Notes: A serious mission is assigned to Satoru and Suguru.

Chapter 8

12 Years Ago

Much to Satoru's disappointment, he, Suguru, and Riku the messenger did not fly back to the Gojo estate on dragonback. While it would have been quite the spectacle, not to mention expedite the journey significantly, Riku had too many issues with the plan to allow it to proceed.

"Flying would scare any civilians we passed on the way," he countered. "It would cause a mass panic!"

"We could fly high, stay above the clouds," was Satoru's counter.

"There might not be clouds to hide behind at all times," Riku shot back.

"We could fly high enough that any civilians would think we were a large bird," Satoru retorted.

"Isn't it cold up there? The wind would be a bother too."

Satoru had to agree he had a point there. "Ok, so we fly lower and try to swing around any towns on the way. We would scare less people then."

Riku would not give in. "Well, what if there's a mage who attacks us thinking we are a threat?"

"I can apply Infinity to the dragon and any attacks wouldn't reach us," Satoru replied with confidence.

"That would just invite more trouble!" Riku exclaimed. "A large, invincible dragon flying across the countryside? Even if we did bypass large settlements, it wouldn't take long for a panic to spread just from a sighting or two!"

Satoru failed to see how this was a big deal.

"What about the horses?" Suguru finally chimed in after tiring of the back and forth between the two.

Finally, the white-haired mage was stumped. Even if the two horses they had ridden to Karuori village in the first place could be secured on the back of the dragon, keeping them unconscious the entire time was an impossibility, and their panic couldn't be reasoned with like a human's could be. He let out a disappointed sigh. "Fine, we'll ride back. Suguru, let's get our things."

Bidding hasty farewells to the elders and other villagers, the two friends swiftly mounted and followed after the retreating form of Riku on his own horse. The messenger was raring to go. It must really be important, whatever his parents had recalled the two of them for, Satoru thought. They rode relatively hard the first day, but that just caused them to have to stop early due to the horses' fatigue. The next few days were better paced, and by the third day they once again reached civilization and were able to stay at inns until they reached the Gojo estate on the sixth day of their journey.

Throwing the reins of his horse to the nearest stable hand, Satoru planned to rush over to the training yard to catch up with his other friends - it was late afternoon, so they might still be there before cleaning up prior to dinner. Suguru followed his lead, albeit at a more sedate pace.

Kento and Yu were half-heartedly sparring, the former correcting form on the latter's technique. The new kid - Satoru still struggled to remember his name - was standing by nervously. It was likely his turn next. Shoko, lounging in the shade leafing through a book with apparent absentmindedness, spotted him first.

"Satoru!" she exclaimed, running over to give him a quick hug. He picked her up and swung her around once before setting her down to allow her to rush past him and share a more passionate embrace with her betrothed. The dark-haired mage led her by the hand around a nearby large tree to share a long overdue greeting in semi-private.

Kento and Yu stopped sparring at her exclamation and turned to greet the two of them - well, just Satoru for now. "Yo, what's up?" he asked, sticking up a hand and waving cheerily as they walked over. The new kid was following a few steps behind them, not wanting to be left standing across the yard alone.

Kento snorted. "Gone over three months and that's all you have to say?"

"How was your mission with Suguru?" Yu asked excitedly. He probably would rather have asked the man himself but settled for Satoru in the necromancer's absence.

Satoru rolled his eyes, which they could only partially see due to his dark lenses. "Hella boring for the most part." He described the small, sleepy village, complained about the lack of women his age as well as the unavailability of the ones who were his age, making Kento roll his eyes. By this point, Suguru and Shoko had rejoined the group, and the dark-haired mage took up the most interesting part of the tale.

"Satoru here," he said, slinging an arm around his best friend's shoulders, "fought a dragon."

The white-haired mage preened as his friend told the tale. It was better for Suguru to tell it anyway. Satoru was known to perhaps embellish a story here or there to make it more entertaining for his audience.

"Wow!" exclaimed Yu, who had been hanging on Suguru's every word. "Can we see it? Can you bring out the dragon?" he asked.

Suguru looked around. "It's very large. And I don't want to alarm everyone at the estate. Next time we're off the grounds together I will, I promise."

Yu looked satisfied.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Satoru exclaimed, feeling around in the bag he had slung over one shoulder. Its only content was the object he proceeded to remove. "An early wedding gift for you, Shoko." He handed her the mystery egg.

She released her hold on Suguru's arm to take it. "It's very pretty," she said, examining the speckled shades of crimson and gold on the white shell. "But it's warm too. Satoru, did you rob some poor creature of its baby?"

Satoru held up both hands in defense and shook his head emphatically. "No I swear! It was in the dragon's lair. Suguru and I looted the place after I defeated it, and the egg was in there. It probably wouldn't have survived much longer if I hadn't picked it up and kept it warm." He wasn't sure as to the truth behind his last line, but it would help in his defense against the healer's accusations.

"It's true," Suguru corroborated when she turned to him for confirmation.

Nodding her acceptance, she turned back to the white-haired mage. "Thank you, Satoru. That was very thoughtful of you. I'll let you know as soon as whatever it is hatches."

Satoru smiled. He had left out the part where he originally was going to keep the thing for himself and hoped Suguru would do the same.

"About that," Suguru said, clearing his throat. "If it's too dangerous to keep as a pet, feel free to use it as an experiment for science." That carefully worded ending meant she could dissect it, and maybe he would add it to his undead army afterward. Her eyes gleamed brighter and Satoru repressed a shudder. The woman's fascination with death and innards must have something to do with her healing magic. Or it was a side-effect of being engaged to a necromancer.

Their gathering was soon broken up as a messenger arrived in the courtyard. The two S-rank mages' arrival had been noticed by the Gojo Clan head. The two were to clean up and prepare for a formal dinner with the head and elders of the clan.

Satoru was in high spirits going into the dinner. It had been a while since he had had to deal with the elders, and in that time he had managed to put out of mind their irritation with everything he did. He looked forward to seeing his mother, if not exactly his father.

Gojo Saori greeted her son with a smile and embrace before each party reclined for dinner. Suguru was placed on the other side of Satoru, a high place as his S-ranking deserved. And, Satoru suspected, because he was going to be the one the clan supported for king.

The dinner began with the usual tedium of formal events. Satoru hoped when Suguru became king he would do away with such boring formalities, but his friend was more traditional than him. Still, maybe the stuffy ones like dancing around the main topic during dinner until tea was served could be done away with. He liked to get to the point more directly. He tried to listen with half an ear to what the elders discussed while also telling his mother and father about his time in Karuori village.

Finally, the after dinner tea was served and the crux of their sudden recall was made known to them. "The three clans have been called to Castle Suga to answer to the king," Gojo Ryuji's voice boomed out. "The Star Plasma Vessel has been identified, and the time for her to be escorted to Lady Tengen is at hand."

Elder Yoshio took over, and Satoru wondered if they scripted who would speak each of their lines ahead of time, like a scripted play. "The date is set for four days from now, and it will take a day of travel to reach the castle, which is why your swift recall was crucial."

As important mages to the Gojo Clan, it would be an unspoken requirement to attend. This meeting every fifty years was so important that the clan heads and elders were required to attend. Plus, all the clans brought a large delegation of their higher ranking mages to it. Satoru didn't pay a ton of attention in history class, but even he knew the significance of the event.

If Tengen, the holder of the barrier sealing Ryomen Sukuna, did not extend her lifetime by merging with another compatible human, she would continue to age and eventually die like any other person. With her death would come the collapse of the barrier and the release of whatever was left of the sealed god.

The human chosen was always a girl fourteen years of age and identified through Tengen's acolytes, mages and regular humans who served her as she held to her sacred task through the centuries. Only the mages entrusted with the mission would be given information about the Vessel though, as it was always possible information could be leaked. Rogue mages, demons, devils, and other monsters would love nothing more than the collapse of Nara's mage-king regime and a return to the chaos of the old era of warring factions.

"We shall all of us in this room attend," Elder Sota spoke next. "Along with A-ranks Gojo Daichi, Gojo Hideaki, and Nanami Kento. B-ranks Gojo Eiji, Gojo Kaito, and Haibara Yu will also attend.

So Kento and Yu had made it to higher ranks in his and Suguru's absence, Satoru noted mentally. Also, Shoko wasn't included in the lineup despite being B-rank. She was no fighter, but the fact that she could heal others was what gave her such a high ranking. Only extremely skilled mages could use mana to heal themselves - usually only after extensive training. Shoko was the only one he knew who could heal others. Then again, only one female mage had been mentioned at all as part of the Gojo delegation: his mother.

Satoru's thoughts were interrupted by Elder Takeo, the military advisor of the clan. He kept track of all the clan mages and their missions and duties. "I suspect our clan will end up being tasked with this most important of all missions. We did, after all, send away our two best mages for nigh on four months. The mage-king made it clear he was not happy about having to send out groups of A-ranks to deal with the threats those two could usually take care of on their own."

Ah, so his family had played themselves. Satoru tried not to feel smug. The punishment they had bestowed upon him (and by extension, Suguru) had come back to bite them in the ass big time. With their two S-ranks on this mission, the clan would not be able to collect on regular paid missions put out by city or village organizations, individuals, or the mage-king. Obviously, Tengen did not pay. She was paid, not the other way around, for holding the barrier. Satoru wondered if she lived in luxury in her middle of nowhere location. It seemed he may soon find out, provided Takeo's suspicions were correct.

The elders blabbered on, but Satoru tuned them out. He now understood the reason for the recall and was thankful he wouldn't have to stay in that lame village any longer, even if he was just going to be given a babysitting mission. Finally, the elders dismissed themselves and the rest of those in the dining room were allowed to leave. Satoshi gave strict warnings to Satoru not to act out while at Castle Suga.

"I promise, father," he sighed. He actually meant it too. A meeting with all the clans was no place to pull one of his jokes. He did care about his family to an extent, and making them not look bad in front of their rivals was one of those extents.

Eying him like a hawk, his father seemed to sense his sincerity and nodded, leaving the room with his wife three steps behind him.

Satoru turned to Suguru. They were the only ones left in the room now. "So, from dull village life to babysitting. Our fortunes are turning," he remarked sarcastically.

The necromancer tapped the table in front of him with one finger. "There will be attacks. It's almost a guarantee. Even if no information about the Vessel is leaked, we'll run into a demon or devil or two. But it's the human organizations we have to worry about most. Plus we'll have the challenge of defending a defenseless target - any saboteurs would aim for her first and us second," he speculated.

Satoru cracked his knuckles and rose. "Whatever we face it won't matter: demon, devil, human, dragon; we're the strongest," he said with a grin.

xXxXx

The day before the delegation was to leave for Castle Suga, Shoko's egg hatched. She carried it with her at all times, so the entire history class got to see the event. Suguru eyed it warily as the shell chipped and cracked, but his alarm was unnecessary this time.

"A phoenix!" Yaga exclaimed upon seeing the ashy-hued hatchling sitting in its shattered shell. "Very rare indeed." To Suguru's ears, he sounded just as excited to find out what was in the egg as the rest of the class.

Shoko was delighted to have such a pet, and Suguru was delighted for her. Satoru was happy too, though he probably wished he could have kept the rare bird for himself.

"I decided to name her Fukkatsu," Shoko declared later that evening when the three of them were walking the gardens one final time before the two S-ranks had to leave again. The hatchling was tucked in the crook of her left arm and her right was hooked through Suguru's.

"That's a very good name, perfect for a phoenix," he told her.

She beamed. "I have something else to tell you too," she said. "Father told me the wedding is scheduled for next month. Once everyone gets back from the meeting, the final preparations will start to be made."

Since their engagement had strung on for far longer than a normal one due to scheduling and missions, Suguru was glad a date had finally been set. He noticed Satoru leaving the gardens to make himself scarce and silently thanked his friend for giving the two of them a bit of time alone before he had to leave her once again. Well, as alone as they could get on the estate, he thought. Even in the evening, couriers, servants, nobles, and others could be spotted pretty much anywhere on the grounds. It was a busy place.

The two circled around a koi pond until they reached a particularly old tree on the fringes of the garden. Both of a similar mind, they ducked behind its cover. Shoko carefully placed Fukkatsu in a nearby shrub and reached for Suguru as he reached for her. Their lips met, mouths molding to each other. Suguru bent, angling his head, and Shoko reached up to throw her arms around his neck as his hands moved down to rest on her hips. She opened her mouth and smoothly slid her tongue against his, returning the kiss with enthusiasm. The couple only drew back to gasp for breath when they heard footsteps approaching.

The two hastily drew apart, Shoko reaching for Fukkatsu, fussing over the chick as though nothing were the matter as a guard patrolling the perimeter of the garden passed by, glancing at the two of them and nodding. They nodded back, relinked arms, and carried on with their walk. Catching moments alone like this were rare and fraught with the risk of discovery. But that made them all the more exhilarating to them both.

The next morning, Suguru awoke early and grabbed the belongings he had packed the night before. Servants were busy readying carriages for the elders and horses for the younger members of the party. He was soon greeted by Kento, the other timely member of the friend group. As the other Gojo mages arrived, Yu came straggling in, yawning.

Satoru came running shortly after that, hair still mussed from sleep - he clearly had been up late despite knowing they had an early morning. He attempted to pat his messed up hair down with his hands, combing his fingers through it and then adjusting his glasses and handing his bags to a servant to be packed.

The elders finally came and took their places in the carriages arranged for them, and the party left the estate. The group moved at a much more sedate pace than Suguru and Satoru had taken to and from Karuori village due to the carriages. The two friends trailed toward the back of the group with Kento and Yu, who were all the youngest in the party by a good ten years or so. They amused themselves chatting for most of the morning. After the lunch break around noon, they fell silent and rode in companionable silence for most of the afternoon.

By evening, smoke from the villages surrounding the hill Castle Suga was built upon could be seen curling from many chimneys. The party passed through several before entering the outer walls of the city which had sprung up around the castle centuries ago when it was first built.

After passing the inner walls, the elders' carriages at the front of the procession finally rolled to a halt outside an inn. The place was downright ostentatious in Suguru's opinion, with gold-leafed decór and finely painted shoji screens everywhere to give guests privacy. It was a place for high nobility, amongst which his adopted clan held a place.

He, Satoru, Kento, and Yu moved around some of the screens in the room they chose to share so it wasn't as though they were all entirely separated. "I wonder what drama is going to go down this time," Satoru commented as they sat on their separate futons. "Last year there was some squabble between the Zen'in and Kamo about some outsider mages the Kamo took in. It's not like the Zen'in usually take in other mages, so it was one of the more pointless incidents I can recall."

For some reason, the Zen'in Clan had more success than the others at producing their own mages without having to marry outside their branch families and adopt others into their clans like the Gojo and Kamo commonly did. Though the Ten Shadows magic had not appeared for several generations by this point, it seemed that the magic used by their former head and current acting head was genetic. Still, Gojo spies had heard whispers of twins born with little to no magic in the family recently. Perhaps the fortunes of the Zen'in were changing.

They had lorded their magical superiority over the other clans until Satoru's own birth and the return of the Gojo's fortune thanks to his combination of the Six Eyes and Limitless. The Kamo Clan also had seen the birth of another blood manipulator in the past decade, proving their blood still held despite many marriages outside of the clan.

Actually, this was probably one of the most balanced moments in time as far as the power wielded by each clan. The Zen'in had the highest number of mages including numerous A-ranks and the kingship. The Kamo held one S-rank and a number of young mages with high growth potential if the reports of the Gojo spies were accurate. And the Gojo held two S-ranks, a few A-ranks, B-ranks, and more C and D ranks. Lower in numbers but higher in power.

"Hmm, I'll bet on an argument between us and the Zen'in," Suguru put in. "The elders think Satoru and I are going to be tasked with this mission, and while it's very important, there's no pay unlike other missions."

Kento sighed, arms crossed behind his head as he lay on his futon. "You'd think even the deepest rivalries would pause for something so important. If even the great Sugawara no Michizane and his allies couldn't kill Sukuna but only seal him, what chance would any of us stand if he broke free because the clans couldn't protect the Vessel?"

"He's got to be dead though, right?" Yu asked. "I mean, it's been eight hundred years. Even if the barrier fell there wouldn't be anything left but bones."

"Unless he actually was a god," Satoru suggested. "And he's in there now, plotting how to escape! But don't be too worried, I'm sure Suguru and I could take him. He's got to be out of shape from having no one to spar with in there."

"Do gods get out of shape?" Yu asked with wide eyes. He seemed to think Satoru of all people had knowledge on the matter.

The Six Eyes bearer hammed it up further, propping his head up with one hand as he lay on his side, fixing his unnaturally blue eyes on his junior. "Not at the rate that we would of course. I'm sure he was fine for the first century or two. But after that, even a god would start to grow bored and lonely."

Suguru rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to him, Yu. He's making all that up. If Lady Tengen's barrier wasn't needed, she wouldn't have stayed there for eight hundred years." Of course, he didn't know this for sure either, but his speculation was at least based on fact, unlike Satoru's.

After a bit more bickering back and forth about gods and their supposed proclivities - most of which was based on wild speculation from Satoru's overactive imagination - the group finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning greeted them with an extensive breakfast served by the inn's staff before they traveled the last of the way to Castle Suga. The perfection of the white castle always took Suguru's breath away. One day, I will live here, he thought.

It was beautiful without being gaudy like the inn had been. The last of the sakura blossoms were falling from the trees near the inner gates which guarded the building and its grounds, covering the greening lawn in a dusting of pink and white. Koi ponds and carefully raked rock gardens dotted the landscape, along with several large gardens, some of whose flowers were starting to bloom.

The Gojo party handed their horses and belongings to stable hands and servants. Couriers rushed forward to escort them to their chambers where they could refresh before a light lunch would be served to each delegation in their separate guest quarters. After noon, all of the clans would assemble in the throne room for the important discussion. Due to the vast number of rooms their group was given - since the castle was much larger than even the very fine inn of last night - not as many rooms would be shared, so Satoru shared with Suguru, and Kento with Yu in a room next to theirs.

The entire delegation met in a large room on the end of their assigned wing to take lunch and then walk to the throne room where the mage-king would preside over the meeting. The five elders entered first, bowing slightly in respect to the king. Satoshi and Saori entered after them, bowing similarly, as the head of the clan would be next in the order of importance. Next came Satoru followed closely by Suguru, being that they were future clan head and an S-rank respectively. The other older mages filed in followed lastly by Kento and Yu as the youngest of the retinue.

Only the first members of the party would have decent views of the proceedings. Down the long throne room hall were set rows of opaque folding screens. In the very front, near the steps which led up to the throne - a large chair carved with the story of the uniting of the kingdom followed by the sealing of Sukuna - were zabuton for important persons to kneel on. For the Gojo delegation, there were five for the elders and next to them another two for Satoshi and Saori. Slightly behind them were two for Satoru and Suguru. Their clan had a spot to the left hand side of the throne.

The Zen'in were already gathered to the right hand of the throne, meaning the center must be for the Kamo. Suguru saw their acting clan head, Zen'in Naoya, kneeling near his clan's elders. At first he thought the man had seen him glance over and sent him a smirk, but he realized it was aimed at Satoru beside him, who returned the expression in kind. The two had never gotten along.

Naoya's wife was not present, though Suguru wasn't surprised by that at all based on the clan's view of women, not to mention Naoya's in particular. The only reason Gojo Saori was permitted a place of honor by not only the Gojo Clan but also the other two clans was due to her extraordinary son. Perhaps if Naoya's wife bore a Ten Shadows wielder she would receive similar treatment, but Suguru doubted it.

As their own group finished settling in, the doors to the throne room swung wide and the Kamo Clan made their entrance. Unlike the Gojo Clan, the clan head came before the elders, head held high, eyes daring anyone to object to her breach of protocol, long blonde hair swaying as she strode down the throne room hall to take her place. Of course, no one did. Kamo Yuki held to rules of her own as the first female clan head ever.

It had been somewhat of a scandal, though the Kamo had done their best to conceal the full truth behind the matter. Suguru had heard the rumors of how it had come to be, but wasn't sure he entirely believed them.

A fellow S-rank at least half a decade older than him and Satoru, Tsukumo Yuki had been brought into the Kamo Clan at a young age much like himself. Her mother, rumored to be a foreign mage from Rushia, had dumped her on her Naran father after giving birth. He in turn had given her up when the Kamo Clan approached him with a generous offer. Growing stronger and stronger, she grew more and more wilful, as the story went.

The head at the time, Kamo Kentaro, had had many wives and mistresses but none had borne him a son with the clan's coveted blood manipulation magic. When Yuki reached sixteen and the pressure for an engagement and marriage within the clan reached new heights, she refused all matches, saying "why should I marry someone who is weaker than me?".

She succeeded at putting off marriage until the age of twenty, rumored to have beaten multiple suitors who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer in duels, leaving them humiliated. At long last, the Kamo head had a son with the blood manipulation magic he wanted so badly, but the boy had been borne by a peasant mistress who named him Noritoshi after the stain on the Kamo Clan out of spite.

But his greed didn't end there. Allegedly, Kentaro had Yuki drugged into a stupor and paid ridiculous sums of money to a corrupt priest to officiate a rushed wedding between the two of them. When morning came though, Yuki had been found cool and collected in their shared room with the man's mangled corpse against one destroyed wall. She named herself as clan head and no one dared stand up to her.

Personally, Suguru thought she was too clever by half to be duped by drugging. His personal theory, which he had shared with Satoru in the past, was that she allowed it to happen to claim headship of the clan legally as the widow of the former clan head and disposed of the man who had been a thorn in her side for too long once he was no longer needed. By now, several years had passed since those events.

Behind the Kamo elders came a young boy who couldn't be much older than six. Suguru realized this was Kamo Noritoshi, the heir apparent, since Yuki had not remarried and was rumored to have no interest in bearing children of her own. It seemed the S-rank mage had taken him under her wing. Following the solemn boy were a few more mages of consequence from the family.

Once everyone was in their proper places, the king entered. Zen'in Naobito looked mildly hungover but otherwise put together. His rich purple kimono denoted his status, and he wore the silver and ruby crown of the king - usually only donned for formal events such as this one. He took his place on the throne and gestured at an attendant to speak.

"This meeting between the three great clans has been called in response to Lady Tengen's order. She and her acolytes have discovered the next Star Plasma Vessel, and it is our sacred duty to escort her to the barrier for assimilation. The purpose of this meeting is to determine which among us shall be given the honor of fulfilling this sacred duty. Are there any volunteers?"

It was a standard question, if what Suguru had read about previous meetings like this one were accurate. A scribe in one corner of the room appeared to be taking notes, so likely the old texts were correct to some extent. Still, the question was greeted with silence.

Though the task was essential, it was grudgingly performed. He recalled reading that fifty years ago, the Zen'in had sent five A-ranks to do the duty. It had been carried out cleanly, with only a few minor injuries to the mages guarding the Vessel due to devil and demon attacks.

The king was propping his head up with one elbow resting on the arm of his throne. Suguru thought he looked like he was trying not to yawn. That's right - Zen'in Naobito likely remembered the expedition of fifty years ago, though he would have been too young at the time to have been assigned to it himself.

As the deafening silence reigned, broken only by someone behind the screens coughing, the king straightened and spoke. "The Zen'in did their duty admirably during the assimilation fifty years ago. Let it be between the Kamo and Gojo Clans."

One of the Kamo elders was quick to pipe up. "The Kamo have taken on extra missions from the king due to the unavailability of Gojo mages. Therefore, let them take this sacred duty up this time."

"Yes, they have two S-ranks, why not send them?" chimed in a Zen'in elder. Suguru thought his name was Chojuro. "The Star Plasma Vessel would be easily protected by them."

Beside him, Satoru straightened slightly. Suguru could practically sense his brother inwardly smirking at the backhanded praise.

Of course, the other Kamo and Zen'in elders were quick to agree. The Zen'in Clan head was quick to back them up. "They sent their most powerful mages away leaving us to pick up the slack," Zen'in Naoya sneered. "Now it's their turn to contribute. This is the perfect way."

The Gojo elders put up a strong protest as they were expected to. The bickering continued for so long that when Suguru glanced at Satoru next to him, the mage's eyes were partially glazed over behind his dark glasses. He suppressed a smile. If the drama playing out was boring even Satoru, who lived for such petty squabbles, it had gone on for far too long.

The mage-king seemed to agree. He let his tightly reigned in control on his mana slip and an oppressive aura emitted, suppressing discussion in the room with its weight. He and other high ranking mages suppressed their mana almost continuously out of respect for those around them. Non-mages especially would feel a strong mage's strength in mana if it were not kept tightly contained.

"Good," the king said once silence finally fell over the bickering families. "It is decided then. Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, you will escort the Star Plasma Vessel to Lady Tengen to be assimilated. Meet with my scribe afterward for the details."

With that, the meeting broke up.

"All that travel and ceremony just for a short afternoon to decide something the Zen'in and Kamo had already decided on? What a waste," Satoru muttered to Suguru as the two of them waited for everyone else to leave the chamber.

The scribe who had been taking notes timidly approached the two S-ranks and bowed. "Please follow me, my lords. The acolytes of Lady Tengen are awaiting you in a receiving room."

The two S-ranks followed him through a door toward the back of the throne room, led them down a few hallways, and gestured for them to slide open the shoji door before them. Suguru did so, and a plain but comfortable room appeared. There were three women in matching pale kimonos reclining on some of the cushions provided around the room. One was young, close to their own age. One was middle-aged, and the final was old but not yet frail.

Uncertainly, Suguru took a step in. Satoru brushed past him confidently and plunked himself down cross-legged on a cushion across from them. Suguru approached more sedately and knelt next to his friend in a more formal posture.

The acolytes eyed them with similar dark brown eyes. The youngest had rich black hair, the middle similar dark hair now highlighted with gray. The eldest had stark white hair shot through here and there with bits of remaining black. She was the one who spoke first. "Only two." It wasn't a question. It was an invitation.

Satoru released his control, and Suguru followed his lead. Their immense powers filled the room. The air felt heavier with just the aura of their mana. The youngest woman eyed them with respect. The middle one nodded approvingly. The eldest showed no visible reaction, and the two friends leashed their powers once again.

"Suitable," the eldest spoke. Satoru snorted but she deigned not to acknowledge him further. "Now come," she gestured.

The middle acolyte rolled out a map which had been lying beside her. It showed the entire Nara kingdom, including the lands north and south which were considered dangerous and uninhabitable. The ocean to the west of the kingdom even showed a vaguely scribbled shoreline labeled 'Sinia', and north of it 'Rushia'. The ocean to the east was blank - an unexplored and vast expanse cut off sharply so as not to waste room on the paper.

The youngest acolyte dutifully held one side and the eldest the other as the middle-aged woman pointed to a spot in the south of Nara. "This is the location of the girl. Her name is Amanai Riko. You will find her under the care of Kuroi Misato - the two of them will likely want not to be parted until the assimilation is about to begin. Lady Tengen requests that you oblige any of Amanai's reasonable requests before she ceases to be herself."

Like the last meal for a condemned criminal, Suguru thought morbidly. Eying the map, it would take them about a week of travel to reach the girl, then another four days or so to escort her from her home in the south to the central eastern seaboard where Tengen's layered barriers stood.

"Define reasonable," Satoru demanded. "This some kind of babysitting or a serious escort mission?"

The eldest acolyte raised one white eyebrow. "Child, it is a last kindness to a girl who will live forever as something more than she is now. Lady Tengen understands her sacrifice and wishes to oblige her a few last requests, that is all. Lord Geto, you should be able to determine what is within the bounds of 'reasonable'."

Satoru's eye twitched behind his spectacles, probably both at being called a child as well as the fact that the woman had entrusted Suguru with determining what was or was not reasonable. A fair delegation of duty on her part, the necromancer thought.

"Have you memorized the location?" the middle acolyte asked.

Satoru nodded, his Six Eyes having processed the information instantly. Suguru nodded as well. She rolled up the map, which had no marking on it of the location of the Vessel. It would be too much to risk anyone finding. Even the mage-king himself did not know the girl's location.

"Very well, we will see you again when you enter the barrier," the eldest said, rising. The other two followed after her.

"We wish you fair travels on your journey," Suguru said, rising as the three of them rose. They would head back to the barrier immediately while he and Satoru retrieved the Vessel for Tengen.

The eldest left the room first, followed by the middle woman, each inclining their heads slightly to him and Satoru, who had risen late. The youngest inclined her head as well, gaze lingering a little longer on Satoru than was strictly proper before following her elders out. The white-haired mage seemed not to notice the extra attention for once.

"Great, now we have to go home and pack to leave again. It's nothing but travel for us these days," Satoru complained. The two of them retraced their footsteps to the throne room, leaving the scribe lingering by the door to put away the map and tidy the receiving room.

"It would be nice to go to classes again," Suguru agreed. "But they're not going to last much longer anyway. We've really already aged out of schooling and are ready to take on full-time mission work anyway. Which would mean a lot of traveling regardless."

The white-haired mage sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Say, maybe the kid will want to go sight-seeing! I wouldn't mind that!"

Judging by the expression on his face, he was plotting how to make Amanai Riko think this was all her idea in the first place. And knowing Satoru, he actually had a chance of succeeding in that.

xXxXx

Far behind them in the halls, the timid scribe who had led them to the room unfurled the map and closed his eyes, tracing one hand around its edges. A bright spot appeared in the south of Nara. He had the location. Now to report it to ARM.

xXxXx

Kong Shiu, exiled native of Sinia and current citizen of Nara, had never had a request like this from someone before. And he had heard many requests in his years of leadership; first during his tenure as leader of a Sinian separatists group and now as the leader of the Guild of Assassins.

The man himself was no assassin but a planner and thinker. That was what the guild required rather than being run by some stab-happy meathead. Those men (and even a few women) were fine with him handling all the paperwork and sometimes even approaching them with certain jobs based on their skills.

He tapped his pipe on the ceramic ashtray sitting on his desk. "Let me get this straight; you want us to assassinate the Star Plasma Vessel, who will no doubt be guarded by the best mages the three clans can field, to prevent her from being assimilated with Tengen? What is ARM thinking?"

The woman's short dark hair was swept to one side, though it did little to hide the disfiguring scar marring her forehead. She wore an intricately patterned flowery kimono, which bespoke the great wealth she offered for the Guild to carry out this assassination. "The Association of Rogue Mages seeks the end of the mage-kings' reigns of course, as they always have."

Interesting. So she spoke for the Association but did not speak as though she were a member herself. "And destroying the barrier will accomplish this?" He wasn't sure why he asked, the words just came out.

The woman shrugged. "It will help," was her short reply. "So, can you do it?"

Shiu took a long drag on his pipe and exhaled the smoke to his left, where it could leave through his open shoji window. Apparently, ARM had a spy in Castle Suga who had been able to determine the location of the Star Plasma Vessel. The woman, who had not given a name, seemed confident of the Vessel's location.

Also, apparently as soon as the higher-ups in ARM had received the news, some of their best had set out to attempt their own assassination. Yet this woman must have doubted their abilities if she came here with such a lucrative assassination contract on offer; 100,000 gold crowns. Half up front, half when the job was completed.

"Two S-ranks, one of them the Gojo prodigy. It would be a tough assignment even for our best. I will have to speak with him. He rarely comes by the Guild headquarters." Shiu took another drag on his pipe.

The woman nodded at his answer. "I see. I will await your prompt response. Time is of the essence. It will already be impossible for anyone you send to make it there before her two bodyguards arrive."

"And your own higher-ups? You said they left right away."

"They will no doubt try to reach her with all due haste. However, by the time they received the information from their spy, the information was already days old. The Gojo mages will have a head start on them and likely reach the Vessel's location around the same time or earlier if they push hard on the trail."

Her use of 'their' in reference to the spy instead of 'our' once again did not slip past him. "I will see what I can do," was all Shiu could promise.

The woman acquiesced, and gave him the location of the inn she would be staying at until receiving the Guild's response.

Shiu finished his pipe and tapped the remaining ash into the ashtray. He shuffled some paperwork around on his desk and grabbed up the contract the woman had left - currently unsigned as nothing had been agreed upon due to the high degree of difficulty of this mission. Sighing, he stood and straightened his black kimono.

He always hated dealing with his top assassin. Though the man excelled at his job, he was innately lazy, and Shiu found himself wondering if he would take on the assignment after all. The answer to that probably depended on if he still had money left over from his last mission. That had been some months ago, so he doubted much, if any of it, remained unspent.

Fortunately, the man was easy to spot, his large frame draped over two seats and his feet dangling into others in the row below him. It was the middle of the day on a Wednesday - the racetrack was mostly empty. "Zen'in," Shiu said, raising a hand in greeting and standing one row below the man's seat so they were around eye level.

"Hmm?" he asked, eyes leaving the racetrack. He shredded the scrap of paper he was holding with a scowl, green eyes showing irritation, and raked a hand through his black hair. He had clearly lost yet again. The man had some of the most terrible luck in gambling that Shiu had ever known anyone to possess. "Oh, it's you Kong. Haven't you heard? I got married and took my wife's name. It's Fushiguro now."

"Well then congratulations are in order, Fushiguro. It's been some months. And you make yourself scarce at the Guild headquarters, so I hadn't heard the good news. Still running on the money from your last mission?"

Fushiguro Toji dug around in his haori pocket first, then his pants. He came up with a few coppers. "Barely," he grunted. "Are you here to bother me with another mission?"

Shiu reached into his kimono to pull out the contract. "An impossible mission, if you're up for it."

Toji grabbed the contract with one massive hand and held it up to his face, eyes roving the page. He handed it back to Shiu after. "Assassinating the Star Plasma Vessel? Must be ARM making a move." Shiu nodded to corroborate his guess. "The contract doesn't explain why it's impossible though. I assume ARM knows which mages have been assigned to the escort assignment?"

Shiu nodded again. "S-rank mage Gojo Satoru, prodigy of the clan and likely next clan head. And S-rank mage Geto Suguru, a necromancer, also hailing from the Gojo Clan, though adopted in."

As soon as he mentioned the name Gojo Satoru, Toji's green eyes had sharpened. His interest was piqued. "What's the location?" he asked.

That was when Shiu knew he would accept, and proceeded to give him all the details.

Later that evening, he swung by the inn the woman was staying at and handed her the contract signed by himself as Guildmaster and Toji as the assassin carrying it out. One delicate eyebrow rose - upon seeing the name or something else Shiu was not sure - and the woman retreated to bring forth the promised gold.

When Shiu returned to his office to put away the Guild's cut of the contract, Toji was waiting for him. "I'll need my cut of the first payment now. There's work I'll need to do if I wanna complete this mission. I'm not sure if even I could take out the Six Eyes brat without wearing him down a bit first."

Shiu smiled around his pipe and handed his top assassin the gold. Toji was singularly focused on this task, which was beginning to make Shiu second guess his initial opinion that it was an impossible mission to carry out after all. "How's Megumi?" he asked as the man turned to go.

Toji paused. "Who?"