Kyoto
"Lord Kenji, this way please."
The attendant bowed deeply, her voice trembling slightly with a mix of reverence and nerves as she guided him through the halls of the Shinto estate. Kenji gave the girl a small, reassuring smile as they reached the heavy sliding doors of the main office.
He stepped inside, the rhythmic thump-clack of a shishi-odoshi water fountain echoing from the private courtyard outside, providing a serene backdrop.
"Yasaka. Amaterasu," he greeted, nodding to both women.
The two greeted him in return. Yasaka gave a composed, regal nod, her nine golden tails swaying. Amaterasu, however, watched him with a faint smile as she greeted back with a glint in her eyes. It was the look of a predator.
Kenji didn't miss the slight feel in her magic. Using observation, he could see the slight increase in some of her stats.
For a being of her caliber, even this small looking growth would make a difference.'She used them,' Kenji thought, his eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly as he took his seat. 'Just how many did she use to have this effect on her'
He had given her five full crates of mana stones as a "gesture of goodwill" and a very calculated bribe. To see this level of an increase for an individual like her meant she must have consumed at least three entire boxes herself to reach.
"You look like you've been well," Kenji remarked dryly, settling into the plush floor cushion.
Amaterasu's smile widened, her eyes gleaming with golden light. "Your 'gifts' have a very... interesting effect, Kenji-san. They are much appreciated. It has been centuries since I felt something like this."
The meeting proceeded into the finer details of their arrangement, moving from pleasantries to the cold calculus of territory. The core of the deal was simple, Shizuoka was officially Kenji's territory in the eyes of the Shinto Pantheon and the Kyoto Yokai.
However, sovereignty came with a subscription fee so at the end even if he owned the land in a sense he'd have to pay rent, while kenji would prefer not to this was the best way to get a place for himself to set up his faction without people bitching and trying to caus etrouble for him likesaying he had no right and shit like that.
They haggled and argued over the logistics for nearly an hour, Amaterasu pushing for a higher, more frequent volume of mana stones to fuel her pantheon. At the end of it, it really did feel like Kenji was "renting" the city from the gods, but as long as the shipments of stones kept coming, he knew that it was his to do with as he pleased, and the Shinto gods won't really mind.
"One condition," Yasaka stated, her voice non-negotiable. "No expulsion of the Yokai currently living there, I believe I mentioned this before the other day."
"Of course, but if they live in my city, then they will live by my rules. If they break them, they deal with me," Kenji said firmly. He was not going to have them thinking that just because he got the land from the Shinto gods, they could do as they pleased.
Yasaka held his gaze for a long moment, sensing the firmness in his words. "Agreed," she said firmly, her tails stilling. "As long as the rules are fair and communicated clearly, they are under your jurisdiction."
The atmosphere was almost relaxed as they moved toward administrative formalities when a sudden, frantic knock shattered the peaceful silence. The same attendant who had brought Kenji in stepped through the door, her tail swinging around and her ears twitching.
"My lady... Lord Azazel is here. He... he insisted on immediate entry."
The temperature in the room plummeted instantly. Kenji's face went completely blank, a void of expression that seemed far more terrifying than his scowl. His eyes began to glow with a faint purple and golden light.
Yasaka noticed the shift and nearly flinched at the coldness in his eyes, but she forced herself to remain steady even as the magic in his body started to rise.
"Azazel?" Kenji asked, his voice low.
"Yes," Yasaka explained, her voice hushed. "He sent one of his Fallen, Penemue, beforehand to request a meeting. I unfortunately owe an old debt to the Governor General from a while back, so I informed him to meet me today. But... he was not supposed to be here for another few hours. He is early."
Kenji clicked his teeth. 'As always, that damn crow... testing boundaries,' he growled internally.
He stood up, the chair scraping against the floor with a screech. "Since our meeting has concluded, it seems it's time for me to leave. I have no desire to be part of whatever circus he's bringing."
"Technically, we aren't done with everything yet, they is still a bit more to discuss," Amaterasu said, her tone sounding far too amused. She seemed to be enjoying the prospect of a confrontation.
Kenji felt a surge of irritation as he growled. "Then have someone sent to inform me when the crow is gone," he snapped. He turned his gaze toward the door, his aura flaring just enough to make the air feel heavy. "If I stay here, I assure you today would be the day the overgrown bird finally dies, and I don't think you want to clean the mess that would make or the blood off these nice mats."
"Oh? Don't say such scary things!"
That annoying, breezy voice sounded just as the door slid open without waiting for an invitation. Azazel entered with a casual stride, his hands in his pockets and that trademark, punchable smile on his face. He looked entirely too relaxed.
"It's a pleasure to meet you here, Mr. Takahashi," the Fallen leader said, beaming as if they were old college friends.
Kenji's face remained a mask of ice. "Crow."
Azazel chuckled, his eyes crinkling. "Don't be like that, friend! You're always so tense. Life is too short, well, for you, anyway, to spend it being grumpy." He reached out, his hand moving toward Kenji's shoulder in a gesture of false camaraderie.
He stopped mid-air when he felt Kenji's mana flare.
"Touch me," Kenji growled, his voice dropping, "and I will kill you before you can even think about unfurling those ugly wings of yours."
"Rude. Come on, don't joke like that," Azazel teased, his smile widening as if he thought Kenji was merely posturing for the goddesses. "Besides, you've said that nearly every time we've met, and yet here I am, still plucked and kicking and—"
Azazel's smile vanished instantly.
One moment, he was standing, the next, his body refused to obey. Purple light shone around his form, like a shield, but rather than keeping him safe, it was what was holding him in place. His limbs snapped into place with a sickening crack as his joints were forced into a rigid, upright position. His spine straightened with unnatural force, the sound of his vertebrae popping echoing in the silent room. He looked like a wooden doll being manipulated by invisible, cruel strings.
He was hoisted five feet into the air, his boots dangling uselessly above the tatami mats.
Yasaka and Amaterasu stood up immediately, their auras flaring in response. The room was suddenly tense, or maybe more so.
"Drop him, Kenji!" Amaterasu said, her voice dropping its playful edge. She was the leader of a faction, if the Governor General of the Fallen Angels, a leader of another faction died in her Territory, it would be a total war.
"Kenji, please! Drop him!" Yasaka pleaded, her tails bristling.
Kenji ignored them both. He walked forward slowly.
Azazel struggled. He pushed his mana to the limit, his twelve black wings trying to unfurl to break the bind he was in, but he found himself paralyzed and unable to.
His eyes widened in genuine shock as he realized that even with his full power, he couldn't move an inch. The hold on him was absolute.
For the first time in centuries, Azazel realized he had miscalculated, badly at that, on just how much of a monster Kenji Takahashi was.
"Do you know why you're still alive, Crow?" Kenji whispered. But the words echoed in the room.
"I wanted to kill you since the first time we met, after the shit you pulled in my home. I let it go because the battle was too close to my home and my family. Then you pull that stunt of bringing enemies to the front of my home with that meeting of yours. I was going to remove your head right then and there, if not for the chaos that followed."
The purple light tightened, glowing a deeper, more malevolent violet. Azazel let out a strangled, wet groan as his ribs began to creak under the atmospheric pressure.
"Kenji" Amaterasu growled out.
"Do you know why I didn't, in the end?" Kenji asked, leaning in close to the Fallen, his voice barely a breath. "It was because I knew that if I killed you, your stupid, loyal followers would all come after me. And then I'd have to kill them too. And the next batch. And the next. And eventually, I'd get bored with the repetition and just wipe out your entire little species for the sake of my family's peace."
Kenji looked into Azazel's eyes, and for a fleeting second, the Fallen saw a darkness in them.
"Kenji!" Yasaka spoke more firmly, her power beginning to push back against the power in the room. Kenji could feel Amaterasu's power rising behind him, too.
He nearly snorted. It wouldn't end well for her if she tried to interfere with his space.
A long moment of silence passed, the only sound being Azazel's shallow, pained breathing. Then, the purple light shattered like glass. Azazel dropped to the floor, stumbling as he caught his balance, gasping for air, and clutching his bruised ribs.
Kenji didn't look back. He started walking toward the exit, and his shadow seemed like it was stretching long across the floor. "Inform me when he's gone so we can finish our discussion."
The room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.
"Just what did you do this time, Azazel?" Yasaka sighed, sinking back into her chair and looking at the Governor General with annoyance. Her tails moved with agitated energy.
Azazel didn't answer immediately. He leaned against the wall, his face pale and sweat beading on his forehead. He was still trying to steady his breathing.
How? When they first met, the human was just an interesting anomaly. Even a month ago, he had assumed Kenji was just a very skilled Ultimate-class mage who had found a few shortcuts.
But this? This was total suppression. He couldn't even retaliate. He felt like a mouse that had just met a cat the size of a mountain.
"You seem to have made a particular enemy, Azazel," Amaterasu said, her eyes narrowed. The fact that Kenji hadn't even flinched at her own rising power told her that she needed to reevaluate him, especially after what he just did to Azazel. She felt a thrill of excitement for some odd reason.
Azazel forced a charming, if slightly shaky, smile back onto his face. He adjusted his coat, trying to regain his dignity. "He just doesn't seem to know how to take a joke, that's all. I'm sure we'll be besties after everything settles down. Men like him just need a little... persuasion."
The two women just stared at him. No one believed a word he said.
"Why are you here, Azazel?" Yasaka asked, her voice cold. "Penemue said you had something important, and that this should clear the debt you're owed. Speak and be gone."
"Ah, yes." Azazel sat down, finally regaining his composure. He reached into his pocket and placed a small, shimmering object on the table.
Both women froze.
"And what is that?" Yasaka asked, her voice tight.
Azazel raised a brow, his expression saying 'Really?' without him needing to utter a word. "This is apparently called a mana stone from what I've managed to gather. Let me tell you an interesting tale of how I found this... and just how precious it is. May you know something about it too."
Elsewhere, Kenji stepped through a rift he had cut with the Yamato. He had intended to stay in Kyoto for a few days to oversee the territory transition and perhaps enjoy the local scenery, but after seeing the Crow, he wasn't in the mood to breathe the same air.
He wasn't joking when he said he was going to kill him, he really was going to, now that he was powerful enough. He stepped into his living room.
He dropped onto the couch, rubbing his temples to cool his simmering bloodlust. He took deep breaths. After a few minutes, he pulled out his phone and called Anastasia.
"Hey," he said softly, his voice finally losing its serrated edge.
"Are you alright?" she asked immediately. She could always sense the "edge" in his voice, somehow.
"I'm fine. Just ran into an annoyance in Kyoto. had to come back home. Just wanted to check up on you. How is it going with your parents?"
He heard her let out a long, weary groan over the line, followed by the sound of a heavy door closing. "If not for Ren being here to keep me grounded, I might have just attacked them full on. They are trying to drive me crazy with 'legacy' talk, Kenji. Dmitri is being insufferable."
Kenji laughed, the sound finally breaking the last of the tension in his chest. They talked for a few minutes. normal, casual things until a thought occurred to him as he looked toward the stairs.
"Where are the girls? They with you?"
There was a long, heavy pause on the other end.
"Kenji... I left them at home. Aren't they there?"
Kenji froze. His grip on the phone tightened until the plastic casing groaned.
He closed his eyes and expanded his Sense to its maximum range. He scanned the house first. Empty. He pushed further. The block? Nothing. The city? He swept the entire Shizuoka district, searching for the specific, bright fire of Ayaka's soul and the calm, rhythmic flow of Aoi's.
Nothing.
His heart dropped into his stomach, replaced by a cold, hollow dread. They wouldn't. They couldn't have been that reckless.
He moved instantly, a blur of motion. He sprinted up the stairs, throwing open the doors to the girls' rooms. The beds were made, but the closets were a mess. Clothes were scattered on the floor, several travel bags were conspicuously missing, and a small, hastily scrawled note sat on Ayaka's desk, half-hidden by a book.
'See you in a few days! Love you!'
"They did."
He stood in the center of the room, the note trembling in his hand. His voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl that made the windows vibrate in their frames and the air in the room begin to distort. "Those idiots ...went to Hell."
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