Under the Radar

[madimpossibledreamer]

This happens probably after the events of everything else I've written by this point.
Cast of Characters: Natsukawa Akeru (Dawn), Matriarch of the Natsukawa-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Natsukawa Renyo (Buffy), Chairwoman of the Amaya-kai
Natsukawa Kimiko (Joyce), Former Chairwoman of the Amaya-kai (and now dead)
Mizushima Kimina (Pat), a higher-up in the Natsukawa-gumi, a Direct Famly of the Amaya-kai
Abe Keika (Carol), Former Acting Matriarch of the Natsukawa-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Kumai Atae (Jesse), former Matriarch of the Kumai-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past member of the defunct Amaya-kai subsidiary Hisamatsu-gumi
Miyamoto Suna (Xander), Matriarch of the Miyamoto-gumi/Miyamoto Family, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past Captain of the Kumai-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past member of the defunct Amaya-kai subsidiary Hisamatsu-gumi, nicknamed Haiena due to her irezumi
Maki Akiharu (Giles), Advisor to the previous and current Chairwomen of the Amaya-kai
Hattori (Snyder), Matriarch of the Kazami-gumi/Kazami Family, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Takemura Kouka (Harkness, Devon Coven), Matriarch of the Aiki Consortium, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Akiyama Yoko (Willow), Matriarch of the Akiyama-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past Captain of the Aiki Consortium, an Amaya-kai subsidiary
Author's Notes: In this universe, Japan is run by the women. As is the Yakuza. Like A Cup Overflows/Phoenix Spirit, this one will probably be part of at least a two-parter, only I just now finished the first part.  I didn't intend for Dawn to be as judgey/discriminatory as she is, but to be fair, a lot of these things just happen when I'm writing this fic, and you definitely got a hint of that in Phoenix Spirit.  The Natsukawa-gumi are essentially the Nikkyo Consortium of the Amaya-kai, only they're slightly known as the blackmail division.  Their hidden duties, as mentioned, are all the things too black-ops for even the yakuza.  The most common foreign youkai in Japan is the vampire, as the closest Asian variants are probably hopping vampires or various succubi-like youkai/akuma and there's still a strong vampire presence in the world.  Only those who are really, really close use the first name without any honorifics-even Dawn doesn't call her sister Renyo out of respect and mostly calls her mother by title rather than name, even if it's the familial rather than occupational title.
Mizushima Kimina-noble apple tree
Keika-strong song/poetry
Kanzou-create justice, essentially I named him the same thing as Justin so it might be a bit of a pun.  Thought about renaming Justin, but as he's a "foreign youkai" it makes sense to keep his name also foreign.
Definitions: onee-chan=older sister
okaasan=mom
Irezumi=tattoo, in this universe irezumi youkai exist in the yakuza tattoos and can be drawn on (like turning a faucet to a trickle) or invoked (turning on a hose at full power).
yurei=a type of ghost, often unfriendly
gokudou=another word for yakuza, preferred by the organization
youkai=catch-all term for monsters and spirits
akuma=demons, listed separately as a nod to Buffy canon
Oni Alliance=nickname for the Osato-kai, rival yakuza clan to the Amaya-kai due to a strong alliance with the Oni
ryuu=Asian dragon
true Underworld=the black market/underworld of the Spirit World
Chinpira=somewhat insulting term for a lower-ranked yakuza, kind of like calling them 'trash' or 'good for nothings'
karasu tengu=humanoid crow youkai, great fighters, especially of martial arts.  stories that they were once human and were turned into karasu tengu because of pride or greed exist.

Akeru's irezumi might be of note here.
More author's notes: background notes

Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU (Bloody Petals)
Chapter Summary: Being underestimated is Akeru's strength, not a weakness.
Word Count: 2035
Rating: Teen
Warning: Dawn's making a lot of assumptions about a lot of people/youkai.

 

          Being overlooked. It’d bothered her, once upon a time. Of course, there were those that did it deliberately, unable to stand the thought of building a dynasty. Neglect, to them, was a punishment suitable to any reaching above their station. Others, who’d found onee-chan pretty impressive, and overlooked her in onee-chan’s wake.
          Which is fair enough. Renyo-onee-chan didn’t really get subtlety. Even Natsukawa Kimiko-san had come off as straightforward enough after earning the Chairwomanship, which of course was a complete misdirection. But then, it matches the nature of the Natsukawa-gumi, founded by none other than Okaasan. On the surface, your average yakuza Family, maybe a little more focused on extortion, blackmail, and bribery than average, but it’s a glimpse beneath the hood that gives away the difference. Spying, assassination, any necessary black-ops. Okaasan played the respectable Chairwoman, with her interest in the arts, but she’d planted a beautiful sword in the backs or guts of a hundred targets over the years.
          Renyo-onee-chan never peeked, which is why she’d never been considered for Matriarch of the Natsukawa-gumi. All the behind-the-scenes stuff would find her yawning, or starting things just out of boredom. Akeru lives for it, but then, she’d gotten her start pickpocketing and stealing from stores. (She’d also been poor at that, at first, which had earned a fond look and a harsh lecture from a mother too busy to be around much. Maybe it had been a cry for attention—it’s not like she’s going to admit to it.)
          But she kept trying. The police kept picking her up. She was an embarrassment, really. Until overly gossipy Mizushima took her aside. The tests were almost cruel, with Mizushima laughing after every failed attempt, but that only spurred Akeru on all the more. Until she’d managed it, a light touch and a proud smile in return, and it was clear that Mizushima had known the correct motivator, and it had all been a test.
          Natsukawa Kimiko-san was Chairwoman, and could no longer retain the duties of the Natsukawa-gumi. Renyo-onee-chan, though the elder, was not a suitable replacement. (A factor which no one complaining about family inheritance seemed to notice.) And Abe Keika, the woman chosen to be in her place, had recently had an accident that had rendered her unfit for anything but the paperwork. (Really, she probably could still be in the field, but it was the principle of the thing.)
          She’d earned her way, not that any from the outside would know. No one advertised the truth. Outsiders wouldn’t see the assassinations, the dirty work. Even now, the new Chairwoman has never seen the extent at which Akeru’s willing to go, how unafraid she is of caking on another layer of blood to her already blackened hands. It’s easier to leave people alive, of course, blackmail or steal or frame, but if the time comes Akeru doesn’t hesitate. Vicious and romantic, like the Rat-Thief who makes her home on her back.
          Theories abound. Plenty of them, about how irezumi youkai for famous historical figures work. That they only work for descendants, that really it’s only a subset of yurei or other ghostly irezumi, that in such a case it’s disrespectful, akin to dragging the dead out of their graves, that, like every irezumi youkai, they’re mere pale reflections created from the ritual rather than being the original. The theories that having such abilities makes them less than human, more youkai belonging in he spirit realm. Akeru doesn’t care one bit. As long as it works, she doesn’t care.
          As usual, Renyo-onee-san made it to her position first, though Akeru wasn’t far behind. She saw the worry her older sister tried to hide, when introduced to Akeru’s double life, the true purpose of the Natsukawa-gumi. After all, dangerous as the life of a gokudou was, it was nothing next to the danger of being an assassin taking out enemies in the Oni Alliance, or youkai or akuma. Small, petty local disputes had nothing against fighting a rival clan who would gut you if they could catch you, with rival magic and irezumi and a desire to use them, and where your actions had to be perfect to prevent the sparking of a civil war. And while sometimes the Families would have to fight during a breach between the worlds, even that had more backup and preparation, sometimes, than she or one of her subordinates would get for an assignment, where sometimes the best defense against the non-human target was simply the fact it didn’t know you were coming. It helps that she is one of few with a secondary invocation, that the suggestion of a water blur over her face keeps her ‘under the radar’ so to speak. That her mastery of water and the dragons on her arms and chest earn her the respect if not the loyalty of ryuu in the true Underworld, a safe haven under the water where she can retreat if necessary. The easy mastery of language, too, was an asset, particularly when communicating with her Family.
          Onee-san looks at her and worries about a little sister grown up too fast, a little girl she remembers that has lost her innocence. When she looks at Chairwoman Natsukawa, Akeru sees a woman a little too soft, a little too foolish. The last time she can actively remember having been this annoyed was when Renyo-onee-san ordered her not to step in during Kumai’s betrayal. As an assassin, she would have been the best option to exorcise the ghost, prevent the koi from becoming a dragon. True, it didn’t work out terribly. The test worked out perfectly, and if not for that test, it would have been impossible to trust Miyamoto-san again to a full extent, but to Akeru it wouldn’t have been a great loss. She barely trusts anyone as it is, whereas to have a defecting matriarch that has somehow managed to go to ground and avoid all their spies, all their allies’ spies, tracking spells, scrying attempts, and irezumi youkai, plus a rebellious, large Family causing trouble on their hands… If not for the fanatical, burning ravenous hunger for pain that glows in the newly minted Matriarch’s remaining eye like an all-consuming green fire, Akeru would have suspected Miyamoto-san of helping shield the woman. As it was, Akeru has managed to confirm the theft of a few magic artifacts, trace rumors of alliances here and there, but nothing unfortunately concrete, and the fact that she’s meant to be merely the scout while another slams the dagger home doesn’t sit right.
          It doesn’t help that the Haiena’s unpredictable. Oh, she fully believes, now, that Miyamoto-san will rip Kumai apart, piece by piece, and that’s not even a metaphor. It’s just a question of collateral damage, because that’s messy and the clean-up takes work and it’s honestly just a headache. But she does what she’s been ordered to do, which is watch. She is almost certain Maki-san has an illegal irezumi, has uncovered evidence that points to an intimate involvement with Okaasan, and to his credit has decided to ignore both. She’s still not sure what do with his fatherly fondness he gets sometimes, and generally tries to avoid him, no matter the possible worry or hurt that might cause. Hattori’s a whiny, backstabbing little weasel who would sell out her own father if it would increase her position. A few good ones, like Takemura-san, but even Akiyama-san… Maybe she’s an old friend of Renyo-onee-san’s, but the scary rumors about Akiyama-san’s obsession with magic aren’t just for show, and she stinks of ambition. Maybe just to become the best sorceress she can be, but still, just like practically everyone else, Akeru can’t bring herself to trust her. They all give her headaches, really, because they should be untrustworthy, they should be trying something nefarious, and yet none of them has.
          Well.
          Maybe she should amend that to ‘none of them had’, Akeru thinks grimly, bearing her teeth in a snarl of anticipation, her blood quickening, warming. She’s no thoughtless animal like the haiena, but here, using being overlooked as her strength to utterly obliterate the foes of the Amaya-kai? This is what she’s good at.
          And then, just as easily, she fades, walking more slowly, like a civilian. She’d bought secondhand clothes for solely this occasion, to look harmless. She could have bought them new, but that would’ve been more suspicious, and anyway, she’ll have to dispose of them later anyway. They were nice, but clothes were clothes. It’s not like she couldn’t get more.
          She strides up to the door to the newly renovated warehouse, and it’s Justin acting as bouncer—of course it is, just like of course it’s a warehouse. Of course he’s involved in this little plot, and of course all the plotting, discount summonings, and shady deals have to happen in warehouses. She’s not meant for the spotlight, so being Chairwoman holds no appeal. She does her best work in the dark. That’s why she’s so pissed that some chinpira has the gall to try to put this little plot into place, because no one messed with her sister. If she’d really wanted to be Chairwoman, she could’ve poisoned onee-chan years ago with none the wiser. Well. That plan, other than a dead sister, would have had its disadvantages. Generally, despite or because she was soft, Renyo-onee-chan was liked in a way Akeru would never be, but that was fine. The only ones Akeru wanted to give orders were her own people, anyway. She could easily have stepped aside, too, with the whole Kumai thing. Maybe it’s just a misdirection. Either way, with no one to order her to stop, Akeru’s going until she has a number of trophies to add to her collection and fill her with a sense of pride.
          “A-Akeru! …-chan! What are you doing here?” She hides the amusement that he’s only managed last minute to remember to use some sort of honorific in public as she sidles up to him. Any public connection between them won’t matter soon. Amaya-kai policy on foreign youkai has always been a little vague, but as a vampire he’d been useful, inhis own way.
          “Any chance I can have a talk with the owner? I’ve wanted to branch out into the cabaret club scene for a while now.” She flutters her eyelashes, watches as the vampire swallows. Good for a good time, at least.
          “I really shouldn’t—” he starts protesting, and she presses herself against him. She knows how to get him thinking with something other than his brain, blood flow or no blood flow.
          “Oh, come on, are you saying you don’t want me to visit you more often at work?” Some of the other youkai laugh at this, and he becomes self-conscious.
          “We can talk about it inside. Kanzou, you got this, right?” She’s nearly sure that what he has planned doesn’t resemble talking all that much. To be fair, neither is what she has planned.
          “Long as you pay me your earnings,” the karasu tengu agrees with a laugh—greedy, like most of his kind.
          She pays attention to the number and type of youkai on the dance floor and in booths as she goes. It might be a clue as to their employer—there’s a reason the Oni Alliance is a nickname—and will definitely be useful if she ends up having to fight them all or sneak past them. She probably will.
          He leads her to a room off the side and is already undressing her as some means of persuasion doomed to fail by the time she pulls out the knife and easily breaks his spine. She’d use the tiny gun, but it might draw attention, and while the water spell can remove any sign of the blood before he’d dusted from her clothes, it’s not as if invoking can prevent anyone with inhuman hearing from making out the sound of a gunshot. If he’d led her to the owner right away, she might’ve let him live, at least for a little while, but he was more scared of the owner than he was of her. That wouldn’t do.