madimpossibledreamer

I've been holding onto this fic snippet since 2016 or 2018 and you could see it as a kind of prototype to Casts Shadows (obviously I didn't get very far).  The thing I think was holding me back was that I was trying to fit Xander into an 'exactly like Raidou the XIV' mould and it wasn't working in my brain.  It should be obvious that each Kuzunoha successor has a different take since the second game, because Nagi was definitely different from Geirin the XVII, but for some reason I got stuck.  I like that I didn't try to push it because I like the results better, but now that I'm finally giving up on this, I figure I might as well share what I have.
These are extra notes I had.  (one where Buffy finds this book about it and accidentally summons a Xander Raidou [though he’s Japanese] working out of William’s bookstore/detective agency. I might never make this one obvious, though. One where they’re all Kuzunoha. One where Buffy is Raidou and Giles is her supervisor.)

         Buffy sighs. Going on the weekend is a bit of a drag, majorly, but on the other hand she wouldn’t have time on a weekday and it’s difficult enough to get away from Giles’ watchful eye. If he protests, she’ll probably pout and mention the Crucimantium, and his own guilt might do the rest. Never mind what she told the others; she’s still shaken. Would Merrick have gone through with it? She definitely didn’t trust the Council after this. She thought she could trust Giles, but in some ways he still followed their orders blindly, and she doesn’t want to be caught unawares next time.
         Giles still refused to show her the Slayer Playbook or Rulebook or whatever they called it, but she has alternatives. Nice, shiny alternatives that Giles himself had sparked. Sure, she might not like research, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t understand its value. If it can keep her prepared for anything else, she’s all for it. It’d be better if she could get someone else to do it, but with this particular topic she’s better off just keeping it to herself. For now.
         Unfortunately, this particular shopkeep is Asian and doesn’t quite speak the same brand of English. She does her best to muddle through with ‘speaking properly’, before the woman brightens at the mention of ‘demon slayer’ and hurriedly gestures her to follow her.

         A bunch of staring was getting him nowhere. And it might be a little dangerous, and reckless, and a bad idea, but it's not like he'd never had any of those before. He narrowed his eyes at the rock before getting up.
         If any rock thought it could outsmart him with its illusionyness, it thought wrong. He would beat this thing if he had to throw all of his power at it. Now, he thought he'd grabbed it, where was it…
         Aha!  Orange cottony fabric, just what he'd been looking for. They wouldn't mind if his stuff got all over the place. He'd put it back eventually, and they were kind of on a deadline after all. He headed out of the office and smiled apologetically at the pretty lady. "Sorry, is there somewhere to change?"
         She blinked, several times, and for a moment he wondered whether he'd managed to break her brain. Eventually, though, it restarted. "Uh, yeah, it's…" She pointed. A bit vague, but good enough.
         He grinned at her. "Thanks."
         She stared after him wordlessly. Bet that doesn't happen often. Not a bad record, if he had to say so himself.

( xenophobia attack )

         “Don’t. I get to see your smile, to wake up to you sometimes, to talk to you. The pleasure of your company is enough for me.”
         There’s a genuine smile in response, but Fitz suspects those might be tears hidden behind the sunglasses. Worried, he asks, “I’m not making it worse, am I?”
         “Usually, yeah, but sometimes I guess it’s good to surprise myself. Thanks.”

( short and angsty )

( hiding under cut because warning )