Sorry I'm Late? [Kitsune]

[Osuteno]

[col]

Spoiler

Osu​

|

Spoiler

Chiai​

[/col]

Osu didn't head down the hall for the labs instead he simply stood in the stairwell for a bit. Telling people "Hey I'm not dead" several times can be more or less exhausting based on how important their reaction is to you. Superiors are one thing, awkward yes but not that rough. Acquaintances and friends varied depending on how well you know them and what you know them to be like. Relatives are simply a mess but that might be a case by case thing. and simply not in Osu's favor this time around. What about a teacher and parental figure though?

Chances had it that Shinrya Kitsune was more likely in her lab than in her office if she was in the hospital. At the very least Hisako might be watching the place and know where to find her. Chiai was simply playfully poking at Osu's cheeks while he was deep in thought. Collecting himself Osu went down the hall and stopped directly in front of the door for Kitsune's lab and... and... his hand was raised but for some reason it wasn't knocking. Goodness how was he going to explain all this? He would tell her at least as much as he explained to Ayumu but Osu was fairly sure Kitsune wouldn't let him glance over Chiai's involvement in all of this as easily as the Main Senn... no wait he was the Raikage now, goodness things had changed. Chiai not really reading Osu's hesitation, or doing so and deciding to give a loving push herself, knocked loudly on the door to the lab in Osu's stead. "Excuse me! I brought a Chigokai Osuteno to see a Shinrya Kitsune!"

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune was indeed in her lab, as she normally would be considering she was the head of the research department, and didn’t actually do any regular doctor visits anymore. Fortunately that much hadn’t yet been changed when the council decided to ignore previously established protocol and bypass Kahako’s wishes for who should lead the branch in case she couldn’t do it. But enough about that blunder of the century. Kitsune was in the process of distilling some compounds to hopefully create a powerful anesthetic, capable of putting even the strongest of people under in mere seconds, without the slightest side effect. Well… Maybe without side effects. No human trials had been authorized just yet.

Right as Kitsune was carrying a beaker of clear blue liquid from one desk to another, there was a loud knock and an even louder voice proclaiming that it had brought Osu to see her. It took Kitsune by surprise to such a degree that she dropped the beaker, and it shattered on the floor. ”Crud!” she exclaimed and jumped back to avoid the viscous liquid. If that had made skin contact, who knows what could’ve happened? Instead she grabbed a cloth and wiped it up before tossing it an incinerator chute, along with the glass shards.

”Enter!” she said loudly to the people outside. If that indeed was Osuteno, he had a lot of explaining to do. While Kitsune always doubted his so called death, she was kind of annoyed that he didn’t come back until now. Being pronounced dead and coming back was her shtick, not Osus. She wasn’t sure what she’d say to the kid, if it actually was him. For now, she’d stand by one of the work tables, with her arms folded.

 

[Osuteno]

Osu looked disbelievingly at Chiai as she called out while knocking. He wasn't ready yet! The sound of broken glass came from inside and he heard the voice of his sensei telling them to enter. He wasn't ready yet!

"Coming in!" Chiai said pushing Osu on in.

Osu looked considerably different than how he used to having grown significantly, losing all muscle in his body but now being supported by a vein system as sturdy as carbon fiber, having gazed into the eyes of the God who rules a hell of sorts, and was forced to wear a rather interesting leather number by his wife in an effort to get people to stop mistaking them for a lesbian couple like when they go places in his usual yukata. Chiai wasn't really getting what was making Osu so nervous about this meeting but she decide to help him along so they could get something to eat. She really wanted some curry, or something spicy at least.

"Goodness Osu hurry up and say hello." Chiai smiled as she pushed him forward from behind by steering his shoulders.

"Hello... Kitsune-Sensei." Goodness did she have to have her arms crossed like that? He was nervous enough! She was disappointed wasn't she?

"I ran into a bit of trouble on my fishing trip. Was attacked and captured by Jashinists... Met my parents, my mother is apparently from a banished Chigokai line and my father is well... Jashin. He wasn't very pleased to meet me. Quite disappointing apparently. Oh Uso it turns out is the living soul of my vanished twin, not very happy with me since she learned that not that she ever was. I lost my bones and muscles and quite a few things actually, again my father was really disappointed in how I turned out put some interesting curses on me. My mother is a bit unstable," Chiai clicked her tongue behind him, "But she did help me with removing quite a bit of the problem parts of my body and helping me get to walking again. I mostly move by manipulating my blood. Structurally I am still a bit of a mess, if I stop paying attention I might drop a hand and have even lost my head a couple times." This was actually a bit easier than expected, "Oh and this is my wife, Chiai. She helped me rehabilitate and get back. Without her I might still be halfway across the continent trying to figure out how to move my body still" Not mentioning that she sped up his progress controlling his body by beating the crap out of him for the greater part of a year but fighting helps. Also he wasn't sure if he should mention Chiai was actually raised by the same Jashinist sect that kidnapped him. Well that didn't really matter now. The whole story would take quite a while to tell and unfortunately it wasn't like he had a diary or some sort of autobiographical story he could just hand Kitsune to read in her spare time. He would just have to answer most questions as they came up and maybe one day sit down and tell her the whole thing over tea.

"A pleasure," Chiai said curtly. Jashin above she was starting to want some red meat.

"We are actually... expecting you see. We should start hearing a heartbeat any day now.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”So in short. Kidnapped by cultists from a hokey religion. Abused and turned into a literal abomination of nature. And despite being a perfectly qualified mednin, you managed to knock this girl up.” Kitsune said with an exaggerated sigh. ”Good grief Osu-kun. Whatever shall I do with you? It’s like you can’t stay out of trouble, isn’t it? Or, I suppose it’d be more accurate to say that trouble couldn’t stay off of you.” she added the last bit and shot a quick glance to the girl he was standing next to. Regardless of everything, she was glad to see him back in one piece. Figuratively.

Kitsune let her arms come unfolded, before running a hand through her red mane of hair. ”Chiai-chan, n'est-ce pas? Thank you for taking care of my protégé.” she said ”It’s been quiet without him around to get shocked half to death by my construct. – Speaking of which, I wonder where she is. Haven’t seen her all day. I think she’d like to know that you’ve come back Osu-kun. Anyways. Other than all of that, what else have you been up to? Surely it’s not all cults and rehabilitation. Or… Is it?” Kitsune wasn’t sure what else the kid had been doing for so long, so she had to ask.

A few things that didn’t escape her notice was that Chiai seemed to disapprove of Osu calling his own mother unstable. And it was almost like Kitsune could see an almost feral hunger in the girls eyes. Who knows? She might even be… Hungry like the wolf~. ”I suppose the big question now is… Osu-kun...” Kitsune started and looked him straight in the eyes with her piercing blue gaze ”What would you like for your homecoming dinner? There’s almost no limit to what you can pick. I’ve recently gotten some new trade routes opened to distant areas, so there’s new kinds of supplies in my provinces, and of course my home.”

 

[Osuteno]

Chiai unintentionally winced at the use of hokey religion but kept her peace. This was a relief to Osu but it would be best to avoid the topic. Raiden knows the last thing he wanted was to be thrown into the middle of an argument between these two. Chiai had already sworn one day to flay his actual mother, he didn't need this to be a feud as well. Peace was best.

Chiai returned the greeting, "There is no need to thank me Ki..." Chiai gave a scowl when the name started to come out of her mouth and very clearly decided that she wouldn't be able to say that one with a smile. "...Shinrya-San. I've known Osu for a number of years and have had a crush on him just a few days short of that. A damsel has to rescue her helpless prince on occasion." Ah that was right, Osu thought to himself. His mother's name also happened to be Kitsune, quite the coincidence.

Osu for his own part was content with how the conversation was progressing but it was probably time for him to direct the details. "For the greatest part my absence has been rehabilitation. It took half a year just to remove the bones and muscles since my blood vessels kept trying to kill the surgeon and I couldn't be anesthetized in order to reign them in. Took another half a year just to keep myself in one piece and a little more than a year for Chiai and I to slowly make our way back across the continent while I remastered my body to the point where I am a bit stronger than I used to be... We may have slowed down for a couple weeks when we got married around two months ago *Clears throat*... And I decided to take a ship these last couple weeks when we discovered Chiai was pregnant even though it went around the long way." Chiai rolled her eyes with a wry smile when she remembered how paranoid Osu suddenly became at the time.

He smiled at the mention of dinner realizing that Kitsune wasn't going to lecture him more at the very least for now. She might hold this over him for a time yes but she did appear mostly glad he was home. "Well as for dinner..."

"Please something spicy!" Chiai interrupted. Jashin it was killing her. "Curry. Meaty curry. Tonkatsu curry. With sushi rice! Super vinegary sushi rice. And something a bit greasy and cheesy like a pizza but for the blood of Jashin please no tomatoes, I get queasy just thinking about them." Osu mouthed the words vinegary sushi rice as he cringingly thought about how that would taste with curry and realized that Chiai was already in the weird food cravings phase. The hormone waves would be weirder, stronger and earlier for first pregnancies and Chiai still being a growing woman didn't help her case. Chiai hadn't really meant to interrupt but Jashin damn it all she was starving. Osu looked to Kitsune for help because honestly he knew that these were odd things to ask someone to make. Chiai was suddenly also wanting some sweet chocolate donuts to eat alongside that salty vinegary rice but wasn't sure she would have room for them AND that pizza. It slipped both of their minds that one of Chiai's old habits of calling upon Jashin reared its head.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Or princess.” Kitsune said with a smirk before Osu began his long explanation of what had happened, to which Kitsune mostly stood with a look of disbelief. ”So you’re… Basically a walking blood vessel now, then? Osu-kun, you’d be a medical marvel to get a closer look at. But why don’t we save that for a later day as it seems your wife has cravings that demand satisfying, and fast.” Kitsune added the last bit with a sly wink and guided them out of the lab, and towards her estate in another part of the city. ”Don’t you worry Chiai-chan, you’ll get plenty food to satisfy your needs.” she said with a grin.

Once they’d arrived at Kitsunes mansion, Kitsune would guide them both to the kitchen - which was probably larger than some peoples living rooms – despite the maids protests and trying to let them do the work instead of Kitsune. Kitsune of course would have none of that, and just shooed them off. ”Take a seat at the table over there, and I’ll fix something up.” she said with a smile and gestured to the small table (could only seat twelve people). ”So. Tangy, and savory. Then greasy and cheesy. I think I’ve got an idea of what to cook for you, then.” Kitsune said and began chopping vegetables for the curry.

After about half an hour of work, Kitsune had a triple-size serving of lasagna, and that’s Kitsune sizes mind you, in the oven, and a “small” ten liter pot of meaty beef curry on the stove, with the rice coming along nicely in the rice cooker. Because chakra magicks, the food ended up being done only a short time afterwards, and Kitsune tabled the whole shebang so Osu, Chiai and herself could just grab their own servings. ”Dig in, kids. You both look like you could use it.” Kitsune said with a small laugh.

[MFT; WC: 318]

 

[Osuteno]

Osu was quite thankful for Kitsune's offer but soon regretted not picking up a snack for Chiai along the way. Chiai, while initially surprised by the Shinrya estate, soon became more than slightly cranky over the hour they waited on dinner... "Osssssuuuuu," Chiai whined quietly as she chewed on Osu's fingers in an effort to trick her own mind into believing she was eating.

"I am sure," Osu started while wincing, "that it will be delicious when he gets here, just please, mmmmmm, be patient." Raiden she has sharp teeth!

"But Osuuuuu!" Chiai continue to whine as she moved and began pulling on his cheek with her teeth.

Owowowowowowow! "Chi-Chiai please clam down that hurts!" Osu begged back quietly.

Tired of straining her neck Chiai settled for chewing on Osu's neck, "Hrmfurhernmurpherpheromnomerm."

OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!! "Hrrrrm Chiai please you are drawing blood and I can't understand you!" Osu continued to whisper rather urgently.

Nearby there were maids who were peeking in at the long missing Osu whom some of them had once dressed up as an adorable little maid. Wah! He had brought back a wife and they were engaging in bite play at the dinner table? Oh no that cute child is taking after Kitsune-Sama after all? Heheheheheheh. Why are you laughing like that? Do you think they are going to go at it while Kitsune-Sama is in the next room? I hope so! Shut up you, what if they hear us?

Osu was too busy dealing with the stinging coming from Chiai's biting to really wonder why the maids were gathering by the door. Chiai herself was too busy starving to notice anything besides how nice it was to chew on something. Oh she was drawing blood wasn't she? She needed to ease up. The maids couldn't be more disappointed nor Chiai and Osu more pleased as Kitsune began bringing food in. Almost immediately Chiai picked up a container and began to eat though paused mere moments in, blanching.

Osu looked over at Chiai and paled slightly as he saw the ever so slight drip of red on her lips. He immediately whisked her up and ran to the closest bathroom he could remember causing the maids who were hanging by the door to scurry out of the way in surprise. He left a medical clone in there with her to soothe her stomach with only a slight bit of healing, as to avoid becoming part of any statistic that links too much exposure to chakra and birth defects, and went back to the table. On his way back in he asked one of the maids to go fetch some sort of crackers or pretzals for Chiai before addressing Kitsune. "Sorry about that, so far we have learned that tomatoes are among those things that will set off her morning sickness like clockwork. As far as we know only eggs and coffee hit her as hard. She will be wanting something salty when she gets out, though don't worry she will likely want to eat all the curry after this." Osu said while switching plates with Chiai, preparing her a serving of curry and began working on her leftover lasagna. His clone was punched out of existence. "She will be back in a bit, she is just cleaning up. She gets rather embarrassed after she gets sick." Actually... After dinner Chiai will probably fall asleep considering she got sick, I would like to talk to you in private should she do so."

Hearing Chiai coming back he changed the topic up, "By the way, by some strange twist of luck we are now rooming with Saeko here in the Seki District. She somehow managed to get her hands on a four bedroom two bath with kitchen in those apartments in the West End and was looking for roommates."

One of the maids seemed to have intercepted Chiai as she was nomming on some crackers with a mildly disheveld look as she returned to the table, "Yes... Saeko-San... Shinrya-San you wouldn't happen to know any other women who will greet my husband by stripping for him do you? I would like to be warned of such things in the future and I am a bit saddened that by darling husband, the father of our child, won't tell me that there are women out there wondering when he will 'finally hand over his v-card' to them or such." Ahh Chiai was still a bit upset about that. He could tell because her fork was stabbing his leg. That and she was doing that forced smile.

He needed to change the subject, "Actually I am rather curious as to how Hisako is doi-hermmmm," his question was interrupted by Chiai's fork digging into his leg and twisting. What did he do?!

"Goodness Osu-darling, the only man I love and father of my unborn child, that was a terribly strange moment to suddenly bring up the name of yet another woman. What was it exactly about my question that triggered you bringing up the name of another woman you have never mentioned before? Are there other women that question seemed to remind you of?" Chiai was asking these questions in a rather innocent fashion but there was a certain coldness behind them. That and the fork hurt. Osu didn't know it, but he was quite the dumbass sometimes.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune was mildly surprised at the sudden rush towards a bathroom, but when Osu explained she simply nodded ”Right. You should’ve told me that before I began cooking, Osu-kun.” she said, admonishing the kiddo ”And… I hope she doesn’t eat ALL the curry. I only made fifteen liters of it. In fact… I think I might not have made enough rice… Ah, screw it. I’ll just make more if needed.” she decided and shrugged. C’est la vie, right? ”So you’re bunking up with Saeko. What a strange twist of fate. I’m sure Chiai-chan must be thrilled at that.” Kitsune said, stifling a laugh at Chiai’s question ”Actually no, I don’t. I do know someone that usually shocks him so bad he ends up hanging from the lamps.”

Incidently, Osu also wondered how Hisako was doing, though he made the strangest noises. Kitsune figured that Chiai was just stabbing the hell out of the poor kid and shrugged. Whatever gets you guys off I guess. she sighed internally. ”Actually, she’s doing fine. I had to rebuild her a few months back because she decided to try experimenting with her power core.” Kitsune said and scratched her head a bit ”But hey. I think she ended up being improved. She’s got two modes of operation now, one for general usage, and one specifically for healing.”

”I should probably explain, Chiai-chan. Hisako isn’t actually a woman. She’s entirely artificial, running on a perpetual chakra power core that powers her neural electronic network and.. Well that’s all pretty complex engineering that I managed to do. Anyways. She’s not flesh and blood. She’s all machine.” Kitsune explained ”She’s also the one that has a habit of shocking Osu-kun, like I mentioned before.”

[MFT; WC: 287]

 

[Osuteno]

Osu stared with a sense of disbelief at his sensei considering she was informed of the aversion to tomatoes, but didn’t raise an argument since he had been unfairly on the losing side of many of those as of late. He watched Kitsune and Chiai speak a bit checking behind him just in case Hisako was there not greeting from a bit of a distance to gives his heart some ease again. It was at that point he began to ask after her but the sudden fork twisting in his leg was rather painful and he blanked out on why Chiai was getting so angry all of a sudden. Was it something he did? Still it was nice to hear Hisako was doing alright.

Chiai on the other hand had no clue what any of what was said meant except the last bit. “So… wait what? Is this Hiskao... like a… Osu what were those things you were telling me about earlier? That thing in our apartment. Televisions? With the moving pictures on them?”

"Uh no, not... not really. Hisako is a machine that looks like a person and can move around and think on her own."

Chiai simply stared at him with a blank expression, "So those people in that little window can think on their own?"

"No they... Those people on that program earlier are real people who were recorded and that is the recording being broadcast."

"Recorded? Broadcast?"

"... To be perfectly honest I have no idea where to begin. I have a feeling if I continue to trying to continue here it will just confuse you more," Osu said allowing his author to delete a little more than a thousand words trying to teach someone from the medieval era about the modern age in a single dinner which is simply too difficult to keep on task whilst inebriated as it turns out. "Here just enjoy some curry and maybe later I can just show you."

After Chiai began eating, begged for sushi vinegar to put on her curry, got Osu to fetch her some, and cleared out half of the curry and rice on her own she fell asleep while sitting up in her chair and leaning against Osu who had a slightly embarrassed but not in the least displeased look on his face. It was a rather embarrassed grin if anything as Chiai drooled on his shoulder. He looked at Kitsune across the table and in a lower voice said, "I really do need to talk with you in private, do you still have those chaises around where we can leave Chiai for a bit?" Osu's arms and body twisted in a normally impossible fashion to pick Chiai up as gently as he could so as not to wake her up and held her, not princess style funny enough as that might have woken her up, but rather had her piggyback so she could remain sitting up.

After depositing Chiai somewhere comfortable, Osu would insist on a more private room like the study. It wasn't that he didn't trust Kitsune's maids but the less people who knew about this the better. Even Chiai didn't know.

After he was sure they were alone, "My blood is not my own. Jashin, however the hell gods do anything, somehow replaced all of my blood with his right down to what is produced by my marrow. When he did it he joked at me that it was quite willful stuff, and unfortunately he wasn't lying. It has dominated almost all of my body, even my brain has been broken down and absorbed. I am effectively blood, and transitively I am Jashin's wretched blood. Occasionally... I can't control it, not well. Anything that makes Jashin's presence in the world stronger seems to liven up his blood for a time. It is the most i can do to keep it running rampant then. The most common are during new moons, though if an actual lunar eclipse were to occur I shudder to think about my chances of holding it back." Osu pulled out a storage scroll and a small pile of papers appeared filled with calculations and notes and diagrams.

"While completely incapable of practicing myself I have taken to studying the occult lately. I basically will need to have two seals to keep this nonsense in check, the more immediate concern is a modified lunar seal here," Osu said while simultaneously pointing at his lower back and holding up a diagram representing a full moon with arcane circles inside. "Eventually though I will need to inscribe this on my chest," Osu pointed just below his neck while presenting a modified solar seal with dozens of magic circles inside it, making it look more like an eclipse.

"I can draw as many diagrams as I want but sealing is not something I am capable of, can you possibly assist me in making either of these?"

"... I do have one more favor to ask. Recently my... library has opened up a few doors... Could you assist me in learning the ancient language and getting permission to study classical beyond that? To be honest, the solar seal is based off incomplete research. I need to complete it in the next year and a half and find someone to make it. Before the next lunar eclipse."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune blinked at Chiai’s apparently technological illiteracy, then shrugged slightly ”Hisako is just like a person. Only, instead of blood, she has oil. Instead of muscles, she has complex systems that work like muscles.” she said, trying to dumb it down to basics. ”That’s also why she scares the crap out of Osu, because he can’t detect her with his innate blood sensing.” she added with a light laugh at Osus checking if she was there behind him, like she’d normally be. ”She’s not here, Osu-kun. She’s at the hospital, running diagnostics on her new systems.” It was a complex process that was entirely too long for Kitsune to get into here, what with Chiai being tech-illiterate.

A bit later, when Chiai had eaten an ungodly – hah, get it? – amount of rice and curry, and Osu asked if Kitsune still had her chaises, Kitsune simply nodded and guided him to them so he could place her down while shivering internally at the way Osus body bent and twisted. Now that was a sight worthy of a horror show, or a creepypasta if anything. Afterwards, she guided him to the study and made sure the maids had been shooed away from the door.

As Osu told his tale of what had been done to him, Kitsune blinked several times, scratched her head, and almost dropped her jaw. Almost. ”So, essentially, you’re a walking skin sack filled with blood. Blood that isn’t even yours. Blood that you need to keep contained at all costs, because if it’s infectious we’d have a village of Jashin-influenced people pretty much instantly if Chiai gets pissed at you and bashes your head off or something.” she concluded and sighed. Why did her minion student have to suddenly become Jashin Jr.?

Kitsune studied the diagram that Osu held up, noticing the intricacies of the various arrays inside it. This wasn’t your everyday typical lunar seal, that’s for sure. She scratched her head and then shook it. ”I can’t claim to understand every single modification you’ve done to the rather standard lunar seal, but I do get the gist of it.” she said after Osu had explained himself ”I cannot help you with the solar seal, but I happen to be a scribe of cursed seals myself” she added and tilted her head to the side and tugged her choker down, revealing the heavily customized Hell Seal sitting there, before lifting shifting her shoulder out of her top so he could see a just as heavily modified Lunar Seal as the one he was proposing, only this one was designed to channel internal power outwards.

”I scripted both of those onto myself, so I’m fairly sure I could handle your Lunar Seal with ease.” she said before going for the other topic at hand: Ancient Kumo and Classical Ancient Kumo. ”Well. I could teach you Ancient Kumogakurean without any issues. But to learn Classical, you need the explicit permission of the Raikage. If you obtain that, I can assist you in your studies. I’ve been looking for a new subject to get my hands into anyways, and the medical effects of a cursed seal sounds pretty interesting.”

 

[Osuteno]

Osu wasn't familiar with his sensei's seals nor her ability to seal but was thankful she could at least assist him with the more immediate concern. He still had a couple weeks before the next new moon but... well... why wait to do tomorrow what you can do today? Osu began unbuttoning his suit while making his way over to the couch. "I would greatly appreciate any assistance you can give me Sensei, I have to say though I am surprised that you have a couple seals of your own. Interesting designs as well though I am still fairly new to the study of them. That Lunar seal though... expelling energy? Not entirely sure to be honest." He carefully folded his jacket and laid it over the back of the couch before starting on his shirt.

"I suppose I will have to go see Sai... Ayumu about getting permission after I get vulgar down, probably be a couple weeks of study at most." That wasn't Osu being arrogant but with two well above average minds in the same body with a slew of reading materials and each other as constant practice partners once they were taught the basics they could probably pick up the rest fast enough. Wasn't very efficient for resting but even sleep studying was possible for them. As Osu removed his suit and shirt Kitsune would see that every burn, scar, tear, etc that had ever marred his body were simply gone and his slim figure showed no signs of muscle definition in the slightest without seeming too thin. From the back Osu looked like a very appealing young woman based off traditional beauty standards. Even from the front some might not feel entirely sure Osu wasn't just very flat chested. On a more unsettling note Kitsune's eyes might be able to note the extremely minute but constant movement Osu's veins performed right under his skin to mimic proper shape as he moved around with extremely small cracks opening up here and there revealing a world of tens of thousands of miles of blood vessels crawling around inside.

Osu laid down on the couch after folding up his clothes his skin rippled a bit at his lower back and a circle made of his veins marked the place the seal needed to go. "As much as I would love to talk medicinal seal studies, tonight I would like to ask something that has been on my mind for a couple years now. When I met my... Jashin... A lot of what I thought about gods... Well... Wasn't correct. Or rather I had never considered certain aspects of the gods. Plenty of legends say Jashin was mortal once long long ago before he rose, like our deities, and well... You have been around a long time Sensei, long enough to have met some of the more recent gods when they were still mortal... Not sure how I want to try asking this... When they were mortal were the gods... different? Were they people? No that isn't right. Were they different somehow? Something that made them gods? Does becoming a god change the person? Have we spoken to any of them since they rose? I mostly ask because despite his... unnaturalness... Jashin was surprisingly... Human? If a cruel one. Not at all some faultless or omnipotent being, and if you would believe some legends, he is much older than our Raiden. I just don't know."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Well. Not so much expelling as coating my body with it.” Kitsune said and cracked her neck and limbered up. She’d need to be considering what she was about to do with Osu. ”Well I can scribe it onto you right away.” she said, as Osu removed his suit, and Kitsune noticed that his skin was flawless and basically rippling from the movement due to the blood veins shifting around beneath. It made Kitsunes skin crawl, and she shuddered. Yup, she was going to have nightmares about that. Probably. Maybe. In any case, she couldn’t unsee it, that’s for sure.

”A couple of weeks? Oh right. Uso assisting. I forgot about her.” she said, realizing that he could probably learn things faster than anyone in the village, asides maybe from a Rikudou Sennin. ”Yeah, Ayumu-kun is the only one capable of giving you that permission. Even though I could teach you in secret, I’d just end up prosecuted for treason, or something equally asinine.” she said and scratched her head before touching her Lunar Seal, activating it which turned her into a slightly more demonic seeming form, with just barely enough clothes to cover herself, something which Chiai would probably kill Osu for if she knew, or saw.

Upon finishing her transformation, Kitsune licked a finger before pressing it, and three others against Osu’s skin, and inscribing it with the same chakra as was now coursing through her body, generating the same seal on Osu as had been in his research notes. Thanks to Kitsunes eyes, she could copy it to the smallest detail, so everything was exactly as it had been written on the paper. ”There.” she said, once the seal had formed within the circle on his lower back. ”You’re asking questions I don’t honestly know how to answer, Osu-kun. I can’t say that I’ve met any of them post-ascension to godhood, so I don’t know if they’re different now compared to before. I’m sorry.”

[MFT; WC: 327]

 

[Osuteno]

As Osu continued to lay down he felt a weird sensation behind him and saw... hmm... So that was what Kitsune's curse seal did to her. Osu thought this without realizing in the least this was exactly the sort of thing that would cause Chiai to kill him should she see, for he was a dumbass. "No worries then really, I don't mind a bit of bureaucracy. I will go ahead and try and schedule an appointment with the Raikage soon. It was odd coming back and finding out that Saito-Sama returned to his forge. Met Ayumu-Sama at the gates and he didn't even mention his promotion. I feel a bit disrespectful now... Ah that looks a bit sharp." Osu said staring at Kitsune's hands. Ah goodness despite his physical oddities he could still very much feel pain, maybe even more so than before, but oddly his tolerance had gone up as well... Well he didn't really have to worry anyway, curse seals shouldn't really require much depth... Hold on what was that?

As Kitsune's hand approached his back with the sealing jutsu he felt... Oh shit! Osu caught the sensation just in time to keep a hand shaped congregation of blood vessels from really making it far from leaving an opening in his back and willfully pulled the grasping hand back inside. Kit would see a full view of the bloody swirling crawling mass Osu's insides had become, a heart so dark it seemed to drain the color around it moving around inside, and the hand even playfully beckoned Kitsune closer as Osu closed his back back up. "Sorry about that. Please continue." Ah he really wished he had pulled the hand back in without turning his neck around to look at it. It was far too reminiscent of another hand. He couldn't really contain his chills from seeing it. Willful indeed he thought with no small amount of concern. He was sure it wasn't complete but he new the blood had some sort of intelligence outside his, if perhaps only a collection of instincts. Still it was hard to see that mocking hand and not feel that a bit of personality was there as well.

Doing his best to pretend that a hand with the same evil intent as a dark god of slaughter hand not tried to reach out from his body to cause a bloody amalgamation (Kitsune would have likely been fine either way right?) had not just happened he received the seal and a bit of disappointment from Kitsune's answer to his question."Yes... I have never heard of them speaking to us. Still what were they like as mortals then? I understand if you didn't know them personally... but would you... happen to know anyone who did?" Osu sighed, "I don't know what I really want to know to be honest. What is a god? How does someone like that become a god? Why did our gods become gods? Did they have something in common? It can't simply be strength can it?... Anyway I thank you for the seal, that should keep it a bit more in line after it settles into my system." He walked over to a mirror to examine the addition to his back. Done perfectly it seems.

Ohhh goodness! Osu suddenly felt himself grab a shelf for support. A very uncomfortable stirring was happening inside his body and he simply decided taking a seat in the floor was probably for the best... Yup the seal was beginning to settle in alright. Oh goodness that didn't feel good at all. Sweating wasn't really something he did anymore but he could pale more intensely than anyone these days... well maybe only on par with Ookami.

OOC: Lunar Curse seal received from Kitsune

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Well that wasn’t extremely creepy at all.” Kitsune said, feigning being composed at seeing the hand grow out of veins from Osus back, the hand that seemed to have its own will and intent, the vein hand, the hand of veins, the nasty hand. Anyway! Ignoring the fact that Osu had just had a hand sticking out of his bare back, and had twisted his head 180 degrees like an owl, Kitsune put the seal onto him, and then stepped back, letting her form return to normal. ”The seal is done, and it contains a slight bit of my own power that will slowly be consumed by your own, to make the seal settle in.” she said with a smile.

When Osu asked about knowing someone that knew one of the gods personally, Kitsune rubbed her chin. ”Well, I know that Akira Saito, our previous Raikage, was the student of Shinbatsu, one of the people that ascended to godhood. If anything he’s probably your best bet at finding out about all this. Philosophy isn’t exactly my strong side. Nor is theology. So yeah. I’d suggest you seek him out.” she stated simply, as if it was a fact of life or something similar.

When Osu grabbed onto the shelf for support, Kitsune swiftly moved over to him and assisted him in sitting down on the floor. ”Are you okay Osu-kun? Dizzy? Sick? Feeling the seal work? D) None of the above?” she asked in a series of rapid-fire questions, trying to determine if he’d be fine with a bit of rest or if he needed something else.

 

[Osuteno]

"Yeah I'm fine," Osu said a bit breathlessly, "Just a bit of A and C. Goodness that has more kick on the system than I was expecting." He shivered a bit as he felt a few veins twist and prod at the part of his back where the seal was now absorbing weird occult energy. Perhaps a bit too well seeing it was already beginning to advance. This... would definitely take some time to get used to.

His felt his shape becoming a bit loose and laid down on the ground entirely to make maintaining a humanoid figure a bit easier. Yeah this was a bit more exhausting than he was expecting. "I'm fine I think, just... I just need a minute... I knew that the initial containment would be physically exhausting on myself since nearly the entirety of me fused with the blood but... Well it appears that trying to quantify physical and spiritual exhaustion through formulas is a rather misleading exercise... or rather the numbers are more significant than I had guessed. Uso was right... unfortunately... Going to hear her brag about how her formulas were more accurate than mine now." Osu chuckled a bit to disguise his discomfort.

Osu turned his eyes up to meet Kitsune's with a tiredness in his gaze that didn't fit a fifty year old much less a fifteen year old. "Not to sound rude Sensei, but you have been around a while. Does living get any easier?" He was smiling as he said it but it just didn't seem to reach his eyes. He was exhausted and it wasn't just from the seal. It was an exhaustion that had been building from the first time he felt an urge to bleed another human being when his bloodline was coming in, that grew with each kill he made, with each dead patient, with every kidnapping and threat against his life or freedom, with every new unsettling thing he learned about himself and where he came from, the constant necessity to burn the candle at both ends, his body that wasn't even truely his and his weakening faith in the gods. It all exhausted him. His eyes held no angst nor fear nor self pity or anything really except a tiredness that seemed to be consuming him. The only thing that woke him up a bit these days was Chiai and the thoughts of being a dad of all the things in the world but even she couldn't remove everything dragging Osu towards a deep sleep. If his skin could wrinkle his face would probably be a mess by now.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune bent down and picked Osuteno up, carrying him carefully to a nearby couch so he could lie on something soft, rather than the hard wooden floor. ”It really does. More so for me when I got mine, as I scribed them myself. I had to test them out on someone, so why not me?” Kitsune said and smiled softly. ”To be fair, your formulae weren’t exactly wrong. There were just many more variables in the equation than you imagined. It’s difficult to define everything, which is why we haven’t produced homegrown human beings yet. The sheer amount of calculations involved in producing a complete human body, not to mention a consciousness… Trust me, I’ve got a pile of notes that’d make most ethical committees faint, just from the size of the pile alone.”

When the poor kid looked up at her, she saw a tiredness that didn’t match his age, or even someone five times his age. He hadn’t had an easy life, that was certain. He had seen things most people wouldn’t get to see in an entire lifetime, and then he asked that one question. That one question that Kitsune couldn’t give a yes or no answer to. ”It does. If you have someone you care about. Something to live for. A goal of some kind.” she replied solemnly.

”For me, I felt I had lost my last friend when Takaki Masao died. It robbed me of my desire to live. Except… As it turns out, I was pregnant. It gave me a renewed reason to live. Then, I adopted Kahako-chan. I met you. I met the cute Hoshikage, Nanasaki Ai. Fell in love. I’ve experienced my fair share of strange things. Demon invasions, death, the afterlife, rebirth, flying islands, you name it. And despite the adversity I’ve faced, and still am facing, I’m not one to give up. And if I’m absolutely honest. I think you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. Your life is just beginning, you’ve got a cute wife, you’re going to become a dad… What I’m trying to say is. Fight, Osu-kun. Fight to reclaim what’s yours. If need be, I will support you and Chiai-chan, all that I can.”

 

[Osuteno]

Osu's smile touched his eyes if only a little. "Strong huh? That is another word I haven't really felt to have anything to do with me as of late. It takes me everything I have just to stay in one piece, in every sense of that phrase. I very nearly dropped a foot while you were picking me up you know." It was a joke but a fairly realistic one considering how exhausted he felt. Hell if he turned he head right now it certainly would not remain connected properly. "Perhaps that is why I am obsessing over our gods and have been so desperate to come back to the village. I am scaling a mountain with no gear and no footholds, just barely hanging on by my fingers which will separate from my body should I relax too much. I need support. I will fail without it. I know it. I need to be support. I need to know I am not the only one scaling the stupid cliff, and that I am not alone in my idiocy for climbing the blasted thing in the first place. I need to know what is at the top, what goal I am even going for. I need to know that even when I fall it wasn't for nothing... I need to know if I am making the climb any easier for those who come after me..."

Osu remained quite for a few moments and took a deep breath. "... On another note when have you ever worried about an ethic's committee? I swear sometimes I am the only one with any sort of ethics certification to begin with in our hospital, and I was your lab assistant. Still Uso and I would probably love to record those sometime if you are willing to share..." He drifted in and out a few times over a few seconds before settling back into awake again.

"... I really have missed you. I can say for certain these days that you are more like a mother to me than the woman who gave birth to me, ironic that you share given names. I was always envious as to how you could walk tall and strong, not really willing to budge for anything, as stubborn as a mountain. Though I could swear you used to be a lot taller. You also used to look a bit more stubborn perhaps?... I really do appreciate you Sensei. As for supporting us, well I don't suppose you can lend us a bed for the night? I am pretty sure I am not..." Yaaaawn ...

Osu fell asleep.

[TLUS]

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune placed a hand on the kids cheek. ”You’ll make it. You’re already further than most. Heck, you’ve even met an actual god. And.. Now that I think about it, seeing as he’s your dad, doesn’t that make you a demigod?” Kitsune pondered as she let go ”Either way. Remember, there’s an entire city-state full of religion nuts. Maybe someone there knows something. And I’m sure everything you learn, and record, and tell, would help future generations. Even your own kids. Assuming you’ll have more than one of course.” Then, when Osu talked about being the only one with an ethics certification, Kitsune had to suppress a laugh.

”Hah. I suppose you’re right Osu-kun. I never did. Still don’t to be honest. I don’t see why progress has to be restricted by people that are so nearsighted, that have no vision, no dream.” she said, uprightly, answering entirely honestly ”Though, my notes are incomplete, as I put that particular project on pause due to lack of progress. There’s only so many hours in the day, and I’d prefer if they were spent on something useful, not something without progress. I wouldn’t mind letting you both have a look at them. Maybe you can come up with something I couldn’t.”

She sat down next to Osu and smiled softly. ”Heh. I suppose it’s because you’ve grown Osu-kun. And I’m still stubborn as a mountain. I’m glad to hear that you’ve missed me. I’ve missed you too, my precious protégé.” she said ”If you should ever wish to have the full support of my clan, I would be more than happy to adopt you into it, to make you a Shinrya. Think it over. For now, rest Osu-kun. I’ll lend the two of you a room for the night. Heck, for as long as you desire.” she said before he drifted off, and she carried him to the aforementioned room, getting the maids to bring Chiai there as well, and provide them with suitable nightwear and other necessities.

[TLUS]