Chapter Text
Eightfold rising clouds
build an eightfold fence
an eightfold Izumo fence
wherein to keep my bride—
oh! splendid eightfold fence.
— Attributed to the god Susanoo
Since his mother’s untimely death, Kunikuzushi hasn't been left to his own devices even once. Always accompanied by the hokoshu, he felt watched by them, appraised. This was not particularly surprising; his men were trying to understand if he could become a reliable shogun. Either way, constantly being perceived made him tired, depressed. When they were burying his mother, Kunikuzushi stared straight ahead without blinking. He would be a porcelain doll. He would show no emotion for Mother. Even if she looked down at him from the sky, at her only child that she had no feelings for, she would see nothing but coldness in his eyes.
Around his heart, he built wall by wall, tall as the oldest sakura tree. No enter and no exit. No one would see his pain or sorrow. No one would see his hopes or dreams. Every desire he selfishly had, every foolish wish, he caught like a bird to be put in a cage. While the Tri-Commission leaders were bickering about, failing to move forward with any decision, while the talks of uprisings and ronin gathering into groups roamed around the land, while the country was trying to grieve their beloved shogun - Kunikuzushi was building walls around his heart as tall as the castle he was hiding in.
He knew he was no match for Mother. Raiden Shogun, the lady of thunder. The men feared and trembled before her. She was a magnificent warrior, a powerful ruler. Kunizukushi could never catch up.
He was prepared to die, and not scared of this possibility but aware how simple that would be, how stupid. If they killed him, the country would be thrown into even bigger chaos, - nothing certain, anything for grabs. He was needed. Even if his men saw nothing in him, he could still be a valuable asset to have. To marry off, to puppeteer. He was ready to do his dues. If there was something his mother taught him, it’s that he had to pay his debt to his country.
***
It has been an especially rainy day, and Kunikuzishi looked out the window. He has been sitting in his room for days, sighing like an old man. Suddenly he wanted to become a falcon, to fly away from here, to abandon every duty he had. He has been told that there has been an arrangement - he would marry the daughter of one of the Tri-Commission lords. It was an obvious manipulation, a way to obtain even more power. But the Yashiro commission was a powerful ally to have, and the decision was made by a previous shogun a while ago. Kunikuzushi has been awaiting Lady Ayaka’s arrival days ago but the rain probably made the trip prolonged.
He told his staff to dress him for a walk, and his steely glance won over any hesitation they had to let their lord be outside in horrible weather. They let him stroll in the garden, and he walked on smooth stones while staring at the wet sand. Was the sky crying for him? As a child, Kunikuzushi witnessed the terrifying storms that would happen every time Mother had a heavy heart. He never learned if there was anything else to this coincidence.
The camellia blossoms became heavy with water, drooping down with the petals all wrinkled. The beauty in life was fragile and easily twisted. Kunikuzushi touched one of the flowers, feeling the softness of nature. His mother was nothing like that. She was many things - but never soft.
“Camellias weep / In the gentle rain's embrace / Petals softly fall”, he heard a male voice behind him. He swiftly turned around and saw a boy, no, a man, with long, sun-bleached hair tied in a tail. A lock of red was unsuccessfully hidden behind his ear. The man had a sword hanging from his hip, and his posture definitely was a samurai’s one. Kunikuzushi looked at his guardsmen who didn’t look alarmed. They knew the man, and it made him wary since he had never seen this man before.
“My lord”, the stranger smiled softly, “Kaedehara Kazuha. I don’t believe we ever met. My father spoke highly of the previous Shogun. He always admired her combat prowess. My condolences.”
Kunikuzushi glanced at Kazuha once again. Kaedeharas were swordsmiths in the past but something made them fall out of the Shogunate’s grace. Raiden Shogun never spoke of Kaedeharas and she definitely never mentioned a young heir of their clan.
“Thank you,” he found his voice was hoarse after days of not speaking, “Mother would be happy to hear your praise.”
“Hm. I don’t think she would,” the young samurai chuckled. The guards exchanged glances. Kunikuzushi cleared his throat. Kazuha hummed.
“I’m sorry, my lord. It is not my place to speak of your mother since I didn’t know her.”
Neither did I, Kunikuzushi thought bitterly. Not really.
“But I know my father made her quite unhappy on one occasion, and our family’s business has been in disarray ever since.”
“She liked to hold her grudges,” Kunikuzushi said before he could think, surprising himself and Kazuha as well.
“Interesting,” Kazuha laughed, “Everyone I asked about the new lord couldn’t tell me anything. It’s like no one really held a single conversation with Kunikuzushi-sama. The only person who could give a description, told me you are soft and weak, unfit to rule.”
Kunikuzushi shot a quick look to his guardsmen who got tense at this accusation. Kaedehara was questioning the place of his lord, and if he was a lowly man, he could get killed for that.
But Kunikuzushi wanted to hear Kazuha out. Kaedeharas lived on a different island, and Kazuha would not come to seek his audience for nothing. And there was another feeling, nails digging in his stomach.
Kunikuzushi found himself… intrigued.
“Leave us be,” Kunikuzushi loudly instructed. The hokoshu stared at him, displeased. “Don’t tell me you are going to start questioning me too,” and they scrambled, positioning themselves near the exit of the garden.
“So,” Kunikuzushi looked at Kazuha again, “What is it you sought me for?”
“I wanted to see the new lord to ask him a question.”
“I’m listening.”
Kazuha smiled wickedly. Maybe having this conversation was a mistake, Kunikuzushi thought.
“Do you, in the bottom of your heart, believe that your people are truly and genuinely happy?”
Who was this man?
“I do. Shogun exists to serve his people.”
“No. Shogun exists to serve war and nothing else.”
“You know as everyone else does that I am no soldier.”
“Oh, I don’t. Isn’t it why Tri-Commission doesn’t know what to do with you? Because they are utterly confused with your existence? The rumors are that your mother hid you from the public for years. They were informed that you are not receiving any military education. You weren’t taught martial arts either. Your hands had never touched a sword before.”
Kunikuzushi sharply inhaled. He was not ready for this. Not now.
“While the Shogun was enforcing her rule of terror, her little boy was imprisoned in the castle, not seen or heard by anyone. She told the commissioners that she had an heir, that he had to be put in her place when she’s gone, but they have never even seen a guy. Which raises my question…”
Not now.
“What is wrong with the heir? Is he in bad health? I can see now that you are perfectly fine. Is he mentally unwell? I cannot say for sure, but you don’t seem that way.”
Kunikuzushi flinched.
Kazuha let out a deep sigh.
“It has been raining for days. Since the moment your mother gave her last breath.”
Who was he?
***
It was a hot day of ripe summer, and his mother was gone, left for a ceremony at Watatsumi island. He played in the garden under the watchful eyes of a dozen nannies, after having an uncomfortably sweaty calligraphy class.
While running from his own shadow, his head spun and he fell in a pile of sharp pebbles. The blood from his grazed knee left a crimson red stain on his hakama.
He wanted to cry but the tears wouldn’t come. Instead, the dark clouds gathered above him, and the smell of electricity made him think of Mother.
A small rain passed, and after it - clear skies. The nannies whispered while cleaning him up and dressing the wound.
When his mother returned, there was worry on her face. Worry - and fear.