"Boy!" Normal Speech.

'Boy!' Normal Thought.

"Nista!" Power/Technique.

"Loki" Demonic/Dragon Speeches.

'Loki' Demonic/Dragon Thoughts.

Summary: At seventeen years of age, Atreus and his father found themselves in another realm, one that was unfortunately filled with the less crazy, but irritating versions of the gods they had slain. Can they live their life in peace? Or the supernatural world of DxD will be forced to know the full might of THE God of War? Atreus will try to make sure that won't happen… anytime soon at least.

The story will focus on Atreus, with Kratos being a side-character most of the time.

Warning: There will be a lot of smut, lemon and 18+ stuff in this story. Read at your own risk! You have been warned

Son of War

Chapter 11

Business trips were, usually, a drag.

It was calming and uneventful…

…but sometimes, it could be straight up annoying for Kratos.

"Kaoru-san, I heard your son graduated from Tokyo University. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Tatsuo-san. How was your son, by the way? Still flying around the world doing charitable jobs with his group of friends from the United Nations?"

As Kratos sat in the back of a cabin of the train traveling to Kyoto, hands on his knees, the former God of War had to listen to his coworkers' stories about their children. He might not look like it, preferring to stay out of their conversation all the time and making sure that they knew he wanted them to let him be, but he did listen and to be frank, he had zero clue what they were talking about. However, judging by the pride in their tones, he knew that they were boasting to one another about how amazing their children were.

Though, Kratos could understand well why they did that almost all the time. Children were, after, the pride of their parents, who would do anything for them.

"Kevin-san." One of the new coworkers, whose name and role in the crew Kratos believed to be Yamato and site manager, suddenly called out to him to gain his attention, using the fake name that goddess of love had suggested, with his son agreeing, to conceal his actual identity "We have not heard you talk much about your son. He's a third year student at Kuoh Academy, yes?"

"Yes." Kratos answered simply, his tone as nonchalant as ever whenever he talked to his coworkers, which were all that they were to him, nothing more, nothing less.

"I have only been to Kuoh for a few weeks, but isn't it an all-girls school?" Yamato asked, before bursting out in humorous laughter with the two sitting with him, who were also new members of the crew. Though his gaze hardened just a slight bit, his beard hid most of his facial expression from view, and Kratos spoke nothing in response, continuing to remain as impassive as always.

He did not have to prove anything to these fools.

"Alright, that's enough you guys!" Yoshioka Toshikazu spoke to the three in a firm tone, as he made his way back into the cabin. A man in his mid-forties, Yoshioka was the architect and the leader of the crew, whose skills, leadership and dedication for his works were something Kratos had not seen since Sparta, and for that, he was the only man of the group that had his respect. "We will be arriving in Kyoto shortly. The station is only 10 minutes away, so double check your stuff to make sure that we are not going to leave anything behind."

"Understood, boss." They all said, with the only exception being Kratos, who stood up from his seat to go check the boxes and packs that contained the crew's equipment after receiving a nod from Yoshioka.

After that, it did not take it long for the Toshikazu Construction Company to arrive at Kyoto Station, which was stated by the man in charge to be the second-largest station building, incorporating a shopping mall, a hotel, a movie theater, department stores, and several local government facilities under one 15-story roof, making it one of the centers of activities in Kyoto.

With his raw physical strength, Kratos helped his coworkers with unloading their belongings and equipment from the train and putting them on carts. They would be working to restore Fushimi Inari-taisha, which was heavily damaged by the previous storm that had hit the entire city, so there was no telling how long they would be staying in Kyoto, even though Yoshioka claimed he could get it done in under a week, an impressive feat because Kratos had read an article about the shrine on the newspaper and saw how bad it was damaged. Most of his coworkers brought with them a lot of personal stuff, while Kratos simply carried a few pairs of shoes, fresh clothes with some long sleeved shirts to cover the scars on his forearms.

Not that he had ever needed any more than that.

As Yoshioka led his crew out of the station, with Kratos trailing in the back carrying three big stacked up boxes on one shoulder, being the one who attracted the most attention not just because of the stuffs he was carrying, but also his foreign look, ashen colored skin and imposing figure. By the time that they arrived at the gate, a person was standing there and seemingly waiting for them, having the appearance of a young woman with short blonde hair dressed in a white top and long red skirt, which Kratos believed to be a traditional attire for a priestess. He wouldn't feel surprised if she was one, judging by the fact that they would be working at Fushimi Inari-taisa, one of the grand head shrines of Japan of the Japanese goddess Inari.

Ah yes, a god… why wasn't he surprised? His son got himself tangled up with that Greek goddess of love, and now he's going to help fix the shrine that was dedicated to the goddess Inari Okami, one of the principals Kami of the Shinto. As much as he had wanted to avoid them, it appeared that the same problem still followed him and his son, no matter what world they were in.

"You must be Yasaka-sama's representative."

"And you must be Yoshioka Toshikazu-san." The shrine maiden replied, as she bent over at the waist to bow her head to Yoshioka, who politely did the same in response "Please to meet you. My name is Mina, Yasaka-sama's assistant. She sent me here to bring you to Fushimi Inari shrine, where she is waiting."

"So Yasaka-sama has truly decided to supervise the restoration of the shrine herself?" Yoshioka asked.

"Yes, Fushimi Inari-taisa is an important shrine to our culture. As the head priestess of Kyoto, she wishes to see the shrine restored to its former state more than anyone else, so please accept her apology for making that last minute decision without informing you and your group." Mina said with another bow.

"Oh don't worry, it's not a problem at all." Yoshioka shook his head before turning slightly around to gesture his hand to his crew, a group of twenty men and women, including Kratos "These men and women here are my crew. They will be working with me as I help Yasaka-sama restore the shrine to its former state. Now, let's go there. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get started."

The shrine maiden lowered her head in understanding, giving the group a glance that stopped for a moment at Kratos, but soon she turned her gaze away out of politeness before gesturing her hand to the side and leading the group toward the two buses parking on the driveway of the stations. There, Kratos loaded up the boxes and a few of their belongings into the luggage compartment of the second bus, with both bus drivers lending him their help, though they seemed to have immediately regretted offering it when each box was incredibly heavy.

Once done, Kratos entered the second bus, and sat at the back by himself as usual for the entire duration of the trip to Fushimi Inari shrine in southwestern Kyoto, which was just as uneventful and dull as any trips he had taken without his son at his side and a proper goal the past few years.

Kratos would never admit it, especially to Atreus, but he missed the days when his son was still a curious boy and asked him just about anything that he saw and they encountered on their journeys. His son still had much to learn, but Kratos had taught him almost everything that he knew during their war against Asgard.

If anything, the only things that he could offer now was guidance and advice as he walked his own life… There was no more lesson to be taught.

"You gotta be kidding me." Yamato the site manager said with a nervous shudder, as he stood before the main gate at the foot of Inariyama hill and stared up at the path leading up to the main shrine at the top of the mountain lined with thousands of torii, a traditional Japanese gate that was bright orange in color. "We are supposed to go up there by foot?" He asked his two friends and the others, pointing his hand at the path.

"Stop complaining and hurry the hell up. Kevin is carrying the heaviest loads and you see the man complaining?" Yoshioka shouted in annoyance from the back, as Kratos walked past them with the boxes of construction equipment on his shoulders to make his way up the mountain, almost in a relaxing manner. "Go ahead, Kevin! Don't wait for us!"

Simply nodding his head to the middle aged architect, Kratos continued to make his way up Inariyama hill, not stopping even for a moment to take in the scenery, but he did notice some of the damages that were caused by the storm that hit Kyoto a few days ago, mostly some fallen trees and a large amount of dirt and small to medium sized rocks on the path. Nevertheless, he had no doubt that if Atreus were here with him then he would have a great time sightseeing and running around taking notes of everything that he saw. His son had always had more interests for these kinds of things than him.

Kratos wondered what his son was doing. He knew Atreus was taking that trip to the mountain with his friends in Kuoh, but was he working to improve his relationship with that red haired girl who clearly had feelings for him? Kratos wondered. Although she was a devil, Kratos had acknowledged the fact that she would be a much better girlfriend to his son, than the goddess of love herself, as ironic as that would be, having been judging Rias' quality as a companion for life for his son, and so far she had yet to disappoint him.

"Halt!" Having reached the end of the path leading to the top of the hill, it did not take long for Kratos to encounter the guards of the shrine, who tried to stop him when they saw him approaching. He wouldn't blame them for being too cautious, though. They had every reason to be when… he looked the way he was. "The shrine is closed for restoration. We are not open for tourists today. State your business or I will have to ask you to leave."

"I am with the Toshikazu." Kratos answered calmly as he stopped in front of the two guards, towering over them both and making them back off rather nervously. "I suggest that you move out of the way. These cargos need to be taken directly to the shrine so my colleagues can instantly start repairing it." He spoke to the two guards, his tone brooking no further argument. Giving each other a look, the two gods then nodded their heads at Kratos before moving out of his way so he could continue to reach his final destination, but followed after him as soon as he had walked a good enough distance ahead of them.

Kratos paid them no mind, and continued to make his way up until he finally arrived at the front yard of Fushimi Inari-taisa's main shrine, where he wasted no time to get to work, bringing out the tools that were stored inside the first box before opening the second to take out and set up his guard post, where he would stay for the entire duration of the operation, as well as all of the necessary equipment for the job, including his uniform.

It wasn't much, but Kratos did also bring with him the portable coffee machine Atreus had given him as a gift a while back to celebrate him finding a stable job. Wine was still his preferred choice of drink, but while it's impossible for him to get drunk on mortal wine, Kratos had been told that he should not be seen drinking on the job, so coffee should do.

"Ah! The ball!"

"Be careful, Kunou."

As Kratos stepped out of his guard post, dressed up in his uniform of blue colors, he heard the shout of a child, followed by a soft reminder by a woman before noticing a yellow ball rolling at his feet, hitting his ankle before rolling slowly away. It would most likely roll down the torii path as well, if Kratos did not put his right foot right on top of it, stopping it from continuing to roll away before bending down to pick it up.

"Ah, ojii-san, thank you for stopping it for me." Kratos then turned his gaze to the side, and looked at the little girl who appeared to have tried to chase after the ball. She was a short little girl who looked to be still in elementary school with golden, blonde hair tied in a ponytail and matching eyes. Her attire was the same as the priestesses Kratos had seen, but the sleeves of her haori featured giant red star-shaped pentagrams, surrounded by five smaller pentagrams in between the points. "Can I… have my ball back please?"

She asked, looking up at Kratos with her hands raising in the air, though she was so short that the tip of her fingers did not even reach his hips' level, even while tiptoeing.

Kratos simply gave the ball in his hand a one second look, before moving it toward her and opening his hand, letting it roll off his palm down to her and making her catch the ball herself. The girl, however, fumbled a little as she tried to do so, but ended up having the ball hit the top of her head instead before it fell down to the ground and rolled away again.

Clumsy.

"Ah." The girl said as she chased after the ball again. This time, however, she was able to catch it in time as it slowed down, though Kratos' attention was then turned over to a woman as walked up to the little girl with a gentle smile on her face.

It wasn't difficult for him to see the resembles and realize that she was this little girl's mother, a beautiful woman with delicate features, her blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail by a floral hair band, reaching all the way down to her legs that ends in a spiral. She was also dressed in the traditional shrine maiden attire similar to her daughter, but with the addition of a white coat held closed by a red ribbon.

"Kunou, don't you have something to say to the kind ojii-san?" She asked, smiling gently at her daughter, who nodded her head in understanding before turning around to bow politely to Kratos.

"Thank you, ojii-san, for catching the ball for me." She said, as her mother turned her gaze up to look at Kratos, smiling at him.

"You must be with Yoshioka-san." She said, and Kratos nodded his head in response before she introduced herself politely "How do you do? My name is Yasaka, and I am the head priestess of Kyoto. Please to make your acquaintance."

"Take your child somewhere else to play, woman." The former God of war told Yasaka simply, as he reached into his guard post and brought out a stack of construction warning signs, making Yasaka look at him curiously, feeling slightly surprised by the bluntness in the way he addressed her "The operation will begin soon."

"I understand. My apology for the trouble." She said, bowing her head to Kratos before putting a hand on her daughter's back and giving her a meaningful smile, making the little girl nod her head at her before they both left, making their way back to the shrine that Kratos could see was somewhat damaged. Turning away, Kratos wasted no time to go back to work, setting up the signs around the entrance, his guard post and the entire area itself.

Once done, the former God of war returned to his post, grabbed his chair, some newspaper he had brought with him, brewed for himself some coffee, following a recipe Rias Gremory had shown him and his son, and then took a seat next to his guard post to begin doing his job. When Yoshioka arrived with the rest of the crew, he simply gave the boss a nod his head, which he returned with one of his own, having gotten used to his way of communicating, and then turned back to the article he was reading to practice his Japanese, and the cup of coffee he was drinking, as the construction crew exchanged some greetings with Yasaka and her daughter.

Yamato, his friends and a number of other male members of the crew were completely enamored by the woman's beauty and attractiveness, but an annoyed shout from Yoshioka snapped them out of it and immediately got to work.

The operation went on smoothly for the entire morning, with Kratos helping out whenever he was asked by Yoshioka, but if there wasn't anything that demanded his attention, then he would just sit at his guard post and made sure visitors were all checked and knew where they were going, showing them to Yasaka if they wanted to see her, as she personally supervised the restoration of the shrine.

As the two shrine guards had pointed out to him, the shrine was closed for tourists, so the only ones who came were those who worked at the shrines, priests and priestesses as well as a number of worshippers of the Shinto goddess Inari, so Kratos appreciated the fact that they were well behaved and did not try to cause any unnecessary troubles for him and the construction crew.

"Alright! We are done for the morning, people. Let's have our lunch break!"

Yoshioka announced, making his crew stop whatever they were doing and put down the tools in their hands to gather outside. Kratos, meanwhile, finished drinking his fifth cup of coffee and took notes of the kanji that he could not read in the newspapers, while finding the articles written there as uninteresting as ever.

"Ojii-san." As Kratos flipped to another page, he suddenly heard a call by a familiar voice, and lowered his newspaper just a little to see Kunou, the little girl from before standing looking up at him. "My mother made these, and she wants you to have one."

She said, making Kratos lower his newspaper a bit more, and see the bento box in her hands, with a pair of chopsticks and plenty of delicious looking foods with a healthy amount of rice. Looking to the side, Kratos could see that her mother was handing out lunch boxes similar to the one her daughter was giving him to his coworkers with the help of another shrine maiden, giving them warm, gentle smiles as they thanked her heartfully for her kindness and the delicious foods.

Once she had given another member of the crew his lunch, Yasaka then looked at her daughter, making sure that she was fine and saw Kratos looking at her, to which she responded with a smile and a slight bow of her head to him before waving her hand at her daughter.

"Please accept it." Kunou then said, turning Kratos' eyes back to her. The former god of war said nothing, but he put his newspaper down and reached his hand out for it, taking the lunchbox from Kunou's hands with a look of gratitude. "You should eat it now while it is still hot, and drink less coffee. Mother said coffee wasn't good for my health, but I have seen you drinking it all morning."

"Your mother was right, little girl." Kratos replied to her curtly as he brought his cup of coffee to his lips and finished it, making Kunou pout at him with her arms crossing on her chest, before noticing the opened notebook on his lap and seeing the words he had written down.

"You are… taking notes of what you are reading, right? So you really are a foreigner." The girl said before looking to the side, as if she was trying to look at a faraway country "I have never left Kyoto before. It's not like I want to leave the city, especially on my own, but I wonder how things are overseas."

"Same as they are here, little girl." Kratos answered her curiosity.

"By the way, I saw you carried those torii gates by yourself earlier. You are really strong. Are all foreigners as strong as you are?"

"No, they are not."

"My mother is really strong too, and she can be strict and scary sometimes. I hate it when I don't eat my vegetables, or be polite to elders."

"A good mother raises a good son or daughter, but a strict one can raise a wonderful person. Your mother knows what's best for you, little girl."

"Eh… that sounds so complicated, but I will hold your words on that one, ojii-san." Kunou smiled before bowing her head to him and running back to her mother, who smiled and ruffed her hair for a job well done. Kratos couldn't help but linger her gaze on the girl for a moment. In a way, her curiosity about the world was just like that of Atreus when he was younger and they first left their home, while her innocence and naivety, meanwhile, reminded him of Calliope, his daughter.

Sighing longingly, the seasoned warrior looked sadly at the palm of his hand, at the ashes of his first wife and his beloved daughter. It was thanks to Atreus and Faye that he had been able to make peace with his past, but he still remembered as clear as daylight the moment he ran his blades through Cassandra and Calliope's bodies, killing them. He knew that it was Ares who made him do it, but it had been him who had allowed his rage to drive his action, and for it, he was forever cursed to carry their ashes on his skin as a constant reminder of his horrible deeds.

It was the greatest, most painful regret of his life, something that he would always have to remember, and be reminded of till the very end.

"You sure that you don't want to come with us, Kevin-san?" A coworker asked Kratos, stopping at his guard post while the others continued to make their ways down the hill. It was quarter past eight in the evening, and works had stopped about an hour ago, but the group continued to remain behind to take part in a dinner Yasaka and the shrine maidens had prepared for them.

"No. I will be fine here." Kratos answered the question, making the coworker shrug his shoulders before following the rest as they made their way down Inariyama Hill to reach the buses, which would then take them to a hotel Yasaka had set for them to spend the night at. The place seemed to be of high quality, because they all looked excited after hearing the name of the hotel…

… everyone except for Kratos, who had decided to stay behind to keep an eye on the construction tools and equipment that were left behind by his colleagues overnight, even though Yasaka had told him that it was not needed since she had guards stationed around the shrine at all times. Kratos did not doubt them, but it was his job to watch over the site, and he would continue to do so until works there were done.

Though, it appeared that he wasn't going to be the only one who continued to remain behind.

"Eh? You aren't going home with me, Haha-Ue?" Kunou asked her mother, who was standing before her daughter with a female assistant standing at their side.

"I am so sorry, Kunou, but until the shrine is restored, your mother has to stay to keep watch over it." Yasaka said as she gently rubbed Kunou's hair. "Izumi-san will take you home, and bring you back to me tomorrow morning, so be a good girl and go home without me, understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Haha-Ue." Kunou looked like she wanted to argue, but still nodded her head and answered her mother, making Yasaka smile brightly before rubbing her cheek lightly as she turned to Izumi, the assistant standing at her side and spoke to her.

"Make sure my daughter brushes her teeth before going to bed tonight, and don't let her stay up too late." Izumi bowed to the blonde woman, making Kunou pout at her mother.

As the two took their leave with a small group of guards, Kunou suddenly stopped when she reached Kratos' guard post and the man himself, who had returned to his seat on the chair that he placed next to his station.

"You are the security guard, so please watch over my mother for me too, Ojii-san." She said to him, making Kratos look at her for a long moment, noticing how she really meant it in more ways than one, before saying with a nod of his head.

"If it comes to my attention that the safety of our employer, your mother, is questioned, then I shall see to it that she is safe, little girl." Kratos spoke to Kunou. Although it was more of a reheard of his job description more than anything else, he meant it. His tone remained unchanged, but the little girl smiled brightly before taking her leave with her mother's assistant, making Kratos and Yasaka two of the only people left in the main shrine.

"It appears to me that you have been drinking nothing but coffee, Kevin-san." Yasaka then said, looking at Kratos as he grabbed his portable coffee machine and brew for himself another drink "I know that you need to stay awake tonight, but don't you think that it's a bit too much coffee?"

"No." Kratos answered simply, as he poured the coffee from the machine into his cup before glancing at Yasaka when he noticed her holding out a cup of her own, smaller and more delicate than his.

"Can I have some of that too?" She asked with a small smile "I will need to stay up tonight as well, but we don't have a coffee machine here, and I don't want to trouble my assistants with traveling up and down this hill constantly for my needs." Kratos just looked at her for a second before moving his coffee machine over to her glass and filling it half way up, as she gave him a small, grateful smile.

"Thank you." Yasaka said and brought her cup of coffee over to her lips, blowing gently before taking a small sip. It was nighttime, so Kratos already had his lambs set up, illuminating the rather dark area of the shrine. "By the way, Kevin-san… Thank you for accepting my daughter's request. She was able to return home no longer feeling worried."

"I will simply do my job, nothing more." Kratos replied to her.

"Oh, I know." Yasaka smiled and nodded her head at him "But still, I am grateful for the words you said to Kunou. She worries too much about me, sometimes it might be even more so than I am about her."

"You raised your daughter well, woman. She's a good girl." Kratos suddenly said, making Yasaka look at him in surprise, not expecting anything like it from a man of few words like him.

"Oh, thank you, Kevin-san." Yasaka smiled gratefully at him before she asked "Say… do you have children, Kevin-san?"

"I have a son… and once, a daughter." Almost as soon as Kratos had finished answering her question, Yasaka came to regret asking him. She did not hear the sadness in his tone, but she could sense it from him, and see the faraway look in his eyes as he gazed at the city below the hill. They had an amazing view of Kyoto from where they were, but Yasaka had no doubt that the ashen skinned man wasn't taking in any of the scenery.

"I am sorry, Kevin-san… I didn't know." She said to him, lowering her head.

"No, you didn't." Kratos said, shifting on his seat as he continued "She's around your daughter's age when she passed away, maybe a year or two older."

"I see… she must have been a wonderful girl."

"She was. Yours as well. You seem to be doing a good job at raising your daughter."

"Ara, thank you, Kevin-san."

The two of them said nothing more to each other after that, with Yasaka simply standing there and continuing to drink her coffee, occasionally glancing over to Kratos, who appeared to be perfectly fine with the silence that had fallen upon them. The blonde haired woman, however, wasn't quite feeling the same and it wasn't hard for her to find a suitable subject to turn to for another conversation with him, breaking the silence.

"Say… you live in Kuoh town like the other members of Yoshioka-san's group, don't you?" She asked, and Kratos simply nodded his head in response "The sister of an associate of mine also lives in Kuoh as well, you see."

Kratos continued to remain silent, but he did turn his head a little to look at Yasaka, feeling slightly intrigued. From Atreus, he knew Rias Gremory was the little sister of a leader of the Devils, and couldn't help but wonder if the one Yasaka talked about was her. If there was one thing that he knew too well, it was that there were very few things that happened in life that could just be coincidences.

However, if that was the case, then could Yasaka be more than she appeared to be? He had met a witch in the woods who turned out to be the goddess Freya, and he was the god of war who was working as a random security guard, so anything was possible to him at this point.

"Yasaka-sama, there's a matter that requires your attention." A shrine maiden then said as she came up to stand beside Yasaka, who nodded her head at her in understanding before looking back at Kratos.

"Well, I will leave you to your work then, Kevin-san." Yasaka said to him, before raising her cup of coffee and tapping the side gently a few times with a small smile "I will be coming back for more coffee later, so please try not to drink all that you have brought with you." And with that said, she walked away with the assistant, leaving Kratos behind to continue his night shift.

Break

It was around midnight that Kratos grabbed his flashlight and patrolled the other entrances of Fushimi Inari-Taisha's main shrine, making sure that no unwanted and uninvited 'visitors' could sneak in, secretly wanting to see how the shrine guards were doing. Just as he had expected, though, the men and women of Yasaka remained as vigilant as they had been earlier on that day, standing guard dutifully at various curial points around the shrine and only giving Kratos a simple greeting when he walked past them.

Judging by the seriousness that they all had, there seemed to be more about Fushimi Inari-Taisha and the head priestess of the place just as Kratos had thought. It was, after all, a shrine dedicated to the Shinto goddess Inari, and Kratos knew better than anyone that gods did exist in this world, even though they might not be the same gods like himself or those that he had fought and killed.

Ruffle!

As Kratos began to make his way back to the main entrance of the shrine from the back, the god of war suddenly heard the sounds of bushes being slightly stirred, and spun around to see who it was, using his flashlight to illuminate the dark area. He knew that someone was there, but they had hidden themselves before he could catch a glimpse of them.

Or it might just be a rabbit.

"Hmm…" Turning back, Kratos turned back and continued the rest of his patrol path, disappearing behind a corner.

"See? I told you guys that baldy was an idiot with muscles for brain." Spoke the person who was hiding behind a tree smugly as he stepped out from behind it to his two partners, one of whom was hiding behind a rock while the other was flat on the ground inside a large bush. Leaving their covers, the three grouped up with each other and dusted themselves up, before the one who appeared to be the leader said "Come on. We are almost running out of time. Let's make our way in, and remember, avoid that nine tailed woman at all cost."

The other two nodded their heads in understanding, allowing the leader to turn around. The moment he did that, however, he instantly found himself coming face to face with the powerfully muscular and imposing figure of none other than Kratos himself, who stood there under the moonlight with a somewhat menacing look on his face despite currently gazing down at them quite calmly and nonchalantly. The flashlight was still in his hand, but turned off.

"Holy shit, Kevin-san!" The leader, who was none other than Yamato himself, cried loudly in shock with a hand on his chest, and the other on Kratos' shoulder to support himself. Beside him, his two friends whose name Kratos did not remember also had a similar expression, gazing up at Kratos with wide eyes "Don't sneak up on us like that, mate. You scared me."

"What do you want?" Kratos asked simply, reaching across his shoulder with one arm to flick Yamato's hand off of his shoulder.

"Oh, we realized we forgot something at our post, so we came to retrieve them." Yamato answered simply "So you won't mind if we come in to grab it, will you?" He asked, and did not wait for Kratos to answer his question to try crossing him and making his way further into the shrine with his two companions. Kratos, however, did not let them, as he shot his hand up to grab Yamato by his upper arm, stopping him from going anyway.

"No." Kratos told Yamato with a firm grip on his arm, stopping his two friends as well with a firm look on his face "Whatever that you seek, it's not here. I have double checked everything that you left behind. If I was wrong, however, you can come back for your belonging tomorrow morning."

"Oh come on now. We really need them, you know." Yamato tried to reason with a laugh, but Kratos continued to hold him still "Come on now, Kevin-san. You know us. We are your fellow coworkers from the Toshikazu group, aren't we?" He asked, while trying to break himself out of Kratos' grip, but his hand did not even bulge.

"Leave… and come back tomorrow." Kratos said, his tone much harder and having more authority in it this time.

"Fine." Yamato said with a sigh, his expression changing drastically as he looked at Kratos with a smile "You asked for it then, dumbfuck."

And with that said, he threw his punch at Kratos' face, but the ashen skinned man did not even bulge, his head not turning even as Yamato's fist came into contact with his cheek. Surprised, Yamato tried to throw another punch, but this time, Kratos did not let it reach his face and reached his other hand up to grab it before twisting it down, causing Yamato to cry out in pain as he moved his body so to not get the bone of his arm snapped.

"I warned you." Kratos said, and then released Yamato's arm to throw his own fist. Judging by the strength behind that punch just now, Yamato was not a normal human, and so he had no reason to hold back.

As Yamato got his face smashed in by the god of war, his two friends had time to prepare for Kratos, manifesting two identical magic circles before the palms of their raised hands before unleashing a blast of magic at the god of war at point blank range, who took the blast directly for a moment as he was sent skidding backwards, breaking through the fence wall of the shrine with his his feet sliding on the ground for a moment until he raised both arms on his chest to block it, a firm look on his face as he gazed at the three and stopped himself.

"Kevin-san, what is…"

Yasaka, who had heard the ruckus, hurriedly ran out of from the inner sanctum of the shrine with a number of guards at her side, a look of surprise on her face as she gazed between the muscular security guard and the three people standing just outside the shrine's perimeter, magic still flashing on their hands. Instantly, she realized what was going on, and came to a decision

"Guards, seize those men!" The blonde woman ordered firmly, making her guards charge at the three. Before the shrine guards could reach them, however, a large group of robed men suddenly emerged from magic circle that appeared on the sky and every direction around the shrine, attacking Yasaka and every shrine guard that they saw with magic projectiles and arrows, causing them to halt their advance and raise their magic protection to protect themselves from it.

"Kevin-san, if you can fight…" Yasaka shouted to Kratos as she took cover behind the two assistants who had rushed to her aid, holding up a barrier around all three of them to protect the blonde haired woman from the spells that were raining down upon them "…then we can really use as much help as you can provide."

With that said, Yasaka turned back and nodded her head to her two assistants, who then lowered the barrier around them to allow their head priestess to launch herself into the air, with a pair of fox ears appearing from the top of her head, and nine flowing tails that matched the color of her hair coming out from behind her back. The tails opened out behind her like a blazing golden flame, which then manifested around her in a circling wave around her body before she sent it out in a storm of golden fire, illuminating the entire area above the top of Inariyama hill and annihilating any enemies that were brave, and stupid enough to remain on the sky.

For the others who were able to avoid it by getting onto the ground, they immediately aimed their magic circle at the nine tailed fox woman, but before they could do anything, they were dealt with aggressively by a surprisingly calm looking Kratos, who used only his fists to carve a path of destruction through them, tossing them into each other.

"Look what you have done, you stupid muscle for brain." Yamato, who was surprisingly still awake, or alive, cried angrily as he killed a shrine guard with his own naginata spear before turning to Kratos "We should have been able to do this quietly, if it weren't for you!"

"You talk too much." Kratos growled as he leaped into the air and raised both fists above his head.

With a battle cry, the god of war brought both of his fist down when he landed on the ground, shattering the ground around him before sending out a shockwave so powerful those who were close to him were knocked in the air, and those far away were sent stumbling on the ground, with Yasaka and the shrine guards giving him a look of shock and amazement.

Before the enemies could recover, the God of war launched himself at them, punching them and taking them out even before they could land on the ground, while shrugging off any attack that was directed at him like they were nothing but a gust of wind against his ashen skin. The battle continued for a good while after that, with Yasaka giving out instructions to her shrine guards, allowing them to quickly react against those who, for some reason, tried to destroy the shrine, defending it as she fought a large number of them herself, who appeared to be the strongest among them while Kratos fought anything and anyone that dared to approach him, giving Yasaka's force a massive edge over those that were attacking them.

"So those muscles are not for show, after all! I should have known you are not a normal person with that ridiculous strength of yours!" Yamato cried, and then performed a joint attack with his two partners, sending out a blast of energy that was circled by lightning and fire at Kratos, who charged at them and met the blast head on. Yasaka, who had returned to the ground, watched on in amazement as the blast did nothing to slow the man down, as he pushed forward with only an arm shielding his face from the ongoing attack. "What are…"

"Be silent." Kratos spoke nonchalantly, and threw his fist as soon as he reached them, causing them to stop their joint attack and sending the one on the left flying, crashing through several trees and possibly falling off the mountain. Snapping to the right, he sent one in that direction flying with a classic spartan kick, before turning finally to Yamato, who tried to stab him with a dagger, only to have it knocked out of his hand before he could do anything.

With the same hand that he used to backhand the dagger away, Kratos punched Yamato hard enough to lift his body into the air for a split second, body bending forward as he coughed out a mouthful of blood, before being launched away with a shockwave. Around him, the battle seemed to have concluded, with Yasaka and her guards emerging victorious, though they had lost a number of men and women as well.

"You!" Gone was the gentle and warm woman Kratos had seen giving out free lunch and dinner earlier that day, Yasaka growled angrily as she stomped her way toward Yamato, who was taking his last breath while lying in a pool of his own blood, his guts and all the bones in his body shattered by Kratos' punch "Who are you people? What business do you have with this shrine?"

"Heh… you don't… expect me to just tell you, do you?" Yamato asked, as he coughed up some more blood before looking at Yasaka as she wrapped a tail around his neck and picked him up "You think… you have won? Now we know that this shrine… is empty. And as we keep you occupied here… the others have already acquired… the means to weaken you…."

"No… Kunou…"

As he said that, Yasaka widened her eyes in horror, seemingly realizing something as she snapped her head to the right and looked in the direction of her home, calling out her daughter's name. Seeing this, Yamato laughed, but his laugh soon turned into agonizing scream as Yasaka snarled at him and incinerated him with her golden fox fire, reducing him into a pile of ashes soon after.

"Yasaka-sama, could it be that…" A shrine maiden, who had a pair of crow wings on her back, stepped forward and asked, looking relatively worried as well as nervous.

"Sayo, evacuate the city, and get our troops ready." The fox woman ordered firmly and hurriedly, making the crow winged woman and a few others standing close to them nod their heads in understanding "I will try to find my daughter. But we need to prepare for the worst." She said, her face shifting briefly into an expression of pain, as if she did not even want to think about what was going through her mind at the moment.

"We understand, Yasaka-sama."

With that, the fox woman walked to a clearing and set up a teleportation magic circle.

"Allow us to come with you, Yasaka-sama." A captain stepped forward and offered, as his force lined up behind him.

"No, I need you and your men to go to Kiyomizu shrine and defend the place. We cannot allow more than 1 evil youkai god to be released tonight." Yasaka shook her head and spoke to him. The captain looked like he wanted to argue, but he could see the logic in her words, and stepped with the rest of his men.

Nodding her head to them, Yasaka turned back to her teleportation magic circle, and was about to step into it when she suddenly noticed Kratos stepping forward and looking firmly at her, in his hand was a short-handled axe that he had picked up from a fallen enemy. Neither said anything to each other at first, but Yasaka still gave him a nod of her head, before Kratos walked into the magic circle to stand with her.

"Thank you." Finally, she said to him, as the magic circle beneath them lighted up, preparing to teleport them away.

"You are walking into danger, woman. I am simply doing my job… and keeping a promise."

"Sure, tough guy."

And with that, the magic circle teleported them away.

End of Chapter 11

Note: And that is it for this chapter! The chapter that everyone has appeared to be waiting for, focusing on Kratos and his time in Kyoto, meeting Kunou and Yasaka. Yes people, Kratos and Yasaka will be a thing in this story, and I will continue to develop their relationship throughout the entire story even after this arc. As you know, I like Dad of Boy a lot more than just God of war Kratos, so this romance of his will be the only one for him (no harem for Kratos) and it will be developed from the side as the story shifted back to Atreus later, though it won't mean I will have only a few short screen times for them. It will be just as important as the relationship developments for Atreus and his girls.

Next chapter will have to wait a bit because I will need to update League Summoner or possibly Fishcake Guardian. Nonetheless, I have high hope that everyone has had a great time reading this chapter. As always, make sure to leave behind a review once you have finished reading, and don't forget to check out my p/atreon as well as consider joining my discord community!

See you in the next update everyone!