[Chapter 7]
Sona left for Underworld right after their dinner, she said she would handle things by herself. She was confident enough that everything would go her way. And Naruto was sure that that would be the case. When Sona was that confident, there was no way she would end up in failure. Naruto could expect she returned with a beaming smile, saying they would have a rating game. Hence, he didn't bother to try changing her mind.
Putting that aside, Naruto didn't plan to go with her at all. Indeed true that he had not yet met Lord Phenex, but that man surely had gotten himself information about him. Not information about him being knight of Sona, of course, but information about him being the student of Ajuka. If he joined Sona, there's a possibility the game would not become a thing.
Besides, he wanted to check things with Kurama. That tsundere fox had not tried to talk telepathically with him. Naruto had tried to do that a few times, but he ignored it. So, Naruto had no choice but to go to inner Kyoto by himself. Well, he could forcefully teleport Kurama here, but Naruto ought to avoid doing that.
So, with a small magic circle appeared beneath his feet, Naruto completely disappeared from the apartment.
—Inner Kyoto—
True that there're barriers surrounded the inner circle of Kyoto. One couldn't just teleported inside with ease; there's precaution installed into the barriers. If someone sneaked in forcefully, the people responsible of the barriers would naturally know. Yet, it didn't bother Naruto. He appeared on the rooftop of the palace where Yasaka resided in with no worries whatsoever.
A few seconds afterward, a man with a horned on the middle of his forehead flashed in front of the blond. "Kurama-sama has sent me to welcome you, Uzumaki-dono."
Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise. Youkai were prideful. They wouldn't add "sama" as honorific to the people that were not their gods/leaders/important-elders. Yet, for some reason the youkai before him addressed Kurama as such.
"It seems so." Naruto replied calmly.
"Follow me, please; Kurama-sama doesn't like waiting."
So, Naruto followed the youkai inside the palace. And…things were different than before.
Naruto had visited Yasaka with Serafall, so he knew how the palace was. But, what his eyes seeing were nothing like that time. And the most glaring thing…Kurama was sitting joyously on the throne right at the middle corner of the room with his fluffy nine tails waving lazily. The throne was not there yesterday night.
"Welcome, Naruto. Now kneel, pay a proper respect to the supreme king of youkai."
…Naruto couldn't formulate words to say, speechless for a few moments. He remembered that it was just yesterday night that he summoned Kurama and asked him to lay hand on leyline. And now… It's true that the method were not matter as long as it brought no harm into the innocent. But taking over the youkai, really?
"Kurama," said Naruto as he walked, shortening the distance between them. "Explain to me, or I'll have no choice but to recall you to your place."
"Watch your tone, Naruto. I'm now a king, I don't like to be disrespected." Kurama paused for a moment, frowning. "You seem to be stronger, is that why you seem confident—thinking now you can beat me in a fair fight?"
"Kurama…." Twelve black orbs appeared behind Naruto's back. "I don't want to force you, but if you ask for it…."
———
Kurama growled, annoyed. But he understood what he witnessed. Naruto had gotten his hand on Asura's power.
He didn't know how the blond did that, but his eyes didn't see illusion. If he fought him, Kurama would lose. True that he could use leylines to strengthen himself, but that was not enough—unless he used all of its energy. Besides, there's no point fighting the blond ‒ they're on the same side, only with different purpose. While Naruto wanted to return to their old world, Kurama wanted to take back his other half.
Also, he didn't mean to say that all. He just got in the mood to say that. Even though he would never admit it, he started to respect the blond.
"Fine," said Kurama—pretending to be annoyed. "You," he said to one of the youkai available, "go get me Yasaka."
"Yes, My Lord."
———
Naruto sighed as he let go of six paths senjutsu. It's good that Kurama didn't force his hand; he didn't want to harass the beast. Regardless, the situation was not good.
If Kurama was really doing what he thought he's doing, it was just about time for Shinto Pantheon to react. And Naruto knew for sure that Kurama wouldn't bow his head to the deities. Conflict couldn't be avoided. There're only two options available: Shinto Pantheon became a part of Kurama's people, or, Shinto Pantheon became an enemy of Kurama.
Knowing Kurama, the arrogant beast was confident that he alone could take down all the big names the pantheon could offer. And it was undeniably true. Kurama was strong. He could take them. However, taking the whole pantheon would be another story entirely. The strongest god, Shiva, perhaps might be able to do that. But Kurama would end up losing should he faced the entire pantheon.
Admittedly, Kurama was no stupid beast. Contrary to it, he was smart ‒ he knew what he's doing. And Naruto understood that very much. Yet, it didn't stop him from worrying. After all, things tended to go wrong. Even though Kurama knew what he's doing, no one could guarantee that he'd be careful. Besides, he didn't need leylines anymore.
"Kurama, what is so important that you—ara, Naruto-kun, how nice to be able to see you again so soon."
"Yasaka." Kurama called before Naruto could say anything—he said it in kingly voice. "Explain to Naruto why I'm sitting on this throne. I'm a king; explaining a simple thing over and over again is not something I must do. If you do that, I will allow you three days off to spend with your daughter before you start your new role as my prime minister."
—three hours after Sona's arrival, Underworld—
Sona finally left the Phenex Mansion after spending time more than two hours in there. One and a half hour was spent for waiting—she came without being invited after all; she had to bear with it. The rest was spent talking and persuading to reach a deal. The result was naturally as how she wanted it to be: The rating game will be held in a week.
Sona didn't accompanied by anyone. Her sister did offer (force, to be precise) her to be accompanied by her wholesome self. Even her father did try to come along. However, Sona refused them. This was her business; she could handle it by herself. Besides, she's an adult already. An adult handled their problem by themselves.
At least, that's what she believed. But the feeling she felt at the moment was precisely the presence of Serafal. She had tailed her. And she started to believe that the reason Lord Phenex appeared after one and a half hour of waiting was due to Serafal's intervention. She was not important enough for the Head of Phenex Clan to leave his job and met her.
Sona felt the urge to call out to her sister, saying that she knew she was there. However, she held herself back. She didn't have a younger sister, so she couldn't fully understand what it felt like. But, she understood why Serafal did what she did. It would be bad of her if she called her out.
Let's pretend I don't notice.
Shrugging, Sona casted a teleportation magic circle, returning back to the Sitri Mansion. A dozen seconds after her arrival, Serafal ran toward her with energetic smile fully displayed on her face. Since there was no one around, Sona allowed Serafal to hug her. Damn, her breasts are something else—and she is shorter than me! Such jealousy found its place inside her head when their body pressed each other.
"So, how was it?" asked Serafall, pretending she didn't know. "Did you manage to secure a deal?"
"Yeah," Sona nodded her head, "as how I want it to be, the rating game will be held in a week. You can tell father that he can bet on me—he is guaranteed to win."
"Excellent! Now then, let's go to sleep! You can hug your beloved big sister like you always do when you're still a kid. Oh, right, we should take a bath first!"
"As much as I want to spend time with you, I need to return to the human world, Sister."
"I see…. Alright."
"Perhaps some other time I will stay the night and we can spend the time together. For now, please tell our parents that I'm leaving."
Seeing Serafal nodding her head, Sona decided to leave immediately. Three hours had passed since she left the blond; she wondered if he's waiting her.
When she appeared in their apartment through teleportation magic circle, her eyes found the blond sleeping on their couch. Smile crawled its way on her face; her legs were already moving to reach him. She bent forward, positioning her face slightly above him. Looking at that face, it tempted Sona to land a kiss—oh girl, she really did that…and on his lips, too!
