Hey guys, Striker777 here with the next chapter of Loki's Renard. Be sure to favourite, follow and review and all that good stuff, just tell me what you think, what you like and anything you think I could be doing better. But anyway, for now, onto the story.
Akihide held onto Riveria's leg, the older elf sighing as she looked down at the child. "I need to go Akihide. This expedition is important."
As she learnt, whilst Akihide was capable of acting mature for his age, he was just as, if not more capable of acting his age, which included doing things that made no sense or throwing temper tantrums, much like he was doing now. He held onto her leg like it was the end of the world, adamentally refusing to let Riveria go anywhere until she agreed to take him with her.
"I wanna go!" he screamed out, still clinging to her leg with strength impressive for a seven year old. "Take me with you! I wanna get stronger!"
"Absolutely not!" yelled Riveria, putting her figurative foot down. "We are going to Floor 50, you're 10 years too young to even think about going that deep! Get a grip and lose the one on my leg!"
Riveria then tried once more to shake him off. She was by no means using her full power, since as a fully capable level 5 on the brink of level 6, she could very easily hurt him in a way that was permanent, even if she was a mage. So she simply kicked her leg around like a normal person, Akihide somehow managing to hold on despite the fact he was still quite malnourished from his time on the streets and wilds before he joined the Loki Familia.
Eventually, Riveria was able to pry the young boy off her leg. She set the young renard down, to which he was immediately scooped up by Loki, much to his chagrin. "Now you listen here Akihide, you are going to be nice and respectful to your teacher, do everything they say and never question them. Don't bring shame to the Loki Familia by acting like a brat in front of someone from another Familia. Do I make myself clear?"
Akihide responded with a grunt and turning his head away from the elf, crossing his arms in a cross manner which could only be described as incredibly cute. Riveria was having none of it, but decided that she had entertained the young boy long enough. "I'm heading out, Loki, Akihide."
"Stay safe out there, Mama!" called back Loki, smiling in her usual mischievous way.
Riveria glared back at her. "Who are you calling Mama?" she asked, before closing the door, and making her way to the Dungeon.
And so, in the Twilight Manor, Loki and Akihide were left all alone. It was the first time in a while that Loki had been left basically on her own, but she at least had a fun new toy to play with. "Well then, my cute little child, we have a few hours before we head out to meet your trainer, so how about we have some fun before we head out?" she sang, which caused Akihide to go from angry at Riveria to confused at what his new Goddess had in store for him. "We could go out to grab some stuff while Riveria is out, fun stuff that she never lets us get when she's here."
Akihide looked down, seemingly weighing his options for a moment, before nodding, thinking it was a good way to get back at Riveria for not taking him to the dungeon. Loki smiled, her mission to corrupt the young renard was coming along nicely. "Let's pay a certain shop a visit. I hope you like wine little man!"
The only thing that came out of Akihide's mouth was a questioning "Wine?", before he suddenly finding him being dragged away to the streets of Orario.
"Today, I introduce my newest child to the glory that is alcohol! Rejoice, Akihide Okami, for your life is about to change!" sang Loki, dragging the child away with her, a look mixed with confusion, anxiety and exhaustion spread across his face.
Akihide looked at the goddess of trickery, his goddess, as she looked around at a selection of barrels filled with a liquid he was unfamiliar with. He guessed that they were important, however, as Loki looked at them with an intense glare, carefully chosing her options. He watched the goddess, wondering what she was doing just glaring at the two barrels, and what was so important about them.
Eventually, as most children do, he got bored. As Loki was staring at the barrels for too long, Akihide managed to slip away, wandering through the store. He ventured down the aisles, looking around for anything entertaining, finding nothing but barrels and barrels of the same stuff Loki was looking at earlier. He did not give up, and continued on his quest to find some form of entertainment in the dull store.
His quest was halted when he bumped into something and fell on his ass.
Akihide let out a startled gasp as he fell down, clutching his ass as it stung from the fall. He winced as the pain in his butt quickly spiked, before fading away as if it never existed in the first place. He looked up, just as a hand came down. "Are you alright?" asked a deep and concerned voice. Akihide looked up further than the hand to just who he managed to bump into.
A tall and incredibly buff man, with tanned skin, accompanied by brown hair and eyes. He had a set of animal ears atop his head, but not one that Akihide could immediately identify. He wore a blue, sleeveless top that exemplified his muscular physique, as well as grey pants and brown boots. But there was one thing, above all others, that Akihide identified.
His strength.
Akihide knew from the moment he saw that man that he was strong. He could feel it with every fibre of his being that the man standing before him was incredibly strong. Stronger than anyone else he had met before. This man was simply on another level. Akihide sat there, frozen as he looked at the tall man. He couldn't tell if he was frozen in fear or excitement after meeting him, but he probably would have been able to tell if he could feel the corners of his mouth lifting into a grin at the older, and much stronger man.
Akihide took the man's hand, allowing himself to be pulled up by the tanned man. "You seem too young to be in a place like this. Are you here with your parents?"
Akihide didn't let the mention of his parents get him depressed as he answered the man. "No, I'm here with my goddess. She says since the mean elf lady is off in the dungeon, she can buy some of the good stuff, whatever that is." said the young Akihide, looking back to where Loki was. "I don't really get it, but that'll teach her about not letting me go in the dungeon."
The tanned man looked down at the child. "The dungeon? So you're an adventurer?" he asked.
"Yep yep!" responded Akihide, the smirk on his face getting wider. "Akihide Okami! I'm a new adventurer in the Loki Familia shooting for level 5 in 6 years or less!"
The man kept the same expressionless face through the entire conversation, before introducing himself to Akihide. "My name Ottar, Freya Familia, currently the strongest adventurer in Orario at level 6."
That made Akihide double back, looking at the man in shock at the relevation of who he was. This was the man who he promised himself he would beat. And so, without any thought or filter, Akihide said the first thing that came to mind.
"How do I get stronger quickly?"
Ottar looked down at the boy, his face still as expressionless as before, seemingly thinking about how to answer the question. "Well... I just went into the Dungeon over and over again, continuing to go on adventures. Only way I really know how to get stronger. But you should be good with your weapon before you go in. I trained for almost a month before I went into the dungeon for the first time."
Akihide nodded as he listened to the older and more experienced man. If anyone knew how to get to level 5 quickly, it'd be the current record holder. The King of Orario. "Thanks, I hope you won't mind when I beat your record and reach level 5 faster than you did."
"Oh my, now that's a bold statement."
Akihide turned around to the new voice he heard. His heart skipped a beat as he laid eyes on what he could only describe as the most beautiful woman he ever met. With matching silver hair and eyes, she was like the personification of beauty herself. Even though she wore seductive clothes, a black and red form-fitting dress that exposed most of her breasts and stomach, she also gave off a warm and motherly vibe that put Akihide at ease and lowered his guard.
"Goddess Freya." greeted Ottar, identifying the woman as the other most powerful Goddess in Orario. "Did you find the wine you were searching for?"
"Yes, thank you Ottar." responded the Goddess, before turning her attention back to the small boy. "A boy your age as an adventurer? Why, that's certainly very rare. But then again, I can't be surprised, looking at you and your soul." she sang, guiding her hand to his cheek. For some reason, he didn't back away immediately like he thought he would, but instead allowed her to touch him, for only a moment, before flinching back.
Freya looked down and frowned. "Oh no, am I scaring you, child?" she asked. "There's no need to be. I am a goddess after all." she said, kneeling down in front of Akihide and smiling softly. Akihide felt a calmness run over him, almost as if she felt like home to him, drawing him closer and closer until she was firmly embedded in his comfort zone.
And it was at that momment that a shrill scream resonated through the store, startling Akihide and Freya. "NO! WHERE DID YOU GO KID?! MAMA WILL KILL ME IF I LOSE YOU!"
"Loki?" muttered Freya, not expecting to hear Loki at this moment. She also did not expect Loki to run down the aisles, before finding them and dive-bombing Akihide.
"Don't go wandering off on me kid! Riveria would have my ass if I lost you, and not in the good way either!" she screamed, confusing Akihide as to what exactly she meant by having her ass, or the good way. What was good about having someone's ass? "Why did you run off on me like that Aki-chan? That wasn't cool of you at a-" began lecturing the trickster, before noticing the other two that were present. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Akihide was scooped up by Loki into her arms and crushed against her chest, which knocked the wind out of his lungs. "Keep those lousy, cheater eyes away from my Aki-chan! He's mine!"
Freya laughed into her hand. "Aw... I was hoping to take him for myself~" she sang, continuing to look at the you Renard. "He's going to be so strong, I can feel it. That soul of his is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Such a brilliant, white glow, it almost blinds me to look at it. Not even my Ottar has that glow."
Loki held him closer, protectively. "That's nice and all Freya, but I'm not giving you my child. Besides, Riveria's his mama now, so he wouldn't come with you either way." she sneered. "Those cheating eyes of yours were just too slow this time. Better luck with the next one."
Freya began getting ticked off. "I see... well thank you Loki for the encouragement. I unfortunately have some business to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave now." said the goddess of love, but spoke to the boy one last time. "I'll be keeping an eye on you from now on. Be sure to become strong enough to stand beside me. That is your goal." she said, before walking away, Ottar tailing right behind her as a good dog would.
Loki growled at the back of her head, before placing Akihide down and kneeling down to him. "Listen, Akihide. Freya isn't to be trusted. She does whatever she wants whenever she wants with no regard for the concequences of her actions. She isn't the type of person you should try to stand beside, it will bring you nothing but shame."
"Okay..." muttered Akihide, absolutely lost. He had no idea what Loki was talking about, and was very much confused about what the other goddess was going on about with souls, glows and the slightly chilling warning that she'd be watching him from now on. All in all, it was not the best experience he ever had. Maybe Riveria would be able to help him-
Akihide quickly shook those thoughts out of his head. No, he wasn't missing Riveria, she was a mean old woman who wouldn't let him go into the Dungeon with her. She wouldn't be helping him with anything and he most certainly wouldn't be taking any more of her lessons. Maybe this new teacher would teach him everything he needed to know and take him to the dungeon with them. Yeah, he didn't need Riveria and all her stupid rules. He could do just fine without her, if his new teacher wasn't as much of a loser as she was.
All he had to do was hit level 5. Then, he could go and stop that monster. That Lambton. He would avenge his father, his mother, his sister and his village. He was going to kill the red scaled snake.
"Welcome to the Stardust Garden! Home to the Astraea Familia!" called out Loki, as Akihide looked at the beautiful home in front of him. The Twilight Manor was a good building, but this building had a much more... homey feel to it. Something that made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, not like how he felt with that goddess from earlier. She seemed to force him to lower his guard, which, in turn, made him more jumpy around her and freak out. This, on the other hand, was much nicer. "This is where you'll learn how to use those weapons of yours, and if you do well enough, Mama Riveria might let you into the Dungeon."
Akihide scoffed, seemingly knowing better than to think Riveria would allow him anywhere near the Dungeon, even after she returned from the little expedition she was on at the moment. The Dungeon seemed like an impossible dream. It was almost as if Riveria never wanted him to grow stronger and face the Lambton that was plaguing his homelands, that murdered his family in cold blood. It pissed Akihide off just thinking about it. Hopefully, if he couldn't rely on Riveria, he could at least rely on his new teacher to allow him to grow stronger and enter the Dungeon.
Loki bought the boy up to the doors, knocking and waiting for a moment before a woman opened the door. She had dark skin, light grey hair and brown eyes. Akihide identified her as a werewolf, as she looked down at him in confusion. "Can I help you two?" she asked.
"Astraea should be expecting us. Loki and Akihide." said his goddess. He watched as realisation dawned on the poor werewolf's face as to just who she was talking to, one of the top dogs in Orario.
"Oh, of course. Allow me to go fetch her for you, Goddess Loki." said the girl, ushering the two into the waiting area, before running off, probibly to locate her goddess. Loki took a seat, before lifting up Akihide and sitting him down on her lap. Akihide blushed, embarrassed at the actions of his goddess, and began shuffling, trying to pry himself away from the trickster. Loki simply held on tighter, torturing Akihide as female adventurers walk past him, staring at the exchange between the goddess that was not their own and the small boy in her lap looking as if he wanted death to take him.
"Aki-chan~" sung Loki, smirking in the way he was beginning to associante with her doing something mischievous. "I was wondering something about you for a while now, and now I have the oppotunity to find out!" she exclaimed with glee, filling Akihide with anything but.
"W-what's that?" asked Akihide, a shiver beginning to form at the bottom of his spine. The grin that Loki was sporting was not helping him feel any better.
"How tickleish are you, Aki-chan?"
Neze found Astraea watching the training of their newest member, an elf named Ryu Lion, who joined a month ago. She was training under their captain, Alise Lovell, in how to use the sword she had gotten from the guild, and Alise had demanded that they get her up to their level before she begins going to the Dungeon or going on patrol in Orario with them. She had begun venturing into the Dungeon a week ago, and her stats had been raised, all but magic reaching H, and she had successfully reached Floor 5 with them, so she was estimated to reach level 2 in just over 18 months.
She approached them, informing Astraea that Loki was here with a small boy. "Ah, must be the young Akihide. He's here to train under Kaguya-san in how to use short swords. If he does well, we'd indoctronate him as in informal member of the Familia and have him join everyone on patrol." she explained, leaving out the part about how Loki would owe her. "I'll get Kaguya and we'll meet them. Be sure to get used to seeing the young boy around here from now on, he's going to be a repeat guest here."
With that, Astraea left Neze to her own devices, as she went to get Kaguya and begin the boy's training. 'I hope that we can help the boy. Even though he could help us in the future if the training goes well, the more adventurers we have to fight against Evilus, the better. Even if he doesn't help us outright, he would help us either way in our fight for justice.'
Astraea also looked at Kaguya, sipping tea bu herself. 'He could also be good for her as well.' she tought, thinking of her somewhat troubling personality when it comes to those close to her. She could be polite and well spoken, but she was in truth quite rude. Maybe a student, one she respected and a former citizen of the Far East, would allow her to come out of her shell a little more. But that could wait to see how the two got along. "Kaguya, Akihide and Loki are here."
Kaguya nodded, standing up. "They're early. That's good. A punctual student is one I can train." she said, walking to her goddess. "Shall we go meet the two of them?"
"That sounds like a grand idea. Lead the way." said the goddess, following her child out of the sitting room, and began making their way to the main entrance. "I hear that Finn says his battle instincts are exceptional, and that he just needs some work on technique and actual fighting."
"I will judge him fairly and by his own merits, not by simple rumors that can be greatly exaggerated." said the 17 year old. "However, as a member of the Okami clan, he should be able to keep up with a more rigurous training method than other new adventurers. With any luck, he will surpass my expectations of him and become someone we can rely on when we go up against Evilus or other such organisations."
"Hopefully." replied Astraea with a warm smile, as the two entered the waiting area.
Only to come face to face with Loki assaulting the poor renard with a barrage of tickles. "Coochie coochie coo!" she repeated, over and over again, with Akihide completely at her mercy, laughing on the floor in what looked like joy, but Kaguya and Astraea could see plain and clearly that the poor boy was in agony over the actions of his goddess. He tried once more to crawl away, only for Loki to drag him loce and adjust her position so she had a better hold on him. "Not today Aki-chan! You're mine! Mwahahahahaha!" cried the trickster goddess, continuing her assault on the poor boy.
Kaguya cleared her throat, trying to grab their attention, but between the onslaught of 'Coochie coochie coo's and suffering laughter of the child, neither could hear the girl, which served nothing but to piss her off. Trying once more, louder this time, it still fell on death ears, the insufferable noise continue. That drove Kaguya off the edge. "Quiet!" she yelled, catching the attention of the two non-Astraea Familia people in the room. Akihide took the oppotunity to crawl out from under Loki and face the woman.
"My name is Gojouno Kaguya." she said, watching as Akihide's eyes grew wide, and he attempted to bow to her. "Do not bow to me for my name." interrupted Kaguya, stopping the boy. "I am a Gojou no longer, I am simply an adventurer. You may retain you name, Okami, but you are just another level 1 adventurer to me."
Astraea was kind enough not to point out that she was going to take it harder on him due to his clan.
"From today on, you are my student." said Kaguya, in her authoritary tone. "You will address me as sensei, and treat me with the respect I deserve as your teacher. I expect you to work hard in all of our training sessions and listen to everything I say. Do not question my methods, do not tell me a training exercise is pointless, and do not give up, for I will never forgive you if you do. If you understand and still wish to be trained by me, follow me to the training grounds, and we'll get started."
Akihide nodded, and followed the girl as she turned around, and made her way out of the room they were in, to the training grounds. Loki nodded to Astraea, seemingly giving her permission to influence the boy in any way he needed, before she turned around and left, returning to the Twilight Manor. There were things that needed to be done.
"I want him." said Freya, looking down from her tower, a firm view of the Stardust Garden, where Akihide could be seen, training with a girl from the Astraea Familia. "His soul shines in a way I've never even seen before. He could be my Odr. Oh, I want him so bad it hurts." she moaned, staring down at the boy with a blush in her cheeks.
"And he could resist it. He resisted my charm." she exclaimed with a smile. Her charm, her damned charm, was resisted by a boy from the lower world. Not even the gods stood a chance against it, yet he had somehow been able to completely ignore it as if it was nothing. "Why did he have to be in Loki's Familia? Any other Familia would have been easy to steal him, but not Loki's."
"Why don't you just take him, my lady?" asked Ottar, greatly overestimating the power of his goddess. "They may be strong, but we are much stronger than the Loki Familia. I am the only level 6, and we match their level 5's with Allen, Hogni and Hedin. Not to mention the Gulliver brothers could take out any level 5, and their lower levelled members are still nothing compared to us."
"Loki's one of the only things keeping Orario safe. If we remove that powerhouse, we lose Orario. Even if I desire the boy more than anything, I will simply have to make do with watching him from a distance." sighed the goddess. "Maybe one day, but not for a while. But in the meantime..."
Freya stood up, before turning to Ottar. "He'll eventually reach Floor 10, and short swords like the one he was carrying won't be able to kill the monsters. Head to the Hephaestus Familia and comission a wakizashi and katana for him."
"At once, my lady." replied Ottar, bowing to his goddess and leaving for the Hephaestus Familia.
Freya smiled, sipping some of the luxury wine she bought from the Soma Familia. She could certainly try to pinch the boy with favours, but she knew that would not be enough. However, she could certainly build a relationship with him, and then she'd have all the oppotunities to take him for herself.
Oh yes. He would be hers.
Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Once again, tell me what you think of the story so far and some ideas you might have for where it should go. Next time we have the actual training of Akihide and how he'll be interacting with the other members of the Astraea Familia. But for now, this is Striker777, over and out.