Volume 7 Chapter 8 Kazuramichi Naoshi’s Woman Troubles (As Usual) ①
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Hey, I’m here.”
Naoshi was at his usual post in the Kazuramichi family training hall—the place where he holed up whenever there was no work to be done—when Mibu Itsuki paid him an unannounced visit.
”—Man, I’m gettin’ some serious déjà vu here.”
”Déjà vu? This isn’t the first time this has happened, you know. Sorry if I’m interrupting.”
”Nah, I was just about to wrap it up anyway. It’s fine.”
Naoshi uncrossed his legs and stood up from his meditation.
”Still, that’s an awfully dull way to make an entrance. Can’t you do somethin’ a little more interesting?”
”Want me to stuff a bath towel under my shirt next time?”
As Naoshi took a seat on the bench, Itsuki sat down right next to him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
”Cut the jokes, they aren’t funny.”
”You’re tense. Are you going to be able to enjoy the real thing when it happens?”
”If you want me to, you should probably quit the pranks—anyway, that’s an unusual look for you. What’s up?”
The former “handsome boy” was wearing a charcoal gray shirt dress. Her asymmetrical bob and her gray-and-blue eyes were exactly the same as when everyone thought she was a guy, yet there was no dissonance in her appearance at all. It was a style that accentuated her curves, with the buttons at the chest left open and the waist cinched, but thanks to her height and long limbs, it somehow didn’t feel lewd. She looked like she could step straight off the pages of a fashion magazine, though the sword bag slung over her shoulder ruined the harmony.
”Just felt like it. So? Does it suit me?”
”Aye, it’s not bad.”
At Naoshi’s words, Itsuki’s eyes widened, and then her mouth softened into a smile.
”…You really are a smooth talker. You never miss a beat with things like that, do you, Naoshi?”
”I was taught that you should just praise women first and ask questions later.”
”You really shouldn’t have said that.”
Itsuki’s expression turned serious as she sipped the tea a family servant had brought over, and she gave a little shrug. Naoshi just grunted a dismissal.
”Anyway, did you hear the news from the head of the house?”
”You mean that bit about taking in a poorly trained wolfdog?”
”That’s the one. Apparently, I’m expected to produce two or three kids every spring.”
”Don’t fall for it. What kind of messed-up, unhappy family is that?”
”Then don’t lead me on.”
Naoshi snorted at Itsuki’s sharp jab, stroking his smooth, hairless chin.
”It’s not like taking in a stray cat or dog, you know. Are you sure you’re okay with comin’ in with that attitude?”
”It’s not like I’m crossing the ocean. It’s a distance I can cover whenever it’s necessary.”
She was right; even with her residency moved, if she needed to go to another prefecture, she could just head out—much like Naoshi did himself. And as long as Naoshi was around, it wouldn’t be difficult to utilize Itsuki as “Shiga’s insurance” during the new moon phase. In short, from a practical standpoint, nothing had changed.
”You’ve been carrying the family banner until now, though, right?”
”I don’t really… even the main family originally drifted down from Yamashina. It’s not as grand a thing as the Kazuramichi of the Eight Families.”
(I guess so,) Naoshi thought, satisfied with the explanation.
”—So, the wife is probably going to be Suzuri-chan, right?”
”Likely.”
”And Ako-chan doesn’t seem to have the Spiritual Power to leave, either.”
”I know.”
”Plus, there’s that older widow in Osaka I’m seein’.”
”Are you sure ‘seeing’ is the right word for that?”
”Then there’s that Kyoto girl, the vocational student I play around with sometimes…”
”Counting me, that makes five. If you keep the rotation at once a week, it’s within the range of what I can endure.”
”Nay, it’s not like I’m spinnin’ them around like that.”
It should have been a controversial statement, but when Naoshi glanced at Itsuki, there was no sign of irritation—only amusement dancing in her eyes.
”Honestly, if you’ve got that many already, do you really need to waste your energy adding one more? It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?”
”Nah, you’re just gettin’ younger.”
(Thwack.) A punch landed squarely on his shoulder. Naoshi rubbed the spot, wincing, and continued.
”Besides, it’s a pain in the ass to have people whinin’ at me later sayin’, ‘I didn’t hear about this.’”
”The way you put that… you really are refreshin’ly trashy.”
”So, does this mean you’re rethinkin’ it—”
”Nope. It’s all a bit late for that, too, isn’t it?”
Faced with her resolute words, Naoshi shrugged and took a sip of tea. He gathered his breath and asked:
”—So, are you comin’?”
”Yeah. Keep me by your side. I don’t mind being your mistress.”
Itsuki’s blue-and-gray eyes narrowed into a smile. Naoshi’s mouth quirked into a bitter grin.
”You’re being surprisingly cute…”
”Isn’t every girl happy to be by the side of the person she’s fallen for?”
”Is that the kind of thing you say at your age?”
”Just let it be, and put my mind at ease. I know you’re not as cold-hearted as you pretend to be, Naoshi.”
”Where’d you get ‘surprisingly’ from?”
”You’re the one who started it. Waiting for a punchline?”
”Aye, aye… alright then, I’ll have a room prepared for you. When do you want to start?”
”How about… right now?”
”You’re serious? You been holdin’ that much in?”
”How long do you think you’ve been leavin’ me waitin’?”
”It’s only been a month or so, hasn’t it?”
”It’s not just ‘a month.’ But, I suppose now I can finally claim the title of ‘Mistress to the Head of the Kazuramichi Family.’”
”Listen to yourself. And stop givin’ yourself titles. Is Shiga actually goin’ to be fine?”
”Yeah, there’s no need to worry about that. A First-Class rating for the Niwazono is all but guaranteed.”
Itsuki had long struggled with the “New Moon Slump.” While the assistance of the Eizan temple group—thanks to the Mibu family’s base being in Otsu—had helped keep things running, Shiga had been barely scraping by. If the new head of the Niwazono, one of the Eight Families, became a First-Class Exorcist, it wasn’t a bad move to back them.
”How are you compared to them?”
”I’m not goin’ to lose just yet. Though if I’m at my absolute worst, it might be a bit iffy.”
”So, I can rely on you about as much as that old man from Narita, then?”
Itsuki offered a shrug in response to Naoshi’s blunt words.
”Shiga is fine, then, but what about your own house?”
”That’s already taken into account. The new head of the Niwazono’s wife is my cousin. The Mibu family’s presence will weaken a bit, but in exchange, we get strong connections in Osaka. Besides, my child isn’t goin’ to inherit the Kazuramichi, right?”
In Itsuki’s position, the choice to eventually return her child—born from the strongest man in Kansai—to the Mibu family was a perfectly realistic option.
”What, you guys are pretty cutthroat, aren’t you?”
Naoshi muttered this, newly struck by the possibility. When he looked back, he remembered that the Mibu family had been trying to arrange a marriage with him even before he knew Itsuki’s secret during their fight in Umeda. No, going back even further, they had sent a daughter of the main branch to the Niwazono while simultaneously hiding Itsuki by faking her gender. That wasn’t just cutthroat; it was ruthless.
”You think so? It’s normal enough, considering how close we are to Kyoto.”
”Ah…”
The headquarters of political maneuvering and intrigue. Since she’d brought up the thousand-year-old capital—which was heavily suspected of involvement in the recent “Capital Incident”—he couldn’t help but be convinced.
”It’s like you’ve got the soul of a Kyoto schemer but you’re from Shiga… there’s literally nothin’ good about that.”
”Comin’ from an Osaka guy through and through like you?”
”I’ve got strength.”
”Such straightforward eyes… I wonder if that’s humility. In this case, it’s hard to judge.”
As she said this, she kept glancin’ at him with an expectant look, and Naoshi swallowed the words he’d been about to say. If he were to say something foolish like “Do you want to ask your body about that?”, it would undoubtedly lead to her forcing her way into his room.
He’d asked what he needed to ask, and just as he was thinkin’ about gettin’ to actual work, someone came rushin’ into the training hall, out of breath.
”Acting Head, excuse me…!”
”This pattern never leads to anything good—what is it?”
”You’ve got some experience with this, huh?”
”The eldest daughter of the Suwa family is here.”
Naoshi felt a lump form in his throat at the news, which was several times worse than what he had anticipated.
—
Summary:
Itsuki visits Naoshi at his training grounds to announce her decision to officially join the Kazuramichi household as his mistress. They discuss the political implications for their respective families and the state of their influence in Shiga and Osaka. The conversation is cut short by an urgent report that the daughter of the Suwa family has arrived.
—
Trivia:
Itsuki’s family is not one of the Eight Families, but they are highly influential in political maneuvering.
The “New Moon Slump” is a specific condition affecting exorcists that Itsuki has historically struggled with.
The Suwa family is a new, potentially problematic variable introduced in the closing moments of the scene.
Notes:
• Kazuramichi – The Kazuramichi family name, carried by Naoshi and Ako. This lineage is one of the Kansai Eight Families and holds a significant position within the exorcist hierarchy.
• Itsuki – A woman who is the same age as Naoshi and serves as a First-Class Exorcist. She is known as a Sword Saint and is the head of the Mibu house based in Otsu City, currently maintaining a mistress-like relationship with Naoshi.
• Naoshi – A man with thin lips and a cynical smirk who possesses eyes that occasionally soften with a rare, gentle light. He is the only son of the Kazuramichi house head and acts as the legal guardian and step-brother to Ako, operating with a ‘fake’ Kansai accent.
• Mibu – The Mibu family name, carried by Itsuki. The lineage is based in Otsu City, Shiga, and is a prominent house of exorcists.
• Ako – A young girl with a doll-like, expressionless face who conceals deep emotional intensity. She is the niece and adopted sister of Naoshi and serves as the assistant to the Acting Head of the Kazuramichi family while possessing the blood of a Yuki-onna.
• Suwa – Male. An exorcist from the Suwa branch family. He has a medium build and is skilled in combat, demonstrating both physical strength and supernatural abilities. His relationship with Naoshi is professional, as they observe and discuss the ongoing matches together.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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