Chapter 12

"This is the information I have, this is the phone…" Suiryu called for a meeting the next day. He told them everything he learned from the stalkers but also revealed that they would not offer much in the way of information.

"What happened to them?" asked Fushiguro.

Suiryu said nothing as he continued on. "We are dealing with very careful people, no doubt they are going to be catching wind of this soon. The phone number may or may not be of use to us, but I am going to try anyways."

He looked over the numbers, but the one highlighted was dubbed 'payday'. So he called it.

"hello?" came a voice.

Suiryu smirked as he used cursed speak "Don't hang up and tell me everything, who ordered this?"

He waited a moment. "No, please I can't tell you we are after the demon vessel and his clone for… GAH!" the line went dead, but he knows he heard the splatter of blood.

"Thought so," he muttered and smashed the phone against the wall.

"What did you do that for!?" demanded Nobara.

"The phone is no good, whoever picked up is now dead, someone must have sensed curse speech over the line and killed the one who answered the phone, so needless to say this may have been close to the one who ordered the hit. Also they won't answer that number again."

The room appeared rather impressed to his deduction.

"UMPH!" came out of Yuuji, but he shied away embarrassed.

"Go get something to eat bro, best you drink that outside," Suiryu said.

He nodded and excused himself from the room. When he was gone, Suiryu looked to everyone. "He has to have someone with him at all times" he said in a warning tone. "But it's apparent he can still sense energies, despite not being able to use them himself at the moment, he still has a good notion of when he is being followed."

"Why did he cut off his throat chakra or whatever?" asked Satoru.

Suiryu wondered that too, but then remembered the divine users. "Divine users are able to capture divine creatures to use as familiars and in their fights. They have figured out that when he is in distressed, they come running to aid him. What better way to build a legion than to panic a baby dragon and making him unleash a distress call?"

The room was dumbfounded. "How on earth can you think of these things?!" demanded Nobara.

"Sukuna had a thousand years to stew with his own thoughts, thinking over ideas, scenarios and battles in his dormancy. I got that from him, so I see the angles and also think how he thinks. My mindset is this, if I were doing this… what would I use to ensure it doesn't get traced back to me? Also how can I do it in the least amount of work, time and effort? How can I make the situation benefit me?"

"Still, creepy as hell…" muttered Fushiguro.

"Creepy or not, he's on our side," said Nobara.

"So what now?" Satoru asked. "What does this grand master mind have in store next?"

Suiryu paused to consider it all, but there was only one path he could think of. "They are going to come after me next," he stated. "They want the necklace, that was their main goal. But to get that, they have to get through me. So, I have a feeling they are going to attempt something when I do my photo sessions. After all, it's crowded, lots of witnesses…"

Satoru began to laugh aloud as he leaned back in his chair. "They think you won't fight back! HAHAHA!"

"Indeed… how wrong they are…" Suiryu said with a wicked grin on his lips.

Yuuji returned, he cleared off his lips as he looked about, he must have heard the laughter through the door but shrugged his shoulders to it all. As he sat back down, Suiryu asked. "Do you feel any different?"

He shook his head.

"No other changes? Nothing?" asked Fushiguro.

Once more, he shook his head, but he was looking at his hands oddly. Suiryu picked up on it as he inspected them himself. "Oh?" he said with curiosity. "You're nails aren't as long as mine…" taking his necklace off they did a side-by-side comparison. Yuuji's talons were getting shorter. "You haven't trimmed them today have you?"

'No' he thought and shook his head so the room knew too.

He fell silent once more to the room and began to think. "Suiryu…" Satoru began to say.

"The fact that his transformation has started it appears to be stalling, as if it's waiting for something to trigger the next stage…" he said, he paused and looked to Yuuji once more, but couldn't figure out what it was. "Kitsune," he called.

She didn't appear, he sighed aloud to it all, until Yuuji did another chirp aloud.

She appeared once more with a drink, but paused as Yuuji pointed to Suiryu.

She sneered at him. "Why should I have to answer him if he calls for me!?" she demanded of him.

"We got a truce going on right now don't we? You don't like me, I don't like you but it's for HIS benefit!" he protested and pointed to Yuuji once more. She sighed aloud as the drink she carried vanished.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"His next stage is stalled isn't it?" he asked. "He's lost his voice and teeth, something else has to be happening. But I don't know what."

"You think I would know? I told you this before…" she said in a warning tone.

"I know, but I am trying to think of scenarios that would trigger the next stage, I mean, he's lost his teeth, voice, drinks nothing but dragon milk, essentially he is a baby dragon right? What do they do?"

She paused to his question, and then she began to think herself. "To my knowledge they don't do much of anything but ensure their own safety and comfort. He hasn't reached that stage yet since he is still fearlessly going out… that stops now by the way," she scolded Yuuji.

He pouted.

"We will help keep an eye on him," vowed Fushiguro. "He's our friend too,"

Yuuji smiled as appeared touched by his words.

"So keep an eye for when he starts to hesitate on things…" Suiryu muttered. "Okay then, everyone got that?" he called.

They nodded. "Good, bro. You got to have a guard with you at all times… I think we need to consider bringing the brothers here."

"Wait, the curse wombs?!" demanded Nobara. "No offense but…"

"We got some dorms open," Satoru stated. "I say bring them in, the more the merrier! Also it will piss off the elders to no end!"

Suiryu nodded but paused. "Why isn't Yaga here?"

"Some meeting or something, couldn't be bothered."

"Let's make arrangements then," Suiryu announced.