He had few contacts and he was keeping his options open. Or rather waiting for a chance to do reconnaissance. But there was not enough yet. Ayakazu had also included that, mostly a list of the resistance movements active within the city.

It had been plentiful. The Shogunate had never been in a weaker position ever before. They were facing resistance on almost all fronts. Even as he hesitated to contact any of them.

He may have promised but unless he was certain he didn"t want to approach any of them. And most of the contacts were the same. He will need to build up some form of trust before they will talk about anything. And that will mean talking about himself. That will also mean having to come up with reasonable reasons why he was looking up something like this.

"Kazuho, there"s a visitor at the doorstep." Masami came by to see him. She was in her winter kimono, mostly due to the snow. He had been in his study these few days. Even having his meals here, and only leaving for sleeping. He would sleep here if he could but the study had been too cold for this.

And the girl will drag him out here if necessary. "Who is it?" She would not have bothered her if it was anything unnecessary. Even putting down the brush. It wasn"t as though he had made much progress. This interruption wouldn"t do much.
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"Sasaki." He grabbed the haori hung out on the side. Putting it over his clothes. It was necessary due to the snow. And going out while Masami left to boil tea.

While he realized that he was getting close to what he wanted. Sasaki would only have came if he had achieved his objective. Otherwise he would not have came. Clear due to the nearly half a month of silence that he received before his visit.

Outside Sasaki was fanning himself. It was something given that all around him the weather has been cold. Freezing even. The worst nights of winter had just past. And thus this was just the behind of it.

He walked before them and deciding to seat opposite him. Where Shinrou had already done all he could to entertain him.

There was only one reason why he was here. And thus why Kazuho waited for Sasaki to begin the conversation.

"I told her." He nodded. Although not clear why didn"t he just come straight to the chase. "But she"s being courted by the Shogun"s son." Which could complicate matters immensely. Given just how it meant that she was now in the spotlight.

It also meant that finding time to talk to her will be harder than she expected. "Did you manage to find a time?"

"I did. Although the only time she"ll be aware will be in the midwinter. I"m sure you"re more aware of it than I am." The time where winter will be celebrated. The winter solstice. It was vital that the Shogun appear.

It was something that most expect them to appear. It was a tradition to ensure that each season pa.s.sed. It was said that if a season came early, it was because a ruler had not done their duty. To usher in a new season and letting time get out of control.

It will be witnessed by almost everyone in the family. Ingrained in them the importance of it. Even as he realized that Sasaki had done some impromptu hinting, as though he was trying to figure out who Kazuho was.

Subtle but not enough for him to think that he knew about his real ident.i.ty. There wasn"t enough but he doubted that this was a slip of the tongue. It was more intentional. But feign ignorance and nothing wrong could come.

"The meeting point is my house." It wasn"t that surprising that it was there. He expected it. Asking a girl like Sachiko, to come out to some stranger"s house. It was too much to ask of her. And it made sense why he had offered his house instead.

Sasaki was someone she trusted. He would have to deal with it. Even as he knew that Sachiko was the only one who could explain to him now.

Although he was not hinging on that alone. But he knew better than to think that he could use that against the Saitou clan. That he would be able to wriggle out of Ayakazu"s control.

"I hope I see you there. Since it might be a terrible day for you." He narrowed his eyes onto it. But he ignored it, choosing to stand up. He was beyond that as it was, he had abandoned the right to be miserable on the winter equinox.

He took a moment to take in a deep breath. Even as it was a jab, a jab at his background and character. He closed his eyes before opening them again. "He knows?"

"I bribed them all to hide it." Even as it was doubtful how well it could have held up against it in the long run. But he had taken measures. If anything, he knew that the only way it could have been revealed was by a large amount of threatening or a huge sum of money to buy it.

"So, what do we do now?"

"We wait. He has something that can put us into a very dangerous spot." Knowing that he can revive rumors easily. He was aware that his real ident.i.ty was tricky and something that could be used well against him.

It was a weak spot that he covered with every effort that he could. Then again, it was bound to have come out at some point. But he only hoped to find her and quickly leave.

"So, he knows your ident.i.ty?"

"Just where the ship came from is enough. It"s far from the neighbouring countries, it being on the south. Even if it was a trading nation it has few ties to Kyokuhi." And it was rare, thus making it easier for them to figure it out.

Even as he knew that he had to find out just who found it out. The money didn"t seem like something Sasaki will be willing to sh.e.l.l out for such a vague clue. It needed to be someone make dedicated to knowing more about him. Someone with a true grudge against him.

It seems that finding out more about the Saitou clan was going about.

Kaede stepped into the room of Sachiko, wondering just why she was asking for her. As her servant it was expected to come. But this was strange as she had just left.

Here she entered carrying a bottle of wine. "What do you know about Kouya?"

It was an almost strange question. It caught her off guard as she had not expected it in such a place. She had been noticing the distance. A clear sign that it was because of Kaede"s own choices. She had kept things quiet about healed.

But to bring this up all of a sudden, it meant that something was up. Or rather Kouya had been reminded to her in some form. "Yes, but why?"

"Sasaki gave me a message. Kouya wanted to meet him." Kaede had given the message to Kazuho, even as she knew that it was the best of her ability. She did not want to lose her life and the hint was more than enough. It was concrete for him to know that there was something more.

Even as Kazuho had revealed something. That she was not the real Sachiko. The portrait in the shed, made a little more sense. She was an impostor of sorts, as much as it could mean that the real Saitou Sachiko could have died.

And then came just why her former master was masquerading as the Daimyo Senwari and what happened to them. It was the biggest mystery that surrounded her.

She had received it. It meant that his objective was complete. Or rather it meant that he was closer to completing the one thing that kept him tied here.

"He"s back in town?" Knowing that it was better to try this than anything else. She had to be careful, there was a lot of pitfalls that she could go into.

"Didn"t you receive a bottle from an unnamed source with a message about it being a late gift?" She had noticed even as she knew there was little way for her to even try to rebuke this. She could still turn it around.

"Yes, I had my feeling that it was him but I never met him." Even better than anything else. She knew that it was best to know that they had recent contact. There had to be trust and she knew better than to be honest on certain things.

Playing innocent was easy. She had convinced her of enough things. As much as she still has the Daimyo looking at her every move. Even as the man was almost two cities away. But she never doubted that he would be able to notice. Be able to figure it out at the end of the day.

As such she needed to be careful how she was going to tell them anything. "So you didn"t know anything?"

"Well, we haven"t made any contact in a long time." It also helped that it was true. Kazuho came back with a stranger look than before. He was different, he behaved and acted different. There was a lot more willingness to talk, his gentle charm more p.r.o.nounced. Nothing like the aloof boy she met back then.

"Then, what did you know about him?"

"He was well read. He taught me to read, and many other useful things. He also taught me another tongue." Simply because he could at the end of the day. Those were all that he remembered then.

"How so?"

"He was quoting cla.s.sics, and he mentioned that he was only around thirteen at the time." She hasn"t remembered the exact name of it, not having found it important.

"The works of the imperial courts of Kyokuhi?" She gave a shrug. Realizing just how much she didn"t know. Even her own skill in reading was mostly used to read letters, correspondences. And most stuck to concise language.

None of them sent poetry at all, and for those who did they were often negligible. "I don"t really know as I never had the chance to truly know."

It was only a couple of months. And he taught the most important things while reading and also teaching them. He had been able to do that, with ease.

"You mentioned that he taught you to read?"

"Yes." Even as she looked surprised. Perhaps it was not normal for any child to be able to do that to another child. Or even do so that they were able to remember it for the rest of their life.

"That"s not normal. Even if he is educated he"ll still need a few years before he reached that ability." Which will make him a near genius to be able to do that. And perhaps a gruelling schedule to have managed to learn that much as a child.

Even as Sachiko maintained a moment to think. Was there something? Kazuho had been quiet about his own past. All she knew in certainty had been the fact that his family was well connected. Well connected that the people hunting them had been the Sasaki clan.

"Have you heard of Tok.u.moto Kazuya. The only son of the previous Shogun. He disappeared as a child and many knew him to be a genius."

She had heard about it. It was a story spreaded throughout the country. That he will come back to seek revenge. Some mentioned that he died not long after and became a ghost that haunted the Shogun"s castle. She never put much thought into it.

"He has no pretenders because the work to be him was plenty. He was highly intelligent fluent in two languages and picking up another seven. One was his mother"s native tongue. He was also known to have written poems by the time he went missing."

It was credible. Those were the work of a prodigy. And such a boy could be teaching her words without any issue whatsoever. "He was also well versed in strategy."

As much as being fully capable made sense. It made sense why he was so well taught. How he had been incredibly polite despite all. He knew what to say regardless of the situation. Because he was raised to be a leader and that often meant being wiser than his years.

"Is there anything?"

"I"m not sure. But he was the one who killed the Daimyo Saitou but left the country shortly after that."