[324 years before B.B.]
Returning home feels nothing like Tomoe had expected when he left it only a year and a half ago.
He sits in a waiting room with a cup of the best tea in the house instead of being allowed to his rooms and greeted by his sisters' smiles, homemade lemonade, and watermelon sticks. Xie Zhang at his side, as always, and an amused Uncle Xie hearing about their time at the Academy.
Tomoe was now a Guest.
An Honorable Guest at that, carrying the surname of one of the Six Heavenly Clans and an outsider because of it.
Tomoe was no longer welcomed; no longer a member of the Xie.
It hurt. Deep and unyielding. An aching wound refusing to heal, a hundred times worse than the one that had accompanied him when he was treated as an unwanted child by the Madam.
Her pettiness is not surprising, though.
In fact, Tomoe had been expecting it. Just not in this form: He had expected screams and demands, hateful comments about his nature, and his ungratefulness to be thrown at Uncle Xie's face like a weapon. An unrefutable proof that she had always been in the right for hating his guts.
The passive-aggressiveness of Madam Wen's attitude is refreshing, yet uncomfortable.
Tomoe dislikes knowing he has read someone wrongly. Especially, someone he spent so much time around with. It reminded him of how everyone had been so taken aback when the real Bennet appeared.
His fingers twitch.
Juzhu, Madam Wen's personal servant, glances down and smirks. Taking the small movement as proof of how much this treatment is weighting him down; she must be dying to run back to her master and share it.
Polite, even if you can't bear the situation, Grandfather's voice echoed in his head. The Kagemori must be aloof, civil, and respectful. We are one of the Six Heavenly Clans in the Silver City, we are better than anyone else: Royalty among the lower nobles.
The Xie were lower nobles.
Grandfather had only allowed him to visit after he promised to keep his composure no matter what Madam Wen threw at him. Isuke, on the other hand, had made him promise that the Madam would not have an 'accident' while he was on the premises.
Tomoe had been equally offended by the assumptions but hadn't dared to voice his discomfort out loud— The Xie were his family.
Tomoe doesn't consider them inferior. Nor is he so callous as to take their mother from his siblings. No matter how much the woman had hurt him during the years he was under her roof.
"Would you like more tea, young master Kagemori?" Juzhu needles him.
Tomoe wishes he didn't see the Xie as family and could crush her insolent ass into nothing.
"That's unnecessary." Tomoe answers placidly, "I've already had all the tea that I could wish for at the moment. I must offer my congratulations to your hospitality, both the tea and the sweets are of great quality."
Untouched tea and snacks aside, he would know.
After all, he had been dragged along when Madam Wen took her daughter to the stores so Xie Ju would know exactly where to buy the necessary items to ensure her household was never unworthy when she married out.
(So he would also learn and have the knowledge in case Xie Zhang's bride turned out to be incompetent in the future; a fear Madam Wen held, no matter how irrational, as she and Uncle would be the ones choosing said bride.)
"You—"
Whatever Juzhu is about to say, it's rudely cut as the paper door is open rather abruptly.
"Shijie!" Tomoe's face lightens up.
Xie Ju is just as he remembers; warm lilac eyes, smile lines near them, pale skin, and a beauty mark near her lips. Black hair adorned in a simple, yet elegant bun with a silver headpin.
The same scent of oak, berries, cinnamon, and sandalwood that had become the synonym of home filled the room. Transmitting a silent welcome that had Tomoe on the verge of tears.
"Young miss, what—"
"Juzhu."
It's a reprimand and Juzhu takes it like one, closing her mouth with a loud click. Xie Jue didn't glance at her, keeping her attention on Tomoe. Staring with an intensity that anyone else would find frightening; Tomoe knew well that she was just trying to see if she could spot any and all differences since the last time they saw each other.
He cut his hair to a shoulder length.
Other than that, the mildmannered tone in his aura was the only difference.
"You can go now, Juzhu, I will be entertaining young master Kagemori. My mother is, after all, a very busy woman." Xie Ju speaks, eyes sparkling with mirth. "I hope young master Kagemori is not offended?"
"Not at all, Young lady Xie." Tomoe bites back a laugh. "I would be honored to be in your care for today."
"As the young miss says," Juzhu grits her teeth. Bows. And leaves the room in a hurry, probably going back to Madam Wen to snitch on them.
Once she's gone, Tomoe can't help himself.
He throws his head back and laughs so hard that he ends up rolling on the floor, losing all pretenses of dignity, and recovering the mischievous attitude his siblings both hated and loved.
"Xian-Xian," Xie Ju chastises softly, "You're going to get hurt if you keep rolling around with those pins in your hair."
Tomoe stops immediately, frozen at the idea of breaking the fragile gold pieces. If he were to do so, the council of elders would have his hide! He would not survive another lecture with the old farts.
"Here, let me help you." Xie Ju's hands are gentle as she arranges his hair back into an overcomplicated bun.
"Alright, Shijie."
Xie Ju hums under her breath the lullaby that had spooked Tomoe's night terrors when he was younger. He becomes butter under her touch, truly relaxing for the first time in almost a year.
"I've missed you, Shijie."
"I've missed you too, Xian-Xian." Xie Ju whispers, like a secret. "I heard from A-Zhang… you changed your name. Should I call you Tomoe from now on?"
Tomoe flinched.
He could imagine well how Xie Zhang informed her of what happened. He… regrets it. Tomow regrets that he couldn't be the one telling her the reasons behind his adoption into the Kagemori, but he couldn't.
Leaving Isuke's side was painful; both physically and mentally. The mere idea made him sick in the stomach and memories of how close he had been to losing Isuke flash in front of his eyes.
Isuke was kind, though. So he had ordered him to go home and visit his siblings, even though he hated having the power to push a command onto him.
"Xian-Xian will always be Xian-Xian to his Shijie." Tomoe says sharply, hearth throbbing at the possibility of losing their connection.
"Is that so?"
"Hn."
"I'm glad," Xie Ju laughs, it sounds like a sob.
Tomoe hurts for her.
He turns, burying his face on her stomach, hugging as tight as he dares to. Clinging to her like the lost child he was when they first met; Xie Ju would always be that safe place in the middle of the storm.
His rock.
"I didn't want to leave you, A-Zhan, and Yanli behind." Tomoe says, "You're my siblings. I love you."
Before, he would have said: I love you more than anything.
He couldn't do it anymore.
"I know, Xian-Xian." Xie Ju reassures him. "We love you too."
He knows, alright? He does.
But hearing it takes a weight from his shoulders. The confirmation sits in his heart and it warmths it up. His relief is almost shattering and he's sure his vision goes a little blurry for a few seconds there.
Tomoe takes a deep breath.
"Shijie… Would you like it if this Xian-xian shared a story with you?"
"Only if Xian-xian wants to share this story." Xie Ju replies softly, "If Xian-Xian doesn't wish to share, this A-jie would not mind not knowing it."
It's a kindness.
Once he doesn't dare to take, because as much as he doesn't want to share what happened with anyone— A secret is better protected if no one knows about it, after all.
His Shije deserves better.
Thus, Tomoe will share all the cards he holds close to his heart with Xie Ju. She will be the only person who will know it all, not only about Tomoe himself, but Ichimaru and Bennet, and what is the end goal of Tomoe's existence.
Tomoe leans away and Xie Ju allows it, they face each other, and with a heavy soul Tomoe lowers his voice until it can barely be counted as a whisper.
"Have you heard the name Quezatcoalt, Shijie?"
Xie Ju frowns, thinking hard.
Tomoe knows she has, but it would probably take her a little to pinpoint where. For it may be an important part of their history, the true names of the Founder's swords were not exactly the focus during the lessons they had received from their teachers.
Xie Ju's eyes open wide, then her expression goes utterly blank, and she glances down at the awakened blade resting at his hip.
"Wuxian… what is the name your sword is registered under?"
"Kukulkan," Tomoe allows with a grimace; it had been a painful endeavor to find a name that Quezatcoalt didn't find offensive and screamed profanities inside his brain for hours without rest. "Grandfather handled the paperwork and Isuke went to the Halls looking for the shards. It was apparently impossible for him to enter as you have to be Captain of the Guard to get access, and even then, the Commander needs to give you written permission beforehand."
It all sounded suspiciously close to a corrupt government desperately trying to hide its secrets, but in this case, it worked fine for them. So neither Isuke nor Tomoe were really concerned about the secrecy.
After all, Tenka's sword was less known, less remembered.
If he wanted, Isuke could go around crying Izanagi all over the Silver City and only the old timers would know that Kagemori Tenka had returned to the Pure Lands.
Fuuma Kotaro, on the other hand? It would be pure chaos.
Especially, with the way Isuke and Tomoe had reacted right after the discovery. They had been hasty, desperate to not lose the other, and if word went out that they remembered, well…
Execution would be the least of their worries.
"Good," Xie Ju says sharply, then much more softer and louder. "Good. I'm glad Kagemori-sama is taking good care of you. I worried."
Tomoe's ears grow warm.
"Isuke is my other half, A-Jie." He hurries to reassure her older sister, "You don't need to worry. Grandfather is taking extremely good care of me, I promise. He even threatened the elders to cut their heads off if he even got a whisper of them bothering me."
Which had been hilarious, because Tomoe could whip the floor with those old fuckers any time of the day.
Xie Ju's eyes crinkle as she smiles.
"I will send him a gift, then."
"Grandfather enjoys sweets things."
"Noted."
They exchange a mischievous smile imagining the Head of the Kagemori eating some homemade cookies.
"About that story, this Xian-Xian is about to share… it may sound ridiculous at times, but this humble one swears on his sword that I say the truth."
"This A-jie knows Wuxian will not lie to her." Xie Ju affirms, gesturing for him to continue as she starts preparing another cup of tea.
The words are like a knife to the hearth— Tomoe doesn't allow any pain to show on his expression. Proficient in pushing down anything and everything that would get in the way of his goal.
"Thank you, Shijie." Tomoe takes one of the caramelized oranges, "This Xian-xian's story is about how he met Kagemori Isuke and the wonderful rivalry that was born of two opposites as they met their match for the first time…