28

Several moments later

Yu Wu stood strong in the face of the foxy cackles that now filled the room. Her back was straight and her fists were planted firmly on her hips, giving anyone that saw her the impression of strength and confidence.

Yasaka on the other hand… Yasaka was busy rolling around on the floor, dying of laughter because of Yu Wu's declaration of intent. Kunou looked back and forth between her mother on the floor and Yu Wu in the doorway with confusion written on her face. Onari stood just outside the door, facepalming at the whole situation.

Eventually, Yasaka's hysteric laughter died down. She slowly pulled herself up. Tears were wiped from her eyes as the last vestiges of mirth escaped her throat.

"Oh dear, I didn't know how much I needed that," Yasaka said. "I'm tempted to give you my son's hand just because of how bold that was."

Yu Wu preened under the praise, "This young mistress always goes after what she wants. Hesitation is the enemy after all."

"So I see… Come here, dear, I want to get to know my future daughter."

Yu Wu complied, sitting at the table with Onari reluctantly trailing behind her. He shot a pleading glance at his mother, and only received a mischievous smirk in return. Yu Wu failed to notice, or otherwise ignored, the byplay between mother and son.

"Does this mean Pretty Miss Wu is Kunou's Onee-chan now?" Kunou asked innocently.

"Of course!" Yu Wu exclaimed, bulldozing through Onari's pleas for a reasonable discussion. "As your brother's wife and Dao Companion, this young mistress certainly qualifies as your new elder sister, young Kunou! She will strive to be the best 'Onee-chan' this world has ever seen!"

Onari bit back a groan. He knew that if Kunou was on board, there would be no chance to put the brakes on this shotgun proposal. It wasn't that he was against marrying Yu Wu. This situation was just too abrupt. He had thought they would try to ease his family into the idea that he and Yu Wu were fated to be together, not throw all of them into the deep end at once.

Kunou squealed and vaulted the table between her and Yu Wu. There was a small scuffle as Yu Wu caught Kunou. When the metaphorical dust settled, Kunou was sitting in Yu Wu's lap with the young mistress' arms wrapped around her. Yu Wu blinked, confused how they had ended up in this position, before shaking it off.

Yasaka tittered behind her hand as Kunou snuggled up to Yu Wu, "I think you've been adopted, dear. At this point, it doesn't matter if you marry Onari or not. You're basically family already."

Yu Wu blinked away the tears that had started to appear in the corner of her eye when she was so easily accepted by Onari's family, "P-Please take care of me…"

Onari sighed, sitting down between Yu Wu and Yasaka and taking Yu Wu's hand, "I guess there's nothing else for me to say but this… Mother, I'd like you to officially meet my Dao Companion, Yu Wu."

Yasaka's eyes narrowed consideringly. She hummed, one of her fingers tapping lightly on her full lips, "Hmm, that's the second time the two of you have mentioned the title of 'Dao Companion'. Would you care to elaborate on what that means, particularly to the two of you?"

Instinctively, Onari almost flinched. He quickly made up his mind about something. After Yu Wu's fearless declaration to his mother, Onari knew it was time for him to take his own leap of faith.

He nodded, "... Sure. To explain what a Dao Companion really is, I'll have to start by getting something off my chest. It has to do with what we talked about a couple of weeks ago. I don't quite know how to start, but I promised I would tell you when I was ready. So… here goes…

"I was conscious the instant after my birth. I still remember being held in your arms and looking up at your smiling face. It's still one of my most treasured memories, but that's not the secret I've been keeping.

"The secret is the reason I was conscious at birth at all. I was reincarnated. I lived a whole other life before this one.

"I… hated my previous life. It was a sad, lonely, weak, and ultimately pathetic existence. That world was similar to -- and different from -- this one. The people there cultivated strength and immortality in the pursuit of ultimate power. Cultivation was the only thing that really mattered.

"There was no curtain between the mundane and supernatural. If you were mortal, you were weak; you were insignificant, not even a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. Only power and strength mattered. If you had enough power, you could do no wrong.

"And in that world ruled by strength, I had been born, already cursed with the worst sin possible. I was a cripple. I could not cultivate. I could not get stronger. I had no control over my destiny. I… didn't matter.

"For 21 years, I lived a tortured existence. I was shunned, isolated, and thrown away by the rest of the world and my family alike. My only connection was my younger brother. He was the only one who treated me like a person… And even then, I ended up hurting him.

"I died right before my brother's eyes. I was killed by a cultivator for the sin of being alive. My brother fought for me, but it was all for nothing. I don't even know what happened to him after my death. He could be dead as well because of me…

"The next thing I knew, I was alive again. I was reborn as who I am today. And this time, I hadn't been damned by the heavens. Rebirth granted me the ability to cultivate. I was no longer crippled. I finally had an avenue to gain power. And all it cost me was the only person who dared to care about me.

"I hope knowing this will not make you look at me differently. That was not my intention in telling you this. I am still the same person you know and love. I am still your son, your brother, your companion. The only thing that has changed is that you now know… some of my 'lore'."

Birds could be heard chirping outside as Onari waited for everyone's response. His grip on Yu Wu's hand became progressively tighter. He was purposefully not looking at their bond, afraid of what he would see if he did.

Kunou was the first one to decide how to react to Onari's confession. She crawled out of Yu Wu's lap and plopped herself down in Onari's. She didn't get everything he had said, but she understood enough to know that saying it must have been hard on him.

The tension in Onari's back relaxed. His hand instinctively went to Kunou's head. The headpats and Kunou's reaction to them helped calm him down slightly.

A few seconds later, Yu Wu reacted to Onari's revelation by returning the squeeze he was giving her hand. She poured support and awe down their connection. Her Dao Companion was a real life Wuxia protagonist! She was almost giddy with excitement, but she tamped it down to try and show Onari that knowledge of his reincarnation had changed nothing between them.

Yasaka's reaction was the most curious of the group, "... Okay."

"Okay?" Onari asked incredulously.

Yasaka shrugged, "Yeah, okay. Like you said, this information shouldn't change how we look at you. Yes, it's good to know. And yes, I am absolutely furious about how you were treated in your previous life. But it doesn't really change anything about our relationship. You're still my son. Nothing in this world or the next will make me stop loving you.

"If anything, the most important piece of information I took from all of that was that you're a cultivator. I don't know much about cultivation, but I do know that we can use that fact to increase your standing in the faction.

"Revealing this information comes with its own dangers, but if it became known that the Youkai faction has two new cultivators within its ranks, other factions would begin to treat us with more wariness and respect. Remind me to tell you about some of the rare and absurd stories of cultivators that I've heard over the years…"

"I don't know how comfortable I am about revealing Yu Wu and I to the world right now. Maybe in a couple of years…" Onari said hesitantly

"I'll leave that decision up to the two of you. You still haven't explained what a Dao Companion is though. I'm curious about how that affects your relationship with your lovely young fiancee."

"Right… A Dao Companion is a cultivator's heaven-fated partner in the pursuit of the Dao. Yu Wu and I are basically soulmates, for lack of a better word."

"EEEEEEEE! Soulmates!" Kunou squealed, wiggling around in excitement. "Do your hearts ache when you're apart?! Can you tell what the other is feeling?! Was it love at first sight?! Was it?! Was it?!"

"Of course! This young mistress knew immediately that Onari was special!" Yu Wu proclaimed dramatically. "This one even knows what he is thinking right this moment!"

"One of those things is true, and the other is hyperbole," Onari deadpanned.

"AHA! This one knew you would say that!"

Onari rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, just start eating before the food gets any colder."

"Hohohoho!"

The family, along with their newest member, dug into the food spread across the table. Yu Wu made appreciative sounds as she ate. Yasaka seemed lost in thought, only absently poking at her food.

Eventually, Yasaka broke the idyllic atmosphere around the table, "You know… now that you've confirmed you're a cultivator, some of my plans have been thrown into disarray."

"What do you mean?" Onari asked.

"Well, I had always suspected you were hiding something. I just didn't think it would include a method of getting stronger. I've been pulling strings and calling in favors to find you a tutor in the art of Senjutsu for a while now. When you succeeded in that mission with the Gashadokuro, I put the process on hold. And now that you've revealed your origins, I'm not so sure you need the help."

"I think you should probably use the instructor to teach Kunou instead of me…" Onari said. "Yu Wu and I need to focus on our cultivation. Though if possible, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have some basic knowledge of the art."

Kunou tilted her head cutely, "Kunou will get stronger like Onii-chan and Onee-chan?"

"That's right, sweetie. It won't be quite the same, but if you start training now, you'll be able to stand beside Onari and Yu Wu before you know it," Yasaka cooed.

Kunou's face took on an adorably determined expression, "Kunou will do it. I want to train."

"That's my girl," Yasaka said with a fond smile on her face.

As the family finished up their meal in comfortable silence, there were things stirring elsewhere. In the shadows of the heavens, gears were turning. And an old monkey king stood in his heavenly kingdom, watching as strange forces and events all seemed to focus upon a young fox and the people around him; watching as the heavens took on another protagonist…