𝑬𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑮𝑶𝑳𝑫 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐕 - 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐒 & 𝐇𝐘𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐀𝐒

THE KOGANE MANOR – JUST LIKE MIKAZUKI HAD EXPECTED – WAS FAR SMALLER THAN THE MAIN HOUSE AT THE KINZOKU ESTATE, yet it was still larger than her hotel room (where most of her belongings still remained) and that the cabin she had spent the past decade living in. It was also subtler than the main house, with less gold and black and more neutral tones like beige and dark brown, the original cedar wood still visible.

The garden was also separate, with its own training grounds, albeit smaller than the ones at the main house or than the house settled directly behind the cemetery. The manor also came with a beautiful pond filled with koi and water lilies that floated at the surface. There were no separate servant quarters, which is why Mikazuki had simply donated three of the bedrooms on the ground floor to the handful of servants that would accompany her for the foreseeable future.

The sorceress was not set to move in for another couple of days and most of her stuff was still in Argentina. The hotel room was still rented, yet Mikazuki knew it was unlikely she would be sleeping there anytime soon. Now that the contract had been signed and with her pardon in the works, Mikazuki was officially the Kinzoku heiress, meaning things – such as residing in the Kinzoku Estate and resuming her duties as a fully-fledged sorceress – were expected of her now.

Mikazuki groaned, pulling at the hem of her kimono sleeve with a displeased expression on her face. She was wearing a variation of the traditional attire of the Kinzoku; a black kimono with golden trimming and, in her case, white peonies stitched to the fabric. It was no ordinary kimono either, but a unique piece of couture, not that Mikazuki particularly cared about that last part.

Each member of the clan, regardless of their social standing or current situation, had a flower assigned to them at birth. For Mikazuki it was peonies, the white ones that bloomed in early spring. For Keisuke, it had been hydrangeas, the kind that grew wild in the greenhouse.

The sorceress hadn't worn anything like this in over a decade, and if she was being honest, she hadn't missed it in the slightest. Kinzoku clothes had never suited her – not when she was a skinny raven-haired teenager, and certainly not now that she had more curves and lifeless grey hair. The kimono didn't fit right; her chest was too big, her hips too wide, the cloth hung weirdly around her thighs. It made her feel like she was wearing the curtains that hung from the window instead of the traditional family attire it actually was.

The servant – whose name she had learned to be Akari – quickly swatted her hand away, making sure the kimono remained spotless before the farewell ceremony. As the twin of the deceased, all eyes would be on her. The fact that she had been in exile for ten years did not help the matter, everyone was clamouring to get a good look at the outcast. It was disgraceful, they should be focusing on Keisuke, he was the one who was dead, the one who would never come back and make his horrible jokes, hitting on whatever girl was available and smiling at dogs when they passed by.

It was supposed to be a funeral, not a debutante ball.

Mikazuki's gaze travelled to the window, watching as the sun started to set in the distance, its rays illuminating the garden of the manor and the hydrangeas planted around the pond. Even in death, Keisuke was still looking over her. There were still a couple of hours until guests started trickling in, which meant Mikazuki would have to endure the unfortunate outfit for even longer than necessary. It also meant her brother's corpse would be lying inside that chapel, cooking under the heat, for at least two additional hours.

The thought made her squirm, but once again, Akari's callused hands stopped from fussing too much and ruining her attire.

Mikazuki caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she was nearly unrecognizable, her unruly lifeless grey hair pulled into a messy bun with a thin hair stick pinning it in place. The kimono, despite ill-fitting, still hugged all her curves in a mildly flattering way, exposing part of her white tights and black heels, although they were only two or three inches high.