"I just realized."
"Realized what?" Yasaka asked.
"That this—" I paused, giving Jinn who was laying across my lap, a light spank. "— Adorable Genie, doesn't actually need her hair brushed. Her hair is always perfect." I said, holding said brush in my hand having spent the last 30 minutes brushing her hair.
"You just now realized that?" Yasaka grinned, scribbling on some parchment at her desk
Jinn started giggling. "But I like it~"
I grumbled but continued. "I guess that's all that matters." I don't mind pampering my adorable Genie. Definitely going to nibble her cute ears afterwards as payback, that always got her squealing.
Out of curiosity, I lifted her dress up, showing that sexy blue butt of hers. But more importantly, I still saw what she was hiding underneath.
I felt kind of proud that it was still there.
"See something you like?" Jinn wiggled her butt with a giggle.
"I'm surprised you haven't taken it out."
"Nuh, it's staying right there. It's proof that I'm yours."
And she hit me right in my most critical spot.
This is mine.
"Maybe we should all get matching ones." Yasaka spoke up, humored by the idea.
"Could you convince the others to do it?" Jinn laughed. "Raikou wouldn't mind, nor would Venelana. And it's obvious you would enjoy it~"
"Can't deny that." Yasaka grinned. "Scáthach would be fun to convince. Though the real effort would be to talk Meridia and Artoria into doing it. I would love to watch Artoria do it though. That girl is so adorable, I want to be there when Wilhelm makes that woman scream."
As funny as it was to think about, no one else would do it like Jinn did, that is keep it in on an almost permanent basis. Nor would I ask them to; it's not like I'm forcing Jinn to keep doing this with her lamp, but she knew I liked it so she kept it.
I continued to run a brush through Jinn's silky smooth hair, it almost felt like water with how easy it was to continue my movements. The Genie continued to make content noises as I further pampered her. However, I paused when the space around us vibrated.
A familiar figure teleported inside.
"Izzy." I greeted with a smile.
"Hello Wilhelm." She returned. "And Yasaka and Jinn."
"Izzy!" Jinn happily greeted. And funnily enough, I think she's the only one that also used that nickname for her. They hadn't interacted much, but Jinn was going to be Jinn and already decided they were close.
"Good morning, Izanami." Yasaka greeted her much more casually than in the past. I still remember some months ago when it was 'Lady Izanami', but it seemed they're also much closer that neither cared for that kind of formality except in public.
"I was surprised when my first attempt at teleporting here failed." Izzy took an open spot on the couch next to Jinn and me. "Why do you have that Tengu of yours using his Sacred Gear to cover your estate?"
"It's good practice for Soma. He's been picking it up very quickly, but he still needs to learn with continued use." Yasaka replied.
"And it keeps out any spies." I added.
"That too, however, I think that's a bit of a stretch at this point."
"Why take the risk? And it also makes us look mysterious, because other factions are going to see that the Dimension Lost is obscuring us, so we must be doing something secretive." I have very little doubt we're being watched in some capacity at all times now.
There had been a small influx of people entering Kyoto recently, which I can't help but feel held some spies amongst their number. While we're still technically closed to other races and such, that doesn't mean we're not letting anyone in.
Yasaka snorted with a small giggle. "You just want to make them get more worried than they already are."
That's not...unture. "And it should keep out any peeping Gods, through Clairvoyance or other means." Dimension Lost was a Longinus for a reason.
"It certainly confused me at first, I had to investigate before realizing what was happening." Izzy crossed her legs, leaning back. "Are the others away?"
"They're basically off doing their own things right now." I shrugged. I don't play keeper with them, they are my girls, but they do have their own lives to live.
"How was the get together since you finally had your Grandmother meet everyone?"
"I think it went rather well."
"I like her." Jinn said plainly.
I gave her another little pat on the rear. "You like everyone, because you're a sweet girl."
"Though, she's definitely going to be sore for awhile." I also added.
"I didn't need to know that." Izzy deadpanned.
"He meant because she spared with Scáthach." Yasaka giggled.
"Oh dear."
"It wasn't that bad." I quickly asserted. "Scáthach was….gentle, well as gentle as she could be. Though, it did endear her more, to Scáthach that is. Venelana struggled but tried her best." She said it best, she's out of shape, but there was definitely some experience there that shined through.
And I saw a few tricks that she did with her Power of Destruction that I wanted to play around with, now that I made some headway in that area. The Sword and my Aura both were still facilitating the growth of my bloodline, so it shouldn't be much longer until it reached greater heights
Things went about as much as I expected. Venelana was very charming and a wonderful women, it's no surprise that she was accepted, more or less. Meridia was, well, herself in that regard. It'll take her a little while to open up like she did with the others.
She does have pretty much an open invitation to come and go, both to my home and to Kyoto as a whole.
It was nice, they were all getting along.
I think I'll talk to her about everything soon. I wanted her to meet Gramps as well.
"Anyways, what brings you here, Izzy? Just come to hang out?" I asked.
"I come baring news I believe you would be interested in." She replied. "I received it from Hades, regarding your plan."
"Did it work?" Yasaka perked up. " I was skeptical when he explained it to me."
"From first appearances, it appears like it did work." Izzy nodded. "Are you familiar with the Hindu realms?"
"Sorta…?" I tapped my chin. "I admit I'm not as well versed as the Norse, but the idea of the connected realms is somewhat similar. I think they're called – Urdhva Lokas? Basically meaning upper spheres of the world, different dimensions all interconnected if you want to be broad about it."
"That is correct." Izzy nodded, pleased. "Hades informed me that the Loka that Indra resides in – The Swarga Loka – was recently attacked. A coordinated assault by both hostile Asura and Rakshasas. The most surprising thing was that Indra didn't see it coming. It appears as that Old Pervert did more than just obscure our talks."
Damn impressive. He said he was going to do a Ritual to obscure what we talked about, did he go a step further and just fuck with every Clairvoyant on the planet, or did he specifically target Indra? Honestly, I wouldn't put it past him to do either.
"So they're able to whisper even in the ears of the Hindu's enemies?" Even with Hades on the inside, it was a bit concerning to see how far they can reach. Thankfully, it looked like I was able to throw them off our trail and right at Indra's face.
"They aren't as untouchable as they like to show themselves." Izzy nodded again. "They've always had their problems; they usually just get handled more quietly than most other Pantheons when they cause messes."
"In this case, they were probably running around like headless chicken, so it was more...visible." I idly stated. "Good. It should keep him preoccupied and not thinking about Raikou."
I'll be damned before I let someone touch my woman.
Did I feel a little conflicted about setting up some 'Innocents' to be on the receiving end of the Khaos Brigade? Mildly, I supposed. But Indra was the king, and he acted towards us first.
"Should we do anything to capitalize on this?" Izzy asked. "I don't know what plans you have right now"
"It's probably best to let things simmer out on our end. We've grabbed too much attention already, it's best not to make any big moves. So, just sit back and watch the show for now."
"Which is probably best. It wouldn't do well to make any more major moves since Wilhelm is going to leave soon." Yasaka added.
"Wait, what?" I blinked in confusion. "What do you mean I'm leaving soon?"
"Aren't you?" Yasaka tilted her head. "It's no secret that you don't like to sit still, and now that there's no immediate objective, you usually like to move about."
"She's right." Jinn raised her head up. "And don't take it as us complaining or blaming you or anything. You're just someone who likes to be on the move."
"When you say it like that.... I feel really guilty."
"Oh sweetie." Yasaka got up, walking over, plopping down right next to me as Jinn shifted to accommodate her. "I know darn well that if we need you, you'll come right away. If there's any trouble, you're here before we can even call for help. The War is a concern, yes, but there's nothing you can add right now that isn't already being taken care of. Go, have some fun, you've done so much already. Didn't you mention something your Grandfather wanted you to take care of? You have plenty of time to do that if you want."
"….what about Kunou?"
"Dear." Yasaka placed a hand on my cheek, rather lovingly. "She no longer asks when you're going to come visit, because she knows that this is home for you. You've spent nearly every day with her when you weren't busy with other matters. You've done a spectacular job being her father, you don't have to put everything on hold. She's a big girl, she can go a few days without seeing her Daddy."
I admit I was thinking about taking a few days to jump here or there….and I had brought up what Gramps wanted me to do in more than on occasion.
She did make some really good points too. What more could I bring right now that wasn't taken care of? It's mostly just preparation for War, which wasn't my area of expertise.
"Everyone is doing what they want to right now. You're allowed to do the same." Jinn rolled over so she was looking up at me. "Take some time to yourself, none of us will begrudge you. Especially with how careful you are to make sure we're all happy and taken care of."
"I guess there are some things I wanted to do, but couldn't pull myself away. Admittedly, one of them does involve some things here. I wanted to pick up as much Dust as possible and bring it back here. Maybe whatever else I could get my hands on. And I wanted to go see Pandora, I haven't talked to her since we left that time."
"Alright, you're allowed to help with the Dust, then you're getting kicked out." Yasaka playfully swatted one of her tails at me.
"You're kicking me out?" I raised an eyebrow.
"That's right." She turned her nose up. "After my turn." She flipped her hand over, producing a brush. "I want all of my tails brushed."
I chuckled, grabbing the brush. "Fine, I guess I have time for this."
"Oh, and Izanami too. She's after me."
"Bwah!?" The Goddess let out a strange noise.
"She came all this way to give us some good news, don't you think she deserves to be doted on a little~?" Yasaka giggled.
I looked up at the flustered Goddess, and it was hard to meet her yes. "I….don't mind."
"I-I suppose it's alright." She looked away with a cute blush on her cheeks.
[****]
I stepped out of a portal, looking up at the broken moon that hung in the sky. It had been awhile since I've stepped foot on Remnant, and I was excited to see some people again. Pyrrha was definitely one, and Salem was another.
Still felt weird walking on a World that was actively in the process of dying. The last few gasping breaths of a dying planet, that's what the Dust basically is.
And honestly, I didn't know if I could do anything to stop or reverse the process. It was just…..too large a scale an endeavor for me to take up.
Something down the line might present itself, but as I am now there was nothing I could do.
However, I was getting side tracked.
Almost immediately, I weaved a minor illusion around myself. Eye color changed, Hair color changed, and even some slight facial ticks and made myself like about two inches shorter. Overall, there wouldn't even be a second look in passing, at least with concern for being recognized.
Walking out a back alley, the streets of Vale were just as I remembered. It was a very beautiful city, I adored the style of architecture they seemed to have developed, but I didn't dwell on it long.
I had a destination in mind, and I set out.
A place I hadn't been for even longer due to the volatile nature of my current legal standing.
Hadn't looked into that yet to see where it stood, but I was still under the assumption that I was a wanted man.
It's funny, looking back on it, I feel a little embarrassed. I admit I was acting a little more wildly than I would these days. Maybe it was just because I never had the chance to do that when I was younger? To get into trouble with some friends, granted, I took it a bit, okay a lot further than most kids would.
Regardless, I wasn't going to allow myself to indulge quite like that ever again. One time was more than enough, and the consequences were all of my own making.
Junior's Club.
Hadn't changed a bit.
Even this early in the morning, the lights were on, so I pushed the door open.
How nostalgic.
As soon as I took a step in, many eyes were on me. I almost wanted to wave and start greeting them.
No, instead, I sauntered up to the counter, sliding onto one of the bar stools.
Junior himself was behind the bar, as I would expect.
He eyed me suspiciously but walked over, leaning on the counter. "We're not open yet, what do you want?"
"I wanna buy some information."
He frowned, looking somewhat tired. "What makes you think I know anything about what you want? I just run a club here and I don't need no brats like you coming in here causing problems."
I tossed a stack of Lien on the table, thankful that I made sure to keep this around in my storage ring.
Junior eyed it, slipping it off the table and into his pocket. "Maybe I hear a thing or two. What'cha want?"
"I'm looking for someone."
"Lots of people in Vale."
"He might be my son."
"Oh? One of those, huh?"
"Yup, had a hot and steamy night with a wonderful woman many years ago. Heard she had a son, might be mine, you never know."
"Alright, spare me the details. What's his name, I can get some people to check."
"His name is Hei Xiong" I had to stop myself from smiling.
He went stiff, a low growl escaped from his throat. "Do you think you're funny?"
"It's okay, you don't have to call me daddy right away, we can work up to that. Your mom definitely did." Okay, I was totally wearing a shit eating grin at this point.
"Cute." Junior sighed. "Dammit Roman, I'm going to kick your ass. And Neo is that you with the illusion?"
"Seriously? Roman?" I straightened my tie. "I am much more handsome than him. Not to mention, more charming and –"
"Kid, is that you?" Junior's eyes widened.
I could feel my expression soften. "Hey Junior, it's been awhile.
[***"]
Non-canon Omake -- A rough time.
Rias POV
"Mom, you're back?"
"Hello, Rias."
"Mom! What happened you to!?" I looked her over, she had bruises in a bunch of places, and looked really exhausted.
"Oh don't worry, I just visited Wilhelm. I swear, he and his harem are really rough."
"...what?"
"Oh my, I'm sore in places I haven't been in years. Back when your father and I – Oh, well you probably don't want to hear about that."
How was I supposed to respond to that?!?!
"My poor butt, it hasn't taken a beating like this in too long. I'm going to have to practice some so it doesn't hurt as much next time."
"P-please stop telling about things like that!"
"Rias, it's not that big of a deal." Mother rolled her eyes. "My legs are practically jelly now; I think I'm going to get some ice between them. That Scáthach was relentless, I don't know how Wilhelm handles her on his own."
Oh my God, kill me.
I didn't even bother with the jolt I felt in the back of my head.
"Maybe we should do something like this together? It would be a good bonding opportunity." I shuddered as Mom said that. "I can show you some tricks I picked up over the years. Wilhelm enjoyed them as well."
"Bwaaah!?"
Suddenly, I felt myself falling backwards, only for things to go completely dark.
[***]
Barely got this out in time before work, here's Monday's chapter. The next one should be either tomorrow or Wednesday.
If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. We're on FGO right now.