At the beginning,
He...

          

Part 1

          

When I regained my consciousness I could not feel
anything at all. Everything was dark.

 

For a moment I thought that perhaps everything that
happened was a dream. But regardless if that was the truth, my current situation
was still the same.

 

I can't tell how much time is happening while I am
like this.

 

Suddenly, I recall how I was supposed to have been
sent to a world where supernatural phenomena are commonly seen.

 

That thought makes me extremely excited, but it makes
me wonder what kind of place is this?

 

I once used to read many fantastical stories from
different books. At some point, I stumble upon the Asian culture, in particular
Japanimation. I think that the fact that I could not afford to buy books was what
led me to focus my efforts on the internet which led me to anime and manga.
Although, in my childhood I had already seen several animes already, it was not
until years later when I learned that they were called anime. After anime, I
think it was manga, such a variety along with this new style to enjoy reading
was rather impressive for me at that time.

 

Then it came, as I read whatever that interested me, I
came to a point where I had nothing else to read. At that point, I finally
started with light novels.

 

I read many kinds, but I still did not find it boring.
I would spend days reading and reading.

 

Now that I recalled all that, I am even more excited
at the prospect of using the so-called 'magic'. In many works, magic was
depicted as a type of energy that can alter nature. There were others that
explained that magic was nature itself.

 

Too bad, I have no way of knowing yet what kind of
magic system will I experience.

 

Maybe I should try that... mainly in web novels,
meditation was used as the common way to absorb or accumulate the so-called
'magic power'.

 

Since I have nothing to do, I might as well try.

 

Still...

 

I...

 

Suck at this.

 

I had never tried meditation before, and now that I
tried it. I found it hard to keep my mind free of thoughts. They just kept
popping up.

 

This might take some time.

 

I kept trying for a while more, but I suddenly started
to feel asleep.

 

I can't even fight against it.

 

...

...

 

I finally woke up after who knows how long, but this
time I am feeling my body.

 

Well, most of it.

 

After some time feeling my state, I can roughly guess
that I am in a womb. Not some glass tube in some lab. And hopefully, It is a
human one. I can't see at all but the feeling of my extremities feels like I am
floating in some sort of liquid.

 

Briefly considering the possibility of artificial
birth in fantasy worlds, I would like to stick with the idea that this is a
womb. I can have peace of mind like that.

 

I still can't do anything though.

 

The worst thing is that I can't precisely say how much
time has passed.

 

I guess I should just focus on meditation. I haven't
been able to do it yet but... I got enough time to try.

 

Empty your mind...

 

Empty your mind...

 

Huh? Wait-

 

I think that doing it like this is slightly wrong.

 

I am not trying to meditate to gain illumination about
life nor anything like it.

 

My apologies to all people that are trying that even
now but... I want to use magic.

 

Yes, I not only need to clear my mind, but I must do
it to start sensing any sign of magic.

 

Or at least that is what I can recall from what I read
in light novels and web novels.

 

I think that the source of information that I am using
as basic for my actions could be a little unreliable but... I am extremely
bored in here.

 

I have read how in prisons they isolate inmates to
punish them, and I can agree that it exasperating being like this.

 

Once again, empty your thoughts...

          

But now, try to feel around you.

 

Feel, don't think.

 

Feel... don't think.

 

I think I can feel something, it is faint but there is
something in my surroundings... wait, my surroundings are just the womb I am
currently in.

 

I still have my doubts about how human-like I will
look. He(?) never specified until the end. So I have been trying to keep my
common sense intact by not thinking about it until now.

 

Now that I started to feel this something I became
self-conscious of my situation again.

 

I wonder what it is... It is slightly warm. I can't
feel it clearly but I can tell that it means no harm.

 

That is no joking matter; I am in no condition to
resist anything as I am now.

 

Still, the feeling it gives me is soothing... I am...
feeling sleepy again... I wanted to... continue feeling this... for a long...
time--

 

...

...

          

I am awake once again. I would like to think that it
happened a good amount of time so that would mean that I could get out of here
sooner. It is not a bad place to be since I feel comfortable but my curiosity
for the outside world grows every moment I stay here.

 

I immediately tried to look for the feeling from
before as soon as I woke up but I had no luck this time.

 

Not sure if the reason is that I stumbled upon it by
chance, or maybe... my mother, the person I am currently in, was the cause.

 

Regardless, I can't give up. I already got an idea of
what the feeling is like. Trying again is about the only thing I can do now
anyway.

 

This time, I will be using the feeling from before as
a reference. It was truly a unique situation, but I can only do my best to feel
my surroundings.

 

Nevertheless, my senses are not developed enough to
even think of using them.

 

Still, one can help but wish to have the things you
don't have sometimes... particularly if those things are your five senses.

          

I can't even sigh like I used to.

 

Forget about that, focus on my meditation.

 

...

...

          

          

After who knows how long, I finally got the feeling
again.

 

It is flowing in the body of my future mother, and
even inside me, although it is more subdued now than before.

 

I spent some time pondering about the reasons for
that. But perhaps the best way to describe is that since it is not in use at
the moment, it is calmly flowing through our bodies.

 

Well, even when I could think of all that, it does not
mean that it is necessarily true. The assumption of someone who barely got to
learn about this energy can't be very accurate.

 

My ideas come partly from works of fiction. Although I
heard from He(?) that some of those works contain bits of information from
other worlds or universes, I still can't take that at face value. Thinking that
every idea I read about is the truth wouldn't be very smart. I can't deny that
with imagination comes innovation though.

 

Ever since I became able to sense that feeling, or
rather, I tried several times to see if I could interact with it. Nonetheless,
my efforts were in vain because not even worth mentioning how I failed to
interact with my future mother's one, even mine did not budge one bit.

 

I would like to think it is for the best now that I
think about It because in my current state I can't be certain that one wrong
move on my part at the moment of taking control of it and I could unknowingly
cause irreversible damage.

 

I guess I got ahead of myself due to my inability to
do something else, as soon as I got the opportunity to try something I jumped
into action. Without considering the consequences, I should consider this as a
fortunate situation.

 

I should focus on getting familiar with this energy
for now. Maybe I can comprehend more about it just by perceiving it.

 

...

...

 

Sometimes, I wish I had a better sense of time. I
remembered how bad I have been at paying attention to dates. When I was in high
school I recall how sometimes I would wake up very early on Sundays because I
thought that it was already Monday. There were also cases where I left my
notebooks for the day at home because I have taken the ones from some other
day, all because I confused the dates. That is one thing I will do my best to
change, and now I got the chance.

 

I have been sleeping at random intervals, while at the
same time I stay awake for who knows how long.

 

For some time now, I became able to feel things more
clearly. To be honest, I became slightly scared of my future mother. Before,
the feeling was faint, but with each time I learn to sense that energy more
clearly, and I focus more on her. I notice how big it’s the difference between
my future mother and me, the amount is immense.

          

I accidentally focused too much on sensing her energy
when I almost lost myself in it. The difference is too big for me to tell how
much it was exactly, but I could tell something else from it, it felt
invigorating. At that time, I was surely tired, but feeling that energy, I felt
once again full of energy.

          

Instead of energy, I should perhaps consider giving it
a more specific classification, like life energy. There is not much change, but
that word explains a lot.

 

Just in case, I should think of the possible future
where not only life energy but other kinds of energies are out there.

          

All this is just in case that it is like that, I could
be wrong and this is how magic feels like. But, I just named it after the
effect I felt.

          

...

...

          

Getting somewhat used to life here proves that a lot
of time has transpired.

          

I can pretty much feel all my body. That means that
the time I will be leaving here is near.

 

Other than that, I have been considering trying a few
things.

          

The first thing I came up with was to try to copy my
future mother in the method to gather the life energy. The process was somewhat
difficult because I did not try to influence my life energy too much.

 

I came to understand that the process was similar to
how a mother fed their child in their wombs, just, in this case, the thing
being given to me was the life energy.

          

Because I was afraid that it could harm my future
mother, I did not take too much even when that life energy would be once again
filled by her.

          

Harming her is the least I want to do. Not to mention
that what I wanted to try was an experiment that could fail due to several
reasons, such as messing up the process, which I only know a part of.

            

The process itself did not seem too difficult, she
somehow gathers the energy from outside and takes it inside her body. The
problem starts there.

          

Where does it go? How does it get there?

          

Those two questions made this pretty hard.

          

Being stuck here for a while, you can guess that I was
dying to have something to do. So when this opportunity presented itself. I did
my best to think.

          

When I was 'Outside', I recall how He(?) told me that
the reason that I could not see anything even after He(?) arranged some of his
power inside me so that I could do it, had something to do with my origins. In
my old world there were not exactly too many supernatural phenomena, or maybe
not even one at all. My common sense still tries to use the logic of my old
world.

          

To begin with, I did not touch the life energy with my
hands, I don't even know if I had hands when I sensed it the first time.

          

Surely, I 'felt' it. Later, after much concentration
in the act, I could somewhat interact with it. Even though it was my mother's
and my own.

          

Those acts came from me, using my will to do it.
Perhaps a strong will is the key. If that is how it is going to be. Meditation
is often used to calm the mind and to strengthen it. Working on it will help me
from now on.

          

Having found the answer for my second trouble, I still
had the first one to solve.

          

With a change in perspective, the solution for the
problem seemed easier than before.

          

...

...

          

Having enough free time, I spent my time thinking of a
solution to my problem and sensing life energy.

          

Getting familiar with it, I began to learn that even
emotions could be felt from it.

          

I'm still not sure if at that time I learned of the
emotions because I got much better at it, or because of the sheer intensity,
they had back then. At that time, I felt immense sadness coming from my
mother's life energy. Meaning that something happened that made her very sad, I
also felt rage and other negative emotions, but sadness was the main one. I had
to stop focusing on it because the emotions were overwhelming me.

          

Thanks to it, I learned to be careful when I gather or
get involved with other people's life energy. No matter how unprepared I was,
the intensity almost overwhelmed me for a minute.

          

However, since then, it became easier to feel my
mother's changes in mood.

          

Not sure what caused the emotions of that time, but
quite a bit of time had passed and she was finally stable again, not showing an
outburst like at that time.

          

I can't deny I was worried about her. Although I will
never forget about my family from my world, I could not help but develop a
certain attachment for the woman who will give birth to me.

          

I guess since she will become my family too, it was
bound to happen.

          

...

...

          

I was continuously thinking of how to answer the
problem of the location until an idea came to me.

          

It is something I have seen in works of fiction.

          

Inner word.

          

Since I am meditating, I had the idea.

          

I considered this after thinking how I could not
physically sense where my mother keeps her life energy.

          

I consider the inner world here, something you create
through meditation. It is located inside yourself, I was just not aware of it.
I felt like a fool when I learned that. It took me too long to realize it.

          

If you think about it, it is normal that it exists. I
had a flow of it inside me. Where did it go? The answer was clear now, there.

          

Well, not everything was a waste of time If I think
about it. The location of the place is similar to the idea of an inner world.
After knowing how to get there, I just started to send life energy I collected
there.

          

By no means had I got my hands on it in large
quantities, I only gathered what seemed to be lost in the natural process of
gathering.

          

That made the process extremely slow, but I decided
that the safety of my mother was worth it.

          

You might wonder how I found the place, but through
meditation, you can also look into yourself pretty deeply. Not just emptying
your mind, but self-evaluating yourself.

          

That is how I came to find it, a small ball of life
energy, truly befitting my current state as a baby.

          

...

...

          

I had to come to an abrupt awakening this time.

          

I briefly wondered what happened, but noticing the
different feelings coming from around me. That is when it came to me. There was
no liquid anymore, it was time to be born.

          

What I had waited for so long... It was happening.

          

Part 2

 

The process was uncomfortable, but remembering how my
mother decided to give birth naturally, I could not think of complaining given
that it was more difficult for her.

          

As I felt the air around me, I with some effort opened
my eyes for the first time.

          

However, before I could focus on my surroundings, I
started to heard voices.

          

"Congratulations, you had a boy". I heard a
somewhat polite and refined female voice saying. Just from her words, she does
not seem to be my new mother.

          

I doubted my ears for a moment since the language was
something I remembered. But that was absurd, I for once did not expect it, yet
here I was hearing... Japanese.

          

There was an even more absurd thing, I was able to
understand it perfectly. Even though I began learning it in my old world, I was
not near this level.

          

Before I could make sense of what happened to me, I
heard more people talking.

          

"The baby is not crying even though he is
awake". This time, a male voice spoke.

          

Crap, I am supposed to cry at a time like this.

          

"Please let me see him". A somewhat tired
female voice said. I could tell that it was a different woman from before.
There was a slight longing I detected from her tone, and maybe a bit of
anxiety.

          

I was carried near to that person, during the
process... I saw someone that resulted somewhat familiar, something I found
absurd. Still, that blonde-haired young woman with golden eyes smiled my way
with a gentle expression as I was looking at her. I wonder why her face seemed
familiar. Did my eyes play tricks on me or were those a pair of fluffy-looking
fox ears?.

          

Before I could try to remember where I saw that
person, I was handed to someone else.

 

This time, it was a young-looking woman with a
slightly tired look. I could see the sweat running down her face. A gentle
expression adorned her face beautiful face, with hip-length black hair that has
bangs hanging on the right side with two ahoges, green eyes, a mole under her
left eye, and droopy cat ears that were begging for some petting. This person,
the feeling she gives is familiar... she is my mother. Wait, cat ears?

          

"Hey, little guy. Come on, you are my baby. I
know that you can do it. Cry, Can you cry for me?" The black-haired woman,
my mother, said sounding somewhat anxious.

          

Mother or considering how she speaks Japanese, should
I call her Okaa-san? Asking your newborn baby to cry sounds kind of wrong. No,
something is bugging me... Are those real?

 

Still, considering how anxious she looked, her worry
must be serious.

          

While I was internally debating how hard should I cry-

          

"Saya-chan, calm down. He looks healthy enough.
You have helped numerous people with childbirth before, there were surely cases
where situations like this happened. Why don't you think about how you managed at
those times?". The young-looking blonde-haired woman said as she came
closer.

          

Saya-chan? To use the suffix -chan attached to my
mother's name. They must be close. I see... she is called Saya. Still... the
ears-

 

"You are right, Yasaka-sama, I need to calm
down... at times like this... a little pinch should be enough to make a baby
cry". My mother, Saya said.

 

I was about to think of how reckless the idea that was
but I froze. Yasaka-sama? Forget about the -sama. Yasaka-sama? A blonde-haired
woman, with eyes of the same color. Another look and I notice how long her hair
was, short eyebrows as a sign of nobility. Putting aside her different attire
from my memories, she looks like... no, since this is another world, she could
be the real deal.

          

A powerful youkai, a nine-tailed fox able to change
into human or non-human form, in the world of Highschool DxD, Yasaka, the
leader of the youkais residing in Kyoto, Japan.

          

At this moment, I felt my mother's promised pinch.

          

The pain raised an almost unstoppable urge to cry.

          

But, I... I... have to hold on.

          

Certain memory is coming back to me, I must not allow
myself to distract myself.

          

Even when my mother pinched harder, I kept thinking.

          

But for now, yeah... The memory was just before I left
'Outside', He (?) seemed to have smiled with his newly formed mouth, and that
thumbs up... that thumbs up... Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

          

At that moment, the frustration I felt made it
impossible to hold my cry back any longer.

 

I felt like yelling at that guy (?). However, a baby
can't talk that easily... I had to settle for the urge to cry.

          

"UWAAAAAA UWAA UWAAAAAA" I cried with all my
heart, but if someone read my mind at that time. They would've understood that
my cry meant to say... 'I KNEW IT, THAT GUY WAS UNRELIABLE!!'.

          

I guess that it was a good thing that no one read my
mind, there would have been too many questions if they had done it.

          

Part 3

 

3er Person POV

          

In a completely different location, far away from the
cries of a certain baby.

          

Two individuals were having a meeting.

          

However, the purpose of that meeting did not seem to
be anything good, considering the location being an abandoned factory located
far from any sign of civilization. The other sign that pointed at that could be
said to be their attire, being clothed with a black robe and brown robe
respectively, covering like that most of their features.

          

After scanning around with their methods to check if
they were truly alone, they finally faced one another.

          

The black-robed man started the conversation.

          

"You called me here again, Is it a new job or
perhaps you are finally joining our cause?" The black-robed person said in
a tone lacking any indication of gender, neither male nor female.

          

Not minding the other individual voice, perhaps used
to it, the brown-robed person snorted before saying his piece.

          

"I told you before that I have no interest in
that little cult of yours. But enough of that, you did not even complete the
last job so you can't expect me to consider asking for another one". The
brown-robed person exclaimed in a voice that if our recently reincarnated
friend heard it, then he would say 'I think I heard that voice just a moment
ago, this smell like trouble. Damn, I was just born and trouble is on its way'.

          

The black-robed person remained silent for a moment.

          

"What do you mean? We completed your request. We
provided the 'cursed seed', directly from our Esteemed God, even when it seemed
excessive, as you asked". The black-robed replied.

          

"Is this some kind of joke? The baby was born
perfectly healthy, if you don't count the fact he did not cry as soon he left
that woman's womb, he was perfectly fine. A truly healthy boy. This is not what
you told me would happen. The child was supposed to die while releasing a curse
that would kill the woman from the inside". The brown-robed person
complained.

 

The irritation could easily be distinguished from his
tone.

          

"That is not possible; we confirmed the seed
before we handed it to you. There was no mistake on my part. Are you sure that
those 'devils' from that pathetic group of misfits did not screw up on their
end?" The black-robed person said in response to the intent of the other
party plans to blame him.

          

While it was only apparent between both present
parties, the brown-robed person narrowed his eyes at the explanation given by
the other party.

          

"So you say, but when I contacted them, they
insisted that the job was flawlessly completed on their end, claiming that the
seed in question was a failed product. I truly confirmed that they pretty much
did their part of the deal, wounding that woman during an ambush. That went
smoothly since I was there at that time playing like the
good-natured-but-hurt-and-unable-to-help disciple. They even prepared a
wonderful stage where they kidnapped her husband, and while she followed a clue
of his whereabouts that I 'casually' found. They attacked, 'wounding' me in the
first strike so I could not help her. The idea was to use that seed so that she
would die later... then no one would suspect me. Even though everything was
done splendidly

... The child was born perfectly fine. Do tell me why
I would not doubt your performance". The brown-robed person explained
calmly even though the words coming from his mouth mentioned betrayal for his
master, his tone did not change like this was just your daily life conversation
for him.

 

The other party just frowned a bit after hearing all
this. The fact that it was not because the black-robed person found that strange
proved two things. One, they know each other characters well enough. Two, they
both have wicked-beyond-repair personalities.

 

"Although we would not like to believe that our
seed was the problem, we can't deny the possibility. We are somewhat curious
about this 'boy' you mentioned, to be honest. But do tell us if you want us to
take care of both the mother and the child. We will act by ourselves and finish
them off, to further our 'service', we could even pretend to be the same as
that last bunch. After all, we can't have an unsatisfied customer". The
black-clothed person muttered after collecting his thought for a bit.

          

The answer was already decided.

          

"I would like to request that then... is what I
would like to say. But for now, I doubt that she will leave her house, she
doesn't let me inside that place so I can't do much. However, I am a patient
man, I don't wish to make the same mistake. I need to take care of them
together, if one of them dies while the other remains alive then it would
complicate my plans or even worse, completely ruin them". The brown-robed
person replied.

 

"It is your choice; we will investigate on my end
to confirm whether or not our product was the one that failed to complete its
job". The black-robed person spoke before leaving.

          

Not waiting for any other word, the black-robed person
banished after activating a magic circle for teleportation, leaving his
conversation partner alone.

          

Now on his own, the brown-robed person did not leave
immediately but seemed to think for a moment.

          

"Not sure what kind of luck saved you this time,
but that will not happen again. You should enjoy your time for now, because
this is not over". The brown-robed person spoke to no one in particular
before teleporting in the same fashion as the other person from before.

 

Part 4

 

MC’s POV

 

I can't recall very well what happened after my
outburst, but I must've fallen asleep at some point.

                      

Now I am current on a bed, lying beside me is the
woman who gave birth to me just some time ago, if what I heard was true, then
she is called 'Saya'. I wonder how should I refer to her now, Saya-chan is not
possible, an interesting choice but not possible. Let's stick simply to
Kaa-san, I think that she will like that more. Not like I can talk right now
though.

          

My mother in my previous world always lamented how I
called her by her name since an early age, saying that she liked to be called
Mom more. But I felt shy calling her like that as I grew up. So I think I
should be more considerate this time around.

          

Back to Kaa-san. I have kept my eyes on her for a
while, to be accurate on a certain pair of things that would make many people
turn their heads if they were to see such a thing in my previous world. You
surely know what I am talking about, right? Yes, they are so close... those cat
ears, no longer droopy as before. I didn't imagine seeing them before, that
along with the absurd resembling of that blonde young woman from before to a
certain individual, even having the same name. I can only accept the facts. Not
like I have a choice in the matter, but I am at least not in panic here. He (?)
chose this world from all places.

          

While gazing at those and resisting the urge to touch
them, one thought came to me after I considered a certain possibility. I had
not thought of this because of the initial surprise, but now... well, if my
moth- Kaa-san, I am still not used to using that term, has those... and then you
combine that with the fact that I am her child... that means that I got them
too, right?. Damn, I have become a cat... even though I was fonder of dogs.

          

Raising my tiny extremities known as arms to my head
to confirm my thoughts... yeah, they were there. A couple of soft, very soft
cat ears, probably due to me being young. I also lowered my hands and directed
them to my back, with an un-surprising high difficulty, to feel if I got one of
those too, a tail. Hmm, it is there too. When I woke up I wondered if there was
something below me making me uncomfortable on my back, but it was my tail all
along, mystery solved. Maybe not, although I have not confirmed by seeing
Kaa-san's... I do have an idea what exactly we are.

          

Nekomata, the cat-eared youkai, well, sort of.

          

After hearing the name Yasaka, a certain memory could
not help but to cross my head. It involved a certain work of fiction, published
under a certain format of novels, a light novel. This light novel was... well,
in an easy-to-understand term, an action-fantasy-shounen-harem-ecchi. Easy
right? Only one term can explain it. Jokes aside, it is a story about a young
man becoming a devil after dying... who after gaining another chance to live,
he continued to pursue his dreams. That sounds normal, but you should be aware
of one thing, the main character was perverted, like... a lot, his dream is to
have a harem.

 

Although I can't deny that it sounds bad... the lad at
least is honest about it all the time. Now, that itself does not sound bad
right? The lad just wants a harem so everything is cool... yeah, no, not in one
million years. That particular light novel, as you can conclude with the fact
that there are devils... you can also find different kinds of supernatural
beings such as angels, fallen angels... even youkai or gods. Truly a fantasy
world, a very dangerous one at that.

          

You can even find different gods from different
mythologies walking happily around, or just drinking in a normal bar. That also
does not sound bad... if you don't include the 'bad guys' from those
mythologies. Beings that make plans to destroy humanity walking around freely
between normal humans, that can be something very terrifying.

          

Now, I am in such a place. All this being his(?)
fault, He(?) mentioned reading my memories at some point... Why didn't He(?)
send me to a more peaceful place?. I don't want to die(again) because I caught
the attention of some old-pervert-with-a-twisted-sense-of-humor or become
collateral damage from the fights of creatures that can break mountains with
their fists.

          

I am not even sure where to begin the list of possible
death flags... whatever. I will put that on the back of my mind for now.

          

Just thinking about it tired me a lot, or not. This is
probably a natural reaction to my earlier movements, I thought that it was
quite difficult to move, and it looks like it tired me more than I considered.

          

Having the body of a baby is not something I am used
to, it feels really heavy, the movement is difficult to coordinate too.
Hopefully it because of my newborn status.

          

There is still much to consider, yet I am getting
sleepy again.

          

Like for example me being a youkai. This is pretty
important.

 

Not to mention that I have found out if this is truly
the world of the light novel of Highschool DxD as I read. That comment from
He(?) about different worlds and how knowledge gets transmitted to other worlds
still weighs on my mind.

          

Oh... Sleepy...

          

Good n...ight...

        

Part 5

          

A new day always means a new beginning, really what a
beautiful day this is.

          

I need to think about this to escape reality after the
earlier situation.

          

Just waking up I was really hungry, and for obvious
reasons, I could not ask for food with words. Although I cannot expect to have
Kaa-san watching me 24/7, I felt slightly frustrated because I could only blab
some nonsense... but that was not enough to be called a 'call'. In the end, I
cried again. The effect was immediate; Kaa-san came in a jiffy with a worried
look.

          

Kaa-san is a rather slender and tall young woman with
a voluptuous figure and large breast, her height almost reaching 180 cm. Her
shoulder-length black hair and black cat ears made her green eyes more
apparent.

          

Despite the situation, I could not help but want to
confirm one thing that made me curious. That being... how many tails she had.
The surprise was big because she had four of them. Damn, my cries came to an
abrupt end due to how surprised I got.

          

Without knowing about my internal surprise she came to
check on me.

          

"Oh, what happened? Let me have a look at you,
little guy". Kaa-san said as she picked me up.

          

Patting me all over she seemed to wonder why I was
crying-

          

"Are you not feeling well? I didn't feel anything
wrong just know. Treating people successfully all the time but failing to find
the problem my child might have. What a bad mother". She said that with a
troubled expression.

          

Treating people? As some kind of doctor? Kaa-san seems
to be someone pretty amazing, I doubt that youkais can simply become doctors
just like that.

 

Kaa-san... You are not a bad mother. I am not sick so
you won't find anything wrong with me. I intended to say that but what came out
was.

          

"BabuUwaBabawawauuuuuWabugaaawu". I tried to
say that with all seriousness, but my words did not make sense.

          

"Ohhhh, Are you trying to tell me something?
Ummm, I can't tell what you mean... What do I do know...? Ah, I know. This
might work". She seemed troubled again but later smiled as she thought of
something.

          

Maintaining her smile and bringing her hand to my
face... it started glowing. Wow, that startled me. I think I felt this before.
It is soothing... and I feel full of energy. This is the same feeling I got
when I was inside the womb. Instead of life energy, given Kaa-san's race, it
should be called differently. I recall reading in the light novel that youkais
were adepts at the use of Chi or Ki, I guess it is true. I think they also had
something called Youjutsu and Senjutsu. Then, I should start to refer to the
life energy that way?. You know what they say... When in Roma, do as Romans do.

          

The glow on her hand continued for a while until
Kaa-san removed her hand.

          

"I wonder if this is enough? He seems healthy
though?" Kaa-san said while she pondered about the reason for my cry.

          

I guess I should help her a little since she seems
clueless. It makes me think that she can be a bit of an airhead. It could also
be just the lack of experience.

          

I try to call her attention moving my hands near her
face, hands which she grasps with a smile.

          

No, please let them go. How am I supposed to use my
hands to make signs if you start playing with them?

          

After seeing that I was not amused, her smile seemed
to fade. Urgh, I feel guilty. But I have to harden my heart.

          

Once again, doing my best to point at my mouth, I make
signs continuously.

          

Kaa-san just kept staring at me with an amused look.
Yeah, yeah, you must think I look adorable, right? Babies have that impact most
of the time. But I am not trying to act adorable. Kaa-san, I am starving here.

          

Despite my efforts, I failed to deliver the message.
And as I was despairing at that... a voice that I almost confused with an
angel's due to being almost godsend was heard.

          

"Have you tried breastfeeding him?" The
voice was the same I heard not too long ago. It belonged to a certain
voluptuous blonde youkai. Yasaka, the fox youkai and the faction leader of
Kyoto's youkais.

          

Kaa-san got startled again and hurriedly turned around
carrying me in her hands. Easy there, I am fragile right now. I hope that
changes quickly.

          

"Yasaka-sama, you surprised me. Why did you come
while hiding your aura? I did not notice you until you talked". Kaa-san
grumbled.

          

"You know you can talk to me informally when
there is no official business. Call me like when we were children, Yasaka-chan.
And I was trying to prank you for a little bit. You are much better at Senjutsu
than me so I did not expect to get this far". Yasaka-sama answered.

          

They must get along if Yasaka-sama asked her to say
that. There is also what she said about Kaa-san being good a Senjutsu. I wonder
how good at it she is.

          

On a different note, they both have beautiful voices.
What is with this? Is this because this is the HSDxD world? Everyone won't
happen to be this exaggerated right?. Not just their looks, but their voices
too. I can only wish that I don't keep my previous life looks. I was not even
handsome... if I have the same look when I grow up... a paper bag won't be
enough. Damn, I hope I am like Kaa-san.

          

Filled with nonsensical thoughts, I kept thinking
about other things, since I was going to experience breastfeeding. It is a
strange feeling having a beautiful woman like Kaa-san do it. I might be a newborn
in body, but in mind, I already hit my twenties. I will try to put my mind in
another place for now. But as expected of the HSDxD world... they were big.
Thanks for the food, no, itadakimasu.

          

…

…

…

 

I am full. I guess that eating was truly what I needed.

          

While I kept distracting myself with nonsense, the two
young women chatted for a while. The topics were numerous; sometimes I failed
to understand what they meant. Not because I did not get their words but... I
truly knew nothing of the topic itself. Making me think once again of my
apparent ability to understand Japanese completely, something I did not fully
have before dying. I believe that it is something I should be grateful to him (?).

          

Finally, a topic I had to focus my attention too came
up.

 

"Have you decided the name already? You did not
give him one before because at the birth things happened. But enough time
should've gone by now". Yasaka-san suddenly said. I will refer to her like
this in mind since Kaa-san and she seem to get along.

          

A name huh. Now that she mentions it. I don't think I
was called by my name so far.

          

I wonder if I will get a cool name.

          

"I thought of calling him Kuroko". Kaa-san answered
to Yasaka-san's question.

          

No, oh please no. I feel that the name of extremely
similar to certain Nekomata. Come on Kaa-san. Anything but that. I did my best
to express my unwillingness by shaking my head with all my heart into it.

          

Perhaps curious about the name, Yasaka-san asked.

          

"Saya-chan, Why did you choose that name?"
Yasaka-san inquired, on a closer look she is trying to look composed but... Is
that a sweat drop?

          

Kaa-san seemed to ignore completely all of my intents
to communicate my dislike for that name as she looked to another way. Hearing
Yasaka-san, she turned to explain the reason why. Maybe she got a good
reason...

          

"It's just... look, he has such a black tail and
ears. They are all black, so Kuroko suits him". Kaa-san replied with a
proud look and a satisfied grin.

          

Or not. I think Kaa-san is amazing in a completely
different meaning from before.

          

Even Yasaka-san seemed speechless for a moment. A new
sweat drop formed on her face, her composed face is about to break.

          

"Ehhh, Are you sure you want to decide his name
just from that?" Yasaka-san commented.

          

You tell her Yasaka-san, please.

          

"Is there something wrong with the name? I
thought it fits perfectly. But maybe you are right... I had in mind another
name. I had my doubt with this one, but you stopping just now must be some kind
of signal". Kaa-san said, accepting Yasaka-san's advice.

          

*Sigh*

          

A sigh could be heard from Yasaka-san, relieved that
Kaa-san reconsidered, I also sighed but only internally, this body of mine
can't seem to follow my orders well enough... even a sigh is difficult to
accomplish. Thinking about it, the name was not bad, it's just... the reason it
was chosen left much to be said.

          

I wonder what name Kaa-san considered... It can't be
that bad.

          

"Indeed, his name has to be 'Nora', this is the
one that suits him the best. I must've been blind before". Kaa-san declared.

          

I take my words back. I think it got worse by too
much. It feels like plain harassment, to call your child 'Nora'(Stray)... I
think Kaa-san should not be left with the responsibility of naming me.

          

Yasaka-san seemed to think the same as me because
although she had a composed smile, it was slightly twitching. The barely
noticeable sweat drops were now clearly showing.

          

"Thanks to you, I was able to make the right
choice. Thank you, Yasaka-chan". Kaa-san once again said. Having one of
the brightest smiles I have seen.

 

No good, that smile does not look like it could be
beaten. One look at Yasaka-san and she seemed resigned. Please, don't give up.

          

This is no joke, a cat on top of being called Nora (stray).

          

Nevertheless, my pleas were not answered. At my
desperate intent to ask for help, Yasaka-san only looks my way and... made an
apologetic look by clapping her hands together and muttering what I think was a
short 'sorry'. No good, my liking for mature women makes me want to forgive
her. Urgh, no.

 

And so, this day ended with three different parties
having different reactions to the new name.

 

Part 6

          

-Time skip, 1 year.

          

Some time has happened since my whole naming incident
happened.

          

My name ended up being Nora at long last. I could not
avoid that fate. I also learned that I got a surname that is at least normal in
comparison. My full name ended up as Nora (Stray) Shiki (Four Seasons). You can
call me Shiki-kun from now on. Although in Kaa-san's case, that is not
possible, she even calls me Nora-chan. Not sure how to feel about that.

          

Putting aside those old complaints, I learned a couple
of things over the year.

          

One of them being how I am a Nekomata, even the rare
kind, a Nekoshou. Quite the rare character I've become. Besides being a rarely
seen male Nekomata, I am Nekoshou too. I am a damn SRR character it seems.
Although not all it's good news.

          

There was a particular topic I started to consider
over the year. That being the timeline I am currently in. Is this before the
canon? Perhaps after the canon? I kept wondering since I don't recall reading
anywhere in the Canon about Kaa-san. She had four tails so her strength should
be at least ultimate-class (just a guess on my ). That made me ponder over the
possible fate of her character in the Canon depending on the timeline.

          

I have considered the possibility that this world got
many differences according to the explanation of He (?). But I don't want to be
too optimistic regarding her safety. Nonetheless, there is hardly anything I
can do with the body of a one-year-old baby.

          

...

...

          

There was a certain thing I have been working hard to
accomplish so far... to be able to talk. Kaa-san is… well, Kaa-san. I have some
bitter memories due to her airhead, and her attribute 'klutz'. Particularly
that one time on the bath... I have to be thankful that even as a baby I could
somewhat keep my body afloat. That episode came simply by her desire for me to
learn how to swim at a young age. However, you would normally wait for the
child to be at least awake. Since then, I have always kept my guard up even
while sleeping. I can't even get angry at her since she doesn't do it with any
kind of malice. And her anxious expression when she learns that she did
something wrong makes it impossible for me to complain.

          

 This brings me
to the last and perhaps the most exciting change over the year(since I have yet
to be able to talk, although I am almost there).

 

I've kept doing my meditations all this time, to get
familiar with my surroundings.

          

We must have a good amount of nature around the house
where we live since it was quite easy to get a feel of the outside 'Ki'. Still,
I did not dare to venture too far in my practices, since I recalled how
difficult it is to maintain control in case that impurities were to be found in
the Ki. So I just focused on gathering small bits that I was certain that would
not cause any problem inside me. That said, I felt like I was being too
cautious. Well, I was doing this process on my own so I had my reservations. I
was not some crazy guy with a blessed protagonist halo, I also did not thirst
for strength that much to the point of putting my safety at risk. For now and
until got familiar with Ki, I was going to take my time.

          

Well, doing this process on my own and expecting that
no one finds out is absurd. Even though I kept the changes to the minimum,
Kaa-san sometimes stares at me for really but reaally long amounts of time, she
later mutters in an almost inaudible tone of voice 'Did I imagine it?'. If it
wasn't because my pretty useful cat ears worked much better than my previous
human ones, I wouldn't have heard that. I must admit that I almost broke into a
cold sweat at that time. It taught me that Kaa-san is pretty good at sensing
Ki. The only reason why she dropped the subject is perhaps that she saw no harm
in my actions... or her air headedness was what made her truly think she was
seeing things.

 

She seems to be strong, but I really can't sense her
Ki reserves at all. The idea I came up with was that she is purposely hiding
her aura, although I am not sure if it's because it could be bad for me or
because she is used to hiding it in her everyday life. I am inclined to believe
in the second possibility since the only person (youkai) that comes by to visit
is Yasaka-san.

          

Yasaka-san is truly a good friend of Kaa-san since she
sometimes spends whole afternoons chatting with her. There were even
opportunities where Kaa-san left me with her while she had to go out. In the
beginning, it made me slightly nervous since I was not used to be left alone.
But Yasaka-san took care of me gently, and in the chances that I got carried by
her, I learned certain wonders. I won't say more about that... or perhaps...
Yeah, I will only say how I won't forget about it. I think Kunou-chan will be
in good hands in the future. A truly blessed child.

          

Talking about that little Kitsune, I don't think I saw
her nor I heard about her during Kaa-san's chats with Yasaka-san. It makes me
inclined to believe that the timeline is somewhat in the past, before the
Canon. I was still not sure how long. I do wonder sometimes if I want to be in
the same timeline where all that fighting happens. But the past does not mean
that I will live in peace either. In that regard, in the Canon at least the
differential mythologies will come to peace talks, a complicated topic.