Dang, it's been a while since I posted hasn't it? Busy summer. No Rest. WORK! WORK!WORK! I'm actually kind of glad I'm back in school without parent boot camp…. Anyway, please read and enjoy!
Chapter 4: Remain Neutral
"Grasscutter doesn't belong to you, Mason," a waitress said pleasantly as she set down the jasmine tea, the rest of the Numbers eyeing her apprehensively. She was treading dangerous waters. Mason had not been acting in his normal manner for some time now, not since Sephiria had been declared a traitor. He found that they were correct, perhaps his betrayal struck a different chord this time, it was to regret to say that he did miss her.
Mason originally had been experimenting, trying to get the feel for the blade and was ashamed to admit that she was correct, it was awkward to hold, much less wield with the proficiency his armor granted him in battle. But she had been able to tell at a glance, so she was much more than a mere waitress. He met her gaze with a penetrating reply, "What's it to you? Who are you?"
She held up her hands defensively, "I'm neutral, I don't care who wins or loses this battle in Chronos as long as I get what I want. But, that sword is part of the Emperor's regalia, so I do suggest you give it back."
"Why?" Mason gestured to his comrades, "I believe I would be able to take him on any day."
This time she smiled, and for a second Mason thought he saw a flash of similarity to someone behind those eyes, but he quickly dispersed the thought. It couldn't be… Sephiria had been with Chronos since the Taoist War, alone, as an orphan, no he was just seeing things. The waitress pulled a lock of reddish brown hair behind her ear, "Not with that ragtag team against Onmyouji. What good is modern weapons against the magic and mysteries of the past?"
"So you were sent by the Japanese government?" Mason inquired politely, "Do sit down then so we can conduct business in a more formal tone."
"Don't mind if I do, my name is Minamoto no Saty by the way, pleased to meet you." Her whole attitude was defiant, as if she knew she could move the world if she had really wanted to. Beneath that cocky gaze, you could tell, that this was not someone to cross. Perhaps twenty three years old with beautiful flowing reddish brown hair, her face was mischievous like Sephiria's had been when he first met her. Blue grey eyes that blazed with this smoldering inner fire she refused to allow blaze through her iris and into the real world, barely containable hatred. Yes, that was it. She had a chip in her shoulder that she refused to share with anyone but herself. A very powerful customer, Mason thought with a smirk, he would enjoy the idea of taking her on.
"By the way, if you're wondering, since I'm neutral, the Japanese government is not my benefactors, I'm only supposed to hang around with you guys and watch how this is supposed to blow over." She shrugged nonchalantly, "Personally, I find this babysitting job really annoying, so could you at least get me some Inari sushi? I'm starving."
Mason chuckled at her nerve, he commented absentmindedly, his former Captain still on his mind, "Sephiria would always order Inari sushi as well, any relation to her perhaps?"
Saty's eyes flashed for a moment so that blue grey fire managed to pierce the surface of reality, however, she quickly exterminated the blaze before replying calmly, but a too calmly for his well-trained ears. "No, I never had any relation to her whatsoever."
Yes, a cool customer indeed, now to unlock the mystery behind her past and then he would manage to snag her in his plan of manipulation.
Perhaps he would be able to get another fox caught in the mix as well., thought surprisingly this fox had been a no show for now, but he had a feeling she would resurface soon enough.
-X-
"Shirley, please tell them to stop calling me," Sephiria ordered irritably, "the answer is still no. I won't endanger Sven, Eve, or Train because of their stupid little theft. I don't care who did it, but I will not go back to earth, I will not be the one responsible for the activation of Eden."
"As you wish Sephiria-sama."
Sephiria rubbed her head ruefully, she had a feeling she knew who was behind all these annoying prank calls. That child wouldn't give up, would she? She had never accepted that Sephiria had severed all ties with her and put all their family to slaughter, to the butcher's knife. Sighing, she glared at the whip she was holding sadly, it had been a while since she had felt this in her hand.
"Well, that's unsurprising since you decided to play head honcho assassin." Sephiria didn't even turn around upon hearing the familiar tone of her Uncle's voice.
"You know I had no choice in the matter, don't you Uncle? It the entire clan or my sister would have the life I have now, unlike you I actually care about my sibling!" She was surprised to find her voice rising, more emotion pouring out of it. Another action uncharacteristic of her. Could Train be having some effect on her?
"You know that mortal you've taken to hanging around?" her Uncle's voice was harsh, and her head snapped around sharply. He was exactly as she remembered him, his beard long as always (which was not allowed due to his punishment of course), his sword, the Heavenly Flycutter draped over his back, adding a flair of décor to his already sweeping expensive silk robes. This was his favored form of course, he could become crueler and less unrefined at his beck and call, but his imperial dress signified this was no social visit.
"Leave him out of this," she said more sharply than she intended, "he did nothing in this matter."
"But Father says that we get to have permission to kill him in order to get your cooperation in this International Spiritual Matter, anything to get you to join the fray." He smiled sadistically, "They already know about Eden crisis you are currently managing, but this is of the utmost importance or I was sent to convince you of otherwise."
It was her turn to smile, shaking her head and summoning the now fixed form of Christ to her hand Sephiria pointed out, "You were never able to defeat me Uncle; I won't let you hurt them."
His eyes widened, "I never expected the rumors to have been true, you HAVE gone soft. I thought Tsukiyomi was joking the way he said it, but I think that mortal did his job well."
Sephiria opened her mouth to say something insulting but Train slammed the door open, all smiles and laughs as he said, "Sephi, Sven just finished dinner, we're all waiti-." His voice broke off as he saw her Uncle. "Who's the old dude with the beard that looks a mile long?"
Sephiria expertly roped her Uncle's arm with her whip to prevent him from murdering Train for that comment replied evenly, "Train, meet my Uncle Susanoo, he's going to be staying for dinner."
Train looked at her strangely, "How did he get to our ship?"
"I tracked Sephiria's aura here because we desperately need her help back in Japan, with Saty not listening to us and we're not allowed to mess in the affairs of mortals…" Susanoo looked frustrated and flustered, before he continued, "Perhaps we should discuss this over a table."
Train nodded his head slowly, "O-kay…" Putting an arm around her, he led her out of the room, her Uncle following them close behind, looking at them with interest.
Rolling her eyes, Sephiria pulled Train to the dining room, by the Kami; this was not going to be a fun family reunion.
-X-
The tension at the table was a mile high. Sephiria and Susanoo kept staring daggers at each other in a raging silent converSation that the other three were not part of, while Train was watching their faces very carefully for any emotional signs behind their words when they did speak to each other. Finally, Sven broke the uncomfortable dinner table silent conversations.
"So, Susanoo right? What do you do in your spare time?"
"Oh, whip up storms, destroy ships, and further my reputation as the summer storm." He said this so casually that even Eve had her mouth wide open. Sephiria cut in for him, her eyes turning a hauntingly frightening shade of red as (she most likely kicked him under the table and) poured him some more tea.
"What my Uncle means is that he is a fisherman that fishes in the southern sea, right Susanoo?" The tone of her voice was threatening, even to Susanoo, who should have had more power than that little half-breed, but her red eyes… No, the Sephiria he knew had not disappeared even under that tender little black cat's care. Good, that was the Sephiria he needed to recover the sword, or else he would never be able to cause balance with the now raging kami, and perhaps his Father would forgive him for his past actions.
"Yes dearest niece," he replied dutifully, waiting for her usual indignant reply, however, it never came. Perhaps she was a combination of her past and present self, but she still could be manipulated, especially when her sister came into the equation.
"Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Read to me! Please?" her younger sister ran over to where Susanoo and Sephiria were sparring, interrupting the two of them. Susanoo wasn't complaining; Sephiria had been merciless today and he could already sense he had four broken ribs.
"Oh, Kitsune-chan," Sephiria lifted her into the air, and swung her around and around, causing Kitsune-chan to laugh aloud.
"Faster Onee-sama!" her little sister showed no signs in hearing her pet name being used by her older sister uncharacteristically. Normally she would become almost as scary as Sephiria upon hearing it's usage. Sephiria complied with her demands with an easy smile, no sign of her callous aura apparent, no she was all smiles and her aura had softened so much.
"I think Uncle," Sephiria had set Kitsune-chan down for a moment and turned her gaze to Susanoo, "that our spar is over for today, it seems I have other things to attend to."
Susanoo nodded, while internally thanking Inzanagi for his interference, by Amaterasu, that little seven year old could pack a punch. He was not looking forward for another bout-next time if he put her in a foul mood, he might not be so lucky.
"Like me Onee-sama!" Kitsune-chan wrapped her arms around Sephiria's legs, "I won't let go unless you play with me."
Sephiria smiled tenderly as she pried herself from Kitsune-chan's grip, bending down so that Kitsune-chan could climb up. "Don't worry Kitsune-chan, I won't go anywhere, come on, let's go home." She gave a casual wave to Susanoo before departing faster than he could conjure a storm. What an intriguing relationship, a spoiled brat with an aloof recluse who would always indulge her. How they got along so well was beyond his sphere of knowledge.
"What do you think Amaterasu?"
His sister gave a start behind him, "How'd you know I was here?" She sounded disappointed, and he turned around to find her pouting, "I wanted to surprise you, you're such a mean younger brother."
He smiled as he listened to her reply, "Yes, the older one is the one who's one of us, the younger one is the one who's going to cause all the problems."
"Are you trying to imply something?"
"Yes, Sephiria is going to turn out pure and perfect like the sun, while Kitsune-chan will become the drop out of the family… Like YOU!" she stuck him hard with her finger, "So Father told me to tell you to keep an eye on them."
Susanoo glared at her. "He kicked me out and he expects me to do work? What is this? I need a labor union!"
Amaterasu combed back her long dark hair, wiping her face with a handkerchief she had gotten from Tsukiyomi, as she commented lightly, "I'm surprised you paid attention to modern day vocabulary and ideals, a labor union, really? Anyhow, I really must get back to my post, I'll see you later Su-su!" She gave him a kiss on the forehead and waved.
"DON'T CALL ME SU-SU!" he roared defiantly.
"But you look so funny when I do," Amaterasu smiled, a perfect imitation of their niece's whenever she attempted to irritate someone, infuriating him even more. He had seen that smile far too often lately, especially after his weekly bouts with Sephiria. She apparently thought she had overstayed her welcome and in a flash of light had disappeared. Shaking his head, Susanoo sat down on a nearby rock as he thought of the lifeline of his favorite niece. She wasn't going to have a happy life, Inzanagi's interference proved that much. Such a pity since she was one of the more civil of the last of the Minamotos. Something told him that she would become the center of numerous events especially a coming one that would shatter the delicate peace she had managed to negotiate with the Minamotos and Chronos at seven. Yet another instinctive gut feeling told him that Kitsune-chan would loathe her for it. But premonitions didn't always come true, and Susanoo vowed this would be one of the cases.
"You know, Kitsune-chan is right in Mason's inner circle, Inzanagi had ordered her to wait it out to see what would happen," Susanoo spoke those words casually, however, Sephiria seemed to hear them at once.
"What is my sister doing dealing with him? Inzanagi knows that ever since that incident her health has been fragile."
"Well, she is an Onmyouji capable of defeating Abe no Seimei, ever since you left she's been training to defeat you. She is powerful, I visited her beforehand and I must admit that in the state you are in now, she could give you a run for your money."
"Your sister is with Mason?" The Nanogirl, Eve, spoke for the first time. "I would like to meet her."
"Eve, you can't," Sephiria said in the same soft tone of patience she used with Kitsune-chan, "I won't risk you for my sister. She made her decision to be with Mason, if she gets killed," her voice shook slightly for the first time. "It won't be my problem."
Susanoo knew her better, and could see that the effort of speaking those words had taken much effort out of her. Even her eyes were revealing the fact that she did care about what happened to Saty, her crucial weakness was that one person she had allowed to live of the entire Minamoto Clan descended from Yoshitsune. She loved her little sister so much that he felt guilty manipulating her like this.
Sephiria set down her chopsticks as she looked down at the Inari sushi, as if she was seeing someone eating the same dish in that moment. "You know what will happen once I commit myself to this task Uncle."
Susanoo knew, and he knew that even if he answer yes or no, she would still go down back to earth to salvage the pieces of her sister's life. "Yes I know what will happen."
Train, her mortal boyfriend butted in by slamming the table. He and Tsukiyomi would have gotten along just fine, they had the same mannerisms, but unlike Tsukiyomi, he was not cold, rather, he had the same tender personality Sephiria had in relation people precious to them. "It doesn't matter what your relatives want Sephiria, I don't care if you say yes or no, but remember this." He smiled at her as he displayed a thumbs up, "No matter where you go, I'm coming with you because I love you."
Susanoo commented airily, "That was quite blunt, I wonder how you two managed to get together." Train's eyes narrowed at him as his hand tightened around Hades.
"I'm going too," Eve declared obstinately, "I have to face Chronos sometime or another, why not now?"
"Because they still remember the Project Eden, Eve," Sephiria interjected, "I really don't want you to suffer, not like-."
"Like she did," Susanoo cut in, "but enough of that now, it's now or never. Amaterasu is soooo pissed at you Sephiria by the way so she might go hide in a cave again unless the sword is returned."
"Really?" Sephiria inquired, her eyebrows rising prominently, "I thought she would have matured by now."
"Obviously not! Maturity is for mortals, like YOU Sephiria!"
"So I think we're going to have to save the world again, don't you Captain?" Train inquired, holding out a hand, "I think we need a leader to guide us."
Susanoo surveyed his niece sorrowfully as he waited for her answer, and almost saw her take Train's hand in slow motion with her "yes" taking an eternity to hear. He could see her compassionate smile return and those azure eyes returning to that tender gentleness. He barely heard her mutter about proceeding cautiously, all he could do from crying was keep a straight face.
It seemed that his vow to Amaterasu could not be kept after all.