As I begin again, once more...

This is the forth story of Kodori. Just in case you arrived here looking for a GATE crossover, (which this is, honest!) let it be known there is over TWO MILLION words of backstory to the main character and the effects she's had on the worlds around her.

So, unless you want to settle for a VERY short recap of what's happened (I do this at the start of every story), please, take a look at the first ones. All I ask is that you be a little forgiving, since it's been four years since I started this, and (I hope) my writing has improved over that time.

Other things to note...

This Fanfic is Rated M. Why? Well... I deal with mature topics, mature themes, have the occasional 'fade to black' on what is obviously going to be sexy time, have graphic combat (blood gore, broken bones, head explosions...)... Oh, and apparently this has upset a few people, so I'll just put it here now...

Kodori is a mother of three, father of four. Yes magic was involved, no, she doesn't go waving it around. I don't write smut (sorry to those other people who are sad I don't, but site rules...), so at most, she might end up having a bit of extra anatomy and hide in her room for a few days.

I suppose the -other- thing to note, is that I pay attention to time. This might also upset the new readers (who are skipping the other stories), since there are relationships among the main cast that are not canon. My opinion on this is: It's been SIX! years of 'story time', and people are growing up.

So yes. Rated M.

Oh... And yes, I really hate to say this. Yes, Kodori makes the occasional 'bad choice'. Yes, she has her reasons. But calling her/me/the story stupid for it? I get that some people are 'okay with murdering a helpless enemy' (The most common example), but Kodori isn't, and never has been. Oh, she has no problem 'fighting to the death', but leaving someone in a fire to die? (Yes, still the same example).

So, to repeat? Rated M.

Now... where was I?

Right, new story.

The Dermegil Works

Proudly presents...

Foxgate. (because stargate was taken.) (I also don't think many people would get 'Mad Dog'.)

Chapter 1

I was in a great mood. A wonderful mood, filled with happy children who were eager to learn things, draw pictures, play together without causing problems (aside from the occasional bump or skinned knee), and generally be kids.

It felt like the last six years or so of my life had led up to this happy point. Sure, there were all kinds of bumps and twists, and turns...

Like arriving in Orario, naked, gender swapped, race swapped (I was a Kitsune, though I didn't know that yet), without any knowledge of the local language, after having lived most of a lifetime as a faceless wage slave. Sure, I survived that, had a HUGE bit of good luck getting 'adopted' by a local who had already taken in a handful of strays like me. Mia Grande (half dwarf, very tall, motherly in that 'can cook or kill with this ladle' kind of way) took me in, gave me clothes, work, a bit of education, and didn't ask questions about where I came from after I learned how to speak.

Then I ran into Hestia. The first person who could understand English (my first language)and be understood BY me, since she spoke 'the true language'. After finding out she was an actual Goddess, who could (by divine right) understand any language, I gave her a hug, and asked for help. Not only did I get that help, but I then became an Adventurer, accepting her 'Falna'. Falna was how the Gods and Goddesses in the city enabled the 'Children' (us mortal types) to fight in the dungeon.

We got power, they got what ever life of luxury could be afforded by their Children.

Of course, that's where I met Bell. A week 'older' in terms of adventuring experience, he was a young boy who was quickly becoming a professional monster slayer. Together, we met others, Lilly (best supporter!) Welf (red haired, hot blooded blacksmith), the Takemikazuchi Familia (Familia? That's the collective name for a God or Goddess's 'Children')... And Haruhime.

In an effort to figure out exactly what I was (since I'd never had a tail before, let alone 'adventurer power') I went through the Guild (the ruling power in the city, that basically did all the paperwork and city wide logistics), and found another Renard (the name of the race I apparently was). She worked in the 'Entertainment' district, and yes, I had to pay for some of her time.

Not only did she push all of the buttons I had all but forgotten I had, she was very helpful in me figuring out more of what I could do in this new world. So of course, when she ended up the target for what would amount to 'Blood Sacrifice', the Hestia and Takemikazuchi Familia jumped to her rescue. It nearly got a few of us killed, but in the end, we did it. She joined Hestia Familia, and we became what most would call 'an item'.

Emergency after Emergency, Crisis after Crisis... Our plucky little band of rookie adventurers overcame it all, growing in power and fame. But after a rather nasty run in with what was left of the Familia Haruhime had come from (Ishtar, if you were wondering), she not only spent nearly two full days keeping me alive after getting my tails cut off (a death sentence for a Kitsune, and apparently Renard too), she 'lent' me her tail, and took my revenge on the ones who had taken my tails.

And while she lay in a coma, and I was getting my equipment on, I declared to Hestia, my best friend, and Haruhime's best friend, that I would marry Haruhime. Now, she, and most of the world I was now in, were more 'traditional' when it came to this kind of thing. But, 'you can find anything in the Dungeon'.

And in my case? Some ancient research, the blood of three different Goddesses, and a potion to make our marriage more 'traditional'. So now, I am the mother of three, and father of four. They even had their forth birthdays not too long ago!

Of course, the next 'crisis' was -yet another- trip to another world. Except this time it was back to the one I'd left two years prior, landing me in the middle of the final stage of a three way war. The Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels (yes, of the bible) were just starting to take their hands off their collective weapons when I basically fell from the sky next to who would be one of the most powerful new 'influencers' of that particular situation.

Of course, I knew none of that at the time. I was more concerned about getting back home. Except that in of itself took almost three quarters of a year to do. But while I was there, gathering up bits of the dungeon that was stolen (along with me), I gained power knowledge and influence. My double edged luck had dropped me next to the Heiress of one of the most powerful Devil families, Rias Gremory.

Helping her and her peerage, the collection of young devils under her command, I was taught things I'd never have been able to learn here in Orario. For one, I was an actual Kitsune. Yup, fox spirit. Huge magic capability, mysterious nature, liked to play tricks, enjoyed alcohol... Ehhh, I had one of four, and worked really hard on two of the others. Still don't enjoy booze very much.

But while I nearly got myself killed a few more times, I gathered up the lost dungeon fragments, and eventually got home...

Except now, I had the power and skill of what amounted to an entirely new weight class, and not five minutes after I got home, I had to put Ottar, the cities strongest Adventurer, down. Of course, doing that caused a whole new mess of problems... But we, the Alliance (a bunch of smaller weaker Familia, along with some of the larger ones) managed to stop Freya Familia (whom Ottar was from), from destroying my Familia, stealing my children, and basically taking over the city.

But my work wasn't done. Oh no. While I'd been back on Modern Day Earth, I'd been gathering information and knowledge on ways to help Orario. I brought back inventions to make life easier, medicine easier to make, metals easier to process, and revolutionized the food industry. From there, I'd gotten some like minded, or at least 'open minded' people on board and got to 'modernizing' the city. Except I also learned from all the mistakes of 'modern day'. We had the dungeon, a basically limitless supply of magic power, and modern concepts.

Refrigeration, basic mechanization, and most recently, a railroad. I was hell bent on making sure the next 'disaster' to strike Orario wouldn't be the end of the city. And while I was pushing Orario into the Crystal Age (since a lot of the new magic items we were making now used glass), I was discreetly helping the other cities around the world. I'd 'sell' seeds for spices, give them tools and information to boost their industry and trade, and ask for nothing but a modest discount when they returned with all these 'new things' from their far off lands.

Rakia, our biggest neighbour (as opposed to Melen, the port town that was literally a stone's throw from Orario and usually considered a 'sister city'), was now our biggest trade partner. Their once unreliable farmlands were now producing all kinds of things Orario couldn't really grow locally, and their mines and quarries were supplying us with all kinds of needed materials. And cinnamon. I had no idea cinnamon would become popular enough to cause bar fights.

So yes. Here I was. Proud mother/father, married to someone who could melt, or steady, my heart with a look. Manipulator of markets, modernizer of cities, innovator and maker of many new and interesting things. And, as of the last time anyone tried to fight me? The strongest in the city.

I was in a great mood.

Except, like almost every problem I couldn't immediately punch the head off of, my mood was ruined by the one thing I hated just a little less than suddenly being taken from my children by someone trying to fight the strongest dragon to have ever existed...

Politics.

If anyone's luck could be called 'two faced', it would be mine. For the most part, I was reasonably lucky, but most of that was me not believing in luck so much as the saying: Luck is just a bunch of things you didn't know about working for/against you. So when I could, I set things up so they would work out in my favour, or at the very least, not against me. Like the recent boom in the spice trade. I totally set that one up, and the only 'luck' I had there was the merchants remembering to give me a little discount when I went shopping.

The other side of my luck? Being there when something potentially bad happened. Like getting taken away to Earth, away from my wife, children and Familia. The first person I met -just happened- to be a really good fit to help me get back here.

So, I was standing at the front gate of the Hearthstone Manor, looking down at a rather angry (like... grumpy kitten angry) Loki. To her left, Riviera (who wasn't angry, just serious. To be fair, she was almost always serious). And to her right, Finn, who looked amused at the world (his default expression that fooled more people than you might think into thinking he wasn't going to beat the crap out of you for what ever you just said).

"I don't approve!" Loki said up to me, her finger almost touching my nose.

"You said that last week too." I said calmly, "When Bell and Ais went... where ever it was. I don't stalk my little brother to see if he's getting into trouble."

Yes... Bell and Ais were... at least in most of the city's eye's, 'an item'. A pretty hot one too. The city loved its entertainment, and gossip was pretty entertaining. For the past half a year or so, they'd been going on the occasional 'date'. Sometimes it was just the two of them sparring on one of the huge city walls. Other times it was going out to eat. Not being a creepy stalker, I only ever knew what it was -after- he got home, of he decided to tell me at all.

Loki on the other hand... Well, Ais was still 'The Sword Princess' and one of her strongest Familia members. And yes... after every 'Date', she would come here, and 'not approve'.

"I'm just making sure he isn't getting his grubby hands all over her!" She countered.

"They're both adults now." I replied, "And I don't hear you complaining about Finn and Lilly." I gave a nod to Finn, because yes, Finn and Lilly were also 'an item', and while not as 'gossip heavy' a topic as Bell and Ais were, they certainly got along well where ever they went.

"Speaking of?" Finn asked.

"Might be a couple of days, in the dungeon with most of the rest of them." I replied.

"Sounds good." And he went back to being amused.

"Grrrr don't ignore me!" Loki did an angry (kitten) foot stomp dance.

"Now I know where they learned that." I teased (while keeping a serious face), "The children have been doing that when ever I don't give them a second cookie."

"Don't try and avoid the subject either!"

Both Riveria and Finn took a half step away from Loki, and I made a couple of quick hand gestures, "Mizu."

From seemingly nowhere, a bucket's worth of cold water dumped itself over Loki, and now that the danger had passed, her two guards took that half step back towards her.

Now looking like a wet angry kitten, she huffed and tried to step past me, "I'm going to talk to Hestia and tell her to..."

"Hestia has swallowed her jealousy." I said, holding my ground and having Loki bounce off me, "And since then has been nothing but supportive of the two of them. Can't you do the same? Don't you care about the happiness of your Child?"

"While I am uncertain if the two of them will truly bond, Ais hasn't lost any combat effectiveness." Riveria said.

"And I find her new smile rather refreshing to look at." Finn added, the two of them giving me a subtle nod while Loki was still looking up at me and grr'ing.

Loki dropped the 'cute angry animal' act and went for 'concerned parent', "But what if they decide to-"

I interrupted her with, "Then it will be a choice made by two consenting young adults."

That flipped her back to 'angry' again, "I WILL NOT-"

"Hey Finn, ever hear the story about-"

Both Finn and Riveria blinked in surprise as Loki went from 'angry' to 'panicked'. With a squeak of surprise Loki jumped up, wrapped her legs around my stomach, and put her hands over my mouth, "Shhhhhut up Fox..."

I moved my mouth away from her hands without a problem, Loki's panicked face going to dread, but instead of telling her two captains about... well, any one of Loki's stories about any one of her children, I instead put on arm around her and quite firmly pinched her left butt cheek.

This had the desired effect of getting her legs off me, and the side effect of making her squeak/moan in the most undignified fashion. I quickly used my other hand to grab hold of her collar and set her down before she fell off me. I then gave her shoulder a little push to turn her around, and used my tails to nudge her back on the other side of the Manor gate, off the property.

"Go cool off, dry off, and maybe we can talk about this later." I said (just like I had the last few dozen times...) "It's in the Children's nature to grow up, Lady Loki." I added, "I just hope you can put in a little effort to grow as well, since the Gods are a little more stuck in their ways."

Loki turned back, grumpy, but at least looking like she was actually going to go home, "One day Fox, I'm going to-"

"Odin was once again upset..."

There was a pause, and both Riveria and Finn looked at me, "You know, I've never seen her run that fast before." Finn mused, rubbing his chin.

"What exactly do you hold over Lady Loki?" Riveria asked, eyes narrowing at me.

"She seems to have forgotten that I promised never to tell. Anyone. Ever." I smiled back, "But I will happily abuse that forgetfulness to get her to stop being so..." I sighed, "Thanks for the help."

"Seeing Ais happy is important to us." Riveria said, "And so long as she stays that way..."

"What will be, will be." I shrugged, "Did you want me to contact Lilly for you Finn?"

"I'd rather she concentrate on her duty in the dungeon and come home safely." He smiled, "We better go catch up to her... no telling who she'll try and get her hands on so she can 'feel better after the Demon Fox pinched her bottom'."

"It was that or drawing a finger up her spine." I shrugged, "But I figured a little 'stick' was more appropriate." I waved as the two of them turned and left, and then shut the gate.

"That was rather amusing." Gros said, "And get away from the board, you don't know how to play!"

"woo..."

To describe Gros in as few words as possible... Car length (before his tail) hawk faced, bat winged, lion bodied lizard tailed gargoyle. He was usually 'grumpy' in that 'old man' kind of way, where he didn't have time to deal with anything that bothered him.

And yes, he was an intelligent Monster. A Xenos from the Dungeon. He lived in a giant bird cage type enclosure on the Manor's grounds, and had seven colourful Phoenix/Ostrich hybrid birds living in there with him. They seemed to look up to him as a... pack leader of sorts, and liked to get his attention in creative ways, like trying to steal chess pieces when he played with someone.

"Just dealing with overprotective Goddesses again." I sighed, "No problems?"

"Aside from losing to the spider again?" 'The spider' was Sir Skitters, a dog sized spider who got along with everyone and liked to play Chess. "I am looking forward to story time later."

"I'll be sure to have Weine and the children around sometime before dark." I nodded, heading back towards the Manor.

Weine was also a Xenos, except she was actually a kind of dragon. Aside from the light blue skin and a few patches of dragon scale over her body, you'd never know that... Unless you looked at her eyes, or knew what the little gemstone on her forehead was. But otherwise? Adorable young woman, who loved books, Bell (in a sisterly way... I think? Still?) and just about everyone really.

She was also an expert bread maker. I could tell she had some in the oven as soon as I entered the Manor.

"Hey Fox." Aisha (tall, tanned skinned, wiry muscled Amazon who was also a (welcomed) 'third wheel' to Haruhime and I on occasion), greeted me as I took off my outdoor slippers, "Going for a drink with Simura and the girls."

"Try not to get lost on the way home." I said, leaning over a little as she passed to give her a quick hug and a squeeze on her (very toned) rear.

"Careful, or I might not go drinking with them." She teased, returning the favour, since that's how it usually went when we didn't have anyone watching.

"If you're sober after, you can join us. Say hi for me, and if any of the girls need anything I'll let you know." I smiled and let her rear go.

"Sure." She nodded, closing the Manor's big double front door behind her.

In this case, 'girls' meant the full dozen Amazon who were staying in the Manor. Each one of them had... paired (or trio'ed) with my 'minions', a pair of Oni. Yes, original Sons of Shuten Doji, they were massive Japanese Demons. Warriors, philosophers, and very strong, all of those Amazons (who weren't Aisha) had decided to have them father a child with them, and since all of them (formerly) worked in the Entertainment district, they asked me if they could live here while their children grew up a little. Since the two Oni were my trusted friends, and Hestia was the Goddess of Hearth Home and Family, I said 'yes of course'.

Speaking of Hestia... "Thanks for chasing her away again." Hestia sighed as I started to walk past the entrance to the dining area. "I want to tell her off so bad, but... I can understand."

I wanted to keep going, maybe see if I could find one/few/all my children and see if they wanted to cuddle or something. But I couldn't just... brush her off, at all, ever. So I did a ninety degree turn and entered the dining room, spotting my favourite Goddess sitting in her usual spot at the table and sipping tea.

"She'll come around, hopefully." I said, "And until then, I will be the best Big Sister I can be, and keep her from trying to ruin things."

Again, a slightly bitter sigh, "I remember when you said you 'would remain neutral in the fight over who 'gets' Bell'."

I softened my voice and stood behind Hestia, putting my hands on her shoulders, "And now that he's chosen, I'm helping him."

She gave my hand a pat, "Yeah. Say... I don't suppose you can..."

"Well, I haven't heard anyone complain about anything for a little while... I should have enough time."

Astraea found me, still standing behind Hestia, who had flopped over the table and basically started to liquefy as I gave her a back rub.

"Trouble?" I asked Astraea as she covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Hestia's reply sounded something like 'murgle', so I filled in for her, "Lady Loki was here and... objecting to Bell and Ais, again." I summoned a sheet of cloth, basically a manifestation of my will that was made up of my two main 'elements', air and void, and draped it over Hestia to keep her warm and comfortable now that she was basically asleep.

"Ahh." Astraea nodded, "I've been curious why she's upset about Ais, but not Finn. Do you know?"

"Oh, you weren't here when he first proposed. Finn is a bit of... what is the word..." I couldn't come up with the right word, so took the long way around, "He wants his heir to be a pure blooded Palum like himself, to show other Palum an example of 'true bravery'. He was just tired of having the 'tall' races of the world walk over the Palum, so strove to become the strongest Palum in history, and to pass on that strength... Or something..." I sighed, "Lilly seems happy enough, so honestly..."

The weird thing I'd discovered, being one of those scientific nerdy types when I wasn't punching monsters or chasing my children around, was 'cross race' children.

In short, humans and Amazon were the only races who could breed with anyone. Otherwise, it didn't work. Oh sure, you could still 'practise', but unless there was some serious magical help, that's all it would ever be. At least, so far as I could find out. It wasn't like I... well, I could, but wouldn't... I wasn't going to ask people 'have you ever heard of a half cat/chienthrope child? Or something like that.

Now, a human breeding with any of the other races would default to the mother's race. There was usually some 'mark' left by the human side, like Mia Grande, half human/dwarf. She was much taller than the average dwarf. Or half elves having shorter ears.

"That's his reason, but Loki?" Astraea pulled me out of my musing.

"Finn is with Loki Familia to get stronger, and find a partner. If Lady Loki told him 'no' he would simply leave. Being in the top spot, Loki Familia losing their best strategist, and arguably best fighter, might ruin things for them." I replied, "But again..."

"Your only concern is making sure Lilly is happy." Astraea smiled, "Such a good big sister you are."

"I've worked hard to become so." I nodded, "Hmm, seems my work here is done, so I'm going to find my children..."

Hestia made another noise, but showed no signs of trying to move, so I gave Astraea a small bow, then headed towards our 'school' wing.

Takemikazuchi Familia... When we'd first met them, it nearly got us killed. Their formation had broken to a sudden monster spawn, and we were in the way of their retreat. But, instead of folding up and running as well, we toughed it out and covered their backs.

Later, they'd come to us, with Takemikazuchi himself, and ate a titanic slice of humble pie for breaching 'dungeon etiquette'. However, instead of kicking their pride while they were down, the tiny Familia that we were instead offered to teach them instead.

Make no mistake, they were strong already compared to us. But what they lacked was flexibility. So, we banded together and started doing 'the morning sparring' with them. This opened our options for all kinds of dungeon work, and city work as well, and we got along famously.

Now, they also housed orphans at their modest little home on the edge of the Daedalus maze. Takemikazuchi would house them, educate them, train them, and if they wanted, gift them with Falna and have them join the dungeon team. Mikoto, Ouka, Chigusa and Asuka were all such orphans.

Once we'd gained the Manor however, instead of letting it be, I asked if Takemikazuchi would like to join us here. Since the Manor once housed a hundred of Apollo Familia (before we totally kicked them out), we had more than enough space. This also had the added effect of reducing the burden of suddenly needing to pay for manor's land tax.

Our battle with Freya Familia had that Manor destroyed. But when we rebuilt it, we made one wing of the building into a very small academy. Not just for the orphans, but for Haruhime and I's children, and the local children as well. Education was important, and the dungeon wasn't the only place to earn coin in the city.

So, now in the education wing, I followed the noises of playing children to find my own, and likely my wife as well.

Class was in recess when I'd found where the majority of the noise was coming from. Just like a normal 'multi grade' school, the playground outside of the Manor was divided up for 'older' students (ranging from about 8 to 12) and the younger ones (3-7). This was mostly for safety. Sure, they were all really good kids, but a 12 year old kicking a ball into a four year old's head by accident was a travesty waiting to happen.

Speaking of, most of the older children were at the far end of the field playing this world's version of soccer, with Weine playing as goal keeper from the two teams.

Most of the rest of the children were playing the universal game of Tag on the 'younger' half of the field.

And yes, even my children were playing. They'd grown so fast, and it seemed like only a few days ago they were doing that funny 'stompy walk' managing to move forward without bending their knees as they smashed the ground with their feet to chase after things. Now? Well, it wasn't quite a 'stride' but they were quickly losing that childish clumsiness.

They were learning fast too, and were so full of questions...

But I'll admit... I was doing that 'mysterious' thing with them too... I knew a lot more about how the mind functioned than people of this world. I knew how to keep children interested in learning, even though sitting down was boring. How to keep a mind that was prone to wandering focused on what was presented. At first, the parents, and even my Familia and friends, wondered what the hell I was doing, as I jumped from topic to topic, ignoring the usual norms of 'sitting down and smashing your face into a book until the learning happened'.

But no, that was not how a child's mind worked. Exposure to information while keeping frustration and boredom away was key. Teach them something, apply it to something fun, move on. Play games that teach them without looking like its teaching them. Number games, reading games, treasure maps, word and number puzzles with actual objects. The information comes in, and the involvement helps it 'stick'.

Already, some of the older children were outpacing their parents with 'core' subjects like math and literature. And some of the younger ones were picking up on Eastern, simply by hovering around Takemikazuchi, his Familia, myself and Haruhime, and our children.

"O-ma!" One of my children called my 'name'. Sure, they'd all lost that awkward problem with harder consonants like 'K' 'T' 'S' and the like, but they'd all been calling me 'O-ma' for so long, I didn't bother trying to correct them.

The game of tag ground to a halt as six children made sharp angled turns to run towards my legs and cling to me. Suddenly surrounded by a small forest of pointed fox ears, I knelt down and gathered them all up in a hug. One was missing however...

"O-ma O-ma! Look!" Blond hair with little black painbrush tips on his ears and tail, and golden eyes like mine, Toshi pointed at something while jumping up and down excitedly. "Kei did a thing!"

"We helped too!" Black hair, gold eyes, and with golden tipped ears and tails, Tatsuo and Tatsuko declared proudly, joining in on the pointing.

I stood up walked slowly in the direction of the pointing. Kei was sitting with another one of the children in a sand box. The two of them were building around what looked like our entire collection of wooden letter blocks, and making a sand castle. With actual 'bricks' and even a tower!

Of course, in typical 'nothing is impossible' childish fashion, Kei was trying very hard to put a final block on top of the tower. This tower however was taller than they were, and it looked like disaster was about to strike as Kei started to tilt forward just a little too far.

I had to stop myself from rushing forward and saving the day. I wanted to, but failure was also a teacher, so long as you didn't let it stop you.

Kei of course fell through the tower, getting sand everywhere and rolling over one of the low sand walls that had been built nearby. After a moment of shock, another of shaking themselves off, they looked at the block in their hand, then at the flattened tower.

"Oops?" Followed by a 'bleh' as they rubbed their lips to get sand out of their mouth.

Most of the children laughed, while our blond haired green eyed daughter grabbed Kei by the front of the 'happi' coat and tugged them up to their feet. "Let's do it again!" Chie said.

"Can we O-ma?"

Haruhime saved me from seven pairs of 'please can we' eyes, "Now now children, it's almost time for class again, and you have to clean up a little first."

There was a collective 'awwwwww', but with my wife by my side, we could stand up against any attack! Even that of our children who wanted to play more outside. We stood firm against the wave of adorable pleading eyes, and nudged/dusted them off with our tails in the direction of the building.

They eventually relented, running ahead of us and mingling with the other children as they all came in from afternoon playtime. "Love?" I mumbled to Haruhime, "Any problems with the Amazon?"

"Not that they've told me." She replied quietly, "Their children are surprisingly well behaved, considering their fathers." She giggled, "From the stories they tell of themselves, I wonder if the real trouble is ahead."

"Well, they are starting to really crawl around now... We'll find out when they start teething." I leaned a little closer, our shoulders touching, "Aisha might join us later, provided she returns sober."

She blushed, and I could feel the heat radiating from her ears, "Ko-san!" Scandalized of course, "I wouldn't mind..." Secretly naughty as well, "but we're in school right now, none of that talk!" And proper as always.

I was having a great evening.

Another rewarding day filled with learning, teaching, being a mother and a big sister both, I was just starting to get back to that good mood I was in before Loki had once again interrupted my day with silly jealousy and inter-Familia politics.

This was helped along massively with the presence of Haruhime (who was always soft and cuddly behind closed doors), and Aisha, who was sober enough to join us, and if you knew where to push, was -also- cuddly (but never soft).

The children were quietly sleeping, the walls of our room were properly soundproofed to allow plausible deniability when ever this kind of thing happened, and for once, Aisha wasn't trying to compete on who would tire out first.

Then I felt someone I didn't know step onto the property. Now, the Amazons staying with us -did- occasionally bring home a friend (no, not for sex, but to make sure they got home after a night of drinking). So that wasn't what startled me.

"Ow... Fox, we've discussed where you could bite." Aisha grumbled, covering the recently nipped spot with a hand as my head turned away to look towards the wall of the room that faced the back of the property, "Fox?"

"Intruder..." I hissed, feeling... it wasn't 'anger'... but something was bubbling inside me and it was very quickly replacing the warm tingles I was feeling only a few seconds ago.

"Oh dear..." Haruhime panted a moment, starting to sit up.

I put my hand gently, but firmly on her chest, "No... stay." With hardly a thought, a small fox, a ghostly manifestation of a Kitsune's servant, appeared from one of my tails, "I will be right back."

Haruhime's hand gave mine a pat, then she gave me a little push to get me on my way. Before I had reached the balcony door, the fastest way outside, I'd covered myself in my 'mana cloth' for a bit of decency.

Who? Aside from incredibly sneaky, who was it? I asked myself this as I hopped up onto the roof lightly, and stalked on all fours towards the footsteps I could feel treading carefully towards the Manor. Fen-chan? No, he didn't react. He was a great guardian and also sensitive to the comings and goings on my terriroty, but wasn't as intelligent as a person. He was still sleeping in the children's room.

If he didn't react? Another Amazon? With a full dozen of them living here, with another half dozen 'frequent' visitors, it would be easy to slip past a guardian who wasn't really all that great at remembering faces.

There... I saw her as I peeked over the lip of the roof, almost invisible as she walked in the shadows of the dim moonlight and city lamps. Her clothing and... body paint most likely, were perfect for sneaking through this kind of gloom.

That bubbly feeling I had resolved itself into something. Insulted. This was my home, my domain, and this woman was treading over the lawn like some sort of thief. The Amazon on premise knew better, and everyone else in the city would have visited during the day.

So, I jumped from the roof, fully intending on landing on the woman and asking her in the most direct way possible.

An adventurer for sure. She looked up towards me before I'd covered half the distance to the ground, and started to run, the glint of something appearing in her hand as she took her first steps. Just as my feet hit the ground, that 'something' was thrown at me, and instead of landing on my feet and bending at the knees, I landed on my feet, then fell flat to the ground, what ever it was passing harmlessly over my head. My bare toes dug into the ground, my fingers clawed at the dirt, and I sprung at her on all fours for a moment before getting to my feet and running properly to try and stop her before she got over the wall.

To my surprise, she was already in the air and over the wall before I could get half way there. Special skill? Bell had an ability similar, his running speed increasing when he was running from combat... Seen as cowardly, it was invaluable for message running, or running towards -another- combat.

And getting away from me, apparently. "They got away." I mumbled, my words echoed to the little fox I'd left in the room.

I felt that little fox get picked up, but when I tried to look through its eyes I saw only darkness. Though, I did feel an incredible softness wrap around it, "Are you okay, Ko-san?"

"She threw something at me, looking for it..." I looked over the ground behind me, then followed the predicted path as I would an arrow, "Damn," one of my golden tails swatted me over the head, but I ignored it, "Scratched our nice wall." I pulled the object from the wall, careful of the sharp sides, "It's.. a tooth?"

"Unless you're going to wake people up," Aisha said, my poor fox was now pressed on all sides, "Come back and join us again, and we can figure it out in the morning."

"Aish-mmm..."

That was all the encouragement I needed.

I was in a good mood, and I was going to do my best to salvage that mood as soon as possible.

NOTES!

And so we begin the GATE crossover. Sure, nothing about Itami yet, but we will get there. For the moment though, we have... Politics. And a possible assassin?

I had a wonderful rest, and since I couldn't resist not posting -something- every 5th day, if you look at my profile, you'll see a new project. This is a 100 percent side project, that will be as reader driven as possible. If no one shows interest, then it won't get updated as fast, or at all. It's there just because I can, and has nothing to do with Kodori.

Also... KODORI HAS MORE ARRRRRRT! (happy dance)

It's up on the Ko-fi page, for free, and sponsored by donations.

Daeore on Ko-fi, if you want to toss a coin to your writer (and see cool art!)

Daeore on Inkitt, if you want to read my book, Were Too? (But no cool art :(