"A-A-Ah?" She finally spoke or rather stuttered out a single word.
That's progress at least.
"Oi." Odin suddenly calls out, prompting her to swivel robotically and look back at the mirror, "Why is everything turning red over here?"
We both blink at that.
Looking through the mirror, I can kind of see it, the normally tanned wooden room slightly shifting into a more progressively pink or red shade.
Huh. So, her getting embarrassed caused the shrine to shift color as well?
That's adorable.
"N-No reason!" Amaterasu quickly replied, some may say too quickly, before huffing to clear her throat and continuing with far more composure, "A-Anyway, if that'll be all, Lord Odin…you are free to go home. I trust you'll be ready for the cultural exchange in time?"
Odin waved her off, "Yeah yeah, we'll be ready, no need to worry about that." He starts grumbling something, though neither of us could hear it.
Whatever it was though, Rossweisse glared him down for it, prompting the chief god to stop, "Tch…Alright, we'll be heading off then! Though, before we go, I gotta say, Lady Amaterasu, it was certainly an…experience, hehehehe…in your territory."
Amaterasu's eye twitched at Odin's lewd giggle.
Rossweisse looked like she was about ready to straight blow the god up.
I had half a mind to call out how pathetic he is one last time but decided against it.
Official meeting and all that.
I totally will after this though. Or if I ever see his ass again.
With that though, the two finally made their way out.
Amaterasu sighed, before waving her hand in front of the mirror, causing it to shift once more…becoming a normal reflecting mirror, showcasing her very annoyed frown.
However that quickly morphed itself, as she caught a glimpse of my reflection behind her, arms crossed, looking at her with a very stupid smirk.
She fidgeted with her hands before slowly turning back to me.
"U-Um…Well…Hmm…" She looked away from me, her gaze burrowing into the floor, as she gave me a little wave, "...Hi…?"
Ah. Damn. Now what am I supposed to do?
See, when I came here, I originally had a pretty good idea of how it'd go.
I thought I'd have a fairly similar reaction to when I first saw a picture of my dad.
Sheer, unending, apathy.
After all, I didn't know him, I never met him.
Same with Amaterasu here.
Yet, more than that, I also figured there would be a good sprinkling of annoyance, maybe a good bit of dull anger.
After all, once more, I can reasonably blame several things that went wrong in this new life of mine directly on her.
But I also knew it just…was never worth it to be truly mad, frothing with anger at her.
It never was going to be. That being thought, that doesn't mean I forgive her for what she's done. Or I suppose, for what she hasn't done.
So, I thought I'd come here, just to finally meet her, and hash things out. I thought I'd be rather cold, professional, and business-like.
That sort of thing.
But then this girl had to show up to a groundbreaking inter pantheon meeting wearing that, and acting like this.
Which, I mean, I get. She's doing the equivalent of a Zoom or Skype call on her end. I'd wear the most comfy thing I have as well if I had to deal with Odin for a night.
The problem is though, it kind of ruins everything I was thinking of before.
Instead, it's cute as fuck and makes me want to bully her.
…I am nowhere near as mentally prepared for this as I thought I was, huh?
Fuck it. You only live–! Uh. Twice. For me, I guess?
…Let's just do this.
"Your taste is shit." I start, ruthlessly, "Itachi is waaayyy better."
Nailed it!
I know I thought differently earlier, but this is purely to fuck with her.
And it works splendidly.
She freezes, all twiddling with her fingers halts as she stares off to the side, absolutely gobsmacked.
Then she starts looking legitimately offended, and with that threshold crossed, she finally looks at me.
"T-That-! That doesn't even–!" She seethes out, "That! Makes no sense! He's a bad guy! Not even a sensei! How can he be better than Kakashi!?"
I blink at that.
Right, in 2007, Shippuden anime isn't a thing yet. Though, the manga should be running right about now, right?
Did they not get to the good parts yet?
Regardless, I shrug, undeterred, and channel the internet's collective Itachi fanboyism, "Don't care. Itachi has two eyes to Kakashi's one. That automatically makes him better." My stupid smirk grew.
"Wha!? That doesn't–!"
"Also. Itachi no diffed Kakashi so hard it put him in a coma."
"That was such–"
"Kakashi, meanwhile, could barely use his signature technique a few times without running out of Chakra."
"He g-got better!" She cried out indignantly, before finally noticing the look plastered across my face, "And! A-And…you're messing with me, aren't you?" She asks, blinking in realization.
"Just a bit." I admit easily, smirk never wavering.
She immediately pouts, "That's so…Mmm…! I can't even say I don't deserve it!"
Ah? So she is aware of her part in my childhood?
Not like I was going to bring it up, because fuck that, but respect plus for acknowledging it without my needing to.
After a moment, she sighs solemnly, "...I can't believe we're meeting like this."
"Like this, huh?" I parrot, gazing at the very comfy-looking pink bunny slippers she's wearing specifically.
She looks away again, face flushing with embarrassment, "Yeah…then again, I didn't know how this would go at all…and, now that it's happening…I can honestly say I'm surprised."
"Ohoh?" I raise an eyebrow, "What for?"
"I thought you'd be much more…angry, with me, regardless of all…" She waves to herself, shyly, "This."
I chuckle, just a bit, "Ah...well, you see…It's just not worth it, being angry at you."
I practically wave off her concern with my chipper and light tone, but the words themselves still land, and she flinches.
"Ah…Yes." She looks down with a sad smile, "I…suppose that makes sense."
"Oh, come on…don't be like that!" I walk right up to her, "Honestly, you should be thankful. I wanted to come in all cold and businessman-like - because I'm gonna extort you real soon - but your…interesting…fashion choices make me want to bully you instead!"
"Enn!" She nervously shudders in place, "Can we stop bringing that up…" Then she blinks, several times, "Wait. Extort me? Bully me!?"
I smile, sweetly, "You can blame Uzume for what's about to happen if it'll make you feel better."
She merely groans at that, "...okay, yeah, I'll probably do that." She pauses for a moment, before asking nervously, "Can we at least go someplace more…comfortable?"
I hum, and then shrug in agreement to that, "Sure. I'd rather not stay standing up the whole time either, to be honest."
Also, that bridge wasn't the most comfortable place to hang out most of the night. An actual chair would very much be appreciated.
She gives me a small, genuine, smile, "I as well. I think I've had enough of that myself for one night."
With that, she snapped her fingers.
The golden light around her swelled out, bursting from her in a wave, gathering around us, before rising.
I don't even get the chance to blink, before suddenly, we are elsewhere.
We're not even in the Shinkai anymore, although the general feeling in the air is similar, and all the colors in the world still seem to pop.
As for how I know we're not in the Shinkai anymore?
Well, if there's anywhere that screams 'I don't know what grass is!' it's this room I've suddenly found myself in.
The best way to describe the place? It's as though someone took a slice of Akihabara and turned it into a bedroom.
The sheer amount of manga volumes stacked across the walls made me want to give a prayer to the countless poor trees who suffered such a terrible fate.
But the most important thing?
"Dibs." I state immediately, as I flop down upon an actual bean bag chair like a ragdoll.
Ahh…can't say I appreciate her parenting skills or lack thereof, but her tastes? Impeccable so far.
Amaterasu merely chuckles as she does something similar, albeit, much more ladylike, into another chair across from me.
"I take you to Takamagahara, and that's the first thing you say?" She suddenly speaks up, entirely amused.
I deadpanned at her straight back, "You took me to your room in Takamagahara, I could have said several other Uzume-inspired things."
"...P-Please don't." She shivers, legitimately disturbed by that idea, "You're my son, that's so weird…"
I raise an eyebrow at that, even higher than the last, "You married your brother, and had kids with the other. You have no right to imply what's weird and not."
She flinches at that, before quickly explaining, "One! That was for a political thing! Two! Kami don't make babies like humans do! It's way different! Also, that was a challenge! So very very different!"
"Oh really now…?" I say that, as I look around her room once more.
Something, in that moment, snaps into place.
Amaterasu looks a lot like that girl in the picture in Susanoo's Palace, the one holding that sword.
Presuming that was her, the guy across from her should have been Tsukuyomi.
If I recall correctly, in his picture, he looked like he had extremely light, if not white or silver, hair.
Besides the rather concerning amount of literature lining the wall, there is also a good amount of anime figurines lining the shelves.
…And pretty much all of them are silver or white-haired guys.
I slowly look back at her.
She suddenly finds the floor incredibly interesting.
My following snort only made her face grow a sunburnt shade of red, as she wriggled in place, and squeaked out, "No bully…!"
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Also, no. All the bully.
"Regardless," I wave her off with an amused chuckle, "I didn't come here to talk about your love life…or wander Takamagahara and get annoyed by a bunch of Heavenly Kami wanting to play politics, or whatever you all do up here."
She cringed at that, "It's…mostly just that, yeah. Still," she perked up, "Takamagahara is really beautiful, and! I was hoping to introduce you to your half-brothers and sister!"
Huh. I guess I do have those.
Still, once more, I wave her off, "They can wait a little while longer. Also…if Takamagahara is so beautiful…why doesn't your room have windows?"
"It…well…eheh," she scratches the back of her head and gives a nervous embarrassed chuckle, "I like to…turn off all the artificial lights, and pretend it's like I'm in a cave…?"
…You know what? That's fair.
I nod sagely, "Understandable. Now!" I point at her, "Stop bringing up stuff to delay the inevitable! I'm here to extort you, remember?"
She winces, and nods, wearily, "O-Okay…"
"But first! And this is kinda important, which is I'm bringing it up before we talk payment," I lean forward in my bean bag chair, hands pressed together before my chin, "I heard you and Inari 'recommended' me for the whole Odin thing. That won't be happening again.
"From now on, if you need something? You ask first. Got it?" I lay down the law plainly, and Amaterasu gives a pained grimace before nodding.
"Understandable, Nori…I'm sorry for that, by the way." She bows her head slightly, "You were the most equipped, competent, and accessible person for the job. We'll ask from now on, alright?"
I nod back in acceptance of her words.
Honestly, I'm not too bent out of shape about the whole thing.
I was pretty much forced to be involved regardless because Loki doing Loki things would kind of fuck everything up, and I obviously don't want that.
I would just like to be asked, instead of told…even if I did get a good deal of time to prepare instead of it all being dropped on me at the last minute.
That was nice, at least.
"With that being said," I continue, "I guess it kind of goes without saying, but I'm on the side of you lot, the Japanese Pantheon, Japan, and such. But that doesn't mean I'm going to bend over backward for you.
"I'm a part of the greater Faction, buuut don't expect me to be such a…" I pause, trying to think of the right word I'm looking for, "hardliner, to the rules."
Yeah, that fits.
Amaterasu tilts her head at that, "...Ah…I think I understand what you mean. By all definitions, the Yokai are our enemies, although recent events have greatly improved our relations. Yet, still, you.."
"Bang catgirls and will most likely bang fox girls?" I finish for her with zero shame.
She sighs defeatedly, "...Yes. I'm aware. That's…" She clicks her tongue, "While I'd rather you not, it's not like I have any say to stop you.
"I've been keeping it under wraps, but once it gets out…the other Heavenly Kami may have greater objections they try to enforce."
I shrug uncaringly, "Let them come, then. I'll put them in the dirt beneath my feet if I have to."
For once, Amaterasu's gaze steels as she stares at me, "...even if it's the Kotoamatsukami that raise their objections? Because if it's them, I won't be able to protect you…"
I nearly raise an eyebrow before stopping myself as I vaguely recognize that group of Kami.
The Kotoamatsukami, or, the 'Distinguishing Heavenly Kami', literally the first group of Kami to ever exist. The generation before even Izanagi and Izanami.
I suppose they would essentially be the equivalent of the Primordial Gods in say, the Greek or Egyptian Pantheon.
Even knowing that though, I nod resolutely once more, without hesitation, and state, "Let them come."
…Preferably during the daytime, please.
Amaterasu looks into my eyes, her own narrowing as she does.
Finding my gaze unwavering, hers softens, and she slumps back in her chair with something between a groan and a sigh.
"...be careful where that stubbornness leads you, Nori." She warns, solemnly.
I don't answer that.
Because I know I'll be fine.
"As for the rest of what you being…looser, with the rules, implies." She continues, significantly more lax, "That shouldn't be a worry. Most probably assume you work directly under me in some capacity anyway, and with that, such things are expected."
Ah, nepotism. It's only a problem when you aren't benefiting from it.
But it's also that idea that significantly lessens my options for who I can work for, or join up with.
I haven't given it an insane amount of thought, but in my mind, there's not much point too.
From the moment I was born, purely based on my parents, I was shoehorned into the Shinto or Japanese. That's a simple fact.
Besides, what are my other options?
Devils? Hah!
Heaven? No clue where they've been since…ever, in fact.
Something to look into.
The Fallen? Long gone here, and even if they weren't, even bigger hah!
The Hindu/Buddhists? I'd rather not be press-ganged into whatever conflict is brewing between Shiva and Indra over there.
The other pantheons are based across the world, and all my stuff is in Japan, which as a start puts a damper on things.
Even to say I do shack up with say, hypothetically, the Greeks, I'll forever be a sort of outsider to them, purely because of my parentage.
That's not to say it's impossible, it could work, it's just not worth going through all the hassle.
This, meanwhile? Much easier to deal with, the Faction generally considers me royalty in a sense, and other such benefits.
Drawbacks include and are mostly limited to politics…which is yuck, but still, it's a price I'm willing to pay.
I hum in acknowledgment of that, responding with a pleased smile, "Good. Guess that takes care of that. Now…as for payment."
Something in my smirk must have been evil because she shivered as though chilled as I spoke.
"Money." I finally say.
Prompting the sun goddess to look positively befuddled, "...that's all? I thought your father left you everything he had made, which I know is a not insignificant amount?"
I chuckle at that assumption, "Oh. That's not all. And you're right, I just like seeing bigger numbers is all."
"I…see?" She slowly accepts without fuss, "That's easily doable, regardless. We can just use the number we paid your father with, how's that sound?"
I nod in acceptance to that, while internally, I breathe a sigh of relief.
Truth be told, though I do like bigger numbers…I'm mostly asking for this because Kuroka keeps spending a shit ton of money, and although we're not close to running out at all, I'd rather not get the chance to at all.
Me help me when microtransactions, gacha, loot boxes, battles pass, and so on become a thing…
Moving on, and after a tad bit of humming in contemplation, I speak up again, "Got any neat toys I could throw at enemies? Artifacts and such, I mean. I've got my sword…but it broke once, and though I don't suspect it'll do so again after I fixed it, having another weapon around would be very helpful."
Amaterasu blinks minutely in shock, "...your sword broke at one point? When?"
"Susanoo." I state simply, causing Amaterasu to give a stiff nod, before relaxing as she continues.
"But you said you fixed it? I thought I saw you doing something at the forge, but I…" she bites her lip, "...may I?"
I didn't see any reason to object, so I pulled my sword and its sheath off my back and passed it over to her.
Huh. That made laying on the chair significantly more comfortable.
Who'd have thought?
While I have that revelation, Amaterasu slowly unsheathes the Odachi from its scabbard, running a finger across the top of the deep red blade.
She smiles slightly, sadly, "...you made it your own, hmm? Good. That's very good." She muttered with melancholy.
Shaking her head, and letting out a soft sniffle, she sheathes the sword back up, "You asked about more weapons, correct? I have been trying, for the longest time now, to re-acquire the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi for you, but I've essentially been…ignored, by the Church and Heaven, for months now." She bit out with an indignant huff, "My patience is reaching its limits with them, I swear…"
…Some things are clearly up with Heaven around here.
I don't know what it is, but I'm thinking I should start looking into them.
The increasing lack of stuff coming from them is starting to concern me.
Though there's no point in ruminating on that now though, I doubt she'd know anything if they weren't even talking to her.
Instead, I ask, purely out of curiosity, "How did that sword end up in the Church's hands anyway?"
Amaterasu sighs, "One of your ancestors on your father's side broke the sword fighting the Yokai and Kamuy up north."
I stared at her, blankly, and I didn't even have to say anything before she elaborated, "The Kamuy are like our…cousins, I suppose would be the correct term? A related but mostly separate family or Pantheon from our own.
"Nowadays we're good friends, but back in the day? Well…" She trails off, scratching her cheek with a sigh, "not so much. Everyone was fighting everyone back then."
She shakes her head just as she looks like she's about to start reminiscing, and continues, "Back on track. Your ancestor left the sword behind after it broke, and the Church came in and picked up the pieces…that's pretty much all there was to it."
Man. My family back in the day were major idiots, huh?
Well, I can fix that.
"Point me in the direction of where they're keeping the sword and I'll have it back by the end of the week." I state without an ounce of thought.
Amaterasu deadpans at me, "...I'll consider it, you." Before she gives a light chuckle, "In the meanwhile, I have a couple of ideas for artifacts you could use…"
"A couple of ideas, hmm?" I note her words with interest.
She smiles, and puts a finger in front of her lips, "Do you mind if I keep them a surprise? I promise they'll be worth it!"
"Hmm…you know what? That's fine. I like surprises." I agree with ease.
Amaterasu nods along happily at my words.
As long as the surprises are good surprises, of course.
"Moving on," I continue, "Second to last thing, I've got this Library in the Kyoto Palace that could use filling…"
"Ohhh~?" Amaterasu leans forward, suddenly very interested.
"...and finding books on Eastern Magic and stuff like that is incredibly painful because apparently nobody writes shit down." I finish, and she sags back down.
"...Oh." She huffs, and starts…pouting?
"...You totally thought for a second there I wanted to fill the library with weeb shit, didn't you?" I ask after a second, incredibly amused.
"Hmph." She merely pouts further at that.
Though, that is an idea, isn't it?
When was the last time I sat down and read Naruto or Dragon Ball?
A long, long time ago.
…Though I don't get why she's pouting about me not doing it.
I roll my eyes at her antics, "Alright, maybe, I'll put some weeb shit in there."
"Yes!" She perks up and pumps her fist, "Trust me when I say, Nori, there will not be enough supernatural texts to fill any library, and most of the stories and 'literature' these old prudes around here parrot about as being top quality is garbage. It's all trash!"
I slowly find myself leaning back more and more into the bean bag chair as she continues ranting about the superiority of modern-day manga over classical stories.
…I'm starting to think she may need to get out of her room more.
Her words start sort of mixing into a sort of soup that I zone out, until eventually, she realizes what she's doing, and slowly calms down, leaning back into her chair with an atomic embarrassed flush across her face.
"S-Sorry, about…all of that…eheh…" She starts twiddling her fingers again as she looks down, unable to meet my gaze.
I wave her off, very eager to get off this topic myself now, "It's uh…something. But books, alright?"
She nods, quickly, "Books, yes."
"I'll leave it up to you to decide what stuff when, like for this whole thing with the Norse," I continue, "getting everything at once all the time is kinda much, even for me. Will start to make me feel too bad."
"I…I see." She acknowledges, "There's one more thing, right?"
I nod back, "Right. Last thing. That teleporting thing? Where you took us from the Shinkai to here? I want to learn that, if I can, right now."
Slowly, she looked at me, confused, "Wha…? I mean, you can learn it…but…why?"
I look back at her, parroting her confusion, "Uh…isn't that obvious? So I can travel between the Kami Realms; Takamagahara, Shinkai, Yomi, and such with ease? I do want to come back, you know?"
I didn't even see her move.
All I knew was one moment she was sitting across from me, her face twisting into one of shock and glee, and the next, in a blur of light, she was on me, clinging and holding on to me almost for dear life.
I don't hold her back, even as she starts sniffling into my chest, muttering, "...I didn't think you'd want to come back."
I give her a soft chuckle, "Well, of course I do. I have to drag your ass down to Yomi so you can see your mother. I do eventually want to meet my half-siblings, see Takamagahara…" I trail off.
Mostly because I have to ponder the question…do I want to come see her, Amaterasu, specifically again?
I…can't say for certain either way.
It's mostly just apathy. I don't care either way, I suppose.
Now ain't that just sad?
"...I still can't believe you met pretty much everyone else before me." Amaterasu lamented sadly against me.
I snorted at that, "I know, right? That wasn't even intentional. But when it happened, I contemplated meeting the rest of the eight million or so, just to keep the joke going."
"...Meanie." She patted my chest, weakly, "I…Noriaki?"
"Yeah…?"
"...I'm sorry."
"...I figure." I huff out, quietly.
"I'm really, truly, sorry I left you there, alone, so alone, with Uzume, and she…" She clings to me tighter as she starts shaking, "I didn't know…I…Mmm…"
"I know." I sigh, patting her on the head, "...but I'm not going to forgive you so easily. Do you want me to hug you back? Call you mother? You're gonna have to earn it."
Though, good luck with that last bit, I'm having trouble even considering the girl on me right now my mother because she looks so damn young…
"...Thank you for even giving me the chance." She sniffles out softly.
I know, right? I'd be in the right to ignore her existence entirely, as she's done pretty much for me.
And a part of me, the real petty part, wants to.
But the more rational side tells me that just isn't viable if I'm going to be sticking my lot in on this side, her side.
Besides, even then, it's not as though I'm going to make it easy for her.
At the very least, I'll give her a chance, like Uzume.
I'll see how it goes from there.