The Kagura Family's Succession Ceremony

Two weeks passed by in a flash.

Despite my desperate wish that time would somehow stop moving, the day of the ceremony that I dreaded the most still came.

Since early in the morning, I was woken up by the maids and went through a long, arduous process of polishing myself. Everyone in the family wanted me to appear as the perfect heiress, and it started with having the perfect appearance.

When the maids were finished with their spa, massage, and all of their beauty treatments, they harmoniously let out a mesmerized sigh at my appearance.

“Ojou-sama is really pretty when she’s polished to the max!”

“Her beauty must’ve come from the Madam! She looks just like Madam when she was younger!”

“Ojou-sama will definitely steal everyone’s attention in the ceremony!”

The maids chattered excitedly, even though usually they were as quiet as a shadow.

“…is it done yet?” I asked impatiently. I was already exhausted from the unfamiliar treatments and wanted nothing more than getting it over with.

“Ah, not yet!” The maids quickly came to their senses. “We haven’t picked your kimono, do your hair, put on your make-up, and…”

My eyes spun when they went on to describe everything that I had to do.

By the time they were finished with the whole checklist, I was completely wiped out.

“Are…all of these…really…necessary?” I panted, as if I’d just ran for a few good kilometers.

“Yes, Ojou-sama!” All of the maids nodded eagerly.

They all had sparkling eyes and satisfied grins, like they’d just finished the grandest task in their whole life.

At that time, there was a brief knock on the door before it slid open. Kazami strode inside without waiting for any response, followed by Shin and Tetsu.

Upon seeing my father, the maids instantly fell quiet and stepped aside. It was as if all of their liveliness just now was a lie.

“Are you done?” Kazami asked curtly as he scrutinized my appearance carefully, just like how one would examine a piece of prized art.

“Yes.” I answered. My hand automatically went toward the hidden dagger strapped to my thigh, making sure that it was still there.

Then I noticed that both Shin and Tetsu were acting strange. They stared at me slack-jawed, as if they couldn’t quite recognize me.

“You two, is there something wrong?” I tilted my head, being careful not to shift the hair stick holding my hairdo together.

Upon hearing my question, Kazami shot a suspicious glance at the two men behind him. They both snapped into attention and quickly shook their heads.

“No, nothing of the sort. It’s just…” It was the first time I saw Shin at a loss of words.

“Forgive us.” Tetsu quickly stepped in and bowed his head. “Ojou-sama’s beauty is simply too stunning for us.”

“…are you mocking me?” I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

I’d heard Hiiro praising my beauty to the point that I was sick of it, but it was just his personal taste speaking. Just because you polished a rock, it wouldn’t suddenly turn into a diamond.

“No, that’s…” Tetsu seemed genuinely flabbergasted by my response.

“Enough. The ceremony is about to start.” Kazami interrupted him.

They both fell silent as Kazami escorted me to the great hall, where everyone gathered for the ceremony. The hall was located inside the biggest building in the main house’s complex—called the central building—and it was large enough to accommodate up to five hundred people at once. The building itself had numerous rooms aside from the hall, most of them used to host meetings between Kazami and his executives.

“Remember.” Kazami spoke in low voice as we stood in front of the hall’s doors. “You have to be perfect. Your life and your subordinates’ lives depend on your performance today.”

“I know. I won’t mess this up.” I replied calmly. My hand instinctively moved toward my dagger, but I managed to hold it back.

“Good.” Kazami’s lips curled into a perfect smile, right when the doors swung open.

As we walked into the great hall, everyone’s eyes were trained on us. Their gazes felt like needles stabbing my body, but I maintained my smile as I secretly glanced around.

The hall itself was in the shape of a long rectangle, and decorated with Japanese aesthetic in mind, much like the rest of the complex. There were hanging scrolls hung at a regular interval on the walls, and potted cherry blossoms were put on appropriate spots. Most importantly, many people were already waiting for us inside the hall.

Just as Kazami promised, almost all of the branch families were present today. They were seated in two neat lines, each according to their family’s rank, with the lowest-ranking family sitting closest to the door while the higher-ranked ones were placed at the other end of the hall. As we walked past them, the children of branch families who used to be candidates for the next family head especially glared at me, not bothering to hide their resentment and envy.

“If I could, I would give this position to you in a heartbeat, trust me.” I thought to myself.

Then I noticed that there were a lot of familiar faces among the servants. They were also members of branch families, but from the weaker ones. The branch family closer to the direct lineage had the greater influence compared to those who were more distant, like Shinji’s family.

Perhaps they were understaffed for today's grand event, so they resorted to asking the branch families to pitch in. When I saw Hiiro and Ouji among the guards scattered around the hall, I became sure that they had roped in everyone who could help out.

A tug on my sleeve made me realize that we had reached the end of the great hall. At the end of the line, near the highest-ranking family, a seat was conspicuously placed in the middle of the two lines. It was the most honorable position in the hall meant for the family head.

I separated from Kazami and occupied the spot prepared for me, diagonally behind the family head.

Kazami seated himself and raised his hand. Almost in an instant, the great hall fell into complete silence, as if he had cast a spell.

“Everyone, thank you for coming today. I really appreciate all of you taking your time to attend my daughter’s succession ceremony.”

Kazami smiled amicably as he spoke, but everyone present knew that he didn’t mean a single word. No one dared to disobey the head family, since disobedience would lead to their family being branded as traitors and crushed by him.

“This has been a really joyous moment, for I’ve finally been reunited with my daughter after two years. It’s been a challenging two years, and it makes me realize just how precious my daughter is. That’s why, today I’ve decided to announce her as my successor.”

Kazami continued speaking, but none of his words really registered in my mind. All that I could think of was the fact that today would be the end. It would mark the end of my rebellion against my father and against my fate, which was set in stone the moment I was born as Kagura Sakuya.

I clenched my fist and lowered my gaze to hide my twisted expression. In the end, no matter how far I ran or how hard I fought, I couldn’t win. I couldn’t even protect the little dream that I had of becoming the best Banchou for my subordinates. Instead, I nearly crushed their future with my own hands.

“Sorry, Ryuu, Hiiro, Ouji, and everyone else…” I closed my eyes as I silently apologized. “I’ve brought nothing but trouble to you guys. You’ve been so patient with me…but it will end today. From today onward…”

“…from today onward, my daughter Sakuya is officially the heiress of Kagura Family!” Kazami declared.

His declaration fell upon me like a shackle, bounding me to this twisted family of yakuza. The moment those words left his lips, I could no longer leave this family.

It was different from when I disappeared two years ago. Back then, I was just another successor candidate, despite being groomed by the family head himself. Even if I vanished, Kazami couldn’t mobilize the whole might of Kagura Family just to find me. The branch families had obstructed his efforts, all in order to secure their own candidate as the successor.

Now, even if I tried running away, the Kagura Family would hunt me down with all their might. It was a matter of preserving their pride and dignity. No matter where I ran, even to overseas, the Kagura Family would capture me and drag me back. And if you add my friends’ lives as hostage, there was practically nowhere to run.

I was trapped in a cage with no keyhole.

“…Sakuya.”

My father’s low voice interrupted my thoughts. He was glaring at me as he urged me to stand up.

“Why don’t you give a few words to everyone here?” Kazami said.

I numbly nodded before rising to my feet. My gaze swept the great hall as I took in the whole view. All of the branch family’s members were staring at me with mixed gazes. The servants bustling about and the guards stationed around the hall also had their attention on me. I spotted Hiiro, standing guard near the entrance, and Ouji, shadowing behind Tetsu. Both of them were smiling at me.

I returned their smile, gaining a bit more courage from them. Then I fixed my posture as I started speaking.

“Everyone, I won’t take much of your time, so I’ll keep it brief.” My hand subtly moved toward my hidden dagger. “Just as my father said, I’ve been chosen as the successor for Kagura Family’s head. However, being chosen doesn’t mean that I do not have the right to give my own answer to that honor.”

The guests started making commotion when they heard my last sentence. My father’s face turned red as he glared at me.

“Sakuya, what the hell are you—”

“And this is my answer.”

With one swift move, I drew my hidden dagger and point it at my own neck.

“I refuse.” I grinned fiercely as I slit my own throat.

Some shrieked at the sudden violent display and the guards all moved toward me.

“No!!!” Kazami sprang at me and managed to seize my wrist before the dagger could dig deeper into my neck.

However, I had predicted that he would stop me.

So I used my other hand to pull out the hair stick that held my hair together. Locks of black hair cascaded down my back like the veil of night, but my attention was more focused on the hair stick instead. The edge was sharpened to a point and it could pierce just as easily as a knife.

“…!” Kazami’s eyes widened when he saw the weaponized hair stick in my hand.

“Serves you right, you bastard.” I sneered as I plunged the hair stick into my chest.

“WAIT, SAKUYA-SAN!!!”

All of a sudden, the great hall’s doors burst open. Ryuu and the other delinquents stormed inside the hall as they shouted at me.

“Ryuu…?!” I was so surprised that my hand halted for a moment.

Taking advantage of that gap, Kazami tried to wrestle the hair stick away from my hand.

Right at that moment when we were struggling against each other, several shadows loomed behind Kazami. They all had gleaming knives in their hand and murderous eyes that showed no hesitation in taking someone’s life.

“Huh…?” I let out a dumbfounded sound when I saw them.

It all happened so fast that my brain couldn’t keep up.

Slash!