"Yasaka?" Kenshin repeated the name under his breath, trying to familiarize himself with it and perhaps, to try and recall any fictional characters with similar names.
Unfortunately, nothing came up, so he was left with no choice but to ask for more information.
"Yokai? You mean, the monsters in the myths?" Yasaka bore a hurt expression as if his words caused her pain.
"Ouch~ Yokai's aren't monsters, you know? Our appearances just tend to be exaggerated by the humans back then." As Yasaka explained, Kenshin then pointed at the pair of fluffy ears on top of her head.
"Then does that mean these are real?"
As if to answer him, the pair of ears twitched and moved, giving the answer he was looking for.
"Amazing…." Don't get him wrong. This is the first time he's witnessed a Yokai, someone who looks like a human but mixed with animal features.
Back in the world of Fantazio, such a race doesn't exist.
There are only humans, elves, dwarves, beasts, monsters, fairies, spirits, and finally, the demons.
One might think that a Yokai is close to the beast species.
It's wrong. Beast people are inherently evil, unlike monsters who simply do what their bodily instincts tell them to do.
Not only beast people are impossible to communicate with but they're also violent towards all species including monsters and demons.
Not to mention, their appearance, they're shaped like humanoid beings but their bodies are filled with hair and their faces are extremely hideous.
That's part of the reason why Kenshin hunted them through every corner of the world of Fantazio.
"Wait. You just said that my pieces of jewelry might be cursed or something?" Kenshin recalled her first words and asked, in which she nodded her head.
"Yes. Although I don't feel anything ominous about it but it's definitely unique and there's something about it." Yasaka explained.
"Well, if it's not that dangerous then I don't mind." Kenshin shrugged his shoulders, lying even though knowing the truth.
"Are you crazy? You don't even know what it could do to you!" Yasaka gasped in surprise and tried to talk him out of it, thinking he was an ignorant human.
"But it's magic and unpredictable. It should be fun, right?" Kenshin grinned and said, making Yasaka pout.
"Do you even hear the words I just said? Are you looking to die?" She huffed.
"Not exactly, I still have a few goals that I need to fulfill before dying," Kenshin replied, sparking curiosity from the other party.
"And that is?"
"Getting myself a girlfriend, marrying her, and settling somewhere peaceful and quiet."
As soon as he finished his words, Yasaka's face grew red and she instantly looked away from him.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, someone from the bus was watching their interaction.
'Really? Two gay couples on a bus? Cut me some slack!' Due to Yasaka's appearance being disguised as an average-looking male, the person mistook their interaction for two males flirting.
'I-Is he talking about me or?' She wondered silently in her mind.
"Well, what are your tastes in women?" Yasaka leaned towards him and asked with a mix of curiosity and expectation.
"Taste in women? Let's see…." Kenshin contemplated her words and started shuffling through every single woman he could remember from his memories.
The Milf, those mommy vibes with mommy milkers could make even the strongest man kneel.
The Cuties, cute ones, short height but cute faces.
Then there are the average ones that have the main heroine energy and vibes.
"I'm not sure though surely, I'd go for anything, personality, beauty, or body. Anything that makes a woman, a woman." Hearing his words, Yasaka covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Are you serious? Really?"
"Why? Is there a problem?" Kenshin's mouth twitched several times before asking.
"Nothing. You're not that good with women, are you?" Kenshin's face freezing up was enough for the large bosom of a woman to chuckle again.
"I knew it."
"Sigh. What gave it away?" With a sigh, Kenshin gave a wry smile while asking.
"Nothing. It's just that you're the first guy I hear those kinds of words from. Man have their standards with women and so are the women." Yasaka explained calmly, taking charge of Kenshin's incoming adulthood.
"I guess I'm just different then. I don't set any standards when it comes to women. Though if I were to make one, I'd say you fit all the criteria."
As soon as he dropped his words, it was Yasaka's turn to freeze, her cheeks gaining a tint of red.
In Kenshin's perspective, he was mentally jumping with a victory sign.
'Achievement: Make a girl blush with a pick-up line!'
"So do I really fit these criteria of yours, hm?" After recovering, Yasaka slightly leaned forward, giving Kenshin a seductive look.
Her cleavage almost spilled out of the golden kimono she was wearing.
'Woman, your tits are falling out!' Kenshin screamed in his mind, activating all of his passive and active abilities that make his will strong.
'Don't get hard, Kenshin. Don't do it.' A sense of ease and serenity flashed through his mind, granting him a rare state of calmness and tranquility.
"Are you okay? You're turning red." To strike the metal while it was hot, Yasaka leaned even more until her bosom was now pressing on his arm, her hand snaking towards his forehead.
"You're hot~" She whispered, her words having double meaning.
Gulp!
What would you do when there's a literal mommy material with such an intoxicating scent flirting with you?
"Am I?" Kenshin asked and the two of them stared at each other, much to the displease of the man who had been watching their interaction.
'A-Are they about to kiss each other? Really? In public?' The man screamed in his mind, not knowing whether to cover his eyes and stop watching such an intimate relationship between two grown men.
In the end, it was Yasaka who backed away, a trace of sorrow flashing on her face, and quickly covered it up just before Kenshin could notice it.
Unfortunately, Kenhin wasn't who she thought a human, as he was able to notice the change in her face.
"What're you sad about?" Kenshin furrowed his eyebrows and asked with concern.
"You actually saw that?" Yasaka's eyes widened in surprise before blushing upon realizing that Kenshin saw a moment of her vulnerability.
"I'm a very good observer," Kenshin answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
With a final sigh, Yasaka decided to open up slightly to Kenshin.
"….I'm supposed to validate my engagement with a noble today…." As soon as he heard her words, his jaw dropped.
"Wow. I didn't know you were already engaged." Kenshin shuffled in his seat uncomfortably.
Seeing this, Yasaka went into panic mode and quickly assured him.
"But I ran away. I didn't like him." Seeing his discomfort fading away, Yasaka sighed in relief for reasons she was unaware.
"Aren't you in trouble then? He's a noble, right?" Kenshin asked with confusion.
"Haha~ no, although he's a noble but I have a far higher status than him."
"Oh really? Then what's your position? A duke? A princess perhaps?" He asked though he felt like she was more of a Queen than a princess, but considering what she looked like, she might be the latter guess.
"You're kind of right. I'm a princess, though not exactly, I'm just an heir to my mother's throne as the Queen of Kyoto Yokai Faction."
"…" Kenshin deadpanned at her.
"You don't believe me, don't you?" Yasaka pouted and crossed her arms under her large bosom.
"Not exactly. It's just not what I was expecting more of a Queen than a princess."
"What made you say that?" Yasaka giggled and asked, her eyes flickering with an expectant gaze.
"How do I say this? You look too good to be a princess. And…and…" Kenshin gulped nervously as his eyes unconsciously wandered lower.
Yasaka noticed this mentally smirked, inhaling deeply while puffing out her chest in pride, a rare treasure that she inherited from her mother.
"And?" Yasaka grinned and she leaned even more forward, pressing her entire cleavage on Kenshin's chest.
"And….and…." Kenshin bit his lip as sweat rolled from his forehead.
'What's with this woman!?' He screamed in his mind as he clenched his fingers.
'I have no choice. It's do or die.' With one last prayer to every god known to mankind, Kenshin prepared himself to utter the holy word when suddenly, something happened on the bus.
Every single human on the bus fell asleep, including the bus driver, causing the bus to swerve and hit a pole.
Screeeech!
Bam!
Thanks to their unique constitutions, both Yasaka and Kenshin were fine however, the same can't be said for the unconscious humans as some of them were heavily injured but thankfully, none died.
However, despite the crash, they were still sound asleep, like a bunch of koalas.
"Are you okay?" Kenshin turned to Yasaka and asked with concern.
Instead, he saw her gazing out of the window with a solemn expression.
"What's wrong?" Kenshin then proceeded to gaze at the window also and what he saw next made his blood curl.
Outside the bus, the streets weren't exactly empty as the bus wasn't the only one that crashed and some establishments were clearly still open, and yet, the humans inside were sleeping.
However, what occupied the streets weren't just the crashed vehicles, instead, several figures surrounded the bus, all bearing different kinds of animal features.
Some have ears similar to a dog, some are car ears, hell, there are even monkeys among them. The way they look at the bus, especially at the window they're gazing from is enough for Kenshin to know that they're not exactly here with good intentions.
"I'm Kenshin by the way." Kenshin gulped and whispered to her randomly.
"Why are you telling me your name now?" Yasaka couldn't help but look at the guy in disbelief.
"Just in case this might be the last time we'll see each other." Though Kenshin is confident he won't die in this place and can escape by himself if push comes to shove but he's not sure if he could do the same with Yasaka by his side.
'She's a princess, right? An heir to a throne. She should possess some decent strength, right?' As if on cue, Yasaka vanished from beside him, and she reappeared outside, this time, nine golden tails could be seen from her behind, and her nails grew long and sharp.
At the same time, Kenshin could see the golden energy surrounding her.
'Not gonna lie. She looks hot…' Kenshin controlled himself.
"I'm sure every single one of you is aware of who I am, right?" Yasaka spoke loudly, her cold eyes scanning every individual in the battlefield.
She counted twenty of them, another three hiding in each building around them.
A total of twenty-three, Yokais. With Nekomatas being 18 in number, making up the current group.
"Yasaka-sama, we don't want any bloodshed. Just come with us and agree with your engagement with Fideus-sama." A man bearing cat ears stepped forward and said calmly.
"So you're his pawns. As I expected, something is wrong with that guy." Yasaka silently snickered and replied.
"And if I refuse?"
The Nekomata's face turned slightly dark and he flexed his elongated sharp nails before saying.
"Then we hope Fideus-sama would go easy on us for roughing you up."
"Try me." Before anyone could react, Yasaka's aura flared and she transformed.
What used to be a regal and beautiful woman was now replaced by a large nine-tailed fox, towering over everyone and the structures around them.
On the bus, Kenshin's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in surprise all while yelling to himself.
"Nine-tailed fox? Are you Kurama perchance!?"
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 17 - Senjutsu]