Disclaimer - I will never own any of the characters in this story. They belong to their respective producers, artists, voice actors, etc. I am not making money from this fan fiction, nor should I recieve any payment for this story.
Foolish
Isabel Night
Fireworks zoomed through the night sky as the great O-Bon festival drew to a close. Floating paper lanterns had been lit and pushed down the river. Hopefully, the light was bright enough to guide the spirits back to their own world. For this evening, the three Dark Warlords completed their obligations to the dead.
Standing on one of the castle's balconies located next to a storeroom, Kuroda Dais didn't want to think about the past two days. He enjoyed the yearly festivities, more so than Cale or Sekhmet, but it didn't bring him relief. Seeing Anubis was always a pleasure, but it was hard watching him leave.
Dais wished his rank didn't stop him from the usual post-festival routine: children would start crying as dead friends and family members went back to their world, and parents would try to console them with pretty words and promises of leftover sweets. 'If only it were that simple for adults,' Dais thought as he watched the crowd leave the canal banks.
When only a few residents of the City of Desire, the capital city of the Nether Realm, remained, Dais turned to go back indoors. He should get some sleep, but his mind was still replaying the last few moments he had with Anubis. 'Damn him and his damn ethics,' Dais thought again. He didn't know why he was fixated on those moments - it had been two hours since he had sent Anubis back to the land of the dead. Before he lit the lantern, Anubis promised he would return for the next O-Bon.
"There has to be more to the future than just waiting for summer and keeping the Nether Realm running?" Dais said aloud, speaking more to himself. He didn't care if anyone overheard him.
"There is," a voice answered him from behind.
Acting on instinct, Dais's summer kimono ripped to shreds and was instantly replaced with his dark green sub-armor. He was surprised that someone had snuck up on him, as he had seen no one else on the balcony and heard no one walking behind him.
Focusing on the person's features, rage slowly began to kindle. The man's hair was long and white and his eyes were hidden by a straw hat; such eyes could only be seen when they lit up blue. He wore plain blue and white clothes, had a light step, and a calm voice. Dais growled and spat the name as if it were a curse: "The Ancient One!"
"Yes. It's been a long time, Dais. I'm glad to see you're doing well."
"Well? Well!" Dais's anger smoldered. "You stole Anubis from us and you're asking me if I'm doing well? If you weren't dead I'd kill -"
"Then you're doing well. I am not here to discuss what happened during the war -"
"Don't give me that line," Dais snarled. "It was kidnapping, plain and simple! I suppose you enjoyed taking Anubis from us?"
"If I didn't take him, you wouldn't be alive."
"I don't care! I don't care that you created the nine armors from Talpa. You put a bond into those armors and then you broke their emotional unity like your creations meant nothing!"
"Dais -"
"Don't you dare say another word! I hate you for what you did, and I won't forgive you for what happened to Anubis! I advise you leave before I kill you myself..."
"No. I will not leave."
The last sentence stunned Dais. "What?"
"I mean," The Ancient One clarified, "that I will not leave. What happened during the war was done for your sake. If you cannot accept Anubis' actions, then you must tell him about it when he visits you next summer."
Dais showed The Ancient One his back. "I have talked to him. He says it was important for us to survive and win the final battle. His own life meant nothing compared to what Talpa would have done."
"Aren't you satisfied with his answer?"
Dais rolled his good eye while trying not to fantasize about throttling the intruder. "No. For four hundred years it was just the four of us. Then you show up again, throw our routine out the window, and kidnap our Warlord of Cruelty. If I did that to you, would you expect everything to be fine?"
"You are alive to carry on his wishes."
"I don't care! He should have survived. Not me."
Dais began to clench and unclench his fist. The Ancient One noticed that Dais refused to speak to him directly. He heard an almost gagging sob stuck in the warlord's throat.
Suddenly, The Ancient One knew the truth. "You hate yourself for being a survivor?"
Dais turned to face The Ancient One again. The red area around his good eye stood in sharp contrast to the black eye-patch covering his left eye. "Why would you care? This was all a game to you! You took Anubis from us, you brainwashed him, and you expect me to be fine with it!"
"Dais, calm down."
"I will not calm down!"
"You are human, despite being a Warlord," The Ancient One pointed out. "Wishing won't bring him back, tears won't bring him back, and neither will supplications. He knew what he was doing, and he knew you had a bigger part in the war against Talpa. Don't you think Anubis understood that before he died?"
"I don't know what he understood."
"It was his choice. You hate me for taking away what limited amount of choice you had. You hate yourself for not making a choice you weren't at liberty to make. You felt powerless during the war and that feeling is amplified after O-Bon."
"I still hate you," Dais repeated, the skin around his eye softening from red to pink.
"I'm not here for forgiveness."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because Anubis asked me to talk to you. You didn't say much while he visited, and he wanted to make sure you were alright."
The skin around Dais' eye started to turn red again. "He asked you to check on us?"
"His sacrifice wasn't in vain. I don't know if you realized this, but before he died, Anubis' last thoughts were of you three. He wanted to tell you that he was sorry he failed to save you from being captured by Badamon."
The Ancient One paused for a moment before continuing. "He wanted the three of you to survive. You may hate yourself for what happened, but the fact that you welcomed him to O-Bon means a great deal. Hate yourself if you want, but he never hated the three of you. Until he died, you three were in his heart and mind. That is the greatest love he could have given you."
"You sound like one of those parents who say pretty things to keep a child from crying."
"There's a difference: parents say those things to keep their children happy; what I have said is the truth. Then again, it looks like you would have needed those pretty words to stop crying."
"I wasn't crying."
"Yes, you were."
At those words, a faint jingling sound filled the room. Slowly, the monk began to fade. Dais made no attempt to stop The Ancient One from leaving, and when he fully faded away, a clacking sound reached his ears.
Looking at the ground, Dais spotted a single geta. Surprised, he picked up the shoe and studied it. Examining it several times, he recognized the blue cloth thong and lacquered wood of Anubis' favorite summer accessory. The geta was Dais' gift from a yukata vendor during the last O-Bon festival; when Anubis was still alive. What surprised Dais the most was that his friend had kept the gift. Holding it in both hands, Dais trembled as tears spilled out of his eye.
That blasted monk was right.
THE END
End Notes - I would like to thank all my Beta Readers, especially animeiija and everyone else who edited this story.