The Nekoshou's Wolf

by Curiosity44

Reborn into DxD 20 years before Canon, Hei, a human orphan, must rise with his own will to the top, overcoming Devils, Angels, Fallen, Gods, a loli dragon, and most of all, the felines in his life as he spreads the name of his legacy, the Legacy of Lupa, a legacy of assassins. Come Join Hei on his journey as Lupus, the Nekoshou's Wolf. AU world. FUCKING READ THE WARNING

11. 9: Reactions Part 1:The Maid, Cats,& Fox

AN: A few notes for everyone.

As you might be able to tell. This chapter is only 29.5K. The reason for that is because the chapter go too long! Lol. The chapter finished at about 50K all told. So I decided to split it in two. Part 1 is right here and Part 2 will come tomorrow after my Beta wakes up and gives it a good read. Don't point your pitchforks at me, blame the Duck.
.

I'm loving the reviews guys. When I see readers get mad at Hei's carelessness in chap 7, it makes me happy see you all getting so involved.
.

To answer the blatant question: Hei got careless because 1: he had no real knowledge of the event. Canon or Fanon, since Hei learned about DxD through mostly fanon (because that's how I learnt about DxD) does not give names, locations, or anything useful. He was working with a simple timeframe based on a hypothesis of the timeline events.

2: he let his guard down as nothing seemed to be happening. Do you want him to dues ex Machina know everything? Cuz for a guy with a busy life like him, It's normal to make plans but not normal to simply know everything.

3: I said Hei had guess's to devil locations based on the devil in contact with Kuroka's father, not anything concrete. The mercenary job can only track stuff in the human world, and his idea of a Joy panda watching camera's to alert him didn't bore fruit.

4: I did it. I don't need to state reasons for it, but I felt like pointing out my POV.

Response to REVIEWS at the end.

Enjoy everyone!

.

Disclaimer: I don't own any original content; I claim no ownership of DxD or HxH content. With that said, I sure as hell wrote this fic so don't steal my shit.

.

Chapter 9: Reactions Part 1: The Maid, The Cats, and The Fox.

(AN: Fair warning to all readers. This is mainly a reaction type chapter. It will show how characters react to Hei's actions. If you don't enjoy the emotions and reactions of others instead of the MC, than I'm sorry about this. I couldn't resist the chance to try something like this.

Between my beta's, one loved this reaction type chapter while the other hated it on principle and cringed. I can't please everyone but I just write what I enjoy.

I hope you all enjoy as well.)

Chapter start:

The sky was bright with the iconic purple color of the underworld.

The lack of a sun didn't seem to stop light from appearing as if it was noon on earth.

The gentle sounds of the forest deep within a valley as animal life went about their business was strangely subdued.

The vibrancy of the natural energy and vitality coursing through the tree's seemed to be almost in a state of mourning.

For the forest had lost its most active inhabitants.

The gentle and natural people who danced in tune with the forests wishes.

And the loss of a beloved ancient elder Sakura tree, whose roots had been deep and strong when these elder trees were naught but saplings gathering sunlight and hoping to reach the heavens.

A distance away from the tree's, among a clearing a fair ways off from the charcoaled remains of a beautiful village, a large magic circle lit up with a red glow.

The glow seemed to pulse as if waiting for something, before a few minutes later it glowed brighter and two beings materialized inside it.

One was tall youthful looking man in his 20's with long crimson hair and blue eyes. He was wearing pauldrons on his shoulders that dropped a regal looking cape around his shoulders and back.

And to his side stood a tall, but shorter than the man, beautiful silver haired youthful woman with blue eyes. She wore a white and blue French maid uniform that fit her form to a T.

These two were none other than Sirzechs Lucifer, ruler of hell and Satan, and his wife and queen, Grayfia Lucifuge.

The two looked on at the sight before them without a sound.

The warm and goofy air that accompanied Sirzechs with his usual air was nowhere in sight, his true persona as the cold and powerful leader underneath was shining through at this moment.

Grayfia didn't look different from those who didn't know her well, but the increasing gravity around her was a clear sign of her true feelings, considering she always defaulted to ice magic as her true specialty in gravity magic was simply to destructive to the environment around her.

Sirzechs commanding voice resounded.

"Grayfia, reel in your magic."

Grayfia narrowed her eyes but still took a deep breath as the gravity began to stabilize.

The direct land around them in a circle had already sunk down a foot in the momentarily release.

"That stupid son a bitch violated your orders that I clearly delivered."

Sirzechs hummed at that.

"Did you stay long enough to see him pull back his men?"

Grayfia huffed.

"I did not. I was more preoccupied with getting the child to safety as he was trying to find a way to kill her. But your orders were clearly laid out in front of the majority of the clan's direct army."

Sirzechs lifted a hand to the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"You were not wrong in your actions dear, but he will most likely use the excuse of having no knowledge of it. You recognize those banners do you not?"

Grayfia's eyes focused on the fallen flags.

"The mad dogs…."

Sirzechs nodded and stood up straight.

"Indeed. A convenient unit to simply cut off and let loose without being overly liable for their actions. Koujou is a wild dog, but he's not a complete moron.

Still… it seems someone beat us to the punch in exterminating them."

Grayfia nodded with a great deal of satisfaction.

The sight before them was of a burnt village on the edge of a clearing, and the absolute brutal remains of over 200 devils spread around.

Some with mostly intact corpses, but the vast majority in pieces.

The land was died red from blood and the ground was torn up as if a large explosion took place.

"Whoever did it seemed to be quite angry at what was done."

"Indeed. We will need to investigate, but you do understand the true repercussions correct?"

An incredibly quick but momentary burst of extremely dense energy escaped Sirzechs control as his eyes flashed.

"I do. Devil and Yokai relations have just been set back to how it was when the original satans still ruled. Not to mention the Shinso pantheon."

He sighed and the power leaked from him.

He looked much older in that moment and Grayfia shot him a worried look.

"We can't hide this dear, we have to tell the Yokai faction. *sigh*…. Sera is going to kill me."

Grayfia put a hand on his arm in support.

"I believe Serafall shall more than likely go on the warpath for Koujou Naberius before you my love."

He shot her a small smile.

"I'll cross my fingers."

She shot him an amused look before they took to the air.

First thing was to look for survivors.

They didn't need to be told what had happened.

As soon as they tried teleporting in and there was no signal of approval from the village, they already had a bad feeling.

The village had magic formations that prevented teleportation without the leaders approval for a few miles out.

It was sort of like ringing a doorbell when you try to teleport in but wait a moment.

If the door is opened, they can come there directly. If not, they would need to teleport a distance away and fly in.

It's standard procedure as the vast majority of supernatural's get around by teleportation.

But for there to be no door? Well….that wasn't good.

Sirzechs and Grayfia led the majority of skirmishes and battles in the civil war from opposing sides, so they were no strangers to the remains of a battlefield and taking or seeing the deaths of thousands.

It wasn't hard to understand when you see a burnt village and a battlefield of dead devils.

With that said, both of them still had somber looks at they looked on at the village's remains and the burnt and unrecognizable corpses around them.

Sirzechs had a somber look.

"They didn't deserve this….they were an innocent, peaceful, and very kind village of women just going about their lives.

A bit reserved against outsiders but that's perfectly understandable with being in the underworld.

*Sigh* I recall drinking with the village leader, Yoru, she was a beautiful woman."

Grayfia shot him a look and he just shook his head with a wry smile.

"Not like that dear, well I can't deny she was beautiful, but she had a beautiful spirit and personality. Sera and I, we worked hard to build this relation with the Yokai. Sera especially was closer with them then I was….

We might need Ajuka and Falbium with us when we tell her."

"If she hasn't already found out."

"I think we would know dear. The Naberius castle would be the location of a new iceberg if she had known by now."

Grayfia raised a finger to protest, before her finger paused and she put it down with a nod.

"That sounds like Serafall."

Sirzechs chuckled lightly before it faded as his eyes took in the burnt remains of children.

His desire for humor long gone.

"Dear, would you mind scanning for survivors, you are more skilled at sensing then I am."

A slight twitch of Grayfia's brow accompanied those words.

She recalled those exact skills being overcome just the day before.

Still, she pushed random thoughts away and closed her eyes.

Her energy sense expanding like a massive bubble to encompass the entire village, it's perimeter, and beyond.

While she scanned, Sirzechs flew down to the village with somber eyes.

He approached the burnt tree in the villages center and looked up at its burnt branches.

'Forgive me. I failed you.'

His fists clenched and his knuckles turned white but he kept a tight lid on his energy.

He knew any leak while he was angry could vaporize the things around him.

A tiny portion of energy coalesced in his finger and he pointed it down.

A ball of crimson energy formed before it expanded in a square shape.

A wide pit formed beneath the burnt tree.

'I couldn't save you, but I can at least show you proper burial rights.'

The ruler of hell, the strongest devil in history of devilkind since the great war when the oldest of their kind perished, put down his royal cloak and began manually moving each corpse into the pit.

Giving them each a certain distance from the other.

The stench, feel, and look of the bodies didn't cause him to hesitate for even a moment.

Sirzechs had many responsibilities on his shoulders, held many titles, had lived a long life, committed horrors, seen horrors, and he was feared and respected around the world.

But for all of that, he never lost his core principles.

He had emotions, had positive desires, he had his own thoughts.

He truly wished for coexistence and peace, to end the senseless slaughters.

But devilkind just had so many deeply ingrained traditions. To many grudges, to many undisciplined devils who gave into their desire to sin, and most of all…..to many old bastards still alive.

Sirzechs wasn't blind, he wasn't a moron, despite his laid back appearance, a sharp and cold analytical mind his behind his mask.

He was willing to lie, cheat, kill, and do anything to achieve his goals.

But his goals didn't align with the goals of the old bastards who retained large amounts of political power.

Many compromises had to be made to get pillar clans on their side in the civil war, and while no one will directly challenge him, many snakes scurry in the dark.

Chief among them was the so called 'great king'. Bah.

If he could have it his way, he would vaporize the old bat.

But that path was one without return.

Zekram held to much political power to just outright kill, and to much personal power to quietly eliminate without his or his friends involvement.

His death by their hands would incite a new civil war, which would likely lead the other factions into taking action and a new great war would start.

There was a very fragile balance set by the fact that each faction was severely weakened and none of the current leaders wanted war.

And Zekram didn't care for peace unless it benefited him.

He wanted to rule and he looked at the four satans like chess pieces on HIS board.

It was a cold war between three factions among devils.

The new Satan faction held power in the open and had the high ground.

The old Satan faction kept to the shadows and made problems whenever they scurried out of their holes.

And Zekram's faction was more or less neutral with more leaning to the new Satan faction as it benefited them more.

They were a tumor that made progression for devilkind to develop toward piece.

They held much of the political power and stagnated their kind with prejudice, indulgence in sin, arrogance, and narcissism.

The old Satan faction would kill other races on principle while Zekram's would see other races be their slaves.

But reincarnated devils are rising, the numbers are increasing and their powers are growing.

It's an eruption waiting to happen.

And Sirzechs was waiting for the moment to seize that raw power and cut out his enemies.

The linchpin all rode on removing Zekram.

But in the meantime…

Tragedies like this happen.

It's no secret to him.

Whenever Koujou Naberius got himself into the red, the 'great king' pulls his ass out of the fire.

Wouldn't want to lose his fat attack dog would he?

And that's just one example.

He was sure Koujou would get away with a slap on the wrist, and there was nothing he could do about it.

'*sigh* The weight of leadership is a heavy one.'

Despite his thoughts, his body kept moving at high speeds.

It was really like blinking and seeing his body flash among the ruins.

In only minutes, the pit was filled.

*Thud*

Grayfia appeared by his side with a body on the ground behind her.

Sirzechs ignored it for the moment and looked on at the bodies.

"Dear."

Grayfia nodded without needing instruction.

Her magic flared in a large magic circle and ever so gently, snowflakes fell down in the pit.

A single flake for each body.

As soon as a flake touched a corpse, it encased it in a beautifully carved ice coffin, leaving the bottom open to allow the bodies to decompose into the soil.

It was a beautiful if morbid sight.

The total number of villagers was unknown to them, but they carried what corpses they could.

Devil physiques are noticeable even if the body was burned, so it wasn't hard to distinguish.

After each was in a coffin, Grayfia used gravity magic to pull fresh soil from the side of the village and place it in the pit.

It was a mass burial, but at least each corpse could have their own coffin and be placed beneath the center of their village.

Sirzechs placed a gentle hand against the burnt bark.

The tree was not dead.

Injured for sure, but vitality still lived deep inside.

The villagers would nourish the soil with their purity and allow the tree to thrive once more.

He already planned to periodically come by over the next decades to give his respects and watch the tree come alive once more.

Only after a few minutes of silence did he turn, eyes cold as he looked down at the body Grayfia recovered.

It was a mid-class devil.

"A survivor then?"

Grayfia nodded.

"Just barely. His feet are shattered likely from a high fall, and his head is cracked.

I doubt he will wake up anytime soon, but his clothing identify him clearly."

Sirzechs agreed with that.

The devil was dressed in the same armor and clothes as the intact corpses of the mad dogs.

He came to a decision without pause.

"Take his memories."

Grayfia nodded and proceeded to open his eyelids before looking deep in them.

Among the many forms of magic in the world, mental magic is the most common, and the most rare.

Most supernatural's are taught of how to perform a simple hypnosis to bewitch humans to not be interested in supernatural business.

It was common procedure.

Altering memories was a bit more advanced, but it could be done. The weaker the being from you the more thoroughly you can alter them.

Of course, if you change things to drastically, even a normal human would snap out of it.

The next one would be mind control.

A much more rare type of magic that very few beneath the gods can perform as it takes a high affinity and much knowledge of how the mind works.

And finally, you have mind reading.

Mind reading is also a very advanced type of magic, but it comes with many costs.

Reading surface thoughts can be done by a few divine beings without issue, but truly pulling the memories from another would damage their mind heavily.

It's looked down upon and kept under wraps for its dangers.

Very few can use it, and those that can try to keep the methods to learn it from getting out.

If you didn't care about the target, you could pull memories from them without issue.

Of course, the more recent the memory, the more clear it would be while the farther back you go the more fragmented it becomes.

It was used more during wartime for its advantages, but it was a brutal and cruel practice even devils shied away from.

It wouldn't directly kill the target, but it would turn them brain dead.

However at the moment in these circumstances, he didn't care.

If he brought this devil back, he would be soon assassinated or taken from him by Zekram's faction.

It was best to pull everything he could from him now and get rid of him.

While he was lost in thought, Grayfia was watching the last twenty four hours of his life.

She had no need or desire to go further than that. Using memory reading magic gave her a killer migraine if used to long.

But what she saw had her wide eyed in surprise.

This devil had crossed the gate with his group before she arrived.

The raid that happened angered her deeply but it wasn't a surprise. She knew what she was about to see.

She actually mentally cheered when she saw the village leaders fight back and kill dozens.

But it was over to soon.

There were to many devils and while the Nekoshou were impressive, there is only so much one can do in the face of so much raw magic being pointed their way without the ability to defend against it.

The acts of cruelty she witnessed through this devils eyes as they strung up the leaders corpses had the ground around her creaking but a hand from her husband on her shoulder had her taking a breath and centering herself before continuing.

She witnessed the raid, but now she needed to know who stepped in to kill the devils.

The mad dogs moved out of the village, having raided it for liquor and food, they began a feast in the clearing outside the village that had her disgusted to watch.

She fast forwarded a bit through the memories until she witnessed what happened next.

She couldn't feel what the devil felt at the time, but she could hear and see what he did.

"AAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!"

That howl of wrath and agony even made her flinch.

She watched as the smoke took shape of a massive howling wolf head and paused.

That was a very familiar symbol.

She would know.

She had been polishing the bottles she received the day before to make them shine in anticipation of the day she would drink them, while at the same time smacking her husband when he tried to open one.

She watched as a figure appeared from the smoke and her breath caught in her throat.

'Lupus…'

His figure was unmistakable.

Devils saw in the dark just fine and the appearance of that young man with his tattered and blood soaked cloak, rags for pants, and boots were clear as day.

The annoying endless facemask she saw that covered his mouth and nose was still present.

But his eyes.

His eyes were no longer those calm, collected, analytical, and all together kind wine red eyes of the young man she met the day before as he tried to recover his little sister.

Something she highly approved of even if she couldn't let him accomplish his goal.

But now those eyes were replaced with the burning red of wrath.

It was like looking into the eyes of a berserker lost in his rage.

She would know, she had fought plenty and seen what her husband could be like if he truly let his rage get to him on the battlefield.

Some craters he made back in the civil war were just NOW beginning to recover life centuries later.

And it pained her to see such eyes on him.

It was brief, but their short conversation had her quite fond of the young man. It was the affectionate sort of fondness for a friend or younger colleague that seemed to just click well with you from the start.

Perhaps it could even be a sibling fondness with time.

She watched on as he stepped forward and put that mask she took from his clone back on his face.

'I admit, he does have a certain menacing aura with it on.'

"Last warning! Identify yourself creatu….!"

As the mad dogs leader called out a second time, she watched as Lupus pulled out a detonator and pressed it.

She rose a brow at the following explosion.

It was effective for low class beings but it was still a surprise.

'He must have planted them in advance. He truly was connected to the village.'

What followed next was a bit chaotic to put together.

The devil's eyes she was looking through was not always able to keep his gaze focused on Lupus.

But what she did see had her raising her thoughts on his threat level while at the same time making her heart go out to the poor man.

He was as vicious to himself as he was to the foes.

She approved of taking every viable chance to eliminate your target at the fasted speed possible and he held little wasted movements, but his actions were savage.

Kill two for every hit you take.

Magic attacks bombarded his body, tore away his clothes and skin.

Blades sliced through his flesh, mixing his blood with the blood he spilt.

He would use the fallen corpses of his enemies to protect and attack in equal measure.

And for a human, because she was sure he wasn't a supernatural creature by the tiny glimpse of energy she could feel when she had him under her ice, he was moving incredibly fast and held great power.

He was manhandling low and mid class devil bodies with ease.

'Hm… strengthening magic? Touki perhaps? It's used more among the Yokai then devils so I can't be sure but considering his relations to the village, it could likely be touki.

But doesn't touki… ah..'

Touki was using your life force to empower yourself.

The Yokai were far more advanced at using their own energy instead of their life force, and the few devils that could attempt it had shaved centuries off their lifespan in a day.

It takes a certain technique that the Yokai knew.

But devils could just grow their energy reserves and learn strengthening magic if they needed, so touki wasn't exactly sought out by them.

On the contrary, it was looked down on for being a 'lower' races ability.

Except Lupus showed just how much potential it held in this slaughter.

However, she could see his hair lightening as he fought.

'You poor boy…'

To sacrifice you lifeforce so readily and kill as many as possible even while dying and destroying himself in the process.

The love he held for the fallen must have been great.

It raised the pain in her chest for him.

She watched as he took on lightning bolts to electrocute foes through the spears they stabbed him with.

She watched as he pinned devils in place to take on fireballs without care for the concussive force.

She watched as he faced impalement head on only to adjust his course at the final second, taking a surface wound, and redirecting it to stab into the chest of another devil.

She watched as one by one, he lowered their numbers in truly brutal ways.

Her breathe caught when he got pinned by gravity magic.

No one knew just how difficult it was to escape heightened gravity like she did.

When gravity increased, it wasn't simply that you couldn't move, but your entire body takes damage from your muscles to your organs, to even your bones.

If he wasn't enhancing himself with touki, he might have died right there and then.

It was the combined strike of three devils.

And then the canine magic beasts came and her eyes widened at his actions.

To be able to lift his arms was surprising, but to be able to still aim with pinpoint accuracy not even inches off?

That was a frightening sharp shooter.

But two dogs got through and she winced as steaming jaws of acid and fire clamped on his thighs.

And yet he never hesitated to shoot them without an ounce of panic that could have cost him.

She wanted to call out to him as two dozen devils descended on him like a horde of arrows blotting out the sun, but the next scene made her pause.

Every devil split into dozens of pieces and showered his form in blood and gore.

Her eyes narrowed.

'Strings? But how….the dogs! Marvelous, and this is without being conscious, just pure instincts…'

She was starting to witness just how fearsome he could be.

To instinctively know to attack metal strings to the corpses you just finished with seconds before new enemies arrived, effectively setting a battlefield trap that sprung on his foes.

He appeared like an Ashura, literally walking through waves of his enemies blood to drag them to hell.

It seemed things had finally gone too far because the high class devils took to the field and began setting up a formation.

'Where have I….ah yes, that should be… shuko . I see, they are trying to hold him still. Considering they are all dead, I assume they failed.'

Her head nodded in approval as even in his state, he ignored the obvious bait to jump high.

She marveled a bit at just how fast he could shoot as he killed eight mid-class devils in a single breath.

'His shooting is some of the best I've ever seen in my life, but it's those weapons of his that are so deadly.

One seems to shoot demonic energy that explodes while the other shoots holy energy that penetrates…hm… if I had not met him before this, I would have told Sirzechs to see this young man as an incredible threat.

If he lived through this, I would have to confirm where he stands.'

It wasn't simply his skills that made her wary, she knew plenty, had fought plenty, and killed plenty stronger than him. It was the fact that she didn't know he was literally the room over or even in the same room, not feet from her, until she visually saw him.

That's terrifying.

For a being to be so skilled and still be able to move so undetected.

So confirmation would definitely be needed.

She shook her head and turned back to the memories.

Lupus made the right choice to attack instead of defending, but now he was defenseless in the air.

She didn't how he was standing on air, but there are dozens of ways to fly.

What really mattered is that the mid-class devils attacked from above while the low class's attacked from below.

There was no direction a magical attack wasn't flying from.

Her breathe caught in her throat as she unknowingly held it.

The dozens of magic attacks got closer to Lupus's form.

But then he moved.

Oh wow did he move.

Her eyes were widened slightly from the sight of the pure and absolute acrobatic display before her.

Every inch was accounted for, every twitch taking into consideration, his body seemed to move in the exact patterns needed to avoid, block, counter, or tank attacks in a cycle.

It wasn't simply speed but ability and skill.

"Magnificent!"

"Dear?"

Grayfia shot him a look.

"Shush."

He sweat dropped but kept his peace as she dove back in.

Lupus moved through the attacks like a chainsaw to wood, but the attacks were stacking.

'He's stuck.'

There was no viable path to escape from.

Her eyes narrowed in thought.

'If there is no exit….'

A small smile and shake of her head accompanied his next action as he took on a large fireball while tanking others to use the momentum of the blast to break his imprisonment.

'Smart if very self-damaging. You intelligent fool.'

The last thing she witnessed through the devils eyes and ears was Lupus moving toward them like a comet as he tackled the devil to her side.

As his gun rose to shoot her, Grayfia paused as she observed him.

Aside from the blood and wounds covering him, a few things stood out.

For one, his tattoos were prominent.

'Perhaps not the best aesthetic choice for one who spends time in the shadows.'

She shrugged.

Everyone had their preferences.

The first thing she saw were the wolf tattoos down his forearms.

They seemed to glow and stand out even among the blood.

Actually, they seemed to glow a bit too much.

Her eyes narrowed on them as they seemed to keep away blood from obstructing them.

It was curious but she moved on from the beautifully designed wolfs.

Along his knuckles were letters.

G-R-E-E-D went along the gun pointed her way.

She rewinded a bit to see his other hand and noticed more letters.

I-L-A-N-D with an S between I and L.

'Greed Island? Never heard that name before.'

It was strangely fitting for him but she didn't get its meaning and moved on.

The final tattoo seemed to be one of the only spots he actually protected fully from damage.

Over his heart and left pectoral was the image of a large sun with a cat snoozing in the center.

It was adorable.

Her heart panged in pain and care.

'Does that signify just how much you loved them? Your heart belonged to them?'

Her heart went out to him as she noticed it.

But there was nothing else for her to learn.

His body was extremely fit, if covered in dozens of surface to serious wounds along with looking like he walked out of an ocean of blood.

She ended the memory and sighed before sitting back and rubbing her head.

Even for such a short time, it gave her a headache to perform the magic.

Sirzechs caring hands fell on her head and back.

"I got you dear, take a minute."

She shot him a thankful nod and breathed deeply before the pain settled and she stood up with his help while noticing the devil she had just mind read was foaming from his mouth and had his eyes rolled back.

"So what have you learned?"

Sirzechs voice rang out and she looked deep in thought for a moment before a burst of gravity crushed the devils body into paste into the earth.

"I think…. we have a lot to discuss."

Sirzechs rose a brow in curiosity but nodded.

The two flew out of the village as Grayfia explained what she learned.

Sirzechs looked on at the corpses of the devils as she explained and he matched what he saw to her words.

Grayfia had spoken of her meeting with Lupus the night before, and above anything else, Sirzechs approved of the young man on the simple principle of what he would go through for his little sister.

Something he could sympathize with incredibly well.

From the moment little Rias came into the world, she had Sirzechs wrapped around her little finger and he didn't care one little bit about how that made him look.

He loved her unconditionally and would risk his own life for hers if he could.

The notes about his ability to hide so well interested him but he didn't truly mind.

Even if Lupus could sneak up on him, he had little concern that he could be injured by a human.

His products however definitely got his interest.

Enchanted liquor was very hard to find and if everyone in the supernatural community knew just how much Lupus had, every serious alcoholic, and there are many powerful ones, would fight to get him in their faction.

But as Grayfia explained the slaughter, his opinions of the young man rose higher and higher.

Not simply for raw power, something which can be gained quite simply by a race change, but for his true skills in combat.

A human taking on over two hundred devils, two of which were high class, even if the devils were without bloodlines or special powers, was nothing short of remarkable.

Using human made weapons or not, he still won, and the victors gain the reputation.

If he became a devil, a truly fearsome ally would be made.

Maybe even someone for her little sister?

Hm…no, she could never control someone so wild, and intelligent if what Grayfia said the day before was any indication.

However, changing him over didn't seem to be much of an option at the moment.

Even if he didn't die, he wouldn't have favorable impressions of devils after this.

When Grayfia finished with a tone mixed between being somber and slight awe, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You seem quite fond of this young man dear. Should I be concerned?"

*Bang*

Sirzechs dipped down as the back of his head was smacked.

"Don't be crude husband. I do not plan to forsake my vows anytime soon. I simply….feel sympathetic for the poor boy."

Sirzechs rubbed the back of his head and nodded with a grimace.

"I understand that. I wouldn't mind helping someone you speak so highly of, not to mention his actions show the kind of person he is.

Whether through invading the center of my power or through what happened here, I would not be against allying with him.

The issue is if he lived, his intentions, and how we handle the political fallout."

Grayfia nodded.

"I intend to question him on his intentions. I get the feeling he wouldn't lie to me, but thanks to my association with a certain someone, I'm more than adequate and pointing out a lie when I hear one."

Sirzechs winced.

"Not my fault there. It comes with the title and all."

She shot him an amused look before continuing.

"Nevertheless, I will address the first two concerns."

"Oh? And how do you plan to do that?"

Grayfia's hand flashed and a card appeared on it.

"I have his contact information. I have many assistants who can dial his number on repeat 24/7 until he answers."

Sirzechs sweat dropped at the vicious smile on his wife's face.

'RIP Lupus. Sorry man, if you're not dead yet you might have wished you did die.'

He shook that thought off before his wife did her weird wife magic and picked up on his thoughts.

"I see. Well, as for the political side. I have an idea but you're not going to like it."

Her smile dropped as she rose a brow at him.

"Oh?"

He rose his hands in defense and backed up slightly.

"Just hear me out."

In the next few minutes, much swearing, cries of pain, and begs of forgiveness rang out before Grayfia finally relented.

She knew how volatile the political fallout was going to be.

A scapegoat was needed.

She looked on as a bruised faced Sirzechs with a large shiner over his left eye went to work flashing out waves of destruction to remove all traces of devils corpses and sighed.

'*sigh* forgive us Lupus.'

At the same time, she couldn't be more grateful that she never removed his final mask when they met.

It gave her plausible deniability that neither her nor her husband knew his actual identity under the mask.

Not that anyone would push for it to be confirmed.

The nobles might be strong united, but even they knew when you should stop poking a sleeping dragon.

And as she looked on at her husband barely flicking his finger to erase the corpses, blood, and dirt from existence with barely effort at all, she mentally agreed with her comparison.

For as much as he desired peace, there was no mistake that Sirzechs Lucifer was the top dog of devilkind in terms of power at the moment.

A flash of crimson lit up her vision.

*Line Break*

Four figures blurred through the night life of Kyoto, Japan.

They were shadows in the night, not being seen by a single soul and not making a sound.

Even when they crossed over a barrier that separated the human side of Kyoto from the hidden supernatural side, they still went unseen even by the close scrutiny of the security keeping watch.

However, one being did pick up on their entrance.

The one who set the barriers herself and maintained them was alerted to their entry.

But no alarm was raised.

No, the figures traveled through the night as if they were phantoms blending in with the void all the way to the central building of the supernatural territory.

The Yokai palace of the West Yokai faction.

The guards and security on the walls of the palace, in the watchtowers, and in the sky above went completely unaware of the four intruders as they snuck past without being seen.

They traveled through the grand and elegant Japanese themed halls of the palace to a section delegated as the personal quarters of the ruler of the faction.

A window was opened and the four figures darted inside as the sole occupant of the room sighed in defeat.

"*Sigh*, would you four PLEASE stop making my entire security personnel look so useless?"

Golden yellow slit eyes looked on in exasperation as four cats lounged on her chairs shooting her smug looks.

"Don't look at me like that you bitches! I don't hear from you for years and you act like nothing has happened? Explain yourselves."

The four cats dropped their smug smiles as their ears flattened a bit before they seemingly began growing in size until four gorgeous cat women that could match the owner of the rooms beauty inch for inch sat on the chairs.

"Yasaka, we're sorry it's been so long."

"Yeah, last time we came was when you finally gave birth to little Kunou."

"Mn, it's been too long."

"Sorry Yasaka-Chan~, you know how we cats can get."

Yasaka, the golden eyed blond haired Kyuubi and leader of the West Yokai faction leader pouted at them and turned her cheek.

"It's been four years! You girls are mean."

The four cat women looked at each other and gave a helpless shrug.

"Well, we tried."

"Yeah, it was a solid effort."

"Mn."

"Where's the fridge."

Yasaka's eyes darkened as her nine fox tails hovered behind her menacingly.

She looked on as the four bitches stopped trying to placate her after a single attempt.

No, the four even had the audacity to start breaking into her personal fridge where she kept her good liquor for the days when paperwork got to tedious right in front of her from the start.

"Fufufu~."

Deep malicious chuckling came from her as her teeth grew sharp and her eyes glowed.

The four cats froze at the aura and turned robotically to see a pissed off Yasaka.

"Um…"

"Maybe we should have made one more attempt."

"Tactical retreat."

"Run!"

The four tried to scatter but Yasaka was faster in such an enclosed space as furry and fluffy tails grabbed each cat around the waist.

"Fufu~ It seems you four forgot who holds the highest score in our matches~."

""""Nya.""""

Their response didn't earn them any points in their favor.

~10 minutes later~

"So, I believe you four have some explaining to do."

Yasaka sat peacefully behind her desk with a satisfied smile and only a few scratch and scruff marks that were already healing as she addressed her guests.

The four cat women were sprayed around the room like corpses.

"Ugh, no fair, you have that damn ley line to pull energy from."

"Yeah, cut the connection and fight fair bitch!"

"Please don't antagonize her more Yoru."

"I agree with Ghis, it's been a while since I got my ass kicked."

The four sat up with groans and closed their eyes as lines grew on their skin and their wounds began healing at a visible rate.

Yasaka smiled at the sight.

"Your four are as smooth with Senjutsu as ever, it's remarkable."

They shot her warm smiles and sat down comfortably.

"We had a good few years to improve."

"We missed you Yasaka."

"Mn, we we're preoccupied."

"Hehe, it was a lot of work but in a fun way."

Yasaka rose a brow at them.

"What was so important for you to be busy for four years? We have been childhood friends for centuries and you rarely ever go a year without getting bored and coming around to cause me headaches and create chaos."

They smirked at that and chuckled.

"It's not that we didn't want to come."

"It's just that things got a bit intense for us these last few years."

"We had a couple of young ones to teach."

"Well, I only really had one, and it was so much fun~."

The other three sweat dropped at the fourth.

"You just like poisoning people."

"Especially if they don't complain and keep coming back for more."

"At least you made him strong for it."

The fourth pouted but didn't deny it.

Yasaka got curious at their words.

"Would you four please stop with the shared lines, your giving me a headache. Leone, you explain."

The similarly golden haired and eyed Yokai chuckled at Yasaka and nodded.

"Well, it started about a year before you had your child."

Leone went on to explain that an old life debt was called in for her to take in a child and train him where the man she owed the debt to couldn't.

Yasaka interrupted with narrowed eyes at Leone.

"Wait a second! Are you telling me you took in an eight year old human boy for YOUR kind of training? Are you insane!?"

Leone rubbed the back of heard and chuckled awkwardly.

"You don't understand Yasaka. Despite his age, this wasn't exactly a child."

She rose a brow and waited for her to explain and she did.

"This is the legacy of Lupa I'm talking about here."

Yasaka's eyes widened lightly.

"That legacy? It still lives even today? I haven't seen one for over two hundred years."

Leone nodded.

"Remember that time I kinda got captured by those fallen a few decades ago after our crazy night in Vegas?"

Yasaka grimaced but nodded.

That wasn't a great time for them, and especially Yasaka who could only be away from the ley lines in Kyoto for less than 24 hours before she would be pulled back forcefully and painfully.

"It was the current generations Lupa that had saved me. Not directly but he was hunting the fallen who caught me and cut my chains and cured me from the drugs they were pumping me with.

He never gave me a reason for why he did it, but when I told him I owed him my life, he tried to run away from me until I bugged him enough that he gave me a way to repay him.

In case he died before finding an heir, I was to find a new legacy for him. But he got lucky and found someone who he trained for just under five years before he called me in.

He was too old to teach more advanced methods and asked me to handle it from then on. I would have accepted on principle even if I hated the brat.

But… I didn't really expect to get so attached to him."

"Oh? In what way?"

Leone hummed as even the others looked thoughtful.

"At first I was interested.

The brat looked a few years older than he was at the time, but you could tell how well he was trained in how he walked and held himself.

He was a true diamond that the old man did his best to polish back then.

But he was so…cold in a way. Emotionless would be going too far, but it was more like his emotions were muted by himself as obstacles.

I got a bit annoyed and challenged him to a short spar."

Yasaka sighed and placed a hand on the bridge of her nose.

"*Sigh*, you challenged….an eight year old human to a spar? Really Leone?"

Leone just stuck her tongue out and went on.

"Like I said, I thought he was at least 11 or 12.

Anyway, he accepted the spar without complaints and while there was a slight arrogance to him, he didn't let it go to his head.

Before we even fought I had approved of him.

But then we spared and wow, Yasaka, you would have been blown away.

The brat was crazy good for his age.

He didn't have a speck of magic ability or supernatural gifts in that fight, perhaps he was already reaching the human limit in terms of physique but it was all pure and complete skill and ability that he used to attack and defend.

I spent at least 20 minutes un-enhanced pushing him through the tree's and testing all his bases and the brat gave it all he had.

His instincts would put most Yokai to shame, and his accuracy with his dual pistol style is something to marvel at.

I swear he was shooting without even visually seeing me and still coming within inches of my skin.

It's like his hands trace you no matter where you hide."

The other three who trained him, Yoru, Ghislaine, and Chloe all nodded their heads along with her words.

They all experienced Hei's skills over the years.

Yasaka raised a brow in curiosity.

"You all agree with that?"

"Yeah, the kid is the greatest talent I ever taught."

"Mn, he picked up the art of hunting faster than anyone before."

"Hehe~ we found he had an affinity with strings and I wanted to see if I could build that perfect immunity body I theorized about."

Yasaka shot Chloe a deadpan look before sighing again.

"That poor boy…"

Chloe's tail straightened.

"Oi! He asked for it and kept coming back. It was my duty as his teacher to give him my all. You have no idea how much trial and error I had to go through to create poison that could actually help build and improve his body on a fundamental level.

I had to adjust to human type bodies and make sure it didn't kill him in the process. Not that I think he would even die with his abilities and that scary but attractive as hell willpower of his."

The others looked at her with raised brows and she huffed.

"Oh don't look at me like that you bitches, you all know willpower like he has is one of the most attractive traits in people."

The others looked thoughtful and nodded with even Yasaka agreeing.

"It's so hard to find a man made of some steel that doesn't get himself killed, is to absorbed in his life choices to care about companionship or is an actual gentleman."

The girls looked at her.

"What? It's not like I spent centuries without a mate on purpose. If it wasn't for Amaterasu-Sama getting involved, I wouldn't even have had a child. Not that I'm not thankful for my adorable and beautiful little Kunou, but I would have preferred to actually have a husband to be a good father for my child."

The others winced but nodded.

It was known Yasaka's child was conceived by a random mortal Amaterasu chose who's genes would be a benefit for the child's future.

The man chosen wasn't ugly or bad, but he was simply not the type to be able to handle the supernatural world, especially being connected with royalty.

That's not to say Yasaka hasn't had partners over the centuries of her life, but no one ever caught her eye for more than a quick fling.

But Yasaka wasn't bitter over what happened. She needed to make an heir at some point and father or not, she loved Kunou dearly.

Yoru chuckled and spoke up.

"I think we can all agree on that. I wouldn't say I'm as interested in having a child for a while more, but I'm excited to teach the kid a few things once he and his mate finally cross the line together."

Identical smirks adorned all the cat's faces that had Yasaka chuckle.

"My, my~, has he interested you four that much? I can't say whether I pity or admire him."

The five all laughed at that before they got back on track.

Leone continued where she left off.

"So yeah, I test him, I got a tiny bit serious and hit him for real and put him through a few tree's and the brat was still conscious! Ha! What a riot he was.

Got some sass in him once I knocked his pride down a bit."

Yasaka shook her head in exasperation.

"You girls never change."

They shrugged unapologetically and Leone continued.

"The brat managed to walk back on his own even with busted ribs and he barely even flinched. The more time I spent around him the less I saw him as a child. He just has that kind of an aura.

Hell, I know I only call him a brat to mess with him these days."

Yoru nodded along in agreement.

It was only them who still called Hei by kid or brat. Ghislaine occasionally uses pup but mainly uses his name while Chloe just uses his name by default.

"Anyway, we get back to the old man where I agreed to take the brat with me to the village two weeks a month to teach him as he still had work to do and the two didn't want to spend too much time apart.

It was as cute as it was morbid considering the old man's age."

She took a moment of silence at that.

The others can't say they knew or even met the old man, but they respected him from what they learned from both Leone and Hei.

Yasaka had another interjection to make.

"Back it up a sec. Did you say job? I know that legacy creates the finest and deadliest assassins in the human and occasionally the lower ranks of the supernatural world, but he was eight!"

Leone grimaced but nodded.

"I agreed with you at the time, hell, even the old man hesitated a bit as he himself had started at ten years old, but the brat proved himself capable.

The old man made sure to keep a close eye on him for the first few jobs before he gave him his full blessing.

Trust me Yasaka, the brat was ready. How I have no idea.

Even back then he was a little monster."

The four smirked at that while Yasaka rose a brow in curiosity.

Monsters were not usually good things were they?

Ghislaine noticed the look she had.

"He was our monster. He is our wolf."

There was firm iron in those words that had all four give off a slight menacing vibe that took Yasaka back.

Their looks were not pointed at her but she could tell something must have happened.

She was starting to realize their appearance here might not be under good circumstances, but she held her peace for the moment.

The four seemed to snap out of it as Leone went on.

"*Cough* right. Ghis summed up our feelings on that matter well. He was a little monster but he had a heart of gold underneath it all. He is…was…hopefully still is perfectly sane and did not have any violent tendencies outside of training and work.

He took no joy in the act of killing but he killed for his own purposes.

I think we can all respect taking life in a controlled manner with a clear conscious for your own reasons rather than being a true monster who kills wantonly for pleasure.

He kept himself on a tight leash, we didn't have to watch out for any of that thankfully."

Yasaka mutually agreed on the sentiment.

Taking life wasn't a noble action by any means but expecting to make a name for yourself in this world, even to simply be free of harm, you had to have strength.

And the idea of growing strong in this world without causing bloodshed was a fools dream or a child's fantasy.

The world was filled with beings who had their own desires.

You could live in ignorance and hope the whims of those above you or natural disasters pass over you, or you can take your fate into your own hands and fight you're your own place in it.

The world was a jungle, no matter what form it took, it was survival of the fittest.

With that said, true monsters who killed, raped, and caused harm to everyone in their path as they drowned in their own sins were wild dogs that needed to be put down.

There was a bottom line that shouldn't be crossed.

Yasaka was glad to know a child who started on such a dark path so young didn't fall victim to his own sin and kept a disciplined control of himself.

Her eyes glanced over the four thoughtful women.

'And perhaps a large part of his sanity is thanks to them as well.'

She had known them for centuries and was very aware of when they were being honest and possessive over the ones they cared for.

Still, she wanted to keep things on track.

"So? He began training under you?"

Leone snapped out of her own thoughts and chuckled.

"Yeah, but not before screwing with my head."

"Oh?"

"The brat has a very unique sacred gear."

Yasaka looked interested.

While those with sacred gears pop up every now and then, it's not like there were THAT many of them.

To what she knew, there were around a few hundred of them around the world in various forms. Many were weak or simple and others were god slaying weapons like the Longinus.

Many never awakened for generations and others popped up every era.

"Which one?"

Leone shrugged.

"It's something we never heard of before. The brat mentioned it was an experimental gear by the biblical god and that it wasn't expected to ever get used."

That peaked her interest more.

"Is it that special?"

The four smirked in unison.

"It's something alright."

"Damn I love the kids gear."

"Very convenient."

"Hehe~ I can't live without it anymore."

Yasaka narrowed her eyes.

"Does anyone wish to enlighten me?"

Four pairs of mischievous cat eyes stared at her.

""""Nope~.""""

Yasaka scoffed and pouted.

"Damn Bitches, fine, whats the name at least."

They chuckled before Leone went on.

"It's not that we don't want to share Yasaka but we want to show the brat at least basic courtesy. We can tell you some things but the details you will have to learn from him or if he gives his approval."

Yasaka rolled her eyes and grumbled but didn't argue.

The girls were loyal at their cores, one of the reasons they were all so good friends even after centuries.

"As for the name, we can share it. It's called Greed Island."

Yasaka hummed at that.

"Greed Island huh? Never heard of it."

Leone nodded.

"Yeah, it's a boozle alright. It has some stupidly broken abilities.

Anyway, this brat breaks out his gear and heals himself like the damage I did to him was nothing."

Yasaka rose a brow but nodded.

"Hm.. so a healing gear? Rare but not that rare."

Leone smirked.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Then all of a sudden an upright female panda in a maid uniform walks in and hands me a cup of tea before walking out."

Yasaka choked on her drink and hit her bountiful chest to clear her lungs as she laughed.

"*Pft* Hahaha what? What the hell is that?"

The girls laughed as well.

It's definitely something you didn't see every day.

"It's part of his ability."

Yasaka got her breath under control and wiped a tear.

"So he can heal and make energy constructs appear as female panda's in a maid uniform. I would say his taste or humor is very unique."

Leone chuckled.

"I doubt it was his personal choice for it to take that form, but I'll say that the pandas are real sweethearts. Except when you scratch up the furniture…*shiver*… how the hell can something so sweet be so scary like that."

The other cats had thousand yard stares at their own traumatizing memories and if anything it made Yasaka laugh all the harder.

The cats gave her deadpan looks before shrugging.

If things went as they desired tonight, she would come to fear the panda maid as well.

Leone coughed as Yasaka got her breath under control.

"*cough* anyway! It was after that when I started bringing him along to the village. Once there, this one over her decided to play with a new toy and challenge him to a fight. If he couldn't impress her than he wasn't allowed in the village."

Leone shot Yoru a look that had her wiping her nails without a care.

"I have no shame for my actions. He looked interesting and I was bored. I need no other reason."

The cats nodded while Yasaka shook her head.

"You four never change. And? I'm assuming he impressed you Yoru?"

Yoru smiled wide.

"Hell yes he did. The kid got my blood pumping even if I didn't enhance myself at all.

I decided then and there I would take charge of his physical training. The stronger he got the more fun I could have.

I just didn't expect him to grow on me so damn fast and strongly. After a few months, I couldn't even imagine life without him around, he was just so much fun!"

Everyone laughed at that while Yasaka shot the other two looks.

"And you two? How did you get roped into it?"

Ghislaine answered first.

"My interest was piqued as I listened to Leone and Yoru speak of him, and when I met him at the feast the first night, I found a companion who enjoyed silent companionship. An old soul rests within him."

Ghislaine had no idea how true those words were while she implied something else.

"I grabbed him soon enough for a survival exercise. He would learn how to hunt and survive in the wild or die trying."

Yasaka sweat dropped at her intense words and at the same time recalled their youth when a young Ghislaine would say the words 'survival exercise'.

She STILL had the scars and phantom pains from the chaos Ghislaine dragged her into during those times, but she can't deny just how much it taught her about the world.

And the painful parts aside, it was some of the best memories she had with Ghislaine.

"I see, I assume he succeeded then?"

Ghislaine smiled wide with all teeth.

"Mn. The pup thrived and learned how to survive with his own hands. I sent him into harsher territory with each year and he came out damaged but whole every time. Our wolf made me proud."

Yasaka smiled warmly at her words despite the fact that it seemed she made her 'survival exercise' a yearly activity.

Her tail twitched behind her.

'Again, I'm not sure whether to pity him or be in awe. It's no wonder he has a willpower like they describe.'

She turned to Chloe after Ghislaine finished.

"To be honest I wasn't sure what to teach him so I observed him for a few days until I realized he had no secondary weapon.

When I kidnap...*cough* grabbed him and asked him why, he said his first teacher taught him how to wield all weapons, but he had no talent for anything aside from guns.

That made me think on it until I tested him with strings and he was pretty good. Not amazingly talented, but above average, and I could work with that.

So I decided to train him by throwing him in razor sharp string fields while forcing him to find his way out without killing himself.

That's when I recalled my theory about the perfect immunity to poison concept and decided to try out some weaker poisons on him by coating the strings.

And just wow! His body is something else. What he did to it with his sacred gear pushed it beyond human limits but it retained the humans ability to adapt.

So no matter what I hit him with, his body rapidly adapted and built antibodies for.

It got me excited and I began developing more and more poisons to introduce to him.

He never complained seriously even once about it when I explained that he was growing stronger from it.

I know I'm a sadistic bitch when I get in the mood, but his willpower and willingness to grow no matter what sparked me like never before.

Before I knew it, I wholeheartedly wanted to see him succeed and prepare him for any poison the world could ever throw at him."

Yasaka and even the other girls shot her surprised looks.

Chloe rarely opened up truly.

But it just goes to show how much she really cared about Hei and it warmed Yasaka's heart.

"I see. So he caught the interest of all four of you. How come you didn't mention it when you visited last time?"

They shrugged.

""""We forgot.""""

Yasaka's eye twitched.

"I will burn you four."

Yoru chuckled and waved her hand.

"Were being serious Yasaka. You were giving birth for the first time in the centuries that we had lived! Our minds were a bit preoccupied in our excitement so you can't really blame us."

Yasaka blushed slightly and smiled.

"Fufu~ I guess I can't be mad at that. Thank you for being there with me."

Ghislaine nodded.

"Nothing would stop us."

The others agreed and Yasaka smiled wider.

It's been to long since she saw her friends and practical sisters.

"You flatter me girls, but go on, your 'wolf' as you say has interested me a lot."

The four chuckled and Leone went on.

"Right well we spent the first year training him. I focused on energy sensing and suppression which I should add the brat is scary talented in, as in more talented than anything else."

Yasaka rose a brow in confusion.

"I'm saying when he really focuses these days, I can barely sense him even when I'm at max Senjutsu output."

Yasaka's eyes widened in surprise.

"Truly? In Senjutsu we can feel all forms of life around us. The plants, the earth, the insects, animals, and so much more. He can hide from even that?"

Leone nodded with clear pride.

"He can. It took him over five years to reach his current point, but I dare say he could hide in front of a Satan even feet away from him."

She had no idea how true her words were.

Yasaka was a bit floored by that but Leones next words made some sense to her.

"Then again, he currently has mid-low class energy ratings so it might not be so accurate as he grows stronger but even then, unless I am actively using senjutsu to disperse my energy and become one with nature, he can even beat me at suppressing his energy. Energy sensing on the other hand still needs a good deal of work before he can be at our level."

Yasaka nodded with that but she was still inwardly impressed.

Such a rare talent, and one matched with the legacy of Lupa? That's a terrifying thought.

"Yoru handled physical conditioning, hand to hand combat, and eventually touki training."

That rose another brow.

"You actually taught him your method of touki? Well, I can't be too surprised but when did he unlock it?"

Yoru chuckled with pure smugness.

"The kid unlocked it at 11 years old! 11! I was so damn proud of him. Kicked his ass extra hard for a while just for making me so happy."

Yasaka sweat dropped at that but still was surprised.

"My, it's no wonder you call him a little monster. How far has he taken it?"

Yoru's smugness was subdued quickly and Yasaka noticed.

"Safely, he can handle 5x before running out of energy. Anything over that and his body tears itself apart. He just needs time…."

Leone elbowed her and broke her out her depression.

"Am I missing something?"

Leone shot her a wry smile.

"We will get to that soon, how about we continue?"

Yasaka was a bit concerned but nodded.

No need to go out or order.

"Well, after you gave birth, the girls and I were feeling extra festive and thanks to the brat, we had a never ending supply of great booze to enjoy so we got a bit hammered for a few days."

Leone chuckled sadly but Yasaka caught on to the first part and the menacing quality returned to her eyes.

"Why would a child be supplying you with liquor Leone?"

Leone's eyes widened a bit before she waved her hands.

"Oi! Calm down will you! Theres a perfectly good reason."

Her eyes stopped glowing but her tails waved agitatedly.

Ever since becoming a mother, Yasaka was a bit over protective of children. Not that even she could say the boy was an innocent child but it's the principle of the matter.

Leone puffed up her chest with her own smug smile that made Yasaka twitch by habit.

"Our wolf goes by a certain codename in the world at large."

Yasaka tilted her head.

"With his legacy, which doesn't surprise me. Very few mercenaries and assassins would use their true name after all. I'm assuming I would have heard his name before?"

Leone nodded with even more smugness.

"I bet you have knowing your secret pleasure in life."

Yasaka's eyes twitched toward a certain cabinet in her office.

So she enjoyed fine liquor to ease the headaches of leadership now and then, sue her.

"And your point Leone?"

Her tails waved with clear annoyance and Leone said his name.

"Lupus."

Yasaka blinked.

'Lupus…where have I…I know I read a report on….ah!'

"Ah! You mean that underworld dealer who is rumored to have enchanted liquor and somehow provides top quality Bluefin tuna?! I almost had a riot among my people a while ago as they demanded I spend a percent of our factions funds on specifically buying that fish.

Someone got one and brought it back to sell in a sashimi stand and they gave me a serious headache.

Do you four have any idea what crazed Yokai of dozens of species who love fish above all other food look like when they are raving for a specific type of food?!

It was terrifying! I almost cried!"

The four cats burst into laughter at her reaction as Yasaka slapped her desk.

"It's not funny! I was stressed for weeks!"

They only laughed harder at her look and she pouted and sat down in her chair.

"Stupid mean cats. Someone better explain something to me in the next sixty seconds or I'm burning your hair off!"

That seemed to be a good threat because the four stiffened up before sitting back down.

But before Leone could continue, the door to the office was pushed open roughly and a voice shouted.

"Oka-Sama! I had a bad dream!"

A golden blur dove across the room and the cat girls who had originally been planning on hiding blinked in surprise.

Yasaka had stood up.

"Kunou!"

The golden missile launched at Yasaka's stomach and grabbed on as nine tiny fox tails squeezed her waist.

"Mother…"

A teary eyed tiny clone of Yasaka looked up at her and her heart melted as she brough the girl into her bosom and soothed her.

The four cats meanwhile were cooing at the sight.

"That's just adorable."

"She is her spitting image."

"A young one….she needs a survival exercise…."

"Oi Ghis! This isn't Hei or Kuroka, control yourself!"

Yasaka looked over from the corner of her eye as she soothed her baby girl at the sight of Chloe and Yoru trying to hold Ghislaine back with string and their bodies from something and shook her head with a chuckle.

The four really never changed.

She did have to speak up as Chloe was tying the strings to the walls of her office.

"Would you four please not destroy my work place?"

Ghislaine's eyes shined.

"Survival exe…"

Her mouth shut as a tail came inches from her face and a VERY sweet smile came on Yasaka's face.

"What was that Ghis? I couldn't hear you."

For all of her addiction issues built from the satisfaction she got from throwing Hei and Kuroka into survival exercises and seeing them grow, Ghislaine understood when to back down in front of a protective mother.

"*cough* I was admiring how adorable the little one was."

The tail patted her head and pulled back.

"I see, she is, isn't she?"

Despite her words, her eyes were giving Ghislaine a clear warning.

If she dared utter the words 'survival exercise' in her daughters hearing range, a cat would be BBQed.

The four cats quickly scurried back to their seats and avoided eye contact but still looked on curiously at the child.

Four years let the little baby back then grow so much.

Yasaka was hugging and soothing her girl until she stopped crying.

"It's ok baby, mama's here."

"Nuuu."

She wiped her face on her yukata but Yasaka didn't mind at all.

After a few minutes she calmed down enough for a child's curiosity to peak and her head turned to see the others in the room.

She grabbed tightly onto her mother with her tiny hands and tails.

"Mother… who are they?"

Yasaka smiled and kissed her head.

"These are some of mommy's close friends. They met you when you were younger."

Kunou shook her head.

"Nuhuh, I don't remember them."

The women chuckled at the adorable little fox as Yasaka patiently explained.

"You were reeaaalllyyy small back then little one. Come, let me introduce you to your aunties."

The cats tilted their heads at the word.

They had never been called an auntie before.

It was both nice and annoying.

Yasaka came around the desk with Kunou in her arms.

"This here is Leone, Yoru, Ghislaine, and Chloe. Girls, this is my beautiful daughter Kunou."

Kunou looked up curiously from the safety of her mother's arms.

"H-hello aunties."

The cats hearts melted.

"*whisper* ugh, my heart. *whisper*. Hey there little one, I'm Leone."

"*whisper* I'm gonna get diabetes. *whisper*. The names Yoru kid."

"*whisper* Hm.. a few more years… *whisper*. Ghislaine young one."

"Hey there Kunou, if you ever want to cause some mischief give me a call."

Chloe didn't bother whispering.

Kunou's ears perked up at the last one and Yasaka turned her away.

"That's one auntie not getting visits."

"Hey!"

Yasaka ignored her.

"Not that I don't want you all to meet Kunou more, but we we're having an important discussion and this one needs to be sleeping."

Kunou protested.

"But mama! I'm not sleepy. *yawn*."

"No Kunou. If you don't sleep at night then you will sleep during the day. We need to build good habits."

Kunou grumbled as Yasaka carried her away.

"Just a minute girls while I put her to sleep. *Whisper* Leave this room and I'll send you spoiled fish for the holidays. *Whisper*."

The four grimaced and nodded, they still had a semi-emergency they needed Yasaka for.

Kunou shook her little hand over her mother's shoulder.

"G'night aunties!"

The four smiled warmly and waved back.

"A kid shouldn't be that adorable."

"Heh, imagine what would happen if Hei met her."

"Mn, he would be screwed."

"Hehehe if little Shirone is any indication then she would wrap him around her finger."

The four laughed for a bit before it quietened down.

It had been around 32 hours since the incident and no news of Kuroka or Shirone reached them.

They doubted Hei would return without results, but he wasn't able to tell them and they were very worried.

Hei's mental state when they found him was practically on the brink of collapse as he fought with nothing but wrath and instinct to guide him.

He hadn't woken up yet.

Yasaka soon returned and they all sat back down.

"Your girl is a mini version of you Yasaka."

"She's just adorable."

"She will be strong."

"I can tell she is a mischievous one."

Yasaka smiled warmly behind her desk.

"Thanks girls. Ghis and Chloe, you two are not allowed near her without supervision."

The two pointed out ones raised their fingers to protest but at Yasaka's look they put them down.

She might have had a point after all.

"So, I believe we left off with you all mentioning he happened to be a certain infamous merchant that caused one of the notable riots in my entire time as a leader of this faction without ever coming into contact with said faction."

The four chuckled and Leone went on.

"Yeah, he has apparently been doing it since he was six or seven if you can believe it. The old man introduced him to underworld contacts he could trust and he just kept it up over the years.

In our world, the earths currency isn't that big of a deal, but the brats a multi-millionaire without an end in sight."

Yasaka's eyes widened slightly before she thought about it and nodded.

It made sense.

"Well it speaks well of his character if he didn't let the money go to his head."

At her unsaid question Leone shook her head.

"Nah, he doesn't care for it beyond using it for his needs. He does like to spoil us and the village though, damn brat makes us unable to live without him."

Yasaka gave her a deadpan look that Yoru waved away.

"It's not just like that Yasaka. He's just become an integral part of the village. You couldn't find a single soul that didn't love him and he loved them in turn."

Her deadpan look melted as she smiled.

"I see. What is his name anyway? You never mentioned it and I don't see Lupus being his real name."

The four smiled gently and said as one.

""""Hei.""""

Yasaka played with the name and nodded.

'Warrior, huh?'

It was a good name.

Leone continued.

"Anyway, after you gave birth, we splurged a bit on the booze and had a few days of celebrating. But when I woke up hung over in the brats place, I finally decided to head to my own place and grab some clothes when I stumbled on a certain item given to me years before…"

Leone looked down in sadness as Yasaka waited patiently.

"Remember how I said the old Lupa had given me a way to repay him?"

Yasaka nodded.

"To find an heir for him in case he died before then."

She nodded.

"Well, he gave me a box that would only open upon his death that contained instructions on what to do."

Yasaka's face dropped as she understood.

"It was open?"

Leone nodded.

"Yeah... I couldn't believe it at first but it's not like it was a big shock. The old man had been getting weaker recently and Hei was spending more time with him.

I panicked when I saw it.

I don't think I realized until then just how much I cared for the brat. He was family to me.

I rushed off to teleport to the house he lived in with the old man and the sight before me stabbed me in the heart."

A few tears escaped her eyes as she recalled that time.

The other cats felt sad for Hei but they weren't there and didn't know the old man.

Yasaka on the other hand felt the emotions better. As a parent, she couldn't imagine what her baby would feel if she passed on before she was fully grown.

"I…I found an empty house and… a freshly dug grave. It… it was dug by hand Yasaka. Hei dug his adopted father's grave with his hands. He put up a tombstone as well carved by his own hand.

And right before it…*sniff* he… there were imprints in the dirt from where he knelt.

I was off getting drunk like an idiot as usual as my little brother kneeled in the dirt before his father's freshly dug grave on his own!"

Yasaka got off her chair and moved over to Leone and pulled her into a hug.

"It's not your fault Leone. You couldn't have known."

The other cats leaned into the hug as well.

"The kid never blamed you Leone."

"Pup would never hate you for being yourself."

"Their right Leone. You didn't know."

Leone sniffed a few times and got her emotions under control.

"I know… it doesn't stop it from bothering me though."

Yasaka smiled and used a tail to wipe her cheek.

"That just means you truly care for him. For Hei. Why don't you tell me what happened next. I doubt you left things alone?"

Leone scoffed and wiped her eyes.

"Of course not! The little brat decided to run off and drown himself in his work! I chased him around the world for months!

Me – chasing him – for months!

I was as ready to strangle him as I was to hug him for being so proud!"

The girls laughed loudly at that and Leone got her composure back in her annoyance and pride.

"He really took me for a trip you know? Using his abilities, he could travel the world with ease and I followed him to dozens of major cities as he left a long trail of bodies in his wake.

He might not have been in a good state, but that was the first time he really dug his name deep into the human side of the underworld and made the name 'Lupus' ring loudly.

He took something over 150 jobs in those months."

Yasaka gasped slightly at that.

"Really? I think I recall the mercenary guilds ranks.

The lower ones were Bronze Silver and Gold right?"

"Yeah, the brat was Silver ranked at the time."

Yasaka nodded.

"That is slightly terrifying you know? An assassin that active, not to mention successful would gather attention in every human government out there."

Leone chuckled at that.

"We know. He had a few jobs where he was being set up. All I found were the bodies being cleaned up while he was long gone."

Yasaka shook her head and listened on.

"I was really getting frustrated toward the end of my hunt no matter how I enjoyed a good chase. It killed the enjoyment to know it was my little brother in so much pain.

I even traced him to a filthy alleyway where he seemingly rested for only an hour or two, but what really hurt me was finding a young cat with his scent on it.

He was hugging the cat in his sleep damn it! I wanted to cry when I saw that!"

The other cats blinked away tears at that.

They didn't know that little detail. Leone had been brief with her description of it.

Yasaka didn't care and shed a tear at that part.

"That's heartbreaking. Please tell me you found him soon?"

Leone nodded.

"It was around two months after the chase started that I finally found him.

He was collapsed against the railing of a roof smoking a cigarette and looking at the sky with empty eyes.

The building a few floors down had the remains of his latest job.

He looked like shit Yasaka. He was covered in old and new blood, hadn't showered in days if not weeks, and he had the nerve to call out to me like I just saw him yesterday."

Yasaka and the girls chuckled at that.

For the girls that sounded just like him.

"Seeing his appearance….I just… the fight bled out of me you know? I plopped down next to him and scolded him. But what made it worse was that he knew what he was doing.

Hei had always been bright. Hell, he is more mature than us most days and the line between who the older sibling is gets blurred all the damn time.

He just sat there and opened up to me. He admitted his pain and that what he was doing was wrong, but he couldn't stop himself.

He was in so much pain at the loss of his father. Those two were really close you know? You would really think they were blood related father and son when they sat next to each other.

I didn't know what to say so I brought him into a hug and lent him a shoulder to cry on.

I think that was the first time he truly cried since his father died. I held him tightly and tried to reassure him.

To tell him I was there and he wasn't alone.

I never felt like I wanted to tell someone they were safe than at that moment."

By that point in her description, all five of them had wet eyes.

Chloe tried to hide her own by looking away but she didn't succeed.

There was a moment of silence as each of them processed her words and got their emotions under control.

They might have been powerful leaders of different groups, but that didn't mean they didn't have emotions.

Yasaka broke the silence.

"Please tell me you brought him home?"

Leone smiled and nodded.

"I did. He passed out in my arms after apologizing and calling me sis for the first time before I took him home."

The other cats shot her envious looks she did not shy away from.

"Oh shush you three, he came around for you three soon after as well, I just got the title first."

Yoru huffed.

"Yeah right, he calls you sis all the time while we get our names."

Leone smirked smugly but Yoru's next words reversed their facial expressions.

"It means I'll get the lead on his 'special' training since you're his sister."

Leone bristled at that.

"Oh shut up bitch, we all know that we're family but not like that. Cats do what they want, and he is a human. If we want something we will take it, that's our motto.

Besides, his mate gets dibs and anything that includes him will include her as well or I'll never trust you around them alone again."

Yoru got offended by that.

"What?! You really think I would do that to them? They are the sweetest couple I have ever seen. I would rather eat my tail then get in the way. Of course any lesson taught to one will be taught to both at the same time. Besides, we all know Kuroka is curious."

The others couldn't deny that and nodded.

They got to know the girl over the years and she took on traits of all four of them much to their delight.

Yasaka rose a brow.

"I think I'm missing context here girls."

The four blinked and then chuckled.

"Right, right. Sorry. It's coming up next.

Back to the story, after coming home and both embarrassing and scolding came from each of us, we made sure he healed up well and confined him to the village for half a year as we pushed him further than before.

It was around that time that an old….friend…no, associate is a better term. An old associate came by."

The other cats eyes narrowed and agreed with the wording much to Yasaka's confusion.

"It was a Nekomata we met long ago and were friends with. It's not that she was a bad person Yasaka but…. She had changed. Changed in a terrible way."

Leone didn't know how to put it so Yoru said it.

"The girl fell head over heels for a human scientist who didn't give two shits about her. The guy plainly stated to her he had no feelings other than lust and interest in her genes, and the girl was over the moon and ready to sacrifice the biblical god in his name."

Yasaka's eyes widened.

"Seriously? I mean, I've heard of some Yokai who really fall hard but it's pretty rare. Was it really that bad?

Their eyes darkened.

"Yes."

"It was."

"I would kill her myself if she wasn't dead."

"Now, now, girls. Don't speak ill of the dead unless we can revive her and harm her."

Yasaka was confused at the antagonism but it was soon revealed.

"Yasaka, she had two daughters. They were both Nekoshou. You should understand what would happen if a mother cared more for her husband than her children."

Yasaka's eyes darkened like theirs as her tails waved dangerously.

"Did she harm her children?"

Leone put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"Not directly no. But from what we know, the woman did love her children and wasn't specifically cruel to them, but she favored anything the husband wanted over her children's wishes and desires.

The older girl, Kuroka, she was far to mature for her young age from having grown up to take care of her little sister Shirone. The girl loved her little sister more than the world and it melted our hearts to see the two of them."

Yasaka relaxed and even smiled slightly at the thought while Leone went on.

"And as fate would have it, on their first arrival to the village, Kuroka felt safe leaving Shirone with triplet nekomata her own age to play while she wandered the edge of the village for a bit of childish freedom that she never got to have.

And guess who she ran into?"

Yasaka vulpine laughed at the thought.

"I think I have an idea."

Chloe smirked and spoke up.

"She spooked him while he was on one of my courses and got him paralyzed. She felt responsible and gave him a lap pillow as he couldn't move.

I don't know what was said but the two were practically tied at the hip from that day on."

Yasaka held a hand to her cheek.

"Oh that is just adorable! I can just imagine that scene. How did things play out?"

The girls giggled at the memory before going on.

"Well as you can imagine, we were not exactly happy about two Nekoshou being outside the village. The mother didn't know of the Nekoshou's connection with senjutsu, but she wanted to know things about Nekoshou that we were not comfortable sharing.

We investigated her and she was practically a spy for her husband.

We wanted nothing more than to take her girls from her and give them a warm home in the village away from such influences, and thankfully our wolf made it possible.

I fear without him they may have gone back with their mother….that's a scary thought…"

The others nodded along.

They didn't want to imagine what the girls life would have been like stuck with that husband and wife and being involved more deeply with the devils they were connected to.

"Anyway, thanks to Hei, the girls were all the happier to spend more time at the village.

Kuroka was chasing Hei everywhere and sticking to him like glue while Shirone was having a blast with fellow cats her own age and being pampered by our villagers who all found her adorable."

Yoru couldn't hold back a slight cackle.

"You should have seen Hei's first meeting with the little kitten. She wrapped that boy around her little finger like an artist.

Hei would fight a dragon for her with one limb if needed and dive down it's throat to bite his way out."

Yasaka laughed loudly in her vulpine way and wiped away a tear.

"Surely your exaggerating?"

Ghislaine smirked and shook her head.

"Not at all. A wolf takes care of its pack. She is precious to him. No, the village is precious to him."

Chloe added in.

"We managed to fill his heart just as he wormed his way into our own."

Yasaka smiled warmly and felt her heart heat up at the thought of such a young man.

"He sounds positively delightful. I must meet him and get a measure for myself."

She added teasingly at the end.

"Before you four fully corrupt him that is~."

The cats chuckled lightly but drifted off and Yasaka rose a brow.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Leone coughed.

"It's nothing yet Yasaka. We will get to it. I'm sure he would love to meet you as well. I swear he has a weakness for fluffy things."

She shot Yasaka's tails an envois look that had her perking up with a smug look.

"My, my~ does he now? Perhaps I should woo him away from you felines."

""""*Hiss!*""""

Yasaka laughed mischievously and waved her hand.

"Oh relax girls, I'm just having some fun. Leone, go on please."

"Mhm. Anyway, with them coming by more and more often, we decided to grab Kuroka and start training her as well. She was getting in the way of Hei's training and she was more than mature enough to begin our arts early.

Her mother barely taught her a thing about combat which is a good and bad thing. Good because we didn't have to break bad habits and bad because every nekomata child is taught at least a foundation in our form of youjutsu from a young age.

Thankfully for all of us, Kuroka turned out to be a true prodigy in all forms of nekomata and Nekoshou art forms."

Yasaka rose a brow in interest.

"Oh? That's lucky and quite rare."

Yoru nodded.

"Yeah, even among Nekoshou she was a special one.

That's not to say she didn't struggle and put in the effort. On the contrary, she put in more effort than most after being inspired by Hei.

I loved it and pushed her more. She's such a motivated girl since she wants to be able to stand side by side with Hei.

I taught her that a real woman does not hide behind her mate, she stands beside him and they watch each other's backs.

It's shallow to expect a knight in shining armor to risk their life and do all the work while you give them your body. No, a real woman is just as much of a warrior as their partner.

To be a mate is to be the other half of a circle.

Humans have this trend of divorcing your partner and it makes me sick. You don't abandon your other half, you support them through the good and bad times, through the ups, downs, and every which way life shakes you!

You build each other up, not tear each other down."

She spoke with a great deal of passion that had even her sisters giving her surprised looks while Yasaka looked on with a large smile.

"I fully agree Yoru. I didn't know you were so passionate about it."

Yoru blushed and looked away.

"Seeing the two of them lovey dovey these years has made me thing about it more I guess. I'm not sure I would be ready for it for a while, but I'll enjoy what comes my way. For now I'm interested in growing stronger and teaching those two everything I can. And I mean 'everything.'"

She wiggled her eyebrows and the others laughed.

"Ha, what happened to your whole speech about mates being sacred?"

Yoru laughed shamelessly.

"As long as they learn and enjoy together and are both comfortable with what happens, it doesn't matter. If you separated them though it's spitting in the bonds face."

The others nodded along at that.

It's different from human society and their views.

For two mates in the supernatural world. As long as they were 100% open with their partner, did things together, and kept their boundaries in mind, it was fine for them to find others to join them.

But going at it alone was no different from cheating on their other half.

"As Yoru put it before her rant. Kuroka was very skilled and took to our teachings like a cat on a scratch post.

A year into things however, Kuroka began pestering Hei to take her out on a job with her."

Yasaka shook her head with a wry smile at that.

"Doesn't matter what age, as soon as someone gets a new power or toy, they just can't help wanting to test things."

Leone smirked.

"Exactly, and that goes double for a cat. Hei however wanted her to stay away from the bloodshed and while noble, he was only hindering her growth.

I had to smack him and order him to take her along on a job.

In hindsight, things didn't go so well, but Hei handled it well enough."

At Yasaka's curious look, she grimaced and explained.

"Her first kills were by setting two people on fire but she didn't make the fire strong enough and they were alive as they burned. And then someone put a gun to her head and she instinctively reacted and slashed his throat."

Yasaka grimaced and her ears flattened on her head.

"Oh that poor girl…"

Leone nodded sadly.

"She went into a panic attack and was hyperventilating and puking but Hei got to her and got her out of there to a private location he could clean her up and let her relax in.

He never let go of her and kept soothing her for hours as he cared for her.

She fell asleep in his arms.

Of course this is secondhand knowledge from what we got out of her. Hei was more tightlipped but Kuroka didn't mind explaining after a bit of time passed.

The two had confirmed their love for each other in the morning, it was so adorable!"

Yasaka blushed and her tails waved behind her.

"Not the best start to the big moment, but I commend the young man for his actions. He was a true gentleman and caring mate when it was needed. Of course, I'm a sucker for romance stories~!"

All the women were giggling at that.

"They took their time with their relationship though and just enjoyed spending each day with each other and their nights cuddled up. Not that we didn't make them train, hang out with them, and cuddle with them at night as well."

Yasaka shook her head.

"Of course you would."

They stuck their tongues out at her maturely.

Leone chuckled and went on.

"For the next few years, the two just grew more and more in love, driving each other crazy and making each other smile every day.

And Shirone was of course stuck in the middle.

The two of them dote of her like nothing else."

Everyone was smiling at the thoughts of the three of them.

"It was also after three years that Hei managed to reach Steel rank in the guild. The youngest in the history of the guild. Not the fastest as he took his time but definitely the youngest."

Yasaka rose a brow in open curiosity.

"Truly? He is able to handle supernatural threats at such an age?"

The four cats chuckled deeply much to her confusion.

"Yasaka, I think your underestimating him."

"He might have been focused mainly on human world threats and jobs."

"But he could fight a low class being one on one when he was eleven. And that was before he got touki or access to better weapons and gear."

"After three extra years with us and hitting puberty, he is deadly."

Yasaka's eyes widened a bit.

'Hm.. perhaps since I didn't meet him, I still subconsciously think of him as a child.'

"You all might be correct. I'm sure after I meet him I would stop thinking of him as a child rather than the young man and warrior you have spoken of him as."

The four nodded at that and Leone went on.

"Fair enough, it can be hard to understand until you meet him. Anyway, he grew tremendously in power over the years and he still has so much more to go.

But…well…*sigh*, time didn't want to wait for him it seems."

Yasaka felt the feeling that something was wrong again.

"I won't interrupt the story again but tell me, is he alright? You all keep up this mystery act anymore and I might start throwing fire."

The girls actually smiled at that and Yoru answered.

"He's alive."

"He survived."

"We…we might need your help."

Yasaka looked curiously at Chloe.

"Of course I would help. You four always know that. Tell me what you need."

The girls smiled much warmer and Leone leaned in from her place to hug her.

"Thank you Yasaka, truly."

Yasaka smiled and hugged her back.

"You have nothing to thank me for, we are all practically sisters. Now go on and tell the rest of your tale. I'm sure something big happened but it's not an immediate emergency or you would be rushing me much more."

Leone chuckled and pulled back as she rubbed the back of her head.

Yasaka narrowed her eyes and the others looked away while whistling innocently.

"Oh for the love of… WHAT did you four do this time?!"

"To be fair, we didn't exactly do anything. It was done to us."

Yasaka's tails waved as the heat increased in the room.

"WHO ATTACKED MY PEOPLE?"

Leone put an arm around Yasaka and pulled her out of her trance before she burned something or someone down.

"Relax for the moment Yasaka, we will explain. No one from our side died."

At her clear words, Yasaka reeled in her energy with a few deep breaths.

Thanks to be connected to a ley line, while being at the bottom of ultimate class usually, she could content with the those at the top of ultimate thanks to the overflowing energy that coursed through her from the connection.

It tied her to Kyoto with only occasionally being able to leave for short times, but she was fine with that.

"Explain. Now."

Still, she didn't like what she was imagining.

Leone chuckled.

"We will, but for the record, the Nekomata are technically tied to the East Yokai faction you know~."

Yasaka scoffed and slapped her arm with a tail.

"Oh please. East or West matters not to me. Yokai are one no matter how we squabble and we will face the outside world together. The east's leader is on the same wavelength as I and we get along just fine. Now stop trying to stall me with humor and explain."

Leone sighed and rubbed her arm but nodded.

"It began a few days ago.

Hei as a new Steel rank went to take a job as is usual for him. I don't know where it took him, but it caused him to enter a signal jamming area for a few days as he worked.

At the same time he left though, Kuroka got a call from her mother begging her to come visit with Shirone and after some clear annoyance on her part, Kuroka finally relented.

I say she was annoyed because she tore up Hei's bed in a mini rampage and the panda maid was furious."

Yasaka chuckled slightly at the mental image but she still focused as she knew this wasn't going to end well.

Her fears were confirmed with Leones next words.

"The problem was that although she was supposed to be gone for just one night, soon a day passed without them returning. We tried to contact them but wherever they were was being signal jammed as well.

Hei has ways to find anyone even when they are being hidden so we knew he could find her, but we couldn't find him.

All we could do was get out spies to focus heavily on the devil clan we were watching that Kuroka's parents were connected to.

Unfortunately, we never found anything in the time we waited.

It took Hei until the third day after he left to return, but as soon as we told him the girls were missing, he flew off in a rage using his ability and there was nothing we could do to stop him.

Even now we wonder why he flew off like that, he would have usually been more cool and collected, but I guess the two of them were that close."

Yoru hummed at that.

"That or the lack of sleep made him jumpy. He did have large bags under his eyes."

"True, it didn't seem like he slept over the time he was gone so he must have been up for at least 60 something hours. Not crazy for us but it definitely makes one more jittery."

Yasaka nodded her head and followed along.

"I see. So he went off to save her. What happened?"

The cats looked at each other before Leone answered.

"To the girls? We…we don't know."

Yasaka rose a brow.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"*sigh*, we don't know what happened on Hei's journey. All we know is, there was a large explosion near an area of the devil territories we were watching hours earlier. Then Hei went off. And a few hours later, all our spies are calling in at once with panicked cries.

Over a dozen devil clans were arming for a slaughter at the same time. And you can guess where they were aiming."

Yasaka's tail's waved around dangerously.

"The only reason I am not storming off to call my men to arms is because you said no one died, but I want details."

Leone nodded with a saddened look that actually both quelled and angered Yasaka further.

Thankfully her anger was turning cold rather the fiery and violent.

"With the warning in advance, we decided to initiate one of our pre planned strategies in case of emergencies just like what happened.

The problem was that we never planned for Hei and the girls to not be part of that strategy, hell, they didn't even know! And it! And we!...fuck!"

She got caught on her words at the end and Yoru quickly pulled her into a side hug.

"Relax Leone, we did what we thought we had to."

Leone shot her hard eyes but Yoru's equally hard and heartbroken eyes quelled her.

Yasaka waited patiently with her anger growing inside.

Someone hurt her sisters, her people. She wanted blood.

Leone breathed deeply and went on.

"The plan was to cast a large scale illusion over the village. You know we Nekomata are highly attuned to illusion magic. Our only issue is our low energy pools so we are not good at the big stuff.

To cast an illusion for over 100 people and make it as realistic as possible to fool enemies is not simple to perform with our energy levels.

We gathered all the villagers in a safe spot, something we owe our lives to Hei for, and cast the illusion before the first wave of devils reached the village.

Unfortunately, the three we were waiting for never arrived, so as leaders of the village, we four stepped out to confront the devils while stalling for time as the villagers handled the illusion alone for a bit."

Yasaka looked at them worriedly.

"You didn't…."

They shook their heads.

"The whole reason we went straight to an illusion rather than flee was to make the devils think they killed the Nekoshou off. We made this plan a long, long time ago in case of emergencies.

To devils, a sub race of beings who can harness natural energy, something they believe can only be done by gods and buddhas, we were a threat to them.

They would never let us leave alive or forcibly enslave us to their peerages. If we fled it would bring war to the Yokai factions for just our heads.

So no, while we fought off the first few waves, we didn't use senjutsu for fear that they would send in everyone at once and we would be out of time."

Yasaka sighed.

"They didn't come did they?"

The girls shook their heads.

"No, they didn't.

We killed around 70 low class devils, maybe one or two mid class, before we were forced to pull back and exchange places with our illusions.

The big guns were coming in and with the fear of more reinforcements showing up after the first 250 devils, we had to turn away.

The devils slaughtered our illusions like we expected, but they went even farther by desecrating the four of our corpses and stringing them up in the burning tree. They seemed to take offense at us killing so many of them."

Leone practically spat at the end and Yasaka's anger rose even further.

"Go on. And which clan was this specifically?"

Yoru gave Leone a breather and went on.

"It was the Naberius clan. They sent the mad dogs."

Yasaka's tails literally stabbed into the ground.

"They sent…them? Those wild animal?!"

The mad dogs were widely known.

Not for their power, wisdom, or accomplishments.

No, they were known for their namesake. Whenever their owners let them off the leash, they wantonly slaughtered any village or race they could before they were pulled back by their leash.

Yoru sighed and nodded.

"It was them. Real pieces of work. Heh… pieces in the literal sense now."

Yasaka's growing anger paused as she looked on curiously.

"Oh? And how did that happen?"

The girls looked between each other uneasily before Ghislaine was the one to answer.

"Hei. He came back just as the deed was done and the devils were outside the village celebrating."

Yasaka's face paled.

"Oh no…"

Leone choked back a sob.

"He…we didn't know at first…but then….Yasaka…. he howled…"

She covered her face with her hand and looked away for a moment while the others were getting red eyed at the memory.

"It was so…broken.."

"It was primal."

"I've never heard someone howl like that before."

The three had thousand yard stares as they recalled the pure sound of agony that ripped from Hei's lungs.

Yasaka herself shed tears at the thought.

She didn't want to push her sisters but actions needed to be taken, she needed to know what happened.

"What did he do?"

Leone looked back with red eyes.

"I don't think you fully understand Yasaka. To us who have been around him for so many years, his energy was clear as day.

It was cold, warm, sharp, soft, cruel, and kind. His aura practically wears it's feelings out in the open when he isn't suppressing it.

But when he howled…..his aura just…vanished…

He had no energy in him, he spent it all.

His mind just…snapped.

It was like he walked out the door and left nothing but his instincts and wrath to fill his shoes."

She was shaking as she spoke and the four gathered together to support each other.

Yoru went on.

"We were still maintaining the illusion at first, so we could see outside from where we were hiding and running it.

The villagers were out of energy by now and they had to rest.

So it was just us and our fellow Nekoshou who had a bit deeper reserves than the rest.

Thankfully with the devils outside the village, we could stop paying all our attention to keeping the illusion so realistic, but….we…. we didn't know that no more reinforcements were coming."

Yoru closed her eyes in pain and Ghislaine picked it up.

"With Hei stepping up, we did everything we could to cover the area around the devils with a thick illusion that would mask the energy signatures from the outside.

We we're afraid that if reinforcements were coming, they would sense the fight happening and rush to support.

Unfortunately, we miscalculated just how many things could happen in a short time period, how long it took to set up the illusion, and just how wrong we were to assume more devils were coming."

She looked down in defeat and Chloe picked it up.

"We had every reason to believe more devils were coming after all. Our spies said over a dozen devil clans were gearing for a slaughter! A dozen! And what we were fighting was only a scouting party slash vanguard for a single clan.

We chose to put up the illusion, then we would rush out to grab Hei, and then we would finish off the stragglers with our full power and get the hell out of there as fast as we could."

Yasaka listened along and nodded her head.

"It sounds like you took into consideration all the big issues and made choices like leaders protecting your people. I don't see any issue in your judgement so far. You had no reason to believe you would only be facing a single party, that Hei would show up at that moment, or what could happen while you set up a formation.

As far I have heard so far, you did the correct thing."

If anything, her words only drove a knife deeper into their hearts.

Leone the most.

"Don't say that Yasaka! We know it was right as leaders! But….but… oh Hei… what did we do to you..."

Tears fell down her cheeks and Yasaka was growing concerned.

Yoru answered.

"We watched him from where we worked. You could see it on him before he even fought that battle.

He was already long since exhausted, his clothes were in tatters and he was covered in dry blood and various marks adorned his form from various attacks.

Whatever happened in his rescue for Kuroka and Shirone took its toll and he must have fought through waves to get to them.

He had no mana in him, his mind had shut down from pure trauma, and he still walked toward those devils filled only on wrath and pure instinct.

And not only that, he had a weapon we had never seen before."

Ghislaine nodded.

"Dual pistols. I have no idea of their material, but one shot holy bullets that penetrated while the other shot demonic bullets that exploded."

Leone spoke up from where she was crying.

"I know where he got them. *sniff* it's the weapons of Lupa. The old man's notes in his box spoke of it. Every Lupa awakens their weapon when they are ready.

And it seemed…Hei was only ready…when he saw our corpses…"

Yasaka grimaced at that.

"I can't tell if the weapons are a blessing or a curse."

Chloe shook her head.

"A bit of both perhaps. I half wish he didn't get them so he wouldn't fight, but I know even without them he would have fought."

Yoru nodded and went on.

"The fight that took place was as epic as it was heartbreaking.

Yasaka, he… he fought with the mentality of take one hit to kill two enemies."

Yasaka's eyes watered at that.

"He went into a berserker rage?"

Ghislaine nodded.

"With his mind gone, his instincts were screaming alongside his wrath. The animal inside came out and it wanted the blood of the devils no matter what."

Leone added in the other major point.

"And…he was out of mana…but he fought with touki."

Yasaka's eyes widened.

"Oh no…"

Chloe cut in.

"Hei has an easy way to recover from losing lifeforce if he was awake, but at the time it was draining him like a sponge. His hair was turning silvery white, and his body was cracking under the strain.

He pushed himself past his touki limit to keep up with 182 devils."

Leones eyes flashed red.

"And he slaughtered them like the animals they were! It wasn't until the ground was literally painted with their blood that they truly began to fear rather than think of it like hunting a wild animal.

The mad dogs learned who the alpha was in that slaughter."

There was a deep sense of satisfaction in that part of the scenario for all of them, even Yasaka.

They were Yokai and their animal instincts screamed loudly at times.

Yoru went on to explain in more detail.

The bombs Hei planted.

Taking advantage of the chaos to lower their numbers and taking numerous hits in the process.

Fighting for minutes while he cut them down in an incredibly fast paced battle that left devil corpses behind him with every step he took.

Taking on explosive shockwaves to injure enemies or absorb lightning to shock weapon users.

Being pinned down by the gravity magic and bitten by magic canines.

Using string to turn and ambush on itself and shower the earth in two dozen devil's blood. Chloe took great satisfaction in his use of string throughout the fight.

Hei's jump into the air to eliminated eight mid-class devils in seconds before getting pinned in the air.

Yasaka's awe for the young man grew as she listened. He was only fourteen and yet he was fighting like a veteran long past that.

"You should have seen it Yasaka, the pure and utter skill he showed in those few seconds as he faced dozens of attacks from all direction in the air, without any ability to shield or quickly move through the air. It was something even I would be hard pressed to achieve in the same situation without using senjutsu.

It was magnificent beyond belief."

Ghislaine picked it up.

"But he needed to break the stalemate and he took a ruthless but effective action. He took on a direct fireball to push him out of position and into three of the remaining six mid-class devils.

He moved without a single wasted movement and eliminated all three without hesitation.

Except that is when the two high class devils truly grew afraid and used their prepared magic formation.

Shiso Keppu."

Yasaka's eyes narrowed.

"The blood seal of four spears? I believe it was also called the lightning cage."

Yoru nodded thickly.

"You would be correct.

The formation bound Hei in a circle of lightning as each limb was pulled taut in spread eagle fashion. Lightning coursed through him from each limb, and yet, he didn't make a sound.

Not a single shout came from his lungs. He only growled."

Each of the women there felt tremendous pride for him at that.

Chloe kept it going.

"The high class devils were holding the seal, and the three mid class devils were drained of energy from helping form the seal, but the fourteen low class devils were free to act.

Seeing Hei bound, they regained courage and charged him with spears as they couldn't risk using magic and disrupting the seal.

What Hei did will never leave my mind. I never felt that scared before."

All four looked away but Yasaka was on the edge of her seat.

Ghislaine answered.

"He took on the spears to kill each devil."

Yasaka blinked.

"I'm sorry?"

Ghislaine answered again.

"He accepted the charge of fourteen spears on his back, in order to draw them in close enough and use string generated from the pistols, still in his hands, to split each devil into dozens of pieces and rain blood upon himself and the earth below.

Each spear penetrated his back but didn't go far enough to hit anything vital before they lost momentum."

Yasaka put a hand to her mouth in shock.

How does one react to such a thing?

She looked at each girl and saw them with terrified eyes.

They truly thought they let Hei die at that moment.

Leone picked it up at the end.

"We couldn't take it anymore. The illusion was taking too long to form and the Nekoshou aside from us four were running on empty. We had to take the risk even if it risked every other Nekoshou and villager behind us.

They too were crying for us to act no matter how it affected them.

We were all ready to die for Hei just as he was dying for us.

The retreat plan was thrown to hell as the four us charged out like demons but by the time we got to him it was too late.

We were able to witness the final strike by one of the two high class devils.

He fell from the sky using a wind blade, one we discovered was cursed magic, to slice at Hei's head.

The only thing we could fathom is that Hei had gathered all of the remaining touki in his body onto his head and left the rest of his body defenseless.

He almost lost an eye and received a nasty gash down his face that broke his mask, but he lived."

Chloe added in.

"And when that high class devil striked, Hei used that exact moment of accepting the attack to pull a single line of string taut and the devil decapitated himself! It was a flawless kill!

…if only he didn't have to take the strike."

Leone nodded and went on with hesitation.

"With the death of one high class devil, the other lost his focus and will as the seal shattered.

We…we froze.

Only four devils remained, and none had the will to stand let alone fight or run.

Hei…he…he didn't stop. *Hic*. Two strands of hair were all that was left of his vitality. His body was…carrying fourteen spears in his back. Wounds, burns, and bite marks adorned his body.

He was wobbling and struggling, even his wrath finally growing weak.

But he still – kept – going.

I don't know if we were frozen in awe or grief at what we had done.

Because of our choices and actions, Hei was in his current state.

We betrayed him as his family.

And yet at the very end, when he rose his gun and un-hesitantly began pulling the last of his lifeforce out to fill just one more bullet, we moved faster than we ever had in our lives.

*Sniff* He….he didn't recognize us Yasaka. He… kept trying to pull the final trigger. He fought against us in his own way at the end.

We begged him to stop. I tried to put everything I had into that one word.

He was so fragile that we were afraid forcingly moving him or knocking him out would kill him.

So we begged.

And after the second attempt, he finally relented.

He let go at our voices and the last bit of his vitality returned to him

But even then… he…Yasaka… he remained standing.

His instinct, wrath, and subconscious fully retreated, and he – remained – standing."

Her voice was broken and awed at the end.

(RIGHT HERE)

Even Yasaka was taken back at how it ended.

The strength of will needed to remain standing after everything that had been done was staggering.

The strong shine like stars in the night in this world, some rise and others fall, their light shining and their names known.

But the ones with such will were the ones who made their stars become eternal.

Even long after they died, their legend still remained.

If there was any indication that this young man was someone extraordinary then this was it.

A sign that he might just be one of those stars who make their light everlasting.

Yasaka didn't know it, but a small seed bloomed deep inside her mind.

A seed that wanted to see such a young man reach his potential.

But first, she had to meet him.

To understand the full scope of who someone is, she needs to feel their aura and see their eyes.

The eyes are the window to the soul, something she learned over the years to peer into as a leader and ruler of thousands.

All five women had taken a moment of silent respect to the end of such a tale before Yasaka spoke up.

"Considering your appearance here, and the story you had told me about his life, I'm assuming he survived and the favor you wish to ask for is for him?"

The four snapped out of their thoughts and Yoru nodded.

"Yes. Like we said, Hei has means to heal himself but he cannot use them while unconscious.

The four of us can heal ourselves with senjutsu all day but we can't heal others with it.

And not only that, but we also have no way to know just long the last sliver of his lifeforce will keep him going.

All we could do was dress his wounds the normal way and leave him to soak in a special healing springs generated from his own ability.

It is slowly healing his wounds, but it can't fix anything major and does nothing for the lost life force."

Yasaka rose a brow in curiosity.

"Healing springs you say? How does that work?"

Ghislaine answered.

"We are not fully sure. It is formed through his power, but from what we can tell, it absorbs small amounts of natural energy to create a healing and beautifying effect on the water."

Yasaka couldn't help her ear twitch. She was still a woman.

"Beautifying effect?"

Chloe smirked as she witnessed Yasaka's tails waving in interest.

"Yup~ it does wonders for smooth skin, curing blemishes, small scars, and it makes our fur and hair feel silky smooth."

Both of Yasaka's ears twitched. She had nine very fluffy tails and maintenance on those things, magic or not, was not a simple process.

"I see… I believe I know where this is going."

She stood up with a bit too much eagerness.

"Where is he? If it's out of Kyoto I can only stay so long but I should be able to help."

The girls stood up as well with chuckles.

Leone had gotten herself back under control and wiped her face.

"No, it's here in Kyoto."

Yasaka gave her a look.

"Really? Because while I know you four can get around just fine under the radar, I have a hard time believing over 100 nekomata made it into my city without me hearing about it."

The girls laughed and Yoru swung an arm over her shoulder.

"We're just that good Yasaka~."

Yasaka gave her a flat look that wasn't buying it.

"The young man's ability I'm assuming?"

Yoru looked away with an innocent whistle and Yasaka chuckled.

Action would need to be taken soon with the devils, but since no one truly died and the young man's life was at risk, she could push it off a few more hours.

Her tail came up to lightly smack Yoru on the ass and make her jump.

"Nya! Easy on the goods girl!"

Yasaka gave her a vulpine mischievous smile and wink.

"I'll do more than that later~, but for now I believe we should be off."

Ghislaine grabbed Yoru by her collar and threw her over her shoulder to break the staring match between her and Yasaka.

"Play later, this is more important."

Yoru huffed from where she was hanging.

"I know sheesh, Leone can lead us off."

Leone nodded as she shrunk back down into cat form.

Yasaka rose a brow.

"We cannot teleport?"

Chloe spoke up from where she was stretching.

"Mnnn~. Sorry Yasaka but we can't teleport anyone in directly the first time. It's part of the security. We have to bring you there in person.

Only Hei can ignore the rules completely since it's his ability."

Her curiosity fully peaked, Yasaka nodded and asked no more.

She wanted to see it herself anyway.

Yasaka easily pulsed her energy in a specific order that would be sensed by her security detail.

It meant no one was to disturb her for the next few hours unless it was an emergency.

With that done, her form began shrinking until a normal sized fox with nine tails took her place.

The others, now all in cat form, jumped out the window with Yasaka on their tails.

She would never admit it, but Yasaka was actually really happy to get out once in a while.

'Without these girls around and with all the paperwork and raising Kunou, I really haven't gotten much chance to stretch my legs these last few years.'

Her vulpine form smirked as she followed them.

It was also useful for her since she could actually see where the cats get in and out.

The girls always did it that way, so they could help Yasaka tighten up her defenses.

It made the West Yokai faction one of the most well-guarded locations in the supernatural community.

The land was blessed by the Shinto god's for the Yokai to thrive, the city was blessed by the ley lines, and she was the central focus of those ley lines.

Wherever she wished, she could form wards and protections to tighten security in the blind spots, as well as create various barriers around the Yokai territory, but with any defense, there are weakness's.

And her friends help point them out every time.

There ran through the patrols, across rooftops, through alleyways, and made it out of the Yokai territory proper.

Yasaka looked on curiously as she ran.

'Hm… outside of my territories bounds has benefits and demerits.

I can't legally protect them but since they are not in my lands, I have plausible deniability.'

Technically, she ruled over Kyoto.

But Kyoto covered a lot of land, so she really only ruled over the supernatural side of Kyoto, which was bigger and smaller.

Bigger because the inside was spatially expanded and smaller because the actual area of the land was a third of Kyoto.

The faction existed in the Northwest Kyoto district.

The girls took her west of her factions land and into Arashiyama, the district famous for shrines, temples, and the famed bamboo forest.

Her brow rose when the cats raced into the bamboo grove.

'The bamboo forest huh? Smart.'

Her brows rose further when she stopped short and looked ahead confusingly.

She could swear the cats went straight ahead but their forms distorted and vanished while her senses were telling her to turn left or right.

But she wasn't a long lived Kyuubi for nothing.

'My, my~, what a powerful illusion. If I didn't know where to look, I would have turned without consciously perceiving it.'

A cat head popped into vision and Yasaka's eyes narrowed on the smug looking cat grin Yoru's black cat form was wearing.

'You planned this bitch!'

Yasaka growled and Yoru chuckled before another cat tail smacked the back of her head.

Yoru grumbled behind her and jumped out to land on Yasaka's back.

Her tail pointed forward and Yasaka, shooting her a side eyed stink eye, moved ahead.

The feeling of wanting to turn another way was lightened once Yoru touched her and she walked ahead.

She was surprised to note that through the illusion, there was seemingly nothing there except the girls back in human form.

Yasaka reverted back herself with a raised brow.

"Is this it?"

Yoru came up behind her in human form and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you take another look around."

Yasaka humored her and did so.

It was just the same bamboo forest inside and outside the illusion she walked through.

She took a few steps to walk around the area, feeling out the edges of the illusion.

It wasn't that wide, sort of like a large bubble in the middle of an out of the way location.

Finding it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, and she had no doubts that without a marker, she would have trouble finding it a second time on her own.

Her eyes scanned the area and aside from the bamboo trees, the four smugly smiling bitches, and the dirt, there was nothing else.

'…dirt.'

She looked down and she noticed food steps leading up to a certain spot before vanishing.

Walking up to the spot, she reached out a hand to feel the ground when another hand clamped on her wrist.

She looked to her side to see Leone with a smile.

"Easy there Yasaka. We left the footprints on purpose but I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Leone just smiled wider and let go of her wrist to put a hand on the dirt.

There was a glow of light as if the ground was scanning her hand before the dirt parted like an automatic door to show a hidden trap door with a keypad on it.

Leone bent down to put in the code while speaking.

"If anyone aside from us four or Hei had touched the door, it would have released some real nasty security measures."

The keypad flashed as the door opened.

Ghislaine was the first to enter as Yasaka asked Leone.

"What kind of measures?"

Chloe smirked as she passed her.

"Aside from things on the door itself, try using senjutsu to feel the real kicker."

Yasaka shot her a curious look as she entered the trapdoor and did so.

A few seconds later, lines formed over her skin as she opened them with a gasp and looked down.

A drop of cold sweat fell down her back at the sight of dozens of energy signatures hovering inches from her feet and specifically around her form.

They were even in the bamboo tree's above her.

"Oh my."

She couldn't even sense them without senjutsu.

Leone laughed as she was the last one above and she gestured to the door.

"Yeah, their venomous too, real nasty stuff. We tested them out on some animals and let's just say even Chloe is careful around them. Extremely loyal and sentient but they are golems rather than living beings. As long as the brat gives someone permission, they will ignore us or anyone we directly bring in with us."

Yasaka nodded as she entered the door and climbed down a ladder.

"And he only gave you girls permission?"

Yoru's voice sounded beneath her on the ladder.

"Us four and Kuroka. We had to bring the village one by one into the other hideout to get them in. It's complicated but I don't blame the kid for making it that way.

The door can ever wipe away mind control effects if someone is being controlled."

Yasaka was impressed by that.

"Fascinating defense, his ability really is something."

Chloe's mischievous voice rang below.

"Wait a second and say that again~."

Yasaka chuckled at her tone.

"You girls are having way to much fun showing off your young man and his abilities to me."

Yoru laughed.

"Haha, we got to get it out of system. We would love to show off our beloved wolf more but the people we can do that to is limited as he keeps things secret.

Aside from you, there is maybe one or two other people in the world we would trust this much."

Yasaka laughed back.

"I feel so honored~."

"You should. Take a look around."

Shaking her head, Yasaka descended further and saw the circular metal walls surrounding the ladder give way to a massive chamber.

She choked for a second before steeling herself.

"*Sigh* you know what, I don't care anymore. I don't care if you all somehow denied the clear rules of dimensional space magic that say you can't expand space or make a dimensional pocket underground.

I also know for a fact no construction happened in one of the largest tourist destinations in Kyoto.

So yeah, I'm not giving you anymore satisfaction."

Yoru pouted beneath her.

"Aww~ don't take away our fun~. It's a rare opportunity for us. When's the next time we get our own screen time arc like this?"

"Not my problem."

The girls chuckled as they descended and Yasaka send an appreciative look around the massive chamber.

The roof was lightened by unseen lights to create moon light and had realistic moving clouds on a sky backdrop. Her keen eyes noticed it was a formation to emulate the sky above.

Down below, the space was split into three areas.

The largest of the area's housed numerous tree's with a clearing in the center where she saw dozens of tents and the beginnings of construction work going on.

'Must be where they are placing the new village.'

The second area was a large hill covered in colorful flowers that she was sure the cats would love to run around on and take naps.

And the third area was the smallest in a small clearing of tree's where a small sized house built into a large tree rested.

Yasaka smiled warmly at the sight.

'This space feels as if it was built for the nekomata in specific. How thoughtful of the young man.'

Leone smirked as she landed on the ground beside where Yasaka stepped off.

"You noticed?"

Yasaka nodded.

"I did. This space feels as if it was geared toward your species."

She breathed deeply and smiled at the strong scents and natural feel of the space.

How he created a dimensional pocket full of such pure nature was interesting to her.

Ghislaine nodded.

"We noticed it when we first came here as well. We were going to stay in the other hideout till the pup awakened but Joy had taken us to this hideout with a teleportation circle and it surprised us.

We really only know of two other hideouts aside from this one."

Yasaka tilted her head in confusion.

"I have many questions."

The girls laughed and Yoru lightly smacked her ass in revenge.

"Nyaha! You get used to it around the kid. Joy's the panda maids. They all look the same and it seems he makes one for each hideout, so we just call them each 'Joy'. We didn't know they could transfer between hideouts until that moment but we're grateful for it. As for how many exist, we don't know.

We have a guess, but that reveals more than we're willing to let on about his ability without his permission."

Yasaka processed that all with the mind of someone who has heard some of the most insanity inducing stories and excuses as a ruler of dozens of Yokai races.

"I see. Very well."

Yoru pouted at her lack of a reaction and trudged on while the others shook their heads at her.

Even while Chloe is the most commonly playful, once Yoru finds a toy she really tries to milk it for all it's worth.

Leone bumped her hip against a chuckling Yasaka.

"Come on, he's this way."

She jumped into the tree's and ran off with the others behind her.

Yasaka spoke up as they moved.

"So I noticed your rebuilding your village. Planning on staying here for the near future?"

Ghislaine pulled up next to her.

"Mn. It's a strategically placed secure location. We are all supposed to be dead."

Chloe added in from her other side.

"The location is perfectly set so we can have access to Kyoto and close by to allies."

She sent a wink at Yasaka that was met with a laugh as Yoru piped in. Her slight depression already gone.

"Plus the space has its own source of water and food so we are practically set for most things already. The stuff we don't have we can grab in the city or teleport to some other part of the world incognito."

Yasaka nodded along.

"In that case it's a wonderful spot. As for supplies, feel free to rely on me. Fixing up infrastructure is practically a weekly job for the West Yokai faction. I swear Yokai are just to free spirited sometimes no matter how many stern lectures I give them for getting to excited."

The girls laughed at that.

Yokai tend to be closer to their emotions and instincts then other races. When they were happy, they showed it. When angry, people knew it.

They were a simple but complex faction of beings connected under the Shinto pantheon.

"We appreciate it Yasaka, we'll let you know if we need anything. Besides, the brat gave us access to his bank account Nyahahaha!"

Yasaka shot Leone an exasperated smile at her shameless but didn't comment.

If the young man gave a woman access to his bank account, it was his own funeral.

Little did she know, Hei had set up a trust account for the girls that was periodically filled by his main account.

He wasn't that stupid even if he didn't care about money.

The five quickly cleared the tree's and entered the small clearing on one end of the hideout.

Yasaka smiled peacefully at the sight.

The clearing was circular in nature with a quant single story Japanese style home build into the base of two large tree's.

It was artistically designed in a traditional sense with a small moat of water around the front and had small but tastefully spread out colorful plants and bushes to bring a sense of beauty to the small home.

In front of the home was the small clearing and what looked like a single story storage building made of concrete to the side and wrapped in vines to make it blend in with the tree's.

Her brow rose at the entrance to said building.

It was wrapped in chains, had a keypad, dozens of camera's around the entrance, scorch marks on the ground around the door, and it had a dozen various posters from 'Keep Out' 'No Felines Allowed' 'Stay Away' 'Nuclear Radiation Warning' 'Yoru that means you.' 'Ghis, Leone insulted the wild, she needs a survival exercise.' 'Kuroka, I swear if you sneak in again I will have words for you.' 'Chloe, your humble servant will give you an offering, just don't poison me in my sleep again.'

A laugh bubbled up from her throat.

"*Pft* what is that supposed to be? Your dungeon?"

The girls all looked away with grumbles except Ghislaine who shook her head.

"You all knew what you were testing when you tried to get inside so don't grumble. And Yasaka, that is where the pup keeps the supply of fish and alcohol for this location."

Yasaka's ears twitched and her tails started waving as her eyes gleamed toward the door.

"Is that so…."

Chloe patted her shoulder.

"We trained him to well Yasaka."

"You can try if you want."

"We are not at liberty for your injuries."

"Just don't attack the wall itself. We don't know where exactly the source is location and we don't wish to risk damages to them."

Her curiosity getting the best of her, she couldn't help but walk over and reach for the door.

The allure of that mouthwatering bluefin tuna she had gotten a single bite of when she spent a stupid amount of money for a single crate from a greedy dealer, plus the allure of enchanted liquor was simply too strong for her to not attempt it.

Unless the chains and door were made of high energy dense chains, she could heat, cut, or snap them with her regular abilities.

Her senses were on high alert as she reached for the handle.

The handle glowed on contact as a robotic voice sounded from the keypad.

[Unauthorized entry. Enter 14 digit code within 60 seconds or security will be activated.]

Yasaka rose a brow and pulled on the door harder but it didn't budge.

'The hell is this made of? And who makes a 14 digit code?! How paranoid are you?'

Her eyes flashed as she tried to slash at the chains with her nails but they were rebuffed, leaving only white marks, and the voice sounded out again.

[Attempted destruction of door, 1st level security measures invoked.]

Red dots lit up her body as Yasaka's eyes widened before she moved back a dozen steps in a flash just as dozens of needles stabbed into the ground.

Leone's laughing voice sounded a distance away.

"I would give up girl! It's not worth what comes next!"

Yasaka shot them an annoyed look and noticed they had stepped far away for some reason.

'Bah, I'm the leader of the West Yokai faction, I have the ley line still pumping me with unlimited energy, I can handle this.'

She walked back up to the door in a regal fashion as her tails swiped at the door again.

This time she left slight cuts in the metal.

[Attempted destruction of door, 2nd level security measures invoked.]

The hairs on her tails were raised as she quickly wrapped herself in a protective ball just as dozens of lasers struck against her.

They didn't hurt but they singed her hair.

Yasaka's eyes narrowed in anger.

'Ohohoho~, think you can burn my glorious fur do you?!'

Her face turned slightly vulpine as she breathed deeply before breathing out a steady and burning hot stream of fox fire at the door.

The door began heating up as the keypad sounded off again.

[Attempted destruction of door, max level security measures invoked. Calling Joy.]

In her current state, Yasaka went completely unaware of the figure coming at her from behind.

She only noticed when a tap on her shoulder had her breaking off the stream of fix fire to turn around in annoyance.

"What do you want bitch?! I'm just about to get through that damn do….Oh…you must be Joy."

She only registered the persons form at the end of her words as she looked UP at Joy.

Joy, in her standard maid uniform, was standing upright and looking down at her with glowing red eyes of justified fury.

Yasaka didn't know why but she somehow felt like a little girl being scolded by her childhood maid again.

"Um…I didn't do it?"

A large paw clamped around the edge of her collar as Joy's eyes glowed fiercer.

"Wai…wah! Why!"

Yasaka, the noble Kyuubi and ruler of the West Yokai faction, looked up to by thousands as the divine priestess of Amaterasu-Sama and who's word was law inside Kyoto….was bent over a knee and spanked like a naughty child.

"Wait! *Smack* Ow! I'm sorry! *Smack* I was wrong! Please stop! *Smack* Why is she so strong?! *Smack* I get it!"

Three cats were a distance away both wincing in sympathy and rolling on the ground in laughter.

"Nyahahaha feel our pain!"

"Ahahaha know the fear of Joy the panda maid!"

"Your ass will be red tonight! Nyahaha!"

Ghislaine just stood there shaking her head.

"You three just never learn. I stopped trying after the first attempt."

The girls laughed harder at that.

The sight of the mighty Ghislaine bent over a Joy panda's knee and spanked with a shocked look on her face will never leave their memory for the rest of their lives.

Ghislaine shot them a look that made them stiffen up.

It said don't make me plan a Survival Exercise tailored for you.

She had done it before as well.

Push her to far, and you will go to sleep one night only to wake up naked, having your energy sealed, with a single knife, and being inside a dangerous no man's land full of magic beasts.

Not fun.

Soon enough, the panda maid stopped.

She only gives 10 spanks on the first offense.

A teary eyed Yasaka was placed back on her feet as her hands went to her red butt.

"Nuuu…."

She hadn't felt this humiliated in a long time.

A gentle paw patted her head that made her flinch before she was pulled into a soft hug.

She understood the message after a second and cried a bit more like a child.

Joy was basically saying not to do it again and that it would be all right.

She pulled away and walked off to gather cleaning supplies to fix the door as Yasaka stood there in silence until a voice snapped her out of it.

"We warned you~."

Yasaka turned to see the cats next to her again and blinked.

"Did…did that really just happen?"

Yoru bent over and poked her butt making Yasaka jump.

"Ow!"

She laughed.

"Yup, it happened."

Yasaka shot her a look and rubbed her tender butt with both hands as she started using senjutsu to heal herself.

"What the hell was that?! I couldn't break free! Hell, I was cut off from the ley line!"

The girls looked at each other and shrugged.

"No idea."

"It's just Joy."

"We stopped questioning it."

"Not even Hei has an answer, we just stopped doing things that make her mad and she is a big sweetheart."

Yasaka nodded at their words and relaxed as her red butt started fading back to normal.

"Fine, whatever, this never happened understood?"

Her eyes glowed at those words and the cats nodded.

They felt the same way about their own 'discipline' moments.

Leone laughed and waved her hand.

"Come on, no more messing around."

Yasaka didn't argue and the five moved into the house.

The removed their shoes at the entrance and stepped onto the smooth wooden flooring.

The interior matched the exterior for a traditional Japanese styled home and Yasaka felt herself relaxing.

Rather than her palace built in a royal Japanese styled way, this felt homy, down to earth, natural, and connected with nature.

"This is a beautiful home."

The girls agreed.

"I know right? We really have to break it in with a good party."

"Not to mention finally use that large bed he has here."

"Not till he is awake Yoru."

"I know, I know."

Chloe filled Yasaka in.

"At least one of us ends up using Hei and Kuroka as body pillows. The adorable teens are just too warm and comfortable to resist."

Leone chuckled from ahead.

"They ruin any other bed for us."

Yasaka laughed at the banter.

"Perhaps I'll give it a shot myself~."

The others shot her amused looks but didn't respond to her tease.

They moved through the hall to the back of the house, passing a tatami mat sitting room opened to the outside on one side, and a large tatami matted bedroom to the other side.

At the back was a sliding door Leone moved and they entered into a changing room.

The room had another door at the back they went through to enter the back of the house, walled off on the sides by tree's, the house to its front, and the edge of the cavern to its back.

It was an open air hot spring.

From the tree's hung glowing green crystals and glowing neon plants that casted beautiful glows on the surroundings, giving a clear light of the surroundings.

There seemed to be more flora under the water as the water glowed with beautiful lights as the steam wafted off the water.

"Yasaka-Sama!"

A call of surprise came from a figure sitting by the edge of the spring and got Yasaka's attention.

"Kurumi?"

A motherly but beautiful looking Nekomata stood up from where she was soaking her feet and hurriedly bowed to her.

"It is an honor Yasaka-Sama."

Yasaka quickly moved over and lifted the woman from her bow.

"None of that Kurumi, it's been far too long."

The woman looked up with a gentle smile.

"It has Yasaka-Sama, I trust you have been well?"

Yasaka smiled back.

"I have. I have missed your company since you became pregnant all those years ago. How have they been? I haven't had a chance to see them since they were adorable little babies curious about everything around them."

Kurumi chuckled at her words. She had served as a personal maid for Yasaka until she got pregnant and retired to the Nekoshou village on Yoru's invitation.

"Nyaha, they are well. Driving me crazy as usual but I love my girls. They are…with him."

She pointed to the water at the end with a saddened look and Yasaka followed her finger and peered through the steam.

Floating in the center of the octagon shaped hot spring, on a stone platform seemingly put there manually, was a body laying peacefully.

Surrounding the body were three smaller figures clinging to the body.

The steam parted and Yasaka felt her heart swell at the sight.

The main body was a young man for that was no simple 'boy'.

A strong and powerful build with compact and cut muscles were the first she saw.

He was tall for his age and looked well into his later teen years.

Tattoo's wrapped around his arms, fingers, and over his left pectoral at his heart.

She couldn't see the details well from her position but there was a slight glow to the 'eyes' of the wolves on his arms that seemingly pulsed slowly.

A head of shoulder length silvery white hair spread out from his head like a fan in the water.

His arms and legs rested apart and left nothing to imagine.

He was also nude and giving Yasaka a clear showing of the growing 'man' on him.

'Oh my, he is definitely a show-er isn't he?'

The three smaller forms attached to his arms and head were smaller bodies with cat ears sticking up and they curled into his body.

Yasaka felt her heart beating strongly at the adorable sight.

"Firstly, that is heartbreakingly adorable. Secondly, why is he nude?"

The girls laughed and Kurumi answered.

"His wounds were too severe for us to risk dressing him. Any clothe would create issues in the water if placed on his wounds."

Yoru answered as well.

"Besides, we're the neko race, since when did we care about clothes?"

Emphasizing her words, her clothes dropped to the ground, revealing her stunning tanned skin and her pink nipples as she winked at Yasaka and stepped into the water.

The other cats laughed and followed suit.

"Come on Yasaka."

Yasaka shook her head while Kurumi chuckled.

"My apologies Yasaka-Sama, they are free spirits."

"Fufu~, no need to apologize Kurumi, I know them well. Besides, it's not as if I mind either."

Saying so, she dropped her own kimono, revealing her own glowing pale skin as her larger breasts stood proudly and golden hair draped down her shoulders.

She gave Kurumi a smile as she stepped in.

"We should catch up later Kurumi."

Kurumi bowed to her.

"It would be my pleasure Yasaka-Sama. Please…help him. He is family to all of us."

Her words came out slightly strained at the end as she felt her emotions come back up.

Hei's actions were engrained in all the villagers, they would never forget what he did when he thought he lost them.

No group of people were more loyal, loving, and protective of Hei then the villagers of Nekoshou village.

Yasaka smiled warmly at the sight and nodded over her shoulder.

"Leave it to me."

She stepped fully into the water and a slight moan escaped her lungs as she felt the slightly hot water encase her lower body and tails.

The water tingled against her skin.

She could literally feel the pure and concentrated natural energy in the water gently rinsing against her skin and tails as the effects of the water slowly began their work on her.

It was like a thousand warm hands were rubbing over her body in the most pleasant massage.

"Ah~, oh my."

The cats chuckled at the sight.

"First time is always a surprise."

"The tingle never goes away and it soothes my nerves every time."

"It's a gift of nature."

"It's something special alright."

Yasaka chuckled at their words as she stepped into the deeper parts and felt the water reach her neck.

The pleasure was immense but it wasn't overly distracting or sensual once you adjusted.

It was simply a relaxing and warm massage.

"Mmmmnnn, I might have to see if he will gift me one in my own home."

Leone chuckled.

"You will have to ask him yourself….here he is."

The five reached the center as they reached the platform Hei was resting on.

The heads sticked up over his body as they sniffed adorably.

"Hm…Leaders?"

"Big sisters!"

"Did you bring the healing lady for his knees?!"

The three sat up halfway standing on Hei's prone body.

Yoru and Ghislaine quickly moved over and picked the cats off his body as they were pressing on his wounds.

"We have girls~, say hi to auntie Yasaka~."

Yasaka moved through the water with a vulpine giggle as she approached the trio.

"Hello girls, I'm big sis Yasaka, not auntie."

She shot Yoru a look at the end that had her stifle a laugh.

The little kittens struggled in the arms holding them captive as they stuck their faces forward to sniff Yasaka.

"You smell familiar."

"She smells nice."

"Can I see your knee's?"

Ignoring the last question, Yasaka bent forward and nuzzled her face on their own affectionately.

"I saw you three when you were very small. Li, Ni, and Shi, right?"

They each stuck up a hand.

"Yeah! I'm Ni."

"I'm Li!"

"I'm the glorious Shi! Bow before my fluff!"

The women around laughed at her proud look and Yasaka greeted them with a large hug.

"It's wonderful to see you girls again. I would love to introduce you to my own daughter one of these days. She's younger then you so you will need to be strong big sisters for her."

They each perked up at that.

"Big sister?"

"We can be the big sister?!"

"I will teach her how to aim for the knee's!"

Yasaka shot Yoru a look that had her give a helpless shrug.

No one knows what began that obsession of Shi's.

"We can try to set something up soon. For now, why don't you three return to your mother while I help your big brother."

Three pairs of kitten eyes looked up her as tiny hands grabbed her tails.

"Please help big bro."

"He won't wake up."

"Nuuu, I tried nibbling on his knees. He didn't even twitch like he always does….please help."

Yasaka's heart couldn't take those looks and words and she gave them all one more big hug.

"I'll do my best girls, leave it to your big sister."

The three hugged her back tightly before they let go and nodded before swimming back to their mother who was waiting by the side with towels.

"We leave big bro to you big sis!"

"Wake him up so we can celebrate!"

"I'll bite your knee's if you lied to me!"

The three moved off to a wryly smiling Kurumi who was ready to lightly scold her daughters for speaking like that to Yasaka.

Yasaka meanwhile was holding a hand to her heart with a smile.

"They are precious."

The women around her nodded.

"They are the youngest of the village."

"They love Hei a lot."

"He spoils them."

"Those three stick to him every day for at least an hour trying to wake him up by talking to him."

The five sighed and looked on as they tackle hugged their mother.

"What's with her obsession with knee's?"

The four answered as one.

""""We have no idea.""""

Yasaka shook her head with a chuckle and turned around, finally getting a full close up view of the young man she had been hearing about since the chapter started.

Her eyes roamed his form, taking in the tattoos, numerous wounds, slowly shrinking scars, and the peaceful look on his sleeping face.

"My~ he is a handsome one isn't he?"

Leone moved over by his head and kissed his forehead.

"Yeah, he's some real eye candy."

Yasaka silently agreed as her hands rose and gently trailed his arm.

From this close up, his tattoos were easily noticeable.

She visually trailed his form from his feet, only pausing for a moment on his groin in curiosity and kept going to his chest.

The Greed Island across his knuckles, the artistic and almost alive wolf halves on his arms, and the gleaming sun with a black cat sleeping peacefully over his heart.

They all added a certain charm to him that was hard to look away from.

It was a mix of a bad boy style with a refined and gentle feeling.

They were marks of meaning rather than random nonsense.

The white and black eyes of the wolves seemingly glowed brighter at her touch and she swore she could hear the slight sound of growling by her ears.

She rose a brow at that while Ghislaine nodded from the side across from her.

"They protect him."

She demonstrated by extending a claw and poking at his other arm where the tattoo glowed and defended from the sharp object.

Yasaka nodded with wonder.

"The Lupa legacy is fascinating."

Her eyes returned to studying his form as her hand rested over his heart.

Despite the horrific wounds she could see scabbed over covering his form, his heart beat powerfully with a hypnotic rhythm under her touch.

The muscle subconsciously contracted under her touch and she internally smirked at the feel of steel muscles.

'A real lady killer you are huh?'

Her eyes finally rested on his face.

'A lady killer indeed.'

He had a very handsome face.

Strong jaw, angular and healthy cheek bones, a balanced nose, and an all-around kind if slightly cold face.

But it was the long jagged scar that got her gaze.

Her hand moved up to lightly feel it and she winced at what it must feel like.

Leone spoke from his head.

"The final strike that did this had been infused with a curse. Even the water of spring only seemed to heal and slightly shrink the wound but the scar has not changed in over a day that he has been soaking.

Smaller wounds and scars heal in hours."

Yasaka nodded at that.

She had noticed smaller wounds were scarred over and visibly shrinking but larger wounds had only scabbed over and stopped bleeding.

She looked at Leone and got herself focused.

"Why don't you four give me some space to work."

Leone looked at her for a moment before nodding and moving back.

"We have trusted you with everything we could Yasaka, please help him."

The others didn't say anything more but they held the same look in their eyes toward Yasaka.

She smiled at them.

"I'll do my best my friends, even if I can't fully heal him, I shall wake him up."

The girls nodded and moved back to the edges to give her room.

Yasaka turned back to Hei's prone form and sighed as her hand brushed a strand of wet hair from his face.

'You are a remarkable young man to make them love you so much. Let's see who you are underneath.'

There was a reason the girls came to her for help.

As much as it would have gratified her for her friends to show up and tell her about such an extraordinary young man, she knew it wasn't the real reason.

And she wasn't bothered by the real reason at all.

They were her sisters in all but blood and she would be happy to help if she could.

Yasaka pushed herself onto the platform that held Hei's body resting inches into the water and frowned.

'Not enough space.'

Her finger moved through the air and drew a glowing symbol before the stone began to grow an extra few feet and a small single sided wall appeared in the direction of Hei's head.

She moved over to the new space and rested her back against the soft earthen wall.

The water came in and warmed her from below along with the steam.

She sighed in comfort for a moment before her tails extended to gently lift Hei's form and bring him closer to her body.

Once she lifted him though, she noticed two things.

'Wow… this young man has some real weight to him. His bones and muscles must be incredibly dense for such a weight to be packed in a smaller form.'

She would know considering she can shapeshift between a human form, a small fox form, or a small mountain sized fox form, among other things as well, but the first three are the most common.

Shapeshifting is one of the natural abilities granted to kitsune after all.

The second thing she noticed was the fourteen stab wounds on his back.

She winced at the sight but was comforted by the fact they had slowly healed a bit and were not as bad as they once were.

Her tails gently moved him between her legs with his back pressed into her stomach and his head resting on her breasts.

A tail rested between her stomach and his back as an extra cushion for them both as the other tails gently wrapped around his frame and limbs.

When one of her tails brushed against his growing man, it subconsciously reacted and hardened on the contact.

Yasaka had a gentle dusting of pink on her cheeks that was masked by the steam and heat.

'My~, that is flattering, and impressive for his age. He really does love fluffy things doesn't he?'

Still, Yasaka was not a young maiden and didn't let it bother her.

Her tail wrapped around his frame and covered him in a blanket of slightly wet, but incredibly warm and protective fur.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and rested on his chest.

It was quite an amusing sight for others, since Yasaka was only around 5'4 while Hei was already 5'7.

His damaged form rested comfortably in a bed of fluff as Yasaka cradled him against herself, feeling his powerful frame with her own body.

And then she closed her eyes and began to focus.

Yasaka is a Zenko Kyuubi. One born as a nine tailed kitsune for the purpose of watching over the ley lines just as her daughter will one day take on.

For other kitsune, reaching the power necessary to form nine tails would take 1,000 years of life, something that very few can live up to and even if they do, they will be long past their prime.

But just as Nekoshou have a special ability unique to them from other Nekomata, so too does a Kyuubi from other kitsune.

To the kitsune race, they are naturally talented in illusions, shapeshifting, possession, and fox fire.

But Kyuubi have another ability with their much deeper reserves of energy.

A Kyuubi can naturally split their internal chakra into individual properties of Yin and Yang chakra.

These two elements have a large variety of usages, but Yang is mostly for healing and empowering while Yin is used for illusions and mental magics.

And both of these elements were meant to be used right now.

Yasaka reached inside her and pulled on a steady stream of chakra from her core, split it between the two properties, and began pumping pure Yang chakra into her nine tails.

The tails, wrapped around Hei's form, began glowing with a green light as Hei's wounds were being stimulated and the vitality of the chakra began infusing into Hei, very slowly restoring minute amounts of life force to his drained form.

The very tips of a few strands of his hair began darkening back to his original color.

How much she can heal really depends on the wounds and what kind of body the target has.

Especially for infusing life force into another. She could spend a full year in healing and only return weeks to them.

For Hei, it might not fully cure him, but she was confident she could shrink his wounds by a large degree and keep his life from burning out till he woke up.

That was the easy part however, for the next part was difficult.

The girls didn't just explain Hei's life story for no reason.

They did it because it would be needed for what was to come.

You don't simply shock a person out of a coma.

You might kill them or shatter their minds.

You could wait for them to naturally awaken, or you could attempt a gentle approach with the right skills.

Yasaka was one of the very few rare individuals who had those skills.

Her hands came to rest on the young man's face as she focused her Yin chakra into her hands and connected her own mind to his.

Her connection to the outside world was dulled as her world went dark and she dove into the mind of Hei Lupa.

'Pardon the intrusion. I hope you don't mind~.'

To the outside world and the four watching cats, all they saw was Yasaka touch Hei's head before she slumped back against the softened earth wall as she cradled Hei's form.

Her tails continued to glow green as they infused him with Yang chakra, no longer needing direct control from Yasaka to act.

The girls looked at each other in slight worry but decided to trust in their friend.

If anyone could pull Hei from his cage of nightmarish mental trauma, it would be Yasaka.

Chapter end.

Omake: Grayfia's Tea Time.

"Ah~ my feet are killing me."

Sirzechs spoke out as he plopped down on the couch of his personal home he lived in with his wife and son.

His baby boy, Millicas.

Sirzechs smiled at the thought of his son.

"What are you thinking about?"

The cool voice of the woman Sirzechs loved more than any other reached his ears and he opened his eyes to smile at his wife.

"Aside from your never ending beauty?"

Considering they were in private, Grayfia allowed a warm smile to reach her cheeks as she scoffed and carried a tray to the coffee table.

"Such a charmer my husband is. And yes, what else has your thoughts?"

She set the tray down on the table and sat down on his lap as his arms coiled around her waist and pulled her into his chest.

He smiled a goofy and genuine smile at her and kissed her shoulder.

"Well, aside from that, I was thinking about Millicas. I'm incredibly grateful for the son you have given me my love."

A light dusting of a blush reached her cheeks as she smiled down at him and laid a kiss of her own on his lips.

She pulled back with warm eyes as she looked into his own.

"You are a good father husband. But he is OUR son."

Sirzechs chuckled at her words and smile.

"Yes dear, I would be foolish to argue with you."

"Hm.. it seems you can teach an old dog new tricks."

He pouted at that.

"How cruel my love~! And I was being so romantic too."

Grayfia chuckled and sat up to pour tea for them.

However, as she still set on Sirzechs lap, her skirt was pulled up and showcased the lacy number she wore underneath.

The sight of that, along with the feel of touch of the ass of the woman he loved and married had Sirzechs lust igniting.

Something he as a devil, kept strongly in check and solely reserved for a single woman.

Grayfia looked at him with a smirk over her shoulder.

"See something you like husband~?"

There was a slight purr to her tone that sent a shiver down Sirzechs spine.

"It isn't something my love, it's all of you."

Grayfia laughed at his words as she felt his excitement from his lap.

Yet her hands never stopped their work as she poured two steaming cups of tea.

She lifted the cup to Sirzechs and he took it with a chuckle.

"Always so formal dear? Why don't we enjoy ourselves for tonight?"

Grayfia eyed him with a humorous look that he couldn't put his finger on and nodded.

"We will, but first, don't waste good tea."

Sirzechs chuckled and sipped his tea.

The two made small talk about Millicas and how he was currently being watched by Sirzechs mother for the night.

But as the tea was drained, and talks became more sensual and teasing as the two were verbally turning the other on in the best ways they knew how from centuries of marriage, Grayfia leaned down and plucked the single 'cookie' from the tray.

She looked Sirzechs in the eye with a lustful look and put the cookie between her lips as she bent down to his lips.

Sirzechs understood her wish and gladly reciprocated.

Their lips met as the cookie was broken in two and swallowed by each other them.

But Grayfia didn't stop the kiss and kept going.

Running her fingers through Sirzechs hair as he lost himself in the pleasure and joy he shared with his wife.

But soon enough, he began to feel weird.

The hands on his scalp were strangely rougher than usual. The lips pressing into his suddenly felt larger than normal. And the hardness he was sued to feeling pressed into his wife was missing.

His blue eyes opened as he pulled back from the kiss and he froze.

"G-Grayfia?!"

A higher pitched tone than usual escaped his lungs as 'she' looked wide eyed at 'her' 'wife's' masculine facial features.

Grayfia looked back at 'her husband's' feminine looks with a wide toothy smile as a deeper voice escaped 'his' lungs.

"Fufufu~ Come here my husband. Let's play a game~."

Fear gripped Sirzechs heart as his cheeks unconsciously clenched.

It's safe to say, Sirzechs did not wish to play Grayfia's 'game', but as a long standing married couple, they experienced a few new things that night.

How far they went and what things they enjoyed were never spoken of.

But a certain request for another box of a dozen cookies were eventually put through to a certain merchant.

Said merchant enjoyed a very good laugh that day while dodging spears of ice and beams of destruction.

Omake end.

AN: Part 2 of the chap comes tomorrow! When my Beta actually reads it after sleeping. Please take a left and buy pitchforks and torches from Curiosity44's giftshop. It only sells to those who target the beta. Curiosity44 is selling from his panic room so just leave the cash on the counter.

If ANYONE wants to see a short Omake, drop an idea in the reviews and let me know your thoughts! I'm always open to Omake idea's.

Response to Reviews:

To the well wishes of - aadit04, thegreatundead, FriggleBerry, LiveMan, Ghosttitan, nathnathn, Alex, F R 0 S, ExBlazE, dethrosemedia, Fox O violet, and Shooter312.

Thank you! You guys/gals/felines/others are awesome!

NaniX07 – lol thank you! I appreciate it. I also think this is some of my best work.

Griff – Meet me behind the school gym. We need to 'discuss' things. *Punches fist into palm*

Freakyfreek – the official pairing with be Hei/Kuroka + one more. No other official pairing. There will be plenty of extra lovers that join BOTH Hei and Kuroka, but never either of them alone. And as a straight man, I will never have a 2nd male join them.

Brsupers – thanks man. To your question, no, Hei will not be using other magic styles other than what he currently has. I don't do the whole 'thousand' abilities, that's an express route to ruining a good story. He will get a few more things over the years but they will build on what he has rather than adding 'new' unrelated things.

Thanks for the good reviews on the omakes, I had fun with them as well. Btw, weren't you part of the discord?

The Kromann – Love ya too bro! It's ok to cry lol. I cried myself as I wrote it. And the 'Dave' name came from my beta who wanted that name instead of Joy but I veto'd it.

.j – welcome to a new one bro! Thanks for sticking around with my work for so long.

Heliel42 – Fanfic authors stand united! And it's ok to cry bro, I got you. *pats shoulder and passes joint*

Noahbadoah – Stay tuned!

Darknorth09 - *Bitch slap*. You don't steal a stoners weed! Even if work has made me no longer a stoner, it's the principle of the matter. You can come sit next to me and be passed the joint. But never steal it. That's stabbing worthy actions.

danielsnow – Thank you! To your concerns about the necklace and armor Kuroka wore, I will remind you of the wording. The necklace reflects spells within the limit when actively worn, I did not state Kuroka was wearing it, and even if she did, what spells hit her in chapter 7?

Refer to Designated Card #52.

The armor protects against 'Weapon' strikes within the limit. I admit it's a plot-hole that I missed with not mentioning it during Hei's fights, but I'll work it out. It breaks at ANY time between 1 to 50 strikes.

Refer to Designated Card #53.

As for the tattoo, it needs to be activated or just a regular spar with a friend or teacher will waste it.

Kuroka was knocked out by a surprise unarmed attack to the back of the head. Neither would activate the first two protections.

She let her guard down because of the extremely sudden showing of her parents dying. Did she feel any affection for them? no. But I don't care If you hate your parents, if they die suddenly in front of you in seconds, you will freeze up for at least half a minute as well.

TheRealSloth – Thanks bro! Glad to see you around for another of my works.

AnkhseramFT – thank you! And yes, the guild is based on the continental in John Wick. You were the first to point it out lol.

AnimeA55Kicker – lol. What do you mean by 'Bootstrapping'? I think I get the idea from the google translation but it's an interesting way of saying it.

Hadrian Targaryen – My apologies, John Wick is not making an appearance. Maybe for an Omake? I could do that *evil cackle*.