I sat on the edge of my bed, watching as Raikou finally stirred in her sleep. She slightly turned and her eyes lazily opened, a content look like she had gotten a nice rest. It was cute enough that I had to hold myself back from booping her.
"Master?" She questioned, sitting up next to me. She blinked in confusion, looking around until it looked like a bolt of lightning jutted down her spine. Her tired expression shifted several times from confusion to embarrassment, until landing on something resembling horror. "I….." She trembled slightly looking down at her hands.
"It's okay." I pulled her in. "You're okay. We just got rid of the Mad Enhancement." I couldn't imagine what she truly feeling right now, having such a huge shift in her mentality due to the 'curse' being removed.
I could feel her trembling in my arms. "I was…." She bit her lip. "…thinking about doing horrible things." She said quietly. "How easy it would be to just kill them all so then I would be the only – " She cut herself off.
I blinked at her confession, not realizing how bad it actually was. I thought she merely had trouble acknowledging anyone and despised those that got close to me. But to think she had thoughts about killing those around me, even if she didn't act on them.
Well, It's not like I could blame her. She had literally been in a cursed mental state. "There was no harm done and everything's okay now." I reassured her.
"You must despise me." She muttered.
"Nonsense." I lightly poked her in the cheek in an attempt to get her eyes back on me. "I always knew my Raikou was a kind and gentle woman. My opinion of you does not change due to matters beyond your control."
I had seen some of her memories through the link we had shared. I knew that her previous self was not her true self. The Raikou in my dreams was a woman who did not enjoy conflict and was more passive in nature.
I could see her lips quivering as she pulled me into her chest again. "My son is so kind!"
Huh, I guess that's just a quirk of her personality…..not that I mind. But it felt less….zealous as she once spoke it.
"But Master." Her whisper reached my ears. "Do you truly wish an Oni like me at your side? My mind is clear, and I question this selfishness of mine. My existence is one that can only bring misfortune."
I pulled myself away, staring at the uncertainty all over her face. She must still feel guilty about everything….
"The secondary 'summoning' that was used to alter your Saint Graph, it left a certain something out. The method used was more brute force that a normal way of summoning, it basically contracted a secondary version of yourself to your own body."
"Master?" She tilt her head in confusion.
"You must have not noticed since you were understandably preoccupied with your new 'state'." I held my hand out, the palm of it facing towards her, giving her a gentle smile.
There were no Command Seals on the back of my hand.
"I hereby declare." I said softly as Magical Energy gathered around my hand.
Her eyes widened in understanding.
"Your body shall serve under me, but my fate shall be in thy sword."
Raikou reached out, touching her hand to mine as new Command Seals manifested.
The entire chant was not needed, it was simply one a way to establish a link rather than an actual spell chant.
"If you accept this will and reason, then answer."
Raikou smiled bright, that warm smile of hers capable of melting ice. "I, Minamoto-no-Raikou, accept this contract. For as long as you desire, this Servant will be yours."
Another feint burst of Magical Energy flowed out in every direction, and my new Command Seals pulsed, indicating the sealing of the contract.
I reached out, pulling her into another hug.
***
Walking out of the bedroom, I gently pulled Raikou along. She seemed….intent on not letting me go for now, so I obliged her. Not that I really had any complaints to raise about the situation.
"About time." Scáthach sat on the couch, flicking through the TV in the corner. I noticed she was wearing some modern clothes, making my eyes linger for a few extra moments. She perked up looking at us, a little knowing smirk on her face. "You two finally fuck?"
The bluntness took me by surprise, and I felt Raikou's hand tighten...her strength is definitely still there.
"Ara Ara~" Raikou smiled towards my teacher. "Is someone jealous?" Despite the verbal retort, I honestly didn't feel the same venom in her tone that she used previously. Honestly, it sounded more like harmless bickering.
Scáthach quirked an eyebrow at her response. "Well, it seems you have a proper bite to you, not like before." She seemingly accepted the new situation easily enough.
"Wonderful, you're all here." Zelretch stepped into the room with an abrupt portal. He swept his gaze around, lingering on Raikou for an extra moment. "And it's good to see you up and about."
"Thank you for everything, Grandfather." Raikou bowed her head.
Zelretch quirked his head, giving a little nod. With a flick of his hand through the air and grabbed a Letter out of wherever it was he stored such things. He held it up for me to take, and I admired the elegance in his handwriting on the cover. "I took the liberty of making all the proper calculations and deciding the point to send you to." He explained. "She should be in Italy still."
"Italy, huh?" I rubbed my chin.
"Oh, yes." Zelretch snapped his fingers. "I suppose you hadn't the time yet to visit there in this life. Why, I dare say it's a wonderful place to take a couple women on a wonderful day of sightseeing." He sent me a wink.
I glanced at both Raikou and Scáthach. "I do love that Ancient Roman Architecture." I admitted. "And I don't actually have any memories of visiting the big landmarks like the Colosseum and Pantheon, among others."
"Interesting." Scáthach spoke up. "I have knowledge about it, but I too wish to see this Colosseum that the Romans built in their era. The idea of such a large structure dedicated to battle sports with an emphasis on spectating is intriguing."
Not too surprising that she wanted to see that. Frankly, anything fighting would catch her interest. Hell, she'd probably love going to a modern boxing match or MMA fight. It doesn't matter that she could break the sound barrier with a casual step, seeing people push themselves to their limits in a fight, it would probably still be fun for her.
A mental note for later.
"What about you, Raikou?"
"I would love to walk around with you, Master." She gave a warm smile.
"Excellent." Zelretch clapped his hands. "I checked up on Rin and Artoria when you were busy. They were a little preoccupied at the moment, so there was no issue on that end."
I let out a sigh. "Yeah, the Mordred situation is going to be tense, I want to be there for her when it happens."
"The King of Knights." Scáthach mused out loud. "I also look forward to meeting her, among your other women."
I reached for and squeezed her hand, earning a little pout from her before she returned to normal. "I'll gladly introduce you to everyone when we get back."
I did miss my other girls as well. It had only been a few days, but it felt more like weeks.
"Shall we get a move on, Master?" Raikou asked.
"I'm good to go if there's nothing else, gramps."
"I told you about the dangers of this world, but they shouldn't be a problem if you're just dropping off a letter and doing some sight seeing."
"Dangers?" Scáthach and Raikou both asked.
"I'll tell you both when we get over there." I replied. "Like he said, I have no intention of start anything so it should be fine." It's not like a Heretic God is going to descend just because I suddenly pop up. I'm sure they had much better things to do. I paused in my musing, looking up at Zelretch. "Hey, Gramps. You said that this woman is a Witch, right?"
"Yes, she's perhaps the strongest human Witch on the planet." Zelretch nodded with a little hint of pride.
"…..what are the chances she starts throwing spells at me once I introduce myself?"
Zelretch stopped, silence filling the room. "Well, you have your Aura."
"That wasn't an answer." I pointed out.
"Indeed, it wasn't" He laughed, waiving his hand as the portal enveloped up. "Have fun, and thank you!" He words barely met my ears as my vision was filled with a myriad of colors.
***
When I enter my own portals, there's usually that little 'brace' before scenery around me changed, a 'warning' so I don't get any sudden sensory overload. I let out an annoyed grunt as the sun shined right into my eyes.
"So, about these 'dangers' your grandfather spoke of?" Scáthach asked with a mild amount of curiosity.
"Gods here still exist. But they live in a 'separate' realm that is the Myths and Legends of old. They can actually descend to the human world if they rebel against their myth." I began to explain.
"Rebel against their myth?" Scáthach looked at me in confusion. "Do they not subside off of Human Worship and remembrance? How could they act in a manner that goes against their own continued survival."
"Well, it isn't so cut and dry. For instance, Kronos might Rebel against the idea of Zeus defeating him and descend to the mortal world, becoming a catastrophe for humanity. The way Gramps described it to me is that when a God rebels, they become something known as a – Heretic God. They also exist to bring disaster and fulfill their whimsies. A Sun God may raise the temperature of the planet, an Ocean God might flood coastal cities, etc."
"Is it a common occurrence?" Raikou questioned.
"Nah, if it were, most of the world would be destroyed. Gods are mostly content to exist in their separate realm away from us. It's why Gramps didn't seem too concerned about the whole thing."
"Oh well. I suppose I can't hope for such a thing to happen then." Scáthach just shrugged.
Of course she would look forward to a fight with a God.
"Is that the Colosseum?" Raikou pointed over in the distance.
"Yup." I stood there, admiring it. "It really is a marvel of engineering for the time. The history alone makes it quite the national treasure. Technically, it's actually the biggest amphitheater in the world. And it wasn't just Gladiatorial fights that were hosted here, they even had things such as naval battles."
"Fufu, you must have really read up on it." Scáthach seemed amused.
"Yup, I loved reading about ancient history when I was in school." I smiled. "I had forgotten about it since everything in my life became a bit more complicated. However, I had some small dream of visiting the places I read about, this being among the highest on my list."
"Master, I have a question." Raikou interjected.
"What's up?"
"Where exactly is this Lucretia Zora located?"
I opened my mouth then slowly shut it. "….he didn't say." I said quietly. "Dammit Gramps, now we're going to have to look all over the city for her." I rubbed my temples.
"It just means we can inspect the city." Scáthach poked me with a small smile on her face. "Your excited face was adorable." She grabbed onto my arm. "Come, let us go view this structure that you wanted to see. We can seek out Zelretch's former paramour at our leisure."
I was admittedly very excited. It may seem silly since I can travel various worlds, but this was more or less a childhood dream.
Definitely going to take pictures.
"Do you think –"
*BOOOOOOM*
The earth around us shook, buildings visibly vibrating in place. I quickly caught my footing and looked around. I was about to open my mouth to say something, but I suddenly saw both Scáthach and Raikou staring into the distance.
Inside the Colosseum was a massive red boar stomping around.
"What.The.Fuck."
****
And we're in Campione. Raikou is working under what could be considered 'normal' for her as well.
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