Chapter 518:
Shift
They both stopped disturbed by her remark as she kept walking without missing a beat. Glances shared between them agreed that they didn’t know what she might be hinting at. The whole point was to get an idea of her motive, but they knew that was never going to be so simple. Aya moved at her own pace making it difficult to steer her in any way that she didn’t want to be moved.
Yuki tried to get some sort of meaning out of what she said even though he knew it would be pointless. She deliberately gave nothing useful and just stated something ominous. If she was any other person, he would have written them off, but he knew it was part of her game. She said to direct them in a way that they couldn’t see at the moment. Only until it already happened, would they know what it meant and how they got to the path they were on. ‘Testing our loyalty? Is she planning to turn him against us? No, she’s got bigger plans than that. We’re barely a factor in whatever it is she’s doing.’
‘So what is it that she wants,’ questioned Saki as the kimono-clad woman got further away from them. There were too many possibilities. All they could guess was that she wanted a position of power since she joined the court. With her intelligence and words, she could go further than Yumi had with less effort. But being in power hardly seemed like the true goal for Aya.
Without even turning, she called out to the two of them. “Are you still my bodyguards?”
The two rushed to rejoin their mistress at the pace that she set. “Yes, Mistress!”
Chapter 518 – Twin Watchers
Eventually night came and they could rest in the adjoining room to their master. Yuki and Saki sat across from each other next to their futons. Long asleep was everyone else on the grounds, save for the night shift guards. “So what are we doing?” asked Yuki about as clueless as Saki on this future that Aya teased them with.
“If we had more to go on we could report to Kumasaka, but I think we want Aya to do whatever she’s planning.”
“But that could get us killed. We’ve seen what it’s like in the other worlds. They don’t really care too much about playing to any favorites besides Yumi.”
“Which means we’ll need to make sure to align ourselves with Aya if it comes to that.”
“She’s already next to us. So that should be covered.”
“I certainly hope that’s the case, but Yumi’s not.”
“You think Aya might see Yumi as a target?”
“It’s possible. We don’t know what that woman really thinks and the two being pushed into conflict is inevitable.”
“We have to help her however we can, but that damn woman is always ahead of us.”
“We need a plan of our own.”
Yuki nodded in agreement, but couldn’t offer anything useful beyond that. Something that he knew was reflected in Saki. They knew that they needed action, but they didn’t know where things were going. Building any sort of plan around the unknown seemed nearly impossible. All they could formulate would be reactionary plans. “If she’s got plays to make we’re going to have to keep a closer eye on her actions. Always be with her.”
“There’s currently plenty of times that she’s out of our sight in meetings and when she’s out in town.”
“Yeah, because we have to guard Kumasaka, if she needs to do something on her own he assigns her a different escort.”
“We should try to see if we can get our duties changed I think.”
“Do you think she’ll allow it? If she’s making moves beyond our sight, she may not want us following her around.”
“Knowing her, she probably has ways around us. If we lose her, at least that confirms she’s making secret moves.”
“Spying’s not exactly my strong suit.”
“Mine either, but we adapt as always.”
“True. Well, let's get some sleep and find a way to approach the subject with him tomorrow.”
The next day in the court of Matsushina all of the Lords and advisors gathered for the weekly council. Part of the council was Yumi as an assistant to her father. While present, she had little voice within the room. Something that hadn’t been a problem for the other woman in the room.
Everyone listened to Aya speak even though she remained just an assistant to Kumasaka. She clearly had Lord Matsushina’s attention, who valued those of proven worth. The young Lord was an unusual one that didn’t adhere strictly to traditions like so many others. But he didn’t act just on faith. As had been the case for both herself and Aya, they showed their talents and acknowledged them.
“Given the poor harvest last year and current trends of drought in the region, it’s likely that Lord Okamoto will seek out new lands to bring under his rule. But before that we can expect a rise in bandits and thefts along our borders.”
“We should increase patrols along the border then, my Lord,” suggested Yumi’s father Lord Kaoin.
“But we’re already stretched thin with the tensions on the east with Lord Komagata,” Lord Fuijmoto reminded. The union between the Fujimoto Clan and the Kaoin Clan had succeeded in securing a decade of peace as a deterrent to war. However, the last few years saw an increasing rise in tensions once more. War like would be impossible to ignore as everyone in the room was aware.
It wasn’t as though they were against a war with the Komagata Clan, but there were no clear signs that they could win such a war at the moment. In fact, that was one of the continued causes of the tensions. Both sides had an eagerness to fight with the long standing conflicts. The Komagata long claimed the lands that they currently resided on as their ancestral home stolen by the Matsushina Clan a century ago. Such claims weren’t acknowledged by the Matsushina who conquered the land from the now ended Morioka Clan.
More than two centuries ago the Morioka Clan took the lands from the Matsushina forcing them into exile and their sworn revenge was finally completed. The Matsushina had been in the lands since and claim that it is their homeland and never had been the Komagata. Tensions rose quickly with their arrival and the two clans had been fighting off and on for the last century over the same land with no signs of an end. Neither would accept the other's claim.
Another war was coming.
“There is an alternative my Lords,” said Aya once more.
The minor bickering quieted as Lord Matsushina lifted his hand to demand order. “What is your suggestion?”
“Something that would solve both issues. The coming war with the Komagata Clan is going to require men that you currently do not have to spare. However, the Okamoto does have a notable military presence, one that could supplement your forces.”
“But an alliance with the Okamoto would not have a chance to succeed currently. Starved and with little interest in war, they’re going to be difficult to convince and maintain as trustworthy allies.”
“We don’t have to keep them, my Lord. Currently, they’re in need of food and land to survive another year. We can promise them such in the agreement so long as they pledge themselves in the war against Komagata. Use their forces at the primary units against Komagata while preserving your own. After the war and you’ve secured Komagata’s land, the Okamoto will not have enough strength to stop you from annexing them under your banner and installing your own trusted Lord to oversee them.”
“Lord Matsushina would be the dominant power in the region,” muttered one Lord.
“A ruthless strategy, Lord Kumasaka, you have a very talented and possibly frightening assistant.”
“Thank you, my Lord.”
The doors to the council opened suddenly as the guards standing moved to allow the guests their leave. Yuki and Saki tensed up a little still uneasy from their discussion with their Master in the morning. They awaited his return as their duties hadn’t changed, even if his mood might have.
They saw Yumi leave first with Lord Kaoin and spotted a worried expression on her face that they couldn’t get an answer about before she left. Yuki looked over at Saki as they pondered what happened behind the closed doors. They wished they had the privilege to stand inside and not have to find out long after the fact what was happening. A circumstance of their birth and current standing became more of a burden the longer that they remained in the world.
All of the other Lords left with no sign of their exiting. It made them even more nervous about what happened. ‘What’s happened? Has Aya done something?’ When things didn’t go as expected all he could really do was think that it was Aya’s fault. And given the last month, it was more right than wrong.
‘I really don’t like this feeling I’m getting, Yuki…’
‘It could be nothing, I hope…’
‘It won’t be. It’s something, hopefully it’s not anything bad.’
After waiting another five minutes at the threshold for their Master, they finally surfaced from deep within the shadowed council room. It was with Lord Matsushina himself escorting them out together. He patted Kumasaka on the shoulder as his guard came up. “I look forward to the good news.”
“Thank you, my Lord,” he replied with a bow.
‘So not bad?’
‘It’s anyone’s guess still…’
While the two sat in their thoughts for a moment, the Lord walked away with his escort leaving the aging Lord with his mistress and sibling bodyguards. He cleared his throat sharply to get their attention and began to walk demanding that they follow, as if they had any other choice.
Halfway out of the estate grounds, he stopped for a moment to motion them to his side. “Juro, Michiko, I’ve taken your suggestion under advisement and I’ve decided to assign you to Mistress Aya.”
“Yes, sir!” they answered, still not sure how things suddenly changed from his morning decree.
“As your first duty, you will be providing Aya with an escort to the northwest border as part of brokering an alliance. You are now her personal bodyguards. See no harm befalls her as you have done for me.”
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