Not all dreams were happy. Many dreams were exactly that; dreams and fantasy ungrounded in reality, and never meant to be.
Azusa's first real dream was lost. The Aikayume only ever had a single Priestess; by morning it would be Azusa. And once that happened, her dream would become lost forever.

"...It is almost time, Azusa. Your hair is pretty tonight. Your mother....The priestess...will be proud, I'm sure." Hinoka spoke as she rinsed off soap from Azusa's long hair. Hinoka, as a member of the Aikayume branch family, was Azusa's sworn attendant despite being only slightly only than her. She was her cousin, but also her friend; and even she was unable to get any real response from Azusa. "Yeah." For the past hour, Azusa simply stared at the water of the bath she was in. "...The water is not hot anymore. Aren't you getting cold?" She once again tried to coerce the girl into leaving. "Yeah." To no avail.
No. It wasn't until the bath door was slammed open by her older brother that Azusa reacted, her shoulders tensing up.
"How long will you be hiding away and pouting?" "Y-Yatsu, she's in the bath...It's hardly the time..." "Leave my sister to me, Hinoka. Go get her robes or whatever she needs." He demanded, dismissing the girl. "O-okay..." With one more glance, she reluctantly left Azusa with a whisper of encouragement. She hated to leave Azusa alone with her brother, being the only one who knew the pain Yatsu put her through, but she was too afraid of him to outright disobey.
The door was shut by her brother once Hinoka had left.
"Playing around without ever being serious...Did you believe that you would delay the inevitable? The only thing you succeeded in was putting the time and effort of everyone to waste." Azusa said nothing, and gazed into the lukewarm water. "Mother always spoiled you. Letting you play at being shinobi instead of train. Pampering and protecting you." He berated her again. "..."
"Look at me, Azusa." He demanded, but was greeted with silence. "Azusa." A silent moment later, she obeyed, turning to see that her brother, though stern, also shown signs of grief. "And look where that spoiling has got us; you are to become priestess without an ounce of experience as either priestess or shinobi. A pathetic state brought by your selfishness. You wasted the last of her time."
Azusa could not interject; she completely agreed. When the rest of her clan was too kind to her, her brother was the only one who would yell at her. He was the only one who would blame her. The only one that told her the truth as it was; that she was weak. That she was idiotic and childish. Selfish. Naive. Useless.
This was a mercy to her; it let her pretend to be a victim. (Because I'm selfish.)
It let her see herself as "poor Azusa, who's brother is so cruel", instead of "Usless Azusa,who failed to meet expectations". (Because I'm weak.)
How could she pity herself if no one blamed her? For the mercy of being blamed, she'd gladly accept any physical or mental pain. (Because I'm dumb.)
The sound of bells began to chime throughout the shrine; it was time. "...Whatever. Mother will not be around to protect you anymore. There will be no more frivolous inactivities; I will protect our clan, Azusa." He turned to leave just as Hinoka entered with towels and garments for Azusa.
"Um...It's time to go to the priestess, Azusa." She spoke, dressing up her ginger haired cousin who was entranced by the ringing. With each bellchime, Azusa's heart sank deeper and deeper.
Her mother was calling.
Azusa's first real dream was lost. The Aikayume only ever had a single Priestess; by morning it would be Azusa. And once that happened, her dream would become lost forever.


"...It is almost time, Azusa. Your hair is pretty tonight. Your mother....The priestess...will be proud, I'm sure." Hinoka spoke as she rinsed off soap from Azusa's long hair. Hinoka, as a member of the Aikayume branch family, was Azusa's sworn attendant despite being only slightly only than her. She was her cousin, but also her friend; and even she was unable to get any real response from Azusa. "Yeah." For the past hour, Azusa simply stared at the water of the bath she was in. "...The water is not hot anymore. Aren't you getting cold?" She once again tried to coerce the girl into leaving. "Yeah." To no avail.
No. It wasn't until the bath door was slammed open by her older brother that Azusa reacted, her shoulders tensing up.
"How long will you be hiding away and pouting?" "Y-Yatsu, she's in the bath...It's hardly the time..." "Leave my sister to me, Hinoka. Go get her robes or whatever she needs." He demanded, dismissing the girl. "O-okay..." With one more glance, she reluctantly left Azusa with a whisper of encouragement. She hated to leave Azusa alone with her brother, being the only one who knew the pain Yatsu put her through, but she was too afraid of him to outright disobey.
The door was shut by her brother once Hinoka had left.
"Playing around without ever being serious...Did you believe that you would delay the inevitable? The only thing you succeeded in was putting the time and effort of everyone to waste." Azusa said nothing, and gazed into the lukewarm water. "Mother always spoiled you. Letting you play at being shinobi instead of train. Pampering and protecting you." He berated her again. "..."
"Look at me, Azusa." He demanded, but was greeted with silence. "Azusa." A silent moment later, she obeyed, turning to see that her brother, though stern, also shown signs of grief. "And look where that spoiling has got us; you are to become priestess without an ounce of experience as either priestess or shinobi. A pathetic state brought by your selfishness. You wasted the last of her time."
Azusa could not interject; she completely agreed. When the rest of her clan was too kind to her, her brother was the only one who would yell at her. He was the only one who would blame her. The only one that told her the truth as it was; that she was weak. That she was idiotic and childish. Selfish. Naive. Useless.
This was a mercy to her; it let her pretend to be a victim. (Because I'm selfish.)
It let her see herself as "poor Azusa, who's brother is so cruel", instead of "Usless Azusa,who failed to meet expectations". (Because I'm weak.)
How could she pity herself if no one blamed her? For the mercy of being blamed, she'd gladly accept any physical or mental pain. (Because I'm dumb.)
The sound of bells began to chime throughout the shrine; it was time. "...Whatever. Mother will not be around to protect you anymore. There will be no more frivolous inactivities; I will protect our clan, Azusa." He turned to leave just as Hinoka entered with towels and garments for Azusa.
"Um...It's time to go to the priestess, Azusa." She spoke, dressing up her ginger haired cousin who was entranced by the ringing. With each bellchime, Azusa's heart sank deeper and deeper.
Her mother was calling.