A Cry of Despair

(16 years and 9 month after reincarnation)

[Takina's POV]

The train arrived at Edo's outskirts during 5 p.m. Just like last time, we are to stay at the train overnight until the next morning before the train will drive back to Niigata.

We patiently waited for all the Takeda envoys on board to leave the train before making our move.

Sora and I brandished ourselves cloaks, sneaking into the city at 10 p.m. and avoiding all the guards.

Though we did made contact with the guards from Takeda Clan, none of them seemed to recognize Sora-sama, which is to say that while he is wanted, he isn't a high priority target and remained discrete to the public.

And after 1 hour of walking, we finally made it to the Matsumae family's mansion....

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(11 p.m.)

We arrived at the street where his house is at. Standing in front of the mansion's gate are two guards....

"We are here...."

"So this is your house... It's so big."

"We are a rich family... But there's something wrong." Sora said out with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Why?"

"Those two are Takeda Soldiers standing guard at the entrance.... They aren't supposed to show up at my house, this means they might've even taken over our home."

"Ah.... This means that we won't be able to just walk right in?"

"Mmm... But I want to make sure mother and father is safe-"

"You know what I have on me?"

"What?"

"This fox mask!" I took out the metal visor that I bought from that broke merchant.... "You know what this means?"

"You're gonna sneak in?! Are you crazy?!"

"Keep quiet idiot, you want everyone to hear us...?! For your worries, I came prepared. Look at this!"

From my hand bag I took out the book that Monkey-san gave me. It's the Esoteric text of a Ninja.

'Thud!' Sora slapped the book off my hand.

"You think that stupid can teach you?!"

"What? It works!"

"You.... How did you survive for so long...?"

"Relax, everything will work out.... Probably. But if worse comes to shove I'll just have to fight my way out, it's nothing that I haven't done before."

"Sigh... Well it's not like we have any other choices. I'll come with you."

"Not a chance, kid. I'll be fine if I'm captured, but you? You'd be skinned alive!"

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After some convincing from me, Sora hid himself at a corner inside a dark alleyway and wait for my return.

As for me? I'm going into the house. How exciting, it's like one of those ninja movies!

Stealth Operation : Find out what happened to the Matsumae family!

Hmm.... But how should I even approach this Let's start by climbing over the walls then.

I walked around the area of the mansion, finally coming to the back of the mansion where no guards are present.

Hmm... Dark and empty street, no one to see my thieving behaviors.

"Hmph...!"

I jumped and latched onto the top of the wall.

"Hrrgh!" Damn, why am I so heavy?! I need to do pull ups more!

It took some effort but I was able to make it over.... Inside the mansion is a big garden, with many bushes and trees. There are no guards. "Good...."

I jumped down the wall and sneakily made my way into the small garden.... Then quietly, I sneaked my way up to the big Japanese house's walls.

From the window, I opened it up and peeked inside.... It's dark, and empty again, just like the streets outside. "Perfect...."

I climbed into the house through the window.... 'Thud!' "!" As I carried my sword on my waist, it slammed into the wooden frame of the window and made a loud noise.

....Nobody noticed it.

"Phew...." I should carry the sword by hand....

My objective is to find his parents and tell them about Sora-sama, so here comes the problem.... Which room is the bedroom of those two?

Guess I'll have to check out most of the rooms one by one.

'Goo....' First room, bookshelves and a table. It's a library.

'Goo....' Second room, barrels, fish hanging on the ceiling, sags of rice on the ground. A store room.

'Goo....' Third room, chest at the entrance, but an empty interior. This should be the guest room.

If my understanding of Japanese architecture is correct, this should be the side-hall of the mansion. In every one of these mansions there will always be a main hall where the Master Bedroom is at alongside a few more rooms for his family.

This means that the Main Hall would be at the next corner after this.

I quietly walked up to the corner that leads into the next hallway.... "Hmm?"

"-and he was just swinging his hands at me like an idiot. I mean he's drunk but he fought like a little girl."

As I walked quietly in the dimly lit walkway of the house, I heard noises from around the corner.

"Hahaha, he's not a master or a warrior, of course you'd beat him in a drunken brawl!"

I peeked my face around the corner.... Two guards dressed in kimono, with wakizashi swords strapped to their waist. They appear to be Takeda soldiers as well, and there's no way to make it pass them without being detected.

Is there some holes I can climb through or other means to make it pass them- "Mmm?"

As I looked around, I noticed something useful sitting in front of the guest room.

It looks stupid but this might work actually.

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[Third Person POV]

The two close friends who worked at the same place chatted happily.

"-and then I slammed his face into the table, knocking him out cold."

"You might've been a bit harsh but I guess that's just expected."

They were just having a casual conversation, oblivious to the fact that Takina had already made it inside the house. Nevertheless, it would still be impossible for her to make it pass them because this is the only entrance to the Main Hall.

But it was then.... 'Knock knock.' noises could be heard from around the corner.

"-hey, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

It was then, the first guard pointed to the floor just to the side of the corner where a shadow was seen moving.

'Knock knock.'

"...!"

"Keep quiet...."

The two guards nodded their head afterwards, and quietly pulled out their weapons. 'Shing...'

They silently and slowly made their way to the corner.... And with a sudden jump, the guards leapt out of the corner with his sword ready to slice up anyone who intruded upon the mansion.

"...Hrah!" The first guard jumped out of the corner.... There was no one in the hall.

"Huh... Odd..."

"Is there anyone there?"

"No. But I swore we heard sounds...."

"It might've been just a stray cat or something."

"It'd be bad if it got into the store room, let's check it out!"

"Yeah!"

As the two guards walked into the dim hall while checking every corner they physically can check.... 'Thud!' "Argh! My pinky!"

The guard stubbed his toe into a chest that somehow ended up in the hallway.

"Damn that looked painful.... You good?"

"Urgh, which dumbass put this chest out here?!"

The guard kicked the chest with his leg out of anger.... 'Thud!' It sounded like something inside of the chest just slammed around.

"Don't kick it! What if it has important things?"

"What would there be? It's a chest for the guests!"

"Forget it, let's go check the store room!"

"Oh right, I forgot about that...."

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[Takina's POV]

When the two guards walked off, I immediately clinbed out of the chest and made my way to the next hall.

"Hah... Hah...."

My heart was beating insanely fast when they stumbled on the chest.... I thought I'm going to be busted for sure, that was close!

And I got a bruise from hitting my head on the chest's walls, just my luck. But anyway, here I am finally past the two guards....

'Goo...' I checked the first room, and inside is another empty room. This should be the side rooms of the master bedroom.

I closed the door to not attract any attention and sneaked to the second bedroom.... I quietly opened the master bedroom's door and peeked inside.

A fat guy is swinging his hip between the legs of a slender body.

"Ahh~ Ahh~ No~!"

Yep, they are fucking.

Wait I'm not here for this shit, I need to stay focused! Amitabha amitabha.... I'm a buddhist, no bodily temptations can control me.

'Grab!' Suddenly someone from the sides grabbed me by my mouth and my arm. "Mmm-?!"

"Be silent, we don't want to attract the guards...!"

"Mmm...." I groaned out as I nod my head.

"They are coming back.... Follow me to safety."

He finally released his arm.... I quietly followed him to the next room, where he entered and shut the door behind.

"Now.... Who the hell are you?"

Judging from this guy's action he might be an ally. In that case, it should be fine to tell him my name.

"I'm Fujiwara Takina, the Crimson Weaving Blade. I'm Matsumae-sama's servant, and I'm here to-"

"Ah, you're Sora-sama's bodyguard? Excuse my earlier rudeness because I couldn't recognize you through that mask...."

"No it's fine.... But who ARE you?"

"How rude, I'm the servant that brought Sora-sama to you, Fujiwara-dono."

"Oh, you're that guy who tried to draw his sword in front of Kenshin-sama...."

"I apologize for that, but I needed to test your skills."

"It's fine. Now we don't have much time to spare so let me get straight to the point.... Sora-sama is right outside the mansion, and he wants to make sure that his father and mother is safe."

"I see.... To start, Lord Matsumae is dead."

"You mean Sora's father?! So suddenly?!"

"He was framed corruption by the Takeda clan and sentenced to death about a month ago."

"That's just unfair.... Why did they-"

"Takeda Katsuyori, the son of Takeda Shingen wanted control over the small army that our clan possesses. You see that guy next door having sex with one of our maids? That's the new Lord that they 'installed' here. A puppet for them to control when they need to."

This is the power struggle of clan retainers.... Like it or not, many political people rose to power with underhanded means because not many can do so using their power of influence like Kenshin-sama can.

But I'm not surprised, this is feudal Japan afterall, a place where there are all kinds of savage people exists.

"Damn.... I feel sorry for Sora-sama now.... How can I even tell him all this?"

"....Well, you don't have to say anything, the Mistress will do it."

"Excuse me?"

"I'll go get Mistress Tsukumi, Sora's mother. We should meet outside."

"She's alive?"

"Yes. Lord Matsumae may be dead, but Tsukumi-shufu is still alive because the Takedas think that she poses no threat.... Which is to say she's spared by Katsuyori."

"I see.... This whole thing is more complicated than I can think of."

"As the bodyguard of Sora-sama you play a vital role for us.... But it is not important for you to worry about the politics of our family. Your job is to guard Sora-sama with your life, and make sure he's safe.... Please."

There's a small shake to his voice....

"...I don't know if this will make you feel better, but I am Sora's sword and his shield, I will do my utmost in protecting him from all harm regardless."

"...Thank you, that is reassuring. That being said you need to leave right now, it is extremely dangerous for you to stay here any longer. Should those guards capture you then that scumbag of a Lord will be 'playing' with your body instead.... You don't want that now do you?"

"That's disgusting and terrifying... But I can't just walk out of this room now can I?"

"I have a secret tunnel in this closet.... It might be a bit wet since it leads to a well, but it's safe. Use it."

"That's convenient.... Alright, I'll be leaving, remember to bring Mistress Tsukumi over."

"I'll do just that."

"....Actually I have one last question, how did you know that I was there? I didn't saw you when I entered the hall."

"....I had to go to the toilet to relieve myself, it was then that I saw you peeking in on them having sex."

"Look, it's not like I was peeking alright? I just happened to open the wrong door...."

"For a girl your age? Hah, I've never seen through a lie so quickly."

It was an accident.... But I was also just curious you know? If counting my past life, I'm a 33 year-old virgin - practically a sage already! Of course I'd be curious about sex.... at least about the role that I will play as a woman.

But this is not the time for these stupid tangents, I've got to go ASAP!

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"Sora!" Said the woman as she rushed forward towards the boy.

"...Mother..."

The woman ran forward and crouched down in front of Sora, pulling him into a tight hug.

"It's been half a year...! I'm so glad I can see you..."

"Mother.... You're making me cry...."

Look at these two.... A happy reunion.

"...You there. What's your name?"

"U-uh, me? I'm Fujiwara Takina, Sora's new servant under Kenshin-sama's orders-"

"Thank you, truly.... From what it looks like, you've protected Sora well during your time, you deserves a handsome reward. Jin, give her the money."

"Yes, madam. Fujiwara-dono, there should be 5 gold coins in this pouch. Consider it a reward."

"W-what?! This is too much, I can't accept this much money..."

I'll feel bad you know?

"Please accept it, Fujiwara-san.... I will feel bad if I have to impose this child onto you but not give anything in return."

"O-oh.... In that case, thank you very muh Mistress Tsukumi."

I hesitantly accepted the money.... And during this, the Mistress stood back up and talked to Sora.

"....Son, I know that it is hard for you to live by yourself outside, but you have to stay strong. No matter what, you must not give up alright?"

"Mmm.... Mother, where is father? Why didn't he come as well?"

"I suppose I should stop beating the bush around.... Your father is dead."

"Chichiue is... dead...?"

"....." (3x)

It was here that I finally saw Sora break down.

"No.... This can't be.... No no no...."

I had expected an explosive outburst of anger and frustration but.... this is even more painful to witness.

"No.... Father is.... Sniffs.... Father is.... Wah!!!"

It was a cry of despair, not anguish. I know this feeling all too well, for I once broke down in the arms of Lynn as well....

"Sora-sama...."

The Mistress quietly got down and held Sora in her arms as he cried out even more.

(Chapter end)