She Protects What's Hers

The rage came up from somewhere deep and ancient. Amelia could taste copper on her tongue.

You talk about a massacre that half of you profited from. An inside job you covered up with so much red tape the truth itself suffocated in bureaucratic hell.

Her demonic energy leaked out despite her control. The table's surface developed hairline cracks. Nerona's eyes widened slightly, the first genuine reaction Amelia had seen from her in years.

The Valac Clan wiped out in a single night. Every man, woman, and child besides one. Their techniques stolen, their assets seized, their name scrubbed from official records. And you dare invoke their memory like you give a single damn about preventing tragedy.

She was going to kill them. Right here, right now. Consequences be damned.

"You dare." The words came out quiet. Deadly. "You dare speak to me about vigilance."

She took a step toward the table. The cracks spread.

"You, who hide behind your proxies and your anonymous voices. You, who whisper about tragedies you allowed and actively orchestrated for your own political gain."

Another step. The rainbow light from the lantern pulsed erratically.

"The Valac Massacre happened because you wanted it to happen. Because they knew too much about what really goes on in those sealed archives you guard so jealously."

Minister Takahashi's projection flickered. "Those are serious accusations..."

"They're facts." Her eyes locked onto each projection in turn, pinning them with violet light. "The only thing protecting you from me dragging the whole sordid truth into daylight is that I'm too busy actually doing my job to waste time on your corpses."

The room went silent except for the electric hum of the lantern.

Amelia placed both palms flat on the obsidian surface. The cracks spider-webbed outward from her touch. When she spoke again, her voice carried the weight of absolute certainty.

"Rome Angelo is mine now. He is a student under my direct protection and a subject of Beleth Clan interest. His classification, his training, his ultimate fate. All mine to decide."

She leaned forward. The projections leaned back.

"If he proves to be a danger to our world, I will be the one to put him down. That is my right as his instructor and my responsibility as the bearer of the Eyes of Saba."

Minister Yamamoto's voice crackled through the static. "The Council does not recognize your authority to..."

"I don't care what you recognize." The words came out flat. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to approve his enrollment. You're going to classify him as a B-Rank student under my personal supervision. You're going to remove any execution orders, containment protocols, or monitoring requests."

The projections exchanged glances, their transparency making the gesture absurdly theatrical.

"And if we refuse?" Minister Watanabe's voice tried for authoritative, landed somewhere near petulant.

Amelia straightened. Her presence expanded to fill the room, demonic energy rolling off her in waves that made the Curtain shudder.

"If you ever force me to choose between protecting that boy and following one of your senile, self-serving orders, I will not choose you."

She smiled. It was the same smile she gave Rome.

"Think very carefully before you do anything rash, gentlemen. The Beleth Clan hasn't needed your permission to act in two hundred years. We're only polite because it amuses us. Stop being amusing."

She turned her back on them. The ultimate insult. Eight of the most powerful men in the shaman world, and she dismissed them like misbehaving children.

"Oh, one more thing."

She paused at the door, glancing back over her shoulder.

"My student has a cat. A Bakeneko, if my senses are correct, though she's doing an admirable job pretending otherwise. The cat stays with him. Non-negotiable."

Minister Takahashi sputtered. "You cannot seriously expect us to approve housing a yokai on campus..."

"I expect you to approve whatever I tell you to approve."

The doors opened at her approach, wood groaning against ancient hinges.

"Same time next month for my progress report?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Wonderful. Nerona, send my regards to whoever you actually report to. We both know it isn't these fossils."

She walked out. The doors slammed shut behind her with enough force to crack the stone doorframe.

The Curtain dissolved. The lantern's flame guttered out. The projections remained, frozen in shocked silence.

In the lobby three floors below, Rome looked up as the elevator dinged. Amelia emerged, her expression sunny, her hair perfect. She accepted a coffee from the terrified receptionist with a gracious smile.

"Ready to go eat?" She hooked her arm through Rome's, steering him toward the exit.

"Did you just..." Rome glanced back at the building. "What happened up there?"

"Politics." Amelia waved her free hand dismissively. "Boring old men who think they matter. Nothing to worry about."

Freya growled from her carrier.

"Oh hush, you." Amelia leaned down to peer through the bars. "I got you approved too. You should be grateful."

The cat hissed.

"She really, really hates you," Rome observed.

"I noticed." Amelia pulled open the convertible's door. "It's fine. We'll bond eventually. I'm a very lovable person."

As she slid behind the wheel, Rome hesitated.

"Those people in there. They wanted you to kill me."

"Yes."

"You told them no."

"Obviously."

"Why?"

Amelia started the engine, letting it roar to life. She turned to look at Rome, her gray eyes meeting his hazel ones. For a moment, the playful mask slipped. What showed underneath was something older, lonelier, and infinitely more dangerous.

"Because you're mine now," she said simply. "And I protect what's mine."

The mask snapped back into place. She grinned, reaching over to ruffle his hair.

"Also because you're fascinating and I want to see what happens when we remove that seal properly. Call it scientific curiosity mixed with a healthy dose of rebellion."

She threw the car into gear and peeled out of the parking lot with enough speed to leave rubber on the pristine concrete.

Behind them, in Conference Room 3, the Ministers remained in tense silence until Nerona finally deactivated the Demonic Lantern. The projections faded one by one.

Only Minister Yamamoto's voice lingered, crackling through the dying connection.

"She's going to destroy everything we've built."

Nerona collected her lantern with careful hands, her expression unreadable.

"Perhaps," she murmured to the empty room. "Or perhaps she already has. We just haven't noticed yet."