Chapter Text
“This is it?” The dark-haired man asks. He turns his nose up, not quite in disgust, but rather in disinterest. The village they’ve arrived in is small, so small one might not even consider it a proper village; the word ‘hamlet’ might suit it better. There’s a market at least, but very few people. The Zenin estate alone is twice as big.
“Yes!” The younger man replies. “I’m surprised the clan head sent us all the way out here.”
The land they’re visiting took them roughly twenty days by ox to reach. They had traversed through the Shimokita Peninsula; while it is on the island of Honshu, it is not considered to be part of their country, Japan. It was just a matter of time until Japan came to claim the rest of Honshu. The two men were getting closer and closer to Mount Osore.
“Ranta-san, don’t be dense,” the older man sighs. “Naobito-sama could very well pass while we take care of matters here.”
“I understand that,” Ranta replies. “But is it really that important to find a consort for Naoya-sama here of all places? Nobuaki-san, you of all people know that—”
“Enough,” he cuts Ranta off. “Yes, I agree—no matter who gets chosen, she really has no idea what she’s getting herself into.”
Ranta frowns. “It feels like our clan is taking advantage of whoever we pick.”
“If you speak like that in front of Naobito-sama or Naoya-sama, they’ll cut out your tongue,” Nobuaki warns. “We need the leverage, and this…” He fishes out a piece of parchment from the satchel on his waist. “This Kugisaki clan… They sound like they need the money.”
Ranta looks around. The area is beautiful, but it is desolate compared to Heian-kyo. The city was bustling compared to this. It’s been about a day or two since they’ve seen another building, only occasionally passing another traveler. “Ah… Well, if it helps our clan and helps them out of a rough spot, I’m sure it will be fine,” the young man smiles, while Nobuaki continues to look disinterested.
“Our priority will always be our clan. Don't forget that.”
“Yes, sir!”
Ranta is a nice man; Nobuaki finds him to be one of the easiest of the Hei to get along with, even if he is a little annoying at times. While he would have rather shared this trek with Jinichi out of all of the Hei, he’s thankful he wasn’t paired with Naoya or Ogi, who would no doubt criticize his abilities since he doesn’t possess any cursed energy or techniques. That was simply the Zenin way; they have a pecking order.
“Still… This technique the Kugisaki clan possesses must be useful if our clan wants it.”
“I wonder what type of technique it is…”
“Good enough. It has to be, Naobito-sama didn’t question that the bride-to-be is in her thirties,” Nobuaki scoffs.
Ranta chuckles. “His son won’t be too happy about that.”
“No, he will not,” Nobuaki exhales. He wouldn’t be surprised if they get a verbal lashing or even a physical beatdown from Naoya, just for delivering that news. The soon-to-be clan head was prone to violent outbursts. And while Nobuaki agrees that a woman in her thirties might not be ideal for the purpose of continuing the Zenin legacy, she is only a few years older than Naoya.
Which… he would definitely take issue with.
“Nobara,” the old woman’s voice calls to the younger girl. “When was the last time you saw your mother?”
Nobara groans; she wasn’t her mother’s keeper. That woman has always been unreliable. “The last time I saw her was yesterday evening.”
Her grandmother clicks her tongue at the information. The wrinkled skin around her good eye narrows. “So neither of us has seen her in over twelve hours.”
Nobara frowns. “Yeah—aren’t the Zenin supposed to be here any day now?”
The old woman lets out a loud sigh. “She’s done it again, then,” Nobara’s eyes widen. Her mother can’t have run off, not again, not when their clan is suffering.
No, that’s exactly the type of thing her mother would do. She’d always been a flake; she disappeared when she was pregnant with Nobara, only coming back because the matriarch of the Kugisaki clan dragged her back, and she’s disappeared countless times when the clan fell on hard times. She’d even vanished when motherhood became too much—at least Nobara had her grandmother to look after her.
“I can’t believe her,” Nobara grumbles under her breath. “We need all the support we can get between the curses coming down the mountain and the damn hemp farm.”
“There’s no need to remind me.” her grandmother waves a hand to cease Nobara’s tangent. “We can’t disappoint the Zenin clan.”
“I know, but what can we do?”
Her grandmother fixes her single eye on her, staring hard. “We’ll need to make a new offer.”
Nobara’s blood ran cold. Surely her grandmother can’t mean doing that? What did she do to deserve that fate?
“But—“
“You are twenty years old. Plenty old to be married off, and a much better deal than what your mother would be offering.” Her grandmother bites her withered lip; it seems although she suggested the idea, it’s not one she’d like to see happen. “Nobara, we need the money. Our clan is tiny, and your mother leaving puts us at an even greater risk than before.”
“I…” Nobara stares down at the ground,unable to look her grandmother in the eye. She feels like she’s being betrayed. By her grandmother, by her mother, by the universe itself—she’s unsure. She clears her throat and finally speaks.
“Fine. I can’t have you suffering.”
Her grandmother gives a gruff nod, her way of thanking Nobara.
“It only makes sense, dear,” she adds, moving to sit down on the straw mat, resting her wrinkled hands on the table. “If your mother’s sister was still here—” She sighs at the thought. “And your cousins are much too young for me to cast off to the Zenins, but they are old enough to start honing their technique.”
Nobara grimaces; she won’t argue with her grandmother about that. Her cousins can help with the farm, and her grandmother is a good teacher when it comes to controlling cursed energy and perfecting the Straw Doll technique. Which will be needed in her absence; their village is a superstitious one, unaware that the energy they exude only breeds more curses. Nobara clears her throat again and lets out a resigned sigh.
“I really have to do this?”
“Unless you can find your mother.” her grandmother shrugs. “But that would be like wind being trapped by a net.”
“Right…” Nobara murmurs; she has a sinking feeling her mother will only reappear once the Zenin have left.
And knowing the Zenin’s reputation, they wouldn’t leave until they get what they came for. Her options are limited—
There’s a knock at the door.
Both women let out an uneasy sigh.
“Hello? Is this the Kugisaki residence?” A young man calls out from the other side. Their simple home isn’t well reinforced, so his voice carries without much muffling.
Her grandmother jerks her head over to the door. “Go on now.”
There’s another fist on the door. “Open up now—we came all this way for a reason,” A different voice commands, sounding significantly older than the other man.
“Not very patient,” Nobara grumbles to herself, but it’s not like she expected anything different. The Zenins have a reputation; all of the big three clans do, really, but the Zenin clan is known for their cruelty.
If only it had been the Gojo or the Kamo clan. The bitter thought is interrupted by more rapping on the door.
“I’m coming, sheesh,” she says a bit louder. As soon as she rips the door open, the two men step inside, without so much as an invitation.
“Where is she?” The taller of the two asks. Nobara took note of the man’s hair, receding hairline and sideburns. Jade green eyes connect with her own.
“Uh—” Nobara starts.
“Higana Kugisaki,” the man nods in acknowledgement.
“Nobuaki-san!” The younger man pipes up. Nobara can see the family resemblance just between these two. Similar facial structures, the same dark hair and bushy eyebrows. This one has much longer hair, messy and tied back, and his eyes look more forgiving, a lighter green than the elder’s. “There’s no way this woman is in her thirties; just look at her!” He tries to whisper to his subordinate. It's a poor attempt, and pointing his finger at Nobara isn’t exactly helping either.
“Because she is not,” Nobara’s grandmother speaks up. She stands up from the straw mat, hobbling over to the two Zenin men.
“I see,” Nobuaki replies, his eyes flitting between the two women. “You must be Suisen Kugisaki, the matriarch of the Kugisaki clan.”
“Indeed I am,” the old woman nods. “And your young friend here is correct. This is not my daughter—this is my granddaughter, Nobara.”
“Hello.” Nobara offers a small bow. Nobuaki does not return it; the younger man does.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance." the young man smiles. “Now could you point us to where Higana-san is?”
Nobara bites her lip, her gaze shifting over to her grandmother. It’s best to come out with the truth when dealing with such a notorious family, isn’t it?
“I’m afraid she is no longer here,” Suisen takes a deep breath after dropping the news.
“No longer here?” Nobuaki almost snarls in response. “You realize we’ve been journeying for nearly a month to get here, do you not?”
The older woman’s face scrunches up in response. “And you must realize I cannot control the actions of another. Even if they are family.”
“You certainly try to,” Nobara huffs under her breath. She can’t help but wonder if her mother would have been a more present force had her grandmother not scared her off. Higana Kugisaki had always been free-spirited. Of course an arranged marriage for the sake of her family had made her run.
“Hmm?” Suisen raises a brow in direction. Damn, even with her old age Suisen’s hearing is sharp.
“Ladies, ladies—” The younger man starts.
“Ranta-san,” Nobuaki warns.
“I’m sure we can come to an agreement, right?”
“Yes. We can,” the Kugisaki matriarch agrees. “You won’t have traveled here for nothing, I can assure you that.”
Nobara closes her eyes and sucks in a breath.
“You must be desperate,” the older woman continues—it earns a glare from both men this time. They won’t stand for their clan being insulted; Nobara’s grandmother is playing a dangerous game. “Are the rumors true then? The clan head is on his deathbed?”
“W-well—” Ranta opens his mouth, only for Nobuaki to slap his palm over his lips.
“Don’t say anything.”
“I see.” Suisen grins. Nobara’s nerves feel fried from watching this standoff between the three. “And now the infamous Naoya is so desperate for a wife, he won’t even meet her in person.”
Nobara shivers; that name has a reputation, even when you live in the sticks. She never cared very deeply for her mother—the woman had disappeared from her life one too many times, but knowing she was destined to marry someone like Naoya Zenin makes her skin crawl.
Her blood runs cold. It's really hitting her that this is what she agreed to. She is going to marry the clan head. A cruel man known for his awful treatment of his men and horrendous treatment of his women.
“I understand we live in the middle of nowhere,” her grandmother nods. “That it’s out of the question for the head of the clan to attempt a duolocal marriage. After all, it takes days to get here from the capital.”
“What are you getting at?” The older man asks, finally releasing Ranta’s mouth.
“I’m saying your future clan head’s reputation is already abysmal. I’m sure you can agree. I expect a man of a higher status such as his to have at least one wife by now. It’s rather telling that he doesn’t, no?”
Both men look down at the ground. They can’t argue with her, and it makes Nobara’s heart sink. Her grandmother really believes this is something she can handle?
She can escape this village if she goes with them. She can live in the capital city… but it all feels like she’s just walking into the belly of the beast.
Nobara heaves out a sigh and opens her mouth. “Will my family still get benefits from the Zenin clan? Even if it’s not my mom who’s getting married, as long as there’s a replacement who has the Straw Doll technique?”
The older man nods. “Yes. We will take care of your family’s financial burdens; we’ll send more clan members out here to help with the curses from the mountain.”
“And they’ll help with your farm too,” Ranta adds, trying to soften the blow.
The village will be protected, her grandmother won’t have to overwork, her cousins will be safe, Fumi will be safe.
She really can’t refuse now.
“Alright.” Nobara nods and looks the two men in the eyes. “Then I guess you found what you were looking for.”
It surprisingly doesn’t take Nobara much time to pack her life away. She owns few clothes, despite her family owning a farm that produced the crop that made her outfits.
She had no time to prepare for this. She’s not even sure she’ll have the time to say goodbye to her closest friend. She has to see Fumi before she leaves, no matter what that older Zenin says to her. Fumi matters more than that middle-aged man moaning about how it took them weeks to reach her.
The two men were currently enjoying tea with her grandmother. She could make a break for it if she really wanted to. But she has no idea what skill level these two are—she can’t sense any cursed energy from the older man, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous. Nobara’s always had a good sense of cursed energy; her grandmother made sure of it with her frequent training over the years.
Meditation every day to be able to sense the slightest change in cursed energy—it’s a little dumb in Nobara’s opinion. They live in the middle of nowhere; there aren’t many sorcerers in the meager village she calls home. If she lived in the capital, it might make a little more sense.
Ranta is a sorcerer; she’s certain of that. His energy is calm, not erratic like she would have expected from a Zenin.
Nobara slings her bag onto her back. Her life is packed away now. She stomps into the living quarters.
“So,” she begins, eyeing Ranta. “I heard the Zenin technique can make a person fast, faster than any horse or ox.”
The young man looks down at the table, a look of embarrassment forming. He looks back up at her and offers a sheepish smile.
“Ah… not me,” he shrugs. “My technique is different.”
“Figures… Your cursed energy feels too normal for something like that.”
“You’re able to tell from just looking at him?” Nobuaki asks, his eyes narrowing at her.
“And you have none,” the young woman adds, a smirk forming as she points it out. It’s not that being a non-sorcerer is a bad thing to Nobara, but it’s common knowledge how the Zenin view those who lack it. And this Nobuaki person hasn’t been the most hospitable person since arriving; she might as well rub it in a little.
“Nobara,” Her grandmother warns. “Be kind to our guests. You’ll be stuck with them on this journey after all.” She takes a sip of her tea. “The Zenin are trained from birth, much like you were. Even those without cursed energy know how to fight.”
“Right, right.” she waves her off. “I was just saying we could get to Heian-kyo a lot faster if one of them had that speed technique.”
“We came by an ox-drawn carriage. We’ll leave the same way,” Nobuaki states. He casts an unamused glance Nobara’s way, before looking back over at Ranta. “We’ll stop at the market for supplies, then we leave.”
“All packed?” The younger man asks, offering her a small smile.
“Uh-huh.” Nobara nods; she glances around the table before her eyes connect with her grandmother’s singular one. The older woman grumbles before she rises from her position.
“If you men don’t mind, I’d like a word with my granddaughter. Alone.”
They exchange a glance but make no complaints. Both men get up from the table, Nobuaki giving the two women a onceover before he opens the front door and steps outside with Ranta. The younger girl lets out an exhale of relief.
“I feel like my life is over.”
“Calm yourself.” her grandmother clicks her tongue. “I know it’s not ideal, but you’re a firecracker. Do not disappoint me by letting the Zenins get to you. Maybe the rumors about the clan head are false.” Suisen offers a remorseful smile; even she doesn’t believe her words, but she does believe Nobara can hold her own.
“It’s not just the clan head; the whole clan is known for treating its women like dirt.” Nobara sneers in response. “You ask anyone which is the worst out of the big three, and each time they’ll say the Zenin clan.”
Her grandmother lets out a hum of acknowledgement. “Every wave starts with a ripple.”
Nobara rolls her eyes; there’s no way her grandmother believes that this union will cause positive changes within the Zenin clan. The Kugisaki clan will benefit at least; she won’t have to worry about curses or maintaining the farm. At the very least she’ll finally have the chance to see the capital. Suisen steps away for a moment. She returns with an object in her hands, bundled by a black cloth.
“What’s this?” She asks as she takes the object into her hands. It’s heavier than she expected. She unwraps the cloth, revealing a hammer. It’s old and a little worn down, but when Nobara touches the head, she can feel the cursed energy pulsing through the object. It’s her grandmother’s cursed energy; this was the hammer the old woman regularly used during exorcisms. The black cloth her grandmother wraps it in after exorcisms helps absorb cursed energy deeper; it was years ago her grandmother explained the significance of the color and energy.
“I knew you needed a replacement.”
“But you always use this—”
“Yes, but I am not sending you there unarmed.” Her grandmother offers a weak smile. “I know this isn’t what we planned. If he causes trouble, protect yourself.”
Nobara clutches the hammer tightly to her chest, her heart sinking. “I will.”
Her grandmother sighs and wraps her arms around Nobara. Suisen Kugisaki has never been an affectionate woman. Nobara clutches her grandmother’s form tightly. She’s not sure if she’ll ever see her again, if she’ll ever have the luxury of coming back home. Sure, the village was awful, but never being able to come back to the house she was raised in, never seeing her grandmother again?
“I—I have to see Fumi. I owe her a goodbye at least.”
Her grandmother nods. “Go do that.” She pulls away and pats Nobara on the back. The younger woman stashes the weapon away into her bag and offers a sheepish smile.
“Well, goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Nobara.”
She ran out the door, passing by the two Zenins without sparing them a glance. Nobara’s pretty certain she heard one of them call after her, but she cannot be bothered to care. They had what they wanted; they just need to be a little patient now. It won’t take too long.
Fumi’s home is close; she’s the only one left in this village Nobara can stand, save for her own family. They’ve been close friends for years, ever since they were children. Fumi, like most of the villagers, cannot see curses. It means she’s at risk of being harmed by the spirits that come down from the mountain. She’s someone Nobara has to protect.
Well, not anymore, she supposes. The Kugisaki clan is so tiny, and the curses are so endless. A small village like this, one full of people brewing in their own negativity, brought forth more and more curses. It was overwhelming.
Saori is gone because Nobara wasn’t strong enough. She wasn’t born in this village like Nobara; she was like Fumi, having moved from a much larger city. For what reason? Who could say? But Nobara knew the village took issue with her. The curses only got worse; all the negative energy of hating an outsider turned up stronger cursed spirits. This led to more mysterious and ominous mishaps throughout the village, which the people quickly came to blame Saori for. The effect it had on her only made more cursed spirits, until the woman couldn’t take it anymore and ended her life.
Nobara was only ten when it happened. If she had been stronger, if she had been able to take on stronger curses, maybe she could have bided some time. Maybe she could have saved Saori from her fate.
After that, she took her grandmother’s training more seriously than ever. She focused on honing her technique, her ability to sense cursed energy, anything to keep that from repeating.
Now she has to leave Fumi behind. The villagers are standoffish around her friend, simply because she wasn’t born here. It’s nowhere near the harassment Saori faced, but maybe that’s because Nobara has trained day after day since that tragedy to keep the curses at bay.
The arrangement with the Zenins will keep Fumi safe, she reminds herself. It will keep her family safe; her grandmother won’t have to overwork anymore.
She’s panting, out of breath, when she makes it to Fumi’s house. They’re neighbors, sure, but everything is pretty vastly spread out if you don’t live by the market stall. She pounds on the door until it swings open. It’s dumb luck that the door opened; oftentimes her family is out of town, obtaining more goods to sell in their village. It was the merchant’s way. Either they were out gathering goods or down at the market trying to sell said goods.
“Noba-chan?”
Fumi looks bewildered at the sight of her. She can’t really blame her friend for being startled by her appearance.
“Hh—” Nobara tries to get out a word but focuses on regulating her breathing instead.
“What happened?” Fumi asks as she gently tugs on the sleeve of Nobara’s kosode, leading her into the house.
“Marriage… Me… Zenins…” Nobara pants out, not making all that much sense.
“You??” Fumi squeaks out, her brown eyes going wide. “I thought your mom was getting married off!”
Nobara shakes her head, still catching her breath. “No…” She wheezes. “Mom ran off… yesterday…” The ginger shot daggers at the ground. “So… They needed a replacement.”
When she looks back up, tears are starting to fall from Fumi’s eyes as the news hits her all at once. Nobara shuts her eyes and sighs; she hates seeing her cry. Hates that she’s the cause of those tears.
“I don’t want to go,” Nobara confesses. “I wanted to leave, but not like this.”
The taller girl sniffles, wiping her eyes. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Noba-chan… This is unfair to you.”
“You know how weird things come down from the mountain… Things we can’t see?”
Fumi nods; you don’t need to be a sorcerer to understand the evil nature of spirits.
“And—and I mentioned how my family takes care of them?” Another nod, so Nobara continues. “So, with the union.” She wants to internally groan just calling it that. “They’re going to send more people that can help with that sort of thing. So you won’t have to worry… and Granny won’t have to worry.”
“But you’ll be gone!” Fumi wails out. Nobara’s attempt at comforting words has little to no effect on her.
“I know, I know.” Nobara steps closer, gathering the other woman into her arms. Fumi latches on to her, the shorter girl’s side getting soaked with the other’s tears. Nobara bites her lip; she didn’t realize it was trembling. The shoddy door was still hanging open, a gentle breeze wafting through the entranceway. Tears pricked Nobara’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
The two stay like that awhile; Nobara rubs Fumi’s back, trying to get her to calm down.
“It’s so far away…” Fumi murmurs against her.
“It is,” Nobara affirms with a sigh. There isn’t much else she can say about that. Fumi’s family travels more than most as merchants, but going all the way to the capital would be quite the journey.
“Are we ever going to be able to see each other again?”
“I…” Nobara swallows, hard. She doesn’t like lying to Fumi. Overall, Nobara tries to be an honest person. She’s going to be far away, living with a completely new family, married to a man with a reputation.
“I don’t think so. Even if you came to Heian-Kyo… I don’t think it’s safe to be around the Zenin family.”
Fumi pushes away when she hears those words. She stares at Nobara with wide eyes.
“Not safe? But—but what about you?”
Nobara’s big mouth. She doesn’t want to see Fumi start crying again. She crosses her arms.
“I can handle it,” the ginger says plainly. She’s not sure if she’s lying to herself, but her grandmother believes in her; that should be enough. Her ear twitches; with the door open, she can hear what sounds like boots on the dirt road.
“This is horrible…” Fumi mumbles, glancing down at the ground.
“Yeah… It really is.”
The noise gets closer until it stops. Nobara turns to face the entryway, already pushing Fumi further behind her. The two Zenins are red-faced and panting; Nobuaki looks particularly pissed off. The man points an accusatory finger at her.
“Kugisaki! You ought to know better than to run away from a deal you made with the Zenin clan!”
Nobara swears under her breath. She flings her arm in front of Fumi, as further means to protect her from them. Who knows what the Zenin are capable of? They hate non-sorcerers, they hate women, there’s just no end to it.
“I didn’t run away, you morons!” Nobara barks back.
“You did!” Ranta is the next to speak up. “You fled your home after saying goodbye to your grandmother, and now you’re getting supplies to run off!”
“Oh my—” Nobara groans at the accusation. “I was saying goodbye!” She stomps her foot. Nobuaki snarls at her.
“I’ve had enough of your attitude. Even if you’re to marry the clan head, that doesn’t make you above me. You’re still just a woman!”
The man lunges at her. He’s faster than Nobara anticipated for someone his age—her grandmother was right to not underestimate them. The shorter woman pushes Fumi further away, out of the line of fire. Nobuaki raises his leg and his foot connects with Nobara’s stomach.
“Urk!”
“Noba-chan!”
Nobara collides into one of the walls. She feels hot pain along her back from the impact. Her eye twitches, her vision shaking; she’s pissed. It’s one thing to hurt her, but to put Fumi at risk? She’ll show this guy what type of a woman she can be. Nobara staggers up and rips her grandmother’s hammer out of her bag.
Nobuaki is still in close range; he didn’t think Nobara would get back up so quickly. She reinforces the hammer with her cursed energy, letting it flow alongside her grandmother’s. She swings the tool down, smashing into the man’s forearm. Nobara grins wickedly when she hears the satisfying sound of bones crunching.
Nobuaki cries out in pain, his uninjured hand immediately grabbing his swelling forearm. “Ranta-san!”
Shit. Nobara almost forgot that there’s another sorcerer here. Almost forgot that Fumi is currently witnessing all this mayhem.
“Kugisaki-san, stop!” The other man yells. Nobara looks over in his direction; their eyes connect. Something about those light green eyes makes her stop. No, that can’t be right. She quite literally can’t move. Ranta’s eyes almost seem to glow.
A paralyzing technique? Nobara snarls to herself. Of course the Zenin would send someone with a technique like that to collect a bride-to-be. If she tries to run, she can’t get away. Bring muscles to beat them down, and then paralyze them as the finishing blow.
“Heh…” Nobuaki chuckles and walks closer to her body.
“Stay away from her!” Fumi cries out. The woman dashes over to her, only for Nobuaki to seize her by the wrist with his good hand.
“Don’t interfere.”
“Don’t touch her!” Nobara yells, and it’s a struggle to break through the paralysis. She can speak with effort, but she can barely move a muscle. Her hand still tightly grips the hammer. “She has nothing to do with this!”
“Don’t ever underestimate the Kukuru and Hei units… Don’t ever underestimate the Zenin clan,” Nobuaki spits at her, letting go of Fumi and choosing to take his aggression out on her instead.
“Nobuaki, come on… Enough is enough,” Ranta pants out, his eyes looking bloodshot.
“Right. We’re heading to Heian-Kyo now,” Nobuaki clears his throat. He grabs Nobara’s wrist and leads her out of the house, away from Fumi. The other woman looks ready to chase after her.
“Don’t,” Nobara rasps out. Thankfully, Fumi listens to Nobara. She should have forgone using her hammer initially and just used her cursed technique—damn her anger for clouding judgement.
“I’m sorry it had to come down to this,” Ranta sighs and offers her a small smile. She can’t tell if this man is sincere or not. No matter how kind he is, he’s still a Zenin.
“Be grateful you’re dealing with us. The bruise on your back is miniscule compared to what Naoya-sama can do to you,” the older man lets out a sigh. “What he probably will do to you.”
Nobuaki’s words are honest. There’s no going back now. She’s already made a bad impression. This isn’t about joining a family, this is about becoming their captive.
Nobara’s life is effectively over, starting today.