Kevin the Bored
patreon
33 Post Side-Quest Cutscene
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 14:45:44 +0000 UTCWhen Setsura heard that her adorable and talented little sister had gone missing, she was on her way to a meeting with the Daiyōkai Nurarihyon. He had reached out to her clan for a discussion, and as the strongest Yuki-onna of her clan, she was chosen to head this delegation.
They don't know what the Daiyōkai is scheming, but the Elders of the village warned her to be cautious. Truthfully, it would be preferable to not get involved with whatever schemes are in play when they involve Daiyōkai, but at the same time, it's not like they can refuse him.
Setsura is the second strongest Yuki-onna in the entire realm, just behind the Queen herself, and yet she is only a High-class being. Yomi, as far as she is aware, there has never even been an Ultimate Yuki-onna before, so refusing Nurarihyon was not an option.
At best it would just result in him choosing to show up anyway and them not being able to do anything but receive him as an honoured guest, but it is also equally possible that he would simply wipe their village off of the face of the map for the insult.
She does not have an understanding of his character, so she could not say with confidence which way it would go.
So she had to go. For the sake of her village, for the sake of her people, of all Yuki-onna. While normally the extermination of one village would not be a true catastrophe for all of their kind, things are different now.
Because now they have hope.
In all of their history, Yuki-onna have never been a significant force in the realm. Just a minor faction of Yōkai that keeps to the frozen wastes that no one else wants, unbothered simply because they have nothing to take that anyone else would care for.
But then Reiti was born in her Shiroiwa clan.
A Yuki-onna has never before reached that ever venerated height of Ultimate. This is true. What is also true, is that no Yuki-onna has ever been born with the Youki reserves of a High-class being.
As the first Yuki-onna to ever be born High-class, Reiti represents the hope that the Yuki-onna will some day soon be able to hold the same pride as the likes of the Oni and the Kitsune as a faction that has birthed an Ultimate existence.
So they cannot afford to risk losing her. Even if Reiti wasn't Setsura's adorable, bratty little sister, she would do her duty and give her life to protect that one ember of hope. For her people.
A part of her fears that Elder Shirokoaka is right and that Nurarihyon calling for this meeting is a sign that he has somehow learned of Reiti's existence, despite the fact that she knows there is not a single Yuki-onna that would not give their life to protect Reiti's future.
She is their hope. She cannot die. Even the Queen herself is in agreement with this simple fact, that every single Yuki-onna could die, but as long as Reiti lives, it would be worth it.
Any sacrifice is worth it for the sake of hope.
And sacrifice is what it might come to at this rate.
A Daiyōkai is not to be spurned, this is an immutable fact of the world, and yet that is exactly what she is doing.
The moment she received the message that Reiti had disappeared into the Human Realm after an argument with that idiot Hakurei, she turned on her heel and ran straight back to the village.
Avoiding a Daiyōkai's wrath only comes second to the safety of Reiti, and there are Sorcerers near their village hunting, after the idiot Kappas caused a mess.
It's not safe.
Ever since Reiti has been born, Setsura has been busy running between all the different clans of the realm, informing them of her potential and getting their promises to support her.
If her decision to send the Daiyōkai only a messenger asking for the meeting to be pushed back a day causes him to fall into a rage, then she can only hope that the full might of all the realm's Yuki-onna would be enough to ensure Reiti survives his hunt.
But none of that will matter if some damn humans kill her just out of a stroke of sheer fucking bad fortune!
Kami, she is going to turn Hakurei into an icicle when she sees him, the fucking idiot.
Reiti hasn't even officially started her training yet. It's custom to at least wait for a Yuki-onago to actually become a Yuki-onna in full before they start training. Because of her unique potential, some pushed for Reiti to start training early, but in the end they decided that it would be too cruel to push the burden of their entire race onto her shoulders without at the very least giving her a chance to just be a normal girl first.
It's why Reiti doesn't even know that she has already been named the Queen's successor, albeit only with quiet acknowledgement. They don't want anyone else to know about her potential before she is ready after all, leaving Reiti herself as about the only Yuki-onna that doesn't know that she is their princess.
Setsura herself is one of the people who argued against starting Reiti's training early. The burden of an entire race's hope should not be placed on a child. At least, that's what she thought. But now that she is feeling a worming clutch of worry gnawing at her chest, she is starting to wonder if she made the right choice after all.
If anything happens to Reiti... She doesn't know what she would do. It would likely involve making a whole lot of icicles out of whoever could be held accountable, that much is for sure.
Nurarihyon is by his very nature a mysterious man, but one thing that everyone knows about him is his hatred of humanity. If she is too late, and the humans manage to kill Reiti, then she would get on her knees and beg him to avenge her if that was what it took to have his power and that of his Hyakki Yagyō behind her.
She knows she would not be able to do enough by her lonesome. She is certainly not weak, but she is not strong enough either.
However, all of these thoughts fly out of her head when she actually arrives in the village and is greeted by a scene that is even more chaotic than she expected but in an entirely different way.
The first, immediate thing she notes is the number of Yōkai present, almost every Yuki-onna of their Shiroiwa clan. The second thing she homes in on is the presence of Reiti, safe and sound in the arms of Hakurei, the only thing that stopped her from turning him into an icicle as soon as she saw him.
The third thing that she notices is the presence of an outsider, notable for his clothes being almost entirely black in contrast to the whites of the Shiroiwa clan's clothes.
Setsura herself is wearing a snow white furisode, a kimono whose long sleeves fall down low, with light blue butterflies sewn into the lowest ends of her sleeves and below her knees. This outsider meanwhile is wearing an almost black kimono, though they both share a white scarf, even if hers is clearly of a higher quality.
It is only after she has taken in the presence of Reiti that Setsura lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding as her shoulders slump.
Then, and only then, does the noise hit her.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! I'm so young! Please! Please! Oh please spare me! I didn't mean to point out your wrinkles! Eee! I'm sorry! Your skin is super smooth- Ow! That hurts! Please I beg you! Spare me! I'm innocent! Please don't kill meeeee!!!"
Looking closer, she sees that the outsider has been forced flat against the ground on his stomach and has three guards standing around him with two of their spears poised at his throat and a third pierced through his shoulder, pinning him in place.
She looks at the human? With distain, but his honestly rather pathetic begging for his life is only one of the many noises assaulting her ears.
There is, frankly, a whole lot of shouting.
Reiti is being being held back by Hakurei but seems to be trying to muscle her way to the possible human, shouting to leave him alone, while a number of Yuki-onna are shouting to execute him, or levying accusations of mental manipulation.
He's looking at her.
The realisation startles her from her approach as her eyes snap to the downed man only to meet his gaze evenly. He doesn't flinch away from her stare, even as he continues to plead for his life like a scared child.
No one else has noticed her approach yet.
He's a sharp one, she thinks to herself, an uneasy feeling settling over her at the realisation that he is likely more than he seems. Dangerous.
With the understanding that she shouldn't let her guard down, Setsura finally releases her hold over her power and not a second later the arguing slams to a halt as all eyes turn to her.
"Setsura-nee!" Reiti cries out first, clambering out of Hakurei's arms and sprinting up to her, jumping into her arms and forcing Setsura to spin in order to bleed off the momentum.
Setsura pulls Reiti close, holding her tight and feeling all the tension drain out of her body and the final assurance that she is okay.
"You are safe," Setsura mumbles into Reiti's hair, almost trembling from the relief she is feeling holding her hope in her arms. "I am glad you are safe."
"I'm fine!" Reiti insists, pulling away from Setsura's hug enough to tug her forward, bringing them closer to the chaos, though Setsura stops them before they get too close to the human. "Tell them! Nee-sama! Tell them they can't kill Na-san!"
"Ignore the child," Elder Shirokoaka interrupts, the surely old woman stepping closer to them, ignoring Reiti's glare following her, "The deliberation of what to do with this human is not the place for childish whimsy."
"He's not a human!" Reiti screams up at the Elder, who raises an imperious brow in response and turns to the outsider, who pauses his crying once all attention falls on him.
The outsider takes in the varying glares being sent his way and immediately flinches back, scrunching his eyes shut and wriggling like a worm. "Eee! Scary~! Please don't eat me~! I'm innocent! Inn! O! Cent!"
"Na-san!" Reiti yells at him, though Setsura holds the girl back from moving closer. "They only want to kill you because they think you're human! Tell them you're a Nekomata!"
The man's fear evaporates into an expression of confusion as he tilts his head at Reiti. "Eh? But I am a human though?"
"Just lie!" Reiti screams back, visibly frustrated.
The human nods his head. "Ah, okay. I am actually a Nekomata."
She doesn't believe him. At all. In fact, if there were a list of things she didn't believe, this claim of his would be the one she disbelieves the most. How can a man be so utterly unconvincing? Even if it wasn't already obvious that he was lying, he still did an impressively awful job of being convincing.
"Enough of this farce," Elder Shirokoaka interrupts with a scoff before stepping closer to Setsura and leaning in enough that Reiti cannot overhear her whispered words. "This human called Reiti-chan 'Yukihime,'" the Elder starts, making Setsura's eyes widen and then sharpen in on the man, "Additionally, Reiti-chan claims that he saved her from the new Lord Kappa across the lake."
Elder Shirokoaka doesn't say any more, and she does not need to. Setsura is plenty capable of understanding the implications of her words.
No one who isn't a Yuki-onna should know about Reiti's position as their Queen's Heir, and yet this man is calling her Hime? Princess? Additionally, the timing of it all is suspicious.
They were already weary that the Nurarihyon calling for a meeting with their clan was due to him somehow knowing of Reiti, and just by 'coincidence,' the moment she, the strongest Yuki-onna in the village, leaves to meet with him, Reiti encounters a human powerful enough to supposedly save her, who knows of her identity?
A picture starts to unfold in Setsura's mind as dots connect together.
Nurarihyon must somehow know about Reiti, and is possibly colluding with the Kappa. After all, the Kappa King, Kuzenbo, was once a member of Nurarihyon's Night Parade. Back when they were still something to be admired.
Her Shiroiwa clan has long been feuding with the clan of Kappas on the other side of Lake Suwa. Perhaps the new Lord Kappa is an ambitious one and called upon past favours to enlist Nurarihyon's efforts in distracting her so that they could take Reiti as a hostage, or just kill her outright.
That would mean that the Kappas would have had to have known about Reiti by themselves somehow, unless Nurarihyon approached them with the offer? She wouldn't put it past the Daiyōkai to offer the Kappa aid in claiming Lake Suwa in exchange for a vassalage of some kind.
However, somehow a human gets involved and ruins their plan by saving Reiti from the Kappa? Or perhaps this is all a ploy by the human in an attempt at deception?
She lacks enough information to be able to truly say for sure what the situation is exactly, a problem that can be solved easily enough.
"Reiti," Setsura begins, using her stern big sister voice to make sure the brat actually listens. "Tell me everything that has happened. Start from the beginning and do not embellish, lie or omit."
Reiti nods up at her, just as serious, though the expression only looks cute on her. Setsura resists the urge to coo. Now isn't the time for that.
"Hakurei-nii was teasing me and I ran away," Reiti looks a bit embarrassed to admit that, though it passes quickly enough, "And I went to the Lake and I didn't care about controlling my power so I froze the Lake but then a big mean Kappa jumped out of the ice and I ran away and he started chasing me."
Reiti pauses her endless slew of words to take a deep breath, and then she simply keeps going. "But when I was running away I ran into some humans, five of them, and they were talking about hunting a Kappa and then they were going to kill me and then Kazuro showed up, he's the Kappa, and they were going to fight but then Na-san dropped out of the sky like whooosh!!"
This time, when Reiti pauses for breath, she does so while miming some kind of pose with her fist on the floor, and then she spreads her arms wide as if in an explosion. Setsura doesn't fail to notice the tone of admiration in Reiti's voice as she talks of the man's arrival.
"And then Na-san looked around and he said he would intervene and then the humans started a fight but he beat them all up in a flash like fwoom! And pow! And then they ran away and Kazuro challenged him to sumo and he beat up the stupid Kappa too and then he healed me and carried me back and then stupid idiot meanie Shinamai-san stabbed him!"
Setsura takes a moment to digest the wall of words that was just thrown at her, and a couple of things stand out to her.
The new Lord Kappa across the Lake took up the mantle only less than a year ago after defeating his father the old Lord Kappa in an honourable duel. That is to say, it wasn't just a sumo match like the Kappa are so fond of, but an actual fight.
Now, the old Lord Kappa wasn't quite as strong as she is, but he wasn't a slouch either. So for the new Lord Kappa to have beaten him whilst being so young could only mean that he is likely a prodigy in his own right.
This isn't new information. They have already considered that the Kappa might have a lesser equivalent to Reiti among their number now. The part that is relevant is that according to Reiti, this human bested the new Lord Kappa in a match of sumo.
For a human to have enough physical strength to do such a feat is certainly a rarity. It also means that he is certainly not in nearly as much danger as it seems right now.
Neither of the guards holding him down could have bested the new Lord Kappa, and Setsura no longer believes that they would be capable of holding him down if he was not allowing them to do so.
That he is allowing himself to be treated this way is either a credit to his respect, or a mark of deceit. Time will tell which is which, but for now, Reiti's safety remains the priority, and so Setsura waves Hakurei over and immediately smacks him upside the head.
"Hey!" He exclaims, but she ignores him. That was the least he has earned, but now isn't the time.
"Take Reiti-chan to the home," she says, and Hakurei's eyes briefly widen for only a moment before he nods and picks Reiti up, taking her away, much to the girl's audible protest.
The reason for Hakurei's brief surprise is because her words were a hidden code telling him to take her to the neighbouring Byakusō clan. Their village has too much focus on it right now. It's for the best that Reiti simply not be here for the time being.
With Reiti's safety assured and her story told, now comes interrogating this human and ascertaining his intentions.
Looking over to him, she notes his features. Black hair down to his shoulders, black eyes that seem to absorb light and a sharp, handsome face. It leaves him contrasting rather sharply with their village where everyone has bright eyes and white clothes and white hair, though some like herself have hair that transitions into a black at the tips.
More importantly however, is how he feels to her senses, and that's where her main concern is.
Because he doesn't feel strong. He just feels warm. The same peace she feels in the quiet of nature. He doesn't feel like any human she has ever met. As a matter of fact, he almost doesn't feel human at all.
If not for his own words, then she wouldn't have been too surprised if he turned out to be a Yōkai disguised as a human.
It's strange, and strange is dangerous. It means there could be more that is hidden from her. It means that she does not truly know how powerful he is.
At the very least, supposing that she is not wrong about him being a human, then she can at least be assured that he is not an Ultimate being. Which means that should he turn out to be hostile, she should be able to handle him.
She is, after all a two hundred year old Yōkai who has been High-class for half that time. She won't dismiss him as a potential threat, but she is at least confident that she should be able to best him, even if he turns out to be one of those, what do they call them? Special Grades?
Well, as long as he is not alike that of the Six Sighted Catastrophe or worse, the Living Miracle.
The difference between the likes of those two and the rest of the Special Grades is like the difference between herself and Reiti in High-class.
She just thanks kami that they're both dead.
Fucking monsters.
Though she can at least admit to some pity for the Living Miracle. She deserved a better death.
Regardless, she steps closer to the human, meeting his eyes as she looks down on him.
"Release him," she demands, and though they hesitate, the guards do as she bids. Other than the Queen, Yuki-onna don't really do leadership. They have the Elders whose opinions are respected, but for the most part they are a community.
That said, as the strongest, she is in a position of enough respect that they will obey her words, so long as she doesn't go overboard.
The human doesn't flinch when the spear is pulled out of his shoulder, and then he seems to realise that fact and poorly fakes flinching from pain, completely shameless to the obviousness of the ruse.
She feels her eye twitch at that.
"Thank you so much Yuki-anesa!" The human exclaims, and she twitches again at being referred to as 'sis' by a human. "My Hero~! My Saviour~!"
"Just get up," she snaps at him, "I have questions for you."
///
Narauko
///
Looking up at the glaring Yōkai, my smile doesn't falter at all. I'm having fun after all.
You see, when I called that hag out for her wrinkles and the Yuki-onna started getting hostile, I came to a genius realisation!
Because of my bet with Kamo-Sensei, I am going to have to do an embarrassing dance in what is perhaps literally the most public location in the country.
What does that have to do with the way I've been acting now? Simple! I am practicing my shamelessness! This way it will be less embarrassing when I do the Gigaku!
Man, I am so smart.
"Gah!" I exclaim when one of the guards pokes me with their spear, "I'm coming! I'm coming!"
Climbing back to my feet and ignoring the hole in my shoulder for now, I twist and stretch a little as I glance about.
I find it interesting how similar the housing of Yōkai is to humans in design. Humans seem to have it a little worse off, and whatever the white-grey material is that these Yuki-onna are using for their walls seems sturdier than what humans use.
That said, the familiarity is in that these houses are similar to those found in human cities or that nobles have. The classical Japanese traditional house, rather than the large huts that a lot of people in the countryside have, like the village outside my home for instance. They certainly don't have tiled rooves.
Also, I swear I saw an igloo somewhere around here, which I just think is hilarious.
Other than that though, I would probably not even realise that this is anything but a random village if not for the strange taste to the air. Not a literal taste mind you, but the air just feels different. I can't put my finger on what it is though.
It's only a small change after all.
"Follow me," the Yuki-onna says, turning on her heel and walking away without waiting for me to answer.
Shrugging, I follow after her. I assume she's someone important here, both because of her ordering others about and because she actually feels pretty strong.
The rest are kind of... Well they aren't all completely weak, I guess? It feels a little mean to say that though, so I just think it instead.
At least the brat is all safe and sound now, so there's that.
"First question," the stronger Yuki-onna says, though she doesn't look at me, even though I'm right next to her, and I also note that the hag and some guards are walking with us, though I don't know where we're going. "Who are you?"
"My name is Narauko," I answer, not seeing any reason not to. "Nice to meet you..?"
My leading answer has her glance at me from the corner of her eye briefly, but she still answers after a moment. "My name is Setsura Shiroiwa. This," she nods her head to the old hag, "Is Shirokoaka Shiroiwa."
Shirokoaka is still glaring at me, so I pretend I can't see her and start looking around at the scenery as we walk. It really is quite peaceful here. A little bit cold, but that is hardly surprising. Could do with more sun though, I think as I glance up at the cloudy sky above.
Also, now that I think about it, it definitely wasn't cloudy when we were on the other side of that puddle. The only question really is where the heck it took me. It'd be pretty crazy if we were just like, in Siberia or something like that y'know?
"The humans that attacked Reiti," Setsura continues, "Who were they, and what were their intentions?"
"Oh, they were from the Nakiri clan, one of the Five-"
"I know who the Principle Clans are," Setsura interrupts me, and I guess that's fair enough. You'd want to know about the people that hunt you for a living as well.
"'Kay, well, they seemed to be hunting for a Kappa. I think Reiti-chan was just an unfortunate bit of collateral really. Wait a minute, do Kappas lay eggs?"
"What?" Setsura reflexively responds, almost missing a step as she actually turns to glare confusedly at me.
"Sorry, that was pretty random," I scratch the back of my neck, a bit sheepish, "But I just had the thought. Like, I haven't met a lot of Yōkai, by which I mean this is only my second time, and the last one is definitely a mammal, but I'm not sure if Yōkai reproduction should be like, all classified as its own thing or if some Yōkai are mammals and some aren't y'know? All humans are mammals, so the idea of being a single species with such diversity in biology is pretty interesting. Then again, isn't Yōkai just a bit too diverse of a term? Or not really, I guess it's just different defining points. Like how humans have diversity with skin colours and such Yōkai have diversity with everything? What was I talking about? Right! Do Kappa lay eggs or are they reptilian mammals?" Looking around, I notice that everyone's staring at me. "What?"
Setsura shakes her head after another moment of staring. "Kappa do lay eggs," she says, making me hum in revelation, "But save your curiosity for later. If you prove to be deserving of the trust that Reiti has placed in you, then you can ask questions."
I wonder if Kappa lay single eggs or batches? I'll ask later, or maybe I'll visit the Kappas and ask them directly. I did get invited after all, and I am terribly curious what the Kappa village looks like and how it differs from this one.
"Sure," I say, "What else did you want to know?"
"What do you believe the intentions of the New Lord Kazuro with Reiti?" Setsura asks, and I just shrug at that, though I quickly expand on my thoughts at the glare she sends me. I guess a shrug isn't really enough of an answer when the question regards the safety of your family.
"I do not believe he had any specific intentions. It seemed to me that he just felt insulted by Reiti-chan, probably not helped by her running away instead of like, apologising or something. He was just angry, but he didn't seem like a bad guy to me. Probably would have just scuffed her up a little bit and left her be. Yomi, when I arrived, it seemed to me that he was going to step up to fight the humans for Reiti's sake, which is especially impressive since they were probably here hunting him. I don't know if that was because he's nice or some kind of Yōkai solidarity kind of thing, but either way, he's a good kid."
Some movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I glance over just in time to see another Yuki-onna pull a miniature copy of herself back through their door from where they, and others, are watching us pass.
I send the presumable mother a smile that I hope is reassuring.
"Next question," Setsura continues, though I don't look back at her, because I am noticing the minute differences in architecture that I'm pretty sure is signs that their method of construction differs from humans.
They probably use magic to help them or something.
"Why are you here?" I turn to regard Setsura briefly, seeing her looking at me with suspicion.
"Pure chance, nothing more," I answer, though it is clear that that isn't satisfying enough to her, even though it is true. "I was travelling by when I saw a blizzard appear on the horizon. It seemed unnatural and so I got curious and- Ooo~! Pretty flower~!"
Completely losing my train of thought, I happily flounce over to the side of the road and crouch down in front of a small flower sprouting between two homes.
It is fascinating. At first glance, it just seems like a sculpture of some kind. An ice sculpture to be specific, though perhaps that should be obvious.
The stem is long and thin, without any leaves and the petals are only five in number, but the entire thing is just purely made out of ice that reflects the light like a diamond. Even touching it, it just feels like ice to my hand.
But I can feel its roots spreading beneath the ground. It is definitely alive, even though it is ice. Living ice. I didn't know ice could be alive. Kami that's so cool! Can other inanimate things be alive?
I want a living chair so that it can adjust itself to be even more comfortable! Wait, I could probably just use some script to do that. Is enchanting a thing that Sorcerers here do?
More questions to ask Kamo-Sensei in the future. Maybe Tengen too, though I'm not sure how easy it would be to get an audience with her. She's pretty important.
"What are you doing?" A scathing voice calls out from a step behind me, and I feel guilty as I look up at Setsura's frown.
However, I get over that guilt pretty quickly. My curiosity is much more important.
"Pretty flower~!" I say as if it's an answer to her question, gesturing to the flower in question. "It's so pretty! And it's ice! Alive ice! Living ice! I didn't know ice could be alive! Isn't that awesome!?"
"It is a flower," Setsura states, looking down on me with a flat stare as if I am a particularly stupid reptile. "This one is more of a weed. They grow everywhere here if we are not diligent about culling them."
As she says that, I feel Setsura's Cursed Energy- Wait no, it's Youki right? Whatever. I feel her Youki start to move towards her hand while she points the palm of said hand at the pretty flower, and I quickly deduce her intentions.
"No!" I yell, lurching forward to shield the flower with my body right as a spike of ice starts to manifest from Setsura's palm. "How could you hurt such a pretty flower!" I shout at her, aghast.
Her brow twitches. "Did you not listen to what I just said?" She demands. "Why are you so willing to literally throw yourself in the way to protect these pests?"
"Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder!" I return, sounding somewhat petulant even to my own ears, which makes me calm right down. "There is beauty even in the ugly and the outcast. Even a pest has beauty if you care to look."
Setsura gives me a strange look that I can't quite decipher, and I figure that's fair enough. I did just effectively jump in front of a bullet for a plant. Not exactly a normal thing to do. Luckily for me however, I can survive being shot.
Oh shit, that reminds me, I still have a hole in my shoulder right now.
Setsura breaks the growing silence with a scoff. "Take it then, if you care so much."
"Okay!" I respond, breaking out into a big smile that seems to catch her off guard, but the jokes on her, I would have asked to keep it anyway. "If I ever find a living fire plant or something in the future then I'll bring one back here to return the favour."
"I would rather you did not," Setsura says, but I ignore her in favour of digging out the pretty flower. Her words don't make sense after all. Who wouldn't want to see living fire plants? That's crazy talk.
It's really helpful being able to feel exactly where all of this plant's roots are. Makes digging it out a lot easier, but now I've got dirt under my nails.
I should have made a trowel or something out of barriers. I literally just learnt how to do that and I need the practice. Ah well, next time.
Jumping back up to my feet with a flower of ice cradled in my hands, I glance around and notice how everyone seems to be staring at me with quizzical expressions.
Is this what it feels like for the monkeys in the zoos? All the stares kind of make me want to pose, but that would just make them judge me even more.
...I did say I wanted to practice my shamelessness for the bet.
Mentally shrugging, I strike a few bodybuilder poses.
I hear multiple Yuki-onna giggle, so I count that as an absolute win, even if it means Setsura only seems to think less of me.
Can't win them all.
"You are a strange human," she says at length, looking at me critically.
"Of course I am," I respond, smiling as if it the most obvious thing in the world. "Normal people will never be exceptional, which means that exceptional people can only ever be abnormal."
Contrary to my expectations, Setsura doesn't respond right away. Instead, she merely stares at me, eyes slightly wide and gaze distant, as if lost in memory.
"Setsura-san?" I ask after a moment, and she snaps back into focus, regarding me with a newfound weariness.
"Narauko." She says my name as if she is testing the word on her tongue. "If I may ask, what is your parentage?"
Raising a brow at the random question, I'm too curious not to answer. "I do not know who birthed me nor who sired me, but my father is a man who goes by Kinoshita-kamunushi. I do not know who my mother is. The old man rarely talked about his late wife, and he never told me her name, but as the wife my father loves with all his heart, she is my mother regardless. Why do you ask?"
"I do not recognise that name," Setsura says after a moment digesting my answer. "The reason I asked was because your words reminded me of the brief interaction I once had with the Living Miracle roughly two decades ago."
"Who is that?" My question causes Setsura to raise a brow at me, looking supremely unimpressed.
"You, a human Sorcerer, do not even know whom the Living Miracle was?" She asks, every ounce of her tone leaking baffled contempt. "I suppose you do not know of the Six Sighted Catastrophe either?"
"The wha- Oh do you mean Michizane? I do not think we ever called him that."
"Of course you did not, he was only a catastrophe to the rest of us. I drank a toast when I heard of his ascension, if only because he will no longer meddle so much with mortal affairs."
...Do I tell her?
I really want to tell her. It would be so funny to tell her.
It would also derail the conversation, and I'm more curious than bored.
There's an idea. I can just tell her right before I leave, like a 'by the way' kind of thing. Yeah, that'll still be funny. Probably. Maybe.
"Well, regardless of Michizane. Who was this Living Miracle?" I'm quite curious about the supposedly famous Sorcerer whom I remind this Yōkai of. Though, from her phrasing, I assume they are already dead, which is unfortunate.
"It is baffling that you do not know her," Setsura says instead, kind of hammering the point in to be honest. "I am aware that you humans once called Michizane The Strongest before he ascended, but I would have chosen to face him over the Living Miracle. She was a complete anomaly. She existed outside of the norms that the rest of us abide. It is only that she did not care about wealth or power or seemingly anything that Michizane held his title. She barely even bothered to pretend to live like a human. She was just an anomaly that once travelled the realm in pursuit of a goal no one knew."
Potentially stronger than Michizane? Now I'm really sad that she's gone. Though, I struggle to focus on that as a strange, kind of... Niggling sensation starts tugging at my mind, barely noticeable, like an itch you're not sure you're imagining or not.
"Sounds like an interesting woman," I say, shrugging off the weird feeling. "What was her name?"
Setsura's eyes meet my own, and for some, indiscernible reason, when she speaks, I feel as though I am punched in the gut. No. Not quite that intense. It's more like a tug on my heart, a faint pulling. A yearning.
And for some reason, a tear trails down my cheek, even though I have no idea why I suddenly feel just... So sad.
"Her name was Murasaki."
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
Teehee :P
There was gonna be more to this chapter, but that was just too good of a final line, so I'll just shuck the rest over to the next chapter.
Also, I weirdly feel like I've forgotten something and that my writing has changed because of it, but idk what :/
Also also, I went out drinking with friends the other day and spent like £60 on drinks cuz I bought three rounds for the table (of 5) and still drank like 2 jaegerbombs, a couple glasses of wine, some mystery blue booze and 3 double shot vodkas and also a double shot gin.
It was a fun night. I've only got back into contact with my old friends recently, and I've been having a blast reconnecting with them. Which is why I'd like to thank all of you on my patreon. It is no exaggeration to say that without the generous donations I've received, I would not have been able to have such a good time socialising for the first time in like 6 years.
So thank you, really. I have realised that I haven't really been thanking you, but it honestly means so much. Even just last christmas, that was the first time I could ever actually just buy my entire family gifts, and it felt really good to be able to do that.
So yeah, rambling, but thank you. We're not quite at like, minimum wage yet, but being able to make a living off of my writing is literally a dream come true. I feel like I can connect with all those youtuber thank yous so much more now, because you guys really are the best <3
Comments
Lucy Edwards
In DxD, it's my understanding that becoming a Sage is basically just mastering Senjutsu, which is Natural Energy stuff, which means it's external, which means that it probably shouldn't be too difficult to add it to Narauko's repertoire
Drim
There are sages in dxd right? I would not be surprised if the mc accidentally becomes one lol. Tho dunno how cursed energy would interact with that.
Lucy Edwards
Eh, I figure if he does end up getting a dragon shadow then it'll have to have some kind of super impressive technique y'know? It is a dragon after all. Could just get fire from a salamander or smth lol
Lucy Edwards
Thanks man, I really can't express enough through words alone how much I appreciate it. <3
Lucy Edwards
Not just Kinoshita. Remember that scene with Tamamo in disguise talking with those imperial ladies? Shoshi mentioned how Tamamo's (Nariko) description of Narauko reminded her of Murasaki :)
Lucy Edwards
Good thing it's prolly gonna get expanded on further then lmao
Lucy Edwards
It's not so much plot wise, I just feel like I've stopped doing something I used to do, but idk what. Like just some minor piece of grammar or writing style type of thing. Idk, it's a weird feeling, kinda like dejavu. Also, I ain't spoiling, but I hope I can make their relationship feel as impactful as I am imagining it :)
Ashenz
Awesome chapter :) When you say that you feel you have lost something I dont quite agree. You have been on a side story for some chapters now so its a bit normal I think until you get back to the core of the story. Cant wait to see how Narauko will meet Tamamo again :) Are you planning for a sibling-like relationship, simple friendship or more between them?
Mehdude
Awesome chapter. Really like how you keep naturaly expanding the world and seamlessly tying dxd power system and Jujutsu techniques into the story. Tho I'm getting more and more interested in political side of Yokai, human relationship.
GoT779
Kinoshita did say that Narauko did remind him of Murasaki, glad that Kinoshita still has an impact. Great chapter.
sinclair
glad to have helped, your stories deserve praise, especially this one.
Drim
Nice chap can’t wait for more!
cocobum
Thanks for the chapter, and congrats.
Eldar Zecore
Thanks for the Chapter! An idea for a new Shadow next time one opens up, a dragon can control heat. Basically, the Dragon can generate either Fire or Ice
Son-Of-Scorn
Great chapter, 10/10
