A sight of a handwritten letter, pure white pages adorned with black ink, assuming it was written using a quill's feather, was neatly placed on the foreign affairs office desk. Therein lies an official stamp of the Kamisato insignia at the bottom of the letter and on the envelope seal as well. The writing had been pristine and elegant, the words conscise- it was a formal invitation to the Kamisato Estate written by a certain Yashiro Commissioner, Kamisato Ayato.
There has been a lot of talk in town about how the head of the Kamisato clan is the grandmaster of political affairs; he had earned the title due to the dangerous game he plays with people's positions and lives. Despite the gruesome work he had done, his complexion and exterior remained pure, as innocent as his inner child who only wanted to get by- while drinking boba tea every now and then.
But the fact remains; the Kamisato bloodline is of noble origin and the common people would be honoured if they could ever, have a chance to pursue one.
Meanwhile the nation of Antares had their own talk of the town, aka the Warmonger bloodline. Those who have inherited it, commonly regarded as the Messiah or Martyr that would protect the nation from further destruction or calamity. But in truth, a lot of the commonfolk were starting to think of how tragic it is to be a warmonger; to feel obliged to annihilate thousands of enemies at once, strategize and leading the army; risking their own life over and over again in the process. It was as if warmongers are natural-born grim reapers in the battlefield and nothing more, nothing less.
Hence, the term Executioner was created.
Astreanova Antares might not be the first warmonger, but the Executioner role belonged to them alone. The texts and journals that were written about them would go as such;
"This is the Executioner, who decided to dismiss gender. They had preferred to not be seen as their gender at birth, due to their line of work."
"Vengeance had raged inside the soul of a warmonger for centuries to come. Another genocide was committed yet again by the army commanded by them. The nation of Antares had previously declared war against the worshippers of a false god in a neighbouring nation who condemned the people to hell during the end of times. The executioner immediately took a number of them out."
"Murder or execution became a duty to be fulfilled, as great power bears great responsibility. The warmonger blood had became a gift to those who desired it, but a lifelong curse to those who acquired it. It was evident how warmongers do not live long- as they are in the frontlines of war the whole time. Nevertheless, the executioner accepts their destiny."
When the Executioner had received the invitation letter in their hands, they had no choice but to assign their troops as temporary escorts before arranging for them to set up a military base just beside the nation of Inazuma. A political arrangement was made to meet the requirements of both nations and the representatives.
Astrea sighed in the middle of the night, lying down on the bed, alone with their thoughts.
Kamisato Ayato and Kamisato Ayaka.
I wonder if this visit is truly worthwhile.
Guess we'll have to find out.
The anticipated arrival was liaised smoothly by Thoma, the tall blonde man who is in fact, the Kamisato housekeeper and a trusted associate of them. As far as the honorifics go, Thoma didn't hesitate to address the newcomer as 'Lord Executioner'. He introduced himself and then led Astrea to the Narukami shrine for blessings and good fortune.
"The Almighty Shogun is all-knowing and all-seeing. Best to pay your respects first, Lord Executioner. Besides, the famous lady Guuji Yae wants to meet you." The blonde smiled.
"Alright, thank you so much, Thoma." Astrea replied.
"I'll wait downstairs and escort you to the Kamisato Estate once everything is done. See ya!"
The Narukami shrine was breathtaking, it boasts a view right on top of the city as the thunder sakura petals flew alongside the evening breeze. The warmonger realized it has been a while since they took notice of the beautiful surroundings during an official visit.
"Astreanova Antares, correct? It seems the land of Inazuma have finally welcomed you here. I've heard a lot of things about you." A sly, pink haired hybrid of a human and a fox suddenly spoke.
Regardless of the hybrid, this lady Guuji of the shrine sure is beautiful just like the sakura petals. Astrea wondered to herself.
"Yes, it's me. Nice to meet you, lady Guuji Yae." Astrea replied, pushing her thoughts away.
"Well now, seems like Thoma has introduced me to you. Do call me Yae or Miko from now on. We'll talk more after you've paid your respects." Yae crossed her arms and smiled.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do, they said.
Astrea took her time to pray at the shrine, lowkey hoping every ordeal they'll face in the Kamisato Estate would be smooth sailing with no underlying issues.
"Alright, so you'd like to know more about the Kamisato family, correct?"
"It's as if you've read my mind, yes. Although I did a couple of research, on the political past of course. The Tri-Commission and their stakehold, finances etc." Astrea explained.
Yae frowned all of a sudden.
"Oh Executioner, spare me all the boring stuff. Of course we're not gonna talk about that. I want to talk about the Shirasagi Himegimi of the household, the pride and joy of the Kamisato clan. You see...." After what seemed like 5 minutes of describing how lovely Kamisato Ayaka is, Astrea realized something was off somewhere.
Maybe it's just a gut feeling.
"Why, you sure have taken a huge liking to my sister, lady Guuji Yae."
All of a sudden, there stood a blue-haired man clad in white, his clothes seemed to be as regal as Astrea's, signifying a high profiled background. Behind him was Thoma, who was obediently tailing behind his master.
"Waka- you sure have a lot of stamina today." Thoma sighed, catching his breath over a small marathon from the foot of the mountain towards the shrine.
"I must not let my guest spend too much of their time at the shrine, you know the drill, Dango." A sly smile was plastered across his lips. The blue-haired man had a distinctive mole at the left side of his mouth. Astrea recognized the features, but remained silent.
"Oh, looks like the Yashiro commissioner has arrived. What luck do we have today." Yae sighed and crossed her arms. "Very well, introduce yourself." Her eyes leered at the blue haired commissioner.
Without further ado, Ayato took a couple of steps closer to the guest, the outsider of the day.
"Greetings, executioner. My name is Kamisato Ayato and I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Your name is Astreanova, correct?" He smiled.
"Yes that's me. I suppose I am to head towards the Kamisato Estate real soon." Astrea replied, nonchalantly, even though it felt odd to see the other shrine maidens would immediately faint at the sight of the Yashiro commissioner.
"Ayato-sama!!" They cheered from afar.
"There's a lot of things about Inazuman people that I don't know. For instance, why are the shrine maidens blushing and- oh my god, someone fainted. Does anyone have a paramedic?" The warmonger questioned, while noticing a small smirk coming from the Kamisato guy before it faded in a split second.
Yae grunted all of a sudden and joked. "This is why I absolutely despise seeing Ayato traversing my territory and defiling my pure shrine maidens. Not to worry Astreanova, they're just starstruck. As you can see, Mr Yashiro rascal here is a womanizer."
"Hey, do not defile my name as such, Lady Guuji. You know me, I am not a womanizer, I'm just happened to be quite.... pleasing to the eyes and likeable, that's all." Ayato coughed. Thoma nodded, agreeing with his Lord like the good boy that he is.
"Anyway, shall we move forward, Astreanova?"
Astrea raised an eyebrow. It seemed effortless for Ayato to address anyone as he likes, perhaps due to his status. The warmonger was indeed trying to get to the bottom of things and they realize it was necessary to try to get along with the politician.
"Sure. I mean, after you, Kamisato Ayato."
Yae immediately grabbed Astrea's shoulders for one last time and whispered,
"I'll only tell you one thing. If you're not careful enough, you'd end up getting caught in his schemes."
Astrea realized the gut feeling was right after all.
There might be no way things would end up smooth sailing, not with the commissioner around. The steps they took towards Thoma and the head of the Kamisato clan felt languid.
Astrea remembers the smile Ayato had on his face that day. It meant everything, everything that was about to play in his bare hands and deep down they knew they would pry out of it, even if it costs a lifetime and a whole lot of money to do so.
A/N: Ayo I'm back with an Ayato fic, but this is more of a new AU and doesn't have anything to do with Two Faced. Astrea doesn't have a Grandmaster either. Vision: Cryo. Typical pronouns for them would be they/them but occasionally she/her <3 some pics I drew below~