"Ara Ara~, doesn't your daddy look good, my little fox?"
"Un, it looks good on you, daddy." Kunou bounced around as I ran my hands down my current attire.
"Well, my two precious girls think so, so it must be true." I gave them both a warm smile as I shifted slightly in front of the mirror.
Yasaka laughed, stepping forward and helping with smoothing out a few wrinkles. Then she helped with the collar, or rather, the fabric folding that took the place of a suit collar. She fiddled with it as to make it a little bit looser around my neck. "It's rare to see you out of your normal clothes. I thought I'd have to fight you to get you into a Kimono."
"Why'd you think that?" I tilted my head while doing a little spin.
"Well, you normally wear the same designs and generally the same look…."
"I suppose I can see where you're coming from." I wouldn't deny that I had a particular style I tended to stick to. "But that's mostly just because it's something I feel that fits me for most occasions. And I think I look good in it."
It really was a big contrast to my usual clothing. A traditional formal Kimono and matching Haori, with all the bells and whistles that enhance the look of nobility. Yasaka went through some decent effort to get the look she wanted, and I couldn't deny that I felt quite good with how it looked on me.
"Well, I can't argue with that~" Yasaka placed a kiss on my cheek. "But I do love seeing you in other things." A little wink was sneaked my way when Kunou wasn't looking.
Message received then.
"Well, regardless of how I look, I think you completely eclipse me." I gave her a visible once over. She wore a traditional Shrine Priestess set on, just as one would expect from the Miko of a Goddess.
"What about me?" Kunou looked up, cheeks puffed out.
"Well, my little fox." I leaned down, scooping her up. "You're certainly the most adorable Kitsune I've ever laid my eyes on."
"I don't think I can even argue with that." Yasaka laughed, joined in from behind. "My little Kunou, wanting to match her mommy." Kunou wanted to join in, so Yasaka helped her dress up in a matching attire. Not that she'd be joining in the meeting with Amaterasu, but it was important to involve Kunou.
Kunou absolutely drank in all the familial affection. She liked to whine and moan about being treated like a kid, but she wanted this kind of thing a lot. She's just a bit too embarrassed to voice it out loud. Not that either Yasaka or I were oblivious to this fact, so we did so whenever possible.
I just wanted to make sure I enjoyed it now, because in a couple years, she'd probably grow out of this phase. Hell, if it even took that long. She's almost Eleven at this point, I needed to start reading up on how to handle kids at certain age milestones.
"When I'm older, I'll be coming with." Kunou pouted, though she struggled to keep it there as both Yasaka and I continued to coddle her.
"Of course, you can learn all about mommy's job when you're older." Yasaka cooed. "But you don't have to follow in my footsteps, remember it's always your choice. Your daddy also has things he can teach you if you want to go a different route, sweetie."
Hmm, was she trying to turn Kunou away from her position? I admit to not being too familiar with the way her position was passed down, but I assumed It was from mother to daughter in this case. Though I supposed it's impossible to force Kunou to do it, not that Yasaka would do that.
"Not just me either. All your Aunties would love to show you everything they got too. You don't have to decide what you want to do with your life right now." I would follow Yasaka's lead on this.
Thankfully, she did look thoughtful at the notion.
"Speaking of your Aunties, I heard you're going to be having fun today." I noticed her tails start swaying a bit faster at the mention. "You got Jinn, Scáthach, and Raikou all going to spend time with you, Daddy's jealous."
Yasaka shot me a thankful look as I changed the subject.
Kunou laughed happily. "We're going to watch a movie, then we're going shopping!"
[Master.] I heard Raikou's voice sound through our link.
[Come on in.] I sent back.
And speak of the devil. Yasaka noticed her to if the cute little twitch of her ears was anything to go by.
My Servant knocked politely before entering the room with us.
"Oh Master." Raikou perked up, looking at me. "My son looks so dashing."
"Doesn't he?" Yasaka smiled.
"Auntie!" Kunou skipped over, giving Raikou a hug. "Are we going?"
"And our Kunou is so quick to leave us." Yasaka snorted. "Fine, go have fun while your parents play at being responsible grown ups."
Raikou let out a little giggle at their antics. "If you're ready to go, then your Auntie Raikou's going to take her away." She knelt down next to the little fox. "Did you say goodbye?"
"Love you momma, daddy." Kunou quickly waived at us, a clear desire to get going.
Yasaka's palm found her face. "Love you too, sweetheart."
"My little fox." I walked up, kissing her forehead. "Be good for your Aunties."
"And Raikou is in charge." Yasaka quickly added. "If Scáthach tries to give you any weapons, Raikou has to agree to it!"
"But mooom!"
"What happened with the sword the other day, hmm?"
"It was an accident!"
"And we're going to make sure it doesn't happen again." Yasaka crossed her arms.
"I will do my best to watch over her." Raikou stated.
"I know you will." Yasaka's gaze softened. "Thank you again for doing this."
"It's my pleasure." The Servant smiled brightly. I snuck a quick kiss on her lips, the little perk up she did in response was always so cute.
"Come on, let's go!" Kunou grabbed hold of Raikou's hand, practically forcing her out the door.
Yasaka just shook her head with a sigh as they left. "That girl, I swear."
"It's nice to see her excited about going out and doing things." I couldn't help but smile at the notion. She's been a lot less….insular lately.
"Have I ever said how utterly delighted I am that your other women get along so well with our daughter." Yasaka turned to me. "They actually enjoy spending time with her and being her 'Aunties'."
"It's hard not to love her." I snorted with a chuckle. "Raikou though, she's really been amazing."
"You're telling me. She's been the best babysitter for Kunou I've ever had. I never have to worry about her safety when the legendary Minamoto-no-Raikou is watching over her. Not to mention how gentle and caring she is towards our little fox."
"Yeah, Raikou definitely has a way with kids. I heard about how much Kunou's class liked her as well." The days she spent acting as school 'guard' had endeared her to Kunou's classmates.
"Try adore. I've spoken to some other parents who wanted to steal Raikou away. Even Kunou's teachers had nothing but kind things to say about Raikou. They didn't even notice she was there as protection." Yasaka added. "
"She'll be an amazing mother." I said lightly.
"So pump a few babies into her."
I almost choked as I heard her say that so nonchalantly. "A little far away from that…."
Yasaka shot me a mischievous grin.
"So, what was that about dissuading her from your 'job'?" I asked.
"Ugh." Yasaka slumped. "Let's talk on the way." She gestured towards the exit. "We still have a few more things we need to prepare."
***
Yasaka led me through the estate, taking me to a portion that was a tad more deserted. Not that it had been abandoned, but it was clear that people shied away from this portion.
"My mother passed her position down to me." The Nine-Tailed Fix began to recant. "She was old when she had me, much older than I am now. She showed me all the love I could have asked for, but it was clear I was more of a responsibility than a desire to have children."
"Oh jeez, I can guess where this is going." I let out a sigh, only to find a fluffy appendage sneaking around my arm.
"It isn't exactly an unheard of tale." Yasaka had a melancholic look on her face as she continued. "I was a responsibility to the continued line that was to inherit her position. Since as long as I could remember, I was taught, trained, or otherwise shown how to properly take over for when my mother finally passed. Nearly every day for my entire childhood and into my later life. I was her replacement, which often took precedence over other…..bonds."
"….and you don't want that for Kunou." I pointed out.
"Correct." She said firmly. "I've tried my best, but so many people seem to inherently believe that Kunou is destined to take over my role. I've heard it spouted so many times as a forgone conclusion that she even think's it's her role. If she truly wants to take over, I would happily help her and show her the correct path. But I refuse to force her to take over my burdens like my mother did to me."
"I agree wholeheartedly. I want our daughter to be happy regardless of what she does. I'm glad I didn't read the situation wrong, I'll make sure to try and open her up to other possibilities when I can."
"Thank you, that's all I can ask." Yasaka smiled as we stepped into the final room.
It was clearly of different styling that the other parts of the mansion. There were large braziers along the sides of the room, stone pillars that held up the ceiling, and it all led to an alter that was elevated off the ground with several steps.
"So...would should I expect?" We had talked about this many times, but I wasn't told explicitly of Amaterasu's personality.
Yasaka twitched slightly. "Be….prepared for the unexpected. Whatever notions you have of her built in your mind, don't hold onto them to tightly."
"…foreboding."
"Not in the way you would expect." Yasaka sighed. "Make no mistake, she is one of the most powerful Gods in the world. While she isn't ranked up on the 'top list', she isn't far behind. And she is certainly the strongest in the Shinto Pantheon. She just....has a few…..quirks."
"Any elaboration?"
"Her myths are…..accurate in certain regards." Yasaka's hand ignited with her species' famed Fox Fire as she threw it at the braziers, lighting them all up.
"And I feel like I'm not going to get anything better than that." I made sure there were no wrinkles in my clothes as I gave myself another once over.
"Just remember what we've talked about. She's a stickler for tradition and requires a certain degree of pomp." Yasaka glanced around the room, nodding to herself. "But that's mostly just to compensate."
I blinked. "What, compensate?"
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
"What did you mean by 'compensate'?"
"I didn't say that." Yasaka hummed. "I certainly didn't' say anything that would put my patron goddess in a bad light."
Well alrighty then.
"Now, you remember what to do?" She asked me.
"Follow your lead?" I offered.
"You've learned well." She nodded happily, finding a spot infront of the 'alter', and went to her knees. I mimicked her actions, setting myself down right beside her.
I could care less about Amaterasu normally, but she was Yasaka's Patron, so I would show the proper respect and differ to her authority.
Yasaka held out her hands. "O' Great Goddess of the Sun!" She raised her voice. "The Sun that lights up every corner of the land. I beg of you, hear the words of your sworn priestess. Please, grace us with your presence and descend upon this mortal world." She placed her forehead against the floor and I followed her movements.
The fires from the braziers flickered, and the room's temperature noticeably increased at each passing moment. As if in an eruption of flames, the room shuddered as a spark ignited and a new presence was felt infront of us.
"My faithful follower." A melodical voice rang out. It was extremely pleasant to listen to. "Raise your head, as well as your companion." Her voice practically exuded a tone of superiority.
Yasaka didn't utter a word. She told me that she would wait for this very situation. Proper decorum was for Amaterasu to 'allow' us to gaze upon her.
"My Goddess." Yasaka greeted with an obvious tone of respect.
Amaterasu seemed pleased, though I didn't dwell on that as I truly looked at her for the first time.
She had long black hair that flowed down her back. Golden eyes that seemed to be made of a simmering flame. Intense fires flickered around her, her mere presence caused them to float around. She wore a beautifully adorned dress that only exuberated her elegance and majesty.
She had an otherworldly presence to her that just screamed 'God' as I'd come to recognize.
Amaterasu looked at me, gazing as if trying to peer through my depths.
Her flames danced around her at the slightest of gestures, a merely twitched of her finger, and they would easily engulf the entire estate. She took a step forward, and the flames accompanied her, paradoxically, not burning where she previously stood.
"My faithful follower, I – WAAAAH"
Both Yasaka and I could only stare in shock as the Noble and Elegant Goddess....stepped on her own dress, tripped, falling onto her face, and proceeded to roll down the steps.
Yasaka was right.
I was definitely not expecting this.
***
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