On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

After changing to the provided yukata, we all had a late breakfast. I let the others explore and relax, most of the girls, including my mom, auntie Hana, and Marika-san’s mother going to check out the open air baths for females, while my father, uncle and the two Izumi males went to the men’s baths. Still, I had other things to do first, and Chiyo-san agreed. Her granddaughters had gone to the baths, but she, along with the two kami, Shaeula, Eri and my sis, all gathered in my room, where Chiyo-san unfolded a tourist map of Kyoto, with the prominent shrines and temples displayed.

“Here is the current political situation in Kyoto.” She indicated the marks in four colours. “Blue is factionally neutral shrines. As you can see, in Kyoto neutrality is difficult. So foolish.” She shook her head, irritated. “Nearly every shrine in Kyoto is a true one, and all the major ones are, as even shrines and temples destroyed and rebuilt retained their bloodlines and were resettled, or where bloodlines died out to disease, misfortune or war, other shrine families would establish a branch to take over. So I suppose it’s only natural…”

“Hey, what’s the difference between the triangles and the circles?” My sis asked, showing she was paying attention. Seeing my wondering gaze, she stuck her tongue out at me, amused.

“Well, those are the shrines of the faction leaders.” Chiyo-san said. “Though to call Kegon-ji the head of the neutral shrines is wrong. It is just old man Bankei has the largest voice outside of the three factions. So I have labelled it as such.” She sighed. “His shrine is relatively new anyway, built in seventeen twenty-three. Through the line itself is true, having moved from a prior temple that was destroyed. But enough of that.” She continued. “Ryōan-ji is where that old swine Kudou Yasuhide heads the Tsukuyomi faction. They are middle-of-the-road fence-sitters, but should be one you try to gain influence with. Then you likely have to pick any one from the other two. Kiyomizu-dera and the Susanoo faction, led by Uchida Ren, would seem the natural choice, as you have support from Hiroto-kun and the other lesser shrines of the faction from Tokyo. Even so…” she paused, before pointing to the red circle. “… at Kinkaku-ji, Saionji Gin heads the Amaterasu faction. They are the most bold at wishing for the shrines and temples to regain their former influence. He is somewhat of a snake, smug and cunning, but… if you wanted to increase the power of the shrines, he would be your ally. Though he would no doubt want to take the lion’s share of the benefits, the sly bastard.”

“So, blue for neutral, red for Amaterasu, yellow for Tsukuyomi, and green for Susanoo. I see.” My sis declared. “But…” I saw where her finger was pointing, and it was something I had pondered as well.

“Yes, Kinkaku-ji and Ryōan-ji are practically right next door.” Chiyo-san smirked. “The two of them often butt heads.”

“Well, normally that would just be a funny coincidence. But with the Boundary such as it is… that could be problematic.”

“Indeed.” Shaeula agreed. “Any Territories established would likely overlap, causing great-great conflict. I fear kami and more could be caught in the battles.”

“There are sssome who dwell here, I have little doubt.” Shirohebi said, the jade beetle echoing him. “Asss well asss darker beingsss.”

“The Night Parade.” Shaeula clutched my hand tightly, and I squeezed her back reassuringly.

“Yes. And we’ll come into contact with them, I have no doubt. In a way, it’s lucky we are lodging on the outskirts of Kyoto. We can start building a power base here in the Boundary if we need to. Though if we decide for Haru-san to drop her Territory here, that would cause problems in the longer-term, as she wouldn’t be able to leave Kyoto easily then. Hmm… no, what we need is to win over a Candidate from Kyoto, or one that comes to Conclave and has a deployable Territory.”

“See, this is why Eri or I should be able to do that.” My sis said. “Why can’t you help us with that, bro?”

“Silly Aiko.” Eri chided her. “Then you or I would be stuck in Kyoto too. What about school? I don’t care, but you have your Uni exams after Christmas, right?”

“I guess.” My sis was abashed. “Still… it isn’t fair. I want to be able to help more, like Shaeula and Hyacinth does. Hell, even this Shiro girl can, right?”

Not wanting to talk about Shiro now, who was recovering back in Tokyo with the best medical care the military and money could provide, I changed the subject a little. “Well, no use wishing for what we can’t do, but I have some ideas. Give me time, okay, Eri, sis?”

At their nods, I pondered the map. “I think we need to find out where all the Territories are. As well as which ones affect the Material. Since the shrines and temples are largely owned by the families in charge, I expect that we can tell a lot by ether density, though Kyoto seems to have a noticeably higher one than Tokyo in general.”

“Kyoto isss a sssacred place for kami. Many are enssshrined here.” Shirohebi clarified. “Ssspiritual power remainsss freely flowing from the land here.”

“Lucky. Though I guess it has downsides too.” I muttered. “Well, there are also smaller shrines dotted about that might be relevant too. We’ll have to make annotations to the map as appropriate. So, we know what we need to do.” At everyone’s nods, I turned back to Chiyo-san. “So, you are going to go around the neutral shrines, and meet this Bankei-san, right?”

“Indeed. I shall take my lazy granddaughters, when they have finished playing in the hot springs…” She snorted at that. “… and make the rounds, seeing some old faces and new. I will show off the spiritual awakening you bestowed on my granddaughters, and see if I can’t persuade some to try it themselves. You can do it, if needed, right?”

“I can. My skills have gone up, and I’ve been practising a lot on soldiers. I can do thirty without too much trouble.”

“I doubt we will have that many takers.” She laughed. “But if we do, I’ll prioritise. You’ll want to save some strength for the three factions, right?”

“I can assist too-too.” Shaeula promised. “Besides, we will be entering the Boundary here, and I rather-rather expect trouble. We can replenish our aether by defeating the foes that will likely confront us here, can we not-not?”

At that I agreed. “Yeah, and we might well find a decent number of Etherites too, if the Candidates here don’t know the value of them.” That would please Ixitt, and I really want a blue one for Haru-san, so that when she does decide to place her Territory, she can use it to reach Rank 2 with defences near instantly. I don’t regret saving Shiro, not one bit, but even so, losing the blue Etherite was a blow…

“So anyway, I have a question.” Eri asked. “Are all the shrines in factions based on their enshrined kami or god?”

“No, not at all.” Chiyo-san shook her head. “Though some kami naturally lend themselves to one faction or another, the family that runs the shrine will dictate which faction a shrine belongs to, and this may shift over the generations. So… nothing is set in stone. It largely depends on whether they believe that the faith should step out of the shadows and take power.”

“I see.” Eri nodded. “So if we start our own faction, then that wouldn’t be anything strange…”

“Ambitious.” Shaeula laughed, giving Eri a hug, leading to giggles all around. “You are starting to think like a female of Akio’s, I do-do approve!”

Aliyah, who was observing quietly from the corner, choked on her soup, Trey slapping her on the back until she stopped coughing. Seeing that, I rolled my eyes at her, and she had the grace to look down, embarrassed. Damn, and people say I’m a pervert. She’s got cute girls on the brain more than I do. Oh well, she’s a fighter. That could be useful here. Though I hope it won’t be needed, we have to plan for the worst…

“I think setting up a new faction would be nigh-impossible, even with the support of the Hikawa brat and the neutral shrines.” Chiyo-san mused. “But… then, you do have support from Takakura-sama too, I believe. Nobility is disliked, as while they are also hidden in modern times, for many centuries they enjoyed greater power than the shrines. Even so, his words carry weight. Oh well, it is time for me to move these old bones.” Standing, she nodded to us, before opening the door to the female baths, calling her granddaughters, telling them to hurry up and finish.

“All right then. Well, we have some time, want to check out the baths?” My sis said. “You’ve got a private one, right?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Aiko. You should use the communal bath.” Eri said, flushed, and my sis paused.

“Oh. Yeah. That huh? Makes sense. Damn, all three?” she looked at me, and I nodded, a touch shamefaced.

“Wow, damn. You keep blowing my mind, bro. Just… keep it down, all right? I don’t want dad, uncle and auntie getting mad. Besides, Marika-chan is too young to hear that sort of thing, right?”

“We shall be good.” Shaeula promised, standing, pulling me to my feet by the hand she still held. With the other she gestured to Hyacinth. “Come. It is time-time to attend to Akio.”

“Hyacinth is always ready fooor that!” she giggled, and my sis sighed.

“All right. I’m going into the communal bath then. Try not to take too long, I want to do some sightseeing before the boring stuff starts, all right?” with that, she headed into the baths. With Hyacinth and Eri on one side of me, Shaeula on the other, we headed into my private room, past the bedding, and out onto the wooden terrace, where a rather nice hot-spring was bubbling away, casting steam into the warming morning air.

“This is nice.” Eri sighed. “So, shall we go in?”

“Yes, we should.” Shaeula said, tying up her hair with an ornate hair stick, to keep it out of the water. “I did-did rather enjoy when I made love in the bathtub. This should be quite-quite the treat too.” She lifted the hem of her yukata, before wading into the hot water.

“You should rinse off first.” Eri called to her, looking at the wooden buckets, but she just returned a grin.

“Why? We are alone here, and just-just going to get dirty again.”

“It’s bad manners to dirty the spring, but… oh forget it.” Eri too pulled up her yukata, revealing her legs, and stepped in. “This is the perfect temperature!” she sighed happily.

I exchanged a look with Hyacinth. “Well, we might as well get in then, right?”

“I wooould love to!” she giggled. “Akio.” Now that we were alone, well, with just me and what she termed the mistresses, she was back to intimacy with me. Following the lead of the others, she entered the spring, her yukata growing damp and clinging to her curves, turning transparent. Gulping my saliva, I quickly shrugged my own yukata off, and at that I noticed three pairs of eyes, amber, black and violet, all looking at me greedily. Three at once, huh? Is this heaven or hell?

The water was indeed perfect, and I splashed over to the girls. As I did so, Eri loosened the chest part of her wet yukata, and I could see her ample breasts, her nipples hard. She was flushed from both heat and arousal, and on seeing my eager gaze, and my eager dick, as it grew hard on seeing her, she giggled a little. “Like what you see?”

“Always. I can’t believe I was such an idiot to almost let you get away.” I laughed. “I know anime and manga has a huge thing about childhood friends losing, but I’m glad you won!”

“She did not-not win alone.” Shaeula pouted. She had pulled herself out of the water onto the rocks artfully arranged around the spring and spread her legs, short yukata skirt parting to reveal her damp slit, the thin thicket of amber hair around it. Reaching down with one hand she opened it lewdly, and fluid gushed out. “I won you too-too!”

As my gaze strayed from her, Eri went further, her yukata sliding to her waist, and then falling off into the water, which amused me as she had complained about poor bathing manners only a moment before. Her own pussy was then spread open, though doing so clearly embarrassed her. Before I could speak though, I felt a weight against me, as Hyacinth jumped on my back, having already thrown off her own yukata.

“Hyacinth will wash yooour back. Stay still…” I felt her rubbing her ample breasts against my back, and could smell the scent of her hair as it tickled me.

“No fair.” Eri pouted, splashing through the water and grabbing my front. Her breasts pushed against me, and she started rubbing me up and down.

“Hey, you don’t have any soap on you, unlike…” I started to protest, only to have my mouth filled by Shaeula, as she leapt, using her great stats to effortlessly vault over everyone and land on my face, her pussy slamming into me, her arms snaking around me. If not for my own incredible strength I would have fallen, but instead I supported her. My tongue opened up her folds and pushed inside, and as I was familiar with Shaeula’s sensitive spots, she was soon gushing sour love nectars and gasping lewdly, her legs tight around my neck.

“Ah, this… this is bliss.” She moaned. “Eri, did I not-not tell you that to share him would be simply more happiness?”

“I still think there’s plenty we should do alone. And I still have dreams where Akio never moved away from Nishimorioka, none of this happened, and we got married, had children, and lived a peaceful, modest life…” I couldn’t see her expression, my face still full of Shaeula as I licked at her, sucking on her clit, making her shudder with ecstasy. Still, I imagined it was troubled. “… but happy though that would be, it never happened. And this did. And… I’m not unhappy. I like you, Shaeula. I think I like Hyacinth too. Hinata, Motoko, Natsumi… they are good girls, sheltered but kind. As for Shiro… I don’t know her, but I think…” I felt a hand around my iron-hard dick, touching it gently, a finger rubbing on my glans, my precum staining someone’s fingers. “… if Akio never came into this power, he might have ended up with Shiro. So I’ll learn to like her.”

I wanted to answer, but my mouth was full.

“Kana too. If she ever makes the jump. But I’ll kick her ass if she doesn’t shape up. Her personality isn’t one I care for, but I guess she has a little more depth than I thought.” Eri said, before something warm and hot engulfed my penis, and I could feel her tongue twisting lewdly around it. It was a far-cry from her clumsy efforts of before, and perhaps her high stats allowed her to move her tongue so effortlessly. Her wet sounds joined mine, and then after a while Shaeula orgasmed, filling my mouth with her fluids.

“That was… as entertaining… as ever. Oh, how sister Shaeranna would be quite-quite embarrassed to see this.” Shaeula said as I lowered her down. She grinned seeing Eri fellate me, and turned to Hyacinth.

“Up you go.” And at her words Hyacinth needed no invitation, climbing up my back and straddling me. I tasted her love nectar as well, the tastes mingling, and with my free hands I started groping Eri’s chest. She moaned, but continued her pace, and I felt hot magma rising within me. Grabbing her head I pulled her closer, before erupting into my own orgasm, semen pouring into her mouth.

Eri started swallowing, her mouth working, but Shaeula splashed upright, stopping her.

“Do share.” She grinned, opening wide, tongue out. Eri looked shocked for a moment, before leaning over. She hovered above Shaeula, opened her mouth and let some of the sperm flow down, landing on her tongue.

“If you were looking for a kiss, I don’t love you like that.” Eri giggled, before jumping up, far higher than was humanely possible. Hyacinth was open-mouthed and gasping, my tongue stimulating her clit and inner folds, so she had no defence as Eri allowed more of the vast volume of cum I sprayed out to splash down into her open mouth. Stunned, as Eri splashed down Hyacinth licked her lips, swallowing the sticky cargo.

“Thank you, mistress Eri. I appreciate it!” she gasped.

Eri was bright red, but she merely laughed off the thanks. “Well, since Shaeula had sone of my…” she swallowed the rest. “… precious cargo, you should have some too. Seriously, do all guys cum this much, I nearly drowned!” she muttered.

You know, I never used to myself. The volume isn’t normal, my recovery neither. All I can think of is my stats have a big effect on it., which is a godsend, considering… To answer my earlier question, as I pulled Hyacinth down from my face, ignoring her sudden protests, this was indeed heaven, but if I had the stamina and sexual function I used to, it would be surely be hell instead.

“Hyacinth, I’m going to fuck you.” I said crudely, as such firm orders aroused her servile nature. As she stammered her thanks, I slid my dick slowly into her already loose and sopping pussy, water splashing around us, hot and soothing. She started to squeal as I reached deeper and deeper inside her, and I remembered she was very loud during sex. Shit, I promised to keep the noise down. That was achieved as I sealed her mouth with mine, our tongues tangling lasciviously, and with one final thrust I was all in, my dick knocking against her deepest parts.

“It’s… pretty damn lewd watching, isn’t it?” Eri was remaking to Shaeula as I began to thrust, the overflowing junction between Hyacinth and me making ever-lewder squelching sounds, her tongue growing more frantic as I hammered away at her, her body convulsing gently under me as she started having minor orgasms, her body terribly sensitive.

“Yes, I believe it is. But fun, is it not-not?” Shaeula agreed. “Every time we make love together, I feel so much-much closer to you all. I understand my father better now.” I eyed her expression as I continued to savage Hyacinth’s upper and lower mouths with tongue and penis, her body trembling and red, leaking sweat. She was smiling, one I had seldom seen, utterly contented. “Without Akio, I would not-not have known why my father and the others of the Seelie Court love so widely.”

“Well, I don’t want him to love too widely, or there’s less for us!” Eri sighed. “But I understand. I don’t want to, but I do. Still, if anyone he loves betrays him…” her expression was scary then, her obsidian eyes hard. “I’ll murder them…”

“So scary!” Shaeula laughed, and I had to agree. Eri does have yandere tendances, definitely. She’s very jealous and possessive, though she seems to have reconciled those conflicting urges recently. I hope they don’t go in a weird direction…

I could feel Hyacinth melting under me. Her tongue had stopped, though I continued to lick at her, swapping saliva, and I realised I could taste myself too, which was an odd thing. It’s not so nice. Guess I should thank the girls for swallowing. I remember a drunk Aimi-chan telling me and Hayato-san most girls spat it out after oral. Damn, why am I remembering that embarrassing night now?

Going for the final spurt, I accelerated and changed the angle, our wet bodies slapping together. Under my sudden attack Hyacinth was helpless, and her entire body shuddered, arching up out of the water. Her teeth closed, biting down on my tongue, though it felt merely like a hard kiss with my stats, and as she continued to orgasm, liquid streaming from her pussy, I soon joined her, a massive surge of my own cum filling her insides, her womb greedily drinking it down, more and more overspilling, soaking the hot springs. Oops. Bad manners. Well, it looks like the springs drain into the river anyway… sorry fish!

“Akiooo, kiss for Hyacinth?” she managed at last, floating face-up in the spring, and I obliged, this time a gentle one.

“Well, that was rather-rather touching.” Shaeula was sitting on the rocks, legs spread, oozing like a leaking faucet. “It makes me crave it myself. But…” she eyed Eri, who was discretely rubbing herself, her lower body submerged. Her face was crimson and her breath coming fast, as she watched us make love. “…Eri has not come yet. Akio, attend to your first wife, it is not-not good for her to toy with herself too much. It should be your mighty penis that spears her, not her fingers.” She laughed lewdly, licking her lips.

“True.” I patted Hyacinth one last time, groping her large tits, before striding to Eri, my dick, which had lost a little vigour after the sex, rapidly regaining strength. “Eri, wouldn’t you rather have this?” I grabbed my dick with one hand, flourishing it in her face.

“Of course I would!” she leapt out of the water, hugging me. “But you were busy! And I was just so horny… seeing you, tasting you. Damn, I want to be with you all the time!”

“Soon!” I promised her, tangling tongues. I started playing with her pussy myself, flicking and rubbing her already engorged clit, my other hands toying with her breasts. Pretty big, but a bit smaller than Hyacinth’s. But they feel different.

Pulling on her erect nipple made her moan, her tongue accelerating, and once again I could taste both her and me. Turning Eri around, I pushed her so her bottom was sticking out of the water, pussy and twitching asshole clearly visible, embarrassing and arousing her. With her hands on the rocks, she was helpless to stop my assault. Not that she wanted to.

“Akio, I want you!” Eri moaned. “I want this happiness to last forever!”

“And so it shall.” Shaeula padded over, placing her hand on one of Eri’s hands, making sure I could see her pussy and small breasts clearly. Hyacinth dragged her exhausted post-orgasm body to her feet and took her other hand, slumping down so her own pussy and ass was exposed to me. “The three of us, and the others-others. We have foes to overcome, trials to face… but we shall endure, for we are indeed-indeed stronger together!”

“That’s right. Now, let’s become one again, Eri!” I declared, thrusting a finger forwards.

“Wait, what… eeeeeeh?” Eri squealed, body trying to squirm away, but Shaeula, Hyacinth and I were holding her. My finger slid into her ass, gently stroking her insides, and she convulsed, tightening up. “That’s not my vagina!” she cried.

“I know, I thought I’d give this a try. Your body seems to like it.” I let the finger go a little deeper, curving and stroking, and Eri started leaking, pee streaming into the hot spring.

“It’s strange, I feel weird, hot… ahn!” she gasped as my dick suddenly thrust into her urinating pussy with little warning. I slammed into her womb and slid my finger in and out at the same time, my other hand toying with her breasts and nipples.

“This… this is crazy! I feel… feel so weird! My body is on fire! Mother, I’m sorry, Eri is crazy, Eri is a dirty girl who loves it when Akio fucks her!”

“Shh!” I told her. “We are supposed to be quiet, remember?”

That made her tighten up even more, the shame of being overheard somehow thrilling for her, and making her revert to childish speech patterns. Shaeula let her bite down on her hand, stifling her cries and moans, as I continued to assault her with finger and penis. Fuck, this is hot. I think I might be a pervert…

“Ahn… guh… so deep, both… ahn… holes. I think… Eri thinks… she’s a pervert!” she echoed my thought, and that turned me on. My finger slid totally into her ass, and my dick was somehow hitting her even deeper, and I could feel her womb shiver with every thrust. Leaning over to her, I whispered into her ear. “Eri. I love you. I want you to stay with me forever.”

Tears of joy sprang from her eyes at my words, and her orgasm was the largest she had ever experienced, her pussy squeezing my dick tight, her ass sucking at my finger like a greedy mouth. Eyes unfocused, she went limp, but as I was not done, I continued to pound and finger her, pushing her ecstasy higher, until I discharged, cum spraying from her pussy and filling her insides.

“Ah… this warm feeling. Again. I know it well.” She gasped, as my cum streamed down the inside of her thighs, dripping from her slit as I pulled free. As my finger slid from her ass, Shaeula leapt up and started licking it, causing Eri to howl in protest.

“Shaeula! That’s dirty! And embarrassing!”

“Hardly.” She twirled her tongue around my finger lewdly, before bending down and licking off my soiled dick, sucking out the remaining semen in the urethra happily. “It is no-no different to sharing his precious seed.”

“I think it’s a bit different.” Eri sighed. “But I don’t care. I can’t even think straight right now. Oh gods, did… do you think they heard me?” she couldn’t flush any further, but her eyes were damp with embarrassed tears.

“I think sooo.” Hyacinth shrugged. “But they will pretend they did nooot, I imagine. Just go with that, Mistress Eri.”

“That comes later.” Shaeula kissed me greedily, grabbing my dick. A few strokes from her small hands had it hard again, once more making me marvel at the recovery power of a thousand or more physical stats. “I can not-not endure any longer.” She pushed open her cunny with my dick, expertly twisting and flailing her body to stimulate all of it. I was carrying her, my dick popping out of the water to spear her, and from that position I could strike her small body deeply. My free hand roamed over her bottom, and with a savage grin I slid a finger into her asshole as well. She seemed to have expected it, as her kissing became more frantic and the movement of her body changed, to drive my finger in deeply as well.

“You too…” Eri marvelled. “So it looked like that…” her eyes were fixed on where my finger was violating Shaeula’s ass. “… we are so lewd. I should feel shamed, but…”

“But it is looove.” Hyacinth chortled. “Akio did nooot toy with my hole. Am I nooot good enough?” she looked sad, but Eri jumped to my defence.

“I think Akio hasn’t made love to you as much as us yet, so he’s saving that, right?”

I nodded, still sucking on Shaeula’s lips and tongue, the third mingled taste of me and a girl on my own lips. On seeing that, Hyacinth brightened. “I am happy. Hyacinth wooould be sad if she was nooo good!”

Shaeula bit down on my lip then, her nails scratching my back, as she demanded my attention be on her. Apologising silently, I gazed into her bright amber eyes as I continued to thrust up inside her, my finger probing, finding the sensitive spots inside her ass. My other hand polished her clit, and I pulled my mouth free from hers, greedily licking at her nipples.

“Yes, yes… make me yours, dye me with-with your colour!” she cried, and I asked her what colour that was.

“White of course-course!” she cried. “The colour of our lovemaking!”

“Fine then!” I bit down on her nipple, making her shudder, speeding up my thrusts, and my assault on her ass and clit intensified a further step. She was shuddering, sour nectar dripping into the water below, and her hoarse gasps were extremely lewd and lascivious. “Shaeula, you’re a princess and a Duchess, yet you are being ravaged sexually. What would your father and siblings think?” I teased her.

“I do not-not care what they think. If they take… ahn, ugh… issue…” she gasped, her body wriggling and writhing with pleasure. “… then they can … piss off.” She swore, before kissing me deeply.

Damn, is there a cuter princess in the world? If so, I don’t know her… Having made love to Shaeula a number of times now, I knew her body well, and so I shifted, my dick sliding along her entrance with each thrust, piercing her sensitive folds of flesh, her honeypot gushing. Her ass was new to me, but I was getting a feel for it, my finger rubbing at various bumps within, causing her to tighten up with pleasure. Shaeula was moving up and down frantically, matching my thrusts, and as we slapped together, she was starting to shudder, sweat pouring from her flushed flesh.

“Dye meeeeeee!” She cried as our lips pulled apart, her body shaking as she came fiercely, pussy and ass opening and closing wetly, both holes drooling fluids. I wasn’t quite there, the three prior orgasms having depleted me a bit, but I tightened my ass, forcing my body to respond, and as I pistoned into her trembling and dripping body, driving her to a second shuddering orgasm, I gushed out with a long, sharp cry.

“Akio, I love-love you!” She wailed, as in her sitting position, hoisted in the air, her pussy overspilled, more cum joining the water below. She kissed me once more, exhausted, before I sat her down on the rocks, pulling out.

“Hyacinth’s turn…” she chortled, rushing over to suck at the finger I pulled from Shaeula, and as that happened, my eyes met Eri, who looked embarrassed and conflicted.

“Well, we broke in the hot spring.” I said, sitting down beside Shaeula and Eri, only for Hyacinth to go between my legs, licking at my limp penis, having cleaned my finger. I looked surprised, but she grinned at me, taking my penis in, speaking around it. “I want mooore master! Hyacinth is horny again!”

“Well why not? We have time, do we not-not? You want more too, do you not-not, Eri?” Shaeula said, still flushed with her pre-orgasm afterglow.

“I… I do.” Eri admitted, and I held in a sigh, my penis growing hard in Hyacinth’s moist and warm mouth.

Heaven or hell, huh? Damn, if I complained at this, a million lonely men would rise up to condemn me. Thinking such stupid thoughts I reached out, grabbing Hyacinth’s ass and breasts, and she shifted, her asshole twitching. Knowing what she clearly wanted, I let a finger slide inside it, forcing the small hole open…

********

“… I fucking hate you.” were the first words Aliyah said to me as we exited my room a couple of hours later, freshly bathed and dressed in clean yukata. My sis was watching TV along with several other girls, the friends of Kana, mostly, while the others were absent.

“Uh… could you hear?” I asked, and she nodded, frowning sourly.

“Out here, enough, yes. The sliding door is surprisingly good at blocking sound, must be because it’s a damn high-end establishment, so those in the communal baths probably didn’t, but I damn well did.” She shrugged bitterly, chest heaving. “It was in Japanese, but I got the gist of it. All three, right? Fuck me.”

“Language, sis!” Trey declared.

“Shit, yeah… whoops.” She sighed. “Anyway, you have a guest, and she… well, see for yourself.”

My sis gave us a thumbs-up behind her back, causing Eri to blush and Shaeula to snicker, and then my eyes fell on a woman in the corner of the room, in a nice suit, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable.

“Oh. Haru-san. You made it.” I said, shamefaced. Shit, Haru-san is probably traumatised thinking about sex after what happened. That’s not good… Before I could apologise though, Shaeula spoke up.

“Haru, good to see you. Do not-not mind us and our fun. I understand that you suffered, but do not-not let it blind you to the truth, that love between those who care for each other is quite-quite sublime!”

Wow, that’s bold.

“I… I’ll bear that in mind.” She looked down, embarrassed, so I decided to change the subject.

“So, everything go okay?” I asked her, and Haru-san, relieved to be back talking about business, nodded.

“Sorry, some last minute issues came up regarding the new Ministry. You’ve set up the devices for the test site, right?” At my nod she continued. “Well we had to get scientists interviewed, and some of them were insisting on Chirurgery or other similar things as payment instead of money, and we had to start planning the rigorous and robust testing regimen, and then…” as she rattled off a list of problems, I felt a bit sorry for her, still, she was smiling, perhaps glad to be back doing what she had before her… untimely death… even if it was with a twist.

“Well, sounds like it’s been hard. Well, this trip is equally as important, but there should be time for some relaxation too. Speaking of, where is everyone?” I asked.

“Kana and her family had to go meet Hikawa-san.” Mio-san said, looking over at me from where she was sitting, watching TV and eating snacks. “The snake and the beetle are in the bath.” she said, using strange nicknames for them. “They waited until it was empty.”

“Yeah, and the old woman and the others headed off too. You were in the bath ages, Akio-kun.” Asami-san chimed in. Her gaze took in the three satisfied-looking girls with me. “Poor Kana-chan.” She giggled, and strangely enough that earned a look from Takagi-san, who was reading in one corner, though I noticed she was still picking at treats. On seeing my look, she smiled a little.

“Kikuchi-san and her father headed off too. Going to Kinkaku-ji I believe. She said her brother was coming along from Uni too.”

“And our parents went out to go to a nearby pub.” Aiko said, yawning. Looking at Eri she spoke. “You know… seeing as Kana-chan has all her friends here, don’t you think we’re a bit mean? Rika-chan and Yae-chan… they missed out, despite knowing big bro and Shaeula first.”

“I don’t think so. There are quite enough girls around.” Eri pouted. “We don’t need to involve that idiot duo. Do we?”

Shaeula laughed nastily. “I have already been chastised for involving Mio, Asami and Hisano, Akio was quite-quite annoyed. But… you do not-not regret it, do you?” she asked them.

“No way! I’d feel bad for Kana-chan to be doing this all alone!” Mio-san said, and Asami-san echoed her.

“Yeah, besides, someone needs to look out for Kana-chan’s interests. She’s so stubborn!” she giggled.

“I… I’m not sure.” Takagi-san said, pushing at her glasses idly. “I’ve gained a lot from this, I know, but… well, I still don’t get what’s going on. But… I should after this weekend, right?” she said hesitantly.

“Yeah.” I agreed. “This weekend should put everything into perspective.” I went over to her, kneeling down beside her. “But don’t worry. I won’t have you girls doing anything dangerous. Leave that to me and Shaeula.” I grinned.

“Hyacinth toooooo!” she declared, and suddenly a rumbling voice echoed her, Grulgor coming out of the bath in a yukata, muscles rippling, quite the disturbing sight, how annoyingly handsome he was in a rugged sort of way.

“Grul is looking forward to crushing, smashing and breaking some puny foes! It has been too long since we crushed stupid weak fungi!” his laughter was cruel.

“Uh, he’s a bit scary!” Mio-san declared, and Asami-san agreed.

“Well, he’s not going to hurt any of you.” I assured them. “And in a fight he’s a reassuring ally to have.”

“Back on topic…” My sis said. “You really don’t want Rika-chan and Yae-chan? Yae-chan seems to like you a lot, even now. She still talks about that date sometimes.”

“Well, there’s no real benefit. But… well, sis, you know I’ll help you out if you really want something.” I promised.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m desperate for them to join in. Forget it, maybe later.” She grinned. “When you work out a way for us to set up a Territory in Nishimorioka, maybe then, okay! That reminds me, Marika-chan and her family went with Kana’s family. Same faction, right?”

I nodded at that, and realised that was everyone accounted for then. “In that case… we have a little time to kill. Want to go sightseeing? Though we should probably stay away from any shrines right now.” I can use the time to start making note of Territories as well, do double duty…

“Hey, how about this, bro?” Aiko flourished a leaflet at me. “There’s a boat cruise that goes along the Katsura river the other way. It takes us north past several shrines on this map, and supposedly the scenery is amazing. And they provide food and drink!”

“You’ll get fat if you keep stuffing yourself, Aiko!” Eri warned, only for my sis to snort, amused, and shut her down.

“Well, I don’t exercise as vigorously as you do, Eri. It sure sounded like you were working up a sweat.”

As Eri flushed, and more laughter filled the room, I agreed to that suggestion, and we all returned to our rooms to get ready…

********

“So, there was definitely a Territory by Tenryu-ji, and there might have been another one south of the river, though I can’t be sure.” I said, making pencil-marks on the map.

“Wow, bro. I know you want to get stuck in, but seriously, that cruise was simply gorgeous.” My sis said. We had all changed to street clothes, and had drawn little attention, though we had spotted a number of shrine maidens and priests on the shores going to and fro. “You should appreciate it more!”

“I did, I did!” I promised, and indeed, it was nice, the trees lining the shore were in their autumn foliage, reds and oranges extremely attractive, and a fitting match for Kyoto, with all its shrines. “Did everyone else?”

Eri nodded happily, and Shaeula agreed that the sight was quite an entertaining one, hoping that the Spring of Clear Reflections would be reforested in such a fashion soon. Kana’s school friends were equally impressed, revelling in the fact they got to skip school to have fun.

“Easy job.” Aliyah said, and Trey agreed with a slight smile. “If only all escort missions were this smooth. But you don’t need us there, do you? You can handle anything yourself.” She snorted.

“True, but they need to get used to you.” I gestured to the girls. “If a situation happens, you get them to safety, no matter what.”

“Fine. You’re the boss.” Trey agreed once more.

We were back at our lodgings, and it would soon be time for people to start returning. Indeed, the first group back came a few minutes later, our parents, looking rather tipsy. My mother was half-asleep, with a contented smile on her face, and a drunk auntie Hana stomped over when she saw us, Shaeula, Eri and Hyacinth by my side, Eri lying on my lap, using me as a pillow.

“Did the four of you have fun?” She said, expression tense. “You were so loud… ugh, my poor little Eri…”

“Poor? Hardly.” Eri disagreed. “I had my fair share. Nobody lost out. Though Akio was the winner.” She grinned brightly, which embarrassed her mother. “Anyway, you all look worse for wear. Why not let Akio fix you up?”

“I shall do it. You can stay-stay there, you look rather content.” Shaeula grinned, standing. She went to mom first, and placed a hand on her stomach. Aether flowed, and she blinked, coming back to full awareness.

“Wow.” she echoed her daughter. “I feel great all of a sudden. That’s a great talent, daughter-in-law.”

“Yes, it is, is it not-not, mother-in-law.” Shaeula asserted her status in front of auntie Hana. “Now allow me to cleanse the rest of you.” Even auntie did not refuse, and soon everyone was sober again, though I did wonder what was the point of drinking if one didn’t stay drunk.

“Well, now we wait for everyone else to return… wait, my phone is ringing.” Since Eri was on my lap, Hyacinth slid a hand into my pocket to retrieve it, though it took a while as she made sure to grope me thoroughly while doing it, before handing it to me with a grin. On seeing the caller, I was a little surprised. Takakura-san, huh?

“Good afternoon.” I said. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“I will cut to the chase.” He eschewed the pleasantries. “I know you are already in Kyoto. I arrived earlier, and have already had fruitful discussions with one faction. And they wish to meet you. Come to Ryōan-ji as soon as you can. Kudou-san, head of the faction, he wishes to see you with his own eyes. After all, he does love his granddaughter so.”

Kudou Yasuhide? Yeah, I did perform Chirurgery on Kudou Shiori when I did the three granddaughters of Takakura-san… Well, I don’t think I can turn down this opportunity. I agreed to attend forthwith, and hung up. “All right then. Shaeula, Hyacinth, you two are with me. Grulgor, Aliyah, Trey, you three are in charge of security. When everyone else returns, let them know where we went.”

“Aww, I can’t come?” My sis complained, but I shook my head. “Not this time. Don’t worry, your time to shine will come. You and Eri can hang out, talk to the other girls.”

“Fine.” She sighed. “That reminds me… we should check to see if there’s any more info on that guerrilla concert…”

“All right then. This is a big deal, so we need to do the best we can.” Shaeula and Hyacinth nodded. And with that we set out for the docks, for a boat to take us back to Kyoto proper…