Chapter 34: Nine Crowns, Five Families, and One Big Head

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD which by the way, stopping being about highschool long before the peace treaty of the Three Powers. I own the OCs and they thankfully don't need to deal with the horrors that are the gathering of pre-pubescent and homework. Oh the homework…

Speech – "Hey, I'm Pierce."

Inner Speech – [Neat]

Thoughts – 'I'm dead.'

Spells – "Jumon"

Five Minutes before Pierce arrived, Upper Level of the Grand Shrine

A waiting room rested a single floor below the office of the Sun Goddess of the Shinto. It was beautiful with tasteful painting strung up on the walls, depicting important moments in Shinto history and an artificial pond with two Koi fish swimming peacefully. Kyūkan and Inari were currently sitting on the waiting chairs. The nine tailed fox stirred the tea calmly, allowing a moment for the leaves within to fully soak into the water before handing it to Inari. The Goddess gave thanks to the Yokai leader and took a sip. Kyūkan waited nervously as her patron closed her eyes, sampling the tea before opening them with a smile.

"Perfect as always. I see you haven't lost your touch." Inari complemented, causing Kyūkan to sigh in relief.

"Thank you Inari-sama." The Yokai leader bowed while Inari took a couple more sips, the Goddess humming all the while.

"I should be thanking you, having quality tea like this after a long day is exactly what I needed. It is a shame though. I still remember that little kitsune that used to follow me around and have me taste her tea to see if it was any good. You learned too quickly, I couldn't properly enjoy your cuteness."

"Inari-sama…" Kyūkan blushed in embarrassment at the Goddess's words, Inari never noticing because she was too busy reminiscing on simpler times.

'Why is it always the cute ones that grow up so fast? That probably explains why Raijin never grows up.' Inari snorted at the thought of her annoying sibling and turned her gaze to Kyūkan. She placed down her cup. "So what's the matter?"

"What do you mean?" Inari rolled her eyes at the answer.

"Something's been bothering you since the start of the festival and as much as I'd like to believe you called me to make some great tea, I know you better than that. So spill."

"…" Kyukan stayed silent but Inari didn't care, patiently waiting her to speak with crossed legs. The nine tailed kitsune eventually buckled and sighed. "…It's Nurarihyon." The Goddess frowned.

"What does that gourd geezer want?" Inari of course knew about Nurarihyon, the self proclaimed leader of the "Eastern Faction." The reason she say's self proclaimed is because the majority of the Yokais in his faction were newly made Yokai groups that had no ancestry to older Yokais. The only reason they haven't been assimilated into Kyūkan's faction was because of Nurarihyon's influence and the Shinto God's don't want to force them to join, wanting them to join of their own choice. Safe to say that hasn't been going well.

"Nothing, that's the problem. Every festival he's either challenging my position for the right to rule or absorbing the freer willed Yokais into his faction. But he's been quiet since the festival started. I don't like it." Kyūkan knew her rival leader. He was opportunistic and parasitic, using the Shinto God's soft spot for Yokais to his advantage. While it was widely known that the higher ups like Amaterasu, Inari, and Susanoo backed Kyūkan's reign; they still couldn't deny Nurarihyon's "rule", however small it was. Inari fell into thought, pondering on the elder Yokai's actions.

"Well from my knowledge, he hasn't come to us for help in taking over. Has any of your Yokai clans noticed some odd moments?"

"No." Kyūkan shook her head. "Which is also worrying, he always tries to talk up the older clans to assimilate them but he hasn't attempted that either."

"Then I have no idea. I could try asking Omoikane to see if any of his spies has found anything but he's currently doing rounds." The Goddess stood up and motioned with her hand. "Come, let's go meet with Amaterasu. She may have something." Giving a nod at the suggestion, the nine tailed fox followed after Inari. Passing a couple of guards (who, in Inari's opinion, exaggeratedly bowed) they reached the next floor and walked to Amaterasu's office. They entered the office and immediately noticed something. The very severe lack of one Sun Goddess. They both frowned at the odd sight.

"Is she taking a shower?" Kyūkan asked, probing out with her Chi but couldn't sense Amaterasu in the bathroom. Inari reached the desk and was shocked to see the neat pile of papers, the same papers that usually keeps Amaterasu busy for days every festival. The Goddess never understood why her chief personally handles the bulk of the leg work when it came to the festival. More than once Inari asked if she wanted help but the Sun Goddess always refuses, something about her being enough.

'If you were enough then you wouldn't have to spend the last night of the festival sleeping.' Amaterasu's kindness and fondness for the Yokai's was too much some times. Inari noticed a small slip of paper resting in the middle of the desk and curiously picked it up.

"What is that?" Kyūkan asked when Inari stared at the paper blankly. Inari didn't react for a second before turning the paper to the kitsune and allowed her to see what was on it. Kyūkan leaned forward to get a better look.

Went out to lunch, be back in a couple hours – Love Amaterasu.

P.S. Don't let Omoikane see those papers, he'll go crazy.

P.P.S. Actually let him see it, it'll be great – Love the Trolling Mercenary

"…"

"…"

"…Huh?"

Back to the Present

I walked down the busy streets of the festival, lagging a little behind the rest as they moved from stall to stall. Melissa and Yasaka immediately hit it off, the small kitsune's excitable attitude matching the Shadow Yokais. While I found it funny how different she was in the future compared to now, I guess 400 years can really mellow a person out. Maven was oddly down for some reason and any time I asked she just said it was her own fault. I got really curious when she started murmuring about "rigged gambling" and "ridiculous boyfriends". The second one was obvious but the first one had me stumped.

"What do these do?" I glanced over to see Amaterasu speaking to a Yokai that looked like an old woman. The Yokai smiled and waved her hands at the seeds on the table. One seed sprouted into a flower and it bloomed, revealing a small wisp like creature. The wisp took the form of a bird, flying around Amaterasu head before landing back on the flower.

"These are Yamauba flowers. They give birth to small spirits and they fill your home with light and warmth during the nights." The Yokai pitched the seeds to the Sun Goddess and she looked at them in interest.

"How much?"

"1 silver coin for a batch." Finding the deal reasonable, Amaterasu went to rub her space ring but stopped to blush. I noticed and gave her an odd look.

"…You don't have any money on you, do you?" I sighed at her embarrassed expression. Taking out a silver coin, I gave it to the old woman and she handed over a bag of seeds.

"The seeds still need to be planted in good soil and watered regularly to keep alive or else the spirits fly away to find a new one." Nodding at the advice, I walked away with Amaterasu and gave her the bag.

"I'm sorry about making you pay, I forgot." She bowed her head but I waved away her concerns.

"It's not like I gave you a heads up before I arrived." Being a literal Goddess and a chief one at that, I bet Amaterasu doesn't remember the last time she actually needed to pay for something. "So how does it feel being amongst the "commoner's" now?" I said, smirking at Amaterasu's snort.

"I have been a part of the festival before Pierce. It's just I've always been busy and it's only until the last day that I can join. By that point, I mainly went to the noble temples and even then, I'm followed around by a bunch of Yokai elders and higher ups. I could never get a second to enjoy myself." I nodded understandingly at the Sun Goddesses' blight.

"Well, I highly doubt you'll need to deal with that now." I commented and she agreed, looking down at her new form. Maven, after getting over her stupor that the Chief Goddess was going to join us, brought up a very good point. No matter where Amaterasu goes, she's going to be recognized and that's going to make getting anywhere in relative peace a problem. Agreeing with the mage, the Sun Goddess waved her hand and a magic circle appeared over her. We watched in fascination as Amaterasu seemed to age backwards. She got shorter, her hair reached up to shoulder length and her face appeared younger. Blinking twice, her golden eyes became a chocolate brown. With a younger but equally attractive Amaterasu joining us, we walked down the street unhindered. While she got a couple of stares from passing Yokais, the majority were from men and it was because of her good looks.

'…I want to see their reactions if I tell them their staring at their patron protector's ass.' Flaring my Chi at one wolf Yokai that was walking too close for comfort behind us, he stumbled back in fear and ran into the crowd. Rolling my eyes at the man, I noticed the amused look Amaterasu was sending me. "What?"

"Nothing." Saying that in way that I didn't believe her, we caught up with the others and they were standing in front of another temple. The temple was an odd one because there was barely anyone in line to enter it. There wasn't anyone waiting at the entrance either with the door opened to anyone willing to enter. "Furutsubaki Temple…" Amaterasu spoke, staring at the temple in awe.

"Have you been here before Amaterasu-sama?" Melissa asked and she nodded.

"A very long time ago, I came here with a friend." She started to walk up the steps and we followed after her. Inside the temple was a single Torii, resting in the middle of the spotless interior. Knowing the drill by now, I took a step forward through the Torii and the scenery changed. I found myself in the middle of the country side; an endless field full of tall white flowers came into view. In the distance, a forest with trees of different colors rested.

"Wow." The other's arrived and they were also awed, a gentle wind picking up. Reaching out with Chi Vision, I sensed a single aura coming from a nearby pond and walked towards it. A woman was sitting on a flower bed, reading a scroll and turned to us when we came close. She smiled.

"Hello, I am Niwashi and welcome to my garden. I'm sorry I wasn't able to greet you at the door, a couple of things came up that I needed to deal with." She stood up, levitating over the flowers to not harm them. "The whole field is open, you can explore at your leisure or if you wish I could give a tour. I just ask to respect the flowers and not to bother other guest."

"What do you guys want to do?" I asked the rest but they didn't care so I accepted the offer for a tour. Niwashi walked with us around the fields, informing us on what each colored flower was and what they represent. Small Altars littered the fields, there was one for every Shinto God and the few Yokais that were in the fields were praying to them. While I wasn't interesting in flowers like that, I had to agree with Amaterasu that this place was beautiful. Bringing us to a mound that overlooked a sea of purple flowers, Melissa and Yasaka both transformed into their animal forms. I smiled watching a black leopard and a nine tailed fox frolicking among the flowers. "How long did it take for your clan to make all this?"

"I have no clan; my ancestor never expanded the bloodline and only had my father before passing. He spends the majority of his time in his homeland. I did all this myself." I didn't miss the hint of pride the Yokai had in her voice.

"Well, I'm impressed. Your Senjutsu control must be top notch if you can create so many flowers in time for the festival to start."

"She didn't use Senjutsu." Amaterasu said, glancing at Niwashi. "Right?" The Yokai nodded.

"I did this all by hand. It took many years and I wasn't able to show it in the festival until it was ready but it was worth it." She stared out at the fields in pride and joy. The flower Yokai spend a better part of a decade making this massive garden, the Torii we came through wasn't to a separate dimension but another location in Japan where she worked.

"But…why?" I didn't get it. It was an incredibly beautiful place; I'll give her that but to spend a decade making this, even with the life spans supernatural creatures have, just seemed like a waste. "Why didn't you just use Senjutsu? That would have saved you a lot of time and effort, wouldn't it?" For her part, Niwashi didn't get offended and smiled.

"Because there's a certain beauty in toiling for something you love." She left with that and started to walk into the field, telling the others who were playing which flowers were softer.

'…Nope, still don't get it.' That sounded really wise and insightful but I didn't understand. I felt a hand grab my arm and I turned to see Amaterasu nodding at the others.

"Come on, thinking too much ruins the moment. Let's join the fun."

"Do you get what she said?" The Sun Goddess stopped at my question and smiled softly.

"Like you'll never believe."

Then she pulled me towards the others.

2 Hours Later, Suiko Lake

"So how does this work exactly?" I asked as I held the fishing pole, Yasaka leaning over the side of the boat. Melissa, Amaterasu, and Maven were in another boat not too far from us. The Shadow Yokai was holding her own fishing pole while the other two were on the lookout for…

"We need to find a couple of Suiko and reel them in to catch their Suiko Stones."

"…And we're doing that because?" No one explained shit to me. We arrived at the shrine, the nine tailed fox led us to a boat, and handed me a fishing rod before coming out into the middle of this lake. Yasaka sighed like what I asked was unreasonable.

"Suiko's grow bright stones on top of their head. If brought to blacksmith, it can be turned into a fine work that shines in the moonlight and never chips."

"…So we're doing this for jewelry?"

"Yep!" She said happily and went back to looking for water Yokai. I sighed in exasperation.

'Supernatural or not, shiny things will always grab a women's attention.' Though considering I plan to be a soldier of fortune, I'll keep that thought to myself. I leaned back against the side, closing my eyes as the boat calmly drifted down the river. A couple of minutes of this passed before I felt a tug on my line. I opened one eye to peek at the rod and saw it swaying. I sat up and gave an experimental pull.

A small tug answered.

"Hey, I think I got-" Then a powerful pull nearly made me let go of the handle. Placing both feet against the side, the boat started to move in the direction of the pulling. It slowly picked up speed and we were soon flying down the river. "A little warning about this would have been nice!" Coating the rod and the boat in Chi, I started to reel in the line.

"It's never been this like before! Why is it so aggressive!? They're so docile when I'm with my mother!" Yasaka yelled over the splashing water. We were soon led to a section of the river where rocks littered the path and I had to swerve out of their way. Missing by inches, we came to a small drop and Yasaka held on to me as the boat jumped.

"You know, this reminds of a video game about a smart ass treasure hunter!... Man, I really miss video games!"

"A what!? What's a video game!?" The kitsune yelled in my ear as I activated my magic and grabbed out to a large rock. Making sure I had a firm grasp (and ignoring the cracks forming from my grip), I gave a fierce tug on the line. Something flew from out the water and landed on our boat. Head first.

"Owww…" A creature who I assumed was a Suiko, sat up and rubbed its head. "That was uncalled for."

"And pulling us across the river at dangerous speeds was?" I quirked a brow and the Suiko shrugged.

"I can't make it too easy." The Suiko, who introduced himself as Suiteki, handed over a hand sized stone that shined brightly in the sun. It was green in color and looked like it had liquid inside that flowed constantly. It was pretty cool.

"Let me see!" Yasaka asked and I tossed the stone to the kitsune. She held it up to the sun and admired it, playing with it. Suiteki was still here and staring at Yasaka quite intently. While I was slightly concerned by what could be considered a scaly fish monster staring down a little girl (wow that does sound really bad), he wasn't giving off any negative intent. He took a hesitant step forward and bowed to the kitsune.

"A-Are you Lady Kyūkan's daughter?" Yasaka stopped playing with the stone and looked to the Yokai. She glanced at me in question but I just shrugged, not knowing anything.

"I am." Suiteki seemed excited at the confirmation and glanced around.

"I have something very important to tell you but we can't do it here, it's too open. Please follow me." The Suiko jumped back in the water and stuck his head out, motioning for us to enter. I saw Yasaka hesitant to do so. She moved but stopped herself and looked at me in plead. I sighed when her ears and tails flopped in an adorable way.

'Now that's not fair…' Internally grumbling, I rubbed my communication ring. "Hey Melissa, you there?"

"Yeah I'm here, what is it?"

"I'm going to see something with Yasaka, we'll be back in a minute."

"Are you guys okay?" Melissa asked with worry and I could hear Maven in the background asking what was wrong.

"We are but I wanted to tell you just in case." Cutting the link, I flared my Chi and after sensing Melissa flare her Chi back, hopped into the water with Yasaka. The reason we didn't wait for the others was because Suiteki seemed jumpy and wasn't keen on me coming with the kitsune in the first place, let alone more people. While Amaterasu probably has more of a right coming along with Yasaka, I highly doubt the Suiko will believe that the Chief Goddess was with us and wait. Swimming through the crystal clear water, we followed Suiteki deep into the river and he motioned towards a path at the bottom. We swam towards the end and came to an air pocket, a small cave appearing.

"We can talk here." Suiteki sat down on a rock while Yasaka used her fox fire to dry us off.

"What is this about?" I asked with crossed arms and Suiteki took a deep breath before turning to Yasaka.

"I am the son of Mizuki, the leader of the Suiko's and I have information on Nurarihyon." Yasaka's face got serious at that and I leaned against the cave wall while Suiteki told his story. The gourd Yokai came to his father a couple nights ago, speaking about the "plan" that was going to start during the festival. Suiteki was napping in the next room and was awoken by their talking. Apparently, Nurarihyon called upon the Suiko's allegiance to the Kushihashi Clan and demanded they help the Yokai Leader.

"Hold on." I raised my hand to stop the Yokai. "I thought the Five Clans and Nurarihyon hated each other, why would he ask their own people for help?" Maybe my memory was fuzzy on the matter, but I distinctly remember that the Five Clans from Slash Dog had a neutral relationship with the Yokais and sometime in DxD, the Yokais end up hating the clans.

"Some Yokais worship the Shinto Gods that gave the Five Clans their Phases and have chosen to serve under them. The Suiko's have chosen to follow the Kushihashi." Yasaka explained before frowning. "What is this plan?"

"I didn't hear the first half because I was still drowsy but Nurarihyon spoke about bringing the Suiko Clan under his faction when they "win" the full support of the Shinto Gods. He left shortly after." Yasaka fell into deep thought at his words.

"Does that mean anything to you?" I asked the kitsune and she looked at me in confusion.

"Not really, no. Nurarihyon has tried to gain the support of the Shinto Gods for years but he's never succeeded. They are kind enough to grant his faction protection from the greater supernatural world but that's about it. Was there anything else about what he said that caught your attention?" Yasaka asked Suiteki and the Yokai thought hard for a second.

"I-I don't think so. The only thing he told my father before leaving was that he'll like his new domain, that "the castle overlooks a nice fishing village"."

'…Well that sounded like nonsense.' Yet Yasaka's face became pensive, taking his words seriously. I crouched down to her level. "You understand what he meant?"

"I think so but before that, I have to ask. Why didn't you come to my mother with this? In fact, why tell us this at all?" Suiteki fidgeted at the question but his gaze never left ours.

"Because I know what he is. I know how he works and he'll use for as long as he needs before throwing us away."

"Those are rumors." Yasaka got oddly defensive at his accusations but the Suiko shook his head.

"I've heard the about the rumors but that's not the reason I came to you. When he came to meet my father…he wasn't alone." Suiteki started to sweat remembering the meeting. "He brought a man with him, a member of the Kushihashi clan."

"Who?"

"Mokuzai Kushihashi." Yasaka's eyes widened.

"Who is Mokuzai Kushihashi?" I asked, never having heard the name and Yasaka answered.

"The heir of the Kushihashi Clan and the current host of their Sacred Beast, the Azure Dragon." It was my eye's turn to widen and Suiteki started to shake.

"My father tried to refuse at first but then Mokuzai joined the conversation and said that another clan already refused to work with them…They preferred if they left with clean hands this time." The air became somber after those words. Suiteki hanged his head low and Yasaka placed a comforting hand over his scaly shoulder. I could see how following a person like Nurarihyon after seeing his work would be uneasy. I don't know the specifics when it came to the Shinto and the Five Families but they were still a powerful force by themselves. Suiteki left shortly after, saying that he's been away for too long and we made our way back to the other.

"So what happened?" Melissa saw us coming and asked but I shook my head.

"We'll explain in a second, first we need to get out of here." While they were confused at my decision, they quickly complied and we made our way out of the temple. We went to an open field behind one of the stands and I had Maven place a barrier around us. Keeping my Chi Vision activate just in case someone tried to get close, Yasaka started explain everything that happened while we were gone. Melissa and Maven were shocked at Nurarihyon's actions while Yasaka still look troubled. Amaterasu on the other hand…

'Is it getting hotter in here?' Or is it the incredibly angry Sun deity whose poker face could bluff a brick wall? Honestly, if it wasn't for her aura steadily growing aura I couldn't tell she was pissed off. "Amaterasu, I get why you're angry but can you let up a little. Getting a sun burn in the middle of the night isn't something I'd like to experience."

[Knowing you, I'm surprised it hasn't happened to you yet.] Ignoring Tyrfing's jab, Amaterasu let out a deep breath and allowed her aura to dim. Inhaling, she calmly opened her eyes.

"That god damn ungrateful son of ragged gourd bitch!" We all watched in shock as the Shinto Goddess started cursing Nurarihyon and all his ancestors. "After everything I've done for him, after all those times Inari and Omoikane told me to not take him under our banner. I gave the benefit of the doubt so he can feel like he belonged somewhere but to destroy another Yokai clan like that is…" The Sun Goddess's face started to get red in anger.

"That's not all." Yasaka brought Amaterasu back from her ranting. "He also said that he'll win the support of the Shinto Gods."

"Like hell he will! What, he thinks because he has the Kushihashi behind him it'll earn our support? He overestimates them."

"He also mentioned something about a castle…and a fishing village." That got Amaterasu's attention.

"Do you mean Edo? What does that have to do with-" She stopped and thought for a second before cursing lowly. "The Kushihashi Heir, of course. It all makes sense now." Melissa, Maven, and I couldn't relate. We locked eyes with each other and Melissa stepped forward.

"Um, Amaterasu-sama?" The mentioned Goddess turned to the Shadow Leopard. "Not that this anything to do with us but what's going on?"

"...Let's go." Speaking to everyone, Amaterasu waved her hand and a magic circle appeared under our feet. Light shined in our eyes and when it faded, we were back in the lawn of the grand shrine. A couple guards came out to see what the commotion was but Amaterasu transformed back into her original form and they hurriedly bowed. She walked to the shrine where her office was and we followed after her. We were met with the advisor of the Gods, Omoikane.

"Amaterasu-san, where were you? I've been waiting to see your progress with the Kagura eve-"

"We have bigger problems, leave that here and come along." The Sun Goddess shot down the advisor's words and dragged him along to her office. She rubbed her ring. "Inari, Kyūkan, and Sarutahiko come to my office immediately."

"What is this about?" Omoikane tried to ask but Amaterasu said to wait till the others arrived. We got comfortable while we waited and the first to come was Inari. Shortly after that was Kyūkan, who surprisingly didn't say anything about her daughter's presence here, and Sarutahiko.

"Okay, what is going on? I was busy training my Inugami's for the Familiar Race." Fitting his larger size, Sarutahiko's voice was booming and vibrated across the room. Amaterasu told them a summary of what was happening and they reacted with different levels of rage and disgust. Kyūkan was the most vocal while the advisor got quiet at the new information.

"What's on your mind Omoikane?" Amaterasu also noticed his silence and Omoikane lifted his head.

"It just doesn't make sense."

"What? You think the Suiko was lying about all of it?"

"Oh no, this sounds like something Nurarihyon would do but the way he's going about it is confusing me." Omoikane started to pace and we watched the advisor. "Nurarihyon has been doing this for a long time, always going for the weak points in the Yokai community to take control from Kyūkan-san or lift his own position among the clans while doing nothing that could be used against him. But now he's destroyed another clan without worrying about the consequences? That doesn't sound like him."

"So he either believes that you'll never find the clan he destroyed, meaning there would be no evidence to be used against him or he has something that levels the playing field." Omoikane nodded at my hypothesis.

"More or less. I'll have my spies look in to any Yokai Clans that didn't join the festival and see if they are safe." Omoikane took out a book and started to write in it, the words glowing as he wrote.

"There's another thing." Yasaka stepped forward and looked to Amaterasu for permission to speak with the Sun Goddess nodded. "In some point in the discussion, Nurarihyon spoke about the castle town, Edo."

"The base of Tokugawa?" Sarutahiko immediately recognized the location. "So the rumors about the Kushihashi Heir was true." Amaterasu saw that we were still confused and started to speak about the distinguished clan. Being a clan personally blessed by the Shinto Gods and having an entity of pure energy that embodies a major element, the Kushihashi Clan was a family of mystics. They have existed since ancient times, exorcising Evil spirits and being servants of the Shinto Gods. In every generation, the strongest mystic would be chosen by the Sacred Beast of the clan and they would be the next heir. The most recent heir to the mystic clan was Mokuzai Kushihashi but he didn't choose to accept the heir mantle. Instead, he chose to follow under an ambitious daimyo.

The former general of Oda Nobunaga and a warlord of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu.

'…Damn, missed him by a decade.' I am in no way knowledgeable when it came to history but even I've heard about Oda Nobunaga. If not from actually looking up who he was on random information pages then in games and manga. If this Tokugawa was his general then he must be quite a warrior. 'But this is a world where the supernatural exists, so were they regular people who were skilled or actual super humans?'

"Does Nurarihyon have some kind of alliance with the daimyo? Is so then what did he offer to get the Kushihashi heir's help?" Inari asked, bringing up another good question. We started to brainstorm but no one could think of anything.

"We don't have enough information; I'll also send some of my men to Edo castle and see if they can pick up anything on their plans." Omoikane walked away, presumably going to do that and I turned to a pensive Amaterasu.

"Whatever this plan Nurarihyon has, he's not going to attack the festival will he?"

"He won't." Sarutahiko spoke. "That little weasel would never get into a straight fight no matter how good the odds are in his favor and they are really not." He wasn't wrong. With 4 Shinto Gods, multiple noble Clans with their own Great Yokais and the team here (Nurarihyon probably won't care if we're unaffiliated, he'd still attack), the gourd Yokai won't stand a chance with just the Kushihashi Heir.

'But it's not a guarantee.' Remembering how those three dumbass descendants thought gaining Satan Class strength could help them kill two Devils that were among the strongest beings in DxD, I learned not to mix my common sense with the supernatural. I'll need to keep an eye out so we don't get caught with our pants down. Everyone started to leave once the meeting was over, Amaterasu staring at down at her desk blankly. I had to hold back a chuckle when I placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped a little.

"W-What?" The Sun Goddess blushed a little in embarrassment but I didn't bring it up.

"I'm sorry we had to return so soon after leaving the shrine, I wanted to show you a couple more places." Amaterasu frowned at my words.

"It's not your fault. Nurarihyon's greed is the problem."

"A grumpy old guy with a big head is hardly an excuse." Figuratively and literally. "Once this whole thing is over, we're spending the last day drinking our weight in food and sake and just bothering the shit out of everyone…I know a place." Amaterasu stared at me before a sly grin appeared on her face.

"Are you asking me on a date?" I tilted my head.

"I believe you guys call it a festival but…yes, yes I am." Amaterasu smiled in amusement and played with a small statue on her desk. A minute of silence passed, to which I assumed meant "no" and turned to walk out.

"I like Tenryu Sake." Amaterasu's voice rang out as the door closed and I grinned widely.

'…You are one lucky bastard you know that?'

Yes Dáinsleif. Yes I do.

Shadow Leopard Temple

"…"

"…"

"…Athena?" I sat on top of a house, overlooking a wide field and lake. With the first night of the festival over, the majority of the Yokais went to their respective camps and we did the same. The Shadow Leopards gave us a house in their pocket dimension and everyone was their rooms. I came up to the roof to enjoy the view and speak with Athena on recent events.

"…I honestly don't know why I'm surprised." All things considered, she's taking it pretty well. "Of course you'd uncover a plot by a rival faction during an event of joy and celebration."

"Well you know what they say. It's not a good festival without a conspiracy around the corner."

"Uh huh, sure." The Goddess of Wisdom didn't bother to argue against my claim. "At least it's nothing too serious; Amaterasu should be able to handle it without a problem."

"Hopefully…" I wasn't so sure. If Nurarihyon did indeed wipe out a Yokai clan then Kyūkan and the Shinto Gods won't let that go unpunished. They'd either kill the gourd Yokai or disband his Eastern Faction. Yet in canon, Nurarihyon is still around and so is his faction. I also got another piece of information that got my interest. The current leader of the Nekomata was not in Nurarihyon's faction. I don't know if the Nekomata leader (can't remember her name) that was with Nurarihyon is the current leader but it does beg the question. Does she join sometime in the future or will she jump factions after whatever Nurarihyon has planned? Food for thought.

"So how are you enjoying the festival so far?" Athena asked.

"It's great; I see why you came as often as you could." Athena usually attended the Yokai Festival with Apollon, Aphrodite, and/or Artemis whenever it began. She was pretty bummed that she couldn't join this year because of Zeth.

"Try to go to Rokuro Temple when you can, their appearances are strange but they have the best singing voice among all the Yokais. Every time we have drag Apollon away or else he'd spend the entire festival there."

"Everytime?"

"Everytime." Athena sighed but I could hear the fondness in her voice. For whatever messed up things some of the Gods did in the past, Athena still loved her family very much and would go to great lengths for them. "Still, I'm surprised you were able to get Amaterasu out of her office. I could never get her to leave."

"Oh that was easy, I just turned on the old Pierce charm and we were out of there in no time."

"...You didn't burn it down did you?" I guffawed at her accusation.

"No! I just helped do her paper work in a fast and efficient manner!"

"...So you burned her paper work?"

"...Athena, if this about your hut then I already said I was sorry."

"You had so much space to practice..."

"Yeah and you chose to teach me fire magic right next to it so whose in the wrong here!?" The Goddess of Wisdom was not appeased. We talked for awhile like this, Athena speaking about certain temples she's been to before and that reminded me about my date with Amaterasu. "Hey Athena, do you know where I can get Tenyru Sake?" I asked Melissa about it but apparently it was this really expensive and old stuff that's difficult to get. 'So is striking a date with a Goddess but I successfully did that so how hard could it be to get a bottle of alcohol.'

"Tenyru? Yeah, I think Dionysus has a couple of bottles of that."

"Great! Can you ask him for some? I'll owe him."

"It's no problem, I'll ask him later. I didn't know you liked sake though."

"It's not for me, it's for my date with Amaterasu." I said and Athena got quiet for a second.

"Oh...where are you taking her?"

"I got an idea but I'll have to ask around first before I could do it."

"Okay then, I send you the sake through my Familiar. See you soon." Then she cut the link. I stared at the ring and sighed, pocketing it a second later.

[...Well you're an idiot.] Tyrfing said.

[I take back what I said about you being lucky.] I rolled my eyes at the Demon Swords.

"I am not an idiot."

[Really? Because telling your potential lover that you're taking out another women doesn't sound like a smart thing to do.]

"And hiding the fact is?" I retorted and they turned quiet. Athena knows about my relationship with Maven and Melissa. We spent three months living together and it's not like we bothered to hide it. Hell, she straight up asked me and I told her the truth. That kept things awkward between us for a while but she eventually got over it and we acted how we used to. While we occasionally flirt and joke, she still keeps me at arms length. "I respect her decision but I'm not going to tippy toe over the subject whenever it comes up. I have a harem, that's my choice and I'm not ashamed of it. Avoiding it is childish."

[...Nope, you're still an idiot.] Tyrfing and Dáinsleif said at the same. I clicked my tongue.

"Okay, I'm done talking about my love life with you guys." Jumping off the roof of the house, I landed on the balcony and entered my bedroom. Maven and Melissa were already in bed, peacefully sleeping. Slipping into the sheets, I felt Melissa wrap her arms around my waist.

"What were you doing up there?" I wrapped my arms around Melissa at her question.

"Oh I was just talking with my swords about my complicated relationship with multiple Goddesses. Nothing major." Melissa just gave me a sleepy but blank look.

"...Told you not to ask..."

I chuckled at Maven's comment from her section of the bed.

Morning After

"Bullshit." Aindrea spit out, making me smile at his disbelief. Vargas and Adrian were also looking at me with skeptical eyes, not believing what I said.

"Now Aindrea, would I lie about something like this?"

"...Bullshit." I laughed at his denial. Maybe it was because there were more Shadow Leopard to help this time, Ren told Melissa she didn't need to help with the restaurant today. So she decided to spend the day with her mother, Mayumi and chose to bring Maven and Samantha along.

"How you can get the affections of not one but two Goddesses is beyond me." Adrian said and Vargas smirked.

"How does it feel getting the attention of two women that can snap you like a twig?"

"It really keeps me up at night..." He chuckled at my sarcastic tone. We were relaxing in a bamboo forest, a small pixie like creature called a Yosei was serving us snacks and tea. Thanking the small Yokai and giving it a silver coin, I sipped the tea while the others played cards (I already lost). I spoke to Adrian about what currently happening between the Yokai leaders but he said it'd better if we didn't get involved since we're from another pantheon's faction.

'Better...but not impossible.' The small twitch in his eye when I said that made me happier then it should have. Regardless, if its something that the Shinto can deal with themselves then I'll just sit back and relax. "Speaking of, any of you met the Five Principal Families before?" Surprisingly, Adrian was the one to raise his hand.

"I met a member of the Shinra Clan."

"When?"

"When I was looking for members to join my team, I met a man who can use Metal and Strengthening Magic to an impressive degree."

"Oh, so like me?" Adrian shook his head.

"He was nothing like you. He was strong but he was also blood thirsty and cruel. The small amount of time I spent with him was fighting against a group of Evil spirits that were terrorizing a town."

"How is beating a bunch of Evil spirits bad?"

"Do you know how an Evil spirit is made?" Adrian asked and I shook my head. "They are created when people die and their spirits remain in an area full of malice. They become corrupted by that malice and become twisted monsters. The Shinra exterminated all the Evil spirits but left one alive. Do you know why?"

"...Why?" I probably didn't want to know but my curiosity got the better of me.

"If he had killed all of them then the malice in the surroundings would have seeked another soul to corrupt. Evil spirits are always in pain and the more malice they consume, the more pain they endure. He kept the weakest one alive so it can consume the remaining malice in the area and exorcist it, purifying the entire area." Vargas lifted his head from his deck to stare at Adrian.

"What was the Evil spirit?" The Emissary took a deep breath.

"It was a little boy. He died in a fire and turned into a low level Evil Spirit. The Shinra didn't care and let it live to gather malice anyway." The air become heavy at his story and Adrian placed a hand on his sword. "I'm very lucky Sunlight was effective spirits or I would have forced the Shinra to end it himself."

"Did you kill him?" Aindrea asked.

"No, but I got out of there the moment I destroyed the spirit. He didn't try to stop me." Adrian crossed his arms. "Then I met up with Samantha who was healing a group of refugees and we eventually met Melissa."

"Damn..." I shook my head at the thought of someone prolonging the suffering of a dead little boy just to make their job easier (I know there's fucked up things in the world but that was a new one). "Here's hoping that guy got eaten or killed by an Evil spirit."

"I'm not one to wish death on anyone but I'll drink to that." Adrian lifted his cup and we followed suit, clicking our drinks together. Drinking my tea as a gentle breeze came by, I saw a group of young Yokais run by.

"Is the signing already up?"

"Yeah, my brother's in line holding a spot."

"Then let's go!" I curiously watched the group leave the area, many other Yokais going in the same direction. Deciding to see what all the fuss was about, I told the other's I'd be right back and followed the group of Yokais. I came to a clearing in the bamboo forest and saw a long line to a stand. A kitsune was sitting behind the stand, holding a paper to which every Yokai in the line signed. I tilted my head at the sign that said "Youma Tournament Sign-Up".

"What is the hell is a Youma Tournament?" A Yokai with the features of a gold fish turned to me in shock, having heard my question.

"You haven't heard of it?"

"...If I did, I wouldn't have asked." Deadpanning, my comment was largely ignored by the Yokai who stared to explain the event. Every Yokai festival there was a tournament hosted by the Kistune clan, a friendly battle event to pit the younger and more hot blooded members of the Yokai race. Many, if not all of the clans in the faction send one of their members to participate in the tournament to show their pride and valor. "A fighting tournament in the middle of a festival huh? How cliché...this is the place to join?" Quickly standing in line, I asked if it was okay for me to sign up. The fish Yokai said it was fine since humans and beings from other factions have joined the tournament before.

'The Yokai sure are an open minded race.' The others eventually arrived to ask me what was going on and I told them about the event. While Adrian and Vargas preferred to relax while they were here, Aindrea readily joined to sign up. Standing in line for the next ten minutes, it was finally our turn to sign and we were handed a form by the female kistune.

"Please place your hand here." Aindrea did as was asked, the paper shining and numbers started to appear on the sheet. Seeing the number "24" on the paper, I realized that was the Demigod's age and it went away a second later. I tried to do the same but the kitsune pulled it away, giving a wry smile to my confused face. "Sir, this is for the younger generation, please don't cause trouble."

"I'm 16." The kitsune didn't look convinced, her eyes roaming my form. "Let me try and show you." Seeing I wasn't going to relent, she placed the paper down and allowed me to prove my age. Her shock when the low number appeared on the page spoke volumes.

"I-I'm very sorry. Here's your entry badge." She gave us both a badge and we walked back to Adrian and Vargas. I ignored the wide eyes I was given by the other Yokais who saw the exchange. I knew why the kitsune didn't believe me and it was because she sensed how large my Chi was. Even before the training in Olympus, my Chi reserves made it so I match a Great Yokais'. While it didn't grow by much, Athena mainly focused on helping me control and use my Chi more efficiently. Of course, having such a large amount made it hard for other Chi users to determine my age. Oh yeah, there was also one last interesting piece of information that the Goddess of Wisdom nonchalantly dropped on me. I don't have to worry about finding a way to live long enough to reach canon. Why?

Because I already got it.

'You have the reserves to match hundreds of mortal men, did you really think that wouldn't affect your life span?' My face must have been quite a sight because Athena laughed after asking that. My training in Chi already guaranteed a healthy and unnaturally long life. Melissa apparently knew that and genuinely thought I did too. Warrior monks and nomads who practiced in Chi had longs lives even when their reserves are average, let alone my ridiculous standard. Granted, living for thousands of years like Devils and Yokais isn't possible with my current amount, I'll definitely reach the time of canon if I wait it out (the most that would change is me looking a bit older). With my life span problem solved without me even knowing, I spent the rest of that day with Melissa and Maven relaxing. We were told by the kitsune to meet in the arena at noon and go to our respective block.

"Seems we're in different blocks." Aindrea said, holding out his badge to show the letter "A". Not questioning why a Japanese faction would use the English alphabet to assign blocks, I saw mine was the letter "C". "I guess we'll meet once we beat our groups." Nodding at the Demigod, we exited the bamboo forest and made our way through the festival. Seeing the sun relatively low in the sky, I saw that we still had a bit of time so I figured I could go see how things are going with Yasaka and Amaterasu. Parting ways with the others (Aindrea said he'll meet me by the battle stage), I walked to the Grand Shrine and made to enter the front. The guards didn't bother to stop me as they saw me come out the day earlier.

As I walked up the path, two men came out of the entrance and passed me. One man was tall and handsome, having short wavy gray hair. He wore tight fitting priest robes, dissimilar to the weird looking old man next to him. The old man was very short, barely making it to the taller man's waist and had a irregular sized head. The taller man didn't give me a glance as he passed by but the old man did. He was a quick look but I sensed his eyes roam all over before continuing onward. I stopped and watched them leave, their auras telling me everything I needed to know.

"Hello Pierce-san." I heard Kyūkan's voice from behind me. The Yokai leader came to stand next to me, joining me at the entrance and I nodded to the two men.

"That's Nurarihyon and Mokuzai?" She confirmed my suspicions. Mokuzai's aura reminded me of a forest, full of vitality and depth. Nurarihyon's aura was large, as much as I'd expect from a Great Yokai but it was surprisingly tame. 'He's either suppressing it or he's not the close quarters type.' The latter was more likely from what the leader of the Earthly Kami said. I turned to look Kyūkan. "Considering their walking out of here without wounds or guards, it's safe to assume you didn't find that clan?"

"No, Omoikane-sama and my own spies tried to find any signs of a wiped clan but we couldn't." The Yokai leader's bitterness of palpable. Ignoring her general dislike for the gourd Yokai, she knew he wasn't much for bluffing and probably did wipe out a clan that didn't want to join his banner. The fact she couldn't protect a clan from her rival was a bitter pill to swallow. "It's good you're here, Amaterasu-sama wants a word with you." I raised a brow at the order but shrugged in the end.

"Lead the way." I followed after kitsune and we entered the main shrine, ascending up a flight of stairs. I marveled at the beautiful architecture and paintings. "This is a real nice place you got here. I wish I took a minute to look around when I was here but it's hard to admire everything when you're sneaking in."

"Why thank you, I personally took care of the layout for when the Shinto God's-wait what?" Waving my hands and telling her not worry about it, we reached the top floor. The waiting area was just as beautiful as the rest of the shrine and I noticed Yasaka kneeling by a pond. The young kitsune had a small desk in front of her and piles of scrolls on either side of her.

"Hey Yasaka, what's up?" I walked over and saw her writing 'I will listen to my mother from now on in' Kana. Yasaka finished with the final stroke and sighed.

"Hey Pierce..." I titled my head at her lack luster respond.

"What are you doing?" Yasaka rolled up the scroll at my question and placed on the pile to her right before picking up a blank one of her left. I quickly figured it out. "So your mom was angry."

"This is torture..." A fluffy tail hit her face when she said that and her mother stood there with her arms crossed.

"You're being dramatic. The only reason it's not worse is because you leaving actually gave us information on Nurarihyon."

"So isn't it a good thing I ignored your rule?!" Kyūkan quirked a brow.

"Still doesn't change the fact you broke it. Keep writing." Yasaka huffed in anger before pointing at me.

"Then why isn't he being punished too!?" For my part, I was just enjoying the spectacle between the nine tailed mother and daughter. Pointing out that I'm not a "unruly little kitsune who can't listen to instructions", Yasaka went back to her punishment (reluctantly) and Kyūkan brought me to Amaterasu. The Sun Goddess was sitting behind her desk and Inari idly lying on her bed when we entered.

"Welcome Pierce, I'm glad you could come. Please, sit down." Amaterasu said and I took a sit.

"So what's going on? Kyūkan said you had something important to ask me."

"Indeed, we need your help with something." Inari was the one to speak. "We need you to fight the Kushihashi heir."

"Sure." I agreed without skipping a beat, causing the women in the room to pause. I cleared my throat. "But it would be nice to know why I'm doing this and what's the reward."

"Ah, right. That would be prudent." Amaterasu regained her composure and spoke. "We couldn't find anything on Nurarihyon's crime of exterminating an affiliated Clan and he didn't confess to it when he was here. Instead, he wanted to do a wager with us. Tell me Pierce, have you ever heard of the Youma Tournament?" I blinked at the question.

"...Funny you should ask." I told them about my choice to sign up for the Tournament and they were slightly shocked. Inari snorted.

"Well you sure are efficient."

"This is good, we don't need to put your name in last minute and arose suspicion from Nurarihyon." Kyūkan smiled and Amaterasu continued.

"Well he has chosen that event as the place for our wager. Nurarihyon means for either one of his younger members from his faction or the Kushihashi heir to win the tournament. If he does then the Shinto God's will fully support his Kanto Faction just like we do to the Kyoto Faction. We will also need to help him with a favor of his choosing." I frowned at the high returns the gourd Yokai would get from this bet and I turned to look at Kyūkan.

"And what happens if he loses?"

"He dissolves his faction and gives up the key to unlocking the Leylines in Edo." The nine tailed fox said and I was shocked, my eyes roaming down to her connection to the ground. Leylines were spiritual lines that ran across a certain area, drawing upon the everyday energy inhabitants emitted and those connected to Leylines can use that energy to tremendous effects. Nurarihyon had found out that Edo had the potential to host Leylines, something that was incredibly rare from what Kyūkan told me. He now holds the "key" to the Leylines and used it as a betting chip. I fell into thought after they finished explaining the situation.

"Can I ask you guys something?"

"Of course." Amaterasu said and I crossed my arms.

"Why don't you guys take the key from Nurarihyon? He obviously can't be trusted and will probably find a way to get out of the bet if he loses."

"He can't." Inari said and I tilted my head in confusion.

"Why?" The look the Goddess of Prosperity gave me when I asked that send shivers down my spine.

"Because if he does, we will find him and we will break him." The Shinto God's have tried their best to be fair Gods, to not be brute force their way through every problem (besides Susanoo) and to give every Yokai a chance, even Nurarihyon. While many clans would understand if they did manhandle the gourd Yokai into submission, they wanted to avoid being tyrants. But even they had their limits. If it came to it, the Shinto would bring down all the godly might they had on the Yokai leader's head. They were kind and fair but they would not be disrespected. I smiled at the firm looks the women had.

"Alright I'm in." Inari and Kyūkan looked pleased with Amaterasu leaning back in a self satisfied way. "So about that reward..." The Sun Goddess quirked a brow.

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want." Amaterasu frowned at the wide smile I had at my face. "Tell me Amaterasu...how's my Denki been doing?"

The look of realization that slowly turned to horror on the Goddess' face just made me smiled even harder.