Chapter 14: The Book.
He awoke beside Yasaka feeling a mix of emotions, all ranging between extreme calm, and extreme happiness. He looked at her peacefully sleeping beside him as they were still wrapped in each other's arms. He looked towards the window that Yasaka had covered last night, and judging from the feint light that seeped in from around the curtains, it was just at the rise of dawn. It was still relatively dark outside, with only a little bit of light shining in.
He wanted to stand and get dressed. He was filled with the sudden urge to go outside and think, but he couldn't explain where the feeling had come from. He looked at the sleeping form of the beautiful girl that he had come to love deeply and decided he could wait a little while longer. It was the first time he had ever seen her sleeping, and being honest, the peacefulness she showed while he was holding her was… reassuring in a way. She moved closer into him, pushing her head further into his chest and bringing his body closer to her own, not sparing more than an inch of room between them.
She began to stir from her slumber as his breathing began to become short and slightly faster. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him with a smile that made him feel warm. She rolled herself until she was on top of him, and looked down on him, clearly feeling empowered.
"Good morning, my love." Yasaka said, adding emphasis on her new name for him that made him immediately think back to what had happened last night. "My, oh my. So early in the morning and already so… excited? Even after all the fun we had last night?"
She grated her hips against him slowly, earning a grunt from him as she did so. She moved her head down and planted her lips onto his firmly, letting her tongue press against his lips to beg for entrance. He caved in shortly, allowing their fight for dominance—which was never really settled last night—to continue on from last night.
However, Yasaka pulled away before too long, not allowing things to get too heated. "Hey Issei… let's take a shower together."
Normally he would feel worried, and even still he felt a ping of nervousness erupted inside of him as he thought about showering with her. Something about the thought of seeing her glistening wet body as the water poured around her was alluring to him and turned him on. He began to rub her hips as she continued her grind on him.
"I think a shower with you would be nice." He eventually said, coming to the terms that he had no reason to be embarrassed even slightly after the things they did to each other only a few hour before. Showering together… that was normal for lovers, right? That's what lovers do.
Yasaka crawled off him, making sure to give him a good few as she moved down his body, but it wasn't to get off the bed. She crawled down until her head was between his legs. She opened her mouth and he could feel her breath on his morning wood. She looked him the eyes, almost like she was waiting for him to give the word to start. He was hit by a pang of anxiousness as he saw her mouth open, but the pleasure he wanted so badly never came.
"Just kidding~" chimed the voice of Yasaka as she stood up from the bed and moved towards the bathroom, turning and motioning him to follow her with her index finger. He felt disappointed, but he would find a way to get his revenge for that. He smiled, a cocky idea forming in his head as he chased after her into the bathroom.
"Hey Yasaka… this might be a bit of a strange question…" Issei began, looking at the beauty as she drained the water that was left from last night.
"Hmm? I'm sure it isn't too strange of a question, let me hear it." Yasaka said, turning the knob and letting water pour down from above. She stepped under the falling water and ushered Issei to join her with her index finger once again. "Come, I'll wash your back."
"You said you were a nine-tailed fox? Does that mean you have tails? And ears?" Issei asked, urgently. He could have sworn he saw them before, but he couldn't remember properly, it was almost like his memory was clouded.
Almost immediately, Yasaka's nine tails unfurled behind her in a flurry of gold fire, and her ears slowly came into his vision the same way. "I've been keeping them hidden, but I suppose I can let them out now."
"Can… I t-touch them?" Issei asked, referring to her tail as his anxiousness began to get to him. He could only imagine how soft they were compared to how soft they looked. Her face went blank as he asked, and he changed his mind quickly, worried he may have said something. "Nevermind! Sorry, they just look so soft."
"No, go ahead… but be gentle, please? They are sensitive." She said, turning around as the water feel down onto them. He did as she allowed him to do and grabbed onto one of her tails, rubbing his finger through the soft and delicate fur that was softer than it looked. Almost immediately she jumped at his touch. He combed his finger through the fur. He looked at the reactions she was giving out, she was stifling moans and she leaned against a wall for support.
He released her as realization came to him. Her tails were an erogenous zone… he looked at her ears as they twitched slightly and couldn't help but wonder if they were the same. He reached up, letting his curiosity take the best of him, her eyes were closed, and the shower prevented her from sensing his hand snake up to her ears. As soon as she opened her eyes and made contact with her, her ear lobe was pressed between his index finger and his thumb. He massaged the thin, soft piece of her body, and her reaction was priceless.
She let out a moan, she tried to suppress it, but he heard it, and he smirked at the revelation. He released her and moved to fill his hands with soap. He wasted no time soaping his own body, starting at his head and working his way down, moving like lightning as he did so. And before he even knew what had happened to him, Yasaka began what she originally planned. His back tensed as her soft hands traced patterns on his muscled back. She moved her hand low and then brought them up, using just enough force to scrub him in a comforting way.
As her hands moved, he paused and once again was hit by the urge to be outside. He searched his head, looking for an answer as to why he felt that way, but Ddraig never replied, almost like he didn't know how to respond himself. Eventually her hands stopped, and the water streamed down his body as normal.
"Won't you get mine as well?" Yasaka asked, turning around as he turned to face her. His face showed no emotion as his hands touched her back caringly, lathering soap onto her as he felt his way down her back. Once again, the feeling of lightning shot through her as his hands massaged her muscles in ways she couldn't do alone. But, noticing his lack of enthusiasm, she leaned backwards into him, throwing her arm behind her to embrace him in one spot. "What's wrong Issei?"
"Nothing… I just have this feeling that keeps coming over me. I want to… go outside. Not to train, but to just be there. I can't explain why. I have so many questions, and I don't know why." Issei admitted, giving her a quick hug before they both released. Yasaka moved and turned the water off.
"Well… I have some work I need to get caught up on, I've been neglecting it for far too long, so how about we take a break today?" Yasaka said, stepping out of the shower walls and grabbing the towel that had been left out last night for his bath. She held it open, as if waiting for him. "Come on, I'll dry you off."
He moved towards her cautiously, as if expecting something other than being dried off. But he was mistaken, she moved the towel without sparing any error, starting with his head by rubbing the towel against his head vigorously, removing as much of the water as possible before moving down to his torso, and down. Her movements made everything completely comfortable, and he didn't feel embarrassed at all. Perhaps, the feeling of his longing to go outside was taking over his ability to feel other ways. The pulling was really strange to him. Why? What was urging him outside?
She grabbed a separate towel and handed it to Issei, throwing the other in a hamper. He took the fabric into his hands and she stood still, looking at him with a seductive look in her eyes. She clearly wanted to have a little fun before she started her work but didn't want it to go too far. Basically, she didn't want the kind of fun they had last night, she just wanted to play around with him.
"Do me." She said, her voice dripping honey. He grabbed the towel, starting low, the towel drying her as he dried her legs. As his hands moved to her hips, she began to quiver more under his touch. If it wasn't for the extreme urge to go outside, along with the combined ability Ddraig had given him, he probably would have been on the floor with a nosebleed from the embarrassment. He moved his hand up, purposefully skipping the part between her legs.
He wanted payback for her flirtatious attitude and misleading comments.
His hands mound around Yasaka's jiggle-joggers, and the small moan that hit his ears was enough to make him smirk. He had to be thorough after all, what was the point of drying her of is he didn't do a good job? Even through the super soft towel, her breasts bulged out from between his fingers, how does someone even get as gifted as her? He wanted to do more without the towel, but… well. He figured that would be too far off his objective.
He dried her chest well, very well. She squirmed her legs together, she looked away as the blush that formed on her cheeks was a shade of red, he hadn't seen before. He moved to her arms, holding her soft and small left hand in his as the towel slid down her arm. Then he moved to her right and repeated the process.
And when his hands snaked down to her stomach, she lit up more. He stared at her as he cleaned her, being sure to do a good job, and snaked his way down slowly until he reached the sweet spot between her legs. Well, no regrets, right? The towel rub over her opening, and she fell back on the rack that his clothes were on. She moaned the loudest one yet, and she spread her legs more, giving him a far better view.
Well, if he was admiring her beauty, clearly, he wasn't being thorough enough, guess he should go again! He repeated his movement, this time continuing the movement, only for the moans to continue. Her tails began to go crazy. He backed away and stood up. And she seemed very displeased with his actions. He threw the towel he used in the same hamper Yasaka threw his in.
"All done!" he chimed, enjoying every single look of her reaction as she moved to her clothes.
Once they were dressed, Issei moved outside the room and Yasaka followed, but Issei moved towards the door that led outside. "Issei, I'll prepare some breakfast in an hour or two. I'll let you know when its ready."
He nodded as he opened the door, letting the cold wind from outside hit his face. His silk garments caught the wind and fluttered around him as he moved forward and closed the door behind him. Almost immediately, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders, but there was still a pulling to do something more. The three flaps of his silk long coat moved behind him like tails. Even his clothes were as soft as silk, and he realized this wasn't what he had picked to buy. But he felt agile in the outfit, regardless. Maybe it was what Yasaka had wanted. The Long coat he wore was silk, colored black with gold embroidery adorning it with red edges and highlights.
He summoned the sword he had began to learn about, letting the blade form in his hand and resting it at his side. He held the handle guard in his left hand and had the blade facing up, the dull edge a foot away from his neck. He rested on his knees, letting the cold ground fill him as he sat on the grassy clearing. He let the hilt of the sword rest on the ground and brought his hands together, as if meditating. He closed his eyes, and then… the feeling vanished. But was instead replaced by some other feeling.
He felt numb everywhere, and he began to hear thing more clearly. Leaves rustled, but these were normal for him. He heard water began to trickle in the distance when he originally could hear it. The wind whistled around him, carrying strange amalgamations he couldn't make out clearly, but he knew the words held meaning. Somehow.
He heard shuffling in the trees around him, not from wind but from people. It was the first time he was able to sense the guards, and after a few more seconds, he began to see things move below him. Energy in thick strands began to flow through the earth, and he began to feel it flow into him… or rather into him. He detected everyone in the trees and everyone in the house behind him, energy flowed into each and everyone of them, each in varying amounts as to what they were capable of, and then flowed out of them.
But rather than flowing out of him… it just bottled up inside him. He began to understand magic slightly more then. The more energy that flowed into people, the more powerful magic they could perform. No… something wasn't correct about that. It felt different than magic. The energy wasn't the same. It was similar, but it was different too.
'The Book.'
The voice hit him, and he almost jumped, but nothing was near him. He began to think, and vision of the book Merlin had been pictured with writing in filled his head. He thought about the book long and hard, he felt the longing to finally have it. He wasn't in any rush yesterday, it was far away form being on his mind, but know he felt a calling as the voice continued on.
'The Sword.'
The sword? Did it mean the sword in his hands? The staff? He continued to listen, hearing the voice struggle again, multi-tone and feint. He clenched his hands together, keeping himself awake as he felt drowsiness slam into him harder than a sledgehammer.
'The Forsaken Temple.'
Was it a list? It had to have been a list. What else could it be? But if that was the case… what was the temple? Merlin had never mentioned the temple him before, and he didn't even know how to contact the old man, or if it was even possible even more. He did mention that he would fade away. His skin suddenly felt warm, and the ground on his knees turned as hard as rock. He body began to feel light, and he thought it was a result of him being tired. He wanted to ask Ddraig, but he felt strange.
"Partner! Snap out of it!"
His eyes shot opened. And he wasn't home. He was in a hallway formed from concrete, and he wasn't alone. Before him, stood a hooded man, dressed in a black robe with half his faced covered by the hood. As he looked at the robe, Issei saw magic flow off it, but it wasn't anything he had felt or seen before, it formed a shell around the man. He stood as fast as he could as soon as the man looked at him and summoned fire at both of his hands. Behind the man was a gigantic metal door, and behind that door he felt the power he longed for. Issei was perplexed beyond any reason he knew, how had he ended up in such a place? Where was he? Why? How?
He had more questions than answers, and the harder he focused on the things around him, the more confusing the situation became.
He readied his sword, holding the large handle at shoulder level and pointing the sword towards the man like a staff. Issei felt his magic pour into the sword just as he was about to use it, and flames began to form around the blade, spinning and swirling like a hurricane. The part that further amazed him was that he didn't think about the action of his magic at all… it just happened.
"My God…. It's the heretic!" the man yelled, turning and rushing to a keypad on the door behind him, but Issei's movements was faster.
Issei used the same force of wind magic Yasaka had showed him to propel himself forward. He held his sword ready, he knew the man was a mage from the people that had already attacked him once before, but he felt a pang of guilt fill him as he chased down the man at rapid speeds with his sword ready to slay. But he showed mercy. As soon as Issei was within grabbing distance, Issei wrapped the blade around the man's neck, keeping the sharpened edge pressed to the mans throat like he was a natural with the sword.
He had never used a weapon before, but the movements he did came to him like second nature and he moved with them like water.
"No one has to get hurt, here. Where am I?" Issei asked, but the words that came in reply were nothing like he expected and certainly something he didn't want to ever hear again.
"Requiescat en pace!" the man said, throwing his flame covered hand back in a desperate attempt to harm Issei. To say Issei was stunned was an understatement, he had never expected to hear those exact words again. He didn't want to hurt the man, but after hearing his response, Issei's rationality faded away into straight aggressiveness.
The sound of sharp metal slicing through meat that you would commonly here at a deli store resonated through the hallway and into his ear. There was a thud as the head of the man hit the ground, covered by the cloth of the hoodie so Issei couldn't see the continued movement of the man's eyes as they searched for an answer as to why they were on the ground. The body hit the floor completely limp of movement except for the oozing blood that pumped from a dying, but still beating heart.
He looked at the body of the man, he didn't feel bad about what he had done. It was in self-defense, he wasn't going to kill the man, but he attacked Issei first. But still… even knowing he did it to defend himself, it didn't make the act he just did any easier to stomach. He had killed before, once to save Kunou and once to avenge his parents murder.
And if he was being honest. He would do it again for the same reasons.
His mind went blank for a moment as he thought about his situation. It was dangerous. He was in a place that was clearly hostile towards him, and he had no idea how many people that were here ready to jump him at any moment. He doubted he could handle an entire organization that was out to kill him… but he refused to die here. He had so much to live for. He wanted to go back to Yasaka, he wanted to return home to his friends, he wanted the power to protect them…
And if anyone stood in his way… he would kill them. He wouldn't show mercy to his enemies… he couldn't afford to. Especially when they wouldn't do the same. He looked at the door that seeped magic through the cracks that seemed more familiar to him than comfortable. He positioned the sword back to his side, where it was previously, the blade up and holding the guard. The sword was to large to walk with it at his side, so he walked as though the sword was a true extension of his arm.
'The Book.'
The words echoed through his head once more, and he placed his hands on the cold surface of the door and let the wind he has learned to use open the door for him, and what he saw inside was a black book sitting on a black pedestal in the center of a large room. It was a chamber, and as he looked at the book, he felt his vision began to tunnel as if he had run out of breath and struggled to focus an anything but a pinprick. He moved forward, not noticing his sword disappearing and he reached for the book. He stopped as his hands were inches away from the book, and his confusion racked his head.
'The Book.'
His worries vanished as he looked at it. He was worried that it was a fake, but the energy he felt was true. And it was so very real. His hand latched onto the edges of the book, and the energy flowed into him. He fell to his knees. Sparks cracked and whizzed from his body as he held the book. His sword formed and floated in front of him and the amalgamations that he had been hearing filled his head with new sentences.
The sparks arched off him and into his sword. The lights in the room began to flicker with anticipation. He opened the book, and the first page read his name. But it wasn't just written down with a glow, as he looked at it, it was like staring into space. As he moved, the words reflected stars and constellations, like the marking themselves were a rip in space that he could look into freely. And further than that… he saw movement between the stars like the space was a flowing ink. He shivered as he thought of the creatures he had seen in his dreams.
'The Dark.'
He paused. The strange whisper had added something to its chant. The Dark. The Sword. The Book. The Forsaken Temple. But why? He didn't understand… was something trying to guide him? He flipped the pages, and instead of seeing letters and wording he could understand, there was strange markings, the only thing on the page, but they seemed almost alien.
"Ddraig… have you been hearing what I've been hearing?" Issei asked aloud, his confusion of the situation taking over his thoughts.
"No." chimed a voice from around him. "It's advisable we hurry. Can you feel the people coming? Easily more than two hundred. Human or not, in numbers they are strong."
"Can you read what's in this page of the book?" Issei asked again, holding the book up in the flickering light, knowing Ddraig didn't need the light.
"I can make out the smaller prints. It reads in order: The Sword, The Book, The Dark and The Forsaken Temple. It's a list in order of events, and the names are titles of objects and places."
As Ddraig spoke, two of the lines shifted into a etch that resembled a check mark.
"There is two check marks beside two of them…"
"Which two?" Issei asked, worry beginning to feel his heart as the power Ddraig failed to assist him now. Something about the list was suspicious, and rather he thought less about it being a normal list, but more of a list that was guiding him without him even knowing.
"The Sword and The Book."
His heart almost skipped a beat. What the hell was this book, actually? It knew his future… it had been keeping tabs on him before he even knew where it was and before he even knew about its existence. He heard footsteps sound from the long hallway behind him. And he felt magic hit him in waves that far outweighed his own magic at the moment. The pages in the book began to flip rapidly as if they had a mind of their own. Markings shifted into existence on the pages and formed words he could understand.
One single thing on the page stood out to him. And that was the only explanation he could think of that caused him to be where he was now.
Teleportation – Allows user to teleport to the location of a previously visited place, or to an object that is familiar to the user.
He had thought about the book when he stepped outside, but he had no idea how to teleport. He didn't know how he managed to do it in the first place but looking at the amount of people that was preparing one gigantic attack against him, he knew he need to take his chance and leave. But where to go? Where should he go? Where… where?
He let go of the book, no knowing what to do. He didn't want to die, but he saw the energy rising to levels that was going to be enough to leave nothing left of him. So why didn't he just move? Well… the only way to leave was through the corridors, and he was trapped in a dead-end room. He could attempt to slaughter easily more than two hundred mages… but everything he could think of using would put him at risk of destroying the building and trapping himself, or still getting attacked. It wasn't a good situation. Could he trust his magic enough to teleport him away?
He looked at the book he had thought he dropped, but it instead floated at chest height. He needed something to use… some kind of attack that would take out the people before him while he teleported away.
But he felt his chest squeeze as he thought about kill all of them.
His emotions betrayed him. He didn't want to kill them. He knew a majority of the people about to attack him were innocent people who had been misguided. And now, when he was faced by the need to kill them… he looked for a way out. His emotions were confused, and there was much doubt as to if he would do anything to them at all. But he also wanted to live.
He wanted to show mercy.
The book's pages flipped, almost as if reading his mind and heeding to his request. Words in the book faded away, just light enough to still be read, but almost disappeared. However, one thing stayed in color for him to see:
Paralyze
There wasn't a description beside the word, but he supposed it didn't really need one. He didn't want to kill them, and he didn't want to die… so what other options did he have? He couldn't bring himself to trust the teleportation ability. Not with such a vague understanding of it. He needed more to read… he needed to understand magic more. He needed to read books over it. He held his hands up, trusting that the words that would flow out of his mouth would do as intended.
"Paralyze!" he yelled; his right eye began to glow bright green with a slit as black as a void. Almost instantly, the masses began to drop to the floor limply. He was impressed by the power; it wasn't like anything he had seen before. He had learned how to control magic that had definite forms, but this was something different. It was the moment he spoke the words he felt a tolling on his body's magic, but he saw nothing come from him to warrant the downfall of the people before him.
He looked at the few people who had managed to stay standing. Each of them, about ten, were dressed in the same cloaks the man he had beheaded was. Each one pulsed with a strange energy, and he assumed that energy was the reason they had been immune to his magic. Well… all but one wore the same outfit.
The one in the center of the group, who looked at Issei with a fearless smile, was dressed in a perfectly fitting three-piece suit. The man began to move towards Issei, clapping his hands slowly, as if he was looking forward to what atrocities were about to come next.
"Con-gra-tu-lations, Issei! You made it!" The man said, timed with his claps. "You have completed the little errand of Merlin. Well done. Excellent. Marvelous, marvelous! But… dead end. Prepare yourself, insufferable reincarnate of Merlin."
The more Issei looked at the man, the more he began to look familiar. And then it clicked… it was him. The one behind his parent's murder. The one he saw in the memories of the person he killed in the clothing store. Anger began to cloud his mind…
"Líða Níðhöggr!" the man shouted. Before Issei knew what was happening at all, the light went out. He couldn't see anything, not even the book. Words glowed out from the pages, and that was his only source of light but he couldn't see or hear anything.
Issei opened his mouth to try and ridicule his trepidation, but he couldn't hear the words form. There was a pulsing that formed inside of him as this situation seemed familiar to him. He thought of the creature that he had seen in his dreams. If his thoughts were correct, then his nightmares had just become a striking reality and he felt utterly outclassed.
He looked around, not seeing anything, but knowing his feet were placed on concrete. He hoped his eyes would adjust, but it seemed no matter how long he waited, all his eyes took in was the color of darkness.
He had the feeling that carrying a light source was tantamount to suicide, but he reasoned that he had no other way of moving forward. He felt his sword in his left hand, and he raised his right hand and thought about a ball of fire. And sure enough, a ball of fire formed in the palms of his hand, glowing a brilliant white for additional light. He threw it in the direction he thought the door where the people were, but the ball never stopped, and simply disappeared in the darkness.
"Partner… Nidhogg… is the Dread Dragon of Norse mythology. But… it shouldn't be possible. That dragon doesn't fight fairly, its more like a leviathan with its sneaky tactics. Be careful. It doesn't have inherently strong magic."
He was fighting a dragon. How the hell was he supposed to fight a dragon?
He began to move, and a cracking noise began to sound in his ears. Something he hadn't expected given the fact he couldn't hear anything at all. It was starting to resemble his dream even more… and he began to doubt his dream was a dream at all. He strained his senses, vigilantly.
The cracking turned into a steady, fast rhythmic ticking, and it began to make Issei's skin crawl. He saw a slight movement in the corner of his eye, and he turned towards the creature he knew would be waiting for him like in his dreams. And as soon as he turned, the screech came from behind him.
And he was sent rag dolling as pain filled his body.
End of Chapter 14: The Book.
So… yikes! I got a few reviews of people questioning things about this story that I have explained in later chapters.
This isn't a rant as much as it is an explanation that was going to be addressed, but since I don't have a lot of time to hell with it. Yasaka, as far as I know, never had a husband and never had a male to aid her in the creation of Kunou. So, that makes Kunou something that was created, I won't say how, because that is a BIG plan later. I thought I hinted at that somewhere, but oh well.
Please leave me helpful critiques. I like those.
I leave in two weeks. Then expect an update to say I'm back. And that's a promise.
Leave me a review, it means a ton!
