— — — — — —
Once Suzaku Himejima accepted the mission, the hawkish elders burst into cheers, as if the moment the Himejima family's Suzaku took the field, every yokai in existence would be reduced to ashes.
While the elders argued over the timing of the attack, Suzaku left one of her confidants behind to listen in. Claiming she needed to adjust her condition, she quietly exited the meeting hall and headed toward the mountain behind the estate.
There was a shrine there, near the back slope. It was where her aunt, Shuri Himejima, had once lived.
Standing before the deserted shrine, now draped in cobwebs, Suzaku spoke calmly.
"You did what you wanted."
Black feathers drifted down.
Baraqiel appeared before the torii gate, leaning against one of its pillars as he stared at the abandoned building.
Suzaku wasn't surprised to see him. She had expected this. Her expression only grew heavier.
"So the Fallen Angels and the yokai have joined forces?"
Baraqiel didn't answer. He just looked silently at the old residence.
"Can you give me a little more time? A few more years. I'm confident I can defeat Suou and become family head. When that happens…"
She hadn't finished when Baraqiel cut her off.
"Shuri is dead."
"At first, I held back. I was wary of Indra's surveillance of the Fallen Angels. I also remembered Shuri's last request, asking me not to kill her relatives. And you promised you'd give me an answer, so I waited."
Suzaku fell silent.
"My daughter Akeno was right," Baraqiel said calmly. "I'm a coward. But even cowards have a limit."
Suzaku's face stiffened, but she couldn't refute him.
She had been close to her aunt Shuri. Precisely because of that, she had no grounds to persuade him anymore. He had given her a chance to reform the Himejima family. In the end, she had delivered a disappointing answer.
"I'll sneak into the yokai side and find a way to kill those two trash sons of the Himejima family. Consider it a gift."
"And one last piece of advice, Suzaku. That man, the new leader of the yokai… he's someone even I can't match."
"The Himejima family is nearing its end. You should prepare yourself."
As he spoke, Baraqiel's figure gradually faded into the air.
Suzaku watched him leave. Eventually, she let out a long sigh.
"…It's not like I don't know the family chose the wrong path."
Those deemed useless were discarded. Those who violated family law were executed. The Himejima bloodline was never allowed to be tainted by any "impure" power.
Under that harsh pressure, and sustained by the sacred beast's inheritance, the Himejima family had managed to maintain its position among the Five Great Families.
But compared to other factions that had quietly rebuilt themselves, the Himejima family had accumulated the most internal conflicts.
The most obvious examples were recent. Betraying Shuri had brought Baraqiel's hatred. Exiling Hanezu Himejima led him to form the Utsusemi Agency, researching evil power and waiting for revenge.
Then there was her cousin, Tobio Ikuse, who had been taken as a disciple by Azazel.
All of them had been expelled from the Himejima family. They should have been powerful allies. Instead, every one of them had become an enemy.
The family's rules were absurd. But what could she do? She was helpless.
What she hated most, and found most tragic, was what happened to Aunt Shuri.
Suzaku had been eleven at the time, powerless to stop it. Yet even knowing her thoughts, her aunt had still tried, before dying, to buy her time through Baraqiel.
But now, even that time had run out.
Aunt… Akeno…
Suzaku closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.
Perhaps… if she couldn't change the Himejima family from within, then break it first and rebuild afterward.
Let the stubborn old fools die. I'll take control of the Himejima family myself.
At last, Suzaku made her decision.
She had always known she wasn't ruthless enough. That was why she had failed. But now that things had come this far, she would harden her heart and cut away the rot herself.
With that, she gave the old shrine one last look, then turned and left.
— — —
Long after Suzaku departed, two figures slipped out of the shrine.
One was a voluptuous girl with fiery red hair, wearing a school uniform. She crossed her arms and said,
"Looks like you were right. The Himejima family really is in serious trouble this time."
"Ara ara~ isn't that a good thing? If the Five Families clash with the yokai, the devils can swoop in and grab territory."
The black-haired girl beside her, her high ponytail swaying and her figure even more striking, spoke with a gentle smile.
"That may be true… but Akeno…"
Rias Gremory looked at her friend with a complicated expression.
"You never told me you were the daughter of Baraqiel, the Lightning Angel."
"And you never told me you've been monitoring the Himejima family all this time. Or that you occupied my old home."
Akeno smiled sweetly at Rias, but by the end her teeth were clenched.
"Thanks to the familiar you sent, some things in the house can't be used anymore. Those were left behind by my mother."
"Ah… well…" Rias looked away awkwardly.
No matter how you spun it, damaging a friend's mother's belongings was hard to defend.
"Anyway, let's not dwell on that."
Rias quickly changed the subject, avoiding Akeno's eyes.
"Akeno, are you planning to interfere?"
"…"
"No."
After a moment of silence, Akeno shook her head.
She was now a member of the Gremory Family. If she took a stance, it would be equivalent to Rias taking one. And Rias was the younger sister of Satan Sirzechs. It would easily be interpreted as the will of the devil faction.
If she got involved in the conflict between the Five Great Families and the yokai, it would drag Rias in.
"So we just watch?" Rias sounded dissatisfied.
Knowing her friend's enemies but being unable to act felt frustrating.
"We'll watch," Akeno replied calmly. "Honestly, we may not need to step in. That coward is being unusually firm this time. Let him handle it."
Rias immediately understood who she meant.
Still… was Baraqiel really that timid in Akeno's eyes? The Lightning Angel had a fearsome reputation on the battlefield, yet his daughter called him a coward. It was almost a little sad.
"…Alright. If that's how you feel, we'll leave it at that for now."
Rias sighed, her gaze drifting toward the direction Suzaku had left, eyes narrowing slightly.
She had her own calculations.
If Suzaku failed and found herself in danger, Rias would absolutely take out her devil pieces and turn the Himejima heir into her own servant.
The odds were slim, but sometimes opportunities appeared when you watched long enough.
The Gremory family, blessed with a "treasure-seeking" talent, never lacked patience.
---
Night fell.
While the yokai gathered their forces and the Five Families mobilized heavily, activity surged on both sides.
At Yasaka Shrine, Ryo stood beside the koi pond in the rear courtyard, scattering feed with one hand while holding the bowl with the other. He looked at the fox-eared girl in front of him with mild surprise.
"Someone wants to meet me? At a time like this?"
"Mm-hmm!"
Kunou nodded repeatedly.
"She's… an old friend of mine. But her identity is a little special, so…"
Ryo smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair.
"If it were anyone else, I might refuse. But since you're asking, Kunou, of course I'll agree."
"Really?" she asked, eyes widening as she looked up.
'Of course he's lying…' Kuroka, lounging lazily on the grass, sneered inwardly.
"Of course it's true." Ryo chuckled, then lightly patted Kunou's head. "Alright, take me to meet your friend."
"Okay!"
Kunou nodded firmly, grabbed his hand, and happily led him deeper into the courtyard.
.
.
.