"Kaedehara Kazuha. With the acknowledgement given to you by the Raiden Shogun as well as many other notable figures of Inazuma as an act of reconciliation, with the power she has, the status of your clan has been restored to the standing it had previously as well as the land once lost to you being returned as a show of goodwill towards those of the Resistance." Kujou Sara announced to him after requesting a personal meeting with him in presence of Sangonomiya Kokomi and Gorou.
"Eh?" The three said together in unison over what seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"While this is just a small step in terms of mending the bonds between our two factions, Her Excellency hopes that you will accept this small token for now along with future acts to help in the reconstruction of our two sides." The Tengu warrior spoke in a neutral but respectful tone, which was reasonable as she was merely a messenger despite being of high standing.
It was definitely unexpected and strange when it came to customs after a war. Typically one side would first try to compensate for the losses of one side as well as lend aid in terms of resources in an act of goodwill as well as watering down any potential hostile emotions that comes with the war.
While it wouldn't be able to make up for the lives lost and the time spent, it helped build a path to a brighter future for the two sides, but instead the Raiden Shogun had decided to first focus on the Noble Clans of the resistance which was rather scarce.
This wasn't really so much as a bandaid for the wounds inflicted, but more of a light pat on the back, being such a strange thing to focus on.
Kujou Sara herself was no fool as she was well aware of what this looked like. The Raiden Shogun was acting rather strange this morning and the order she had given was even stranger.
The memory of how the Raiden Shogun would normally behave was gone as the person she had sworn her life to follow behaved somewhat erratic from what she was used to.
"Make sure that Kazuha Kaedehara is informed of this change. It is mandatory." The Raiden Shogun urged her with an expression she couldn't quite place, which was even stranger as she had never seen anything but an impassive stare on the face of Inazuma's ruler.
So here she was in the midst of an uncomfortable silence in a room with three people who had all once been her enemy.
If she had a weaker constitution, she'd have been sweating profusely with the tension in the air, but she kept her face stoic while maintaining eye contact with the man who her leader went out of her way to ensure that she told this to.
"I understand the sentiments of the Electro Archon, but may I ask if it's possible to decline the invitation? It's nothing personal, but the status of my clan holds no value for me and I don't care for anything involving it in terms of status or property." Kazuha finally gave his response, causing her to inwardly groan.
"No matter what, you must have him accept. It is vital and I have high expectations of you for this, Sara." The Raiden Shogun sternly said.
Sara had no idea whatsoever what was going on, but she had a task to fulfil and she wasn't going to fail in this objective.
"I understand your feelings, but there's no need to decline. Your clan will regain its former glory regardless along with many other fallen clans. Her Excellency thought it'd be prudent to inform you, but if you have no care for such matters, you can let it degrade once more. I understand you're an adventurer so such ties would be more detrimental towards your freedom, however, you can simply acquire the assets and ignore the rest of the privileges gained."
Kujou Sara wasn't too familiar with Kazuha, but she was well aware of some key details in regards to him and one of those was that he followed the old tradition code of the samurai.
Kazuha closed his mouth a bit, doing his best to avoid letting her know that he was clenching his teeth, but Sara caught onto it, resulting in her having to hold back a smirk.
"All clan heads being reinstated must meet with The Guuji Yae personally to officially have your clan restored." She then gave him an emblem before nodding her head, preparing to leave as she had done her duty. "Until we meet again. I hope we may meet under more amicable circumstances."
"Same to you Lady Kujou. Thank you for going out of your way to deliver the information." Kokomi gave a polite curtsy as Gorou followed suit with a bow as Kazuha stared at the emblem of the Raiden Shogun in his hand.
He was still somewhat perplexed by the situation as he kept his eyes locked with Sara's before she turned around to leave.
It took a while before Gorou spoke up, looking excited for his good friend without knowing the consequences that came with becoming a noble.
"Wow, Kazuha. I didn't know you were a part of a noble clan! Isn't it great for you to be in a high position?" Gorou asked with bright eyes.
"Gorou, while it may seem like a good thing to become a noble while restoring the "honor" of one's clan on the surface, there are many issues that come with it." Kokomi crossed her arms as she thought heavily on what the Raiden Shoguns plan was for this action.
"Huh? Then… Why did you accept it then?" The general tilted his head with a confused look, his ears drooping low as he couldn't fathom why his friend had seemingly chosen to put himself into a disadvantageous situation.
"Because if I were to leave and let them reinstate the Kaedehara name to its full original glory only to let it decline once more, it would be disgraceful as someone who was born from a loyal samurai clan." He held a hand to his chin, looking somewhat irritated with things.
One would think that he wouldn't care about such trivial superficial things like honor and his image, but he was raised by a clan who in their final moments had tried their utmost best to revive the glory that their name had once held. It was a little known fact that if his clan was still able to be upheld by the time it fell under his leadership, he'd have stayed and did his utmost best to maintain it, no matter how impossible the task seemed.
After all, it'd be disrespectful to his ancestors and those who stood before him to simply let their long lineage die down solely for his own freedom. So for The Raiden Shogun to essentially press the reset button…
Well, it meant he would have to take over his duties to maintain his family's standing or betray the wishes of the people whose long history resulted in his place here now in the world.
"What I don't get is why? Everything about this situation doesn't make sense and sounds more fishy the more I think about it… The Raiden Shogun's Emblem proves that this is a decree from the Electro Archon herself, so Sara Kujou couldn't possibly have made this up to prepare a trap for you…" Kokomi held a hand to her chin as her eyes furrowed, looking deeply unsettled by this.
"Don't worry, Your Excellency. This isn't something that should concern you as you have many more issues to worry about. Such as informing the rest of the resistance soldiers who are affected." Kazuha gave an unworried smile towards the leader of the resistance who could only shake her head with a frown as she opened her eyes to stare into his.
"Kazuha, I don't think you're seeing how strange this is. You're the only person of the Resistance who came from a formerly distinguished clan." She explained, resulting in the two men in the room with her to realize the uniqueness of the situation.
Tenshuukaku
Puppet-chan calmly pondered over her plan once more, feeling somewhat giddy about how she had managed to come up with it.
After she had regained control of herself from Ei's maintenance and configurations, she found that she was now thinking completely clearly over the fuzzy and ambiguous state she was in the past few days.
She now understood that she wanted nothing more than to have that man who had interfered directly with her twice and she couldn't go about doing it by force, so she managed to do some digging on his personal history.
As a puppet created by the electro archon, she was capable of learning quickly as long as it didn't interfere with any pre existing settings within her, so she was easily able to learn and create a plan that would allow her to not only properly meet but win over the Ronin of the Wind.
The first step began with restoring his clan's name to tie him down in Inazuma as it wouldn't do her any good if that vixen on the ship with him were to take him away.
The puppet gritted her teeth at the thought of that tall lady who was also imbued with the power of electro and she couldn't help but feel irritated once more, but she dashed those thoughts aside as she remembered that she needed to be calm for the next few days to properly execute her plans.
The first thing that man will have to do is meet with Yae Miko, the Grand Priestess of Narukami Shrine. While this was something that couldn't be avoided as Yae was the one who was in charge of handling the nuances of establishing nobles in terms of virtue and other such things, she felt comfortable knowing that the kitsune priestess was the one doing it personally as there was no one she could trust more than her master's long time friend.
Little did she know that this was one of the many steps that would result in everything that her master wouldn't have wanted to happen if she was aware of the situation.
In the meantime…
The Puppet Shogun opened up a magazine, flipping open the pages to a very specific section.
The magazine was from the Yae Publishing House and had a question and answer block where you can ask a very notable figure questions in regards to improving your own life.
Notably, this is how the Puppet began to better understand how much of a trial it would take to win her samurai's heart and the first issue was for their current relationship of being former adversaries.
"Dear Ms. Hina,
I have recently awoken feelings and I am madly in what I believe is referred to as "love" by normal people, however, I seemed to have killed this specific person's close friend and taken part on being on the other side of a war against him. What should I do?
Sincerely, Raiden Shogun.
Watatsumi Island
Kokomi was livid once Kazuha and Gorou had left the meeting room.
It was rare for her to feel this heated and no one had ever seen her so, but with the circumstances the way they were, it couldn't be helped.
She was well aware of how the world of nobles worked and it wasn't a pretty one.
For one who wasn't aware of the deeper side of those who lived in the higher parts of society, they'd be forgiven to think that such things were of the highest levels of luxury and lasciviousness, but in reality it could be said to be worse than those of a lower standing.
The reasoning for that is that with the title comes many expectations and responsibilities that it wasn't a surprise that only those that were incredibly stable financially could maintain…
Which was why the situation for Kazuha was one that was extremely vexing for the Leader of Watatsumi Island.
Kazuha, from what her memory could recall, was from a fallen clan that had degraded heavily from it's days of grandeur and the reason for that was simple.
It was unknown as to when the decline began, but it wasn't unknown as to what the cause was.
The Kaedehara clan suffered from two key things that severely hampered their longevity: lack of Mora and low birth rates.
With no money to maintain their status, they would quickly succumb to poverty like any other family. This along with having such a small family also limits what they're capable of as it'd be hard for a single person to bring back the glory of what once was, especially for a Samurai Clan.
Now, Kazuha was about to return to the ranks of nobility due to his honor and this was seen as nothing short but a humiliating social execution to Kokomi as there was no feasible way that Kazuha could compare and would be publicly humiliated when brought up. The world of those at the top weren't kind after all.
Every other notable clan right now also brought something to the table in terms of status from the Kamisatos handling the Yashiro Commission to the Hiiragis overlooking foreign affairs which was why Kokomi was fretting that if this wasn't some sort of roundabout way to embarrass a member of the resistance.
"Is it possible that the Raiden Shogun is looking to make Kazuha do something?" She thought to herself, furrowing her eyebrows as her gaze grew sharper.
But what could the Raiden Shogun possibly want from Kazuha?
Kokomi couldn't see any real benefit from the viewpoint of their country's ruler to go out of their way to have Kazuha under them unless this was a power move against her.
For a moment, Kokomi thought that maybe this was some sort of personal reason ranging from revenge to love.
She quickly dashed that thought aside as there was no feasible way that their once dictator of a ruler had someone close enough to warrant revenge. She distinctly remembered that anyone that the resistance had killed as a whole during the war wasn't anyone that held any relevant position in terms of proximity to the Raiden Shogun.
As for love? Hah!
Kokomi crossed her arms with a look of amusement at the idea that someone as long lived and seemingly cold as the Raiden Shogun could fall for a mortal ronin from a fallen clan.
She couldn't fathom how it felt to live for over a thousand years. Thousands of suitors, both women and men, and there was no note of any relationship of their country's ruler to date.
At most, there was a rumor about the Grand Priestess of the Narukami Shrine having some intimacy with the Electro Archon, but this rumor was devastatingly crushed with past records of the Guuji Yae showing clear disdain from the Electro Archon and speaking in front of a scryer orb that she had never been in any relationship with anyone, seemingly taking her role as the Grand Priestess seriously for the many centuries she had lived.
Even Rex Lapis, the oldest Archon, had documents of potentially courting others and if that now deceased figure had such poems written of its' love life, there not being a single trace of the Electro Archon was evident that it was likely that she had never held a single thought of such things.
Kokomi was sure that she was safe from worrying about Kazuha's safety in this regard, but… She couldn't ignore such possibilities as a Master Strategist just because they seemed impossible.
Little did she know that she was correct in her initial analysis, however the details provided to her weren't enough to paint the full picture.
Later in the future, Sangonomiya Kokomi will look back at herself during this moment of thinking and wonder how much things would have differed if she had all the information needed provided.
A few days later at the Grand Narukami Shrine
Yae Miko sighed as she prepared for another duty given to her by the Raiden Shogun.
While she was well aware that this was within her job description and she had done so without any proclamations in the past, it was still work and who really liked work?
Not to mention this was done by the Puppet as far as she knew, otherwise Ei was rather predictable in terms of what she'd have her do.
Ironic, huh? The pre-programmed doll made to do nothing but follow orders was less predictable than her creator.
This only served to make things strange as generally, the puppet would do her best to optimize management efficiently in terms of what was written on paper.
There could at least be SOME guesses made for the actions of the puppet as the orders she had given in the past were what one would expect from something with no heart and ideas made to do nothing but maximize efficiency.
So like most bosses in any given occupation.
This however…
A meeting with a pirate turned ronin who is a notable member of the Resistance being reinstated as a clan head of Inazuma?
There were so many things wrong with this that she was certain the only way the Puppet could have made a more questionable decision was by arranging a political marriage with a Fatui Harbinger.
She daintily drank from her tea cup, already preparing for a meeting that would surely mirror her interactions with that one Oni she had met.
She had been notified three days ago and the Puppet even made sure to micro manage the time slots so that she'd not only have the entire day for the one to one, but that any leftover time would be to have him sent over to meet with her!
She had a full day of things she had needed to be done, but the Puppet just vanished it all! She wasn't even sure how! The tasks ranged from purification and meetings with distinguished members of society.
Little did she know that a certain Traveler was currently on many commission runs in regards to purification and the multiple people she was supposed to meet with today had had all their problems solved with a simple power called "I had Sara compensate them with mora."
So that meant that despite her hesitance to meet with someone who she had already solidified in her heart to be a rowdy fellow, she was ready to get this done as soon as possible so that she could enjoy what would be a rare day for her to completely slack off her duties.
It was then that she was notified by one of the shrine maidens that her visitor was here. On time no less!
She had expected him to have little care for this meeting, but it seemed that he had some levels of etiquette.
"Send him in." She ordered, beginning to adapt the persona people would expect of someone of her standing.
To those who knew Yae more personally, they'd be able to pick up on her hidden personality with enough time within proximity of her.
It wasn't surprising that someone from a race of historical tricksters would be mischievous and playful, but no one had truly been able to fully grasp the type of person she was.
Well, except perhaps the Electro Archons that she had served under for so many centuries, but even she was unable to fully comprehend her.
The reasoning for this was due to the fact that she had become the essential Number two of Inazuma due to her status and role in serving the Electro Archon. With how seemingly dangerous the Puppet had been in the past five hundred years, people were unsurprisingly more in favor of her, placing her on a pedestal that left her incredibly… bored.
From the wisdom she had gained to the influence she held to even how incredibly beautiful she was (not her own words), Yae Miko was someone who was rather blessed by the archons with her placement in the world as a whole.
This led to many of the interactions she had to be rather muted with nothing but constant praise and people trying incredibly hard to stay on her good side which was further enhanced by her own grace and magnanimity.
Everything however, felt boring and hypocritical and it nearly drove her mad at times. How would it feel if everyone in the world only had one face to show you?
She was confident that she had some of the best credentials to answer that as the days of boredom continued endlessly. However, Yae Miko slowly began to notice a little quirk inside of her.
Whenever a troubled look appeared on the face of a person before her, suddenly things weren't so boring any longer, which she later learned was a particularly very disturbing nature, though she couldn't do much to perish those feelings without risking it being revealed entirely.
It was only during times where she either hid her status in public to enjoy a much needed day of reprieve from her normal duties or when she got to be the Owner of the Yae Publishing House as opposed to the Guuji Yae that she got to release her true nature.
That said… She wasn't allowed to fully let loose either… As the Grand Priestess of Narukami Shrine, she was expected to be compassionate, making her feel stifled to live such a life, constantly having to repress her nature as a predator.
Why couldn't she just step down or find some other path? Because until Ei properly took over her role as the Electro Archon, Yae Miko was the closest person in terms of power to properly run Inazuma from the top, making it so that her departure from her role would plunge the islands into a state of disarray as there were too many intricate details of running a country that she couldn't just hand it off to anyone, especially with the corruption of many prominent noble figures which looped in on itself to create an image of her that had everyone around her view her with rose tinted glasses.
One day, she was sure to find someone that she can reveal her true self to without holding back that she wouldn't have to kill in case they tried to use the information to blackmail her with.
"Mr. Kaedehara, is the Sakura Blossom tea to your liking?" She asked after a while once the man in front of her sat down.
She had been somewhat surprised that he wasn't at all what she imagined him to be aside from the ronin part. To think that someone with his history looked this young and was able to display an air of nobility and etiquette.
"Indeed, it is delicious. I humbly thank you for it, Lady Miko." He answered curtly.
In what could be considered a lounge, the two were seated across from each other while having what seemed like a pleasant conversation.
So far, half an hour had passed since he had come and there was seemingly nothing but basic pleasantries exchanged between the two of them.
They didn't push on the topic of what this essentially was: This young man doing his best to try and win her favor for his clan.
However, there was something strange about this conversation and she couldn't quite understand what it was…
Kazuha
Kazuha's life had been rather hectic as of late. With his country being free from tyranny, he was about to get ready for a battle on the sea against an ancient god with his captain in the upcoming months when he had suddenly had his clan restored to its former glory temporarily.
With the knowledge of what was to come and what was now under his control, he couldn't help but feel stressed about things.
Especially since he had thought he'd never have to put to practice everything his father had hammered into his head as a child.
Now being a key factor in his captain's ability to maneuver a massive ship against a sea monster to having to do his absolute best as a samurai of his clan to bring it glory, he couldn't help but feel burnt out from everything.
Which led him to the situation at hand.
It wasn't a good one.
His plan was to just have the meeting with the Grand Priestess of Narukami Shrine before meeting with the Raiden Shogun all within half the morning, but things didn't go as expected.
Why?
The very moment he walked into the Shrine to meet with the Grand Priestess, his senses and the wind notified him of one thing.
This saintly looking figure who was a ravishing beauty in itself was an extreme sadist.
Don't ask him how he knew. He didn't go around figuring out what people were into and he definitely would never go out of his way to listen in on such details, but the fact that the info was forced to him in such a way told him one thing.
This was a dangerous woman and he best be on his guard.
This led him to simply smiling his way through the situation, making his stance very clear through his actions.
"I want nothing to do with you personally."
The Grand Priestess may have been an incredibly notable figure whose backing would easily aid him in his newest endeavour and there were great benefits if one were to look at it from the standpoint of a clan head, but Kazuha was currently looking at it from his own shoes.
As someone who had been a clear rebel that had directly gone against the Raiden Shogun twice, he was essentially a villain on paper to those of high standing. He wasn't ignorant to how people in power handled people like him and he was sure that if things went wrong, he would one day have assassination attempts on his life, leading him to no doubt have to flee Inazuma once again.
He couldn't help but shake the feeling that the world had expected him to die at Tenshuukaku that day and the current situation didn't make him feel too good about his situation, so he had to make sure that such death flags were cleared.
Which was why all he was doing was sitting like the wallflower he was, doing whatever he can to breeze past this.
"May I call you Kazuha?" The dignified Yae asked with a seemingly sincere and intimate tone.
Kazuha pondered for a moment before replying with a smile.
"Of course, Lady Miko. It's my honor."
Tch. Can you not act like we're close friends?
What Kazuha was saying with his mouth was not the same as what he was saying in his mind, plastering a polite smile on his face and responding to her questions with the minimal civility required.
"Kazuha, would you like to establish a friendship from this?" Yae asked as Kazuha didn't notice that her expression had changed to a much more curious looking one.
"Of course, Lady Miko."
Who would want to be friends with you? I'm not going to become a plaything for your amusement.
"Do you feel that the way this is progressing is too… abrupt?" She continued her questions.
"Of course not, Lady Miko. It's my honor." The normally relaxed Ronin answered with a perfectly polite tone.
If you're aware that it's too abrupt: you shouldn't have tried in the first place.
"What do you think of me?"
"You're as beautiful as the blossoms of the Sakura Tree. Your kindness is overwhelming like the embrace of the earth. Inazuma will surely continue to prosper with you aiding the Raiden Shogun. May the Archons bless you."
Now you want me to fawn on you? Despicable. How shameless.
Kazuha was disgusted with what seemed like a sadist enjoying the power she had over others, but he couldn't just speak his mind here as he was duty bound by his oath to not bring any shame upon his name.
"What do you think of The Raiden Shogun right now?"
"The Kaedehara clan will be stalwart supporters as I believe that Her Excellency has the capabilities to fully bring Inazuma back to its former glory now that the situation has cleared. I truly am-"
"Alright, that's enough." Yae cut Kazuha's blathering off with a wave of her hand, causing the latter to blink his eyes for a moment, but he readily stopped the stream of nonsense coming from his mouth.
Already tired of the bootlicking? If that's the case, let's just have our tea in peace, shall we?
Kazuha thought as he lifted his tea cup to sip.
It was at this moment that Yae Miko took out a purple amulet from beneath her clothes.
"Kazuha, what do you think of this amulet of mine?" She asked.
"It's gorgeous, Lady Miko."
"Yes…~ I think so too~ I do fancy this amulet a lot~ It refracts sixteen different rays of light when light shines into it. An ancient relic of the past that i've kept ever since I first became the Grand Priestess~"
"Astounding." Kazuha replied, taking a glance at the crimson pendant before giving it a compliment.
Meanwhile, Yae leaned forward and continued with narrowed eyes.
"I should also mention that it has a unique ability as do many artifacts such as this one. Are you curious to know what it is?"
"It would be an honor to know, Lady Miko."
"Yes… of course…"
A smile crept onto Miko's lips as she beckoned Kazuha over with her finger, surprising him with the gesture.
Something's really not right… " Kazuha thought, feeling something was amiss, but after a brief hesitation, he still chose to lean over and listen to what she had to say.
Now that Kazuha was within whispering distance, Yae Miko's smile became colder and colder as she revealed the secret behind the purple amulet with a frigid voice that made his blood chill.
"It's effects are none other than… Lie detection…~"
"... Ah…"
Under The Guuji Yae's playful look, Kazuha finally let his true feelings surface for the first time in the past hour.
A rewrite. Yeah. Why?
You wanna know what happened to those two chapters before, huh?
Well Itto happened. The new islands happened. Much more things that got in the way of my plans happened and I decided that it was best to rebuild from a safe point.
Is this chapter debatably worse or better than what I had before? No clue, but I can safely say that I will be forcing a fanon interpretation of how things are in Inazuma to fill in some gaps and force things to coincide with my plans.
Either way, enjoy.