Unselfish Wish

Chapter29- Tsuneo's Confusion

Tsuneo tilted his head as he waited for her response. She was shocked speechless for a moment. Marriage? All this time, was I worried for nothing? She thought. Well, not nothing- I don't want to be forced into marriage, either. The idea that they were seeking her out for marriage rather than to devour her, though, was somewhat comforting. While her mind was wandering, Tsuneo was still awaiting a response. He waved his hand in front of her face.

"Are you sure this Lord Ritaru doesn't plan to devour me for power?" She felt the best thing to do was to ask directly. Tsuneo stared at her like she'd grown another head. Offended, actually.

"We don't eat people... demigods... whatever. Not anymore, anyway. The power is important yeah, but it's more about babies. Breeding with someone like you makes our offspring stronger." He grinned wickedly. "So I guess, in a way, it is devouring." He waggled his eyebrows. She rolled her eyes. "But you asked if I knew who you were... is there supposed to be more?" He queried, examining his... claws?

"Ah, well..." Come to think of it, how did she know he wasn't going to tell the wrong Yokai who she was? "Do you guys talk about Takamagahara down here at all?" She asked.

"Hmm... not really? I mean we get the big news, like weddings, reincarnations, sometimes policy changes. But every day stuff, nah." He buffed his nails on his shirt before looking at her curiously. "Why, you know somebody, you know, up there?"

"You do know how demigods are created, right?" She giggled. He rolled his eyes.

"Obviously, but that doesn't mean you know who sired you. I've heard a lot of babies get abandoned." He said, stroking his chin. She was instantly upset on her grandfathers' behalf. They may not visit often, but she had never doubted that they loved her. She raised her chin as defiantly as she could in her current position, and her eyes flashed in anger.

"How dare you say such things about my grandfathers!" Her butterflies began to flutter around her, slicing her bonds, which allowed her to stand. Tsuneo stood, taking one step back before growling and making blue fox fire in his palm. Her hair was floating around her as her butterflies whipped angrily about. Her crown appeared on her forehead, along with her regalia- the honsho masamune in her right hand, Genbu's mirror in the left, Suzaku's beads around her neck, and Seiryuu's sash around her waist. They let out a collective, fearsome growl. "Fuujin may be a crusty old flirt but he always teaches me things I need to know! Ryuujin is a very caring grandfather, he just lives under the sea and prefers it there! My parents were never abandoned, and neither was I!"

"Just who are you?!" He growled. "I should have kept spraying you with higanbana smoke." He grumbled.

"Who am I? I am Lady Tachibana, of Tsukiyomi's court. I am also his affianced bride. And, just so we're crystal clear, I am not a demigod. I am a full-blooded goddess, and when my beloved finds out that I have been kidnapped, good luck that he leaves anything but ruins in his wake!" She was shouting, so very angry. The weather within Yomotsu-kuni was always dull and dark, but suddenly lightning lit the sky like fireworks. Tsuneo looked at her, confused.

"But they said you were just a demigod." He said, putting away his fox fire. He was not stupid, and he'd made sure never to go against Takamagahara his whole life. While humans were protected from revenge disasters, Yokai were not. Too many were greedy and looking to increase their rank either within Yomotsu-kuni itself, or hoping to serve one of the kami, a by-product of desperation and impure souls. He was just trying to get by without getting into too much trouble.

"Well I'm not." She growled. "Apologize for what you said." She insisted.

"Umm... I'm sorry I offended you by saying bad things about your grandfathers." He bowed. Well, he'd heard some mysterious whispers about Tsukiyomi finding a bride, but this was not what he expected. She sighed, and the thunder settled.

"Rise. Your bowing makes me uncomfortable when you stay like that." When he stood, her crown and regalia remained, but the butterflies were gone, and her hair was normal. She sat on the futon, suddenly aware that her school uniform skirt made it difficult to find an appropriate position. Tsuneo grinned at her discomfort as he sat back down.

"I bet you could, you know, manifest yourself some clothes or something." He said. She sighed and whirled her wrist, trading her treasured birthday yukata for her school uniform, with the exception of her hair ornament. His eyes widened appreciatively.

"Listen... as much as I'd like to just go back to Utsushi-yo, I need to understand some things first." She said primly. It was not her intention to leave without gaining a better understanding of the Yokai. It was obvious in less than ten minutes of conversation that there was a massive disconnect of facts from one realm to the other, and this was more of a sub-world before Izanami's court itself, so it was probably worse. With how heavy the air felt here, she was not planning to venture deeper to the land of the dead. Not able to stand it any longer, she snapped her fingers, releasing a large area from an apparent miasma. Tsuneo's brows rose to his hairline.

"So... do you live in Utsushi-yo or Takamagahara? I'm a little mixed up here myself." What he did know was that the girl before him had more power in her little finger than most of the ascended gods he'd had the misfortune to meet, and yet showed remarkable restraint. She tilted her head and gave him an appraising look. "What?" He burst out.

"Can I really trust you? I mean, you kidnapped me and were planning to trade me for food and wine. I'm not sure I should even have told you as much as I have already." She huffed, annoyed she'd lost her temper at all. Where he felt she'd shown restraint, she felt she'd had the equivalent of a temper tantrum. Tsuneo held up his hands.

"I may have planned to take you to Lord Ritaru, but I would never have let him force you if it wasn't what you wanted." He claimed.

"Mmhhmm. And I'm supposed to believe you when I was tied up?" She raised a brow at him. It was his turn to sigh.

"Look, I've never done this before, and I was feeling desperate. I didn't think it was a big deal to just move the goods, so to speak. Lord Ritaru is the one that gave me the herbs, said over a few days it would make you weak enough to get you away from your damned security detail." He groused.

"Somehow I don't believe you. One minute you're claiming no harm and the next, griping about my friends that keep me safe." She said haughtily. "This conversation is going nowhere. In any case, what is it that has Yokai so desperate?"

"Hmm. Well, we are kind of an archaic group, you know? Commerce is old fashioned- bars and inns, with traveling merchants. We go everywhere on foot, or maybe magic cart but even then it's slow. Those that have things don't share them. Chronologically, I'd say we're about Sengoku-ish, development wise. Utsushi-yo seems like heaven to us. Cars alone are better than any magical cart we can manage. If we're really lucky, we can become familiars. That's the hope many have, but it's rare. If you tossed a gold coin outside, twenty people would fight to try and claim it- it's that bad." He extolled. "Although, I don't really know what could be done about it, to be fair."

Fumiko got up and began to pace, her fingers tapping her chin. Her butterflies reappeared, making Tsuneo a bit nervous. This girl was an enigma. He didn't even understand why she was asking, or cared about Yokai culture. Once she went home, wherever that was, she would never need to give Yokai a second thought other than making them leave with her odd snaps. Although, he hadn't wanted to leave when she did it. Probably why Lord Ritaru sent him, he'd been drawn to it rather than cleared away.

Very odd, indeed.