Chapter 183: This World's White Tiger of the West
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Rias sat beside me, while Tsubaki sat in front of us. We sat with our food, although I chose not to eat, and instead hand-fed Rias. It was corny, but she loved it. I noticed the distress in her expression when I walked in, it was now gone.
"Quite the sight," Sona Sitri walked to our table, a plate in her hand, as she sat down beside her queen. Tsubaki had notified her earlier, after asking my permission, since this was quite an important talk.
"Hey, Prez," Tsubaki greeted Sona, earning a nod before the stern girl turned to look at me.
"Should we really be talking here, out in the open?" she asked, stirring her food with a spoon. "I realize Tsubaki put a slight mind control spell around the table so that no eavesdropper understands our words, but still. Isn't it better to do the meeting in one of our clubrooms?"
"Waste of time. Plus it doesn't bother you guys nor the devils as a whole, so what is there to do a whole discussion for? I only allowed you to be here since Tsubaki asked me to," I dipped a french fry in sauce and raised it toward Rias' mouth; she munched on it while looking into my eyes. She wasn't bothering with the talk at all.
Her friend obviously noticed that, frowning sharply but didn't comment on it. "...Fair point. Still, Tsubaki told me you want her to escort you to the Shinra Clan compound. Although it's true that this doesn't concern the devil kind as a whole, it concerns my Queen, and therefore me, which in extension concerns my entire peerage."
"I suppose."
"So I want you to promise not to cause trouble there, as that'd put my Queen in danger. Only then can I let her go." Sona said, and I opened my mouth for Rias to put a fry in my mouth. She smiled seeing me eat it, while Sona's eyelids twitched.
"Sure thing," I looked Sona in the eye and nodded.
Who the fuck cared about an empty promise? If I need to cause trouble, I will. It's on my shoulder to take care of Tsubaki, of course. But trouble will be there if needed. If Sona has a problem if we indeed end up causing trouble? Well, she can talk to me in private afterward.
"I'm glad," she said, standing up. "In that case, I have no problem. I wish I could have joined you in this, but I'll respect Tsubaki's choice to join you alone." She was about to leave but paused. She looked at Rias, scowling. "And Rias, please, behave in public. Farewell."
Then, she walked away with sharp steps. Rias tilted her head, confused, but I just fed her another french fry. "Say ahh."
"Ahh, yes," she grinned and opened her mouth, and I fed her. Tsubaki looked at the scene from the other side of the table, eating her food and looking at us from behind her rectangular glasses.
****
Classes ended, and I walked to the school gate to wait for Tsubaki. I found someone waving at me by the time I reached the gate.
"Aqua! There you are," Tsubasa waved at me. I notified her right after lunch, so she was here in time. She wore a baggy hoodie and loose pants.
[Image Here]
"Hey," I met up with her and waited for two others. A bit later, Rias hopped over; she was joining us in this. I've decided to take her in case the presence of a Satan's sister would make the talk even slightly smoother.
Some might ask why don't I just take Sona with me too, since her Queen was coming along? But Sona was too nosy and upright, she wasn't suited for this.
The three of us waited outside the school gate for about five minutes, until Tsubaki walked over. She didn't have her school bag with her, although she still wore her dress just like me and Rias. I deposited my own bag in my Void Storage seeing that, and she paused in front of us.
"Uh, hey." She greeted Tsubasa, and the two of them stared at one another. Tsubaki turned to me, "So it was Tsubasa, I had a guess… I didn't know she was family."
Tsubasa and Tsubaki were cousins; Tsubasa's deceased mother was Tsubaki's aunt. These two girls have known each other for almost two years, moreover since Tsubaki was the Student Council Vice President, while Tsubasa was the Class Rep of her class. But this was the first time they learned that they were family.
"Yes, hello," Tsubasa greeted her with a gentle smile. "I guess Aqua told you about the situation."
"He did," Tsubaki nodded. "Let's… get going then." The stiff student council girl didn't know how to react in this situation, and it surprised me that Tsubasa was the one who was fine. Since she's adopted by Uncle Ichigo, I thought she'd show more of a reaction toward a blood relative.
"Let's go," Rias agreed, and I didn't have any reason to delay either. The four of us took off in the air, a spell from Rias hiding us from the normal people's eyes. The two devils flew with their wings, while I carried Tsubasa with a notion of my willpower.
We flew for half an hour. The Shinra Clan wasn't far from the school, thankfully, so we soon found it. An expansive clan compound spread below, blending ancient and modern architecture. It was more ancient Japan than modern, though. The grand main hall stood as a centerpiece, with its traditional tiled roof flanked by auxiliary buildings connected by stone paths.
Maple trees blooming with red leaves filled the area, and tranquil koi ponds adorned the meticulous gardens. Subtle modern touches like solar panels and discrete LED lighting enhanced the traditional design, it made the place look alive. The entire area was larger than a dozen football fields combined; it was easily a wealthy household.
"Who knew your family was this rich," I said, referring to both Tsubasa and Tsubaki. Neither of them replied. Both of them had a bad relationship with this place, although for Tsubasa it wasn't personal, it was just what her mother had been telling her.
"We should land at the front gate," Tsubaki said. "I notified them beforehand, so they must have positioned someone to receive us at the gate."
"No," I said. "We're going to land in front of the main hall. The Clan head is in there, he hasn't gone to the gate to wait for us." I'm assuming it's the clan head, since he's as strong as the other presence in the hall, which I recognized to be that bald Byakko's.
"....Alright," Tsubaki didn't argue.
We flew above the main hall at the center, landing right in front of it with a soft thud. Since this place was filled with Touki Martial Artists, they didn't miss our presence. Not that I was hiding mine.
Two presences walked toward us from inside the main hall. I'm glad he wasn't trying to play any power act here. The door opened, and a middle-aged man with gray hair faced us. Byakko stood behind him, his eyes locked on me.
The middle-aged man's eyes shifted to Tsubaki for a moment, although he showed no emotion. He turned to me, but for a moment, paused at Tsubasa. He frowned in clear confusion before looking at me.
"Welcome to the Shinra Clan," he said and bowed to his waist. That notion surprised everyone, Byakko flinched in shock. Only I stood with my arms crossed. "It's a great honor to receive you like this, O' Demi-God."
"Glad you feel honored," I looked at Byakko. "He's not bowing though?"
"...." The middle-aged man stayed silent, still bowing, and looked at his son from that position. Byakko hesitated and I sighed.
The [Tiger Icon] flared like a second sun in the sky.
Byakko Shinra collapsed to his face, kowtowing toward me. The wind grew cold, the entire area trembled as if a storm was approaching. Hair fluttered around us, and my eyes glinted with silver light. His father remained as he was, I didn't need to humiliate him when he was showing respect.
"He's a young man flowing with hot blood, that's not a good trait as the White Tiger; unlike a normal tiger, our blood needs to be colder," I said, nudging my face to allow the middle-aged man to stand up. "Clan head, I'm here to meet the White Tiger, the real one. Where is he?"
The clan head stared at me, his son still wriggling on the floor, and soon nodded. "Of course. Normally… such a request will be rejected no matter your identity, but The Great Baihu wishes to meet you too. He is waiting for you in the inner shrine, so please come inside."
****
An "inner shrine" he said.
"Please, he's waiting inside."
Rias, Tsubaki, Tsubasa and I stood in front of a Japanese door. It was closed, but the clan head opened it for me.
"You two stay here," I held Tsubasa's hand and led her through it. Immediately, we found ourselves in a place that was far from an "inner" shrine. We stepped into another dimension entirely, it was teleportation; the surroundings were a bamboo forest and a lot of maple trees, and the sky was a shade of magical turquoise.
There was gentle smoke filling the air and a stone path that laid before us.
"Ah, this is…"
"A heavenly realm," I said. "After all, a heavenly beast is a God in its own right. Follow me."
I could sense the immensely powerful presence at the end of the stone path. Tsubasa followed beside me as we walked towards it. It took a few minutes, riddled with illusion paths and such, but my eyes saw through them all.
Soon, we found ourselves at the edge of a high mountain. There were clouds everywhere below, and the bamboo trees circled to stop behind a shrine. There was a cliff right below the shrine, but that didn't seem to bother the gigantic entity that sat before it.
It was at least 30 meters tall, even as it was sitting. Golden eyes stared down at me, and a long tail swept in the back.
The Legendary White Tiger of the West looked at me.
"You…" the beast of legends narrowed its eyes, its voice gruff and loud. A shimmering Tiger Icon hung in the sky, but it didn't belong to me. "Just who are you?"
The pressure of a Chief God crashed down upon us. While that kid Byakko was a disappointment, the real deal wasn't. He was as powerful as the legends said he was.
Tsubasa trembled, almost falling to her knees, so I had no choice but to bloom my own Tiger Icon in the sky. The sky split, all the clouds cut in two, and the forest suddenly hummed with the clash of two authorities. Tsubasa regained her footing.
The mirage frame of a white tiger, larger than the mountain itself, looked down at the tiny cat sitting before us.
A beast, when threatened, would snarl up. So it would have been natural for the White Tiger to stand up and attack me. However, while my current strength wasn't as strong as his, the depth of my Tiger Icon far surpassed his. He recognized that.
He withdrew back, lowering his head.
"I apologize," the White Tiger of the West said, "to think I failed to recognize an ancestor. Please, forgive me."
He withdrew his Tiger Icon in submission, and I approached him to pat his head. Although he called me his ancestor, it was merely a formality. A small part of me had hoped that the beast would be one of my kids from my 6th life, but he wasn't. At least he knew basic manners to be respectful.
"Little Bai," I decided to call him that since Baihu was what he went by in China. "I'm not just here to exchange greetings. I need your help with something. I need a White Tiger's dead body."
"...."
Although that sounded like a threat in this situation, it didn't have to be if he acted like a good boy and gave me one of the strong White Tigers I sensed in this forest.
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Author Note: Shii, we Top 9 rn, so close. Again, let's do Top 5 goal. If I get it, you get 2 chapters. Deal? Deal 🤝
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