Epilogue

 

Part 1

 

MC’s POV

 

Training? You might be
thinking that it is plain and boring when you only heard the word 'training',
but when the meaning of the word gets drilled into your body, well, you don't
think at all.

 

Kaa-san started the training
just as she finished explaining what we were going to do.

 

Since it was too 'harsh' to
start with all content at once, she just made a light version where I would
move my body to get used to what was to come.

 

Like for example-

 

"Nora-chan~ Why are you
running now~? Didn't you want to learn the way of using 'Kasha'~?" Kaa-san
said in an upbeat tone while she chased after me.

 

Her movements looked like
lightly skipping, but the distance they covered was not short at all.

 

What's with that high-speed
movement technique? It looks cool.

 

"Yeah, but I sought to do
it because I wanted to use it, not to have someone attack me with it." I
yelled while desperately trying to run away from her.

 

This woman, she is chasing
while throwing those damned fire-wheels at me. She proclaimed that I should
learn with my 'body' first.

 

I am not going to accept that,
Kaa-san is usually kind, but when it is time to train, a switch gets flipped
somehow and she turns into a really dangerous person. I can only shed tears as
I recall how unwilling she was when I began training. Maybe I had asked the
wrong person for guidance.

 

The fox-eared one is kinder.

 

Damn it.

 

She is chasing after me with
no signs of hurrying, but she can easily catch up to me when I increase our
distance and Kaa-san also throws me those things. I naturally have to dodge
them or I will become a burned cat.

 

I don't need to get burned
with that to learn Kasha for real, right?

 

Ah, that was a close one.
Because I was distracted I almost got hit with that one.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

*pant pant*

 

My heavy breathing could be
heard as I dropped my speed. I was gasping for breath.

 

No more running. I kept using
Senjutsu and even Touki to allow me to run for more time but Kaa-san has bigger
stamina than me and a larger Ki pool.

 

"I give up." I said
as I slumped on the ground.

 

She can burn me if she wants,
I don't have the energy to complain anymore.

 

"Nora-chan. Today, I
might've been playing around a bit, but the training was supposed to be me
teaching you the feeling of 'Kasha'. I will not burn you. Why did you run
away?" Kaa-san spoke while standing in front of me who was lying on the
ground.

 

I was truly too tired to
answer so she took it as me not wanting to say anything and continued.

 

"What are you afraid
of?" Kaa-san asked.

 

I could not help but react a
little to that. No matter how tired I was, I unconsciously did it.

 

"You... don't want to
fight, right? Then why are you pushing yourself by going through this?"
Kaa-san muttered while kneeling in front of me.

 

That-

 

"If you don't want to
fight... why are you so rushed to 'get strong' and 'train'? From what I heard
about how you faced that creature, I can understand that you were reluctant to
fight it with your bare hands but that was understandable considering the
difference in size and your current abilities. Approaching an enemy recklessly
is rather foolish after all, even more, when the difference in power seems
obvious." Kaa-san started to use her Ki to take care of my exhaustion from
running.

 

"Putting aside that
oversized dog. I can't help to imagine myself breaking those wooden logs, and
when I imagine doing that to someone or something... I hesitate. Is it really
alright for me to recklessly use that strength as I please? Many questions come
to my mind, but I guess that I am just afraid of the consequences." I
explained after the exhaustion reduced enough for me to speak.

 

Kaa-san just listened without
interrupting me.

 

"At those times, it hits
me how different this world is from my previous one. It could be just me being
a wimp though. Even when I know that I should just do it... *Sigh*" I
muttered as I stood up.

 

I can move again so I did not
need to stay on the ground.

 

"You, my son, are a fool."
Kaa-san ruffled my hair as she stood up as well.

 

With a bitter smile on her
face, she stood up in front of me.

 

"I knew that you have a
tendency to over think things too much, but I now see that I was
underestimating you." Kaa-san continued speaking

 

I couldn't deny what she was
saying at all.

 

"Everyone has those kinds
of worries sometimes, fear is something common after all. Nevertheless,
considering the other party well being when a fight breaks out is almost
suicidal. Don't hesitate; your fists won't reach anyone if you think like that.
If you don't feel like using them, then you need to find a reason to do so. Not
for plain violence, mind you. I can't say that the same reason will work for
you, but when I fight, I do it for my safety. I am a doctor, a healer. If I get
taken down, many others would suffer. This is not me simply being afraid of
getting hurt. I have a responsibility to uphold, and with that responsibility,
comes my pride in what I do. I might've spent some time off my work but I am a
doctor, to treat people is my call. It is also the reason why I would fight for
others, but that is me. You need to find your way." Kaa-san said while
putting her hands on my shoulders.

 

I think I have a reason, a
simple one, but a reason.

 

Distracted from those kinds of
thoughts, I noticed a minute later that I was burning, or rather, covered in
flames. I almost yelled in pain but I discovered that there was no pain.

 

These flames were colored
white and they gave a gentle feeling of warmth.

 

While I was amazed by this
experience I was feeling, I heard Kaa-san speak.

 

"Kasha is a technique
exclusive to our kind. They are spiritual flames that we summon with Ki. They
are usually in the form of wheels covered in flames, although you might not get
to see the proper shape since you are covered completely by them." Kaa-san
explained while staring at me as I played with the 'spiritual flames'.

 

It is a strange feeling but I
can't tell how these flames work, I mean, I am burning but I am not.

 

"There are different ways
of using it, but one of the most useful ways is to imbue with the power to
purify. Kasha is a Senjutsu technique; as such, it uses the positive energy in
nature to work. You can say that this is another form to use Senjutsu to do a
more specific task, although you can also consider it a technique made to
attack." Kaa-san clarified.

 

That sounds easy to
understand, however-

 

"Why am I not being burn
at all?" I inquired.

 

Common sense is telling me
that this is not possible. Wait, common sense is not working properly in this
world.

 

"Those flames belong to
me and the nature of the caster influences the flame so you could say I did not
'want' that you got hurt by them, and they responded to my will. This is not
easy so you nee-" Kaa-san stopped her words midway.

 

The cause was simple. On my
hands, there was a small 'Kasha' spinning, a green-colored flaming wheel. It
was weak, small and it looked like it would not last long, but it was on my
hands.

 

I didn't understand what
'spiritual flames' meant or any of those concepts, but I felt like gathering Ki
in a similar way to the feeling that the flames that Kaa-san used to cover were
the right direction so I followed that idea and I was able to make a small one.

 

"That was...
fast..." I could hear Kaa-san muttering to herself.

 

This was pretty interesting.

 

Gazing at the small Kasha, my
mind still reflected on the topic from before, I had no idea what to fight for,
but I decided to put that aside. Just like Kaa-san said, I tend to over think
things too much. Instead of worrying about such a complicated matter, I should
just do it for something simpler. I had let those girls go ahead because I did
not want them to be hurt, but I lacked in resolution to use my own hands to
wound that thing, if it had been impossible to escape back then, would I have
been forced to use my fists?

 

Perhaps I lacked that, a
proper motivation. Luckily, everything went well, but if things had been
slightly different, my hesitation could've spelled our doom. I would’ve died,
and those girls too.

 

I lack so many things but at
least being aware of my shortcomings I can try to change them.

 

Instead of fighting from a
safe place, I could use my fists; if they are more effective, then using them
is what I will have to do.

 

"As expected of my
child!" I could hear Kaa-san’s exclamation.

 

I suddenly got a bad feeling.

 

"I did not want to add
this to the routine since I thought of giving priority to learning 'Kasha', but
now that you can use it easily, we can add archery to the training menu. I
initially used it as a method to train your control in Ki, but given that I
made you stop raising your reserves since you could not keep up with the
control... Well, now we got time to focus on control again. Oh, you can start
using meditation to raise your reserves as you wish to, don't worry about the amount,
we will have enough training time for you to control all that." Kaa-san
spoke with a wide grin.

 

Oh no.

 

God, what have I done to you?

 

Wait, the biblical God of this
world is dead.

 

Damn it.

 

I will complain to that guy
(?) then.

 

What have I done to you? Damn
you, He (?).

 

Part 2

 

-Time skip, 2 months

 

Today I was having one of the
rarely seen now free days so I was spending my time in the kitchen. Kaa-san was
not at home now.

 

She was trying her best to
accomplish the request from Venelana-san, but she was going by herself this
time. It would be pretty hard to meet the patient with me in tow, thus she had
to leave me house-sitting. This occur a couple of times every month so I am
used to it by now.

 

She had been at it for a while
now so I learned a few things about the patient. Kaa-san had said that the
person she was trying to heal or cure is called Misla Bael. I did not get as
surprised as I thought I would, I mean, I had my suspicion since the requester
was Venelana-san, and along the difficulty of meeting the patient, it made it
hard to miss the possibility as well. It could also be that I was merely too
tired to retort anymore.

 

Anyways, I was on my today… or
not, I called someone to come here. It was not hard since she prepared the
means to communicate.

 

"Nora-kun, I brought the
things you asked. Really, you have some guts to make me bring this for you
every time." A voice that I was very familiar with, playfully said.

 

I turned to face the owner of
the voice and I saw Yasaka-san walking into the kitchen with a bag containing
several things.

 

"I am sorry, I could have
used the things here but Kaa-san would make too many questions later." I
meekly apologized.

 

I am sure that Yasaka-san has
better things to do other than delivering this stuff for me.

 

"Well, I don't mind since
this is not difficult for me, but since Saya-chan won't allow anyone else other
than you and me here. It means that only I can bring you what you asked anyways."
Yasaka-san spoke, while putting down the contents of the bag on the kitchen
table.

 

I can't thank her enough for
going along with my idea.

 

"However, lately I have
gotten a lot better so you get to eat what I make, which turns out tasty,
right?" I inquired.

 

I have taken several jobs in
my past life, and one of them was in a bakery. Nevertheless, I was lacking in
practice, you could say I was rusted in the area.

 

You can't blame me. I said I
worked there but I did not stay there for long. My skills were not that
polished so I forgot some of the steps and that was no good. I had to learn
some things from scratch, and this lady here was guiding me in the process. She
is very strict though.

 

"You are right, it is one
of the reasons why I help you, however, I must say that you are improving
pretty fast so I hardly tasted anything bad." Yasaka-san replied.

 

I am not technically
improving, but that is how it must look to her.

 

"By the way, how is your
health lately? Having a baby in your belly is not easy." I uttered to
change the subject, although I was curious about that too.

 

"Oh, don't worry about
it. This child is not causing me any trouble. I am also receiving a lot of care
from my people so nothing is bothering me during my duties either. You can't
forget how Saya-chan also manages my health. Well, you also look out for me
too". Yasaka-san said with a gentle smile.

 

That smile makes her look
really beautiful. Ah, I got distracted.

 

It might not be her fault but
her attractiveness is dangerous for me because the devil inside my heart can't
help to remember that day when I asked my well-earned reward for my efforts in
the Underworld. I had asked her to pet her tails until I got tired and… Well,
these hands of mine are gifted because after I petted her tails for a long,
long while, she was blushing subtly and decided to go home early that day. I
can't be certain of what I exactly did, however, that sight sure was very
erotic. Every time I remember that I can't help but think how sensual this
woman is.

 

Since then she has not allowed
me to pet her tails no matter how I ask her, but I know the opportunity will
present itself. I am a man who does not give up, and I am someone who believes
in the impossible.

 

That said, I am not sure what
I did to her or how I did it, but I will find out how to do it at will. I feel
like this is the dream of too many males across the multi-verses.

 

"Nora-kun! Are you
listening to me?" Yasaka-san called out while lightly shaking my shoulder.

 

My remembrance of that memory
distracted me too much.

 

"Sorry, I was thinking
about something else for a moment." I honestly apologized.

 

This is no good. Focus, but
not on that moment again brain of mine, Argh!

 

"You were saying?" I
asked.

 

"I was wondering why you
are trying to do this. I don't think you have problems with money, so you could
buy sweets easily if you wanted. Even for a cake..." Yasaka-san curiously
inquired.

 

Thanks to the youkai duo
making that 'mistake', I now have the money of the sales not only from my original
story but even the other ones I wrote. I have a bank account with a lot of
'zeros' and they are not on the left side if you know what I mean.

 

Not wanting to touch the
money, I left it in their hands to manage. I hoped to leave my earnings to help
them but they don't listen to reason and don't want to use it for themselves,
they are stubborn about it. So I told them to invest it as it would 'help' me
in the future. They agreed to start some kind of business, although I just
wanted to leave it to them, however, when I asked what kind of business was
that, they just said ‘secret’ in unison.

 

"I wanted to make
something with my own hands. I have been in her care all the time and I would
like to thank her somehow. She is not the type to celebrate her birthday so I
thought of doing a small celebration as thanks. The cake and sweets I make, I
doubt she would reject eating them at the party." I replied.

 

I had tried asking for sweets
to Yasaka-san before and gave them to Kaa-san, but she said that I should eat
them myself. In the end, the fox-eared one mercilessly devoured them.

 

She doesn't like celebrating
anything related to her either. However, while this might be low for me, I
doubt she would reject handmade cake or sweets from her one and only beloved
son.

 

Hehe, I am evil.

 

"*Sigh* you are making a
bad expression right now.” I heard Yasaka-san muttering slightly absentminded.
“I am slightly jealous of Saya-chan".

 

Jealous? I wonder about what.

 

Nonetheless, asking will not
change anything as I am now. She will just tease me and change the subject as
she has done it before.

 

Oh, I forgot to ask... How is
Saya-chan's training going?" Yasaka-san asked.

 

*Tremble*

 

My body reacts even if I don't
want to.

 

"It is...
difficult." I answered in a neutral tone.

 

I did not want to touch the
topic too much so I started to prepare the ingredients to make a cake.

 

"If it's too hard for you
then you can come and stay with me for a few days. Fufufu, what are you
imagining? Such a precocious child, fufu.” Yasaka-san giggled.

 

Don't tempt me, woman.

 

Joking can be dangerous,
mainly for you… or rather, me, if you get angry.

 

In many ways, I would accept
that invitation, but I doubt Kaa-san would just agree. Heck, she might even
storm out into wherever I stay just to take me back. Ever since I was invited
to stay a couple of days in the Gremory mansion by Venelana-san to play with
Rias-chan and Sona-chan, Kaa-san became a little scary when the topic was
mentioned. I would like to think that it is plain over protectiveness but the
feeling I get sometimes is somewhat different.

 

"Would you fight Kaa-san
later if I go?" I asked jokingly to distract myself.

 

"Hmmm, maybe?"
Yasaka-san said with a pondering expression.

 

That did not sound like a joke
at all.

 

Forget it.

 

It probably has nothing to do
with romance. If I ask I lose.

 

…

…

…

 

For the rest of the day, I
baked as much as the time allowed me to.

 

Yasaka-san helped me by
tasting what I made. She was particularly harsh in her reviews though. Many
times I had to remake the whole cake for minor details. If it was too 'tough'
or too 'soft' she made me try again until I got the proper combination of both.
I was just doing a sponge cake but she was severe.

 

I jokingly called her
‘Sergeant Yasaka', and she got angry, she said ‘Make me a General at least’ and
knocked my head. I put on a pitiful expression but she did not stop. Was that
what bothered her, the rank?

 

…

…

…

 

Other times, I wondered if she
was adjusting the flavor to fit her tastes. Nevertheless, I would like to
believe that she wouldn't do that. This was for Kaa-san after all.

 

I planned to make some jam or
cream to fill the cake, but this might take a while if I continue like this,
and I hadn't even started with the other things I had in mind.

 

The path ahead seems long and
arduous, but I guess that's how life is in every aspect. That said, I am not
sure how to feel when the topic is about baking cakes though.

 

"Nora-kun, I think you
should've left this one a bit more in the oven." Yasaka-san muttered while
eating a particularly big slice of cake.

 

And yet, you seem to be
enjoying eating it. I never thought she would be this kind of character.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-Time skip, 2 months

 

Time passed by and I continued
to train.

 

Including archery, I made some
good improvements in my use of Touki while I fought.

 

Using both was not exactly
realistic since they were methods of close-range and long-range respectively,
but I could combine aspects of Touki such as increasing my movement speed.
Aiming while moving is too hard for me now, but I can at least dodge and aim
pretty quickly already.

 

It might be due to having a
good teacher (Kaa-san likes to refer herself as such), but I have made
improvements in archery going from aiming at distant targets, or shooting speed
which was pretty slow at the beginning. My skills still fall short if I compare
myself to a certain someone.

 

For close combat, Kaa-san made
me a punching bag. A blow containing healing Senjutsu does no damage, or
rather, fixes the damage too fast. It allows me to continuously receive more
blows before I can get taken down, all in order to raise my endurance.

 

Yay! Hurrah for me! The
Senjutsu makes me endure more hits!

 

No, it is insane.

 

When I was not taking blows
everywhere, she made me dodge mostly unavoidable and really fast attacks, to be
honest. I couldn't even follow the speed of the attacks, my body sometimes
reacts but it is mostly an unconscious action. It was reckless to ask me to
that, but Kaa-san did not accept any objection from me.

 

Ultimate-class beings are too
scary.

 

I wondered once exactly at
what level I was, but when I asked Kaa-san, she just said knowing won't change
anything at all. Even if I had the same power level as her, she could easily
wipe the floor with me as I was now. She was quite blunt at that time.

 

Although, the reason what I
wanted to know was not my strength level to compare it with others for vanity,
more like to be able to tell when would a fight would be useless. Sometimes
running was an option. Nevertheless, I felt like she was dodging the subject
somehow.

 

However, calling them
Ultimate-class was not even that accurate since many beings in that level were
stronger than others within the same scale or so she said. The alleged scale
just worked as a gauge of 'power' but not fighting abilities so they weren’t
that accurate.

 

Many people could defeat
enemies with a stronger power through different means. Sacred gears were some
of those unreasonable ways. Among humans, many used Holy Swords and Demon
Swords to fight, wielding bizarre powers that were even effective against
dragons, that absurd species.

 

Yeah, I was able to recall
that from the Canon, and I am not sure how alike this world is in regard to
that, but those things can help people to prevail against many strong creatures
just with their special abilities alone, without counting on the wielder’s
abilities. Kaa-san ended up confirming that fact one day so it seems that the
canon was accurate in that regard.

 

After that long explanation
from her, she told me that if wanted to compare to someone, I could use her or
Yasaka-san as an example. I felt the impulse of flipping a couple of tables at
her for such an unreasonable idea, because I had tried that before and taking
the full brunt of their auras was too hard for me, even when I was getting used
little by little, the poor me couldn’t compare to them.

 

The gap in strength was too
wide to use as a reference.

 

Regardless of my complaints,
Kaa-san didn't say anything more about it.

 

Adding one more thing to my
training routine was the meditation to raise my reserves of Ki. During that
fight, I learned how absurd consumption can be when you are using some
techniques, and running low in the middle of a fight can be deadly.

 

Kaa-san grumbled that I could
raise my reserves too easily, but I couldn't tell the difference. To be honest,
our home was a really good place to meditate since the flow of Ki in the
surroundings was pure and I had no problems in making use of that to my
advantage. Nonetheless, I believed it had something to do with 'raising my
affinities' as He (?) had said before.

 

I don't think I have the best
affinity out there, but I hope that is close to what many would call
protagonist level. Those guys always got absurd power-ups every time. They
surpass people who spent hundreds of years growing their strength through
training in matters of months.

 

I can only sigh at that
unreasonable ability.

 

Well, this is now reality so
that won’t have anything to do with me.

 

Hmmmm...? That statement
sounded like a flag. Let’s ignore it.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-Time skip, 1 month

 

You would think that I only
had training related to fighting? Well, no. I was also learning how to use the
healing qualities of Senjutsu in long-range instead of using close contact. Not
to mention the bunch of books I had to read related to medicine, you could say
instead of letting the 'Ki' just do all the job, I am controlling it to do what
I want it to do, too bad that I am still clumsy about it.

 

Besides that, I was not
allowed to slack off in learning about different kinds of herbs and their
effects. The worst part was that Kaa-san made me eat diverse kinds of plants to
understand how they affect the patient. How is that the worst part? Putting
aside their 'mind-blowing' taste, some of those were poisonous. Like really
poisonous. Something that even people with zero knowledge about it would be
able to tell that it should not be put in your mouth.

 

Under the careful watch of
Kaa-san, I had to ingest several of those strange-looking herbs to understand
the effects it caused. Sometimes my temperature would rise at dangerous levels,
I would get stomachaches, you name it, and I suffered it. She also made me
treat myself with Senjutsu sometimes, other times I had to prepare the proper
antidote myself.

 

I would’ve preferred to go and
fight that oversized dog again than to continue doing that cursed training, but
Kaa-san was merciless. I ingested so much of those herbs that I developed some
resistance to the effects they had.

 

Haha, happy me, right? I
became more resistant to poison... but at what price?

 

Even so, I had no other choice
than to accept it.

 

However, I once again had this
terrible feeling. Kaa-san was rushing too much with the way she taught me.

 

Why did I feel that way?

 

Part 3

 

-Time skip, 2 months.

 

It has been close to six years
since I came to this world, not counting the time I spent in Kaa-san's womb
though.

 

I wish I could tell what
season we were just looking outside, but in this place where Kaa-san built the
house, its spring all year. All for the plants she is taking care of.

 

Thankfully, my laptop helped
me solve the problem of the date.

 

Confirming the date, I saw how
it was already the day I was waiting for, the day of Kaa-san's birthday.

 

December 1st.

 

The weather must be rather
cold outside.

 

I wonder if it will be snowing
by now. No, it might still be too early for that.

 

Kaa-san is out since earlier
and she will be coming back quite late, meaning that I have time to prepare
everything. Well, what I can do on my own anyway.

 

While I feel bad for her, I
needed Yasaka-san's help again. She already received payment for her help
though, so I think she doesn’t have the right to complain. So many sweets and
slices of cake were given to her already... so many of them.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Having done all the necessary
preparation, I was just adorning the cakes. I originally planned to make a big
one, but I later considered that having a variety might be better for Kaa-san
whose tastes are not in one kind in particular, so I made a number of them in a
smaller size, along with things like cupcakes and macaroons. She can be quite a
handful. Eating sweets bought by Yasaka-san and not the ones I bought with my
money. With such a thought in mind, I lightly smacked away the hand that was
stealthy coming closer to the cream of the cake I was currently decorating.
This would make it the 9th time it happened, in the last five minutes.

 

*sigh*

 

"Could you stop doing
that? I need to finish this, Yasaka-san." I protested to the cream thief.

 

Seriously, this is more
Yasaka-san playing around than anything. If she wanted to take the stuff, this
cream thief could send me flying and take what she wanted while humming happily.

 

"But, I am hungry, you
know, because of the pregnancy I often get cravings that make me want to eat a
lot." Yasaka-san pitifully whined.

 

I could feel my eyebrow and
the corner of my lips twitching a little.

 

Don't be fooled. I made her
enough cookies to fill two jars before I started working on these. While it
might not seem an exorbitant amount, she was already eating a bunch of sweets
brought by her before I gave those to her.

 

I had read that pregnancy
changes eating habits a lot, but this was too much.

 

I wonder if it's because she
is a Youkai or maybe this is how the last months of pregnancy usually are.

 

Kunou-chan, you made your
mother a dangerous sweet-tooth monster. Is this some kind of omen? You won't be
the same right? I don't have to worry about you going with a bad man because he
offered you some candy, right?

 

Perhaps I will need to pay
attention to her for a while as she grows up.

 

…

…

…

 

Lost in thought as I was, my
hand kept smacking away the hands coming for the cream.

 

"I will make you more if
you stop doing this." I said the magic words, and as I expected, she
stopped her actions like they were a lie.

 

No, even if you put your
graceful look as you sit in perfect seiza, I already saw how you acted a few
seconds ago, which couldn't be further from 'graceful'.

 

I couldn’t help but stare at
her with an exasperated expression. Perhaps she noticed the way I was looking
at her, so she started to talking in order to dodge the approaching reproach
from me.

 

"*Cough* By the way, I
have been getting a few letters that Saya-chan brought with her.” Yasaka-san
didn’t look into my eyes as she spoke. “The letter contained words of thanks
for passing the request to Saya-chan. Honestly, I had my doubts it would work
out at the end, but it was hard for me to decline it. She made great progress
treating that person over that side.”

 

Let's go along with her here.

 

The letter probably comes from
Venelana-san, or perhaps Sirzechs-san.

 

"Isn't that good? Kaa-san
was pretty happy when she got some of those Phoenix Tears, since getting them
is not easy." I spoke.

 

Well, rather than happy, she
was burning with desire to surpass the effects it has, no, what she wanted to
beat was the ability from the Phenex Clan. Reattaching severed limps is not
exactly difficult for Kaa-san, but that depended on how damaged the limbs were.

 

There was one time when she
took me during an emergency to treat a heavily injured youkai.

 

I once again was amazed at her
absurd ability, although I only saw from an outside perspective, watching how
she put those legs and using her Senjutsu to reattach it to the guy was
mind-blowing for me. She was even able to re-grow some of the guy's missing
toes.

 

I was left in awe after being
shown that, her skills were an eye-opener.

 

However, not everyone could
match her abilities. There was quite a bit of an issue for your regular Ki user
to imitate what she did. The consumption of Ki was terrible, but she was able
to reduce the consumption by directly controlling the Ki with an outrageous
level of accuracy instead of spreading the Ki everywhere like it is usually
done. By restoring piece by piece the damaged parts, she created a systematic
process where she locates only the damaged parts and focuses her Ki in that
area.

 

It is something that requires
profound knowledge about anatomy, or in this case, 'Youkai anatomy', not to
mention her insane control over Ki and the vast reserves you would need to
maintain the treatment if the damage is too large.

 

"That is one thing, but
there were several hints in the letter that they wanted to thank you too for
what you did. However, since Saya-chan refused to take you there, they were
asking me to help them mediate with that. Fufufu, not only Saya-chan... Nora-kun
is popular over there too." Yasaka-san voiced while grinning.

 

I can't say anything about it.
I don't think I did that much, I mean, I did keep them safe, but who ended
saving them in the end was Kaa-san.

 

"You can take the credit
for that. If you had not prepared that token, my presence there would've
changed nothing." I said.

 

I am almost finished with this
cake.

 

Damn, I forgot about the
drinks. I think they would like Sake? Wait, Sake with cake?

 

"That is not true, what
you did was praiseworthy, although reckless as well. It truly helped to
maintain peaceful relations with the devils." Yasaka-san sincerely praised
me.

 

Maintain, is it?

 

"Haven't you thought that
instead of just maintaining, you could try to improve the relationship?" I
asked.

 

In the canon, she agreed to
this, but it was much later into the future, and there are many differences
from the Canon since they are no longer characters following a script. They
have their wills so not everything will go as I read.

 

"That would be nice. For
this child in my belly and for you, there are others for whom I would like that
as well. I think it would be wonderful if there were no more conflicts."
Yasaka-san muttered with a compassionate expression, her eyes seemed to stare
something far from her reach, and her hands were caressing her bulging belly
gently.

 

This world is not that
peaceful. I have been blessed with my environment. I can't forget that.

 

"It would be nice if we
could have a better relationship between each Faction. Exchanges between
factions could help with that." I offered her my advice.

 

In the end, it is the decision
of those in power how to act. My wish comes from my knowledge from the light
novel. I can't be sure if that is the right decision for Youkais in general. So
I will leave it to Yasaka-san who is the leader of the faction, although I will
offer her a piece of advice regarding this topic whenever I can. She has more
experience in this area than me so she will choose what it's best for her
people (youkais).

 

 

"You are talking about an
'Alliance', right? It is not that easy to make one. If for example, we were to
meddle too much with the Devils, we might incur the animosity from Angels and
Fallen Angels who are at odds with each other". Yasaka-san explained.

 

Once again, I thought that
politics are hard to understand for me. Nonetheless, she does have a point.

 

"I guess you are right,
sorry for carelessly talking about it". I replied.

 

I might be seeing this from a
naive point of view. This world must not work like that.

 

"You don't need to
apologize, Nora-kun. It makes me happy that you think that way. Perhaps if
there were more people like you, the fighting would stop once for all".
Yasaka-san said with a troubled expression.

 

I don't think the world needs
more people like me. Although I think that peace is best, I like the idea of
the alliance because it will benefit Kaa-san and Yasaka-san. I am not a hero
nor do I think I can save the world. I just want the people I care to be safe
and have a happy life.

 

Although, if  I can extend a helping hand, I will do so. It
would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I ignored someone whom I could help
easily.

 

"Don't put that
expression. I truly think that people like you are what the future needs. You
might not think like that, but I do". Yasaka-san muttered while gently
embracing me from behind.

 

I was too busy thinking to
notice when she stood up and walked behind me.

 

This woman did such a sneak
attack.

 

"I didn't say
anything". I spoke without trying to move away. I am still busy with the
c- Who am I kidding? It feels soothing to be like this, I like to be near her.

 

"Your face said it all.
How many people do you think I have to communicate with every day? In my
position, I have to meet different people for who knows how many reasons. The
conversations we have are not always peaceful; you could call them a war of
nerves. Reading each other's intentions from every little action is the
norm". Yasaka-san explained.

 

Experience huh.

 

"I... just don't believe
that I am the kind of person you think. Just leave it at that". I said.

 

Finally moving away from her,
I went to store the cake, it will remain safe (I will protect it from Yasaka-san)
until Kaa-san arrives.

 

You could say I am running
away.

 

I wonder why, but it is hard
to tell her about me. I thought that maybe I would not feel that fear after
finally telling Kaa-san, but perhaps this fear will never disappear. I get
needlessly anxious.

 

I have the feeling that is not
the time yet or maybe it's just my fear showing up. Not sure which one it is,
but I won't continue this topic for now.

 

Today was not a day for
something like this.

 

"Such a troublesome
child, you resemble Saya-chan in your stubbornness". I heard her mutter in
low voice.

 

Part 4

 

After waiting for a few hours
and giving Yasaka-san two more rounds of sweets, Kaa-san arrived home. The
kitsune had people who would let us know when Kaa-san arrived at Urakyoto so we
could be ready to receive her.

 

When she entered the house she
seemed lost in thoughts, but her expression changed when we welcomed her.

 

"Happy Birthday!" I
exclaimed while opening my arms wide in front of Kaa-san.

 

Yasaka-san was holding a small
tambourine and she was shaking it in a smooth and upbeat rhythm. Maybe I
should've gone with the maracas?

 

"What are you two
doing?" Kaa-san asked. She seemed somewhat surprised and amused.

 

Good, at least she did not
dislike it.

 

We could've done a better
welcome if we had more people, but for now, it is too hard to make Kaa-san
change her mind about allowing more people in the house.

 

"Well, I wanted to make a
little celebration for you, so with Yasaka-san's help, we prepared this".
I said as I guided Kaa-san, taking her by the hand I led her to the kitchen.

 

On the table, there were
small-sized cakes, cookies, cupcakes, macaroons, brownies, I made several
things in hope that Kaa-san found something that she truly liked.

 

Although… I might've overdone,
I will exercise my right to blame the kitsune here. She said the more the
better and I did as she asked. Perhaps I allowed my feelings of wanting to
spoil her to meddle in the decision a tiny bit, which also included the reason
why I did not make any Japanese styled ones since she usually eats those, and
she wanted to eat a different kind. Well, I was more familiar with western
sweets so it also influenced the decision.

 

"You two did this?"
Kaa-san questioned as she saw the number of sweets lined up on the kitchen
table.

 

"Nora-kun made them, I
just prepared the ingredients". Yasaka-san explained as she also entered
the kitchen.

 

For a moment I saw Kaa-san put
a sad expression but she changed it pretty fast into what seemed to be a
resolute one, in one breath she smiled fondly and walked closer to me, and
hugged me pretty tightly.

 

I found it hard to breathe due
to her generous bosom squeezing my face, but she let me go when I thought I saw
He (?) waving me at the end of a long tunnel.

 

I found her expressions odd
and her hug was strange as well. She wouldn't normally hug me that strongly…
while she is awake.

 

"Thank you". She
muttered after releasing me.

 

"Don't worry about it. I
just wanted to thank you for all the effort you have put into raising me".
I told her after catching my breath.

 

Kaa-san was about to give me
another hug but Yasaka-san interrupted her.

 

"Leave the emotional hugs
for later. He made you all these tasty treats so you will be eating them,
right?" Yasaka-san said as she came between the two of us.

 

I would like to believe that
she did it to help me and not to be able to eat faster, yes, an obvious answer.

 

"Yasaka-san is right,
taste them. I practiced a lot so they should be good". I spoke while pointing
at the sweets.

 

There should be at least one
that grabs her interest for real.

 

While I know that she will eat
them, I am not sure which one she will like and which one she won't. I doubt
she would tell me if she dislikes any.

 

"Aren't there too many?"
Kaa-san inquired while taking a cookie with chocolate chips and eating them.

 

So she was in the chocolate
chips faction huh.

 

I glared at the kitsune, but
she just avoided looking at me in the eye.

 

"Don't worry about it. I
am sure that there won't be leftovers so eat at your own pace". I said
while sorting the drinks that Yasaka-san brought after I asked her earlier.

 

Coke, Green tea, Sake, quite
the odd arrangement here, but I was not sure what she would like more.

 

I had already tested eating
sweets with coke and green tea before, but I never tried drinking with Sake.

 

I was a little curious so I
prepared a cup of sake to take a sip, but two hands stopped me in place before
I could taste the sake.

 

No need to think too hard
about who are the owners of these hands, I don’t know that many people with
hands as soft as these, not to mention that I don’t know many people at all.
Besides me, only Kaa-san and Yasaka-san are here so it has to be them.

 

"What are you doing? You
are too little for that". Yasaka-san uttered while smiling.

 

"You are too young for
that, in fact. I wish you don't ever touch alcohol at all". Kaa-san spoke
in a stern tone.

 

It is easy to understand
Yasaka-san's concern since she thinks that I am a child. But Kaa-san, you know that
technically I am old enough for this. Besides, it is just a sip. I know that my
body is too small to try drinking too much, although this could be considered
breaking the law. Do Youkais care about it that much?

 

Well, coke will be then. It's
been a while since I drank one of those anyways. Guess I will be a good kid...
for now.

 

…

…

…

 

The small party was a success,
Kaa-san liked most of what I made, the rest was not exactly unpopular, but more
like she did not get the chance to taste them because of Yasaka-san.

 

I would like to think that
they were good enough to make her eat so much of them, and it was not just
because she is a glutton. Those two were even competing by eating, but I was
not sure if they could properly taste it like that. However, since they seemed
to be enjoying themselves like that, I left them alone. Yasaka won at the end
and Kaa-san sulked but I could do nothing about it.

 

...

...

…

 

As for presents, we each
prepared something different, Yasaka-san gave her a new kimono, with blue as a
base, having embroilments in green forming shapes of two-tailed cats at the
borders. Kaa-san liked the present a lot.

 

Mine? I would give it to
Kaa-san later. I wanted to talk to her before the day ended anyways.

 

...

...

…

 

It was now late at night, and
I was taking care of the mess that the two women left. Cleaning up everything
did not take as long as I thought so I finished fairly fast. It was time to
talk to Kaa-san about something, but first I went to my room to get something.
After that, I strode to her room.

 

I expected it but there was
some light coming from her bedroom, from a small gap left by the not completely
closed sliding door.

 

"Kaa-san, Can I talk to
you for a moment?" I called as I waited for the answer outside her room
which came a little delayed.

 

"Can it be
tomorrow?" I heard her say.

 

"No". I replied
instantly. Once again, the answer came after some time.

 

"Come in, I guess I know
what you want to talk about". Kaa-san spoke in a resigned tone.

 

After entering there-

 

Kaa-san was not wearing her
usual sleepwear or the hakama outfit that she uses when she does her work as a
doctor.

 

She was wearing a hakama that
gave a different impression.

 

This one did not seem to be
made from normal cloth, because it gave a similar feeling to Youjutsu and
Senjutsu but I can tell that Kaa-san is not using any of them. It must be one
of those enchanted clothes I read in novels.

 

On her back, she had a quiver
full of arrows, and on her left hand, she had a longbow. There is much I want
to say but I guess I have to start with something simple.

 

"What are you
doing?" I asked while narrowing my eyes at Kaa-san.

 

This makes the feeling from
before ring alarms in my head, but I need to face this calmly and not jump to
conclusions.

 

"Hmmm? What's that in your
hand?" Kaa-san did no answer the question but instead focused on what I
had in my hand.

 

"This is your birthday
present, but don't change the subject". I answered.

 

In my right hand, there was an
Omamori (a small amulet for protection).

 

Having been going out alone, I
thought about making one, although it was not as good as the sweets I made.
With green color as the base, I tried to embroil something, but I might have no
talent for this, even after a good number of tries since I started practicing
there was not much difference in the final work, a chubby cat with four tails.

 

"Is that supposed to be
me?" Kaa-san asked as she got closer and took the Omamori from my hands.

 

"I am sorry. I couldn't
do any better with the presentation. However, we can talk about that later,
right now I want to know what you are doing? Why are you dodging the
subject?" I inquired in a stronger tone.

 

She looked fondly at her
present.

 

"I see so you made it
too. I will treasure it, I liked this present the most". Kaa-san said
while gently stroking the Omamori.

 

"Kaa-san!" I raised
my voice.

 

I couldn't hide my anxiousness
anymore.

 

"I am sorry. I will take
care of this and come back soon". Kaa-san said as she hugged me.

 

Suddenly I started to feel
weak. I tried to drive my Ki inside my body to recover but Kaa-san's Ki did not
allow it. During the hug, she interfered with my flow of Ki.

 

"It took a while longer
than usual since you became somewhat resistant to this kind of substance
because of your training. I knew you might try to stop me”. I heard Kaa-san
say. “I wanted to go while you were asleep, but today's party took me by
surprise".

 

I was in her embrace and I
could barely keep myself awake.

 

The effects... came... from...
some medicine... she made... I... have to resist.

 

I bit my lips as hard as I
could and got rid of the need to sleep for a moment.

 

"What are you… doing?
Don't... go". I said with some effort.

 

I was not sure what she wanted
to do... but... it doesn't look... good to let her... go... alone... Urgh… my...
consciousness...

 

"It's ok. Kaa-san will
take care of everything". I heard her softly say that as she gently patted
my back.

 

I could not... hold... it...
anymore.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Saya’s POV

 

Holding the unconscious Nora
in her arms, Saya stayed in that position for a bit longer before carrying him
to his room.

 

She knows that he will be very
angry when he wakes up, anxious even, but she had to do this.

 

A few months back she got a
letter from a stranger during her work in the Underworld. She thought of
ignoring the letter at first but the name of the sender made her reconsider her
actions.

 

Curiosity got the best of her
and she read it.

 

The sender was her disciple,
whom she had not heard for a while. The contents were something that she was
not prepared for. Inside, he wrote about several things he did that made her
want to rip the letter but she had to finish reading it first.

 

He had written about the
reason he sought to learn under her and how he planned to get close to Yasaka
using her as a link.

 

The first thing that came to
her mind was to let Yasaka know, but in the letter, he stated that doing so
would make him use of a card that made her hesitate. As Yasaka was currently
pregnant, she was in a delicate state. He explained how he had a number of his
'people' inside Urakyoto, and they would not hesitate to follow his orders to
attack Yasaka if she spoke too much.

 

Saya decided not to tell
Yasaka, but she did not understand what he meant to do by sending her this
letter.

 

The content ended there, but
it left her with many questions.

 

...

...

…

 

Once in a while during her
visits to the Underworld, she would receive letters delivered by strangers. The
sender was always her disciple. He used the letters to explain how he was
responsible for the ambush she suffered before Nora was born, and how he wanted
her to perish back then.

 

Saya spent a long time at a
loss what to do with what she learned through the letters. Not to mention the
feelings of betrayal, it came as a huge shock knowing all that information.

 

She carefully pondered for
some time what to do.

 

The location of her 'disciple'
was unknown and she could not let her friend know. Her child, as much as an
adult he is inside, she did not want him to know about this, he was prone to
worry too much.

 

However, she decided after
reading one of the letters which explained how he was the one who planned the
whole incident where Nora was teleported away. Regardless of Saya not knowing
where to look, she had to find her former disciple, for Nora and Yasaka’s sake.

 

Nevertheless, there was always
the possibility that it could be a trap. She had to consider that maybe she
would not be coming back in the worst case. Leaving her son alone pained her,
so she trained him the best she could in a short amount of time, teaching him
all she could for him to be able to stand on his own when she was not there.
She would drill the basics for him to grow into a strong youkai.

 

In the meantime, Saya did
something that she did not expect to ever do since losing Nora's father, asking
for help from the devils, help to locate her disciple, Hiroto. It was something
they agreed surprisingly easy, even when she did not explain the reasons. Some
sort of 'wanting' to repay her grace was what they told her when she bewildered
asked why.

 

She did not care about the
reason, Saya only wanted to deal with her business. Although it can’t be denied
that she was thankful for their support.

 

...

...

…

 

Thinking about it, part of her
understood that her 'disciple' wanted her to find him so despite expecting a
trap, she decided to go.

 

Days went by, and she finally
got a list of possible locations given to her by the devils. She had narrowed
it down even further and found him to be either in Japan or in the Underworld.
There were clues of him moving around Tokyo so she would start there.

 

Nevertheless, going would mean
leaving behind her son alone, although there was her best friend's presence so
she could leave him to her.

 

It might take a while, but she
will be coming back. However, she was found out before leaving. Her silly child
caught onto her behavior and probably wanted to ask her about it, perhaps he
would even try to stop her, but she had considered that possibility before.
That is why she prepared certain burnable herbs that would knock him out
without him knowing.

 

Today had been a pretty happy
day for her.

 

There was a big surprise when
Saya arrived, and her child even baked so many things for her, something she
never expected. It brought tears to her face, but it also strengthened her
resolve.

 

Saya can't deny that part of
her wants to find Hiroto just for revenge. He had planned the death of the man
she loved after all. However, she was hesitating because now she had to take
care of Nora, and rising a child is not something she should do with that kind
of thought, but since Hiroto wanted to harm Nora as well. There will be no
mercy.

 

As a doctor, she strives to
save lives, although that does not mean she has never taken one before.

 

Going back to her room again,
she finished preparing her supplies for what is to come.

 

Thanks to accepting the
request of curing that woman, she got many useful things.

 

In particular, she got her
hands on Phoenix Tears, which work pretty well at healing wounds. They are
extremely useful during battle when she has to take care of not wasting Ki.

 

She was very interested in the
so-called immortality of the members of the clan that makes these 'potions'
since she aspires to raise her healing skill to a higher level by studying the
Phoenix Tears. So far, she has managed to regenerate small parts of the body
from other people. However, it is a very arduous job to mend wounds of that
caliber from so many people. Completely different from healing herself, it
takes a greater toll on her Ki.

 

Taking into account the
differences between races and how their bodies work is not something you can do
in seconds, but this little vial contained something that defied common sense.
In her case, she could deal if they were her wounds easily, but it is still
taxing to do so.

 

During her younger days, she
received heavy injuries too many times and she learned how to perfectly restore
her body parts efficiently even during battle. A skill she has not taught Nora
yet, his body was too young to go through all the steps necessary to reach such
a level.

 

…

…

…

 

Counting the vials containing
the Phoenix Tears, 5 of them were in her hands.

 

Taking them all would be the
best choice since they would help her save her Ki so she can focus it in a
fight, but her child's face comes to mind as she has the vials in hand, so she
left two vials for him in case something happens.

 

The Omamori that Nora made was
still in the room. Looking at the embroilments, a slight smile comes to her
face so she took it with her, to remember him when she is far from him.

 

Hopefully, she will be back
soon.

 

Part 5

 

MC’s POV

 

When I woke up, the sun was
already up in the sky so a few hours must've gone by already.

 

Damn it.

 

Quickly getting up, I searched
inside and outside the house, but Kaa-san wasn't anywhere. There wasn't much I
could do so I called Yasaka-san. She had left here a token similar to the one
before that helps us to communicate from long distances.

 

In any case, I must let her
know what happened and ask if she knows what Kaa-san was going to do.

 

She had planned to go
somewhere to fight or that is what it looked like. I don't think she would be
wearing that attire otherwise.

 

 

…

…

…

 

After telling Yasaka-san what
happened, she just told me to wait for a moment, and a minute later, she
arrived at the house.

 

"I put my people to look
into her whereabouts for now. From what I learned before coming here no one saw
her leave Urakyoto". Yasaka-san said as soon as she saw me.

 

I bit my lips at her words. Of
course, they wouldn’t see her. She tried to leave behind my back.

 

"I did not hear anything
from her. However, are you sure of what you told me?" Yasaka-san asked
worriedly.

 

We were standing near the
entrance. So I lead her inside, to the kitchen table where we could speak
calmly.

 

"She even used some sort
of herb or drug to make me sleep". I explained as we took our seats.

 

She furrowed her eyebrows at
my words.

 

"To even go that far...
What could've happened?" Yasaka-san muttered.

 

I did not know the answer to
that question. It bothered me how little I knew about it. As my mind was still
not completely awake, it took me some time until certain memory came to me.

 

"Wait... If I am not
wrong..." I hurriedly stood up.

 

"What is it?"
Yasaka-san inquired, surprised at my sudden actions.

 

Not bothering to explain, I
moved first to my room to check something, then later to Kaa-san's room. A
moment later I came back to the kitchen again.

 

"You said you could trace
our tokens right? The tokens you gave me before, the ones I was supposed to
give to Kaa-san and the one I had to carry". I immediately questioned as I
got closer to Yasaka-san, grabbing her by her shoulder.

 

Surprised at my behavior, the
blonde kitsune took more time to answer than usual.

 

"I can indeed do that. It
was how you asked me to prepare them, although I never got to try that
function. However, no, wait. Are you saying I should use that function?"
Yasaka-san asked after thinking about my words more deeply.

 

Then-

 

"If you had it prepared
as I asked, you have a way to track in a larger range than what the one I have
can do, right? Can you use it now?" I asked with anticipation.

 

At that time, I... put the
tracking token inside the Omamori.

 

Although I did not exactly
expect that she would do this. Many times before when she would head off to the
Underworld leaving behind the token and when I tried to tell her to take it,
she would not listen so to avoid that in the future, I had considered how to
have her carry it with her.

 

Before giving her the Omamori,
I thought of putting it there.

 

However, I don't think that it
will remain there for too much time. She is not that naive. As Kaa-san left in
a hurry, she might have missed it but she will eventually find out my petty
trick.

 

"It can cover a larger
area but…" Yasaka-san was still uncertain of what I was saying.

 

I guess I got ahead of myself
by not properly explaining myself

 

"Before Kaa-san left, I
somehow left it on her so we could try to find her while she has it on
her". I gave her a simple explanation.

 

Understanding what I meant,
Yasaka-san stood up.

 

Due to the height difference,
I could not grab her shoulders as before anymore so we broke contact.

 

"I will immediately check
her location". Yasaka-san uttered before leaving in a rush.

 

*Sigh*

 

I hate to make her run errands
because of pregnancy but I can do nothing about it. It was troubling how
powerless I am when it is needed.

 

Not only when there is a need
to fight, but cases like this as well.

 

…

…

…

 

It was not until one hour
later when Yasaka-san came back. Her crestfallen look pulled some strings in my
heart. I could not get used to seeing her like that and I did not like it when
it happened.

 

However, it made me anxious
since I knew what she was going to do before she left so I brought her to the
kitchen table again.

 

This time I prepared her some
green tea before taking a seat in front of her.

 

"I found her location.
She is currently in Tokyo. However..." Yasaka-san started to speak after
taking a sip of her tea but hesitated to continue talking.

 

She found her. Hearing that I
felt some relief, but seeing her hesitate I could not allow myself to relax
yet, and as expected-

 

"I tried to send some
people to confirm Saya-chan's whereabouts, but they couldn't get into the city.
Apparently, there are disturbances in the area and we can't intervene in any
way". Yasaka-san said after a moment of silence.

 

Her expression seemed bitter.

 

"Is there no way?" I
still asked even though I knew that she is not the type to give up on something
minor.

 

"I am sorry. The youkais
can't interfere no matter what. It is a private matter of the church. It seems
there is an ongoing problem and they won't allow outsiders to interfere, if I
carelessly tried to do something, we could earn their animosity". She
explained with an apologetic look.

 

Her words made me tighten my
fists under the table

 

This made things pretty
difficult for her. Acting on impulse could lead to a full-scale conflict with a
major power, and even though their influence in Japan is not as strong as in
their base country. Many people (youkais) would be affected if a fight broke
out.

 

Yasaka-san can't act carelessly.

 

Then, what should I do?
Closing my eyes, I started thinking.

 

So far I relied on Kaa-san and
Yasaka-san for everything, but now Kaa-san is not here and Yasaka-san has her
hands tied as well.

 

I have been taking things for
granted. Am I a kid?

 

*Sigh*

 

I can only shake my head in
disappointment at my mindset of letting myself get this spoiled.

 

"Nora-kun, don't
worry..." I heard a concerned voice.

 

Opening my eyes, I find
Yasaka-san peering at me front up close, her worried expression only made me
feel worse about how I have been acting, worrying her too. I should get my act
together.

 

She must also be anxious about
her friend, and now she has to deal with the child of said friend.

 

"I am ok. Sorry to worry
you". I tried to reassure her with a smile.

 

"It will be ok. Believe
me". Yasaka-san said as she lightly ruffled my hair.

 

Hey now, don't play around. I
stood up avoiding her hands, and the dangerous position where her cleavage was
in plain sight. If she aimed to distract me, she might've completed her
objective... only slightly.

 

She likes to wear her kimono
that way, not like I can complain, although when I imagine her getting ogled by
other guys, I get irritated.

 

"I will go to keep an eye
on the situation. If something happens I will let you know". The blonde
kitsune said after standing up and I nodded at her words.

 

…

…

…

 

You could say I was never a
logical person.

 

To be honest, I surprised
myself sometimes due to my reckless behavior. Making choices that complicated
my situation unconsciously was a talent of mine. Well, more than a talent, it
could be called a bad habit.

 

This time was no different. In
my room, I was getting ready to leave.

 

I came to that decision. You
could ask one hundred people and I know that more than half would call my
behavior reckless or pointless, but I will repeat myself; I am not a logical
person.

 

Wearing the most common
looking hakama I could find, I tried to dress in a way that would not point my
affiliation to the Youkais in Kyoto, although I am technically not affiliated
to them since only Kaa-san and Yasaka-san are my 'allies'.

 

In any case, I just want to
avoid implicating them in the likelihood that I ended up mixed with the
church's people. I can't trouble Yasaka-san more than I already have done.

 

I went through the house a
couple of times earlier so I found a few things that will come in handy during
my outing. In Kaa-san's room, I found two vials of Phoenix Tears which will
surely be useful, although it also worried me that she did not take them with
her. Kaa-san had in her room several pills she made and although I would like
to make several comments regarding the taste they leave in your mouth. They
have the wonderful effect of providing enough nutrients to cover a full meal.
She had a jar full of those things. Kaa-san used them for patients that found
it hard to eat normal food for different reasons. Since it could even be
dissolved in water, it was truly a godsend for those who need it.

 

Once again, I have a lot to
say about the taste. It is important so I will say it twice. I have a lot to
say about the taste.

 

Anyways, this was one of the
great things about having a mother who is a pretty skilled herbalist and can
concoction pills and some 'potions'. Something she hasn't taught me about.

 

Other than that, there was a
spare bow she had but I couldn't use it due to the length. It was a longbow,
very much like mine, the 'yumi' or Japanese bow is pretty long, considered as a
longbow if you go by Western standards. I couldn't use it very well with my size,
so I had to use my normal training one which had the size of a regular bow
still making it sort of a longbow for me. You can't expect much of my almost
six years old height.

 

Filling the quiver of the bow
to the brim with arrows, I equipped myself with it, the bow, and a leather
pouch with those damned pills, but just as I was going to leave the house, I
went back to take care of a couple of things I forgot.

 

One of them was to take
another pouch but filled with seeds. I had trained a lot in making plants grow
as I wished so I am sure they will come worthwhile to bring along.

 

There was also a note where I
apologized to Yasaka-san a lot for what I was going to do. Surely this was
going to cause her a lot of headaches, but I couldn’t sit here and do anything.

 

I will accept any scolding or
punishment she will probably give me after coming back.

 

The last thing was the most
important one, the other tracking token that belonged to me. While it did not
give a detailed location where I am due to the distance, it still pointed
faintly in one direction. Considering how I already knew that Kaa-san was in
Tokyo, I had to get there and this thing will give me a more detailed location
as I get closer.

 

Leaving Urakyoto should be
rather easy, the hardest part was to leave this place, the house was in a
separate dimension or space, but it also had a powerful barrier to prevent
illegal entry to anyone other than Kaa-san and Yasaka-san who knew the method
to enter, I would be included in the list of the people who can enter and leave
with no problem but I was not taught the method to leave on my own yet.

 

Thankfully, I learned it by
watching Kaa-san.

 

I thought about any other
thing I could've forgotten, and after confirming that I had everything, I left
the house.

 

Taking a deep breath, I took
my first step to look for Kaa-san.