Cringe warning I guess?

--(Ichigo-POV)--

The next month was focused more on traveling and training than hunting. We still caught a few strays here and there if they were close, but mostly I was told to mingle with the new people. The new people were old veterans that had been in the hunting business for a few centuries. It was still a bit strange for me to measure time by years and decades rather than days and months. My thinking was slowly but surely shifting and I no longer thought of myself as a human. Well, fully human that is. The amount of power I had and the ease at which I could kill a normal human made me realize that I should probably stay away from them for some time, if not forever. Or at least until my control was strong enough to not slip even if I was sleeping or unconscious.

One of the things I hated most about traveling, besides the traveling itself, was that I was doing it with an old man. The old man was prone to talking and talking a lot about his old adventures. I had a few flights of fantasies whenever the old man got lost in one of his stories. Most common amongst them were centred around my old friends but surprisingly, I found myself missing Yasaka and Kunou as well. The thoughts about Yasaka were not exactly safe for children and I had to actually control myself from going back. Being around Yasaka was calming. Her voice was soothing, her laughter was appeasing and all of it was enough to lull me to sleep. Kunou had similar effect but much weaker. If Yasaka was akin to the warm Sun on a cold day then Kunou would be a campfire on a beach. Both having some calming effect on me.

I was a bit confused about that because I really hadn't known them for long enough to form a deep bond. So I asked the elder why it happened and there was a surprisingly logical reason behind it. Yasaka and Kunou were heavenly foxes. They were considered followers of the Goddess Inari, priestesses of Amaterasu and in Yasaka's case, master of Senjutsu. All of that combined gave Yasaka and to a far lesser extent, Kunou, an aura filled with warmth of the sun, gentleness of a mother and a sense of steadiness. It was enough to affect anyone let alone a troubled youth on the verge of mental breakdown. In the end, it didn't matter why it was but that I missed it. So, I brought it up with old Gen. The old man said that he had his own business to attend to, so we made plans of meeting up at a place in Europe and separated. The old man went wherever he had to be and I made my back to Kyoto, at full speed.

I went as high as I could without losing sight of the ground and loosened the dam. The rush was becoming more and more addicting. It was similar to a feeling of being able to run after being tied down for a week and it was exhilarating. I had never just enjoyed running around at full speed before. One of the things I discovered about myself was that I liked free falling from extreme heights. The feeling of air rushing against my skin and the weightlessness was just plain fun. Letting go of everything for a few minutes, it helped me centre myself. I soon reached the outer layer of Ura-Kyoto and since I wasn't holding back much, they sensed me and a few people gathered quickly. I went down as I slowly tightened the dam and was greeted by a slightly worried looking Kurodo.

"Ichigo, what happened?" Before leaving Kyoto, I had finally managed to make Kurodo drop the '-dono' as well.

"Nothing. I came back for a visit and possibly some stories over a drink." I answered with a smile. Kurodo calmed down hearing that and replied with a smile.

"I won't say no to a few drinks, though please refrain from making such an entrance again. Kunou-sama will be happy to see you as well." With that I was led to the palace and met with Yasaka. She welcomed me with a smile.

"Ichigo. How are you? I barely felt your presence when you entered the boundary of Kyoto. You have gotten much better at controlling your powers."

"Well, old Gen helped." I replied with a shrug. I went ahead and sat down close to her and briefly explained my training. Just being near her made me feel the effect her aura and presence had on me. I took a deep breath and started meditating. Yasaka looked at me with raised eyebrows before shaking her head softly and going back to her paperwork. Just like that, we entered a comfortable silence. The slight noises of pen scratching on paper almost lulled me to sleep. An hour or so later, Yasaka opened her mouth.

"So? Why did you come back so suddenly Ichigo?" She asked me lightly, hoping to start a conversation. I was a bit muddle-headed due to nearly falling asleep. In such a state, I couldn't exactly control my tongue and blurted out honestly.

"Hmm? Oh, I missed you, so I came back."

Suddenly there was pin drop silence in the room. Yasaka looked at me, thinking she heard wrong and asked again.

"What?" Hearing the slightly weird tone, I woke up and opened my mouth to answer before stopping. My brain just processed what my mouth had said. I wanted to refute it, change it, take it back but the words didn't come out because of the scene in front of me.

Yasaka was blushing. Seeing the usually composed, teasing and mature Yasaka blush was enough to render me completely speechless.

--(General-POV)--

Yasaka was a good leader. She was the pride of the Japanese Youkai. She was a great leader. She loved her people and her people loved her back. She worried about them and they worried about her. So when she was pregnant with Kunou, her people were happy, especially the ones who worked directly with or under her. She was a good person as well, she was smart and beautiful and strong and kind, her people loved her dearly. When they thought she would get a husband who would pamper her, they were giddy. Finally! Their beloved leader would get some much needed pampering, someone to spoil her and indulge her. They were so happy for their leader. But the husband never showed up. Even during the childbirth, no such person appeared.

They got angry. Who?! Who would dare get their leader pregnant and not take responsibility?! Who in their right mind would not be willing to take Yasaka-sama as their wife?! Such thoughts plagued them, so they searched. They searched in secret, trying their best not to tip their leader off. They found nothing. Even after three full years of constant searching, they couldn't find a single thing about the father of their little princess. Yasaka-sama never talked about it. They thought she was hurt due to the betrayal. So they held a meeting. The most courageous and zealous amongst them were selected to ask Yasaka-sama about the father of their princess.

After a year of pushing and encouragement, one of them finally asked. The answer they got was... anticlimactic to say the least. Apparently, their leader had gotten pregnant with the help of Inari-sama. Inari-sama was known to be able to take the form of both genders as well as something in between and a fox. But that wasn't what they were hyped for! They wanted to find the one who abandoned Yasaka-sama and punish them! But it was useless. Yasaka-sama didn't care and had told them to not care about it either. They could do nothing but accept it, that their princess was a blessing from a goddess and move on and try their best to help their leader. But they were still sad that there was no one to spoil their beloved leader and so, the search continued, but this time to find someone who would spoil and pamper their leader!

But Yasaka's standings were such that there were very few people who met the minimum requirements. Those who did, were already married. While being in a harem was an accepted thing, they wanted the best for their leader. She had to be the first wife at the very least. No one could meet such requirements, but miraculously, someone showed up! Someone very strong and handsome. This person liked Yasaka-sama and she liked them as well. She had been far more animated and talkative ever since they showed up. Even Kunou-sama liked the person as well! To top it all of, the person was not married! All that was left was to see their personality and willingness to spoil their leader and their princess.

They learned from Kurodo and the other guards that sparred with him that Ichigo was a good person. He was so strong that all of them combined wouldn't even be able to scratch him. On top of that, they learned that he was very indulging with Kunou-sama and liked to spoil her in small ways. It was good enough for them and their princess liked it as well. So, it was decided! They would try to nudge Ichigo and Yasaka together. If the attraction they saw was real, it might lead to something but if not, they could still remain friends, hopefully.

But before anything deeper could form or they had any time to implement their plans, the man named Ichigo Kurosaki left with Elder Gen. Yasaka-sama's mood got a bit worse. She was still a great person but she was less animated. She went back to her previous self of only smiling at her daughter and a select few amongst her closest workers.

--(Yasaka's-POV)--

I hadn't realised that having someone to talk to without worrying about saying anything out of line was such a blessing. Ichigo entered my life quite suddenly. He was someone who wasn't affiliated or connected to anyone else in this world. Someone I could talk to and even tease without worrying about offending anyone. It was gratifying not having to worry about any of that. There were others like that around me of course but they were mostly subservient and didn't see themselves as my equal, no matter how I acted with them. The remaining had their own duties and could only spare a few hours every week or so for small talk.

I was of course a bit sceptical of him at first but those doubts didn't remain for long. One of the reasons I was such a successful leader was my ability to discern lies, given to me by My Lady, Amaterasu-sama. So when Ichigo told me his story and explained his circumstances and I couldn't detect a single lie, I felt a lot better. During his earliest stay, his mental state was very unstable. I did feel bad but I used that to my advantage and asked him a few questions that would tell me about what kind of man Ichigo was. After all, he was an extremely powerful being.

I didn't even go through all of the questions before understanding the kind of man Ichigo was. He fought and sought out more power for protecting others. He realised that he was special and decided that he would rather help others than let his powers go to waste. A good man that managed to stay upright even with the weight of an entire world on his shoulders. He fought till the end and even won but what happened to his world was truly a tragedy, brought by the delusions of a single man.

When he left on his trip with Elder Gen, I thought everything would go back to the way it was before he appeared and it did. But I also realized how utterly boring my usual routine was. I enjoyed her work and helping my people but that was a joy brought by helping others. The only times I let herself go was when I was around my daughter. I didn't even have any hobbies for Kami's sake! So when I met someone who I could rant to and someone who could understand me, I slowly opened up. I didn't know it would be this fun just fooling around with someone. Not to mention that Ichigo was a good looking fellow, very pleasing to look at. Also very fun to tease.

I knew that my feelings weren't all that platonic. He was just too... tasty looking, especially since he started walking around wearing a loose Yukata. I had also seen the looks he gave me and knew that the feeling of attraction was mutual, but neither of us knew how to bring such a topic up. I might have lived for a few centuries but I hadn't even kissed the opposite gender. Kunou was a gift bestowed upon me by Inari-sama. The gods didn't need intercourse to get a mortal pregnant. I was the same, just a slight touch on my belly and I was with Kunou. I also wanted a bit of romance in my life and Ichigo was such a great prospect.

So, not even a week after he left, I started to miss him. Kunou was also sad that her cool and spoiling big brother had left and she didn't have anyone to play with anymore. And just when I was getting used to my boring routine again, he suddenly decided to show up. No word for an entire month and now he was back again. He entered my room and I greeted him with a smile. We talked for a bit before he quieted down and started to meditate. I was a bit peeved but I would allow him to have some rest. For an hour or so, I focused on my work before trying to start a conversation again. The answer surprised me because I felt no lie in it. I asked for confirmation before I could stop myself. Seeing the look on his face made me realize that my face a bit hot.

--(Ichigo's-POV)--

We were both feeling a bit awkward after what happened. Though after a few minutes of silence, Yasaka seemed to have had enough and decided that since I was hesitating, she would have to take the lead.

"I missed your company too." She said, not being entirely straightforward.

I fell into reflective thoughts after hearing her say that. When I was on the verge of death in the lonely void, I was regretful for keeping the people around me at arm's length and not letting anyone get too close. Right now I had a chance to form a deeper bond with someone who I was attracted to. From her words just now, it was at least clear that the attraction was mutual and not one sided. Hence, I decided to be more straightforward. If it worked out, it worked out. If not... we'll see about that when it gets to that point.

So I told her about my thoughts, what I felt as well as the conversation I had with Elder Gen about the feeling I got whenever I was close to her. In turn, Yasaka told me about the reason she first helped him, how it evolved and her current thoughts. After letting everything out of our system, I still had one final question. Kunou's father. So I asked her directly.

"What about Kunou's father?" I hadn't even heard a peep about the man, let alone seen him. Neither Yasaka nor Kunou talked about the man. He was either dead, or worse, a deadbeat asshole. Since there weren't even rumours about the man, I had assumed the worst.

Yasaka looked at me for a while with her head tilted sideways for a moment, she looked extremely cute doing that, before her eyes widened slightly as if she understood something. The smile that appeared on her face did not bode well for me. I forgot my question for a while when she came and sat on my lap. I opened my mouth to say something, but it was quickly closed by another pair of lips. I forgot to breathe at that moment but thankfully, I didn't need to breathe in the first place. She separated only after a few minutes had passed.

Before I could say or do anything stupid, she said with a smile.

"That was my first kiss Ichigo."

"Huh, but, Kunou..." I was still processing what happened for the last few minutes as well as her statement.

"I keep forgetting that you were very much a human just a few years ago in another world and you don't know a lot of stuff about the supernatural powers of this world." Yasaka said with a soft hmm. That at least allowed me to collect my wits.

"What does that have to do with Kunou's father?" I asked with confusion. She was still sitting on my lap and feeling her soft body on mine was highly distracting. Her tails were out and about, swirling all around me and slowly encircling me with warm softness. She kept humming.

"Let me think. How do I explain it in simple human terms? Hmm. Ah! You can think of it as artificial insemination! You know what that is right?" She said looking at me. I nodded.

"The gods here have the power to impregnate a willing woman without intercourse. The one who helped me was Inari-sama. I accepted because I couldn't find anyone who I fancied and because it would ensure that Kunou would be stronger than me in the future."

"How does that work?" I asked with a frown.

"Oh that would require me to tell you about the powers of a god, which would require me to tell you how the gods were born. It would keep going until I would have to tell you about creation itself, so it's a very long story. For now, just think of it as artificial insemination." She said with a thoughtful expression. We once again fell into a comfortable silence, though she clearly didn't have any intentions of getting off of my lap. Her tails had now completely encircled me. I could do nothing but accept it.

With a twitch on my lips, I circled my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her head, between her soft ears. It seemed like she was waiting for that, because as soon as I rested my chin on her head, she used two of her tails to drag and turn the table with the paperwork and started working again, all the while humming a tune I didn't know.

Surrounded by all the softness, the usual feelings magnified due to direct contact, the slight fragrance of nature on her and her humming, I fell asleep quickly and for the first time in a while, peacefully.

Feeling him go slack after a few minutes, Yasaka got up, laid him down and put his head on her lap and continued to work all the while humming a happy tune.

First of all, I don't know shit about romance so everything I wrote in this chapter was whatever felt right to me. So, tell me what you guys think, if it was any good or any ways I can improve it.