They addressed him first, telling him of his situation. Then her, but little else other than to have her get in. Her mother never had much fondness for her, and never really told her anything. And this decision had been her own, with her mother never making the effort to advise her whether this was good or best. She knew that from the start. The same way =that she will never gaze at her in the same way she will do with Masaki.

Outside, she looked at the palanquin laid out and fully ready for her to step on and leave. It had arrived, her mother had come for her at last. She had finally gained control that she didn"t need her any longer. She stepped onto it, as much as Masaki looked at her.

Masaki had accepted the letter without anything to suggest grief. A little sad, that was certain. Even as she guessed that it was all he could muster with the knowledge of his father"s current predicament. Trying his best to be a good son for him, and doing his best for him. That was the duty of a son. To finish the job of a father, to carry the burdens they live. There was little room for complaint.

Things that a daughter was not expected to. As much as they were married as soon as they were old enough to bear children, kept from any secrets. They were expected to fight for the family they married into, expected to protect it. But her father knew her and what she wanted.

He had left her few choices other than to go along. The only thing that she felt as though she had have a chance to make a choice had been Kaede. Even as she was withdrawn, even as she kept to herself even more. But less so in her duty, she had not failed at any point. It was her answers, her hesitation in giving her any. Those told her that something was wrong.

She doubted it was her family. She had seen them and there was little. This was something else, this was something that threatened her enough. Something that gave her grief. And something that worried Sachiko at this point. Something that told her something was wrong.

But Kaede did not talk about it, not even when she was holding a drink. Not even when they were alone and Kaede called her Sachiko. She did not speak of anything, neither did she choose to even say much. There was still some semblance of her trying to use what she knew. But it was never to the same level as it was before. Something changed, and yet Kaede did not speak of a word of it.

Someone did come here to see her off at last. Isamu, who had came today. "I"m escorting you to the gates, better since this is a fairly complex location." Even as he looked towards Kaede, as though she was someone he knew. Not on a personal level as he never went to greet her. "For safety purposes, if you and the kid get kidnapped, it will get very very messy." He didn"t need anything else to suggest it.

"Here on my father"s orders?" His silence gave her the answer she needed. It was true, that it seemed.

"And also a message, keep your eyes open. Because those who wish to hurt you are those who are the closest to you." He looked away. She will have been careful regardless. "And trust Kaede, I talked to her and she will be useful."

Was that why Kaede was so distant. She had the feeling that whatever was spoken between the two of them had not been nice. But it also a.s.sured her that whoever this danger was, it wasn"t Kaede. Her father found the servant integral in her safety, why was the most important question. Why will he need to a.s.sure her?

All she knew was that it was tied to her return to Senwari. "You"re a very valuable piece to him if he went to this much trouble to warn you."

She knew that, as it was drilled into her the moment she stepped foot into the house. That she was his p.a.w.n to use, that she could have something in return for being used to such a degree. That as a child, she was going to be rewarded for simply following him. And something to look forward too. A chance to finally be free, on her own terms and not hoping for someone to come for her. To bring her out of this.

"Chichiue tells me that every time I see him."

When Masaki stepped onto the palanquin, she knew it was time for her. As much as he followed her, knowing just what sort of role he had in this. She stepped on and looked outside as the palanquin began its long journey.

When Junri comes to his house, he expected something to have gone wrong. It was true that Kouya had hid for several years, but he grew too. Now almost an adult, and thus a harder opponent than if he was to face against that formidable child. He hoped that he was not expecting, but it was too much of wishful thinking. That boy could only get better, and he pulled off something incredibly astounding for his age.

He could have done something drastic, whatever he could do was mostly limited. And thought that it was enough, since Kouya was in a similar situation, needing to lie low. But she held a small note on top of her inn, something that Kouya had written and nailed to their door.

It was an invitation, of sorts. "What happened?"

"He found some of his old friends there. Under our own hand." Kouya had spent time there, mostly hiding out and working for Daishin. He knew that Kouya had made some allies there, whom were now showing their influence. And of all things, it had to be with an underground society. A movement against the Shogunate.

He looked at the options he had, whether it will have been worth it to meet with Kouya. He had his own reasons to choose not to, but with wasn"t all too bad a proposition. Kouya was surrendering in a sense, asking for his help in another. As long as he thought of it in one way then he could use this to his advantage. And it was that he had indeed limited his choices, and thus was coming to him.

Or rather he wanted to talk about something. He couldn"t rule it out, given hos ridiculous it was that Kouya could kill Misaki"s father single-handedly. Impossible, almost improbable. There had to be plenty of other things that gave him the chance to succeed at his plans. Resources often took most of the reason. a.s.sa.s.sinations were rarely caused by just plans, that will make things a lot easier.

It often took a bit of luck, skill and most importantly having the ability to cover up, hide and destroy all evidence so that no one could do anything. Which made it almost impossible to just be Kouya"s effort. But the entire movement headed underground after that, and his father"s murder. And nothing turned up on them at all. Even more so having a serious contender, the Saitou clan.

He doubted they will have willingly bowed to the Shogun, at least offering their services while expecting little in return. That was a little too far-fetched at this point. They were far too powerful, not like his clan who were considered new blood and unlike the Satous who did it because they had to. They didn"t have a choice but to accept their situation.

The Saitou clan could stage a coup and succeed at their current influence. Even as it did not concern Sasaki, he merely knew this fact but waited for the Shogun to call him. He will rather not play the loyal dog his family did for centuries. Rather, having the man desperate before asking for him was nice itself.

This wasn"t exactly that, it was more of an issue.

Even as Enyou stood out the door. "I think you should." She didn"t need anything else, giving the letter only a slight glance. But she knew her brother inside out, that came from years of living only with the other.

"I do believe so. Either way, he could bring some important things and is not committed to destroying you." At least not like he did before, where he brought both clans to its knees. And they never managed to regain any of the glory. Although they managed to get back their contacts and influence in the underworld with the boy"s disappearance.

"Not now, he has other people on his tail." Especially if he was also chased by Daishin. That will have made him more likely to come to him. With a limited set of options, he needed to make a choice at the end of the day. He had to trust someone than to do it alone.

"Besides, I don"t think he is even interested in you. Last I know he was finding a girl named Rin." His sister did bring out a good point. She was staring at him, only slightly closer than before at this point. Not needing anything else to know just how serious she was. Out of sentiment of her friend, or was it just her option. Sometimes he could not tell with her sister. But he knew that she was not lying.

"And if he met with you once, it means that he doesn"t have anything against you." Junri looked him in the eye, he admitted that her reasoning made as much sense as it did. If he had a vendetta like that, he will have hidden. Make friends with his enemies and use them to crush him. He didn"t need to come directly to him, it wasn"t his approach.

Besides, he could use an ally too. Misaki didn"t a.s.sociate with him directly and thus limiting it to mostly Okiban and f.u.kusei.

"All right, I"ll meet with him." It was fairly soon too, the next day. Somewhere in the day, and he knew that Enyou will have to serve as a guide. She knew Yuki to an extent and had a reason for going over. Unlike any of them to say the least.

"He did say it in the letter. He"ll be waiting for you at Enyou"s favorite shop." No matter how long it took. That changed things too. If they were willing to wait, then he must be either intending to negotiate it there or otherwise. And it meant that he needed to be there as soon as possible.

Even as he realized that it had been written in fine print in the side. Guess this will only have been seen under careful scrutiny. Something that the man did use to hide this. Best that only who it was meant for pick it up. And even then, they will not know where. It seemed that it was his sister who had to lead them there.

And he then saw why. Enyou was the only person whom he trusted to some extent, or believed that she was honest enough to not pull any tricks. This limited him to making an honest deal with them. As much as Enyou showed nothing of her own mind. "I"ll do it, as he suggested. I still want to keep Yuki as a friend."

Perhaps it was that, but Kouya had used everything he knew against him. And tied his hands that it was difficult for him to turn it to his advantage. Other than being able to negotiate and make his decision. And this was what he expected at the very least, nothing less from the man who managed to run from one of the most powerful men in the underworld and kill another.