Chapter 15- Problems here, there, everywhere

Yuuki was sitting in Tao's study, along with Tao. They weren't alone however, various people were standing or sitting around the study, looking at the TV mounted on the opposite side of the room with various degrees of emotions such as nervousness, anger, frustration etc.

Mr. Kosuke, Yuuki's butler was brewing a tea without any kind of tension showing in his eyes. Such was how he always acted, always professional, even a better butler than Ron ever was.

Behind her desk, sitting on her comfy chair and puffing a cigar without looking at the TV was none other than Tao in all her authoritative glory. The sound of calligraphy brush stroking the smooth surface of the paper was subtle, but it overshadowed any other sound in the room, sheerly because of the significance of the action.

Contrary to what most people thought, Tao wasn't addicted to smoking, although she had a cigar with her almost all the time except when she was with Aito.

She, as someone with human blood on her veins, had a quirk which was related to controlling Ash. It was a quirk with a lot of applications and very versatile if used correctly. She was effectively training her quirk with every puff she took, in her own way. The seemingly random yet patterned swirling of ash around her was the proof of that. Although she was long past the stage of having to train her quirk so mundanely.

The wind blowing from the open window of the study was fluttering Yuuki's Dark hair while blowing the enchanting aroma of the tea to the entire room, but no one seemed to mind, as everyone in the study was listening to the TV intently.

"A major maritime incident has unfolded as one of the world's largest cargo ships, carrying Quirk support items bound for America has sunk in the Pacific Ocean. The ship was reportedly owned by Tenryu International, an international company based in Japan.

Emerging reports suggest that the vessel's sinking may be the result of a terrorist attack. The cargo ship, which held Quirk support items, met its tragic fate under circumstances that are currently under investigation by maritime security agencies.

As the situation develops, Tenryu International has expressed deep concern over the incident and is cooperating with authorities in their efforts to uncover the truth behind this shocking development and rescue of the crew.

Our team is committed to providing accurate updat-…"

The news was muted as Tao took another remote from her drawer since the original was obliterated out of existence when Yuuki violently threw it out of the window, which resulted in the broken windowsill and the open window.

"We should've set up the portal network to make everything more convenient, or pushed forward the Air carrier projects," Yuuki stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Admittedly, Yuuki's mood was a vast contrast to when she was in the park. She was pissed.

Mr. Kosuke handed Yuuki her tea, and she accepted it with a nod of acknowledgement.

A bunch of mortals interfering with their affairs time and time again was enough to piss anyone with Yuuki's status off. A word from Tao would've been enough to take care of them once and for all, but all of the circumstances combined had tied their hands, and the mortals were taking that as a sign of weakness.

Until now, they were minor inconveniences, but now that they had crossed the line…

"Yeah right. Set up a portal interconnecting the continents, and get kicked out of Earth by Yggdrasil. That racist bitch is already wary of Lady Tao staying on Earth. Do you really want to add fuel to the fire?" It was Merlin, who was crouching on one side of the room who answered Yuuki.

Merlin was waving something in front of Tommy to gain his attention, but the cat was ignoring him. Tommy had his own armchair in Tao's study, even when some important people were simply standing around.

Yuuki looked at Merlin, the madman was still eyeing her cat. She dipped a finger in her tea and flicked the single drop of tea stuck on her finger towards Merlin, the single drop of tea travelled at speed inconceivable by mortals yet it glowed in faint silver light as it struck the back of Merlin's head, which prompted the guy to incline his head forward a little.

"Ouch." A hollow acknowledgement of pain came from the man, but even a toddler could tell that he wasn't affected by the act of violence.

"Get… away from my cat," Yuuki said calmly, with a pause. The threat of violence didn't go unnoticed by Merlin as he backed away with a displeased expression and his hands held high.

"And If you know, that I know something, don't bother explaining it further." Yuuki took a sip of the tea to calm her nerves as she spoke. Can't someone simply express their frustration without getting interrupted?

"Are you going to let this one slide too?" Yuuki asked, looking at Tao, her voice calmer than before.

"No," Tao answered, and Yuuki raised an eyebrow but lowered it when the expected answer came out of Tao's mouth.

"But we can't just openly declare war."

"Why would we want war? Why make it so dramatic? I can just move myself. Just three swings of my spear is enough to take care of those liberation army buggers. Take care of their central command and boom, everything settled until they can unite again. But surely, we can take care of them separately before that."

"True, it's that simple." Said Tao still running her calligraphy brush. "But are you sure that the rest of the champions will just sit back and watch?"

"That won't matter, not like they can stop me. What would they do? whine about me acting for my student?" Yuuki snorted as if the mere notion of someone stopping her was blasphemous.

Tao shook her head. "You should care a little more about public relations Yuuki."

"They won't be able to stop you, but they can actively hinder all the progress I've made over the last decade, it's not like they are pleased with you working for an outsider."

"…" Yuuki snorted, evidently displeased as she focused on her tea. She didn't bother reminding Tao of the two hundred-plus escorts and crew, who went missing along with the cargo. Yuuki knew that Tao understood the situation perfectly, and she was better suited for making decisions under stress.

Tao didn't look up from the document as she muttered under her breath.

"I wanted to lay low for at least another couple decades and enjoy the peace while it lasted."

The words were spoken silently, but the silence that prevailed in the room made everyone in the room hear the words.

Everyone wondered how becoming one of the major powers in global economics in a decade was considered laying low, but no one said anything.

"Our best option right now is to be passive and increase the security of our supply. We can ask those fish heads for assistance in maritime security. And I assure you, this incident will not repeat itself."

Tao's brush strokes were reaching their crescendo, and the cigar tightly tucked under her lips glowed, burning up fast, showing her frustration.

Tao took out a seal from who knows where and smacked it on the document she was writing. The seal continued to glow in an ashen colour with a golden outline, making the whole document glow and give off an ethereal presence.

"Merlin" Tao called out and Merlin, who was trying to sneakily get close to Tommy stood up straight and saluted in an exaggerated manner.

"Yes ma'am."

"Deliver this to Poseidonis. And for the love of god, don't make a mess there."

"No, Ma'a- Er, Yes ma'am." Merlin didn't wait any further, he transformed into particles of light that vanished into thin air along with the document, leaving behind a mesmerizing sight.

"You're all dismissed, I need an accurate report on our losses and a full-scale investigation of what happened to our escort fleets. Move as much resources as you can into finding the whereabouts of the missing people."

"…"

Everyone left the study with a short bow of respect.

A sigh escaped her lips yet again as Tao put out her Cigar. She gave a nod to Mr. Kosuke and the man promptly left the study, understanding the gesture.

Tao stood up from her seat and walked up to Yuuki from behind the couch she was sitting.

She started massaging Yuuki's stiff shoulders. But the Gesture wasn't enough for Yuuki's annoyance to lessen.

"What are you doing, 'princess'?" Yuuki protested, but her words carried no power of persuasion.

"Yuuki, I know you're pissed." Tao started; her voice gentler than usual.

"I'm fucking pissed." Yuuki retorted, her tone as flat as could be.

"Yes, you're fucking pissed. But you should understand the circumstances, we are in no position to do as we please, at least not right now."

"It was carelessness on my part and a result of our forces spreading thin far too quickly. I did expect something like this to happen but I did not expect for them to be this bold."

Yuuki let out a sigh, putting down her teacup.

"More than 200 of our crew is missing Tao, … that's more than what I can tolerate."

The mortals were manpower they trained after Tao's descent to earth, so naturally, Yuuki was involved in their growth, this kind of attachment was rare for Yuuki, despite her age.

"I know, I know. We can take measures to make sure that something like this never happens again, but direct retaliation as you would want is too much."

"Let's say we can deal with the champions with some persuasion, even then, do you know How ridiculous that sounds Yuuki? an international company having a personally cultivated army powerful enough to crush the liberation front which had been a headache to deal with for the various governments on this planet? Do you think the Governments and the World Hero Association would sit idly and turn a blind eye to it?"

Detnerat and the liberation army backing them up wasn't something one could deal with without making huge ripples in the world as a whole. They would have to mobilize a considerable number of forces, which would include negotiations with the World Tree.

If Tenryu were to make a move right now, then they would have to move on all fronts. Crushing the enemy with overwhelming force was always Tao's strategy, and they weren't about to suffer any losses against a mortal bunch.

That said, Tao herself wouldn't be able to move like she always had. It would be a violation of the rules stating that celestial beings can't interfere with mortal affairs. Tao was already treading the line of regulations thin by just staying on earth and running a branch of her clan here.

"So, indirect?" Yuuki not even caring about the stuff Tao just told her.

"…Not now!" Tao let out a sigh and said with a pause, prompting Yuuki to look behind.

"Why?" Yuuki asked, but her voice was softer than before, all of the problem Tao mentioned above wasn't something Tao couldn't handle, instead something else was plaguing her mind.

Tao sighed again, understanding Yuuki's intention. She gave in quite fast though. "The situation in Zypheron is getting progressively worse, and my useless bugger of a father isn't showing any signs of getting himself involved. I might have to pay a visit." At the mention of Tao's father, Yuuki raised an eyebrow and asked.

"And?"

"I'm thinking of taking Aito with me, at the very least until his bloodline problem is completely resolved."

"!!?" Yuuki's eyes widened, and she looked back. Tao looked resolute as if she had made up her mind.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, he's already 6, and his bloodline is still not showing any signs of stabilization… And… I think it's about time he met hi-" Tao couldn't finish as both her and Yuuki's eyes widened.

As soon as Aito passed the invisible and intangible barrier that was blocking the world's mana, the rune Tao had placed on Aito's clothes activated. Using the mana that was ever-present across the world as a medium, the message was sent directly to Tao and Yuuki.

Tao's level of existence was higher, as not even a split second later as her brain processed the information, she was halfway to Osaka, all the way from Aichi.

Tao didn't hesitate, not heeding the restrictions she had placed upon herself to peacefully reside on Earth, she used her full strength to arrive before Aito, the world wasn't an obstacle before her as she phased through the world using space as a medium. Not even a second later, she was floating above the world prison created by the Nurarihyon, With Aito in her hand.

The top of the mansion was completely blown off by Tao's take-off, and a split second later a figure shot out from the mansion. The figure reached the troposphere just as quickly, and with a shockwave, it sped up toward the direction of Osaka.

Aito was flailing his hands and legs in the air trying to balance himself to land into the hand of the man who was trying to catch him. But before he could process anything, he was pressed hard onto Tao's bosom, a hand gliding over his hair as Tao held him as if she had just about lost something precious.

A warm energy started coursing through Aito's body as it instantly healed all the minor bruises Aito had received after being sandwiched against the wall of the world prison, except for the missing tooth. Aito instantly recognised the energy signature and he exclaimed, despite being suffocated by Tao's bosom.

"Momph."(Mom) Aito didn't even try to look up as he held onto Tao.

"It's alright, everything's fine, mom's here," Tao whispered into Aito's ears, her voice calm, but the burning look in her purple irises told another story.

It was the first time in this life that Aito was even remotely exposed to danger. Not to mention the spontaneous succession of events and the lack of information didn't leave him with peace of mind. There were a lot of chaotic thoughts running through his mind at the moment, but the mere presence of Tao and her comforting words had calmed him down in ways he hadn't experienced. And getting his teeth knocked out wasn't a pleasant experience, his pain receptors were simply numbed in order to keep his head cool.

Tao patted Aito's back, gently conveying comforting words as she closely listened in on Aito's decreasing heartbeat. Only once she didn't sense any abnormalities in Aito, especially his bloodline, did she turn her gaze at the Nurarihyon. Although at the moment Tao arrived here her senses were absorbing the situation.

The dragon tattoo on Tao's neck burned with intensity despite being covered by the form-fitting high-neck black top she was wearing. Tao's usual calm and collected persona was crumbling as she processed what could've happened as a result of her carelessness, what could've happened if she was, but a second late.

But all of these chaotic thoughts settled a second later as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

She still did not have the full image of what had happened, but Aito was safe with her and that was enough.

The Nurarihyon, calmy shook off the blood from his blade his eyes made contact with Tao's own purple irises. But despite feeling the gaze that was enough to melt his soul into oblivion, the man had an arrogant expression with a smug grin on his face.

It seemed like the intel they had on Tao was true enough. Him still being alive to make that grin was proof enough for the Nurarihyon. If Tao could act as she pleased, with her reputation, the Nurarihyon- Rihan Nura- would be nothing more than Ash the moment she had arrived.

The Nurarihyon's intel was correct, just using her power for a split second to affect the world had alerted the world tree, and Tao could feel the 'will of the world' trying to forcefully push her out of the star system. But the Nurarihyon still had no idea that he was being smug on borrowed time, that too was simple seconds.

The Nurarihyon took a deep breath and readied himself, the crack made on the world prison was already closed, if not for his technique not being complete, how could mere mortals with mortal means break it? Messing with the world itself was an endeavour, how could merging two worlds together to make the perfect prison be easy, maybe his father could make one which would be powerful enough to trap even celestials, but despite his millennial-long existence, he certainly was not powerful enough to do that. He had the potential to be, but to achieve that potential, he needed to be alive.

And Rihan Nura had full confidence in his ability to escape any situation, although it was unfortunate that he was held back from completing his goal by a bunch of mortals, he could only blame his own carelessness. His mind briefly passed with the idea of taking the mortals he incapacitated as hostage, but making an eternal hostility when he could simply escape wasn't on his agenda at the moment. 

Now, he simply had to make a distraction, dispel the world prison and escape into the mirror dimension, and simply swim through the dimension to get to the rendezvous point.

Just as the Nurarihyon was preparing for his escape, he felt a pressure weighing down on his world prison, to the point of caving the prison in like a rubber dome.

Rihan was perplexed, he hadn't experienced something like this before. But before he could form a coherent thought, a silver streak fell down from the sky as the world prison broke like a balloon, and the back of a heel pressed hard on his skull.

The Nurarihyon was directly turned into meat paste, the place where the heel landed on making a crater that spanned much more than the world prison's radius.

Tao, just held back her urge to sigh as she snapper her fingers.