Chapter 2: Annoying Mutts
I
sighed as our group made
it’s way through the forest.
We
had, luckily, two Nekomata with us, Sari and Sori, they were of the
same litter from what we knew and were able to shapeshift into large
transport/combat forms. This we were using to our advantage since it
was easier to do this and I had two of my clones riding on them to
create Skill Books while I kept an eye out with another nine of them
for potential enemies.
What
skills was I making books for? All of them.
Seriously,
I had a ton of skills that the others could benefit from, ranging
from the outrageous “Growth Cheat” perk all the way to
Techno-Magical Genius and All-Magic Affinity. And
yes, I was cheating here, but that was fine. One of my skill book
clones was also teaching Aiko a bit about reading, which was good.
We
were making good progress on the Skill Books along with our traveling
to Edo Village, the small town we had been heading to before
insertion put our consciousnesses into these bodies. There
were a few reasons for doing this.
One
was that the village was near the hot zones which plague the country,
so it would be a perfect location to base ourselves out.
Second
was the fact that the village was well enough protected, with the man
being somewhat experienced at fighting off Youkai and them having a
trained, though not powerful Miko of their own. Thus the village,
which otherwise was peaceful thanks to it´s relatively remote
location, was safe enough in my mind to raise my children, or so was
the reasoning of my In-Jump self, and it was somewhat reasonable.
Third
on the list was the fact that they had, in the past, tolerated a
Hanyou in their midst. The mutty grand retard blew the whole gig 50
years ago though but I had some hopes they would be willing to
consider at least since I was traveling with several humans and
children peacefully.
The
fourth and last reason was the mutty baka of a retarded Hanyou I
mentioned earlier. I felt a great lot of irritation at the idiot from
the imprint of this world, we didn’t get along well due to our
positions. The idiot was the younger half-brother of my liege, the
Lord of the West, and the resentment said lord felt toward his
brother because of the guy inheriting the legendary Tessaiga while he
himself only got the Sword of Revival, Tenseiga, made my own job
harder.
You
see, nominally, as the only heir of my father when he died, I was the
leader of the Konohana-clan of Kuro Inu Youkai, aside of this coming
with authority over some 5000 Youkai of various clans which form the
Ninth Western Legion, a term my father liked to use, this also made
me a General by proxy of said lord. A few years after the Baka-Hanyou
got himself stuck to a tree by a sacred arrow his brother called on
his retainers for fending off the Panther Youkai clan which was
invading from China.
I
naturally heeded his call and while my troops fought just as
valiantly and much more efficiently, than most others, with myself at
the frontlines, my show of loyalty hadn’t exactly removed all the
lingering resentment projections I got for my status as a Hanyou and
for possessing my Treasure Blade.
Anyway,
I’m digressing here. Point is that I was checking up on the Baka to
see if I can’t figure out from him, if I wake him up, where the
Tessaiga was hidden since I knew for a fact that he didn’t have it
in his possession when he was sealed by his girlfriend back then.
My
native counterpart was hoping to gain some favor and recognition from
her boss by presenting him with the prize he so coveted for so many
centuries ever since his father gave his life for his half-brother
and made it his last will that said bastard son got the sword.
Mind
you, I myself am not a bastard. My parents were properly married to
one another for 3 years before I was born while there had been no
marriage between the great and honorable Inu no Taisho and his second
son’s mother before he died.
“What
the hell? What are you
doing here Naomi!” And speaking of a bastard, I turned around to
behold a clearly enraged Inuyasha with his long, white hair and red
Kimono, with a girl with a School Uniform behind him. Like, literal
Sailor Fuku.
“Ugh,
who the hell release that seal your girlfriend put on you? I was
hoping she did a decent enough job to pin a Hanyou runt to a tree a
bit longer.” I snarked right back and this ticked off Inuyasha,
obviously.
“You
wanna have a go you brat?!” Shouted Inuyasha in return, his claws
twitching with suppressed rage.
“Sure,
prepare to get ya butt kicked you mangy mutt.” I retorted, hand at
my Mizuryusaiga, ready to
draw it and teach this mangy baka not to star fights with people he
knew outgunned him.
“Inuyasha!
Sit!” Before I could react a weird necklace around the guy’s neck
begun to glow and with a wham, he face planted. Hard.
“Uh…
Way to to kill the mood.” I noted, relaxing a bit as, well, the
hothead was twitching on the ground.
“Inuyasha!
Stop bullying little kids like that!” Screamed
the girl Inuyasha begun to rise from the small crater he had made in
the ground.
“What
are you talking about you damn woman? That brat’s been over a
hundred years old when that old hag was a kid!” Shouted Inuyasha
back as I rolled my eyes, being a kid-sized Hanyou has it’s
drawbacks when people don’t know who you are.
“I
hate to agree with the mutt, but he’s right. I’m Konohana Naomi,
clan leader of the Konohana Clan under the Western Lord and one of
the Youkai Generals of the West. Also, I am the leader of the
mercenary group Millenia.” I stated, crossing my arms, frowning
at the two. “Also, I’m 185 years old, I assume you’re talking
about this elderly Miko we heard about to live, so she’s likely
been here since you lost your girlfriend instead of your virginity.”
I quipped, at him, I
couldn’t help myself there, the imprint and all.
“Stop
talking like that you stupid brat! You definitely didn’t get laid
either you loli!” He shouted right back, and my eye twitched.
“Swear
jar!” Shouted at that point Aika from her perch, as cute as a
cookie.
“Wait
a minute, who’s that kid there? She smells weirdly like you, don’t
tell me you picked some stray up.” He stated, looking at my cute
little daughter with a great deal of confusion.
“No,
that would be my daughter.” Stated Chiharu, sliding off the back of
the great cat and leveling a Mom Glare at him. “And not just mine,
but Naomi-chan’s daughter too, we’re married.” Stated Chiharu
and I laughed out loud when Inuyasha’s face derailed and the
modern-day girl’s jaw dropped.
“Wha-
how? You’re both girls so- how?” Asked the girl, completely
flabbergasted, I swear I saw a blue error screen flash in her eyes.
“I’m
kind of a shapeshifter, I can alter my physical form in small ways,
ranging from altering my physical features to giving me… well,
I needed some special bits for that stunt.” I stated, not even
bothering with pretending that I was ashamed of it. That was my
clone’s job since Aika was now asking what that meant and what job.
Inquisitive little tyke.
“Ugh,
great, you knock up another woman and make a mini you. Whatever, what
are you doing here anyway? And since when do you work as a mercenary
group leader of all things? Last I remember you still insisted on
keeping that stupid title you inherited from your old man.” H
asked, clearly not wanting to pursue the topic of our different
status conditions in regards to our virginity.
“I’m
still the General, but due to my Liege, your brother’s, lack of
conquest ambitions or interest in interfering with the human civil
war, I have very little to do most of the time. My companions just
joined me over the last few years and Chiharu and I have been married
for six years already, so we avoided siring a bastard.” I stated
grinned at his rather angry look.
“Anyway,
regarding why we’re here, one of the main reasons is that the
nearby village would present a decent base of operations since
several Daimyo are battling it out not far from here. We will
obviously not occupy them or be a burden.” I stated which
earned a snort from Mutt.
“Like
hell you would just peacefully settle down in a village. You’re one
of that bastard’s retainers, no matter how nice you talk and that
bastard can’t be trusted.” Shot the idiot back and I gave him a
flat look.
“The
Bastard said What?” I asked and two seconds passed.
“What?”
I snickered as he asked this, clearly not realizing the joke.
“Listen
baka, my liege isn’t exactly fond of humans, I won’t deny that.
He hates Hanyou mainly because of you. You’re the bastard son of
his father and yet said man acredited the Tessaiga to you as your
inheritance. Which is another reason I chose to come here, actually.
You have no formal or even remotely basic training in handling a
Wakizashi, much less the great Tessaiga, just tell me where it is so
I can recover it for him and I may be able to get him off your
nonexistent tail.” I stated, hand on my hip as I stared him down.
“Tzk,
even if I knew where that stupid thing was hidden, why should I give
it to you? You got three swords already just give one of them to him
if you want his stupid praise.” Stated Inuyasha, while his human
companion looked a bit confused between us.
“Only
one of them is mine, the other two I asked Totosei-dono to forge from
the fangs my father left behind for my daughters.” I stated, it was
how it was in this universe, after all. “Besides, the Tessaiga is
an unmatched masterwork, sure, each of these swords were made by the
same man, but there is a difference in sheer power between their
materials. Giving one of these to him would be worthless to one such
as him.” I stated as I glared at him.
“Besides,
isn’t Myoga your assigned retainer and minder? Shouldn’t he
know where the grave of your father, Tessaiga’s resting place, is
located? Where is that stupid flea anyway?” I asked, irritated by
the whole affair.
“Naomi
can you stop playing dominance games? I’m sensing a lot of Youki
from the direction of the village.” Stated at that time Fukune, who
had just come off Sari and into view of the two newcomers. “Wait,
Kagome-chan?” Asked Fukune, slipping visibly into the slotted in
role that her persona had in this world.
“Fukune-chan?
How did you get here? And- Wait! That Youkai’s still in the
village!” Exclaimed the girl, Kagome, in a panic and run off with
Inuyasha groaning and following after her.
“Okay,
everyone split up, non-coms on Sori and stay here, everyone else on
Sari and come with me.” I stated as the kids and the Drop-Ins got
onto one of the Nekomata while the rest of us either piled onto the
other or got off Sori, before we begun to run toward the village,
with me making clones to flank from other sides.
[Event
Zone Entered: Yura of the Demon Hair]
[Goal:
Defeat Yura]
[Rewards:
400 Won/Koku, 1 Skill Book, ???]
Looking
at this notification I sighed, great. 400 Koku was enough for 400
years of rice. Not that I didn’t like Rice, it’s kinda the most
common food in this era, but it’s kinda bland.
Anyway,
we arrived at the location that housed the village and found the
woman of the village trapped by a Youkai in the shape of a young
woman with way too much black to her. Seriously, the woman was a
Dominatrix before it was In to be one.
“Dungeon
Create!” I called, raising my hand and causing a Illusion Barrier
to form around us, whisking us away from the normal, mortal humans.
The fact that this Kagome didn’t get affected pointed to her
spiritual power.
“What
the- where did the villagers go?” Asked Inuyasha dumbfounded, and
Kagome looked no better with as confused as she was.
“Baka,
did you forget that I can create Illusion Barriers? Quick reminder,
they’re pocket dimensions that transport anything of mystical
origin into it, removing them from reality. Perfect battlegrounds.”
I stated, as I watched
the female Youkai look around in confusion, clearly not prepared for
sudden spacial shifts.
“Appraisal.”
I stated, cold as I was, analyzing the Youkai.
[Yura
of the Demon Hair]
[Lvl:
32]
[Description:
Low Ranking Tsukumogami born of a hairbrush which was used in murder.
Obsessed with white hair of the young.]
I
stared at this, then looked to Inuyasha. “Say, that Hinezumi pelt
you got from your dad, it still works, right?” He nodded at my
question, clearly a bit confused by it. “I have a plan, but you
need to distract the bitch, don’t worry it won’t involve anything
capable of harming you.” I stated and after a moment of hesitation,
and a grumble of “Why am I doing what she wants?” from him, he
went to confront the woman.
“You’re
going to blow her up, aren’t you?” Asked Chiharu,
raising an eyebrow at me as I smirked.
“Multiply.”
I stated in return. While I only said it once, I cast it a total of
eight times with seven of them cast silently. “And
now, [Prominence].”
I cast with a smirk, before channeling the massive fire attack into
individual spheres, one for each casting and extremely concentrated.
The
end result? 256 miniature suns were soon floating above me, each
burning hot and white in color. “Eh!? What he- what is that?!”
Shouted Kagome in shock as she covered her eyes and I saw that
Inuyasha did the same while Yura looked about ready to shit herself.
“The
ultimate fire spell available to me. Now go to hell, BITCH!” I
announced before launching what may be several nuclear bombs at her,
enough firepower to engulf a great city several hundred times over
exploded in a massive flash that would’ve leveled the small village
in the area had this been normal space.
As
it was, the only thing standing afterward was a screaming and cursing
Inuyasha, thankfully the Hinezumi fur protects from all manner of
fire, not just where it covers the body. Well, I say thankfully, but
that’s just for Inuyasha.
[Event
Completed!]
[Goals:
Defeat Yura of the Demon Hair]
[Bonus
Goal: Don’t kill the Main Characters!]
[Rewards:
400 EXP, 1 Skill Book, [Inuyasha] and [Kagome] can be recruited for
Pack]
[Bonus
Reward: 200 EXP]
[Naomi
has reached level 9!]
[Chiharu
has reached level 4!]
[Mikasa
has reached level 4!]
[Aika
has reached level 4!]
[Pao
has reached level 4!]
[Kazami
has reached level 4!]
[Aiko
has reached level 4!]
[Biwako
has reached level 4!]
[Junkichi
has reached level 4!]
[Fukune
has reached level 4!]
[Ni
has reached level 4!]
[Happy
has reached level 4!]
I
blinked, wait, Main Character?
I
groaned as I already knew where this was going to go.
“The
Shikkon no Tama was shattered?” I asked in shock the next day,
having found and recovered the elderly Miko and village leader Kaede
after helping the villagers also recover from the attack.
“Yes,
Kagome-san shattered it by accident while trying to stop a
Chibigarasu from escaping with it.” Stated Kaede as
she regarded the lot of us. The kids were out, playing with some of
the village children of which some were even old enough to supervise
them. Some of the other members of my group were out, having accepted
a little quest to help with the crops or, in case of Chiharu, to
check on some of the protective wards Kikyo left behind.
This
really just left myself, Fukune and Happy along with Inuyasha, who
was still glowering at my prompt abuse of his fire immunity clothing
to grill him, hard. “Ugh, that blasted
thing is just making more and more of a mess, isn’t it? Like we
don’t have enough of a Civil War already.” I groaned, massaging
my temples in frustration at the situation.
“I
see that you have grasped the situation already. Though I’m
surprised you’re not more frustrated with the loss of the jewel.”
Stated Kaede, not even hiding her suspicion as I rolled my eyes.
“Unlike
the mutt over there I have more than two braincells to rub together.
The thing was made of malice and powerful
energy, no way is it not
in some way responsible for the conflict erupting around it all the
time. Besides, who spread those retarded
rumors about it granting wishes anyway? Sounds to me like a trap.”
I stated, sighing in resignation at the pure idiocy of the whole
thing.
“Well,
we can’t know if that suspicion is correct, but I suspect you can
see the issues arising from the shards.” Stated Kaede and I nodded,
that was true.
“Yeah,
even that one shard you guys picked out of the ashes seems to have
been full of Youki to the brim, in the wrong hands that could very
well end horribly for everyone involved.” I stated, frowning. The
shard had been a drop of that retarded Youkai, along with what was
called “Carbonized Pieces”, described as pieces of a comb that
had been burned nearly to a crisp.
How
anything survived that city buster x256, I don’t know.
“Therefore
I have a request.” I blinked as Kaede continued, unawares of my
musings. “Kagome and Inuyasha have already agreed to try and gather
the shards, but I would like to request that you and whoever you
would be willing to commit to this cause accompanies them.” Stated
Kaede and I blanched at the idea.
“Me?
Traveling with the mutt? Sorry Kaede-san but are you nuts? Blasting
him with castle-busting magic was the most therapeutic thing I’ve
ever done!” I complained, not at all interested in traveling with
the annoying whiny little bitch of an idiot. I
know I know I shouldn’t let the imprint talk this much, but he is!
“And
yet it would be pertinent for them to have someone like you with
them, wouldn’t it? And last I remember, you requested to settle
into our village with your mercenary band. Consider this the payment
I ask for in order for you to base your operations out of our
village, help these two to gather the shards as much as you can and
we will provide you with lodging, food and resources as we can.”
Stated Kaede and I flinched, hard bargain lady.
“As
if we need the brat! She’s not even 200 years old so how would she
be of use?” Asked Inuyasha and everyone present gave him a flat
look.
“You’re
literally the oldest person in the room and you need, last I checked,
little mist future-reincarnation there to get anything done.” I
stated flatly which made him blush. “Besides, unlike you I’m not
a one-trick pony, I have magic, Anti-Magic and various other
abilities you lack. Not to mention that I have The System. As far as
I can tell, you should be begging me to let you train in my Illusion
Barriers.” I stated flatly which made him grow only angrier.
“Well,
will you then accept?” Asked Kaede, ignoring largely our bickering
and I took a deep breath, this was the safest place for the kids, to
be honest. And I had a reason to be headed or this place when I set
up the jump for us.
“Fine,
I’ll do it. But not before I get those
two into some manner of form. I can’t run around with a guy who
doesn’t know anything other than brawling.” I stated and that
naturally created more protests from Inuyasha.
Two
days later I had to thank whoever decided to pair this jump with The
Gamer, because Instant Dungeons are a blessing upon the drill
sergeant.
With
them I set up a permanent dungeon that would have two months pass for
every 24 hours passing outside the barrier. We stayed in it for 24
hours, in other words, which gave me plenty of time to interrogate
Inuyasha and bring him a bit up to snuff.
Sadly
I had to reveal that me and my companions had some… weird origins
beyond what Inuyasha knew, because Ni had the bright idea to throw a
frag grenade into a bunch of monsters that the barrier had summoned.
Yeah, she has a habit of temper tantrums now that she’s a little
girl.
Anyway,
after we left the dungeon we found ourselves at a spectacle by my
esteemed liege himself who had come to try and claim Tessaiga. He had
apparently no luck locating the grave of the honorable Inu no Taisho
and had decided to see if the heir to Tessaiga’s ownership would
have the key.
Then
I had to report, regretfully, that despite my efforts to find out
even one hint about it, Inuyasha had been left utterly clueless by
the useless flea who had been made his retainer. Jaken, the useless
toad Youkai who was Sesshoumaru’s secretary in all but name,
naturally was being a pain in the ass about my failure but I kicked
him for it and, as the guy had a lower standing than me,
Sesshoumaru-sama didn’t even mention anything.
Unlike
toad face I had stood with the rest of his forces back in that
miniature war.
Anyway,
as it turned out, which involved a Nu-Onna, a Facekles Woman,
Inuyasha’s right pupil was actually a Black Pearl capable of
opening a portal into the boundary between life and death.
Sesshoumaru-sama took it out and had Jaken break it to summon the
portal. Inuyasha, the little shit he is, went after him with
Kagome-chan despite not being interested in Tessaiga.
Stupid
idiot.
Surprisingly,
when they come out Sesshoumaru-sama was missing an arm, was bleeding
and didn’t have the sword. Meanwhile, Inuyasha come out, not much
worse for wear and had the sword instead. I chewed him out for his
stupid taking of the sword out of nothing more than principle.
Because that was what he was doing, he hadn’t wanted it, but didn’t
want his brother to have it either so now there.
After
that I would’ve tried making the idiot train and learn the way of
the sword, even if his was a massive blade, almost as if it had been
made from a sharpened tooth with little else added. Well, aside of
the fur that it had. The thing also had a more compact Katana-like
form that looked absolutely wrecked but that was likely a defense
mechanism more than anything, make it look like shit so it wouldn’t
be stolen by those who were unaware of it’s powers.
Anyway,
having said that, Inuyasha had no desire to wait any longer with
searching for the Shikkon no Tama Shards, and he was also still
miffed that I had refused to help him against my boss. Well, sorry
but I owe the guy the proper respect, he’s the Lord of the West
after all, and I don’t want to become a traitor to him. Also, I
still disliked Inuyasha, partialy because of the imprint but mostly
by now because the guy was grating on my nerves.
Chiharu
stayed back, as did Mikasa, Aika, Pao, Junkichi, Ni, Fukune and
Yukai, with the latter two using the opportunity to go into the
present-day Japan to take a hold of thheir localized families. Kazami
and Biwako would come with us for the sake of reinforcements.
It
didn’t take us long to find some trouble. We went to the Musashi
province and while I took a bath along with Kagome, Kazami and
Biwako, because pack protection is a thing that I tried to emphasize
for a while now, and Kagome needs to get used to this era some time
in the future, we found that Kagome’s clothes had been stolen.
Inuyasha come then, with Kagome having screamed out of shock when a
monkey jumped over us, and we headed out.
Mind
you, Kagome protested that I should put some clothes on before going,
but I pointed out that I’m over 180 years old, a grown-ass woman
despite appearances, and we’re in the Sengoku-motherfucking-Jidai.
I still grabbed my clothes and put them on loosely while we were
heading out, simply because carrying Mizuyrusaiga around by hand
would be rather silly looking.
We
found the monkey belonged to a young Samurai by the name of Amari
Nobunaga, not Oda Nobunaga, and had been actually sent out to search
for food. I made some Ramen instead and by the time Kazami, who had
been gathering up our things and had dressed herself, arrived we had
found that he was traveling to a nearby castle where a princess he
had a crush on resided but bad rumors had also sprouted around the
place.
Long
story short, the lord had been possessed by a Ogama Obake, a Great
Toad in other words. We beat the crap out of the amphibian Obake baka
and rescued the girls and the princes who had been fed on by the sad
excuse for a Youkai. Inuyasha almost got a big head but I pointed out
to him that this thing was not even close to being any kind of
powerful Youkai, it was just a sad excuse for a Beast Youkai.
Not
long after we encountered another Youkai, a young Kitsune named
Shippo. Biwako easily outsmarted the younger Kitsune and we learned
that he wanted the Shikkon no Tama shards so he could fight the
killers of his father. These two were the Raiju Kyodai, I had heard
of them, two of the three remaining members of the Raiju Ichizoku, a
clan of Thunder Youkai.
I
had been meaning to search them out and put an end to their antics,
it was bad for business and they weren’t even vassals of the Tsuki
clan. Since they had five shards of the Shikkon no Tama it was only
more reason to take them out on top of their actions against Shippo’s
father, leaving the boy an orphan.
“Shoryuha!”
I called, releasing Mizuyusaiga’s Youki attack against Manten, the
younger of the two brothers who hadn’t archieved a human-like form
yet. Inuyasha should’ve done this instead of me, he wasn’t
skilled enough to fight Hiten, the older brother, as the guy used
special equipment to fly. I tried helping a bit by accelerating
Inuayasha using the “Tailwind” spell. However, this didn’t help
much when the guy was swinging around his sword like a complete
idiot.
Manten
on the other hand was just a brutish, not even that powerful fighter
who had one big problem: Chiharu had already shared her
Electrokinesis as a Skillbook with me, so he was just recharging me
when he used his Thunder magic. As such, freezing the crap out of him
and then going to town on his ass with my sword. Not that way.
Anyway,
I managed to snatch the pelt of Shippo’s father from the guy before
ramming one and a half meters of Inu Youkai Tooth-turned-sword into
his head, ending him in the process.
And
then I had to dodge Hiten going on a rampage since I just killed his
brother and when he went to absorb his power, he discovered my
sword’s special ability. Miyuryusaiga was gifted with the ability
to consume Youki, literally. I kill something, it’s power is
absorbed with a few of it’s abilities depending on the amount of
contact my sword had with the flesh of the killed. I could also
diffuse attacks from Youki as well.
The
fight that followed was very short since I sensed something and
wanted to get this done with so that I could do what I had to do,
rather than watch Inuyasha flail around until whatever happened in
canon of this story. Because obviously I was OCP as fuck.
Or
in other words, I flattened Hiten in one hit, then stabbed him in the
head with my sword, absorbing his energy until he, as a Youkai of
Thunder, dissolved and was absorbed as well. Inuyasha was throwing a
tantrum over this kill stealing but I didn’t care.
“Hey
Shippo-kun, your father was a minor Daiyoukai, wasn’t he?” I
asked, looking at the beast-form pelt in my hand, approaching the
small Youkai who nodded, breaking down in tears as he gave him the
pristine pelt. I sat down next to him, sighing. “Your father was
pretty impressive, if those two hadn’t had their shards he could’ve
won I think. Even now his Youki lingers in this pelt.” I noted and
I wasn’t even lying. The fact that so much Youki and intent
remained within the pelt was a testimony to the fallen Youkai.
“Shippo-kun,
this pelt isn’t as good as the whole body, but your father left you
an inheritance. What Hiten did to Manten, consuming him? That isn’t
unique. If you wish I can help you archive this, make the power of
your fallen father your’s, if you wish.” I stated, speaking
softly and kind, but also firm for this was important. The pelt
couldn’t hold this youki forever.
“W-
what would happen?” Asked Shippo, clinging to the pelt with tears
in his eyes and I smiled softly, poor kid needed someone who wasn’t
as block-headed as Inuyasha here.
“He
would become part of you, staying with you as long as you live. Among
Youkai this is actually a tradition, to pass one’s strength to
their family in some way if they pass away. Inu no Taisho-sama, this
mutt’s venerable father, did so with the swords Tessaiga and
Tensaiga. Your father couldn’t, but with this ritual he can pass a
part of his strength onto you, to protect you even from beyond the
grave.” I explained softly and after a moment Shippo nodded.
I
won’t go into much detail on the way this worked, or how the whole
process went down. But with the way this was, I draped the pelt over
Shippo’s shoulders and placed my sword along with these of my
daughters in a square with Tessaiga, using them both to form a
containment ward and as catalysts. I had to commend Inuyasha for
parting willingly with the sword for this purpose.
I
then sparked my own Youki, using it and the swords to channel and
guide the energies of father and son as well as the energies my blade
stole from Hiten and Manten into Shippo. As he glowed I watched him
temporarily reverting to fox form, a small and adorable kit with red
fur. But his fur changed and, as the procedure continued, his tail
split.
When
the glow finally subsided and Shippo returned to his humanoid form,
he had only slightly changed. For starters his hair had turned
golden, for another his legs, which had remained the hindlegs of a
fox due to his lack of skill in transforming, had now turned into
those of a young human child. Lastly he now had his split tail, two
tails rather, on display with a single mark of Power, a sign of a
Youkai of certain strength, on his cheek.
His
level had also changed. He had originally been level 23, now his
level had sparked to 59 following this ritual. Shippo was still only
a child, mind you, he didn’t have the knowledge or skill to make
much use of his boosted power or the inherited Thunder Magic.
However,
with my own authority as a General of the West, head of a noble
Youkai clan and the highest authority beside Sesshoumaru-sama in the
area, I adopted him into the Konohana-clan, with Shippo joining our
group on his insistence. It would be good too, since I would be able
to train him.
“And
that’s one purchase done.” I stated, sitting in a cafe as I
tapped away on my cellphone.
I
had gone to the present when Kagome had done the same after the whole
Thunder Brothers debacle, intending to use the time to purchase some
things. Chief among them a Skill Book on “Elemental Summoning”
and one on “Golem Creation”. They arrived relatively discreetly
not long after, by a truck dropping them off near me and me picking
them both up.
So
far things had been calm with my stay in this time period. I knew
there was mention of the Japanese part of the Abyss being destroyed
in the past and thus any Japanese Ability Users were subsequently
hunted down for it. The fact that I had been left alone so far,
despite of this and on top of the Drawback I actually took, indicated
that they lacked the ability to find me in the past.
So
yeah, I basically come out here to see who would come after me,
neither Fukune nor Yukai had been harassed in the future either so
that was strange.
Though
the peace and quiet died when a Illusion Barrier suddenly appeared
around me, with two people stepping out of an alleyway right after.
“Well, Ji-Pan, look at what we found. A Japanese dog.” Sneered
one of them, I could understand them thankfully and knew they were
speaking in Korean.
“Wow,
great intro, calling me a dog. Next thing you call me a bitch.” I
mocked with a roll of my eyes, confusing them since I was wearing a
hoodie and shorts over my normal Kimono, easily hiding my true
nature. “You guys here to give me trouble, right? I would have
thought you would send more.” I commented easily as I didn’t even
bother taking out Mizuryusaiga from my Inventory, those two weren’t
even high enough on the totempole to be a threat to anything.
“Tzk,
aren’t you a cocky one? Some Japanese brat like you would never be
able to match any one of us, just because you have a lot of Mana
doesn’t mean that you can-” I grew tired, to be honest, of this
weirdo’s rambling and, moving faster than either could react,
closed the distance between us and swung my claws through his neck.
His
Partner’s widening eyes were only made worse as my victim’s head
hit him from above, having flown off his neck after being severed.
“You guys talk way too much for some simple Ningen.” I noted,
licking my claws just for the scare factor, my hood having come down
due to my movement and thus revealing my ears.
“W-
what are you?!” Exclaimed the man, drawing a Korean sword, I think
it’s called a Dao? Well, it wasn’t that impressive.
“Normally
I wouldn’t tell you this, but since you will die anyway, why not? I
am Konohana Naomi, daughter of Konohana Shotaro of the clan Konohana,
vassal clan of the Cardinal Lord Sesshoumaru-sama. I have traveled
500 years into the future to see this “Abyss” for myself and I am
not impressed.” I stated, turning to him as his partner’s
lifeless body fell to the floor. “I may be half human, but animals
who think they are above me? Prey, that’s all you are.” I stated,
giving my best Sesshoumaru impression with the haughty.
When
I finally broke the barrier I had basically looted the two bodies for
all they were worth, giving me two swords that I shattered with
Mizuryusaiga for some power up, as well as a dozen Skill Books I
fabricated from their abilities. No need to pretend I wasn’t using
them for such.
I
was just about to head to the shrine when I sensed Youki and smelled
the stench of decay. “Ugh, great, some necrotic Youkai just had to
show up.” I grumbled before heading there where I found Inuyasha
fighting a large amalgamation of various human bodies, all of them
dead, with a Noh Mask placed on the top.
“Hey
mutt! I’m gone for five fucking minutes, and you get into a
huge fight with a lowly Tsukumugami? You sure you don’t want those
lessons on combat techniques from me?” I called to him, creating an
Illusion Barrier to keep the people around us from seeing the action
even more.
“Who
dares speak of me like this?” Bellowed the mask angrily and I
scoffed at it.
“That
would be me, Konohana Naomi. I am a general of the Western Cardinal
Lord and compared to me, you are nothing Tsukumogami.” I stated
coldly, it wasn’t a secret that my clan, the Konohana, were among
the more gentle Youkai of the period. We frowned upon the hunt for
humans and our clan’s symbol, a Sakura Hana or Cherry blossom, was
often enough to give people in the region we operated in a free pass,
even as Youkai or Hanyou entering temples.
“I
will make you regret these words worm! I shall consume you and-” I
didn’t let the mask continue to speak, instead cutting it in half
with my sword.
“Stop
rambling, you’re so low on the totempole that I need a microscope
to see you.” I stated frankly as one half of the mask, now
separated from it’s corpse assembly, floated into the air. “Don’t
think I will let you go.” I stated, lifting my sword as the mask
tried charging toward Kagome. “Shoryuha!” I didn’t give it the
chance, unleashing the attack upon the item and vaporizing it on the
spot.
“So,
now that the Tsukumogami is gone and- is that a Shikkon no Tama
shard? Why in the hell is that thing here?” I asked, looking at the
two of them.
“I
don’t know, I first saw it I think when it possessed a woman. I
didn’t know it was a Youkai to be honest, it hadn’t added so much
to itself yet.” Explained Kagome and I sighed, great.
“Well,
whatever. Grab the shard will you? Can’t leave that thing lying
around in this day and age. Seriously, we’re in an age where Youkai
activity is practically zero and you still get attacked.” I
muttered as I turned around, returning my sword to the inventory. I
shattered the barrier soon after Kagome had picked up the shard while
I picked up some wads of Korean money and other assorted drops.
Here’s
to hope there wouldn’t be any more problems.
“No
Kwang-Sun and Wi Ho-Jin’s life signals have been confirmed to have
been extinguished sir. It appears they weren’t able to eliminate
the Japanese Ability User.” Stated a young woman, facing one of the
most powerful people of South Korea who was frowning.
“Any
information on the identity of this “Jumper the Gatekeeper”? Who
even calls themselves something like this in English while in Japan?”
Asked the man, an elderly man by the name of Shin Sun-Oh, frowning as
he considered the ramifications of this.
“Before
his elimination Wi Ho-Jin was able to send an image over his ability
of the attacker along with a name. Konohana Naomi.” Stated the
woman, handing him an image of a young girl in casual but absurdly
baggy clothing including a hoodie that was down, showing a pair of
dog-like ears replacing any human ones she should have. She also had
black hair, done up in a ponytail and her clawed fingers were on
display, bloodied and the corpse of No Kwang-Sun on the ground behind
her.
“By
our estimations she appears to be non-human, likely a Hanyou or
Youkai Halfbreed. By appearance she seems to be of a Inugami breed.”
Stated the woman, Somun So-Ah, pushing up her glasses as if for
effect. He suspected it actually was for that reason alone.
“Not
of that Daiyoukai Sesshoumaru. They get white hair.” Stated Shin
Sun-Oh as he peered down at the young-looking girl. There was quite a
bit of danger associated with anything of the Japanese folktales, the
old tales of the Shikkon Miko included beings like this, Hanyou.
“Shall
we send a larger team? Youkai activity has risen recently after all.”
Asked Somun So-Ah as she stared at him, asking for an answer.
“No,
I believe this requires something more than brute force.” Stated
Shin Sun-Oh as he stared down at the girl. “What was her phone
number again?” Asked the man and his secretary raised an eyebrow.
If
there was interaction between the Abyss and the Youkai community of
Japan, then it may lead to trouble further down the line. He was
going to ensure this would not be the case.
