Calamity, War, and The Moon

This chapter is dedicated to tumblr user renshuusei01 whose beautiful artwork about my story inspired me to continue! Thank you thank you thank you! No one has ever drawn my fics before and I was so beyond stunned and flattered and grateful! Y'all should check them out!

Chapter 2: Betrothals and Courtship Rituals

TSUKIYOMI POV

I groaned as I was blinded by bright rays of light as turned my head on my pillow. It couldn't have been daylight already, so I was highly confused, until I remembered there was another being that could create such a bright light other than the great star in the sky.

"Sister." I called, without opening my eyes. "What brings you here so bright and early." I emphasized my words to see if she would show compassion and let me rest. Surprise, surprise. She didn't.

"Brother, I am here to talk with you about rather urgent matters." Ama replied.

"Right down to business, as usual I see." I tried to shield my eyes with the crook of my elbow, but she merely pulled my arm away and pulled me into a sitting position. She then took a seat on a cushion next to me.

Amaterasu always had a very strict and business like nature. She had an intense respect and desire for Japanese tradition, which I suppose made sense because as 'head god' she was the up-keeper of law and tradition of the heavens. Still, she could get on my nerves.

"Alright, I am up. What do you want to talk about?" I yawned.

"It's about that girl you were with last night."

Well now that got my attention. "Okay," I paused and turned myself to face her attentively, "what about her?" Now I was genuinely curious about what Ama had to say.

"She is the new god, correct? Vaisravana in her home, and Bishamonten to her followers in Japan?" Ama inquired.

"Yes," I squinted inquisitively at her, "Why?"

"Well, many gods saw you two together last night." Ama continued. "Dancing, talking, whispering, giggling.."

"Yes, she is pretty amazing. And super smart, too, did you know..."

"What are your intentions with her?" Ama cut in.

I looked at her, baffled. "My intentions? What do you mean?"

"Do you like her?"

"I mean, yeah, I have only known her about a day now but so far, yeah, she is fantastic..."

Ama stood up suddenly. "Yomi!" She scolded.

"What! What did I do now?"

"Do you not remember you are a betrothed man?"

I laughed. "Oh, we are taking that seriously?"

"Of course we are, betrothal is an honored and respected tradition..."

"Sis, look. I get it, you love your traditions, but I was betrothed before i could even wield a sword a to a goddess you chose for me. I mean, this was centuries ago, I don't even know the girl."

"That doesn't matter, Yomi. You must honor your promise. This is important not only for you, but for me, and the future of Japan."

"No offense, but how is a marriage of two gods who don't know each other going to benefit Japan?"

Ama turned red for a second, frustrated she couldn't immediately come up with an answer I suppose, then she took a breath and replied, "This is tradition, Yomi."

"I'm getting that part, sis, what I am not getting is the why?"

Ama rolled her eyes and sighed at me. "Dear brother, you never learn do you." She began to walk out of my room when she added, "Look, I don't think it is a good idea for you to hang around this Vaisravana anymore."

At this, I took protest, "What do you mean?"

"I don't want you getting any ideas about neglecting your promised one."

"Ama, that betrothal is basically null and void, I mean no one has seen her in the heavens for centuries, she has been busy in the human lands for, well, forever basically, who knows if she is coming back, or if I even like her now, I mean we have never even met, furthermore..."

"Enough, Yomi." Ama cut me off.

"Look, Ama. Bishamon and I are just friends. I am just..." I searched for the right words that would allow me to convince Ama to let me see Bisha again. "I am just cultivating well-mannered relationships amongst the gods to promote peace for all Japan."

At this, Ama raised an eyebrow. Oh yeah, I got her.

Ama sighed, "Very well. As long as this is business and not pleasure."

I was going to retort with 'why can't it be both', but thought better of it in case Ama changed her mind, and instead just smiled innocently at her.

"Goodbye brother."

"Sister." I bowed.

As soon as she was gone, I relaxed my posture and collapsed back down onto my bed.

"You aren't really going to be all business with Lady Bishamonten, are you?" Maleko probed.

"Holy!" I jumped. "Maleko, stop doing that!" I laughed. "How long have you been there?"

"I let Ama in and stayed here." He replied nonchalantly. "Now you answer my question."

"Of course I'm not going to be all business." I replied. "Bisha is one of the first women I have enjoyed talking to and hanging out with in my entire life. I want to get to know her, everything about her. I really like her, Maleko."

Maleko sighed. "Wow, you really like her don't you."

"That's literally what I just said."

"No I mean really like her."

"I don't understand what you are insinuating."

"God, you're thick in the head."

"See Maleko, I appreciate that you tell me like it is, you don't go tip-toe around me trying not to hurt my feelings, but I would appreciate if every so often, you could pull the punches."

"I would say I'll work on it, but I don't want to lie and sting you so..."

"Great. Good talk." I rolled my eyes and laughed at him. After a minute, I pulled him under my shoulder. "Now, help me get ready for my date."

VAISRAVANA POV

"It's not a date, Rana." I sighed, exasperated at the third wistful sigh my exemplar had let out.

"Really? It's not a date?" Rana teased. "Dhana, what would you call two non-related people getting together for an activity with the possibility of romance between them?"

"A date." Dhana laughed as she continued to french braid my hair.

"Ah ha!" Rana gloated.

I let out another sigh, rolled my eyes, and chuckled at the antics of my shinki. A couple of my shinki had gathered in my bedroom to help me prepare for my rendezvous with Yomi.

Sheena, my youngest girl shinki of no more than nine years of age, came bursting out of my closet with three other of my shinki all giggling behind her. "Rava, you should wear this one for your date!"

I turned and found she was holding one of my scarlet colored silk saris, and was winking at me whilst dancing with the cloth.

I laughed and took one of her hands in mine, "It is beautiful, however I believe it is far too extravagant for a simple tour of Japan."

"But you must look so breathtaking that Tsukiyomi will marry you right on the spot!" Sheena giggled.

I blushed, "And what makes you think I would say yes even if he did ask me? I am perfectly happy being unmarried and having my big family of all of you."

Sheena smiled and climbed onto my lap to envelope me in a warm hug. "Because then you can make babies! Don't you want children of your own?"

I was shocked to say the least, but nonetheless I regained composure and pulled Sheena closer to me. "Sheena, you are just as much my child as any I could give birth to. Just so you know, even if I did have children in... that other way, I would still have just as much love in my heart for you and all my family as I did before. Don't forget that. I love you. I love you all."

Sheena hugged me tight once more and then released her hold. "I know Rava, but, I think it would be nice to have someone younger than me in the house." At this, I burst out laughing. Sheena laughed along hesitantly, though she had no idea why I thought her statement was so funny. She then jumped off my lap and ran back into my closet, probably to find more extravagant outfits for me.

"Well, what do you think you should wear?" Dhana inquired, as she finished tying my hair up into an intricately braided bun.

I marveled at her work. "How did you do this, it looks lovely, and so put together!"

"Well, I usually braid the younger ones hair so I have lots of practice, though you have a significant length longer hair." We shared a laugh.

"As for what to wear, I think I have the perfect idea." Rana stood at the door of my closet looking triumphant.

"Oh god. That look always means she is up to something." I groaned

TSUKIYOMI POV

As I walked up the path leading to Bishamon's home, I suddenly grew more nervous.

Her home was huge, I mean it was gigantic.

The main building was the widest and the tallest, and stood in the middle of the grounds. A classic gray stone wall stood about eight feet high and traveled around the entire circumference of the grounds, which must have been at least a couple of acres. The grounds were green as could be and were peppered with camellias, maples, magnolias, daphnes, and gingkos. Two large cherry trees towered on either side of the entrance to the main house. There were, as far as I could see, at least five major buildings interconnected, most probably residences for her numerous shinki. It was rumored she had over thirty shinki, which was quite a feat in the Japanese heavens, even my eighteen was considered a lot for a god. I could also see stables a little ways across the grounds, and an outdoor pool and fountain to the back of one of the side buildings.

The buildings were traditional Japanese architecture, with beautiful deep brown wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with black tiled roofs. The fusuma were a a lighter tan shade and painted with murals of what I assumed were the great deeds Bishamon had already performed in her time here, as well as her time in India.

It was impressive to say the least.

I turned to my guide and asked, "If I had known she had all this I wouldn't have brought her these little flowers."

Maleko turned away from the ginkgo he was admiring and smiled encouragingly at me. "Yomi, she will love these, don't worry. She will appreciate the effort you put in to buy her authentic flowers from her country."

I had bought her an arrangement of roses and marigolds, after I had researched what plants grow natively in India and found that marigolds were most often used to offer a god at their shrine, and roses, well, the red color reminded me of her lips the night we met. And now I sound like a lovesick puppy, great.

"Just relax. When you get nervous your hands sweat." Maleko advised.

"Oh great. Now I am nervous about being nervous and my hands are sweating even more." I wailed. "Let me wipe my hands on you." I reached for Maleko's shirt, and he expertly maneuvered away. "Hey! Come on, help me out Maleko!" I yelled, and chased him up the path. Before I realized it, we were at the front door of the main building. Aabharana must have heard us coming up the path, because as soon as we set foot upon the top step, she slid the door open to reveal herself in a white tunic-like garment, but pulled and folded across her body so that it resembled more of a jumpsuit than a dress like garment, a thin gold belt and a thin head veil over her braided hair.

Maleko and I froze as if we were two boys caught fighting by their strict mother. Aabharana looked at us both in surprise and also somewhat curiosity. Maleko untangled himself from my grasp, but not before I managed to wipe my hands on his shirt.

He glared at me for a second, but then promptly turned his head back to Aabharana, I felt a foreign feeling in my heart, and my mind told me it was not my own feeling but Maleko's. Oh snap, did he like her?

As if reading my thoughts, Maleko threw one last disdainful glare in my direction and then introduced us both to Aabharana.

She looked at me and smiled, "Of course, Tsukiyomi, my master has been expecting you. Won't you come in?" She gestured for us to step inside.

If the entire outdoors of her house was Japanese, then I could say the entire indoor was Indian. Brightly colored and embroidered cloth was draped from the ceiling to the walls, and red candles lit the entryway, though some light was also let in through the open back doors. We walked through a large foyer with statues of deities I did not recognize and paintings in styles I had never witnessed before. It was quite beautiful, to say the least. Finally, Aabharana led us to a large outdoor space in the middle of the house, a sort of garden type area, with no roof above it, with the rest of the house enclosing it on all four sides.

In the middle of the space, underneath a cherry tree in full blossom, Bishamon sat with her legs underneath her, laughing at the antics of one of her young shinki who was dancing in front of her. Aabharana called out to her, and when she turned I found myself once again caught up in her beauty.

Her blonde tresses were braided intricately into a low bun, though a few shorter strands still wished around her face, both framing it and revealing her more playful nature. She was draped in a black cloth tunic like garment, much like her exemplar, except that her garment tied only up to the bottom of her collar bone, leaving her shoulders bare except for a simple necklace of gold, and the black cloth was a continuous garment about and around her legs, forming loose and flowing pants that cinched again at her ankles, where another gold chain was found. She also wore a thick red and black beaded belt around her waist, and simple leather sandals strapped on her feet.

She was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't help but replicate her own smile as she greeted me.

She noticed the flowers in my hand and pointed, "Are those for me?"

"I, uh, yes, sorry, I don't know if you'll like them or not, but I figured, worth a shot!" I laughed nervously.

"They're beautiful!" She exclaimed, admiring the flowers. As she accepted them from me, our hands brushed. Her hands were incredibly soft and she smelled of jasmine and coconut oil, it was heavenly.

She brought the flowers to her and cupped a rose in her hand and inhaled the scent whilst closing her eyes. "I have missed the smell of roses. Rana, wasn't I just saying we should get some rose bushes for the house?"

"Not even five minutes ago." Aabharana nodded, impressed. Well, I guess I did something right.

"How did you know? Have you been stalking me?" Bisha laughed.

I joined in laughing with her and then scratched my head, slightly embarrassed now about my meticulous research last night. "No, well, I uh, I have been doing some research about India. I mean, it is only fair if I teach you all about this new country that I also learn something new."

"How very studious of you." She smiled, then smelled the rose again. "Thank you, I shall put these in our living room so that we all can enjoy the scent of our homeland."

"I can do that, Rava." One of her shinki, a boy who appeared around thirteen years of age with dark brown hair and skin and light green eyes stepped up to take the bouquet.

Bisha handed the flowers to him. "Yomi, this is Niharna, he is our green thumb, as you may call it." She placed a hand on Niharna's head and smiled down at him.

"Green thumb?" I asked.

"I am really good with plants. I take care of most of the ones here, with a little help." Niharna explained.

"Impressive!" I looked down to him and smiled. "The gardens here are absolutely beautiful, you should be very proud."

He beamed up at me. "Thanks!" Niharna then proudly walked off into the house with the bouquet.

"I'm sorry." Bishamon placed her hand on her head, "How rude of me, I should do proper introductions. Would you like to meet my family?"

"Absolutely!" I contended.

Bishamon proceeded to introduce me to all 37 of her shinki. It was quite impressive that she had that many, let alone she also knew each one by name, knew their likes and dislikes, habits, personalities, and vessel objectives. I also introduced myself and Maleko to each prospective shinki and tried my best to remember and impress every one. Bishamon could not help but smile when she was talking about her shinki, she was truly an amazing and loving woman. After introducing myself to the last one, Bisha and I made our way back to the main house.

"So," she inquired. "What are you going to show me today?"

I smiled, "Well, I have the best tour of Japan planned for you, only the best as you said. Overall, we should take about fifteen days."

"Fifteen days?" She stopped in her tracks, gaping at me.

"Well, we will break up the tour of course, I wouldn't tear you away from your family for fifteen days out of the blue. I thought maybe we could arrange fifteen different days for us to tour."

She laughed, "You are full of surprises today."

I smirked and continued, "Of course, this would mean you would have to agree to have fourteen other dates with me."

"Oh, I have to?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

I laughed, "Well, you don't have to, but man it would be so lonely if I went on the dates by myself."

"So this is a date?"

I stopped in my tracks, and blushed bright red, "Wait, uh, no, I mean, um, what I meant by date, see was... only if you want it to be a date because i am totally cool either way you know I am super chill like that hahaha..."

Bishamon burst out laughing at my expense. I placed my face in my hands, truly embarrassed. Before I knew what was happening, I felt her hands on my wrists, pulling them away from my face. She was standing in front of me, closely in front of me.

"I think I should like this to be a date, Yomi." She smiled at me.

I stood there, gaping at her, for what felt like hours but must have been seconds. She released my wrists and I mentally cursed that she had let go, I enjoyed the soft warm feeling of her hands.

We continued to make our way towards the gate that led out of her estate, walking side by side, chatting about the beautiful flowers and plants, our shinki, and the responsibilities of being a god.

She turned towards me and asked, "So, where is our first date?"

I beamed, "Well, I figured we should start out big, so I figured why not go really big?"

"I don't know whether I should be scared or excited by that statement." Bishamon chuckled.

"Only one way to find out. Do you trust me?"

"Whether or not I may regret saying this, I do."

To Be Continued!

Hope you all enjoyed please leave a review if you want! Let me know what I can do better and what you like!

Best,

Magicalunicorn000

ALSO BIGGGGG thank you to tumblr user renshuusei01 for your beautiful artwork incorporating my story! I was absolutely stunned and flattered and you are extremely talented so thank you!