Back so soon. I just couldn't help myself. I am keeping to my schedule pretty well, though. For every post I make here, I also post a chapter of ITJOTW, so go check that one out if you want to get in on some Koga action.

Miasma

Here the power is ruthless and the truth is deaf. Here the air is filled with the miasma of sin
-Jean Racine

"Miss Masanori."

Like every other morning, the call of my name rose me from sleep.

I laid there for a short while, just languishing in the early morning. The sunlight promised a warm day ahead, and the birds chirping bought a smile to my face. A smile that soon faded when it settled upon my kimono hanging up. The night had been chilly. I doubted the robe had had time to dry. Testing the fabric against my skin when I left the futon proved as such. Still damp. Damn

I was still wearing the silk yukata that had been loaned to me, though I doubted I could get away with going about my daily duties wearing it. Such fine beautiful silks were not meant for any form of labour. Then there was the suggestiveness of such a gift. It was known among the castle that I was a reluctant addition to the castle staff. To be wearing a silk kimono that wasn't my own would bear many a question, to be wearing one that so clearly belonged to a Lord of this castle would bring up even more, that I wasn't prepared to even try to answer.

That left me with quite a conundrum ahead of me.

My clothes were gone, my loaned kimono was wet, and the yukata that I did have was pretty much a death sentence if I wore it.

Leaving the thought in the back of my head for the moment, I slid open my screen door for breakfast, then paused.

The usual breakfast spread was present outside my door, with the addition of fresh fruit I would be happy to sink my teeth into, but so was an elaborately carved wooden chest.

What on Earth?

Leaving the food where it was for now, I dragged the chest into my room and lifted the heavy lid.

It was filled with cloth of many different colours and patterns, and atop those a folded piece of rice paper.

I unfolded the paper and read the note, eyes narrowing as I tried to recall what some of the kanji meant. I didn't often handwrite nowadays, and when I did, it tended to be medical notes in shorthand. Most printed text I read came accompanied with the beyond helpful furigana to translate kanji that I was unable, or too lazy to decipher. This letter, while so beautifully written with a brush and ink, did not contain the helpful furigana I wanted.

I laughed breathlessly the more I read.

It was a long, flowing, beautifully written, letter signed by the young Lord Hitomi, gifting me the chest of kimonos for all occasions.

As a personal gift, I read, for the time whereupon owning more than one simple robe is not adequate.

The letter ended with a request to join him for breakfast beside our battlefield, so we may reflect on the war since past.

"Longwinded ass," I chuckled, folding the note again and holding it to my chest for a moment.

Only a short moment, though. In the next, I was rifling through the chest, pulling out each beautiful kimono and admiring it. The most simple of them all, which wasn't simple at all, was a beautiful pink cotton kimono, embroidered with cherry blossoms and cranes. That was the one I decided I would wear today.

At the bottom of the chest laid something wrapped in a white furoshiki cloth. Sticking out the knot of the cloth were a handful of violet sakurasou's, crushed under the weight of the other kimonos that had been placed on top of them.

I carefully unpicked the knot and peeled back the furoshiki. I froze, then set the furoshiki back in place quickly, covering the contents.

I was quick to dress and part the breakfast platter into two portions.

Walking down the familiar pathway to Kagewaki's rooms, I felt jittery.

The furoshiki cloth had opened up to reveal a pure white wedding kimono.

Kagewaki was waiting, as promised, besides the koi pond we'd fought at the day before, knelt on a cushion in the grass, drinking from a cup. Another cushion was set out beside him.

I knelt on the free cushion and set his breakfast down in front of him. Then I set down the folded silk yukata he had loaned me.

His breakfast, he accepted. The kimono he didn't so much as spare a second glance to. "Keep it. It was a gift of peace. To start afresh after a war well fought."

"It's a gift I can't use."

His lips curled around the cup he was sipping from. "As often are the gifts of peace. Take it still, if only to recall our war and remember its resolution fondly."

Oh, you smooth-talking ass. I set the bundle down beside me again. He'd won that round. "You know, we're still beside the battlefield. It wouldn't take much to start our war again." If I leaned forwards, I could probably reach the water again right now.

"That would make you a fool. A good ruler knows when to concede their defeat gracefully, lest they lose more than they're willing to in their next unnecessary battle."

Well, wasn't he a font of eloquent philosophy today? "You're pretty clued up on all this considering you spend so much time in bed."

"Not all battles are fought out in the world. The philosophy remains the same, whether the battlefield is in front of you or inside you."

I got it. His battlefield was his body, his illness. His philosophy on the art of war was to pick and choose your battles carefully. Unnecessary fighting caused unnecessary pain. While I could agree to that to some degree, Kagewaki was using that to justify his hiding. I'd heard a lot about his illness and his reclusiveness from the staff since I had arrived. Kagewaki spent the majority of his time laying in his bed, avoiding things that could aggravate the muscle pains that came from his illness.

That was not picking your battles. That was hiding from them all in fear.

He was terrified of the pain.

I wasn't looking for an argument, or to make Kagewaki feel like shit, so I let that conversation die before we could get too deep.

"Thank you, for the chest. It was delivered to my door this morning, as you can see." I lifted one arm, to show off the obvious. I was wearing one of the kimonos from the chest, after all.

"I'm happy you approve of them. A lady with your beauty and grace should have many beautiful clothes to match."

I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up. "Well, thank you, Lord Kagewaki." Beautiful? Well, I was no troll, but I was far from the beauty that I often saw advertised around Tokyo. But then, Kagewaki wasn't exposed to the media I had been. He'd lived a sheltered life. Maybe I was a beauty compared to what he had seen.

"Now, if I were to receive a sword, that would be a truly impressive gift." Immediately I felt smarmy for hinting so boldly that I wanted a gift from him. I'd never been one to suck up to people for gifts or rewards. That just wasn't what I was about.

But a sword wasn't something that I could acquire easily on my own here. Women warriors were a thing. My mother had regaled me and Todo with many tales of the female warriors of Japan when we were children, and the both of us had listened with rapt attention that you could scarcely get out of toddlers. But those warriors just weren't the norm, and they were usually of a higher class than I currently sat in.

I didn't have the luxury of being able to fight without connections here.

Kagewaki could be the connection I needed. I just had to try and deal with the uncomfortable feeling I got over trying to use him.

"A sword? What could a doctor do with a sword?"

"I've been learning the method of the sword a lot longer than I've been learning medicine." That much was true. "I've been learning kenjutsu for twenty one years now. Medicine for just ten." My mother had signed me and my twin up for kenjutsu on our seventh birthday. Todo had dropped out fairly quickly in favour of learning the koto, but I'd taken to it like a fish to water. Learning the koto had come later for me. It was a way for my brother and I to bond in our teenage years, when we were scared of drifting apart.

With a smirk, I turned my attention to the pond. "I'm probably better than you."

That earned a chuckle. "Though my pride rankles, you are probably right. I learned, of course, in my youth. I was taught alongside the samurai boys, but the fatigue and pain grew too much over time. I haven't held a sword in years."

"Maybe when you're a little better, we can spar. It'll do you good to exercise." And it would do me good to practise.

And, of course, it would do my ego good to win, even if it wasn't a fair match.

He wasn't jumping at the bit for that, but he agreed with only slight reluctance, so I was taking that as a win. Though that meant I'd probably have to wait until Kagewaki had recovered a fair bit before I'd be able to get my hands on a weapon to train with.

I'd have to exercise my patience more than my body for now.

When a fish broke the surface of the pond and just about scared the life out of Kagewaki, I had no choice but to tease him. After that our conversation turned light. We chatted about little things out in the garden for hours. Occasionally a servant would appear with a fresh pot of tea for each of us. Kagewaki had taken to the willow bark tea happily, and was happy to confirm that it did help a little with the pain.

Good. One small improvement was enough to keep me happy for now.

It wasn't until kneeling in the grass started to make my knees ache that we stopped. I gathered his folded kimono in my arms and bid Kagewaki adieu.

As I was leaving, though, I couldn't just let sleeping dogs lie.

"Lord Kagewaki." I stopped walking and turned back to him. He looked up at me patiently. "Picking your battles is important, but opportunities are multiplied as they are seized and die when they're neglected. Sometimes you have to face the battle you would rather have not chosen to grasp the opportunities you see. Sometimes the pain is worth the reward."

With that, I turned back around and trudged back towards the castle. Sleeping dogs, beware.

I'm glad I was leaving. I'd probably have done something stupid like bring up the wedding kimono if I'd stayed.

The koto strings sang under my fingers. The tune was short but looping, and a sweet memory of my brother. This was the tune he had shown me when he was first teaching me to use the koto. I'd fumbled over it for a long time, trying to read the music, and get the right strings. Now I could play it with my eyes shut.

A fact that I proved, as my eyes were closed now, just enjoying the sound and remembering Tomo.

That led to remembering the rest of my family very quickly.

What must they think? I had been away for so long, with no idea how to get back to them. They'd had no warning. The last thing I had said to anyone was yelling at Botan because he'd left his shoes loose in the genkan rather than putting them on the rack. Those could have been my final words to any of my family, and they'd been yelled in anger.

Hindsight was such a cruel thing.

I plucked the wrong string and winced as it sent the whole song out of balance. I just came to rest my hands on the strings as tears began to well up.

I missed them so much.

I missed moms nagging and worrying. I mist Ayumi's sweet innocence. Botan's annoying... Botan-ness. I missed talking on the phone with Tomo, and seeing my niece's happy face.

If I ever got home, I would go straight up to Sapporo and spend as much time as I possibly could with my brother. I don't care how many people tried to debunk the myth, twins had a special bond, and I was missing Tomo more than anyone.

Shuffling dragged me from my memories, and my eyes snapped to the door.

A shadow of a person moved behind the shoji door.

Had someone been sat listening to me cry?

"Miss Masanori, Lord Kagewaki has summoned you."

I groaned from my place on my futon. It had been a busy day today. I'd spent the morning with Kagewaki as I usually did, been summoned by his father a little after lunch and spend the afternoon arguing with him over his son's progression. After all the arguments and threats on his side, I was exhausted. I'd gone to bed early with the intent of sleeping through.

"What does he want so late?" Really, it wasn't that late, but I had changed to sleepwear for the evening and didn't want to make the effort of looking presentable again today. "Can't it wait?"

"No, miss. He has summoned you urgently. You must not keep him waiting. He is waiting in his chambers."

"All right. I'll be with him soon."

With a sigh, I pulled myself out of bed and sluffed Kagewaki's yukata. Not able to wear it during the day, I'd taken to wearing it to sleep in. It was still not quite warm enough to sleep nude, as I usually preferred back home, so the soft silk was comfortable enough to keep me warm during the spring nights. Leaving my futon and the yukata in disarray, with a silent promise to return to them soon, I dressed quickly in the first kimono sat folded in the top of the chest. Not much less decorative than the forbidden yukata, it was a silk piece, black and decorated with koi. A bit much for an evening meeting, but it would do. I wasn't hunting for anything else now.

I lifted a lock of my hair, and promptly said "fuck that" out loud, dropping it back over my shoulder. My usual style was wrangling it into a bun with whatever stationery I'd had on my desk that day. The biro that I kept in my bag had been what I made-do with while I'd been here. Tonight Kagewaki could just deal with my hair down. I frankly just couldn't be arsed.

Proclaiming myself decent enough, I headed down the halls to the young Lord's chambers.

It wasn't until I was most the way there that I thought about why I was being summoned.

His health was of course a potential, and the one that my mind immediately supplied. Was he suffering with something? But then, wouldn't the servant have known if it was his health, and prompted me along a little faster?

So what else could it be?

A friendly evening meeting? No. We'd spent hours chatting this morning out on the veranda. Why would he want to chat with me now, too? It was late. He could have waited for the morning.

But what if it was something that couldn't wait for the morning? I frowned. This wasn't some sort of illicit feudal booty call, was it? Summoning an unattached woman, a member of his staff, to his chambers in the evening. Better fucking not be. He was a good looking man, and someone who I enjoyed the company of, but I doubted his father's death threats would stop at just his health. What would he have to say if he found out I was sleeping with his son?

Anything he had to say, I bet he'd have a sword to say it with.

No thanks.

Possibly in a worse mood than when I'd been summoned, I arrived at Kagewaki's chambers and stepped inside.

For the first time since I'd met him, Kagewaki was not hidden behind the reed screens that cut him away from others.

He was sat at a low table in the centre of the main room, wearing something far more practical than the yukata I'd seen him in usually. The kimono he wore was silk, as usual, and decorated with a delicate wave pattern, but it was tucked into dark hakama. His long hair was tied back into a high ponytail. He held himself so differently. This Kagewaki looked serious, held himself with his back straight and his chin up. He looked like he was ready to do something rather than fester in bed all day.

Of course, the practicality he exuded was pretty promptly quashed when paired with the other figure at the table. They wore a baboon. Rather, they wore a baboon pelt that swathed their body in thick white fur. The head of the baboon had been treated into a taxidermy mask that hid their features from view. I couldn't decide whether the sight was funny or grotesque.

I'd never been an advocate for wearing animal furs in any way. That outfit had to be made out of a few of the poor monkeys. What a waste of life.

"Nori, I'm glad you could make it," Kagewaki greeted. He gestured for me to sit in the seat beside him. "Please, join us."

Well, whatever was happening, it wasn't something I'd thought it would be on the way here.

I took a seat and stared at the grotesque mask facing me.

"Naraku, my lady," the mask's wearer intoned. Had Kagewaki not been here, I would have thought it was him under that mask, with that voice. It was so similar to the young Lords, deep and smooth, though Naraku's had a darker tone. The way he addressed me sounded just a hair of mocking. Enough to raise my hackles a little, but not enough to be able to comment on it without being considered petty.

"Masanori," I gave in response. "Now, Lord Kagewaki, what is this? Why did you summon me so late?" I tried to keep the complaint out of my tone, but I wasn't so sure I succeeded. I was tired.

He poured some tea for me, and sat back with his own cup. "Drink, and I'll explain."

Infooo time:

Furigana - As you're likely aware, Japan has three written scripts. Katakana, used mostly for scientific terms and foreign loan words. Kanji, the pretty intricate characters that you're probably most familiar with. And Hiragana, the more simple script used for Japanese words. In a lot of Japanese printing formats, Kanji characters will often have the hiragana script for the word printed above or to the right of it (depending on the print format) in miniature that you can use to basically translate kanji you're unsure about. It's super handy, and I'll be the first to admit that I rely heavily on furigana when I'm reading Japanese texts. My Kanji reading is poor. Furigana is a godsend.

Review Corner

Fanfiction is being really finnicky with showing me the people that have liked my fics and showing me reviews lately. Sometimes I get emails saying that I have reviews, but when I look on the website, it says I dont have any. Sometimes it says I do, but when I try to read them, they don't show up. So if you do write a review and I don't answer it, it's because of that. I promise I'm not ignoring you. I really appreciate everyone that takes the time to review my story!

darkvibeslover - It's an absolutely fantastic fic, isnt it? I have to say it'll probably influence my own fic a little. I'm glad you like this fic! I really hope that it'll continue to impress. I'm actually writing chapter ten right now, so there's plenty going to be released over the next week or two. And we finally have Naraku this chapter, so the plots only guaranteed to get better from here. Also, love your handle. Dark vibes are always worthy of love.

Here we are! Finally introducing Naraku. He'll, of course, have more of a presence in the story now, but there'll be very little romance yet. But I have so much planned for him. I'm excited! As is the norm now, I'll be back again once I've posted in ITJOTW!