31 Days Exchange - A Matter of Patience
Title: A Matter of Patience
Day/Theme: 30th March 2011; we play by their rules long enough, it becomes our game
Series: Nurarihyon no Mago
Character/Pairing: Rikuo
Rating: G
Rikuo was very well aware that an overwhelming majority of the upper echelons of the Nura Clan didn't look to kindly on him, much less his position as heir to the position as Supreme Commander. He understood that it was due in part to his mixed lineage, but he knew that his behaviour years ago of shirking his responsibilities and rejecting his heritage so blatantly hadn't helped matters.
Still, he was serious about becoming the third leader of the clan now, and that was what counted.
Unfortunately, the old men hadn't forgotten his earlier transgressions to the point that they had developed some sort of grudge. Some even openly challenged him. If not for the fact that they were still loyal to his grandfather, Rikuo was sure that things would've gotten ugly much sooner and messier than it had.
He was fine with it, though. It meant he would have to earn his place, and that sat well with him. After all, he didn't want to become the third Supreme Commander just because it was his birthright. So he watched them, made mental notes on everyone, gauged their reactions to events related to the clan. In the meantime, he learned who his most loyal subordinates were, determined who were potentials and made a few unexpected allies along the way.
In short, he taught himself to play the game.
That was why when he finally attained the right to sit at the head of the Nura clan council and looked out to see the faces of those who had sworn their life to him, he could barely contain a smirk. It was a small victory in comparison to the troubles that lay ahead of him and his subordinates, but it was his victory all the same.
Day/Theme: 30th March 2011; we play by their rules long enough, it becomes our game
Series: Nurarihyon no Mago
Character/Pairing: Rikuo
Rating: G
Rikuo was very well aware that an overwhelming majority of the upper echelons of the Nura Clan didn't look to kindly on him, much less his position as heir to the position as Supreme Commander. He understood that it was due in part to his mixed lineage, but he knew that his behaviour years ago of shirking his responsibilities and rejecting his heritage so blatantly hadn't helped matters.
Still, he was serious about becoming the third leader of the clan now, and that was what counted.
Unfortunately, the old men hadn't forgotten his earlier transgressions to the point that they had developed some sort of grudge. Some even openly challenged him. If not for the fact that they were still loyal to his grandfather, Rikuo was sure that things would've gotten ugly much sooner and messier than it had.
He was fine with it, though. It meant he would have to earn his place, and that sat well with him. After all, he didn't want to become the third Supreme Commander just because it was his birthright. So he watched them, made mental notes on everyone, gauged their reactions to events related to the clan. In the meantime, he learned who his most loyal subordinates were, determined who were potentials and made a few unexpected allies along the way.
In short, he taught himself to play the game.
That was why when he finally attained the right to sit at the head of the Nura clan council and looked out to see the faces of those who had sworn their life to him, he could barely contain a smirk. It was a small victory in comparison to the troubles that lay ahead of him and his subordinates, but it was his victory all the same.