He hadn't told his cousins.
He hadn't wanted to give them the satisfaction of a farewell.
They had mocked him his entire life. His output numbers. His failed talismans. His place at the bottom of every assessment.
He did not want to spend his last night in the estate listening to them take one final turn at him.
By the time they found out he would already be gone. There would be nothing left to say.
His father would not tell them.
His father avoided speaking about Kaito whenever possible. During meals he sometimes went entire conversations without looking at him once.
His mother would not tell them either.
He was certain enough about that.
He folded another shirt and placed it into the suitcase.
Outside the shoji screen, cedar branches shifted in the wind.
Kaito had spent his entire life inside those walls.
The training grounds surfaced in his head immediately.
