Chapter 44

The batting continues.

Truthfully, I don't know why she's still keeping this up.

It didn't work the first couple hundred times, it won't suddenly start working.

"Noiraki!" The fox on my chest almost whines out, before huffing, and putting her paws on my face, keeping them there.

I hear an audible poof sound, and in the next moment, the small weight across my chest suddenly becomes a large weight across my entire upper body.

I slowly crack open a single eye.

The first thing I see?

Titties.

Not right in my face, but pretty damn close to it.

Why is it always the titties!?

Oh. Right. DxD.

Anyhow, Inari is back in her voluptuous human form, wearing nothing except lacy black underwear.

"Nice." I state, rather plainly.

Before shutting my eye back up, much to an indignant Inari who squeaks at my single comment.

What can I say? Kuroka, once again, has worn sexier.

Also pretty sure her tits are bigger. Kuroka is a shortstack after all.

I hear the fox Goddess huff over me, before she finally says, "...you know, you're much more of a brat when you aren't bone-dead tired."

"Aw, thank you!" I let out a genuine smile, "I try, really."

That draws a snicker from her, before her hands land on and grab my shoulders.

"Very cute, but I'm afraid I don't have all the time in the world to play with you…"

And with that, she sits up, dragging me along for the ride.

Thankfully, I stop myself before my limp body and head, specifically, flop straight down into her chest.

Although as I groggily open my eyes, and find the women pouting lightly at me, it seems I may have unintentionally thwarted one of her plots.

I smirk at her right back.

Her pout intensifies.

With a shake of my head and a light snort, I clamber off the side of the bed and onto my fight a moment later and give my body a stretch.

"So~!" I start with a mid-stretch groan, "Haven't seen you in a while, and the first thing you say when we do is mention an eight-legged horse?" I turned back to her, giving her a pointed look, "Not very cool ya know?"

Inari sighed before laying down on her side, her long fluffy pink fox tail swishing back and forth behind her as she did.

"I am…aware of how that may have sounded, just coming out like that," she admits freely, "I apologize, I've just been…very busy since we last saw each other. I was in a hurry, I meant no offense."

"Ah, that explains the lack of clothes then." I muse aloud, turning with a raised eyebrow as she giggles good-naturedly.

"Yes, actually." She smiles slyly as my eyes widen, "I have been that busy."

I raise a finger slightly, "But can't you just….summon…clothes?"

She nods in confirmation, "And change my form at will, yes." She brushes a hand across her fox tail, which I recall, she didn't have before.

Well.

Damn, girl, jeez.

I winced slightly, "I suppose I played a part in increasing your workload as of late, huh? My bad."

Inari hummed at that, "...Indirectly, I suppose you did. I did well to take advantage of the Night Parade you know? Just as you suggested.

"Let's just say…convincing many Youkai into my services was easier done than said~..." She purred out with a pleased light growl.

Oh yeah! That was part of my idea to, one, lessen Inari's workload, and two, try and bring the two sides…Shinto and Youkai, together.

In essence, the idea was Inari would run around and scope up all the Youkai that sided with Ibaraki and…give them a place to go, so to speak…after the Oni Fierce God fell.

That's to start.

After the debacle was over, I met with a bunch of people, mostly the Youkai leaders, and we talked.

Part of our talks was me subtly nudging them toward being more open to the idea of working together with the Shinto or the Clans.

With the general idea of being stronger together…while enabling Inari to pouch off all the Youkai as a whole under the pretense of easy access to the mundane world via works.

Though it's been a while, I don't think I ever heard what the results of all that were.

I guess it couldn't be helped. I did get kind of busy directly after Ibaraki was dealt with, and when my trip to Yomi was over I had other things I wanted to focus on.

Though, judging by the sound of her voice right now, I suppose she's pleased.

But…

I tilt my head, "Indirectly? How?"

Inari smirked, "During your fight with the Fierce God, you had an audience. An audience that really shouldn't have been hiking across the country unannounced."

I stared at her, blankly.

You've got to be kidding me, right?

Inari's smirking only grew, "It turns out he was galavanting around, being his usual perverted old man self at the time.

"But tell me, Noriaki, how does it feel knowing you put on a show for the Norse's Chief God, Odin?"

I didn't even hesitate, "Annoyed, and tired."

Inari laughed lightly at that, while I simply sighed.

Remembering him from canon, the guy wasn't actually watching the fight, huh?

Probably just stared at the shrine maidens or Kuroka with his magic eye the whole time.

Inari's laugh tapered off into a giggle before she started once more, "Trust me, you nailed dealing with him right on the money there. Those were pretty much the same words your mother used to describe it as well."

I cracked a smile at that, as Inari went on to elaborate.

"Anyhow, I found the old man watching the fight in Kyoto, and took him away to deal with him." Inari sighed, "It snowballed into a much larger project, with your mother getting involved, and in short…we're looking at setting up an alliance between the Norse and the Shinto."

Ah, fate finds a way. Sometimes even earlier than required.

"So, that requires me to be able to keep an eight-legged horse here…how?" I ask tentatively, already expecting the dreadful answer.

"Well, the old man has already been around the country, unofficially. Due to his having to be somewhat sneaky about it, he hasn't been able to really experience certain places, fully." She continues her elaboration, and I nod in understanding.

"So, we figured he could use a guide…and we suggested–"

"Me." I cut in with a breath.

She nods, giving me a small smile, "Yes, you."

Fuck me sideways.

We suggested, huh?

I cross my arms and glare down at her, "You should have asked me first."

She holds up her arms placatingly, "I know, I know…it didn't cross my mind at the time, and I apologize for that, but we thought it was fitting.

"Your reputation, who and what you are, makes you a very good symbol to represent what we wish to achieve here.

"And beyond that, unlike any of the other gods, sans maybe Uzume, you're the only one I could think of that could take the old gods…um…" Inari trails off, trying to find the right word.

Luckily, I already had one prepared.

"Shit." I finished for her, with her snort, "Yeah, I probably could. Would totally stab the old fuck too if you got too out of hand."

Inari chuckled, "Which is why Uzume wouldn't work…she means well, but she's a bit of a ditz, to be nice." She gives a plain look, "Odin would walk all over her, just like he walks over his Valkyrie assistant."

Ah, Rossweisse.

Poor girl, and yeah, Uzume would be a massive pushover.

"All this talk about me guiding the old guy around on a tour or something. Are you trying to make him stay here or something for the duration of this tour? With me?" I ask, incredulous.

Inari grimaced, "That…would be ideal."

I snort at that, "No it wouldn't. I'd kill him the very moment he starts looking at Kuroka the wrong way."

Inari frowned, "Noriaki…that's-"

"Nope. Nu-uh. No arguments. He's not staying here." I state with finality.

Inari glares, "Well, do you have any other ideas?" She asks haughtily.

I hum at that for a moment, "...you still got those titty clubs from the Grigori?"

Inari's face immediately fell, comically, "...Yes." she grounds out, slowly, "They are…shockingly profitable."

In this world? I'm not even shocked.

"Set him up in one, then." I continued at her quizzical look, "Guy would love it, seriously. He'd hate it here…even when I'm not stabbing him, there's nothing to do. Nothing to drink.

"Get him a condo right on top of one, stuff it with beer, and he'll be happy for months."

Not even exaggerating about any of that. The old man Odin, as annoying as he is, is a rather simple god at heart.

Beer. Titties. Done.

I lean down to Inari, muttering into her ear, "And of course, ya know, this way…you could charge him annything~ ya want for it all!"

Inari shivers at my mutterings, and as I pull back, I can see the yen-shaped lights sparking in the back of her eyes as a small, but growing, grin stretches across her face.

The goddess before me, I feel, is also a rather simple creature.

She likes money, that much I could figure out from Uzume talking about her, but she very much dislikes all the work she has to do for it.

"You raise an…interesting~ idea, Noriaki…" Inari shivers and lets out a low-sensual growl at the idea of essentially scamming the shit out of a god.

I chuckle, "Try not to go too overboard now, keep that money-grubbing in check you."

She flicks her tail and smiles, "No promises~..."

Hmm, I'm sensing an excessive amount of horni energons here…

"You know, Noriaki~? While we're on the subject of payment~..." Her tail conspicuously wraps around my waist, "we don't expect you to do any of this for nothing~..."

Hmm. Yes. Excessive horni energons detected.

Initiating dispersion protocols.

I casually reach down, under the bed, and pull out a baseball bat.

It's a pretty cool bat, might I add. Made entirely out of a certain metal.

It's also bright pink!

Inari stops and stares.

"...Huh?" She mutters in sheer unadulterated confusion.

I bonk her over the head with it, a metallic ringing sound echoing throughout the bedroom, followed by a loud pained yip.

"N-Noriaki!" Inari cries, incredulously, gripping her head, "What was that for!? And…why do I feel significantly less aroused…?" She asks the second question morphing her face into one of sheer befuddlement.

I idly strike the pat against my palm, lightly, feeling the beginnings of the horny gripping me break apart with each strike.

"Horni Bat. Gets rid of the horny." I explain with a very stupid smile on my face.

Inari eyes the bat wearily, "Is…is that made of…?"

"Hihi'irokane? Yup." I confirm, easily.

Okay. So. I may have gotten a bit too curious as to what would happen if you poured all the lust and horny through the metal.

And Uzume did bring extra of the stuff, and Kuroka and Suzaku were being very extra in their horniness…

Needless to say, I wasn't expecting this result, but I'm happy with it nonetheless.

Unfortunately, none of the names I wanted for it worked in Japanese, so I settled with a simple name of 'Destroyer'.

Even got the kanji for it on the handle!

Inari stares at me, blankly, "You actually had something like this made?"

"Made it myself, actually. It's very useful if you couldn't tell!" I muse lightly, setting the bat over my shoulder as I lean over her once again, "After all, I've kinda had it with these women, goddesses, youkai…whatever, trying to 'pay' me with sex."

I reach down, hooking a finger under Inari's chin and looking straight down into her eyes, "Sex isn't payment. It's a fun time for however many hours it lasts, but it's not payment. At least, I don't consider it as such."

"Ah…Noriaki? What are you getting at here?" Inari asks with a nervous smile.

I smile right back, "If you wanna pay me with your body, I'm keeping you for as long as I'm still alive. Understand?"

"K-Keeping? My…" Inari shivered, a small red flush marking her cheeks, "aren't you…bold."

I shrug, letting my finger slip off her chin, "Not bold. More so done with receiving such a terrible offer. Just remember that for next time."

Probably going to have to give the same deal to Yasaka next time I see her.

…What is it with foxes specifically being so horny all the damn time?

"...And if I accept those terms?" Her tail swooshes back and forth as her eyes glimmer mischievously.

I deadpan back down at her, "I'd tell you that you don't know what you're getting into, and hit you with the bat again."

Inari blinks, "...please do not."

I snort, "Good girl. You want scratches behind your ears?"

"...I do quite like scratches, actually." She mumbles out surprisingly shyly.

Now it's my turn to blink.

With a sigh, I reach down and place my hand on her head.

She gives a happy little hum as fox ears seemingly unfold from her head, and I begin scratching behind them.

"We'll talk about payment and stuff after this all over, alright?" I continue, sitting on the bed and leaning the bat against the wall next to the front of the bed.

Inari, with eyes half closed, gives a pleased throaty hum and a nod to that.

"Moving on, is there anything else you need to tell me before I start preparing for the old man?" I ask plainly.

"Hmm~?" Inari opens one eye fully, "Oh! Right, right! Yes! You of course won't be alone through all this."

Huh. Honestly, I didn't expect that.

"Who else is participating then?"

"As this is mostly taking place in Kyoto and Tokyo?" Inari began, "The Clans, the Western Youkai, and the Bureau are all chipping in here."

Oh? The gangs are all here!

It makes sense too. In canon, the Biblical Factions backed with and joined in on this event, but they aren't going to be present this time around.

Someone's got to pick up the slack then, and I guess that would be us.

Though. It's telling that I haven't heard from Suzaku about anything happening…

What is with these events always being last-minute things?

"...Seems like a lot of people coming together all for giving one old guy a tour, god or not." I note, though I already have an idea as to why this is.

Inari grimaced, "Due to…division…amongst the Norse over Odin seeking ties with us, it was decided that preparing for any eventuality would be a good idea."

Yup. Loki and his Ragnarok hard-on. Right.

I'm going to pulp that guy's skull when I see him, and send him right to my uncle.

I give her a hum at that, "That's why you wanted him to stay here, huh? So I can watch the old man's ass?" Inari nodded slowly, so I carried on, "He's a Chief God, right? He'll be fine."

Inari winced, and sighed, "It's less so that, but more the politics of a Chief God getting attacked on another Pantheon's soil."

"Even when the ones doing the attacking are his own guys!?" I question incredulously.

Inari gave a weak shrug, "Politics are also stupid like that. On the flip side, saving the Norse God from a betrayal would do wonders for helping us squeeze him and his faction for all they're worth during the final conference."

Ah, that glint is back in her eyes again.

"Heel girl." I state, chidingly, "...save it for the conference." Though I finish with a smirk.

Before blinking in realization, "...when is all this going to be happening, by the way?"

"Around a week or so." Inari answers smoothly, "Plenty of time to prepare, yes?"

Well, it's better than tomorrow I suppose. So not exactly last minute, but still.

Also, I just connected these dots.

"...I'm going to be the one to tell the Clans about what's going on, aren't I?" I more so stated than asked.

Inari let out an uneasy chuckle at that, "...Yes. We figured they would accept it easier coming from you considering recent events."

Ohoho…making the Clans work with the Youkai to treat with foreign gods?

I let out a tired groan, "I'm going to have to punch so many people in the face, aren't I?"

"Probably." Inari confirmed with sympathy.

Ah, well. I'll make them accept it either way.

Before l go get started on…all of that.

"One more thing, Inari." I speak out, prompting the goddess's head to tilt, "Team Slash/Dog. Where will they be?"

I wanted to ask where they have been, because it hasn't been around here lately.

About a month ago, I went to take Tobio out for that drink, but he and his team were just gone.

Should've known something was up when Kouki stopped showing up to drill at my walls one day.

In my defense, I thought he had finally got it all out of his system.

"Around." Inari answered simply, "They are currently doing something…related, to all this. But when it starts, they'll be ready."

Nice.

See, the only real threat here is Fenrir, but Tobio should be able to take care of the oversized god-killing dog easily.

Without him? Loki is omega fucked.

Especially if he attacks during broad daylight like in canon.

Can't expect it'll go that way, but a living god can pray…to himself, I guess?

Sad I can't give luck blessings. Screw Murphy real good with that.

I nod, pleased, and pat Inari on the head before standing back up, "Good shit. I'm going to get to work telling everyone and preparing."

Inari lets out a low whine as I pull my hand away, then pouts, crossing her arms under her bust and pushing it up as I turn away.

"Do you have to start right away?" She asks, and though I can't see her, I can feel the fake sad, and needy puppy doll eyes piercing into my back.

I grab the bat again.

"What'd I say earlier?"

I turn back around, but Inari is gone, leaving nothing but the scent of tea leaves and nervous, yet mischievous, chuckling.

"Damn teasing Christmas cake minx." I utter, annoyed, before setting the bat down on the bed.

Maybe I should pound her into the mattress, wring that stress out of her the hard way, and claim her like that?

Eh. I'm confident in my sexual ability, but I'm not some guy straight out of a hentai.

Besides, having a girl legit mind broken and addicted to my cock isn't as hot as it sounds, truth be told.

Now, speaking of girls addicted to my cock, but without much of a mind rather than mind broken per se, where's Kuroka?

Didn't notice it earlier because Inari was making herself the focus of all my attention, but I don't see Kuroka laying in sheets somewhere.

In either Youkai or human form.

Which means…

I clicked my tongue in amusement, "She fell asleep at the computer again, huh?"

With a chuckle, I snatched up Odoru Taiyōkō-sen…even though sadly I may not get to use him today…along with my phone, and headed out of the bedroom.

~ A New Sun ~

At this point, we've long since furnished the places we needed to around the Palace.

Any buildings we don't use, I locked up, and keep so for safeguarding.

The only place not truly finished is the library, but that's not a fault of laziness, more so the difficulty of finding stuff to put within it.

I wanted to find scores of Eastern Magic books, scrolls, and the like for it, but as Suzaku informed me, such things would be very rare to find.

Why? Because, unlike Western systems, Eastern Magic is taught orally, passed down from master to student, and kept mostly within the Clans or lucky and wealthy families.

I should have expected something like that to be the case, it's a very Japanese Clan thing to do.

Doesn't make me any less annoyed.

Even Kuroka was shocked, Senjutsu at least has books to get you started Uzume couldn't find even that for Eastern Magic.

Which leaves me in this odd predicament.

I can, and have by now, blessed people with an affinity for the Fire Phase of Shinto Magic.

But I can't use it myself.

Suzaku had a good chuckle at that.

Now it's not like I need to learn it, after all, I have other ways of using fire that are stronger, it's why I haven't asked Suzaku to reach me.

…Beyond the fact her teaching me would probably devolve to fucking.

Regardless, it's more so the other styles of Eastern Magic I'm interested in. Especially Buddhist, since that's what Tobio's grandmother used to lock up Tobio's gear at birth.

Tobio gear, while it was in Balance Breaker, at birth.

So yeah, I'm a tad interested.

The only problem is finding a teacher, outside of the Clans, to not seem weak or something.

That was Uzume's reasoning, but I'm about ready to disregard it, suck in my pride and ask anyway.

…Ah fuck I'm rambling about the books again.

Alright, so! We got the place fully furnished…that includes a little spot in the corner of the living room that Kuroka has claimed as her cat corner.

Why?

Well. Maybe it has to do with the big comfy gamer chair, three bloody monitors, glowing keyboard and mouse, custom-built gaming PC, the whole works.

The setup looks like it came straight out of the 2020s, not the early 2000s, and to this day I refuse to look at the bank statements to find out how much this all cost.

Her upper body splayed out across said table as she sat in the chair is the cat herself, snoring peacefully.

You can tell she's a true gamer because she even has her hair pulled up behind her head so it's mostly out of her way.

But of course, as I stand next to her, I'm nodding appreciatively as her bust has pretty much entirely fallen out of her thin, long-sleeved crop top.

The very thin tan jeans are marvelous to behold as well.

Despite the rising horniness within me though, I take a blanket off one of the couches - placed there exactly for this purpose - and throw it over her shoulder.

I smile and rub her back as she purrs lightly in her sleep at the action.

Still far too early for her to wake up. She won't be operational until noon if she stays up as late as I think she did.

I know that for sure, this isn't the first time it's happened after all.

And I also know the cause. Next time, I'm going to have to drag her ass to bed myself.

This isn't something that came about from her clear crippling gaming addiction…well, not entirely. It is partly that.

But it's mostly the result of my undevilizing her, and replacing it with something that we still haven't found a proper name for.

It's not Holy Power, it is kind of like an Angel's Light Power, but not exactly.

I guess it's more like lifeforce and Light Power combined, that sort of thing.

One of its more passive effects though, is boosted vigor. She's got more stamina, heals faster, and so on.

This includes her needing less sleep to function and has resulted in her trying to copy me and my all-nighters.

The thing is though, less sleep doesn't mean no sleep, and Kuroka doesn't seem to understand the difference.

Despite being a cat. Somehow.

Ah well. I'll see to it she fixed this habit of hers. She's just lucky she won't suffer any back pain from this!

Shaking my head off those thoughts, I plop down on the couch and whip out my phone.

This is a pretty big announcement, can't just tell Suzaku and have her spread it around.

I need to be there, in front of every single clan head and elder, as I tell them.

Just in case.

Especially when it comes to the elders. Those guys are probably going to be the ones that throw the biggest fuse.

Then again, if I recall correctly, Suzaku mentioned that two of the heads were also being iffy during the Night Parade, so…

Yeah. I need to be there, tell everyone personally.

…so how do I call everyone from the Clans together for a meeting in one spot?

I blink, my halo unintentionally flashing briefly behind me as an idea forms.

I slowly smirk as I rise back to my feet, making my way towards Uzume's room.

Well, building, connected to the main building I use here, one dedicated to servants that Uzume took.

"Oh, Uzume~!" I call out, my smirk growing titanic across my face, "Do you know where the Five Clan's Inner Sanctuary is located!?"

~ A New Sun ~

This early morning, Suzaku lay in her bed, sleeping in.

She was content.

Then her phone suddenly switched on, and she cracked her eyes open as it made the most horrendous beeping noise known to both humanity and the supernatural.

This type of beeping only played when the elders within the Inner Sanctuary were calling for the Clans as a whole.

Either for an emergency announcement or because they're under attack.

She wishes it was the former, truth be told, for interrupting her beauty sleep, but as she grabs her phone and opens the notification up, finally causing the horrible noise to die, she finds it is, sadly, not.

She blinks, as she reads it.

Then she reads it a second time. A third. Fourth.

Ah. It is saying that.

Noriaki broke into the Inner Sanctuary, bypassing all the wards meant for Youkai or other such beings, waltzed right up to the elders, and demanded a gathering of all the Clans.

Judging by the fact that they're specifically calling him the 'Arahitogami, Forthright Descendent and Son of the Great Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Omikami' they're trying to suck up to him, huh?

What did he do to them?

And why wasn't she invited until now!?

Existing the notification, she finds that she has further messages, this time from her living god himself.

"Ayo. Wanna go invade the Inner Sanctuary with me?"

She blinks several times. That one was from half an hour ago.

Then, fifteen minutes ago.

"Ah, damn. You must be asleep, huh? I got this then, see ya soon."

Okay. No. Seriously.

What did he do to them!?

…And why does his trying to include her in literally raiding one of the Clans' most sacred spaces make her feel all tingly inside?