Chapter 19: The Master of Irrevocable (Part 8)

"Well it's almost certain that Akito and Yasaka's mother was killed by the Buddhists, or at least a faction of them none too happy with Japan declaring they want to do their own thing."

"Oh? What a confident assumption to arrive at, master. Care to inform us of your evidence leading to that conclusion~?"

"Indeed, is that just you making a wild guess or a valid decision?"

Giving Merlin and Charles a mock affronted look the shapeshifter replied, "I have a perfectly logical and worthwhile train of thought that holds water with perhaps only the slightest bit of leakage."

"That's how boats are sunk you know."

"Yes, your own vessel was perfectly sound of both construction and design, that's why in less than a day after being reunited with Akito he found out you were a girl."

The Vampire choked on her own tongue, stammering, "W-wait, you knew about that?!"

"Uh, duh? Kinda hard not to notice, Charles. We figured it out in the first week we were traveling together."

Ruby eyes widened, pink lips sputtered...and the bloodsucker sagged in defeat, grumbling, "You know what? I'm not even going to get upset by this, I can't pretend to be surprised by any of the things you say or do anymore."

"You were surprised just a few seconds ago."

"Ahem!"

Robin cleared her throat, arching an eyebrow before lightly asking, "Not to derail this fascinating topic of conversation or anything but what were you talking about in regards to the Buddhists being responsible for Kaiya's death?"

"Spoilsport."

Merlin's comment went unresponded to, Harris stating, "While we'll need two additional facts and whatnot to really seal the deal something about the way Amoghasiddhi spoke in regards to Kaiya was...odd."

The man paused, leaning back into the soft mat laid upon their room's floor as both Merlin and Robin flanked him, paying close attention to his recollections.

"He was going on and on about how sad and regrettable it was that Kaiyo died, that she was brilliant and wonderful and I couldn't help but notice a funny little tidbit."

One of his hands gently stroked Merlin's tresses, voice contemplative as he continued with, "Politicians are quite good at talking a lot while saying little, or implying all sorts of things without actually committing. It's a rare day indeed when they outright say 'I did this' or 'I did not do that'. It's doubling down on a certain position and leaves no room for wiggle room or backing out of a potentially unfavorable scenario. Hence…"

Robin - having served as a royal advisor in her past life - caught on before finishing with, "If he didn't directly say that they - or he - didn't kill Kaiyo then they're potentially leaving open the possibility of being able to say, 'we never said we didn't kill her'. Then again…"

Harris nodded, musing, "Both the Shinto and the Buddhists also hinted that Amoghasiddhi complied easily and completely with the investigation afterwards, which makes it pretty weird that they still aren't saying that they didn't kill her."

Merlin hummed as she nuzzled her head closer to Harris' hand, languidly stating, "Suspicious, but not enough to draw any certain or tangible conclusions from. Or at least not ones that others will accept."

"Precisely. So what we're going to need is a look at Kaiyo's corpse and figure out if there really was any kind of nasty assassinating going on."

Charles frowned, asking, "How are you going to get permission to do that? And do you expect to find anything? It sounds as if every possible method of searching was applied to her body."

"Every available method?"

The male fondly ruffled his partner's hair, Merlin pouting at the action while Robin just rolled her eyes in familiar exasperation.

"We have a pair of specialists on our hands and if they can't discover something interesting then I'll eat my hat."

He paused for a moment.

"We'll have to find a hat first, but the point stands."

Charles seemed mildly more contemplative after hearing his explanations, Harris turning to his partners before asking, "Think you'll be able to pick up any residual curses or such if they're left behind, Robin?"

The woman shrugged, responding, "It shouldn't be difficult, if the parts of me that are Grima can't detect any kind of residual malice or ill intent then there really aren't any there. And if we need a booster…"

She ruffled around inside her cloak before pulling out a Hammerne staff, cheerfully stating, "Then this should amplify or bring to fore what we need, after which Merlin can hopefully prove to be of equal use and trap or contain what we need."

"I resent the implication that I will be playing second fiddle to your actions, dearest Robin."

Harris let them continue to good naturedly snipe at each other, instead reflecting that this newest development would answer quite a number of questions he had about this new reality. Robin had proved that her magic tomes worked just fine and Merlin's magecraft functioned perfectly but if the draconic woman's staff - which in the game could restore equipment of any level to pristine condition - had the ability to restore more than just weapons and the like to a state in which they could be observed and made use of, well...that came with no shortage of interesting implications. It also gave him an idea of who his next summoned soul would likely be, if his companion's powers operated on a slightly broader spectrum than he'd first assumed.

"Who would have thought that the idle hours of my youth spent watching chinese cartoons would prove useful further down the road?"

He chuckled at the thought, tuning back into the conversation as Charles asked, "That's all well and good but how exactly do you intend to get permission to visit and then unearth wherever Akito's mother is buried? You already have an uphill battle when it comes to staying in Amaterasu's good graces and this request will only make it worse."

Appearing completely unfazed by the perfectly valid observation Harris responded, "That's where you come in, naturally."

The Vampire blinked.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Alongside Robin and Merlin. You've all been cozying up to the fox royals and getting to know each other, this is a prime opportunity to go ahead and gain access to their mother's body. Who else but the children of the deceased has greater claim to the tomb?"

Ruby eyes narrowed in distaste-

"I didn't want you to make nice with Akito just for this very moment, Charles. I'm not that fucked up. It's just a happy coincidence and that's all, you can still be friends and lovers with someone while still expecting things of them."

The Vampire simmered down while still blushing at the whole 'lovers' implication as Harris gained a smug smile.

"Worst comes to worst you can put the moves on Akito, make use of your 'boyish charm' to bring him over to the dark side."

"Shut up. And how the hell would I seduce a Kitsune, the species known for their trickery and ability to ensnare?"

"Well if what he told me of what went down in the baths is any indication it won't be all that hard."

Robin smacked him on the arm before he could embarrass the Vampire further, chiding Harris with, "Enough making fun of the poor girl, don't you have a meeting to attend to?"

"Oh fine, coddle her and ensure that she'll never grow a spine…"

Rising to his feet and stretching out his back with a satisfying series of pops Harris announced, "Alright, off I go to meet with a goddess who probably has higher opinions of wild, rabid dogs then she does of me. If I don't return assume the worst."

Merlin airily waved a hand, teasing, "I'm sure she will have naught but glowing, unadulterated praise for you."

"And pigs will fly."

Cheerily waving as he departed Harris heard Merlin giggle, "Now what sort of kimono shall we dress you in so that our resident foxy boy can't keep his eyes to himself?" before shaking his head.

He almost felt sorry for Charles. Or whatever her name actually was.

"Shit, the cat's out of the bag and we forgot to ask."

"I expected you to take more than a day to come to a conclusion of any meaningful import yet here you are, proclaiming to have reached enlightenment on the matter. Or is this merely a wild assumption I will have to entertain?"

"You can afford me some credit and assume I'm not an idiot. No, I'm fairly certain of my conclusion but need a few more bits of context and evidence to ensure that I'm right."

He paused, allowing his body to bonelessly collapse into the same chair he'd occupied the other day within the goddess's private chambers as she far more gracefully occupied her own.

"Then again, to have more faith in me at all would have required some to exist in the first place."

The ghost of a smile played across Amaterasu's lips before she composed herself, inquiring, "Well? What did you wish to ask of me? These requests for context and information?"

"Well I talked with Amoghasiddhi and I gotta say, real stand up guy. Polite, well-mannered, seemed genuinely remorseful that he killed Kaiyo."

A stillness immediately fell over the room, Amaterasu slowly and carefully asking, "You're certain of this? That he was responsible?"

"Well just about as certain as can be, need a final few confirmations before waltzing away and declaring case closed."

He tapped the arm of his chair with a finger, asking, "When Kaiyo died what was Amoghasiddhi and the rest of the Buddhist's reactions? How did they handle the subsequent fallout and investigation? The impression I've got so far - as well as the fact that he's still the one negotiating and all that - means there wasn't any signs of wrongdoing or foul play."

An explosive sigh left the woman, another rare showing of agitation.

"They complied completely and fully with every request or demand we made, within reason. Artifacts or tools? Handed over without complaint or resistance. Examination with Senjutsu as we asked all manner of questions? Willingly accepted, for all the good it did us."

Harris eyed the loud, single tap of the Shinto woman's nail on her chair with great amusement as he immediately began to count...something Amaterasu immediately spotted and pointedly folded her hands into her sleeves, much to his disappointment.

"All we had to show for our efforts was a lack of proof and raised tensions, the talks postponed and pushed back for a time."

"Well that's suspicious as fuck."

A perfect eyebrow twitched at his coarse observation, Harris adding, "Would anyone really have agreed to all those terms if they weren't sure beyond any possible doubt that they didn't have anything to hide?"

"No, they would not. I was of the same opinion, but there was realistically nothing that could be done without coming across as aggressors seeking vengeance for an unprovable crime."

"No arguments here. Did Kaiyo perhaps say anything before she died? Any hints or references that might give us an idea if she had any suspicions or concerns?"

The goddess paused, carefully recounting, "Nothing that might implicate Amoghasiddhi or any of his compatriots, although her attitude and hopes for a newly independent Japan became more uncertain as time wore on."

"How so?"

"While military matters were always a sticking point should war erupt between our factions it was not an overbearing one, inbetween the Yokai's various talents and the Shinto's own strength we would be able to stand firm before anything and everything except direct intervention by Lord Shiva himself...and he prefers to take as little direct action as possible, much to many faction's relief."

Harris barely noted the last bit, deep in thought after hearing of the Kitsune's mental state before her demise. While it had been a long while since he'd heard of the various tales and such one of his jobs had taken him to India during the heyday of his career, his partner for the job a monk that hadn't exactly been on board with the whole zen deal after his family was killed by a mining conglomerate that had desired a mineral and gem deposit atop of their land, taking more 'aggressive' measures when negotiations and mildly healthy compensation were turned down.

The man - Agastya - had been quite the treasure trove of folklore and other stories that he'd been perfectly happy to share during the tenure of their mission, Harris becoming quite familiar with a number of tales...one of which stuck out to him at this very moment, given that he now lived in a world of magic and the paranormal.

On an unrelated note, a gemstone and mining CEO had met an unfortunate and morbidly amusing end after a brief layover at a restaurant turned lethal, some kind of homebrewed poison slipped into his meal and causing asphyxiation within minutes. The chef responsible at the time, one man known as Agastya, had cheerfully admitted to the crime and was promptly imprisoned, where he took his life a few weeks later after detailing his reasoning and past with the recently deceased.

The assistant chef was never found.

Snapping out of his more fond memories as Amaterasu continued the shapeshifter listened as she stated, "No, her worries were more centered around economics and other manners of supply. While trade is not a particularly large part of our relationship with China it is a steady means of contact…"

The goddess trailed off, brow furrowing as she murmured, "I always found that to be an odd worry of hers, we certainly do not rely overmuch on our 'sovereign' to ensure the people do not starve through the winter."

Harris smirked, cheerfully stating, "That's because it was only intended to be an imagined threat or point of contention, not an actual one."

At Amaterasu's raised brow he simply shrugged, not willing to elaborate and spoil the surprise much to the goddess's annoyance as she passed him a drink of some no doubt expensive and high quality alcohol that he was more than happy to accept.

"You are infuriating. Neither force nor coercion will loosen your lips, will it?"

"You can try choking me, I bet I'll like it."

Amaterasu's expression soured, Harris chuckling at her display before a tired sigh left the woman's lips.

"You are not from this reality, are you?"

"An intriguing way of saying I'm insane."

She didn't rise to his words, simply continuing to stare before remarking, "I believe you know precisely what I am referring to. Or will this be another case of stubborn obstinance while you refuse any and all attempts at dragging information from unwilling lips?"

Harris briefly considered the offer before deciding this was a bit of info he didn't mind parting with. In the grand scheme of things his origins didn't really matter that much, knowing where he came from - as long as the details were vague - wouldn't reveal many weaknesses, if any at all.

Not that he was going to go easy on her.

"Pray tell, how doth thee arrive at such a scandalous and outlandish conclusion that I am but an alien?"

Two taps of a fingernail, hands now removed from her sleeves.

"The Dimensional Gap is a place even the most gifted deities with foresight and future seeing have difficulty piercing for more than brief glimpses of the expanse beyond. More to the point, it occasionally spews forth creatures or beings divorced from this reality in both shape, thought and power. Sometimes hostile, sometimes not."

Three taps.

"Your companions are another factor. Merlin is dead, not squirrelled away in Avalon as often repeated or rumored. I was one of the few invited to witness his passing since he found me quite fetching, the irreverent philanderer that he was. And this 'Robin'? She holds within the essence of what we call the Evil Dragons, beings with great capacity for destruction and terror as if it was always a part of her. More to the point, the entity is completely and utterly unfamiliar in both power and sensation, as if not borne of this reality."

Harris merely motioned for her to continue, fascinated with her observations.

"As for you? Your power ranges from that of an insignificant gnat's to completely undetectable, no rhyme or reason to be found as to why that is. You additionally speak with phrases and language highly similar to current standards but with odd sayings, terms or vocabulary structure thrown in that suggests a different upbringing or source of learning."

Four taps.

"I am not inclined to disbelieve your claims of having killed many important and powerful people before, not after what you did to Charlemagne and Beelzebub's heir...but that then begets the question of where are all of the dead kings and queens, dictators and messiahs? Your pace is swift enough that there should be a long, bloody trail of bodies to follow yet there are none aside from Charlemagne."

Harris applauded her deductions, cheerfully stating, "You, my lady, are the first in this realm to have properly put the pieces together. Were I not certain you would reject my offer I'd ask for a dinner date."

"Rejection is too light a descriptor."

The cold words caused Harris to chuckle as he gazed into the goddess's eyes, inwardly smirking as he caught sight of the most brief and momentary flashes of unease before it was once again concealed beneath imperial majesty.

"That caution you just tried to hide means you're a great deal smarter than most I came across...I'd wager you might just survive the coming times smelling like roses."

There was a brief rise in the ambient temperature, a spike of heat and tickle of flame as the roundabout threat caused frustration and fury to soar in the woman's chest-

-and just as quickly dissipated, Harris not bothering to hide his good-natured smile as he raised his cup in a mocking toast.

"To your health and prosperity, my lady."

That was the thing about those with power, the Achilles Heel that he had exploited time and time again. They simply didn't know how to deal with someone who had neither anything to lose or anything to gain, who didn't hesitate to follow through on whims or fancy as they chased an ideal as childish as it was impossible. He could neither be guarded against nor bought, answering only to himself.

Where others might falter, consider the weight of their actions or do the opposite and rush headfirst into irreversible anarchy he found balance, the perfect middle ground between rabid chaos and reptilian logic. Crazy enough that no one could imagine what he would do next or when he would turn on them but sane enough to keep both enemies and allies alike guessing in perpetuity.

After all, Amaterasu could quite literally snuff him like a candle, she was that much more powerful than he was and had plenty of reason to...but yet she didn't, as he'd made himself useful and even somewhat necessary to furthering her own agenda.

To quote a fun little movie he'd watched years ago...perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

And in this new reality, where gods and goddesses pretended to rule while forces of primordial nature ruled from even higher?

Harris Xavier's childish dream could one day become reality.