Story 10: Chapter 3: Youkai (Patreon)

Story 10: Drawn to Power

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 3: Youkai

______________________________________________________________________

- Tatsuya -

The next day, I reached the class, dreading someone to catch on to me.

The group came however they were looking down today.

At least they were all safe.

I had sent another henge’d Shadow Clone to inform the police from a nearby public phone booth last night. 

Jiro still greeted me. “Hey Tatsuya. How are you doing?”

“Fine. Why do you all look so down today?”

“Well….” He paused for a moment before sighing. “We got into trouble?”

“Eh, trouble? All of you?”

“Yeahhh….we….kinda went to look for youkai in the old school building last night.”

“Wait seriously?!” I exclaimed, putting my acting skills out to the maximum.

“Ahh….I kinda knocked my head and lost consciousness. The same happened to Kiyotsugu and Rikuo had to carry us out. There someone had called the cops who found us getting out of the building and found us there. We were scolded by our parents. It would have been worse if not for Kiyotsugu’s grandfather helping us out.”

Oh….I guess that evened things out for scaring me so much last night. I hope that the dumbass, Kiyotsugu, will keep his youkai bullshit in control from now on.

I wonder if Rikuo took care of everything later. I took a peek at the guy who was trying to act normal. Seriously, this guy is trying too hard.

Although I guess they didn't find out about me or even doubt me.

I wish I had been able to see him fight.

I hadn’t seen anyone using magic except my dad and Nobuhiro Kushihashi in this world so I was curious about how onmyoji worked in action.

But that was too risky.

“Heh….sounds like you all had quite an adventure yesterday.”

The guy slumped down on a chair beside me. “Not really. We didn’t even see anything and got scolded by the police. I am done with all this nonsense.”

Well, would you look at that?

“Going out in such unsafe places so late at night didn’t sound good to begin with. I am actually surprised that you guys went there after all the talk we had. I thought Kiyotsugu was more or less convinced about the dangers.”

“Oh he was….and then he went home and ordered some youkai exterminating blade….from the internet.”

….

“Seriously?” I deadpanned.

“Seriously.” The guy nodded.

“Eh, that was a genuinely spelled blade which had been prepared from specially blessed wood and spelled over eleven months.” Kiyotsugu’s voice came immediately afterwards.

I looked at the guy. “A wooden blade?”

“A magic sword.”

“Oh….and how much did that cost you, 100 yen?”

“Six thousand yen.”

….

“Kiyotsugu….do you know the price of a normal….average katana? Not magic one….just the normal old common non magical katana?”

“Hah?”

“Seven hundred thousand yen.” I replied without giving him any chance to speak. “Do you really think someone will sell you a sword capable of attacking and killing youkai at less than one hundredth of the price?”

“That….did I get a discount?” The guy held his chin and wondered, making me facepalm.

“No dummy. You got scammed!”

“What! That cannot be. I am going to give that seller the worst review.”

That’s what you are worried about?

No.

I don’t want to waste my brain cells on these idiots.

Still, after thinking all night yesterday, I thought of a serious problem.

I didn’t know how strong the people of this world were.

Currently, I only had dad and Nobuhiro as a reference.

They say my dad was strong, one of the strongest in the clan….and yet he could be taken out in an ambush.

Meanwhile, Nobuhiro Kushihashi was the current host of the Seiryuu. There was a high chance….no screw that, he was absolutely far stronger than he had shown me.

Dammit. Should I have asked Shuri-san for help?

No.

Anonymity is the biggest advantage I have right now.

I can grow almost unlimitedly as long as I keep working.

I shouldn’t get impatient.

Maybe I should find a way to increase my training even more? Maybe add some extra subjects which can help me against stronger enemies but more importantly, something to run away?

I will have to think more about it.

- Nurarihyon -

“And you didn’t find any clue of this guy?” He asked, as he took a sip of his tea.

“No Grandpa. After releasing that attack, the figure….he just disappeared.”

“We are sorry, Supreme Commander. Due to our negligence, Master Rikuo was about to get hurt….and now we even missed such a figure getting near him.” Tsurara bowed deeply, tears in her eyes.

Seriously, this girl needed to chill a little bit, which was odd as she was a Yuki-onna. Setsuna was far more easygoing.

“Ah don’t worry. No harm was done. Whoever this guy was didn’t seem like he had any ill intentions. They only made a move to protect the kids. I was just curious about the guy’s identity. Have you met any new people recently, Rikuo?”

“New people?” Rikuo thought. “No. Not really.”

“Do you know who else could have known about you going there?”

“Eh….some of my classmates had heard about it when Kiyotsugu was making plans and I had told everyone at the Clan to not go to the old school building or anywhere near it today. Apart from that, it could be people they told. There are honestly too many people.”

“Hmm, that doesn’t leave us with any clues.”

“Anyways, just pay attention.”

“Yes Grandpa.”

“Yes, Supreme Commander.”

- Tatsuya -

“Uwah! Jus-, stop, hey! Uowaaaaah!”

“Hahahaha.” I laughed looking at Tobio who was trying his best to move away the golden retriever that was currently licking his face.

My kid brother has always been a bit afraid of animals but today was special.

The dog belonged to one of Sae’s relatives who had left it at their home since they will be out for a while.

Sae had brought it to our place today and Tobio had tried to play with it after some pleading and encouragement from Sae and the result was this scene.

“We are going to be Junior High Students now. Don’t be so surprised by a dog.” Sae said exasperatedly.

He didn’t seem to be hearing what she was saying so she commanded the dog to step back. “Stop Kinjirou.”

The dog instantly stepped back showing that it was trained really well.

My summer vacation had just started, that's why I was here for the next six weeks.

I went and picked him up and gave him a towel to wipe the saliva off of him.

“She’s not wrong, Tobi. I understand you’re afraid of animals but if you don’t even try, how will you get over your fear?” I said as he went and washed his face.

“B-b-but….he’s so big and I….”

“Hmm. Well, how about we solve that problem?” I said looking at grandma. “Can we buy a puppy, grandma?”

“A puppy?” She asked surprised and then looked at Tobio for a second before smiling slightly. “Yes. I don’t see why not. It will be good practice for Tobi to take care of the little one in the future.”

“Little one?” I asked, confused.

“When he has a dog of his own.” She smiled.

“Dog and Tobi….hahahaha.”

“What are you laughing at, Nii-san? I can have a dog too!” Tobi pouted.

“Hahahahahaha.” I laughed even louder.

“Tatsuya-san, that’s rude, you know.” Sae took his side and I smiled.

“I am not making fun of him. Instead, I am laughing because I am happy.” I replied….with as much sincerity as I could fake.

“Eh….really?” She asked, taken aback by my sudden reply.

“True story.” Then I turned towards Tobio. “Good then. Since you can take care of your own dog, how about we get a puppy today? Know what, I will even make it easy for you. I will take it with me and will only bring it with me on the weekends. How about it?” I asked.

“O-only on weekends?” He asked, suddenly gaining a lot of courage.

“Yup.” I nodded.

I had some ideas of my own.

With my experience last week, I was worried about any danger of the supernatural kind which he might encounter. I wasn’t sure about how to protect him but this dog thing gave me an idea.

The Naruto world had Ninken.

And while they didn’t sell living creatures in the Shop yet, I could buy methods of training a Ninken.

It was basically something which would change a normal dog into a ninken. I would obviously have to train it myself. I will have to look into it more.

We went to several pet stores before I got the pet I liked.

It was a silver-white wolfdog puppy, just eight weeks old.

The little guy was so adorable that even Tobi, who was shit scared of animals, was able to caress its head easily.

That alone qualified it for being adopted.

We brought him back home and even Sae found it adorable.

“What should we name him?” She asked.

“Name? Hmm, yes we need to name him. Then….how about Gin. Since his fur is like silver.”

“Hmm Gin sounds good.” Tobi said, standing behind me.

“Gin is nice.” Even Grandma was pleased.

“Then Gin it is.” I agreed as well.

And that’s how we got our first pet.

__________________________________x___________________________________

The same night, I checked about the Potion which turned normal Dogs to Ninken.

It turns out that I needed to add my blood to the potion for the dog to bond with me. It would also allow it to get used to my chakra and most importantly….enter the Training Room.

That was the first time I got to take anyone, even if it was only an animal inside the Training Room.

__________________________________x___________________________________

The answer I came to for my problems was….Fuinjutsu, the most ridiculous thing in the Naruto world.

It was basically the go to solution for any problem….apart from Hashirama cells.

That said, learning this thing was not easy.

Fortunately, I had all the tools and good teachers to help me out.

While I didn’t have any Uzumakis like Kushina and Mito, I had other Fuinjutsu Masters like Tobirama Senju and Jiraya who could teach me the basics, especially Tobirama.

Sealing was interesting. Even more so for an artist like me who focused mainly on art.

The first thing involved in learning sealing was to learn the different languages and practice calligraphy, which was something I was already taught by dad.

Next was the part about using chakra to mix with the ink when drawing the characters. This part was easy for me due to the intense chakra control training I had been put through.

Overall, I realised that Fuinjutsu seemed to be perfectly made for me.

Over the next four months, daily Fuinjutsu practice was included in my schedule and I was progressing fast.

Maybe it was due to the Uzumaki bloodline in me? Who knows?

Other than that, I had finished learning the Sun Breathing steps perfectly due to my Sharingan and increased physique. I was now trying to learn other things from Yoriichi such as the Selfless State.

This Selfless State was an esoteric and mysterious state of being in which one completely erases their Fighting Spirit, will to fight, bloodlust, anger, hatred, malevolence, drive and animosity.

It was an insanely difficult technique so much so that I finally decided to buy it from the shop or I wasn’t sure if I could learn it in a few years. That said, even after that, it was difficult for me to maintain the technique for long.

Currently, Yoriichi was training me to maintain the technique for long periods of time, especially during combat.

I didn’t buy the Mangekyo Sharingan upgrade as there was a lot to explore about the Sharingan and Itachi, as my teacher, wouldn’t let me be anything less than perfect.

Due to constant, borderline suicidal training, my chakra reserves were growing at an insane pace. The three bloodlines worked in tandem to give me an insane rate. Although it was nothing compared to Naruto or Hashirama, these bloodlines were the top of what any normal Senju, Uzumaki or Uchiha could have. I was able to make use of a suicidal method of chakra expansion which would leave normal people dead due to the Training Room.

Since the teachers summoned by the System knew about the abilities of the System and the Training Room, they made sure to abuse the hell out of it.

Itachi’s idea about training into complete Chakra Exhaustion worked. In fact, it worked too well. Even Tobirama was impressed by the increase of my chakra reserves.

With just four months of such training, my Chakra reserves were several times more than before, reaching base Kage level chakra reserves.

I wonder how that guy would have felt if I told him that his training methods were almost identical to that of an Uchiha?

Due to all this, my training was progressing quite well.

My current stats looked pretty good.

Name: Tatsuya Ikuse 

System Rank: D

Body:(E-35)

Mind:(E-22)

Spirit:(E-55)

Magic:(G-58)

Points: 1,101,295 

Manga: Demon Slayer, One Piece, Naruto

Features Unlocked: Training Room, Mentor System

Inventory: Nichirin Blade x 1

Shop

Apart from this, I focused these four months on drawing One Piece and I discovered some unexpected things in the shop.

One of which was the Monkey D. Family’s bloodline.

Yes.

They even had bloodlines for these families and the price for these was a lot more than normal Senju, Uzumaki and Uchiha.

Then again, there had to be something special with the bloodline of these people. I mean how can the bloodline of Garp, Dragon and Luffy be anything normal?

Apart from this there was also the bloodlines of the Gol D. Family, Figarland family which came from Shanks and the Vinsmoke family.

I didn’t bother with the others and concentrated on the Monkey D. Family.

One million points.

It was one of the highest priced items in my Shop right now.

That was the reason I had waited all this time before buying the upgrade.

I was using up a lot of points due to constantly using the Training Room and Mentor System and thus needed some points in reserve.

Finally, with my gathered points being in the safe zone, I decided to purchase the Monkey D. Family’s Bloodline.

A red vial appeared in front of me like always and I took a deep breath before gulping it in one go.

The feeling that came right after was beyond anything from the previous bloodlines.

My whole body felt warm all over. I could literally hear my muscles tightening and bones creaking as my body changed.

The feeling lasted for almost fifteen minutes before I was able to gain control of my body once more.

Looking at myself, I quickly observed the changes in my body.

A quick thought from me changed the Training Room to manifest a large rock, almost twice my height in front of me.

I clenched my fist and punched the rock directly, no reinforcements, no techniques, pure brute strength.

Several cracks ran through the entire rock while my fist was slightly red but not even the skin was injured.

With another thought, the rock was replaced by one several times larger in size, almost the size of a small building.

This time however I drew my sword.

Total Concentration Breathing, Sun Breathing, Chakra Reinforcement.

I clenched my blade tightly and kicked the ground and swung my blade.

First move, Dance.

A slash went through the rock and the whole rock was sliced cleanly through the middle.

Hell yeah.

I looked at my sword and then at the rock.

And all this was just from gaining the bloodline. There were several things I could learn that would enhance the power.

One Piece physiques are really broken.

Even my Chakra seemed to have increased by almost an entire fold, settling comfortably in the Kage level.

Name: Tatsuya Ikuse 

System Rank: D

Body:(E-75)

Mind:(E-22)

Spirit:(E-75)

Magic:(G-58)

Points: 101,295 

Manga: Demon Slayer, One Piece, Naruto

Features Unlocked: Training Room, Mentor System

Inventory: Nichirin Blade x 1

Shop

40 Points increase in physique and twenty in Spirit.

Totally worth a million points.

All that was left was to train my best. With this, I should have no problem with my base stats.

I summoned Itachi and sparred with him for a while….and got kicked down again. But this time, I lasted a lot longer than before fainting so it was progress.

I left the Training Room happy at my progress.

“Woof!” A silver-white shadow jumped on me and I caught it in my arms.

Gin licked my face.

“Oh, did you miss me so much in just a few hours?” I brushed his fur and scratched it near its ears, making the dog wag its tail.

Feeding it the potion had changed it. Not much of the changes were visible but its intelligence had gone through a massive change.

It could easily understand my commands and almost the entire human speech. This kind of growth was unbelievable.

The second part was chakra.

It had gained chakra and from what I could feel, it had Genin level chakra. It was undergoing training along with me in the Training Rooms.

Third was its senses. As a ninja dog, its senses had improved drastically, especially its senses of smell.

I wonder if I could give it the bloodlines of magical animals from manga to further enhance its abilities. Something to think about later.

For now, it was learning the basics of being a ninken and was taught by Pakkun, Kakashi’s dog.

I had to buy special food for it from the System to help it grow but it could even eat normal dog food.

“Alright alright, I am sorry for not taking you in with me. I will make it up to you. Let’s go out for a walk after dinner.”

And we did just that.

Gin loved taking walks as much as he liked fighting.

We walked through the nearby streets.

I needed to buy some snacks.

Generally Grandma made sure to pack those up in my bags when I came here but my glutton dog liked eating snacks.

And this time, because I had left it alone outside when I went in to get the new Bloodline, it had eaten all the snacks left in the kitchen as revenge.

….I needed to punish this brat.

As we passed by the streets of a relatively less populated area, both of us smelt something.

Blood.

Gin looked towards me but I tugged his collar twice to give it a signal to keep walking while I tried sensing the area.

In an alley covered by trash cans slightly ahead of our position, I felt it.

Youkai.

Youkai, this word has become a very frequent part of my life since four months ago after that encounter in the old school building.

Since I recognised the feeling of their aura and as my training with Yoriichi increased, so did my Extra Sensory Perception Skill. I often tried feeling around me and the results were extremely shocking.

This entire fucking place was full of youkai.

They came in every form imaginable.

The most shocking thing perhaps was the fact that our school had youkai going to classes.

A youkai going to classes?

I had thought I was imagining things when I had felt it the first time but on observing the two students I found out some obvious signs that they were not human.

Tsurara Oikawa and Kurata. Both these people were without a doubt, Youkai.

That said, in all this time, all they did was attend classes and sometimes watched Rikuo but never once harmed anyone.

Similarly, even outside school, there were many youkai, blending and living with normal people as humans. All of them lived peacefully with humans and were nothing like the one I had felt that day in the old school building.

It made me wonder how and what youkai even were.

However, today was different. This feeling I was getting from that alley….it was a similar dark feeling as the one I had felt that night.

Couple that with blood and I was sure that it was dangerous.

We walked as casually as we could through the area and as we passed the alley from where the smell of blood was coming, I saw it.

Rat.

It was a large rat that was eating something….a human.

It was eating a human!

I felt a chill run down my spine at the scene but quickly collected myself. Itachi had been far 

Gin saw it too and barked, making the rat pause.

I gave it a tug on his collar and it stopped but I could see it glaring towards the alley.

“What is it? I am not going to get you any more snacks.” I pretended to be oblivious and dragged it away.

While doing so, I tried sensing any more youkai in the area and found nothing.

Thankfully, even when we passed through, the rat was too busy eating and didn’t chase after us.

I quickly ran back to our dorms and locked ourselves in.

What the fuck was that?

_________________________________x____________________________________

I was in class, still thinking about yesterday’s incident when I heard a voice.

“....and by the way, it is said that these fire youkai make up one third of the entire youkai. Do you know what their goal is?” That idiot, Kiyotsugu had been quiet for a few days after that incident but had returned to his usual antics soon after.

“To invoke fear in the hearts of man.” Came another….feminine voice from behind me.

It even made me do a takeback.

Even Kiyotsugu and the rest were surprised by the girl.

“You seem to know an awful lot about youkai, newbie. What was your name again?” Kiyotsugu asked.

The girl stood up and replied in a small but calm voice. “My name is Yura Keikain.” 

She was that new transfer student.

Keikain….that name seems familiar. Where have I heard that before?

The girl however, unaware of my thoughts, continued. “Just so you know, animals that turn into youkai are the most hostile of them all. Many of them are intelligent but they have no rationality. These traits make them extremely dangerous.”

The words reminded me of that rat.

Animals turned into youkai. Was that what it was?

The entire gang clapped in amazement in front of the new girl, meanwhile Rikuo was looking at the girl incredulously.

I was sure I had a similar look on my face.

Was this girl a youkai fanatic too?

Kana walked up to the girl and spoke. “It seems you have done a lot of research on these youkai, Yura.”

“Yes, of course. It must be noted that these animal turned youkai will always follow their primal instincts to deceive, curse, attack and devour humans as they please. So you should always make it a point to avoid them at all costs.”

“Uh….okay.” Kana said, unsurely.

Meanwhile, Kiyotsugu held her hand and almost sang. “You are fantastic. I have been looking forever for someone just like you.”

….

I looked at the guy with a wide open mouth. Don’t tell me….he was going to propose? This guy was too fast.

And then he broke all those thoughts with a single sentence.

“You have to join the Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol, I insist.”

The Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol? What in the nine hells was that?

Thankfully, I was not the only one confused and Rikuo asked as well. “What’s the Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol?”

“It’s a group that I recently just started. Our main activity is to search for youkai. Nura, don’t worry, you are already one of our members.”

“Wha….!” The boy was caught completely off guard but the idiot continued.

“And naturally the same goes for you, Ienaga and….” He turned behind before I could slip under the desk. “You Ikuse.”

“Don’t wanna. I am pretty sure you just thought of all that just now.” I retorted, almost instinctively.

“That’s not an option….also don’t fret over the details.” He replied immediately and turned to the new girl before I could argue any further. “And by the way, newbie….uh, I mean Yura. We are going to celebrate the formation of the Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol. Interested in joining us? I was thinking we should hold the ceremony at Nura’s house.”

….screw you.

“Wha….” Poor Rikuo hadn’t even recovered from the first surprise when he was hit by another. “What do you mean by my house?”

“Well….I heard that your house is very….very old….and according to all the rumours I have heard, the neighbours think your place seems to be teeming with youkai.”

“Teeming with youkai, huh?” The new girl looked to be in thought while Rikuo looked like someone was about to execute him publicly.

This dumbass.

As expected, Rikuo jumped in surprise. “No way! I have never heard rumours like that.”

“No, my information is quite reliable.”

“Yep, it is.” Jiro jumped in support.

Why was he so excited?

“It’s settled. Tonight, the Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol will have its first meeting at Nura’s house.”

“Wait a second….” The guy tried to protest when Ienaga smiled.

“If that’s the case, then I will go too.”

“Wha….”

An….I have seen this.

It’s Sae and Tobi all over again.

Poor guy.

She didn’t stop and continued. “You know your house does look a lot like a haunted house, Nura. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun.”

….well, onmyoji houses can have a similar vibe.

“If what Kana says is true then I will be joining you as well.” The new girl said, as if it was a matter of fact.”

“I….have to take care of my dog.” I raised my hand and made an excuse.

“Oh not again!”

“You have a dog?”

“You could bring your dog along. I don’t think Rikuo would mind. Would you, Rikuo?” Kana asked the poor guy who smiled awkwardly but agreed while I was pulled along.

Well….let’s see how other onmyoji clans look like.

________________________________x_____________________________________

“Gin! I am back.” I said as soon as I opened the door to my house.

“Oh wow, your house is quite big. Do you stay here alone?” Jiro asked, looking around.

“It’s rented. My family lives in the nearby town and the daily journey would have been too much so I am staying here for Junior High.” I replied as I opened my shoes and went in.

“So you stay here alone, by yourself?”

“The housekeepers take care of the chores. Moreover, this apartment has similar people living here. Most of them are working people who are rarely at home or students who stay away from home and prefer more privacy.”

Just as I completed my words, Gin ran in and jumped at me.

“There there. I am back.”

“Woof!”

“Is this your dog?” They asked, looking at Gin.

“Yes. Give me some time. I will take a shower and get ready. Make yourself comfortable. Just don’t go to that room.” I pointed towards my studio. “My room is this one.”

“Alright!”

While he waited out, I took Gin aside and explained the situation.

“We are going to go to someone’s house. That place may be a bit different. Do you understand?”

It nodded.

“Alright. I want you to keep your cool there and behave normally. Ignore everything out of the ordinary until we are back home. Consider it an infiltration mission like Pakkun taught you.”

It nodded enthusiastically.

Sigh.

It was still a kid after all.

We left the house soon after and met the others on the way, directly going towards Nura’s house.

It was outside his house that I felt it.

The entire house was filled with an aura similar to the old school building.

In fact, the old school building was nothing compared to what I was feeling here.

The aura I was feeling from this place was hundreds of times more.

Was this really the house of onmyoji?

As I was lost in thought, the others went in and I had to follow.

Gin wasn’t calm either so I tugged his collar lightly to break him out of his nervousness.

The house was an old Japanese style mansion  and it was huge. Rikuo’s family had to be very rich.

The place was smaller than the Kushihashi Clan but then again, this was just a single house while that place had many houses together.

Rikuo’s mother greeted us at the door. “Are these your friends, Rikuo? Oh my. It is very rare that we have human visitors here. It is very nice to meet you all.”

….what?

Even Kana, Yura and Jiro were surprised and tried to ask but didn’t find a chance as we were pulled in quickly by Rikuo.

I did observe that his mother was a completely normal human.

“This house piques my attention. It’s very normal for youkai to live in old mansions like these.” Yura, the new girl said.

Girl….you have no idea what you are saying.

“It’s like a genuine haunted house.” Kiyotsugu said as he looked around excitedly.

“Yes and I am definitely sensing traces of youkai aura from this place.”

Traces?

You call this much aura, traces?

Ah….I am stuck with noobs here.

“I-i-it’s probably just your imagination.” Rikuo laughed nervously.

Even now I could feel hundreds of eyes looking at me from several angles.

Two of them were even familiar ones.

Tsurara and Kurata from school.

So they were related to Rikuo. Were they there to protect him somehow?

“Up there!” The girl suddenly looked at the upper floor balcony of the other wing from where I was feeling stares for a while now.

Everyone turned there but found nothing.

They ducked.

They were still there. I could feel it.

We reached the room and it was eerily silent there.

Jiro was freaking out but the idiot, Kiyotsugu, was looking like he couldn’t be better.

“First off, I want to announce the very important results of my youkai research.”

“You did research?”

“Obviously. Youkai are divided into many kinds. These include youkai taking on the form of a human being, supernatural beings such as demons, tengu and kappa and even physical manifestation of supernatural phenomena.” he began explaining when the gate opened.

On the other side was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her twenties. She had long brown hair and wore a kimono and carried a tray with several tea cups.

A youkai and a strong one at that. She was hiding her aura very well but I could still feel it.

“I have made some tea for all of you. Please, have some while it’s hot.” She said as she began serving us tea.

Rikuo looked like his soul would fly out of the window and hurriedly took the tray and quickly pushed her out. “I’ll handle this.”

“Make yourself at home.” She gave us a smile while leaving.

As soon as she was gone, Jiro jumped up. “You didn’t say you had such a hot older sister!”

“You have a sister?” Kana asked.

“She’s not my sister. She’s just someone….who helps around the house.” The guy awkwardly lied.

“You know….there is something very strange about this house.” The new girl stood up and said.

“What….don’t say things like that. I am going to go to the bathroom.” With that Rikuo bailed out.

“I need to check out this house.” The new girl said and got up again as soon as Rikuo got up.

“That’s a very great idea.” Kiyotsugu joined in.

Why the fuck am I here? I sighed internally.

“Have you thought of not doing so?” I asked, sighing externally as well. “We are at someone’s house. It would be impolite to just walk around without their permission.”

“Eh Nura wouldn’t mind.” He waved it off and ran off before I could say anything else.

“Alright then, you all go ahead. I will stay here till Rikuo is back….or he would think we have left.” I made up a flimsy excuse but they agreed too and soon left.

I closed my eyes and took a sip of the tea while wondering what was going on.

My sensing range wasn’t too high yet but I could feel that Rikuo was nearby and was talking to the figures. 

As I was observing these, the sliding doors opened and Rikuo peeked in. ‘Eh….where are the rest?”

“They just went out to….explore. I am sorry. I tried to stop them but you know how Kiyotsugu can get when youkai get brought up.”

The guy sighed. “Let’s go, find them.”

I nodded and did just that.

It took us less than a minute to find the group and explore the house.

What I observed was that there were youkai in every inch of this house. All shapes and sizes. They hadn’t shown any bloodlust yet. If anything, they became more nervous when anyone was about to spot them. Everyone was continuously hiding from us.

Yura was continuously trying to find them and she was even going towards the right places meanwhile Rikuo was trying his level best to keep them hidden.

With these many youkai, it wasn’t even a matter of getting found out. They could easily eliminate anyone by sheer numbers but they never once acted hostile towards us.

Another thing I observed was that they seemed to be listening to any orders or requests Rikuo made.

Soon we entered a room filled with large Buddha statues.

“Wow….you are filthy rich.” Jiro said as he looked around at the statues.

I didn’t go forward as I could sense the number of youkai hiding behind them….especially one in the corner who was emanating a hostile aura.

Before I could say anything, the door opened behind us and a strange old man with an abnormally large head came in. He felt completely human but I would have believed anyone who told me this was a youkai.

“Grandpa!” Rikuo exclaimed.

“Well hello there.” He smiled at us. “It looks like my grandson has made some good friends. Here, have some candies.” He gave us some candies and I kept them in my pocket.

Kiyotsugu began to sprout his drivel while the man smiled gently at us. “Why don’t you all make yourself at home.”

When he left, Jiro smiled awkwardly. “Wow. It’s amazing how much Nura’s grandfather looks like a real youkai.”

“Wha….he is not. He is just a normal human.” Rikuo denied while I narrowed my eyes.

He wasn’t angry or even offended that the guy called his grandfather a youkai.

I knew that I would have bashed his face if he said that about my grandmother, no matter if it were true or not….but Rikuo….he didn’t react that way and was instead convincing us….

“How suspicious. It is said that high ranking youkai can hide their youkai aura from detection.” Yura said.

“Hey, come on. Why don’t we stop looking for youkai and head back to the room.”

“Hmm.” Yura turned to the side where was getting the hostile feeling from.

“Is there something wrong?” Rikuo asked.

“I feel Iike….we are being watched.” She said, looking at the corner.

We looked there and out came a….huge rat.

Kana shouted and fell down, pushing Jiro and Kiyotsugu down while the rat ran away.

Yura chased after it and so did Rikuo and for once, my curiosity got the best of me and I chased them out to the garden, only to come across a strange scene.

The rat was cornered so it turned back and growled at us, its hair standing straight as its tail curved as a hook and it increased in size.

Gin quickly came in front of me and growled at it.

The rat jumped but soon fell down as Yura threw human shaped paper talismans at it.

Lightning crackled around the places where the talismans stuck to the rat.

Yura raised more talismans and spoke. “Keikan Clan onmyoji. I shall wipe out all ayakashi from the face of the earth.”

The rat jumped at her but she effortlessly dodged it and made a handsign. “Katsu.”

The rat blasted into ashes.

“Wait! You mean you are an onmyoji!” Rikuo exclaimed.

Meanwhile, my mind went abuzz with thoughts.

She….was an onmyoji.

Then what exactly was Rikuo?

Because she felt completely normal while Rikuo felt slightly odd. He was almost similar to a normal human that why I had thought he was probably an onmyoji but….

What the hell was going on here?

Others came running in at that moment.

“Did I hear that correctly? You are an onmyoji. I knew it! Youkai and Onmyoji did exist.” Kiyotsugu cheered.

“Yes. I am the heir of the respected Keikain Clan of Onmyoji who hunt for youkai near Kyoto.”

“Well now that you mention it, I think I remember hearing the name Keikain on TV before.”

“That was probably my grandfather.” She nodded.

It hit me then when I had heard of the name of the Keikain Clan.

I had heard about it from dad when he was telling me about other onmyoji clans apart from the five Principal Clans.

The Keikain Clan of onmyoji were among the strongest clans outside the five Principal Clans who were mainly situated in an area near Kyoto.

So she was from that Keikain Clan.

“But I don’t get it. Why would someone as famous as you come here?” Kiyotsugu asked.

“Because according to the information, Ukiyo E town was famous for its frequent supernatural occurrences. According to the rumours, the Lord of all Youkai lived in this place.”

….what the fuck!

Koji Yoshida, you fucking bastard. You could only find an art school in this fucking place?

I was right.

This town was unusual.

The Lord of all Youkai?

“I was sent here by my clan as a test of my skills and training, to seal as many youkai as I can….and then….I can become the head of the Keikain clan, as the top onmyoji of the land.”

We were led back to the room by Rikuo where everyone was questioning Yura about onmyoji.

I was listening to them to know more about them.

It was quite late when we left the place.

Kiyotsugu and Jiro had to go one way while Kana and Yura had to go the same way as my house so I accompanied them part of the way.

On the way, I tried asking the girl some questions about the supernatural world.

“Say Yura, I….well, as you can already say that I am quite afraid of youkai.” I smiled embarrassed while Gin gave me a bored look. “So….what can you tell me about the general areas which I should avoid if I don’t want to encounter any youkai?”

“Hmm….the Ukiyo E town and Kyoto are both centres of youkai in this country.”

“Kyoto? But weren’t the Keikain Clan from there?”

She shook her head. “No. Kyoto is ruled by the princess of youkai, Yasaka. She is a nine tailed fox who keeps her people under control. They live in a separate dimension maintained by her.”

“Youkai rules….”

“She also maintains the order and natural balance of energies in the city. We of the Keikian Clan keep a non interference policy with them. The youkai of that place are not as….rowdy as in Ukiyo E town. In Ukiyo E town, the Lord of Pandemonium, Nurarihyon lives. He controls the night parade of a hundred demons and rules over most of the eastern youkai. Apart from that, Shikoku is also under the control of an overlord.” She explained.

“I see. What can you tell me about some dangerous youkai? For example the ones living here or maybe even the ones who the Keikain Clan has exorcised?”

“Hmm….there are many.”

And with that she went on to list the names and characteristics of several youkai. I noted them mentally.

This was much more than the ones I had known and then she said a name which made me stop in my tracks.

“Hmm did something happen?” She asked, surprised.

“Can you repeat that name again?” I asked, to make sure I was not hearing things.

“Hagoromo Gitsune. She was a Nine Tailed fox which previously ruled Kyoto. It was dark times. My ancestor, Hidemoto Keikain, the thirteenth head and Nurarihyon defeated her and killed her four hundred years ago. It was after that Princess Yasaka took over Kyoto and calmed down the youkai of that area while Nurarihyon became the Lord of all Youkai. Why? Is there a problem?”

“....no. No problem at all. I….just seem to have heard of that name somewhere. Where was it….yes. A cult. I think it was the name of a cult.” I pretended to remember.

She nodded. “The subordinates of Hagoromo Gitsune are still alive and run a cult. They are trying to take control over Kyoto. It is our duty to fend them off and keep dangerous youkai sealed.”

“....I see. Do you know which area they might live in? I mean….they sound very dangerous and I wouldn’t want to encounter them.” I asked.

She however shook her head. “No. We have no idea.”

“I see….how unfortunate. Anyways, I was just curious….how strong can these youkai get? I mean take Hagoromo Gitsune for example? How strong was she?”

“Very strong.” She said without any hesitation. “So much so that even my ancestor, someone who was one of the strongest people to have ever been born in the history of our clan had to take the help of a youkai. It was both the greatest achievement as well as the greatest shame of our clan.”

“Still….can you give me an example on how strong they can be?”

She looked at me and I quickly made an excuse. “Just curious. I have always heard stories about them but I have no idea just how strong they can be.”

She looked convinced by my words and nodded. “In broader terms, all of the top Youkai are Ultimate Class. Such beings….they can easily destroy cities.”

….

….

….

….

I clench my fist unconsciously.  “I see.”

“Don’t worry. There are onmyoji of that level too.” She said, perhaps noticing the look on my face.

“I see. Actually, I remember in my elementary school, there was a girl who said she was from an onmyoji clan. I thought she was just joking. Don’t know if that was true or not.”

“Oh. What was her name?”

“Hmm….something Himejima….I think.”

A serious look came over her face. “The Himejima Clan is one of the five Principal Clans of exorcists. They are directly blessed by the Shinto Gods and they are without a doubt the strongest Clan of onmyoji in the country. Especially each of the Sacred Beast hosts….any of them would be an Ultimate Class. The Oryuu is the strongest among them.” 

All Ultimate Class….

“I see….that’s a relief alright.”

Her face however didn’t look good.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“The Principal Clans don’t work with others. In fact, most of them are extremely arrogant and look down on other onmyoji who haven’t been blessed by the Shinto Gods.”

Oh believe me, I know that better than anyone else.

We soon reached the place where I had to turn to get to my home so I took my leave. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity. You have enlightened me today and increased my resolve to keep away from all this youkai business. I have to turn at this corner so I will have to part my ways here. See you guys later at school.”

I parted ways with them and reached home soon, my mind full of thoughts.

Even Gin knew I was in thought and didn’t disturb me with its usual antics.

At home, I closed the door and slumped on the couch and Gin snuggled beside me, rubbing its face against my cheeks.

“Thank you, buddy.” I scratched behind its ears making him wag its tail happily.

Ultimate Class….

“Gin.”

“Woof!”

“I want to become an Ultimate Class as soon as possible. Will you….join my training?”

“Woof woof.”

“Alright, then don’t complain. We are going to push ourselves even further. By the end of Junior High….I want to become an Ultimate Class.”

The standards of this world were far beyond my expectations.

If youkai were this strong then how strong would actual Gods be? Because we know for a fact that there were Gods in this world.

Country level or who knows maybe even the world destroying level.

I needed to become strong.

Over the next few hours, I made a rough plan.

A step by step progress.

City Destroying Levels would be something like a tailed beast like eight or nine tails or something like the Admirals and above in the One Piece world.

That was my first goal- to reach that level of power in the next two and half years.

It would obviously not be easy but I had the help of a System.

If I couldn’t do it then no one could.

With that plan, I entered the Training Room once more and summoned a new Mentor.

The figure appeared in front of my eyes.

White shirt, black cloak and a sabre strapped on his belt. Perhaps the most eye-catching features about the guy were the missing arm, his red, almost crimson hair and the claw mark over his eyes. Yes….I had summoned Redhaired Shanks.

“Yo….so you are the student huh. You look weak.”

“Woof!” Gin took offence to the words and got in front of me and barked at the guy who just laughed.

“Oh, a feisty one. Good. So, what do you want to learn?” He asked me.

“Everything.”

“Huh?”

“I want you to teach me everything you know about physical training, Haki and swordsmanship. I don’t care about the method you use but I don’t want you to hold back on me.”

“Heh! Don’t hold back, you say?” He smirked. “You are ten years too young for that, brat.” Just as he finished his words, an incredible pressure descended on me.

The pressure from Nobuhiro Kushihashi was nothing compared to it.

Gin was already unconscious.

I gritted my teeth and tried to stand but found myself on my knees and then even my knees gave up and my face crashed on the ground directly.

“Oh! You are still conscious. Then let’s take this a step further.” The pressure increased several times more at the next instant.

I desperately tried to keep my consciousness intact but in the next moment, I lost consciousness.

Although, before I completely lost consciousness, I think I heard him speak. “30% of my Conqueror’s Haki at this age….not bad.”

….

….

….

….

30%?!

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Author’s Note:

I am back with another chapter of ‘Drawn to Power’.

As you can already see, this chapter was a bit of a setup so there was not much action in it.

We are going to get more action later on.

Tatsuya doesn’t know anything about the Dxd world so he is going blind.

It is one of the reasons why he is making all those erroneous assumptions

His situation is one where he doesn’t even know what is what. His situation is similar to a blind man gaining eyes for the first time and seeing red but not knowing that the said colour is red.

He will be making assumptions, failing and then slowly figure out things as he progresses all on his own.

Also, I just can’t stop writing the story.

I know I said I will be updating the ‘Isekai Restaurant’ but this story is keeping me rooted. I completed this chapter in two days so you can guess.

I wish to continue with this for a while. I am also writing ‘Isekai Restaurant’ on the side and will post it as soon as I complete it.

Enjoy the new chapter.

Good Day, Peace Out.