Part I

Chapter 1

Purotekutā POV

"Purotekutā, you need to take a break from everything. Go find a woman or male, if you swing that way. It's past time that you should've gotten laid. You're not getting any younger, you know." Yue-Lao, the god of love, suggested.

I only glanced in his direction, pulling my mask off of my face as I placed my katana back into the sheath hanging on my back. The suggestion also halted all talk going on in the room. I had just gotten back from another call for help from a young couple that were being held at gun-point from a robber.

Before I could speak, Kōjin stepped in front of me with Guanyin as she stepped from the side and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't listen to him. He's just trying to get under your skin." (The former, is the god of the hearth. The latter, being the goddess of mercy)

"It's fine. He's wrong though." I retorted, drawing some looks of confusion. I had been getting better at doing this. At controlling the ability I had received from my unknown mother. I was able to manipulate my appearance to make myself look younger, from time to time. It took some energy, but I could handle it for an hour or so before having to let go.

Acting on my words, I clenched my fists as I imagined my jawline getting chubby as I could feel my face becoming soft. I was purposefully turning back the time, and aging myself to look like a younger version. "Surprised?" I taunted, snapping my fingers, as my face returned to the normal features I held.

Some laughs and claps could be heard as I saw smiles all around. Yue-Lao only huffed as he walked out of the room with two other gods that liked to taunt me occasionally.

A sudden appearance by Izanagi, had me kneeling on the ground, head bowed. He was the one who only showed up when I was needed to take out any threats that were nearing the borders of Japan. He was seen as the 'Forefather of the Gods', being the first major god. The only one that all other gods would bow to automatically.

"Purotekutā, I have a new mission for you. But it will require you to leave the homeland. I have seen into the upcoming months, and your efforts have influenced all outsider forces to leave this land alone. Your efforts have made quite the statement that your required presence here, has come to an end." Izanagi spoke in an even tone.

I looked up at him in confusion. "What is my last mission that you will have me carry out?"

"The last mission I will have you complete for us is to reconnect with your mother, as she awaits your return. She has reached out to me in hopes of somehow reaching you. I have decided to fulfill her request for you to come home. I am the virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. I cannot and will not reject a mother's wish to reunite with her son." Izanagi informed.

"And what does that mean for after I complete the mission?" I asked, curiously.

"It means that your time with us has reached an end. You have fulfilled your father's wish and restored honor to the ways of his ancestors. Because of your efforts, you are free to visit at any time, but your duty has been fulfilled. We will happily connect with you if you decide to come back again, but you are no longer to be commanded by any of us, unless you choose to." Izanagi explained. With that said, Izanagi among many other gods in the room, vanished from sight.

Now there was only a few gods that had stayed behind to send me off.

The first to say good-bye was Kōjin, the god of the hearth. "I wish you good fortune my boy. You will only need to call out my name and I will help. You have been a son to me, one that I am happy to call as my friend." He said with a happy grin before fading from my view.

Ebisu was next, the god of wealth. "Purotekutā, I will leave you with this as my gift for all of your help. No matter what country you go into, it will never fail you or run out of money for any need." He said as a green credit card appeared hovering over my hand. I smiled at him, pocketing the card as I gave him a hug. Ebisu was one of the only immortals that would allow physical touch from me. He smiled back at me as he too faded from sight.

Yama-no-Kami was next, as the god of wolves. "Purotekutā, you have grown into such a strong wolf. One that can be seen as an alpha of his kind, just as I raised you to be. My gift is to grant you the ability to become the creature that I solely watch over. To find comfort with my offspring as if they were your own. No matter where you end up, you will never be challenged by any wolves that you encounter." He supplied as a silver glow shot out of his hands and streamed into the middle of my chest. Yama-no-Kami gave me a warm smile as he transformed into a wolf and trotted out of the room.

Lùshén was the last one remaining in the room, as the god of travelers. He strode up to me with a sad look on his face as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you for all of your help to the homeland. The other gods may not say anything, but I will speak for them. Your efforts go beyond the actions of the greatest samurai warrior, we immortals have ever seen.

My gift to you will allow you to change your clothing appearance by a simple thought. It will also allow your weapons and armor to meld into your skin, even if you are bare. I have also been given help by Hachiman, as your armor and weapons have been strengthened to withstand any metal it comes in contact with."

Hachiman is the god of war, battle, bravery and honor. He is seen by the mortals as the divine protector of Japan. He was the one to gift me my samurai armor and teach me how to fight in the ways of my father's ancestors.

I bowed my head to Lùshén as he did to me. Then my stony expression broke into a wide grin as he crushed me with a hug. Almost two days after meeting me, he adopted me as his son, giving me a warmer connection to the gods here. He was a very good friend, and I was grateful that he did what he did because it made my transition into this way of life easier.

"I'll miss you Lùshén. Thank you for all you have done for me. I would not still be alive if you hadn't have adopted me as your son." I thanked as we both had to step back from our embrace.

"I will transport you part of the way back. I love you." He said, before I felt myself being pulled in a separate directions.

The form of teleportation was a strange feeling. It felt like you were being torn in half, but when you opened your eyes again, everything was where it was supposed to be. Only the gods could use this form of transportation thankfully. It takes a large amount of pure concentration, because if you mess up, a piece of you might not be attached to your body.

Looking around, I could see buildings around me that alerted me to where I currently was. I was standing across from the 'Blue Mosque', which is located in Istanbul, Turkey. As a part of my education, I had been taught by Tenjin, the god of learning. I had been taught over thirty languages, in anticipation that I would have to travel across the world for a mission.

I smiled to myself as I pulled out the credit card from my pocket. Even though it was still noon, I needed to find a hotel to check myself into for the night. I turned to an adult that was just about to walk past me. "Afedersiniz, en yakın otelin nerede olduğunu biliyor musunuz?" (Excuse me kind sir, do you know where the closest hotel is?)

The man looked at me in surprise that I was speaking Turkish with a perfect accent. But he got over it quickly and pointed out directions for me to follow. After thanking the man again, I continued on my way.

After checking myself into a cheap hotel, I decided to stay inside my room for a little bit. I needed to try out my new abilities that I had been given. It turns out, changing into a wolf was relatively easier than I thought it would be. All I had to do was envision a wolf, and in an instant I was said wolf. My color scheme was a beautiful piercing silver with a white underside.

I also decided to try out my ability to change my clothing. It was a little bit harder considering that I had to have a perfect image in my mind. But after close to two hours, I had it down and without using much energy or effort. With this ability, I wouldn't have to spend money on clothes, as all I had to do was look at the outfit before shifting my clothes into it.

I had to wait until nightfall before going back out into the streets again. Years of training had me wide awake in the evening times and late night. It was when I was sent out to help the most in the homeland. I knew that one day of not being there, wouldn't cancel out instinct.

So I decided to walk around the city of Istanbul in the last outfit that I had shift into. It was an outfit that I had heard of as a fashion trend from the 1990s over in America. I think it was called the 'bad boy' look. That's what I heard one of the teenagers from Nagasaki say when they were comparing both of the countries simply by clothing.

I must have done something right in my shifting, because I was attracting a lot of female attention just by walking on the sidewalk. I had never allowed myself to be distracted by someone of the opposite gender for the sake of a mission. But today, I wanted to try it out, especially in a place like this.

Looking over at a nearby bar, I walked through the doors as I could hear many conversations continue on. Relieved that no one was looking at me yet, I made my way over to the bar. Here is Istanbul, the drinking age was eighteen. Even though I was only two weeks away from my 18th, I looked older than most of the people my age.

The bartender turned in my direction as I sat down with a smile as he threw a towel over his shoulder. "Size ne verebilirim efendim?" (What can I get you?)

"Bir 'bir plajda seks'." I replied. I didn't want to get wasted, so I asked for a drink that I could sip as time went on. (A 'sex on a beach')

The bartender nodded at me as he walked away and started to mix the drink for me. At that time, I felt a tap on my shoulder, urging me to glance to my right. My gaze connected with a girl who looked to be slightly older than me, but I wouldn't mind the age gap. I was only here for a drink, the added attention was just a plus for me.

A/N: Next chapter will be a surprise confrontation between Purotekutā and a group of wizards that decided it was a good idea to challenge the warrior.

And yes! I know! I know! I know! I'm so sorry about forgetting about the update. I kinda forgot about it with everything going on this past month. I'm working full-time plus taking 18 credit hours of college as well as taking care of a two year old child by myself.

I will for sure be on top of it next month, I swear upon the Styx!

(Thunder rumbling in the background)