Imagine disappearing for 3 months, all that to end up completing the dreaded chapter in the span of a week. Could never be me. I'll work on fixing that godawful schedule.
-H
Chapter 14 - Clouds Gather
"My lord?"
The quartermaster was busy at his desk, as he had been for most hours of the day these past two weeks. A new duty had befallen him, and with it came its share of extra work. Legal briefs and scrolls piled up before him. The curtains in his office were pulled, an old oil lamp shedding its yellow light over his tired expression. He closed the thick legal codex with a sigh and reached for another scroll.
Yasutake Fuusei was a quiet man, pretending to live an equally quiet life. Though if someone were to make a list of Inazuma's twenty most influential decision makers, his name would easily figure among the first ten. He was a pillar of the Tenryou Commission, second in authority only to Kujou Takayuki himself.
The head of the Kujou clan was suited to speeches and displays of confidence. But for the quartermaster, staying behind and sending out orders to deal with the Commission's various problems was just as important.
He had been a lowborn, once. In years so far back, he considered them to be from another life. All the hard work an ambitious young man could muster would not have changed his destiny, but Fuusei had gotten lucky. Meeting and befriending the man who would later rise as the patriarch of the Kujou family secured him a seat atop the Tri-Commission in the span of a few years.
This particular stroke of luck had occurred once in his life, and since then, the quartermaster hadn't left anything up to chance. With time, he learned to pace himself before each decision and to watch conflicts unfold before stepping in, if necessary. His craft was no different than working textiles or tending to beasts. In politics as well, certain spots needed care or mending while others would only progress under the right amount of pressure. As a master "craftsman," his counsel was highly sought after by ambitious youths and nobles who hoped to carve their place in his world. Few obtained it; fewer still flourished from it, but all had come to regard him as an unattainable figure of authority commanding both fear and respect.
The servant at the door was growing restless. "My lord?" she tried again.
Fuusei didn't bother looking away from his scrolls. With the same hand motion, he ordered for silence and beckoned his servant closer. "Come, come." Once she was standing by his desk, he loaded an open codex into the young woman's arms. The legal tome was thick, and her knees nearly buckled under the sudden weight.
"There," his finger trailed on the page for her, stopping under a specific paragraph and tapping it repeatedly. "Tell me if this article makes sense. There is a chance that I have unknowingly been trying to work my way through an impasse this whole time."
She briefly tried to understand the text he was referring to, but the complexity of the laws and terms used quickly had her at a loss. "This regards the division of duties between the families of the Tri-Commission. But I'm not learned enough to understand most of it. If you wished to discuss the finer workings of these laws, then I'm afraid they're beyond me."
"Obviously they are," he grouched, and pried the tome from her hands. "This is one of the oldest legal principles of Inazuma, revised endlessly with each succession within the Bakufu. This is an unshakable order." Fuusei stated as he closed the codex. "Regardless of our lord commissioner's wishes, even I cannot upset this balance."
Of all the questionable affairs he had managed to scrape past the Shogunate's scrutiny over the years, the Vision Hunt Ceremony was by far the riskiest. Finding the proper wording to attribute the planning of a ceremony to a family other than the Kamisato clan had been a herculean legal stunt, and now Kujou Takayuki expected him to replicate this wonder. He believed it possible to take Inazuma by surprise a second time, with no outside interference to prevent him from seizing the Visions of the nobility.
Had anyone else asked this of him, Fuusei would've laughed in their face and called them a fool. But the old quartermaster would not be caught speaking ill of his superior. He spied the servant's face for signs of disapproval, but she maintained an even attentive expression. Sayori was a new face in his house, hired only a few weeks ago, but she was the kind of retainer he preferred: quiet and docile. Always ready to follow orders and mend mistakes without ever voicing an unnecessary word or a complaint.
Fuusei stood up and straightened his garments. "But you did not come to find me for this. Something else has come up, yes?"
She took a deep bow. "Lord Kamisato is awaiting you in the courtyard. He informs you that he has very important matters to discuss."
The occurrence was unusual enough to surprise the quartermaster. He did not deal much with the Yashiro Commissioner beyond the appropriate Tri-Commission matters, and the current political climate was not suitable for visits. Moreover, the Takatsukasa clan's bold attempt at marriage into power and the first ceremony's fiasco had made the relationship between the two families more strained than ever.
The Lord of Rain's schemes made him curious, if anything. Fuusei chose to entertain him.
Kamisato Ayato was sitting comfortably in the heart of the Yasutake dwelling, and did calmly stood up when the master of the house came to greet him. Sayori bowed to the two men and left to prepare tea.
Ayato remained still as a statue in the seat opposite to his host, the same even smile painted on his lips. His expression remained perfectly composed. He had not offered more salutations than necessary, only letting an unbearable silence pass until the quartermaster had to speak up.
"Lord Kamisato, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" he sighed, but still forced himself to smile.
Ayato cleared his throat and let out a polite chuckle.
"You'll have to forgive me, my friend. My attention must have wandered off for a few moments. There is always so much to be done, and despite myself my mind remains focused on the next task at hand. This is the busiest the Tri-Commission has ever been in recent memory, and I fear the situation will not smooth over in the coming days." He lowered his shoulders and sank into the seat. "There is word that the resistance has made quite the pushback on Yashiori. At this rate, we might not be able to take Fort Fujitou before the end of summer. A shame, truly. Come fall, the winds will no longer be in our favor. And I doubt the generals would agree to a reckless assault in mid-winter, when the influx of supplies is at its lowest."
A defeated shake of the head finished selling the act.
"How troublesome. We have no hopes of putting an end to the Vision Hunt Decree until the war on the western islands is quelled, but even that front stubbornly refuses to progress."
The purpose of his visit remained unclear. Ayato saw the mix of confusion and wariness on his host's face, but continued nonetheless.
He leaned forward. "Truth be told, Lord Yasutake, I am at my wit's end. The Yashiro commission cannot move forward in the current political climate, not when so many accusations of treason are flying in every direction. What I need, is guidance. Or, to be fully transparent with you, I hoped we could discuss the Vision Hunt Decree."
At the word of 'guidance', the quartermaster's expression eased up. A man as learned as himself never refused a chance to display his talents. To Ayato's surprise however, the old man didn't seem overly eager to bite.
"The Vision Hunt Decree." Fuusei turned it over in his mind for a moment. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, Lord Kamisato, but there is only so much I can say that you don't already know. The Tenryou Commission is in charge of most of these matters, but anything beyond the scope of what we discuss at Tenshukaku is strictly confidential. I am not privy to all of Kujou Takayuki's plans myself."
Ayato nodded along, keeping his emotions level. "I am well aware that sharing information comes at a cost. But if you are willing to lend me your ear, I have ways of making this worthwhile for you as well." Fuusei opened his mouth to speak, but the Yashiro commissioner raised his hand first. "Before you give me an answer or even start thinking on it, there is something else I must disclose. I wish for you to think of all possible options before hearing me out."
Sayori returned at this moment to serve tea. Ayato gave a grateful nod. She bowed curtly but did not withdraw from the room, instead standing in wait behind her master.
Ayato's eyes trailed off past his host's, and the latter felt the temperature in the room suddenly plummet. "I have not made this matter public, but two months ago, a carriage transporting several of my people was attacked by highwaymen near Konda. The errand was intended as a discreet one, and I didn't think it wise at the time to send armed guards to accompany them. Looking back on it, it was a grave error of foresight on my part."
"Luckily, my guest was a swordsman capable of defending himself. I dread to think of the outcome had he not been there." He lowered his tone again in confidence. "But the vagrants they managed to capture shared some troubling news: I have reason to believe that someone is directly targeting my family as a way to threaten me."
Fuusei's gaze narrowed. "The ambush was orchestrated to send a message? Would someone truly take the risk of seeking enmity with the Kamisato clan when the Tri-Commission is already so weakened?"
"If the culprit comes from within the Tri-Commission itself, they stand to gain something out of shutting me down. Even if I treat everyone around me fairly and courteously, my stance regarding some… sensitive political matters does not make me well-liked. Many would benefit from having me lose the Almighty Shogun's favor, or be silenced entirely. It is because I have confirmation of their plans that I now move to defend myself."
The quartermaster took a sip of his tea. His guest did the same. The wrinkles in Fuusei's face seemed slightly more pronounced as he set the cup back down. The previous chill in the air could not have been completely imaginary.
"Defend yourself, you say." His delivery was wooden. He had exposed himself as the worse actor of the two.
"Sorry, not only myself. Everyone. Everything." Ayato nursed his tea as if it were liquor. "My sister may be an adult now, I still see her as the precious child I was tasked with protecting when we lost our parents so long ago. She has shown great promise in her initiative recently. A fateful encounter caused her talent to bloom. In time she will rise to be a better leader than I am, brighter, more cautious. Hopefully more law-abiding." he chuckled briefly, but the smile vanished from his face as quietly as it came. "But until that day arrives, I am still the head of the clan. I am the one responsible for protecting my family, my people, and their families as well. The hair on the head of the most insignificant babe born from a servant working at my estate is as valuable to me as the blood flowing in my veins. Therefore even the most hidden, remote threat to them will be found, exposed, and eliminated."
His purple gaze shifted. "Your little games are coming to an end, quartermaster."
Yasutake was still as a statue, but not of his own volition. First had been the shock of realizing he had been a fool. He had let this man into his house, fully cognizant of the veiled declaration of war he had sent to his Commission. What else could someone like Kamisato Ayato have been seeking, if not a way to settle the score?
Second, was the strange numbness spreading in his mouth and down his throat after he'd taken a single sip of the tea in front of him. And then, his muscles betrayed him as they turned to stone in his body, his joints tightening, trembling then refusing to move entirely. Poison. Paralysis.
The poison viciously spread through his bloodstream, cramping up his every nerve and making his limbs rigid. He tried to cry for help, but his jaw fell open like a rusty mechanism, unable to emit a sound.
Ayato calmly leaned forward again. "At first I wondered why the alias of Tasuyake had been used to hire these sellswords. The character swapping with your own last name was only too obvious, and so it got me thinking: your tracks were perfectly covered, from the Mora used to buy their services to any possible way of contacting the mastermind. The natural conclusion was that you had been framed. I settled on this outcome for a while."
Fuusei was choking on his own saliva, trying to bend his torso forward but failing to move. The numbness in his hand was weaker. He gripped at his own throat and let out a dry, raspy groan.
They were going to let him die here.
"But even then, I simply couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that I was being duped," he whispered. "You wanted me to believe you were a victim of framing and that we had a common enemy within the Shogunate. Then, when the occasion presented itself, you would have stabbed me in the back and let Kujou Takayuki take control of the Yashiro Commission. And with me out of the way, you could easily usurp my authority to support the Vision Hunt Ceremony – Apologies, but you can't die just yet."
He placed his hand on the old man's shoulder, and suddenly pulled. Fuusei's back brutally bent forward with a sickening crunch, and he let out a retch mixed with pain. Seeing as he was no longer choking, Ayato comfortingly tapped his nape.
"Afterwards, I wondered what I could possibly be missing. So I made moves of my own: I pushed aside some of your people, caused 'coincidences' to leave the Tenryou Commission understaffed with guards, and once most of the walls standing between you and me were gone, I inserted a friend into your home."
Fuuesi's shoulders weakly jerked in surprise. Ayato raised an eyebrow. "You had not even suspected her once? It is true that my people are so very talented."
Sayori. An attentive and mild-mannered young woman who never made him give the same order twice. He never thought much of how he was unable to detect her presence when she stood behind a door, or how she boasted the straight posture of a soldier with such a slender body which had supposedly never touched a weapon. Despite thinking he had tied all loose ends and given himself another chance in the future, Fuusei had foolishly exposed himself in the process.
It made little sense. His current predicament, and how he had been led here. For a man who reveled in watching the result of his schemes unfold from afar, being tracked down and poisoned in the safety of his own home felt like a greater violation than death itself.
Had he been able to move, the old man would have made a desperate lunge for the sword at Kamisato Ayato's hip and turned the blade on himself.
"You fabricated false leads, hid behind layers upon layers of failsafes and insurance, and buried all your schemes deep into a web of lies where they could never be found. But my fury ran deeper. I hope you will understand the value of cooperating with the Yashiro Commission's interests in the coming months, quartermaster. You are still needed." Ayato stood up straight. The smile he wore slowly faded and returned to a more neutral expression. "For reasons that go beyond what you know of me, I cannot allow the Vision Hunt Ceremony to go through. You will help us buy time by misleading the Tenryou Commissioner, and destroying the little research you already have underway. Furthermore, Sayori will become your most trusted attendant starting today, and be made privy to your most shameful deals and ongoing schemes. She will remain with you at all times, whether you are entertaining guests or out in Inazuma on official business. In other words, my eyes will be on you at all times."
Ayato turned Fuusei's face towards him with an odd gentleness. His facial features were distorted by pain. The man's breathing has turned to a series of frantic gasps for air, further weakened by the failure of his blood vessels.
He quickly tired of the sight and let go of his chin. "Needless to say, revealing anything of what was discussed here today will only ensure you a much worse fate. We are both beholden to Her Excellency, the Raiden Shogun. I will keep on doing my best for Inazuma's sake. Follow my example and you might die peacefully of old age, long after retiring."
The quartermaster remained in his paralyzed stupor. Sayori was by the old man in a moment, holding the back of his head still as she administered him slow doses of antidote. Kamisato Ayato watched his assassin keep the man alive for a few more minutes, then left the room to go into the study.
The documents that had been piling up on Yasutake Fuusei's desk burned well into the night. Ayato was staring into the great bonfire behind the quartermaster's property, when he felt the quiet presence come up behind him.
"The dose was quite potent. Is he stable?" he asked aloud.
Sayori took a knee. "He is still quite weak, but he'll live. You did break his hip, but it will pass off as a domestic accident due to his age. He at least understands what you expect of him. I believe he will be more open to cooperation once he's fully regained his senses." She stared at the roaring pyre. "My lord, there was no need to trouble yourself with the documents. I could've started the fire rather than letting you get your clothes dirty."
Ayato looked at his arms. His gloveless hands were covered in dust and soot, and though he had rolled back his long sleeves, the edge of the fabric had blackened slightly. He would have to throw away the suit.
"No need," he replied flatly. "I could care less about being clean right now."
Kamisato Ayato tossed the last file into the flames.
Teppei threw another log into the fire and huddled closer to it. The late night was chilly, and the warmth brought by the festivities had long died down. Those with family nearby had already gone home, but the rowdiest men of the bunch, those who had the most stories to tell from the battle, were already making plans to head back to Bourou village and keep the party going until morning. Even with sake in their blood, there was no reason to keep celebrating on a silent, wind-swept beach.
Teppei's eyelids already felt heavy. It would be wiser to head back to the barracks and sleep. Festivities or not, discipline would be demanded of the troops at first light.
"Teppei? I thought you'd gone back already. Something keeping you?"
The acting captain craned his head toward the voice. Aether stared quizzically as he stood over him. He let the fire reflect in his eyes for a moment before adding, "You've already helped out a lot. Take it easy tonight, captain."
"Acting captain," he rectified, well aware that the disparity between their titles and actual strengths could not be greater. "And trust me, I am taking it easy. Watching everyone celebrate our victory and listening to tales of your supposed heroics is plenty relaxing for me. Did you hear? They say your lightning cleaned up the battlefield better than our brand new cannons did. Wish I could've seen that myself."
Aether had to laugh. "When we eventually fight side by side, you'll see for yourself that my 'exploits' are actually little more than soldier talk. Speaking of, how's your leg? I heard you're taking part in the morning drills with everyone again."
"It moves. I shouldn't slack off now that I feel better." He straightened his knee out in front of him. "It can still feel a little stiff when I overexert myself, but at least I can wield a spear again. I'm not sure how one more man can make a difference on the battlefield, but I'm more scared of falling behind compared to everyone."
"No offense, but you overthink things often. I can guarantee you that your squad is just glad to have you back."
Teppei turned a red-hot lump of coal over with a stick, and the flames burned with more intensity. He waited for the crackling fire to settle again before responding.
"You, General Gorou, Kaedehara, and Her Excellency are all ridiculously strong in your own ways. Compared to simple soldiers like me, those blessed with power live in a world of their own. I'm not envious, but I want to stand at the top of what I can be. If it brings peace to my island, then I want to become the strongest human soldier who has ever lived. Our reasons are not the same, but I think you can understand where I'm coming from."
"If I'm ridiculous, then what does that make the Raiden Shogun?" Aether sighed as he sank into the sand. "We shouldn't judge other people's experiences based purely on what we know. Strength can easily lose its meaning if all you do is compare it with someone else's."
"Easier said than done, especially during a war..." Teppei added grimly.
The blond shrugged. "Ambition is a strength too, and you have more of that than me. See what I mean? If something like receiving a Vision isn't fully arbitrary, then I don't know what would prevent you from obtaining one."
It hadn't been worded as a rebuke, but the statement stung all the same. Like all soldiers, Teppei knew the stories. Receiving a Vision was always a turning point in a person's life. When their resolution became so fervent, it reached the gods themselves. The Vision bearers who enrolled in the army never failed to make a difference on the battlefield.
Subconsciously, he had counted himself out. Visions were tools for leaders, and he didn't see himself as the type of person others would willingly follow. Without Kosuke's injury and his emergency appointment as acting captain, the thought would have never crossed his mind. Teppei the soldier stood on equal footing with his peers, not above them.
He shook his head. He considered the Traveler a friend, but his words left him with conflicting thoughts. "I guess I'm just not that type of person. Even if Herring I singlehandedly conquered all of Inazuma, I don't see myself raising the flag at the end. It wouldn't feel right for it to be someone like me."
"I see." He did not quite voice disappointment, but it showed on his face. "The people you consider strong have their own burdens to bear too, you know? Having their skills for your own would mean shouldering these burdens as well. And I think you already have your fair share of that, Teppei."
The acting captain opened his mouth to speak, but Aether wasn't done. "I want you to think about it. Your dream is something that you can achieve with your own strength. If you look within yourself, I'm positive that you'll find a will stronger than most Vision bearers'. By the time you find that spark, you might already have the flag in hand, with your fellow soldiers looking up at you."
Teppei was the one currently looking up at his friend. Most of the despair had left his voice when he spoke again. "Fine, I'll try to believe. But I'll still hold a grudge if everything you said turns out to be false hope."
"If my advice lands you in trouble, tie me up to the victory flag. For the record, that doesn't mean you won't have to raise it."
They laughed. For a second, it felt good to pretend that they wouldn't return to the battlefield and risk their lives again in just a few days. They preserved that lighthearted moment without thinking of their next struggles, just as two friends united by kinship and not the circumstances of a war. It ended as the fire died out.
Teppei stifled a yawn as he weakly kicked the log into the ash. "My new training regimen is catching up to me. No rest for you, I guess?"
"None for the wicked." Aether grinned. "I still have a few things to take care of tonight that might take a while. Go ahead and join the others; I'll clear the beach."
It didn't take much convincing. The built-up exhaustion from the past few days hit Teppei all at once. Aether watched his silhouette drift away in the dark toward the barracks. Maybe his current responsibilities as acting captain were already a bit much. Aether himself wasn't sure why he had such high hopes for him, but that didn't make his expectations any less real.
Teppei was meant for a greater purpose. He was sure of it.
The other soldiers were long gone. The distant lights of Bourou Village would probably remain lit until morning. Rather than returning to it, Aether followed a natural trail that wound deeper into the cliff face. Underneath the trees, the moon's glow was no help in lighting his way. If he didn't know what he was looking for, there would have been no way to find it by groping around in the dark.
Pushing aside a curtain of vines and foliage, the blond slipped quietly into the cave.
Nearly tripping over a pile of books stacked on the cave floor confirmed his intuition. The cavern was filled with wooden boxes and crammed bookshelves, resembling more of a hoard than the secret hideout he'd imagined. An oil lamp cast its orange light on the walls, giving an odd glow to the face of a young woman as she stood from behind a desk.
Sangonomiya Kokomi stared straight at him, her eyes wide with shock. Sitting behind a massive wooden desk made her appear smaller, almost vulnerable without her endlessly flowing ceremonial garment.
More than shaken by the sudden invasion of her privacy, her mouth silently fell open. "How..?"
"You tend to disappear for hours at a time, and even your closest retainers can't find you. Your seat at the banquet was empty, so I assumed you wouldn't be at the shrine either, where people were still celebrating. I looked for tracks off the beaten path, and…" Noticing the horror rising on her face as he admitted to having observed her patterns so closely, Aether ultimately chose to cop out. "And it was mostly luck. It didn't have to be a cave, and not on this side of the island. I just got really, really lucky and found you."
Seeing as there was nothing for him to sit on, Aether remained standing in front of her desk. He would have gladly given her advice on how to cover her tracks efficiently, but the subject seemed stone dead for the night.
"May I make a quick report?" he finally tried.7
"Can this not wait?" Kokomi almost pleaded. He was right about her appearing less stately. "The captains meet tomorrow—or rather, this morning. You will debrief all you know to me then."
She expected him to leave, but he stood his ground. "I don't mean to question your authority, but the Sangonomiya Shrine is not a safe place to discuss what I want to tell you. There's no guarantee that we'll get a chance to talk like this again."
She didn't seem too shocked by his refusal, instead breathing out a low sigh. Her gaze shifted, and he knew he was now talking to the Divine Priestess of the island.
"Report. You think the shrine is unsafe. Why? Traitors? Do you have reason to believe there is danger? Or evidence? Who else have you shared your concerns with?"
The barrage of questions was nothing unusual, but there was an edge of alarm in her voice. As much as he wished to reassure her, the situation still called for caution.
"One thing at a time, please. After assessing your military forces, it's shocking that the stalemate has even lasted so long: the troops are strong in their own right, and you have a terrifying navy. The only way Narukami's forces could have kept you all pinned down like this for so long would be by having someone on the inside feed them intel. An officer high-ranking enough to hear most of your strategies in advance, but keeping a low profile and purposefully misleading their own troops while trying to keep things subtle."
She sighed. "The only suspect in that regard would be Nathan, the lieutenant of the second navy. He is colluding with either the Shogunate or the Fatui. I am being led to believe he's loyal to the latter."
It was Aether's turn to be surprised. "You knew? Then why-"
Kokomi suddenly stood up. "There's a rumor of Fatui-made Delusions circulating in the army, causing life-threatening harm to some soldiers in exchange for a brief but substantial strength increase. I've suspected Nathan of acting as a go-between for their supplier for some time, but I've only had time to gather what I know after this last battle. I could have him detained or executed. As Divine Priestess, my word is law." She retrieved something from behind her desk and handed it to him. It was a yellow file, probably first opened in the hopes of filling it out, but it only contained a few sheets of paper. "But even law needs a foundation. He knows this, and he is cautious."
The rigidity of her tone informed him that she had thought about it many times. She'd tormented herself with hatching a plan that could ensnare a vicious enemy hiding in her ranks, to no avail.
"Without sufficient evidence, taking direct action against a lieutenant will sow distrust among the captains. If I come at him too hard, the fragile hierarchy will collapse, and if I'm too lax, he will get away. Unless I can catch him in the act, I'm stuck."
He accepted the document with a cocked eyebrow. "You don't keep this kind of thing in your personal archives?"
"It's safer this way. You're not the only one who's uncomfortable with the amount of eyes and ears at the shrine." She smiled faintly. "Due to your unique circumstances and your reason for being with us, I've decided to trust you."
Aether quickly skimmed through it. Mostly truancy reports and a warning from General Gorou. The fake stamp on his immigration papers, then a comparison to an authentic one from the Knights of Favonius. Any instance of meeting with a stranger on military grounds led to a dead end.
He came to the same conclusion she had: this was nothing too substantial. "There's still some evidence, though. Anyone would believe his behavior to be suspicious if they read this."
"Not as much as I'd hoped. Some papers prove that he faked his identity as a Mondstader, but this is actually the lot of most clandestine foreigners. His absences aren't too frequent since he received a warning, and even when he does leave, he becomes impossible to track down. He's obviously a well-trained spy."
"I see." Aether fell silent for a moment. Nathan was not the kind of issue that could be dealt with while simultaneously leading an army to war. He couldn't fully suppress the thought before it crossed his lips. "If Nathan were to… disappear, do you think another traitor would manifest themselves?"
Kokomi's face idly rested against her palm. "Unlikely. He went to a lot of trouble to infiltrate the army and rise in the ranks. If there is a backup mole, they will take time to be fully operational at the same level of efficiency as him." She chuckled sadly. "Though we don't have the means to plot a lieutenant's assassination to begin with. Even I aren't conniving enough to pull this off."
"What if I am?"
Aether could barely believe what he was offering her. An insane stunt performed in the middle of a nationwide conflict just for his selfish goal of reaching the Raiden Shogun. He was forced to face it: the effects of the Vision Hunt Decree had touched him deeply, but his own pride was the real fire that drove him to seek out trouble in Tenshukaku.
But as he saw her expression change and the thoughts begin to race behind her eyes, Aether felt almost good about his suggestion. He didn't have to ask for her confirmation. All her usual outs had been blocked, but he could do it.
What he wanted to know was whether or not Kokomi would allow him to go through with this.
She masterfully kept her composure and only lowered her voice slightly. "If I were to ask this of you, how quietly could you make it happen?"
"If it's just on the island, I'm not sure. But in the heat of battle, it could seamlessly pass off as an accident. The second navy has competent officers who can easily fill the vacuum, and his death won't paint a target on your back either." He firmly shook his head. "Watatsumi will get crushed if you die, and the Fatui won't profit from the war ending too soon. Right now, they have good standing with the Shogunate, on par with the Tri-Commission. They won't throw that away by acting rashly, especially if they're down one valuable spy."
"Then…" The Divine Priestess sought the right words. Despite being well-acquainted with the dark underbelly of politics, resorting to a crude thing like an assassination wasn't quite part of her toolkit.
Aether spared her. "I'll do it. I have questions for him as well, and if he knows anything about the Delusions, you'll be the first to hear about them. It's probably safer not to discuss it again until he's been dealt with."
He didn't know what to expect at the end of an informal meeting, so he simply stood up and left the file on her desk. Kokomi remembered something and leaned on the desk urgently.
"One moment, please! About everything here..."
Aether already had an arm into the foliage but heard what was the beginning of a plea. He nodded. "We never talked, and I never found this cave. You need this space for more than just hiding confidential documents, right?"
Her silence said more than any acknowledgment. They had plotted the murder of a man together, but keeping her hideout a secret was somehow just as important. Aether put it down as yet another phenomenon he'd rather not try and figure out.
"I'll come see you again when I have news, hopefully good ones. Don't avoid sleep in the meantime."
He hoisted himself up into the curtain of vines and was gone. It only struck him much later that he hadn't slept in days.