The night was approaching, and Julien, Scar, and Purple were hours away from their training session with Arthur Rover, the Sun Phoenix. However, Julien and Purple faced more immediate pressure.
Purple wore an ashen kimono with black flowers adorning the edges. Her usual calm, collected demeanor was there, but tempered with an uncommon formality.
Her locs were tied in a stricter ponytail than normal, speaking louder than words about what mattered to her right now.
Julien came along behind, wearing his academy uniform. Characteristically, his taunting demeanor evaporated. Out of his element, he was as shy as a fish flopping on shore.
They'd just exited the black carriage as the horses drew it away, wheels rumbling against the pavement, the sound echoing into the distance.
Now at the heart of Barbados, they faced the enormous gates of one of the biggest dojos humanity had produced in the last three centuries, and the sight made Purple beam.
"The Will of the Underground was the second soul‑manipulating Inheritance ever to exist."
Her smile twisted into something unsettling. "If we manage to eliminate it, the Spirit of the Lords and the Souls of Converse will have no choice but to fear us."
Her smile turned into soft, taunting chuckles.
Julien clenched his fists, palms growing slick with sweat. Purple had kept him mostly in the dark, and truthfully, he preferred it that way.
She was a psychopath. Whatever her real endgame was, if he knew it, he'd probably bail on serving her family entirely.
But no…
He was this close… this damn close to finally securing all the resources he needed to get strong enough to take his revenge.
But here, at the gates of the Kugo clan's dojo, he knew precisely what they'd come for. He couldn't afford to fuck it up, even if he wanted to.
"Let's get on with this. Scar might be waiting for us. We have less than thirty minutes here."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the enormous gates before them were pushed open. Despite maintaining their calm, the way those gates opened, silent, effortless, massive, was bone-chilling.
Each gate was as thick as their darkest secrets. Asked outright, they would have said even a Moon Killer would struggle to move them. Yet two skeletal figures had opened them as if they weighed nothing.
Julien felt an inexplicable urge to touch their arms, to feel for muscles that clearly weren't there. He forced himself to resist.
The door opened onto two dozen men standing in disciplined rows, heads respectfully bowed. Through their ranks, an elderly man, perhaps eighty-something, stood in black robes, waiting.
Tension thickened the air momentarily, but Purple cut through it with practiced ease. A smile, a wave, and that was all. The old man returned the gesture.
Suddenly, Julien found himself bewildered at how quickly they'd moved, across the pavement, through three corridors, and now seated in seiza pose on floor cushions with steaming tea before them and the elderly man opposite.
The formalities passed quickly, and then Purple spoke, her hands positioned properly on her thighs in a formal posture.
"Very well. I'll speak with you instead. The clan elders couldn't even be bothered to show themselves. What a shame. I dressed for them too." Purple's head snapped around, peering for any of them.
The old man smile, "Talk. I'm listening. Lie to me, and I'll know."
Purple furrowed her brow. The man didn't need to say much. She knew exactly what he was.
"How fortunate. I've heard much about your kind, but I was under the impression the men went extinct a century ago, after the necromancer's attack."
The old man didn't seem pleased. He kept sipping from his cup, saying nothing. For a moment, Julien felt reduced to a background character, but actually, that's exactly what he was.
Purple had brought him purely for backup if things turned ugly, since her Threads of Souls weren't combat-ready yet. All he had to do was play bodyguard properly.
Purple cleared her throat.
"Before I begin, you should know this: once you succeed, the Vey family must be heavily credited. Even so, we have no intention of participating beyond the information I'm about to share."
The man smiled. "Whether you get paid depends entirely on the content of your information. I'd advise you to focus on talking, not bargaining."
Purple flinched, flashed a brief smile, and then her expression shifted to annoyance, her face twitching as her eyes squeezed shut.
She began to get up immediately, but Julien shot forward, catching her shoulder and pulling her back into her seat.
His words stung her pride badly. Ironic, really, for someone who used people as tools, she had an awfully short temper when turned into one herself.
"You need this to happen just as much as we do. The least you could do is stop acting cocky. We could easily reconsider our choices, and it wouldn't affect us nearly as much as it would you." Julien hurried his words, trying to give Purple enough time to calm down.
Even so, the old man never responded. He kept sipping on his tea.
Soon enough, Purple's usual confident smile returned, and she spoke again.
"The Zheng family's last prodigy, V, is back. At his peak, I don't need to remind you what he did to your clan. He nearly drove you to extinction. And in this modern age, I'm one of the few who know exactly how to defeat him."
The old man's interest was immediately sparked. He nodded with enthusiasm, leaning forward for more, but Purple had hooked him. He was exactly where she wanted.
Regaining her usual composure, she and Julien got to their feet. She straightened her kimono.
"I spent three gold coins on this robe. I thought you'd be interested in my information, but I guess I was wrong. Even the money was a waste. Damn it."
Julien mirrored Purple's bow. The old man's bewilderment deepened. He truly had no clue what was happening.
"We'll take our leave. I'm certain others would be willing to pay a fair, negotiated price for my information."
At her signal, they started toward the door, but the old man immediately called out to stop them.
"Where are you going? I never opposed your request. Sit down, and let's discuss this."
Julien's hand moved instinctively, reading himself. He was about to activate his Inheritance when Purple tapped his hand, warning him to stand down.
"Did you read my message? If you didn't, I advise you to. Your words were threatening, and they humiliated me before my ancestors. If you want the information, you'll have to come to me, Father."
The old man's hands wavered, tea threatening to spill, but Purple and Julien were already leaving. They didn't wait for his response.
Purple smiled all the while. She'd actually accounted for everything, except she hadn't planned on meeting a Father, one of the rare beings between human and Akuma.
Created as humanity's final defensive line, their existence was controversial; many condemned the brutal process. Still, a few powerful families kept them hidden. Officially, Fathers no longer existed.
"So you counted on me giving that speech. You never planned to have this conversation with them, did you? You knew the Kugo clan was very prideful, and you were betting on that." Julien asked with a skeptical and annoyed tone.
Now free of the Kugo dojo, Purple stretched her whole body, working out the stiffness from maintaining that formal posture.
"Come on, there's no way we settled that in thirty minutes. I knew the Kugos' hatred for the Zhengs ran deep… we just had to leave them with something hopeful."
She frowned. "I kept you in the dark because I knew the Kugo clan specialized in martial arts. Encountering a Father here only confirmed my suspicions."
She sighed. "We must proceed carefully. These people can no longer be considered human. Their training is brutal, and it's left them capable of almost anything."
Julien shrugged. He didn't know anyone like the old man, but judging from the Kugo clan's burning hatred of the Zheng clan after V almost destroyed them, he was sure they'd found the right lead.
"Perhaps this is what the Sun Phoenix meant by 'something big.' Either way, I'm already enjoying the malice V's arrival will awaken in the world." Purple giggled.
She was trapped by the Vey family in her own way, just like V was trapped by the Zheng clan.