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
AN: To those who have hounded me for updates, here it is. Your appreciation and interest has filled my heart with joy, and the focus to get this out before the end of 2021. I wish you all a Blessed and Happy New Year.
Legend: # denotes change of time, while "*" denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time
Satisfaction
Chapter five
Whatever nefarious purposes the hostage takers had for either of them was unknown and unimportant. All that really mattered to him was to get her back, return her to his side. It was all as simple as that.
He got whatever information he needed and wanted from the ruffians that dared to keep him in their presence. It was a rather different hostage taking situation. These people wanted many things, from certain objects to certain amounts of money, as well as the ability to get away unharmed and unfollowed.
Apparently by separating the hostages they would be able to generate more fear from the authorities, there was also less of a chance of them losing all of the hostages in one go. The downside of this was that they dared attack Karasu no Kurai.
There were two things that the hostage takers were, those being stupidity and ignorant. Sure he didn't look anything like Karasu no Kurai, sure he looked the part of a civilian. But really, the killing intent he had unleashed upon them upon his waking was something else. It should have clued them in on the fact that if they didn't knock him out again, they would be in for a world of pain.
There had been around seven people with him in the safe house. It was him against all of them, and his sai didn't help any of their chances of winning against him either. He brought each and every single one of them down within seconds of the one before. His movements were swift and sure, and none of the men would be having children in the near to distant future. He'd hurt them where it would hurt them all the most.
While his sai had tasted blood, he didn't want to directly taste such this time around, it seemed a little bit disgusting considering where all the blood had come from. Seven pairs of meatballs and seven sausages were what he had managed to skewer into mangled messes.
He divined from their whimpering forms the location of the other safe houses, the other locations where the varied number of hostages were being kept. He would find them all, he would free them all, and he would do many unpleasant things to the ones responsible for ruining his vacation.
It was a very bad thing that had happened to the second, third, and fourth safe houses. Each one had a different number of hostage in them, and in different states. Most of them had been male hostages, which begged the question of where Kousui was. Every wrong answer he got from the hostage takers just drew upon more of his bloodlust. Here was a creature that was not to be messed with and these criminal amateurs were pissing him off with not telling him the exact location of his companion.
Sure he didn't look a thing like he had during the ambush which had separated them, what with his clothes being more of a brown and red color combination thanks to all the blood he had so far spilled, but they should have recognized the description of the ambush.
None did, unfortunately, and word spread, from the lips of the freed, of a madman that had been unleashed from the confines of a sane man who had been caught too. Rumors spread around town and the neighboring villages that there was a madman bathed in blood searching for a woman named Kousui. Sure none of them knew who she was, she probably didn't admit to being said woman herself.
By the time he had reached the last safe house, his skin was caked in dried blood. He had not bothered to take in any of the blood into himself. He wasn't exactly even thinking straight anymore, it was rather unlike him.
"*"
The criminals in the last safe house were half panicking, and half pleased with themselves. Panicking because they were certain of their doom, and half pleased because the person that the madman was looking for was no longer with them.
They had made the smart decision to get rid her as fast as they could, by selling her off to some slave traders they were on good terms with. Sure they would definitely suffer for their crimes, but it would definitely send the madman into an even worse mental state than he already must be in.
There weren't any hostages in their place anymore, just around ten of their number, preparing for their doom. They'd barricaded the only entrance and exit, and created traps from whatever materials they had available. This would serve as their last stand.
They had done so many things in their lives that they regretted, while a lot of things that they did not regret - like getting rid of the one thing that could possibly pardon them. Who knew when their sanity had fled from even them. But all that was known was that they were ready to meet their maker.
The door was broken down, as well as were the walls that held up that one part of their safe house. Pieces of wood and tiny fragments of iron were blasted inwards, showering the criminals with such organic and inorganic mess. One of their comrades was knocked out on the spot when the door slammed into him. The others had enough time to duck behind furniture and other things that they had prepared well in advance for the invasion of this one man.
The remaining conscious men felt a wave of some sort of energy sweep through them, and probably the rest of the "safe" house. It was a surreal sensation.
"Where is she?" Asari demanded as he appeared, clear as day, before the remaining conscious men. He looked more like a wildman than some sort of hero.
It was probably his not so sane state of mind that stopped him from actually thinking things through, but having not located the person he had scoured the land for, and being very brutal and violent about it too, he just went and dived into their minds without much warning or preparation. Safe to say, all the men of this last hostage safe house were turned into vegetables once he was done with them.
He divined quite a lot from his brain dives, such as the last known location of the traders that his Kousui was handed over to. Yes, "his".
Having finished his task of going fishing for information in the memory banks of the criminals, he tied them all up, and left them at the gates of the nearest village for the authorities of the land to find and do with as they pleased.
He ventured to a larger town, to figure out his next course of action - though he did stop somewhere in the wilderness to wash up and change his clothes. He couldn't continue going around the place looking like some form of crazed mass murderer after all. That would attract far too much attention than he would like for the time being. Also, he was supposed to be a respectable baker, not some battle frenzy ruffian. At least that's what he eventually decided on after calming down some more.
One of the best places to gather information were the local watering holes - taverns, inns, restaurants, and the like, brothels too. It was decided that he'd try his luck as one of the cheaper looking tea houses, he was sure he'd manage to get at least crumbs that would lead him to a larger piece of information, while at the same time keeping a low profile. It wouldn't do for things to grow bigger than they definitely would if he made a ruckus.
The tea and snacks weren't all that great, and the company wasn't any better. He'd conjure up a Karasu or something to that effect if it wouldn't be too eye catching. He was posing as a mere commoner after all, it wouldn't do for him to stand out at all. The information he was getting from the other customers was interesting, and it was an interesting way of gathering information that he'd rarely tried out as himself before.
He prodded and probed the other people as well as any Slytherin should be capable of, and got more than he bargained for. Koutei may have failed in his quest of usurping Tentei's throne, but the seeds of chaos that he'd sown in the world were there to stay...and perhaps be gotten rid of my the mortals of the world at their own pace. The underworld had grown, its roots clung fiercely to the underbelly of the world - the part of the world that the righteous didn't normally glance upon.
Locating and rescuing Kousui was a good enough reason for him to pause his search for kirin, she'd forgive him for taking so long. He was sure of it, since he was doing so for a good reason.
#
It took far longer than Asari had hoped to lock onto the correct trail of his missing companion, even with all the means he had at his disposal to find people. But find the trail that he'd been looking for he finally did, and all it had taken was for him to practically take over the Han underworld - which was quite the chore. There were just so many gangs, syndicates, organizations, and their backers, for him to deal with in one fell swoop. It had taken him a few months, and all the while he was worried about what condition Kousui was in as he was doing his hunting-slash-reorganizing of what was the seedy underbelly of a well-to-do nation with a quirky king.
Asari the Baker was a well-known name nowadays, one that was mentioned only in mere whisper - no one that mentioned his name that were connected to the underworld would ever believe that he was a legitimate baker and owned a chain of bakeries. He was referred to as The Baker as it was one of his more well-known ways of making his enemies either talk or lose their lives. He'd bake them, turn them into bread, and on some occasions feed them to their underlings.
Authorities were aware of his existence, but didn't have a face to match to the name nor did they have much solid evidence to pin on him for any crime. He was even more ghostly than the legendary Karasu no Kurai, and that said something.
He now had more underlings than he cared to count, and these were just the mortal ones. He still had all the ones he left in Hou, and the ones that were put under his charge by the lazy one upstairs. He had yet to be officially 'Enthroned', and he already had so many underlings. He was definitely sure the one upstairs was laughing his ass off every now and then when he cared to remember the little black annoyance that lived in the world he governed and had created himself.
So many people looked to him for order...well it wasn't really as many as it sounded as he did have underlings, quasi-generals, who lead the different organizations under him. He couldn't put them all under one unified banner, there were far too many of them and many of them had beef with one another. He treated each group like a department, each one dealing with either a province, district, or prefecture. It was like running the country, except this was the shadowy bit that the authorities would love to try and get rid off in one go.
Back to the trail that he'd managed to finally locate..
The trail of Kousui lead him out of Han and into Sou. There was quite a lot that the king of Sou was unaware of, even though his rule was quite long and there wasn't any possibility of decline in the near future. Chaos was simply not something that could be completely eradicated from a kingdom - it simply wasn't possible. But for such a large group of slave traders to meet up within the heart of Sou to go unnoticed, something must have been afoot.
Asari was here to get to the bottom of things, while at the same time get his companion back so that they could get back to their world tour.
He'd gotten himself to the capital of Sou, just like when Kasumi needed to hide from Ranjou, the slavers used the same tactic as hiding in plain sight or in close proximity to the power that could wipe them off of the map at a word. This was also the closest they could get to their backers as well as clients for the wares they sold at auctions.
Asari was informed by his own informants, the non-avian kind, that the woman he had been searching for had yet to be traded to some other person aka she was still a captive of a slaver. But that might change soon, as she was set to be put up for auction - finally.
The Baker really hoped that his long missing companion hadn't suffered too much under the reign of these detestable creatures - the Han underworld had eradicated the slave trade from its activities as soon as he took over as the shadow emperor. He wasn't hoping to do the same in Sou, he didn't need or want that much more responsibility.
His people quickly found the venue, and got him a legitimate ticket to get into the place. He didn't bother asking how they'd gone about it, all that mattered was that he got in, and was rich enough to throw as much gold or silver as needed to get his companion back, without any needless bloodshed. Sure it went against part of his nature, but he didn't have any relationship with the king of Sou, so it was better to err on the side of caution this time 'round.
He was permitted to bring two people with him into the venue, it was assumed that they were his servants - in a sense that was a correct assumption. One was the vice-leader of Han Kingdom's information broker's union, while the other was the vice-leader of the overall Human Resources. Two very capable and trustworthy individuals as far as Asari was concerned. They were unquestionably loyal to Asari as well, not because of the acts of brutality that he'd displayed before them, but because of the acts of kindness he'd shown to their families at one occasion or another.
They were also present to make sure that he didn't blow his cover or cause a scene. They'd witnessed him go on a rampage, and at least one of their underlings had to become the distraction when the authorities came a knocking at their doors because of said rampages.
The booth that they were led to was on the second floor of the auction house, it was quite difficult to see into the other booths to divine the identities of the other attendees, but some people still did try. Asari tried as well, and he, unlike many others, actually succeeded. There were plenty a big businessman, and even several provincial and city officials present. Clearly, there were some bad eggs in government who were turning blind eyes to certain activities, but so long as the greater image wasn't affected the Heavens let things slide.
Asari sometimes did wonder if there was a criminal underworld in the Heavens, and Tentei was just letting it exist being too 'lazy' to do anything about it. He wouldn't put it past the Supreme God to do so.
Once in the booth, they found out that it wasn't just people that were being auctioned off, but items as well. Small earthly treasures, weapons, armor, jewels, medicines, plants, animals, and whatever else that could be considered as material wealth.
The two vice-leaders were told that they could bid on anything, and that Asari would cover the cost for whatever it was. They didn't question him where he got his funds, but they were sure that it wasn't from their great shadowy kingdom, or else the treasury department would have informed them of it. So they did bid on a few things, their reasoning was so that it wouldn't be obvious that they were after one specific item on the docket.
When it was finally time for the slaves to be auctioned off, Asari's attention went from seemingly lax to gaining the bearings of a predator. His two companions visibly and physically flinched back a step upon feeling the ghostly amount of bloodlust that seeped out from their Boss. They knew how much he didn't approve of slavery, servitude was one thing, and slavery another.
Weapons were something that wasn't allowed to be brought into the booths, they were left at the entrance. Entrusted to the staff of the auction house, a custom that was respected, as there were many precautions put in place to ensure that those items were returned to their rightful owners. The two vice-leaders were well aware that their Boss didn't need any tools to serve as his weapons, even just a finger would serve him as well as any blade, just as a mere spark was good enough to serve as an oven.
Kousui wasn't the pièce de résistance, but she came somewhere at the tail end of the docket. She was quite a beauty in her own way, the people in charge of the auction really knew how to make her shine, and obviously attract more attention than if they'd left her looks remain as they'd naturally be. Asari was struck dumb for a moment, and couldn't help but think, Potters and redheads.
The bids weren't that out of the ordinary once they were started. Asari choosing to wait for the countdown to begin for final bids before he started his bidding attack, raising the price ever so slightly just so that he could piss off those others who wanted his prize. He really did succeed in making many an enemy that night for this one docket. His two companions were left quivering a bit in anxiety at the thought of what might lay ahead of them once they left the auction house. There was no telling how many mercenaries or private soldiers would be waiting to take their lives at the exit.
But then they sobered up upon remembering just who they were accompanying, and just how many of their people had come with them and were waiting for them outside. They probably had enough manpower to start a small rebellion in Ryuukou if their boss wanted to start one. They doubted that he would, but it was still a possibility.
Once the auction was over, those that had won some items, were led to a different part of the facility, where they settled accounts, and picked up their winnings.
Kousui wasn't the only slave that Asari's party had won that evening, they'd bid and won a few others - simply as a disguise or distraction, should anyone know of the history between Asari and Kousui, and decide to make a scene.
"Aiguo, Bao," Asari spoke to his two henchmen, "Return to Han after staying in Ryuukou for a few more days. Communicate through the ravens if you need me for anything. I'll be continuing my journey from here."
"But Boss," Aiguo, the vice-leader of the information brokers tried to dissuade his boss from going on his journey without added protection, not that he needed it, "At least take some guards with you. It'll make events like that one that separated you two from happening again."
"That was a one-time thing," Asari insisted, "It won't be happening again. Also with you, and your head, at the helm of information, I'm sure I'll be able to find things and people a lot easier from now on."
"Fine," the two henchmen reluctantly agreed to drop the subject.
The two men left soon after, with their new charges, which they'd have to figure out what to do with - like which division or organization they'd put them to work in. Thus leaving Asari alone in the room with Kousui, who had a bit of a dead look in her eye, as if hope had fled and had yet to return. The months hadn't been that kind to her, even though no man had actually touched her, she had been treated well leading up to this auction, but it was still a traumatizing experience for her.
She didn't immediately recognize Asari, be it his voice or his face. But the voice was familiar to her.
Asari didn't immediately do anything to her, he just stood there before her, magicking away any hidden shackles that may have been placed or left on her. Wishing away any marks intentionally or unintentionally left behind by her captors. All this was done seamlessly and invisibly to the naked eye. Only perhaps a sennin or another form of immortal would have noticed the ripples of power that escaped from the Asari's shell.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you," Asari began, "But I promise that so long as you don't wish it, I won't leave you out of my sight or senses again."
The room wasn't particularly dark, Kousui should have been able to recognize him. But she didn't. She was still in a state of shock, somewhat trapped in her own mind, as was something that she'd done to herself to keep her sanity from slipping after each time she'd failed to escape from her captors. It had been months since she'd last felt comfortable being herself, or trusting someone.
"Let's get ourselves out of here for now," Asari decided, "Maybe in time, you'll come out of your shell again."
He didn't summon a shoku, but instead wrapped her up in his shadow and silently bamf'd the two of them out of the auction house, and into a room that he had rented a few days ago for such use.
#
In another part of the world Ryuuki was busy worrying about the future of Ryuu, while Kaizoe was slowly growing beside him and helping him survive and not overly tax himself during their travels.
Ryuuki wasn't exactly a noob at this finding a ruler thing, he'd done it before - even though it ended up with where the Kingdom of Ryuu was in now. The interim ruler was off doing gods knows what in gods knows where, but at least major decision making did reach his ears and appropriate responses were returned to the court, so not all was for naught. The quest for a new Ryuu-o was an exhausting one.
The most unnerving thing about the quest was the fact that Karasu no Kurai had been relatively silent as of late, as if he was busy in some unexplored or unknown land doing who knows what, probably lots of bloodshed, and he didn't even bother giving any of his friends updates on what he was up to or how his own quest was going. Another calamity could be afoot and everyone could be caught off guard again.
Kaizoe often joked with Ryuuki that if he was so scared of what Kurai would do to him if he didn't manage to find the right one before that raven found his kirin, then maybe he, Kaizoe, should step in as some sort of placeholder. Not that he could figure out exactly how that would work, without him having to abdicate or resign from his post once a more fitting person came down the line.
Ryuuki nearly agreed to go with that, what with how stressed he sometimes ended up overthinking the possibilities. But he stopped himself just short of getting on one knee.
It was a baffling thought for him, the few weeks later when he mentally reviewed the event. He had nearly bent the knee to his younger companion. It was one of those things that began to gnaw at him ever since he first thought about it.
He decided not to bring it up, as he chalked it up to stress and fear. Fear at what the crazy friend of his could do to him if he didn't meet his deadline.
Kaizoe could get along with almost anyone, even better than Kurai could - most people could get along with strangers better than Kurai could. At least Kaizoe didn't get on anyone's nerves intentionally. That was quite the bonus. He could get people to follow his lead with logic and rationality, not insanity and boredom being a reason.
The more time passed, and the more Ryuuki revisited the thought of that one time he nearly bent the knee, the more he questioned his own sanity. What if he was going crazy from all the times he'd been exposed to the blood coated kirin-that-was-not-a-kirin. He even considered maybe trying to eat meat on one occasion, but ended up vomiting everything he'd eaten and drank the day prior to that thought entering his head.
This proved that he wasn't that crazy yet. He hadn't yet gone down the rabbit hole that was whatever Kurai's sanity was categorized under.
"I think it's high time I return to Shisou," Ryuuki said out loud as he and his young companion were traversing a mountain trail, he honestly could have just flown but he didn't think it was a good idea to offer the tween a ride, only a ruler was permitted to sit upon the back of a kirin after all.
"If that's what you want, sure," the youth replied, "So how're we gonna get there? You gonna piggyback me all the way?"
For a moment, Ryuuki considered the idea. He'd halted in his tracks and actually gave it some thought.
'Would it be so bad? Who would know? Only the gods really,' it was a seemingly blasphemous thought, but he was seriously considering it along with the ramifications of it, should he actually push through with it.
"I'm just kidding Ryuu! I might end up breaking your back or something," the youth said, as he noticed the rather out of place serious look on his companion and friend's face, "I'm fine with walking. It's what we've been doing all this time after all. And it'll be good for my body, my teachers said so themselves before we left to continue with our journey after all."
Ryuuki wasn't sure if it was because of the stress, anxiety, or what, but he ended up falling to his knees in front of his young companion, then and there.
If Kurai had witnessed the sight, he'd chortle and say some sort of joke at the expense of the kirin, but sadly Kurai wasn't present and was somewhere else in the world.
"I swear to never desert my post before your throne," Ryuuki solemnly recited as he was on his knees, his forehead to the ground, in front of his young companion, "I swear to never disobey your orders, accept my loyalty to you."
Kaizoe, who wasn't fully aware of his older friend's identity, didn't really know what to do. He knew that Ryuu was looking for someone, someone to pledge loyalty to, someone to lead. But he never really managed to piece together that Ryuu was Ryuuki, the Ryuu Taiho. He really had been joking that one time he'd said that perhaps it would be a good idea if he stepped in - even though he had done all sorts of things that helped Ryuu on their joint-journey to see the world and find the person Ryuu was looking for.
His brain kind of stalled.
"Kaizoe," Ryuuki said, front his kneeling position, "Please accept. I won't move from this position until you do."
This was perhaps the most forceful Ryuuki had ever been with anyone, bar Kurai, and while not being in a dangerous situation.
"Fine," the kid relented, "If it'll get you on your feet and explaining things to me, then sure. I accept."
And like a gong had been rung, and the Heavens sang in triumph, a king had finally been found once again for Ryuu.
The kirin got back on his feet, dusting himself off in the process, before re-introducing himself.
"I owe you my life even now," the kirin said, "Let me re-introduce myself. I am Ryuuki, the Ryuu Taiho, your ever loyal servant and friend, from this day forward, until the Heavens deem you or I no longer worthy of our titles as Ryuu-o and Ryuu Taiho."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"
Thus Kaizoe, the black haired youth, fainted on the spot, leaving Ryuuki to panic in the wilderness.
