Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the OCs I create.
Urakyoto – Main Building Meeting Room
-Yasaka -
"Mum, when are they getting here? Is it true that they look like plants with 8 arms, like an octopus? That's what Grandpa Kenzo said."
Softly laughing at my daughter's enthusiasm, I entertain her while we wait. "Well, honey, we're not sure what they look like; this'll be the first time we'll see one from their clan members, and they'll be here any minute now. You remember what to do, right?"
Sticking her tongue out at me, she responds, "Yes, Mum, I remember."
Poking her cheek "Good, once introductions are over, all you have to do is watch how the meeting unfolds. I know it'll be boring, but this is to show you how I handle meetings for the day you take over from me, and maybe afterwards we can go get some ice cream."
Eyes lighting up from the idea of ice cream, she says, "REALLY? You promise no take-backs?"
Giggling, I say, "Yes really, I promise, pinky swear."
*Knock, Knock.*
After pinky promising her, we both hear a knock at the door. Standing up to present ourselves properly for our guests, I say, "Enter."
The door opens, and Hiromi is first to come inside, with the guests following slightly behind her, carrying two bags with them. They must be the products they wish to show; she begins introducing our guests shortly after they have stepped into the room.
"Presenting Lord Mamoru and the young Lord Souta of the Koropokkuru Clan to you, Lady Yasaka and the young Lady Kunou." After finishing the introductions, we both bow to each other in greetings.
"Thank you, Hiromi. If we need anything, I shall call for you." I say, as Hiromi bows and quietly leaves the room.
"Welcome to Urakyoto, home to the Western Yokai Faction. I hope it's not too much trouble to have my daughter watch as we go over the details of the meeting." I say, as I look them both over.
Both have emerald hair, brown eyes and soft features, the father looking a bit older with some stubble. The father has kept eye contact the whole time, while the young man is taking everything in around the room before finally settling on myself, maintaining eye contact as best he can before his eyes finally droop a bit lower, making me raise my hand to my mouth and give a cheeky smirk towards him as he looks back up, his face going red as he looks me in the eyes. Oh, he'll be fun to play with.
I can't really blame him for it; I do look very good in this Miko outfit if I say so myself. Even little Kunou is matching with me today, but she still has a lot of growing to do first before she catches up to me.
Looking back towards both of them, I try and get a feel for their Yoki, and to say it's baffling would be putting it lightly. To the point, I could almost call them a common plant if I wasn't already looking at them. I believe Kunou noticed as well.
Maybe they are plants after all.
- Souta -
'I'm in danger' is all I can think of after seeing her smirk at me for looking at her very wonderful bust, and who can blame me? I'm a healthy young man.
Taking a peek towards Dad shows he is slightly smirking as well. Great, I'll never hear the end of it after this.
Looking towards the last member of the room, she is clearly dressed in the same outfit as her mother and is trying to imitate her in the way she moves and acts, which is very cute. As she looks towards me, I make myself go cross-eyed and stick my tongue out at her. Caught off guard, she can't help but crack a smile before quickly correcting herself as she pouts slightly towards me as if to say I've committed a grave offence, earning a smile from me.
*Cough*
A cough catches my attention as I look towards Dad to see him looking pointedly at me, earning a sheepish smile from me.
"Sorry about my son; it's his first time in this type of setting," he says while bowing lightly.
"Oh, not to worry; it's also my daughter's first time as well, I'm getting her used to more meetings. If it's not too much trouble, we can forgo the formalities to make it easier on them both." She asks with a small smile on her face.
"I have no issues with that; you may call me Mamoru and my son Souta." He says nodding.
"Great, and you may call me Yasaka and my daughter Kunou, also Kunou. I see you fidgeting. You may ask them if you wish, but if they do not wish to answer, then leave it at that, ok, dear?" as she looks to the side towards Kunou.
I wonder what she wants to know, as I take a drink of the water provided.
"Ah, erm, is it true you are plant people?"
*Cough Cough*
"What?" I manage to get out while choking on the water.
Dad just laughs out loud on the side until he says, "I can see where you get the idea from, but no, we are not plant people; our clan is good at staying hidden, so that feeling you feel in our Yoki is the clan's way of hiding. To you, we just seem like normal plants."
"Ooooh, that's nice," she says, happy with the response.
"If I may add, is there a reason you're in your human form and not your yokai form?" Yasaka asks politely.
Giving a wry smile, Dad says, "How do I put this? It's not that we can't show our yokai forms, but it would be like us trying to touch one of your tails. We only really show our forms to people we can truly trust."
"I see, thank you for letting us know, and it is as you say, our tails are very important to us, so I can understand only allowing people you trust to see your forms. Who knows, maybe one day we'll be getting along enough for you to show us," she says while winking towards me.
Fighting off another blush, all I can do is nod.
Coughing into my hand, I say, "Right, to business then."
Chittering a laugh at my reply, she says, "According to the letter, you wished to present a product that was one of a kind in exchange for what I am assuming are resources or protection while selling your products. The question is, why us and not one of the other factions?"
"That's correct; we decided to come to you instead of any of the other factions because we have heard of how you rule over the western faction. You have so many yokai clans under you, and yet they still listen. While they may not be truly aggressive yokai, there is bound to be some friction among them, and yet you've dealt with any disagreements that have come along and have earned their trust and loyalty along the way," my dad says before continuing.
"And personally I am just looking out for what's best for my son, which I'm sure you can relate to. While it may have been his idea to ask for this meeting, I would never have gone along with it if I didn't believe you had the ability to provide what we are asking for, and while the other factions see the western yokai as weaker than most other factions, we believe that's something my son can help you with."
"But if what we show you is leaked to the other factions, then they will do anything to find my son, at least until he is strong enough to become a deterrent of his own, which I believe he can." Looking towards Dad, I can't help but smile at how much trust he has in me and my potential.
Smile. gone for more of a pensive look Yasaka says, "While that is a lot of trust you are giving me, I can assure you I won't break it, and I will try my best to uphold any agreement we come to today, and should it not work out, then anything said today shall be kept secret; of that you have my word, but if you can truly offer a way for us as a faction to become stronger, then I will personally see to anything you will need."
Smiling, Dad says, "Thank you. That's all we are asking for. The last thing I want for my son is to be forced into another faction against his will, like those vile evil pieces, just another form of slavery painted in a different light for those who don't know any better, forever bound to their master, and if they wish to escape, they can't unless they wish to become a mutated beast."
Scowling, Yasaka replies, "Yes, truly disgusting creations. The number of people I've lost to those things has truly angered me, and not to mention the massacre of the Nekoshou, it's safe to say any devil caught in our territory is held prisoner and executed depending on the offence they have committed."
Nodding, my dad looks towards me while smiling and says, "Souta, you can bring out the products now; I'm sure they're curious to know what we've brought to the table."
Nodding back, I grab the bags and bring out each of the wooden boxes holding the fruits. Opening each lid, I turn them around and push them towards Yasaka and her daughter while saying, "Please do not eat them, as there is no reversing the effect once you have, none that I have discovered yet anyway. You'll notice a slip on each fruit; this will tell you the name and ability provided by each one. Please read through them and let me know what you think."
Nodding towards me, she lifts the first paper off the fruit and begins to read through each of them.
"T-this is unbelievable. Are you saying each of these fruits provides the abilities stated with no drawbacks other than their natural weaknesses? Forgive my disbelief, but this just doesn't seem possible." She says while looking at each of the fruits.
"I understand. I didn't quite believe it at first until my son showed them to me himself, but as they say, seeing is believing, so that's why I will eat one of these fruits to show you what they can do is indeed true," Dad says to my shock.
"WHAT!! But Dad."
"No, Souta, I know you probably wanted to create a better fruit for me, but for this deal to pass, you must be able to prove that these fruits can do as you say, and the best way is for me to prove it; otherwise, she would just be betting on our word. We have come here as an unknown trusting us to grant powers with no drawbacks, plus this way you don't have to eat it and can make yourself a better fruit on your travels, and as you said, you might not have found a way to remove the fruits, but there is a chance you still could."
"Dad, ok, I won't stop you, but please at least eat the string or clay fruit," I said, letting out a wet smile at him doing this for me.
"I think I'll go with clay," he says, reaching towards the clay fruits box which Yasaka pushed towards him once he said that. Picking up the clay-looking pear, he eats it as everyone watches on.
"Probably the best pear I've ever had. Now don't be alarmed, but I can feel what I need to do." He says, holding out his hand as clay starts dripping and forming into a two-handed mace, which he hardens, much to the shock of both Yasaka and her daughter.
"U-unbelievable, it's true. May I test the strength of the mace?" Yasaka says, shocked at what she has just seen.
"Sure," he says as he passes over the mace, which she proceeds to clench her hand over the head of until finally it cracks.
"That took me up to the peak of high-class strength to break; this is truly amazing." She breathes out the words, almost whispering to herself.
"And that's not all they do; once you eat a fruit, your physique changes to allow for improved growth into superhuman levels and beyond if you are willing to put the training in, as well as being able to use 3 types of what I like to call 'Haki'." I say while she's absorbed with the power of the fruits.
"The first is Observation Haki. It allows the user to use a sort of sixth sense that allows them to sense the presence, strength and emotions of others, and those that truly push observation to the limits can gain limited precognitive abilities."
"The second is Armament Haki. This allows the user to use their own spiritual energy to create a sort of invisible armour on any part of their body; this grants them incredible offensive and defensive power. Armament also provides the ability to hit other devil fruit users who are usually unable to be hit, Logia fruits being the main example of this. You can also imbue other objects with Armament, and those who are more advanced with it may emit it outside of their own body without a medium, or the most advanced technique is to apply it to something else internally to cause destruction."
"It's not dissimilar to Touki in a way, but from what I've looked up, Touki shows itself more externally than Armament would." I take a sip of water before moving onto the most important one.
"And finally, this one I left until last because it's not guaranteed that people who eat the fruits I provide will be able to use it. This Haki is called the Supreme King Haki. What this does is allow the user to assert their will over others to dominate them and cause those with weaker spirits to be intimidated or outright lose consciousness. As I said, there is no way to unlock this Haki; unlike the other two, only those who bear the quality of kings, otherwise known as supreme rulers, are able to use this Haki."
"Amazing, and every fruit grants this? How did you figure out how to make something like this? Surely it should have been done before." She says in amazement at what the fruits truly provide.
Looking towards Dad as he nods before I decided to answer, "Well, the nature manipulation our clan is known for mutated for me which allowed me to make these fruits. When we get more materials for the fruits, I can show you the process at some point."
"I see now what you meant when people would be after your son. I apologise if me not fully believing you about the fruit's abilities offended you, but I must look out for my people in case the fruits were intended to do harm." She says, smiling lightly.
"Could you please tell me what each of these fruit types means?" She asks.
"Ah, right, well, Logia grants the ability to transform into an element of nature at will as well as create and control that element. Zoan, on the other hand, grants the ability to transform into a certain animal or creature of various species as well as hybrid forms, and finally, Paramecia grants the ability to have basically any power other than the ability to transform like the first 2 types of fruits. I believe Paramecia will have the most diverse collection when I make more due to the sheer number of things it can become." I say, explaining each type of fruit.
"I also forgot to mention that only one fruit can be eaten per person; if they try to eat another, they will die from the powers tearing them apart from the inside, and now that my dad has eaten the clay fruit, no one else will be able to eat a clay fruit if I were to make another one, it would just taste rancid instead of granting the ability to become or control clay. I am unsure what happens to the power when someone dies with it, but I think the power will go back into the nearest fruit it was made from." I say, grimacing internally at almost forgetting to mention such an important part of the fruits.
"Well, the fruits certainly get more interesting the more you talk about them. I am willing to agree to a deal with both of you. What I'm offering is any harder-to-obtain resources that you may require to make these fruits and protection for both you and your father. Should you agree to this offer, then what we would like in exchange for this is to have first choice for fruits you are willing to trade and for you to join the Western Yokai Faction." she declares
"We can agree to that; we would also like to ask that you keep the fact that I made them hidden from anyone but you and your daughter currently until we get to know more about those you put your trust in. I will also be running a shop which isn't too far from Urakyoto called Dreamleaf Trader; I will most likely be found at the store unless I'm out gathering materials for more fruits, in which case I will likely be impossible to find with me being in my yokai form to make it easier to search while undetected." I say, covering for the fact that I will actually be in another world.
"That's reasonable. I will provide you with my personal contact details in case you need to contact me. You can call that number or come in person, and I'll have my people know to send you to me."
Nodding, I and Dad also handed over our phone numbers as well.
"The fruits here are yours to keep; just think of it as a start to a great partnership now that we are part of your faction. Also, if you could keep a lookout for any rare materials that have unique properties or relics of any sort, then that will go a long way for making new fruits." I say, smiling.
"Thank you; this means a lot to me. It will be a great way to power up some of my most trusted to push back at some of the other factions wanting to nip at our heels. I will send some of my men out to look for resources and have an audit done of the treasury for you to look over." She says, smiling softly.
"Then I think we are done with the meeting. It was lovely to meet you both, and I hope for a long-lasting partnership." I say, bowing towards them both, as Dad does as well.
"Yes, it has been an honour; please don't be afraid to contact us if you need anything." he says
"And the same to both of you too." She and Kunou also bow in return.
Kunou's eyes are sparkling and ears pointing straight up as she looks towards me and says, "Big brother, can I have a magic fruit too?"
*Guh*
My heart gets pierced by an imaginary arrow as she uses the super-effective puppy dog eyes.
All defences collapsed. I say, "I will keep an eye out for any fruits that will be suited for you, and I will let you have it if your mum says it's ok."
She immediately jumps in place and spins to her mum. "He said I could have one. Is it ok, Mum? Is it?"
Rolling her eyes fondly, Yasaka replies, "Yes, honey, if he finds one that really fits well with you, then I will let you have it." After saying that, Kunou dives towards her mum for a hug, thanking her.
At the end of the day, even if she's involved in a stuffy meeting to practice for when she takes over, she's still just a kid; it must've just been boring sitting there for so long.
[Split]
Kyoto - Dreamleaf Trader
Back in the store, I and Dad are in the lounge area as I'm about to do my first world travel. I had a plant pot set up with a pit in the soil so I could jump into it when I was ready.
After the meeting with Yasaka, the system counted me handing over the fruits as a trade, probably because we are working together now and they are going to be providing resources for me; you won't see me complaining over it.
Unlock Quest:Trade 4/10 Mystic Fruits to unlock[Mouth, What Mouth].
"Have you made sure to double-check that you have everything?" Dad says from behind me.
Letting out a small sigh, I say, "Yes, Dad, we've already double- and triple-checked everything before we left the house. I have spare clothes, a few fruits to make more Mystic Fruits in case where I go doesn't have any for some reason, the 2 ounces of gold you got for me, hygiene items, and survival rations, and I can make shelter in my yokai form if I need to."
Giving a wry smile, he says, "I know, I'm just worried, is all. This is your first time, and from the stories I've heard from your grandparents, these worlds can vary in danger. Making sure you have everything is all I can do for you while I'm here."
Giving him a quick hug, I say, "It's ok, Dad, and I promise I'll be ok. Any sign of danger I can't handle, I'll escape like you told me, and if the world seems doomed, then I'll make a pit and hop straight back."
Grinning as he ruffles my hair, he says, "Go on then, son, before I keep you any longer; we don't want to keep all those women away from your wandering eyes." barking out a laugh at the end.
Blushing while fixing my hair as I grumble out, "It's not my fault they were practically spilling from her clothes."
Holding his hands up, he says, "Ok, ok, I'll stop teasing." Clapping a hand on my shoulder, he continues, "Have fun and stay safe."
Nodding "I will."
Turning towards the pot, I change the bracelet into its leaf form and switch to my yokai form before I hop up to the edge of the plant pot. Turning towards Dad, I give him a small salute, which he smiles at.
Turning to the pit, I pour Yoki into the leaf, which begins lightly glowing; without looking back, I jump straight into the pit.
The first thing I notice is all sorts of coloured mist. Another thing is I can't tell whether I'm the one spinning or the world around me is. After a few moments the speed picks up before I feel a tugging sensation in my stomach and an instinct to jump, which I do, and suddenly the sounds of a forest hit me, and I'm jumping out of a hole under a tree.
Looking around, it's dark, and there is a heavy chill in the air; the trees are massive. Even if I were to be in my human form, they'd be bigger than average.
After a quick scout around the area, I feel safe enough to change back while also putting the leaf bracelet back on. There were a few scary-looking large webs a bit further into the woods, and I really don't want to know what lives there.
Deciding to go the opposite way, I end up wandering for a while until I hear the cracking of twigs and rustling of leaves, snapping my head in the direction I heard it come from, and from behind a tree, I see a centaur walking out.
"Greetings, outsider. I am Firenze. Mercury has spoken of our meeting, child of Man and Fae, while Pluto shows signs of change with each action that you take. Beware the soulless ones lest you be but a husk afterwards. But for now farewell, child; let Jupiter guide you on your path." After saying his piece, he just trots back the way he came.
Well, that was weird.
"Er, nice meeting you too, and thank you for the information." I shout towards him before he goes out of vision within the foliage.
Well, I have an idea of where I might be now.
__________________________________________________________________________
The worlds he goes to I select through the all knowing magical wheel spin, it makes it more interesting for me when making the story and for ideas of different fruits.