101 No matter the price, no matter what, I... III

3rd Person POV

As Nora put his head on Saya's lap, his eyes began to close. He wanted to enjoy the feeling of resting on her lap for longer but his body betrayed him and he dozed off soon after.

Watching the youth reactions, Saya chuckled with gentle smile. She poked his cheeks before making sure he was really asleep. She turned toward the sliding door that was slight opened and several eyes could be seen peeking inside the room and she nodded before putting her index finger on her mouth to indicate that they should be silent. The group slowly left one by one after sighing in relief.

"Ara, they are good children who worry about him. They are lovely, don't you think so as well?" Saya called out.

There was a moment of silence before Tamamo took physical form and glanced at Nora sleeping for before sitting beside him.

"He is quite charming, but they are all worried about him because they respect and yearn for him. He changed their lives one way or another." Tamamo muttered. "...he has been working hard this whole time."

Smiling at that, Saya nodded.

"I know, I can tell. He is my child. The best one in the world." Saya said.

"...are you not saying that only because you are a doting parent?" Tamamo smiled wryly.

"...you think otherwise?" Saya widened her eyes exaggeratedly.

Clicking her tongue, Tamamo understood where Nora's poor acting skills came from.

"He is an unique man, that is for sure. I am still here in this world because of him." Tamamo said.

"...yes, he is a man. I guess you know about it then." Saya gave Tamamo a meaningful stare.

"...indeed." Tamamo nodded. "We trust each other the most. We have share memories and have come to understand each other's pain."

"..heh." Saya smirked when she heard that.

"...huh?" Tamamo glared at the woman.

"Sorry, I just could not help but laugh." Saya mumbled. "I mean, I was the FIRST person to hear about his secrets."

A small vein popped on Tamamo's forehead, but the fox was smiling as she heard that.

"Excuse me?" Tamamo asked.

"There is nothing I can do about it. I practically am oozing with such an aura. I am such a reliable and capable woman." Saya muttered. "Poor Nora was so anxious back then, but I looked at him in the eyes and told him. Sweetie, no matter what you are hiding, mommy will not be angry with you."

"BS!" Tamamo exclaimed.

"He had watery eyes as he clung to me and said, will you hate me if...?" Saya sighed. "It must've been hard to have all that inside his heart and not being able to talk anyone about it."

"No shit, you only let Yasaka talk to him back then, only Yasaka and you were there for him." Tamamo resorted.

"I guess, as his mother I became the only option he could thing of." Saya sighed.

"The wording..." Tamamo exclaimed.

"So he poured his heart out..." Saya mumbled. "It was quite shocking to find out about it, but it explained some of his reactions. That explained why he always beats me in puzzle games."

Facepalming, Tamamo resisted the urge to tell the woman that she simply sucked at those games. The youth had told Tamamo once that he even tried to lose on purpose, even setting up the stage for Saya, but she still lost.

"I heard... a lot about him." Saya's expression turned somber. "He suffered a lot."

"...he did, but he is a strong one." Tamamo spoke. "He lost his family, and the only ones that could fill that void, died too. That woman and her daughter were one of the reasons why he did not break down back then. They took care of him until he could stand up again, but..."

"They died in an accident." Saya bitterly said.

"He was plagued by bad luck." Tamamo sighed.

"That is why I want him to be happy no matter what." Saya mumbled.

"That goes without saying." Tamamo added.

"...you know, I already failed as a mother." Saya muttered.

Shaking her head, Tamamo understood somewhat how Saya felt, being away from the during his youngest days when he perhaps needed her the most, to the point he was obsessed with Saya's safety. Losing sleep for days and being distracted was quite common before he was cursed or rather, saved using unconventional means.

Thinking about that, Tamamo gave Saya the brightest smile she could muster and-

"Don't worry, from now on, I will fulfill all the roles Nora needs. As a woman, lover, mother, little sister, older sister... All, I will take care of all that. I am sure that he will be pleased with all the kinky plays I have in mind." Tamamo chuckled.

"Bitch, do you want to die?" Saya retorted.

"Fufu, if I am going to die, I wanted to be as I lewdly make out with your son." Tamamo replied.

"...I didn't think you could be more shameless than him." Saya sighed.

"He is a great teacher. His memories have great material on how to be lewd, if he proposed to, he could turn the most innocent woman into a succubus." Tamamo smiled.

"That sounds scary in a way... although I cannot deny it makes my heart race for some reason." Saya admitted.

"...I know I am not the right person to say this, but you are a real piece of work. Perverted mother, hentai." Tamamo looked at Saya with cold eyes.

"Heh, I don't think you understand it. It is not me who is wrong, it is SOCIETY!" Saya exclaimed.

"Are you a kid?" Tamamo snapped back.

"I am 16 eternally." Saya stuck out her tongue playfully.

Looking at the woman with cold eyes, Tamamo seemed to forget that she often makes that joke.

"You know. Nora-chan is rather awkward." Saya suddenly said.

"...you mean strange? As in his love for maids that transcends boundaries?" Tamamo asked.

"Nora-chan, what have you been doing all these years...?" Saya sighed when she noticed Tamamo's expression. "Was it not enough for me to wear those risky- I mean, those cute and frilly maid outfits...?"

"Cut it out, I have share my memories with him already now the stuff you had been wearing back then." Tamamo rolled her eyes.

"...I have done nothing illegal." Saya said.

"...have you?" Tamamo gave a bright smile.

"Hahaha..." Saya awkwardly laughed.

Smiling back, Tamamo wanted nothing more than to smack the woman's head.

"...Nora-chan has always felt he could've done better." Saya sighed.

"That woman had a terminal illness that was never been heard of. It was estimated that she would die after giving birth to the youth, but she refused to die and watched him grow. The medical bills piled up as a result and his father had to work extra hard for that reason. That man... I guess you could say he died of fatigue. He worked as much as he could and the free time he had was used to mostly spend time with his family." Tamamo muttered in a helpless tone. "My hubby did his best, trying to make them proud by getting good grades at school, working doing menial jobs to bring even a cent more to his house, supporting his sickly mother and weary father in every little thing he could. My hubby loved them both dearly, but... there was a time when he hated himself to death. He came to learn about how much burden his mother had to go through just to give birth, or how his father had to work extra hard to pay for him."

"...he told me how almost killed himself once." Saya spoke.

"Wishing that he had not been born became a daily thing, but those two women were there for him." Tamamo said.

"...he was able to smile again thanks to them, but his world crumbled after they died in an accident." Saya shook her head. "He lived like an empty shell for years after that."

Tenderly caressing the youth's face, Saya's hand went toward his ear. A blissful expression hung on Saya's face as she gentle played with those cat ears. The ears twitched but Nora did not wake up.

"As a mother, I love my child like anything in this world." Saya said. "For Nora-chan, I am prepared to do anything. No matter what. For the sake of this man whose life has been filled with suffering, I will do whatever is needed and I will act however he needs. No matter if it is a mother what he needs, a lover, a sisterly figure, a friend. I decided that at that time, when he told me about himself. He will have a happy life... he deserves it."

Listening to the woman still playing with Nora's cat ears, Tamamo was half-inclined to think that it was a nonsense. However, the youth had a great image of Saya on his head despite her... quirks. He was rather wrong in the head too so it might be one of the reasons. Nonetheless, Tamamo could not deny that the duo thought strong and passionately about the other.

"...even if he wants to Nyan Nyan?" Tamamo asked.

"Excuse me?" Saya mumbled.

"You know, Nyan Nyan, Muewhehe, the deed, or perhaps you like more the term 'passionately mating' until both of your bodies gave out? I personally fancy the term mating, but it is cute how Nora uses Nyan Nyan when there are children nearby." Tamamo explained.

"Wha- Wha- What do you think you are saying!?" Saya flipped out. "Push down Nora and mate for an entire week!? Who would do something like that?"

"...I never said anything like that. You were the one who imagined it, you perverted cat." Tamamo narrowed her eyes. "Do you perchance, happen to know someone called Raikou? She has an outrageous figure-"

"Oh, Raikou-chan? I know her. We are besties..." Saya spoke in a gleeful tone.

"...really? I think she denied knowing you though?" Tamamo recalled one time Nora talked about Saya with Raikou but the woman did not give any sign of knowing her.

"...well, back then, I met her under an alias and had disguised myself." Saya explained.

Feeling like a headache was about to hit her, Tamamo tried to get answer she was drying to know.

"...what did you usually talk with her?" Tamamo asked.

"Motherhood!" Saya grinned.

Facepalming, Tamamo wonder why she had the faint hope that it was something different.

"We discussed what kind of things we should teach our child if we had one or involved we should be with him as he grows. The kind of things we should teach him." Saya explained. "Should we teach him how to fight? What kind of training should we put him through? What kind of fighting style should we teach him? Should he use weapons or bare fists? We went though a lot of scenarios and possible futures but we came up with a rather detailed plan after racking our brain for days. Funnily enough, we did not take too long to decide about how to go with his sexual education. We both decided to push him down once he was 16 years old and turn him into a man. We would also watch him closely and judge any bad woman who got close to him. If she tried to fill his head with strange ideas, we will force them to break up. Mommy always comes first after all."

Sweating coldly, Tamamo found it a miracle that Nora had not been attacked even at young age. Even worse after the disaster when he slapped Raikou's ass by accident. The moan back then was clearly of female in heat, although you could technically blame Nora's absurd touch capable of turning even chaste nuns into a putty. The events on the Vatican were amazing to the point the angels got involved, no, it was not an exaggeration to say that it was because of an idiotic angel that they happened. It was how Nora got a faithful maid called Nanami and how he made the angels indebt to him after he helped the current Saintess gather the support of the masses and become their beacon as the first ever idol nun who along with her sister, brought enormous changes to the way things operated. After his visit to that land, Nora got a few zealots among the nuns and angels alike, even supported by the archangels. Give him enough years, and Nora might seduce his way to world dominance.

"...let me tell you a secret, Nora was a precocious child. Nekomatas are a very lewd race who are usually focused on reproduction so we develop our 'awareness' at young age." Saya smiled.

"...you wouldn't." Tamamo glared at Saya.

"I never tasted anything as good at that. I got a slightly addiction and would make sure to do 'that' every night." Saya licked her lips.

While she could not deny that every fluid Nora produced was tasty beyond belief, Tamamo did not like the idea of not being the first to have ever tasted 'that'.

"You dumb cat, idiot, how could you-" "I was joking." Tamamo and Saya had a small exchange.

Watching how the fox was going to rant, Saya smiled mischievously and confessed.

"I was just messing with you." Saya chuckled.

"...wut?" Tamamo asked.

"I have not done anything to him. Nora-chan is a 'virgin' in all senses, if that is what worried you." Saya replied, although she suspiciously looked away.

"Oi." Tamamo glared at the cat.

"...w-well, I have certainly not taken advantage when he was asleep to do anything to him. That much is truth." Saya said.

"Go on." Tamamo coldly spoke.

"I m-might've, you know, once, only once, when we were taking a bath together. It was his first time, you know, so I kind of jokingly told him I would rub him one and we both laughed, he also jokingly accepted... and well, I kind of did it, tee hee." Saya cutely tilted her head and pulled out her tongue as she playfully hit her head with her fist once.

"This bloody pervert. What were you thinking!?" Tamamo raged.

"Y-You can't blame me there! I was not honestly expecting him to agree!!" Saya retorted.

"He said it jokingly!" Tamamo rebuked. "I was not aware of that! Damn it Nora, why did you hide that!? I mean, I do hide that I pleasure myself, but..."

"...well, one thing led to another one." Saya said.

"Kuh! My biggest rival was not the kitsune but this cat!!! How could I of all the people make such a mistake." Tamamo grumbled.

"You can rest assured, nothing else happened." Saya spoke.

"...by the way, how did you exactly know he was already at the age for, you know, the deed?" Tamamo narrowed her eyes.

Using both hands to cover her mouth that was already opened, Saya seemed to have said something but it could not be understood, although Tamamo had an idea what it was about.

"Whatever, I cannot do anything about the past." Tamamo sighed.

Wiping her nonexisting sweat, Saya was not able to relax for long before Tamamo glared at her sharply.

"By the way, what parts were a joke and which ones were not?" Tamamo inquired with a strict tone. "You said it was all a joke... but Raikou is not one bit against what you said."

"...what do you mean?" Saya asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Raikou has the guts to ban other women from bathing with him, but she would get in the shower with him. She always comes out with a glossy apperence and Nora has a defeated expression." Tamamo shrugged her shoulders.

"That b****." Saya cursed out loud.

So basically all she said was true, Tamamo again was in awe about the quality of women going after Nora. Raikou was a dangerous specimen. She was a nice lady, very kind and easy to talk to, she got along well with pretty much everyone in the house, however, she had a tiny issue. She was a Nora Supremacist to the extreme. She was against lewd behaviour as well. A contradicting detail given that she was, for a lack of a better term to describe her, lewd. Exceedingly lewd, even if she used conservative clothes, she just looks lewd. You can ask 10 people in the house and all 10 will say she is lewd, erotic, R18 lady. Nonetheless, her childish behaviour at times makes it hard for you to get angry at her antics. Yet, Tamamo was not a forgiving one. She reduced the time she and her hubby had intimate times around the house all in name of protecting the morals. However, after Tamamo learned that she had her hidden agenda regarding Nora, she decided to snitch her to a woman equally crazy. She was aware that it would cause chaos, but so what? She was the calamity fox for a reason. It might trouble Nora, that did not make her hesitate. He would look cute with a troubled face anyways.

"Oh, yes. She always goes around preaching about protecting the morals, but she still wear the risky underwear that Nora buys her. He always gets the most lust inducing ones for her." Tamamo inwardly smirked.

Serves them right. She will also punish Nora for hiding his little escapade with Saya in the bathroom. However, giving it deeper thought. A small and helpless Nora who acts all shy and innocent is hard to resist bullying. He was the cutest when young so Tamamo could not blame Saya. Inwardly nodding to herself, Tamamo added 'steamy situation with a very young looking Nora' to her book of ideas. It was only because she wanted to understand the son and mother duo that she is doing it, no deeper reason.

"Pffft. Hahaha, I see. So that late bloomer is finally finally found someone she likes. It feels complicated that he is my child, but I guess she will take care of him." Saya laughed before her face was left with a gentle smile. "She never had a normal childhood and even lost her little brother whom she treated like a child. She is a strange one, but there is no doubt that if she is treating him like her son, she truly cares for him. The fact that she is lewd cannot be helped but she would never make Nora-chan cry."

Feeling like there was something strange about how the woman acted, Tamamo looked at Saya doubtfully.

"...you were messing around with me?" Tamamo carefully asked.

"Yeah." Saya smiled mischievously.

There was a resemble with Nora when he pranked someone on her expression and you could really tell that they were related.

"Although I was not lying when I said I will do everything in my power for him. That much is the truth." Saya poked Nora's cheeks.

"You are a bully." Tamamo sighed.

"From your expression, I can tell my son is one too." Saya giggled.

"...in so many levels." Tamamo blushed.

"...as a mother, I am both proud and conflicted." Saya smiled wryly.

"As a mother, huh." Tamamo looked at the woman in the eyes.

Hesitating slightly, Tamamo sighed.

"...was all you said before really a lie? About being whatever my hubby needed. A sister, a friend... even a lover." Tamamo muttered.

"If that is what he needed, I would do it. However, there is no need for that anymore. He has many women ready to take that position." Saya said. "I am glad."

"...I see." Tamamo mumbled. "You would really do anything for you child."

"He is my pride." Saya grinned. "He is the greatest son anyone could ask for."

"He is hot as well." Tamamo added.

"...way too much." Saya covered her mouth when she noticed her slip of tongue.

"...might I ask again, what parts were exactly a joke?" Tamamo asked with a vein ready to pop out from her forehead.

"...no comment." Saya looked away.

"Tell me, between Nora's dad and Nora... who is better?" Tamamo put a hand on Saya's shoulder.

"...his father." Saya replied.

"How dare you!? After all the time he spent opening your eyes about how the guy was only with you because he was helpless to run away from you! Besides, I have the seen the pictures! Nora is way hotter!!!" Tamamo raged.

"Wait, what was the correct answer anyways!?" Saya was confused.

"There were no correct answer, you bloody idiot." Tamamo growled. "My hubby is the best in the world! He might be a troublesome man who has an unusual luck with women, and he might be too kind to them, however, he is hard working man tries his best every second. He is attentive and always makes us feel the luckiest women alive."

"...you really love him, don't you?" Saya asked.

"You are damn right I do." Tamamo replied.

"He is in good hands then." Saya sighed.

"...you tricked me again?" Tamamo sounded displeased.

"He told me it was fun to do." Saya mumbled.

Pouting, Tamamo backed away.

"In all truth, I find him to be a bit of a troublesome child." Saya confessed. "The way he sees things is not as good as everyone believes. You surely have noticed."

"...I will make it so he changes that." Tamamo said.

"It is my fault, you know?" Saya mumbled. "It took me a while to notice his unique mindset... and I ended up abandoning him for years. Instead of trying to fix his mentality, I was absent. Not to mention, because he wanted to find me, he was caught and used as an experiment. The pain he went through was all because I was an inept parent."

Before Tamamo could offer words of consolation, the sleeping Nora woke up groggily. His eyes tried to shut down but he would force them open with sheer will. The fox and cat present were surprised, but Tamamo considered the time and nodded in understanding.

The youth stood up awkwardly and left without saying a word. Saya kept her eyes wide open during all this and looked at Tamamo in confusion.

"He is really troublesome, but he is a guy who will keep his promises." Tamamo said. "He is the best man."

A minute later, a sleepy Nora came with two bags of potato on his shoulders, or not. A curious Kuroka and Shirone were gently let down as Nora proceeded to pull pillows and blankets from his storage pocket, in just a second, he had prepared everything them to sleep, or rather, he put more pillows than the people here could use. Watching all this, the cat girls could not hide the excitement in their eyes and alternated their gazes with each other and then with Nora and Saya. However, when they noticed how Saya was just baffled, their expressions became sad and were about to leave.

Holding them in place, the sleepy Nora who struggled to keep his eyes open, held them each in one arm, facing Saya. His voice was clear and he seemed to be doing his best to not lose to sleepiness.

"The black one is Kuroka-chan, she is a cute girl who can be a bit unreliable at times, but she will always bring a smile to your face and warm your heart. She has a outstanding love for her sister and was willing to go though great lengths to protect her. I met her quote some time ago at a place the lab that experimented on me." Nora patted the black haired girl and then the white haired one. "The white one Shirone-chan, an adorable girl who likes pranks and playing around, she comes to you when you are sad an snuggles on you. I met her back then as well. They are both sisters, and I brought them home after escaping that place."

Leaving the room again, Nora came back with a purple haired young woman on his left shoulder and a small blonde haired girl on his right one as well as a girl following him while rubbing her eyes.

He put down the people on his shoulder and the rather confused duo looked at each other.

"The purple haired one is called Akiko, she is lovely girl who had a tough past, but I happened to help her out of a troublesome home and she is now pursuing what she always wanted to do." Nora patted Akiko who immediately and unconsciously rubbed her head against Nora.

Pointing at the figure standing at one side and then at the one he had put down a second ago with a blonde hair, the spoke.

"Artoria and Alice are sisters who struggled before I found them, I helped them once and they have been a huge help to me in return." Nora said.

Leaving the room again, the youth seemed to be far from over.

"Let's take this side." Artoria muttered and picked a couple of pillows and blankets.

Gesturing to her sister, the gave one look to Saya and sighed.

"Everything he does, it is for a reason." Artoria mumbled. "I am thankful that you gave birth to that guy."

With a teasing smile, Alice watched her sister and gave Saya a nod.

It did not take long for Nora to bring more people and his speech was repeated.

...

...

...

A lot of people were in the room and there was a need to open the folding doors to let them in the others rooms. A variety of people were all looking at Nora and Saya, who were face to face.

"...I was sad when you left." Nora confessed. "It was tough, I will not lie. However, I met many people, I changed their fates. I protected many and did my best. All these people here have a better life because of what happened to me. It was not meaningless, your actions did not only bring me pain. Look at them, look at their faces. They are now happy, they can now smile... it is all, because you guided me and taught me so many things. I survived until now because of your teachings... I helped everyone... I did it my best to make you proud... so... do not be... discouraged. I am truly... thankful for being born as... your son."

Unable to handle anymore, Nora fell unconcious, Kuroka and Shirone, who were waiting for him, gently caught him. The duo felt that despite always carrying a huge weight on his shoulders, he was light. They moved him and placed him beside Saya.

"We are thankful as well" "Thank you-nya." Kuroka and Shirone bowed to Saya.

Looking at each other, one by one, everyone began to give their thanks and bow to Saya. The words of gratitude baffled Saya and she did not know what to say. Her vision got blurry before she realized and she held back her tears.

"He promised these two that he would make it possible for you to meet and they would all sleep together like a real family." Tamamo muttered. "You do not need to feel burdened all alone. If there were bad things because you left, he made most of it and turned it into a good thing. You are seeing his hard work. Be proud, he turned into a great guy."

"...yeah." Saya could not hold back her tears and she cried.

Pulling Nora into her arms, Saya cried a lot. Even though she was hogging the youth, no one said a word. There was no way they could.

Illuminated by the moonlight, the scene of a mother embracing her child, the sight of a reunion that took many years and effort was unfolding.

Sighing, Tamamo was inwardly glad. She was truly glad. Perhaps, the would have to deal with the thing lying deep inside Saya, but not today. Right now, these idiotic mother and son duo needed to rest.