In the beginning, one of the first show of force the Five Principals Clans used to cement their hold over Japan had been binding powerful Yokai to their service and forcing them to bow low in supplication. To show the Yokai that, yes they were a threat that could no longer be so easily swatted aside like an annoying fly. To try and enforce the idea that they were nothing more than animals waiting to be domesticated into house pets.
Never, in a thousand or tens of thousands of years did anyone expect the roles to be reversed. For an heir to that powerful collective to bow to their most hated foe. To throw away generations of pride and superiority in one single action.
The priests, both old and young looked as though they sucked on a particularly sour lemon. Eyes narrowing to slits and filling with shock. Some of the elders even looked ready to begin lecturing the girl but held back after glancing around the room of Yokai. If her goal was to defuse the tension in the room, then Doumon Genbu had succeeded splendidly.
Charms dulled, claws retracted and fangs were forced back behind uncurled lips. Silence filled the room in her wake. The ball fully in the Council's court.
Yasaka only looked on blankly, her own daughter's face easily overlapping the young heir's. Their mannerism were similar, both far too young to be acting like adults. Much less having their same responsibilities. This was a battlefield not meant for children and here they went sending one to fight on the Clan's behalf.
It would've disgusted her, if only she couldn't feel the power oozing off the silver haired child. Ki, pooled off her very form. The girl was obviously very skilled at keeping that power at bay, stopping it's pressure from turning the weak to paste. But no matter how talented or adept she might be, those golden eyes had seen too many hosts of the Sacred Beasts to not know any better. Genbu had always been of a more defensive creature, it's aura stretching far into the air itself and encompassing the entire convoy.
Even if she allowed the entire council to attack right in that moment, it would take less than a moment for that ethereal shield to become tangible. A crystalline, structure mimicking scales would hold them off long enough for their senior priests to deploy their Shikigami. It would be a tough but if neither Yasaka nor Doumon Genbu interfere further, she knew the councilmen would take the victory. Not without loss of course but they were still centuries old Yokai. That level of experience was difficult to gap by these short lived humans.
But if the two powerhouses were to actually fight? It would turn all of Kyoto into crater. Her with that near infinite levels of Ki flooding through her form and a mortal possessing the power of a Sacred Beast created by the Shinto Pantheon. But who was she kidding? Things weren't going to devolve into a fight.
They knew her far too well. She was not going to kill a girl who was the same age as her daughter.
But that didn't mean she would just dance to their tune. If the girl wanted to bow, then so be it. Her master once said, an Empress never bows. Who cares if it was shameless? She learned from the best after all.
Resting her chin in hand and leaning back, she made her golden eyes to gleam lightly in the light. A quick and subtle application of Ki. Before she unspoiled her tightly wound knot of control and allowed her Divine Pressure snake out into the room. Skipping over her advisors and staff, it slammed into the priests all at once. Not to the point of shattering their internal organs, but enough to lightly squeeze them. To make them more pliable and on edge. More prone to making mistakes, and fits of anger. Feeling claustrophobic would do that to people.
At least, that's what should've happened. But instead, just as that wave of pressure came flooding their way, it crashed against a 'solid' barrier. Sending out a ringing gong through her. The girl had some talent, being able to shield not just her but all her entire convoy from something so potentially deadly. But Yasaka was old and experienced, having lived through a time of Divine Pressure duels, it was mere child's play to splash against that ethereal defense and 'seep' through the cracks.
The affect might be marginal, but that was all she needed.
Those purple eyes flickered up to meet hers with shock clear before they fell back to the floor.
"You may rise." Kiyo spoke up after the blonde waved a single, a well manicured hand towards the heir imperiously. Like they were subjects to be ordered around. Could it really be considered petty if she really, really enjoyed the flashes of hatred floating across those elders countenance? "The Yokai Faction welcomes the representatives of the Five Principal Clans. While it common practice to provide room and board for you and your convoy...but for obvious reasons, you cannot stay here in Kyoto. Instead, we have set aside a compound farther out of the city, for our citizen's safety of course. You will all stay there. Worry not, these accommodations will surely adequate for people of your...standing."
"We wouldn't want to sleep in a city of animals anyway."
One elder murmured under his breathe, already more than aware of Yokai's sensitive hearing.
"We will accept any accommodations you might have for us." Genbu said quickly, obviously trying to move the conversation along. Nothing would get done if things were allowed to stay as they are. The blonde knew this but still just waited to see exactly what they had in their back pocket. "But first, we wish to present a gift to you. A way to show our appreciation to you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice."
From the back of the group, two human servants carried a small but hefty looking chest. It's surface made of pure gold and embedded with rubies. And even from this far away, Yasaka could easily see the tightly packed kanji etched into it's surface.
The girl motions for them to open the chest and when they did, the entire hall was filled with light. Blindingly bright, like the sun itself had risen in their hall. Slowly dying out, there lying in the bottom was a very peculiar object.
A clay jar, no bigger than her palm, with a single paper charm wrapped around it's side. It's plain white but heavily decorate surface was nice to look at, but it was the Ki flooding the air that caught her attention. Like a thick and rolling cloud, it slammed into each of the Yokai there. Shaking them down to their very bones, making it so even those that had never seen such a thing could easily tell what was inside.
Shrine Water.
But not just from any shrine, but from how much power was oozing off, it had to be one of the major shrines. Maybe even the Ise Grand Shrine.
A grand purifier, an elixir of such power and value that it was one of the reasons why the Five Principals Clans were both coveted and respected. Capable of healing almost any wound but also providing the consumer such a massive power boost and further enhanced their foundations, it was something only reserved for the very elite of their Clan. Their heirs in particular.
"Normally it looses it's affects the further it gets away from Ise Grand Shrine but through some preservation talismans, we're able to transport this much to you." An elder, seeing this as his chance, took a step forward and motioned to the opened chest. A smarmy smile on his face. "While I'm sure any one of you will greatly benefit from this….it is more for the younger generation. Their foundations aren't set in stone like us. This is our gift to your chosen youth, but please make haste. I believe it can last another...four hours before it becomes nothing more than normal water."
For a moment, a heart stopping moment, Yasaka only had a single person on her mind to receive such a massive boon. Her daughter had already possessed such pristine and well cultivated Ki channels, but this highly potent Shrine Water would surely push them over the edge to actual perfection. Putting her on the same level as Core Disciples from those massive and powerful sects of old. That and it'll increase her recovery rate and further reinforce her body to handle more of her Divine Organs being cleared.
But in the next second, the trap became so easily peered through. A two fold trap, one part to inject some turbulence into her court and the other, to get closer to her pride and joy. It seemed once a snake, always a snake. Did they really think her to be so dumb? So naive and blinded by parental love that she couldn't see right through them?
Glancing to the side, she locked grim gazes with Nurarihyon. They both knew if this wasn't handle carefully, there would be war amongst the Yokai. Only further emboldening those rebellious factions that slowly gained a foot hold after all these centuries. They couldn't afford a schism now, not with the world watching them so closely.
A very sneaky move, a poisonous apple. Sweet and alluring, dangling right before their noses. Poking and prodding at her inner most circle. Now, it was time to see who took the first bite.