A/N: PLEASE READ THIS WOULD YOU KINDLY?
After careful consideration, I might be changing this title to Father(s) of Teyvat. That's right. Plural. Why, you ask? You'll see in a minute.
Also, it helps if you know some of the lore of Genshin, obviously, but its not required.
Still horribly sick at the moment, but i felt I owed you a better update given how short (Bottoms Up!) was the other day.
Hope this makes people happy and stops the flames T_T
As ever, we're still following the Ember's Rule here, folks. If readers don't like this, it'll be deleted. Poof! Gone! Every bit of feedback helps. That's no joke. I simply can't write without it. That truth still holds true here. So by all means speak up! Make yourself heard!
Your feedback matters! I cannae write without them!
I really look forward to reading and chatting with you all after a long day working back to back shifts. What little downtime I have these dyas is often spent writing, and that really has a tendency to wear me out. On that note, I may be creating a plot bin after this called Fragments of Teyvat, to prevent my Genshin stories from multiplying out of control.
Now then! Onto your questions, comments, and concerns!
Q: Give us a Liyue story, damnit! For Hu Tao! And an Ayaka story!
A: Please don't tempt me. I somehow managed to get her on my alternate account...genshin really is sucking up what little free time I have left these days...
Q: Wait, wait, wait! Where are we as far as the timeline goes?!
A: Presently? Before the Archon War. Thought that was obvious. Clearly we'll be moving past that eventually, but for now?
Q: Is Naruto acquainted with other gods?
A: ...did you not read the last chapter?
Q: Did Kurama have kids, too?! And how on earth did he get a human form?!
A: *zips lips*
Alright, then! I think I've kept you waiting long enough. Shall we begin?
As ever, I own no references, memes, or themes.
Now, then! Heeeeeere we go!
"Father is the very definition of eternity."
"A most curious turn of phrase. What make you say such a thing?"
"He will always be here for us. He will always love us. And he will never, ever give up."
"Hmm. They say love is indeed eternal...
~?
Uncle Morax
Morax stood before the Shogun's Throne, gift in hand.
It was a very nice throne, the Lord of Geo mused to himself. Neither too ostentatious nor so humble as to be ignored outright, it nevertheless commanded respect and radiated a timeless determination; one that outpaced eternity itself. But it was not this red-on-gold chair which concerned Morax but rather the one sat atop it.
For today, he journeyed far from his territory to visit an old friend.
Morax had gone by many names and many faces in his equally many lifetimes. Man, woman, and child alike. Today he'd chosen the guise of an amber-eyed man clad in flowing dark robes. By contrast the Lord Shogun of Inazuma remained much as he remembered him from the past; all blue eyes and whiskered cheeks, tawny blond hair in desperate need of a good trimming, body wrapped in rich flowing vestments of deep violet and striking scarlet. His scarred face dimpled in a small smile.
So too, was that smile painfully familiar.
"Long time no see, Rex!" When he rose from his throne, that cheeky grin beamed bright as ever. "Wait, you're still calling yourself that, right?" His head tilted a little as he reached him. "Or are you and Guizhong going by different names nowadays?" he laughed at his own remark and offered him his handYou've got so many of those. It seems like you're a different person everytime we meet~!"
The being who would one day call himself Zhongli clasped the offered arm with his free hand and shook.
"It has been quite some time since we last spoke." he said simply. "You may simply refer to me as you always do."
"Bah!" Strong arms hauled him into a many embrace, crushing him against a broad chest. "Don't be so formal! I missed ya!"
Morax grunted and deigned to deliver an awkward pat to his back.
...I...missed your presence also. Are you well?"
"Aw! You do care!"
Yes, the Shogun of Inazuma certainly represented eternity, but not the conventional sort one might come to expect from a self-proclaimed deity. Naruto's notion of "eternity" was not one of everlasting stillness; but rather of life itself. Life was eternal. Life was chaos, he argued. Life would always persist in some form or another. Life itself, was eternal.
Life was also crushing the light out of him right now with those arms of his!
Morax grunted. "You're not going to let go of me, are you?"
Naruto held him tighter. "Just a few more seconds."
Amber eyes rolled in mild chagrin. Such an emotional deity, this one. Always with the hugs! Every time!
The Shogun of Inazuma was stubborn if nothing else.
"So?" he pulled back suddenly and peered behind him. "Barbatos isn't with you? I thought he'd be all for this sort of thing. He always loved a good wine.
"He certainly does." There it was. The true reason for his visit. There was nothing to be gained by lying. "I believe he mentioned something about visiting an old friend in the land of winter. Making amends and whatnot." a weight pause pushed between the two men, and when his fellow ruler did not interrupt, Morax barreled on. "He said he would be been gone for quite some time."
"Wait, you mean he went to see her?" Naruto's face screwed up in a rare rictus of disgust as he squinted at him. "Well, good luck to the 'ol bard, I guess." his arms rose and crossed behind his head. "I'd deal with that icy witch myself but I've got runts to raise...
It was the casual, almost offhanded way he said it that gave the Lord of Geo pause. Had he imagined that last line just now? Surely not. Morax -Zhongli!- was many things but deaf wasn't one of them. Nor was he blind to the cheeky grin plucking at those whiskered cheeks.
"You...fathered offspring?"
"Don't sound so cold about it!" Naruto swatted him on the shoulder. "Of course I did. A man's gotta have a family, right?"
Did he dare ask? "How many?"
Naruto offered him a cheeky grin.
He turned and looked over his shoulder him. "You can stop hiding now, sweetie."
Something shifted behind the eternal throne; a streak of motion that all but slammed into the back of Naruto's legs.
The blond weathered the impact with a bemused smile as only a proud parent could.
"C'mon." he nudged them. "Don't be shy, Chiyo. Say hi to Mister Morax."
Someone peeked out. "Hullo..."
Rex Lapis jolted as beheld the Shogun's youngest child. Golden eyes snapped down to find tiny oni-child peering up at him Two large horns dominated her forehead, jutting forth to part long black hair bearing eerie scarlet highlights. Wide red eyes blinked up at him, her faintly whiskered cheeks dimpling in a frown.
And then.
The little girl pursed her lips. "Is that him? The guy you say has no sense of money?"
Morax quirked a brow. "Oh...?"
Naruto choked on his own spit. "CHIYO! Say you're sorry!
"What?" She blinked back at him with all the shamelessness that only an oni could possess. "Why? You and Mama Raikou say that all the time-owie!" She yelped a little as his right hand descended on her head in a light chop. "I didn't mean it!" her hands flew to her head, warding off another. "I'm sorry!"
Naruto huffed. "Good girl."
"Cheey girl, this one." The Lord of Geo concealed a smile behind his palm and experienced a strange sense of longing. "Is she your only...?"
"Not by a long shot. Kurama was satisfied with adopting Yae, but me?" he scratched at a whiskered cheek. "I couldn't help myself."
Morax felt words abandon him.
"Kurama had children?" he found them almost too late. "I was under the impression he was a giant fox."
"Oh, he is." Naruto's head bobbed in agreement. "It's a pain in the arse crafting him a human body, but where there's a will, there's a way...
Morax snorted once. "You sound angry."
Naruto's smile became a touch strained, just then.
"Of course I am! He keeps breaking 'em! Those things aren't cheap!"
(.0.0.0)
Kurama sneezed.
"Tch." he sniffed once and rubbed at his runny nose. "He's talking about me again. Blasted human body. I swear, I'll never get used to it."
How humans balanced on two legs, he'd never understand.
A faint rustling noise had him creaking a scarlet iris open all over again. Movement above. He squinted through the shade of the sakura tree, thin-lidded eyes framed by tawny blond hair. Say what you would about the Grand Narukami Shrine, but they certainly treated a kitsune like royalty. Now where was that noise coming from?
It took him all over an instant to seek the source. "Yae! Get down from there!"
A small girl with pink hair dangled off a branch, grinning madly. "Never~!"
"Don't make me call Saiguu!"
(.0.0.0.)
Morax shivered a little.
...I shudder to think how powerful his children might be...
"You and me both!" Naruto thumbed his nose as he reclaimed his seat, tugging Chiyo into his lap as he did, "In any case, I always wanted a big family, ya know?" a faintly wistful note plucked at his voice, and the heart of old Morax with it. "By the time I got to meet my parents, they were already dead, ya know?
"Fascinating. You spoke with the deceased?" he thumbed his chin, briefly dwelling on the past. "You'll have to tell me that story sometime."
"Papa says its a long one." Chiyo chimed helpfully.
"That's the best part!" Naruto grabbed the little oni and pulled her close, drawing a giggle from the girl. "Daddy has nothing but time these days." blue eyes shifted to the right. "Speaking of which." A sudden clamor in the background drew a chagrined smile from him. "I believe you're about to meet the twins...
Sure enough, the sliding door swept open and two small girls spilled out, bowling one over in their haste.
"What do we have here?" Naruto planted a hand on his hip. "Eavesdroppers? You could at least be more subtle about it."
Chiyo waved merrily from his lap.
Morax couldn't help but sigh. "They'll start calling you the the Father of Teyvat at this rate."
"An apt nickname. The others are with their mothers, or in school at the moment." he flashed him a cheshire grin. "Whatever happens, I've decided. I'm going to be there for my family. All of them."
Rex Lapis quirked a brow. "All of them?"
"Every last one. Right down to my great-great-greeeaaat descendants.
Morax considered the twins a moment more. In truth he'd never given the matter much thought. Human life was ephemeral for being such as they, but the idea of descendants intrigued him. For a wild moment he allowed himself to imagine it. A child bearing both their features, and his striking bright eyes. Little arms reaching up for him...
"Papa~!"
Urk!
"Sooo?" Naruto leaned forward, reading his expression for what it was, "How's Guizhong? She doing alright?"
Morax snapped back to relaity and coughed into a fist. "She's...well. And she sends her regards. She wouldn't be alive, it not for you."
"When are you two going to give me some nieces and nephews?" his fellow deity winked once in return. "Ei and Makoto could use a cousin...or nine."
The coughing intensified. "I shall consult her."
Consult, he said. She'd jump at the change to be a mother.
"Then get on it! I'm sure she'll love the idea."
"Yes," Morax looked away, hiding his flush behind a sleeve. "I suppose she would. But first, a toast."
Here at last, he held up the jug of wine he'd brought with him.
Naruto sniffed once, then grinned. "Osmanthus wine?"
Zhongli dared a smile of his own. "It is as you say. Only the best for us."
"Alright! Lets drink." he plucked a bell from his belt and rang it once. "Bring some glasses! And fruit juice for the girls!
The little ones sulked.
"Awww...
A/N: Aaaaand cut!
So In The Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly? It keeps us all alive.
Without reviews, we wither and die. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Now then, we do hope you enjoy the previews. Read at your own risk, of course:
Why? Because next chapter, things start to get heavy. Once more! Read at your own risk! Big scenes ahead!
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
(POTENTIAL Previews)
"No vengeance for you, young lady!"
"But father...!"
A blond brow rose.
Eula subsided.
"You cannot pass."
The tide of darkness didn't stop.
"You don't seem to understand." Naruto swept an arm forward, staff swinging at the army before him. "These islands aren't just my "domain" as you so bluntly put it." His smile was all teeth. "This? Right here? This is my family. My kids are back there. And you!"
His staff snarled into the air, brimming with lightning. "SHALL NOT!"
It crashed down.
"PASS!"
"There's a good snake. You didn't mean to attack me, did you, Orobashi?"
The giant eldritch beast gulped. Slowly but surely, it laid down.
We all have a certain natural inclination.
We expect that evil should be easy to recognize, rather than expecting it can lurk behind any face.
And yet, we are often the slowest to see the darkness within ourselves. What does that make of you, I wonder?
"Father is...eccentric."
"Barbatos, I swear on me! Put that bottle down!"
R&R~!