Discord: /CGen5YA

Chapter Seventeen

He opened his eyes.

Nothing.

He furrowed his brow in concentration while attempting to mimic the sensation Yasaka had shared with the three of them when she summoned her Fox Fire flames. It had felt like a warm bath; a tingling, relaxing sensation that permeated his entire being. Yasaka's fire color was similar to Kunou's, though it leaned towards a darker, deeper gold.

Patience. Slow inhale, slow exhale. Slow inhale, the air flowing in and filling him up is the warmth of the fire, spreading through his body, just as the oxygen is carried throughout his veins. Slow exhale, the warmth flows out, into his hands.

Daichi glared at his empty palms in cold irritation for a moment before standing and dusting off his pants. Daichi growled, glancing daggers around the room as Kunou and Mina juggled and tossed balls of various colored fire around between them before he went back to staring at the space above his hand. Kunou's fox flames were predominantly a golden white, while Mina's Kasha flames flickered between an ethereal green and shadowy purple.

He had taken to wearing normal mortal clothing some time ago, since even with magic, putting on and taking off the full kimono ensemble was a pain in the ass to perform every day, not to mention frivolously burning or destroying fancy clothing was simply wasteful. Rossweisse would be proud of him for his consideration. With a sigh he shot one last look at the random fireballs still being tossed and floating throughout the room before heading over to a separate practice room to invest some time in a more fruitful endeavor of practical Youjutsu application.

He took a position opposite the makeshift dummies. Daichi's hands twisted, the Youjutsu symbols for wave, force,and disperse chaining together near instantly as a blast of energy rocketed out of his palm and slammed into the still constructs, sending them flying and carrying them into the far wall. The attack crashed against the surface, flattening the metallic pieces of the targets while the wooden components splintered and shattered.

His hands blurred once again, the symbols for broken, repair, and the more complex reconstitute flowed out, the energy flowing across the room where the pieces of the focus of his ire lay scattered. As the energy spread, it coated the fragments, each piece taking a hint of a glow before a slow-motion rewind of their destruction played out, the pieces floating up and fitting together like a self-solving puzzle.

"Feeling better?" Yasaka's soft voice carried to him from the door, his ears twitching slightly in response.

"No." He sighed, still glaring as the dummies finished flowing back into place. His ears twitched again as her characteristic kimono ruffled while she moved, coming to a stop behind him. She lightly pulled him back into her chest, resting her arms around his shoulders and her chin atop his head. At twelve years old, he had finally hit a growth spurt, his appearance closer to fourteen, his head reaching just below her chin to make for an easy perch. His ears flicked against her cheeks, the soft fur stroking her unintentionally in his distracted agitation of the press of her soft, massive chest against his back.

"I've been thinking, it might be a good idea for you to take a trip. A distant one this time. You've been holed up and so focused on achieving your Fox Fire that you're neglecting yourself." A hand came up to stroke the long hair cascading from his head, fingers massaging and scratching the back of his neck and base of his skull. He let out yet another sigh, relaxing into her pampering.

"Yea…" he mumbled. "Yea, I probably should. It's just been so frustrating. I've been at it for months and made no progress." Yasaka hummed in response. The girls had picked up the skill fairly quickly, Kunou having a similar fire making guiding her a simple affair while Mina had the natural Nekoshou gifts.

"I'm glad you agree. Sera, Gabriel, Freyja, and I have been discussing." Daichi unintentionally stiffened slightly. When the women got to talking, it was a toss-up whether it was going to be good or bad for the men in their lives. "You've made a decent name for yourself over the past few years. Your bounty hunting reputation is very solid, and now that you're a bit older and of sufficient power, it will be less of a hassle for you to expand your business outside of friendly territory." His five tails were currently intertwining rather intimately around her legs and hips, the fifth having finally arrived after achieving a sufficient mastery of Youjutsu at the beginning of the year, prompting the transition to Flame practice months prior.

Daichi had spent the past three years running occasional contracts spread between Asgard, the Underworld, and the various Youkai leaders. With as many enemies as the Norse pantheon had accrued over the millennia, all of the stray devils that cropped up from forced conversions, and the large variety of potentially evil Youkai, Daichi had no shortage of available work. Gabriel had wanted to help contribute with some bounties from Heaven, but unfortunately most of their exiled exorcists and troublemakers were based in other parts of the world, Japan not having a strong Christian background among their demographic.

A six-year-old Kunou took the opportunity to slam open the training room door.

"Hahaue, please release Onii-sama, his tails are being bad again." Yasaka simply turned them to face the door, Mina following the young nine-tails into the room. The Nekoshou had mellowed out slightly in the years following her adoption into their small little family, though that wasn't to say she was any less outspoken or vicious to strangers.

To those she was comfortable with, she was just as energetic and driven as she had been when he pulled her out of that basement a few years ago. Her anger and desire for vengeance had simply been tempered from the hot forge into cold steel, her sharp tongue sheathed behind a mask of cool patience. It was her dedication to achieving strength that was backed by an ironclad determination that Daichi couldn't help but respect.

"Oh? Daichi-kun, it appears Kunou has a problem with you taking advantage of your poor, defenseless sensei." Daichi rolled his eyes before purposefully nestling himself deeper into her cleavage. Poor and defenseless his ass. She still regularly thrashed him in their magical spars even without accessing the leyline convergence she was intrinsically linked to.

"Hahaue, it appears you misunderstood me. I know you started it, tempting him like a typical mortal fox. Onii-sama cannot help himself as it's part of his nature."

"What's this? Daichi-kun, have you stolen my daughter away from me already?" Yasaka was stroking his ears as he melted into her embrace. If he had been in his animal form, he had no doubt one of his legs would be twitching and thumping with pleasure.

"Yasaka, if you keep it up, I'm going to fall asleep." Daichi murmured, his eyes half lidded. "I appreciate how much you managed to rile up my dearest little sister though. She's absolutely the cutest with her cheeks puffed out like that." The girl in question immediately sucked her cheeks back in and glared at the pair before turning with a huff.

"Fine! I didn't want to save my onii-sama from the clutches of that wily fox anyway!" Yasaka tittered behind her free hand.

"Careful, or we'll turn her into a tsundere. That would be a true tragedy." Daichi muttered, finally pulling away. He lunged forward, scooping up Kunou into his arms while she kept her back turned, rubbing their cheeks together. "Though she is absolutely adorable! Isn't that right, Mina?!" He held a squealing Kunou directly up into the cat girl's face, her expression attempting to maintain some semblance of neutrality, but her ears flicking in response gave away her true feelings. Daichi's eyes darting up and back down to meet her own, accompanied by a smirk of victory was enough to break her mask this time, a blush dusting her cheeks as she glared. "See! Even Mina can't handle the cute overload!"

"Stupid Onii-sama! Put me down!" Kunou wiggled, attempting to escape his grasp but Daichi simply pulled her back into his grasp, cuddling her even more.

"Not a chance! I've captured you, so I have prisoner authority. Your only chance of salvation is for someone else to save you now!" He spun them both around, eyes twinkling as they faced Yasaka. "How about it, Yasaka-sensei? The big bad Yako has stolen away your precious daughter." Daichi started poking at Kunou's ribs tickling her while she squirmed and giggled. "You'll never save her in time!"

"Ha - " Kunou gasped, stifling her laughter. "Hahaue!" She burst into giggles, gasping out her plee. "Save me! Please!" Yasaka cupped her face in one hand, the other arm resting beneath her chest as she adopted a look of serious contemplation.

"I suppose I can't leave my precious daughter in the hands of such an evil little fox." Her fingers twisted, a spell flying out that Daichi immediately countered with a flicker of his own hand, a small shield deflecting the burst of air over their heads. He spun Kunou out of his grasp and into Mina's waiting arms, a small smile on her face at the group's antics. Yasaka took the opportunity to send two more bursts of magic his direction, a small billow of fire accompanied by another arrow of condensed air were deflected to the side this time, a larger shield springing up to direct both while his free hand spat his own flame back towards his teacher.

They were small spells, but this was how all of their spars went, the fight less about power and more about outwitting their opponent. The first who succeeded in slipping an attack through the other's guard was the victor.

Daichi was rarely the victor.

A small plume of water met a streak of fire while two blasts of air cancelled each other out, the steam from the opposing elements bursting and rapidly expanding from the combined winds, briefly obscuring their lines of sight. Daichi ducked, two spells zipping over him as he stayed in place but tossed a stone to the side, a streak of water zipping into the mist from his opposite hand in the next instant. Two separate spells were received in response, one at the rocks location, and another directly at his head which he quickly avoided by leaning to the side, two more spells leaving his hands, one of wind dispersing the already thinning vapor and another of water as he rolled to the side, a shield popping into existence as he came to his feet.

Yasaka was there to meet him, a finger directly in front of his face with a small flame perched atop the end of her nail and a smile on her lips.

"You were close, I almost didn't intercept that water after the stone, but you forgot to keep your eyes on your opponent. A dash step had me in range before you could finish recovering, even with deflecting your attacks." Daichi tisked. Ullr would have his skin mounted on his wall if he learned he made such an amateur slip up. Daichi made up his mind in that moment, though he had already previously agreed. These years had turned him soft. His bounties had given him some danger, but without the constant struggle he had experienced in the Dark Elf forest, his instincts and abilities were dulling. It seemed this trip was more necessary than he realized.

Daichi let out a sigh, his breath blowing out the flame before him.

"It looks like I'll be leaving within the next few days then."

Kunou's cheers were cut short while Mina glared, finally speaking up.

"What do you mean, leaving?"

Daichi fully stood, dusting himself off slightly.

"Before both of you joined us, Yasaka and I were discussing my recent struggles. We think it's for the best if I take a trip to hone myself for a while."

"You're taking me with you, right? You said, back then, if I could last for over a minute against you, I could help you work." Daichi shook his head in response to Mina's words.

"No, not this time. I'm going to be going places and fighting things that I won't be able to protect you from if I get in over my head." Mina was practically growling, her tails and fur fluffed out, claws fully extended as she stalked forward. Daichi simply placed a hand on her head once she got in range, rubbing the sweet spot at the base of her ears that he knew she loved. "Relax, Kitten. I'm not taking you with me, but you'll still be helping me with my work. Yasaka already gave her approval for you to be my representative in Japan. You'll be handling any contract within your power level that you feel you can complete, though you need to remember that you'll be representing me and my company any time you take one or are out working, so no rampant destruction." Mina refused to budge to his ministrations, but slowly calmed down as his words processed, still looking somewhat dissatisfied but leaning into his hand in reluctant acceptance.

"You'll call regularly?" Daichi smiled at her small pout.

"Of course." He turned his face to a teary eyed Kunou clutching to her mother's clothing. "I'll call and video chat with all three of you regularly. I'll make trips back to Japan every few months, so don't look so down, little fox." He opened up his free arm to which she immediately dashed in to hug him tight. "It will still be a few days before I leave. I need to make plans and prepare, after all." A look from Yasaka said she had something to say on the matter, but that they would discuss it later.

It was several more minutes before he finally managed to console the girls and the group broke for lunch. Afterward, Daichi met with Yasaka in her office to have that discussion he was anticipating.

"The girls and I actually had an idea about your destination, at least to start."

Daichi cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Yasaka nodded to his unspoken question.

"Gabriel has been feeling rather left out with how little she's been able to help, so we put our heads together. We think sending you to Italy to do some work for the Vatican would be a great way to expand your influence, experience new dangers, and meet new people with a relatively safe and central base, not to mention their trainers and top members have a reputation that garners respect from even the supernatural." Yasaka pushed forward, not letting him speak in order to get her full persuasive argument out first.

"With Gabriel willing to vouch for you, the church will practically be tripping over themselves to help you hone your skills, plus it will be a show of good faith from the Youkai to the Christian faction. Gabriel and Sera are already working wonders on Angel and Devil relations, and the Youkai are benefiting by association, so getting their mortal counterparts involved and onboard will be immensely helpful. That's before we begin to discuss the Grecian pantheon just next door. Freyja has mentioned introducing you to a few of her connections within Olympus since they'll be in such close proximity." Daichi simply sat for a moment as he blinked at her.

"You sold me on it when you mentioned it was for Gabriel, though I guess the rest of it is a definite bonus. As long as the church doesn't try to string me up and crucify me or something for intruding in their territory, I'm okay with doing some public relations and ally building on the side. I trust all of you." It helped that something like a quarter of the main cast were currently in training at the Vatican. Daichi needed no incentive to put canon to the torch.

"Good." Yasaka smiled. "I was worried it would take more to persuade you, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised with one of your girls involved."

"You are one of my girls. I'd have done it even if it had just been you asking."

"Oh? So bold, Daichi-kun!" Daichi snorted. Of all the older powerful women in his life, Yasaka was likely the closest to him in their power disparity. He could already tell, when she wasn't drawing from the leyline. The gods and goddesses he had associated with so far had an immensity to them, a natural pressure which showed that by simply existing they were beyond mortal means.

Yasaka had a similar, if not quite as large presence while connected. Her base power, however, was within his reach. Not yet at five tails, and it wouldn't be at six, but something deep inside him told him, purred in his ear, that at seven with the qualitative shift in his power, he would be her equal and she would be his for the taking. His ancestral memories and instincts stated it as fact, one that he was attributing to his direct descent from Inari.

He had long held suspicions, but beyond his special treatment with his training, he had little proof that he was in any way more than any other Youkai. Now that he been able to spend a good amount of time immersing himself among his native people and associating with other Kitsune beyond Yasaka and Kunou, he knew he was, if not special, then at least different. Something intrinsic within him and those around him seemed to recognize his, for lack of a better phrase, innate superiority. It wasn't a complex or mental state he liked to indulge in, since there was no true superiority in this world other than the one achieved with power, but his instincts and bloodline made it apparent in their presence that he was at least a purer entity than other Youkai.

Yasaka's Daitengu aide chose that moment to make his presence known, knocking at the door before entering, bowing to both of the current occupants.

"Yasaka-sama, Daichi-sama." Daichi nodded in acknowledgment before the aide, Soujoubou, continued. "Yasaka-sama, the other faction leaders are awaiting your presence in the meeting room. The call connections have already been established." Yasaka nodded, dismissing him as she stood and began making her way to the door.

"Thank you, Soujoubou-san. I'll be there momentarily." She turned back to Daichi as the Daitengu left the room. "I assume you'll begin packing for your trip." Daichi gave her a nod. "Make sure to speak with Mina and establish a structured plan for her before you leave. She's still in a precarious position emotionally despite the progress we've made. You're her main support. She relies on you and looks up to you as a model of strength." The pair strolled through the halls towards the room she used to host virtual meetings with important colleagues and dignitaries.

"Don't worry, I know. Even if she falls from the edge, I'll drag her ass back up if I have to. She knows she's not allowed to revel in vengeance or negativity, or I'll thrash her so hard she'll wish she was back to normal training. She holds the emotions deep but as of right now they're exclusively used to fuel her growth." The pair paused outside the doors to the meeting room. "I'll take her on an initiation mission before I leave. Regardless, have a couple shadow corps watch over her, especially on any contracts that involve devils. They'll need to be skilled in Senjutsu, otherwise she'll flush them out and lose them faster than the operatives can blink. She's become unbelievably skilled in the practice."

Yasaka hummed in agreement.

"I'll be sure to do so. We'll discuss more about necessary arrangements later."

He gave her a smile and turned to leave, one of Daichi's tails coming up and stroking her chin with the tip as he left, heading towards his room.

"Cheeky little fox." She murmured with a fond smile as he rounded the corner. Yasaka took another moment to straighten her posture and bearing, adjusting herself and her clothing slightly in preparation for the discussion over their current shadow war against the Naberius clan. A sharper, more predatory and serious gleam settled into her eyes. The latest reports from the Northern faction who were heading the effort stated the Youkai were on the verge of success, having nearly wiped the Devils' operations from the face of the mortal world.

They had taken their time, slowly stalking, plotting, and planning during the first two years, systematically categorizing and learning as much as they could about the family's mortal operations. The third year had been a blitzkrieg assault resulting in an almost complete annihilation of their enemy's resources. There had only been a few holdouts, more militarized endeavors that had been more defensively capable, requiring greater planning to successfully wipe from the face of the earth. It was her hope that this meeting would provide news of their success, and give a measure of peace to their resident Nekoshou.

A/N:

No excuse for the delay, I just haven't felt like working on this project.

A couple things for this chapter. First, you could probably tell I'm playing with honorifics and some Japanese terminology. I'll likely continue to do this when conversations involve Japanese speakers, as honorifics and certain vocabulary has a level of cultural implication beyond their English translations.

Fun Fact 1: For example, Hahaue, Kunou's name for her mother (which is what she calls her in the show) is Haha-ue, 母上, Haha another term for mother, and the addition of 'ue' which is an old-fashioned fancy way of address. It technically isn't an honorific, hence the combination spelling with no hyphen. The kanji and meaning of 'ue' by itself means 'up, above, over' and other similar concepts. It literally translates to something like 'Esteemed mother', which doesn't make much sense or flow very well in English writing, particularly in dialogue.

It's a subtle thing that can't really be captured without the original term and its cultural background, which is the same with honorifics.

Second, I made a mistake with Rossweisse's age in earlier chapters that I will be fixing for the sake of timeline continuity. She's younger than I originally stated based on the timeline I originally set out. I mixed up Daichi's real age and appearance during those chapters. For clarity, she would now be sixteen at this chapter's point in the timeline, Daichi is twelve, but appears fourteen, Mina is fourteen, and Kunou is six. We're approximately five to six years from the start of canon.

Fun Fact 2: Soujoubou is the name of one of the actual Daitengu, hailing from Mount Kurama. I figured fans of Naruto would particularly enjoy this one.

Yukilumi – I'm glad I've managed to fool you all into believing I have a plan and I'm not just writing by the seat of my pants, muahahahaha.

Youjutsu literally translates to black magic or sorcery, so yea, magic.

Yami-Guy – Yes, Mina is an OC. I'm still undetermined on how involved she will be in the story but she exists now since that's what the word vomit that came out of my imagination decided needed to happen.

Scandalf – Honestly, Senjutsu is super OP. It's why I started him off with that and why he received such a huge power boost simply from achieving a general mastery over it.

Kirashu – Glad you've enjoyed it so far :)

Guest – Yes, it's fanon. Good thing this is fanfiction so I can take some artistic liberties with what to include ;)

Abrams 1559 – Nope, it's stated in canon they have around a 10000-year life span. It's just that 10k years is so long that it seems like they're immortal.

Silver PND – Thank you!

Ragnas Bredvolts – Like I discuss in the chapter, they won't be able to storm the underworld without a lot of preparation. Also, I'm of the opinion that losing a single family, pillar or not, would be well worth cultivating an alliance with an entire country worth of supernatural entities of a separate pantheon after their family essentially disobeyed direct orders from their leadership and left behind enough evidence to substantiate an act of war.

Guest – I fixed Gandhi's name, my bad. Names tend to get mixed up when typing at speed, especially ones I'm not entirely familiar with.

SlyMonster – Hope this chapter answered your question!

Anom1 – It's not generally known, though Yasaka is likely aware based on his interactions with Inari. Nobody has explicitly said anything about it except himself to Mina. Him being a Yako carries a pretty powerful stigma considering Yako kitsune are generally almost entirely malicious spirits, not to mention he's still a child, and therefore perceived as someone that needs guidance and discipline.

Yes, he's technically a divine fox, though that's not to be confused with a Heavenly fox (Zenko). Yasaka and Kunou are the closest to divine due to their special bloodline as well as being nine tails. Tenko foxes are ascendant, basically meaning gods. Hope that clears up any confusion.

As a tertiary note, I'm going to start limiting my responses to reviews in chapters. I recommend joining my Discord for timely answers or up to date information on my writing.