Chapter 5: Meet The Family Finale
It took Hestia admittedly a lot longer than she would have liked to realize Hikari was getting hungry again. Well, it was actually Fenrir that figured it out. Something about hungry people understanding each other on a spiritual level.
Of course, that was also Fenrir's not-so-subtle way of hinting that she too was getting hungry. As much as she disliked the stupid fox she made the best food she had ever tasted so she always looked forward to her meals.
With that said, everyone settled down and continued on with the party while Hestia feeding Hikari was feeling depressed over not figuring out what she wanted sooner.
"Uuuu, I'm sorry, sweetie~ Pwease forgive me~" Hestia said, begging with tears in her eyes, looking down at the infant latched to her nipple. Although she didn't have teeth, she was suckling with much more force than was necessary, leaving Hestia quite uncomfortable. Judging by the stank eye she received, she correctly deduced Hikari was doing so intentionally out of retaliation.
"Fufu Hikari-chan, do you think you can forgive your mama? She didn't mean to keep you waiting, she was just excited to spend time with you, right? You don't want to see her sad, do you?" Bishamon said with no small amount of amusement in her voice. She could already tell the two would be similar in the future, seeing as Hestia would often pout and hold small grudges before being easily coaxed out of them with a few words.
Hikari glanced at the blonde woman out the corner of her eye before looking back up to her sad looking mother. She didn't really like seeing her mother sad, so she decided she had learned her lesson and eased up on her suckling while also snuggling a little closer to her.
"Aww thank you, Hikari. I promise to do better next time!" Hestia happily said, hugging Hikari tighter. Her mood completely flipped as if she was never upset in the first place, causing Hikari to have second thoughts about forgiving her so easily but ultimately forgetting about it to focus on feeding.
"So Hikari is the name you decided on, huh? It's nice. Much better than Aqua-san's idea of putting up a poll for the fans to decide." Tamamo said eating some gyoza and evaluating it. She didn't really like eating, but she loved to cook and one of her goals was to make the best dish in the world. So she was very critical of the things she made.
She was also observing Hikari to see if she would be suitable for her primary goal in life. When she first met Hestia, she had felt something and had assumed she might be the one she had been searching for, but quickly realized otherwise when she discovered she was actually another goddess.
Once Hestia said her unborn child would be a half-human, half-god, she immediately knew where the feeling was really coming from. Now, meeting Hikari in person for the first time, the feeling grew stronger, but there was still something missing. She felt it would be bad if she made her move now. But that wouldn't stop her from making preparations early, just in case.
Step one would be to improve her cooking until it was at the level she couldn't live without!
'Ohoho, such a pure and lovely soul. I'll definitely make you mine, Darling~!' Tamamo thought to herself while carefully evaluating where her dishes could be improved.
Hikari felt a small shiver go down her spine, but quickly ignored it since she didn't really understand the feeling.
"Come ooon, they weren't THAT bad." Aqua said, munching on some chips. Since the chibi goddess was having such a hard time picking a name, she just suggested asking their fans. It wasn't her fault they didn't have any good naming sense.
"Speaking of names, what did you actually name her? Her true name, I mean." Inari asked after taking a sip of tea. She was one of the few whose true name, Uka, didn't match their divine name, a concept Hestia expressed intention in emulating.
"Hmm? Her true name should be Noire... but I get the feeling she shouldn't be called by her true name just yet? Ugh, I don't really get it, but Hikari is also her true name. Argh! It's so confusing!" Hestia exclaimed in frustration.
When she named her initially, she felt both names imprinted on her soul, but now it felt like one of them was sealed or hidden away. She was worried at first but Hikari seemed fine so she just figured it was another one of the mysteries she would have to figure out as they went along.
"What about her divinity? Have you figured out what it is yet?" Palutena asked, a little curious. They had speculated on what domain she might develop or if she might inherit one from Hestia.
"Nope. Just like with her true name, it seems to be sealed. I have no idea what it will be." Hestia said, shrugging her shoulders. She had thought Hikari would be born with her divinity like all gods, but it seems like she might have to develop it over time. Or maybe they don't know what it is for an entirely different reason, it's really hard to say.
"Well, don't worry about it. Whatever it is, I'm sure we can help her figure it out when the time comes." Palutena said before swiping some food from Aqua without her noticing.
"Kukuku, even if she doesn't develop a divinity, you don't need to worry, I'll graciously accept her as the first member of my Axis cult in this world!" Aqua said proudly.
"Absolutely not! As if I'd let her follow an airhead like you! She can just come with me to be an adventurer back in my world." Hestia said smugly while giving a challenging glare to Aqua. Hestia had forgotten to tell the others Hikari had the potential to travel worlds in the future. Mostly because she herself had forgotten about it. To be fair, she had other things on her mind these last few months so she couldn't be blamed too heavily for forgetting some of the things she talked about with that scary kid.
"Ara, maybe I'll snatch her up and make her an angel in my world." Palutena said, only adding fuel to the fire. She certainly wouldn't mind another helper or two in her world. As fun as it was to run Pit ragged, there was only so much he could do alone.
"Ooh? Perhaps she'll come back with me to become one of my shinki. I'm sure her soul will become something amazing." Bishamon added with a light pink hue on her face. She had already gotten started on drinking after a long night.
Tamamo only looked at the group and chuckled lightly. It didn't matter what any of them wanted, in the end she would be the one to have her.
They went on for quite a while, talking about who would take her and what they all could offer. Even Tamamo joined in after having a few too many drinks. Only Inari didn't get involved directly. Even though she wouldn't mind if Hikari became her shrine maiden, she ultimately felt it was up to Hikari to decide what she wanted to do in the future. She also watched the only other member at the table take the visibly upset Hikari away in the middle of their conversation, unnoticed by the rest.
She chose not to say anything and continued drinking her tea. She felt like it would be troublesome even if she brought it up, so she decided the best course of action was to continue drinking and wait for them to notice. Which took far longer than she thought it would. Looks like she must lecture them later on moderation...
"Grrr~ I won't let any of you have her! Eh?" Hestia said while trying to embrace Hikari tighter, as if to hide her away from these vixens. Only to realize Hikari wasn't even in her arms anymore.
"Wha! Where did she go! Was she kidnapped already!?" Hestia started panicking, as did the others. None of them had noticed anything, having been caught up in their argument and more than a little tipsy. Especially Bishamon, who had already passed out on the table with a completely flushed face.
"Ano...Fenrir-chan took her away a little while ago." Inari finally spoke up to avoid anyone going on a rampage in her shrine while looking for them.
"Ara, maybe she was still hungry and wanted to have a little taste of Hikari," Palutena said as a joke, not realizing the double entendre.
"That sneaky mutt! Wait until I get my hands on her!" Tamamo was the first to react after taking the joke the wrong way. If she hadn't been drinking, she definitely would have realized that it was foolish to think Fenrir had any naughty thoughts towards an infant.
"Nooo~! Hikari, I'll save you!" Hestia however took the joke literally and feared the worst. She actually got along really well with Fenrir and the little wolf girl. They bonded over their mutual dislike of Loki, and Fenrir often supported her during the pregnancy. She momentarily felt betrayed before she quickly banished the thought and decided to not think the worst about her new friend.
Hestia and Tamamo both took off towards the residential area of the shrine, with Tamamo dragging a screaming Aqua along with her, since she claimed to be a talented healer. Inari and Palutena follow behind them, leaving Bishamon still passed out on the table, but not before covering her with a blanket. This wasn't the first time she drank herself to sleep, so they knew it was best to just leave her be.
Hestia and Tamamo frantically called and shouted out to Hikari and Fenrir while making their way towards the building. Just as they approached the hall leading to Hikari's new room, they felt a massive pressure descend on them and they all froze in their tracks and quickly sobered up.
Just as they were about to get ready to fight, someone unexpected appeared from around the corner.
"You are being too loud." was all Kaguya said and looked each of them in the eye, giving a silent but firm warning.
"Come," She ordered, as the pressure faded away completely, and walked away without waiting for a response.
Now that they were all a bit more clear-headed and could breathe easy again, they quietly followed behind Kaguya without making a fuss. They more or less knew what to expect after taking a moment to realize it was already very late outside.
Coming up to the door, the first to be surprised was Inari as she could see the figures of both ShiShi and RoRo standing guard outside the door to Hikari's room. She had always given them the freedom to do as they pleased since she could call them to her whenever, but even so they still usually followed behind her when not performing a task. It surprised her to find them standing guard on their own accord like this.
The others not giving it too much thought kept following behind Kaguya. After approaching the door, Kaguya stepped aside and allowed the others to slide it open to take a peek inside.
The inside of the room was dark, with only the light of the full moon shining through the window giving any sort of illumination.
Inside the dark room they could see Hikari peacefully asleep in her crib while Fenrir was curled up in a ball on the floor, just like she usually slept. Hestia and the others all breathed a small sigh of relief before they all felt a shiver go down their spine and the temperature drop a few degrees.
Even Tamamo felt intimidated when Fenrir briefly opened one of her eyes and, with her glowing crimson orb, briefly glared at them before settling back down and closing it.
They could all tell, had it not been them, anyone else who had opened the door would have been killed on the spot.
That said, after the temperature returned to normal, Hestia alone quietly stepped in the room to get a good look at Hikari just for her own peace of mind. Fenrir did nothing, but by the small twitches in her ears, they could tell she was still paying attention. It seems she had taken it upon herself to protect the tiny one.
Looking at the sleeping Hikari, Hestia felt quite a few bitter emotions swell up. She had once again failed to properly take care of her daughter. She had thought raising a child would be easy, but it seems she wasn't nearly as prepared as she thought she was. She briefly held some doubts before they were all squashed away by the small smile that made itself known on Hikari's sleeping face.
Instead of doubting herself, she felt she would much rather promise herself and Hikari she would do better in the future. It wouldn't be easy, but the best things in life rarely were.
"Thank you, Fenrir. Good Night." Hestia whispered before making her way out of the room with a newfound determination. Fenrir only gave a small affirmative grunt before resuming her self-imposed task. Though a small smile, hidden by her arms, found its way to her usually expressionless face.
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[A/N: sorry for the late chapter. I just got hired for a job and I haven't had a lot of time to write anymore. Hopefully I can work out a schedule soon but at least for now, expect the updates to be sporadic. Well...even more sporadic i guess...]
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