It was Friday, and the household was buzzing with an almost palpable excitement. The kids were practically bouncing off the walls, their boundless energy lighting up every room in the house, their laughter echoing through the halls like a joyful symphony.
It had been a long time since they had all gone on a proper trip, not just because of the usual constraints of school or work, but because, for the longest time, their family had felt fractured, held together by frayed threads of resentment and unspoken tension.
Ayaka especially remembered the suffocating silence that used to hang in the air like a storm cloud, often replacing conversation, a stark contrast to the lively chatter now.
She was pretty sure that Ren, their youngest, had never actually seen their mother and father acting lovingly toward one another until recent events, until their father's transformation. She herself could hardly remember how they were before things turned sour between them, but she had some faint, cherished memories of back when she and Aoi were small and their parents looked happy together, a distant, almost dreamlike past.
Still, she felt like they were happier now than even before, a genuine, unforced joy that resonated through their home.
While packing her bag for the trip, Ayaka sat on her bed, surrounded by a chaotic explosion of clothes, and groaned dramatically. She rummaged through outfit after outfit, tossing away clothes that didn't feel "Kyoto-trip-worthy," deeming them utterly unsuitable for the aesthetic of the city and its vibrant culture.
One after the other, shirts, dresses, and skirts went flying over her shoulder, landing in a growing pile on the floor. She held one up, a floral sundress, made a face of utter disdain, muttering, "Definitely not for the Golden Pavilion," and tossed it aside with a huff.
Aoi was nearby, diligently going through her own clothes, carefully folding each item, but the nosy little brat was, as usual, inserting herself into Ayaka's packing, offering unsolicited fashion advice, and attempting to pilfer items she liked.
When Aoi's sneaky hand reached over to grab one of Ayaka's favorite dresses, a new, trendy one she had just bought, Ayaka smacked it away with a sharp, indignant huff.
"Mind your own bag, brat," Ayaka snapped, a playful but firm warning, though a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"I'm just trying to help! Besides, that dress doesn't suit you anyway, it makes you look like a potato," Aoi shot back with a cheeky grin, clearly enjoying knowing exactly how to push her sister's buttons.
The two bickered and bonded the way only sisters could, despite the small age gap they had always been close to one another, their playful arguments a testament to their close relationship.
Meanwhile, Ren was glued to Kenji, his father, his small voice a nonstop stream of excited chatter, practically talking the man's ear off with questions about their destination. He was excited and hoped they would be ninjas there, he had heard on TV that there were a lot of ninjas in Kyoto, and he wanted to see real ninjas fight, maybe even learn a jutsu or two, or at least get a cool ninja headband.
Kenji laughed heartily, a genuine, booming sound that filled the room and ruffled his son's hair. "Who knows, buddy? Maybe a ninja master is waiting just for you, looking for a talented new student to pass on their forbidden techniques."
Ren's eyes sparkled with joy at the possibility, clearly imagining himself training under some mysterious, masked warrior, learning secret techniques and throwing shuriken like a true shinobi.
Anastasia, already packed and ready, her own bags neatly organized, was watching the father-son duo with a soft, content smile, a warmth spreading through her chest.
She remembered when things weren't this peaceful, when the kids barely interacted with their father, the silence between them a constant ache, and she had buried herself in work to avoid the emotional void, the crushing disappointment.
But now... Now Kenji had even come to her office just to help her finish reports, working late into the night alongside her, silently sifting through documents and organizing data, just so she could take this trip stress-free.
Once everyone was ready, bags packed and spirits high, they set off. The journey to Kyoto was smooth. They checked into their hotel without issue, with panoramic views of the city. The rest of the day was spent exploring, sightseeing, tasting local delicacies, and creating new, cherished family memories.
They wandered through serene parks, poked through quaint souvenir shops filled with traditional crafts and intricate trinkets, and marveled at the temples, their architecture a testament to centuries of history and devotion.
Ren kept asking random tourists if they were secretly ninjas, much to Kenji and Anastasia's amusement and the tourists' polite confusion. They sampled street food, from crispy tempura to sweet mochi, savoring every bite.
By the time the sun had set and the city lights twinkled alive, painting the night in a magical glow, exhaustion was starting to show on the kids, their energy finally waning, their steps growing heavier.
Kenji, picking up on their subtle signs of fatigue, made the decision. "Alright, everyone, let's head back. We've had a great first day, but we have all day tomorrow too, and I don't want anyone sleepwalking through the bamboo forest or falling asleep in a temple. We need our energy for more adventures!"
The kids groaned in unison, a chorus of tired protest, but didn't argue, too weary to put up a real fight. Ren had already dozed off in Anastasia's arms by the time they reached the hotel, his head nestled comfortably against her shoulder, a small, contented sigh escaping his lips. She had gently set him to bed, and the girls had gone straight to their rooms, still chatting about the places they wanted to visit next, their voices growing fainter with distance as sleep began to claim them.
As Anastasia tucked Ren in and turned to head to bed, Kenji quietly approached her, his steps almost silent.
"I'm going out for a bit," he said, his voice low, almost a murmur, not wanting to disturb the peaceful quiet.
"Mmhmm," she replied, clearly tired herself, her eyes already half-closed, her body swaying slightly with fatigue. She gave him a soft, sleepy kiss, a gesture of trust and affection. "Don't stay out too long, Kenji. Get some rest, too."
He nodded and smiled as she vanished into their room, the door clicking softly shut behind her. She really didn't know where he got the energy to keep going when he had been with her in the office helping out, but his Gamer's Body and Endurance allowed him to push far beyond normal human limits.
But before heading out, Kenji took extra precautions, He casted multiple enchantments around the hotel room, layering it with alarms that would alert him to any unwanted intrusion, powerful warding runes that repelled unwanted guest, he was getting better at this but still not good enough to keep out the more powerful beings, it should hold for high class beings for a while before they can get pass, he had to get better. He wasn't taking any chances, his family's safety was paramount.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a pure white mask with crimson strips running down each side. It had no visible mouth or eye holes, yet he could see through it perfectly, his vision unimpeded by the solid porcelain.
A reward from a past dungeon dive, the mask concealed identity and magical presence, making him virtually undetectable to most supernatural senses. He had learned from his last trip that being seen, his face out in the open, had been what allowed those yokai to easily track him down, making him a target for the Flesh Rippers Gang. No more of that.
From now on, it was better to reduce the number of entities looking for him, even if he knew this mask wouldn't fool everyone, especially not the truly powerful, like the Kitsune leader Yasaka.
Kenji slipped into the night, moving through the quiet streets of Kyoto, the city's spiritual energy a tangible presence around him. He made his way to the same magical shop he'd visited before.
The place looked livelier than last time, with several customers quietly browsing, their hushed conversations and the hum of magic filling the air, a stark contrast to the nearly empty shop he'd found on his last visit.
Behind the counter was the same young woman, the three-tailed kitsune with her keen, mischievous eyes, her fox ears twitching slightly as he approached, a sign of her heightened senses. She looked up from her ledger and raised a brow at his masked form, a flicker of curiosity in her gaze.
Kenji set down a load of materials from his Inventory onto the counter with a soft thud. The box was filled with rare monster parts, cores, and crystallized mana, all high-quality loot from his recent vampire dungeon dives, radiating faint magical energy.
"I'm here to sell. And to buy," he stated, his voice muffled slightly by the mask, but firm and clear.
She stepped forward, her eyes scanning the materials, before her gaze lingered on the mask, a flicker of intense interest, a subtle narrowing of her eyes.
"That's new," she murmured, squinting, no doubt trying to pierce the magical concealment. Then her eyes widened slightly in recognition, a faint, knowing smirk touching her lips. "Heh. Clever. Very clever. I almost didn't recognize you. Your magic's completely hidden, and your presence is almost nullified. It's only because of these absurdly high-quality materials, the kind I'd only seen one person bring, that I pieced it together. You're the only person I've ever seen sell this much quality goods in such quantity. Bringing this much top-tier stuff at once, so it had to be you."
They quickly got to business. He mentioned that he was looking for books on golems and spirit magic.
She nodded, her fox ears twitching thoughtfully, and vanished into the back, before returning with two books, their covers worn with age and use.
"This one's from a magician obsessed with golems," she explained, handing him a thick, leather-bound tome, its pages brittle with age. "Called himself the Ultimate Creator. He traded it for a pile of rare metals, convinced he was on the verge of creating a sentient golem, then got himself killed a few months later after picking a fight with someone leagues above him, a rather predictable outcome for such arrogance. He thought he was untouchable."
Kenji raised a brow, a faint, cynical smirk beneath his mask. "Sounds like an idiot. The world is full of them, especially those who overestimate their own power."
"Aren't they all?" she smirked back, a shared understanding passing between them. "Especially the ones who think they've reached the peak, only to find there's always a higher mountain."
"And this one?" he asked, holding up the second book, a thinner, parchment-bound volume, its cover adorned with an elegant script.
"Spirit book. Came from an elf. Banished from her homeland for some forbidden research, a few centuries ago, or so the rumors say. She traded this for some money and a few low-level grimoires to help her start fresh, a new life away from her past, trying to escape the consequences of her ambition."
Kenji flipped through the pages, already seeing complex diagrams, intricate rituals for summoning and binding, and detailed descriptions of various spiritual entities. These were exactly what he needed.
He would buy and use his system to learn them.
"How much for the materials?" he asked, bracing himself, knowing the value of his haul.
She named a number that nearly made him choke, though thankfully, his mask concealed the expression of shock. It was a substantial sum, far more than he expected, a testament to the quality of his dungeon loot.
"That low? Come on, you just said this was some of the best stuff you've seen. My last haul was worth more than this, and it wasn't even half the quality. You're trying to fleece me, aren't you?" He haggled back and forth until finally settling on a number that was still incredibly profitable, but fair to both sides. He used part of that payment to buy the two books she had presented to him, the cost of which was astronomical. Even after the expensive purchase, he still had a hefty profit remaining, enough to further buy other things, but he didn't really come here to buy things today, maybe he'd come back another time..
The books tucked safely into his Inventory, Kenji left the shop and vanished into the night. He spent the remaining night wandering the city searching. Tomorrow would be about family fun, about creating joyful memories. Tonight was for preparations, for securing their future, for building the foundation of their safety.
There were yokai in this city who thought they could threaten what he cared about.
They were about to learn how wrong they were.
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