Chapter 49: Truce
Chapter 49: Truce
ONE fine Sunday afternoon, Azusa and Kouya stood side by side in front of a colossal wrought-iron gate. Through the iron gate Azusa saw a stately manor twice the size of the mansion she was staying at. The mansion she stayed at wasn’t small by any standards, but it looked like a cabin next to the manor looming past the gate.
Azusa clenched a cake box and the invitation to a tea party being held at the manor that she received the prior day. Youta Kisagari was the tea party’s host. He took the time to write by hand that he would love for Kouya and Azusa to both come. Kouya agreed since it was an invitation from his little brother, despite not being fond of the idea. Meanwhile, Azusa was excited to receive her first invitation to someone’s house since arriving at the Red Coven’s town.
She stiffened in front of the overwhelming grandiose gate—Kouya, of course, had his trademark lack of reaction. She carefully pressed the intercom button.
“Yes? Who, may I ask, is at the gate?” a young woman formally responded.
“Hello. I’m Azusa Saito. Youta invited me to a tea party here today.”
“We have been awaiting your arrival. I shall open the gate for you now. Please proceed straight from the gate until you come to a rose garden. Master Youta is awaiting your arrival there,” the woman answered through the intercom.
A loud click and several beeps came from the gate as it automatically opened for them. They proceeded down the path as they were told, until they spotted a young man standing in front of an archway covered in roses.
“We were waiting for you, Kouya, Azusa. The others are already here and having a blast.”
“The others?”
“You’ll see when you get there,” Youta said with his usual angelic smile. But a few minutes later Azusa learned her angel was actually a scheming little devil.
“Sorry for taking you out with a single blow before. I lost my cool when you took Azusa away from me.”
“Don’t think things will go your way this time! Ichi!”
“I have your back!”
“Okay, ok-ay! Enough. I forbid any fighting to take place here, so please be sure to stay cordial. Don’t look so grim, Ichi. I love that face of yours too, but I love it most when you smile.”
Azusa exited the rose covered archway to find Ichi, Subaru, and Tsukiharu facing each other, ready to fight. She was rendered speechless as Youta mediated the chaotic situation. Kouya silently grabbed her arm and hid her behind his back.
“Come now, Kouya, Azusa, don’t just stand there. I have your seats all set for you. Take a seat. Here, Ichi, why don’t you sit too? You too, Tsukiharu! And since you’re here anyway, go ahead and sit too, Subaru,” Youta insisted, his attitude blatantly colder toward Subaru because of his feelings for Ichi.
The three of them grudgingly sat at the table. Azusa and Kouya followed suit. They sat around a gigantic, round mahogany table in the following order: Kouya, Azusa, Subaru, Ichi, Youta, and Tsukiharu. Tsukiharu was cushioned between Youta and Kouya, putting Azusa on the edge of her seat at the thought of a battle breaking out over the slightest thing. Azusa was the last one to sit down, so she tried to sit next to Tsukiharu instead, but was inevitably stopped by Kouya’s silent glare.
Azusa was the first person to break the suffocating, caustic silence, “What is going on here, Youta?”
“I secretly gathered you all here because I wanted to create an opportunity for you to get to know each other better. Of course, I got everyone together without telling Tsukiharu either, so this wasn’t his plan. Don’t get the wrong idea here. I tried asking Tsukiharu what happened between you guys many times, but he wouldn’t tell me much. I got the gist something happened between him and the rest of you though.
“Anyway, I thought something might change between you if you tried talking it over. Kouya, you told me countless times to be careful of Tsukiharu, but I just can’t see him as a bad guy. If you still can’t work things out after talking in this setting, I’m honestly okay with that. But I believe you are both in the wrong for fighting when you barely know anything about each other,” Youta explained, looking around the table with a smile that seemed to insinuate, “How about it?”
Youta confirmed no one had any objections before standing from his seat.
“You need to talk about things I can’t know about, right? I’ll keep an eye out for a suitable time to return, so please spend your time until then freely. You are welcome to do anything, aside from turning it into an all-out fight in my garden. And, Tsukiharu, don’t go saying things to egg them on, will you? I’ll cut all ties with you if you do.”
“…Whatever you say.”
Youta nodded with relief at Tsukiharu’s response and disappeared into the sprawling manor acting as the backdrop to their tea party.
With Youta gone, silence reigned over the round table.
After a good long pause, Subaru—having regained his cool—spoke up, “Well, since Youta created the opportunity for us, there are definitely some things we want to ask you about. Will you answer our questions, little Tsukiharu?”
“Four against one is like some sort of cross-examination interrogation. I don’t mind though. I’ll answer you out of consideration for Youta this time. What do you want to know?” Tsukiharu asked, resting his chin on his hand with disinterest.
Subaru looked away for a moment, not sure where to start his questioning, until he finally faced Tsukiharu and leaned toward him on the table. “I’ll get straight to the point then. What and who exactly are you? Is it true you possess the Ancient’s body?”
“That would be the first question you ask, wouldn’t it? I had a hunch it would be. That’s what I heard, and I think you got your proof when you witnessed my ability to fight evenly with the Akaoni even though I haven’t awakened yet.”
“Who did you hear about it from?”
“From the researchers who created me. I was kept in the Blue Coven’s underground laboratory until three and a half months ago. What I told you is all I ever heard since the day I was born, so I doubt it’s a lie, but that’s about all I know about myself. I couldn’t provide you with more evidence even if I wanted to.”
“Next question then. Why are you after Azusa? Also, why did you have someone else do the dirty work during your first attack? Had you come for Azusa yourself, our chances of getting her back would have been exceedingly slim.”
“I think you have serious issues going out of your way to ask questions you already know the answers to.”
“I want to hear it directly from your lips.”
“Whatever then. As I said earlier, I possess the Ancient’s body with human blood pumping through it. I’ll surely fall to F rank if I awaken as a vampire with this body. Trying to prevent that future is one reason I went after her. Also, as I told Azusa before, I have nothing to do with the first kidnappers who went after her. I had only just broken out of the lab and was busy trying to keep myself alive—I didn’t have the time to concern myself with other things yet. Besides, I only learned of her whereabouts because of what Shiro told me. I knew she existed before that, but I had no idea where she was.”
“Ah!” Azusa shouted after Tsukiharu finished explaining.
Oh yeah, I never told them about that part! I completely forgot about it because of everything else that happened after he told me!
“Azusa?!”
“Azusa!”
“I-I’m sorry,” she bowed her head to Ichi and Subaru. Kouya quietly glared at her from the seat beside her. She had nothing but regrets.
“…In other words, are you trying to say the Blues have nothing to do with the first kidnap attempt?”
“I don’t know about the Blues. I’m acting independently. My only ally is Shiro. You know, I thought I already told Azusa all of this…from the looks on your faces, I take it she never told you.”
“I! AM! SO! SORRY!” Azusa apologized, bowing her head with such vigor it slammed against the table. The daggers she could feel burrowing into her head kept her from looking up.
“Actually, can I talk to you guys about my thoughts on this? I think the Blue Coven probably had nothing to do with Azusa’s kidnapping. The Blue Coven still had no idea where she was while I was still at their laboratory. Or rather, it was more like they had given up on finding her. They seemed to think creating a new one would be easier than finding the old one.
“The researcher who ran away with the woman carrying Azusa apparently destroyed every piece of information relating to the experiment, causing failed attempt after failed attempt to reproduce the same result as Azusa. Despite all their failures, they still seemed to think they had a higher chance of success in creating a new version than finding Azusa, who the Red Coven couldn’t even find with the full use of all their assets and manpower. I think they had the same opinion before I was there too.”
“Doesn’t that only apply to the people in the laboratory though? The nobles in charge may have had a different opinion.”
“Hmm, I think the Red and Blue Covens would already be at each other’s throats if that were the case. The Blue Coven’s Patriarch came to the lab several times to check on my status, and I don’t think there’s anyone sterner and crueler than he is. He normally gave off the kind old man vibe, but I heard he killed every researcher who opposed him. He seemed like the type to do anything to achieve his goals. If he knew Azusa was here right now, I’m certain he would rage a full-out war with you. But things are relatively calm around her right now. It doesn’t seem like the two covens’ Patriarchs are in negotiations either.”
“I met the Blue Coven’s Patriarch before. He didn’t seem like that type. I thought he was a calm man who didn’t seem suited to rule the Blue Coven known for being such an aggressive coven…”
“Ah, yeah. If I’m not mistaken, they got a new Patriarch two years ago. The current Patriarch is the man who killed the prior Patriarch in a one-on-one battle. The Blue Coven runs completely on the notion of the survival of the fittest—whoever defeats the Patriarch in battle becomes the next Patriarch. From what I heard, this Patriarch was one of the few who actually went as far as killing his predecessor in the match.”
“…Where on Earth did you get a hold of all this information? You claim you were locked up in a laboratory your entire life, but you have common sense and know how to talk normally.”
“Just goes to show even I had someone to talk to.”
“You did?”
“My hypothesis is based on everything I just told you. Naturally, if you don’t believe everything I told you, there will be inconsistencies with it. Anyway, my hypothesis is this: there is a third power targeting Azusa aside from me and you Reds. One that’s not the Blue Coven,” Tsukiharu concluded. Sharp gasps could be heard around the table. Tsukiharu leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his tea as if to signal he was done talking.
Kouya eyed him suspiciously and finally spoke up, “What made you decide to tell us all this? There’s nothing in it for you.”
“I felt like this was the best course of action now that Azusa is with you Reds. She contracted with the Akaoni and her attachments lie with you. Well, in essence, I want you guys to take good care of her until I’m ready to take her away with me. I was willing to wait for that time to come. But I have no idea what exactly it is this third power wants. If they abduct her, I have no clue where they would take her, or what they would do to her. In that case, using you lot seemed like a good idea. You said there’s nothing in it for me, but I told you because of the disadvantages keeping quiet could have,” Tsukiharu explained logically, rendering everyone else without an argument.
Only Tsukiharu casually plucked the sweets off the table and munched on them. Once he confirmed they had nothing else to say, he stood from his seat.
“Tsukiharu?” Azusa quickly called him to stop.
Tsukiharu looked over his shoulder and grinned, “I’m going home since it looks like you’re done questioning me. See you again at school tomorrow, Azusa.”
“Wait.”
“Huh?” Tsukiharu responded less-than-eloquently when Subaru told him to wait just as he turned to leave.
“Let’s call a truce.”
“Subaru?” Ichi grabbed Subaru’s arm with a questioning look. Subaru silently put his hand on Ichi’s and kept his eyes locked on Tsukiharu.
“I want a truce with you. And if possible, I want to share information.”
“What are you going on about?”
“I don’t like you and could never come to like you after what you did. But, if the third power you mentioned really exists, the more people we have fighting on our side the better.”
“Hmm. You’re going to believe what I told you?”
“It doesn’t seem like there would be much benefit for you to lie to us about this stuff. Anyway, this is something I just decided arbitrarily—are the rest of you okay with this?”
Ichi nodded as if she had no other choice, Kouya shrugged with a look of disgust, and Azusa gave a firm nod.
“Obviously, we won’t drop our guard around you, but we will refrain from acting hostile toward you as well. Things will go smoothly if you think before you act too.”
“I guess I’m okay with that.”
Youta returned to the table just as Tsukiharu reluctantly agreed; he must have actually been waiting for the perfect timing.
“I take it you are finished?”
Azusa could no longer see his smile as angelic—sly fox.