Chapter 54: Chaotic Festival II

Part 1

3rd Person POV

-Morning, the same day

Slamming his hand loudly on the Torii, a green-eyed boy wearing a hakama, Nora, cornered a girl. Stuck between Nora and the Torii, the girl shook fearfully. Smiling kindly, the boy gently lifted her chin.

"It is ok, I am not here to hurt you." Nora gently said.

Those words along with his gentle actions and voice, made the girl sigh in relief and calm down. However, her heart was not calm. Now that her fears were disappearing, her heartbeat was loudly for another reason. A shy girl since birth, she was not good with strangers, not to mention boys. Nonetheless, she was now being in such a close distance from one. At times like this, she blamed her vivid imagination and the pool of knowledge she has from books. She should've listened to her family members and avoided reading those books, because of that, she is now getting all fidgety.

"Hey, don't be nervous, I am a good guy... there is also nothing wrong happening." Nora chuckled.

For some reason, that only made the girl more nervous.

"You are quite cute when you blush... say there, what is your name?" Nora asked.

Still holding her chin up, he was taller than her for one head, if the girl knew better, she would consider him to be older than her when it was the opposite. At this point, her mind was a mess but she could still speak up, call for help after being 'forced' into this shameful situation, however, she stared at his eyes and could not see any sort of negative feelings that she would usually see in the people that got close to her because of her family position. That is why, instead of calling for help from the bodyguards that her brother put around her, the girl-

"A-Ayaka." The girl, Ayaka, spoke for the first time.

Smiling at her timid reaction, Nora decided to not start showering her with praises about her voice that sounded sweet and pleasing to the ears otherwise she might get even more embarrassed than she looked.

"I came here only for one reason, would you like to..." Nora lowered his head near her ear and whispered.

It caused her to shudder and certain expectations rose between her, just like the book the girl had read, will he-

"Please become my friend?" Nora playfully said before leaning backward. "I saw you all by yourself and a few times you were too shy to reach for other children so I thought I could fix that..."

The girl somehow did not know what to do. On one side, she was relieved that things did not escalate or she would've fainted, but on the other hand... it felt kind of empty. Her brother's joking words might be true, she is quite precocious.

Looking down shyly, she did not bad to show a disappointed expression to the boy, she somehow wanted to look the best in front of him. Nonetheless, she gathered her courage and looked up to ask him for at least his name but her words got caught in her throat when he got even closer.

"Hmm? You feeling ok? You are all red..." Nora asked in an uncertain tone. "Should I take you to your family? That said, I have some knowledge in medicine if you give me your permission, I can examine you... Eh? Why are you getting redder?"

The girl blamed herself once again for reading those 'texts', she couldn't help but imagine one of those situations she read and her imagination led her to guess wildly if he was telling the truth or-

"Ah..." Ayaka mumbled.

It was too much for the poor girl's head to withstand the shame that her imagination brought her plus the embarrassment she felt when the concern filled the face of the boy free of any ideas like she had stared at her. Before her consciousness left her, she wanted to know the name of the boy, or she might not get a better chance to meet him.

"Nora-kun!? What are you doing?"

A somewhat familiar voice called doubt and the boy turned around. The girl also moved her head in that direction and saw a woman with whom her family has had a friendly relationship since long ago. Yasaka-san, the leader of the youkais in the west and a business partner of her family had appeared and put her hand on the boy's shoulder. From the way he had reacted earlier, his name seemed to be Nora, she will remember it well when she wakes up. At that time, she plans to answer his questions, and accept his friendship proposal.

"Oh! Yasaka-san, there you are." Nora smoothly held the girl who fainted in his arms.

His actions would've made her faint a couple of times if he had done it while she was awake, but fortunately for the young girl's heart, he did not immediately carry her when he saw her turn red.

"Nora-kun... what are you doing?" Yasaka inquired while rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Beside her, there was a tall man, he had light blue hair and blue eyes like the girl held in princess carry by Nora. They had similarities such as both having moles, the girl under the left eye and the man under his mouth, although their physical resemble was what pointed their blood ties, along with-

"That is a splendid princess carry, I can see potential in you boy. How about it? Do you want to marry my little sister?"

The man spoke with an amused smile, interrupting Yasaka.

"Dude, I think I should bonk in your head in your sister's stead. Could you please not offer her like that." Nora sighed. "You are lucky that I have both of my hands busy."

"Nora-kun... I only asked you to go and make some friends. Why did you make Ayaka-chan faint like that?" Yasaka asked with a helpless expression.

They were at Torii which was at the entrance of an immense Shrine. Going further in, there were countless stalls for the ongoing festival.

"I used my inherited skill, Kabedon, to become her friend. I thought that things were going well, but it somehow happened. I wonder why... Is my face that unsightly? I know that I look like mashed potato but I tried to smile at least..." Nora sighed.

Before Yasaka was aware, her hand was looming over Nora's head, but she stopped herself before she lowered it because her reasons to do it were not the usual. It was a complicated feeling that was hard to explain.

"Haha, he is an amusing child like you said, don't worry about his actions, I was actually expecting to have them meet. As you said, he is not your regular 10 years old kid. My sister might be older but she is usually too shy so her status must be because she could not stand her embarrassment. That said, she would've run away if she truly disliked his presence. Despite being flirty, he would be a good friend. The Kamisato Clan has always had good relationships with the youkais so getting along since a young age is not a bad sign. Isn't that right Yasaka-nee-san? Oh, scary, scary, don't glare at me like that, I have a fiance and I am happily in love with her, I also don't have any interest in this lady here..."

The man waved his hands in surrender at the heavy glare that Nora gave him. It sent a chill down his spine and this time Yasaka had a legit reason to bonk his head.

"Ouch!" Nora cried out.

Before anything else happened, the man swiftly took his sister and turned around to leave, not before glancing back.

"Nora Shiki, my name is Ayato, the Kamisato Clan has been working with the supernatural side for centuries, we are allies of Youkais like you. We deal with different kinds of business, so feel free to come to our place once, we will receive you with open arms. I hope you give my offer some thought, I am sure my dear little sister will be glad if you do so." The man, Ayato, smiled. "By the way... I was joking, I don't plan to give up my sister that easily to a stranger."

With that said, he started to walk away.

It was at that moment when Nora noticed that no one else was paying attention to them during their chat, a special barrier had been erected without him noticing.

"Flirting huh." Yasaka looked down and stared at Nora with an unamused expression.

"It is not my fault, I did what I had to do." Nora muttered.

Yasaka still glared at Nora, with both hands on her hips.

"You had to flirt with her huh, now Ayato-san invited you to his place to hang out with his little sister... and when he proposed to marry her to you, you did not seem that displeased." Yasaka-san mumbled.

"No, no, no, I am sure I threatened to bonk him in his sister's stead." Nora had a speechless expression.

"Hmph." Yasaka turned her head away.

Inwardly thinking that she looked cute when she was sulking, he decided to straightforwardly ask how to appease her.

"What do you want me to do to make you stop sulking?" Nora helplessly asked.

"I am not sulking, hmph." Yasaka pouted. "How about you stop flirting with girls?"

"You need to apply to a change of class from a flirting cat to a serious cat. After you fill in the application, you must clear the quest and gather the material necessary for the class change." Nora replied in a serious tone of voice.

Hearing him mutter nothing but nonsense, Yasaka could only do one thing.

"Ouch!" Nora covered his head. "Oi! What will you do if I become stupid? Will you take responsibility and marry me? Alright, bonk me in the head one more. Come on! Ouch! I am truly against child abuse, not to mention animal abuse!"

After a few bonks in the head, the conversation was peacefully (?) resolved and they walked around the festival together, going back to-

...

...

...

In front of a food stall that was serving ramen, a large gallery of people was surrounding a small table that is used for customers or to be precise, they were surrounding the two figures sitting face to face on the table while eating non-stop, they piled bowl after bowl in what now looked like towers higher than their height while sitting. The stall owner hastily moved his hand to fill another pair of bowls that his daughter and waitress immediately delivered to the pair of bodacious eaters. It was an absurd view if you just judged the fact that the number of bowls was beyond what was humanly possible to eat, but it reached the point of being bizarre when the eaters were not even a pair of adult men, no, they were a pair of little girls with black and white hair respectively. Their garments were kimonos with the opposite tone of their hair and cat pawns patterns.

"One more-nya!" The black-haired girl, Kuroka, raised her hand.

The waitress did not let her wait for long, a new bowl was placed in front of her. Kuroka licked her lips and started to eat. Her sister, Shirone, mimicked her and raised her hand, getting a new bowl as well. Their actions made the gallery gasp in amazement, they could not believe that such tiny children were capable of such a feat.

"You two... you sure are having fun. You suddenly left me all alone in your pursuit for something tasty... what happened to the line 'cats stick together-nya?" Nora's voice was heard among the gallery.

With his lips twitching. the boy looked at the catgirls who froze in place when they had raised their bowls to drink the broth of the ramen. Slowly, very slowly, they lowered their bowls and put them on the table, if their cat ears and tails had been visible, they would've expressed their mood by lowering. Kuroka looked at Nora with a pitiful pair of eyes while Shirone used the chance when they were distracted to fade out. The white-haired girl stealthily got close to the waitress and called her out, when she lowered her head to listen to what she had to say, Shirone whispered something in a low tone. Taking a deep breath, Kuroka got her bearing and did not allow the guilt from letting her stomach guide her earlier to affect her. Inwardly, the girl thought that as the older one, she could turn this around and have Nora lower his head in defeat.

"Nora-nya... I am sorry-nya, I have failed you-nya. However, sometimes, catgirls have things they need to take care of in secret-nya." Kuroka spoke with a distant expression on her face. "It is for your sake-nya, and ours... nya."

Resisting the urge to smile, Kuroka sneakily glanced sideways to see if Nora had changed expressions to guilty ones for trying to interfere in catgirls businesses, but she saw him look at her with half-closed eyes, and that was when she knew that it would not work as she had expected. She also caught the sight of the hateful (for reasons that she will not explain) Yasaka who looked at everything with an amused expression.

"Oh? Is that so...? Catgirls have so many responsibilities. I was not aware..." Nora shook his head regretfully. "Well, since it is something I can't get involved with and it can't be helped. I'll leave paying the bill to you."

At those words, Kuroka almost fainted. The girl did not expect such ruthless words and she failed to come up with an answer. She had spent most of her budget playing those hateful games on the stalls earlier. She wanted to go and beat up that store owner from the scooping fish game, but she had promised Nora to behave herself.

"No-nya..." Kuroka extended her hand to reach for Nora who sighed and turned around.

The peanut gallery could not contain their giggles at the comedy skit the two were having, but no one said a word, and they were limited to watch them with warm eyes.

"Wait." Shirone, who had been quiet so far, spoke in a strong tone of voice.

Her actions caused everyone to turn around and look at her, including Nora. The white-haired girl strode in Nora's way with a bowl of ramen. With an expression that could not be helped, she stood in front of him and sighed.

"Nora, I apologize for my silly sister, she did not do it with any bad intentions, becoming lost kids is something you do not wish to happen to us," Shirone muttered. "Don't worry, with me watching after her, Onee-sama won't cause any trouble. I got her back."

Standing up for her sister and bribing- no, she would like it to be called a 'token' of her gratitude for care the boy always show them, she tried to manipulate- to make their situation more advantageous- to thank Nora by presenting him the bowl. The boy, perhaps unaware of what was going through the white-haired girl's head or maybe being aware, simply took it with one hand and smiled before using his other hand to caress the girl's head.

"You are too precious." Nora mumbles with a gentle smile.

Sighing in relief, Kuroka wiped the non-existing sweat from her forehead. They managed to avoid the bullet, but... somehow, seeing Nora and Shirone alone in their own world of headpats made Kuroka feel complicated, and while she was happy that her sister received some affection. The whole situation seemed to be hiding something. Inwardly, a mini Kuroka stood with a thoughtful expression with a hand holding her chin. Where was the problem here? Was she forgetting something?

It was at that moment, that her mini version, inside of her, gasped in horror and realization. She saw something that she was certain that no one else noticed. Shirone had turned to look at her and with a very swift speed... she smirked. It was at that moment that the black-haired girl remembered it. Both Kuroka and Shirone had been entrusted with a task with their seduction sensei- no, she must not even let that slip on her mind, Sora had asked them to keep it a secret, their sensei in how-to-get-Nora-for-themselves-and-free-from-the-paws-of-the-kitsune had told them to try the tricks she had taught them and tell them how much affection they got from Nora, making it a little competition... and the loser had to give up all of the sweets they get for the week to the winner.

To think that her beloved sister would be so cunning. That was no good so she jumped in Nora's chest. She can't be left behind.

"Hey, be careful, the bowl... *sigh* never mind, just come here, you silly girl." Nora muttered.

Ignoring her sister, Kuroka had made her way into Nora's chest and hugged him. Before he could say anything, she used her trusty skill, 'Upturned eyes' to make Nora give up resisting and it worked perfectly fine. Giving a victorious grin to her lil' sister, Kuroka froze when she saw her sad expression.

"I blame my Onee-chan's cells for this-nya." Kuroka muttered some nonsense before pulling Shirone for a hug as well.

Everyone watched that with touched expressions, except-

"Was that the last order? We are out of ingredients... eh? They are done? They are not going to run with paying, right? They ate all that, they need to- Argh! What was that for!?"

The stall owner was about to intervene with the kids' hug, but his daughter and waitress stepped on his foot and glared at him.

"You stay there, otherwise, I will tell Okaa-san that you bought a bottle of sake and hid it in the secret compartment of yours."

The waitress said and when the man fearfully lowered his head. The waitress raised her thumb and a certain blonde and buxom woman with a kimono responded to her in kind.

Nevertheless, there is always someone who ruins the mood, or so the peanut gallery though.

"What's this? I thought there was some kind of event going on, but it is just a group of onlookers watching a bunch of beasts doing mating. Seriously, who let them run around as they please?"

A voice containing a great deal of animosity was heard, and soon, that person appeared in front of the peanut gallery.

Wearing a set of white haori and hakama, a man in his mid-twenties with brown hair and black eyes walked out among the people watching Nora and the girls, his presence was caused the air to stiffen, and following after him there were a group of people with a similar outfit and hair color, except one person, and different from everyone else who did not carry any weapons, this person had four swords hanging on his waist, two for each side, his he had platinum hair with a pinkish hue and blue eyes.

Almost everyone turned around to glare at that person, but he completely ignore the peanut gallery, it was not certain if he had no interest or he was fixated on younger ones.

Contrary to what you would expect, the boy did not lunge at the man with a sword in hand to 'make' the man understand that he should not speak that way. Nora simply put the girls behind him and finished his ramen at a speed that made the man carrying the swords widen his eyes and raise his guard. A smile hanging on his lips... If you did not count the veins on his neck and forehead that were about to explode, Nora would look like the textbook image of a harmless child.

"You came alone, you beasts? This is not a place for strays, get lost while I am being magnanimous."

"Oh my, asking three children if they are alone while being surrounded by so many people, pedophiles nowadays sure are bold. What else? Asking us to go to a lonely location this quickly, did you plan to attack us, you pervert?" Nora spoke in a spiteful tone.

Those words made the peanut gallery direct unfriendly looks, different from the ones they were giving him to the man.

Narrowing his eyes at the boy, the man thought he should teach him a lesson.

"Do you know who I am...? To speak that way to me, you must be tired of living!"

Speaking in a harsh tone, full hostility, the man thought he could scare the three children, however-

"Pfffft! Listen to this guy, he actually said it. Ahahaha, my kidney, oh, my kidney. You are killing me, bro." Nora laughed aloud.

Perhaps they thought it was funny for the same reason as the boy, or they just went along with him, but the people surrounding them laughed too.

"Nyahaha, Nora-nya, he spoke like in the novel-nya, what's next? Will he yell 'you are seeking death'? Nyahaha." Kuroka-chan laughed even louder than Nora.

Doing her best to cover her mouth and not laugh with them, Shirone's shoulders shook in place.

"You pests...!"

Glaring at the trio, the man searched on his sleeves for a certain thing. A second later, he pulled an ofuda and chanted in whispers. Something strange started to happen, and it was that the people around them suddenly quieted. Their eyes kept staring ahead and their gazes seemed to have lost their focus. Little by little, they walked away from the trio's location like they were in some sort of trance.

"Do it, Musashi."

The man, who had been mocked, ordered, following that command, the man, carrying the swords, called Musashi, drew one sword and prepared to attack. Nora widened his eyes in surprise after hearing that, but not for the action but rather the name.

"Are you sure you want to do that in my presence?" Yasaka spoke with a smile on her face but sheer anger in her voice.

Trying to not escalate the situation, the kitsune tried to smile amicably, however, the fact that hostilities were directed at the boy she held dear along with the girls whom she took a liking to, made it difficult for Yasaka to do so.

"Tsk, I didn't know that the vixen had that much free time to waste. Shouldn't you be busy with the arrangements for the strengthening of the seal?"

Pulling a paper fan from his sleeves, the man unfolded it and use it to hide the lower half of his face. Hiding his expression as much as he could, he talked in a tone that lacked any form of respect.

"For the Extra Clans to be the ones to remind me of such a thing, I guess that your job to secure the perimeter has been flawlessly finished." Yasaka commented.

"Oh, that? Yes, we are doing our best in removing those harmful creatures as you can see."

Pointing at the trio, the man said.

"They have permission to be here, the documents have been submitted. Like per the agreement, during the day of the sealing, only youkais that receive permission from me are allowed to wander around." Yasaka spoke.

"That is true, I certainly received that document. However, we have not approved of such a thing from our side. We did not manage to do a background check on the three of them. Besides, we found them making a ruckus when the sealing ritual is close by so I can't help but think that they might want to disrupt the ritual."

Even though his face was hidden, you could still tell that the man was smiling when he said that. He found it enjoyable to cause troubles for Yasaka, and he might not even have a proper reason to back him up. Being aware of such a thing, Yasaka sighed at his boldness for provoking her. When Saya was with her, this man did not even dare to look at them in the eyes, always gazing to the ground. A little advantage of letting her dear friend use that wonderful skill, healing punch, as she pleased. Following that train of thoughts, Yasaka glanced at Nora and wondered if he learned that as well. However, she shook her head, no matter how much she loathed the man in front of her, she could not make Nora beat him up. Even though Nora looked ready to jump on the man and smack him continuously.

"Hahaha, look, I told you that something interesting was going to happen here."

A somewhat innocent and boisterous female voice was heard and soon from the distance, a figure came running at full speed. It was a young girl with long black hair held with a feathered hair ornament, blue eyes, wearing a rather strange outfit given the combination that formed skin-tight tight bodysuit suit that covered her torso and thighs, detached asymmetrical sleeves hanging on each arm. Covering parts of her body, a Japanese-style armor protected her thighs and hung on her chest, barely covering her breasts. Overall, she had a youthful and lively appearance, if you added the fact that she wearing a hat and some kind of animal ears on her head, and the sheath of the swords hanging on her waist looked (?) similar to a tanuki's tail, she had a wild image.

Running after the girl was another one that looked much older, pinkish hair held by a fan-like hair ornament, she was wearing a sleeveless blue kimono with an obi, black detached sleeves, black thigh highs, and sandals. She looked older than the first girl and she had a weary expression as she walked after the girl. When she appeared, two people reacted differently, the man named Musashi frowned and tightened the grip on his sword, while Nora smiled widely and caused a chain reaction. Kuroka and Shirone were surprised. The chain did not extend to Yasaka because she kept her eyes on the group that the man brought, she did not miss any of their movements.

"W-wait, I am tired... Hungry, urgh! W-Why would you rob me of my opportunity of eating Udon and ran off!?" The pink-haired girl, Musashi, spoke in a heartbroken tone.

"Hahaha, never mind that. It seems that there is going to be a battle here. Hmmm, that side has many grown-up men while this other one has children and an a-amazing woman, wow... Is she on Raikou-dono's level? No, that is not the issue. The side of the amazing woman is a disadvantage so they must be the good guys. Very well, my name is of no importance, but allow me to assist you!

Talking something rude (?) as soon she saw Yasaka, the black-haired girl allied (?) with Yasaka. Sighing after being ignored, Musashi was about to retort when she noticed the bright eyes staring at her and she could not help but react to that.

"Nora-kun? Is that you? Long time no see, since... ah, eh... since that time." Musashi got filled with energy as a smile bloomed on her face, she happily waved at Nora, only to suddenly blush. "*Cough* Never mind that, how are you?"

Her actions to call Nora were extremely loud, equaling the black-haired girl so it made everyone look at her.

Yasaka widened her eyes, she seemed to recognize her, but she was too surprised to say anything. The man in white garments clicked his tongue at her appearance and subtly glance at the Musashi at his side. There was some history behind the two, but unfortunately, it would not be something he could use so he changed his plans.

"Unlike you, we have some job to do. I will reluctantly accept those beasts under your protection. Be grateful."

Saying that he turned around and left, the man of the white hakama did not delay his actions. The other man named Musashi narrowed his eyes at the girl named Musashi but he just bit his lips and left.

Finding that meek behavior strange, Yasaka wondered what kind of relation the organization the girl works for has with the Extra Clan, while troublesome and headache-inducing, that organization has always supported the youkais, yes, regardless of the headaches they cause her. That said, she did not expect them to get interested in Nora so soon. They once asked Saya to join them but she had turned them down. Nora was someone who inherited her teachings and will soon be on part with her skills so it is not strange that they would seek him for that. Yet, it did not sit well with her. They feel low if they sent a girl to seduce him into joining them.

While the big kitsune (for two obvious reasons) had a mental debate, the catgirls watched speechlessly how Nora happily waved back at the pink-haired girl.

"Yo! I didn't expect to see you so soon. You look really beautiful, I like your outfit, you look like you could kick some asses and still be ready to have a date." Nora said.

Blushing slightly at his words of praise, Musashi ignored completely the looks she received from the catgirls and Yasaka-san, who also had their mouths hanging open.

"Geez, you seem to be doing better, I am glad." Musashi stared at Nora with warm eyes.

Kuroka and Shirone felt a chill run down their spines, they felt extremely threatened by the pink-haired one. Fixing her hair and taking care of any wrinkles that her kimono might have, she prepared to have a word with the young woman in front of her about peaking order. For once, she saw her little sister with a fighting spirit burning in her eyes and nodding at her. However, before they both took a step forward to face a mighty enemy-

"Let me introduce you to these two, they are my light, Kuroka-chan is the black-haired and older one while Shirone-chan has white hair and is the younger one." Nora happily explained.

Pulling them for a hug, Nora then proceeded to show off the girls to Musashi. The catgirls froze at his words and felt a wave of embarrassment invade them, making them unable to think about fighting.

"Eh~ Is that so? Nice to meet ya! I am Musashi~" Musashi leaned slightly to match the girls' line of sight. Her cheeky smile looked harmless and that was the finishing hit that made all sort of hostility to be erased from the cat girls' minds.

"I am Kuroka-nya. The Onee-chan... Nya." Kuroka mumbled.

"Shirone..." Shirone barely managed to speak.

The actions of the two made Musashi start shaking and lower her line of sight, before Nora asked her what was wrong, Musashi opened her arms wide took the trio in a hug.

"Cute!" Musashi muttered.

Starting from one side, the black-haired girl blinked with a confused expression. She did not know what to do, should she interrupt to introduce herself, or maybe she should wait for Musashi to introduce her. Regardless of her thoughts, she could not help but direct an envious gaze at the group hugging.

Noticing that, Yasaka-san walked beside the girl, and to erase the uncomfortable feeling that she was feeling, she thought of teasing the lonely girl.

"You look troubled and... jealous. Would you like a hug as well?" Yasaka smiled.

Expecting her to back off embarrassed, Yasaka was baffled when the girl jumped on her. Her face landing on her chest, the girl almost bounced away if she had not grabbed her sleeves. Such a situation did not go unnoticed by Nora who happened to turn his head in her direction, just in that exact moment. Yasaka had never wished this before, but at that moment she wanted to crawl into a hole. To see Nora's eyes almost bulge out from his head, his mouth at the limit of what was possible to open, and for some damned reason, he pulled a goddamn camera from the pouch she gifted him and took a picture. Yasaka-san had to admit that his training paid off if he could move at that absurd speed. However, she should talk with him. Yasaka initially thought that was Shirone's camera but it seems that it is another one.

Part 2

MC's POV

After witnessing a miracle, I got an earful from Yasaka-san and I almost lost my camera. I managed to distract her by calling Musashi-san, but they had known each other before. Musashi-san must be amazing if she can get acquainted with a big shot like Yasaka-san. Nonetheless, I did not get the name of the girl who came with Musashi-san since she ran off after being blessed with a hug from Yasaka-san. However, the funny thing happened after said girl mumbled something about wanting to confirm something with someone called Raikou while staring at a certain part of Yasaka-san. After that, the big kitsune started to shake and sweat, mumbling some hard-to-understand stuff about headaches and Raikou. Whoever that was, it made Yasaka-san excuse herself and leave, all before said person came looking for the girl.

Sighing, I wandered alone at the festival. People became a common thing again after we left what seemed to be some kind of barrier.

I idly thought about those people. I don't recall the Extra Clans in the Canon, at least there were no humans that I can think of. I did remember that there were devil ones, but that was it. Now, I met those fuckers. It doesn't take a genius to know that they are hostile to youkais in general. I was tempted to jump and beat them up when they spoke that way to my beloved nine-tailed one but Musashi appeared. For some reason, all anger left me when I saw her. I just wanted to introduce my catgirls to her, and hopefully, they can become friends. I owe a lot to that young woman, and somehow I got attached to her. It is this feeling of not being able to ignore her when I see her. I kind of feel like I can't leave her alone, that I got to help her out, even pamper her. It is odd, but I feel like treating her similarly to the catgirls.

Going into that topic, perhaps I can't leave her alone after all. I invited her to have some udon, paid by me, and the catgirls jumped in saying they wanted to taste some.

I shouldn't have let them go just the three of them, the catgirls are sly and Musashi is too kind and honest to see through their words. That said, I kind of feel like they could be wandering.

Suddenly getting a chill, I turned my head and saw something, or rather someone that made me open my mouth in surprise.

"W-What in the world!?" I mumbled in a low tone.

No words could describe the shock I felt.

A tall figure that made me tilt my head to see her face, with purple eyes, a very long purple hair with parted bangs, tied at the end. Wearing a purple bodysuit that clung tightly to her curvaceous body, her outfit had ribbed sleeves and a loincloth with red ropes around several places. Her hands had black fingerless gloves with kote (a form of armored sleeves) and black sandals. Hanging on her hip, a long sheathed katana rested, the sheath looked similar to the one from the girl before, a tanuki's tail, although this one looked longer. On her back, a bow and a quiver of arrows were hanging. However, despite her armed state, you could not feel any sort of hostility directed at you. No, you could even feel goodwill. Nonetheless, people seemed obvious to her weapons since several men ogled her as they passed, there was one who even tripped and planted his face on the ground.

"Are you... lost?"

I was inwardly laughing at that man's misery, and I can help but blame my evil side for doing so. I am not that foolish when I see Yasak...a, ah, never mind. I should not laugh at others.

"Excuse me... you are lost, right?"

A voice pulled me out of my musings, it was a female one and the reason why my mouth hung open a while ago. Leaning my way to match my line of side only made those weapons of mass destruction hang in the air and prove their existence. It shocked me to the core, to think that someone who could compete against my kitsune appeared. Not to mention, this one might even be bigger. No, that is impossible.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I backed away from the woman who got even closer when I looked at her- I mean when I thought about science.

"Listen, lady. I am not lost. I am looking for someone, I just don't know where they are... Eh?" I tilted my head mid explanation.

Wasn't that like I am a lost child?

"I thought you looked lost and lonely, so that is the case, did you separate yourself from your parents? I could help you to find them. I am also looking for someone, it is a girl that has around your age, but she is so full of energy and ran off earlier."

With a radiant smile that irradiated a motherly aura and sublime kindness, the woman extended her hand my way.

"My name is Raikou, what is yours?" The woman, Raikou, asked me.

Ignoring most of her words for a moment, my mind repeated that name over and over until I recalled where I heard it before. However, I could not connect this woman who had a beaming smile to the one that caused Yasaka-san to run off in fear.

"The name is Mystery Cat X, Now, if you will excuse me, I was told by my guardian to not expect overly beautiful, excessively curvaceous, and unnecessary kind women who offer me their help when I am outside home." I bowed and was about to leave but-

"Isn't that way too specific?" Raikou-san stopped me. "It is ok, I won't hurt you. I am just trying to help you, I can guarantee that I am not a suspicious person." Raikou-san patted her chest, and it unnecessarily made her hand bounce off.

Isn't that the phrase most used by suspicious people? If you want me to trust you, I would rather that you openly called yourself a bad guy at once.

"I am sorry, but I can't trust you. You look overly suspicious. Besides, you look like a pervert too." I tried to move away from her hand that she had suddenly put on my shoulder.

What a grip, how much strength does she have in these slender arms?

"P-Pervert!? You mean me? What part of me makes you think so?" Raiko-san looked baffled.

You should deny the suspicious part, you know? For appearance's sake. I was a little fed up with this lady and slightly frustrated that her hand did not release me so I thought that being blunt but mean should be enough to give her the surprise she needs to release me. I wouldn't do this to Yasaka at this point because I would hate if she came to hate me for speaking like this.

"What part of you makes me think like that, did you seriously ask me that? Look at your body in the mirror before telling me that, or rather, your outfit is way too lewd, just know, you leaned forward, and that caused a group of teenagers to bleed from their noses and awkwardly walk away." I said in one breath.

This is good, she will surely get weirded out and take some distance from me, or so I thought. However, my hope was crushed.

"Ah! I see so that is what it is. Silly child, that is called 'motherly aura'. If there is something I can be said to be overflowing with, that is certainly a motherly aura. However, that fact that you could not recognize it... did your family never teach you?" Raikou-san pulled me closer to inspect my face. "Don't tell me... Ah, you are all alone because you don't have anyone else? How pitiful, a young Youkai all alone because his family was separated thanks to thoughtless exorcists. However, don't worry, there is no need to be afraid, I am also a Youkai so you are safe with me. I will thoroughly teach you what motherly aura is while I take care of you."

I have to be honest. This woman impressed me greatly, I did not know that someone could spout so much BS as I that fast. This woman ignored my words and changed them to her convenience, not to mention that she guessed my heritage this quickly. This is it, it is too dangerous to remain here. Although I was slightly curious how will she thoroughly teach me, it is not worth it if I get taken away by another sicko, even if this one is attractive.

"...I have a guardian waiting for me so I will take my leave." I said, but she was not letting me go.

Looking at me with pity, she lifted me and hugged me, and for whatever reason, my face ended up on her chest.

"*Sob* It is ok, you don't have to feign that someone is waiting for you, it is ok." Raikou-san patted my back.

While I won't lie by saying that I am not enjoying having my face buried in the softness, Raikou-san should get a hint that she is suffocating me with all the movements my hands and feet are making. I am doing my best but it is not working, this is no joke, I am using Senjutsu to strengthen myself.

"H-Help! S-Someone!" I pleaded.

By putting my hands in a place I will not mention, I managed to part my head for enough time to call for help, but those motherf*ckers around us only looked at me with vexed expressions, although there was one guy who gave me a thumbs up.

Screw this, cats need air to breathe!

"Hmm, don't touch me there, ah~ Be more gentle~" Raikou-san moaned.

Oi, I am seriously fighting for my life here, so don't squirm like I am doing this on purpose.

"Don't be rowdy, I will not hurt you. I will shower you with the love I could not give him." Raikou-sam spoke in a soothing voice.

My body stopped fighting momentarily as I heard that. Proceeding the meaning of those words, I felt like there was more to her sudden actions and above all, that getting away will be harder.

...

...

...

It took me a whole hour to escape from that woman, her sister had come to the rescue but at some point, after bribing- I mean, thanking her for the great favor she did to me for helping me out, one taste made her react weirdly and she pretty much joined with her sister to drag me to her house to protect me. I wondered for a moment if I added some drugs to it by mistake, but I keep those kinds of plants far from anyone's reach. Neither poison nor addictive herbs are on the recipes I use, only 100% technique... and the secret ingredient, sugar. Maybe that was the problem; some people do not take sugar well. That said, I got her on my side after promising to provide her with more on another date. Since I lied saying I got some even tastier ones, I have to think of new sweets or I am afraid the backlash will be terrible.

...

...

...

Finding the catgirls proved to be a harder task than I initially thought, for some reason, I failed to find them. It is not like they were lost, but more like Musashi-san took them to so many places and wandered for so long that I could not keep up.

My time was not wasted even though my search did not bear fruits. I ran into Yasaka-san who was speaking to another nine-tailed fox. It was an amazing meeting where I got to meet an incredible woman who was higher on the pecking order. She even bonked Yasaka-san on the head when she heard that she instructed me in pastry making. Not to mention, I got to learn that there is a fantastic place where nine-tailed women live, without any man. A hidden village of some sort. That said, I did not think every nine-tailed kitsune were going to be as friendly as that lady was with me. Following her there were a pair of young kitsune, they each had nine-tailed as well and they were constantly sending hostile looks at me whenever I spoke to the lady. Funny thing was that they each got a bonk on their heads for doing so. Why funny? Because I have a bad personality where I laugh at things like that.

...

...

...

A lot of stuff happened by the time we had to go and be done with that ritual. I found the catgirls, but Musashi-san apologized and promised to hang out with me another time since she had something else to take care of. I felt somewhat empty and down that, I could not chat with her some more but there was nothing that could be done. Pulling each cat girl with one hand, I followed after Yasaka-san and her nine-tailed friend.

Contrary to what I originally imagined, the ritual would not be held inside the temple, but rather, where the stone was located. The one that is known to the public and the one that was completely exposed.

My first thought was that they were insane to leave the stone out in the open, however, Yasaka-san told me that forcefully breaking the seal was close to impossible. One of the reasons was the catalyst used in the sealing process. It was not your everyday object.

Yata no Kagami, one of the Japanese sacred treasures was used by the exorcists to seal the nine-tailed fox so the seal was sturdy for external stimulus. The only risk was that it could wear down given that it could not exactly purify grudges as well as the Yasakani no Magatama so it required the ritual to be held during certain intervals of time to avoid an overflow of grudges and the release of kitsune.

There were several counter-measures to guarantee that everything went smoothly. For example, the five great clans each send some people. Like you expect it, they send the hosts of the sacred beasts.

I saw the interesting sight of Suzaku with a serious face while she walked around the zone of the ritual, but it did not last long since she spotted me. The smile she gave me was so radiant and sweet that I felt momentarily overwhelmed. I reckon that if it wasn't because the old bastard, the guy who was hell-bent on killing Akeno-chan was not there, she would've run my way to talk. That said, her smile cause splash damage. Many males were dazzled and had silly faces when they saw her, but she never paid attention to anyone else. It kind of made me feel proud but I immediately reproached myself for that. Her actions have a clear reason and I should be taking advantage of that. I needed to chat with her and be clear for both of our sake. Nonetheless, the damage was not only for the peanut gallery but for me too. Kuroka-chan's stare could pierce me if she put more effort, yet... Yasaka-san's one was the stare that scared me.

...

...

...

While waiting for the rest of the involved parties to arrive, Yasaka-san smiled kindly (?) at me.

"Nora-kun, Nora-kun, oh Nora-kun, what am I going to do with you?" Yasaka-san giggled. "When were you planning to tell me that you had such a good relationship with the heir to Himejima Clan?"

Her smile sent chills down my back so it might my cue to not joke and spill the beans.

"At our wedding when we invited her...?" I could not cover my mouth in time. "Ok, I apologize, I seriously do so please don't look at me like I am a hopeless case. It is technically your fault that you are not aware of it, I did tell you but you were so much into your work that you did not pay attention to me."

Saying my peace, I pulled Kuroka-chan into a hug and rubbed her back. Little by little, the black cat released the tension before melting on my arms.

"...Nora, my turn." Shirone-chan requested- ordered me.

Extending her arms toward me, she looked eager despite her stoic face, her eyes in particular had this glint I usually saw when she got affectionate.

"...Nora-kun, I am amazed how you twisted everything and made it my fault." Yasaka-san looked amazed. "*Sigh* Alright, I won't ask because I might've been neglecting to meet you guys lately, but I want to hear more details about that young woman. Even if she is that attractive, I don't think it will be easy for you two to have something unless you manage to change the minds of the stubborn old men in her clan. The last thing they would desire is to have their precious heir end up with a Youkai. It will be an arduous path the one you want to walk, but I hear many good things about her so I believe it should be possible... However, there is one thing I want you to keep in mind."

Holding back my urge to retort to everything she said, I gulped when put on a serious visage. I briefly wondered if this was advice coming from the leader of the western youkais and not the silly Yasaka-san.

"My Kunou must be number one no matter how many girls are in your harem. She might be small now, but she will grow to be an outstanding beauty that will not lose to any girl. I will also strictly instruct her in the ways of harem management so have faith in her way to keep your harem in harmony." Silly Yasaka-san said.

Losing all the energy to retort, I felt slightly depressed that she still does not consider our relationship, but my current self must be the issue. I will continue to flirt with her and shower her with confessions of my love, at some point when I grow some more, she will change her mind, I think. For some reason, I feel like she is not exactly obvious to my advances, but rather like she shoots them down for a certain reason. Could it be...?

"Yasaka-san, are you afraid of being called a shotacon? That is why you do not wish to have a relationship with me?" I asked.

"Pfffft, nyahaha." Kuroka-chan laughed in my arms.

"Pfffft, Nora, pfffft." Shirone-chan giggled non-stop.

I expected Yasaka-san to immediately start her offensive of head bonking, but it seemed my words left her quite speechless. Nonetheless, I would like to believe that my eyes did not trick and the blush on her face was 100% real, meaning that she found it embarrassing, and hopefully, she had considered my feelings.

Just in case, I shall flee before she reacts and applies punishment.

3rd Person POV

Resting on her couch with her eyes closed, Yukari 'iddly' waited for a visit.

Like she had expected, the man arrived on time followed by his floating partner. He was Sakamoto Ryouma and the lady following him was Oryou.

"Aren't you restless?" Ryouma asked.

"...I could ask you the same question." Yukari slightly opened her eyes and glared at the man.

Chuckling softly, he adjusted his hand before looking away.

"It is not something I will deny." Ryouma said. "He only allowed us to act to keep 'them' in check without twisting history that much... even though he did as pleased. That said, I am part of those twists in history he did so I shouldn't complain."

You are reading story Highschool DxD: A new opportunity at novel35.com

Softly chuckling, Ryouma had a gentle smile as he recalled the past.

"We are without a doubt something that should not exist if history followed the proper channels from what he told us. Even our temporary leader confirmed that history should've followed a different path, but our leader's whims made it possible to be able to breathe in this era." Yukari muttered.

"Ryouma, Ryouma, Oryou is hungry." Oryou suddenly said.

Completely breaking the mood, the floating lady interrupted.

"Ran." Yukari softly called.

Not minding what the floating lady said, she simply spoke, and soon Ran appeared with a poof of smoke. Without even mentioning a word, Yukari glanced at Oryou and that was all that Ran needed to nod in acknowledgment and understanding.

Signaling Oryou to follow her, Ran walked away. Only after Ryouma nodded was that Oryou left.

"Hahaha, sorry about that." Ryouma scratched his cheek apologetically.

"It is ok, her honest nature is not something I dislike." Yukari mumbled. "Are you certain that she should form part of the attacking group?"

Despite her sleepy tone, Yukari asked in concern.

"It has to be done. After they found the outer seal of the beast of the apocalypse, they have released a dangerous being. The knight of famine, or 'Hunger' as they call him is truly fearsome. His power pales in comparison to the rest, but his ability to drain and absorb the power from others is something that we must not let roam around." Ryouma said.

"...yet, we have to split our forces to deal with their little plan in the Underworld. Thanks to that, we will be leaving him unprotected. I do not like that, even though we are forbidden to take action... if he is far from our sights it makes me restless." Yukari spoke in a somber tone.

"There is not much we can do, I wish our side could proactively help out the cat, but our temporary leader is way too faithful to our leader's instructions. I guess that's how it is for maidens whose hearts have been stolen already, wouldn't you say so?" Ryouma smiled.

Snorting at that, Yukari did not deny or affirm what Ryouma said. Suddenly taking a serious expression, the resting Youkai turned her head to one place and soon the sliding doors to the room were opened, walking in hurried steps, Chen kneeled in front of Yukari as soon as she was close enough.

"Yukari-sama, there is a status update-nya." Chen said.

Pulling a paper scroll from her cleavage for Ryouma's chagrin, Chen presented it to Yukari who swiftly took it and started to read it.

"Ryouma, depart at once to the Underworld." Yukari spoke in a hurried tone.

Before Ryouma could even ask, Yukari threw the scroll at him so he could read it before she swung her arm, and a gap on the space opened on the ceiling, dropping Oryou on top of Ryouma.

"Wow!" Oryou let herself fall on Ryouma despite being capable of flying.

"Urgh." Ryouma kindly caught Oryou at the expense of planting his face on the floor.

Nonetheless, he immediately stood up and finished reading the scroll, with an urgent look he glared at Yukari who sent him away from the same way she brought Oryou, through a gap in space... directly below his feet.

"To think that such a thing still existed, that was a miscalculation..." Yukari bit her lips.

Part 3

MC's POV

More and more people kept arriving, exorcists and what I believe to be representatives from hell, or so those people mumbled. Motherless, it was not like they were from Hades' hell, but rather the one that is known in Japanese myths, yet not a single god from this country appeared, I wonder why.

Walking, my feet took me to the stone in question, the one where Tamamo no Mae is sealed.

Holding each of my hands, the catgirls stared at the stone with complicated expressions.

"Poor Tamamo." Shirone-chan mumbled.

"Nora-nya, Shirone-nya is sad because the kitsune is sealed-nya. Release her and make Shirone-nya happy." Kuroka-chan recklessly said.

Even though it was reckless, I honestly gave it some thought. While I wanted to make Shirone-nya, ahem, Shirone-chan happy, I doubt my skills were enough to release the fox, not to mention the whole letting out such a dangerous creature. That said, my training with Thighs Shishou included the use of runes, she drilled- gently crammed the basics onto me. Such a thing included knowledge about barriers and seals and combined with already learned knowledge in Rossweisse-san's college, made me recklessly think I could unravel the workings of this seal.

"Hmph, I would not get too close if I were you. Black cats have always been bringers of bad luck."

A certain aged voice intruded, one I was familiar with. Turning around, I saw the old bastard that wanted to kill Akeno-chan, his name was-

"George... we meet again." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Who the heck is George!? I am Suou, Suou Himejima. I can see that your personality is the same as before." Suou grumbled.

"Grrrr." Kuroka-chan hissed.

"Hissing noises." Shirone-chan gave up on hissing and straight-up said it.

Even though he received the animosity from the girls and my not-so-friendly stare, he seemed unperturbed.

"What are you doing here? Look, if this is about Suzaku, sorry... that girl is mine and you can't do anything about it, we are just waiting until I get old enough." I smiled wickedly.

He did not take my joke well, his breathing accelerated and his eyes bulged.

Serves you right, you came to spoil the mood of the girls, deal with my joke.

"*Sigh* You are not going to do that, aren't you?" Suou asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and he just sighed again.

"Do you still carry that Magatama?" Suou inquired.

"You want to steal it from me? How much evil do you want to pile up by stealing the belongings from a helpless child like me!?" I shuddered in mock terror.

"Pfffft." "Shhh-nya, you must- pffft, you must not laugh-nya." Shirone-chan and Kuroka-chan laughed at me.

Oi, you are supposed to be on my side.

"I wouldn't be able to take it even if I wanted to." Suou muttered. "Do keep it safe and do go showing it to anyone else. Hmph, if you learn how to use it, I might even consider your little joke..."

Finished saying that, the bastard left.

"Wait, what the heck? You are joking, right? Hey!" I called out.

However, Suou never turned back.

"I don't feel like laughing now-nya." Kuroka-chan grumbled.

"Should I raise her danger level on the list? Each time we meet her she looks tougher to beat." Shirone-chan suggested.

The catgirls started to speak nonsense while I got a headache over Suou's words.

Trying to deny reality, I directed my stare at the stone and found myself feeling a bit of melancholy. Part of me imagined Yasaka-san in Tamamo no Mae's position, while there is discrimination nowadays, back in the days when Tamamo roamed freely things must've been different, if I have been born at that age I wondered what kind of life I would've led and how would've I reacted to what happened. For my dear Yasaka-san, I would've opposed those bastards to the bitter end. That said, it is just a fleeting thought I had given their nine-tailed status... and my attraction to their kind.

While Shirone-chan and Kuroka-chan furiously scribbled something on a rather long list that I believed would give more headaches if I read, I pondered about a certain detail I once read. Sealing such a powerful creature must've been hard to do, and many of the Japanese rituals used to consist of using catalysts to help the process, in short, while you could make a spell work in an instant, maintaining for long periods made it difficult. If the caster happened to suffer a mishap, the spell could be broken so they used a catalyst as a medium that would keep the spell working. Nonetheless, you would need one amazing object to use as the medium. Thus, my curiosity made me peer inside the stone using my ability since I could not see something worth noticing from the outside. Something as showy as that mirror would be easily visible from the outside so if you could not see it easily, then it had to be inside. My sight allowed me to see the famous Tamamo no Mae, while I could not easily see her eyes color, her hair was pink and it was held in a split ponytail, she was wearing a traditional Japanese blue robe, in her hands, the mirror was being held in place, strips of paper seemed to be completely covering the shield and from there, stretched to tie Tamamo. With her eyes closed her visage was beautiful and she looked to be in a peaceful slumber but the feeling the stone gave off was exactly the opposite. I did not doubt that the wounds on her body were part of the grudges she had. I was not sure what she went through but I could imagine it by the state of her body. I could also roughly estimate that she looked way worse when the seal was set up. Judging by the tears on her clothing, they must've been bigger wounds, but her injuries look smaller. I would say that she was recovering but given the time she has been sealed, the process was exceedingly slow.

Somehow in a trance, I got closer to the stone and put my left hand on it. Complex thoughts crossed my mind and for some reason, hanging on my neck, the magatama started to shine with a gentle glow.

It was then that I noticed a small straw doll deeply buried on the ground in front of the stone. My ability was still on so I could call it a coincidence, maybe I could attribute it to my good luck because I got a bad feeling just by seeing it so it must be bad news.

"Kuroka-chan, Shirone-chan go and call Yasaka-san here." I send the girls away.

Since I used a serious and urgent tone, the girls did not hesitate and left hastily.

Just in case, to avoid trouble for Suzaku, I sent her a message through my phone. If she has it on her she should be able to see the message, she is usually quick to reply to messages so she probably pays attention to her phone often. I could go there but she was together with some people from the other clans. I would very much like to avoid a scene where some other stupid guy acts like a young master while outwardly expressing his hate for Youkais. Not to mention that she must be incredibly popular with guys and girls alike, and I wouldn't be surprised if she had a secret fan club that would get in my way out of jealousy, thus our meetings are usually in that coffee shop.

While I waited for Yasaka-san, I decided to collect more information. That doll looked similar to the work of those black-cloaked guys from before, the design was different and it had a different set of symbols on it, but some of those were like the ones I saw. Going back to my regular view, I took a look at the earth and noticed a few differences from the rest of the ground. The earth looked fresh similar to when you dig the ground so this was not done long ago. They didn't bother covering their tracks so they were either in a hurry or maybe they simply lacked the skills to cover their mess.

Turning around, I heard Yasaka-san's hurried steps... and it happened. My head could only describe it as fluctuations, the reactions came from different places but I had no time to locate them because there was one right below me.

My instincts told me to get away, running from this place as far as I could. However, there was this little bit inside my head that told me to stay here, that I should not run away. Most of my rational mind considered that crazy and I was about to step back when it happened. The gentle and soft glow from the magatama got stronger. There was some kind of resonance, to be precise, two of them. One of the resonances was getting closer but it would take a while for it to arrive from the distance I could feel it. Nonetheless, in front of me was the second resonance, my eyes narrowed and I made my decision. The magatama in my chest has never tried to harm me and right now when there is danger, it seems to be reacting positively. It floated and got out my haori but it did not try to fly away rashly.

"Nora-kun!" Yasaka-san's voice sounded distant despite not being that far when I sent the catgirls after her.

At that instant, the magatama seemed to be getting anxious despite not being capable of showing emotions. It did not take a genius to know the identity of the little gift that Kasen-san gave me. The fact that it was reacting to the mirror inside the stone was a dead giveaway if you did not count my previous research. Although I did not want to believe my cat luck, I had in my hands one of the Sacred Regalias of Japan, Yasakani no Magatama. That would explain that there would be exactly two reactions. However, it seemed wary of them far away from one.

"The noise...?" I mumbled.

Looking around, I could see Yasaka-san a distance away being held back by an invisible wall, quite a distance away. It seems that a barrier was made and pushed everything, except me who was near the stone, away. The exorcists and clan members gathering for the ritual were also pushed back. I could spot Kuroka-chan and Shirone-chan frantically hitting the wall and that made me smile wryly. Suzaku was also unusually worked out while she shouted something.

Kasen's POV

"Are you ready to go, Kasen?" Forest Wraith asked.

Listening to the voice of the Shikigami that had 'his' appearance always left her with complex feelings, but she could not blame him, he is just visiting her to check on her. Putting aside her usual garments, she carries a wooden box with several ofudas plastered over it and the large weapon she showed Nora before. It made her give off a different impression to those who saw her and they would mistake her for a bloodthirsty killer instead of a hermit, even though she is not exactly any of those.

"I believe it was 'this day' that something happened so I plan to lend him a hand." Kasen replied.

"Remember that unless you open up that box, your strength will be a few steps below your peak. Even if your current strength is enough to deal with them for a while, your endurance took a hit when you 'did' that. You will probably be out of commission for a while if you spent all of your stamina so my advice is that you open it up before going." Forest Wraith advised.

Glaring at the Shikigami, Kasen refused to do as he said. If Nora were to see her like that... he might get scared, she won't be the gentle person she is in his eyes but rather-

"Can you send me using magic?" Kasen inquired.

"*Sigh* You are so stubborn, even though you know that he will never push you away for that. If you are afraid that you might go back to how you were before and start rampaging then-" Forest Wraith got cut off.

"Forest Wraith, if you just came to blabber, then leave." Kasen narrowed her eyes at the Shikigami.

The Shikigami was right and that was precisely why she stopped it from speaking anymore. She did not even want to imagine such a thing.

"Alright, alright, are your preparations already?" Forest Wraith nodded when Kasen signaled in affirmation. "Ok, Forest Wraith express, here you go!"

Doing several hand signs, Forest Wraith then planted his hands on the ground and a magic circle manifested below Kasen. Immediately, Kasen found herself in some kind of forest different from the one she lived in.

Screams could be heard not that far from her and the sound of fighting made apparent why. Kasen hastily moved in that direction and before long, she found a pair of men that had just finished killing an exorcist. They turned around and without saying a word, they were about to attack her, however, she simply swung her sword horizontally. The result was simple, they could not even react to the speed she moved before being split in half.

"I need to hurry..." Kasen mumbled that.

Not even minding what she just did, Kasen walked away. It was not only because she was in a hurry or she was used to such a view, but rather, she avoided thinking about her actions.

Part 4

3rd Person POV

Flying at high speed, two individuals who wore black cloaks rushed to the Killing Stone's location. One of them was short and plump while the other one had a slim figure but a little taller than the first one. Another thing to differentiate them was that the slim figure had a large coffin covered in chains tied to the back while the shorter figure had a sheathed sword on its waist.

"Tsk, I thought that our plan was going to work perfectly fine but there is less chaos than expected, they are not as foolish as we thought, they left the dolls hidden so no one was transformed." The shorter figure complained, it had a male voice and seemed vexed.

"It was between our predictions, their leader has an unusually high insight so he probably guessed that there was something off about our gift. Besides, the primary use that was to isolate the stone a release a maddening enchant to create chaos is working. They at least placed the one below the stone-like we asked so the seal must be weakening. No need to fret over smaller issues when the plan is going well, besides, we asked for the Ame-no-Murakumo so we could use their resonance to create an opening in the seal. In normal cases, it would hardly be enough to cause any damage to it but thanks to our intrusion, it will be a great boost to make our plans successful, right?" The slimmer figure playfully explained, it had a female voice and did not seem to mind their setbacks.

"They 'kindly' lend it to us just because they want to test if their experiment was a success so it might end up backfiring. Hmph, I say, those Khaos Brigade or whatever are simply ungrateful fools, we were the ones who got them this sword yet they are using us for a test run." The male figure complained.

Arriving closer to the temple, they could feel some sort of restriction placed on them.

"It seems that teleportation will be impossible from here on, I will prepare the counter-spell, but it will take time. You could say that bringing this 'cargo' with us instead of summoning it was a wise move as expected of the Bishop." The slim figure commented.

Nodding at that, the shorter figure could not help but glance at the coffin, it happened to start shaking so it sent a chill down his back.

"Do we really have to bring it?" The shorter figure mumbled.

"Of course, it is our trump card, besides, it was about time to be fed 'it'." The slim figure giggled.

"You are crazy... Uh? What's this? There is another signal, another object is resonating with the sword... How is that possible? The magatama was said to be lost centuries ago, we gave up looking at it because there no clues." The short figure shouted.

Finally arriving at the place where the stone was, they started to look around. They made use of the unfolding chaos to pass unnoticed, although their cloaks helped them to hide their presence.

"Fufu, how foolish of you to make such a mistake. It should not pose a problem, we can always deal with that person. It seems that despite being capable of wielding sacred swords when you were a human, you failed to properly grasp such a thing until you were this close." The slim figure laughed at her ally's failure.

"It's this sword fault, despite being reconstructed using that snake, part of it refuses to acknowledge another owner. Besides, this one is not for supportive uses so it is not strange that this happened." The shorter figure started rambling.

Rolling her eyes at that, the slim figure maintained a smile under her hood and hid her annoyance over this ally of hers. If they had left this mission to one of her sisters and her, it wouldn't have any setback, but the way this man acted made it hard for things to not go wrong.

"We will kill that guy using the magatama if he gets in our way-" The slim figure could not finish her words.

A young boy was in her line of sight, while looking for the stone she saw him and she froze. The shorter man saw this and clicked his tongue.

"It will be my job to take care of the brat then, if you can't still kill children you are bound to fail in most of our missions. It seems he is the one with the magatama so I should do this quickly." The shorter figure was about to leave but-

"...Do not move a muscle." The slim figure spoke in a chilling tone.

Freezing on his spoke, the shorter figure shuddered. He had never been the object of her animosity, and it was the first time he heard her speak like that. She would usually use a flirty and sensual tone to speak, even teasing others during battle, but never like this. Glancing back, he saw a pair of orange eyes that could almost pierce a hole in his body. They did not catch anyone's attention since their cloaks had several enhanced enchants to conceal them but it would've made them noticeable if she had directed the killing intent in a wide area, yet no one bothered to look at them this it meant that he was the one that caused her to be like that.

"We will observe." The slim figure ordered.

With words that did not allow any refusal, the woman did not pay attention to the man anymore. However, the man had to look at the boy and he almost unleashed an attack by reflex when he glance in his direction, no, the boy glanced at him despite their stealth being capable of fooling everyone else around them, he directed his eyes at them.

"You can't escape those eyes." The slim figure commented in a soft tone of voice. "It seems that even without us acting personally, he will break the seal. It makes me think, why was the seal so easy to break? No, the most important point is... why did the current leader of the Shinto Gods, Amaterasu did not come to save Tamamo no Mae? I am guessing that the fact that the seal can be broken this easily is one reason."

"...what do you mean?" The shorter figure asked.

Still shocked over the fact that such a weak child could see them he did not think too much of the fact that the woman used a soft tone to refer to the boy.

"Ara? You did not know? Tamamo no Mae is the child of Amaterasu." The woman playfully said. "Perhaps that is why the resonance with the sacred treasures can help weaken the seal, and it is not like we initially thought. It might be because Amaterasu herself fiddled with the remaining treasures so they could be used to release her."

MC's POV

I am at a crossroad here, I just caught some dangerous people hiding among the crowd, my regular sight was not able to catch them but my ability worked on its own again and I saw them. They were wearing black cloaks and it might be the reason why they could not be detected or seen, yet it could also be some sort of high-level spell. Nonetheless, I burned their figures in my brain. A short and plump man with brown hair, his looks were pretty much average and I could feel his killing intent directed at me, he wore black garments made of cloth similar to bandages, only his face being visible. That said, my concern was on the other figure, she looked visibly shaken when she saw me here but she quickly fixed her expression and put on a playful smile, even winking at me, clearly aware of my gaze. Long silver hair tied in a two side up and with a small red highlight that reminded me of someone. She had orange eyes that irradiated confidence and her outfit was one way to show it off. Her outfit was a grey and red double-breasted dress with long sleeves and a noticeable side cutout showing her armpits and sideboob which allowed you to easily spot a mole on her right breast. For some reason, she had several black crosses adorning her outfit near the collar and her sleeves. She wears black high thighs garter straps, lacking any skirt to cover her. You could almost see that her underwear was showing and that made me have an idea that this one might be a pervert. Regardless of the judgment I gave her for her appearance, I considered her one step more dangerous than the man since her smile free of any hostility was unnerving and the fact that I could not get anything from her expression made it worse. She was the type of person I was bad at dealing with.

Shaking my head, I looked away from the flirty woman and made up my mind. I did not know what they have planned by releasing Tamamo and the coffin that lady has can't be a good thing so I grabbed my pendant planted it on the rock surface.

Like that, I released Tamamo no Mae. I hoped that she would be less worked out and avoid conflict, but I underestimated what a grudge was. Thinking that perhaps she might be rational was a miss, and trusting the magatama too.

Why did I release her? I did not consider myself the righteous guy who set her free. It was bound to happen, but the magatama was urging me to do it so I went with the flow. I thought that it would be better as if those guys did it, yet-

I am not sure what the magatama did but as soon as I touched the stone, cracks spread starting from my hand, until the stone split in half. Tamamo no Mae fell but she soon stood up. I thought she would be asleep but it seems that she had been awake the whole time because she stood up and opened her eyes. The ofudas clinging to her burst into flames and she was free to move. The mirror she had did not fall to the ground and instead hovered around her. When Tamamo was standing straight, she slowly opened her eyes, her wounds looked pretty bad but her movements were not restricted by it. Then, like a coincidence, the barrier surrounding us was shattered. One look back and I saw several people getting closer. One guy looked particularly intimidating and threatening, Yasaka-san had said that he was here in representation of hell and he was a type of Oni with an absurd strength. The humongous mace on his hand looked heavy and I bet I would become a bloody paste on the ground if he swung it at me so please don't look at me with such a killing intent.

"She is out... we are doomed!"

"Kuh, after I get through this, I will propose to Himari!"

"Are you an idiot? That phrase will get you killed!"

"Someone take these fools out of here, I want all those who can't fight to get out of here!"

Several voices could be heard shouting, the last one was a rough voice that tried to bring some order to the chaotic situation.

"Sir, we found that the origin of the chaos comes from some straw dolls, we started to dispose of them but one of the earlier finders happened to touches and-"

Crap, the dolls. I doubted that they were there only to cause mayhem. At this point, Tamamo no Mae is not doing anything so as long as they don't aggravate her, the situation could be put under control.

"It has not completely awakened, it is our chance to inflict some critical damage!"

"Those who are good at restraining arts begun chanting, if possible, we must prevent her from transforming."

"There is a kid there, what should be done?"

"Didn't you see he released her? He must be with the people who began attacking everyone in the festival."

"Nora-kun, what are you doing there? Come over here!"

Some people were beginning to plan their early dead and Yasaka-san was urging me to go to her. Nonetheless, I would usually be delighted to jump into her arms but I can't. For one reason or another, there is one big shot looking at me, for some reason, Tamamo no Mae was staring at me.

I could feel her eyes on my bad so I slowly turned around and flashed her my best smile.

"Hey there, pretty lady. Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me? We could also eat some sweets, my treat. That said, if you want to pay me back, I would be satisfied if I can see your smile!" I said.

Oh, god, why did I just do!?

It was a damn unconscious reaction. I curse my old habit of flirting with women no matter the situation. I curse you to dad, why did you teach me in such a hardcore way how to flirt with girls? It is now part of me and I can't help but do it when I am nervous. You really deserve the beating mom gave you... although I won't deny that I saw a lot of actions thanks to your training.

However, I think it was too much. Tamamo no Mae looked at me incredulously.

I did not need to look back to know that most of the people behind me looked dumbfounded. Gently tapping the floor, I signaled the one in my shadow to not do anything rash... out of jealousy. Luckily, no one noticed, probably.

That said, I instantly turned around and activated one of the abilities of my rings.

"Luftschild" I shouted.

Luftschild created an air shield in front of me, and I used it to cover for the attacks directed at Tamamo, yet I could only take a few bullets. I did not hear the gunshots so it might be a special type of gun. Regardless of that, one of the bullets ended up grazing Tamamo and I knew that this was not going to be easy. The woman did not even bother to say a thing. She simply transformed.

Her nine tails and ears were brown but they gradually turned golden the more she changed. It was a swift transformation and soon a huge 20 meters tall nine-tailed fox was growling threateningly.

Cursing at the Extra Clan guy who followed that cheap imitation of those Chinese young master from the novels, I bit my lips to resist the huge pressure that Tamamo no Mae irradiated. It was worse than with the big guy on the sea.

"W-Wait, don't." I tried to stop the kitsune.

Nonetheless, it glared at me and ignore me afterward. She seems to see me in good light, but not the other side. I could not allow her to go there but I was unable to stop her.

Suddenly, I could feel all the ki in my body reacting violently, and judging by the state of the people around, they were feeling it too. Not to mention Yasaka-san, even the mighty Tamamo was affected. While I tried to keep my Ki in check I directed my attention to the origin of all. The straw dolls were setting out some weird aura, and not only the one here, while distant, other of those were acting the same way. I did not know the reason but I could feel those auras getting closer and closer. It gave me headaches and my ability to think clearly was being affected. Not only that, I got these urges to go rampant for no apparent reason. Before long, I could feel the straw dolls gathered around Tamamo, and my pendant finally kicked in and I felt my mind calming down.

I could only think of one suspect and using my ability I saw the short man from before chanting something. I did not need to wait long to see what he planned. The dolls threw themselves at Tamamo before exploding and some kind of liquid got splashed on Tamamo. Soon, her fur turned all black and her eyes red.

I had no time to do anything.

Howling, Tamamo directed a heavy killing intent everywhere, even at me whom she had initially ignored. Before long, she opened her mouth and... swallowed me.

Yikes.

3rd Person POV

"The only downside is that we used the dolls and they will no longer restrict Ki users, but it was worth having her start rampaging. That boy was quite something if he caused so many people to go crazy after getting swallowed." The shorter man commented.

Watching as the heir of the Himejima Clan started to furiously attack the nine-tailed fox and how that pink-haired girl from their hated enemies joined in by brandishing her swords non-stop. Tamamo no Mae fought back by exhaling foxfire from her mouth but it got blocked by a barrier made by a nine-tailed fox. The man could not recognize that brown-haired woman but despite looking strong, she looked sickly. Following after the barrier could not hold any longer, the leader of the western youkais used a spell that created a great number of foxfire in the air and used it to counter the attack.

No casualties occurred due to that attack, but it was obvious that the sickly fox was not the type who could hold on fighting for long periods. Yet, more people were getting their bearings after the initial attack. Taking formations and putting their defenses were the common approach but there were some ready to change in despite knowing the difference in size and strength. The oni-kin in particular looked itching to go.

"This should be good, the more casualties it generates, the more hatred it will receive and will get more enraged. It would be the best outcome if it could slaughter everyone here but the numerical difference is too much. Not to mention that nine-tailed fox is capable to fight for so long thanks to that annoying connection she has." The shorter man nodded to himself.

"Ara? Is that so? I think we will have to use plan B." The slender woman said.

Not understanding what she meant the man turned around to see that Tamamo no Mae had stopped in place.

"What is going on!?" The man looked puzzled.

This was not how it was supposed to go, that spell would make her rampage more and more every time she got hurt. However, now she had stopped moving.

"Fufu~ it seems like your plan is not going to work after all." The woman giggled with a happy expression.

She did indeed enjoy seeing the plan deviating slightly, now that things went awry with the boy here, the woman had to recall her duty to avoid doing something that might endanger her objectives. If it wasn't because she did not see any blood during that first attack, she would've killed the man and forced the fox to spit out what she swallowed. Nonetheless, she was bewildered as well. The spell the man used was not so easy to break or destroy, unless-

"Hehe~ Truly a bringer of disaster... to his enemies, no, perhaps it is simply his chaotic nature~" The woman playfully murmured.

Licking her lips in a way that would've been considered seductively by anyone who saw her, the woman smiled even wider when she felt a presence getting closer. Not wanting to miss a moment, the woman carefully observed the moment when the party opposing the legendary Youkai was going to attack again-

"If you move even one muscle, I will rip you apart, mark my words."

A voice filled with anger was heard and between the opposing sides, an impact occurred. It left a huge crater on the ground and a dust cloud was raised, when it subsided, a sword, large enough to be able to slay trolls or giants with one swing, was stuck on the ground. While everyone was confused by the sudden even, a figure gently landed beside the sword and easily lifted it. She had pink hair and an outfit that many associated with a hermit.

"I will say it again, if you move a muscle, I will rip you apart!"

After repeating those words, the pink-haired woman swung her sword and the slash left a deep mark on the ground. It stretched long enough to completely divide the parties.

The human side had a normal reaction, one that was shared among the majority and it was to get scared from the attack while warily glaring at the pink-haired woman. However, the Youkai side was different. The youkais who had weaker auras and strength began to tremble fearfully. While the oni-kin, and in particular you, the leader of the western youkais glared at the pink-haired woman with palpable hostility.

3rd Person POV

"...Kasen, why are you here!?" Yasaka asked in a low tone.

Holding back her urge to charge forward and attack, Yasaka could not allow herself to be reckless. She had sealed the catgirls' movements to prevent them from charging at Tamamo to help Nora. While she would love to do the same, the difference in strength is more than she initially thought. So far, everyone had believed that Tamamo no Mae had been weakened little by little in her slumber, or so that was the type of seal that was supposed to keep her in the stone. Yet, they were incredibly wrong, one attack, in one attack Tamamo no Mae almost caused heavy casualties. Thankfully, her old friend Amagi was there to put on a shield that bought her enough to counter-attack, otherwise, those with weak bodies would've been incinerated. You could say that it was an expected outcome from an attack made by a legendary Youkai. That said, it was not comforting at all. Amagi had a weak constitution so repeatedly stopping those flames was not an option. The group that came from hell was not going to follow her orders thanks to the oni-kin they sent as a representative. The human side was even worse, besides the Suzaku girl whom Nora had hoodwinked, there was not going to be friendly cooperation. She might need to go all out to get Nora back but it is risky since she might hurt him.

The situation was going to be as tricky as it could be, but Tamamo no Mae after changing to her nine-tailed gigantic form had suddenly stopped moving. The only thing that could be said to point out that she was still awake and wary of the other was the mirror that was hovering around her large figure, taking more time to turn around so Yasaka had mistakenly believed that it was gone for a moment.

"Release us-nya!" "Nora!" Kuroka and Shirone pleaded.

Behind her, the catgirls tried to go past her but a barrier-forming cube did not allow it. Yasaka had made sure that they were protected and stayed put. She was found of them and did not want them to get hurt, but above all, she knew that Nora will not take it well if they were hurt due to her carelessness. Even though he is fine with getting hurt, he loathes that others do it. He is such an unreasonable person, or so Yasaka thinks. No one attacked the nine-tailed Tamamo due to fear of another attack like before. The reckless ones that got ahead of themselves were paler than a sheet of paper so Yasaka could at least rest assured that they won't act foolishly for a while.

"Why do you always do this-nya!? Nora-nya needs us, he got swallowed-nya. I know I am weak-nya, but what about you-nya!? Don't you care about Nora-nya!? You! You!" Kuroka furiously hit the barrier.

"Please! I will be a good Kittie, I won't ask for second servings of rice, just save him!" Shirone tearfully begged.

Biting her lips so hard that she bled, Yasaka slightly trembled. The mirror was a threat, capable of reflecting certain attacks of the mystic origin, it was capable of doing several tricks that were not recorded. Using magic that could be thrown back was not an option, and the fact that no attack was reflected could be either a trap or those attacks were not threatening enough. There was the possibility that for some reason Tamamo was unable to use the mirror correctly, but there was no basis for that.

Inwardly sighing, she wished that if the exorcists and the hell representatives were going to become a burden, they would just leave, that way, she could attack without caring for having her attack redirected at them thanks to the mirror.

"You don't deserve Nora-nya!" Kuroka shouted.

"Nee-sama! Don't say that!" Shirone reproached.

"I don't care-nya! She is not helping him, she does not deserve that he always pays attention to her-nya. She does not like him at all-nya." Kuroka grudgefully mumbled.

Words of an angry kid they were, close to a ramble and releasing her anger on her. Nonetheless, those words hurt her deeply, and yet, Yasaka could not deny any of it. She was right, Yasaka had also thought so, she did not deserve him, she could not reciprocate his feelings. Despite his efforts, did she deserve all his attention? Putting Saya's warning about not putting a hand on her child, and ignoring his current status as a child, can she allow Nora to indulge her, to spoil her, to express his love to her when she is not willing to respond to his feelings? Her mind felt messy, but as soon as she considered that option of backing away and completely turning him down, making him leave her, she felt a pain in her heart. Yasaka could not call it love, but there was something there that made it hurt whenever she turned him down.

Her breathing suddenly got in disarray and from a distance away, Amagi who was accompanied by her escorts sent her a worried look. Before anything else happened, a loud sound was heard and it was accompanied by a cloud of dust. A very familiar presence, one that she did not want to ever feel again had suddenly appeared and her emotions that were fluctuating thanks to the black-haired girl got more difficult to control.

Soon, the figure that made her grit her teeth in anger continuously in the past was once again in front of her. Spouting threats, she wielded a weapon unfit for her size like she always did. Her exaggerated strength was the same as always, although her looks were different.

Reacting to her name called out, Kasen who was directing a cold and piercing glare to everyone turned to her and for a moment, her expression wavered, showing a complicated look, but she soon hardened her facial expressions, adding even a little of anger.

"Yasaka, why did you let him get swallowed?" Kasen asked.

Gritting her teeth, Yasaka could not stand that she of all people asked her or reprimanded her of someone well being.

"It is none of your business." Yasaka curtly said.

Shaking her head, Kasen glanced back for a moment before sighing.

"Since he was swallowed, you shouldn't be thinking of attacking. He can get out of there on his own. So, you two, calm down. Believe in him, he is your hero, is he not? Since you were saved by him before you should know that this will not stop him." Kasen directed kind words to her, no, to the girls behind Yasaka.

"Kasen-nya, I misjudged you-nya. You got big breast, but you are not my mortal enemy-nya." Kuroka wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"Kasen-nee-san!" Shirone excitedly called out.

Despite feeling a shudder when she saw a kind expression on one of the cruelest people she had ever met, Yasaka was shocked to hear that the girls knew her. Judging from their tone, they knew each other for quite some time, and from the way, Kasen referred to Nora, they knew each other too.

"Kasen, what are planning? Getting closer to Nora-kun, what is your scheme?" Yasaka coldly inquired.

The kind expression while looking at the catgirls was replaced by a mirror-cold expression and Kasen smirked while looking at Yasaka.

"It is none of your business, right? Whether I become his friend or not, you have no right to interfere." Kasen muttered.

"Of course, I can, I am-" Yasaka wanted to speak but Kasen did not allow it.

"His guardian? Heh, some guardian you are, tell me, where is he right now? You failed to protect him, what right do you have to call yourself as such!" Kasen angrily raised her sword and hit the ground.

The result was simple, cracks spread on the ground starting from the area of impact. Kasen did not seem to have used her full might with that blow or the cracks would've been larger than ten meters.

Looking down, Yasaka had not felt so vexed for so long. Having someone you hated so much to reproach you something, and the fact that it was an undeniable truth made it harder to take.

Sighing like she was tired, Kasen did not say anything more. After glancing at some people who were forgetting their fears, she pointed it at them.

"You got guts, I will give you that. It seems that after leaving for a couple of hundred years, this place has forgotten their fear for me." Kasen mumbled.

The oni-kin that represented hell could not stay quiet any longer.

"It might be easy for humans to forget about you, no, I guess that for them who have such a limited lifespan it is not weird to know about you given that all the people who knew you are dead. However, we do remember who you are. Kasen Ibaraki, one of the four devas."

Unable to hide his grudge through his speech, the oni-kin spoke.

Snorting at that, Kasen simply straightforwardly stared at the Oni.

"So what? You think I forgot my name and I needed you to remind me of my full name? I see that you have not changed." Kasen said.

"Hmhp, as expected of the vicious and treacherous Oni. Your scheming nature is still the same, let me ask you. Are you stalling for time? You seem weaker... The old Kasen would've easily killed everyone and wouldn't even bother to talk to us, tell me... for what reason? Is it for Tamamo's sake? No, if that were the case, you would still try to attack us so you could flee with her, and she was sealed long before you even appeared."

Narrowing his eyes, the oni-kin directed his glare at Tamamo.

"That boy... There was a nekomata that was swallowed by the nine-tailed just know. Is that your objective? Although I am not sure what is your reason for that, if you are going to use him for something evil, killing him will be-"

Not daring to utter another word, the oni-kin shut his mouth. He expected the killing intent from Kasen, and while it was even scarier than he recalled, he could still cop up with it. However, numerous sources of killing intent came from his side, or rather, the side currently opposing Kasen. A pink-haired girl with blue eyes, a woman with brown hair and purple eyes that was easy to distinguish as a nine-tailed fox, followed by the leader of the western youkais, even one of the Himejima girl was included, and he can't ignore the black-haired nekomata trapped in a barrier. The list did not end there though, two people that gave him the chills just imagining a situation when a fight breaks out. For some reason, he could not remember the name of the organization they belonged to, but the oni-kin failed to recall any details about it. However, he knew about how scary those two were.

"Raikou-dono, Ei-dono... are you two trying to go against Enma-sama? Eiki-sama is a tolerant and virtuous woman but I don't think that the other nine Enma-sama will take your betrayal well."

Trying to discern their goals, the oni-kin tried to pressure them.

"I will not allow anyone to take away anything from me again. I do not care if you are the representative of the Enmas, no, I wouldn't care if they were here in flesh, King of Hell or not, they will not get in my way. If you try to kill that child, my son, I will put you down."

One of the two people who gave the oni-kin headaches spoke, the older sister Raikou did not seem to be joking.

"Nee-sama, he has not taken action yet so it is too rash to make those kinds of threats, no, I guess they are your prediction for their future."

Speaking up to stop things from going south, the oni-kin saw the younger sister, Ei, trying to mediate.

"That said, I stand with Nee-sama. I have designated that boy as a 'must protect' target so I will be forced to use violence if you try to mess up with him. Besides, I would like to make a few points clear. We have not betrayed anyone. The fact that we usually collaborate with hell is simply because our interests in protecting japan align, do not take our stance as us lowering our heads to you in submission. We are not your dogs or anything of the like, if our stand-in leader heard you claiming ownership of our organization, you would be a goner regardless of your status." Ei stated. "I would like to ask you a question. Can you easily use their names like that? I doubt that Eiki-sama would allow you to use her name to threaten others. I would advise you to not do it again in the future, while he might be missing, our leader was a good friend with Eiki-sama. Your future will be grim if you make the wrong step. Even though Kishins are pretty valued due to their fighting prowess, your powers are usually sealed to avoid any misuse of your abilities, am I right?"

Carrying a polite tone, Ei smiled and caused the oni-kin, one of the Kishins, to shudder. She did not act impolite during any moment but somehow he felt more overwhelmed than when Kasen or Raikou spoke.

"Your name was Kasen, right? Our leader knows about your circumstance, so we also know about you to a certain level. I propose a collaboration, our side will aport my sister Raikou, Musashi over there, and myself." Ei calmly declared.

Walking from among the people, Musashi scratched the back of her head.

"Eh? You are including me as well?" Musashi incredulously asked.

"Acting like a fool? You were on your way to assassinate that Kishin just now, were you not? You are clearly acting recklessly, but your actions are for Nora's well-being." Ei sighed.

Looking away, Musashi laughed.

"Ei-chan, I-" Raikou tried to speak but got glared at by Ei.

"I expect to be addressed as the team leader while on a mission. Nonetheless, we shall talk later." Ei said.

Walking up to Kasen who had a wry and apologetic smile on her face, the group took a stance with weapons ready.

"My name is Ei, from _" Ei muttered. "Anyone brave enough to challenge us!?"

Many people hesitated, it was not like they were all United. They belonged to different groups and organizations, their clans were not necessarily friendly to others so going forward and losing their numbers was not an easy decision. Not to mention the facts that they might be relatively calm over her but they had sent a number of their subordinates to take care of the attack. They were even asking for back-up, but the legendary Youkai took their presence.

"Are you all a bunch of useless and spineless bastards? You are afraid of offending a couple of ladies and killing a child. I thought that I would get to enjoy a good show but you people make me sleep standing out of boredom."

A voice spoke in annoyance, soon, the owner of it made himself present, a man with short stature and a plump figure wearing a black-cloaked stood in from of the group of women.

Smiling viciously, black smoke began to rise from his body.

"I guess I am the brave guy who will kill you all." The short man laughed viciously.

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