Inari.

Ichigo was still confused as they made their way to Wales. Going to Wales was easy enough, they just teleported. Well, Kuku teleported them. He was not exactly thinking straight and Inari was still lost in her own world. She also found them a hotel to stay at, all the while he was thinking about what to do in this situation.

Inari hadn't said anything to him after the kiss. But the main question, going through his head was, was Kuku messing with him? Was she serious? If she was, what did she want him to do? What about Inari? The more he thought, the less it made sense. So, he did what he felt like he should do, ask the involved parties. That made the most sense currently.

So, next morning, when all parties were calmer, more himself and Inari, Kuku had suddenly left them, saying something about drinks, he sat down with Inari and told her what happened after the kiss. First of all though, he had to make sure what they were. In his opinion, they were dating, but it was still better to confirm.

But once again, he didn't know how to bring it up. He hadn't even meant to kiss her, it just happened when he finally accepted that their attraction was mutual. He knew it was mutual, but he had only just accepted that it was, when his body moved on its own. It was a bit awkward, but when had that ever stopped him? So, he went ahead and got to the main point.

"So, are we dating now? I know I like you and you have also made it clear, very clear, that you like me, so..." He said, looking straight at her. Inari took a deep breath before answering him.

"Yes, I would like that. I know that this mutual attraction can develop into something deeper and I would like to give it a chance." She replied seriously. They stayed quiet for a while, but this time it was not awkward as they simply enjoyed each other's company.

"How do you date someone?" Ichigo asked suddenly. Inari looked at him for a while before answering.

"I don't know. I have never been romantically interested in someone, though I have read a lot of books on the subject." Inari felt giddy. She had found someone she was interested in and the other party was also interested in her. She had been dreaming about finding someone like Ichigo since the end of the great War. She didn't have a lot of good examples to follow though, every supernatural relationship she had seen was either very successful or very much doomed from the start.

As she was lost in her thoughts, Ichigo's voice brought her out of it.

"We will figure something out. We have a lot of time after all." Ichigo said with a smile. He was finally starting to move on. He would never forget his friends and family, but he couldn't spend this new lease on life crying and feeling sorry for himself. Most of all, they wouldn't want him to. If he ever managed to meet them and they remembered him, he wanted them to be proud of him.

Inari saw the smile on his face and felt like crying. She didn't know how it felt to lose everything and everyone you loved, but it couldn't have been easy. She had lost friends and family over the years, especially during the war, but she also had someone else to lean and cry on. Ichigo had lost everything at the same time and still kept moving forward. When they were making the grave for him, she had asked him what gave him the strength to do so, what gave him strength to keep moving forward and he had answered,

"Someone I respected and someone who helped me a lot with becoming who I am today once said to me, 'Abandon your fear and look forward. Move forward and never stop. Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die.' That helped me a lot whenever I found myself lost. All I have to do is look and move forward."

After that, Inari was certain that she wanted to be with Ichigo for as long as they existed. Someone who could just say that was one thing, someone who could actually do that, was someone to tie yourself to. Ichigo had finally started to move forward and she was happy that she was a part of that. So what if it took him a few months to do that, to her, a few months were nothing. Ichigo still had some human sensibilities because he was raised by and amidst humans, but it wouldn't take long for that to change.

He already knew that he was way beyond human limits and had also stopped seeing himself as one of them. Now it was only a matter of time before he stopped living according to their standards as well. On the topic of human sensibilities, they were known to hide their feelings and desires to fit and blend in. Many human males wanted harems but hid that desire deep within themselves. That was not always the case but somewhere along the line, they started to slowly believe that harems or polygamy were bad things.

Ichigo, being born and raised by humans, should also think like that. But in their world, the strong had nearly everything they wanted, including multiple women or men, depending on the gender and orientation. She would have to break him out of that human mold. If he kept worrying about little things like that, he would burn himself out very quickly. Now that he had a much longer life, that wouldn't be good. She knew the first step to that would be making him accept Kuku as well.

While the feelings Kuku had for him were more lust than love, it was a good start for him. The relationship between Ichigo and Kuku may remain purely physical for some time, that could also change as they spent more time with each other. Many other goddesses also let their husbands to sleep around with other women while they themselves didn't really sleep with anyone but their husbands. They didn't do it because they didn't love them but because they knew that it would happen sooner or later.

It was better to let them go thanforcing them to contain their desires and sour their relationship. Also because they knew that after everything, their husbands would return to them and they would have an upper hand in everything that happens after that. After all, how could a human compare to them, literal goddesses. She believed that she knew Ichigo well enough and had a feeling that Ichigo would never do it, even if he started to love another woman, he would bring it up with her. Just as she finished this thought, Ichigo spoke up.

"Inari, Kuku said something about sharing, do you know what she meant by that?" Ichigo asked with some trepidation. He knew she couldn't hurt him, but he was the one who didn't want to hurt her. To them, physical wounds would heal in a matter of hours if not minutes.

Inari couldn't help but smile. She was just thinking about such things and here he was proving her right. She had to answer this in a way that it would not overwhelm him. If he was not ready to enter in a relationship with multiple women, she would definitely not be the one to force him into it. As sad as it was, she was already sure that many other women would also aim for his affection and while she was also sure that he would reject most of them, there might come someone he didn't want to reject.

At that time, she would not put him in a position where he had to chose between them. To reach that point, a point she was sure would occur sooner or later, she would have to have him open to the idea of having a relation with multiple women. But until then, she would do her best to keep Ichigo to herself.

"Ichigo, it doesn't matter. If you don't want to, just tell her. You know she wouldn't take it to heart." She answered while smiling. If he didn't want to, why would she force him to have someone besides her. Again, while she wouldn't stop him if he wanted to, she also wouldn't force him to have someone else.

"I've already told her that, but she said that she wouldn't mind sharing. That's not how it's supposed to work, is it?" Ichigo said. Inari got up and sat with Ichigo. She held his hand and said.

"It doesn't have to, if you don't want to." She said with a small smile. As they were talking, Kuku came back with some food. They ate together and Ichigo told Kuku that he wouldn't be able to return her feelings, whatever they may be. She took it better than he thought, but the smile on her face and what she had said was anything but reassuring.

"Don't worry Ichigo, we have long lives." She had said with a smile. It was clear that she was planning something, but what could he do? He couldn't exactly force her to tell him. After eating, they decided to wander around Wales and try to find anything noteworthy.

Ichigo thought that Wales would be full of supernatural life and it would be easy to find some of them. It wasn't like that. As they walked around, they learned that due to being one of the hotspots for the supernaturals, it was heavily policed, mostly by the Church. They were able to move around because they could very easily be mistaken for humans, attention grabbing humans, but humans nonetheless. Any other species which had non-human features was not allowed to roam freely hence all the supernatural species that had such features had moved away from Wales.

The only ones left behind were those who could hide their features from humans. Mostly humans affiliated with the Church and some low ranked angels. It wasn't nearly as exciting as they hoped. At the end of the day, they only went to some of the National Parks and saw some of the beautiful scenery in Wales before finding a restaurant and discussing where to go next.

"Where should we go next?" Ichigo asked after they had eaten.

"Why don't we go to the familiar forest? We already have the permit." Inari suggested while sipping a beverage.

"Oh, are you looking for a familiar Ichigo?" Kuku spoke up as she suddenly had a strange and unique idea. She was a dragon, she could technically form a familiar bond with Ichigo. Oooh, the more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed.

"Not really. I don't need one nor do I want one." Ichigo said back without thinking.

"Oooh." Kuku let out a disappointed sigh. She was really looking forward to what would happen if they created a bond like that. Ichigo frowned hearing it and was about to ask her what was wrong when he felt a large power source coming towards them at a fast pace. The power source was not only large but also extremely condensed and barely leaking. The only reason he felt it was due to his connection with nature. His frown turned into a scowl as he looked towards the door of the restaurant and not even a minute later, a man walked in.

The man was tall and looked to be around 30 years old. He had black hair with golden bangs and a black goatee. His eyes were a unique shade of violet and he seemed to be smiling like he had just heard a joke. The man looked around and made his way towards them with a smile and slightly open arms. The man seemed welcoming enough but Ichigo could see a veteran fighter. While he may not exactly be a veteran, he had fought a lot of them.

People who were experienced in not only fighting but also surviving. The man came in front of their table and stopped to 'admire' the beauties sitting with him, focusing more on Inari. He only snapped out of it when Kuku snorted in amusement. For some reason, Ichigo was already annoyed at this guy. Oh, he knew why he was annoyed, but like hell he would admit that he was annoyed at another man so openly ogling his new girlfriend. He barely contained a snarl that was threatening to come out.

The man cleared his throat before saying.

"Ahem, I heard that some people were looking for me." The man said with mock courtesy. At his confused frown, the man elaborated.

"Ah, let me introduce myself. My name is Azazel, the Governor General of the Grigori. A pleasure to meet you." The man said looking at Inari and not him. This time he could contain the snarl the left him.