The night passed quietly at the Rengoku residence.
Nothing outward had changed. The same halls. The same air. The same stillness settled over the estate as dawn approached.
And yet… something within Kagerou had shifted.
It wasn't obvious. Not something others would notice at a glance.
But it was there.
When the first light of morning crept over the horizon, pale gold slipping through the trees and brushing against the wooden floors, Kagerou was already awake.
Already dressed.
Already moving.
His hands worked in silence as he adjusted his clothes, fingers steady, movements precise. No hesitation. No lingering pauses.
The heaviness that had weighed on him these past days hadn't disappeared…
But it had settled.
Condensed into something quieter... Something clearer.
His father's words echoed faintly in his mind.
Not as pressure.
Not as command.
But as something simple.
Two outcomes.
Move forward or stay still.
And staying still...Was the worst of them.
"…Just go and face her, huh…" Kagerou murmured under his breath as he stepped toward the engawa, the cool morning air brushing against his skin.
A faint exhale slipped from his lips.
"…What a reckless way to handle something"
A small pause.
Then, a quiet huff of amusement.
"…Well, it suits Father"
His gaze lifted slightly, eyes clearer than they had been in days.
"That's the Rengoku's way… isn't it?"
Direct.
Uncomplicated.
No running.
Kagerou closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
"…And I…" A small shift in his posture.
Grounded. Certain. "…I'm a Rengoku too…So I'll do it the Rengoku way"
"Whoam~ where are you going this early?"
The voice came from behind him, rough with sleep.
Kagerou didn't startle.
He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"…To do what I should've done from the beginning," he replied.
Simple.
Straightforward.
No excuses.
Behind him, Shinjuro watched in silence.
It was subtle.
Barely there.
But a small, proud smile touched his lips.
"…Now that's my son," he said.
Kagerou glanced back over his shoulder.
For a moment, the tension that had lingered between them softened.
A faint smile formed on his own lips.
"Well, I'm a Rengoku too, after all-"
*Caw!*
*Caw!*
*Caw!*
The sharp cry tore through the quiet morning.
Both of them stilled.
The sound cut cleanly through the air, urgent, insistent.
Kagerou's expression shifted first.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
From above, the beating of wings drew closer... Fast.
Too fast for something ordinary.
The moment stretched.
And just like that…
"...That bastard Kagaya," Kagerou muttered under his breath.
---
- At the Ubuyashiki Estate
Inside one of the estate's quiet rooms, two men sat across from one another.
Soft morning light filtered through the shoji, casting a pale glow over the tatami floor. The air was calm, almost too calm, as if untouched by the urgency that had summoned him here.
One of them smiled as serenely as ever.
The other did not.
"...Why did you call me this early in the morning, Kagaya?" Kagerou said, his tone edged with irritation. He sat casually, but there was tension in the way his fingers rested against his knee. "You know my situation, so why-"
"Hm?" Kagaya tilted his head slightly, his gentle smile never wavering. "That's strange. You don't look like what Shinjuro-san described"
His eyes, though soft, observed everything.
"You seem… quite normal"
Kagerou exhaled through his nose.
"Sigh… whatever. Just get to the point," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "You called me here for something urgent, didn't you?"
Kagaya hummed lightly, as if amused.
"You say that… and yet, to me, you look like someone who was about to go somewhere," he said. There was a faint teasing note in his voice. "Where were you planning to go, Kage-kun?"
Kagerou went still for a brief moment.
Then he averted his gaze.
"...Not your business"
"Ahaha… you really are easy to read," Kagaya replied softly.
"Kagaya," Kagerou cut in, more firmly this time, already shifting as if ready to stand. "If you just called me here to talk, we can do it another time. I have something more important to handle right now"
For a brief moment, silence settled between them.
Then...
"I do have an urgent matter I wish to entrust to you," Kagaya said calmly.
"Then say it directly-"
"But," Kagaya continued, unhurried, "we are still waiting for one more person"
Kagerou paused.
His brows furrowed slightly.
"...Another person?"
The room fell quiet again.
Too quiet.
Kagaya said nothing more.
He simply watched.
And for reasons Kagerou couldn't quite explain… the air felt heavier than before.
A faint unease crept into his chest.
Like something just beyond his reach... Something he was about to face, whether he wanted to or not.
"…Kagaya," Kagerou said slowly, his voice tightening just a fraction. "You didn't… I never asked you-"
"Excuse me"
A voice interrupted him.
Soft.
Feminine.
From just beyond the shoji.
The moment it reached his ears... Everything in Kagerou's body went still.
It felt as if the blood in his veins had frozen.
His thoughts stopped.
That voice... He knew it.
Of course he knew it.
But before he could speak, before he could even turn-
*Slide*
The shoji door opened.
Light shifted across the room as the outside was revealed.
And there she was.
Exactly as he had imagined.
Exactly as he had feared.
Kanae.
"…Oyakata-sama," she said gently, kneeling just outside the threshold, her posture flawless as she lowered her head in respect. "I have come in response to your call"
Kagerou said nothing.
Couldn't say anything.
His gaze was fixed on her, but his body refused to move, as if even the smallest motion might shatter whatever fragile control he still had.
"Kocho-san, please come inside," Kagaya said calmly.
"Thank you, Oyakata-sa-"
Kanae began to lift her head.
And then.
She saw him.
The words died before they could finish.
Silence fell.
Not the calm, peaceful kind.
But something heavier.
Tighter.
Like the air itself had been pulled taut between them.
Kanae's eyes stilled.
Just for a moment.
Just a fraction.
But it was enough.
Because in that instant, everything from that day returned.
The street.
The words.
"…I spent the night with a woman"
Her fingers tightened slightly against the tatami.
Barely noticeable.
Almost controlled.
Almost.
Kagerou felt it too.
That shift.
That distance.
Even without a word spoken.
And suddenly... Being here felt far more dangerous than any battlefield.