Over the course of six months, Miwa Chisei had found seven branches of the Miwa family's bloodline, nineteen people in all.
The Miwa Main Family's mansion was filled with life and laughter.
At last, the time had come. Miwa Chisei solemnly told Tengen that the Miwa family was ready to reclaim its place among the Four Great Families.
Honor the ancestors, pay homage to heaven, reclaim their rightful place.
Miwa Chisei put on a black men's kimono, the attire favored by generations of Miwa Family Heads, and the armor that had once made her feel invulnerable.
She gathered her silver curls into a bun, secured with nothing more than a sandalwood hairpin tucked in at an angle.
Even the loose kimono could not conceal the curve of her belly. As Kasumi Miwa helped Miwa Chisei straighten her clothes, she sighed in concern.
"Are you sure you're all right, Chisei? Your due date is only a few days away."
Miwa Chisei supported her lower back with a hand. Some of the aloofness had faded from her face, replaced by the tenderness of a woman about to become a mother for the first time.
"I'm fine. Jujutsu sorcerers have sturdier bodies."
Kasumi Miwa adjusted Miwa Chisei's hem, then raised a hand to support her, and the two slowly walked outside.
The wooden door of the Japanese-style room slid open. Dozens of people dressed in black kimonos already stood outside.
There were children only a few years old, as well as elderly people.
They differed in appearance, but every one of them had beautiful crimson eyes like rubies.
They gazed reverently at Miwa Chisei in front of the veranda, then lowered their heads and bowed in homage.
"Family Head."
Young voices mingled with old ones, filling Miwa Chisei with both emotion and heartache.