#i just realized tamamo is the only one that alone here

[yamayuandadu]

The fabrication of a storm god: Susanoo, Taishakuten (Indra) and their histories

When I found this ask in my inbox recently, I initially admittedly wanted to only give a short, dismissive response. After all, the similarity between these two is completely superficial. And, truth to be told, it’s more a vague similarity between how they are presented as “storm gods” by questionable online sources than between their actual roles. However, I quickly realized that would not accomplish much. The best way to counter misconceptions is to show reality is more interesting - and in the case of complex figures with long histories, this requires time and effort. The response, like the recent Tamamo no Mae one, kept growing as a result, and evolved into a fully blown unplanned post. Under the cut, you will find a brief examination of the origin of the erroneous notion that Susanoo was ever understood a “storm god”, as well as a summary of his character  character, the main deities linked to him in the Japanese “middle ages”, and finally his fate after the Meiji restoration. In the second half, I deal with the Japanese reception of Indra. While not actually related to Susanoo, he is nonetheless a complex deity worth exploring, even though it feels like he’s not particularly appreciated by hobbyists and his central role in medieval cosmology hardly gets acknowledged.

Victorian confabulations and Meiji mirages: the fabrication of a storm god

Susanoo vanquishing Yamata no Orochi, as depicted by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (wikimedia commons)

Contrary to what you might have seen in numerous online sources of dubious quality, Susanoo is not a “storm god” (let alone a “thunder god” more specifically). Nothing to that effect shows up in standard points of reference like Encyclopedia of Shinto, and even Wikipedia despite arbitrarily putting him in the weather god category only musters a single 2000 paper which I’ve never seen cited in subsequent Susanoo research as “evidence” of a weather connection. 

The most recent in depth treatments of Susanoo in English are a section of Bernard Faure’s monograph Rage and Ravage and David Weiss’ The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan’s Cultural Memory: Ancient Myths and Modern Empire. The former at no point makes any claims pertaining to the weather while discussing him. The latter notes the view that Susanoo was a “storm god” enjoyed some popularity in the late nineteenth century because of the influence of the now long abandoned school of “nature mythology”, in which deities are only ever representations of natural phenomena. This theory was originally formulated by Edward Burnett Tylor, who basically admitted no actual Japanese sources ever present him as a “storm god”, but that this character is nonetheless evident in his vibes (obviously not how he phrased it, but his study deserves no more dignified summary). Tylor’s nonsense was subsequently taken up by a certain Edmund Buckle, who randomly connected his forerunner’s oc with Indra because I guess all weather gods are basically interchangeable (there’s an interesting point to be made about how they’re the one group of male deities who are often treated in poor quality scholarship the way goddesses usually are). By 1899, the theory reached Japan, where it caused a prolonged academic debacle. However, it seems supporters of this view, much like in the west, were the followers of the long since abandoned notion of “nature mythology”. Among the theory’s opponents were researchers such as Masaharu Anesaki. As far as I can tell, it’s essentially irrelevant today.

The oldest available information about Susanoo’s actual character comes from the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. I don’t think that needs to be discussed here in detail. Even though I often overestimate other people’s familiarity with mythology I think it’s fair to say everyone with just a passing interest in Japan knows at least the basics of the myths about his conflict with his sister Amaterasu, his banishment, and subsequent victory over the serpent Yamata no Orochi. It will suffice to say the oldest recorded mythical image of him is that of an ambivalent deity, a heroic monster slayer on one hand, a transgressor and exile on the other. This polarity remains a core part of him for the rest of his history. The other early sources dealing with Susanoo are various fudoki, regional records. They indicate that in the eighth century he already was connected with diseases. Later on in the Heian period, he also came to be associated with purification. Or to be more precise - he came to be viewed as the archetypal target of purification, in a way. His misdeeds from classical mythology became examples of deeds requiring such ceremonies, performed variously by courtly ritual specialists like the Nakatomi clan, Buddhist clergy, or onmyōdō masters. He also functioned as a jinushi, a “landholder deity” of often ambivalent character tied to a specific location, and an araburugami, a “raging god” defined by causing havoc out of hubris (as opposed to malice).

Gozu Tennō and others: the network of medieval Susanoo Susanoo’s character developed through the Japanese “middle ages” in no small part through associations with other deities, typically caused by his incorporation into Buddhism.

A composite Susanoo-Gozu Tennō, as depicted by Sadahide Utagawa (Östasiatiska Museet, Stockholm)

The single most important figure he came to be linked with was by far Gozu Tennō, the “Bull-Headed Heavenly King”. While religious and literary texts present him as a deity from India, the guardian of the Jetavana monastery, and he was even furnished with an artificial Sanskrit name, Gomagriva Devaraja, his origin is actually uncertain. It’s possible he was inspired by a misreading of a passage from the travelog of the Chinese monk Faxian (c. 337-442). He visited Jetavana in the early fifth century, and reported that there was a statue of a bull next to the monastery’s door, before moving on to describing the supposed first image of the Buddha, which according to him was made from legendary “ox-head sandalwood” and impervious to fire. Confusion between these two passages might have led to the creation of an ox-headed deity. Other proposals are present in scholarship too, but ultimately the matter remains unclear. What is evident is that Susanoo and Gozu Tennō shared many similarities: the latter also was an archetypal “raging deity”, and he too was linked with pestilence. An argument can be made that he was the disease spirit par excellence in medieval Japan, in fact. When properly worshiped, he was supposed to protect the faithful from illnesses, as expected from a deity of this variety. They also shared an association with foreign lands: Gozu Tennō primarily with India, but also with China and Korea, while Susanoo just with Korea, due to a Nihon Shoki episode where he travels to the kingdom of Silla. Yet another point of connection is that both were simultaneously recognized as manifestations of Yakushi (the “medicine Buddha”). Therefore, it comes as no surprise that at the Gion shrine in Kyoto, and in many other locations across Japan, the two were identified fully.

However, the link was at times conceptualized differently than as interchangeability between the two. For instance, Kaneyoshi Ichijō’s treatise Kuji Kongen (公事根源; “Roots of Court Administration and Ceremonies”) Gozu Tennō is merely an “acolyte” (warawabe, 童部) of Susanoo. Granted, this author eventually came to view them as identical himself, which shows how fluid medieval theology could be.

A humorous depiction of Susanoo and Kushinadahime serving pieces of Yamata no Orochi prepared like grilled eel (Ōta Memorial Museum of Art; reproduced here for educational purposes only)

The identification between Susanoo and Gozu Tennō also extended to their wives, respectively Kushinadahime and Harisaijo (波梨采女), as evident for example in the Shaku Nihongi. The latter was regarded as a daughter of the dragon king Sāgara. Things are made slightly awkward by the Nihon Shoki Sanso, where she is a manifestation of Yamata no Orochi (one of the multiple cases of putting a positive spin on the snake). Susanoo in the guise of Gozu Tennō thus effectively marries his nemesis. The marriage itself is a subject of a number of myths. According to Hoki Naiden (簠簋内伝), an onmyōdō manual, the “heavenly emperor” (Taishakuten, one would presume, based on information I’ll discuss later) de facto played the role of a matchmaker between Harisaijo and Gozu Tennō. When the latter was lamenting that due to his monstrous, yaksha-like form - he had the head of a bull - he will never find love, a bird sent by the celestial ruler informed him that it would be appropriate for him and Sāgara’s daughter to get married. This suggestion then evidently works out just fine, and the couple subsequently have eight children, the Hachiōji (八王子, “eight princes”) over the course of thirty seven years.

Hyōbi (wikimedia commons)

There are multiple slightly divergent traditions about the identities of the children. The most notable variable is that a goddess named Jadokkeshin (蛇毒気神; also read Dadokuke no kami; “deity of poisonous snake breath”) sometimes appears among them, sometimes is treated as an independent deity serving Gozu Tennō, and sometimes takes the role of his spouse (in at least one case with Harisaijo quite literally relegated to the role of his ex). She is also identified with the astral deity Hyōbi (豹尾, “leopard tail”) and by extension with Ketu.

Another figure who was closely linked with Susanoo in the middle ages was Matarajin. This tradition was associated with Gakuen-ji. In a local legend, Susanoo started to be called Matarajin after being buried underneath it. I won’t dwell much on Matarajin here since I already wrote a lot about him, and will write even more in the near future, so it will suffice to say the two share a connection to diseases. In Matarajin’s case it is the most pronounced in the “ox festival” still held in modern times at Kōryū-ji.

Shinra Myōjin (wikimedia commons)

Connections between Susanoo and Matarajin’s fellow Tendai old man disease-related deities Sekizan Myōjin and Shinra Myōjin are documented too. Bernard Faure argues that in fact it was Shinra Myōjin who first developed such an association, and it was only transferred to Matarajin as well because of the numerous analogies between them. 

A distinct tradition regarding Susanoo developed in the theology of Ise (“Ryōbu shintō”), which as expected was Amaterasu-centric (but also Dainichi-centric!). He came to be linked with Mara and Devadatta as a representation of “fundamental ignorance”, with the conflict between him and Amaterasy gaining an additional Buddhist dimension. At the same time, in the noh play Dairokuten (第六天), which deals with Jōkei’s pilgrimage to Ise, Susanoo appears to protect this monk from Mara. Evidently, in this context Susanoo and Amaterasu are hardly opposed to each other, seeing as the former de facto intervenes on behalf of the latter. 

While the notion of rivalry between the siblings obviously did not vanish in the middle ages, and in fact new myths about it started to circulate (in one Matarajin assists Susanoo), it can be argued that it was ultimately the new conflict between Amaterasu and Mara that was central to many medieval theologies. While she and Susanoo could be portrayed as antagonistic, there is a case to be made that there were more similarities between medieval ideas about them than there were differences. That was not meant to last, though.

Later developments

The tradition of associating Susanoo with assorted medieval deities first came under criticism in the eighteenth century. Sadakage Amano, an early proponent of kokugaku ("national learning", an early Japanese nationalist ideology) ideas, wrote a treatise dealing with this matter, Gozu Tennō Ben (牛頭天王辨, “Clarification on Gozu Tennō”). Its core premise is that monks and shrine priests alike are deceptively trying to present “foreign” deities as identical with “native” ones. This point was further developed in the nineteenth century by another kokugaku big name, Atsutane Hirata. 

Hirata's self portrait (wikimedia commons)

He reaffirmed that presenting Susanoo and Gozu Tennō as related deities was a nefarious plot, and blamed Kibi no Makibi for starting it. He argued that Makibi spent too much time in China and as a result forsake a pristinely Japanese way of thinking (whatever that wouldn't entail). As a result, when he heard the legend of ox-head sandalwood, which was believed to grow on the mythical continent Uttarakuru and cure diseases, he turned it into a deity, who he subsequently brought to Japan. Then he identified him with Susanoo to increase his prestige.

Was that the historical truth? Kibi no Makibi was an envoy to China and spent around 20 years on the mainland, that much is undeniable. However, the only connection between him and Gozu Tennō I was able to track down is a local legend pertaining to Mount Hiromine in which he meets this deity in a dream, though.

Ultimately like most of Hirata’s writing, his theory consists virtually entirely of confabulations, mostly motivated by extreme levels of xenophobia. Rather ironic for a movement which originally largely developed among the most hardcore neo-Confucian thinkers in Japan. Granted, that’s hardly the only baffling thing about them. The best way to understand what was going on in the heads of kokugaku proponents is to recall how contemporary marble bust profile pic “the west has fallen” trads or Bible literalist creationists function, and adjust that image for the specifics of the Edo period. 

Still, kokugaku theories, nonsensical as they were, kept developing, and finally gained government support after the Meiji revolution. In 1868, the Council of State proclaimed that shrines can no longer use “inappropriate” names to refer to their deities. Gozu Tennō was the only example brought up directly, in part possibly because with the reestablishment of the power of the emperor and the rise of the imperial cult it was viewed as suspicious that a deity unrelated to the imperial court had the moniker of tennō (written with different signs, though). The edict also contains a blanket ban on any name with the element gongen. As a result of the new policies numerous locations had to be renamed, and for the most part the history of Gozu Tennō came to an end. He and his peers eventually came back into the spotlight in the second half of the twentieth century as subjects of scholarly inquiries, and the field of study of medieval and early modern Japanese religions is now booming, with entire monographs and articles published in multiple languages each year, but that’s another story.

The history of Susanoo obviously did not end in the 1860s, though. What followed was probably the single darkest page in it, an era of intense efforts to make him identical with Dangun, the legendary founder of Korea. The goal was explicitly to justify Japanese colonial control over Korea through faux-spiritual means. Since Japanese colonial domination of Korea is a relatively recent and deeply serious historical issue compared to what I cover most of the time, I feel it would be inappropriate to deal with it in the same article as medieval literature which ultimately lacks much of a tangible impact on the modern world, so I hope you won’t mind I don’t go deeper into the detail here. 

With the matter of Susanoo now settled, let’s move on to Indra. The two were never associated with each other, but the latter developed an equally vibrant network of roles and associated deities around him as Susanoo after being transmitted to Japan.

From Indra to Taishakuten

A typical Hindu depiction of thousand-eyed Indra (wikimedia commons)

Indra has a long and complex history, so long he is in fact attested a handful of times in bronze age cuneiform already as one of the notoriously mysterious non-Hurrian Mitanni deities (sic), invoked as personal deities of the royal house in a lengthy treaty oath. This makes him one of the very few “bridges” between my two major normally disconnected interests (the “cuneiform world” on one hand, and East Asian religions and art on the other).

The biggest early text corpus dealing with Indra are the Vedas, where he is the single most frequently mentioned deity, with quite literally hundreds of hymns praising him. Naturally, he remained a part of the history of Hinduism later on, and today he is still well known thanks to his role in popular epics like Ramayana. His relevance is not limited to this system of beliefs alone, though. He has a small (negative) role in the Avesta (see here), and he was embraced by various schools of Buddhism across much of Asia. 

In early Buddhism, the prestige of Indra was not particularly great. This obviously reflects the fact that the formative years of Buddhism were also a period of Indra’s relative decline as an actively worshiped god back at home at the expense of deities central in contemporary Hinduism like Vishnu and Shiva. However, he surprisingly regained some of his original prestige thanks to developments which occurred outside of India. This is well documented in East Asia in particular. I’ll only cover his Japanese reception here - therefore, through most of the rest of the article I will use his Japanese name, Taishakuten (帝釈天), accordingly. Buddhism emphasizes not Indra’s warlike side and his battles with asuras, let alone a connection with the weather, but rather his role as a heavenly ruler. He keeps epithets related to his 1000 eyes, but to the best of my knowledge this is not really reflected in Buddhist art, especially not in Japan. Another role retained by him in Buddhism is that of a directional deity, the protector of the east.

Something that’s worth highlighting is that asuras in general just aren’t that big of a deal in Japanese Buddhism. Outside of enumerations of non-human sentient beings, only Rahu and Ketu have a substantial role, and that’s more because they’re astral deities rather than because they’re asuras. Otherwise the entire category is about as opaque as mahoragas (when you look up “mahoraga” online 99% results are a Jujutsu Kaisen character, as it turns out, which speaks volumes about their general obscurity) and the like. Hard to make opposition to them the focus of a major deity when even gandharvas have a bigger role to play.

I can only think of a handful of major references to battles between Taishakuten and asuras in Japanese literature: an offhand comment in Heike Monogatari (courtesy of Kenreimon-in), a passage from the Taiheiki where Jōkei (who you already met earlier in this article) has the privilege to watch the parties involved reenact the conflict for his benefit, and a myth cited by Annen with no source provided, possibly invented by him. The innovation is that Marici (Marishiten) is a major combatant on the side of the devas, something with no parallel in any other source, whether Buddhist or Hindu. Rahu is singled out among the asuras as an enemy of Taishakuten, but that’s hardly unparalleled.

The conventional image of Taishakuten

A conventional depiction of Taishakuten (wikimedia commons)

For the average Japanese person through much of the country’s history, the most frequent exposure to Taishakuten were standardized oath formulas (kishōmon). These followed a strict hierarchy of deities: Taishakuten, Bonten (Brahma) and the four heavenly kings first, then king Enma, Godo Daishin (Wudao Dashen), Taizan Fukun and other underworld officials (sometimes assisted by astral figures), then kami and representations of Buddhas tied to specific localities (for example the great Buddha of Tōdai-ji), and sometimes various religiously significant historical figures like prince Shotoku or Buddhist patriarchs. Obviously, Taishakuten’s elevated position reflects his role as a heavenly ruler - the “heavenly emperor”, tentei (天帝).

The residence of Taishakuten is the heaven of the thirty three devas (忉利天, Tōriten, a calque from Sanskrit Trāyastriṃśa). It is located on Mount Sumeru, the center of the world according to Buddhist cosmology. Sources from the Heian period indicate the existence of a belief Taishakuten’s heaven is unique in that women could be reborn in it after death without first reincarnating as men. This distinction was otherwise only attributed to the pure land of Maitreya. Note it was not Taishakuten himself who was responsible for guaranteeing that, though, but rather the bodhisattva Fugen, who was particularly popular among Heian court ladies.

Karai Tenjin (wikimedia commons)

Taishakuiten’s major position in the Buddhist-influenced cosmos is also evident in literary compositions focused on other deities. For example, in the Dōken Shōnin Meidoki (道賢上人冥途記, “Record of Dōken Shōnin’s Experience of the Other World”), a version of the legend of Michizane, his revenge is supported by Taishakuten, who gives him a new name, Nihon Dajō Itoku Ten (日本太政威徳天). This is meant to show his banishment was a religious transgression, and we also learn that the emperor responsible for it, Daigo, fell into hell as a result. However, esoteric Buddhism is  also credited with calming Michizane down - as he explains himself, “bodhisattvas (...) were there, and they enthusiastically propagated the esoteric teachings. Because I liked these teachings very much, one-tenth of my deeply seated enmity from my past was reduced.” This obviously goes against the more common legend where being enshrined pacifies Michizabe entirely. In the Dōken version he announces that the enshrined deity, who he calls Karai Taiki Dokuō (火雷大気毒王; “King of Fire-Thunder and Poisonous Air”), is merely his messenger #3 (#1 and #2 are not mentioned).

The closest thing I can think of to Taishakuten being associated with the weather in Japanese sources occurs in a version of the Michizane legend, too: in another variant, Michizane states it was Taishakuten alone who permitted him to enact his vengeance and entrusted him with commanding 105000 thunder gods (in the Dōken Shōnin Meidoki there are 168000 attendants instead, “poisonous dragons, evil demons, deities of water and fire, thunder and lightning, the director of the wind, the master of the rain, and other poisonous, harmful, and evil deities”) and causing disasters. 

From emperor to heaven to controller of fate

Due to his prominent cosmological role Taishakuten is also described in many sources as a  controller of fate responsible for determining the lifespans of living beings. Sometimes, in this capacity he basically overlaps with king Enma - for example, Shishi Yaloan, a Buddhist encyclopedia from the eleventh century, states that he also possesses a mirror in which he can check on his subjects. A local tradition from Tateyama states that he lives on the Taishaku Peak of Mt. Tate, simultaneously regarded as an entrance to Buddhist hell. However, while Enma and the other kings of hell generally stay there, Taishakuten takes a more proactive role, seeking information about the good and bad deeds of the living. Initially, it was believed that a survey of the whole world was conducted on his behalf by the four heavenly kings, but by the tenth century, a belief that he performs it himself every four months himself developed.

The famously unconventional depiction of Taishakuten from Shibamata Taishakuten, still distributed today in the form of ofuda (wikimedia commons)

In the Edo period, Taishakuten as a controller of fate developed a connection with deities associated with the tradition of kōshin nights. In this context he became the deity the three worms living in every person’s body report their good and bad deeds to. Temples associated with him, like Shibamata Taishakuten (famous among other things for its unconventional images of the eponymous deity), were historically a popular destination for pilgrimages tied to kōshin celebrations.

While the fate connection ultimately came to the forefront in Japan, it would be unfair to say it entirely superseded the original heavenly role. As a matter of fact, it was the fact that Taishakuten was a “heavenly emperor” (tentei) that made him such a good fit for kōshin.

The elusive "emissary of Taishaku" As early as in the Muromachi period, yet another deity came to be viewed as responsible for Taishakuten's survey of the world in a variant tradition: one of the so-called “ambulatory deities” (遊行神, yugyōjin; “ambulatory” as in “wandering”, not in the medical sense) , Ten’ichi(jin) (天一神; also read Nakagami), literally “the first deity of heaven”. He was regarded as a “vassal” of Taishakuten and the commander of the Twelve Heavenly Generals. Each of his cyclical surveys of the world lasted 44 days (four times five days for each of the main directions and then four times six for the intermediate ones). That was followed by sixteen days during which he reported the vices and virtues he recorded to Taishakuten in heaven, with his own underling Nichiyū(jin) (日遊神; “playing sun deity”) descending to earth instead. During Tenichi’s absence, which started with a day referred to as Ten’ichi tenjō (天一天上), directional taboos pertaining to various astral deities, which normally had to be countered with a practice known as “changing directions” (方違え, katatagae), did not apply.

Taishaku Shisha (top right) and his peers accompanying Dakiniten (wikimedia commons)

Another interesting thing about Ten’ichi is that he was identified with an elusive deity known simply as Taishaku Shisha (帝釈使者), literally “emissary of Taishaku”. At first glance this doesn’t really sound interesting - after all, Taishaku Shisha’s name sounds exactly like what Ten’ichi does - but completely unexpectedly, the former actually belongs to the entourage of Dakiniten. His attributes make him resemble officials of the underworld, though he is never portrayed as menacing, always as benign, and his duty is to report the good and bad deeds to his superiors, much like Ten’ichi does. He additionally functions as a god of wisdom, which according to Bernard Faure might reflect Dakiniten’s link to the bodhisattva Monju, famous due to an association with this concept.

Curiously, while Taishaku Shisha is at least nominally a member of a group of four “acolytes” of Dakiniten alongside Tennyoshi (天女子; “heavenly maiden”; holds a bow), Shakunyoshi (赤女子; “red maiden”; holds a halberd and a “seduction jewel”, aikei-gyoku, 愛敬玉) and Kokunyoshi (黒女子; “black maiden”; holds a sword and a black jewel), he is sometimes described as de facto separate from them. Perhaps the fact his very name links him with another deity has something to do with that. Also, he is absent from the origin myth of the three maidens, who according to Hoki Naiden flew to Japan from India. According to Bernard Faure, it is possible his roles overlapped in part with Dakiniten’s own emissaries, the tengu Tonyūgyō (頓遊行; brings happiness) and Suyochisō (須臾馳走; brings longevity).

Dakiniten, “demon kings” and Amaterasu: the network of Taishakuten

Dakiniten (wikimedia commons)

Taishakuten’s connection with Dakiniten goes beyond the figure of Taishaku Shisa. The Mizōukyo (未曽有經) contains a myth according to which a fox once tricked Indra into accepting the animal as his master is recorded. It serves as an explanation for the notably fox-like Dakiniten’s elevated role in the royal ascension rite devised by Shingon priests (it was still performed in the 19th century, emperor Meiji was the first to abstain from it). In folk beliefs Taishakuten was also sometimes assigned the role of the “master of the foxes”, which normally belonged to her instead.

The link to these animals according to Bernard Faure might have reflected a more ambivalent perception of Taishakuten than usually expected. The other possible piece of evidence in favor of this interpretation is a poem which proclaims that he and Tsuno Daishi, the demonic manifestation of Ryōgen, look “like brothers”. The latter is a complex figure, but it will suffice to say here that historically he was sometimes perceived as a “demon king” (魔王, maō). On the other hand, the original holder of this title, the “Demon King of the Sixth Heaven” (in other words, Mara) was said to offer his blood to Taishakuten on “blood-shunning days” (地幅, chi-imbi). In practical terms, this meant a religious prohibition on the drawing of blood, acupuncture and moxibustion on a specific day, different each month. I need to stress here that even though figures such as Dakiniten and the “demon kings” obviously originated in the realm of demonology - respectively as a flesh-eating, vital essence-stealing demon and as the tempter of the Buddha - they eventually developed much more complex and nuanced characters. Therefore, it is not unexpected major deities appear in association with them. In the middle ages, even Amaterasu was frequently linked with them. Funnily enough, in contrast with Susanoo Amaterasu does have a connection to Taishakuten as well. Tenshō Daijin Kuketsu (天照大神口決; “Oral Transmission.Pertaining to the Great Goddess Amaterasu”) from 1328 states that she corresponds to him - but also to Bonten, Shōten (Ganesha), the kushōjin (倶生神; these would take a bit to explain), king Enma and Godō Daijin. Granted, another roughly contemporary treatise, Reikiki, instead proclaims Taishakuten, the “heavenly emperor” (tentei; just like in the later kōshin tradition) the “kami-body” of Toyouke, the outer shrine Ise deity. However, these matters ultimately go beyond the scope of this response. Stay tuned for my article about medieval Amaterasu to find out more!

Bibliography

Ryūichi Abe, Women and the “Heike Nōkyō”: the Dragon Princess, the Jewel and the Buddha

Bernard Faure, The Fluid Pantheon (Gods of Medieval Japan vol. 1)

Idem, Protectors and Predators  (Gods of Medieval Japan vol. 2)

Idem, Rage and Ravage (Gods of Medieval Japan vol. 3)

Gerald Gromer, A Year in Seventeenth-Century Kyoto. Edo-Period Writings on Annual Ceremonies, Festivals, and Customs

Takuya Hino, The Daoist Facet of Kinpusen and Sugawara no Michizane Worship in the Dōken Shōnin Meidoki: A Translation of the Dōken Shōnin Meidoki

Nobumi Iyanaga, Medieval Shintō as a Form of 'Japanese Hinduism': An Attempt at Understanding Early Medieval Shintō

William Lindsey, Religion and the Good Life: Motivation, Myth, and Metaphor in a Tokugawa Female Lifestyle Guide

Fabio Rambelli, Before the First Buddha: Medieval Japanese Cosmogony and the Quest for the Primeval Kami

Hiroo Satō, Wrathful Deities and Saving Deities in: Fabio Rambelli and Mark Teeuwen (eds.), Buddhas and Kami in Japan. Honji Suijaku as a Combinatory Paradigm

Idem, The Emergence of Shinkoku (Land of the Gods) Ideology in Japan in: Henk Blezer and Mark Teeuwen (eds.), Challenging Paradigms. Buddhism and Nativism: Framing Identity Discourse in Buddhist Environments

David Weiss, The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan’s Cultural Memory: Ancient Myths and Modern Empire.

[ga-yuu]

The Man Who Steals Me ~ Love That Is Immoral Story Event Tamamo Route

WARNING!! The following story contains scenes of adultery, animal abuse and vulgar words.

----Chapter 1----

Fiancé: "Are we there yet? Why do we have to walk this far just to get a shrine?"

(...That's all you have been saying ever since we got here)

I looked back at the young man, who was following me in annoyance and smiled bitterly.

He is the heir to the landowner's estate where I live and work as a pharmacist.

I will be marrying him soon.

(I had suggested that we go to this shrine, but....)

My fiancé whom I met and decided to marry after our very first meeting,

Is someone who constantly complains even for the little things.

Fiancé: "Hey, are you listening?"

Yoshino: "Ah, yes. Just a few steps more---"

Just then, a small creature emerged from the bushes by the roadside.

Yoshino: "Uwaaa, it's cute little fox.!"

The moment I saw its golden eyes, I couldn't help but smile.

Then a voice filled with disgust came from behind me.

Fiancé: "Huh. What's so cute about a beast?"

Fiancé: "If you try to go near an animal that doesn't even know its own master, it will go wild and bite humans."

Fiancé: "Go away, you filthy animal!"

(Ah!)

My fiancé picked up 2 or 3 stones and threw at the little fox.

Yoshino: "Stop doing that!"

Fiancé: "Hey, what are you doing...!?"

I clung on to his arm to stop him, but I was shaken by a strong force.

Yoshino: "Don't throw stones at a small creature...!"

Fiancé: "Don't tell me what to do!"

Yoshino: "Kyaa!"

He pushed me so hard that I fell to the ground.

Fiancé: "Tch...I feel sick. I'm leaving."

(Ah....)

(...He really left)

I felt lonely, to be left alone on the ground.

Yoshino: "There there...sorry to startle you, are you hurt?"

I called out to the little fox as I sat up and it's round eyes stared at me.

(It looks so cute)

(His eyes have a clear shine to it)

Then the little fox came plopping down and settled down beside me.

When I casually stroked its body, I realized that its fur was softer than I'd expected, which is gentle and soothing.

Yoshino: "You have a very beautiful fur for someone who lives in the wild."

Yoshino: "You also don't run away when being patted...are you used to humans?"

Little fox: "....."

Of course, no words were returned.

But by stroking and talking to this lovely baby fox.

I felt a little less upset that I had been pushed roughly and left behind.

Yoshino: "It must have given you a fright, right? That man who just walked away is going to be my husband."

Yoshino: "He is the son of a landowner in this area. He wants me to marry him, so I'm very grateful."

Yoshino: "My grandpa, who was my only family, is gone now..."

I grew up with my grandfather, who lived and worked in the house of a landowner from a young age.

I took over his knowledge as a pharmacist.

Yoshino: "I have to fall in love with him and be happy to make my grandfather feel at ease."

(It's fine....I can do it)

Little fox: "....."

Yoshino: "Ah, sorry."

Before I knew it, I was talking a lot.

(I wonder why....I'm sharing things like this with a fox)

The little fox was looking at me while still cuddling to me.

Little fox: "......."

Yoshino: "Fufu, you're a strange little one."

It supposed to be just a little fox.

Yet, there is something of deep intelligence in its eyes.

At that moment, something hits my cheek.

Yoshino: "It's raining while its sunny. Are two foxes getting married somewhere?"

Yoshino: "Well, I have to leave now."

I stood up and smiled at the little fox standing at my feet and followed my fiancé.

The rain starts making the ground damp.

After Yoshino left, the little fox that stood where she left, changed its form in the blink of an eye.

???: "I found you----Yoshino."

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

Next day.

(This is all I have to buy. Let's go home now)

While walking through the town at dusk on the way home.

I suddenly made eye contact with a man who appeared in my path.

(He looks so beautiful)

Man: "Excuse me, can you tell me which direction is the landowner's mansion?"

(Eh...)

Surprised to be spoken to unexpectedly, the man turned to me with somewhat charming smile.

Man: "I'm here to see an acquaintance, but I can't seem to find the house."

Man: "Can you help me?"

Yoshino: "Ah, yes....!I'm heading the same direction, we can go there together if you like."

Man: "That would be helpful."

Tamamo: "My name is Tamamo. Nice to meet you."

Yoshino: "Tamamo-san...?"

When I repeated his name with my voice, he smiled softly.

Tamamo: "Just call me Tamamo. Let me ask you to guide me."

Yoshino: "Yes."

(...He has a mysterious atmosphere)

I felt restless due to his beauty and sex appeal.

I followed him along the path to the mansion as he walked leisurely.

........

Yoshino: "We're here."

Tamamo: "I see. So this is the house."

When we arrived in front of the mansion, Tamamo looked up at the mansion and was silent for a while.

(What's wrong?)

His slit eyes then turned to me.

Tamamo: "Thank you. Thanks to you I was able to come this far."

Tamamo: "That's all for now."

Yoshino: "That's all...? Huh?"

I couldn't help but look confused when the man turned his heels and was about to leave.

Yoshino: "Aren't you coming in?"

(He said he's here to meet someone, right?)

Tamamo: "Well, I no longer have any acquaintances."

Tamamo: "It seems I was a step too late in coming to see him."

(Late? What do you mean..?)

(I don't know the circumstances, but....)

The side of his face with his eyes downcast looks somewhat lonely.

Yoshino: "That's unfortunate...."

I didn't know what to say, so I chose the words to reply.

He suddenly smiled mysteriously and scooped my chin with his fingertips.

(..! He's so close)

I can't take my eyes off the beautiful eyes that are right in front of me.

Tamamo: "You're so kind."

Tamamo: "Now the path is clear. See you again, Yoshino."

(Eh?)

This time he turned his back and disappeared into the evening colours of the town.

(What do you mean the path is cleared?)

(....And did I introduce myself to this man?)

That night.

Yoshino: "I wonder who that person was...."

As I was getting ready for bed, I remembered the mysterious man.

After that, I asked the people in the mansion if they had any idea, but...

No one knew such a young man.

(Maybe I should talk to young master (fiancé) tomorrow just to be sure)

(Maybe he was a valued guest of the master)

I lie down on my bed thinking about this.

At that time,

???: "Yoshino."

(Eh)

Suddenly I heard a voice calling me from the garden.

(Who's there at this time of the night? And from the outside...It's not someone from the mansion, right?)

(I'm scared...)

When I suddenly feft like I can't do anything, I hear a giggle.

???: "It's not very nice of you to pretend I'm not here."

???: "Even though you gave yourself to protect the little fox who was in trouble."

Yoshino: "Little fox?"

(At that day...)

???: "You finally responded."

(....!)

I unconsciously traced the words, and by the time I realised what had happened, it was too late.

The door facing the garden opens from outside without a sound.

Tamamo: "You finally let me hear your voice."

-----Chapter 2-----

Tamamo: "You finally let me hear your voice."

(Tamamo.....? But....)

Once you see it, you'll never forget it. The lustrous appearance caught my eye.

However I also see a fox ears and tails.

What I couldn't believe was that I myself was gasping and gaping at him, even though I thought it was impossible.

(I...I have to run away)

When I come back to my senses, I tried to jump out of my bed, but...

But before I could do anything, his arm grabbed me and he gracefully pins me down the bed.

Yoshino: "...!"

Tamamo: "Don't be frightened. I will not harm you."

Tamamo: "Unlike that guy."

Yoshino: "That guy?...did you mean young master?"

He narrowed his eyes in amusement at the confused words I replied.

Tamamo: "Yes. You're so kind-hearted. That guy doesn't deserve you."

Tamamo: "Quickly cancel your marriage."

Tamamo: "And marry me instead. If you're interested."

(What are you even saying!!?....and why are you so close!?)

I couldn't help but blush when I feel his lustrous voice resonate in my ears.

Yoshino: "Who are you anyways....? You're not a human right...?"

Tamamo: "I'm a demon. A fox demon....have you heard of it?"

Yoshino: "Are you saying that you were the same little fox from back then?"

(I thought demons never existed...)

But no matter how you look at it, Tamamo's ears and tail looks real.

Yoshino: "....Maybe because I saved you from young master that day, you now want to return the favor?"

Tamamo: "Return the favor..?"*surprised*

He looked stunned for a moment, but...

Tamamo: "Ahaha, yes yes. I've come to return the favor."

Tamamo: "To the pure maiden who protected me in my weak state."

A thin smile played on his lips and I realised I had been mistaken.

(...Looks like I was wrong. How embarrassing)

Tamamo: "There is nothing to be ashamed of."

Tamamo: "I don't care what reason I have for visiting you."

He patted my head and slowly sat up.

Tamamo: "Well, now that we've said our greetings, let's leave it at that for tonight."

Tamamo: "I'm expecting a favourable reply. My cute Yoshino."

(Mm...)

He presses his lips against my forehead and leaves.

('Let's leave it at that for tonight'...that means you're planning to come here again?)

----My prediction was correct.

Yoshino: "You're here again, Tamamo."

Tamamo: "Of course."

Tamamo: "As many times as I can, to seduce you."

(Wow, his sex appeal is in full swing tonight...)

Every day and night since then, Tamamo has visited my room and exchanged words with me.

At first I was wary and confused, but before I knew it, I had completely accepted the situation.

(Although I'm not sure I'll ever get used to him whispering sweet things to me whenever the opportunity arises....)

Tamamo: "Are you ready to break up with that man?"

Yoshino: "No."

Tamamo: "Then when will you be ready?"

Yoshino: "Never....I have no plans to."

Tamamo: "You're stubborn. But that's a part of your charm too."

Tamamo: "I would just have to be a bit more persuasive."

Tamamo: "Today, I've bought you some sweets that are famous in town. Do you want some?"

(Oh...so that's what he's going to do tonight?)

Tamamo tries to stop me from getting married in every way possible...

The temptations offered were so varied that I began to enjoy it.

(But like he promised, Tamamo never did anything to harm me).

(Instead of harming me, he's gently pampering me...)

I sat down next to him and I relaxed thinking back over the past few days.

Yoshino: "Are you not going to transform into a little fox today?"

Tamamo: "Hmm. I could seduce you with my loveliness, but..."

Tamamo: "Tonight, I'll love you in this form."

Yoshino: "W-Wait.."

With the sound of rubbing clothes, our bodies are brought together and his beautiful face comes closer,

The proximity just made my heart skip a beat.

Yoshino: "....Troublesome, Tamamo."

Tamamo: "A maiden about to get married is not reluctant to let a man other than her fiancé into her, even if it's a demon..."

Tamamo: "Weird, right?"

Tamamo: "But don't you see how much I want to make you reconsider."

Tamamo: "That man is short-tempered and violent."

Tamamo: "He throws stones at a little fox who meant no harm. He will raise his hand against you sooner or later."

(...What Tamamo is saying is not wrong?)

I know he's concerned about me.

(But....)

Yoshino: "Thank you, but I have to marry him."

Tamamo: "Oh...why?"

Yoshino: "Because that's what I promised my late grandfather."

Tamamo: "Promise?"

(Yeah....the promise I made that day)

My grandfather, until the moment he drew his last breath,

He seemed anxious about leaving me, his only family member and granddaughter.

So I just had to say it.

('I'm getting married soon'...)

(It is true that the young master forcefully asked me to marry him...)

(He had to wait for my reply because of my grandfather's condition)

(Because of the young master's character, I knew that if I'd refused, I would be kicked out of the mansion)

But when my grandfather heard what I said, he smiled as if was relieved and was happy that I would have a new family.

I said it so he would be happy and would pass away peacefully.

Yoshino: "So I have to be happy."

When I say this, revealing a memory I had kept in my mind, his long eyelashes fell back.

Tamamo: "...I see."

Tamamo: "I understand your situation."

Tamamo: "I'd like to swallow it, but...that's not going to happen."

Tamamo: "How far are you obligated to your grandfather, who is longer with us?"

Tamamo: "You're a pharmacist. You help people, and live a healthy life. Isn't that good enough?"

Tamamo: "You are alive and free."

Tamamo: "You won't be punished if you put your own happiness ahead of the promises you made to the dead."

(...Tamamo is so kind)

He always thoughtful and caring.

That's probably why his words reach my heart like warm sunlight and sway me like with sweet temptation.

(But)

I locked eyes with Tamamo and smiled back firmly.

Yoshino: "Thank you, Tamamo. For saying something that's hard to say."

Yoshino: "But, you know, it's not about obligation."

Yoshino: "It's true he's not here anymore, but it's the wish of someone very special, so I want to make it come true...."

Yoshino: "I have a new family and I'm happy, so I want to say this with pride."

Yoshino: "Because there is nothing else I can do for Grandpa."

Tamamo: *surprised*

Tamamo looked as if had been caught momentarily off-guard.

Tamamo: "---I see."

His expression changed to somewhat a lonely smile.

(Why do you look like that...)

Yoshino: "Don't worry! Besides, you know, one day I might even be able to love the young master as a family."

I tried to look cheerful...

Tamamo: "You...you're truly a foolish kind-hearted girl."

(Ah...)

Tamamo held me in his arms and kissed the corner of my eye.

(Nn...)

(I'm not crying or anything, am I?)

The gesture of wiping away tears and comforting me made my heart flutter sweetly.

Yoshino: "Tamamo says I am kind, but I think you're much kinder than I am."

Tamamo: "You're just seeing things."

Tamamo: "I don't do this to everyone...I'm doing this because it's you."

His large bony hands cupped my cheek.

Tamamo: "I don't want to give you to another man."

Tamamo: "At first I just wanted to stop the marriage, but now I want you for myself."

Yoshino: "Tamamo....?"

(...Mm..Mmm...)

He snatched my lips and my moans melt in the darkness.

His fingers trace my back and for a moment when I relaxed, he pushed me down.

Yoshino: "Ah..."

The vision reverses, and I look up in dismay to see Tamamo's face.

A hand sneaks through the gaps of my kimono and gently traces my legs.

Yoshino: "Mm...Ah...Haa...."

Tamamo: "I am a sweet guy aren't I?"

Yoshino: "Mm...Please don't...ahh..whisper..."

The touch of fingertips tracing the skin, and the sweet shiver running down my spine as his lustrous voice pours directly into my ear.

Yoshino: "Nn...no Tamamo...I'm already with someone else..."

Tamamo: "I won't let you get married."

Tamamo: "Please respond to my feelings."

Tamamo: "I love you."

Premium END

Next morning.

(I can't help but stop thinking about it...)

I was at home, preparing breakfast as a part of my training to become a bride.

-----FLASHBACK----

Tamamo: "I won't let you get married."

Tamamo: "Please respond to my feelings."

Tamamo: "I love you."

----FLASHBACK ENDS----

(I didn't expect him to say that to me...)

I had met him many times, but this is the first time he had approached me like that.

The act of indulgence never reaches its end.

He kept returning to ravish my body with his hands and lips every night.

('Whenever you want to get out of here, call me'...he said?)

I can't stop thinking about what was whispered to me as he walked away.

(I didn't have any answers right then and there, so he respected my wishes and withdrew)

(I don't wanna go ahead even if you like it, but...)

The feeling of tenderness from Tamamo tightens my chest.

(I can tell he cares about me...I feel more attracted to him every time)

(Is it because you like me....that you're being so nice to me?)

I still can't believe everything that happened that night.

(If that's true, how long has he been thinking about me?)

(I got the feeling he was concerned about me from the first time we met....)

Fiancé: "Hey, are you here!?"

Yoshino: "Young master, is there something you want!?"

Fiancé: "Come here!"

Yoshino: "Ah.."

He forcibly grabbed my arm and dragged me out.

I didn't know where he was taking me, but I kept following him.

Yoshino: "W-What's wrong...?"

Fiancé: "Shut up! You'll only talk when I tell you to!"

Fiancé: "Are the rumors about you true? That you're sleeping with a demon?"

(...! Does he know about Tamamo!?)

I suddenly became nervous, and took a deep breath.

Fiancé: "All the servants are gossiping."

Fiancé: "I heard that recently you are always absent-minded. Busy thinking about someone all the time."

(....!)

(I can't believe I have been like that lately....)

Fiancé: "And the rumored partner is a demon? Don't be silly!"

Fiancé: "Demons don't exist. So how the hell are people coming up with these ridiculous rumors?"

Fiancé: "They're saying that because of that demon, you're not willing to marry me...!"

Fiancé: "You think a demon is better than me!? Are you looking down on me!?"

Yoshino: "I-I didn't say anything like that...."

Fiancé: "DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!"

Fiancé: "This is all your fault!"

Fiancé: "How can a woman who is rumored to have slept with another man before marriage play the role of my wife?"

Fiancé: "Tch--You slut!"

The angry young master threw me into a remote warehouse.

Yoshino: "Please wait, young----"

The entrance door was slammed shut mercilessly.

(Nn.....)

(....I'm trapped)

He didn't even let me out even after it was night time.

Yoshino: "....I guess this is my punishment."

(I had to reject Tamamo the moment I decided to become his wife)

(Even if my true feelings are for someone else...)

I guess there's no way I can fool myself anymore.

I love Tamamo.

(I don't care what Tamamo is)

(Because all the compassion and warmth given to me by Tamamo has healed me)

(But)

Yoshino: "I promised grandpa that I would fall in love with young master and be happy, and not to worry. But now...."

I'm not going to be able to fulfil the promise I swore to myself. When I realized this, I laughed at myself...

Tamamo: "There's no need to be sad."

Tamamo: "Here is a man who is determined to make you absolutely happy."

(Eh)

When I heard an unexpected voice, I look up.

The voice that came was from a beautiful demon that stole my heart without my permission.

Yoshino: "How did you get inside...?"

His long fingers gently pressed my lips.

Tamamo: "We'll talk later."

Tamamo: "All you need to say now is----'Please take me away.'"

Yoshino: "...!"

Tamamo: "I'll do whatever you want. Just say it."

His voice, with its elegant smile as usual, is laced with a wistful note.

(Tamamo...)

We stared at each other lovingly----

I finally made up my mind.

Yoshino: "Tamamo, take me away."

Tamamo: "...Yes. Let's go."

..........

Tamamo brought me out of the mansion and we immediately left the town.

We settled in a small empty hut we found on the outskirts.

Tamamo: "You poor thing. How long were you locked up in that warehouse?"

Tamamo: "You must be very hungry. I'll go and get you something."

Yoshino: "Wait..!"

I instinctively stopped Tamamo from leaving.

Yoshino: "It's fine. More importantly, thank you for helping me."

Tamamo: "You don't have to bow to me."

Tamamo: "I did it because I wanted to. I would have still taken you out of there even if you didn't tell me to."

(No...it's because Tamamo is kind)

He still waited for my decision until the end patiently.

Yoshino: "Why are you so kind to me?"

When I asked him again, Tamamo smiles and narrowed his eyes.

Tamamo: "I told you. It's because I love you."

Yoshino: "Is that all?"

Tamamo: "Actually..."

Tamamo: "I know your grandfather."

(Eh?)

Tamamo: "We were friends when he was young."

Tamamo: "I hid the fact that I was a demon, and was acting as a human."

As I gawk at the incredible connection, Tamamo goes on.

Tamamo: "No matter how much time goes by, I will always be this beautiful."

Tamamo: "I couldn't stay by your grandfather's side forever as he grew older."

Tamamo: "So I left him without telling him that I am a demon...."

Tamamo: "I remember him, saying this----"

Tamamo: "Someday, when we both become wrinkled old men, then, Tamamo I want to have a celebratory drink with you."

Tamamo: "I knew it was impossible, but I thought it was a nice wish."

Yoshino: "Did you...not keep that promise?"

Tamamo: "Yeah, clearly not."

He doesn't make promises he can't fulfil....I think that's also a form of kindness.

Tamamo: "But recently, I've been thinking about what he said."

Tamamo: "I wondered if that guy, who wasn't physically strong to begin with, was still alive."

Yoshino: "Is that why you came to this town..."

Tamamo nodded and stood in front of me.

Tamamo: "Unfortunately, it seems like I was a step too late, but he seemed to have survived until to see his wrinkles."

Tamamo: "I'd have been happy with that, too. But then.."

Tamamo: "I found that he had one family member left behind."

Yoshino: "Nn...."

My heart kept pounding as he gently combed my hair.

Tamamo: "Yes. It's you, Yoshino."

Tamamo: "I knew his precious granddaughter was marrying someone."

Tamamo: "But what kind of nightmare is this, that she doesn't even like the guy she's marrying and is only marrying for the sake making her dead family member happy."

Tamamo: "After knowing that how can I leave it alone?"

(That's why you've been so kind to me since we met....)

Tamamo: "...Hey, Yoshino."

Tamamo's voice and eyes had a lustrous sweetness.

Tamamo: "As his former friend, I can assure you."

Tamamo: "You're grandfather wishes you well. You are free to go do whatever you want."

Tamamo: "That is filial piety above all else."

Yoshino: "Mm..."

The words spoken to me, seeps into my heart.

I am deeply relieved that Tamamo said that to me.

Yoshino: "....Thank you, Tamamo."

(For the sake of my grandfather, who loved me, I will be truly happy)

Yoshino: "Thanks to Tamamo, I realize something important."

Yoshino: "I can't thank you enough. Is there anything I can do to repay you? Tamamo....?"

Tamamo: "What I want more than gratitude is.....you know that, right? Yoshino?"

Yoshino: "Ah..."

Tamamo was smiling at me sweetly.

(I can feel that he really wants me...)

I gently put my overflowing feelings into words.

Yoshino: "I love you. I love you Tamamo."

(Finally, I can say it)

A deep sense of pleasure wells up and stirs my heart.

Tamamo's face slowly approached me and kissed my lips.

[versegm]

You know, you expected nothing, and yet you're still let down.

"Aw, come on master, where's your sense of wonder? Of adventure?" Astolfo's hand is firm around your wrist as he guides you forward. "You are on the Moon, master! The Moon! A little enthusiasm, will you?"

It's not that you're against it, per se, it's just that...

well...

"Well, this is where all the lost things lay, after all. Can't help it if it gets a little cluttered!" He slows down to wave at the piles and piles of various items around you. "On my version of the Moon, anyway. I'm sure the real Moon is cleaner than that. But dreams don't have to be accurate. That's what's so great about them!"

Sometimes, people say Things, and you've learned quickly not to ask.

Astolfo, bless him, doesn't elaborate. Instead, he points at what looks like, for all intent and purposes, a pile of chairs. "Here, check it out! It's all the time lost gambling." And then, a little further, urns pierced on the side. "And these are the projects you will never get down. And-"

Astolfo suddenly pauses, in front of a lot of oil lamps. A second passes. He is still. Two seconds pass. He is silent.

"... Astolfo?"

"Oh! Sorry, master. I got distracted." Must be quite the distraction then. Astolfo is always moving, and even more often talking. For him to stop both of these things, it must be important. "It's a history that never was."

A history that never was...? "... Like a singularity?"

"Precisely. This one is Orleans, specifically." He raises the lamp a little higher. In the reflection, you see something like fire. "The memories no one hold. The events that never were. Everything you've ever done or said in Orleans, that history erased with the back of the hand. That's what it represents."

... Oh.

But you thought this would be...

"Lost?" He smiles as he sets the lamp down. "I mean, that's precisely why it's here. When I said where everything lost lays, I meant where everything lost lays." He strokes his chin with a thoughtful look. "Though, I guess, in a way, that means nothing is truly lost? Since I am here and all. Whatever is forgotten or tossed away, I can get it back."

"Isn't it kind of cheating?" The universe makes no sense. You've known that for a long time already, obviously. But every once in a while you still get reminded of it full force. "What even are you doing up there?"

Astolfo blinks. This is the first time you've ever seen them so surprised.

"... Aw, master!" They're back to grinning and- oh, they're hugging you. Alright. You can work with that. "I think you're the first person I've ever met who doesn't think me lost."

Huh. Really? "Chaldea is filled with Berserkers. You're a little wild, but I wouldn't call you insane."

"Most masters don't survive a bond with one Berserkers, let alone as many as you, master." He sticks his tongue out at you. "That's fair, though. My insanity is much closer to yours than theirs."

Uh. 

Come again?

"It's easy! Most berserkers' mad enhancement stem from obsession, you feel? Lancelot and poor Artoria, Darius and Iskandar... okay, some times, it's more of a 'no thought head empty' deal, with Tamamo Cat or Hercules, I guess. But you get my point, right?"

He's dragging you among the piles again. "You and I, it's different. Our insanity isn't due to some deep obsession, or because we can't hold a train of thought. We're perceived as insane because we fail at properly mimicking humans."

... This is an Uncomfortable thought. But you kind of get it? You think? "As in, social cues and all?"

"Yeah!" He squeezes your wrist. "I've heard Nightingale threaten you of amputation, like, three times. And you didn't react. At all. Normal people don't do that. They get scared. If you don't act scared, then that must mean you are not normal. So. Insane."

"And you're 'insane' because you have no impulse control and no shame?"

"Yup! And I'm not interested in having any. I'm quite happy like this." He takes a sharp turn suddenly, and starts scaling up a mountain of- jewels? Treasuries? You wonder what this is supposed to represent. "Though, I don't really have the option not to. Such is the nature of the Moon."

"Didn't you say earlier you could get anything back from here? I thought that included your sanity." Or maybe it's buried somewhere too deep for Astolfo to get it back?

But Astolfo shakes his head. "Of course I could. But that'd be useless. My existence is tied to the Moon, in a fundamental way. Like that dragon and Old Man Siegfriend, you see?"

"Isn't it pronounced Siegfried?"

"He's a Siegfriend to me." He sounds awfully proud of himself. "But yeah. I can't not be like this. Because my nature is of the Moon, and the nature of the Moon is to-"

[reflect]

There's something strange in the way he says that word. It's like it wasn't his voice at all. Like it echoed from beneath your very feet, from every golden coin slipping between your fingers.

"I can only partially act normal, because the Moon only partially reflects the sunlight. Here, let me help you up." Ah, finally, the top of the hill. "That's also why most of my noble phantasms are borrowed. I have to [reflect] someone else's power. Because my nature is of the Moon!"

Your hands ache from climbing through sharp jewelry. But, you have to admit, the view is beautiful from here.

And then, something suddenly strikes you. "You are a man."

"That is correct."

"You are a woman."

"That is also correct!" He grabs your hand. His fingers may look delicate, but his palms feel rough and calloused. "I'm whatever people see me as. Man, woman, non-binary, bigender, demigender. I'm all of them. I'm none of them. Your guess is as good as any! I [reflect] what others see me as."

He runs his thumb on the back of your hand, softly. "Ready to run down there?"

What?! Wait, no, hold-

Astolfo doesn't wait for you, obviously. He rushes down the hill and pulls you in his wake, cackling like a madman. FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCKFUCKFUCK-

"Hey hey hey! Master, master, wasn't it fun?"

It was but please give a warning next time, Astolfo.

He laughs again, and reach out to ruffle your hair. "My bad, my bad. But hey, at least we're here! Wasn't the shortcut totally worth it?"

Here?

He was actually guiding you somewhere?

"Obviously." The next pile he drags you to is of bottles. Some small, some large, all filled with what you can only assume to be liquor. "You know, usually, I don't like getting all philosophical. I'm more of an action person, you feel? But for you, I figured I could make the effort."

He tosses a bottle at you. It's quite large; you're so surprised by the weight that it takes you a second to realize your name is written on it.

"... It's not alcohol, is it?"

"Pft, nah. I wouldn't have dragged you here for some cheap wine." He shakes his head. When he speaks next, his voice is just an octave lower. 

"Master. This is your sanity."

...

Ah.

That's... a lot more than you'd thought.

"Yeah." For a fleeting second, he looks- sad? Pitying? It's gone before you can analyse it further. "If you want it back, you just have to drink. It's that simple."

... Just... to drink...

You stare at the bottle. Then Astolfo. Then the bottle again.

You... just need to drink. Just. Need to drink.

Just.

Faintly, you notice your hands are trembling.

Finally, you hear a sigh, and you realize you have no idea how long you've stood here. It could have been hours. It could have been years. It most likely has been a full minute.

Astolfo reaches out, and takes the bottle off your hands. You don't try to stop him.

"I figured you'd do that. But I thought, I should at least offer you the option to have it back, you know?" He sets the bottle back on the pile. "But you're right. This would only do you a disservice."

He turns to you again. Reaches out. Brush hair off your forehead.

"Had you been a little saner, you wouldn't have been able to handle any of this, would you?"

[namelessarcher]

Gilgamesh | Cuddling by the Fireplace

The mornings often felt colder when you weren’t around. It was already bad enough that Chaldea was having a heating problem recently, he did not need this problem added on as well. As he slowly rolled over to his side, Gilgamesh furrowed his brows in annoyance to find that the spot where he usually found you was irritatingly cold. A low grumble escaped his lips as he slowly slipped out of the bed.

On days like these, he often spent the entire morning with you in bed. He’d use you as his own personal heater and just snuggle up towards you until he felt ready to actually get out of bed. And yet, you had somehow escaped. Where would you even go when it’s this stupidly cold and there’s no missions to be done? It’s your day off, come on now.

“[Name]?” Gilgamesh mumbled as he left the room. Despite the cold, the King of Heroes still refused to put on any clothes - not as though it actually bothered him. Gilgamesh was practically immune to the cold in the air, and he just enjoyed the feeling of your skin against his. He frowned as you were nowhere to be seen. You didn’t even bother leaving him a note about where you were going, or wake him up to drag him along to a mission - as you usually did. It was strange, and quite frankly it bothered him that you’d just leave without a word.

His irritation of your strange disappearance is quickly dismissed upon smelling the delectable aroma of breakfast. He could discern the freshly roasted coffee beans, and the buttery goodness of whatever it is that you’re toasting, and he’s almost certain it’s you. No one else would bother making breakfast unless it’s that other Archer who nags at him (and you) a bit too often.

His footsteps are slightly heavy, but also filled with some sort of expectation as he makes his way over to the kitchen. A smile tugs at the corner of his lips as he takes in the sight of you in a frilly apron that was often worn by Tamamo Cat. It was strange, seeing you in the outfit, yet strangely endearing. He wouldn’t say it suited you to a T, but he did think that you looked rather adorable.

“So you abandon me to make breakfast? How insulting, [Name]. Did you think you’d really go unpunished for such an action?” Gilgamesh called out. His voice demanded for your attention and attention he got. Your head whipped around so quickly and you had the features of a deer caught in the headlights. Gilgamesh chuckled and he shrugged, “I jest. There is no need for you to look so ashamed of yourself. Although…” he drawled, a smug smile appearing on his lips, “It is rather amusing to see you so incapable of hiding your expressions.”

There’s a clear pout on your face as Gilgamesh teased you, and before he could do anymore teasing, you quickly responded, “I wanted to make you breakfast.” Gilgamesh’s eyes widened in surprise, and this time, you had the smug smile on your face. You casually waved the spatula in your hand and pointed it at him, “You should be grateful!”

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes and scoffed, “As though any meal you make could ever be worthy of being set before me.”

You shake your head sadly, and mumbled, “I’m not making you any of my special hot chocolate.”

There was a moment of silence before Gilgamesh realized what you said. He turned towards you, and by then you were already back to cooking. He sauntered up to the counter, and grumbled, “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

He frowned, and he could tell from the way you were biting your lower lip that there was no other option for him. If he apologizes, that means he’s lowering his pride and ego for someone like you, and yet… yet he knew that if he kept this up, not only would you probably bench him for several weeks, but you might even force him to move out of your room - the most comfortable room in Chaldea. He sighed and reluctantly muttered, “[Name], it was only a jest.”

“Was it?” Your voice was filled with a light, playful tone, and you added, “So is my food worthy enough to be eaten, Your Highness?”

Gilgamesh nodded, and he glanced around before spotting the food all located on a cart. An eyebrow slowly raised and he vaguely gestured at it with a finger. You glanced over and quickly answered with a smile, “I have the perfect place for us to have breakfast!”

“You’re going to make me walk to my own food?”

“Well…” you paused and sighed, “Wouldn’t you rather be eating somewhere comfortable and warm compared to this cold dining hall?”

Gilgamesh couldn’t help but agree that you had a good point there. As soon as you finished tossing all the pans into the sink - Gilgamesh had a good laugh when you casually shrugged and said someone else could clean up after you - the two of you made your way towards the library room located just past your personal room. As you entered the pin to unlock the door, Gilgamesh furrowed his brows and mumbled, “Hmph. To think that even Chaldea has a library room of this caliber.”

“Well, it is mostly a resource room to hold Master information, such as our background and stuff. But that’s not the real reason we’re here.” You led the way in, pushing the cart through aisles of shelves filled with documents and binders until you reached an out of place wooden door. It didn’t quite match the modern aesthetics of Chaldea as a whole, but upon opening it, Gilgamesh can see why you were fond of the location. There was a cozy fireplace with the fire already crackling inside, and a fluffy, white rug set far away enough not to get caught in flames, but close enough for those who wanted to sit near it to feel comfy. A decent sized mahogany coffee table sat between two plush, velvety red lounge chairs, and Gilgamesh was honestly impressed. He didn’t know how long you’ve been up to prepare for this, but now he can’t blame you waking up far before he did and leaving him in bed.

“Tell me [Name].”

“Hmm?” You absentmindedly answered with a noncommittal response as you set up the table. Gilgamesh took a seat by the lounge chair and asked, “Did you set all of this up just to impress me?”

“Perhaps?” you smiled and turned to him, “Are you impressed?”

“Indeed, I suppose I am.” Gilgamesh took a sip of the hot chocolate you had placed on his side of the coffee table and he let out a content sigh. Though there may not be words to express how much he enjoyed it, that sound alone was more than enough for you to feel pride at the fact that you had managed to satisfy his picky palate yet again.

As the two of you began to chow down on the breakfast together, Gilgamesh couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t quite cozy enough. He immediately took a seat on the rug in front of him, taking his food with him and demanded, “Come here.”

You looked at him in confusion, but instead of questioning him, you followed suit and sat down beside him with your cup of hot chocolate as well. Gilgamesh sighed and asked, “Must I be more direct for you to understand, [Name]?” He took your wrist and as gently as possible, dragged you in between his legs. He casually placed his arms around your waist and ordered, “Feed me.”

“Really, Gil?” you let out a soft laugh before turning to him slightly and asked, “Is this what you wanted?” You lift up a forkful of eggs and he frowned, “I want the pancakes.”

“Yes, yes, your Highness. My apologies.”

As you fed him the remaining portion of his breakfast, you can feel him sluggishly lean against you. His head drooped onto your shoulder and he softly mumbled, “Thanks.”

Your eyes widened ever so slightly before softly crinkling into a smile, “You’re welcome.” You leaned into his touch and felt his arms around your waist tightened to pull you closer. It might be uncomfortable when the two of you wake up again, but for now, the toasty warmth from the fireplace will lull you guys back to sleep again.

[bakudekuficlibrary]

Heelloo! This blog is absolutely wonderful. Before sleep, I always come to look for a fanfic based on the lists and it's very helpful. I can't help but sleep like a bear after reading a good fic recommended in this blog. Hope you continuee! And alsoo I have a request... if there is any fic with a jelly Kacchan, but a frequently jealous Kacchan. Because I love reading that type of scenes. Hope you answer meee, thankk youuu!!! ;;;

Hi! Thank you so much for the kind words, and I’m so sorry for the wait! Here’s a link to the Jealous Kacchan mini-list, just in case you haven’t seen it yet. Hmm… I think possessive behavior fics have a lot of Jealous Kacchan moments, so here’s a mini-list! (Some fics are tagged with both “Jealous Bakugou Katsuki” and “Possessive Behavior,” so you will see some works listed on here that were already listed in the other mini-list!)

-Ellie

20 Works.

Before Midnight by DriftingGlass ( E | 211,528 | 28/28 )

Izuku Midoriya takes the same train to and from school Monday through Friday, morning and night. His only company during these lonesome hours comes in the form of another boy his age—a teen with scarred hands and blood gem eyes, a stranger with ash-blond hair who walks in a shroud of danger and mystery.

“Would you stop with that fucking muttering, idiot?”

And before Izuku can find his footing, his life becomes a full-blown collision course thanks to walking cannonball Katsuki Bakugou.

(And along the way he may have found the missing fuel to his fire).

[Graphic Depictions of Violence | Underage | Implied/Referenced Child Abuse | Emotional/Psychological Abuse | Attempted Sexual Assault]

[Abandoned] Alexithymia by DriftingGlass ( M | 61,246 | 10/11 )

It’s as if he’s inhaling a breath of snow and ashes—a shock and choke in his throat, strangely reminiscent of the day he realized that the birthmark blooming on his shoulder was identical to the drawings on his childhood friend’s desk.

Now, twelve years later, it only confirms Izuku’s impending doubts that, yes, he is now legally claimed by Katsuki Bakugou.

[ THIS FIC HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. ]

[Underage]

[On Hiatus] Lost Omega by GreyDayMoon ( Not Rated | 36,940+ | 12/? )

Izuku was just trying to take care of himself and his mother but a single slip up sends him into unfamiliar territory where he encounters an aggressive alpha who drags him into tribe life.

*On temporary Hiatus*

[Graphic Depictions of Violence | Underage | Dub-Con]

[On Hiatus] And He Was Magnificent by Skaii, SugarbabyIzuku ( E | 4,134+ | 1/? )

Midoriya Izuku is an omega slave, born into a life of subservience. He’s trapped, never to reach his dreams of something more; until he’s thrust headfirst into the world of Bakugou Katsuki, the crown prince of Incendium Kingdom. Now, Izuku must adjust to a new life as Katsuki’s slave—while a war that threatens to shake the land looms on the horizon.

[Graphic Depictions of Violence]

[On Hiatus] Quirkless by InkHound ( M | 29,444+ | 6/? )

Izuku’s heartbroken at the tender age of four— the doctors have confirmed he is quirkless. But the truly crushing blow is when not long afterward, little Izuku has a chance meeting with his number one hero; All Might, who tells him that without a quirk, he can’t be a hero (it’s just too dangerous).

Later that night, Izuku is watching his favorite All Might video in a daze. He puts the question to his mother; can he still be a hero, without a quirk? He watches as she freezes up, pale-faced and wet-eyed before she rushes to his side and speaks in a trembling, tear-filled voice;

“Oh baby, my sweet baby ‘zuku,” she says through her tears, “Of course you can.”

And everything changed.

[Underage]

The Bonds that Bind Us by DMMegsie ( M | 28,298+ | 5/? )

Travelling with his trading caravan, Izuku is on his way home when they stumble across an already heated battle in the middle of an open field in the dead of night. Being mistaken as part of attacking party, Izuku finds himself fighting off the fabled Demon King of the Mountains of Fire.

However, during the battle, Izuku breaks a necklace on the Demon King that held an unspoken promise from his mother from long ago, which changes everything.

Nothing ever as it seems, nor is it simple. As an omega of elven descent, Izuku has a lot to learn about the greater world and himself. The same could be said of the half dragon lord of the mountain.

[Graphic Depictions of Violence | Rape/Non-Con]

Oubaitori by DriftingGlass ( M | 32,666+ | 4/16 )

From the moment he was born, Izuku understood that he was different. He was a rarity, an omega; not necessarily seen as useful or even desirable. It didn’t take long, however, for his entire future to be placed in the hands of an alpha, one by the name of Katsuki Bakugo.

Through many pitfalls, confusion, and pains of growing up in a city where both are outcasts of their own kind, it takes more than just the threads of instinct and arranged contracts to bring two hearts together.

Love isn’t fate. It’s pure luck.

[Underage]

Mark Me Up by Flightless_Bird ( T | 1,674 | 1/1 )

Katsuki’s gaze cut into him again like a lightning bolt and it took Izuku a second to realize what the tilt of the blonde’s head meant: come here.

Hero & Zero by GreyDayMoon ( Not Rated | 8,493+ | 4/? )

Bakugou was the number one hero, surrounded by fans, and loaded with fame and fortune. So why would he care if a boy from his childhood still watched him from the edge of crowds? He wouldn’t give a shit about Deku who would? Who would even be looking for that stupid messy green hair?

Except maybe he would.

The Only One Who Can Make You… by TitanOrphanAnnie ( E | 898 | 1/1 )

PWP One-Shot about some fooling around after class that ends up fluffier than Kaachan was prepared for.

Possessive fuck by Thetrash ( E | 2,585 | 1/1 )

Izuku has a study date with Shoto and Katsuki decides to fuck him before he leaves.

[Dub-Con]

Aphiemi by DriftingGlass ( G | 9,591 | 1/1 )

[ Aphiemi - “to send for one’s self, to forsake, to hurl away, to disregard, to put off.” ]

Emotions are incredibly difficult to control and formulate the way you want to. For one Katsuki Bakugou, he’s made mistakes and placed assumptions on one person he realizes he cannot bear to live without, no matter how much he simultaneously detests and adores the little shithead.

Gagging For It by sagequit ( E | 3,006+ | 2/? )

Bakugou discovers that Midoriya has a bit of an oral fixation. Shameless PWP.

SeriesPart 1 of Bakudeku Filth

[Underage]

Soft Spots by Saysi ( E | 38,613+ | 18/? )

Midoriya and Bakugou don’t have the best of relationships - except when they find themselves alone.

Bakugou quickly finds himself developing a soft spot for the nerd.

Happy birthday Midoriya!

[Underage]

Fake It Till I Make You Mine by AnimeLoversInTown ( E | 8,514+ | 3/? )

All Katsuki wanted was to get away from people and eat his lunch in peace. How is it that after only two short minutes of blissful silence, he suddenly had to deal with Deku bawling, got suckered into listening to his problems, and wound up with a boyfriend? Ah well, at least he wasn’t bored.

[Underage]

Miko!!! by Hermaphrodite ( T | 30,110+ | 6/? )

Izuku isn’t really sure, but hes pretty certian in his past life he must have been a terrible person, maybe a heretic that had a cult following and went on a mass murder spree that cost people their lives or something, because there is no way that the gods could hate him this much for absolutely no reason besides existing. Firstly, he was born as a Omega, almost a second class citizen at this point if he was going to be honest with himself, and now at the age of four being branded Quirkless by doctors who were giving his mother looks of pity that clearly read that they thought just what society has conditioned them to think. To them, he was a quirkless, useless omega.Just because you live in a world where everyone has superpowers and you don’t doesn’t mean you aren’t any less of a hero! World be damned! They’ll just have to watch me do it!(Quirkless Omega Izuku accidentally summons Tamamo-No-Mae and becomes a DemiServant, and now with her power he will shape the world and show everyone Omegas can be Heroes! and well, Kaachan just wants everyone to stop staring at his Deku)

Where the Stars Burn Brightest by DriftingGlass ( M | 18,467+ | 3/? )

In a world where countries are torn asunder through quests for greed, power, and understanding the realm of industrial technology and ancient magic, only the strongest—and smartest—live a full life.

Every individual is born with a phrase marking their bodies, linking them to their soulmate through the threads of fate and time.

Izuku Midoriya is born with only half of a soulphrase on his wrist, destined to never meet the other half. A cruel omen.

Though this has not stopped Izuku from dedicating his young life to researching soul-born magic and science under his master, the legendary Toshinori Yagi. He is determined to manifest his Quirk, with or without a destined soulmate.

However, his life takes an unexpected turn when he rescues a volatile criminal—a man of savage beauty and many secrets.

And so, Izuku realizes rather quickly that in his dangerous new quest, only the most willful survive, and if his new companion is anything to show for it, nothing will prepare him for what’s to come.

[ Rewrite of The Rhythm of Fire and Wind ]

[Graphic Depictions of Violence | Past Abuse]

I Like You Deku, damn it by AjhayLee ( T | 8,364 | 1/1 )

Bakugou Katsuki dreams about his past self as a prince and liking his attendant childhood friend. The thing is, he couldn’t confess his feelings and he wasn’t able to tell him. Upon realizing that he also like the present Midoriya in the process, he does what his past self couldn’t do the fourth time he woke up from the dream.

[Major Character Death]

class act by savedetonate (neverlasting) ( E | 1,696 | 1/1 )

Katsuki is riled up and feeling petty, and Izuku is looking too good to ignore.

[Underage]

Consumed by youreroad ( M | 5,209+ | 3/? )

Izuku and Katsuki had known each other since they where kids. They have their ups and downs and even had a fall out during middle school but in the end they are best friends. Even with Katsuki’s abrassive personality Izuku knows Katsuki cares for him.

He just has no idea to what extent.

In which Izuku tries to date and Katsuki is consumed by his obsession.

[thegrandorderproject]

The Grand Chaldea Ball

Type: drabble Warnings: None

This is my grand surprise! I wrote the drabble for my love for our followers. Hope you all like it! ~ Mod Ruler

The Chaldea Ballroom was built because Leonardo found out you couldn’t dance. Really, such a thing seemed like more of a hindrance than a benefit, from building the hall, to getting the Servants to pile in for a night of evening festivities. But both things seemed to go fairly well; the hall was packed with Servants, even the most antisocial and quiet ones.

But right now, you felt unsure. You were standing alone in your room, in the elegant clothes that Leonardo and Mashu had conflicted over for hours. Ultimately, you had shooed them from the room when you made the final decision for yourself. You knew the outfit would be surprise to them, one that they would most likely be pleased with, but that didn’t settle the unease in your heart.

At this point, you had already received some lessons from Da Vinci, but you were still admittedly lackluster on your feet. You often found yourself practicing by yourself on the days leading up to the big event. But you were still extremely nervous. You were used to making a fool of yourself in front of these amazingly powerful, timeless warriors, the least you could do was be good at dancing.

But now wasn’t the time to feel doubt any longer. Pinning a flower to your chest, a passionate red rose, you opened the door and headed down the hall. You felt great, despite the fluttering in your chest.

~

“Do you think Senpai is okay? It’s been almost half an hour since the event started.” Mashu intoned uneasily. She had her hands folded behind her back, after reaching up to fiddle with the lily in her hair. She was standing next to Da Vinci, who had a jovial smile on her face. “I hope they’re not sick.”

“Nonsense,” Da Vinci waved her hand dismissively, trying to stave off Shielder’s worries. “They’re probably holed up in their bathroom, anxious out of their mind to dance with a beauty like me. They’ll join us soon enough.”

Mashu remained unconvinced, but decided to ignore it for now and drink the punch in her hands, only to regret it when she realized there was alcohol. After taking another tentative sip, she threw caution to the wind and decided to enjoy her night and leave the regret to the next morning.

“This is boring.” Berserker, Cu Chulainn Alter said. Though he may have said so, he was dressed to the nines, with a top hat and a spiked cane. The only thing about him that really looked out of place was his enormous tail. He even brought flowers for his Master, and likely the reason why he was grumpy; they weren’t present.

Mozart waltzed over, holding Marie to his side; it seemed that they were dance partners for now. “Don’t feel so blue, my friendly dog! The festivities are yet to truly begin!”

The Berserker growled at the Caster, but neither him nor Marie seemed fazed by the intimidation. “The next time you call me a dog is when I’ll bite your hand off.”

“No need to be hostile.” Mozart smirked, trying to inject every bit of frost into his remark. “I’m just calling it as I’m seeing it.”

While they bickered, Marie wandered away from the two and encountered Jeanne talking to Artoria. The Rider grinned and latched herself to Jeanne’s arm, making the Ruler blush in surprise. At their antics, the King of Knights just gave them a fond smile.

“It’s weird,” Marie began, looking between the two of them. “… you two look almost exactly alike. I mean, Jeanne’s hair is much longer, but other than that, it’s like I’m staring into a mirror, except the reflection isn’t of me.”

The Ruler and the Saber looked at each other, as if to comprehend what Marie said. They spent a solid five seconds to stare at each other before answering Marie.

“I do not see the resemblance.” Artoria said.

“Neither do I.” Jeanne agreed, looking at the Rider like she had sprouted a second head. Marie huffed, crossing her arms.

“I know I’m not crazy.”

At the other side of the ballroom, Mordred was intensely staring at Arthur, with Lancelot and Bedivere at Arthur’s side, as if they were expecting an attack from the treacherous knight. Mordred made no hostile move, just kept staring.

They were under a ceasefire order from you; no attacking each other physically or verbally, or else you would resort to using a Command Seal. So far, no such actions were taking, but the relationship was extremely strained to this day.

Mordred finally opened her mouth, talking loudly with a brow quirked. “I thought you were a woman.”

Arthur blinked, confusion in his expression and wariness in his eyes. “… come again?”

Kiyohime was watching the doors to the entrance hall carefully, as if she was trying to memorize the elegant designs of the door. Penthesilea was watching her actions curiously, eyes catching every little tick the other Berserker had.

“And who are you waiting for?” The Amazon asked, voice devoid of her usual hostility. It seemed the festivities were bringing out the best in her. The same could not be said for Kiyohime, who seemed to get getting antsier by the second. “Nearly every Servant is here.”

“Ah, Berserker, you cannot understand my struggle.” The dragon lamented dramatically. “My spouse is not here yet… the love of my life… the one who would never lie to me… Master…”

She was right; Penthesilea wouldn’t understand. Love in the way that Kiyohime described was an extremely foreign concept, and it was a concept she would readily accept either. Amazons weren’t really affectionate ones, anyway.

That was when the door to the grand ballroom began to swing open, and you were looking down on your beloved Servants. Some looked stunned by your appearance, but most were excited that you arrived, if fashionably late.

“Senpai!” Mashu was the first one to join you, wrapping her arms around you. She had a bright smile on her face, so sweet and cheerful that you had to give her the first dance. You led her onto the dancefloor, albeit a bit of stumbling, leading her elegantly. For an untold reason, it was like you were overtaken by the Muses, dancing without fault. It wasn’t until after the dance had ended just how well you danced. You and Mashu bowed to one another before you were taken into the embrace of Da Vinci.

“Shielder won’t be the only one who gets to dance with you, Master.” She chided playfully, this time leading the both of you instead of leading her. She was an elegant dancer, and you can tell she’s had experience with others. You allowed her to tilt and turn you around on the floor, until she spun you into the arms of the next Servant.

The night continued like this with Servants left and right waiting to take their turn dancing with their beloved Master. Some steered clear, like Tristian and Penthesilea, who had their reasons for not getting close, but most were willing. By the time the clock struck midnight, you were tired out of your wits and your brow covered in sweat.

You thought about the night, listening to the the words you heard over and over again in your mind. Some of the words were sweet, from Atoria, Tamamo, and even Altera (which surprised you beyond belief). And some of them were spicy, like from Gawain, Cu Chulainn, and Medb. You weren’t sure how to feel.

You entered your room on your own, locking the door so you could change, when you felt eyes on you. You turned around slowly, and saw the kindly smile of Romani Akiman. He had a sheepish grin as your mouth dropped open.

“D-Doctor Roman…? I… I thought you…” You began, feeling your lip quivering. You hadn’t seen him since the final singularity, when he had so bravely sacrificed himself so you could defeat Goetia. He was wearing a simple, yet elegant white suit, and he stepped closer.

“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand for you to take.

“… Dance with me?”

[unknownentery]

Youkai Village Chapter 1: Meeting a Fox Spirit

I was walking deep in a forest. There were no path or trail markers. No one has ever ventured into this forest or at least this deep. This forest is known to be huge, It has been estimated to take 14 hours to walk though it. Yet no one has done anything with this forest. No nature center, no trails, nothing. I just want to get away from people so I figure I venture into this forest. Maybe I might find something fascinating. I couldn’t hear the sounds of people. I was that deep in. I felt a gentle breeze hit my face as leaves and grass shuffled by the wind. It felt very refreshing. I felt great being away from everyone. It’s like my burdens have finally left me. I entered the forest at 6 am and it is now 1 pm. I found some interesting things. I found some fallen trees, some areas with no trees, some lakes, and some rivers. I was starting to get the idea of turning around. But I started noticing some odd things. There were some signs that something had been here. I noticed that some trees were chopped down and that there appeared to be some human shaped footprints. That alone was strange since a human would have to take 7 hours to get here. But some of these footprints appeared to be too big for a human. There even appeared to be some trails here. I also couldn't help but think I was hearing some very faint voices in the distance. There were too many trees near me to see much in front of me. It was so faint and quiet I couldn’t tell if it was real or just my mind imagining things. I was intrigued to investigate to see what I may find. Then I heard something. It sounds like something moving through the air fast behind me. However, before I got a change to turn around, I was suddenly being grabbed. I started to freak out. I was about to scream, but my mouth was covered by a hand. I was greeted with a weird smell. It wasn’t awful, but it definitely got my attention. I tried so hard to break out of the person's arm. However, I was barely able to make a small budge. This was with all my strength. Finally I heard the person speak. It was a female voice, and she was laughing. “Calm down human, calm down. I won’t kill you, but you will be coming with me” she said. I tried to get her to budge with my strength, but I had less luck than before. “You can’t resist humans, I am much stronger than you,” she said. “What does she want me with? And why is she calling me human?” I thought to myself. Then the woman sighed. “You know I don’t think this will work out like this. So I will release you, but don’t attempt to run away. I will catch you very quickly” she said. She then released me. I decided not to run away and I turned to look at her. I was greeted with the sight of a beautiful woman. She had a very thin body with long blonde hair. She also looked to be in her 20s. Her breasts were quite big as well. However, any sense of amazement was replaced with fear when I noticed she had ears and the tail of a fox. I was scared, and she knew it. “That’s right human, I am a fox spirit. Now I won’t scream if I were you. No human would hear you, and you will only attract youkai who would want to kill you” she said with a dreadful smile on her face. Then she changed her tone a little. “However, you will be coming with me. I can’t let you escape and tell other humans about me” she said enthusiastically. I didn’t know what to do. She doesn’t want to kill me, but she doesn’t want me to escape. Is she going to keep me forever or does she have something planned for me? I heard about fox spirits from asian mythology, but I never thought they were real. All these things raced through my mind. I was conflicted between rather this is an act of cruelty or kindness considering what I know about fox spirits. However, before I could decide rather I should stay or run, the fox spirit took my hand as she started casually walking. I was forced to walk as she effectively started lightly pulling me. I didn’t try to fight me. I was shaking in fear, and again she noticed. She turned to look at me, and she pulled me closer. “Relax if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so already. In fact, we haven’t introduced each other. My name is Tamamo Mana. Don’t worry , I am not the so-called wicked Tamamo No Mae that you humans hate if you're wondering. My mother named me after the great fox sorceries due to my amazing skills with magic” Tamamo explained.  “So what is your name?” she asked. I was still scared to talk, but I finally said “My name is Zack” as she looked at me. “That’s an interesting human name” she said as she pulled me closer and even leaned against me to my surprise. It’s like now she wants to be very nice. She at least appeared to not have any hostile intentions. I was able to calm down slightly. The trees that were somewhat obstructing me from seeing far were now clearing up. Then I greeted with the sight of a bunch of houses made out of wood. The voices I were hearing were now becoming more clear. I realized that this wasn’t just one lonely fox spirit living out here all by herself. Instead it was some sort of village. I realized that these were the back ends of a house. We were getting closer to one of them. “This is where I live,” she explained. “What is this?” I asked. She looked at me. “This is a youkai village, a place hidden from humans where many youkai live in secret. You are now one of the few humans who know about this secret” she said. We walked towards a backdoor in the backyard of a house. Tamamo reached for the door handle. The door creaked as Tamamo opened it. I was greeted with the same smell that Tamamo had but more noticeable. She walked me into the house. It was very small, about the size of a hotel room. As I stared longer into the room, the more I noticed how surprisingly modern the place was despite being in the middle of nowhere. There were TV’s, bathrooms, computers, fans, and surprisingly video games. However, there were some clear limitations to what I found in the room. One that I noticed was absent was an electric oven. There was technically one, but it was powered by wood and charcoal. Another thing was that the computers and game system was nothing I had seen before. It appeared to be its own thing. “Welcome to your new home,” Tamamo said enthusiastically. I looked at Tamamo, I realized that I might be staying here for a long time. Tamamo just gave me a smile. It's like now she really wants to be nice after forcing me to come here and telling me that I’m stuck here forever. She at least was doing a good job at being nice. But this only made me wonder even more what she really does want to do with me. I started to wander around as Tamamo let go of my hand. I looked at everything in the house in greater detail. I even looked at one of the games for the game system. It revealed that graphics were not as good as a modern game. It was more on par with the Nintendo 64 just with better textures. I looked at Tamamo as she just stood there amused by my curiosity. She had a smile on her face. “If that raises your curiosity, then you will be amazed with the things I will show you,” Tamamo said. Tamamo walked over to an oven. She lifted one of her hands followed by her index finger. Then after a few seconds, a little piece of flame came out of her fingers. I realized she was casting magic. She then pointed her finger into the oven and shot it right out into it. The oven quickly lit up. That was amazing to see. “That was fox spirit magic right there. Although, that’s nothing compared to my overall power” Tamamo said. Tamamo walked over to a table next to a window. She then pulled out a chair. “Why don’t you join me?” she said. I sat down at the table with Tamamo sitting on the other end. She just looked at me, smiling with her mouth open. I took notice of her sharp teeth, as well as her purple eyes. “What do you think of this, so far?” she asked. That was a very tricky question. I’m mean, what was I supposed to answer? I thought about it and said “It’s interesting that this all exists. I never would have believed this ever existed. But I haven’t really seen any other youkai outside of yourself” I knew there had to be some around since I heard noises outside, but I haven’t really seen any other’s myself. However, Tamamo giggled. She reached over to the window curtains and opened them. “There you go,” she said. I gazed out the window as I saw many youkai passing the house. The sight was intimating, but also kind of amazing. As I looked at every youkai that passed the house, Tamamo told me what youkai race they were “That's a kappa, and that’s a tanuki. That female over there is a crow tengu, and he is an oni” I don’t know what will happen to me, but I do know that my life has already changed. There is just no going back after seeing all of this. Tamamo giggled at my curiosity again. I continued to look out the window, just staring at all the youkai. Not long after, I heard the sounds of metal clashing with each other. I looked over as I noticed Tamamo was getting the chicken she was cooking out of the oven. She brought it to the table. She sat down and cut the chicken into pieces. She then passed me a plate of some. “Here you go, enjoy!” she said. I took a bit out of the chicken. It was very good, possibly better than anything I have ever eaten. The food was gone before I knew it. It must have been so good that I ate it very fast. Then Tamamo stood up and walked over to me. She then grabbed me by the arm as she walked me over to her bed. She then layed down and had me do the same. “You know, I never got a chance to meet a human before,” she said. She got closer and huddled with me. Her body was very warm. She also wrapped her tail around me. Her tail gave off a lot of heat. I could survive in the winter with just her tail. It wasn’t screaming hot, but hot enough to make me feel soft. Tamamo then put her arms around me. “You know, we had such a violated history between our kinds, but you and I are just being open with each other” she said. “Violate history?” I asked as I didn’t quite know what she meant. Then Tamamo sighed. “I suppose It’s time I explain what’s going to happen and why,” Tamamo said. I looked at her with a very concerned expression. Tamamo also had a nervous look on her face. “I’m going to tell you something that the majority of humans never knew. We are not that different from each other” she explained. “But I don’t can’t use magic like you,” I said. Then Tamamo couldn’t help but smile a little. “That’s what I was about to get too. You see, you can learn to use magic, It’s just nearly impossible for you to learn it without any assistant. Even then It’s difficult for a human to achieve the same level of magic as youkai. Very few humans become as powerful as youkai. Some of those people who did became youkai simpithers, and with help from youkai, they became youkai themselves” She explained. “Who were those people?” I asked. “Youkai hunters, these are groups of humans who hunted us. They seek us out and kill us. A long time ago, all youkai lived in asia. But hunting became rampant that we decided to start moving to other parts of the world in hopes that they won’t find us here. It worked. They are still around, but they appear to only operate in asia. They probably think we are on the verge of extinction. However, they might be catching on. We had a few isolated incidents of encounters” Tamamo explained. I looked at her and she had this sad expression on her face. “However, in order to keep our existence hidden, we have to kill any humans that come near our village” Tamamo said grimly. My heart jumped and I started shaking hard. Is all of this about to end like this. “But there is an alternative,” Tamamo said. I was able to stop shaking a little when she said that. “You could become a youkai like me,” Tamamo said. My heart felt like it just stopped by that sentence. She wants me to give up my humanity and become a youkai. Is that what she wanted from me? But what choice do I really have? “The thing is that I mention that a few high spiritual power humans became youkai’s. That was done with a transformation spell. But the spell only seems to work on high spiritual humans. When used on humans with little to no spiritual powers. It doesn’t work. It causes extreme pain usually followed by death. It’s known that 40 humans had the spell used on them. 4 of them were humans with high spiritual powers, all 4 of them survived. The remaining 36 were humans with little to spiritual powers. Only 2 of them were transformed. The other 34 died” Tamamo explained. That was grim and frightening. I realized I was going to die. I started shaking and crying. “Don’t cry, there is a bright side to this,” she said. I managed to stop tearing for a few seconds. “I created a new spell, It’s a modification of the old spell. It allows me to successfully transform you and any other human into a youkai. You will not die” Tamamo explained. I was able to stop crying as I hugged her. It for some reason made me feel better. Then Tamamo asked me “So Zack, Do you want to become a youkai?”

Thanks to Savage Nami for the ASMR series

https://youtu.be/FWc4WHo1j5M

1/15/21 Update: Nayru ASMR did her own take on the series

https://youtu.be/3zObXFb1WI4

[gastricpierrot]

Title: When Stars Align

Series: Daiya no Ace

Pairing: KuraRyou

Rating: T

Summary: Nothing good ever comes out of an intimate relationship between a human and a youkai, Ryousuke knows. He’s heard more than enough stories on betrayal, on disasters, on families being shunned. And being an onmyouji, he knows better than anyone else.

And yet, he lets himself fall.

Warning: i probably undermined the confrontation scene a bit but i?? tried??? _(:D

Also on AO3

[Ch.1][Ch.2][Ch.3][Ch. 4]

[Ch.5]

It’s like plunging face first into a pool of hot water.  

Ryousuke fights to breathe past the instant realization that she knows, she knows, she knows. Because even if she does if he can resist it won’t matter. He digs his fingernails into his palms, letting the sting keep him grounded. He can do this. There’s no other choice but to do this.

They kneel and bow before the minister present in place of the Emperor, going through some processes of formality before proceeding with their preparations. Ryousuke takes his position at the circle of onmyouji, resisting the earnest urge to punch himself in the chest to slow the beating of his heart and dislodge the lump in his throat. He mustn’t be this anxious, mustn’t let himself slip.

He keeps his gaze trained towards the floor as Tamamo no Mae is led to the centre of their circle, not wanting to risk any further contact with her because just being there is extremely risky as it is. He mentally blocks out the sound of her silky voice, the scent of her perfume, the weight of her currently suppressed aura that only he can perceive. It’s fine; confrontation isn’t the main purpose of this ceremony, even if it’s best if they’re able to somehow get rid of her in the process. Mostly everyone involved who’s from the Bureau are already certain that she’s the Nine-tailed Fox; the only thing they have to do now is to expose her true nature to the royal court that remains in denial. For now, all Ryousuke has to do is keep his calm and not mess up.

There’s a moment of tense silence once everyone’s ready, broken only by the knock of Abe no Yasunari’s tools to signify the beginning of the spell. Ryousuke clasps his hands together, pressing hard at where his fingertips meet as he recites the chant he’s long memorized but never found the need to use until then. He feels his stomach churn, and he takes a deep, careful breath. It’ll just take thirty minutes if it’s successful; he just has to pull through the next half hour.

“Boy.”

And there it is—the fox seeking her kind. Ryousuke decides to ignore her despite knowing he’s leaving his mind vulnerable; he can’t spare the focus to drive her out at the moment. She can dig up whatever fears or memories or even try waking it that’s already stirring to her presence, but Ryousuke can’t falter or else everyone else’s efforts will be for naught. He came all the way here fully prepared to be singled out; she won’t catch him off guard so easily.

“No need to be shy, I know you can hear me,” the fox continues, an icy undertone to her voice despite her friendly words. “Why don’t we have a quick chat? It’d be a moment before this whole thing is over and I’m getting rather bored.”

Ryousuke wills his thoughts to remain blank, only keeping the visualisation of the spell’s words clear. He senses her trying to interfere, trying to force him to acknowledge her.

“Ah, poor thing,” she speaks after a foreboding minute of silence, tone dripping with sympathy that sounded almost genuine, “Your parents left you as well, didn’t they? I understand, it was the same for me, too. I suppose it’s simply the fate of foxes born to humans to be abandoned—but worry not, I can assure you that the rest of our kind are much more accepting. So what do you say? Help me escape and I can make your life much easier. You won’t have to try so hard to hide your true nature anymore, and there’ll no longer be the need to work yourself to the bone every day. Oh, and you can bring your precious little brother along, if you wish!”

To tell the truth, Ryousuke stopped registering her words after she mentioned helping her escape. So she’s worried about the position she’s in despite her calm exterior—as she should because really, it’s her alone against a group of the best onmyouji in the country. Even if she’s to fight, she would no doubt sustain some degree of injury before she’d be able to make an escape. Just this purifying ritual  would weaken her significantly if successful.

But honestly, does she really think she can sway him with those pathetic suggestions? Either the records are wrong, or she’s really underestimating him.

“Ryousuke, don’t you think it’s rude to ignore the person talking to you face to face?”

Ryousuke nearly bites his tongue. That cursed kitsune—using his mother’s voice like that. He feels her smugness in  successfully finding the chink in his mental armour, feels her digging even deeper faster than he can consider how to react.

“I do wonder why you’re still willing to put up with everything up until now,” Tamamo no Mae speaks in the perfect imitation of Ryousuke’s mother. He’s sure that if he opens his eyes right then, he would see her sitting there before him in the flesh; her hair tucked behind her ear on one side, her smile almost a mirror of his own. The lady who gave birth to him, the lady whom his father took away along with Haruichi once after he almost harmed them due to his own incompetence. “Mother’s so, so sorry for what we did—you must be so tired after working so hard, dear. I promise we’ll make things return to how they were again, so why don’t you come with me?”

I don’t need you.

It’s a reflex thought, one he’s so deeply ingrained into himself that he doesn’t even realize his slip until it’s too late. Ryousuke inhales sharply, nearly missing a word and falling behind the incantation. He can’t decide who he wants to punch more; the wretched Fox, or himself for still being unconsciously hung up over something he’s so damned sure he’s gotten over long ago.

“Of course you do, silly. Every child needs their mother.”

And I need you to shut up and let me concentrate.

Might as well tell her to shove off now; Ryousuke figures he has nothing left to lose. He would’ve appreciated it if she could respect his wishes like a decent person, though, which she of course, insists on not being.

“You’ve always been like that, haven’t you? Putting on a strong front to hide how you really feel,” Tamamo no Mae coos sympathetically. Ryousuke could almost feel her hand caressing his cheek, touch devoid of any warmth. “Isn’t it exhausting to keep so many secrets at once? Don’t you think it’ll be much easier if you could just disappear?”

It’d be much easier for me if you’re the one who disappears, to be frank.

“I can show them too, you know.” The fox’s tone takes a sudden malicious change, seemingly growing steadily annoyed by Ryousuke’s retorts. She’s running out of time and she knows it. “You may be able to expose me with this ritual, but I can also show them what you really are, boy. Do you really want to be seen as a monster fit to be hunted down again?”

Ryousuke doesn’t answer to that, physically falling silent along with the others and leaving only Abe no Yasunari’s voice ring clear throughout the hall. Even with his eyes kept closed, he could perceive the harsh light coming from the centre of their circle. They’ve completed the first portion of the spell, that is inviting the gods to join them. The rest would be up to Abe no Yasunari; he’ll be the only one who can hear their voices and complete the ritual. The role of the other onmyouji now is to control and maintain the spiritual wavelength in the room so no one accidentally gets vaporized by the gods’ aura.

Ryousuke senses two—no, three divine entities present with them. His scalp tingles from the cluster of power radiating before him, but there’s also a certain calmness in the air that came with their arrival. The burn in Ryousuke’s gut slowly subsides, almost as if it’s intimidated back into submission.

He nearly breathes a sigh of relief. As much as he hates to admit, a tremor’s beginning to manifest in his hands from the strain of enduring so many sensations at once. He isn’t sure how much longer he would’ve been able to keep up his composure had the gods not indirectly given him that subtle boost.

“If you may, Tamamo no Mae-sama.”

The rustling of clothes follows Abe no Yasunari’s directive, as well as a blast of hostility so concentrated towards Ryousuke that it almost feels like he just got impaled through his temples.

“Traitor,” the fox hisses into his mind as if he ever saw her as kin in the first place, every word she says piercing into his consciousness like stakes. “You think you’re doing yourself any favours by going against me? You think you can suppress a fox’s power forever? You’re nothing but a fool.”

Ryousuke bites his lip; just a little more, just a little more. Just a little more until the moment of truth.

“And you think I’d let you off so easily after all I did to be nice? Mark my words, foolish onmyouji, that from now on you’ll—“

Her threat is cut off by a growl—her own when the spell reacts to her malevolence and, Ryousuke hopes, rebounds as some sort of damage on her being. Ryousuke simultaneously feels heat against his face, the gods vanish; and hears panic erupting from all around him. When he finally opens his eyes, Tamamo no Mae is no longer the beautiful young lady he saw earlier, in her place a fox as tall as an average adult human with golden fur and nine tails unfurling behind her back. Her teeth bared in a bloodthirsty snarl, her breathing slightly laboured.

Ryousuke isn’t spared from being awestruck by the Fox’s true form; time seems to in fact slow for a short moment after the revelation. The Nine-tailed Fox is almost on par with a god in her own right, and her regal appearance and aura only serves to bolster that. If she hadn’t been an enemy, Ryousuke couldn’t help thinking he might’ve one day come to admire her.

Then just as the moment passes and the onmyouji move to face her, she lets out a single ear-splitting yowl, and strikes out with her tails, catching everyone off guard with the sheer force of it. And in that few seconds of distraction, she lunges towards Ryousuke’s direction.

Ryousuke tenses for a second too long, his spell right at the point of release when she passes right through him and flees out the window behind him.

In that brief moment of contact, deep in the recesses of his mind, Ryousuke hears the sound of a nail being hammered down.

“Ryousuke!”

And the last thing he hears before the world goes black was the order to hunt down the Fox.

xXx

For a second, Youichi’s vision goes blank.

It’s the sensations that led up to it that worries him more, though. The thin thread of a link between Ryousuke’s mind and his own seemed to have strengthened dramatically at one point, so much so that it almost feels as if they’ve formed a literal emotional bond. Ryousuke’s stress and tension flooded to him full force without warning; pride was pretty much the only thing that kept Youichi from curling into a ball and do nothing but try to breathe until it’s all over.

And then there’s fear, annoyance, and something quite different that Youichi can’t pinpoint. It wasn’t as much of an emotion than it is a sort of…presence. It wasn’t the Fox, Youichi could tell that much due to the faintness of it. It was more like there’s something else inside Ryousuke’s mind, something right on the brink of waking from a deep slumber.

Youichi starts at the sudden realization. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s not impossible so what if...? It would explain his inhumanly powerful spiritual energy, to the very least. No pure-blooded human has ever been born with that sort of power for a long time; their bodies and souls have eventually became unable to produce that level of energy as the bond between humans and nature weakened over time. Youichi doesn’t know—and doesn’t think he’ll ever know, for that matter—how it came about, but Ryousuke must be, in some way, part youkai.

…Whoa.

Youichi has to sit back for a moment to let it sink in. Even though there’s never a short of conspiracy theories surrounding Ryousuke from the guys in the mountain, it’s still pretty wild. Youichi wonders if that’s partly the reason why he’s so unnerved about facing the kitsune. Maybe there’s something about her that gives her a sort of upper hand over him? He doesn’t know. It’s probably also not his place to know.

If anything, he should be concerned over Ryousuke’s current wellbeing rather than the truth of what he is. That sudden blackout was frankly bad news; it meant Ryousuke’s fallen unconscious for some reason. There are only so many possibilities since he’s supposed to be in the middle of work, and Youichi doesn’t like even one of them. Is he getting help from the other side? Can he… can he even still be helped?

“Ryou-san...?” Youichi reluctantly taps into the link that’s surprisingly still there. He half expects silence, half expects Ryousuke’s voice to pop up out of nowhere and casually toss him a snarky remark because he thinks he’s definitely capable of surprising him like that. “Ryou-san, hey, you there?”

Only this time it’s silence; an uneasy silence that does nothing but make Youichi’s unease worse as it stretches on by the second.

As much as Haruichi would want him to, as much as he himself genuinely thinks that maybe he should go check up on him or something, Youichi can’t leave. He can’t risk leaving the place defenceless because who knows what the heck happened in the Capital city? For all he knows, hordes of youkai might already be starting to run rampant across the country and he’d soon be so busy that he’d barely have the chance to catch his breath. Besides, Ryousuke entrusted the task of protecting his hometown to him; he’d definitely want him to prioritize that over his own safety. Youichi’s concern wouldn’t be appreciated where Ryousuke is.

He knows Ryousuke’s alive, at the very least. As long as he can still access their link, he’ll know that he’s alive. He repeats it to himself, clings on to it as his one reason to stay.

Yet it’s strange how less and less comfort that gradually brings him.

xXx

Haruichi knew something isn’t right when Ryousuke doesn’t return within the usual timespan.

The letter is painfully vague, disclosing nothing but the fact that the kitsune might’ve done something to his brother during her escape and that the Bureau is keeping him in the Capital for supervision a little longer. Haruichi could only imagine the worst. What if that’s just a pretence and they’re actually holding him there because the truth’s been revealed and they just haven’t decided what to do with him? What if facing the Fox had permanently damaged Ryousuke in some way or another? Haruichi watched his only family leave fearing the worst, and now that he’s staring right at it he feels a whole new sense of uselessness weigh down on his shoulders. Why can’t he ever do anything at times like this?

Haruichi takes a deep breath, balling his fists. This isn’t the time to wallow in self-hate. Think; there must be something even he’s capable of while he waits. If only he could figure out what’s going on in Ryousuke’s side now—he could perhaps prepare something that could be of help to him when he returns, something that perhaps he as one of the only few people who are fully aware of his circumstances can do.

There’s an old couple praying at Youichi’s shrine when Haruichi seeks him out. Not wanting to disturb them, he keeps himself out of sight and waits for them to leave, only emerging from his spot once their footsteps have faded into the distance. As he approaches, he offers a slight wave to Youichi, who, looks to have been expecting him.

“Good afternoon, Youichi-sama,” Haruichi greets, stopping a respectable distance from the tengu. Youichi nods, his efforts to keep the troubled look off his face not quite paying off because Haruichi could see his tension just fine. He’s heard from Eijun about Youichi’s link to Ryousuke. Haruichi really doesn’t fancy the idea of constantly bothering the local guardian with personal affairs, but since Youichi has practically gotten himself ankle-deep in said affairs anyway, he figures there’s little left for him to lose.

“Hey.” Youichi seems to hold his breath for a second before continuing. “I’ve got some news about Ryou-san that I think you should know.”

Straight to the point, huh. It’s funny, how the hundreds of worst case scenarios that occurred to him earlier have now simply blended into one blank thought. Haruichi swallows, and nods.

“I actually heard this from someone else but uh—“ Youichi moistens his lips and averts his gaze, searching the air for the right words— “I think he might’ve been cursed by the Nine-tailed Fox.”

“But he’s with the best onmyouji around; they should be able to do something, right?” Haruichi asks, mostly for his own sake because it’s that easy for a few words to send his mind reeling. If it’s something even they can’t do anything about then…then…

The hesitance doesn’t leave Youichi’s demeanour, his eyes refusing to meet his. “I’m…not too sure about that.”

Haruichi’s afraid to ask. And yet.

“What do you mean?”

A moment more of reluctance, then a resolute breath. And finally, Youichi looks at him.

“I don’t think they know about it.”

“Is that even possible?” They’re onmyouji; detecting and dispelling curses are supposed to be one of their specialities. It’s highly unlikely that they wouldn’t notice anything even if Ryousuke denies it (which, let’s face the fact—he probably would if he thinks it’s something he can deal with himself). Maybe Youichi’s misunderstanding something? Then again, nine-tailed foxes are borderline legendary creatures, so the odds aren’t completely improbable. If there's a type of youkai that can outsmart even the best onmyouji in the country, it'd be them.

Sometimes, Haruichi hates his own rationale.

“Curses aren’t exactly my thing, but that’s kinda what it feels like,” Youichi says, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. “His consciousness is pretty much back to normal as far as I can tell. As unreliable as it is, it’s just a bad feeling I’m still getting despite everything.”

“Then…then what’s there we could do?” Haruichi asks, the question directed more to himself than Youichi. If even full-fledged onmyouji are unable to take any action, what more can a self-learned fledgling and a youkai deity who specializes in combat do? Is there really nothing they can do apart from watching the curse take its effect and torment his brother until possibly the end of his days?

“I don’t know.” Youichi runs his fingers through his hair, exhaling in what seems to be exasperation. And for the first time since their conversation started, Haruichi notices the concern on the tengu’s face. Because despite what Youichi says and how he acts, Haruichi knows how he’s come to see Ryousuke as some sort of friend. He figures there should at least be a sort of special status granted to the ones you work with to protect something, after all.

And quite suddenly, Haruichi feels much less alone. He’s no longer the only one who has to fret himself restless over Ryousuke’s wellbeing. He hasn't been alone for a while now, much to his shameful realization. Some part of him has always been subconsciously blinded by the past, by the rejection Ryousuke unfairly faced all those years ago that left a huge impact on him at very impressionable age. It’s different now. There are more people who care now.

It’s at that moment that his long period of uncertainty comes to an abrupt end. He finally knows what he wants to do, even if it’d end with crushing expectations on his shoulders, even if he’s going to put his life at risk. Even if he’s going to have to train until he pukes blood like Ryousuke did because it’s the only way he can help directly, it’s always been the only way he knows that would make some sort of difference even if he’s been too cowardly to face it all this while.

“You have any ideas?”

Haruichi wonders if it’s really that obvious; all it took was one look at him from Youichi for him to ask. He allows himself just a second more of hesitance before nodding, resolute.

“If it ever comes to it, I’ll help him remove the curse.” He clenches his fists at his sides. “I’ll do whatever it takes to gain the skills to do that.”

And if Youichi thinks he’s being overambitious, he doesn’t show it. In fact, he seems impressed, to an extent. Pleased, even. If their situation hadn't been this solemn, Haruichi would've wondered with amusement how things have progressed to the point where he's become someone a local deity can feel proud of.

“Well, good luck with that, kid." Haruichi lurches a step forward  when Youichi pats his back in encouragement. "You're definitely gonna need it."

xXx

Unlike a good majority of the onmyouji around him, Ryousuke’s decided to stop trying to figure out if the kitsune’s done anything to him.

It’s five days before he’s allowed to leave. Five. Days. He’ll find out sooner or later anyway, so he really doesn’t see the point in him keeping him quarantined for so long. He just wants to go home, is that really such a difficult request? Really, it’s not like he was dying on the spot or anything. He’s sure he’ll figure something out if it’s going to be a prolonged curse—which, is turning out to be a rather likely possibility given the lack of immediate signs at the moment. Though, that’d only be true if the Fox truly had managed to make her move in time before she was forced to flee. With all these uncertainties, it’s difficult to decide what’s exactly going on.

Of course, as though being singled out by the Fox and being the subject of scrutiny for days aren’t bad enough, Kazuya’s assigned to accompany him back “just to be safe, for Ryousuke-dono’s sake”. To say neither of them were too keen on the arrangement might be quite an understatement, though Ryousuke has to admit appreciating the extra hand when it becomes apparent what the Fox’s escape has triggered among the youkai along the way. It isn’t exactly easy to keep swarms of unusually malicious youkai at bay while still recovering from the miasma of the city, not even for Ryousuke.

But Kazuya doesn’t need to know that, of course. Ryousuke decides his ego’s huge enough as it is.

“Heh, it’s been a while.”

Ryousuke says nothing as Kazuya marvels at the sight of his hometown once they're there, his usually cocky expression softened to something marginally resembling fondness. He used to drop by often back in the day, mostly to torment Eijun periodically and have surprisingly solemn chats with Tetsu about stuff Ryousuke never took an interest in finding out. Ryousuke’s never really expected him to be the sentimental type, so he’s careful to keep this observation in his memory for future blackmailing purposes.

“You’re free to go back now, you know.”

“Wow, not even an offer to stay for a meal?” Kazuya feigns a look of severe hurt at him. Ryousuke merely shrugs, nonchalant.

“Unlike you, I’m quite the busy person. I suppose you wouldn’t want to be waiting for me to get all my things sorted out before you get to eat?”

“...Point taken,” Kazuya admits after a second of thought, familiar enough with Ryousuke’s workaholic tendencies to believe his half-lie. Though, it’s not like anything’s going to be different even if he doesn’t, really. “Well. Guess I’ll be on my way, then.”

He flicks his wrist in a backhanded wave before walking off, heading towards the direction of marketplace with more purpose than Ryousuke's ever seen him have while at work. Ryousuke goes the opposite direction, soon strolling through the familiar streets, past familiar buildings. And Ryousuke-sama’s back, whispers are exchanged among the tiny street youkai who spot him, word of his return slowly spreading like a wave across the area. Ryousuke’s back.

And as he enters his own home, Ryousuke wonders if Haruichi’s prepared enough food for his share as well this time.

[dankesdarkman]

Type-Moon 4gamer Interview 2017 Notes

- Lots of talk about Beasts, probably playable Beast type-servants at some point. No indication if he means new Beasts or if playable versions of Tiamat and Goetia. Personally, I[The translator] could see Tiamat but not Goetia. - He really, really wants to do a Tsukihime event, or at the very least wants to put Arcueid in the game. - Nasu's favorites are Jaguarman, Ishtar, Kiyohime, and Tamamo. - "We appreciate the foreign playerbase." no mention of localizations but he's at least aware of it.

MHX got the [Star] attribute cuz she's an alien.

Basically [Bryn loves] anyone who is "a person of justice in Bryn's perspective". RIP Tony Stark

How the Demon Pillar Massacre was thought to have gone on the dev side was with players working together to defeat the ones that had the most impact in strengthening the others moving forth in that order. Which is why they told us that the demon pillers were buffing each other. But then everyone just gangbanged Barbatos Nasu exclaims "This is definitely an evil of humanity"

Also in october, Nasu alone wrote 1311 pages for projects that were not GO.

Nasu's first impression of launch GO "A crumbling race track that had been neglected for 10 years. There might be roads, but there are weeds and the coatings and asphalt are coming off. It was in terrible condition. The only reason why players were willingly to drive on it was because they had a certain amount of trust saved up for something with the name of Fate."

Moon Viewing [that's dango] supposedly had a one day deadline. At that time Nasu had no idea about annoucements and dev times. So when he asked for a Moon Viewing event that had a scenario. DW was like "err the scenario needs to be in tomorrow" There were not writers available at the time so Nasu had to write it himself. That was also the turning point for Nasu where he felt like he needed to reward players for staying that long with GO. That's why made himself write it in one day.

Nasu Kinoko: "But it's my dream to make sure that there's a "Tsukihime R" collab while FGO is still running. For the sake of that, I think taking responsibility and making FGO into a good game and continuing to work hard on the company's in-house work "Tsukihime R" is the duty assigned to me and TYPE-MOON. After all, I also want to see "SSR Arcueid Brunestud"!"

one thing I forgot to mention that they mention is that on average you can get 6 Servants to 10/10/10 a year. That's how they designed it. this is not including free quests. and this is deliberate. Nasu didn't want a game where you can easily max everyone. You have to choose who you want to max based on who you love or whatever. 

So they talk how GO was created here. It was meant to be a PVP PC net game. And it is that very PVP itself that would create evil stuff. However, Nasu came to realize the necessity of a smartphone and how in the modern era how closely linked the smartphone is with life. Therefore, he wanted to make a game that was brighter and optimistic. Then after having written Extra which is set in a spiritron world, he wanted to tackle history. And that's how 7 grails and 7 eras was born. With the title of Grand Order, he decided to pull out the Beasts [from his old setting notes], and then if you pull out the Beasts you need to talk about the end of the AOG apparently and if you want to talk about the end of the AOG you need Solomon. Therefore the core of the story became the relationship between Solomon and Roman.

How the Servants were made: So after the Servants that were to appear were decided on. They spent 4 months doing research on all of them. Especially towards the end of 2015, Higashide and Sakurai were buried in books. They didn't want to have a SINO so everyone worked really hard to be proud of what they made. Because there was time before launch they made 100 Servants. After launch, with 3 writers each makes one Servant a month.

Takeuchi is also why Ushi is a girl, because according to him the ratio of guys to girls was bad. Apparently he's the one that orders the genderswaps. Then the writers have to figure out how to get it to work. (For those wondering how he can do that, he's the CEO of TM, the art director and the lead character designer)

Takeuchi still making new Arthuria. Nobody ask him. It's just Takeuchi appear with the new Arthuria design for the game.

Fou's first dialogue in the game is actually a big spoiler if you know what is he talking about.

From chapter 6, TM start to demands a lot from DW to change FGO from a normal mobage into a JRPG, like the increasing amount of text, new gimmicks for the battle, CG, etc which really exhaust DW staff.

Ozzy's pyramid CG in chapter 6 is drawn by Koyama.

For Nasu, part 1.5 is more like an anthology book where he leave each writers to write one chapter and he just supervise it like a manga editor. There is a chapter with only male on it (I think this is Shinjuku but then there's double alter) and there's also a chapter with only girls on it.

Nasu considers TM having 100,000 "core" fans.

He thinks that people who got into Fate with 2004 FSN make up less than 20% of the current fanbase.

The nuance behind the title epic of remnant is the resurrected dead and myths from impossible taboos and hints for part 2, many things will completely change and you might think to yourself "part 1 was pretty peaceful" they hope to start part 2 in 2017

The who wrote what epic of remnant singularity is private.             However nasu says, you should be able to guess immediately.

When the story they're going to tell for the VR thing was finished, Takeuchi's didn't really have VR on his radar but Nasu just bought an Occulus and was like "lets do this for VR."                                                                                                                                                          

EoR was originally going to be called Blues of the Survivor

Nasu is still working on Tsukihime R and is hoping for a Tsukihime R collab

There's going to be an EoR chapter that's all girls, and one that's all guys                                                                                                            Thanks to You(username) and fgog anon!

[wyrmmaster]

Extella did in fact manage to keep Tamamo’s character intact, but I’m still mad, because they just sort of gloss over her and ignore said character aside from a couple shining moments in her route.

Like, Nero essentially takes her role to Hakuno as “Affectionate Servant with obvious feelings, that occasionally smothers them with said affection” that she had in Extra and CCC, when Nero was pretty much just a slightly nicer, if more egotistical Artoria by the end of her route (you can can the “nicer part” before then). Character development is a fair claim here, but I see it more as a tool to shill her even harder as the “main servant”.

On top of that, They turn every negative trait she has up to 11 for most of her route. I can accept that with the justification they gave for that: “She was assertively trying to live out all her fantasies, so turned into the semi-evil courtesan who controlled the imperial court that she was in life”. I really loved her realization towards the end, and how she did a 180, that was perfect, but the problem here is that the player is always gonna see how shitty we was at the beginning. Like, they’ll always have that negative image.

This goes into the true route, where it’s immediately framed that the body’s memories were sent the mind and, by extension, Nero. From the get go it fully supports the idea that Tamamo as some kind of evil man-stealing witch and just sort of reduces her character even more to “that idiot harlot caster that just wants to steal Hakuno for x selfish reason/ to fuck with Nero”, when in reality she fell in love with and betrayed her own master for him in Extella’s version of the Grail War. 

Not to mention how this Hakuno in general just seems totally noncommital to any deeper relationship whatsoever, so there’s no basis to actually claim any stealing is taking place.

All this on top of the fact that Nero was always less direct with her feelings than Tamamo, even in this game she beats around the bush a bit much for what she claims is an established relationship. At least Tamamo’s pretty much straightforward with her affection, and about what she wants and why.

Like, I guess it makes since since this is essentially “Hakuno and Nero’s” continuation of Extra, and I get it completely, it just really, REALLY razzes me that one of the better written and tragic instances of character development and deeply layered characterization in general is just sort of glossed over (and even demonized, except for the very end of her route and true route) in favor of a character I don’t think is anywhere nearly as well written or sympathetic.

I really wish they’d just done what they did with Extra in general and have you PICK which servant is the main one at the beginning of the true route, and change the story from there. I think it would’ve stayed more true to the story, but with the anime coming out which will presumably have this game’s background as a story I guess it makes a little more sense.

But even if you don’t go with that, at least explore her feelings of jealousy at not being the main servant that you implanted in her. Like, she literally Betrayed her last master after essentially defeating Hakuno and Nero in the war (It’s mentioned she had Nero trapped away while she approached Hakuno, a master alone with an enemy servant is no bueno). Because she fell in love with him, exactly like Altera did. Even with what they had, they didn’t go deep enough.

And I don’t even want to TOUCH what they did to poor Archer. Guy can’t catch a break, he was already the least popular of the three, now they shunt him into only existing in an AU. 

[minsarasarahair]

Demonic Feast

[ga-yuu]

@shiba-lu I have a lot, but I think I like this one that shows how crazy Ibuki is.

Ibuki Chapter 23 ~ Ibuki POV

WARNING! This story contains mentions of rape.

Akihito: "There you are, Ibuki."

Ibuki: "What?"

Akihito appeared in front of me, while I was drinking sake alone in the gazebo in the garden.

Akihito: "Yoshino and Tamamo left just now."

(I know)

(So, I thought I'd have a drink where I wouldn't see anyone)

Akihito: "She told me to say goodbye to you."

Ibuki: "No thanks. I don't want to listen to her goodbyes."

Undeniably, the memories of that time were evoked.

(Yoshino....)

----FLASHBACK-----

Yoshino: "I'm sorry I wished I could be there for you."

Ibuki:"...................."

Her eyes were moisted, but Yoshino still did not shed a tear.

Yoshino: "I was stupid....all I wanted was the man I love to be happy."

Yoshino: "But it was difficult for me to make the Demon King happy."

(....You're probably the only person in the world with such an odd wish)

Ibuki: "Do you regret it now?"

Yoshino: "No."

Ibuki: "What's with that immediate answer."

My heart which should have been frozen, creaks.

Yoshino: "I would have regretted it if I did nothing."

Yoshino: "But I've also realised that there's nothing more I can do for Ibuki...I realised that too well."

Yoshino was trying hard to hold back the trembling in her voice.

Ibuki: "......"

(I loved her crying face)

And yet, for some reason, I didn't want to see those cheeks wet with tears right now.

Yoshino looks straight at me...and smiles faintly.

(....How can you look at me like that?)

Although it had lost some of its former cheerfulness, I could see that it was unmistakably a sincere smile.

Yoshino: "I'm going back to the Shogunate."

Yoshino: "Thank you for everything."

Ibuki: "Who are you thanking and for what?"

Yoshino: "---Don't worry about that. I'm the only wants who need to know."

An ungainly storm is raging inside my body.

And because of that no words of ridicule came out.

Yoshino: "Bye...Ibuki."

Ibuki: "Aah."

(Maybe I've been waiting for you to say that for a long time)

With her head down, Yoshino walks out and Tamamo put his hand on her back.

Tamamo: "Let's go, Yoshino."

Yoshino: "....Mm."

Yoshino then left with Tamamo.

-----FLASHBACK ENDS-----

(Nonsense. What's the point of remembering that now?)

I cut off the memories that ran through my head in an instant.

Akihito: "......."

Akihito sits down opposite me and is silent.

Ibuki: "Why are you sitting here?"

Akihito: "Why do you care? Soon our pact will be broken."

Ibuki: "......"

(Can't you read the air? You know I'm in a bad mood)

Even if I threaten him, it won't work on Akihito.

Taking the sake cup from my fingers, Akihito drank it down gracefully.

Ibuki: "Hey!"

Akihito: "I can see that you're not aggressive towards me even though your demonic instincts have increased."

Akihito: "Looks like Yoshino did a good job of suppressing it."

I was about to click my tongue but stopped myself just in time.

(I don't want you to make me realize unnecessary feelings)

Ibuki: "Is that why you stole my drink? To check if I'm aggressive or not?"

I snatched the sake cup back from Akihito's hand and filled it up with sake again.

Akihito: "It's your heart that I want to know, Ibuki."

Ibuki: "Huh?"

Akihito: "Breaking Yoshino would have been such an easy task for you, right?"

Akihito: "You could have simply given her to thieves who hang out in gambling houses around here."

Ibuki: "...................."

(That's actually nasty)

Akihito was always hurt when he should have been given love.

Despite his elegant face, he knows well how to hurt people.

Akihito: "The despair of being touched by anyone other than the man you fell in love with would have broken Yoshino's heart easily."

Ibuki: "How long have you been aware of her feelings?"

(This ain't funny anymore)

Akihito: "There's only one reason why she would throw herself to a ruthless demon."

Akihito replies and then looks intently at me.

Akihito: "Tell me Ibuki. Why didn't you do something like that?"

(Stop asking me that nasty question)

Ibuki: "I don't know."

Akihito: "It's because you couldn't allow yourself to see her being held by another man, right?"

Ibuki: ".........."

Silence is seen as an affirmation.

Although I knew it, my tongue betrayed me.

Akihito: "It seems your obsession for her has reached this much..."

(Don't say it)

Instinct warns me not to listen anymore.

After a moment of hesitation, Akihito spilled the rest of his words.

Akihito: "...It looks like love to me."

Ibuki: ".....Heh."

(Love...is it love?)

A dry laugh escapes from my mouth.

Akihito listened to this in silence.

Ibuki: "Hahaha...HAHAHAHA..."

(What a joke. How can I not laugh at this?)

Akihito: "....Ibuki."

The impulsive fits of laughter leaves as abruptly as they struck.

The sound of the wind fills the slight gap of silence.

(Yeah, I've known it)

(You're right, Akihito)

After some time, I quietly opened my mouth.

Ibuki: "She is too precious of a woman to be this demon's toy."

Akihito: "....You talk like a human when you say that. It's like you purposefully pushed her away for her sake."

Ibuki: "That's why I left an indelible mark on her, like any demon."

Ibuki: "No matter how happy she is in her bright future, the memory of me will remain deep inside her heart forever and will never go away."

(The marks of my kisses on her soft skin will heal, but the wound in her heart will remain)

Ibuki: "That fact alone is enough for me. Even if my demonic instincts eat away at my reason without a trace."

The woman named Yoshino, is burned inside Ibuki's heart with a brilliance similar to lightning.

On the other hand, Ibuki could only return the same feeling by hurting her.

Akihito: "Ibuki you..."

Akihito: "Don't you wanna go after Yoshino?"

Akihito: "Maybe now, you can still..."

Ibuki: "There's no turning back now."

Ibuki: "That's how you and Yasuchika have lived your whole lives, right?"

I am well aware that if I say that, Akihito will have nothing to say back.

Akihito: "......"

The image of Yoshino walking away with Tamamo comes back to my mind.

(I'm sure that baby fox will treat you well)

(He can spoil Yoshino, make her laugh and make her fragile life shine as bright as ever)

So in that future....

Even just for a moment, I want Yoshino to remember about me and let her tears flow.

(That's how I am as a demon)

[ga-yuu]

Ibuki Main Story Chapter 23 to 26 + Both Endings Summary

1 to 10 // 11 to 17 // 18 to 22 (NSFW)

Warning: Smut content, violence, and vulgar words.

*** Spoilers***

After Yoshino left, Ibuki was drinking in the Imperial Court garden, one night. Akihito comes to talk some sense into him. He bluntly asks how Ibuki feels about Yoshino and Ibuki simply ignores him. Akihito takes his sake and drinks it. But surprisingly Ibuki just complains and doesn't actually attack him. All because Yoshino was able to suppress his demonic instincts. Akihito asks if Ibuki actually sees Yoshino as a toy to which again, Ibuki ignores. Akihito tells him that if he only sees her as a toy and only wanted to break her, he could have simply given her to some hungry man who comes and goes into the gambling house. Ibuki looked conflicted when he heard that. Akihito then goes to tell the reason why he can't stand the sight of another man touching her. That's because he ACTUALLY LOVES HER......and Ibuki finally understood and decide to let her go anyway because she's too precious to be a demon's playmate.

After that Yoshino reunites with the Shogunate. Yasuchika sent a letter to the Shogunate assigning their roles. He also did the same to the Rebels. Morinaga, Shigehira, Yoritomo, and Kagetoki are all assigned to lead troops from different sides. Tamamo and Kurama would be responsible for putting a barrier so they can prevent the attacks from going outside. Yoshino is there to support Tamamo and I guess Yositsune will support Kurama?

On the other side, Yasuchika, Akihito, and Ibuki gathered. Ibuki broke his pact with Akihito and get's his full power back. He said goodbye and was about to leave when Akihito told him to be careful. This shakes Ibuki's heart, but he leaves without looking back.

He meets the Evil Seimei waiting for him in an open field. Evil Seimei this time was speaking fluent Japanese and tried mocking Ibuki. Ibuki says that he doesn't look like the real Seimei, but the Evil Seimei provokes him by saying at least he looks like Yasuchika who is the same age as Seimei back when they met.

Ibuki got enough of his mocking and unleashed his thunder. Evil Seimei deflects it barely. Attacks strike back and forth and Ibuki also had to put up a shield so he can unleash other attacks without a care in the world. Ibuki's next attack hits Evil Seimei and he starts to bleed. When he realized Ibuki was winning, Seimei decided to bring his trump card. He summons an army from the darkness for Ibuki to attack. But to Ibuki's horror, the army was none other than his whole Oni Clan. Evil Seimei manipulated them. When Ibuki sees Ibaraki in the crowd, he calls out to him saying not to be stupid and that an Oni should not be manipulated by someone else. Evil Seimei says that he was able to manipulate them and bring them here because they were so desperate to fight alongside their king and that's why it was easy. Ibuki gets fed up and started going all out.

Tamamo, on the other hand, keeps fixing his barrier which keeps cracking because of the powerful impact of Ibuki's and Evil Seimei's attacks and Yoshino protects him from the small attacks that come through from the cracks. While doing this, Yasuchika finds them. He informs them about Ibuki's powers going out of control. Akihito forced Yasuchika to save Ibuki, but Yasuchika himself was exhausted from using so much magic. But he was able to prepare many magical charms for self-defense just in case. Yoshino wanted to go save Ibuki too but she was not in a position to leave Tamamo's side. Tamamo noticed this and urges her to go save Ibuki and that he can fix the barrier by himself. Yoshino rejects this idea saying she couldn't leave Tamamo alone, but Tamamo encourages her to leave. Yoshino smiles and says she's glad to have Tamamo as her partner. Tamamo also sadly smiles at her and strokes her head.

Yoshino then looks at Yasuchika and asked him to take her along with him. Yasuchika then looked even more troubled. The actual reason he came to Yoshino and Tamamo is that while attempting to save Ibuki if he dies in the process and Ibuki disappears, Akihito will be all alone forever. So he wanted Tamamo and Yoshino to look after Akihito after they both are gone. But Tamamo instantly refused and ordered Yasuchika to come back alive, along with Yoshino. This get's Yasuchika motivated and promised that he will come back.

Both Yasuchika and Yoshino enters the barrier and Yasuchika had to cast a distraction spell so that Evil Seimei don't realize they have entered the barrier. While walking around, they come across many demons lying on the ground. Yasuchika traced Ibuki's magic on them and realized that they were just put to sleep and are not dead. Yoshino recognizes one of them (Ibaraki) and tells Yasuchika that it's Ibuki's servants. Ibaraki gets up to attack Yoshino but Yasuchika saves her and puts Ibaraki back to sleep. Both Yoshino and Yasuchika gets the idea of what's happening. Yasuchika states that Ibuki's powers are running out of control, but at the same time he has to play safe and not kill is clan while also attacking and dodging Evil Seimei's attacks. Yasuchika comes up with a plan to save Ibuki and seal Evil Seimei until tomorrow. They talk so much spiritual stuff which goes above my head. Yasuchika gives her his magical charms and also Ibuki's bracelet that seals his magic..(Yeah, those matching couple bracelets both Akihito and Ibuki wear. That one!)

Yasuchika warns Yoshino that Ibuki is already in beast mode and stopping him makes him even more furious. If Yoshino isn't able to calm him down then she MUST RUN AWAY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!! Yoshino nodded and with her unbreakable plot armor, she enters the battlefield.

Seeing the crazy amount of magic and the roars of thunder, Yoshino's legs tremble. She sees Ibuki being attacked by many other demons. Yoshino felt Ibuki's bracelet getting hot and when she looked at it, it was broken in half signaling that it won't be able to seal Ibuki's magic. Yoshino's heart started to pound in fear. When she looks up, she sees Ibuki summoning a very strong thunderbolt and happily destroying anything and everything that's around him without a care in the world. Seeing this madness, Yoshino decides not to run and use her unbreakable plot armor. She calls out to Ibuki and Ibuki looks back at her in surprise.

Yoshino runs towards him, destroying every demon that comes in their way by using her fox powers and the magic charms given by Yasuchika. One of the demons grabbed hold of her, but Ibuki destroys that demon with a thunderbolt.

Ibuki slowly approaches her and asks why she's here. Yoshino fearfully explains the plans she came up with Yasuchika. Yoshino asks Ibuki to let her absorb his magic so it doesn't go out of control. Ibuki says that she will die from taking away so much magic power and Yoshino reassures him that she's tough and won't die that easily, though she could hear her bones creak. Ibuki asks if she's planning to kill him in the process, but Yoshino says that she's not intending that, and if it happens by chance, then she'll die along with him. She hopes he will forgive her for that. Seeing her smile at him made Ibuki angry and his heart shake at the same time. Then Ibuki is like "If you want to die anyway, how about I kill you instead?"

He directs his thunder towards her but she was able to counter it with her fox powers. A small spark of thunder hit her shoulder and Yoshino fell down to her knees. When she tries to stand up again, Ibuki kicks her away. Then with one hand, Ibuki slowly started strangling her. Ibuki calmly watches her life slowly leaving her body and says----

Ibuki: "Aah, I've always wanted this pleasure. Seeing the painful look on your face gives me the creeps"

Yoshino started losing consciousness, but----Ibuki stops.

Ibuki: ".....Why are my hands shaking?"

Ibuki looked pale, lost, and confused. Yoshino could sense that his magic is now getting under control. Ibuki states that normally Oni has superhuman strength, but today he can't seem to find that strength to kill the weak Yoshino. Instead, Yoshino is the one killing him. He finally....confesses that he truly loves her. Yoshino's eyes widened in disbelief and asks if its a dream or not. Ibuki then shyly approaches her and pecks her lips. Yoshino smiled because the kiss felt clumsy compared to the ones they have shared before. But she was still happy because it is their happiest one. When Ibuki asks if she finally woke up from her dreamland, Yoshino teases him by saying no, asking for another kiss. But before they could go for another one, she stops him saying that there is a whole avatar story waiting for them, and the kiss can wait. Ibuki agrees and thanks her for being stupid and coming to save him in the midst of chaos because if she didn't, he wouldn't have realized and confessed his love for her. Yoshino smiles happily and says that she is ready to be stupid for the rest of her life if that's what it takes for Ibuki to confess his true feelings. Seeing her happily flirting with him once again made Ibuki smile and gently stroke her hair.

They both meet up with Yasuchika and he was glad that both Yoshino and Ibuki were safe. Yasuchika said that he has sealed Evil Seimei for the time being and they will have to deal with him the next day. Before they can leave the place, they see a glowing butterfly approaching them. The glowing butterfly faintly touched Yasuchika's fingertip. Ibuki says that it's not an ordinary butterfly and Yasuchika as if sensing some kind of power takes out his 'Lost prayer to the sacred winds' catalyst book. The moment the glowing butterfly touches his catalyst, it burns with purple fire. The smoke smelled like sweet incense and then the butterfly disappeared. The smoke that was spreading was cleared by the wind and a man was standing there.

The man smiled and greets both Yasuchika and Ibuki. Both Yasuchika and Ibuki were shocked to see Seimei. Seimei also looked at Yoshino and greeted her as well. Ibuki looks warily at him, but Seimei smiled at him commenting how Ibuki hasn't changed a bit. Seimei explains to them that he's simply a vague existence because of his missing soul and that he will disappear at any moment. He wanted to take this time and chat with his old friend and descendant.

Seimei first of all apologized Yasuchika for what he had to go through during his childhood days. Yasuchika shakes his head saying that it's not Seimei's fault. Seimei prays that one day being a genius Onmyoji will bring pride and happiness to him. As an apology for everything, Seimei teaches Yasuchika a spell. It's spell that he created but it was incomplete and he didn't record about the spell in his books. The spell that Seimei taught him was about how to ease the demonic instincts of strongest and worst demons.

After teaching the spell to Yasuchika and giving him some kind of seeds, they all sat down and had tea while chatting in the open battlefield at night ...because ofc this was the best time, and characters in this game loved to have tea in the middle of the night. Yasuchika then curiously asks why Seimei is so attached to Ibuki and Seimei says----

Seimei: "Ibuki is-----"

Three of us leaned forward to wait for the next words, and Seimei looked at us with a serious face.

Seimei: "---a bad person."

Yasuchika: "I agree without any objection!"

(Of course, you would)

Ibuki: "Hmph, even if you're from different generations you two have bad taste."

Seimei: "But...Ibuki is not averse to befriending someone with that thing."

Seimei: "Unexpectedly, he enjoys spending time with humans."

Seimei: "Ibuki lives in a way that is, incompatible with human nature, yet he is driven by his own feelings and perceptions."

Seimei: "I didn't mind that kind of contradiction."

When Seimei asked Yasuchika about how he feels about Ibuki, Yasuchika looked conflicted. Then he says, he will go crazy if Ibuki suddenly disappears on him. He won't leave Ibuki until Ibuki begs for forgiveness for all the torment and harassment he did to him.

Seimei smiles happily and thanks Ibuki for being friends with his descendent and Ibuki's heart shakes again. Seimei felt bad that he couldn't meet Akihito, so he asks Yasuchika to tell him to take care of Ibuki in his place. Ibuki on the other hand is like "I'm the one taking care of them." Seimei is glad the Ibuki has people around him that are not afraid of him and those that actually care about him. He also asks Yoshino to take care of Ibuki. Seimei says his final goodbye before leaving. All of them waved, but Ibuki smiled as if he knew that they'd meet once again.

After that, Yasuchika, Ibuki, and Yoshino go to a hilltop where Yasuchika buries the shiny seeds he received from Seimei. After casting some spells and watering them, it grew into a shiny peach tree. Yasuchika tells them that if Ibuki eats the fruit from the tree, then he will be able to control his demonic instincts. He also tells them to stay under the tree just in case Ibuki wanted more fruits. They both nodded and Yasuchika leaves to give Akihito company.

After leaving them alone, Ibuki picks up Yoshino and tells her to choose a fruit for him. Yoshino happily chooses a shining peach and Ibuki eats it. He then started glowing and his fangs starts to go back to their normal size. Ibuki stopped shining after a minute and tells her that he could feel his demonic instincts are under control. He then holds Yoshino and shyly apologizes for all the cruel things he had done to her. He confesses that he will love her till death and would never do or say anything that would break her heart ever again. He tries to sound polite as much as possible indicating that he's sincerely guilty about what happened but Yoshino couldn't stop finding him cute and clumsy because Ibuki had never apologized to anyone in his entire life. Yoshino accepts his apology and both start to kiss. Then Yoshino became greedy and indirectly begged him to do 'mean' things to her. Ibuki of course starts to blush because Yoshino looked so cute when she begs like that. They both started doing it right then and there because there was no hotel nearby and it was past midnight. Yoshino was like:

Yoshino: "Ahh...Ahhh...Ibuki...you're...so big...."

Ibuki: "Isn't that how you like it?"

After their 69th first night, they both started cuddling under the tree, and Ibuki keeps teasing her by asking if she enjoyed the sex they had a few minutes ago and because Yoshino is the shiest person in the whole world, she starts blushing, stuttering and panicking at the same time. The psychopath Ibuki was ofc enjoying her reactions and tells her that if she's not satisfied then next time he will try harder because as a boyfriend, he must do his best to satisfy his princess in every way possible (Yes! he actually says that!). Yoshino started blushing even more and finally tells him that she enjoyed it very much. Ibuki was taken aback for a moment but then happily laughs.

Yoshino: "I-I don't mind.....if....Ibuki is...a little mean to me."

Ibuki: "!"

Ibuki: "How much is little?"

Yoshino: "Depends on how much you value me."

Ibuki: "Then can we have sex every night?"

Yoshino: "I-I don't think....my body can..."

Ibuki: "I could jokingly say that..'you'll get used to it' but'---"

Ibuki: "Even if we don't do it every day, I'll make sure that you feel so good that you will never be satisfied with any other man on earth."

Yoshino: "I only have eyes for Ibuki too."

After that, Ibuki being the gentleman he is carries her all the way to Akihito and Yasuchika. The next day, Ibuki fights off the Evil Seimei, to get back the other half of Seimei's soul. Ofc, Ibuki defeats him with the help of Yasuchika and Yoshino and everything goes back to being happily ever after.......until Yori and Yoshi start their personal war.

After that one night, Ibuki and Yoshino were sleeping together and Yoshino playfully asks how can she kill Ibuki's boredom. Ibuki says----

Ibuki: "Simply smile and stay by my side. That's all."

Romantic END

When Ibuki says that he wants Yoshino to be by his side to kill his boredom, without thinking, Yoshino gives him a tight hug to Ibuki's surprise. They started kissing each other and Yoshino wanted to do more than just kiss. When Ibuki with an evil smile asked if the insatiable Yoshino is satisfied? Yoshino says "Mor.....yes...." because she is the shiest person in the whole universe. Then Yoshino says that she wants to have sex but only if Ibuki is willing to be gentle with and the gentleman named Ibuki is like "Of course, I'm your boyfriend, and will make all your wishes come true." It was only after several rounds Yoshino realized that the meaning of the word 'gentle' in Ibuki's dictionary is not the same as that in Yoshino's dictionary. lol

One month later, Ibuki takes Yoshino to the Demon world to formally introduce her to his clan. He announces that Yoshino is going to be their Queen and orders Ibaraki to pass the news to his family and everyone's families. If anyone has an objection, he orders Ibaraki to directly send those people to Ibuki (No objections if there are no people to object, right? lol). The clan bowed to Yoshino because they think she is worthy of being their Queen. The Oni Clan only respects those who have strength, and for Yoshino to rescue Ibuki from his powers going out of control on her own is something that the Oni clan is thankful for. Yoshino panicked for a moment and told everyone to raise their head. The Oni clan then encouraged both of them to get married soon and have kids as soon as possible. Ibuki tells that he won't mind if Yoshino wants to get married and have kids, but he doesn't want to force her.

Then suddenly, someone barges in saying that they have objections to Yoshino and Ibuki's marriage. It was none other than Yasuchika....followed by Tamamo and Akihito and .....Sue-A-Haru? Surprisingly, Sueharu was also with them and both Sueharu and Yoshino were surprised to see each other once again. Tamamo said that they kidnapped Sueharu for no apparent reason. While chatting and drinking with everyone, Yasuchika and Akihito told that they are not agreeing to Ibuki's marriage because, after marriage, he would most likely stay in the demon world. They both indirectly communicated the fact that they want their precious Ibuki to come back to the human world and stay with them. Ibuki's heart shakes and shyly says that he will come back.

After that, while others were drinking, Tamamo slowly left the room. Ibuki followed him and asked why he came. Tamamo said that he wanted to make sure that Ibuki was actually cherishing Yoshino as he asked for. After seeing that he does care about Yoshino and Yoshino is also happy, he gave up his feelings for Yoshino.

After they returned from the demon world, both of them have sex, and the next morning, Yoshino woke up to see Ibuki's beautiful face. Yoshino was feeling shy because they always end up sleeping naked almost all the time, despite promising that they won't have sex every day. Ibuki wakes up and asks what she's looking at and Yoshino compliments Ibuki's beautiful face. Ibuki says the same about her.

Yoshino smiles shyly and comments how their expression of 'love' is very different from each other. Ibuki pulls her for a hug and tells her that even though they're different in every way, they're still compatible. Ibuki tells her that he loves having sex with her and blames her for making a demon go even crazier. He takes her hand and kisses the back of it and says----

Ibuki: "I would trade all the pleasures in this world for you."

Ibuki: "So call my name again and again even in your dreams."

Ibuki: "I will give you endless love and madness that you will have no time to regret."

Yoshino: "I will give my entire life to Ibuki, so call my name too."

Ibuki: "Of course----Yoshino."

Yoshino felt like Ibuki was indirectly letting her know that he will take good care of her and they both kissed under the warm morning light.

Dramatic END

After hearing Ibuki asking to be by his side, Yoshino blinked and asked "that's it?" Ibuki nodded and then they both cuddled.

One month after that, Yoshino was walking the hallway of the Imperial Court and was thinking about bringing tea to Akihito and Yasuchika who were still working. Then she suddenly sees a beautiful sexy woman standing in front of her, happily waving at her. Yoshino's heart started pounding against her chest and she couldn't stop blushing seeing the beautiful woman smiling at her. She bowed thinking that the woman might be from a noble family. The woman approached Yoshino and asked if she would give her a tour around the Imperial Court. Yoshino stuttered from nervousness and said that she would bring a maid instead and was about to run away, but the beautiful woman grabbed her hand and begged that she wants only Yoshino to show her around. The woman slowly approached Yoshino and Yoshino was panicking because she thought that the woman was going to kiss her but------baby Ibuki comes to the rescue. He tells the woman to back off and the woman? let's go of Yoshino and started changing her appearance. Yoshino's eyes' widened to see Tamamo standing in front of her. Yes! Tamamo disguised himself as a woman. Yoshino knew Tamamo can disguise himself but the disguise was too beautiful for her to realize that it was actually Tamamo. Tamamo tells her that he had come to see her and also brought many gifts from her Shogunate friends. Yoshino was also happy to see Tamamo and complimented him for having such an amazing ability. Baby Ibuki tells that only fox demons can change their appearance because they are tricksters. In terms of raw power, Ibuki is the strongest, Kurama comes second and Tamamo comes third (there you have it! It's canon now). But that doesn't mean Tamamo is weak. Tamamo is great at casting various types of spells and has so much elegance.

Then Ibuki and Tamamo have a dick-measuring contest in front of Yoshino and Tamamo finally confesses to Yoshino about his feelings for her. Baby Ibuki was silent, waiting for Yoshino's reply. Yoshino tells that though she likes Tamamo, the only man she sees as a lover is Ibuki. Tamamo smiled. Before he could say anything else, Yasuchika finds Tamamo. Tamamo ofc, runs away from Yasuchika and Yasuchika happily chases him down the road all the way outside the city. Baby Ibuki and Yoshino smiled at each other and slowly started walking back home.

Later that night, in Ibuki's playground, Yoshino and Ibuki were chatting about Tamamo. Yoshino asked if Ibuki at any point in time wanted to have a friendly chat with Tamamo, to which Ibuki replied that they weren't friends, to begin with. Then Yoshino curiously talks about their age difference and how as time passes Yoshino would grow old and Ibuki would look the same. Yoshino thinks that Ibuki would lose interest in her after she starts getting old. Ibuki looked conflicted when he heard this. But Yoshino still smiled at him saying that she will still love him, even if in the end he decides to leave her for that. Ibuki frowned feeling irritated and asked her to give him his bracelet. Soon after wearing his bracelet, Ibuki turns into a child with horns on his head and Yoshino's eyes sparkled with excitement. She keeps calling him cute and Ibuki pouts saying that he's trying to prove something. He slowly started touching her ears and lips and Yoshino started blushing. He then gets on her lap and started caressing her neck. When Yoshino asks what he's doing? Baby Ibuki smiles happily saying that he's riding on his girlfriend's lap and it's cute.

Yoshino started blushing even more and Baby Ibuki asks her if she remembers wherever he touched her before. Yoshino started to moan. Then Baby Ibuki asks if she has this weird pedophilia fetish thing, you know doing 'these kinds of things' with a kid, to which Yoshino immediately replied that she will only do this with Ibuki. Baby Ibuki stops touching her and says if Yoshino doesn't care if he's a kid or an adult, why would he care if she's a young woman or a grandma? No matter how old she looks, he will still love her the same. This makes Yoshino very happy and she thanks Ibuki.

Ibuki immediately takes off his bracelet, turns into an adult and starts making out with her. His one finger goes inside her mouth and other one goes inside her kimono to play with her nipple and Yoshino started to moan loudly. She started sucking on his finger, until he pulls out. Then Yoshino looked at Ibuki with her teary eyes and proposed a game.

Yoshino: "Let's play a game...."

Yoshino: "I know I'll grow old and leave this world before Ibuki, but..."

Yoshino: "I will continue to love Ibuki until my last breath."

Yoshino: "If I can keep you happy until that moment, I win."

Ibuki: "................."

Ibuki: "What do you want as a reward?"

Ibuki's voice is filled with sadness.

(Ah, I love you)

Yoshino: "Be happy even after I'm gone."

Yoshino: "And...just think of me once in a while."

Ibuki sighs faintly.

Ibuki: "You are a horrible woman. If I knew the pleasure of having pure emotions directed at me like that, I'd never go back to the way I was before."

Ibuki: "Got it? You're the one who started this game...."

Ibuki: "So as punishment, prepare to be loved by this demon for your entire life."

(The strongest and most beautiful demon is madly in love with me)

They both hugged each other and started having sex.

The end. Phewww

Now.....Sueharu route when?

[ga-yuu]

~Yoshitsune~Main Story Chapter 7~

Chapter 6

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---------Part 1---------

(I've only spent a short time in the Shogunate....)

(Unknowingly enough, I’ve come to trust these people so much.)

(As long as everyone is waiting for me, I know I’ll be okay.)

I stood straight and smiled sincerely once more.

Yoshino: “Then, I’m off to Hiraizumi.”

I turned the many words I received into strength and took a step forward.

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

Few days later------

(.....This is making me nervous.)

As soon as I arrived in Hiraizumi, I was taken to see Yoshitsune-sama.

The moment I entered the hall, I felt the air become tense.

Yoshitsune: "Welcome."

(Yoshitsune-sama....)

The first thing I saw was Yoshitsune-sama sitting on the upper seat.

At Yoshitsune-sama's either side were Yoichi-san and Kurama-san, with dozens of other retainers packed in.

(This is the Rebels' mansion. And no one here is my friend.)

(I thought I declared to everyone in the Shogunate that I would be.....fine.)

But now, I can't help but feel my body tense up.

Yoshitsune: "Sit down."

Yoshino: "Y-Yes."

The retainer took me to a seat directly in front of Yoshitsune-sama, and I sat down in fear.

Yoichi: "You don't have to be nervous. It's not like we're going to eat you or anything."

(I don't think I can even if you tell me to....!)

Kurama: "What the hell is it this time?"

Yoichi: "It's called an introductory meeting. So just be quiet and smile."

Kurama: "Nonsense. I don't even care to remember the face of a mere woman."

In contrast to Yoichi-san's friendly demeanor, Kurama-san frowned uninterestingly.

(As usual, he has an intimidating attitude...! Even though they both are demons, he's completely different from Tamamo.)

Yoichi: "Haa...Sorry about that Yoshino. Kurama can be shy when he meets new people."

Yoshino: "Nn...Not at all!"

(When Yoichi-san is talking, the atmosphere feels calm....same like when we met for the first time.)

Yoshitsune: "........."

(Ah.....)

Then, just one look from Yoshitsune-sama and the atmosphere goes back to being tense.

Yoshitsune: "As I have been telling everyone, she's a princess who is related to Yoritomo."

(.......I see. It's not right to take a mere town girl hostage, so we came up with that reason.)

His retainers looked at me even more coldly and I shrugged.

Yoshitsune: "It should go without saying, but treat her as a hostage as she deserves to be treated."

Rebel soldiers: "Yes!"

Yoshitsune-sama's eyes which did not show any kind of emotion, captivate me once again.

Yoshitsune: "You'll be under surveillance. So we expect you to behave respectfully."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Quietly nod.

2. Yes. (+4/+4)

3. Stay quiet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: "Yes."

Yoshitsune: "As long as you understand, it's fine."

(.....I thought I touched Yoshitsune-sama's heart at least a little bit that night...)

But the Yoshitsune-sama in front of me has an hard voice and acts coldly as an enemy general.

(Maybe somewhere in my mind I was being naïve.)

(I don't care how many enemies I'm up against, but if it's Yoshitsune-sama...)

(I thought I was prepared to come here....)

I was more shocked by Yoshitsune-sama's attitude than I had thought I would be.

Yoshitsune: "That's all I have to say. Take the girl to her room."

------Part 2-----

Yoshitsune: "That's all I have to say. Take the girl to her room."

Retainer: “Yes! This way.”

The retainer showed me the way and I leave the hall feeling nervous about Yoshitsune-sama’s emotionless eyes.

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

As soon as he shows me my room, the retainer leaves.

When I realized I was alone, I relax and fell onto my knees.

(.....Sorry, but my hands are still shaking.)

I think back to when I decided to come here, to escape my anxiety.

(Yoritomo-sama and Kagetoki-san were not only concerned about my safety but also my heart.)

(That’s why they were trying to reject the offer without asking me.)

(....They were sure this would happen.)

(I don’t know what’s going on in Yoshitsune-sama’s heart....)

But that doesn’t mean I regret the decision I made.

Yoshino: “....I promised everyone I’d get home safely.”

When I look up and see the sky over the garden, the moonlight is shining through the clouds.

I noticed that my hands had stopped shaking.

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

Few minutes after meeting Yoshino--------

Yoshitsune returned to his room, and Yoichi rushed behind him with a bottle of sake...

Yoichi: “What do you say, Yoshitsune-sama? Let’s have a drink.”

Yoshitsune replies to Yoichi, who holds up a bottle of sake.

Yoshitsune: “Just as well, I was in the mood for a drink myself.”

Yoichi: “Well, let’s go crazy and finish this whole bottle shall we? Also, no one’s there to stop you today, is there?”

Yoshitsune: “But I don’t want to fall asleep. You know I’m not a big drinker, right?”

They poured some sake into a bowl and began to drink alone.

Yoichi: “Benkei should have arrived Kamakura, by now. When he was chosen as a hostage, he was very reluctant, remember? He was like ‘I refuse to be separated from you, Yoshitsune-sama!! ❤ ❤ ’ He just loves you too much, right?.”

Yoshitsune: “Because I trust Benkei, I feel safe sending him off as a hostage.”

Yoichi: “That’s what you told Benkei, didn’t you?”

Yoshitsune: “I meant what I said.”

Yoshitsune slowly twirls the vessel with sake poured in it as he thinks.

Yoshitsune: “Hostages, huh......”

Yoichi: “Why are you looking so glum?”

Yoshitsune: “I was born with this face. I think I’m always like this.”

Yoichi: “Hehe, you don’t seem to understand. Usually, you’re expressionless, but when you’re with Yoichi-san, I can read a bit. Let me guess what you’re thinking.”

--------Part 3--------

Yoichi: “Usually, you’re expressionless, but when you’re with Yoichi-san, I can read a bit. Let me guess what you’re thinking.”

Yoichi looks straight at Yoshitsune and smiles.

Yoichi: “You’re worried about Yoshino, right?”

Yoshitsune: “You’re right. She’s a hostage from the Shogunate and will soon be an enemy on the battlefield. I’m aware of it.”

Yoshitsune answers seriously and dropped his shoulders.

Yoichi: “Huh? No no...that’s not what I meant...I mean, if you’re worried about her, maybe you should try talking to her or something. Wouldn’t you want to know what kind of woman the fox princess is?”

Yoshitsune shook his head at Yoichi’s suggestion.

Yoshitsune: “That won’t be necessary. There’s no need to go too much deep into it. Also....”

Yoichi: “Also..?”

Yoshitsune: “I also told Yoshino to mind her place. I don’t want to be the one to commit it.”

Yoichi: “Woah....Yoshitsune-sama is always so serious. It’s okay to relax sometimes, right? Look, you guys could hang out...and...”

Yoshitsune(smiling): “I always feel relaxed when you guys are around me, because I trust you.”

Yoichi(blushing): “......! That’s not what I...whatever, Yoshitsune-sama.”

Yoshitsune(expressionless): “What’s wrong?”

Unable to understand what he was saying, Yoshitsune tilted his head in wonder.

Seeing that Yoichi sighed.

Yoichi: “......You’re oblivious as ever. Maybe that’s why I followed you.”

Yoshitsune: “I don’t know if you’re complimenting me, but thank you anyway.”

Yoichi: “You’re welcome. ...Oh! Your cup is already empty. Here have another.”

Yoshitsune(smiling): “Then, just a little.”

As Yoichi poured sake into Yoshitsune’s cup, they both hear hurried footsteps outside the door-------

Vassal: “Yoshitsune-sama!”

Yoshitsune: “What is it?”

The sliding doors open to reveal a vassal with a pale expression. The vassal enters and knelt in front of Yoshitsune.

Vassal: “....I say to you that the man who was assigned to be your poison taster suddenly collapsed.”

Yoichi narrowed his eyes at the retainer’s words.

Yoichi: “How is he?”

Vassal: “He survived, but the situation is still very uncertain.”

Yoshitsune: “I see...”

A heavy silence fell, but it was Yoichi-san who spoke up.

Yoichi: “If the food was poisoned, we must catch the culprit soon as possible.”

Yoshitsune: “Yeah.”

Yoshitsune turns to his vassal and gives him instructions.

Yoshitsune: “Find out who's been in and out of the mansion in the last couple of days.”

Vassal: “Yes!”

The vassal bowed and left the room quickly.

Then Yoichi sighs deeply.

Yoichi: “The fact that now, Yoshino is here, we had to increase our security. But some vermin still managed to sneak in. He must be fully prepared to do anything.”

Yoshitsune: “You’re right. We have to find him as soon as possible. And....”

-------Part 4-------

Yoshitsune: “And...tell the vassals to keep this a secret to Yoshino. There is no need to upset her unnecessarily.”

Yoichi: “I agree with that! Being held as a hostage and the poison case on top of that will be too much for her.”

Yoichi shakes his last remaining sake in his cup.

Yoichi: “Tch, now this tastes bad as well...”

Yoshitsune: “We have no choice. I’m the general of the Rebel army, which is against the Shogunate. There will be people after my head.”

Yoichi: “Should I send a letter informing Benkei? I’m sure he’ll rush back to us in lightning speed once he sees the word ‘poison’ in the letter.”

Yoshitsune: “....Hmm. Keep it a secret even after he gets back.”

A faint smile appeared on his lips, as he imagined this scenario.

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

I didn’t know what was happening....

Yoshino: “I’m bored.....”

It’s been three days since my arrival in Hiraizumi, I was in a sort of crisis.

(I have nothing to do....!)

For the last three days, I’ve been in my room.

(Although I’m allowed to leave my room, there are only limited places I can go...)

(But when I go out, I’m always being watched.)

On the contrary, it makes me feel tired because I have to pay extra attention.

Yoshino: “....Okay! Let’s make some medicines!”

Fortunately enough, I brought my medicine tools with me from Kamakura.

I opened my toolbox and started.

(I think I’ll make some medicinal water. I have some plain hot water, I’ll use that to dissolve the medicine...) (Okay! I don’t know what she’s actually making, I think it’s medicinal bathwater or something. Whatever she’s using water in the recipe.)

As I was working, I noticed that there was a lot of noise outside.

(What’s going on?)

-------Part 5------

(What’s going on?)

As I continued with my work not thinking much of it, the door to my room slammed open.

(Eh?)

Vassal 1: “We’re coming in! Stay where you are!”

Suddenly several vassals stepped into my room and glared at me.

Yoshino: “What’s wrong....?”

Vassal 2: “Hey, look what’s in her hand.”

One of the vassals points at my hands and shouts.

Vassal 3: “Ha! So you are making poison in here as the rumors say.”

(Poison!?)

Yoshino: “No no, you’re wrong! This is just medicinal water....”

Feeling impatient, I tried to speak, but....

Vassal 1: “Shut up! You’re the one who tried to poison Yoshitsune-sama!”

(...Someone tried to poison Yoshitsune-sama!?)

(No one told me that....)

Yoshino: “How is Yoshitsune-sama!? Is he okay?”

Vassal 2: “Tch, don’t pretend that you’re worried after what you’ve done.”

Yoshino: “No, I didn’t....”

They surrounded me at once with grim faces.

Then, one of them roughly grabbed my arm.

Vassal 2: “You’re the one who did it, isn’t it? Spit it out!”

Yoshino: “I’m telling you I didn’t! I didn’t know anything about this. Also, my freedom is limited and I’m always being watched. How do you think I could do it under such circumstances, huh? Even if I go out, don’t you think I would have been already caught red-handed?”

Vassal 3: “Stop making excuses. How can we believe anything a hostage from the Shogunate says?”

(.....No matter how much I try to make sense, they won't believe me.)

Everyone here has a strong hatred for the Shogunate.

Vassal 4: “Tell us the truth! Or else-----”

Yoshino: “No-----”

One of the vassals pulled out his sword hanging in his waist.

(Wait....)

A chill went down my spine and I couldn’t speak anymore as my throat tightened.

(What should I do....)

Right then---------

???: “What’s going on?”

(Eh....)

Someone grabbed the vassal’s arm, who was holding the sword, from behind him.

Yoshitsune: “.....” (Who else?)

Yoshino: “Yoshitsune-sama!”

Yoshitsune-sama looked around and slowly opened his mouth.

Yoshitsune: “What were you going to do to that woman?”

His low voice echoed the room.

The vassals who were shouting earlier, all went silent.

Yoshitsune: “Explain.”

Chapter 8

[ga-yuu]

~Kurama~Main Story Chapter 5~Part 1

Kurama is already in love with Yoshino, he just doesn’t realize it. Also yeah, I hope I did give a warning in Chapter 1.

Chapter 4

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-----Part 1-----

Ibuki: “As usual, the powerful Onmyoji of this court is well experienced. As expected of my ‘master.”

Yasuchika: “Stop talking like a creep, you bastard.”

The tone of voice was harsh and unbelievable for a young child.

But Ibuki didn’t show any care....

Ibuki: “How can you be so cold to a cute child? Yasuchikaaa.”

Yasuchika: "Your catnip is too transparent. If you went to Kamakura, why didn't you just drink some of Yoritomo-sama's nectar?"

Ibuki: "That Shogun. Not bad for a playmate, but this time I found something cuter."

Yasuchika: "You mean Kura-rin? What would you have done if he found out we were messing with him? ......Well, you know what, I suppose it's no use asking you."

Ibuki: "You understand me very well, don’t you. I’m impressed."

Yasuchika: "That’s the worst and most disgraceful swear words I've ever lived to hear."

Without seeming to care Ibuki put one hand into his long sleeve and removed the heavy bracelet....

Yasuchika:"......................"

Ibuki: "Phew, I feel comfier in this body."

Ibuki sits comfortably in front of Yasuchika in his adult form, his well-groomed face intact.

His bright, wavy blonde hair was beautifully long, with two ivory-colored antlers peeking out of the gaps.

Yasuchika: "Take it on and off too often and you'll lose it, your charm bracelet."

Ibuki: "Captious as ever. In front of the court and the people in the Onmyoji dormitory, I have to wear the right disguise. .....No one should suspect that a demon is nesting in the mansion of the Abe family, a family of Onmyoji masters with a long history."

A sarcastic smile appeared in Ibuki's noble, slitted eyes.

Yasuchika: "That's enough. Now, where's the rest of the report? The original plan was to test the fox princess's strength and investigate her character, right?"

Ibuki: "And then Kurama poked his head in from the side. It's not my fault if he was there before."

Yasuchika: "Do you take me as a fool. You were aware of Kura-rin's presence, so you deliberately led the demon towards him."

Ibuki: "Have you been using those paper dolls to keep an eye on me? ....Geez, I can’t trust you anymore."

Yasuchika: "Why need a shikigami when I can predict how you’ll act based on my knowledge of your character."

Ibuki: "Are you also good at telling personalities?"

Yasuchika: "Well, of course. And your character is disgusting. You're irredeemable and love to play with people’s hearts."

Ibuki: "No more, or you’ll make me blush, Mr. Onmyoji."

Yasuchika: "Ibuki."

Yasuchika's dark eyes are filled with a murky gloom.

Yasuchika: "You're free to play as long as you don't bother 'him'."

Ibuki: "You really love him, don't you?"

Ibuki plays with Yasuchika's hair with his fingertips giving her a derisive look.

Ibuki: "Okay, don’t pout. Plans have changed, but we're still getting the bare minimum of information using remote monitoring techniques. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to all the details of the conversation without Kurama noticing."

Yasuchika: "So?"

Yasuchika asked, not caring about the tousled hair and not blinking.

Ibuki: "First of all, our little fox princess is only taking baby steps towards using her powers. She didn’t even think about her fox powers."

Yasuchika: "But Yoshitsune-sama was able to make a wind blade, on the very night he made the pact."

Ibuki: "What I saw at that time, she was scared to be eaten alive, let alone face the demon by herself."

Yasuchika: "......I see."

Yasuchika murmured as if thinking about something.

Ibuki: "But above all that, she is a big softie and even tried to hide Kurama from her own allies. As a result, Kurama was intoxicated by it, so no one died."

Yasuchika: ".....Kura-rin being disturbed. That's something new."

Ibuki: "Isn't it?"

Ibuki laughs happily.

Ibuki: "Fox princess is the eye of the storm. If you play with it enough, it can send you into a tailspin, as I see it."

----Part 2----

Ibuki: "Fox princess is the eye of the storm. If you play with it enough, it can send you into a tailspin, as I see it. I'm sure it will be interesting to see Kurama, out of all people, would have anything to do with a human woman."

Yasuchika: "For better or worse, she's just a normal girl. I don't think she's got much chance of winning."

Ibuki: "It's true that she wasn't able to kill even one demon that time. Even Kurama thinks the same. .....But don't you know me already, Yasuchika? That I love to try humans."

Yasuchika: "I know. That's why I hate you."

Ibuki: "What? You too."

Yasuchika: "Yes."

Ibuki: "Anyways, do you have any interesting news?"

Yasuchika: "..... I hate to please you with all my heart."

Yasuchika picks up a letter from his sleeve and shows it to Ibuki.

Yasuchika: "----The Shogunate has asked me to help the fox princess who wants to practice slaying demons. Apparently, the brave princess is trying to overcome her fears herself."

Ibuki: ".......He...hahahaha...that's a piece of good news. This will be a most amusing game, Yasuchika."

Yasuchika: "Children who are absorbed in playing are apt to fall. You have to watch your step."

Ibuki: "I'll try my best not to fall."

With cold eyes, Yasuchika brushes his hair and looks at Ibuki.

Ibuki's eyes, on the other hand, were shining brightly.

Ibuki: "It's been a long time since I played with Kurama. It reminds me of the old days."

Yasuchika: "You've already harassed him enough when he was a child and you’re still greedy. If that's what you call love, then it's distorted. I feel sorry for Kura-rin."

Ibuki: "I don't need you to tell me about love. You are a misanthropic Onmyoji."

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

Yoshino: "Well, I'll be off then."

Yoritomo: "Are you sure about this, Yoshino?"

Yoshino: "Yes."

Kagetoki: "You really like strange things, don't you? Like going to wars."

The battle, said to be an outpost of Shogunate and the rebels, was about to begin.

Tamamo: “The war began between the Shogunate and the rebels’ respective countries. The two armies go to each other’s side of the battlefield, which has become a stalemate...”

Yoshino: “The two armies are not going all out ahead of the war. In other words...The aim was not to win the game outright, but to win the game in our favor.”

Kagetoki(smiles): “Well done.”

Tamamo: “Once again, I’m sorry I can’t be there for you.”

Tamamo’s shapely brows furrow languidly.

Yoshino: “That’s reassuring enough. Thank you, Tamamo.”

Yoritomo: “I’m sorry. I’d love to send him with you, but he’s got another job.”

Yoshino: “Yes. I understand.”

As a demon who has lived longer than Kurama, Tamamo has a wealth of knowledge about the other side of the sea.

Now under the pretense of being a guest from the Song Dynasty, he is helping to plan tactics for the war against the rebels.

(I’ll do the best I can with what I’ve got.)

Yoshino: “In a real battle against the rebels, you can’t rely on someone else all the time. It’s a good opportunity to practice.”

(Not only that.)

(If I, a pharmacist, go, I may be able to reduce the number of deaths on the battlefield.)

And the nursing regime we planned with everyone in the Shogunate.

If you can try it out on the actual battlefield it will be so much the better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I’d rather be doing something....

2. I have to be strong...(+4/+4)

3. If I keep trying...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: “Because I have to be strong...”

(To fight that Kurama proudly someday.)

Black feathers fluttered brightly in the scene behind my eyelids.

At that time...

Morinaga: “Ready, Yoshino.”

Shigehira: “.............”

------Part 3------

Morinaga: “Ready, Yoshino.”

Shigehira: “.............”

(They’re here.)

Morinaga-san and Shigehira-kun, who are going to this outpost, are already finished wearing their armor.

Yoshino: “I’m ready as I’ll always be.”

Shigehira: “I won’t listen to you whining once you’re on the battlefield. Okay?”

Morinaga: “I’m counting on you, but don’t take any chances.”

Yoshino: “Yes!”

I follow them tightly and put my feet on the stirrup of the horse that is being pulled.

Shigehira-kun and Morinaga-san, also jumped on their horses, too.

Yoritomo: “---Come home alive. For the sake of the Kamakura Shogunate and yourself.” (Spoilers: she’s not coming home. Come on! even if I don’t give spoilers here, I’m sure you guys will already understand that this is foreshadowing.)

Yoritomo-sama’s eyes, which usually have a teasing tinge, were serious today.

Yoshino: “.....I will.”

I replied with a strong will and went with Morinaga-san and Shigehira-kun to the soldiers.

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

A few days later, on a battlefield, the two armies arrive almost simultaneously...

As if to add fuel to the smoldering fire, the battle situation suddenly flared up.

Rebel soldier 1: “Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

Rebel soldier 2: “Damn the Shogunate! How did they find out about our supply routes?”

Shogunate soldier 1: “Go! Push through----!”

The rebel wielded their swords in a desperate attempt to prevent the Shogunate soldiers from breaking through.

Swords clashed, arrows whizzed through the air, and the shouts of the soldiers filled the air.

Rebel soldier 1: “Ngh....this is not right. It wasn’t supposed to be this intense.”

Rebel soldier 2: “Oh, this is not a prelude.---- What the hell is going on?”

Rebel soldier 3: “No, no, no----”

Just when the rebel soldiers were moaning in despair----

Shogunate soldier 2: “Gwaa”

Rebel soldier 3: “......!”

Kurama: “----What a mess, I can’t stand it.”

As soon as Kurama, who had ridden in on his horse, jumped into the fray, he cuts down several soldiers with just one swing of his sword.

Rebel soldier 3: “Ku-Kurama-sama!”

Kurama: “It is shameful that a soldier of Yoshitsune should kneel on the ground. I’ll let you choose whether you want to be killed by me before the enemy kills you, or to die in vain in the service of the enemy.”

The heavy voice, which seems to push aside the clamour, naturally freezes friend and foe alike.

Shogunate soldiers 3: “Nn...don’t be frightened! He’s not Benkei or Yoichi, we don’t know his strength....”

Shogunate soldiers 4: “Yes! Don’t let the unknown soldier get away with it!”

Kurama(smiles): “.....Ha. It’s just that I’ve never had a name to tell you before. Why should I tell my name to a weak bug that going to be crushed under my feet, anyway?”

The white blade danced faster than the words, and by the time he had, finished several of the Shogunate’s soldiers had been knocked down without a sound.

Shogunate soldier 5: “Ah.......”

A few soldiers of the Shogunate realized that he was stronger than any normal human, began to retreat.

Kurama: “Too late. Not only were you born weak, but you have a fragile instinct to recognize the strong. Weak and stupid, don’t show me any more abominations than you already have.”

Rebel soldier 4: “Ah.....Kurama-sama, gave us a chance to win!”

Rebel soldier 5: “It's his words of encouragement. Even if we die, we can’t be called weak----!”

Awe and mortal fervour made the blood of the rebel soldiers boil.

They regained their momentum and pushed the Shogunate soldiers back again.

Kurama(Making the ‘I can’t understand humans’ face): “......... Samurai are so annoying.”

Kurama stated and swung his sword again.

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

(.......It’s  funny, the number of wounded is much higher than planned.)

Yoshino: “Excuse me, please bring the most seriously injured ones to this tent!”

Shogunate soldiers 6: “Yes!”

Rearguard troops were coming in and out of my tent.

Injured soldier: “Nn....Thank...you, Yoshino-san.”

Yoshino: “You don’t have to say anything. Everything will be fine.”

(Aside from the wound medicines I’ve been making....)

(With such a crowded situation, it’s going to be difficult to get the water needed for treatment.)

I stop the bleeding of the wounded soldier and wraps the torn cloth tightly around the wound.

Then----

Shigehira: “Yoshino-san!”

Part 2

[ga-yuu]

~Yoshitsune~Main Story Chapter 3~

Okay, the thing is, I would be happy if you understand Yoritomo and Yoshitsune’s past before reading this chapter. It helps in understanding their bond even more clearly. This is the link, if you don’t want to, I don’t mind.

Warning!! This chapter contains violence.

Chapter 2

*

*

*

--------Part 1--------

Yoshitsune: "You spoke of wanting to treat the enemy soldiers even when your own life was at stake. It's the same when you saved Tamamo."

Yoshitsune-sama lowered his eyelashes and spoke slowly.

Yoshitsune: ".....It's not something anyone can do."

(Umm...that's...)

Yoshitsune: "I'd better get going. I've stayed too long."

Yoshitsune-sama muttered and walked over to the sleeping soldier-----

He carried his soldier so easily that it was hard to imagine from his slender physique.

Yoshitsune: "....Yoshino. I hope I never run into you on the battlefield again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Silently send-off.

2. Please wait!

3. I can't promise that. (+4/+4)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: "Sorry...but I can't promise that."

I muttered lightly, feeling that I had to tell the truth until the end.

Yoshitsune: "-----I see."

Yoshitsune-sama left the hut without once looking back.

In a quiet room, I put my hand on my chest.

(I was so hoping for the Shogunate soldiers to come and pick me up...)

(But now I'm relieved that the Shogunate soldiers and Yoshitsune won't be crossing paths.)

Yoshino: "Yoshitsune-sama..."

(I've heard that some generals leave their injured soldiers behind.)

(More the number injured soldiers, the more of a burden the other soldiers will be at a disadvantage.)

Even so, Yoshitsune-sama chose to be with his soldiers and thanked me, his enemy.

(No matter who you're dealing with, you're a reasonable person, aren't you?)

Fifteen minutes later-----

I returned to the main camp with Morinaga-san, who had come to pick me up.

Morinaga: "I'm sorry, Yoshino. It was your first battle and I left you alone. And you also ran into Yoshitsune-sama....I put you in danger."

Yoshino: "Don't apologize. As you can see, I'm fine."

(I can tell that Morinaga-san really cares about me, so I don't want to worry him anymore.)

Morinaga-san smiled at me as I tried to sound cheerful.

Morinaga: "Thank you. Actually, after I left you, I received information from Kagetoki that Yoshitsune-sama was entering the war. I rushed over to you because I didn't expect you to be hiding alone. I was surprised, indeed. So,....I'm really glad you're safe."

--------Part 2---------

Morinaga: "I rushed over to you because I didn't expect you to be hiding alone. I was surprised, indeed. So,....I'm really glad you're safe."

(Morinaga-san is really a warm person.)

I smile back and ask about something that has been bothering me.

Yoshino: "What about the soldiers who were with me? Are they safe?"

Morinaga: "I've heard that everyone is unhurt. Our supply convoys are safe and we're back in the fight."

(Thank god...!)

Morinaga: "The Shogunate has sent reinforcements to take the place of my platoon, so we're pulling up."

Yoshino: "Really!"

It is a relief to finally be away from the battlefield.

(But don't be distracted until the end.)

(You never know when or where you might run into the enemy.)

I've learned that in the last few hours.

Morinaga: "Let's go, Yoshino."

Yoshino: "Yes!"

I was placed on Morinaga-san's horse and we left the main camp.

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

After a short ride, we reached on top of a hill.

Morinaga: "This place a perfect to watch the fierce war. You may be scared, but you have to be patient. The hill is high enough, so don’t worry about the enemy's arrows."

Yoshino: "Okay."

Nervously, I lowered my posture on the back of a running horse.

The sound of renewed fighting, the smell of blood, and in the middle of that-------

(Yoshitsune-sama!?)

Yoshitsune: "Come this way if you want to die!"

While riding his horse like a pro, Yoshitsune-sama cuts down one soldier after another.

(Mm........)

Soldier 1: "Damn, what's that strength....!"

Soldier 2: "Don't try to take him on alone! We're all in this together!"

Yoshitsune: "Joining forces to take me down. Try it, I dare you."

Soldiers: *ROARS*

Yoshitsune: "-----Too slow."

(Ah.....!)

Yoshitsune-sama's sword struck an oncoming soldier in the chest.

(That was fast....!)

Without a moment's pause, a sword swings down from behind him.

Soldier 2: "There's an opening!"

Yoshitsune: "I don’t think so."

Yoshitsune-sama flips his body lightly and lets go of his sword.

Then, without pausing for breath, he flicked the soldier's sword away.

Soldier 2: "Krr......"

Yoshitsune: "I'm not going to play for long. ...Be prepared."

(Ehh?)

Yoshitsune-sama himself ran to a big group of enemy soldiers and------

Yoshitsune: ".............."

Soldier 3: "Guaaa!!"

Soldier 4: "Kuu....."

As soon as he jumped into the middle of it, he knocked one by one down.

(What the...hell...is he...)

(If it was someone else, who is not skilled as Yoshitsune-sama, he would not last for a second...)

But Yoshitsune-sama....is not afraid to face the enemy, even if he’s in danger or if he’s hurt.

(He didn’t feel like the same person I talked to, back in the hut....)

Morinaga: "That's how Yoshitsune-sama fights."

I was watching the scene and became speechless when Morinaga-san's voice reached my ears.

Yoshino: "And his men....are they okay with him fighting like that?"

(What if he ends up dying?)

Morinaga: "I think they'll do everything they can to protect their general."

Despite his weighing expression, Morinaga-san kept a calm eye on the battle situation.

Morinaga: "And while you're saying that, did you see our other unit with spears?"

Yoshino: "Oh no...!"

I looked in the direction Morinaga-san pointed.

As if to help the struggling soldiers, a group of allies came running furiously and tried attacking Yoshitsune-san's back.

The enemy soldiers began to move as if in a panic, but the figure of Yoshitsune-sama was lost in the confusion of the battle.

(Oh....so fast, how did he do that...!?)

Morinaga: "If he could be easily killed like that, then it wouldn’t be a problem at all."

Yoshino: "....You mean it's not enough? It seems to me that the numbers are completely in our side's favor...

Morinaga-san's lips were drawn together and he shook his head.

Morinaga: "Given my instincts and past experience, we won’t win.

Yoshino: "I see...."

I kept my mixed feelings to myself.

(I know we only exchanged few words, but Yoshitsune-san didn’t seem like a bad person.)

(But he's still a scary enemy to me.)

In response to Morinaga-san's speculation that Yoshitsune-san would not be defeated here.

I could neither feel relieved nor disappointed.

Yoshino: "Even if he doesn't use his powers....he's really strong."

(The reality of Yoshitsune-sama seen with my own eyes, is much more than I had heard about and thought about....)

Morinaga: "And he's got a very sharp sense of tactics."

-------Part 3-------

Morinaga: "And he's got a very sharp sense of tactics. In this battle, too, the moment there was the slightest break in our formation, they attacked us with great speed and ferocity. He’s a tricky one, because of his accuracy and speed.”

Yoshino: “....It’s exactly how you said.”

(I can’t even imagine how to fight against such a person!)

Morinaga: “He’s still keeping it under wraps, though. Looks like his men don’t know about his deal and his powers... But when the time comes, he will use it on the battlefield without hesitation. Yoshitsune-sama is a fearless man.”

Yoshino: “......”

(Today, I saw two faces of Yoshitsune-sama. One that cherishes his vassals and the other one fights like a monster...)

(But, which one is the real one?)

No matter how much I think about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

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

At last, we arrived at Kamakura at dawn.

After resting for a while, I visited Yoritomo-sama.

Yoritomo: “-----So the Shogunate intervened in earnest, and the battle was settled peacefully.”

(That’s true, I’m glad....!)

Yoshino: “Umm, what happened to Yoshitsune-sama?”

Yoritomo: “As soon as we got the report, we sent someone after him! But we couldn’t catch him. Most likely, he disappeared just as the war was winding down.”

Yoshino: “Oh, I see....:”

(Just as Morinaga-san predicted.)

Yoritomo: “Yoshino.”

Yoshino: “Yes?”

Yoritomo: “I’m ready to hear your whining. Come on, say it.”

Yoshino: “Whine?”

I got an unexpected response and my eyes widened in surprise.

Yoritomo: “What are you so surprised about? I’m serious. I know I send you to the battlefield all of a sudden and I understand it was unpleasant. You also encountered Yoshitsune and had a near-death experience. When you said you wanted to talk to me, I thought you came here to whine and complain.”

(That’s what you thought!?)

--------Part 4 -------

Yoritomo: “When you said you wanted to talk to me, I thought you came here to whine and complain.”

(That’s what you thought!?)

Yoshino: “No, no, no. You got it all wrong! At first, I did feel unpleasant...But I also learned a lot.”

Yoritomo: “Oh?”

Yoritomo-sama, then gave me a curious look.

(I’m a bit nervous about giving my opinion to Yoritomo-sama, but...)

I stared straight back at him, remembering how I had met Yoshitsune-sama.

Yoshino: “This battle....has made me realize how blind I am in my thinking.”

In the moonlit mountain hut, the question posed by Yoshitsune-sama has not yet left me.

-------FLASHBACK-------

Yoshitsune: “ ...You said that overlooking an injured person was like killing. Then do you condemn the samurai's you see killing all around you?"

Yoshino: "I didn't mean it like that....!"

Yoshitsune(icy glare): "How can you say no? You said earlier you didn't want to kill people."

Yoshino: "Nn......."

Yoshitsune(icy glare): "But that's not all. As enemies, there will come a day when we will meet on the battlefield. Did you ever consider the possibility that the man you saved just now might kill your comrades?"

------FLASHBACK ENDS-----

Yoshino: “That’s what Yoshitsune-sama, asked me...I saved the life of an enemy soldier, and I thought I was naive. ...and I had nothing to say back. I’ve been distracted from the fact that the person I saved is going to take someone else’s life again.”

Yoritomo: “......Morinaga told me what happened. It’s heartbreakingly naive of you.”

(I knew you’d think like that...)

Yoritomo: “However...”

-----After a pause, he started speaking.

Yoritomo: “You aren’t a samurai. It would be wrong for a town girl who has never touched a sword to let someone else die on the battlefield.”

Yoshino: “But....Whatever the reason, my decision to stay in the Shogunate was my own. So....I’m trying to think more seriously about war.”

(I hate being scared without knowing anything.)

Yoritomo: “I see. That’s quite an auspicious attitude.”

Yoritomo-sama, who was resting his arm on his armrest, laughed sarcastically.

Yoritomo: “So you didn’t come here just to make a statement, did you?”

Yoshino: “Yes, sir. Would you be willing to let me do some work in the palace to start with? First of all, I want to know about the Shogunate. I also want to know about the soldiers who risk their lives on the battlefield and what they believe in. If I work as a pharmacist, I can help them...I’m also ready to do other chores, so please let me know!”

As I waited for his answer, my heart was pounding.

Yoritomo: “....So, you’re here for a job. All right, I’ll give you a nice job, don’t complain about it later.”

(Yayyy!!!!)

Yoshino: “I’ll work hard!”

I firmly replied back to Yoritomo-sama.

Yoritomo: “Also, I’ll be giving you a reward.”

Yoshino: “Eh? No, I’m fine. I’ve already got so many luxuries while staying here so....”

Yoritomo: “I’m paying for your services, so you have to shut up and accept it, okay?”

Yoshino: “But...”

(Is this really a good idea?)

As I ponder this, Yoritomo-sama gives me a dumbfounded look.

Yoritomo: “If I send a mere woman on the battlefield, at the very least I should assure her safety. But, as in the last war, there is no such thing as absolute safety. You must have felt like you hated it.”

(That’s....)

The swift gaze of Yoshitsune-sama came to my mind.

And...I shudder to think of him wielding a sword against several men.

Yoritomo: “Nevertheless, it is the decision of the Shogunate to continue to involve you. And if you’re going to help us, then you’re going to have to let us treat you better.”

Yoshino: “You might be right....”

Yoritomo: “Are you surprised?”

--------Part 5--------

Yoshino: “You might be right....”

Yoritomo: “Are you surprised?”

Yoshino: “....Yeah. I thought Yoritomo-sama was an arrogant man.”

(But...he’s a fair man in a way.)

Yoshino: “...Then, I’ll respectfully accept the reward. Thank you very much.”

(Yosh! Let’s work hard so that I can be worthy of that reward.)

Yoritomo: “Heh, nice optimism. You’re a weird woman, you know that?”

(Weird...)

Yoshino: “It’s strange. Yoshitsune-sama said the same thing.”

(Though you two hate each other, I can’t believe you guys are saying the same things.)

(Is that how brothers are like?)

Although their personality is completely different, they both think the same way.

Yoritomo: “Yoshitsune...said the same, huh.”

Yoritomo-sama folded his hands and frowned while thinking about something.

Yoritomo: “I heard he let you go.”

Yoshino: “Yeah. I thought he would actually kill me then and there....”

Yoshino: “...’Saving my vassal's life is the same as saving my life and you saved one of them.’ that was the reason why.”

Yoritomo: “He’s the same as ever. He may look expressionless, be he has a lot of feelings.”

(That’s how Yoritomo-sama pictures him...)

Yoshino: “Do you know Yoshitsune-sama so well....because you’re his brother?”

Yoritomo: “That’s not true. We may be brothers, but our upbringings were different.”

Yoshino: “Really? Then, when did you both first meet....”

Yoritomo: “When I was raising an army against the Heike. Yoshitsune came all the way with a small force to join us. For a brother, he has never met, he was ready to help just after receiving my message.”

(Looks like it was the time when Yoritomo-sama was not a Shogun like he’s now.)

(If Yoshitsune-sama only brought a small force, that means they almost had to risk their lives to win the battle.)

Yoshino: “But, why would....Yoshitsune-sama suddenly rush to your aide?”

Yoritomo: “-----I don’t know.”

Despite his words, Yoritomo-sama’s lips had a rare bitter smile.

Yoritomo: “Well, it’s true that he’s made the fight a lot easier.”

Yoshino: “Does Yoritomo-sama.....”

Yoritomo: “I what?”

Yoshino: “No, nothing....”

(Does Yoritomo-sama....actually hate Yoshitsune-sama? I think not.)

These thoughts popped into my head, but I didn’t want to put them into words until the end.

So let’s just ask something else.

Yoshino: “...If you were in Yoshitsune-sama’s shoes, would you have killed me in that battle?”

Yoritomo: “Hmmm......who are you talking to?”

Yoritomo-sama was smiling, but the air around him froze quickly.

Yoritomo: “Don’t forget I’m a man who killed his own brother.”

I was horrified, but at the same time, I felt like something connected in my head....

(Ah.....!)

-------FLASHBACK------

Yoshitsune: "But...contradictions are in all of us. I've only known one person who could cut it out and throw it away."

-----FLASHBACK ENDS-----

(Maybe he was....)

Chapter 4