senhime 「 千姫 」 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deontological) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
recountal2015-11-18 08:38 pm
deontological) wrote in recountal2015-11-18 08:38 pm
you say DEATH i say LET'S DO IT
[Sen hadn't thought that details of the arrangement she and Kazama had made had spread so far. Not far enough for his family members to reach out to her after his untimely death (he's such a fool - she can't believe he had actually left them after her rescue to "take care of some business" and had wound up with a sword to the heart).
Not far enough for her to be obligated to receive the condolences of the various attendees at Kazama Chikage's funeral.
But it has. The blasted man had mentioned to some family member of his or another that they'd made an arrangement, and word of it had spread to Yase, and though they were never betrothed - though all she agreed to do was perform her duty to demons everywhere for the preservation of their race - it's been agreed that it would be poor form for her to merely offer condolences to Kazama's family members; instead, she's... part of the family, much to her chagrin.
At least none of them expect her to honor the arrangement with any of the other members of the clan. They simply don't offer the same sort of power to a child that Kazama would have.
But here she is, at the conclusion of the ceremonies; the would-be father of her child has been laid to rest. Even the heads and high-ranking members of clans that hadn't really gotten along with him have come, for appearance's sake; that's how she comes face to face with Kaoru.
Her expression is carefully neutral. So far, nobody's really called her out on how she doesn't actually seen all that torn up about the death, but Kaoru, being a master of deception himself (and also kind of a shithead), just might realize that she's... really not all that heartbroken.
She waits for him to speak first, though; curious as she is to hear what Tosa's response to this so-called tragedy is, she's not curious enough to speak out of turn.]
Not far enough for her to be obligated to receive the condolences of the various attendees at Kazama Chikage's funeral.
But it has. The blasted man had mentioned to some family member of his or another that they'd made an arrangement, and word of it had spread to Yase, and though they were never betrothed - though all she agreed to do was perform her duty to demons everywhere for the preservation of their race - it's been agreed that it would be poor form for her to merely offer condolences to Kazama's family members; instead, she's... part of the family, much to her chagrin.
At least none of them expect her to honor the arrangement with any of the other members of the clan. They simply don't offer the same sort of power to a child that Kazama would have.
But here she is, at the conclusion of the ceremonies; the would-be father of her child has been laid to rest. Even the heads and high-ranking members of clans that hadn't really gotten along with him have come, for appearance's sake; that's how she comes face to face with Kaoru.
Her expression is carefully neutral. So far, nobody's really called her out on how she doesn't actually seen all that torn up about the death, but Kaoru, being a master of deception himself (and also kind of a shithead), just might realize that she's... really not all that heartbroken.
She waits for him to speak first, though; curious as she is to hear what Tosa's response to this so-called tragedy is, she's not curious enough to speak out of turn.]
BANGS HANDS ON TABLE our time
Well, at least he didn't really dislike Kazama any more than he dislikes everyone. That would make this even more difficult than it already is.]
Tosa extends our condolences, and we offer any support that's necessary during the grieving period.
[That's the official statement that he passes on to the family members of the bereaved; short and curt and to-the-point, but still polite, still fulfilling his duty to strengthen the network of demon support even though it's not like any of them had supported the Yukimura clan when it counted...!
Not that he's salty or anything.
And then, once he's done milling around and paying respects enough to be sick of it, he bumps into Sen, who certainly doesn't look grief-stricken. Solemn in a reserved sort of way that one might confuse for grief, but Kaoru knows better than that, of course.]
Ah— My condolences to you as well, Princess. I'd imagine this is a difficult period for you.
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It's more than she could have hoped for. If circumstances were different, would she have managed to avoid this? She doesn't know.
Kaoru is polite enough. He says just the right things to satisfy any listening ears (and certainly there are listening ears - everyone is paying attention at this gathering to be sure that there aren't any missteps from their own clans, and to hold any missteps from other clans over them when it may come to their advantage. She can't afford to respond badly.
...and, well, he's not wrong. It is difficult to be here, but not for the reasons that most people believe. She lowers her gaze in the way that she knows the demons around her expect, and sighs lightly.] Thank you. It's certainly difficult... but both the demon clans of Satsuma and Yase thank you for your support during this trying time. Kazama Chikage is not a man who can be easily replaced.
[He's one-of-a-kind, all right. A one-of-a-kind jackass.]
I doubt we'll ever see someone like him again.
[There's an almost imperceptible relaxation of her shoulders at the words - And thank all the gods for that.]
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Of course he can. He's a passive-aggressive shitheel; this is the language he's most fluent in.]
Certainly, Kazama Chikage was someone who stood out even among our own.
[As in, "we're all shitheads more or less but boy, he sure took the cake sometimes". Kaoru's gaze drifts back toward the front of the room somewhat solemnly.]
The atmosphere will be very different now, I'd think. It's an unfortunate thing in such a turbulent time.
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[Unfortunate that they can't express their relief, anyway; matters are uncertain enough as it is without potentially offending someone who happens to witness it and causing more problems. Honestly, Sen feels as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders (another weight has been laid across them, of course, but it weighs less than the first).]
But I'm sure he wouldn't want us to burden ourselves by mourning him for too long. [He wouldn't want them to mourn him at all because he wouldn't want to be dead. She's pretty sure he thought he was invincible.] The welfare of demonkind must come before any sentimentality, wouldn't you agree?
[can she just ditch the funeral and go back to work, throw her a bone here, kaoru]
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SO:]
The princess is as hard-working as ever, even in such a difficult time. That sort of strength is exactly why Yase is thriving today, I'd imagine. [Nevermind Kaoru's entirely mixed feelings on the matter of Yase in general!!]
You must have a lot of work waiting for you after your return, as well... On behalf of the Nagumo, I hope that I can extend a hand to lighten that burden?
["LET'S FLEE". Free Him...]
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...okay, no. It's not quite as easy as accepting Kaoru's metaphorical hand, because there's still appearances to keep up and blah blah blah, but Sen's lips do quirk up in a brief smile when he says exactly what she needs to hear to justify leaving.] Both the village of Yase and I would be very grateful for your assistance, Nagumo-san. [And that's that! A quick word to Kimigiku to smooth the way for their exit, and then a brief exchange with a few members of the Kazama family, and Sen and Kaoru have been sprung from their obligation to mingle with the other mourners.
For now, at least, they're headed the same direction; even if Kaoru's offer to help lighten the burden was just a pretense to get them both out of there, they have to head the same way to get to Tosa and Yase from Satsuma domain. Kimigiku acts both as their guide and bodyguard - until they've walked a good distance away from any prying eyes or listening ears. Then Sen asks her to go on ahead and make sure they've got accommodations for the night at an inn, since she hardly thinks they're going to make it in a single day.
Well, they probably could, but she doesn't feel like trying to run at full demon speed in her kimono.
Once Kimigiku's left (because frankly NPCing her doesn't seem like that much fun right now, sorry Kimigiku, you're getting written out of the scene), Sen stretches a bit and finally allows herself to smile.]
Well! I'm glad that's over with, aren't you?
[Here she is, the very picture of a bride-to-be in mourning. Yep.]
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Though it's not like this shithead is doing any better, considering he dropped pretenses as soon as possible and has been maintaining a fairly blase demeanor once they were out of eye and earshot. It's not like people don't know he's an asshole, okay... And what's Kimigiku gonna do, tell the Kazamas that he's living up to his shitheaded reputation??
So he's already definitely enjoying Freedom by the time Sen catches up, and he even offers a brief smile her way.]
You did seem a little stifled back there. A weight off of your shoulders, hm?
[No one wants to be betrothed to the demon king, how sad...]
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That's certainly one way of putting it.
["Freedom, sweet glorious freedom" is another. Not only does she not have to spend more time than she ever wanted to around the man, she also doesn't have to worry about him failing to hold up his end of the bargain and going after Chizuru anyway. While she's sure Toudou would do his best to fight him off, that's not really a confrontation she ever wanted to come to pass.
Mostly because she's sure Toudou would lose, and Chizuru would be sad.
...it occurs to her that it's a little funny - here she is, walking alongside her friend's brother now that both she and her friend are free from the looming threat of Kazama hanging over them. "I sure am glad Kazama's dead so I don't have to have his kid in exchange for getting him to leave your sister alone" isn't really something she can say, though.]
You didn't seem too sad to hear of his passing either, however... let me guess. You had to come for the sake of appearances? I'd wager that about seventy-five percent of the guests were there for the same reason.
[The other 25% were his family members.]
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But as Sen's generously pointed out, it's not like Kaoru is the only person who had to show up for the sake of appearances and little else. The demon world is just as full of pomp and circumstance as the human world is, which is just one of many reasons as to why he isn't particularly enchanted with either. There isn't much difference in the end (even if he would still side with demons over humans).]
My clan is still regaining a proper reputation. [Thanks to Kaoru!! After wiping out all of the sketchier troublemakers...! Except Kaoru is really King Shady but hey, who's really keeping track, right?]
It's a shame. His big mouth detracted a lot from what he could have been.
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You've been making good progress in that regard. [Good enough progress, anyway - in that her information network hasn't caught him doing anything super shady. They've been somewhat focused on little things like getting her back from Sendai and helping to ferret out human threats to the Imperial Court as of late, though. Everyone's spread a little thin with the recent goings-on.
...she has to bite her lip to keep from laughing at his observation.]
His big mouth and his big ego, [She agrees.] It's always a shame when someone has that kind of potential but fails to live up to it, is it not?
[Yeah. Such a shame.]
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Still, her comment earns her a wan smile, like this is some shit-awful inside joke that neither of them want to be a part of. Ah, demon society. Humans are the lowest on the totem pole, but he can't really crow about his own kind either.
Anyway, back to laughing at Kazama--] Well, considering he failed to live in general, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised.
[TOO SOON.]