Ordinarily, Shogun-sama was quite approachable with them. Today, she still sounded gentle enough, yet what was this strange sense of dissonance?
After thinking about it for a moment, he decided it was probably nothing unusual.
Better not overthink it.
"Yes. Could you fetch them for me?"
Ei paid no attention to the young man's inner musings and simply asked.
"Ah, of course! I will prepare them at once. Please rest in the courtyard for a moment, Shogun-sama. As soon as the tea set is ready, I will deliver it to you immediately!"
After speaking, Thoma hurried off at a jog and soon disappeared into the Kamisato Estate. Watching his retreating figure vanish inside, she let out a soft breath.
"...Haa."
Rather than resting as he suggested, she folded her arms and began pacing casually along the stone path before her. At times she paused in place. Because of her posture, the long hanging sleeve on one arm draped down like a curtain, revealing patterns of gentian flowers and the triple tomoe crest.
"...Shogun?"
After a brief silence, she softly called to her daughter, who was still resting within the Plane of Euthymia.
[...]
"Shogun? Are you alright? Did you fall asleep?"
A trace of worry surfaced in her eyes.
[Haa... No... Haa... I am alright... I just... slept for a moment.]
Her voice lacked all of its usual vitality. It was so frail it felt as though it might shatter at the slightest touch, like a fragile bubble. Even as she spoke, faint, weak breaths accompanied her words.
"...Does it still hurt?"
She frowned, heart aching.
[...Mn... Haa... It still... hurts... but... it is nothing...]
Within her own inner world, the woman knelt upon the ground, her complexion deathly pale. Cold sweat continued to bead across her forehead. Her once cherry-red lips had faded into a weak pallor. Exhaustion pooled at the corners of her eyes, and the brilliance once held in her gaze had dimmed.
Seated there, she lightly clutched at the fabric over her chest. Her breathing was rapid, her chest rising and falling with alarming frequency. Even so... when faced with Ei's concern, she still managed to reveal a faint, fragile smile that would move anyone who saw it to pity. In a soft voice, she said,
[It is alright... Ei... Talking with you... makes it a little better.]
"Alright. I will stay and talk with you..."
Ei's nose stung as she answered, matching her gently.
[Where are you... right now?]
At this moment, the Shogun had no strength to pay attention to the outside world. Her mind was muddled, as though she might faint again at any second.
"I am at the Kamisato Estate, borrowing tea utensils for Furuyama. Oh—"
As if recalling something, Ei's eyes brightened.
[...?]
"Would you like to see Ayaka? You might feel better after seeing that child."
She asked hurriedly.
[...There is no need.]
Understanding her mother's intentions, the Shogun gave a weak smile and shook her head.
"Shogun..."
[...If she finds out... cough... she will surely worry and feel distressed for me. She is already quite tired, so... let us leave it be.]
"...Very well. If you do not wish to, then we will not."
Ei did not argue further. She had no heart left for argument. Truthfully, if it would ease her daughter's suffering, she would do anything as a mother. And yet... there was no such easy solution in this world.
[Ei...]
"Hm? What is it?"
She replied softly, her tone exceedingly gentle.
[That elderly gentleman...]
She was referring to the old man from earlier.
"Furuyama?"
Ei continued.
[Mn...]
The Shogun nodded within the Plane of Euthymia.
"What about him?"
She asked.
[The one he brewed tea for... back then... was Makoto, correct?]
Her weak voice carried a hint of doubt.
"Yes. It was my sister."
A subtle complexity and nostalgia flickered within Ei's eyes.
[Haa... I thought so. After all, you would not have said such words... they were not like you.]
She gave a soft laugh, as though teasing—or perhaps doting.
"That is true... I rarely had the leisure to drink tea. Most of my spare time was spent training in martial arts. How could I have entertained such profound thoughts?"
Ei gave a self-deprecating smile and lowered her gaze.
[...I am sorry. Should I not have... said that?]
Sensing her self-mockery, the Shogun asked carefully, guilt tinging her tone.
"It is nothing. What is there to mind... It is simply the truth. Most of the time, Furuyama brewed tea for Makoto. As for the matter of the 'two Shoguns,' he may have noticed something, yet he always behaved as though he knew nothing at all."
She gave a small shrug.
[He knew?]
"Perhaps... When one grows old, one's perception of the world sharpens. Besides, Furuyama was never an ordinary man. He sees through things clearly. That is why he could converse so well with Makoto."
As she said this, the corner of her lips curved unconsciously.
[What Furuyama spoke of back then... were Makoto's ideals about the world.]
"Yes... In her eyes, the most precious thing in this world was 'dreams'—the longing of life toward a beautiful future. Haa..."
[So that blade—]
"Musou Isshin. Yes... It was truly her sword. Naturally, it carries dreams upon it."
Ei nodded and lifted her gaze toward the distant sky.
"I saw with my own eyes the stars within the Plane of Euthymia illuminated by dreams. From that moment, I knew... she was right, and I had strayed onto the wrong path."
Makoto—her elder sister—had always seen further than she once imagined. In Makoto's view... the state known as 'dreams' was even more abstract and transcendent than 'wishes.'
Wishes, after all, often pointed toward tangible outcomes and material conclusions. They were finite. They would inevitably be replaced by new wishes.
"The force that drives humanity to continually generate new wishes... that force stems from instinct. In other words..."
[It is also... a form of eternity.]
"Precisely... That was the perspective Makoto focused upon."
Makoto had never cared about the result. At the time, Ei had been utterly incapable of understanding her thoughts. How could something that flows and changes also be considered eternity?
Now she finally understood. Thinking back, her former self truly had been shallow.
Still... there was one thing that brought her solace—she had finally reconciled with her sister, even if Makoto could no longer see it.
...
...
Elsewhere, in the rear courtyard of the Kamisato Estate—
Icy-colored eyes fixed coldly upon the upright bamboo tubes before her. Within her pupils, a chilling light gradually gathered. The girl's delicate lips parted.
(Inhale~!)
She drew in a breath of cold air.
Whoosh...
A breeze passed through, lifting the short hem of her kimono and causing her pale blue ponytail to sway gently behind her.
Her eyes narrowed with icy focus.
Crack crack crack...
In that instant, the surrounding temperature plummeted to freezing. Beneath the thong sandals that supported her white-stockinged feet, silvery frost began to spread. Like a virus, the ice crystals crept across the gravel path, expanding outward.
"...!"
She lowered her stance, preparing for an iaido draw.
"Kamisato Art: Soumetsu..."
Her voice, as sharp and clear as ice, uttered the words calmly—and then—
Hum—!
She drew her blade in a single instant.
Whoosh—!
A massive arc of icy light blossomed before her.
It severed the thick bamboo tubes with the ease of slicing paper. The moment one tube fell, another was revealed behind it.
Whoosh!
But it did not end there. After the initial slash, the blade's light gathered into a wide vortex of icy wind. Like a raging blizzard, it surged forward in a straight line, cutting down row after row of bamboo in one sweeping motion. At the precise moment she smoothly sheathed Snowswept Sakura—
Clack!
The crisp sound of metal striking the tsuba rang out. Only then did the swirling ice disperse. Before her eyes lay rows of bamboo, each cleanly severed at the top. So precise had the wide-area strike been that neither the ground nor the surrounding area bore the slightest mark.
"Haa..."
Ayaka exhaled softly, fastening her blade at her waist. She picked up the towel from the stool beside her and wiped the sweat from her forehead and neck—even from the skin beneath the collar of her kimono.
While wiping away the perspiration, she casually draped the towel over her head and lifted her pale, slender hands. Her long, graceful fingers—elegant without being gaunt—pressed together, feeling the thin calluses along her fingertips. Nearly every finger bore them, especially at the base of her thumb, where the skin had grown somewhat hardened.
She did not mind it much. Calluses were an unavoidable result of martial training and sword practice. Moreover, having studied music, calligraphy, and painting since childhood, such marks were inevitable.
Only one concern lingered in her heart.
When these hands hold Shogun-sama's... would they make her uncomfortable? Would she feel any pain?
Tap tap~
"...?"
Hearing a faint sound of hurried footsteps along the corridor, she lifted her eyes in confusion. It was her family's retainer, Thoma. He was rushing—clearly something was the matter.
"...Thoma?"
After a brief thought, she called out to him, removing the towel draped over her head and folding it neatly.
"Eh? Ah... Milady!"
Thoma halted abruptly and quickly turned toward her in the rear courtyard.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
She stepped closer to him.
"Uh... well... it is nothing, really! Heh heh."
He gave an awkward laugh.
"..."
She looked at him silently, expressionless.
"U-Um... Milady?"
To be honest, whenever those icy-blue eyes of his mistress fixed upon him, he always felt as though he were being seen through entirely.
"Is that so...? In that case, help me clear away these bamboo tubes, then tidy the yard afterward."
Ayaka shifted her gaze and gestured lightly toward the backyard she had just turned into such a state. Normally, she handled the cleaning herself. Today, however, she only said this to force him to reveal the reason for his haste. If he was truly in such a rush, then he must be pressed for time.
Since that was the case... this would do nicely.
"..."
Thoma froze.
"Well~?"
She lifted her folding fan to conceal the corner of her lips, a faintly mischievous smile curving beneath it.
"Ahaha... well... actually... Shogun-sama asked me to fetch a tea set, haha."
At last, Thoma confessed the truth in embarrassment.
"Oh? Shogun-sama? Right now?"
Her eyes brightened instantly.
"Yes... Shogun-sama just came to the Kamisato Estate and said she wished to borrow a tea set."
"I see... Then there is no need to trouble you. I will deliver it myself."
A sweet smile blossomed upon her lips. She passed lightly by Thoma, leaving behind her faint fragrance as she entered the tea room.
"...Understood."
Thoma answered blankly, still stunned. Then he glanced toward the chaotic backyard that had yet to be cleaned. A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart. He immediately prepared to slip away—but—
Slide~
"Thoma..."
Ayaka suddenly remembered something and slid the door open, poking her head out.
"!!"
His body stiffened instantly, frozen in place.
"Y-Yes!"
He turned around at once, facing his mistress, who concealed half her face behind her fan.
"Clean up the backyard."
Slide~
Without waiting for his reaction, she shut the door again.
"...Yes."
Thoma let out a long sigh and trudged toward the backyard, slowly picking up the fallen bamboo tubes.
Honestly, he would rather have delivered the tea set to Shogun-sama. At least that would have spared him from cleaning the yard!
...
Meanwhile, Ei was waiting alone in the front courtyard of the Kamisato Estate for Thoma to return with the tea utensils. She paced back and forth for a while. Eventually, perhaps growing bored, she sat down casually upon the steps of the open tea room before her. Crossing her exquisite legs, she lowered her gaze to the patterned stockings that hugged her upper thighs.
She lifted a hand and brushed lightly at the fabric, flicking away a trace of dust.
Tap tap~ ×N
"...?"
A series of light, delicate footsteps approached from afar, drifting into her ears. They were not heavy—on the contrary, they were graceful and light. Simply from the sound alone, one could tell they belonged to a woman.
She had already guessed who it was.
Sure enough, when she lifted her eyes, she saw a silver-haired girl with a single ponytail emerge from the gates of the Kamisato Estate, carrying a tray with both hands. Upon seeing her, the girl's crystalline face bloomed with a sweet smile as she hurried toward her. Her silver ponytail and straight bangs bounced adorably with each step, lively and graceful.
"..."
Watching that elegant figure running toward her—and the smile upon her face—Ei could not help but understand why the Shogun was so fond of spending time with her.
It was no wonder.
Tap tap~
The footsteps drew closer until the girl stopped before her. With the sunlight at her back, her shadow fell over Ei.
"Haa... Shogun-sama~ Sorry to keep you waiting... Here are the tea utensils."
Ayaka steadied her breath and raised the tray with both hands in offering.
"Thank you... I appreciate the trouble."
Ei said nothing more, simply accepting the tray before rising to her feet.
"Honestly... I was at home. Why did you have Thoma fetch—"
Ayaka began to complain lightly, but the moment her eyes met Ei's—
"...!"
She fell silent at once.
Something was different about that gaze... Could it be—
"Um... is it Lady Ei?"
She quickly corrected herself, asking hesitantly.
"Indeed, it is I... It has been quite some time since I last visited your estate, Ayaka."
Ei paid no mind to the earlier, almost coquettish complaint. She knew that tone was one Ayaka reserved only for her daughter. Seeing that Ayaka had recognized her, she offered a gentle smile.
"Yes... it truly has been a long time. The estate has changed greatly. It may no longer look as you remember."
Suppressing the embarrassment of having mistaken her just now, Ayaka composed herself. Her tone carried both polite respect and familiarity. The familiarity stemmed from the fact that the woman before her was the mother of her childhood companion. The respect was owed to Inazuma's revered deity.
She balanced the two perfectly.
"It matters not... Nothing remains unchanged forever. All things transform. Perhaps that, too, is a kind of charm. Do you not think so?"
Ei observed the scenery around her, speaking with quiet reflection.
"...Yes. Then... do you like it? This changed scenery?"
Ayaka asked gently, smiling.
"...I do."
Seeing the meaning hidden within her smile, Ei shook her head fondly and answered as she wished.
"Hehe... I am glad."
They shared a smile.
"By the way... where is Shogun-sama? Did you come alone?"
Ayaka asked perceptively.
"The Shogun... is feeling somewhat unwell and has returned to her chambers."
After a brief hesitation, Ei chose to speak the truth. Seeing the concern in Ayaka's eyes, she could not bear to lie. Though strictly speaking, the Shogun had not returned to her chambers—she was resting within the Plane of Euthymia.
"Is it a headache?"
Ayaka asked softly.
"...? How did you know?"
Ei blinked in surprise.
"A few days ago, when Shogun-sama visited, she mentioned such symptoms to me."
Ayaka lowered her gaze, fingertips tracing the pattern on her folding fan.
"I see... Then do you have any idea what might be causing it?"
Hope flickered in Ei's eyes as she asked hurriedly, as though placing her expectations upon the girl before her.
"Um... I am sorry... I do not know. Shogun-sama is a puppet. By all reason, she should not fall ill..."
Ayaka shook her head apologetically, her voice growing softer.
"...Haa. You have no solution either? What am I to do..."
The light of hope faded from Ei's expression.
"Lady Ei... I—"
"It is fine. There is no need for you to blame yourself. This is not your fault. Even I find myself at a loss in the face of such a matter."
Ei sighed and gently reassured her.
"..."
Ayaka said nothing more, pressing her lips together as worry for the Shogun filled her eyes.
Seeing this, Ei smiled tenderly and reached out to pat her head.
"I will pass along your concern to her later."
"...Mn."
A faint blush spread across Ayaka's face at the touch. She nodded obediently, holding her closed fan before her and kneading it lightly in both hands.
"I will conduct a thorough examination of her again later. There is no need to worry."
With that, Ei prepared to leave, taking the tea utensils with her.
"Mm... Thank you for your trouble, Lady Ei."
Ayaka quickly followed, escorting her all the way to the gate. She bowed as she watched her depart.
Only after Ei disappeared from sight did she slowly straighten. Her teeth pressed lightly against her lower lip, her eyes shimmering faintly.
Shogun-sama...
She whispered the name in her heart, her grip on the folding fan tightening unconsciously. She paced a few steps before the gate, frustration flickering across her face.
At such a crucial moment, Kamisato Ayaka could do nothing to help.
"Haa... I can only trust Lady Ei."
She murmured softly.