The sight of hundreds of Black Butterflies rising from the earth all at once is a rather enchanting one that Tamamo can only fully enjoy by virtue of the fact that no butterfly came out of her own shadow to distract her.
However, the wonder of the sight does little to obfuscate the simple fact that nothing good could come from such a thing.
One part of Tamamo is curious to see how Humans will react to whatever chaos is coming their way, but another, much larger part of Tamamo's mind is focused more intently on a single fact.
Chaos is a dangerous and confusing time. In chaos, some rise, some fall. There are advancements and setbacks.
In chaos, people die.
With that thought, Tamamo's gaze quietly ignores the growing chaos surrounding her to find the figure of only one person.
Himejima no Suzaku. Now joined by Dōman no Genbu as well.
Two Heads of the Principle Clans.
She wants them to die.
She desires their deaths like nothing she has ever felt before. Like a pit of burning coals in her chest, burning her, driving her. Pushing her towards justice.
She hates them.
The Principle Clans have killed more innocent Yōkai than any other. Tamamo has heard story after story, all ending in either tragedy or the triumphant defeat of those evil Humans.
She has seen countless Yōkai beset by grief and rage at the senseless slaughter of their people. Entire villages wiped from the Realm with a callous disregard for surrender or innocence.
Tamamo loathes them.
She despises them.
She hates that it is they, who hold the ears of the Ōkami.
That it is they who would guide Narauko on behalf of Inari-sama.
But she has held herself back from acting. She knows she could only do so because no one personally close to her has been victim to their depravities.
She hadn't wanted to make a scene at first. Hadn't wanted to accidentally slaughter innocent Humans either.
Not out of pity or compassion, but because of Narauko.
If she hadn't met him, she wouldn't have cared. But ever since they did meet, and ever since she has arrived in this Cursed city, Tamamo has prefaced every thought and act involving Humanity with a simple thought.
What would Narauko say?
It is that thought alone that allowed her to recognise that there are innocent Humans, and that slaughtering them would make her no different to the Principle Clans that she so despises.
Plus, there is some, selfish part of her that just... doesn't want to see disappointment in Narauko's eyes.
However, she is different from when she arrived here.
Tamamo is Ultimate now. Causing a scene in this city is no longer quite so dangerous a concept. She could survive it, now.
Her eyes find the two Clan Heads again before quickly flitting away.
There have been roughly twice as many Daiyōkai as Special Grade Sorcerers for the entire time that Tamamo has been alive. There should be ten of them, right now. Tamamo included.
Ten Ultimate Yōkai, and yet Humanity remains strong. Unbroken and free to enact their unique form of savagery on the innocent.
Why is that?
The answer is simple.
It is because of the Principle Clans. Because of those five Sacred Beast Inheritors.
They are the sole deterrent that has kept the Daiyōkai from being able to freely act as they please.
The inheritors themselves may only be Human, but the Beasts within them certainly are not. Combined with generations spent perfecting their Sorcery to specifically counter Yōkai in particular, and the answer is clear.
Tamamo's chances of killing two inheritors at once are slim, even as she is now Ultimate.
But...
Chaos is a dangerous time.
So if an opportunity were to arise, well... accidents happen, right?
There is just one issue, and Tamamo's eyes move in a different direction until a man enters her sight.
Abe no Yasuchika, if she is not mistaken.
She has noticed him paying attention to her. More attention than her beauty alone would justify.
She does not know anything about him beyond his name, but the one time that she caught him looking at her, he almost seemed suspicious.
Perhaps she is simply being paranoid, but there is such a thing as reasonable caution.
Whatever the case may be, Tamamo will simply wait and see what happens.
///
Ashiya Dōman
///
Ashiya didn't get a butterfly.
He looks around at the growing chaos, and he pouts at the sheer number of messages being delivered. Many people are even getting multiple, and yet he does not have one.
Woe is the life of the bastard, he supposes.
By his side, Nagiko gets a butterfly. Tsk.
He knows that the moment she is done listening to it, she will then notice his lack and make some comment or other about how he has neither friends nor loved ones.
So naturally, he decides to speak first, both because he wants to know what is going on and in the hope that doing so will distract her from making said comments.
In hindsight, he should have realised what it could have meant for her to have made a face that he has never seen before.
"Aya~, what a commotion. And to make you look so dour; did something good happen? To look like that, did someone die? Ise-chan perhaps? I always felt it an injustice that she must be stuck with you, I hope she'll find some peace in Yomi."
She doesn't seem to hear him at first, which is the first sign he notices that something is different this time. She is normally quick to retort, though he's always felt that her Eyes give her an unfair advantage, the cheater.
When she does react, just fractionally later than would be normal—a small but significant detail—she does not look at him. Her eyes remain staring at her now empty hand, as if still envisioning the butterfly that once sat there.
"Not Tayū," she replies, and this might be the first time he has ever heard her voice directed at him without any scathing. Somehow, he doesn't like it at all. She sounds... shocked. Almost lost, as if she of all people cannot accept a truth before her. "It is my father."
She turns then, meeting his eyes without hatred for the first time, and it is also a first for him to see tears within those arrogant orbs.
"My father is dead."
Oh...
Ashiya remembers when he lost everything. He remembers the day he became a nothing, with not a single tether left to life but spite.
There was a thought, at the time. It ruminated through his mind for... Well, it never really went away.
That if there is nothing for him in this life, maybe it would be better to go to the next.
He knows that her father is the only direct family that Nagiko has left. His death would leave Ise no Tayū as her remaining tether. Narauko too, now, he supposes. Though, he also doubts there's much concern on that front.
So with that knowledge, Ashiya knows that it is possible that she might have a similar thought. He knows he isn't the only one to have come to such a conclusion, it is a common enough affair.
So he does what is only natural in such a situation.
Ashiya lights his face up with a bright smile, full of effervescent joy as he energetically leans closer to her, speaking rapidly and with barely restrained excitement.
"For real!?! Amazing!! Does this mean you're going to go join him?!? Go on! Hurry! Hurry! Follow your father~!!"
Her shock at the news is immediately replaced by a much greater, more familiar expression of pure loathing, and Ashiya prepares himself to escape if she tries to kill him. It wouldn't surprise him right now.
But that's fine, he'd want nothing more. There is little that brings him more joy than seeing Nagiko in pain.
I truly despise you, Nagiko, Ashiya thinks to himself as he prepares to deal with whatever consequences will follow his words. But I would never wish my own suffering on anyone. Not even you.
After all, he knows the inevitable result of wallowing on such thoughts. Better she just hate him instead. It's much easier to hate, and he's a familiar target.
Unfortunately, he forgot one, key detail.
Her Eyes.
Those damn Eyes.
Silence reigns as they stare at one another, one party in tears and the other smiling helplessly knowing he has been caught.
"I will never thank you," she eventually says, and if not for the context of her Eyes, the words would be entirely out of place. "But I will not kill you today."
"Tsk, shame. I'm getting tired of having to see your face. It's creepy." The response comes easy and quickly to him, but there just isn't the same heat to it.
"Fuck glass, Dōman-kun." She absently replies, not even looking at him, and he cringes at the imagery her words conjure in his mind.
He really hates when she calls him that, and he is about to respond when he is beaten to the punch.
"Nagiko!" Narauko appears so suddenly that Ashiya almost flinches, and in hindsight it makes sense that he is what she was looking at. "What's wrong?! Can I do anything?"
Ashiya huffs, amused despite himself.
Of course that's the first thing you say.
"Narauko," Nagiko slowly replies, her voice only wavering slightly despite the tears falling freely. She sounds more curious than anything. He doesn't need to be perceptive to know she is putting off processing what she has learnt. "You are thinking something strange again."
"Well, sorry, I just never took you for someone who'd be comfortable being seen crying? Would you like me to make a veil?"
Ashiya glances about. Their interaction has been noticed, but nobody is paying them particular mind, with only a couple of exceptions. Everyone is much more busy with their own conversations.
He turns back to see Nagiko raising a brow as if Narauko is an idiot. Which, fair enough, he supposes. Ashiya is trying to understand what Narauko is saying, and he doesn't think he is having much success, since calling Nagiko a woman with dry sleeves is the kind of thing Nagiko would say to him.
So Ashiya has no idea what Narauko is trying to say, because what he means is obviously not what he is actually saying.
"You cry publicly with frequency," Nagiko counters, a frail sort of amusement there.
It kind of pisses Ashiya off to empathise with her.
"Yeah but I'm weird." Narauko shakes his head as if to throw away the turn this conversation took. "What's wrong? Can I help?"
"Of all the things that are strange about you, Narauko," she answers, once more ignoring the latter part of his words. "Your tears are not one of them, for what is a human who does not cry? A woman, or man, who does not cry can hardly be considered a human at all. There is nothing shameful in it."
"That is such a pleasantly healthy mindset to have," Narauko replies, seeming weirdly surprised by what is really just common sense?
Having dry sleeves is an insult for a reason. It implies that one would be so lacking in depth of character that not even the finest of poetry could elicit any kind of emotion from them. To be so unromantic would be deeply embarrassing.
Ashiya has seen men and women both who have used water to fake tears during poetry readings. It's amusing and greatly pathetic.
Narauko really is weird. Ashiya decides to just shrug it off as Special Grades being eccentric for the sake of his own sanity.
"But you are avoiding the issue, Nagiko," Narauko continues, his voice gentle and caring as he steps close enough to hold Nagiko by her upper arms. "Tears can only wash away so much. What happened?"
Nagiko meets his eyes without wavering and answers simply.
"My father has been killed."
"Oh," Narauko's face falls, leaving him seeming even more upset than Nagiko as he steps forward to wrap her in a hug, entirely ignoring the impropriety of doing so in this setting. "Oh, I am so, so sorry, Nagiko."
"For what?" Nagiko mutters, muffled against his chest. "You did not kill him."
"I am sorry that it happened, Nagiko." He sounds almost offended to say it, which Ashiya finds incredibly confusing.
A sentiment that Nagiko clearly shares from how she responds with what should be obvious.
"We are Jujutsu Sorcerers, Narauko. An unjust death is inevitable for us all. To be unprepared for such things is foolish."
"That doesn't mean its okay."
"No, it does not," Nagiko agrees with a dip of the head before her tone turns a shade towards anger, her already fragile emotional state flaring up with annoyance at Narauko's concern. "But what would you have me do? Break down and collapse? Wail and scream? My father is dead, and I will grieve him for many years to come, but I will not allow that grief to break me. It would be an insult to him to do so. I am grateful for your concern, make no mistake of that, but do not for a second assume that I think nothing of my father's death simply because I am not so weak as to shatter upon hearing of it."
Narauko's mouth opens and closes without a word coming out until a sigh leaves him and his head droops.
"I apologise," he begins, speaking softly. "I panicked. You're right."
Ashiya lets them have a moment, a brief one, before stepping in to ruin the atmosphere. He's nice like that, you see.
"I'm more curious what you're going to do now. Off to seek revenge?"
Nagiko huffs, annoyed as she steps back from Narauko and dabs at her eyes with her sleeve.
"If I knew who to kill," she agrees, sounding annoyed that she doesn't—which, it is a rare thing for her to be left in the dark. Though, her next words clear up the why of that easily enough. "My father was sparse on details, and he has long made it known to me that when he dies he will give no hint to the cause, so as to avoid myself seeking the same fate. However, not knowing who exactly is responsible is only making me consider heading north and killing every man and woman strong enough to have bested him in the area. There aren't too many."
Ashiya shakes his head at that. "Tsk, Demon-chan is so violent."
"I will show you how violent I can be if you do not silence yourself, Dōman-kun."
"Aya~, so quick to break your word?"
"There is a lot that one can do before death becomes the result."
They glare at one another for a moment before Narauko interrupts, sounding exasperated.
"Do you two ever not bicker?"
"She starts it," Ashiya immediately answers, beating Nagiko to the punch and making her renew her glare as she heatedly retorts.
"I do not. Every word that you speak is an insult to the language spoken."
"See what I mean?" Ashiya asks, smiling innocently as he turns to Narauko and gestures to her.
"Oi, don't go dragging me into this."
Ashiya chuckles, but doesn't get to respond before Kamo no Yasunori enters the scene, joining them with a grin.
"Ashiya-kun~! Kiyohara-chan~! Narauko.—" "Why is your tone so different for me?" "—I take it you all understand the situation by now, at least generally?"
Ashiya's lip twitches slightly at the byplay, but he shakes his head regardless. All he knows is that Nagiko's father died, not why.
"Tch, couldn't you be more informed?" The Kamo immediately complains, his tone as if he is blaming them for not knowing.
"Why are you always so adverse to explaining things?" Narauko asks, accusatory. "Who let you be a teacher?"
"You wouldn't understand," Kamo waves the question away. "I'll tell you when you're older. Regardless, the short of it is that two fools have decided to cause a commotion. It isn't too big a deal to be honest, but Narauko, I've made it your problem! Yaaay~!"
"Haa?"
The Kamo chuckles and shakes his head before simply turning away.
"Come on then, I'll explain on the way."
Narauko sighs at his teacher's antics but does comply, following after the man.
"Sorry for him. I'll see ya later, then, Ashiya-san, Nagiko. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?"
Nagiko nods and they both wave him away to catch up with his teacher.
That just leaves the two of them standing together in a silence that persists for a bit after Narauko is gone from sight.
"So." Ashiya begins after another moment of silence. "Do you think he was grateful to be free of you? I know I would be."
"Dōman."
"Hm?"
"Kill yourself."
"Already looking for men to act like your father? Your speed is admirable."
Nagiko turns her head only enough to meet his eyes, and Ashiya decides that now would be a good time to leave.
He needs to rethink all of his insults to account for this change anyway. He can even use a bunch of insults that Nagiko has used on him in the past now, she'll hate that for sure.
"I still have friends," he hears Nagiko say from his back. "And a clan."
"Only one friend!" He calls out without turning back, and he can imagine her clicking her tongue at him.
He smiles at having gotten the last word in.
///
Kamo no Yasunori
///
Walking away from the two Sorcerers, Kamo regards his student with an innocent smile.
"I feel like I interrupted something," he casually begins, getting a dry look in response.
"Really?" The sarcasm is thick. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Who knows~? Must be my intuition~. So what were you three talking about?"
Narauko shakes his head in exasperation but answers regardless.
"Nagiko's father has been killed apparently. He didn't say who did it though, so she wouldn't seek revenge. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I get why he would do it, and I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but I do feel he could have trusted her not to rush headfirst into danger." Narauko huffs self-deprecatingly. "Though I guess I have no leg to stand on when it comes to underestimating her."
"Eh? Motosuke-san is dead? Now there are only four men of the pear chamber, how sad~." Yasunori's cavalier tone quickly falls into a pout as he realises another consequence of that man's death. "Tch, I'm going to have to do more work until we can restaff, what a pain."
"Would it kill you to at least pretend empathy for a single moment?"
"Who knows~?" He smirks at the look he is sent for repeating himself. "Maybe I have a Binding Vow forcing the situation?"
"I'll kick your ass."
"Why?" Yasunori leans into Narauko's personal space, smiling tauntingly at the boy. "You don't seem all too upset either~."
Narauko skips a step but quickly regains his stride, smiling helplessly at the comment. Yasunori had been curious too. Something feels subtly different about the boy.
"Yeah, well, it doesn't seem polite to say it so directly," Narauko begins. "I am upset for her, don't get that twisted. I just think it's wonderful to see how she can both be entirely prepared for this to happen whilst also still grieving it. That's beside the point though, what have you dragged me into exactly?"
Yasunori kind of wants to ask more, but he relents and drops the subject.
"Hmm, well, if you want to be dramatic about it, I'd say a war."
"That's what Nagayasu-san said."
"Hehe, guess he's dramatic then, who knew~? More realistically, it's just a doomed rebellion. It's no secret that the major clans have been bristling under the Mido Kampaku, that's Fujiwara no Michinaga by the way, well, I guess it doesn't really matter for you. Whatever the case, it seems two fools have decided to act out on their own. Probably thought they could drag everyone else in with them."
Yasunori chuckles slightly in mockery as he eyes Narauko without turning his head.
As if those arrogant cowards would be willing to try anything after that show you put on.
"One man in the north, one in the south. That's how things seem to be playing out. However, no one wants to call what is happening a rebellion. Words like that have a lot of consequences you know? So it's just two independent actors. You're going to go north to deal with the 'Curse Users' up there while Yorimitsu goes south. You two are the strongest Sorcerers that can travel so far so quickly after all."
"I can't just teleport anywhere you know?" Narauko interrupts, sounding both annoyed and bemused.
Yasunori blinks at the new information.
"You can't?"
"No. I need to be able to see where I'm going. I could only find you because I'm familiar with your Soul."
Huh.
Wait what?
Yasunori shrugs, pretending those words don't matter.
"Then you can teleport nearby and figure it out."
"You're such a dick."
Yasunori chooses to ignore that and continue his explanation.
"When you get there, you only need to deal with the main Sorcerer threat. The Emperor will be having the clans send their men to deal with the mundane forces, so you can ignore them."
Inwardly, he laughs at his own words. Talking as if the Emperor has any say in the matter when anyone with a brain knows that it's all Michinaga giving the orders. Even making the clans put down their own rebellion, how hilarious. They will do it, too.
"They will do that?" Narauko asks, regaining his attention. "Maybe I'm reading things wrong, but I don't get the feeling that the major clans like to cooperate with the Emperor, right? They seem like the kind of people that would toast any trouble that misses them and inconveniences anyone else."
"Hah! Well, you're not wrong. The clans certainly don't want to do anything. They just don't really have a choice. They need to mobilise against the traitors in order to affirm their own loyalties, even if everyone knows the truth."
It's rather hilarious to him. He's fairly sure that the major clans are all vying for a civil war, he had been expecting another one to kick off within the decade. It's just that these two idiots have rushed ahead, and now the very clans that want them to succeed will be the ones to strike them down.
It's ironic.
"Either way, Michinaga wants this all dealt with quickly. Oh, I mean that's what the Emperor wants, of course~."
"Of course."
"In light of this, the Emperor has gotten Michinaga to inform me that I should send you off to deal with Taira no Masakado in the north. Preferably, he'd like this all neatly tied up within the year. Of course, that's just for the mundane side of things. You're expected to be done within the week."
"Taira no Masakado? Why does that name feel familiar?"
Yasunori looks at Narauko, and he chooses to lie.
"Who knows~? Perhaps it has something to do with the man being the eldest Special Grade left? You can really start working your way down the list~."
He chooses not to mention the man's relation to Takiyasha. He isn't even entirely sure why. He just hesitates to do so.
"Oh? Is he strong?"
"Eh~, depends on how you look at it," Yasunori answers, smirking. "When you reach him, open with that Piercing Blood mimicry you've got. Trust me, it'll be funny~."
"You're not going to tell me what his Technique is, are you?"
Yasunori adopts an innocent expression. "What's a Technique?"
Narauko rolls his eyes, and he chuckles.
"Is it really so simple?" Narauko asks after a moment, and he raises a brow for clarification. "A two-front 'not-rebellion' doesn't feel like the sort of thing that should be treated so casually. Isn't this a big deal?"
Yasunori shrugs. "Eh, this sort of thing happens every now and then. It's only two main factors, and neither of them has any overt support behind them. Unless that changes, then this is no different from dealing with a regular Curse User as far as we Sorcerers are concerned. It's only a scandal because these Curse Users are former Jujutsu Sorcerers. Basically, think about it in reverse. It's not that something significant is being treated as a small deal, it's just that something unimportant is being treated as more significant than it is because of the people involved."
Narauko hums and they meander their way forward under a silence that only lasts until Narauko speaks up again.
"Do you know what Ise-chan is up to about now?"
"Hm? Why do you ask?"
"I honestly cannot tell if you actually need to be told that or if you're just being obtuse on purpose, but I'm asking because it would be good for Kiyohara to spend some time with her best friend right now. Do I have to explain why to you as well?"
Yasunori shrugs. He honestly just hadn't thought about that, but he won't admit that, because it would just be proving Narauko's point. So instead he just tries to recall what Ise should be doing.
"Last I heard, she should be doing a routine exorcism right about now," he answers thoughtfully. "Though, she should be done by now, so maybe she's on her way back. You gonna pick her up?"
"Yeah, on my way back," Narauko answers with a nod. "Though, if she's back at school then that'll make it easier for me to go north quickly."
"Just go to my granddaughter," Yasunori waves his hand dismissively. "She should be close enough."
"You always swap between calling her your granddaughter and calling her your daughter you know? I'm not sure if that's a sweet thing or an asshole thing though."
"Can't you just assume the best?"
"Of you?"
"No need to sound that disbelieving."
"There is every need."
Yasunori sticks his tongue out at Narauko. "Whatever, just get going already. The sooner this is dealt with the stronger a message it will send."
He very carefully does not mention the political weight that this will add to Narauko's name. It benefits him for Narauko to be placed on an ever higher pedestal after all.
Not that the idiot really needs his help on the matter. Masakado is rather famous, and defeating him, compounded with the defeat of Michizane, will cement Narauko's reputation beyond reproach by even the most ardent opposer.
It is just unfortunate for Masakado that Narauko is to be his opponent. If it were Sukuna, then he honestly isn't certain if the brat would be able to win, though he certainly wouldn't lose either.
Narauko is just a bad matchup for the man, so his victory is inevitable.
It won't even be fun.
How lame~.
He smiles at the thought.
He's looking forward to seeing Narauko so disheartened by another disappointing fight. Especially one involving such an admired foe.
It'll be interesting to see how he reacts.
Not to mention, Sukuna is going to be mad at being left out~.
Yasunori can't wait~.
///
Nurarihyon
///
"So that's where you went," Nurarihyon quietly mutters to himself as he looks down on the human capital from atop a cloud in the sky.
His eyes turn to the horizon, at the Sorcerer strolling towards the capital.
In his hands, he absently rolls a cube back and forth.
He originally only came because of the competition going on. He didn't think it likely to happen, but on the off chance that an opportunity were to present itself, he wanted to be ready to take it.
His plans won't matter if he can just cap them all off right away, after all.
Unfortunately, there was no luck on that front. This much was expected though, it was only a whim really.
What he did not expect, was to see Sukuna approaching the capital. As if that alone were not enough however, Nurarihyon now sees someone he expected even less.
"I had somewhat expected it," he continues, looking down below at a specific mountain overlooking the city. "But to think your arrogance really flies that high, Curse."
Regardless of the unexpected circumstance, Nurarihyon isn't upset with the result. This will be a good opportunity to gauge Sukuna more clearly.
The Human will play an important role in his plans after all, it only makes sense that he would observe all he can of them.
///
???
///
A man watches as a small army assembles itself, headed by one of the most respected generals in the Realm, one given such a lofty title as Divine for the inevitability he represents.
Even he would be hard pressed to so much as draw a drop of blood from the man.
But that is not why he is here, and so his crimson orbs merely watch, and they wait.
He has plenty of time, now that his eternal pursuers have been distracted.
This is an unexpected twist, but he will not lament his plans falling apart. He will adapt.
And so a man watches, and he waits.
He waits for Narauko to arrive.
This situation may be unexpected, but it is a good opportunity for him to gauge Narauko more clearly.
That damn Sorcerer is too disruptive of his plans to be ignored.
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
Wonder what's gonna happen, surely nothing unexpected (〜￣▽￣)〜