Chapter 26
KATSUGAWA MIYUKI
The Princes of the land of fire lay in her room as the sky darkened, her mind a mess as she tried to process the news of her father's death. The news had arrived so suddenly and at such difficult times that a part of her didn't know what to feel about this.
She was sad, of course, yet she had never expected to hear those words, readily prepared for her own demise. She had not thought that she would outlive her father. Yet here she was, alive, contrary to her expectations from months prior, yet he was gone now.
And she didn't know what to do.
Mourn him for the father he was, or hate him for what he wasn't.
He was aware of who was behind the killing of her brothers, the tragedy that later destroyed her mother. Yet in his weakness, he had done nothing. Nothing and her fists balled up in rage at that as she remembered him.
But a sense of pity also bubbled when she recalled how he was affected by her mother's death.
What was she to feel? Was she meant to be angry? Was she meant to be sad? For all she felt was a literal storm of emotions that didn't make sense.
A small knock on the door interrupted her and made her realize just how late it had gotten as she spoke up.
"Who is it?" she questioned as she realized that her face was wet with tears, shed without her knowledge.
"My lady, it is I, Erina Nakiri?" came the answer, and she wiped away her face as she replied.
"Come in," and the door was slid open as the aide walked in, a small tray in her hand and a soft look in her eyes.
"I brought food for you, my lady. The servants told me that you didn't answer when they came in the evening," and she nodded, she hadn't been hungry then. She wasn't now either.
Yet the older woman didn't even ask her that, as she simply walked forward and set the tray by the table and began to set up the food.
And it was then that she noticed how the commotion outside had died down.
"Have the men left?" she questioned the older woman, who nodded as she set the food.
"Yes, my lady. It is why I couldn't come earlier. I was overlooking the preparation of the men, so I apologize for not being with you," she said as she gave her a bow, and she simply nodded and waved away the apology, for she knew just how important this whole conflict was now, especially given how the daimyo's throne now sat empty.
"There is no need to apologize," she said, and the old woman set the tray by her side and continued.
"I know that you do not wish to eat, but you haven't eaten anything at all the whole day, Princess, so please have something," she said with sincerity, that she had long missed, and for some reason, she saw a rather familiar reflection of her own mother in her in that moment.
"I will try," she said as she picked up the porridge bowl and stared at it, her heart racing for some reason as she mouthed out without thinking.
"You must think me a rather callous daughter," she said and saw Nakiri-san's eyes widen as she began.
"Why would you say that, Princess?" she gasped out.
"Because my father is dead, yet I sit here and don't even know how to cry," she managed to eke out sadly as she stared at the older woman whose eyes softened at her words.
She slowly reached for her hand and held it.
"There is no need to belittle yourself, Princess. Everyone mourns in different ways," she told her, and for some reason, the words made her angry as she spoke out.
"Then why can't I cry? Why!" she nearly screamed, yet the woman didn't shift as she answered in a somber tone.
"Because you wish to be strong because you do not wish to look weak, vulnerable, Princess," and her words cut through her, as her heartbeat quickened, and her eyes got wet as sorrow gripped her heart.
She was right. In the castle for years, she had presented herself as such, maintaining a certain image even as she was eaten away inch by inch on the inside. A facade that had now merged with herself, obscuring the lines between her reality and lie.
There was silence in the room, as for the first time since she had heard the news of her father's death, she cried, wailed, openly against the older woman's side, breaking the image she had built, cried for the child that had left the castle all those months ago, cried for the man that had died years ago.
And so, when she separated, the older woman took the bowl from her and wiped away her tears as she began to feed her.
"You remind me much of Lord Akihito when he lost his father?" she said, realizing that Akihito was even younger than her when he had lost his father, and he hadn't ever known his mother.
"Why do you say that?" she questioned, interested in the life of her lord husband, for they had never ever truly talked about him; he had always appeared as this dependable and unbreakable rock to her that she couldn't even imagine how he would react to losing his own father.
"When his lord father died, the province was going through troubling times, a small flood had ruined the harvests, and with the war going on, the situation was quite dire," she began, and she recalled hearing about the floods.
"A wave of illness spread all over the province. It began with shivers and then a severe fever that often followed a person to the grave, and when the lord died, people were anxious because Akihito-sama was barely older than ten years old at the time, but he was strong even then he worked tirelessly day and night, to get the village out the whole ordeal. And then the rumors began," she began, and she saw her fists ball up as she looked outside the window.
"What rumors?" she questioned.
"They called him heartless, a heathen, a demon in the form of a child!" and she could tell that the woman was angry.
"There were few of them, yet there were people who called him an oni!"
0000
GATO-The Shipping magnate
There were two kinds of people in this world. Those who had power, the predators, people who ruled the world, nobles, governors, kages and then there were people who held no power, the prey, the common folk.
Gato had always dreamed of becoming the former. Having been born in a small fishing village in land of waters he had always dreamt of power and wished to obtain it in any way possible. And so, when the land of water had broken out into civil war, he had sought his chance, moving outside the country to bring his plan to fruition.
And he had achieved success, using his knowledge of the trade routes to help supply both sides of the conflict. He had turned himself into a rather powerful entity, that was until all of it had come crashing down, for he had attracted the wrong kind of attention.
The attention of a foreign noble who held considerable power in the land of waves, which was his base of operations, and his whole life had come crashing down. Yet he was helpless, for he had been utterly unmatched against the given noble, who held more power, wealth, and influence than him.
He had tried to move against him, yet his efforts had been fruitless, and then they had come to a halt as the noble had retaliated, taking from him a hand as a warning to serve as a reminder of what would happen to him if he didn't behave.
"My lord, please tell me how can I help you? You have been waiting for hours," he questioned sweetly, looking at the man sitting opposite him, sipping on his tea without any worry as he sat in his solar, behaving as if he owned the place.
And while he couldn't be sure, he was aware that this man was either the one behind his downfall or at least somehow deeply connected with that person.
Yet even though he sat opposite to him, he could do little to harm the person, for such an action would mean an end to his own life.
He was a Prince, a noble two-fold, his face. long and sharp, exuding an air of confidence and sensibility as he sat opposite to him with his aide, as he smiled at him, making him grind his teeth in rage.
"There is no need for that, they will be here soon," he replied, and it irked him greatly yet he didn't show his anger and frustration as he sat there, a hostage in his own building.
"But my Prin...."
CLACK!
And then he felt it, the atmosphere in the room shift, as he felt his heartbeat quicken, as sweat began to drip down his forehead.
He could feel an overwhelming presence right behind him as the Prince lay down the cup, his gaze shifting to the person behind him.
"So, you are finally here," the Prince questioned, and he could not believe how steady his voice was despite the tension in the room.
"Indeed, I am," a feminine voice from behind replied as the person behind him stepped forward, a bundle of long orange-colored hair arching down her back, concealing the back of the blue dress she wore over a vest of steel mesh.
Her eyes were razor sharp, moving past him as if he was nothing but a pest, as she walked up to the Prince in question and examined him with a scrutinizing gaze.
And Gato finally realized who she was, and as he did, he broke out into rampant sweat, for this person was one of the most dangerous shinobi alive today.
The leader of the rebellion forces of Amegakure, which were constantly gaining the upper hand in the Kirigakure civil war, was the Demon Mistress of Mist.
Terumi Mei.
"Yes, you will do," she voiced out as the tension in the room died down the orange-haired kunoichi smiled as she leaned down rather suggestively as the Prince smiled.
"Indeed I shall. Though, I believe you have a special guest of mine in your hands?" the Prince questioned his voice even as the deadly, and equally gorgeous woman stood right infront of him.
"Oh, indeed I do. And what a surprise she was?"
And with that, it all began to make sense to him as he realized just what was going on. The Nobles in Land of Water had been reluctant to support the rebellion forces, for that would have unsettled the status quo. Due to that, the rebellion had been unable to arm and feed itself until several years ago, when the rebellion forces found themselves an anonymous backer, and that was when the war began to shift. Though the mystery of this unnamed guest perturbed him still, yet it made everything all the more clear.
He believed that the anonymous backer was none other than the Prince sitting opposite him.
And with the rebellion forces gaining the upper hand, he was looking at the probable water daimyo of the land of water.
0000
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