Not Playing With A Full Deck
Mulligan- Finale
I had thought I'd braced myself; I was wrong. Tamamo, dear, sweet Tamamo, was not chewing me out as I thought she would. No, that would have been pleasant when compared to the heart-wrenching scene before me.
Tamamo, bluntly put, was a mess. She was sobbing so hard that I could feel my soul literally reverberating with the sheer force of her pain.
'Well done, jackass.' I admonished myself bitterly. 'You made Tamamo cry. That's just not done.'
I knelt and pulled her close to me, and she clutched my shirt as though afraid I would disappear. I simply let her cry as I held her, attempting in my own pitiful way to offer the distraught foxgirl a measure of comfort.
After a while, she seemed to have cried herself out, and finally met my eyes. She proceed to grasp my collar and start shaking me. "Don't you ever worry me like that again! I thought you were going to die! Oh, and when I next see that Onyx…" There was a dark gleam in her eyes that would've made the most hardened murderer soil themselves, were it directed at them. "I'm going to explain to him in excruciating detail that even if you accepted his reasons for such a harsh method of teaching, I did not."
…I would not want to be Onyx right now, that's for certain. Tamamo was goddamn terrifying when she was mad.
She seemed to abruptly recall that she wasn't alone, and shot me a sheepish glance. Then, an imperious look crossed her face, rather ruined by the grin that formed simultaneously.
"You know, you caused me a lot of worry. You are going to have to make up for all the stress you caused~"
I swallowed heavily, both unnerved and mildly aroused by the predatory grin on her face.. "W-what did you have in mind?" The grin widened. "You are going spend lots more time with me!" Tamamo declared victoriously.
I arched an eyebrow. "You do realize that I have no problem with that, correct?"
Tamamo smiled cheerily. "Of course you don't! The first secret to getting what you want is to make the person giving it to you want to do so!"
I blinked. "You raise a valid point there. If you'll excuse the pun, you are indeed sly like a fox."
Tamamo turned to me, a blank look on her face. Suddenly, I was whacked in the back of my head by a firm, fluffy object. I turned my head to see her tail waving smugly. I don't know how a tail could be smug, but it was.
A smirk worked its way onto my face, and before Tamamo could react, a had her tail pulled into my lap. She let out a squeak of surprise, which was adorable, and made another when I started running my fingers through the soft, fluffy fur of her tail. Only one thought ran through my head at that moment.
'TOUCH… FLUFFY… TAIL!'
…Yeah, I'm attracted to women with a couple extra animal features, sue me. Foxgirls, catgirls, and wolfgirls are awesome, in my humble opinion.
Anyhow, once I'd finished cuddling Tamamo's amazing appendage of fluffeh awesomeness, she looked at me with a flushed face, though a incredibly smug grin adorned her face. She spoke in a low, sultry voice. "So~ My Husband; you like my tail, do you~"
I shivered, then nodded rapidly. I cleared my throat, then spoke in a weak tone. "Frankly, Tamamo, I like quite a lot about you. You are a fun, kind, strong woman, to say nothing of how stunningly beautiful you are. I'll be honest with you; I've always had a soft spot for you, even before we met. Now, having spent these past weeks talking with you, and just being around you, I've come to be genuinely attracted to you. I know you refer to me as Husband, but would you allow me to call you my girlfriend?"
I frowned. "I know that it would be strange, since you only have a true body in my soul, but I'm sure that there-" My thought was cut short by a flying tackle-glomp, courtesy of Tamamo, of course. She looked up from where she was hugging me with eyes that gleamed with what I assumed to be happiness.
"This Tamamo would be delighted to date you, Jo-ha-an~" That wily woman drew my first name out in a sultry purr that caused an awkward tightness in my pants. By the satisfied grin that split her face, not only could Tamamo feel my reaction to her, but it was precisely the reaction she had been trying to induce. I felt me cheeks redden, even as I cuddled Tamamo- no, as I cuddled my girlfriend.
Well, on one hand, I came close to dying in the past 24 hours. On the other hand, I survived, and then there's Tamamo. I think the scales were tipped in my favor, all things considered.
After cuddling the lovable foxgirl for a while longer, I informed her that I needed to return to consciousness. She pouted, but I could tell she understood. She walked with me to the door, and before I knew what had happened, her lips pressed gently against mine. She then scampered off to Zelretch-knows-where, leaving me touching my fingertips to my lips.
'All things considered, a hell of a first kiss.' I mused as my consciousness returned to the waking world.
When my eyes flickered open, I caught the tail end of Sona asking something.
"-this Caster person you referred to? He fell unconscious!"
It seemed that the bespectacled President was curious about what had just happened to me.
I then heard Onyx speak. [As I said, his secrets are not mine to give, not unless his life is in danger and telling you would help. As things stand, it's up to Johan Blair to choose whether or not to tell you. Speaking of which, it seems he's returned to us.]
I felt three sets of eyes on me as I readjusted myself into a more propped-up position on the bed. Before any of the the three could ask, I spoke.
"I suppose you three would like to know what all that was about?" At their creepily synchronized nods, I sighed audibly. "Well, you and your Peerages have treated me well, Sona, Rias, to say nothing of saving my life. As for you, Freed… I trust you, not in spite of your issues, but because you spend every day making a conscious effort to do the right thing, regardless of what your instincts tell you to do."
I folded my hands in my lap. "Understand this: there are parts of what I am telling you that I will be leaving out, either because I don't know the full extent of the information, or because I want to be able to keep something in reserve, should someone undesirable manage to get their hands on the reports you both will be sending to your siblings."
I inclined my head to the two Heiresses. "Therefore, in telling you this, I am giving you both permission to share what you are about to learn with every member of your peerage, as well as the Four Great Satans. Further, since they will do so regardless of my wishes, I give the Lords Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Magical Girl Miracle Levi-tan permission to share the selfsame information with those allies they trust implicitly."
Ah, the face that Sona made upon hearing me refer to her sister's… eccentricity was absolutely priceless. Meanwhile, Onyx turned his jewel towards me in abject horror. [Don't tell me that you mean what I think you mean…] I grinned savagely. "Oh yes, Onyx. One of the four Lords of Hell has a personality so similar to your elder sister that it's terrifying.
Onyx shuddered. [Oh, I have a bad feeling about this…]
In another dimension, a certain Wizard Marshall held up a certain Mystic Code and let out a deep, long laugh.
Needless to say, nobody within the Clock Tower slept that night.
Everyone in the room shivered simultaneously. I clapped my hands abruptly, desperately trying to forget the terrifying thoughts that had permeated my mind.
"So, back to my explanation! Where to start… Ah! I know."
"So, imagine that there is a not-space that exists simultaneously at the center of space and time, and completely separate from it. This is the Root, more commonly known as the Akashic Records. The place where all information of what was, is, and could be across the infinite universes is stored."
"Within this supposed not-location is a particular subsection. This part is known as the Throne of Heroes. It contains records of every famous or infamous individual across the infinite universes."
"There exists multiple means by which these legendary figures can be called to the modern world, but I am only going to talk about the one that applies to my situation. Within my soul lives at least one of these spirits, possibly two. When I met the first, the silhouette of the second walked away."
"In any case, these Spirits are categorized by 'Classes'. For example, a Saber Class would be a Spirit known for their skills with a blade, such as Musashi Miyamoto, while a Lancer Class would be known for their skills with a spear or other pole weapon, like Cu Chulainn.
"I shall not tell you the True Name of Caster, the Spirit living in my soul, unless she consents, as True Names are powerful when it comes to these Spirits."
I heard Tamamo's voice in my mind. 'You can tell the boy, but I'd prefer the Devils not know, for now.'
I looked back to the three, and said, "Regrettably, Caster does not wish to share her identity at this time. However, I'm sure she will come to trust you all with time.
"The final bit of my lecture is likely to be the most important to the Satans. Eventually, I should be able to draw on the power of the Spirit or Spirits that live in my soul, perhaps even merge with them. As of right now, I don't know how many Spirits will come to live in my soul, but I have at least one."
Freed let out a shaky breath. "I have a question, if you would be willing to answer it." When Johan nodded, he continued. "These 'Classes'… how many are there, and what are they?"
Johan nodded, then replied. "Well, there are seven Standard Classes, and a number of Extra Classes. Now, bear in mind that some Spirits can be called as multiple different classes: For example, Cu Chulainn is eligible for both the Lancer and Caster Classes, due to his legendary skill with a spear and his mastery of Rune Magic, respectively."
"Now, the seven standard Classes further divided into the three Knight Classes and the Four Cavalry Classes. The three Knight Classes are Saber, Lancer, and Archer. The four Cavalry Classes are Rider, Caster, Berserker, and Assassin."
Johan looked at them with a critical eye. "I assume the names are self-explanatory enough that I need not go into detail?" When the three of us nodded, he continued. "Now, the Extra Classes are highly irregular, so I doubt I'll need to explain them. Any other questions?"
Rias blurted out, "If this Throne of Heroes is connected to an infinite number of universes, then does that mean Simon the Digger could be a Spirit?!"
I chuckled. "I would assume so, though I doubt I'd be able to provide, let alone survive, the massive amount of magic required to call upon the Super Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann."
Rias pouted, then shook her head. "Ah well, it can't be helped." Sona palmed her face at her friend's antics, but I could see a fond smile decorating her lips
After Rias lightened the mood, we chatted amiably, until finally, the sun went down. The next day, Sona told me that she'd done all she could to heal my leg, and gave me an eyepatch that had some odd symbols on the inside. She mentioned something about it being enchanted to improve the range of vision of my remaining eye, but the Magical theory she spouted at me was far too different than Magecraft for me to make heads or tails of.
When I arrived at the Academy, I had missed one period, but the Principal waved it off, saying that if I was coming back so soon after being attacked by the Yakuza and losing an eye, my missing a day and arriving late was the furthest thing from his worries. Apparently, Rias and Sona had given him a cover story, and he'd bought it. Understandable, considering the rather convincing evidence of my limp and empty left eye socket.
Onyx was with me, serving two purposes: first, he was actually being used as a cane. Second, he was protection.
When I entered class, immediately the room became silent. I cleared my throat, and bowed awkwardly. "I apologize for my absence yesterday. As you can see, on Sunday I was attacked by some members of the Yakuza. I haven't the faintest idea why they chose me, but when they discovered that I had little money, they decided to take something else of value from me."
"Had it not been for your classmate, Kiba Yuuto, I would likely have lost both of my eyes and been crippled for life, at best. At worst, I would be dead. Kiba is nothing less than a hero. He assessed the situation, and alerted the authorities promptly, who managed to get me to a hospital in time to pop my leg back into it's socket. My eye, however, was a lost cause."
Isaiah's face was bright red, and he shot me a long suffering look, as his already avid fan girls worked themselves into a froth over 'their Prince and his gallant, knightly acts of bravery'. I chuckled quietly, and bowed to him deeply, much deeper than would ordinarily be appropriate for an instructor bowing to a student.
My injuries and Isaiah's heroism were the talk of the school for a few weeks, but eventually the students fell back into their usual routine. The Trio was, as always, an annoyance at the least, and since I was a T.A., all I could do was suggest detentions.
Regardless, my mind was occupied by other matters. I doubled then redoubled my training, and by the end of the month had learned three new Runes: Uruz, meaning 'Aurochs', for endurance and defense; Thurisaz, meaning 'Giants', for resistance and strength; and Ansuz, meaning 'Woden', for linking, strengthening, and altering the powers of other Runes.
Another useful pair of abilities that I had an unusual aptitude for were Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration. To be fair, by Atlas' standards I was barely competent, but for me, being able to hold two completely separate trains of thought at 1.5 the normal speed was unbelievably useful. Why? Because it allowed me to always be practicing subtle Od manipulation, in addition to whatever else I was working on.
More importantly, three weeks into my more intense training I was able to access the soul-space where Tamamo resided without aid. According to Onyx, this was indicative that I was very close to achieving Include. Indeed, I managed to manifest Tamamo's mirror on the last day of the month.
However, even my managing to manifest the physical shell of a Noble Phantasm did not please me as much as the final thing I had accomplished. Due to the synergy between my Origin and the Origin of Julius Harway, the donor for my Magic Crest, I was able to make Mystic Codes far stronger and more efficient than I should at my current level. Combining this with how well suited Runes were for inscription, and I had managed to create an outfit that not only protected me and added strength to my spells and body, but also fully satisfied my inner chuunibyou.
The shirt was a pale tan, Runic arrays stretching along the stitching. Black slacks held no visible arrays, as they were inscribed inside. A pair of brown leather boots were inscribed all over, as leather was an excellent medium for such things. Additionally, I'd enchanted a pair of black leather gloves, though they extended further than normal gloves and were attached to metal vambraces, also inscribed of course.
However, all of that paled in comparison to my pride and joy, my pièce de résistance. The outfit was made complete with the unforgivably chuunibyou, yet GLORIOUS, jet black hooded longcoat. It too, was thoroughly inscribed and enchanted, and just thinking about it billowing in the wind gave me a happy pants feelings.
The week after I'd finally finished my GLORIOUS outfit, the students had exams, and I was to watch the English exams so that the actual English teacher could be a floating second examiner. Thankfully, due to my Memory Partition, I could both keep an eye on the students and work on some of the ofuda Tamamo had taught me how to make. By the end of exams, I'd made fifteen each of basic Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth Curse-type ofuda, as well as twenty each of Accelerated Healing, Strengthening, and Protector Blessing ofuda.
That next Monday, I was called in to the Principal's office. The English teacher was there, and they informed me that he was moving on to teach at a Kyoto University, and that his position was mine, if I so chose. Naturally, I accepted the opportunity to corrupt young minds pass on my knowledge to my juniors. After that, Summer Break began.
The weeks without school passed with little incident, most of my time taken up by practice, hanging out with Freed, and researching ways to let Tamamo enter the material world. The first two went splendidly, but the third took far more time and effort to turn anything up.
Eventually, it became clear that I'd need something physical related to Tamamo's legend, and something else that I'd yet to grasp. For the first, I'd need to speak with Yasaka, the so-called Queen of Shadow Kyoto. It was relatively well known that she was in possession of some of the shards of the Sessho-Seki, or the 'Killing Stone'. This was the stone that Tamamo-no-Mae's body supposedly transformed into after her death.
Regardless, even if I managed to get access to a fragment of the Stone, it would be useless until I could figure out what other things I needed to Incarnate my girlfriend.
As the last week of Summer Break drew to an end, something startling happened. When I was visiting Tamamo, there was a knock on the door to her soul-space.
Tamamo made a face, and yelled, "Go away, Rider! You're interrupting my romantic time with my husband!"
A startlingly familiar voice replied out from beyond the door. "Calm yourself, vixen! I simply wished to take the measure of the one who would wield my power. He has become stronger, so perhaps introducing myself would no longer be useless."
'Wait, Rider is Dio?! No, that makes no sense; if anything, Dio would be Berserker, and DIO could be Caster or Archer. Wait, wasn't there something about a Rider who was voiced by the guy who did Dio? Fate/Prototype, I think?'
Anyways, that was the beginning of my meeting with Rider, True Name Ozymandias. He was truly larger than life, but in a strictly different way an existence like Gilgamesh was. Where Gilgamesh had arrogance, though well founded, Ozymandias simply was. I knew instantly that I was not ready to handle his power, and he had to have known as well. This begged the question; why reveal himself now? I did not receive and answer to this, but Tamamo was quick to shoo him out, then returning her attention to me. Ahh, the fox cuddles…
Of course, peaceful times were as fleeting as they were enjoyable, and the end to the time of calm occurred almost immediately after the next school year began. It all started with the event I'd been dreading: Issei Hyoudou now had a girlfriend.
Mulligan: Complete
Next: Draw for Turn
AN: Now, the Introductory Arc: Mulligan has been completed! Clocking in at 3300 words, this chapter is almost thrice the length of my next longest chapter in this story, and I completed it faster than any similar chapters in other stories. Feel free to praise me, or don't. It's n-not like I require validation, you b-baka!
…Wow, let's never do that again. Guys like me don't really fit well as tsunderes.
Anyhow, as always I offer my heartfelt worship thanks to Classic Mecraphone. Truly, he is like Illya's Berserker: Mecraphone wa dare ni mo makenai! Sekai de ichiban tsuyoi dakara!
Yeah, I went full weeb. I always go full weeb.
As usual, enjoy, and leave a review if you like!
CM: ~I wanna take you home, I won't do you no harm, no you've got to be all mine…Foxey Lady…Here I come baby, coming to getcha…~
Jimi Hendrix would have greatly approved of Tamamo.
Xanothos: …You aren't wrong. Just proof that the greats had good taste, unlike… some modern ones whose names I shan't allow to darken my story.