6 Eventful Dinner

Odin

Shiva

Hephaestus

Nüwa

Yasaka and Tamiko gulped. Those were some big names. The Chief God of the Norse Pantheon, the God of destruction and one of the strongest beings himself, one of the unmistakably best craftsmen to have ever lived and the mother Goddess of creation of the Chinese Pantheon. Not forgetting their own chief Goddess with her two brothers and Great Red himself.

While Tamiko would not take back her words from earlier, she was still surprised. It seems that they would wait for now and surely 10 years mean nothing for old beings like them. Amaterasu should have enough pull in their society to have them stay patient.

In the end he was only a child and Tamiko was sure he would be able to hold his own if he had another few years to learn how to use his immense power and his mind wouldn't be easy to mould to fit into any machinations they might think of or not.

Meanwhile Yasaka was determined despite the small headache she was getting. She viewed Yuudai as family already and if necessary, she would use leylines to guard him.

-o-

Unaware of their talk, Yuudai just finished his weapon training for the afternoon. After he told his mother of his wish to try out the spear, she bought him one for training purposes. It was wooden and fit his height perfectly. Aside from that it was improved by a Youjutsu master who put seals on it to make it far heavier and more durable.

He went through all the forms of his former family's arts. To his pleasant surprise he was still able to use the state of becoming one with his weapon that he attained shortly before his death. He needed to barely practice getting to his former level, the perks of a strong body without an illness plaguing him with constant pain.

He thought of what to do while wiping the little sweat he worked up. His teachers were all busy and he had no further plans for the day.

"What to do, what to do?" He mused out loud.

Just a moment later his stomach rumbled, reminding him, that he didn't eat for half the day already.

"Alright, I will take a walk and get something to eat."

A short shower later he stood in front of his mirror, wearing his favourite outfit since coming to this world. He wore lose grey trousers whose ends were stuffed into boots. On his upper body he was wearing a simple white shirt with a lose black haori on top. A simple style combining traditional clothing with functionality. He didn't want to run around in geta or any other form of sandals and then get caught up in a fight. Maybe it was because of his former life but while he enjoyed the unique culture, he didn't feel the necessity to completely immerse himself in it.

His read hair and eyes stood out as always with his hair becoming rather wild in the last moths. His two black horns were coming along nicely a well, something he was strangely proud of. It's probably an Oni-thing, even if he was a reincarnated one.

Taking one last look if everything was in place, he quickly teleported close to the market his mother took him to before. It was full of food stalls ranging from ramen to Takoyaki. Some Yokai even sold weird unidentifiable stuff his mother strongly cautioned him against.

Since his mother wanted him to get out occasionally, they made these little food trips a thing.

At first, he went to his favourite ramen stall. The owner was an old Karasu-Tengu that already retired from his work as a guard. He often told stories about his heroic deeds like saving a Nekomata from a tree or saving a man from a Yuki-onna in heat. That last one still sent a chill down Yuudai's spine. Still, he always enjoyed his time eating here while listening to his stories. Surprisingly he learned a lot about the different kind of Yokai and how to approach them.

While Nekomata are mostly playful and have their lazy moments, they can become pretty scary when angered.

Karasu-Tengu like himself are the most handsome and respectable kind of Yokai with a good sense of humor, is what he said.

Yuki-onna are best avoided, but that one was probably more of a personal trauma than proper advice from the weird face he was making.

There were a lot others, but he cautioned him the most when it came to a Nue. Since they were a chimera-like Yokai with traits of a monkey, tiger and snake, they were rather unpredictable. Their traits influenced them to an extent and the dominant part differed from Nue to Nue. That said, their character could be playful, ferocious, or calculative. Sometimes even all the aforementioned.

"One of your stall's specials please old man" Yuudai ordered the usual

"Oh, it's you Yuudai, where is your mother? Did you come on your own today?" He asked.

It was the first time he saw the boy alone, but he wasn't worried and just making conversation. Tamiko and her son were well known around here and if he was in trouble, everyone would intervene without a second thought.

"Yes, she is still talking with friends and I decided to go alone. I will bring some take-out for her to eat later." Yuudai replied.

"This one's on the house then. To celebrate you first steps toward independence. Your mother's portion included of course." He laughingly replied while starting to prepare the food.

"Thanks old man!" Yuudai smiled.

It didn't take long or the food to arrive and he started eating while the shopkeeper tended to other customers.

Yuudai fell into thought as he savoured his meal. It has been nearly five years since he gained a second chance. He already had goals but some of them were rather vague.

He knew he had to defend this world from otherworldly threats in the future and did his best to become stronger until then.

Being born to a strong individual with good connections was already a big boon, together with the unique boon he received from the mysterious voice. He had some of the best teachers and didn't have to worry about enough money or food in the future. The only thing he needed was some more time and experience, real experience.

That would make it at the top of his list, he would make a journey amongst the supernatural world when he was old enough and his mother didn't have to worry unnecessarily. Until then would abuse this sheltered environment to the last bit.

Aside from that he wanted to get his own place as soon as possible, which probably meant after he returned from his journey. He had to consider three issues for that one. First, he needed the money to buy, or even better, build it. Secondly, he had to choose a location. He rather liked it in Kyoto, but he liked quiet and scenic places just the same. Considering he was able to teleport at his leisure, there wouldn't be a problem to reach other places. The third one was to explain all that to his mother and others. The last one was probably an unwarranted concern, but a bit more planning won't hurt.

Now with his strength gain and future housing already on the list, one of his biggest wishes was to have his own family. Sure, he had his mother, Yasaka, Karasu and a few others in the neighbourhood that cared for him,but he wanted a partner. Someone that knew him even better than he did and vice versa. He even entertained the thought of getting children himself if he found the right person to share the responsibility with. But what was it that he actually searched for in a potential partner? Sure, he appreciated the female form, but just that alone was too shallow. He wanted someone he could rely on and someone with a good sense of humour. He wanted a woman that was strong herself and didn't need his protection, even if she would get it either way. And at the same time, he wanted someone that was not far too experienced compared to himself. While it didn't mean that older women were out of the picture in the supernatural world, he wanted to meet someone that would explore the wonders of the supernatural world together with him.

He woke from his thoughts when his cutlery clanked into an empty bowl.

As he was done with his first stop for the early evening, he made his way to another of his favourite stalls. It sold food from a multitude of different cultures which was a big hit with most of the Yokai. A few of the more traditional individuals weren't happy about it, but the majority outvoted them, and they could do nothing about it.

As he neared his destination, he saw two individuals in an argument.

"Why would you go eat pizza and lasagne if you wanted to eat the traditional food of Kyoto? I thought we wanted to enjoy the local culture." An monkey-Yokai said slightly exasperated.

"As I said, culture is evolving! Why can't Kyoto have it's own pizza? Before you know it, Yokai-pizza is the new trend in the supernatural world. Mark my words old man!" A small flying snake, no dragon retorted.

"Who are you calling old? You are even older than me you fool!" The monkey replied.

"Who are you calling a fool? You are a fool! Who wouldn't try a pizza promising to make you younger by at least ten years through the use of Senjutsu? You might need it." The dragon stated in a matter of fact tone while chewing on a delicious piece of cheesy heaven.

"Now you are telling me Pizza can make you younger? Since when do you know more of Senjutsu than me?" the money just didn't care anymore and lighted up his pipe as he began to smoke, ignoring the dragon.

As he looked around, most people ignored them since they were at it for the last five minutes already. The only one looking at them with a funny expression was a young Oni with distinctive red hair, that looked just like that of his acquaintance.

"Hey boy, what are you looking at?" He questioned.

"This wasn't meant to be some sort of show?" Yuudai asked rhetorically.

"Ah whatever, I need a new person to talk to. Come sit down." He said before turning around.

Yuudai took the unoccupied bar seat to the man's left and turned to him: "I'm Yuu, what's your name old man?"

"I'm Sun, nice to meet you Yuu." Sun answered.

"One pizza with mushrooms for me." Yuudai ordered.

"What is it with all of you eating pizza?" Sun wondered.

"Well, if you eat the same thing over and over again, some change doesn't hurt for once. And while this stall is onc of it's kind around here, the quality is top notch. You should try it yourself." Yuudai answered, already salivating.

Yuudai already knew that these two were considerably strong. The old monkey had an aura that was a mix of a Yokai and a God. As for the dragon, he couldn't imagine any dragon actually being weak, but this one was around his mother's level if he judged him correctly.

"You tell him boy!" The dragon interrupted their conversation.

Yuudai and Sun just ignored him.

"So, you are called Sun? Like the Monkey King?" Yuudai asked. Since the feeling he got from Sun was similar to a God, he could already deduce that he was an ascended Yokai and became a Buddha. His mother's teaching definitely bore fruit as he could make the connection easily.

"Exactly that one." Sun said with a slight smirk. The kid definitely wasn't ordinary and if he was right, he was here to teach him as a way to pay back his mother.

"I have read about you, you were pretty mischievous in you youth, weren't you old man? What are you doing here?" Yuudai asked seriously upon leaning of his identity. While Sun Wukong was a famous former Yokai, he was not one of Kyoto.

Yu-Long in the background began to laugh as Sun's face twitched slightly. The young boy surely doesn't hold back.

"I'm here because an acquaintance called. She's called Tamiko." Sun answered.

Yuudai expected a lot, but not his mother knowing him and having business with him.

"You know my mother?" Yuudai asked.

"As I thought, you really look like her. As for your question, I do. I met her during my mischievous youth, as you would call it." He replied but seeing Yuudai just stare at him in anticipation made him continue: "Well it was nothing special, really. I might have played a prank on the princess of the Yuki-onna."

"Aaaand?" If Sun had Yuudai's curiosity before, now he had his attention.

"Ah whatever, I'll just tell you. You see, I had that one friend I always played pranks on during our childhood. I really was stumped that he never complained or retaliated. He always had that creepy smile on his face but did nothing in return which is why I didn't stay suspicious. At some point I stopped, and we were just normal friends. He even told me about the most beautiful woman to have ever lived and praised her to no end. In my naivety I wanted to seek her out but was always refused by some ape-like beasts. Then I took a more forceful approach and sneaked inside, to meet the princess in private." At this point Sun closed his eyes in reminiscence and pain as a single tear rolled from one of his eyes.

After recomposing himself he spoke further: "Imagine my shock when I learned that Yuki-onna were these ape-like beasts and I knew that bastard played me!"

At this point Yuudai wasn't sure what to make about this story. Sure, it sounded tragic, but how did he actually meet his mother?

Seeing the confused look Yuudai was giving him, he said: "A little patience please, I'm getting there. Now imagine my shock. Do you think I had the capability to think normally? Obviously, the Yuki-onna weren't exactly pleased with me intruding and slandering their princess. And let me tell you, they hit hard. I ran for two days straight until I was saves by your mother. Together we were able to overwhelm them and I promised her a favour regardless what it was. And here I am." He ended his story with a sigh.

Yuudai really had to hide a smirk. To think a great figure like this actually started out so poor. But that raises a question. How old exactly is his mother? She doesn't really look that old.

Yu-Long had none of Yuudai's restraint and laughed heartily while snorting some pizza through his nose.

"Ah well, since it was my mother that wanted to meet you, you can follow me back home later." Yuudai offered.

"Then we will take you up on that offer." Sun accepted as they waited for Yuudai's food to arrive.