The World's Balance
Dec. 6th, 2021 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerCast of Characters (in order of appearance/mention, written the Japanese way of surname first): Natsukawa Kimiko (Joyce), Fourth Chairwoman of the Amaya-kai, deceased (and moved on)
Natsukawa Renyo (Buffy), Fifth (and Sixth, after her resurrection) Chairwoman of the Amaya-kai
Osato-kai, also known as the Oni Alliance due to their dealings with oni, rivals to the Amaya-kai
Hattori Rinka (Snyder), Matriarch of the Kazami-gumi/Kazami Family, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
The Aiki Consortium, A Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Maki Akiharu (Giles), Advisor to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Chairwomen of the Amaya-kai
Natsukawa Akeru (Dawn), Matriarch of the Natsukawa-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Miyamoto Suna (Xander), Matriarch of the Miyamoto-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Akiyama Yoko (Willow), Matriarch of the Akiyama-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Kuroba Raimu (Faith), Seventh Chairwoman of the Osato-kai
Akahoshi Eimi, Matriarch of the Kumai-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Author's Notes: In this universe, Japan is run by the women. Oni are basically ogres and, if servants of Enma, help punish evildoers in the afterlife (but are plenty capable of wicked deeds themselves). Yurei are angry ghosts. Chinpira are young gangsters and often referred to as punks.
More author's notes: background notes
Timeline-wise, this one is slightly more ambiguous but definitely comes after Kumai's betrayal, since Miyamoto is a Matriarch. It also comes after Natsukawa Renyo has died once.
Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU (Bloody Petals)
Chapter Summary: The Chairwoman thinks about why a war between East and West is not only not inevitable, it's a really, really bad idea.
Word Count: 790
Rating: Teen
I'm not some silly blonde, despite how I style my hair. That’s a cliché from the West outside Japan, especially that annoying Watcher's Council that seems to be all but begging me to declare war and wipe them out of existence, given how they've actually interfered with our operations in the past, but that's beside the point. They see me and see a little girl to be belittled. Here, annoyingly, they only take me seriously when I want them to give me the advantage of underestimating me. Well, most of them. Still have no clue what’s going on with Matriarch Hattori. At this point I think it’s less about politics and more about just wanting to be proven right.
And the thing is, the PR of that—some people know what we do, and are grateful, but we could get some serious mileage out of the whole 'we save your butts on a daily basis thing, could you maybe go easy on us for the whole taxes deal?' But it makes sense. Not panicking people, and all that. The police know, and they do cut us some slack. But they pretend they don't, and we pretend they don't, and it's this whole big pretending circle. It's...I guess it's gauche, or something? Just like it's not polite to point out that someone's terrible at their job, directly anyway. We're saving each other face.
But I hadn't actually gone into the portal to the...well, it depends on the day. The Aiki Consortium drew up some sort of schedule, I think, with color-coded notes and diagrams, but my head hurt a little trying to read it so I just had it filed. Fortunately, trips to the underworld or demonic realms, no matter which one’s currently ‘arrived at the station’, or whatever, aren't in my job description.
Sure, I’ve come back from the underworld once, but that was really kinda not on purpose. I didn’t set out to die, and they also weren’t planning on saving me.
Wait, that sounds terrible. It’s not exactly as bad as all that. It’s more like, well, this whole ‘rescue the Chairwoman from the underworld’ is kinda just tradition. Ritual. That not even the Osato-kai interferes with. Nobody expects it to actually work. I know I’ve got Maki-san, Matriarch Natsukawa, Matriarch Miyamoto, and Matriarch Akiyama to thank for that, because they’re all reckless in their own ways and don’t like to listen when someone tells them something’s impossible. It’s a big reason why they’re my favorites.
But yeah, balance. As annoying as the Osato-kai are, they’re necessary, just as we are. One Clan in the East, to hold the Hellmouth in check. One Clan in the West, to prevent the underworld from letting loose the yurei and oni. The secrets aren’t known to every chinpira on the street or we’d have a lot fewer clamoring for war. Fortunately, Kuroba-san gets that, even if she does seem to be playing the same weird political game as the rest. I can’t figure out what she’s playing at, only that I’m fairly sure she’s not our enemy directly (and I can’t just go and wipe her out anyway), even if our Matriarchs scheme and our foot soldiers clash in the streets. It’s an uneasy peace, but a necessary one. There’s symbolism and magic in the parallels that may or may not have to do with yin-yang, and even if one Clan did conquer everything and attempt to protect both, they’d be really, really short on manpower.
Sometimes it ticks me off that I can’t explain this just to shut some of the Matriarchs (okay, mostly Hattori, to some degree Akahoshi) up. But whatever, it is what it is. No use whining when it won’t change anything, and honestly, it’s just more of a minor annoyance than a big deal. It’s a big responsibility, sure, but I’m a big girl, and I’m not just on my own. My little Matriarch gamble paid off, and we’re dealing with some of the recent Clan fractures pretty well. So things are going well, and when they aren’t, well, we can handle the pressure.
Natsukawa Renyo (Buffy), Fifth (and Sixth, after her resurrection) Chairwoman of the Amaya-kai
Osato-kai, also known as the Oni Alliance due to their dealings with oni, rivals to the Amaya-kai
Hattori Rinka (Snyder), Matriarch of the Kazami-gumi/Kazami Family, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
The Aiki Consortium, A Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Maki Akiharu (Giles), Advisor to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Chairwomen of the Amaya-kai
Natsukawa Akeru (Dawn), Matriarch of the Natsukawa-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Miyamoto Suna (Xander), Matriarch of the Miyamoto-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Akiyama Yoko (Willow), Matriarch of the Akiyama-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Kuroba Raimu (Faith), Seventh Chairwoman of the Osato-kai
Akahoshi Eimi, Matriarch of the Kumai-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai
Author's Notes: In this universe, Japan is run by the women. Oni are basically ogres and, if servants of Enma, help punish evildoers in the afterlife (but are plenty capable of wicked deeds themselves). Yurei are angry ghosts. Chinpira are young gangsters and often referred to as punks.
More author's notes: background notes
Timeline-wise, this one is slightly more ambiguous but definitely comes after Kumai's betrayal, since Miyamoto is a Matriarch. It also comes after Natsukawa Renyo has died once.
Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU (Bloody Petals)
Chapter Summary: The Chairwoman thinks about why a war between East and West is not only not inevitable, it's a really, really bad idea.
Word Count: 790
Rating: Teen
Mom used to say that, between the East and West, there was a balance, a balance that allowed Japan to flourish, and without it we’d fall. I used to think it was just a metaphor, just an excuse to prevent the Oni and the Amaya from going to war. I hadn't really gotten much of a glimpse into the background of it, to be fair. Mom tried to shelter us as much as she could, even knowing what would become of us, that eventually one of us would (probably) inherit the Clan. It wasn't until after she died that I saw everything.
I'm not some silly blonde, despite how I style my hair. That’s a cliché from the West outside Japan, especially that annoying Watcher's Council that seems to be all but begging me to declare war and wipe them out of existence, given how they've actually interfered with our operations in the past, but that's beside the point. They see me and see a little girl to be belittled. Here, annoyingly, they only take me seriously when I want them to give me the advantage of underestimating me. Well, most of them. Still have no clue what’s going on with Matriarch Hattori. At this point I think it’s less about politics and more about just wanting to be proven right.
And the thing is, the PR of that—some people know what we do, and are grateful, but we could get some serious mileage out of the whole 'we save your butts on a daily basis thing, could you maybe go easy on us for the whole taxes deal?' But it makes sense. Not panicking people, and all that. The police know, and they do cut us some slack. But they pretend they don't, and we pretend they don't, and it's this whole big pretending circle. It's...I guess it's gauche, or something? Just like it's not polite to point out that someone's terrible at their job, directly anyway. We're saving each other face.
But I hadn't actually gone into the portal to the...well, it depends on the day. The Aiki Consortium drew up some sort of schedule, I think, with color-coded notes and diagrams, but my head hurt a little trying to read it so I just had it filed. Fortunately, trips to the underworld or demonic realms, no matter which one’s currently ‘arrived at the station’, or whatever, aren't in my job description.
Sure, I’ve come back from the underworld once, but that was really kinda not on purpose. I didn’t set out to die, and they also weren’t planning on saving me.
Wait, that sounds terrible. It’s not exactly as bad as all that. It’s more like, well, this whole ‘rescue the Chairwoman from the underworld’ is kinda just tradition. Ritual. That not even the Osato-kai interferes with. Nobody expects it to actually work. I know I’ve got Maki-san, Matriarch Natsukawa, Matriarch Miyamoto, and Matriarch Akiyama to thank for that, because they’re all reckless in their own ways and don’t like to listen when someone tells them something’s impossible. It’s a big reason why they’re my favorites.
But yeah, balance. As annoying as the Osato-kai are, they’re necessary, just as we are. One Clan in the East, to hold the Hellmouth in check. One Clan in the West, to prevent the underworld from letting loose the yurei and oni. The secrets aren’t known to every chinpira on the street or we’d have a lot fewer clamoring for war. Fortunately, Kuroba-san gets that, even if she does seem to be playing the same weird political game as the rest. I can’t figure out what she’s playing at, only that I’m fairly sure she’s not our enemy directly (and I can’t just go and wipe her out anyway), even if our Matriarchs scheme and our foot soldiers clash in the streets. It’s an uneasy peace, but a necessary one. There’s symbolism and magic in the parallels that may or may not have to do with yin-yang, and even if one Clan did conquer everything and attempt to protect both, they’d be really, really short on manpower.
Sometimes it ticks me off that I can’t explain this just to shut some of the Matriarchs (okay, mostly Hattori, to some degree Akahoshi) up. But whatever, it is what it is. No use whining when it won’t change anything, and honestly, it’s just more of a minor annoyance than a big deal. It’s a big responsibility, sure, but I’m a big girl, and I’m not just on my own. My little Matriarch gamble paid off, and we’re dealing with some of the recent Clan fractures pretty well. So things are going well, and when they aren’t, well, we can handle the pressure.
