The battlefield fell away into smoke and shadow. My body felt impossibly heavy—each nerve a thread of pain stretched to its limit—but I clung to consciousness just long enough to feel the rhythm of the Konoha shinobi carrying me. His chakra pulsed steady and strong, each thrum like a lullaby against the chaos still echoing in the distance.
The last thing I remember was hearing his heartbeat.
Then, nothing.
---
Haruhi POV
I woke to the soft drumming of rain against canvas. The scent of blood, damp earth, and crushed herbs filled the air. It took me a moment to recognize the sterile tang of healing salves and the muted hum of chakra signatures flickering all around me like faint candlelight.
When my eyes adjusted to the dim lamplight, I saw rows of cots stretching in both directions. Some held soldiers writhing in fevered dreams; others were still, covered to the chin with thin, stained blankets. Medics and shinobi moved between them—low voices, swift hands, the rhythmic glow of healing chakra pulsing in the gloom.
I tried to sit up. Pain lanced through my abdomen, sharp and sudden. I gasped and clutched at the bandages wrapped around my stomach.
"You're awake."
The voice was rough but familiar. I turned my head and saw Captain Isuke seated on the cot beside mine. His skin looked pale, drawn tight across his face. His right leg ended just below the knee, the stump bound tightly in clean wrappings. Still, he smiled—a grim, weary curve of the lips that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"You lasted longer than me," he rasped. "Didn't expect that from a child."
For a heartbeat, Dominic's instinct stirred within me—He should be dead. That blast was lethal.
But Haruhi's heart, still fragile and new, surged with relief. "You're alive," I whispered. "I thought…"
"The medics got to me in time," he said. "From what I was told, my Lady, you nearly killed yourself healing that ninja." A dry, hoarse laugh. "Brave. Stupid, but brave."
"I'm happy I was able to save him then," I murmured, my voice faint. A small, desperate hope pushed past my lips before I could stop it. "My mother…?"
Isuke's eyes lowered. His silence was enough. But when he spoke, the words still cut like glass.
"I'm sorry, my Lady. Lady Kyoko didn't make it. From what I was told… if it's any consolation, she passed instantly."
The fragile hope shattered. I could only nod, though my throat burned with unshed words. I knew she couldn't have survived. But still… I hoped.
Isuke looked away, giving me a moment before continuing. "There's more. Lord Asano Fuyuroka has been assassinated. Word is, the Fuyuroka clan's already tearing itself apart. Once you're well enough to travel, the ninja will escort us back to the Capital."
His words landed like stones in my chest. To go back… this time alone.
As I tried to steady my breathing, a memory surfaced—unbidden and vile. My heart began to race. Isuke noticed instantly as the blood drained from my face.
"Going back…" I whispered.
The image came to me clear as daylight: a rotund man with a porcine face, draped in silk so fine it strained against his folds. Fingers glittering with gold bands. Eyes always lingering too long.
Lord Mogami Shuzaru.
He, along with the late Lord Asano and two others, had served as the four supporting pillars beneath the Daimyo—men who held power over trade, agriculture, and industry alike. But Lord Mogami was different. His preferences were no secret. He had petitioned my mother several times—not for her hand, but for mine.
Mother had refused him each time, fiercely, but with her gone… and my position now so perilous in court…
The bile rose before I could stop it. I turned aside and vomited over the edge of the cot.
"Lady Haruhi!" Isuke jolted forward, calling out for a medic, but I waved them off, shaking my head. I cleaned myself as best I could, though my hands trembled. Isuke wordlessly took over, his movements careful, almost paternal as he wiped away the mess.
He truly cared for me. I could see it in his eyes—the deep green softening whenever he looked at me. The kind of look a man gives his own daughter.
"I can't go back."
My voice was barely audible, but Isuke froze. "What?"
"Lord Mogami has shown interest," I said quietly.
That was all I needed to say.
The air between us thickened. His jaw tightened; veins stood out against his temple. He didn't need me to explain further. He'd seen the same things in the courts—the way men with gold and titles could twist law and honor to their will.
Pedophilia was not new. It was reviled, outlawed… but power could bend morality until it broke.
Maybe this world wasn't so different after all.
"If I return to the Capital without my mother's protection," I said, my voice steadying, "I'll be made an apprentice to the new Head Healer at best—or a servant at worst. Either way, I won't have the protection I need to keep Lord Mogami away. Not forever. Even Madam Shijimi won't be able to hold him back."
Isuke's eyes flashed. "That's not true. The Madam can order him gone with a single command. Lord Mogami doesn't have the power to oppose her."
I shook my head. "He does now. The attack made sure of it."
He went silent, and I saw realization dawn in his expression. The rumors had spread even to the camps. The Daimyo had ordered silence, but someone had talked. Madam Shijimi—the Daimyo's wife—was barren.
The court had been shaken, then divided. Whispers of annulment, of remarriage, of heirs that would never come. The Daimyo had declared that one of his nephews would inherit the throne "when the time was right," but everyone knew what that meant: instability. And instability was power—for men like Mogami.
The Madam's influence was crumbling. Her allies had distanced themselves. Her position, once untouchable, now hung by a thread.
I knew what that meant for me.
As a medic passed by carrying a bundle of soiled linens, I raised a trembling hand. "Excuse me," I said softly. "Could you please relay a message to the commander of this camp?"
The medic blinked, caught off guard. "I—I'm sorry?"
"It's alright," I said with a faint smile. "I just wish to speak with them. It's rather urgent."
They nodded uncertainly and stepped away. I watched as they approached another shinobi outside—this one radiating chakra so taut and sharp it made my senses flare. It was like standing near the edge of a drawn blade—disciplined, dangerous, alive. I couldn't help but reach out with my senses, tasting the energy in the air. It was a strange, instinctive thing—something new, something gifted.
I'd have to explore it later.
Isuke leaned forward, suspicion tightening his face. "My Lady… what are you going to do?"
I smiled faintly.
"I'm going to have to die, Captain Isuke."