"Ah..." Kenji groaned as sunlight, bright and insistent, washed over his face, piercing through the heavy curtains. He turned, burying his head deeper into the cool, soft pillow, desperately trying to reclaim the fading remnants of sleep. "Why, sun, why..." he mumbled, his voice muffled, a desperate plea against the inevitable.
He tried to ignore it, to pull the covers higher, to disappear back into the comforting darkness, but the sunlight was relentless, a persistent, unwelcome alarm. Nature, it seemed, was a cruel and unyielding clock.
With a resigned sigh that acknowledged his defeat, he finally sat up and rubbed his eyes, feeling the grit of exhaustion behind them. While gamers' body and mind make sure everything was good, they don't remove mental fatigue.
The bed beside him was empty, the sheets cool where Anastasia had been. She had already gotten up, no doubt, and was probably already bustling about. That wasn't surprising. She was always the early riser between the two of them, a creature of habit and discipline. He flopped back onto the bed with another groan, stretching his aching limbs.
Yesterday had been insane. A blur of adrenaline, pain, and power.
Now that it was over, and the immediate threat to his family and himself had been neutralized, all Kenji could do was reflect on the madness, the sheer recklessness of his actions.
In hindsight, there were probably a dozen better, more discreet, and less self-destructive ways to approach the situation. He could've assassinated Shuten-dōji quietly. But then, what if someone else took his place and resumed the mission to kill him? Would it have made a difference in the long run? He doubted it, but who knew? Picking them off one by one would've taken too long, exposed him to more risk, and might have triggered worse consequences, it would have made it harder to deal with them all if he got caught while in the process.
So, all things considered, his approach wasn't the worst... but it wasn't exactly the smartest either, not when his own life was nearly forfeit in the fight.
"Note to self: maybe think plans through a bit more, and try to avoid nearly dying," he muttered, a wry, self-deprecating chuckle escaping him.
He glanced at the blinking notification icon in the corner of his vision—system rewards, quest completions, loot. He waved it away with a mental command. That could wait. Right now, he needed a shower and breakfast, something to ground him back in the mundane reality he fought to protect.
Honestly, why did he have to be in the world of dxd, problems left and right.
He went through his morning routine. Once cleaned and dressed, feeling marginally more human, he shuffled to the living room, drawn by the sounds of his family.
Everyone was already there, the kids animatedly discussing their plans for the day. Anastasia looked up first, her eyes meeting his, and gave him a look that made him pause, a complex mixture he couldn't quite place.
There was something unreadable in her eyes—worry, suspicion, maybe even a hint of hurt, a silent question. She sighed, a subtle exhalation, and broke the silence before it could settle, before he had to explain.
"You looked utterly exhausted last night, Kenji. I figured you must've been... busy with something important. So I told the kids not to bother you, to let you get some rest."
The way she emphasized "last night," her gaze unwavering, hit harder than any of Shuten-dōji's punches, a direct hit to his conscience.
Oh.
Oh no.
Kenji winced. He looked her in the eye, forced a sheepish smile that probably came out crooked, and mouthed, We'll talk later.
She frowned, a slight crease appearing between her brows, but nodded reluctantly, a silent agreement. Disappearing two nights in a row, returning early in the morning looking like a thief, would raise anyone's suspicions. Especially when you're supposed to be on a family trip, focused solely on them.
Thankfully, the kids had missed the silent exchange between the adults, too engrossed in their own world. They were too busy discussing what they wanted to do today, their voices overlapping in excited chatter.
It was Sunday.
Their last day in Kyoto.
The mood dropped briefly at that realization, a collective sigh of disappointment, but Ayaka, ever the energetic one, burst forth with a passionate declaration, her eyes sparkling with renewed determination. "Then we just have to make the most of it! Every single minute!"
"Yeah!" the two younger ones shouted in unison, raising their hands like warriors about to go on a quest, their spirits instantly lifted by their older sister's enthusiasm.
Kenji couldn't help but laugh, a genuine, heartfelt sound. He had enjoyed the trip too, despite his mind always wandering to the darker aspects and the real reason for the trip in the beginning, but today, he was determined to be fully present, mind and all, to make it all about them.
He walked over to them, clapping his hands together, a broad smile on his face. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go out and have some fun!"
And fun they had.
The day passed in a blur of excitement, a whirlwind of joyful activity. They sampled street foods from various stalls, visited shrines, played in sprawling parks, and explored local shops filled with unique crafts and souvenirs.
The kids darted around with the boundless energy of a pack of wild Pokémon, their laughter echoing through the streets, while Kenji strolled beside Anastasia, his arm casually around her waist.
She was quieter than usual, a thoughtful expression on her face, her gaze occasionally drifting to him.
He knew why. The unspoken questions hung in the air between them, a silent tension beneath the surface of their happy family outing.
"It's not what you're thinking," he said softly, breaking the comfortable silence, his voice low enough only for her to hear.
She looked at him, raising an eyebrow, a skeptical arch to her delicate features.
"Really," he insisted, his voice more serious, his gaze earnest. "It's not. I know it looks bad—me vanishing two nights in a row, coming back late into the night... but I swear, Anastasia, I wasn't doing anything like that. Nothing that would betray your trust."
Anastasia huffed, a small, unconvinced sound, her lips pursed.
Kenji continued, his voice more serious, his words carefully chosen. "I know you're probably thinking I'm falling back into old habits, that I'm reverting to the man I used to be. But I'm not. I had to handle something important. I didn't want to worry you or involve the kids. We came here to have fun as a family, to create good memories, and I didn't want to ruin that by going and taking care of issues during family time. That's why I decided to deal with it in the nighttime, when they are all tucked in."
She studied him carefully, her gaze piercing, trying to discern the truth behind his words. "And what exactly did you have to handle, Kenji? What could be so important that it leaves you looking like a thief, sneaking back into bed at nearly dawn?"
Kenji winced. He couldn't tell her the full truth, not yet. But he wasn't about to start saying things that will no doubt come back and bite him in the ass at a later date..
"Something... important. Something that I really needed to take care of. I know that's vague, and I know you hate vague answers, especially from me. But please, Anastasia, just trust me. Trust that I have changed and that I'd never do something to break your trust again."
She sighed, a long, conflicted breath. Her gaze was firm, yet conflicted, warring with her desire for answers and her growing trust in him. She wanted to push, to demand more, but she didn't. Not yet. She saw the sincerity in his eyes.
"Alright," she finally said, her voice soft but resolute. "For now. But we will talk about this eventually, Kenji. And I expect a better explanation when the time comes."
Kenji exhaled in relief, a silent prayer of thanks. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close, placing a soft kiss on her head, a gesture of gratitude and affection. "Thank you. Let's enjoy today, okay? Look at the kids—they're already having fun without us."
Anastasia looked over at their children, darting around a small shrine, their laughter echoing, and couldn't help but smile, a genuine, unburdened smile. She nodded, leaning into his embrace.
They rejoined the kids, laughter and joy filling the rest of their day, a perfect facade of familial bliss.
But the thoughts didn't leave Anastasia. They lingered, a persistent hum of unease beneath the surface of her contentment.
She was conflicted. Concerned. Her husband disappearing two nights in a row, returning early morning, looking utterly drained? That wasn't normal.
She'd checked. When he finally passed out from exhaustion after returning, she had carefully examined him. His abdomen was bruised black and blue, a grotesque mosaic of purples and greens, like he'd been in a brutal fight with a professional MMA fighter, or worse. There were faint burn marks on his arms, and a deep, almost perfectly circular bruise on his chest.
At first, yes, she thought maybe he was cheating, that he was reverting to his old, secretive ways. The thought had stung, a familiar pain. But there was no alcohol, no perfume, no signs of another woman. Just injuries. Serious ones. Whatever he had been doing, she wanted to know, wanted to find out what he was doing to come back looking like that and play it off like nothing.
She spied on him, and he didn't even look like he was hurt at all. The bruises she saw on him, he could be in serious pain right now, but he was there laughing and smiling with the kids. She was afraid that something might happen to him.
And that scared her. More than anything. The thought of losing him, just when they were finally rebuilding their lives, was unbearable.
She wouldn't press. Not today. Not when the kids were so happy. But this wasn't over. Not by a long shot. She would get to the bottom of this, for their sake.
Elsewhere, in Kyoto...
Yasaka sat in her office, the elegant, traditional room a stark contrast to the grim reports spread across her low table. She was skimming through yet another frustrating report, her golden eyes narrowed in concentration, her tails swooshing around.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing helpful had been found at the site of the Flesh Ripper Gang's annihilation. No traces of signatures that could be definitively identified. No surviving enemies who could be interrogated. No usable blood samples that weren't contaminated by the sheer volume of carnage.
Even the lingering scents had been neutralized, hidden behind layers of magical interference, making it impossible for her most skilled trackers to follow. It was like the people responsible didn't exist, like they were ghosts who had simply vanished after their destructive act.
The only thing they were sure of?
Shuten-dōji was dead, and his gang followed him.
Gone. Utterly annihilated.
That alone was worth celebrating, a small victory in the constant struggle to maintain balance in Kyoto. He was powerful, cunning, and annoying, a thorn in her side for decades. Not easy to kill, by any means. And yet... someone had done it. Someone had wiped out his entire gang, hundreds of yokai, in a single night, with a single, devastating blow.
But worst of all, the tail was gone. Hagoromo Gitsune's tail was gone. One of the crucial pieces for Hagoromo Gitsune's resurrection to full power.
And that made everything worse. Far, far worse.
Whoever did this had the tail now. One of the nine keys to reviving Hagoromo Gitsune to full power, the most dangerous yokai threat to Japan. That made them dangerous, regardless of their intentions, regardless of whether they were allies or enemies. They were now a wild card, a variable she could not ignore.
As Kyoto's ruler, as the High Priestess responsible for the safety of both humans and yokai in her domain, Yasaka couldn't let this go. The balance of power was too delicate, the stakes too high. She couldn't take the chance of Hagoromo coming back.
She needed to find whoever was responsible.
And she needed to do it fast, before the tail could be used, before chaos could truly be unleashed.
Her golden eyes narrowed, a flicker of cold determination in their depths.
"Just who are you? Where are you?" she whispered into the silent room, the question hanging in the air, unanswered.
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