Chapter 49: Senjutsu with Yasaka
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"You're here early." Yasaka commented, sitting in the study room she had allocated for herself and Takauji after finishing her breakfast with Kunou. "I was told Dragons were the type to snooze around as much as possible." She chuckled a little.
"Then I guess I'm the exception," he smiled at the sight of her. Yasaka motioned for him to take a seat beside her, to which he happily obliged. "So, where do we start?" His ulterior motives aside, the prospect of learning [Senjutsu] genuinely did intrigue him. It was an extremely versatile art that held a plethora of considerable benefits for those fortunate enough to master it.
"Since you're a novice we'll begin with the fundamentals, but before that there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I don't really understand how it works, but does your strength automatically make you a Dragon King?" He hummed, having not expected such an out of the blue question.
"I mean if we're talking strength wise, then sure. But the title itself is more of a popularity contest, and seeing as I was just born I doubt I'm recognised as one." The other five, or formerly six Great Dragon Kings all had their immense power and nobility passed down through mythical legends, however the only people who had been immediately made aware of him were Dragons themselves. The name Pandora was only just starting to spread amongst the common populace as a result of his alliance with Yasaka and the West Youkai Faction.
"I see, so you are technically a Dragon King, but just not a widely known one." She put a finger to her lower lip.
"Pretty much, why do you ask?" He tilted his head.
"No reason in particular, Dragons aren't exactly the sociable type so now that I have a chance to meet one I feel the need to satiate my curiosity. I hope that's not an issue?"
"Of course not, you can ask me whatever you want." He replied in a mildly suggestive tone, Yasaka pretending not to have noticed it.
"I appreciate that, but I think I'll save the questions for another time. You are here to learn after all." Takauji seemed a little disappointed, but if he wanted his relationship with Yasaka to go smoothly he'd need to balance his mood. Coming off too strong would throw everything into disarray. "For starters, [Senjutsu] is completely different to Mana which you're accustomed to using. Instead of having that as a powersource, it requires the ability to mold [Chakra] in order to harness it."
"[Chakra]?" He had only heard of the concept from anime, but to be fair the same could be said for Mana.
"[Chakra], [Ki], you can call it what you like. The important thing is that you understand that it's an expression of life-force, running through all living things such as animals, plants, and obviously people."
Takauji nodded as he paid close attention to her explanation.
"So it's like natural energy? Unlike Mana which is channeled internally, I imagine you'd have to draw it from your surroundings instead." Dragons themselves were already known for having exceptionally high intelligence, and Takauji's mind went even beyond that from assimilating with the parasite.
A little impressed, Yasaka gestured affirmatively.
"A sharp conclusion. Yes, [Chakra] needs to be gathered externally first before a practitioner can actually make use of it in the form of [Senjutsu]. Youkai with exceptionally powerful bloodlines such as mine can grasp it with ease, however I think I've found a suitable method to get you started. Would you mind lifting your shirt?"
"Ara, we've just formed our alliance and you're already asking me to strip? How bold." He teased as he turned around, doing as she asked with a seductive grin on his face.
"Please try to take this seriously," she didn't know whether he was being serious or not. Although she had to admit his defined back muscles were rather appealing to look at. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't been made aware of Takauji's ability to sense emotions.
A passive power that stemmed from his concept of [Delusion]. By passively being connected to everyone's despair, it was relatively easy for him to sense their emotional states when in contact with them directly. Which would become even more potent should he succeed at obtaining [Senjutsu], an ability that allowed one to read people's auras.
She's staring at me so directly, at this rate I might already get a little aroused.
"I'm going to put a little bit of my [Chakra] into your body so you can get a taste for what it feels like, which should hopefully make it a lot easier for you to comprehend the sensation of drawing it." She placed both her palms on his exposed back.
"Ahhhhnnn~" He purposefully let out a faint moan, causing Yasaka to flush a little as she struggled to pretend it didn't happen. "Yasaka… I'm s-senstive there…" He was in fact not sensitive there, not even remotely.
"T-try to bear with it." Takauji felt a warm energy seep into his body, a connection starting to build between himself, his surroundings, and the Youkai around him, Yasaka included. This is what it felt like to connect with [Chakra].
"I think I get it now." Takauji said abruptly, shocking Yasaka as she removed her hands from his body.
"You do?"
"Yeah," his mind and body had already familiarized itself with the feeling of drawing in the natural energy. The Kyuubi left flabbergasted as she watched him draw it in effortlessly. "It's like this right?"
One of the most important factors when it comes to learning [Senjutsu], is to understand yourself, others, and the [Ki] that flowed through nature. Takauji had long since fulfilled the first two prerequisites, and Yasaka had allowed him to achieve the third.
It's kind of like my concept, except connecting with my [Delusion] is an extremely specific link, whereas [Chakra] is much more broad. I'm just feeding off the surface of life in order to get closer to it, rather than devouring it whole.
"There's one thing I can say for certain, [Senjutsu] should be pretty easy for Dragons to learn. We're beings made entirely from Mana, so our connection to life itself is rather strong." Of course any normal Dragon wouldn't be able to learn it as fast as him since he had his enhanced brain, but the rate of learning would still be exceptional.
"Dragons played a pretty prominent role in the era when the Sennin were most active, so I suppose it makes sense. However, I still wasn't expecting you to pick it up that fast, if at all."
When you make an expression like that, it only entices me to impress you even more. Such a devious woman, inadvertently playing with a Dragon's feelings. I suppose I'll have to get a little bolder myself.
"What can I say? I aim to please." He smiled. "Would you mind letting me absorb it one more time? I'd like to see if I can learn anything from the differences in our [Chakra]." She had a sneaking suspicion that he was plotting something.
"Of course."
She reached out to inject some of her [Chakra] into him, but all of a sudden Takauji decided to gently grab onto one of her hands with both of his.
"W-What are you…"
Her eyes rounded as she inhaled sharply, watching Takauji extend his Draconic tongue out towards her fingers, coiling it around them as she felt some of her energy start to enter him.
"P-Pandora!? S-Stop that…"
"Why? You're the one who said I could go ahead, I asked if I could absorb your [Chakra] didn't I? I never said anything about you giving it to me yourself." He said shamelessly.
"W-Wait… Mmmmm…" She moaned softly, a tingle entering her body as he coated his mouth around her finger. Sucking on it as he intimately received her [Chakra]. "Give me a… Auuuhhhh… m-minute…" Yasaka couldn't explain why she found the sensation so pleasurable, the way his hot breath hit her skin, combined with the wetness of his saliva enveloping her whole.
"Thank you for the meal," he let go of her hand. Intentionally letting his tongue hang out of his mouth, showing her the string of saliva connecting their bodies. "Practical learning really is more effective, wouldn't you agree?"
She wasn't some child, she knew exactly what he was trying to do. The question was how she would respond to it, and how far he planned to take his advances.
"Just what exactly are you trying to do…?" Her words caused Takauji's mouth to dip into a frown.
"It should be pretty obvious by now," he licked his lips. Leaning towards her on all fours while she was still seated, slowly bringing his face towards her neck. Yasaka's pulse quickened as she felt his breath on her skin. "But if you still don't get it, then I'll just have to continue until you do."
He ran his soft tongue across her neck, nibbling gently as he felt her pulse start to quicken, causing his heart rate to accelerate in turn. The sound of his mouth sloshing against her caused Yasaka to squirm.
"Pandora… Hnghhhh… we can't…"
"You say that, but you aren't making any attempt to stop me—"
The door opened, revealing the sight of a Tengu, one of Yasaka's close servants witnessing what was going on between them.
"Yasaka-sama, a delegation has arrived–" The man's eyes widened in shock, seeing the newly allied Dragon of the West Youkai Faction in an intimate position with their leader. "W-What do you think you're doing to Yasaka-sama!?"
Tch, you ruined it.
The Tengu was filled with dread like never before, Takauji's slit pupils contracting violently as he glared at the anthropomorphic crow, causing the Youkai to fall on his behind with a waterfall of sweat dripping down his forehead. His life almost flashed before his eyes as Takauji held himself back from burning the bird alive.
How annoying, but I made a good amount of progress today so I suppose I can stop for now. I won't hold back next time though, regardless of whether someone walks in or not.
"It seems you have some business to attend to." Takauji pulled back, an irked look on his face as he hauled himself to his feet. "Same time tomorrow I imagine?" He looked at Yasaka.
"Y-Yes." She stammered, quickly recomposing herself as the Tengu still struggled to calm himself down. "Who's the delegation from?"
"I-It's from the East Faction Yasaka-sama…" He swallowed down his nervousness, fueling himself with his devotion to his leader. "They didn't request a meeting, they just delivered a message and left immediately."
"Well don't keep me in suspense, what's the message?" Internally she was cursing the audacity of the East, but before she could act she needed all the details straightened out.
"They said… Nurarihyon will be arriving to discuss something tomorrow…" Yasaka's mood was quick to sour.
"He dares to approach my territory without my approval? Does he have a death wish?" The East and West had an agreement not to intrude on each other's territory, one faction keeping to themselves in the Kanto region, and the other doing the same in Kyoto.
"About that… they stated that you already know why he's coming to meet you…" She pursed her lips, shooting a glance towards Takauji. And for some reason, connecting the dots put a smile on her face.
"Ah, now I get it. Thank you for your report, you're dismissed." The Tengu bowed, not daring to look Takauji in the eyes as he quickly vacated the premises.
"He probably feels threatened by my sudden alliance with you, especially since it's been made public knowledge." Since Pandora, the Dragon Of Vainglory had suddenly become an ally of the West Youkai Faction, the power balance between the two Youkai groups had been tipped entirely in Yasaka's favor. Although, said Dragon had proven to be rather hard to deal with, making the power gain a double-edged sword in its own way.
"Indeed, he's probably come to have me sign a nonaggression pact regarding you, in fear of me having you attack his faction out of spite for our old grievances." The two leaders certainly weren't on good terms.
"Do you want me to deal with him?" Takauji asked plainly, the look in his eyes making it evident what he meant by that.
"No, I will need you present at the meeting, but you mustn't act without my approval alright? I'm serious."
"Don't worry, I never planned on handling any of the politics here to begin with, that's more your field of expertise." He was here to gain power in the form of [Senjutsu] from Yasaka, and offer his protection in return. There was no need for further involvement, at least in a professional capacity.
"Thank you, but if you want to give that geezer a good scare here and there, then you won't hear any complaints from me." She chuckled darkly, eager to see the expression on his face when he met Takauji.
"Sounds fun." The idea of toying with a Faction Head was certainly appealing to say the least.
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Things seem to be getting spicy.
10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x
Word Count: 2218
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