Law of the Earth

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/SMT Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha (Casts Shadows)
Summary: Willow explains the circumstances of the investigation to Xander catches Xander up to speed and isn't sure what to make of him.
Word Count: 1200
Rating: Teen

 

         On one hand, it’s a lot to take in. It’s interrupted occasionally by the need to intervene with the occasional civilian rescue, though fortunately that mostly consists of Žiburinis charging the offender or, when it becomes clear that they can’t see him, setting them on fire. He’s behaving himself in general, though that might have to do with the fact that he’s enjoying every moment.
         It’s irritating Willow, apparently. She looks concerned about the fact that he’s just letting his demon do what he wills, despite him keeping a pretty close eye on what’s going on, and the fact that he’s not keeping all of his attention on her. On his side, he’s slightly concerned that they’re not walking and talking—nothing’s going to get fixed if they just stand around, here. But Willow doesn’t seem interested in that, so they’re at a standstill, figuratively and quite literally, as she tells her story.
         There’s another reason he’s not dealing with all this so well, and that’s because of a specific fault he’s had for years. He’s been scolded again and again for letting his mind wander, for being unable to sit still, and he’d learned, but it still wasn’t exactly his forte. It’s lucky the uniform has a cape, so he can occupy himself with playing with the edge of his cape and the hilt of the sword at his side.
         It’s impossible to say for sure that absolutely none of this works the way he’s been taught, because from the sound of it Willow (who is not, as it turns out, usually a spirit; today apparently happens to be an exception) doesn’t actually know a lot about magic or demons. What she does know suggests that his demon summoning is impossible or highly irregular.
         One woman fighting all evil, on her own? That sounds incredibly...lonely, as odd a thought as that is—but then, even a Kuzunoha doesn’t fight alone, despite the duty falling to the Summoner with the title. The Yatagarasu, unlike this ‘Council’, made sure to maintain a network of agents and allies, even if their heaviest hitters were the Kuzunoha.
         On the other, he’s paid attention to details recorded about past holders of the title. Previous Kuzunoha have traveled between dimensions, though traveling back was incredibly difficult and a sending ritual, as far as he can recall, wasn’t involved. It’s more like his mind, memories and all, was sent into the body of another version of himself, residing in a different world. There’s...hazy spots, oddities, now that he’s paying attention. Such as, what would the Yatagarasu want with such an out of the way spot, so far from Tokyo? True, there’s a power and demons in plenty here, but would they really have sent him (a Raidou, even!) to Sunnydale, California? But, again, there’s also the possibility that his memories are blending, as two souls fight for the same body. Which leaves several questions, such as whether he is defenseless back there (or whether the Yatagarasu would even permit a Raidou to be out of commission for an extended period of time) or whether he is, in fact, some sort of magical construct or doppelganger formed from the memories of another, yet wholly and distinctly separate. If Gouto were here, he could probably instruct Xander as to some sort of ancient ritual to determine the truth, or would even know himself with simply a glance, but it’s probably safe to say that he did not make the transition as well, and so Raidou does not have the ability to consult his teacher.
         She ends the story with an impassioned plea. “Please, you have to believe me!”
         “I do.” She stares at him incredulously, and he shrugs. “I mean, sure, it changes things in the long run, but for now I’m still an heir to the Raidou Kuzunoha name with a duty to protect the people, so that’s what I’m gonna do. What, do you really expect me to just say ‘this isn’t my problem’ and walk away?”
         “N-no.” Her denial isn’t especially believable, which hurts, but he’ll just pretend he hasn’t noticed.
         “What’s our next move? We could keep saving civilians, but it won’t do much about the source.” He might currently have eight tubes, but he’s only confined three demons. Perhaps he should’ve poked around the Dark Realm more. “It’d be one thing if I had a Wind Order demon to scout around, but…”
         She looks even more disturbed, which remains frustrating; he wants to stay on the good side of his single ally, but he’s also largely useful with his skills with demons. It’s the whole point of being a Devil Summoner.
         “Why don’t we just try to find Buffy?” she suggests weakly, and he sighs, pulling on the brim of his hat to shield his eyes. If he knew what he was doing, than with or without her permission he’d be charging out there, but as such he doesn’t have that valuable insider knowledge, so following her lead might still be faster in the end. No matter how annoying it is to have to be practically groveling to do his damn job. He’d undergone all the trials, years of training, knowing that if he failed, it was death, earned the treasured name Raidou, all for this? To be dismissed—no, worse than that, treated like he’s the unreliable one?
         Yet, after all, he is only a teenager, no matter his title or status. And it’s not like any of the history meant anything to her. He could protest, attempt to tell her the stories of past Kuzunoha, but—there’s very little point. It would read as defensive, which it is, and he couldn’t even deny that. And it’s clear she doesn’t believe his world or memories or person are real, at all, merely fabricated through magic, and he has no way of proving her wrong (if she even is wrong, in the first place). Even if she believed him, this is the first incident he’s had to deal with, so it’s not as if he has any stories about his own exploits to reassure that he is capable.
         But—hmm. Maybe there is something he can do, after all. He’d jumped straight to demons and dismissed the bread and butter of the detective—reasoning and legwork. “You said that we were escorting trick-or-treating kids,” he responds, readying himself to spring into action.
         Willow looks startled. He’s beginning to feel very sorry for the Xander of this world, if her expectations of him are truly this low. “Uh...yes, but…”
         “Have you seen any of the children nearby, or what they might have turned into? Were we supposed to be patrolling different areas of the city?” If they could narrow it down, that would help.
         “O-oh! The troll mentioned something about that, uh—follow me!” Finally. Though why is it so strange that he summons demons when she’s out here conversing with trolls?
         “Žiburinis,” he calls out, and the demon returns from where he’d been terrorizing a mummy and small dinosaur faithfully, rather than hesitating, which is a pretty good sign.
         “Let’s go!” he encourages her since she’s frozen a little, and then they’re off.