#Miko can use the force to become invisible

[vereen01]

...i got back into my star wars phase- made a jedi and a clone trooper!!

the jedi's name is Miko Respere and he's a Master shadow!! he's of near-human variant to give him his lovely purple eyes :3

the trooper's name is Spiral, designation ARC-CT-5256, and he's... well, he's very much happily married to his riduur!

perhaps after the war they can settle down together??

[thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch]

Wishing on Golden Stars [3]

Allow Me to Introduce...

genre: isekai, slow burn, fluff, hurt/comfort, humor(?)

chapter warning(s)!!!: feelings of internal frustration, dashes of impostor syndrome, self-internal isolation

chapter w.count: 4.2k

a/n: putting y/n through it uh-oh

“Thoma!” The relaxed body of the ginger haired housekeeper becomes strung with tension at the call of your voice at his back. He turns to see you stomping towards him, stopping nearly at his toes. “Where is he?!” You scold, pushing your finger into his chest as he rubs the back of his head with a guilty, forced laughter. 

“I wonder…” he trails off.  You feel your veins pulse before you let out a heavy, defeated sigh. Snatching a small parchment from your pock, it was revealed to be a note. Delivered to you via a different staff member and addressed from the Yashiro Commissioner himself. Scribbled in Ayato’s unbelievably neat handwriting was an inscribed message:

[I’ve left a sealed package for the Tenryou Commission Police Station at the entrance of the estate. Be sure to deliver it for me.]

You crumpled the note in your palm and had the intense urge to rip it into tiny little pieces. 

“He does this on purpose! That arrogant lord knows going to the Tenryou Commission makes me nervous, but he still does things like this!” You snarl. It was widely gossiped that the reason you dislike meandering around the Tenryou Commission’s property is because of your time spent incarcerated (of course, it was only the span of a day). Though, the real reason was because among the territory of the Kujou Clan was Tenshukaku… where the Raiden Shogun resided.  

You have now been in Teyvat under the employ of the Kamisatos’ for two years and it was about a year and a half ago when you finally came to remember that the Raiden Shogun existed. 

For the first six months of your employment, you were kept under pretty strict lock and key- always supervised and monitored. The people of the commission were always looking to see if they could ever catch even the most minor of infractions- of course they never did. The last thing you needed to do was fuck up bad enough you get kicked out. 

Then, when the day came where you had the smallest first dose of freedom, you were taken on an errand in Inazuma City. The Tenryou Commission territory was more intimidating than you remember now that you were pretty used to Inazuma and not so shell shocked by your situation, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that it looked like it was… missing something.

That something was the Statue of the Omnipresent God that was featured in gameplay. That realization sent you into a silent, invisible spiral. 

If the Raiden Shogun (and Ei respectfully), found out that you had basically just spawned in Teyvat, and further still in Inazuma, you were liable to get the Anti-Traveler Treatment.

Which boiled down to: if the Raiden Shogun finds out an Outworlder (in a sense) was in Inazuma and a threat to eternity just like the Traveler was, you were boned. Of course, the difference between you and the Traveler was that you had no elemental powers to combat her views, so you were significantly less threatening. Or so you hope.

So, of course, the moment Ayato heard that you were anxious any time you were around the Tenryou Commission? You errands outside the estate were always centered around there! It was the same treatment Thoma got when sent on errands to the Grand Narukami Shrine since Yae Miko makes him nervous- not that he’ll admit it openly, but he’s easy to read. 

“Thoma,” you say his name a second time for the morning. He gulps at the deep breath you took before making your tone innocent- too innocent. “You have errands today too, don’t you?” You direct a very distinct smile at him. 

“I- uh, something like that...” 

“Wonderful! In that case, since we’re both going off premises today, we can plan to travel together.” 

“W-wait, but her Ladyship-” 

“Lady Ayaka will easily allow it if I go seek permission.” It was true. Along your course of employment, you have become the person linked to Ayaka like Thoma is to Ayato. A retainer of the Kamisato Lady of sorts- although sometimes you end up swapping places with Thoma and work alongside Ayato for an undisclosed amount of time. Part of you think that arrangement was on purpose to keep an eye on you, but you have no proof to that claim. 

Thoma looks at your unwavering disposition before deflating and relenting. 

“I’ll inform you before I’m about to leave,” he almost whines. You clap once in victory before swiftly turning on your heel, and waltzing back to your room. You have no idea where on Narukami Island his day would take him, but you’ll be damned if you go out alone. He could drag you all the way up the shrine and you’d accept it as long as you didn’t have to walk to the Police Station by yourself. 

As (forcefully) promised, Thoma stops by your room before you both make your way to the gates of the estate. Thoma was speaking a few words to one of the guards while you wait with the Tenryou-cursed envelope filled with documents tucked under your arm. Behind you, you feel two quick taps to your shoulder; you turn to see Ayaka at whom you greet warmly. 

“Heading out?” She asks and you nod. 

“That’s right. Before your sadistic brother left for his long term business, he naturally had a last minute errand for me to run to the Tenryou Commission.” Akaya snickers at your huffing. You both had gotten quite comfortable with each other over the course of the last couple years.

When you were first assigned to her aide, you were anxious since you had no idea what being a personal aide for someone with the label ‘ladyship’ took.  Her easy-going attitude and gentle nature helped break you in; heck the first time you bad mouthed Ayato’s consistently increasing ‘errands’ she had to hide behind her fan or else her red face from holding back her laughter would give her away. 

Of course, it wasn’t always professional. You often would visit hot springs together and share all sorts of secrets or indulge in typical girl talk. She had even taught you how to dance a little, even if you were so bad at it. 

“I’m sure he does it because he knows you can handle it,” she tries to defend. 

“I seriously doubt it,” you sigh. “His lordship is a great man, but sometimes I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.” You fist comes to clench dramatically in front of you and Ayaka flicks open her fan to hide her smile behind it’s elegant artistry. She could practically see the frustrated fumes rolling off your head, not unlike a freshly steamed bun. 

“His behavior doesn’t seem to stop you from admiring him though.” Your previously steaming face has all too quickly gone frozen before looking at Ayaka. She had the same playful gleam in her eye that her brother has all too frequently. Her words process in your mind like a lagging phone connection before you were clearing your throat and using the envelope filled with papers as a fan to cool yourself with. 

“It sure is warm out this morning, huh?” Your attempts to slip away from the conversation’s direction of your illegal-feeling crush was stiff and awkward.

Thankfully, your reprieve came in the form of Thoma who was finally ready to go. He questioned if something happened seeing his Lady giggling to herself while you looked off in all sorts of directions in odd patterns. You quickly deny that anything happened at all and that you should really get going- okay, yeah- see you later, my lady!

“Yes, thank you. No..! No. There's no need for that, it’s my job. Yes, mmhmm, goodbye!” 

You've just handed over the documents that the Police Station had required from the estate when you make your escape. You always wondered if that the reason the Tenryou police force is so kind to you was because they had falsely imprisoned you years ago. You never confirm anything yourself regarding their behavior though. Every time you were there, they were kind to a fault! It was always so awkward how they would offer a snack or tea for the road, or even extra mora for compensation on a ‘job well done’. 

It wasn’t like you were going to stick around to explain your constant denials to them either. If they were willing to sit down and talk to you anywhere else away from Tenshukaku, you’d be happy to put their worries to rest! But, inside the commission grounds where the Shogun could just pop up out of nowhere? Thanks, but no thanks.

Even if the police station itself was more or less isolated from the rest of the commission thanks to the bridge leading towards the main buildings, you were not about to test your luck. 

When you finally leave the last inching grounds of the Tenryou Commission, you find Thoma obediently waiting for you. Feeling free of the burden of delivery, you meet up with him and put your hands on your hips while he hops back to his feet. 

“Alright,” you breathe, “where to now?” 

“Ritou!” He cheers and his sudden bubbly attitude- although technically normal- was a hop, skip and jump away from his push over attitude when you strongarmed him into coming to the city with you. Your eyebrow raises and you shift your weight onto one side. 

“Ritou? What, something else needs ‘Fixing’? Or are your ears just burning?” Thoma waves his hand dismissively and laughs as you both start walking off. 

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. Captain Beidou is coming back into port I hear,” he hums with a skip in his step that seems way too exciteful. “She’s got some interesting ‘cargo’ this time around- or so rumor says.” 

“When you talk like that- you sound nefarious, Thoma.” 

“What? Do I really?”

Leaving the city, you wonder just what cargo she’s brought with her. If it was a rumor, surely you should’ve heard it too- since you both run in the same circles more or less. Naturally, you know that Thoma's reach far extends yours, but still. In the back of your mind, you feel like you should know, but it never comes to you. 

You join Thoma at the docks, sitting himself comfortably atop some crates as he offers you a snack- which you accept. You look around the docks and feel a little bit nostalgic. This was where you somehow floated in from your world- from a different reality. Seeing it always made you feel a bit melancholic when you come by for one reason or another.

Soon, the ship Thoma had been anticipating appeared off in the distance on the water's horizon. The wooden dragon's head attached to the bow of the massive ship breaks through the clouds of the sea's horizon.

You still couldn’t get the nagging out of the back of your head that you should know what’s coming. It wasn’t until seeing the head of blond hair shining like stars and the floating white fairy that is their companion at the front of the Crux... the realization hits you like a truck. 

The Traveler has arrived in Inazuma..! 

While you were giddy at seeing their silhouette and excited on figuring out which twin it would be, on top of getting a pretty good idea on the timeline of events now, you also feel a pit forming in your stomach. Things were about to get pretty shaky in Inazuma and there was no way in hell you’d be able to steer anyone out of the way of the path. 

From the moment Thoma jumped up from the boxes he was sitting on while aimlessly flipping a coin in his hand, to jumping up and hoping down to greet Beidou- you feel like you have no place in the moment. It was the first time since getting used to Inazuma that you could recall parts of the game so vividly; seeing it play out in front of you like this made you feel isolated in a way that completely overshadowed your original giddiness. 

You weren't supposed to be here.

You were excited to possibly get to greet Beidou before she set sail back off the island since having Kazuha, a wanted figure in Inazuma, currently on the Crux didn’t make for a full-scale stay. The shackles of invisible misplacement bound to your ankles keep you in place as you soon see her turn her back on the three others. Returning back to her ship.

Thoma speaks momentarily to the new ‘honored guests’ afterward. “Now then, first things first, we need to get you registered at the border checkpoint.” 

“Um, Paimon thought we were supposed to be keeping this on the downlow… Are we just going to walk into the government's hands?” 

Thoma lightly laughs. "Don’t underestimate the reaches of the Sakoku Decree. You wouldn’t be able to avoid inspection even if you tried. So, we have to play by the rules… even if we’re kind of bending them.” 

Thoma wraps up his spiel before gesturing towards you, nearly completely hidden behind the crates that smell like sea salt-stained wood. The other two hadn’t even realized you were there. Paimon almost yelps at the sight of you peering around the crates Thoma has been lounging on all morning. Cupping one of his hands around his mouth, he shouts your name. 

“Come over here and say hello to our new guests!” His hand that is cupped to help his voice travel, moves over his head in an eager come here motioned arch. You swallow and it feels like there's a handful of sand in your throat. Clearing it helps none. 

You try and find your footing- both literally and figuratively- as you make a very conscious attempt not to slip down the few wooden steps to the trio. You place your hands behind your back so you could fiddle with your fingers anxiously on the downlow. Thoma gently gestures to you once you stand at his side with one arm, the other towards the Traveler and Paimon. 

“This lovely lady is y/n. She’s a dear friend and coworker of mine, so she’ll be sticking around for the remainder of this errand.”  

“Hi!” Greeted the so-called ‘voice’ of the Traveler. “It’s nice to meet you. Paimon’s, Paimon and he’s, Aether!” She points one of her small hands towards the male twin who offers you a friendly smile and head nod. You release one of your hands from behind your back and offer a small, friendly wave to the both of them. 

“I’m glad you managed to sail in safely,” you speak. Your voice is quieter than normal and judging by Thoma’s raised brow in your direction, he notices. “Of course, you were in good hands, I hear.” 

“Oh yeah!” Paimon agrees, proudly crossing her arms. “That storm was no match for Beidou!” 

You don't realize you're staring at Aether until his eyes met yours and you suck in a breath so abruptly, you begin coughing. Thoma, panicking at your sudden fit, rubs your back as you hunch over to brace yourself. Hands on your knees and face down towards the dock. You could see the water waving between the wooden planks, and you squeeze your eyes shut. ‘Get it together!’ you scream at yourself. 

Briefly apologizing and catching your breath, you reassure Thoma that you’re alright- 'just swallowed some sea air'- and that the whole process of bending the rules to get Aether into Inazuma and past the Decree wouldn’t wait forever. No better time than the present to get work done after all. 

Following beside Thoma, who was leading the way for Aether and Paimon, he gently nudges your arm before leaning down to whisper to you. Once more, he asks if you were really doing okay. And once again, you reassure him that you were perfectly fine… like a liar.

You again distance yourself from the Fixer and his newest mess that is the Traveler’s slip into the nation once he gets to Kageyama, the woman who would begin the long inspection process. Standing a way back behind the trio, you watched them converse far out of earshot as you lean against the side of the nearest small building on the dock. Switching between kicking at nothing with the toe of your shoes and grinding your heel in the wood, the Archon Quest from your memory was making you anxious. 

You had this bad habit back in reality that when the main quest took a turn from main, eventual playable characters, into NPC territory your memory would simply cease to work. Sure, you could remember some small details, but nothing major aside from the key parts of the quest. Closing your eyes, you do your best to recall what you can. 

Thoma getting the Traveler started which was happening in real time. Somehow getting roped into helping someone in Ritou with something since that was the only area we could be in thanks to game mechanics keeping us in Ritou. Playing letter delivery between some commission clans. 

Then there was a gap which makes you click your tongue. 

You know Thoma gets kidnapped, taken to the Statue of the Omnipresent God with his Vision being confiscated. You know the Traveler- in this case Aether- comes to his rescue. But before all that, you know he’s introduced to Ayaka and the Yashiro Commission. Then there's Komore Teahouse. And eventually Watatsumi Island. 

It was all jumbled in your head and you couldn’t recall what happens when or first. It was like a mental floating diagram with no linear connections. Your eyes open slightly as you glare down at the wooden pier. 

Although you had no plans on playing some sort of clairvoyant hero or anything, you think that maybe with enough information you could be at least some help.

Even if it seemed pointless.

You were just a normal person by Teyvat’s standards. You have no Vision and you were pretty certain that you would stay Visionless, since giving something like elemental power to a second Outworlder would be playing with fire. It wasn’t like you had been training as a warrior or had any some innate combat skills like Thoma or Ayaka did with their battle experience. 

It was frustrating. So frustrating. All you have to work with is an unreliable memory of events. 

You jump when Thoma places his hand on your shoulder. His look of concern made you even more frustrated. Still, you take a breath to calm down. There was no use getting irritated at anyone when it was no one’s fault but yours. 

“Thoma," you begin, "you’re taking them to the Outlanders Affair Agency, right?” The ginger nods, confirming what you had been through once before. It was a simple affair getting your identity sorted out two years ago- or rather forged- when Kamisato Ayato was involved. You were more or less familiar with the process.

Still, the added knowledge of the game, you know the whole ordeal could take a while.

“I’m��� going back to the estate. I promised Lady Akaya I wouldn’t be long,” you lie. You just want to go off and clear your head. The walk back would be good for clearing your mind you hope. 

The pyro user seems hesitant on letting you go back alone. The nurturer in him wanted you to sit tight and he’d escort you back himself with Aether following later; however, the haunted glimmer in your eye and insistent gnawing on your lip told him that you want to leave. To Thoma who's been working with you the entire time you’ve been in Inazuma, he knows you’re trying to get away from something. He just wishes he knew what it is.

“I understand,” he nods. Trying to suggest anything to try and postpone or stop you would only worsen your condition. 

Placing his hand on your head, he ruffles your hair up to which you glare not so threatening up at him. “Please be careful. You know what to do if you run into any trouble along the way.” Thoma had once taught you some basic self-defense under the pretense of you being stronger than the average working woman- whatever that meant. Sure, you could toss around the samurai who patrol around the Yashiro Headquarters with little effort, but you never thought that to be all that impressive. Anyone could do that. It's Teyvat where extraordinary people can pop up anywhere.

“I do. I’ll see you back at the residence when you finish up your ‘test’. Don’t tease the Trav- Aether,” you correct, “too much.” With no promises to make the process easy on the blond, you were soon leaving Thoma behind in Ritou; feeling about as alone and frustrated as you did the first time you ever did two years ago. 

When you return to the residence, Ayaka quickly picks up on your foul mood. She asks about it briefly, wondering if you were still upset about Ayato’s decision to send you towards the police station before leaving. Reassuring her it was nothing of the sort did nothing but make her worry more. Still you were insistent that you were fine.

There wasn’t anything to say or do about feeling isolated in Teyvat. Thoma might understand since he’d experienced what longing for home feels like, being from Mondstadt and being relatively stuck in Inazuma. Still, you wouldn’t be able to be truthful with him in the long term, since your home wasn’t in Teyvat. 

When Thoma sends words of his actions in bringing Aether to the estate from Komore Teahouse, you help Ayaka ready herself and the screen she is to stand behind out of Aether's field of view. It was the proper thing to do when greeting someone not of the Kamisato circle as the Young Lady, much less a stranger. 

Thoma had already given his two-cents on the subject of Aether’s opinion on the current state of affairs in his message. With both your personal and in-game knowledge, you agree with Aether. It isn't his problem- and shouldn't have to be. “Don’t expect anything,” you tell your lady. 

When the three of them arrive, you take your place, sitting on the floor with your knees tucked neatly under you as Ayaka stood, facing the screen with her fan open and over the lower part of her face- an unconsciously useless action. You sit on pins and needles as she speaks to Aether. When he interrupts her, your eyes shut in expectancy. 'Here we go.'

“I’m just here to meet the Raiden Shogun. I did not come to start a rebellion,” he says. You hear Ayaka’s voice hitch in her throat before Thoma is sighing on the other side of the screen with Aether. 

“See, milady,” Thoma deflates, “it’s just as I said… this will take us nowhere…” 

“I’m going to leave now,” Aether declares. Turning his back to the screen, Paimon floating loyally at his side. Ayaka’s last ditch effort reaches out in the form of desperate pleas for him to wait. She explains that if he fulfills three wishes for her, she’ll concede and make an opportunity for him to meet with the Raiden Shogun. With no other options, Paimon and Aether agree. 

Aether and Paimon soon leave to find and check after the people who had fallen victim to the Vision Hunt Decree and had their Visions' confiscated. Ayaka brings your state of mind back to the present through her musings. You were stuck in an uncomfortable sort of in between. That consisting of the Kamisato Estate and the long-abandoned apartment in your previous reality. 

“What should I do if, even after all this, he still refuses to lend his aid?” Ayaka wasn’t asking you, but merely sorting her worries out loud. You lift yourself up to your feet and quietly dismiss yourself. When she speaks again, she is talking to you, or rather your back since you don't turn to face her. If she weren't your friend, she could consider the action-or lack thereof- to be highly rude. “Are you sure you’re alright? You seem so… absent since you got back from Ritou.” 

“With all due respect, milady,” you take a deep breath. Trying to shake this headache and heartache and frustration. You were becoming irritated with yourself and don't need to be taking it out on others. “Sending someone like him, who has nothing to do with our state of affairs, out on errands like this to try and gain his sympathy like this? As a fellow outsider who was dragged into Inazuma’s drama, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”  The space Ayaka occupies behind you is heavily silent. “Please, excuse me.” 

You head out the front door, passing by Thoma who is still present in the room once Aether cleared out. He looks at you for a brief moment before looking away, rubbing the back of his neck. You vaguely hear Ayaka shuffle around the screen divider before heading outside, not seeing the guilty look on her face or the worrying words she spills onto Thoma as you depart. 

a/n pt.2: our traveler is aether! believe it or not, i had pros/cons of using either aether or lumine as the traveler. and even tho lumine's had more i could have worked with, i still chose aether in the end lol. maybe its bc personally i prefer traveler!lumine, so in my mind i wanted to give aether a chance (⌒_⌒;)

hopefully, the more 'intense' feelings i tried inserting made yet another ayato-less chapter still entertaining to read (┻ ﹏ ┻)

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[kstewdeux]

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Five Stages of Grief

Struggling to breathe, Inuyasha clutched Kagome’s battered body tightly against his chest - one hand pressing against the wound on her back while the other pressed her ever colder hand against his heart. This was his fault. Completely his fault. That attack had been thrown and he ducked without taking into account the miko’s position. By the time he realized where she was, there was no time to take the hit for her and...and...

“You’re okay” Inuyasha choked as tears streamed down his cheeks and he buried his face in Kagome’s blood soaked hair, “You’ll be fine. It’s just...it’s just a flesh wound. Nothing deep. Just...just stay with me, huh?”

A whine escaped him as the scent of death began creeping into her scent. With trembling hands, he had tended to her wounds as best as he could but it wasn’t enough. At a certain point, he could barely feel his own fingers and every clumsy attempt to stitch up the numerous wounds wound up hurting her more. It wasn’t like this was his first time tending an injury that way. He’d done it thousands of times on himself with even cruder implements than what his miko carried with her from the future but his hands wouldn’t cooperate just like everything else in his body. Amber eyes - usually able to see every blade of grass - could barely see what they were doing. His lungs were barely taking in air and it took everything he had left in him not to simply pass out.

So he stopped trying since all he was doing was making her worse. Oh, he applied bandages and ointments and forced her to swallow those fever pills but she was bleeding out before his very eyes. There was nothing he could do for her. He had failed her in every possible way and now all he could do was pray.

To add insult to injury, the smell of graveyard soil had been steadily growing stronger over the last agonizing hour. Kikyo knew. She knew Kagome was dying.

“You can’t have her,” Inuyasha spat hatefully as the last person he wanted to see came into view, “She’s going to be fine. You’ll see. So...so you can’t take her soul. I won’t...I won’t let you.”

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha tried to find the will to stand and fight but it simply wouldn’t come. With Kagome slipping through his fingers so too did his own desire to live to see another day. He didn’t want to go back to a world without his miko in it. He simply wouldn’t survive.

Squeezing Kagome’s hand as tightly as he dared, Inuyasha tried to muster up more strength from the simple touch to no avail. So he restorted to desperately clutching her to him with both hands like he could hold in her soul through that action alone. The motion aggravated her wounds but with as far gone as his miko was in that moment, she didn’t even react and that sent his panic to all new heights.

“How was she hurt?” came Kikyo’s softly spoken reply and Inuyasha shook his head - burying his nose into ebony locks as his own heart struggled to beat. The scent of Kagome’s impending death was suffocating.

“Inuyasha look at me,” the undead miko commanded in a gentler tone than he’d heard in quite some time. When he merely whined and more tears fell, Kikyo tried to cross the distance between them but stopped at the menacing growl he used to warn her.

“You can’t have her,” Inuyasha managed shakily as he clutched Kagome tighter still. Like the action itself would keep the soul inside its vessel, “She’s mine. She’s mine and I promised...I promised to protect her.”

His voice cracked on that last word and the undead miko felt her unbeating heart crack at the sound.

“She needs new bandages,” Kikyo sighed, “And you’re in no state to...”

“Don’t touch her!” Inuyasha barked as yet more tears fell - one clawed hand blindly swiping to maintain distance through intimidation, “Stay...stay back. I’m warning you!”

Kikyo took another step and Inuyasha’s face contorted in pure unbridled rage.

“Take one step closer and I’ll destroy you,” the hanyou snarled between clenched teeth as his eyes flashed red, “I said you can’t have her bitch so back the fuck up!”

Kikyo let out another sigh before glancing at her soul collectors who nodded subtly and began gliding towards the grieving half-demon who watched with somewhat panic stricken eyes as they moved closer.

“Get those things away from me!” Inuyasha snapped desperately as he tried to get to his feet but any strength he had had long since fled his body, “What...what about you can’t have her did you not understand?!”

“Inuyasha I’m not going to...”

It was becoming terrifyingly obvious that something was wrong with him. Despite his best efforts, his body wouldn’t cooperate and every attempt to scramble to his feet and run resulted in his crumpling to the ground. His worthless ass couldn’t protect her.

He already failed but....

“If...if you need to take someone take me,” Inuyasha bargained desperately as one soul collector gently wrapped around his elbow and his body suddenly wasn’t his own. His grip weakened and he watched with heartbroken eyes as another soul collector wrenched Kagome from his arms, “I’ll go with you. I swear I’ll go with you. You can kill me or...or do whatever. I don’t care. Just...just don’t...”

A soft cry escaped him as Kikyo knelt down beside the one person who made his life worth living and gently rested one hand on Kagome’s stomach.

“Kikyo please....please don’t hurt her,” Inuyasha begged miserably as the soul collector immobilizing him pinned both arms behind his back. Kikyo was going to make him watch?! Didn’t she see he was already broken enough already? Why...why destroy him completely? What would be the point?! Did she really hate him that much? He...he’d never done anything to her. Defended her even at the expense of his own happiness. Even though it killed him inside. Every time he returned he had to face the betrayal in Kagome’s eyes which was more painful than any injury he’d received. Ruined every chance he had to be loved for the sake of someone who wanted nothing more than to make him suffer. Hadn’t he done enough? Sacrificed enough?

Inuyasha closed his eyes and willed his heart to give out. He couldn’t watch this. Another tear slipped free.

“These wounds are deep,” he heard Kikyo hum in a worried voice, “The stitches are too loose. Do you have more thread?”

Letting out a shaky breath, watery amber eyes slowly opened to find Kikyo looking at him expectantly.

“I’m not going to hurt her. I want to help,” Kikyo informed him in a slightly chiding tone before adding quickly, “Kagome is essential to defeating Naraku.”

Exhaling slowly, Inuyasha bit back tears as he tried to find his voice but failed. Kikyo gave him a strangely sympathetic look before glancing at the yellow monstrosity Kagome called a backpack and nodding to one of her soul collectors who clumsily tugged it closer.

Inuyasha felt his soul curl up and die as Kikyo began rummaging through the bag. This was a trick. Make him think she was there to help and then do something awful when his guard was down. There would be no holding Kagome one last time. No ability to say goodbye. She’d leave this world never knowing....never knowing how much he loved her. Swallowing thickly, Inuyasha tried to find the courage to say what needed to say before it was too late but his fear that Kikyo would make Kagome’s death more painful stilled his tongue. Two more tears trailed down his cheeks as he tried to remember how to breathe. Kagome had made him believe, if only for a little while, that he could be something more. That he had worth in his ability to protect and care for others but everyone was right about him. He had failed the one person in the world who thought differently of him from the very start. He was every bit the worthless half-breed everyone had always told him he was. Maybe he should’ve been drowned at birth.

It didn’t even register with him that Kikyo was, in fact, helping. Years of sewn distrust blinded him to the possibility that things were not as dire as they appeared. Whether Kikyo was helping or not, though, the scent of death lingered.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Inuyasha tried to struggle against the invisible bonds as his hardwired instinct to protect Kagome finally kicked in. It had shriveled up and died for a brief moment out of a belief that it was too late to do anything but now that the world has shown him once and for all things could always be worse, the instinct came back full force.

“Stop moving so much,” Kikyo sighed as she continued stitching the unconscious miko’s wounds, “You’ll aggravate your wounds.”

Inuyasha, of course, didn’t even know he was injured so that comment went right over his head. It hadn’t even registered that he also had been the victim of a direct hit that had shredded his fire rat robes and that half the blood that drenched Kagome was his own. Inuyasha honestly placed absolutely no value on his own life and the undead miko sighed sadly at that realization as she finished her task before reaching for the bottle labeled disinfectant. Which by the smell of it would probably hurt quite a good bit once applied.

Kikyo flicked her gaze up at the utterly heartbroken and obviously struggling boy watching with agony riddled eyes for just a moment before deciding she could multi-task.

“Inuyasha fear not. I have no intention of letting her die,” the undead miko began softly before looking at the spray bottle with a confused, appraising eye, “You must calm yourself.”

Again, Kikyo underestimated how very far gone Inuyasha was in that moment. His mind filled with panic induced static that was only growing thicker by the moment. Inuyasha was incapable of hearing anything outside of his own heart pounding in his normally sensitive ears. Breathing had gone completely by the wayside for more reasons than one and kiss goodbye his sense of smell with how congested his nose had become. The slow trickle of blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth was flowing completely unnoticed as his vision blurred and his head lolled. The effort he was expending tried to break free was dimming and his body was refusing to cooperate.

“Set him down,” Kikyo ordered softly as she spritzed the sanitizer a few times and hummed in understanding, “But be careful. Don’t aggravate his wounds.”

Inuyasha felt his body being laid out as he continued watching Kikyo do whatever the hell she was doing. Kagome was so close. If he could move, he could almost reach out and touch her. The undead miko glanced up then followed his gaze with a sad little smile before reaching over, grasping his hand and pulling it a hair away from Kagome’s wrist. Taking the miko’s wrist then Kikyo placed it atop his palm before helping curl his fingers around the thin flesh so his thumb lay just over her vein.

“Can you feel her heartbeat?” Kikyo asked softly as Inuyasha looked up at her with unfocused amber eyes before those same eyes lowered to where his hand was curled around Kagome’s wrist. For a moment he didn’t react at all before a shuddering sigh of relief gave her the answer he couldn’t give out loud. The steady thrum under his fingertips brought him comfort that couldn’t be voiced with words. At least he’d be with her at the end. Small comfort though that was. Maybe he’d be lucky enough to die soon so they’d be born together in the next life. That would be alright. To find out that soul and him really did have a destiny. Just wrong time and place this go ‘round. Vision blurring Inuyasha closed his eyes and focused on Kagome’s weakening pulse.

“It’s okay ‘Gome,” Inuyasha mumbled tiredly as another tear snaked down his dirtied cheek, “Its okay...”

It had to be several hours later that Inuyasha slowly regained consciousness even though his eyes stubbornly refused to cooperate. He was cocooned in something warm and soft. There was a pleasant pressure running along the front of his body too that one arm seemed to be keeping in place. Kagome was nearby, though, which meant he was being protected and cared for. And...and...

Oh no. Ooooh no. Nope. Not good. Definitely bad.

With a painful sounding groan, Inuysha finally forced his eyes open and nearly died on the spot. A short distance away a calm, indifferent looking Kikyo sat petting her soul collector while her two weird child minions maintained a barrier that surrounded him. As for the pressure against his front, one glance down told him that it was a pajama clad Kagome spooned up against his bare chest while the warmth came from the sleeping bag they’d both been stuffed into.

The rest of that day crashed down onto him moments later.

“Shit,” Inuysha breathed as he suddenly buried his nose into Kagome’s hair and inhaled deeply before whining in relief when the scent of death couldn’t be found. A tear welled in the corner of his eye as he squeezed the miko to him as tightly as he dared. He could smell the somewhat fresh blood from her stomach wound even now and...and his own dried blood? Had he been hurt too? He hadn’t noticed...

“Once you were both stabilized, I had my soul collectors arrange you this way,” Kikyo explained impassively as she glanced over at him, “It seemed the logical thing to do.”

Inuyasha set his jaw - nose remaining in Kagome’s hair as amber eyes watched the undead miko wearily. Had Kikyo been trying to help him? That seemed so absurd he didn’t even know where to start.

For some reason, this was the moment he suddenly remembered that Kagome hadn’t been wearing pajamas. And it would appear his undergarments were gone. His eyes widened in horror for a moment before he pushed that thought as far back in his mind as it would go. W-who cared it Kikyo saw them both naked? That didn’t bother him. Nope. Didn’t bother him at all. It was...

This was fine. Fine. An absolutely fantastic turn of events that wouldn’t keep him awake at night due to the crushing awkwardness. The only solace he could find was that Kikyo may have done a mortifying thing but it was done in the course of a not shitty thing so...

The fact that she had done such a thing when both he and Kagome were unconscious did seem to be the thing that convinced him Kikyo didn’t actually mean them harm. She’d had ample opportunity to kill them. They’d both been so far gone the jostling that must have occurred didn’t even wake them.

That didn’t help the blush on his cheeks or the mortification he felt - although the utter relief he felt that Kagome was alive muted both negative emotions considerably.

“Why help her?” Inuyasha asked suspiciously as his hand slid up to pull Kagome’s torso more fully against him.

“Kagome is essential to defeating Naraku,” Kikyo explained before smiling faintly and running one hand across a nearby silver serpent, “And if something were to happen to her, someone I know would be very sad.”

“What?”

Kikyo subtly nodded to herself as she realized that statement went completely over his head. Of course he wouldn’t understand the significance of her repeating back those words Kagome had said to her. Her reincarnation sheltered him from the ugliness of the world and if he had known that he almost lost both of them....

It made all the sense in the world to keep what happened that day a secret. Inuyasha had always been an anxious creature and at that time, he was endlessly torn. Kikyo wasn’t a stupid woman. She knew Kagome hadn’t admitted what should have been obvious. That day that seemed so long ago, it had been Kikyo’s intention to kill the competition and yet her reincarnation refused to say as much. This strange girl made it her job to protect Inuyasha from threats real or imagined. To shelter him from ugly truths he was ill equipped to handle like how the woman he still adored was now a being of evil. Kagome loved him for the good man he was and made it her mission in life to convince him to love himself. A strange girl made for an equally strange boy.

“When I was dying, Kagome risked her life to save mine. On more than one occasion,” Kikyo interrupted vaguely as she looked up into the starry sky, “It seemed only right to repay the favor.”

Inuyasha considered this before relaxing somewhat and rearranging to rest his cheek on Kagome’s hair with his eyes partially closed. It was still insanely hard to focus and his head felt ridiculously heavy for no reason. Still, Kagome was alright and that’s really what mattered.

“I love her you know so...so thank you I guess,” Inuyasha mumbled cautiously as he inhaled deeply and relished in the knowledge that Kagome would live.

“I believe that has been made abundantly clear,” Kikyo admitted with a humorless laugh.

Inuyasha snorted softly but didn’t bother arguing. Whether or not Kagome loved him in return was a question he’d prefer to explore with literally anyone else. Hell, he’d even ask Naraku for his thoughts on the matter before he’d ever try to talk about that remote possibility with Kikyo.

“Thank you,” Inuyasha mumbled after a long period of awkward silence, “For saving her. I...I don’t know what I would’ve done if...if...”

The half-demon couldn’t even finish that statement as visions of him permanently turning into a full demon and wreaking havoc across the land entered his minds eye. In his heart of hearts, he knew what he would’ve done. He would’ve gone insane. Just would’ve lost his damn mind and ran around killing people for no...

“It was the least I could do,” Kikyo sighed as she glanced over at the injured pair, “I will protect you until dawn and then I must leave. I believe you will have healed enough by then to take Kagome to a second location.”

Inuyasha nodded against Kagome’s hair as he gave the living, breathing, not dying miko as light squeeze. Of all the things that had ever happened to him, not one had been as terrifying as that morning. He needed to be more careful in the future. Be more aware during battle. Or, alternatively, he could just throw Kagome down the well and destroy it so this would never happen again. That was definitely an attractive option.

“I know you are a man of few words,” Kikyo offered barely above a whisper, “But perhaps it is time you told her. I have no intention of dragging you away from her. You have done enough.”

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at that comment but otherwise stayed silent and nodded. Truth be told, holding Kagome against him was rather nice even if his undead typically murderous ex-fiancé was watching. If he didn’t just say screw it and throw Kagome down the well, he might insist they do this more often. If, of course, Kagome woke up and discovered he was holding her. What he’d do if he managed to pull this off without her knowing was an issue for a different day.

“I love you,” Inuyasha whispered in Kagome’s ear as he settled into a somewhat more comfortable position and nuzzled the skin just above her jaw. The warmth and contentment flowing through his veins soon rocked him to sleep and for the first time in his life, Inuysha slept well.

Kikyo watched on with a melancholy sigh as Inuyasha subconsciously snuggled up against his miko in his sleep.Yes, she was a creature born of evil. Yes, she had made many, many mistakes since she’d been so rudely brought back to life. And yes, her feelings toward the injured half-demon consisted of a mixture of love and hate. But something about his scream this night had triggered something she didn’t know she still possessed. A part of herself all but forgotten. She’d literally flown most of the distance toward him and walked the rest. Cautiously, of course. There most certainly a risk he would strike her down and honestly, she wouldn’t blame him.

When she opened her eyes that fateful day, she’d been in denial over so many things. Mind bucking against his insistence that he had nothing to do with her demise. That she had been cursed into this half-life consisting of little more than pain and misery.

Naturally what followed was unbridled rage at the world. Of course, everyone with eyes knew where that path had led her. 

After the anger had subsided, more or less, she’d began to plead with any god who would listen. Obsessed with the desire to return to the ground from whence she came, defeating Naraku became her number one priority. She promised to kill the wicked Onigumo - not out a warped sense of duty but rather because she hoped and prayed that by doing so, she would be freed from this hell. Maybe even gain the affection she once had and even be accepted by the people who once loved her. Inuyasha was a lost cause by that point but Kaede...

Kaede may forgive her yet.

It was the realization that it would be impossible to defeat Naraku on her own and thus not win any favors from the powers that be or forgiveness from her sister that brought her crashing back down to earth. Numb to the world around her,  she no longer cared what happened to her or anyone else. No longer cared whether Naraku won or lost. Yes, she still wanted to be the one who killed that horrid beast but...but she knew...she knew that she would not be there to witness her former love’s victory of defeat. There would be no redemption for her. There was no point even trying to do more than just wander aimlessly and help on occasion if she was in the mood to do so. By and large, however, she didn’t do anything productive any longer.

That was, until today. Something about Inuyasha’s anguished cry made something in her snap. It was the sound of a heart breaking with such devastating force that the world itself stood still. Never, never should he be allowed to make such a sound. Bygones being bygones, Kikyo was determined to stop whatever was the source of his pain. It was unacceptable in her mind for whatever reason.

And with this action, she accepted that this was her fate. Such a bizarre thing to realize at the end of an era. There was no one still living who loved her any longer.

She was truly alone.

“Kikyo,” Inuyasha muttered in a concerned tone as his amber eyes blinked open, “I didn’t know you could cry anymore. What’s wrong?”

Or maybe not.

“You must be imagining things,” Kikyo lied smoothly as she stared into the distance, “Such a thing is impossible.”

“Yeah okay,” Inuyasha snorted softly as he settled back down. A few moments passed before he cleared his throat and offered something he hoped brought the undead miko some peace, “Kaede’s been asking about you.”

Kikyo subtly furrowed her brow and glanced in his direction.

“Why do you say such a thing?”

“There are people who still care about you,” he continued hesitantly, “Just because I don’t love you like that anymore doesn’t mean I still don’t love you as a friend. Kaede I know misses the hell outta ya. Go see her. Old bat’d love a visit.”

Kikyo’s lips twitched upwards as she nodded and sighed.

“That was unkind,” she chided gently, “You should not speak of your elders that way.”

“I knew her when she was a brat and I’m still older than her. I can call her whatever the hell I want,” Inuyasha laughed good-naturedly as he settled back down and gave Kagome’s still form a light squeeze before frowning suddenly and clearing his throat to make a peace offering, “Just...just so you know I’m sorry for what happened. Back then I mean. I should’ve known. I should’ve....”

“It was a very convincing plot,” Kikyo interrupted, “And exposed issues that were already present. I failed you more than you have ever failed me.”

“Is that why you helped Kagome?” Inuyasha asked hesitantly and the undead miko shrugged slightly.

“To be honest I do not know why I assisted,” she lied, “This existence is most strange.”

“I bet,” Inuyasha acknowledged wearily before furrowing his brow, “Does it hurt?”

“This form?”

Inuyasha nodded.

“Not any longer.”

[petra-creat0r]

I'm going to start rambling about a made up anime and you all have to listen. Neko Kemono Dokan Force, aka NKDF. A factet of the POW-R universe and a certain skeleton girl's favorite anime. I do not have a while lot on this fictional series, but I definitely have some stuff!

Starting with the original manga made by Fumiko Yamamoto (it took me too long to remember her name) in around the late 1960s to the 1970s, though an anime interpretation didn't come until the 1990s. All iterations of the story have followed the same general beginning. 14 year old Miko Kettei is an ordinary girl who is sent to an academy for gifted superheroes. In the modern iteration of manga and anime (regarding the first series), these superpowered students all possess a POW, or Dokan as they're called in Japan. This academy is esteemed yet said to have a bit of a curse, every transfer student for the past couple of years has said to go missing, and as luck would have it, Miko is either chosen/volunteers to be the transfer student.

On her first day, Miko meets Katsumi Yamisei, a shy, standoffish girl who has an odd habit of hiding/disappearing whenever Miko tries to talk to anyone else. Next, Miko meets Mizuki Yamashita. A motherly upperclassman who takes Miko under her wing. Later in the day, she meets brothers Osami and Taiki Tanaka. Both upperclassmen, though at least a grade under Mizuki. Osami is a lazy prankster who would rather sleep or slack off than study, while Taiki is very confident, loud and brash, as well as is on top of all his studies. Often taking on waaaay too many extracurriculars. Plus, of course, all of them except Miko have Dokans. Katsumi's is unclear as first, though many people suspect it to be invisibility. (The real answer is spoilers). Mizuki, Osami and Taiki's I haven't quite come up with.

Within the first week at the new school, Miko (along with Katsumi) finds a set of magical jewels in a strange room in the basement of the school, surrounded by weird, satanic symbols. Miko finds five jewels, however there appears to have been more, though they're missing. The ones she finds are an red heart jewel, a light blue star jewel, a purple crescent moon jewel, an orange sun jewel and a blue moon jewel. After finding them, Miko and Katsumi have to fight a huge monster attacking the school and learn that the jewels can bestow Dokans/transform the holder into a magical girl themed around an animal. Miko getting an orange cat and Katsumi getting a silvery white kitsune. After wards, they both decide they need to use the jewels for good and to stop these demonic beast that start showing up. Thus becoming Nekonya and Kitsekon. They later recruit Mizuki, Osami and Taiki, who become Hiyakon, based on an arctic fox, Okamiaon, based on a grey wolf, and Inuwan, based on a shiba inu/some sort of dog. Katsumi refuses to tell or show the rest of the team her civilian identity, which ties into her character arc and backstory.

In general, the team of magical students fight crime and solve the mystery of the mysterious demonic force and these jewels. Though the series seems/starts out innocent, it quickly becomes darker the longer it goes one. Also, in the original manga, the jewels came from another planet, inhabited by an alien race of chibi animals that correspond to the animals the team's transformations are based on. Also, if y'all have any asks about this story and how it ties into the rest of the POW-R universe, ask away!

Thinking about... Magical girls.

[asksythe]

FtGoG Snippet: Mouse sees the Wind fall - part 1

The walk back is quiet. Their Kazekage doesn’t speak, and the Miko too, is silent. Mouse and Eagle shadow them, with Diamondback hanging a ways away. There is a tension between them, something big and thorny and too complicated for either to broach the topic right now. Mouse sees Eagle sign with his hand from the corner of his eyes.

Calm before the storm?

Mouse has no idea. Despite all the ill omens he has been spewing regarding the unlikely and in poor taste relationship between their Kazekage and a girl half his age, the Miko is anything but predictable. And even in the worst case… well… despite that he doesn’t think their relationship will last, he doesn’t exactly wish for it to end in such… spectacular fashion either. Despite what he thinks about the Miko and her influence not only on their Kage but the village as a whole, there is no denying what she means to the village’s future and no denying the fact that a Kage in a happy relationship is far easier to work under than one that is not.

Think the missus is going to dump him? Eagle signs again. Hey, talk to me, Mousey. Aren’t you the guy who’s been saying this is going to end in tears? Now, it’s playing as you said it would, and I’m getting real anxious here. She’s so quiet. She’s rarely this quiet.    

Mouse thinks hard about it, about the implication of that relationship going up in a plume of fire, the fallout of that. An angry Kazekage is already hard enough, but an angry Miko? The last time she lost her temper--for a definition of lost anyhow--she incited a revolt. He thinks of all the people that depend on her now, the hundred thousands of them… no, the millions of them. Suddenly he doesn’t feel very good about having his forecasts be proven right anymore.

They reach the Kage building without incident and without a single word being exchanged between them. She comes into his office for next week’s schedule while her bodyguards stand outside, probably heedful of the coming ‘storm’ between their charges. The lucky bitches, thinks Mouse as he and Eagle slinks in the rafters and into the office itself. They get to flee in the face of the greatest peril of long-term bodyguarding missions--awkwardly witnessing their charge’s domestic troubles while desperately pretending that they were invisible. Mouse, Eagle, and Diamondback have no such luck however.

This is going to end in tears, Mouse says with his fingers. Nobody is going to walk out of this looking pretty, least of all us three stooges. He says again. I fucking told you so!

We heard you the first time, Mouse-san. Diamondback signals back as it settles into a shadowed alcove opposite of him. Repetition of the same claim does not make it factual.

Just as it says this line with a crooked pinky and thumb, the showdown begins. Their Kage wordlessly hands the paper schedule to his Miko. She turns to leave. But he stops her with a one-word question.

“Why?”

She turns around, looks at him.

“Why what?”

“Why did you come with me to see the widow? Why did you apologize?”

“You mean aside from the fact that her only son died because of me?” Her voice raises a little, and she spears him with a look. In the background, Mouse mourns his last hope of getting out of this without having to bear witness to a lover’s quarrel that promises to be spectacular in all the wrong ways.  

“I am the one who killed that child,” replies lord Kazekage. “You just sat there and watched.”

“So, you admit it. He’s a child.” There is a vicious triumph in her voice.

“He’s a soldier of the state.”

“A child soldier you mean.” she parries right back. “He was thirteen years old.”

Which means a whole lot less to ninja than to her, Mouse thinks. But it’s not like they haven’t seen this problem coming a mile away. The Miko is a consummate pacifist, despite living in a hidden village. While she understands the need to accept the law of her new home, she also has never had to confront the fact in such fashion.

Lord Kazekage pauses for a second, regards her with an intense look as if a stern teacher looking at a belligerent student.  

“We talked about this,” he says finally. Mouse hears the weight in his voice, an answer to her accusation. “But if you insist, yes, the boy is a child soldier. In fact, there are over thirty thousand child soldiers like him in this village, including my children.”

She flinches, as if just now remembering something distasteful. He’s not done however.

“That’s not all. Every single adult soldier in this village starts out as one of them, including I, and everyone else who came before me, and everyone else who will come after me. This is not unique to our village. This is true with every other hidden village out there. But you know what else is true?” He leans a little bit closer, as if making a point. “Not a one of them is forced into service. It is their choice to serve, just as it is your choice to stay and make a life here. You don’t get to make light of their choice just because it doesn’t agree with your world view.”

She looks down, as if chagrined. Perhaps it is different from her perspective, but from the perspective of a ninja, this whole thing didn’t have to happen. The Kazekage’s expression softens somewhat at the sight of her.

“You cannot ask an entire society to change the way they live just because it doesn’t fit your view on how the world should operate, Kagome. Perhaps it is different in your old home, but you chose us. You chose this village. Now, you must accept us, and make the best with what you have.”    

He’s handling this very well, Mouse thinks. In all of his service, he hasn’t ever heard lord Kazekage sounding like this, like he’s almost… gentle. But then again, the opponent is his woman. Anyhow, this uncharacteristic gentleness is proving effective. She has gone quiet now and seems to be contemplating something. Mouse holds out hope that this night isn’t going to become the domestic shit show he has feared. Just as he thinks this however, the Miko lets out a question that blows his hope to kingdom come.  

“How many people have you killed?”

She doesn’t even look up, just lances the air in the room with this chillingly delivered question. Eagle makes a sign beside Mouse. Mayday! Mayday! On his part, Mouse wonders if he should start sending out discreet distress signals to warn the outside team that shit is likely to go down soon. Lover’s quarrels among ninja have a way of blowing out of proportion. In this case, when one side is the literal strongest warrior of the village and the other side is a woman whose powers can casually bitchslap Bijus, little guys like Mouse best take precautions.  

Down below, lord Kazekage is momentarily frozen. But then it passes. He stands up straight. He’s not an especially tall man, but the Miko is petite, and so he towers over her. He spreads his hands in one motion, face dark with fury.

“Do you really want to hear the answer, my dear?” he says. Whatever warmth was in his voice has long since gone. “I will tell you what you don’t want to hear. You have been sharing your bed with a killer.”

She lets out a quiet gasp. Her right hand goes up to grip her left arm as if she is trying to steady herself.

“But you already know this. That day, I told you no, that this wouldn’t work, but you barged your way into my bed and into my life. You knew who I was then. You knew what I did. But you still asked for it, for this…”

He cups her chin with one hand, forces her to look at him.

“Do you regret this now? Do you condemn me now?”

There is a moment of breathless silence, the air choked with tension. Then, she puts her hands on his and pulls it away. Holding his eyes, she says.

“Seventeen million souls died by my hands.”

At that moment, the office is so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Mouse picks his jaws off the ground, turns to Eagle and signs.

What?

Because he needs to check whether he has heard that correctly or if by some freak chances he has been put under a genjutsu without even noticing it. Eagle looks back at him, just as askance. Across from them, Diamondback is still as a statue. Down below, an impossible conversation is playing out.

“...Probably” The Miko adds as an afterthought.

“Probably?” Lord Kazekage doesn’t even bother to hide the surprise from his voice… or his face.

“There were around seventeen million people… humans… on the island nation where I came from. When I was done, there was not a single person left alive. That island nation was separated from other countries by great seas that my power couldn’t reach through without some time so… probably.”

She looks out the window at the skies outside. It has turned dark then, with distant stars dotting the great black expanse. She turns back to him. There is a sadness in her eyes, a weariness that seems at odd with the youth of her face.   

“If there is a killer in the bed we share, then it isn’t you. So, no, I don’t condemn you. With what I did, I have no right to judge anyone, least of all the people who took me in when I had nothing.”

.................................

TBC in part 2

................................

A/N: I be dropping bombs left and right. Teehee!!!