Chapter Hundred Twenty-Six

The Eye of the Crowd

 

 

Aomi hid her face in Okinaga's chest just not to see how the Emerald-clad Imperial bodyguards who would have served Abihiko mere hours ago, protecting him with their life -- now came to arrest him.

But Nekohiko did not want to shut his eyes.

He crawled higher up her elaborate hairpins to see everything.

Every last bit of emotions clouding and flickering across the two brothers' faces.

Kataji's forced indifference as he stepped away from the scene, slowly walking toward the Imperial dais and all the ministers and councilors that waited for him there. Hibiki escorted him, only glancing over his hunched shoulder at Abihiko once, and then at Morokata.

So far, Hibiki seemed happy. Like a dog dutifully following all of its master's orders and thus already expecting what treat it would receive after he and its master would be alone again. If he had a tail, he would wag it merrily at each thing Kataji did that Morokata must have wanted him to do.

Abihiko's emotions were more subdued. Not as dismissive as Kataji's, though. Because Abihiko clearly felt the gravity of the situation. The Imperial bodyguards surrounded him, lamely offering the Binding-suppressing shackles to put around his hands or to Split his hands off entirely to prohibit him from casting.

"Shackles," Abihiko told them with a sigh. "Don't worry. I do not plan to escape or to attack any of you. Did I not willingly confess and then submit myself to the arrest? Do you think I have mental issues where I can't follow up my own decision?"

But worst of all was the image of Morokata, searing itself in Nekohiko's mind as Nekohiko watched the farce before him with Abihiko's arrest. Once more, Nekohiko was astounded by Morokata's choice of clothes for today.

The military uniform in Nagare colors. The crown of dark roses on Morokata's head, covered with thorns now that Nekohiko's ladybug could see it clearly. It was the outfit of advance and assault, and one that resonated so well with Morokata's final choice to judge Kasuga as innocent.

He was dressed in her colors, today. Had he always intended to acquit her of her charges, then?

Was Kasuga's sentence to him nothing but a lovely distraction to hide behind while he was making his actual attack on Abihiko?

Yet Morokata did not smile victoriously or exchanged secretive glances with Hibiki or others who'd helped him with what he desired. He assumed an expression of disenchantment as he looked down from his dais.

"Justice above everything," he said, aggrieved. "It pains me to witness this, Lord Abihiko. But your actions... they were genuinely disappointing and so... tragic for the Empire at large. I hope you will ponder on your choices and repent, in prison."

No smugness, only vast grief in Morokata's open face. Abihiko could not help but give him a roll of his eyes.

"I will do my best, Your Majesty Morokata. I have a lot of time to analyze exactly just how wrong I have been and how much my actions have hurt everyone."

"Tsk, they did!" Morokata shook his head. "My poor dear cousin Sakami, ah! You said she is fine and safe... but with how prone to lying you are, should I even believe that? Where is she? I am gravely concerned about her wellbeing now!"

"Ask Queen Kasuga. I think the last time I heard, Lady Sakami was perfectly fine in Nagare, enjoying the social life there."

"Thank you," Morokata sighed. "It hurts to hear the truth after so much lying but... better late than never. Take him away," he told the Imperial bodyguards who were only waiting for this conversation to be over since they had already shackled Abihiko and were ready to escort him out. "But please treat him mercifully! Perhaps we are not relatives by marriage, but it would still pain me to know Dear Lord Abihiko is mistreated behind the closed doors."

"Surely you would prefer I was mistreated within the open doors, where you can see it."

Morokata blinked, innocent. "Mmmmm?"

Too late. Abihiko did not care to humor Morokata anymore and let the guards push him to the exit of the courtroom while the agitated audience still clamored after such drastic events unfolding before their eyes. Because outside of the sentence given to Abihiko and Kasuga, the Trial wasn't really over yet.

Hifumi and the other priests assembled scrolls and papers they shared with each other about the following steps of the process. The ruler of the Empire had changed! No doubt there needed to be some discussions about that, as well as about the involvement of the Great Lords in the regicide.

Thus, the Spiritway priests and guards already began whispering at Okinaga and Aomi -- and at Hibiki and Kataji to assume their places in their respective Tribunes to allow the Trial to move past the unfortunate drama.

Kataji and Hibiki strode on to the Imperial dais, without a single look back at those they abandoned. Aomi was still coming to her senses, wiping her wet cheeks with her sleeves.

"The Trial continues. In order to acknowledge the separate issues introduced on the process," Hifumi intoned meaningfully. "The overuse of Binding powers and the abuse of the common folk of the Empire. Please also direct Spiritway specialists to check Lord Abihiko's affinity with the Spiritside to define whether Spirits would consider him guilty or not."

...

They would.

Nekohiko knew that already. Even if the humans might forgive Abihiko his crime against the true Emperor, the Spirits would never. And if any of the Spiritway priests took just one look at how Spirits interacted with Abihiko's corrupted aura...

There would be no doubts about Abihiko's crime.

Aomi and Okinaga slowly went on to their tribunes as well, but Nekohiko no longer bothered with all this.

He snapped his mind back to his human doll form, and opened his eyes, spilling with tears at the realization of what Abihiko had done today.

...

He had betrayed Nekohiko. Again.

This was not a mere defense of Nekohiko or clearing up his name. This was... a bizarre gambit to provoke Morokata that had obviously only ended up with Abihiko's defeat at Morokata's hand.

What else had Abihiko expected?

Yet, the way he had looked -- calm and accepting -- only told Nekohiko that Abihiko had expected this, too.

And maybe even wanted this.

Wanted to be arrested? To be condemned!? To be taken away from Nekohiko like this?

Without warning Nekohiko about it or even giving him a chance to speak up and interject? To divert the terrible development that had happened today at court?

...

What else was this but not a betrayal?

Ah, Nekohiko's eyes burned. But not with tears of helplessness.

They scalded with the burning of fury. Unbridled rage at Abihiko who, once again, did something so stupid and dangerous and insane -- and did not consult Nekohiko in the slightest!

"You damn bastard," Nekohiko snarled, slowly rising from the bed in Old Ema's home.

His Binding powers rose up within him, threatening to spill. He held them under his control long enough to stalk out of the house, menacing and grim with the vivid desire to find Abihiko right this second.

And rip him out of the hands of the convoy that led him to his cell.

And then... to give him such a beating, he would never again dare to do something as stupid as this.

Without! Confirming it! With Nekohiko! First!

 

 

---

***

 

Stormy, he sped up down the streets and onto the rooftops to rush toward the government district faster. The tiles crushed and slid from under his boots, so fast he ran, amplified with the speed spells. The Quiet Palace was not very far from the Emerald Palace. The convoy with Abihiko would be there in no time. He had to hurry.

His heart thumped loudly in his ears and the wind cut through his hair as he dashed. Up and down the streets -- and over the gaps of the alleys with the rambling mob underneath.

Oh, but the visibility and the crowdedness of this place... it sickened him.

Because of the second day of the Trial, the number of people who had come out to witness the events through the floating dim Reflections the Towa Binders projected like a wall of rain onto the thin air -- was staggering. Hundreds, if not thousands of people, pushing and bustling and screaming at the Towa Binders whenever a memory the water was channeling was not of good enough quality.

People wanted to hear and see everything. So once Abihiko and the convoy of the Imperial Bodyguards had exited the State Hall and was going toward the Emerald Palace... the uproar it had caused in the starved-for-entertainment crowd was hard to compare to anything Nekohiko had seen before.

Screams, roars, keening, curses, lamentations, laughter...

"Traitor! Murderer!"

"Where is the real Emperor? Show him to us! What did you do to him?!"

"Murdererrr!"

"Execute him to appease the Spirits! Such a wretch should not have sat on the Emerald Throne for so many years! No wonder the Empire is self-destructing!"

Ahhh...

Nekohiko's stomach twisted into knots just from being close to this kind of unraveling madness. And he was not even near the Quiet Palace squares through which the Imperial convoy had to march on. He was only on the roofs of the neighboring districts, yet already the crowds spread out.

More and more Binders from each Great House lent their services to the bodyguards to aid them in containing the maddened crowd.

He launched himself high onto the rooftops of the last tall buildings in the district that separated him from the Quiet Palace squares. His magic flowed smoothly all around him, leaving trails and obvious Imprints of his aura all over the place. But he didn't care.

From the top of the ornate roof of a gate, he finally saw to the open stretch of the square through which the luminous gleam of Emerald-green plate armor shone.

The convoy! Very close to the Emerald Palace now.

No time to waste unless, of course, he wanted to besiege and storm the Emerald Palace all on his own later. He was angry, yes. But not stupid.

He knew the reasons of why Abihiko could not expose Nekohiko's current body to the court and why he had preferred to be arrested than to tell everyone in the Empire that the true Emperor resided in the body of a dummy doll. A thing that could be so horribly controlled and ordered around by Master Orders.

A puppet.

A glorified dummy servant.

It was not something Nekohiko really wanted to deal with, at the moment. So he knew he shouldn't get too close to others if they could catch him and confront him and start examining what he was and why he worked as he did. Too many confusing questions, too many ways to dismiss him and doubt his claim to the Throne.

So while he fully intended to interact with these people and have them submit before his will, he didn't want to... come too close to them. For the fear of being trapped and abused, as any doll would be in the hands of humans.

He couldn't rush it even though he wanted.

And Spirits! how he wanted.

"The number of punishments that await you," he promised Abihiko in his own mind. He was busy trying to gauge the best maneuvers he could pull off in the wide-open square without disadvantaging himself or losing any escape routes. "I will fucking tie you up again, you bastard. How dare you disobey me like this..."

The moment the convoy weaved past the gated arches between the turmoiled crowd, Nekohiko sprang high in the air. There were no other buildings or monuments he could land onto to continue his advance, so he cast a few solidified air platforms above the crowd. Not much, just enough to help him fly over the madness. And to land squarely in front of the convoy and Abihiko amidst them.

...

Nekohiko's boots thudded against the ground as he landed, then straightened up.

Just him and his enemies in this small courtyard away from the majority of the crowd.

Or better to say just him and Abihiko. And plenty of unimportant people between them.

His robes and hair flapped violently, settling down after the fast dash across the square, but he sure hoped his deadly expression was much more impressive.

Especially coupled with the obvious Binding aura his spells emanated.

"Halt!" The front row of the convoy froze, their hands lifting to cast defensive spells if necessary.

Their voices and poses had a tinge of doubt in them. And a lot of fright.

"Who--"

"This aura..." one of the guards whispered, stunned. "It's the same aura that was in the courtroom..."

"The true Emperor," another guard breathed.

Their faces were hidden beneath the reflective emerald helmet visors, but Nekohiko could still see just how taken aback all these people were.

Their finger formations fell apart even before they could cast anything. A couple of the guards closest to Nekohiko tried to bow and salute to him awkwardly while those in the back gazed around, searching for any orders on what to do next. Doubt rendered them unable to decide what to do.

"Your Supreme Divine M-majesty--?" The lead Imperial Guard inclined his head, cautious. "Or... My Lord, please explain who you are and what you are doing here--"

Nekohiko ignored him.

His eyes went straight to Abihiko, hidden as Abihiko was behind the rows of the faceless Imperial guards.

"Give him to me," Nekohiko ordered. "Now."

His tone implied no patience, let alone resistance. He truly had no time to waste on these people whom he could get rid of within seconds. Thus, he didn't have to raise his voice at all.

The brighter hue of his Binding aura flaring up as though a warning had to tell them everything he needed.

But the confusion of the guards only deepened.

"Y-your Imperial Majesty... is this truly you?" Somebody cowered, nearly dropping to their knees behind the guards. Several other Binders -- from Towas, Hiras, Hisomes, Nagares -- who had heard that something was happening in the front lines of the convoy tried to step forward and see for themselves, too.

"Who is here?"

"What's going on?!"

"The Emperor? Emperor Nekohiko?"

"The murdered Emperor Spirit is here?? What?" several voices muttered all through the convoy, not at all helping with Nekohiko's impatience.

"I will not repeat myself," Nekohiko snapped, lifting his fingers in a spell that would push all of these meddling people away from Abihiko and himself. But when he almost cast it--

"NEKO!" Abihiko's tone also wafted of somberness and disappointment from behind the recoiling guards. "What are you doing?!"

...

"What are YOU doing?" Nekohiko blurted back, distraught.

"Y-your Imperial Majesty Nekohiko n-needs to come with us to the State Hall right now," a few of the Binders and guards spoke up, too. "Their Majesties of Towa, Hira, and Hisome had decided on the process that all the Binders of the Empire need to find and... notify the Tribunal about Your Majesty's presence. But... you appeared so soon already!"

"The whole Empire yearns to witness you, Supreme Lord Nekohiko!" others added, in one whispery, agitated rush.

"The true Emperor... truly???"

"The Great Lords ordered to escort the true Emperor to the State Hall the moment we find him! His presence is of dire importance!"

...

Nekohiko could only glare at them in annoyance. Did the Great Lords dare to "order" him anything?

With a single rough motion, he cast a spell to push all these people out of his way. It wasn't much and it wasn't any danger, but the force of it still took the breaths out of all these Binders' mouths as they crashed into each other, toppling.

Leaving only Abihiko at the center of their failed circle. Defiant, he watched Nekohiko with a very dark expression on his face -- every bit as commanding as he'd been at the Trial, even if his hands were currently shackled with a luminous set of Bound restraints.

"Neko," he mouthed, clearly looking as though he was gravely disappointed in Nekohiko's actions. "I told you to not intervene--"

"You told me many things, half of them lies!"

Abihiko's eyes flashed. "Idiot, you are being witnessed by the whole Empire right this moment -- and the majority of the crowd is a mere square away!"

For once, Nekohiko felt scared.

Abihiko did sound as though this was a dire consequence. And as Nekohiko flicked his gaze across the toppled, chaotic mess of the Binders he had just pushed aside with his spells, he realized...

...that some of the Towa Binders among them were responsible for the Memory Exchange spells.

In groups of two, they kept to each other. One Towa Binder witnessing everything that went on and maintaining control over his memory forming right in his hands within a small bubble of water. And the second Towa Binder helping him to channel this memory across the Empire -- to any other Towa Binder who was ready to receive it.

There were several such Towa Binder pairs among Abihiko's feckless convoy...

And a few of them had never broken their Memory Exchange spells even as Nekohiko had shoved them all aside a moment ago.

...

"NEKO," Abihiko called again, his face twisting in a grimace of rage. "Get away right now! The Empire is watching your every move!"

Oh.

Oh Spirits...

Nekohiko's thoughts raced. He flinched toward Abihiko anyway because he had come here for him and he would take him away, just because that was what he wanted.

But Abihiko shifted away, shaking his head in fury.

Don't ruin this! Don't ruin my defense of you at court by acting like a tyrant in front of all these people, Abihiko's looks were screaming at him.

Utterly stopping Nekohiko in his tracks.

Because from the squares behind them, the rumble and frenzy of the enormous crowd waiting for any of the Mirror Exchange spells to share with them what was going on -- only grew.

And the direction of all that noise was drawing... here.

So much excitement and panic in those voices, Nekohiko knew that whatever these Towa Binders showed to the people out there -- it was very entertaining. And now everyone wanted to see the real deal while it was still happening.

"Your Majesty Nekohiko! Please stand by and allow us to take you to the Tribunal--" the Imperial bodyguards still attempted to talk him into it.

Nekohiko jumped over them, rushing toward Abihiko no matter what.

Even if Abihiko seemed like pushing him away.

"Let's go--" Nekohiko roared, wanting to grab hold of him.

"I know what I am doing! Do you??" Abihiko spat back. "Why are you like this? I told you to stay away -- do you know how many issues this will cause you down the line? Do not disregard and trample your own people while they are watching," he ended much lower, solely for Nekohiko to hear.

Nekohiko only just managed to snap him to himself by the elbow, but Abihiko had nothing but a shove to give him back.

"Leave now!!"

...

Nekohiko did not want to leave without him.

He didn't know what waited for Abihiko in the Emerald Palace prison. He did not know what plans Abihiko carried to willingly go there. He didn't even know what he could do now when everyone had learned who he was and that he was their only true Emperor.

Should he... come with them, truly? With these bodyguards as they told him? Back to the State Hall, to face all the Great Lords and their inquiries about Nekohiko's existence--?

But Abihiko answered his doubts in an instant.

"Run," he said. "Now is not the time -- there are too many of them, and only two of us. Neko -- for now, retreat."

...

All Nekohiko truly knew was that if he let Abihiko go for now -- and to prison, he might not see him again for a while.

Solely because of Abihiko's aggravating, unending lies.

"Why am I like this? Why are YOU?" Nekohiko cried, ready to punch and kick Abihiko just for the sake of it. "I'll do what I want -- I am the Emperor, after all."

But as soon as he said this--

"Catch him!! Take the Emperor whatever the cost!!" came the harsh commands from beyond the square.

With it -- the agitation of the nearing crowd and the breaking cries of newcoming Binders to make sure Nekohiko didn't run away from them.

Why?

"The Great Lords order to capture the true Emperor and bring him to court!"

"He is dangerous! He needs to be assessed first, or else--!"

All the Binders and guards directly next to Nekohiko did not move an inch, though. Terrified, clumped in groups, edging away from Nekohiko as though afraid to the highest degree.

Indeed, his power's aura alone dwarfed everyone's here. And that... made him seem much more dangerous than he truly was.

Because really, they did not know him. They only judged him based on his actions and his overwhelming powers. And his very first action for everyone to see was to... break the Imperial law, rejecting the vote of the Tribunal... and now stealing the governmental criminal from within the Imperial convoy.

Dammit.

Abihiko was right, wasn't he?

Nekohiko shot Abihiko the heaviest of glares, but his body already wanted to flee.

"Come with me--" he started saying, but Abihiko only shook his head.

His eyes, burning vividly on his pale face, were all that Nekohiko could see before him.

"Kata is my brother," Abihiko told him, gentle. "Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen to me while he is Emperor."

...

Are you so sure about this, Abihiko?

"Assemble the trapping formation!" Several roaring voices exploded from the sides, reminding Nekohiko all too keenly about all the Binders coming from the Tribunal with the sole wish to seize him.

Across the skies, the strands of silvery, almost invisible Leash spells blinked -- rapidly lacing themselves into a shimmering netting. It covered the space where Nekohiko and the others were like a dome. Like a hood meant to catch everything that was underneath it.

No time to wonder or to hesitate.

Nekohiko flashed Abihiko a glower full of menacing promise, then launched himself up on the Nagare springing spell. Like flight, only slower and less far-lasting. He cast a flurry of very potent but small spells to negate the netting that threatened to seize him.

Nothing much. Just to rip through the haphazard net and break free before it was too late.

Cries and orders and disorganized bouts of Leashing and Trapping Spells flew after him, trying and failing to land even a single hit close to his body. He hardly noticed them all. He just fled, deftly escaping each and every single of their traps to keep him within this square before the more powerful Binders came to truly capture him.

Some of the Great Lords, perhaps?

The orders had sounded more and more frantic and scared in the mouths of their Binders... Why? What did it mean? What was being said on the Trial after Nekohiko had stopped following it closely?

He did not know and did not care.

He escaped. Solely busy with fleeing through the plethora of spells flung at him. He would think about the Lords after he got to some quiet and safe place where he could stop and think clearly, for a brief moment. Outside of the public eye. Away from being judged for every single thing he might do.

Before that... all his thoughts were very predictably and frustratingly focused on Abihiko.

And his failure to save him from prison.

 

 

---

***

 

Nekohiko stopped running after he shifted into the Spiritside and out of it to get rid of the pursuit.

There was a lot of it -- Binders of any ilk, random civilians who noticed the chase over the capital rooftops and couldn't help but gawk. Imperial Guards... anyone.

The attention was... something he was not used to. Never before had he wondered about what it would feel like, to be in the eye of the public -- known to anyone as the true and only Emperor. The Spiritually-assigned ruler. The promised leader who would make the land and the Spirits at peace.

Before, he had always assumed he would enjoy it. To finally be acknowledged for who he was and what he represented. Hells -- people out there in the Nara streets even knew his name now!

As he had been running, springing lightly over the roofs, overwhelmed by the myriads of eyes watching and people chasing after him -- he had heard his name. Nekohiko. Uttered by the whispery, gushy hundreds of people...

From all sides.

Even better -- Emperor Nekohiko.

Yet all that caused in him was anxiety and... guilt.

He was running from all of them because he wasn't truly the person they wanted him to be. He was, after all, only a replica... made of wood. Bound by sinister magic with who knew how many hidden nasty surprises inside. And apart from this body, the only other big one he had was a cat, and so--

Yeah, nothing to be proud of.

A sex doll and a cat. Wow, what an Emperor.

At least, while he was running, he knew nobody would notice he wasn't human. Perhaps they would only be aware of him and might get used to the idea of him reigning. Which was good.

Even great.

But he was not getting caught before he was ready. And neither was he facing this thousand-faced crowd as their Emperor yet.

Not when he suspected that at least half of the Great Lords would try and put up resistance.

So he just ran.

Another brief shift between the mortal world and the Spiritside, and he ended up behind some theater, in a hidden alley out of sight. Only the faint echoes of the agitated city trickling in from the side streets, and the hastened breathing in his chest.

Only the annoyance at Abihiko and his actions.

"What the hell," Nekohiko spat, slamming his fist into the stone wall of the building.

He leaned his back against it and closed his eyes, calming his heaves.

Nobody was following him now, but no doubt all these professional Binders and investigators would find him soon because of the aura imprints he had left all over the city rooftops! He needed to mask his Binding in some way and stop casting for a while, too.

Just to not be tracked so easily.

Worry thrashed in his mind as he swiveled his head left and right, trying to define where he was. Apart from the Binding trails, he had also left quite a few images of his face on all those memories the Towa Binders had shown to the audience.

Most of Nara knew what he looked like, now!

Arggghghhh...

He hopped over the low fence at the backyard of the theater and snuck in. How low had he fallen. Wanting to steal clothes from his own royal subjects -- just as Abihiko had always done without remorse.

Had Nekohiko ingested all the worst of Abihiko's habits?

He broke into one of the storage rooms in the theater and raided the clothing racks. He was seeking out something nondescript and well-covered. Like what a background character would wear in any stage play ever made.

But when he was ready to walk out the door thinking what his next plans were, a sudden whisper at the edge of his hearing reached him.

Such a pleading, scared little cry.

Aomi.

Nekohiko already thought he had to contact the girl and maybe find Kotone as well to help him mask his trails... Kasuga, too. Even Kataji? He had many people in his life he could rely on, after all.

But Aomi's desperate call stopped him in his tracks. His heart jumped, already suspecting something awful.

...

He shifted his consciousness to the seashell he knew was squeezed tight in Aomi's sweaty fingers. Both the seashell and the ladybug were still muted, and the only way to show he was aware and present in them was to blink at Aomi vehemently.

She noticed, outright.

Which he found impressive because of how... swollen and puffy her eyes were. And how vulnerably wet her cheeks.

The girl was a mess...

"Neko," she murmured into the seashell.

Another silent sob raked through her, and she sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She raised her reddened eyes at someone a few seats away from her.

Nekohiko followed her gaze.

Kataji.

Ah.

The Tribunal was still in order?? Aomi was sitting back in her place on the Imperial tribunes among the councilors and ministers, all of whom were so indignant and confused as they chattered with each other. A row before Aomi, Kataji stood on the Imperial dais where Abihiko had stood earlier today.

A bit behind him -- Hibiki. Hunched, his head slightly tilted as he listened and observed the turmoil in the courtroom with a detached kind of amusement.

There were other Lords here, too -- Morokata, Okinaga, Sakai -- as before. Everyone in their spots, everyone engaged in a heated conversation in the enormous, echoing room.

Something about... Nekohiko.

And the course of actions all these people thought was needed to be taken now that the Emperor had finally been sighted -- just outside the State Hall.

Indeed, across the center of the courtroom -- a glimmering water mirror hovered in which Nekohiko's form was so visible. And so apparent to anyone who watched it.

How he had pushed aside the entire convoy of Abihiko's -- how he had tried to order the Imperial guards around. And how he had run away the moment Binders and guards had dared to seize him.

...

Everything Nekohiko had done -- dozens of minutes ago. Now for the whole Imperial Tribunal to see.

But oddly enough, none of the Lords here were arguing about that.

They were arguing about--

"That man is a threat to everyone here!!" Okinaga boomed across the wide hall. "Emperor Nekohiko is a Monster! All the Hira investigators and Binders will die but capture him and bring him here! He does not deserve to rule the country--"

"Mmmm, this Emperor... Nekohiko? was it? -- he appeared quite nice from what I saw in those Towa memories. He didn't hurt anyone," Morokata cooed, fanning himself again. "And the people seem to like him too. Quite."

"..."

Huh?

What was going on?

But Nekohiko had no chance to invest himself in the conversations about himself because someone's voice, high-pitched yet somber -- broke the argument between Morokata and Okinaga in a flash.

It was Kasuga's.

"Yes. A Monster. The moment the Nagare forces will find Emperor Nekohiko, we will murder him," Kasuga said through teeth, her voice shaking through the immense pain and hurt that came deep from within her.

...

...

...

Horrified, Nekohiko trailed his eyes to where the Nagare tribunes were and saw...

Kasuga and Mikawa. Both hugging each other, their faces also wet with tears -- but not of sadness like Aomi's.

Theirs were the tears of betrayal. Tears of disbelief and anger, so deep, Nekohiko could feel hatred emanating from those two.

...

He froze, unable to comprehend. His mouth dried up and his heart stopped.

"House Towa will be first to hunt him down," Iokirihime gave her voice too -- from the opposite side of the room. "Any Towa Binder and investigator who finds Emperor Nekohiko first -- will be raised to the rank of the Towa hero."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha," Morokata chuckled into his fan. "Please, Ladies and Lords, let us not rush into it. I understand the personal vendettas, but the people's judgment is thoroughly on this... Emperor Nekohiko's side. Is it not?"

The overexcited noise of the crowd in the audience was nothing to Nekohiko's ears in comparison.

He found himself... unable to form any coherent thought about what was happening. And why.

Aomi was merciful to him. And just as lost and scared as he was.

"After you and Abihiko left, the Lords began arguing about taking the blame for your murder and how that had caused so many issues in the Empire's Spiritual balance," the girl told him shakily. "And to... explain himself and his conspiracy against you five years ago -- Okinaga, he..."

She paused, quivering through another stifled sob.

"He told everyone that you were the one who killed... Kasuga's dad, Kazuragi. And Iokirihime's sister -- Hinokuma," Aomi finally muttered. "And since Okinaga was speaking under the Law of Transparency..."

...

Oh.

Since Okinaga had said it under the truth spells, everyone now knew he was being honest. And true.

Everyone knew. Iokirihime. Mikawa.

And above all -- Kasuga.

...

That explained it. Why Kasuga and Iokirihime now wanted to hunt him down. And murder him personally.

Huh.

Nekohiko shut his eyes to weather the storm of panic that slowly overtook him.