#HES SPENDING IT WITH HIS BROTHER READING YOUKAI STORIES TO HIM!!!

[haunted-xander]

Ah yes, the Eleventh Fatui Habinger, Mr. Cyclops

[boycottyashahime]

Hello! Anti-Sessrin person here. You said if this couple becomes canon it will ruin Sesshomaru's character development. I would love it If you could elaborate on that because you're always so eloquent and smart. It's ok if you don't feel like it, though. Have a nice day!

I've actually been looking for an excuse to sit down and write out a cohesive post on my thoughts about this. Contrary to what the shippers want to believe, my interpretation of Sesshoumaru and Rin's relationship doesn't have anything to do with my moral objections to child grooming. I happen to think there's plenty of evidence for a filial interpretation in the text.

First, I'd like to preface my little essay here by saying I'm going off the manga alone. I haven't seen the anime in a long time, because I dropped it when I got a little tired of trying to reconcile the inconsistencies between the two mediums. So, if you read this and have an impulse to say, "hey, what about that thing in episode such-and-such...", keep in mind that I probably just don't remember what you're thinking of.

So, let's go back, alllll the way back, to Sesshoumaru's first appearance. Here's a guy who tears off a dude's head for no other reason than to get the attention of his subordinates to demand a boat. Here's a guy who's spent a long time looking just about EVERYWHERE for his father's remains, not to pay respects, but to plunder them. Here's a guy who feels ENTITLED to rob his dad's grave for treasure he deserves simply for being his father's son.

Sesshoumaru begins his journey as a selfish, spoiled, entitled brat. He doesn't fit the usual profile of a kid throwing a tantrum on the street because he wants the expensive toy sitting in the window; he's very posh and very reserved, but fundamentally, his motivation comes down to the simple fact that he wants Tessaiga. It doesn't even really have anything to do with respect and admiration of his father, otherwise he wouldn't have been so eager to rifle through dear old dad's bones to get at a sword when he had another heirloom right there at his hip. Only Tessaiga was representative of the sheer destructive force he wanted to wield, so he ignored the fact that his dad didn't seem to want him to have it.

This is important, because at first, Sesshoumaru doesn't seem to think of his father in terms of the guy's intentions or the steps he takes for the sake of his sons. Like most rich spoiled kids, Sesshoumaru views the Inu no Taishou in terms of his prestige and how that priviledge can be appropriated for selfish ends. Sesshoumaru wants Tessaiga not because he needs it, but because it's a birthright, and reinforces his legitimacy. When it's clear that Tessaiga seals Inuyasha's youkai blood, keeps him from going berserk, Sesshoumaru loses interest in Tessaiga - it's just a crutch for Inuyasha, and there's no prestige in taking it from him or using it for himself.

Sesshoumaru doesn't start to REALLY consider his father's intentions for the swords until later in the manga, when it comes out that Tenseiga was originally part of Tessaiga, and Inuyasha was meant to get the Meidou Zangetsuha attack eventually as well. It's at this point that Sesshoumaru starts to question if daddy actually HATED him, to give him a rather neat power disguised in a lame shell, but only to develop it so Inuyasha can have it instead, even after Inuyasha already got Tessaiga in the first place. It kind of looks to Sesshoumaru that Inuyasha gets all the powerful cool shit their father left behind, and that there might have been some favoritism coming down HARD on Inuyasha's side.

Above, you can see Sesshoumaru has two interlinked but distinct issues that are addressed throughout the story - his lack of compassion and empathy, and how tied his identity is to his father's favor and prestige. These two are somewhat separated in the narrative; there's a kind of pause in Sesshoumaru's development while a bulk of the middle of the story deals more with other characters and their development, but there is a little bit of a thematic connection between the two halves.

We'll start with the development of Sesshoumaru's compassion since, well, that's where the story begins working on his character. Right before Rin shows up, Toutousai let's Inuyasha's group in on the sword Sesshoumaru carries around and what it does, indicating that Tenseiga requires a compassionate heart to function. A bit ham-handed, but RT isn't very subtle most of the time, so we'll allow it. This sets up the next few scenes in which Sesshoumaru is unable to move and must play captive audience to a little girl doing the literal opposite of what he's used to. Sesshoumaru's habit is to show up and kill things, with no thought to the years of history, relationships, thoughts, emotions, etc that he's snuffing out. But while he's reclined injured in the woods, Rin demonstrates actual LIFE and the preservation of it, that part Sesshoumaru never gets to see. It's made all the starker by how BAD Rin is at caring for herself, let alone the strange monster she found in the woods. She does exactly nothing to help Sesshoumaru, despite how hard she tries, and is even injured by others in her attempts. She is the very picture of vulnerability, the opposite of the strong and capable Sesshoumaru.

This is a stark contrast, because anything less wouldn't be enough to create the necessary awareness of Rin's struggles that Sesshoumaru needs in order to use Tenseiga on here. And I know I've said this before, but I really cannot stress enough how obvious I think the symbolism is when Sesshoumaru uses Tenseiga for the first time; a phallic object gives life to a child, and the object's owner looks after that life throughout the rest of the story. He's not very good at looking after it, and it's clear that he's not sure about taking responsibility for Rin at first, because she pleaded for him to come back for her when he and Jaken left her behind to requisition a sword from Gaijinbou. To me, it's reminiscent of a teenager who knocked someone up, and ended up having to learn to give a crap about the result.

But, even if you don't accept that symbolism as particularly significant, Rin being a child, and human, and weak, unable to survive on her own, are important characteristics to how Sesshoumaru's compassion develops. Sesshoumaru is one of the strongest characters in the series, and he rarely has to worry about his own safety. And since he's in the habit of just murdering everyone he comes across if they're in his way, he's never had to worry about the safety of anyone else, either. When Rin comes into the picture, though, Sesshoumaru is faced with the uncomfortable reality of vulnerability in general. Through her earnest and incompetent attempts to foster survival in a world that can and does crush her, she's opened his eyes to how the disadvantaged, those without a powerful youkai lineage to rely on, have to struggle.

Rin herself has nothing to offer Sesshoumaru within this context of supreme vulnerability. She's not a friend, because she can't offer mutual support or use a skill to their benefit as a team. She's not a lover, because, well, she's a child and sexual/romantic attraction are conditions that wouldn't allow Sesshoumaru to extend his compassion beyond just her. As a mostly helpless kid, Rin has to rely upon Sesshoumaru and his power to survive, and Sesshoumaru employs his strength to keep her alive, getting nothing but a sweet smile out of it all. She gets all the benefits, he has all the obligations. This is PURE compassion - using one's advantages to another's benefit because you care about them, and not because you derive something from it as well.

This is why making Rin into Sesshoumaru's lover is a REALLY thoughtless take. It puts conditions on the compassion and muddies the message.

Moving onto Sesshoumaru's continued character development in the latter part of the story, the sword drama starts back up with slow, when Toutousai shows up and offers to reforge Tenseiga into a weapon. Sesshoumaru discovers that because he got angry enough to break his primary weapon in defense of Kagura's honor, he's triggered the next evolution of Tenseiga into something that can murder. Which is what he wanted at the beginning, yay! I want to point out here that Toutousai says Tenseiga noticed a change in Sesshoumaru's heart - anger for the first time for the sake of another. This implies that what Jaken said about Sesshoumaru getting tangled up in the fight against Naraku because Naraku kidnapping and using Rin to manipulate Sesshoumaru hurt Sesshoumaru's pride is actually accurate; he just really hated the thought of Naraku trying to use him, even if it was a failed attempt.

After going through HELL to develop the Meidou into a full circle (literally), Sesshoumaru then learns that the Meidou belongs to Tessaiga and Inuyasha, and that it's supposed to be handed over. Now, part of Sesshoumaru's angst over this idea, I think, is not just "did daddy love Inuyasha more?", but also the assumption that Inuyasha would have to KILL him in order to retake the Meidou Zangetsuha into Tessaiga. Thinking that your father meant for your little brother to kill you at some point to take your stuff is a pretty disturbing thought, to be entirely fair to him. This is why, when Sesshoumaru jumps into the meidou to take back control of the Naraku-possessed Tenseiga and breaks it deliberately, he spends the rest of the time in there moodily resigned to disappear. He genuinely believes that his father meant for him to die at this point, and even after they get out of there, he seems genuinely depressed.

This is Sesshoumaru's lowest point as a character. He's lost something he thought his father had meant for him, at his father's own wish, and he can't help but question why his dad would give him something just to take it away and give it to Inuyasha. It looks for all the world like favoritism, and since the Inu no Taishou is dead, there's no asking him what the hell the meaning of all this is.

This is all leading to one of the most infuriatingly ridiculous scenes I have ever seen in a manga - when Magatsuhi has crushed Sesshoumaru and everyone thinks he's been killed/absorbed, Magatsuhi is blown apart and rendered unable to reform by the shiny new sword clutched in Sesshoumaru's newly regrown arm. I could talk your ear off about how having Sesshoumaru stop being an amputee is erasure of consequences for his actions, or how being given back an arm is kind of a slap in the face for actual amputees, and where the mother f*ck did that sword come from anyway, but that's not what this essay is about, so I'll just keep all that to myself. The point of this is articulated by Toutousai when he says that Sesshoumaru had to let go of Tessaiga and his father's heirloom to stand on his own as a daiyoukai.

We've already gone over how Sesshoumaru is one of the most powerful characters in the series, who rarely has to worry about his well-being. He's just really strong without having to try. Sesshoumaru had already learned that he didn't need Tessaiga ages ago - he knew this when he learned that Inuyasha needed Tessaiga to keep from tearing himself apart eventually. But when he thought he had been passed down something from his father that was truly meant to be his, only to put all this work into it so that Inuyasha could have it, that embittered him again. It's not that he wanted the sword necessarily, but the thoughts and consideration of his father, who seemed to be putting everything he had into Inuyasha.

But his previous experiences protecting and considering someone (in some cases, multiple someones) weaker than him should have tipped him off. During the very battle in which he got his new arm and sword, he was actively helping those around him avoid Magatsuhi and keeping them close because he had a plan and the strength to carry it out. He was willing to take the extra step to protect Inuyasha and friends before trying to take care of Magatsuhi though, and that was the point. He put everyone else's needs ahead of his own, even Inuyasha's, and he did it without even thinking.

Toutousai just articulated what Sesshoumaru should have already intuitively known by that point. He never needed his father's heirlooms, the swords, his dad's power. They were unnecessary for him from the start. Inuyasha needed a leg up, because his own BODY could kill him after a while. But Sesshoumaru always had the capability of being great on his own. He just needed to finally separate his ego from who his father was and become his own person; stand on his own as a great youkai. While I don't agree with the execution, I can get behind the big lesson - don't rely on your daddy's wealth and influence to prop you up, and do the work to build a personality and identity of your own.

Which is ANOTHER reason why making Rin into a lover would be a thoughtless take. It would walk back Sesshoumaru's final lesson about being his own person apart from his father.

So, there you go. A comprehensive post regarding my take on Sesshoumaru's character development. I could add in a bit about Sesshoumaru coming to understand his father's consideration and the lengths he went to for the sake of protecting Inuyasha by having to give similar consideration to Rin, but I think this post is long enough, and that one statement on that aspect pretty much sums it up. Let me know if you would like me to elaborate on any of this, or if you would like to argue any of the points, I'm up for it. Might take me a minute to respond, mind you, but hopefully it won't take as long as it did to draft this behemoth.

Take care.

[mooifyourecows]

Short summary master post for the rest (without playlist) of the WIPs too moooo..........

lmao sure, here ya go

Muscle Memory: this is going to be one of my cliche stories. Daichi is in an accident and gets amnesia. He doesn’t remember anything about himself or his life as a college student, but when he comes back to his dorm, he catches sight of Suga in the hallway and thinks, “Ah... there he is.” He doesn’t know his name or anything about him, but the instant he sees him, he feels relieved. So he approaches him and asks what their relationship was, wonders if they had been friends. But Suga admits that they had never spoken a single word to each other before. Cue awkward pining and what not

chomps mcgee and his reluctant master: (TEMPORARY TITLE, DON’T JUDGE ME) this is a continuation of my DaiSuga Week 2017 Day 2 entry. Daichi can see youkai and accidentally forms a lifelink with powerful youkai Suga, binding them together as master and servant. they have to work together to figure out how to break the bond between them and in the process run into all sorts of wacky characters, including Oikawa, an exorcist in training and grandson of the exorcist who bound Suga to the statue from which Daichi freed him in the first place. Makki and Mattsun are his familiars who hinder more than help him in his exploits. Oikawa spends most of his time trying to exorcise Suga and fails hilariously, always at the expense of looking like an absolute idiot in front of Human Iwaizumi, what fun

flaps: (temporary title omg why don’t i have real titles for these stupid heads) “They say a kiss from a fairy grants you a wish.” Daichi goes on a fishing trip in the forest with Kiyoko, Tanaka, and Asahi, like he does every weekend, and winds up coming into contact with a mischievous crow. He garners its favor by feeding it beef jerky and for the following several weeks, the crow meets him the instant they show up in the forest to spend the entire fishing trip with them. Until one week when everyone is too busy and cancels. Daichi, not wanting to leave his new crow friend hanging, decides to do some camping on his own. In the middle of the night, he wakes up to a man leaning over him, who startles and transforms into a crow and flies away. Cue Suga being a fairy who Daichi winds up having to take home with him one day and he’s a fish out of water among humans and its cute and stupid

Highest Bidder: Suga offers himself (reluctantly) to be an item auctioned off to save the club at which he and his friends work. A mysterious, handsome stranger in sweatpants outbids everyone by ten grand and Suga ain’t complainin.

marry had a big daddy: (i have no explanation for this title pls move along) Suga’s rich grandma has died and left him everything. On one condition. He needs to get married in the next three months and Suga knows just who will be his husband. Daichi has been in love with Suga since they were kids so when he proposes, it’s an easy yes. Problem is, Suga’s family isn’t happy about being cut out of the will. They’ll stop at nothing to find a way to ruin it.

mentok the mindtaker: (shh) Suga reads minds. Daichi’s thoughts are endearingly hilarious. That’s it. That’s the fic.

reaperonis: Daichi is the Grim Reaper and his newest client just won’t stop begging for an extension on life.

Struck: Daichi is Cupid and his newest client keeps catching his arrows and sexually harassing him while he’s trying to work.

Bruh: Suga has an identical twin brother. The brother dies but everyone thinks it’s Suga and he’s not correcting them. Daichi, a local busker and only person able to always tell the two apart figures out the truth and now Suga’s gotta kill him. Just kidding. It is a dilemma though. I don’t know. This is a totally half assed idea, don’t ask me what’s going on because I have zero idea.

Dirty: When his foster brother, Keiji, falls in love with a weird owl lookin’ dude who lives in a van and runs away to be with him, Suga takes his place at the prestigious Miyagi Academy and gets moved in to the dorm. All he has to do is pretend to be Akaashi Keiji. Should be easy, right? Wrong. His new roommate, Sawamura Daichi, sees through his ruse immediately. On top of that, Daichi has a bad case of mysophobia and is not thrilled about having to share his safely clean and sanitized dorm room with a guy who grew up with five dirty foster brothers and thinks the five second rule is a sacred law upheld by the universe itself. In order for Daichi to not spill the beans about his actual identity, Suga needs to learn to be squeaky clean. And in order for Daichi to be able to do anything about the budding feelings he has for his new filthy roommate, he needs to learn to get dirty.

Welp, I think that’s all! Thanks for your time! I love you, bye

[akutagawaprize]

Youkai AU

After Harry Potter AU, Figure Skating AU and the April Fools Taishou Stray Dogs AU, you might be thinking "Not again" right? Hah, as if i can be stopped!

Now I bring a youkai AU!

Let me be clear that I am no expert when it comes to Japanese mythology; any erroneous information you may read was made for artistic liberty. I did my best to research, but in the end I cannot hide that my biggest influences were Nurarihyon no Mago, Noragami, xxxHolic, and Natsume Yuujinchou. Since I’ve also read Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, I may have also included elements that were directly taken from the stories in its pages.

Although the idea’s been stewing at the back of my head since forever, this post was written after being greatly inspired by this upcoming set of buraiha goods (1) (2). Now I'm not sure if they'll be selling other characters fitting in with this theme, but no matter what, I wanted a world where ADA will be mostly humans since major conflicts in these sorts of stories involve clashes between youkai and humans. Although at times, meddlesome gods step in~~

Unlike my other AUs which tried to keep Atsushi as the "hero" of the story, this time the main conflict centers around... Ranpo! Is it surprising? Believe me, even I was amused that this was where the direction went while I was brainstorming. I do think it's fitting though, as ADA was originally formed to give Ranpo a safe space to use his intellect as a means to help investigate criminal activities.

EDIT: Funny because after making this post, BONES posted this.

And with that, the characters!

Dazai Osamu

— A bandaged man traveling across the nation offering his services as an onmyouji. The truth is, he's half-human, half-youkai —the product of a raunchy one-night stand between a drunken Aomori official and a powerful youko on her way to becoming a Tenko. The Inari Kami who were waiting for the entry of another Tenko raged and forcibly took away the kitsune's hoshi no tama (a kitsune’s life force), draining her of her power and eventually her life. Their offspring would soon be raised by Mori, still a minor deity at the time. Despite not being a fullblooded youkai, Dazai can manifest up to 5 tails . He also has white fur, usually associated with a kitsune who achieved 8 to 9 tails. Dazai can not only drive out spirits and spiritual entities, he can also manifest in the dreams of others, take flight, become invisible and create illusions. He can blend in with humans even in daylight, although he cannot possess them. Under Mori he was a scary youkai who inspired awe and respect, but now he's just a freeloader in Ranpo's shrine, spending his days drinking sake and irritating Kunikida. Usually he is in control of his human appearance, but would sometimes expose himself especially when rattled by the presence of dogs.

Oda Sakunosuke — A half-human, half-youkai with doglike features. On certain days, at a certain mountaintop, he would drink sake and enjoy a feast with his good friends Dazai and Ango. Despite being an inugami, Oda never made Dazai feel threatened in his presence. And although not someone of influence or power, he was known throughout the Kansai region for being a kind youkai who wouldn’t senselessly kill even if his father used to be a feared dai-youkai. Oda loved humans and embraced both their good and bad natures, but this love would turn out to be the reason for his demise. He openly opposed children sacrifices, and thus earned the ire of a few gods. Mori, newly appointed as a god of death and disease, told Oda he would spare him his life if he would offer five orphan children to appease the offended gods. Oda refused and was consequently killed. Dazai would later realize that Mori planned everything to please the gods and secure his place.

Sakaguchi Ango — A half-human, half-youkai with raccoon-like features. On certain days, at a certain mountaintop, he would drink sake and enjoy a feast with his good friends Oda and Dazai.  Hailing from Shikoku, he journeyed to the mainland under the orders of a dai-youkai named Taneda. Like Oda, he is considered an oddball because he takes more interest in texts and records left behind by humans. As a bakedanuki, he can perform a heritage technique which stirs up leaves around the area, allowing him to trap opponents within a spiral of leaves. Although Ango himself is not aware of this, his reports to Shikoku allowed Mori the needed information to get rid of Oda. Because of this, his friendship with Dazai soured. Ango was last seen in the capital, accompanying a group of onmyouji.

Edogawa Ranpo — A survivor of the the Great Fire of Meireki. Not only was he left orphaned and without a home, he was also ostracized after revealing it was a well-known monk who accidentally started the fire by cremating an allegedly cursed kimono. He was accused of slander. Chased out by the angry Edo people, he ended up passing out in front of a run-down shrine for a local deity. As Ranpo's parents were the deity's fervent followers, the deity took him in. Bored of the world and wanting to live the rest of his days in peace and solitude, he passed on his divinity to Ranpo. As a new deity, Ranpo has much to learn. Because he is strongwilled and has no filter, he gets in trouble not only with youkai but also with his fellow deities. In addition, his scent is tempting to all sorts of supernatural creatures.Thankfully, he manages to form a household that will defend him and help him become the best deity he can be!

Fukuzawa Yukichi — A ronin who once took part in the Keian Uprising. He is a man concerned not only with the state of disgruntled samurai families he had once wished to champion, but also enlightenment, exercise of liberty, impartial justice, and the overall betterment of people's lives. Living as a ronin, he grew to become more and more jaded through the years. Upon meeting Ranpo and developing fatherly feelings towards this kid he viewed as similar to a newly-hatched duckling, he decided to be his protector, not knowing then that Ranpo was recently made a deity. Fukuzawa has no spiritual awareness, but he possesses a natural barrier that makes youkai and other supernatural creatures wary of him. His sword can cut through demons and even heavenly beings; Fukuzawa was previously unaware of this, saying he just found it at the shrine of the god of felines and fortune.

Nakajima Atsushi — An amnesiac foreign youkai Dazai claimed he found while he was trying to drown himself in the river. He is an interesting case; spirits and demons usually don't stray far away from their land of birth not only because it naturally weakens them, but also because land demons can't cross seas as they will only end up as prey for waiting ayakashi and underwater demons. However, Atsushi's weretiger form is still very much powerful and can rival even the most well-known cat/cat-like youkai of their land. Interested in Atsushi and wanting to raise him into becoming a proper youkai, Dazai decides to make the confused boy his apprentice. Can only transform into a full tiger when the moon's out. His favorite food is the chazuke served by the inn nearest to Ranpo's shrine.

Kunikida Doppo — A scholar deeply indebted to Fukuzawa. Not only is he well-educated, he also trains in martial arts and wants Fukuzawa to be his teacher when it comes to the way of the sword. Ranpo deduces he has talent when it comes to driving out spirits, so he was also forced to diligently train as an onmyouji under Dazai. Kunikida's preferred method of fighting supernatural entities are through the use of ofuda (paper talismans). He can use them for purification and to bind weaker youkai. Usually he carries blank papers and ink with him, which is a hassle but something he’s gotten used to. Though at first he was scared of the unknown, he's starting to become unfazed by all the unbelievable things that usually comes their way. He is friends with a man nicknamed "zashiki warashi" because said friend won't leave his home, as well as an actual zashiki warashi who wants to make him notice her. The one in charge of the household's expenses.

Yosano Akiko —Came from another province and has a somewhat infamous reputation in her hometown for beating up her would-be harassers to the point they had to lock themselves in jail to escape her. Her family are longtime friends of the Edogawas, so she rushed to check up on them as soon as she heard about the great fire in Edo. After learning about Ranpo's fate, she chose to stay and act as a priestess for his shrine. Although Yosano didn't mean for it to happen, she became endowed with mystical healing powers after being possessed by a lake demoness Dazai scorned. After getting used to her newfound ability, she would end up terrorizing the rest of the household by asking sweetly if they wanted to help her practice her healing. (Nobody ever volunteers.)

Tanizaki Junichirou — A cowardly young man who came to Ranpo's shrine asking for him to bless their home since he thinks there are malevolent spirits after his younger sister Naomi. What he doesn't want to admit to himself is that his sister Naomi is the spirit, as she died during the Great Fire of Meireki. Bursting with unusually high spiritual energy, Tanizaki wrecked havoc in his village to the point that Dazai had Atsushi transform to stop him. After accepting the reality of his sister's death and showing remorse for his actions, Tanizaki was ordered by Ranpo to join his household, taking in the roles of being the shrine groundskeeper and the deity's personal errandboy. 

Naomi — A beautiful girl who met an untimely death. Her brother's grief attracted evil forces to his side and almost turned the both of them into vengeful youkai. After her purification she was able to become a roaming spirit. As she is unable to cross to the land of the dead yet, she naturally chose to stick by her brother's side. Everyone can see Naomi but Fukuzawa.

Miyazawa Kenji — A young farmer boy from ◯ mountain. He possesses supernatural strength and an extremely suspect knowledge about youkai and how to ward them off. According to Dazai though, he is 100% human. He came down from ◯ mountain to give offerings to Ranpo's predecessor, but ended up taking residence near Ranpo's shrine to tend to a rice paddy which was the previous home of a hostile youkai. No one dares cross him when he's hungry.

Izumi Kyouka — Her mother was a yuki onna who was killed by a traveling onmyouji from the capital. Ozaki took her in and taught her to be distrustful of humans. Eventually, Kyouka became convinced that embracing her human side would only bring her suffering. After she got separated from Ozaki's demon parade, she got lost and was found by a bunch of bandits. Scared and remembering Ozaki's words, she killed everyone by freezing them to death. News about her spread and she was hunted, eventually being caught by Atsushi. He hid her in Ranpo's household and taught her that not all humans were bad. When Ozaki located her and tried to get her back, Kyouka said she wished to stay in the world of light. Has a black hole for a stomach, increasing Kunikida's worries about their household expenses.

Mori Ougai —  Started out as a minor deity of healing. During the Heian period, he managed to overthrow a major god by gaining a sizable following after saving the life of a man who would later become the head of the influential Minamoto clan. He's now a god of death and disease and is able to freely travel across the land of humans, the dwelling place of the gods, and the underworld. Hundreds of lesser demons are under his command. He took in Dazai some hundred years ago because he thought he could use him to gain access to the Scrolls of Heaven. Over time, he grew to fear that he will suffer the same fate as his predecessor and sought to drive Dazai out.

Elise — She takes on the appearance of a little girl, and is a mysterious being who originated from the West. No one knows how Mori came to be acquainted with her or why he decided to make her his familiar.

Ozaki Kouyou — A descendant of Kiyohime, she blinds men and youkai alike with her resplendent appearance, her ornate robes hiding her golden tail. It must be the curse of their line to fall in love with a human they cannot be with, as Ozaki's lover was killed in battle before they could run away south. Ozaki is one of Mori's more devout followers, and was disappointed when Kyouka chose to stay with Ranpo's household instead of returning back to her. She is in command of over a hundred oni and youkai.

Nakahara Chuuya — A kitsune who is only a few decades older than Dazai. Celebrated as the most beautiful kitsune born in the current millennium, he is fond of using his powers of flight and levitation to show off. Though not mischievous in nature as the other kitsune, sometimes he shapeshifts into either a beautiful man or woman to seduce powerful corrupt figures and punish unfaithful lovers. However, Chuuya is hotheaded and does not think things through, leading to Dazai fooling him into handing over his hoshi no tama. Before giving it back, Dazai extracted a promise from Chuuya that the latter will come to his aid whenever and whereever he called for him. As a result of this, he dreams of killing Dazai so he can finally be free of the promise. Another one of Mori's commanders, but more attached to Ozaki. Sometimes mistaken for a bakaneko.

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke —He was a sickly child whose body was used as a vessel to create an inugami. As such, he was raised in the family's storage room chest together with his sister. However, it turned out the family didn't follow the ritual and messed up, making the siblings unstable and feral. At first, they were only disobedient and would occasionally bite members of the family when hungry. But they turned more violent over the following weeks, with the head of the family deciding to put them down. The mix of hatred, pain and anger wrapped itself around Akutagawa and gave him immense spiritual power, allowing him to control a black beast he named Rashomon. Aktuagawa killed everyone in that family before being found by Dazai, who at that time was still under Mori. As a kitsune naturally hated the presence of dogs, he was extra harsh while training Akutagawa. After Dazai left Mori, Akutagawa rose up the ranks to make a name for himself. Since Akutagawa’s parents sold him and his sister for a bag of silver, he hates humans and thinks their greed knows no bounds.

Gin — Akutagawa's younger sister. She was a healthy child, but offered herself as a vessel because she couldn't stand seeing her brother suffer alone. Thanks to the incomplete ritual, she was left completely mute.

Hirotsu — A karasu tengu who valiantly guards Mori’s main temple. He once served the war god Mori sent to be permanently imprisoned in the underworld.

Higuchi Ichiyou — A miko who helps manage one of Mori's temples. A deep impression was left on her after witnessing Akutagawa make quick work of the demons who wanted to eat her.

Jiido — A fallen samurai who was betrayed by his own master. Because of his prowess in battle, he became an executioner for a circle of gods. Oda freed him from this miserable duty, although at the cost of his own life.

Notes:

— Dazai's backstory mostly takes inspiration from Abe no Seimei's.

— The setting is in Edo, during the Meireki Era. In a youkai AU, most people would want to place characters in the Heian Period, but I wanted this AU to be a little different.

—  "If you eat a god you can possess their divinity" is a famous saying amongst youkai, but this claim has yet to be proven. Gods and deities do smell wonderful for youkai though.

— Since I'm not gonna be writing this story anyway, I imagine Ranpo having to come to terms with the fact that his friends will grow old and eventually die. He'd be left behind again. And he can't do anything about it, as rejecting his divinity means he has to pass it down to someone else. His body has only started accepting the divine energy, so if it's removed before his body can properly adjust, he’d be destroyed from the inside out. Dazai guessed he'd need to wait at least 25 years before he could safely pass his divinity on. And so one of the other sideplots is finding the whereabouts of the local god who came before Ranpo.

—  Mori could have been a demon, but that would be expected so I made him a god. He'd just be as cunning and ruthless, but this time he'll also be more ambitious as he plans to unite Japan's youkai under him without the other gods taking notice. Ranpo's growing following grabs his attention and after learning that Dazai joined Ranpo's household... Well...

—  RIP Oda, but since there's a way to cross to the land of the dead, maybe Dazai can see him again...?

— Notables gods like Amaterasu, Izanagi, Izanami, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi do exist in this AU, but they're unconcerned with the squabbles of everyone else. Gods, humans, demons — it's all the same to beings as powerful as them. They all have access to the Scrolls of Heaven, something which Mori greatly desires.

— ...Akutagawa could have been a kappa.

[gastricpierrot]

Title: When Stars Align

Series: Daiya no Ace 

Pairing: KuraRyou 

Rating: T

Summary: Nothing good ever comes out of an intimate relationship between a human and a youkai, Ryousuke knows. He's heard more than enough stories on betrayal, on disasters, on families being shunned. And being an onmyouji, he knows better than anyone else. 

And yet, he lets himself fall.

Warning: historical inaccuracy, i have no idea what am i doing

Also available on AO3

[Ch.1]

Ryousuke didn't become an onmyouji for the glory or anything.

There’s not much glory left for him to have, really. Ever since Abe no Seimei's death some sixty years ago, immersion into the Onmyou arts have been losing popularity. The number of people who are born with the ability to see spirits dwindled. Not many had the interests to learn the skills to read stars and constellations or how to predict future events, choosing to delve into the rapidly growing world of trade instead. Even less wanted to memorize the numerous sutras and the events for which each is required.

No, Ryousuke became an onmyouji out of pure spite.

Not exactly the noblest reason, he knows, but it didn't stop him from working so hard at it that he eventually became one of the best of his time—perhaps even in history, he’s told. He only had too much suppressed bitterness and tenacity to spare, after all. He decided long ago that he might as well put them to use somewhere so he could have the final laugh at the faces of every person who looked down at him and said he couldn’t.

"Make sure the talismans are always intact; even a small tear on the spell can break the barrier," he explains to his client, gesturing at the nearest slip of enchanted paper pasted securely on a sliding door. "It should last a year otherwise, long enough for the youkai to lose interest. Send someone straight for me immediately if you sense anything wrong during or after this time frame."

"Oh, you have our utmost gratitude, Ryousuke-sama!" the nobleman exclaims, wiping sweat off his brow with a dainty handkerchief. He then wrings his hands, his gaze flitting about with nervous energy as though he expects another youkai to appear right in front of his eyes. "It terrifies us to think what could've happened to precious child if you weren't here."

Then don't think about it, Ryousuke retorts internally, his demure smile not wavering even by a fraction. He humours the man the whole way to the exit of the property, feigning impression when he claims his child must have a lot of spiritual energy, to be targeted by youkai so often even though Ryousuke himself knows better than anyone there's no such thing. Aristocrats like him are the ones who can afford paying him higher sums of money, and he has a younger brother to feed besides himself. He's willing put his pride aside and humour a rich man’s ego if that's what it takes to get on their good side and ensure a slightly larger income than his usual.

Ryousuke doesn't allow the tired exhale from making an appearance until he's pocketed the three gold pieces and moved three streets away into an empty lane. He's been out and about almost the entire day, spending his morning at the Onmyou institute coaching the handful of students he has and his afternoon tending to clients. He turns toward the direction of the setting sun, trying to gauge the time. He's finished all his tasks for now; all he has left is a routine visit to the mountain later that night. He turns a corner, and heads home.

He's greeted by his younger brother shortly after he removes his sandals at the entryway and puts them aside. Ryousuke's chest fills with a certain warmth as it tends to when it comes to Haruichi.

"You seem free. Shouldn't you be practicing your divination around this time?" He isn't about to let Haruichi notice any of that softness, though.

Haruichi flushes slightly as if he's been called out, though Ryousuke actually doesn't think he's slacked off for even a second. "I was expecting you to be back soon, so I took a break to make us dinner."

"Hmm, is that so." Ryousuke smiles a little wider when Haruichi's blush intensifies. It's always fun teasing him.

"We need to eat," Haruichi bravely manages, then almost indignantly, he adds, "and it's not like you can cook, Aniki."

"Fair point," Ryousuke concedes, stepping inside and making his way into the lounge together with his brother. "Will Eijun be joining us?"

Ryousuke secretly hopes not. Eijun can be obnoxiously loud and no matter how much Ryousuke loves Haruichi he has a limit to how much he can bear on occassion.

"He won't," Haruichi confirms and Ryousuke decides the day is being kind to him. "He said 'onii-san looked like he's about to exorcise me the last time,' so he decided he'll stay away for a bit when you're around."

Ryousuke raises his eyebrows. "Didn't know he could be so observant," he says, to which Haruichi responds with a protest of "Aniki!" in his friend's defence. Ryousuke chuckles, otherwise making no further comments.

They always had dinner together, no matter how busy it got. It's usually just the two of them, but sometimes Haruichi's best friend since childhood, Eijun, would join in and liven the entire house with his ceaseless yelling that even Haruichi found overbearing at times. Ryousuke would've liked the boy a little more if he could just learn to control the volume of his voice, but after all these years of convincing himself that it's for Haruichi's happiness, he'd developed an impressive level of tolerance towards him (and almost everything in general, frankly—he has Eijun to thank for that). Haruichi had always been soft-spoken and a little shy, and several months of observation had led Ryousuke to believe that being with Eijun would do him good. Eijun probably doesn’t notice it himself, but there’s something about him that brings out a firmer, stronger side of Haruichi. Ryousuke would never say it out loud, but he’s grateful for all Eijun has done for his younger brother’s growth.

"How was work today?" Haruichi eventually asks midway through dinner, between bites of tofu. His gaze is steady, his amber eyes expectant. He’s always thought of being an onmyouji as a honourable profession no matter how Ryousuke tries to convince him otherwise. It only occurred to him a few years back that perhaps Haruichi thought so because Ryousuke himself is one. He always did idolize him to a borderline unhealthy extent, always trying to follow whatever he does.

Ryousuke takes his time answering, savouring the taste of Haruichi's cooking before he bothers to speak. "It's the usual. There's going to be a drought in five days’ time, one of the Imperial Princes might die soon, another noble thinks too highly of his child when it's really his own actions that caused the haunting."

He says it all with barely a hint of emotion, merely stating facts as they are. Haruichi's expression changes from excitement to thoughtfulness for a moment, his hand lowering his chopsticks by their own.

"I thought the drought would come in six days," he mumbles, almost hesitantly. Ryousuke tilts his head slightly to the side.

"We should warn the village to prepare for both, then," he says in all seriousness. "After all, your predictions have been more accurate lately, Haruichi."

"R-Really?" Haruichi perks up, his cheeks pink from the compliment. Ryousuke can't help but smile, fond albeit lopsided.

"You mean you don't realize it yourself?" he asks, to which Haruichi only responds with a sheepish laugh.

"I still get them wrong often, so not really." And because your criticism still harsh as ever, he doesn't say. Ryousuke still notices the undertone nonetheless. He's aware of how hard he is on his younger brother. Part of his intention has always been to teach him to be tougher; both against aggression and in the face of challenges. Haruichi may still be meek now, but Ryousuke's proud of how determined he can be when he sets his mind to achieve something, and also how Haruichi has learnt to rip people apart with his sweetly voiced words alone if the need arises.

That, and Ryousuke's always harsh on him because he has talent; possibly much more than his own. If Haruichi is to pursue mastering the Onmyou arts, he would no doubt surpass Ryousuke in no time. He's yet to express such a wish though, presently only practicing as a passionate hobby.

Ryousuke truly hopes it’ll stay that way.

"I'll have to visit the mountains again tonight," Ryousuke tells his brother when they clean the dishes together, not glancing his way as he scrubs soap studs from a polished clay bowl. With his sleeves tied up, his arms are soaked halfway to his elbows. It's a nice change on his skin to the confines of his stuffy clothes. "I'm not sure when I'll be back, so no need to wait for me."

Haruichi hums, drying the last of their dishes and hanging the cloth on a peg. "Be careful, Aniki."

"I will," Ryousuke assures, his tone almost amused. Haruichi notices it shortly, and breaks into a smile at the silent joke shared between them.

They both know who are the ones who should really be careful.

xXx

Youichi does not feel ready to handle the responsibility of watching over a mountain.

He's not ready and it shows, his feathers are shedding almost as much as they do when he was still undergoing his training. At this rate his wings would be bald in no time and boy, would he not want to be seen like he has the parts of a chicken ready to be marinated and cooked. Being a tengu is still a pretty big thing this time and age; it'd be downright mortifying if someone were to see a pseudo-deity balding from stress.

"...ot leave the mountain after sundown or else the lesser youkai might breach the borders and cause havoc in the village," Tetsu, his senior in the job, is telling him. Tetsu-san's recently been promoted to Daitengu and is to oversee a larger, more famous mountain, hence leaving this one to Youichi. His expression is stoically serious as it always is; Youichi has rarely seen him showing much emotion. He's instead learnt to read the subtler signs: the slight quirk of his lips or eyebrows, the occassional barely noticeable change in his tone of voice. "Always be sure to double-check the barriers if you must leave. Though the youkai here are relatively tame, it'd spell trouble if any foreign ones are to intrude into the territory."

Youichi nods, realizing the contradiction a bit too late. "Wait, why would you worry about youkai messing with the humans if they're tame?"

Tetsu gives him a significant look. "They haven't always been tame."

Now Youichi's confused. He frowns. "What do you mean?"

"There's this human child," Tetsu explains, a hint of fondness as well as awe mixed into his voice, "not only can he see youkai, his spiritual energy and skills in Onmyou arts are nothing to be joked about."

Youichi takes a moment to put the pieces together. "So... there’s this guy from the village who's an onmyouji and he’s managed to scare every youkai there is in this place?"

Tetsu's face does not even twitch. "Basically, yes. But they're not just terrified of him," his tone changes to sound like he's including himself in this cluster of youkai in question, "they respect him, too."

Youichi's frown deepens. "I don't really understand."

"You will when you meet him," Tetsu assures. "Ryousuke's got a sharp tongue, but he's not a bad person. He can probably even help you out if you find yourself in a pinch in this job. In fact, I'm fairly certain you'd be seeing him quite often since our duties and his are rather similar in nature."

"Well, if a Daitengu says so," Youichi reluctantly takes heed of his senior's words. If even Tetsu-san likes him, maybe this Ryousuke isn't as bad as Youichi feels he would be. Tetsu gives him a firm pat on the shoulder, which is about one of the highest forms of encouragement one can get from him.

"You know where to find me if you really need to," he says, then seeing Youichi nod, he turns away. "I'll be on my way then."

He readjusts his mask, checks the strap of his hat, and takes off into the air, practically silent despite being humanoid in size. The spread of his black wings become a blur against the night sky in no time.

Youichi lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding once Tetsu has left, idly kicking at yet another of his fallen feathers on the ground. This seriously needed some getting-used to, and he has to get used to it fast. He takes his responsibilities seriously, and even he wouldn't forgive himself for a sloppy job, let alone his boss. He has to get his grip real soon.

Youichi breathes another sigh, grumbling to himself that he'll take a stroll around to know the place better just for the sake of it. It’d helps ease the pressure building in his chest, if only a bit. He hopes he won’t leave a trail of feathers in his wake, though.

Moving around has always helped Youichi take some load off his mind and this is no exception. He finds the tension in his shoulders easing as he explores his new ward; marvelling at the sheer undisturbed beauty of the forest, the clear streams, the roaring waterfall. Most of the youkai he bumps into along the way seem relatively docile, all minding their own businesses and acknowledging him curtly when he greets them. There are a few large and fairly powerful ones wandering about as well, but Youichi decides they're nothing he can't handle. He's been placed here on the job for a reason.

He hears the sound only when he approaches the foot of the mountain. It almost sounds like a bird's song, but a few seconds of focusing his ears tells him it's actually man-made. An instrument, perhaps. Without really stopping to think, Youichi follows its direction.

He doesn't expect a lot of things, and stumbling into a youkai gathering in a forest clearing with a human in the centre is definitely up there at the top of the list.

Youichi notices his strange pink hair before anything else, so pale under the half-moon light that it's almost white. Then he sees his closed eyes, his robes, the bamboo flute pressed to his lips as he blows notes after notes of soft, enchanting music.

Then finally, as laughable as it is, he registers his insanely terrifying aura.

Youichi's first thought after the customary "Yikes!" is that an ordinary human should not have that kind of spiritual energy. It rolls over him in waves, making his teeth clench and muscles tense. How do those youkai sitting there look so unbothered by this? Six seconds in and Youichi has the biggest urge to either burrow into a hole and hide or fly over and punch him in the face to make him stop doing that.

But before he can decide what exactly he wants to do, the sensation disappears just as suddenly as he’d noticed it.

Even with the human's eyes still seeming closed, Youichi senses him looking at him somehow; hinted by the slight turn of his head and the flutter of his long eyelashes. His poise remains elegant, not even the smallest falter in the tune he's playing. And oh, something conveniently clicks in Youichi's mind even before he has the chance to hear the human speak. He must be Ryousuke.

At the exact moment he realizes it, Ryousuke smirks at him like he knows. Youichi bristles. There's something about this human that rubs him the wrong way besides that cocky smile. His presence, for one thing—it takes a lot to completely mask that amount of spiritual energy so perfectly, and he’s turning it on and off with seemingly to little effort. Youichi has come across a handful of skilled onmyouji over the years, but none of them could compare to Ryousuke in terms of the air they gave out alone.

None except one.

Youichi crosses his arms, leaning against a nearby tree. The youkai gathered there looks to be enjoying Ryousuke's performance and he doesn't exactly feel like interrupting. He figures he might as well join in and listen. He takes a breath and exhales slowly, allowing himself to immerse in Ryousuke's song. He's playing a different one now, a haunting, ethereal melody that somehow reminds Youichi of the hymns of wind spirits. Whatever issues he might have against Ryousuke, he must admit he can really play the fue. It takes a while for him to realize, but Youichi eventually notices how he's slowly growing calmer as well, his earlier anxiety and fatigue fading from his being. Could it be an enchantment? Can onmyouji even do that?

Ryousuke plays two more songs before he announces that that's the last of it for tonight. Youichi keeps watching as the onmyouji stands from his seat on a tree stump and faces one of the bigger youkai at the front row, saying something Youichi can't hear amidst the din of dispersing spirits. He only manages to catch the last of their conversation, something along the lines of "just try not to be too obvious next time if you don't want me to be called over." Youichi wonders what's that about.

Ryousuke remains unmoving from his spot after that despite exchanging level stares with Youichi (his eyes still look closed though??), as if expecting him to be the one going over when there's clearly a bit of difference in existential class between then. Well, two can play this game, Youichi thinks, trying to convince himself he's actually offended rather than feeling intimidated by Ryousuke's presence—or lack thereof.

Unfortunately for him, the human seems to see right past his front.

"You must be the new mountain guardian Tetsu was talking about."

Ryousuke's voice is mild, his gentle lilt resembling the notes he plays on his flute. The corners of his lips are lifted, but Youichi swears he's lowkey mocking him for being wary of a lowly human like himself. And wait—Tetsu? They're on first name basis without honorifics??

"You're not afraid of me, are you?" Ryousuke asks when Youichi fails to voice a response, this time definitely laughing at him. Annoyance flares in Youichi's chest, a volatile fire he's trained hard to tamper down in order to assume the duties of a tengu. He inhales sharply. Don't lose it, don't lose it.

"I could ask the same to you," he tells him with as much coolness as he can muster. He tilts his chin up slightly to feign confidence. "Don't you think standing so far away from the new mountain guardian is a little rude?"

"Arrogant, aren't we," Ryousuke muses, his expression unchanging even by a fraction. He makes a show of keeping his flute in the folds of his robes and brushing dust from his lap. "I didn't mean to be rude, Sir, but as you can see, I've been sitting and playing for the past few hours and my legs aren't quite in the condition to walk yet. My apologies."

He even manages to make an apology sound condescending. Youichi takes yet another deep breath. Fine, he decides. He wins this time. Pointedly ignoring Ryousuke's infuriating smile, Youichi walks over.

"Just Youichi's fine; being called 'Sir' feels weird." He scratches the back of his head, focusing his gaze on a particularly interesting tree to his right. He hesitates for a second before adding, "you play the flute really well, uh..." He trails off just to be sure.

"Ryousuke," Ryousuke supplies, watching Youichi in a way that tempts him to fidget. Now that they're closer, Youichi realizes just how short Ryousuke really is. He only reaches his shoulders even on his full height. "Kominato Ryousuke." The edges of his smile soften to something slightly more genuine. "And thank you, Youichi. It's nice to know that fifteen years of practice haven't gone to waste."

Dumping the honorific right away, huh? This one is definitely different from the humans Youichi's used to seeing; all who only knew how to depend on deities whether for blessings or blame. Ryousuke's probably powerful enough to defeat even a pseudo-god and he knows it better than anyone.

"Fifteen years?" Youichi raises his eyebrows in curiosity. "How old are you now?"

"Twenty." The smug look returns to Ryousuke's features when he steals a glance at Youichi’s bare feet. He tilts his head slightly. "I'm older than you are, aren't I?"

"I'm about two hundred in youkai years, which means..." Youichi counts his fingers, and feels sweat well up in his palms when he manages to do the math. He does not want to know how Ryousuke managed to guess that.

"That's around eighteen or ninenteen in human years," Ryousuke chimes in unhelpingly, still sounding sickly sweet. Youichi's fully aware of what he's trying to imply and wonders if he really needs to humbled so much that he’s sent here.

He wants to remain stubborn, really. He's a tengu, one of the highest ranked in yokai monarchy. As inexperienced he admits himself to be, there's still a certain level of pride he wants to maintain before he stoops to the level of a human. Then again, Ryousuke is obviously not just an ordinary human. Tetsu-san seems to hold him with a high regard as well, and he did mention about how Ryousuke could guide him a bit in this guardian business. Youichi's learnt many bitter lessons on putting his ego aside, and he figures it'll probably be for the best if he does it now. He'll need a lot of his help if he wants to stop shedding feathers anytime soon.

That doesn't mean he likes it, though.

"Also, Youichi," Ryousuke continues before Youichi could think of a way to answer, his tone forebodingly demure, "that membrane you have around this place can hardly be called a barrier. I know you're new but— “Nothing could've prepared Youichi for his next few words— “Don’t you think you suck a bit too much at this?"

Youichi's not sure if tengu have gods of their own, but he prays for inner strength.

xXx

"Please don't bully the new tengu too much, Aniki."

Ryousuke barely glances up at his brother, absently twirling a large black feather between his fingers as he reads the parchment balanced on his lap. "I don't see why I shouldn’t. He's centuries behind Tetsu in terms of skills."

"But what if you anger him too much and he decides to bring a war here? Or some other sort of calamity that might endanger the entire village?" Haruichi protests, always the killjoy with his unprecedented maturity. "Besides, he probably just needs more time to get a hang of his duties. Even you didn't start out with your current competency."

“He’s going to have to work much harder than me if that’s all he can do after two hundred years,” Ryousuke says drily, picking up the letter and folding it back along its seams. He deliberately refuses to meet Haruichi’s gaze.

“Won’t you help him?”

“I’m not a tengu, Haruichi,” Ryousuke reminds him patiently. “Even I am not entirely certain of what their responsibilities are aside from those that are common knowledge.”

“I know, but,” Haruichi persists, oddly concerned about the whole affair, “you can just support him however you can, just like the way you did with Tetsu-sama. Sometimes just knowing someone’s got your back is more than enough.”

Haruichi’s speaking from personal experience at the last part, Ryousuke can tell. Frankly, he can’t care less if Youichi’s able to adapt to his duties well, but upon further consideration, perhaps it really is better if he could help him find his groove sooner. Youichi’s failure to do his job will only result in a bigger unnecessary workload for Ryousuke, and that doesn’t exactly sound appealing. He’s already got his hands full with those as it is.

“…Aniki?” Haruichi prompts when Ryousuke remains in silent contemplation for a full minute. Coming to a decision, Ryousuke gets on his feet.

“I’ll going out for a bit; it seems that something’s stirring in the Minister’s residence again.”

He hears Haruichi sigh before wishing him yet another safe day.

…

From what Youichi understands, Ryousuke’s mostly in charge of handling matters in the human village west of his mountain, he only drops by at the mountains every half-moon to play his flute and placate some spirits, and the most basic rule for every youkai in the area is to not mess with Kominato Ryousuke.

Welp. Failed step one.

He wonders if this is the product of trying to infiltrate into the Kominato household earlier. Being a tengu, it’s part of his duty to heck up cocky humans—even if the particular human he had in mind is an obscenely powerful one. He just didn’t count the equally obscenely strong barrier around the house and the fact that Kominato Ryousuke can probably sense him attempting to break into his home a mile away. Youichi realized a tad too late that he’s probably made a very bad miscalculation.

Youichi feels the smallest he’s ever been as he listens on to Ryousuke listing out every mistake he’s made and every problem he’s had ever since he took over from Tetsu-san three days ago. His barrier is still too weak, he’s not around the shrine often enough to listen to people’s prayers, he’s giving him more work, etc. Even his Master spared a few compliments here and there while training him; pointing out his strong points and how he could work on them. Ryousuke, on the other hand, seems intent on tearing down every shred of confidence he has in his own abilities.

“Is there not even a single thing I’ve done well since coming here?” he grumbles under his breath, not caring if Ryousuke hears him because he better does, really. Let him be fully aware that their resident tengu is about to call it quits and find another better, self-preserving job.

“Well, you haven’t cried yet so that’s one,” Ryousuke tells him after a moment of contemplation, smile and tone mocking as always. Youichi glares at him.

“Very funny,” he says, and Ryousuke only shrugs like it’s his problem he can’t handle the facts. Youichi spreads his arms in a fit of agitation. “If you’re gonna criticize me for every damn thing I do, at least tell me how to fix them, Ryou-san!”

“I can’t tell you how to do your job,” Ryousuke states calmly, linking his hands behind his back. “You’ll have to figure them out yourself.”

“Aren’t you already telling me how to do my job?” Youichi protests. Ryousuke’s expression doesn’t  change.

“I’m merely suggesting that there are more efficient ways to what you have to do,” he says, then just as casually, he adds, “by the way, you’re not disturbing the Minister enough. He could use more bugs flying at his face at night.”

“You, sir, are a terrible person,” Youichi points out, though he’s observed the Minister enough to agree with him. That guy could stand to treat his servants more like humans and less like animals.

“Never claimed otherwise,” Ryousuke says without a bit of remorse. When his tone alters slightly at the next thing he says, Youichi knows what’s coming for him. “Also, I understand that you were loitering around my home yesterday morning.”

Youichi feels the back of his tunic dampen with sweat. “Um.”

“I’m fine if I’m the only one you’re after,” Ryousuke continues, his voice now dangerously low, “in fact, I’d even commend you if you manage to get past my defences. But heed my words: if you do as much as touch a hair on my family—“he smiles, a deadly one—“I won’t hesitate to send you back to the Other Realm, Youichi.”

Youichi didn’t even know he came from the Other Realm until that moment—not that the discovery makes him want to return there any more than he does. He swallows thickly, and nods.

“I understand.”

“Excellent.” Ryousuke turns to peer towards the horizon. Youichi catches himself watching the way the breeze cards through Ryousuke’s hair with fascination, strands of pink shifting and swaying with the wind. He’s always given out the impression of being so firm and collected that it’s almost surprising to see him ruffled in any way. The sight only reminds him that despite all that’s said and done, Ryousuke’s still mortal.

He winces when a sudden, sharp pain pierces his gut. Something breached his barrier, the realization immediately dawns him. He focuses his senses, trying to pinpoint the location. There—at the southern paddy fields.

“Are you going to go?” Ryousuke sounds unaffected as always. Youichi doesn’t see even the slightest tension in his posture even though he knows he too, must’ve sensed the strong, hostile presence.

He takes a minute to weigh his options. The brasher side of him frankly wants to fly there and use the intruder as his personal punching bag. Fortunately for him, he’s carefully trained to ignore that side. He’s a protective deity before anything else; his biggest responsibility is to not leave the mountain unless absolutely necessary, especially at night. There wouldn’t be a necessity if Ryousuke can handle matters and hold on—Youichi’s starting to get a clearer picture of what the onmyouji expects to be going on now.

…Ryousuke’s testing him right now, isn’t he?

Youichi takes a sharp breath. “No. I’m staying here to protect the mountain in case it makes it this far.” He then fails to resist adding, a grin making an appearance on its own accord, “unless you’re not confident you can stop it?”

The corners of Ryousuke’s lips quirk slightly higher, but he doesn’t seem angered by Youichi’s taunt. In fact, he seems…satisfied? It’s hard to tell. Youichi would need more time before he learns to read him the way he did with Tetsu. What’s important is that he’s pretty sure there’s no murderous intent directed at him at the moment.

“See? You can think after all,” Ryousuke says and wow, rude. Youichi figures he must be making a face because Ryousuke laughs next and he’s really, really itching to kick him down the mountain slope. “But I’ve dawdled here enough. I should get going.” He looks over his shoulder to shoot Youichi one last smirk. “I hope I won’t have to see you soon, You-i-chi.”

Youichi physically cringes at the way he drags the syllables of his name, looking up the next second to find him gone. And good riddance, he spits as he stomps his way back to his dwelling to keep watch. He sure as hell hopes he won’t have to see him ever.

Though, he has to admit he’s kind of curious to see Ryousuke’s skills in action.

*for context on the feet, yamabushi tengu are said to have extremely wrinkled feet as proof of their long age