A/N: Hey everyone and hope you are all enjoying the holiday season so far! Christmas is my favourite time of the year (I actually like it better than my own birthday lol). And even though COVID-19 may have ruined some of our plans, at least it can't take away the holiday spirit, eh? :)
Finally, I have started the fanfic a lot of you were waiting for: Homicide For The Holidays! As I've said before, this fanfic includes the Akabane Sword Team, some of your beloved characters. The majority voted for this story to be told from Hiyori's POV in first-person POV. I'm glad to try out something different and I hope you all like it.
I am still unsure as to whether I want to do a seventh fanfic for the series, but I am working on the plot for the vampire one. Hopefully, I can finish the plot soon before the end of the year.
Chapter 1: Hakuchou Manor
There are often times in life when one struggles to define the thin line between right and wrong. That was how I felt during the intensity that followed after the death of Murasaki Fumiko. It had been fifteen years since that fateful incident, but the memory of it all was still clear as day to me. The interest her death aroused in the public was gone within a few weeks after. People carried on with their usual business, unaware of the darker truth behind it all.
Even amongst my family-in-law, Kanami and I avoided discussing it. In fact, the two of us agreed any mention of the late Murasaki Head was forbidden, along with any connection to her death. And yet, there was that fear. What if Minato, my future successor, learned the ugly truth? Would she jump to conclusions and swiftly take action? Or would she actually understand how grey the situation was?
Nobody expected both Chidori and Kogarasumaru to choose my stepsister-in-law when she entered the Heijou Institute. To be honest, I was concerned and so was my family-in-law. Minato already demonstrated many times that she had the same mindset as me before I met Kanami—misanthropic and cold. An individual who often reacted first, before asking questions. In possession of two powerful okatanas and a future of becoming one of the most dominant leaders of Japan...what would Minato do if she discovered what Kanami and I did fifteen years ago?
We were never openly mentioned in the case of Murasaki Fumiko's death—neither of us wanted to have any connection with it. Kanami considered it her worst failure and it was probably the beginning of her dislike of being a criminal investigator.
It was mostly for her sake and Minato's that I decided to write this account. Thanks to having the memory of an elephant, I knew the ins and outs of the case well enough to put it all down on paper. Like the rest of the Origami Family records, it shall be kept carefully locked for future generations. Should she ever discover it, perhaps even Minato might understand our point-of-view. But even hidden away in a vault, I know that I'll never forget that awful event. For the first time, I hated having eidetic memory because I know that it'll never leave me and shall continue to haunt me till death...
It all started when I was invited for Christmas to Hakuchou Manor, the large house Murasaki Fumiko owned in Aomori. As the Head of the Origami Family, making business visits to distinguished Toji families was common for me. I had never met the Murasaki Family before—they were very quiet people and their last public appearance together as a family happened way before I was even born.
"And if you are not so compassionate as to make this Christmas season truly wonderful with your presence, I shall be in danger of thinking you quite dreadful, Hiyori-onee-sama," Fumiko had written in her letter. Like I cared about her opinion about me in the first place.
I can't say I was particularly excited nor anxious to go. However, Fumiko offered me such a wide selection of dates that acquiescence was inevitable. In my mind, the sooner I went and got it over with the better. Besides, I admit that I was a little curious to meet her. From what I heard, she was the new matriarch and the last surviving descendant of the Murasaki Family.
So really, I had no choice but to pack my suitcases and make the journey up North. Accompanying me were Sanae, my lady's maid, and Kanami. As the Elite Guards were busy with a mission and Kaoru whined about wanting to enjoy her winter holiday, Kanami happily accepted being my temporary bodyguard.
We were met at the airport by Ida Shun, Fumiko's chauffeur. For most of the ride, I just kept busy by reading my correspondence. Like everyone else in the world, I had suffered from the COVID-19 global recession. Even being the Head of the Origami Family did not save me from losing millions of yen along with several stocks. I guess I could've prevented myself a lot of financial troubles if I laid off a few of the servants—but I didn't want to fire them. Everyone already went through so much. There was no guarantee that they'd even be able to find other jobs.
Looking up from one of my financial documents—which was showing an alarming decrease in my bank accounts—I saw that Kanami was getting a little green. Probably because we were now going up a tall mountain. Sanae seemed to have also noticed my girlfriend's carsick state because she asked, "Etou-san, are you okay?"
Putting a hand over her mouth, Kanami choked out, "Don't talk to me right now. I might not be able to keep in my lunch."
With a nod of understanding, Sanae then turned to me and said for what was probably the fifth time, "I am so excited at the prospect of spending Christmas up in Aomori. The snow just looks so beautiful here."
Then, blushing a little, she added, "Really anything is better than having to return to my home for the holidays. Every time I go, my uncle keeps bugging me asking if I have a boyfriend yet."
Putting on what I knew to be my usual snarky smirk, I let my eyes drift from my papers to outside the window. I had to agree with Sanae that the snow indeed made the view look quite pleasing, shining like white jewels amongst the dark fir trees. At one point between the rocky cliffs, I caught sight of a gorgeous waterfall—well, what was once a waterfall but was now a curtain of long sparkling icicles.
"I do wonder what Fumiko-sama is like," Sanae said. "I heard she attended the Heijou Institute like us, Hiyori-sama. Shidou-senpai mentioned to me once that she was in the same year as her, even though Fumiko-sama was three years younger. Apparently, she was so bright that she advanced to a higher grade. Shidou-senpai also told me that Fumiko-sama was a very strong Toji. You know, they used to call her 'Bloody Mary' because she had slain the highest record of aradama when she was in service."
"Bloody Mary, huh?" I decided to go ahead with my initial instinct and distrust Fumiko.
Turning my attention back to my documents, I picked up one of a different type—a letter to be exact. A proposal from the American Toji Ministry of Defense, located in Okinawa.
Dear Hiyori-sama:
I am delighted and honored to do business with you. I hope that even after such hard times, along with the most recent Toji disaster, you are doing well. I understand that you are interested in starting a relief effort to repair the immense damage from last year.
Therefore, this is a request to you to grant fifteen Toji squadrons from the United States of America temporary visas to Japan, in order to aid with the reconstruction of the Special Sword Administration Bureau. This is but a small part of our wish to help heal the emotional wounds of the countless losses we know we'll never forget.
The American Toji Ministry of Defense will be responsible for any expenses relating to this. Please find enclosed all the necessary information regarding each American Toji. Should you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to contact our company anytime.
Sincerely,
Chairwoman Wilkinson
The sudden sound of Kanami's voice tore my eyes away from the letter. "Hiyori-chan, are you okay?"
I realized that both she and Sanae were staring at me with concerned faces. "Yeah, I'm fine."
No, I was not. Chairwoman Wilkinson's letter, although helpful, reopened wounds that I was in the process of healing. But this was not something I could admit, even to the two people closest to me. First of all, because I was sure if I did, my emotions would get the better of me and make me burst into tears. And what kind of leader would go about crying over every disaster that came her way? What the country needed now was someone who'd put on a brave face and do as much as she could to help the people heal. Not an individual who'd keep herself locked in her own despair. It was crucial for Japan to see that my spirit had not been broken and that eventually, we would all get through this.
I was glad that our arrival at Hakuchou Manor offered me a bit of a distraction from my thoughts. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that it came straight out of Downton Abbey, the TV series Ellen liked watching. Hakuchou Manor was a formidable Georgian mansion, built of grand limestone and rising three-stories high. Not exactly a warm homely sight.
"I will bring in your baggage, ladies," Shun said. "You had better get inside, out of the cold."
A large and imposing elderly man stood at the entrance. He introduced himself with a bow as Nagata Ryosei, the butler. There was a bit of a British accent to his speech. We were ushered into a high foyer with two staircases branching from opposites sides. In the center was an enormous Christmas tree almost as tall as the room that I wondered how on earth they were able to get it inside. The only ornamentations to be found on its fir branches were candles and a star perched at the very top.
"The other guests are in the drawing-room, m'lady," Ryosei said to me with a gesture to an open door.
"Other guests?" Kanami repeated.
Ryosei did not reply but left with Sanae to show her to the servants' quarters. Kanami and I shrugged before entering the drawing-room.
To be greeted face-to-face with the Tojis of the Akabane Sword Team.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of "Homicide for the Holidays". I'm thinking I might update chapters on Wednesdays and Saturdays/Sundays. In the next chapter, the mysterious Murasaki Fumiko will make her first appearance. Please let me know what you guys think so far in the reviews or PM me! :)
