Chapter 6: Let's talk, shall we?

"What's going on here?" - I squinted at the two spring-loaded furies that stood on opposite sides of me, ready to attack each other. I was in trouble enough as it was, and there was no way I was going to be in trouble here. I was in enough trouble as it was, and the clone had added fuel to the fire in such an unfortunate way, scattering and throwing me a bag of memories with all my feelings, emotions, and, of course, thoughts.

The remnants of his excitement made me shake and catch a herd of goosebumps, and then, as luck would have it, Alice's breasts came into view, heaving up and down with the heavy breathing of a girl getting ready for a fight.

Meanwhile, the situation continued to escalate, threatening to turn into a disaster.

"Son, get away from her now," - my mother's voice was as cold and focused as ever. The look on her face made me really want to follow the command at first, and only the responsibility for the invited guest prevented me from doing so.

"How small the world can be sometimes..." - Alice stretched out sarcastically, taking the angry look of her golden eyes off her mother and turning it to me. - "Pretended to be a nice guy and trapped me, huh?"

"Don't be absurd, snake, I'll bet you were the one who tricked Luca into pretending to be human," - Lucifine snarled, coming to my defense. - "But you don't fool me."

"You accuse me of dishonor, feathered one?" - The viper was in no mood to be dishonored. - "Your dearest Ilias is the only one capable of evil deeds, and so are all her creatures!"

"I have nothing more to do with her!" - She cut the blonde off, peering sideways at her verbal adversary. - "And don't pretend like you monsters are innocent creatures, either. You'd better tell me what you want with my son, or else I'll..."

"Or else what?" - the mocking eyebrow twitching as she interrupted her mother. - "You're almost as weak as a human now! There's less holy energy in you than the tip of my tail."

Their voices grew louder with each phrase of the argument, and the pressure in the room grew stronger-they were about to really start killing each other. I had no idea what was going on. I had a lot of questions that I wouldn't be able to ask if a fight broke out. I had to stop it all at once...

My mind was tossing around feverishly, searching for possible solutions, and I came up with a rather unusual idea: to fight fire with fire. Shinobi can release a killing lust into the environment to frighten a weak opponent, or to disrupt the concentration of a strong one. I haven't done this before, but I remember Kakashi doing it well. It's worth a try.

I remember all the bad things the gray-haired ninja has experienced in his life, focus, add some chakra, and...

"Cut it out. Both of you," - I say dryly and harshly, letting out a wave of murderous intent.

And it worked, Kami be praised. Both girls flinched and stared at me in a hysterical way. My mother was especially hard hit. Being human (which I'm not so sure of now), she felt my yaki much more keenly.

"What..." - Alice whispered in a hoarse, shocked voice.

"L-luca..." - Lucifine stood with her eyes wide, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

That's what sobered me, made me tense up and put away my lust for murder. The last thing in the world I want to do is scare my mother.

"I'm sorry..." - I hid my eyes guiltily. - "It was the only way to stop you from doing something rash."

"Oh... yes."

"I see..."

The girls didn't have anything to say.

"Let's talk, shall we? I think we all have a lot to tell each other," - I turned to the two silent, but still unkindly peeping at each other women.

"Of course, honey..." - Mom was the first to wake up, and she turned toward the kitchen and beckoned us after her. - "I've made a celebratory lunch for Luca's dedication. Would you like something to eat?"

"I thought I wasn't going to get any food in this house," - Alice muttered to herself and followed Lucifine with a proud look, leaving me standing in the hallway.

The storm seemed to have passed.

Sighing heavily, I followed the girls. Alice immediately took an empty chair by the table and sat on it as if it were not a simple wooden stool with a back, and an exquisite throne cast in gold. I took a seat across from her, with my elbows on the countertop and my face against it.

The kitchen was silent for a while, broken only by the clatter of dishes as Lucifine set the table. She'd done a good job of preparing several courses of meat and vegetables, and even some sweet desserts of fruit that were very expensive and uncommon in our village. And she managed to do it all in the couple of hours I was away. There was a lump of warmth in my chest from realizing how much this woman loves and cares for me. No matter what I find out about her now, I still wouldn't change my opinion of my mother. And there's no way I'm leaving her.

"Ahem, Alice, do you like fruit tea?" - Lucifina turned to the serpentess, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thank you, I don't have any preference," - the lamia glared at her and continued to stare at me, twiddling her thumbs thoughtfully. I'd be willing to bet on Jiraiya's books that there were as many questions piling up in her snake head as there were in mine.

The silence continued. Only because we were busy devouring food. Judging by the contented face, Alice appreciated her mother's cooking, which gave me a little more hope that the upcoming conversation would end well for all of us.

Who are you, Alice? And why did you take Mom for the first fallen angel? Are her looks and her name not a coincidence at all? And who are you yourself? How do you know each other?

All of this is yet to be found out. In the meantime, we're eating.

"I was afraid," - the woman said quietly, looking back at me hesitantly. - "I was afraid Ilias would find you and hurt you. After... after I met Marcellus... your father, and we fell in love, I made a decision. So that we could have a child without jeopardizing my husband or the child itself, I sealed my angelic powers. I made a decision that I wanted to live my life as a human, no matter what it cost me."

"How nice..." - Alice quipped, but no one paid any attention to her.

"When your father died, it only made me more convinced that I did the right thing. And then you grew up, and you became strong, and smart, and sensible. And I believed that you could protect yourself," - Lucifina went on with her confession. - "You simply wouldn't need my strength, and if I continued to hide, I would keep you out of Ilias's sight, too. I would never have let her use my child in her schemes."

But you didn't. She has already found me. And, as you say, Ilias is not the good goddess the church pictures her to be.

Damn it. Looks like we're in grave danger.

"But why did you decide to let me be the hero?" - I asked a question that struck me as incomprehensible. After all, if my mother wanted to hide me, why did she let me get her blessing?

"Even though you have my blood in you, you are not the first fruit of the union of angel and man," - the woman answered. - "It's not very common, but it's not uncommon. Hiding you under Ilias's nose seemed like a good idea... and now I realize how foolish it was to keep secrets from you when you told me yours. I'm so sorry..."

"Now I understand why you smell so good," - the echidna interjected.

When I turned my head in her direction, I noticed that her gaze had softened and was no longer aggressive, but it had the echoes of an old longing and some white envy.

"And you, hiding your nature, could only hurt him more," - she turned to her mother. - "If your son were in real danger, you couldn't have helped him with that ring."

My gaze fell automatically on my mother's ring. Is that how she sealed her essence? Mine, then, contained a part of her. Even though she didn't want to unleash her full power, she decided to do something to help me.

"You're right," - the blond woman nodded grimly. - "Luca..." - And then she looked at me uncertainly. - "Will you... will you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," - I smiled warmly at my mother. - "You wanted to protect me, so I can understand everything you've done. Although I can't hide the fact that I'm a little hurt."

Fear. Fear for her child and the desire to protect me had been driving her the whole time. Who does it take to be angry about that? Yes, Mom made a mistake, but it was not fatal. And I am not an idiot to make a scandal, because I know that all her actions are dictated solely by love. More importantly, I know from Kakashi's memories and personal experience what it means to lose a loved one, so I'm willing to forgive my mother anything, as long as it was for the good of our family.

"Thank you, son..." - The bright smile on my mother's face was a balm to my soul.

She timidly rose from her chair and walked over and wrapped me in a gentle embrace, pressing me to her chest and stroking my head, and I... just drowned in this woman's caress.

"Ahem..." - there was a tactful cough from outside. - "I'm certainly happy for you, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"Yeah... sorry," - I pull away from my mother's embrace and turn to Alice while my mother, embarrassed, adjusts her dress and returns to her seat.

"Nothing. It's been quite interesting to watch your family drama," - the pest didn't miss the opportunity to spike me. - "And for that candor, I'll be honest, too."

She turned serious, even solemn, and said, - "My name is Alifisa Faithburn the Sixteenth."

Well, that's what I thought it would be.