Seto

Seto

 

Kirito had been transported near the third planet of a star system in an uncharted area of the universe. Fortunately, the damage caused by Ryo-Ohki missed vital systems and did not affect her spaceworthiness. Azusa quickly ascertained that it would take about a week to complete repairs. If anything, Azusa’s physical injuries, caused by Kagato, were more serious. He was receiving treatment in a regenerator, but the wound had crushed bone and organs, and his synchronization rate with the Tree, still reeling from the aftermath of the battle, was low. Healing was taking longer than expected. He remained conscious, however, and recovered to the point where he could walk.

Azusa ordered Jijii to calculate their location and discovered that this third planet was registered as a Juraian colony. It was the planet later called “Earth.”

“A Juraian colony all the way out in this remote region…” Azusa mused.

“According to the year of application, from around the foundation of Jurai, it must have been registered by one of the research ships that were not able to return. But something is odd.”

“Odd?”

“Yes, sir. There’s something strange about the registration. It was made so that it would register only when someone tried to survey this area of space. The application is hundreds of thousands of years old, but it was only accepted about a year ago.”

Azusa stroked his chin and pondered, “Hm. Simply put, someone wanted to keep this place secret until it was discovered by someone else. But that was a year ago?”

“Some research vessel must have come by. But why register it this way?”

“So it’s registered as a Juraian colony?”

“Do you know anything about it, sir?”

“Oh, there’s probably no reason…” Azusa looked away with a wry smile, as though something had occurred to him. Interest flickered in his eyes as he gazed at the image of the blue planet displayed on the forward screen. Was he interested in the beautiful planet, or…? “If it’s a Juraian colony, it might not be a bad idea to recuperate down there. Jijii, what level is it?”

Pulling up the data, Jijii blinked his mono-eye and mumbled, “Interesting…humanity in its initial stages lives here.”

“The seeds had reached this far?” queried Azusa.

“They’re the product of our prehistoric civilization from billions of years ago. There have been few records of them reaching so far.”

“I’m amazed the research vessel found this place. Where can we land?”

“Hold on, sir. I detect an energy reading.”

“That must be the research vessel that accessed it a year ago…”

“It’s using too much energy to be a research vessel,” Jijii stated. “This is irregular…”

“Can you detect a ship in the area?”

“No… They’re probably jamming signals.”

“Hm… Any possibility that their mothership malfunctioned and they crash landed here?” Azusa asked after a brief pause.

“Since there’s no distress signal, I doubt it. It would be safe to presume they’re poachers,” answered Jijii.

“I see.”

As Azusa rose, Jijii swiftly admonished, “Young master, no!”

“Now what? What’s the problem?”

“You’re planning to go vanquish them. I’m well aware of how you think, sir.”

“All right, all right.”

“Whoa…! Sir, what are you doing?!”

Azusa calmly grabbed Jijii’s sphere, shoved him into a wooden box, and locked it for good measure. He would be in there for a good long time. Azusa transported to his quarters and changed into casual clothes, grimacing at the pain of his wounds, while gazing at the blue planet beyond his window. “These are unexpected circumstances. Not even the old bat will be able to come after me.” He felt that he had outwitted Seto and reveled in a meager sense of superiority.

 

Azusa set foot on Earth two hours later. While walking through the woods on a low hillside, he thought that this planet smelled similar to Jurai. Both planets were covered in abundant greenery.

I’m supposed to be enjoying my freedom, yet I feel nostalgic for home. I’m human, after all. He quickened his pace towards the energy reading. He still felt pain, but his sense of adventure overpowered it. While he was not full-blooded Juraian, there were moments when he felt he was an Imperial Family member, and if these people were as Jijii reported, he had personal reasons that drove him to keep going.

The grass around his legs was wet with dew, as if it had rained in the early morning hours. However, Azusa’s clothing stayed dry. His clothes were those of a Juraian Imperial Family warrior, deploying a nanoscopic defensive field. The field fluctuated, with darker colors signifying an increase in defense. He had been injured during his battle with Kagato even though the field was at maximum. That in itself showed how powerful Kagato was.

“I will never forget that name. Kagato…”

The bushes rustled abruptly. Azusa turned and realized from the sound that several of something was running toward his location. One was running in front, and four others were chasing it. He approached at a brisk pace, and saw between the trees a girl running desperately, and what were probably bandits chasing after her. The men were wearing clothes similar to the natives, but what looked like guns concealed by their right hips did not escape Azusa’s sharp eyes.

Pirates—I knew it. Scum. They’re the same everywhere. Azusa instantly slipped between the girl and the pirates. The girl saw his broad shoulders act as her shield and gasped; the pirates shot glares at him.

“Kidnappers?” The pirates did not bother to answer and immediately attacked. They had to remove all obstacles; there was no need for a conversation, as they only needed to kill him. But they made the wrong decision. Even if he was wounded, even if they held guns, this was a Juraian Crown Prince. There was a fleeting shimmer of Azusa’s body, and the four men fell one by one, muddied, faces writhing in agony. Azusa breathed heavily, but it was because of his wounds, not the battle.

“Um…” The girl peeked out from behind a tree upon realizing the battle was over. Still an adolescent, her black hair was tied back by her shoulders. She bowed deeply, though she was still somewhat wary of Azusa. “Th-thank you…”

“It’s nothing…” Azusa was about to speak, but suddenly felt “danger” behind him. One of the pirates was pointing a stun gun they used for capture at him. “Look out!” He took a direct hit due to his delayed reaction speed and his move to protect the girl, but his warrior’s outfit absorbed half the damage.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Let’s go!” The girl peered down at him with concern, but he made her get up and they ran. His instincts told him not to push it any further right now. Fortunately, the pirates showed no sign of coming after them, but if they lingered any longer, it was likely their friends would show up. It was not a good idea to fight heavily armed pirates while defending the girl in his current condition. They ran for a while and saw a wide trail beyond the woods. The girl looked relieved upon seeing the familiar terrain, and Azusa was assured that she would be able to return home.

“You’ll be fine now,” he turned to her, and she nodded with a smile. Perhaps because her smile brought him relief, or perhaps because of the stun gun’s effect on his wounds, Azusa’s face stiffened even as he tried to return the smile. He might have recovered enough to walk, but a normal human being would have had to be on strict bed rest.

“Excuse me…hello!” The girl’s face grew closer, and everything went out of focus and faded to darkness.

Before he lost consciousness, his last thought to himself was, That was quite reckless, if I say so myself.

 

“Azusa…chan… Azusa-chan…” The woman with the white hair longer than she was tall smiled at Azusa. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek. A teardrop ran between her fingers. Tears were streaming from young Azusa’s face. “…chan… Azusa-chan…”

He yelled and screamed and clung to her. He shook his head in the throes of a tantrum. Life drained from the woman’s face, but the smile was always there. “Azusa-chan… Azusa…chan… I love you…”

 

“…Mitsuki!” Azusa grabbed the hand in front of him, and realized it belonged to the girl he just saved, and not the woman who kept calling him from the depths of his consciousness. No…it’s not her…

The girl blushed and withdrew her hand, and hurriedly left the room. Azusa’s mind was still in a haze, and he watched her silently. Once his head started to clear, he pushed himself up to better assess the situation. He was resting in a room. The house was old but tasteful and comfortable, and reflective of its caretaker’s character. From between the sliding shoji doors the girl had left open, he saw gorgeous fall foliage.

“It’s so beautiful…” Azusa had instantly fallen in love with the place. As he gazed outside, a bright red leaf from a garden maple tree fluttered down by his pillow, tossed by the breeze. He picked it up and studied it.

“You’re awake. Good.” He looked up to see an old man sliding the door shut behind him. He was probably the master of this house.

“I am deeply grateful for your care while I was unconscious,” he bowed.

The old man shook his head, “It is I who must thank you for saving my granddaughter. However, I recommend that you leave as soon as you are well enough.” His manner was gentle, but there was something about him that seemed opposed to Azusa’s very being.

“You must have your reasons.”

“It’s not a matter worth talking about, but it’s for your own good.”

Azusa did not press further because he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

The old man next asked him why he had come to this village, but Azusa only said he was a traveler. It was a half-truth and a half-lie, but the old man also did not press further. “I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Azusa.”

“Azusa-sama. My name is Asumi.”

“This is a lovely house. The view outside is wonderful.”

“It’s an empty village deep in the mountains. Its only virtue is that it’s a quiet place, good for thinking.” Asumi did not try to continue the conversation, but mentioned that he would have his granddaughter bring a meal later, stood, and slid open the door. The girl was on the other side, clearly curious about the proceedings. She saw Azusa notice her and hastily disappeared.

Azusa gazed at the closed door. Why did I hallucinate her as Mitsuki? She doesn’t look like her at all. Was I out of it?

Asumi’s granddaughter’s name was Funaho. She would later become Jurai’s First Queen. This was how the two met. Funaho was still fourteen years old.

At first, she avoided Azusa—or rather, she did not know how to interact with him, but she warmed up over several exchanges, and by the third day, she voluntarily came to visit Azusa. Of course, Azusa did not mind. As someone from the early stages of civilization in a remote region of space, Funaho belonged to a primitive society from Azusa’s perspective. While she did not have the dazzling beauty of the women he met through his travels, she was down to earth and as pure as a clear spring.

The experience of injuries and illnesses while traveling unfamiliar lands, though with individual variation, could make one feel incredibly forlorn and helpless. While Azusa would never admit it, he was not an exception to this. It was a given that the girl tending to him would make a good impression. He was also grateful that the meals were to his taste. They were lightly seasoned and cooked to make the most of the local ingredients, which was a similar style to Jurai cuisine. It was only natural that Azusa would feel more at ease here with Funaho than while he was on Jurai.

 

It was the fifth morning of Azusa’s stay at the Asumi household. Funaho brought his meal to his bedside again, and upon Azusa’s request, ate with him.

“Um…Azusa-sama, may I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“Well…is Mitsuki-sama someone in your family?” He reflexively looked up at her face. “I’m sorry if that sounded rude. You were moaning her name when you were in pain. I thought we should contact her if she’s your family… I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t worry about it. Did I say anything else?”

“No, no other names… Though I did hear something about an old bat,” Funaho said hesitantly and averted her eyes.

Azusa’s face twitched. “I-I see, ha ha ha… Don’t worry about contacting my family.”

“But what if they’re worried about you?” She placed her chopsticks down and leaned forward ever closer.

“Funaho! You must not be so intrusive in your questions,” Asumi stated unequivocally, from where he was standing beyond the open doors. Funaho involuntarily stiffened and cast her eyes downward.

“I don’t mind. You’ve taken such good care of me, yet I caused Funaho-dono needless worry because of my inability to tell you anything,” Azusa apologized to Asumi and threw Funaho a lifeline. But then…

“I apologize…” Funaho mumbled and left the room.

“Funaho-dono…”

“Azusa-sama!” Asumi stopped Azusa as he tried to rise to follow Funaho. His eyes were not those of the usually good-natured old man. “If this is to while away your time during your travels, please don’t.”

“…!!” Azusa realized what Asumi meant, and opened his eyes wide.

“Excuse me,” Asumi said, and withdrew into the house.

Helpless, Azusa stared where he had gone for a moment, then slapped his forehead in self-deprecation. “That was careless.”

Asumi had noticed that Funaho had started to have special feelings for Azusa. He had never seen the quiet girl smile so happily before. However, from Azusa’s dress and demeanor, he had easily surmised that he came from nobility. He feared that his granddaughter’s young love would end in disappointment.

“So careless…” Azusa realized, at Asumi’s words, that he too had developed similar feelings for Funaho.

 

Why was Funaho so fascinating to Azusa? It was true that he liked her naiveté, her loveliness, and her kindness, but he felt more from Funaho. As he kept mulling it over, he found Funaho in the corner of the yard, staring blankly at the scenery. “Funaho-dono…” He was aware of Asumi’s warning, but the moment he saw her sad face in profile, he could not help but call out to her.

“Azusa-sama. Um, I’m sorry about earlier. I…”

“Is Asumi-dono your only family, Funaho-dono?”

“I have a little sister at my uncle’s.”

“And your parents?”

“My mother passed soon after she gave birth to my sister… My father left to vanquish Orochi and never returned.”

“Orochi?”

“Oh, never mind…” Funaho was flustered at having let that slip.

“The people who were after you? I’m sorry I reminded you.” Azusa apologized, realizing he was being rude, and amended his words. “But I believe your father is still alive.” Knowing that Orochi, the mythical eight-forked serpent, was a space pirate weapon, Azusa figured that Funaho’s father had merely been captured. In this day and age, androids and bioroids that appeared no different from humans cost little to build. But, perhaps as a result, enslaved intelligent lifeforms from primitive planets strictly protected by galactic law were valuable because of their scarcity. And pirates would never indiscriminately kill something of value to them.

Funaho offered a faint smile at Azusa’s confident words. “I hope so…”

“It’ll be all right!” Azusa said, suddenly leaning in.

“U-um, your parents… Er, I’m sorry.” Funaho desperately tried to change the subject to cover her blush, then realized she had asked about the very thing that got her scolded by Asumi and bowed her head.

“It’s all right. I don’t mind.” Trying to comfort her, Azusa started his tale in a cheery tone. He carefully changed titles and such so it would not sound strange to her and slowly started to tell her about his parents. It also served to remind himself of the distance between his world and the one inhabited by Funaho.

 

Azusa’s father, Yotsuga Kazuki, was a Galaxy Police cadet. He met Masaki Amame, his life partner, when he took a post at the Jurai GP office. A lowly GP officer and a daughter of the Masaki family, one of the four imperial houses of Jurai—they were Azusa’s father and mother.

 

Jurai, a powerful military nation whose citizens were almost all combatants, would not ordinarily have need of a supplementary system of security officers, even with their equipment and information network. In reality, the Jurai GP station only employed administrative personnel and a few officers. Even so, there were more than a few in Jurai who felt some amount of humiliation that another security organization even existed within Jurai borders. This national pride eventually gave rise to a certain ceremony (some would call it hazing) for the incoming GP officers. It was a simple ritual: rescue a woman getting harassed by drunkards in town. They would pass muster if they successfully helped the woman get away. This was not an official event but a prank by the warriors. Nevertheless, the officers would not be permitted to work on Jurai if they failed to pass. Of course, in flesh and blood, they would never be a match for Jurai warriors, so this ritual only tested their mettle, not their physical strength. However, since the entire galaxy knew about how powerful the Jurai warriors were, there were few who could pass.

The day Azusa’s father was supposed to participate in the ceremony, there was an accident: he came across a real drunkard and not the plant. Since the man was drunk, after all, Azusa’s father was able to let the woman escape, but got thoroughly beat up in the process. Furthermore, since everyone around them thought it was the usual hazing ritual, nobody offered to help.

It was Azusa’s mother who stepped up. She was on her way to watch the spectacle after she was invited by her friend, who had arranged this specific ceremony. Since it was at a different location, she called the friend to confirm, and discovered that this was an unplanned event. She skillfully parried the drunkards, and said to Azusa’s father, his face by now covered in bruises, “Why didn’t you use your gun?”

“There were bystanders,” Kazuki replied, “and I didn’t want to hurt the guy…”

“There’s nobody on this planet idiotic enough to actually get shot by you.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Well, you were able to let the girl escape, so you pass,” Amame stated.

“Thank you.”

“But you should work out a little more.” Shaking her head, but acknowledging his strength of character, she later taught him Juraian martial arts as an apology.

 

“And that’s how their courtship began?”

“Yes, I suppose so.” Azusa nodded vaguely at Funaho’s question. He actually did not know the details. His uncle, his mother’s older brother who had also left Jurai, was the one who told him how they met. Few parents would tell such details to their children. He continued, omitting some details.

 

When Azusa’s father finished his assignment and was to be transferred to the station on his home planet, Azusa’s mother relinquished her royal title in order to go with his father, and they were united in marriage. Such an action by the daughter of House Masaki, one of the four great Imperial Houses, would be a scandal, but it was relatively easy to relinquish the title. All one had to do was plant one’s partner Royal Tree, the symbol of royalty, in soil on Jurai. However, any descendants would only be able to return to the Imperial Family through the approval of two out of three other Imperial Houses. It did not change the fact that she abandoned the Imperial Family, so she must have agonized over the decision. Or so Azusa assumed when he was young, but while she fretted over saying farewell to the Royal Tree that was like a sibling to her, she had not wasted time worrying about relinquishing her title. Juraians, originally pirate stock, were resilient. She quickly became used to life on an unfamiliar planet and soon gave birth to her eldest son, Azusa. They led a modest but happy life.

 

Eight years passed. Without warning, a woman came from Jurai to see Azusa’s mother. She was Seto herself, from House Kamiki, one of the four Imperial Houses. That was when Azusa and Seto first met. Azusa’s mother had been Seto’s pupil and friend.

Seto put forward the suggestion to welcome Azusa as the next head of House Masaki. After Azusa’s mother left Jurai, several circumstances had led to House Masaki being without a viable heir. His rejoining the Imperial Family was unanimously agreed on by Seto’s House Kamiki, the current Emperor of Jurai’s House Amaki, and House Tatsuki. However, Azusa refused to go to Jurai. It was perhaps asking too much of an eight-year-old boy to leave his parents, but his parents felt obligated to House Masaki. They tried to persuade him, but Azusa steadfastly refused. He was satisfied with his current life, and he had another significant reason: having abandoned the Imperial Family, his mother could not return to Jurai. Of course, it was possible if she got permission, as per protocol, but this time, permission to rejoin the Imperial Family was only given to Azusa and not his mother. Azusa rebelled against this.

“I hate you! Go away!!” Azusa glared and yelled at Seto.

“What a feisty one.”

“Shut up. I said go home!!”

“Oh, I’m so scared,” Seto giggled.

Azusa’s mother, watching, sighed and mumbled, “Azusa won’t be able to escape now.”

“Now? If it was decided on Jurai, he can’t escape anyway, can he?” his father asked.

“Seto-sama wouldn’t make unilateral decisions. It probably depended on Azusa himself. But now…”

“But now?” Kazuki asked.

“Whatever Seto-sama likes, she will have. She’ll ensure that it will be his idea to go to Jurai.”

“She likes Azusa? He yelled at her. Isn’t she angry at him?”

“She’s so enjoying it. Seto-sama loves that kind of thing.”

Just as she said, Seto came to see Azusa whenever her time allowed, and it was not to persuade him, but to watch Azusa pout. And Azusa would see her laughing and pout even more. There were even signs Seto was making him angry on purpose. If there was a parents’ day at school, she would appear and claim to be his parent; she would sit by his bedside and stare at him while he slept. She would try to join him in the bath, steal his snacks, tickle him, kiss him, and chase him around. She was basically a bully.

“Oh, Seto-sama…there are certain pleasures I can enjoy as a mother. Please don’t take them away from me.”

“Be quiet,” Seto responded, “go make your next child. Azusa-chan is mine now.”

Her harassment, or affections if you like, accelerated, causing Azusa’s face to spend more and more time pouting. But being annoyed by something was the flip side of caring deeply about it. The young boy did not realize that Seto’s influence on him was growing ever greater.

 

Then, one day, there was a large-scale pirate attack on the colony where Azusa lived. The colony functioned as a plant to recover resources from the asteroid belt, which the pirates came to raid. Due to the nature of the colony, it was equipped with plenty of firepower, but these pirates attacked with even greater. Despite their disadvantage, the colony army led by Azusa’s parents put up a good fight but were unable to turn the tide or stop the invasion of the colony.

Azusa, ten years old at the time, was fighting the pirates separately from the colony self-defense force. The pirates were attacking the locations where ordinary citizens were taking shelter, making the force focus on the front while the pirates deployed a pincer attack from behind. Azusa actually decided to face them by himself. His parents were fighting outside the colony with the pirate fleet and could not be depended on for help.

He may have been ten years old, but his mother, a former Juraian Royal, had given Azusa elementary fighting lessons, and he was fending off the pirates. The opponents had underestimated him, and fortunately, all the time spent being chased by Seto became useful in combat. However, the pirates broke through the defenses, and Azusa was isolated completely. He did not give up until the very end, but a ten-year-old boy could do nothing against main-force units executing a pincer attack.

“How could this one brat have toyed with us like that?” Once caught, Azusa was treated harshly. At the time, fear of death was not on his mind as all he felt was remorse that he was unable to protect the colony. If he had had more strength, he would not have let these people have their way. If he had had more strength, he would have protected everyone. Regret hurt more than the physical pain. He would never allow himself to whimper. And this attitude ended up rubbing the pirates the wrong way.

“Obnoxious brat…” Several pirates drew their guns from their holsters. The god of death put his scythe to Azusa’s neck.

“This young man must not be sullied by your filthy hands,” stated Kamiki Seto, suddenly transporting in front of the pirates surrounding Azusa. With an elegance that seemed unreal in combat, she walked closer to Azusa.

“Wh-what are you doing here? Run away, old bat.”

“Are you worried about me?” Seto laughed happily at being called an old bat. The pirates surrounded the beautiful woman with lewd eyes. It was obvious what their intentions were. Some of them even reached for their waistbands. However, the pirates had ignored one thing: her clothes were that of the Jurai Imperial Family.

“Old bat, run!” Azusa yelled, and a pirate kicked him. Being light, he rolled a couple times and groaned with pain and chagrin.

“I told you not to touch him with those filthy hands.” Seto’s attitude changed. Azusa felt the powerful aura around her and got goosebumps, along with a feeling of ecstatic pleasure.

One of the pirates, reached for her bosom with a vulgar laugh. In that instant, all of them were sent flying as if there were an explosion. A split second later, the pirates close by were mowed down. At the same time, there were flashes of explosions in the sky, and the transceiver relayed screams to the pirates in front of them.

“Sails of light…that’s a Juraian ship!”

“Surrender,” Seto quietly stated to the several hundred pirates around her. Her words were intimidating, but none of the pirates seemed to have noticed.

“What could you possibly do by yourself?”

“Heh, if we could capture a Juraian Royal…” They all pointed their guns at Seto.

“…! Are they all idiots?!”

Azusa, feeling Seto’s aura, stiffened with fear. He was the only one here who had realized the monster within her.

Seto chuckled softly. To the pirates, it looked like she had vanished into thin air. Even Azusa only saw a faint shimmer. He did not know exactly what had happened, but a few minutes later, she had knocked those hundreds of pirates unconscious. In the midst of the pile, Seto stood unruffled with nary a hair out of place, looking serenely at Azusa. “Well done.”

She seemed different from usual. Azusa shivered at her powerful beauty and ferocity. It was not fear, but his Juraian blood was seething. Tears welled in his eyes. He was beyond excited that she had done exactly what he had wanted to do. “I want to be strong, too…strong enough to protect Mom and everyone else.”

“If that’s what you truly think, come with me.” Seto extended her hand toward him. There was that same intimidation. An ordinary man would scarcely be able to stand, much less look her in the eyes, but Azusa faced it, and desperately gripped the extended hand. It meant he agreed to go to Jurai. Just as his mother had said, Seto had made Azusa go to Jurai willingly, and it was his idea to do so.

The pirate fleet had only its engines destroyed by Mikagami (Seto’s Royal Ship)—unless they tried to hide behind or attack unarmored ships, upon which they were mercilessly destroyed. Mikagami, with its Light Hawk Wings, easily overpowered the pirate battleships. The difference was overwhelming. The pirates within the colony were all arrested by the Galaxy Police, and the battle was over. The colony won.