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47.27% A Nascent Kaleidoscope. / Chapter 278: Chapter 258

Chapter 278: Chapter 258

"Good morning everyone." I walked down the stairs to see everyone sitting at the table, well mostly everyone.

Meridia was absent, but no one faulted her for being dimensionally challenged. The weight of her responsibilities were something none of us had the right to question. Hell, even Artoria and Yasaka with their experience as leaders couldn't measure up with how much she usually had on her plate based on what little she's talked about.

"Master~" Raikou got up and practically glided into my arms. I hugged my servant, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

She didn't seem to want to let go, and I couldn't resist her. I grabbed two handfuls of that wonderful butt of hers.

"Either go play in private, or start removing clothes." Scáthach teased from her spot at the table.

"You heard her." I said emotionlessly. "Let's get naked, Raikou."

"If my son wants it." Raikou said rather shyly, though her expression clearly contradicted that, a barely restrained smile forming on her face.

"P-please don't do that here…" Artoria squeaked out.

I could just laugh, seeing Artoria's bright red face. I gave one more kiss to my Servant as the joke was concluded.

"Aww, I wanted to watch." Jinn pouted cutely.

"You've gotten much lewder recently." I walked by Jinn, playfully swatting at her hair.

"Who's fault is that?" She grinned.

"No idea." I smiled innocently, sneaking up on Artoria as I kissed her cheek. "You all have fun?" I patted her head, that flushed face of hers was always adorable. "And whoever made coffee, you're in first place."

"First place?" Scáthach raised an eyebrow.

"Mmm, I devised a ranking system –"

Scáthach summoned her spear.

"—And I have decided that such a thing was ridiculous, and thus discarded the ranking system."

I didn't react as I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Hmph." She narrowed her eyes, dismissing her spear.

"In all seriousness, how was your girl time?" I asked.

"It was productive." Artoria chimed in. "We spoke of important matters and other things we wish to keep between ourselves."

I just nodded, there wasn't a need for me to know everything, they were going to have their own secrets between themselves. I'm sure there were things they felt more confident speaking of with each other than me, just as I had embarrassing things I'd find hard to bring to their attention.

"Do you want to have that talk now about what I did?" I offered, the timing seemed adequate even if Meridia and Yasaka weren't here. "Or should we wait for the others?"

"I believe Yasaka and Meridia shared similar thoughts and would not mind us broaching it." Artoria stated.

"Fetch me another cup." Scáthach commanded, holding up her empty mug.

I rolled my eyes, taking it from her hands. "So, should I start? Then maybe add anything that I missed?"

Artoria tilt her head. "I believe that would be a fine beginning."

"Sounds good." Jinn nodded.

Scáthach just grunted, and Raikou slid in next to Artoria but was otherwise quiet in acceptance.

"Alright, should I start off saying I realize my mistake?" I sat down Scáthach's mug infront of her, taking an empty seat at the side. "I'm not going to make any excuses; I feel like I'm not that same kid who was bold enough to ask Meridia to be my woman within minutes of meeting her." I paused for a moment, letting them all chuckle at the image they were surely aware of by now.

Taking a sip, I took another second to enjoy the taste. "If I had to explain myself, I think I got caught up in everything that was happening, I had a lot of emotional baggage come undone and I was riding a certain high from that. In addition to actually being attracted and interested in Venelana, that was enough to sort of fall into her rhythm. Not that I'm excusing anything, mind you. I just wanted to express my mindset."

"And you do not believe this will be a reoccurring situation?" Artoria questioned.

"I will promise you all, as your Lover, Boyfriend, or any other titles you want to use for us." I swept my gaze around the room. "I will be more responsible, and I won't act this way again."

"I am pleased to hear you say that." Artoria smiled faintly. "I do not believe you would do such, but I wanted to be reassured with your sincere words. I will not raise a fuss at your romance of your grandmother. I understand that even if it was not a normal occurrence you would not have sought such skinship unless you desired her similarly as you do us."

"That's true." I nodded. "I don't like one night stand or anything like that. I will not be hooking up with anyone not in my….harem."

"That does not mean we accept her automatically." Scáthach spoke up. "You have ignored many steps if you wish to juggle multiple woman in your life, my student. I told you before, I expect you to be sincere and invest in each of us. I understand that we are long lived and have our own duties, thus we do not spend every moment together, but that does not mean you are allowed to find comfort in any woman that you find attractive."

"Not that we think you would, Master." Raikou quickly added. "We have decided to…..be vocal about our wishes as we have not spoken about them before. If you were needing comfort, I would have happily accepted you in every way. I am saddened that you did not come to your mother." I think she deviated slightly on that last bit from what they probably agreed to bring up.

"Raikou…" I felt a twinge of guilt in my heart. "I'm sorry, I rushed into something in my excitement and made you sad."

"I accept your apology." She said warmly. "While I will happily accept you in every way, I do enjoy your other focuses on me, Master."

Ah, that was her way of saying she liked being treated romantically. Jeez, she was so cute when she was like this, I just wanted to dote on her some more.

"And you, Jinn?" I turned towards my beautiful genie. "Anything to add?" It was important that I hear all their concerns.

"Not really, I agree with what they've said. I also don't think you would just start grabbing any woman who catches your eye, which you've proved to be true so far." Jinn shrugged. "However, I guess we should still talk about how, or if, you add more women to your harem, not just the way you brought in Venelana."

"Agreed, that deserves a conversation." Artoria added. "I will say that I was not entirely sure when we first started….dating. The idea of a harem was strange and a little intimidating to me who had never properly been in a relationship." She fidgeted a little in her seat. "However, I have come to appreciate every one of your other paramours and enjoy spending time with each of them. I do not find myself jealous, and do not even see your gestures towards them as untold or unwelcomed. I…..am happy when I see you and the others smiling, sharing touches, enjoying each other's embraces. And I am comforted by the fact that you would likewise treat me the same way and they too would feel the same in my own happiness." Artoria expressed her sincere thoughts.

"She speaks the truth." Scáthach crossed her arms with a slight smile on her face. "I like all your other women, my student. I am fond of them and have no problems considering them my sisters in our strange union."

"Going to hug you both so much!" Jinn vibrated in her seat, having to visibly restrain herself from jumping out of her seat and grabbing a hold of them. She was always really affectionate when she could be, and just getting closer with everyone let her do it as much as she wanted.

Not surprising considering how long she was alone for.

"Yup and I went and basically elevated a woman you don't know right into the same 'position' that all of you share." I realized my faults already, but being spoken aloud really put them into perspective.

"So you understand our concerns." Artoria nodded again. "We reached a consensus last night, we wish for you to consult with us before adding any more women to our group."

"That's completely fair and you shouldn't have even had to ask."

"No, Master. We also didn't say anything, it's important for all of us to speak about these things." Raikou spoke up as well.

"We are not upset, Wilhelm." Scáthach also interjected. "Merely skeptical and hesitant with what has happened. We are willing to make the effort if you are as well."

"I think that's a fair assessment, and I have no complaints." I didn't object to a single point they spoke about. It was healthy to voice our thoughts and for them to share their concerns. It's a cornerstone of any relationship that all parties needed to speak openly.

"Good." Artoria smiled lightly once more. "We also discussed other potential women you are already talking to, such as this Salem. We do not object since you are not jumping straight into it like you did with your grandmother." She said dryly, perhaps trying to be a little sharp with her words even if she intended no actual harmful intent.

Oh they're going to poke at me for this forever. Oh well, I reaped what I sowed.

"Again, I have no complaints, and I agree fully with everything." It was pretty simple, and important to make sure we're all on the same page.

"Hmm, that was easy." Jinn just hummed to herself.

"Well, they were all valid points." I shrugged at her nonchalance.

"We're pleased you think so." Scáthach nodded to herself happily. "We don't ask for much, Wilhelm. Remember my words from before."

"An honest effort, yeah, I won't ever forget that."

Scáthach adopted a beautiful smile that I could get lost in.

"Any other important matters to talk about?" I looked around.

"Yeah, Artoria wants –" Jinn was cut off as the aforementioned woman practically leapt across the table to silence the Genie.

"Nothing!" Artoria was a brighter red than I couldnormally produce by myself. "Y-you're licking me!" Artoria squeaked out.

Jinn broke out into a fit of giggles once Artoria removed herself.

It was nice to see them getting along.

Well, I guess we covered everything important. "You girls doing anything today?"

"Oh yes, we were talking about the modern era and Yasaka recommended a few documentaries for us to watch, so we were going to marathon them." Jinn answered with enthusiasm.

"Rin as well, when she decided to wake up." Artoria huffed. "Also, I invited Izzy to come as well."

"Indeed, it will be my first time meeting this Goddess, I look forward to it." Scáthach seemed interested as well. "A day to laze about isn't unwelcomed."

"I as well." Raikou admitted. "And I look forward to understanding this modern era more than my Grail knowledge has transmitted."

"Oh, it's going to be fun, lots of snacks!" Jinn beamed.

"Snacks?" Artoria perked up, looking equally excited.

Cute.

I had something else to look forward to.

[***]

"You ready?" I popped over to Yasaka once the girls had been settled and I had my coffee.

Yasaka wasn't startled at all when I popped in while she was fixing Kunou's Kimono. "Almost ready~"

"Hmm, should I change?" I walked up to a full length mirror. "It's more a traditional setting, yeah?"

"Less formal, but I suppose. No one will say anything about your clothing, they'll be more interested in how strong you are." Yasaka replied, running her hands through Kunou's hair.

"Uncle Nurarihyon is really strong and the scary Youkai there are strong too." Kunou helpfully added.

"Stronger than your daddy?" I asked.

"Nu huh, daddy is the strongest."

And my heart just melted.

"She's right though, The old man gathers the more….unruly bunch and keeps them under control. That just so happens to coincide with the stronger ones too. I'm not ashamed to say that his people, on average, are stronger than mine." Yasaka stood up, admiring her work on Kunou. "And don't you dare transform again and make me fix it all over." She lightly booped Kunou on the nose.

"I'll be good." Kunou huffed.

I walked up, snaking my arms around my foxy woman. She giggled, leaning into my embrace, following it up with a light kiss. "And what should I expect?"

"His lot aren't the brightest, and by that I mean his underlings – for the most part. He though is cunning. Don't let his appearance fool you, he has –" Yasaka reached down, pushing down Kunou's ears. " –slit the throats of thousands of his enemies."

Kunou fidgeted and whined until she broke free.

"Your relationship?"

"Amicable with perhaps some familiarity." She pursed her lips. "He's…..nice, I suppose. He knew my mother, and he came around when I was still a little girl." She let out a sigh. "Our relationship changed once I took over, it was inevitable. But I suppose I'm still fond of him on some level. And he adores Kunou, of course."

"Of course." I chuckled.

Kunou tip toed up to me, tugging on my sleeve. I knelt down as she whispered into my ear. "He brings me snacks when momma isn't looking."

"I can hear you." Yasaka deadpanned.

"Nu uh, I whispered it, that means you can't hear what I said." Kunou seemed to deny Yasaka with her strange logic.

"Is that how it works." Yasaka just shook her head with a small smile.

"So, this just a formality then?"

"Mostly." She shrugged. "It's a less formal meeting than when we usually meet. Gives us an excuse to talk about things without our retainers being at each others throats. While we're allied, and actually quite friendly, it's still difficult for all of us to be in a room when we're on 'opposite sides'."

"Ah, a friendly rivalry then?"

Yasaka snorted. "Less friendly, but still….constrained due to our alliances. His bunch are brutes and like to flex their strength to mine. Not to mention over half of them…..are insistent flirts and can't take a hint."

"Oh?" I quirked an eyebrow. "And you just so happen to be taking me along, eh?"

Yasaka smiled innocently, grabbing my arm. "Is it wrong to want my big strong man to protect me~"

"Oh well, I guess I'll be putting some youkai in their place." Well, their culture was known for being more…. physical in certain matters. I didn't mind staking my claim very publicly, so they knew who she was with.

I tapped Kunou's head, rather the hair piece I gave her awhile ago. She still wore it, she seemed to always wear it. I made sure the protections were still active and going strong.

"Hmm, so you want to project strength when we go, right?" I asked.

"That's the general idea, but no one should try anything with Kunou at our side. And the old man would definitely stop that from happening." Yasaka nodded.

"How long until we need to be there?"

"An hour or two." She made the so-so genture. "The meeting isn't for a few hours but I figured it would be nice to get a little early and walk around."

"Have you talked to Jinn about awakening your Aura?"

Her lips slowly curled up into a feral grin. "I have."

"Well then, let's give them a little surprise."

[***]

"Oh my, is this always how you feel?" Yasaka looked at her hands, her golden aura shining over her.

"Daddy, me next, me next!" Kunou grabbed at me.

I took a deep breath, patting her on the head. "Wait until you're older, sweetie."

Kunou whined, but I didn't want to just give her a sudden boost in strength without consulting Yasaka some more.

She didn't know what I did, and probably didn't care about the semantics. Honestly, she probably just saw her mom glowing gold and wanted that too.

"And to answer your question, the euphoria wears off after a few minutes." I remembered when my Aura was awakened, it was an intoxicating feeling.

"I already feel significantly stronger." She continued to admire herself. "And its a completely different feeling from Touki and Youjutsu, but so warm and complimentative. I feel like it won't conflict with anything I normally do."

Well, it's the light of your soul, of course it won't be detrimental.

I was also curious to see what her Semblance would be.

I thought I would need a little longer to recover, but I was standing firmly again after a few minutes. I guessed my new Campione status really made me stronger, even my soul. I knew that was the case in a broad sense, but I hadn't really had the opportunity to meaningfully measure my soul since the change.

"You have a good amount of Aura too." I made sure to add.

Kunou, funnily enough, seemed to stop caring. Her attention taken by her mother's phone she somehow acquired when I wasn't looking.

"Oh yes, momma can get used to this." She flexed, her Golden Aura flowing around her as she already deduced some uses for it. She stopped, looking at me again. "I think someone deserves a reward~"

"Eww, momma!" Kunou gagged. "Eww, eww!" She started running around.

So freaking cute.

"Alright, alright." Yasaka laughed. "Come here, little fox, we're going to head over and see the old man."

"Mmkay." Kunou ran back over and grabbed both our hands.

"You have a teleportation circle?"

"I have the coordinates." She raised her arm producing a Magic Circle. And I was reminded that she knew atleast rudimentary magic here.

She fired it up, enveloping us as I watched the space around us distort. I helped it along with my own use of the Kaleidoscope considering my Magical Resistance wasn't letting it to attach to me.

With a bright flash of light, we arrived in an empty room.

Yasaka looked around. "That's strange, they should have people waiting here."

I stopped in my tracks, because I felt something strange I couldn't put my finger on. Like….something out of the corner of my eye was trying to grab my attention.

I narrowed my eyes as I summoned Mirage into my free hand. I turned to the side and swung it through the air, only to be met with resistance. Something invisible blocked it, a clear 'clank' resounded in the empty space.

"Buahahaha!" A voice bellowed out. A figure started to appear, as if the surroundings were peeled away from him, as if he existed there always and what I had seen was a lie. I could guess who he was immediately, the gourd-shaped head was a dead give away.

But my attention was taken by something else. He was standing to the side, my sword still stuck in the air, facing off against something else.

"Can't believe he saw through me." The Old Youkai rubbed his chin, eyeing me up and down.

"Maybe you're getting senile in your old age." Another voice answered back.

"Bah!" The Old Youkai huffed. "It's because I had to hide both of us. If it was just me I'd never been detected." He swiped his hand through the air and another figure came into view.

Another non-human. He was tall, with noticeable fur throughout his arms and face. Long hair and a weathered look about him, but a strange serenity about him, almost…..holy in nature. He was keeping my sword at bay with a pipe of all things.

I saw him fully now, an interesting pair of sunglasses, and his true race was revealed.

He looked like a monkey.

He pulled his large sunglasses down with his free hand, Fiery Golden Eyes looked at me.

"Hoh, you're more interesting in person." He said calmly, not at all perturbed at being on the end of my sword.

"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven." I could guess who he was.

The Monkey, smiled.

[*** ]

Got another chapter coming up in a couple minutes


next chapter

Chapter 279: Chapter 259

My sword pushed against his pipe as I stared at him.

He was definitely not someone to be ignored nor dismissed. I'd heard his legends and knew them quite well, and I would even admit to being a fan.

Sun Wukong – the Monkey King – The Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

There were so many more titles I could call him.

His eyes had a faint fiery glow to them, a golden hue pulsing as he looked me over. He smiled faintly before letting the tension off his hand, withdrawing his pipe. I hesitantly held my sword protectively to the side.

If needed, I would immediately take Yasaka and Kunou and escape. This was not a foe I could even dream of taking lightly if it came to blows.

"People don't really call me that anymore." He smiled good naturedly, and I felt the tension ease up and begin to dissipate. "These days, it's usually the Victorious Fighting Buddha if they're inclined. But I mostly hear 'That old Monkey'" He chuckled.

[Careful, brat.] Ddraig spoke up. [That Monkey is not someone to be trifled with. Even at my best, It would be a hard fight.]

How strong was he?

[Once when Albion and I were fighting above China, we heard an annoyed shout.] Ddraig began to explain. [We ignored it, of course. But suddenly things got very dark. A massive staff slammed down on Albion and shattered a good few dozen of his scales.]

I didn't outward react, but I was genuinely surprised. I knew how strong Ddraig and his rival were. To hear that Sun Wukong actually damaged Albion back in their prime with a single – probably casual – attack was more astonishing.

His legends weren't over exaggerated it seemed.

"Sun Wukong." Yasaka broke the silence, in a respectful tone. "It's been awhile." She bowed her head slightly.

The Monkey King chuckled again, scratching his head. "Haah, it's been…..twelve years? Where does the time go." He smiled warmly. "I still remember when your mom was running things and now here you are with a little one of your own."

I felt Yasaka's hand squeeze my arm. I glanced at her and I could more or less guess what she was trying to convey. This guy wasn't an enemy and probably wouldn't become one.

I dismissed my sword. "I've heard your stores, Monkey King." I adopted a respectful tone as well. If he wasn't going to be an enemy, then I shouldn't treat him like one. Besides, I did admire him based on the stories.

"Haha, I'm glad some young'uns still like to listen to those tales." He twirled his pipe. "But that's long in the past. I even passed on that title to my successor a few years ago."

"Still a wet-behind-the-ears brat if you ask me." Nurarihyon grunted. "He's got talent, but it's going to be hard to live up to your name."

"Kids gotta grow up somehow." Son Wukong shrugged. "Gotta go on his own adventures, experience his own life – the good times and the bad times."

That's interesting, I could vaguely recall that tibit of information, but I never bothered with it until now. Didn't remember the kid's name, but apparently, he passed on his title and old gear. "The kid got a name?" I questioned.

"Bikou." Sun Wukong said plainly. "Last I heard he was running around with your – " He paused, waiving his hand as if trying to think of the right word. "—Rival."

I blinked in confusion. "My rival?"

"Yeah, the White Dragon Emperor." He replied nonchalantly, tapping his pip to remove all the old stuff inside.

I took a long breath, letting it out.

The Monkey king smiled almost smugly. "Even if I didn't see that video of you fighting that storm brat, not many things can hide from my eyes." For added effect, they ignited again in that fiery and golden glow. He raised his hand up, a finger extended. "Lots of fun things I see about you that I haven't seen before, makes an old guy like me wonder where they came from."

I guessed there was no point in hiding it, may as well try to get more information. "Is it well known then?" I relaxed slightly, noticing how at ease he was. I was still tense, but looking at him again, he in no way appeared to be looking for a fight.

"Who knows." He shrugged again. "Some of us older folks probably noticed the Gauntlet, but not a lot of them even bother with the newest technology."

[Ask him about Albion.]

"And what about the owner of the Divine Dividing?" I questioned. Once again, my knowledge was...miniscule in this area.

"Did Ddraig put you up to that?" The Old monkey chuckled. "Still so obsessed with his rival."

[Fuck you.]

"I'm sure he's cursing me right now."

"He is." I didn't deny.

The money grinned. "It's funny."

"What is?"

"Fate." He still had that wide grin on his face. "You both are Half-Devil Half-Humans...even if that's not entirely accurate for you anymore." He pointed out, making me twitch involuntarily. "And you both loath your families, of which, are each related to a Lucifer. If I wasn't so sure that other brat would utterly lose as he is right now, I would call it the perfect rivalry."

[Damn right, my host is way better than that white asshole!] Ddraig snorted. [I can't wait to see the look on his face when you wipe the floor with his pathetic wielder.]

"Boosted Gear. Various blessings, some strange power emanating from your soul –" He paused, looking at Yasaka. "—that she also seems to have. And a bunch of other stuff, but the Divinity is what really surprises me."

"Divinity?" Nurarihyon repeated.

"Mmm, feels a lot like the storm brat's, but it's weird." Sun Wukong stated. "Well, I can see why Indra wanted me to investigate you." He said casually as if it wasn't something I would take issue with.

No, I most certainly was more on guard now. "Excuse me?" I felt myself having to stop from reaching for my sword again.

"You expect the higher ups not to look into you, kid?" His eyebrow raised over his glasses. "You can't just throw around the power you did as an unkown entity without people getting concerned."

"So this all comes back to me fighting Susanoo." I let out a sigh. "Really regretting my decision there." Well, then I remembered how happy Izzy was in those moments she spent with him and those feelings diminished.

"Well…..in my case, it's not because of that." He fiddled around in his pockets, taking out a piece of paper. "Indra assigned me a task of looking into the reason why his visions of the future were thrown off. Suffice to say that you were the variable in all of them."

That made me freeze up. It was something I hadn't considered until this point. The fact that I wasn't bound to this World-Line meant that certain events around me must have been thrown off if the higher powers were watching them intently.

"I-is Daddy in trouble?" I heard Kunou ask Yasaka as we all seemingly looked back at her.

"Oh sweetie, Daddy isn't in trouble." She reached down, hugging my daughter.

"Hey Yasaka why don't I take Kunou and show her around, eh? It's been awhile since she's been here." Nurarihyon offered.

Well, the obvious cue was obvious.

"Do you want to go with Uncle Nurarihyon, my little fox?"

"Can I?" She perked up immediately.

"Of course you can." Yasaka smiled.

"Come one little lady, let me show you some nifty trinkets I've gotten since you've last been here." Nurarihyon held his arm out as Kunou ran to him. He gently guided her through the door, giving us a wink as he left.

"First time meeting him, but he's alright in my book." I would have a good impression of anyone who treated my daughter that well and made her smile.

"Oh, he is a good man. The only issues we've ever had were because of our political affiliations." Yasaka stated.

"Well, I suppose we can talk more openly." The Monkey King, watched them leave, looking back at us. "The Cute Fox is gone, so I don't have to mince my words."

"About that." I crossed my arms. "Did you come here for me?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Actually…." He scratched his cheek. "It was just a coincidence. I was visiting that old bastard, having some drinks, and he mentioned you two were coming over yesterday. Thought it was a good opportunity to meet you."

"Drinking, huh? Some Buddha you are." It was hard to get a read on this guy….God, Buddha. "Aren't you supposed to refrain from that sorta thing?"

"Don't I just have to confess my sins and apologize?" He quirked a smile. "No harm done."

"That's Christianity." I deadpanned. "You're the worst Buddhist I've ever seen."

The Monkey laughed, the aura around him changed to something….holy. "Drinking, not drinking. Does it matter? One thought to be a Buddha, one thought to be a Devil. I have Buddha in my heart, therefore, I am Buddha." He smiled, his radiance showing off brightly.

"That sounds nice, but I feel like you're just making excuses to keep drinking."

"Could be." He grinned, his Buddhistic Aura abruptly vanishing. "But we were talking about Indra and your seeming overturning of fate and destiny on a grand scale."

"Please, we both know that's just sophistric bullshit." I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "His future visions are nothing more than glancing at the myriad of possibilities that could occur. It's not my fault if he can't take into account other people are able to avoid such things."

"Ohoh." He rubbed his chin. "Not a response I expected. Interesting, very interesting. You ever think about getting a teacher?" He suddenly questioned. "You're still pretty young, though older than you should be." His eyes flashed that fiery gold for a brief moment. "I'm sure there are some things I could teach you."

That took me by surprise If I were being honest. And I'm sure he could teach me many things, however…. "I already have a teacher."

"Well, it was worth a shot." He shrugged again. "Where were we?"

"You were talking about how you were stalking me." I helpfully replied.

He snorted, biting on his pipe. "Never stalked you, damn brat. I just looked at some places where Indra's sight went haywire. Your hometown, some places around Japan, oh and that Pendragon Family. That was an interesting visit."

I didn't like the sound of that…

"With how coy you're sounding, I assume you're not going to elaborate?"

"Hmm, I'll keep it to myself for now." He responded with an amused smile. "But I'm getting sidetracked again. We were talking about Indra throwing a fit."

I blinked at his wording. "Please continue then."

"Right, so it started when you killed one of his favorite toys."

"I haven't had dealings with the Indian Pantheon in any capacity thus far." I was trying to think who I killed that could have been important to him.

"The brat you got Biblical God's spear from." He elaborated.

"Cao Cao." The name was accompanied with a small growl. "The idiot who attacked Kyoto and tried to Kidnap my daughter, are you saying Indra had a hand in that?" I almost lost control of myself, but I quickly reined it in.

"I would also like to know the answer to that question." Yasaka's expression turned really dark.

"Woah, woah." He quickly threw his arms up. "Aint like that, let me explain." He set his pipe aside. "Jeez, if I knew it was like this I'd have been more gentle with my words. Cao Cao was Indra's plaything, yeah, but not really….supervised unless he was bored. The whole thing with attacking you was all on him."

"Annoyingly, I believe you." Yasaka let out a sigh.

"You knew him then?" The tension left me once more.

"Trained him for a little while. Never liked the little shit, but Indra told me to." He shrugged again. "Had Bikou spar with him a few times, always spouting that crap about human supremacy. Got nothin against humans, but it gets really annoying after awhile."

"And I take it Indra's blaming me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that." He nodded. "Gods hold grudges, he's not going to come here looking to smite or anything like that, but given the opportunity or you wander into his territory, he's going to be petty. Especially since Izanami somehow claimed Cao Cao's soul."

"Huh….." I didn't expect that either. I'd have to check with her afterwards. "Joy, something else to pay attention to."

"It's what happens when you play in the big leagues. You think I don't got grudges against me from my younger days? I can barely step foot in China without the Jade Emperor trying to throw Heavenly Judgement at me."

"Speaking of, and not to be rude, but aren't you like three-times over immortal, why are you….."

"Old?" He laughed.

"Yeah.."

"Haha, it's not the first time I've been asked that." He sounded amused if anything. "When I converted to Buddhism, I gave up my Godhood bestowed by the Celestial Court, and I gave up my other forms of immortality." He brought his hands together, and that holy light seeped out. It wasn't like the Abrahamic faction's holy, but something else entirely. It was…..welcoming. "Buddha is all I need."

"That and something good to drink."

"Well, it doesn't hurt." He returned to normal again.

The metaphysical logistics of doing what he said boggled my mind to the point where I didn't even want to think about it.

"By the way, mind if I take a look at the spear?" He suddenly asked.

"The True Longinus?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to see something."

I mean….sure? I doubted he'd try to steal it from me, doesn't seem like something he would do. With a shrug, I held my arm out, letting the spear fall to the ground infront of us.

He didn't move to touch it, instead, his eyes glowed from behind his glasses, then he threw his head back and erupted in laughter.

I shared a look with Yasaka and we were both confused.

"What's so funny?"

"N-nothing." He managed to eek out between laughs. "Oh Merciful Buddha, the future is going to be fun."

And I was confused. Was something wrong with my spear, or was I not privy to some kind of inside information or a joke?

I decided not to dwell on it. With a wave of my hand, the spear returned to my storage.

"Alright." He cleared his throat, settling down. "There's a real reason I'm here besides just wantin to meet you. The old bastard's going to talk to you both about it cause it's gonna concern yah at some point, but I figured I'd back him on it since we're friends."

"And I have a feeling I'm not going to like the sound of this." Yasaka sighed. "Continue." She gestured at him.

"Sorry, it's not good news." He gave an apologetic smile. "I said I was checking up on that Pendragon Family, I snuck in during one of their meetings heard some secrets." He shot a little smirk my way which annoyed me for some reason. "But I wasn't the only one there. Saw one of them Fae Folk up on the wall disguised as a bug."

"Fairies?" Yasaka furrowed her brow. "That was in England, so it's not that surprising...what would they be doing all the way over here? They never come to Japan."

The Old Monkey tapped his pipe. "I think you both know the answer to that question better than I do." He chuckled.

My mind immediately went to Artoria and I could put the sequence of events together. "Mother fucker." I face palmed.

"See, the kid gets it." Sun Wukong grinned.

Artoria was not going to take this kind of news well. "And I assume because it's being mentioned that they aren't exactly ideal guests?"

"There's no sugar coating it. Most of them are menaces that leave chaos and destruction in their wake, even when not trying. Indra and by extension most Patheons don't really care, but the humans and their followers often take the brunt of it. I heard a thing or two about others making preparations since they're popping out of the woodwork all over the place."

I knew about Fae, they were not….enjoyable. I knew about my world's Fae, not my birth world's. The Rules were different here, did they serve a similar purpose or were they some kind of eldritch monstrosities like some lore describes? Were the courts the same or did the courts not exist?

"It's just one thing after another, isn't it?" Yasaka groaned. "Heard about some Exorcists kicking up a fuss in my territory, now this mess."

I reached out, grabbing her hand. "Hey, you got all of us. We'll make sure nothing bad happens." I gave her a reassuring smile.

Yasaka did perk up a little bit at that. "I do, don't I?" She smiled brightly right back.

"Ahem." Sun Wukong cleared his throat. "Not that I don't find that adorable, but I was gonna head out. I'm already pushing my schedule to report back to the Lightning Head himself."

"Report about me, you mean." I said dryly.

"Them's the breaks." He seemed unconcerned. "But, what I tell him is what I feel like, so don't worry. He'll be pissed at you, but he won't be pissed and paranoid at the very least."

"Gee thanks." I sighed. "Just what I need, another God whose shitlist I'm on."

"Seeing you like that makes me feel responsible." He sighed, rummaging through his pockets. "Here, take this as an apology."

He tossed something into my hand, and my eyes practically buggered out of my head as I realize what it was. "Is this….?"

"Oh, you recognize it? Yeah, they're pretty tasty, should be a nice little treat for someone of your level too." He nodded, proud of himself at my reaction.

"A Peach of Immortality." I said the name out loud.

"You're joking." Yasaka brought her face up to it, taking a large whiff. "It smells absolutely divine."

"Did you really just give me a Peach of Immortality?" I looked up at the old Monkey.

"Eh, sorta." He made the so-so gesture. "I take it you know about them then?"

"The Peaches that Grow in the garden at the Jade Emperor's palace. There are supposedly three types, each gives 3000 years of longevity when eaten. The first blooms every 3000 years and is supposed to ascend you, and makes you stronger and faster. The second blooms every 6000 years and is supposed to give eternal youth and inborn flight. The Third blooms every 9000 years and you become as eternal as the Sun and the Moon." I recited form memory. "Or so I've read."

The Monkey king laughed. "The mortals have embellished them over the years. While they're pretty darn good, they aren't that good, otherwise we'd have ruled the planet long ago."

"That's fair, I just got….excited." I held the fruit in my hand and was heavily resisting the urge to shove it into my mouth.

"This one Is of the first type, like you mentioned. They're supposed to ripen every 3000 years, but this one is only about 1600 years old before it was forcibly ripened by an influx of immortal Qi – or Senjutsu as it's known around here. Only about half as good as you'd expect, maybe somewhat worse due to the nature of its ripening." He shrugged, not appearing to care too much about the finer details.

"Still….this is a valuable thing. I couldn't even imagine putting a price tag on it."

"It's not a big deal, I got about a dozen more." He smirked.

"Of course you do." I deadpanned. "No wonder the Jade Emperor tries to smite you every time you go to China."

"I never said it wasn't for a good reason." He chuckled.

"Though….a random question about it."

"Hmm?"

"Can I...make wine out of this?"

"You…..want to make wine out of the immortal fruit that other Gods would and have literally killed for?" Sun Wukong asked slowly.

"I mean….the thought crossed my mind and I was curious?"

"You." His Glasses dropped down slightly. "I like you." The corners of his lips curled up. "Let me tell you all about my experience in trying to make Peach Wine with these things." Before I knew it, he had his arm wrapped around my shoulder.

"Weren't you getting ready to leave?" Yasaka questioned.

"Bah, that old Lightning Head can wait. This is important stuff!"

I'm still annoyed by some of the earlier things he said andheir implications. Not to mention the small amount of worry I had due the new information he revealed regarding the Fae. However...I can't say I disliked this Buddha.

***

If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


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