It didn't take long to reach Kyoto.
Hayama had sorted everything beforehand — lodging, schedules, all of it. Honestly, the man was indispensable. I'd left him in the city though.
Yamamoto came with me instead.
The plan was straightforward enough. Talks with the Youkai faction first, then the rest of the time was ours. Mine and Sona's. A proper date in Kyoto.
Then Serafall happened.
I don't know exactly when she attached herself to the trip. She just did. I tried ignoring it. Didn't work. Eventually I let it go — she wasn't going to ruin anything. Probably.
Right now I was inside the Youkai faction's western headquarters. It looked exactly like I remembered from the anime.
Still weird, checking real places against a cartoon I watched years ago.
My mind drifted to the gathering held a few days back. I'd been invited but missed it — the incident had eaten my entire week. Yamamoto had briefed me on the plane. Yasaka's faction had been in quiet talks with the Japanese government since the press conference. Cooperative enough to satisfy the humans. Careful enough not to look weak in front of the eastern faction, who were watching every move she made.
The eastern faction was the complication and based on the reports, it seemed they would be a problem.
I was still thinking about that when she walked in.
Tall. Long blonde hair, nearly floor-length. Gold eyes. Shrine maiden clothes under a white coat, red ribbon at the front, golden crown on top. Beautiful wasn't a strong enough word.
And her chest — I'll just say the anime severely undersold it and leave it at that.
She spoke.
"It's a shame you couldn't attend the gathering, Mishima-san. We had hoped to meet you there."
"The timing was unfortunate. The incident that week wasn't something I could step away from." I paused for a moment. "I apologize for the absence. It wasn't the impression I wanted to make."
She smiled. "We understood, Mishima-san. The situation was not lost on us."
"Still," I said, "I'd have liked to be there. Understanding where both factions stand before sitting down at a table makes these conversations easier for everyone."
"That's precisely why your presence here matters now." She gestured toward the low table between us, tea already poured. "Please, make yourself comfortable."
After a while, we both settled down.
Yasaka spoke first.
"We are very delighted that you accepted our invitation, Mishima-san." Genuine. Measured. "Especially given recent events. We understand it hasn't been easy — even we are having difficulty adjusting to the new normal, now that humanity is aware of our presence."
"It hasn't been easy," I agreed. "For anyone, I imagine." I set the cup down. "But enough of that. Why did you invite me?"
I said straight to the point. I already had a rough idea from Yamamoto's reports, but I wanted to hear it from her directly.
Yasaka blinked. A small reaction, barely there — she hadn't expected me to cut through the pleasantries that quickly. She recovered fast though, I'd give her that.
"I…" She paused, recomposed. "We originally sought your assistance regarding the attacks that had been occurring against our people. However, since the incident…they stopped….Perhaps you have some idea who was responsible?"
"The Hero Faction," I said.
No point dressing it up.
Her expression shifted. Something tightened around her eyes — not surprise exactly, more like pieces clicking into place.
"Their leader was involved in the incident. I put him down hard enough but he managed to escape."
"That's why the attacks stopped."
I nodded.
"And they'll try again once they've recovered."
"Yes…"
The room was quiet for a moment.
Then I saw steel and resolve formed in Yasaka's eyes as she took a deep breath.
"Then we were right to reach out."
I stayed quiet and waited.
"We, the western Youkai faction, would like to sign a peace treaty proposal with the Mishima Corporation."
"Why?"
Yasaka set her cup down.
"The western and eastern Youkai factions have coexisted for a long time, Mishima-san. Not as allies — but not as enemies either. A mutual understanding. Neutral ground." She paused. "Unfortunately, the eastern faction currently stands in open hostility with the Five Principal Clans. And that conflict…has made our neutrality difficult to maintain."
"Both sides have been applying pressure. The east expects solidarity simply because we share heritage. The Five Principal Clans view our neutrality as suspicious at best, obstruction at worst." A short pause. "We have no desire to be pulled into their war. But desire alone does not hold a position."
"I understand the position," I said. "But the Mishima Corporation is a neutral entity, Yasaka-san. Our only concern is human safety. So tell me —" I leaned forward slightly. What makes you think I'd accept?"
She met my eyes and didn't look away.
"Because neutrality without a guarantee is just a word, Mishima-san."
"Every faction in the world knows what you are. What your corporation represents. Signing with you doesn't mean we've chosen a side. It means we've placed ourselves somewhere no one wants to test."
I didn't respond immediately. I let her continue.
"At the same time, we are not simply asking for your protection, Mishima-san. We are offering a partnership. One we believe you will find worthwhile."
I was quiet for a moment.
"The Mishima Corporation's mandate is human safety. So walk me through it. How does a partnership with the western Youkai faction serve that mandate?"
"The conflict between the eastern faction and the Five Principal Clans does not exist in a vacuum, Mishima-san. It spills. Into territory. Into the people living on it."
She paused. "Kyoto is not an empty city. It has shrines, districts, and civilians who have lived alongside our kind for centuries. If that conflict reaches us, it reaches them."
She had come prepared. I'd give her that.
"You think I can't handle that on my own?" I said. "That my company can't manage that without you?"
A brief hesitation. Just a flicker. Then she recovered.
"The world is very large, Mishima-san." Her voice stayed composed, but there was something practical underneath it now. Honest. "The Mishima Corporation is still growing its reach. There are gaps. Territories. Old channels that take decades to build trust in." She held my gaze. "More factions will come to you after this. I have no doubt about that. I simply want to be the first. To establish where we stand before the line gets crowded."
I laughed.
She was right.
The reveal hadn't been part of the plan. Not yet. Not this early. The press conference was a necessary call given the circumstances, but the Mishima Corporation wasn't ready for the scale of attention it brought. The manpower alone was a problem — too few people stretched across too much ground. I'd always known that was something I needed to fix. I just hadn't expected the timeline to get pulled forward like this.
When Yamamoto briefed me on the plane about the western Youkai faction's intentions, I'd already made up my mind before we landed. A faction with deep territorial roots, established information networks, and centuries of operational history in Japan wasn't something I could build from scratch. It would take years. Yasaka was offering to hand it to me.
And she wasn't going to be the last. More factions would follow once word got around. That was the point.
At the same time, it was also one of the reasons I'd built the dimensional cube, to recruit individuals from other worlds and dimension.
"At least you're straightforward about it."
Yasaka smiled.
"I find it saves time, Mishima-san."
"Fair enough. I'll accept the proposal."
Something shifted in Yasaka's expression. Relief, I recognized.
"We are grateful, Mishima-san."
"Don't thank me yet." I leaned back slightly. "I have conditions. Nothing unreasonable of course, but we can talk about that later."
"Of course." She inclined her head. "We are in no rush."
We spent the better part of the next hour going through the finer details.
Yasaka was thorough. I appreciated that. By the time we'd covered enough ground to call it a productive first meeting, the afternoon had gotten noticeably older.
I stood to leave.
Yasaka walked us to the door herself.
"I hope you will allow us to host you for dinner tomorrow evening, Mishima-san. Consider it a small gesture of goodwill."
"I'd like that," I said. "We'll be there."
She smiled
She also offered to house us at their headquarters for the remainder of my stay in Kyoto. Gracious. I turned it down politely. Hayama had already handled the arrangements and I saw no reason to undo his work.
We parted on good terms.
The hotel was quiet when we got back.
Sona was sitting in the main room with a book open in her lap and an expression on her face that could have stripped paint. Serafall was draped across the adjacent sofa looking like she had personally exhausted every possible form of entertainment available in a five room radius and found them all lacking.
I took one look at the two of them and laughed.
I didn't need to ask. I could piece together exactly how the last few hours had gone just from the state they were both in.
"How was it?" Sona asked, her eyes lifting from the page.
"Productive," I said, dropping into the seat across from her. "Very productive."
Serafall bolted upright immediately. "Ooh, tell me everything—"
"Later." I looked at Sona. "How was your afternoon?"
The look she gave me answered that completely.
I laughed again.
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