—Cole POV—
“Fuyumi…”, I said with an irritated expression as we walked up to the front desk, “I thought it was just going to be us.”
“I swear I didn’t know…”, Fuyumi sighed looking at her siblings for an answer.
“Sorry…he overheard us talking.”, Shoto stated bowing his head with Natsuo.
“Is there a problem with me being here?”, Enji inquired as he looked at me with annoyance, “Fuyumi, why are you still with this man? I thought I made it clear that he doesn’t fit the family well.”
Sensing that I was about to deck her father, Fuyumi immediately got between us and pleaded with me not to hurt him. Reminding me that we had a Family Hero Agency to worry about, beating up her father would be terrible press for us and could damage the other’s reputation. Turning to her father she immediately told him to stop antagonizing me and to go home as their mother didn’t want to see him right now.
Telling his daughter that he was staying whether she wanted him to or not, Enji stated that my trying to join the family meant everyone should have a say. Wanting to tell him to fuck off because I was joining whether he wanted me to or not, the Head Nurse interjected before I could and insisted that we take this discussion elsewhere.
“You are disturbing those waiting to be seen by doctors. Please do not cause any further issues, or I will have security show you out.”, the Head Nurse scolded us.
Having gotten more heated than I realized, I had subconsciously been leaking out Killing Intent which was making it hard for some people to breathe. Apologizing to the people in the lobby for what was going on I suggested that Enji and I take this outside. Agreeing with my suggestion, we were about to go out when Fuyumi pulled me back.
“Cole please don’t, just this once please let it go for me. I really want you to meet our mother, and beating him up won’t solve anything.”, Fuyumi pleaded with me, “If it were any other time, I would happily let you go but I don’t want to stress our mother any more than she already is. My father will end up in the hospital here, and that would be terrible for her mental health.”
“I…I understand.”, I said taking a moment to calm down.
“Pushover.”, Enji jabbed.
“Dad!!”, the three siblings spat in anger.
Being rebuked by all three of his children at once, Enji began grumbling to himself for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he told us he wasn’t leaving as this marriage could affect his Agency in a negative way. Between the Bolt Family Agency and the one I set up here in Japan, it might come off as Endeavor trying to curry favor with a popular International Hero. Looking at their father in utter shock, I could see that Fuyumi really felt pain from that comment. More concerned about his own reputation than his daughter’s happiness, I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer.
“You are one of the biggest assholes I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. You drove your wife to have a mental breakdown, treated your first three children like rejects, and then have the gall to suggest our marriage is going to upset your Agency.”, I said holding Fuyumi close, “Your daughter is one of the sweetest and kindest women I have ever met. Instead of being bitter about her upbringing, she turned her horrible childhood into something good and now helps elementary school children do the same. I have seen how she goes above and beyond to make each child feel like someone actually cares about them. Her kind and caring heart is the exact reason why I want to be her husband, I want to support her work and walk alongside her.”
Burying her face in my shirt to avoid letting her siblings see her bright red face, I caught a brief glimpse of the happy smile on her face. Holding her tightly, I stared at Enji like he was a blight on the world. After a few moments, I suggested that the four of us head to their mother’s room and leave their father behind. Nodding their heads, the brothers agreed with me and showed me the way there.
“Wait a second!”, Enji protested as we left him behind.
Heading straight to her room, Fuyumi headed in first to make sure her mother was decent. Leaving me in the hall with her brothers for a moment, the two looked at me with serious expressions.
“Thank you for saying that about our sister…”, Shoto said with an apologetic look, “I may not agree with your harem ideology…but I can tell you care a lot about our sister. Please take care of her, she deserves the very best life possible. When Mom ended up coming here, Fuyumi shouldered everything at home and tried taking the place of Mom. She deserves to have someone like you as a husband.”
“Agreed, thank you for cherishing her…all of the men before you wanted to use our sister to be close to our dad. You are the first to stand up to him and defend her without hesitation. Please take good care of our sister.”, Natsuo told me, “Both of us approve of your marriage.”
Before I could answer them, a loud crashing sound came from within the room. Thinking that one of them might need help, we went to open the door but quickly stopped when Fuyumi called out for her brothers.
“Natsuo…Shoto…can you please come in and help clean up? Mom dropped her food tray again.”, Fuyumi said in a panic.
“No I didn’t, you were just eavesdropping through the door and your brothers caught you off guard.”, her mother teased her, “Cole, can you please give us a minute? I promise this won’t take long.”
Excusing themselves to go help out, I stayed out in the hall waiting for permission to enter the room.
—3rd Person POV, Youkai Head Villiage—
Excusing herself from their game, Yasaka sensed that a Devil was approaching their village. Setting her phone down, the Kitsune immediately ran out of her home and began ringing the alarm bell. Dropping everything they had in their hands, families grabbed their children and immediately began retreating to the village storehouse. Forgetting all about calling Cole, as she knew this Devil well, all she could think about was images of her parents being dragged away in her mind.
Arriving at the outskirts of the village as people were still fleeing, Rizevim began taking aim at the villagers. Wanting to vent the remaining anger he held on the villagers, the Devil was more than happy to use some of them as target practice. Raising his hand and pointing at a mother and her child, he was about to strike them down when several Foxfire orbs came flying at him.
Casually batting them out of the way, he was about to hit the last one but stopped when he sensed something was different about it. Sensing power demonic aura radiating from it, Rizevim instinctively dodged as he felt certain it could kill him. Turning his attention toward the direction they came from, he saw Yasaka running toward him seething with rage.
“You will not harm my people any further, Murderer!!”, she yelled launching several dozen more orbs at him, “Leave this place now before I send you to the afterlife.”
“That is laughable, you gain a little more power and a few tricks then suddenly think you can beat me!”, Rizevim mocked her, “You’ve grown up very nicely, you certainly look just like your mother. I was right to have you spared this whole time, you’ll make an excellent test subject for my experiments.”
Hearing the mention of her beloved mother, Yasaka's vision turned red as her power surged rapidly. Taken aback by the power she was radiating, Rizevim was surprised that Leviathan’s information was true. He had thought the Devil King was lying to him as some sort of joke, he didn’t think the Youkai Faction had gained such a powerful fighter overnight.
“This was well worth the trip here.”, he replied as he cracked his neck, “You might honestly serve as a good warm-up though. Hopefully your Protector shows up soon as this won’t take long at all.”
Forming a magic circle in each hand, the two fighters began duking out while the villagers watched on in fear. Destroying part of the village in the initial clash, Yasaka turned into her beast form and began bombarding Rizevim trying to corner him. Using his own spells to counter most of her magic, the black flame orbs proved to be too difficult for his power to overcome. Sensing that she hadn’t perfectly learned to control the power yet, Rizevim knew that he just had to wait for her to wear herself, and this victory would be his.
“We need to summon Lord Cole!”, one of the villagers shouted, “Lady Yasaka can’t maintain this barrage forever!!”
“Isn’t the Summoning Device on her?!”, another villager remarked.
“Someone go check her home now!!”, an elder commanded.
As no one want to risk their life, the villagers began bickering with each other while the fighting continued. Watching the adults waste time, one of the in-training Mikos knew something needed to be done. Nervously making her way out of the building, the young girl bolted for Yasaka’s house and began desperately searching for the device in question.
—Cole POV—
“Fuyumi…”, I said with an irritated expression as we walked up to the front desk, “I thought it was just going to be us.”
“I swear I didn’t know…”, Fuyumi sighed looking at her siblings for an answer.
“Sorry…he overheard us talking.”, Shoto stated bowing his head with Natsuo.
“Is there a problem with me being here?”, Enji inquired as he looked at me with annoyance, “Fuyumi, why are you still with this man? I thought I made it clear that he doesn’t fit the family well.”
Sensing that I was about to deck her father, Fuyumi immediately got between us and pleaded with me not to hurt him. Reminding me that we had a Family Hero Agency to worry about, beating up her father would be terrible press for us and could damage the other’s reputation. Turning to her father she immediately told him to stop antagonizing me and to go home as their mother didn’t want to see him right now.
Telling his daughter that he was staying whether she wanted him to or not, Enji stated that my trying to join the family meant everyone should have a say. Wanting to tell him to fuck off because I was joining whether he wanted me to or not, the Head Nurse interjected before I could and insisted that we take this discussion elsewhere.
“You are disturbing those waiting to be seen by doctors. Please do not cause any further issues, or I will have security show you out.”, the Head Nurse scolded us.
Having gotten more heated than I realized, I had subconsciously been leaking out Killing Intent which was making it hard for some people to breathe. Apologizing to the people in the lobby for what was going on I suggested that Enji and I take this outside. Agreeing with my suggestion, we were about to go out when Fuyumi pulled me back.
“Cole please don’t, just this once please let it go for me. I really want you to meet our mother, and beating him up won’t solve anything.”, Fuyumi pleaded with me, “If it were any other time, I would happily let you go but I don’t want to stress our mother any more than she already is. My father will end up in the hospital here, and that would be terrible for her mental health.”
“I…I understand.”, I said taking a moment to calm down.
“Pushover.”, Enji jabbed.
“Dad!!”, the three siblings spat in anger.
Being rebuked by all three of his children at once, Enji began grumbling to himself for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he told us he wasn’t leaving as this marriage could affect his Agency in a negative way. Between the Bolt Family Agency and the one I set up here in Japan, it might come off as Endeavor trying to curry favor with a popular International Hero. Looking at their father in utter shock, I could see that Fuyumi really felt pain from that comment. More concerned about his own reputation than his daughter’s happiness, I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer.
“You are one of the biggest assholes I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. You drove your wife to have a mental breakdown, treated your first three children like rejects, and then have the gall to suggest our marriage is going to upset your Agency.”, I said holding Fuyumi close, “Your daughter is one of the sweetest and kindest women I have ever met. Instead of being bitter about her upbringing, she turned her horrible childhood into something good and now helps elementary school children do the same. I have seen how she goes above and beyond to make each child feel like someone actually cares about them. Her kind and caring heart is the exact reason why I want to be her husband, I want to support her work and walk alongside her.”
Burying her face in my shirt to avoid letting her siblings see her bright red face, I caught a brief glimpse of the happy smile on her face. Holding her tightly, I stared at Enji like he was a blight on the world. After a few moments, I suggested that the four of us head to their mother’s room and leave their father behind. Nodding their heads, the brothers agreed with me and showed me the way there.
“Wait a second!”, Enji protested as we left him behind.
Heading straight to her room, Fuyumi headed in first to make sure her mother was decent. Leaving me in the hall with her brothers for a moment, the two looked at me with serious expressions.
“Thank you for saying that about our sister…”, Shoto said with an apologetic look, “I may not agree with your harem ideology…but I can tell you care a lot about our sister. Please take care of her, she deserves the very best life possible. When Mom ended up coming here, Fuyumi shouldered everything at home and tried taking the place of Mom. She deserves to have someone like you as a husband.”
“Agreed, thank you for cherishing her…all of the men before you wanted to use our sister to be close to our dad. You are the first to stand up to him and defend her without hesitation. Please take good care of our sister.”, Natsuo told me, “Both of us approve of your marriage.”
Before I could answer them, a loud crashing sound came from within the room. Thinking that one of them might need help, we went to open the door but quickly stopped when Fuyumi called out for her brothers.
“Natsuo…Shoto…can you please come in and help clean up? Mom dropped her food tray again.”, Fuyumi said in a panic.
“No I didn’t, you were just eavesdropping through the door and your brothers caught you off guard.”, her mother teased her, “Cole, can you please give us a minute? I promise this won’t take long.”
Excusing themselves to go help out, I stayed out in the hall waiting for permission to enter the room.
—3rd Person POV, Youkai Head Villiage—
Excusing herself from their game, Yasaka sensed that a Devil was approaching their village. Setting her phone down, the Kitsune immediately ran out of her home and began ringing the alarm bell. Dropping everything they had in their hands, families grabbed their children and immediately began retreating to the village storehouse. Forgetting all about calling Cole, as she knew this Devil well, all she could think about was images of her parents being dragged away in her mind.
Arriving at the outskirts of the village as people were still fleeing, Rizevim began taking aim at the villagers. Wanting to vent the remaining anger he held on the villagers, the Devil was more than happy to use some of them as target practice. Raising his hand and pointing at a mother and her child, he was about to strike them down when several Foxfire orbs came flying at him.
Casually batting them out of the way, he was about to hit the last one but stopped when he sensed something was different about it. Sensing power demonic aura radiating from it, Rizevim instinctively dodged as he felt certain it could kill him. Turning his attention toward the direction they came from, he saw Yasaka running toward him seething with rage.
“You will not harm my people any further, Murderer!!”, she yelled launching several dozen more orbs at him, “Leave this place now before I send you to the afterlife.”
“That is laughable, you gain a little more power and a few tricks then suddenly think you can beat me!”, Rizevim mocked her, “You’ve grown up very nicely, you certainly look just like your mother. I was right to have you spared this whole time, you’ll make an excellent test subject for my experiments.”
Hearing the mention of her beloved mother, Yasaka's vision turned red as her power surged rapidly. Taken aback by the power she was radiating, Rizevim was surprised that Leviathan’s information was true. He had thought the Devil King was lying to him as some sort of joke, he didn’t think the Youkai Faction had gained such a powerful fighter overnight.
“This was well worth the trip here.”, he replied as he cracked his neck, “You might honestly serve as a good warm-up though. Hopefully your Protector shows up soon as this won’t take long at all.”
Forming a magic circle in each hand, the two fighters began duking out while the villagers watched on in fear. Destroying part of the village in the initial clash, Yasaka turned into her beast form and began bombarding Rizevim trying to corner him. Using his own spells to counter most of her magic, the black flame orbs proved to be too difficult for his power to overcome. Sensing that she hadn’t perfectly learned to control the power yet, Rizevim knew that he just had to wait for her to wear herself, and this victory would be his.
“We need to summon Lord Cole!”, one of the villagers shouted, “Lady Yasaka can’t maintain this barrage forever!!”
“Isn’t the Summoning Device on her?!”, another villager remarked.
“Someone go check her home now!!”, an elder commanded.
As no one want to risk their life, the villagers began bickering with each other while the fighting continued. Watching the adults waste time, one of the in-training Mikos knew something needed to be done. Nervously making her way out of the building, the young girl bolted for Yasaka’s house and began desperately searching for the device in question.
