Imperial Attention 1 – Between Two Worlds

For the second time of her life, Yuzuki left her birthplace.

That was not completely accurate. She had been on many trips to the capital over her 38 years of life. When it came to the times that mattered, however, this was only the second time. She would not be home in a long time, possibly ever. She was certain that she would never meet her grandmother again. The matriarch was already elderly.

“Be safe,” the crone whispered, pressing a familial kiss on Yuzuki’s cheek. “Make sure they do right by you.”

“They’re good people,” she assured.

There was no debate, only a last squeeze in their hug. Yuzuki blinked a couple of tears away. It wasn’t easy leaving a grandparent behind. To spend yet more years in place would have been simple, but the consequences were too harsh to consider.

A trembling breath later, their embrace loosened. Yuzuki stepped away from her chairbound grandmother, bowed her head one last time, then turned on her heels. She did not look back. Doing so would have indicated she intended to return soon.

The Inevitable party waited for her halfway up the Stem, where the frost of Yukana was dulled to the occasional, cold draft. Yuzuki’s eyes drifted over the quartet.

Korith, the adorable little muffin that she was, averted her gaze. The combination of forwardness and eloquence served to intimidate the kobold, though that was only socially. Still, Yuzuki was determined to close the gap between them. Of the members of the Inevitable party, the Yuki-Onna felt like Korith was the one she interacted with the least.

Aclysia was next, meeting her inspecting gaze head-on. This was the woman, Yuzuki knew, who would decide what future she had in this party. Apexus may have been the leader and Reysha the chatterbox, but in politics and love the advisor that was listened to the most usually held the greatest power.

Reysha grinned back at Yuzuki. She had a lot in common with the tiger woman. They were of a similar nature and, Yuzuki admitted that this was to her detriment, mental maturity. As a Ragressian, the redhead had a considerably lower life expectancy. At around 27 years old and with a Divine Seed in her, their physical ages were quite similar. What differentiated them most, it often felt, was nurture. A lady against a born assassin.

Apexus was… Yuzuki could only find him dreamy. Physically, he had immediately caught her attention. She had only seen a man this tall once before and he had suffered from being the spindly sort. Apexus had a torso out of a picture book, arms like toned tree trunks, and his habit of exposing his abs would make any woman swoon. Specifically, the way his muscles protruded over the dimensions of his hip bones mindwiped Yuzuki every time her eyes wandered there.

The intense physical interest had only grown stronger as she had gotten to know him. Though he could be dense, that was simply a trait of the male sex, in Yuzuki’s experience. A bit of awkwardness was cute anyhow, especially when she and these other women were the only ones to notice it. To everyone else and at most times, he was tall, dark and handsome. He didn’t speak without thinking and acted not just in his best interest but in the best interest of his party, and when he could afford it, the world at large.

Yuzuki had not put much stock in the legend of the Divine Hand before. Interacting with his last student changed things.

“You are certain about this?” Apexus asked her once more.

“I am,” she assured him. The question had come up after she had been sat down to have one more matter shared with her. With her intention to join the party, and thus the harem, made plain, she had been informed of the past that the original three had and the connections to Apotho. The name meant something to her. She had heard it before, though she could not place where.

Ignoring this, the tale told had been out of a legend and it was a legend still being written.

“I’ve not resolved to return to adventuring to shy away from great battles,” she stated.

Apexus just nodded, a gesture of respecting her resolve, then they truly stepped off-world. The embrace of her home’s cold was soon replaced entirely by the neutral temperature of the Branches of the Omniverse. The gentle frigidness would soon fade to a memory.

Minimal luggage on their shoulders, the four plus one moved. Yuzuki moved ahead slightly, following the ridges in the bark of the Omniverse that she remembered. “We’ll need just a few days to get to the capital from here,” she reminded everyone. “The inability to enter the Mobile Estate will be bothersome. All the same, I am happy to travel with this little baggage.”

“Having a transportable storehouse is pretty neat,” Reysha agreed.

“It’s more than a storehouse, even… we're growing our own food in there now!” Korith exclaimed. “So much money saved!”

“I believe we ought to take this time to discuss what your success state looks like, Yuzuki,” Aclysia remarked, walking swiftly to keep pace with the Scout. “May I speak plainly?”

“You may, we are beyond the need for intrigue – if ever there was one.” Yuzuki had held back initially not to be sneaky but to give her own mind the opportunity to work things out. Now she was almost entirely committed.

It was almost this that Aclysia wished to talk about.

“You wish to join this party. None of us are opposed, yet we also do not wish to act hasty. It has not been too long yet.” The metal fairy spoke quietly, but in the loneliness of the Branches she might as well have shouted from the rooftops. “Darling has an interest in you. That alone is rare. Despite his… capacity to please, he has not overly lusted for anyone outside the harem since Korith.”

“High praise.” Yuzuki turned her head and winked at the humanoid chimera. The corners of his lips moved deliberately upwards in a gentle smile, breaking the steady stoicism just for her. It made the maiden’s smitten heart skip a beat. ‘Oh, he is HOT!’

“Indeed,” Aclysia confirmed. “In a regular relationship, I would afford you the flirtatious back and forth, but our specific arrangement requires some structure. It is my suggestion that we should postpone any escalation in romantic matters until after the ball. Let us use that time to get to know each other.”

“That is wise – but I have one change I want to make,” Yuzuki said.

“What is it?” Aclysia wondered.

Yuzuki took a deep breath. She had to say what came next. She would not survive another night trying to be covert.

“I want to watch.”