Fluffy tails in my lap, they always brought a smile to my face. Even as I sat here doing paperwork of all things, I couldn't help but grin like an idiot as I ran my hand through the soft fur.
"Okay, I have another one." Yasaka spoke up. "What do you do if Lady Amaterasu greets you?" She asked, writing some things on her own documents.
She had been giving me an impromptu lesson on etiquette.
I cleared my throat. "Sup bitch." I said with a straight face.
Yasaka turned to me, giving the drying look she could possibly give before one of her tails left my grasp, swaying back to her side. "That's another one you lose."
I was down to three now.
"What did I say wrong?" I gave her a 'shocked' look.
She tilt her head towards me, eyes drooping. A look that said 'are you serious?'. She held it for only a moment before breaking out into giggles. "Please don't say that to her." Yasaka dropped her face into her palms.
"It's the greeting of my people. To not use it would be culturally insensitive to – "
"I'm well aware that the term was popularized on the internet." She deadpanned.
"Hey, when I was younger, I was a shut in." I said defensively. "Most of my social interaction was through my computer." Kind of sad I burned it along with the house…. "Well, besides when I had club stuff." I do kind of miss the theatre. I should make some time to go see some of the big productions around the world.
"Don't meme at my Goddess." One of the tails in my grasp was pulled up before lightly floofing me me across the cheek. "She probably won't even realize what you're doing....yeah that could turn out terrible than if she was offended at your tone or vernacular."
"I have to remind myself that not all Gods here are like Izzy." I nodded. I was kidding – obviously. She knew that, of course. I would never jeopardize Yasaka's relationship with her Patron like that. "It's kind of funny?"
"What?"
"That Izzy – the Mother of Japan, Mother of the current reining Gods – is more 'culturally aware' than her children?"
Yasaka blinked before chortling. "When you put it that way."
I quickly scribbled what I needed to, the slapped this last few pages onto a stack I had already completed. "Done!" I threw my hands up.
"Already? What's your secret?"
"I just drew dicks on all of them." I said proudly.
She narrowed her eyes, reaching over and grabbing a random document. She scanned it before puffing with, her tail began to bombard me with fluffy attacks to my face. "You meanie!" She huffed cutely. "I don't know why I believed that even for a second."
I of course had a laugh at her expense.
"Now to kick back and relax." I leaned back in my chair, arms behind my head for added effect.
"Now you're just rubbing it in."
"Yup." I grinned.
"Well, I see how it is." She sniffed, retracting her tails. "I wouldn't want to interrupt your 'relaxation', so I'll just keep out of your way then."
"I just realized I can never win because you can just do that every time." I snorted. "I take it back, gimme that fluffy tail." I reached over taking it back.
The Fox Youkai giggled with a smug look on her face.
"Have I ever said I adore how much you play with my tails?" She shifted into a warm smile. "You know, they are intimate parts for us Kitsune. Outside of Kunou, you're the only one allowed to do this~"
"Would it be weird if I asked to brush them sometime?" I asked.
She blinked and actually blushed a little. "...That's even more of an intimate gesture. It's usually only done by parents to their children or…..mates."
"Oh, I didn't mean to overstep. Just forg – " While we were certainly in a relationship at this point, I didn't know how far of a step forward that meant to her. The idea of a 'mate' is something a bit more than what we probably had right now. Despite everything we had between us, some things still couldn't be rushed. It's not like I was ready to get down on a knee and propose. Who knows if this was something in that same vein?
"Hush." She pushed a finger to my lips. "I just wanted you to understand the significance. That doesn't mean I'm against you doing it. If anything….I would very much enjoy having you do it." The usual flirty and mischievous Yasaka sported a noticeable red hue on her cheeks as she said that.
"Oh…I'd love to, if you….wouldn't be against it…" And now I could feel my cheeks heating up. Just got done fucking Scáthach, yet now I'm sitting here blushing. However, I feel like I got a little bit closer to Yasaka now.
"Well this became awkward." Yasaka quickly shifted from the bashfulness. "Now to change the subject. Have you considered the letter from Lady Gremory yet?"
I let out a groan, letting my head fall to the table.
"I'll take that as a 'no'."
"I've given it….some thought." I admitted. "Perhaps not as much as I should. And I just keep finding excuses to put it off."
"I don't want to pressure you about it. But I also know it's going to eat at you until you finally decide." She lightly poked my shoulder.
"I know." I groaned. "Hell, my Semblance – the aspect of myself manifested from having my Aura unlocked. It's an expression of my desire to avoid confrontation with things I don't like." I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "How fucking ridiculous."
"We all deal with things in different ways." She scooted over, pressing against me. "I'm not judging or condemning you. I just want you to deal with it in a healthy way."
"Alright." I let out a sigh. "I'll reply and.....set up a time and place to meet her." I resolved myself to this course of action. While I don't have the same anger I had originally…..I do still have some resentment. Whether I'm unfairly projecting it onto the other people of that family, I don't know. However, I never cared to find out at this point. I would have been fine to just forget about it, but it seems like I need to finally deal with it head on.
I willingly went to fight a god, and now I'm hesitating over meeting my…..grandmother.
"I already had a few things planned in the next few days, along with the meeting with you and Amaterasu, so it'll be after that."
"As long as you no longer keep it bottled up." Yasaka smiled. "And you should tell the others."
"Yeah." I pursed my lips, letting out another sigh. "I feel like Artoria would probably get upset with herself if she finds out I kept my troubles to myself. Some weird logic that she should have also not brought anyone else into her own matters and dealt with them personally."
"Good, that's settled. What are you plans, exactly?" she asked curiously. "Going to do anything fun?"
"Well…..I wanted to go visit Izzy, maybe right after this. I think it's been long enough to not be awkward after…" I trailed off.
"You beat up her son?"
"Yes, that." I deadpanned. "Thankfully, she didn't seem completely angry, but just mildly upset. Though….." I paused, biting my lip.
"What? Did something happen?"
"I don't know." I said quietly. "I was a bit surprised…" I glanced at her as she looked at me expecting an explanation. "She sorta kissed me on the cheek….."
"Oh, is that it?"
"What do you mean, 'is that it'?"
"Oh sweetie." She kissed my cheek herself with a giggle. "You're so cute when you're clueless like that. Don't dwell on it if you don't want to." She said simply. "Now, what are your plans, I'm curious."
"I mean, they're not really anything intricate. I wanted to see Izzy, make sure to clear any air, to properly apologize for what I did. Then I was going to stop over to Remnant, check up on some people. I have a few friends there I hadn't seen and I kinda miss them."
"How long will you be there?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "But I can time it well enough that I'm not gone more than a day from this world's perspective. Hell, I might swing by a few places on my way back just to check up on things. It'll only take a few hours from my perspective even."
"Hmm, that's convenient." She nodded in approval. "Atleast you won't feel rushed into anything then. Maybe I should have a book written up on etiquette for you to study while you're away?"
"Oh my, look at the time." I abruptly stood up. "I should really get going."
"You silly man." She laughed. "Come here. If you're heading out, I want my goodbye kiss." She didn't wait before pulling me in. That familiar flavor I associated with her quickly filled my mouth.
There was a part of me that didn't want to leave, but that was pretty normal with any of my girls. "So, I was wanting to offer to unlock your Aura." I spoke after breaking the kiss.
"You spring that up on me right as you're leaving." She said dryly.
"Well, obviously I'm not going to do it now." I rolled my eyes. "But I wanted you to think about it. And, I wanted Jinn's opinion before I tried it on you, if you accepted that is. It's never been done on a Youkai, so I don't' know what would happen."
"From what I understand, there shouldn't really be any issues. So I don't exactly have a reason to not accept it. Getting stronger is always a plus. I've felt that I've hit a plateau in recent years with my own training to the point where I haven't been taking it that seriously."
"An all around physical boost, as well as a nice protective shield that can take a good amount of damage. Not to mention gaining a Semblance."
"Alright, alright. I'm convinced." She kissed my forehead. "I'll bring it up with Jinn next I see her. You go make sure Izanami isn't upset. Takamagahara above, we don't need that when Lady Amaterasu comes down. And you'll be happy to know that Susanoo returned home, so you don't have to be wary of him either."
"I ever tell you how amazing you are?" I wrapped her up.
"Hmm, yes. But you should do it more often." She gave that mischievous smile of hers.
***
[You look like you're walking to your funeral] Ddraig commented
"Well…..I kinda messed up and I know she was upset." I let out a sigh.
[It all worked out.]
"I still beat up her son. Well, I think she didn't care as much about that as the act of doing it. I basically went behind her back and took matters into my own hands." I wasn't oblivious to the potential lines I crossed.
[Hmm, think she forgave you then?]
"No idea. But that's what I got the flowers for." I held up the bouquet that I picked up before coming over. "Apparently Lilies are supposed to be interpreted as an 'Apology' flower in some aspects."
I walked up to her house, and I was a little surprised when the door didn't swing open upon my arrival. Instead, I had to knocked on it a couple times and wait there for a few moments.
It's possible she isn't home –
And right on cue, the door swung open. Izzy stood there in the threshold, arms crossed, staring at me. "Wilhelm." She said evenly.
She was amicable last time, even if she was upset, probably because she was in 'mother' mode with Susanoo around. I don't have the benefit of that anymore.
"Izzy – " I paused looking at her expression. "Izanami." I corrected.
She frowned at that. "Since when do you call me that?" She snorted, stepping out of the way. "Well, are you going to come in?"
I perked up a little as she gestured inside. I guess it was still good that I could still call her that. Maybe I was imagining how upset she actually was? Regardless, she was owed an apology and I would give it to her.
She slammed the door behind us as I walked inside. She eyed me and the flowers in my hands. "I'll go get a vase." She still didn't say much as she went the kitchen. I only heard a few cupboards open and closing, some things being moved around and the water running before she came back out. She unceremoniously grabbed them, but it was almost gentle as she carefully placed them inside the vase. Honestly, I think she quirked a smile as she arranged them in a way that pleased her. "Now, are you going to speak, or just keep standing there in silence?" She looked up at me.
"I'm sorry." I finally blurted out.
"Oh, and what are you sorry about?" She crossed her arms again, staring at me expectantly.
I opened my mouth and closed it again. I wanted to make sure I properly voiced my thoughts.
"Are you perhaps apologizing for beating up my son?" She raised an eyebrow.
"No." I shook my head. "Honestly, I don't think you even care about that part. He's a God, he was healed in no time after the fight. The only thing that was harmed was his ego."
"Wilhelm, this isn't a good apology." She said dryly.
"I'm not done." I said awkwardly. "I'm not apologizing for that. I'm apologizing for taking it upon myself to try and 'fix it'. For shoving my nose where it didn't belong. I had no business taking matters into my own hands, yet I did so anyways. But most of all, I'm sorry for putting you in that position. Between me and your son."
"I forgive you."
I blinked, staring at her. "Just like that?"
"Did you expect me to kick you out or get angry?" Izzy huffed. "You acknowledged what you did was wrong. You gave me a genuine apology. I won't hold onto any sort of grudge or anger since nothing unfortunate happened." She stated. "I forgive you, Wilhelm."
"Oh….I didn't expect it to be that….easy."
"You came back." She muttered. "That means more to me than you can understand."
Ah….I can see how that's a tender spot for her. "I'm sorry." I repeated.
"I know. And I'm glad you're back." She smiled gently. "And thank you for the flowers. I don't believe anyone has ever given me flowers before."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "My mom jokingly told me when I was young. If I ever upset a girl I care about, I should bring her flowers when I apologize."
"Your mother was a smart woman." Izzy praised. "I suspect you brought her many flowers when you were younger."
"The first time I got in trouble after hearing that. I ran outside and found a Dandelion a few houses down. I was so excited that I ran back and didn't even realize the little bits already scattered as I gave it to her. She looked so confused when I handed her basically a stem with a shit-eating-grin on my face."
"And it seems your foolishness hasn't changed much, only the scale."
"Yeah, I deserve that one." I couldn't really argue with that. "So, bringing your children back up. Apparently, Amaterasu is going to make an appearance before Yasaka for the first time in forever. And my presence was 'requested'." I made sure to add that last bit in air quotes.
"Wilhelm…..don't beat up my daughter."
"Do you really have to ask me that?'
"Do I need to bring up Susanoo?'
"It was one time."
"Yes, it was only one time you beat up my son."
We shared a look before both laughing at the absurdity of it all.
"I promise, I'll try my darndest to not do anything." I said with all honesty.
"Good. Don't even bring me up if you can help it. Though, I suspect it'll be mentioned regardless, since it's easy to guess why she's descended in the first place." Izzy sighed. "Just....tread carefully."
"Yeah, I got it. Yasaka's Patron Goddess, your Daughter. Lots of intertangled relationships all about. I'm content to sit back and let Yasaka do the talking." I knew this already, but I wanted her to know too. I felt like she at least deserved to know that I would be talking to her daughter.
"Thank you for telling me. There isn't much I can do with that information, but I am appreciative of it nonetheless. Now, tell me what you've been up to. You look exhausted, have you been causing more problems?" She inquired.
"It wasn't me this time." I let out a sigh. "So, you hear anything about the Pendragon family?"
"That Western Family, no. But now that you mention it, I assume something occurred?" She tilt her head.
Well, it's interesting that even Izzy hasn't heard any news about it. "Artoria wanted to…..pay them a visit. Show them the error of their ways after she heard some unsavory details."
"Oh, yes. I can imagine how that went. Most families like that have quite a few skeletons in their closets."
"Tell me about it. Fucking kids in cages." We somehow took the conversation to the couch without even noticing., I leaned my head on her shoulder as I let out a yawn and continued. "I may as well start from the beginning."
***
Small Interlude: Azazel POV
"I don't understand why you wont let me go."
"Dammit Vali, I told you already. Do the words 'Political Shitstorm' mean nothing to you?" I sighed for the tenth time in the past 10 minutes.
"Nope." He said shamelessly. "Why do I gotta worry about all that crap? I just wanna go fight the red bastard."
"Besides our relationship." I snorted. "You're a prominent member of the Grigori, so your actions reflect on us. How the hell do you think they'd take it if you waltz on over and pick a fight with someone who went toe to toe with Susanoo?"
"Don't know, don't care." He shrugged. "I'm White, he's Red, it shouldn't matter about all that crap."
"Dammit Vali." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You don't even know if it was the Boosted Gear."
"It was red, and on his arm. Even Albion said it looked like the Boosted Gear."
"Do you have any idea how many 'Red Gauntlet' Sacred Gears there are?"
"Like two? Boosted Gear and Twice Critical. So I got a 50/50 chance at the very least. And even if I'm wrong, he's pretty strong, so it'd be a good fight."
"Nope." I shook my head. "You're dead wrong there, kiddo."
"What? The hell I am."
"Let me put it this way, what exactly is a 'Twice Critical?"
"Uh, that shitty Sacred Gear that mimics Ddraig's Boosting ability?"
"And where do you think that comes from? The Boosted Gear houses Ddraig's soul. What powers the Twice Critical?"
Vali blinked, looking thoughtful.
"I'll give you a hint. What do you think happened to the Heavenly Dragon's bodies?"
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yup. Pops took their bodies and experimented with them early on. Tried to make something useful out of them."
"Now Albion's throwing a fit. He wants to know if there are any Sacred Gears with his ability floating around like the Twice Critical...well, now he's saying it's not fair that only Twice Critical is know and not a variation of his ability."
Those two dragons, always so competitive.
"There aren't any based on Albion's Divine Dividing ability. First, Dear old Dad went through most of your stuff trying to perfect the transfer and make sure it 'stuck' onto a physical form. Yours was much harder to managed due to the nature of 'dividing' something ELSE as opposed to Ddraig's ability to double the owner's own power. By the time he managed to get some headway, there wasn't much left of you to work with."
Vali groaned, holding his head. "Albion's now gloating that he was 'too strong' to be copied like Ddraig."
Of course that's his takeaway.
Whatever.
"Anyways. So, Dad had pretty much all of Ddraig to work with, so he just made like a couple hundred Twice Critical." I shrugged. "I got a store room in my lab with a couple dozen of them. I spent a few years picking them apart, finding any differences. There are some stronger than others. I think there's one in particular that's the cream of the crop, but I don't know where that one is. Otherwise, the others are just mediocre tools not even qualified to be mentioned with other Sacred Gears."
I clapped my hands. "So, no need to go over there."
"I still wanna go."
"Dammit Vali, I said no!"
"Fuck you, I'm going."
"I'll ground you."
"Pfft, try it, bitch."
"I'll go tell Lavinia you're causing trouble."
"...fuck you." Vali spat out, seething, but he wouldn't push it again. There were many things Vali could handle, Lavinia scolding him was not one of them. He'd never admit it, but she was basically his older sister. "I can't even go find Bikou for a fight cause that old monkey called him back for some shit. The fuck am I supposed to do now?"
"I'll tell you what, why don't I go over there and meet with Yasaka? I might be able to get a few answers if I approach with something good. Maybe then we can figure this out, and if he's the wielder of the Boosted Gear, maybe we can set up a fight or something?" He wouldn't drop it, even if he relented for now. May as well make sure he doesn't cause any trouble when it finally happens.
"Really?" He eyed me skeptically.
"Vali, would I lie to you?"
"Without a second fucking thought."
"Hurtful." I clutched my heart.
I admit, I do want to see about getting my hands on those Sacred Gears she has. She denied me last time, but after the attack they suffered, they're probably hurting for resources.
Well, I doubt she can deny my 'generosity' this time~
***
Chapter number two. Due to my mistake, my Beta wasn't able to go over this one, so sorry for the fact that this one probably has more mistakes than usual.
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