I Got Reincarnated! - Kitsune Chronicles
~Extra Chapter~ Dealing with Your Demon (Lord)
"H-how long have they been at this?" the captain of the Pegasus knights, Dorf, questioned worriedly as he trembled with each booming aftermath that hit his body, looking to the other Dwargon council members who were intently watching their king battle with his heir, Inari Dwargo. Even if they were aware that it was really the Void kitsune, Kayo Tempest from their allied country, the newly formed Jura Tempest Federation, the nation of monsters. "This match? 2 hours." The elven woman answered as she kept careful watch of the king and heir's movements. King Dwargo was drenched in his own sweat, stripped of all his kingly regalia, even his crown, in a simple white tank top soaked with his sweat, some simple black pants and boots. His blue eyes glaring at his target before his arm swung to strike the target with his weapon...
An especially thick wooden paddle, with a loud boom he sent a small black ball bouncing off the cracked stone table before it hurtled at the disguised kitsune, Kayo smirked as her identical blue eyes sparkled with excitement before she swung her own wooden paddle back at the black ball, creating another forceful boom that shook their 'training' aera. Sending the black ball hurting back at the king who growled and tried to strike the ball back at her... only to miss it by just a hair as the ball crashed into the already crater filled wall behind him.
"Hmm... I guess that's your point this time, little one." The king mussed as he huffed with a proud smile on his face. Inari grinning widely as she was also drenched in sweat, wearing a black tank top with some brown pants, and simple black boots, her long brown hair pulled back into a loose ponytail as she did a weird victory dance. "My 37 to your 35~ pops." Inari mussed as she vaguely kept score... then again, the craters behind them easily showed the 'points' each had scored against the other.
"M-my King... aren't you supposed to be teaching her swordsmen ship?" Dorf questioned as the elf woman handed the two some towels to wipe off their sweat and water to rehydrate. "Or perhaps the young heir would like to learn more magic?" The elderly woman suggested with a gleeful smile, having found the heir to be a very egger student. "She will need to brush up on her ANBU training as well." The elf woman voiced before the last Knight in dark armor let out a loud laugh. "Or maybe the kid needs to explore the mines? I hear there are some troublesome beasts giving the workers trouble." he mentioned as Inari looked excited.
"Oooh~! Can I check out the mines? Can I, Can I, Can I, Can I!?" Inari asked Gazel eagerly, nearly bouncing with unwavering energy, even after 'training' with the King for most of the day. Gazel chuckled and pat his heir's head, hearing how much she wanted to go to the mines for a few 'tests'. "I don't see why not. Just be mindful of the small, confined space. You will be with some knowledgeable workers, so you don't get lost." Gazel chuckled amused and a little drained from facing the energetic child who squealed excitedly and gave him a sudden hug that was inhumanly bone crushing.
~Dwargon Mines~
"How deep do these mines go? And how far?" Inari asked as she rode in a cart like contraption with 2 grumpy looking dwarves, both looking unsurely at the Dwargon heir who was both from outside dwargon and a noble, even if she was a bastrud. "Deep and far, you would be in a lot of trouble if you came down here on your own." one of the dwarves mentioned to her, his name was Durin and his brother's name was Thorin, both worked the mines and seemed proud of it as even in her dwarven form, Inari could hear the small piece of magisteel the older brother had under his clothing.
"Well I'm sure glad I have you guys then. I hope I can do so good work down here and get to know what every citizen's roles are here in Dwargon. It's no wonder you guys were recommended to show me around. I bet you know all kinds of cool places and how to find at that glowy crystal stuff." Inari gushed, trying to sound like an ignorant outsider to the two dwarves and before she marveled for real at the massive open mine they were passing to get to the deep, deep, deep parts of the mine.
She missed the worried glances the two dwarves shared before they were lunched into darkness, going down deep into a rather dangerous branch of the mines. The dwarves gripping their tools as her back was too them and it was pitch dark... in these unknown caves, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if one of them didn't come back.
~Later, Dwargon Thrown Room~
Gazel tried not to show his shock and amusement on his face as Inari was grinning up at him with dirty, ripped clothing, a simple gray tunic and brown pants, and a large black creature in her hands. "Can I keep it?" She asked innocently, even with the two very nervous dwarves behind her bowing in respect to their king, absolutely terrified about what they had done, and failed to do to his precious heir.
"No. What were you doing in such a dangerous place my child?" He said sternly as he had a different conversation with the Dwargon heir. 'Apparently these two were forced to take me there and try and cause and accident. They were loose ends and were going to be killed by this little one's mother. So I have to take care of it now.' Inari thought at the king who was amused she could think and talk differently at the same time. "Mr. Thorin and Mr. Durin showed it to me, saying it was a good place to find more of those sparkly rocks. See!" Inari grinned and pulled out a hand sized shard of Magic ore, keeping the baby monster in one arm she handed the ore to a knight who took it from her and showed it to the king who was eyeing it carefully. 'I heard a lot more magic ore down there, but there was a nest of those armor things down there. I could also smell the blood of those three, had been there too.' Inari motioned it to the king, confused why she would find the blood of the 3 dwarf brothers in that dangerous place.
The king frowned at her secret report before he gave his answer.
"This is an interesting discovery; however, I will not let your recklessness go unpunished. You will be confined to the castle for the next week to study under Lady Jane to give you a refresher course as to what you were supposed to learn yesterday." the king voiced sternly, telling a partial truth as the wise mage woman had been teaching her some rather advance magic concepts that gave her a bit of trouble. "W-what!? Please Father don't-" Inari pretended to plead only to be silenced by a look form the king, she took a step back and bowed her head.
"Y-yes father." she said and was dismissed, once out of the room she let out a giggle and cuddled the cute little monster that cooed in her arms. "Aww~ I'm sure he didn't mean it, Buttons~. Let's go get you something tasty form the kitchens. I heard the cook is making rabbit for lunch!" She mussed and took the baby monster down to the Dwargon castle kitchen before she would carry out her punishment.
~Next Day, Assembly Building, Kayo's Office~
Kayo was in her office overlooking the report Vesta had compiled at her request. Her golden eyes scanned the page carefully and tried to understand the charts he used to show just what had been done to the sample. "So it was tainted somehow? That's why nothing grows anymore... this could be a dangerous weapon. Easy to spread and can go undetected for months. Not to mention how long it could last." she worried, slumping into her chair in exhaustion as her eyes closed and she fell into what seemed like a light daze before a familiar voice called out to her.
"Kayo. It's almost time for lunch, are you going to join us?" Shuna asked as she was standing in the other Tempest leader's door, having seen it cracked open already but of course she knocked anyway to alert the sleeping fox inside. "Huh? Oh, I've already-"
"So you will be joining us! That's great, we have something special in mind for lunch today. Would you like to help me in the kitchen?" Shuna asked, her way of making the kitsune have lunch, as Kayo had been well known to skip meals. "I'll help you out in the kitchen. Just give me a bit." she asked the kijin princess, having noticed a dark blue blanket was draped over her and the Rimuru plushy she had won at the summer festival was in her arms.
Shuna smiled and left the office as Kayo folded the blanket, leaving it and the plush on one of her couches with the blanket under it. "Thank you, Souei. Souka, calm your breathing." She voiced to the seemingly empty room before leaving to catch up with Shuna.
Once the door was closed Souei and a shocked Souka appeared from the shadows. "H-how did she know!?" Souka turned to her master, trying to figure out how the kitsune knew it was them, even smelling herself to see if she gave off a scent. "You didn't match her breathing." Souei said simply as he went to Kayo's desk and opened the unlocked drawer where she kept her journal, taking it out and closing the drawer with no worries about a trap being set. Souka looked at her master in confusion as Souei had just taken the kitsune's journal from her desk without any trouble on his own.
"Is that what Lord Rimuru asked you to retrieve?" She questioned, curious as the kijin opened the book carefully with a kuni to open to a random page, the dragonewt confused as she saw the strange writing inside. "Is this one of those secret codes of yours Master Souei?" she asked confused as the Kijin ninja seemed agitated as he flipped a page with his bare hand, no traps or tricks on the book to prevent other's form reading it.
~Kitchen ~
"So cute~, I'm glad Kaijin took some time to make these for me. Makes the carrots and fruits taste that much better." Kayo mussed, helping chop of the carrots for lunch, having noticed something odd but brushed it off as she made the carrots into cute shapes, snaking on the off cuts before they were cooked.
"Kayo are the carrots done? Or are you just eating them?" Shuna asked, giggling a little as it amazed her that the kitsune liked carrots so much, especially raw. "A bit of both, look~ don't they look just adorable?" Kayo showed her as the Kijin princess gasped in shock at what the woman had just done. "Shuna? Are you okay?" Kayo questioned worriedly as the princess seemed to really adore the cutely shaped carrots. "Kayo, you're a genius!" Shuna praised as the young woman softly laughed. "It's nothing, just thought it would make the food more interesting than if you just had chunks of carrots in it." Kayo reasoned, before Shuna took the shaped carrots from her excitedly.
"Let's put these to cook. You like them raw but I'm sure they will taste even better cooked." the pink kijin reasoned, with a confident smile on her face that confused the kitsune woman who was getting suspicious before going back to working on developing a new snack she had been wanting to remake from her old world.
~Later~
"Ohh~ these came out perfect~! I hope Rimuru gets to try them, before Beni or Milim eats them all." Kayo mussed as she carried a small tray filled with colorful cookies that resembled the slime leader to his office since lunch was over but passing by the meeting room with the newly repaired doors she could hear someone still inside.
"No! Carrots smell gross! I can't stand them!" Milim stubbornly told Shuna, Kayo became curious and confused why they were still in the meeting room. "Picky eaters don't grow up big and strong." Shuna tried to persuade the child Demon Lord, but with no success. "That's fine! You can become a demon lord without eating carrots!" Milim responded stubbornly, Kayo wasn't sure if she should be proud or amused.
"Look, these ones where cut into cute shapes by Kayo." Shuna tried to convince the demon lord again as she presented Kayo's work, Milim and her brother having the same dislike of carrots. "These are carrots!?" Milim asked, shocked and confused as she looked at strange shapes in disbelief, Benimaru felt conflicted about not eating the carrots but the cute shapes his sister gave him where a bit to girly for him to be willing to eat. Shuna was smiling as she gave them to both the stubborn carrot haters, taking away the clumpy ugly ones they had not been eaten.
"Kayo, would you like these carrots? It would be a shame for them to go to waste." Shuna asked as Benimaru froze at the mention of his mate and Milim looked confused as Kayo appeared in the doorway, carrying some colorful treats. "Sissy! What are those!? They look really yummy!" she asked, drooling before Kayo wisely put the treats away in her void space, making the little dragonoid pout. "Sorry Milim. You should give carrots another shot, I bet they taste way better than what your used to." Kayo reasoned as she took the carrots from Shuna and ate one in front of the two carrot haters who gasped as the action, the woman smirking at them. "How about you two give these a shot and I'll let you sample these little treats for me." Kayo suggested, pulling out one of the macaroons, a dark blue one and handing it to Benimaru... or so it seemed before Souei took the blue treat instead, the red kijin glared at the carrots in front of him and pouted from the cruel treatment from both his mates.
The ninja trying the cookie and shivering as he tried not to show how he felt about Kayo's lovely baking. "Delicious." he said calmly and took another bite of the cookie to encourage the two. Milim glared at the ninja before he popped the rest into his mouth, keeping the demon lord form trying to take it from him. "Come on, a few little carrots aren't going to hurt ya." Kayo encourages as she finished off the chunks of carrots only to scream in shock and slip behind Benimaru's chair suddenly, Shuna holding a plate of one of the few foods the woman despised in her hands. Benimaru and Milim were startled by the kitsune's scream, wondering what was on the plate that seemed to scare the Tempest leader.
"Kayo, why don't you lead by example? Lord Rimuru told me you don't like bell peppers for some reason, but you're not a picky eater, so you will eat them with no problem, right?" Shuna asked as she put the plate of bell pepper slices down on the table and Benimaru and Milim saw what had scared Kayo. "Sissy is scared of... peppers?" Milim questioned, as Kayo growled and glared at Souei, who had her tied down to a chair beside Benimaru. "Traitor." she hissed at the ninja as she tried to get out of the steel string restraints, her arms still free, as the string was just under her breasts and around her ankles, preventing her from escaping so quickly and something else as she fought down a few dirty thoughts. "Shuna, is this really necessary? I've already eaten all my lunch." she asked, confused by the hostile treatment. "Master Hakuro warned me you were good a switching thing about, I didn't believe it until I noticed you almost gave my brother the only plate without carrots." Shuna mentioned, making Kayo freeze in slight fear that her secret tactic had been found out by the sword master and Shuna.
"What!?" Benimaru questioned, confused as to why his plate had carrots anyway. "So? This is still a bit much." Kayo asked, not admitting to anything, feeling that someone else was behind this... some one small, blue and oblong. "Not at all Kayo. They are just bell peppers; even big brother eats them with no fuss. None of you are leaving until the carrots and peppers are all eaten." Shuna told them as Kayo didn't believe the young princess could stop a Demon lord but. "Yummy! I could eat tons of them if there like this!" Milim exclaimed as she tried the cute star shaped carrots and gobbled them up. Benimaru looked at the demon lord in disbelief of her weak resolve, Kayo smirked because she realized the loophole Shuna had left.
'Beni~ Shuna only said that they had to be eaten... but not by whom.' She thought at her crimson mate who gasped as he realized that. lookimg at her with admiration. Before Shuna or even Souei could stop them, Kayo had the plates switched so she ate up the cutely cut carrots and Benimaru easily devoured the peppers for his restrained mate. "Done!" Both kitsune and Kijin smirked, pushing their empty plates towards Shuna who had looked away for a moment and was shocked that both plates where really empty. "See that wasn't so hard, was it?" She asked, smiling at the two as Souei tried to hide a smirk after seeing Kayo use her shadow tails to switch out the foods, loosening the strings that kept her to the chair... not like he needed to really.
"Eh!? No fair! Sissy just-Hmmm~?!" Milim was going to tell on them before Kayo moved quickly and stuffed pink macaroon into the child's open mouth, making her forget the event and enjoy the sweet treat instead. Shuna looked confused for a moment as the kitsune also hand fed a red treat to her brother who happily took a bite out of it, the young kijin smiling at the cute moment between the two.
~Later, Streets of Tempest~
"We shouldn't be eating; it will spoil your appetite." Kayo scolded the pouting little girl next to her. "A-apologies Lord Kayo! I didn't think my offering would be a problem." A frantic Orc quickly apologized, as he had offered the kitsune some fresh Taiyaki that was shaped like Rimuru with various sweet fillings inside. "It's fine, Tamaki. Another time." Kayo assured the orc, amused by the Maneki-Kayo that had an offering of a fresh Taiyaki, but it strangely had a bite taken out of it.
"Come on, Starlight. There is still a lot to see." Kayo gently steered the girl away from the tempting snacks, even if she pouted, Milim still followed the woman she addressed as her sister. While it had been voted that Rimuru would look after Milim, the one keeping a careful watch over the girl was Kayo, when she was in Tempest, having used a bit of magic to get between the two nations quickly.
Kayo showed her some of the toys that where being sold, a stuffed black fox with golden buttons for eyes being one of them, and even got her some crayons to indulge her artistic side. Getting the girl a few more clothing options as well as a pair of pink Kitsune hair clips Milim had taken an interest in. Of course, allowing her one sneaky snack as Kayo caved into the temptation herself, both girls enjoying the cold sweetness of an ice cream cone. "Thanks Boris. Don't tell anyone we got these. Kay?" Kayo gave the orc a playful wink, but he only nodded seriously before making more cones for the excited children that came up to him with their parents. Kayo slowly enjoying her treat while Milim gobbled her's quickly without even getting brain freeze.
"Sissy! Let's go look at that next!" Milim exclaimed and pilled the Kitsune woman over to the new shop that was Kurobe's, offering weapons sharping and repairs mostly but the kijin also had sets of household kitchen knives for sale.
"Hey Kayo! Good to see you out in day light again!" Gobtia called out to his friend, grinning smugly as the other goblin riders looked shocked, not believing he could call one of the Tempest leaders so casually. "Hey Gobta. Working hard or hardly working?" she asked, but still tried to keep an eye on Milim as she talked with Kurobe excitedly, trying to slowly enjoy her creamy treat. "Working hard! It's not easy keeping the whole village safe ya know." Gobta boasted as Kayo chuckled just to humor him. "Sure isn't. Oh, we still on for that thing?" Kayo asked, smirking maliciously as her friend chuckled knowingly. "Sure, you bring the tools and I'll bring the crew. We will have it done in no time!" Gobta voiced, sounding excited for whatever they had planned.
"SISSY!" Milim yelled and nearly tackled the kitsune to the ground as the woman barely managed to stay on her feet from the sudden 'hug' by the little demon lord. "I want my ears pierced too!" Milim exclaimed as she looked up at Kayo's fox ears, finally noticing the small star shaped earrings she was wearing. "O-okay, we will see. It might be a bit tricky with your body composition." Kayo managed to say, pushing down the pain she had form that sudden blow, but blue eyes just looked at her in confusion. "Com-po tision?" she questioned the large word as the kitsune pet her head. "I mean your body might be too strong to be able to pierce and clip-ons maybe a bit too weak." she explained as Milim pouted. "No! I want one's like yours sissy! Their so pretty and sparkly. Like real stars!" Milim gushed as she admired how the jewelry sparkled in the sun, the kitsune's ears twitching making them change colors.
"That's dwarven craftsmanship for ya. Of course, those are reserved for the beautiful princesses of Dwargon. I would be more careful when you wear them, Lord Kayo." Gram advised the kitsune, smiling as he and his brothers had noticed the woman forgetting to take them off... or not wanting to. "Really? I dozed off when they were being explained to me to be honest." Kayo admitted, pouting as they had been her 4th favorite accessory, the bell collar and earrings from Rimuru and the hair pin from Benimaru. "No offence Kayo, but they really clash with your usual style, even I forget that you're a girl. And I've been friends with you since the beginning." Gobtia admitted as he noticed Kayo was in just a simple blue tunic top and brown pants, simple boots on her feet with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail. While her kitsune ears and 3 tails where out, the bagginess of her clothes and her slouching made her almost look like a teenaged boy.
"Hey, are you picking on my big sister?" Milim asked, looking angry as she glared at the goblin who shrugged nervously. "No! No! I'm just trying to help out my best friend look more feminine and less like a dwarf." He reasoned as Kayo rolled her eyes at the comment. "You bet on this month, didn't you?" she asked and Gobtia looked shocked at being found out. "T-that's not it! I'm saying this for your own good. Hey, I know! Why not try something like what Lady Milim was wearing before? That would look perfect on you! Your way more voluptuous than she is! You would definitely pull it off and flat little girls should-" the goblin was saying before Milim punched him into Kurobe's shop... breaking most of the brick wall.
"What the heck happened? What did Gobta do now?" Rimuru asked, having heard the noise as he was walking around the village by himself for a change. "Hey! Why is that the first thing you ask?!" Gobtia asked as amazingly he got back up from the rubble. "I see Master Hakuro's training is paying off at least." Kayo mussed, a bit impressed Gobta survived that punch, but she looked at the little demon lord with concern. "Ohh~ your tougher than I thought." Milim muttered, looking a bit surprised herself that the goblin was alright. "I just wanted to help. I only spoke for all of us in giving you gentlemanly advice to bring out both of your true sexyness!" Gobtia finished but noticed that Kayo's had stopped Milim from attacking again and stuffed the rest of her ice cream into the little girl's mouth.
"Gobta, a gentleman does not compare a young lady to a woman. Friend or not, that was very rude and unnecessary." Kayo scolded him as she came closer... the air around the kitsune was cold and dangerous despite her looking relaxed. "Eh? But I bet if you wore something like that even gramps would-" Gobta was saying before his breath suddenly left his body as his chest made a sudden connection with Kayo's boot, his feet leaving the ground as the goblin was sent flying over the monster city to avoid more damages and prevent her secret crush on the elder kijin from getting out. "Anyone else care to comment?" Kayo asked as she turned to everyone that had watched the exchange, too scared to say anything but shake their heads. Milim's eyes sparking as she had witnessed the kitsune woman's strength.
~Later, Tempest Hospital~
"Ohh~ why do you need this place if Rimuru can just heal everyone?" Milim asked as she followed her to the hospital, following closely behind her as like every monster before her, she was unsure of walking into the strange, cold and scentless building. "He can't heal everything, and there more to a hospital then just healing others. There is also research to make sure young children can be born healthy, grow and become strong. Not to mention parasites and mutated cells that cause more harm than good even when healing potions are used." Kayo pointed out as they walked along the white and blue halls, a few cute pink paw prints on the floor interested Milim as she followed the woman, only to stop as they arrived at a large window where a Green, single tailed kitsune was crying as he looked into the next room.
"Congratulations, Samule. You made it back just in time to see them." Kayo mussed as the Kitsune sobbed and laughed. "Yeah, they're just as fast as their papa. Thank you, Lord Kayo. This is truly a wonderful moment." Samule cried as he looked adoringly at the two little goblin babies, one wrapped in blue, and the other in pink with soft light green whips on their little heads being the small sign that they were not normal little goblins. Milim pressed her hands and face against the window as she looked down at the goblin babies, confused and unimpressed. "They look like little boogers." she voiced as Kayo and the kitsune laughed at the demon lord's description of the newborn goblins. "Oh, that's cute. I might start using that." Kayo joked and pat Milim's head, much to her confusion as the kitsune was still amused. "Lord Kayo, would you please name them for us?" Samule requested as Kayo nodded. "Of course." the kitsune woman nodded and tapped on the window to be let into the nursery room by an attending goblina. "I'll be right back, Starlight. Okay." she told the little demon lord before going inside, being sure to sanitize before touching the new little life forms.
Milim pouted as she watched Kayo gave a warm, almost motherly smile at the little 'boogers' before kissed the babies' heads before softly granting them names, something that was usually reserved only for monsters who had proven themselves worthy or strong enough to be given one. With her all-seeing eyes, the Demon Lord could clearly see the strange, almost familiar, protection that Kayo had just granted the two weak little babies.
"They are going to be really strong." Milim voiced as she watched the energy swirl around the newly named monsters, never having ever witnessed a monster naming at birth. "Of course, Lord Kayo made sure Mari was getting enough nutrients when she was carrying them." Samule mussed as he gave the child a soft smile that confused Milim. "Carrying them?" she questioned as the kitsune got nervous, unaware if the demon lord had been given 'The Talk' or not. "Y-yes, my wife had to take good care of herself so she could stay strong and carry our babies, so now they will be able to live healthy and happy lives." the kitsune mentioned with a nervous chuckle.
"Don't you want them to be strong? Your pretty weak even with a name." The demon lord pointed out as the green kitsune looked like he took a blow to his pride. "Eh? I-it's fine. There are already plenty of strong people around protecting our city, so I don't need to be. I'm perfectly fine with my life serving as a vasal for Lord Kayo and supporting my family. It's almost like my wish come true." he mused and pulled something out of his jacket pocket, looking down at it fondly before holding it out to Milim, who's blue eyes looked at the piece of light blue paper that was folded into the shape of a plump star. "Why don't you take this. Lord Kayo made this herself and said it could help grant wishes." Samule mussed as Milim looked at the little star in confusion before the kitsune placed it in her hand, not seeing anything special or powerful about the little thing. Unaware that the kitsune had left to go see his wife who had awakened from her well-earned sleep.
"Milim are you alright?" Kayo called out to her worriedly as she was done filling out the certificates and providing her official stamp before rejoining the waiting demon lord, unaware of that the kitsune had given the powerful child who was confused about what she had witnessed. "Sissy... do you like babies?" Milim asked her, speaking softly as she looked at the star in her hand. "Yes? Why do you ask?" Kayo questioned, wondering if someone had said anything to her about babies or if she had become curious on her own. "You were really gentle with them... and your smile... it was... familiar." Milim told her, looking lost in thought as Kayo looked a bit worried that she had recalled a hurtful memory.
"Milim." Kayo called her again and put a hand on her shoulder before Milim looked up at her with determination.
"If you don't become a Demon Lord, at least have a strong baby that will become one!" she shouted at the kitsune who was starting at her in shock. A few other people that where nearby came to see what was going on, Kayo's face turned a very deep shade of crimson from the 'suggestion'.
~Snack Time, Assembly Building~
"Thanks Shuna. I hope you don't mind looking after her while I work." Kayo spoke softly, the pink Kijin poured the kitsune a hot cup of coffee, while Milim took a nap after eating all the snacks, except for the oatmeal carrot cookies Shuna had made specialy for the carrot loving kitsune leader. "It's not a problem Kayo. You work hard to make sure everything in Tempest runs smoothly. It's the least I can do for you and Lord Rimuru." Shuna smiled as Kayo took a careful sip of the coffee, the young kijin holding her breath as the older woman thought for a moment. "Hmm not bad, Shuna. Still a bit over brewed but you're getting it." informed her honestly before taking a cookie and eating it, loudly purring as the sweet flavor met the bold bitterness of the coffee, her tails wagging uncontrollably behind her.
"Oh, Great Lord Veldanava~, I think I found a new aphrodisiac~." Kayo moaned happily, drooling, completely unaware of the confused and worried look Shuna had on her face when she moaned out the unfamiliar name. She said nothing as the kitsune stood up, with her mug and plate of cookies in hand. "I'll be in my office, if you see a ribbon on the door... don't come in." Kayo warned her, trying not to show her grin before leaving the room to get to her office. The 'ribbon' that held back her hair opening the door for her as she easily walked in, munching on another cookie as she went to her desk and set her spoils down before taking her seat. She took a sip of the coffee again before reaching out to her drawer, where she kept her private journal, finding the book with the Dwargon crest inside. Nothing seemed out of place before she opened it to a random page and giggled rather sinisterly before adding an unencoded message for the next time Souei took a look at it.
'Bad Kitty~'
~Meditation, Kayo's Void Space~
"So, how did you like your reward?" Kayo asked, the imprisoned demon, as she sat in her regal chair at the center while the others chairs where empty, having sent the other's away for other duties. The black colored demon floating in an enlarged cage that allowed him to stretch his legs and remaining arm, a familiar manga in his hand before his golden eyes looked at her with sparked interest, a handsome smirk appearing on his face. "I enjoy it very much, My Dear Lady~." He purred in a very familiar voice that sent chills threw her body.
"Did you... change your voice?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion as he chuckled. "Does it not please you, my lady? How about, now? Does this sound more alluring for you?" the demon purred, admiring how the woman's face showed her shock and embarrassment as he smoothly changed his voice from one familiar voice actor to another. "How did you? Agh! Agape was showing you my video archives, wasn't she?" Kayo asked as she put her hand on her face as the demon chuckled, the kitsune shooting a glare at him. "Michael Tatum's voice sounds better for you then Josh Keaton's." she told him as he smiled, very pleased with her answer.
"Yes, my dear lady. Anything to live up to your expectations of me." he mused, and Kayo felt like she had made a mistake in giving him access to the Kuroshitsuji(Black Butler) manga and anime to study, among other things to keep him entertained.
"You better be one hell of a butler, otherwise there's no point in keeping you, other than to have a durable ping pong ball to play with." Kayo mussed as the demon gave a face of dread as he recalled the AlterNet 'punishment', his tiny prison being smashed back and forth by the kitsune woman and the dwarf king. "In other news, what's the progress on dismantling this prison?" she asked as the demon seemed to sit upright and look proud of what he had done. "We are very close to escaping, my Lady. With the help of the True Dragon Veldora and that fire sprit, our freedoms are very near at hand." The demon reported as Kayo was a bit worried with the news. "Fine. I've been meaning to talk with Veldorable and Ifrit. You can continue your studies and also... add Royal Maners and International Laws to your reading list." Kayo told him as the demon looked excited as a few books appeared in his lap, he smiled excitedly and held them gently like they were precious treasures.
"Yes, My lady~. I will not disappoint you!" he cheerfully declared before the woman walked out of her gazebo like mind space, going through a sparkly white veil to enter the eternal Cherry blossom park that was from Rimuru's childhood memories. The two having made a connection that freely allowed the woman to move about without having to make physical contact with the slime. The pink petals always falling with a soft breeze, but the trees still remained lush and full of the blooming pink blossoms, a simple stone path showing her the way to the two imprisoned sprits sitting across from each other playing another game of Shogi on the well-loved blue and white blanket.
"Are you winning son?" Kayo joked as she got close to the two, noticing Veldora was in a large dark gray stripped Yukata this time. "We just started another game." Ifrit responded to her joke seriously, before he carefully moved one of his pieces. Veldora let out a roaring laughter as he realized what the sprit had responded to. "I didn't know you thought of Kayo as your mother~! You must have realized you have no chance of matching with her!" the dragon mussed as he quickly made his move with confidence as the fire sprit looked confused. "It was a joke from my old world, where a parent asks their child if they are winning a game they are playing. Usually, it's because the parent is ignorant of the game but, I've never really learned Shogi before so it's not too far off." Kayo admitted and sat between the two to watch their game, the fire sprit still looked confused but felt something strange in his chest before the dragon poked him.
"Oi, your move." Veldora informed him, giving the sprit a firm glare as Kayo tried to make sense of the board. "What brings you here, Lady Kayo?" Ifrit asked as he carefully made his move, and Veldora narrowed his eyes at the board in thought. "I just wanted to check on you two and see how your end of undoing the imprisonment was going." she told him as she watched Veldora move his piece. "It's going well, that demon you captured is creepily eager to undo it and serve you. At least he knows who he shouldn't mess with!" Veldora let out a roaring laughter before Ifrit made his move. "Yeah, it should be interesting having my own demon butler for a bit. Whether he becomes one hell of a butler, or one hell of a pain is a different matter, but he's already starting to show he's dangerous. I need him out of my void space before Agape or the others show him anything else incriminating." the kitsune shared with them and they knew about the shards, as Veldora hummed.
"Speaking of space, you wouldn't happen to..." the dragon trailed off, looking nervous for asking the woman, showing her the last manga volume Rimuru had read in a certain series. The kitsune carefully looked at the manga, having to do a quick translation in to English before she knew which series it was from. "Sure, I think I have the last 5 volumes. I'm surprised the Slime ball doesn't considering they come from his old homeland, and I had to wait for them to be translated." Kayo reasoned as she waved her tails as set the 5 remining volumes close to Veldora who let out a rather cute squeak of joy as he eagerly picked them up. His game with Ifrit abruptly put on hold as the dragon was more interested in finishing the manga then another game of Shogi with the imprisoned fire sprit.
"Does this mean you win, son?" Kayo joked, addressing the fire sprit, who had that funny feeling again in his chest as she addressed him that way. "No. It just means the game will be paused while Lord Veldora reads." he reasoned as he watched the dragon eagerly lay on his belly to read the new manga he had been wanting to finish. "Hmm how about I teach you a new game then? That way I can play with you when Veldorable is distracted or if he wants to join in." the kitsune suggested, not wanting to be mean to the fire sprit anymore, now that he seemed calm and cutely curious of these things, she and Veldora were teaching him.
"What kind of game?" he questioned, looking like a curious kitten that amused Kayo enough to give him a soft smile before she pulled out a deck of cards. "How about something simple to start off with?" She mussed while shuffling the cards, the fire sprit catching the blue and black suits on the cards and the familiar faces that were printed on them, piquing his curiosity before Kayo started to deal out the cards and taught the sprit a few card games while Veldora was enjoying his manga, completely alright with the kitsune bonding with the fire sprit under his watch, listening closely to the woman explain the card game to the sprit. It wasn't long after the first round did the storm dragon forget the manga and join the two in a game of cards... and promptly lost to the kitsune.
~Rimuru's Office~
"Are you sure this is right Souei?" The slime asked as he looked over the code that the ninja kijin had copied, the slime looking a bit worried as he had the code translated and decoded easily thanks to Great Sage. "I copied her writing down exactly as I saw it,, Lord Rimuru." the ninja informed the slime who had to close the notes after reading a few lines that had more than enough information for his mind to handle mentally. "You can't read them at all?" Rimuru asked as Souei shook his head and gave a small pout. "I do not understand the strange writing and it seems like she used a strong cypher as well to keep her writing a secret..." he voiced, leaving the end handing as he felt a little hurt Kayo didn't seem to even trust him with knowing her writing, despite teaching him a few code cyphers herself.
"Hmmm well I guess it's a good thing you can't read it, but there were some interesting things I found out. Can you summon the dwarves for me? And Shuna." the slime requested, Souei nodded but seemed to hesitate a moment before he disappeared to go for fill the slime's orders. Rimuru took this time to try and read more of the 'secret' writing, making the slime turn pink and shiver as he read what kinds of things she wanted from and to do to her Master(Benimaru) and her Kitten(Souei)... her Bi boys...
"Wait... Souei and Benimaru are Bisexual!?" Rimuru questioned, trying to make the connection on his own as to how the two kijin's where bisexual, the slime having thought that they were just good friends before the realization struck him. "I really need to pay more attention to my subordinates, but their personal lives are their own. I shouldn't pry." he tried to reason but kept reading the copied notes for more information that was rather... adult orientated, mostly skipping parts when he got to the mention of himself or slimes... only taking a curious peek before he got to embarrassed by the lewd things the kitsune had written down.
There was a knock at his door that startled him into swallowing the notes quickly. "C-come in!" he called out and was a little relived that it was Rigurd, until the goblin showed him the damage reports caused by Milim.
~Evening, Konohagakure Snack & Bar~
"At least the damage was just to the outside." Kayo sighed as she finished hanging a new iron sign to her business, smiling with amusement at the familiar spiral leaf design, a familiar sign for any Otaku or Weebo Otherwolders, that would hopefully draw them in as something familiar. The kitsune looked down and smiled at Geld who was holding her up on his shoulder as she repaired the sign. "Thanks for the lift, Geld. You can put me down now." she inform Orc lord, petting his head to let him know she was done, so he gently set the kitsune leader back down on the ground, having held her up so she could fix the sign of her establishment.
"Lord Kayo, you didn't have to repair the sign yourself." Treyni voiced as she and the goblins Kayo had working at her bar came out to watch the new sign be put up. "Stuff happens, it's my responsibility as the owner to make sure the place is in good shape, no matter who broke it." she reasoned and put the tools and broken sign away in her tails. "Besides I already sent an invoice for damages to Rimuru, but I'm still paying for it either way, since it comes back to me in the financial department." she reasoned before walking into the bar she had opened to have a source of income and information in the monster nation capital.
"Oh! but Lord Kayo as Manager of Konohagakure you should let me handle-"
"Who made you manger?" Kayo asked as she narrowed her eyes at Treyni who looked shocked and taken aback. "Um... didn't you make me the manger to your establishment?" she asked meekly as Kayo crossed her arms. "I never made you a manger, Treyni. My manager is Hanako, you just come here because we make potato chips and you can lounge around without your sister's finding you as easily if you went to Shuna." Kayo pointed out. "You only work here to pay me back for the wine what you took. That was top shelf stuff, top shelf!" Kayo scolded the woman who looked ashamed and a bit scared as she noticed the black sparks come off the annoyed kitsune.
"P-please forgive me Lord Kayo. I-I vow to take my duties seriously!" The forest sprint begged as Kayo glared at her before sighing. "You better, come inside and I'll show you how to make mixed drinks. You too Geld. You've been working hard; drinks are on me today." the kitsune told her as she went back inside, Treyni, the goblins she employed as well as Geld following her inside the calm and classy establishment. It was well stocked with the drinks the kitsune personally made herself and traded with a few small human villages as well as Dwargon. A short but simle menu available as there was a kitchen stocked with the needed ingredients. Artful bottles and glasses decorated the shelves behind the bar as well as a Maneki-Kayo next to a little doll of Treyni that Kayo had allowed to be placed there, on the same shelf was a jar half filled with colorful paper stars.
The goblins and Geld watched with interest as the kitsune woman showed them how to sugar the rim of a glass before making a very nice-looking dark green drink topped with mint, she offered it to the Orc Lord who thankfully took it and tried the strange drink. The dryad taking notes as Kayo made the drinks and explained how to make them to a few goblins she had as bar tenders before showing some of the cooks the how to make the snacks they served as well as a few new items.
It wasn't long till the bell on the door gave a soft chime as someone entered.
"Welcome to Konohagakure~!" Kayo cheerfully greeted the new guests, amused as she saw it was Rimuru and Milim who were looking around the bar with great intreats as there where small shimmering sliver stars hanging on the vines that decorated the celling. "Kayo, did you already fix the bar sign? I was going to do it for you." Rimuru called out, pouting a little as he and Milim walked in, the smell of food and drinks in the air a few casual walk ins and the dwarf brothers where already at their usual table drinking and chatting with each other as Kayo had given them some very important letters.
"It's fine. I've already turned in the expense report for the damages. Do you two want some dinner?" Kayo asked with a cheerful smile that made the humaniod slime a bit scared. "Why do I have the feeling you asked for a lot of money?" Rimuru asked as he and Milim took seats at the bar to watch Kayo as she got the two their drinks, fresh strawberry lemonade. "This place looks great Sissy~ and what's that smell?" The demon lord asked in excitement, sniffing the air for yummy food as a cook came out with a plate of hot nuggets surrounded by different sauces. "Soy Nuggets, since my foxes loved tofu so much, I thought I would try and make more things with all the soybeans that we are growing. Not to mention a combination of sauces~." Kayo eagerly explained as she pointed to the sauces as Milim just tried one of the strange nuggets, never having had the chicken version before. "This is a traditional run of the mill BBQ sauce, then we got the Honey Mustard, this is soy sauce, and this is one of my favorites~." Kayo excitedly pointed to the deep crimson sauce as Rimuru and Milim were enjoying the nuggets and trying the sauces.
"I call it, El Diablo~." Kayo purred gleefully as the slime had a bad feeling as he looked at the last harmless sauce. Great Sage having translated the name for him, but Milim didn't seem to notice or care as she dunked a nugget into The Devil sauce and ate it. "Hmm~ this is really go-WAGH!" Milim was praising it before her eyes widened in horror before she screamed, beathing a massive fire ball at Kayo, startling everyone in the bar. "Kayo!" Rimuru yelled worriedly before the fire stopped, Milim was panting heavily fanning her mouth and tongue as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I guess I should have seen that coming." Kayo sighed, mostly unharmed by the fire, her tunic having been burned off leaving her in a black tank top that was made from her fur, as a protection spell had kept the shelves and bottles behind her from being damaged. The kitsune quickly offering the suffering demon lord some milk that she eagerly gulped down to get rid of the burning in her mouth.
"Well, you did call it The Devil. You're a little too dangerous with naming things." Rimuru pointed out as Milim glared at the offending sauce. "It's not that bad." Kayo pouted as she dipped a nugget into the hot sauce and ate it herself, smiling fondly at the familiar taste. Everyone in the bar stared at her like she was crazy for eating, let alone enjoying, that kind of food.
~Night~
"Seems it's time for bed." Kayo mussed as she carefully picked up a sleeping Demon Lord into her arms, Milim groaning at the small movement but setting into the kitsune woman's arms as she kept sleeping. "I can take her to her room. I'm sure you got a lot of work to do back at your village." Rimuru mentioned as he followed his sister out of the bar, leaving it in the care of Hanako after shooing off Treyni who tried to sneak away some potato chips.
"It's fine, slime ball. I've been meaning to talk with you about something though." Kayo mentioned as they seemed to be alone on the dark streets, only lit up by a few lanterns so no one was completely in the dark. "Huh? About what?" the slime questioned as he walked beside his sister, glancing up at her as she tried to think of a way to word it. "While the Kitsune Village is part of Tempest... it seems, there is still a massive distance between our force's strengths and skills. Anthony suggested we try a joint training excise to try and bridge that gap, to unify our forces better." Kayo told him, glancing at the slime worriedly as he blinked in confusion. "Okay? That sounds good but shouldn't you be taking to Benimaru about this? He's the general for our military forces after all." he asked but noticed Kayo was blushing as she looked away.
"What did he do?" Rimuru asked seriously as he grabbed onto Kayo's twitching tails, making her stop. "N-nothing. He didn't do anything. It's... the elders that are one issue to be honest." She told her brother and he let her tail go as he looked confused. "Why the elders?" he asked, confused as he thought of the kitsune leaders he had met, Kayo was quiet as they walked. Her silence telling the slime she was really worried about, whatever she was thinking. "They want me to... officially be with him or Souei." Kayo voiced, looking very nervous as Rimuru looked confused before Great Sage translated. "They want you to MARRY THEM!?" the slime yelled out loudly in surprise before Kayo wrapped her tails around his mouth to muffle any more sound. The kitsune woman turning a dark red at his words. "N-not so loud!" she hissed and glanced around before the three of them were absorbed by some black shadows as they were taken away elsewhere quickly before they could be interrupted or overheard. Taking the demon lord and slime a few miles outside of the city to be sure their conversation would remain private.
"That should be far enough." Kayo huffed as she was sweating a little from the strain of having two tag-alongs as she had shadowed away from the city. Milim drooling in her arms and Rimuru pulling at her fluffy tails that covered his mouth before they pulled away. "What was that about? Don't you want to marry Benimaru? Or even Souei?" he asked, confused and worried as Kayo looked away gulitfully. "To be honest... I've never even thought marriage, even in my past. I still have my own issues to deal with and... I'm scared their feelings for me will fade faster if I tie them to me like that." she explained with a tired sigh, before looking up at the night sky, sparkled with familiar bright stars.
"Okay? What's going on. Talk to me Kayo, I'm your big brother. You don't have to do everything on your own. You can trust me." the slime told her as he saw her start shaking as she looked from the stars to him, a sad, tired, and worried look on her face. "I..." Kayo started, wanting to tell the slime as she held onto Milim tightly, unsure if she should tell him about Veldanava as well. "I just want to get these issues over with, with Dwargon, with my sire and the kitsune. Not to mention..." Kayo trailed off as she glanced at Milim. "Not to mention what?" he asked, placing a hand on her arm. "Even Milim is saying I should have a child... I'm not ready for that. I don't think I ever will be." She admitted to the slime who was quiet for a bit but the kitsune could feel his contained rage.
"Don't worry about it fur ball. If anyone pressures you about having kids, let me have a little chat with them." The slime told her deathly serious as Kayo could see his power spark out of him, waking the little Demon Lord.
"Hmm? Sissy? Are we almost home?" she asked dozily, yawning as she could feel Rimuru's aura before he reined it in. "Almost Starlight. Maybe we should stay at the Kitsune village tonight?" Kayo suggested and Milim's blue eyes sparkled. "Yes! Kayo Village! Let's go Sissy!" She cheered energetically, hopping out of Kayo's arms excitedly. "Would that be okay?" Rimuru asked, looking unsure as Milim made her way down the path that did lead to the village that was named after the kitsune leader. "It should be. Most residences should be asleep by now, and we could even take a bath in peace too." Kayo suggested as she followed Milim to make sure she didn't break any of the protections around the kitsune village.
~Kayo Village, Hot Springs~
"This place is huge!" Rimuru marveled at the massive hot springs, having turned into his slime form to follow the two females inside, excited by the sheer size of the bath and of the very nicely done waterfall that gave the large bath a more natural feeling as there were no walls to block the panoramic view it had of the beautifully lit Rimuru City under the night sky. "Yeah, it took a lot of work to get it like this and a bit of magic. It's a bit different from the one in the city since the village is mostly made of Kitsune." Kayo explained as she helped wash Milim with the cherry scented soap that had been developed.
"Sissy, let me wash your back!" Milim suggested as she picked up a clean washcloth and a bar of soap, looking a little to egger to wash the kitsune woman. "N-no! that's okay Milim. I can do it myself just fine." she told the demon lord who pouted. "Come on Sissy. I can be gentle; you always wash me and braid my hair. Let me do it!" she pointed out as her hair pink hair was done up into two cute buns, while Kayo had her hair up in a messy bun, exposing the undercut she still had underneath. "No. No. It's okay, go and join Rimuru, he looks lonely in such a big bath." Kayo pointed out as Milim pouted before her eyes widen as someone else came in. "Hey sis, enjoying a late-night soak?" Anthony asked, giving a soft smile, carrying a large bottle of sake with a towel draped over his shoulder... and nothing covering his lower half, completely naked...
"Oi! Cover up or change will ya!" Kayo snapped at her brother, quickly covering Milim's eyes but it was too late as the Demon Lord had gotten a good look at the naked kitsune male. Meanwhile Rimuru was sulking in the water as he glared at the eldest kitsune brother for being so confident and 'gifted'. "H-hey... these baths... they aren't separated by gender?" the slime asked, trying not to stare at the naked male who quickly wrapped a towel around his lower half, having set the Sake down carefully, away from the child demon lord. "No. Seems kinda pointless since where all family here, but we do have female and male times for those who feel more comfortable with the same sex." Antony explained as he took the bath items from Milim once Kayo let her see again.
"Your one of sissy's fox brothers?" she asked as the large kitsune smiled at her. "Yes, my name is Antony, I'm the leader of the fire kitsune. It's nice to-." he was saying before the demon lord launched herself at him into a sudden hug. "Big brother!" she yelled happily and innocently as the fox went shock still as Kayo's golden eyes watched him carefully. 'Sucks for him.' Rimuru though as he watched Kayo remove the naked young girl from her brother who looked like he had just barely escaped certain death. Milim pouted as Kayo set her in the water with Rimuru to play with and swim around the massive hot springs. The kitsune siblings helped wash each other before joining them in the hot springs to a relaxing soak.
"Do you always help wash each other?" Rimuru asked, floating over to Kayo as Anthony poured her a cup of warm sake. "Only when we are bathing together. Sis doesn't like anyone touching her back since it's sensitive." Antony pointed out as Kayo purred as she sunk into the hot water up to her neck. "Hey, hey, big brother! Where did sissy get that mark from?" Milim asked as she swam over to the male kitsune who looked confused as Rimuru.
"What mark?" The slime asked as Kayo tensed, not having expected Milim to see the strange mark on her back like Shuna.
"The one on her-" Milim was saying before Kayo quickly covered her mouth. "Hey, don't go sharing my secrets, starlight. Keep it between us, okay? Please?" Kayo quietly pleaded with the Demon Lord who was confused by her plea. "I'll make you some cute Rimuru shaped treats if you keep quiet." she bribed the dragonoid as her eyes sparkled at the thought of more snacks.
"Sis, what mark is she talking about?" Antoney questioned as Rimuru had Great Sage scan Kayo for odd marks but blushed as the unique skill only found the ones left by the two Kijins... and they seemed recent.