A/N:
Hi! Welcome to this fic, and thank you so much for the faves and follows ;A;
To theEmpress09, thank you for your comment, and I'm really happy this story has interested you! :) I just hope I wrote the canon characters right, and I hope the OC is okay, so far?
Btw, May 10 is Seita's birthday, and this year, it also happens to be Mother's Day...so in this chapter, you'll get to know more about Seita's mothers, and maybe you could tell me how you find Setsuna, so far. Yay~ Happy mother's day to all moms out there!
Setsuna hates this place.
It has only been a few minutes since they arrived, and yet she already hates this place.
She had fallen asleep during most of the trip, so she doesn't know how long they had traveled. It's dark, so maybe it's already nighttime, but then, the moon couldn't be seen. However, it's also impossible for it to be morning since the sky's not blue either.
And there's no sun.
"My name is Hinowa! I'm seven years old. Nice to meet you all!"
A cheerful voice broke her out from her trance, making her realize that they were now doing introductions. Roaming her eyes across the room, she saw young girls of various ages – some were toddlers, while those in what looked like a crib couldn't even walk nor talk yet. As the introductions went on, there were girls who were too young or too traumatized to even know their names. On the other hand, the girl called Hinowa was among the older girls in the room. She had shiny black hair and had equally shiny blue eyes – a total standout in a group of young girls, who either looked scared or confused.
Why is she so bright? Didn't they just get sold to this place? She's already seven, right? She should know that this is not a field-trip.
"Oi, browny it's your turn."
At the mention of her hair color, she turned towards the man, who just spoke and had a pike pointed towards her direction. Beside said man was a slightly shorter man, who didn't hold a pike, but that didn't make him appear kinder and trustworthy. Behind the only men in the room were two masked women wearing short kimonos. She couldn't clearly see the faces of the females, but somehow, their eyes seemed dull, like a candle wick without its flame.
A child her age wouldn't completely understand, but she have been in this world for some years now and have seen enough of this world to know that she has to at least protect herself and her own flame, even in the littlest way possible.
"I...I don't know my name."
"What? Don't fuck with me, kid. You're not a baby anymore."
She flinched a bit, but kept her lie, "I really don't know."
"I said, don't– "
The man without the pike interrupted, "Just give her a damn name, and let's move on to the next."
"Tsk, how old are you?"
This time, she truthfully answered, "Six..", before her eyes widened, "Um, what's the date and time today?"
The man, along with his pike, walked closer to her, "Ha?! Why are– ", then halted when a feminine voice was heard. It was from one of the masked ladies.
"Around 6 am of December 10."
December 10.
Her birthday.
Setsuna was happy to know that she didn't miss her birthday while they were traveling.
"Then, I'm seven."
But the idea of spending it in this place, coupled with the fact that her first day in this place is the same as her birthday made her instantly upset; and when the man started moving towards her again, she instantly regretted her foolishness, "It's your fucking birthday? You know your birthday but don't remember your name, that's bullshit!"
With the pike mere inches from her face, and with her lie being close to be discovered because of her careless mistake, she felt cornered and scared. She had just given out her birthday, and now her real name could get revealed too. In the end, maybe she couldn't protect herself.
"Kuri!"
The voice was that of a child and had a familiar cheerfulness in them. It was from the one that shined the brightest in the room.
"Hinowa, you brat! Shut up!"
Hinowa tilted her head a little to the side, "Oops~ Sorry, mister, I just spoke out loud, when I remembered chestnuts!"
To Setsuna's relief, the slightly shorter man, then lowered his companion's pike, and irritably glared at the other man, "Ugh, Just fucking call her Kuri, damn it! We don't have much time, idiot. Next!"
Once they were done with the introductions, the adults left the room for a while. The other kids started talking to each other, asking questions that no one among them could answer. In such a gloomy atmosphere, a radiant girl bounced in front of her.
"Happy Birthday, Kuri-chan! Now, we're both seven."
The beam she just received was enough for her to push out a few words and give her own weak smile, "T-thank you, Hinowa-san."
"Just Hinowa is fine! We're friends now, right?"
Setsuna didn't know what to reply to that. Nevertheless, she found herself drawn to the slightly taller girl, who was like a ball of energy.
Hinowa didn't seem to be affected at her lack of response, and simply whispered at her ear, "Don't worry. We're underground because the owner, Lord Housen, doesn't like the sun. But, I'll help him and the sun make up, so that we could see the sun again!"
She didn't exactly get what she just heard, but she knew one thing.
Setsuna hates this place.
After finding out that its mornings were still dark, she hates the place even more. However, a part of her hoped that maybe in this eternal night, she can find a sun.
And she did.
...
"You told what to who now?"
Blue eyes were presently narrowed at dark gray eyes, just like how a blue flame burns against dark gray ashes.
Dark gray wavered, "I revealed my real name to a customer last night", and immediately saw how the blue flame got stronger; but before the owner of the dark orbs could even get burned, she tried to defend her actions, "But! It was like a spur of the moment thing."
Much to Setsuna's luck, Hinowa was unconvinced and disapproving, "We haven't seen each other for just a couple of days, and you– ", until the latter came up with a theory, "Wait. Are you in love?"
Was she?
Growing up in Yoshiwara, the concept of love has always been vague. Most courtesans use the word casually, either because of their naivety or because of their cunningness – with the former ending up with tears, and with the latter ending up with more money and power. A tiny number of courtesans, which includes her wise black-haired friend, on the other hand, do not use the word 'love' thoughtlessly. The brown-haired woman used to believe that she was part of those very few courtesans, like Hinowa; but after meeting the green-eyed teen last night, she wasn't sure anymore.
"Uh, I-I don't know", was her honest answer.
And just like that, Setsuna knew that the lady sitting next to her already understood that she needed help to figure things out.
Hinowa had a serious yet gentle look, as she started her interrogation, "What's his name?"
"Tōgyō."
"Sounds like an alias. Age."
"Around 15 or 16?"
"Work."
"A samurai...I think."
"Does he look good?"
She bit her lip, "Y-yes, I suppose."
"Tall?"
She held back a smile, "W-well, he's taller than me."
"Did you do it last night?"
A blush formed on her cheeks, "N-no."
"Kiss?"
"No."
"Then what did you do?"
"Aside from having a couple of drinks, and playing the shamisen, we just talked."
Her bubbly friend went silent for a while to analyze and collect her thoughts. Soon enough, the one she referred to as the sun-of-Yoshiwara, exhaled and began to enlighten her.
"People often lie to other people in Yoshiwara. Clients and courtesans alike create empty promises and false hopes. In such a place that's buried deep, love is shallow. You know this, Setsuna."
Chestnut-head nodded once, urging the other to continue, "Yet, you told him a truth, and it's not just any other truth. It's your truth – your precious identity. From what I recall, it took you almost a month before you let me know your real name. It even took years before you told some women, you considered trustworthy enough. So, why? What made you become Setsuna, and not Kuri, when you were with him?"
Love was probably the easiest answer to that, since nobody seems to grasp what love exactly is, anyway. But she knew better than to utter the word recklessly.
For now, she believed that it was because she felt a connection between them – as warriors in their own wars; but she couldn't tell her friend this much, since she swore to keep the battle he's currently in as a secret.
For now, she's attracted to him enough to make her practice playing the shamisen more – hoping that the promise was not empty, and that there would be a next meeting.
For now, she desired to meet green.
Thus, this was the answer that had occurred to her, "I was curious, and I still am. I want to know more what those green eyes saw, are seeing, and will see."
Perceptive as ever, Hinowa slowly lifted the corners of her mouth, "Then, do you think, he's also curious about what dark gray eyes saw, are seeing, and will see?"
In response, she let her own lips curl up, "He also told me a truth...his truth", justifying to herself that she had only promised not to tell anyone about the war outside, and that no one could keep a secret better than her best friend, as she felt his real name smoothly leave her lips, "Takasugi Shinsuke."
At that revelation, azure eyes lit up, and warm hands planted on top of hers, while the sun she had found in such land – with an iron ceiling as its sky – shed light on her, "He probably likes you too!"
"He doesn't like you."
"Well thanks, Hinowa."
The chestnut-haired lady picked up her shamisen, as she sarcastically thanked her shamisen tutor, during the past months, for the unwanted enlightenment.
Hinowa strum her shamisen's strings, and wittily retorted, "The sun is just here to wake you up."
Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months.
Still, there was no sign of the dark purple-haired samurai, she has been waiting for.
This made her shed tears, even if she didn't really use the word 'love.' Her friend probably thought that she was feeling sad at being fooled with false hopes; but it wasn't as simple as that. More than that, Setsuna cried because she was anxious and scared.
She couldn't help it.
He was fighting in a war, which, judging by the scars she had seen, was more life-threatening than her war.
'Is he okay? Is he eating well? Is he keeping himself warm in this winter?' were the common questions she constantly asks herself whenever she's alone.
But there was a question that clouded her thoughts and instantly clouded her vision with tears.
'Is he alive?'
The idea of him losing and dying pained and sank her heart. Worse, she had no one to find comfort to, because she had to keep her promise of keeping her mouth shut about the war happening at the surface.
It was his war to tell, after all.
Her birthday came, then a new year started, and yet it was still winter.
Realizing that not all seasons have passed since she had last met him, she tried to be more optimistic. And by optimistic, she convinced herself that he lied about coming back; and that he didn't need to return in this lonely place – ironically called paradise – because he's already in real paradise, because he's happy for he had won, and because he's very well alive.
She repeated such thoughts to herself, until winter ended. Spring soon started, and she decided to forget about him and begin again. She was battling in her own war for freedom, after all.
However, one spring afternoon, hours before business starts, her bedroom door slid open – revealing a dark purple-haired samurai with a lone green eye.