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My first day of Masayuman language lessons at Kanae's house was today. I was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect. My track record with dealing with Masayumans had not been stellar up to this point, but Kanae had accepted me as her student despite my ignoble beginnings. I should really just calm down.

I sat in the parlor waiting for her to finish up with her previous student, shifting my weight nervously in the comfortable chair as the sun warmed the back of my neck through the window next to me.

About 10 minutes later, a young man strolled through, about my age, and obviously of Masayuman descent. He paused on his way through when he saw me and spoke something to me in Masayuman. It seemed like a greeting followed up by a question of some sort, which was really all I could puzzle out from my very rudimentary knowledge of the language.

“I'm sorry,” I replied sheepishly in Thalian, giving him an apologetic smile, “but I don't speak Masayuman.”

“Oh,” he commented without giving me the usual look of slight disdain that most Masayumans did at this point in the conversation, “I said, 'Hello, my name is Koga Akira, I am one of Arashikage-sensei's calligraphy students. And you are?'”

“I am uh… Sakai Cassandra,” I replied, knowing from meeting with Kanae before that Masayumans give their family name first. “I am here to learn Masayuman language from Kana… er Arashikage-sensei.” Ok, he used her family name when referring to her earlier too, I realized in time to catch myself. Need to pick up these nuances whenever and wherever I can.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Sakai-san,” he replied, smiling at me and nodding. “I will see you again I'm sure.” And with that, he continued on his way through the parlor and out Kanae… er… Arashikage-sensei's front door.

And thus, was the first time I met Akira.

I hadn't really thought a whole lot about that first encounter with Akira, but as the days passed, every day I would show up at Arashikage-sensei's home around midday and wait in the parlor, and eventually Akira would come strolling through. Every day he stopped to talk to me briefly, and was always very polite and nice.

Each subsequent day our conversations between lessons would get longer and longer, and eventually Arashikage-sensei had to start coming out to shoo Akira off so that my lessons could start.

Two weeks after we first met in Arashikage-sensei's home, Akira entered the parlor as I was waiting and took a seat in the chair next to me. I looked over at him and smiled.

“Good afternoon, Sakai-san,” he offered, smiling back at me.

“Good afternoon,” I replied. “How does this day find you?”

“Oh, I'm okay. Arashikage-sensei is a slave-driver,” he chuckled, looking over at me.

“She is very knowledgeable and expects the very best out of her students,” I replied. “Were you misbehaving?” I smiled a little at the thought.

My smile must've been infectious, because he couldn't help but smile back at me in turn. He looked down at his hands, somewhat embarrassed, “Yeah, I wasn't paying as much attention as she would've liked. So I got whacked on the head with the calligraphy brush a few times.”

I chuckled at that. “I get in trouble all the time for stumbling over my pronunciations,” I offered, mimicing very bad Thalian-accented Masayuman.

“It seems interesting to me,” he began, segueing off of my comment, “that you don't speak Masayuman, but you appear to be Masayuman.” It was a rhetorical lead-in I could tell, but I didn't mind discussing it really.

“My father was Masayuman,” I replied, shrugging, “My mother was Thalian. I grew up here, so I am more Thalian than Masayuman, even though it doesn't look that way.”

“Your father didn't teach you any Masayuman language?” he asked, obviously surprised by the notion.

“He taught me some, but I was very young, and before I could really learn much…” I trailed off, pausing at the resurfacing of unpleasant memories. “There was a raid on my village when I was about 6. The children were taken and many of the adults killed. I haven't seen my parents since that time.”

“Oh…” he responded, looking down at his feet. “I'm sorry for bringing up something so… I- I'm sorry.”

“It's okay,” I replied, waving my hand dismissively. “It happened a long time ago, and many of us were able to escape… well, escape several years later anyway. We were taken to a slave camp, some mines in Upper Thalia.”

“How did you ever escape such a situation?” He asked, curiosity eating him alive.

“A combination of good luck and good timing,” I replied, and left it at that. There was no way I was telling him about my Manifestation… I really didn't like talking about it to anyone if I could help it.

“So you came here? To Alestia?” He continued, trying to put the whole picture together.

“Yeah,” I confirmed, looking up at the ceiling in thought. “A few others and I were adopted by a man here in Alestia who owns an Inn. He has two children of his own about our same age. We may be orphans, adopted children, but he treats us like his own, for which I am very greatful.”

“I see,” Akira replied, lost in thought. “I'm sorry for such horrible things happening to you; no one should have to go through that.”

I shrugged, dismissing the whole idea as unimportant. “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” was my only comment. “What about you?” I asked, changing topics. “You were born here in Alestia? Or Masayume?”

He quirked an eyebrow at my comment, but chose not to prod me further about it. “Where I was born?” He repeated, and shrugged, obviously not considering his childhood to be a very interesting topic. “I was born in Alestia, but both of my parents are Masayuman. Our family is reasonably powerful within our clan, we are the Alestian branch of the Crane Clan of Masayume.”

He chuckled, and continued, “my life has been a breeze compared to yours, it seems. Since I've been a child, my family has sent me to lessons for the things I need to learn in order to inherit the leadership of our family, and our family's responsibilities within the clan. So, stuff like riding, sword fighting, archery, history, math, politics, etiquette and protocol, and ancestory.”

“Your family sounds important,” I commented, not really understanding how this clan stuff worked exactly.

“They think they are. And maybe they are, I'm not really sure,” he speculated, looking up at the ceiling. “I haven't been too involved with the the interclan politics yet, so I'm not sure how much sway we really hold.”

“Masayuman culture seems very complex,” I commented, thinking that life really should be a lot more simple than what others tend to inflict on themselves.

“Well, it depends on how you look at it I guess,” he replied, thinking on it. “Alestians seem a little less uptight about such things, to be sure. But it's there too, if you look in their caste system. For instance, you have to be nobility to be a patrician Elector. And it's generally an inherited seat.”

I looked over at him as he talked, watching his expression carefully. When he finished, I looked down at my hands and commented, “seems like a lot of doors are automatically closed for you when not born into nobility.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, but there are plenty of other important things a person can do with their life that have nothing to do with their social status.”

A quietness lingered in the room between us for a few awkward moments. Then finally, “Yeah,” I agreed, looking back up at him, “I suppose that's true.”

“Well, I need to be going,” he quickly interjected, noticing Arashikage-sensei standing in the doorway with a scowl on her face. He stood and offered me a hand. I took it, allowing him to pull me up.

“See you tomorrow,” he added, smiling pleasantly at me and then at Arashikage-sensei who frowned at him and spoke something harsh-sounding in Masayuman in his direction.

“Alright. Later,” I replied, hurrying into the room after Arashikage-sensei as he headed out the front door.

Arashikage-sensei began, after while, asking some veiled questions about the two of us, Akira and I, trying to ascertain what was going on exactly. At this point, my answers were innocent and dismissive, as we were really just friends. She seemed skeptical about this, but didn't push the issue further… for now.

One day about a month after we first met, Akira suggested we meet outside of Arashikage-sensei's home. I really liked the time I had spent with him thusfar, as well as finding out more about my father's culture through our discussions. So, I agreed without hesitation.

We met at a local tavern to chat and share a few drinks. It all started out rather casual, but several drinks later, we started getting into more personal topics with our conversation.

“So, what kind of guys do you like, anyway?” He asked, taking a swig of beer from the mug in front of him.

“Me?” I replied rhetorically, “Hmmm… let's see. I like guys who are about my age, good looking, nice but confident, and I also seem to have a preference for blonds.”

“You like blonds?” he asked, seemingly unconcerned, but looking at me over the edge of his mug with a pointed gaze nonetheless.

I shrugged. “Yeah, it's a preference, not a rule,” I replied dismissively, taking a swig of my beer. “What about you?”

He looked across the table at me for a long moment, then finally replied, “I like orphan girls who look Masayuman but aren't, with bright piercing green eyes.”

“Oh come on,” I smiled, laughing a little into my beer mug, my face turning red with embarrassment, “seriously.”

“You think I wasn't serious?” He replied, acting hurt. I gave him an “oh please” look, and he smiled at me and replied, “okay okay. I like Masayuman girls similar to my age who have good senses of humor and something in the way of useful skills and hobbies. Oh, and they have to be cute too.”

“Hah,” I giggled a little at that last bit. Well it was one of my requirements too, so what can I say!

“So how many blond guys are you seeing right now?” He asked casually, eyeing me from across the table.

“I'm not really seeing anyone right now,” I replied, glancing around the tavern, observing the other patrons emmersed in their conversations. “I don't usually have hmmm… 'relations' with the same person more than once.”

“Oh really? Why is that?” He prodded, a speculative look on his face.

“I am generally just fulfilling a temporary need,” I replied, trying to phrase it vaguely enough so as not to sound like a total slut, but probably failing anyway. “I try to keep those types of relations casual and anonymous. I don't usually know the person well enough to want to come back for seconds anyway. If that makes sense…”

His face held somewhat of a smirk on it as he watched me speak. Yes, I think I failed to not sound like a slut. Oh well, too late to take it back. “What about you?”

“You know, Masayuman culture is such that we don't usually talk about stuff like this. 'It' happens, and everyone knows it does, but no one ever speaks of it.” He sat back in his chair, observing my face as he spoke.

“Oh,” I replied dumbly, “well I'm not really ashamed of it or anything. And I don't like being dishonest.”

“I'm not seeing anyone,” he replied after a long moment. “But I have had a few short relationships with various Alestian girls. And I visit the brothel occasionally.”

“I thought you Masayumans don't talk about this stuff?” I replied, and then added, “and I thought you like Masayuman girls?”

“Well,” he replied, taking a long pull on his beer, “I feel comfortable discussing it with you since you've been so forthright with me. And…” he waved down the waitress, requesting another round of beer, “there aren't many Masayuman girls my age here in Alestia, and the ones that are here are utterly restricted by their families.”

“I don't dislike the way the Alestians look. Like for you, for me it's a preference, not a deal-breaker,” he added, taking his new beer from the waitress and thanking her.

“Oh, I see,” I replied, thanking him for the second beer that the waitress sat on the table in front of me.

He nodded in acceptance at me and changed conversation topics to something benign, asking me what I was learning in my language classes now.

That night we left the tavern and each headed our seperate ways, with plans to meet at a different tavern again in a few days. I found that I had really enjoyed spending time with him, talking about pretty much anything, and feeling comfortable just being in his presence.

It really struck me hard with the realization that he was the first Masayuman friend I've ever had, and despite him being from a good family, had not been judgmental at all about my rather humble origins like so many others had in the past.

I do not apologize for my lack of Masayuman culture, but it's sometimes very hard being stuck between two worlds. The Thalians don't really 'like' my appearance because it's not very similar to theirs, and the Masayumans don't like my lack of culture or family. Once they find out I can't speak Masayuman I get automatically tossed aside as unimportant. It has happened so many times I can't even count it anymore. No one's ever overtly mean, but… still. A bit disheartening. Akira, though, was giving me some hope.

Every few nights we met like that, hitting a different tavern every time. I had taken to wearing dresses when we met like this instead of my usual riding gear. I think I may have been preening for him, but I couldn't help it; I did like him.

Every time we met, we talked, mostly about personal stuff like our families, what we wanted to be, where we wanted to go in life, more on Masayuman culture… that kind of stuff. I did make sure to specifically avoid mention of my manifest nature at all times, though.

And closer he became, every night. I began to notice him touching me more often, his touch lingering, his gaze lingering. And I realized that I liked it, and that I liked him, and that I was subconsciously doing the very same things in return. But, so as to not screw things up by inadvertently breaching some random Masayuman culture protocol, I decided to wait for him to do something to move things forward.

The fifth time we went out, we met at a tavern as usual. And, as usual, we had a good time, enjoyed each other's company, good conversation, and relatively good beer.

On the way back to our respective homes, before we seperated, we were walking, his arm around me, engaged in conversation and hadn't noticed the dark form hiding quietly in an alleyway we were about to pass by.

As soon as we did, I felt a hand grab my arm and yank me away from Akira in the direction of the alley. Akira was in shock for an instant, but then his hand moved instantly to the hilt of the katana he always carried and he moved quickly into the alley.

It was dark, hard to see. The guy who had grabbed me put a knife against my throat and held my arm tightly, but didn't really restrain me in any way. Big mistake. A second guy appeared to Akira's side as Akira entered the alley and demanded Akira's purse in order for me to be released.

Akira turned his head to face the man to the side, but looked back at me, standing very still in the arms of the first guy. My expression, I couldn't help it, was a faint smirk. A tiger awoke in my belly as I slowly tensed my muscles. Akira knew I had been in combat training just like he had, and he waited for a cue from me.

The second guy demanded Akira's purse again, and Akira replied something in Masayuman, causing the second man to grumble in frustration. He turned to gripe at the first guy about this dumb Mak not being able to speak Thalian, and that was all the opening I needed.

In an instant, I crouched to the ground, grabbing the first guy's knife wrist, and then kicked my rear back in my crouch, knocking the guy's legs out from under him, and then rolled him forward over my back using his arm as a lever, probably dislocating it in the process, and effectively tossing him at the second guy standing next to Akira. I had also managed to rip the knife out of the first guy's hand while doing so.

In a flash of blue light, Akira's sword flew out of its scabbard, and, from what I could tell, the hilt smashed into the 2nd guy's face, breaking his nose, causing him to drop his own knife, which Akira kicked away, and further causing him to stumble, just as the first guy crashed bodily into him. But, before the second guy even hit, Akira's sword was already back in its scabbard.

“Petty thievery,” Akira commented in Thalian disdainfully, as the two villians collapsed into a moaning heap on the ground before him. “What should we do with these two?”

I stood there examining the first guy's knife while they moaned on the ground at our feet, and suggested, “We could turn them over to the authorities.” I paused, looking down at them, “or we could just leave them here, letting their injuries serve as a lesson against having such a risky career.”

After a long pause, I finally looked up at Akira. He considered my expression for a few moments, then finally stated, “I'll stay here with them, you go bring back the town guards.” He frowned down at the two men moaning in pain at his feet.

“Okay,” I replied and headed out. Luckily there was a station only a couple blocks away. I brought two guards back with me to find Akira standing over the rogues with his arms crossed and looking down at them sternly, almost angrily. Was it my imagination, or did the two guys look a little more beaten than how I left them?

The guards escorted the two away, neither of whom made a single sound the whole time I stood there after bringing the guards back. I watched them being escorted away with a dispassionate grimace.

After they were out of sight, Akira came up to me and put his hand against my head, his eyes looking my face over, scrutinizing, “are you okay?”

I smiled up at him and replied, “Yeah, I'm fine.”

He put pressure against me bodily, pushing me back against the wall of the building in the alley, and leaning in for a kiss. My hands wandered up his sides as he pressed himself against me, our tongues exploring each others' mouths with great interest.

We stood there like that, embracing each other, for several minutes before finally some other relatively drunk passersby began heading down the street toward us, causing us to break apart from each other before we could be seen.

Not sure of what else to do, we started heading in the direction of home, an uncomfortable silence full of intensity growing between us. As we reached the crossroads where we usually parted, Akira paused, slipped his hand into mine and brought it up to his lips, kissing it delicately. “Cassie, I…” he paused, attempting to gather his wits about him, “I… well…”

A long pause. Akira appeared to be struggling for words. “It's ok,” I interjected after his uncomfortable pause became too long to bear, “I understand.”

With my hand still in his, I pulled him along after me, heading down a different path than usual, up a street near to the Inn where I stayed. But instead of heading to the Occluded Rainbow Inn, where far too many questions would be raised, I headed to one of Bagram's competitors, the Silver Phoenix Inn.

I left Akira outside and went in to reserve a room, and then I came out and retrieved him, and we headed in through the back. The sound of the door to our room closing behind us gave way to an intense silence. It was dark, but there was enough light coming in from the small window to throw a silver sheen on both of us, making our forms easily visible.

He closed the distance between us with slow, deliberate steps, and reached out with his arms, wrapping them around me, pulling my body against his, as he leaned down to kiss me tenderly.

“Cassie… are you sure…?” He asked breathily, pulling back from me slightly.

I watched my finger as it traced around his lips, then took both of his hands in mine, and pulled him toward the bed. “Of course…” I replied finally, sitting down on the edge and then leaning back.

I pulled him forward as I did this, and he knelt on the bed over me, looking down at me with an intense, serious expression. I lifted my hand to caress his face as I admired it, butterflies alighting in my belly as I realized I was giving more to him here than just my body. And I was fine with that.

“You're not going to break off all contact with me afterwards, are you?” He appeared worried as he said that.

I smiled a little at that. “No,” I replied, “of course not.”

After a long moment, he finally leaned forward and let out a breath I hadn't realized he had been holding, tickling my neck with it, his hand moving to unfasten the buttons on my dress as his lips explored my neck. It didn't take long for him to get my dress all unbuttoned, exposing my breasts to his eager hands.

“It's like a dream,” he breathed down at me, as he sat up and allowed his kimono top to drop to the floor. It did feel a bit surreal to me too, although I'm not sure that's exactly what he meant.

This was really the first time I ever did this with someone whom I cared a lot about. It was a very different sort of experience this way. I found myself awash with such powerful emotions and sensations as I had never felt before. Akira's closeness, his desire for me, me in particular, his care to do nothing that he thought would offend me or hurt our relationship… I was just beginning to realize just how crazy I was about him.

Afterwards, Akira curled himself up around me, holding me close, his breath blowing softly into my hair. My arm was around him, squeezing him closer against me. After a few minutes, he whispered quietly into my hair, “Cassie… I- I think I'm in love with you.”

I squeezed him again and, after a pause, replied, “I love you too.” I felt him squeeze me tighter as I spoke, and he kissed my forehead gently.

We were forced to leave not long after that, as Akira's family expected him back within the hour. We made plans to meet again and I returned back to my home, the Occluded Rainbow Inn, feeling very light on my toes and definitely happier than I've ever been.

Akira's lessons with Arashikage-sensei ended not long after that night, and it became the case that I now only saw him when we made plans to meet. But it was not such a big deal; we met several times a week, and our relationship continued to spiral out of control, as we became more and more enamored with each other.

Akira even came by the Occluded Rainbow Inn occasionally, although we had a system for notifying each other where he didn't have to interact with any of my “brothers” there. Even so, I think Boyce began to notice after a while that an asian guy kept coming by and then not long afterwards, I would disappear for a while.

Sometimes, even, we would meet at a small clearing near to my Inn to do some sparring, since we were both practiced in swordplay. Often times our fights would end in us all over each other with our swords on the ground, and our clothes coming off as quickly as humanly possible. I found these moments to be particularly gratifying sexually.

Arashikage-sensei began to notice too. And so sure she was of what was going on, that she broached the subject out of the blue one day in a surprisingly straightforward manner… for a Masayuman.

“Are you and Koga-san having an intimate relationship?” She eyed me carefully as I sat down before her to begin my lesson.

I gave her a penetrating look, curious that she cared enough to mention it. I had never had any real luck lying to Arashikage-sensei in the past, so I decided I may as well just tell her the truth.

“Yes,” I replied simply.

“Well, well, direct and to the point you are,” she replied, flicking out her fan and fanning herself. “There is something to be said for such honesty and confidence.”

“But,” she continued, closing the fan again and pointing it at me harshly, “I must tell you that this is an ill-advised course of action. While I can't demand that you cease it immediately, I can tell you that it will not end well for you.”

Well, that got my attention. “Oh? Is there something I should know about?” I began to get a bit worried.

“Well, I'm sure the boy's heart is in the right place,” she replied dismissively, “he's a good kid. But you must realize he has no authority to make any kind of long term commitment to you, or anyone really. Only his parents do, and the likelihood of them approving you…” she eyed me skeptically, “is rather slim.”

Gah, what was I supposed to say to that? “What do you want me to say?” I decided upon, finally. “I have no intention of ceasing my relationship with him and neither does he.”

Arashikage-sensei snapped her fan back out at this and fanned herself a little. “I see. Well. The lesson has been taught, the student has chosen to ignore it. I hope for your sake that I am wrong. But I doubt I will be.”

Well, what an uncomfortable lesson that day. I tried not to think much about what she said, but a little nagging voice in the back of my mind told me that perhaps she was right. But the drugged up hormones pushed that inkling away, and Akira and I continued our blissful relationship without a hitch. And it got better and better and better.

Until one day about six months later.

As I was closing one of the stables for a horse I'd just rubbed down at the Occluded Rainbow Inn, someone behind me grabbed ahold of my arm. I spun quickly to face the person and it was… Akira. He looked distressed.

“Cassie, I… I need to talk to you,” he whispered uncomfortably.

I took him by the hand and pulled him into my room in the back of the stables and shut and locked the door behind us. “What's wrong, Akira?”

He held my hands and looked down at his feet, shifting back and forth uncomfortably. “This is really hard for me to say,” he began, obviously upset, “but… my parents. They arranged a marriage for me and have completed it on my behalf. They told me about it today.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, it felt like my body froze up, a chill running through me, deadening all of my nerves and emotions. My mind suddenly felt slightly detached from my body. It was just one of those things that a person never wants to hear.

“The ceremony is scheduled for next week,” he continued, “I don't know what to say, don't know what to do.”

“Refuse it,” I replied quietly, then louder, “you can always tell them no.”

He looked at me like I had been struck dumb. “Refuse it? What are you talking about, I can't go against my parents' wishes!”

“Why not?” I asked, my emotions floating somewhere outside of me, causing me to stay detached from the uncomfortable conversation that was taking place.

“Because!” he replied matter-of-factly, “it's my family. I belong to them and I do what my parents say…” It came out sounding about as lame as it was.

I dropped his hands and turned away from him. “So.” I pondered my next words momentarily, “you are here to end our relationship.”

“No,” he replied immediately, “I love you so much, I would never do that. It's just… things will be a little different now.” He rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. “We can still be lovers, it happens all the time even if no one ever talks about it.”

That really rattled me. “I refuse to be a mistress to a married man,” I responded, turning back to look at him, a pained expression on my face. “If you love me so much, then you should be marrying me.”

He looked at me, obviously surprised. “You're… you're serious aren't you?”

“I can't believe you were!” I replied, angry now. “My life is worth more than chasing the coattails of a married man for the rest of my life. Maybe I want to get married and have a family some day too, but the situation you propose… it just doesn't work!”

“Cassie, but, I didn't mean…” he trailed off, looking at his feet again, “I can't refuse my parents.”

“Then we are at an impasse,” I replied, the inevitable conclusion chilling my body like nothing else ever had.

We both looked at a point on the floor between us in silence. Then we both looked up at each other. He crossed the distance between us and pushed me against the wall, kissing me passionately, holding my arms back against the wall as he did so.

It was a testament to how much I cared about him that my initial reaction was simply my usual reaction, joining him in the embrace and just going along with it. But the 50lb weight that had settled on my chest jerked me out of my initial reaction. I broke away from him and shoved him away from me.

“Cassie…” he breathed, staring at me helplessly.

“Leave,” I ordered. “Leave, and don't come back here again. I don't want to see you again.”

“But…” he stammered at me.

“Leave!” I yelled at him, since he obviously wasn't getting the point.

He jumped at my outburst and backed away a bit. Then straightened himself out and bowed to me, one of those deep bows that Arashikage-sensei had taught me was a very humbling, grovelling, apologetic bow. “I am… so sorry to have done such a dishonor to you. I really am. I love you, Cassie. Good bye.”

And with that, he slipped out of the door to my room, closing it quietly and carefully behind him.

I stood there rooted to the floor, staring out the window high up in the hayloft where starlight was spilling in. After a few minutes, tears began rolling down my cheeks and my knees gave out.

As I collapsed to the ground I began to cry pitifully. I held myself in my arms and shook violently as I cried, feeling about as thoroughly violated as I have ever felt. Sheer physical rape was nothing compared to this rape of the soul.

By the time the sun rose the next day, I had cried myself out and all that was really left was a big black void inside of me.

“Is something the matter?” Kanae asked, looking at what appeared to be her student Cassie but seemed to be behaving very much unlike her student Cassie.

I looked up at Arashikage-sensei with my dull, lifeless eyes, replying automatically, “no, I'm fine.”

“Well, you don't look fine. And your focus is unusually poor today,” she replied casually, “care to talk to me about it?”

I looked over at Arashikage-sensei, who had placed her fan in her lap and folded her hands in her lap as well, and was waiting patiently for me to speak.

Arashikage-sensei was a harsh teacher, but that was just her teaching style. She really did care about her students and wanted what was best for them. Who else could I talk to about this? Especially considering she was the only one who'd known about my relationship with Akira.

“Akira came to tell me last night that his parents have an arranged marriage set up for him,” I replied dully. “We had a fight, and I told him to leave and never come around me again.”

I waited for her to point out that she had warned me about this, but instead she exhaled loudly, loosening her posture. “I'm so sorry, Cassie dear. Is there anything I can do to help?”

I looked down at my hand, flexing and unflexing it into a fist. “Tell me… why is it that if he loves me, he doesn't just tell his parents that he refuses their arrangement?” I asked, my gaze shifting over to a tea set sitting on a nearby table without really seeing it.

“Mmmmm,” Arashikage-sensei intoned, “that's a tough one. It's a cultural thing, really. Nothing is more important to Masayumans than the family unit. It's just how things are. You always do what's best for your family, even if you don't like it.”

She pulled the small table over between us and poured some tea for both of us, offering me a cup which I took without thinking about it. “The only way you could short circuit this was if you had more to offer his family through a marriage alliance than this other girl does.”

“Oh?” I asked, but not really that curiously.

She cleared her throat and explained, “Well, the only way to do that is if your family is a better family to have an alliance with than this other girl's family. What is your Masayuman parent's name?”

I looked up at her then back down at my tea cup. “My father's name is Sakai Seiji,” I stated dully.

Arashikage-sensei just looked at me, her expression pleasant and unchanging for the longest moment. It lasted so long it began to get creepy. I began to wonder if she'd heard me or not.

“Sakai Seiji you say,” she replied finally. “Well.” She cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly. “I would advise you not to mention his name to anyone else, even if they ask, and especially if they are of Masayuman descent.”

Now this was an odd statement. I looked up at her with newfound interest. “Why do you say that, sensei?”

She took a sip of her tea and sat the cup back down on the table carefully. “Cassie, in Masayuman culture, your family matters more than just about anything I can think of. Who your parents are, where they came from, what their social status is. These things define you, within this culture. If you lack these definitions, then you are nobody.”

With this, she cracked out her fan. “Koga-san's parents will never think anything of you, assuming they were ever to meet you, unless you can tell them who the Masayuman half of your family is. WHICH I would advise against, for what it's worth.”

After fanning herself momentarily, she continued, “the only way you can impress regardless of your family, is to hold considerable personal power youself. To be the best at something. To be a manifest. Things like that.”

I did not react to her comment about being a manifest, and instead kept my expression neutral. It seemed like she was waiting for a reaction, though.

Arashikage-sensei eyed me carefully for a few moments, before she continued. “If it can be said that you are the greatest… whatever… in Alestia, or Masayume even,” she continued, finally, “then it might be worthwhile for Koga-san's parents to consider you as a candidate for marriage to him. Although, it would have to be something valued by Masayuman society. Like swordsmanship, or dancing.”

I frowned at this, lost for a while in thought. The more I thought about it the more annoyed I got. “This ludicrous set of rules and constraints on behaviour is ridiculous,” I grouched finally. “I refuse to play such bullshit games to win the hand of someone who already loves me. If he can't man up enough on his own to stand up to his parents and this stupidly repressive culture, then it seems that I am better off without him anyway.”

Arashikage-sensei watched me with eyes wide and lips pursed. After a long, uncomfortable silence, she finally burst out in laughter. “You know, dear, the older I get, the more I agree with you.” She fanned herself lightly and looked up at a painting on the wall of a man in a kimono. “I may make my living off of teaching people such a culture, but in some ways I wish it were a valueless job.”

I sighed with exasperation, and rubbed my forehead. “Sensei, I think we should probably begin today's lesson. Keeping busy sounds like a decent way of coping.”

She smiled wanly and nodded. “Alright,” she began, then whacked me on the side of my head with her fan, “sit up straight, girl! And focus! Focus! Now, picking up where we left off…”

“Ooops, excuse me, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going,” a young girl wearing a kimono and carrying a Masayuman-style parasol exclaimed, stepping back away from me.

“It's okay,” I replied, reaching out to steady her on those uncomfortable looking clog-ish shoes.

“Wow, you have such pretty green eyes!” the girl exclaimed at me excitedly, pointing at me in an embarrassing manner. “Are you only part Masayuman?”

I scratched the back of my head and looked up at the rainy, cloudy sky sheepishly. What a weird girl. “Yeah, only my father was Masayuman.”

“My name is Rei,” she said, offering me her hand.

I took it gingerly and shook it. “I am Cassandra,” I responded back, wondering what exactly was going on here.

“Well, I have to be going now,” the girl stated with a big smile on her face. “It was nice meeting you, perhaps I will see you again and we can talk further!”

“Yeah, maybe so,” I replied, waving to the girl as she hiked up her kimono a bit to keep it out of the mud on the road and headed off in the direction of the Masayuman part of town. But, before she was out of sight, she paused, turned around, and waved to me again. I waved back, somewhat embarrassed, but the girl didn't seem to care. She headed off into a throng of people, disappearing from sight.

Strange girl.

“Brother, I see you there,” a voice came from out of the darkness. Akira paused in the hallway, trying to remain silent and hoping the voice would leave him be.

“Ah hah, I caught you,” Rei replied, stepping into a shaft of light cast by a sconce farther down the hallway and looking straight at him.

“I know what it is you've been doing,” she began, walking up to him, her voice purposefully even, “and I know who it is you've been going to see these past few nights.”

“What do you want, Rei,” Akira demanded rudely, looking down at his younger sister with annoyance.

“What would mother think, or even Miss Mio, to know you've snuck out to see some pretty little thing with bright green eyes on the eve of your wedding?” She held a finger to her lip, and looked at the ceiling with a mocking “hmmmm” expression on her face.

“It's not like that,” he replied.

“Oh, indeed it's not,” she replied evilly, “especially not like that every night this week, am I right?”

Akira stood there in silence, staring down at his sister with a stony expression.

“What do I want? Hmm, now let me see…” she acted like she hadn't thought about it at all. “Oh! That's right! Well, I am just here to let you know that I know what you've been up to these past months.”

Akira narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he looked down at his sister who had a huge smile on her face. “So…?”

“So,” Rei picked up from her brother's lead, “I think you should consider your future actions with all due care. Especially where they concern me.” She stepped even closer to him and looked up at him with devilish eyes, “Because, as you know, upon your wedding day, you will effectively become the new head of the family.”

A pause in the darkness, as the two stood there less than an inch apart. “I see,” he replied finally, “I shall remember what you have spoken to me tonite, sister.”

She nodded to him and stepped back to a more reasonable distance. “Well then, good night, brother of mine. I hope everything goes smoothly at the ceremony tomorrow.”

And with that, she withdrew, walking slowly, casually away from her brother and presumably back to her room, the shadow of her kimono bow casting a shadow that uncannily resembled large, bat-like wings.

He had always thought his sister was a little on the evil side, but this only served to confirm it. He was about to be thrust into a position where he held a bit of power, and his sister wanted a share of that. It really irked him that she was using Cassie as a means to exert this control. Cassie…

Anyway. He really hoped that his sister never chose to seek Cassie out, to confront her about this. Rei was quite the devious sort. He would consider warning Cassie about it, but… she told him she did not want to see him again. Of course, that didn't mean that he wouldn't see her again. But, if these sorts of clandestine adventures of his were to continue, he would have to try to be sneakier about them from here on.

Standing before the jewel encrusted full length mirror in her room, Rei brushed her hair quietly with a look of bemusement on her face. Over the span of about 2 minutes, a smile grew upon her face, getting so big as an onlooker might think her face was about to split in half. It was a smile full of evilness.

With a single short but loud bark, Rei let the smile explode in a laugh, one not to be mistaken for simple jolliness. Quickly, Rei schooled her face back to a look of bemusement again. But her insides jumped with unadulterated glee.

“Ahh, dearest brother,” she murmured to herself as she resumed brushing her hair, “what a convenient mess you've gotten yourself into.”

She paused to set the brush down and remove a jewel-encrusted hair comb in the shape of a butterfly from her night stand jewelry box. She admired the comb in the candle light, shining and flashing and glittering with beauty before her. “Lovely,” she commented, resuming her place before the mirror.

“Yes,” she continued quietly to herself, “I think I shall use all in my power to ensure you remain quite thoroughly enamored with your green-eyed beauty.” Her smile got a little bigger as she positioned her hair in the mirror and slid the comb in place.

“And I will look forward to the day when you get caught at it.” She adjusted the comb a little as she turned her head to the side. “But not by me of course. Oh no. I would never tell on my dear brother.”

After turning her head from side to side a few times, examining herself, adjusting the comb and looking again, she muttered, “hmphf”. In the blink of an eye, the ripped the comb out of her hair and threw it against the wall, lodging the sharp corner of the butterfly form in it. “Not quite right. Let's see what else we have in here…”