Demons and Developpment

Civil action

Upon receiving the strange doll bearing his likeness, Ryūzaki Sanosuke had immediately given it over to Takenaka Hanbei for examination. The small tactician gave it her usual magical once-over, but then shook her head. Nothing in this doll's construction or otherwise gave off any kind of supernatural signature. It was truly just a handcrafted felt-and-cotton doll. The most interesting thing about it was that it was wearing Sanosuke's confident good looks.   To that note, Hanbei asked if she could keep the thing. Not just for selfish reasons. Rather, she would have more time to check it out in detail if she could take it with her, and therefore be doubly sure that the doll posed no threat to any of them. Supernaturally inert as it was, it was still a gift from a demon. Sanosuke agreed, although he felt a little strange at giving such an item away.

Speaking of demons, Sanosuke turned his attention to Othéa. His newest counselor had been the one to bring the doll back. And, indeed, she'd gotten a glimpse of the person giving them away in the process. Othéa described them as a "fine young woman," if a bit goatish around the edges. She may be no expert, but she might be persuaded to bet that the girl was a demon in nature.   That all matched with what Sanosuke had seen through Katō Danzō during their recent heist of Odawara Castle. The size matched up too. There weren't any other Hōjō he knew of who could be hidden by just sitting in a circle around them like that. Sanosuke thanked her, but Othéa wasn't done yet.   Was this usual? The question seemed to have been gnawing at the bespectacled Dreamer for some time now. She hadn't been in Japan for long yet, to be sure, but she'd already seen several demons. It'd been Othéa's deduction, therefore, that the creatures were simply integrated into Japanese culture.   Sanosuke agreed that it was becoming more common, for better or for worse. Until very recently, however, it had not been the usual. At that point, Hanbei chimed in once again. The very same ideas had been taking up space in her mind lately as well. After gathering her thoughts, Hanbei led Sanosuke through her logic.   Until just recently, demons were largely unknown in Japan. Some knew that the Tokugawa Clan were from the infernal planes, but other than the likes of them, very few if any had been seen. The jump in numbers had seemed to coincide with their own Hashinara Clan's sealing of the Tokugawa rift to Gehenna. And yet, that didn't quite make sense. Sealing a rift to hell should result in fewer demons, not more.   Therefore it was Hanbei's professional opinion that someone was distributing knowledge of summoning rituals to the desperate in Japan. With the Shogun's power waning and war breaking out with increasing frequency, there were no shortage of lords willing to do anything to hold onto their last scraps of power. This theoretical situation matched the practical one they'd run into at Owari Castle. Takayama Tomoteru, driven into a fury by the Oda Clan's recent actions, had managed to summon Raym using instructions provided by an unknown source in the Ashikaga Shogunate's employ.   That explanation would account for the increase in demonic presence in the country. So, too, would the Hashinara Clan's recent habit of finding and unbottling sealed fiends. Some of Sanosuke's more secretive sources backed both theories up. If that was the case, Sanosuke wanted to know, would Hanbei be able to detect some kind of summoning signature that could be matched to the person performing these rituals? The tactician merely shook her head. She was a mage of the applied type. Summoning magic and its rituals were entirely outside of her expertise. If she could scan enough demons, however, it might just be possible to figure something out.   The Silver General gave this some thought. He was tempted to have Hanbei start right away. After all, there were at least two or three demons within view right now. Instead, he opted to wait. There may be other ways to approach this problem. As he said so, another voice rang with precisely eight words within his head. It was Umbriel.   During the match, it seemed that the Eighth Daughter of Avatea had discovered another of the Seven-Branched Sword's tones. It had come about when Hōjō Ujiteru's invisible Gashadokuro had met an untimely end. The resultant thunderclap of inrushing air had activated the Branched Sword, further strengthening its blade. With the other tones Umbriel had been meticulously recording, they were now only missing two more. Sanosuke congratulated her on this success, then encouraged her to continue the search.   Soon after Umbriel's presence had faded from his mind, Sanosuke assessed his current situation. The morning's matches were over, yet it was still not close to noon. He had the opportunity now to pursue a few of any number of other matters before the afternoon's battles began. To start, Sanosuke thought, this might be a good time to introduce Miss Chōko Dufour to the scientists at S.P.I.R.A.L..   Approaching the young lady in the dandelion dress, Sanosuke seemed to have caught her on the tail end of a conversation with Hashinara Kiyowara. Chōko was audacious indeed. Or, perhaps, she simply didn't know that she'd been speaking to an aspect of the clan's Daimyō. Either way, the Silver General hailed her and asked if the young miss would like to meet the research staff.   To Sanosuke's surprise, Chōko already had. Since being put into Shigeaki Fujino's mental network, the Dufour Heiress had wasted no time in making introductions and connections. She'd been speaking with Sarutaba Chino in depth all morning. Momentarily off-balance, Sanosuke offered that she'd perhaps like to see the facilities for herself.   At the same time, he called upon Chino in the mental network. S.P.I.R.A.L.'s lead scientist confirmed Chōko's claims. They'd done a lot of talking today. Rather than elaborate immediately, however, Chino asked what Sanosuke thought of the heiress. Could they trust Chōko Dufour?   Sanosuke had to think about it. He answered, carefully, that the young miss did seem to have more selfish than altruistic motives. At the same time, she was part Japanese. None of it meant that they couldn't trust her. Still, Sanosuke urged Chino to take any precautions she saw fit. Perhaps a mentor for Chōko would be in order.   At that, Chino came around with another surprise. She was not up to mentoring Chōko Dufour. In fact, she doubted anyone there would be. The young miss had already offered to manage S.P.I.R.A.L. and move them to a cutting-edge laboratory in a yet-to-be-determined location. Had that been what Chōko was discussing with the Daimyō?   What's more, Chino was seriously considering the proposition. For all her intelligence, the former herbalist was not much of a leader. Nor did she have a great amount of confidence in herself after what had happened to her previous lord. If Sanosuke thought they could trust Chōko, Chino meant to take her up on the offer and hand over the reins to S.P.I.R.A.L.   Things were happening very quickly, it seemed. Then again, that had been the common hallmark of all of Sanosuke's dealings with Chōko Dufour. In a world moving at intense speeds, the Devil in Dandelion operated at one mach above. The Silver General felt an inkling that his decision here would have far-reaching effects for S.P.I.R.A.L.'s future. He paused, and chose his next words carefully.