Chapter 34 – Ersatz father
Two days after Toshiro and Yoshika visited the other worlds Yokosuka, Toshiro woke up in his bed.
"Good Morning, Master," Livy whispered quietly from his side. "Let us go train, okay?"
"Yeah… I have no excuses not to."
"Today I will teach you something very useful, Master?"
"Oh?"
"We'll be teleporting now, Master," Livy said, giving him a second to prepare himself.
The scenery before him flashed and changed to a well-known meadow.
"At this training session, Master, you will be re-learning the Celestial Eye, or Acies Celestis if you prefer."
"I totally wanted you to teach me that, Livy! Not today, but… Well, you know anyway."
"Indeed…" she giggled. "After mastering something like teleportation, this should be fairly easy."
"I guess it won't be such a poof," Toshiro snapped his fingers. "…matter like the Tekkaku Hebigan?"
"I believe in you, Master. Now, let's begin."
Toshiro landed on his back in the bath, sighing deeply after making himself comfortable.
"Well, you almost made it, Master," Livy smiled from his side.
"Knapp vorbei ist auch daneben (a near miss is also a miss)…" he muttered.
"Oh Master…" Livy stroked his chest. "You're really close. Another training session and you will master it, I'm sure!"
"Well, if you say so… Damn, my eyes hurt like fuck… No paperwork for me today, that's a given."
"Don't worry though, Master – there's no permanent damage, I took care of that."
"Just like that time I almost split myself in half while trying to teleport?"
"Yes," she nodded with a smile. "While training with me, you have a perfectly safe environment to do so."
"Thanks," he smiled.
After regaining his strength in the bath, Toshiro went to the common room. There he saw Mio drinking her early cup of Joe, and scrubbing something in the kitchen furiously.
"Another training session past you, Toshiro? What did you learn?" Mio asked anxiously.
"I learned squat, but I'm supposedly on track to regain my ultimate eye technique…" Toshiro muttered and turned towards the kitchen annex. "Yoshika, what the hell are you scrubbing like you want to tear it away?"
"It's the inside of the oven," she replied. "It's so dirty, ugh… I wanted to do it yesterday, but a lazy bug bit me, heheh…"
"Carry on then, Pumpkin. I'll go back to our room for a second to rest my peepers, kay?"
"Sure thing, Toshiro."
He went to his room, and the first thing he noticed was a bump on his bed, right in the center.
It's weird for Yoshika to leave such a messy bed… Well, I'll make it messier, heh…
Toshiro approached his bed, but just as he was about to jump on it, the bump moved slightly. He genuinely twitched, and poked the bump, receiving a cheerful laugh in return.
He pulled the cover off the bed in one fluid movement, and there has saw the little Kamiko, giggling and cheering on all fours.
"Kamiko? Naze koko ni iru (why are you here)?" he asked her, and at the same time, he looked at the inter-world door, and saw that it was ever so slightly opened. "Ah, now I see… Eh… Watashi wa anata no okāsan ni modoru hitsuyō ga, anata o iji suru koto wa dekimasen (I can't keep you, you have to return to your mother)."
He grabbed her, and just as he neared the door, she made a sour face as if she wanted to cry. Toshiro stopped midway, and took a step back. Kamiko's face brightened up a bit, and just as he took a step forward, it reverted to her previous frown.
"Ehhhhh…" he sighed deeply. "Anata no okāsan wa watashi o korosudeshou (Your mother will kill me)...
He returned Kamiko to his bed, and closed the door.
Now what should I do with this little rugrat? Rei won't dare to hurt me, since technically I'm doing nothing wrong, and she would be a guest in my world… Hmm… Ah, whatever, Yoshika will be happier than fuck!
"No sanponiikō (let's go for a walk)!"
Kamiko cheered as she was lifted by Toshiro. He carefully went through both of the doors in his way, and walked down the stairs under the surprised look of Mio.
"Toshiro, what is she doing here?" she asked.
"She sort of stumbled into our world," Toshiro snickered.
Mio put on a warm smile and stroked Kamiko's cheek gently with her right index finger.
"My… Who would think that such a little squirt will be such a powerful witch in fifteen years…" she said softly.
"Who will be?" Yoshika raised her head, and shouted, "Kamiko!"
She abandoned her chore and jumped over the counter. Kamiko however made a sour face and dug her face into Toshiro's chest.
"Eh?" Yoshika tilted her head in wonder.
"You reek of chlorine, Yoshika," Mio explained. "Go wash your hands."
"Oh, crud!" Yoshika jumped back over the counter and started scrubbing her hands furiously.
Kamiko stopped hiding from Yoshika and looked back at Mio, causing the latter to blush slightly.
"I guess she likes you, Mio," Toshiro said.
"Bet she likes the other worlds Mio too…" the Fusojin mumbled.
"Back!" Yoshika returned quickly, this time covered in a faint scent of lemons.
Now, Kamiko wanted to go over to her, so Yoshika quickly plucked the baby from Toshiro's hands, and stood there in blissful and gleeful ignorance, as Kamiko babbled on happily.
"There we go again…" Mio sighed. "Yoshika, should I remind you that you have to prepare breakfast?"
"Uh, huh, what?" Yoshika snapped out of her trance. "Oh, right, breakfast… Toshiro, why don't you take care of Kamiko today?"
"Me? Errr… I don't know…"
"Toshiro, are you scared of taking care of a child?" Mio asked. "Ha! So you do have some weaknesses!"
"Well, Kamiko is feeling well with me but… Ah, whatever, what happens – happens! Oji ni kite(Come to uncle)!"
Kamiko cheered as Toshiro picked her from Yoshika's hands, and he sat on a chair beside the fireplace. The girl tucked herself into him and immediately fell asleep.
"Awww…" Mio looked at him.
Toshiro conjured up a sign and gave it to Mio saying, "Hang it on the outside of the door leading to this room."
Mio took the sign and read off it, "Baby present, no shouting. Hmmm… You're right, consider it done."
She quickly ran up the stairs and put up the sign where Toshiro told her to.
"Now, maybe I should relax a bit…" he yawned and dozed off.
Tugging on the sleeve woke him up, and when he opened his eyes, he saw all of the girls, except for the night trio, gathered in the room and looking at him with both amazed and compassionately.
Toshiro looked down and saw that his little guest was still sleeping like an angel, and then he looked to his side, seeing Yoshika with a happy smile on her face.
"Come on, Toshiro, I'll switch with you. You have to eat, so you have the energy to keep up with Kamiko for who knows how long, heehee…"
"Let's do it the best way, Yoshika. On three… One…"
"Two…."
"Three."
Both of them diluted time and swapped places, with Kamiko not budging and inch in the resulting process.
"Perfect," Yoshika smiled warmly.
Toshiro wandered off to the table and seated himself quietly.
"You looked so cute, Toshiro," Lynne giggled.
"Thanks…" Toshiro mumbled with his cheeks slowly reddening.
"You don't have to be so bashful, Toshiro," Minna patted him on the shoulder. "You look and behave like a real father, there's nothing to be ashamed of."
"You all look too amused for me not to blush…"
"We like teasing you, Bro," Erica smirked.
"A lot," Shirley added with a grin of her own.
"Watch out, Shirley, or Kamiko might want to suck on those windbags of yours if she gets hungry, heheh…"
"Shirley's boobs are mine…" Francesca protested quietly, claiming her prized possession.
"Anyway, let's eat already," Mio said. "Itadakimasu…"
When the breakfast was nearing its conclusion, it was clearly visible that Yoshika has swapped with Toshiro for better or worse, since both she and Kamiko were soundly sleeping in the chair.
"I suppose I should exempt her from training…" Mio rolled her eyes after Toshiro looked at her meaningfully. "Okay, the rest go for the usual break, and after that we're training."
"I think there's some paperwork to do, Toshiro," Minna noted. "You could devote yourself to it."
"Okay, you rest for now," he smiled.
"Oh thank you," Minna giggled.
Toshiro stoked the fire in the fireplace, and went to the office, where he saw a small stack of papers.
Well then, time to take my mind off the impending…
Just as he was signing the last paper, the door busted open, and Yoshika came running in with a crying Kamiko.
"Toshiro, she wants to eat! We don't have a bottle!"
"Woah crap, I totally forgot about that!"
Toshiro quickly created a baby bottle full of lukewarm solution and gave it to Yoshika. She quickly sat on the couch and gave the bottle to Kamiko, who happily started sucking on it.
"Whew…" Yoshika sighed in relief. "Crisis averted… I hope you have some diapers just in case, right?"
"I have them memorized, Yoshika."
"I wonder when Livy will teach you how to create stuff in a more efficient way…"
"Soon, Mistress," Livy said as she appeared. "Master, depending on your performance with learning the Celestial Eye, it might be during the next training session."
"Oh, now you're cooking with gas!" Toshiro cheered.
"First a dustless destruction, then atomic dust recycling… I wonder what you'll learn next, Toshiro?"
"You'll both see," Livy smiled and looked at Kamiko. "It's like she's your daughter, Mistress."
"Thanks…" Yoshika muttered with red cheeks. "I took care of some kids before I met Toshiro, so I have some experience…"
"Maaaasteeer…" Livy mused with a shy smile, looking at Toshiro. "How about we have a child?"
"I forbid you! Totally and absolutely!" Yoshika yelled, and looked at the intrigued Toshiro. "N-No means no!"
"I think Livy is kidding, right?" Toshiro asked.
"I don't want to have a child with Master before he does have one with you, Mistress," Livy smiled. "But if in an unfortunate event the Mistress should be unable to bear children, I would be more than happy to become a surrogate."
"Oh, that's nice…" Yoshika said surprised. "I don't know what to say…"
"Let's not jinx this," Livy winked and disappeared.
"I think she really could do that, but right now, she was just joking," Toshiro smiled.
"And how do you infer that?" Yoshika asked, quickly glancing at the still not-full Kamiko.
"Aya."
"Aya…" a horizontal line crossed Yoshika's forehead. "Oh right, heh… Aya is the proof both our offspring and we managed to land a hit… Well, at least theoretically."
"Yeah…" Toshiro said in a melancholic manner.
Kamiko pushed the bottle back and smiled gleefully at Yoshika, making the latter almost glimmer from happiness.
"Toshiro, tell me one thing – why are you actually talking to Kamiko in Fusogo? Maybe she understand Brittanian perfectly?"
"You think her memories are ingrained into her to such a level?" Toshiro asked. "Let's see… Kamiko, am I holding one hand up?" he asked, holding his right hand up.
Kamiko looked at him and nodded slightly.
"Hey…" Yoshika said silently. "I may be right, Toshiro."
"Don't count your chicks and stuff… Okay Kamiko, am I holding two hands up now?" Toshiro put his right hand back behind his back.
Kamiko, after a second of doubt, shook her head. Toshiro himself nodded and asked, "Is Yoshika holding you?"
The girl nodded and cheered, causing Yoshika smile in glee yet again.
"You were right, Yoshika. Damn, why didn't I come up with that?"
"Because you were fine with Fusogo to begin with?" Yoshika asked. "If it's not broken…"
"…don't fix it," Toshiro finished. "Okay, Yoshika, go train already, I'll take care of Miss Adventurer here."
"Sure thing," Yoshika smiled and gave him the girl. "Have fun you two!"
"Oooo!" Kamiko cheered.
"Now what should I do with you, little troublemaker? It's way too cold for a walk… Are you perhaps sleepy?"
Kamiko shook her head firmly.
"Then how about a story?"
Kamiko nodded fervently.
"Okay then… What's your favorite story, Kamiko?"
"Ka-Kaguya-hime!"
"Well then, not bad," he smiled. "Eh, come on back to my room, Sweetie, we need some privacy."
Toshiro diluted time and ran off to his room, and once he was there, Kamiko gasped and started cheering.
"Nice trick, huh?" he said and lied down on the bed with her. "Let's begin then…"
Once upon a time, in a small village, far away from the capital, lived an old man known as the
bamboo cutter. The old man and his old wife lived together in a nice little house.
Every day, the old man went up to the mountain to cut bamboo for a living, which is why the people of the village called him the old bamboo cutter; but the old man's real name was Sanuki Nomiya Tsukomaro…
Toshiro continued the story on and on, but halfway, Kamiko finally decided to nod off.
"Now if only I had a stand in, I think it's time for my own training…"
Livy appeared in her usual manner and said, "Indeed, Master. The Mistress has been notified, and she's already heading here."
"Ah, thanks. So, we're going?"
"Yes, Master, we're going."
After fifteen hours of training, Toshiro finally saw the inside of a small box that Livy was holding in her hands.
"Seven hundred seventy seven protons in the nucleus… More electrons than I can count quickly… Livy, what the hell do you have in that box?"
"Oh, just a synthetic element to test you out, Master," she giggled. "You finally analyzed what I had inside the box, and that was the goal. Bravo, Master, you now have full control over your Celestial Eye."
"Yay…" he slumped down onto the ground. "How about leaving the champagne for later?"
"But Master, we still have a few hours left, and I want to start teaching you about free-will creation."
"What's that supposed to be?"
"Remember how you could create just anything without prior training, Master?"
"Uh, yeah… I just wanted something to appear and poof, it's there. Now I have to do so much thinking…"
"That's what I'm going to try to teach you, Master. The part of Celestial Order that's about matter manipulation is almost completely learned by you, Master. Once you learn that, I will teach you about manipulating the very reality around you."
"Now that's nice… Okay then, on we go!"
Finishing his training, Toshiro wound up back in his room. Yoshika and Kamiko were now seemingly involved in some kind of stare-off, with both giving off a 'Jiiiiiiii' sound.
"And what the dickens are you doing, Yoshika?"
"I don't know, Kamiko just started staring at me," Yoshika explained while maintaining eye contact with her opponent at all times.
Suddenly, Kamiko started sniveling and tears started showing up in her eyes.
"Oh, hey, hey, Kamiko!" Yoshika grabbed her. "What's wrong?"
Toshiro decided to use his newly re-acquired power and he scanned Kamiko with his Celestial Eyes.
"Well… The underlying cause for Kamiko's bad humor is prosaic and… physiological…" Toshiro said a bit nervously.
"Oh?" Yoshika asked. "She wants to eat?"
"To put it bluntly – she shat herself," he replied with a straight face.
"Ooooh, a diaper change then…" Yoshika muttered. "Well then, Toshiro, whip me up everything needed."
"Let's see… A diaper and some powder coming up," he said and said items appeared. "Here you go, Yoshika."
Yoshika however refused saying, "You do it, Toshiro. Better get some experience now."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I am! Okay, let's do this, I'll guide you."
"Okaaaaaay…" he moaned.
Yoshika placed Kamiko on her back, and Toshiro first things reached for her diaper, but then, a hand grabbed his shoulder and he heard a familiar albeit low voice saying, "Toshiro, how I like you, so hard I will smack you."
"Oh, hi Rei," Yoshika said. "We were about to…"
"I know what you were about to do," Rei said. "But first things first – what the hell is Kamiko even doing here? I left her at Mom's, and both of them disappeared!"
"She sort of wandered here on her own…" Toshiro tried to explain.
"On her own?"
"The door was probably left open somehow."
"Somehow…"
"I don't know who or when, but it was," Toshiro said calmly.
"So theoretically it's just an accident Kamiko is here?"
"With Kye involved, nothing is an accident…" Toshiro sighed. "Will you let me change her diaper, or will you let your firstborn daughter lie in her own shit?"
"I'm kind of reluctant as to let you do it…" Rei puffed her cheeks.
"Rei, please…" Yoshika said with a bright smile.
"Oh okay…" she sighed. "But I'll be watching him carefully."
"So I'll be tutored by two women at the same time, headache imminent…"
Two minutes later, Toshiro raised the freshly changed Kamiko above his head and said, "Who's a clean girl? You are!"
"I suppose you did a good job…" Rei muttered. "Kamiko, we're going back."
Kamiko looked at her mother and made a pouty face.
"Don't tell me you want to stay…"
Kamiko now smiled brightly.
"Lynne and Trude are already preparing dinner, so why not stay too, Rei?" Yoshika asked. "There will be something for you too."
"What do you say, Toshiro?" Rei asked. "Isn't Kamiko one bother too much already?"
"Kamiko a bother? Noooo… You won't be a bother too, if you behave, heheh…"
"I'll stay then," Rei smiled. "By the way, Toshiro – how is your training? I heard you're roughing it."
"Sixty hours a day…" Toshiro sighed. "But I'm regaining my power slowly. Just today I re-learned my Celestial Eye."
"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow. "I do hope you won't be trying to strip the girls naked with your perverted gaze?"
"I see them naked in the bath every day, so meh," Toshiro shrugged.
"Ah, I'm feeling a bit cozier now…"
"I could make an exception for you…" Toshiro mused.
Yoshika pinched him in the butt and said, "Oh can it already…"
"You saw me naked anyway," Rei shrugged. "Nothing changed there."
"Yeeeeaaah…"
"Let's go eat then," Yoshika said. "And after that – a walk with the whole unit!"
"Isn't it a bit cold for a walk?" Toshiro asked.
"Toshiro…" Rei said warmly. "Kids can go out for walks in subzero temperatures, provided they are clothed properly. You still have a bit to learn about paternity…"
"Heh… That's one thing I have practically no clue about, I'll admit. Okay then, I'll make some nice late fall clothes for Kamiko. I wonder if I could make something warm yet light…"
"If you want to experiment, do it on me," Rei said sternly, but her face soon turned sour. "I worded that too ambiguously…"
"You did…" Yoshika sighed.
"I have to practice with my powers, so I have to create new things, so I get adjusted to it more and more. Fine then, Rei, I'll make a material for a coat, and you'll test it out yourself. I'll have to scan you, so I can get your measurements."
"Scan me?" Rei raised an eyebrow.
"Just give me your hand, that's all."
"Okay then…" Rei moved her hand forward, and Toshiro grabbed it delicately.
"You're nervous, Rei."
"How can you tell? Is this related to mindreading?"
"Even my brain is too weak to process the electro-chemical processes of your brain and translate them to thoughts in real-time, while maintaining my own thought processes intact. I'm reading your pulse and dermal transpiration right now, heheh…"
"Hmm… I see… Got my sizes already?"
"Yup. I could make you a full-body suit that would stick to you like another layer of skin."
"Let's stick with the original plan now…" she muttered.
Toshiro ruffled his eyebrows, and after a few seconds, he stuck his right hand out and after a brief spark of monochromatic energy, a long coat appeared.
"I think this could be it," Toshiro said.
"It looks flimsy…" Rei said and touched the sleeve. "It's thin as air!"
"Put it on your clothes, you'll probably start sweating in a few seconds," Toshiro smirked.
Silently, Rei put on the coat and just as she was buttoning it up, she said, "Whew… It's hot in here… Wait, it's working!"
"Take it off," Toshiro said.
Rei took off the coat and asked, "How did you do that?"
"Nano-crystalline gold between two ultrathin layers of synthetic material allowing transpiration but not allowing outside humidity. The colder it is outside of the coat, the hotter it gets inside of it."
"Now that's some high-tech gibberish right there… What exactly are you learning with Livy?" Rei asked.
"I have such theoretic knowledge that I could teach college professors for the next hundred years," Toshiro snickered.
"Woah, Toshiro, maybe you should modify our clothes in that manner?" Yoshika asked.
"We have to do a field test first, Yoshika. So, Rei, what will Kamiko be wearing?"
"We'll go with your fancy-schmancy material, but you'll re-dress Kamiko if there's any sign of her getting cold, got it? I won't approve if I have to use my magic to keep her warm!"
"Yeah, yeah… Let's go for dinner already, or the girls will start looking for us."
Toshiro opened the door to the common room, and he saw that everyone was already present, so he announced, "We have a guest for dinner, ladies."
"I bet Rei came for Kamiko," Minna said.
"Are you psychic?" Toshiro asked surprised. "Yeah, Rei's here."
The person in question came out from behind Toshiro's back and said, "Hello again, everyone. I'll be in your care for a bit today."
"Welcome back, honored guest," Minna said with a smile.
"Rei, did you grow?" Francesca asked.
"Not where you think I could…" she shook her head. "And I won't let you affirm that on your own."
"Bawwww…" Francesca sulked and rested her head on Shirley's chest.
"You'll be eating with us?" Trude asked from the kitchen annex.
"Yes, if it won't inconvenience you in any way,"
"Nah, it's just another plate…" Trude waved her hand with a smile. "There's more than enough for everyone."
Toshiro looked at Rei, whose smile widened slightly.
"Toshiro, get our guest a chair already!" Mio shouted. "What kind of host are you?"
He sighed and created a copy of the chairs that stood around the dining table, and threw in at the empty spot.
"Have a seat, Rei, it's just for you," Toshiro pointed at the new chair with a smirk.
"Why thank you!" Rei replied with fake and overblown kindness and ran to her place.
"Lynne, are you managing?" Yoshika asked.
"It's okay, Yoshika, don't worry," the Brit replied cheerfully.
"Rei, have any sweets for me?" Erica asked with a pleading face.
"No I don't, I didn't mean to stay here for long…" Rei replied a bit uncertainly.
"Bawwwwww…"
"Erica, don't be such a spoiled brat for Christs sake!" Trude yelled at her. "Or I'll throw a pot at you!"
"Besides, dinner is at hand," Minna said. "Don't spoil your appetite like that."
"Eh, you're right…" Erica sighed and slumped on the table.
"Oh how I missed this constant game of back and forth from the two…" Rei sighed along.
"At least you don't have Neuroi," Sanya said.
"And you can visit your friends easily," Shizuka added.
"Yeah, but being in one unit is something else… You experienced the same during the two periods when your unit was disbanded, right?" Rei asked.
"Indeed," Perrine smiled. "We were all apart, but my thoughts always veered off to my friends…"
"You can't spell unity without unit," Shirley grinned, making everyone laugh a bit.
"It's kind of backwards that a war was something that brought all of us together…" Toshiro pondered.
"And we'll end the war together!" Mio shouted.
The girls cheered wildly, just as dinner was ready for serving.
"Girls, Yoshika proposed a walk after dinner. What do you say?" Toshiro asked one the feast started nearing to the end.
"All of us?" Minna asked.
"Yup," Yoshika smiled.
"I see no problem," Minna said. "Nobody against it?"
Not a single peep was heard, so Toshiro said, "Put on your warm clothes, ladies, we're going for a walk!"
As the girls dispersed quickly, Rei stood up with Kamiko and asked, "So, how about clothing me?"
"Your wish is my command, princess," he said with a venomous smile and touched both Kamiko and Rei with one hand.
After a monochromatic blink flashed before their eyes, the two stood clothed. Rei had the exact same coat as before, only wearing a light cap additionally. Kamiko in turn had a pink full body suit that made her look like a small starfish.
"Kaaaaaaaaaaawaaaaaaaiiiiii!" Yoshika squealed. "Rei, can I hold her?!"
"Sheesh, Yoshika, calm down," she giggled and handed her Kamiko. "Leave some of that spark for your kids."
"Guheeee…" Yoshika sounded off in brainless glee, holding a cheerful starfish.
"I think I saw an anime like this with Mom…" Rei sighed.
"Was it fun?" Toshiro asked.
"It was fun, but when the serious stuff came on, you would be heartbroken… It resonated with me, so I was wailing like a moron, heh…"
"Maybe one day… Well, I have to get clothed myself, Yoshika too…"
"Why don't you try that material of yours on for size?" Rei proposed.
"Eh, you're right," Toshiro said and clad himself in a coat of his own. "Wow, it's warm like fuck…"
"Toshiro, language…" Rei grumbled.
He smirked, and after creating a small bar of soap, he said, "I dare you."
"I won't scrub the mouth of my host, that would be rude," Rei said calmly. "Unless you want it yourself, then be my guest."
"But what about breathing fire with petrol soap?" the familiar voice of Doran suddenly sounded in their heads.
"My Dad..." Rei sighed.
"Do it... Jiiiiiiiii..." As Doran relayed his telepathic message, he also added an image of him staring on top of it.
Toshiro modified the soap to have petrol properties and held it up.
"You can do it! Bite its freakin' head off!"
"Nah, fuck it," he said and disintegrated the soap. "Don't want to create an unnecessary fire hazard."
"Spoilsport," came Michelle's voice.
Rei shot him another annoyed glance, but then she looked at Yoshika.
"Geez…" she sighed and took Kamiko from her.
"Oh?" Yoshika asked surprised. "Ah, Toshiro, you made that coat, right?"
"Yup, Miss Space Out," he snickered. "Want one too?"
"Please."
Toshiro grabbed her hand and in a flash, Yoshika got her own coat and matching cap.
"Heheh, thanks."
"Toshiro, I'm not feeling as hot as before," Rei noticed.
"I made a slight modification, so it will have a lesser effect in acceptable room temperatures," he winked.
"You experimenter…" she smiled. "When will you make your own SFS, huh?"
"I have the original stored in my memory; maybe I'll tinker with it. Maybe, because that shit is definitely ahead of its time here, I don't want to influence my world too badly."
"You probably don't need it anyway… not to mention the original SFS wasn't even supposed to be introduced to our world since it's Light Kingdom tech, which is a little over ten million years ahead of either of our world's technology."
"Yeah, it's overkill…"
"Ready!" Francesca cheered from the stairs suddenly and jumped down. "Waaah, so cuuuuuuuuute!"
The Romagnan ran up and started tickling Kamiko, with both of them laughing.
"One infant and so much fun…" Toshiro sighed.
"Heh, just you wait, Toshiro – you'll have your share of the deal," Rei winked.
"Eh…" he sighed.
The girls and Toshiro walked around the local forest and the fields, and they were returning towards the base.
"Yup, this is definitely working," Rei said as she tugged her own sleeve. "I feel like I'm in a warm room, but it's not stuffy at all. And Kamiko literally fell asleep."
"Really?" Minna asked. "Toshiro, why don't you make such coats for us too? We would benefit from it."
"I didn't check the flammability, and I didn't try to make it Neuroi beam proof… Give me a day or two, Minna, and I will have a final version of the new material ready."
"Okay, that sounds very reasonable. Very unlike you," she giggled.
"Ha… Ha…"
"Did you like the walk, Rei?" Mio asked. "I did!"
"Bah, the weather is perfect today! It really was a nice breather from my daily life. Not to mention all of you… eh, all of you are such a blast from the past… I love coming here," she smiled.
"Nothing is keeping you from visiting more often," Toshiro said.
"No, no… You have your war, your worries, and this is your world. But I do appreciate the in-blanco invite, heh…"
"Guests are always welcome," Trude said. "Or else we'd go insane here."
"You don't love me anymore, Trudy?" Erica asked.
"Oh shut up!" Trude yelled with a red face. "I'm not Eila!"
"Hey, what are you implying?!" Eila rebuked.
"That you're a lesbian," Trude said calmly.
"And she's all mine," Sanya hugged the Suomi, making her blush fiercely.
"W-Well that's true…" Eila muttered and stroked Sanya's head.
After they got back, Rei said her goodbyes and she went with Toshiro, Yoshika, and Kamiko to the room with the door.
"Okay you two stay safe," Rei said. "Be vigilant, Toshiro, and train hard."
Should I? Or should I not… Hmmm… Nah, not yet…
"Thanks, and have a good time yourself," Toshiro replied.
"Ditto!" Yoshika cheered.
Rei opened the door and disappeared into her world.
"It's time to train soon, Toshiro," Yoshika said. "Why don't you go earlier, so we can all have an earlier supper?"
"Yeah, sure. Livy?"
"Yes Master, of course," Livy's voice sounded and he disappeared.
A few hours into training, Toshiro took a break.
"You're making progress, Master. You had a good idea with the material for the coat."
"Ah, right, can you help me with that? I don't want to waste time with field tests."
"Of course, Master," Livy smiled.
"By the way, I wanted to ask you something. Something came to mind when I saw Rei today – how and when did Aya learn that whole Senkou Suto technique?"
"She didn't. The Mistress doesn't have any training in the Divine Light style."
"Then how?"
"Kari acted as a catalyst so to speak. Kari is Grand Master of the Divine Light Style so, by her will, while they used the Awakened State, the Senkou Suto could be carried out without prior knowledge of it."
"I see… So, Livy, how many techniques do you have handy?"
"You would have trouble remembering everything, Master," Livy giggled. "But Master, you don't need me to help you. Sure, I could lend you my power and you could perform techniques out of this world, but that would be me doing them, not you. Ultimately that means you would be cheating. You have a lot to your disposal, and you didn't even master that."
"Hmmm… I suppose you're right, Livy. Good, I'll make do with what I have on hand."
"A very mature decision, Master. But I bet you want to know how it is to do some of the techniques you saw in the simulation, and which you didn't learn personally, hmm?"
"Hmmmm…" Toshiro grinned.
"Fuck…" Toshiro moaned in the bath. "That was too much…"
"Master, I told you that I had to sync your magic with me, so you would feel the techniques."
"Yeah…" he muttered.
"I propose a complimentary backrub then."
"Oh pleeaaase… And thanks," he said softly.
"So, Toshiro, what did you learn?" Trude asked during supper.
"I have a better grip on the matter manipulation part of my power. I also improved the material for the coats greatly. One more training session and I think I can finalize it."
"I do hope you have some sense of fashion, Toshiro?" Perrine asked.
"I can replace the original fibers of your uniforms with my new material, if that's any good."
"Hmmm… That could work, I think," Perrine shrugged.
"Don't worry, you'll still have the most pretentious uniform," Shirley grinned.
"Oh you red bumpkin! How can you insult the genius of the…"
For fucks sake... What a day…
"So, Toshiro, just how much have you progressed?" Yoshika asked as the two were in bed.
"I don't mean to boast, but I probably could strip all the girls naked right now without lifting as much as an eyebrow."
"Just like that? Lying on your back?"
"Yeah. I'd have to focus a bit, but I'd probably succeed with doing it to all of them at the same time."
"Wow… But Toshiro, why don't you clothe me with your power, and then… Undress me… Slowly… In the traditional… Manual… Way…" Yoshika said with a voice that made Toshiro hot inside.
"Your wish is my command!"
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