Hey guys. Striker777 here with the next chapter for Loki's Renard. Be sure to review, favourite, follow and all the good stuff, I hope you enjoy, but for now, onto the story!


Akihide shouted as he drew his blades from their sheaths at the at the bottom of his back and just above his ass. He then held them up in the position Finn taught him, no longer crossed in front of his face, now held just in front of it, not imparing his vision but allowing him to quickly block any strikes that would come his way, weather they be to the face or to another exposed part of his body. He went through his mental checklist quickly. His knees were bent for him to move at the drop of a hat, his arms tucked into his sides to allow to change his handling position from offensive to defensive just as quick, and his eyes were forward, watching his teacher carefully.

"That'll be enough drawing." said Kaguya, allowing Akihide to sheath his weapons for what felt like the thousandth time. In reality, he had drawn it close to 100 times to ensure that he had the correct position memorised and ingraned into his muscle memory, allowing it to become second nature to him. "You have a good understanding of the basics of preparing for combat. What you lack is combat experience." said the teacher, before she reached for her weapons. "Come at me. I want to see what you're made of."

Now, a normal person would rightfully assume that there was no way that a teacher would try to spar with their student on the first day of training. It went against all forms of common sense. However, to a young, impressionable boy that had no one to teach him this form of common sense, and was too young to grasp the concept on his own, simply nodded and got into position, remembering the rule about not questioning the methods of his mentor, assuming this was a test of his capabilities in combat, like what Finn had him do before leaving on his expedition.

Kaguya wasn't so kind. This was no simple test, just her planning on beating Akihide into the ground to quell any overconfidence he had. 'If the Okami had one flaw that prevented them from becoming a Noble Clan in the Far East, it was their hubris.' she recollected, as she grabbed the handles of her Kodachi Futaba. 'They believed themselves better than even the gods, so they were sent away in disgrace, and never became anything more than a clan of warriors and supporters. If that same mindset is installed in Akihide, it will lead to his downfall. I need to beat it out of him.'

And so, the two faced off against each other. Akihide lowered himself lower to the ground, preparing to launch a quick attack at the girl. Unfortunately, no matter how skilled, a new level 1 who only had his Falna for a week was no match for a level 2 who had been in the Dungeon for well over 2 years at this point. So, when she launched her attack at the young boy, there was no way that he would be able to defend himself.

He slammed into the ground, completely winded before he even realised what happened. He lost the air in his lungs and began coughing as his senses came back to him. There, staring down at him, Kaguya looked down at him in dissapoiontment. "That's all you have? Pathetic." she said to the downed boy, walking around him. "You need to be faster and stronger than that before you enter the Dungeon. You need the ability to wield your weapon properly. Luckily, that's what I'm here for. We'll begin with body conditioning, and then move on to learning not only how to wield those tantō of yours, but what it means to wield them."

Akihide looked down, giving no indication that he heard her. His eyes were wide and he spat some dirt out of his mouth. "Again..." he muttered.

"What was that?" asked Kaguya, her authoritive voice becoming deeper, as if promising retribution if he dared to question her methods.

"I want to be stronger... so please let me try again." groaned the boy, standing up.

"You can't hope to block my first striker, let alone stand a sliver of a chance against me, so we'll build up your stats first, and then you can try again in a week. If you manage to impress me enough, I will begin training you in how to use your weapons." said Kaguya, daring him to challenge her. "I might even be kind enough to let you spar with the shitty elf instead of me. it would be much easier to win, even if she's been in the Dungeon before."

Akihide looked down but nodded, realising there was nothing for him to do but agree to his sensei's orders. He looked up at her, her eyes staring into his soul and daring him to go against her.

"Please don't take it easy on me."

"I wouldn't even if you begged me on your hands and knees."


When Akihide next awoke, he found himself moving, but not on his own. He bumped up and down as a certain trickster goddess gave him a piggy back ride. "Oh, you awake, Aki-chan?" she asked the boy, who nodded to answer. "Astraea told me you worked really hard today, good job." she said, smiling at the boy. It wasn't the mischievous smile he was becoming used to, but a genuine smile that accompanied genuine praise. "You'll reach level 5 in no time if you keep going at this rate."

"..." the exhausted boy thought, looking at his goddess and smiling at her as well. "Thank you, Goddess Loki."

Loki smiled as she picked up the pace. "Alright, now as a reward for all your hard work, I'll update your status." informed tha goddess, much to the joy of Akihide. "You need to keep growing stronger to keep ahead in you training. Don't slow down, even for a moment."

Akihide nodded, promising to keep pushing himself further and further with his training. However, he failed to notice the look Loki was sporting as she thought back to their earlier interaction with Freya. 'I need to make sure this boy can look after himself as soon as possible, or that slutty goddess is going to take him from me. Like hell I'm letting that happening.'

Loki put her sisterly smile on once more and engaged with Akihide once more, talking to him about increasing his stats and how it would make him stronger. Akihide smiled the entire way home, and it was a smile that Loki swore that she would protect.

They soon made it back to the Twilight Manor, and made it upstairs to Akihide's room. "Alright Aki-chan, take off your shirt and lie down." said Loki, grabbing a small knife she kept on her for when she needed to update the status of one of children. Akihide complied with his goddess, and took off his shirt. He laid down on his stomach, as Loki climbed on top of him. Pricking her finger, she let a single drop of blood fall on his back, unlocking his Falna and allowing Loki to imbue him with a small portion of her godly power, raising his stats. She looked down as she watched the stats shift and change.

Status:-
Level: 1
Strength: 87 (I) → 101 (H)
Endurance: 95 (I) → 117 (H)
Dexterity: 53 (I) → 59 (I)
Agility: 95 (I) → 110 (H)
Magic: I07 (H)
Magic: Kaizen no Mon
Skills: N/A
Development Abilities: N/A

"Okay, that's it. Not a bad total after a week. You went up by more than 50 points." praised Loki, grabbing a piece of paper and transferring the data onto it. "That's a lot more than a lot of adventurers get during their first week, even if they kill some goblins in the dungeon." she said as she handed the status to the boy.

"Woah..." he muttered, looking at the large amount of numbers. "Is this strong?"

"Not really." laughed Loki, before rubbing his head and messing up his hair. "It's stronger than some level 1s when they first start, which is a good indication that you'll be strong. However, its really weak compared to 99% of adventurers in Orario."

That seemed to drag Akihide down a lot. Loki was quick to try and save his feelings. "Don't worry too much right now, we'll just keep getting stronger and stronger until you're the strongest of them all. You just need to keep working hard and fighting stronger monsters. Just keep working at it and you'll be a level 5 in no time!" she cheered him on.

Akihide nodded, ready for whatever it took to become that strong.


"GAH!" he shouted, once more being sent to the floor in a single attack. He was fairly sure that his nose was broken, as blood began gushing out of it like a tap. He gripped it in pain, moaning as he tried to stop the bleeding, lest he irritate his teacher by being messy.

"Are you okay?" asked a concerned voice. Akihide looked up to see the goddess of the home, Astraea, rushing over to him with a hankerchief. "That looked like it hurt. Do we need to call it here for the day?" she asked the injured Akihide, still nursing the poor child's nose.

"We should be fine, Lady Astraea." called out Kaguya, coming over with a smirk. "He's improving, at least in how he takes a hit. His nose isn't broken, I just shattered a blood vessel in it, his half-block stopped me from breaking it."

If there was one thing Akihide learnt about his trainer from the Far East, was that she was as sadistic as they came. Bodily harm was just her way of training his endurance, all while calling it training to increase his agility and dexterity by dodging her attacks, which he had no way of doing at his current level. She was simply too fast, strong and powerful for him to consider going against.

"Kaguya, don't you think you're being a bit too hard on the boy?" asked the brown haired goddess. "He's only a child, ten years your junior."

"Lady Astraea, he needs to train." said Kaguya, seemingly chastising her goddess for being too soft on a child who wasn't even in her Familia. "If hitting him helps him get better, than I should hit him with everything I have. It helps reinforce the point that he shouldn't try to block attacks with a pair of tantō when going up against someone with a much heavier weapon."

Indeed. In order to give Akihide an advantage, she had borrowed Maryuu's mace to give herself a weapon she was unfamiliar with. Akihide had no idea what to do against it, so he instinctiverly tried blocking the weapon, only to end up sprawled out on the floor.

"Bludgeoning weapons such as this are common with larger enemies, such as minotaurs." explained the level 2, looking down at Akihide's gaspping and pained form. "With tantō, you shouldn't try to block attacks like that, or even ones from monsters with no weapons. You get behind them by dodging and striking when they are vulnerable, when they over-exert themselves with their attacks."

Akihide nodded, the knowledge was useful, so he stored it so he could use it when he eventually went to the dungeon. "Yes, sensei!" he said, blood dripping slower out of his nose.

"Good. Now, let's try tha-"

"AH!"

Kaguya sighed at the sound of the scream. "Shitty elf."

The three turned their attention over to the other two people at the training ground, Alise Lovell, the captain of the Familia, was squatting down and checking on her opponent, the youngest member of the Astraea Familia, in terms of both age and experience, Ryuu Lion. An elf with golden-blonde hair and blue eyes clutched her arm in pain, bent at a wierd angle just below the elbow.

"Ryuu!" called out a worried Astraea, who rushed to her side. Akihide got up as well and followed after her, Kaguya bringing up the rear. "Someone get Maryuu, we need a healing potion immediately!" she called out.

"I'm so sorry Ryuu, I should've held back more!" exclaimed Alise, looking at the arm with guilt in her eyes.

"Ow..." moaned Ryu, still clutching her arm. "It hurts..."

Kaguya sighed. "Maryuu will have this covered soon. Akihide, let's re-"

"On the divine path up the mountain's edge." said the boy as the four turned to Akihide, holding his arms out in Ryuu's direction. "Guide my unworthy soul down the path of the gods. Showcase your brilliance and give this body the power the bestow your blessed might onto others. Let the gates of heaven open up and allow your holy power to flow. First Gate: Kenkou no Mon!"

Out of nowhere, a glowing green torii gate appeared out of nowhere, the character for '1' written on the talisman placed under it's gate. No one knew what to do, but Ryuu suddenly cried out in surprise, as she watched her arm began to shift, the bone moving back into place. After a few more seconds, the torii dissapeared, and Akihide collapsed onto the floor once more.

"Akihide!" called out the goddess of justice, looking at the small boy, picking him up. "He's alseep... oh and his poor nose is still bleeding."

Kaguya sighed, before turning to Ryuu. "How's your arm, shitty elf? Did he heal it up right?"

Ryuu rotated her arm a bit, expecting pain to overtake her at the slightest movement, but it didn't. "I- I feel fine." she said aprehensively.

Kaguya nodded. "That's his power." she explained. "The power of the Okami Clan, the ultimate supporters, Kaizen no Mon or the 6 gates. That was the first gate, which acts as a continuous AoE healing spell, but they can also increase the base stats of another, so a group of Okami all using that power at once is all but unstoppable."

Kaguya never thought she'd actually see the magic in person. The Okami Clan was beginning to decline in those who could use that magic, which is one of the main reasons they weren't as respected as they once were in the older days. Akihide using that magic wasn't exactly a surprise seeing as he had it on his Falna. But Kaguya didn't expect him to use it on a member of a different Familia.

It was at this moment their own healer, Maryuu, showed up. "Who's hurt? What happened?"

Before anyone else could say anything, Kaguya spoke up. "I broke the kid's nose. Fix it for him Maryuu."

"S-sure!" said Maryuu, who began treating the boy.

Kaguya watched as Akihide was treated. "If we could utilise him, we would be able to help a lot more people by boosting our stats. A lot more people will be helped.

Kaguya knew she made the right choice by deciding to train the boy.


He was seeing red again. That thing was back.

The Lambton tore through Orario.

Akihide watched on in horror, as the Twilight Manor was engulfed in flames, the charred remains of Gareth holding his axe defensively, somehow still standing in death. Finn was gone, the worm having devoured him whole, blood had spilled out of the mouth of the snake, signifying his death. Loki was also killed, a golden light sending her back to Tenkai.

And with Loki gone and her Falna sealed, Riveria was left helpless against the beast that swatted her into the building, destroying her body. She laid in a crumpled heap on the floor, pain across her face forever.

The beast turned it's attention to Akihide. The boy froze up, freaking out and begging his legs to move. But no matter what, they were planted in place. The beast closed in, it's jaws opened and the blood dripping down it's fangs. Akihide could only stand in horror, tears flowing down his eyes as the beast devoured him.

He saw no red. He saw nothing, only darkness. A darkness and emptiness that left him feeling like he was surrounded by water. He felt nothing, as he looked around, seeing nothing but the darkness of the void. Only to notice a flash of light coming from behind him. He turned around to look at what was there.

It was like looking in a mirror. He stared directly into the eyes of the other version of himself in front of him. Akihide moved, but the mirror of him did not, stuck in place, before it spoke.

"What is strength, to you?" it asked the young boy.

"W-what?" asked Akihide, looking confused at the other him.

"What is strength? What defines strength? How do you grow stronger?" it asked the original. "Are you strong, Akihide Okami, child of Loki?"

The very first thing that popped into Akihide's mind was 'No'. He wasn't strong. Not in the slightest. He was weak beyond compare, a little child holding a knife like he was playing pretend in his garden with his siblings.

"Good, you see your weakness. That is the first step." said the other him. "Understand your weakness, and overcome it. Become what destiny is telling you to be."

"Become a hero."

Akihide, slowly nodded. He realised that this was a dream, and was probably his subconscious trying to give him a pep talk.

The void started to ripple. "Well, looks like that's all there is for now. Be the hero, and watch out for the spawner of Hildisvíni. Nothing good ever comes from dealing with that damn boar."

And with that, Akihide Okami returned to the land of the living.


Akihide woke up in a cold sweat. He gasped as he looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It was not a room he was familiar with, but the design of the room itself remind him of the Stardust Garden, so he must be there. He remembered using his magic to heal the elf, Ryuu, but then blacking out. He must've used a little too much of his mind to heal a broken arm. After that, there was only the dream he just woke up from.

He dragged his knees to his chest and cried. It was a scary thing, being in that dream, where his new home was destroyed much like his hometown was. There was a fear there that he just couldn't place. It was a fear of losing everything over and over and over again. A continuous loop of loss and pain that seemed never ending. That was Akihide Okami's biggest fear, never having a place to call home, or a family to support him. He was scared of things constantly being taken away from him, and never holding onto something when he needs it most.

Such as right now.

"R-Riveria..." he sobbed, tears spilling out of his eyes. "I-I'm sorry... I'll be good, I promise... please help me... I'm scared..." he cried, knowing she couldn't hear him. Not all the way in the dungeon.

The door to the room opened, and in stepped a pair of goddesses. Loki and Astraea made their way inside the room, sitting on either side of Akihide. "Are you alright, Aki-chan?" asked Astraea, apparently taking Loki's nickname for him, as well as placing a supportive hand on his head and running it through his hair. "We heard you wake up. Did you have a bad dream?"

"O-oi! Why are you mothering him?! I'm his goddess!" exclaimed Loki, simply grabbing Akihide by the shoulders and enveloping him in a bone crushing hug. But as his head landed on her chest, there was only one thing that came out of his mouth.

"R-ribs..."

Loki gasped as though her heart had been ripped out of her chest. "My own child... calling me flat... how sad can I be?" she asked in shock, clinging onto Astraea and crying. "He's so mean to me! He called me flat!" she exclaimed.

Akihide, at that moment, may have done the single most stupid thing any man could have done in that situation, the words of his father that he promised to never repeat came out in a vain attempt to make Loki feel better about her lacking feminine qualities.

"B-but isn't it 'flat is justice'?" asked Akihide to try and soothe the angry goddess. "That's what my dad said that one time."

It was at this moment that Akihide recieved a punch to the face by Loki, knocking him right back out. In other news, that single punch increased his endurance stat by 3 points.


Hey guys, hope you enjoyed. Following this will have a timeskip of the three weeks it takes for the others to come out of the Dungeon, and our introduction to the Dungeon itself for Akihide. Look forward to it because I damn well know I am. Anyway, for now, this is Striker777, over and out.