Chapter 18: Chapter 18
Zack was wandering into the garden as he saw Eve near the tree again. He walked up behind her to see what she was doing. He noticed the plant life around her was growing rapidly, and the trees nearby were having their fruits regrown at an increased rate. The tree in front of them however only seemed to grow slightly.
Eve seemed to be using a lot of energy, and he wanted to help. Zack placed his hand on her back pouring some of his power into her. She jumped at the feeling and even strained slightly from the pressure. The tree began growing steadily for a few minutes before they stopped.
"That was such an odd sensation...You should be more gentle next time." Eve teased while wiping the sweat from her chest.
"Sorry, you just seemed to need help. The effort almost seems pointless though." Zack replied while examining the tree.
Zack even placed his hand on it to see if he could achieve anything. All he could do was sense a slight trace of divinity inside. Zack activated his grace pouring a vast amount inside. Eve could sense something different when being connected with Zack directly, and walked up to grab his hand. She exhausted all of her energy to speed its growth.
The tree was starting to tower over the buildings as small buds formed among the branches. Eve's face went pale as she started to collapse, but Zack caught her. He enveloped her body in a golden light as the color returned to her cheeks.
"You shouldn't have pushed so hard. Can you stand?" Zack asked while holding her up.
"Thank you for the healing. The kids should be awake and running around soon." Eve stood up as she walked off.
Yu was descending the mountain as she sprang up to the wall. She looked around for the tallest building as she leaped over to scout for Zack. He was still in the garden pondering the possibilities of the tree's origin. but it wasn't long before Yu jumped on his back stealing his focus.
"Are we still leaving?" Yu asked as she let go.
Zack turned around and saw how closely she was observing him. He was about to speak when she grabbed him to kiss him. It was different from yesterday's attempts. It wasn't a simple peck she kissed with passion and even forced his hands onto her hips. When they stopped he noticed her flushed face.
"I'm happy to see you, but that was unexpected. What did you do last night?" Zack asked as they started walking together.
"We talked about mates when you left. Do you like Yu?" She asked while clinging to him.
"Yes I do, but you should slow down. You don't have to do what your mom said okay? You can choose what you wanna do on your own." Zack said as they approached the orphanage.
Yu just smiled holding his arm as they strolled past the kids. Everyone swarmed her to schedule games for tonight. Zack could tell how much she enjoyed playing with the children by the way she accepted right away and had an eager look on her face.
"Are we leaving yet?" Tanya asked as she pulled on Zack's hand.
Tanya wanted to travel with them today, and Yuki gave her approval. She was turning thirteen soon and needed to be out in the world. Tanya wanted to practice hiding her tail for the whole day. Knowing once she perfected this going to town would be okay.
"Why do you think we came to find you?" Zack smiled placing his hand atop her head.
Yu was excited to see her coming, and the two were racing around Zack playfully. While walking towards the gate they decided to visit Destiny before leaving. Destiny was already inside starting her day, but she seemed to be half asleep while organizing her work. Zack walked in behind her to embrace her.
"You should be resting more," Zack said with his hands around her hip.
"I was only up for a few hours after you. Yu come look at this." Destiny said with a smile.
"What's that?" Yu asked while examining the dress.
Destiny helped her change while Zack waited by the door. He wanted to lock it and ensure the kids didn't walk in, but it was also to avoid staring at Yu. When he came back she was wearing a short qipao barely covering the top of her upper thighs.
It had long slits on the side of her thighs allowing her to maintain her mobility. The silk was a lovely cerulean with white flower petals stitched into it by the flaps of her skirt. Zack was captivated by the beauty of the dress, and how well she filled it out.
"The dress looks beautiful on you." Zack smiled at Yu.
Yu heard this and saw the look on his face, and started smiling. She was looking around at the dress while rubbing her hands around it. It was the first time she felt something so smooth. She also liked the way Zack was looking at her in it.
"Where do you get your designs from?" Zack asked Destiny.
"I would study humans discreetly from the woods, and sketch their clothing. I've even managed to create some dresses similar to Yuki's. Last night a woman named Sera mentioned she could enchant the silk for increased durability and should be coming by the shop soon. I'll get Yu a durable dress as soon as possible. Are you still helping me later?" Destiny asked Tanya.
"When I get back from our trip I'll come straight here," Tanya replied
"Let's get going." Zack smiled at his companions.
They started their trip towards the sea. Ren had barely left when they were speaking to Destiny but are already a decent distance ahead of them because of it. Yu was traveling among the treetops looking for signs of Ren.
As they were traveling someone was watching from the forest.It was an inari woman who trailed closely behind them, but Zack didn't sense her presence. She could sense Tanya was like her and assumed she was in danger.
The mysterious woman closed in pinning Zack to a tree with immense speed. Not even Yu noticed what happened yet. From her back popped five tails as an immense ball of flames formed in her hand. The power grew as she aimed it for Zack's head.
Zack managed to dodge the attack as the tree behind him was rendered to ash. Zack shoved her back with force to create distance. Before the woman could recover Zack put Tanya behind him. The woman formed another attack waiting for a moment to strike.
"Leave big bro alone!" Tanya shouted as three tails sprouted.
Tanya's claws were sharpened as her canines began to extend. It was an act of instinct but Tanya launched a fire blast at the woman. The woman barely dodged the attack and prepared to strike Zack again.
While the inari was distracted Yu struck from above, but narrowly missed with her spear. It was close enough to interrupt the focus of the inari's attack as it dissipated from her hand. When Yu missed she dropped from the tree with a heavy kick that was barely blocked causing the inari to retreat. As Yu landed she quickly took her spear from the ground ready to hurl it again.
"Wait!" Zack stopped both of them.
"You were concerned for Tanya weren't you?" He asked while approaching.
"I thought she was in trouble, and It wouldn't be the first time a human enslaved one of our kind." The woman said as her tails vanished.
"Big bro has always taken care of me. He helped me when my mom died and gave me a home." Tanya said while fighting back tears.
"It's okay to cry."Zack kneeled to comfort her.
Even Yu got down hugging both of them. The woman who attacked had a look of regret. She misjudged the situation and brought up a bad memory for the child.
"I'm sorry that I upset you. Can we start over?" Karin said with a smile.
Karin had long blonde hair, creamy skin, and red fox eyes. She was wearing a white dress that hung low showing her cleavage. The thin straps showed her elegant shoulders, and Zack's nose bled slightly seeing the tip of the mountain as she bent over to greet Tanya. After the misunderstanding was cleared they all introduced themselves.
Karin decided to trail along with them to see if Tanya was being cared for properly. When they arrived at the beach they could see Ren piling up fish on the beach. Next to Ren was a nereid helping sort through the nets.
The nereids skin was a shiny steel blue, she has coral pink markings on her face, as well a coral pattern that started at her chest and ran down to her pelvis. Under her breast along the side of her ribs was a set of gills, and protruding from her lower back was a medium tail. Her ears were pointy in a form that made it aerodynamic when swimming. The woman had black hair barely covering the nape of her neck, on the back of her head, and side of her hips were small fins.
"This is my friend Shiro. Your timing was perfect we just barely got the clothes on her. Destiny wanted to measure the tail properly before making other clothes." Ren said while her friend approached.
Tanya was playing on the edge of the ocean with Yu. Karin just watched their surroundings for any sudden guest. Seeing Zack so friendly with other species caused Karin to feel at ease about his intentions, but other humans could easily appear.
"He is a good-looking human, but a little small for you don't you think?" Shiro asked.
"Looks can be deceiving you know. He can even toss me around the room with ease," Ren said with a lewd smile.
"Ren says you would welcome me, and some of my companions. Is this true?" Shiro asked while checking him out.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone