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Chapter Thirteen
Daichi was sprawled out across Freyja's office sofa, his phone in hand as he tapped away at the screen.
Daichi: Sorry about being out of touch girls. Ullr kidnapped me to Alfheim for training and I just earned a day off today.
Gabby: Little Fox! Freyja told us where you were but we were still worried!
Sera: Yea Dai-Tan! We're glad you're okay though!
Daichi blinked at the added honorific. It looked as though Rias and Sona had started their forays into Japanese culture.
Daichi: Yea, I'm okay. I've been learning a lot. Ullr is incredible. I just wanted to let you both know I have the day off, so if either of you are free, we can talk and catch up this evening.
Sera: I'm free! And if I'm not I will be!
Daichi smiled as he tapped out his response.
Daichi: No playing hooky, Sera. We all know the Underworld would fall apart without you. If you don't have time, I should be available one day every weekend from now on, so we can figure something out to work with your schedule.
Sera: Boooooo!
The group chat received a picture of Serafall upside down in her desk chair with her tongue stuck out.
Sera: Fine, but I want double talk time next weekend!
Gabby: That's fine with me. I'm free this evening, but next weekend I have to attend some stuffy congregation with the lesser angels. Michael is off managing the system, so Raphael and Uriel are in charge of all the mundane things and they never let me do anything.
His smile stretched a little further. It seemed Gabriel was going to need to vent a little. Michael treated her like an equal, but the ditsy façade she cultivated for everyone else worked a little too well, causing Raphael and Uriel to keep her away from normal affairs. It didn't help that she was their little sister so they all got a little over protective from time to time.
Daichi: Sounds good :) I missed talking with both of you. I have to go for now, there's a lot of errands I need to run before Ullr shoves me back in that forest.
Sera: Bye Dai-Tan!
Gabby: Talk to you soon :)
He hit the home button to exit their chat and put the screen to sleep. It was early morning and he was currently lounging about while waiting for Rossweisse to show up as the goddess scribbled notes and signed papers. He was going to spend the day in the city together with his Rose and pick up supplies, a list of items he planned to purchase sticking out of his pocket. Ullr had taken him to the bounty processing building before dropping him off and handed over what roughly equated to twenty-five hundred USD in Asgardian coinage.
It didn't seem like much for the amount of work he had done over three weeks, but put into context of the soldiers and commanders ultimately being cannon fodder troops, the amount began to make a bit more sense. Regardless, it was more than enough to cover the costs of everything he wanted to make his stay in the forest significantly more comfortable.
Suddenly, Daichi lurched to his feet, his hair and fur puffed out and standing on end.
"Freyja."
"Yes, Little Fox?"
"Freyja, something's wrong."
It felt like fire crawling up his toes, not painful, but an immense heat that slowly began to creep up his body. Freyja looked up, glancing over him.
"Oh." She said.
"Oh! Shit!" She twisted her fingers, a burst of magic popping into existence at the motion, Ullr phasing into being within the room moments later. Daichi was already curled up on the ground, groaning as his claws clenched and unclenched into the carpet, the action in time with the fire that pulsed through his body, the sensation having already reached his belly.
"He's going into his first major bodily development!"
Ullr looked at her blankly as he glanced between her and his groaning student.
"He's starting puberty you dunderhead! Inari went over this! It's incredibly pronounced in Yako kitsune!"
"Oh." He said.
"Oh! Shit!" He reached down and grabbed Daichi by the back of his neck. "I'll take him back to Alfheim, it'll be safe for him to rampage and vent in the forests there." Black fur was beginning to sprout all over his body, his arms and legs already shifting to resemble his canid limbs.
"Hurry…" he ground out, his teeth grit in stress. "I can't… hold it back much longer." The pair of them popped out of existence, a piece of paper fluttering to the floor of Freyja's office.
"Heimdall, Alfheim, quickly please." The bridge guardian glanced down at a writhing and whimpering Daichi, his body now mostly resembling his natural fox state. He raised and dropped his sword, the clang resounding clearly. "Thank you," and then they were gone again, slamming back into existence within the forests of Alfheim.
"Daichi." He had begun thrashing in Ullr's grasp, still maintaining his small size, but rapidly losing control. Ullr grabbed the scruff of his neck, directing their eyes to meet. "Daichi, listen to me. We're in Alfheim, but I can't take you directly to the forest with you struggling like this. Control it, one more push, and you can let it out." His entire form locked up; muscles tensed to the maximum as his body shut down. Ullr's response was immediate, taking them close to their normal hunting area and setting Daichi on the ground.
The change was immediate and violent, his size instantly ballooning to his current full stature at six meters tall to the top of his head. He turned with a snarling bite, attempting to chomp down on Ullr's hands while his four tails whipped out and began shattering tree trunks in the surrounding area. Ullr jumped and gave Daichi's front shoulder a firm kick, his frenzied mind finally registering his freedom as he took off into the trees.
Ullr let out a long sigh.
"Fuuuuuuuck. It's going to be a huge pain in the ass if he runs into any of the light elf villages." He let out another sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Better keep up then to keep him moving in the right direction." His eyes began to glow slightly as he peered into the trees. "Damnit he's fast. Why the hell did she let him learn Senjutsu and Touki first? This is going to be such a pain in the ass!" He vanished without a sound in the next moment.
Daichi was burning. His entire body felt as if he was sitting within an inferno and all he wanted to do was break, kill, fuck! His impulses and instincts were running haywire as his body overloaded on new unfamiliar hormones. His conscious mind was still present and aware, it was just stifled under a flood of other stimuli while also ensuring he didn't accidentally begin pulling from the negative aspects of his Senjutsu. This resulted in allowing his animal counterpart to run rampant. He continued running at a breakneck pace for several minutes, crashing through the undergrowth while aiming to get as far away from the hunter chasing him as he could. The first dark elf patrol he encountered he practically bowled over, his size slamming two out of the air that were immediately crushed beneath his paws, his tails whipping out as he passed, bisecting the remaining four.
His demeanor shifted. With the scent of blood in his nose, he was on the hunt now. A subtle shift in direction had him colliding with another group seconds later, dispatching them just as quickly as the first. A third group soon followed, then a fourth. His rampage through the forest continued unabated, his lips curled up in a vicious grin, razor sharp teeth exposed for the world to see as his snout swiveled back and forth, constantly scenting the air in a bid for new prey.
It wasn't long until he found the camp and immediately set to razing it. Nature rose up at his command, roots and vines spearing out or wrapping up those too slow or weak to escape. Daichi himself was a whirlwind of death, his claws swiping dark elves out of the air as if he was swatting insects. His tails never ceasing movement as they struck out in endless flurries, his entire body coated in the crimson of his Touki as he laid waste to the camp. Dark elven soldiers took to fleeing in droves, their lack of a strong authority to organize them becoming their downfall. Those that made it to the trees found no respite, the inanimate limbs coming to life in order to reap it from Daichi's enemies. The few that managed to escape did so only by flying up and over the tree tops, their fear a delicious stench that Daichi practically feasted on as rolling laughter shook his body, the adrenaline high of combat and fully unleashing himself upon his enemies submerging his addled mind in euphoria. It was only due to the small voice of reason and habit amidst the sea of chaos in his head holding firm that kept him from devolving fully into a ravenous, mad beast.
Thirty minutes later, Daichi stood panting heavily amidst a charnel house of bodies and equipment. Over two hundred soldiers had fallen, the rest fleeing in terror. The burn had subsided to a dull permeating itch now that he had exhausted himself both physically and magically. With a bit more control over his senses, Daichi channeled a trickle of restorative Senjutsu throughout his battered body. He was covered in small cuts, scrapes, and bruises that had managed to slip through his protective layers of Touki and fur.
With one last glance around the demolished area, Daichi limped his way in the direction of his camp. A sudden weight appearing on his back nearly sent him into conniptions again, his mind sitting on a razors edge from the combination of near insanity and frantic combat. The only thing that stopped him was Ullr's well-known scent hitting his nose, though the drop in posture and wound up muscles were a dead giveaway that he had been less than a moment away from indiscriminately attacking.
"My bad kid. It's been a while since I've been in a true life or death struggle. Kinda forgot about the adrenaline high and heightened state that typically follows." Daichi simply huffed and continued moving between the trees.
"But damn if you aren't big. I can't wait to see you fully grown. You really brought the pain to those bugs and you're only what? Half the size you'll grow into? You should hear what the survivors are calling you. I can't wait to tell Sköll he's got a new son! It's already spreading in the other nearby camps!" Ullr let out a deep rolling chuckle. "Seeing the big bad Dökkálfar whisper in fear is pretty refreshing, even if it's the dregs. I'll have to bring you back out here in a few years to hunt their generals. That'll really get them talking." He broke out into loud laughter, Daichi finally arriving at the camp and slumping to the ground in exhaustion. He was asleep before his head hit his paws.
Freyja arrived moments later with a teenage Rossweisse in tow to find Ullr comfortably reclined atop Daichi's back as he slept.
"I see he managed to work out most of the initial wave. Inari said it would be much more manageable after the first. He should be fine, for the most part, though he'll likely be incredibly horny for the next few weeks. This initial flood will only last a month or so before receding to normal levels, then he'll only have a much tamer occurrence once every few years. Although… he will definitely start to acquire a healthy sex drive." Rossweisse was blushing crimson by the end of Freyja's explanation but nevertheless went up and began gently combing her fingers through Daichi's thick fur around his ears. As she cuddled into him, he unconsciously gently nuzzled into her, her familiar scent pulling a reaction from his subconscious. Freyja watched on with a smile hidden behind her hand.
"How cute." She quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a couple pictures. "It's almost like seeing that mortal fairy tale, beauty and the beast." Ullr had arrived next to her silently, unnoticed as Rossweisse focused on smoothing out areas of damaged or knotted fur, applying herbal poultice infused with various runic formulas to increase its potency to any remaining open cuts she could find in the process.
"They're good for each other. He keeps her out of her shell while she acts as a moderating influence on his more impulsive desires. They have a good balance."
Freyja cast Ullr a glance of humorous consideration.
"Why, Ullr, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you just gave a girl approval to date your most precious child."
"Be silent woman." The words were hostile but the tone was anything but. "He's already got a new dad; he doesn't need a third." Ullr snickered as Freyja cocked her head as if listening to something very distant before another smile creeped up her face.
"Ah. Yes, I'd imagine Sköll will be fairly amused once he hears. How about Uncle Ullr then? It has a nice ring to it, rolls off the tongue." Her hand had returned to hiding her smirk as Ullr rolled his eyes.
"Fine, fine, woman. I approve of the girl, now lay off, would ya? She's got brains and the ability to use 'em, and he's got the cunning and firepower to mix it all together into a potent powder keg. The supernatural world will have some interesting times on the horizon."
"Yes. Interesting times, indeed."
The pair watched as Rossweisse returned to Daichi's head and began stroking him again.
"Ah, before I forget." Freyja took out a pouch. "This has all of the items he planned to go shopping for today."
Ullr gave the bag a long look.
"I'm half tempted to make him go without for another week since he didn't get it himself."
"If you're thinking this is me spoiling him, it was actually his Little Rose that did the buying with his money. She managed to find some excellent deals as well. I might have to ask her for some spending tips, she's very thrifty." Ullr gave a humph.
"I suppose I'll let it slide this time then."
"Careful, if anyone else heard that they'd think you were going soft." Freyja teased him. Ullr snorted.
"Let them. I'd be glad to prove my fangs and claws are sharper than ever." Freyja cast an appraising glance over him at his words, her voice falling in volume.
"You progressed?"
Ullr gave a big grin in response.
"Turns out you can learn a lot in the process of teaching."
"I see." She had a soft smile on her lips as she continued watching her student pamper her unwitting charge. "I'll leave her here for now. If he wakes up before the day is done, keep an eye on them and if he's in control you can bring him back to Asgard. I believe he has a call scheduled for this evening with someone who would feel particularly disappointed if he missed it." Ullr gave a nod and Freyja vanished in the next instant.
A/N:
Got a little burnt out from busting out content so quickly, so I took a small break. I'll be transitioning back to a Friday release schedule to hopefully avoid this in the future and build up a chapter log if I do any extra writing to try and avoid another break.
Fun Facts: Sköll is one of two wolves that chase either the sun or moon across the sky and is destined to eat his target during Ragnarok. His name literally means the One Who Mocks, so the Dark Elves (the Dökkálfar, not to be mistaken with the dwarves who are also often called Dark Elves) calling him a child or son of Sköll is a fun tidbit I thought would be interesting since he would be known by the camp as the laughing beast after he killed their commander.
Had a lot of hype and questions about Tiamat last chapter, so I'll condense that into one comment here. Tiamat was done dirty in the canon material and her original mythology is literally the creator of the universe and everything in it within Assyrian faith. Yea, she's sexy. I don't know if I'm picturing her the same as FGO's Tiamat since there's canon source for her human appearance.
Regnas Bredvolts – Skadi might eventually show up, but not in the current arc. Ullr and Freyja are already pretty large overkill for training. I actually figured Set would be the most likely to throw behind Daichi. He gets to piss off a bunch of other gods and support a mischievous upcoming demigod. That being said, all gods would have some ulterior agenda for supporting or hindering Daichi.
The Hindu pantheon is the canonical big bad guys, so they want to kill everyone unfortunately. A rising demigod is a potential future problem to nip in the bud early.
Everyone - I've mentally divided up the world into nice easy religious chunks which I believe was also done in the source material for ease of writing. You have the Far East religions and myths, Buddhism being the predominant pantheon in that area. From there, traveling west, we have Hinduism in India and the surrounding area, Islam and Assyrian gods in the Middle East, Christianity and Judaism (which I understand are different, but fundamentally worship the same God at their core) in the Slavic/European/North American areas that are not covered by the Grecian, Celtic, or Nordic myth, Egyptian myth in Africa, and Native American myth in North and South America – to include Aztec, Mayan, and other Native Indian tribe gods that I'm currently forgetting.
I realize this is a vastly over simplified structure, but for purposes of writing it creates a basis for a seat of power in each faith/mythology.
