Chrono X Angel, Book 6: Branching Paths

Chapter 2

The drive from Fumizaki, to the palace known as Kxviz-Awqn-Vzlf, which was just as unpronounceable to Usoko as anything else in the Oni language, was mostly silent, broken only by Emiko's occasional sobs. Usoko had done her best to learn how to speak Emiko's real name, even calling her by it sometimes, but her pronunciations were understandably human. Oni biology lent itself somewhat to a unique language, with both races possessing two sets of teeth in their mouths and a forked tongue. This allowed for what was essentially multiple syllables to be spoken simultaneously, thus preventing those without those biological advantages from speaking the language fluently. Usoko was just grateful that "Ai-Yoh-Meya" was relatively simple to speak even for a human. She knew she would probably have to rely on Emiko a lot here, if anyone started speaking Oni at her.
Which reminded her.

"Hey Emi?" She asked quietly while the car was passing through the Tanma forest on the way out of town, "I dunno if this is the best time but... are they any customs I should know? I don't want to give a bad impression to any of your relatives..."

Emiko thought about that for a minute, before nodding slowly.
"Well, when you first enter the palace you start on your right foot to show deference to the king, even in times like these... perhaps especially in times like these. As for... as for funerary customs, well... we tend to mourn loudly. We're a people who often wear our emotions on our sleeves, so to speak. The best thing you could do though would be to just... remain with me at all times, Uso-Chan. I do not wish to sound rude, but... well if you're with me no one will question your presence here. Not out loud anyway. The same goes for you as well, Kuroko. You should both, and I know how this sounds but please understand, remain mostly silent when possible. Refrain from direct eye contact with anyone you don't know. It could be taken as a challenge, even in a time and place like this. Plus some of my extended family... well, lets just say their views on non-Oni aren't as... cosmopolitan as my own."

The remainder of the trip continued in relative silence, Usoko keeping her hand reassuringly firm but gentle around Emiko's. The peace was only broken when Kuroko, starting to get bored and thus staring out the window, was the first to spot the castle in the distance. It was massive, with walls resembling some strange cross between medieval European stone brick with Mongolian styled roofing on the towers. The keep itself looked more classically Japanese, with Pagoda style structuring, though the roofs of the many buildings were in the same style as the towers along the walls. Those very walls shimmered an odd blue color that seemed they could have reflected the sky were the day not so grey and dreary. As the car approached the large titanium gate, a group of three heavily armed personnel emerged from a nearby tower and surrounded the car. On instinct Usoko began charging a magic blast, but Emiko knocked her down before any of them could see. Quickly she explained they were castle guards, and one of them motioned for her to roll down her window.

"Your Majesty," he said solemnly, bowing his head in deference, "I understand you have to come to be with your family during this dark time, but I am most afraid that we cannot let you in right now."

Emiko glared at the gate guard with a look that bordered on pure hostility. Even when she had been out of her mind while controlled by the nanobots she had not had nearly such an enraged expression on her face as she did now. Her form flickered and glitched between human and oni, as it always did when her emotions were running wild, and Usoko was worried about what might happen next.

"Tell. Me. Why." She demanded through gritted teeth, using every last ounce of her self control to keep herself in check as tears flowed down her cheeks, "And it had better be a DAMN good reason, too."

The guard, seemingly a quite grizzled veteran, was a bit shaken by Emiko's rage though he managed to keep his cool nonetheless.

"It's... complicated, Majesty," he explained before very quickly continuing, "The palace grounds are currently being treated as a crime scene due to... the reason you're here."