"Arisa. Oi, A-ri-sa! Chidori-dono! It's time to wake up!"

Tatsuhito stifled a small smile as he watched Shiori hover restlessly over their friend. It was close to evening now. The past two hours of downtime they'd spent over a few games of mahjong and leftovers from Tsukinoya had been more than enough to set Arisa's mind at ease and allow for complete exhaustion to set in. The young woman in question had long fallen fast asleep over the kotatsu table with her head pillowed in her arms.

"C'mon, Arisa..." Shiori complained with another nudge. She cast an anxious look outside. "It's getting dark out! And it's a long way back, right?"

"Go away..." Arisa mumbled beneath her breath, turning her head the other way.

"Funny how she didn't even need any alcohol to get this way," Tatsuhito commented, leaning back with a chuckle. "If you'd told me she was drunk, I'd have believed it."

Shiori aimed a glare at him.

"...what am I supposed to do with her?"

"Just have her stay the night," came the practical response. "Look at her. She's clearly not going anywhere on her own, and I'm in no mood to haul her all the way back over to Takanotsume."

Arisa mumbled something unintelligible beneath her breath and shifted again, this time fully burying her face in her arms. Shiori glanced over to her, before slumping her shoulders and letting out an exaggerated groan.

"Of course this is what I get for babying you... God, sometimes you're no better than Riyu!" Leaning down and grasping Arisa's arm from her left side, she jutted her chin at him. "Tatsuhito-kun! Come help!"

Tatsuhito sighed but complied. Arisa stirred a few times, but whatever feeble protests she gave ultimately went unheeded as Shiori unceremoniously hauled her up and helped her onto the instructor's back. With some clumsy coordination, the two managed to get her to the guest room upstairs, where Tatsuhito carefully set Arisa down on the spare futon mattress.

Shiori pulled the covers over her friend's sleeping form. Her expression softened with sympathy.

"She really must be exhausted, the poor thing," she murmured, turning down the lamp and retreating to the doorway where Tatsuhito stood waiting for her.

They descended the staircase together. Once at the entryway, he glanced out of one of the windows through which a minuscule patch of the evening sky was visible.

"I should probably get going."

"Oh... already?" A flicker of disappointment darkened Shiori's face, though she quickly masked it with her usual smile. They went down the landing together, and she reached out to open the door for him. "Busy day tomorrow?"

"Well. Something like that." Tatsuhito hesitated as he stepped out into the front garden "I need to speak with my brother on a few things first thing in the morning."

Shiori huffed and followed him down the gravel path to the entrance gate.

"It sounds like Arisa isn't the only one overextending herself. Do I need to get a word in to the lord for both of you?"

"We can both take care of ourselves," Tatsuhito answered matter-of-factly, lips tilting into a small smile as he took in her petulant frown. The expression was short lived however, soon to be replaced with one of sober rumination as he mulled over Arisa's confession from earlier.

"What's wrong?" Shiori asked anxiously.

"I was just thinking about the whole deal with that pirate... Himuro wouldn't lie about something like that, would he?" Tatsuhito stilled, choosing his words carefully. "I'd be curious to see how Misokatsu-sama will respond to this."

Shiori tilted her head slightly, clearly reading the doubt in his face.

"Do you not trust the lord?"

"It isn't the lord I'm worried about." He hemmed a sigh, knowing full well how unconvincing he sounded. "I just have a feeling it'd be a huge mistake to trust that Trafalgar guy – in any way, shape, or form."

"I still don't know what to make of him myself, to be honest... But what makes you think the lord will propose working with him?"

"He told him about the soul relic; isn't that enough of a sign?" Tatsuhito narrowed his eyes. "I know they're your guests, Shiori... but I think your father is right. It's far too risky to collaborate with outsiders of any sort – much less pirates! And the fact that he tried to interfere with Dr. Yotsuji already... He has to have some sort of ulterior motive."

Shiori turned slightly to shoot a glance at one of the second-story windows. A visible shadow passed over her face.

"Well, it'd be a real shame if that turned out to be the case," she said quietly. "Having them as an enemy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, wasn't it obvious to you?" Shiori paused. "I don't think Arisa wouldn't have been so upset earlier if she hadn't genuinely grown attached to some extent."

Picturing Arisa's distraught face from earlier on, Tatsuhito felt a brief pang of sympathy. But he steeled himself to the memory with a stubborn frown.

"After just a single week?"

Shiori shrugged, resting one hand against the stone wall.

"Why not? We all can get weird and emotional like that." Another beat elapsed before she went on: "...I just think it'd be too bad, you know? She's already lost enough as is..."

Shiori kept her voice deceptively casual. But Tatsuhito caught the minute shift in her expression and deciphered it near instantly. He'd known Shiori long enough to tell when she was burdened by her own worries. There was a shadow of melancholy in her eyes, a hidden pain which surely must have been festering at the back of her mind since he'd first broken the news about the proposed marriage alliance. But it was never as blatant, as real as it was now.

"...Tatsuhito."

He drew in a careful breath to ease his nerves and met her gaze with indecipherable eyes. The gravity in Shiori's delivery alone was enough to alert him to what she was thinking.

Shiori hesitated, then chose her words with utmost caution.

"If Father was serious about the... About us..." she cut off, her voice growing thin. "Would you forgive me... for asking you to rethink that deal?"

Tatsuhito's gaze settled between his feet.

"But if Misokatsu-sama wishes it..."

"Father is willing to put his word in with the lord on our behalf!" Shiori leaned in earnestly. "We all know how stubborn he is! If he puts his mind to something, he'll see it through to the end. You know that!"

"Shiori."

"All he wants is for us to be happy, and...!" She fumbled for a moment, her voice wavering. "I think he's right, you know. What use is another alliance to us? And this time with... what, the Amatsuki and Tenkū-jō? Why do we even need to get involved in their affairs?"

"Because Amenoka-ji owes much of her survival to the Tenkū-jō Uzuki," Tatsuhito answered quietly. "And the Amatsuki stand to benefit greatly from their support. Their position is precarious as is, having to rely so much on the World Government. Misokatsu-sama isn't lying – this alliance would strengthen our position and encourage unification. I'm sorry, Shiori, but Yanjirō-dono is oversimplifying things to suit his own agenda. I can't just refuse the lord's orders."

"Why not?" Shiori challenged. "I know Misokatsu-sama; he isn't heartless! What will happen if you just refuse other than for Donabe-dono to throw a fit? You're the one who holds all the leverage in this situation, for God's sake, so why won't you use it to your advantage?"

"That isn't true!" Tatsuhito's voice hardened. "Who's to say they won't turn around and pressure Arisa to go instead? What then?"

He immediately regretted his words. Shiori had stopped short mid-retort, her face growing slightly pale and a flicker of genuine fear kindling in her eyes.

Guilt tore his soul to shreds at the sight. The possibility he'd raised was very real, but so were ghosts from the Saboady which still actively haunted Shiori to this day – the same ghosts which fueled Riyu's sometimes overbearing tendencies towards her aneki, the same ghosts Taishi had attempted to flee by leaving for Tenkū-jō. He should have known better than to weaponize that fear against her.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out. "I... I know I shouldn't have said that..."

"No." For a moment, Shiori's voice was as distant as the faraway look in her eyes, and it seemed to take another beat for her to return to the present. Her throat gave a tremulous flutter as she swallowed once and lifted her face to meet his gaze. "You're right. I'm the one who's being selfish."

Helplessly, Tatsuhito could only shake his head.

"Don't say that."

There was more he wanted to say – so much more. He wished to tell her how much it hurt to see her like his. How much he despised himself, putting her in such a pitiable position. How much the whole of her existence meant to him. He knew that saying any of those things aloud would make things harder for both of them, but even without any consideration of that, it would have been impossible to vocalize his feelings in any way that made sense.

It didn't matter that composition had been one of Tatsuhito's stronger subjects as a student, that he'd given hundreds of lessons or presented at seemingly innumerable council meetings. Isseki Shiori was the only person who had this sort of effect on him – the only one whose kind yet spirited nature was capable of captivating him entirely and rendering him completely inarticulate like an abashed schoolboy.

Shiori seemed to read the look on his face, and her eyes softened. She smiled a little, rather sadly, and he momentarily felt like his heart was about to explode.

Something in that moment reminded him of that day so many years ago when they'd kissed for the first time. They'd skived off training, with Shiori dragging him off to the woods to show him her new favorite sketching spot at a natural water spring. He'd lost his balance close to the edge and had fallen into the pool, then rather childishly opted to pull Shiori in with him when she'd started laughing at him.

They'd eventually managed to climb back out, though not before expending profuse energy play-grappling and splashing each other in the water. It had happened when they were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the boulders, attempting to catch their breaths. Exactly what they had been talking about, Tatsuhito couldn't quite remember; it was probably something perfectly banal and meaningless, as is usually the case with conversations amongst teenagers. But that didn't matter then, because it had been with Shiori, and her presence never failed to put him at ease. So in a strange way it had all felt completely natural when she'd reached up to touch his face. When she'd smiled that wistful smile of hers and kissed him, and he'd pulled her closer to kiss her back.

Like this was always the way things were meant to be.

Tatsuhito's heart clenched painfully at the memory.

Warmth enveloped his freezing hands as Shiori tentatively took them in her own.

"I feel like such a hypocrite, you know," she admitted softly. "Arisa was asking about this last night, and I kept telling her that she shouldn't worry. But look at me now, still grasping at straws..." She paused, biting her lip, then forced a smile. "Even then, nothing is set in stone yet...right?"

"Not until my brother meets with Donabe-dono. So in three, four days' time..."

But both of them knew that Mototatsu's visiting party was set to depart for Amenoka-ji first thing in the morning the day after tomorrow. So realistically speaking, there was only a little more than a full day left before Tatsuhito would be called back to the main shrine.

Shiori gave a faint nod.

"Until then, at least..." Her grip tightened spastically as she drew closer. "...would you be able to forgive me for my selfishness?"

Tatsuhito felt his cheeks warm in color as she angled her face upwards, their lips now hovering mere centimeters apart.

"Of course," he breathed out, reaching up to clasp her face as he started to lean in –

That damned Kyōki signature registered to them both in the nick of time.

The two broke apart like repelling magnets as Trafalgar Law casually strode into view from around the corner, bearing that giant nodachi of his over his shoulder as if it were the most natural accessory in the world. He paused at the gate, his impassive gray eyes sweeping over the frazzled pair in a mildly bemused sort of way.

If he had overheard any of the preceding conversation, he gave no indication of it in his voice.

"Tour Guide-ya. Blue Hair-ya. I was looking for you both."

"B-blue Hair...?" Shiori frantically smoothed the front of her kimono, clearing her throat in an attempt to look dignified. "Oh, do you mean Tatsuhito-kun?"

The surgeon completely disregarded the clarification.

"Have either of you seen Murasaki-ya around?" he asked bluntly.

"Ah... Arisa? Uhm..." Shiori stole another glance at the second story window. "S-she's sleeping like a baby up there as we speak."

"Asleep?" Law frowned.

"You heard her right!" Tatsuhito snapped with an irritated huff, inwardly cursing at himself for being so prone to blushing so easily. He could only hope that his flaming face wasn't as noticeable in the dimness. "She's done for the day."

"But it's an urgent matter –"

"It'll have to wait. Unless you're willing to haul her back all the way to Takanotsume yourself!"

Law considered for a moment, before relenting with a shrug.

"Fine," he said briskly, re-shouldering his nodachi. "So she'll be here in the morning?"

"I don't know," Shiori said, voice apologetic, while Tatsuhito continued to eye the surgeon suspiciously. "That's completely up to her."

This earned a small sigh of annoyance. Law grudgingly nodded again and started to turn away, before stopping short as if remembering something.

"Oh, there was one more thing."

Tatsuhito stiffened as the surgeon turned to him.

"About the brat –"
"Brat?"

" – Murasaki-ya told me that he was able to speak normally the last time he was here. Is that true?"

Shiori and Tatsuhito exchanged bewildered looks.

"Well, he was still quite small the last time he visited...as in, still learning to speak," Shiori began slowly. "But yes... I do remember he was able to talk a bit."

"When did he start using the notepad?"

"I'm not sure exactly. But it had to have been a year ago, right?" Shiori looked over to Tatsuhito for confirmation. "I mean, he can barely go a word without coughing now...."

"It was actually more around two years ago, according to my sister-in-law," Tatsuhito said reluctantly.

Law crooked an eyebrow.

"That's before the onset of any of the other symptoms."

"Yes. Koga-sama told me that he'd stopped speaking on his own – partially due to bullying from his classmates. He's always been very shy."

Another uneasy pause elapsed as Law considered this.

"Interesting," he finally said, adjusting his grip on the nodachi sheath and starting to turn away. Tatsuhito bit down a rise of irritation as a ghost of a smirk crossed his face. "That would be all then. You can carry on then, with... whatever you were discussing before."

Shiori sweat dropped as he turned and disappeared past the corner as quickly as he'd come. Then she laughed a little and brought a hand up to her face rather self-consciously.

"What a strange man..."

"He's just trying to mess with us!" Tatsuhito muttered.

"Do you think so?"

"Didn't you see that expression on his face?" Tatsuhito shook his head. He wondered briefly how much of their previous conversation the pirate had been privy to. Just the thought of him listening in to an exchange so vulnerable was enough to have his teeth grinding together in annoyance.

Shiori gave a small smile, tilting her chin in genuine perplexion.

"Isn't it funny? That interruption was so random that for a moment, I completely forgot where we left off..."

Tatsuhito opened his mouth to answer, only to nearly jump out of his skin again when Law suddenly poked his head past the corner of the wall.

"If my memory serves me correctly," he said, enunciating the words with deliberate clarity, "you were asking if he could 'forgive you for your selfishness.' To which he answered 'Of course,' and then..." He shot them both a mock meaningful look, though it was clear he was holding back a smirk. "Well. That's probably more than enough for you to carry on."

And he was gone again – hopefully this time for good – leaving the pair tomato-red, embarrassed, and completely dumbfounded.

"...that bastard!" Tatsuhito hissed, clenching his fists.

Shiori let out a small chuckle, before muffling another helpless giggle into the back of her hand.

──────────────────

"...he's back already?" Shachi mumbled, staring out the porthole. It was considerably darker now with the sun sinking low over the horizon, but Captain's silhouette was still clearly etched out against the dimming shoreline as he approached the Polar Tang..

Penguin straightened in his seat. Rakko did a double take as he set two dinner trays down before Riyu and Himuro.

"Seriously? That fast?"

"I'd say it's more likely that he didn't find her," Riyu supplied over her steaming bowl of ramen, reaching for a pair of chopsticks. "Aneki likes to be left alone when she gets all riled up. She wouldn't come back without a fight – not this early on!"

"Yeah," Himuro agreed, already digging into his meal. He reflected for a moment, before letting out a dismissive snort. "Pfft, it's more likely that he stumbled across a tryst than Arisa-san."

He paused, visibly sweat dropping as everyone in the near vicinity perked up and swiveled around in their chairs to gape at him.

"You guys..."

"Tryst?" Rakko repeated, eagerly pulling up a chair. "Whatcha mean by that?"

"Yeah, tell us more!" Clione and Uni sidled in from the neighboring table while Ikkaku merely shook her head and face palmed in the background.

"L-like an affair?" Penguin flushed pink. "Is it common for people to have affairs in this village?"

Shachi seemed to be the only person not paying attention. He was distracted playing with the fan he'd been given at Tsukinoya.

"No... I meant it in the opposite way, you busybodies!" Himuro grouched, protectively pulling his ramen closer. "What do you mean, affairs? Hidamari is perfectly mundane in that respect! That's why I brought it up – precisely because it's so rare!"

"That's right!" Riyu chided. "Listening comprehension, guys!"

"Awww..."

Their audience seemed to visibly deflate, doom lines settling over their heads in a dreary cloud. Himuro sweat dropped again, while the Mink gawked at them in confusion.

"Weren't you guys saying just a little while ago that you were 'pirates, not gossips?'"

"That was only Rakko!" Clione pouted.

"Who doesn't love gossip?" Azarashi added.

"Exactly. Life would be boring without any drama! Right, Jean Bart? Bepo?"

"...eh?"

"Kind of. I'm sorry..."

"Don't tell Captain any of this though!"

Himuro had been slurping away at his noodles. He suddenly stopped and frowned, as if to remember something.

"Actually... there is one that I can think of," he mumbled, more to himself.

"One what?" Rakko asked.

"Affair, of course -" Himuro cut off, cringing as all eyes snapped back over to him – Ikkaku and the ermine Mink included this time.

"Hah?!" Clione and Rakkoi crowded back around the table with Uni and Clione in tow.

"Wait, seriously?" Riyu exclaimed, bolting up from her seat in excitement. "I didn't know! Who?!"

"Quit yelling into my ear!" Himuro barked, recoiling. "And what the hell? You're no better than the rest of them!"

"Who cares?" Penguin exclaimed. "Now explain! Give us all the details!"

"I mean... it isn't really much of an affair, since most people already know about it. You should think of it more as Hidamari Village's worst kept secret..."

"Well I've never heard of it, so now I'm dying to know!" Riyu whined, sidling closer. "Tell me who you're talking about – I wanna know!"

Himuro peered over to her, before giving a visible start as if remembering something. He looked around nervously and began to sweat.

"Well... er..."

"Is it someone we've met?" Penguin pressed.

"I betcha it's someone at Tsukinoya..."

"What about Yotsuji -" Uni began.

Ikkaku snorted incredulously.

"God, what is it with you and your theories about Dr. Yotsuji?"

"Hah!" Clione chuckled, slapping his knee. "And here we were thinking that nee-san had a crush – OW!"

"Oh!" Riyu leaped up from her chair and smacked her palm with her fist, drawing everyone's attention again. "I know who it is! It's Akane-chan, isn't it? From Tsukinoya!"

"Ah?" Penguin blinked. "Isn't that the chick who..."

Very slowly, everyone turned their heads to Shachi's direction. The man in question had gone sheet-white and was staring down at his fan in horror.

"Akane-chan...?"

"Oh...." Rakko whispered while Jean Bart shook his head in sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Shachi," Penguin said solemnly, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Some things just aren't meant to last."

"It has to be Akane-chan!" Riyu insisted, tugging on Himuro's sleeve. "It is – right, Himuro?"

"Knock it off, Kamome-dono!" Himuro pulled free with a scowl. "No, you're not even close!"

Penguin and Rakko did a double take, while Shachi's shoulders visibly slumped in relief.

"Then tell ussss!" Riyu whined.

"Just let it be! If you haven't been able to figure it out after all this time, then maybe you don't deserve to know!"

"Deserve to know what?" Law asked, walking into the mess hall.

The Hearts jolted to attention.

"Captain! Welcome back!" Penguin called out. He glanced around nervously at the doorway as the surgeon pulled up a chair at the end of Himuro and Riyu's table. "So... no luck with the part-timer?"

Law nodded, leaning back in his seat with a rather dismissive air.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow. We're in no rush anyways." He glanced around at his crew with mild interest. "What's with all the commotion? I heard all the shouting from outside."

Uni shot a warning look to Penguin, but Himuro piped up before anyone could stop him.

"Gossip."

"Gossip?" Law frowned in confusion.

"It isn't fair, Mr. Dots!" Riyu complained, tugging childishly at Himuro's arm despite the latter's protests. "Himuro here knows about a secret love affair, but he's being stingy with the details! He won't tell us a thing!"

"It's not so much of a secret when it's that blatantly obvious!" Himuro shook his head in resignation and began slurping another mouthful of noodles. "It's your fault for not noticing on your own!"

"Tch, you're just using that as an excuse, I know it!" The Mink pouted and shot a sulky glare at the surgeon. "And knowing the way you-teia are, Mr. Dots, there's no way you'd have any idea of what we're talking about, either..."

"Yeah..." Uni let out a nervous laugh. "Captain isn't interested in that sort of stuff in the slightest."

Law shrugged.

"You're right, I'm not," he said offhandedly. "Though I think I do know the couple in question."

For a moment the entire mess hall went dead silent as his words sank in. Himuro had frozen mid-slurp, brow furrowing in confusion. Riyu, Rakko, and Clione's eyes popped out of their skulls. Bepo and Jean Bart stared blankly, looking utterly aghast. Penguin's jaw hit the floor.

Then, the collective shout shook the hull of the Polar Tang:

"WHAAAATTTTTTT?!!!"

"There's no way!" Riyu sputtered. "Y-y-you're joking right? You-teia have to be joking!"

"Why would I lie about something like that?"

"Yeah, I know Captain – he's being dead serious!" Penguin declared, pulling in his chair next between Rakko and Clione. "How'd you find out?!"

Law looked around at the eager faces attending him.

"I saw them embracing on the way back," he said bluntly.

Penguin and Clione flushed beet red, while Himuro gagged and started choking on his noodles.

"Who cares about that!" Riyu burst out impatiently. "You're still leaving out the most important part! Go on; tell us who it is!"

"Why do you all care so much? It's none of our business."

"But we're dying to know –!"

"We're begging you, Captain!"

"C'mon, Mr. Dots! It isn't fair~!"

──────────────────

Ito peered up at the dilapidated hut from beneath the brim of her amigasa hat. Raising her sputtering lantern aloft, she tentatively looked around her surroundings before mounting the mossy stone step to the side entrance.

The door slid open with a grating rattle, and darkness yawned from within. She stepped in noiselessly, padded over to the empty hearth, and set the lantern down.

This place – located near a cove several kilometers south of Hidamari – was now long abandoned. Years ago, a humble community of fishermen had resided here. Most had either retired to Hidamari Village or had changed their base of operations over to Kirigirisu Island after Uzuki Misokatsu made the decree to designate the general area around Takanotsume as an official checkpoint for visitors.

All that was left to behold was abandoned infrastructure. Save for the occasional patrol, not a soul would bother to venture out here now. Paired with its relative proximity to Takanotsume, that made it the perfect place for Ito to meet with her compatriots undetected.

Ito removed her hat and rested it over her lap. It had been an extra precaution to avoid being recognized as she'd snuck out from the village. She had also changed to simpler, darker attire for convenience – a cheap overgarment of a coarse evergreen material, the ending fringe of her pristine kosode worn underneath tucked somewhat fastidiously into the folds of her obi.

Still, despite the frugality of her appearance, the rigid austerity of her comportment seemed to blatantly betray a venerable occupation no lowly peasant woman could dream of attaining.

The piercing outcry of a wailing fox drifted stealthily past the egress. Ito drew the thin folds of her kosode closer against her frame and continued to wait. Beneath the course fabric, her pale slender arms enfolded protectively over her ribs to smother an involuntary shudder.

She listened to the mournful keening from outside, and a grim, humorless smile eventually curved her lips. For some reason she sound evoked a distinct memory of her grandmother – a wrinkly, shriveled scrap of a woman with a sharp tongue and even a penchant for superstition. She had been fond of saying that a lone fox wailing near the premises was considered an ill omen.

Oh, how ironic.

A long, crooked shadow slanted over the hole-ridden patio, the floorboards squealing under ponderous footsteps. Ito straightened her back slightly, her dark eyes flitting to the entrance.

"Megitsune." It was a man's voice — muffled and serpentine. "Or should I say... Ito-dono?"

Ito – no, Megitsune – scowled.

"You're late, Haimushi," she answered, moving the lamp closer as he detached himself from the shadows and sat at the hearth. "Where is Mukade?"

The man was thin and lanky-limbed, almost spider-like in his bearings. Beneath his kimono, his entire body was wrapped in thick bandages up to his neck. His face was exactly the same from when she'd seen him last – long, pale, and odiously unkempt, dotted with scars and a meager patches of stubble. Stray strands of his oily chin-length hair had escaped his topknot, framing his gaunt face for an even more unsettling effect.

"How would I know?" he croaked, leaning in and fanning his long, crooked fingers over the candle of the lantern in a paltry attempt to warm himself. "I'm not his keeper."

Megitsune detected a writhing movement beneath the bandages plastered on his neck, and looked away with another shudder of disgust. She had never liked Haimushi – both for his personality and his... unique skill set. Of all of her fellow Kodera-Ikki operatives, the Kyōgui certainly wasn't the most difficult to work with, but there was something inexplicably hair-raising about his mannerisms that she couldn't quite get over, no matter how many times they'd collaborated.

Perhaps it was an instinct left over from her time as a human.

"The last I heard, though, he was still hiding out at Takanotsume... Shall we go retrieve him?"

"As if we have the time for that!" Megitsune answered sharply. "I need to get back in an hour at the latest. She'll notice me missing and raise a ruckus otherwise, that hysterical bitch."

Just the thought of reverting back to her undercover role was enough to poison her mood. She certainly hadn't expected to hate it so much when she'd first been approached with the mission – a mission which, on its face, had appeared perfectly trivial. And at first, it really seemed that way. But now with several months of playing the role as "Oito" behind her, Megitsune, had come to despise the Hachinobe family. Koga in particular, for fretting so much over that stupid sickly brat. These days she even went to bed crying over her son's impending fate.

Megitsune didn't care. She never did. She thought that the mother's episodes were whiny and performative, but of course she couldn't ever show that, could she? As "Oito," she had an image to maintain. Ito had to smile and nod her head placidly and pretend to listen. Ito had to pat her mistress' hand sympathetically and offer a shoulder to cry on, all the while biting back the urge to strangle someone.

It was revolting. Just thinking about it made her all the more thankful that her time undercover would soon come to an end. It would all be worth it – that was what she kept telling herself to quell her indignation.

"Fine. As long as he comes tomorrow then." Haimushi's muddy green eyes appeared to waver and warp against the quaking orange light. The shadows cast by the lantern quivered violently, cradling the sharp angles of his face.

Megitsune scowled but relented. Perhaps it would be better this way, time-wise. Technically there was also the matter of those pirates to tackle, but with Mukade's absence she felt that it was wholly warranted to delay that discussion until he could give his input. As the only one of the team who was hiding out at Takanotsume, the Kyōgui in question had ample opportunity to spy on them up until now.

She retracted a folded slip of paper from her sleeve. Haimushi eyed it skeptically.

"What's that?"

"Masabe-sama had it smuggled to me during the voyage here," Megitsune answered. "I was not to read it until I'd cleared the checkpoint at Takanotsume."

Haimushi let out a dismissive snort.

"What, more instructions?"

Megitsune only smiled briefly and handed the letter over, dark eyes giving off a calculating glint.

"More like a slight change of plans," she said, "but... yes. You could say that."

Haimushi let out a grunt as he began to peruse the note.

"You see, Masabe-sama's spies have confirmed that Uzuki Donabe arrived here from the Tenkū-jō stronghold a little over two weeks ago. The timing matches up rather coincidentally with Mototatsu-sama's visit, don't you think?"

"...except Masabe-sama doesn't believe in coincidences." Haimushi gave an unsettling grin as his murky eyes roved over the scrawled characters.

"Indeed. An alliance between the Amatsuki and the Tenkū-jō Uzuki must surely be in the works. But from past incidents, we already know that at least one of the three elders here would oppose the deal."

"Ah, of course. We can always rely on Isseki Yanjirō to follow through with his isolationist tendencies."

"Exactly. Such difference in opinion would, say, give the perfect pretext for some... unfortunate errors in judgment. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"...I do." A dark chuckle racked the Kyōgui's chest. He finally lowered the note and shook his head in mock pity. "Oh, but it's monstrous – brilliantly, tragically monstrous! Masabe-sama is a heartless man."

Megitsune's smile remained frozen on her face like a mask.

"The best part is that we scarcely have to alter our original plan to get the desired outcome. Hachinobe Tatsusada will still be fated to meet his demise the day after tomorrow.

"The only thing that changes is who takes the fall for it."

Translation(s):

Amigasa (編み笠): Conical straw hat.

Megitsune (女狐): Vixen.

Haimushi (灰虫): "lung bug." A parasitic yōkai.

Mukade (百足): Centipede.

Ito's true nature is revealed! (This feels like an editor's note at the end of a manga chapter lol)

Thanks for reading & see you next chapter!