A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 227: Chapter 217

"Wilhelm." Yasaka perked up, looking at me from behind her desk. There were stacks of paper all about in an almost comical way as she went through documents and reports.

It was the first time I'd been in her office. "I was going to ask if you were busy."

"Did the stacks of paper tip you off?" She snorted with a laugh, almost deprecating in nature. She let out a sigh, setting her pen down. "This is actually a good day."

"Really, this is a good day?" I blinked in surprise as I took a seat.

"Atleast I don't have to deal with a court setting today." She waived it off. "I'd much rather deal with them complaining on official documents than hear whining in person. I swear, it's like they don't realize EVERYONE had been hit hard in the attack." She groaned, laying her head on the desk. "Something happen?" She asked, her head still laid down as she stared at me.

"No, why?"

"I didn't expect you to come by and see me so soon. Maybe when I went to go pick up Kunou from school." She replied, lifting her head up and propped it up with her arm. "Not that I'm complaining." She finished with a smile.

"There's no issue, I just wanted to see you." I returned the smile. "I did see Mordred and we had breakfast together. It was nice."

"That's sweet." Yasaka cooed. "I hope Artoria and her can settle everything."

"Did she talk to you?"

"Yes, we spoke a bit. She told me of her origins. Though, I had suspected as much with all the clues I had been given as well as what you get up to." She shook her head with a laugh. "First Minamoto-no-Raikou, and now Arthur Pendragon. Is it strange that your world's version of these figures are female, or is it my world strange that they're male?"

Huh, I never thought of it that way. I shrugged, not dwelling on it too much. "History recorded them as male in our world as well, so probably my world." I laugh. "Besides, you forgot to mention Mordred."

"That doesn't count. Mordred apparently likes male pronouns so it's not weird that specific historical fact was muddled."

"Honestly, I don't know if she does or not and just went with it because she was told to. I've been using female pronouns and she hasn't really gotten upset. I think it's more the intent than anything." Though, I should probably ask her at some point. It would be the polite thing to do.

"Oh." Yasaka suddenly shot up straight. "Before I forget...." She started rummaging through the drawers on her desk. "Ah, here it is." She presented an envelope with a noble-like insignia stamped over wax.

"I...." I didn't really know what to say as I accepted it. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes, the Gremory Family Insignia. I doubt anyone would actually pretend to be them and do this." Yasaka replied.

"Interesting." I looked it over. "So, where do you shred things at? Or should I just turn it into ash?"

"I won't tell you what to do with it." She stated. "But you should hear everything that accompanied it before you make your decision."

I let out a sigh. "Fine, let me hear it."

"The person who dropped it off was very specific that it was at the behest of Venelana Gremory or rather Lady Gremory." Yasaka said calmly. "They were waiting outside the gate for hours until I got back and they were very polite with their approach."

"My..... Grandmother." I pursed my lips. "I admit I haven't given her any real thought since she was mentioned by Okita Souji."

"You're under no obligation to respond, nor even read it. If you want to discard it and never mention it again, I'll happily go along with it."

"No love for Devils?"

"I don't think any faction in the world actually likes them." She deadpanned. "Unfortunately, they seem to have a stranglehold on certain products and technologies that make it so we have to interact with them in some capacity."

"Products? Remind me again which ones are so important?" I knew a lot of things, but I wasn't omnipotent.

"Well, I could list certain technologies, hell , I use the Devilnet more than I should. But if we're talking about strategic resources, Phoenix Tears are something that's hard to come by, off the top of my head."

"Ah, I recall those. Something about requiring a ritual for the Phenex family member to shed a tear and what-not. It's supposed to have some insane healing properties, but doesn't do much for missing limbs."

"That's more or less correct. It also helps with diseases as well."

"It's impressive and all.....but are healing magics and potions/regents really in short supply here?"

"Short supply? I can't say they're short, but mostly faction specific. Good healing is hard to come by unless you're part of the Heaven faction or important in some Pantheon. To us 'mortals' and such, finding someone proficient in healing that can do something close to the ability of a Phoenix Tear is difficult. We of course have many in our number, but compared to our entire population, it's only a small fraction. Most 'Holy' type healing-based magics are not compatible with Youkai due to our origins. While we don't suffer the same backlash for such things from true 'Sinful' species like devils, it's still less than desirable."

"Hmm, that's something I can help with."

"Really?" She blinked. "If you could supply a large amount of healing supplies, it would be very beneficial. We would have to stop paying outrageous amounts for the small amount of Phoenix Tears we can get our hands on. If they can be used in the middle of a battle, they would be worth their weight in gold."

Ah, I seem to understand. It's not that healing is unheard of. It's that most 'healing' is not compatible with every species around and it's almost like a magic doctor, not a consumable like a Healing Potion. I guess it isn't so surprising, I can't compare the modern world to somewhere like Tamriel. Tamriel hadn't been.....polluted so to speak like Earth had and as such hadn't lost the majority of its magical nature on the surface. And Phoenix Tears apparently don't discriminate at all, making them even more valuable even ignoring the strength of their healing.

"Yeah, I can see why Phenex Tears are so valuable after giving it a bit of thought."

"They're no Apples from Idun's Tree, or Peaches of Immortality, but they're probably the best us 'mortals' can get our hands on." She sighed.

I took a Healing Potion out of my Ring and set it on the table. "I have somethings going on that should begin a steady supply of these. They're fairly decent healing items – aptly named healing potions. The Ingredients come from Meridia's world, but I also have some people under me starting research on growing them from where Mordred and co came from."

"Interesting." She picked it up, examining the bottle. She didn't even hesitate to pop it open and take a drink. She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Hmm, I felt a warmness wash over me. I've used a Phoenix Tears before, and this is much lower than one but if they're mass producible..."

"They are, to an extent obviously. I would offer to go buy up large quantities in Skyrim, but they're currently having their own difficulties and supplies are hard to come by."

"No, this is fine as is. It's not an emergency but something to look forward to down the line. It would free up a lot of money and resources on our end from having to oursource." She set the Healing Potion down. "Oh, that's a surprise." She mumbled. "It doesn't seem to overdraw the bodies' vitality like most Senjutsu healing does."

"There are other things, I'll give you a list of sorts when I start up production on my end."

"You're so good to me." She smiled. "And the others already are doing things. Scáthach and Raikou went to deal with the biggest pain right now. I don't know what I'd have done without you all."

I flicked the Letter in my hand into my ring for now, deciding to think about it more later. "It's not like you haven't helped us either. Accepting my requests without a second thought, and even helping get everyone settled."

"That's nowhere near the same." She huffed. "I just had to snap my fingers to make that happen."

"Yeah, and how easy do you think it is for Scáthach and Raikou to handle a 'Mountain God'." I snorted. "Hell, Scáthach will probably have fun doing it."

She blinked. "That's a fair point. She looked rather excited when I mentioned it."

"She's a bit of a sadist."

"And she's also in your harem."

"Yup."

"Hmm, should I be made aware of certain.... interests of yours~" She said with a little smirk.

"If you want to start 'talking' about my 'interests' then you're not going to get any work done." I didn't back down from her teasing. I guess I already accepted her as someone important to me, so it didn't really feel off anymore.

She let out a groan, head dropping to her desk again. "This stupid paperwork." She let out an uncharacteristic whine. Atleast, I don't think she'd show this side of herself to her subordinates.

She really is cute.

I picked up my chair and moved it around her desk, sitting next to her. "Alright, let me help."

"Really?" She perked up.

"Of course, I'll help you get this done quicker and we can go pick up our Daughter together." Kunou was still at school, so we should have time to knock this out.

She looked at me, then at the stacks of paper and happily pushed about half of it in my direction. "If you don't think you can do anything with the documents, put them in a separate pile, I'll look them over later."

"Okay." I nodded, taking a pen. I paused for a moment. "So, a random thought."

"Hmm?"

"Is it weird that I sort of expected you to be using a traditional brush?"

"Do you think we're that backwards?"

"Well, no. But its' just...."

"I'm messing with you. We actually used them when Pens first came around then I nipped that in the butt right away. Had some elders kick up a fuss about it too, spouting all that nonsense about 'tradition'."

"Oh, what happened?"

"We don't talk about them anymore."

***

"I think you're doing this on purpose." I stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Yasaka hummed, holding my arm with her Tail wrapped around me in the way I've come to enjoy.

"I'm not complaining, mind you. But you're definitely doing this on purpose."

"Am I not allowed to be affectionate with the father of my daughter?" Yasaka grinned.

I grumbled but didn't dwell on it any longer.

She was definitely doing this on purpose.

We were talking the 'long way' towards Kunou's school, as in walking through a very populated part of the city. It was actually very roundabout and added probably an extra twenty minutes to reach our destination.

People were watching us very intently. Yasaka was a very well known figure to all of them. To call her a celebrity wouldn't be wrong either. While I'd been on the internet here, there were plenty of forums and websites dedicated to Yasaka.....and not entirely in a wholesome way.

So, yeah. People were watching us, taking pictures and such. Even her Guards were keeping their distance, making this look like a romantic outing.....which it was.

And not that our relationship wasn't kind of known already, but it hadn't been made this blatantly public before.

"I just want everyone to know that you're my man." She said sweetly.

"I suppose it doesn't hurt that it also distracts people. Gives them something to talk about other than the attack and the subsequent mess that's still being dealt with." Weaponizing celebrity gossip.

"Yes, it's quite the coincidence~"

"You're lucky you're so fluffy." I ran a hand through her fluffy tail.

I honestly didn't mind. I actually liked that everyone knew that Yasaka was now mine. The possessive side of me reared its head.

"You know, most men would be obsessed with other parts of my body." She visibly bounced her chest, drawing me eyes with a smirk. "Yet you can't ever resist it when my Tails are within reach."

"Should I give 'other parts' of you equal amounts of attention then?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Another of her tails wagged in my face.

I reached for it and she moved it away with a little giggle.

"Just wait until we're alone." I hummed.

"Oh my, I fear for my chastity." She continued to tease. "This old Fox will be completely at your mercy~"

If we weren't in public.....

"Yeah, yeah." I grumbled at her flirtations. She knew I couldn't do anything at the moment. Regardless, we finally made it to the school. It looked like the defenses had been further enhanced since the last time I'd been here.

Well, I was already registered here, so it didn't really matter.

As soon as we stepped inside though, I expected a little fox to come bolting towards us. And, well, that's exactly what happened, but I was expecting my Kunou, not a literal fox running on four legs.

The little fox made some yips as it ran at high speeds and jumped towards me, but Yasaka plucked it from the air, holding it up by the scruff of its neck, bringing it to her eye level.

"Kunou." She said sternly. "What have I told you about transforming without supervision?"

With a puff of smoke, the little fox turned into my daughter. "Um....it was an accident..?" She said hesitantly.

"And now you're lying to me." Yasaka still held her by her collar. "That's two strikes. You know what happens on the third."

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"Sorry for what?"

"Lying.."

"And?"

"Transforming?"

Yasaka snorted, setting Kunou down. "We'll be having a talk when we get back home, young lady." Yasaka didn't waver in her tone. "But go say hi to your daddy."

Kunou immediately perked up and turned to hug me. "Daddy." She said happily, almost completely forgetting the little scolding she just got.

"My little fox." I wrapped her up. I glanced up to Yasaka who looked exasperated and couldn't help but chuckle.

"So well behaved when daddy is around, isn't she." Yasaka snorted again.

Well, we're a team here, I should help out too. "Kunou, sweetie." I broke away, looking into her eyes. "Remember what we talked about before?"

"....yes."

"So why didn't you listen to your mom?"

"I just wanted to show you." Her ears flattened on her head.

Even Yasaka softened her expression at that.

"I was certainly surprised." I pat her head. "But you know your mom told you no for a reason, right?"

I looked up at Yasaka, not knowing the reason, but she must have had one.

"We went over this, sweetie. Remember you just started learning how to transform properly, and you still get stuck sometimes. If neither I nor your teacher is around, it could be dangerous." Yasaka knelt down next to me. "I'll make you a deal. If you can go through your next 5 lessons without any problems, I will let you do it whenever you want – provided that it isn't causing problems."

"Really?" Kunou perked up excitedly.

"But you're still going to be in trouble for lying to me this time." Yasaka returned to her stern tone.

"I'm sorry momma." She replied.

"Good. I accept your apology." Yasaka nodded happily. Before turning back to me. "You see what I have to deal with here? This little bundle of furr that can't sit still and always gets in trouble."

"Mooom, I don't always get in trouble!" She pouted indignantly. "Can I show daddy my Fox form again?"

Yasaka let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, you can show your daddy."

Immediately, Kunou transformed, a puff of smoke surrounding a little Nine-Tailed fox, looking up at me and yipping.

I couldn't help but pick her up as her little legs wiggled in my arms. "This is ridiculously cute, I'm having trouble wanting to let go."

"Yes, that's how she ropes you in, the cuteness. Next thing you know, she's stealing snacks from the kitchen and hiding them in her room." Yasaka eyed her daughter.

I rubbed her head and she made some very happy noises.

This was my daughter, and I'm okay with this.

"So why can't she transform? I can't claim to be overly familiar with your species. But shouldn't it be something that comes natural?"

"In normal situations, yes." Yasaka nodded. "But Kunou is slightly different. Are you aware that the first child of every Nine-Tailed Fox will also be a Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"I....think I heard that before? It sounds familiar." I admitted.

"Yes, well. It mostly doesn't matter what race, our first child will always be a Nine-Tailed Fox. I say mostly, because there exceptions, like in the case of Deities or maybe dragons. Something that can overpower our bloodlines."

"I get what you're saying." I continued to nod along.

"My mother was a Nine-Tailed fox, and my father was a One-Tailed that she fell in love with. Such, I am fully Kitsune. Kunou's father was a human, so even if she is still a full fledged Nine-Tailed Fox, her origin is partly that of a normal human." Yasaka reached over, scratching behind Kunou's little ears. "That doesn't mean anything is wrong, she simply has a little bit of trouble coming into her bloodline. It will come, but it's not as instinctual as it was for me. She's not the first one over the centuries, so we do have some knowledge on this stuff."

"So she was having trouble changing into her fox form?" We began walking back home.

"The first few times she couldn't change back and she got so excited that she ran around, got lost, and we couldn't find her." Yasaka let out a laugh. "It was the most ridiculous series of events. But eventually it got settled, but we've been making sure she's had an eye on her when practicing."

"Will she get as big as you?" I asked.

"Are you calling me fat?" She grinned a little, her teasing nature coming out.

"Oh, stop you evil woman." I nudged her. "That is a landmine I will never step on."

She laughed. "Kunou should get around my size. It also depends on how far she takes her training with Senjutsu and Touki. But I'm surprised, have you seen my full form?"

"I have." I nodded, picking up Kunou. "Sweetie, you wanna play with Sir Wiggles?"

She yipped, nodding at me happily.

I reached into my ring and into my hat to take out my little companion. Sir Wiggles hopped out with a small burst of lightning, and I immediately noticed something different about him.

Though he happily started playing with Kunou so I would deal with it later.

"But yeah, I saw it before. When I first came to Kyoto, you were stomping on some people."

"Oh, I remember now. Some idiots thought just flooding me with the weakest trash they could find would be a good strategy. So, I just transformed and stepped on them."

"Well, I guess that's one way to go about it."

"Don't worry." She brushed up against me, whispering in my ear. "You're the only one I'll step on for now on~"

I resisted the urge to face palm. "Jinn told you, didn't she?"

Yasaka began to laugh. "She does love to share some interesting stories."

"Well, someone's going to get a spanking." Though she'll probably enjoy it.

"I'm sure that isn't the only thing her cute little butt is going to get, is it?"

"Oh jeez, she told you that too!?" I was a little surprised by that.

"That girl of yours has absolutely no shame." Yasaka smiled. "I look forward to when I get my turn~"

Well, she had the full extent of Remnant's internet in her head.....I can't really blame her there.

With a shake of my head, I reached for Yasaka's hand, taking it into mine. Her tail quickly found my waist again, wrapping me up. Kunou and Sir Wiggles continued to run around and play as we walked back home.

***

My eyes slowly opened as I felt something tickling my nose. A furry appendage rubbed against my face and I took a moment to remember where I was.

A bed that wasn't mine, and a partially nude Fox clinging to me.

I couldn't help but run a hand through her closest tail.

"Mmm, lower." She mumbled.

I raised an eyebrow as I let go of her tail, my hand trailing down her leg. I gave her butt a little squeeze, admiring the softness in my hand.

I stayed over with them last night, and was about to head home, but Yasaka convinced me to stay for the night. We didn't really do anything beyond some kissing and cuddling, but it was still nice.

"You can play with my tits too if you want." Yasaka turned over, giving me a smirk while my hand was still playing with her rear.

"Tempting." I snorted, looking at her chest that only had a thing white shirt covering them. "Hmm." I hummed out loud.

"Am I really going to have to convince you to touch my chest? What strange world have I woken up into?"

I rolled over, and pushed my face right between those large mounds, wrapping my arms around her. "The perfect pillow."

"You are ridiculous." She giggled, running a hand through my hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"I always sleep good when I'm with someone I care about." I looked up at her. And It was true, I've found I slept best with one of my girls in my arms.

"You're welcome here anytime." She smiled brightly. "I don't expect to have you in my bed every night...but I hope you don't forget about me."

"I'm trying to make sure I give everyone enough attention." I reassured her. "I don't want any of you to feel neglected."

"You're sweet." She said softly. "I was hesitant to get involved in a harem early on. I joked about it, but I've seen enough harems implode over the years and I didn't want my daughter having to see something like that. And I didn't wish to have to experience it myself."

"I didn't set out to make a harem. To be honest, it just kind of happened." I admitted. "Why did you change your mind?"

"I've said it before. The way you handled Kunou, how happy she was with you around. I thought it was a risk worth taking." She explained. "And you have been nothing short of wonderful. To both myself and Kunou, you do your best when you're with us. And your other women, they are great as well. I have no complaints about how I ended up." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I didn't realize how much I missed having a partner until you became a part of our lives. To have someone to lean on again."

"Being a Dad is strange, but equally something I never knew I wanted." I let out a long breath. "Seeing Kunou look at me like that, it really brings up certain things that are hard to describe."

"You've been doing a wonderful job." She replied. "And she actually listens to you."

"Give it time, she'll start being just as feisty with me as she is with you."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?"

"No, but I will~" I leaned up, giving her a quick kiss, earning that enchanting giggle from her.

"As much as I'd love to be comforted some more, Kunou is probably eating her weight in unhealthy breakfast right now." Yasaka leaned in, pressing her lips against mine briefly herself.

I rolled off her. "I always hate getting up." I groaned.

"Tell me about it." She sighed, slowly rising out of the bed. I admired her body again as she was wearing but a pair of purple panties and a tight white t-shirt. Her tails swayed lightly from side to side as she started going for her dresser before taking out a robe and wrapping it around herself.

I followed suit, taking something appropriate out of my ring to dress in. Some shorts and a random shirt to be somewhat presentable.

We walked out of the bedroom, towards the kitchen where Kunou was sitting at the table, a bow of cereal infront of her.

"How many bowls have you had, Kunou?"

"Um.....?" She stopped, then quickly took a spoonful and stuffed it in her mouth. "Mmmmmphh"

"Uh huh." Yasaka deadpanned, reaching for the box infront of the little fox. "Funny, I just bought this for you a day ago and it's empty."

I put a hand on Kunou's head. "Sweetie, you should know better."

Her ears went flat again.

"No cereal for the next week." Yasaka stated with a sigh. "She begged me to get this for her after seeing it on TV."

"What is this....?" I picked up the box. "Super Satan Rangers.....really?" I blinked at it.

"Kunou....loves it." Yasaka said dryly.

I opened my mouth then closed it. "I feel like my childhood is ruined." I loved Super Sentai as a kid, I mean, who didn't? The English version obviously being Power Rangers, which this crap totally ripped off. "What is it even about?"

"Some Devil propaganda with Heaven sending down some 'Monster' or something and the Satans dealing with it like how you would expect based on its name." Yasaka started rummaging through the fridge.

"I'm morbidly curious now..."

"We can watch it together!" Kunou quickly said. "I'll show you all my favorite episodes."

Well, guess I'm stuck with this now.

"I'd love to do that with you." I smiled towards her. Even if I had no desire to actually watch this.....it was something she wanted. "But I have some things I have to go take care of today."

"You're going?" Kunou pouted.

"Not leaving, just running some errands. I'm not leaving Kyoto." I reassured her. I didn't want her to think I was 'going away' again. "I'll be nearby helping your auntie Artoria with some problems she's had."

"Is she okay?" Kunou asked.

"She's okay. But she has some things she needs to work out with her son."

"Auntie Artoria has a son?" Kunou seemed surprised.

"Yup, and I hope you can meet them soon." I patted her head again. If all goes well that is.

Yasaka walked up, tail rubbing against my arm. "Thank you for staying around for so long."

"You never have to thank me for something like that." I replied. "I'll always make time for you both."

"You promise to come back soon?" Kunou tugged on my sleeve.

"I super promise." I knelt down next to her. "Would you like Sir Wiggles to stay here with you?"

"Yes!" Kunou immediately agreed.

With a laugh I took him out, letting Kunou hug him happily. Sir Wiggles definitely had a good impression of her if the feelings from the link between us were accurate.

"Okay, but you have to promise to be good for your mom."

"I promise." She nodded.

"Good girl." I rubbed her head again, standing up a moment later.

"Yes, lets see how long that lasts." Yasaka let out a laugh. "Do I get a proper goodbye?"

I took a step forward, my hand cupping her cheek before I moved closer in. Our lips met as she leaned a little more into it, deepening the kiss.

"I'll see you soon." Yasaka spoke as we separated.

"Be back soon." I nodded at her before turning away. I didn't want to leave, but I did have things to take care of. With a waive of my hand, I opened up a portal left.

***

"Schweinorg." I recognized Rin's voice, turning towards her sitting down in char at the kitchen table.

"Hey Rin, it feels like it's been forever."

"God, I know." She agreed.

"Wilhelm" Artoria, sitting across from her smiled at me happily.

"Artoria." I couldn't help but smile back. "You're back?"

"Yes, Jinn is in her workshop and we finished everything we needed to do last night." Artoria replied. "Did you spend the night at Yasaka's estate?" She asked, not really in an accusatory way, but more in simple curiosity.

"I did." I didn't hide it. "Raikou and Scáthach back?"

"Yes, they have both claimed rooms upstairs and I have not seen them since they retired for the evening. They returned rather late, so I assume they will still be resting."

"Oh well, let them sleep in." No idea what they did, but they certainly deserve a nice rest. I turned towards Rin again. "So how's it been?"

"Meh." Rin sighed. "Still kinda exhausted."

"Really? It couldn't have been that bad traveling Skyrim?"

"No, no." She waived me off. "But I used a spell to push away my fatigue and tiredness for...too long and it's caught up with me."

"How many days in a row did you use it?" I blinked.

"Four days." Artoria answered. "Against my wishes, she continued to push herself."

"We were doing important work!"

"We were acquiring treasure from tombs filled with undead and monsters."

"Important work." Rin stated.

"Very important work." I nodded.

"See?" Rin exclaimed. "Important work."

"You both." Artoria sighed. "I never understood the obsession with material wealth."

"Sorry, the woman who had multiple Divine Weapons and a literal kingdom says what?"

"Right!?" Rin snorted.

"Well....that's not quite the same..." Artoria stumbled.

"Uh huh."

"I call bullshit."

"Besides." I continued. "I'm a Devil and part Dragon, being greedy is part of my nature."

"I feel like that's an excuse you'll use whenever it's convenient." Rin deadpanned.

"You have good instincts." I offered no argument. I walked over, giving Artoria a quick kiss on the cheek, earning a happy little noise from her. "You pick up any new tricks while in Skyrim, Rin?"

"Yeah, they have an interesting system of Magecraft. I added a few things to my Jewelcraft arsenal and some of their own spells." Rin replied. "Now that resources aren't much of an issue, I've been able to experiment a bit more to push my craft forward."

"I'm glad." I smiled. "How about any progress on your Kaleidoscope studies?"

"Meh, had some ideas, but I need to test them out. Seeing what you did with the house and the doorway gave me some inspiration." Rin said lazily.

"And you need to take out Ruby for those."

"Yeah, that." She sighed.

"Well, I'd love to hear some of the stories from your adventures at some point."

"Yeah, sure." She yawned. "When I'm not so tired. I only got up to help with the thing..."

"I appreciate it, Rin." Artoria stated.

"Of course." She puffed up proudly.

"Speaking of, how do you want to do this?" I asked.

"I have resolved myself." Artoria said firmly. "I will meet with Mordred and we will discuss the problems between us."

"....don't make it sound like you're getting ready for battle."

Artoria immediately sort of deflated. "I....do not wish to come off that way. Mayhaps I should approach it from a different angle?"

"Artoria." I reached forward, taking her hand. "You just need to be yourself. Meet Mordred as the woman you are now, let her see you fully without all the burdens you shouldered previously."

"I....will take your advice." She seemed to accept my words. "I am just...nervous."

"Yeah, I would be too. But you're fine, we're here with you." Rin reassured her.

"Indeed." Artoria smiled at that. "I have nothing to fear, so I will not hesitate. Wilhelm, would you please send a message to Mordred for a time today and perhaps a location where we can have a conversation where he will not feel bothered?"

"I'll head over now." I nodded towards her. I was glad that this was finally happening. They both needed to get some closure and move on in this 'second' life of theirs. Even if they never saw each other gain, it would be best if they had a proper talk.

***

Long chapter today, want to get through some things without dragging it over several chapters. Also, sorry for missing yesterday, had to deal with some personal stuff that left me mentally drained. On a side note -- 600k words, woo! Another milestone.

If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone