A Meeting With Emperor Yoshiro [ Event | Private ]

Tenma walked to the small bridge on the garden leisurely as he let the pink flower petals to kiss his cheek as it flew towards him. As he walked, his fingers took a petal that was stuck at his eyepatch and he would glance at it before letting it to follow the wind again. ’Beautiful… yet so fragile…’ He murmured and he would lean against the railing, resting his hand there as he watched the tree letting the wind to blow the petals away. The petal fell to the pond, making a slight ripple on the water and made the fish jumped there, making an even bigger ripple. It felt peaceful here as if there was no war happening at the moment, but soon, even this beautiful place might be gone if somehow the palace was attacked… such a waste just like what Tenma had in his thought.

The man closed his eye when the girl that had been following him finally spoke, letting her voice to be the main focus for his ears and let it echoes in his mind. There was no better distraction than this for Tenma maybe and he was pretty glad that Diana chose to follow him all the way to the garden when she could just stay in her room and rest there or maybe to socialize with a woman who called herself as a Colonel from Reim. When Diana finished her words, the man would turn his body to the woman and a kind smile was already attached on his face. He leaned his back against the railing this time, confident that it was strong and sturdy enough. “From some reliable sources of mine, dungeon is the place where you can get amazing power and countless treasures, a pretty dreamy place for most people, eh? I have never been in one though so perhaps I am not a reliable source for you.” He would let out a faint chuckle before he continued, “It is a really dangerous place though, although I never been in one, I know that most of the people who tried to enter and challenge it never made it out. Although the question is…”

The air around Tenma changed, it was not a pressuring one though but Diana could feel that something dark was filling the air as if there was a bottomless hole behind the man. The black haired man stepped forward and leaned closer towards the woman before peering into her pair of orbs. “…are you ready to risk your life… or maybe die for someone that you just met? You are a little bit naïve, but it is your unique point maybe.” He chuckled again before moving his hand, slowly touched Diana’s platinum locks and stroke it with his fingers before letting it go as he pulled down his hand.

He would lean his back to the railing again but he looked up to the plum blossom tree. His eye was a little bit sad but his lips was forming a smile. “Say… imagine if you finally meet someone that you have been looking for a really long time...but that person doesn’t remember you and the situation makes you not able to even tell this person about yourself… how would you feel?”

Noir’s eyes widened in disbelief, she didn’t expect Yoshiro would grant her request that easily. Not to mention that he would be taking her to meet Lady Shousui right at that moment, it almost made the black haired girl thought that it might be a dream. She went as far as pinching herself a little bit and the slight pain made her believe that she was not dreaming, she wondered why the emperor let her to speak with one of her prisoners that easy. Noir might be someone who would try to help the former noblewoman to break free, she could also be a spy that could have lure him to Lady Shousui and killed him there. But it seemed that the emperor was not concerned about that at all, either because he trusted Noir… or because he knew he was strong enough to handle her alone. Even so, the magician was thankful and the amount of respect that she had for the emperor was just… rapidly increasing.

He asked Noir to hold his hand again and she wondered about why he need to always have her to take his hand or arm, but perhaps that was how things worked there. The magician took his arm, letting him to escort her to where the dungeon would be but Yoshiro’s word made the girl a little bit confused. What did he mean when he said any man would listen to the words from a girl like Noir, when the words of a former slave and someone who didn’t have a normal common sense as well as someone who was lacking of social abilities unlike some normal people might mean nothing for some other people?

She replied Yoshiro’s bow with a slight bow as well before looking down and stopped walking. “My lord.” Noir called the emperor with a small voice but enough for the man to notice. “Why any man would listen to my words? I… am different from normal people, I lack in so many things and I don’t even understand a lot of things that… people would normally understand.” Her hands were shaking and her voice was small, filled with doubt and uncertainty. “I was a slave and you are an emperor, yet you treat me like I am not a filthy creature. Like I am just as normal as you… I am embarrassed to take your hand or even arm actually because I am afraid I will make you filthy. A girl like me… perhaps should not even dream about walking side to side with you.” The girl would pull away her hand, no longer grabbing Yoshiro’ arm anymore and she would slowly look at the emperor before looking down again and stepped back once. “I… apologize for my outburst.” She said, still looking down as a drop of tear touched the floor from her eyes. ’He will think that I am strange now… What should I do… I am afraid…’

---

The emperor walked with noble strides as he held the magician in his arm. He wondered as they walked why her grip was so apprehensive, almost as if the female magician felt uncomfortable being in this situation. Noir quickly bowed to the man soon after they began walking and released her grasp from the emperor's arm.

"My lord...why any man would listen to my words? I… am different from normal people, I lack in so many things and I don’t even understand a lot of things that… people would normally understand," She said, her voice and hands shaking with nervousness. What was this fear she felt? What was this anxiety she had? Yoshiro empathized with the woman. Clearly she was wracked with guilt of some sort, but what? "I was a slave and you are an emperor, yet you treat me like I am not a filthy creature. Like I am just as normal as you… I am embarrassed to take your hand or even arm actually because I am afraid I will make you filthy. A girl like me… perhaps should not even dream about walking side to side with you." Her words pierced the emperor's heart. Slave, emperor--they were only silly titles given to them by other people. Yes, he was the leader of the empire of Kou, but he did not believe in such frivolities that slaves, former or current, were unworthy to be in the mere presence of someone of his rank. His only reaction was to move closer to the young magician and caress her shoulder, offering some level of comfort.

"Miss Ecryola..." He said, moving his hand down from her shoulder to her hand, placing it up to his face, "Tears are not necessary...here, you are not a slave, you are a warrior I've chosen to aid me in battle. To me, you are my equal," Hoping his words were soothing enough, Yoshiro brought her hand to his lips and kissed her hand and let go, walking beside her down to the dungeon to meet the Lady Shousui. He stood at the entrance of the dungeon, opening the door for her as the guards cleared out from the doorway.

"Please...speak with her for as long as you'd like...a guard will show you the way out," Yoshiro instructed, leading her through the door. While he would wish privacy upon his companions, he was still curious about the magician's convictions for wishing to speak with a prisoner, so as he ushered her in through the door to speak with Lady Shousui, he hid in the hallway outside, obscured from vision but in earshot of both women.

---

’His equal…’ Noir thought to herself and letting the man to kiss her hand although she wondered what he means when he did that. But she assumed that he just offering her some kind of comfort so he did that to calm her down, it really did though but his words did more impact. She was certain now that she would support this man, making sure he could protect his throne in this civil war because someone like this would be needed to bring a peace for everyone. Someone who was strong and kind, someone who see other person as his equal. She could only hope that he didn’t change… not like certain someone…

The magician was kind of hesitated but she would breathe slowly, inhaling the air only to exhale it again. She was preparing herself because she knew that the former noble was someone who was capable to play with people’s mind, so she was trying to focus. She would nod after Yoshiro let her to speak with Lady Shousui once they arrived and with a small voice, she said “Thank you.” The girl took one step towards where the woman was being prisoned but she stopped herself for a second before telling the guard that she forgot about something in the hallway. Noir would then run towards the hallway and when he saw Yoshiro, she would call him. “My lord.” She didn’t know what she was thinking but perhaps, he would need to know about this as well… “Would you please accompany me inside? I remember you said that you are curious before.”

If the man agreed to accompany her, the magician would walk back to Lady Shousui’s prison and there, she would close her eyes before calling her name, “Lady Shousui…” She wondered if the older woman noticed her already, “It is Noir, I would like to ask you about some things that you mentioned before you were being captured… What do you mean when you said I was being experimented by life magic?”

“If they even remember you… eh?” Tenma chuckled and closed his eye, feeling the slight pain on his chest before opening his eye again. He wondered if he could just tell her that he was his sister, but he didn’t know… what was the point of doing that when she had lost her memories? All the memories with their mother and father, even the time when they spent time together playing with each other was no longer there. Perhaps… it was only bad things that she remembered, no one in her lost memories that could protect her from her pain when she was still being a slave. He regretted it, cursing himself for how useless he was and wondering why he felt like this.

“You know—“ Tenma cut his words when he just wanted to talk to the woman in front of him at the moment where she slipped off the railing. He reached his hand towards her but knowing that it might be too late to do that. So he would just pull her and maneuvered his body so Diana could fall on him, hoping he could protect her from being wet. Alas, the water got the platinum haired woman as well after Tenma tried his best to lift her although she might not be as wet as him. The one eyed man emerged from the shallow water for a bit, his face would be at least several inches away from Diana. “I apologize for not being able to protect you from falling, milady.” He smiled before reaching his hand to tuck Diana’s hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek after that, attempting a silly act to use his wet glove to wipe the water on the woman’s cheek. He would chuckle as he did that and his eye would keep staring at her own orbs, “People might laugh at us for falling to the pond like this.”

A sultry laugh drifted out from the darkness of the cell in front of Yoshiro followed by the soft glow of stoked embers illuminating a soft pale skinned face. The woman would have been a personification of beauty were it not for the strange occultist mask the woman wore on one side of her face. She sat in the center of the cell upon a luxurious couch that had no business being in a dungeon, but was there nonetheless. Should Yoshiro be familiar with the palace rooms used for greeting diplomats, he'd be able to recognize the furniture as being taken from one.

"So good of you to come visit me, little Yoshi~ I haven't seen you since you were a boy. Oh, and you've brought the girl as well~ It pleases me to see that you've grown into a fine young man who knows to bring a gift when going to see a woman."

The patronizing tone in Lady Soushui's words would be apparent even without noticing the fact that she had entirely glossed over Yoshiro's question. The woman took another slow drag from her pipe and looked past Yoshiro to gaze upon the young woman standing behind him. "So you came after all, child...Finally ready to accept your role as my son's slave?" She asked teasingly only for the voice of a boy to echo out, "Mother, I told you that I don't need any slaaaaaves!" A blue haired head then poked out from behind the couch, the boy Yakutetsu pouting as he looked towards his mother.

The wandering eyes of the child then looked up to see Noir and they lit up like the brightest night stars. "Miss Noir!" A big grin plastered itself on his face and he scrambled over the couch, to rush over towards her in order to give Noir a big hug. If Yoshiro or Noir did nothing to stop this, Yakutetsu would bury his face into Noir's stomach and nuzzles against her affectionately clinging with all the might a human child's body could muster. "I just knew we'd meet again! I just knew it! Are Kuzunoha and Haku here too?"

While the somewhat awkward reunion took place, Lady Soushui turned her gaze back to Yoshiro and finally deigned fit to answer his question. "I'm sure you don't remember me, but we've met once when I served your father. Of course back then I had a different name and had yet to be recognized as nobility. Now, you are Emperor, so I suppose I simply MUST answer you...otherwise you might order them to execute me twice, just like you plan to do with your father~ Fufufufu~..." The woman shifted in her seat and then tapped her pipe on the arm of the couch letting ashes fall onto the grimy dungeon floor.


"Those men thought to use their position as jailors to partake in forbidden fruit. Unfortunately for them, this flower bares poison. You really should station magicians to watch a magician, my dear emperor. Just because your men took the wand I was holding didn't mean they took the one I was "carrying"..." Lady Soushui then rubbed a delicate hand over her stomach as if to indicate that she had smuggled another wand into the dungeon with her using her own body as the vessel.

“Indeed.” Tenma chuckled to the platinum haired girl, amused that the girl could laugh like that. Something that he might not be able to do because what behind his mask was something that had loss his emotion and perhaps… most of the hope that he had. He could feel a ray of hope when he saw his sister though, although it still pained him that he couldn’t even hold her close and told her that everything was going to be alright because big brother had found her now. He would let out a soft sigh before lifting her up, helping her to stand up properly as he did the same thing as well. They were both soaked now and knowing it wouldn’t be good to stay longer like this, Tenma said, “Why don’t we go back to our room? It will be bad is we catch a cold and couldn’t support the emperor with full power right?” The one eyed man beamed her with a bright smile as he let go of her hand. “Besides, it is not appropriate if other man look at you soaked like this. So… please wear this.” He would take off his coat and wrap it around Diana, wanting to make sure that no man would take advantage of seeing her soaked body when she go back to her room. “It is kind of wet, but it will help to cover you.” After he said that, he would escort Diana back to her room if she wanted to and after that, he would go back to his room and go straight to the bathroom to enjoy a warm bath. Perhaps it would help him to be more relaxed…

‘Blood scent…’ Noir thought to herself as her body stiffened, feared that one of the situation that she had been thinking might came to realization. The former noblewoman could easily kill someone… could easily find the way to free herself with the strength that she had…perhaps she was already outside and enjoying her freedom. The black haired girl gritted her teeth, upset that she might have lost the chance to ask what she meant with her words. But the second thought that Noir had would be to protect the emperor at all cost at the moment because the lady might still there and ready to kill. However when she wanted to walk in front of the man, Yoshiro hold his hand out to her so she wouldn’t approach the area and even went as far as commanding her to stay right at where she stood at the moment. She couldn’t say anything to refuse the order, so the magician stood still. Her hand was ready and already made its way to grip the scepter that she hid behind her coat just in case she needed to use it.

Once Yoshiro allowed her to approach and mentioned bodies, Noir started to walk and she looked at the dead guards before she closed her eyes and murmured, “May you rest in peace…” It was brutal, the murder… as if the killer was planning it from the start and wanted to show them what she was capable of, displaying the masterpiece of her bloody arts. It didn’t really bug her actually, not because she didn’t care, but she didn’t know them a lot to feel some kind of… remorse. Pity was what she was feeling towards the dead guards though, if only they were strong and clever enough to not be killed… but she had to watch out as well… because she might not be as strong and as clever as she would need to be.

Her laugh sent a shiver on Noir’s spine as if it contained something that could crept into her bones but her gesture was what made the black haired girl felt uncomfortable. So it was truly her who killed the guards but why she didn’t break free? Why she needed to wait until someone came and discover the madness that she had caused in the dungeon? There was so many questions mixing up in Noir’s head at the moment and it almost made her head hurt. Her question was what stopping the pain in her head and she would say no directly if it was not because of Yakutetsu’s voice echoing out in the bad timing. The child would run to her after calling her name with a cheerful tone as if the dead of the guards didn’t affect his mental at all, but it was just as expected considering that Lady Shousui was his mother after all. She would let the child to hug her and she did nothing when he nuzzle his face against her stomach, simply didn’t know what to do in this kind of situation. However if the emperor did something to stop the child from hugging Noir, then the magician wouldnt make any comments towards the action.

Noir was kind of glad that she didn’t bring both of her beasts with her and told them to rest in her own assigned room at the palace. “No, they are not here.” She stated with a flat tone as usual but didn’t still do anything nor pushing the boy away from her but she would ask the boy to let her go by himself, “It is dangerous to hold me like this, Yakutetsu. Things are very serious right now so it will be better if you go to your mother at the moment.” If the boy didn’t listen, Noir would let out a deep sigh and went ahead to speak to Lady Shousui, “Please explain to me the meaning of your words…why did you say I was experimented by life magic…? Also, what are you planning to do, it feels like you are simply waiting for us to come to visit you…” She could only pray in her own head, hoping that the noblewoman wouldn’t harm the emperor because she knew even if she tried to stop her… her strength wouldn’t be enough at the moment…

Soushui's eyes narrowed as she noticed Yoshiro could see the child, her full lips curving into a self satisfied smile as she murmured to herself, "But he never met you...interesting..." Soushui seemed to be pleasantly surprised but made no efforts to explain why to Yoshiro or Noir. The smile released a soft laughter in response to Yoshiro's accusation and following question. She tilted the pipe in her hand from side to side making it conspicuous as she spoke loud enough to be heard clearly this time, "Kill them? Fufufu~ You misunderstand, my dear emperor. I indulged their carnal desires until they were satisfied. We made a beast with three backs, and enjoyed the pleasures of writhing flesh not too long ago~ But my body has been subject of countless poisons and venoms, it is no longer clean. Those men killed themselves, like moths to a flame." There was a defiant gleam in her eye that showed her enjoyment in being able to turn the tables on Yoshiro like this. What was right in such a situation, was she really to blame for a crime if she did only was the guards had wanted? Were these words even truthful? A philosophical debate for another time and another place.

There were more important matters to be discussed and if Yoshiro couldn't figure out the answer as to where Soushui's wand was, he was woefully uneducated in the ways of magicians. Instead of stating the obvious about her wand, Soushui looked to Noir and addressed the girls question. While Soushui had be speaking to Yoshiro, Yakutetsu had given his own responses to Noir. Looking up at the young woman with his head cocked to the side, Yakutestu spoke sounding relatively confused, "What do you mean it's dangerous? Are you sick?" He asked letting go, but only taking a single step back from her staring with innocent eyes. "Serious?..." He looked even more confused for a moment before a look of understanding came over his expression. "Oh! Don't worry, I'm here! No one will be able to hurt you or mother while I'm around!" The boy smile wide and then turned to walk back to the couch. As Yakutestu passed by Yoshiro, the magic circle on the emperor's metal vessel would briefly glow as an identical symbol shined brightly in the gem embedded onto the boy's forehead. But the phenomenon would fade away almost as quickly as Yoshiro would be able to sense it.

Soushui accepted Yakutetsu onto her lap and wrapped an affectionate arm around him as she began to answer Noir. "You're a magician, aren't you dear? Anyone with a certain degree of expertise in life magic should be able to see it. The rukh exist in all things, even our flesh. And the rukh in your flesh has been tampered with. Altered in ways that make it different from others. Don't you know anything about your own past? Can't you think of a time in your life when someone might have done something to you? Think back...was there a strange traveler? A family friend? Or perhaps...even your own parents~" There was a strange tone of joy in Soushui's voice as she spoke, the woman clearly being amused that Noir had come all this way for answers that only Noir could truly answer. "Or maybe you've repressed the memories, mm? The mind will sometimes do that when something tragic happens. Or maybe you were too young to remember. Go back to Magnostadt and learn clairvoyance magic. Find the truth for yourself...if you dare~"

"As for me waiting here, it is because you are bound to my son by fate. Or perhaps it is better to say that he is bound to you...and YOU, my dear emperor. The fact that you can see him is proof enough of that. Regardless, I know that your future, happy or tragic, is his future. It is in your best interest to stop being so naive believing that fate has blissful plans for you though...You must break the chains of fate along with my son, or else you are doomed to an unwanted end. Just like "that man" was....Fate abandoned him despite dedicated his life to its cause. What makes you think the same won't happen to you?"

It was interesting how Yoshiro could see Yakutetsu judging from how he was taken aback when the boy made his was to hug her. The soldiers who captured the woman were not even able to see any child near her and Noir assumed that she might be using some kind magic. However, she felt somewhat relieved because it meant that somebody other than her could see the existence of the boy. “She mentioned that she was an assassin before… and my lord, you can see this child?” She would ask the emperor but wouldn’t say anything else after that because the former noble was explaining about what happened in the dungeon. However, Lady Shousui was talking about a type of desire and other words that Noir didn’t really understand about the meaning, but she didn’t want to look like a dumb girl so she would just quietly listened until the former noble was finished. She wondered though about what kind of carnal desire that bear a poisons and could kill a man?

The child was so innocent but maybe his purity had been manipulated into something gruesome by his mother and she could only wonder when… the child would be a monster… That was not a very kind though of her because she judged the child although she knew nothing about him, but Noir couldn’t help it since his mother was twisted even with Noir’s own common sense. She was looking at both of them while she had those thoughts in mind, watching as Shousui gave her son an affectionate hug. “I… had lost my memories… but it seems like you…” Her eyes widened when Shousui playfully mentioned something about the suspect that would be responsible for the experiment and even mentioned about her parents as one of the possible suspect. She felt a little bit upset because maybe someone else knew about her own past without even spending a long time to find out when she couldn’t even remember any of it.

“It seems like you have peered into my head and secretly watching about my past…and it feels horrible because you might know about it when I can’t even remember.” The black haired girl gritted her teeth and her golden eyes shifted to red, she could feel her body burning with anger. She would take up the challenge that the woman had given to her and she would find out by herself…about what really happened back then by learning clairvoyance magic. But in the meantime while she stayed in Kou, Noir would force herself to gain more expertise in life magic so she could prove the woman’s word about the rukh in her flesh. She noticed how weak she was at the moment compared to the former noble, how helpless she was in this kind of situation and…how useless she might be if Shousui decided to attack Yoshiro.

“Fate… is something that you need to forge by yourself, something that would happen depends on the options that you have chosen. If something different from your plan happened, then it doesn’t mean that fate has abandoned you. If your son is bound to me by fate, then so be it because that is something that meant to happen but I have my right to choose which path that I want to take.” She took a step forward, her tone was filled with rage. “Fate didn’t abandon Yakuroro, but he chose to deny it and in the end…his death was probably inevitable…” Noir looked at her hands, still could feel the warmth of Yakuroro’s blood on her hand when she stabbed him with her weapon but she would look up towards the woman with her red eyes.

Yakutetsu seemed to be nodding off in Soushui's lap, the conversation taking place didn't seem to interest him at all. Be that because it was all too complex and went over the boy's head, or because he was so familiar with the nuances that talk of fate seemed boring wouldn't be clear. Soushui on the other hand seemed to become rather irate in response to Noir's spoken views. "Do not presume to know of Yakuroro's fate!" she hissed, reaching up for the mask that covered her face. Removing the red occult-like visage, the woman revealed the left side of her face to have been horribly burned. Flesh that had once been supple and pure was now discolored and wrinkled. Her eye was misshapen and dull suggesting she could not see through it very well.

"Things didn't go as he had planned, no. But that isn't what drove him to reject fate...Yakuroro spent his entire life concerned with how best to follow fate, as well as how to end all the suffering he could. I watched him displace evil and substitute hope wherever he went for years. But fate placed an arrow in his back! Cursed by dark magic, he was tortured in order to force him into rejecting fate...but that man never yielded. Believing in fate, he broke the curse on his own. However, under its influence he was forced to inflict this burn upon me and kill the closest thing to family he had..."

Soushui placed a hand on Yakutetsu's head and looked down at him with a painful gaze. Reminded of the other half of the child's namesake, a single tear gathered and then fell from her one good eye. "...A life of servitude only to have everything not just taken from you,but forcefully destroyed by your own hands...if that isn't being abandoned by fate, then what is?..." There was genuine confusion in her voice, as if she were no longer talking to Noir, but rather posing the question to herself. A pause settled and then Yoshiro made his move.

The woman shot the emperor a mocking smile as he suggested Noir no longer listen to her. "I assure you, dear emperor. Though my body may be poison, my words are a tonic! Hear me, girl! Fate is not your ally, only once you curse it can you be truly free to make your own choices! Otherwise you are simply a puppet to its cruel whims! You need look no further than your own past, I'm sure!" Soushui began to shout at the top of her lungs raving like a lunatic. Yakutetsu blinked his eyes open and looked up at her in concern, "Mother..."

The gem in the boy's forehead glowed and suddenly Soushui's face expressed shock followed by a listless gaze as she slumped over and began muttering to herself. "It's you...You've come again...Oh, it's been so long, please don't leave me again..." Her words trailed off into musings too quiet to hear. Yakutestu seemed hesitant but then turned to face Noir and Yoshiro grasping his mother's pipe and handing it to the emperor. "I'm sorry for my mother's behavior, it's my fault for forgetting her "medicine" please don't be upset at her." He then looked at Noir and cocked his head to the side as if he wasn't sure what to say for a moment. But then the child nodded to himself and decided to speak.

"I don't know my own past either. One day I was simply...awake, and with mother. I don't know why our fates are bound either, but I'm glad that my fate is connected to you!" He smiled brightly and then turned back to Yoshiro in order to smile at him as well, "And you as well, sir! Although we haven't properly met. I'm Yakutetsu Soushui~ Thank you for not killing my mother~" He then returned to Soushui's side in the cell, closing the door behind him allowing it to lock shut. Yakutetsu returned to Soushui's lap and began stroking his mother's head while he returned the mask to her face, allowing her to enjoy whatever hallucination that had been imposed on her. The odd sight would suddenly make it unclear as to which of the two was in the more dominant position.

Everything about Lady Shousui and Yakutetsu were strange and Noir didnt know what kind of question that she should ask to them. All the words were spinning in her head, trying to form countless question in her head but not even one could perfectly arranged in her head or even delivered through her voice. The black haired girl could only stay still and listened to Yoshiro's, Yakutetsu's and Shousui's voice as she tried to remember it all so she could slowly find out more about it later. One thing that she was sure was that the former noble must not be in her right head, it was clear that something was different inside her head and what she was seeing in front of her eyes. Although it was hard to agree with what she said, Noir agreed that she should learn more about life magic to see what the woman said before as well as tried to learn clairvoyance magic. Perhaps if she mastered the clairvoyance magic enough, everything about her past, her family, the entity inside her as well as what really happened with Yakuroro, Yakutetsu and Shousui would be crystal clear. But the magician refused to agree with the woman's opinion about fate, cursing fate was something that she had forgotten after doing it every day when she was a slave and she was tired of it until she went to accept it. Her freedom from slavery came with a great price, it took away her emotion, her ability to remember about her past...and her common sense but the girl was still trying her hard to learn again.

The girl felt tired a little bit and after the boy returned to her mother inside the cell, Noir saw how Yakutetsu stroked his mother's head and she wondered how it felt like to stroke her own mother that she didnt even remember. "Yakutetsu... Lady Shousui" She called both of the prisoners, "May our path cross again..." Her crimson eyes were filled with determination and when she blinked, the blood colored eyes changed into golden orbs again. "My lord, thank you for letting me speak with them and thank you for accompanying me as well." The black haired girl bowed deeply to the Emperor before she looked into his eyes, "I shall go back to my chamber now, hopefully you can rest well, my lord. Please... be careful." The magician bowed slightly once again and she walked to the outside of the dungeon, wanting to go to her room where Kuzunoha and Haku were waiting for her. 'I need to level up my life magic...' She murmured to herself as she walked, but she saw someone in the hall, a person that she recognized.

"Mr. Mikazuki." She called and she would take several step closer to the man, noticing that he was soaked and he was no longer wearing his coat. "Are you alright?" She asked, wondered what the man did because his eye was somewhat sad.

[EXIT]

Yoshiro watched unblinkingly as the former noblewoman seemed to deteriorate into a mental breakdown. He was concerned she might try something dangerous, but at the same time he resolved himself to burn the image of her madness against the screen of his memories. This woman had worked for his father, and though he did not know the details behind what led her down this path Yoshiro could only assume things would be different had she not been involved with the human scourge known as Gao Yuan Zu. The young emperor would not forget this suffering, branding it upon his heart so as to never forget his convictions. Gao was evil, the darkness of humanity coalesced into form, ambition and greed given shape. He would not allow another life to be thrown into chaos and pain such as this. Though the emperor would still not forgive this woman for her crimes, he now felt pity for her in his heart. Perhaps asking the presiding officials that would oversee her trial to be somewhat lenient was in order, assuming she hadn’t lied about the guards and brutally murdered them in cold blood.

But dealing with those matters was something to be done tomorrow after a proper investigation could be held. In truth, Yoshiro was weary, mentally exhausted by the day’s efforts and emotionally burdened by the scene that had just taken place. He was both astonished and relieved when the child pacified his mother and then brought her wand to him offering it along with cryptic words. The emperor looked down at the child unsure of what to even think about the boy. Yoshiro reached out and accepted the pipe, sure now that it was indeed Soushui’s wand. ”Don’t thank me yet. Your mother must still stand trial...but I will promise you that she is treated fairly. Until the matter of the guards is settled her only crime his mismanaging her lands. The penalty for that falls well short of death.” Yoshiro offered the words both to assure the child as well as to dissuade him from using those strange powers he had on anyone else. Now that the boy was close once more, the magic circle on Yoshiro’s metal vessel reacted again making him fully convinced that the child was more than just strange...he was dangerous too.

Any doubts about Yakutetsu being real were dispelled by now, he had just handed over a physical object after all. But apparently others couldn’t see him? It was an issue Yoshiro couldn’t leave unchecked but until his magicians arrived on the scene he couldn’t even begin to address it. Thankfully, Noir seemed ready to take her leave once Yakutetsu returned to his mother’s cell. Yoshiro nodded to her and sighed before offering his own thanks, ”You earned the right to meet with her by doing much for my cause. No need to thank me. Rather I’m glad you made the request. I don’t fully understand the discussion you had, but I’m glad I was here for it. I feel like my goal and why I’m aiming for it have become a bit more clear…” Yoshiro’s face was full of determination as well while he stared at the mother son pair. The change in eye color Noir went through had gone completely unnoticed by him since his attention had been so focused on Soushui. ”I’ll remain behind until my men arrive. Rest well, Mrs. Ecryola. There is much to be done tomorrow.”

Once his guest left, Yoshiro stood there in silence for a moment watching the child stroke his mother. After some deep thought he spoke, ”Even if I line this entire dungeon with magicians, if they don’t have bonds of fate with you, they couldn’t stop you from leaving if you wanted...right?” The mere thought of having a powerful enemy within his own palace which could not be seen by his men sent Yoshiro’s stomach twisting into a knot. Yakutetsu simply looked at Yoshiro and smiled innocently. ”Don’t worry mister, I won’t leave my mother’s side. She needs me!” He then reached down and held the still weeping Soushui’s hand. It was at that point that a number of magicians accompanied by several soldiers marched in stopping to salute their emperor. ”My lord. So you’ve subdued the prisoner on your own, as expected of our emperor! My deepest apologies we won’t let this happen again.” One soldier said. Yoshiro turned to face them and scanned their faces waiting to see if any of them showed signs of noticing a child in the cell. Not a single one of them looked surprised or befuddled.

Yoshiro sighed and then turned heel to leave, pausing only to give a few final orders before retiring to his own chambers. There was no sense fretting over the boy if nothing could be done about it. Yoshiro simply couldn’t afford to watch the child personally around the clock. He had a mountainous task before him in the coming days, the emperor needed to rest while he still could.