Kunou's Resolve

Human World, Japan, Kyoto.

After the battles with the Hero Faction, all the damage caused by the battles disappeared as the temporary dimension crumbled away. Shortly after Sun Wukong left, James began walking back to the restaurant where most of the group were reconvening. Along the way, he ran into Mizore, Moka, Yuuto, and Shuna. As they walked, they discussed the battles.

"Wait... Are you telling me the sworg guy grew a third arm and started fighting with three swords at the same time?" mizore asked with her eyes wide open.

"Yeah." Yuuto replied with a nod and a gentle smile on his face. "It took some getting used to. But I think if given enough time, I could have won."

"Maybe, or maybe not." James interrupted. "Who knows if that was his limit. What if he could pop out another arm or two?"

Yuuto stopped talking and began to consider what James had to say. Then, with a resolute look in his eyes, he made eye contact with James and spoke once again.

"Then, I'll just have to keep improving to the point where it doesn't matter how many arms he has."

"That my friend, is the correct answer." James said while patting Yuuto on the shoulder. "And I'm sure if you asked Master, she would be more than willing to help."

At the mention of special training with Scathach, Yuuto shuddered momentarily. Then, his resolute expression reappeared on his face.

Seeing Yuuto's expression, Mizore, Moka, and Shuna could not help but giggle. From there, they continued to talk about their fights with the Hero Faction until they reached the rest of the group.

When they arrived, they saw all of them standing outside of the traditional Japanese restaurant. Everyone looked more or less uninjured. Then, Mizore ran forward and clinged to Momo.

"Momo-Chan!" Mizore shouted in a tearful tone. "That big guy ruined my uniform, can you help me fix it?"

Before they were able to meet up with everyone, Moka had told Mizore to ask either Shuna or Momo to help her repair her uniform. They both thought that Shuna would be the best choice, since she had such a way with creating clothes. Unfortunately, she never learned any devil magic for that. All her clothes are created by hand, or with a sewing machine. So, Mizore was forced to walk through the streets of Kyoto with her uniform damaged.

"Okay, just calm down." Momo said with a wry smile. "You have to let go of me if you want me to fix your uniform."

Immediately, Mizore released Momo and stood at attention.

"I'm ready, Momo-Chan." Mizore said in a serious tone. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

Everyone could only shake their heads at Mizore's antics. Meanwhile, James approached Serafall and Azazel.

"So, were you able to kill their leader?" Azazel asked solemnly. "Judging from your expression, I guess the answer to that question is a no."

"That's right." James replied with a shrug. "Someone who wasn't part of the Hero Faction or even the Khaos Brigade showed up and said there would be more trouble than it was worth to kill him, if I did."

"Oh, and who was that?" Serafall asked.

"The victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong." James replied. "He said that Cao Cao asshole was Indra's little boy toy or something."

"Well, that makes things complicated." Azazel said with a frown. "It really isn't worth getting on Indra's bad side for this."

"Fuck Indra." James said nonchalantly. "If Cao Cao shows up in front of me again without his babysitter, I will kill him and that's nonnegotiable."

"*Sigh* I don't know if you're a bundle of pride or wrath." Azazel said while rubbing his temples.

"Bad Jay-Kun." Serafall said with her hands resting on her hips. "If you keep on swearing like that, I'm gonna tell Leo-Chan."

"*Sigh* If you do that, she may [Flash Step all the way out here just to hit me upside the head."

"Haha!" Azazel laughed after hearing the exchange between Serafall and James. "To think, the strongest Red Dragon Emperor in history is afraid of his mother."

"*Sigh* If you spent any significant amount of time around her, you'd understand." James said while shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm gonna head over to see Yasaka. I 'm curious about the state that Scathach left those Hero Faction flunkies in."

"I am too, actually." Azazel said with a forced smile. "But I don't think I'm ready for the mental trauma the image is going to bring."

Serafall nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, yeah, Sera-tan." James said as he was turning around. "I think you should come up with a different pet name for Master. She really may kill you if you call her that again."

Serafall only smiled. However, James could see the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Then, James turned away and began walking in the direction of the Youkai Sub-Dimension. After five minutes walking at a speed no human could hope to match, James arrived outside the shrine where the gate to the sub-dimension was hidden. Then, just as Yasaka taught him, James' demonic energy lit up on all five fingers of his right hand. He then touched the tips of his fingers to the space in front of him and it began to ripple like the surface of a pond. With that as a signal, James stepped forward and disappeared into the gate.

Human world, Japan, Kyoto, Youkai Sub-Dimension.

A moment later, James found himself in the familiar atmosphere of the Sub-Dimension. Then, he began to walk toward Yasaka's residence. However, before he could even get halfway there, an adorable missile with fox ears and tails launched toward him. Skillfully, James caught Kunou and spun around to kill the momentum. Then, he set her down on the ground in front of him and knelt to match her eye level.

"Hey, Kunou." James said with a smile. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Uh huh." Kunou nodded excitedly. "The bad guys came again, and it was scary. But then auntie Scathach beat them up. It was so cool, she was so fast, she was so strong. She swung her spear, and it was like whoosh!"

Kunou, on the verge of turning twelve was extremely excited about the way Scathach fought the member of the Hero Faction. James was surprised to see how excited she had become. This was not the first time she had seen a fight between supernatural beings. However, this was the first time that James had seen her get this excited about one.

"If I asked nicely, do you think Auntie Scathach would teach me how to use a spear like her?" Kunou asked with her eyes shining brightly.

At that moment, James finally understood what was happening. Kunou had taken Scathach as an idol after seeing her strength and battle prowess. For a young girl in the supernatural world, it wasn't a bad choice.

"Kunou." James said in a serious tone. "Learning to fight with a spear is not something you should do on a whim. The path to mastering a weapon is a serious one that takes much dedication. You have to be sure that you won't quit part way through. Are you ready for that?"

To James' surprise, Kunou's expression turned serious just as quickly. Then, she lowered her head, clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth.

"Those bad guys came to kidnap me twice." Kunou said with tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Both times it wasn't because they needed me. It was because they wanted to force Mom to do what they wanted."

At that moment, James noticed Yasaka and Scathach standing not far from them. With his eyes, he signaled them not to approach for now. He could also see tears beginning to pool in Yasaka's eyes after seeing and hearing what Kunou was feeling now.

"One of those men said it yesterday, I'm a burden." Kunou spat out through gritted teeth. "I'm a weakness that Mom's enemies will try to exploit. I don't like that."

The tears finally began to fall from Kunou's eyes. Then, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her into a warm embrace. When she raised her head, she saw James, smiling brightly.

"Good." James said. "Though I would have not been disappointed if you had just wallowed in fear, I mean, you're only twelve. You have no idea how proud I am to hear your resolve. Wanting strength for someone else's sake, that's the true way to become strong."

James then released Kunou from his hug. He then stood up straight and made eye contact with Yasaka.

"It's true that protecting you puts a burden on Yasaka." James said in a tone that could cut iron. "But protecting you is what gives her the strength to continue forward. Because she is a mother. And that's what mothers do."

As James said that last sentence, the image of Leona surfaced in his mind, and he smiled subconsciously. Then, he tilted his head down and made eye contact with Kunou.

"And as children, it is our responsibility to grow, become strong, and lessen the worries that our parents have for us." James said with a smile. "But you have to remember, Kunou. No matter what you do, no matter how strong you become, it is part of a parent's job description to worry about their child. But as long as you keep growing, keep getting stronger you can continue to lessen their worry for you. You can even support them in the future."

As James spoke, the light in Kunou's eyes grew brighter. At the same time, the tears in Yasaka's eyes fell. Meanwhile, Scathach watched her disciple proudly. James' changes since realizing his reason for becoming stronger impressed her.

"Okay, enough with the mushy talk." James said with a smile. "Let's go and see if Master is willing to teach you the spear."

Kunou nodded resolutely. Then, she turned around to return to the manor. When she did, she saw Yasaka, with tears flowing down her cheeks, and Scathach, smiling at her and James, standing not far away from them.

"Mom, Auntie Scathach, how long have you been here?" Kunou asked.

Before answering, Yasaka used her kimono sleeve to wipe away er tears. Then, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Those bad guys came to kidnap me twice. Both times it wasn't because they needed me. It was because they wanted to force Mom to do what they wanted." Yasaka said, mimicking Kunou's tone.

Hearing that, Kunou immediately began to blush. Her eyes looked at everything other than her mother, as she didn't know what to do or say thanks to her embarrassment. At the same time, while Kunou was flustered, Yasaka and Scathach began to approach. When they drew near enough, Yasaka pulled Kunou into a hug.

"Thank you, my little fox." Yasaka said in a gentle and loving tone. "Thank you for giving me the strength to keep moving forward."

Kunou wrapped her arms around her mother and began to cry. Then, through her tears, she spoke as well.

"Thank you for keeping me safe, Mom." Kunou said with tears on her face. "I'll get stronger so I can help you protect the people of Kyoto and so that you can worry about me a little less."

While the mother-daughter duo embraced and spoke to each other from the heart, Scathach approached James.

"So, how was the battle?" James asked.

"For humans, they were fairly strong." Scathach said. Then, after a brief pause, she continued. "But they were so poorly trained, it was painful to watch. They relied on nothing other than their [Sacred Gears]. No martial arts, no tactics, nothing."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they were rushed to their current strengths without taking the time to build a foundation." James said with a shrug. "After fighting their leader, I don't have much in the way of expectations for their training curriculum. I mean, he thought that he would be able to overthrow all the supernatural forces just because he had the [True Longinus]."

"Were you able to take his life?" Scathach asked.

"Nope, that old monkey got in the way." James said with another shrug.

"Sun Wukong?" Scathach asked as she narrowed her eyes. "Why would the Great Sage Equaling Heaven interfere?"

"Apparently that jack ass is Indra's favorite toy." James replied. "And he doesn't like it when people break his toys. So, I didn't kill him because I agreed with the old man that it wasn't worth an Indra tantrum, right now."

Scathach nodded in agreement.

"That was a lie I told the old man, though." James said with a vicious grin. "The truth is I didn't want to waste the effort trying to kill him with that old monkey there. He would have escaped while we were fighting. But the next time he shows up in front of me without a bodyguard, he's dead, no questions asked."

"You need not worry, my disciple." Scathach said with a battle hungry smile on her face. "I will make sure that Sun Wukong is unable to interfere even if he does accompany your foe again."

"Anyway, it's time for us to head back." James said. "We have to prepare for the official meeting tonight. Yasaka does, too."

After Scathach nodded, she and James bid their farewells to Yasaka then headed back to their hotel to prepare for the negotiations later that night.