Chapter 63

Kaede fell to her knees, still clutching the Inari’s necklace and the hairpin, her bangs shading her eyes. Tears silently ran down her cheeks and splashed on the ground as she gazed listlessly out into the starscape.

 A shuffling of feet behind her brought Kaede back to her senses. She turned to see the Hound quietly gazing down at her. His shroud, cast-off when Inari flung him, was bunched up in his hand.

 “What was that chime, at the end?” Kaede said, quietly, her eyes not meeting his mask.

 The Hound remained quiet before sitting beside the oiran, holding up his bronze bell. 

“When Kagura-sama gave me the bell, she told me that it was mostly a deterrent, a means to stop anyone who would even approach the treasure.” His unseen eyes gazed fondly upon the bell. “She wasn’t sure what other properties it had because someone had to be bound to it, for it to emit sound. Over time, I realized that the number of rings from it did different things.”

 Kaede sat back, bringing her knees up to her chest, gazing out into the swirling mass of stars, as the Hound continued.

 “Three chimes bound someone in place. That was the most useful, as a bound thief cannot enter the vault. Of course, it only works if you can catch someone unaware, which is why I gambled on it working here. She was focused on me, not the bells, so it worked.” He turned the bell over, setting it between himself and Kaede as he stared out at the blinking stars.

 “And the four chimes?” She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

 

“They were meant to be a signal to Kagura-sama that everything was alright.” Kaede turned her head, staring at the Hound. “She would worry about me, hiding in the shadows when most others were asleep. She would stay up, to keep me company and it started to affect her health so I came up with that signal. The resonance is meant to soothe and calm one’s worries…” 

 The Hound turned his gaze, his mask meeting Kaede’s eyes. “...or their fears.”

 Kaede rested her chin on her knees, staring back out at the starscape. “I guess it worked. As angry and frightened as I was, I was able to face down Inari and cut this necklace from her…”

 Kaede held up the bell, a soft klink resonating as the glass swirled in a rainbow of colors from the starlight. “Hard to believe something so tiny could lead to all of this...”

 The Hound chuckled, leaning back on his hands, as he stared at the stars above.

 “Someone might say the same thing about you.”

 Kaede glared weakly at the Hound before holding up the glass bauble, the swirling void and glittering stars causing color to dance on its surface.

 Kaede and the Hound sat in silence for quite some time before Gakuto and Yurika stirred. The young guard had been through the ringer over the past couple of days, hobbling over to the two of them, covered in a multitude of bruises, his hand grabbing his side protectively. 

 Yurika had cuts and scrapes all along her hands and face, along with tears and scuffs all along her clothes. She was limping but it seemed that the damage Inari had caused her wasn’t to the same level as Gakuto’s. 

Both of them sat beside the oiran, leaning against her, as she continued to stare at the starscape. She was still gripping onto Inari’s necklace tightly.

“What do we do now?” Yurika asked, breaking the silence. “There’s no way taking care of Inari is the end of it, right? What about the mirrors?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Gakuto said, reaching into his hakamashita, pulling out the mirror he had found in the hidden shrine. Both of the girls stared from him to the mirror and back again.

“Where did you find that, Gakkun!?”

“Way to hold something back, Gakkun!”

The young guard held up his hands defensively before going into the details from his fall off the mountain pass to his conversation with Master Isshin. Kaede took the mirror carefully from him before getting up and going to collect the other mirror that had housed the Hare. 

Gakuto then turned to Yurika and bowed his head slightly in apology. The island girl blinked awkwardly before glancing away, looking to Kaede for assistance. The oiran pressed both mirrors to her chest, turning away, ignoring Yurika’s plight, smiling softly to herself.

Yurika groaned slightly, staring daggers at Kaede’s back before turning back to face Gakuto. Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she averted her eyes from his gaze, before taking a deep breath.

“Gakuto, I should’ve said something earlier but… the thing is…I l–” Yurika’s voice was cut off as Gakuto’s lips pressed against hers. Her eyes widened in surprise before she closed them, leaning into the kiss softly. 

Gakuto pulled back, grinning shyly, rubbing the back of his head. “I can’t believe I forgot about you, Yurika…”

Yurika smiled cheerfully, giving the guard a soft punch in the shoulder. “Mom always said you mainland guys were dense!”

Gakuto winced slightly and Yurika leaned over, apologizing quietly before helping him to his feet. Kaede giggled to herself as she walked over to the Hound, who had disappeared in the middle of their conversation about the hidden shrine.

“Sir Hound?” 

“You can drop the ‘sir’, Kaede…” The Hound said, as he stared down at a Silver Trilluai, laying near the edge of the slab. 

The oiran looked up at the Hound, curious as to why he seemed concerned. “What’s wrong?”

The Hound sighed, matching Kaede’s gaze. “The Hare is gone.”

Sure enough, the white-haired man had disappeared.