It was weird, but nice, Having this colorful array of people all in one room and happily conversing without any issue.
Well, kind of.
Of course some heads were butting, but, it was mostly in good fun. Scáthach was certainly someone who didn't take shit from people; amused by their words and actions or not, she would return whatever verbal licks she received with interest.
Maybe that's why she was sort of in this weird competition with Raikou. I know for a fact that Scáthach isn't one to be so blatantly affectionate in public, yet she was willing to lean into me a little more than normal, and even briefly brush up on me with her hand.
It may not seem like much, but this was certainly more forward than she normally was. This was the same woman who would strip naked just to tease me, yet would hesitate to show actual affection. The little smile she sent me, for the briefest of moments when our hands touched.
It really made my heart flutter.
And Raikou was being extra clingy due to the summoning of Scáthach.
Well, Zelretch was working on something, and it should be done soon. Only a little bit longer and we can fix this issue she had with her Mad Enhancement.
"Oi, Bastard." Mordred said as she sort of lazily leaned back in her chair, tilting it on the back legs. "What's this world of yours like, the one you were going to bring me to?"
Suddenly, the small conversations stopped, and all eyes were on me.
"Kinda curious too." Achilles spoke up. "You said there was some stuff there I'd have fun with, like during my time."
"Alright, I may as well explain this properly." I paused for a moment, mulling over how I should begin. "To start off, basically, the Age of Gods never ended. That isn't a perfect explanation for my birth world, but it should give you an idea of what's going on."
"Everyone still around, even my mom?" Achilles asked.
"Honestly, I don't know about your mom. I do know there was a long period of warring that happening between the supernatural communities of the world, and many factions lost some or most of their numbers."
"How is the world even standing? If the Olympians went to war, I can't picture humanity still surviving."
"The simple answer is that the gods there are…..weaker than the gods you think of here. Don't ask me how or why, I can't give you a good enough explanation. Could be the reason they're still around, a trade off if you will. And second, there were enough….entities that wished to preserve the world for the most part."
"Like who?" Scáthach was the one who asked this time, looking at me rather curiously. I spoke about my world during our time together, but we never really delved into it.
"The Abrahamic God, for one."
"He's like….real? Appears and shit?" Mordred was probably the closest to what could be considered 'Christian' in the room. It was during her time that the religion started taking off. Even Artoria believed in that specific world view, despite never voicing her beliefs.
"Yup." I said simply. "His Angels appear on earth all the time. If you really wanted, it wouldn't be hard to meet some of them. Hell, they'd probably love to 'sponsor' you or something if you were inclined." Getting into the deeper stuff at this point would probably be unwise. I'd let her settle down first before dropping any of those huge revelations on her.
"I…..will process that later." Mordred wisely decided not to think too deeply on it.
"So yeah, supernatural factions, everyone you could think of is up and about." I nodded before realizing something. "Oh." I turned towards Achilles and Atalanta, the latter of whom still had Assassin in her lap. "I forgot to mention, I'm not entirely human."
"I fucking knew it." Achilles perked up. "So what are you, the Grail gave me info on Youkai, you something like that?"
"Half-Devil." I corrected. It was….weird admitting it so blatantly and not being…flamboyant about to ease the tension.
Achilles just blinked. "Huh."
"Yeah, my old man is actually Lucifer. Though, not the Lucifer you probably think about that the Grail told you. No, the original died way back when and it's now used as a title like 'President' or something."
"Sounds weird." Mordred looked uncaring, which made me smile slightly. "Alright, so everything exists, God, devils, other gods, Youkai. And somehow, it's not complete and utter fucking chaos."
"It sounds strange when you word it like that, but yes. The supernatural is hidden from the greater world, though they're less…..bloodthirsty about it there. If you want to tell someone about the 'secret' no one's really going to bat an eye. You go into the middle of the city and start shouting about everything going on behind the curtains, and you're going to get people pissed" They needed at least a minimal rundown.
"So you're saying there's plenty of strong people to fight?" Achilles grinned.
"Oh, hell yes!" Mordred slammed her chair down.
"Yup. I actually fought Okita Souji over there. He was reincarnated into a Devil." I blinked in realization that I hadn't explain that shit. "And stay away from Devils trying to use something called 'Evil Pieces' on you. It turns you into a devil, and you become slaves under them."
"Got it, tell devils to fuck off." Mordred seemed uncaring. "So, where are you taking us?"
"A small dimension overlaid atop Kyoto over there that houses a good portion of Japan's Youkai. It's ruled by a Nine-Tailed fox by the name of Yasaka – whom I am acquainted with."
"God, how many women are you fucking?" Mordred huffed.
"Language, there are children here." Atalanta chided.
"Please, she's probably older than I am." Mordred rolled her eyes, clearing speaking about Assassin.
"I was speaking of Achilles." She smiled
"Hey!" The Greek hero exclaimed.
"Tell me of this fox." Scáthach interrupted, looking at me intently.
"Oh shit." Mordred whistled with a laugh.
"I'm more curious about the Greek Gods. Is my teacher still kicking around over there? How about Herc, I always wanted to fight him." Achilles seemed to start speaking his mind.
"Anyone I would know still around? I would bet a lot of fucking money that the Flowery Bastard is still alive and doing shit." Mordred added on.
"Is Lady Artemis alive as well? I couldn't imagine her dying." Atalanta joined in. "I wonder if she would welcome me."
"My student, my question has not been answered." Scáthach placed her hand 'gently' on my arm.
"Can I just…..explain without a million questions?" I sighed, dropping my head to the table, making everyone quiet down. "Thank you." I did reach over and squeeze Scáthach's hand. "And to answer your specific question, Yasaka is….the mother of my daughter."
Scáthach blinked, seemingly surprised by my words and caught off guard. "I must have been gone a long time."
"It's been a few months."
"Then I feel as though you hid some matters from me."
"She's not my blood daughter, got adopted by her at some point and things just happened."
Scáthach hummed. "I will meet her soon, yes?"
"Yes, I'll be taking anyone who wants to go over."
"Good." She nodded simply.
"Now." I clapped my hands. "Important matters, and no more interruptions." I eyed everyone in the room. "So, I know Yasaka, one of two people who rule over Japan's Youkai. I have a home in Kyoto, which she rules, that is anchored to several worlds so you can use it to come and go to various places. If you want to stay over there, I can set you up with the needed stuff like identities and money." I paused to allow everyone a chance to now ask questions.
"Alright, so do you care what we do? You're not going to hold this over our heads or anything, right?" Achilles questioned.
"No." I shook my head. "Well, I'd like to say this is conditioned on you not becoming my enemy, but I think we both know how that'll end." I gave him a smirk.
"Really, want to test that out right now?"
"I would be more than happy to in his place." Scáthach glared over at him. Surprising me how defensive she was being of my person.
Achilles clicked his tongue. "Fine, whatever. I just wanna check the place out and see what's what."
"Good. And I understand you all probably don't want to stay with me, so setting you up with your own places won't be hard, and finding work that you would like. That is to say, hunt down monsters or strays and stuff like that is always in demand."
"Damn, that sounds awesome. Where do I sign up?" Mordred immediately perked up.
"I'll talk to Yasaka…..funnily enough there's actually a descendant of that world's Arthur working under her due to some…..circumstances."
Mordred blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah, the dumbasses there name themselves after you all every generation for some reason. His actual name is Arthur Pendragon. His sister is Le Fay Pendragon, and their father's name is --- can you guess it?" I sighed.
"That's fucking stupid." Mordred scowled. "…..is someone named after me?"
"Not that I know of."
"And I have the sudden urge to go beat some idiots up."
"Hey, I'll happily join in. I think Artoria would like to have some words with them too, so it can be a bonding experience."
Mordred paused for a moment. "Is father over there?"
"She's in another world at the moment, but she lives at my house, which you can visit." I eyed her reaction. "And I assumed you would like your own place and be able to come over at your own…. pace."
Mordred nodded slightly, but opted not to speak her mind, so I didn't push it.
"Alright, so, I already told Assassin and her Master their options. They're going to live over there and enjoy a somewhat peaceful life. What you lot do is up to you, but if you act stupid, I'm going to get pissed. And that also means no telling anyone where you came from, I don't want to have to deal with people coming after me because of that."
"I have no problems as long as you don't restrict my freedom." Atalanta still rubbed Assassin's head. The latter of whom seemed to accept her new place in life. "But what about Medea, you said she was here?"
"She is in this world we're in at the moment." I confirmed. "And I plan on anchoring my home over in the city she lives in at some point. That being said, she is expecting you, but I didn't give her an exact time or date. I thought both of you would like a heads up before one or the other just decided to drop in."
"That's…..considerate." Atalanta accepted my intentions. "Thank you." She sent a nod my way, one of appreciation. "It would probably be best that Medea knows specifically when we will meet."
Yeah, dropping in on the Witch of Betrayal abruptly with a not-so-great history for dealing with surprises may not be the best of ideas.
"Kairi, Reika." I glanced towards the two quietest people in the room. They were off in their own respective corners, trying to appear as small as possible. "Anything you both want to add? Any issues you want to bring up, or any questions?"
I couldn't fault them at how hesitant they were being, seeing as they were both 'regular humans' as such. It was probably a bit intimidating to even hold a conversation with these people.
"Yeah." Kairi stood straighter. "When am I getting paid?"
Mordred snorted and let out a laugh.
I cracked a smile, and the mood in the room lightened up a little bit. "Whenever you want. But, you wanna come on over with Mordred or do you want me to send you back to your own World-Line?"
"The chance to see another world with Phantasmals still walking around? I may not be much of a Magus anymore, but that's not an opportunity I can pass up." Kairi for his part actually seemed genuinely interested and not just going with the flow.
"Yeah, Master!" Mordred cheered. "This is gonna be awesome!"
"I have no complaints if you are still fulfilling your end of the bargain." Reika's words were straight to the point.
"I am, I just need to make sure everything is settled with Yasaka and then you're in the clear."
"Thank you." She said quietly, and I took that as a que to stop pressuring her with responses.
Zelretch chose that moment to walk in, grabbing everyone's attention. "Ah, Wilhelm." He turned towards me. "I have the issue settled and we can manage that when you have some time. Also when you get back from dropping everyone off, I have some personal matters I wish to speak to you about."
Personal matters?
That sounded…odd.
I don't think I've ever talked to him about his own 'personal matters'. The way he worded it meant that I didn't have knowledge of them, which meant it's something I'd not gotten when receiving his memories.
"No, problem, gramps." I replied. It sounded like it was something important, so I wouldn't waste too much time. "Alright kids ,anything else before we go?"
"I think you're the youngest in the room." Achilles deadpanned.
"Huh." I blinked at the realization. "Anyways…" I flipped my hand over, letting Mirage drop into my grip. With a quick swiped, a portal opened up. "Off we go. Chop chop." I clapped my hands.
They all unceremoniously walked through the portal until it was just Raikou, Scáthach, and I left. "Ready?" I offered my arms to both of them.
"Fufu." Scáthach let out a small chuckle. "How interesting. All manner of beasts, gods and demons still about? I'm a little excited for this world of yours."
Raikou glared at her but took my arm happily. "Master, I look forward to seeing my home again." She beamed at me happily.
Scáthach was the one to send a small glare her way before lightly reaching out for my empty arm.
"Well, it seems like you have things well in hand." Zelretch just chuckled at my predicament. "See you soon." He waived us off as we stepped through.
***
Stepping through, I heard Mordred whistle, looking out across the town. "Seeing is really different than hearing." She muttered as there were probably hundreds of different Youkai several blocks down, all going about their daily lives.
"The air here does feel a lot like back in our time." Achilles knelt down, scooping up some dirt. "Forgot how much more 'free' it felt back then than the current time." He clutched his hands, looking down at himself.
They all seemed to just take in the sights until Mordred grabbed my attention.
"Oi, Bastard." She shouted. "What's this thing." She knocked against the giant spike I had infront of my yard.
"Oh, that." I honestly had forgotten about it since it didn't 'travel' along with my house. "Fought a giant...dragon-like creature over in America. Took that as a souvenir." I doubt they'd know what Godzilla was.
"Like Godzilla?" Kairi was inspecting it, making me chuckle.
"Actually, yes." I nodded. "My and Izzy saw it pop up. The Government over there actually has a supernatural division, and they mobilized a giant robot to fight it."
"You're fucking with me." Kairi looked at me incredulously.
"Nope. Izzy even has pictures." I shook my head with a chuckle.
"Izzy, is this another women I should know about?" Scáthach poked me.
"Erm…"I scratched my head. "She's just a friend."
Raikou puffed up. "It isn't who I think it is, is it?"
"Oh, and who elicits such a reaction?" Scáthach seemed interested.
"I...may or may not be friends with Izanami-no-Mikoto." I said quietly.
"Interesting." Scáthach gained a strange gleam in her eye.
"Your life is weird." Mordred just blinked.
"Well, not one of my gods." Was Achilles response.
"Anyways." I clapped my hands, changing the subject. "Alright, so I need to go talk to Yasaka, I doubt you lot want to tag along.
"Boring."
"Nah, I wanna go explore."
"I need to keep this idiot out of trouble." Atalanta jabbed her hand at Achilles.
"I would like to walk around." Reika's low voice reached my ears.
"I should keep Saber from doing anything to cause problems." Kairi scratched his cheek.
"We wanna go with mommy." The Assassin servant pouted.
Herding fucking cats.
Is this how Artoria felt all the time with her knights?
"Right." I sighed. "Alrighty then." I went into my ring and took out a large amount of currency for this time and place. Thankfully, money wasn't really a factor. "Reika." I walked over to her. "Just to tie you over until I settle everything." I handed her a big stack of bills.
"Thank you." She actually smiled. "Come along, Jackie. I'll treat you to some ice cream."
"Ice Cream?" The little girl asked in confusion.
"Mhmm, it's a little treat for being such a good girl." Her Master leaned down, giving her a little kiss on the forehead.
"Oooh!" The little Murderer practically had stars in her eyes.
"Use my name if you get into trouble." I raised my voice so she could see. "It atleast has some weight here right now." And at the very least, I'm connected to Yasaka, so that should give them some 'safety' in the legal sense if anything arises.
She raised her hand up in acknowledgement before disappearing down the street.
"Kairi." I hand out a good chunk of money to him as well. "Consider it a gift. She did good, treat her to whatever."
"Hey, I'm right here." Mordred huffed in annoyance, but that little twitch at the corner of her lips really removed any thoughts of her being truly upset.
"Alright, if you see things on fire, assume we're in trouble." He nodded happily, almost eager to explore the area.
"Lets get something to eat, I'm starving." Mordred happily followed behind.
I smiled watching them leave.
"Alright, here you go, Atalanta." I handed her quite a bit as well. "I suggest getting some modern clothes."
"Mmm, that's a good idea." She looked down at her armored gauntlets and current attire.
"Thanks, man." Achilles shifted slightly. "You didn't have to do all this."
I paused and couldn't help but smile. "Nah, you deserve something good." I held out my hand to him.
He smirked, grabbing it. "Just don't go soft. I want a rematch eventually."
The two Greek Heroes sauntered off somewhere, but I knew that Atalanta would alteast keep him out of…. significant trouble.
"Now, Ladies?" I looked up at both Raikou and Scáthach. "Am I to assume you both wish to follow me?"
Scáthach poked me with an eye roll. "You ask questions with obvious answers."
"Mommy will go wherever her son goes." Raikou said without hesitation. And I didn't miss the way she shifted to her 'normal' clothes, those that showed off her amazing legs.
And I think Raikou sent Scáthach a smug smile when she noticed my gaze. Scáthach snorted, but didn't respond even as we began our walk towards Yasaka's manor.
"Are you okay, being out here like this, Raikou?" I asked my Servant.
She had been taking many glances here and there, some scowls appearing as she eyed certain Youkai that walked down the street. "It's...strange. Even back in my Era, when there a few Youkai that did live among Humans, it wasn't like this."
"She's right." Scáthach spoke up, agreeing with my Servant. "Even over in Ireland, with all the Fae Folk, and other monsters that walked about. There were some that did live among humans without issues, but this place has a different…..air about it.
"I feel no need to draw my blade." Raikou muttered, almost in defeat.
"Mmm." Scáthach hummed. "It's….peaceful."
It's strange that their little 'rivalry' was kind of put on hold. A shared culture shock that both of them were experiencing.
"….it's nice." Scáthach finally muttered.
"Yes, it's a welcome sight." Raikou seemingly agreed.
They looked…happy? Content maybe. It was a hard expression to describe.
"This should be her Manor up ahead." I lightly pulled on their arms, grabbing their attention. "A heads up, I plan on revealing to her our origins in this meeting. I wanted to do so soon regardless, but the time feels right."
"I have no issue with such a course of action. If this woman means anything to you, then having her in your confidence will not bother me." Scáthach seemed unconcerned.
"I will follow Master's wishes." Raikou smiled.
It was as simple as that, huh?
"There are many guards." Scáthach eyed the surroundings. "And they all have their eyes on us."
"Tengu." Raikou said quietly. "I have never seen so many in one place. Their clans mostly stayed away from me before."
"Don't worry, they're friendlies." I smiled towards them.
"Young Lord!" A familiar Tengu appeared infront of us with a burst of speed. "Welcome back, Young Lord."
"Soma, it's good to see you again." I eyed him. "And it looks like you got stronger since we last met."
"It's my honor to be remembered by the Young Lord." He bowed his head. "This one has made some gains on his training in your absence."
"Well done." I praised him. "Is Yasaka in?"
"Yes, she is awaiting you at the same place." He stood up, head still bowed as he gestured towards the gates. "She has also already been informed of your companions."
"Thank you, Soma." I nodded. "I will head over then."
"Young Lord, I wouldn't dare allow you to go without someone leading. Please allow me to show you the way again." He quickly tried to explain himself as he walked forward.
Ah, proper manners. "Very well, let's go."
"Hmm, all these guards, they seem to be just the basic lot, yet they're all atleast this level. It is impressive in its own way." Scáthach looked around.
"Your words honor me, Madame. We are in fact the weakest Unit. As you enter deeper, the strength increases as well." He didn't shy away from my Teacher's blunt comment. "I may not be at their level now, but I will work hard to reach such heights."
Makes sense. They wouldn't want their strongest shown around at the gates every day.
"Hmm, you have a good attitude." She smiled. "I have a feeling I'll have some free time soon. Maybe I should inspect these….guards of hers."
Why did I feel a chill down my spine?
"Are all of the guards here Tengu?" Raikou spoke up which surprised me. She normally didn't like to converse with other people.
"No, Madame." He shook his head, politely explaining as we traversed the large building. "There are many different types of Youkai and other species that have pledged themselves to Lady Yasaka. We even have a few humans under our banner." He mused. "It is simply that there are about a dozen Tengu Clans that have served Yasaka and her predecessors for centuries. We Tengu pride ourselves in our honor and abilities in warfare. Being such, most of our young tend to grow up admiring those who serve Lady Yasaka and follow their parent's footsteps."
"I see." Raikou muttered. I could guess that the situation was still very strange to her.
"Here we are, Young Lord, and Ladies." He gestured towards the familiar doors again.
"Thank you Soma, your help has been appreciated once again." I of course was polite and thanked him for his help.
"Always, Young Lord." He bowed one last time before departing.
I looked at the two women beside me before pushing the doors open.
"My day has certainly brightened up." Yasaka sat at a table, three more seats had already been prepared with the tea still steaming. Her tails swayed gently behind her.
Floofy.
I had to resist the urge to run up and floof them.
"Hello, Yasaka." I smiled towards her. "You look lovely again, did you do something with your hair?"
She smiled back. "I did, I'm happy you noticed." She did seem genuinely happy. It was more….curled, I suppose. I would say it looked beautiful, but frankly, that wasn't a hard threshold for her to achieve. Pretty fox is always pretty. "Some new faces." She gestured towards the empty seats. "Any friend of Wilhelm's is welcome here."
"Thank you for your hospitality." Scáthach said with a small bit of respect. It was to be expected, she was of royalty. Basic manners was a must in situations like these.
"Oh, it's no problem." She grinned. "So, who's my new competition, hmm?" She playfully asked.
I let out a sigh, knowing this was coming.
Scáthach chuckled. "Competition? There is no competition, I'm already his woman."
"Oh, I like you." Yasaka laughed. "What about you?" She looked at Raikou.
"I am his mother." She said bluntly as if that answered every question.
"…okay then." Yasaka seemed unsure of how to reply to that. "So, Wilhelm. What brings you over to my little neighborhood?"
"Can I not just come to see you?" I asked.
"I will always welcome you in my home." She gave a gentle smile. "But I can see that look on your face, that you're holding something back. I'm able to separate business from personal if it's an issue of that kind."
"No, it's not like that…" I let out a sighed, biting my lip. It was…hard, being forthcoming like this. But, I wanted to be honest, and I didn't want to keep going on as I had before. I trusted her, I genuinely would trust her with my life, why couldn't I trust her with my secrets? I knew it was ridiculous, but it was one of the hangovers I still had. "I wanted to tell you some of the secrets I've been keeping. You deserve to know if you're going to be in my life."
Yasaka perked up, that little mischievous smile she had on her face turned to something more natural.
"Girls, can you introduce yourselves?" I asked my companions.
Yasaka looked confused but didn't interrupt.
"I am Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows." My teacher did not even hesitate to reveal her true identity.
Raikou stiffened, sitting up a bit straighter, probably due to some competitiveness she was having with Scáthach. "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou, Leader of the four Heavenly kings." She stated.
Yasaka, stared, barely blinking before slowly turning to me with a questioning gaze.
"I have….. a lot of things to talk to you about." I said with a wry smile.
***
And chaos has been let loose onto the world. So, I should be somewhat back on my normal posting schedule as I'm feeling close to normal now. Thanks for sticking around even with the absence of chapters while I was sick.
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