Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

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CHANGE

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Chapter Eleven

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They had made it to the capital in record time, which was two days before the caravan did. When Kurai finally met Ikasu he was forced to accept a small sack filled with gold as thanks for protecting his daughter. Ikasu had made absolutely sure that there was no way that Kurai could refuse the generous reward, especially after hearing Ikari's tale about Kurai helping the Ryuu Taiho tame two youma. Ikasu, forcefully, offered his home for Kurai to stay in while he stayed in the capital.

It took a while for Kurai to get used to such treatment, he did not feel all calm about the treatment and actually found it quite suspicious. The amount of gold that was given to him, as well as the lack of witnesses save for Ikari, could in the future cause him to be forced to stay, or do whatever it was that he suspected that Ikasu had planned. There must have been something in the letter, or possibly simply the presence of the letter that had caused Ikasu to act the way he was acting. He did not act at all like a merchant, he appeared too generous, even for a man worried about and greatful for the safe return of his daughter. There was something missing, and Kurai planned on figuring out what it was, luckily Ikari had not told her father about Kurai's ravens, and the tricks he had up his sleeves.

Kurai was not expressly forbidden from wandering around the city, he was simply warned about the dangers that were present in the city at all times nowadays. Not only was there a special unit of solders in charge of kidnapping people off of the streets for questioning, but there were also the numerous sightings of youma that attacked even the capital itself every now and then. The close proximity to the palace and the presence of the kirin no longer having much of an effect on the monsters that preyed on the near helpless citizens.

While first left the home that he had been coerced into staying in, Ikasu read the contents of the letter. He had been waiting for his guest to leave his home in order for him to be sure that his guest would not find out about the contents of the letter. The letter itself did not make him act in the way that he did, but the reason behind his father having someone hand him the letter. It was a symbolic gesture that told Ikasu that Kotetsu had divined or chosen Kurai as the one that would bring a more real semblance to stability, and allow the country to have a chance of moving forward.

Ikasu had not really chosen to stay, rather, his father had ordered him to stay, and make sure that when a warrior was found that could topple the government then he would be the one to manipulate the person into doing such a thing, so as not to stain the person's conscience at committing such a grave sin as assassination.

The contents of the letter simply stated that the man that brough the letter was one of great skill power, and confidence, and since Ikari had told the tale of how Kurai had aided in the taming of two youma, Ikasu was forced into believing. He did not know how his father knew who was meant to do certain things, he just knew that his father had an uncanny ability to tell a person's destiny by just speaking with him or her.

After disposing of the letter, Ikasu left his house, after informing his daughter that he had a business meeting to attend to. He walked at a semi-fast pace to the home of one of his business associates, the associate was a Hanjyuu named Okugi, a hanjyuu being a half-beast which was someone born with the shape of an animal yet having the ability to turn into a human, they were like animagi, cept they were born with the ability. Okugi had the form of a lizard-snake thing, and was not only a merchant, but also one of the members of the local resistance and rebellion organization that opposed the rule of the King due to the way things were at the present time. The country was suffering, but they had no way of convincing their ruler that things were bad, since all the court officials, or most of them anyway, were pulling the strings using the ruler's inexperience with emotional matters, and matters of the heart. They ran the country as the shadow kings of Ryuu, the ruler being oblivious to their schemes, thinking that he was still doing the right thing.

The officials were crafty and sneaky, as soon as they figured out that there was a middle ground where they could be corrupt but at the same time keep their ruler in power. After finding this corrupt balance they fortified their assets making sure that no one with thoughts of rebellion could get by them and go straight to the ruler, and complain or something like that.

"What do you have for me this time Ikasu?" Okugi asked his long time business associate and friend as the man walked in through his door.

"My father sent me a letter," Ikasu said, "We've got our man, all we need is how to convince him that the ruler needs to be gotten rid of."

"The one that brought your daughter and the Ryuu Taiho back?" Okugi questioned.

"The same one, but I don't think he's a mercenary, as it took some of my negotiation skills to convince him to accept the reward I had given him," Ikasu said.

"I'm sure there must be a way," Okugi said, "What is his purpose in being in the capital of all places?"

"He wouldn't say. Why, do you think that that could be the bargaining chip we need?" Ikasu wondered.

"Possibly," Okugi said, "We can offer to help him in his quest should he do us a favor."

"I'll get right to it, as soon as I figure out how to get the information out of him," Ikasu said.

"And I'll have some of my people tail him," Okugi said.

"Good luck to the both of us then," Ikasu said before leaving his friend, but not before dropping a piece of paper with the description of Kurai on the nearest table, just in case Okugi needed to remember what he looked like.

While Ikasu had his meeting with Okugi, Kurai made his way to the military district of the city, wanting to see what he would be up against should he decide to end the suffering of the kirin that he now viewed as a friend. A new ruler would take a while to find, but at the rate things were going, it looked like a short term solution was in order. But he couldn't make a move yet, for there was a possibility that the locals were planning something, and simply waiting for the perfect moment to strike. So he would wait for someone else to make the first move before he made his, or for someone to force him to make the first move or something like that.

He snuck around the military facilities that were present in the city, and had his ravens stay on the lookout for anyone either heading in his direction or simply looking more suspicious than he did. He wanted to know what the opposition consisted of, as well as if anyone was doing as he was which was spying.

He found that the there were more mercenaries than there were actual soldiers, all of whom seemed to be on the payroll, not of the ruler, but of one of the court aids and advisors, as well as some of the provincial governors, and other officials. There were very few people that were actually loyal to the king. The revelation was something that Kurai was half expecting.

There were a number of horses and kijyuu around, all of which were ready to move at a moment's notice, the officials were probably really paranoid, or there was a real threat to their power and he had yet to uncover it.

Before he could move on, one of his sentries had alerted him to the presence of another individual snekaing about, but the person was not snooping around the military places, but was actually trailing him, someone had the audacity to spy on him of all people. The question was why, why him and not the military.

The presence of the other spy, of the person tailing him, was the proof he needed that there was another side to the conflict to come, but there was still an unknown variable. That unknown variable was the answer to the question of whose side were they on, the officials, or his side, not that anyone knew that he had a side.

So he mentally ordered half of his ravens to keep their eyes on the person, then continued his observation of the military personnel. When he was satisfied, he simply disappeared, not really enjoying the feeling of apparation, he went by one of the other means of teleportation that he knew, that being discharing some dark purple energy which engulfed him and dropped him off at some other place of his choosing. His hope was that his pursuer would be baffled by his sudden and mysterious disappearance, Nightcrawler's teleportation trick was just too noticeable with that Bamf sound, so Kurai tweaked it a bit, and removed the sound.

He reappeared at the base of the mountain, or pillar, upon which the royal palace was situated on. Looking up he with regular vision he could not see the summit, but he knew that the thing simply went straight up. He could get in easily, but it would not do for him to simply barge in, he would give the soldiers the chance to defend whom so ever it was that they had sworn their allegiance to. He was simply mapping how he would get to the palace when the time to strike was at hand.

When he was done, he returned to Ikasu's abode, and went to his designated room to rest for the day, not bothering to eat anything, not that he needed to as it were. But before catching some shut eye he mentally ordered his ravens to keep watch over the house, and alert him of the arrival of any suspicious characters, if any, that would be looking for him.