Swords & Saniwa

Ring

~Ishikirimaru~
石切丸

Requested by TiffanybvnnyPastry!

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"The Kagura dance is certainly breathtaking, Aruji. Well done." Ishikirimaru praised as she sat down while loosening the collar a little due to the heat. It was a perfect ceremony.

"Thank you, Ishikirimaru. Please leave me alone for a while. I have some personal matters to attend to." She said in a mannerly way before walking off to answer a phone call from the family butler.

"Hello, this is L/N."

"Miss, please return to the mansion. Master is furious that you performed in the annual shrine festival without his permission-"

"I apologise for my rudeness, but he is not my grandfather now. We officially broke off our relations a month ago, and now he is just a stranger to me. I am ending this call." Pressing the red button to end the call, she then sighed and tried to compose herself before returning to the shrine grounds to meet her secretary.

"Ishikirimaru, let's go back." 

~~

As they reached the citadel, she then told him to follow her to her office for some matters.

"This is the agenda for this month. Check if there's any mistake." Taking the paper with both hands, he looked through the planner. It was incredibly detailed; even marked with contingency plans to handle unlikely events such as disruptions or drought listed on the memo.

"There are no mistakes. Thank you for the hard work." Nodding at his acknowledgment, she then gave him a gift that she bought in the marketplace a few days prior to the festival. It was a magatama made from agate with clearly distinguished reddish lines with a few hints of white.

The sword, on the other hand, was awed at its beauty and even forgot to thank her for the gift.

"Thank you, Aruji."

She was only here for two months and everyone knew about her. Born under the family of priests and priestesses, her grandfather was a famous priest known all over Japan, and even the Prime Minister made a visit once, proving its popularity and its effectiveness. But she disliked her family. She was raised in a strict environment and thus was forced to learn the basics as a distinguished member of the family. Leaving to join as a sage for the government, her grandfather then stopped her.

"How would the people think if my granddaughter worked as a sage instead of helping the family in the shrine!"

She laughed at herself. If her grandfather had asked and cared about her safety instead of reputation, she might consider turning her back.

But she didn't, and left the household for good.

"Aruji? Aruji, are you listening?"

"Y-Yes?" She stuttered as she returned to her senses.

"It is late now, so please turn in early. We have quite a number of sorties to complete."

"Yes, I understand. Have a good rest, Ishikirimaru."

~~

Returning from a sortie, her grandfather was there waiting for her at the gate.

"What do you want from me?"

"Return that ring to me. You're not a member of this family." He said as the female ran her finger around the metal instinctively. 

"Hasebe, bring the injured ones to the repair room. I'll go there later." She ordered as the grandfather looked at the swords as they went to the repair room. Once they were gone, she then removed the ring and placed it on his palm.

"We no longer cross each others' paths." She said as she brushed past him, not even sending the old man off. She did the repairs as usual, but the sword realised that something was wrong as he accompanied her back to her room.

"Aruji. Are you alright?" He asked as he approached the trembling figure. It was the first time that he saw her in such a way. Turning her around, he then gave her a comforting hug and held her until her cries died down.

"That ring belonged to my deceased mother. It was the only thing that she left on this world." She said while wiping any tears off, wanting to leave since she thought she was a bother to him. He took on her forearm and tried to stop her from leaving.

"If you could, please rely on this secretary if you feel too much burden. I'll share it with you together, Aruji." He said while he released his grip, running off to her room afterwards.

'What... is that feeling?' She asked herself as she tried to calm down and think about his words.

On the other hand, the sword couldn't believe himself that he said such words to the emotionless sage.