Chapter 4.1 "Family Ties"

The time for his mother's classes came when the sun laid down.

Ren pulled the sliding door open and felt a hitch while so, the shoji paper trembling. Some oil was needed on these frames, he thought, remembering it for notifying the servants.

He began another of his hurried walks through the many corridors of the manor. As much as he wished to take a bath to be as replenished as can be before her classes, she would surely have a clever quip stored for him if he was late. And he wanted none of that.

Mother is like a demon whenever I come late, he thought, shivering remembering yesterday. I was just a bit off the clock and she nagged on about punctuality for a whole hour. At least I feel like I'm at one hundred percent now... should I just not practice tomorrow? he pondered while swerving through another path cutting all the corners he could.

After the happening at the library, they decided on another place for him to continue his studies. And the chosen area was his mother's personal library, where layers and layers of protection plus guards were around to avoid the same mishap from happening.

But trouble and he were stuck in a bond—he laughed a nervous laugh about it. And he could always tell when it was inbound by the chills on his nape.

He twitched.

Far behind on the same corridor he walked on, shadows formed the size of ants how far they were. They squinted their eyes to make out whose back it was on their front and shone when they recognized it was Ren's. Not any glean but an evil one was on their eyes.

Absorbing all air, one pumped their chest and shouted, "Heeey, Ren—I mean, Young Master!"

Ren halted, fists tightening. Really? Now?

Heavens be damned, but the timing was the worst.

As if preparing himself for what would come, he took a long breath before he turned to face the individuals. There were three people, all his cousins. They walked like a pack of wolves in his direction, starveling like the winter was on.

The oldest one, Akihiko, had been the one to shout.

Of course it would be him, Ren remarked, face grim.

The man smirked as he approached. He was the son of Ren's aunt—his most beloved aunt, Hara. But only because she was the only aunt he had left—Ren sneered, then frowned as the trio had come a considerable distance his way. He frowned even worse when they stopped in his front and looked as if gauging him in some way.

What do they want now...? he thought, transpiring on the back of his neck.

Akihiko was in the middle and front, standing out the boldest among the three. Especially for this little game they liked to play.

He looked in his thirties and styled fiery hair and a weird beard—shaped like a flame. He made true the case of judging a book by its cover the way his bashfulness matched himself and his energy.

But Ren knew that in the back of his glare existed a resentment that creeped up at times... because he of all people knew best of that. Just the way he was smiling now, Ren saw... it wasn't the same smile he fashioned to others. It felt like a warning, and Ren had to swallow an impalpable fear that had come throttling up his throat.

A girl snickered by Akihiko's side seeing his predicament. It was so obvious to her of course. He was an open book to her.

She was Ena and was the daughter to one of Ren's uncles—or one of the late patriarch's brothers if better put.

Her father, like many, had been prey to then an heir, Sakamoto, back when the last Battle of Succession was on. Sakamoto's last blow for conquest and as such, succession, was against her father. So not even crooked, she could barely mask the ire in her globes whenever she glanced at Ren. A mask composed of bitter scoffs and laughter.

And because it was her, he could never get used to it—Ren recollected a faraway feeling of betrayal and bit his lip.

Last was a boy around Ren's age, Hitomi, also a son of Hara, and of the three he never did much. Maybe it was his own thing or because their age was close and he was timid, but he always kept his gloomy eyes off the actions of his cousins, hands not partaking in the abuse too. However, the same as his brother and mother, his hair borrowed the strong red theirs had, even if his temperament was completely another.

But Ren couldn't help but hold it against him. That he would even stand beside them while they played their thing.

So, he sighed heavily and said, "May I inquire about your motives... cousins?" Not with a smile, and not a greeting. Just purely dry, though his tone had been especially dead at the word—cousins.

Akihiko immediately answered, "Ehhh? Why are you being so cold? You should call us by our names, Young Master. We are family, aren't we?" Akihiko wore the most obviously exaggerated expressions of hurt he could act out. His face had also scrunched for the moment he had to call someone he saw as larvae as Young Master—Ren never missed it.

So obvious... he thought, frowning and hoping they wouldn't see the contempt in his eye.

"Yeah, we are aaall family." Ena, however, kept it going as she added her part smiling cheekily.

And so, Ren's eyes furrowed in disgust.

If anyone, she was the one who knew how to push his buttons the most.

And... "Oh? What is this?" Akihiko continued, voice an evil scowl when he saw the frown on his cousin's face.

Ren felt the bottom of his soul quiver when he saw the evil consuming the man before him.

At first he didn't understand. Or couldn't place himself in the position to. Why me? What have I done? But slightly, he realized it wasn't him. What they hated was what he stood for and his title. They held all their jealous against that unknowingly and their rage too. Provocations were merely their facade for a grander, subconscious feeling. And if he bit the bait, it was all on him and they could exert out all those feelings they held in finally.

However, even then. The one thing Ren thought himself unable to conform to were the fake laughs and guises all around him. Each time used they turned uglier—he saw through their cracks. Their contempt and ire shone through so radiantly. The world's rage was against him, so he used his own rage against it. But it was a pitiful one if compared.

(That's because you allow it to be.)

Ren soughed, looking to piece himself up quick. I am talking to children, I am talking to children, I am talking to children... These creatures can't be adults... so don't be scared of children... His breath came shaky as he managed himself somehow. He then spoke slowly, "Could the three of you excuse me as I now have classes to attend?" He used his most polite smile as he pointed them in the other direction. He covertly used his middle finger as the indicator.

Akihiko's veins on his temple bulged when he saw it. This little shit...! He had to extenuate the offense through all his mental fortitude to halt himself or else. His look was barely serious.

The ceremony's approaching and he thinks he can go bolder all of a sudden?! He has never... never had to work for what he's been given! Meanwhile we are just some outsiders playing doll in this house... Akihiko thought, eyes a raging gloom. He's lucky people go through here a lot or if not... The same glean from the beginning returned. A million ways of doing the unspeakable went through his mind in the second he clenched and unclenched his fist.

All this was borne from some ambitious thing that had said he was supposed to be next. And he had allowed it to grow inside. But ever since a little child from the direct line was born, it began dimming out of his power. But then, some jealousy birthed the aspiration that said he was supposed to be where Ren's at. He wanted it as easy, because working hard was a fool's measure of achieving success, or so he deemed it.

Because he had tried all already.

And then, he had an idea. Perhaps a brilliant one if he were to consider it.

He hid his smirk while he said, "Woah, no need to ditch us so fast, cousin... I... noticed you've been picking up the sword more often these days, no? If not too rude, would you consider sparring against me so I can check your progress? You might need this bout since the ceremony's approaching."

Without waiting for an answer, Akihiko unsheathed his sword. Behind his friendly smile, a veiled excitement came in the form of his mouth twitching.

Haha... hahaha! How come I haven't considered this before?! He slightly adjusted his hands to hide the fact he was trembling. It came from the obvious incitement he knew the little fish, too hungry for its own good, would take as an opportunity to strike back. He was sure of it.

And.

If I injure him just the right amount and his condition is termed as unfit for the ceremony, I might be given the chance to do it myself! I could even become the patriarch! Me! I could do it... if only I can manage to off him right now somehow— He stopped, his own thoughts giving him shivers. An influx of adrenaline rushed through him like he had been lacking it his whole life. His smile distorted more and more as he thought of it all.

Hitomi's usual timid expression turned into one of shock when he heard his brother. 'You idiot! I know what you're thinking! You will be punished accordingly if you try to injure an Ashikaga of the First Lineage at this moment and to the degree you are planning to! You can just wait for the official bouts during the ceremony to do it!' He tried whispering to Akihiko, but his words went through one ear and left through the other. A hungry look had spread throughout his brother's whole face... smelt like greed.

Ren stopped for a moment, blood cooling in fear, and flinched. As much as his rememberings of how their bullying went when he was younger were bare, his body still jumped whenever they came close. It was an unconditional thing really, this relationship between them; he gave them his body for harm and he never once had asked for anything in exchange. But to wisen up was to judge fairly. He wanted to be better. Do better. To take the helm for once.

Ren pulled his katana off its sheath. It rang on deaf ears like the warning sign ignored for the rush of the moment. "I accept your proposal." A cold voice came, very much unlike him.

I don't mind them ignoring the fact that I was hospitalized just some days ago. In fact, right now... I feel above the normal... I feel... like I am among the clouds. Or I'm being dragged so fast downward I can't feel anything underneath.

Akihiko laughed while observing in a cool smirk, with his feet still sleazy and sword swinging around, as Ren took a stance. He seemed not to take the brat—as he saw him—seriously at all. Both he and Ena were mocking and talking, laughing with each other. Barely a glance was spared in the to-be heir's direction. Though not one person. Hitomi. He recognized the threat Ren posed in this present moment.

Ren's posture was unlike any he had seen before, and he had read almost all of what the library could offer in martial arts form.

One of Ren's feet had slid back, making it so that both were far apart and in a line, and the toes of each pointed in opposite directions. With one of his hands, he held his katana above his head, and with the other, he secured the tip of the blade firmly. A rock paled in firmness as to how Hitomi saw him. A mount of confidence in the posture. Years of training.

"T-This is mad..." Hitomi mumbled, stumbling as his footing turned weak. His pupils expanded like crazy. And the hurt hit like a shark's jaw. He saw something in the far, beyond this time. He felt horror like how a child feared the dark. Immense eyes were looking at him.

"G-Give up this bout, now... brother!" Hitomi spoke, teeth clattering. He couldn't take his eyes off Ren, even if he wanted to as badly as fire was hot.

Akihiko looked at his brother as if he were crazy. 'Give up this opportunity in a million? Not even if the patriarch came and told me himself,' he whispered and turned back ahead, tongue going across his lips. He would savor this.

"I will now commence the countdown," Ren said, still in the same position.

"True men don't need a measly countdown. They fight through teeth and nails whenever." Akihiko laughed as he lazily brought his sword to his shoulder, changing his weight from one knee to both.

Akihiko then blinked—He should be as intimidated as I could've made him be. I didn't even give him prepping time. He looked around the place, eyes lazy, as if to feign there were no worries on his part. Until he blinked again—With his sword finally in front, Akihiko would start his path until a demagogue of his time, imagining infinite riches as the to-be patriarch of the clan when this bout would end. His grip was still lax though, and so he blinked once more.

Firming his hand on the sword, he used his other to caress his hair, and another blink closed his view barely for a millisecond as he slouched into stance.

And suddenly, a katana was pairing right above his head.

"Wha...—!" Akihiko yelped as he barely cowered back.

At least to this point, he had trained.

But the katana and its owner were faster. A gaze not fit for man hid behind the blade as they followed Akihiko. That was Ren, with his hands fully into the motion. Yearning for the hunt. For the kill.

A beast. In the most visceral sense of the word.

Ren's katana descended each millimeter the slowest it could in Akihiko's view. Done in a way the enemy would fear the most. Suffer the most.

Akihiko had tripped and had no way of avoiding the blade, so his eyes began widening. He felt the wind of the blade approach him just ever-so-slightly. And then a miserably small thought came across as he processed his situation finally: What in the hell. Is this.

His eyes completed their broadening and he stiffened, gazing at death as it knocked on his door.

The katana came a hair strand's length of distance from Akihiko's neck before, abruptly, metal met metal, not Akihiko's sword. And sparks flew everywhere like fireworks.

It had halted. The katana had stopped. Akihiko wasn't dead. His eyes came off their blurriness, and the view was two menaces in a stalemate. His brain became mush and he could not think anymore. He fell on his butt, panting like a haggard warrior would after warring their third consecutive day.

Oden was there, the sword he used to block the hit staying as still as a mountain. He then sighed, relieved he came in time. "Wait a minute, Young Master. I think you might regret doing this."

Ren broke out of the view he had narrowed to the neck of his cousin. He had felt so enticed like he had been cast a love spell to killing. His only wish was to cut off a head. No hesitating even considered.

I'm glad I came back, Oden thought, a single drop of sweat descending on his cheek.

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Some minutes before.

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Oden was as bored as a dog without an owner as he awaited.

He walked through the corridors looking to find something he could use or do to his enjoyment so he would not just huff away like a dying bull the rest of his time here. It had become his routine this many days inside here—to walk and walk around these areas.

He had talked to many people; gone to courtyards; trained with lots of the clansmen; explored the mountain's surroundings; secret routes he had found by accident; things he had found; trifling conflicts he had resolved for the Ashikagas; knowledge he had shared or received; even meetings he partook in as the Kozuki's spokesperson. And now all that was left was plain ole' boredom as he awaited and awaited the opportunity.

"Hah... I shouldn't have left that quickly after all." Oden's shoulders dropped. He thought it the right thing to leave Ren at that moment and try again tomorrow, but his consciousness was tingling in just the end, protesting against it so he would go back if only for a second.

"Mmm... alright... Should I go take a look to see how he's doing?" Oden sighed and accepted defeat against himself.

Rushing back to the courtyard, he slowly opened the door, a hitch causing it to make noise—him cringing—and he took a peek. "Mm? He isn't here?" He fully pulled the door open and scanned through the yard of red roses... but no signal of life existed in there anymore.

"Weird, I went away for barely some minutes..." he mumbled by himself.

He looked down and noticed something gleaming. A hairpin? Is it that maid's? He hummed for a second but preferred to leave it as it was. He left again looking for Ren elsewhere—that until he heard people chatting in the corner ahead.

Oh, probably the maids. I'll ask them if they saw him.

But as he approached the voices, he soon realized it was Ren and the three cousins he met before.

He scratched his chin as he watched. It won't do any bad to observe this for a bit, right? His eyes smiled.

However, as the events progressed and Ren's mood worsened, Oden could observe some changes in him.

"Eyes get a darker shade. Hair slowly takes a darker shade too"... so it matches the descriptions, Oden thought, confirming long-risen suspicions of his.

He took one of his swords out and quickly ran in to stop Ren before things got any worse.

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Back to the present.

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Ren's two other cousins absconded with Akihiko like rats after the duel. The fiery man while being dragged, hurled insults at his cousins, asking them to let him down while claiming Ren had fought dirty by attacking him while his guard was low.

Ren had no mind to rebut him. He didn't care and was too mentally exhausted—he even had classes to attend still. Nonetheless, he recalled, in these instances, he would be the one on the ground, being dragged away to an infirmary even if from the slightest of bruises. So he was feeling a bit proud, even if confused as to his actions.

"I'm grateful you stopped me." Ren slightly bowed toward Oden. Lots of complications would be borne if he killed someone as regarded in the clan as Akihiko. And he knew his Aunt wouldn't let this just be broomed under the rugs if such was so.

Oden scratched the bridge of his nose, feeling proud, and laughed. "None from the First Lineage should be bowing toward someone else. I just did what I had to, so don't mind me, haha..." he said while smiling awkwardly.

However, although his frontispiece was of pure humility, his mood inside was a maelstrom of elation—some circumspect thinking was in the mix too. Because after all, he was finally progressing toward his goal of befriending Ren, and as such, he would have to be twice more careful not to mess it all up. Not for his own good, but for Ren's and the country's.

"Should I talk to someone about this event?" Oden asked, his posture of a soldier asking their superior. Squeeze from the cow as much as possible while she's meek.

Ren simply shook his head. "No need. They aren't worth the time. And father allows small conflicts such as these saying it's friendly competition." He then swung around, looking to leave finally. "Though I'm certain we will see each other tomorrow, I'd like to say goodbye for now—"

"Wait a minute, Young Master." Oden held Ren's shoulder. His hand had moved on its own, but now he hadn't a choice. "I have something important to tell you." The samurai's tone was chilling for once.

Ren had forever thought him a fool unable of stoutness—at least when he was close to him—so when he slowly turned his head to face the man being all serious, he unconsciously gulped.

Oden's hand was off his shoulder and Ren swung back before asking, "Important you say? Do speak."

Oden's face remained stern as he spoke in a low tone, "I advise you tremendously not to engage in any fighting as it could trouble your peace of mind." He glanced at all sides before continuing. "If unavoidable and you're obliged to respond, may I say you were disrespected or attacked first, let rampant thoughts be rampant thoughts only... nothing more."

With no wind and crickets to adorn the atmosphere, Ren had to tilt his head toward the speech, confused nonetheless. What was Oden's point? Wasn't it common knowledge not to let anger do you in?

"Should I know of something important?" Ren asked, weirded by the subject brought by Oden.

"I apologize but... I cannot say much. I fear ears hover about and eyes that sight from kilometers are observing this little talk of ours. I can only ask you to picture something that'd rein you in within your mind whenever you're about to lose it. It's my biggest piece of advice," Oden said, anon it him looking to both sides again, eyes suspicious, and he arched his back to close in on Ren's ears. Then he finally whispered, "Meet me after the ceremony. I'll definitely tell you all then."

Ren peered intently at Oden from one eye corner. Just what was he thinking or planning?

The large man pulled back, his smile as wide as ever. "I'll send you something with the specifics afterward." He gave Ren a thumbs-up.

Ren couldn't hide the estrangement on his face. The only thing crossing him now was puzzlement and more puzzlement. What was even Oden's objective? All this pep talk had been more confusing if anything.

He just gave the man a slight nod and left walking. He wasn't planning on seeing him any time soon.

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