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I can't believe it's already 2024. Sorry, this took so long, quite a few issues delayed the upload. Pro tip: don't leave your backpack unattended on a train with your wallet, laptop, passport, and phone inside it. Unless you want your possessions to be stolen of course. If a chapter gets uploaded in the future and a thief gets brutally murdered in it, that has nothing to do with events in my real life. I hope you all have been well and enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Text

Having a problem and no tangible solution I can think of to address it is grating beyond belief.

Normally when I have an issue or a threat to deal with I can think of a direct solution or steps to take to address it.

With the threat of being shunted into the Dimensional Gap, however, I can't see an easy solution. I don't even have a rough outline of long-term steps to address it because I have no way of knowing how to work towards that.

The mechanisms of cross-dimensional travel are beyond me. The specific path I'd need to develop my skills and knowledge is even worse. Trying to address those shortfalls is like walking through heavy fog without any way of seeing my destination.

Suzaku mentioned that the stronger I was, the more difficult it would be for someone to teleport me without my permission but that isn't a solution. It's comforting in the abstract but not anything actionable.

What's worse is that this vague existential threat is stressing me out. Not because it alone is much of an issue but because it's being jumbled up with the pressure of other issues I've been neglecting.

Yasaka's advice yesterday is the most recent example of another issue I've been avoiding but there are others.

It scares me that this relationship I've been building with Suzaku could end up falling apart because I've kept Akeno's status from her. Yet if I break Akeno's trust by telling Suzaku, I'd be making her feel unsafe and as though she doesn't matter. Maybe that's why I've avoided thinking about it, let alone dealing with it, I just don't want to have either relationship damaged.

Avoiding the issue won't solve it though, and the fact that I defaulted to avoiding it also pisses me off.

First, I need to see if Akeno is still holding the same position that she doesn't want Suzaku to know she's alive. Even Akeno being flexible enough for me to let Suzaku know she's alive and safe would help. I'm sure Suzaku wouldn't be happy that Akeno doesn't want to see her but I think she'd understand.

If Akeno's opinion hasn't changed on the matter then I can at least take Yasaka's advice and let Suzaku know I have something important to tell her but that I can't tell her yet. If I do that then I won't have to bear the guilt of keeping Suzaku completely in the dark.

That still leaves me with other things I've been ignoring, like further developing my abilities and unsealing Kenmyoren.

I went through a period of rapid growth since my month in Yomi, and I think that rapid growth became a poison. That growth was satisfying and steep enough that I hadn't felt a need to touch those areas. Either that or I haven't had a suitable place to train them.

My archery developed massively in Yomi into something capable of ripping the scales off of dragons and laying armies low. While that's great and I'm proud of that, why am I satisfied with that? Shouldn't I be trying to have each arrow capable of killing a dragon?

My swordsmanship has been slowly polished and during the Dragonslayer festival, I manifested that skill into a powerful sword.

I passed out after using it though.

Despite that, I haven't tried to test how much energy pulling it out uses. I haven't trained with it at all since then.

Sure, I can't summon a weapon that large in the middle of Kyoto but I could've looked for somewhere to train or slowly developed control of it somehow. Ignoring it obviously won't allow me to master it anytime soon.

My martial arts also took a huge leap after copying the Shinra clan's techniques and incorporating them into my style. While I went through all the derived techniques in my head, I didn't take the time to practice them and imprint them into my muscle memory. There's a difference between being able to execute the martial arts and mastering them and it's in training.

I also haven't dealt with Kenmyoren yet either. The sword is an incredible weapon but it isn't a replacement for a weapon that suits me.

My original plan for the sword was to unseal Otakemaru and convince him to guard my village or kill him if that wasn't possible. Either outcome is a plus for me since in the first I'd feel better about the safety of the village without me present and in the other, I'd be able to have a good fight and raise my reputation. I haven't even begun to look into unsealing the sword at all though.

Much like unsealing Tobio's Sacred Gear, all I'd have to do in theory is send my consciousness into the sword and ascertain whether Otakemaru would be agreeable to my idea. Just taking a moment to check would tell me what I had to do next, even if I didn't take action on that right away.

I can't say that ignoring these issues was simply because I didn't want to deal with them. I have been busy but I also can't say I haven't had time either.

Spending time with Suzaku or my family, expanding the presence of the Golden Dragons, defeating rival organizations, and training Tobio have all taken up my time.

But getting stronger is the foundation for accomplishing my goal of reaching the summit of this world. Ignoring that is the same as ignoring my dream so I need to be better at maintaining balance.

Speaking of training Tobio…

"You're not controlling your breathing," I say as I feel the air shift in front of me and direct one of the ten balls of Ki orbiting me to intercept.

Jin yelps as he's pushed off his attack trajectory and I send a second ball of Ki chasing after him.

Tobio wisely doesn't respond to my comment since the goal of this training is for him to be stealthy.

He's doing an admirable job of keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible but as he swings his scythe his sharp exhale gives his attack away.

Using the sound to guide me, two balls of Ki accelerate out of their orbit around me, one hitting the scythe just below the blade to stop Tobio's swing and the other hits Tobio in his stomach, knocking him down.

"It's a little hard to do that when you keep knocking the wind out of me," Tobio wheezes out from on the floor behind me.

"Sounds like a skill issue to me," I say with a shrug as I spike Jin downward with another ball of Ki as he leaps to slash across my side.

The balls of Ki return to their orbit around me with the others as Tobio and Jin pick themselves up.

"You need to stop holding back or else Jin won't be able to draw my attention. If he can't draw my attention, I'll notice your sneak attacks. It's that simple." I shake my head as I explain the goal of this exercise again.

"I still don't understand how I'm holding back," Tobio grumbles. "Aren't you just too strong?"

I sigh and cross my arms, "Jin is enough to threaten me if you bring out his full power. The fact that I can stop you both in your tracks, while keeping my eyes closed, not using my Ki sense, and only using these balls of Ki, means your determination is either too weak or you're deliberately stopping him from harming me."

"Even then, I've barely wrapped my head around all this," Tobio says, getting a bark of agreement from Jin.

"Maybe I'm being too soft with your training. You grew in strength far faster when you were forced into the deep end," I mumble, comparing Tobio with the version I remember from canon.

Should I attack with the intent to kill? Surely Jin would be freed from whatever limits Tobio is imposing upon him if it were life and death.

"I'd force you into a state of fear so you'd remember how to release your Balance Breaker but Suzaku would be pissed when she found out." I pose the option conversationally, not mentioning that I'm not confident that I could win if he released his Balance Breaker and thought his life was on the line.

It took Vali, Azazel, and Lavinia to fight together to stop him without killing him in the original story.

"Let's not do that." Tobio hastily interjects. Jin on the other hand just growls at me.

"For someone who doesn't want to go with the quick option, you seem to have a lot of criticisms with my training." I drawl, cracking an eye open and taking in his expression.

He seems embarrassed and frustrated in equal measures. His fists are both tightly clenched around the snath of his weapon.

"I don't get how any of this helps me in a fight or what this all has to do with saving Sae." He bites out, looking lost. "You're barely paying attention to this and random balls of energy do nothing to help me learn how to fight a person."

"I'm barely paying attention because the two of you aren't doing enough to garner all my focus. I could have had a clone do this instead if I didn't care." I retort with a level tone.

"The 'random balls of energy' as you called them, are used to get you used to unpredictable attacks. If they can suddenly accelerate or change directions it makes them far harder to predict than, say, my fist." While true, that isn't the real purpose I'm using this method to train him.

When he inevitably fights Hanezu Himejima, he will realize that the training method I'm using is exactly how Hanezu fights. Each ball of Ki corresponds to a single Vajra that Hanezu would control with his magic.

Once Tobio can break through my defense using these balls of Ki, I'll then give myself a staff to get him used to that as well. My goal is to have Tobio be able to defeat Hanezu without releasing his Balance Breaker by specifically training him to do exactly that.

It's not sporting to train him to specifically counter the exact methods his opponent will use but Tobio isn't the type to care about that. He won't be fighting Hanezu for enjoyment like I would if I was in his shoes.

"Lastly, I'm not training you to fight at the moment. I'm training you to work together with Jin and minimize your presence. Until you can strengthen your body with magic to a sufficient level or use the powers of your Sacred Gear to do that, you shouldn't be personally fighting anyway." I frown and tilt my head back and forth.

I scan him to see if he understands and when he still looks iffy I continue, "I'm sure you've played video games or at least understand the references. To be clear, you're a summoner class. Your summon should be fighting and you should support him."

Tobio looks surprised, "I'm surprised you know what a video game is."

He claps a hand over his mouth, looking mortified as I shoot a glare at him. "That was uncalled for."

I bite my tongue from saying anything further about that and change the subject, "You haven't managed to strengthen yourself sufficiently with magic yet, I assume? If you have, I can change my approach here."

"I'm not sure what you consider 'sufficient' but I've made some progress with learning the spell Suzaku gave me." I motion for him to demonstrate and he takes a few breaths in preparation before activating the spell.

He takes a heavy breath in once and the spell fully manifests- a Vermillion glow briefly flashing across his body to signify such.

As he exhales the air shimmers with the heat of his breath and his aura becomes more imposing than before the spell activated.

Tobio takes a moment to focus before he closes the distance and swings his scythe.

I hum at the increase in speed and catch the incoming blade between my index finger and my thumb.

"About a 30% boost maybe?" I guess and let go of his scythe as he cancels his spell.

He steps back but it's a little wobbly, so I narrow my eyes and lay the back of my hand across his forehead gently. I click my tongue at the increase in temperature from just that brief use.

"Don't use that again outside stationary practice until you have a much higher mastery." I chastise, setting a boundary immediately. "I don't need you overheating because you can't fully handle the spell."

He shifts guiltily, "Is it that bad?"

"I was told not to try and learn the spell but I can guess how it works just from that demonstration. You're turning your lungs into a furnace or something, to boost your physical ability?" He makes no move to confirm or deny it so I continue on the assumption I'm close enough.

"When gas exchange happens, the rest of your body rapidly grows hotter because of the heat of your lungs from the spell. I'm sure the spell only has such pronounced side effects when you've barely learned it but that doesn't make using it in that state acceptable," I finish and watch him expectantly.

"I'll keep practicing," He concedes with a sigh.

"Either that or figure out how to shunt the excess heat into your shadow." I offer another solution as a consolation. "That would allow you to push the spell further regardless of your mastery."

He looks surprised but as I think further on the issue, there's another potential solution that would be even better. Well, that is if I'm correct with my assumptions of how the spell works in a broad sense and I'm correct on how Sacred Gears work.

"Long term you should try to enhance your body using an aura of darkness from your Sacred Gear. If you can do that and enhance your body using the spell Suzaku gave you, you can further boost your physical abilities and negate the side effects of the spell." I grin happily as I imagine that scenario.

I laugh at the idea of an even stronger version of the Slash Dog from canon. If the False God of Darkness can also use the foundation of the Himejima clan to grow further, who am I to deny his birthright? Just the idea of that future gives me fresh inspiration.

"Maybe, if you can draw the Divine Flames of Kagutsuchi from Ame no Ohabari you might be able to fuel that spell using those flames." Tobio flinches, looking shocked but since I don't know why he reacted like that I'll ignore his reaction.

Instead, I revel in the image of a fully realized version of Canis Lykaon. How entertaining would it be to fight that? How would I win? Could I even win?

Those thoughts flash through my mind and I find myself getting giddy at the prospect.

Tobio shivers at the intensity of my gaze when I focus my attention back on him and I sigh with a fond smile.

Take your time and grow strong. Being able to entertain me in battle would be more than enough repayment for his training.

"Just think about it." I wave him off since if he comments he'll only be giving me more clues on how the spell works, "Until then though, we need to focus on Jin's ability to fight out front and your ability to hide your presence."

"That's why you're so critical of my movements and breathing being silent then?" Tobio asks and I nod.

"Silence is the foundation of stealth. You can avoid people's sight all you want but any sound you make will draw their attention, especially in a fight where your opponent's senses are sharpened to their limits." My explanation looks to have worked as Tobio is following along.

"I also learned how to hunt silently before I figured out how to erase my presence. Without that first step, erasing your presence is useless since sound will always give you away. I'd be teaching Jin the same if he didn't pick both steps up immediately." Jin puffs up at the praise, unable to help himself despite his dislike of me.

"I think I remember the feeling." I catch Tobio muttering and raise a brow.

Jin's ears perk up and his tongue lols out as Tobio's presence dims ever so slightly. It isn't much, barely a success honestly, but barely is still a success. More than that, I recognize the method he's using as mine.

It isn't the same, Tobio doesn't have the same experience or conceptualization of the Void as I do, but it's close enough to be recognizable.

"Huh," I mutter, somewhat at a loss, "Is there a bleed-over between the gear and its wielder or is this simply the talent of one who breaks the balance of the world?"

Tobio's presence comes back in full as beads of sweat drip down his forehead, "Not bad, right?"

He smiles proudly at me and I smile back, "Good job, once you're able to suppress your presence consistently we can increase the difficulty of your training."

His smile shatters and I laugh maniacally. Serves him for getting cocky.

Before I tell him to prepare for another round of this training, Akeno walks into the courtyard waving at us.

With athletic wear on, her hair tied back, and a wooden training naginata resting on her shoulder, she came ready to practice.

"Mind if I cut in?" She asks us and I roll with her interruption.

"As long as you've stretched then you can spar with Tobio for a bit." I lean over and ruffle her hair as steps within reach.

She brings her weapon to bear and knocks my hand away with a flourish, pouting all the while. "I just fixed my hair in place!"

"If you're sparring it'll get messed up anyway," I respond with a smirk, "Keep it to weapons only though. You both need to hone your technique."

"Fine," Akeno drawls, rolling her eyes.

As she takes a moment to fix her hair again, we both watch Lillian fussing over Tobio.

After handing him a water bottle and even setting out a water dish for Jin, she's taken the initiative to clean him off with a fresh towel.

I hike a thumb at the display and Akeno frowns watching Lillian with sad eyes. After being saved by Tobio, the stray devil has become quite attached to him. Even I find the way she trails after him to be unfortunate since he doesn't seem interested whatsoever.

I'm not sure if he hasn't noticed because of the circumstances around his classmates disappearing or if he's ignoring her affection due to his uncertain relationship with Sae. Either way, it's clear to Akeno and me that Tobio isn't going to respond to her affection any time soon.

"Go easy on him, he's still learning the ins and outs of his weapon," I add and Akeno nods.

I snap off a horn, making a clone to supervise their spar and head off. My clone will be enough to ensure they spar safely and offer advice, besides I have work to do.

I exit the courtyard and wind my way through the house trying to figure out how to do this properly.

What I need to do is contact Susanoo and get him involved with the negotiations between us and the Devils. However, there is no way in hell I'm praying to him, even just to contact him. Besides that, I don't exactly know how to get in touch with him though.

My solution is to send a prayer to Izanami instead since I could see myself giving her my faith despite the prayer being more of a 'divine phone call' rather than a display of devotion.

I'm debating how to properly do this though because I do still want to show my respect to Izanami. I may not be her faithful priestess but I count her as a friend.

That's why I'm heading to my garden to build a facsimile of a shrine for this call. That way I can say I put forth some effort and did this respectfully.

Heading to a more empty corner of the garden, I tilt my head and start planning this out.

The goal of a Shinto shrine is to create an 'enclosed world' or a vessel for the divinity of the Kami in question.

Therefore, The Torii gate is necessary to enter this separate world and mark the boundary. With that in mind, a Torii gate is the first thing I create for this shrine.

Of course, for minor Kami or a household god, you wouldn't go this far. A simple statue or token to pray to on an altar would be enough. Izanami is no minor Kami though, and even if she lacked the status she has, I'd feel bad about only going that far.

Two thick trunks of wood burst out from the ground and after growing three meters upward, the tops begin to flower. Under my control, vines wrap their way up one of the pillars and then jump across to the other once they reach the top. These vines are strung loosely across the gap but are wrapped around each other like a thick rope and then wind their way down the second pillar for symmetry. Lastly, flowers bloom along the section of vines hanging between the pillars, giving the structure a welcoming feel.

I know that Izanami is the God of the Dead and ruler of Yomi but after meeting her this aesthetic for a shrine dedicated to her fits better.

Continuing from the Torii, multiple small pillars grow from the ground forming a circular domain.

The rope of vines grows from the Torii gate and connects each of the smaller pillars. With that complete, the entire shrine is enclosed outside of the Torii gate which acts as the sole entrance.

Now I need to decorate the inside of the shrine.

My inspiration for the inside is Izanami's garden. Not only was that something personal and meaningful to her but it was something that she shared with me as a token of friendship.

Hopefully, that will help in making this shrine legitimate.

Rather than a statue or some large stone, from the center of the shrine, a cherry blossom tree slowly forms. Around the tree, a field of flowers blooms, each a copy of the ones I saw in Izanami's garden.

Once everything is finished growing I scan over the shrine for imperfections. Everything looks great but I don't want anything out of place. Especially since I don't plan to remove any of this after I'm finished today.

Whether I'm going to contact Izanami this way in the future or not, I don't know how she would feel about me tearing down a shrine that I dedicated to her. I'd imagine that any deity would be a bit touchy about things like that, and despite spending a month with her, I don't know Izanami well enough to guess at her reaction to that.

Before entering, I pause and consider the purification rituals that one normally does at a Shinto shrine. The ritual was originally based on Izanagi's return from Yomi where he cleansed himself in the river and Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi were born from his eyes and nose.

My problem is whether to perform that ritual before praying to Izanami. Would it be offensive to do so or offensive not to? It's a practice born from her ex-husband whom she hates but also a practice that honors the birth of the children she cares for.

Hmm….

In the end, I decide to skip it, my instincts say it would be better not to.

I step through the gate slowly and feel none of the divine presence that I felt visiting the shrine in Urakyoto with Suzaku. It's to be expected since I just built the shrine for Izanami but I half expected to feel something.

Either way, I proceed to the trunk of the cherry blossom tree, careful not to step on any of the flowers.

I exhale calmly to center myself, bow twice to the tree, clap my hands twice, and pause. I focus firmly on the image of Izanami and the feeling of her presence I remember from my time in Yomi, taking a moment of silence.

After bowing a final time, I wait for… well, I'm not sure what I'm waiting for. Some sign that Izanami recognizes this as a shrine dedicated to her? In hindsight, I don't even know if she can sense me from Yomi.

It isn't like I'm filled with faith and genuine worship to her. There isn't anyone I have a desire to worship in this world, at least I don't possess a religious awe toward any god. I think some of the ones I've met are awesome and I respect them but worship?

I'm about to give up on this method when the shrine is suddenly flooded with a familiar divine presence. I sigh in relief as the divine aura lacks any offense or negative emotions that I can sense. At the very least she is accepting of this shrine.

The cherry blossoms slowly darken as Izanami's divinity spreads throughout the shrine and the tree becomes the focal point of her power. The light pink blossoms shift through darker reds until becoming a dull shade of black. Paradoxically the trunk of the tree lightens at the same time, ending its transformation as an ivory white.

Some of the blossoms start to shake and shift, morphing into a group of black butterflies that after separating from the tree start to explore the shrine.

I watch them drift through the shrine with a small smile. I think if Izanami had a problem with the shrine she would've made it clear by now. If anything I would guess she's happy with it.

One of the butterflies lands on my nose and I go cross-eyed to look at it. It flutters its wings and I crinkle my nose at the ticklish feeling. I can feel a sense of mirth spread throughout Izanami's divinity and roll my eyes.

"As long as you're enjoying yourself," I mutter, offering a finger for the butterfly to hop onto instead.

"I wasn't expecting you to contact me like this. How have you been?" Izanami's voice manifests from the butterfly as an eerie pressure. It isn't anything like speaking to someone through a phone.

The closest thing I can compare it to is when Crom Cruach spoke to me- pure power forcing an understanding of ideas onto someone else. Izanami is far more gentle with the expression of her aura than Crom had been though.

"I've been well. I meant to contact you sooner or even come visit but I've been busy." I can feel confusion in Izanami's divinity at my response.

"That's alright, I'm already happy you contacted me so soon. You even built me a nice shrine too!" As if to prove her point, all the butterflies drift happily from flower to flower, exploring each one in detail.

To think, I was nervous whether this would be enough for Izanami.

"I'm glad you like it. How have you been? Has anything interesting happened in Yomi?" The cherry blossom tree's branches shake and the shrine is filled with an air of excitement.

"I've been great! I got a response already from one of the other gods of the Underworld that I reached out to. They're coming to visit at the end of the month." Her news surprises me, mostly because I would expect gods to have a lot to do.

"That's fast, isn't it? I mean I'm happy for you but it hasn't even been that long since you started reaching out, right?" On second thought, Izanami isn't exactly a small name, so her reaching out to someone would be big news.

"No, I was surprised too. Especially since Hades' section of the Underworld is one of the busier afterlives to manage. He seemed very interested in meeting me though, the tone of his response was quite friendly." Izanami seems excited as she describes their correspondence but more than listening to her, Hades' name drags forth memories of canon.

As I remember, Hades was interested in creating an alliance with the various gods of the Underworld to destroy 'unnecessary' mythologies. What that ended up encompassing was the global religions that drew worship and faith away from older native religions. The biggest offenders in that case are the Biblical factions.

"Ibaraki?" Izanami gently pulls me out of my musings, awaiting a response.

"I was just remembering something else." I shake my head, "From what I know of his mythology Hades is respectable and seems kind. If that holds true then he's a great friend for you to make. Though I don't know if mythology is trustworthy."

"Would you mind… only if you are free of course, maybe being in Yomi when Hades and Persephone visit? I'm just a bit nervous about making a good impression and it would be easier with some support." Izanami's hesitance is cute and I feel warmth in my chest knowing that I'm who she would want to support her in this.

I almost say yes right away but then I remember I still have Tobio to train and get ready for when the Utsusemi make their move. Not only that, I still have to finish dealing with the Yura-Ann situation and I don't know when the negotiations with the Devils will even take place. It shouldn't be too long from now, and I still have just under two months before Tobio would need to be ready.

"I would love to be there, I just need to make sure I'm free. Tentatively, I would say yes though."

Izanami lets out a cry of delight despite my agreement not being set in stone. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I bite my cheek and rock my head side to side considering, "I might need to bring Tobio along to continue his training."

"A student of yours? I'd love to meet them too." Izanami replies still full of excitement.

"Something like that," I say without committing to the label, "Actually, you might be interested in his Sacred Gear as well."

I can sense Izanami's interest in that statement but don't plan to elaborate. It would be easier to show her than to explain how his Sacred Gear contains her husband's sword, the same one Izanagi used to kill her son.

…maybe springing it on her once I get there isn't a good idea. I only got chastised about keeping secrets yesterday and I almost did it again.

"He's the wielder of Canis Lykaon and if that isn't a problem I'd appreciate it if I could bring him along." The aura of interest and excitement from Izanami goes flat as she processes that statement.

I wince as I await her response, "Thank you for telling me. I'd still like to meet him… I would ask that you allow me to examine his Sacred Gear though. I promise not to do anything drastic, so there's no reason to be concerned."

Her response fills me with a sense of relief and validates my decision to tell her.

"That's good. I think you will like him, he's a nice kid." She hums idly, and I take that as the best I'm going to get.

"I'll get back to you on visiting Yomi but I had a favor to ask you. Would you mind telling Susanoo I need to talk to him? I'd contact him myself but I don't have a direct line to him." I don't get a response immediately and I shuffle awkwardly.

A flood of humor fills the shrine and Izanami lets out a tinkling laugh.

"Ibaraki, you built a shrine to me, all to avoid praying to my son? You can be adorable sometimes." I blush as Izanami sees through me with ease. "Of course, I'll let him know."

"Thank you, Izanami," I drone out while pouting as my blush slowly fades.

"You're welcome. Even if it was to avoid praying to my son, I enjoyed speaking to you again so soon. If you're willing, it would be nice to chat like this more often." A touch of embarrassment seeps into Izanami's tone and I give a reassuring smile.

"I'll come by to chat often, alright? Take care, Izanami." Her divinity slowly fades from the shrine but a small amount remains, echoing a farewell.