Immortality in DxD

Kunou slightly over sized ears twitch as a single nearby dewdrop dripped off it's grass blade and hit the dirt below with an audible thump. The sound of insects spreading their wings after a long period of inactivity, their chirping light and pleasant to ears. The soft deep breathing of her friend not to far away contrasted greatly to the deep, reverberating exhales on her other friend on the opposing side of her.

The girl's morning kimono was pure white and well worn, it's edges showing the signed of frequent washing. Fluffy, golden tails waved behind her following the rhythm of her practiced breathing. An inhale large enough to fill her lungs to near complicity, ready to burst. Following the visual image, she watched as the wind swirled through her nose, down her throat and into her lungs. Watched them expand, rip out the useful oxygen and toss out carbon with an equally smooth exhale. She imaged her body taking that oxygen, her veins slowly absorbing the useful substance before it got ran through every inch of her body. Following a single cells journey, she eventually arrived at the sight of one of the most important organs in the body.

Her heart.

It beat rhythmically, following it's own tune. Completely unbothered by any form of control she could extend to it. The organ expanded just like her lungs, taking in large amounts of blood before contracting. Further pumping the blood through the body.

The young kitsune didn't know how long she just sat their repeating that exercise. A minute, an hour, a day or even a week. All the worries, stresses, and troubles of the her life were swept under the consistent river of blood. Under the relentless beat of her heart.

She took another deep breathe and like toggling a mental switch, her internal vision changed. Going for the somewhat medical examination of her own self, to a whole new world. Her consciousness was awed by the image it presented. The world was black, a void of nothingness. Spindling lines of power were all that beat back the vast emptiness of the imagery itself. Roots spread all throughout her body, following closely to the outline of her veins. Down her arms, across her chest, down her torso, further down into her legs, further up her to head and finally a thick, overlapping system of channels ran through her nine tails.

Golden energy sped through these roots, ethereal and energetic in all ways. Sparking from end of the channels to another, it danced like a rueful child. Before she had met the mysterious man, known as Yamato Iori, the girl had been quite proud of her channels. Her mother had sacrificed a lot of very valuable resourced to help develop and strengthen these golden threads. In this state, she could admit that all the praise from multiple masters had indeed swelled her head to epic proportions. They had called them perfect, pristine energy pathways.

Something to coveted and sighed over as they looked on in envy.

But now, she felt foolish. So very foolish. After Iori had truly opened her eyes to true Senjutsu, these channels didn't feel complete. Kunou could feel it, see it with near perfect vision as the irregularities made itself known. When these golden threads flowed through a multitude of organs, the flow slowed dramatically. It was like someone pointing out something wrong and now no matter how much time you've spent away from it, the mistake was obvious.

These five organs were like stop gaps to those threads, slowing down the stream and from her known, putting further pressure on her organs. It tore at her soul as she remembered the man's teachings, she had inadvertently abused her body. A body that had taken her through so much, a true friend that she spent years starving to the point of just barely functioning.

Like it had been waiting for her to mention it, her consciousness zeroed in on a particular blockage and the scene brought her both a flash of guilt and pride. The once scraggy looking fox, with all it's malformation and caked on sludge now had a much more livelier appearance. Those strong limbs had packed on a few pounds of rippling muscle, ribs padded by a thin layer of lean fat. A large, pink tongue slipped out from a maw full of pristine white knives. Golden tails wagging in excitement as it leaned heavily on it's front paws.

'You're so beautiful..'

She didn't think this awe that filled her would ever truly go away, nor did she desire it to do so. The girl could never take this being for granted especially after all this time, now that she knew better. With a smile, she pressed her consciousness up against it's soft fur. Burying her face into the golden ocean and it in kind curled around her, nudging her with it's wet nose. Fingers ran through the cotton like sensation, took in the wild scent and felt the heartbeat run through her.

Reaching her tiny hands out, the felt a large tongue lick out at her palms and like a faucet, golden streams of Ki flowed into the beast's maw. Lapping up the energy, the creature yipped happily. A heavy breeze whipped her hair into a new frenzy, filling the girl with the urge to giggle in a way she hadn't done in a long time.

With a mental force of will, a small brush appeared in her hand and slowly ran it down the fox's body. It leaned further into the strokes, docile in nature. It's purring sent her body to rattle in place, running deep in her chest. Smiling wider, she continued her work with a slight hum of contentment.

Kunou lost herself in the work, falling deep into the rhythm of things. She didn't know how she spent brushing the giant animal, but the girl could feel it when the beast suddenly stood stock still. She could see every muscle under that thick fur coating, tense in unison. Seeing it's golden eyes look right through her, those fangs flashing, tongue splayed out. Tails waving around wildly, in a near panic.

'What's going on?!'

She tried to scan over the animal as her own heart paused in unison, the sudden silence more loud than anything else in this world. That rhythmic beating that followed her her in entire life was no longer present and panic nearly engulfed her. Her body blood grew stagnant, head faint, sight darkening as the specter of death crawled it's spindling fingers towards the kitsune.

Skin paling in kind, she instant worried for her mother.

'What would happen to mother if I die?' Her mind spun, that giant grip of fear near tearing at her psyche,' She won't survive!'

Her mother spoiled her rotten and care deeply. Too much sometimes. She was all the older kitsune had in this world, an anchor to keep her grounded and calm. Just thinking of her own death sent a spike of dread down the girl's spine.

'I'm sorry mother,' A small tear ran down her cheek,' I couldn't keep you company...don't let me see you too soon..'

And just as the world was spinning out of focus, a single heavy heartbeat banished her darkening thoughts. This singular heartbeat wasn't like anything else she's ever experience, it's very force nearly shook her entire sense of self. Filling her all with it's overwhelming power.

Another bone shuttering beat ran through her body, before a feeling of discomfort filled her and suddenly the fox coughed. Hacking up an incredibly revolting smelling ball of blacken puss right next to her feet.

Just looking at it sent a spike of wrongness to fill her and she retreated steadily from the personification of all things dirty and disgusting. The fox followed quickly in step, golden eyes glaring a hole into the sizzling ball.

Turning back, she checked over the beast and shocked soon filled her. Kunou must've not known the definition of beautiful before. The fox looked majestic, fur so gold that it reminded her of silken robes. A sleek and deadly frame overshadowed heavily by those giant nine tails that swiveled behind it like a blooming lotus. A single red line trailed up the tips of it's tail and fell in line to it's root. Crimson eye shadow made those large, glowing gold orbs to look even wiser than it did before.

It looked down at her, intelligence flashing behind those orbs. And with a slight smile on it's snout, the fox bowed deeply to the girl. Tears prickled at her eyes as she hugged the large snout before her, both joy and relief filling her as she wept.