(MoD) Chapter 33: Family Reunion

Chapter 33: Family Reunion

“Well?” Takauji walked up to the servants, lined up in parallel formation, in front of the Ashikaga Estate. “Aren’t you going to usher me in? Or do you plan on forcing your esteemed guest to see himself in like some commoner? That’s hardly the level of class I was expecting from my family.” 

They were all still clutching their chests even after the oddity that had descended over Kamigyo Ward had dissipated, the aftereffects of the phenomenon instilling them each with a sense of lingering fear they just couldn’t seem to shrug off fully. 

A fierce headache was plaguing their minds, making it exceptionally hard for them to focus on the words coming out of Takauji’s mouth—let alone even recompose themself to a level where they were aware that he was standing right in front of them.

“Useless,” he dipped his head and sighed in disappointment. “Raynare, go open the door for me.” He gestured for his so-called “steward” to take the lead. 

He wasn’t quite sure why or how Murayama, Sona, and Raynare were all unaffected by the oddity, nor why his presence had triggered such a thing. Currently, the only hypothesis he had was that their relation to him was keeping them safeguarded from Kamigyo’s influence.

As if there was some subconscious acknowledgement between him and the territory, that told the place to leave them be.

“As you wish, your highness.” Raynare rolled her eyes while begrudgingly executing her new master’s order.

“Is that snarkiness I’m hearing?” He narrowed his eyes at her in an accusatory manner.

“No, not at all. Takauji-sama.” She opened the door, smirking as she motioned for him to enter. 

“Hmph, you’re definitely acting snarky.” He huffed before stepping inside, pretending not to notice that Raynare had stopped holding the door right as Sona and Murayama were entering. Sticking her tongue out at them. 

‘The nerve of this bitch! Just because you’re affiliated with my Contracted Magician doesn’t mean you get to have an attitude around me!’ 

Sona’s mood soured momentarily, her eyes widening upon witnessing the interior of the Ashikaga residence. Marveling at the sight of rows upon rows of antique Japanese furniture all neatly lined up against the walls, each of which looked like it belonged in Tokyo’s national museum. Granted, she doubted even the suits over there would be able to afford even a fraction of the stuff located here.

As a staunch aficionado for both the Underworld, and Earth’s history—she couldn’t help but admire Ashikaga Tsuji’s sense of interior design. Even if it didn’t compare to the immense wealth of the Stiri Clan, such a level of wealth was worth her approval.

“Ah,” Takauji stopped, his brows furrowing as a dissatisfied look took over his face. “I’d recognize those footsteps anywhere.” 

“What’s wrong?” Sona inquired.

“The mongrel’s here.” 

A middle-aged man stepped around the hallway’s corner, with dark-brown hair styled similarly to Takauji, light-gray eyes, and a noticeable stubble around his jawline. He wore a simple, dark-blue kimono and a pair of slippers, indicating that he had probably just gotten out of bed.

Even though it was already the afternoon.

“You just had to make an entrance, didn’t you?” The man groaned, his complexion was much better than that of the servants and guardsmen outside, but he was still noticeably pale. The effects of Kamigyo’s change were still affecting him to a discomforting degree.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t actually do anything,” Takauji grinned while spreading his arms. “I thought you were the ones who started this whole spectacle, but from the way you carry yourself, I can interpret it wasn’t the case.” 

“Uh-huh,” he nodded idly, not entirely convinced by Takauji. 

“Dad?” Murayama stepped forward, the man, who was none other than Taro, immediately softening his posture upon locking eyes with his daughter. 

“Oh? Well, if it isn’t my favorite little munchkin!” He smiled warmly, wrapping her in a tight hug. “How’s school been? Have you been eating well? You aren’t seeing any boys, are you?” 

“Dad!” She yelped in embarrassment. “The Student President’s watching!” 

“Student President?” Taro followed her gaze until he was looking at Sona, upon which, his eyes started to fill with scrutiny, his senses as a Magician telling him everything he needed to know. “I see, you’re the Sitri Heiress.” 

“You know who I am?” Sona raised her eyebrows, evidently surprised.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I know about the Devils in charge of the town where my children live? Albeit, I can’t even begin to guess what you’re doing here of all places,” his gaze drifted towards Takauji. “However, I have a sneaking suspicion my megalomaniac of a son has something to do with it.”

His intuition was quite literally spot on.

“First of all, it’s a pleasure to see you again in a more professional capacity, and as for—” 

“She’s my pitiful employer who mooches off my intelligence for money,” Takauji brazenly interrupted her. 

Sona took a deep breath, “Takauji, I swear to Lucifer I’ll beat the shit out of you if you keep acting like this in front of your parents.” 

“You’d be doing us a great service,” Taro and Murayama nodded approvingly.

He scoffed, “Yeah? You're gonna splash me to death with the glorified Super Soaker you call Magic? My timbers have been utterly shivered.” He said sarcastically, causing Sona to walk up to him and grab him by the cuffs of his long coat. 

“I’m only going to warn you once, don’t test me, Takauji.” 

“Hold on a second,” Taro intervened, his face scrunching up as if he had just noticed something peculiar, especially about the way they were acting with each other. “You two aren’t dating, are you?” He hummed inquisitively, scratching his chin.

“They are!” Murayama seized the opportunity to confirm his suspicions, pointing at the Contractor-Contractee duo. “They just insist on being bashful about it; everybody at school knows they’re dating!” 

Taro’s pupils dilated in disbelief, “Seriously? Why the hell would you want to date Takauji of all people? I mean he’s—he’s Takauji!” There really wasn’t any need for him to elaborate.

“Exactly!” Murayama firmly agreed, “He’s also a three-timing scoundrel, Dad! I saw him bring Himejima-senpai and Shinra-senpai to his bedroom! And now he has that broad beside him!” She diverted her father’s attention to Raynare.

“Takauji! Even if you’re the most insufferable creature on this planet, there are boundaries you shouldn’t cross! What will your mother think when she hears of this?” Taro yelled at him admonishingly.

“She’d be pissed,” a mature, womanly voice joined in on the conversation. Who, unlike Taro, appeared to have fully recovered from the aftereffects of Kamigyo’s abrupt change.

Takauji turned around to face the woman, his demeanor changing considerably in comparison to how he had reacted to Taro’s presence. 

“Mother,” he said dryly, remembering the conversation they had shared over the phone while she was engaged in a “friendly meeting” with the Akahashi Matriarch. The contents of which he was still keeping silent about. 

“We haven’t had a family get-together in quite some time, yet you’re already stirring up discourse. It seems you haven’t matured in the slightest while I was gone, how disappointing.” 

Sona was taken aback as she witnessed the interaction, seeing Takauji take someone seriously was a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence. 

The atmosphere around them seemed awfully tense, utterly different to the faint, almost superficial hostile air between Takauji and his father.

“Yeah? Maybe if you were home more, then that wouldn’t be the case, Investment Banker-san.” He said the last part mockingly, fully convinced that it was all a fabrication. Not that he cared much for what his mother was actually doing all this time while she was away anymore. “Although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t prefer it when you weren’t around. Still, it’s quite audacious of you to leave your daughter for three years and then pop back up like nothing happened.” 

“Careful, brat, we’re not in Kuoh anymore. No one’s going to bat an eye if I choose to administer some capital punishment on my own son.” 

He chuckled darkly, adjusting his square-framed spectacles. “I’d like to see you try, shitty hag.” 

“Oh boy,” Taro sighed, putting his hand on Murayama’s shoulder. “The chefs have already prepared lunch, I think it’s best if we go sit down for the time being.” 

“But—” 

“Murayama,” he insisted with a stern look on his face, leading her away from his ex-wife and less favorable child.

“Unbelievable, you awakened hardly even a month ago, and you’ve already let it get to your head. Honestly, I’m not sure whether to be amused or disappointed.”

“Hey,” Raynare leaned closer to Sona. “Should we leave?” 

“Probably,” for once, Sona actually found herself on the same page as the Fallen Angel. 

Who would’ve thought?

Furthermore, she had also learned something about her Contracted Magician from observing the brief interaction between him and his mother. As she had suspected, Takauji’s personality hadn’t come from his father; Taro seemed far too laid-back and tranquil to be the source of such narcissism. 

His mother, on the other hand? She had a pretty good feelingthat she was the root of his character.

“I’m warning you, Takauji, I’m a Third Circle Magician. Picking a fight with me isn’t going to end well, so I suggest you just be obedient and follow me to the dining room without making a fuss. Your grandfather and grandmother tend to be quite particular when it comes to punctuality.”

He clenched his fist. “For an absentee parent, you really have quite the inflated sense of importance.” 

She sneered, “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you’re going to stand there and demand I apologize or something equally as outlandish? You weren’t a Mage yet, telling you would’ve been pointless. I’m willing to bet you applied the same logic to your sister, didn’t you?” 

The fact that she was right in her assumption really didn’t help lighten his mood.

“An apology?” He shook his head. “You see, this is exactly what I’m talking about. After all this time, you still think you’re important enough to a point where an apology from you would mean anything.” He flexed his fingers, Dark Mana swirling around his hand. “I may have needed you three years ago, but not anymore.” 

“So that’s what this is about,” she smiled. “You’re angry at mommy for not giving you enough attention. I’ll admit, you did a pretty good job of hiding that sentiment over the phone.” 

As confident as Miho Akahashi appeared, deep down, there was a guttural sense of apprehension stirring within her. Like everyone else in Kamigyo, she had witnessed and experienced the powerful influence that had been imposed on everyone. 

Was she able to resist? Yes, but that didn’t change the fact that it had been caused simply by Takauji’s arrival. And as he had confirmed earlier, Kamigyo did in fact listen to him when he ordered it to stop. 

Taking that into account. What’s to say he couldn’t start it back up again? Of course, Miho didn’t know that, since Sona, Murayama, and Raynare were the only ones who had witnessed the occurrence. But still, Takauji’s presence was awfully unnerving at the moment—and Kamigyo seemed to be passively strengthening him somehow.

“That’s enough, both of you.” 

Takauji turned around, finding himself face to face with an eldery man, whose eyes heavily resembled that of his father’s—save for the fact that the strength buried within them seemed to eclipse him by quite a large margin.

“Greetings, Takauji, I’m—” 

“Ashikaga Tsuji, I’m aware.” 

His grandfather pretended not to be affected by his rude interruption.

“I see you have some business with your mother, and while I’m not the type to get in between the relations of a parent and their child. Don’t you think it’d be best to save it for another time?” He gestured down the hallway. “Lunch has already been prepared, and your relatives are looking forward to meeting you just as I am, grandson.” 

He remained eerily quiet, sparing a glance at his mother, conveying that this wasn’t over before speaking. 

“Very well.”

━━━━

The mysterious conversation with his mother, the beef between them, the mysterious change in Kamigyo—and plenty of more exciting occurrences to come! It looks like this arc is going to be quite jam-packed with action.