So here's the last omake chapter! I know I didn't go into too much detail explaining about how these crossover characters get into this universe, but I see that as potential weak points in most fanfictions. In fact, I personally hate stories where thousands of words are wasted on explaining things fans already know just for the chance some new fans may stumble upon their work and are unfamiliar with it. Hence, I always try to simply make them into actual characters instead of crossover ones, which means the same casual treatment I give to the main leads. Hopefully you've enjoyed Mai's life so far!
Ah, the season of new anime is upon us. I'm fortunate the ones I'm most hyped about is... at least decent. Are they all on the same level as Ufotable's megabucks productions? Of course not; but at least the animations and effects are still enjoyable to watch without being either grating or boring. I'm currently watching Skeleton Knight in Another World, The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs (quite average in graphics, I must say), and SPY X Family. Of course, interceded with heavy doses of Elden Ring gaming sessions where I torture Patches over and over again (something I always do in FromSoftware games).
...and regarding future chapters, I'm actually experiencing mild writer's blocks in the planned 4 consecutive smut chapters. You guys know I like my stuff raunchy, yet when it comes the time to put things to paper (or website), my mind often goes blank for certain periods of time. Which is weird because my dick's certainly not using the blood... Hopefully I can push through and get things out before I start on HV-S01: RKR's remake (which is going to retain the original name, BTW).
Below is an excerpt of my and superpierce's conversastion about Louíse Fróis's seemingly rather inconsistent outlook in this universe. As usual, it's edited for length and clarity.
superpierce: Why is Louise supporting a same-sex marriage if she is a follower of the [God] of the [Bible]? Last I checked[,] while it is not forbidden to love someone from the same-sex[...] are not supposed to be supported and as it is not the joining of two halves.
ekaterina016: Because she's no longer a follower of 'the Bible'. From what I've implied, her faction (lead by Jeanne) has basically lambasted and abandoned the Church's traditional teachings, and choose to hone themselves so they're able to commune directly with God (whether it's YHWH or El). Naturally, their beliefs, scriptures, and teachings will be different, even if the root's recognizably similar.
superpierce: [...] first of all, the Vatican wasn't the ones who declared same-sex marriage was against God's desires for mankind. Jesus and God made that a rule, and the Bible is [archived] by multiple different people who aren't even from the [Church] or the Vatican [...]
ekaterina016: "...Jesus and God made that a rule..." from what we have in the current Bible. There's lots of apocryphal texts (no pun intended there with Jeanne) which are a lot more free regarding sexual relationships. I agree I haven't made that clear, so let's just say the version of the Holy Texts Jeanne and her followers use aren't the ones we can read now. Apologies for the apparent cop-out, but I just don't have the chance to put that in-story just yet.
superpierce: Fair enough[; there] are a lot of things not yet written into the Bible at the point in time your latest story is taking place.
ekaterina016: To be more precise, it's 'not yet compiled/edited' rather than 'written into'. By this time, while the 'regular' Catholic Church Bible is already quite set, there's still a lot of apocryphal documents lying around and yet-to-be disproved. We only remember the famous ones these days and discarded the esoteric texts in our mind, while there's likely still thousands of pages out there still unfound and underanalyzed. Not to mention the ones the Church instantly stamps as 'heretical' - which Jeanne is obviously trying to salvage (the good ones).
N.B.: For those of you curious of Mai's completed Living Weapon form, refer to Chapter 58, Page 20 and Chapter 61, Page 18 of the Shy manga. Yes, I've finally revealed where she originates for you guys!
"Eugh, why is my first job like this…?!" Mai complained, stomping and grinding down the flaming wheels which had replaced her legs towards the ground, destroying the corpses beneath and killing any remaining survivor. "I want it to be something more glamorous…"
"Do you think I enjoy this as well? Going to be racist and comment on my inhuman background?" Tatsumi grumbled, though his tone indicated he's not overly serious or insulted. He's also transformed into his full tengu form, though luckily he had brought his khakkhara to finish the job that way. Mai's much larger Living Weapon form meant it's difficult for her to be precise, even when discounting her relative newness to everything. There was a technique to compress everything down to the core, but it's another step in her evolution and one very difficult to reach. "They're not worthy of a proper burial, so quit whining. Don't let them become undead."
This was the massive, multi-level battlefield left behind by the clash between the Oda and Mōri. What made clean-up so difficult, apart from the usual suspects, was the sheer differences in terrain, spread across miles on wildly varying 'rules of the land'. That phrase was literal, too – what turned a corpse into a living dead differed between land and sea, and there's even more details built into each environment's smaller-scale habitats. A dead samurai on the battlefield would require different processes than a bandit rotting inside a cave so they could pass on peacefully across the river of death.
Then, there's the brute force method, which was left behind to the lower reaches of Hyakki Yakō. One, they're just lounging around without specific jobs from Himiko. Second, some of them still required human flesh to sustain themselves on the way to evolution, so this was actually one sort of cheap buffet to fill their existences up until they didn't need it anymore. Three… yes, Tatsumi was just messing with Mai, roping her in and abusing his seniority so he wouldn't be the only one among the mid-ranking members kicked out of his residence by his Great Ancestor to quit mourning for his wife, Kohaku.
His sons were growing up well, and taking up his simple, child-focused martial arts teachings frighteningly quickly. He had little doubt the twins could take down the previous Mai even if they fought seriously, such was the quality of the children dear Kohaku left behind. But… looking at their smiling, happy faces which were oh-so-similar to her own… was too hard for him. He knew the need for him to be there for them, but, in the end, his mental strength wasn't omnipotent. It's quite the dilemma, because he knew what his cousin would act like if he abandoned his duties as a father and chose to drown in his sorrows day after day.
Taking care of Mai was a good distraction and excuse. At the very least, the girl gave off great banter material every single time.
The Mōri Clan, being the loser, was tasked with doing the death rites, forcing the elders to fork out the resources they'd stocked up to escape if they didn't wish to be stoned to death by the taxed citizens. All it took was Himiko to reveal several documents publicly, taking advantage of Nihon citizens' high level of literacy, and the previously-loyal peasants of Mōri would turn on their masters in a heartbeat, ruining everything Takakage had set up beforehand so her little brother could continue ruling should she and her twin sister passed away on the battlefield.
The Empress's involvement in the battle was, of course, kept shut. Besides, even if anyone found out the slightest sliver of a rumour, she's technically intervening solely to kill the Nanbans, and not a single Nihon blood was shed by her hand. Dealing with international aftermath when the empire was in a superior position was preferable compared to quelling internal troubles, because one might never know when a knife would slit their throat when they're asleep. As such, Himiko's publicly-admitted position during the battle was still holed up in the Imperial Castle, handing out edicts like no tomorrow to ensure the common folk didn't suffer from this war. Losing the main breadwinners from each family was enough; no need to trouble them with the unnecessary posturing and schemes of post-war nobilities.
Aside from all that, Terumoto was now held captive as political hostage to ensure the bills were paid. Nobunaga didn't demand the Mōri Clan to empty their treasure, become her slaves, or mercilessly slaughter surrendered soldiers, so this was the minimum expected from the victor. The Minamoto Clan elders expected the post-battle wrap-up to be as clean as possible, having recently approved on Nobunaga's 'Tenka Fuyu', even if the plan had been endorsed by both Muramasa and Himiko for close to 2 years already.
In these next few years, after the unification of Nihon was ultimately complete, focus would be aimed at international expansion while its neighbours were Thaumaturgically weak. Himiko had seen the mistakes the Empire did without this reality's heroes' presence, since the next generation was filled with short-sighted bureaucrats who're more interested in garnering useless prestige to oneself than advancing the Nihon Empire as a whole. The people were forced to remain subservient and ignorant of the wider world, corruption ran rampant to the point all the foundation laid before them by their ancestors to ensure a powerful kingdom rotted away to nothingness in merely two centuries' time. The sight of Nihon men and women, kneeling down before others in shame and utter disgrace, made her angrier than anything else.
Hence, when she heard from Muramasa about Nobunaga's plan, and the changes her vision instantly experienced, she wholeheartedly supported it – her jealousy of the then-black-haired woman taking away her time with her beloved older brother notwithstanding. Of course, as an Empress, she couldn't just be a tyrant and push things she liked through, regardless how impatient she was, since the hypocrisy of 'forcing the people subservient' was also not lost on her. The Minamoto Clan was so successful because they figured out the perfect leash to shackle both human and yōkai to their service: present them with a common goal and enemy at the same time.
The two camps had been idle for far too long – the humans busied themselves with this farce of a civil war, while yōkai continued to amuse themselves by lending their accumulated strength to their chosen humans.
Now, the Imperial Family could start setting their sights on the lands beyond the ocean. The time's nigh the people had something to be truly excited about.
Now, back to the topic at hand.
Mai had seen her share of blood, but this was certainly the first time she's ankle-deep in it.
They were all the chancers, mercenaries, thieves, and other lowlifes who thought of making a profit of their soon-to-be fellow corpses. Yes, the burial, cremation, and prayers were going on smoothly, but a present risk was the lack of speed. Leaving the dead to nature might be more in line with ancient Nihon practices, not to mention much faster, but with the increase in Mystery, no one's interested in fighting these soldiers once more as undead. Mass rites at this scale was definitely rare, though, which was why Himiko didn't want to leave it to chances.
Of course, as the newest member to Hyakki Yakō after receiving her senpai's final wishes and merging with her to be partners, Mai was stuck playing security guard and staff cleaner all at the same time. Her task was to execute any offender, regardless of their background – which was usually poor and uneducated, though exceptions did exist – then pile them on nicely to one side and guard them, waiting until the Spiritual Evocation team arrived.
She still remembered how inhuman she first looked when the original kasha simply went and forcibly merged with her. Well, 'forcibly' was a rather strong word to use given the documentation for Mai's induction into the group was already formalized, and the yōkai, like many others of her kind, had a different common sense to what people consider 'not wasting time'. Hence, the literal divebomb into Mai's slim frame, done by a female yōkai thrice her size – not including the wheels, even.
"UUUUWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Until today, she still wouldn't admit to anyone she screamed like a girl her age that night – not even to her new Guardian Spirit, who literally could read her mind.
To be honest, the process was as painless as possible, though the kasha noted this was because there was mutual consent. Partial mutual consent, Mai insisted upon whenever the yōkai tried to justify hijacking part of her soul without prior notice, though she couldn't refute the fact there was no fight or rejection from the bottom of her heart. At the very least, they were colleagues who'd met a few times before, and the lack of antagonism eased the process incredibly. Much like what she learnt just a few hours ago when Hisahide took over Manmi's body, mere passing friendship greatly enhanced the probability of success.
"I am called simply kasha, because our kind rarely have nyames bestowed upon us when we were still nyoung and weak," she explained after Mai had calmed down from her freak-out. "However, Heika had nyamed me Kuhashiya, though I am also knyown as Tenmaru, Madōkusha, Kimotori, or Flower Wheel among friends, family, and enyemies."
Before Mai could catch her breath, the yōkai purred, "Why don't you give me a nyame? Let us meld together… and I to be your strength. You can tell this form of myine isn't wholly suited to you, though you are my best canyidate."
"Ah… Erm… I'm terrible at naming things so please do it on your own!" Mai rushed through her excuse, before stuffing herself into a carriage – a normal one this time – and mulled things away inside. "But… if it's our name, then I think Mū will be good."
Kuhashiya's miniature form popped out, far less sensual and closer to an adorable cat spirit. "Nyaming things after your sword? Are you nyot afraid of being taken over once it gains sentience? That's not uncommon, you know," she questioned. "You have beautiful swords, so it's nyot like that's a terrible premonyition, but… I've lived a long life, and things like that didn't come for free, nya."
"Including you?"
"Especially me, my little Mai, nya."
This was the first time she tried using her Living Weapon form for prolonged periods, mostly because she's still gauging how much she could draw upon Kuhashiya's power. Her training and upbringing meant fully trusting someone else who appeared sincere, forgiving, and dedicated as difficult. She could sense no falsehood in the yōkai's intention of honouring their contract, but she attributed that to her own inexperience in reading yōkai, as their common sense and rules of boundary were vastly different than what she's used to. She's more used to hunting and killing those who were… less intelligent, either human or yōkai, so this was a new world for her.
…admittedly, so was everything else this past year. Really, how could she dared to think what she learnt in the small confines of Sōga Village was enough?
"Ugh… Argh…"
- Splat! Grind… Grind… Grind…
"Oh, here's another one," she casually pointed out, moving back-and-forth to ensure her flaming wheels truly minced the dying man to death. She's not using her flames most effectively, since Kuhashiya could go far hotter, but she's concerned of wantonly spread the alternating red-blue flames across the field. Then she had to deal with paperwork and responsibilities of how she scorched a perfectly-good plain to a barren land unsuitable for agriculture in the next few years.
That scared her more than anything else, having seen what it did to the Empress's soul and mental state.
[Yes, I'd hate to sit there and watch nyou do it, either, nya,] Kuhashiya commented, assisting Mai in controlling the outburst of Od continually flowing out form their union. [Don't leave anything intact, nya. We are better absorbing ground-down remains than big chunks, nya,] she advised.
Yes, the cannibalism was also another thing to get used to, but Mai had resigned herself to just go along with the flow, her mind incredibly weary of processing everything new coming her way. At least her Guardian Spirit didn't demand her to eat anything raw, so she could simply shut her eyes and think of it as eating overcooked meat of unknown origin. She wondered why some fellow humans she executed on missions before managed to stay healthy and without stomach-aches when ingesting raw human meat, but perhaps the toll was mental instead of physical?
In any case, she didn't want to think about it.
However, the largest change she had to get used to was the viewpoint from a really, really tall person. She ballooned to Kuhashiya's original height, nearly four times Mai's original size with her wheels attached, and simply waking or rolling around slowly was difficult. Fortunately, she had her practice in a secluded place, or she'd never hear the end of it when she kept stumbling and falling repeatedly like a small baby in front of her new colleagues.
…or even her now-estranged sister, Ai. Can't have the ending they had and let her see embarrassing moments when they'd eventually meet in the future, after all.
"Are you homesick?" The surprisingly perceptive Tatsumi asked. When Mai turned around to ask, he preceded her, explaining, "Because I've seen that expression many times on my own face in the mirror whenever I'm not home."
"But… isn't your home nearby from the Hyakki Yakō compound?"
"Just a single second away from my wife is torture!" He howled, indignantly answering. What's frightening was Mai couldn't tell whether he's joking or being genuine. "What about my sons? Are they sleeping well? Is Great Ancestor poisoning their minds every chance she gets, now that I'm not by their side? Why is this happening?!"
"Okay, okay, calm down!" Mai wheeled over, concerned the tengu was having a breakdown. Unlike her, Tatsumi had no need for a Living Weapon form because he could simply transform back to his tengu bloodline whenever necessary, but some said it enhanced everything in human about a person if they did so. "Yes, yes, I'm just wondering what my sister's doing! But… not really homesick, maybe. I'm having quite a lot of fun over here, and Sōga Village is just so stuffy."
However, what she said didn't appear to make into his brain, and Mai wondered if the lack of visible earlobes after transformation meant Tatsumi now heard like most birds: not very well.
"Haa… Why does this turn into babysitting…" she lamented, before wheeling back to another area she hadn't cleaned up.
Moving as a kasha certainly was a novelty. It wasn't that this form didn't possess legs, or was entirely inhuman in form like Kuhashiya's Great Ancestor, the flaming wheel monk Wanyūdō, to movement was, ironically, not instinctive. She's literally riding a two-wheeled chariot without any balancing third element… with her feet, and with a body weight much too heavy and tall for a perfect balance while in standstill. In fact, the first time around, when she tried to stay in one place, that was when she fell flat to her face the most.
There was a Nanban sport very popular up north which would've helped Kuhashiya's explanation on her mobility very much, but unfortunately, Mai only heard it after the fact. It's not even that far – Hokkaido had its own similar derivative – but it would've been a big help! It's the way northerners glide across expanses of snow and ice with the aid of simple muscle power and gravity, at times connected to small beasts of burden. Ironic, seeing how Kuhashiya's [Fire] Element affinity was so strong – the strongest Mai had ever seen, really – to think the way to move about with her efficiently was to mimic ice dwellers.
Her default summoned weapon was also troublesome to use, since Mai had never used anything resembling a whip before. One of Muramasa's wives, Chiyome, was a master of the kusarigama – a common weapon for kunoichis everywhere – but the young shinobi preferred melee attacks. In fact, she was more capable with a Nanban zweihander or an executioner's cleaver than binding tools.
That's why she's intent on doing this cleaning duty in Living Weapon form for as long as possible. Even if she fainted from the exertion, she's determined to wake up and do it again the next time. Draining her Od and stamina over and over again was the most effective way to train up her familiarity with Kuhashiya, and attain the next level of Living Weapon mastery. Everywhere she looked, experienced warriors all maintained a roughly humanoid form whenever they combined with their Guardian Spirits. Large sizes and monstrous appearances were indications of amateurism and inexperience, barely considered one step above those who'd lost their sanity and succumbed to the darkest, deepest desires as human and yōkai.
Targets for extermination, that last one.
Of course, one step above her goal was returning to divinity, which was coined 'Divine Apotheosis'. It was the fusion to become an ultimate lifeform, assuming a being of similar size to the yōkai's original figure but with great changes to body, mind, and spirit. For instance, Shuten-dōji would immediately remark the differences Chiyome's form as Yamata-no-Orochi with her father's old appearance, though in essence they were one and the same during Divine Apotheosis. The small oni's transformation was even starker, with utterly different skin tone, Origin, and Element too.
Mai was at least aiming to be bipedal this time, instead of being forced to make wide, sweeping arcs whenever she wanted to move. Even forcing the wheels to lockup, drift, or counter-spinning one opposite of the other couldn't make her body turn as sharply and minutely as she wanted. While the increase in strength, durability, and Conceptual Weight was incredible, one of the traits of anyone working with the Minamoto Clan was their positive pursuit of [Greed], symbolized best by how persistent Muramasa chased the 'happy ending' when there's only a few grim options laid out on the table.
She didn't want others to think she learnt nothing in this time she spent in her new employ.
"Nyahaha… Stay patient and work. You'll reach that destined form one day," Kuhashiya consoled, before quickly adding, "Don't ask me what that will be. Even I don't know since this is my first time serving a human."
Ever since that time, Kuhashiya never gave her any more hints as to how she should improve herself. Getting used to this power was certainly a safe step, and mastering it was a worthwhile goal, but Mai was worried the key would be something esoteric like [Heart], [Hope], [Love], or other similarly vague attributes which would always conveniently come when her life was in danger.
Communing with her swords was also another path she's taking, aiming to fully develop their sentience. This was the danger Kuhashiya was warning her of, because there were frequent occurrences when warriors were possessed and became slaves of their own weapons, as those tools of murder turned into pseudo-Divine Spirits by themselves and influenced unprepared and inexperienced wielders equally. It's difficult o tell whether this was a bad thing which had to be avoided – or, in extreme circumstances, completely eradicated – or simply the natural cycle of the world, where the inferior humans fell victim to a more lethal, but overlooked simpler organisms. For instance, Kuhashiya's aforementioned ancestor, Wanyūdō, was that exact humble object which eventually, with age and luck, became a great spirit.
The other half of her bloodline was a nekomata, but that's rather common these days apart from how high-class her particular lineage was. The red-light district was filled with countless hybrids with similar features – male or female – with the purebloods holding a higher rank, and were most likely already purchased to become official concubines or had earned enough to buy their own freedom. No matter the era, catgirls were extremely popular, it seemed.
Mai was thankful the clothing her Living Weapon form generated was a lot more modest than Kuhashiya's original one, where her bright red kimono looked like it's about to come off by her sides with her obi missing. Though…
'Bigger boobs are justice,' Mai thought, appreciating the 'growth' this method gave her. Of course, it's going to be accompanied by the disappointment when her transformation wore off, so she had to work hard to maintain that kind of size! 'I should finish and leave Tatsumi-san behind…' she also decided.
There's no need for her swords to be unsheathed here. She's capable of massacring this level of bandits by herself without relying on this new power, but for post-battle clean-up? A katana made for very poor shovels and till. The scene of chipped blades stuck all over the wild plains as makeshift grave markers was an unfortunately common sight, and those corpses buried underneath were also most likely dug into using the flats of their comrades' blades. Digging by hand was more respectful, but people were only buried so haphazardly because their gravediggers were in a hurry, most likely after doing unsavoury things, so the fact they still had a proper burial and marker was already an incredible feat of camaraderie and mercy.
But why was there so many here? Were they stragglers from the Mōri army?
That's… actually quite a logical explanation. Just because the Minamoto and Oda Clan didn't have any didn't mean others wouldn't have an environment where they were more likely to exist. It showed a lack of loyalty and unity, though the fact most were too prideful to surrender and too cowardly to commit suicide made them incredibly hypocritical and unsympathetic – which was the main reason Mai could gleefully turn their corpses into fertilizers without any sense of guilt, echoing Tatsumi's earlier statement.
Did they have families waiting for them to return? Most likely. Would their farmland, house, and original job be abandoned, subject to the next-appointed lord's mercy, and likely sold off by those same family members? Most definitely. Were there actually younger relatives being roped into this corpse-looting, and accidentally killed by Mai, Tatsumi, and the other low-ranked Hyakki Yakō across this battlefield? Perhaps.
It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. These men and women came here knowing the risks, so it's actually disrespectful to show them a second mercy, when [Fate] had already bestowed upon them by letting them leave able-bodied in the first place.
For all her life, Mai wished she could be in this position: sat at the elevated platform near the back of the room, looking down at the people forced to dogeza in front of her, one step down. It's not for pride's or glory's sake; she simply found it funny, and wished to experience it at least once.
In fact, she'd make a terrible politician because of her inability to keep that sort of arrogant face required to sit there. People like Nobunaga and Himiko were too different personality- and upbringing-wise, she couldn't fathom their way of viewing the world, and vice versa. Mai enjoyed being a kunoichi – a position of servitude – though she certainly wasn't as selfless as the traditional shinobis to the point of willingly taking unwarranted abuse from their masters.
A Kage who could mingle with the top brass of the world, influential enough to call their own shots, while also peacefully and stably taking commissions from these powerful players. A romantic life with an ideal mixture of nomadic independence and rigid discipline. It took her a few years to concretely form this goal, because her younger self was far too wrecked with worry and pessimism to allow this thought to surface, much less to become her current conviction.
This utopian image of herself was boosted when she actually met two people fulfilling those very lives: Mochizuki Chiyome and Katō Danzō. They even added another layer to the wrinkle: existing together side-by-side, with a powerful organization they'd built and at their beck and call, small enough to be flexible and mobile, but large enough to threaten others who wished to cross them.
The concept of [Two]. It suited her well.
Her twin swords, Jun and Kyo. Their two Origins, [Purity] and [Hollow]. Kuhashiya's dual nature, part-nekomata and part-wanyūdō. The Guardian Spirit's twin tails.
…then, finally, she and the guest in front of her: Ai and Mai, the Sōga twins.
"How have you been?" Mai began tentatively, once the servants carrying some refreshments into the room had left. "I heard good things about the village once you took over."
They were in one of the smaller meeting rooms, Mai's delusion at the start was… exactly just that: a delusion. There's no way someone smack dab at the bottom of the Hyakki Yakō could command something better, and this room was only available because no one was using it at the moment. In reality, had the Imperial Castle been its usual busy self, the twins would've had to meet in one of the gardens' many smaller pavilions.
"Just like you heard. To me, it's quite so-so, though," Ai coldly replied, her voice bereft of any of the emotion Mai expected to come hurling her way. Sipping her tea and nibbling on the small eats. "I'm happy to see you're doing well."
Mai couldn't help but sarcastically thought in reply, 'I'll be even happier if that wasn't an outright lie, though.'
This conversation was difficult in both honesty and deception. After all, they were twins – however estranged, in this close proximity, it's almost impossible to hide things from each other. Mai could only apply what her various senpai had subjected her simply to screw with her initial training: using the truth to lie. Even then, she's doubtful it'd work, because she could instinctively guess Ai was doing the same thing.
'Will this be a contest of will, after one of arms during our last meeting?' Mai lamented.
It's not like she's now all gung-ho about getting back to their old relationship. At the very least, she's mature enough to realize bloodily feuding with the sole family member one had remaining in the world was incredibly childish. If they couldn't be a functional family again, then at the very least, a respectful professional relationship was something she should aim for.
"I'll be by your side in the meeting later," Mai declared softly. "Well, not literally – I'll try to influence things-"
"You don't have to," Ai firmly shut her down. "Besides, aren't you feeling too full of yourself? I heard you just barely made it into the ranks as the lowest member?"
"Now, listen here! I'm just trying to help you-"
"DON'T!"
- …
That was the first time Ai raised her voice in this meeting. It surprised the two of them, resulting in a pregnant pause soon after.
Ai, the first to gather herself back, explained, "I'm here as a Sōga representative. Don't you think nepotism will taint whatever I'm trying to accomplish here? It's better you stay out of it."
Mai, not wanting to lose after having her sense of rivalry ignited once again, argued back, "Who will mind? You know very well the Imperial Family keeps things very tight, and not a single soul outside that room can find out." Sighing when she saw a flash of indignation across her sister's eyes, she hurriedly added, "Look… just stop thinking I'm doing this due to some misplaced sense of filial duty. Think of it as a professional offer of assistance from an outsider, okay? I know you've struck my name from the clan records – as you should – so we're technically not family anymore."
Ai frowned. "Then tell me; how do you plan on influencing the Empress herself? I heard she is especially vicious in negotiations, even against her own clan members." She then quickly elaborated, "Regardless, stay out of this. I'm going to pretend your offer didn't happen."
In such a short time, the sister in front of Mai's eyes had experienced an explosive growth in power. Perhaps she always had this much talent available, and Mai only gained the senses to observe it now? Still, the difference between the young woman sitting in front of her and the one who ambushed her as she left her village was night and day. It was impressive even when she considered Ai would've had access to the Sōga Clan's array of kinjutsu, because there's just not enough time to internalize that power due to her duties as a Kage. Other than that, how good was the kinjutsu library from such a small and obscure village, anyway? If it's one from Iga or Kōga, then she could understand, but…
Of course, she's nowhere near Mai's level, especially after gaining Kuhashiya. In this day and age, relying solely on one's Mystery wasn't enough, and even the two leaders of the Minamoto Clan, Muramasa and Himiko, relied on incorporating others' strength into their own comprehension to reign supreme. There's a limit – a sad one, but a limit nonetheless – to what individuals could achieve on their own without going astray and losing oneself.
"Then what about an advice?" Mai changed tactic, hoping this could work. Clearly, Ai had no intention on building any sort of relationship with her anymore… or, at least, for the moment. She then decided to simply fire off one before Ai could refute. "Whatever you do, don't sound so eager. Heika will literally work you and the Sōga to the death if you do."
"Heh. So it's true you're allowed to say whatever you want so long as you don't fear death, huh?" Ai sarcastically answered rhetorically. "Not afraid this room is filled with surveillance spells?"
Mai chuckled. "Heika doesn't need those to know what I'm doing right now. Most of the time, she's engaged in something more pressing than dealing with some bad-mouthers, so we can get lucky sometimes. I've been caught several times and paid the price."
"Ufufu…"
'AAAHHH! S-SHE LAUGHED…!' Mai noticed gleefully in her heart, trying her best not to let any out and spoil the moment. There's still hope!
…not to the point of restoring their relationship as very close siblings when they were children. Mai had acknowledged they'd gone past that point, but there's a glimmer of hope in her heart which refused to die no matter how much she stuffed it down or smother it to death. Entering Hyakki Yakō was equivalent to severing one's connection to their past in the outside world, existing solely under the command of Nihon's ruler for the sake of its continued prosperity while also removing negative elements which might hinder its growth. Most empires focus on at most two attributes, and their negligence in that final one – often considered 'irrelevant' or 'uncultured' – would bring their immediate downfall. Absolute control over the strongest military unit. Placing the people's wealth and public perception above all. Intolerant attitude towards the slightest form of over-corruption.
Letting the officials indulge a bit to placate them was fine. But letting them run any more rampant? Off to the beheading platform for the lot of them.
This was the weight of responsibility Himiko carried since birth, since they all rested upon her, and nor could she escape it because of the Minamoto Clan's Sorcery Trait forcing her to automatically nominate herself for the first round of punishment available.
This was exactly why Mai warned Ai, who seemed insistent to remaining stubborn so long it's her voice the latter was hearing. Now, to make sure she accepted that advice, Mai should find a willing accomplice who'd take this burden away from her…
Mai once speculated about the existence of 'smart castles', since the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki noted several architectural yōkai whose presence wasn't concentrated on a certain piece of furniture, natural attribute, or dead soul, but an entire building complex or large plot of land. Technically, Nobunaga's Guardian Spirit partially belonged to this type, because Gasha-Dokuro was a representative of the hellish landscape of a despairing, bloody battlefield. Mai first got the idea because she found it difficult the Empress, Himiko, had the operational capability to spare to screw with intruders by spatially-manipulating the Imperial Castle's internals, automatic or not.
Thus, she hypothesized there's a yōkai in charge of this type of active defense. However, a combination of busy schedule and the need to bond quickly with Kuhashiya stopped her from going down this theory hole.
It's sometimes quite amusing how close to the truth she often got, only to fial at the last hurdle.
Currently, Osakabehime didn't have a powerful host with enough affinity to materialize like she did in the Heian Period, when she lived among Tamamo-no-Mae and Kiyohime, so she had receded into the Imperial Castle's automated management system. It's not the slightest bit difficult or risky, unlike other yōkai who were in danger of dissipating their 'self' if they spread themselves too thin, because the Imperial Castle was her own body.
But she still had enough prowess to hold a top 10 seat among the current generation Hyakki Yakō, and with enough clout to not have her voice ignored when she called upon others.
For example, gathering Senjū-dōji, Lian, and Kīchī in front of Mai's newest temporary residence to both eavesdrop and gossip. It's more of a desire to bully a junior more, since she didn't have the chance to before Mai was sent to Ming for her evaluation mission. Being a stay-at-home yōkai, she literally didn't have anything better to do. Himiko's far too grown up to react to her antics, despite her minuscule age compared to Osakabehime's centuries of life. Her old sparring partner, Tamamo-no-Mae, was too far engrossed in her duty as a bridge between Amaterasu and the Empress to spare any energy materializing simply to play with her.
Oh, she'd been spying on both Ai and Mai from a few hours' back, when the Sōga Kage first stepped foot through the Imperial Castle's outermost detection barrier, but this activity was much more fun if done with friends!
- Munch. Munch. Munch.
[What do you think?] The voluptuous shut-in yōkai prodded the trio, who were observing with their own methods. [I think what this place lacks is a proper family drama.]
Lian had the least-refined remote sensory capabilities among the four, and thus resorted to the classic shinobi method of placing herself in the attic. Of course, with her mastery of her personalized Sage Arts as a xianren, the twins couldn't even detect her even if they tried, despite this almost comical and cliched technique. [I think you're getting much too excited about this, because… it's my fault, really. If I haven't taught her so well, then things might get more interesting…]
[I never pegged you to be the romantic type about this thing,] Kīchī commented on Lian's words. [Weren't you the one who always mocked me whenever I complained about family matters?]
[That is you, and this is Mai,] Lian excused. [You've been yapping your mouth around for… what, 300 years? You have to admit that amount of time makes everything boring, dear.]
[She has a point,] Senjū-dōji, by far the 'youngest' among the quartet at nearly a century old, observed cheekily. Other than her natural astral projection talent, she was also most suited to merge with architectural-type yōkai, and thus simply hijacked Osakabehime's senses without burdening the original to easily spy through every single surface in that room. [For me, it's quite novel. You know I'm not much of an aunt or older sister to Himiko, despite my efforts.]
[To put your words back where they came from, that's also a 'you' problem, Senjū,] Kīchī shot back. [Stop using personalized examples to attack me! I outrank all of you!]
The Mutsu Great Ancestor wasn't referring to their ranking within the Hyakki Yakō, but her family's political place in Nihon's current ladder. As one of the 'founding families', so to speak, they enjoyed great enough privilege they could flaunt without any repercussions. Hence, they became a great example of how yōkai common sense differed from humans. Still, the assets and resources remained, becoming the base of Kīchī's latest argument. Lian, being a Qin native, naturally couldn't ascend as high even if she decided to finally make a family of her own here in Nihon, while Senjū-dōji was far too young and disinterested in anything other than playing with her boulder of mutilated limbs.
- Munch. Munch. Munch.
[Yes, yes, like that's important,] Osakabehime interrupted.
[Are you eating?!] Kīchī nearly hysterically screamed into their telepathic link. [Mute yourself, you slob!]
- Munch. Munch. Munch.
[Sorry 'bout that.]
[Oh, I'm getting hungry,] Senjū-dōji remarked. [But this is far too interesting to leave behind…]
[Unfortunately, once again, Mai is now skilled enough to detect any attempt of recording her embarrassing moments. I have indirectly, but personally, made sure of that,] Lian sheepishly explained, a sound they all recognized as her rubbing her nape in shame going through the shared connection. [We have teased her so much, she's become a monster.]
[Quite literally. Hah! Didn't think you have a pun in you!] Kīchī pointed out. She was lounging in her residence and watching everything through a bog-standard [Water Mirror] spell cast onto an ornate jade basin. Unlike her most famous student and daughter-in-law, Yoshitsune – that foolish girl Ushiwakamaru – she was as skilled in the esoteric arts of Magecraft as she was in combat.