A Nascent Kaleidoscope. Chapter 546:

"Nice to et you, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." I looked at her, unphased as her presence bore down on . Despite doing so, she wasn't disrupting the surroundings.

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I wouldn't know about Ddraig's user for this era?"

"Yes."

"….no wonder you are his wielder, you are just as shaless as the Great Welsh."

"I've never t him before in my life." I crossed my arms.

"There is sothing peculiar about you."

"Is it my handsoness?" I asked.

She blinked again, looking at as if she was trying to pry into my secrets. "…..When Mortals lie, there are signs. They are miniscule, but I'm able to detect them, increased heart rate, certain scents they let off. But you are utterly unphased despite the fact that you are lying to my face."

"Do you have proof?" I raised an eyebrow.

She pointed her finger at and I felt sothing strange as the Boosted Gear appeared on my arm without my prompt. "Would you care to correct yourself?"

"[I've never t this person before in my life.]" Ddraig defended as the jewel on the Boosted Gear lit up.

Ddraig, how the fuck did she force the Boosted Gear out of my soul?

[She can sniff out any treasures! If she wanted, she could take things out of your ring too. There's a reason she's still pissed that I took so of her treasures centuries ago.]

That would have been helpful to know beforehand.

So kind of treasure hunting ability? Not the strangest thing I've ever co across.

[I'm sorry, I was preoccupied with the powerful angry dragoness that won't stop hunting down every ti I find a new host!]

"This is clearly the Divine Dividing." I continued.

"[My na is Albion, the stupid white dragon.]"

"I'm quite literally looking at the Boosted Gear, Great Welsh." She deadpanned.

"[I, Albion, realized that Ddraig is better than I'll ever be and I changed my stupid wings into an aweso Red Gauntlet.]"

"I am aware of who Albion's host is." She said dryly. "I t with him by chance recently and he was more than happy to pass on your information."

[That bitch!]

"Nah, we switched the other day. He has the Boosted Gear now." I shot back without missing a beat.

"Enough of your nonsense. I ca for Ddraig." She frowned.

"…..is this a booty call?"

"….I'm starting to sympathize with Indra." She just looked at .

"Considering how much of an asshole he is, that's a rather impressive feat then." I complinted myself. I decided to stop avoiding the point of contention. "What do you want?"

"I want my treasures back." She said plainly.

"Ddraig, did you hear that? Ti to cough up her treasures. Wait, you're locked in a prison." I deadpanned.

"Then the debt falls to you." She pursed her lips.

"No."

"No?" She repeated in confusion.

"In what world would you think I have to pay that kind of 'debt'?" I answered back.

"You're his user – "

"….And?" I interrupted her.

She furrowed her brow and went silent. She went utterly still, unmoving and it was a bit unnerving for it to happen all of the sudden.

"…..what's wrong with her Ddraig?" She just silently stood there, and I was becoming mildly concerned.

"[Uh oh.]"

…what?

"[She's going to do that thing!]"

I was going to question what he ant by that, but the Dragon Goddess in front of , well, she sort of stopped reining in her 'presence'. Granted, she didn't intentionally exude it, but that didn't really matter when there was a fuck off powerful dragon standing right in the middle of Kyoto.

I readied myself for a fight, I would have to lure her outside of –

She just plopped herself onto the ground, expressionless, lying there staring up at the sky.

"…..Ddraig, what the fuck am I looking at."

"[This is what she always does! Every ti we had an argunt, she would just lay down silently until I gave in!]"

"I thought she chased after your previous users!!?!" I gestured to the Dragon Goddess laying on the literal street, staring up at the sky.

"[She would follow them back ho and make a nuisance of herself like this and not leave them alone!]"

I wanted to say sothing, really anything, but no words could properly convey my thoughts. I just stared at the Dragon Goddess that reached a level of shalessness I didn't even know existed.

"I have so many questions, like what the fuck am I looking at?" I emphasized again, but the first ti I asked that didn't help. It was rare that I found myself so genuinely speechless.

I could gear Ddraig grumble. "[Despite being one of the strongest Dragons…..she doesn't like fighting and is the most Gentle of our kind.]"

I assu 'gentle' had a different aning when it cos to Dragons, but that still has significance I suppose.

"Why didn't any of your previous users just force her away?" I sighed.

Well, besides being too weak to do so. But that wasn't a particular problem for . She was strong, but I was stronger.

"[...how could I ever hurt her?]" Ddraig said quietly.

I sighed again because now that Ddraig said that, I couldn't bring myself to harm her either. Soone that Ddraig cared about, after everything we've been through, I couldn't raise a hand to the Dragon Goddess that was laying down in the middle of the road until she got her way.

"You're lucky that I'm here with you, Ddraig. Thankfully, I have a technique to counter hers."

Ever so slightly, the Dragon Goddess twitched, as she was clearly listening to and her eyes locked onto my own.

I took out my Kaleidophone, making a call. "Izzy, I need an adult."

Very quickly, and before I could even explain properly, a wooden scaffold pushed up out of the ground, rupturing the concrete as a vortex swirled underneath. It had been awhile since I've seen Izzy's thod of entering and leaving Yomi.

Izzy strode out, looking at the scene, but before she would utter a word, soone peeked out from behind her.

"Mother!?"

Tiamat perked up, sitting up, but still on her butt. "Oh. Hello Ereshkigal."

@***@

This was turning into a rather odd day.

What were the chances of eting two sopotamian Deities like this back to back? I was fairly sure that there weren't many of them around anymore.

Tiamat, seemingly, wasn't as shaless in front of another mber of her pantheon.

Izzy, rather sternly, made everyone co back to Yomi rather than cause a commotion in the middle of Kyoto Youkai territory.

Ereshkigal, she had long black hair and wore quite a few ornate hair pieces but a simple white dress, seemingly made from cotton, but I wasn't too sure. Other than the few ornants, her appearance was….simple, even if she was rather beautiful. A bit on the petite side, perhaps a couple inches taller than Artoria.

Tiamat, walked to Izzy's house, didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. Rather, she took the Goddess into her arms, found a seat on the empty couch, sat down and put Ereshkigal into her lap as she fawned over the other Goddess.

"How many years has it been?" Tiamat humd. And while she was acting the part of a doting mother, there was the feeling of…detachnt. "A thousand years?"

"Yes, Mother." Ereshkigal said softly.

Tiamat's nose twitched, and she looked down at the other Goddess. "You have a Treasure on you I don't recognize, where is it?"

"M-Mother!" Ereshkigal squawked as Tiamat's hands started to inspect around her until she pulled out a string from around her neck and attached to it was so sort of pale looking key.

I tilted my head because I had the feeling I've seen sothing like it before.

"That's strange, there's nothing special about it." Tiamat shrugged, clearly losing interest and letting go of it as the other Goddess seed to quickly stuff it back down her shirt.

Izzy and I….were kind of just silently watching them.

"Ahem." Izzy, very unsubtly, cleared her throat.

"Ah?" Ereshkigal made a small noise. "Erm…Mother…."

"Hmm? Oh yes. Ddraig's host still owes a debt." Tiamat looked back at .

"I am very close to physically expelling you from Japan." Izzy narrowed her eyes. "I find it odd that one of the rare tis I'm eting with Ereshkigal, that you happen to appear."

"She ssaged the other day and happened to ntion that she was eting you,, so I thought it was a good opportunity to seek out Ddraig's host while you were preoccupied." Tiamat didn't even hide it.

"M-mother!?" Ereshkigal squeaked. "Don't use to distract Izanami!"

Izzy let out a sigh, covering her face.

"It's not like I caused any disturbances with the mortals." Tiamat said offhandedly.

Which….was technically true.

"I think a Dragon Goddess revealing herself fully in the middle of Kyoto is enough to be called a disturbance." I said dryly.

Tiamat showed a scowl, which followed Ereshkigal with a wince. "I am not a Goddess." Tiamat's words were spoken with a faint but noticeable growl to them. "Anymore."

Well, consider that nerve touched.

"Um….you're Izanami's…B-boyfriend?" Ereshkigal looked at .

I quickly switched gears, smiling politely back at her. "That I am." I said proudly, my Death Goddess adopting the faintest of red. Though she didn't deny it. "It's nice to et one of Izzy's friends."

Ereshkigal's deanor shifted and she smiled brightly. "I heard a lot about you! Well, I think most people have at this point…..but it was so sweet the way you confessed about you both while so many people were watching!"

I may have shot Izzy a wide grin, much to her chagrin.

"Sorry for interrupting whatever it was you were both doing. I simply had an…..odd situation I found myself unable to handle without help." I glanced at Tiamat who didn't show an iota of regret over her actions.

[Don't hold your breath, she's used that technique on so many tis, and I've lost to it every ti.] Ddraig grumbled inside my soul.

How frightening.

Frankly, I pictured Jinn doing sothing similar, and I absolutely wouldn't be able to beat it either, so I couldn't find it in myself to joke at his expense.

"We were simply having a chat about certain things." Izzy said dismissively. "Nothing overly important."

"I've heard about Kur, it's supposed to be a rather peaceful ho for dead souls. I wouldn't mind visiting it at so point." I continued, making polite small talk.

"You….would want to visit Kur!?" Ereshkigal's eyes widened.

"Uh….yes?" Did I say sothing wrong?

She held her cheeks. "…..no mortal has said that in a long ti."

"We wouldn't mind visiting at any point, dear." Izzy's expression turned warm and gentle when dealing with the other Goddess associated with Death.

"It's no Hades, but I can entertain guests!" She pumped her fist rather cutely. "My first guests in so long!"

Why did that make feel bad for her?

"Before that, we should deal with the Dragon in the room." Izzy crossed her arms, her eyes focused on Tiamat.

"I just want what I am owed. This one slls of treasures plenty." She held her hand up, pointing at .

"You're no in the position to demand anything." Izzy scowled. "The fact that you showed up without any warning is already enough to throw you out without caring about politeness."

Tiamat tilted her head. "I'm very persistent."

[She's not lying. I rember the first ti she did that thing to . She laid in the sa spot for over a decade until I finally caved.]

….I don't know if I should be impressed or not.

You really still care about her, don't you, Ddraig? I didn't need him to answer, his attitude said it all.

He was the type to hold a huge grudge, his rivalry with Albion evidence of that. Yet, despite Tiamat chasing after him over so many users, he never once thought about being forceful or harming her in any way.

I could tell Izzy was having a headache on how to handle this situation as well. Tiamat was at the threshold of being powerful enough that you couldn't simply command her to do sothing she didn't want to do.

And honestly, what could you even threaten her with? From what I recall, she lived in isolation in the middle of the Familiar Forest in the Underworld.

Her 'attachnts' to her Pantheon? Ereshkigal called her 'mother' which made sense considering she's their Primordial Mother, but Tiamat never once returned that kind of affection. There's obviously a sort of invisible wall she keeps up between herself and her 'pantheon'.

[Sorry for getting you wrapped up in my ss.] Ddraig uncharacteristically apologized.

I wanted to point out his rivalry with Albion again but…..his attitude gave pause.

"You said Ddraig took your treasures, explain what you an?" I sighed, realizing what the best way to handle this was.

"He stole my treasures." She said with full seriousness.

Ddraig….

[I only took a few!]

How many is a few?

[….a few.]

"How much did he take?"

"Over half of my hoard." She scoffed in annoyance. "I managed to retrieve so of them over the years, but I'm still missing a lot. As his host, it's your job to get them back."

God dammit Ddraig. I have no idea how long that would take, and the fact that they've probably found new owners all over the world….

"….what if I was willing to give you so of my treasures?"

She perked up at that.

@***@

I pushed the door to my house open. "If you touch anything without permission, I won't care about Ddraig's affection towards you and I will not be polite. This is my ho." I made it clear to the not-goddess Dragon.

Tiamat didn't speak to acknowledge my warning, just humming as she peeked inside, followed by Ereshkigal and Izzy. Izzy of course would supervise, and Ereshkigal was currently a guest so it would be rude to tell her to hang back.

And I didn't mind, she was Izzy's friend so she was more than welco to visit my ho. Truthfully, it was Izzy's ho as well, even if she had a ho in Yomi just as well.

Tiamat's nose twitched excitedly. "I sll a lot of treasures." She preened and nearly shot off down the hallway.

"What the hell!?" I heard Rin's voice as I quickly followed after the Dragon.

"What did I literally just say?" I grabbed the Dragon's arm as she stood in the doorway of Rin's Workshop.

"Schweinorg, what the hell?" Rin was confused and perhaps a tad angry at the suddenness of what was happening.

"Sorry, it wasn't intentional. Rin, et Tiamat." I briefly made introductions.

Rin imdiately recognized the na, staring at the Dragoness. "….why is she trying to get into my workshop."

"I slled sothing good." Tiamat said simply.

"….thank you…?"

"She can apparently sniff out 'treasures'." I sighed. "But that's not where she should be going and is off limits. We're going to where I keep the majority of my stuff."

"….right." Rin was probably still confused at what was happening.

I was starting to think when you lived long enough, you developed so sort of odd quirk. Odin…Tiamat, others….there was a pattern forming.

Izzy quickly rejoined us, putting a not so gentle hand on the Dragon's shoulder. Tiamat just had a playful smirk on her face despite the situation.

[…I think she's having fun. She rarely cos out and interacts with people anymore]

That would….explain a lot.

"Ah?" Ereshkigal let out a noise, looking at Rin.

"Eh?" Rin returned, in confusion as the Surian Goddess stared at her with wide eyes.

"Be my priestess!" Ereshkigal blurted out.

"….what?" Rin blinked.

"I second that." Izzy replied.

"I…." Ereshkigal looked around awkwardly. "I didn't an to blurt that out! It's just…..I was surprised. As soon as I saw you….a Mortal, I….I've never seen soone so compatible with before."

"Perhaps you should start off by introducing yourself." Izzy offered.

"Right! I'm Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld!" She said proudly. "Be my Priestess!"

"I'm Rin Tohsaka, and no."

"Wah? Why not!? I'm a Goddess!"

"I'm a Magu – Magician, why would I care about those sorts of things."

"I…..I can give you stuff….?"

Rin's eyes began to sparkle. "I'm listening."

Well, looks like Rin has this handled, I won't ddle in it then. Though I am curious about what's going on, so I'll ask her later.

"Where do you think you're going?" Izzy hissed under her breath as Tiamat seemingly tried to sneak away. "It's this way."

Well, I was content to let Rin handle her own matters as Izzy very gently navigated Tiamat down the hallway to the correct room.

Tiamat's nose twitched again and her eyes lit up. "I sll a lot of good things here." She didn't even wait for to speak before pushing the door open.

Technically, I called this my armory, because it sounded cool. Realistically, it's just where I kept things that I don't keep in my Ring.

Magical and Enchanted weapons lined the walls. Magical ingredients of varying quality. There was also a good supply of potions set up on the shelves for ergencies when I wasn't around. There were duplicates of Magical Tos which were properly housed in the Library that Jinn took care of. And there was a plethora of other random things that I found so degree of value in.

My inner dragon was happy being in here, despite the fact that I was giving so away.

Tiamat's hands were visibly twitching in excitent. "Can…..can I take what I want?" She hesitantly asked.

It went against my nature, but I relented with a sigh. "Take what you want."

I expected her to start scrambling around, but she was actually very ticulous as she walked up to a large shield, inspecting it thoroughly before pulling it off the wall and walking over near us, setting it down gently.

On the opposite side, she stared at a large two-handed sword for a while before taking it off a weapon rack and once more, gently set it down next to the shield.

She was making a little pile for herself.

She wordlessly started to grow the pile, adding more and more things onto it.

"What's this?" She held up a vial.

"Uh, crystallized Magical Energy – Dust as it's called." There was a bit of Dust stored here for ergencies as well.

Tiamat's eyes lit up and added it to the pile.

"What's her deal?" I asked quietly with Izzy by my side.

"What do you an?" Izzy looked at .

"She is….odd."

"She can hear you." Tiamat spoke from across the room.

"You're welco to leave." I quipped back.

"Wilhelm, she is old. I don't quite think you understand how old she is." Izzy was…well, she was a bit more polite in her tone. "She's older than ."

"I would have thought Ddraig told you already." She stole a glance at as she added a few more items to the pile. "I thought you were intentionally insulting before, but I guess you really don't know then."

Does she an when I called her a Goddess and she got upset? Well, in truth, I couldn't feel an ounce of Divinity from her.

She was purely a Dragon. And Ddraig once told a very brief outline of what happened to her…

"You lost your Godhood, right?" I asked.

"Do you normally bring up a woman's bad mories so bluntly?" Tiamat snorted.

I rolled my eyes. "You threw yourself onto the ground like a child when you didn't get your way."

"And I'll do it again." She said without an ounce of sha. If it wasn't a threat towards , I would be impressed at this point. "It's not a secret. When my children mutilated my body to create the Heavens and the Earth, a small part of my will was swept up in the new lands they created. Eventually, it reford into that of a Dragon due to my connection with Dragons when I was still a Goddess. I'm no longer a Goddess, simply a Dragon."

A Primordial Goddess reduced to this.

Simply a Dragon, yet one of the strongest Dragons in the world. It made genuinely curious how strong she would have been at her best.

Eventually, Tiamat stopped adding things to the sowhat large pile as if she were done. "You're really letting have these?"

"I'm paying Ddraig's debt." I admit I felt a little bit of an obligation due to my relationship with Ddraig.

Tiamat scrunched her nose. "It's not equivalent. These are nice treasures, but it's still a ways away from being what Ddraig stole from ."

"Don't push your luck." I rolled my eyes.

"Why?"

"What?" I replied back.

"Why are you giving your treasures? Despite claiming you owe a debt, I'm not stupid. I didn't expect you to actually pay it off. Normally, I just annoy Ddraig and his host for a while before going back ho." She freely admitted to her normal plans. "Though, normally his Hosts aren't nearly at your level, both in strength and in hoard. His hosts are usually very poor. I'm just wondering why you're doing this for ."

"I'm doing it for Ddraig, not for you. Ddraig very clearly still cares about you, so I'm doing this in his stead."

She didn't respond to that imdiately, her back was turned to and I could barely see the edge of her face, but there was just a slight hint of sothing even if no words were spoken as she fiddled with the pile of stuff.

"You have a good relationship with the Great Welsh." She finally said.

"Of course, he's my partner. Eventually, I'll figure out a way to free him properly from his Sacred Gear and reform his body."

"Is that so?" She muttered to herself, waving her hand, the pile of stuff she picked out disappeared, swept up to wherever she stored it. "This place is rather nice. Lots of different species, and it's full of people. The perfect place for a Dragon to vacation for a while."

I felt a headache coming on.

@***@

A/N

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