Chapter 5

The inside of Nojuro Temple was indeed massive—a true feat of modern engineering. Every beam and board had been set with precision, extending the height of the building several stories above the ground. Its height had been a marvel and something that could be seen from miles away. The bottom floor was a beautiful arrangement of hardwood along with dozens of glass panels lined around the edges. Beneath the glass was the water from the river that had flowed under and towards the moat around the edges outside the building.

Tetsu stood over the railing on the second floor to take a moment to let the beauty of the inside sink in. While his father and other siblings had dreaded time speeding up, he had felt as if it was crawling. The six or so months in the field had felt like an eternity. By now, he was just a few weeks shy of finally turning eighteen, and still just a few years from being considered a man in the town. He sighed in relief just seeing the halls—despite them being empty. Many of the servants had vanished in the last few weeks, leaving the family to themselves.

“It feels empty.” Tetsu said to Kagome as she walked up to the railing beside him.

“To be honest, I like it,” she replied while leaning of the railing to glance at the large table in the middle of the floor. “Getting a break from being pampered your entire life is kind of fulfilling.”

“That was really the only thing keeping me going out there.”

“What were you doing out in the field?”

“Just some side jobs,” he said before letting out a long-winded yawn. “I should be more honest; it was more like a job than many.”

“You know, you have a fortune waiting for you here, right? You don’t need to steal from others to make people respect you. Even stealing from the rich is still stealing.”

“I’m making better decisions, just lay off me for moment,” he replied.

Kagome chuckled under her breath and gave him a nudge with her fist. He laughed it off and playfully pushed her back.

“Ease up there kiddo,” Kagome replied. “I’m not as tough as you.”

“I guess,” he snickered. He looked back at her while beginning to lean onto the railing one last time. “Where’s Tomo?”

Tomo was his niece and the real center of attention around the castle. She had barely started to speak before he chose to go to the field, and he could only imagine what she had looked like now. After looking up towards her, Kagome’s face had dropped for a moment.

“She’s fine, just sick.” Kagome replied, trying to maintain a smile for a moment.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s had this cough for a few days, but there hasn’t been much we could do. We tried to give her some sake and what medicine we could get a hold of, but there’s not a whole lot we can do.”

“Let me see her,” he said while taking a step back. “Where is she?”

Kagome started to lead him around the balcony and towards the stairs. The wooden steps had started to creak on the way down, only tempting Tetsu to leap over the ledge. He had tried jumping from multiple heights in the past just to see how much his body could withstand. With his sister in his presence, he had chosen against it. Many times, in the past she had scolded him for such.

After making it to the first floor, Kagome started to lead him around the massive dinner table in the center and towards the master bedroom. Tetsu had gulped as she started to open the door. He tried to keep his head high before stepping in. Inside of the room, Lord Nojuro was seated in his chair on the opposite end of the room. In his left hand was an old hard cover book while Tomo had been cradled in his right arm. The old man was very heavy set. Over his brown kimono was a large blue kamishimo that had been draped over the young girl. Tomo had pitch black hair unlike her mother and more like her father.

There had been much loss in the family before all of this. Kagome had dealt with the loss of her husband years prior when Tomo was months old—something that had weighed heavily on the family even until their mother had passed. Once Tetsu had stepped into the room, Nojuro’s eyes perked up for a moment. Instead of greeting him, he had slowly closed the book and placed it aside before lifting his finger towards his mouth.

“I hope we didn’t interrupt bedtime.” Kagome said softly, trying not to wake the child.

“I’m home.” Tetsu added, speaking a little louder than his sister.

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The words had been enough to wake Tomo from the deep sleep, only causing her to light up. She had barely managed to get her eyes open before a series of hoarse coughs had erupted from her chest. As the coughing subsided, her gaze had become focused on Tetsu as her mop of hair cascaded down her shoulders. She pushed herself off Nojuro’s side and out of his lap to make a dash over to Tetsu.

“Uncle Tetsu!” Tomo wheezed as she raised her arms to him.

Tetsu reached down to her and lifted her up into his arms. In the moment, the coughing and grogginess had been replaced with joy as they embraced.

“I missed you, little one.” Tetsu whispered to her, leaning his head into her.

The reunion had brought a smile to Nojuro’s face. He had taken his mind off the situation upon seeing his offspring gathered once more. After running his fingers across his chin, he leaned forward towards them and cleared his throat with a loud grunt.

“How long are you in town, son?” Nojuro inquired.

“I don’t know yet,” Tetsu replied as he started to rock Tomo up and down in his arms. He looked back to him, finally maintaining eye contact before continuing, “I don’t think these people are going to let us leave. To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable leaving everybody behind with what’s been happening here.”

“Have you chosen to fulfill your destiny?”

“I don’t know if this is it,” he snapped back after letting a long-winded sigh escape his breath. As Kagome reached out and pulled Tomo from his arms, Tetsu started to turn away from them. “I thought I was clear about what I wanted to do.”

“You never were open about it, you just left us.”

I never was open about it, I just wanted to be my own man and not ride your coattails, Tetsu thought to himself.

The many nights in the field thinking about his departure had made him harp back to the time before. He had not talked much about his goals with his family and had left them at their lowest point. He would not dare to repeat his thoughts to his father. After a few months in the valley and getting a taste of being alone, he chose to try and keep his family close. The selfish gesture had probably done damage that he would not be able to repair.

“Back so soon,” another voice called out from behind the door. Tetsu snapped his head back to the opening to see another man standing. It was none other that his older brother, Junichi. The man had looked like Tetsu, but much older. A cold look lingered on his face, causing Tetsu to feel even more fearful than he had when he tried to enter the castle. “Are you on your way back out the door?”

“No, I’m staying.” Tetsu replied.

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence in the room, only prompting Junichi to step closer to them.

“Why the change of heart?” Junichi asked.

“I don’t know.” Tetsi muttered under his breath, barely letting the words escape. Before Junichi could continue, there was a series of pops that had echoed outside.

“That’s the third time this week,” Kagome spoke up. The G.E.I. troops in the town had been trigger happy. The thought of the outsiders performing their own justice would only cause the situation to become more dire. As the sound of gunfire in the distance continued, Kagome turned to Nojuro and said, “Father, you have to speak to them.”

“I have, be patient.” Lord Nojuro declared.

“So, are they going to be here forever?” Tetsu asked after turning to face Nojuro.

“I don’t know,” Nojuro replied as he shook his head. “We haven’t come to an agreement yet.”

“What do they want?”

“They want an outpost outside of town and us to calm down the aggression,” he leaned back into his chair and stared up towards the corner behind them. “There’s a war waging overseas and we need to start thinking about what will be best for us. If it means keeping the family safe and ensuring our future, I’m willing to make a deal with them.”

Junichi stepped forward and said, “The people won’t like that. Nobody wants them here, and the rumors of what they’ve been doing in the valley has everybody on edge.”

“I don’t very much care for rumors.” Nojuro snapped back, brushing him off as he turned away.

“I do,” Junichi replied. “Those rumors include them wiping out an entire village to the south.”

For a moment, Tetsu stopped to think of Rei’s village. It was the only village south. After barely escaping from the village with his life, he could only imagine the power the G.E.I. had in store to be able to take them down. His heart had skipped a beat while his imagination began to take over. Instead of asking for closure, he felt cold upon realizing how dire the situation truly was.

“Not in front of Tomo.” Kagome hissed.

Before they could continue, there was a loud droning noise from one of the G.E.I.’s sirens starting to creep through the town. It’s unearthly sound only caused the family to become more unnerved.

“What is that?” Tetsu asked aloud.

He turned back towards the doorway, stepping between Kagome and Junichi before going through the next room and towards the front. The siren continued to get louder, only to be followed by a loud and digitized sounding voice to repeat from the drones floating outside.

“All citizens, take cover.” The voices started to repeat.

“What’s going on?” Kagome said while pulling Tomo closer.

“It’s going to be fine,” Tetsu said back to them, trying to keep calm while the ruckus continued. Just before he could speak again, there was a loud rumble that had tilted all of them. Just moments later, the inside of the castle started to shake as a shockwave blasted past them. Tetsu looked out the front to see the sky ahead light up as a ball of fire had shined over the ocean ahead. “Maybe not.”