"Hmph. I suppose you will help, Kazuma?"
"I have advanced in years, elder. My back is no longer what it once was. Perhaps my friend here will?"
"..."
As the youngest of the three, Diehauser felt he should've seen this coming. Now, it was too late.
"Sigh…"
.
..
…
|DxD|- Chapter 121- Open Heart
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There was violence in the world, so much of it he'd gotten sick of seeing it. A few years had been more than enough for Igor to see truly, truly deplorable acts.
He walked into the forest clearing with his head lost in thought. Grass traced his shins and rows of trees formed a wide circle around him.
He was at the centre of a clearing, a gaping hole that allowed sunlight in, but only the outer rims, for a very massive tree had grown with vast branches hanging overhead.
Igor looked up confusedly. Somehow, he had walked here as if he'd been drawn in. All the trees in this mountain were very thick because of nature energy, but this one made the others no different from twigs, like a finger to a palm.
Awe soon arose from confusion. From the trunk through the branches, all the way to the tips of the leaves, this entire tree was black.
He recognised it as the night tree, used by the nekomata to safely train their kittens in senjutsu. Its presence made this entire mountain a holy land for sages, both aspiring and current.
"That scamp, Diehauser, didn't lie at all. You do have a high promise of learning senjutsu, Summer."
Igor didn't reply. The novelty of seeing the night tree faded the moment Magari walked to his side. His mind had been brought back to why he came to the forest.
He looked at the cat beside him. There was a flicker of hesitation, but he still asked calmly.
"Elder. Is my energy that impactful on nekomata?"
"Heh~."
Magari smiled smugly and walked ahead towards the tree. Igor looked at her swaying tails, and without a beat, she replied to his question as she walked.
"You're overthinking, Summer."
"..."
Igor soon followed her when it was clear she wouldn't elaborate. Cat and human walked alongside until they entered the shade.
A certain peace fell over him, a warmth that covered his whole body like a blanket. His steps slowed until he came to a stop. His eyes were closed, and his head had tilted back. He breathed the deep scent of life, a flowery oasis that coursed through him.
"This tree is the only one of its kind."
Igor opened his eyes. Magari had sat her hind legs down with her back towards him.
"It blooms once a year, and we harvest the seeds from the fruits. Yet strangely, the harvested seeds never grow to become the same as the parent tree."
Magari became reminiscent.
"The forests you see, and the energy you feel, all come from this one night tree. Quite novel, don't you think? It's even said the first nekomata was born beneath this tree."
Igor widened his eyes at that sudden knowledge. He hadn't expected the tree to have such significance.
"Truly, elder?"
"Mn."
Magari nodded absently, her eyes lost in her tribe's heritage.
"We call it the Mother Tree, for it is the reason we live. But enough about that. I didn't come here to give you a lesson on history."
Magari turned to face Igor with a slightly mischievous smile. It was amusing to see his energy rise and fall with the state of his mind.
"You are an open book, Summer. You wear your heart on your sleeve."
"?"
Igor frowned in confusion, but waited patiently for her to continue.
"Nekomata are intrinsically attuned to ki. We can sense it as well as you can see, and that is vital for us."
Igor steadily grew unnerved. There was something ominous in Magari's widening smile.
"Through ki, we can tell many things. We can sense deceit, empathise with pain, and share happiness. But with you, Summer? Hehe~."
Magari chuckled with a swish of her tails. She stood up and walked closer to Igor, still marvelling at his strangeness.
"You, Summer, over-share. Wielders of alternate energies can still rely on that to obscure their ki, but your power functions exclusively over it."
She stopped before his feet and looked up at the blonde.
"With your level of power, what you broadcast are not just simple emotions. You show us your disposition entirely."
"My…disposition?"
Igor asked unsurely.
"Your disposition. Your ki tells a story. Its feel, even its colour, can be determined by the type of person you are at heart. Such matters are usually discovered slowly over months. But you, Summer, with a flare of your power, tell every nekomata what type of person you are."
Magari raised her paw and tapped it against his leg.
"In one moment, I can learn so much about you, because ki does not lie."
A pause of silence came. Igor mulled Magari's words in his head. He was disbelieving because it did not make sense.
"Then…Chiharu?"
He murmured softly, and Magari smiled suggestively.
"Would you not make a good father? If you wish to consummate, I would not be opposed to welcoming new kittens for the new year."
Igor shook his head decisively.
"No. If I am the open book you say I am, then the answer should be clear to you, elder."
Magari only smiled and did not intrude further, for their relationship was only new.
[You would be a good father, Summer. If you were not, Shirone most certainly would not have sought you out.]
Chapter 121
END