Though Jin was far from what could be considered truly tall in this world, he was more than tall enough to stand out amongst the Edojin who he saw in the wood and paper capital of Kamitou. At 6 '3 most natives stood to only his chest at most while some even lower. Though to his surprise he wasn’t the only outlier present, in fact Kamitou seemed to be swarming with foreigners of all races and origins. Some of those foreigners, even taller than him. Yet despite no longer being the biggest fish in the pond physically, somehow people still managed to clear a path around him, no single person being more than 2 meters close to his person out of instinct alone. As if he split the sea of people with his existence alone.
Jin frowned with his hands in his pockets and posture slightly slouched forwards. He walked up the path which led out of Kamitou and into the nearby [金高山: Kingousen] Mountains.
This being the closest way point Jin had to the Hojo Clan estate he took his time enjoying the scenery of not only Kamitou but the wilderness around. Tucked carefully under his arm was a yellow stained bottle with an intricate design carved into the glass. That of flower petals and birds soaring across a cloud filled shining sky. Said bottle was a 300 year aged [Co?teux Wine] from the Verous Union. Considered priceless and costing over at least two hundred thousand dollars if one was to sell less than one hundred existed.
Making a quick trip back home to the Venator Society tower he spent no more than a minute to grab it from his wine cellar and warp back to Edoland. If he was going to meet with family which he’d not seen in nearly one thousand years he should at the very least bring a present he figured.
Climbing up the Kingou mountains through a narrow path covered with overgrown trees and brush, Jin saw various sensors scribbled into the rock walls which he carefully avoided. He wanted to make sure this was a surprise to the Hojo, no doubt his appearance would be quite the shock. When Jin finally reached the entrance he could only frown as he saw the giant blueish green hued buried which surrounded the estate like a dome. To the normal eye such a barrier would make your vision wander beyond the estate and lead you in another direction. However, to Jin with his [Pure Eyes] he saw the rich wooden estate inside.
Wonderful Gardens with koi ponds, and cherry blossom trees mixed with other evergreens and Bamboo clusters. He saw small ancestral shrines mixed with tall stone and wooden Machiya. The paved gravel rounds and wind chimes hanging from branches blowing in the wind making sweet melodies.
“Guess my surprise won’t work after all huh.” Jin said aloud with a sigh.
Looks like a sensory type barrier with the effect of camouflage weaved carefully into it. It’s less by a barrier around a property and more like a territory itself. Someone skilled must have made this. He thought with pursed lips. Looks like there’s also a fail safe imbued in case someone tries to cross through the barrier without permission. It’ll melt your aura nodes and mana circuits to mush it seems. “How nasty.” He muttered, wrinkling his nose.
The thought of crossing that barrier as it did cross Jin's mind, he was curious as to how potent it could be, a barrier most likely forged over fifteen hundred years before by a master runesman the likes of which today do not exist. He wanted to see if the barrier could damage him, how far he could push it until it broke, how he could peel it apart and see what made it tick.
“But I don’t have time for that right now.” He sighed, pressing his finger on the barrier ripples spread out across it like the surface of disturbed stagnant water.
[Divine Domain] the barrier which always existed around Jinen Lutece when not inside the Venator Tower expanded and pressed against the Hojo clan estates defense. The two surfaces sizzling Jin reinforced his barrier with more mana until it fully expanded and created an opening large enough for him to walk through. The barrier spreading apart like a curtain of cloth being parted.
It was stronger than I thought. Jin nodded to himself rubbing his chin. The tip of his middle finger having a small red mark as if having poked an ironing board the skin sloughed off like a lizard's shed to reveal new fresh skin below.
Scanning the estate, roughly 8 acres inside he noticed something interesting tucked away in the northern right corner from where he stood. “That’s quite the big one alright…” He said aloud with a wide fiendish smile. “But I’ll have to deal with those two first.” He sighed, turning his attention straight ahead and about an acre away where he could see the outline of two souls.
# # #
The feeling was akin to having a hot knife inserted into your flesh, though the pain was numbed the feeling of your skin layers being flayed and peeled back as you watched in horror still made you sick.
That was the sensation which made Asara's white hair stick up atop his head like a cat does when frightened. His sharp red eyes quickly looked in the direction of the intruder, one which had done what he thought impossible.
Once he had seen an assassin attempt to cross the barrier, his grandfather Hojo Burosuke to his side instructed him to watch what happened as the man stuck his black gloved hand through the murky surface. What happened next was horrible, the man fell to his knees in screaming pain, his aura nodes and mana circuits melting into mush he writhed on the ground before he lost his life.
For someone to be able to cross the barrier let alone split it open without invitation was unthinkable. Like someone cutting through reinforced iron walls with dollar store dull scissors it simply did not happen.
“Grandmother!” Asara hissed, flicking his head towards Hojo Mitou who sat as pale as a ghost. Jaw slacked and sweat dripping from her wrinkled chin.
“The devil has appeared!” She growled out with grit teeth, bone thin hands clenched.
Asara, hearing her words grinned wide, veins spread across his forearms and hands; his already long nails being reinforced with his aura, eyes narrowed at the shoji door before him.
“!”
However before he could move a single inch from where he was, before he could pounce on the intruder and rip him apart he felt something come down upon him.
CRASH!
Like an anvil had been dropped onto his head he slammed to the floor, his nose pressed against the Tatami mats. “How dare you!” He screamed out between clenched teeth, his head bulging with throbbing veins.
“Ah, sorry, I didn't think you were that weak.” A voice came from the entrance way, the same voice which belonged to the man who had violated the Hojos barrier. A voice which spoke in pure refined Edogo like that of a scholar or professor yet the man who owned the voice looked not like an Edojin in the slightest.
He was tall, standing 6’3 with wide shoulders yet a slender frame with hips like a tiger. His blonde hair so pale it was almost white sat flat across his head, the fringe of which nearly covered the black sunglasses which covered his eyes. Below his head he wore an open front custom tailored suit well adjusted to his build. Tucked under his arm a clearly expensive bottle of wine.
With his appearance the oppressing aura from before had diminished lightly allowing Asara to raise his bloody nose and brow from the tatami mat floor.
“May I have your name?” Hojo Mitou asked, her face calm and cool yet sweat still dripping down her cheek.
“Oh yeah sorry, that’s probably what I should have started with huh? Well my name is Jinen Lutece, but you might know me better as Lutece Sageru.” Jin said with a smile. “Or maybe not since that would have been 700 years ago.” He finished with a mutter to himself.
“I see then, Sageru-Sama, it is the greatest of pleasures to meet you.” Mitou said with a graceful bow. “May I ask why you have come?”
“I was in the area so I figured it was time for a long overdue family reunion ya know.” Jin shrugged weakly.
“If you’d given a proper warning we could have made it easier for you to enter.” Mitou said with a frown.
“I wanted it to be a surprise, you know.” Jin answered.
“And this is your idea of one?” Asara hissed glaring at Jin while he used a beautifully stitched handkerchief to wipe the blood from his face.
“...” Jin frowned as he looked at the man, with his eyes he could see him for what he truly was. If he was to spot him on the street he’d be impressed but as the heir to the one of the 3 great clans of Edoland, however he was disappointing. Perhaps what surprised Jin most of all though was how close in appearance the two looked, though the ethnic difference was apparent they shared many of the same features to the point of being almost identical twins all things considered.
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Jin said with a smile and wrinkled brow even going so far as to offer a light bow with his hand over his chest.
“Yet you entered our estate uninvited, tore apart our barrier and trample into our home through the Garden Shogi door bringing in with you the dirt and filth on the bottom of your foot!” Asara screamed, his pale face turned red as veins bulged along his brow, temple and jaw.
“Asara!” Mitou chased, she opened her mouth to scold her grandson but Jin interrupted her by raising his hand before she could.
“You’re right, totally right my bad. Like I said I just wanted to surprise you but it seems like I went about it the wrong way.” He said with a nod. “But I can offer my condolences in that there is simply no way I could have brought any filth into this room at all as I always make sure my feet don’t touch the ground. Taking your shoes off and on when you enter and exit a place is a real pain you know.” Jin said with a smirk.
“!?” Both Mitou and Asara looked confused at the statement, both looked at his feet but he continued to speak without offering any further explanation.
“But enough about me, I wanna talk about you, let’s get to know each other.” He nodded. With that he took his thumb and with a quick flick of it obliterated the cork lid which held the bottle closed. The cork literally turning into dust, the bottle erupted into a geyser of 6 figure liquid which doused the room.
“Ah shit, I shook it up on the way here my bad!” He grunted looking at the bottle with a grimace only 1/8th of the bottle's contents left. The rest covered the painting, tatami mats and expensive art older than most countries with wine.
“!”
Asara leapt as Jin, with force of his movement causing the tatami mat he studio on to erupt into bits of fabric. Hand stretched out and his finger nails more akin to talons he aimed them for Jin's neck and to slice open his jugular.
However as soon as his feet left the ground he felt an unbearable weight slam into him.
“Gurah!”
With a gag he slammed to the floor, his already bloodied nose once more erupting with a crack from the cartilage bending.
How amazing! Mitou thought with wide eyes. To expand his aura in such a way as to only target Asara is akin to molding his breath to fit perfectly through the eye of a needle! What I wouldn’t do to have him as part of our clan!
“Forgive my foolish grandson, Sageru-Sama.” Mitou said with a full Dogeza bow. “He is foolish and still learning the ways.”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.” Jin said with a smile. “And you can just call me Jin, it’s kinda creepy to call me Sageru, he’s been dead for a while now ya know." He laughed weakly. “Care for a drink?”
Pointing his finger at the table across the room and flicking it up with his blessing of [Telekinesis] he brought it before him and Mitou. Sitting with her feet behind her she knelt before the table which Jin sat across from cross legged.
Asara, still forced to the ground, struggled against the invisible weight which held him down, grinding his teeth painfully as blood poured from his broken nose.
“It would be rude to reject such a gift, I’m sure such a fine liquid no doubt cost a fortune.” Mitou smiled.
“Your intuition is sharp- um…” Jin trailed off as he realized he didn’t know the womans name.
“Mitou, Hojo Mitou, current clan head of the Hojo clan in place of my late husband Burosuke.”
“Right, Mitou, would you call yourself an alcohol connoisseur at all?” Jin asked with a smile as he filled one of the empty tea cups on the table a quarter of the way with the wine and pushed it to Mitou.
“I would not go so far as that but I do indeed enjoy a sip from time to time, yourself?”
“I like the smell and taste, but I can’t get drunk, my body automatically sorts all toxins which can be considered dangerous from my blood stream.” Jin shrugged with a frown.
“I see, you truly are perfection.” Mitou smiled as she took a sip from the liquid.
“!”
Her eyes widened as she tasted the wine, as sweet as honey yet thin as water with the smell of sweet roses filing her nostrils. “Splending!” She gasped, holding her hand over her mouth.
“Pretty good huh?” Jin laughed, taking a sip from the cup he’d filled for himself.
“Yes, quite so! Would you mind if Asara tired some? Believe it or not he is much like yourself, a wine connoisseur.”
“Ah my bad, of course.” Jin nodded. Without even looking at the man he released his aura.
Asara grunting as he pushed himself up off the floor flicked his eyes to Jin but he only met the glare of his grandmother who wagged her finger pointing to the seat next to her at the table.
With grinding teeth masked by a smile and his hands folded together in his Kimono sleeves, Asara took a seat across from Jin. The blood from his nose being wiped by Mitou with a handkerchief like a mother would her child's face after finishing their meal.
Jin pushed towards Asara a third tea cup, a quarter of the way filled with the same wine. “Have at it.” He said.
With a frown Asara pulled his left hand from his Kimono's sleeve and reached for the cup, his pale skin and veiny long fingers grasping the dark brown cup and bringing the liquid to his lips. His nose wrinkled at the stench and he took a sip, the foul liquid burning his throat as it went down he held back a gag as he set it down before him. “Splended.” He smiled warmly.
“Indeed it is.” Jin chuckled to which Mitou joined with. “But enough about wine, I did come for a nice family reunion but that wasn’t the only reason. We do have some business, correct?” He asked, pulling the glasses from his face he tucked them carefully into his blazers pocket. His blood red iris started into the very soul of Mitou whose face soured somewhat.
“Correct, we do have business.” Mitou nodded, clearing her throat. “The terms of the pact between the Hojo clan and the Venator Society as represented by Sarumalder Kanashi have been fulfilled. The Soutou clan head Soutou Raizen has abdicated his crown and surrendered it to his son Soutou Sosuke.”
“Sounds about right.” Jin sighed with a frown, blowing air from his nose. “I must also thank you for taking care of Kanashi in our place, I know he can be quite the handful at times so I hope you treated him well.”
“!”
Before Mitou could speak she felt Jin's aura press down upon her and the air tightened. It was as if the maw of a tiger was encased around her neck ready to snap closed at any moment she poured sweat and began to breathe heavily.
“There may have been some unfortunate moments but I do believe that I did all in my power to aid Sarumalder Kanashi in our mutual agreement!” Mitou coughed out with a whimper.
“How does that one saying go? You can take the man out of politics but never the politics out of the man? Or in this case the scum out of an old woman.”
“I truly am apologetic for any negative impact the Hojo- No I have caused upon the Venator Society and your chosen representative!" She cried out.
“Well if that’s the case I guess I can’t be too mad now can I~? Jin asked with a smile as he poured more wine into Mitou's cup. The aura around her lessened enough to breathe once more.
“Vhoom!”
Suddenly the hallway's Shoji door slid open and inside of the doorway appeared two girls who looked to be around the same age as Kanashi. Both nearly identical in appearance the only difference being one's expression was form more innocent with bright round eyes and the other girls eyes narrowed with a sense of tiredness in them, her lips drawn into a thin frown as she peeked into the room.
“LEAVE NOW!” Mitou screamed at the two girls, spinning around and throwing the cup of wine at them.
“No, no it’s okay.” Jin interrupted, lifting his index finger and as if casting out an ethereal hand he caught the cup mid air along with the liquid, the splash of wine midair being balled up into a sphere and poured back into the cup which returned before the speechless Mitou.
“I’ve heard much about you Mimiko and Sumika, why don’t you come take a seat next to me?” Jin asked with a warm smile as he patted the space next to him at the table.
The girls hesitated but Mitou with her eyes in a scowl flicked her head at them and then to Jin, the two girls quickly shutting the Shoji door behind them with a bow and scurrying next to Jin, Sitting down in a perfect Seiza.
“You can sit normally.” Jin said, pointing down to his own crossed legs. Once again the girls looked to Mitou who while grinding her teeth nodded her head, the act seeming painful.
“I know it’s proper and all.” Jin began pointing to his legs. “But it’s actually really bad for your health! It can weaken your knees!” He said as if it was something to be surprised about.
“I didn’t know that!” Mimiko said with a bright smile as he nodded her head.
“Mimiko…” Sumika muttered rubbing her sister's arm anxiously as he stared at the scowling Mitou.
“Well… this has been a nice reunion and all, but I still have some stuff to do in Edoland before the day ends so let’s start to get to the main point here.” Jin said, raising up from his seat and calling his hands with a sound that shattered the sound barrier.
“Of course.” Mitou smiled, her expression once more tranquil she gracefully stood up and motioned for Asara to do the same which he did with a scowl, his teeth snarled.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I wish Kanashi didn’t go around throwing Blood Pacts down so easily but I guess that’s what I get for teaching him about them huh? Not to mention it is the best way to make sure people are held to their word.” Jin said.
“Yes it is.” Mitou agreed with a nod. “Do you have something for me to form the pact with?” She asked with a slight bow.
“Of course.” Jin smiled, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small military grade switch blade which he threw to Mitou who caught it carefully. “And you should be able to handle it yourself right?” Jin asked Asara who raised his brow.
“I am not the current clan head,” he explained bitterly.
“And I’m not an idiot, the old woman might be the current clan head but she’s no more than a babysitter until you come of age. The blood of the Hojo does not run through her veins hence the contract can be out maneuvered if done so carefully by having her eliminated and not passing the blood pact onto you.”
“W-we would never try such a thing Jin!” Mitou bowed worriedly, her grit teeth hidden behind a thin lipped smile.
“If I believed everyone who said that I don’t think I’d be here right now. This isn’t a negotiation, it's a demand, you're signing it too Asara.”
“If it must be done.” Asara growled to Mitou’s horror, however it’s not like she could reject the notion. She could only scold him later. Using his long thumb nail Asara cleanly sliced open the tip of his index finger, bright red glistening blood dripping from the cut.
Jin looked to Mitou who did the same, her thin and wrinkled hands using the provided to cut open her finger tip. Old dark red blood nearly black in color seeping out. “This will take weeks to heal…” She frowned.
“I’ll heal you after, don't worry about it.” Jin laughed weakly. Swiping his thumb with his middle finger nail he too sliced open his fingers tip and presented it forwards to Mitou who in turn followed suit. The two pressing their finger tips together the blood congealed.
“Through this Blood Vow I enact an eternal and everlasting partnership between the Venator Society and Hojo Clan of Edoland, until death do us part this bond will be upheld with the Hojo assisting in any way requested by the Venator Society.” Jin said aloud.
“...” Mitou hesitated, her lips quivering but with a small sigh she shook her head. “I consent."
“!”
With that it was like a dagger had been stabbed into Mitou's heart, not the pain of the action but the sudden jolt, her very soul marked as proof of the vow. Whichever side broke it would surely face a punishment worse than death.
“You’re next.” Jin said, turning to Asara.
“I’m surprised your blood isn’t gold.” Asara scoffed following suit with his grandmother. Jin recited his previous agreement and Asara accepted it. His heart jolted as the pact was carved deeply into his very soul.
“Now that we’re done with that~” Jin hummed, healing his finger tip, a bit of steam coming from it as a chunk of skin slid off like a lizard's shed would to reveal no sign of the previous wound. “I think it's time for me to take my leave.” He nodded.
“Ha-” Both Asara and Mitou sighed in relief, however such an emotion was quickly dashed.
“Oh before I forget, Asara I’m gonna need you to come with me for a favor.” Jin said, snapping his finger suddenly.
“I will do no such thing!” Asara hissed.
“Do as he says, Asara.” Mitou growled looking at her grandson who snarled under this breath. “I hope you’ll treat him well and have him return before night falls?” She asked Jin.
“Yeah sure, of course. I only need a quick favor from him. He'll be back in tip top shake in no time.” He nodded. “Oh and one more thing! Ha good thing I didn’t forget this one, Mimiko, Sumika you’re coming with me I own you now.”
“!”
Mitou’s serene expression quickly changed to that of unholy rage, her face contorting with wrinkles and eyes widening with veins bursting across the white sclera. “You shall do no such thing Jinen Lutece! I have put up with your mockery until now. I will not let you disgrace my clan by taking what you please. You have no power here, you’re nothing more than a respected relic no more notable than a painting on my wall!” She screamed.
“I have no power?” Jinen repeated with a smirk. “Then try to stop me.” He laughed aloud, an obnoxious cackle with spit flying from his open maw. Then suddenly his blood red eyed flicked downwards staring at Mitou, staring into her very soul. “It would take me but 30 seconds.” He began. “To eliminate every single member of this clan, man, woman and child there would be not a single trace of your blood line left except that which flows within him. In that scenario I guess I would be the one with all the power huh?” He asked with a huff. “Oh come on, it's a joke, I’m not that evil.” Jin frowned as Mitou's bottom lip trembled.
Though her heart still boiled in rage, she bit her tongue, her eyes glaring at Jin with enough heat to burn him to ashes if it became tangible.
“I don’t care about the girls, they’re nothing more than unwanted pets as far as I’m concerned.” Asara interrupted with his arms crossed. “I care more about what your plan for me is.”
“But would that ruin the surprise?” Jin asked, turning his head to Asara with a frown. “That’s the fun of it all you know.”
“I have no time for your games, Lutece!” Asara retorted with a snort.
“Tch, fine if you really wanna know that bad we’re gonna stop by the Soutou and Sosaki. Like I said, I have other chores to do today and I wanna wrap this one up quickly.”
“Then what do you need me for? Could you not just act a fool for them like you have here?” Asara laughed.
“Jeez, talk about rude.” Jin sighed. “But no I can’t do that. This only worked here because it was previously set up. The Soutou and Sosaki have no reason to accept my visit.”
“It’s not like you gave us the chance to decline your entrance now did you?”
“It was a surprise visit.” Jin muttered as if his feelings were hurt. “Besdies you’re their friend right so I’m gonna use you as leavere. So stop complaining and go get ready to meet me by the front gate.” He said waving Asara off. “And now for you two girls.” He said turning to Mimiko and Sumika with a warm smile as they slunk down worriedly. “Go get your stuff quickly and meet by the front gate too, you’re gonna have to see this place again.”
# # #
As Jin walked under the thick foliage growing from dark green trees the leaves crunched loudly under his foot.
“Haven’t touched the floor in decades, ha people really go fall for whatever I say don’t they?” He asked with a snort. Upon first entering the estate he saw someone of interest with this [Pure Eyes] , someone tucked away in the far back corner of the estate, someone of apparent high magical skill and strength.
After walking through the foliage some ways further following the old beaten path he was led out of the small forest and into an empty clearing. What stood inside the middle of the modest clearing being a single rather crudely built shack. The hole filled and nearly rotten dark wooden walls held up by the Sashimono wood joining technique. The roof of the shack if you so wished to call it that being a barley standing tin sheet stained brown and green from years of weathering. Hanging from the walls and roof were vines, spider webs and a single window built into the wall covered by dusty and dirt making it impossible to see through.
“Talk about low budget.” Jin muttered as he put his hands in his pocket and walked up to the shack's front door, or rather the lack there of, the shack in total stood around 9 square meters in total making it the size of a small bedroom. “I’d knock but there doesn’t seem to be a door.” Jin joked aloud as he entered.
“You could have still knocked on the exterior walls.” The man inside the shed retorted with a sigh as he turned around. He was of slightly above average height yet shorter than Jin. The top of his head was a mop of white hair which nearly covered his soft green half open tired eyes. His face and jaw covered in stubble as he’d forgotten to shave for some time he wore a half open, ripped and stained Kimono with baggy harem pants and short wooden geta. While not muscular per say he was surely not sickly thin either. A nice amount of meat on his bones with subtle muscle indentation, with only some minor exercise he would surely become well built. In total he looked no more than a few years younger than Jin, perhaps 29 at the youngest.
The shack's interior was no less messy than what the exterior would make you believe. Jumbled shelves and tables full of electronics old and new, small animals and insects in cages, some with bandages and others pickled. Books of all kinds and ages sat not on the book shelf but instead open on the floor and tables. Said book shelf overflowing with random assortments of small items like a rats nest. The single tin legged twin sized cot with white sheets stained yellow by dust in the corner was also covered by many wiring and electronics or books.
“I hope you have something important for me to hear, otherwise you’ll have interrupted my work for no reason.” The man said.
“Of course I have something important to say, I don’t speak unless I do.” Jin grinned to which the man frowned deeply. “But first let me introduce myself, I’m Jinen Lutece, descendant of Sageru Lutece and Alpha Division captain of the Venator Society." Jin said with a light bow hand over heart.
“Hojo Urausuke.” The man sighed, wiping oil from his hands with an already oil covered rag.” What does one like yourself have business with here? Surely not a family reunion after nearly a millenia.”
“...” Jin's face twisted as if he’d eaten something sour as a single bead of sweat dripped
from his brow. “Funny story…” He muttered under his breath.
“Well it doesn’t matter anyways, hello Sageru-Sama it’s been a pleasure to meet you but leave me to continue my work.” Urausuke said, turning around without offering a rebuttal and beginning to tinker with his machinery again.
“Wait, I’m not done talking yet!” Jin argued with a huff. “I didn’t just come here to say hello, ya know. Why is someone like yourself here in this shed and not somewhere more… dignified?”
“Dignified?” Urausuke asked, his back still facing Jin as he twisted the screw driver in his hand with a series of clanks.
“I’m not sure what all of this is, but I can tell by your aura control you’re no slouche, compared to that Asara brat you’re mount Atlas.”
“...”
“So why don’t you come with me, Urauske? I’m missing a rear captain right now and the moment and you’d fill that spot perfectly. I mean think of all the benefits, a pension large enough for your great grand kids to never have to lift a finger, unlimited and immediate medical care from the best doctors in the world, you’ll have your own lab decked out with everything you’d ever need and it would be the size of a house. You’d have a budget you could never dream of being able to spend all of. It’s not a bad offer, you know.” Jin said with a smile and hands on his hips.
“While I appreciate the offer I’ll have to decline, why would I work for someone else? Why force myself to meet their deadlines and expectations? While you might see this and think of it as undignified, I have an unlimited budget and no one except myself to answer to. I can work away here until I come up with my magnum opus.”
“Magnum Opus?” Jin asked. “Dont people normally start small and work their way up?”
“I refuse to do so, I will only present myself to the world when I’ve completed my magnum opus, to do anything else would be to fail and if I fail I don’t see myself ever being able to get back up. My pride is too strong for that kind of embarrassment." Urausuke answered with a mutter. Placing his screwdriver down he took a step back from the machine he was working on, one which revealed itself to be a VHS player which he placed his hand atop.
“!”
With a sudden jolt the VHS player roared to life flashing a number of colors until suddenly it began to rattle and smoke came from its exhaust fan, the tape inside its receiver spewing out dark black film into a bundle.
“Another failure.” Urausuke growled, pulling the machine's cable from the outlet and grabbing the screw driver once more.
“Mind if I ask what you’re up to?”
“If I answer, will you leave me be?”
“Hmmm, sure why not.” Jin shrugged fingers crossed behind his back.
“I’m attempting to turn a VHS player into a holographic display nut, though the rune system I’m using doesn’t seem to be able to connect enough Kami.” Urasuke explained.
“You’re using Runes?” Jin asked, surprised.
“Of course I am, how could one do this without them? Runes are to magic what script is to software, by layering them atop one another in many patterns and formulates you can do things known impossible.”
“Well of course I know that.” Jin muttered with a pout. “But how do you know how to use runes? That’s a pretty serious art right there.”
Urausuke sighed and stood up, walking over to his bed he lifted a humungous book with softened bamboo as the cover and cords of sewn and spun silk used as the spine. The pages, each thick and made of layer rice paper.
Jin took the book from Urausuke's hand with a bit of a struggle and flipped it open, the pages unfolding like an accordion. Each part of the paper covered in runes, translations in ancient Edogo as well as models and examples.
“Amazing, I didn’t think there were many of these left.” Jin said. “Let alone someone who could read it.”
“Who do you think is responsible for maintaining the barrier?” Urausuke asked, snatching the book from Jin and putting it back onto his book shelf, pushing various glass vials onto the floor to make room for it. Said vials shattering into shards of glass. “Now will you leave me be?” He asked with a hiss.
“All right, fine, fine. A deals a deal. But I’ll leave this here for you.” Jin said, pulling a small business card from his pocket. Bone white in color with black Silian Rail font. He passed it to Urausuke who took it gracefully before looking it over.
“Impressive, very nice.” He muttered, folding the card and tucking it into his Kimono’s garb before turning back to his VHS contraption.
“If you ever want something more in life, don’t hesitate to call me. You could go a long way in the Venator Society Hojo Urausuke.” Jin said as he began to exit the shed.
“...” Urauasuke offered no response, only continuing to work on the contraption before him.
# # #
Mimiko and Sumika fidgeted nervously at the gate of the Hojo Clan estate. Never in their life had they left the estate nor did they think it would ever be possible to walk through that barrier. This was their home, their prison, their entire life spent here.
They were Genbito, they were not human, they were no more alive than a vacuum Mitou had told them. They had no mother, nor father nor family or history. They were grown in a lab and birthed from an artificial womb as adults with a fully developed brain. But they’d only lived five years, only experienced five years worth of time in that estate and the estate alone. To the average person they would look perhaps nineteen to twenty one years old, and while they could explain why the sky was blue and how convergent evolution worked they could explain it as if from a text book but neither could explain what it was like to have a crush, to go on a date, to have friends to family. They had no rights, no humanity.
The only one to treat them with some amount of respect in their lifetime beyond a wave of half hearted bow from a stranger was Sarumalder Kanashi. The mysterious foreign boy with a nasty scar across his face and pitch black right arm which contrasted heavily with his overall pale skin.
He was the only one who had treated them as if they were human, the only one to tell them then they were human, that they had a soul. They’d both thought of him often since he’d left the estate nearly two weeks prior. His proposal to run away from it all with him, to go to some foreign land and live a new life was like a dream come true. But did he truly mean that? Did he truly wish for them to be free or did he only want them for himself, his own purposes. To be his Genbito.
That was what they had used to rationalize their rejection. “We don’t know.” Mimiko said, and the expression which Kanashi made at those words, the way his desperate smile turned into a thin lipped grimace and his eyes blood shot from tears curved upwards. His nose wrinkled as he buried his hands into his knees.
Maybe he did mean good for them, maybe he was their only chance of escaping this prison, had they blown their only shot at freedom? That question soured their mind like fungi on a rotten log, spreading its spores until they felt like fools for not taking him up on his offer.
Then when they thought it was over, they’d blown the once change God have given them the God of man who they prayed to despite being Genbito and thought their life would continue on like this forever until their lives ended whenever that would happen either by old age or the hands of Mitou if they upset her too greatly… It happened.
He appeared, never in their life had they seen Hojo Mitou let alone Hojo Asara be forced to bow their heads low for another. They thought such a thing wasn’t possible. And to see that before their eyes filled them with a sick sense of joy, to seem them squirm and suffer was bliss. They wondered if they were just as bad as those two for feeling that way
Is that not the same joy Mitou felt when he locked them in the cellar with nothing more than well water and white rice, a deep underground chamber filled with spiders, rats and centipedes if they didn’t do as she had ordered exactly. Or when Asara would push them out of his way, force them to bow when he addressed them with his foot pressing on the back of their head? When either of them struck the girls across the cheek for back talking. Never once did they think that those two would be forced to drink their own poison. Yet He did it.
Jinen Lutece, the man Kanashi had spoken of. The moment they knew it was him they wanted to jump into his arms, to cry and ask to be saved and taken away. But would he do so?
So they had to do it, they leapt at the chance, opened the Shoji door ready to face the fire and fury of Mitou and it worked. From the moment Jin saw them he had a warm smile across his handsome face. His kind words, allowing them to sit as they please. It was if they were truly being saved from their suffering. Though the fear of being abandoned once again returned when
Jin had begun to leave. Would they be forgotten once more? Both of the twin sisters in that moment felt the urge to take a blade to their stomach and end their life then and there. They have been shown the pearly gates ages only to be teased and then ripped back down to hell.
“Oh and one more thing! Ha good thing I didn’t forget this one, Mimiko, Sumika you’re coming with me I own you now.” Jin has said, looking back to them. They nearly burst into tears upon hearing that. And when Mitou tried to reach for the two girls and drag them back into her grasp he only further ripped them away, showing them their own mortality. Those two who thought they were above all others, that they were born better than everyone below them as mere pawns to their will. Only when someone with an even greater sense of self, someone who was truly born as the one above all did both Mitou and Asura understand how weak and pathetic they truly were.
Following Jin's orders the two girls had run to their small living quarters, a room no greater in size than to allow two futons to be pressed against each other they had little belongings. Stuffing their bags with what little they had such as their clothes and few small trinkets the girls raced to the estate gate. They would not miss this chance, they would seize it this time, their freedom.
However when they saw Asara with his arms crossed and a sneer across his face glaring at them before the gate they felt their stomachs drop, would Asara try in some way to prevent their exit? Would he make them vanish before Jinen could arrive? Thankfully their anxiety was eased when Jinen Lutece appeared suddenly beside them.
“You guys really don’t have much do you?” He asked with a frown looking at their bags.
“Just clothes and a few odd things…” He muttered.
“W-we do not Jinen-Sama.” Sumika nodded nervously to her new master, Jinen. She was so obsessed with the idea of leaving the estate she had forgotten that she was not yet truly free, she had a new master, Jinen Lutece. Her stomach turned to knots as she thought of that, would she only be leaving one cage to enter another? Surely not, surely Kanashi would allow no such thing. But Kanashi had planned to leave Edoland did he not? Would he still be here in Edoland or is he living his new life somewhere in the world far away from anyone he had known before.
“How do you know what’s inside of our bags?” Mimoko asked, tilting her head.
“Mimiko! Use honorifics when talking to him!” Sumika hissed, nudging her with her elbow.
“It’s fine Sumika, no need for anything like that, you can both just call me Jin.” Jin laughed. “And I can see because of these things.” He said pointing to his eyes which he lifted up his sun glasses to expose. Blood red iris with two pupils merged into one his eyes were truly scary to gaze upon. However his face still had a sense of kindness to it despite that. Putting his glasses back over his eyes he cleared his throat. “With these things I can see a lot of things, I can see in the dark, I can see heat signatures and infrared, I can even see through solid things like an Xray. When I was little it was frustrating, I couldn’t see the face of my own parents, only their skulls and organs…” Jin trailed off at the end as he saw both Mimiko and Sumika trying to hide themselves with their hands around their sensitive areas.
“You don’t have to worry about that…” He said with a strained smile. “I know how to control it better now that I’m older. Besides it’s not like I haven’t seen it all before…” He muttered under his breath which earned him a slap on the back from both Mimiko and Sumika. “I’m sorry alright I swear your privacy has been respected!” He frowned softly rubbing his back where he’d been hit.
“Are you done playing or do you intend to make me wait longer?” Asara yelled out as the three approached him.
“Stop complaining brat, I’m ready when I’m ready.” Jin said with a huff, stopping just before the barriers gate and turning to look directly at Mimiko and Sumika. The two girls stared at him with wide eyes full of hope but also tinged with a bit of fear and anxiety. “I know I said I own you guys now but… that ends the moment I step out of this gate, as soon as we leave this estate you guys are free to do whatever you want.” He said.
“!”
Not only did Mimiko and Sumika nearly choke from the shock but Asara's own face contorted in pure confusion and then anger.
“What is the meaning of this! Do you not understand their worth!? A single one of them costs $200,000 to let them go free would be akin to burning money!” He hissed.
“I have more than enough money to burn already.” Jin shrugged, ignoring Asara and keeping his focus on the two girls. “You can go off now and do whatever you want to try to find a new life out there… but I know you’re smart enough to see how that’s not gonna be possible. With the way the world is now you don’t have anything to your name, not even basic human rights. No I.D. no Social Security or birth certificate, as far as the government of Edoland is concerned you’re akin to a dog or cat… but if you want to have a better shot at life then join the Venator Society. I’m sure we can find you a nice job doing some filing or data inputting. You’ll have your own apartment, food on your plates 3 times a day and as many pairs of clothes as you want. How does that sound?”
The two girls stared at him with wide eyes, noses turning red as snot began to drip from their eyes and grew wet with big hot tears.
“D-dont cry on me I didn't think it was that bad of an offer!” Jin yelped as tears began to stream down the girl's cheeks.
“W-were not crying because of being sad you fool.” Sumika muttered, wiping her eyes.
“We're just so happy!” Mimiko yelled, jumping into Jin and wrapping her arms around her sobbing into his suit.
“This is the 2nd time I've been cried on today.” he signed.
“Are we done now?” Asara asked aloud, tapping his foot on the ground loudly.
“I think so, aren’t we girls?” Jin asked, gently pulling Mimiko off of himself and putting her next to Sumika.
“Un!” Both girls nodded with wide smiles.
“That’s how I like to hear it! Then let’s go on into your new life of freedom!” Jin laughed as he let the two girls pass through the gate before him and Asara.
