Chapter 8

True to Chusi's word.

Yua found herself seated outside, Rook over her knee as she was picking the feathers off his body. Lucky for her, she has help. The five had gathered and wanted to assist Rook. As such Yua realized she had to be closer to the ground, so, she set up a futon, seated herself and had Rook in place over her legs. "Okay, if everyone wants to pick a limb. I'll get his back. If you don't have a limb, please work on his hair." Yua said gently.

She smiled, as they were careful to pull the feathers off of Rook, he smiled as they did and encouraged his siblings. "Great job guys, dinner is going to taste extra good tonight…" he said.

"What did you hunt?" asked Saitama as he got his right arm.

"Demonic goose, but Lady Tiamat is cooking it. Ooo if she is able to deep fry that bastard… oh that skin would be SO CRISPY!" Rook was drooling.

The others were getting excited now for the meal.

It took a good hour to clean Rook off, from there, he got hot water and dumped it over his head to get the blood off, it was tacky as hell, so a few douses of hot water were needed. "I think you need a hot spring dip before dinner." Yua insisted.

Rook agreed and excused himself to wash up. She saw Sukuna join him shortly after, the two are rather an odd pairing, and yet… Yua couldn't be happier for Rook. There's someone who can train him, push him to a limit he never knew…. Then again, the bar he set for himself is Sukuna!

Before long, dinner was called.

Everyone gathered as Lady Tiamat explained that they are going to celebrate. "We have had some serious threats taken out today thanks to Rook and his uncle. As well, I wish to announce, I'll be staying here for a while…" she said and smiled.

"Really?!" Toji asked. "Shit I got to go clean the house!"

"Your sons beat you to it." Tiamat said and smiled. "But brush up on your skills." Toji turned red as everyone snickered. "Now then, let's enjoy our victory over the demonic goose. Ladies and gentlemen… I had this one… deep fried"

"HELL YEAH!" Rook shouted with glee. The moment that goose appeared, he was ready to pounce. Yua had to hold him back!

"Take it easy there is plenty to go around!" she whispered. Luckily, Rook and Sukuna were called up first, Lady Tiamat was a gracious host as she gave them some of the best meat and extra skin. Rook had to rush back to his table, but he was kind enough to wait for Sukuna. When they were seated, they both took a big bite of the meat.

For a moment, there was a twinkle in Sukuna's eyes. Rook appeared to have a moment of bliss and was lost in the flavor of it all. "Okay everyone, come get your share, you two save room for liver!" Lady Tiamat called.

It was a remarkable meal.

The meat juicy and tender, it nearly melted in her mouth. The crispy skin was to die for. It was the favorite out of the five. "It's so tasty!" cheered Saitama.

His siblings chimed in agreement to his announcement.

Everyone raved about it. However, silent to it all was Gojo.

He kept peering at the five, they allowed him to sit at the table to eat, but he doesn't go near them or say anything to them. They keep a good eye on Gojo too, when they eat, they give a look to know he is not wanted!

"Oh my God… despite having to be plucked myself, this was worth it!" Rook called.

Sukuna merely nodded to it.

"Speaking of plucking… why?" Suguru whispered to Yua.

She snickered and explained. It was shortly after Sukuna tried to use max elephant on himself and Rook to get clean, the problem with goose down, it's waterproof! So, Sukuna was going to burn it off his body until Yua stopped him. "I had to explain it was a divine beast after all…" she took a small handful of the feathers off Sukuna, painfully mind you. But she exposed the feathers and blood to curse energy… well… raging inferno was an understatement. It burned a strange blue fire, and it kept burning…

"In fact it still is burning right now, I had to throw it in a fire pit." She explained to him.

"Ah, so don't set it on fire, good to know"

Before long, she saw Lady Tiamat approach Rook and Sukuna's table, they sat together to have their meal since they hunted it. Lady Tiamat carried a rather large tray in her hands and set it down before them with various breads. "Is this…" Sukuna asked.

"Indeed, goose liver pate!" she said proudly. "Give it a try."

They didn't hesitate as they grabbed the biggest piece of bread, and then a hunk of liver. Neither one bothered to spread it on the bread before shoving it into their faces. Instantly, there was a look of bliss on their faces. "By the gods…" Sukuna muttered.

"This… is liver?!" Rook demanded. "Man I hunted the wrong thing to get my fix…"

"Rest assured, you did hunt the right prey. Goose liver is very fatty, you would have gotten rather large rather than slender…" Lady Tiamat joked.

Everyone got to try it for themselves, Yua didn't mind it. Suguru loved it, Gojo not so much. Shin and Mochi only had a little, the five devoured it like ice cream. Saitama in particular.

Before long, the goose was nearly picked clean. Eso announced he would save the bones and roast them for broth. "Ooo hot pot!" cheered Shin. "That would be really rich broth…"

"We're hunting another of these things… there's more of them right?" Sukuna called.

"I am certain my uncle wouldn't just leave one lingering…" she paused for a moment before nodding her head. "There are four others in various regions of Japan right now, and some are abroad, I'll take care of those personally. I'll leave the ones here to you two."

"We need a better method…" Rook said.

"Not needed, you got new swords."

"Ooo" Rook said with great interest. "Can't wait to try those…"

Yua then saw Satoru peer at their table. Rook and Sukuna… the two of them act like father and son. She's seen that for the longest time since, Sukuna bothered to train him. Satoru only did so a few times but then left things be, it appears now, he's regretting what he has done… that or he is resenting his son for punching him.

"Mom, we're tired…" said Saitama.

His siblings yawned aloud, everyone at their fill and then some. She smiled and nodded to them. "Let's go back home then."

"Let me help you," Suguru said.

"We're going to stick around and see if there's more goose skin to be had, that's the best stuff." Said Shin.

Yua nodded. She took Saitama and Rai. Suguru got Yomato, Okimi and Hotaru. The five passed out on their way home, but, Yua smiled to it. "They are calling me mom…" she whispered to Suguru. "I… I didn't think they would."

He nodded to her. "They are still learning and growing, Lady Tiamat told me they should have a growth spurt soon."

She peered to Saitama. "I hope it works out for them…"

They fell silent again but Suguru smirked. "Sukuna really has taken a liking to Rook, hasn't he?"

"Yes, I noticed that too. Rook is one of the few here who keeps him interested, since Rook is constantly changing… how and why I don't know, but, he's excited to see it all happen before his eyes. When exposed to something different, something new, Sukuna has interest. After all, he knows Rook's goal. To give him a one on one fight with strength. If anyone is capable of doing so, it's him… but I still recall, despite not being there… Maki did a good job too taking him to task."

She knew that too, in fact, everyone has perfect memory of what happened before time got reversed to the point that it did. "Indeed, she held her own. Rook however wants to do this without weapons. Hand to hand." The more she thinks about it, the more she knows her son is going to accomplish such a thing.

"So… did you know about Lady Tiamat staying here?" Suguru asked. "I don't think she is expecting again…"

"I don't think so either, but I can't say for certain as to why she is here. Either way, she inspired Rook and Sukuna to go hunt a demonic goose…" they paused and snickered at the notion. It's not every day you see the King of curses tarred and feathered from a hunt! Rook was no better, at the same time… Yua wondered how he got his divine mask so clean. He would have had to remove it to get it cleaned right? Then again, Ryoto was out with his friends…

"Do you think he's going to go hunt again after that?" Suguru asked.

"Big time!" Yua snickered. He had fun doing it, at the same time, getting a meal like that was worth the effort. That's the other thing with Sukuna, give him something new to eat, he gets interested in hunting it down. Not exactly the best way to curb his bloodlust, but it is one of the few ways they can get him to settle him.

They arrived back home, Suguru and Yua tucked the kids into Rook's bed before getting ready themselves. But there was something off at the house. Yua went to Mochi's room and paused oddly. Hoshi's scent was strong in her bedroom, but she is aware he comes and visits her unannounced. But this is getting a little too… strong, in fact, the scent is changing to a deeper musk.

"You smelt that too huh? I want to say something but… I didn't wish to overstep my bounds." Suguru came up from behind her and nodded. He smelt it too but, he was getting concerned about this?

"Is Hoshi… maturing?" she asked.

"I think that's the proper term for it. He's been coming by here more and more to help me with the five when you are holding down the domain…"

"I have to get back into parenting with you and Satoru…"

"You had good reasons to step back. I didn't mind, the five are very easy going. Hoshi helped me as did Mochi. But, I think he's doing this to show her he has parenting skills." He said with a smile.

Yua sighed. "I know our kids have aged and matured far faster than most, but this is getting to be too much!" Yua protested, but snickered after. "I do like Hoshi, he's a decent kid."

"With all things considering…"

"His mother raised him well, when they were little, they learned more from Megumi than Toji…" Yua paused oddly. "That's why she's here…"

"Yua?"

"Lady Tiamat, she's not here by chance… I think she's here to help Megumi come to terms with himself. Choso told me that he challenged his sons to a battle over his sister. He could summon a single shikigami… he's worried about that, but…"

Suguru merely nodded. "Not something we can interfere with…"

"Bingo."

"If anything we will wait on the sidelines just in case…"

How is it that Suguru is more thoughtful about things than Satoru?