57

I thought about changing the arc title while we were on this date portion of the story but it still kind of works. Love is a battlefield and all that. I was expecting this to be out a couple of days ago but since there was no action, but I needed to fill the space with character interaction and I wanted that to be meaningful. Hopefully, I achieved that and it all works well. This will be the last part of the outing and the next chapter will be an overview of the next couple of days before the date followed by the date itself. Feel free to let me know what you all think and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Text

Once it was clear I wouldn't be able to escape, I allowed myself to be led further into the shop, past the displays of the various styles of clothing on sale.

The layout of the store was interesting, split between modern styles and traditional outfits closer to the entrance while the styles of clothing grew skewed towards opulent and traditional the deeper you went inside. Further in, the store became less of an outlet for purchasing clothes and more of a tailor's workshop.

It seems odd to have such a broad focus for a store but considering the longevity of Yokai, the store's legacy probably protects it from fading into obscurity. If you have dozens of customers who have shopped in your store for decades or centuries it would be difficult to lose them.

Despite not having much interest in the profession myself, I grew up with my mother being the seamstress in the village. Because of that, I could easily see that the works on display were all high quality. From modern clothing to traditional, all of them were high-class works.

Even the in-progress works on the mannequins are expertly crafted using fine materials.

It makes me wonder who the clientele of the shop is.

We finally stop heading deeper into the store, stopping at a large fitting room in the back.

The room has two comfortable-looking chairs and a gently curved backless couch sitting in a loose semi-circle, aimed towards a concave arrangement of three mirrors a short distance away. It's clearly a viewing area, allowing the group to see the person modelling the clothes from all angles, and the model to see themselves completely as well.

The room also has a skylight over the main viewing area, filling it with natural light. There are lights set around the space, of course, keeping it well lit, but natural lighting is preferable when possible.

My mother fiddles with the light switch, dimming the lights around the room to around twenty percent, since the skylight is doing a great job keeping things bright by itself for now.

Off to one side of the room, there is a smaller changing area through its own doorway. It has a sliding door which is notably an opaque fusuma for privacy, rather than the translucent shoji.

On the other side, there is enough racking to hold a few dozen pairs of clothes. There are also shelves with various accessories such as belts, purses, and different pairs of shoes.

"What are all those for?" I ask, getting a pitying look from my mother.

"An outfit is hardly complete without accessories. How would you decide if an outfit suits you if you have not seen the complete look?" I'm tempted to roll my eyes but she would know better than me.

Looking over the accessories, I spot some bracelets and anklets with bells on them. Biting my lip, I make a mental note to purchase a few pairs before I leave. Not only are they cute items I could see myself wearing occasionally; they could be good training implements for teaching Tobio how to move stealthily.

"What's the plan here?" My mother takes a moment to contemplate before answering me.

In the meantime, Akeno has already darted over to the accessories beside me and is holding up a pair of blue heels to look at them from another angle.

"Well, we have all the time we need because the store is closed for our use." Quite generous of the owner in my opinion but if the store survives off of a small amount of regular wealthy patrons, they don't need to pump a large number of people through in a day.

My mother smiles suddenly, "Let's start with more traditional clothes and work our way up to the modern and trendy outfits!"

Without waiting for my acceptance she pushes me over in front of the mirrors and starts humming and hawing as she circles me like a hawk.

"The colours are warm but not too vibrant that it limits my options," She mutters as she tilts my head to the side, eyeing my horns as they tilt with my head. "Whoever did the polish had good taste."

Her hand then trails along the braids that frame my face before following the long expanse of hair that falls down my back, ending in a large braid of its own. "Awfully bold hairstyle compared to what you usually stick with."

I grimace at the implicit question in her words, "I was convinced I'd look better with longer hair."

It goes unsaid that I wouldn't normally have agreed. I wasn't exactly focused at the time though.

"Well, it looks beautiful. Suzaku should be impressed, provided that you take care of your hair for the next few days." I scoff indignantly.

"Obviously." My mother grins victoriously.

"Excellent. I was afraid you would get annoyed with the length and cut it short again." My nose wrinkles as I realise I've been played.

After that's done, she heads out of the room with a couple of racks to grab, presumably, an entire catalogue of clothes for me to try on. I'm not too excited to be treated like a doll but I can't say I'm not going to enjoy this at all.

I like how I look, and even moreso, I like wearing things that make me look better. Call me vain but I think everyone is a little happy when they look their best. Even if I didn't enjoy this myself, I'd want to see Suzaku's reaction to me dressed up, and be content with that.

What makes this trip more rewarding than that though, is I get to spend the day with my mother and sister. Sure, Shuten isn't here to complete the family gathering but she wouldn't enjoy hanging out watching me try on clothes for hours on end.

Overall, this entire day is great fun with no downsides I can think of. To the point that I should plan time for outings like this more often. I'll have to get Shuten involved next time for the whole family to be together.

"Can I try on some new clothes too?" Akeno questions, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Of course, you can." I say with a raised eyebrow, "Why wouldn't you be able to?"

Akeno shrugs and looks away, "Well, you looked upset when you saw the bill after we got our hair done. You even burnt it."

I feel embarrassed being reminded of that and shake my head, "That was for an entirely different reason. We have more than enough money that you don't have to be hesitant."

While most of the money that was taken back from the former head accountant is going towards the expansion of the Golden Dragons, he had embezzled over a billion yen from the various organisations and companies he did accounting work for.

So long as I continue taking over territory before that money runs out, allowing the gang to bring in more funds as they're spent, we shouldn't have money issues.

Akeno beams and is about to go running after my mother when I clear my throat. "Speaking of being hesitant, you haven't been forthcoming with what you wanted that favour I agreed to give you for coming."

She fidgets at getting called out, "I'm not exactly sure what I was going to ask for yet."

The way she says it makes it sound more like a question than a statement, making me think she does have an idea but isn't sure that she wants to say it.

"What was your initial idea then? If it's about me getting a gift for you as I did with Gator for Shuten, I already had the beginnings of a plan for that." Akeno looks interested now that I've said that.

"I'll tell you what I planned on asking for if you explain what you were going to get me." She says with a grin.

I shrug, not really minding her stalling, "I was going to make you a set of armour using the best of the draconic materials I have. The only issue is that I still need to work out the logistics of that still."

Akeno's lips quirk downward as she contemplates that with a furrow of her brows, "Armour?"

"Not simply armour, obviously." I say with a huff, "I wouldn't need to plan it out if I was only making you a protective shell. For my gift to be on the level of what I gave Shuten, it would need to be an impressive artefact."

The idea of armour had been in my head for a while but yesterday's encounter with the cursed artefact left me inspired.

If I can take the various materials collected from the Dragonslayer festival and use the same forging method that created the Bone sword and my bow, I could draw on the lingering resentment and hunger in the scales, bones, and muscles to create a powerful cursed armour.

Still, that isn't good enough for my sister. I don't have the expertise in the required fields to create a true masterpiece or even something she won't grow out of in a few years.

To that end, I plan on studying Gator's body and how he produces and stores draconic energy, as well as the armour I created with my remnant divinity. The finished product I've envisioned should be a set of armour that draws on the spiritual energy left in the draconic materials to create a pseudo-draconic body.

It will be heavily cursed by my estimations, a byproduct due to the method of creation, but Akeno should be able to either ward off the effects with Holy Energy or slowly purify the armour and eliminate those downsides.

It will be a massive project, and I may need to get outside help to finish it, but Akeno deserves nothing less than the best as my little sister!

"Sorry, I wasn't disappointed or anything. I'm truly grateful and happy that you're doing this for me," Akeno rushes out, "I was just… well, I don't know why I would need that."

Her tone is despondent and her shoulders sag, causing me to grow concerned. She's been excited and happy all day today so the sudden shift in mood takes me by surprise.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I lead her over to the couch and sit down beside her.

"I've been thinking about my mother lately," Akeno starts to tear up and I try to keep her calm, sending warm waves of Ki through her body, "And I still want to punish the people who… you know, took her from me. But who is there left to take out these feelings that I've been left with on?"

"Suzaku has already killed all the Clan Elders who were involved and if she wasn't involved herself, then who is left?" Akeno asks me and I grimace.

Before I can respond, Akeno laughs in frustration, "Here I am enjoying myself and I haven't done anything but hide away like a coward."

I run my fingers through Akeno's hair as she leans on my shoulder, "I know you feel like your sadness and anger are… impotent because you haven't been able to hurt the people who hurt you and your mother but you've done more than hide."

"I haven't forced you to train, yet you've thrown yourself into getting stronger this entire time. If you were planning on simply ignoring what happened and hiding away you wouldn't have bothered training, right?" She sighs but doesn't disagree with me.

"Your efforts aren't worthless because I'll find out who else was involved and you will have your chance to kill them. I promised you that, didn't I?" Akeno nods sullenly.

"Me not having any new information doesn't mean I've forgotten. I'll figure out who helped the Himejima clan get through your father's wards and then drag them to you. That way you can either fight them or slowly torture them depending on how you feel, okay?" I say with a comforting smile.

Since only a member of the Grigori in a similar position as him would have the knowledge and power to do so, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. I'm mostly upset that the specifics of the tragedy were never discussed in canon or else I'd already have an answer for Akeno.

Akeno snakes her arms around my waist and gives me a hug, mumbling into my shoulder, "Thanks, sis."

"Anytime!" I beam, hugging her back tightly. We relax like that for a minute while Akeno regains her composure.

When she seems calm, I try to understand what happened there, "Now, what brought that on?"

"You asked what I wanted from you, and what I was thinking of seemed selfish, I guess?" Akeno shrugs and pulls away.

I growl and pull her back, startling a genuine laugh out of her, "It's fine to be selfish, so tell me what you were thinking. If you want me to train you more, I'll do it. If you want me to find someone else to train you, I'll even kidnap someone. Hell, I'll kidnap a high-ranking clergy member or Angel to teach you Holy magic if you want!"

"Actually, I was just going to ask if I could go to school…" Akeno trails off with wide eyes as my mind grinds to a screeching halt.

"Huh?" I blink as I process the request.

When I realise how different what I was thinking and what Akeno was thinking are, I scratch the back of my neck.

"Can we forget about the kidnapping offer?" I ask hesitantly, to which Akeno slowly shakes her head.

"I don't think I can forget that now even if I wanted to…" She trails off, still looking shocked. "Wait, no, why would you jump to kidnapping clergy members?!"

I flush in embarrassment, "It was a logical conclusion! We were just talking about killing a strong unknown enemy and I can't teach you to use your Holy energy."

"Anyways!" I interject before Akeno can tease me more, "Why would you want to go to school? Are you not liking your tutoring anymore?"

Akeno looks conflicted as to whether she should allow me to change the topic, but in the end, she does, "No, it's not that I dislike learning from Jun-sensei."

My confusion is clear in my voice as I try to follow that, "I don't think there is anything worth learning from a mundane school. None of the subjects would be particularly useful unless you planned on getting a normal job. Besides, they wouldn't even have combat training or the facilities for you to practice on your own."

"Not everything is about fighting," Akeno says with a laugh.

I squint, "I'd beg to differ but what do I know?"

"I guess I want to make friends and have some normality in my life." I frown as I contemplate that.

I want to say that normality is overrated but she continues, "My only 'friend' is Takehiko and that's more of a fellow disciple relationship."

"I'm your friend too," I say with a pout.

"You're my sister, don't be obtuse." Well, I can live with that, I suppose.

"Fine, you can attend a normal school. Even if I don't understand the point of it." I agree with a sigh, "But! I have conditions."

She was about to smile excitedly before I tagged that last bit on and now looks at me with narrowed eyes.

"You have to wait until senior high school because you're far too advanced to waste time in junior high school. Also, you can't slack on your training, simply because you are in school. Finally, the school has to be in Japan." Akeno crosses her arms as she thinks those conditions over before slowly nodding.

"I don't mind waiting and I would have trained anyways, though I'm curious why you made that last condition." She asks, perceptively noticing how odd the second condition is.

"Don't worry about it," I say to dodge the question and avoid answering.

If the school she goes to is in Japan then I can have a division of the Golden Dragons set up shop in the vicinity to protect her. If any threats in the surroundings suddenly disappear, then Akeno can have a happy idyllic school life.

"Those conditions are fine," I breathe a sigh of relief even as she continues her sentence, "I get to choose the school though."

I shrug not particularly caring, "As long as it's a good school I won't argue."

"Deal!" Akeno says with a wide smile.

With that settled, my mother decided now was the time to re-enter the room with what looks like a good dozen outfits on the racking she had left with. She also has a toolkit slung under her arm which I assume is for adjustments during fitting.

I had felt her waiting outside for our conversation to finish and while I'm not happy that she felt it was necessary to do so, I don't disagree with her choice.

If Akeno comes to her for advice or support that is one thing but if my mother tries to be too helpful, Akeno might take that as an attempt to replace Shuri. It's a difficult scenario but with time it should become a little easier.

Back to the clothing, as my mother had promised, the assembly of clothing are all more traditional styles at the closest end but slowly transition to modern designs as you look along the rack.

The majority at the closest end are kimono but there are also some hakama pants and haori to add different layers to the chosen outfits.

On the other side are combinations of shirts, blouses, and jackets with various pants and skirts.

The assembly of accessories in the room can take the final outfit further than the clothes alone, like adding different Obi to the kimono

The colours revolve around a central theme of reds, whites and blacks, with varying levels of each per individual piece as well as a variety of designs. Essentially every piece that was brought to the changing room has its own individuality and flavour to spice up the final product.

There are probably too many to reasonably expect all to be considered but I think my mother wants to make a day out of this. It is a fun way to spend the rest of our afternoon, even if I have to play dress-up doll.

Akeno and I eagerly approach the assembled clothing but our progress is barred by my mother.

She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes, "I trust the two of you will act with the respect this setting deserves?"

I roll my eyes and the air grows cold, a fierce aura manifesting around my mother, "You will respect my domain, as I respect yours. Is that correct daughter?"

My spine stiffens, "Of course!"

"I'm glad we came to an agreement," She says with a sweet smile, "Before we begin, what exactly did you promise Suzaku for the outing?"

I frown and shrug, "I told her to wear something not overly formal and comfortable enough to move in. We'll be exploring Urakyoto, so mobility is important but we both obviously need to look presentable too."

Not simply because of the date but also because we both have an image to maintain. Not that I had realised that until at the hair salon. I hope I'm not famous enough to be bothered during my actual date.

My mother sighs and looks off into the distance, shaking her head, "Poor girl."

Akeno laughs at her muttered words while I scowl. "What did I do now?"

"You gave your date so little information that she's going to have a rough time putting together her outfit." She continues shaking her head.

"She is from a traditional family so I might be able to narrow down what she might wear." My mother mutters under her breath as she surveys the clothes she brought. "The lack of information still makes this difficult."

I frown and throw some extra information her way, "Two of the times I've seen here she's been wearing red and the third she was wearing cream and a reddish-brown."

"Not red then. Though as long as it isn't a startlingly bright shade of red it might be fine. Black or white for the base would be best." She rubs her chin in thought before turning back to me.

"Right then, the next question is a two-parter. First, you were the one that asked her out, correct?" I nod and my mother does the same as though she expected that.

"Second, has Suzaku dated another girl before?" My face scrunches up at the sudden change of topic.

"Not that I know of? Why does that matter?" I ask in honest confusion.

"Hm, it might not… It depends on how comfortable Suzaku is with the concept." My mother shrugs. "It will probably be safer to throw out the more feminine outfits for your first date."

I wasn't planning on wearing heels and a short, tight dress but I still don't really understand why those options are being thrown out.

Apparently, Akeno is also confused and saves me from asking my mother for her reasoning. "Why does an outfit being feminine matter? Ibaraki is a girl, surely Suzaku knows that."

My mother hums and finishes separating a set of chosen outfits onto their own rack. "Suzaku might know that, but if the idea of dating a woman is new to her, she might get flustered if she's pushed too far out of her comfort zone."

"I'm not wrong to say that Ibaraki isn't the most feminine, am I?" My mother asks Akeno, completely ignoring my indignation.

Akeno tilts her head in consideration and then slowly turns her head to look at me.

I know what is going through her head so I glare at her, daring her to agree.

"Well…" Akeno shrugs and gives me an apologetic smile, "She isn't that masculine."

"Oi! I do tons of girly stuff, like gardening. Besides this figure is anything but masculine!" I get two flat looks in response.

"Your gardening is the cultivation of poisonous plants for Shuten." Akeno shoots back and without a moment of reprieve, my mother crushes my other point.

"The only time you show off your figure is when you're fighting or training for the next fight. Don't pretend you treat your body as anything but a weapon." I slump sullenly.

"So I'll try these on then?" I ask defeatedly, pointing to the rack my mother has been working on, "A nice masculine assortment for your manly daughter…"

My mother rolls her eyes, "That's not what I meant and you know it. But yes, try those on please."

"That doesn't mean it hurts any less," I say, tagging a fake sob onto the end.

Ducking under a playful swat, I take the indicated clothes over to the changing room.

Once inside, I look over my options and pick out a black kimono with bundles of red flowers and grey eastern dragons coiling through them for the pattern. The silk feels great as run my fingers along the material, clearly being high quality.

Well, time to strip, I guess.

I pull my shirt over my head without any fanfare and lay it over the clothing rack, then unbutton my jeans and shimmy out of those.

"There's a door for a reason!" I hear Akeno call out and I turn around with a raised eyebrow.

Akeno turns an interesting shade of red as she buries her face into her hands groaning while my mother pats her on the shoulder.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? I've been in shorts and a sports bra training with you before, this is barely less clothing." I wave her words off.

She's lucky I'm wearing a bra if this much is bothering her. It isn't like I need one for support. Transcendent physiology for the win!

Without waiting for a response I put on a simple white undershirt that ends below my hips, tie it and slip on the kimono itself.

With the underlayer on, I slide into the kimono itself, settling it on my shoulders, putting my arms through the sleeves and making sure the sleeves of the undershirt are properly fitted inside.

After that I grab the fabric down where my hands hang naturally, lifting it till the bottom of the kimono hangs just above my ankles.

Then I close the front, left over right, tie the first belt at my waist below the bunched fabric, adjust the top, and the collar, tie the second belt below my breasts, and then finally smooth out the fabric.

Humming happily, I stroll over to the racking and grab a white Obi with red accents, only taking another moment to put that on as well.

Strutting over to the mirrors, I check myself out.

The fit is nice and snug but not too tight that I'd tear the material when I breathe. The Obi shows off my waist and bust, while the rest of the kimono is straight.

I turn a few times and move my arms into different positions to make sure the material doesn't bunch up due to motion.

Overall, it's a good look that shows off my looks without being overly revealing. I'm not sure if it equates to the 'not overly feminine' look I'm supposed to be going for but I like it.

"How do I look?" I ask my audience, eager for a second opinion.

"Great!" Akeno says with two thumbs up and a smile.

I grin at the straightforward answer and turn to my mother.

She, however, is far more critical in her assessment. "It's good. It could be better but it's passable. The overall colours are a bit too dark for your date, I would think."

I pout and glance down at the kimono, "Really? You don't think there's enough colour?"

Sure, the kimono is mostly black but the design on it should brighten it up, no?

"Try the black hakama with the white hakamashita next." My mother says and I head back to change.

The outfit in question is a white top with black pants. The top has a faint geometric pattern sewn in a light grey to offset the solid white colour. The pants, however, are a solid black with no pattern, though the belt is a bright red.

While I get changed, my mother speaks up. "Are you excited about your first date?"

I shoot her a wide smile over my shoulder. "Of course I am!"

"It'll be fun to get to know Suzaku better and see more of Urakyoto," I say as I finish changing.

"Do you know where you're planning to take her and what you'll be doing?" My mother asks and I shrug.

"Kind of? The temples in Urakyoto are different from those on the mundane side, and temples are always beautiful and romantic, right? Other than that… maybe visit a theatre, sit down for a tasty meal." I let my statement trail off as I check myself out in the mirror.

The pattern is less daring than the last outfit but it isn't a bad look by any means. The reserved nature of the geometric pattern and the solid colours draw less attention to the outfit itself, which means my hair, nails, and tattoos stand out more in contrast.

Since the outfit has pants rather than a straight kimono, I can also move better in this than the last one I tried on.

In general, I don't like this outfit any less than the last one. It's definitely something I could see myself wearing, and not only for a date.

"You don't have a specific plan for the date?" My mother asks as I continue to check myself out.

"I have a couple of days to narrow it down. Akeno and I will look around more while we head to the florist later." Said girl nods eagerly along with my suggestion.

"I was given some locations to check out by my nail technician and hair stylist. Both were very helpful." She says proudly.

At least one of us was focused on the plan.

"You're going on a date, you need to wear something different and surprise Suzaku." Akeno points out.

"She has only seen me in my business outfit the other day and casual combat wear that I've worn the other two times," I mutter in contemplation.

Akeno jumps up from where she's seated and heads over to the clothing rack. My mother follows right behind her and I watch the two comb through the rack.

"How about this one?" Akeno asks, pulling out a white blouse and a black knee-length skirt.

"Maybe, but it's a little plain." My mother comments back. "It needs a splash of colour."

"A bright belt?" Akeno asks, then shakes her head. "No, that's too little. Ibaraki needs to stand out."

I chuckle at that, "I'm right here you know? Don't leave me out of the decision."

"What do you think then?" Akeno shoots back as they continue looking.

"Why not a jacket? Dark red to add some colour but not so much as to be distracting." I say as I start looking through the jackets. "Also let's go with a shorter skirt. It's a date, I can show off some skin."

Akeno and my mother laugh together at that while we continue digging. My fingers brush along another jacket and I pull it out liking the feeling of the leather.

I whistle lowly as it comes out and I hang it out at arm's length in front of me.

"Yeah, I like this one." The jacket is a dark red leather piece and while it's a brighter red than I had imagined when I made the suggestion, this is probably better.

"Here, go try it on," Akeno says as she hands me a form-fitting white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black shorts rather than a skirt.

Then she all but pushes me into the changing room to make me hurry up.

I allow myself to be pushed and grin when she closes the door behind me. She's way too easily embarrassed by a bit of nudity.

After getting changed I take a second to pout at the shirt before heading out.

The shirt is tight and definitely shows off my body enough that Suzaku should enjoy it. The only issue I have is that it covers up my abs which are arguably one of my best features.

Though, maybe a belly shirt would be a little daring for a first date.

As I open the door, my phone rings and contemplate ignoring it for a moment before deciding to check it in case it's important.

"Do you mind if I take this?" I ask Akeno and my mom.

"Of course not. We can wait a minute to tell you how you look." Mom says with a smirk.

"It's Kintoki so I'll just put it on speaker," I add casually, then answer. "Hey, Kintoki, what's happening."

"Are you busy right now, Boss?" He asks.

"Not busy enough that it would matter so long as this is a short call." I shoot back, heading over to the mirrors again.

"That's great. We finished cleaning up the warehouse you took down yesterday and collected anything of value." I nod along as I drink in my figure in the mirror.

I really like this look, in a way that the others I tried on can't compare to. The shorts show off my long legs, the shirt hugs my figure and shows off my breasts, and the jacket adds a fierce and cool air to the whole thing.

Spinning around, I grin as I check out what the shorts do to my butt.

Yes, this is lovely.

"That's good to hear, Kintoki. Is that all you called to say?" I ask, hearing Akeno groan and my mother laugh when I bend over slightly.

"Nah, I was going to ask if I could put some groups together to raid other targets. If you're out with other people right now I can ask later though." He seems uncomfortable about interrupting me after hearing the reactions from the background.

"I'm out with my family right now, that's what you're hearing." There's a moment of awkward silence, "If you think you can raid more targets, go ahead. All you need to do is be careful how you go about it."

"I was thinking that so long as I choose the targets well, we could send maybe one or two groups to clear them out each." My eyebrows furrow as I think that over.

After their training, our guys should be competent enough to take down large numbers of normal gangsters. A large number of guns in the hands of their opponents would increase the risk and cause things to take longer but so long as they're careful it should work out fine.

"That sounds good." I reply, "Add an Oni to each squad and have them be the vanguard. They'll soak up attention without dying and make the raids cleaner."

Or probably not cleaner, but certainly in the sense that we will have fewer casualties. Fewer casualties on our side would be more accurate.

I bite my lip as I think about the intelligence of the average Oni, hastening to add a final word of caution to my last sentence. "Make sure they don't overestimate their durability and bleed out though."

"Also, use the intel we received from that bastard to strike the softer targets. Locations that don't have a peerage member guarding them or if they do, a pawn or weaker member." An average Oni for a pawn would be a decent match-up.

Physically, my people should outclass the devils but with magic, it should be relatively equal. A battle of attrition would have a clear winner in the Oni, however.

Obviously, this is based on using Lillian as a comparison since I can't guarantee an 'average' level of power for the pawns. Their strength depends on that of their King after all.

"If you see a juicy target that is well guarded though, go yourself or send Yaeko." The two of them should be strong enough to handle any lone peerage member.

I haven't looked at the intel in detail yet but besides the King and maybe the Queen, Kintoki and Yaeko should be strong enough to handle the rest of the rabble.

"Sounds good, Boss." He pauses for a second, "Do you trust the information we got that much?"

"Not at all," I scoff, "It'll be obsolete soon anyways, I'm sure. Either that or the Black Feather Brigade will tell the Hell King Legion exactly what we know so they can ambush us. That's why we need to act on what we have now rather than sitting on it indecisively."

"I was too short-sighted." Kintoki says, "Thanks, I'll fill you in on our progress later. Enjoy your day out."

"Right, talk to you later, Kintoki. Good hunting." I hang up with a wide smile.

Kintoki and the guys should handle the expansion nicely. This will eventually come down to a decisive battle which I'll probably have to handle but until then I can act according to my own interest.

That's assuming the Devils don't attempt to negotiate or something boring like that.

"Now, tell me how amazing I look!" I command with my hands on my hips.

My audience rolls their eyes, both Akeno and my mother wearing faint smiles.

"And inflate your ego more? Hardly." Mother demures.

"I take it you've made your choice, despite all the clothes left to try?" Akeno asks.

"You don't think this will be the best?" I raise my brow in question, "We'll still try on the rest for fun and don't forget you still need to try on some outfits. I think this one is my final choice already though."

Akeno smiles at the reminder of her upcoming turn as the model and relents. "It does look rather good on you."

"Thank you!" I say with a cheeky grin, "Now hopefully Suzaku has the same opinion on the weekend."

"All this excitement makes me want to go on a date of my own again." My mother says playfully. "Maybe I should get in contact with Lord Fujiwara later?"

I freeze and mirth dances in my mother's eyes. "It is odd, however, that he has been so quiet recently. I had thought we hit it off on our last date but he suddenly became distant."

"I wonder what could have caused that?" I gulp as her eyes narrow and her smile widens.

"That is odd." I say, "Maybe he wasn't ready for a steady relationship?"

The hair on the back of my neck stiffens as her smile sharpens, "Oh, did he perhaps say something to you, dear daughter?"

"Well-" I'm cut off before I can reply.

"Or, maybe it was you that said something to him?" Er, this is not looking good.

I very much doubt that she would be asking these questions if she didn't already know the answer.

Akeno has wisely skirted over to the clothing rack and is whistling to herself as she looks through the items on display. I would love to do the same but I'm already caught in my mother's crosshairs.

I clear my throat, "I might have posed a simple question to him. Only to gauge how serious he was about courting you though."

My mother stands up and gives me one of those scary closed-eye smiles. "Is that all, hm? I heard something different."

"In the version I heard, there was significantly more talk of torture." My mother pats me on the shoulder. "Silly me for believing rumours."

Rumours my ass.

Fujiwara definitely discussed our 'private conversation' with my mother. I doubt he went to her on his own though. My mother likely confronted him about the sudden distance in their relationship only for him to crack under her questioning.

I almost sigh in relief as she walks past me over to where Akeno is, only to feel guilty instead.

Because she hadn't spoken about her relationship with Fujiwara to me, after I threatened him, I thought it hadn't mattered to her.

She may have been faintly amused while grilling me on the topic but she wouldn't have brought it up at all just now if it didn't bother her at all.

It's better if I own up to it, right? That would be the mature thing to do.

"Yeah, I did threaten him. I wanted to make sure he was committed and wasn't going to lead you on and hurt you later." My mother looks surprised that I'm confessing this which is a little hurtful but I understand where she's coming from.

She processes that and gives me a sad smile, "You're my daughter, I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around. Even if that was the way things turned out in your childhood, Kyoto has been a fresh start. You don't need to protect me anymore."

I grimace, "I might have overstepped a bit but everything here was new for you, and it still is. How could I not have assumed that he was taking advantage of that?"

"You have to trust that I can handle myself now." She pats me on the head. "Just like how I'm not panicking that you're going on a date with someone whose job, historically, would be to kill you."

I give her a wry grin at that, "Yeah, I guess out of the two of us, you made the safer choice of suitors, huh?"

"Exactly. Are we in agreement then?" I nod, only a little hesitantly.

"I'll back off. You can pursue whoever you want to. Just be careful, please?" I get a hug in response.

"Of course." I indulge in the hug for a moment then clear my throat.

"Great! Now, which outfit are we moving on to next?" With that topic firmly closed, Akeno comes back into the conversation and we all devolve into choosing clothes once more.