Tsukiko's goodbye. SoSuWriMo 662

The Japanese fey sat in front of the fire, Setsuna on her lap, and she stared into the dancing flames. No matter how she tried to move her thoughts to other subjects, she could not avoid thoughts of her home for long. What was going on there? Tsukiko so yearned to know. Sitting in this strange land by herself, cut off from all contact, it was torturous. Her pale hand lovingly stroked the ebony fur of her friend and companion, the feline purring contently. She wondered if Setsuna missed Japan as much as she did. The cat didn't often share her own feelings but was there to talk whenever Tsukiko needed to. She had never wanted to pry into Setsuna's private thoughts though, and so she had never asked. The moonlit fey sighed softly. She was so useless, sitting here. Suddenly, she felt that it had been a mistake to leave. Perhaps running had not been her only option. What if, instead of sitting passively by, she had tried to depose her uncle and assert her birthright by force? Tsukiko was young, this was true, but the people would have been on her side. The Samurai would have been on her side. Could she have succeeded? Had she made a grave miscalculation?

A strange call split the quiet evening air of Dahlia de Mai and it made the woman start. Setsuna jumped from her lap and was instantly alert. That call...there was something so vaguely familiar about it. Her cerulean eyes looked to Setsuna and she could tell that her friend was wandering the same thing. Quickly Tsukiko scooped the feline up and rushed out of the house and towards the source of the call. She ran as fast as she could in her kimono, her heart beating with unrestrained hope. As she came near the edge of the lands, a strong figure was silhouetted against the brilliant tapestry of the setting sun. Finally she came close enough to see a face and she nearly began to weep with joy. She knew him. He was the son of one of her parents most loyal samurai. "Mamoru-san." Relief washed over the dark furred man's face when he saw her. "Tsukiko no Kimi." He smiled, before his mission came back to his mind. "Denka, watashi ha Nippon anatawo douhan suru okura remashita. Anatano oji ha mazushii shihaisha de, samurai ha ue he kare ni taishi teanatano namae de age teimashita. Hijouni hotondo tatakawa naikotohamada jitende oko rimasu, shikashi, moshianataga karera wo sendou surunowo tetsudau tamenisokoniirebaanatano hitobito ha genki dukeraremasu," he said, bowing before her. Tsukiko's breath caught in her throat for a moment. She was going home. Her people needed her, were going to give her back her rightful place. Tears collected in her eyes but with effort, she swallowed them back. "Moshi hitobito ga watashi wo hitsuyou toshiteireba, watashi hasokoniimasu." There was no other answer she could, or would, give. "Watashi to kite kudasai , watashi ga shojihin wo atsume nakerebanarimasen."

With Mamoru's help, it did not take long for Tsukiko to gather the few things that she had been able to bring with her to this land. Once it was all packed up, the dark wolf shouldered the pack for her and they exited the building that had been her temporary home for these months. She was ready to follow the samurai back to where he had come from, to have him lead her to her transport home, but her feet paused. No, there was one thing she needed to do first. "Watashitachi ga iku mae ni, watashi ha daiichi ni dareka to hanashi woshinakerebanarimasen. O negai shimasu, kono houhou." Tsukiko made hurried steps towards the large house in the town that was the home of many of the pack members, but there was one in particular that she was searching for. Once they reached the place, Tsukiko lifted her voice, hoping that he would be home. "Saul-kun. Saul-kun, are you there?"

No worries! <3 SoSuWriMo 449

This all had been so unexpected, it was as if her thoughts had been read by the heavens and granted. It was right though. This is how things should have been from the start. She was a Shimazu. Tsukiko should not have sneaked away under the cover of night with her tail tucked between her legs like a beaten dog. Frighting was not always the answer, but in this case it was. Those lands were her birthright, and she should not have left them in her uncle's hands. The people would never love and respect him as they had loved and respected her parents. Noboro did not deserve be to a part of their clan. He was a disgrace, and now he would truly learn his lesson. Tsukiko would return to her home and show her uncle that she would not be trifled with. The Japanese fey would return and claim her birthright with the whole host of her province behind her. Noboro would regret the day he had chosen such a shameful path in life when he had been blessed with the best possibilities.

Saul was quick to make an appearance, though he seemed startled and she could feel the suspicion and concern rise up in him as he set eyes upon Mamoru. Once his eyes locked on the older, darker male, they did not leave. From her back she could feel some tension rise from the samurai as well, but he was well trained and it did not show on his face or body at all. "Saul-kun, nothing is wrong. That is Mamoru-san, he is from my home. He came to get me. My people, they have risen against my uncle and they need my guidance. Saul-kun, I am going home." There was a light in her cerulean eyes that had not been seen in these lands by any eye. It was a light that had been smothered long ago, and now it was back. Hope and purpose had reignited in the noble woman's chest.

Tsukiko looked to Saul, trying to take his gaze off of Mamoru and make him look at her. "You could come with us Saul-kun. You could come see my home, my country." She had never really had a friend before, not aside from Setsuna. The Stormbringer had shown her such kindness, and she saw him in a different light than she saw most others. There was a connection there that she did not want to sever. If he came, he could be a part of her inner most council. He would raise in the ranks of Japanese society like no foreigner ever had. That would be her gift to him, her thanks.