To the Flames of the Sun

Chapter Six

An ode to the very first users of Breathing Styles.

Yoriichi's POV

I quietly watched Midori as she slowly drifted into a deep slumber, my hand swaying from the gentle movement of waving the uchiwa fan above her which was a habit I had developed since she had been a baby. The night of that summer had been a particularly heated one; heated enough to an extent that my baby had not ceased her crying. I had tried all I could have thought to calm her down, from loosening her clothes to dabbing a wet cloth across her body. The use of an uchiwa fan had been my last resort and yet, quite to my shock, it turned out to be the resort that finally put my child to sleep. Ever since then, on every night of every summer, I would keep waving that same uchiwa fan above her, silently lying next to her while doing so, until she fell asleep. She had asked me to stop doing so a few times by now, quoting that she was a "big girl" who no longer needed someone to coddle her even when she was asleep.

How adorable. Besides the fact that she was still only seven, she was also never going to be a big girl to me. She was always going to remain my little love for as long as I lived.

Which was not exactly a long measure at this point.

Having reached the age of twenty-four, Nii-san and I had no more than a year left to live before the Mark killed us within the few hours of a single day and we fell prey to the curse just as Katsuro and Gakuto had. Goichi was destined to depart a year after us, and Kasumi another year later. Of course, somewhere within her heart, I knew she desired to kill herself the following year after Nii-san's demise. That was simply how devoted she was to him, and it warmed my heart.

Yes...To see someone as devoted to my brother as I was...truly did warm my heart.

Unfortunately though, while the rest of the world appreciated the genuine love and loyalty Kasumi harbored for Tsugikuni Michikatsu, they did not exactly appreciate the same about him. Most considered Nii-san as someone who was simply exploiting Kasumi's feelings for him as a means of achieving mere bodily pleasures. However, both Kasumi and I understood that such was not the truth. Nii-san was just awful at expressing his feelings. He had required a whole month to admit that he was fond of his niece, and then another few months to actually bring himself to tell her that he loved her. Hence, behind closed doors, I was certain he must have uttered similar sweet words to Kasumi as well. And so, somewhere within her heart, I knew she desired to kill herself the following year after Nii-san's demise. The only reason she had willed herself to not do so, to remain strong, was for the sake of her foster daughter. Nii-san and I were going to see her for the final time at the age of eight, while Goichi was going to see her for the final time at the age of nine and Kasumi at ten. Therefore, Kasumi wished to be by her side for as long as she could, even after the rest of us would be gone. Once she would be gone too, Midori was going to be shifted into the care of the Rengoku household, thus beginning her training to take over as the mistress of the clan one day.

And I despised that. The very thought planted hate inside my heart. The only reason I had agreed to this betrothal was because such a union had been the dying wish of a dear friend. But I knew that none of those in that family could ever love Midori as much as those in her own family did. I could will myself to give my precious star away only to man who would be capable of loving her as much as I or Nii-san did.

No such man was ever going to come into existence though. Such a feat was impossible. And so the love of my life was going to be placed into arms that did not deserve her. Still, the wedding was ought to be rather grand, yet I was not destined to be able to witness the event, and the ugliness of that reality had moved me to tears earlier. Though she was always going to remain my little love to me, I has often dreamed of what a beautiful young maiden she was going to grow into. Uta's smile would have been more prominent in her features than it was in the present time.