Yo Girl • Private [Izayuki]

The silver-furred Bakedanuki was casually making her way around town, collecting the rent of certain Black Rose-owned buildings, buying a couple treats here and there, and overall just taking a nice, refreshing walk. It was one of the first she had had in a long time in the guild’s hometown, after all. For once, she was not off on a rush to a job site or on a mission. Normally, her free time was occupied by snoozing or moping or eating, but today would be a little different.

Clawed hands in her khaki pockets, the guild master of Black Rose would silently tread the streets. She was well known in the area, naturally, but had learned to ignore the curious eyes of others on her. It was something she would get either way, leader of a guild or not, at least with her odd appearance of being mostly human with the ears and tail of a canine. As she continued her relaxing stroll, making her way back to Silver Moon Boulevard, an ever so familiar scent washed over her senses.

Within heartbeats, the ayakashi had quickened her pace, hands leaving her pockets and clenching as she sought to track down the source-- before it was too late.
What could the silvernette want here, other than to perhaps extract another means of revenge on her guild? Yes, the war was over for the most part, but Izayuki had little idea of what Astrid knew or did not know. Had she been told the truth?

As the Bakedanuki’s strides grew longer, keen, narrowed crimson eyes finally could make out the lavender cloak that anyone living on the boulevard would recognize. With a low canine growl rising in her throat, Izayuki would walk directly towards the former guild master, the crowd easily parting to let the leader of Black Rose through. “Why are you here?” she would demand, the silver fur on her tail and ears bristling. She knew that Astrid was scared of her, and would usually make an effort to appear as least intimidating as possible. Now was different, however. She was talking to one who had harmed her family after all. Astrid had destroyed their home, and killed two children. Such things were not so easily forgiven. It was one thing if Astrid had gone after Izayuki alone, but bringing her guild into it was a grave mistake.

That was exactly what the Bakedanuki thought-- the former guild master was only in Rose Garden to cause trouble. Maintaining a hard crimson glare at the hooded silvernette, Izayuki could not hold back another low canine growl in the back of her throat when Astrid mentioned the ‘misunderstanding’. That word was an understatement by far, considering the scale of what had happened. Astrid had not only caused them a fair amount of injuries and destruction, but a high cost when it came to rebuilding. Some things, however, were not so easily replaced.

At Astrid’s request for them to go somewhere else, a place more private than where they stood, the Bakedanuki snapped her clawed fingers. All around them, the world would melt to a paper white. No longer would they be standing in the colorful Rose Garden. Izayuki had used her mononoke magic specifically to cast an illusion on the vicinity itself. The people were no longer around, and could no longer see and hear the duo. They would not walk into them either, as the Bakedanuki had meticulously shifted the space for the time being, so that anyone who walked through a part of the street where they were would pass through, appearing on the other side of the space as if nothing happened.

The primary reason Izayuki chose to shroud them in a carefully crafted illusion was because she did not trust Astrid. She did not know if her ‘daughter’ was really here to resolve the issues up in the air, or to just lead Izayuki off someplace or into a trap. The two were of the same level in power now-- the elf had grown tremendously since her days in Black Rose. But Izayuki also remembered how the child soul had once deceived her, spiriting her away to a place and attacking her, before the Bakedanuki had settled the situation by offering the unborn soul a ‘name’. She was no longer willing to take risks with the unpredictable former guildmaster. While it was true Astrid could very easy break out of the ‘illusion’ with little to no effort, if she were serious about what she said, surely she would not.

“Stop sugarcoating it, murderer,” Izayuki began, her voice laced with venomous anger. With the events still fresh on her mind, it was difficult to remain calm and collected. The Bakedanuki understood that she was not one to talk, when it came to killing and not killing, but in the direct situation, Izayuki had hurt nobody who was affiliated with Astrid, but the silvernette still managed to kill two children. The grieving mother could not so easily overlook that. “What do you want?”

The Bakedanuki observed the white dragon slayer’s reaction to her venomous tone and words. The guilt was visible, and fortunately was there. If it were not, there was no point for them to be having this conversation. Izayuki stared at the envelope being handed to her, at first suspicious before the silvernette continued. It was a savings for her grandfather, but quite a shame that the fellow died before whatever debt he had could be paid off. The guild master did sympathize with the loss of a family member quite well, and thus made no comment at first as the money was offered.

Izayuki reached out to accept the envelope, still staring at it half suspiciously. She only nodded at her daughter’s words, knowing she would use it to pay off the guildhall repairs after the destruction by the young slayer. Astrid pulled off her hood, letting it fall off of her head and to her shoulders. The flower growing from one eye was surprising and unnerving to the Bakedanuki, who could easily see the hardships the dragon slayer had been through. Indeed, she was not the same as she was in Black Rose. The life of a guild master and a mage had certainly taught her a thing or two.

“What happened to you?” the Bakedanuki asked, forcing herself to fight tears and a shaking voice. “The last times I saw you, you were killed by Erika using you as a human shield, being taken away by Violet, and finally, were attacking my guild. Now you’re missing an eye, and are wandering with my husband’s guild gone…”

She wanted to mend that relationship so much. Only, whenever she reached out, her daugher pushed back. Or Izayuki would do something to mess it up. She had never been good to Astrid, and a couple good deeds barely outnumbered even one of the times she had hurt her daughter, like back in that alleyway, when she had been killed by Lucius and accidentally possessed Astrid to torment him, and when she failed to notice and protect her from Erika taking her captive during the Magic Council’s war with Navrick. Why was it that Astrid was only willing now, other than out of a feeling of obligation or guilt?

The relation of Astrid to herself made Izayuki’s silver-furred tail visibly twitch. It was a shocking statement, as she never anticipated her ‘daughter’ ever mentioning their relationship unless she had to. Izayuki could only nod in agreement, still somewhat baffled by the expression to the point she could not muster words right away.

When the silver-haired slayer went on to explain, a low growl rose in the Bakedanuki’s throat. Savage Skull-- quite a tragedy indeed. The yokai had encountered their previous guildmaster and had even taken and completed a job successfully with her. Despite being a dark guild leader, that person had not been too bad. Unfortunately, either the leadership had changed hands, or the master that Izayuki knew had changed her heart. Izayuki suspected the former. Desiree had explained the fact that it was the old kasha nekomata in her letter of departure and Astrid’s words confirmed it. Fluffy, also known as Nyx, was a cruel cat demon, who had it out for Izayuki. What better way to get at the Bakedanuki than to target her guild?

“Fluffy, was it?” the slayer growled, eyes gazing at the solid white ground of her illusion. Astrid mentioned she did not know why they did such things, but Izayuki knew full well why they dared. “I know why,” she continued, crimson eyes focusing on the silvernette once more. “Fluffy has a vendetta against me. She knew she couldn’t kill me directly, so what better way to get back at me than to target my guild and family.”

Technically, she was referring to her own guild as her family. However, Elyx’s legacy was very much a part of her family outlook too, so of course Golden Phoenix would have been dragged into the fray. “I’m sorry they had to involve you,” the tanuki said, not quite thinking and still trying to piece it together. She was still angry at what had happened to her guild and children from Astrid, but would at least take partial responsibility for others getting involved in a yokai dispute, to the point a home was destroyed and an eye was taken. The nekomata had tricked her, as many ayakashi were notorious for doing. At the end of the day, who really was to blame besides the evil cat demon?

“With Golden Phoenix gone, where are you staying? Did Violet take you back in?” the Bakedanuki asked, a look of concern in her eyes. Since she had stood up against Violet in defense of the slayer, Izayuki wondered if Violet would have been keen on taking her birth daughter back in or not. If she had known of the tragedy of Golden Phoenix before it happened, she would have sided with Violet. It would be better for their daughter to miss out on leading and the dream of a mage than to have been hurt so badly.

The demonic cat-- Izayuki bitterly remembered the girl who had once been human. An onmyoji and user of sealing arts, the girl hunted down those that did not abide by the normal rules of the world. Yokai were enemies, monsters to be feared. While the tanuki understood that much of her kind was known to be evil and rotten, ready to feed on human and cause mass destruction, a good majority were still peaceful and harmless. The latter mattered not to the onmyoji, however, and that girl was a part of the party that had tracked the wizard saint down in hopes of killing her. Their anti-yokai charms had proven effective, and had it not been for Izayuki resorting to turning that girl into an ayakashi like herself, she likely would not be standing before her daughter. The forced transformation had caused a good deal of chaos-- the girl went berserk in her new kasha nekomata form and devoured everyone else in her team. Utilizing the commotion, Izayuki had managed to flee. Little did she know the feline would be after her for revenge.

Still, she could not dwell on that now. She had done what she needed to in order to survive, after all. “Fluffy” had become the monster she once saw Izayuki as. Fortunately she had been silenced for now, but not without leaving a wake of devastation for them to clean up after. Judging from what Astrid was saying, she was living alone with nobody to care for her. Not even a guild was at her side to support and assist her. The news visibly saddened the tanuki as her silver-furred ears and tail drooped in sympathy. Even Violet had not fared well in the war initiated by the nekomata. While Izayuki was not fond of Astrid’s birth mother, she still did not wish ill fortune on her. “I see,” the bakedanuki murmured, gazing at the silvernette softly and sincerely. “Please know, you always have a home with me in Black Rose. I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.”

The words seemed odd for the reserved ayakashi, but fell out of her mouth so naturally when it came to the young elf. The choice belonged to the dragon slayer, of course, but the bakedanuki would still extend the offer with a promise to do what she could to help her daughter and keep her safe.