Emiko said little. Taking a drag from the kiseru, she held the smoke as she handed the Matriarch a smallish wooden box and a video chip.
"Watch for yourself," she stated, the smoke starting out of her mouth as she spoke before blowing the rest out.
"Not here. Follow us." The matriarch stood up and walked towards the door Misaki was standing guard at. Not long after, the three Kusarians were on board of one of the Gen'an transport vessels.
The Matriarch just finished watching the tape and Misaki was snickering. "It seems like you enjoyed yourself." she said finally.
Emiko just gave a look at Misaki, a look that a serial killer might have when she simply answered her question, "I did."
Aboard the transport, she would make an admission. "My father is in the medical field so I often got to sit in on procedures, everything from simple surgery to autopsies. I have a good memory so I remembered where everything is inside the body. He would say things during surgery like...." She looked up and to the side a little. "......Whoever did this knew exactly how to hurt them or "If you want someone to suffer, that's a good way to do it." She took a sip of some water and drew the sticks from hair and let it fall, holding the sticks up for the sisters to see, each having a slight point on them. She then took a finger and touched Misaki at a point on either side of her ribcage. "As you saw, burying my sticks in those points collapsed his lungs. He had no chance and was defenseless so getting his heart became easy."
She then put on an evil grin, "I'll have to teach you sometime, Misaki-san."
Misaki lost her smile. "I do not need teaching, girl. Inflicting damage is one thing. It is about how well you can receive damage that determines how long you last. Paralysing him with poison and then breaking his fingers one by one also works, but I agree you did nicely." She left the room, leaving the Matriarch together with Emiko
She laughed "I think that means Misaki underestimated you and she hates to admit this. At least I am impressed. Personally I did not expect this savagery. I thought you would jump him from behind and slash his throat. You passed the first trial. The second, the rebirth, will be forever bind you to the sisterhood."
She smiled a bit, knowing that the matriarch was impressed. Really, that is all that mattered at this point. Misaki? Well, she knew that she would get over it.
"A rebirth," she replied. "What must I do? I am ready."
"Ever heard of san san kudo? It is a ritual to create familial ties where there is none. We adapted it to fit our own needs, just like the geisha of ancient times did aswell. It will make you a full sister of our sisterhood. It is also one of our security mechanisms. The first trial was meant as a test to see what kind of person you are. The second trial is meant to create a sense of unity. We use cardamine to enforce our sisterhood. This is the rebirth."
Cardamine. She shared the belief of her father that it was pure evil. As she thought, she just gave a blank look toward the Matriarch. To take cardamine would go against everything she believed and everything she was taught. Also, she knew the anger her father would have when he found out.....and that day would come. The smoking he would disapprove of but would accept and get over but cardamine.....it might ruin her relationship with him.
It also frightened her. What would it do to her? She knew that for the rest of her life that she would depend upon it. She wanted children one day and knew what it did to birth rates.......they were very low to cardamine addicted women.
But she also knew how effective it made the Outcasts, how it made them stronger even if it was at the expense of addiction. Could she hide the use of it from her father? Or her grandmother? Only time would tell.
Still, the Matriarch was right, her home was gone, her mother passed as was her uncle, most of which by Bretonia. She wanted her revenge and she found those who would help her find it. Women, all of whom looked and spoke as she did. The talk of power sounded promising, especially when men did indeed seem to run most everything in Kusari. She herself was but half Kusarian but her looks were all of one. Still, she found herself a stranger in a strange land. Now, she had a family.
She then looked into the Matriarch's face. "I wish to be your sister...their sister. I wish to be reborn."
The matriarch walked towards the closed door where Misaki entered earlier and unlocked it using the keypad. "We got everything for it on board of this ship. I shall explain how it works."
The matriarch entered the room followed by Emiko. She allowed Emiko to observe the room before she spoke again. "That is where you will take place." She pointed to one of the two pillows in the centre of the room. "One of the sisters shall sit on the other pillow and you will face eachother.
First a bowl of sake will be brought to the sister and then to you. Both of you will drink half of it, symbolising the unity of spirit. Secondly you will both use a small knife to draw blood from your thumbs, symbolising your willingness to shed blood for your sisters. And finally you will share a vial of cardamine, symbolising the unbreakable bond to the sisterhood."
She was unsure of herself...of everything and she was nervous. She wanted to smoke but now wasn't the time. She just nodded respectfully to the Matriarch and replied with a simple, "Hai."
She sat on the pillow designated for her. The Saki wasn't a problem and even cutting her thumb was no issue but the cardamine. She knew it could be injected or inhaled. Which would it be. She sat and waited for the ceremony to begin knowing that there was no turning back.
![[Image: 7qvVEFp.jpg?1]](https://i.imgur.com/7qvVEFp.jpg?1)
