#he could never thrive in a group meant to maintain law and order. let alone one that hurts people to do so

[daz4i]

a little insane to me to see ppl perceive kunikida as like. law abiding citizen who never steps out of line and always does as he's told. you'd expect with a set of qualities like this that he'd be a cop, but there's a reason he's in the ada, that does things that aren't quite within the law's confinement. also more simply dude he has "authority" in his list of dislikes do you honestly think he would just blindly follow orders. just bc my guy has ocd doesn't mean he's a bootlicker please don't misread him like that.

[lotornomiko]

The Sacrificial Maiden Overhauled Chapter Two (Still some violence to make it a NSFW read?)

A slow burn kind of romance, Rufus Alicia pairing. Both caught and rescued by a man, a God, who claims to know her by another name, she is a veritable prisoner up in his home in the heavens, past and present at war, her reality versus his memories, and a deal that may cost them both more than they could ever imagine. The revamp of My Sacrificial Maiden fic.

Chapter Two: A Rufus POV

The village lay half in ruin, its buildings on fire, things overturned, smashed, and outright destroyed. The devastation had spread to the fields, the harvest that these people had spent all year working to grow, and the crops not yet picked in danger. Such needlessly cruel havoc, it was worse than anything he might have expected, and yet so completely in line with the malevolent nature of Nifleheim. That brand of evil, it made his fingers tighten on his weapon, his anger such that the man was almost sick with it. That blaze of fury, it bubbled up inside him, a majestic surge of power shooting outward, the light of it spreading slowly but surely over every inch of Coriander.

As potent as it was heady, that use of the power of Creation inside him, Rufus watched as the fires were put out in an instant, buildings rapidly restored, things rebuilt and righted, down to the crops that was so necessary for these people’s survival, it was to his lasting pity that this same power couldn’t right the wrong done to villager’s souls.

It was not that there was a limit to Creation’s power, so much as they were laws that governed just what could be done. A promise that not even God himself could break with, the lives once lost cast into the cycle of rebirth and ruin, souls either reborn or so wholly destroyed that all trace of them were removed from existence.  It was more than a death sentence, that, it was a complete annihilation of a person’s being, such an extreme act reserved for only the most vile of sinners and the most desperate of sacrifices. Rufus had born witness to both suffering that fate, that of the mad man who had blasphemed against the entirety of the world, and that of the brave women who had let themselves be destroyed for the chance to stop him.

Five souls in all had been lost as a result, sinner and saints alike, and with them, balance and order had been restored. Creation itself was saved, the world and its people no longer in such imminent danger. Their every day struggles continued, eight of the nine varied realms content to maintain a lasting attempt at harmony, with only Nifleheim determined to destroy all chance at peace. With Hel as their leader, the demons, monsters, and that of the damned, all strove to steal every bit of existence that they could, to spread their despair and greed to all. Coriander was just the latest in their bid for dominance, and yet it angered him all the more, Rufus aware that these senseless acts of violence, had finally had a true purpose behind them.

Meant to strike a most personal blow to the God who ruled over all of Creation, this unforgivable act had been meant as a trap. Even knowing this, Rufus had still come, discarding Freya’s concerns, putting himself and the world in jeopardy to right the wrong done in the name of catching God. He had been called foolish as a result, deemed needlessly reckless, and far too human in thought. He had argued back that those same faults as she saw them, were what had allowed for God’s benevolence to extend to all the realms, and not just the heavens alone.

Furious as Freya had been, the Goddess has not been able to argue against the truth of that. Creation was thriving, ALL of it, such peace and prosperity the likes of which had never been known under Odin’s thoughtless tyranny. The world itself had become like a paradise, food and resources plentiful, whole nations thriving, Creation remade to be what SHE would have wanted. Freed from the cruel manipulation of the Gods, their mad schemes and blatant toying, it was what SHE, Alicia, had sacrificed her soul for.

“Alicia...” The name and the memory of her, never failed to bring him pain, it and a desperate longing spiking through him. Such bitter sweet hurt, that of a heart never fully healed, Rufus had and still suffered a wealth of varied emotions, the unresolved feelings of a love that had never truly had a chance to be. Now wasn’t the time to slip in to the melancholy over what he had been denied, that poignant loss something to be set aside for a time better spent righting the wrongs of this past night.

“Report.” He said to the sudden presence besides him. The soul, an einherjar, had dropped to one knee, head bowed in a kind of reverent respect that wasn’t easily cast aside. The awe and esteem placed on him, was something Rufus still wasn’t used to, and even less liked, but old habits died hard, more heroes than not resisting the break of tradition.

“Only a few stragglers remain on the outskirts of the village.”

“Good, see that they are caught and returned to their mistress’ stern embrace.” A pause then, Rufus trying to keep the beat of his heart from betraying him. “What of the girl?”

There was a noticeable flinch as reaction from the kneeling einherjar. “Missing.”

He couldn’t stop the surge of unease, the panic and the worry, the alarm bells going off in his head, as the God turned to focus fully on this bearer of bad news. “What do you mean she is missing!?” A different kind of power spread out from him, colored as it was by his spike of emotion, its spread across the village instantly confirming his einherjar’s words.

“Shit!” Rufus swore, already on the move. The einherjar hurried to his feet, following after the God, but there was no keeping up with a man as desperately motivated as Rufus now was. His long strides pounded down pavement and dirt, Rufus passing through the heart of the town, to get to the outskirts, where fighting still took place. It was the heaven’s warriors and it was the scourge of Nifleheim, the damned souls of human sinners not yet ready to give up. Engaged in that bloody and violent combat, no one paid real mind to the cloaked figure who had entered into the midst of the battle.

A rising urgency within him, Rufus began pushing aside einherjar and blasphemer alike, his power still out there searching. Passing over each person, tasting of their soul, and finding them lacking, he continued his frantic quest, until at last before him, stood a demon, it’s malevolent eyes a crimson color that marked it as one of the undead.

Immediate was both their reactions, the demonic creature’s claws going for the God whose weapon rose to block the blow. Sharp tipped nails scrabbled over metal, the divine lance sending off sparks of power that had the monster screeching in pain. With a strong kick out of his right leg, Rufus sent the undead fiend flying back, the momentum only broke by a tree in its path. Its snarl cut off short, to find a glowing arrow in its face, the divine energy slowly but surely burning a hole into the creature’s cheek.

“Where is she!? Where have you taken her!?” His voice was more frantic than commanding, the hand that held onto the bow and the arrows, visibly shaking.

Even so wounded and in pain, the demon still took the time to taunt him. To mock him with a twisted smile, claws grabbing at the arrow head embedded in its cheek. “Hers will make a ripe soul for Hel’s feast.”

Another arrow flew, this time pinning a hand to the bark of the tree. The undead fiend howled in pain, the divine energy pouring off the metal, burning its tainted soul little by little. “She is an innocent!” Rufus was the one snarling now, drawing the attention of einherjar and damned alike. “Free of Nifleheim and its Queen’s grasp!”

Coughing up blood and saliva, the demon spat in the God’s face. “Believe that all you like...it won’t spare her soul from going under.”

Near blind with his rage and with his desperation, a third arrow was unleashed, and with it a horrible, grating sound, that of the monster laughing. It set Rufus off further, Gungnir transforming from bow to lance in an instant, the divine weapon suddenly at the fiend’s throat. Even that didn’t stop that mocking noise, Rufus wanting answers, and wanting them now.

“You have lost.” That piercing laughter continued, the demon brash and bold as it locked eyes with the God. “So what will it be? Creation or the girl? Which one will you see damned for all of lasting eternity?” A smirk then. “Surely God would not be so selfish...to sacrifice the good of the all for one single, solitary soul...” A pause, the smirk growing all the more grotesque. “Ah but we mustn’t forget, that this one is special…”

“Damn you...”

“I’ll extend to you Hel’s invitation.” The demon spoke over him. “You’ve not much time left to accept…”

“Oh I’ll be there.” A hiss followed by the pressure of his arm pushing down on the divine lance. “But old Hel is in for a surprise, if she thinks I’ll give up the world OR the girl!” The monster’s mocking laugh was cut off by its head being severed, the narrowed eye malice of it’s expression captured for all eternity, as it fell free of the body, and rolled to a stop against the God’s foot. He stared down at it, still so angry and full of so volatile a need, Rufus bringing his booted foot down to smash the offending face to bloody pieces.

Turning swiftly, he looked at the gathered einherjar, saw that most if not all of the damned had been subdued by them. Such a miserable and angry lot, their hostility and wicked ambition was radiating off them in waves, the group defiant to the last, and clearly intent on causing more trouble should the slightest mercy be shown them.

“Kill them.” Came the cold order, but it was not the God who had given voice to the command, but that of a Goddess.

“Freya!” Surprise was in his voice, along with a wary hostility, the two a pair that weren’t on good terms under the best of circumstances. “Have you come to stop me?”

“Yes, from being more foolish than usual, you idiotic God!” A emerald colored glare met his, the green clad Goddess standing in mid air, with her hands on her hips. “Honestly, do you ever think things through!?” She gestured wildly with her arm, encompassing the newly restored village. “Unleashing God’s miracles with little regard for the target it paints...”

“Coriander was a target long before that..” He countered, Rufus bristling despite himself. “Freya, they know...” He gave a sharp jerk of his head. “Not only that, they HAVE her.”

“Yes, I know...”

Those clipped sounding words raised his hackles, his glare narrowing further as he raged and glowered at the Goddess. “What do you mean, yes, you know…!?”

“Why ELSE would I be here!?” Tensions escalated with that, Rufus feeling very close to throttling the Goddess.

“Well then you understand what I HAVE to do.” It was his tone that was terse, Rufus barely in control of his rage. “And WHY I can’t let anyone stand in my way…!”

Sudden was her reaction, the gold glint of ether the only thing that lingered in the space the Goddess has just been occupying. In the span of the millisecond that it took einherjar and damned to blink their eyes, the lady Freya had gone from her lofty position in the sky, to standing right before the God. That divine energy gleamed upon her hand, followed by a loud slap of sound, the blonde haired woman in green having struck the man’s face.

It was a slap so hard that he actually staggered back, and the sound that escaped him was shocked at best. That nonsensical noise, it and the look that he gave her, were the only reaction he seemed capable of, Rufus doing an open mouthed gape at the Goddess. Freya’s lips pressed together, the woman’s emerald colored eyes looking stormy with her anger.

“You are always such a fool...I fear this side to you will never change, no matter how many more centuries may pass...” She shook her head, and took another step forward, briefly touching fingertips to his weapon, Gungnir. “Coriander may have been ONE of their targets, but never forget that THIS and the power to wield it are their true goals.”

That power came with more than just physical strength, all of Creation’s knowledge stored within, every last rule and responsibility bound to a single choice. To do right by the world, or to do wrong by it, and never had this God wavered with that particular indecision before, Rufus having always wanted to be the direct opposite of his tormentor and predecessor, Odin. It was to his and the realms’ detriment, that the single, solitary element, that one soul in particular, had been found, HERS the only thing in existence that the God might be willing to damn the world to never ending darkness for.

With that thought he could barely meet the gaze of the emerald green eyes that bore into his, the weight of her stare not just one of consideration, but one of daring, the Goddess expression and manner so like that day of a few hundred years ago. That time, on the very tops of Yggsdrasil’s branches, she had put forth a challenge, willing Rufus to prove himself worthy of the power he had been about to claim.

The stakes weren’t much different now, as it had been then, Creation itself seeming to hold its breath, Rufus knowing the one and only answer that could satisfy the goddess, was a promise he could not give.

“I will be careful...” He stated instead. “I don’t intend to give up my power OR the girl’s soul, to the likes of Hel and her minions.”

A great breath expelled out of the Goddess, the sounds so exasperated and weary, Freya taking a step back. “Then you best hurry.” This change in attitude seemed to stagger him as much as her earlier slap had, Rufus just staring at her, flabbergasted. Was it a kindness that had the golden haired Goddess choose not to comment on his slack jawed response? He’d never know for sure, the green clad deity speaking.

“Her innocence buys her soul some measure of protection.” Freya continued. “But there are ways to work around even that.”

“Ways?” He croaked out, barely able to comprehend what she was implying.

“To drag a soul worthy of the heavens down into Nifleheim’s dark abyss.” clarified Freya. “Evil magic,  a long forbidden ritual, that can disguise the purity within...” Her green gaze was troubled, as though the Goddess was doubting herself in telling him this. “It will take time to cast, to make the sacrifice ready for its descent….”

“Sacrifice!?”

“No living creature may tread foot upon the underworld that’s not demon or divine....” She fixed him with a look. “You should already know this...” A shake of her head, a kind of promise in her eyes that foretold that the lecture he was to receive would be put off only for this one time.

“Head to the forgotten temple...” Her arm raised up, ether dripping off one single finger tip. “Those abandoned ruins are perfect for the desecration that must be committed there.”

He has so many questions, might have even owed her his apology, but above all else, amid the many varied emotions he was feeling, the urgency and the desperation, and that thin bit of hope that he’d make it in time, was a sliver of gratitude.

“Thank you.” He said and meant it, the gold orb of divine energy flying free of Freya’s hand. It shot off in an arc, zigzagging past people, marking the path the God needed to follow. A glow accompanied its travels, the light turning faint when it slipped through the trees, and into the depths of the forest.

“We will finish up here...” He nodded, but barely took to the meaning behind those words, a growing sense of urgency worsened, Rufus innately knowing that to lose track of the ether trail would result in a slim window closing, the soul that he was so desperate towards saving, perhaps lost for good. He took off running, the cloak clasped in place over his shoulders, flaring out, and with every step taken, he seemed to fly, moving with the grace of a divine, and a speed that was unnatural to any other of Creation’s beings. His surroundings seemed to blur around him, his focus narrowed down to the one aid Freya had lent him, moving as it did, with sharp zig zags over and around tress, past the startled creatures of the forest, to climb higher and higher up a mountain, until abruptly a drop was upon them, the arc of gold light shooting down into a valley to come circling around what had to be the ruins of a temple.

His expression grimly determined, Gungnir obeyed an unspoken command, shifting from it’s natural form, to that of the shape of his preferred weapon of choice. The polished silver gleamed, reflecting the light and the glow that surrounded the ruins. Save for the ether, nothing else stirred, not animal and certainly not damned or demonic, Rufus taking careful steps forward.

“Too easy...” He murmured with a frown. Did they not expect him here, or was this yet another of Hel’s traps? Whatever the answer, he had to keep moving, and then all attempt at being quiet was lost, to the sight of blood on the ground. What had started out as a few smears, soon turned into a distinct trail, as though something wounded had been dragged. He feared the answer as to what that something had been, but more than that, it made him nearly blind with fury, Rufus taking off running, his booted feet pounding the ground, and then the broken marble of what remained of the interior’s floor. Things spooked inside the temple, animals from the sound of it, both predator and prey made wary by the God tearing through their makeshift home.

The blood trail stopped just short of the flood, a room that was more filled with water than not. From across its icy surface, came a sound, that of a low monotone voice speaking, chanting some kind of nonsense out. He then plunged waist deep into the water, abandoning the cloak that tried to drag him down with its wet weight, and came at last to the deepest part of the temple. To a place that had once been the heart of a divine worship, now made a mockery of all its values, by the monsters, the demons, who played at stealing a soul.

He couldn’t see the soul in question, but he could FEEL it, both the girl and that ebb of her life starting to slip free of her body. She was barely hanging on, and the claws around her throat weren’t helping the matter, Rufus notching an arrow to his bow. Divine energy didn’t just glow on the feathered tip, it poured off it in strong waves, the God a snarling mass of fury, as he proclaimed to the gathered demons that they had NO right.

The blinding blaze of that launched arrow marked it’s path as true, the pointed tip slamming into one of the wrists of a demon. It screamed and dropped its hold of the girl, her pale and near lifeless body, hitting the floor harder than Rufus would have liked. He was beyond furious in response, arrow after arrow flying, the God on the move, nightmares rushing towards him, more than he could keep track of, his figure swarmed and swamped by that dark mass. He went under, with claws tearing into him, the pummel of fists and other appendages striking him, those fiends relentless but then so was he! With a roar, and a power that shot off him in waves, that strong surge of divine energy sent Nifleheim’s worst flying back, arrows again airborne, piercing into body after body, the God this wild thing, an unstoppable force that bit by bit made his way closer towards the altar, and the broken form of the girl who lay unconscious before it.

Not even the reinforcements that came rushing out of the shadows could make a difference, Rufus dispatching them all with an ease that was almost laughable if not for the mad rage inside him. Gungnir’s wire sang with every arrow unleashed, this room of worship lit up by all the divine energy burning apart the very essence of the demons. His own ragged breath was heard, a sign not of exhaustion, but one of wordless fury, nothing and no one able to calm him save for the life he was taking into his hands.  

“Ah….” His fingers hovered uncertain for one second too long, Rufus cursing himself, for now was NOT the time for any kind of hesitation. He was nervous all the same, whole centuries having passed dreaming of this kind of moment. A touch of any kind, his hands a kind of reverence normally reserved for only the Gods, she was then cradled close against his chest, the girl’s head falling back to give him a start of his own.

Far older than he had anticipated, the girl---more so a young woman, and with the body to prove it, marked the passage of a time he had not realized had even fully passed. To him it still felt like it had only been just yesterday, that he chanced upon the child, the soul that had inexplicably been reincarnated. But for the mortals of Midgard, time had never stopped, at least a whole ten years having passed, if not more, for this woman.

He was made stupid in the face of a beauty that didn’t so much rival that of his memories, as replicate it completely. From the sweet curve of her lips, to the honey hued color of her hair, to the thick lashes of her eyes, she was the spitting image of his Alicia. No, she was more than just her twin, branded as she was by the ever weakening soul inside her, this young woman somehow against all the odds, and the laws of providence, this was his lost love reborn!

“Alicia…” His vision blurred with a hint of his gratitude, a tear falling free. It was a miracle, one he had prayed for and given up on ever happening, this soul meant to be struck from existence. It had never sat right with him, the unfairness of it all, the idea that Alicia would be punished instead of rewarded for the sacrifice she had given.

The impossible had happened. Somehow, someway, some power higher than even that of God, having righted a wrong that had tormented him for centuries. He didn’t know who or what they were indebted to, but the grateful deity wasn’t about to squander this, their second chance. Not to Hel, and not to the young woman’s own fragile state, Rufus lowering his head to brush lips over hers.

Cold and trembling at first, the warmth of the ether on his lips began to work it’s own miracle. Her lips began to take on a heat of their own, quivering mouths joined together, and from that merging of flesh, a healthy flush began to overtake the pale skin. It was life, and it was vitality, a healing magic that brought her heart beating a stronger tempo, her chest rising and falling easier with an even breath, a soul that had almost snapped free, instead pulled back, death and damnation both held at bay once more.

Snuggled into the warmth, the young woman began to stir. Slowly at first, but then with a rising panic, her soft hands pushing at him, trying to break them free of the kiss. It was wrong of him, he knew, but Rufus lingered longer than the miracle required, enjoying the kiss in a way that was pure need of a different kind, that of a love and a desire denied for so many centuries thus.

Her hands became more and more insistent, the tension within that frame making her come off as frantic, and only belatedly would he then remember, that mortals had need to breathe. She was already half swooning as a result, eyes that he knew would be colored so beautiful a blue, fluttering to look up at him.

“Hey...” It was more awkward then he felt their reunion should be, Rufus giving the young woman, a sheepish looking grin. “It’s been a long time…Alicia…”

“Ah...” She struggled to form the words, a questioning sound at the end of them. “Alicia?” He could hear the flustered beat of her heart, the sound faster than was healthy, that frightened tempo more than any mortal could maintain, and with it, went her eyes, the blue color lost to the sudden weight slumping against him, the woman having given in to the faint.

To Be Continued…

I’m glad I took a nap in the middle of writing this. I was having SO much trouble with my first draft of the Freya Rufus scene...so much so, that upon coming back, I HATED that first attempt, and trashed it into what felt like the better read. Overall, Freya aside, I had enjoyed writing this chapter. XD

---Michelle