“My real name is Haruna Kawashima.”
“Kawashima…” Yelena whispered. “I’ve heard that name before…”
Setsuna continued. “I am the younger daughter of Yumiko Kawashima. Prior to the civil war ten years ago, my mother ruled the island of Nushima.”
Yelena’s eyes lost a bit of their luster as she diverted her glance from Setsuna. “So you’re, like… a princess then?”
“Technically, yes,” Setsuna stated dryly, “but I’ve never really felt like one. Do you remember me telling you about my sister Reina? She was the princess. I was her… replacement.”
“Replacement!? How can you say that!?”
“Because that’s the truth. In my family, only the first born child matters. My sister was to inherit the responsibility of leading our people. The only reason I was born was to take my sister’s place if she were to die.”
“…”
“On the day the civil war began, I was bedridden. I had just broken my leg that morning.”
“How?” Yelena asked.
“Trying to dive off a cliff… Not that it matters.”
Setsuna sighed. Most of the pain from her beating earlier in the day had dissipated due to Yelena’s healing. Still, her restraints were cutting into her wrist.
“Anyway,” Setsuna resumed, “the day my home was sieged… Mother prioritized getting Reina to safety over everything else. She said that Reina was, ‘Invaluable’ and that, ‘Our jewel must be kept safe’. My sister escaped, leaving my mother and I behind. Mother has been a prisoner since that day.
“I was kept alive only because of my aptitude for controlling ether. I was trained by to kill using dark ether for the last ten years; no formal education, no life skills, only killing. After years of practice, I gained enough proficiency in dark ether and swordsmanship to use Kagefumu-Ryū, my sword technique that utilizes dark ether to attack from the shadows.”
Yelena looked back at Setsuna. “So how does this relate to your mother?”
Setsuna took a deep breath before continuing. “I was given an opportunity to earn our freedom.”
“How?” Yelena asked.
“I… I can’t say… I’m sorry.”
“But it involved killing Olivier?”
Setsuna bit her lip as she hesitantly replied. “Yes.” Her lower lip began to quiver again. “But it was all meaningless, because... *sniff* because I’m here now.”
Yelena lowered her head as if she were deep in thought. She was quiet for a moment before finally addressing Setsuna.
“Setsuna,” Yelena said firmly, “I need to ask you one more thing.”
“*Sniff* yes?”
“How many people besides Olivier have you killed?”
“One. It was a test to see if I was ready to come here.”
Yelena took a step back. Her hands slightly tremored. “Wait. Setsuna… how did you become a member of the SDU?”
“I just told you, didn’t I?”
Yelena shook her head. “But why Sinclair specifically?”
Setsuna seemed to puzzle over the question for a second before answering. “I don’t know. I guess it was just a coincidence.”
“But the members of this team were all hand picked. If you were tested specifically to see if you were ready for whatever your assignment was, then were sent here, well…”
“Well?” Setsuna asked.
“Well, wouldn’t that mean that somebody inside our government is conspiring with the people manipulating you? I mean, everyone here was consciously assigned, right? This seems too unlikely to be chance…”
“I… I think you may be right…”
“…”
“…”
Neither girl knew what to say. The room remained quiet, until the door suddenly opened. Eustis walked in holding Setsuna’s kodachi.
***
Eustis comes down holding Setsuna's weapon! What is his intention!? Next week: For Honor
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The Secrets of Ether
General Fiction"A desire great enough to kill for..." When a mysterious murder occurs in the isolated Sinclair Monastère, the limits of trust are breached by suspicion and paranoia. Setsuna Fuyutsuki, the assassin, must maintain a façade of innocence to get away w...
