Part 4

  April 29th, 2008KyotoOutside Kyoto Station

  Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court. The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869.

  It was the scene of several key events of the Muromachi period, Sengoku period, and the Boshin War, such as the ōnin War, the Honnō-ji Incident, the Kinmon incident, and the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. The capital was relocated from Kyoto to Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration. The modern municipality of Kyoto was established in 1889.

  The city was spared from rge-scale destruction during World War II and, as a result, its prewar cultural heritage has mostly been preserved.

  At least that’s what the pamphlet says about the old capital. I pced the pamphlet back into my backpack, holding on my wheeled suitcase; looking behind me at the train station. I had the most pleasant and luxurious experience.

  I traveled in the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto in the first-css car. There were ride attendants at my beck and call, and they offered good service such as a welcoming atmosphere, white spacious leather seats in the expanded luxurious car and the train offering so much elbow and legroom that I didn't know what to do with it.

  In the compartment given to me, I found a bnket, warm towels, slippers, and eye mask to put on. I stole them… while also enjoying the benefit of unlimited food and drink during the ride! ?

  I was excited to finally be there, this was the start to my rise to power. Witchbde was also interested in the supernatural side of this world and watched through my eyes the environment around me. I could already see disturbing people… with animal traits in the crowd.

  It seemed that whatever gmor spell or technique the youkai used didn't work on me. I needed to hurry and find a hotel. I've been lucky to have a suitcase full of cash at home in my hidden vault because post offices and ATMs are closed, so I need to make sure to have enough cash for Golden Week. Shops, restaurants and sightseeing attractions are usually all open during Golden Week and I intend to take advantage of my presence there to enjoy myself.

  The hotel I chose was a traditional one called a Ryokan, there was an onsen and a spa service. The food was rated 5 stars and the Ryokan had been used to film some drama before. It was one of the things I've come to like about Japan, the Sengoku era dramas and the sentai shows (which were vastly better than Power Rangers).

  On the way to my Ryokan, I found some pce offering food in stalls. The delicacies were delicious and exotic to me, who has been subsisting only on European dishes as I didn't know Japanese Cuisine. Sooner or ter, I would have to try my hand at it…

  There were so many people here, the pce was bigger than Kuoh, and I wasn't used to that fact. Inevitably, I decided to go to the park fifteen minutes away from the station. It was called Umekoji Park, a welcome patch of green in one of Kyoto’s more built up areas. There was an aquarium right next to it to see sea life and a good dating spot.

  I was going to the toilet building in the park when I heard a scuffle behind it. Curious, I went to check what was happening and… I saw a little girl being attacked by three dog headed men. The Witchbde manifested without me having to focus on it, and as a curved bde lengthened from its side, I attacked.

  # # #

  (Kunou)

  A young girl, clothed in a miko outfit with the appearance of an elementary school student, was running with all her might through the park, her golden blonde hair and clothing was completely disheveled as she stopped behind the small public bathroom to hide. Her breathing was ragged and she looked around warily for any of her pursuers.

  She didn't understand why they wanted her, but being the sole daughter of the ruler of the West Yokai Faction put a big target on her back. All she had wanted was ice cream, but somehow she got separated from her mother and their escort. And now she has been under constant pursuit by those meanies for the st 30 minutes.

  Finally allowed a couple of minutes of rest, Kunou was able to calm down, her breathing steadying.

  However, the smell of her pursuers appeared in her senses, a wet, musty dog, as they descended from the sky above her. They were Inugami, rge winged dogs with eyes alight with fme and silver markings upon their fur.

  Kunou didn't know from which cn they came, but they weren't afraid of her mother’s retaliation. The young girl tried to flee and employ her youjutsu to once again conjure clones to escape. But one of her assaints threw a jet of bck fme that cut Kunou's retreat.

  “Not again! Stay put, you smelly fox!” The tallest Inugami decred as his arms became afme with magical fire.

  The inugami on the left started to walk up to Kunou, and grabbed her despite her firing a ball of foxfire at him.

  “You made us run around for a while.” The Inugami said with disdain and started to pull her toward him.

  Kunou started to struggle using touki and lobbed fireballs at the corner youkai. The inugami raised it’s hand to sp Kunou, but before the appendage could meet Kunou's cheek…

  Ssh! Fwoosh! It was sliced off and lit on fire; the Inugami stared in shock at his missing hand.

  As for Kunou, she stared at the back of a young woman with bck hair, a white sleeveless t-shirt, bck tight pants, and white sports shoes. What was striking to the small girl was the silver gauntlet with a bde attached to it on her savior's right arm.

  “Wh-what?” Kunou was shocked to see that someone, a human girl, was currently attempting to save her right now.

  “MY HAAAAAAANND! MY FUCKING HAND!” The inugami yelled as he held onto the stump of his arm.

  “Who the hell are you?!” One of the Inugami demanded but the older girl didn't say anything.

  One of the other assaints snorted mockingly. “A fucking human, wait she doesn’t look like a omnyoji.”

  The inugami smiled and threw himself at her, fiery fist first. “Die!”

  Ssh! The inugami found his extended arm sliced into three chunks. The older girl then jumped performing two spins on herself before kicking the dog youkai in the fnk.

  Pow! She sent him flying into the other one-handed Inugami.

  Kunou watched the girl raise a hand and shoot a cone of fire at the two of them. The third Inugami shielded his associate with his body imbued with touki and started screaming as he was engulfed by the red fmes. It smelled like burned fur and meat, it caused Kunou to pinch her nose with her fingers.

  The inugami's body fell on the ground, a carbonized mass; his companions looked at the stranger with fear etched onto their dog faces. The one with the shredded arm made a rictus filled with anger and cried out, “I won't forget this!”

  He turned his back on the young woman and spread his wings to run away towards the air. Kunou didn't even see the older girl move, as she severed the Inugami's wings and knocked him out. She proceeded to do the same to the other ones by breaking their bones and bopping them on the head with her fist.

  “I hate bad doggos.” Kunou heard her savior say.

  Kunou was a bit scared after seeing how the girl dispatched the inugamis, but she took her courage in hand and said hesitantly, “H-hello.”

  The girl turned toward her, her crimson eyes focused on her. They were cold at first, but they visibly warmed as she saw Kunou. The girl sighed in relief and said, “Good, you're safe.”

  The girl kneeled next to Kunou and started checking her for bruises and wounds. Kunou had some skinned knees and a bruise on her left arm where the inugami had caught her. The bck haired girl put a hand on Kunou's arm and soothing golden light glowed from the gauntlet her savior wore.

  As the light enveloped her, she felt like she was receiving a warm bath and a snack filling her belly. The girl took her hand back, and she said, “Alright, you're good to go.”

  “Thank you!” Kunou hugged the older girl and started sobbing in relief.

  The girl patted her back awkwardly, but the tender moment was broken when they heard a cold voice behind them say, “Unhand Kunou-sama!”

  Kunou and the girl turned to see a dozen armed Tengu pointing their weapon at them. The bck haired girl said in a little voice, “Uh oh.”

  # # #

  Back with Iori…Ura-KyotoYasaka's pace30 minutes ter

  The confrontation between me and the Tengu strike team was short when the girl I saved shielded me and decred that I had saved her and that the true assaints who attacked her were bleeding on the ground at the side of the tree behind the public toilet where the battle had taken pce.

  I had been shocked when the little blonde girl suddenly sprouted 9 tails and fox ears. Well Canon is fucked, I saved the little fox already, and I needed to take responsibility for my actions. I accompanied Kunou back to Ura-Kyoto. Can you believe that one of the entrances is a small alley with stairs sandwiched by some old pop's and mom's general stores? There was some kind of barrier overid over a Torii at the top of the stairs.

  I was paraded inside the yokai town with Kunou's hand in mine; every one of those strange beings looked at me, some with clear murder in their eyes. The Witchbde was ready to armor me up at any moment, thirsty for the evil yokais’ blood…

  Now, here I am in the pace of the fox cutie, with her sleeping while using my p as a pillow. Kunou hasn't left my presence since I saved her, and the hair on her head was so silky. I might get addicted to giving headpats to cute girls.

  The youkai were making me wait in a room connected to a garden with cherry blossoms, with traditional furniture, and provided me with tea and biscuits. Witchbde told me that there were multiple magical scans being done on us while they made me wait.

  They were rather invasive; that's why the entity bounced them back. I never dismissed the gauntlet since I was made to follow Kunou and her Tengu guard; I mean, DxD was a Death world. There were tragedies all around, and walking nukes in the form of deities and devils who might want to ensve you to use you because they are bored.

  There's no strings on me, and I intend to keep it this way. Maybe ter if I get strong enough and get some people depending on me? I could form my own faction at this point when I master the artifact.

  Looking around me, I took stock of my current situation. I started scratching behind Kunou's ear. I saved Kunou, the daughter of Yasaka, the nine-tailed Kitsune, ruling over Kyoto and all the Youkai in the West.

  I put another biscuit in my mouth and reached for another, my hand finding the pte empty. It seemed that I finished the snacks… It was at this moment that a Tengu in a bck kimono opened the door, bowed, and said, “Lady Yasaka will now receive you, Usagiyama-san.”

  Kunou's right fox ear twitched, and she opened her eyes. She had an annoyed expression on her face, and she sighed, sitting up to let me stand up.

  “Come back, okay?” The little girl pleaded and stared at me with puppy-dog eyes.

  I held onto my chest in pain, she was too damn cute. “I will try…”

  The tengu who looked at us rolled his eyes. “Please follow me.”

  *Game on.* I put on a serious expression and retracted Witchbde in its dormant form to show that I wasn't going to attack anyone. But I trained armoring up for weeks, and I could deploy my armor in a second now. The sliding door opened, and I followed the tengu.

  The cquered wooden floor didn't even creak as I walked behind the servant. A sign that this pce was well maintained; my eyes fell onto the rich ceramics and paintings that I passed, it gave me ideas on how to decorate my house ter.

  We finally arrived before a huge set of ornate doors, the tengu opened them, revealing that the room occupied by a young woman with a voluptuous figure and very long blonde hair with matching eyes standing next to a big statue representing Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess.

  The woman has delicate facial features, and her eyebrows were cut very short and round; from my Japanese history, I remember that it is a symbol of nobility. The woman's hair is tied in a loose ponytail, reaching down to her legs that end in a spiral, with taut bandages to keep it in pce. She wore a traditional shrine maiden attire, and over that she wore a white coat held closed by a red ribbon and a golden crown.

  I was struck by her beauty; the anime and illustrations of her on the internet didn't give her justice. The nine tailed kitsune opened her pink beautiful lips and said, “Please take a seat, Usagiyama-san.”

  I nodded while thinking how I wish I could push my head in between her twin peaks and stay there forever. “Yes, mommy.”

  Yasaka frowned. “What?”

  I widened my eyes, “What?”

  Putting my hand on my mouth, I realized what I said and started to panic. I heard ughter in my mind and realized Witchbde was ughing at me. As she sensed my embarrassment, the kitsune tilted her head and a slow slightly evil smile spread on her face.

  I soldiered on, deciding that this hiccup didn't happen. I bowed slightly and said, “Lady Yasaka, it's a pleasure to meet you.”

  The kitsune was still smiling. “So you're going to ignore your little slip of the tongue?”

  Urgh, she's not letting it go… with an apologetic tone I replied, “I'm sorry, it's the first time I see someone as beautiful as you…”

  “I see. Let's sit, Usagiyama-san.” Yasaka said once again.

  I did asI was told and sat stiffly in seiza, pcing my legs together and lowering myself onto both knees so that my buttocks touch the small seiza cushion. We looked at each other for ten seconds before Yasaka spoke, “First, I wish to thank you for the timely assistance that you provided to my daughter.”

  I shrugged, if there was a thing I wouldn't do, it's ignore a child in danger before me. “I saw a little girl being carted off by three big brutes, anyone would have done the same.”

  The Witchbde warmed on my wrist, meaning that the entity bonded to me approved of my morality and actions. Yasaka smiled at my resolute tone and said, “I admire your humbleness and sense of justice, Usagiyama-san. But no, not anyone would have done what you did.”

  I was about to deny it, but I forgot where I lived for about a month. This wasn't the small Caribbean isnd where I lived all my life. Japan was a rigid country where individuality was stamped out of people, the government didn't like people not fitting the mold. *She might be right, this is Japan after all… Some people are afraid to act.*

  Since I helped the cute fox girl I was curious about one thing though… “What did they want from Kunou? Was it to obtain a ransom or extract some benefits from you?”

  The expression on Yasaka's beautiful face became hard like granite. “They are cultists who wanted to sacrifice my Kunou to resurrect a nine-tailed fox spirit who was defeated and sealed in the Sessho-seki or Killing Stone under the orders of one of my biggest enemies, Hagoromo Gitsune.

  I gasped, knowing exactly what the legend was about that stone and the evil Kitsune. Daji, Lady Kayo, Tamamo no Mae, the nine tailed kitsune had many names but she's better known as one of the three evil Yokais that pgued Japan along with Shuten-dōji and Otakemaru.

  “The stone was broken?” I excimed despite myself.

  The beautiful kitsune gravely nodded her head. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  My mind raced, and I thought that I couldn't let this happen. Kunou was a sweet kid, so why should she be used to revive an evil yokai? She's not even the cute Fate version of Tamamo anyway. This cemented my decision when I said, “I want to help you take that cult out.”

  The Kitsune looked surprised as she queried, “Oh? You'd help us? You'd help a yokai?”

  What was she saying? Of course I would. “I do not discriminate between species and… I like Kunou. So, sure I will help you, Lady Yasaka.”

  Yasaka nodded. “What can you do, Usagiyama-san?”

  I chuckled demurely. “Don't you already know? You've been scanning me for three hours in the waiting room.”

  Yasaka looked at me, a little shocked expression quickly passed by her face, until she hid it. Then I continued to say, “But as you can see, I'm really strong?”

  “What about your sacred gear?” The kitsune was curious as she looked at the Witchbde on my wrist.

  I pyed ignorant and asked, “What's a sacred gear?”

  She pointed a beautiful, dainty hand at my partner, “That thing on your arm, the gauntlet, and now the bracelet. Sacred gears are items with powerful abilities bestowed upon Humans by the God of the Bible. Still, I have no idea what the name of your sacred gear is.”

  “Huh, more info dump about the supernatural.” I didn't believe in God, and if he did exist? He is dead anyway. I never had a good experience with the catholic religion, people there are often hypocrites. Though I didn't hate the virtuous one… like Asia Argento; I can't wait to meet her!

  I shrugged at Yasaka. “Thanks for the info… but this isn't a sacred-whatever, I would know. Witchbde tells me everything.”

  My bracelet turned into a silver gauntlet and I began caressing it. The blue jewel on it started to glow as I channeled the Angelus part of the artifact. Yasaka's ears perked up at my implication and said, “Oh, it's sapient then, the soul inside must be really powerful.”

  “Yeah, he is my partner!” I smiled.

  # # #

  (Yasaka)

  1 day ter…

  Usagiyama Iori was a peculiar girl, she was kind and seemingly naive. Supernatural affairs were new to her life, however she was taking to her lessons like a duck to water, in barely 1 day she unlocked her touki where it would take years for a normal human to do so. It was her reward for having saved Kunou; Yasaka taught the young woman herself.

  Now she was pying tag with Yasaka's daughter all over the roofs and garden of the pace. The depth of her touki pool was truly monstrous, and it revealed that the girl may not be entirely human. This is what compelled Yasaka to do an in depth investigation on Usagiyama-san.

  She wasn't surprised when she found out that the girl was descended from a rich cn, the Nakamura, on her mother's side. A cn which originally descended from a woman called Shiori-Hime, who became one of the first female Daimyo to exist. It was before Yasaka's time, at least 900 years ago; that female Daimyo's husband died, and she went on the warpath to avenge him, she killed many men, youkai and even a God.

  How she did it was shrouded in mystery, but the artifact on Iori-san's arm was a dead giveaway. *The Witchbde was it? It might not be a sacred gear after all…*

  Potential God killing artifact aside, Yasaka watched the training in the guise of a game her daughter and her guest were doing. Iori-san jumped on the roof, missing Kunou by an inch; the girl was getting better by the minutes. If there was one thing Kunou was when it concerned pying was her competitiveness.

  Kunou grinned impishly and created two clones of herself and they spread into different directions. Yasaka chuckled, Iori-san was going to suffer a bit if she couldn't detect touki signatures. Iori-san tried to catch one of the clones but it poofed away in an explosion of smoke.

  In the end, it was only when night fell that the two stopped their touki manipution training. Yasaka felt when her tengu servant arrived, and kneeled behind her and said, “We found the cultists, my Lady.”

  Yasaka stood up. “I see, we will now exterminate them, gather the guards, and our warriors. Oh, and Usagiyama-san is coming with us.”

  “As you wish, my Lady.” The tengu left, disappearing by melting into the shadows.

  “No one attacks my daughter.” A savage glint gleamed in Yasaka's eyes.

  A/N: We're in Kyoto! Now let's start the bullshit action xD.

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