14

Yasaka was smiling at him. Her eyes twinkled with barely restrained mirth. Onari couldn't help but bask in the waves of pride rolling off Yasaka that she couldn't openly express at the moment.

A lifetime of being the crippled, useless one in his family had stunted his personal development, manifesting in a praise kink. Yasaka's delight at Onari's achievement and the way he handled his detractor was like a balm for his wounded soul. Kunou's giggles helped as well.

"If that is all, I shall be taking my leave. I hope your work does not hold you up long, mother. I was looking forward to spending some time with you now that I'm back," Onari said, standing.

The tone of Yasaka's response cut deeply for everyone else in the room, "Of course, dear. We'll be finished up shortly. I'm sure these wonderful Youkai would not want to keep a mother from her son."

Most of the council looked sheepish from Yasaka's subtle chiding, but some were just narrowly hiding anger and indignation. Onari mentally noted the ones who smelled of resentment, and made a special note of the ones he suspected of setting him up.

There were two Youkai elders that Onari suspected. One was a noble, and the other, one of Yasaka's advisors. The advisor was a Tanuki, and Onari stealthily stole a strand of his hair with True Qi. The other one, the noble, was a Tsukumogami -- a paper lantern object spirit -- so it was next to impossible for Onari to snatch a piece of his being without alerting him.

Onari left the room, taking Kunou with him. Yasaka's longing gaze lingered on his back, but duty called. Kunou and Onari returned to their section of the castle. While they waited for Yasaka's meeting to finish, Onari put on a small play for Kunou using illusions.

Eventually, Yasaka was freed from the tedious clutches of her council. Making sure to still appear as dignified as possible, she made haste to get to her children. She burst through the door, and immediately wrapped herself around Onari and Kunou.

"Ahkk! I wasn't even gone for a week, mom!" Onari said, choking on one of Yasaka's tails.

"Doesn't matter. You were gone, and you were in danger. Just let me have this," Yasaka mumbled into his chest.

"... Okay. I guess we can stay like this for a little while longer."

"Yay! Family time!" Kunou cheered.

The Kitsune family of three got comfortable in their small pile. Yasaka's tails were soft, her scent was familiar, and her warmth was cozy. It was easy for Onari and Kunou to fade into a half asleep state of bliss. Yasaka hummed lullabies softly, enjoying the company of her children.

After about two hours, Onari managed to pull himself out of his blissful fugue. Yasaka herself had also fallen asleep at some point. She and Kunou were napping peacefully, still wrapped around Onari.

Onari didn't mind the fact that he was trapped between both of them. He used this time to meditate on his thoughts. It was also a good chance to focus on accumulating his True Qi.

So far, his progress through the Second Stage had been steady and shockingly fast. He had broken through four of the eight Dragon Diantian, putting himself at the fifth minor realm of the Second Stage: the Dragon Palm Diantian.

He had found that cultivation in the Second Stage was relatively simple. All Onari had to do was gather Qi, then once he had enough, let it naturally rise upward along his spine. The most time consuming part of the process was the act of gathering enough Qi to make a breakthrough.

Maybe it was finally time for him to delve into alchemy. Qi pills, medicines, and herbs would have a multiplicative effect on the speed he gathered Qi. Still, that was an idea for later when he wasn't trapped inside a mound of Kitsune fluff.

Onari allowed his Qi gathering process to run in the background as he turned his attention to the suspicious elders. He took out the strand of Tanuki hair that he had stolen from Yasaka's advisor. Focusing his True Qi in his eyes, Onari stared intensely at the hair.

Sounds and images flashed in his mind's eye. These visions soon came together to form a coherent picture. Onari saw the Tanuki advisor look around shiftily like he was scared to be caught. The other suspicious elder, the Tsukumogami noble, soon entered the picture. Onari watched as the meeting unfolded.