Of Foxfire and Cultivation Ch.6 (Patreon)

Minutes later (Onari age:11)

“Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to take with you?” Onari asked.

Yu Wu shook her head, “Un. All my stories are on this tablet and I have my sword. Everything else here can burn for all I care.”

She was still rather down, lacking the usual energy that Onari had come to expect from her. But that was to be expected after what had happened. It wasn’t every day that you found out your whole life was a lie, and that one of the only people close to you didn’t even see you as a person.

So Onari was taking her home with him. They had collected only a few things from her room, and were now preparing to leave. He would have to come back and loot the whole place at a later date. For now though, the best thing he could do was stay by Yu Wu’s side.

Yu Wu sighed and leaned her head against Onari’s shoulder as they teleported to his home. They appeared with a forest at their back and a large walled compound in front of them. The scent of warm spices drifted on the area’s Qi. Yu Wu tried to bury herself further into Onari’s side, thinking about how different this place was from her former home.

As the pair approached the gate, they were greeted by an orange and blonde blur. Onari stopped to catch the blur, picking up a young girl that bore a striking resemblance to him and spinning her around. Childlike giggles filled the air.

Onari eventually stopped spinning and came to rest with the child perched on his hip, allowing Yu Wu to get a good look at her. She was adorable. She had Onari’s high cheekbones, but her cheeks were slightly more chubby than Onari’s.

Her eyes were a beautiful amber-gold color, different from Onari’s ruby-red eyes. Both pairs of eyes shared a similar sense of intelligence and mischief though. Blonde fox ears twitched atop blonde hair as the young girl seemed to sniff and examine Yu Wu.

Onari’s smile as he introduced his little sister was like nothing Yu Wu had seen on a person before, “Yu Wu, this is my little sister, Kunou. Kunou, say hello to my friend Yu Wu.”

“Hello, pretty miss Wu!” Kunou said, waving excitedly.

Yu Wu subconsciously and automatically slipped into her usual young mistress persona, “This young mistress greets you, young miss Kunou. Your elder brother is a good friend of mine. This young mistress does not know what she would do if he wasn’t in her life at the moment. It is a pleasure to meet his family. This one hopes we will become friends!”

Kunou giggled as Yu Wu ended her dramatic greeting with a deep bow, “The way you talk is funny. Of course we’ll be friends! Any friend of Onii-chan has to be a good person.”

Unknown to Kunou, her words had struck something of a cord within Yu Wu’s heart. She couldn’t help but believe the words to be true when they were said in such a pure way. She gave Kunou a slightly tight, but very happy smile.

“This young mistress thanks you for your kind words…”

Kunou’s beaming smile pushed back the darkness that had fallen over Yu Wu’s heart a bit further. The young girl turned to her older brother and tugged on his sleeve with small hands.

Kunou faked a pout, “C’mon, Onii-chan. Put me down. Mommy’s been waiting for you to get back.”

Onari chuckled and did as he was told. Kunou instantly raced ahead of Onari and Yu Wu. Yu Wu attached herself to Onari’s side again. Kunou turned and saw they weren’t following. She ran back toward them in a blur, and started tugging them both by one of their hands.

With Yu Wu’s inner turmoil calmed slightly for the moment, Kunou led them to Yasaka. After some short introductions, Yasaka quickly agreed to let the young mistress stay with them. It was late so Onari hadn’t explained the full story, but he gave enough detail to let his mother know that Yu Wu had nowhere else to go. She was granted a room next to Onari’s family’s apartments, and Onari helped her settle in.

Even after they left Yu Wu’s former home, the pair’s strange new connection hadn’t disappeared. It seemed as if it would be a new constant in both of their lives. To Yu Wu, that fact felt like a blessing from the heavens. She clung to that link like it was the only thing keeping her afloat in a dark ocean.

Onari had mixed feelings about the connection. On one hand, it just felt right in an indescribable way. Like this was how they were both always meant to live. Like he had been missing a piece of himself that had gone unnoticed until it had slotted into place.

On the other hand, he was worried about what the connection meant for Yu Wu’s independence. She obviously wasn’t ready to stand on her own right now, but what happened when she was ready? Onari pushed that worry aside. They’d just have to cross that bridge when they got to it.

Onari stayed with Yu Wu that night. It was almost physically uncomfortable for them to be separated for too long. The discomfort would fade as they both got used to the bond, but for now the simplest solution was to stick together.

He found he didn’t mind having to stay by Yu Wu’s side. Her presence -- both through the bond and physically -- brought him a sense of peace that he had never experienced in either of his lives. So he watched her pretend to sleep, and he didn’t say anything to disturb the tranquility of the night.

“Onari?” Yu Wu eventually said, breaking her pretense of sleep. “I can’t sleep.”

“I realized,” Onari said, casually adjusting the strands of hair that hung around his face. “This connection is very… intimate.”

“... I like it that way,” Yu Wu whispered softly.

Onari hummed, “It will take some getting used to, but I think the bond is one of the more positive results of this whole situation.”

Yu Wu visibly shrunk in on herself, “More like the only positive result…”

Onari winced at his misstep, but didn’t apologize, “Things will get better. You’re strong enough to stand straight even after what you’ve gone through. And if you falter, I’ll be here to support you.”

She was silent, but Onari could feel her gratitude through their connection. The silence stretched for a minute or two before Onari broke it.

“What do you think about my family?” he asked.

“... Your mother seems nice. I always wished I could have a mom like her. You told me she tries her best despite how busy she is. Kunou is great too. I like the way she bounces around like she doesn’t have a care in the world. You and your mother must take good care of her.”

“I noticed you defaulted back to that young mistress persona of yours when you were talking to them. Want to talk about it?”

“It’s… comfortable. I’ve read so many Wuxia novels that it just kinda pours out of me when I’m nervous. When I’m ‘Young Mistress Yu Wu’, I can act like I’m more experienced than I actually am… Like I’m better than I actually am…”

Onari scooted himself closer to Yu Wu, but didn’t touch her. His steadfast presence was comforting enough, and a tiny bit of unseen tension faded from her body.

“As long as it continues to make you happy, I have no problem with it. But I will say that I think both sides of you are equally great.”

Yu Wu was quiet for a minute, “... Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you think both sides of me are great? One side is this confident and strong young mistress, and the other is just a lonely, socially stunted girl with anxiety… How can that lonely girl ever hope to match the young mistress?”

“... Because they’re one and the same. The lonely girl is the one who gives life to the young mistress. And the young mistress is the one who protects the lonely girl when life gets too tough. The young mistress is the yang to the lonely girl’s yin. But together, they both make up the beautifully complex woman named Yu Wu.”

“...” Yu Wu quietly contemplated Onari’s words.

Eventually, Onari broke the silence to say something more, “And that complex woman? She’s the one that I connected to. She’s the one my Qi and soul resonate with. So she must be great. This young master would not just bond with anyone after all!”

Yu Wu giggled softly at the faux arrogant way Onari declared she was his equal, “Pfft, is that how I sound?”

Onari smiled and shook his head as Yu Wu’s mood lightened, “No, you’re much better at that persona than me. I’ll leave the ‘pretentious cultivator’ talk to you in the future.”

Musical laughter continued to fill the room for the next couple minutes. Through the bond, Onari could feel the happiness that bloomed in Yu Wu’s chest when he alluded to their future together. Slowly but surely, Yu Wu giggled herself to sleep.

Satisfied that she was sleeping peacefully with a lighter heart, Onari turned his focus inward. Before the fight with Da Shuizhi, Onari had wanted to take his cultivation a bit more gently. He had wanted to take some time to get used to his new strength and study the Dao of Fire.

Understanding had been more important to him than pure strength, but now he saw that he couldn’t ignore one aspect of cultivation for the other. Da Shuizhi had focused on understanding, delving into the Dao of Alchemy, and he had fallen to two cultivators who were basically just starting their journeys.

Sure, there were other factors in Da Shuizhi’s death. He had underestimated them to the very end. He was old, and his cultivation base had been corrupted by possibly centuries of demonic practices.

In comparison, Onari and Yu Wu were young and basically in their primes. They had been powered up by their bond and the emotional nature of the fight. They didn’t hesitate to go all out either.

Still, the fight was a little too close for comfort for Onari. He wasn’t too worried about stagnating just yet, but he knew he couldn’t allow himself to get complacent. He had to continue to strive for power with everything he had. To Onari, power was the only way to truly control his own fate. He had been powerless before, and he vowed to never go back to such a pathetic life at the whims of fate ever again.

And now, Onari had gained insight into the most important element of cultivation: Balance. He had to strike a balance in all things. A balance between pure strength and profound understanding. A balance between his personal relationships and his pursuit of power. A balance between his true cultivation and the other avenues of power he explored (like illusions, formations, and alchemy).

The heavens felt as if they were smiling down at him. Small sparks of Yin and Yang energy swirled around the thin connection between Onari and the sleeping Yu Wu. Every so often, a matching pair of these small sparks of energy would be sucked into the bond, strengthening it.

Onari meditated for the rest of the night. His metaphysical eyes were locked on the bond strengthening process. He observed it all meticulously, trying to gain a foothold of understanding into the Dao of Balance.

Around the three-hour mark of his meditation, Onari was struck with the sudden realization of what the bond really was. Dual Cultivation was powerful and rare in his previous world, so he was astounded that he had managed to find his Dao Companion so early in this life. Onari begrudgingly thanked the heavens for bringing Yu Wu and him together.

Eventually, soft golden light began to filter through the room’s windows. Godrays stretched across the floor, lighting up the darkness behind Onari’s eyelids. Yu Wu began to stir. Onari opened his eyes in tandem with Yu Wu.

Yu Wu stretched her arms above her head and yawned. For a few blissful moments, the weight of yesterday’s events didn’t sit heavily on her shoulders. And when hurt, betrayal, and loss did come crashing down on her, it didn’t feel as exhausting as it did last night.

Onari reached out mentally, giving her a little tap through the bond that made her smile. She turned to see him sitting cross-legged on a cushion on the floor. His back was straight like he’d been watching vigil over her for the entire night.

“Did… you get any sleep last night?” Yu Wu asked hesitantly.

Onari shrugged, “No, but I feel well rested. I spent the night meditating and keeping an eye on you in case you had any nightmares. In other news though, I think I know what our connection is.”

Yu Wu pouted at the change of subject, but her curiosity quickly got the better of her, “What is it?”

“What do you know about Dao Companions?” Onari asked.

Yu Wu shook her head, “Just what I’ve read in Wuxia novels. I don’t know anything about them in real life.

“Right, I doubt teaching you about that was on the old man’s to-do list… Anyway, a Dao Companion is essentially a cultivator’s heaven-fated partner. Not every cultivator will find their Dao Companion, but the ones who do will have an unwavering ally and companion for their quest to transcend the heavens.”

“And… we’re Dao Companions?”

Onari nodded, “Yes. And we seem to be much closer than Dao Companions’ usually are at this point in their relationship. Especially since we haven’t even attempted Dual Cultivation. In my worry for you, I must have established a deeper connection than what Dao Companions usually start out with.”

Yu Wu bowed her head when Onari mentioned Dual Cultivation, hiding her luminescent blush behind a curtain of black hair and whispering, “... I can’t say I’m disappointed with how fast our relationship is developing…”

Before Onari could respond, there was a gentle knock at the door. Glancing at Yu Wu to ensure she was presentable, Onari called out for the unexpected guest to enter.

“Young Mistress Yu Wu. Young Master Onari,” Satoru, Onari’s favorite Tengu butler, greeted them politely with a bow. “My apologies for disturbing you so early in the morning. Lady Yasaka sent me to ask if the both of you will be joining her for breakfast.”

Yu Wu simply gave Satoru and Onari an imperious nod, her young mistress persona settling over her almost instantly. Onari sighed, and nodded to Satoru as well.

“Very good. I shall inform my lady,” Satoru said, dismissing himself and leaving as quickly as he came.

Onari stood and helped his Dao Companion to her feet. Yu Wu worried at her lower lip and wrung her hands now that they were alone again.

“Should we tell your mother about our relationship?… About our bond?” she asked.

Onari couldn’t hold back a laugh, “She probably already knows. She’s a clever vixen, but I doubt she’ll mention anything if she suspects you to be uncomfortable with discussing it.”

Yu Wu took a steadying breath, “No… No, we should tell her ourselves. I want to make a good impression on my future mother-in-law.”

Onari nodded, but almost spat blood when he realized what Yu Wu had just called Yasaka. Before he could say anything or stop her, Yu Wu was marching confidently out the door and across the hall. She paused at the opposite door to take another breath, and Onari could feel her determination steel through the bond.

The door to the apartment was dramatically swung open by the young cultivator on a mission, only stopped from slamming against the wall by a touch of Qi. Yu Wu strode through the door with pride only another young mistress/master would be able to match.

Yasaka sat at the dining table with Kunou beside her. The older Nine-tailed fox’s tails swished and flicked playfully through the air behind her. There was a mischievous grin on her face as she sat back to enjoy the show she was sure was coming.

“I am marrying your son!”