madimpossibledreamer

Here I go getting Raidou Kuzunoha vibes from just the setting and then I see the entire outfit at the start of case 3, and….yeah. They go to the same school, don’t they. Man.

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.

The thing is Al Karisi might have been hunting the Council for years, maybe since the time of the Shadowmen. They probably used some sort of magical protection to keep her from going after them, but if she’s the demon of a Summoner...that changes things. The contract is temporary but will probably end up being permanent.
The next chapter is some extras, the Demon Compendium, but the story proper is done.
(I was also going to write the confrontation scene, but realized it’d probably go pretty similar to canon, just...extra early. And there’s a power in excising them from the story altogether—Travers isn’t worth the words spent on including him.)

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/SMT Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha (Casts Shadows)
Summary: Buffy isn't going to let the Council get away with this.
Word Count: 520
Rating: Teen

Yes I am absolutely referencing my favorite Xander Harris line of all time. Yes, it’s from Chaos Bleeds. It’s so dorky and yet it somehow manages to be cool.  (...hang on it’s actually also very similar to the Jotaro quip about roads, too...)

….okay legit what are these willow/cordy feels doing here what