Chapter 18

"..."

"You're joking, right?"

"No. Shinku, you're the only one I can trust to take care of the kid. It's the least we can do when we, too, have burned our fate share of villages."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped as Shinku stared the child down.

"..."

"Please..."

"..."

"I know taking a kid around with you can hold you back fr.more than just your goal. But if I take him under my wing, it'll only put a bigger target on his back. And Summer's... well, she's eccentric." Odin said somberly while several of his enemies came to mind, as well as the image it would paint if he just suddenly took the kid under him.

"You really think him coming under me is the best plan?"

"That is... unless you feel like you're not skilled enough to take care of one little child."

Despite knowing what Odin was doing, his own pride wouldn't let him accept being looked down upon.

"If he proves to be nothing more than deadweight for me, I'll kill him." Shinku begrudgingly agreed while putting his Kunai away. His crimson eyes almost seemed to glow as the torches were reflected in them.

"Haha! I knew you would!" Odins tone suddenly shifted as he leaped for joy and rushed out of the room before Shinku could say another word.

"Heh. Damn old man." Shinku gave a small chuckle as he stepped closer to the sleeping child and knelt down to him.

"And you, Ye Xiao. You're quite lucky to meet that old man. Honestly, the guy's almost like an uncle to me with our interactions. And because of that, I'll honor his request." Saying this, Shinku pressed his index finger to the kids' forehead, channeling Chakra at the tip as he drew a seal on him that disappeared the moment he finished.

"Taking quite the precaution for a kid you said you'd kill."

Summer's voice soon came from behind him as she knelt beside him and rested her chin on his shoulder, watching as he finished the seal.

"It's only so Odin can't say I didn't try."

"Oh. I'm sure you'd feel terrible if Uncle Odin said such a thing."

"..."

"Oh. Is my little Shin Shin embarrassed that he was caught?" Summer giggled beside him, her gentle breath reaching his neck as she pulled his left arm into her bosom.

"How much did you hear?"

"... enough to know that telling you myself would have caused more problems for you."

"..."

"I won't leave your side. I'll help you find the answers to the questions you have. Together."

Summer said as Shinku soon stood up and shrugged the smaller woman off. "Do what you want."

Saying this, Shinku transformed a ball of chakra into water in his right hand before dropping it onto the sleeping Ye Xiao's face, forcing him up.

"Ah! Huh! Who!? What!?"

"Shut up."

At Shinku's words, Ye Xiao fell silent and shivered from the cold water as well as the scary looking man before him.

"Odin already filled you in on his plans, correct?"

The boy nodded.

"Do you know who I am?"

"..."

The child shivered under Shinku's cold gaze.

"Answer me."

"Ye-yes, sir. You're... The walking disaster, Shin, The Shinigami." The boy lowered his head to avoid Shinku's gaze, his heart practicly racing out of his chest.

"That's one hell of a title, Shin. It has a nice little ring to it, don't you think?" Summer giggled. Her carefree aura balanced out Shinku's dominateing aura, and Ye Xiao had wanted to run and hide behind the beautiful masked Onē-san.

"Call me Shinku..."

Summer's eyes shone brightly. While she did manage to uncover what his real name was, he had never told her himself or given her permission to address him as such. So, hearing his words were similar to hearing the usually distant Shinku say I trust you.

On the other hand, Ye Xiao still couldn't bring himself to look up at Shinku.

"Sigh. If you hold me back, I'll kill you." Shinku said before grabbing the boy by his left shoulder. Hearing him, Ye Xiao nodded, frightened by the thought.

"Good, now, let's head out. I had to put a halt to my commission's thanks to Odin." Shinku spoke and planned to teleport back home to prepare some necessities for the extra baggage he now had to drag along.

"Oh. I'm coming too!"

Summer sensed that she would be left behind if she didn't do someone as she soon wrapped her arms around Shinku's waist from behind just before he left the underground war-room.

Leaving the cold room, the three reaper inside Shinku's living room, and Ye Xiao's eyes widened as the living room alone was the same size as his old home.

"You reek of salt. The bath is through that door, head down the left hallway, it's the last door on your left." Shinku said, releasing Ye Xiao, and the boy immediately rushed away from him.

"Did you move again? I thought you stayed at an inn on the fourth floor." After he rushed off, Summer, who was looking around, soon asked after glancing out the window and saw a luscious garden.

"I moved so you wouldn't find me again." Shinku said as the thought of her rabbit summon soon came to both their minds. "And please release me."

Noticing how she held Shinku, Summer snuggled into his broad back even more while taking tha chance to slide her hands up his shirt.

"If you want to keep your hands, then I suggest removing them." Shinku said, brandishing a Kunai in both hands.

"Then I'll have to lose them." Summer giggled as her left moved up towards his chest, and her right lowered as she tried to slide her hand down his pants.

Shinku teleported the two of them into his room and slammed her down onto his bed.

"Ah! Hehe. Have you finally fallen for my seductive figure?" Summer asked as she lied back rather seductively, her eyes begging for Shinku to dominate her like a wild beast.

"..."

Shinku stepped closer to the bed, and in an instant, his bed cover was wrapped around Summer like a burrito as he placed a movement restriction seal on her.

"Huh?"

"Woman. While I'll admit you're quite stunning, I have no reason to make you mine."

At Shinku's words, Summer pouted as she squirmed around, trying to break free. A smile had to be suppressed from Shinku as the sight was amusing.

"Why don't we do this." Shinku raised his right hand to his mask and removed the black Kitsune mask revealing his face for the first time to Summer, who forgot to breathe from the sight.

His body definitely wasn't the onky thing perfectly sculpted. The shrap jaw, his smooth lips, the dimples from the amused smile of his. Those beautiful crimson eyes, his full eyelashes, brows, and smooth dark brown skin that reminded her of chocolate, making her want to eat him up even more.

"My name is Shinku Shihouin. I am roughly 20 years old and have, as far as I know, two Uzu lovers. Nothing special, just a proper introduction for the two of us."

Hearing his words, Summer shook her perverted thoughts off for the moment. If getting Shinku to bed her was this easy, she wondered why she hadn't tried taking the easy route before.

With her left hand, Summer removed her mask as well and smiled at the annoyed look on Shinku's face. Naturally, she knew how to undo the seal she just hadn't felt like ruining it.

"My name is Gin, no sir name. I'm a 27 year old virgin. My measurements are 93 - 58 - 88." With a smile, Gin burst out from the blanket and leaped into the arms of the standing Shinku.

With her mask gone Shinku couldn't help but admire the beauty that oitshined Akame with her rosy red lips, smooth fair skin, and a clearer sight of her silver blue eyes, and her silver hair tied back in a ponytail.

. . .

. .

.

"Is that him?"

"What do you think he is he doing here?"

"Is he really the strongest Sora has to offer?"

"I bet I could take him."

"That's a white mask."

"..."

Whispers filled the tavern as Kamish entered and stopped at the entrance, blocking it with his large muscular frame. His eyes fixed on Odin, who was just now coming out of the path to Sora's underground war-room.

"Where is he, Odin?"

Kamish spoke as an eerie aura filled the tavern.

"Hmm. If it isn't the little monster i trained, Kamish. What? No greeting? And here I thought I meant something to you." Odin chuckled as he moved behind the bar and made himself a beer.

"I'm not in the mood for your games, Odin. Where is the Uzumaki?"

"What Uzumaki?"

At Odins' words, Kamish moved faster than humans could visually process and tore through the island in front of Odin with his right hand wrapped around his throat, and his left had an earth dagger pressing against his lower abdomen.

"Answer me right now, old man, or I'll shove this through your intestines and feed you to the fish."

"You made a mistake coming alone. If you brought number 9 with you, you might have been able to win. But you alone would never win against a real moster, number 10." Odin smirked under his mask before making a pillar of bones erupt from beneath his feet. Forcing Kamish to dodge backward.

"Tch."

"I trained you better than that, didn't I? Well, I guess your lack of talent is why you're the weakest of Sora's 10 white masks." Odin said, dusting himself off.

"Last chance old man."

"Young ones these days. Let's take this elsewhere, I'd rather not have my tavern destroyed."

"..."

BOOM

An explosion erupted inside the tavern as Kamish had flashed through hand seals and released a fire ball jutsu, then a powerful torrent of wind that amplified the flame, engulfing every one inside the tavern.

From the outside, smoke arose from the abandoned tower as it began to quake.

"Kamish. They're your fellow brethren! Even if weaker than yourself, and to actually disregard them."

"There's nobody here that thinks of the other as brethren, other than you."

The two bickered as the smoke and flames surrounded them, obstructing their view.  But to the left and right sides of the two, there were large walls of singed bones that protected the members of Sora.

"I see. I haven't disciplined you enough when you were younger, and now you're throwing a tantrum."

Bones soon started protruding out from both of Odin's arms, forming a cluster of sharp blades.

"Then I'll pry the information out of you after ripping you apart!"

Hearing Kamish, Odin charged forward, slamming into the white masked man into the spiral of stairs.

With his student down, Odin brought his left fist back with a sigh and struck the man in his side, the sharp bone blades stabbing into his flesh.

"Gah!"

Kammish groaned as another fist was soon buried in his left side. With a large shard of earth in his hand, Kamish tossed it above and substituted positions with it just before Odin pierced his side once again.

Kamish landed behind the old man, bringing his left leg down for an axe kick. Odin turned and moved to stop the kick with his right forearm.

Kamish clicked his tongue before moving to do a round house kick in the air, his hand moving through seals.

Odin stepped back, moving up the steps as he evaded kicks

"Doton: Mud Pillar!"

Odins instinctively leaped back more than 30 steps as a pillar of mud burst out from the side of where he once stood. But it didn't stop there as several more burst out, getting closer to where he stood.

"Tch."

Odin didn't bother facing Kamish's jutsu head on and rushed up the steps. He knew that their fight would draw unwanted attention towards the tower, but it was well worth it to him if the talented mercenaries he had gathered over the years would be fine.

Either way, they could always find somewhere else to set base. But making up for the lost bodies would be difficult.

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Chapter End