Disclaimer: I do own nothing, nor High School DxD, nor the image or any non-original concept I will put in this fiction. They belong to their rightful owners, and I am not making a profit by doing this. Since when we can do profit anyway. Just wanna have some fun writing this.
There will be many references or concepts from other animes and games. But before we start, a thank you to Darklord331 for beta reading this chapter.
Chapter 37 – Life-force and Premonition
Previously in Hallowed Blade
"The moon is beautiful tonight…"
"My wish really came true…"
After we saw everyone off as they went back to Kuoh by bullet-train, we went to Yasaka's residence in the Inner Capital of Kyoto where I was currently being hugged by a frantic Serafall.
"Sakuya-chan, you can't learn Senjutsu! If you do, you may go berserk and I don't want that! I don't want a Dark Sakuya!"
"Serafall, can you let go? It's hard to breathe when you hug me like that…" I said as I tried to push her away from me but she was glued on me, hugging my head on her chest while her legs were circled around my waist, making me sigh before I looked at Yasaka who looked at us with amusement while Kunou was chuckling by her side.
"Sakuya-sama–" Yasaka started to say but I raised my hand, quickly interrupting her.
"Please drop the sama, someone as important as you don't need to call me that."
"In that case, can I call you Sakuya-kun?" She asked me while I nodded as I didn't really care as long she doesn't address me like that, it feels weird to have the leader of a faction addressing me with respect.
"Then, Sakuya-kun. Are you sure that you want to learn Senjutsu?"
"Yes, I would like to learn it if it is possible."
"It is possible since Senjutsu isn't a technique exclusive to youkais but… Sakuya-kun, can you tell me what you know about Senjutsu before I give you my answer, just to be sure."
"I heard that Senjutsu is the power to control the flow of life energy or ki in living beings and it allowed its users to strengthen their internal and external body. It can also be used as an attack to disrupt the ki of their opponent, causing direct damage to their internal body." I said as I tried to remember what Rias and Koneko told me about Senjutsu when I asked them about it in the past in order to prepare some countermeasure if I had to fight against Senjutsu users like Kuroka in the future.
"I see you are quite knowledgeable, however, it is only a part of it."
"Only a part?"
"Yes. Although what you just said is correct, it isn't everything Senjutsu allows you to do. Let me tell you about its other abilities." Yasaka said while I nodded as she coughed a few times before she started to talk.
"When compared to magic, Senjutsu is inferior in terms of raw power but it compensates itself with other abilities such as sensing the ki and auras of others, allowing you to track targets from afar. You can also heal someone's physical or mental condition with Senjutsu by sharing your ki with that person, however, physical contact is required to do so."
"By physical contact, huh…" Serafall mumbled before she discreetly glanced at me while I already knew about this fact since I heard from Ise that Koneko was restoring his lost lifespan from his accidental Juggernaut Drive this way.
"Senjutsu can also be used in other ways like this." Yasaka said as a white aura coated her body.
"What you are seeing right now is a technique named touki. By controlling your ki, you can create an aura of life-force around your body which grants a tremendous increase in their offense, defense, and speed. This even allows you to counter magic attacks by punching or striking them with your weapon." Yasaka explained while I was awed at the effects. I wonder if I could use touki along with my reinforcement magic and my lightning coating, this is something I definitely want to try in the future if I could.
"Sakuya-kun, Senjutsu isn't something that is easy to learn, even for youkai, and I wouldn't advise you of all people to learn it."
"What do you mean by that, Yasaka-sama?"
"Senjutsu also allows you to control the ki of your surrounding, the life-force of nature itself. By doing so, you can make nature bloom or wither and you can also absorb some of it in order to empower yourself but at the same time, you will also take in the malice that is flowing in the world in your body. That absorbed malice would end up corrupting you, Sakuya-kun, and you would likely become a fallen angel in the end." Yasaka said while I widened my eyes at the explanation and why she wouldn't advise me to learn Senjutsu.
"Likely, so it's not certain?" Kunou asked her mother as she frowned in confusion while the latter shook her head.
"This is only a speculation since there have never been any angels who have tried to learn Senjutsu in the past. However, you should know that angels start to fall into fallen angels when they express strong and negative emotions which would likely happen if they lose their sanity because of the corruption." Yasaka explained to her daughter who hummed before she looked at me with a serious expression.
"Sakuya-kun, are you sure you want to learn Senjutsu despite knowing the risks?"
"Yes. If I understand correctly, I can absorb malice only if I was to control the ki of my surrounding and absorbing it into my body to grow stronger." I summarized what I understood while Yasaka nodded before I continued.
"In that case, I won't learn or do those two things and to be honest, I'm only interested in touki and the ki sensing part of Senjutsu."
"And what about healing?" Serafall asked me with an alarmed expression as she jumped on my arm while I blinked.
"Well, I guess I can also learn that if there isn't any dangers with it."
"There is no dangers to yourself when you are using Senjutsu to heal people. However, you may hurt others if you can't control your own ki and end up attacking them instead by sharing your ki with them."
"Then I would like to also learn about healing too if possible."
"Very well. If it's only that, I don't have any problem with teaching you." She said making me smile but before I could thank her, she raised her hand stopping me.
"However, we won't start now but this evening instead as we have something important to do first."
"Something important?" Serafall repeated before we heard the door being opened with a kitsune behind it.
"Yasaka-sama, the preparation are done."
"Good work, you can go now."
"What kind of preparation is she talking about?" Serafall asked Yasaka who stood up from her spot.
"Before we went out seeing Azazel-sama and the others out, I asked Karasu-tengu and my subordinates to begin the preparation for the peace talk while we were out."
"Is it fine to do it that soon? You just got better from your injuries." Serafall asked as she looked at Yasaka with a worried expression while the kyuubi softly shook her head.
"Thank you for worrying about me, Serafall-sama but it's fine. It shouldn't take that long as we already decided yesterday that we, the youkai of Kyoto, will join the alliance proposed by the Biblical Faction. We only need to make it official." She said with a smile while Serafall hummed at the information. Meanwhile, Kunou walked next to me before she tried to get my attention by tugging at my shirt.
"Hey, Sakuya. How about we go play in town while they are doing their business?" She asked me but I scratched my head with a wry smile.
"I would like to but I have to be by Serafall's side during the meeting. I mean, it's the reason why I'm here after all."
"It won't be necessary, Sakuya-chan, I can manage everything alone so you can go with her." Serafall said while I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Of course, just have faith in me but in exchange, you owe me a favor, okay?" Serafall said as she poked my chest while I weakly laughed when I saw a weird glint in her eyes.
"Ahaha… As long as it's not an outrageous one, I'm fine with it."
"You heard her so let's go!" Kunou said excitedly as she took my hand before she started to run, dragging me with her.
"Hey, you don't have to pull me like that." I said before I gave a nod to Serafall and Yasaka who chuckled as they send us off.
It has been a few hours since I was dragged away by Kunou who started to make me visit the Inner Capital of Kyoto, in other words, the world of the youkai which was in a bounded field similar to the one used for the Devils' Rating Games. I didn't really take notice of it before since I was quite occupied with saving Yasaka and fighting the Hero Faction but I discovered that it was always dark in this world with the only source of light being the streets lamps or the houses' lights.
Speaking of the houses, it looked like those from the Edo period, based on the animes I looked with Ophis at home. Nonetheless, they give this place an ancient atmosphere but a nice one. After visiting a few places of the Inner Capital, we decided to go to a tea house for a little break and a little refreshment.
"So, how did you find my hometown?" Kunou asked me as she was currently preparing some traditional matcha green tea for the both of us.
"Yeah, it's a good city but I could have done without the stares." I told her as I remembered the curious stares I received from the various youkai we met during our little trip.
"You can't blame them for that since visitors from other factions are pretty rare in this place so they were curious about you."
"I see, then it can't be helped." I said before Kunou placed a cup of green tea before me. "Hm, thank you." As I thanked her, I took the cup with my hands before I slowly drank the content and then, I widened my eyes at the taste.
"So… Is it to your liking?" Kunou shyly asked me when she saw my reaction while I smiled before I started to pat her head.
"You're very good at making tea, Kunou. It's delicious."
"Ehehe… That's great." She grinned at my praise while I chuckled before I noticed her tails wagging behind her back. I didn't know that foxes also waged their tails when they are happy but again, this is cute. I thought before I heard a stomach grumble.
"Ah…" Kunou muttered before she placed her hands over her stomach with a blush while I chuckled before I took out some Japanese sweets that we bought on the way.
"How about we eat?" I said with a smile while Kunou quickly nodded with her eyes shining at the sight of the sweets.
"What should I eat first? Dango, taiyaki, daifuku, they all look so delicious." As I watched the young girl with a smile, I turned my gaze at the dark sky and started to think about my current situation as I drank my green tea. Now that Serafall is carrying out the peace talk with Yasaka and the youkai, we will have to do another one with the Japanese gods of the Shinto Faction after that.
I just hope that nothing bad will happen this time. Serafall did told me that a few gods were xenophobic so I guess we won't be warmly welcomed by them. There is also those two from yesterday, Tsukuyomi and Takemikazuchi. The old man seemed quite amicable while the other seemed to be quite mysterious. I also heard Amaterasu seemed to be a good person from Serafall when we were on our way to Kyoto a few days ago.
"But again, they may be the minority…"
"Did you say something, Sakuya?" Kunou asked me when she heard my murmurs while I shook my head.
"No, it's nothing… Hm? Kunou, did you…"I asked when I noticed that the sweets I had bought had all disappeared from their packages before I looked up at Kunou who had swollen cheeks.
"Tee-hee!"
"Don't try to act cute and you're not supposed to be a hamster." I said as I poked Kunou's swollen cheeks while she giggled. I wasn't really that annoyed since I'm already used of having my sweets stolen by a goth loli dragon.
"It was delicious! Thank you, Sakuya, for buying them for me!" She said with a toothy grin while I snorted before I patted her head with a smile.
"No problem. Now, what should we do now…" I started to ask before I saw Kunou let out a little yawn. She must be tired and I'm not against a nap if Serafall and Yasaka aren't done with their meeting yet.
"Alright, let's go back to your house." I said as I stood up while Kunou nodded. After we paid for our stay in the tea house and as soon as we stepped outside, I shivered because of a cold breeze while Kunou sneezed.
"Achoo…" Well, that was a cute one. I thought as I took off my jacket before I gave it to Kunou.
"Here, wear this."
"But what about you, Sakuya? Won't you be cold with just a t-shirt?" She asked me as she tilted her head with her fox ears twitching, making me smile before I shook my head and made her wear my jacket.
"Don't worry about me. I can use ice magic, so I'm quite used to that kind of temperature. Hmm… It's a little big but it will keep you warm until we reach your house. Let's go." I said as I looked over Kunou before I held her my hand which she took with a smile.
As we walked across the town which was quite animated, I couldn't help but to look at the different youkais with interest. While a few of them had a humanoid body, a few youkai were literally furniture like a lantern or even an umbrella.
"No matter how much I see them, I'm quite amazed by the diversity of youkai."
"Is there a type of youkai you prefer among them?"
"I prefer kitsune and nekomata but I would have liked to see a Yuki-Onna. According to the tales, they are referred to as beauties after all."
"A Yuki-Onna? That's good because there is one right here." Kunou said as she pointed in a direction which I followed with my eyes before I winced when I saw two large white ape-like beasts walking together with one of them wearing a skirt.
"I only see yetis…"
"Well, Yuki-Onna and yeti all look the same with their genders being the only difference." Kunou briefly explained while I felt my heart broke as my image of a Yuki-Onna was quickly replaced by a skirt-wearing white gorilla.
"And here I always thought that Yuki-Onna were like how they were portrayed in legends. You know, beautiful human women in white kimono who are expert stalkers and they often eat lollipops in order to keep their bodies cold."
"I don't think that's how they are usually portrayed, but you're not really wrong on a detail. Actually, a Yuki-Onna's body is similar to that of a human as a child, but once they have grown up and matured, their body slowly turns into the body of a beast."
"I see, I guess that's too bad." I said a little disappointed before I saw a young girl running in their direction. Is she their child? I thought as I saw her jumping on her parents, hugging them before she was carried on her father's shoulders.
It has been a while now since the last time I have spent some time with Dad. Maybe I should go fishing with him during his next day off. I thought as I looked at them before I blinked when I felt Kunou squeeze my hand harder. I glanced at her in confusion before I saw that she was looking at the family with longing eyes, especially at the laughing daughter and father.
Does she want to be carried like that or… Now that I think about it, I heard nothing about Kunou's father during my stay here. Did he died or he's separated from Yasaka and her… No, it's a personal subject for them so I shouldn't put my nose into it. It would be rude for her and Yasaka if I did unless they are the one who talk about it.
"Hey, Kunou. Do you want to climb on my back?" I asked her as she blinked with her fox ears twitching on her head before she looked at me with a timid expression.
"I can?" She asked me shyly while I nodded before I squatted down in front of her. As she looked at me, Kunou let out a little squeal of happiness before she jumped on my back with a smile on her face, almost making me stumble forward but I managed to stay on my feet.
"Hey, be careful." I warned Kunou, standing up while she giggled as she placed her arms around my neck before she started to apologize.
"Ehehe, I'm sorry. Wow, so you always see the world from this height." She said as she looked around us with an amazed expression while I smiled.
"You will too, one day, Kunou. Of course, this is only if you grow up."
"Hn! I'm only 12 years old, I have plenty of time to grow up. Nonetheless, Sakuya's back is so wide and warm, it's quite comfortable…" Kunou huffed before she started to snuggle against my neck, making me chuckle.
"Don't do that, I'm a little ticklish."
"And I'm not sorry this time, hehe!" Kunou replied as she hugged me closer while I smiled before I felt someone intensely staring at me. I quickly turned around only to see that there was nobody behind us.
"Sakuya, is there something wrong?" Kunou asked me as she was a little confused while I shook my head.
"No, it's nothing. It must be my imagination… Let's go back to your house like this." I said before I started to walk alongside the riverbank with a smiling Kunou on my back.
"Jiii~"
"Ophis-chan, is there something wrong? You kept staring at the sky." Jeanne asked her as she noticed that she stopped in her game while she was doing some housework.
"I just felt that someone is trying to steal my place." Ophis said confusing Jeanne as she stared at the sky in irritation but she couldn't understand why before she turned to the television and blinked.
"Ah, I died…"
After several minutes of walking, we finally reached Kunou's house where we were welcomed by Serafall and Yasaka who were both waiting in front of the front door. Did they knew that we were on our way back?
"Welcome home, dear! Would you like dinner? A bath? Or perhaps… me?" Serafall asked me as she pointed to herself with a wide smile while I smiled.
"I would say like to say 'you' but I would like a bedroom for the little princess here first." I started to say, making Serafall blush at my words before I gestured to Kunou who was currently sleeping on my back while Yasaka nodded with a smile.
"Please follow me, I will show you the way to her room." She said before she went inside the house while we followed her. As we walked to Kunou's room, Serafall quickly informed the content of the meeting which went without any problems thanks to our help against the Hero Faction.
"How long did the meeting last?" I asked Serafall
"Not that long, we talked for at least half an hour but what took the most time was the paperworks. I hate them so much…"
"I understand that very well as I feel the same." Yasaka said with a smile that didn't reached her eyes before she stopped in front of a door and opened it.
So we reached Kunou's bedroom. I thought as we went inside before my eyes roamed around, taking in all the details. Despite my expectation of seeing a princess's room or a girly room full of pink, it was a relatively modest Japanese room.
"I'll take care of her." Yasaka said as she approached me before she took Kunou in her arms who groaned in her sleep.
"It looks like you won't get your jacket until she wakes up." Serafall commented when we saw Kunou wrap herself with my jacket like a blanket.
"It's fine, she can keep it for now."
"Let's go to the living room, I will teach you Senjutsu there." Yasaka said while I nodded before I followed her with Serafall who walked by my side.
"Oh yeah, Sakuya-chan. Yasaka-san and the youkai are organizing a feast to celebrate our newly and official alliance tomorrow evening and we are invited." Serafall informed me while I hummed before I looked at Yasaka for confirmation who nodded at me with a smile.
"This feast is a celebration but it is also a token of our gratitude towards the two of you for the help you lend us those last few days, so I hope you will appreciate it."
"I see, I look forward to it." I said with a smile at the thought of free food before I noticed that we reached the living room but before we went in, Yasaka stopped and looked straight into my eyes.
"We will start your training now, Sakuya-kun, are you ready?"
"Yes, I'll be in your care." I said as I bowed my head at Yasaka who nodded before we entered the living room.
"The most basic method of learning Senjutsu is through meditation by concentrating on your state of mind and to quietly release your own ki as well as to sense the natural ki of your surroundings. It is also the best way to develop one's skill in Senjutsu but first of all, we are going to start with both your ki control and ki sensing at the same time." Yasaka explained as she sat down on the floor, whereas I sat in front of her with Serafall by my side.
"We will be starting with ki sensing first, it will be easier for you to control your ki if you can sense it in your body. First, you must empty your mind and use your five senses to feel the power that reside inside your body. You may also sense your mana at first but you have to ignore it in order to feel your ki. Do you understand until now or do I need to repeat?" She asked after she explained how to sense my ki while I shook my head as I sort of understand what she meant.
"No, it's fine. Please continue."
"Once you sensed your ki, you have to slowly pull out it of your body by turning that energy into a constant current. The most important thing is to be calm or you will be unable to pull it out. Calmly and quietly…" Yasaka said as she superposed her hands in front of her before a ball of white aura appeared between them. As I looked at the aura sphere, I could feel that it has a different feeling than mana.
"How about you give it a try?" Yasaka asked me while I nodded as I sat cross-legged before I superposed my hands like how she demonstrated to me.
"Calmly and quietly…" I murmured as I closed my eyes before I started to concentrate until I let out a sigh.
"Serafall, would you please stop staring at me so intensely. I could feel your stare even with my eyes closed…" I asked as I opened my eyes only to see stumble back when I saw her face really close to mine with her blue eyes staring at my owns.
"But Sakuya-chan~ I'm helping you in your training, you know?" Serafall answered me as she laid down with her head over my thighs while I blinked as I didn't expect that kind of answer.
"And how is this supposed to help me?"
"Since you are going to meditate, an absolute concentration is needed so you can't allow yourself to be distracted by Leviathan-sama." Yasaka told me while I nodded in understanding.
"I understand. In that case, Serafall, look at me as much as you want."
"I planned to do that anyway. Do your best, Sakuya-chan." Serafall said as she placed her head on my thighs while I nodded and took a deep breath in order to calm myself.
"Alright, calmly and quietly…" I murmured before I closed my eyes again and started to ignore the presence of the two women in the room. As I tried to feel my body, I could only feel my mana but it is not what I am looking for. I quickly ignored the familiar sensation of mana and started to search deeper for several minutes until I managed to feel something else across my body. While it doesn't have the same feeling as my mana, it doesn't have the same feeling as Yasaka's aura sphere.
Maybe ki is unique to the individual, which is why they feel different. Now, I have to turn it into a constant current. I thought as I tried to control that energy like how I would channel my mana for my spells but instead of channeling it into a magic circle or my sword, I slowly made the energy circulate across my body like a river and continued until I heard a gasp from Yasaka.
"Sakuya-kun, you did it." I heard Yasaka say while Serafall whistled. l hummed as I opened my eyes and I saw some white aura fluctuating between my hands.
"So this is my ki, my life-force…" I said before I let out a breath out of exhaustion but the moment I did it, the aura dissipated itself in the air making me blink while Serafall snorted.
"Well, that was something. It didn't last really long." She teased me as she looked at me with a smirk while I shrugged my shoulders.
"At least, I managed to do it so I'm satisfied for now. I can always get better by training more later."
"Nonetheless, It's a little surprising that you picked it up quickly. Sakuya-kun, since when did you start training?" Yasaka asked me while I scratched my chin in thought. I started kendo when I was 5 years old but the moment I really started to train, it was after Dulio took me to the Vatican which was when I was around 7 so…
"It's been nearly 10 years now." I answered Yasaka who seemed pensive for a moment as she placed her hand over her chin.
"In that case, I shouldn't be really surprised if you already trained that long and you may have unknowingly already tapped in your ki but you didn't have harnessed it yet." She said while I hummed before I thanked Griselda and Vasco for their gruesome training, especially the latter who often treated me like his punching bag.
While I was thinking, we heard the door being open with Kunou behind it and she looked like she had just woken up. She still had my coat on her.
"Ara, Kunou. You woke up."
"Kaa-sama, I'm hungry…" Kunou said with a yawn while Yasaka checked the time before she let out a little gasp.
"It's already time for dinner and I didn't prepare anything yet. Will the two of you staying here for dinner tonight?" She said as she quickly stood up before she asked us while Serafall nodded at her question.
"If you don't mind us, we will."
"In that case, I will go and quickly prepare something. Please wait here until then."
"Ah, can I help?" Serafall asked making me choke on air. Serafall helping cook dinner, it's like an invitation for a trip to the Underworld. Fortunately, Yasaka shook her head as she denied her request.
"No, it's fine. You are a guest so please wait here with Sakuya-kun." She said before she left her room while Serafall pouted but relented as she sat down by my side.
"It's a shame, I wanted to make some food for Sakuya-chan." She murmured under her breath while I shivered just at the thought of eating her food again. No, it shouldn't be qualified as food but rather, a weapon of mass destruction if used properly. I thought before I saw Kunou approaching me and sat on my lap with a smile. As I smiled back, I started to pat her head and she started to snuggle against my chest which made Serafall pout before she tugged my shirt, attiring my attention.
"Sakuya-chan, pat my head too."
"What are you? A cat that need affection?"
After we had dinner at Yasaka's place, we went back to our hotel room. Serafall started to make some calls as she needed to give a reports to the others factions leaders like Sirzechs and Azazel about the peace talk's results. Meanwhile, I was training in Senjutsu as I was sitting cross-legged on the ground.
"Alright, it's finally over." Serafall said as she started to stretch herself after she gave her last call before she looked in my direction.
"Hey, Sakuya-chan. We got the whole day free tomorrow. How about we go have fun together until the evening before we go to the feast?" She asked while I let out a deep breath as I stopped my workout before I nodded.
"Sure, is there something you want to do?"
"How about we go and explore the city like we did when we first came before we got interrupted by the youkais? We could continue where we left off." She said while I nodded before I thought of the last place we visited together and I nearly felt the urge to throw up when I remembered that I lost consciousness because of the bento she gave me.
"Yeah, let's do that." I said as I shook my head, trying to forget about that biological weapon before I stood up, attiring Serafall's attention as she followed me with her gaze.
"Sakuya-chan, where are you going?"
"I'm a little sweaty so I'm going to take a bath." I answered Serafall as I walked in the direction of the bathroom, making her straightened herself on her chair before she started to glance at me from the corner of her eyes.
"Is there something wrong, Serafall?" I asked her when I noticed her gaze but she simply gave me a wide and innocent smile which didn't reach her eyes which kept staring straight at me, making me shiver.
"Nothing at all, why?"
"Don't tell me you are going to barge in the bathroom while I'm taking a bath like last time, don't you?" I asked as I remembered what happened last time while she slowly shook her head.
"No~"
"If you want to take a bath with me, you should just say so. I wouldn't say no."
"I can?!" She suddenly shouted with enthusiasm and I was a little surprised. Honestly, I didn't expect her to react like that. I thought before I took out the magical doorknob and placed it on the wall, creating the way to the special room.
"Is that a bedroom?" Serafall asked as she went inside and started to explore the room while I nodded.
"Yes, it was created by Michael. It has the special effect to stop Angels from falling into Fallen Angels."
"That's awesome. You should have told me about this room sooner, Sakuya-chan. We could have done a lot of things together in this room" Serafall said as she appeared behind me with a smile before she slapped my back, making me wince at the pain.
"You could have hold back a little…" I said as I rubbed my back before I saw Serafall nonchalantly undressing herself in front of me.
"Aren't you embarrassed?"
"No, I'm not. It's like we're going to a mixed bath together and it's you so it's fine." Serafall answered me as she faced me, exposing her bare body without a single ounce of shame before she walked in the direction of the bathroom.
"Instead of a hot bath, I want a cold shower now…" I murmured as I felt my blood rushing to my head, the wrong one, before I tried to calm down. Is that type of behavior normal with Devils? I thought before I remembered that Rias loved to sleep naked with Ise even before they started to go out together.
"Yeah, it must be normal…" I murmured before I joined Serafall in the bathroom after I undressed myself. We quickly washed out bodies and hair before we went in the bathtub and started to relax in silence until I heard Serafall murmurs.
"It's a little surprising."
"About what?" I asked Serafall as she came closer before she traced her finger on my side, making me shiver.
"No, I thought that your body would be filled with scars but you don't have a single one. It's a little unexpected since you're a swordsman."
"It's because I always try to heal my injuries before they leave any traces on my body."
"Why so? I always thought that boys loved having scars, something about proving their own masculinity."
"I can't deny it, but I always try to make them disappear because they always make the girls worried, which I don't want to." I explained to Serafall as I remembered how they would jump on me every time I came back at the Vatican to check for any injuries I received when I was away in missions.
"You really care for them, don't you?"
"Just like how you care for your sister, I would say we're the same in that aspect." I said making her laugh before she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Hey, Sakuya-chan. Do you remember that you owe me a favor?"
"Yes, why? Is there something you want?"
"I want us to sleep together in this room tonight." Serafall said as she held my hand under the water while I stared at the ceiling in deep thought.
"Are you sure about that?" I only received a hum as an answer.
"Since when?"
"That's a mystery because even I don't know." Serafall replied and I blinked in surprise before I felt his fingers intertwine with mine.
"It may be because you've been nice to me ever since we first met. It may be because you laughed and played with me when most people found me annoying because I'm childish or feared me because of my power, apart from my friends and family who were the only one who weren't afraid of me. Or it may be because I saw how good you were with children and how protective you were towards your girlfriends and I have to admit, I felt a little envious towards them. All I know is that I found myself wanting to see you again and I'll tell you this…" She said before she knelt up and leaned towards my ear while pressing her body against mine and then whispered this with a quiet voice.
"I'm the kind of woman who never give up until I get what I want, so please take care of me from now on."
The next day, I was waiting in the hotel lobby for Serafall after we spent the night sleeping together. She asked me to go ahead as she needed to prepare herself. I was training with my Senjutsu by controlling and sensing my own ki and I continued until I heard someone walking in my direction. I opened my eyes to see it was Serafall who was dressed in a glamorous black kimono with a red obi around it but instead of her usual twin-tails up, she had her hair down as they reached down to her waist.
"Sorry, did I made you wait too long?"
"No, it's fine. I was training so I didn't feel the time passing."
"That's great. Hm? Is there something wrong, Sakuya-chan?" Serafall said with a smile before she blinked when she noticed that I was staring at her which made me feel a little awkward.
"No, I just thought this new look looks very good on you." I said which made Serafall's cheeks slowly turned red before she started to look at herself and started to play with her hair.
"Really, can you explain?"
"I don't know how to say it… Although your usual twin-tails make you cute and it goes well with your magical girl persona and I don't say it doesn't look good on you since it really does. But with your hair down like this, you look more mature and elegant." I said scratching my head as I felt a little awkward saying that while Serafall looked at me with wide eyes with a deeper blush before she moved closer and slapped my forearm, making me wince at the pain.
"You should know better than embarrassing a woman like this." She said with a pout before she walked by my side and linked my arm with hers with a little smile.
"But I appreciate the compliment so thank you, Sakuya-chan."
"Should I change into the kimono you lent me?" I asked as I was in my casual clothes but she shook her head.
"No, it's fine. Let's go, we have a lot of exploration to do today." She then said while I nodded before we walked out of the hotel and resumed our trip across Kyoto. We went to several places where we haven't visited yet together such as the Togetsukyo Bridge where we saw the breathtaking scenery of Arashiyama with its red and orange mountain or the Yasaka Shrine which we thought it would be fun to visit.
"So this shrine is our next spot?" I asked Serafall as I looked over the map while she nodded before she pointed to a forest of bamboo.
"We have to go through the Bamboo Forest to reach that shrine. Hey, do you think there is a panda in here or maybe the Eientei?"
"No, I'm sure they would be caught and threw in a zoo if they were here and what is the Eientei?" I asked her as we walked but at the moment I took a step on the stairways, a warm slippery feeling enveloped my entire body.
What was that, just now…? I thought surprised before I looked around me to see that I was alone with Serafall as all the other tourists had disappeared from the area.
"What happened?"
"It seems that we were forcefully transferred to an alternate dimension. But who could have done that…"
"Please, be at ease. We don't have any bad intentions when we took the two of you to this dimension." As we heard a voice coming from the bamboo forest, we looked in its direction where we saw a young woman walking in our way. She had long black hair and amber eyes. She wore a white kimono with yellow outline and elongated sleeves, and a red skirt that reaches down to her feet. On her neck was a necklace of green beads and for some reason, I felt a warmth coming from her.
"Now, that's a surprise. I never expected to see you here in person since you told me that you will send a messenger." Serafall said with a gasp as she looked at the woman with a smile.
"Serafall, who is she?"
"She is the chief deity of the Shinto Faction, the Sun Goddess and the Highest Goddess who stands at the top of Takamagahara, Amaterasu-ōmikami."
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
"So, why are you here? I thought that you had some problems to solve back within your faction and that you couldn't be available until the meeting."
"Well, there is a good reason for that…"
"It's mostly because she heard that the youkai were organizing a feast tonight and she wanted to go. She even ditched her works to one of her close subordinates before she sneaked out of Takamagahara."
"Takemikazuchi-sama."
"Yo, kiddo. It's been a while, I guess it's Azazel who told you of my true name. Also, I don't really care about honorifics so you can just call me Takemikazuchi or even Jii-san if you want."Takemikazuchi said with a smile before he got his cheek pinched by a pouting Amaterasu.
"Did you really have to say that? You're giving me a bad image."
"It's okay, Amaterasu-chan. I also ditch my duties sometimes in order to stalk… Ah, I meant see my dear So-tan." Serafall said as she tried to comfort the goddess who coughed with a blush before a serious expression appeared on her face.
"Anyway, Serafall-chan. Can I speak to you for a moment? It's related to our future peace talk."
"I'm sorry, Sakuya-chan but we have to put a stop on our little activities again…" Serafall said with a dejected face while I
"It's fine, that kind of thing take priority and we always have fun later."
"Sorry about that, young man, it looks like we interrupted your date. Hey, how about I hang out with you as an apology?"
"Are you saying you want to go on a date with me?" I joked making him laugh before he patted the katana on his waist.
"You could say that. How about it?"
"Sure, I'm not against that idea." I said as I switched my kimono for my battle attire with magic while I walked away from Takemikazuchi and materialized my sword into my hand before I took a stance, making him smile widely.
"Great! Now let's do it!" He shouted as he suddenly charged at me while I widened my eyes at his speed. Fast! I thought before I raised up my sword to block an incoming attack from the smiling old man.
"Let's just fight with our swordsmanship at first, okay?"
"I would have liked if you said that before you charged at me. I was ready to use my magic, you know." I retorted at Takemikazuchi adopted an apologetic face at my words while our blades were clashing against each other.
"Sorry but as you can see, I'm quite old, so please forgive this poor old man and make him happy."
"Oh yeah… Judging by the smile you got on your face, I would say you're already happy!" I shouted as I pushed him back before I swung my sword at Takemikazuchi who swiftly repelled it with his katana.
"That's because I'm starting to have fun right now." He said with a smile while I charged at him as soon as he landed on the ground and that I was in front of him, we stared at each other for a few seconds before our bodies moved and for several minutes which felt like hours to me, we swung our weapon many times, sending at each other numerous blows which we either dodged or repelled with our respective weapons. My sword and his katana clashed against each other, scattering sparks around us and continued until he started to push me back.
He's really strong. That was my first thought ever since we started to clash our blades. I have no shame to admit that he's ahead of me in power, speed and especially in technique. His swordplay was beautiful like a dance, but at the same time, it was fast and intense enough for me to be overwhelmed by it as I couldn't dodge all of his attacks or block them completely. I thought before I barely dodged an upward strike from Takemikazuchi by stepping back and I winced at the short distance between the tip of his blade and my face. But then I blinked when I saw that Takemikazuchi has disappeared from his previous spot.
Where did he go? I thought before I felt a presence behind me so I quickly turned around only to see him charging at me with his katana raised. I then quickly raised my sword, blocking his attack.
"You have better instinct than I expected, that's quite impressive."
"Well, thank you for the compliment!" I shouted as I pushed him away before I rushed in and tried to smash my sword against him, but I was surprised when he deviated my sword away by punching the surface of the blade with the back of his hand.
"What…!" I mumbled before I widened my eyes when I saw him retracting his arm while sending me a smirk.
"Dosukoi!" Takemikazuchi shouted as he thrust his palm into my body, knocking the air out of my lunges before I sent flying back and crashed through several bamboos.
"Ahahaha! I have to say, you're not bad for a youngster!" Takemikazuchi said with a laugh while I coughed and winced when I rubbed my injury on my belly.
"Kuh… I still have a long way to go compared to you."
"You forgot the fact that I'm a god who have lived and trained myself for centuries or even millinery now. I had all the time in my life to train my body and refine my swordsmanship." He said as he flexed his biceps which were hidden by his kimono while I chuckled before I slowly stood up.
"I wonder what kind of training you went through to get that strong…"
"It's not really that complicated. 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 10km of running every single day and drink a lot of orange juice." He said as he gave me a thumbs-up with a wide smile while I nearly stumbled on my feet out of shock.
"You've got to be kidding me…" I deadpanned which earned me a laugh from Takemikazuchi.
"Obviously, it was a joke, that kind of workout can't even qualify as a warm up after all. I'll tell you later this evening during the feast."
"Seeing how strong you are, I can't wait to hear it."
"And you haven't seen everything yet, young man… Alright, there is no need to hold back anymore because this time, we're going to go up a notch." Takemikazuchi said with a smile as he took a stance with his katana which was completely different from the one he took earlier and for some reason, the atmosphere around him also changed which made me shiver.
"Hyoudou Sakuya, allow me to thank you properly for showing me that that black lightning last time by showing you my true swordsmanship." He said before he was engulfed in a white aura with some blue electrical sparks surrounding it while I widened my eyes as I felt the huge increase in power.
"He's almost as strong as Loki…" I thought and before I knew it, I had a smile on my face. When I fought against the evil god, I was with the others but now, I'm alone. It's a perfect opportunity to see how much I have grown since then.
"I won't hold back anything… Balance Breaker!"
[Grand Ruler Brave Regalia!] As the voice of Clarent and Florent could be heard from my sword, it suddenly gave off a flash of light covering both my sword and body. The bright aura transformed my sword into a new regal form while I was dressed with a long-sleeved, ankle-length black and white coat with gold accents, black pants covered by thigh-high armored silver boots.
"Now, that's the spirit! Let's do it, Sakuya!" He shouted when he saw my new appearance before he swiftly thrust his katana in my direction while I pointed my sword at him after I put some Nordic runes and poured my magic energy in it.
"Kokūjin: Hadōmeppū!" "Luster Flare!"
As soon as we shouted, we both unleashed a beam from our respective weapon before the world around us was then painted in white after our attacks connected with each other.
At the same moment, Serafall and Amaterasu were both having some tea at the shrine, sitting on the porch as they were both watching the fight between the two swordsmen.
"It looks like they are having fun." Serafall commented while Amaterasu nodded as they saw the scenery being filled with explosions.
"Did you know that Takemikazuchi-kun was quite excited when we were on our way to meet you two, especially that young man."
"Yes, I heard from Azazel that they already met before. It looks like he took a liking on Sakuya-chan."
"You're right but I never expected the Ouroboros's tamer would be that young, it's quite surprising…"
"That's Sakuya-chan for you, he's always full of surprises." Serafall said with a smile which soon disappeared from her face as she looked straight at Amaterasu with a serious expression.
"Anyway, let's get down to business. What did you want to talk about?"
"I wanted to talk about the peace talk and some problems that happened on our side. First of all, it was decided that the peace talk will happen in four days in Ise."
"Ise… You mean we're going to do it in the Ise Grand Shrine, the shrine that is dedicated to you."
"You're right, I figured that it would be a good place for the peace talk, especially when it is the most important shrine of our religion."
"I'm happy that you give that much of importance but why in four days? I don't really believe in superstitions but I find that a little ominous.
"While I would have liked to have the peace talk sooner, I still have some problems to take care of within Takamagahara and the other gods."
"Oh yes, I heard that there were some discords up there so I guess the rumors were true?" Serafall said while Amaterasu nodded before she let out a long sigh.
"There has always been some discords ever since I allowed the Biblical Faction and the Buddhist to expend an influence in this country, but they have become more intense recently. I started to receive several complaints from some gods who weren't pleased with my decision to reach out for the other pantheons like I did with Odin-sama and the Norse Faction a few months ago and this time, an alliance with the Biblical Faction." She explained as she looked at the cloudy sky while Serafall looked down on the ground, kicking it with her feet.
"It seems that we are mostly the reason for those conflicts, sorry about that."
"No, you don't have to apologize since it was my decision that engendered them. I already knew the consequences at the time, because I knew they didn't like the other pantheons, but I didn't never thought that they would escalate that much."
"Is there something that we can do for you? I mean, it's because of us that those gods started to complain in the first place. Also, Sirzechs-chan and I both have a debt towards you for letting us get away without repercussion for the accident in Kuoh."
"Thank you, Serafall-chan, but it won't be necessary for now. However, I would like you to be prepared for the peace talk itself as we may have to fight them." Amaterasu warned Serafall who widened her eyes in shock at the information.
"Are you sure about it?"
"Yes, I recently received some reports from one of my closest aides that some gods started to act suspicious and that a few of them took contact some suspicious individuals. We don't know who they are but it is really probable that they were from the Khaos Brigade, given their recent activities against the pantheons across the world." Amaterasu said to Serafall who sported a grimace before she glared at the ground.
"They hate those who aren't from their own faction, but they aren't above asking help from them and even worse, terrorists. How hypocritical of them…"
"As far as I know, most of the rebels are minor gods so they must have thought that they wouldn't be able to win against us in fair conditions unless they asked for help. However, the most troublesome matter is that I heard a rumor that their leader is a major god of our faction." The goddess said before a gloomy expression appeared on her face as she said her last words which attired Serafall's attention who glanced at her.
"And do you know who is it?"
"No but while I have some suspects in mind, I have no proof that they are the one at the top." She answered Serafall, making her whine as she lied down on the porch.
"I see, it's a shame. Hey, Amaterasu-chan. Do you really think we have to fight against them? Can we just talk to them and try to reach for an understanding?"
"I'm sorry, but I already spent several decades trying to do that and they are too stubborn to change their mind…" At her answer, Serafall could only sigh before she stared at the sky with her friend and they continued in silence until they heard some footsteps. They lowered their gazes to see a smiling Takemikazuchi who walked in their direction with a sulking Sakuya behind him.
"Yo, are you two done talking?"
"Yes, we just finished right now. It looks like you had fun." Amaterasu said as she looked at the men' body who were filled with wounds, especially Sakuya while Takemikazuchi only sported scratches.
"Yeah, he surpassed my expectations. It's been a long time since I didn't have fun like that." He said with a chuckle before he started to ruffle Sakuya's head who looked to be a little annoyed but if they looked closer, they could all see that he had a little smile on his face.
"Sakuya-chan, come here. I'll heal your wounds." Serafall said as she patted the spot next to her. As he was exhausted from his fight, Sakuya simply walked by her side before he sat down, making Serafall chuckle as she started to heal him with her magic.
"Ama-chan, can you?" Takemikazuchi asked Amaterasu who nodded before she beckoned him to come closer, which he did. She then placed her hand over his body before he was coated in a warm light that slowly closed his wounds.
"Thank you, Ama-chan."
"You're welcome. Now that we all finished our business, how about we go to Yasaka-chan's house now?" Amaterasu said before she heard two stomachs growling, making her blink. She looked at Serafall who snorted before she gestured at Takemikazuchi and Sakuya who were both scratching their head with a chuckle.
"I see that the two of you are already ready for the feast." Amaterasu giggled before she turned to the shrine and took a deep breath.
"Tsukuyomi, you can dispel this dimension now! We're going to Yasaka-chan's house!" As soon as she shouted those words, they all heard the sound of a bell coming from the shrine's roof where they saw Tsukuyomi who nodded before she jumped and as she delicately landed on Takemikazuchi's shoulders. She then snapped her fingers making the blue sky crack before it fell apart, revealing an orange sky in its place.
"So the sun is already setting. We shouldn't make them wait too long so let's go." Amaterasu mumbled as she looked at the setting sun before she walked away with the others following her not too far behind.
After our meeting with the Japanese gods, we all went to the Inner Capital at a mansion where we were welcomed by the youkai who were all surprised by the deities' presence by our side. However, they didn't mind them as they also invited them to the feast after Amaterasu apologized for the lack of support from their faction when they needed it. The feast itself was a little different from what I imagined. Instead of a party, it was more of a dinner with a large amount of people eating together in the same room.
"It was delicious." Kunou said as she patted her belly while I nodded. We were currently outside of the residence, sitting on the porch looking at the dark sky before we heard the door being opened on. We looked back to see it was Takemikazuchi and Tsukuyomi.
"Yo, kid number one and kid number two. What are you two doing here?"
"Getting some fresh air. What about you, Takemikazuchi-san?"
"Tsukuyo doesn't like places with crowds, especially loud ones while I wanted to drink in peace." He answered me as they sat next to us before I heard Kunou gasped and started to tug on my shirt.
"Ah, Sakuya. It's the girl from last time." Kunou said as she recognized the god while Takemikazuchi blinked before he snorted.
"Girl? If you're talking about Tsukuyo here, you're wrong. He's a man."
"Eh?" Kunou absently said while I blinked in confusion for a few seconds before I understood what he meant. So, Tsukuyomi isn't a girl but a boy or should I say a Gasper.
"What? You didn't understand?"
"I understand that! I'm just shocked that a person as pretty as him can be a boy!" Kunou shouted as she pointed her finger at Tsukuyomi who was silently eating.
"Kunou, don't point your finger at people. It's rude, especially when the person you're pointing your finger at is a god."
"Which one?"
"Tsukuyomi." As soon as I told her the deity's name, Kunou froze before she slowly looked at Tsukuyomi before she started to become pale.
"What's wrong, Kunou?" I asked her as she quickly hide behind me with her body shaking as she stared at the god with fearful eyes, confusing us all.
"B..But this is Tsukuyomi-sama, he's known for being an evil god who kills people and gods in cold blood." She said surprised me as I looked at Tsukuyomi who pointed at himself with an eyebrow raised while Takemikazuchi slapped his own forehead.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that story exist."
"A story? Can you tell me about it? I'm not that well versed with the Shinto myths." I asked Takemikazuchi who nodded as he took a sip of his sake.
"Sure. The story goes about how Tsukuyo killed Ukemochi-chan, the goddess of food and as a result, he got labeled as an evil god by Ama-chan and got exiled from Takamagahara."
"And why did he killed that goddess?"
"If I remember correctly, it all started the day when Ukemochi-chan organized a feast to which she invited Ama-chan to participate in. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend it so she sent her husband, Tsukuyo, in her stead. Until now, there wasn't any problem until Ukemochi-chan started to make the dishes for the feast, in order to create the food, she turned to the ocean before she spat out a fish from her mouth, and then she faced a forest where she spat out game, and finally turning to a rice paddy and coughing up a bowl of rice." When Takemikazuchi started to describe us the goddess's actions, I narrowed my eyes in disgust while Kunou didn't fare better as she gagged.
"Eww…"
"Seeing the manner how she created the feast which looked quite exquisite, Tsukuyo was so disgusted like you two right now that he decided to kill her which enraged Ama-chan who decided to banish him from Takamagahara before labeling him as an evil god. End of the story."
"So that was the story. Is it based on true facts?"
"Not at all, this is all fiction. This story was made by some believers who were upset that there was no history or legend on Tsukuyo, despite being one of the most important gods of our religion. Do you really think that Ama-chan would tolerate his presence here if he was really an evil god?" Takemikazuchi asked us as he poured his cup with sake while I shook my head as it would make no sense for Amaterasu to let him near her.
"No, she wouldn't."
"And… you don't care about that, Tsukuyomi-sama? For being recognized as an evil god by people?" Kunou shyly asked Tsukuyomi who simply shook his head.
"I don't care what people think of me and the title is cool."
"I see. I'm terribly sorry if I have offended you…" Kunou said as she bowed her head at Tsukuyomi who shook his head with an emotionless expression while Takemikazuchi chuckled before he took a sip of his sake.
"Don't worry, princess. He will never be mad at you for something like that. In the first place, Tsukuyo never cared about his appearance or how people view him."
"Now that I think about him, why does he wear those clothes? I'm pretty sure this kimono is for girls." I said as I pointed at Tsukuyomi and his clothes. He was wearing a black version of Amaterasu's kimono with blue outline with some white flowers as a decoration. I have to say, it looked really well with his effeminate appearance and his long white hair.
"It's because they are from Ama-chan. She always loved to weave things as a hobby and clothes was one of them. She often made clothes for Tsukuyo and her friends but because of his effeminate looks, the majority of the clothes she made for him are like this one." Takemikazuchi explained as he looked at Tsukuyomi's outfit while I hummed.
"While I understand that he doesn't care about his public image, why doesn't he change his appearance? As a god, he should be able to do it, no?"
"Yes, he can but he never done it once. I once asked him about this since I was curious but he said that his current appearance is the one he was born with so he's not ashamed of it. If anything else, he should be proud of it because it's his original appearance. As for the clothes, he doesn't really care about what he wears but he has a little preference for Ama-chan's handmade kimonos since they were made by her." Takemikazuchi said while Kunou looked at Tsukuyomi with awe in her eyes.
"So cool…"
"Anyway, a legend or myths are often to not be believed because they are most often false. At first, they were transmitted orally so they could have changed through the years, especially if someone misinterpreted something or because they didn't believe the story told was the pure truth." Takemikazuchi explained before he started to scratch his chin in thought.
"A good example I can think of so you could understand would be the Dragon recorded in the Book of Revelation, it was said that this Dragon was a form that Satan or should I say Lucifer took during his last fight against the God of the Bible and his Angels but we all know that this same dragon in reality is Great Red who has nothing to do with the Satan Lucifer who was another being."
"I see. I learned something good tonight." I said, making Takemikazuchi chuckled before we heard a roar of laughter coming from the hall.
"What's going on?" I asked as we all looked at the door with a confused expression.
"I don't know, maybe something fun happened." Takemikazuchi said as he sent a glance at Tsukuyomi who nodded before he walked in front of the door and opened it. What awaited us behind that door wasn't what we expected as the scene before our eyes surprised us except for Tsukuyomi who merely blinked with an apathetic expression on his face.
""Olee! Olee! Ka-To-Ken Samba!"" Amaterasu and Serafall sung together as they were both dancing in the middle of the room while the spectators were all cheering on them. Meanwhile, Yasaka was playing the shamisen with a smile next to them.
"Oh dear, they're drunk." Takemikazuchi said as he placed his hand over his eyes while I blinked before I noticed several empty bottles of sake on the ground next to them.
"Should we stop them?" I asked as I looked back at the two women who kept dancing and I noticed how red their faces were while Takemikazuchi nodded before he walked in their direction.
"Ama-chan, I think you had enough fun for tonight."
"Hey, what do you mean? We didn't have enough fun yet." Amaterasu said as she leaned toward the old god before she poked him with her finger.
"Maybe but you're dead drunk, I can't see how you can have fun in that condition."
"We're not drunk at all~ Hey, Tsukuyo-chan, come here and dance with your onee-chan." Amaterasu complained before she asked as she approached Tsukuyomi who shook his head with a grimace on his face.
"Don't approach me, you drunkard." He said, shocking Amaterasu who froze for a few seconds before she started to sob loudly.
"Why are you so mean to me?!" As I looked at the crying goddess, I noticed Serafall walking in my direction from the corner of my eyes.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked her but she didn't answer me as she continued to walk until she hugged me tightly once she stood in front of me.
"No but I will if you kiss me, Sakuya-chan~" She answered me with a purr as she rubbed her face against the crook of my neck while I let out a long sigh. What should I do in that situation? I thought before I heard Amaterasu groan in pain so I looked in her direction to see that she got knocked out by Tsukuyomi who chopped the back of her neck with his hand.
"I'm sorry but it looks like we have to take an early leave." Takemikazuchi said before he looked at Tsukuyomi who nodded as he carried Amaterasu above his shoulder like a bag of potatoes while we all nodded.
"I think I'll do the same. It was a pleasant night, thank you all for inviting us tonight." I said as I bowed to the youkai who all nodded at me before I carried Serafall in my arms and started to walk away in the direction of the exit.
"Sakuya, wait!" When I heard Kunou scream my name, I stopped in my tracks before I looked back to see her running in my direction.
"Here, take this with you. It's a little present for spending some time with me, I made it myself." She said with a little blush as she took something out from her kimono's sleeve and I blinked when I saw it was a Japanese amulet with the inscription 'Kanai Anzen' on it. While I was clueless about its meaning, I took it with a smile.
"Thank you, Kunou. I'll take good care of it." I said as I patted her head, making her smile after I put the amulet in my pants. I then left the mansion and saw that the Shinto Gods were already gone. They must have teleported away. I looked down at Serafall who was snuggling against my chest with a wide smile.
"Ehehe~ Side chest…" I chuckled as I created a magic transportation circle to our hotel before I blinked as I noticed something.
"Ah, I forgot to ask Takemikazuchi about his training regime."
DxD Chibi: Kunou's awakening
A few hours after Sakuya put Kunou to her bed and started his Senjutsu training in Yasaka's room, the little princess finally woke up from her slumber.
"This is… my room?" Kunou mumbled after she opened her eyes and recognized the familiar ceiling. She then let out a yawn as she sat up before she noticed that she was grabbing a white coat that was over her body.
"It's Sakuya's coat…" She muttered to herself as she stared at the coat before something crossed her mind.
"It's warm and I feel safe… I wonder if this is what having a father feels like…" Kunou wondered as she covered herself with the coat like a blanket before she remembered the feeling she felt when she played with Sakuya and when she fell asleep on his back.
"Otou-san…" She absently said as she basked herself in the warmth that Sakuya's coat provided her until her stomach started to growl.
"I'm hungry…" She mumbled before she got out of her bed and stared at Sakuya's coat for a few seconds until a smile appeared on her face.
"Ehehe~" She let out a giggle as she put the hood on before she left her room with a smile.
A/N: And that was the 38th chapter of Hallowed Blade.
I wanna say thank you all for the reviews and a great thank you again to Darklord331 for beta reading my chapter.
First of all, sorry for the long wait. During those last two months, I was quite unlucky. I had to pass my midyear exam and to avoid the same situation I had last year where I nearly didn't pass my year, I had to stop writing to concentrate myself on my studies.
And after I successfully (in my opinion) passed my midyear exam, my old laptop finally gave up after 6 years of service and I had to buy a new one. However, the big problem is that I lost everything related to my works, the storyline, the characters sheets, what I planned for the future, the ideas and the research I made until now so I had to spend a lot of time trying to write them again but I had a lot of problems since I couldn't remember everything. This is my fault for forgetting to make a save back-up.
Honestly when I lost everything, I just thought of giving up this story but in the end, I decided to continue. I'm a bit rusty since it's been a long time that I didn't write a proper chapter (almost two months now), so please bear it with the poor quality. Also, it is a little late but I hope that you all had a good Christmas and Happy New Year to you guys.
Trivia: Kokūjin: Hadōmeppū – Empty Sky: Incineration Wave.
Kanai Anzen, it literally means 'Please keep my family from harm'
And now, I shall answer your reviews.
DarkDrawerJ: Thank you.
Fleyja Yuki: Sakuya will learn a few things from Takemikazuchi. However, abilities like Rasengan, Chidori aren't adapted to his fighting style in my opinion so it will be a no. I can't see why Sakuya should do a rasengan when he has a sword that has an effect similar to both the Boosted Gear and the Divine Dividing. The same with Lanza Del Relampago, especially when most of Sakuya's ranged attacks are as destructive as it.
There won't be any change in appearance when using Senjutsu, we're not in Naruto.
Shadowyknight972: Thank you, I had that scene in mind for a long time now.
Blaze2121: It's more like of the new arc's prologue,
588963-B: Thank you, I always try to find some time to write outside of school and work. Right now, I mostly only write during the week-end because of lack of free time.
Darkmaster10000000: The length is to make up for the lateness. From the moment he got Issei as his host, Ddraig was destined to lose the respect he got from others.
OechsnerC: Thank you.
ExtraterrestrialFlyingCat: And this is why a cosplay of Kenpachi can be a good disguise for Halloween.
Guest: ~~\(°3°)b
Private Lancelot: I liked the idea so I thought 'Why not?'. And thank you, I hope that you had a nice Christmas.
Piddle: Since when he wasn't one?
Exodus12345:
Feng Lengshun: Tsukuyomi's appearance isn't based from any characters from GBF or ROB.
Middernacht: I haven't really thought about the children' costumes. Just think of normal Halloween disguise a child would wear like a skeleton or a vampire one. As for the rest, be patient for the future chapters.
Leo Saruca: And then, wait until he become lost because of his poor sense of direction.
Crimson green flame: Here you go.
Mighty Magneto: I answered everything in a PM.
Gaurav Kumar: That sphere will come up in the future, I won't say much about it for now.
Oliver98: Thank you.
Smogless: Why don't you read the next chapters before reviewing.
Yudhapraha: Well, sorry for being late.
dragon slayer of death 98: I won't confirm it but you can hope that she will join his harem. As for Slash Emperor, it will be no but he may have something similar in the future, symbolizing his relation with Ophis. Something related to the concept of Infinity, Chaos and Nothingness. Again, it's not sure since concept doesn't really matter in DxD.
RX88: Here.
Indigo One: Claire Flora's description can be found at the end of the Chapter 29 and in it's Balance Breaker form, the chapter 35. I originally based the sword's appearance of the true form of Terminus Est from Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance before I changed the design to suit better the theme of Claire Flora which is about flower lilies and royalty and then changed it further for its Balance Breaker form for a more regal appearance.
NinjaGogeta: That phrase came from Soseki Natsume, a novelist who was a high school teacher in his early years. The story goes how one of his students translated "I love you" into "ware kimi o aisu". Ware means I, kimi means you, and aisu means love.
Natsume then said to this student that Japanese people don't use such expressions to confess but rather 'the moon is beautiful isn't it?' since it's more graceful and beautiful but not to direct since most Japanese are often reserved or shy about their feelings.
There's no real source about this story so it may be an anecdote that someone made up.
Kept123: Thank you.
Draykevero: I don't see what it has to do with this story but okay… Never mind that, I already read that manga / WN and I wasn't really a fan of it.
Srikar.a: Thank you. As for Sakuya being stronger than Vali and Sairaorg, we will see that in the future. Nonetheless, he has a major advantage since he's an Angel.
Kept123: Blame my school for taking all my time, my old laptop for giving up on me and making me lose all my files related to this story. (Storyline, characters sheets, ideas, etc…)
Blitzdigital: Don't worry, it's not dead yet.