64

Notes:

The top row of my keyboard broke and it has 4 of the vowels. Very sadge.

Chapter Text

"That took a while," Seiryuu remarks as Byakko walks into the courtyard.

He has been waiting here since they arrived at the Shinra Clan's estate. Byakko had split off shortly after leaving Seiryuu here to place his prisoner in what will become her home for a while.

The courtyard itself is reserved in appearance, despite the wealth of the Shinra clan. The architecture is neat and functional, rather than ornate.

Part of that is the influence of Buddhist tradition that the Shinra clan absorbed over time and also the martial bent the clan follows. Though both reasons are the same since both practices feed into each other.

Unlike the Himejima clan which is the most strict with their adherence to solely Shintoism and Onmyoudo; the Shinra clan took Buddhist practices to enhance their spiritual training and the Nakiri clan borrowed elements from both Buddhism and Shugendo to enhance theirs.

While the Nakiri and Shinra clans were most liberal in their adaptation and the Himejima fiercely conservative, the Doumon and Kushihashi clans fall somewhere in between. Talent is encouraged but if the talent is too far divorced from what is expected… well ex-communication has occurred frequently enough to speak of the attitude toward such deviations.

"Procedures for handling prisoners take time." Byakko huffs with a look of annoyance.

Seiryuu tips his glasses downward to stare over them, "The wait had nothing to do with you considering the merits of executing her instead?"

Byakko rolls his eyes, "If you know already, why ask?"

He crosses his arms and scoffs to punctuate his statement. His demeanour isn't exactly confrontational given the close friendship they share but it is an angry posture he has assumed. This is a natural attitude given what has occurred today though.

"Well, I also considered that you might be torturing or moving her to a less hospitable location for her internment." Seiryuu drawls idly, only semi-jokingly.

"She deserves worse than glorified house arrest." Byakko snarls.

As is customary for political hostages, Yura-Ann had been interned in a separate residence within the Shinra clan's compound.

With the wealth of the clan, the residence would be comparable to a high-end hotel from opulence alone. The only real difference is that Yura-Ann wouldn't be allowed to come and go as she pleases and her powers would remain sealed for her stay.

"Ah yes, let's abuse a political prisoner," Affecting a tone of consideration Seiryuu continues, "We should hang her by chains in a damp cell instead of her current accommodations. Truly a genius course of action."

"I get it already." Byakko slumps in the seat across from him.

Seiryuu watches as Byakko slowly settles, electing to savour the tea that the maids had supplied during his wait.

While it had grown cold waiting for Byakko's return, a simple spell leveraging the Fire Phase brings it back to temperature.

Though the Fire Phase is outside his area of expertise, all the inheritors can use each of the Five Phases to a middling degree. Since each phase is part of a cohesive cycle, understanding the different phases can help further their growth in their specialty. The only ones held to that standard are the inheritors or more talented clan members, however.

Even Byakko, despite his limited magical studies, is expected to be able to do the same easily.

"Besides testing my restraint, what was the point in taking that scum alive?" Byakko asks, breaking the silence before it can fully settle over the courtyard.

Before Seiryuu can formulate a proper response, Byakko continues, "While this is personal for me, I know you're even more upset at the challenge to the Principal Clans."

Seiryuu's facade cracks slightly as his lips twitch towards a grimace, "That may be true but this is also more important than either of our feelings on the matter."

"If it weren't for the power of the Great King Faction, Yura-Ann Shax would've been shredded by my magic before you made it through her peerage." Azure draconic power flows off Seiryuu and his pupils turn to slits as he makes that declaration.

Byakko cracks a grin at his friend's loss of composure. For a moment he thought his reading of Seiryuu's mood had been off.

"It makes it easier to hold back knowing you're angry at this outcome too," Byakko says with a relieved grin.

"So what's our plan then? How far are we going to go here? I know her life isn't on the cards but if we can't get something satisfactory from this…" Byakko leaves the threat hanging since they both understand each other.

As he looks out across the courtyard with a frown he mutters, "Her peerage wasn't a large enough tribute for my cousin's funeral. The scales aren't balanced with their lives alone."

Seiryuu digests that and hums as he taps his fingers along his teacup absentmindedly, "I don't think it will be wise to drag the Five Principal Clans into this as a whole. While that would be threatening, it would be posturing at most."

This isn't the time to involve all the various elders from each clan so they can all quibble over what concessions are needed. As Byakko stated, this issue is too personal for that.

"It would be best if this is presented as reparations towards the Shinra Clan only but with the support of the other clans. With Suzaku and I acting as that support, naturally." Seiryuu finishes stating his opinion.

Byakko contemplates that for a good minute, "I agree that a bloated panel of representatives would be a problem. A smaller group would show more confidence."

Seiryuu nods, "Three Inheritors already shows how seriously we are taking this matter. Especially with Suzaku being a Clan Head as well."

While some might question her ascension to the position and the method employed, she has the power and skill to back up her claim.

"Speaking of Clan Heads, yours will need to get involved as well." Seiryuu watches as Byakko's hairs stand on end at the mention of his Clan Head.

"Is that necessary?" He asks while wincing.

Byakko shakes his head immediately after asking, "No, you wouldn't have suggested his presence if it could be avoided. Though I don't think that feral beast will be helpful at a negotiation table."

They both pause and breathe a sigh of relief when nothing happens.

''Don't call him that when you aren't sure if he's in earshot. He may be my father-in-law but I'm as scared of him as you are," Seiryuu scolds.

Seiryuu pins Byakko with a harsh glare but is ignored, "He may have freakishly good senses but he isn't even in the city right now, let alone the compound. Besides, you always put up a barrier and check for any spells that'd listen in."

Seiryuu pinches the bridge of his nose as he sighs, "I don't want to be dragged into his 'character-building training' again. I already suffered enough to have him allow me to propose to his daughter."

Seiryuu shivers as memories of meditating under waterfalls, dragging boulders, carving Sutras into granite with his fingers, and other forms of blatant torture flash across his mind.

"Despite my insistence that my talents lie in Onmyoudo, he wouldn't accept someone without a strong body to protect his daughter." Seiryuu finishes with a 'small' hint of bitterness.

Byakko just laughs at the idea of his cousin, the clan head's daughter, needing protection.

If he had been slightly less talented or if it weren't for her complete lack of compatibility with the White Tiger, his cousin would have been the inheritor instead of him. Though that had been the case in the previous generation with her father as well. Both were born with bodies blessed for combat but middling compatibility with the White Tiger.

One only needs to look at this generation's Ouryuu to understand why compatibility matters so much. Or Suzaku for that matter.

"Back to the subject at hand, the Clan Head's presence will help with legitimacy. We are still relatively green for this scale of negotiations." Though bitter at that fact, Seiryuu acknowledges these words are the truth.

Having someone with decades of experience leading the Shinra clan present can't hurt. Especially since he's the type to allow them to do the talking and intimidate the other powers present.

"I'll convince that old bastard, I guess," Byakko says sullenly, "When he and your fiancée return from their trip to Tokyo, at least."

Members from all the Principal Clans had all traveled to Tokyo recently to reaffirm the tenuous nonaggression stance of the East Yokai Faction and disavow the Demon Hunters in the area.

The relationship between the Principal Clans and the East Yokai Faction has always been more turbulent than their relationship with the West Yokai Faction.

Part of that is the degree of separation. With the West Yokai Faction and the Principal Clans setting their roots in Kyoto, familiarity bred a tolerance for each other over time.

The Yokai in the new capital, however, don't have that proximity to mellow hostilities. Besides, the Yokai in Kyoto are more old-fashioned and less interested in the mortal world than those in Tokyo.

But the biggest contribution to the rising tension coming from the East Yokai Faction was the showing of the Yokai, especially Ibaraki, in the Dragonslayer Festival. All the younger Yokai saw that performance and got riled up as one of their own demonstrated such power.

The Demon Slayers are a constant issue because of the types of extremists the organization breeds. People that see all Yokai as monsters that need to be exterminated.

"At least the talks are going well over there," Seiryuu says with a sigh.

"Is that what Mei said?" Byakko asks, assuming it was Seiryuu's fiancée who said that rather than a member of the Kushihashi clan's delegation.

"That was the gist of it," Seiryuu responds with a fond smile as he remembers her rant about the trip. She didn't specifically say it was going well, more that it was boring, which he interpreted as such.

He scowls when he notices Byakko grinning at him. "Ah don't do that man, it's cool that my cousin makes you happy."

"Whatever," Seiryuu bites out, annoyed.

"Whatever," Byakko mocks back, "Don't fawn over my cousin if you can't handle me teasing you about it. I expect you to do the same if I'm ever as sickeningly infatuated."

"What are we looking to get out of this?" Seiryuu deftly changes the subject back to what's important.

Byakko frowns stating, "Monetary wealth is nearly useless given the funds our clans possess."

He tosses the question around again but comes up with another goal that isn't worth pursuing rather than something useful.

Still, he fields the suggestion anyway, in case Seiryuu finds a use for it, "Territory also isn't worth asking for since any land the devils could hand over is on loan to them."

"They would have international territory," Seiryuu muses, "Though that wouldn't be enticing either. Certainly not worth bringing to the table as a discussion point."

"That leaves us with what; materials, intellectual property?" Seiryuu throws it back to Byakko.

Neither Seiryuu nor Byakko truly considers intellectual property to be a valid topic to discuss.

Any magical knowledge they could obtain would have little tactical value and, due to the purity of tradition valued by Principal Clans, would never have any practical use either. Anyone caught humouring the notion of studying Devil Magic to learn from or even be inspired would be excommunicated instantly.

Technology would be even less useful since the devils aren't exactly known for their advancements in the field. Unlike the Fallen or some smaller factions around the world, the devils are only equivalent in technology to most other groups.

"There are metallic elements that only form in the underworld," Byakko says while scratching his chin. "Or the obvious Phoenix Tears but while the Shax Pillar Family would have some in reserve, I'm not sure the Marquis would care enough about a daughter who isn't inheriting the family to make that trade."

"True," Seiryuu sighs, "It seems as though materials are the only valid form of reparations to be obtained directly from the Shax Family for this."

"We can narrow down the specifics of that over time, the question is whether we should use this to make political ties," Byakko says with a look of distaste.

"I hate talking about this so clinically," He growls, shaking his head, "My cousin was killed and I'm discussing the bribe I need to be given to ignore it."

"Lashing out won't help you feel better at this point," Seiryuu says, cutting off that downward spiral at its inception. "You've killed who you could and now we have to find some other way to punish the perpetrator."

"That's easy for you to say," Byakko mutters while clenching his fists.

"Yes, it is," Seiryuu responds with a level tone, "Hence why I'm here helping you. It is because it is easy for me to say that, not in spite of it, that I'm helping you."

"I would expect you to talk sense into me if our roles were reversed." Seiryuu finishes, causing Byakko to nod slowly and release a calming breath.

"Thank you for that," Byakko replies sincerely. "Do you mind if we take a break from this topic?"

"No, I do have other things I want to discuss." Seiryuu acquiesces easily, "Primarily your assessment of Ibaraki and whether she's someone we should be planning contingencies against."

"Before Suzaku arrives, I assume?" Byakko asks with a look of distaste. "Is it fair to be talking about Suzaku's girlfriend like she's a potential enemy?"

"Fair? No, I suppose it isn't. If you think I'm asking something unnecessary, feel free to ignore the question." Seiryuu shrugs mildly.

As Byakko ponders the question, a pair of maids deliver meals for the two of them along with refreshments.

The dishes are heavy on protein, but still nutritionally balanced and exceptionally flavourful, as Seiryuu has come to expect from meals at the Shinra clan. This is somewhat of a necessity given how hard the members of the clan train their bodies.

The maids pour alcohol for the two of them before bowing and leaving.

Byakko polishes off a thick juicy steak and washes it down with a glass of alcohol before finally responding.

"I don't think I can comment on whether she's someone we need to be wary of yet." Byakko shrugs somewhat helplessly, "Honestly, you'd be a better judge of that since you had the opportunity to speak with her at the Dragonslayer Festival."

"What I can say is that I wouldn't want to be her enemy." Seiryuu looks a bit surprised at that admission but Byakko doesn't seem the least embarrassed.

"I know you lost your fight with her but it couldn't have been by much," Seiryuu says with a fair amount of confidence behind his statement.

Byakko might not be the strongest of the Inheritors but he's no slouch either.

Rather than agreeing, Byakko shakes his head, "You're wrong. You could only describe what occurred as a fight if you judge it from my perspective."

"I came into that battle enraged and ready to kill someone. In contrast, she came to be entertained, and she dismantled me thoroughly." Byakko shakes his head with a wistful smile as he remembers the fight.

Seeing this Seiryuu rolls his eyes, "Yes, that may have been the case but you couldn't have given it your all."

"Seiryuu, I fully utilized Spiritual Symbiosis and she still incapacitated me without killing me," Byakko interjects, causing surprise to bloom on Seiryuu's face. "Could you do the same?"

Seiryuu frowns, "Possibly… it would be difficult."

"I don't have a perfect recollection of the final moments of our fight. I still haven't mastered that transformation." Byakko admits humbly, "What I do know is that she was at least pressured at the end. Still, she was restricting herself too much for me to claim any chance at victory."

Seiryuu processes that while taking a moment to eat. The questions he needs answered are how far she restricted herself and what odds Byakko would give himself in another battle.

When Seiryuu watched Ibaraki fight she displayed a wide range of abilities. If she used all of them but held back to not kill Byakko, that would put him at ease.

"When you say she placed restrictions on herself…?" Seiryuu prods his companion.

"She fought me head-on, solely with martial arts and made no attempts to attack vitals. Sometimes it felt like I was sparring with the Clan Head again." Byakko shudders.

Seiryuu fumbles his chopsticks in response. "Pardon?"

"I know what you want to hear," Byakko sighs and begrudgingly elaborates, "If we fought one hundred times, I'd win maybe twenty of those. If she was trying to kill me as well, I'd lower that to one or two victories. Winning would be near impossible for the current me."

Despite any potential embarrassment from admitting that, Byakko has a small genuine smile on his face, like a child giddy about a new toy.

"It's refreshing in a way. With Ouryuu, I thought the gap between us was pointless to even attempt to bridge but with Ibaraki, I feel excited about the prospect of fighting her again." Byakko chuckles to himself and digs into some pickled vegetables.

The conclusion Byakko has come to regarding Ibaraki's strength is horrifying to Seiryuu but what's worse is his casual comparison of Ibaraki to Ouryuu.

While Seiryuu thought she was impressively powerful when he met her, he had never got the impression she was in the same league as the current Yellow Dragon.

It's comforting that Ouryuu, as the Yellow Dragon Inheritor, has the best interests of the Principal Clans at heart. Ibaraki on the other hand, is an outsider who, if Byakko is to be believed, has a similar level of strength.

"So we just hope she remains friendly with the Principal Clans or sick Ouryuu on her? That's not exactly what I wanted to hear." Seiryuu says bitterly.

"Aren't you being needlessly hostile?" Byakko asks around a mouthful of rice, "She had no reason to spare me or call you guys to help, other than if she wants to have a good relationship with us. Or more specifically, she wants a good relationship with Suzaku."

Seiryuu blinks slowly, "I.. guess when you put it like that, I'm seeing enemies where there aren't any."

Byakko just nods as though he should've thought of that already.

"Thank you for correcting my misunderstanding," Seiryuu says while pinching his brow.

"Of course. You may be smart but you've gotta admit you aren't the best with people." Byakko winks at him and flashes a cheeky smile.

"Though if it makes you feel any better, I'd give her the same odds against Ouryuu as I gave myself against her. He's still in an entirely different league." Weirdly enough, Byakko's assurance does make Seiryuu feel a bit better.

"Now would you like my assessment of her as a person or just as a potential enemy?" Byakko tilts his head and asks with faux innocence.

"Of course. We already gathered you're a better judge of character." Seiryuu responds sardonically.

Byakko hums and thinks about his encounter with Ibaraki; both the battle itself and the interactions afterwards told him a lot about her personality.

Some of what he learned is problematic but not overly so. Strong people tend to have eccentricities after all.

"I think that when it comes to people she cares about or is invested in, she takes careful consideration of them. That's why she immediately decided not to kill me when she realized who I was." Byakko explains his first point in his assessment.

"The problem is that outside that circle, she doesn't seem to think people are worthy of anything but the smallest consideration. Her suggestion to murder the Peerage of Shax was one she made with a minimal stake in my revenge." Byakko grits his teeth as he remembers how they got to this point but calms quickly. "She saw an opportunity to help me feel better and discarded their lives in an instant."

Seiryuu frowns as he takes that in. "Isn't that just because they're devils that offended her? I would've suggested the same if she hadn't."

Byakko stares blankly at Seiryuu. "We just established you're lacking empathy. I'm saying she makes the same cold calculations regarding outsiders as you."

Byakko rolls his eyes as Seiryuu doesn't seem to see anything wrong with that. "The other example is before we left, she wasn't concerned about the members of her gang that might've been dying."

While calculative by nature, Seiryuu is also fiercely loyal so his expression changes to contemplation.

 "She may have said it was because the devils attacking were weak but her expression was one of boredom, not confidence. Her rush to get there was more for Suzaku's sake if I had to guess." After Byakko elaborates, Seiryuu sees the problem based on his frown.

"I'm not saying that's the worst attitude she could have but it's something to watch out for. I think her moral framework is very flexible for people who aren't close to her or valuable." Byakko finishes only to add on quickly, "Though I've hardly spent time with her."

"No, I can see what you mean," Seiryuu replies distractedly.

His mind goes to the Dragonslayer Festival where Ibaraki led the charge to save the Tengu Clan Heiress.

He hadn't thought anything of it at the time because it was a noble act to gather everyone to save her. Now though, he wonders if it was simply because of her political value that she was saved.

From the sounds of it, Ibaraki has connections to the leadership of the West Yokai Faction, or at the very least Yasaka. Taking that into consideration, she would've been in a shaky situation if the Tengu Heiress had died that day.

He's startled out of his thoughts by a flick on his forehead.

"You're spiraling." Byakko mumbles, his mouth full again, "Don't make conclusions blindly off what I'm saying. Suzaku is the only one who has spent any real amount of time with Ibaraki."

"Right, we'll need to ask her then." Seiryuu confidently states only for Byakko to sigh.

"We aren't interrogating Suzaku either," Seiryuu growls in frustration, almost snapping his chopsticks at another suggestion being shot down.

He's about to ask what should be done when Byakko interrupts him. "How about we spend time with the woman in question?"

Seiryuu bites his tongue as Byakko continues, "I have to help her alter the Breathing Technique she stole so it isn't obvious where she got it."

"More than that though, I want to make good on that promise to spar with her again. Hell, I might just want to hang out too." Byakko grins widely. "She doesn't seem too bad."

"I did want to talk to her about that samurai that we met at the festival and his clan. It would be good to have her help dealing with them." Hearing this, Byakko clicks his tongue.

"Change that to, 'it would be good to talk to her and if things work out, having my new friend help to deal with them would be great,'" Byakko scolds. "When you drop the 'cool facade of indifference' in private you're kind of cringe, dude."

Seiryuu simply scowls and picks at his meal, ending their conversation just in time for Suzaku to skip into the courtyard with a wide smile.

"Evening boys!" She chirps, uncannily upbeat compared to her usual more reserved and elegant demeanour.

Seiryuu's eyebrows shoot upwards and he trades a glance with Byakko who is grinning mischievously.

"Someone's happy." Byakko teases.

Suzaku shrugs and her smile doesn't dim in the slightest.

She comes straight up to Seiryuu and surprises him with a hug, causing him to stiffen and shoot her an embarrassed glare.

"Thank you for decorating that island for me. I know I was arguing that there needed to be more flowers or just more in general but you were right. Ibaraki loved it." She mercifully releases him and sits at the table with them.

'Island?' Byakko mouths to Seiryuu who rolls his eyes.

'No concept of money.' Seiryuu mouths back before Suzaku notices.

"I told you it was fine." Seiryuu sniffs haughtily, failing to hide his blush.

"And you were right." Suzaku beams, undeterred by his prickly response.

"Is that why your lips are bruised?" Byakko asks innocently.

Suzaku's composure breaks at that and she blushes bright red, frantically checking her lips with a quick spell.

Of course, when she realizes Byakko was lying she blushes even harder.

"She was very happy to be there," Suzaku mutters as she looks away.

"Oh, was she now?" Seiryuu asks eager to get back at Suzaku for the affront to his personal space.

"Not like that!" She hisses.

She shyly curls a stray lock of hair around her finger, "We just kissed… for a while. Nothing you're thinking of."

"I'm not sure what you're thinking of but my question was innocent." Seiryuu fires back.

"I also got the information we needed beforehand." She rushes out to change the topic, too embarrassed to continue.

She pulls out a USB and lays it on the table, then grabs one of the side dishes left to snack on.

Seiryuu looks amused and she narrows her eyes at him. "I haven't eaten since before all this happened."

"No judgment here," Seiryuu waves off the accusation and grabs the USB. "This is safe, right?"

Suzaku swallows her mouthful and rolls her eyes, "Ibaraki and the rest of the Oni have only been in modern civilization for a short time. They don't have the technological literacy for that to be dangerous."

Seiryuu pulls a tablet from his pocket dimension, a secure tablet not connected to any relevant networks. "Better safe than sorry."

He plugs the USB in and begins the transfer of data only for his tablet to flash a warning. "Safe, huh?"

The systems on the tablet isolate the hostile programs and Seiryuu examines the information as Suzaku shifts nervously.

"Well, you're right that it wasn't Ibaraki who tried to infiltrate our systems like this. But that just means the systems in her organization are compromised." Seiryuu flashes a smug grin at Suzaku.

"It seems that she got information from the Fallen and didn't bother to check the data she was given," Seiryuu says, recognizing the origin of the programs from familiarity.

All the supernatural organizations had their infiltration methods but the devils and especially the Fallen liked to use technology to get information. Considering that the Principal Clans are, some of, if not the most knowledgeable faction in Japan -outside divine sight- it isn't odd that they'd run up against data probes from the Fallen before.

Suzaku looks mortified and Seiryuu feels slightly regretful.

"It's likely that all her systems that this program touched are compromised." Seiryuu explains, pausing as he remembers the criminal elements in Kyoto, "The work of the local Fallen operation, I assume? The one that runs out of the Sentry branch?"

Suzaku sighs, "I'll let her know… tomorrow."

Byakko raises a brow, "It's a major security breach though."

"They're not going to make any overt moves. It doesn't fit the way the Fallen operate," She blushes as she continues, "I'd rather not give her bad news right now."

"Aw, that's so sweet," Byakko coos, then yelps as he ducks under a fireball.

"Can you not do that and instead fill me in on our preliminary plans?" Suzaku asks with her face still aflame with embarrassment.

"Of course," Seiryuu says before Byakko can embarrass Suzaku further, then shifts into an explanation of what he and Byakko discussed.