a/n: yo I've been so chill these last few days that I straight up forgot to upload this last night. went to sleep like a baby without a single concern in my head lmao
Also IMPORTANT!!, if at any point in this chapter you see a rectangle, then that means that your device cannot display a certain character, and I have no idea if all the character in this chapter will come through properly. So if you see any rectangles, then please leave a comment with the first three words of the line below the rectangle (for ctrl+f purposes) and what device you are reading on. :)
anywho, hopefully enjoy! :D
///
Walking through my school's compound again, I find myself musing.
The hall walls remain much the same as I remember them. Soft brown wood, broken up only by those little paper windows. It's surprisingly peaceful; no one running about around me—and I do mean that in the sense of my full senses, not just my eyes. The cause is largely because most are absent.
It feels like it's been forever since I've been here, and I'm starting to wonder when that sort of feeling will go away. Life has been moving fast, after all.
Lots of Curses were born all over the Realm thanks to Sukuna and I. Apparently our antics scared quite the number of people, causing a swell of negativity over the whole Realm.
...I feel a little bit bad about that, but largely I just think it's really cool. Just like... I don't know, narratively? I'm not sure that's the right word, but I feel like the brief chaos is giving character to the Realm.
I feel like a lot of Sorcerers probably don't really get much time to shine, to go through 'character growth'. Most are pretty weak after all. The typical story for a Sorcerer is about a decade or two of reliable service before meeting a bad match or getting unlucky and dying horribly.
You only need to fail once, after all, but it is actually pretty rare for Sorcerers to get sent on missions beyond their ability. That'd be a pretty big failing of the current system otherwise. Death for a Sorcerer is more of an inevitability than an ever-present risk.
So the swell of Curses that came these last couple of weeks seems like a good thing to me on the whole. It's not so many Curses that innocent people will be dying in droves, but it is enough that keeping those casualties low is taking a concerted effort from all hands.
So for the first time in a long while, we are living in a time—however brief it may be—where every Sorcerer, no matter their level of ability, has a chance to accomplish great deeds.
The average life of a Sorcerer consists of nothing impressive into a horrible death, and while the Sorcerers of today are all just as likely to experience said horrible death by the end of the decade, they will at least have the chance to also overcome great challenges.
My lips quirk as I realise a simpler way to describe how I feel about it all.
The surge in Curses provides a chance for all Sorcerers to find honour.
It amuses me that I seem to place so much value on that. I like finding these little ways that this world has changed me, for I do recall finding 'honour' to be something idiotic in my previous life.
I focused more on the pragmatic logic of things and how easily honour can get in the way of efficiency.
I can easily scoff at my past self.
It takes a man with nothing to live for to so easily disregard honour.
It all comes down to desire, after all. A man with no will to live is likely to be listless and thus devoid of much, if any, desire. That's how it was for me, anyway. Did not care for anything, did not want for anything, and thus found myself annoyed when people, or even fictional characters, would act on emotional impulse or assumption instead of reasonable logic.
Nowadays, I do 'inefficient' crap all the time, but then again, 'efficiency' in how one lives their life is a matter of subjectivity anyway. A man who wants to be rich would see a listless life as inefficient, however a man who only wants to watch porn and play games would see a life doing so as incredibly efficient to their desires, even if it leaves them destitute in the end.
In the end, what matters to a man is identifying what one desires out of life and then living in such a way that those desires come to fruition.
I want to be free, beyond the happiness and love and curiosity, that is my most base desire, and so I do whatever I feel like doing at any point in time.
Which is why I am here.
I have finished talking with everyone I put off talking with, I don't really have any urgent business left that I can think of.
Sure, there's still plenty of stuff for me to do, but none of it is pressing and more importantly, I don't feel like it.
I guess I'm just in one of those moods. I don't feel like doing any of the things I have to do, but I also don't really have anything in particular that I want to do instead.
So I figured I'd just go to school. Technically it's where I'm supposed to be spending my time, but they're hardly strict about attendance here and it'll likely be another month before things return to as they were besides.
None of the school's teachers are present though, so I was going to go visit the library and sneak into the forbidden section. Spend some time reading, maybe look for some fruit to eat.
However! There is at least one presence in the compound that I am more than passingly familiar with, so here I am, opening my year's homeroom door for the first time in nearly a month.
It's so weird the level of nostalgia I feel opening the door considering the timeframe, easily recalling the embarrassing first time I did so. Damn Kamo-Sensei.
However unlike back then, only one seat is occupied. Though, I'm not sure if it really counts as being occupied since the seat itself is untouched entirely by the blood-red orb floating silently above it.
I raise an arm with a two-fingered wave and smile at the orb.
"Yo! Sabishī-chan~!"
"!", Sabishī exclaims, startling slightly.
I shrug blithely as I come to sit against Takiyasha's des next to her. "Yeah, I don't have anything pressing going on right now. Another Special Grade appeared at the same time that a Curse User started making a ruckus, so Sukuna and I got split up to deal with both of those before everything got any more out of hand than it already is. Loser can't teleport though, so I'm back way sooner."
I'm pretty sure Sukuna wants to test out some things in private anyway, so I'm giving him some space for that. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise after all.
"\^o^/."
A laugh leaves me at her reply. "There's no need to be that excited that he's not here~!"
"(* ￣3)(ε￣ *)."
My expression falls faux-flat, my amusement still clear even as I pretend to glare at the blood. "Oy, we're not lovers." Getting a funny idea, I raise my nose snootily to look down at Sabishī and put on my best 'Ojou-sama' voice. "We just complete one another like a single Soul split in two halves! We are not lovers, just best of friends who complete one another!"
"✪ ω ✪. (^人^). (* ￣3)(ε￣ *). (* ￣3)(ε￣ *). (* ￣3)(ε￣ *)."
I can't help but burst out laughing at the fact that I am getting emote spammed in real life, that's hilarious!
"You're so mean!" I exclaim, pretending to cry as I lean back and clutch my chest, though the fact a few bits of laughter that still break through ruin the act somewhat.
"(✿◠‿◠)ﾉ(ಥ﹏ಥ)."
My giggling is renewed, but eventually my laughter does peter out enough to speak again.
"Enough about me though, what have you been up to in all of this? We didn't really get the chance to talk back then."
I did use Sabishī's shadow to teleport closer to Masakado after all. Was kind of in a rush at that time though.
"╮( ˘ _ ˘ )╭ . *(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭*ଘ. (￣﹃￣)."
I can only nod sagely at that. "I totally get you. I'd have thought you'd have been sent out more often though, there aren't that many Sorcerers as good at dealing with swarms as you."
"(～﹃～)~zzZ"
"I guess it would be pretty boring," I nod, conceding the truth of it.
"!"
I raise a brow in question.
"(￣y▽,￣)╭ ?"
My lips quirk up again at the question, though this time the humour I feel is much more wry.
"I'm not sure what rumours you've heard, but I feel like you might be misinformed somehow."
"✪ ω ✪. (‾◡◝). (￣︶￣)."
I send her a dry, blank stare.
"You're not even close to the mark," I begin, shaking my head in resigned amusement. "In case you've forgotten, I killed Takiyasha's father—and more besides. We're not going to be getting together or becoming anything greater than friends, if even that does not become strained considering."
"(•_•)."
I raise my arms in surrender and shrug helplessly. "What do you want me to say? It's not like I am the only one Takiyasha could ever fall in love with. If you want to play matchmaker for her so bad then you're free to prowl the countryside for someone to set her up with."
"(¬_¬ )."
"So frigid," I flatly reply, mock-shivering as if in the cold.
"(ง •.•)ง."
"Waah!" I exclaim as I tumble over the desk behind me and rise again only enough to peak above it with my eyes like a terrified child.
"(￣︶￣)."
Chuckling myself, I plant my hands firmly back on Takiyasha's desk and pull myself up and on top of it, sitting cross-legged.
"Speaking of fighting though, I was talking with Kamo-Sensei the other day and we came upon an interesting thought that could be pretty relevant to you. Wanna hear?" I would hope that Kamo-Sensei is planning to talk to her about it himself when they next see one another, but he's kind of an asshole so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't think of even his own granddaughter.
I'm obviously not going to mention that though.
"(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)."
"Alright, so! We were talking about Binding Vows and how they can be used to enhance Rituals and stuff and we ended up talking about Heavenly Restrictions briefly—"
"!" Sabishī interrupts, "(ˉ▽￣～)?"
"Haha yeah~, we talked about you~."
"(￣y▽,￣)╭."
Smiling fondly as I shake my head at her antics, I get back to what I was saying.
"We went on a tangent talking about Heavenly Restrictions because Heavenly Restrictions bypass the laws of Sorcery—" I roll my eyes with a huff, "I mean obviously. We mortals do exist beneath Heaven after all. But besides, the point was that since Binding Vows are all about equivalent exchange, gaining something by sacrificing something else, then we started talking about how Heavenly Restrictions would factor into that."
"(^v^)/."
I wave a hand as if to banish away her words. "That's not what I meant, we weren't thinking about the Binding Vow that Heavenly Restrictions are, we were thinking about how furtherBinding Vows would be effected by the presence of a Heavenly Restriction."
"...( __ __)ノ."
"Alright I'll give examples," I shake my head with a chuckle. "My understanding is that the Heavenly Restriction on you is equivalent to a Binding Vow that trades away your physical well-being in exchange for being able to directly transmute your Cursed Energy into your own blood, right?"
"(〃￣︶￣)人(￣︶￣〃)."
"Right. So, that's not what we were talking about. Rather, we were thinking about how someone with a Heavenly Restriction like you could maybe take advantage of Heaven being above the laws of Sorcery to make Biding Vows that would otherwise be against the 'rules'. Basically, we think that you might be able to cheat at Sorcery, ain't that cool?"
"ƪ_(╯▽╰)_ʃ."
"Okay then, think about it like this. Any old Sorcerer can make a Vow to trade away their life in exchange for getting one final suicidal attack off. It's a spiteful thing to do and not easy to do in the heat of the moment, but it's not like it's a special Technique or anything. But the question then is, does it matter how the Vow kills you? Theoretically, so long as the Vow knows that you will die then that's all that matters. They tend to focus on the spirit of things than the letter of them after all."
"So if one were to make a Vow that's something like, 'in exchange for one super attack, my Cursed Energy will explode my brain.', then the result of that Vow shouldn't be any different to one that says 'my blood will ignite and burn to ash.'. In both cases, the ultimate price is death, so in both cases the boon should equally be the same."
"However." I hold a finger up like a teacher as Sabishī bobs up and down as if she is eagerly taking notes. "Since Heavenly Restrictions exist above the laws of Sorcery, and since your Heavenly Restriction allows you to create endless fonts of your own blood, then theoretically, you should be able to make a Vow with the benefit one would get from the sacrifice of death by making the cost be the burning of your blood and then substituting that blood with blood made from your Heavenly Restriction. The idea is that the Vow would take place assuming that losing all of that blood would kill you, thus making it a great sacrifice, while your Heavenly Restriction should allow you to sneak out of paying the actual cost. If it works how we think, then you should be able to make sacrificial Vows nigh endlessly."
Kamo-Sensei and I are both pretty sure it should work too. Obviously, normally you can't sneak anything past a Binding Vow. You can't trick a law of Sorcery, and there is a surprisingly robust library of records describing the consequences various Sorcerers have faced in trying to do so.
However, as I've said, this thought revolves around the fact that Heaven should be above Sorcery, so theoretically, Binding Vows shouldn't be able to recognise the existence of Heavenly Restrictions. And if the Vow doesn't know that Sabishī can make as much blood as she wants...
The theory is sound, but the only real evidence we have is that no amount of Binding Vows can do anything to undo a Heavenly Restriction.
"(❁o❁)."
I send her a smug smile. "Told you it's cool. Wanna test it out?"
Safely, of course. I figure we can start with a Vow that only takes a bit of blood; something that would maybe hurt should our theory prove wrong, but not kill her.
"\^o^/. ￣へ￣. (oﾟvﾟ)ノ?"
I wave her concern away with a smile. "Nah, don't worry about it, I don't really have anything I gotta be doing right now anyway. Though, that does remind me, I'm apparently going to be meeting the Emperor in a couple weeks, fancy that?"
"(ʘ o ʘ)."
"Right? I guess I'm gonna be getting a formal reward or something for putting down a rebellion. I think Yorimitsu is going to be getting a reward too but somehow I don't think Sukuna is going to be honoured quite the same~."
It's only happening a couple weeks from now because apparently one does not meet with the Emperor without advance notice and only at the Emperor's request, not the other way around. Despite the fact that it's already been nearly a month since the Imperial Palace finished being rebuilt, which itself was done like a week or two after it was destroyed anyway.
Still, I'm excited about it! Very curious too, and I'm also trying to think if there's anyway I'd be able to get away with taking a photo of the Emperor sitting in whatever fancy seat he's bound to have.
I have actually had an idea on that front, but I'll need to do a little bit of experimenting to see if it's even feasible. I'll need Kamo-Sensei's help too...
"╮(╯▽╰)╭ ."
I chuckle agreeably. "You're right. It can't be helped." Smiling as I shake that topic of conversation away, I return to our theory testing. "Anyway, if we wanna test out if you can cheat at Biding Vows, we should probably go somewhere else. Tengen-sama will yell at me again if I keep breaking the school."
"ಠಿ_ಠ."
"Okay so she didn't actually yell at me, no. It was an implied yelling. A spiritual yelling. I felt her wrath through the exasperated stare, you wouldn't understand our bond."
"ಠಿ_ಠ. ಠಿ_ಠ. ಠಿ_ಠ."
"We've actually met three times, thank you very much, and talked through Black Butterflies most days besides. I'd say that's plenty enough to develop a bond beyond your understanding."
"(╬▔皿▔)╯. (✿◠‿◠). (* ￣3)(ε￣ *)."
"Oi. Sukuna and I are just bestest friends."
"(* ￣3)(ε￣ *). (* ￣3)(ε￣ *). (* ￣3)(ε￣ *)."
"Do you wanna go do cool Sorcery stuff with me or not?"
"(❁´◡`❁)."
"It's a mystery how Takiyasha puts up with you," I playfully grouse as I drop from the girl in question's desk so we can go to one of the training grounds.
"(ˉ▽￣～)."
I laugh freely at her reply, but as we're leaving the room I pause as a thought strikes and has me turning back to Sabishī.
"Hey do you wanna do this at a beach?" I ask, and the orb tilts slightly to the side in question so I explain, "It's just that I recently realised that I've never actually seen the ocean y'know? At least not this ocean and not from close enough to touch it, so I've been planning to go find some sandy beach to visit sometime, but that seems like the perfect place to test out if you can cheat Binding Vows. So do you wanna go to a beach?"
"(^///^)."
"Oh shush," I roll my eyes as I playfully push the orb away from me. I'm not flirting with her and she knows I'm not. She also knows that I know that and thus seems to find some enjoyment in implying that I'm courting her when I'm not. "Do you wanna or not?"
"\^o^/."
Shaking my head again I close my eyes and briefly look through the Gap for the shadows of some sand, and after briefly checking that it does indeed lead to an uninhabited beach, I bridge the space between there and here and lift my shadow to cover a wall opposite us as a doorway.
Kami, it's so fucking cool I can do this. Magic is awesome.
"Onwards to oblivion!!" I yell as I charge into the shadowy portal, one arm raised as if a general charging into battle.
I can feel Sabishī's amusement behind me as she swiftly follows.
Today's turning out to be pretty fun after all.
///
Nurarihyon
///
Today is turning out worse than he had hoped.
Sitting within a warm, generous meeting hall, Nurarihyon calmly lifts a cup of tea up to his lips, blows gently on the steam and pretends to enjoy a small sip. It is good tea, of course, but his mood is foul enough to sour the taste regardless.
Still, he smiles as his cup returns to the small table before him and makes another attempt.
"Can you truly not be convinced? You are the leader of a Faction now; I see plainly enough that you hold yourself to the duty of leading your people well. How many of those who have sworn to you will you be willing to see perish before your mind is changed?"
Across from him, placing her own cup of tea back on the table, sits Tamamo-no-Mae.
The latest among Nurarihyon's 'peers'. She is a beautiful Yōkai, he will not deny. Beautiful in that way that is unique to Kitsune. Her hair is like strings of gold and her eyes molten, matched together with a well made kimono of complimentary colours, she is certainly a sight to behold.
If only she did not vex him so.
"I have had quite enough of unexpected guests interrupting my time," Tamamo responds, her delicate lips twitching briefly into a frown. "You do yourself no favours in asking for my support without even the manners of seeking an appointment. Even if I was inclined to consider what you propose, perhaps I would deny you simply for how you have annoyed me."
Nurarihyon is considering beating up those Oni twins.
It is a tradition for each Ultimate-class Yōkai to be 'welcomed into the fold' as it were in a certain manner. A manner which Ibaraki claimed for herself. None argued it, for Ibaraki had every right to dispense the lesson.
At least Ibaraki did actually do her part in this tradition and explain things to Tamamo. He at least assumes that is why she hasn't bothered with that annoying rhetoric he has heard so many times of 'If you wish the Humans to die so badly, then why not do it yourself?'
It is not as if he does not intend to, but he will likely only get one chance to strike before being forced to leave the field to avoid the censuring that would follow. His goals require more than one Human to die, hence all this plotting.
Unfortunately, as a part of this little tradition no other Ultimate-class is permitted to seek an interaction with the newcomer until after the fact.
However, if Nurarihyon had known what enmity Ibaraki would manage to garner in the process of doing so, then perhaps he may have intervened anyway. For it is now inconveniencing him, as his arrival a few short days after is new being tainted in view by that damnable Oni's behaviour. It is not as if he could not have survived the censureship of breaking this tradition anyway.
"Come now," Nurarihyon tries again, his friendly tone hiding his feelings well. "I am aware that you are still young, not even a century old! But do you not think your words to be a touch immature? I speak of life and death. You were present when the Human's capital burned were you not? You have seen first-hand the threat that will soon be poised at the necks of all Yōkai."
There has ben a surge of Cursed Spirits lately, but he knows that that will not last. It will not be long before this Golden Age of Sorcerers grow into their prime forms, and then it will be Yōkai who will face the tips of their spears as Curses run empty.
"Those humans are exceptions," Tamamo breezily counters. "Disregarding the Inheritors, the only other Human of note during that fiasco was Sukuna, and you must truly think me a fool if you believe I would use him as a benchmark for the rest of their Special Grades. Your prejudice blinds you."
Nurarihyon won't bother arguing that point, though he will stand by his belief that the woman who sees Death remains the greater threat.
"You have not seen the deprived depths that Humans flourish under. Our kin will die if nothing is done." Nurarihyon breathes in and shakes his head mournfully. "If you cannot see the threat they pose, then it is clear that you are not familiar enough with their natures."
Unexpectedly, those words cause a bark of laughter to leave his host. Nurarihyon feels a mixture of annoyance and confusion as Tamamo brings a hand up to cover her mouth as she continues to titter, her eyes alight with genuine amusement.
He feels a touch of indignation at her laughing at him over such a severe topic, but that is easily ignored for he is unfortunately far too familiar with Yōkai disregarding the Human threat.
"I do not know the nature of Humanity?" Tamamo repeats, her mirth clear for all to hear in her tone. "You know not of my experience nor my knowledge. Do not embarrass yourself by presuming to know me again, lest you cease to be considered a guest in my hearth."
Behind his shoulder, Nurarihyon feels Jorōgumo tense up slightly at Tamamo's tone, but a minor shift of his shoulder is enough to calm her.
Tamamo notices the interaction but says nothing about it.
"Is such hostility truly warranted?" Nurarihyon asks with a raised brow, trying a different track. The young are often quick to assure all around them that they are not in fact young, so by presenting a patient, somewhat disappointed front at her attitude, most as young as the Kitsune opposite him would subconsciously alter their position to better present that 'maturity'.
He isn't staking convincing her entirely on this alone of course, he just finds it interesting sometimes how these days, every sentence he speaks seems to be steeped in manipulative intent.
He doesn't know when that happened. Where it started.
He used to be so honest...
Time makes a mockery of us all.
"Yes, it is." Tamamo's response catches him by mild surprise, as he had felt that her annoyance with him was mostly perfunctory. More the result of a general bad mood than a distaste of himself specifically. Now, he is not so certain.
Tamamo's fingernail tap taps on the table, he sound echoing through the hall as her lips twist in thought.
Nurarihyon allows her the time to find her words without disruption.
"You speak of alliance," Tamamo eventually speaks, her words chosen carefully. "Your East Yōkai Faction and my West have been at odds since the dawn of this Realm," one arm gestures vaguely around them, "Yet you seek to bring an end to this grudge, at least temporarily, all so that we may wipe out the Human Sorcerers? How could I not find such a notion offensive? To tell the truth, I would not be opposed to seeking a peace between our factions, but for such a tawdry reason? What grudge do you hold against Humanity?"
Nurarihyon sighs. "There is no grudge, Tamamo. I will spare you the story, but I have personally witnessed my Hyakki Yagyō be near wiped out by these Humans. I have seen countless Yōkai fall to their blades and their tricks, all because Yōkai refuse to see the danger they pose. Always underestimating them. Always dying because of it. This is not about grudges, Tamamo, this is about doing what is right. I refuse to see any more of my kin die to these Sorcerers."
Tamamo slowly brings her tea up to her lips and slurps obnoxiously for far too long without breaking eye contact with him. Only once she is done and has set her cup down does she reply, her voice as flat as her expression.
"That sounds to me as if you may indeed hold a grudge."
Nurarihyon shakes his head, because he can obviously see why one would think that. He isn't deaf.
"I do not hold it against them," he admits, finding some minor measure of amusement in Tamamo's scepticism. "I truly do not. I hold no hatred in my heart for Humanity. I simply recognise the danger they pose to Yōkai. What I hate is seeing my kin, my friends, die. I only wish for people to not die. That is why this must be done. We need not kill every Sorcerer, just the Special Grades would be enough. With them gone, Humanity can go back to fighting itself and ghosts. If this generation of Special Grades continue to live, Yōkai will die."
Tamamo shrugs. The carelessness of the gesture and the total apathy that he sees in her eyes fills Nurarihyon with righteous indignation; her words only compounding the fact.
"So?" Tamamo holds his stare, that single word hanging in the air for a tense moment before she speaks again. "It is fine if people die. So what? This is what has you so concerned? I will mourn the deaths of any of those under me just as any other, but is that alone truly a reason to seek to save them? People die, such is life. If you truly fear for your kin so badly, then send them back to the Realms of their ancestry. This is the Human Realm, in case you have forgotten."
Her words cause Nurarihyon's mind to pause. There is something about them—the words themselves are of course insulting to his view of the world, but that is not it. There is something to her words that is simply incompatible with his mind. It takes him a moment of thought to put his finger on what it is specifically that bothers him so, and he cannot help the scowl when he figures it out.
It is the phrasing.
"You speak like a Sorcerer," Nurarihyon accuses, feeling as if his chest has fallen into a pit of dark hopelessness at hearing kin have such a manner of thought.
Tamamo feels none of his internal turmoil, merely shrugging blithely and countering, "You speak like a craven."
Nurarihyon doesn't reply. She isn't exactly wrong to call him craven. It is only that his fear is not for himself. He only fears for his kin. For the innocents that only want to live peacefully.
All he fears is that he will have to tell another mother that her child will never return home.
Silence reigns between them for a time enough for his tea to cool and for Tamamo to pour herself seconds. Only herself; a not so subtle hint of her stated stance.
"Why do you oppose me?" Nurarihyon eventually asks, and to her raised brow he continues, "I know the derision you have stated of my goals, but that does not feel firm enough to me to match the response you have given. There must be a greater reason; something deeper that has you opposing me."
Tamamo regards him for a long moment, considering what to say or whether to answer at all. She is not foolish enough to so obviously risk Nurarihyon's enmity by telling him the full truth. Telling him such things could lead to him targeting Narauko specifically—a low chance, granted, but that it is a chance at all is unacceptable nonetheless.
It is not that she fears for him of course. Narauko is Narauko. Yet at the same time, she will not allow any Ultimate-class to touch him, not even herself.
He wants to grow stronger with Sukuna, after all.
She won't let anyone ruin that for him. She knows how important it is to him.
So she gives Nurarihyon a half-truth instead.
"I am opposed to the slaughter of Humans. I have grown fond of them and would much prefer Humanity continues to thrive. In that, our desires are in conflict." Tamamo's head tilts as she pauses, a thought striking that has her lips twisting into a savage grin. "However, if your deigns target only the Principle Clans...? Well, I would be more than happy to see them suffer. Beyond them however, I shall not be permitting any of my forces to aid in your war against Humanity."
Nurarihyon isn't too surprised by that. The only Yōkai who do not despise the Principle Clans are those who simply posses no empathy or honour whatsoever.
"I see," Nurarihyon sighs. "I had hoped for more, but an agreement to cease hostilities between our Factions for the next... Let's say decade would be enough."
Tamamo shrugs again, blithe once more.
"I have no great quarrel with you. So long as you do not attempt to forcefully drag me or mine into your ambitions, then I have no cause nor desire to assail you and yours. I am rather surprised that you would be so willing to accept this much, however?"
Nurarihyon shakes his head with a chuckle.
"I will not deny disappointment, but your response has been much the same as Sōjōbō's, so I'll not bother trying to fight you over it."
Tamamo nods her head and Nurarihyon returns the gesture before rising back to his feet. Tamamo remains seating.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Tamamo. No matter our differences, it is truly joyous to see another Yōkai become an Ultimate being. Though, it is rather unprecedented to have done so at your age. You are an admirable Yōkai, even if I cannot agree wit your views."
Tamamo's head tilts like she is examining him, and whatever she was looking for, he seems to have passed as Tamamo rises as well and offers him a respectful nod.
"You aren't too bad, Nurarihyon. May we meet again under better circumstances."
Nurarihyon nods one final time with a small but genuine smile before turning to leave, Jorōgumo sliding the door open for him. However, as he has one step out of the hall, Tamamo's voice causes him to halt.
"I will say one thing," she begins, and Nurarihyon tilts his head enough to look back at her. "Since you have been so cordial, I tell you this as a friend."
He is glad that he has at least managed to overcome the hurdle Ibaraki had unknowingly placed in his way, but her final words only cause him frustration.
"You will lose."
Nurarihyon holds her gaze for a short moment before simply turning away and stepping out of the room, refusing to acknowledge it.
His expression remains blank as he leaves the compound with Jorōgumo, and it is for her sake that it does so. He does not want her to see his true feelings writ upon his face, because the honest response to Tamamo's caution is one that he has buried deep, deep down.
I know.
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
Yahoo! Sabishi time! Orb gaming! I love this orb now! Call me Mr Orb Lover how I be loving this orb!
I felt like a palaeontologist writing her dialogue lol, I had a whole set of hieroglyphs off to the side to translate her words into lmao. they're going on a nice little beach date together (as friends) cuz I wanted to write something chill after the last chap gave me an aneurism lol.
Nurarihyon is also always fun to write. I like him because he is a 'bad guy', he is ostensibly planning out a genocide after all, but at the same time, he'd only really be a bad guy if he were human. But he isn't a human. Would you say the guys in pacific rim are bad guys for trying to genocide the alien kaiju makers?
It's just a contrast that I feel is woefully forgotten these days. War is only war when both sides believe they are just. So it just kinda annoys me how in modern fiction it's so frequent for bad guys to just be bad guys y'know? People are people, conflict exists when interests collide, not because good encounters across evil.