Disclaimer: As always all credit goes to Shingo Nanami and フクロウ. Finally I'm done with this story. It was a very long chapter, perhaps one of the longest ones I've translated. But, well it was worth it. For those who braved through the first three chapters, you've made it! Finally you get to read the concluding chapter. Enjoy!
羽衣天女
Robe of the Celestial Maiden
Kasane x Ikeda
Part Four
"...! !"
Ikeda abruptly awoke from his slumber.
He steadied his rough gasps.
The events between dream and reality was still turbid.
He felt horrible nausea.
Kasane left him.
She's no longer here.
His wife, left him, went back to her world.
Where was this place? Where was Kasane?
It seems that Ikeda doze off at the porch.
His muscles felt awfully sore.
The result from his poor sleeping spot.
However that something not worth thinking about.
Where was Kasane.
Where is his wife?
I want to meet her, I want to meet her, I want to meet her.
That you've gone back, that you're no longer here, I won't acknowledge it.
Staggering himself to his feet, she went off to search for his wife.
This isn't his home.
This was his lord's castle.
"Ah, you're already awake?"
As Kasane hold the laundry basket in her hands, she confirmed Ikeda's state.
Her loving existence, her unchanging form gazed at him.
Affection welled up in his heart.
The impulse to embrace her arose inside of him.
Kasane, his Kasane.
With a sway of his stance, she approached her.
"Do you feel sick!? Ikeda-san?"
Kasane's worried words halted Ikeda in his steps.
Ikeda, san?
"I should ask Tono-sama to call for the doctor…!"
"...No, there's no need. I just woke up, so I just feel a little weak.
Ikeda replied as he cradled his head.
That was a dream.
Kasane is human like him.
There were no such things as celestial maidens.
And he and Kasane weren't married.
Calm down.
Memories and dreams were muddled together.
In reality, Kasane is here.
In his lord's castle.
Kasane has never visited his home.
She was hardly his wife, nor did they have any children.
That was a dream.
As Kasane still kept a worried expression on her face, Ikeda unpleasantly avoided her gaze.
Dream, a horrible dream.
With just a young girl whom he worked with in this castle; he saw a nightmare.
If she knew of his nightmare; the horrible enough dream to prompt her to never speak to him again.
It's alright, calm down.
Kasane is here.
Why did he see that dream?
Was it by chance during his recent scout there was a correlation between the land and story of the Swan Maiden?*
It was an awfully vivid dream.
It was as if it really happened; almost like they both were replaced the characters.
The time of happiness he felt while Kasane was at his side.
The disparity when Kasane returned to the havens.
All was painted so vividly in color that he was lost in the reality of it.
"Kusanagi, dono."
"Yes?"
Just like in his dream, Kasane tilted her head to the side.
With that movement her endearingness swelled up inside of him.
"...Do you know of the tale of the Swan Maiden's Robe?"
"Eh? U-m…"
When asked the question, Kasane slovenly loosened her face as she wryly smiled; she ambiguously mumbled.
Observing that she might not know of the story, Ikeda continued on.
"...It's a story where a normal man falls in love with a celestial maiden."
"Eh, heh~, what a lovely story! But why did you suddenly ask me this?"
Since it was Ikeda, Kasane believed that he wouldn't threw he such a random topic, so she puzzledly cocker her head to the side.
"...Lovely? This is a story where a man languished his one-sided love to the celestial maiden, stole her robe, threatened her, and forced her to marry him."
"Eh."
Hearing this, Kasane made a sullen face.
In the viewpoint of a young lady, it was expected to have this sort of reaction.
"...The man impregnates the woman and makes her give birth to three children; the children tell her where her robe is hidden and the story ends with the celestial maiden abandoning the man and returning to the havens."
"T-that's quite a dark story…"
From what she heard in the beginning, it seemed to be a romantic tale, but the summery turned out to be miserable.
It did not seem to be a story for children.
"Kusanagi-dono, what do you think of the man?"
"Heh?"
"...I understand the man's feelings very well. To a painful degree. The wretched feeling of desire to keep the one you love by your side, even when the methods are against their own will."
He knew the man's feelings all too well.
Him and Kasane.
The man and the celestial maiden.
There were some differences in certain places, but their situations were similar.
Kasane was a woman who came from a different world.
A woman who will one day return to that world.
Just how different is she to the celestial maiden who returns back to the havens?
He felt love towards Kasane.
Not through comradery, but through deep affection.
The kind men have towards women.
And out of all women, it was towards this girl.
He couldn't force Kasane into marriage like the man in the story.
Because he would be hated, or perhaps it was deceitful, or because it was terrifying.
But, he didn't want to let Kasane go.
He held onto the emotion of not wanting to hand her over to other men.
The emotion of jealousy.
What occurred in his dream with Kasane was all of his desires.
Don't leave me.
Become my wife, and please stay by my side.
Only look at me.
I want to touch you, I wish for you to touch me.
So his desires showed him that dream?
Because he went to the land where the story originated, with those darkly colored memories, he saw that dream?
"U~n, I just don't understand why he forced to his wife into that…"
"...I believe it's because he didn't want to let the celestial maiden go."
"But I really think both of their feelings are important to consider! Coming from a woman like me, I say that's…"
"..."
As one might expect.
Thinking in a viewpoint of a woman, they will feel hatred.
"Surely the celestial maiden loathed the man."
That's why she left him and returned to the havens.
Once he thought of the things the man did to to her, the outcome was obvious.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
Why did his feelings turn out like this?
It's as if his illusion turned into that very same man.
He wouldn't think of being loved.
He wouldn't consider his sin to be forgiven.
However, at least.
"U~n… Who knows about that."
Kasane creased her brow as she indecisively mumbled at Ikeda's words.
Surprised by this response, Ikeda turned to Kasane.
"...Kusanagi-dono, you're implying that the celestial maiden didn't despise the man?"
"Eh, no! Well. This is just my opinion on the matter…"
Kasane hastily shook her head.
As if encouraging her to continue on, he stared intently at her face.
"...Indeed, what the man did to her, for a woman like me, is utterly horrible. However, if I truly despised him and wished not to be touched, I would use any means to escape."
"...Escape?"
"Yes! Even if the robe is in the hands of the man, woman aren't that weak to have their freedom taken away from them!"
Hm! Kasane 'hmphed' as she said that.
"...So why did you ask me this?"
"...No. There wasn't a particular meaning behind it."
Ikeda peeled his eyes away from her gaze.
From what she implied, the celestial maiden didn't loathe the man from the bottom of her heart?
If… if he were to do the same actions as the man, she would.
Run? Or would she stay by his side?
"Kusanagi-dono."
The desire reared in his chest.
If he could shut this little girl away, just how blissful he would feel.
So that only he can see her, only he could engrave on her body.
He wouldn't consider her to love him.
However, at the very least couldn't she give him a small bit of pity in return?
Towards the man whom he blindly came to accept as himself.
To the man who pathetically fell in love with Kasane.
In his mind he knew he was thinking idiotic thoughts.
Of course he won't ever be forgiven if he did that; he fully understood this.
Without his knowing, he reached out his hand towards Kasane.
It, wasn't impossible.
As long as they don't stay under this castle, Kasane will forever be his.
If that happened the he.
"That's why, don't make such a pained face Ikeda-san."
Just as he was about to touch her shoulder, Kasane turned towards him and smiled.
"...Pain, ful?"
"Huh? You didn't notice? When you were talking about the Swan Maiden, you had such a painful expression…"
Ikeda lost all words.
He never noticed that he was making such a face when he was reciting the tale.
In the first place his change in expressions were always difficult for others to see.
Even the three idiots, who were his childhood companions, had a hard time guessing his true feelings when he made slight changes in his face.
"I was making that kind of face?"
"Yes. Especially when you believed the celestial maiden despised the man."
"..."
Ikeda unconsciously covered his mouth.
"...I feel bad for my explanation but. Well, if it were me, surely I wouldn't be able to continue hating him."
"...Even after subjecting such terrible humiliation?"
"Still, the celestial maiden stayed with the man as she gave birth to three of his children right?"
"...That's, true."
"...If it were me, surely I would have become attached to him. He is the father of my child after all."
"..."
Ikeda gazed at Kasane.
Such an innocent face.
Surely she live through this world not knowing of its ugliness.
The girl was, to the point of idiocy, overly friendly with people.
She believed in people too easily.
And those feelings also extend to the enemy.
She would laugh when happy.
And cry when sad.
She was a girl who was always true to her feelings.
"Still, being threatened is frightening and sad, if he were to naturally call out and come closer, I would be happy if he just normally asked me to be his wife. The man should have just done that…"
From a woman's standpoint, that was obvious.
"...That way both of them wouldn't have to suffer, right?"
"Both…?"
Ikeda widened his eyes at her words.
So it wasn't just the celestial maiden, but also the man whom Kasane thought was suffering?
"Yes. I don't know that story very well, but I believe that the man also suffered."
"..."
"For me, to threaten the person you yearn after in order to tie yourself together, is painful."
But that's just my selfish opinion! Kasane frantically apologized.
Forbidding the celestial maiden from returning to the skies, trapping her in a cage, surely he too felt miserable.
The man threatened the celestial maiden, forcing her to him; he believed that he was happy.
...The him in the dream was happy.
Not caring that the celestial maiden's heart, he continued to tie her to him.
When his wife gazed longingly to the sky in his dream, he felt bitterness well up in his heart so much that he desperately tried not to notice.
...It was also difficult for the man?
Though his greed tied down the celestial maiden, the man was formally not a villain, but just a normal man.
He felt her pain as he kept her separate from her family.
However, the man was weak, he couldn't free the celestial maiden from himself.
"...Kusanagi-dono."
"Yes?"
He quietly called out Kasane's name.
As if ticking into his hear, her voice answered back.
He is a weak man.
As weak as the man who fell mad in love with the celestial maiden and trapped her to him.
However, as he thought, he couldn't do anything to ignore Kasane's intentions.
In the corner of his weak heart, he held the notion of reenacting the Swan Maiden.
But above that he wished to keep on smiling.
He is different than the man who captured the celestial maiden.
Kasane is also different than the celestial maiden.
Taking her by the arm, Ikeda entwined his fingers to hers.
Such a small hand.
But, it's warm.
"I-Ikeda-san?"
Completely puzzled, she called out to him. He couldn't help but love this innocent and admirable girl.
"One day, when Kusanagi-dono returns back to your original world… could you please... not forget about me?"
"What are you talking about!? I could never forget Ikeda-san!"
Kasane immediately answered back.
Don't go; he wouldn't say.
Naturally.
Kasane wishes to quickly go back home to her family.
But, that's fine.
He's fine with them like this.
As long as she's still smiling, everything is fine.
Even if she would never look his way.
Even if he will never see her again.
He isn't the man in the story.
He is was weak man.
However, unlike that man he didn't want to tear away the smile from the woman he loved.
Once Kasane leaves, surely he will be heartbroken.
He will grieve.
But as long a Kasane doesn't suffer, then that's fine.
When she leaves this castle back in her own time, even if it were a little bit; if she were to feel a little lonely from their parting.
Just that will be enough for him.
Gazing at the flower-like smile, Ikeda felt gratitude for meeting Kasane from the bottom of his heart.
*I tried finding the official title, 羽衣伝説 and all the searches turned up to the Swan Maiden. There's a lot of variations of this story all over the world. The origin seems to point to Europe, but who knows where the original story came to be.
Iya~ it was so long, so difficult to translate. I say this story took a big toll on me. It was quite hard to type down a dark tale, especially the third chapter. When I first read the story, I was shocked by the development. 'Eh? How is this story going to end!?' Went on in my mind. (lol). I really thought this story was going to end in a tragedy. The reason why this is one of my favorite stories is basically this last chapter, were the parallels of both stories and the struggle of Ikeda's internal desires to his desire to keep Kasane happy. I was pleasantly surprised by the development on how フクロウ wrote these chapters. We should give her a round of applause here. (*ﾟ▽ﾟﾉﾉﾞ ﾊﾟﾁﾊﾟﾁ
Well then, I hoped everyone enjoyed this chapter at least. And I deeply apologize for all the delays. It must have been tortuous to wait for the next updates.
Wow, we're really approaching the end here huh. Pretty much from here on we have Nobunaga x Kasane only stories coming out and I still have to finish out 10 Strays as well. The next story though is going to be a cute surprise! So I hope you all look forward to that. However before that, as promised, I shall take a break from Owari's Stray and move onto Touken Strays. I wanted to work on it since January man... time really does fly by. So until next time, I hope everyone has a pleasant day. See you all soon!