Fumei no Musubi
Chapter Seven 
by Ina-chan
First Posted Online: June 29, 2003
History: Sequel to Jyuunishi no Enkei Monogatari

The silence of the room made the faint beeping of the monitor and the rhythmic pumps of the respirator like a booming orchestra.  The man allowed vision to pan across the sterile environment until it finally rested on the figure literally buried under the tubes and wires of the complicated technology of the room. His arms automatically wrapped around himself, as he closed his eyes before letting out a deep sigh. 

“It feels like déjà vu, doesn’t it?” A cheerful voice greeted him curiously. 

The man sighed again, “Something like that.” 

“You’re two weeks late, as usual…” Shigure teased with a knowing grin, “…two weeks should be just enough time, isn’t it?” 

The newcomer gave the older man a suspicious frown, “Enough time for what?” 

Shigure nodded, with sympathetic sigh, “Sou, sou… it’s a difficult situation to be in. But what else can a man do when a woman uses her wifely duties as hostage to impose her will on her husba…” 

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!!” The man glared at the writer, cheeks flaming 

“Now, now , Kyou…” Shigure tsked as he wagged a reprimanding finger at his younger cousin, “Remember where we are. Your voice could probably be heard all the way down the hallway, and Yuki-kun isn’t the only person in this hospital.  Really, no consideration with others whatsoever.” 

The cat instantly grabbed the dog by the collar, his battle aura blazing dangerously, “Keep this up and you’ll be glad that we are IN a hospital.” 

“Hai, hai, hai…” Shigure replied weakly as beads of sweat cascaded down the writer’s forehead while waving a small white flag of surrender. Before suddenly turning into a more serious demeanor, “But seriously Kyou-kun. Why you here? It’s been two weeks now. Yuki-kun isn’t any better or worse,” Shigure said as he glanced at the sleeping man beside him, “But both Ha-san and Kana-chan agreed that it would be alright for him to go home tomorrow.” 

“That’s why I had to come and see him today,” Kyou replied quietly, “I don’t think I would be able to have the chance to do this if it were in the Main House.” 

The writer turned to the cat’s direction in surprise. 

“Kagura didn’t tell me to come, ” Kyou replied stiffly as he looked away and stared at something that he seemed to have found more interesting at the corner of the wall. 

“I see,” Shigure’s expression instantly softened at his younger cousin’s words. He couldn’t help but smile at the obvious tension on the younger man. He already has an idea why Kyou came. He knew how hard it were for the cat to do this, “How are they?” 

 “They’re fine. Kagura and I figured out a way for me to hold her without transforming. I was even able to give her a bath yesterday,” Kyou replied, his tone and body language relaxing slightly, as if to linger on that brief happy memory, before turning to face the writer with a determined expression on his face, “I heard about what happened that day from that loud Ayame. So I wanted to come and thank you.” 

“Me?” Shigure blinked in confusion 

“When Hatori said that we were having the baby two months early... when I saw her for the first time in tubes and wires, looking so weak and fragile… I felt so helpless… and angry that I couldn’t do anything else but wait,” Kyou closed his eyes and clenched his hands, “I was so… scared. I just wanted to hold her tight and not let go…”

 The writer didn’t know what to say to that. Though there were those rare times that the cat confided with him, And through the years, he has seen his younger cousin change under Tooru’s influence. But still… all this time… Kyou has never opened up his feelings like this to him. Until now. 

“Then… Hatori said that it was impossible for me to hold her that way… I thought I would feel more angry and disappointed… I was… but…” The younger man unclenched his hands and looked at his hands, “I felt more relieved to know that there is no way for me to hold my daughter. Then I heard what happened here from that annoying Ayame… that’s why I came,” The younger man lifted his eyes, “Thank you.” 

Shigure stared at his younger cousin, letting his speechless shocked expression linger a few moments, before managing to regain his composure, “Not that I’m demeaning your gratitude, but you’re really thanking the wrong person,” with that, he gave a knowing look directed to their sleeping cousin.

 “That’s why I was thanking you first, you idiot,” Kyou grumbled, peeved at the older man pointing out the obvious

 “So I was a practice run? That’s so cruel, Kyou-kun!!!” Shigure fell on the floor in mock distress as he bit into the edge of a handkerchief he held in his hand.

 “You should be grateful that I’m even thanking you,” Kyou towered darkly over the over-acting writer in exasperation

 Shigure sighed as he pulled himself from the ground and dusted the invisible dirt from his yukata, “Well, those working behind the scenes are fated to live the life of the unappreciated.”

 “Ha?” It was Kyou’s turn to blink in confusion

 “A-ya went with Tooru-kun for her ultrasound this morning. It’s just two floors downstairs, so they should be on their way back soon,” Shigure suddenly announced. Though the truth was, they should have been back almost two hours ago. He temporarily pushed his worries aside as he turned his attention to the younger man, “I think I’ll go out and meet them. Do you mind staying with Yuki-kun until we come back?”

 Kyou’s eyes widened at the writer’s words before replying with a grateful look, “Yeah…”

 The writer gave him a small smile of encouragement, before leaving the room. He crossed his arms, falling deep into thought as his mind quickly poured over all the recent events that happened. Since the incident two weeks passed, Ayame had become even more over zealous about Tooru’s and the baby’s health. Though Tooru had been nothing but grateful for her brother-in-law’s enthusiasm in acting as her husband’s substitute in all aspects of support for the rest of her pregnancy, Shigure could tell that it was more to the fact that it was almost impossible to go against Ayame’s pace.  Then again, the writer couldn’t help but feel grateful to his best friend as well. At least Ayame was most successful in focusing Tooru-kun’s attention towards something else rather than dwelling on Yuki. Her sudden collapse two weeks ago on top of Kagura’s premature delivery and Yuki’s near-death experience was more than enough shock in everyone’s system.

 Enough to rattle everyone to the point that for the first time in the longest time, all the Jyuunishi have gathered in the Main House outside of the New Year celebration. Everyone came simply to offer what they can to support Kagura and Tooru. Even Haru and Rin… The both of them still spend most of their time with Akito. But there has seen more frequent visits outside of Akito’s compound from the both of them recently.

 The writer’s expression darkened as his mind started to wander back to an incident relating to his dark-haired relative, which happened earlier…

 /…you’re going to be second last... you’re going to be forced to watch before your turn. That’s the real reason why you’re so determined to keep him alive. That’s why you’re delaying the inevitable…/

 The inevitable…

 He ran his fingers through his hair. It was true that everyone began feeling edgy since Yuki collapsed and fell into a coma. He initially blamed his own restlessness on what happened to Yuki. But after hearing Rin’s words that night, he knew his instincts was pointing to something else as the cause of his personal anxieties.

 It seemed as if ever since that night, everything that was happening seemed to be quickly accelerating towards… that something… inevitable. Everything happening now, simply added fuel to his apprehension… from Akito’s strange actions… to Kagura and Tooru’s pregnancies… and Tooru’s words…

 /“Yukino. That’s her name, isn’t it? The vengeful spirit of the nezumi-ishi./

 How can she have come to that conclusion? It was just a short glimpse of Akito’s strange behaviour… and then that incident two weeks before, it was impossible to come to that conclusion, wasn’t it? So how?

/Yuki-kun is struggling against her, isn’t he?/

How did she know?

 And now…

 …for the first time outside of the New Year’s celebration…

 …all the Jyuunishi were gathered in one place….

 “Ara, Gure-san? What are you doing here?” Ayame’s voice filtered into his thoughts

 He looked up to face his best friend and his cousin’s wife, who were both watching him with identical worried expressions on their faces, “Ya! Welcome back!”

 “Shigure-san, is something wrong?” Tooru’s voice quivered a little as she stepped closer nervously

 Shigure shook his head and gave her a reassuring smile, as he jutted his thumb towards the closed door,  “No. A stray cat just happened to wander in for a visit. I thought I’d give them some privacy.”

 The young woman closed her eyes and clasped her hands together as she sighed in relief.

 “Kyonkichi is here?” Ayame raised an eyebrow, an amused grin slowly touching his lips “Well, isn’t that something. Why did he come?”

 Shigure grinned and waved his hand dismissively, “Being sappy and grateful about fatherhood or something like that.”

 The silver haired man looked at his cousin in surprise, “Ara? You don’t know exactly? You mean you actually held back from trying to listen from the door?”

 “It’s Kyou-kun we’re talking about here,” Shigure replied, “You know from experience that it isn’t interesting to eavesdrop on him at all unless he thinks he’s alone with Kagura…”

 Ayame rubbed his chin as he nodded solemnly in agreement, “And most of the time, it’s not really that interesting either since most of the time they don’t do much talking…”

 “Anou…” Tooru uttered nervously

 “A-ya, you shouldn’t talk such embarrassing things about other people in front of Tooru-kun,” Shigure berated his cousin gently

 Ayame’s eyes widened as he turned to his sister-in-law and took her hands into his in apology, “I’m sorry, my dear Otoyume. I didn’t mean to embarrass you like that. Rest assured that we always stopped graciously at the right moment whenever we eavesdropped on Yuki…”

 “EEEEH!?!?” Tooru exclaimed in total mortification, immediately falling into super-shocked mode

 “It’s just a joke, Tooru-kun. A joke,” Shigure laughed in amusement at the young woman’s expression. He couldn’t help but feel relieved at her reaction. At least, despite all the things that happened, there are things about her that still hasn’t changed, “So how did your appointment go? It took you a while to get back, so I was getting a little worried.”

 The young woman immediately brightened at his question, as she touched her swelling belly affectionately “It went very well.”

 “Indeed! I could hardly contain my bliss seeing this for the first time!” Ayame added with great enthusiasm as he proudly flashed open a scrap book and literally shoved it in front of his best friend’s nose, “Hora! Take a look Gure-san! Even at such a young age, our bundle of joy is already overflowing with magnificent irresistible beauty and charisma!”

 Shigure blinked blankly at the vague blobs of shadows in the black and white printout images dotting the page in front of him, “Ha…?”

 Tooru sweatdropped at the older man’s expression, “Anou… That’s the reason it took us a while to get back. Ayame-san kept on asking Naoki-san to make print outs from every angle and every time the baby moved… until the whole album was filled…”

 Shigure let out a nervous laugh, “Well, considering it’s A-ya, it’s not really extreme.”

 “Of course not! These are the precious first memories of my beloved nephew! We must celebrate and record every single possible moment for all of us to enjoy in the future!” Ayame stated with firm conviction

 “Nephew?” The writer looked at the young woman before him in bewilderment

 A faint tinge lit the woman’s cheeks as she nodded shyly, “I know I said that I wanted it to be a surprise until the baby was born, but I couldn’t help myself. My curiosity got the best of me.”

 “Congratulations,” Shigure smiled warmly, “I’m sure Yuki-kun would be happy to hear the wonderful news.”

 “Even though Hatori-san already said that the baby is healthy and doing fine. But actually seeing him for the first time…” Tooru paused, as if searching for the right words, “…it’s comforting.” With that she made a bright smile, “I’m glad that Kyou-kun is here, that way Kyou-kun will hear the good news the same time as Yuki-kun. In a few months, Yukino-chan will have a new playmate.”

 Shigure couldn’t help but make an involuntary flinch upon hearing the name of the newest Souma Family member. It was at Kagura’s insistence and with Kyou’s reluctant agreement that their daughter to be named after their cousin whom they believed saved their daughter from a horrible fate. Of course, there was no proof that their daughter would have been cursed had Yuki given up and died… but they were grateful anyway. Naming their daughter that way was merely a kind gesture. But… their kind gesture was too much of a coincidence…

 The dog studied the young woman of him from the corner of his eye. Tooru never pursued asking him about ‘Yukino’ or the ‘nezumi-shi’. In fact, she gave no indication that she even remembered what she said before she fainted two weeks ago. Even Hatori showed no reaction when Kagura announced her daughter’s name.

 Shigure smiled as he gave the young woman’s head an affectionate pat, “Ah well, at least knowing the baby’s a boy will cut down the choices on deciding on his name…”

 “Kaji,” The young woman suddenly out loud

 “Eh?” Shigure gaped at the young woman, suddenly feeling unnerved

 Tooru giggled, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. The name just suddenly popped into my mind for some reason. Yuki-kun and I talked idly about names just after we got married. I actually wanted Kyoko for a girl and Katsuya for a boy… I wonder why I suddenly thought of that name.”

 “Well, Kaji does kind of fit, if you think about it,” Ayame began thoughtfully in a serious tone, “Gura-chan’s daughter is Yukino… so together they would be like ‘fire’ and ‘snow’.  I’m sure they will become close like siblings since their fathers have long ended their grudges. And since their ages are so close together, you could think that they’re almost like twins.”

 “Un,” Tooru nodded cheerfully in agreement, “That would be very nice if came true.”

 A chill ran down Shigure’s spine upon hearing their light conversation. He quickly turned away and covered his mouth at the realization that he couldn’t hide his horror behind a forced smile. He could only pray that both Ayame and Tooru would be too busy in their merrymaking to notice him, as he desperately tried to regain his composure.

 “And…” Ayame continued on cue, as if to answer Shigure’s silent prayers, “…if childhood friendship proves to blossom into something more in adulthood, my beloved nephew and Yukino-chan’s blood relation is distant enough for it to be not a problem.”

 Tooru sweat-dropped at the suggestion, “Anou… Ayame-san… I don’t think it’s a good idea to suggest such a thing before the baby is even born.”

 “NONSENSE!!” Ayame declared with a shake of his fine silver hair, “Age is meaningless when it comes to true love. If my beloved nephew grows up to fall in love with our lovely Yukino-chan then I as a doting uncle will support it with all my strength!!”

 Almost immediately, a strong gust of heat blew past them, causing slight singeing to loose threads and clothing and strands of hair in its path. All three occupants of the hallway slowly turned toward the source of the explosion and sweat-dropped at the sight of a lone figure standing by the open doorway, furious beyond description, and scarlet battle aura flaring dangerously that anyone within touching distance will definitely suffer from more than singed loose strands of hair.

 “Are you planning something disgusting involving my daughter, you damned pervert?” The cat’s voice sounded unnaturally calm, low, but frighteningly dangerous.

 “A-a-nou… K-k-kyou… kun,” Tooru stammered nervously, as she instantly stepped in between the two men, desperately trying to find the right words to pacify the angry cat in time in order to save her brother-in-law

 “Yaaaaa~~~” Shigure rumbled, as he slowly inched backwards to a safe distance, “A-ya, you’re in trouble now. You seemed to have awakened a monster named ‘Otousama Batsu’. A ‘Father’s Wrath’ is unbeatable.”

 “Ara? Gure-san? Are you abandoning me now in this great time of need?” Ayame called out dramatically, feigning heartbreak in his voice

 “Don’t you dare do that nonsense in front of Tooru. A baby already learns even though its still in the womb. I’ll kill you if you corrupt this baby before it’s even born… ” Kyou interrupted in his low and dangerous voice before the dog could even muster a breath to answer the snake

 “Yare, yare, Kagura made you read all those baby books too much, Kyonkichi!” Ayame scoffed with a flip of his hair, “And stop using that scary voice. You’re making Tooru-kun nervous.”

 “Haa~~~” Tooru sighed weakly

 Shigure took this opportunity to turn around and make his escape. He didn’t stop walking until he rounded a corner and leaned his shoulder against the wall as he buried his face in his hand. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep this cheerful mask. His head felt as if it were spinning around aimlessly. His emotions were running high to the point that he felt as if he was being physically pulled apart at all directions. He was already starting to loose control in short spurts. He had to find the answers to his questions as soon as possible.

 He NEEDED to find those answers.

 For some reason, he couldn’t help but feel that time was quickly running out.

 “Shigure-kun?” A worried voice called out in concern from behind him

 The writer’s eyes widened at the sound. He immediately straightened up and painfully forced another smile on his face before turning around, “Kana-chan, did you need to see Yuki-kun now?”

 “No. It’s not urgent,” The doctor shook her head, “I passed by earlier and saw that he had a visitor. He stood in front of the door nervously for quite a while, so I figured that he’d probably need a lot of time with Yuki-san. Besides, Yuki-san isn’t going home until tomorrow anyway.”

 “Thank you for all your help,” Shigure stated gratefully with a bow

 “Oh, I should be the one to say so,” Kana made a small laugh, “I don’t know if I was much help at all. Yuki-san seemed to have recovered on his own.”

It was somewhat true. Since that incident two weeks ago, all of Yuki’s seizures ceased… further tests didn’t show any worsening or improvement in his condition. It was as if that day didn’t even happen at all.

 “Don’t belittle yourself again, Kana-chan,” Shigure scolded in mock anger, before changing his tone in a more serious note, “You were a big help and comfort. Specially for Tooru-kun and A-ya. So thank you.”

 The doctor didn’t have an answer to that, so she simply accepted the writer’s praise in silence. Shigure made another polite bow before starting to make his way back to Yuki’s hospital room.

 “Shigure-kun,” Kana called out quietly as he passed by her, “If you don’t mind me asking… that man who came to visit Yuki-san…”

 “Kyou-kun?” Shigure looked at the woman questioningly, “What about him?”

 “Is he… Is Kyou-san by any chance…” Kana began hesitantly, “…is he by any chance related to Kazuma-san’s grandfather? The orange hair. Kazuma-san’s grandfather was an inner Souma, wasn’t he?”

 A small frown reached the dog’s eyebrows before he could stop it, “Why do you ask?”

 “My grandmother…” Kana replied, “She knew Kazuma-san’s grandfather. I was just curious.”

 “I see,” Shigure relaxed at her explanation, though carefully watched the other woman’s expression before treading on his next question, “You seem to be overly curious about the Inner Soumas. Is there a reason behind it, if I may ask?”

 “You can say that it was mostly motivated by an old school girl crush,” A faint tinge quickly appeared on the young doctor’s cheeks, but her voice changed into an almost nostalgic tone with her following words, “Though as to what started it… you can say it was my grandmother.”

 “Your grandmother? Was it because she knew Kazuma-dono’s grandfather?” Shigure asked, his own curiousity getting the better of him

 Kana nodded, “You can say that. When she was younger, she tried to find out all she could about the Inner Soumas. She told me that she even found some old manuscripts written by an Inner Souma from the Meiji Period.”

 “She found what?” Shigure squeaked hoarsely. He felt his heart stop and lodge itself in his throat upon hearing those words.

 “Shigure-kun? Are you all right? Do you want some water?”

  He shook his head and desperately swallowed back the painful lump before attempting to speak, “Ahem… Wha… what was she looking for?”

 “The truth,” Kana replied, “She said that she wanted to prove that the rumors about the reason behind Kazuma-san’s grandfather’s imprisonment in the Main House weren’t true.”

 “Rumors?” Shigure couldn’t help frowning again, “Rumors about Kazuma-dono’s grandfather's imprisonment?”

 Kana looked at him strangely, before realization dawned to her, “I see… I suppose the Inner Soumas haven’t heard of it. Then again, that rumor is a hushed whisper now if not dead, in respect for Kazuma-san.” 

“What was it about?” Shigure asked again, starting to feel impatient.

 “Mind you I never believed it myself. From my grandmother’s sketches and her stories, I don’t think Kazuma-san’s grandfather was capable of committing murder either,” Kana replied

 “Murder!?” Shigure’s eyes widened at the revelation, he grabbed the woman’s arms in disbelief, “The members of the Outer House believed he was imprisoned because he committed murder!?!”

 “Shigure-kun?” Kana gaped at the writer, surprised at his sudden outburst

 “I’m sorry, sorry…” The dog mumbled apologetically, immediately letting the young doctor go. He turned around and rubbed the painful throbbing that started on he left temple, “I was just surprised to hear that… who… who was it?”

 “My grandmother knew her too. She was his younger cousin. The reason why everyone felt strongly about it was because she was only ten-years-old… and blind,” Kana answered, “But there was no proof that he did it.”

 “How did it… happen?”

 “It happened at one of the lakeside Summer Houses. The official death said that it was an accidental drowning, that she wandered to the lake and drowned. But there were claims that the Inner House covered up evidence showing that she was actually held underwater. Unfortunately, Kazuma-san’s grandfather was the first one to find her. He carried her in his arms to get help, but it was too late.”

             “What was her… name?” Shigure managed to utter before a sickening wave washed over his entire being.

 “Yumeko. Souma Yumeko.” Kana stated, looking at him expectantly.

The dead silence settled in the hallway after she uttered that name. He knew that name. And that realization only made his nausea feel worse.  Her eager stare was making him feel claustrophobic, on top of that. But before the writer could utter a reply, a frantic beeping noise pieced into the air.

“Sorry,” Kana apologized with a sheepish look as she instantly pulled out a beeper from her pocket, “I need to go. I’ll pass by and see Yuki-san later.” With that she gave him a polite bow before going on her way. She stopped mid-way, as if on after thought, “My grandmother didn’t tell me… but I have a feeling that Yumeko-chan was also an inner Souma. Perhaps we can continue this conversation another time?”

“Perhaps,” Shigure could only muster a weak but genuine smile of relief, as he watched her disappear down another corridor with a small wave. Only then did he allow that his expression to fall, as he pondered over the new information that he had acquired. A pained sardonic grimace crept on the writer’s lips as the full impact of what this meant finally hit him. 

Souma Yumeko… Of course she was an Inner Souma.  Yuki inherited his curse from her, after all.

End of Chapter Seven
Return to Chapter Six  
Continued on Chapter Eight  

AUTHOR’S SQUAWK:

Haaa… finally, the story is starting to actually build up. The humor was kind out of place, I know. But after all the tragic stuff happening one after the other, I figured that everyone needed a break before I introduce the heavier things in store. Heck! I introduced a whole lot of new things in this chapter. I hope it isn’t too loaded. But I figured that this is about the perfect time that Shigure stopped acting like Yuki’s protective guard dog and actually start moving on his own to sniff out clues on trying to break the curse.

And based on the promise he made to the nezumi-ishi in the earlier chapter, it was obvious that Shigure is moving on borrowed time! Ganbatte Shigure-kun! Now if only Shigure is more this way in the manga canon rather than indulging in his dark fantasies… ah, but he won’t be as interesting though! <sigh> You can’t have it all! ^_^.

Another thing, as you can tell… I’m not using the “next Jyuunishi will be born after the last one died” theory. I’m following Takaya-sensei’s explanation in that interview that the curse falls randomly. And that this group is special since it was very rare for the 12-ishi members to be so close to each other’s ages. So I figured, that there must have been times when the circle was incomplete. So that makes the 12-ishi even more special when they appear in one generation.

Anywayz… For those joining us with this fic just this chapter. I’m sure you’re very confused with the references. I strongly advise to read a fic that is somewhat an indirect “prequel” to this fic. You really need to read “Jyuunishi Enkei no Monogatari (Tale of the Jyuunishi Circle)” to understand the references. Both that fic and earlier chapters of this fic are available in Fanfiction.net and Mediaminer.org. Just search for Ina-chan in the author’s search and you’ll be sure to find it! ^_^.

Special thanks to Merrow-chan! Who very kindly beta-read this chapter for me! <GLOMPS MERROW-CHAN> As usual, Merrow-chan is my shining muse who came to rescue me in a dark and dire creativeness need. ^_^.

Ja!
Ina-chan