Chapter 16
Eight years later
8 years ago…
Thoma kept completely quiet as he walked Ayaka to Ayato's office. The ten-year-old girl tried her best to stay calm, but the whole situation was too irregular for her. Thoma didn't usually behave in such a serious way with her, and the last time had been… the day her mother passed away. And that memory only made her even more anxious…
Arriving at her destination, Ayaka was a little surprised to see the office's doors open, and even more so when she looked inside and saw that there were quite a few people inside. Specifically, she noticed the backs of three men sitting in front of his brother's work table, wearing black robes. It seemed to Ayaka that they were Ayato's old counselors, the ones who at one time were also her father's. But in addition to them, there were at least five or six of the Yashiro Commission's guards surrounding the table and the three men, also having their spears in hand. This was almost a repeat of what happened in the courtyard a few moments ago with Kazuha.
"My lord…" Ayaka heard one of the counselors utter, his voice almost trembling. "I guarantee you that everything we have done and advised has always been for the good of the Kamisato clan..."
"I wanted to believe it that way, and a part of me still wants to," answered Ayato's voice from the back of the room. Ayaka perceived in his words an even greater seriousness than she was used to hearing from him; he even sounded… angry. "You were my father's advisers, after all. You wouldn't do anything to harm us, right?"
"Of course not!" another of the councilors answered, sounding even more nervous than the previous one.
Before Ayaka felt the initiative to move forward, Thoma placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her.
"Let's wait a bit," the servant murmured slowly and carefully guided the girl. They both stood to one side of the door, far enough away to not be part of that tense conversation but close enough to be silent spectators.
Ayato stood up at that moment, towering over the heads of the councilors still kneeling on the ground. At that time, he had already turned seventeen; he had become quite tall from Ayaka's perspective. His presence was even more imposing than it already was. Although his face generally seemed calm as usual, at that moment, he wasn't smiling like he always used to. And something in his gaze was different; Ayaka sensed it just by looking at it.
"And yet you were the ones who insisted on this matter and convinced me that it was the best for me and my sister," Ayato stated dryly, looking at the three men before him. "You deliberately left out what you didn't want me to know, or you were totally ignorant of all this. Whichever of the two it was, it shows me I can't trust either of you anymore…."
That final statement made all three men jump in equal measure, alarmed. One of them tried to say something to defend himself, but Ayato cut him off before he could even begin.
"The Kamisato Clan appreciates all your years of service, gentlemen," he pronounced quickly, taking a seat again and apparently beginning to sign three documents on his desk. "It's time for the three of you to retire, with a small pension as gratitude for all the support you gave my father in life and me during these couple of years."
He finished signing the three documents and rolling them up as he spoke. He then passed these to the nearest guard, who took and gave them to the three men on the ground. They had no choice but to accept them.
"Enjoy your retirement," Ayato pronounced without looking at them, turning to another way. "Escort these gentlemen out of the Estate, please."
Three guards quickly broke formation and stood one behind each advisor. They turned to look behind them, clearly nervous. In the guards' rugged looks, they could see that if they didn't go with them for good, they would take them out for bad.
The councilors, or apparently former councilors at the time, rose to their feet and began to walk toward the door, each closely followed by one of the guards. Before leaving, however, one of the old men suddenly turned back to Ayato and started yelling loudly at him:
"You'll regret this, you impertinent brat!"
Ayaka jumped, startled by the sudden scream. Thoma quickly grabbed her shoulders and backed her up away from the irate man.
"Kato, keep quiet…" another of the black-robed men murmured slowly to him, but this one didn't care.
"You think you're very smart and skillful, but you don't know anything. Without us to clean up your messes, you'll lead this clan to ruin. You heard me?!"
One of the guards quickly took him by the arms and, without measuring his brusqueness, began to pull him out of the room along with the other two. The man kept blurting out a few more things, even when he was already in the hallway. Ayato, however, didn't even bother to look at him.
"Thoma, Ayaka," Commissioner Yashiro suddenly uttered once things had apparently calmed down. "Come closer, please."
Both obeyed the indication, advancing cautiously. Thoma sat to the side, close to Ayato's right hand. Ayaka, meanwhile, took a seat in front of her brother's table, right where those three men had been sitting until a while ago. She felt at that moment that it might be her turn to receive some kind of scolding similar to the one she had witnessed, which made her so nervous that she felt her body shake a little.
"Leave us alone, please," the eldest of the Kamisato indicated to the guards who were still in the room. They responded with a simple bow to him and immediately left the room one after the other, the last closing the doors after leaving. Only Ayato, Thoma, and little Ayaka remained in the office. "Is Kaedehara Kazuha already out of the Estate?" the commissioner questioned, glancing slightly at Thoma.
"Yes, my lord," replied the servant, bowing his head slightly. "Also, the guards have already instructions to not allow access to him or any other member of the Kaedehara clan."
"What?" Ayaka exclaimed abruptly upon hearing that, clearly losing her composure a bit. "What are you talking about? Brother, what's happening?"
Ayato heaved a heavy sigh and brought his fingers to his tired eyes, lightly rubbing them with his black-gloved pads.
"Ayaka," he murmured slowly, finally looking up at her. To the young Kamisato's comfort, his expression had softened a bit. He wasn't smiling yet, but the anger fueled by those three men seemed to have subsided enough. "You have proven to be an intelligent and insightful girl, perhaps more than you should for your age. So I'll not beat around the bush and be direct with you."
He made a slight reflective pause and then blurted out:
"I have decided to break off your engagement with Kaedehara Kazuha. Additionally, the Kamisato clan has cut any relationship with the Kaedehara clan. From today, they are no longer one of our vassal clans, and none of their members or servants are allowed contact with you."
Ayaka was visibly startled by the first sentence. Still, she was completely frozen in place for the rest of that quick explanation, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted in a totally stunned expression.
Once Ayato said all that, the girl stammered a bit, still clearly stunned, until she was able to put even a couple of words together:
"What…? No… I don't understand… Why? What happened…?"
"They ripped us off, Ayaka; that happened," Ayato exclaimed with cautious earnestness. "The Kaedeharas are broken; they have been for a while now. The late Kaedehara Kazutaka, Kazuha's father, got into several risky deals and participated in and lost several large bets, leaving his entire family in huge debt. Engaging Kazuha with you was their latest attempt to save their family's fortune, deliberately hiding the actual situation from us. And if it had only been about that, maybe we could have worked it out somehow. But in these couple of years, since the engagement was made public, Kaedehara Naruhito has been using the Kamisato name and the engagement as a guarantee to obtain more immeasurable loans and maintain his lifestyle and appearance. And on top of everything, his involvement in a smuggling ring has recently been discovered, and several other non-legal businesses that even the Tenryou and the Kanjou Commissions are investigating. In fact, this morning, they went precisely to apprehend and interrogate him. However, apparently, he has fled without leaving any trace, taking all the money he could gather with him during this time..."
Ayaka listened to what her brother said and understood everything (or almost everything). But strangely, only half of her brain seemed to be there in that conversation, the other only picking up formless noise, like the constant buzzing of a cicada.
She was stunned, confused, and even a little scared by everything she was hearing.
Kazuha's family was broke?
Was it all a trick to get money?
Had they been used?
Was Kazuha's uncle a criminal?
Was all of that real…?
When she managed to react again, Ayato had stood up and walked to one side of the room. His back was to her at those moments, but he continued speaking.
"…in a couple of days at most, this will be known throughout Inazuma, and our name will be irremediably linked to the scandal. We need to move as soon as possible, cut off our relationship with the Kaedehara clan, and publicly condemn Naruhito's aberrant actions. And make it clear that we have any connection with his loans or his crimes. We won't be able to completely dodge the blow, but we can mitigate it."
He turned towards his sister and approached her carefully until he sat down directly in front of her.
"Ayaka," he murmured slowly, his voice softening a bit. "It's imperative that you also understand the situation in which we find ourselves. Our family went through a bad time around the death of our father, from which we are still recovering. That is why we cannot afford to take a hit like this. If we want to get ahead, we have to do it together. Do you understand me?"
Ayaka's trembling lips parted just a bit, ready to give a quick and straightforward answer. One of those by default that was always expected of her...
"Yes, brother."
"As you order, brother."
"You can count on me."
But the most tremendous uncertainty that oppressed her chest was overcome just a little to ask the real question that invaded her:
"What... will happen to Kazuha?"
"I'm afraid there's no way the Kaedehara clan will get away with this," Ayato replied seriously, though showing some disdain. "Larger and more stable clans have fallen for lesser things than these. And with his father dead and his uncle on the run, all the responsibility will fall on Kazuha as the new head. It will be up to him to fight to get ahead if something is still to be saved."
Ayaka's fingers tightened tightly on the fabric of her kimono, and it was perhaps the only gesture she allowed herself to express the anguish that assailed her upon hearing that.
"Isn't there… anything we can do to help him...?" Ayaka asked slowly; her voice was close to breaking.
"Not without hurting us in the process," Ayato replied bluntly. "The best thing, or the only thing we can do, is entirely to distance ourselves from this matter. And even if it wasn't, that family cheated on us, Ayaka. They abused our trust, and they didn't mind hurting us for their gain. They betrayed us; we owe them nothing."
"Kazuha… he… there's no way he would have been a part of it. I want to talk to him, ask him..."
"Of course not," Ayato snapped harshly. "Haven't you got it yet? You can't longer have any contact with him or anyone in his clan."
"You mean that I won't... be able to see Kazuha again... never again...?"
"Even the slightest approach right now could open the door to rumors and gossip. We are at a very delicate point, and I absolutely need your cooperation."
Ayato then extended his hands, firmly taking his sister's between them. And looking straight into her eyes, he whispered:
"I know this is all difficult, but you have to trust me. Can I trust you?"
Ayaka watched him silently, her face still frozen in the same expression of utter confusion. Slowly, she looked down, trying to escape from her older brother's intense eyes. And when she felt she could speak without her voice breaking, she uttered just what was expected of her:
"Of course, brother... I'll be good and obedient..."
As I always am, she thought right after, unable to say it aloud.
She pulled her hands back, letting go of Ayato's, and slowly stood up. The fringe of her hair covered her eyes.
"Can I leave now?" she murmured slowly.
"Go ahead," Ayato agreed. "But for the next few days, it's best that you don't leave the Estate. At least until things calm down a bit."
"I understand… Thank you, brother."
And after offering a quick bow, she turned and began to walk quickly to the door.
"Lady Ayaka…" Thoma muttered with evident concern. He tried to get up to follow her, but Ayaka hurried out before that and closed the door behind her.
"She'll be fine," Ayato commented suddenly as if he read his concern in Thoma's eyes. "Ayaka is a very strong girl."
Thoma let out a small whimper of dissatisfaction.
"She's only ten years old, and in a few minutes, she's just lost her only friend… and future husband."
"You said it: she's only ten years old," Ayato concluded, trying to show calm. "She'll get over it…"
Ayaka planned to go straight to her room. However, her feet took her back to the main courtyard and to the same rock where, just a few minutes ago, she had been trying with Kazuha to make two onikabutos fight without success. She sat carefully on that rock and looked up silently at the trees above her. The cherry season was over; summer was just around the corner.
So many memories had been built on that site in two years.
That was the same courtyard where she and Kazuha first met.
Also, where they had their first kiss.
And it was right on that rock where Kazuha allowed her to cry when her mother died...
His friend's words from that day echoed clearly in her mind, and also the warm and safe feeling that his sincere hug had transmitted to her. It did not seem strange to her to remember that day because she was feeling very much the same as then. She had all this heartache and pain building up in her chest, crying to get out. And yet she couldn't do it. Because she had to be good and obedient. She had to support her brother and protect her family.
She had to be strong...
You can be strong with everyone else, but you don't have to be here. You don't have to pretend with me...
If Kazuha were there and said those same words to her… and if he wrapped his arms around her like that day… maybe she would be able to get all that pain out of her chest again, so she could breathe again. But the most she allowed herself was a couple of tears that escaped her eyes and slowly ran down her rosy cheeks...
With Kazuha, she could afford not to be strong. She could be free, be herself. For a few moments, just being a ten-year-old girl playing with a friend and not the youngest daughter of the illustrious Kamisato clan.
But Kazuha wasn't there anymore, and he wouldn't be anymore. After that afternoon, she would never see him again...
Present time…
Until that night, eight years later, when their paths crossed again… as did their swords. And being in front of each other again, and right in that dojo that was once an important place for both of them, it felt as if time had not passed. But at the same time, the changes in both of them were impossible to ignore, as were the changes in all that abandoned space around them.
Ayaka cautiously moved towards Kazuha. He stood still in his place, waiting. The young Kamisato stopped a few steps away from him, and at that distance, one more change of the pass of time was evident to her.
As children, they were both practically the same height, except for the last few months when Ayaka had given herself a small growth spurt and skewed him by a few inches. But now, the situation seems to be reversed, and he was the one who surpassed her. Not much, but enough to be noticeable.
"You grew up," the blue-haired girl murmured, with a small amused smile on her lips.
Kazuha was a little puzzled by that sudden comment.
"You too," he answered suddenly, almost immediately feeling a little silly for the comment. As it was, Ayaka couldn't help but laugh just a little at it; that inevitably made Kazuha smile as well.
Height wasn't the only thing that had changed about him, and the more Ayaka looked at him, the more she realized it. Yes, he was still her friend; his features, hair, and especially those eyes were just as she remembered them. But clearly, he wasn't even close to a child anymore. His shoulders had grown broader, his face was sharper, his gaze more intense. And the spectacular way in which he had fought a few moments ago...
Ayaka felt her cheeks heat up a bit, and her heart was racing beyond her control. After realizing this, she felt a little embarrassed and instinctively turned away and breathed slowly through her nose, trying to calm down. Then she cleared her throat a bit and felt ready to look at him again, with a little more serenity.
"You were the one I saw yesterday, right?" she asked quickly in a clear voice.
That again took Kazuha by surprise, though for different reasons.
"Yes…" answered the young Kaedehara, lowering his eyes a little embarrassed. "I was in the crowd, and I saw you help that man with the Pyro vision."
"Did you see me? And did you decide to run away from me?" inquired Ayaka, frowning slightly, intrigued. "Why…?"
Kazuha sighed heavily and quickly turned away.
"I…" he murmured slowly and instinctively wanted to raise his right hand to place it behind his head. As he did, however, a stabbing pain in his shoulder paralyzed him, and he did so by reflexively clutching his other hand against it.
Ayaka was startled at this and fixed her gaze on his shoulder as well. Some of his clothes had been dyed red, and the image of Katsumoto's attack that had hit him immediately came to her mind.
"Your wound," Ayaka murmured in dismay and quickly closed the distance between them to approach the boy's right hand.
"No... it's nothing," Kazuha tried to explain, trying to reflect calm in her tone. "Don't worry."
"Don't say that," Ayaka replied, sounding almost like a scolding.
She then took Kazuha's left hand and, with a very gentle movement, she removed it from the shoulder. Kazuha instinctively put up no resistance. Ayaka moved her face close to the wound to get a closer look. She pushed aside the folds of clothing as best she could to get a better look. The almost perfect line that ran across his skin became visible to her. At first glance, it didn't look very deep, but it was still bleeding. And most importantly, without proper treatment, it could get infected.
Ayaka took a step back and took hold of one of the long sleeves of her blue kimono, tearing it in one fell swoop.
"Don't ruin your kimono over this smallness," Kazuha exclaimed, alarmed at what she was doing.
"It's just clothes," Ayaka replied nonchalantly, ripping it apart again to get a long enough strip.
Thoma, who was observing all this from a distance, knew very well that it was not exactly "just clothes" for her. Lady Ayaka was always cautious and delicate with her clothing, fully understanding the taste and pleasure of an outfit made of the finest and most beautiful silks and the most exquisite engraving. But of course, there were always other priorities on her list before that; apparently, bandaging an old friend's wound was one of them.
With her makeshift bandage, she approached Kazuha again and began to wrap it around his shoulder, covering the wound and then squeezing it with force. Kazuha let out just a tiny moan of pain, but nothing more. He seemed to be coping well with pain.
"It'll be fine for now," Ayaka said, calming down slightly. Although raising her gaze in Kazuha's direction at that moment, she realized that due to their proximity, their faces were much closer than she had realized at first. And likewise, Kazuha became aware of it.
Ayaka instinctively took two steps back to put some distance between them and turned her flushed face away again to hide it. This time, the difference was that Kazuha had done the exact same thing.
"But… it needs a more thorough treatment," Ayaka muttered slowly, her fingers playing nervously with one of her hair strands. "Come with me to the city, and I will take care of healing you."
"I don't want to cause you any more inconvenience than I already caused you," Kazuha replied tepidly. "Besides… it's not safe for me to keep getting close to the city."
"Are you saying that because of your vision?" Ayaka asked curiously. Kazuha didn't reply, but she immediately guessed it had to be. "Don't worry, the Kamisato clan has a safe place in Inazuma where we can rest and heal your wound. Nobody can enter there without our authorization, not even the Tenryou Commission."
"You are a member of the Yashiro Commission and a Kamisato," the young wanderer pointed out, somewhat reluctantly. "You can't afford to shelter two fugitives from the Vision Hunt Decree..."
"Kazuha," Tomo's voice intervened suddenly and loudly. He had been a silent spectator of their conversation up to that point, but evidently not anymore. Now he was even striding purposefully toward his friend. "When a lady is offering you her help unconditionally, it is pretty impolite of you to force her to beg you. I hope that a former noble like you will be clear on that."
"I was doing no such thing…" Kazuha replied defensively.
Tomo, however, ignored him and stood right next to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and squeezing him a bit, perhaps to prevent him from speaking further.
"My friend Kazuha is trying to say that he would love to accept your kindness, Miss Kamisato," the wandering samurai commented, leaning his body forward slightly in the form of a slight bow. "By the way, we haven't been formally introduced. My friends call me Tomo, and any friend of Kazuha is my friend too."
"Oh," Ayaka exclaimed slowly, returning his bow somewhat hesitantly. "It's a pleasure, Mr. Tomo..."
But does that mean it's not his real name? Heron Princess thought at the same time. From his curious way of introducing himself, it seems like he was trying to hide his name, not in a very sneaky way.
"Only Tomo is fine," added the samurai, smiling. And just then, the tiny head of the kitten inside her kimono peeked out, letting out a little meow into the air. "Oh, I almost forgot. And this is Miss Tama."
"It's also a pleasure, Tama," Ayaka murmured with a smile, offering the kitten a bow as well. She just stared at her with her big eyes wide open.
"So guys," Tomo snapped, heading fairly confidently towards the dojo door. "Shall we leave this depressing place?"
Kazuha sighed tiredly but was also relieved once Tomo released him. And since he no longer had a say in what had to happen, there was only one thing left for him to do.
"Thank you… Ayaka …" he murmured slowly, offering her a more apparent and profound bow than Tomo's.
"Don't thank me yet," she replied, smiling nervously.
Of course, Ayaka wanted above all else to treat his wound and make sure he was okay. But, at the same time, she knew very well that she had other intentions, perhaps a little more… selfish. After all, all that searching had been done especially so she could talk to him… and get some answers.
"Lady Ayaka," Thoma called at that moment from further back. Ayaka and Kazuha turned to him at the same time. There was concern in his eyes for many things, but at the moment for one in particular. "What will we do with him?"
Thoma then turned to the side. And on the floor, a few meters from his foot, was Ouji. He was still unconscious, and his sword lay by his side.
Author's Notes:
As promised, this will be the last flashback we see, at least for a long time. From now on, we will focus on the present and on this reunion between our protagonists. But it was essential to put this flashback to make Ayato's current opinion and position a little clearer regarding what happened years ago and how this affected Ayaka at the time. Both things in the past are reflected in the conduct of both in the present. I know that based on the new information from Ayato that has emerged, this may contradict itself. Still, I remind you that this story was conceived before the release of version 2.6, but I will try to adjust as much as possible.
I also want to warn you that in the next chapter, we will temporarily move on to another topic, still related to all this, obviously, but… another topic yet. You'll see. And although you may feel it as filler, I assure you that everything is to prepare for what will come later, so trust me; When have I failed you so far?