"Touya, look at this." = Normal speech.
'Touya, look at this.' = Thoughts/Telepathy.
(One hour later.) = Time skip.
~Yo, it's God.~ = Phone call.
"Come forth, fire!" = Chanting.
[Kingdom of Belfast] = Title/Place/Rank/Weapon Name.
{Gate} = Spell name.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At [Oedo], after the failed invasion.)
"I cannot thank you again, Touya-dono." Jubei bowed his head.
"It's nothing really, we're just happy to help." Touya shook his head, but he nonetheless accepted the older man's thanks.
It had been a week since the [Siege of Oedo], as many people have been calling it, happened. The aftermath of the Kansuke's failed attempt at conquering the capital of the Tokugawa while trying to kill the leadership of both clans was not unnoticed – News of the siege has been steadily making waves within [Eashen] and the effects were starting to show, it was like a shockwave that struck the entire nation.
It was even more of a shock when news of a fragment of Yamata-no-Orochi appeared and its subsequent defeat at the hands of Touya, while he said that it was a team effort and that Chiyome was the one to deliver the killing blow, it still didn't diminish his hand at its defeat, and thus, the majority of the credit was to him, Chiyome said she didn't care, she was used to not being acknowledged for her efforts, she was a kunoichi after all, Sally was the same since her occupation was similar.
Kohaku didn't care, all she cared was that the people would know of her master's achievements.
Sadly, while the siege ended in a Tokugawa/Takeda victory, it was not bloodless, a good portion of the defenders had fallen and an undetermined number of civilian casualties happened, but it was commonly agreed that it was better that only a few died rather than most if not all of [Oedo]. That doesn't mean no one mourns the loss of lives.
The party on the other hand stayed within [Oedo] to provide any help, usually with clearing debris or putting out any fires to prevent further spreading, Chiyome had finally decided to join them, with Kansuke's death, she has very little reason to stay at [Eashen] anymore and would rather be with her cousin, no one objected to her decision and thus the only thing left was to register her into the [Adventurer's Guild].
"Will you be going to the ruins today?" Jubei asked.
"Yes! Chichi-ue." Yae nodded, "With the worst seemingly over, we will continue our original objective."
"I see, and you know where it is now, yes?"
"Yeah, got the location from Baba-san." Touya nodded, a little embarrassed as he had to use {Recall} the same way he used on the girls… By holding hands and touching foreheads, "Coincidentally… He visited a place near the ruins which helps us a lot…"
Suffice to say, he did not feel comfortable about it and was glad that it was over with.
"The ruins are said to house [The Legacy of Nirai Kanai]." Jubei recalled, humming as he stroked his chin, "However, the ruins are at the sea floor."
"Sea floor?" Touya inquired, the patriarch of the Kokonoe family nodded, "Well, we'll have to see for ourselves."
The rest of the party said their goodbyes and left the house of the Kokonoe family, the last ones out were Touya and Yae, the latter stopped just short of the exit and turned around to wave her hands goodbye.
"Chichi-ue, Haha-ue, Ani-ue, and Ayane. I'll be taking my leave!" Yae exclaimed.
"Yeah, be careful out there." Jubei nodded, watching his daughter leave her home to continue her journey.
"Touya-san, please take care of our daughter." Nanae smiled, waving goodbye, while she wanted nothing more than her daughter to stay a little longer, she knew that she couldn't, thus, was content in letting her be in the hands of the [Hero of Tokugawa].
When he first heard of the title, Touya didn't like being called it but he wouldn't say it outloud, and the endless teasing from Sally didn't help much.
"Of course." Touya bowed his head, before going outside and closing the door behind him, he greeted his partymates and asked them if they were ready, they all nodded and gave him the go.
Touya smiled and stretched out his hand, a {Gate} appeared soon after, he gestured to his party to go first, they all nodded and one by one stepped into the translucent door leaving Touya the last one to go through, he took one last glance at [Oedo] before he stepped into the null spell and towards the ruins.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At a coastline, near the [Nirya Ruins].)
The sounds of waves was the first thing Touya heard when he stepped out of his null spell. It didn't take long for him to realize that this was the same exact beach Chiyome asked him to accompany her to, he smiled as he recalled the memory and judging by her expression, it seems like Chiyome realized it as well.
"Woah, it's so beautiful!" Setsuna exclaimed, while she has seen a fair amount of beaches in her home country, this one still looked absolutely amazing, definitely among her top 10.
"Agreed, the scenery is very nice isn't it?" Yumina commented, the beastkin nodded as she smiled.
"It is, I loved going here as a kid." Chiyome smiled, recalling the fond memories she had.
"It's been a while since we visited the sea, huh?" Elze inquired, her sister nodding as they were in the process of removing their boots.
"Yes! It has." Linze smiled as she placed her boots neatly before walking to the water with her sister in tow, Yae was not far behind, she just removed her tobi socks and the moment her bare foot touched the sand she felt the hot sensation of burning sand.
"Ouch! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Yae complained with each step she made before calming down as she finally made it to the water.
"Stop being a baby! It's not that hot." Sally remarked, she already took off her footwear and was making her way towards the girls, Setsuna not far behind her.
Meanwhile, Touya pulled out his phone and searched for the ruins, a second later, a pop-up appeared and showed him where it was and to the surprise of no one, the ruins were located deep in the sea, "Welp, guess it really is at the bottom of the sea."
"Leen, do you know any spells that allow people to breathe underwater?" He turned to the 600-year old loli fairy.
"Of course there is, but I wasn't interested in them so I never learned them." She answered and shrugged.
"...So I have to dive in and search for it then…" Touya groaned, while he was glad at the prospect of swimming, he wasn't thrilled about doing it in his normal clothes, "If I had some swimming trunks I'd already be wearing it and diving in without a care…"
'Now that I thought about it, do swimsuits even exist here?' Touya mused.
And as if the world heard him, his question was answered.
"The water is cold enough to not be a problem, if I brought my swimsuit, I'd be swimming already!" Elze commented, splashing her sister with the water.
"Huh? Did you just say swimsuit?" Touya asked, overhearing what the silverette said.
"Most clothing shops sell them." Linze answered.
"That's right! Touya!" Elze called him, rapidly walking towards him, "Let's go back to [Belfast] real quick and buy some swimsuits!"
"That sounds like a grand idea, Elze." Yumina agreed, next to her was Setsuna who also nodded.
"Hmm…" Touya hummed for a bit before smiling, "Sure, I don't see why not."
He turned to Leen who hadn't said a word ever since they stepped foot at the beach,
Soon after, the group made a quick stop to some clothing stores at [Belfast], and while they were shopping, Yumina suggested they ask if their employees back at the mansion would like to join them, and from there, it escalated from asking Sue if she wanted to join to asking the Royal Family from both [Belfast] and [Mismede] if they wanted to join, which they did.
Hell, they even asked Micah and Aer if they wanted to come along, and they did. At that point, Touya noticed that they invited everyone they knew, and soon enough the small beach getaway turned into a beach party.
Once they were done with the invitations, Touya realized that almost all of the people they invited to this little beach getaway were a part of the Royalty, still, he smiled as he saw them interact with each other so it wasn't all that bad. He showed them the tents he set up so they could change into more appropriate clothes.
He watched as they began to change into their swimsuits, he turned and crouched down, looking over some materials he bought while they were shopping for swimsuits.
"With this much stuff, I could make some parasols, then some beach chairs, sunshades…" Touya pondered, checking his phone for the list of stuff he needed, "Maybe I could make some beach balls and a couple of swimming rings? That would be fun, right?"
"Afterwards, I'll just have to set this {Gate} to my house and that should cover the bathroom problem." He chanted the spell quickly, nodding as he checked what else was missing, "The meals are prepared, the beverages are cooled and ready, after that…"
"What a minute." Touya stopped, realizing that he basically did all the work to prepare for the beach without actually even enjoying it first, "To hell with that! I wanna have some fun too!"
"Master, you're forgetting our original purpose here." Kohaku tried to remind him, but he was too far into his world that he ignored the words of his divine beast. She sighed, there was nothing she could do so she let him do what he pleases, he'll come around later anyways.
Oh, as much as she wants to, Kohaku doesn't like getting wet all that much, so she'll probably just find some shade and take a nap under it.
Meanwhile, as inside of the girls' changing tent, there were many, um, gifted girls unintentionally showing off their assets compared to those who were less gifted, case in point, Yumina and Elze, watching in envy as they were surrounded by girls with bigger boobs than them, off to the side, Chiyome and Setsuna raised an eyebrow at their comrades' envious stares, wondering what the point was about big boobs.
They shrugged, figured that it wasn't their problem and continued to change into their swimsuits.
"My, is Linze the older sister?" Leen quipped, and it seems like it struck a nerve in the older twin.
"Shut up!" Elze snapped, having none of the fairy's teasing, "You're no better yourself!"
"I don't get why you're making such a fuss about this." Sally commented, still in her normal clothes.
"You wouldn't get it!" Elze sighed, but noticed that Sally hadn't changed out of her outfit yet, "Hey, are you gonna change or what?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, right, a swimsuit." Sally hummed, she snapped her fingers and her clothes evaporated in white flames until the only thing left was the ones covering her breasts and groin area, the flames died out and what took their place were a simple white frilly bikini with orange highlights.
"Wow, I thought you liked the color red and black, why white and orange?" Elze asked.
"It's a personal preference, I don't always wear red and black you know?" Sally answered.
"I'd say it looks good on you." Setsuna complimented her. The raven-haired female smiled and nodded.
After a while, they finished changing and went out of the tent. They tried to find where Touya was since they didn't see him ever since the beach party started, thankfully it didn't take long to find him as she was doing some kind of dance near the waves.
Elze, Linze and Yae approached him with his back still turned, the three debated whether or not to call for him but waiting under the hot sun would be dumb so Elze took the dive, calling out to Touya.
"Touya." Elze's voice caught his attention and he turned around to face them, "What kind of dance is that?"
"This isn't a dance move, it's a warm-up exercise." Touya clarified, "You'll cramp your leg if you enter the sea directly, you know?"
"Is that so…" Elze muttered, now not knowing how to continue the conversation, luckily her sister did.
"Touya… What do you think of our swimsuits…?" Linze asked, a blush on her face.
"It… It fits all of you, that's for sure, it looks good." Touya nodded, and that seemed to be the words they were hoping for as they brightened up.
"You mean it!?" Yae exclaimed, before checking herself out, "Though I still feel funny in this outfit…"
Touya watched with a blush on his face as each slight movement Yae would make her boobs seeme to bounce along, he averted his gaze when he heard Elze let out a sigh of relief.
"Is something wrong, Elze?" He asked which caused the silverette to jolt.
"No! Nothing's wrong!" She said, waving her hands rapidly before calming herself down, "A-anyways, let's go have some fun!"
She immediately ran for the sea, not waiting for another response as she dived straight into the water, Yae followed soon after and the two engaged in a water fight, splashing each other with water.
Touya watched with a smile on his face but noticed that Linze was the only one who hadn't moved towards the sea yet and was wondering why she wasn't going after her sister.
"You're not going to swim, Linze?" He asked, the younger twin shook her head.
"I'm not good at swimming." She sighed, "I'll just go sunbathing."
"Oh, I see." Touya hummed, "Well, try not to get a heatstroke."
He waved the silverette goodbye and turned around to join the girls when he heard someone calling out to him again, he turned his attention towards the source of the voice and saw Sue and Renee running towards him, they were wearing a cute one piece swimsuit fitted for their size.
"Touya!"
"Master- brother Touya!"
The two exclaimed, wearing bright smiles on their faces as they ran up to him, he smiled back and patted both their heads.
"How do our swimsuits look?" Sue asked.
"You both look adorable." Touya answered, ruffling the top of their heads, "You two looking to go for a swim?"
"Yeah!" Sue smiled, "Thanks to these floaty things you made, I can finally swim!"
"It's my first time seeing the ocean!" Renee exclaimed, looking at how far and wide the sea was, "It's so big! I should get a bunch of sand and bring it home so I can remember this moment forever!"
"Sounds like a good idea." Touya chuckled, but then her words struck an idea in his head, he pulled his phone out of his swimming trunks' pockets and opened the camera, "But maybe this can help you remember it better."
He briefly told them how it worked and told them to pose, the two girls walking a bit further away from him and posed, Touya smiled and countdown the shot and took their picture, he checked it for a few seconds before showing them the result. They gasped in awe as they saw themselves on the small rectangle screen, Renee praised Touya about how awesome he was and that he could do anything.
Meanwhile, Sue boasted that of course he could do anything, he was her future husband, Touya lightly scolded her, she wasn't his fiancee – Nevertheless, the two girls bid their farewells and ran to the ocean, but not before Touya told them to stay close to the shore and make sure that they have at least someone watching over them.
He watched as they made their way towards the sea, Touya smiled as they were having fun and figured that he should take a dip in the water as well – Though he felt like someone was standing behind him.
He turned around and was a little surprised when he saw Cecile standing behind him with her usual smile.
Touya wouldn't admit it out loud, but she almost scared him. If he wasn't so used to Sally appearing out of nowhere he may have been caught off guard by his maid/secret spy.
"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that, Cecile." Touya sighed.
"I'm sorry~ Force of habit~" Cecile apologized, bowing a bit, the motion making her boobs bounce which Touya tried to ignore but the sheer size and how tightly her bikini was, it made it hard not to look at them, "I'm supposed to be watching over Lady Sushie and lil' Renee, but it took a while for me to get changed."
"Really? There aren't any swimsuits your size?" Touya asked, averting his eyes from the bouncing breasts and trying to keep them on his subordinate's face.
"Unfortunately no~ I tried to find some but none of the stores had my exact size." Cecile sighed, cupping her boobs to emphasize them, "Even the one I'm wearing right now is a little tight~"
"I… I don't need to know that information." Touya facepalmed, hoping to obstruct his view, "Well, the two just left and went to the sea, they're over there."
He pointed at the girls' direction and Cecile thanked him, unbeknownst to her, each step she took, her boobs seemed to have a gravity of their own, bouncing around as she ran. Touya wanted to say he wasn't tempted, but it was like they had a hypnotic pull, grabbing his attention. He watched them go up and down, he wondered since they were big would they float?
"Boobs… Wonder if those float since they're big…" Touya mumbled, his eyes then widened as he swung his fist in a backhand motion.
"I should've seen that coming." A monotonous voice rang out, Touya calmed himself down and saw Lapis behind him, he let out a sigh of relief, "I apologize for sneaking up on you, master."
"Don't mention it, but like I told Cecile, you don't have to conceal your presence here." Touya waved his hand, giving his maid a small smile.
"Understood."
Touya sighed and shook his head. At least now he didn't have to worry about them sneaking up behind him again, still, he couldn't believe he was that jumpy – Maybe he needs to find a shade somewhere and cool off, the heat must be getting to him.
"Pardon me master, but what did you mean by 'they can float?'." Lapis asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Oh- that- well-" Touya spluttered, trying to come up with a good enough excuse but he was coming up short, but then an idea came to his head, "The floaties! I was- um- wondering if they would float properly! Yeah! I was wondering about that!"
Lapis hummed, looking over to Sue and Renee, checking the floaties they were using and it looked okay to her.
"...They seem to be working fine to me." Lapis observed, nothing was out of the ordinary for her.
"Right!?" Touya said, in a little higher pitched voice than usual.
Lapis hummed, nodding slowly as she held the tray in her hands closer to her chest, it didn't go unnoticed by Touya but he was more focused on the tray itself.
"What's with the tray?" He asked.
"For my tasks of giving out cold drinks to the wives of the Kings." She gestured to the row of beach chairs, Yuel, Ellen and Jamukha's wife, were all lying on the chairs, under the shade of the beach umbrellas he made while they were being tended by their respective butlers.
"I see." Touya hummed, he took his eyes off the wives and back to Lapis who held the same impassive look on her face, "Well, you should enjoy the beach too, Lapis, don't just work all the time."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to just work all day, I'll get my chance to enjoy the beach once it's Cecile's shift." Lapis gave him a small smile on her face. She bowed and turned around, walking towards the people she would serve drinks to.
Touya sighed as he watched one of his maids get to work, while he appreciated their willingness to work, he hoped they would at least have some much needed relaxation. Still, he admired their drive so he'll just let them enjoy the beach their own way.
He turned to the sounds of shouting and yelling, walking towards the direction where it came from, he saw the Kings of [Belfast] and [Mismede], along with General Leon, Duke Alfred and Chancellor Glatz in a heated swimming contest.
"How the hell did they convince Chancellor Glatz to join them…" Touya mumbled, wondering how someone like Glatz would get dragged into their games.
"That's 'cause dad promised he would do his duties if Glatz beats him in a swimming race." A voice answered, he turned around and saw Setsuna standing behind him with her hands crossed underneath her bikini-clad breasts. She wore a relatively tame one, just a pair of white striped cyan bikini, and for some reason, Touya figured it was less lewd than her usual outfit, "What'd you think? You've been staring at me for a while."
Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, a small blush dusting his face as he coughed into his hand as he tried to recompose himself, "Yeah- I- I think you look good."
A smirk found itself on the beastkin's face as she approached him and hugged his arm, sandwiching it between her breasts, as small as they were, it was still big enough to arouse him, especially when she was all touchy feely.
"I'm glad! I thought for sure you wouldn't notice it cause it looks so plain, but I'm happy to hear you say that!" Setsuna smiled, rubbing her boobs against his arm.
"I think you should stop hugging him so closely, Setsuna." Both of them turned to see Yumina standing across them, hands on her hips with a pout on her face.
The princess of [Belfast] wore a white, frilly bikini, despite her age, she looked very cute in her swimsuit despite the pout on her face that Touya found to just make her cuter than she already was.
Yumina saw him staring at her and figured she could use this as her chance to show off her swimsuit, a smile found itself on her face as she decided to twirl and give him a better look, showing off all the angles of how her swimsuit clang onto her petite form.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"You look great, it really brings out your cuteness." Touya smiled, trying to ignore the feeling he was getting from Setsuna's boobs.
"Hehehe~ Thank you." Yumina beamed, before she once again laid her eyes on Setsuna, the two exchanged looks briefly before Yumina walked towards Touya and she too sandwiched his left arm between her boobs. Now, Touya found himself in a sticky situation. He had two girls who were his fiancees, clinging to his arms.
"Look who's talking." Setsuna quipped, smirking as she hugged Touya's arm closer. Yumina said nothing, her only response was to hug the arm of her beloved tighter.
"Touya, would you like to join us for a swim?" Yumina asked, her boobs squishing against his arms as she looked up at him for an answer.
"I- Ah… Well." Touya shuttered, trying to ignore the feeling of boobs from both sides of his arms, any man would kill to be in his position, surrounded by cute and hot girls that love him – He tried to think of a way to get himself out of this situation as he felt some between his legs rising to the occasion.
"Okay, break it up you two." As if Fate had heard his cries for help, Sally's voice caught the trio's attention, she was walking towards them, hearing her Master's distress as he tried to get out of an admittedly nice and soft situation, "Anymore and you'll cause him to get a nosebleed."
The two reluctantly let go of Touya's arms, relieving him of the simulation, he let out a sigh of relief, he was so close to embarrassing himself because of his body's… reaction to the situation, thankfully, it didn't progress to that point so he was relatively safe for now.
"You still haven't answered us." Setsuna pointed out.
"Oh- right, I'll join you girls after I'm done exploring the ruins." Touya answered, but that answer wasn't what they were looking for, sighing in defeat, the two princesses gave him a smile.
"Well, please join us right after you finish it then." Yumina implored, leaving with Setsuna as they met up with the rest of the party, leaving Sally and Touya together.
Touya waved goodbye to the two and turned his attention to Sally, her usual smirk plastered on her face, and he noticed how much her swimsuit contrasts her usual style of black and red.
"Nice swimsuit, but why white and orange?" Touya asked, now that he thought about it, every new clothes he saw Sally wore was the same color, instead of black and red.
"Like I told the girls when we were changing, I don't always wear black and red." She answered nonchalantly, "So, how are you gonna get to the ruins?"
"Good question…" Touya hummed, cupping his chin as he began to think.
"Ara, why the long face?" Leen's voice snapped him out of his musings, the two turned and saw the Fairy changed out of her gothic outfit into what is basically a swimsuit version of her usual clothes, complete with the same choker.
"Nothing, he's just thinking about a way to get to the ruins." Sally answered for him, Touya nodded as he looked at the ocean.
Below them, at their feet, Paula was doing some stretches, looking like she was going to swim. Touya noticed the teddy bear brought to life trying to get into the water only to be pushed back by the waves. He chuckled a bit as Paula tried to swim again and the same results happened.
"Paula can swim?" Touya inquired.
"Yes, that {Protection} spell she has isn't just for show, it makes her completely waterproof." Leen answered, watching her companion try and fail to swim. Washing up ashore like a whale stuck on land.
Touya was amazed by the spell and figured he'd used it for his smartphone, a quick chant and his treasured item was now waterproof so he wouldn't have to worry about it being soaked and short-circuiting out anymore.
He was just about to step into the water when he noticed Leen looking around like she was trying to find something. Deciding to bite, he asked her what it was she was trying to look for.
"I was trying to find that girl you groped back then." The Fairy answered.
"Oh, you mean Tsubaki? She should be with Chiyome somewhere, but I don't know where they went- Hey I did not grope her! That was you!" Touya answered before he caught on to what Leen said and rebutted her.
"But you wanted to see it right?" Leen countered.
Touya narrowed his eyes a bit, while he was thinking about that, like hell he was gonna admit it to this teasing Fairy in front of him.
"Last time I saw Chiyome, she and Tsubaki went further East, something about Chiyome wanting to chat with her." Sally decided to chime in, answering Touya's question, "Other than that not much else, and if you'll excuse me, I'll be joining the others."
Sally bid her farewells, leaving the two alone.
"You imagined it, didn't you?" Leen teased.
"No." Touya answered quickly, but the smirk on the Fairy's place said she wasn't convinced.
"Whatever you say, Touya~" She sang, before adopting a more serious look on her face, "Now let's get on with our objective."
"Will you swim too?" Touya asked, getting ready to dive in.
"Oh I'm not going." Leen pointed out, "I do not intend to swim nor do I want to get a sunburn…"
"Then why are you in a swimsuit?" Touya monotonously asked.
"Because… You threatened me." Leen cried fake tears, trying to make herself look like a victim forced to follow the whims of her captor. Touya would've been convinced if he didn't personally know Leen, which is why he didn't buy her crocodile tears.
"If it were really me, you'd be wearing nothing at all." Touya deadpanned, he left without saying another word and into the ocean. Had he turned to see Leen's face, he would be greeted with the red blush overtaking her facial features where she thought of some lewd scenarios from his sentence.
He took one big breath and dived into the ocean, he swam deeper into the watery abyss looking for anything that resembled ruins, he wanted to find them quickly especially when he was on limited time.
He scoured through the deep blue, searching for the [Nirya Ruins], it took a bit, but he was finally able to spot one that seemed to fit the description, he wanted to take a closer but his lungs finally decided that he needs some oxygen, he immediately tried to get back up to the surface.
He made it just in time, coughing out the water that got into his lungs, well, the ruins were definitely down there, but trying to enter it was another story – Touya swam all the way to the shore, Leen looked concerned as she asked him if he was alright and he nodded, saying that he just ran out of breath.
He told her that the ruins were deep underwater, but he couldn't swim any further without needing to breathe again. The two pondered on what to do next until Kohaku joined their conversation.
"Master? Are you trying to find the ruins?" The divine beast asked.
"Yeah, I did, but I can't enter it without running out of air." Touya nodded.
"Oh? Then I may have someone that can help you." Kohaku smiled, catching their attention.
"Who?"
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(With Chiyome and Tsubaki.)
"Are you happy, Chiyome?"
Tsubaki's question stopped her in her tracks, Chiyome hummed as she thought of a response, to answer her friend's question.
A lot had happened the past month and a half weeks. And it all started with her attempted assassination of Touya – Only to find out that he was her cousin and after that, it was a long month of adjusting to her new environment, it was hard, some ups and downs here and there but with their determination, both relatives were able to grow closer.
And he was the key to her goal, he was able to give her the chance to corner and kill the man that took her entire life away.
In all honesty, Chiyome owed Touya so much that she couldn't even begin to pay back, but even if she could he would smile and tell her that it was all fine and he did it because she needed help.
And for that, the kunoichi admired him from then on.
"Yeah, I am." Chiyome nodded.
Tsubaki was glad, ever since that day, when Kansuke was confirmed to have been slain at the [Siege of Oedo], Chiyome seemed happier than she had ever been and her friend was happy for her, finally, that gloomy atmosphere she would radiate was nowhere to be find anymore.
"How about you, Tsubaki, how are you lately?" Chiyome asked.
The Takeda kunoichi was caught off guard, she didn't expect her fellow kunoichi to ask her about something as mundane as how she was currently, but she didn't let that surprise last and answered the question.
"I'm glad you asked, after the [Siege of Oedo], Katsuyori-sama has been 'persuaded' so to speak by the Elite Four into focusing on restoration efforts as well as rooting out any of Kansuke's sympathizers that he may have left behind." Tsubaki explained, Chiyome caught what she meant by 'persuaded' but didn't say anything about it, she nodded as Tsubaki continued on, "And this week, both clans are scheduling a meeting to further deepen bonds as well as heal any wounds left over from the conflict."
"I see." Chiyome nodded, "I wish you all the best."
"Thank you." Tsubaki bowed her head, a silence took over as both kunoichis tried ro find a way to continue the conversation, the only thing they could hear was the ambient sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.
"Touya-dono is a talented person isn't he?" Tsubaki inquired, remembering how much power her cousin had within his possession, yet he remained humble.
"Yup, he is." Chiyome agreed, she witnessed it first-hand after all, being at the forefront of the battle with the fragment of Yamata-no-Orochi, "I'm glad I met him, if it wasn't for him, I might've never been able to avenge my clan."
"I owe him a lot." Chiyome confessed, overlooking the coastline from where she was at.
"I owe him a lot as well." Tsubaki agreed, watching the waves, "Had he not accepted Kousaka-sama's request for help, we may never have ousted Kansuke by ourselves."
And just as Chiyome was about to reply to her friend, the ground rumbling caught both of their attention, the two looked at each other and nodded, they wordlessly decided to check out what the cause of the disturbance.
Thanks to their occupations as kunoichi, it took little time to find where the rumbling was coming from – Their journey brought them to a hill overlooking the beach, where they spotted Leen, Kohaku and Touya, except the latter was within the circular area of the magical circle and was fighting a giant turtle with a snake wrapped around its body.
"What's going on here?" Chiyome asked, standing next to Leen, the fairy turned her head to the side and greeted the kunoichi.
"Touya is currently in the process of forming a contract with another divine beast, the [Black Monarch]." Leen answered.
"What for?"
"The [Black Monarch], once Master successfully enters a contract with them, will grant him the passive ability to breathe underwater, which he'll need if he wants to check the [Nirya Ruins]." Kohaku explained, not taking her eyes off of the battle between her fellow divine beast and Master.
"Though, why the battle?" Tsubaki asked.
"The [Black Monarch] respects strength, physical strength, so they challenged my Master in a fight that would last till sunrise." Kohaku answered, "A bunch of idiots they are, to be honest, if my Master could bring me to servitude then he can easily do the same to them."
Satisfied with the answer, they didn't ask anymore questions and joined the two in spectating the fight, Touya wasn't even serious in his fight with the [Black Monarch], while he was impressed with the strength they had, he felt like it was sort of lacking and the adrenaline he felt wasn't up to his standards.
Still, he might as well switch up his style, he took a quick glance at his side and saw Chiyome watching him, he smirked a bit before pulling out [Brunhilde] from its sheath and enchanting himself with {Accel}.
He disappeared and reappeared behind the [Black Monarch] – The divine beasts' eyes widened as they slowly turned around to saw Touya with his hand outstretched, a second later, {Explosion} was set off point-black, pushing the divine beast back and crashing to the ground.
It tried to flip back up, but Touya was already upon them, slamming a giant boulder on them, the massive stone fell on top of them and knocked the air out of them, it only served to anger the [Black Monarch]'s snake half fired a bluish colored laser out of its mouth.
Touya dodged the beam of concentrated light and moved to attack again, but the [Black Monarch] anticipated this and the snake half of the divine beast tried to catch him by surprise with a sudden lunge.
Unfortunately for the [Black Monarch], Touya had enough experience with lunging snakes that he simply avoided it with ease and punched the snake head with his gauntlet-clad fist.
This exchange of blows continued for some time, and it was obvious to those on the sidelines that Touya was in full control of the match, Kohaku yawned as she decided to just take a nap under the shade of Leen's umbrella. After all, the outcome of this fight was decided and she didn't see the point in watching her fellow divine beast be made a fool out of themselves.
Meanwhile, the others were watching with full attention as Touya fought against the divine beast. The two people who knew him personally noticed that he wasn't using [Gungnir] at all during this fight and only [Brunhilde].
Their questions were put to rest as Touya put away the aforementioned gunblade and chanted a null spell.
"Alright, I think I had enough practice, {Slip}." Touya remarked, chanting the null spell as it appeared underneath the [Black Monarch]'s feet.
Just as its intended effect kicked in, Touya used this time to enchant one of his gun's bullets with {Slip} and {Program}. He slid the enchanted bullet into the cylinder and aimed directly next to the fallen [Black Monarch], he pulled the trigger and the bullet slammed itself into the ground.
When the [Black Monarch] tried to get back up to their feet, they immediately fell back just like before, and again when they tried to get back up once more, and again, it was as if they were stuck in an infinite loop of sorts.
"So… Once {Slip}'s effect wears off, another takes its place and another as the last one's effect wears off… You basically made a loop?" Leen pointed out as Touya nodded and began to turn around.
"Yup, that should keep them busy for a while, until sunset at least." Touya grinned.
"This is such a cruel way to progress a fight." Tsubaki remarked, watching as the ground shook every time the [Black Monarch] fell to the floor.
"Agreed, I didn't know you were capable of such cruelty, Touya." Leen teased.
Touya said nothing as he sighed, Chiyome shook her head and asked him if he ate anything yet since he was busy setting up the equipment earlier, her cousin shook his head and told her that was the reason he used the infinite {Slip} loop, cause he remembered he was kinda hungry.
She lightly scolded him and said if he wanted to eat now to which he nodded.
"Don't ignore usss you piece of shittt!" Yelled the snake half of the [Black Monarch] while the turtle half opened its mouth and tried to use its laser beam but fell just as they were about to hit Touya, narrowly missing him and hitting the barrier instead.
The aforementioned teenager narrowed his eyes as he felt the gust of wind from the impact, he frowned before pulling out [Brunhilde] once more, enchanting two bullets with {Accel} and aiming at the [Black Monarch].
He pulled the trigger and the effects of the enchantment was immediate, accelerating the divine beast and making them fall faster, it was torture for them as they felt the fell body weight of their fall along with the impact and vibrations of the ground shaking.
Touya grinned as he opened a {Gate} spell and told the spectators if they wanna join him for lunch, Kohaku volunteered to keep watch of her fellow divine beast and would report if they were somehow able to release themselves from their endless torture of slipping again and again.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(With the rest of the party.)
"Take this!" Elze yelled as she smacked the volleyball over the net.
"I will not let you!" Yae challenged as she jumped and brought her hands up to block the ball.
The result was it bouncing off of the Eashen samurai and back to Elze's side of the net, the silverette's eyes widened as she saw the ball almost hit the sandy floor only to be saved as Setsuna skid on the sand and was able to hit the ball back up.
This was her chance, Elze followed up the Mismedian Princess' save and smacked the ball once more towards the clear spot she saw. The ball lunged forward, aided by the momentum and impact from Elze's hit – However, just as it was about to hit the ground. Sally came from out of nowhere and saved her team from a defeat.
Yumina immediately followed up from the set and scored one point for her team as the opposing side was flabbergasted at the sudden save from Sally, thus, they weren't able to do anything as the ball slammed into the ground on their side.
"Point! Blue Team!" Micah announced, flipping the paper scoreboard, the aforementioned team cheered and celebrated their 4-5 lead, only one point left till they win this match.
"Aw man!" Elze groaned, disappointed that she missed two times and lost a point.
"We'll get them next time, sis." Linze tried to reassure her sister, patting her back to try and comfort her.
"We just need to hold on." Setsuna explained, "If we're able to stop Sally in her tracks, we can score a point, just let me handle the next one, okay?"
The teams got back into position, with the ball going to the Red Team since it was the loser's ball, this time, Elze was the one to serve the ball. The older twin let out a deep breath as she eyed her teammates, they got into their positions and waited for her to start.
A sudden jolt, Elze served the ball, Yae was able to catch it, flinging the ball upwards to set it up for Sally, she came and leapt into the air, smacking the ball, but Setsuna was able to block it, causing the ball to bounce back to their side. Luckily Yumina was able to save them.
The ball bounced off the princess' hands and back into the air, this time, Yae was the one to smack it over the net. The hit flung it towards the floor, with no time to react, Linze immediately dived into the ground, stopping the ball from contacting the floor and saving her team from another loss.
Setsuna thanked the younger twin as she smacked it over the net, the ball went unchallenged as it impacted the ground – Micah yelled, congratulating Red Team for evening out the odds.
The Red Team celebrated their victory, happy to have closed the gap between them and the Blue Team. Unfortunately, while Linze was able to save her team from losing another point, the strap to her swimsuit's bra came undone and fell to the ground.
"AHHH!" Linze let out a shriek as she crouched into a ball and covered herself.
"Quick! Hide them in the sand!" Elze said as she frantically tried to get her sister's bra back on.
"Maybe Touya-dono can help us!" Yae suggested.
"No! Don't call Touya!-" Linze tried to stop Yae, but it was too late as the aforementioned person was already there.
"Yeah, what's up?" Touya made his presence known, holding a plate of sandwiches on one hand while munching on one of them in the other, "What's the problem?"
"Oh my." Leen smirked, covering her mouth with her hand in a fake shocked gesture. While Chiyome shook her head.
Everyone at the place froze, an awkward silence overtaking the atmosphere as Touya slowly chewed the food in his mouth before he stopped, his eyes fell on Linze, she was topless and was covering her breasts with her hands while Elze was in the process of putting it back on.
Touya hummed before he turned around, partly to hide his own embarrassment, "Okay, I'll just turn around for now and wait for you to put that back on, Linze."
Said female was blushing up a storm as she was caught in such an embarrassing situation, for the next few seconds, no one said a thing and just embraced the awkward silence while Linze was able to finally get her bra back on.
Though Sally was told to shut up when Yumina heard her giggling, even when she said she wasn't.
"Are you done…?" Touya asked, dusting off his hands.
"Yes…" It was barely a whisper, but Touya heard Linze's voice and he turned around.
"So… What's up?" Touya greeted them awkwardly.
"Nothing much, just playin' a game of volleyball." Sally chimed in, she knew that none of them would speak up, so she decided to be the one to break the ice instead, "How about you?"
"I found the ruins." Touya announced.
"Oh? And what did you find?" Yumina asked.
"Nothing, I couldn't check it out fully, it was so deep in the ocean that I'd lose my breath before I could even see anything." Touya sighed, "But Kohaku found a way to remedy that."
"How?" Elze inquired.
Touya smiled and gestured for them to follow, seeing as the adrenaline from the volleyball match wore off, the two groups merged and followed him. Though not before telling Micah that they'll cancel the match, to which the Innkeeper just waved her hand and told them that it was fine.
He opened a {Gate} spell to the hill he left the [Black Monarch] at, once there, he heard the incoherent pleading of the divine beast.
"Nooooo more! No mooorrree!" The snake half of the [Black Monarch] begged, its eyes swirling.
"Have mercy- Please-! I-I I can't take it anymore!" The turtle half pleaded.
"Whoops, sorry about that, looks like I overdid it." Touya whispered, he came close to the fallen [Black Monarch] and canceled out the spell.
"Such cruelty…"
"You gotta be more considerate, Touya."
"Wow, even I'm not that sadistic, Master."
"Are they okay?"
The sharp words of his party mates kinda hurt Touya since he was partly, well, fully responsible for torturing the [Black Monarch] with an infinite {Slip} loop, but they didn't have to rip into him so much.
"That was sssso cruel-! I can ssssee why the [White Monarch] accepted you as her master." The snake half spluttered, still dizzy from all the slipping.
"Mochizuki Touya-dono." The turtle half of the [Black Monarch] started, "You are worthy of being our Master, so please. Let us form a contract."
"Sure, all that's left is to give you a name, right?" Touya nodded.
"For you two, Snake and Turtle are enough." Kohaku deadpanned, which sparked a heated reaction from the [Black Monarch].
"You shut the fuck up!" The snake half cursed, "You trying to pick a fight or something!?"
"Hmmm… How about Kokuyou and Sango?" Touya suggested. The two halves of the [Black Monarch] hummed and looked at each other for a second before nodding.
"Then I will take the name Kokuyou!" The now newly named Kokuyou declared, happy with his new name.
"And I, Sango, will gladly bear the name my Master has given me." Sango bowed her head, she started to move before Kohaku's voice stopped them.
"Hold up [Black Monarch]- I mean, Kokuyou and Sango, you'll cause our Master trouble if you walk around in that form." Kohaku advised.
"Would it?" Sango tilted her head in confusion.
"I can see why, in that case let's try this!" Kokuyou said before he and Sango were enveloped by a large smoke that covered their entire body, once it settled, in their place was a minuscule version of them floating just above the ground, "This form should suffice!"
"You can float?" Touya commented, the two made their way towards him, Sango flipping her tiny little fins in an effort to get closer until she reached his shoulder.
"Only in this form we can, but we aren't very fast." Sango explained, Touya smiled as he rubbed the heads of his newly obtained companions.
"Well then, let's get along, Kokuyou, Sango." He announced and the divine beasts cheered, "But first, I wanna enjoy the beach!"
Touya grabbed the nearest girl, which was Yumina and opened a {Gate} to the beach, the Belfastian Princess was given no time to react as she was dragged away by her fiance.
"Hey no fair!"
"Touya! Wait for me!"
"Touya-dono!"
"Don't you dare have fun without me!"
The surprised shouts from his other companions rang as they followed soon after, leaving only Leen, Sally, Tsubaki and Chiyome on the hill. Leen sighed before smiling and turning to the three others with her.
"Then, shall we partake in the enjoyment as well?" The fairy suggested.
"Why not? It's been a hectic month after all!" Sally dashed past them, going through the spell as her laughter echoed, the Matriarch of the Fairy Tribe shook her head before stepping into the portal herself.
The two kunoichis spared a single glance at each other before they too followed close behind.
And thus, they enjoyed the rest of the day enjoying their time on the beach until it was sunset.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(With the rest of the party.)
"All you need us to do is allow you to breathe underwater?" Sango inquired.
"Yeah, can you do that?" Touya nodded.
"Easy peasy, jussssst stay clossssse to ussss. We'll cover you in a protective sssspell." Kokuyou nodded.
"If anything happens, come back using {Gate}, okay?" Elze advised, while she doubted that there aren't many things that could effectively harm him, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I will, don't worry." Touya smiled, he waved farewell and walked into the ocean, "Woah, the water's not touching me at all."
He went into further until he was fully swallowed up by the water, he stopped for a second, seeing if there was anything that seemed to change only to find out that nothing changed, he was even able to see clearly in the water, as if it was just air.
"Huh, I can breathe underwater, but I can't feel the water pressure at all despite the depths." Touya observed, he continued walking along the seafloor until he was at the base of the [Nirya Ruins].
"Say, Kokuyou, Sango, just how strong is the barrier you used on me?" Touya inquired.
"Well you ssssee, when it comes to physical attaaacks, it could even block a dragooons!" Kokuyou explained.
"But if magic is in the equation, it's a totally different thing, it honestly all depends on the magic user." Sango added, "While I'm certain our barrier can withstand even a dragon's magic, that doesn't mean it's impervious."
"Duly noted." Touya nodded as he walked inside the ruins, following the first path he saw and trusted his gut instincts.
After walking for what felt like a few minutes, Touya was brought to a room with a large circular plate in the middle with small pillars and gems on top of it and a gem in the middle of the circle. Curious, he walked up the short stairs and observed the gems, trying to figure out what this room and what the stones were for.
"What the heck is this, magic stones?" It puzzled Touya as he tried to figure it out.
"Maybe try pouring magic into the gem in the middle?" Sango suggested.
Figuring that she was right and it wouldn't hurt to try, Touya walked to the gem in the middle and poured his mana into it, after a while, it activated, glowing brightly as well as the other gems surrounding them.
"Looks like it worked!" Touya yelled as he covered his eyes to shield himself from the blinding light.
Once it died down, he was teleported elsewhere, he looked around and saw all sorts of flora that he had never seen before, he heard the running sounds of water, he turned to where the source was and saw a fountain in the middle of the unknown area he found himself in and what was more peculiar was when he looked up and saw the clear blue sky, he was certain the sun was setting and so it was supposed to be evening by now.
"My lord, where are we?" Asked Sango as she looked around as well, trying to figure out where that gem took them to.
"I have no idea-" Touya stopped mid-sentence as his instincts picked up rustling from the nearby bushes. He turned his attention towards the nearest one, "Who's there?-"
Out came a green short-haired female, in a blue uniform with pink aesthetics, her golden eyes beaming with curiosity as she approached Touya, when she finally wasn't obstructed by the flora, he was able to get a good look at her and found out something really interesting.
"Nice to meet you." The mysterious green-haired lady greeted, "I'm the terminal manager for this [Garden] of [Babylon]."
"I am Francesca." She introduced herself.
Touya tried hard to keep his eyes on her face because he got a glimpse of what she held below… Or more specifically, what she didn't have below.
Because she was just wearing nothing but her panties, giving him a full view of her undergarments and acting like nothing was out of place.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
And that's a wrap.
Sorry about that, things just got a little hectic at my place so I wasn't able to fully write the chapter until Monday, but never fear! I have delivered on my promise of a new chapter!
This time, our sweet, perverted sex- I mean, Gynoid Maid has joined the story! Francesca! I'll say, she's gonna be a joy to write since she's basically Leen but cranked up to eleven on the scale of perversion meter. But unlike with Canon!Touya, This Touya is gonna have an easier time so to speak with handling her since he's more confident! But like all hot-blooded teenage males, he can't help but blush at the sight of a beautiful and sexy female.
Speaking of sexy, I think people of this fanfic are gonna enjoy the next chapter because of what I'll add in and you'll finally understand why this fic is rated M/Explicit.
Unfortunately for the folks here at/in FFnet, you won't get to enjoy it unless you go to the Ao3 version, unfortunate I know, but what can I do? The website is strict, and a certain user here pissed me off.
Until next time, this is V_KJ, signing out.
