Chapter 22

Aika stalked the halls of the Inumaki clan estate, curiosity overwhelming her core. This was a special day. A very special day. A day she was not supposed to know was special.

She was just a hand maiden after all. A low ranking one at that. It just so happens that she may have been near the elders meeting when they were discussing this day. And that she may have just, you know, watched them.

There was no harm in it! Nothing bad could've come from it. If she saw some shady stuff she would be killed over if they found out she knew, she'd just sneak away and not tell a soul.

And if she saw some good news that she could use to her advantage… well, that's exactly the position she found herself in now!

Apparently, the golden child of the clan was coming back for the first time in years. Even more exciting, in terms of creating an opportunity for Aika that is, was that apparently, he was mad at the Inumaki clan.

Just imagine it. A brooding, talented, and handsome fellow comes in, wanting nothing more than to burn the clan estate to the ground in order to slake his revenge.

Until, that is, he comes across this fair young lady and falls for her on the spot! Then, Aika will become an invaluable asset for the clan, serving as a link between the clan and their most talented member.

Granted, that was much harder said than done. But that was the general idea. And Aika was pretty confident in her ability to seduce him. She was rather easy on the eyes if she said so herself.

Her white hair which glimmered beautifully when the sun hit it just right. Her dazzling golden eyes, which were rather rare for an Inumaki clan member, gave her a certain "exotic" or "rare" vibe which the boys Akia's age seemed to love. Her figure was far from unappealing as well.

She was confident and curious in equal parts. As she neared the entrance hall where the Inumaki clan officials planed to meet the young yet rouge member of their clan, Aika wondered what kind of man he was.

Was he handsome and outgoing? Was he cold and calculating? Was he ugly?! Hopefully not.

And as Aika opened the door a crack to take a peek, knowing now was not the time to actually introduce herself to him, too many eyes and all, her worries were dismissed, just as much as her confidence.

Standing there was a handsome young man wearing a simple, black jujutsu high uniform with a sword strapped to his hip. A strong jaw line. Eyes the same color of the purple nebulas which Aika's mother often admired through her telescope. Hair white like snow.

He was tall, above average, maybe even 6 foot. He was built but not overly so. It was clear his strength came from refined, wiry muscles instead of the large, bulky muscles men such as Haruto Inumaki possessed.

This all dismissed her fears. He was not ugly, that Aika could say for sure. What she could also say for sure was this. He was terrifying!

The look in his eyes alone was enough to warrant a hastily retreat in Aika's opinion. They weren't dead, or empty, or even angry. All emotions Aika expected to see from a supposedly hateful teen. Instead, all she saw was intent. Intent she didn't know the target of. But she knew for damn sure she wanted none of it pointed her way.

She silently closed the door just as carefully as she'd opened it. Once it was shut, she took a few slow steps back, before sprinting full speed down the hall! No way in hell was she going to try and seduce that dude. No matter how hot he was. He was probably out of her league anyway!

——

Isamu read the gestures of the Inumaki clan official sent to welcome him with a cool and calm outward appearance. But on the inside, he was ready to draw and defend himself at any moment.

Isamu did not know the intentions of the Inumaki clan so it was best to be prepared for the worst. The Inumaki clan estate was definitely at the bottom of Isamu's preferred places to met his end.

'Let's get this over with.' Isamu signed, somehow finding a way to come off annoyed despite his face giving away nothing. He had no time for pleasantry's.

'As the young master wishes.' One of the three finely dressed men signed back, each of them dressed in luxurious grey robes. Isamu's mask cracked the slightest bit with a twitch of his eye, but he quickly regained his composure. Luckily, it did not seem that the attendant turned guide noticed the slight crack.

During their commencing walk, the meeting hall of the Inumaki clan their destination, Isamu inspected the passing estate. It hadn't changed much, if at all, in the last few years.

Not that Isamu had expected it to really. It'd only been a bit south of 4 years since he'd last seen it after all. Not enough time for anything to truly change, especially with a clan as traditional and up tight as the Inumaki.

Before long, they arrived. Double doors lead to the meeting room, two clan members serving as guards on either side. The guards didn't seem like much, Isamu granted them the benefit of the doubt though. He did recognize his view of what was average was pretty skewed.

'We leave you here. Inside rests the clan head, the three elders, and Master Akio.' One of his guides gestured. Their entire presence was unnecessary, Isamu knew the layout of the clan like the back of his hand, even after so many years.

But the Inumaki clan needed a way to keep an eye on him, stop him from going places he was not meant to go. It was a risk however. They risked offending Isamu in exchange for controlling his movements while in the estate. Despite the thought angering him a bit, Isamu agreed that the risk was a necessary one.

Isamu wasn't surprised by the presence of the elders or his former adoptive father. But he was a bit taken aback by Akio's presence. He was always someone Isamu couldn't quite pin down and his mere presence put Isamu on edge, even more so than he already was.

Isamu just gave a curt nod to the attendant before stepping up to the door, each guard opening one of the doors for him. Isamu clenched his fist slightly but quickly released it. After so long of being treated like this, Isamu had developed a hatred for being treated like a prince.

The attendant calling him "young master" was already pushing it and the clear deference and respect in the eyes of the guards was grating on Isamu's nerves even more.

This was to say, Isamu was not in a good mood when addressing the four men and single women in the room once he'd entered through the portal, the guards closing the doors behind him.

Each one was seated on a large, luxurious pillow, each of their legs crossed, their backs straight. Each of them had the signature snake eyes and fangs of the Inumaki clan, with the one exception being the man in yellow and orange in the corner, Akio. They all looked like they had a large, spiky, bark covered stick up their ass. Beside maybe Akio and the elder dressed in grey, maybe.

'It is good to see you again, my son.' Kenji, the clan head of the Inumaki clan greeted with a soft, fatherly smile.

For as much as Isamu hated the man, Isamu could not bring himself to glare at him like he wanted to. Isamu hated that he'd called him his son. But he also found that he missed the word.

'You will not call me that again.' Isamu signed back hastily, directing his gaze at the man. Not quite a glare, but not far off.

'As you wish.' Kenji relented, not wanting to anger him further. To Isamu's distress, his smile was as prominent as ever. Even more so now, perhaps.

Isamu doubted the implications behind a lack of an outright hateful look was lost on the man. Isamu inumaki knew that he was on the back foot in this negotiation already.

'You look as strong as ever, even more so perhaps. Your Inumaki blood serves you well.' Haruto signed with a proud smile. That smile ticked Isamu off even more.

Who was he to be proud? It was not he who pushed him so far in the last 4 years. That had been Kusakabe, then Gojo, and now Maki. Not him. He had no right!

But in truth, Isamu knew he was lying to himself. A bit, at least. It was Haruto who trained him at the start, built up his foundation so he could handle future, more intense, training. Like the New Shadow Style Techniques, despite those techniques not being in mind when training him initially.

Haruto had been a good master, not as good as Kusakabe or even Gojo, but still good. And that thought infuriated him as well.

This man was not deserving of Isamu's praise, no matter the context. He'd played a part in Hoshi's death. He'd killed a child, Isamu's first true friend. Isamu had long since mourned the loss, but that did not mean his anger would dissipate as easily.

But on another hand, he could see where the clan head and Haruto were coming from. If Isamu was a clan leader, whose one and only purpose in life was the protection of the clan and its growth, would he not do anything for the clan? Even sacrifice his morals. To sacrifice a little gi-

Isamu stopped himself before he continued the cycle of hatred and reason, he could not afford to be in such a state of mind at such a pivotal moment. He needed to focus.

——

Kenji watched the boy he had once called a son. And would call a son once more, if he got his way. But for now, he needed to play some mind games.

He knew Isamu was rather logical. But more than that, he was empathetical. His ability to put himself in another person's shoes was astounding. It was helpful and detrimental.

It was helpful in battle. It allowed him to think like his opponent thought and predict their next move. Knowing what they would do before they likely did. But it was detrimental in this case.

He was unable to properly hate the clan, not as it stood. He was too logical to lie to himself. And he was too empathetical to ignore the necessity of Kenji's actions as the clan head of the Inumaki.

For as deep and strong his emotions were for the girl, his first friend, the small amount of time they spent together was simply too short. They were close, yes. But not close enough to abandon his father, his teachers, his clan. At least not completely.

This left something Kenji could work with. For as long as Isamu was not completely overcome by hate, Kenji had a chance. He hoped at least.

——

'What is the purpose of this?' Isamu asked impatiently, not wanting to spend more time in his childhood home than necessary.

'I will be honest as I know you value the trait very much.' The clan head began, his years of experience reading people serving him well.

'You are valuable to the clan and to me. Both as a, well, as a person I am close to…' the clan head signed, stopping himself from calling Isamu his son as Isamu himself had demanded but he still managed to remind Isamu of their former father son relationship all the same, as was his intent.

'And as a talented member of the clan. A member who can achieve great things in the name of the clan.' The clan head started again after a short pause.

'You are too valuable to let go. So I'd like to make a deal. A partnership, so to speak.' The man continued.

'I have no interest in any kind of relationship with you. No partnerships. No parental advice. No membership. No employment. I figured the bloody corpus I left for you would deliver such a message adequately, but I guess I overestimated your rational ability.' Isamu signed bitterly and quickly.

He truly had no interest in the clan anymore. He didn't want anything to do with it. In his eyes, he'd already gotten revenge. He'd killed the killer after all. Sure, the clan had ordered it, but Isamu was not so childish to go after it.

If he went after everyone who played a part in it, he'd be killing people forever. Should he go kill the master who taught the assassin how to kill too? Or the person who built the steps? No, it would be too much death just for Isamu to feel empty by the end of it.

'That is certainly not my preferred response.' Kenji responded, he seemed to want to say more, but was stopped by a burst of cursed energy from another of the elders, seated on the far of Isamu's left, drawing all of their attention.

'Think this through, young Isamu. You have much to gain from this. I would at least hear him out if I were you. A clan as wealthy and powerful as ours should not be dismissed so lightly.' A man in grey robes interrupted, a sword a bit longer than Isamu's own strapped to his waist.

He was old, the oldest of them all. But he was probably the third strongest person in the room. His arms, thin and lanky, still held the same might he'd wielded in his prime. Some would argue he was still in his prime, having only grown stronger with age, somehow.

Out of all of the elders, he was the one Isamu held the most respected for. In large part due to his uninvolvement in the death of Hoshi. He was also the greatest swordsman among the clan, Isamu's relatively recent uptake of swordsmanship buying the man even more points with Isamu.

Out of all the people in the room, besides himself of course, he was the one Isamu wanted dead the least. Hell, he'd even go so far as to say he prayed for his continued life.

But Isamu could not dismiss the possibility that they knew this. That they knew Isamu had a great deal of respect for him. And ultimately, he was still an elder working in the clans favor. Which meant Isamu could not trust him.

'I… appreciate your wisdom, Elder Harumi, but I do not wish to extend this conversation any further when I know it will lead to nothing.' Isamu signed, taking on a bit more respectful attitude as he signed in a more formal manner.

'It seems you do not understand your position young one. You are-' Aimi intruded, the bitch. If it weren't for Haruto playing a part in the death of his first friend, Aimi would be his least favorite elder. And even then, she was a close second.

Her gody red and gold robes screamed "I'm more important than you" and her pounds of makeup didn't make it better. She was attractive, no doubt. But it had no effect on Isamu for he knew how ugly her personality and soul were.

Luckily, Isamu didn't get to see her signs, no doubt some condescending nonsense, before she was cut off by Harumi and his flare of cursed energy. It was menacing, no doubt, like Aimi would be cut down at any moment.

The elders aura lasted only a second before the old man returned to his normal, sage like attitude.

'Aimi, I think you have done enough signing for today. I vote that we take a small break, let tempers settle and for minds to process what has been spoken. An hour, perhaps. Then we may settle the matter. After all is said in done, no matter the outcome, Isamu will be free to go.' The most elderly of the clan elders signed, back to his calm, grandfatherly nature.

Isamu was a bit put off by said nature. He did not remember Hamuri being as such. Perhaps he'd changed in the last few years, but it was hard to imagine such an old man changing much in a mere 4 years. Something was up, Isamu didn't know what it was though.

'I agree, it is best we break here. Please, Isamu, think on it once more.' Kenji signed before clapping his hands, signaling an end to the conversation.

——

'All went as planned it seems.' Haruto signed to the room in general after the boy had left.

'Yes, everyone played their parts well enough. But now is not the time for us to falter or become complicit. Harumi, the clans fate rests on your shoulders for the time being. I trust you can handle it, considering your experience with such a weight.' The clan head responded, aiming the majority of his hands gestures Harumi's way.

As a whole, Kenji was correct. They'd succeeded in reminding him of both his former apprenticeship under Haruto and, more importantly, his former familial relationship with Kenji.

Their ploy to ingratiate Harumi into Isamu's favor also played out swimmingly. Harumi had the best chance by far to get closer to the boy. So they'd set Aimi up as a little villain of sorts, only for Harumi to come in and save Isamu the trouble of dealing with her.

After that, he was to suggest a break. During which, he would talk to Isamu and hopefully convince him to, at the very least, hear them out.

'I will be back shortly.' Harumi signed before standing, stroking his hairless chin as he did so. But before he could even make it half way to the door leading to the future of the Inumaki clan, a small, wooden projectile lodged itself in his shoulder.

——

Water rushed as screams filled buildings and the surrounding forest of the Inumaki clan estate. The screams, emanating from the hand maidens and children mostly, began to tapper off before new ones appeared, rending the night sky.

These ones, more masculine in nature, were courtesy of the men who'd come to the rescue. They'd failed spectacularly of course. For there were only 6 first grade sorcerers in the Inumaki clan, not counting Isamu Inumaki. And they were all busy elsewhere.

So it was no wonder, that, when faced with a special grade cursed spirit, few could even move. The small number who did were not capable enough to stop themselves from being swallowed up by the ocean tides.

But there was a single sorcerer who was, perhaps, capable of taking down the threat who was not otherwise preoccupied. And his ears picked up the screams of terror quite easily.