『Let's talk about the remaining skills of the sacred gear, Yuki. Isn't it called [Amplify] and [Accel]?』 Shin asked.
『Nn, certainly. The remaining skills of the sacred gear right now is [Amplify] and [Accel]. [Amplify] is similar to my buddy Ddraig's skill. BUT, this one is much more taxing to use. It can multiply the user's power by multiples of 2. This power can also be transferred to anyone or anything. Meaning, every 10 seconds, it will first [Amplify] your power into 2, then 4, 6, 8, and so on. Next is [Accel]. This has never been used by any users of my test sacred gears in the past. It is an ability that clads the user in lightning. When activated, it allows the user to move at much faster speeds. It also enhances the user's reflex drastically. But, this also consumes a lot of stamina from the user. There are others but you can't use it until you unlock the Balance Breaker,』 Yuki said.
『I understand Yuki. Thank you for explaining,』 Shin said.
『Alright, Shin. Now that explanations are out of the way, I want to talk about the missions that I told you about before you came to this world,』 Yuki said in all seriousness.
『Mm, I remember about those missions that you said. It's about defeating Ddraig and Albion and finding Ophis, right?』 Shin asked.
『Nn, that. Now that we have this system thing, I will be giving you another mission besides those,』 Yuki said.
『I thought so. For a bored creature like you, I was sure that I'll be dragged into troubles because of you,』 Shin said in exasperation.
『Don't mind, don't mind! It's just a little something to add spice in our life!』 Yuki said in a nonchalant manner.
『*sigh*, Alright. What is it that you want me to do?』 Shin asked.
『Hmm, hmm. Let's see, let's see. You plan on studying swordsmanship... Heaven have a big problem... You are too weak right now...』 Yuki said as she continued to mumble.
『Oh, then how about this!?』 Yuki said.
After she said those words, a loud ding reverberated inside his head.
•~•~•~•
//Mission Triggered//
[Sharpening Your Blade]
Rank: A
Main Objective(s):
Learn Swordsmanship under the exorcist Vasco Strada. (Pending)
Optional Objective(s):
Learn how to coat your body with holy power. (Pending)
Failure Requirement(s):
Uncompleted mission after 2 years has passed, Death.
Penalty(s):
Inability to use the Void Greaves for 2 months.
Reward(s):
Skill Card: Friendship, 100,000 ria, 10,000 SCs
•~•~•~•
Seeing the mission that he received, Shin gave a slight nod. It was something that he wanted to do so this is something that is par for the course for him.
『Alright, I will now go back to Heaven after visiting my friends here. I think that it is also about time to tell something about myself to my parents,』 Shin said.
『Got it~! I will continue reading this novel, then!』 Yuki said.
Shin then went towards the Hyoudou Family's house as he knocked on the door.
*knock* *knock*
*knock* *knock*
When he did, a familiar voice came from behind the door.
"Yeeessss~. Open~!" a childish voice with a high pitched tone said.
When the voice said 'Open', the door swung open after a *kacha* sound was heard. Seeing the girl, Shin couldn't help but smile.
"You're still as rowdy as ever, Aoi-chan," Shin said.
When the girl called Aoi saw Shin, she immediately shouted with a surprised, "Ah!". She then leapt towards Shin instantly and clung to him like a koala. Her masterful skills in grappling can put any MMA fighters to shame.
"Shin~! I missed you! You didn't come to play with us for three months!" Aoi complained.
Shin patted her head a little bit to calm this feisty girl down. If Yae was here, she would surely be joining Aoi in her practice of grappling techniques.
If Shin were to list the benefits of becoming a child once again, that is the chance of training your body from the ground up, the astonishing learning speed that you can exploit, and the chance to gain childhood friends.
During his training back when he gained his past memories, he trained himself to be ambidextrous. It is the ability to use both of his hands with equal ease or dexterity.
He knew that this skill will be useful to him no matter what fighting style he took. Aside from that, he also trained his lower body with the trainings that baseball players take. For example, he balanced the muscles in both of his leg. This way, he wouldn't be too predictable if someone were to study his fighting style in the near future. This is why Shin tried to maintain a balance in his muscles. He only trained his upper body slightly as training it too much may stunt his growth.
"There, there. I will surely visit Aoi-chan more often in the future, okay?" Shin said as he tried to coax her to release him.
"Hmpf! You better pinky swear on that! If not, I will... I will... I will ignore you!" Aoi said as she finally released Shin.
"Yes, yes, I'm busy with school so I can't visit quite often and you know that," Shin said.
When Shin entered inside, he was greeted with a bombardment of questions and pouty expressions that he found it hilarious. Finally finding it hard to suppress it, he let out a chuckle.
"Pfft... Ahaha! Why are you all pouting like that? You all look like some cute little piggies!" Shin remarked.
"H-Hmpf! I don't care if I look like a piggy! You! You never visited us for almost three months!" Rana said.
It's rare for her to sulk like this.
'*sigh*, Here we go again. I have to coax four more girls after coaxing one earlier,' Shin thought.
Well, he couldn't really blame them for being like this. They're still kids and they're girls. Convinced by his logical thought which is "girls=unreasonable", Shin began to coax the girls into smiling again.
If he were to comment on something, it is that Rana and Ichika was the hardest to coax. They rarely sulk but if they did, it will take a few hours for them to forgive him.
Thus, Shin's stay in the Hyoudou house was spent entirely on coaxing Rana, Ichika, Yae, and Akiko. After that, they played for some time but only for about an hour as an Angel came to pick him up.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
After they arrived in Heaven, Shin walked a few ways away until he came into a complete stop when he arrived at the bridge near his home.
"Yuki, I want to tell my family about myself. Do you think it would be a good idea to tell about you and my origin?" Shin voiced out.
「It wouldn't really matter either way. Those Gods that are looking for you can't detect you since you are my host now. I hate it when someone is meddling with my business, you see,」 Yuki said.
"Then, I forgot to ask this last time but... Where is your original body?" Shin asked hesitantly.
「It is inside the sacred gear! In truth, I can also materialize but my strength would only be a fraction of my original strength. I can still use my original strength if I want but that would be troublesome in various ways so I put a temporary seal on it,」 Yuki said.
"Yeah, you're totally right about that. Could you come out then when I talk to my parents? I will introduce you as an Independent Avatar of my Sacred Gear!" Shin suggested.
「Hmm, are you sure? I might accidentally destroy this place, you know?」 Yuki asked.
"Huh? What are you saying? Of course I trust that you will be able to control your power! I will even teach you how to do it! You're my partner now, after all. Besides, I doubt that we'll be separated anytime soon," Shin encouraged.
It's not like he's boasting but he is second to none when it comes to control over elements. It has to be said that this control will only get better as he create more 'Elemental Beads'.
「*chuckle*. Alright, if you insist, partner. And, you're right. Now that I have the chance to be inside a world without destroying it, I might as well see how it looks like up close and personal,」 Yuki said.
When Yuki said that, a bright light came out of the jewels of the Void Greaves. When the light faded, a girl with a cold expression on her face, jet black hair with slight azure colored highlights, blood red colored irises, and a petite figure that matched that of a seven years old girl can now be seen standing in front of Shin.
(A/N: 1, check it below to see the reference)
"It seems that my physical form would always match yours. It's quite smaller than what I'm used to. Oh, and your sacred gear is still working even though I'm outside it. To be clear, this is something like an avatar of mine!" the girl said in a haughty way.
She still look so cute even though she have this cold aura around her. She's sure to grow up into an absolute beauty.
"Y-You're Yuki?" Shin tentatively asked.
"Mm? That's right?" Yuki(?) said while tilting her head.
"Uwaa! How cute!" Shin said as he ran towards her and gave her a tight hug.
This kid, his behavior is slowly becoming more and more similar with Gabriel. Well, he's almost always with her so this is a given.
"W-Waaa! C-Cease this insolence immediately! Hey! Are you listening to me!?" Yuki complained.
But, her complains reached deaf ears as the boy before her smothered her with even more head pats and hugs. Well, she didn't know that her behavior is just riling him up even more. A cool cutie turning into a tsundere is surely a sight for sore eyes.
"With you being this cute, mom will surely like you! Come on! Let's go home, Yuki!" Shin said as he dragged the strongest dragon with him by the hand.
"S-Sheesh! Listen to what people say! Honestly!" Yuki complained.
Even though she still complained, a small smile could be seen in her cold and emotionless face.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
"Moooom! Daaad! Big Sis Zelel! Gab-chan! Haneil-chan! I'm hooome!" Shin shouted as he opened the door and rushed inside.
"My, it looks like Shin-kun is quite excited. What is it, dear?" Murielle asked with a gentle smile on her face.
"Is everyone home yet mom?" Shin asked.
"That's right my dear. They're waiting inside," Murielle said.
"Alrighty! Come on, Yuki!" Shin said.
"A-Ah! Quit dragging me around!" Yuki said.
Murielle who saw her baby boy drag someone home was quite puzzled by this. She was just about to bring some refreshments so she went inside the dining room.
Once she was inside, she saw that Shin sat down on the chair near the table with the girl he brought inside the house beside him. Well, her youngest daughter is occupying his lap.
She is a cute little girl who bares a huge resemblance with Gabrielle. The only difference with her and Gabrielle is that her blonde hair with a slight pink ombre to it is cut short to a cute bob, styled with twintails. Different from Zelel who has light blue colored irises and Gabriel who have baby blue colored irises, Haniel have purple colored irises.
ThIs little girl is really attached to her Onii-tama that she would never separate from him when he's around.
"Onii-tama, Onii-tama! Han was... she's been a good giwl today, you know?" Haniel said.
She's been like this almost everyday. She would always start to recount her day to day experience to her Onii-tama.
"And, and, you see! Han has missed Onii-tama! Whewe did Onii-tama go?" Haniel asked while tilting her head in a cutesy way while looking up at her Onii-tama.
"Haniel's Onii-sama just visited his friends! That's why Onii-sama is late~" Shin replied as he patted his baby sister on her head.
Whenever he tries to speak with Haniel, his speech would always switch into third person point of view. This has been a puzzle to him. Even his parents and siblings talk to Haniel in a third person point of view, which made him even more curious.
"Un, un! Han undewstands!" Haniel replied.
Seeing this interaction, Murielle and Daniel were happy. They were happy but... They're also feeling jealous.
Haniel is a good girl, always listening to them. But, when she's around her Onii-tama, she'll act like a spoiled child. Well, Haniel would sometimes act like this in front of them but not as often as when she's with her Onii-tama.
"By the way, Shin? Could you please introduce us to the girl beside you?" Gabrielle finally asked.
She's been itching to know who this girl is. Even Zelel is waiting in anticipation. She just came back from work so she didn't know at first if this is the first time Shin brought this girl home. That's why she stayed quiet all this time.
"Okay, Haniel? Sit properly for now, okay? Onii-sama will play with Haniel later," Shin said.
"Yesh!" Haniel said, nodding obediently.
After giving a few more head pats to the cute and obedient Haniel. He looked at his parents and other siblings and said,
"I have something important to tell you, Mom, Dad, Big Sis Zelel, Gab-chan."
As he said those words, he also looked at them in the eye for a brief moment. Seeing his serious expression, they just gave him an encouraging nod and a gentle smile.
"I want to tell you all about myself," Shin paused for a while, trying to gather his courage.
His family just waited for him to say what it was that he wanted to say.
"I... I'm not a human. I just found out about it when I was four and I didn't know whether I should tell it to someone at first. I-I'm a part yokai and I... I'm a member of a race called Elemental Foxes," Shin finally said.
His family members didn't utter a word as they listened closely. When they heard about him being a part yokai, they just showed an, "Ohh" expression. It seems like they already know about it. Shin didn't notice this though as he continued to speak.
He wanted to tell then all about himself but he thought that, based on this world's norms, sacred gear users should have a human lineage. Being too honest right now would not only bring trouble for himself but also to this family of his.
He knew and he's aware that there are traitors in Heaven. Although he knows that their secretly strong parents have surrounded this house with layers of barriers, Shin don't want to take that risk. Being a part Youkai who can wield a sacred gear has a big difference with being a purebreed who can wield a sacred gear.
So, he decided to tell a white lie. He have memories about himself living among humans in the past so it isn't exactly a lie, either. Within those memories, that 'him' thought that he is completely 'human'.
"My race has a high affinity with any elements and we also have high control over it," Shin said.
This time, shocked gasps was heard from Murielle, Daniel, and Zelel, while Gabrielle and Haniel just listened with angelic smiles on their faces. However, the adults still didn't voice out their questions, they waited for Shin to finish what he wants to say.
"And, just today, I also managed to awaken my sacred gear-" Shin looked at Yuki and then at his family.
"-She's Yuki. She's an Independent Avatar of my sacred gear called Void Greaves, also known as the Azure Dragon Emperor's Divine Greaves," Shin said as he dropped another bomb.
The title of the greaves is something that he just made up but it seems that the adults knows about this. Due to them hearing this from Shin, their surprise and questions couldn't be suppressed anymore. Their questions came like a raging torrential flood as they bombarded Shin with questions.
"Let's set aside the fact that you are a part yokai, we already know about that, but... she's an avatar of your sacred gear!?" Daniel asked without his usually composed atmosphere.
"No no no no! What's more important is... It's a sacred gear which housed the soul of the Azure Dragon Emperor of Destruction!?" Zelel asked.
"Shin! Isn't that amazing! You have a sacred gear now!" Gabrielle commented, completely out of the main topic.
"What ish it!? My Onii-tama ish A-MA-ZING?"
Even Haniel chirped in a comment.
"E-HEM! Calm down, dear, Zelel-chan. Let's ask Shin questions one by one," Murielle said calmly.
Hearing her, all of them immediately turned quiet. They don't want to see her be angry. Seriously, they're not gonna like it. She rarely gets angry but in those rare times, they saw just how scary their kind and caring mother could be.
"Alright. Now that the commotion is over, I want to first ask Shin something first. You're not against it, no?" Murielle asked.
They all just nodded at a rapid pace, not wanting to go against her.
"So, Shin-kun. Your part yokai lineage aside-"
Before she could finish her words, Shin interjected.
"Wait, Mom! Why are you all brushing off my reveal about my race?" Shin asked.
"Eh? Well, that's because we all suspected it from the very beginning. This was further confirmed when the other Seraphs visited and they didn't immediately identify you as a human," Muriel replied.
"S-Seriously? And here I was being hesitant about telling this?" Shin murmured.
"It's alright, Shin-kun. No matter what you are, we will still love you!" Murielle said.
"That's right!" Gabrielle chimed in.
"Mm, that's certainly the case," Daniel agreed.
"Of course! We love you, Shin!" Zelel said.
"Wight, wight! Han is... Han looooves Onii-tama a whoooooole lotss!" Haniel said innocently.
Hearing this, Shin's eyes were filled with tears. So this was how it feels to be loved so much. He smiled in gratitude at his adopted parents and siblings before diverting his attention to his baby sister.
"Really? Haniel loves Onii-sama? Thank you~! Onii-sama loves Haniel too~!" Shin said as he kissed his baby sister's cheeks.
"El-come!" Haniel replied.
"Okay, Shin-kun? Could you please repeat what you just called this little girl earlier?" Murielle said after seeing that Shin and Haniel finally stopped their sibling bonding.
Knowing just how kind they are, letting a kid with a dubious origin stay at their place and view them as their own son, Shin didn't hesitate anymore.
"Yes, Mom. As I've said earlier, she is Yuki. She said that she was called by the people here as the Void Dragon or the Azure Dragon Emperor of Destruction," Shin replied honestly.
"So... she's really 'that' dragon?" Murielle said.
"What do you mean, Mom?" Shin asked.
"W-Well, there's just one part on the history of the Underworld where the Azure Dragon Emperor helped them. In fact, they're still searching for that wielder even now. If they knew that you are the current wielder, I'm sure that they will show their overflowing gratitude to you," Murielle said.
This time, Shin was absolutely confused. What gratitude? Didn't Yuki said that he was the very first wielder of this completed gear and that the past gears were weaker than this one?
『Do you know anything about this, Yuki?』 Shin asked the quiet Yuki.
She never spoke a word since the very start of this whole conversation.
『I think it has something to do with you messing with the... Anyway, don't worry about it right now. Aren't you happy? The peace talks will proceed even more smoothly with your involvement in it,』 Yuki said as she tried to change the subject.
'It's probably just him messing with the time,' Yuki thought inwardly.
She wanted to check the future but decided not to. Where's the fun in that?
Feeling that she doesn't want to reveal anything to him, Shin let the subject lay. It isn't good to force someone if they don't want to share it with you.
"Okay, now, Zelel, you can ask your question now," Murielle said.
"Thank you Mom but my question was already answered," Zelel said.
"Okay, how about you dear?" Murielle asked her husband.
"Mm, thank you dear. Shin, is it true that she is the Independent Avatar of your sacred gear? Not the sacred gear but an avatar?" Daniel asked while looking at Yuki.
"Yes Dad. She's the avatar of the Void Dragon. Come on Yuki, say hi to my family," Shin said.
He told his latter words to Yuki with a smile on his face. Yuki just acquiesced as she greeted Shin's family with a nod.
"It is nice meeting all of you. I am Coldwal y Glas, also known as the Azure Dragon Emperor of Destruction but... you can just call me Yuki," she said.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
A/N:
• she looks like Yatogami Tohka from Date A Live but her eyes are blood red/crimson in color and a jet black hair(with blue undertones not the regular purple) with azure colored highlights.
• his family is so kind to him so I decided to let them know about it. Hey, who would've thought that they wouldn't care as much about who he is. Although some might think that it is not good to not tell them the whole truth, there are still some things that would be better to remain as secret.
• Some are asking about this a lot of times so let me just put it here to answer your question. According to the fandomwiki of Highschool DxD, here is the description about Youkai; 'Depending upon their specific species, Youkai have a plethora of different forms, ranging from the fox-like kitsune (such as Kunou and Yasaka) to the cat-eared Nekomata (such as Koneko and Kuroka). However, MOST YOUKAI EITHER POSSESS a HUMAN-LIKE FORM with animalistic accents or have to shapeshift to assume such a form.'
• Elemental Foxes are like kitsunes but with a much ancient lineage. They're the kitsune's ancestors in this novel, to be exact. So, it isn't wrong to say that they are youkais.