Chapter 1
Yeyasu trailed his fingertips along the spines of books found within the Edogawa family library. The tomes and scrolls dated back generations and thankfully had survived the many incursions and total destructions of Ewwdo castle. Many of the books had little information to offer him in his latest project, however, which did not surprise him much.
His family had no need to keep up the study of curses.
He finally found a book that held promise in his personal quest, and he plucked it off the shelf. He added it to the small pile of books he had already accumulated and gathered them up into his arms. He struggled a bit with how heavy they were but persevered stubbornly and made his way back to his office.
It started by accident, honestly.
No, not Yeyasu’s crush on Fuji. Though, that probably started completely accidental, too. Not that he would ever verbally admit as such. It was better, especially for his own health, that his little crush stayed hidden.
The unpleasant (and violent!) scenarios that he unwillingly envisioned should his feelings ever be discovered, by anyone, made him break out in uncontrollable shivers!
Yeyasu shook his head and sat himself down at his desk, purposely dropping the books loudly in order to prevent his traitorous mind from drumming up more painful scenarios. Moving on, his secret feelings for Fuji were not the reason he was scouring the books found in the Edogawa library.
Well, not the sole reason. He was the main reason, yes. But not the sole, deciding factor. Ok, maybe he was, but-
Yeyasu slammed his head against the wooden table to refocus himself. The motion, however, did nothing but bring tears to his eyes.
That hurt…
He tried his best to ignore the pain as he pulled open the top drawer of his desk and picked up a personalised notebook. As he idly flipped through the pages, he thought back to that small, almost insignificant moment that brought him to where he was presently. To the moment that prompted him to start his current project.
To what made him start researching a way to remove the Empathy Killer Curse.
It was so small, so insignificant. Yeyasu likened it to a complete accident. He had stepped into the family library for a breather from his shogun duties. It was just two days after he had retained the title, so he had been so very busy. And the library was one of the places he could hide to catch his breath or to take a nap in peace.
That day, however, he found a book. It laid upon the floor, in the furthest corner of the library. It was about curses. And how to remove them.
The very first thing that Yeyasu envisioned was Fuji and his curse. How he would cough up blood at even the slightest hint of empathy. How he could not even hug his own daughter without having to literally barf up copious amounts of blood.
It was not fair.
Yeyasu thought of his own father. How he would shower him and Ikki with affection. His father was…gone, but Fuji still lived. And he had the right to live without that damn curse.
So, that was why.
It…it was the least he could do. For Fuji’s sake.
Yeyasu shook his head again as he turned his attention to the task at hand. The removal of the curse was not going be an easy task, but not entirely impossible. If a curse could be inflicted, it could be removed. But if he used the tonic he had been working on, it should weaken the curse’s effects. And through prolong use, it should weaken the curse’s hold on Fuji.
That was the theory!
He set his notebook aside and turned his attention to the tomes he had gathered from the library. Though his ultimate goal was the removal of the curse in its entirety, he had to start slow. He did not know what could happen to Fuji should he attempt to remove such a powerful curse all at once. There was no doubt in Yeyasu’s mind that Mugai had some kind of countermeasure should anyone attempt it.
Such a curse needed to be weakened at first.
So, he needed to make a tonic. And to do that, he needed materials and ingredients. With the Himomoto as vast as it was, there were a lot of possible ingredients he needed to sort through. And the ingredient list was constantly being updated and readjusted.
Yeyasu added new ingredients to the tonic list and reevaluated the possibility of success. Huh, forty-three percent? An improvement from forty percent, he supposed. But still not good enough. What was he missing? More ingredients?
He should ask Suisen. He knew all there was about percentages.
No. He needed to do this himself. He needed to prove a point. There were some things that a shogun must do himself.
…If only he was a little smarter.
Yeyasu slumped in his chair and dropped his head to his desk. Lifted it just to drop it again. Something he did numerous times. Repeatedly. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”
“Yeyasu?”
His brother’s voice prompted Yeyasu to pause in the pummelling of his head against the desk. Which he was grateful for as his head was starting to hurt. And it was not helping in the slightest. In fact, it probably made him stupider. Not something he could afford.
“Hm?” Yeyasu uttered, his voice muffled as he did not have the strength to lift his head from his desk.
“You’ve been cooped up in your office for a while,” Suisen said carefully. “Maybe a few moments in your garden will help clear your head.”
Yeyasu rolled his head from side to side. “But I have to moooooove.”
“It’ll be healthier than hitting your head repeatedly against your desk,” Suisen swiftly retorted.
That caused Yeyasu to tense. Gah, had he been watching him?! For how long?!
“What are you working on?” Suisen questioned, actual curiosity in his voice. “You’ve been in the library a lot lately.”
Yeyasu immediately sat up and his hand instinctively sought out to cover his notebook. Suisen stood just before his desk, his expression as stoic as ever, but the cutely tilt of his head indicated to Yeyasu that Ikki’s curiosity was still present.
It was a curiosity that Yeyasu could not indulge him in, unfortunately. Not yet.
“I guess a few minutes outside won’t hurt me,” Yeyasu relented as he took his notebook and slipped it back into the top drawer within his desk.
It was not like he did not trust his brother. Of course, he did. Distrust was not the reason for the secrecy. He simply did not want to cause everyone to get their hopes up only to crush them should he fail. He would try everything in his power to succeed, but there was always the possibility of failure. He had personally endured it far too much in his life not to factor failure into his predictions.
Hah, predictions. Suisen’s habits and verbal tic was beginning to rub off on him!
Still, since he was to spend time outside, that did not mean he could slouch on his research. He grabbed one of the books from his family’s library as he took to his feet.
“Only for a few minutes, ok?” Yeyasu said as he walked past his brother. “Being the shogun is a very important job. So, make sure no one blows up the castle while I’m gone.”
Suisen smiled at him. “I will do my best in your short absence.”
Yeyasu sat his book in the crook of his arm and walked through the castle on his way to the gardens.
The chaniwa gardens. Thankfully, the Edogawa gardens had remained intact, in spite of all the invasions and damaged that the castle itself had endured. The tea house within the centre of the garden had remained untouched, beautifully endeared to the stepping stones, tea light lanterns, and lush foliage and florals that grew abundantly.
Yeyasu was relieved that the garden had remained unharmed. It was the only place he had left that was left untainted. The only place where his memories of his family and of his father brought a smile to his face rather than a tears to his eyes.
He strolled along the stepping stones toward the tea house and sat himself upon the veranda. He set the book down onto his lap and leaned back on his hands to relax, to just take in the serenity of his garden. Suisen was right, as per usual. Being outside made him feel a lot better.
Eased his headache a bit, at least. Which meant he had better get back to work.
Yeyasu leaned forward and picked up his book. He flipped through the pages until he reached a chapter that could prove the most beneficial for his project.
Hmm…the higher quality of ingredients, the more effective the tonic. Right. Got it. He needed to redo the ingredient list. Start over from the very beginning. He was relying on the availability of materials, but with a curse as potent as the Empathy Killer, he would need rarer ingredients.
Of course. What was he thinking? Mugai would have ensured that his curse could not be removed so easily.
Yeyasu needed to get creative. He may even need to flex his shogun credentials to get his hands on some materials found outside of Himomoto. On that note, he needed books on herbology of the Netherverse, not just Himomoto.
His project had just gotten a lot bigger…
An abrupt sound shook Yeyasu from his thoughts. Huh? What was that? That noise…it was like a sharp crack. Like that of a broken twig.
It was probably nothing. Just a bird in one of the trees, yeah?
He tried to turn his attention back to his book when he heard the distinct sound of rustling leaves. That sound was also natural. He was outside. In the garden. And yet, it left him spooked.
“Who’s there?” Yeyasu called out as he closed his book and set it aside. “C-come out!”
There was no answer. As he climbed to his feet, he was struck with the realisation of how quiet the garden was. The two previous noises were out of place in the serenity of his chaniwa gardens.
He heard another quiet rustling of leaves and he froze.
Nope.
Nope, nope, nope. He was not investigating that on his own!
Yeyasu turned to make a mad dash inside, only to have something barrel into him harshly. The force immediately knocked him to the ground and stole his breath. Instinct had him desperately try to push himself to his feet. Without his demonic staff and with the threat so close, he was in a very, very vulnerable state. But the force that attacked him grabbed him harshly and threw him back down onto his back.
As Yeyasu fell back onto the paving stones of the garden, he finally set eyes on those brazenly attacking him. Three ninjas, their faces obscured with face coverings and their own hair, so he obviously had not the faintest idea who they were. He could guess, though.
A-assassins?
One ninja stood by his head and grabbed his wrists. Yeyasu yelped in pain and surprised at the brash grip on his slender wrists and immediately tried to tug them free. But his assailant was much stronger than he, so effortlessly pulled his arms over his head and pinned them there to the ground.
There was no way Yeyasu would be able to physically fight the three off. He needed help. But as he opened his mouth to yell for assistance, from anyone at this point, his voice was smothered when a second ninja placed a folded white cloth over his mouth and nose.
When he realised that the cloth was moist and smelt a sickly chemical scent, dread washed over him. The cloth was not just to prevent him from calling for help. It was doused with chloroform.
“Hurry up.”
“Chloroform takes time, fool.”
“The boss doesn’t care. Move it.”
B-boss? They were working for someone? Wait, it was a kidnapping?!
Yeyasu felt sick to his stomach, his heart racing painfully in his chest. He knew he did not have much time until the chloroform began to take hold. He could feel it already beginning to work on him. Though, the blurring of his vision may be from the tears that had understandably began to well in his eyes.
“Get the ropes ready. We need to get out of here snappish.”
“Got it.”
He was going to be kidnapped. Right out of Ewwdo castle.
On the verge of blacking out, Yeyasu squeezed his eyes shut as tears seeped through the lashes.
Fuji…
“Get away from him, you bastards!”
The pressure that held the chloroform-soaked cloth against Yeyasu’s mouth and nose suddenly lifted, as did those around his wrists. He immediately rolled over onto his side and clutched his throat and coughed harshly, desperate to get the poisonous chloroform from his system.
But he was still in danger. He needed to move.
Breathing heavily, Yeyasu forced himself onto his elbows. It was so hard to move, though. The chloroform made him feel so dizzy and unsteady. He just…needed to keep breathing.
“Yeyasu! Can you stand?”
Th-that voice? Fuji?
A hand wrapped around his arm and Yeyasu was tugged to his feet. He first feared that one of his would-be kidnappers had managed to ensnare him. But the grip, while strong, was not harsh. The owner knew how scrawny and fragile he physically was, so knew how much pressure to exert. Enough to help him to his feet.
Though his vision was blurry, Yeyasu immediately recognised the demon before him. And he smiled in blatant relief.
It was Fuji!
Fuji bent down suddenly and wrapped his left arm tightly around Yeyasu’s legs, just above the knees. He swiftly stood up and brought Yeyasu with him, holding him aloft off the ground. Dizzy from the sudden movement, all Yeyasu could do was wrap his arms around Fuji’s shoulders and neck and press his cheek atop of his head.
“Keep breathing deeply, Yeyasu,” Fuji urged as he held him tightly and securely, but still gently against his left side. “Get the chloroform out of your system.”
With his breath ragged, Yeyasu could only nod his head, his cheek brushing against Fuji’s wirily hair. He tightened his arms around Fuji’s shoulders, trying to position himself to ensure that he did not hinder him in anyway when he felt him shift into a battle stance.
“Tch. It’s the shogun’s attack dog,” an unknown voice sneered.
Fuji pointed Kanzan Musashi toward the three ninjas. And though from where Yayasu was positioned he could not see him smiling wickedly, he could feel it in his voice. “You better believe it. If you want to get to Yeyasu, you gotta get through me. Go on, give it a try. I need an excuse to do my very worse!”
The three ninjas stilled. They seemed hesitant. Probably weighing up battling against Fuji to the reaction of their so-called ‘boss’ they had mentioned.
Ultimately, they chose to fight.
The three sprang forward, blades unleashed. One moved to the right, one to the left, while the third chose a frontal attack. Fuji slid his left foot back to deftly avoid on attack and used Kanzan Musashi to parry the second into collide into the third. With their opening attacks failing miserably, all easily disregarded by Fuji, the ninjas were left scrambling to initiate their second assault.
And Fuji wasted no time in taking advantage of their disorder. He stomped his foot on the head of one ninja as he swiftly spun around to kick the face in of a second, sending that guy’s head reeling back at a painful angle. He kept his foot on back of the first ninja’s head, grinding his face into the stone pathway as he pivoted to deal with the third ninja. He deflected the guy’s blade and brought Kanzan Musashi down brutally onto his enemy’s shoulder.
He used the broad side of the blade. After all, he still had to adhered to Pirilika’s no killing policy.
But that did not mean he couldn’t break a few bones. If the telling crack and screech of pain was any indication.
Fuji moved so flawlessly. Even with Yeyasu hanging on, like a pitiful damsel in distress. In fact, he moved consciously of him. Ensuring that Yeyasu was never the one to face their enemies. Never the one to be in line of danger.
The guy truly was the master of the battlefield.
Fuji turned and planted his foot into the ribs into one of the assailants. An attack that, from the crackling of bones heard, broke a few ribs. “You’re ten thousand years too early if you think you can defeat me!” he said as he shoved the ninja back a good few feet.
Though the hold of the chloroform had waned, it was still difficult for Yeyasu to concentrate. He truly wished he could, though. Concentrate long enough to fire off an attack or two. How dare those ninjas attack him in the only place of peace he had left?!
“Damn bastards,” Fuji uttered as the three ninjas finally went down for good.
He walked away from the unconscious trio and back toward the veranda that reached into the interior of Ewwdo castle. It was there where he carefully leant forward and placed Yeyasu back upon his feet. “Yeyasu? How you doing?”
Yeyasu tried to stand on his own power, but he slumped forward and grasped onto Fuji’s strong shoulders once more, the other demon allowing him to do so. He even slipped an arm around his waist to support him further. “I’m alright. Just a little dizzy.”
“Did they say anything?” Fuji asked as he guided him to sit down.
Yeyasu shook his head. “N-not really. They just talked amongst themselves. Though, they mentioned a boss.”
Fuji’s eyes abruptly narrowed and his jaw tightened. “So, it was an attempted kidnapping, huh?”
He was not at all happy. And when Suisen learned of what happened, he was not going to be happy, either. Still, it surprised Yeyasu. To think someone would brazenly kidnap him from the castle. Who would want to do such a thing? Well, there were probably a few noble families who would love to be able to control the shogun from the shadows.
But the kidnapping had been foiled. He did not know why Fuji was there, but he was glad that he was. His timing could not have been more…timely.
His head hurts.
“Th-thanks for the save, Fuji.”
Fuji gave him his usual wicked smile and balanced Kanzan Musashi on his shoulder. “You can thank me with the usual fee.”
Yeyasu mustered up a smile as he clutched his forehead. “Right, right.”
There really was no point in denying it. It was not just a crush. He was in love with this man. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. But…there is also nothing in this Netherverse that will lead to Fuji returning his feelings.
Nothing…
