Level 16
Inter-clan negotiations were more often than not, merely annoying. Thankfully, Youkai politics was nothing like the Galactic Senate, where there is no civility, only politics.
Personal training was fulfilling at best, thanks to Genshirou helping her to see the joy and utility of having greater personal power, she felt that life became much more comfortable in many ways.
At worst, it was just frustratingly painful, especially since Genshirou managed to buy all the volumes of Ranma ½ and proceeded to adopt the ridiculous training methods to their (and her clan's) personal use.
Speaking of pain, she wanted to be anywhere else but this place. Not because she was going to be physically tortured or anything like that. Far from it, the damage was more mental and directed at her sanity rather than anything else.
It was with great regret that she reluctantly accompanied her parents to her future husband's (temp) workplace. On normal days, she would only feel very disturbed at his choice of part-time work for favors and political gain. But this…? Actually having to accompany her parents here for "family planning" purposes?
She would rather just be paraded around naked by Genshirou instead. At the very least, she would be able to enjoy herself first before facing the consequences.
"Kill me. Kill me now." Her little brother Himuro, that happened to be Genshirou's age as well, was already banging his head at the receptionist desk as she shared her agony.
"I don't believe you can lose the will to live that easily. So please don't just die of sadness or something. Not at the clinic's entrance at least." The part-time receptionist, Valerie Tepes, continued to smile like a professional Guild Receptionist from some generic RPG-like Isekai story.
Well, that was the first thing that came to Atago's mind when trying to remember where that professional smile came from… the Goblin Slayer manga Valerie was holding helped to make that link for her.
"Brother, don't be rude to Valerie." Atago admonished him without much energy.
Valerie and Atago met eye-to-eye, the dhampir saw that she wasn't in the mood for talking and simply smiled sympathetically for what was to come.
"Hello Valerie, it's been a while, you look positively radiant today." Sakura, Atago's mother, greeted the dhampir happily.
"Thank you. I am a Daywalker after all." Valerie took it literally in a completely different direction.
Ignoring this, her mother pressed on with some small talk as they waited for their appointment, from what she could gather, Genshirou (or was it one of his clone's today? Not that it matters since he's basically living in all bodies at once...) had a lot of clients today.
"Tch, so that mutt Souchirou did come here after all… can't let him get one over me…" Her father muttered darkly beside his children after listening in to the conversation.
"Wait a second! T-this is all about that damn rivalry?!" Himuro shouted in clear frustration, remembering their father's competitive streak with a distant cousin..
"Hah?! What did you say?! How could you not understand the manly relationship between-"
"Father, Himuro, shut up." Atago silenced the two before they caused a further ruckus.
Just as she did so Rokurokubi couple had walked out of the main rooms, looking very satisfied with the services provided, sharing a loving smile with each other even as their limp long necks showed just how tired they were.
It was only natural that they would visit this place considering their rather low population and the good word spread about by her Auntie Sophie.
"Master Cannoli will see you now." Valerie enunciated, gesturing to a particular room. She had used the false name to make sure there was some consistency in the story when rumors of their services would spread to the factions aware of Genshirou's false personas.
This all started when her the vampire nekomata matriarch began talking about vampire reproductive functionality in front of both Valerie and Genshirou during an integration event with the rest of her clan. "Darth Bobby" was a welcome face, Valerie was also there to help answer questions about vampire physiology that their previous masters hadn't bothered to teach them…
It started off well until a couple wept that they wouldn't be able to give their aging parents (and in-laws) the grandchildren that they wanted to see thanks to the low fertility of vampires.
Of course, Genshirou wanted to help as much as he could. Atago had gotten involved as well, and before she knew it, her Auntie Sophie had begun coordinating the experiments with some volunteers to great success.
She should have expected that of all people, only Genshirou would have been able to use his powers to influence the reproductive organs to create… life.
"Master Kaiza. I take it that your journey here has been unimpeded." Genshirou's disguise under the Jedi robes faded away as they entered the room, swirling around in his comfy chair in order to greet them, "I must say that you are here sooner than expected."
"It looks like you're having tons of fun role-playing. Haha!" Raiga laughed, Genshirou only frowned in visible disappointment for not following up with a variant of Windu's lines.
"My dear husband heard a little song about how his dearest cousin came here asking for twins." Sakura quickly got to the heart of the matter.
"Your surveillance network has advanced that much?" Gen asked, getting a shake of her head.
"Unfortunately not." Her mother muttered under her breath as her father answered the question, "The bastard rubbed the magical pregnancy test results right in front of my face."
"Ultrasound isn't a viable industry in the supernatural world it seems…" Genshirou grinned a little.
"Can I leave?" Himuro asked, getting a loud "No!" from her father.
"As part of this family we must discuss this important matter. We need to one-up my relative, and to do that, we need at least two more additions to the family." Raiga continued.
"I was thinking of having fraternal twins like Kouho and Gosei." Sakura mentioned Genshirou's siblings.
"Eh, I was thinking we can have them like two years apart?"
"So three in total."
"The twins first or later?"
Genshirou tapped the table, "I must make sure that you are informed now… how do I say this, damn this is awkward… if you want twins in this round then you're going to have to ejaculate inside her at least twice during the procedure."
"NOOOO!" "WHHHHY!" She and her brother covered their ears and screamed, not wanting to hear this at all.
"You mean it can't be done in one shot?" Unfortunately, their hearing cannot be blocked by normal means, so they can still hear their mother's voice clearly.
"It is unfortunate, but influencing the womb to birth twins or triplets will require more… essence. In addition to that, having additional family members close by will help stabilize the formation due to sympathetic-"
"We have to watch them?!" "Onee-chan, talk your boyfriend out of this!" "Come on Gen! Please say it isn't so!"
"You only need to be in the same ritual room. I've got blindfolds and magic earplugs, while there is a full sensory deprivation spell that I can use, it is very uncomfortable to say the least." He stated clinically, later mentioning that he can't do anything about the smell and taste of the air either unless they wanted to just… not breathe.
"It won't take to long, please do it for us." "Listen to your mother."
"It's all your fault!" Both siblings complained to no effect.
"How about quintuplets?" Raiga asked Genshirou, to which he replied, "5 times at least, don't worry, I'll provide the… energy and uh… whatever."
"What is the additional cost?" Sakura inquired.
"Only that you name one of the girls Miku." Atago wasn't sure why, but her gut feeling told her it was a reference to a manga.
"Do the both of you need the pleasure and sex drive enhancements?" He asked one last final question.
"That would be lovely." "Why not?"
It was three hours of pain as their enhanced senses picked up the smell and movement of their parents fucking in the middle of a ritual circle. She thanked no god in particular for the small mercies of not being able to hear or see a thing.
Once the session was over, her parents were teleported back to the estate, leaving Himuro and herself behind at "Master Cannoli's Impregnation Clinic".
"If that otherworldly being that possessed me is responsible for us Youkai's low fertility rates then I'm going to call that fucker back just so I can beat him up myself." Her brother finally snapped and grew a spine, unfortunately, her parents weren't here to see it and Atago couldn't muster the energy to care.
"Look at the brightside… you're going to have five little sisters looking up to you and calling you 'onii-chan'." Atago tried to cheer her brother up as the responsible older sister she should be.
"Wait?! I'm going to be an 'onii-chan'!?"
Considering that Genshirou's methods in "creating life" were that precise, as a few volunteer couples of some Youkai races with very short gestation periods had attested to, Atago could say that much with absolute certainty.
"Well, yes, didn't you hear our parents finalizing their plans to have 5 girls and one boy later on?"
"I'm going to be an 'ONII-CHAN'! I have to tell everyone!"
"Eh? Ehhhhh?"
Her brother rushed out of the semen-stained ritual room, "Hey Valerie-san, I'm going to be an Onii-chan! Hi, it's me, fuck you Souta I'm going to be an Onii-chan!" He was actually calling his friends on his phone too!?
"Well… I can't say I expected that."
Atago turned to Genshirou, shooting him a dark look.
"You just had to make this a business, didn't you?"
"First of all, all of us agreed that researching this is going to help everyone. Secondly, you endorsed the idea for future political capital. And finally, don't forget that I had to watch every second of it. Not just for your parents, but for my parents and every future parent out there too."
Atago's anger quickly evaporated as she remembered those facts.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. Aaaanyhow, it's closing time for today. And since we're only open twice a week despite all my clone's capable of providing cheap labor… we get to spend a lot of time together over the weekend."
"Oooh! Yay! I know! Summer break is just around the corner for you, soooooo…"
"Soooooo?"
Valerie opened the door just in time to continue the conversation, "It's almost time to go to the beach. I haven't been to a beach before!" Genshirou had promised Valerie to take her all over Japan and the world to make up for lost time.
Atago herself wanted to experience life and what the world had to offer with the both of them, although, she gave priority to Valerie as the poor girl had been through a lot for most of her life.
"Oh, I just remembered. Once we get on the beach, we have to jump up into the sand while yelling "Umi Da!" It means "The Sea", just FYI." Genshirou added some mentions about how it's used in anime a lot, making sure that Valerie had the right context and got the correct meaning. She may have his knowledge of Japanese, but there are some gaps here and there due to the process being accidental and unintended.
"Ufufu, do you know what that means Genshirou~" Atago ran up to him and grabbed his arm, pressing it in between her cleavage. "You get to see me in a swimsuit."
He had the cutest grin on his face.
Valerie ran up and did the same with the other arm, "I don't have a swimsuit. Can you help me buy one?" The princess seemed to be in on the unspoken plan.
The three of them soon left to get some late night ramen. Genshirou had his favourite ramen shop that he frequented in the city, and so they went there together, sneaking into the line and replacing the clones that he had apparently sent ahead of time before he closed shop for the day.
The area around them was shielded by Gen's power, creating an illusion of them taking their time over the meal, while the sound within was being absorbed so that their conversation wouldn't be eavesdropped on.
This way, they could also let their guard down somewhat, and talk about whatever they wanted.
"Ah! It's tasty! I'll never get tired of trying new things. It still feels like a dream…" Valerie trailed off, "Somedays, I still have the odd thought of not wanting to wake up from this."
"Valerie, this is real. And even if it was a dream, or nightmare, or whatever. I'll be sure to be there with you, always." Genshirou was giving that earnest and kind smile of his that she loved, to Valerie.
Atago was happy for her, truly… she still had the urge to pout in order to get his attention though. It turns out that her control over her facial expressions lessens in their presence, Genshirou took hold of her hand even in this public space, reassuring her that he would be with her all the way.
"On a score of 1-10, how much did you like it Valerie?" Atago asked her soon-to-be sister wife as Genshirou went to settle the bill, there were some foreigners having some trouble at the counter due to not being able to speak Japanese, so he was helping out with that, and so it was taking normal than usual.
"That's not fair Atago. My hero's blood has set the bar impossibly high."
"You always say that."
"Only because it's true."
They started talking about the man they both loved, Valerie started to fill her in on some of the smaller "skills" that Genshirou had figured out in their day-to-day cohabitation, that he may have neglected to mention to Atago.
"The gardens are now brimming with life. Genshirou is trying to grow some corn with his powers, apparently, he's trying to give it self-defense mechanisms so, I quote, "No stupid rabbit is going to eat my corn plant ever again."
Atago couldn't remember hearing about the Saji household ever owning a rabbit. Perhaps he tried his hand growing corn in some secret garden only to have a rabbit eat it all like the little breeding and fucking monsters that they were?
Okay. Atago may have been a little biased against rabbits due to some slutty rabbit girl she met this one time…
"Oh, so he's also discovered how to modify plants? Can he make them shoot seeds like Plants vs Zombies?"
"What's that?"
"It's an app."
"An odd name for one..."
"Where did he get the idea from anyway?"
"I don't know. Let's ask him."
And so they did during the walk back to Atago's home.
"Where did I learn it? Remember that plant controlling stray devil that I backstabbed to help Jeanne, Sona, Tomoe and Momo with?"
"You managed to get her techniques so quickly?" Atago was impressed that he managed to get so much in such a short time.
"Not exactly. She was an experienced one and I had to start with her early memories. Luckily, I had the foresight to preserve the head and soul in a completely painless manner."
"... I'm sorry. I don't understand."
"Ah! So that's why I felt there was someone faintly alive in your shadow!" Valerie snapped her fingers excitedly, seemingly happy that she finally knew the answer to a question she tried to figure out for herself.
"Yup. Waste not, want not. I had a long time to really go through her research on how life can be manipulated. It's also how I figured out how to control and manipulate the egg fertilization process." Genshirou cheerfully explained how he was keeping the stray from "dying", technically, and that he would probably rebuild a new body to attach the head to at some point once he's done.
"You're doing it as some sort of payment?"
"Well, yeah. To be fair, if I knew the situation better, which I couldn't have known due to my presence being discovered thanks to her ability to sense me, I rectified that issue by the way…" He spoke about a rather tragic past of being tricked to serve loyally for a long time, before finding some horrible truth, and all, "and that is why once I figure out how to modify her memories, I should be able to let her have a new life somewhere."
He looked really excited and eager about it.
Atago gasped, "It'll be… if that works, it'll be the first stray devil that you manage to properly "save", right?"
"Yeah…" His smile confirmed just how much he was looking forward to it.
"I'll start with the papertrail." Atago volunteered.
"I'm sure we can liberate some funds somewhere…" Valerie was already thinking of looting some other stronghold for "funds".
"Haha, thank you! That will be a great help... Yeah, let's do our best then."
I had retracted every mean-spirited rant I uttered about the "Shadow Clones are the answer to everything" trope from my typical Naruto fanfiction complaints.
Not because I think that it doesn't ruin many stories (it does mess them up) when it's implemented with maximum wank levels ("Gamer" fics and other stories with complex clone shenanigans) or utter smugness ("Why didn't you use Shadow Clones to finish your paperwork?" - Said everyone fanon SI/OC/NINO ever) despite dumbing down everyone else.
Oh no, my reasons for that were much simpler.
I became a Shadow Clone abuser, of sorts, with my specific variant of it. I have become what I swore to destroy.
Granted, my version is more akin to a hivemind (where I multi-task across many bodies) rather than an independent extra player character than can earn EXP (like Naruto's clones). I must be frank, it's as OP in the utility department, unsurprising, to be sure, but I welcomed it all the same.
I certainly couldn't argue with the results of having a Grand Army of the Saji Household powered by repurposed harmful energies (the governments of the world will one day thank me for stealing their radioactive waste, man I love sneaking about as a shadow...).
The least productive part of my life, the hours I spent at school, could now be handled by a clone linked to me while I put my real body through intense physical and supernatural power training.
This is where the fun begins.
The clones were a product of my shadow construct powers and my soul/life manipulating abilities, hence, they were linked by my soul. The soul, which has a historical and empirical (in this world at least, thanks to all the magic knowledge I gathered) conceptual link to the mind, thus acts as the nexus to all mental components, including linked living constructs like my shadow clones.
From my early life, I had already begun training my mind in order to handle more information in one go, and in multiple instances, not knowing I was already enhancing my own soul before I had begun cycling soul energy through my body (which I eventually derived from studying my internal magic energy and it's linked to my mind).
With my limited understanding of these items, it was only natural that my progress, while tremendous from a certain point of view, can be considered sub-optimal.
Basically, my EXP multiplier wasn't the best, but the amount of grinding I had put in had compensated for that. That hasn't been the case since I saw Jeanne off at the airport more than a month ago, in which my discovery of this has essentially fixed my skill EXP gain to proper levels.
The more clones I have, the more energy that I can absorb and use across the Clone Network. This was one of the most effective, though crude, training methodology as it constantly stretches and rejuvenates my soul to a greater state. The stronger my soul becomes, the greater the effects on the physical limits of my body.
That's not to say that the method itself is without limits. It requires more energy to sustain and push myself further to the point where I simply can't take enough (without causing noticeable harm) power to fuel this process without end. My ability to regenerate power will lag behind if my total capacity has increased without the necessary control to truly make that new power mine, hence, I couldn't just rely my own generated and stockpiled energy to fuel my abilities either.
It's also a lot harder to train for greater control when I'm focusing on expanding my power.
Hence, I had essentially split my usual training montage sessions into two parts, "Power" and "Control" training, with sufficient amount of power and attention dedicated to protecting those I care about during either of those periods.
Training for power involves using a greater amount of clones with high energy expenditure, which requires a lot of resource "procurement" from foreign institutions, aka, the nuclear waste version of dumpster diving, then pushing myself to my limits on all fronts.
Acquiring greater control and new techniques act as my "rest" period from strenuous power training, it is when I keep my clones at an observation, utility, experience, and skill training capacity. Lightsaber clone sparring, skill training, family time, social activities, material gathering, spying, hobbies, studying, strategizing and experimentation all fall under this category.
Needless to say, if I told Atago, Valerie and the rest of my family the true extent of my near 24/7 training regime then they would say that I was on the path to having "no life" and I needed to slow down. But such judgments would be founded on emotional reactions rather than objective ones…
After all, how can I have "no life" when I can now experience "life" more through more clones?
Granted, 85% of clones were always engaged in tasks to gain more power, but 15% of my clones focused on family and social responsibilities are many times more numerous than a sole body… hence, I had more "life" than I ever had before!
It's just like increasing your Action Points in a strategy game, allowing your Hero units or whatever equivalent to performing more actions. It's not cheating or unnatural, it's simply the best way to get closer to that sweet, sweet 100% completion rate.
Not that I think life works that way, however, the attempt to achieve more efficiency (including that of interpersonal connections) itself is enough to make life satisfying, even if things do not always go my way or I run into a couple of roadblocks.
At any rate, I decided to start developing my special body cleansing spell.
The beach episode of my life story is coming up.
The swimsuits will be the opening act, normal beach activities and family time will make up the bulk of the trip… but the hidden beach sex is a must and one of the highlights that they can't afford to lose out on.
And in order to make it comfortable for everyone, I have to find a way to keep sand off our bodies continuously. The problem is that it's coar- oh, forget it.
Everyone knows why "I don't like sand".
