Editing Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter1 (section)

=== Part 3 ===

"Did you know? It seems that Kazuma has returned to Japan. What's more, he's become a Fuujutsu practitioner." 

"What! That incompetent guy? It must be dead simple, then, to be a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"Nope, 'I'm a dark magician' is what I heard. For him to become a practitioner, he'd have to sell his soul to the devil, right?"
 
"Ah, that's probably true."

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha…" 

That day, rumors about Kazuma were the talk of the Kannagi main house. Of the elders (the general term for those who retired from active service and are now overseeing the management of the practitioners) who heard Shinji's report, only one refrained from jokingly spreading around nonsense. 

Shinji was currently under probation for the offense of the aforesaid failure of his duty. Tail fin, dorsal fin, belly fins; all were wildly added to the rumor, until it grew to maturity. Not a single person tried to stop it. 

The source of the rumors, the elders, appeared to be in wholesome delight. The people known as ''elders''—excluding the extremely serious exceptions—were basically men of leisure. "Looking important is work," and so on, was the gossip some attacked with. 

When there was no work, they would drink tea all day and amuse themselves by talking about various topics. Obviously, they could not resist something interesting to talk about. 

They danced with joy inside upon hearing Shinji's news. The elders, when they passed the verdict of probation on the dejected Shinji, even had something of a skipping type of light gait while they drank tea and turned back to each other. They haphazardly began talking like this: 

"Ohh, did you know…?" 

The elders, during this work time, were like different people in energetic activity. 

Within an hour, there was almost nobody in the huge mansion who had not heard of Kazuma's return to the country. It certainly reached the servants, spreading to all kinds of people afterwards. 

It was, in short, a situation where almost nobody knew the true facts. It wasn't a big problem for the elders, though, since their attitude was pretty much, ''If it's interesting, who cares what happens later!'' 

And so, news of Kazuma spread in the exact opposite direction than what Shinji had hoped for. 

To wit:

"Kazuma's returned as a dark magician." 

"Kazuma was secretly murdered; he's buried in the back garden." 

"Kazuma clashed with Shinji during work and suddenly killed him." 

"Kazuma made a contract with the wind spirits. An evil demon." 

The truth was subtly mixed in, but it was distorted to such an extent that nobody could really interpret it. Obviously, no one feared Kazuma's retribution. 

Kazuma, the main family's failure who had left all his talent in his mother's womb, like liquid skimmed off the top, had found a preferable power to take in, it seemed. Nobody laughed at that.
 
However, there were a small number of exceptions. One of them was the current suzerain, Kannagi Juugo. During supper, in the humorous talk that was being told, there was one item Juugo was interested in. 

"Ohhhh? Kazuma chose Fuujutsu? Did you know that, Genma?" 

Juugo spoke to his cousin sitting next to him. For some reason, as if harboring some ill will, Genma's smile was filled with hatred. 

"…Oh" 

Genma answered briefly. Apparently the rumor had already reached his ears, as he didn't appear disturbed. 

However, it was clear he wasn't happy about the rumor either. The saying, ''like someone chewing up a bitter bug,'' perfectly described his frown as he gripped a tight fist. 

''If Kazuma was in front of me, I'd want to strangle him to death.'' His expression openly displayed his thoughts. 

"It's shameful." 

"It's not especially shameful." Juugo answered lightly. He gave a command to a nearby servant: "I would like to hear a detailed account. Call Shinji." 

"Certainly." 

The moment he arrived, Shinji bowed down so low that he scraped the tatami in his prostration. His tension was great; he was sweating from his forehead and breathing awkwardly. 

Truthfully, the difference in status between the Kannagi's main family and branch family was absolute. It was impossible for the branch family to even dream of a revolution. 

Tradition and social status meant nothing in the Kannagi's system. The two families were simply separated by the overwhelming difference in power. 

If a rebellion were to occur, Enjutsu practitioners like Juugo or Genma could simply smash everyone in the branch family by wiggling a finger. Because of this hopeless difference in power, no thoughts of rebellion were harbored. 

Therefore, Shinji's tension was understandable. He was in front of Juugo, whose superiority was similar to a god, and had to recount his clumsy failure. This was definitely worse than his original feelings. 

"Raise your face. You don't have to humble yourself like that."

Juugo spoke in a friendly manner. However, looking into the suzerain's face and speaking was far too overwhelming for Shinji. In the end, he raised his face, but his eyes still stared at the tatami as he submitted his report. 

"A-and, I now have the privilege of being allowed to give this report."

"…I see." 

After Shinji finished recounting the happenings, Juugo remained silent for a while after saying that. 

"…I see." 

As if to confirm, he repeated it once more. He closed his eyes lightly, and reminisced back to when his nephew (to be accurate, the relation was more separated than that, but he used the label since it was too much trouble) had left 4 years ago. 

''(—What a poor child he was.)''

If Kazuma had been born to any family but the Kannagi, he would probably have been considered a superior child. Excellent intellect, good reflexes, and great promise in learning the jutsu; all jutsu except one. He was unable to manipulate fire. 

However, for the Kannagi family, this was the most important ability. 

No matter what else he was proficient at, someone with no talent for manipulating fire was treated as incompetent. Because of this, Kazuma was no longer part of the Kannagi. 

''Still—'' Juugo thought. 

''(Why didn't you ask me for help, Kazuma? There was no need to disown you from the family. If it was me, I would have made a place for you. Whatever Genma said, I wouldn't have cared about the Enjutsu, I would have made use of your talent, despite that…)'' 

Juugo looked down at his right leg. It was made of metal and plastic. If that accident hadn't happened, and the "rule of inheritance" hadn't been rushed, would Kazuma be here right now?

Unfortunately, it was far too late. Kazuma had thrown away the family, their name; all that was Kannagi, and had left Japan. This was reality. The ''past'' is a thing that could never be changed.

"…Suzerain?" 

An uncertain voice brought Juugo back to reality. Looking around, he found everyone in an awkward silence. It wasn't surprising, as there were almost none among them who had not tormented Kazuma. 

However, the one who had driven Kazuma out was calm. That person, Genma, spoke without a single change in his expression. 

"Suzerain. Kazuma is already someone without any connection to the Kannagi. There is no need to worry about him." 

"Genma, you would say that of your own son—" 

"I have only one son, Ren." 

Genma spoke coolly, interrupting the suzerain's words. Juugo considered replying, but, disliking unproductive battles, he decided to put other, safer words into his mouth. 

"It's fine then. After all, Kazuma has become successful in Fuujutsu. Maybe it was best that he left the Kannagi... Or maybe, Hyoue, if he had been entrusted to your care, could he have become skilled and powerful?" <!-- Georgi: I changed this, but I might have altered the meaning; it is either this, or "entrusted your position".-->

"Perhaps." 

Sitting at a lower seat, Hyoue, the head of the Fuuga clan, answered sullenly. <!-- 030_1 風牙 Fuuga; kanji: "wind fang" -->

Genma again cut in with an objection. 

"We are all afraid that even though Fuujutsu and such are, after all, lower arts. The most they are capable of is acting as assistants to Enjutsu practitioners. Even if we had known four years ago of Kazuma's talent for Fuujutsu and left him to people like the Fuuga clan, clearly, we would still have had to disinherit him." 

Hearing his art publicly insulted, Hyoue twisted his face in humiliation. However, nobody paid any attention to Hyoue nor his face. 

To the Kannagi family, who only valued fighting power, the Fuuga clan, having been given the reconnaissance and battle support duties, was limited to a lower status. Genma was not trying to start a fight. He was not stating anything beyond the normal beliefs of the other Kannagi. 

"…We will go no further with this talk or the dinner will turn unpleasant." 

At Juugo's words, everyone clearly showed relieved expressions on their faces. As if on cue, cheerful talk began, and they rolled around laughing at silly jokes. 

Though awkwardly, the usual dining hall atmosphere returned. 

And so, nobody noticed the dark light harbored in Hyoue's eyes. He suppressed his thoughts from showing up on his expression, and murmured in a voice so small it did not even reach his own ears.

"I will not forget this disgrace, Genma…"