A Worried Archon

(Makoto's POV)

I already called the others to come when I heard that we have a visitor from another kingdom, sice it never hurts to be cautious. Well, that's one part of it. I just want to talk with the girls about something. I let the other knights with him live in the guest rooms, for now, it looks like they brought something big if the reports are correct.

"What do you suggest we do then, Dainsleif?" I asked the golden knight.

"Nothing much your majesty, but I did bring a gift from our kingdom. I think you've heard of it before, it's something called a Field Tiller, a mechanical invention made by our group of researchers." said Dainsleif before waiting for my answer.

"That's fine with me, but for now lets wait for the others that are currently on the way here." I replied while he nodded in response.

We only needed to wait for a few minutes before three people came in side the room. The last time I saw them was a month ago, but I must admit I missed our lively talks, even if there's nothing important to talk about. Even though they have someone who can substitute for them when they're gone, they are still quite busy.

Sasayuri has Yoshitsune and the new Great Tengu of Mt. Yougou, Reizenbou under him. Orihime has the old Urakusai and the new high priestess Asase Hibiki. Chiyo has adopted sons Mikoshi Doukei and Nagamasa. While I only have Takamine to manage Tenshukaku.

"What's the occasion today your majesty?" Sasayuri questioned with his usual smile while looking around before landing at Dainsleif.

"I'll leave the visitor to you and Ei. Chiyo, Orihime, come with me." I ordered to the confused tengu before we left.

"What's the matter Makoto?" asked Orihime, showing she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Let's go to my room first." I answered and the two nodded in response.

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The three of us arrived in my room. It's just a normal room on the top of Tenshukaku, except for the big bed and an open balcony, since Ei sleeps with me from time to time. I gestured for them to sit on the bed before preparing our tea.

"Now then, can you tell us about it Makoto?" asked Orihime after seeing me finish my preparations.

"Yes, tell us! I am curious too since you've been silent the whole time on our way here." Chiyo is telling me to hurry up.

"Its about my sister, Ei. You know how she likes Sasayuri right?" I said, stating the reason for calling them.

"Yes, Its been obvious for a long time now." answered Orihime with a blank expression. Chiyo only nodded while blushing.

"What about you two? Do you like him?" I questioned curiously, and found it interesting that the kitsune blushed slightly. The oni is filled with redness already.

"Ahem! Not really, if anything I'm actually curious why he suddenly changed." answered Orihime.

"Eh? What do you mean he changed?" asked Chiyo, immediately forgetting what I said earlier.

"Well, as rivals in the position as the leader of Mt. Yougou. I did a lot of research on him, since he's to be the new tengu leader." the kitsune continued, while both of us just looked at her with suspicion.

"From the reports I got, Sasayuri is a strict, loyal, responsible, and quiet person who only follows the old leader of the tengus command." finished Orihime while ignoring our stares.

"The first three I can understand, but Sasayuri as a quiet person? I can't even imagine it." said the bewildered oni.

"Yes, that's why I was confused when he and the tengus left Mt. Yougou. Then the next time we saw each other, its as if somebody possessed him or something." said Orihime in a nostalgic tone.

"Alright that's enough of that. What about you Chiyo? Don't even think you can dodge this one." I interrupted and asked the oni again.

"Ehhh! I....um....., I treasure our bond. I always feel happy everytime he visited me to make sure I'm fine since he's the closest one to Yashiori Island. We went to many places together, sparred, and I showed him my new inventions from time to time. If anything, its like having an older brother looking out for me. And um.... I'm already busy with my adopted sons! Okay?!" said the flustered Chiyo with mixed emotions.

"I didn't know you two are that close with each other." I said, shocked at her statement, while Orihime nodded, also thinking the same.

"Well anyways, I don't really have much stuff to do here so I checked on Ei everytime I'm free." I said, the two looked at me as if saying they aren't buying my bullsht. Stop! Don't look at this lovely sister like that!

"I noticed her leaving a lot of times so I waited and followed her silently." I continued, while I just ignored their uncomfortable stares.

"I arrived to see her in a peak of a mountain in Kannazuka, using those stuff you invented Chiyo. The one that lets you see farther in the distance." I said before checking the expressions of my friends. I saw Orihime's lips twitch as she understood the situation, while Chiyo only looked confused.

"I distanced myself from her so she doesn't notice me. I enhanced my sight to see what she's looking at, and there I saw Sasayuri in his office doing his daily work. I checked on my sister suddenly without thinking, shocked at my discovery. Good thing she didn't notice since she is too focused on her observation. I watched her silently, noticing her expression darkens every time Sasayuri talked with a woman, though mostly Yoshitsune and the new great tengu Reizenbou." I said, waiting for a bit to let my words sink in.

I looked at my friends and saw a worried Orihime, while Chiyo looked really shocked since even she could understand what was happening with my explanation.

"At first I thought its still fine, but I still used a lot my time after that to observe her while she's on Tenshukaku. She stopped leaving Tenshukaku after a while, so I believed everything was fine. I still felt worried and just in case I searched everywhere in the castle, only to find a strange room hidden with illusions using electro element." I finished before standing from the bed and putting my cup of tea on the table.

"Come with me. It will be easier to show you." I called for them to follow me. They did silently but with a nervous expression, afraid of knowing their friend's secret.

We walked for a bit before finding a wall at the end of a corridor. I used electro to destroy the illusion and all three of us went inside. Looking around the room, we couldn't help but feel dread. 

"These are the puppets made by Ei to observe Sasayuri and the people around him daily. Everything is in here currently, meaning she didn't deploy them today since we have a meeting." I explained to the two beside me that has a horrified expression.

Suddenly I heard some noises from the ceiling. I looked up to see more puppets which started dropping to the floor one by one. It took me a while to understand that she made new ones and didn't forget to deploy them today.

Seeing my beloved sister Ei's actions, I immediately felt a headache and passed out. The last thing I heard was two more bodies dropping on the floor after me.

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(Ei's POV) 

I told Sasayuri that I would tell him what happened on the way before following Dainsleif. We quickly arrived at the guest rooms and saw a huge item covered in cloth. The visitor immediately removed the cover for us to see the thing he called a Field Tiller.

"This is the Field Tiller made from our kingdom. It is mostly used to defend properties from intruders. It works the same way as the puppets of Inazuma. I hope you're satisfied with the gift." said Dainsleif to quickly explain what it is.

I approached the gift excitedly as I could do a lot of things with this specimen. Maybe even improve my puppets. Sasayuri approached Dainsleif while staring at him.

"jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..........." Sasayuri stared at him silently, as if trying to dissect him. Dainsleif only felt uncomfortable and confused.

"You......., You are a man right?" asked a serious Sasayuri to the confused knight. He quickly nodded in response to get out of the awkward situation.

"Finally! There's so little men like me in Inazuma! Most of them are either women or an old man! Lets go out and drink, I'll give you a tour of this place!" shouted an excited tengu before dragging Dainsleif away.

I ignored them and focused on the new toy in front of me. Later on, I would hear about two drunkards walking around Inazuma, as if they knew each other for a long time.