A Long Time Coming

Yet again, the young Iramasha seemed to find his way to stand among the masses of Iramasha Island just as he has throughout his entire life. In and out, the days moved without much distance between each other, the true basis around his actions upon Iramasha Island were entirely useless. he was here for a single reason, one that would hopefully govern a great future for the Vanguard. At least, the mutual relationship that he reached to enact with his people and his subordinates seemed like a wonderful idea. Thus, here stood the man once more, the quiet breeze flowing inward and outward between the black threads of hair that sat upon his head. He had amassed a great change to both his appearance and his mentality, Azure was still Azure, yet different. He was more focused on understanding the balance that wreaked havoc upon his mind. Balancing both his inner conflict and the weight of a world upon his shoulders, the man had no intentions of backing down from the challenge it imposed upon him. Azure would move forward without hesitation, his demons would surely fix themselves with time. With that, Azure swiftly moved throughout the busy streets of what was his home island. The Iramasha settlement, something never changed with time it seemed. Just as he remembered during his childhood, the ones that lived among the island's houses and quiet little buildings were the same as well. Things were far from changing with his family, it made him happy when he truly thought about it.

Without any hesitation, the male swiftly brought his being from one area to the next. Silent nods meant as greetings to many of the Iramasha walking among the streets were given, along with quiet waves and abrupt hellos to those Azure had not seen for months. It was yet again a long time that the male had been away from the Island, this time due to an excess amount of work given through the Vanguard Leadership role, but with that time of absence it also allowed the young Iramasha to slowly grow with time. As stated before, Azure's entire being had changed in the four months that had passed before he previously stepped on this island. Nevertheless, the male was far from unrecognizable. Such a force walking among the crowds could be felt by anyone, the menacing spiritual pressure that followed the quiet steps of the man was enough to blast down buildings, yet still under his immediate control. It gave people a sense of was had changed within the young one, a sense of his being sitting within his mind while the newly accustomed mentality sent a message through his energy. It was simple and sweet, an easy solution to interacting with others without having to explain himself. It was how Azure wished to take the situation, especially with the hundreds of people that would know of his arrival. Despite recently arriving, he was here on buisness. As always.

With a quiet little yawn, the male stretched his arms as if they were wings. His body morphing quietly into the distance as the chaos energy around him slowly swirled inward and outward. With a blotted removal of his being, Azure phased out of existence rather quickly, his body reforming within the quiet little shrine that was formally owned by Reimu. She was the Shrine Maiden within the Iramasha Island's clan positions, also a Guardian Iramasha for the powerful gems that sat upon the Island's surface. The being's body quietly returned to existence as he finished the stretch, chaos energy slowly rolling around him in response to the abrupt chaos warp that had just occurred. It was nice being able to use his abilities to his advantage, as well as abusing such a simple ability to travel with ease. It kept the man in a lax state when travelling, the best part being that he could do as he pleased when needing to travel elsewhere. Nevertheless, he dropped his arms downward as he stepped forward, speaking allowed to, what seemed to be, an empty shrine.

"Oi, Reimu, you there?"

The quiet voice that echoed along the shrine's surface was extended to large degrees given his peculiar ability of sound manipulation, the sound reaching the tiniest of cracks within the shrine itself. It was an interesting and useful ability, giving him a better chance to catch people's attention while talking. Despite that, he continued forward, tapping his foot against the ground ever so quietly not to disturb anything special that may have been currently going on.

"As usual, not anyone to be found."

A soft sighed escaped the male's lips as he looked around, the male's yellow eyes flashing from one area to another. As said before, Azure was here on buisness. He, and Reimu, wished to create relations for the Vanguard and the Iramasha. Normally in Azure's position, it would be a given. Despite that being the case, he was rather infrequent with the Iramasha on his end, it needed to be clarified before actually being set in stone.

It was going to be a long month, this would only cement his further actions with the Vanguard. Such a tiring job, thought the male.

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Well, it seemed that today is the day that Reimu would receive a wonderful visitor. This visitor was Azure Iramasha and one of the Iramasha of royalty she was quite familiar with. Mainly because he was one of Ketsu's many sons and daughters that didn't turn out to be rather peculiar. She was quite of Koichi and Azure as the pair seemed to have good intentions from the their lot of dysfunctional families. However, Reimu also couldn't blame Ketsu given his own unsteady upbringing. As memories of the night he slayed her parents came to pass in her mind, the monster that was sealed inside him as a youth must've been an unbearable thing to bare and she only harbored hate for Deveta.

So Reimu decided to sigh and let out these tensions in the form of a meditative cleansing. Today wasn't about that as opposed to seeing what Azure was up to all this time. She had sent for his request a few days ago and she was glad to see him back on Iramashsa Island. The Shrine Maiden wanted to try and clear things up with the male and this talk would perhaps generate interest back to his people. Therefore, when she sensed his chaos energy, Reimu decided to use her own Chaos Warp to appear behind The Vanguard Spokesperson of the year.

"Hola~" She said with a relaxed and loose tone as she waved lazily at Azure. After walking around him, she came to his front and patted his head with a smile as she seemed happy to see him. "It's been awhile since I've seen you on the island. You've certainly grown since the last time I've seen you, squirt." Sticking her tongue out him, Reimu was poking gentle fun at him as he was still that flustered pink-haired ball of youth despite his changes. She was a form of aunt to the Royal Devil Family and that's just what aunt do!

"People are here, but we won't answer the millisecond you come, silly." Reimu laughed softly and then pointed at many of the Iramasha beginning to surround him. They stood atop her shrine, around in the forest as they crafted more gems and even in the shrine itself. Cleaning it, praying in it and even resting it as she provided a resting chamber for Iramasha and Sug alike recently. So to say that anyone was not here was far from the truth.

"I'm happy that you decided to come around, though. Tell me, would you be open to ever actively coming back to Iramasha Island? Or, even beside that, I want to reintroduce you into the clan and bring you back into the kinship. I feel a sense of community and unity is needed with our people and I've grown to miss some of the children from Ketsu's family. So, how do you feel about it? Surely we could even host Vanguard teleporation places here and make a embassy of some kind to help you better manage things."

Reimu was surely on a roll with her words, but she meant wholly well. It was only going to be up to the way the boy responded to her that would make or break this little talk between major Iramahsa royalty. If nothing else, she'd then continue to poke the boys hair and ponder what sparked that change from pink hair to black hair. So, she'd also ask this question: "And why the heck did you dye your hair black?"

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The man motioned towards the ground with his hand, allowing his foot to begin tapping as he yawned. He seemed to forever be in a state of constant movement ever since his battle with Radioactive, the spark that was lit within him never wavering. Despite it, Azure indeed did bring himself to Iramasha Island on a quiet little visit to Reimu, one of the royals that was around for a majority of both his childhood and adulthood. Just like others, she was one of the odd few that seemed to instill a bit of her own morales in the boy, despite their relative close age. Only being twice his age, Reimu was in fact a wise woman, one that passed on ideals and thoughts to others without noticing that she had done so. With Azure, at a young age it was a will to protect. Just as his uncle Ryou had done, Reimu instilled a tiny bit of her own thoughts and feelings into the young man, and that could be shown today in his morals and actions.

Stretching, the man relaxed his body, his stature slumping slightly against the weight of his shoulders, the energy in the air around him shifting to a more mellow state. He was tired from all that he did on a daily basis, and this was not only a work related visit, but a vacation of sorts. Despite being a one off visit, it was still both on good terms and was for Azure to recollect himself, to make sure he was ready for the impending War that was sure to come. The sole reason why Azure felt that this place could be visited compared to others was the way Reimu treated others, maybe even the way the girl treated him. She was kind, caring and more than willing to listen to a troubled soul's woes. Azure didn't plan on muttering his issues to the world, but if need be he could find solace in the young woman.

Twisting on a dime, Azure's body reacted to the girl's sudden arrival, jerking only slightly due to the energy she gave off before fully arriving behind his being. As usual, she was more than crafty, she was playing a game. The girl didn't ever know how to keep things serious most of the time, one of her best qualities really. Not everyone wished to die of seriousness all the time, so why not spice your every day life up with a little fun? Azure liked that about Reimu, as he did other things about the girl.

"Well hey there, shorty." The male followed the woman as she circled him, looking her figure up and down as he did most people. She wore her usual outfit of a red top and skirted bottoms. The crimson red that shone against the sun's rays usually brought with it a glow upon the girl, her angelic presence more than noticed by those she interacts with on a daily basis. Without really noticing the girl's looks too much, he followed with her circling, going to open his mouth before she spoke more.

"Yeah yeah, I still expected someone to meet me at the door. Hasn't it been a long time since I've been so willing to talk to everyone?" The young Iramasha smiled, his yellow eyes averting from left to right, then back to the girl. It felt at ease, as he did with most of his family. Interacting with the woman was far easier than it was with others of this nature, especially as of recently. He acknowledged the arrival of others now as well, their energies all melding into a single pot of Iramasha liquid, the pooling of chaos energy seeming to release in waves for the most part. He shifted, watching the girl as she talked about this or that, usually trying to goad the man into being all the more open.

As usual, he was. "I'm not sure where I stand with Iramasha Island anymore, Reimu. Especially with all the work I have to do with the Vanguard now as their leader. Don't get me wrong, I love everyone here. More than I love myself. It's just... you know things grow complicated, and that I'm not that child that used to live quietly with his father and older brother. Besides, you of all people know I'd be more than willing to have a base of operations between our clan and my members in the Vanguard. It'd do us both well." He averted his gaze once more to the sky, his pockets filled with hands as he released the tiniest of sighs. It was true, Azure was no longer the Azure that used to frolic among the Iramasha with ease. He was a different man, one that didn't seem to go anywhere in life. Not the way others expected him to, at least. He was more than fine with his decisions, others were not.

Looking back down to the tiny female, Azure smiled, his eyes once again meeting her own. The girl thought she was funny, poking fun at the male's sudden change in appearance. Nevertheless, he chuckled at her quiet comment. "Things happen and people change. I thought, maybe it was time to stop dyeing my hair for the sake of my long gone mother. I love her without knowing her, but still... Maybe it was time to return to my roots." He nodded, pointing out the difference in change was more attuned to his father's appearance and blood within him, that and the ziamichi spirit that had previous resided within him, now melded with his soul.

"Besides, you're getting older too. Usually old age makes people wrinkle, but you're far from that. Still as beautiful as ever, it seems." He chuckled at the words, poking fun at the girl's small stature and beautiful features, it was more of a joke than a compliment, yet was still the latter as well. She was beautiful, if others denied that, it'd be quite the lie.

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It was quite funny that the male suddenly twitched in response to the maiden's sudden appearance. So she let out a giggle in response to that. She'd then flick his head again when Azure called her "shorty". "Shorty? Don't play games with me, pinky. I'm twice your age all have you know" Said Reimu in a lecherous tone as she wagged her finger at Azure to otherwise playfully scold him.

"And this isn't a hotel. We don't always have front door service. So I'm sorry for that. We've just been busy trying to get things moving in the Soul Society, Earth and Iramasha Island itself. So we haven't had the luxury of 24/7 help desk service!" Reimu then threw her arms up in the air and let out a hard sigh. She really had been working herself to the bone with a lot of the things going on in the different dimensions that made up the known realms. She was training those in the living realm, rebuilding structures in the Soul Society and generating more active interest in the Iramasha Clan itself. She was a very busy girl at this point and she was happy to be spreading her positive power throughout these places and doing her duty as a shrine maiden to purify the planet.

Besides that, though, there seemed to be something more interesting the boy was going on about it. It was about his position in the Iramasha Clan and she was happy to state where he stood as he started explaining his stance. "Well, you still have good credit here. Most of the royals seem to like you, I like you and most of the Iramasha love you. The only person I can think of that dislikes you is that Katashi brother of yours, but I think everyone knows he has more than one problem going on with him." Sticking her tongue out again, there was a strong dis-taste for the sibling because he was nothing but a menace. Luckily, he was mostly kept in the Royal Devil Village and she didn't know him to venture out of there for too long. How Katashi and Azure were related to one another was well beyond her comprehension, but whatever!

"And yush! We can make a Vangaurd and Iramashsa vantage point here to help further the allies between us. I'd love to do that and have you be a bridge to us and them." Reimu then gave a thumbs up and patted Azure's right shoulder with a smile beaming on her face. "And yush, I know people change, silly. I just never expect you to take after your father like this. I wasn't too familiar with your mother, but it is certainly a Ketsu look!" Black hair always reminded her of Ketsu from any of his children. They all had that pull to him when they went into those looks.

But, besides that, she would hug Azure and make sure all was alright when he brought up her mother. "And yeah, I know it hurts with mothers since I lost mine as well. But, at least you are learning to move on with old age." She'd then let go of the hug and nod her head as Azure started speaking about age. "And besides, I'm an Iramasha. We age really slow. I'm still only five years old in terms of how we age. So I shouldn't be growing wrinkles anytime soon, silly." And with that, she'd then flick Azure head and await to see what his response would be to all this.

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Like always, Reimu wouldn't be letting Azure off the hook that easily. The comment he made garnered a response, a retort really. He knew that Reimu Iramasha was nearly double his age, despite such a thing it didn't keep her from looking any older. It was his favorite thing to comment about, the way she looked compared to the age she held. Letting out a small sigh, he looked her up and down, speaking aloud. "You know, if we were humans you could be considered the fountain of youth, Eh?" Letting a small chuckle escape his lips, he smiled before noticing her rather quick temper emerging once more, rushing its way toward him.

Bringing his arms up in defense, Azure's eyes grew rather large. He knew the hard sigh that escaped from the little one's mouth was because of the pressure that came with working here on Iramasha Island. Work is work, and with it came the pressure and expectation to not falter, whether the job was hard or extremely easy. One hundred percent was to be given at all times and if there was anyone among the Island's surface that would do such a thing, it would more than likely be the Ms. Reimu Iramasha herself. Shaking his head quietly, he looked up at the little girl and smiled brightly. It was nice to see her, especially after her run in with what seemed to be loads of work that wouldn't be lessening anytime soon. "Woah there Reimu, pull in the reigns. I would never expect a desk service from someone such as yourself. Beauty of yours could never sit behind a piece of wood for such a long time." His words were clear and rather straight forward, his smile only enhancing the tiny jokes and pokes he made at the girl with each prod of his tongue from his mouth.

Looking away from his elder, he looked to the sky as boundless waves of blue flew through its surface. A rather fierce ray of light shone through the sky that day, bearing down on those that worked back and forth on Iramasha Island's surface. The great clansmen that worked there way from one area to another were some of the greatest things above Azure's childhood home. There was never a lack of participation, all of the iramasha would do as requested of them, never a word being spoken against those that requested the help. It was a great thing that even Azure participated in during his younger years. Being here only brought back fond memories of family and friends, it was a wonderful feeling.

That feeling was abruptly ended as Reimu brought up her brother's name, a name he rather kept away from his mouth at all costs. Katashi. A sibling that Azure never had good terms with, his name only bringing back memories of insults and terrible relations. To be rather blunt, Azure thought of Katashi as an asshole. He never kept his tongue held, always held a high regard with his father and acted as if he had been the better of the three brothers that lived with their father. It sickened him.

"Now now, Reimu. The last person on my mind is Katashi. How about we keep such a stench away from our noses." The comment was harsh and blunt, relating to his recent changes in appearance and mentality. It was just a simple thing he felt towards Katashi, he wasn't going to hold his tongue for someone who did nothing but cause problems for others. That was the last thing he would ever consider about such a person.

Returning his gaze to the female, he smiled for the thousandth time now, rubbing the back of his head as he filled with positive thoughts once more. "As always, I never expected anything less. I'd be more than happy to create that relationship between the Iramasha and my newly found Vanguard allies. It's something I think would be great for the Human world." He was lost for words, his face releasing a small blush as he always favored when fellow Iramasha were fond of his ideas or help. He liked to make his family happy, even the clansmen were considered his family to him. He'd do anything he could for the Iramasha if they simply needed it.

"Yeah, it is like my Father. However, it is what it is I guess. I'm still me, I think." Letting his gaze wander away from her, his mind slipped into a small state of quiet as he thought upon her comment. He really was turning into his Father, wasn't he? The last thing he'd want is that, but if it happened... it seemed he'd have to deal with such a thing.

Being brought back to the present he stood within, he felt the little one's arms softly wrap around his figure, their bodies swaying as she spoke of his mother and her own. He knew the pain of such a thing, and after listening to her he smiled, it was a reassurance he didn't expect. Patting her head, Azure sighed and looked at the area around them.

"Well then, by your definition you'd be considered a toddler. How cute. Are we really gonna sit out here all day?" Upon the comment being made, Reimu released her fury in a small flick to his forehead. Despite their size difference, she caught the boy off guard, his body reeling backward as he looked at her.

"Tch. That hurt."

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Youth was something that they were never going to have to be worried about! That was one thing which Reimu was grateful for in her prolonged life. She was happy to be a supernatural race which could delay or offset the coming of old age. As like any other girl Reimu liked her vanity and appearance. "Well I am glad we don't age like humans. I'd rather not be an old hag by now as bad as that sounds. I like my body and the things it can do."

Reimu giggled and and took notice of the smile coming from Azure. It looked like he was very happy to see her and she was happy to see him. It was nice for two Iramasha to come together like this because she felt that more Iramasha needed to do this thing and get to know each other. With how bad things were in the world they needed to stick to each other now more than ever. "But now you are just hitting on me. That much I can see."

And Reimu certainly wasn't a fool! She could see as clear as day what Azure was doing. He was trying to flirt and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. It certainly wasn't negative but she wasn't quite sure how to respond. So, she would brush it off until she was ready to deal with such topics. "Don't you love your siblings? Of course I'm joking but I feel there may be a small bit of hope for him. Maybe."

When Reimu finished speaking the topic then changed to the alliance between the Iramasha and the Vanguard. Which Reimu would obviously accept because the forces of the world who wanted to better it needed to band together. Otherwise they were going to be doomed to fail. She didn't want either side to end up like the Gotei 13 and she was going to do what was in her power to help avoid that. "Then it is agreed! I'm sure we can work things out in paper later but let us announce our combined effort. That way we can work together to get ourselves out of this mess."

Reimu held her hand out to Azure and wanted to shake it to seal the deal. Though she could tell he was still blushing and it was almost kind of cute. Was she having THAT much of an influence on him? "Don't worry about you father or anyone else right now. Just focus on me and our talk. How about that?" After speaking Reimu would then stick her tongue out at Azure and laugh. "And no. We don't have to stand out here. You can show me around, I can show you around or we can finish our little deal. Show this toddler what for!" She would then lightly tap the forehead of Azure with her freehand and wait to see what he would do!


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