Fate/Toraono Link [Private: Azusa]

[Tomomi]

As I walked from the battlefield known as the Hisashī Zenshōsen Arena to my hotel room, the crowds around Lady Hinoka and myself continued to grow and grow as the spectators had begun to leave the arena to head back to their rooms or homes to prepare for the final match of this tournament that would happen before too long. As they did, the press would slither through the crowds towards us continually asking us why I decided to walk into the arena after my contest to provide medical attention to a fellow medical shinobi from a foreign village along with providing aid to my fellow shinobi and former apprentice from Sunagakure. However, each time that Lady Hinoka or I would be probed for information, we respectfully gave a small smile to them and continued walking. Of course, that would not stop the press nor anybody else from taking photos of what they were seeing in front of them, but that was truly not a concern for me as I assumed that my name had been spread far and wide in this country in both a positive and negative light by this time depending on the individuals that one spoke to.

Nevertheless, we would continue to press on through the crowds and eventually would arrive where we were staying. As expected, one of the receptionists at the front desk would give us a strange look when we first arrived with the former priestess of the Aikayume Clan in my arms, but after explaining the situation to her, she would give a simple nod and let us go to our room. She was likely just a common citizen of this country with little to no shinobi background so most of what we told her likely did not make sense to her and it was easier to just agree to let us go instead of trying to argue or she simply did not care enough. Either way, it made our lives easier that she was cooperative and she didn't cause a big commotion over it; I would remember this when we checked out and tip them generously for their services and generosity to us.

Upon arrival to our room, I would place my former apprentice on the couch that came out from the wall and would allow Lady Hinoka to tend to her cousin as she used to do. The pink-haired kitsune would carefully remove her cousin's blood-soaked clothing and dress her into something far more comfortable since she was likely going to be unconscious for a little while longer since she appeared to have left everything on the battlefield. The clothing of choice if one must ask was a matching pair of pajama shirt and bottom that had little fox designs on them since they were both from the Aikayume Clan which were essentially shinobi with fox-like physical traits; it was also likely because Lady Hinoka saw them in one of the shops in Sound and thought they were adorable and just had to have them for herself after having them adjusted due to her bust and tail being somewhat of a problem when she initially planned to buy them. After she was dressed, I would evaluate her vitals once again to ensure that she wasn't in critical condition which she was not and then provide her with a pillow that would be tucked under her head. Her cousin would provide the finishing touch by covering her up with a blanket before we would allow her to rest and recover naturally as I told her and others that ventured into the medical field before: the best remedy for anything is to naturally allow it to recover and use medical techniques if it must be done to save a life or repair something quickly.

As she slumbered, her cousin and I would each take turns monitoring her as the other did things that they needed to do. However when we were both finished, I would grab her prized sword gifted to her from me and hold it in my arms on my bed while Hinoka sat on her respective bed still in our clothes from earlier. It had been a long time since I last touched this sword and while it had some minor cosmetic changes, it was still the same sword that I remembered using myself when I first began living in Wind Country with my wife, Lady Yanshi. It had done well for her since she first grasped it as it carried her to the semi-finals of this tournament and also took two of my lives away from me which I would not forget for a long time like she would not forget me damaging her hat when we first met at the Academy. In any case, the Liberator of Darkness had done its deeds for its master, but the master was out cold and it needed protected until she awoke again as we did not need it falling into the wrong hands after all and being used or tinkered with to cause harm to our village.

While I held the sword in my grasp, I would talk to her cousin informing her that her cousin could not leave this room until we all spoke with one another and tried to relieve some of the tension between us all. It was quite important that we did this before heading back to our home country and having to get our hands dirty fighting in a civil war to protect our village and try to save our country. It was actually so important to me that I told the Byakko guards that came with us when I was handling some of my business to protect the door and to not allow anyone in or out of the room until I gave my approval. Yes, it was certainly going to be interesting when she eventually awoke and I could only hope that we were all prepared for the Toraono head's reactions to everything and her comments. Especially her comments since she could be quite witty and sharp with her tongue.

 

[Muramasa Maya]

"I am at my wit's end with these crowds, Lord Byakko." The pink haired Aikayume spoke as she turned away yet another group interested in prying for information with a faked smile. Hinoka, the pink-haired ex-shrine maiden of the Aikayume, had voluntarily left the clan the moment Azusa had been exiled. Though Azusa herself had dismissed the woman, her own cousin and handmaid, Hinoka had found a new purpose in serving Byakko Kyuji. Yet even now despite this, her unyielding attachment to her original Lady was showing through.

When they ahad arrived to the room where she could finally attend to her lady in peace, Hinoka wasted no time. "Oh no...Oh dear...My lord Byako, this is exactly why I wish Lady Azusa would not fight! All this blood..." Hinoka detested violence, very much unlike Azusa (though, Azusa would deny the enjoyment). With grace both delicate and swift, she wiped Azusa's body of both her own and her opponents blood to better reveal any injuries (Hinoka's relief was very noticeable when the medical chief had confirmed there were no life-threatening injuries). She attended to her hair, cleansing the imperfections of long golden strands of silk which were her her hair, her tails, her ears. Or rather, at least gave them the attention they required; repeated rounds of combat had certainly caused her to slip into a more bloodlusted mentality, and the injuries to her body reflected that. "I cant understand it Lord Byakko. "


Hinoka fidgeted as she returned to the room, setting her tray of a variety of foods already prepared for Azusa; yogurt, fruits, meat, and plenty of fluids. Hinoka's golden eyes darted across the room, noting the lengths kyuji had gone to discourage Azusa from leaving.

"My Lord Byakko, I have served Lady Azusa since we were children. She would often leave the Aikayume Shrine when guards were appointed to watch her. The higher the barrier, the more she would desire to leave. She views things intended to discourage her as a challenge, as if you were saying to her "you could not surpass this". With this much effort put into discouraging her...." Hinoka noted the Byakko guards at the door. "...She will see it as a challenge. If I may suggest...please relieve the guards." Hinoka stated, respectfully bowing as she made her request to Kyuji.

----

Shortly after Hinoka's request to Kyuji, the blonde kitsune would begin to stir. For better and worse, she was stubborn; event though she required rest, she would enduringly push through and awaken sooner than expected for someone in her condition. This was not to say her body was able to keep up with her willpower; the first sign of her awakening was the spitting up of more blood, from some internal injury. "egh--.ugh!" Her head throbbed in pain despite not having any physical wound. Inflammation shot through the left side of her body, which had taken the bulk of her physical injuries.

"Ri-Riyota..." she called to her knight, unaware that Kyuji's swift action had separated her from him. Her dazed vision scanned the room slowly...and realization began to sink in when she saw both Hinoka and Kyuji. "You!!" She hissed, her tone venomous. "You have three seconds to explain...What is...the meaning..of this?" She clutched her left side between breaths, a weak attempt at ignoring her wounds.

And this was all before she even noticed the ridiculous outfit. Yikes.

[MFT]

 

[Tomomi]

Closing my eyes momentarily, I would hear Lady Hinoka's words leave her mouth and gravitate towards me regarding our current situation. She was clarifying to me how her cousin would view the added security that I requested from the Byakko guards as somewhat of a challenge which would only tempt her to try to escape more likely than not. Of course, we had some incidents in the Byakko Estate in the past where she was supposed to not leave her room unless I came for her or requested her. As my former apprentice and I both knew, that proved to be pointless as she easily escaped her room and the estate without even a struggle from the guards which is why I had to go after her on that fateful night where many things occurred which we would not bring up again for now. It was a good reminder to hear this as we need not have another incident like we did before as I would open my eyes and nod to the bowing kitsune near me. Without even a hint of hesitation, I would look at her and simply say: "You are right, Hinoka. Thank you for mentioning that as I was not thinking clearly nor trying to think like your cousin. I will relieve them now, but under no circumstances can we allow her to leave. She is neither physically nor mentally ready to be out there alone in the streets after what happened to her."

Once those last few words left my lips, I would rise from my position and go to the doorway informing the guards of what we were going to do. Most of them would look at me with either shock or annoyance plastered on their faces, but I would explain to them why we were changing our strategy. Some of them would merely shrug when they heard the explanation, some of them would give me a piece of their mind which I respectfully listened to, and others would just storm off mentioning something about needing a stiff drink or two. In all honesty, I truly did not care what they did nor thought about it as I was naive in my initial idea and it would have likely backfired on us in the long run as the Toraono Clan head would have found some way to slither out of the situation as she always did. She was quite good at escaping and getting herself out of sticky situations typically after all.

Shortly after returning back to the room and ensuring our only method of escape was as secure as possible, the former priestess of the Aikayume Clan would begin to stir in her sleep. Of course, her cousin would begin to move towards her, but I would put my arm out in front of her as it was not ideal for her to get too close as nobody knew how Azusa was going to react since she was like a caged animal in an unknown location and likely would panic. While we waited for her to awake, I would grab her former blade that had been resting on my bed and proceed to place it with my stuff as she did not need it now when she needed to recover. Within moments of hiding it away from her, she would come to and emit something inaudible as she coughed up blood on the nice, luxury couch; that was going to be an expensive scrubbing and cleaning bill for sure, but fortunately I was a part of one of the most wealthiest clans in the entire Wind Country.

In any case after she had shaken the cobwebs from her head a little more, she would call out for Miroku Riyota whom was a former student of mine and related to that vile, filthy demon known as Miroku Akkuma who needed to have his head removed from his shoulders and sent somewhere perfect for it like the frozen wasteland of Water Country where the other demons lurked from what the legends said. However after she scanned the room ever so carefully, she would notice that there was no Riyota and this was not her room, she was somewhere that was foreign to her and as I expected she would react defensively being in the unknown. Unsurprisingly, she would ask for an explanation for what was going on as she grabbed her side likely still feeling the aftermath of her fight with the Medical Sennin of the Hidden Cloud whom I would be facing in the finals of this tournament for all the marbles.

Before I responded, I would pause a moment to gather my thoughts as my green vixen-like eyes would look over the body of my former student, former apprentice, and former student. From what I could see, she did not appear to have sustained any life-threatening injuries and she would have a speedy recovery if she allowed her body to heal naturally and did not try to be a strong-willed, thick-skull individual like I knew that she was. Of course, we were not in a real hospital and she could be suffering from something internally that could be catastrophic if it was not monitored and checked soon. However from how she was reacting, it did not appear anything too overly concerning from my eyes which were trained in this unlike her cousin who would frown in disapproval at the pain that she was in. Yes, the sight of blood and her cousin in pain made Hinoka try to rush by me to attend to her fellow Aikayume, but I would place a hand on her shoulder and shake my head to indirectly tell her that it was not the right time and that she needed to wait.

After giving myself and our little kitsune friend some time, I would sigh a moment and then begin to address her: "Three seconds would not be significant time to explain what happened in its entirety to you. But to make a long story short, you lost against Tsuyoshi Junko and I won against the representative of Sound. Thus, I will be fighting him in the finals of this tournament and you will have to either cheer me on from the stands, do something else in this country, or go back to our home with your tails between your legs because you came up short. It is a real disappointment as I was hoping to have my rematch with you in the finals, but I guess that will have to wait till a later date." Without her even saying anything, I could sense that she was likely going to get annoyed and irritated at me which meant that she was going to insult me and call me likely stupid as she was notorious for doing so. But, she needed to know what happened and maybe just maybe this would slap her in the face like she desperately needed. Regardless, I would continue and with each word escaping my lips, I could feel myself getting angry and angry for some reason (likely due to everything that had happened up to this point): "As for why you are here, it is a simple matter. Unlike you who is so fixated on yourself and unaware of what is going on around her, I do care about my fellow shinobi which includes you even though you are ungrateful for everything that Lady Yanshi, my clan and I, myself have done for you. If it wasn't for my wife and I giving you some of our celestial blood when you were younger, you would have died a long time ago and would never have gotten to this point in your life. You honestly---"

A hand would come up in front of my face before I could finish as it was Lady Hinoka's as she looked at me with a concerned look on her face as she took a step in front of me and simply said: "Lord Byakko, with all due respect towards you, please calm yourself as you are getting too upset and are allowing your emotions to flow into your words. Let me speak to my cousin for a moment before you and her get into a verbal confrontation as you are both far too strong-headed for your own good." Sighing, I would simply allow her to speak as there was no point in trying to stop her since she was from the same family as Azusa and they typically got their ways one way or another before too long. "Azusa, do not be mad at Lord Byakko. As soon as she heard you collapsed in the stadium, she rushed over there and attended to your injuries and your opponent's. We all know that you two have a history with one another that has good and bad moments in it, but she struggled out there with her own injuries to take care of you and yours. She carried you from there all the way back here and made sure that you were safe as your body recovered. If that does not show that there is a sliver of hope that you two can make amends and that Lord Byakko still cares about you, then I am simply a dumb fox."

As she spoke, my face had gotten red and I turned away from them both as I was more than embarrassed with how she was praising me and trying to make me sound like I was some saint when in reality, I was nothing close to that especially with how I had been acting in this country during the tournament. Hopefully however, her more calming demeanor towards her cousin would have a better effect on her than my initial comments towards her that likely had only riled her up more than she already was and would likely spell disaster for me in the future with another one of my lives being lost due to her. Only time would tell though!