There was a tremendous explosion, followed by a massive crash as the oni fell to the ground. However, Utsuho didn't feel like letting the matter end there. She dashed to the fallen oni's form and slammed her cement encased foot onto his chest, before using her control rod to bathe him in plasma. Her rage somewhat subsided she kicked the unconscious form away.
?When I say I'm not interested I mean it!? the hell raven yelled. ?Did you really think I'd fall madly in love with some twit who can barely fly! Just because you dragged down a fresh corpse? Idiots!?
?Nice kick, Okuu,? said a voice behind her. Utsuho turned to see her old friend Rin floating behind her, wheelbarrow at the ready. ?Still I don't think you should hit him again. An oni corpse might make my cart nice and heavy, but it'd be more trouble then it's worth in the long run.?
Utsuho sighed. ?Yeah, you're right. These oni are so annoying though. At least the other ravens don't think fist fights are the way to impress a girl.?
Rin smiled. ?Oh yeah, that's right. I carted away 28 corpses, sorted 18 love letters and put 35 shiny objects into a bin. And some of those corpses were awesome too. It was great.?
The raven simply sighed again and shook her head before giving Rin a weak smile. ?Thanks Orin. I guess I should sort them all out...?
Rin frowned, then walked over and slapped Okuu upside the head. Utsuho flinched then flapped her wings in annoyance. ?What was that for!??
?You're getting too worked up over this, birdbrain. Come on, lets go home and relax a bit. You've been away too long,? the kassha stated.
Okuu looked over her shoulder at the large building at the core of the old hell. ?But the reactor...?
Rin sighed. ?Okuu, the reactors fine. It's putting out way more energy then it needs to. If anything you've been letting it run too high. You need a break from work. And while running around the surface starting fights is fine, I think you need something more passive.?
Utsuho still looked uncertain, so Rin pulled out her trump card. ?At the very least you should talk to Miss Satori, so she doesn't think you've up and left her behind now that you've become a god.?
?What? I would never! But I haven't seen Miss Satori for a while...? The hell raven looked pensive. ?You're right, Rin. I'll go home today.?
----
Satori looked up and smiled. ?Utsuho, Orin, it's good to see you two again.? She smiled at her pets. ?Oh. You shouldn't worry, Okuu. I know you won't forget about me.?
The two ran up to hug her. ?I'm sorry I haven't been visiting.? thought Okuu. Satori simply replied by petting the hell ravens hair. Of course she paid attention to Orin as well. Those two had been her first pets, and while in many ways they'd both probably outgrown her, she still couldn't help doting on them.
After a bit Satori nodded at a passing thought. ?Yes Orin, dinner sounds wonderful. Utsuho, would you be a dear and set the places??
?We're having curry tonight Okuu,? the kassha said as she ran off to the kitchen.
?Right,? Okuu replied heading for the appropriate plates.
Satori watched the two chattering as they finished preparing dinner. Utsuho alternating between confident and lost, while Rin laughed or scolded her.
She couldn't help but think that their odd friendship was probably the reason why they were so strong. A Satori could communicate with animals, true, but Rin and Utsuho had always wanted to talk to each other. This had forced them to master their humanoid forms and the magics associated with them.
Of course there were other reasons to master a human form, as Orin's curry was proving right now. Satori had never mastered cooking beyond 'heat meat and rice'.
As they ate Satori looked over at her pets. ?So, how have your jobs been??
Rin shrugged. ?With the reactor there's not much to do other then make sure Okuu doesn't flip out and collect corpses.?
Satori glanced questioningly at the hell ravens heart. ?Ah. You've been having problems with suitors? Why is that??
Okuu sighed and buried her face in her hands. ?I don't know. I've been more reclusive then before if anything....?
?It's the God bit birdbrain,? Rin said with a sigh. ?Now that you're actually divine people want to hook up with you. Toss in your figure and they're suddenly 'madly in love.' Doesn't help that most of the oni see it as a challenge.? Satori raised an eyebrow as Rin's tails lashed a bit.
?It can't be something that stupid, Orin,? Utsuho stared as Satori shook her head. ?You mean it is that stupid??
?I'm afraid so,? Satori patted Utsuho on the head as her face fell. ?But I'm sure it will pass with time. And who knows. You may meet someone from all this.?
Rin snapped her fingers. ?Hey that's right, what about the Norse twins? I thought they seemed actually interested in you.?
Utsuho frowned and waved her hand dismissively. ?Didn't work out. One of them was always looking down on me for not remembering things, and they were both way too obsessed about their boss. I'm not going to fly around the world on some god's whim looking for stuff because he's too lazy to leave his personal bar.?
The kassha laughed. ?That's what they do? Seriously? That's not being a pet, that's just being stupid.?
Satori noticed the flitting thoughts across Rins heart and frowned. She quickly hid her worry and smiled at the two. ?How about you two hop in the bath while I clean up? It sounds like you could use some relaxation.?
Satori sighed as the two wandered off to the hot springs. It seemed she'd need more tuna in the near future.
---
Rin stretched as the warm water helped her muscles relax. After a bit more soaking she turned to where her friend was slowly preening her wings. ?Hey Okuu, mind if I help you??
?Thanks Orin!? Utsuho said with a beaming smile. The hell raven slowly spread out her wings and presented her back to Rin, who began helping to remove damaged feathers and smooth out the rest. Okuu enjoyed her human form a lot more then Rin did, but it did make grooming much more of a pain.
?It's too bad you can't use your god powers to keep your wings clean.? Rin smirked a little. ?Actually, have you been able to do any miracles other then adding 2 centimeters to your bust and height??
Utsuho flushed a little, ?I don't think so... There was a kappa who claimed I kept his invention from exploding, but I don't remember that. I think it happened while I was sleeping.?
?Hm...? Rin considered the matter as she pulled out a broken feather. ?You should shake down one of the two idiots responsible for this for tips.?
Utsuho sighed. ?I keep trying to, but the frog one doesn't know anything. 'I was born knowing how to use these powers,' she says. And the snake one's always busy.?
Rin laughed. ?Maybe I can steal some info next time I visit the red white miko.?
The two fell quiet as they continued the long work. In the silence Rin considered her own situation.
The truth was that Rin had had something of an on and off crush on her friend, at least, ever since the two of them had mastered humanoid forms. Admittedly some of that was just the passing of seasons, but Rin had always been somewhat interested in adding ?with benefits? to their friends status.
Still Okuu had, well, been Okuu. The hell raven had never shown an interest in sex, or even dating really. With anyone. Orin had always figured it had been because her friend was young. Just as there was a language barrier between cats and crows there was probably an age barrier as well. And being youkai just added to the oddities. Rin herself had rather hazy memories of being quite old before she'd changed into a very young kassha.
So Rin decided to just wait on things. She found other partners here and there, some which lasted longer then others. And she stuck by her friends side, waiting for her to change, or not as fate might have it.
With a little tweak she properly arranged the last feather. Now that the feathers were dealt with Rin switched to massaging Utsuho's shoulders. The hell crow relaxed and murmured, ?Thanks,? again to her friend.
?No problem,? Rin cheerily replied before returning to her own thoughts.
The problem had come when Utsuho had gotten that gods power. First Rin had been worried sick. Then somewhat annoyed at her friend for not confiding in her. And then Utsuho had turned into an actual god and all hell had broken loose.
There had been a bit of a delay. The oni weren't all that in the loop, and the other hell ravens were mostly in awe of Okuu. But then one raven got bold and made a move, and after Rin shot him down the oni had figured things out...
And the worst part was Rin still wasn't sure what to make of it. She'd always assumed Okuu had just been clueless about the whole process. But it actually seemed her friend had an in depth list of qualifications her dates needed to meet. And even more surprisingly it seemed she had an actual eye out for someone who fit them. What was most annoying was Rin didn't know what those qualifications were. Apparently no one had met them, though Rin did have to admit most of them were losers. She'd been a little worried about those other raven gods, but they had just been passing though.
So had Utsuho finally grown up, or had Rin just totally missed something?
Obviously Rin was going to have to figure that out. She wasn't going to be left behind here. She'd found Okuu first and everyone else would have to live with that. She just needed to find out what Okuu was looking for then meet or beat it.
Fortunately she didn't need to worry about Okuu figuring out her plans. For someone who could run a nuclear reactor by herself, Utsuho was absolutely terrible at figuring out social interactions.
Thus in this case, the direct approach was best. ?So Okuu, did you really toss that idiot out just because he couldn't fly??
Utsuho twitched a little before relaxing again. ?Well he was also an idiot. Seriously, I don't care about strength. Well okay my mate shouldn't be weak, but being strong isn't enough.? Utsuho stretched and moved to face her friend. ?But yeah, flying is important. I want someone who can keep up with me.?
?Hm...? The kassha's ears twitched a little. This was working perfectly. ?So what else is on your little list??
Okuu blinked then shrugged. ?Let's see, flight, loyalty, looks, good personality, cunning, that's the start up. Then I figure we'd hang out together for four or five years to see if we're compatible.?
?Wha?? Rin's tails stood straight up. ?Four or five years? That's a long time to be stuck in dating mode there.?
?Unyu?? Okuu looked puzzled. ?I was thinking it might be a little too short. I mean it's important that we're compatible, if we're going to be together for life. That's the other reason so many of these guys are so annoying, they don't ever consider the long term.?
Rin simply kept staring at her friend. ?For life??
Utsuho blinked then looked away. ?Oh right, cats don't do that. Yeah we ravens mate for life.?
Utsuho turned back and gave Rin her normal empty headed smile. ?Anyway I should probably get out before I lose all that effort on my wings. Thanks again Orin! I'll meet you outside, okay??
?No problem,? Rin weakly replied. She sighed and collapsed back in the bath. That had been unexpected. It didn't make any sense to her mind. And she knew Okuu couldn't explain it.
Rin considered heading to Satori with this, but she wasn't sure she could face her master like this. She needed to find someone else who could help her understand.
Fortunately she already had a backup plan. Crows were like ravens, and she knew a place that had a whole lot of crows...
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I'm not sure if this is a short, or a medium or what, but I decided to give it it's own thread just because I'm only mostly certain of where it's going, and it'll probably hit at least 10 pages (in word) or so.