Volume 4 – Chapter 5 – Part 4 – Vadaya, Shuten Doji and the Arataki Gang!

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Jin Skyward

"…Hmm? Back here again, huh?"

I was back in a dream, well that's what I think I'm in, but nothing's happened yet. The surrounding area around me started to change and—

I was back in my school, it was somewhere in the back of the school, it seemed like it was lunch as some of the guys were playing football (soccer) on the Astro turfs. Looking around, I found Past Me lying on the opposite side, gazing up at the sky. I walked over to him and sat beside him.

"Talk about being carefree…"

We sat there doing nothing until—

"Oh? So, this is where you were, A----. Still looking at fuck all, huh?"

A couple of classmates? No, looks like they're just students I didn't recognize, maybe juniors? They were quickly approaching us and had pretty nasty looks on them. The 'leader' had a pretty obvious smirk on her face.

Past me looks at them but then reverts back to looking at the clouds, completely ignoring them. This obviously annoys them so they get closer to past me.

"Looking for a new love of your life or something? Too bad cancer will take them away from you, eh?"

"…"

I forgot that teenagers could be complete assholes. Japan's been pretty tame, but it still happens. I mean the incident with Akeno last year is an example. My past school wasn't any better. They threw some very dumb and weird insults at past me.

"Everyone in this school still blames you for her death, you know. No matter how much time passes, she left more of an impact on us than you. Maybe you should have been the one to die."

"I'm pretty sure he r—ped her their entire relationship. Blackmail and forced her to date him, the fucking ape."

You know, that's a big accusation to make. I look at his face as it shifts from apathetic to just dead...  Oh, I know that look, he's going to—

"Don't you people have better things to do? And ninety percent of students here gave her family and I condolences, and don't blame me. Giving someone cancer? I know students' IQ in this place was shit in the gutter, but holy fuck, you're dumber than I had initially thought."

He glares at them as they glare back—

"Alannah, was it? Are you sure you weren't the one being molested by your Da or uncle when you were younger and you're just projecting now? Or did you enjoy it so much that you're bragging about it through Aoife's death?"

The past me just said something that made my mouth hang open. He said it with so much venom that it left me stunned.

"Dane, my man! Aren't you cheating on Alannah with Courtney? I saw you retarded degenerates fucking behind the church a few days ago. Oh, and Aisha, your boyfriend Dylan, was fucking his own sister. Are you sure you should be her—"

Smack!

One of the guys lunged forward and punched past me in the face and he was knocked down. But when he looked back up, he was still smirking.

"Oh, who am I kidding? You have weekly gang bangs with the football team, don't you, Alannah? Pretty sure you sell your body for drugs too. Also, don't you remember? Back in second year? You THOUGHT THAT CHINA WAS IN JAPAN."

"Everyone literally made fun of your retardation for weeks on end. Even now. But yeah, blame me for your own stupidity and incompetence as a person. The same with you degenerates. Spouting positive crap online while doing the complete opposite. Fucking hypocrites, the lot of ye."

They just stood there stunned and took it all in. Past me going on a rant was also not something I expected. He starts to walk past them and back to the school gym—

"Do the world a favor, go get gang r—ped and die, piece of shit. If we're blaming anything, your own mother's suicide is your fault. She even said it on the note she left you, and YEAH, I KNOW ABOUT IT, dumb whore."

He tried to take another step but was punched behind the head, except this time. He didn't let it happen. Once he was done, he turned around and bit the guy on the arm.

"Holy crap, past me fights dirty."

The guy screamed in pain and pushed past me away.

"Rules? Fair fighting? If you want to fight me from now on. I'm using whatever the fuck means necessary. Even if you knock me out, I know where all of you live. I will fucking burn your houses down, hunt down your parents and siblings down, NO ONE COMES OUT OF THIS ALIVE!!!!!!! Come on, try it!!"

"…Jesus Christ dude, talk about overdramatic…"

Past me was frothing at the mouth while saying all this, holy shit I was unhinged crazy during this time. Ryan, Cúntóir…. I seriously think you downplayed this situation of me just being an 'asshole'.

Two more of the guys joined and past me picked up a rock and looked at them, ready to fight— But the scene started to change.

"Yo! Let me see?!"

The area changed into the principal's office. My past self had bruises everywhere and a black eye. The three guys and two girls were all bloody and had cuts, bruises, and bite marks everywhere.

"This psycho would stop hitting Dylan with a rock while he was unconscious!! He was seriously trying to kill him!!!"

He refused to look past me as he glared at him. The other guys weren't doing any better as they would glare at me, but only for a few seconds—

"Wait, is a part of that guy's ear missing…? What the hell… Maybe I had the potential to be a psycho in my past life? What the hell, but if he was constantly bullied, I would understand the retaliation, but this is a bit much…"

The principal sighed.

"We will let your parents decide on how to proceed, but they might press assault charges and attempted murder charges, A----. I know, these classmates of yours have been not so kind to you as of late, but this was crossing a line."

"Unfortunately, I couldn't finish the job."

The principal shook his head as he looked at me with a pitying look. The scene changed again.

"Look, A----, I know you've been through a lot and add the bullying on top of that, but what you did was not okay. You nearly killed him."

"…"

"You're hurting, I know. Please try to get therapy. The A---- we know isn't like this, he was a kind kid that offered to help anyone and everyone, was always smiling, and made whatever place he stepped into a fun and happy one. Please, A---- go and get yourself some help…"

"And those 'bullies' will get a slap on the wrist even after it's been happening for months on end? Yeah, fuck that. I'm proud of what I did."

"I know you don't mean those words, please, I'm helping you here. They didn't press any charges, but want you to be disciplined. I'm sorry, but you'll be suspended for ten days, and will have detention for the rest of the year."

"…"

The principal, who was a guy, pats past me on the shoulder before turning around and walking away.

"You sure are stubborn, huh? Well I guess that part of us hasn't changed."

The scene changes again and this time, ugh, I don't want to see this. Past me and Aoife were on a date somewhere in Dublin. I started following them. They seemed pretty happy and in love, well, as much as teenagers can be.

They stopped at the window of a certain shop. Likewise, I looked at it. It was a jewelry store. Suddenly it started to snow.

"Oh? It's snowing, now that's rare. When was the last time it snowed again?"

"I'm pretty sure it was… ~~~ three years ago? Maybe we'll get a white Christmas this year!"

Aoife jumped for joy while hugging past me's arm while giggling.

"Yeah, maybe school will be canceled because of it and we can have more time together."

"If you didn't add that last part, I would have been mad at you, mister T----!"

They both laughed before looking back at the window and the jewelry.

"Hey, A----, what do you think about getting married?"

Past me, he looked at her in shock before giving her an answer. He looked at her and then down at the ground.

"I mean, we did say something like that when we were younger, but are you serious?"

She nods.

"We're still pretty young, you know? But if you are serious, sure, I don't mind. But wait for me to get you an actual ring, you Muppet."

A light poke on her nose from Past Me makes her huff, but she also agrees with him.

Kshshshshsh ~

Oh, it's over. Anyone else here with me?"

Irene, Elsha, and Amaris come out and awkwardly smile at me. Where were…

"Where are the guys?"

"As soon as they found out you were dreaming, they headed back to your soul and were hanging out with Albion and Ddraig. Those in there should know that you were dreaming."

Elsha explains and Amaris agrees with her.

"But I did not think that your past self would be so…"

"Unhinged? Wild? Psychotic?"

"Yes, those, but it was certainly an intriguing watch."

Yes, I completely agree. I don't know whether past me made up with those people before he passed away, but it could go either way.

"It seems this dream is ending. Let's chat more in your soul in the future, Jin."

"Sure thing, Elsha. See you around."

All three of them fade away as my dream came to an end. I learned a little bit more about what happened during those 'asshole' years, though I don't think that's the right word for it, more like 'Unhinged Psycho' years.

…

Takamagahara

Jin Skyward

"Mmm…?"

"Hyaaa ~ so energetic in the morning ~"

In front of me was Akeno, and in my mouth was her nipple. She was looking down at me with a blush while lightly panting. What the hell are you doing…?

"What are you doing, Akeno…?"

Suzaku turns around to see her cousin on top of me.

"Morning lewd activities?"

I lift Akeno off me and sit up. She makes exaggerated moans and then pouts when I don't play along. Shigune also wakes up and looks around the room, confused, while slightly drooling.

"Good morning. Let's get our day started, shall we?"

…

We were downstairs having breakfast. Uwabami was just casually chatting with the girls as I remembered my dream.

[Oh yeah, you had a dream, right, Partner?]

{Care to tell us, Jin?}

No use in hiding it from them since Belzard and Garrett told them, so I told them what I saw and they began to laugh.

[Bwahahahaha! Unhinged crazy! Partner, I would love to see that part of you again!]

{It's difficult to imagine you acting like that, Jin.}

I don't…

'Jin? Do you wish to go back to your own world?'

Velgrynd. My original universe is already gone, didn't they tell you? I was floating for a long ass time before being reincarnated…

'Oh, right…'

"Jin!"

"Hmmm?"

I hear Uwabami calling out to me and I look at her.

"Be careful while in the Oni's realm, do you hear me?"

"Why?"

I look at her strangely before she sighs loudly.

"While they're generally a pleasant bunch, they do have some notorious troublemakers in their realm. They don't come out very often since their leader is stupid. By leader, I mean the small group that's causing trouble, not Shuten Doji."

"Are they dangerous?"

"No, they're like a small gang, stealing some things, causing small interruptions to daily life, but they are just generally seen as an annoyance more than anything. They spend a few nights in jail and then they go out."

Hmmm, they sound like an interesting bunch…

"What's the group's name?"

"Arataki Gang."

"Huh?"

W-Wait a minute, Arataki…? Like, Arataki Itto…? Does that mean they have a Kuki Shinobu too…? Well, at least going there seems a lot more interesting now. The thing about Shuten and Raiko, and now Itto being there, I wonder who else could be there?

"Ara? Do you know him by chance?"

"No, I thought the name sounded familiar, but I'm probably mixing it up with someone else…"

She looks at me strangely before shrugging.

"Well anyway! Just keep an eye out for them, alright? And before you ask, I visited the Oni's realm before and came across them causing a ruckus, quite an energetic bunch…"

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

She nods, satisfied, and turns back to browsing her phone. As they were still eating, I glanced at everyone. I felt the trio that's been guiding us standing outside the Inn. Why aren't they coming in? Well whatever…

We eventually finished our breakfast as Uwabami started on another rant about something. I mostly tuned her out, as it wasn't anything significant.

"Thanks for the breakfast again. It tastes delicious as usual."

"Flatter won't get you anywhere!"

I chuckled to myself as we left the room and exited the building. Once outside, we could see the three of them waiting. Benkei waved her gourd at us as the other two turned around to greet us.

"Good morning everyone."

"Morning, Yoshitsune."

"Forgive me if this is out of the blue, however, Yae-san wants Akeno-san to go to her shop, as she wants to speak with her about something. Kogitsunemaru also requested for you, Jin. He said some novels came in that you may be interested in."

I glance at Akeno and she excitedly nodded… What did they talk about…? Maybe I should ask her later on. I gestured for Yoshitsune to lead the way and we made our way over there. As we did, Shigune hugged my arm like the night before, making Akeno gasp.

"Ara? Shigune-chan is being quite bold ~"

"Then excuse me too ~"

Benkei quickly jumped back and hugged my other free arm, making Akeno look at her in shock. Suzaku was also a bit surprised by her actions—

"Benkei? What are you doing? Get back up here."

"Ehhh? It's fine, isn't it?"

Bztztztztztz! ~

Akeno 'smiled' at Benkei but she was exuding a dangerous demonic aura and her body let out small sparks of lightning. Benkei flinched and looked back at Akeno then quickly let go of my arm while backing away.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! I was joking, Akeno-chan ~ don't take that as a declaration of war…"

"Ufufufu ~"

Akeno said nothing else and happily latched onto the arm Benkei was just on. With the weird and sudden outburst behind us, we continued walking towards the two novel shops. On our way there, we came across Kathleen the local blacksmith.

"Oh? If it isn't the Middleman, why are you here today? Leaving to another realm?"

"Yeah, but we're taking a small detour right now… Actually, may I see some of your wares?"

"Hmm? Feel free."

I entered the smithy with Akeno and Shigune as the rest waited outside. I use [Observe] on everything, and they were high-quality products too. Maybe I should tell Hephaestus about this? There weren't many, but the ones that were here were made with a lot of work and dedication.

"What do you think?"

"Quality over quantity, huh?"

Kathleen smiles and nods.

"You have a keen eye, Jin-san."

"Maybe… Anyway, I need to speak with her, but she may agree— But, I'm friends with the Greek Goddess Hephaestus, maybe if I tell her about this place and you, she may visit it once the alliance is formed, and check your items for herself."

"H-Hephaestus-sama…? The Divine Smith? I-It would be an honor!"

I nodded and grabbed my phone. Akeno had to let go so I could text her.

|Hey, I found a pretty skilled blacksmith in the Shinto realm. She's human. Wanna come by here when I form the alliance?|

|In the Shinto realm…? Is it comparable to the quality of the two shops we saw in the Norse realm?|

|Yes, I would not recommend them if they weren't. How are they, by the way? Sherry and Kioko?|

|I will see to them myself then, and yes, they're doing well. They have come to learn from me three times already.|

|Good to know. I'll bring you here personally when my schedule opens up.|

|…Is it a date?|

|Sure thing, we can visit some places here if you want.|

|Okay! I'll, I mean message me again when you have time!|

|Sure, sure.|

I put my phone away and Akeno latched back onto me. She seemed quite excited about it.

[First Goddess Get?!]

{Just because they're planning on going on a date doesn't mean she's in it, you nitwit.}

"We'll come back here once I find some time in my schedule."

"Yes, feel free…!"

Kathleen seemed quite excited about it even without showing it on her face, but her body language said otherwise. I nodded and left the store with the girls.

"Sorry for the wait. Let's go."

"What did you think?"

"They're good. I'll be back with Hephaestus after the alliance and when I have time."

Benkei looks at me with a smirk—

"You even have Goddesses that might join your harem? My, how bold of you, Skyward-sama~"

Benkei started laughing to herself as I just shook my head.

"The Greek Gods, most of them anyway, are pretty friendly. I had a different opinion of them before actually meeting them. Reality is stranger than fiction."

"Zeus?"

"Good person."

"Heee? Now that's unexpected…"

Benkei seemed amazed and started asking about the other Gods and I gave her a brief rundown of each one that I had met so far. But I'm curious about Amalthea. Why the hell did she react like that…?

As I pondered this thought, we eventually reached Yae's shop. Akeno lets go of my arm and started to chat it up with Yae like they were old buddies. I strolled across the street with Yoshitsune and Shigune.

"Yo, Kogitsunemaru. Yoshitsune said you brought in some brand-new novels?"

"Yes! Jin-san, here they are!"

I walk over to him and he points at a light novel that has a very long name. 'I'm A Giant Beast, An S-Ranked Monster, But Mistaken For A Dog, I Live As An Orc Girl's Pet!' What in the actual fuck?

"That's quite long. Have you read it yet?"

"Yes! I'm halfway through, it's….. Entertaining and funny! It puts an emphasis on comedy, slice-of-life, and world-building. I really do recommend it!"

"Is that so…? I'll buy it for Rias then. How many volumes are out?"

I took a look at the summary at the back and it says: After dying in a fight against the forces of evil, a monk found himself reincarnated as one of the most powerful monsters in the world: a beast of the end. Problem is, he has to grow up before he can really strut his stuff, and a baby 'beast of the end' looks an awful lot like a dog. And when an orc adventurer decides to take him in, she may need his help as much as he needs hers.

"Two so far. I have them both here. The third should be available in a few months."

He gets the other one and we go up to the counter for me to pay. I thank him and place them in my [Inventory]. I look back to see Shigune and Yoshitsunene staring at a novel. I go over to them and look at the title.

"...Why is it even longer?!"

The book's title is: 'My Life Is Just As Wrong As I Expected After Traveling to Another World Where I'm Surrounded By Cute Girls At A Magical High School And Am Also The Fabled Hero of Legend, But Before I Tell You That Story I Have To Tell You This Story, In Which I Was Walking Along With My Unbelievably, Impossibly Cute Younger Sister Who Doesn't Like Me At All, And She Said To Me It Was My Fault She Wasn't Popular No Matter How She Looked At It As We Walked To School Together, And We Stopped To Look At A Garden, Which Had A Flower Whose Name I Don't Remember, When Suddenly A Portal Opened Up To Another World And When I Landed In A Field And My Face Was Buried In The Largest Pair of Boobs I'd Ever Seen, And My Sister Hit Me And Called Me An Idiot While Blushing, But Then The Girl I Landed On Saw The Birthmark On My Hand And Gasped And She Grabbed My Hand And I Blushed But She Started Dragging Me Away And My Sister Got Mad And Chased After Us And I Asked Where We Were Going, And She Said She Was Taking Us To Grimheart Magic School, Where She Was The School President, And Then I Gasped Because I Was Now In A Magical World, And When We Got To The School Which Was A Giant Castle I Asked The Girl What Her Name Was And She Said It Was Akane Yuusha, Which I Thought Was A Tad Strange Since She Had Blonde Hair And Blue Eyes And The Entire Aesthetic Of The School Seemed Very Ancient European, But I Forgot About All Of That When She Told Me We Needed To See The Headmaster Because She Had Been Taught That The Mark On My Hand Was The Symbol Of The Reincarnation Of The Legendary Dragon Hero Of Legendary Literature, And I Said That Was A Cool Thing To Be Taught Because At Our School The Only Book We Learned Was Atlas Shrugged, And She Asked What That Was And I Told Her I Was The Book Our Society Based Its Philosophy On A Speech From, And She Asked Me To Recite The Speech, Which I Did, And The Speech Went "For Twelve Years You Have Been Asking…'

"That's like three hundred and eighty-seven characters! Who made this?!"

I take another one from the pile and look for the author's name—

"....."

I was left speechless. It was… Kogitsunemaru?! I looked back at the guy and he started to laugh loudly and slapped his sides. He walks over to us and takes the book from my hands.

"Ah yes, I tried my hand at writing a light novel and well, this was it! It took me a couple of months to edit everything. But no one bought it, so I dropped it. But it was a learning experience."

He nods sagely and looks at me.

"Even if the work isn't some groundbreaking thing, the author himself has probably put a lot of work into it, time spent trying to build a world from scratch, create characters, plots, subplots, arcs, and such. Even more so if they drew the art themselves, which I did."

"Anyway, all I'm saying is respect them, even if the series is a flop for you."

"Is that so? I can see where you're coming from then, but everyone has their own opinion, you know."

I tell him, and he nods.

"Oh, I'm not saying they can't. I'm just saying that they need to be constructive about it and not just throw insults because they didn't like it or whatever other reason they have."

I mean, I guess so? Although I have written essays for school, I have never written anything else in my life. I shrug as Kogitsunemaru continues. He apparently made a web novel of it first and then decided to create a light novel just to try it out.

I look back at Shigune and Yoshitsune. They were quite invested in it.

"Looks like you found two fans, Kogitsunemaru."

"Haha, I hope so! Take it! That one is in the house!"

The two nodded before walking together out of the shop. I didn't think Shigune liked reading novels, but she did read some normal books during our time in the [Pocket Dimension].

"Haaa… Well here."

I handed him a piece of paper with my number.

"Text me when you have updated stock and I'll see if I want any of them."

He gives me a thumbs up as I leave his shop and join the others at Yae's. Once there, Benkei was looking through the shelves while Yoichi was reading a novel by himself. Yae and Akeno were still speaking to one another when—

Yae hands Akeno something and she pays for it. I look at her as she hides it behind her. She trotted over to me and showed me it.

'101 Sex Positions to make you scream and break his dick.'

"...…"

I look at the book, at Akeno, and at Yae. I repeat this a few times before shaking my head and turning around to leave. I go outside and wait for everyone to finish. I glance back to see Akeno in complete shock. She then ran to me.

"I-Is that a no?"

"No? No to what?"

"The book!"

I shrug. I mean if she wants to go and read it? Why not? It's not like I'm forbidding her from doing it. Why is she panicking…?

"I'll destroy it!"

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Akeno, slow down. I shrugged because you can choose to do what you want. I really don't care what you do with it. Is our sex too vanilla for you or something…?"

"No, but I do want you to be a bit rougher at times…"

"Sure thing."

I mean, I keep it as vanilla as possible… Kuroka is probably the only other one that wants to try out a lot of things. To my surprise, the next one was Ingvild. But it's generally vanilla between us.

Happy with my answer, she puts her book into her ring before hugging me. Everyone eventually joins us.

"Okay, so to the Oni's realm…"

We quickly returned to the same spot as yesterday; Sara was there to greet us. Maybe I can ask her about the Tengu realm later in the day. Like yesterday, the trio went first then the girls. I then stepped through myself.

…

Zyoto

Vadaya

"Is this a temple or something?"

After teleporting, I noticed the inside of this building looked like the temples I saw in Kyoto. The colors, décor, and wood and stone used. Everyone else was in front of me, and Yoshitsune nodded.

"Yes, Shuten Doji-sama did model many of their buildings and houses like the temples of Kyoto."

Yoshitsune gestures for us to follow her. I quickly looked around the building and there were some flower pots, sword replicas, and floating balls of light above us. Once outside, it was interesting.

Immediately in front of me were multiple waterfalls and a small road. Beyond the large hole with waterfalls was a giant building, to its right a tower-like structure, and two more beside it leading up the hill to our right.

I scan the entire realm and find many auras in here, and most of them I do not recognize. I only know of them as the 'Oni' who live here as well as a few human and other youkai.

"What's with the giant water pool in the middle?"

"A large water serpent, sometimes mistaken for a dragon, resides there. Her name is Shirayuki. She, along with Shuten Doji-sama protect this realm from any and all attacks."

As we all look over the edge, Yoshitsune explains its history to us.

"Originally, Shirayuki-sama was the one who ruled over this realm. It didn't have many inhabitants, but the Oni held her in high regard and saw her as their leader. However, Shirayuki-sama isn't the type to lead."

"She wishes nothing more than to sleep in the depths of this realm's water. She will only take action when the need arises or if Shuten Doji-sama calls for her."

I look at Yoshitsune—

"How did those two come to that agreement? From the sounds of things, she became leader after she came to this realm?"

"Shuten Doji-sama lived in Mount Oe, however, the legends of her killing all those women are not true. She does admit that she did take human lives back in those times as food was scarce. But she was not responsible for those deaths she was accused of."

"Another youkai was responsible for it; he was also an Oni. Due to humans not understanding the difference they decided to exterminate her."

We had stopped to listen to her story and I add—

"Minamoto no Raiko, right? She attempted to kill Shuten?"

"Yes, Minamoto no Raiko along with a few of her subordinates attempted to exterminate Shuten Doji-sama, however, only Raiko-sama was strong enough and the rest of her men perished. It was a long and drawn-out battle between the two, but because the emperor at the time kept on sending reinforcements. Shuten Doji-sama eventually became tired and overwhelmed."

"So, she retreated and eventually found herself here in Takamagahara. Amaterasu-sama as well as Fūjin-sama helped nurse her back to full health. She informed her of a realm that was mostly made up of Oni and she came here. She established a relationship with Shirayuki-sama and she handed over her leadership to Shuten Doji-sama."

"Of course, this didn't happen overnight, but over a few years. Shirayuki-sama saw her diligence and leadership and was confident in leaving the Oni's care to Shuten Doji-sama. The other Oni here were also fine with the decision as they saw her as another leader before becoming one officially."

I see, but when did Minamoto no Raiko come here?

"When did Raiko get to this place? How did Sakata Kintoki get involved in this? Isn't there a legend in him capturing Shuten Doji?"

Benkei snorted and Yoichi looked away. What's up with those reactions…? I looked at Yoshitsune confused.

"Only Amaterasu-sama, Fūjin-sama, Raijin-sama and Raiko-sama told me the stories of his life; he led an interesting one. Unlike the folklore, he did not come across Shuten Doji-sama and capture her. Instead, he came across Raiko-sama and became extremely loyal to her and became Chief of Raiko-sama's Shitenno."

"He studied martial arts and became an expert at the use of many weapons. He fought many battles alongside Raiko-sama and her Shitenno, but eventually died, but the strange thing is… No one could find his body or where he died. In reality, he was M.I.A. But they changed it in human text."

"…"

Cúntóir?

Cúntóir: Answer: Scanning for Sakata Kintoki...…

Cúntóir: Answer: Unable to locate Sakata Kintoki at this time, however, his last known location was Mimasaka Katsutaso on Sakushu Road. He was on his way to Tsukushi (present Kitakyushu City) to overthrow bandits in Kyushu.

Died of a fever? That superhuman? No, that doesn't add up, seeing as how the supernatural in this world is real and other powers… No way someone like him can just die to a fucking fever.

[Nyarlathotep?]

Only thing I can think of, but where is he now? Did he suffer the same fate as Medusa? Well, let's hope to see him down the line.

"Jin-san?"

"…It's nothing. Let's arrange to meet up with her then."

"Yes!"

…

We started to walk away from the spot we were at. According to Yoshitsune, Shuten Doji's home is the giant castle in front of the building where we teleported from. So, we started to walk to the East side where there was a long wooden bridge.

This realm was like old era Japan as it didn't have too many modern things, but had their own entertainment, like the Red-Light District, basketball court and soccer field. I didn't know they liked those sports…

As we made our way there, the three historical figures with us were greeted by all the youkai there. Many of them were Oni, obviously, but there were also some humans here too. We passed by a few diners and mini restaurants, a couple of vendors and some regular shops.

All of the Oni here varied in shape, size and color. But there was one distinct feature that most of them had: they were buff as hell. Like around ninety percent of Oni, I came across were really muscular, even the women.

"These Oni sure are muscular."

Akeno comments as we pass through more of them. We eventually reached the bridge…

"This does not look stable at all…"

I commented as Benkei laughed.

"Yeah, it's not meant to. If you want to speak with Shuten Doji-sama, you'll need a certain amount of courage, or balls to do it. If you get past this bridge, she'll entertain you for as long as you want. Ah— But no cheating, so no flying or anything like that, only walking."

"…Cool beans, let's go—...?"

As I tried to move forward, someone stopped me. I looked back at Shigune who looked pale. I-Is she scared of heights…?

"Shigune? Are you scared of heights?"

She nodded. But you've been in plenty of fights where you've literally been flying or launched into the air…

"But—"

"This and fighting battles are different!"

Is it? Well let's move forward with that. After nodding, I walked back behind her. I picked her up and carried her.

"This is fine, right?"

"Yeah, she doesn't care if you do that, just no flying or using other ways of transport or travel."

Getting the okay from Benkei I started to carry Shigune across, though she was still clearly panicking.

"Just close your eyes and—"

She closed her eyes and buried her head into my chest… Well at least she didn't need me to tell her to do that…

"Mmmm!"

Gyu ~

"You know this will make it a tad harder to walk…"

"Deal with it…"

Akeno had hugged me from behind and it didn't seem like she was about to let go, geez, she's been on a slight jealous streak since we got here. First with Suzaku, then Benkei and now Shigune…

"Akeno…"

"No, Suzaku-nee-san ~ I want to do this ~ and nothing will stop me~"

"Haa… I'm sorry about her actions, Jin."

I chuckle—

"No, it's fine. I'm used to spoiling her, so this is par for the course."

"Exactly ~"

As we walked on the wooden bridge, the wind started to pick up and it started to sway. Everyone held steady and didn't fall, thankful—

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

"Ah, Yoichi fell."

I spoke too soon. I looked over the edge and Yoichi was slowly falling down while screaming. I sigh and throw Shigune up into the air making her scream as well.

"Ahhhhhh!!! Jin?!?!?"

I looked over the edge and pulled Yoichi back using telekinesis. Once I grabbed a hold of him, I put him back on the bridge and waited for Shigune to come falling down into my arms.

"Heh, easy—"

Bonk! Bonk!

"Why did you do that?! You could have just put me down!"

"…My apologies, it was spur of the moment. Forgive me."

"I—"

Chu ~

"…"

I kissed her on the forehead and she blushed, closing her eyes without saying a word. I guess I won this round? Yoichi gave me a thankful look as we continued walking towards the castle of Shuten Doji.

After a few minutes of careful walking, we eventually landed back on solid ground. Yoichi knelt on all fours and started praying.

"Ahhh, land how I miss you! Stable, not wobbly land…!"

"Get up you idiot"

Benkei tries to kick him but he dodges it while sticking his tongue out at her. The two glare at one another before Yoshitsune broke it up. They've been alive for a long time but can act like that, huh? Gives me a bit of hope in my older years to come…

"Yes, yes, let's get moving and stop messing around you two…"

"Tch."

The two of them stopped glaring at each other and walked away. I let Shigune down and we started to follow them. We approached the 'entrance' as it was just a wide-open area with large red pillars made of stone.

"How do we get up?"

Shigune inquires, and Yoichi points up. We look up to see a hole, seriously? She wants her guests to do some parkour or something…?

"So, parkour?"

"Pretty much, Shuten Doji-sama is up there with her maids. Despite that, the last two are normal since they have stairs and the usual rooms. The first two are, well, chaotic. But they also have normal rooms…"

Yoichi explains and Benkei adds—

"Ten Do-sama is quite eccentric in this way. It makes it fun! Well, for me anyway, even if I'm lazy and only like to drink. Anyway ~ let's go ~"

The trio jump up and through the opening in the ceiling. The rest of us followed suit. Once up there it was strange. We entered a floor with pipes and a sort of obstacle course. Yoichi and Benkei weren't lying. What the hell is up with this…?

Following Yoshitsune, all of us go through the obstacle course and make it through them quite easily. Though we opted to skip most of them by just jumping past them, we reached another area with red and blue walls and floor.

"This is where we advance to the next floor. Look up."

We do so and see… 'Well done, next floor ~ jump, jump ~' written on a large piece of paper with ink. I sigh and jumped in first surprising them. Once up there—

Boom!!!

I put my hand out to stop a large bag of flour from hitting me, what the hell. The others join in and saw flour all over the place.

"Haha! Shuten-sama really added flour this time? What's next wa—"

Splash!

"Ter…. Ah, dammit."

Benkei was hit with a large splash of water before she could continue her sentence. She shook it off looking a little annoyed. I turned my hand to her and dried her off. She gave me a quick thanks and we navigated our way through this floor of the castle again.

For some reason, it was mostly filled with traps rather than any obstacles, from weird tentacles coming out of the ground, to balloons with water in them being thrown at us and even snowballs…

A lot of random crap was used against us— But we eventually made it to an empty room, this time. It was normal, no blue or red walls or floor, it was normal. The floor is made out of wood, which is brown, while the walls are white, brown and red. A few pieces of furniture and decorations around the room.

"And now…it's normal, I don't get it."

"Well we don't need to do anymore of that once we go up to the third level."

Benkei points out before jumping up and we all followed her. Once we were up there—

""Welcome to Shuten Doji-sama's home.""

Two maids greeted us, both were Oni's.

To the left, the female Oni has medium length sky blue hair that covers her right eye, large light blue eyes, and young features. She also has hair clips towards the left side of her hair, a flower-shaped ribbon on the same side of her hair, and a maid hairband.

To the right, the female Oni has medium length light pink hair that covers her left eye, large darkish red eyes, and young features. Moreover, she has hair clips on the right side of her hair, a flower-shaped ribbon on the same side, and a maid hairband.

These two look like Rem and Ram. Are their names—

"Oh? Rem-chan, Ram-chan ~ yahoo ~"

Benkei waves to the two as they bow.

"Benkei-sama, Yoshitsune-sama and Yoichi-sama, welcome. Is he…?"

Yoshitsune nods.

"Yes, he's Jin, the Middleman. He came to visit this realm and meet with Shuten Doji-sama."

Both Rem and Ram turn to me and bow.

"Welcome, Jin-sama to the realm of the Oni, Zyoto and the city of Vadaya. Please follow us."

Both Rem and Ram started to walk away and we followed after them. The third floor was as promised, normal. No weird traps or parkour, just a normal home. There were multiple pieces of furniture around the floor.

As we walked through the floor, we also come across a few rooms that were unique as they held different types of objects in them. They ranged from old samurai armor, to tea ceremony rooms and even—

"Why is that room just full of fish tanks…?"

"It is a collection, Jin-sama."

Collection…? Is this Shuten Doji a psychopath…?

We eventually reach a staircase, and we climb it. The floor appeared to be normal. The whole place was being illuminated by fox fire, did they hire kitsunes to light up the place? In the final floor there seemed to be an increase of portrait paintings and pictures of her— Shuten Doji.

We eventually reach a door and they both open it and stepped through. We also do so and were greeted by a fancy looking room. The 'throne' that Shuten Doji was on. It was elevated by an extra layer of wood; it was also surrounded by an octagonal box in fancy looking decorations and wallpaper.

She— Shuten, was sitting on a red, blue and purple pillows as she was sipping on a cup. She looks over at us as both Rem and Ram walk over to her side and stand there with their eyes closed.

"Oya? Benkei, Yoshitsune and Yoichi. It's been some time…. Hmmm? Could this be the famed Middleman? I did not expect a visit from you. I welcome you to our realm, Zyoto and our city, Vadaya."

Shuten Doji is a rather short Oni. Her skin is pale tinged with light purple, almost resembling silver. Her hair is purple and short, reaching only her neck and her bangs cut past her forehead. Her eyes are lustrous purple, with red makeup painted right above them. Shuten Doji's horns flow out of her body naturally, beginning from the same pale tone of her skin and gradually becoming wine-red. Her fangs are sharp and long compared to those of humans.

Shuten Doji wears a golden ornament with a green jewel over her forehead, in between her horns. She wears an extremely long kimono without sash, leaving it open and exposing the body underneath. The kimono is bluish-purple, with red curved lines drawn throughout it, especially on the tri-parted extensions of the sleeves. It is decorated with green ribbons. Underneath the open kimono, Shuten Doji is mostly naked.

Her ankles have red ribbons tied around them. She wears a piece of metal-like material that covers her crotch and breasts. All these lines are joined by thin lines that extend all the way up to her neck, forming a choker. Of the same material, her hands and feet wear small pieces, tied around her fingers and wrists, and toes and heels respectively.

She is carrying three gourds by her waist and over the hip: the first is a small brown gourd; the second is a white container of sake; the third and most prominent, is an overly large blue gourd of glass with golden ornaments.

"Hello, I'm Jin and yes, I'm the Middleman. Nice to meet you, Shuten Doji. I've heard many rumors."

"Good ones I do hope."

We grin at each other—

"This may seem rude, but can I ask some questions?"

She makes a small gesture with her hand and cup indicating that I could.

"Why did you name this place Zyoto and the city Vadaya? Why the weird obstacle course on the first two floors, and what's your relationship with Shirayuki? And if you don't mind telling me about her?"

"My, quite a lot of questions coming from you, let's see…"

Cúntóir could be asked afterward if she doesn't tell the whole truth or if she is missing some information. But I want to hear it from her own mouth… Also, seeing as how this will take some time, I snap my fingers and summon some chairs. Everyone else takes a seat as we wait for her to talk. Benkei starts to drink from her gourd.

"Well, Zyoto should be obvious, It's in honor to Kyoto, my once home. As for Vadaya? I chose it at random. There is no deep meaning to it. The obstacle course as well as the traps are there for entertainment, for both the guest and I."

"This is no ordinary home, is it not?"

"How do you get down without needing to go through those?"

She smiles and gestures to Ram who got up and brings out a picture of this castle? It looks like it was taken from the back and there was some sort of hidden platform with the same teleportation symbols, ah, I see…

"I see, so you just teleport up here if you don't want to go through all that…"

She laughs and nods, Ram goes back to where she previously once was.

"Now for the last question. Shirayuki, after I spent some time in Takamagahara, I was directed here by Amaterasu-sama. Hearing that there were other Oni here I naturally wanted to see it, so I came and it was a lot baren than what it is today."

"It was more like a very simple, poor village. Since Shirayuki did not live up here on the land, she left the Oni's to fend and develop it. However, if they were attacked by 'something' she would appear. So, when I came here, I decided to befriend many other Oni's and start redevelopment of this realm."

"We started with the area that they had already chosen as 'home' and went from there. This place was once my little home too, you know? But I chose to develop the other parts of this city first. Their homes, to shops and finally everything else. The final piece was my home, this magnificent concoction."

She takes a sip from her cup and continues.

"After that, I started on creating jobs for the Oni, then connected a trade route and teleportation circle from Zyoto to Takamagahara. That way we can have both export and import goods, right? We have our own Oni police too!"

I hadn't noticed that but I'll take her word for it…

"Our realm is quite modest, so there isn't much to see here, but if I had to choose… Fufu, perhaps it may be the new Arataki gang? They certainly are troublemakers and also make the daily lives of the residents much more entertaining."

The Arataki gang, huh? I'll just go out of my way to meet them then.

"I see, well thank you for your time then, Shuten Doji. I'll go try to find those ruffians then, they sound rather, peculiar."

"I hope you do, I helped raise that child. He may be considered a delinquent now, but he has a good heart."

"That doesn't excuse his recent actions, Shuten Doji-sama."

Ram says beside her making the small Oni laugh.

"Of course not, but they're nothing like Khaos Brigade or other groups like them. If I had to guess, they're just bored children trying to liven things up in our realm."

"Hmm? It seems they're here again~ they live out in the more wooded areas of our realm. Not many are out there except for some small farmlands and the like."

I scan the city again and could feel some new presences running around, I nodded to her and got up.

"I'll check them out then."

"Fufu, do come by again, Jin. I sense you want to ask one more question, without an audience."

"…"

Well, yeah. I wanted to ask about Raiko and Kintoki but I'll leave to do that before we leave…

"Rem, please guide them to the teleporter."

Rem bows and gestures for us to follow her. Everyone gets up from their chair and I dismiss them. We follow Rem out of the room as I felt Shuten's eyes on my back. We turn left and keep going to the end of the hall.

Once there, Rem taps the wall and a small lever appears and it reveals a teleportation symbol.

"Much like the teleporter you used here, only three can enter at a time…"

I look at Yoshitsune and she with Benkei and Yoichi go first. They're followed by the three girls and I went last. I look at Rem and she stares back at me with little emotion.

"Is something wrong, Jin-sama?"

"No… I thought I saw you from somewhere before."

She shakes her head—

"I have not left Zyoto— No, Takamagahara since I came here. So, if you saw someone with the same appearance as me, it was just coincidence."

"Is that so? Take care."

"Yes."

She bows one last time before I teleport away.

…

Once back down on the ground, I turn to Benkei—

"Is there a rule for not flying back?"

"Nope ~"

"Great. Let's go, I wanna see this 'Arataki' gang for myself."

I turn and picked up both Shigune and Suzaku making them yelp. Akeno immediately huffed to herself. I start to run back towards the bridge and jump up. I then brought out [Divine Dividing] and flew back to the other side.

"Ehhhhh?? Don't leave us behind, Jin-kyun ~"

Benkei says behind me, trying to make it sound exaggerated. Akeno quickly joined me while her Devil wings were out. I glance back and could see the historical trio running and jumping along the bridge. I guess they didn't want to be left behind that badly.

I also look down to see a giant whirlpool and large yellow glowing eyes staring back at me. I guess she's near the surface then. Did she sense me and Albion? No, it's probably just a coincidence.

It didn't take us long to land back on the ground and there was a large commotion happening.

"Get them! The Arataki gang is at it again! Those damn delinquents!"

An Oni male says while pointing to his left. Other Oni's showed up wearing blue police uniforms and running towards that direction.

"Not just them but Asahi Sato is also joining in!"

"That brat?! He's acting like Arataki Itto even more! Don't tell me he's trying to start his own stupid gang?!"

More complaints kept on flying, the historical trio eventually reached us and I made a small gesture with my head and started to follow the commotion…. Asahi Sato, who the hell is that?

We ran there and eventually reached a large open area with houses and shops circling it. In the middle of the area was, yeah, it was definitely Arataki Itto…

Itto is a tall man with a large build. He has white spiked hair with pale red streaks that goes down to his back. As an Oni, he has two red horns on his forehead. Itto also has eyes that fade from red to yellow and diamond-shaped pupils.

His face is painted with red makeup which extends from his upper eyelid to this lower eyelid, and numerous parts of his body, arms and head are also painted with red lines.

Itto's attire is decorated with a number of spikes and spines. He wears a cropped purple top paired with a sleeveless black collared coat decorated around the shoulders with thick purple and white ropes.

He also wears a thick black belt decorated with a large buckle resembling an Oni mask and grey pants decorated with red and tied at the end with ropes.

"Man, screw you guys! Can't you lighten up a little? It's just a prank!"

Itto voiced out his complaint as the crowd just boo'd and jeered at him. He wasn't alone since there were four other humans and an Oni with him. The three were human males, they wore old Japanese clothing and looked scared as hell.

"Oi! Akira, Genta, and Mamoru stop acting like that and show some manly pride!"

"Y-Yes boss!"

"But we still do need to get out of here…"

"They're waiting for us after all—"

"I know that! Just let me think… Uh, Shinobu, some help would be appreciated."

Itto turns to his crew and sighs and then turns to the only woman there with him.

Shinobu is a young woman of medium build with light green hair held up into a messy ponytail with a thick dark reddish-violet rope that matches the color of her eyes and a dark hairpiece with gold accents. In addition to this, Shinobu has messy bangs and wears a dark grey mask that covers the lower portion of her face.

Shinobu's outfit consists of dark colored cropped top exposing part of her midriff, matching dark shorts and a black belt decorated with a thick red rope tied into a bow.

Over this, Shinobu wears a cropped dark purple red and gold-trimmed hooded jacket with a buckle, dark gloves that leave certain fingers exposed and thigh-high leg wear with red armor plating.

Shinobu's outfit is decorated with a number of gold and red accents and trinkets and more thick red ropes, most notably around her chest area. In addition to this, Shinobu wears a single samurai plate over her left shoulder.

The woman called Shinobu sighed and started to speak when—

"Scuse me!!!"

Bam!

Another person arrived! He had short messy orange ginger hair, blue eyes with red makeup on his face. His horns start dark blue up halfway up they become red. He has earrings on him and wore a typical Iromontsuki haori hakama which was mostly red in color. He also had a spiky choke collar around his neck.

"Yo, Itto!"

"Asahi?!"

"The man, the myth, the legend has arrived! And we're getting out of here!"

Asahi raises his hand and slaps the ground— From there a large amount of water erupted from the ground and started to flood the immediate area. I, along with everyone else in my group jump up and land on roofs around us.

Using this chance, the Arataki Gang and Asahi escaped! The Oni police were taken by surprise and they scrambled to stop the water from damaging the area even more.

"Do we follow them?"

Yoichi asked as he kept his eyes on them as they escaped. I glance at the fleeing delinquents and then back to the area they just flooded.

"Do it discreetly, I want to know what they meant by 'Getting back to them'."

I snap my fingers and cleared the waters from the area, all eyes went towards me and I nodded before jumping away to follow the gang. Everyone else followed me.

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I expected it to be."

Yoshitsune says beside me as we lightly jogged with me in the lead. We quickly leave the city and go into a more rural and forested area. We go through the area and it didn't look like it was maintained at all, did they not care about this place…?

But didn't Shuten mention that there are farmlands this way?

[Maybe it's in another area? It did split off earlier.]

Right, point taken, I guess so? Following Itto's aura we start to slow down our speed and everyone started to lower their presence. We come by a few trees and in front of us was a larger opening with a few houses but it was mostly empty.

The houses looked old and worn out, the wooden fences around this place also looked disrepair and the well in the middle of the area had a damaged roof above it. The only saving grace was a small patch of dirt with some vegetables and fruit growing from it beside one of the houses.

"W-What the hell? Where is everybody?!"

Itto looked around in shock and three guys started to look around in worry and started to shout.

"Rin-obaa-san!! Kin-chan!! Yiyi-chan!!!"

Asahi looks at Itto with a confused expression—

"Hmm? Did you guys move base or something?"

"Of course not! Are you stupid?! I'm stupid but not that stupid! O-Oi, Ushi! Can you try finding them?!"

Itto puts his hand to the ground and summons a small cow? He called it 'Ushi', right?

Ushi is a young bull with a chunky body type and stubby legs. Additionally, he also dons a pair of golden horns atop his head, and attached to the tip of his tail is a shape of a shard. He has yellow eyes; thick, furrowed eyebrows; and a white snout for his facial features.

His coat is brown, with golden markings on his hooves; cheeks, albeit lighter in color; and across his body.

Ushi carries a small dark navy blue and red roof on his back, with golden faces resembling that of an Oni. The roof is tied to Ushi with a rope in purple and white accents, similar to Itto's ropes on his outfit.

"Mooo, mooo, mooo?"

"H-Huh?! You can't find them either…?! Oh, dammit! O-Oi… Sh-Shinobu…?"

Itto looking horrified turns to Shinobu as she had closed her eyes and was thinking. Shinobu then opens her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Boss. But all I can think of is that they were kidnapped by 'them'. We've been fighting them over the last few months, but it's only gotten worse. If I'm being honest, I'm surprised it took them this long to do…this."

"W-Wait, you them 'them', 'them', as in 'THEM'?!"

Itto repeats Shinobu's words but Asahi looked confused.

"Who the hell are you guys talking about? And who's 'them'?"

Shinobu turns to Asahi and nods—

"While Boss refers to our group as a gang, we're nothing like it. We're just a bunch of nobodies causing a little trouble, stealing some food to feed everyone here. I sometimes do legal jobs to add a bit more to our pocket."

"Now wait a minute, Shinobu. We'r—"

"Shut up, boss, let me speak. As I was saying, we're a bunch of nobodies just causing a little bit of trouble since we have some mouths to feed. Anyway, at the start of the year we came across a group of humans and Oni who banded together and in my opinion a real 'gang'."

Itto began to sulk, crouch down and start messing with the ground with his finger. He was muttering something about being the boss and having a say in things…

"Pure violence, torture, violating men, women and children of all ages. The use of drugs and other more despicable things they do. We had clashed with them a few times over the last few months. But since boss is quite strong, as well as everyone else working together, we always repelled them."

"But I guess they've decided to attack people we're close with and have nothing to do with our fights. It's disgusting, we have to find them before anything happens to them."

Boom!

The ground beneath Asahi cracked, and blue flames started to surround his body, he was clearly pissed off. I turn to face everyone with me and they nodded— So we came out of our hiding spot. Once we did, they— The Arataki gang were alerted.

"Who are you?"

Shinobu asks while bringing out a kunai and covering it with purple lightning. Asahi's eyes widen and his anger seemingly vanished—

"Oppai Dragon?!"

He says while pointing at me while shaking his hand.

"Oppai Dragon? Oh, you mean the Middleman?"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!"

Shinobu calms down and puts her kunai away while Itto springs back up screaming in shock. He quickly runs over to me and starts shaking my hand.

"A boss to a boss! Red Dragon Emperor! Please, you gotta help us!"

I didn't think he'd throw his pride away and ask me right away…

"Well, we did come out of spying on you to offer our assistance. So, tell us more about this real gang you're having beef with."

Shinobu nods—

"I will assume that you already heard what I had said earlier. To go into more detail, their gang is called 'Prius' and they're led by two people who are considered their leaders. 'Kuragari' and 'Gaja'. Kuragari is the Oni and Gaja is the human."

"Those two lead that gang, I don't know where their base is exactly located but I can give you a vague area."

Shinobu points around north-east and frowns.

"They should be somewhere that way, North-East of where we are currently."

"Why doesn't Shuten-sama or Shirayuki-sama do anything about them?"

Shigune asks them and Itto sighs.

"Shuten-baa-san only cares about what happens in the city or anyone affiliated with it. If you choose to live out her without associating with them then you're on your own. But she does encourage them to be connected to them, so it's up to those to agree to it or not."

"Honestly… There are more benefits, but some people— Or Oni are stubborn, so as you can see, this little village is on their own. Anyway, Shirayuki-sama doesn't leave those waters for any reason. In a way, she's bound there, unless she decides to one day just leave."

"We— Well, Genta and Mamoru live here so, when I came across them with Akira, that's how the Arataki gang was formed! We came across Shinobu since she didn't want to keep being a Shrine maiden in training in Takamagahara and by default her little clan in the human realm."

Itto looks at Shinobu and she nods.

"Our clan isn't big or notorious for anything. We simply exorcise spirits in Japan like any other that's involved in the supernatural. The Kuki Clan prides itself in creating Shrine Maidens each generation. I was the one who broke off from it."

"Long story short, I left the family and became my own person. I travelled the world learning and mastering all kinds of things, until I came back to Japan, came to Takamagahara and came across the Arataki Gang. As I said before, I may one day move on with my life, boss."

Shinobu turns to say that to Itto as he looks away—

"I-I know that already! You don't need to keep telling me that!"

"Anyway, I don't mind helping since innocent people, or Oni were abducted. I can do the rescue mission, if you want to—"

"Leave the fighting to us! I got a bone to pick with that guy!"

Smack!

Itto punches his fists together as his powers rose up and then back down again. The three human guys and Shinobu agreed with him.

"Asahi, will you—"

"Of course, I'm helping! Even if we're rival gangs, we're nothing like those guys! They'll seriously sour our reputation in this realm! Even if I'm the only one in my gang so far!"

"Benkei, Yoshitsune, Yoichi. Are you guys helping or…?"

"Yes, of course, Jin-san."

"I get to kick a bit of ass, I'm done."

"…Sure thing."

All three of them were for it, I nodded and turned back to the Arataki Gang—

"Alright, let's do it like this then—"

…

Yoichi Nasuno

Jin had left me back here in the village; however, I play a pretty key role in all of this. He had given me a pair of goggles that gives me a zoom function on it as well as a new compact bow that has a larger range and accuracy than what I have.

He had created a large platform for me to stand on and scout out the area where we think the Prius' base is at. He also gave everyone transceivers to make communication easier.

[Yoshitsune to Yoichi, I'm in position. How about you, Benkei?]

[Ready ~]

[I'm also ready. I see no movement in the area that Jin located, but there are signs of people living there. I see some creates, torches and other miscellaneous items.]

I answered back after hearing those two.

[Roger that.]

Using the goggles, I zoom in further to see… Jin was looking at me and giving me the okay sign with his hand. I'm surprised he could still see me from there. I nod at him and he nodded back.

[Thisssss Aratakiii Ittoooo!!! I'm in position with Asahi!]

[Boss, stop making everything dramatic. This is Shinobu, I'm also ready and the traps too.]

Arataki Itto and his Deputy Office, Kuki Shinobu responded.

[This is Araki with Genta and Mamoru, we're also ready with the traps!]

Then—

[Alright, let's commence the operation, mission start!]

Jin began the mission.

…

Jin Skyward

I had reached a cave's entrance with Akeno and Suzaku with me. Shigune was with Shinobu since we'll be assisting her with the traps that we set up. Araki, Mamoru and Genta were also assigned places to set up traps. Everything was ready.

I had wanted to do this by myself and get everything done quickly, but Itto is a stubborn Oni and probably would have had a tantrum so I decided to involve everyone instead.

I could sense around thirty people inside the cave, using [Penetrate], one of [Boosted Gears] abilities, I looked through the cave and could see a few villagers that weren't harmed yet. Many of the children were scared and the older Oni's and humans were terrified.

Four older Oni's, two male, two female. Three children, two Oni and one human, three older humans, an elderly woman and elderly man and a guy in his mid-thirties. So, ten of them were taken in total, the rest of the twenty were the 'gang'.

"This is what I found out—"

I tell Akeno and Suzaku and also relay it back on the transceivers I gave out.

[That's about right, Jin-san. They're not hurt so that's good.]

[Righto! Please get them back safely!]

[Right, get ready.]

I look at the two as they nodded and waited outside. I turn myself invisible and walk through the cave entrance, I walk down the man-made stairs as it went down in a spiral. The cave had torches around to illuminate it, there were also old human or Oni bones scattered around the place.

I eventually get down to the ground floor and they were chained to the walls but none of them were locked up in the wooden cages that they had. They were busy eating and drinking, luckily for me, they were in the same area and not too widespread.

So, I covered them in an invisible barrier and stopped time in them— The people that were captured became confused. So I undid my invisibility and they were surprised.

"Sup, Middleman here to rescue you. Itto and the Arataki Gang are just outside, let's get you guys out of here, alright?"

They were too stunned to speak but nodded along, so I broke off their chains and freed them. Once that was done, I healed them and told them to start walking up the stairs and out of the cave. This barrier will be canceled by me so they can stay like that indefinitely.

I join them outside as Akeno and Suzaku started to help them walk back to the little village.

[This is Jin, they're secured and are coming back. Next up the downfall of Prius. You guys ready?]

[Yeah!]

They all answered enthusiastically and I went back inside the cave, I waited a few minutes to make sure that the villagers were closer to the village before I undid the barrier. Once they were… I removed the time barrier around them.

"Ha— What the fuck? Where did those villagers go?!"

"Haaaaaaa?! How did they escape?!"

They started to panic and look around until—

"You! Who's that!?"

I didn't answer them but just brought my arm up and summoned the [Boosted Gear]. This made their eyes widen…

"See ya."

I started to walk away with the [Boosted Gear] still out, I quickly hear them shouting and a lot of footsteps behind me. I summon two other clones and started to run in different directions. I deliberately did so to make them see each of 'me' go different ways.

…

Kuragari

"What? Three of them?"

"Who cares! Split up and go after one!"

"Nine go right, nine go left!

I ordered the dumbasses with me, they quickly did so and ran off in those directions.

"Gaja with me!"

"Yeah…"

I, Kuragari have been the boss of this gang Prius for more than a year now. We have had countless successful raids, attacks and plundering of villages around Zyoto since that dumb leader doesn't care about them.

We r—pe, kill and do anything we want. We live how we want. I decided to do this to gain attention of Khaos Brigade and hopefully be invited to join the Monkai association, word domination doesn't sound too bad, right?

I ran with Gaja, the other leader as we chased down the so called 'Middleman'. He did show his Sacred Gear, the [Boosted Gear].

I met Gaja around the same time last year, we did the same things but as a duo, but we didn't go anywhere, so we decided to recruit like-minded individuals for our group, it eventually evolved into a gang that mainly operated in this realm.

For the time being we're not strong enough to go against the Gods, but if we join Khaos Brigade, we can definitely get our hands in those 'red vials' that makes you stronger, and when we do…

I aimed my hand at the Middleman and fired a blast of fire magic!

Doom!

When the smoke cleared, he wasn't hit by it and was still running. What a little weasel!

"Gaja."

"Right."

He starts to use wind magic since that was his specialty along with darkness manipulation. He can use darkness manipulation since he was younger and learnt magic over the years, he excelled at wind magic, so he mainly uses those two and combined them regularly.

I felt my body being covered in wind— He called this spell 'Wind steps' as it increases our speed and swiftness to catch up to our targets. With this our speed increased and we quickly caught up with the Middleman!

"I got you; you piece of fat shi—"

He turned around and grinned—

"Boom."

"Boo—"

Boooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!

…

Jin Skyward

I guess making three clones and making them run after them was the right choice. I had turned invisible and let my clones that had bombs in them run off. The others should…

Booooooom!!!! Boooooooom!!!!!

—Explode soon, there they go, I guess.

[This is Araki! We've got them! They fell into the hole after the explosion!]

[Shinobu here, six fell into the hole and three are fleeing. I joined up with Boss and Asahi, we'll be chasing after them.]

[Roger that, the two leaders are fighting Yoshitsune and Benkei now. How about your end, Yoichi?]

Good, good, those three just got lucky then. Yoshitsune and Benkei should be fine those two were just around Middle-class and those two were peak of Ultimate-class.

[Everything is going well. Itto, Asahi, Shinobu, do you need assistance? I can out shoot their legs to stop them.]

[No dude! Let us handle this!]

[Alright. I'll keep on the lookout.]

[I'll leave the rest to you guys then. I'll go check on up the villagers again.]

[Roger!]

…

Arataki Itto

"Let's goooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't run away you cowards!!!!!!!"

"I will beat them before you, Itto!"

"In your dreams, Asahi!"

I put more power into my legs and ran further ahead of Asahi and Shinobu, that lady who was with Jin. Shigune, was it? She stayed behind to make sure the ones who got trapped didn't escape. I gotta thank the little lady later!

Reinforcing my entire body and fists with magic and as well as the power of earth, I jumped and punched the ground in front of the fleeing gangsters!

Dooooom!!!!

"You won't get away that easily!"

"Fuck this! Solid Impact!"

One of the humans stopped and turned to me and punched his fist into an open palm and a large ice hammer appeared above me?!

"What the—?!"

"Eat shit, Oni!!!"

"I don't need my weapon for this!!!"

I brought my fist back and activated my ultimate technique!! Behold you stupid idiots!!! For I am the mightiest Itto!!!

[Royal Descent: Behold, Itto the Evil!]. I then followed up by punching the ice hammer above me!

Dooooom!!!!!!! Fwshhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

A large gust of wind is made upon impact! It also blows everyone else away, I jump towards the human who attacked me, he looked quite scared!

"Eat This!!! Super ultra-attack!!! Arataki style!!"

I brought my fist down on him as it landed on his stomach and forced him into the ground! The man coughed up blood and the ground beneath him was destroyed! It was just a normal punch though!

"That's just a normal punch, Boss."

"Huh? Why are you so calm about this, Shinobu? What about the others?

She looked at me funny and then pointed around us. I look around to see the devastation I made, the other two gangsters were, well, one of them was inside a tree trunk and the other was knocked out as he had hit the ground in a weird way and his neck was bent the wrong way.

"Oh! My greatness did a lot more than I thought! …Uh where's Asahi?"

Shinobu points behind her and he was stuck in a tree.

"Dammit Itto! I wanted to stop them too!!!"

"I was just too fast for you, kid, Hyahahahahaha!"

Shinobu sighed and shook her head. Heh, sorry but I'm just that great, Shinobu.

[This is Shinobu, we stopped the three that escaped. We'll be brining them with us now.]

"Asahi, you still have the rope, right?"

"Yeah…"

He came down from the tree still not happy but took out the rope that Jin gave him, it was made out of pure mana and didn't break easily. I tried earlier and made a fool out of myself. The Middleman is full of surprises! I want to fight him someday!

Shinobu grabbed the mana ropes and started to tie the escapees up. She had to be forceful with one since he was stuck inside a tree trunk…

"Done. Boss take two, Asahi take the other."

"Yeah!"

"I could have carried two…"

"Hyahahahaha!"

…

Benkei Musashibou

"Are you sure you're one of the leaders? You're pretty weak you know ~"

Tang! Don!

The plan after Jin's clones lured the bosses away was for Yoshitsune and I to fight them~ though is this even a fight? It's more of a one-sided beat down since they're so weak ~

"Quit fucking with me, you pussy on legs!"

"Arerere? Quite vulgar there…"

The Oni leader, Kuragiri, was a tall and muscular Oni around 6'9, his skin was mostly red, he has black hair and was mostly fighting with his fists, he didn't use any kind of elemental power or magic, but his natural strength was quite something for a weakling that is~

I brought out my staff and smacked it against his torso, launching him backwards. To my surprise he managed to steady himself.

"Hmm, am I holding back too much?"

[Shigune-san is heading towards Araki's group to help them bring those guys back. You two need to finish yours, Jin's on his way.]

I heard Yoichi through the transceivers. Why would Jin need to come back here himself? Well whatever ~

"Benkei!"

"Yes, yes I heard him ~"

—Suddenly, Kuragiri started to grow in size, and get bigger and bigger, until he was at least three times my size. What kind of unique ability is this?

Boom! Don! Don!

He cocked his arm back and punched the spot where I was, but swiftly dodged it and jumped backwards a few times.

"Do you think making yourself larger will help you? You have heard of the term 'The lager they are, the harder they fall', right?"

"Arrrrghh!!!!"

He started to attack me again and I dodged all his attacks. I guess that means this is some sort of berserker form or technique? He didn't exactly hear me…

"Haaa… Whatever, I just want to drink."

I dashed towards him and appeared beside his left side, he hadn't caught up to my speed so I crushed his left leg with my staff, I appeared to the other side and crushed his right leg too.

Bam! Bam! Break! Break!

Once he was done, he began to flail around and tried to attack me with just his arms. It will be problematic if he could use them. Spinning my staff around my hands I crushed his elbows making him quite literally useless.

"Now, stay down and be a good boy."

I turn around to look at Yoshitsune and—

Shing! Slash! Slash! Splat! Splat!

With one swift movement, Yoshitsune appeared behind the human called Gaja, both his arms slowly fall off him and were also cut into tiny pieces— It took him a few seconds to register what had just happened—

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

Yoshitsune turned around and kicked him on the neck, knocking him out.

"Very efficient, Boss ~"

"Haa, just tie up the other leader, Benkei."

Yoshitsune summoned some fire on her hand and started to cauterize the wound on the passed-out gang leader. I'm surprised that he didn't wake up, but this also reminds me how brutal the usually kind and caring Yoshitsune Minamoto can be…

"Hmmm? Is something wrong?"

She asked me while cutely tilting her head…

"Nothing ~"

I turned around to tie up the passed-out Oni too.

…

Jin Skyward

'Just use those ropes, alright?'

'I'll be fine, Jin…'

I had been speaking with Shigune as she headed towards the other nine that were captured by Araki and his group. I was waking towards Benkei and Yoshitsune—

"Oh? Hey Jin ~ we're finished here~"

I arrived at where they were and looked at the two leaders— Kuragiri and Gaja, they looked worse for wear. Kuragiri, the Oni leader had his arms and legs crushed, Gaja had his arms cut off. These two can be quite brutal when they choose to, huh?

I sigh and walk over to both of them and read their memories…

"…"

I see, while they hadn't made any contact, they were trying to get recruited by Khaos Brigade and the Monkai association. Nothing too special about them, they're scum, that's all there is to say…

"Alright, let's get them back to the village and go from there."

'Jin. I'm coming back with the gang and Araki's group.'

'Roger that, Shigune.'

…

Once we arrived in the village, Shigune's group wasn't too far behind. We had gathered them up in the middle and we discussed what to do with them.

"So, before I make my suggestion, what do you guys want to do with them?"

"Beat them up again."

Slam! Smack!

"Ow!"

Itto suggested and then got smacked by Shinobu. I look at the others—

"Maybe bring them back to Shuten Doji-sama? She is the ruler of this realm…maybe even Shirayuki-sama. They can pass judgment down on them, we can rest assured that they won't just let them go either."

Yoshitsune suggested and everyone else agreed, but Itto seemed hesitant.

"Er… Do we have to go back to Shuten-baa-san?"

"Itto, why do you call her that? And why do you sound scared?"

I look at him strangely as he started to suddenly sweat profusely while looking around in a panic. He tries to leave but I bind him on the stop with [Gleipnir].

"W-What the hell are these chains?! I can't break them!?"

"Give up, Itto. Just tell us why you're so scared of her."

He looks to his gang but they turned their backs to him. I mean what could they possibly do at this point. So, Itto gave up and slumped down while making a heavy sigh.

"Fine! Fine! Shuten-baa-san looked after me when I was younger. Around the age of fifteen or sixteen, she cut me loose and said I should choose how to live my life, but before that… It was hell!!!!!!!!!"

Itto started to shake uncontrollably while continuing on his story from his childhood.

"That woman is no Oni; she's a God damn Devil! No, I've heard even some of the Devils aren't that bad! From the weird obstacle courses, I was forced to do every day, to traps, physical and magical training!"

"She said it was to toughen me up, I'll admit that it did toughen me up but….! Ahhhhhh!!! My body and mind remember it all…! She would even sometimes jump scare me at night! Did you know? She tried to throw me into the pool of water that Shirayuki-sama is in?! At night?! I had to hold on for dear life and climbed out of there!"

Itto started to mumble more of his trauma and kept on shaking… Is this the famous 'tough love' kind of thing? It seems or psychotic more than anything. I guess I can ask her about it when we go back…

"T-That's why I don't want to go back there! She'll do all those things again!"

"Huh? Wait, what about Rem and Ram? Did they know about this?"

"Know? They helped her! I mean they're her maids so they had to! But still! A bit of sympathy can go along way you know?!"

Itto stopped talking and was just blankly staring at the ground, seemingly lost all life to him. I sigh and rub the back of my head.

"Well, sorry dude but we have to go back. Anyway, this is what I think we have to do. We go one step further; we need to report this to Amaterasu since Khaos Brigade was nearly involved."

Everyone became alerted and I told them of what I had found when I examined the gang leader's memories and what they had planned to do.

"Khaos Brigade, Monkai association, these guys were seriously trying to…?"

Shinobu had a look of concern while looking at the two knocked out leaders. She nods to herself and then looks at Itto seriously—

"Boss we need to—"

"I know! Dammit! I know… I just have to bear with it, right?! Let's go then! Araki, Mamoru, Genta and…. Asahi! Can I leave you guys here to protect them?"

"Haaa? Why can't I go? Heck, I don't work for you!"

"Come on man, do it will you? You're strong, reliable and smart. I can leave these guys in your hand while we're away!"

Asahi blushed as Itto complimented him, he started to grumble with a low voice before agreeing to it, albeit reluctantly.

"Hell yeah! Time to go! To, ugh…"

His enthusiasm started to wane.

…

"We can't waste time so gather around."

We had reached the bridge and we were debating on what to do, I told everyone to gather around me. The ones who knew what was happening did so, the rest became confused.

"Just gather around me, I'll teleport us to the last floor."

Still confused they did so and I teleported us up. Once I did, we were outside her Throne room's door and I pushed it open. Shuten looked a bit surprised but composed herself quickly.

"Oya? What might you be— Itto? My it's been so long; did you miss me that much?"

Itto chuckle nervously—

"Y-Yo, Shuten-baa-san! How ya be—"

Don!

"Bwah?!"

"Don't call me that! Call me Shuten-sama!"

Shuten disappeared from where she was sitting and punched Itto in the gut as he fell over clutching his stomach. She nods to herself satisfied and walks back to her seat.

"Now then, what are you here for, Jin?"

Shinobu and Benkei bring the two leaders into the room, I had put the others in their gang to sleep so they won't wake up too soon.

"These two are Kuragiri and Gaja, before you ask let me tell you all about them—"

So, I told her about what had transpired not too long ago, the history on these two, and the potential involvement of Khaos Brigade. Shuten went from a carefree leader to that of a serious one once I started to tell her about the involvement of Khaos Brigade.

Itto during this time recovered, and both maids came into the room. Shuten listened carefully while nodding along, at the end of it she sighs.

"Will you tell Amaterasu about this?"

"Yeah, I will. I'll be meeting with them at the end of tomorrow so I'll bring this incident up with them, as well as maybe increasing the defenses in this realm?"

"Very well. I will have those two in our own prison until then. Contact me when you plan on meeting with them and I will send them to you. However, as you said they don't have anything useful to tell us, correct?"

"Yeah, I pretty much read all of their memories, so you can just keep them in your prison indefinitely."

I turn to the two who were still knocked out and sealed their powers. Once done I turn back to Shuten who had a curious look on her. I shook my head and she left it at that.

"You guys know where the prison is, right? Can you take them there?"

They nodded and hauled the two leaders out of the room—

"Come again to see me, Itto!~"

Itto shivered and left the room even faster making Shuten giggle to herself. The ones left here were just me, the girls, and the historical trio… Did I just default to calling them that…? Well, they don't know so it's fine.

"So, do you wish to find out about Raiko and I?"

"…Sure, why not?"

"Tell me of what you know."

I nod and tell her what Yoshitsune told me and she nodded along.

"Hmm-hmm, well that's mostly accurate. However, we did clash a few times over the years before we put aside our differences. Both of us receiving fatal injuries during those fights, however, we had to stop by Amaterasu's orders otherwise, well, we would face her wrath."

"Huhu, I would rather not face it since I had the unfortunate pleasure of experiencing it first-hand~ but to cut a long story short, we are in amicable terms? Is that the right word? We do not try to kill each other which is a good thing but we're not best friends or anything like that."

"If you wish to find out more from her end, you must meet her. I do not know where she is, as you have probably heard she's a wanderer of the Shinto realms. She could potentially be anywhere right now."

Shuten sighs and looks out of the window to my right, I glance at it and— The day was slowly drawing to a close, the sun was setting. I hadn't even realized that, maybe I was just a bit too caught up by what had been happening…

"I see, then I'll do that then. Thank you for your time, Shuten. We'll get going then."

Shuten waved us off as we teleported away, both her maids were staring at us as we left… I kind of wished to have spoken to them a little more…

…

We had teleported back to the city and everything seemed cal—

"It's the Middleman!"

"He helped earlier with the Arataki gang!"

I spoke too soon because as we teleported in we were immediately surrounded by the Oni there and they started to ask for autographs and for their pictures to be taken with me. I grinned and bared with it as I also told them to form a line to get this done quicker.

The rowdy Oni did so and it only lasted an hour. The girls and historical trio stood had vanished but they didn't go too far so I wasn't worried. I was finally free and sighed in relief.

"Good work, Jin."

Suzaku walks over to me and hands me a cup of coffee. I take it from her and take a sip, it was pretty good. I notice that everyone else was gone, I look at her as she points to a diner. I nodded, held her hand and we went into it.

The diner's name was 'Zyoto Oni Grill' the inside of the place was normal, albeit a little old looking. The diner had a few other patrons and we spot our group of friends near the top of the diner talking to what seemed like the owner.

We walk over there and join them.

"Welcome back, Jin, Suzuka-onee-san."

"Sorry for leaving you like that, Jin-san."

"Nah it's fine, I would get bored waiting too, anyway, nice diner you got here, uh…"

Yoshitsune apologized to me but I just waved her off. The Oni that was the owner of the place laughed at me and nodded.

"Chikage, call me Chikage, Red Dragon Emperor-kun."

Chikage has four black horns, and white hair. His eyes are yellow, and dons a traditional white kimono with a black and red checkered patter on the collared part, a yellow and black pattern, and a gray haori.

"Then, Chikage. What do you recommend?"

To that he grins and tells me the specials he had for today, seeing as they didn't sound outrageous, I agreed to order them. Everyone else ordered their food too.

"Tomorrow is the last day, Jin-san. Would you like to know a bit about the Tengu's realm?"

"Sure, if you don't mind."

"Yes, the Tengu realm is a lot more unique in terms of how their city is. There are only a few roads that connect to each other, most of the time you will need to fly or jump to the floating landmass that holds the building you want to go to."

"Only the 'main' island is larger and connected, even so it's still quite small. As mentioned, it's mostly dominated by Tengu and the Tengu King with his lover reside there. His name is Sōjōbō and he has been ruling for a long time."

Yoshitsune smiles and I see Benkei grinning—

"I-I will leave out some things so you can experience it yourself. However, the Tengu King has a more, unique lover, his 'Queen' won't be someone you will be expecting."

Benkei starts to laugh to herself and slapping her sides. Chikage eventually comes back to us with some of the food.

"Oya? What is Benkei-sama laughing about?"

"Oh, do you hear this, Chikage-san! Jin will be in for a surprise by tomorrow! He'll be meeting the Tengu King and his 'Queen'!"

He nodded sagely.

"Ah yes, it was quite a shock to see the first time around, however, I hope they do have a wonderful life together. But yes, I do agree with Benkei-sama, you will be in for a shock, Jin-san."

A shock, huh?

[How about asking Cúntóir about it?]

{Hmmm, a logical choice, but…}

Cúntóir: Answer: Would you like me to look into it, Jin?

No, let's leave it as a surprise, they've got me interested so I'll leave it until tomorrow. I didn't get a response from them so I assume they agree with what I said.

"I'll take your words for it then."

We enjoy a calm rest of dinner while chatting about our time that's going to end soon, while it wasn't long, we did become relatively good friends in a short amount of time.

…

We had left the restaurant and got to know Chikage a little more. He was a previous guard in Takamagahara for Amaterasu but decided to retire early and start his dream job, being an owner of a restaurant.

He also decided to start it here, his home realm. I shared with him my future goals in starting a restaurant and he gave me some tips about it, they will be very valuable in the coming years. We also exchanged phone numbers, so if and when I decide to add my restaurant here, we may just merge them just like the Inn with Uwabami.

We were walking back to the teleportation building when a question popped into my head—

"Yoshitsune, are there any other historical figures that you hadn't mentioned to me yet?"

We stop walking as she thinks about it.

"Well, Katou Danzou, Miyamoto Musashi, Ibaraki Doji and Sasaki Kojiro are the ones who come to mind now, Jin-san. Perhaps in your next visit you will see them?"

Those are interesting line ups, and yeah, I hope to see them then. I nod to Yoshitsune as we continue to walk back to the teleporter and back to Takamagahara.

…

Takamagahara

"Good night, Jin-san."

"Yeah, see you guys tomorrow for one final adventure."

They laugh at me as they walk away—

"You know, the most surprising thing about today was that Benkei didn't become drunk…"

The girls laugh beside me as we go back to Uwabami's Inn. Once there the girls go take a bath and I go after them so I wouldn't cause a ruckus here. Since we came in there were other patrons there. When I was coming out of the bath—

"Hey come on, Onee-san's, come play with us."

The most cliché thing I saw was happening in front of me. Akeno, Shigune and Suzaku were being hit on by three youkais. One was a Kitsune, the other a Goat youkai and finally a male Tengu.

I breathed in and cracked my neck. Let's do this. I walk over to them, and just sweep upped all the girls and casually walk out of there, they obviously were shocked and let out cute yelps. The youkai guys were stunned at the action before—

"W-Wait what the fuck?"

"Yo, hold on there, human!"

I move the girls around so I could carry them with my left arm and put my right arm up, summoned the [Boosted Gear] and give them the middle finger. I hear them make weird noises of shock and scurry away.

I then carry them back to the room, once there I celebrated.

"One point to Jin, booyah!"

Bonk!

Suzaku lightly hit me as she was blushing at me, the same could be said for Shigune but she went the less violent route.

"I thought my yukata was going to fall off. Please be more mindful in the future, Jin. I don't want anyone else seeing my body…"

She looks away and sighs, I grin knowing what she meant.

"I see, sorry about that, Suzaku. I'll be more careful, next time. Well, let's get to sleep then, I feel like the last day will be a little more hectic, call it a feeling."

The girls agreed with me but—

Ring ~ Ring ~

My phone rang. I pick it up and answered it.

"Hello—"

"Jin, I'm dying. I'm running out of Skyward energy…."

"Nyaaaaa…...!!!!!!!"

I heard Reni's voice from the other side and then a random nya of despair being screamed out in the background. What in the world is happening over there…?

"Is that Jin nya?! Put him on speaker!!! Nya!!!!!"

I hear some fumbling before the phone was taken away from the two.

"My apologies, Jin. Those two have been a little strange as of late. They talk about not having enough 'Jin' or 'Skyward' energy…"

It was Grayfia's voice that started to speak through the phone and I chuckle at her.

"Is that so? Well tell them tomorrow is my last day here and I'll be home by later on the night."

"…I-I see. I will tell them that, please come home soon, as much as I want to deny it. I feel the same way, and so do many of the women here."

Thud!

"A-Asia!!! Ingvild!!!! Stay with me!!!!!!"

Kanami's voice screamed from the other side as I heard Grayfia sigh once more. Admittedly I also miss them, but three others are with me so I'm mostly fine.

"Like I said, just one more day, so try to survive. I'll get going, I love you all and good night."

"Y-Yes, good night, Jin… I- I lov—"

Thud! Crash!

"Phone!!! Jin!!!!! I love you nyaa!!!"

The call to them abruptly cuts. I stare at my phone for a bit before sighing, at least that place isn't dull. I look at the girls as they were silently giggling to themselves.

"Ara, Ara ~ Popular-sama's harem is missing him, but we get to monopolize him~"

Akeno starts to jump on me when I stop her mid-air making her shocked. I snap my fingers and get our futons organized first, I then let her continue on her way.

Gyu ~

"You surprised me there ~ but I agree ~ time for some 'nightly activities' again ~"

""No.""

Gyu ~ Gyu ~

To my surprise, Suzaku and Shigune pull me away from Akeno, she had another surprised look on her as a competitive atmosphere suddenly manifested in the room—

"I'm sleeping on his futon tonight, Suzaku-nee-san, Shigune-chan."

"…N-No, I will…"

"…I wish to have a turn, Akeno. You understand, don't you?"

And so, our night ended with all of them sleeping in my futon with me…

…