(Kazuha x Tomo) Ephemeral Autumn Leaves

4. Calm in the Storm

Navigating the waters of Inazuma, especially during a storm, was no easy feat. Despite this, Kazuha was able to cross over between the two islands relatively quickly, making landfall somewhere around Byakko Plain. It wasn't a long journey to get to the Grand Narukami Shrine from here, but Kazuha decided he should play it safe and not travel by the main roads.

He crossed the plains quickly, traveling along the banks of the river as he headed towards Mount Yougou. There were less people along this path, but more monsters, though that was still less dangerous than coming across other humans. Climbing Mount Yougou from the south rather than the path along the north was also much more difficult. A couple of times, he came across groups of wandering ronin harassing passerbys. Defeating them with a quick swipe of his sword, he moved on before those he saved even had a chance to thank him.

By the time the sun began to set, he had only made it a short distance up the mountain, the climb becoming increasingly dangerous as darkness fell and it began to rain once again. He knew he couldn't stay on the cliffside overnight, but at the same time he didn't want to climb back down and start again in the morning. Scanning the area, he searched for anything that could give him shelter for the night.

That's when a familiar purple glow caught his attention out of the corner of his eyes. Floating on a parallel cliffside not too far in the distance was that violet Seelie once again.

"Ah, so you followed me here?" He smiled. A log from a fallen tree bridged the gap between the cliff Kazuha was standing on and where the Seelie was floating. He carefully made his way across. "Where exactly are you taking me?"

Traversing this side of the mountain was much easier than the path Kazuha had initially taken, and he felt almost embarrassed that he hadn't thought to come this way in the first place. He continued following the Seelie upwards until eventually it disappeared into a cave.

"A shelter for the night," Kazuha chuckled. "Perfect."

The Seelie seemed to have disappeared as soon as he entered the cave to settle in for the night. Just as he began to shed his robes to dry them out, he noticed movement towards the back of the cave. Instinctively, he drew his sword. "Who's there?"

"Meow!" He was caught off guard as a dark shadow leapt towards him. Stepping back, he slipped and fell to the ground, a small, furry creature landing on his chest. As his vision adjusted to the light he could see that the creature which ambushed him was nothing but a tiny, white cat.

"Tama?!" Kazuha exclaimed.

"Meow!" Tama hopped up, licking the boy's face.

Kazuha felt tears well up in his eyes as he nestled Tama in his arms. "Tama, I'm so happy I found you! I thought I'd never see you again!"

Kazuha and Tomo had adopted Tama as a stray when she was still a kitten, and the three of them had been inseparable since. After their final departure, when Tomo was taken to Tenshukaku to face the Raiden Shogun, Kazuha hadn't seen Tama since. He assumed she had followed him to Inazuma City. Their reunion tonight was no less than a miracle in Kazuha's eyes.

That Seelie led me here, he realized. It led me to Tama.

                                                       ***

After he was evicted from the Kaedehara estate, Kazuha spent several years on his own, roaming about Inazuma and making a living by taking on commissions for various tasks. Of course, there were a limited amount of commissions that one could accept, and the best paying ones almost always involved fighting bandits or ronin. Kazuha taught himself the art of the sword in order to better his options.