War Changes Everything [Reboot] Past Thread

After everything was settled, Reifer and Hector headed back home to get things ready for the upcoming meeting. For the most part, it was uneventful for the next few days with nothing of real interest happening. On the third day is when everyone got prepared, Hector's daughter would be there as well though she was feeling slightly down.

Reifer went to check on his mother, to see about her health. If things changed, he would bring her along for the trip to have them check them over as well. Only if he was sure though, he was worried and naturally protective of his only remaining family.

When Reifer arrived, Sela was actually apparently of the belief that she was coming along anyway, considering the fact that she had gotten herself dressed in a rather nice dress. However, she was also sitting on the floor, looking a little put-out. "Ah... Reifer... hello. I decided to sit while I waited for you. Don't worry, I'm perfectly capable of coming along." She looked incredibly tired, however.

Reifer frowned as he closed the door behind him and made his way over. "You don't have to push yourself too hard. Tell me really how you're feeling right now." He hated seeing his mother like this but there was very little he could do at the moment.

The best he could hope for if someone found something but if not and it got worse..he really didn't want to even think about it.

Sela huffed a bit at that. "Honestly... honestly, I feel..." She hesitated, and suddenly seemed to deflate, looking even more tired and weak than before. "I feel... like I'm wasting away, Reifer..." She chuckled a bit dryly, rubbing her brow. "It... honestly, you can't understand how this feels... to be helpless and needing to be taken care of by your child, who you are supposed to be looking out for and protecting... not the other way around..."

Reifer went over to sit down next to her, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "We'll find something. Whatever this is. With the extra help, we have a pretty good chance." He wasn't entirely sure if he was convincing himself, her or both. "You've always been there for me. The least I can do is help you when you need it."

If this current avenue didn't yield results, he wasn't sure what he was going to do but he would be damned sure to try. That strange woman, Aryll he if he had recalled had been mere chance and he had no idea what her agenda was. She had helped but still. Regardless it wasn't like he even knew where they were to ask, and her claims to have known them. What did that even mean?

Sela smiled sadly. "Reifer, honey... I don't want you to run yourself into the ground trying to find a solution that may not be there... I've accepted that I'm probably not going to live to see you make Komai great again... or start a family of your own. It's alright though... what is most upsetting at this point is that I lack the strength to make the most of what time I have left..."

Reifer wanted to say something, usually he was good with words but this was different. There wasn't really much else he could say. It was more then frustrating that he could do so little as is when something was ailing his mother.

Finally he sighed. "..Still..I..think we could figure something out to get you able to attend dinner at least. It makes it hard but..if..nothing comes out then I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can.."

Sela nodded a bit, giving Reifer's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'd like that..." A pause, before she reached out and gently brushed his hair from his face a bit. "Such a handsome man, just like your father. Would you hurry up and find yourself a wife and give me some grandchildren to spoil? Honestly, I'm not getting any younger."

If not for her illness there would be more then plenty of time but right now he was unsure how much time she had exactly. That was another thing. With how her unknown illness worked, he wasn't even sure how much time she had; it could be the next day, weeks or even years. It was something that crossed his mind more then once but he again tried not to dwell on it.

"I..just haven't found anyone or been too interested but its something to work on. Even Hector seems to have a interest in that area more recently. Do you need anything before I leave?"

Sela sighed softly. "No, no... go, enjoy yourself Reifer. And I mean it, don't spend the whole dinner worrying over me, alright?"

Later when it was time for the dinner, Reifer tried to take his mother's advice and not worry so much. It was hard but not impossible; he was used to having a lot on his mind but pushing aside since he needed to lead with a clear head. His mother suddenly wasn't going to just kill over and some new healers were coming so he tried to remain positive.

Hector was there, dressed nicely while his daughter seemed just a bit less shy then normal in her dress she had been picked out by the maids. A lot of them adored her, so it wasn't really that much of a surprise.

All they could do now was wait until everyone important arrived and was ready.

Lord Asakura was first to arrive, and he looked rather amused. "Welcome, honored guests. It is a pleasure to see you again." He glanced at Hector's daughter, and smiled. "And a pleasure to meet some. My daughter will be along shortly, along with a... special guest. In the interest of our future alliance, I feel it necessary to share a secret with you, as it is one that could one day very easily place Asai-Asakura in the place of war once more, and thus it is your right to know of it. Said secret is being a bit... uncooperative at the moment, however."

Reifer was curious about that, but he would find out soon enough. "I see. I'd be happy to discuss that among other things soon enough."

Hector smiled a bit. "This is my daughter Leneth, she's a Gold Dragon. Pretty shy most of the time though." Leneth in response gave a shy wave but didn't say anything, still sorta hiding behind her father's leg more then anything.

Asakura raised a brow. "A Gold Dragon? How rare to see one that is not among their own kind. You are a blessed man in many ways then." It was at that moment that Yuki appeared, dressed in a rather beautiful sky-blue kimono. She smiled at Riefer and Hector, giving a small wave to Leneth before moving further into the room, bowing to them both.

"Lord Reifer, Hector, Leneth. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"There's a story behind it. I'll talk about it one of these days." He did agree with Asakura that he was a lucky man to have a daughter like that. Leneth was a joy to be around for him.

Reifer noticed Yuki enter and greeted her first. "Yuki, its nice to see you again and in good health." He found it odd a certain bodyguard was around but maybe she was busy.

Hector smiled when Yuki came to them. "Evening. You look lovely tonight."

Behind the angel, Leneth peered from her spot when Yuki came. After a moment of decision, she decided to get a bit closer to Yuki but cautiously. This surprised Hector but he let it happen as this was unusual for the shy girl.

Yuki smiled. "Well that's all thanks to you and your people." She paused as Leneth walked up, brows raising. "Hm? Hello Leneth, how are you today?" She hadn't interacted very much with Leneth before, but what little they had was enough for her to know she found the girl to be absolutely adorable.

Meanwhile, there was a slight commotion in the hall, and the distinct sound of Iliara voicing her displeasure. She sounded almost embarrassed, and Asakura chuckled a bit. "As it turns out, our Iliara is not used to wearing a kimono..."

Leneth paused at the words, as if she was unsure how to answer. She looked back to her father briefly then back to Yuki, why she did this was anyone's guess.

"..Fine." It was hard to even hear, but she would have. "..You?"

At that comment, Reifer had one of his questions answered. "Funny, I was just going to ask where she was. How has she been doing since being rescued?"

Yuki just smiled. "I'm doing very well, Leneth. Was there something you wanted, or did you just want to say hello?"

Asakura chuckled. "Training, mostly. She was displeased that she was able to be beaten and captured, along with Yuki." Iliara finally came in then, looking rather uncomfortable, albeit very beautiful in her violet colored kimono.

There was another pause in the young girl before she gave a shy smile in return. "..Just wanted to say hello.."

Hector after a moment made his way over. "I'm very proud of you for speaking up Lenneth. You're making a lot of progress." He ruffled her hair briefly. Lenneth only reached up with both of her tiny hands in a half hearted attempt to stop him.

"Hm."

*

Reifer decided whatever else he had in mind could wait when Ilaira came into view. It was the first time he had seen her like this, so it was a bit distracting but his gaze didn't last long. It would be rude to stare too much.

If she was uncomfortable about the fact, he wouldn't draw excessive attention to it besides a few honest complinments that would hopefully make her feel more at ease. "Evening, its good to see you again Ilaria in happier times."

Yuki brought up a hand to cover her mouth as she giggled at the scene. "She really is adorable. I may one day lose my title as the most beautiful woman in Asai-Asakura, whenever she happens to visit once she's older."

Iliara shifted a bit, and bowed to Reifer respectfully. "A pleasure to see you again as well, Lord Reifer. And I promise, I will not allow Yuki or myself to require your aid in such a manner again."

"Now, now, no need to be so formal, Iliara. This is a celebratory dinner. We can work out the details of our alliance while we feast, though afterwards, I have something I must inform all of you of. It is not happy news, hence I will save it for after our dinner."

Lenneth shook her head to that. No way she would ever be that pretty when she was older.

Hector smiled at his daughter. "You might not think so, but others see it. Though its not just the outside that counts Lenneth."

It seemed Lenneth mulled over the words before saying anything. A thoughtful pause then: "But insides are gross."

* *

Reifer smiled but shook his head. "It's all in the past, Askura is right. As long as you and Yuki are safe its fine." He glanced at the older man. "..I see. We'll, I won't ruin a happy dinner by dwelling on it too much until after."

Yuki had to stifle a giggle at that, while everyone moved start in on their dinner. Conversation was fairly tame at first, but eventually it moved to the specifics of the alliance. It was fairly standard, but what was interesting, was when Asakura asked Yuki to show Lenneth around the gardens. "Lord Reifer, I'm about to share very sensitive information with you. Information that could very well be a cause for further war, and you deserve to know it before we get into an official alliance. It is up to you if you feel Hector needs to be present, I simply wish to keep this information limited to as few people as possible. You are of course free to tell anyone you feel needs to know. That includes your mother." At his words, Iliara shifted uncomfortably, looking away.

Reifer and Hector knew why Lenneth was being led to away, certain subjects weren't really made for a child to hear and neither of course had a problem with that. When the news came up of dangerous information, both men became more alert.

"I want to know. And I want Hector too, he's always been by my side when it came to miltary matters." Reifer was slightly worried though, he wanted to hear what was being told before he made any further decisions.

Asakura nodded, then turned to Iliara. "Dear, would you care to start?" She flinched, then sighed heavily. After a moment, she stood, and gave a regal bow, the kind from one member of royalty to another.

"Lord Reifer, Hector... my true name is Iliara Akashi, first daughter of the late Hayate Akashi, and heir to the Akashi family... I am in hiding after Lord Asakura rescued me from being raped by bandits after I had been left for dead, after having been exiled by my uncle, Kensei, because I discovered his intentions to overthrow my younger sister, and head of the family, Kenshin." She paused, letting all of that sink in. "Kensei has tricked my sister into believing I was murdered by assassins from Takeda, the family Akashi has long been at war with, in order to drive Kenshin to become more aggressive in the war. If he discovers I am alive, he will stop at nothing to ensure I can't warn my sister of his plans."

Reifer wasn't sure why, but it wasn't as shocking as it should have been even if he hadn't seen it coming what so ever. Smart and observant as he was, he wasn't all knowing so there had been no way he would have guessed or even expected it. At most, with the way she carried himself Reifer and Hector had assumed she had come from a 'higher' up bringing much like Reifer himself was.

"I had suspect something with how you carried yourself..but nothing like this. I can understand why you'd want this quite." A lot more things were mulling over his head, he could already see the metaphorical gears turning in Hectors. "So this is where the war part comes in. I assume you intend to fight your uncle then?"