"LET GO OF ME THIS INSTANT! UNHAND ME!"
"T-Tamamo-san, please calm down!"
Rias ducked underneath a flying object that would have taken her head off. Impressively, said object became lodged in the wall behind her. She glanced at the object warily, wondering if it would smack into her, before she turned back to the rather impressive sight of the tiny white monstrosity that could kill them all single-handedly holding back a very angry and very panicked Tamamo-no-Mae with little more than ordinary robe. She would have found the sight otherwise cute and adorable, were she not aware of what that thing actually was. Even now, she still felt her instincts screaming at her to escape and flee from this place at once and put as much distance between her and that thing as possible.
"Calm down, Tamamo." Jeanne advised calmly. "Simply rushing out blindly and going on a rampage in Kyoto isn't going to help us. Also, where would we even look?"
"WHO CARES?!" Tamamo screeched. "MY HUBBY IS IN DANGER! NOW LET ME GO DAMMIT! I HAVE TENGUS TO ROAST AND A CITY TO BURN!"
"That's precisely why we can't let you run about." Jeanne sighed deeply while rubbing her temples. Rias felt sorry for the poor holy woman. She imagined trying to restrain someone like Tamamo-no-Mae was a task in itself. "Lady Rias, can you think of any reason why the Youkai Faction would abduct Haru so brazenly, and in broad daylight no less?"
Rias pursed her lips. "To be truthful, Sona and I thought this might happen eventually. I just didn't think it would occur this quickly, all things considered." Tamamo actually ceased her struggles, if only just to listen to Rias' explanation. "Surely, you must have known this would happen, Tamamo-sama. Whether you realize it or not, you are one of the most important figures in the Youkai Faction, politically and historically speaking. Chosen by Amaterasu-sama herself, no less."
"Chosen, she says..." Tamamo muttered beneath her breath. She would have laughed at the irony of such a statement were it not for the current situation.
Not hearing the Heroic Spirit, Rias continued. "News about your revival would have reached many ears sooner or later. Sona and I were fully expecting to hear from them or receive a guest." The red-head frowned. "We weren't expecting them to outright kidnap Haru, though. That is unusually bold, even for them. Not to mention outlandish, considering the current state of things. Yasaka Tamamo would not risk an incident with Devil kind, not when the Youkai Faction agreed to a partnership with House Gremory and Sitri."
"So, either something has changed or there is another faction in Kyoto at work..." Jeanne folded her arms. "But who could it be?"
"Of that, I have no idea. For now, we—"
Rias' words of caution, little good they were to Tamamo when she resumed her struggles upon hearing Jeanne's possibility of her beloved being kidnapped by another person, were abruptly cut-off by the sound of a phone ringing. More specifically, the house phone located near the entrance. "I-I'll get it," Asia said meekly, desperate to get away from any impending violence that Tamamo might inflict upon her release. She strode over to the phone and picked it up. "H-Hello, Namikaze Residence... Aah, Haru-san!"
"What?!" Rias yelped when she found herself being rudely shoved aside, nearly falling to the ground. Tamamo somehow managed to free herself from her bindings and raced over to the phone, snatching it away from Asia's hands and pressing the phone up against her ear. "Darling, are you alright?! You're not harmed, are you?! Sit still, I'll come get you and burn all of Kyoto to the ground!"
"Um, please don't..." Haru quietly begged her on the other end of the phone. "I'm fine, really. I'm with Aika and Yasaka-san's daughter in a sushi shop."
"Sushi shop?" Tamamo blinked. "Come again?"
Haru sighed as he ran a hand through his red locks. "It's kind of a long story."
He glanced behind him, seeing a now fully-clothed Aika and a cheery Kunou sitting at a counter table while eating a plate of sushi. The scene would have looked normal, were it not for the fact that a literal horse-man was serving them. Not a centaur, whose lower half was that of a horse, but an actual horse-man; head that of a horse and feet bearing hooves instead of a flat piece of flesh with toes. He even had a swishing thin tail with a small sprout of hair at the end.
"To make a long story short, Yasaka wanted to see me about whether or not you were really here, but I guess things got really problematic." Haru started. "According to Kunou, Yasaka did send a messenger to Kuoh… except the day after they sent him, they found his corpse."
"What?!"
"From what Kunou told me, it seems like there's a bunch of youkai in Kyoto who don't really think I brought you back to life. They seem to think I'm trying to curry favor with the Shinto Faction." Which was ironic, considering he wasn't. All he wanted was a simple life, not get involved in whatever supernatural politics that were trying to drag him into it! "The ringleader of this whole thing is some woman called Jorogumo. Does that name ring any bells to you, Tama-chan?"
"Jorogumo?! That spider hussy?!" Tamamo screeched angrily.
"So you do know her," Haru spoke quietly, ensuring not to risk setting her off even more. "Can you please tell me who she is? The name sounds kinda familiar, but not much else."
Tamamo was quiet for a moment, or as quiet as she could get when growling angrily. While she was seething, he heard a familiar voice in the form of Rias Gremory speak in her stead. "Jorogumo is a spider youkai, and a rather influential one at that."
"Gremory-senpai? What are you doing at my house?"
"Currently running damage control. Your wife threatened to go on a rampage and tear through Kyoto trying to look for you, but luckily Jeanne and your… pet… stopped her before she could try anything," Rias explained. Haru sweatdropped and made a note to apologize to Rias personally when they met again for any trouble Tamamo might have caused her in his absence. "Anyway, back to what we were discussing. Jorogumo was originally Yasaka's second-in-command until a schism occurred in the Youkai Faction. I'm afraid the details behind the schism are unknown to me, but from what little I've heard of it from my brother, it had something to do with the birth of her daughter."
Haru frowned. "Kunou? What does she have to do with this?"
"Assuming the rumors are true, she is a half-breed." Haru choked at this information and cast another glance at Kunou, the latter chatting animatedly with Aika. "Supposedly Yasaka slept with a human, but those are merely rumors. But as you know the saying, where there's smoke there is fire. I assume that, if the rumor is true, Yasaka's infatuation with a human was the cause behind the schism. And unfortunately, Jorogumo does not have a high opinion of humans. I've also heard she was quite vocal about her disapproval of Yasaka being named the head of the Youkai Faction, much less Amaterasu-sama's avatar."
"So it's because she doesn't like Yasaka's ties to humans?" Haru whispered through the phone to ensure that Kunou didn't catch wind of it.
"That's merely one reason. You must understand that not all Youkai are favorable to humans. While there are many that adapted to human society and are on relatively amiable terms, there are others who are more… set in the old ways. They view humans as inferior, weak, and as prey. Jorogumo is one of those Youkai."
"Geez, this sounds pretty political and complicated..." He sighed, mourning the end of his peaceful life. "So what happens now? If Jorogumo really is responsible, should we even be in Kyoto anymore?"
"Even if you aren't, she'll likely send more of her subordinates to retrieve you. It's best to discuss this with Yasaka herself as she may know how to handle this."
"I figured..." Haru muttered. It seemed like everything wasn't going to let him take the easy way out. "So, what are the odds of Jorogumo attacking us while we're in Yasaka-san's home? I mean, isn't her place like the HQ of the Youkai Faction or something?"
Rias hummed thoughtfully. "Given she was willing to try and kill you while you were being transported, I'd say it's likely she would attack Yasaka's home, risky though it may be. The odds are rather low, however. Even she wouldn't risk causing a civil war between Youkai, despite her quarrel with the Youkai Faction's leader."
"But there's still the possibility she'd attack us while we're there," Haru frowned. "Even when Amaterasu-sama's there as well?"
"Yes, but..." Rias stopped. He could hear her owlish blinking over the phone. ".. .I'm sorry, Namikaze-kun, could you repeat that for me?"
Haru rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention this, but I guess Amaterasu-sama also wants to meet with me?
" … Gremory-senpai?" It was deathly quiet on the other end of the phone. "Hello? Gremory-senpai, are you still there?" He waited a few more seconds before the call was abruptly ended, making him stare at the receiver in his hand owlishly. "... the heck? Why did they hang up? Did something happen?"
"Oi, gaki!" the horse youkai called from the counter. "Are you done with your phone call or what?! Your soba noodles are growing cold!"