Chapter One Hundred Four

Everything was playing out just as he had planned. Better even. The fire demon had practically handed himself over to the condemnation of the country on a silver platter. No one would doubt he had caused the fires in Neo-Kyoto now. Not after his open and undeniable outburst in front of the world. Images of his failed transition were already all over the news. The vision of him raining fire down upon the city coupled with his disgustingly terrifying form would guarantee no one would forget that moment. So much so, that no one would even question why the city had already been ablaze, even before the fire demon's appearance on the mountain.

Allowing himself a slight smirk, the Emperor stood upon his open balcony, his hands folded comfortably behind his back, and he watched in quiet triumph as the sun peeked over the horizon. The fact that the fire demon had been attempting to achieve the rank of dragon had disturbed him at first, but the longer he allowed the reports and videos to settle in his mind, the less threatened he felt. That lowly fire demon had obviously failed. His true form was proof that he had been unsuccessful in his attempt.

"What a fool." The scoff was low and derisive. No one became a dragon overnight, or even in a few days. It had taken the Emperor centuries to achieve the pinnacle of his power. A measly three hundred years was much too little. No doubt the fire demon had tried to force the transition, but he most certainly regretted it now. Doing so would have weakened him. He was now the perfect target.

All that now stood in the Emperor's way was the water dragon.

The smirk slowly vanished, and his brows furrowed seriously. For the first time in two hundred years, the water dragon had left his mountain. He had even stepped in to stop the fire demon from destroying Neo-Kyoto. Already the news was portraying him as a hero. Having two noble dragons in the same country was apparently a source of pride. For the Emperor, it was only a threat to his power. He needed to make sure he spun the story into a much different narrative so that the people saw that the water dragon was working with the fire demon, not against him. Perhaps suggesting that he was the one controlling the fire demon would sow the right amount of distrust in his intentions.

"Your Grassse." Tamono bowed deeply at the entrance of his rooms. "We have confirmed that the barrier around the mountain isss down. Unfortunately, it appears most of our forces already in Neo-Kyoto were either captured or killed. On your command, the military ressserve isss ready to march on Neo-Kyoto within the week to retrieve the fire demon."

"What about the girl?"

"She was ssseen in the city, but wasss taken by the water dragon when he confronted Himura."

The Emperor's features darkened further. "We cannot wait a week. Send them in now."

"Sssire… that will not be posssible…"

"Do it! The Kagu-tsuchi's vessel is weakened. I cannot risk it being so near to a human."

Tamono lifted his head. "Can a god truly posssesss the body of ssuch a weak being?"

Turning back to the balcony, the television a quiet drone in the backdrop of the crisp morning, the Emperor lifted his chin and frowned.

"The ancient texts continuously mentioned something known as a perfect vessel for the Kagu-tsuchi. That perfect vessel would be a god in this world. It seems unbelievable, laughable even, but I believe it meant to choose a human as that perfect vessel. Most likely because humans had no power and would be easy to control. Like a perfect doll. I cannot allow that to happen. Which is why I wiped them all out to begin with. Why should some lowly human be a god over me? No. The Kagu-tsuchi will be mine. I will bend it to my will, and I will use its power to be a god over this entire world."

"Of courssse, Your Grassse." Another low bow, but Tamono frowned at the floor as static caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. The broadcast on the screen had changed, and his wide eyes shifted to lock upon the perfect, serene features of the Emperor's youngest daughter, Yuna, gazing out from the television. She did not smile, nor did she frown, but her eyes of honey-brown were clear and her features honest.

"Good morning, my fellow citizens. I am Yuna, youngest daughter to the Sky Emperor, and the Princess that you were made to believe has been taken." A beautiful bow arched her neck and back, and confirmed her grace and proper upbringing. From the balcony, the Emperor pivoted so sharply his clothes whipped around him.

"It saddens me that we were never been properly introduced before now. You may even find it hard to believe I am who I say I am. That is understandable."

"What is this?" The hiss ducked Tamono's shoulders, and he quickly fled from the room when the Emperor turned his displeasure on him. "Cut this off now! And find out where she is!"

"After all, I have no way to prove my lineage. My father has kept all of his children under his strict control. We were never allowed to leave the palace. We were never allowed to interact with the outside world or even with our country. My own country. No one outside of the palace was to ever see or know of us personally."

"Stupid girl. If you are trying to run damage control for that fire demon, you are ill-equipped to refute what people have seen with their own eyes." To his surprise, however, Yuna never once brought up the fires or the circumstances happening in Neo-Kyoto.

"It is for those reasons, and many others, that I escaped from the palace of my own volition. I was not kidnapped. I was not coerced or manipulated. These falsehoods were used as weapons against you, the people, to take power. Power over you and your rights. A power that was immediately used to force you to stay off the streets and remain in your homes. A power that removed your freedom of movement and life. My father loves power. So much so, that he destroyed an entire race to keep it. From the near genocide of the wind elementals of this country, to the untimely death of his wife for her human lineage, the Sky Emperor will do anything for power. Anything. Even blame an innocent man of kidnapping… or imprison his own daughter for trying to save her younger brother."

"TAMONO!"

"We're working on it, Your Grassse!"

"All that I want for each and every one of you, is to please think on what I have said. Examine what you have seen. Decide for yourselves how fit…"

The broadcast cut to a blank screen, but the silence in the aftermath was deafening.

X

"Sorry, Sir. They cut us off."

"No, that was good enough." Akira nodded at the tengu sitting at a computer, and then offered a quick bow to Yuna when she stepped away from the green screen that had been set up behind her. "They'll be looking for you in earnest now. We need to prepare for counter measures."

"Please forgive me, Daitengu. My presence only places your people in danger."

"It is already apparent that we can no longer remain neutral. If the Emperor is willing to set fire to one of his main cities, then we must act in the best interest of our clan."

"Of course. I will assist in whatever way that I can."

"If you change your mind, my offer still stands. No one will think less of you for withdrawing."

"No." Despite her best effort, Yuna's hands trembled where she held them properly at her waist. "I must see this through."

"Very well." Thankfully, the daitengu did not notice, and turned away from her immediately to take counsel with the elders and his generals. Glancing at the forgotten video camera that had been used for her speech, Yuna exhaled slowly to settle her nerves. The shake in her hands nearly doubled.

It was clear to her that she was not her sister. She did not have the confidence nor the training that Misao had, and she certainly did not have the experience with danger or defiance. She was also not her brother, who had grown up outside of the palace and refused to bow or be broken by their father. This was all still so very new to Yuna. Her father was frightening. She could not imagine anyone stronger than him, and that alone forced her to question whether she had made the right decision. Her public insinuations would anger him, as they had planned. If he ever caught her, she feared she would never see the light of day again, let alone feel the freedom of the wind. Nevertheless, she was determined to move forward and to help however she could.

Strong, rough fingers pulled her folded hands gently apart, and they wrapped her knuckles warmly into their palm. Startled, Yuna glanced slowly upward to find Enishi next to her; his emerald eyes focused forward as he listened to Akira converse with the others. He said nothing, not even to acknowledge the reassurance he was giving, and she lowered her chin to accept his offer in silence. The tremor in her limbs dissipated, and was instead replaced with light flutters in her stomach. There was such a stark contrast between the gravely texture of the hand holding hers. Her hands were silky and pampered from decades of living in the palace. His hands were callused from decades of hard labor and self-improvement. That unspoken strength was comforting. Just standing next to his solid frame was comforting.

Smiling softly, Yuna lifted her chin. "Enishi-san." His response was a simple hum, and his eyes still did not look at her. "When this is over, would you show me around like you promised?"

"Alright." No hesitation touched his reply, and her smile warmed.

"But I want you to show me around the country, not just Neo-Tokyo. Is… that alright?"

Finally, those green irises, like polished gemstones, turned to look at her, and one of his stone-grey eyebrows lifted. A few seconds later, it lowered when one side of his mouth twitched.

"That's alright."

X

Deep, coal black eyes stared at the screen of her phone, her heart aching as she rewatched the devastating image of Kenshin's incomplete dragon visage screaming in pain and torment. After the Princess's broadcast, every news channel had begun play the recorded events of Neo-Kyoto on a loop. Most likely on the Emperor's orders. Tomoe hated to see Kenshin that way. It reminded her too much of when he had first been locked away in the sub-basement of Megumi's lab, approximately one hundred years prior. Kenshin had struggled so much to conquer that pain deep inside of him, and she had felt such joy for him when he had finally moved on from it. What had happened, she wondered, for him to lose his control in such a horrifying way? Glancing up, tears collecting along the rim of her eyelids, she peered over at the motionless and unfazed figure of Himura Takibi. He did not react to the quiet monologue of the reporter's voice, but Tomoe thought it might be for the best.

A moment before she glanced back down, the movement of shadows from the door jerked her attention to the dark stairwell, and she found Sōjirō smiling back at her. He also held a phone in his hand, as if he had just been watching the broadcast. It occurred to her that the screams she had heard for the last few days had finally quieted, and she assumed he must have finished with his task. Preparing herself to plead her case, so that he would keep her around longer, she found the action was unnecessary when he started talking in an almost excited fashion.

"Did you see?"

Swallowing, Tomoe nodded. "The fires in Neo-Kyoto? Yes, I saw."

"Oh no." Sōjirō shook his head gently, as if she were being silly. "The Princess's speech."

"Oh… um, yes, I did." Though the broadcast had intrigued her, Tomoe had been distracted more by Kenshin's well-being and Kaoru's safety.

"It is quite exciting, isn't it? I never dreamed such a perfect scenario would play right into my hands."

"P-perfect how?" To her surprise, Sōjirō spoke up immediately, as if he were eager to share his plans. A part of her wondered if it was because she was the only one now capable of conversing with him independently and intelligibly. After all, by his own admission, his allies were no more, and all he had left were dolls stuffed with revived souls. She was the only soul in that building not under his complete control.

"To create chaos." From behind him, two dolls walked into the room, and Tomoe stood quickly to her feet with a gasp. "What better way to create chaos than a revolution?"

Both of the dolls looked exactly like Kaoru, with the exception of their eyes. One doll had eyes of milky white. The other doll had irises of such a deep brown they appeared maroon. It was, however, the twisted grins on their faces that clearly confirmed that they were not possessed by souls as kind as hers. They were souls ready for the chaos. Souls that wanted to bring Death prematurely to others.

X

Four days following the night of fire in Neo-Kyoto, Misao was annoyed to find herself still waiting on the fire demon to come down off the mountain. Bouncing Kaoru's forgotten wooden sword she had found off her crossed legs, she huffed out a long breath and planted her chin in her free hand. Aoshi spared her a brief glance, as did her grandfather, but both ignored her in lieu of the meeting they were in. With the combination of Aoshi's kijin, Okina's Oniwabanshu, and Yūtarō's clan of merchants, they had a formidable force clandestinely patrolling Neo-Kyoto for any stragglers threatening the current level of recovery the city was undergoing. They also had an extremely effective, and sound, system of informants as a result.

External noise from the cleanup was barely muffled by the wooden walls, but it was welcoming as it confirmed the city and its people were resilient. It was too bad they had been forced to prove their strength at all, though. The collateral damage of her father's greed at once saddened and sickened her. She would make him pay for everything he had ever done, if it was the last thing she ever did.

"Princess Yuna's broadcast was more effective than we first thought it would be. There was already some unrest due to the curfews and lockdowns, but full-blown revolts have started in Neo-Tokyo almost overnight. The military that was supposed to march on Neo-Kyoto has been called back to deal with the protests." One of the kijin informants was finishing his report, and Okina rubbed his chin.

"There should have been enough military patrols in Neo-Tokyo to deal with a few riots. Why would they call back the reserves they were going to send here?"

Yūtarō's father, Namazu, cleared his throat.

"Most likely that has to do with the information we learned this morning. Prime Minister Aritomo Yamagata was arrested." Even Misao turned her head at this information, and the wooden sword fell to rest on her now still thigh. A low rumble vibrated the large catfish's whiskers. "The Emperor ordered the march on Neo-Kyoto, but the Prime Minister refused to comply."

"That was foolish of the Emperor. Aritoma Yamagata used to be a general. Most of the military is loyal to him." Aoshi's input was met with many nods among the kijin and Oniwabanshu present. Demons valued strength, and General Aritomo had proven himself strong many times over. The Sky Emperor was seen as strong because he was a dragon, but he had not served with any of those under his command. There was a difference between assumed strength and seen strength.

"That is a mistake we will take full advantage of." Okina chimed back in, his wizened voice serene with age. "No matter how we look at it, Neo-Kyoto was not a win for us. Only those that witnessed the fires being set believe that it was the Emperor and not the fire demon who was really to blame. And even they're questioning it after what happened on the mountain. We must take this fight to the Emperor directly and draw him out if we're going to keep this from happening again. Which means we need to make a decision on whether the fire demon is still worth gaining as an ally."

Seated at a far corner, Yahiko spoke up. He had been a little too quiet for Misao's liking, for a talkative brat, but his intelligent features had soaked in the full conversation.

"I don't think Kenshin wanted anything to do with this in the first place." All eyes turned on him, and he sat up a little straighter. Next to him, Tsubame nodded her head almost vehemently. "You know, I always heard fire demons were hot-tempered and violent, but he's the most mellow person I've ever met. Only time I saw him get heated had to do with ugly." Tsubame frowned at him, and he changed his wording quickly. "Uh, Kaoru-san."

"Whether he wants it or not, he's in it." Snapping at him from across the table, Misao scowled back at him when his dark eyes turned on her.

"I get that, but maybe you guys could, I don't know, actually explain to him what you know instead of trying to just bargain or threaten him." Misao's mouth pursed, but she remained quiet. "Yeah, I know why you guys kept me locked up for so long, and I heard what you tried to do the other night. This is the only thing I'm going to agree with that fish boy on. Threatening his woman was about the dumbest thing you ever could have thought of. People tend to react aggressively when you threaten what they love. Even I wouldn't let that bastard of a father threaten mine." In the heat of the moment, the words were spoken quite firmly, but as soon as they were out in the open, his face lit up like a torch. The sweet little floral demon ducked her head, and a good-natured chuckle accompanied by whistles went around the room. Yūtarō made a face, but could say nothing about Yahiko protecting Tsubame from the Sky Emperor.

"Our line of communication with the fire demon has been lacking, we admit. Unfortunately, we've run out of time and options. The Tengu Clan has finally agreed to join us, and they've brought with them a lot of the remaining clans that were holding out support. We need to act soon while all the pieces are still in place." Okina was leaning heavily towards leaving without the fire demon, but it was almost a point of pride for Misao to gain the fire demon's assistance, whether he wanted to or not. She had invested too much time and effort to back down now.

"It's too bad we can't get that water dragon to help us." Lifting the wooden sword from her lap, Misao held it vertically and stared up at the point. "I didn't even know there was another dragon in the country."

"Forget it, Princess. It is known that Hiko Seijūrō does not take sides. He has remained neutral for thousands of years."

"He took that fire demon's side." She spoke it flippantly, but sighed when Aoshi's features remained stoic. "Fine. I suppose a respectable dragon is supposed to remain neutral. Good for him." Her tone was not as full of praise as her words. "Two more days, and we leave for Neo-Tokyo. That should give us enough time to prepare our attack, right?"

"Yes, Princess."

A phone rang at the back of the room, and Yūtarō apologized before ducking out to answer it. Before the door closed behind him, Misao was certain she heard him say Kaoru's name. Smirking, she transformed easily into her sylph form, and slipped out to follow.