The branch houses were a sharp downgrade.
The quality and size were more like the houses Hisako saw in O-Megumi-Shi's neighborhoods, but they were pressed together without much regard for gardens or yards—it was a community, not a neighborhood.
Thankfully, that meant everyone did their laundry in the same area, which left a veritable closet of unattended kimono drying on a line. It was easy to borrow two sets to blend in. Hisako just hoped the others would get the same idea.
Once they blended in, they didn't worry as much about shuffling around the shadows; they just focused on not being seen close enough to be recognized as non-Sasakis.
They skulked about the little village, eyes out for Amajiki or their Sasakis, but also for any signs of Masashi or what was happening with the escort. The flow pattern of the Sasakis was urgent—they were undoubtedly all searching for the intruders—but there was no gathering, just swarming patrols.
As they headed back to the front gate, they slipped between a tight-knit square of houses that shared a courtyard.
While pushing through a little alley of drying clothes, a voice hissed out to them.
"What are you two doing?"
They froze, looking back behind them, but the echo of the narrow alley had tricked them. They turned again to the front, to the exterior of the housing cluster.
At first, Hisako didn't recognize her, but she immediately recognized them.
She was young, a bit younger than Hisako, with short hair and the usual Sasaki features. Her hair was very short—too short to style or even out into a messy bob. She still had her unique, delicate beauty, but it was blunted and undermined by the removal of her jewelry, fine makeup, and the generic outfit.
"Miyu," Hisako breathed.
"Miyu?" Eiji exclaimed. "W-what happened to your hair?"
Her face fell. Something broken instead of the fiery frustration Hisako expected in response to the question. "My family wasn't exactly happy I failed the F-Grade exam."
"I'm sorry," Hisako whispered. "They… I'm sorry they did that."
She shrugged and lifted her eyes to them sharply. "What are you guys doing here?"
Eiji fumbled for a good answer: "Uhh…"
"Oh, so you're not the intruders here to ruin our coup?" she asked sarcastically, smile curling back onto her face. "I didn't think so; you don't match the descriptions Sasaki-sama gave us.
"You must be lost then, cousins. I can help you to the front gate."
"You don't have to," Hisako said quietly.
"I want to," she said. "Follow me. Keep your heads raised. Act as if you belong."
They stepped out into the little town. Immediately, a rushing pair of Sasakis ran past without a second glance.
"It's that easy?" Eiji asked incredulously.
"There are hundreds of us. We can't remember every relative," Miyu chuckled. "Once they realize you're smart enough to hide, though, they'll start checking faces."
Miyu shaped them into a militant little formation, and they set out toward the gate.
"So, what have you been doing since the exam, if you don't mind me asking?" Hisako asked.
"Training. Housework. Nothing new for a branch family member, just more."
"When do you guys take the exam again?" Eiji asked.
"Soon. I've been putting it off—orders from above. I think that the clan head and her son have been waiting for this, keeping all the branch members available."
"I'm sure you'll pass," Hisako said.
Miyu made a noncommittal noise and guided them through a tight-knit group of houses more or less stacked atop each other in a little complex. Hisako ducked her head under an ornate bridge connecting two of the upper units.
Miyu stopped momentarily as another group rounded the corner of the unit, barking for a status report on part of the branch town. Hisako and Eiji ducked their heads.
"Solo units clear!" she replied.
The patrol continued past, debating amongst themselves to move on to the orchard and circle back. Miyu urged them forward.
"Are they teaming you up with the others? Rao-san and Yasuda-san?" Eiji asked.
"I'm not sure."
"Do you know if it'll be Vice Captain Strömberg's door again?"
"I—" She turned on her heel to snap at Eiji. "I don't know. I'm not really thinking about it."
"Sorry," Eiji breathed.
"I have enough to worry about here," she hissed. She took a deep breath as the housing gave way to a thinner part of the persimmon grove. "It's whatever."
"Thank you for helping us," Eiji said.
She shrugged and pointed out at the orchard. "They're not going to let anyone exit those gates without proving they're Sasaki. Nowhere to hide unless you plan on scaling the wall."
"Is Masashi going through that gate?" Hisako asked.
"He's not going to sneak out of his own home," she snorted.
"He'll use his gate key outside of the gate, though, right?" Eiji asked.
"Yeah. We have a deal with the clan that makes the gatekeys—none of them work inside the walls," she explained. "Makes the main gate and the emergency gates the only entrances and exits, unless you want to get caught scaling a wall."
"We're all meeting in the same place then," Hisako breathed. "Us and the escort."
"What a disaster," Miyu scoffed. "Who came up with that plan?"
"Shouhei," Eiji said.
She scowled. "I'd think he has a plan. Does he hope everyone will fight at the gate and slow Captain Sasaki down?"
"It wouldn't…" Eiji thought aloud. "He can just use the gate key the second he's out. He had a head start—honestly, he's probably already gone."
"Captain Iwamoto didn't say to stop Captain Sasaki, though," Hisako said. "The only thing he's concerned about is the rest of the Sasakis attending the vote."
"Captain Iwamoto is right," Miyu said. She leaned in conspiratorially. "It's no secret the main family doesn't get along, but a good Sasaki can tell you that Captain Sasaki and Sasaki-sama are enemies."
"What do you mean?" Hisako asked.
"Captain Sasaki hates Sasaki-sama. Sasaki-sama was meant to be captain of the Kanto Division, but he chose a different path—a selfish path, but he got to keep the status as heir.
"Captain Sasaki hates the old ways, maybe even more than Shouhei-sama. Without Sasaki-sama's eyes on him, Captain Sasaki is sure to vote how he really feels. It's a closed council, so who voted for which side will be private. As long as at least one person votes traditional, which there will be, nobody will know that Captain Sasaki voted progressive."
"You're sure he'll vote progressive?" Eiji asked.
"Of course."
"He's already captain; they can't take that from him if the family loses all their power," Hisako reasoned.
"Pretty much. He's home free no matter how he votes, but he has everything to gain by destroying the clan's power. Everyone who isn't in line to be clan leader has everything to gain."
Hisako paused. "Hachi and Shouhei mentioned allies in the clan."
"Allies? I'm not sure it's anything so official as 'allies'. They both have their friends—we generally agree with them, and Hachi is the face of rejecting the old family values." She took a moment to think. "Between Shouhei-sama and Sasaki-sama, most of us will choose Shouhei-sama if it comes to a fight."
"So the fight at the gate—we'll have better numbers?" Hisako thought aloud. "At the main family house, it'd only be the escort group, but at the front gate, with everyone searching, the entire clan is out and about."
Eiji narrowed his eyes. "Was this part of Shouhei's plan?"
"He didn't believe they'd stand down," Hisako said. "Maybe he knew it would come to a fight."
"A fight we'll win," Miyu snapped.
"We?" Hisako echoed. "I don't want you to get in any trouble—"
"There won't be any trouble if we win," she replied. "The Sasaki clan doesn't punish winners."
Hisako bit her lip. "Of course." She bowed her head gently. "Thank you, Miyu."
"So, shall we charge in, or wait for Shouhei-sama?" Miyu asked.
"Hmm. Looks like our choice has already been made for us," Eiji remarked.
He pointed to where a group of patrolling Sasakis marched Amajiki to the growing group at the gate. He didn't look injured—the only damage, Hisako imagined, was pride.
"Do you see Nanae or Shouhei?" Hisako asked.
She glanced around, but everyone being in Sasaki red made it difficult to see from afar.
"I see her father," Eiji replied.
The gate crowd had parted to allow Amajiki to be led to the man who was undoubtedly Hideki Sasaki, still standing proud and powerful.
"Let's go," Hisako hissed.
She pulled at her powers and rocketed forward. She heard the others jump into action behind her, but she needed to get there before Hideki followed through on his promises from earlier.
She reached the pack in under a minute. Before she touched down again, she reached out to draw Toraichi, but then a familiar Sasaki stepped into her path. Unarmed but determined to stop her.
She touched down early, trying to halt herself by skidding against the dirt, but still ended up really bowling the person over.
"Nanae!" she gasped, hands scrabbling to steady them both.
Nanae looked worse for wear than she had at the main house. There was a growing sense of exhaustion to her, and the fire in her eyes looked beat-down and nearly extinguished.
Hisako glanced around hurriedly; maybe Nanae was also being held prisoner, but it didn't seem so. Nobody was looking at Hisako like she didn't belong yet, and nobody gave Nanae a second glance.
"What are you doing?" Hisako asked her quietly. "Did you get caught with Amajiki-san?"
"No." She smiled weakly. "He got caught thinking he could hide in a persimmon tree. The real question is what are you doing?"
"Amajiki-san is in trouble. I'm here to help."
Behind her, Eiji and Miyu were jogging to join the group, inconspicuous and undetected as the enemies. All of the Sasakis were focused on Hideki as he glared at Amajiki.
"You think you can fight all of them with, what, only a few Doorkeepers?" she asked.
"Mm, well, it's a bit more complicated than that. We have allies, I think." She smiled. "We have you."
Nanae's face darkened. "You don't."
"What?" She grabbed Nanae's hands. "I thought…"
"My door is…" She sighed. "I guess you haven't learned about it yet. My door is gone."
"Gone?"
"Reset. I have to restart."
"I… I don't understand. Reset? Like…"
"Like I never beat it in the first place. I have to redo everything to get my ability and weapon back."
"Why? What happened? Did… Did I do this?"
She squeezed Hisako's hands but sighed in frustration. "Doors are like the heart, right? The soul?" She faltered for a moment. "You changed mine," she hurried out.
"What?"
"You changed my mind. About my family. About all of this."
"Like… epiphany?"
"Like I have a new way of looking at things. So… my door is different—a new door for a new me. So I have to start from zero again."
"Is that bad?" Hisako whispered.
"It's normal. A metamorphosis, in a way. Doesn't happen to everyone, but it's not bad."
"So, you're okay, though, right?"
"One-hundred percent. Just give me some time, and I'll be as good as new. We just don't have that time right now, so I can't fight."
"Okay."
"Okay?" Nanae repeated.
"That's fine. I'm still going to fight."
Nanae bit her lips. "I… I—"
"You can't stop me. I'm doing this," Hisako told her.
"I don't want you to throw yourself into danger for me."
"It's more than just for you. It's for me now, too."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, face softening as she came to acceptance. "I can't stop you, Hisako."
"Thank you." Hisako smiled. "Just watch us win, okay?"
Nanae nodded and stepped back, giving Hisako the space to draw Toraichi from her door. Beside her, Miyu's fingers flashed as the rings appeared, and Eiji coiled Stinger's chains in his hand as he too armed himself.
She jumped as a hand touched her shoulder gently from behind. She turned to see Shouhei behind her, spear and shield ready. Behind him, Nanae looked almost nervous, but her jaw was set, and her eyes had that spark in them again.
"Ready?"
Hisako nodded.