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"Hurry Hurry! She's in a lot of pain!" a worried man shouted. His long dark brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail that swayed as he ran.
"Gaijuunaigou-san, there's no need to worry. Pain is natural during childbirth. And I'm not as quick as you are, especially in this weather," the midwife said as she struggled to steady herself while treading through the wet ground.
Several hours later, the sound of a baby's wailing could be heard throughout the Gaijuunaigou residence.
"My goodness! I think he's the loudest baby I've ever delivered!" the midwife exclaimed. "And during a thunderstorm!"
"What will his name be, Kirittou?" an old man asked. He was an older version of the overjoyed father holding the newborn infant.
"I don't know, Tousan. I think his name should have something to do with thunder. The raijin is the only unused madougu left in our family. It was meant for him."
"Don't forget he was born during a thunderstorm," the midwife added. Kirittou nodded.
"Sou. Is it alright to go in and see Yokoku?" he asked her.
"Yes, but make it short. She needs rest."
Kirittou entered the room quietly with his son in his arms. Yokoku opened her eyes and smiled at her husband. Her long black hair was matted against her sweaty face and neck. A blue blanket covered her tired body.
"We think his name should have something to do with thunder. What do you think?"
"His name should be Raiha," Yokoku replied with a faint smile. Kirittou grinned in agreement.
"Raiha it is then."
Three years passed. The Gaijuunaigou family lived peacefully. Kirittou and his father Isseishi decided the day Raiha was conceived, they would separate themselves from the Hokage clan.
Everyone hated Kirittou's sister, Reina, ever since she gave birth to the clan leader's child that inherited the flame. Reina was rude and contemptuous because the child possessing the flame meant he would be clan leader in the future. Isseishi and Kirittou were both embarrassed at her ignominious attitude. They disliked people treating them with a cautious manner.
"Kirittou-san! Kirittou-san!" A young man with brown hair and fangs shouted as he burst into the small wooden house. "The clan is going to war. We've hidden all our elemental weapons as a safety precaution. If we lose, at least the enemies won't be able to use our elemental weapons and wreak havoc on the world."
"Then we better hide our elemental weapons as well. Is Reina going to fight? If so, then it's best if she brought Kurei here; Tousan can take care of him."
The young man looked sympathetic and turned his gaze to the floor.
"Kirittou-san, I thought you heard. Reina and Kurei were exiled a year ago because they were considered a bad omen. When Kagero gave birth to Recca, he possessed the flame too. The elder said if two flame masters existed, it means the first wasn't meant to be leader. Reina argued Kurei was older and it was his birthright. She wanted to kill Recca. The elder disagreed, explaining Kurei needed to be killed. Kagero and Ohka-sama had them spare Kurei's life. They were exiled. Reina became ill shortly after and died. During that time, Kurei stabbed Recca. The wound almost cut through to the gums. He's in jail right now."
Yokoku looked at her sleeping son in her arms.
"I have to say none of this surprises me. Reina should've never behaved in such a way that the clan would be happy to be rid of her. But, I never thought it would be so tragic. She could've came to us for help."
"She's too proud to do that. She knew we left the clan because of her. She probably thought we wouldn't help her." Isseishi answered. "When all this is over we should free Kurei. He shouldn't be subjected to such misery at his age. For now, there's nothing we can do. We would just add to the clan’s troubles by trying to free him. “
"Sou. Yokoku and I must fight for our clan. Take good care of Raiha Tousan."
-~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~-
"How many survived?"
"Not many. The ones that have escaped are considered fortunate. Many are wounded and have gone into hiding. All the madougu are still safely hidden."
"Tell the others they can stay here as long as they want to. Once thing quiet down, I need to find Kirittou's and Yokoku's bodies and give them a proper burial. Then I have to find my grandson Kurei," said Isseishi.
The young man adjusted the sling on his arm and dropped to his knees.
"I thank you for taking me in, again."
"No need to thank me, Koganei. You'll always be the youngest son I never had."
"There's one more thing you should know about. You know of the forbidden time manipulation spell right?" Koganei asked.
"Yes, what of it?"
"I heard Kagero used it to send Recca 400 yrs into the future and Kurei jumped in at the last minute. She's now an immortal."
Isseishi's eyebrows rose as his face expressed his shock.
"Masaka! Perhaps now Kurei will have a better life."
-~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~-
"I can't believe it! Raiha is Kurei's cousin!" Yanagi exclaimed.
"And he's from the past too. . . But how did her get here? Kurei and Recca already went through the portal Kagero-san made." Fuuko pointed out.
"That's true. There's still more for us to see, it'll all be explained soon." Yanagi replied, returning her gaze to the Eikai ball.
Author’s
notes: The Koganei in this fic is not the little Kaoru Koganei we
all know & love. It’s his ancestor, who ironically shared the
same orphaned past he did. History repeats itself, ne? This
also sort of explains why Raiha gets along with Koganei, ‘cuz it reminds
him if the Koganei who took care of him. I know the names sound kinda
funky. That’s ‘cuz I made them up! ^_^ I took bits of
words & mixed them with stuff that I thought sounded nice LOL
I’ll explain the meanings at the end, Chapter 4.