39

Chapter 39:

Ruby had to admit that having Natsuki spend the night had turned out to be a wonderful experience. After they'd finished their homework (with Ruby nearly falling asleep from exhaustion throughout), they had dinner with Sora, Kyo, and Sasame. Once Natsuki had overcome her starstruck reaction to Sora's presence, she proved to be as enthusiastic and energetic as always. Despite her enthusiasm, the pair weren't able to stay up very late, as Ruby's previous training meant she was ready for bed almost as soon as she was done with dinner.

They retired for the evening, with Sasame laying out extra bedding for Natsuki in Ruby's room. Ruby was asleep almost instantly, struck with an incredibly giddy and nostalgic feeling. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed something as simple as a sleepover with a friend. She still remembered the bitter feeling of a friend on Patch telling her she wasn't invited, because her friend's parents didn't want to deal with Taiyang's intrusive tendencies. But now she was able to have a friend over, and not worry about her father incessantly checking in on her to make sure they weren't talking about anything on his list of forbidden topics.

Their morning could have started out better for Ruby though, mainly, because it marked her fist attempt at cooking with her new family...which served as a stark reminder of how life with the Mibu, in many ways, was just plain...odd...

"YEEK!"

With a startled yelp, Ruby reeled back, watchings as flames burst up from the pan in front of her, reducing her first attempt at cooking breakfast for herself going up in smoke.

"Are you all right?" asked Sora, immediately coming to her side.

"I...I thought I'd..." Ruby blinked back tears, utterly mortified by the display.

Sora smiled, using the corner of her sleeve to wipe the tears away. "There's no need to be upset," she said. "I too made such mistakes, the first time I tried using a stove."

"Yeah, me too," agreed Natsuki, who'd been watching from not far away. "I'm still not very good at it."

Ruby frowned, looking at what the Mibu equivalent of a kitchen stove was. Without Dust, she'd imagined the Mibu using something akin to the wood-fired stoves that she'd heard were once used in primitive days, sort of a more civilized version of the cooking over a campfire that Kyo and Sasame had done, during their time on the road. However, the Mibu actually did have appliances...appliances that ran on Aura.

In this case, the "stove" was a metal plate, one of a few set into the counter. There were no controls, no knobs, no settings or markings that delineated "low", "medium", or "high". While there were no markings on the upper surface, Sora had told Ruby that the underside was covered by a "script", which converted one's Aura directly into heat. The more Aura one put in, the more heat the stove put out. Channeling Aura into the stove, surprisingly enough, didn't require continuous direct contact with it. Touching the metal plate with just her finger established a connection, which Ruby could send her Aura through, even when she might be over on the other side of the kitchen. Theoretically, with skilled control, one could utilize a stove like this with an impressive level of finesse, using their Aura to control the temperature to within a fraction of a degree.

Theoretically...

In practice...cooking on a stove like this was one of the most trying examples of multitasking that Ruby had ever experienced. The main issue was that there was no feedback, nothing to directly tell her how hot her Aura was making the stove...unless she wanted to touch the stove herself, which was ridiculous, of course. Therefore, the best way to gauge the heat of the stove was by watching how the pan, and the ingredients within it, reacted to the heat, to determine whether it was hot enough, too hot, or just right. In this case, Sora had instructed Ruby to heat a pan with oil in it, until it began to shimmer and ripple. Ruby watched the oil intently. But, with the intensity of her observation she found herself channeling too much Aura into the stove...which caused the oil to burst into flame instead.

"It is fairly tricky to work around," Sora explained. "In many ways, learning to use something as simple as a stove here is almost as much of an 'art' as what you are learning from Shinrei. It isn't merely gauging the temperature, but maintaining it, adjusting it as necessary, all while performing other tasks that go into cooking. It requires a surprising degree of multitasking skill."

"Wait until you try using the oven," Natsuki teased.

Ruby fought to keep it down, but a tiny, strangled whine still emerged from her throat.

Sora smiled, gently brushing her fingers through the hair atop Ruby's head. "Why don't you and Natsu-chan wait in the dining room. I will take care of breakfast today."

Ruby hung her head shamefully. It was a perfectly ordinary expectation. But it still felt like admitting defeat for her.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of," said Sora. "It will come to you, with time and practice. Though, I think you shouldn't worry too much at this point, not when you have so much else to practice."

With little reason to protest, Ruby, somewhat unhappily, took her leave of the kitchen, Natsuki following her, already trying to cheer her up.

Life amongst the Mibu took some getting used to, that much was for sure. Ruby wasn't entirely sure what she had expected, when she'd learned the Mibu didn't use Dust. Surprisingly, things weren't all that much different. At the very least, the Mibu had internal plumbing, so she didn't have to worry about getting water from a well...or having to dispose of her waste in a truly old-fashioned manner.

Aside from appliances, like stoves and ovens, the Mibu had refrigeration and freezing available to them as well...after a fashion. Their equivalent to such appliances took the form of heavily insulated chambers, possessing an Aura-script, like the stoves and oven, but producing cold instead of heat (Ruby was too young to note the nuances of how that would typically violate thermodynamic principles). Freezers and refrigerators had to be periodically recharged with the user's Aura. Sora showed Ruby how she determined whether that was needed with simple mercury thermometers, set inside the the chambers themselves.

The "Aura-script" was ubiquitous throughout the Mibu, and seemed to be what fueled much of their civilization; including illuminating homes and streets, and heating and cooling the interior of buildings...amongst other things. The ways in which the script could be adapted allowed the users to convert their Auras into other forces, without needing to directly train in the particular form of Manifestation that would normally be needed to achieve those effects. Though why scripts hadn't supplanted Manifestation entirely was something Ruby had not yet learned, though she had guesses.

One of the biggest differences, between the Mibu and the Kingdoms, was the absence of any form of electronic communication. Back home, on Patch, Ruby could have easily spoken to her school friends, even if they had already gone their separate ways, through scrolls (or she would have, if her father had allowed her to have a scroll of her own). They would have been able to plan outings and activities, or even just chat, without having to meet up, face-to-face.

That kind of convenience was absent from life amongst the Mibu. If Ruby wanted to speak to Natsuki, the best way was to talk to her directly, mainly at school. Sora had offered the services of the Shadowrunners of her Imperial Guard. With their abilities, delivering any missive she wanted was a work of mere moments. However, Ruby was conscious of the privilege she already had, not wanting to indulge more than necessary.

Aside from that, options for entertainment were similarly limited. Back home, at least Ruby had had the option of watching shows on the network, or going to a movie (albeit from an extremely limited selection that her father had approved of). Amongst the Mibu, such forms of entertainment were nonexistent, and she had to make do with more old-school methods. Fortunately, Ruby had always been an enthusiastic reader, and her new home had an impressive library, repleat with stories she'd never seen or heard of before. Aside from that, there were other more-analogue methods of entertainment, like board and card games. She'd also learned that the capital had a variety of different forms of theater, though she hadn't yet gotten the chance to go to any performances.

At the moment, that was all so much background noise to Ruby's head, as she was still wrestling with her disappointment at being unable to do something as simple as make her own breakfast. Instead, she and Natsuki wound up waiting in the dining room, while Sora did the rest of the cooking herself. All she could hope was that it wasn't a portent of how the rest of her day was going to go.

Fortunately, things did get better from there. Ruby and Natsuki spent the rest of the day playing games and exploring much of the Palace. Ruby only really knew of the places between where she was staying and where she trained, while Natsuki had only ever used the route to reach Makoto's examination room. With Sora's permission, they were free to wander almost anywhere, discovering all manner of rooms and courtyards. However, to Ruby's amazement, the day took a turn for the even better in a way she'd never imagined.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could get everyone here and play Hide and Seek?" asked Natsuki, as they rounded a corner and headed down another hallway.

"I think it's too big for that," noted Ruby, looking around with a touch of nervousness to her face. "I mean...you could search around for a week, and probably not look everywhere. What if you hid and nobody ever found you?"

Both girls shivered at the thought. "Y-yeah," admitted Natsuki. "That would be scary. Besides, it'd be really easy to get lost. You could hide so well you wouldn't be able to find yourself." She paused, a soft gasp escaping her. "Wait! What if someone did that and died? Do you think the palace is haunted?"

"Eeeeeee!" Ruby squealed, shying away from Natsuki. "Don't say that! It's scary!"

"But it'd be cool!" exclaimed Natsuki. "What would it be like to meet a ghost?"

"I don't want to know!" wailed Ruby.

The two of them were so excited and absorbed in their chatter that they didn't notice that someone was standing in front of them, until they wandered into his shadow. Looking up, the first thing they noticed was a head of pale, silvery hair, formed into curling wisps. They also saw light skin, white robes, and gray eyes that watched them intently.

"EEEK!" Ruby shrieked. "GHOST!"

"I'm sorry! Please don't haunt us!" begged Natsuki, swept up in her friend's momentary hysteria, the two of them cowering and afraid to look at the figure in front of them...until he burst out laughing.

Not considering that a very ghostly response, the two girls slowly opened their eyes and looked up at the man they'd almost bumped into. The man's appearance was, indeed, somewhat ghost-like. But it was clear that he was alive after even the most cursory examination. In addition to the white kimono he wore, he was also wore a dark-blue shawl, draped over his shoulders, so that the ends rested over his chest, the ends of which were decorated with pentagrams, embroidered with silver thread.

"M-Murasame-sama!" gasped Natsuki, immediately bowing deeply. "Oh my God!"

Ruby swallowed nervously to see her friend so flustered, and quickly joined her in bowing.

"O-oh my God!" whimpered Natsuki nervously. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive us!"

Murasame merely laughed again, prompting the girls to lift their heads and stare at him in confusion.

"What ever is there to apologize for?" asked Murasame pleasantly. "I thought I heard the sound of rambunctious children, and came to investigate. It's quite the novelty in this place."

"S-sorry to disturb you," said Natsuki, keeping her head low.

"You did no such thing," assured Murasame in a warm, fatherly tone. "As I said, I was merely curious. Truth be told, this stifling maze of a palace could use more of such excitement." Reaching down, he gently placed his fingers beneath Natsuki's chin and used the pressure to make her raise her head so that he could look her in the eyes. "In any case, it is good to see you again, Natsu-chan. It's certainly pleasant have you here for some reason other than your regular checkups."

"Th-thank you, Murasame-sama," said Natsuki, blushing nervously.

"And you..." Murasame turned his attention to Ruby. "You must be the infamous Ruby Rose that I have heard so much about."

"Y-yes," said Ruby, nervously. It wasn't hard to figure out who this man was, given Natsuki's reaction. She'd also heard Murasame's name before.

"Well, as unexpected as this meeting is, I suppose it's only proper to introduce myself," commented Murasame with a chuckle. "I am Sengo Murasame of the Taishiro, Blademaster of the Mibu Clan."

"Blademaster?" asked Ruby uncertainly, wondering what the term meant.

"The master-swordsmith of the Mibu Clan," elaborated Murasame. "I forge swords for our clan, and am charged with the keeping of our clan's ancestral artifacts. I am also a swordsman. In fact, you have been a student of a student of mine, for a time."

Ruby blinked, thinking back on it. Shinrei was supposedly Makoto's student. So that ruled him out. Sasame wasn't a swordswoman. That left... "Kyo-nii?"

"That's right," said Murasame with a laugh. "I was surprised to learn that he had taken on a student of his own. Truly, children grow up so quickly. From what he's told me, you are a most remarkable pupil."

"Th-thank you," said Ruby, bowing her head again, blushing fiercely.

"So..." continued Murasame, observing them with growing interest, "the two of you are enjoying your day off, I see."

"Yes," said the girls in unison.

"Well then...seeing as it is almost time for lunch, would you two like to join me?" asked Murasame.

"We'd be honored!" gasped Natsuki, her eyes wide.

"Good," said Murasame with another amused laugh. "It's been some time since I last enjoyed company with my midday meal."

Murasame took them both by the hand, leading them along a few more bewildering twists and turns. As he did, he talked to them about the most ordinary things: their schooling, what they did during their regular days, Ruby's journey to Onmyo. He drew out the details of Ruby's training under Kyo, Sasame, and Shinrei. After that, he divined Natsuki's interests and inclinations.

Their journey eventually took them outside the main palace, emerging from a door at the end of a corridor and into a grassy meadow, surrounded by trees. Across the meadow from where they'd emerged stood a modest-looking cottage-like building, its front section suspended on poles over a section of the grass, while its back stretched back and eventually merged with the earth of the mountain itself.

"These are my quarters," explained Murasame, as the girls gazed around them in wonder.

He led them across the meadow and up the stairs to the house's porch. From there, he slid open the doors and led them into a rather plain-looking room, the floors made from simple woven mats called tatami, which Ruby had learned were considered traditional flooring amongst the Mibu.

"What do you think?" asked Murasame, chuckling as the girls looked around while taking their seats on the cushions he laid out for them.

"It's...a lot plainer than I expected," noted Natsuki.

"That it is," said Murasame. "I've never really felt much need for anything opulent. For the most part, we Taishiro are a little too engrossed in our work to bother with decoration for our quarters."

"I think it's nice," said Ruby softly. "It feels...really peaceful."

"That was what I was aiming for," noted Murasame, pulling on a section of the wall and revealing that, like the doors they'd entered through, the other wall panels could be slid back, opening the entire room up to the outside air, allowing them to enjoy the soft breeze of the summer's day, and listen to the sound of birds and other animals outside.

"Please relax," urged Murasame, heading for an adjoining room that Ruby assumed to be the kitchen. "I'll have lunch ready momentarily."

Ruby and Natsuki both nodded, relaxing and taking in the scenery around them as they waited.

"How do you know Murasame-sama?" asked Ruby, deciding to break the silence. "It sounded like you've talked before."

"Well, I've bumped into him a few times while coming for my checkups," explained Natsuki. "He's sometimes there, talking with Makoto-sama, when I come in."

"Have you met all the Taishiro?" asked Ruby.

"No," said Natsuki with a disappointed sigh. "I haven't met Haruka-sama yet."

"Haruka-sama?" Ruby blinked, tilting her head.

"Almost no one has met her," explained Natsuki. "Everyone says that she's the most brilliant member of the Taishiro, and that no one else but the other Elders can keep up with her, so she doesn't bother with lesser folk like us."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," commented Murasame, entering the room again and setting out trays for them, making the girls squeak in surprise, feeling guilty at being caught gossiping about the Elders.

"Wha-what do you mean?" asked Ruby as the three of them began to start eating their rather ordinary meals of miso soup, rice, and grilled fish. For his part, it seemed that Murasame wasn't all that much better of a cook than Sora was.

"Well, there's no question that Haruka is the most brilliant member of the Taishiro," said Murasame. "In fact, I daresay she's the finest mind to grace the Mibu in several generations. But the unfortunate fact of the matter is that she's...well...too shy to engage with others, most of the time."

"Shy?" Ruby canted her head again, amazed at the idea that someone in such an exalted position would be gripped by such a...mundane issue.

Murasame shrugged. "Haruka is most comfortable when talking about her areas of expertise. Of course, because of that, very few, save those of us with a firm grounding in the knowledge of those selfsame subjects, can understand her. Otherwise, it's difficult for her to manage a complete and coherent sentence. Oftentimes, she winds up stammering and stuttering so badly that she's almost impossible to understand."

"Oooh!" said Ruby and Natsuki in unison.

Ruby looked down. "I can understand that," she admitted.

"I imagine so," agreed Murasame, gently ruffling her hair. "You've come to an unfamiliar land and have started to live amongst an unfamiliar people, with manners and customs far removed from those you are used to. I imagine you've had your share of awkward moments."

Ruby nodded slowly. "But that's okay," she said. "I have Natsu-chan, so that makes it a lot easier."

"Awww...thank you, Ruby-chan," cooed Natsuki, beaming.

They ate and talked. As they did, Ruby found her eyes sliding across the room, taking in its plain walls, before finding them fixing on a door at the back of the room, not the one that led into the kitchen, but a door that, presumably, led deeper into the house. No matter how often Ruby pried her eyes away and tried to keep her focus on the people she was eating with, she found her gaze being drawn back to that door, almost feeling as though someone was calling out to her.

"Ruby-chan...?"

"Y-yes!" blurted Ruby, startled out of her reverie by Murasame's voice, realizing that she'd lost the train of conversation completely. She fumbled, her chopsticks dropping to her tray with a clatter.

"You seem distracted," noted Murasame. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," said Ruby, swallowing and deciding to ask the question that had bubbled up within her. "What's behind that door?"

"That door leads to a few other rooms," said Murasame, "including the bathroom, my bedroom, and a storage room. Beyond that...is my workshop."

"Your workshop?"

"Indeed," said Murasame. "That is where I forge my blades and keep my finished pieces."

"Oh..." Ruby once again found her eyes drawn to the door.

"Hmm..." mused Murasame, watching her with no small amount of interest. "After we finish lunch, would you like to see?"

"REALLY!?" Natsuki practically shrieked, making Ruby and even Murasame flinch in surprise.

"Of course," said Murasame, recovering his composure.

"That would be amazing!" gasped Natsuki. "Hardly anyone gets to see your workshop, Murasame-sama."

"Perhaps, if more people were inclined to visit me," said Murasame with a chuckle. "It isn't my intent to make it a tourist destination, but I've never indicated that it was some sort of forbidden place. If I got more visitors, perhaps more of my children would find their way into good homes."

"Your children?" asked Ruby.

"I am very…attached…to the blades I forge," explained Murasame. "To me, they are practically my children. It is my desire to see that they find their way into worthy hands. But very few people come up to see me."

"Are people afraid to visit you?" asked Ruby, frowning. There was a certain strangeness to this situation, from her point of view.

"I'm afraid so," said Murasame sadly.

Her fellow students, even Natsuki, spoke of the likes of the Taishiro and Goyosei with a reverence that bordered upon worshipful at times. They spoke as though the mere thought of engaging with such exalted figures was a kind of sacrilege, an intrusion or profaning of something sacred. Yet, every one of these exalted people struck Ruby as truly ordinary. It was true that they all sported powerful, even awesome, presences, Auras that commanded respect and deference as automatically as breathing. Yet they were also so very...ordinary. They were ordinary people, willing to talk about ordinary things.

Ruby's evening meals didn't seem at all far removed from regular family meals that many members of the Mibu Clan probably participated in every night, with Sora partaking and chatting just as normally as anyone might expect of an ordinary person. Despite that, it seemed that most other members of the Mibu Clan considered the likes of the Taishiro and Goyosei as above such mundane interactions.

"Part of the issue is that we often get so busy that there is little time for ordinary affairs," said Murasame. "I'm afraid that contributes to the illusion that we are, somehow, above it all. It's saddening, but also a very difficult illusion to dispel." He sighed and shook his head. "Still, no point in worrying about that now. Let me get this cleaned up, and I'll show you my work."

Ruby and Natsuki gasped, looking at each other with faces alight with eager excitement. They spent the few minutes it took Murasame to clear away the remains of their meal practically wriggling in place.

Finally, Murasame emerged from the kitchen and beckoned them to follow. The girls leapt to their feet and rushed in his wake, as he opened the door at the back of the living room, leading them down a simple hallway. First they passed what were clearly Murasame's bedroom and bathroom, the two rooms sitting almost exactly across the hall from one another. After that came what looked like a guest room, followed by a closed door, which Ruby suspected was the storage room Murasame had mentioned earlier. There was also a door that led to what looked like a study of sorts.

Following the hallway farther down, they came to another door, this one made, not of wood, but solid steel, resting on hinges, as opposed to the sliding doors that were typical to Mibu architecture. Murasame rested his hand on it. Ruby's eyes caught sight of the faint shimmer of his Aura, which flickered over the door's surface. There was a soft click, then the door swung open silently.

Now they entered into another hallway, this one wider and taller than the one they'd left. Rather than being built from wood, it had apparently been hewn out of the bedrock of the mountain itself. What was more, the air within this hallway was far warmer than the air of the house they had just left behind.

But that was the furthest thing from either of the girls' minds. Instead, they were transfixed by the sight of what hung from the walls on either side of the hallway.

The soft light from the lamps hanging along the center of the ceiling gleamed off countless metallic surfaces. Blades of every size and shape hung from racks, forming row upon row of sharpened steel, stretching on along the walls. There were swords aplenty, but also spears and halberds. The curved profiles of the katana-type blades favored by the Mibu rested alongside straight-edged longswords and narrow rapiers. Light diffused across rippling patterns of flowing grain that made some blades look as though they had been carved from trees of pure steel. Others refracted the light to create shimmering, prismatic effects, almost like nacre. Still others reflected the light off of almost perfectly-polished, mirror-like surfaces. It was clear that each and every one of them was a work of art, a piece of peerless craftsmanship.

"Sooo pretty!" breathed Ruby, her eyes dancing from the surface of one blade to another. The strange pulling sensation she'd felt had now diffused around her, and she realized that it was emanating from almost every blade. She almost felt as though they were calling out to her, a chorus of myriad voices, each one eagerly seeking her attention.

"They're amazing!" agreed Natsuki, sweeping her eyes over the assembled weapons. "I wish..."

Murasame chuckled and rested a hand on Natsuki's shoulder. However, his attention was on Ruby.

Now that initial wonder of the sight that had greeted them had worn off, Ruby found herself frowning as a strange pressure began to build in her head. The voices, if they could be called that, all seemed to be clamoring for her attention. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down, relaxing a little. Closing her eyes, she tried to pick out the individual voices.

Please! Speak more clearly! I'm listening! Ruby sank into the familiar trance-like state that she'd used to get the feel of her Aura, which had helped her to master her Tempering. She allowed her own thoughts to drift away so that she could hear the voices around her more clearly. She could feel eagerness, almost a kind of loneliness, as though the voices belonged to several someones who had been alone for a very long time, and just wanted someone to hear them.

And hear them she did. It wasn't words, but a ringing sound, almost like a chorus of countless small bells. Warmth washed over her. It was a different warmth from the almost stifling heat that suffused the tunnel. Instead, it was soft and familiar, the warmth of Aura. Ruby lost herself to the voices and sensations, completely unaware of what was happening around her.

"What's going on?" asked Natsuki, her voice panicky.

"What indeed?" mused Murasame.

At first, Ruby had begun acting strangely, as though she was trying to listen to someone other than the two of them. Then she'd closed her eyes and gone completely still and silent. A few seconds later, the blades assembled around them began to ring like countless bells. Their forms sparked and sparkled, then flared with light of their own, beyond that which reflected off their surfaces from the lamps above, brilliant flares of light completely filling the tunnel to an almost blinding degree.

"It's Aura!" gasped Natsuki, her eyes wide, even as she held up an arm to shield them. "The swords have their own Aura."

"They do," agreed Murasame, having to raise his voice to be heard over the ringing. "But this is..." His gaze went to Ruby and he saw a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead. The girl almost seemed to be in a trance, her silver eyes hidden behind closed lids, her arms hanging slack as she stood amidst the light and sound, seeming to soak it all in. She's...

Hesitantly, Murasame reached out and rested his hand on Ruby's shoulder. She was so absorbed in her trance that she didn't seem to notice. Frowning, Murasame gently Projected a small amount of his Aura into her, the reaction of her own Aura knocking her out of her reverie. Ruby jolted sharply, her eyes snapping open with a shocked gasp.

And just like that, the phenomenon ended. The ringing went silent. The light of the blades' Auras dissipated and everything went back to the way it had been. If anything, the tunnel seemed quieter and darker than before.

Ruby slumped slightly, gasping for breath, her entire body quaking.

"Ruby-chan...what did you do?" asked Natsuki, her voice heavy with astonishment.

"I...I don't know," said Ruby. "It felt like...like someone...like a lot of people...like they were trying to t-talk to me. But I couldn't understand them. There were so many… I decided to try and listen and...it all just got so loud."

This child... Murasame looked at her with silent fascination. "Can you still hear them?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," said Ruby. "Sort of...They all feel so...lonely."

"I see," said Murasame, smiling slightly. "I'd meant to take you both further. But now I think this is as far as we should go."

"I...I'm sorry," said Ruby. "I did something wrong, didn't I?"

"Not at all," Murasame assured her. "But I need to think about some things. I've never seen anything like this before."

He began to lead them out of his workshop. Ruby felt sorry to go, looking back at the blades lining the walls. "Are you sure I didn't do something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"You didn't," replied Murasame. "But, in the meantime, perhaps I can show the two of you around the palace a little more."

"Yes, please!" said Natsuki eagerly.

Ruby tried to smile and nod in agreement. But her heart wasn't in it. Leaving Murasame's cottage and the workshop behind left her with a strange, lingering sense of melancholy.

The last few hours of their day off were spent with Murasame showing them a few secret spots of the palace neither of the girls had seen yet. There were small gardens, filled with beautiful flowers, rooms housing magnificent works of art, even a pavilion situated out over the center of a fair-sized lake that the girls couldn't see the bottom of if they looked down.

As such, it was almost an unwelcome surprise as their day came to a close, with Sasame appearing to walk Natsuki home. Ruby saw her friend off with a smile and a wave, actually looking forward to school the next day, somewhat. Natsuki was still her only friend in class. But Ruby supposed that was good enough for now.

"And did you have fun?" asked Sora over dinner that night.

"Yeah," said Ruby, her tone not matching her words. "It was a lot of fun."

"You seemed troubled by something," noted Sora. "What is it?"

"W-well...something strange happened," said Ruby. She began to relate what had taken place in Murasame's home, with the swords he'd forged. Sora, Kyo, and Sasame listened with rapt attention as Ruby described the strange phenomenon that had occurred.

Kyo, Sora, and Sasame shared curious looks as they listened to Ruby's tale. When she finished, she noticed they were looking at her intently.

"I did do something wrong, didn't I?" she said worriedly.

The other three immediately broke out into warm, loving smiles. "Not at all," Sora assured her. "But it is interesting."

"It's something I've never heard of happening before," added Sasame.

"Me neither," agreed Kyo. At least, not on that scale.

"But what did I do?" asked Ruby.

"Well...here's a hint," said Kyo. "You've seen that sort of thing before."

"I have?" asked Ruby.

"Oh yes," replied Kyo. "You just need to think back and remember what is so familiar about what you experienced with Murasame-sama's creations."

"Familiar...?" Ruby's voice trailed off as she reflected. Now that she thought about it, there was something familiar about what had happened with those swords.

"Of course, back then, it wasn't many blades...but one," added Sasame.

Ruby frowned, then gasped as Sasame and Kyo's hints sank in. That's right, I did see that before! Now she remembered, that ringing, the light issuing forth from the blade. She'd seen all that before...back during Kyo's fight with Qrow. When Kyo had used the Mizuchi, he'd made that light and sound come out of his sword.

"So you do remember," observed Kyo, chuckling at the dawning realization on Ruby's face.

"Yeah! But what is it?" asked Ruby.

"Well...it's...something you might not be ready to learn yet," said Kyo.

"Huuuuuuuuuh?" groaned Ruby disappointedly.

"It's actually something fairly advanced," said Kyo. "In order to do it properly, you need to make sure you master the fundamentals of combat first."

"All right," groaned Ruby, slumping in her seat, making the others laugh.

"And what about the rest of your day?" inquired Sasame. "Did you and Natsu-chan have fun together?"

"Yeah," said Ruby, perking back up.

"See, school isn't so bad, if you can make a friend like that," said Sasame.

"Yeah...but..." Ruby frowned and looked down uncertainly.

"What is it?" asked Kyo.

"I just wonder why Natsu-chan's my friend," said Ruby. "I mean...it's not like anyone else in our class is interested."

In that sense, Natsuki's friendship was certainly a blessing to Ruby. However, with the exception of her, everyone else in Ruby's class seemed, at best, indifferent or, at worst, outright hostile to her presence. She couldn't understand what had made someone like Natsuki reach out to her.

"Well, you are now aware that Natsu-chan regularly makes trips to the palace for her checkups," said Sasame.

Ruby nodded.

"Part of the reason behind her openness is that Natsu-chan has frequently spoken with members of the Taishiro," said Sasame. "As such, she's had exposure to their perspective."

"On the rare occasions I've seen Natsu-chan, we've talked about many things, including the outside world," said Sora. "She was quite eager to learn what it was like."

"A-and you know?" asked Ruby.

"Quite well," said Sora, her smile widening. "You see, Ruby-chan...I was born in the outside world too."

"Huh?" Ruby's mind ground to a halt for a brief moment as Sora's statement sank in. "HUUUUUUUUUUH!"

Kyo and Sasame burst out laughing as Sora hid her own tittering behind the sleeve of her kimono.

"You're joking, right?" asked Ruby, staring at Sora.

"I'm not," said Sora, lowering her sleeve. "I was born in Kuchinashi, a village in Mistral's territory."

Ruby's jaw hung slack as she stared at Kyo's mother. "B-but you're..."

"There's no rule that a born outsider can't become one of the Taishiro," said Sora. "I officially became one of the Mibu when I married Kyo's father. Like Kyo, he too wandered the outside world in his youth. We met during one of those sojourns of his."

"It's something of a tradition in our family," said Kyo helpfully.

"Dougal also comes from the outside," added Sora, "the same place, in fact. We were childhood friends. He followed me into the Mibu, and took his place as the leader of my Imperial Guard."

That explained why Dougal's name was different from most of the other Mibu, including the name order, now that Ruby thought about it. But Sora... "So, did you change your name when you joined?" she asked.

"Not my given name," said Sora. "I was born Sora Oshiro. I did take my husband's surname, and adopted the Mibu name-order when I married, though. You see, apparently the Mibu and a sizable portion of Mistral's population are of the same ethnic descent. As such, my name and racial traits are close enough to that of Mibu natives that you couldn't tell I'm foreign-born, just from looking at me or hearing my name."

"It's never been a secret," added Sasame. "However, because Sora-sama does share traits with most native-born Mibu, they, for the most part, have forgotten that she was not originally one of them...or conveniently forget when it suits them." That last part was uttered in a tone of disappointment.

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby, looking at Sasame in confusion.

"Just my parents being foolish," said Sasame with a sigh.

"Sasame is descended from an outsider," explained Kyo.

"Really?" gasped Ruby, looking to Sasame for confirmation.

The fox-girl nodded. "The founder of our family, Mitarai Tokichiro, was an outsider who entered the clan. In fact, Tokichiro, also known as Akari, is the first known outsider to have held the rank of one of the Taishiro, the clan's first official Chief Physician in fact."

"Cool!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Of course," continued Sasame, "because that was many thousands of years ago, our family, my parents in particular, tend to forget that little tidbit, when they have an opportunity to act like a pair of blue-blooded idiots."

Ruby grimaced at Sasame's harsh assessment of her parents. Seeing her look, Sasame laughed. "Oh, I still love them. They are my parents after all, and I know they do love me, even if they're blinded by our family's status from time to time. But that doesn't change the fact that they remain willfully blind to the truth about our origins."

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby.

"Akari-sama, the founder of our line was originally what we call a Shaman," explained Sasame.

"What are Shamans?" asked Ruby.

Sora's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but she remained silent.

"Shamans are rare or unique existences," explained Sasame. "They possess abilities and/or powers that are distinct from what one can accomplish through Aura or Dust. One might call such abilities supernatural...or even magical. Shaman is a blanket category that refers to a number of things, and they are often as different from one another as they are from ordinary people.

"In the case of my ancestor, Akari-sama was a powerful healer, whose abilities weren't originally understood, both within the Mibu Clan and without. Eventually, through study and analysis, it was realized that her healing abilities stemmed from specialized applications of Aura that she had uncovered intuitively, without realizing it. Because of that, it was assumed she possessed some special power. However, after it was understood, Akari-sama was able to codify her abilities and pass them along as the healing arts now practiced by our clan."

"That is how it goes for Shamans," said Sora. "Sometimes, the mechanism behind their power is merely a dimension of Aura that we were previously unaware of. But, other times, there is indeed a supernatural element to their power."

"In any case," continued Sasame. "Because of that, my family has had a powerful affinity for the healing arts throughout the ages, and many Chief Physicians, including those who have been elevated to the rank of one of the Taishiro, have emerged from our line. My talents caught the attention of Makoto-sama, our current Chief Physician. He made me his personal apprentice, which my parents loved, because it increased our clout. Of course, they get sensitive about anything they fear might undermine our status, which is why they've objected to us being sisters."

"I'm sorry," said Ruby, lowering her eyes.

"You've done nothing wrong, Ruby-chan," said Sasame. "The nice thing about my position is that Makoto-sama only cares about my skills, and overall loyalty to the clan, as a healer. Because of that, my parents don't have the pull to censure any of my activities or decisions. The only thing they can do is complain very loudly, when I bother to listen to them."

Sora nodded. "Which brings us back to our original topic. As you can see, because she has interacted with us a good bit more than other children her age, Natsu-chan has had exposure to perspectives outside those governed by the usual Mibu prejudices."

"On top of that, there's her condition," added Kyo. "She does not yet know what it is. However, it has given her the experience of knowing what it is like to stand apart from others, to have something that separates her from the rest. That knowledge has granted her an extra degree of empathy for someone like you, Ruby-chan, someone who has also been marked as one set apart from the rest; though, in this case, that is because of your outsider status."

"Oh..." said Ruby.

"Regardless, Natsu-chan is a bright and wonderful child," said Sora. "She is very friendly by nature, and inclined to reach out to others. So she was willing to reach out to you."

Ruby was silent, staring down at her plate in contemplation.

Sasame extended her tail and brushed it across Ruby's shoulders. "Natsu-chan is something of a special case. There's no denying that. You shouldn't try to rely on her being your sole friend in that class. I know you have the capability to find other friends there."

"I-I'm not so sure," said Ruby with a frown.

"I am," said Kyo. "Just as Natsu-chan reached out to you, you need to also reach out to others."

"Do I have to?" asked Ruby, her complaint causing everyone at the table to twitch.

Kyo and Sasame muffled snorts and even Sora was forced to hide an amused smile behind her sleeve. "As always, it's such a shock to hear you actually complain about something, Ruby-chan," said Sasame.

"It's refreshing," added Kyo.

Their amusement made Ruby pout, which, to her dismay, only amused them more, mainly because her pouting face was cute as well.

"But anyway, yes, Ruby-chan, you do need to reach out to others," said Sasame. "It's wonderful that Natsu-chan was so quick to befriend you, but that doesn't mean you get to stop trying."

"Remember," added Sora, "if you're working to become a Huntress, you'll need to develop and improve your interpersonal skills. That will help you be more effective, when you're placed on a team someday."

"All right," said Ruby in a resigned tone.

"Well well, taken an interest in Ruby-chan, have you?" asked Sora, coming to stand near Murasame.

Monday evening saw Ruby in her usual place, training under Shinrei in the courtyard of the Fourth Gate. This time, her training had a new spectator, in the form of the Elder casually leaning on the wall on the other side of the open gate, peering around to watch discreetly, as Ruby went diligently through the techniques and katas Shinrei had taught her, while Shinrei himself supervised.

"Well, there is no question that she is quite interesting," noted Murasame. "Did she tell you about what happened in my workshop yesterday?"

"She did," said Sora. "I was quite surprised to hear it. Of course, anyone who trains diligently, and fully masters both their Art and themselves, can develop the capability to hear the voice of their blade."

"But Ruby-chan has not yet reached that point in her training," said Murasame. "Not only that, rather than hear the voice of a blade she has bonded with through continued use and reliance, she was able to hear the voices of every blade I created, though it was apparently an almost overwhelming experience for her. What do you think it means?"

"You tell me," said Sora. "After all, you are the Blademaster. Who better to expound on matters of the sword than you?"

"Hmm..." Murasame scratched his chin, staring out at Ruby. By now, sweat was gathering on her brow and her breathing was growing heavier. Despite that, despite doing the same things for hours, day after day, she never flagged, always working to go through the movements of the techniques she'd been taught, to perfect them, to understand them.

"I wouldn't quite call it talent," he said, speaking as much to himself as he was Sora. "She has a goal that she strives toward with all her strength, a heart that yearns to protect and serve others. She dedicates herself to that path almost single-mindedly, to such a degree that she has to be guided to branch out beyond it. No...it isn't talent that allowed her to hear the voices of my blades. It was an open and loving heart, the product of a small and simple soul."

"As I thought then," said Sora. "That child truly is remarkable." She chortled lightly. "I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised that she managed something like that. If anything, that girl likely gets along with your blades better than she does people. That's something we'll have to work on."

"I suppose so," agreed Murasame. "But she has forged several meaningful connections already."

"Yes, with my son and Sasame," said Sora. "I've never seen them so taken with anyone before, but they do truly view her as their sister. And then there's Shinrei and Natsu-chan."

"And you as well," noted Murasame.

Sora's smile twitched slightly. "I can't deny that," she admitted. "It always saddened me to not be permitted another child. But that is the fate ordained for those who marry into the Royal Family. I know that Kyo would have loved a brother or sister of his own. That is why he and Sasame have bonded so strongly. Now he has that in Ruby-chan. We are blessed to have her."

"So we are," observed Murasame, watching as Ruby transitioned to another kata. "I believe I will forge something for her."

Sora blinked, and looked at Murasame in surprise.

"Oh, not for a while yet," he said, raising a hand, "years probably. She has yet more growing to do, and she should be sure of her style's final form before I decide on the nature of her weapon."

"What about the ones you've already made?" asked Sora, more out of curiosity than anything else. "Couldn't she choose one of those?"

"I don't think she could," said Murasame. "She heard all of those blades, listened to all their voices. She could never choose one of them over the others. So I will forge one especially for her. She has a tendency to sway others too easily, so I think her sword will have to be a bit more willful and contrary, someone whose respect she will have to fight for and earn. Yes...that's the sword for her."

"It seems to me that you have a clear idea of what you want to create already," said Sora.

"To a certain extent," said Murasame. "But I am missing parts. I'll still need to wait."

"My...to see you so inspired," said Sora, drawing her fan and flicking it open to screen the lower portion of her face. "It's such a rare occurrence. I look forward to the finished product."

She headed back into the palace. Murasame lingered at the gate for a while longer, turning to look at Ruby once more as she began to spar against Shinrei. "As do I," he mused softly.

"Ruby-kun, your answer?"

"Ah! Yes!" Ruby perked, jerking in her seat in surprise at suddenly being called on. She tried her best to remain focused. But her attention did wander from time to time, which wasn't exactly atypical of children her age.

Still, part of the reason that she'd allowed her attention to wander this time was that she'd already worked out the answer to the problem. She hoped she was correct as she gave it. To her relief, Kyoichiro smiled and nodded, turning to write Ruby's answer onto the board.

Hearing a faint cough that might have been to disguise a dismissive snort from behind her, Ruby winced, though she thought she might have just been hearing things. However, knowing that the sound had come from the direction of Yuuko and Akane, the two girls who apparently had the biggest chips on their shoulders, when it came to her presence in class, made her suspect that she hadn't. There were, maybe, one or two others who resented Ruby's presence to a lesser degree, but those two were the worst. The rest of the class seemed largely indifferent to her presence.

Deciding that now wasn't the time to worry about such things, Ruby resolved to concentrate on her classwork instead, focusing on Kyoichiro as he espoused further on the nature of the math problem she'd just solved, while also writing additional practice problems for the class as well. Everyone says I need to reach out, she mused silently. But...how do I do that exactly?

Natsuki took a bite of her lunch and chewed it thoughtfully, as she mulled over what Ruby had told her. "More friends, hmmm?"

"Uh huh," said Ruby. "Kyo-nii and Sasame-nee are both saying that I need to reach out to others, and make more friends." Sora had said as much as well, but Ruby figured that she probably shouldn't say as much, out where others could hear them. That she had dinner with Sora every night was an extension of the secret that she was living at the palace.

"Well...there's Miyu-chan," said Natsuki, her eyes flicking in the direction of a girl with long, red hair occupying the desk nearest to the door. From what little Ruby had seen of her, she was a very serious girl, perhaps more serious than an elementary student probably should be. Ruby couldn't remember ever seeing Miyu smile. Although that might have been because she hadn't given Miyu much thought before.

"Are you sure?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah," replied Natsuki. "Miyu-chan's actually really nice. She's always helping others with their homework, 'cause she's one of the smartest students in class. She sticks around after school to get her homework done, and anyone who has any questions usually comes to her then."

"That's...really nice," said Ruby, giving Miyu a second look. She was currently sitting by herself, but didn't exactly seem lonely. Perhaps she was the kind of person who liked to eat in peace and quiet.

"Uh huh," agreed Natsuki, nodding enthusiastically. "Then there's Setsuna-kun." She gestured towards a silver-haired boy seated near the back of the class. Like Miyu, he seemed to have a taciturn nature, his face set in a quasi-permanent neutral expression. "He doesn't say much, but he always helps clean up the classroom in the afternoon. He's also training, like you, Ruby-chan."

"In what and with who?" asked Ruby.

"Um...I'm not sure," admitted Natsuki. "He doesn't talk a lot. But I think he's actually a really nice boy."

Ruby blinked and looked back and forth between Miyu and Setsuna. She couldn't help but notice that Natsuki had marked out the two quietest people in class as potential friends for her. "Do you like quiet people?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm...I wouldn't exactly say that," said Natsuki, frowning and tapping her chin with her index finger. "It's just...I think that a lot of quiet people are secretly kind."

"Huh?" Ruby blinked in surprise, wondering just what kind of logic Natsuki used to justify that kind of assumption.

"You'll see," said Natsuki eagerly. "You should ask Miyu-chan for help with your homework, after school."

"But my training..." protested Ruby.

"Oh! Yeah...I almost forgot." Natsuki rolled her eyes upward thoughtfully, mulling it over. "Well maybe if you talked to Sh-Er!-your teacher, he'd let you switch and do your homework at school, before going to training."

Considering that Shinrei was already favoring her so much by teaching her himself, Ruby felt reluctant to impose any requests upon him, even if said request didn't demand extra time from him. Still, considering what her siblings and Sora wanted her to do, she supposed it couldn't hurt to ask.

Besides, homework would be a lot easier if she wasn't on the verge of nodding off on the spot after her training.

"I guess I can ask him," said Ruby, frowning contemplatively. She just hoped that Shinrei didn't think she was being difficult by asking this.