A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 471: Chapter 428

I was genuinely curious as to why they were here.

Not that I was against them showing up for any reason.

But still the timing was odd.

Venelana immediately ran to not me, but her daughter who was a little ways behind me. A mother's instinct that was able to ignore the Godly eyes that fell upon her and my other girls.

Frankly, it just made me all the more attracted to her.

....maybe I had a certain type.

[Nooooooooooooooo, really?]

Hmm, strange noises in here.

But hey, awkward reunions, or something.

Technically, they'd never met before, but for some reason, Ares nearly fell to the ground in front of my Scáthach, holding a bouquet of flowers up to her having professed his love.

Where he got the flowers? I honestly couldn't even say.

Normally, I would have already started a fight with him.

I'm selfish and greedy. No one is allowed to claim my girls.

However, I would also respect their own situations. Scáthach didn't need my overbearing 'protection', unless she was in the mood for it. There had been a few occasions where she enjoyed me acting out that role. But it's obvious to tell when she's in the mood for such things.

And at this moment, well....

The silent stare and quick kick of hers that sent the Greek War God sliding across the room was enough of an answer to his confession.

Scáthach beating people up was always enjoyable. Even when it was me.

I think everyone was staring at them now. Which, to be fair, they were a sight that not many ever got to witness.

The War god stood up, his helmet long having been knocked off. His red hair was wild, matching a sharp face. The only unnaturalness was the warm smile he had as he stared at Scáthach. "You're still the same." He said like a love struck puppy.

"Don't speak to me." Scáthach replied with a look of disgust.

"Come on, don't be like that." The War God got back onto his feet. "Remember all the times we spent together?"

"No."

"I can help you remember~"

"My Spear will be your only companion." She replied, her infamous spear appearing, coating in her bloodlust.

"Ah, how nostalgic. You always took your spear out and tried to stab me." He sighed.

....

"Who knew that Ares, the God of War, was a Simp." I wasn't very loud, but then again, there was not much noise as everyone just sort of stared, dumbstruck at what was happening.

"....what's a simp?" Jeanne whispered.

"Well, there's an actual definition from an older vocabulary, but it's mostly used for it's slang terminology. Basically, it's someone who's overly submissive and too attentive out of a failed hope of winning affection from someone." I answered completely seriously.

Ares was now looking at me with eyes glowing and his own bloodlust wafting off of him.

I merely raised an eyebrow.

But Scáthach took that personally it seemed. She kicked him, again, and much harder as he went flying through the wall.

"Don't look at my man like that." She scowled.

Huh.

Was this what it's like being on the opposite end of this kind of encounter?

Zeus let out a long sigh. "Please fetch your brother and make sure he returns to Olympus."

Athena grimaced, probably at what she just saw, and nodded to him, disappearing rather quickly.

Well.....Surprisingly, I had a good impression of Zeus of all people.

What a strange day this was turning out to be.

However, the Greek God suddenly turned towards Scáthach. My teacher met his gaze, unwavering. "I will not say anything about what just happened. But there will not be a next time, less you suffer my wrath."

And it's gone.

I know that as the King of Gods, he has to project strength pretty much at all times, and I understand his position.

But at the same time, that's my woman.

I let my own pressure seep out, locking onto him.

Fuck a Golden Apple if it meant my Scáthach was treated like that.

His shitty God was clearly in the wrong.

Zeus, surprisingly, didn't rise to provocation.

His gaze was hard and unmoving under both myself and Scáthach basically daring him to do anything.

"Then I will return those words to you. Keep your dog away from me or, likewise, I will put it down." She snorted, dismissing her spear.

Zeus didn't react, but there was a hint of....respect?

Instead, he turned to the Devils. "Is this gathering finished?"

"Um....well...." Serafall was caught off guard.

I ignored her for now as Raikou followed Scáthach and came over to me.

Another person stepped out, nearly pushing past Lugh and another God that looked covered in pines and leaves with two branch-like horns sticking out of his head.

She had a dark purple dress on with a similar veil covering her face. But her most notable feature were the two Raven-like wings protruding from her back. If it wasn't obvious she was a God, perhaps she might have been mistaken for a Fallen Angel at first glance.

"It's been awhile, witch." The woman hissed, directing it at Scáthach.

Scáthach looked at her. "Do I know you?" She replied simply, and kept on walking.

....I fucking loved that woman.

Almost instantly, Lugh and the other God with him grabbed the woman who looked like she was about to pounce on Scáthach.

The God covered in different foliage seemed to summon a tree out of the ground, covering both himself and the woman, disappearing from the venue.

Lugh looked like he had a weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders and sighed in exasperation. Odin cast him a sympathizing look, making me wonder who that woman was, and why she apparently hated Scáthach.

And almost immediately, a slender pair of arms wrapped me up from behind and I felt a pair of lips planting a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you." Venelana whispered into my ear.

"Always." I smiled, squeezing her hand.

I knew what she was thanking me for. Kronos took a random shot at her daughter for whatever reason, he probably didn't even care too much about her identity and I ended up protecting her.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you all." I said as Raikou also runs up and gave me a hug. Pulling Jeanne in for a double hug, making the Saintess squeak rather cutely. "But why are you guys here?"

I was tempted to give Scáthach a big kiss and make some teasing comments. It's one of the few times I can get her to blush and get embarrassed. Showering her with affection in front of other people like this was one of the few ways.

But, I also knew she would probably kick me just as much as Ares.

The only difference being that she would be much more gentle afterwards, in private.

"You worried your Grandmother, student." Scáthach said bluntly.

"Perhaps I can shed some light on this matter?" Mozart popped up.

"Jesus, I completely forgot you were there." I blinked.

"I am hurt, but I cannot fault you for being focused on others." He chuckled. "But alas, my poor Master was so beset with worry."

"Alright, alright. What's going on?"

"I was the one to discover this little intrusion onto the children's soiree" He responded. "I offered my services as a guard for the evening. Rather, I was sharing stories with that Okita Souji gentleman. But I digress. I relayed my findings to my Master and the illustrious Devil Leaders."

"Ah....and you couldn't reach me because our link communication doesn't work across realms." I glanced at Raikou.

Servant telepathic communication was good, but it wasn't that good.

My Servant nodded. "Mommy was worried." She pouted.

"Why didn't you just call...?"

"We tried." Venelana replied. "It wouldn't go through."

I furrowed my brow at that. Why didn't it go through, that doesn't make sense.... "Ah..." I dropped my fist into my palm. "No wonder. We never accounted for being in a stationary bubble of separated time." I nodded to myself in understanding.

Why would we? It's something so unlikely to happen that it wasn't even worth consideration. It's like trying to call someone when I activate Jinn's ability to answer questions where she 'freezes time'.

"So you understand our concern, student?" Scáthach asked.

"Yeah, I can see the picture that was painted." I nodded. Venelana discovers that the place is sealed off. Can't reach me through the Kaleidophone, and she panics, calls for help. I couldn't fault her in the slightest. "Sorry for making you worry."

"You're forgiven." Venelana smiled, this time, turning my head for a much deeper kiss.

"Hey Red, that's your mom, right?" I recognized Odin's voice even while I tried to phase it out to enjoy Venelana's aggressive tongue.

"Sure is." The Fallen Angel answered.

"Nice."

"Are we still on for dinner?" She asked, after pulling away.

"Wouldn't miss it." I smiled.

"Good." She smiled back. "but....we're probably going to have to delay it until tomorrow...probably."

"...that's fine." Yeah, it would be awkward to head over there at this point.

Huh, she just kissed me intimately in front of everyone. I didn't know how much of public knowledge it was that she was my woman now, but I guess everyone's going to know in the Underworld at this point.

Oh well, I didn't really care.

Not like I was ashamed of anything.

"Mother...." Another voice I didn't particularly like sounded out.

"Sirzechs." Venelana smiled, walking over to her son. "Sorry for intruding, I was worried."

"Oh, it's no problem, Mama Gremory." Azazel quickly replied.

"Yeah, no problem Mama Gremory." Odin repeated with a shit eating grin.

"Father, please don't start." His son sighed in an attempt to rein in the All-Father.

"Oh, and who's this charming young woman?" Nuwa was now sauntering over, noticeably swaying her hips a little bit as she eyed Venelana.

Holy shit, did Nuwa swing that way?

This was a weird day so far.

"Mother, why don't I walk you out." Lucifer strained a smile, interrupting everything and he aggressively, but not forcibly, led Venelana away.

She just giggled, waving goodbye to me.

Behind him, Nuwa and some of the Gods were sharing a small laugh between themselves.

Huh, it was weird seeing Gods being so....teasing? Comical? Just being...normal, I suppose. It's not like they were degrading their images in any way amongst the crowd, but they were still finding the humor in the situation.

A nice contrast to the atmosphere from but a few minutes ago when Kronos appeared.

It wasn't like there was anything to immediately jump on because of that, so they were taking it easy. That, and Gods don't really move with haste most of the time. They are beings that perceive time much differently than even someone like me.

"We should go." Scáthach spoke. "We came with a different motive than this gathering intended. Let us depart lest our presence cause other problems."

"If you have to." I relented. "Love you." I sneaked in.

She wasn't really focused on me, but her head snapped to me with her full attention. And ever so slightly, a little bit of pink crept up onto her cheeks. "....I love you as well." She huffed, barely more than whisper.

So cute.

"Be careful." Raikou kissed my cheek. "If you are in trouble, please call for help."

"If I encounter any real trouble, I'll make sure to reach out." I reassured her.

Just as Raikou was about to break her hand away from mine, someone I didn't expect was nearly looming over us. Granted, he was still several feet away, but the way he moved and crossed the distance from where he was standing, I can't believe I didn't even notice him.

Raikou seemed to have noticed him only now as well.

"...Father." She said softly.

Indra trembled. He sort of reached out to her, but stopped himself mid way.

I honestly didn't know much about Indra beyond the most basic myths and legends. Hindu Mythology was not something I ever delved too strongly into.

But despite any myths that depicted him negatively, and my own dislike for him, I believed he was someone who truly cared about his children.

Confusion was evident by his expression.

Hearing about an 'unknown' daughter of his running around and seeing – feeling her was an entirely different matter.

Her Divinity was no doubt a beacon to his own. She may as well be holding up a big neon sign declaring herself the Daughter of Indra.

"What is your name?" His tone almost sounded....fatherly.

"Minamoto-no-Raikou." My Servant replied.

He looked at her, mouth open, and the Hindu God found himself unable to respond properly. Frankly, she was one of the major reasons Indra even appeared in Japan. Sure, he probably used the excuse of that soul or whatever when he went to Yomi, and probably even intended to do whatever it was he was there for. But he made it clear that his anger and attention was due to someone running around with 'his' Divine power.

That is to say, a Demi-God of his.

His Child, that he had no idea about until that moment.

"Come home with me." He suddenly said, "There is a spot in Svarga for you. You have many siblings that will welcome you with open arms."

Raikou shook her head, squeezing my hand tightly.

Raikou craved familial affection. It was one of the driving points of what warped her personality so heavily. So....that must have hit her deeply, to be offered something like that without any strings attached.

Indra looked at her, following her hand in mine, and finally to me.

In any other situation, I may have verbally shot at Indra. Because it's rare for a chance to be in a situation where it's possible. But this was Raikou's moment, and I wasn't going to ruin it.

"....does he treat you well?"

"Yes." Raikou smiled beautifully.

I could see Indra clench his jaw as he looked at me again. To say he was biting his tongue would be an understatement. But as our eyes met, there seemed to be an understanding that whatever issues we had would be put aside when around her.

Indra just silently nodded, opting not to say anything else.

Instead, he raised his hand up, and the two Gods he brought with him were at his side with haste. He turned to look at the others. "I made my stance clear, and what I require. The specifics can be sent to us and I will review them later."

"Later, Purple Rain." Odin said his own goodbyes.

Indra nearly stumbled over himself, and it was obvious that it took immense self-control for him to not react to Odin.

He gathered up his younger minions, and with a burst of lightning, he left. The last moment before he departed, his gaze landed on Raikou one more time.

Raikou was squeezing my hand tightly throughout.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"Yes." She continued to smile. "I am very happy right now." She said as she pulled away. "I will go join Scáthach and Venelana." She glanced at Jeanne who was silently at my side. "Sorry for intruding on your time. Please enjoy the remainder of your date."

"D-date!? It's not a date." She squeaked out. An easy button for people to press with her it seems.

Well, it looks like we aren't needed.

I grabbed her arm playfully. "Come on, I got one more thing I gotta do and then I wanna take you somewhere else."

"Wha – " Jeanne paused. "L-Lady Gabriel!" She looked at an adorable Angel bashfully inching towards her.

"T-this is for you." The Archangel said, handing over a little letter. "Please read it later!" She quickly ran back over to the other Archangel.

....that just happened?

[You know, it's funny.]

What?

[That Archangel has a higher kill count than probably most of the Gods in this room.] Ddraig stated.

.....well then.

Jeanne looked at the letter in her hand, then to me. She held it up, and made a pitiful noise.

"Why don't I hold onto it for now?" I offered.

She nodded, and I put it away in my ring so she didn't need to be carrying it with her at the moment.

And then later.....I would help her read it.

"Hey, we're going to be heading out." I threw a heads up towards Odin.

Odin shooed me away as he was talking with Nuwa.

I shrugged as they saw me, but they knew my stance already. I wasn't going to join whatever it is they were doing, so they probably stopped caring about me.

"When you have time, come visit my palace." I felt Nuwa's voice tickle my ears.

I looked up to see her smile lightly out of the corner of my eyes as she glanced my way.

"Huh, can you hear me?" I said very softly.

"A small spell." Her giggle was rather beautiful. And it was despite her carrying on a conversation with others. "You can bring some of those women by your side too if you want."

"Yeah, I think I'm keeping my girls far away from you." I deadpanned.

Her giggle continued.

"Will?" Jeanne tugged on my sleeve.

"Sorry, was having a small talk with Nuwa." I waived it off. "Come on." I held my arm out and she happily accepted.

[***]

Jeanne D' Arc POV

This was...amazing.

I didn't know how else to describe it.

I mean, it was so chaotic for a while. Then things happened! And so many different people.

And I met Angels!

I wanted to tell everyone back home, it was so amazing! And the Archangel gave me a letter, me!

.....but I can't read it.

But I knew that Will can help me! Maybe after his relentless teasing, but he's a good person, so he wouldn't reject if I asked!

I happily followed Wilhelm as he led me back towards that group of people around his age. His....Aunt? I think it was.

The woman with the Red hair, and her friends that he was...not so nice to.

I didn't know all the details, but Wilhelm wasn't normally so aggressive like that. He can be mean with his words sometimes, but it's usually more...playful? Without actual hate, but this time, it sounded like he really didn't like them.

I didn't say anything, because he did say some things that sounded like advice? But also I didn't feel like it was proper since I didn't know all the details.

Her and her friends didn't look all too happy to see us....and I couldn't really blame them.

"Miss us already?" The black-haired girl with the long ponytail stared down Wilhelm. "And here I thought you didn't like us~"

"I'm sorry." Wilhelm apologized.

I was surprised and happy that this is what he was doing.

"....come again?"

Wilhelm took a deep breath. "You all didn't deserve....most of what I said."

"Most?" Was her name Rias?

"It's the best you're getting from me."

"I'll take it." Rias said dryly. "Does that mean we're.....good?"

Wilhelm paused. "No."

"....oh." She looked down.

".....Maybe....some time in the future, down the road."

She slowly brightened up, smiling lightly. "That's better than I hoped."

Wilhelm let out another sigh. "Issei Hyoudou."

"What do you want, damn handsome?" He scoffed.

....why was he calling Wilhelm Handsome?

It....was accurate....erm...objectively.

Not because I thought he was handsome!

Regardless of the thoughts Mother tried to fill my head with!

"Your Aura is like a muscle. Work it out, break it down from getting hit, learn to utilize it efficiently. It can also be molded in certain ways to become a powerful tool in combat."

"....oh?" The boy blinked. "Thank...you?"

Wilhelm nodded. "And your name is...."

"Koneko." The small, white-haired girl hissed....almost like a cat.

"I don't know why you dislike training Senjutsu, and it's not really my place to say anything, but your species was practically built for it. If there's some sort of hangup about it, you can always reach out to some experts to teach you or learn more about it beforehand. Not just Youkai either. Druids from England utilize Senjutsu, albeit in a different way. Many different societies have their own forms."

The small girl just stared at Wilhelm blankly, and he looked back, making it seem kind of awkward before he shook his head and turned to the last boy.

"Kiba." Wilhelm stated. "If you have trouble thinking of good usages for your Sacred Gear, just copy everyone else. I'm not quite sure what the limit of it is, but I'm positive that you haven't even come close to it yet. So....push the boundary as much as possible. Divine Weapons? Copy them until you have an arsenal that will make a God jealous."

"Thank you for your advice." The boy smiled in return.

Wilhelm nodded his head.

"Any advice for me?" The Black-haired girl put her hands on her hips with an amused grin.

"Pick a good stripper name?" He replied without missing a beat. "Oww." He let out as I hit him on the shoulder. "Fine. I have no idea what your deal is honestly. But You're supposed to be her – " He pointed to Rias. "General? You need to lead. Or be able to take command in her absence. Your group is a mess, and I say that after apologizing and trying to be more polite."

She stared at Wilhelm for a long moment. "You couldn't handle me." She finally said.

"Probably because I don't carry enough singles on me." Wilhelm shot back.

Her lips twitched into a feral-like grin. "I'm going to step on you some day."

"I have no response to that." Wilhelm somehow said without looking foolish.

"And do you have anything to say to me, Schweinorg?" The other black-haired girl with glasses was glaring at him.

"....who are you?"

She looked like she was about to explode before Wilhelm grabbed me and pulled me through an abrupt portal.

I nearly stumbled as my heel touched the pavement, but Wilhelm caught me before I fell.

"That was mean." I looked at him.

"She'll get over it." Wilhelm sounded dismissive. "Whoever she is."

I hit his shoulder again.

"Oww." He whined.

"I didn't hit you hard." I puffed up and hit his shoulder again. "But you did a good thing by apologizing. I'm proud of you. It takes a lot of effort to admit when you did something wrong and make amends." I told him. ".....even if it could use some work."

"Mmm."

"Hey, I'm serious!"

"Meh."

"Stoppppp"

"Cute."

"Neh!?" Why would you suddenly say that!!! Meanie! I looked around and noticed we were in some kind of neighborhood. "Where did you take me?"

"Some dark alley, so I can do naughty things with you~"

"D-don't say something like that!" I hit him many more times.

....Mother said I'm not allowed to do naughty things secretly in public until after I'm married....

Ah! I can't tell him that!

"But seriously, we visited your childhood home last time, I thought we'd visit mine this time." He said, and I looked to see where he was staring.

It was....a burned down house that looked abandoned for quite a white now.

"Ah.....I'm sorry." I quickly said, realizing that something was wrong.

"Mmm." Wilhelm looked...sad.

I....should try to cheer him up?

"Well...I guess we're both of our homes went up in flames?" I smiled.

"....did you just make a joke about the fact that my childhood home was burned down?"

"N-no, I didn't mean it like that! I...that's – "

He suddenly burst out into laughter. "I was the one who burned it down."

"Y-you meanie!" I hit him a bunch more times. "I thought I said something to make you feel bad!!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Stop hitting me." He tried to shield himself, but I kept hitting him.

"I'm mad at you!"

"Please don't be mad, I don't like seeing mad Jeanne."

"No!"

"Please?"

".....well, alright." I relented. "But I'm not happy."

"How about a hug?"

"....okay." I wanted a hug.

It felt...nice, to have his arms around me.

Hugs are nice.

"Hey, Will.....why did you burn your house down?" I asked.

"That's...a long story." He sighed, releasing me. "I guess I was angry. Still am, probably. I hated this place, it was where I lived for a large part of my life, but it was never my home. And I burned it down on one of the happiest days of my life."

"....if no one got hurt, I guess I can't say it's wrong for you to be so happy that you burned the house down...."

"No, burning it was just something I did on a whim and in the moment." He shook his head. "What happened was the start of my adventure. It was because of this that I found Meridia, the first person after my mom that I ever loved." He looked nostalgic. "It was the start of each step I took as I met everyone important in my life. And even as I ended up here with you."

"I'm....someone important?'

"Of course." He answered without a second thought.

"Hehe." I felt something warm creeping up my cheeks. "Thank you...for everything. I had a lot of fun tonight."

"Even if it wasn't as intended?"

"Well....that's not entirely your fault."

"Are you seriously placing blame with me!?"

"I'll subtract 30% of it."

"You're saying I'm 70% responsible for everything that happened?" He stared.

"Sounds about right." I nodded happily.

"Bullshit!"

"We can ask the others!"

".....that's not fair."

Hah! I know how to win now! I just have to use your H-harem against you!

Gah!

I can't believe he's with so many women! It should be immoral and....and bad, but....everyone's so happy!

.....and they're so nice to me.

"Hey, Will..." scooted closer to him.

"Hmm?"

"Can you....please read the letter to me? I really want to see what the Angel wrote to me." I hesitantly asked, knowing he was going to tease me.

"I have a theory."

"Eh?"

"Hear me out." He lightly poked my nose. "I have a theory that once you pick up a single language, your innate servant abilities will kick in and you will be able to handle every language like a normal servant."

"What...are you saying?" I looked at him.

"What I'm saying is." He took out the letter. "How about I teach you?"

"You would really do that" Why was my heart beating faster?

"Of course."

"Ah..." I didn't know what to say and I felt my face becoming hot, so I just buried it into his shoulder. "...thank you."

"Of course." I felt his arm go around me, and for some reason, I didn't want it to leave.

[***]

A/N

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