Chapter Text
Daiki believed in the satisfying payback and benefit that comes with being an honest merchant. He also believed in the satisfying payback and benefit that comes with running an illegal business. After years of experience in the game, he was able to conclude that the latter reaped more than half of the former. Nevertheless, he ran both.
A poet would say he could afford to be nice, a governor would say he could afford a cover. It didn’t matter to him, life was good, and money was coming in from both ends. He could afford having a drink every night, racing Ryouta on who could get drunk faster. As long as his stomach was full and his cover wasn’t blown—and his name was well known in the underworld—he could live happily.
In the mornings, he worked with Shintarou and Kazunari on the merchandise, although Shintarou and Kazunari were the ones doing most of the work. What stepped up their game apart from the other merchants was their delivery system, Kazunari Takao himself. The guy personally delivered pre-ordered goods to residences, and mentioned wanting to become a samurai just so he could own a horse to make delivery easier (he wouldn’t need to do any deliveries by then, but nobody told him that).
Shintarou handled the logistics with so much ease and professionalism that he preferred that Daiki not involve himself in his own business, not even letting him move the maneki-neko in accordance with feng shui. Daiki had to hold himself back from scoffing whenever he saw him reading horoscope fortune slips and the daily fortune calendar while drinking his morning tea, but since business was good, he didn’t complain. It would've been nice if Shintarou could handle some parts of the other business, too, but he had refused, saying it would bring him bad luck if he was involved in such matters. Daiki shook his head. Contrary to Shintarou’s speculations, it had brought him nothing but abundance.
Fortunately, Satsuki was just as good at these things as Shintarou was, so she could handle Blue Reliquary’s logistics. While each of their roles were important, Daiki had to argue that he was the owner for a reason. Personally, he insisted that he had the hardest role to play: as the one who went out and got the items himself. Stealing from yokai was no walk in the park.
Yes, there were stalls and stores everywhere that were selling charms and talismans of all kinds, their purposes ranging from good luck to warding away evil spirits. But Blue Reliquary was the real deal, selling items from both the divine and the damned that had immense power nurtured by the otherworldly beings they came from. Daiki went to great lengths to collect these treasures, and sell them for big money.
How he’s still alive and healthy to this day remains a mystery, but he knew for sure it all started with Nigou.
Nigou was no ordinary dog. Well, of course he was, but he felt it in his bones there was something different about him, like he was the same kind as the beings he stole from. Daiki’s been led by him in every journey that earned him a special item, and was saved by him countless of times. If he could give his life up for anyone, it would be Nigou.
That’s why he always kept him by his side and made sure to spoil him, feeding him with only the best food, providing him his own bed, putting a protective talisman around him as a collar (he probably didn’t need it, but just in case), and even letting him in on all the details of the business. Just like tonight, he was seated on Daiki’s lap as he had a private discussion with a frequent customer, Akashi Seijuro.
“Good to see you here again this evening, sir” he greeted, Nigou’s tail lightly thumping against his lap.
Satsuki set down a tea set between the two of them, sitting down with her ledger and brush afterwards.
“My father will be abdicating soon” he went straight to the point. As the emperor’s only son, he was next in line for the throne. “However, the shogun is in my way. I’m only telling you this because I trust you with this information, and also because you know how much this order means to me, you’ll be sure to not make mistakes” he stated.
“I don’t let my important customers down. What is it you need, anyway?” he tilted his head. Satsuki gave him a look that told him to be careful with his words in front of the emperor’s son, but he ignored it.
“A kitsune mask”. Daiki blinked. For a special cause, he wasn’t expecting an ordinary order. “From a snow kitsune,” he added.
“How much time do I have?” he asked.
“One month, but I can stretch it to two”. Daiki hummed. It wasn’t the amount of time that was bothering him, it was the time of year. Winter was nearing, and he had to get a kitsune mask from those specially tricky snow foxes. “And the pay?”.
“10,000 ryo”
Satsuki seemed surprised at that, so he ought to question her about it later.
“A down payment of 3,000” he added. Seijuro was one of those strange customers that would decide on the amount of the down payment for the merchant, but he didn’t argue.
As far as he was aware, emperors were just decorative items for the shogunate, who were the real ones in power. He’d heard the emperor’s son was plotting towards turning the tables, but he didn’t really care about all that as long as he got his money’s worth out of this successor.
When he left, Daiki questioned Satsuki about it.
“Dai-chan, 10,000 ryo is the emperor’s annual stipend”
“Wondering where he’s getting extra money? Don’t think too much about it” he sighed, ruffling her hair, which earned him a hit to the shoulder.
“I spent a long time fixing that up!” she complained. His calloused hands had caused stray strands of hair to float over what once was a neat arrangement.
“See? Now you’re not overthinking the emperor’s salary anymore. I’m a genius” he grinned to himself. He put on his tabi boots, Nigou circling around him and sniffing on the soles.
“Wait, Dai-chan, you’re going out now? But it’s night time. I’m telling you not to push your luck. You can never be too cautious” she warned, her long hair now flowing freely down her back.
“If Nigou doesn’t say no, then I’m going. Whaddya say, boy?” he crouched down to pet the dog, who replied with a bark. “He says it’s all good, you don’t gotta worry one bit. Plus, it’s not like I’m getting the mask right away, I’m feeling out the place first” he shrugged on another kimono on top of the one he was already wearing.
“Mido-chin! Dai-chan’s going up the mountain right now!” she announced, earning her a glare from Daiki for telling on him.
“Foolishness” he immediately stepped out of his room, holding a newspaper. “Even if your horoscope is on top of the list today, it’s still dangerous to go out there alone at night. If you want to go, go tomorrow” he scolded.
“What’s my horoscope today?”
Shintarou frowned, but flipped through the newspaper nevertheless. “Avoid the snow today, or it will follow you back” he read, a smug grin on his face.
Daiki crossed his arms, “fine, whatever, I’ll do it tomorrow” he reluctantly tossed away his boots and kimono. “Nigou, let’s go”.
Like hell he could have a good night's sleep after getting told by two people to not do something. Internally, he had considered sleeping first then going tomorrow, but now that both Shintarou and Satsuki had advised him against it, he wanted nothing more than to throw his nagging out of the window. And so he climbed out that window, dressed for the weather with Nigou following close.
If Nigou wasn't pulling him away, then it was all okay.
He ventured to the nearest snowy mountain, going on a familiar path with his lamp and the dog ahead of him.
Nigou stopped in his tracks, nose pointed towards the white shrubbery to the left. They were at an isolated part of the mountain now, far from any people. The moon shone brightly above them, reflecting on the snow.
“See something, boy?” He asked, waiting for his signal. But today, his usually reliable companion simply let out a bark and dashed into the shrubbery. “Wait, Nigou!” He called out, chasing after him. The dog didn't usually behave this way, going off without letting him know anything.
He would've leaped over the shrubbery if it weren't for the snow, so he painstakingly pushed through the thick leaves while calling out, “Nigou, here boy, where are you?”.
In the midst of his trouble getting through he got stuck. “Damn it” he muttered. On the other side, Nigou barked, wagging his tail as he looked at him. Daiki sighed. Even when he was stuck, he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed at the dog.
“Not gonna help me out?” he huffed, to which Nigou bit and pulled on the boot of his foot that stuck out. “Stop, stop, nevermind” he grunted.
Eventually, he got himself out.
“There we go. The hell did you find in here anyway, boy?” He raised a brow at Nigou, eager to see what made the dog enthusiastically cross over a thick heap of shrubs without warning.
He barked, licking on something in the ground. It was only then that Daiki realized he was stepping on a person.