Loved ones

Did even a hardworking, uncomplaining soul like Ashiya Xia Xia have people he cared about?

He did, brother. He did.

His cousin, bound to him by blood.

Ashiya Xia Cheng.

This cousin was someone dear to him, someone he had grown up with. Although various circumstances beyond their control had caused a few insignificant disagreements between them, that did not stop him and Natsunari from loving each other.

"I'm back."

"Oh, you're back."

The boy, a few years younger than Xia Xia, sat by the window, carving some kind of stone object.

"What's this?"

Xia Xia leaned closer. It was actually a fine piece of uncut jade, its green so rich it seemed ready to spill out, the sort of excellent material that seemed to give rise to wisps of blue mist.

"I bought it at the market."

Natsunari did not look up, continuing his work.

"Doing delicate handicrafts is good. It'll help you get used to precise control ahead of time, too. That'll be very useful when you develop your cursed technique later."

Xia Xia offered his sincere assessment.

Ashiya Xia Cheng's technique was the highly unusual Projection Cursed Technique. Through precise advance arrangements and the insertion of individual frames, it accelerated his movements, eventually allowing even a thousand strikes in an instant. It was a power with tremendous potential.

"Did you go to awaken your technique yesterday?"

Something seemed to have occurred to Natsunari, and he asked.

"Yes. Uncle took me."

"You know I don't have much talent. All I can do is let the years slip away. But even someone like me wants a little of a jujutsu sorcerer's power, so I don't end up an ordinary person."

Xia Xia casually recounted what had happened yesterday.

"That's true."

"Being a weak jujutsu sorcerer is still better than being a monkey. You should think about yourself, too."

"Besides, even if you don't have much cursed energy and can barely activate your cursed technique, the family will still treat you much better than those servants who do odd jobs."

The carving tool in Natsunari's hand carefully ground down the rough jade's edges, shaving a thin layer from its dull stone skin to reveal the clear, lustrous jade within. As Xia Xia had expected, there was something special inside this stone, and its quality was excellent.

Every fine line was perfectly measured. Natsunari had already marked out the area to carve, and the jade knife moved through his hand, shaping a lifelike kingfisher poised to take flight.

Xia Xia watched a little longer and nodded, then left him to it and headed into his room.

"I'm going to take the clan elder as my adoptive father."

As Natsunari spoke, he pointed at the new clothes in the corner.

"Father and Mother both agreed. I have the best aptitude. They said I might become a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer. At the heart of the family, I'll have the main house's support and more room to grow..."

"You'll wish me well, won't you?"

There was no obvious malice in Ashiya Xia Cheng's words, but Ashiya Xia Xia's smile faded a little. His hand slowed as he opened his bedroom door. He simply looked quietly at Xia Cheng, as though he no longer recognized this cousin he spent every day with.

"Of course."

"You have your own path. That's a good thing. No one will stop you from bettering yourself. Father and Mother both agreed, so what objection could I have?"

He smiled.

"We have two things to celebrate tonight. I've become a jujutsu sorcerer, and you've found your path for the future. I'm still not exactly flush with money, but I have enough to take you to the teahouse for those sugar cakes you like."

"Come on. Get changed."

He had not slept all night, but after a little cursed energy circulated through his body, he no longer seemed quite so exhausted-Ashiya Xia Xia had his own methods for repairing his body and easing fatigue.

All he had to do was destroy the organs inside his body with cursed energy, then restore them with Reverse Cursed Technique. If he could endure a brief moment of pain, he could skip sleep and rest entirely, gaining extra time whether early or late.

At first, he had been a little hesitant and afraid. Now it was routine, and he even used it to catch up on his schoolwork.

The teahouse's pastries were cloyingly sweet.

Perhaps because Kansai was rainy all year round, the endless overcast skies had dulled everyone's sense of taste, leaving them partial to strongly flavored foods. This establishment's sweets were delicious, but after just a few pieces, his mouth felt clogged. Only the slightly bitter tea could cut through the sweetness.

Natsunari loved the sugar cakes here.

When they were small, their uncle and aunt had brought the two cousins here many times. Later, however, the couple's health declined, and they inevitably paid less attention to the children. Natsunari fared well enough, but Xia Xia became a completely neglected, parentless little stray, a target for the Ashiya family's children to bully wherever they found him.

But Xia Xia refused to be beaten down.

Children's fights were little more than straightforward clashes. If Natsunari was bullied, Xia Xia, as his older cousin, naturally could not stand by and watch. Once he stepped in, a few unwashable shoeprints on his clothes and a few bruises on his face were inevitable.

He never asked why Natsunari had provoked those people, because he knew trouble did not always need to be invited. When someone wanted to make trouble for you, they might have a reason or they might not. Dwelling on that was a waste of time and energy.

All he could do was hit back.

Letting wounds and pain teach those people right from wrong worked better than ten thousand lectures.

Of course, perhaps because Xia Xia was always the one charging into battle, Natsunari seldom had to suffer injuries all over. Though he was the main cause of the conflict, he always managed to emerge unscathed, and even at home, Xia Xia covered for him.

If the older boy was already a troublesome little wretch, then surely any grievances or bullying the younger boy suffered were merely collateral damage.

Their uncle and aunt never asked what had happened. They simply made Xia Xia stand in his room for an entire afternoon, and he probably would not get any dinner either. It was his own fault for going bad and trying to lead his younger cousin astray, wasn't it?

It was already difficult enough for this household to take him in and feed him. If he did not behave, they might not throw him out, but beatings and reduced meals were hardships he could not escape.

Even so, whenever Xia Xia saved a little money from the odd jobs he did around his hard labor, he took Natsunari to the teahouse. Those scraps of silver earned through sweat became cloyingly sweet sugar cakes.

Natsunari liked them, so there was nothing wrong with doing that.

Perhaps he had suffered too much bullying and hardship outside. Even after returning, Ashiya Xia Xia could not bear to damage this little place he could call home. He was like someone about to sink into a lake, clutching at weeds along the bank.

He craved that meager affection and care the way someone in peril craved a rope, as though giving enough would keep that rare warmth from ever leaving him.

As though, no matter what he accomplished outside, someone would always be waiting for him to come home. No matter how dire the situation he brought upon himself, he would make sure his family never suffered for it.

Family was family, after all.

Ashiya Xia Xia had no parents. He did not even know what they looked like. From his earliest memories, all he had seen were memorial tablets bearing their names, placed at the very bottom, in the least important corner, with no incense offered to them.

Though his uncle and aunt had plenty to say and little kindness to give, they were at least his flesh and blood. The couple who had adopted Xia Xia had to be better than those old moneybags outside who exploited people.

When Xia Xia felt miserable, he went to an izakaya in the pleasure district.

Not to drown his sorrows, but because here, as long as he paid a little money, a courtesan would greet him with a smile and listen to the stories that troubled him.

Or perhaps hollow people like them, with no feelings inside, all wore the same mask.

That meant they could speak their hearts with words half true and half false, or even nine parts false to one part true. When you came out to enjoy yourself, you could choose your own identity without worrying about irrelevant connections-as long as you could afford it, you could even claim to be the head of the family.

More than half a year had passed since Natsunari took the clan elder as his adoptive father and became an adopted son of the main house. During that time, Xia Xia had been considering how to recover the skills of his previous life while quietly expanding his arsenal and improving his strength through the family's cursed spirit extermination missions.

In theory, this opportunity of Natsunari's had belonged to Xia Xia. But he had poor talent and no desire to make trouble. With Xia Xia saying nothing, Natsunari had seemingly taken the opportunity that should have been his.

Let him take it, then. Xia Xia could not use it anyway. Better to give it to family than to someone else.

That day, after finishing his lessons, Xia Xia scraped together a few odd jobs, then went into town and devoured a grade 3 cursed spirit that had been causing trouble. Finally, he dragged his exhausted body to the pleasure district.

As usual, it was three cups of sake. Someone held a shamisen and smiled at him, inviting him inside for a drink.

Xia Xia came only to drink. He never sought a woman's favors or did anything of that sort, but he always paid in full, so the courtesans here welcomed him warmly. Everyone knew he kept himself above such things and came purely for a relaxing drink. Whenever he arrived, they dressed modestly and brought the instruments they played best.

The courtesan in a brocade kimono approached and led him to his usual favorite seat, where the drinks he liked were already laid out-rice wine, not sake, sweet enough to appeal to a child.

Natsunari liked sugar cakes, and Xia Xia liked sweet wine. Their taste for sweetness really did seem to run in the family.

"You can stay as long as you like today. There aren't many guests, and we've already prepared a room if you get sleepy."

The courtesan spoke, then bowed respectfully.

He was a decent man who came purely to listen to music, after all. There was no harm in showing him some respect, and it spared her the trouble of posing and flirting.

But when the courtesan bowed, Xia Xia saw the distinctive ornament hanging around her neck. Carved into the fine green jade was a lifelike kingfisher poised to take flight. It looked like that boy's handiwork...

So you're the one Natsunari has his eye on?

That's fine. Affection between men and women is only natural, and Natsunari is old enough now-I've been too busy to take him out lately, so I've saved quite a bit. Together with the rewards for exterminating cursed spirits, I have six silver ingots altogether. That should be enough to buy this young woman's freedom.

Half drunk and half awake, Xia Xia did not give it much thought.

He took out the silver ingots, asked the manager for her indenture contract, and pointed at the paper, intending to buy the courtesan's freedom.

Xia Xia offered a very high price and had an excellent reputation. With both sides willing, the manager was naturally happy to help make it happen and drew up the paperwork as he requested.

"I'm sleepy."

Saying that, Xia Xia asked for a quilt, then collapsed into bed in the single guest room he always used.

He thought he could give Natsunari a pleasant surprise when they met in a few days. Buying and selling people was different from other transactions. Although he disliked such things, spending a little silver was acceptable if it would make Natsunari happy.

In his dreams, Xia Xia saw mountains of gold coins. He dreamed that he could command half a city's troops and become one of the daimyo's personal guards.

How could that ever happen? What an absurd dream.