|The summoning of lords

“Yeah, I guess.”

“If that’s the case then you’re not acting like one.”

“Huh?”

“If I have a friend who treats me like garbage while I do every single thing I can for him, I’ll ditch him in a heartbeat. If any relationship is one sided, then it’s not worth it. I’ll say they are really patient.”

---What the hell are you talking about?

“Nothing is one sided..I’m just….”

“You don’t want to get hurt?? Well,nobody does.In the process you’re hurting other people and being the person you don’t want them to be.”

---What the hell do you know?

“Look, brother. I know it is difficult for you to trust people all of a sudden but whether you move forward or remain in that same position is entirely up to you.”

---You think I don’t know?

“That’s enough.”

“Is that all? Really, the brother I know wouldn’t switch from logic to emotions so quick. That means, deep down, you know I’m right.”

“Shut up.”

---Stop acting like you understand me.. It’s pissing me off.

“You don’t---”

“I don’t understand you??? I knew you’ll say that.”

She watched as he flounced up the stairs and continued her chores. She definitely crossed the line but maybe that was what he needed right now. Someone that will cross the line and put on an act just so he can see things more clearly. Shirou was correct but he wasn’t necessarily right; the fact that he knew that was what stirred him up in a negative manner.

“I’m doing this because I love you, brother.”

He nearly slammed the door if not for the thought of his mother who was asleep. Burdened by her hurtful words, he sat on his bed and folded his arms.

“She doesn’t know shit about me. So why the hell is she talking, huh??? I’m not a good person. Well, no freaking surprise here. No surprise at all…. I don’t even know myself. The past just doesn’t go away or disappear into thin ice. It’s not possible.”

His teeth clashed as he struggled to put the feeling in his chest into words. At times like this, the emotionless Yato Shirou was a hopeless mess. He gripped his chest as though it was his last source of strength. His frown had turned into an empty stare. He looked up and asked the first question he could think of.

“Why me?”

He stared back at himself, his lonely eyes irritated him even more. They were the eyes of a stranger. A stranger in the same body. With his gaze turned to his hand once again, he kissed his reflection in the mirror goodbye, for now.

**************************************************************************

Meanwhile, an emergency meeting known as the “the summoning of lords” was being held at the Lunar sky temple in Quesetania. This was where the ruler of Quesur lived. It’s glorious figure was the highlight of the whole central district and many travelled through varying fixed weather systems just to gaze upon it’s magnificence. All the leaders of the districts were expected to be present but out of five, only two of the members of the last meeting were seen. This change mostly signified the deaths of the previous rulers or a change in power if the new leader was of a different bloodline. The ruler of Quesetania(center region) and Quesur as a whole,Lord Jade Kagesame, continuously tossed a coin in the palm of his right hand.The leader of Desnia,Soragami Myra(the eastern region) sat with her arms folded, staring intently at the ruler. Thick strands of her long blue hair shot out, reaching her forehead and extending to her eye brows. This was of course no concern to her as she maintained eye contact.Her silver steeled eyes made Jade rather uncomfortable.The leader of Inferus,Noragami Kakei(southern region) lit up his tobacco pipe but was promptly shown a gesture signifying disapproval from the leader of Elisium (western region),Haragami Akatsuki. Kakei and Akatsuki were similar in figure but between the two, Kakei was more muscular. He was also the oldest ruler present in this current meeting. His face was boldly presented with a scar cutting across his left cheeks to his chin. His short beard made it a little less obvious. Just from a single look, one could tell that those eyes signified tiredness. Tiredness from this cruel world filled with endless battles and bloodshed. It was a surprise that the leader of the most savage individuals in the whole of Quesur were ruled by such a fellow. Akatsuki on the other hand was a rather tall and slender individual with no facial hair. However, his dull, plain yellow hair that stood on his hair like jelly seemed like the very definition of unkempt. They all wondered if he bothered to fix his appearance before coming for the meeting but his round eyes that were constantly hidden away with his smile were constantly shut. Maybe he didn’t care much about appearances.Shinji, the leader of Bruma(northern region) simply stared at the blend of personalities seated beside him. His hair pointed forward and stood alongside his face but unlike that of Myra, it could certainly cover his eye and affect his line of sight but he occasionally bent it away from his eyes.This was not the usual but it thought it gave him a more serious look.Rather ironic. Now, everyone was seated and ready to begin the emergency meeting. All the representatives that also served as guards were excused from the room and the front doors were slammed shut.

“Why don’t we get this meeting started, shall we??”

“Before we do, perhaps you should stop tossing that coin. It is really distracting.”

He laughed and shot out his empty hands. They all stared at him now with poker faces.

“Which coin??”

“We aren’t here for magic tricks.”

“I know.I know. You are really a feisty one, kid.”

“I am not a kid. As you can see, I am well above my twenties.”

“All I can see is a perfect beauty.”

“Why..you…”

Myra was a step away from losing it but calmed herself.

“Don’t….. I assume you summoned us here because of pressing issues that needed to be discussed. If that’s the case then it’ll be better for everyone if we get that sorted out as soon as possible.”

Jade rubbed his snow-like hair bashfully. Although he was the one that summoned them, he wasn’t taking the meeting seriously and that came off as disrespectful.

“Sheesh I was just trying to lighten up the mood a bit. Well, let’s start. The reason why I called you all here is because we aren’t cautious enough. If we aren’t careful, we will all meet our inevitable doom. As you all know, there have been some random skirmishes all over the place in recent years. It’s really been in a pain in the ass. I initially thought they just hated me that much but now that thought sounds sceptical to me.It’s a bit out of place. What do you think of it?””

“Perhaps they are all linked together??”

“That is what I think too, Akatsuki, but then the main issue is by who?”

“It could be anybody. But then we won’t get anywhere by trying to figure out who did it.”

“Yeah, it will be a pretty tall order for us to find out something as mysterious as that.”

“Wait a minute.. This could be your doing.”

Jade smiled wryly as Shinji made a reckless but rather valid accusation.

“So you think I called you four here just to talk about my own plans?”

“Not necessarily. But you undoubtedly have a part in this.”

“Explain your reasoning, boy.”

“I hope you haven’t forgotten about the magic sorting decree that got shut down when you became the new supreme ruler of Quesur.”

Quesur, although it was a land full of mana and blessings from the gods, one thing that made particular regions absolutely unbearable were the fixed weather systems in varying regions. For example, a person possessing ice magic could cope far less in a region with extreme, constant heat compared to that of a fire magic type. The only exceptions were unique magic types, non magic users and magic users that could keep their magic on all the time.

“I did a brilliant job, am I right?”

He winked at Shinji and continued.

“That rule was logical when you think of it. However, it wasn’t the best way to do things. As long as we have love and pride, anything else is irrelevant. I gave the people their right to choose.. What of it?”

“It certainly fixed the tension between the districts but in the process, you indirectly created a rebellion. Those that will stick to logic and factor in nothing else. Those are the ones that will surely bring the decree back to the limelight and question our way of living. Those are the people we’ll be up against.”

“Hmm, you have a really valid point right there, boy.Now---”

“That might not be the case, though.”

“You think it could be something else?”

“I agree with Yatogami here.”

Myra crossed her arms and nodded multiple times.

“Myra, you’ve been staring daggers at me for a while, have you forgiven me?”

“It would be useless for me to come all the way here and not contribute to anything.That's all.”

“I know, right?”

From the corner of his eyes, he located Kakei. Their eyes met briefly.

“As I was saying, I have the feeling it’s the black reaper.”

The name alone brought a commonplace level of shock in the room.

“Black reaper, you say? It’s been a while since I heard that name.”

“Explain yourself at once, Yatogami.”

Kakei slammed the table with a dark,scornful look, Jade chuckled upon the sight in front of him.

“Oh my… The old geezer is embarrassing himself. Relax, it’s probably just a gut feeling he's having.”

“Sick bastard.. Why are you laughing?

His overwhelming bloodlust covered the entire room. In a duel, the only way to respond to a burst of aura was to show your own. Jade chose otherwise.

“Why is everyone on edge today? I mean he mentioned the group responsible for the death of his clan and you were the one reacting to it and you think that’s not funny?”

“It seems like I should take over.”

Akatsuki’s aura clashed with that of Kakei and suppressed it. He turned to the other members seated.

“I’m so sorry for that. As for you, I’m not going to be cleaning your mess this time.”

“What do you mean by take over?? I am the one leading this meeting and you dare try to silence me? Have you forgotten your ruler?”

“Well, if you were more competent I would have kept quiet and allowed the new leaders see for themselves how the meeting usually is.”

“Are you ready for the consequence of the statement you just made???”

“You can take me on anytime you want. You can’t beat me.”

Jade grinned while Akatsuki smiled as he tilted his chair.

“Have it your way, show off. I might send assassins to you one of these days.”

“Thank you for your cooperation. Seems like I won’t be taking over after all.”

“Let’s continue. Going by your line of reasoning,boy, we can also confirm that the only reason they would pull something this large and reckless would be because of 'the void'."

Shinji briefly recalled those same words being used by his father when he was little. The tale of Sumire the great always filled him with nostalgia.

“So…Assuming they were alive all this time, why do they choose to strike now?”

“That’s simple, it will probably be the best time to attack under the cover of a rebellion.”

After a few moments of silence, Soragami asked the question everyone was waiting to hear.

“Other than that, Yatogami, you still possess your weapon?”

“Yes. Although, I’m not in sync with it at the moment.”

“I suggest we protect it at all costs. It’s the only one we have.”

“Mmmh you’re right about that. What steps do we take in doing that though?”

Their gazes all landed on the boy. Jade threw the coin and Shinji caught it without any effort.

“How about this??? We keep it right here at Lunar sky temple. Yours truly would keep it safe until the situation is clearer.”

“I refuse!!!”

{Tch}

“This is why you self proclaimed warriors are the worst. Your pride would be your undoing.”

“.….”

“I don’t see any of you complaining either.”

“.…”

“Nothing??”

“It certainly has something to do with pride but that’s not all. It feels like that’s the only thing my Father left me with. A last wish that he entrusted me with. That is why I will protect it with my life. For my sake. I don’t mind going out with a bang.”

“Hmm. If there’s anything commendable about you, it will be your bravery. Fine, since you four have no problem with it we’ll keep the same approach.”

“Added to that, I, Soragami Myra, will do my best in assisting Yatogami. We of the land of Desnia will come together with those of Bruma with our goals aligned.”

“Huh?? But I haven’t agreed to anyth--”

“Great thinking, kid.”

“The name is Myra and I am not a kid.”

“Fine, fine. Myra, with that I will send some of my finest men too. Surely your pride won’t get in the way this time?”

“.…”

“Excellent.. Now, with that aside. Let’s talk about the group itself. To be quite frank, they are quite daunting. If my sister is alive then our chances are slim.”

“Is she that fearsome?”

“Indeed. She’s a literal goddess. That was probably the only reason your father was defeated in battle. They will probably be lacking in numbers but sheer power will be a different discussion.”

“Wait wait wait.”

Akatsuki adjusted his chair and rubbed his eyes. He had been asleep halfway during the meeting. His drowsy eyes gave him away.

“I’m not offering up my life for anyone or anything.All that chivalry crap ended with Queen Sumire.”

“Enough.I won’t take this any longer.”

“Haha the old geezer has gone senile. Well it’s not your fault, you’re also somewhat new to this.This is how our meetings have always been. Get used to it.”

Kakei, completely compelled by Jade’s provocation walked away, seeing that as the only thing that would prevent a fight from happening. He burst the door open and blew it away, alerting Ryugo Kirisaki and the other guard representatives. Akatsuki rolled his eyes. The old man brought the meeting to a close.Myra and Shinji gave each other a reassuring smile and didn’t move an inch.

“Well, nothing we can do now. Akatsuki, what next?”

“I don’t know. You were the one that called him a geezer.”

“You started it.”

“I only told the truth. Unlike Desnia, Elisium will maintain a neutral stance.”

“Whatever. I’m sure your people will eat,drink and dance while the whole place goes into ruin. Anyway, one last thing.”

“The meeting is not over?”

“Yes and No. You all may come in.”

“Yes, my lord!!!”

They all lined up, each representative for a district.

“Aoyama. Listen well and relay whatever I say to the ruler of Inferus.”

--Is this guy crazy?

Shinji stared at him in shock. The topics of the meeting were to be kept in utmost secrecy. No one was supposed to have knowledge of what was being discussed and he just blew all that away with his statement.

“Understood, my lord.”

“If you forget even a single line then don’t bother coming back here.”

--Harsh.

“Understood, my lord.”

The figure that walked closer to the ruler knelt down in front of him. His headband kept his rare, red hair in place.

“First of all, his disappearance doesn’t take anything away from us. He was the most suspicious one, after all.”

“You think Inferus might be harbouring the rebels?”

“Haa…Just a gut feeling.Anyway, in the case that our second guess is correct, we can’t simply wait for them to have their way with us.How about we take the offensive approach instead?”

“...”

He smirked and pointed his thumb close to his neck and swiftly swiped. His gesture caught their attention.

“Man, beast or god. Let’s snuff them out and wipe them clean off the surface of the earth.”

He grinned mischievously as he uttered these words. His words were full of confidence but lacked wisdom as a direct battle against the strongest magic user in Quesur wouldn’t have been advisable under normal circumstances. However, he had a trump card which would give him a real chance against her. A family reunion was long overdue…..

( “---” represents the thoughts of the main character. “--” represents the thoughts of any other character. “[]” represents an important event, most likely past events. “{}” represents various sounds made.)

The end of Rakurai LN volume 1