18: The pre-preperations

Sakura carried the small body of that half-demon in her arms. It was too warm and alive for her taste.

It was also glaring daggers toward her, daring Sakura to drop him. That action caused Sakura to tighten her grip around the small body.

And all she got for her effort was another pair of claw marks on her arm. The halfling was not making things easier for Sakura. And neither was Yoko.

"Sakura, how long do we have before my evening match for the Head position?"

Yoko had the audacity to ask that after wasting all her time trying to sweet talk that elderly lady officer into letting her take this kid home.

'Yoko could have used the Tsurugi name and the officer would have folded right then and there. There was no need to flirt with her.'

Sakura knew that this jealousy was unneeded. She had no grounds to get jealous of that officer for getting Yoko's attention but that thought still caused Sakura to feel unpleasant feelings.

'Besides, wasn't that officer a little too old for Yoko's taste? A younger partner like me would be better for her.'

As soon as that thought occurred, Sakura's face went pink.

"Sakura, I asked you a question. Is it that difficult for you to answer?"

Yoko's face was right beside Sakura's. Yoko's breath was hitting Sakura's ear and it forced out a shiver from her.

"W-We don't have enough time to go through all your appointments and still make it to your stand-off in time. If only you did not waste our time with the police officer, we would have been on the schedule for our planned appointments."

Sakura was not sulking that her well-thought-out plan had been discarded out of the window without any second thought.

"Awwww, don't be upset Sakura. I promise I will make it up to you later. For now, should we head back home?"

Why did Yoko have to look this amused after causing Sakura this much trouble? Could she not look remorseful at least?

"We might as well head home now. I will ask the dress designer and the Palor people to pay a visit to our home tonight. It will be difficult for them to deny your request if we use your status as the Trurugi family head to negotiate."

Again, the amused look was back but with a disturbing smile this time.

"What I mean to say is, you have to win today at any cost. You cannot lose and then prove my words wrong about you being the new family head. I am risking my reputation for you."

Yoko broke out into laughter as soon as Sakura finished. Just what was Yoko finding so funny about her words?

"So Sakura, you have officially abandoned your father's sinking ship? It was about time for you to make the smart decision."

'It's not like I had a choice. You forced my hands in this matter, Yoko.'

Sakura seethed internally but her face did not show it. Saying anything means to Yoko would not help Sakura's current standing.

Besides, she had to remain in Yoko's good grace to reap the benefits that would soon come.

"Anyway, it is about time to head back. Our new family member seemed to be falling asleep in your arms. We need to get him settled in."

Sakura's good mood crashed down as soon as Yoko pointed out the new presence in her arms. The kid had been trouble but he had finally settled down.

Why Yoko had chosen to take such a rough kid in and give him a high status, Sakura would never be able to understand. But she was worried about what it would mean for Yoko.

The elders would never agree with Yoko's decision and it would affect her standing in the household.

'Sometimes, I cannot tell if Yoko is a genius or an idiot. Was it alright to ally with her?'

Sakura's mind raced with those thoughts but she already knew she had made her decision. And in her heart, Sakura also knew that choosing Yoko had been the right decision all along.

"I am willing to sacrifice my night with you but you better make it up to me tomorrow after the party. I am not doing all of this for free."

___________________________

It had been amusing to watch Sakura struggling with her thoughts. Amane had also been able to see her try and hide her irritation toward Yoko.

Sakura was cute when she tried to hold herself back from saying something rude to 'Yoko' since she wanted to be in the elder's good grace.

'I guess being late was not enough to push Sakura's buttons. She is still managing to hold up quite well.'

The main reason Amane had chosen to flirt with that elder cop had been to waste time. She needed to know how far she could push Sakura and how useful the other would be in times of need.

Of course, Amane had made her preparations to get the dress and other preparations done if Sakura decided to abandon her right now.

'Looks like I would not need to call in extra help this time.'

This was a pleasant surprise Amane had not expected. Sakura had a twisted sense of loyalty which chose to rear its head at the right time.

'I wonder how the guards would react to the new addition I brought along? I know the elders are going to flip off and try using this to oppose me.'

Amane knew that it was a real fear for most family heads - the elder council. It was a body made up of different previous family leaders and other influential figures.

Truthfully speaking, those old fools had no real power. Only a handful of those old council people could even be called an expert.

They were mostly pushed in there because they were important but not powerful enough to make a change.

"My lady, you cannot bring an unknown person into the house. You need the permission of the current family head for th…"

"You kid, you got a name?"

Amane took the half-demon kid from Sakura's arms and held him by the cuff. She was not taking any chances to let the half-demon escape.

And the angry expression aimed her way told Amane that the kid was thinking of running away as soon as he got a chance.

"Eclipse."

Finally, the kid gave up and spoke his name. Amane lightened her hold over the kid as soon as she got her answer but she did not let him go.

"See, his name is Eclipse. He's not a stranger so I will be taking him in now. Oh, and ask someone to prepare the bath with a strong detergent. This puppy needs a good scrub."

"My lady, that is not what we are saying. Lady Sakura, please talk some sense into Lady Yoko. She cannot take that half-demon in."

The guard looked panicked and instantly turned toward Sakura in hopes of gaining her support.

'Ah, it's a habit at this point. Do these people think Sakura would be able to stop me?'

Sakura's expression asked the same question. The guard looked taken aback at the fierce he was getting from Sakura and instantly backed away.

"Why are you looking at me for help? If I could stop Yoko, then do you think she would have been able to bring that kid back home? Yoko will do what she wants to anyway since she's the next family head."

Amane's smile widened at the admission. Sakura had finally voiced the confirmation everyone already knew.

'What timing. Now I really cannot afford to lose the next match against that old man. You sure know how to pull a fast one Sakura.'

Since Sakura had declared it out into the open, it was a matter of pride now. And Amane was guilty of saying this, but she was a kid when it came to pride.

Amane would go to lengths if she felt like she owed someone and if her pride was hurt. It was not easy to reach both points but Sakura had managed to push one of the triggers.

"Eclipse, behave nicely for the maids and don't you dare give them a bad time. I've marked you so you'll not be able to escape me even if you run away. But if you stay with me then I will protect you when the time comes. You don't want to go back to your family, right? I have the power to prevent that from happening."

The kid had a complicated expression in his eyes at Amane's offer but she was sure that Eclipse would make the right decision.

Finally, the kid gave a hesitant nod and Amane handed him over to the first maid she saw coming her way.

The poor girl let out a startled yelp but she could not complain about her task with Amane glaring down at her.

Was it a noble strategy to glare the servants into submission? No.

Was it effective? Yes. And sometimes it was all that mattered. These servants would not follow Amane's words.

'I can't wait for the slaves to come and make this place bearable. At least they won't dare to go against my words like most servants try to.'

Besides, Amane would be freeing those servants from a fate worse than death in that slave house. Most people didn't tend to look at slaves kindly and chose to abuse them.

"Now, I should take a bath and get ready for the face-off. That old man had been a thorn on my side for too long."

By too long, Amane meant for a week. But when the week was being draggy as hell then it was a problem

Knowing those old fools, Amane was sure that they had been bribed by Sakura's father already. There was no way they would make it easy for Amane to win.

'And a challenge like this would be the best way to make Amane disappear. All they had to do is to say that I had an 'unfortunate' accident and no one would ask the question twice.'

But what these old fools did not know was that they were not facing that 'soft' Yoko but the 'beast' Amane.

"Man, that old man did send the most bothersome dress for me to wear today. How many layers does it have? 5? 7? It's going to be so heavy to wear."

One had to be dumb to not understand the intention behind sending such a heavy and constructive dress. It was to slow Amane down and to make it easy for the beast to hit her.

Not to mention, the subtle flare of neon blue all over the dress gave away what kind of creature they had chosen for Amane to face today.

'I wonder where they got a Giant Bullic Lord from. Those creatures were rare back in the day.'

Giant Bullic Lord was the only beast dangerous enough to charge at a neon color at the first chance it got. The rest were either too docile to cause harm or too tough to even bring anywhere close to civilization.

But a Giant Bullic Lord could be chained up using magic and then kept in confinement. It did not have poison or other long-ranged attacks to knock people out.

It was perfect for such a competition if both were skilled players.

'I know these people are going to make me go first in hopes that I die. But sorry to you all, I have no intention of dying today.'

Amane ditched her presented dress and took out a practical outfit from the closest. Her outfit had enough padding and still allowed enough room to move around.

When she opened the doors to the arena, the first thing Amane felt was the disapproving stare at her outfit.

What she was wearing was as far away as a traditional outfit could be and it must be pissing all these traditionalists off.

'Ah, the looks of anger and disappointment. How I love these looks aimed in my way. It's so fun to watch people get triggered and angry at me for things they cannot control.'

Amane gave a small wave toward the people in the stand and then turned her eyes toward her livid uncle dressed in an outfit similar to hers.

"Yoko, what are you wearing? What happened to the outfit I sent for you?"