Hi!
So - wow - thanks again for all the comments, it's always really fulfilling to realize people like my story! So I'm rushing a bit the publishing of this chapter but at least you'll have the next part of the story since my writing time is irregular theses days...
One comment asked me about a return in the HP-verse : it is something I intend to do,even if it will be a heavy AU.
Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter XI September 1996 Children of Naraku
A surprisingly fussy InuYasha insisted that they recall back to Edo the next day, in spite of Tsukiko being still a bit tired, but not so bad that she needed bed-rest...
Kagome had laughed at the hanyou, who after mocking Sesshoumaru for his mother-hen ways was becoming just as bad toward his alpha.
Still, being back to Edo wasn't all that bad, as it let Kagome drop by the future and Mahoutokoro to get her usual load of school work, and see her family a bit, while Tsukiko and Miroku had spent the afternoon talking about the kind of powers the priest were now specifically attuned now that he'd made her his main deity.
"There's one thing I don't really understand," Sango wondered as she was training Shippou nearby, not really listening to their technical holy blabber "Why the perverted houshi rather than your best friend?"
"Kagome-chan could never be my miko." Tsukiko stated simply "She's too full of life to accept that easily that all must die one day."
"Kagome-sama is a healer at heart, you said it yourself." Shippou reminded the tajiya
"She'd be more suited to Life." Tsukiko confirmed with a serene smile
As for Shippou – seeing that the training session was over, he was now playing with the new pup, trying to shift to a similar form, as after his new birth the pup now looked as if he was a couple of months rather than just born.
"So he's like Padfoot now?" the kit asked as he popped back to his normal form
"Similar." Tsukiko nodded "Shadow Wolves are a form of Grimm, but Padfoot has the advantage of being a godly familiar rather than a holy one, but that's an advantage that's rather minimal in the Mortal Realms."
Said Grimm was playing with the wolf pup too, having shifted back to his smaller form – to Tsukiko's fond but exasperate sigh "You're going to abuse this size again aren't you, you lazy mutt?"
The doggy grin he harbored was more than enough of an answer.
Miroku meanwhile had been starting to meditate a bit on his new gifts, when he suddenly opened back his eyes, and affirmed, surprised himself "Kagome-san is back."
True enough, Tsukiko could now smell and feel the girl being back from the well, but more importantly...
"Well, you've gotten your first hold on Soul Art." the alpha congratulated the priest
"You're living constantly with this?"
"It's just like another other sense," she reassured him "Just a background noise as long as I don't need it. But yes, I can feel all the souls around me, their emotions, their fated lifespan, and even their surface thoughts if I focus on them. Their identity is an evidence to me even if I've never see them before... Several miles around."
Kagome and InuYasha, who'd arrived just in time to hear the explanation didn't have anything to say – just as the rest of the pack – realizing once more that as restrained as her powers were down there, they really were traveling with a goddess...
The moment of silence was broken by the small bark of the wolf pup still playing with Padfoot, making Kagome wonder "So... What did you name him, Miroku-sama?"
Surprised at the question, then realizing he'd indeed not shared his choice of name with the pack, he announced "I named her Shingetsu, for she was given a new life thanks to the moon."
Tsukiko smiled at the rather poetic name – the houshi did tend to surprise them with his wisdom or love of poetry, as his antics as a pervert toward Sango nearly made people forget he was much more than just a leecher.
"Nee-san!" the surprised shout made the girl smile
Kohaku wasn't there when they'd arrived in Edo, apparently the child had taken an interest in Jinenji's garden, and as such spent more and more time in the neighboring village – and just like Kaede had affirmed, spending time with the kind hanyou had already started healing the young boy, who was looking far less withdrawn and much happier than when they left Edo a few weeks earlier.
¤.¤.¤
When they left Edo again the next day, Sango was far happier, a weight lifted off her shoulders now that she knew that her brother was getting better and even learning a trade that suited him much more than being a tajiya had.
They were headed to the north-east, Kaede having heard rumors in a mountain village a week away about a newly appeared abomination. While on the road, the pack was training like always, Shingetsu soon starting to grow up as he gained levels fast simply by staying by Miroku's side during the Arena fights or Hunting Spots, under the rest of the pack bemused eyes.
"I don't see why you're that surprised." Shippou was the one to point out "Padfoot's just the same."
The pack had nothing to retort at that – the kitsune was right after all, they just hadn't noticed because that Grimm was already grown when they'd met him.
By then, they'd reached the village Kaede had steered them to, and interrogated the villagers.
Apparently there used to be a bear who'd regularly attack they fields – then one day changed, and went from stealing crops to killing villagers...
"How could a normal beast be corrupted thought?" Kagome wondered as they started to track the monster
"What about if it was voluntarily corrupted?" Miroku wondered, as they stumbled upon the beast
And indeed, what had formerly been a bear had now become a monstrosity not even deserving the name of youkai – but still, the monster wasn't all that strong, and in mere moments, they'd nearly bested it.
Only for it to be swarmed saimyoushou, who snatched the shard away, the beast falling to the ground, already a decomposed cadaver.
"Damn it! Of course Naraku would be the one behind something like this!" InuYasha swore as they rushed after the shard
"Still, it's a bit fishy, isn't it?" wondered Shippou "I mean the saimyoushou just happened to be there to take back the shard when we attacked? What would even be the point of putting a shard in the bear in the first place?"
"A trap again, then." concluded Miroku with a frown
"Still, we'd better take a look anyway." Sango pointed out "That bastard tends to mix innocents in his schemes."
The others nodded, remembering how he'd sent Kohaku kill random villagers to draw Sango's attention, or how he'd tried to destroy the whole tajiya village to steal their shards...
[New Secondary Quest! Free as the Wind...
Goal: Learn more about Naraku's new pawn
Reward: +25XP per goal, +1 beginner Elemental skill book upon completion]
"Too late." Tsukiko commented as their mad dash led them out of the forest, and near a large shiro, where no sound could be heard, and the smell of blood was overpowering
"Those are..."
"Men from the wolves-tribes!" Shippou concluded having recognized some of the bodies too
Bodies of men and wolves clearly dead, yet that were starting to move under their disbelieving eyes.
"They're being controlled." Tsukiko concluded in a venomous voice "And there's two strange presences inside. One is probably one of Naraku's puppets, the other is similar to him, yet isn't."
"One of those two is probably controlling the corpses," Sango deducted easily enough "We'll have to split up."
"I'll go," Miroku said, looking focused "I can feel them." he affirmed, surprising once more Tsukiko with the speed at which he was progressing
"I'll go with houshi-sama." immediately volunteered Sango, not surprising anyone – but no one protesting either as the team had already prouved it's efficiency before
"We'll search for the second presence." Kagome decided for her and Shippou, the kit nodding along
"Well oji-san," Tsukiko smiled, amused "Looks like it's just you and I!"
With that, the pack split up, and uncle and niece went on the offensive.
It was a few minutes later, as both were hacking against corpses that were getting up again and again, that Tsukiko, then InuYasha, felt a new presence approaching far too fast for it to be natural, and with a familiar smell...
A few weeks – hell even a few days earlier – Kouga would have probably jumped to conclusions upon happening on the bloody scene that greeted him at the shiro.
After all, InuYasha and Tsukiko were both drenched in the blood of his pack-mates that had headed out with the northern tribe toward the rumor of shards in an unprotected shiro despite their alpha's orders to the contrary.
When one lone survivor had made it back to the pack's caves, he'd taken the shard against his better judgment, knowing something that could have run through most of two packs so easily wasn't an enemy he could win against on his own powers just yet – and that despite them heading out against orders, they were still pack and deserved to be avenged...
And now, here he was at the shiro – the Shadow's pack already here, niece and uncle both stained with the blood of his pack.
And that didn't made a lick of sense, because he'd seen quite a bit about the young ookami's pack, and with her powers, if she'd wanted to kill them, she could have done so without a second though back when he'd kidnapped Kagome.
So instead of giving in to the rage that was trying to consume him, he asked, not really caring that his voice was nearly breaking at the scene of so many friends he'd known all his life dead "What's happening?"
The young alpha's eyes softened at his tone, and even the idiot hanyou sounded less harsh than usual when he answered "Tch. We followed some insects used by an enemy of the pack here, and then the corpses started to fight."
"We think he's got a new underling that's a corpse puppeteer." Tsukiko elaborated "The others are looking for him right now."
"Who's that enemy?" the wolf immediately asked, blood-lust clear in his voice now that he had a target
Before either could answer, a wall of the shiro exploded outward, Miroku and Sango violently projected by a gust of wind, the priest protecting both with his water, and a clearly feminine silhouette stepped out of the hole.
"How dull," the newcomer commented idly – yet Tsukiko could feel that she wasn't that calm inside "the hot-headed wolf and dog weren't supposed to tell this was a set-up... Naraku's going to be disappointed, he hoped the two of you would kill each other."
She was speaking of the situation in a detached way, even as the fan in her hands let out a gust of wind that all escaped – but that wasn't the end of it, they realized, as once more the corpses were moving.
"There's no fucking end to it!" the hanyou swore, now realizing that the corpse hadn't stopped moving thanks to anything on their part but because of their puppeteer's orders
"Well, my orders are to see to your death and take your shards." the female enemy pointed out calmly, as if the situation didn't really concern her "So I, Kagura of the Wind, shall dance with you."
Now that most of the pack was back together, Tsukiko had once more taken a step back from the fight, InuYasha realized, not really surprised – this was after all not laziness from the alpha's part, like he liked to taunt her, but proof of her confidence in their abilities.
Instead, the young ookami's senses were split between analyzing the new enemy and checking on Kagome and Shippou who had found and engaged Naraku's puppet.
Still, the hanyou mused – the youkai in front of them wasn't incompetent, and seemed much more ready to fight than Naraku himself. Soon enough, they realized that attacking her instead of the corpses broke her concentration, as apparently she couldn't do anything else when controlling the bodies of the dead wolves – but that didn't mean that the fight was over by any mean.
Kouga's attacks had been much stronger than the last time they'd seen him, InuYasha realized just as the wolf broke mid-fight, surprised at the sudden heaviness in his arm...
"Huh. The poison is starting to take effect then." Naraku's new underling muttered
"What are you talking about!" protested the young wolf
"You really shouldn't use any power-enhancing shards that finds its way to you, you know!" she taunted "That thing you put in your arm to avenge your little friend may look like a shikon shard..." she explained "but it was nothing more that a bit of crystallized youki enhanced by Naraku!"
And of course, Naraku's youki being as poisonous as it was, the wolf was now rapidly loosing strength, they realized. Once more, the spider hanyou's plan had been cleverly woven...
Padfoot jumped out of the shadows, pulling the weakened youkai away from Kagura's powerful wind attack just as InuYasha was blocking it with his blade.
"Kagome would be better at this," Tsukiko said as she kneeled by the by now nearly delirious with pain wolf "but she's not there right now so I'll have to do, even thought my powers really aren't geared to healing."
While talking, she'd gathered her reiki, identified where the nefarious shard had been implanted – and struck with her claws humming with power.
In the battlefield's ambient noise, Kouga's scream was nearly unheard, but the wave of miasma that escaped him, only to be immediately purified wasn't. The wolf then fell back into oblivion, far more natural colors now on his face.
Meanwhile, Kagome and Shippou had managed to venture far into the shiro – and come face to face with a familiar, baboon pelt wearing vilain.
"Well," he admitted with a creepy laugh "I didn't expect you to step so far away from your hanyou protector, but I'll take advantage of it!" he affirmed, wooden puppet lashing at them "And I'll take theses shards as a present!"
"As if we'd let you just do as you please" Shippou retorted, the fox fire around already far more heated than it had been a few months back when he'd met them
By his side, Kagome had let her reiki infuse her weapon, and looked just as resolute as him "These shards aren't for the like of you, Naraku."
The hanyou's eyes widened, as for the first time he realized that the young miko was more than a simple ornament but a powerful being in her own right – and most importantly, that she had the same clear gaze and resolute glare the shikon miko had had fifty years ago when protecting her burden...
The following fight wasn't that challenging for the two pack-mates, as the puppet, shaken by his sudden realization of the similarities between Kagome and Kikyou, was making mistakes as he fought – and by the time the explosion provoked by Kagura came around, the noise distracted him enough that the Naraku look alike dodged Shippou's fire only to fall under a clean cut from the miko's naginata.
As the puppet fell to the ground, both shared a glance, not knowing what had perturbed so their enemy, but deciding not to question their good luck, then rushed back toward the courtyard, and the rest of their pack, just in time to witness the healing of Kouga from afar.
Catching their arrival from the corner of his eye, InuYasha shouted "Kagome! Fire an arrow at me!"
The girl, not having seen the fight up until then, didn't know why the hanyou was making such a strange request – but the trust was such among the pack that she didn't question her beta, and grabbing the new bow she'd made sure to procure from her Inventory, an arrow charged with reiki was soon aimed at the hanyou.
Then a Kaze no Kizu was cut thanks to the attacking coming toward him – and InuYasha smiled as the powerful attack, reiki humming around it, tore through Kugura's wind, rendering her defenseless for the first time since the start of the fight.
Still – the youkai had a good survival instinct, and so instead of lingering, reeling from the attack she hadn't thought would work, she took a feather out from her hair, and threw it in front of her, then jumped on it as said feather grew with a pulse of youki – and fled.
"So," Shippou wondered "why did you make Kagome-chan attack you?"
"The bitch was a wind user." InuYasha grumbled "She could stop any of my attempts at cutting the Kaze no Kizu... But she's a youkai, her control of the wind relies on her youki..."
"So you used my reiki to purify her control." the miko understood, impressed with their beta – that plan must have been made in the instant he saw them coming out of the shiro, that was some quick thinking
¤.¤.¤
With Kagura's departure, the shiro around them shimmered and disappeared, proving that it had been nothing but an illusion.
As for Kouga, who had started to stir a few minutes after the youkai's escape, he was acting rather subdued and accepted Kagome's help as they decided to put some distance between them and the battlefield, and set up camp for the night.
"Are you alright?" the miko asked him as the pack was settling down
"I used a power that I hadn't gained myself once more." the young wolf answered "And it came to bit me back. If it wasn't for your alpha," he admitted "I'd be dead, without even having avenged my pack." his eyes darkened "Us from the wolf-tribe have always been proud of our instincts, and yet..."
"What cost you weren't your instincts," Tsukiko corrected him "it was your brashness that made you accept that shortcut."
"I knew it was a bad idea." he confirmed – he had known when the other wolves had gone behind their alpha's back to hunt for the shard, had know before he'd even put the blasted fake in his arm "But I had to do something!"
"Any of us would have rushed to help our pack too," Shippou pointed out rather wisely for a child as young he was "we're just lucky to have grown stronger fast thanks to Tsuki-chan, and to know about our enemy."
"You aren't weak." Tsukiko confirmed, voicing the concern the other wolf didn't dare say out loud "In the days between our two meeting you've already improved greatly. It was just bad luck that you and your pack encountered Naraku."
"Tell me about him."
"You know you're too weak to oppose him, right?" InuYasha reminded him not that harshly
"I can improve." the other countered
The hanyou nodded in approval – maybe his pack had been right, he mused, and the brat really did annoy him so much because of how similar they were. Similar enough that just like he had, the stupid wolf needed people to hammer things in his head and stop him from rushing head-first into fights...
And so, when Miroku started his tale about the damn spider, he didn't protest – not even when from Miroku, and Sango's experience with the bastard, they went over what they knew about his origins, and his own past with him.
And finally, they were back to the latest development.
"So," he stated "the bastard now has a new friend."
"She smells just like him." Shippou reminded them, more for the humans of the pack than the youkai
"And she's got the same burnt mark on her back than him." the hanyou added, having seen that rather obvious mark as Kagura fled "I'd say she's her brat, but children don't just pop up full grown like that."
"That's because she was created, not born naturally." Tsukiko said simply, finally sharing what only her senses could feel "He made her, and she's still tied to him." her eyes grew distant "But she really felt like a wind spirit, and had their power, despite sharing so much with him. I think he detached part of his own powers to make her, and that it worked so well because he is made of so many youkai from the start..."
"Somehow, knowing the bastard, I think their relation isn't all warm and fuzzy." InuYasha commented "That would explain why she didn't really look like she gave a damn about that fight."
"She didn't have a heartbeat." Tsukiko revealed, knowing that even youkai didn't always heard that particular sound as it tended to be very faint, particularly for strong youkai "I think he literally hold her life in his hands." a sigh "How cruel of Naraku to cage wind itself..."
"Still too soft alpha," snorted InuYasha "she did kill all those wolves."
"Death is a part of life," she reminded him a light smile on her lips a but eyes dark and serious "killing to survive isn't something any youkai can really criticize... The real culprit is still Naraku in the end. Once more, he made others dirty their hands instead of himself."
"She may have not been manipulated like Kohaku," Sango realized slowly "but she didn't have much more choice than him, did she?"
[Goal complete! +25XP
Goal update: Learn more about Naraku other children]
The pack eyes widened minutely as the quest update confirmed what they hadn't put into words yet – that if he'd made Kagura, nothing said he didn't have any other spawn hidden away, ready to be use in his schemes...
"I'm still not going to become her buddy just like that." Kouga affirmed, voice rather cold "I do understand the need to survive, but if she cross my path, I'll not just let her go." a shrug "But it does look like the real prey is Naraku."
"That he is." InuYasha confirmed "And if you want to take a bite at him you better improve fast, little wolf."
"You won't be able to call me that once I've got the stripes of an alpha!"
"Then hurry up and get them!"
As wolf and dog devolved once more in an insult match, the rest of the pack went back to talking about Kagura – except for Shippou, who was playing with Padfoot and Shingetsu "Still, it looks like Naraku has grown more powerful, if he's now able to do something like that. Kagura is a real, and powerful youkai." Miroku was the one to point out
"Yes, but if all his children to come are under his boot by force, given the fact that they have their own mind they'll try to free themselves, or act out against him." an amused smile and the wolf alpha added "He may well be creating his own enemies once more."
"Are you suggesting freeing the wind user?" Sango asked
"It would be rather complicated." Tsukiko contradicted "Still, I'll kill her only if necessary."
"InuYasha is right," the tajiya smiled "you are too kind."
The wolf hime grumbled, but didn't protest too hard – after all, the girl had seen through her.
She would save the wind youkai if she could, if only because she felt that nobody deserved to be born with a constant threat upon their life. In a way, Kagura reminded her of the seven Sins of Father in her previous life, and most had been redeemable in one way or another.
Even if she couldn't save her life, she would at least ensure that Kagura wasn't lost – that one of those countless souls that had created Naraku would be tied to his child to ensure her a chance in the reincarnation circle, something that neither she nor her unknown siblings had right now.
Something that fated them, in Tsukiko's mind, to worse than death – oblivion.
Still, to keep her mind off Kagura, she turned her attention back to her uncle, whose bickering with the wolf was really much friendlier than before, even if only the pack could tell. And because she had come to understand her beta so well, she realized that he saw much of himself, and was reminded of the decades he spent wasting his potential because nobody had managed to break through his stubborn head and make him learn more about his youkai heritage.
Kouga has learned more than him already, because he had his pack support.
But with the old alpha's declining health, the attacks, and the rumors of Shikon shards going around, the situation had changed fast, and the wolf had no guidance left.
Tsukiko sighed.
The wolf wasn't pack – but she understood where her uncle was coming from.
So taking good look around, she concluded that the place was good enough, and breaking through the two bickering like an old married couple, announced "Three days."
Kouga, somehow guessing that something important was going on, turned his attention toward her.
"We'll hunt together for three days." she elaborated toward the wolf who looked much like an eager puppy to her for all that he was much older than her "Then you'll go back to your caves, and earn your stripes."
Kouga's eyes widened.
"What a waste of time." InuYasha mumbled "Alone, you'll never teach him enough." he added, and Shippou was the one to laugh
"Ah but we're pack, so if alpha says we're training with the baka-wolf, then we are." the kit affirmed easily
"Training wouldn't be amiss for us either." Miroku confirmed sedately "After all if Naraku is growing more powerful we can't afford to be too complacent."
[New Secondary Quest! It's a montage...
Goal : help Kouga level up 10 times (0/10)
Bonus goal: have each of the pack members level up at least 1 time (0/1)
Reward: +25XP per level, Map System update upon completion
Bonus reward :+50XP per pack member, +1 beginner Tail skill book unlocked upon completion and every 10 level]
The next day, Kouga got himself acquainted with the light and temporary version of Chaos Game Tsukiko could share with her hunting partners – proving to the pack that despite his brash attitude, the wolf wasn't that stupid as he understood the basic instructions about the interface Tsukiko gave him and was soon fighting by their side in the first of the Hunting Ground the alpha used to let him warm up to their training method.
From Hunting Ground, they went on to Boss fights, then Arena spars between pack members, to finish the day with a Challenge.
Even the pack never had such heavy training, as their alpha had always left them healthy enough to be able to go of the road at a moment notice. But this time, the young goddess had established wards with Miroku to protect and hide their camp, then ran them to the ground mercilessly, in a way that would make her fiance proud.
Like the priest had said – their enemy was growing more powerful, both thanks to the tainted power of the Shikon shards he'd gathered and by consuming other youkai, and since they wouldn't be using such shortcuts, the only way to keep up was with good old-fashioned training, helped by Chaos' Interface. A nostalgic smile graced Tsukiko's lips, as she remembered her first reincarnation, and the multiple training quests she and her friends from that life had gone through...
It was rather entertaining to be the one forcing the spartan training on others, even if they were willing, she had to admit – something she had realized during her second reincarnation, where she had taken a particularly sadistic pleasure in training her dear and reluctant brothers.
And the young hime was taking part in the training right alongside her pack, so they couldn't complain! Or well, they could but it only ended up in her making the training harder, as if they had enough energy left to complain, it must mean she wasn't hard enough on them.
By the end of the third day, Kouga was as close a friend as one could be without being pack, and the only reason he wasn't pack is was because he was determined to earn his stripes and take over for his old man.
"I won't be part of your pack," the wolf had said on the last evening to the hime, a wistful smile on his face "even if in other circumstances I'd have been honored to be counted among yours."
"If you had more time." she understood easily enough – if his father wasn't still weakening and the pack he was born in falling apart because of it
It wasn't unusual for a young alpha-to-be to spent time in another pack before taking over or starting his own after all.
But because of the Shikon no Tama and Naraku, Kouga wouldn't do this, and would instead jump right in the deep end, taking on the duties of an alpha head on.
"But when I earn my stripes," and neither of the two wolves had any doubts about the fact that he'd not only earn pack stripes but alpha mark too on his first try "then will you accept a sibling pack status?"
"Our packs will hunt together." she immediately accepted – and Kouga smiled with pride
A sibling pack was not only a proof of alliance, but equivalent to declaring themselves as close as blood family, and even thought he'd asked, the young wolf hadn't been sure she'd accept.
After all, a daiyoukai declaring this kind of alliance with a beast youkai, as powerful as he was, was nearly unheard of.
But, as he'd come to learn in the past three days, Tsukiko wasn't someone who took this kind of social norm into account – she chose people for the worth she saw in them, not the power they were born with, as her motley pack was a clear proof of.
"You may be a beast youkai," she said – as if reading his mind "but by the time we meet in my era, I know you won't be one anymore." she admitted easily
"You know me?" he wondered, surprised – she hadn't mentioned it before
"I've not met you, but I've heard of you." an amused smile "It was a bit strange us not meeting, as we pretty much live in the same social circle." and isn't that one loaded affirmation – him, in the same circle as the hime of the House of Moon "But chichi-ue used to say that morons that don't know how to keep their mouth shut should be kept away. I think he didn't trust you not to slip and told me about your past... My future."
"Yet you're rather free with sharing my future." he pointed out
"I've told you what you can do, but that's no more than telling Kagome she was the Shikon Miko. She had already decided to gather the shards, you already knew you'd be alpha."
That was true, Kouga realized – while what she was saying in a round about way about his future was merely confirming something he already knew about himself – the young wolf had always known he'd grow to be an alpha, she had just told him he could be much more powerful than he'd ever thought.
The hard work left to grow that powerful – was left to him.
She may have helped him a bit along the way, she wouldn't be there during those centuries – he'd have to make his way on his own.
[Secondary Quest complete! 14*25XP
Kouga (14/10)
Reward: Map System has been updated
Bonus goal complete! (56*50+56*25)XP
Tsukiko (2/1)
InuYasha (4/1)
Kagome (10/1)
Shippou (11/1)
Miroku (11/1)
Sango (20/1)
Bonus Reward:+5 Tail beginner skill tomes]
[Level up! You are now level 161!
+8SP, +4CP, +1PP]
[Level up! Kagome is now level 129!
+14SP, +4CP, +1PP]
[Level up! InuYasha is now level 143!
+12SP, +2CP, +1PP]
[Level up! Shippou is now level 128!
+25SP, +6CP, +2PP]
[Level up! Miroku is now level 127!
+26SP, +8CP, +2PP]
[Level up! Sango is now level 114!
+42SP, +12CP, +4PP]
[Level up! Kouga is now level 124!
+27SP, +10CP, +2PP]
[System log: Map System update
With this update, you unlocked a third Recall point in each era, and can now Recall to any of these points, provided you're in the right era, once a day. One special Recall Point is also unlocked for the pack on the position of the alpha, at any given time]
¤.¤.¤
"Did that just happened?" Shippou checked, not really believing his eyes at the massive amount of notification that had flooded their Interface as Kouga was saying his farewells to the pack
Their training session, intensive as it had been, had indeed made Kouga level fourteen times in three days, and the rest of the pack had been right along him, making Sango gain her second Tail while both Miroku and Shippou earned their third. The XP boost had of course been less impressive for the higher level hanyou and his niece, but still appreciated.
But the real shock had been the bonus reward, who made them gain simply by completing the quest more than twice as much XP as they had gained during the three days and making even Sango, who'd been the lowest level among them simply because she'd started taken advantage of Chaos Game the latest, get her third Tail...
And those new Tails had been far from useless as apparently leveling their Pack – because yes, that too had happened during the three days of hell, as they'd taken to call them – had unlocked new options for those perks.
As such Shippou had opted for the Holy Touch Tail Perk, which made him less susceptible to enemies' reiki, and earned him the same holy affinities as the holy servant. And Miroku and Sango, on the opposite side, had chosen the Youkai Touch, which made their senses upgrade from human to hanyou's sharpness and granted them a bonus in Endurance that greatly raised their Health Points.
"Well," Miroku commented with an amused smile "seems like training that wolf wasn't such a waste of time, eh InuYasha-san?"
The hanyou didn't reply to the cheerful taunt, silently mourning a time when the priest had been more restrained around them – or not, who was he kidding? Miroku's dropping formalities around the pack was one more proof of their bonds!
So completely ignoring the comment, he huffed and decreed "Well, let's hit the road, we've still got shards to find!"
A cheerful bark was Padfoot's answer – and the pack was soon once more on the road.
A few hours later, Sango decided to take advantage of the fact they were traveling along a river to refill her water provisions – when she was suddenly assaulted by a few men on horses.
Of course, she'd heard them arrive, between her tajiya training and newly improved senses it would have been hard not too; but she was curious.
After all, said sharp senses could not only hear that the men were in pursuit of a woman, but also that said woman was hiding nearby.
And Sango, being a rather independent woman despite the era, despised chauvinistic pigs like the ones that were stupid enough to mistake her for an easy prey and attack.
Within a few seconds, the men were sent packing, and the rest of her pack were meeting up with her and the girl she'd just saved leisurely – there had been no real danger after all.
Then the girl's eyes fell on their houshi pack-member, lit up, and Miroku unexpectedly found himself with an armful of an unknown girl "Miroku-sama! You came back for me like you promised!"
"Well," an amused Kagome commented, "that was unexpected."
A few moments latter, the pack plus one was settled on a nearby hill, and the girl, who finally introduced herself as Koharu, went on to explain how exactly she knew the holy – and sometime con – man.
"Wow," Kagome was the first to comment after the rather speedy explanation "I knew you proposed to all woman, Miroku-san... but even eleven year old girls? That's low, even for you!"
"I already knew she'd be beautiful!"
"And apparently, her beauty has caught the eyes of a small lord, and she doesn't have a family to help her, uh..." Tsukiko was the one to point out with a sigh
"I'm sure we can find her responsible caretakers!" the priest affirmed confidently "After all I've traveled quite a bit in theses parts, I'm well-know!"
"And not always in a good way!" Shippou taunted with a smirk – after all, even if Koharu, too innocent, hadn't realized it, she had met the man during one of his numerous false exorcism
Still, just like their priest pack-mate had said, they wouldn't just abandon the young woman to her fate, that was something that went against all their principles – but at the same time its not as if they could just let her travel with them, she wasn't prepared for such a dangerous life.
Fortunately, Miroku knew people in a nearby village that would welcome Koharu in their home against a bit of work, and wouldn't let themselves get intimidated that easily by the lord that had been after her if the beating Sango had given him hadn't been enough of a deterrent...
"Are you alright?"
Tsukiko didn't' turn toward her beta, senses stretching around her.
Nothing off was coming back to her senses – and yet she knew something was off...
Still there was nothing to be done about it as long as she didn't know what was setting her senses off – and so she didn't say anything about it and just let her pack finish their farewell with the old couple that had taken Koharu in and get back on the road.
Or try.
It was as the villagers started to attack them with empty eyes that she realized what the problem was.
"They are being controlled," she immediately informed the rest of her pack "their souls have been taken."
She hadn't realized it before seeing the villagers, because the souls weren't completely gone, they were still nearby.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Tsukiko jumped nimbly out of the gale of wind sent her way before knocking out a villagers that had used the unexpected attack to creep up to her.
"Of course Naraku had to be behind this!" InuYasha swore loudly as Kagura appeared, lightly jumping from her feather and saimyoushou buzzing around her, fan in hand indicating she'd been the one to attack just now "Let those villagers go, fucking coward!"
"You think I'm the one controlling them?" the youkai laughed in answer
Miroku was the one to further contradict their beta "You said yourself she couldn't control the corpses and use her wind at the same time."
"And controlling corpses is completely different from stealing souls." Kagome completed, glancing at their alpha – the wolf hime looked remarkably composed for now, something that rather surprised her when souls were concerned
"There must be someone else nearby who is doing this." the ookami confirmed with a sharp nod, golden eyes gleaming eerily – and Kagome realized that it wasn't that she was calm, but simply that her recent upping on meditation to control her fire spirit's temper was helping her to keep a lid on her temper, if barely
No, Tsukiko was furious.
Now knowing that the villagers weren't acting on their own will, the pack was severely hampered, not able to attack freely and be done with it like usual – Sango, Miroku and Kagome, as the one who could attack without killing the easier, started to knock out the villagers while InuYasha and Shippou tried to progress toward Kagura.
But clearly, the villagers had been given instructions, as was soon evident – as they always put themselves in the way when someone tried to attack the wind user, and seemed to try to separate Kagome from the rest of them. Realizing this, Tsukiko called the miko to her side, and as predicted, the two of them were soon herded in a separate way.
"Seems like Naraku's after you this time." the ookami commented distractedly, senses still trying to pick up the second enemy location
They were approaching the place where could feel the villagers souls, yet still no scent, or presence, or anything!
It was only once they were face to face with the little girl with no scent and a blank face that she realized – it was the emptiness that had been sending her senses haywire since earlier...
The girl was in front of them, and yet even like this, she could feel only emptiness from her.
Then, the girl aimed the mirror she held in her hands toward them, catching Kagome's reflection in it – and Tsukiko's Soul Sense screamed as her best friend dropped to the ground, soul being absorbed by the item.
The miko in training soul's was – too big – way too big for a human, way too big for the mirror even, as the reflective surface seemed saturated with light even though Kagome was on the ground.
¤.¤.¤
Knocking out Koharu, that had been creeping on them, controlled too by Naraku's newest detachment, the ookami turned her attention toward the most dangerous thing around – that blasted mirror.
How the ridiculously evil hanyou had obtained something like that, she didn't know, but one thing was clear – there was no way she was letting the annoying man holding on something capable of toying with people's soul.
Deeming Kagome a threat no longer, the girl turned toward Tsukiko, probably intent on taking her soul too. Which was both ridiculous, as the mirror was already straining to keep the miko's soul in – and all it would do to her, she guessed, would be unbinding the restraints places on her by Chaos Game.
Something that wouldn't be a good idea for her current mortal body of course, but would also drastically reduce all of her enemies life-spawn, as without the restraints of wanting to live a normal life, they'd be nothing to keep her from helping along her friend a bit before dying – and she may be young as far as gods went, with the powers from all her previous and currents life put together, sending Naraku packing and gathering all the Shikon shards would really be nothing but a matter of minutes.
Still, Tsukiko had no intention of dying just yet, and Kagome was already doing a rather good job of gathering the shards by herself, so the goddess decided to avoid the worse case scenario by partially unbinding herself the usual restraints placed on her soul – simply put, she used a power she hadn't needed up until now in this life.
[Past Life Aura activated!
Countdown to deactivation : 00:05:00]
White hair turned black, golden eyes bled to green – and Shadow's soul sung as she could once more feel both magic and Flames in her grasp, an innate knowledge of the elemental flows around her humming once more to her senses.
This was the first time, she realized, that activating the Ability unlocked in her first reincarnation felt so right – she hadn't realized in her previous life just how constrained she felt by the constant limitation put on her power and knowledge – but now, with the arsenal of Harriet Potter, Sawada Kazami and Ariana Elric at the tip of her fingers, Taishou Tsukiko felt whole...
All-knowing eyes turned toward the girl in front of her – and now awakened, Shadow could feel the truth.
Her eyes softened as she realized how cruel Naraku had been. After all, he may control Kagura by keeping her heart, this little girl he had broken so utterly he didn't need to keep her heart to control.
As the young goddess went to work, magic swirling around her in lazy but powerful waves, she could distantly feel Kagura shake with fear at the display of power that had unleashed all the captive souls, and flee with but a regretful glance at the empty child that was technically her sister.
Too bad for the wind youkai, she would have freed her too if she had only stayed put.
But Tsukiko had no time to waste on these considerations, as she worked to undo Naraku's damages.
Kanna was a powerful youkai, but her mind was still very young, and her powers had been striped away from her and stuffed into the blasted mirror she was still holding protectively, probably to allow Naraku to use them for himself.
Of course, the hanyou had miscalculated, as stuck in a mirror or not, those were still her powers to hold, and as such the reflective surface obeyed only her.
But the hanyou hadn't let that deter him, deciding instead to use the girl herself as a weapon to be wielded.
With Kagura, he'd kept himself to physical torture – to Kanna, the eldest, he'd inflicted the worst mental torture he could think of, destroying the young psyche.
Several life-times ago, a young Sawada Kazami's budding powers had felt the unbalance in seven men stuck between life and death, and had healed them. While they could never be humans again, they had become true Holy Servant, direct envoys of a deity walking the Mortal Realms – the difference between them and lowlier holy servants like houshi and miko as vast as the difference between daiyoukai and beast youkai.
Back then, the effort had reduce her life-spawn, and left her in a magical exhaustion for a good week.
She had grown, since then, and thanks to Magic's blessing, was now far more able to wield her godly powers without putting herself in an early grave in exchange.
[Holy System updated!
Kanna(void spirit LV 118) has been added to Holy Servants]
[Magic Art affinity reached 15/25]
[Goal complete!+25XP
Goal update: learn more about the next of Naraku's children
Hidden bonus goal complete!
You've healed Kanna and freed her from Naraku
Hidden bonus goal reward: +100XP, Kanna unlocks Chaos' Game light version]
[new Tail perks unlocked:
- Dying Will: your determination unlocks the fiery powers held within your soul (inherited from past life)
- Magical Core (available only if Sky or Mist Flame /= 25): you unlock the attribute of a Witch/Wizard (inherited from past life)
- All is One (available only if three Mystical skills /=25): you understand the flow of natural energies around you so well that you can even learn to use them (inherited from past life)
Available: 0]
By the time the villagers came to – Shadow's pack was long gone, an unconscious white-haired little girl with them.
Shadow eyed her pack.
She had wondered, truly, about how they'd react after feeling the full weight of her powers. After all, normal people didn't react well when confronted to the overwhelming quality godly powers had. But of course her pack was far from normal, and all that had happened was that an awed Shippou was now focusing his shape-shifting powers into trying to make his already green eyes to glow, while Shingetsu, who while still young could understand that the newcomer in the pack was similar to her, was sniffing curiously around the little white youkai.
As for Miroku, the houshi waited patiently until Kagome had helped her settling the unconscious child before finally asking about what happened, yet having already guessed at most of it.
And InuYasha? The hanyou was thanking every known and unknown deity, his niece included, that his brother hadn't been present for this display of power – he could just imagine how smug the bastard would be about having spawned such a powerful pup otherwise...
"Tch. Well the good thing is we've stolen one of the bastard's children," the beta was soon saying "but can we really keep the little girl around? From what you're saying mentally she's barely pass her first grow spurt, if that..."
"I can't just drop her off anywhere like a dead-weight, she's my responsibility now." the hime countered
"Still, she's not defenseless." Sango pointed out – the young youkai's level was higher than her, Miroku and Shippou
"She's not, but she's got the mind of a three year old child, even if she should improve quickly. I don't want her to be forced to fight."
"I can protect her."
Tsukiko's eyes widened at the rather bold statement coming from Shippou.
"We're a large pack, and I'm young, so I'm not essential in the fights." the young kit pointed out reasonably "I know you've never left me out because I suffered just as much as any of you because of the Shikon no Tama." a shrug "But I also know none of you like to rely on me as one of the main fighters because I'm a kit, even if I'm not that much younger that Tsuki-chan..." a smile "I don't want to stop traveling with our pack, but I don't need to be a front fighter for that. And if you know I'm protecting her, you won't worry about her, will you?"
And so it was decided.
From now on when under attack, the pack would rely on Shippou and Padfoot as protectors, leaving the others free to focus on fighting off their enemies.
The pack was incredibly proud of their youngest – relatively speaking – member. And being confronted with his mental maturity made them realized that the kit was growing. Not only mentally...
Shippou had started his second growing spur.
¤.¤.¤
Ryoichi twitched.
Once more, he wondered what kind of stupidity had infected his brain when he'd declared he'd go and roam the countryside while collecting orphans youkai life some kind of pied-piper...
He was a hitman, not a baby-sitter!
Still, things had gone rather well to be honest, and his first few journey had been rather short, so keeping an eye on the children wasn't really a problem. Not to mention that with six younger siblings back home, he had become rather good at dealing with children in this life.
But this time, the trip was long, as he was heading north, and he missed his bambina. Life without life-threatening spar sessions and cuddles was dull after all, and even if he'd already had to live decades without her several times, it didn't make it any less boring.
And to be honest, it wasn't the few child he'd picked up, or missing his fiance that was making him so grumpy. No the annoyance that was stalking him was a fully grown youkai...
"So... What are you going to do with the kits? Sell them? Eat them? Use them as pint-sized robbers?"
His hand ached for Leon's gun form, but the former hit man controlled himself and instead sent several knifes flying toward the silver-haired annoyance.
"I mean seriously, saying to the kits you're going to get them adopted, isn't it kind of cruel?"
The dark-red haired youkai turned toward his stalker "You sure seem to care a lot for the orphans for someone with such a cold-hearted reputation as you have, Youko Kurama!"
"Oh, so you do know who I am..." the youkai mused, a bit surprised even if he hid it well "I wondered. After all, you didn't seem afraid."
The kitsune restrained a growl.
"Know your place, thief. Nine-tailed you may be, you're still a youko. While I respect the power necessary to grow from fox youkai to full fledged daiyoukai, your tails are for now only proof of gaining the status of daiyoukai." his green eyes glinted coldly "They in no way reflect the power of a true nine-tailed daiyoukai. My four-tails are those of a born kitsune, and more than enough to match your powers right now."
"Quite arrogant, for such a young kit, eh?" the silver demon mused
"It's not arrogance, it's knowledge, as you well know. Otherwise you'd already have attacked days ago when you started to stalk me." Ryoichi corrected
The youko laughed, and nodded "True."
"Still... That doesn't explain why you're still following me, if you've already understood that it would be useless to attack me."
"Curiosity." the other admitted easily "You're barely more than a kit, gathering orphans to give them a better life... Which sounds like a fucking fairy tale, yet from what I can see you're not lying, or if you are you are unaware of it..."
The kitsune wondered for a second – then decided that as annoying as the other fox was, he was the only interesting conversation he'd had in weeks, the mail with his fiance non-withstanding, and that even if as he'd just said the nine-tail youko wasn't as powerful, say, as his own father, he was still respectably powerful, and might present an interesting challenge in a spar...
"You are right that in these parts this sounds too good to be true," he admitted "but I'm not from around here. I doubt you've ever heard of a House of Leaf?" a shrug "And the place I'm from has a small population of youkai, and with our low birth-rate..."
"You're becoming extinct."
A nod "We are pretty isolated, but knew about this place, with plenty of youkai, and just as much bloodshed. So why not take advantage of it? So I've been making short trips here to gather orphans..."
Kurama nodded – he was rather good at sensing lies, and could see that the other wasn't saying anything that wasn't true, even if he maybe arranging it a bit – probably to protect his homeland, which was understandable.
Well – mystery solved, the youko thought forlornly. He'd hoped to be kept entertained a bit more! With a sigh, he prepared himself to be on his way, no point in annoying the kit anymore...
"I'm not heading home just now, you know."
The affirmation surprised him – then, eyeing the eyes sparkling in mirth, he realized that the brat had voiced thing in order to deliberately confuse him...
"I'm pushing toward the north before winter." Kurama's ears perked in interest "And having someone to travel with wouldn't be that much of a bother."
"Why would I want to travel with a brat and his unruly litter?"
"After all, I am missing my favorite sparring partner right now..." said brat continued as if he hadn't been interrupted "and I'm sure there must be a few mansions and other rich domains on the way..."
"You don't mind traveling with a thief?"
A shrug.
"I'm a youkai hunter and an assassin." he easily admitted
And just like that, the decision was made.
Kurama, Ryoichi soon discovered, was a cool, rather intelligent youkai, who seemed to mostly lack most foxes' most mischievous sides until you learned to know him better – probably because as a youko, he'd had to fight to survive at every step of his life. Regular beast fox youkai managing to gain nine-tails were rather uncommun after all...
Still, even with his calm and composed temper, he was a good traveling partner, and all help was welcomed as he had picked up quite the collection of young youkai, some barely past their first growing spur, a few nearing their second, not to mention the beast youkai and even one prickly cat hanyou he suspected was abandoned by both human and youkai parents – cat weren't very pack orientated after all, with the lions as an exception, and he was pretty sure that those would come to Japan only later, fleeing from China when all youkai started to hid themselves away from humans.
¤.¤.¤
The kitsune was ready to give the signal for the child to get ready to hit the road again, after a mid-day pause used to both eat and educate a bit the youngster, helping them to learn a general defense style, some basic survival knowledge, and the always necessary meditation grounding – when voices carried by the wind were picked up by his sensitive ears.
He normally wouldn't have taken any particular attention to it – if it wasn't for the fact that he was pretty sure the wind itself had changed direction to carry said voices to him.
Something that could have been deemed impossible by any other than him – but just like his fiance was now Death's beloved little sister, he had gained an exuberant older sister with Life, one who had the elements under her orders; as such ever since Tsukiko had reminded Suijin the lesser water goddess of her ability to interfere with the Mortal Realms, he'd been contacted a few times by several lesser elemental deities, and from what he'd understood, several villages blessed by those deities had now sprouted as safe haven for both humans and youkai...
So with a sigh, he dusted himself, asked Kurama in a low voice to keep the child here for a bit longer, and went toward the sound of the two voices – who were clearly engaged in a heated argument.
[Secondary Quest! A matter of Life...
Goal: follow the two voices
Reward: +25XP per goal, +1 beginner skill tome upon completion, +2 hunting trophies upon completion]
"I'm coming with you."
Glancing at the lithe boy with golden blond hair, light green eyes reflecting the light and a nearly unnatural grace, he sighed, but didn't protest - Shinobu was stubborn enough that it would be all but useless, and the short, rounded cat ears barely peaking among his ears were aimed at the same direction as him, making him guess that the wind may have been speaking to him too.
Within moment, kitsune and yama-neko hanyou were stumbling on a narrow shore bank, with a fishermen village nearby, and a large rock oozing youki nearby.
And more importantly, two youkai – bat youkai, from the look of things – loudly arguing.
"You've become weak ever since you've become infatuated with this damn human wench!" the larger one was tempesting, making Shinobu tense at the affirmation
"I've not! Merely not wanting to attack the humans doesn't make me weak!" the other protested "It's not like we need their blood to live, any animal or beast youkai would do!"
"You'd rather kill your siblings than measly humans!"
"Oh please," the younger, and nearly human looking youkai snorted in disgust "You've never had anything against preying on other youkai before, it's just the fact that I won't let you attack the human village that bothers you."
"Of course it bothers me, stupid son! This is your last warning, stop mingling with those lesser beings, otherwise, son and guardian of the barrier or not, I'll be forced to take drastic measures."
"I won't abandon my wife and daughter, father."
Because he was turning his back to him – the young bat didn't see the older eyes' grow colder, but from their vantage position at the top of the cliff, both Ryoichi and Shinobu saw it clearly. They reacted nearly before the attack was made, the young hanyou pushing the bat youkai out of his father's deadly attack, the older kitsune deflecting it with a blast of power from the short blade he owned, not needing Chaos' Game prompt to act...
[Goal complete!+25XP
Goal update: defeat Taigokumaru]
From behind him, Ryoichi heard the youngest bat shell-shocked voice "Father! You would go that far!"
"You ceased to be my son from the moment you debased yourself with a human! You always were too soft!"
"Cease your yapping, annoying old bat." Ryoichi cut him "After all, you're too stupid to understand just how much more powerful than yourself your son is, and cowardly enough to try and off him from behind!"
"This is not you problem!"
"Ah, what can I say..." a bloodthirsty smile "I've got a soft spot for children and I hate idiots!" with that, he rushed toward the large youkai, blade in hand
"You would attack me with a knife?" the large youkai laughed
In Ryoichi's hand, the Star Blade blazed with the condensed power of his Fox Fire flames, his small form neatly evaded the large sonic blast the other attacked him with – and the large trench knife cut through the youkai like butter.
"And this is the difference in power between a daiyoukai and a beast youkai, stupid bat." he muttered while gracefully reaching the ground again, the large youkai already dead behind him
[Goal complete!+25XP
Goal update: lead Tsukuyomaru's family to safety]
"Ryoichi-san!"
Surprised at the unusual amount of emotion coming from the young hanyou, the kitsune focused back on both the child, and the younger bat youkai – eyes widening, he realized that the young yama-neko hadn't been quite as swift as he'd thought, and the youkai he'd tried to save was weakening by the moment, life stolen by his own father.
Stashing his bloody blade away, he took out the second one instead, none of the worry he felt creeping on himself showing outside – this was a man nearer to death than life, the kind of wounds only the full power of his Sun Flames could heal, powers he hadn't regained yet, even thought he'd been working at it for two life-time already.
Eyes hardening with resolve, not knowing the yellow flames were now curling around him, he focused on the man, a stunned Shinobu stepping out of his way with worried eyes. A slash of his blade, and he could feel, and see the wounds recessing already – but wasn't enough, far from it. He frowned, not intending on being beaten by the stupid bat even in death...
[Pacifier skill reached rank 10!]
[Past Life Aura unlocked!
You can now unleash the powers of your previous life, for a duration of 60 seconds, with a refreshing rate of once every month.
Please note that both duration and refreshing rate will change as you master your skills]
[Hidden bonus goal complete!
Against all odds, you managed to save Tsukuyomaru's life
Bonus goal reward:+100XP, A Goddess' Approval Perk (Holy System unlocked)]
Dropping to the ground near the now healthy looking youkai in exhaustion, Ryoichi mused that Tsukiko would be laughing at him right now if she was there – after all the times he'd scolded her for using her powers for others without thinking about her own health, he'd gone and done just the same...
As for Shinobu, there was no mistaking the awe in his eyes – the young hanyou had been with him for nearly two weeks, and had been rather intelligent before, so even with senses less developed than a full youkai, of course he'd realized what he'd just witnessed.
"I owe you my life." the bat youkai stated
"You have a family to take care of." he simply reminded him, answering the question the other wanted to ask
Shinobu's eyes went from awe to respect.
Pushing the fatigue away for now, Ryoichi managed to get back on his feet, and the youkai he'd just saved did the same, the three of them soon heading for the outer reach of the human village.
"Eh, rejected by her own kind too." the kitsune realized easily with a small sneer of disdain on his face
For someone coming from an era where all lived together mostly peacefully, witnessing the narrow-mindedness of people, be they humans or youkai, really didn't get any easier. He had no doubts that hadn't they be here, Tsukuyomaru's death would have lead to the bats renewing their attacks on the humans – and that it turn would have led the humans to turn against the hanyou left with only her mother's as protection...
These kind of stories were far too usual, and seldomly ended well.
Still – pushing the bitterness back with his weariness, he turned his attention toward the small family, not missing the passing look of longing on the yama-neko hanyou by his side.
"You do realize that this kind of situation will continue again and again, right?"
At the deer-in-the-highlight look on the youkai's face, he guessed the other didn't understand what he truly was saying and elaborated "Clearly your tribe isn't ready to accept her, or your child." he said, pointing at the wife "And the villagers aren't ready to accept you." he added, pointing toward him and his daughter this time
"What can we do?" the wife was the one to ask "It's the same everywhere after all."
"Mostly everywhere." he corrected "There are a few safe haven." he explained – and once more the wind was whispering "And one of those is but three days away."
After that, convincing the little family was but a matter of fact, and they had soon gathered the few belonging they had, the youkai dropping by the caves inhabited by his clan to gather the few he trusted – an adult couple, their child, and two orphans that had managed to survive despite his father's best efforts.
[Goal complete!+25XP
Goal update: reach the Haven
Hidden bonus goal complete!
Your words have reached Tsukuyomaru, who found other residents for the Haven
Bonus goal reward:+100XP, +1 Enhancement Stone to be chosen]
They had then regrouped with Ryoichi's strange traveling party.
Kurama had looked ready to drown him in questions, but Shinobu had turned into a fierce protector and managed to quench the other fox' curiosity enough that he didn't decide to turn into a stalker once more.
And finally, they reached the village his senses had been guiding him toward, a young miko waiting for them at entrance of the outer wall.
"Mistress has been waiting for you, Kaikou-dono."
Ryoichi had been a bit surprised at the title – but well, Tsukiko was often referred to as Seishi-hime, so it wasn't that surprised that he'd been given his own moniker...
As soon as the protecting wall was entered, he could feel whisps of protective powers from a lesser deity – the one who'd guided him, as he soon realized.
"I'm sorry to have taken advantage of you like that, Kaikou-dono." the light grey-haired woman was soon saying as their group was led into her sanctum, children sent to the baths then entertained, while the adults were sitting to dine with her "My sister has been talking about you fiance and her pack, and well..." she blushed lightly "She reminded us all that we had powers, powers that we could make use of, contrarily to the Higher Ones..."
"I've heard about the Havens." he nodded "This is a step in the right direction, and just like you said, as holy being able to use your gift in the Mortal Realms, you do have a larger margin of maneuver than us..."
"Yes." she eyed him a bit worriedly "Simply healing that man took a lot out of you I can see that." her eyes glinted guiltily for a moment "I hadn't realized... I mean, I heard your fiance could use her powers..."
"Magic blessed her," he explained "which mean she has as much powers as a miko." a shrug "I came into my powers later, it is normal that I still have to prove myself."
"Well you've more than proven yourself to me." she assured with a smile "I had wondered at first... I mean you're an assassin after all..." her eyes softened "But like many other things, I had forgotten that assassin does not mean heartless. A killer you may be, you also are a healer. That is a difficult balance to maintain, but one you've admirably managed." a sigh "I'm just sorry that my blessing would be all but useless to you."
"Don't worry about it, I did not act for a reward."
"I know." a smile "But you'd still deserve one."
[Quest complete!
Reward: +25XP, +1 beginner kill tome, +2 hunting trophies]
[Level up! Ryoichi is now level 166!
+1SP]
Ryoichi didn't know – but had he seen Sujin, the goddess of water Tsukiko had met, he'd realized that this wind goddess and her looked quite alike, as they were indeed sisters – still, he and his group enjoyed the goddess' hospitality, a few of the orphans he'd collected during his travel finding a home in the village; not knowing that while he took care of the people he'd collected in his travels, she was talking to the other gods about him. The lesser deities had learned about the Shadow, they now had seen and judged the Light too.
Shinobu, when offered a place to stay in the Haven, stubbornly refused.
"I'll keep an eye on you." the hanyou had affirmed "Because apparently you've got this idiotic reflex to save others rather than take care of yourself. It is rather stupid for a supposedly renowned assassin..."
As for Kurama – he hadn't managed to confirm anything, but the encounter had still given him strong suspicions regarding the kitsune's origins. The only reason the silver-haired fox wasn't already sure of his holy origins being that, as a youko rather than a kitsune, his senses weren't just yet strong enough to pick up the absence of death scent, and the strong feeling of Life, outside of an emergency situation.
Still, when they left the haven a few days later, traveling group drastically reduced compared to earlier, and all well-rested, the kitsune couldn't help but smile – the orphans he'd been collecting would still end up in Havens or in the future, but somehow, he had the feeling the hanyou by his side wouldn't be leaving that soon.
And somehow, he wasn't even even put out by it. His fiance had humans and hanyou in her pack, who was to say he couldn't have a young wild cat in his...
As for Kurama – while the youko was becoming a good friend, he was too much of a free spirit to be held down by notions as pack, and he had no doubt that one day in the near future, their road would separate, something he could well understand. After all, as Renato Sinclair he never was caught by any Sky, his Flames too powerful to be tamed by anyone - but he did wish that his friend managed at least to find true friends once he left.