head and muttered.
"And that stormy day... You would never have been able to control it." He put a hand to his pained face. "Oh my... Zami I'm a complete idiot."
"It's okay Ren, truth be told no one would have anticipated how it all ended that day." I took one of his hands and squeezed it gently. He smiled at me as he returned the squeeze.
All was relatively quiet as we finished our meal. When the tray was empty. I set it aside as I stood up in front of them. I used the most serious tone I had to say the following.
"Now, you both must promise by the moon that, you will not tell anyone what I reveal to you, if this comes out, we will be in serious trouble." I frowned as I looked at both boys.
"I swear by the Moon Azami, you can trust me." Ren said without hesitation.
"I swear by the moon my lips are sealed." Souma nodded his head with conviction.
"Thank you, both of you, I know the oath is a serious thing, but this must be kept secret." I said relieved.
Souma turned around to lie down on one of the futons and threw me an amused smile. "You know, looking at it from another perspective, you bear a certain resemblance to Lord Subaru, many of your expressions are just like his. And now that I see it, you both have the same dark eyes." He scoffed.
Ren nodded enthusiastically. "Especially the scowl you always have. Those in the clan, they say Lord Subaru was born with a frown."
I shook my head and picked up the tray from the small table to return it to the kitchen.
I was on my way to the door until Souma's serious voice stopped me.
"Azami...you are older than little Kanato and by birthright, you are the heiress of the Mochizuki clan, you have the right to claim the title."
"I don't want it." I cut quickly as I turned to the boy to look at him seriously.
"But..." He wanted to retort.
"But nothing Souma, there is no point of discussion in this. Kanato Mochizuki is the one who is going to take over the clan in the future, the boy already has that immense pressure, let's not burden the poor boy with other stupid things." I said with a tone that did not admit any reply. I was about to resume my way, but this time it was Ren who interrupted my walk.
"Kanato... he's your brother and the other boy who is on his way is too, you too have the right to enjoy the same respect as them." He said slowly.
With my back to both boys with the tray in my hands, I sighed deeply.
"I don't need it." And I walked out of the room.
"You know... when you came back from Kusa on the verge of death, Souma didn't leave your side at any time, he slept in the hallway of the clinic, until Lord Subaru sent him home, I wanted to accompany him, but we were sent to that mission at the border." Ren interrupted my thoughts.
I saw his melancholy expression, and noticed that he was clenching his fists.
I drank from my juice cup and gave him a weary look. "I don't think any less of you for that nor do I want you to question your own feelings. Only you can choose how Ren feels. And no matter what, we'll stick together."
He nodded as he grabbed some fruit "Yeah you're right, I think I'm a little tired." He chuckled.
"Did you stay here all night?" I asked.
"I wasn't sleepy and I wanted to prepare the training program for the guys, we have little time and a lot to do." Ren pointed to all the papers strewn about.
We both took a long look at Souma's sleeping figure.
"He doesn't show it, but that mission left him shattered, same goes for Chise and Kenno." Said Ren softly, I had to agree with him.
"Isn't that, what all missions do?". I sighed.
"That's why they need our support now and that's what we will provide. These Suna exams are important for them and for all of us. We must strive to do our best, so that the other bastards will be left with their mouths open." Ren said softly.
"There are some tough weeks ahead, but we must help the three of them in their goals. Also the big villages will start to notice the power of Getsugakure." I reminded looking at Souma.
"What a fucking mess." Ren growled.
And Azami could only nod silently.