Mask of Identity: Yukio Has Found Her

Yukio glared up at the other two Isshin and wondered what it was they were thinking. For some reason, he had trouble reading other people's thoughts and emotions. The only person he knew completely was Master Anzai… but Master Anzai's emotions were so obvious, it was hard for even Yukio to miss them.

 

The table had fallen completely silent as they continued to pick at their food. Yukio wasn't hungry at all, and he guessed that Amai wasn't either; her plat was still full. He thought that if he had been in her place, he wouldn't be very hungry either… then again it was hard to imagine himself as a normal human being, much less a girl… but was Amai really a normal person? Yukio had been under the impression that all girls had brown eyes. Why were hers so obviously blue? And why did Master Anzai suddenly become so panicked when he saw her? It didn't make sense.

 

"Hello… Yukio… are you completely out of it, or what?"

 

Yukio pushed away from the table and cursed his wandering mind. "Sorry," he muttered, looking away from Kyouji who stood before him.

 

"I was just asking you if you've been taught Noritoru yet."

 

Yukio stared at him. If Kyouji were to take one more step in his direction…

 

"By the look on your face, I'll take that as a yes," Kyouji smirked.

 

Amai pushed up from her seat and stood between them. "Would you leave him alone? I don't know why you're trying to pick a fight, but it's pissing me off!"

 

While Kyouji and Satoru stared at her in shock, Yukio stood up and left the room. He rounded the corner to his bedroom, and once inside, locked the door behind himself… as though a lock would keep Isshin out, anyway, but somehow it made him feel more alone… and better.

 

He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in and leaned his forehead against the door. He'd give anything to escape from this nightmare.

 

*****

 

Anzai pushed open the dining room doors to discover Kyouji and Satoru silently eating their breakfast. As Juro and Tadao filed in behind him, Anzai felt his face heat up.

 

"Excuse me," he said between clenched teeth. "Please have a seat. I will return shortly."

 

After Juro and Tadao had taken their seats, Anzai went back out into the halls. He knew that Yukio had gone to his room, but stopped short when he saw Amai at Yukio's bedroom door. Quickly, he pressed his palms together and faded from sight. What was she doing?

 

*****

 

Yukio sat by the door, his back against the wood. He felt trapped…

 

"Yukio?" a voice said from the other side. "I know you're in there. I can hear you breathing."

 

Yukio took in a sharp breath. She could?

 

"You know… running away isn't going to solve your problems."

 

What did she know?

 

"Those other guys… especially the one with the bandana, they're jerks. And you just let them walk all over you. You let them win. Do you realize that?"

 

They couldn't win if they couldn't find him…

 

"Look," she went on, "I don't know what exactly is going on here, but somehow I know that you're sitting on the other side of the door. Somehow I know that you're right here."

 

Yukio felt a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped up to his feet, turning around to stare at the door and breathing heavily… but nothing was there but the door.

 

"How did you… what is…" he stammered as he stared at the door. Could it have been his imagination? No… something weird was going on.

 

"Can you please let me inside?"

 

Yukio's heart beat so rapidly that he couldn't catch his breath. Who the hell was this girl?! He couldn't possibly let her in. Apparently Master Anzai knew something about her. He wouldn't let her in the house if she was some sort of threat, would he? Maybe he was trying to test Yukio? To see if his powers would work in a time of crisis? No, Master would never take that chance. The way Master Anzai valued Yukio's existence, there's no way he'd purposely put him in danger.

 

He jumped as she tapped at the door.

 

"Yukio. You can't just hide in there forever. Open the door and let me talk to you!"

 

He crept to the door and placed both palms against the wood. "T-tell me who you are first. Why is it that you…" he stopped. He couldn't really describe what had just happened.

 

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered. "It's obvious that you're upset. If you'd open the door, maybe I could help you."

 

'Like hell!' Yukio thought angrily. This was some sort of trick. He wasn't going to just open the door and let her in. Who knows what would happen then?

 

"Why won't you trust me? Have I given you any reason not to?"

 

He sank back down to the floor. "I don't know you," he said through gritted teeth. "You haven't given me any sort of reason to trust you at all."

 

"There's just something about you, Yukio," she said so softly that he had to strain to hear. "You always look so sad… and when you ran off, I couldn't help but follow you."

 

Was she… was she trying to understand him!? He stared at the wood grain until his eyes blurred. "And just what are you going to do if I open the door?"

 

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she replied. "I just wanted to talk to you. You seem so lonely."

 

He blinked, leaning back from the door. So this was it was about; she pitied him! "I don't need your pity," he muttered. "And there's nothing you can help me with. I'm stuck here, I'll always be stuck here, and there's nothing left to discuss."

 

He sat there for a moment, but she didn't say anything. It was so silent that his eyes widened even more as he stared at the door. Had she left? Did she decide that he wasn't worth her time and energy? Slowly, he got onto his knees and reached up toward the doorknob. He opened the door and peered out only to meet Amai's blue eyes.

 

Yukio fell backwards in shock. "Don't DO that!" he told her. "You-"

 

Amai scooted inside and looked up at him. "Why do you look so afraid?" she wanted to know.

 

But he wasn't even sure himself, so how could he possibly tell her? "W-who are you?"

 

"I already told you!"

 

"How did you…"

 

"You look feverish," she told him as she held out her hand to touch his forehead.

 

The second her palm touched his skin, he froze. In one moment, he had gone from terrified to… calm? Yukio's shoulders slumped and his hands fell to his sides.

 

Amai placed her other hand on his warm cheek. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You're acting… weird."

 

He nodded before slumping back to the floor as her hands slipped away from his face. He tried to say something, but the words stuck in his throat. She knelt beside him.

 

"You don't look okay," she said softly. "You look overwhelmed… and stressed out or something."

 

He peered out at her from behind his blue bangs. "Who… who are you?"

 

"I told you!" she repeated. "My name is Amai."

 

"No, not your name. WHO are you?!"

 

She blinked at him. "I… I don't know what you mean. Am I supposed to be something else?"

 

"When you touched my face-" Yukio broke off. He couldn't even explain what it had been like. It was like a weight had been placed on his entire body, making him tired and forcing his eyes closed. His tired mind could no longer hold onto the thoughts it had once held, and he just slipped away. But… how could he say that to her? It didn't even make sense. Not really, anyway.

 

He had been so busy thinking about what to say, that when she placed her hands on either side of his face, he didn't realize it until it was too late.

 

"I'm really confused," he heard her say. "You must be sick. I better go find your Master and tell him what's going on."

 

But when Yukio opened his eyes to tried and protest, he saw Master Anzai's blurry face staring at him from behind Amai. Amai apparently saw him, too, because the second their eyes met, she let go of his face, and he fell flat on his nose, right into the hardwood floor.

 

"Yukio," Anzai said in one of those tones that no one dared to argue with. "There is something to be discussed. Please show Amai to a guest room and meet me in my office." He promptly turned around and walked back down the hall.

 

Yukio pushed himself up from the floor and rubbed his face. Amai sat beside him, her face red.

"He didn't think…" she trailed off.

 

Yukio stared at her until he realized what she meant, and then groaned. "Ugh… this day just keeps getting worse!"

 

*****

 

"Yukio," Master Anzai said, staring at his student from behind his desk. "There comes a time when all Isshin must know about the Kaizoe of their generation."

 

Yukio stared back him, confused. "Kaizoe? What are you talking about?"

 

"This is kept a secret from outsiders, Yukio. Only Isshin who are of age know about this secret. I didn't want you to know just yet, but I have no choice." Master Anzai sipped from his glass of water. "You know that there are three Isshin per generation, but what you don't know is that there is also one Kaizoe per generation. The Kaizoe's job is not only to serve the Isshin who is chosen, and offer support, but it also her responsibility to choose which Isshin it is who will rule for the next twenty years. This is kept a secret because unlike Isshin, who are obviously different from the general public and able to display some sort of power very early in life, Kaizoe are much harder to distinguish. Her only distinction is her blue eyes, and her powers are displayed is when she is around the Isshin of her generation."

 

Yukio continued staring. "Are you saying that…"

 

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Master Anzai confirmed. "Amai is the Kaizoe of your generation. If you become ruler, she will stay by your side for the entire time. The mere fact that you've found her actually doubles your chances. Not to mention that she's staying with us."

 

Yukio's jaw dropped. "Haven't I told you!?" he exclaimed. "I don't want to be ruler of Morai!"

Anzai glared at him. "Too bad. Deal with it."

 

Yukio stood up and glared at Anzai. "Deal with it!?" he echoed. "You're just upset because you wanted to be ruler… but you're not, so now you're living vicariously through me!"

 

"Don't be stupid!" Master Anzai yelled back. "It's my job to turn you into a great Isshin. If I didn't want you to be ruler, I'd be a horrible Master."

 

Yukio's glare didn't falter. "And what about what I want?"

 

"You and I belong to the kingdom. Technically, it doesn't even matter what we want. We're part of this world to fulfill a specific purpose. I believe that my purpose is to train you, and your purpose is to be the ruler of Morai."

 

"And what if it's not?" Yukio demanded.

 

"Then maybe your purpose is to train a ruler."

 

"Is that all Isshin live for? Aren't you sick of being someone else's property!?"

 

Anzai looked up at him. "Just calm down, Yukio. You have to accept your fate, or you'll never be happy. Find things about your life that you enjoy and focus on those."

 

"That's easy for you to say…" Yukio mumbled. "You have me to control."

 

Anzai's eyes snapped to meet Yukio's. "What was that?"

 

"Nothing," Yukio muttered, even though he knew his master had heard every word. "Can I go back to my room now?"

 

"No."

 

"What!? Why not!?"

 

"Because you spend too much time alone as it is. Plus, you have guests to entertain."

 

Yukio stared at him. "Entertain?"

 

"Yes. Juro, Tadao and I are presenting Amai to the ruler. While I'm gone, it's your job to make sure that Kyouji and Satoru feel at home."

 

Yukio just stood there, trying to think of something to say, but for some reason, no words could be formed.

 

"I'm assuming they can take care of themselves," Master Anzai went on, "and there are plenty of cooks and housekeepers to look after them, but if I get back and hear that you've either locked yourself in your room or ran away somewhere, I swear, Yukio, there will be consequences this time."

 

Yukio's eyes narrowed.

 

"I've been easy on you lately," Master Anzai told him. "Maybe it's because I used to be so much like you… but I'm not going to coddle you, anymore."

 

"Coddle!?" Yukio echoed. "Since when have you coddled me!?" Then it dawned on him… if this was Master's interpretation of coddling, then he didn't even want to know what it was like to NOT be coddled.

 

"I'm serious!" Anzai said, his voice rising. "The reason you keep acting out is because I'm being too easy on you. The next time you disobey me, I'll have no choice but to report your behavior to the kingdom."

 

"Are you KIDDING me!?" Yukio exclaimed.

 

"No, I should have done this long ago. Consider it my fault. I'm sorry, Yukio."

 

Yukio's eye twitched. Was his master apologizing for Yukio's attitude and behavior? Was this some sort of reverse psychology? Yukio gave Master Anzai a sideways look, afraid to agree, but also afraid to disagree. For this one time, he couldn't read his master's motives. Never before had Master Anzai apologized for something that Yukio assumed to be his own fault.

 

"I don't know what you're getting at," Yukio mumbled. "Can you please just tell me what to do so we can move on?"

 

"I've already told you," Master Anzai went on. "For the next few days, it's your job to make sure that Kyouji and Satoru feel at home. Quit being such a recluse and entertain a little. When you're the ruler, no one is going to make exceptions so you can go off and be all by yourself, so you better start getting used to it."

 

Yukio's eyes narrowed again. "Have you ever invested all of your time and energy into something you hated?"

 

Master Anzai blinked at him. "Yukio, you need to stop asking so many questions and do what I tell you to do."

 

"Fine," Yukio agreed. "I'll entertain those losers. Just don't blame me when they don't want to go home."

 

"Don't be smart," Master Anzai put in. "Look, Yukio, I've made this easy for you." He slapped a sheet of paper down on the desk and waited for Yukio to pick it up. "Here's a list of activities that I've arranged for the next couple of days. If you can't keep them entertained, then these should."

 

"Gee, you have so much faith in me, Master."

 

Master Anzai gave him that look again, and Yukio backed off.

 

*****

 

Kyouji looked over at the girl on the other side of the table. "Who exactly are you?" he asked, breaking the silence that wasn't their chopsticks tapping on their plates.

 

She glanced up at him. "I don't know why everyone keeps asking me that. I'm just a girl who lives in the next village over. I don't even know why I'm here."

 

Satoru picked at his rice. "It's just that this gathering is supposed to be Isshin only. And now our masters are acting weird, so we're just wondering what's going on. Forgive me for saying it, but you seem out of place here."

 

"That was rude," Kyouji mumbled, and Amai dropped her chopsticks.

 

Satoru slapped his down next to his plate. "Now you're calling ME rude?" he demanded. "You are the most stuck up prick I've ever laid eyes upon!"

 

Amai scooted back in her chair.

 

"Calm down, pipsqueak," Kyouji said coolly. "I'm not the one insulting a woman."

 

Satoru fumed in his seat, shoving another clump of rice into his mouth and chewing furiously.