UP TO FATE


"The fuck?!"

My eyes, accustomed to the dark of the forest outside, were blinded by bright lights and I nearly collapsed from exhaustion and surprise. I heard shuffling and what sounded like people running down stone staircases and doors opening. I blinked, trying to see.

"What is a goldfish flopping around on the floor here for?"

"At least she's cute, floppy goldfish, right?"

"Shut it, Teo. This still isn't good. Humans aren't supposed to be freakin' here."

"For once, I agree with Scorpio."

My eyes finally was able to make out the figures before me – four men, dressed in military uniform akin to what Karno and Zyglavis were wearing, and there was a fifth one running down the grand staircase behind them. I froze in fear.

"Aw, she's scared!" A platinum blond man said with a pout. "Come here, Goldie." Another man, one with jet-black hair hanging low over his eyes made a harsh "Tch!" noise.

"More like a nuisance," he spat. "Take away her memories and cast her out." Take my memories! Who do these guys think they are? I scoot further away from those two only to bump into a tall, languid man with a headful of dirty blond hair, messy as though he were out in the wind. He gave me a grin, his brown eyes flashing dangerously.

"But we could play with the goldfish," this man then leaned in to cup my chin in his hands. "I wonder how long it'll last out of the water…" Immediately, I felt my knees go weak and I whimpered as a scarily pleasant feeling overtook me. That only made the man grin even more. Out of the corner of my eye, the lighter blond pouted.

"No fair, Leon!" He whined. A different man spoke up, a very handsome man yet with oddly colored hair.

"You expect the lion to share his kill?"

"His kill?!" I practically screech and the 'lion' let go of me, grimacing from the sound. The black-haired man grimaced too.

"Holy shit, woman!" He snapped at me and I cowered back from him, and then the other men as they drew closer, commenting, questioning different things. However, amidst the commotion that my fear only amplified, there was one, clear voice that made everyone stop.

"Moirai?"

That name again. The name that Karno and Zyglavis called me. While everyone turned around to look at the speaker, I grabbed my chance to open the door and was faced with…

… Darkness.

I reeled back quickly, screaming, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I flailed my arms as though to push the darkness away from me. What happened to the door? What happened to the outside? And why is the inside all so bright and shiny and nice? Why are there men in fancy uniform here? Why-

The door slammed shut in front of me, closing me off from the darkness. I turned around to see who had closed it when it opened again, I was looking up at Zyglavis. I stumble back and tripped over myself, falling towards the floor. But, before I smacked down, someone from behind me caught be by weaving his arms under mine. I let out a surprised squeal and looked over my shoulder to see a rather charming man, long greyish hair with part of it tied back into a ponytail.

"I gotcha!" He said, grinning. Before I was about to thank him, the arms beneath me vanished and I landed on the marble tile with a hard "oof!" That man cackled while scrambled to my feet, feeling confused and rather angry. These people have only treated me like I was some sort of play thing, and I was sick of it. My hands balled into fists. Meanwhile, no one noticed and went about bickering.

"Ichthys, that was a little mean," a gentle voice scolded, and I looked to see a shorthaired brunette eyeing the other with a slight frown, "This is Moirai, too. You wouldn't want to be mean to her."

Moirai again! I was getting tired of this Moirai business.

"There is a slight problem…" I heard Zyglavis start behind me. However, the other men clamored to peer at me with mixed emotions.

"Hey! Look at those stars in her eyes!"

"Whoa! They really are there."

"They are just as pretty when we last saw them, eh?"

"I'm surprised."

"Don't say that! I mean, sure she isn't a goddess anymore-

"HOLD ON, PEOPLE!" I shouted loud and clear over the rabble. Everyone fell silent. I was shocked for a moment, surprised that everyone actually quieted, and I stood there awkwardly for a short moment before collecting my thoughts and nerves together.

"I do not know who the heck you guys are and I have absolutely no idea why I am suddenly such a big deal tonight." I continued, my anxiety and frustration flowing out of my mouth in words. "My name is Chiaki, not this 'Moirai' person you keep mistaking me with. And Chiaki wants to go home, now."

The men were silent for a moment. Finally, Zyglavis from behind me cleared his throat and broke the quiet.

"As I was going to say earlier, this woman recalls nothing of her past as the Goddess of Fate, Moirai," he said, delivering what sounded like disappointing news to the rest of the men. There was another long silence while all of us were reeling in shock – I certainly was. Goddess of Fate? It was just as those two creepers said: "We have found you, 'Goddess of Fate.'" And now these men believe me to be the Goddess of Fate, or at least have been. It was such a ridiculous notion.

And yet, all those dreams I had where I looked down on my glowing hands…

"Nothing?" One incredulous man asked.

"It appears that way," Zyglavis answered. A murmur went through the group of men. One of them – the rude man with the black hair – snapped, "Well, how the fuck is this human supposed to absolve me of my sin if she doesn't know whom the fuck she was?" Pardon? Absolve your sin? It seemed that others were displeased to hear him as well.

"There is no way she'll absolve your sin, Scorpio, with that foul mouth of yours."

"Like she'd absolve yours, you rainbow head fool."

The prankster that dropped me pulled out a pair of dice with a grin. The dice rattled about in his hand as they bounced up and down. "So, how about we roll to see-

"I believe she deserves an explanation first," A solemn man with black hair said quietly. He looked over my face and smiled wryly. I blinked and sighed. Thank you. "She looks lost, and as Zig says, she has no memories of her past. What we are saying right now must make little to no sense to her."

"Thank you," I sighed again with relief. "The voice of reason speaks." That solemn man smiled wryly again. Some of the others nodded in agreement and others sighed plaintively. The bright blonde one chirruped,

"That's why Hue the Wise is here!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Hue the Wise replied, lazily rolling his eyes and putting his hands into the pockets of his neatly creased pants. Seems like he was Hue the Snarky, too. From behind me, someone put his hand on my shoulder and I jumped. Karno chuckled softly.

"Easy. I know this is very difficult to take in, but it is very important – for your own safety and the safety of others," he spoke quietly. I turned around, furrowing my brow. Why would I be threatening the safety of others? At my confused look, he smiled easily that helped settle my nerves. While he did give me a scare, I forgave him. He just seemed like one of those guys you could probably talk to late at night when you were down and he'd be happy to do so.

"Here, let's go to the common room and get you settled. And I did promise tea, right?" I nodded and smiled at him. He then nods to the others, prankster man in particular.

"Ichthys? Could you prepare some tea?" Ichthys. I thought back on my study of languages, frowning. It was a Western term, that's for sure. Oh yeah! It means 'fish,' in some language. I blinked, suddenly realizing that these men could all be from Europe or something with fancy, symbolic names like that… But they spoke perfect Japanese. Huh.

Meanwhile, the prankster man known as Ichthys sighed. "Oh fine, but," he then grinned at me. "Could I have a kiss after? Maybe?" I shrank back unconsciously and he laughs. "I'm joking! Maybe. Depends." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Bribing is no way to woo a lady," another man with dark hair messily pushed back chided, his tone smooth and mature. I glanced to him and was momentarily mesmerized by his beauty. By everyone's beauty. By everything's beauty. Everything in this place was… Ethereal. Only now I just realized it, now that I was feeling a little better. There was laughter as some of the other men caught me staring.

"Does the goldfish wish to be a god's plaything?" A voice nearly sneered. I blinked and turned to look at the lion man with wide eyes.

"Pardon?" I stammered. The other, mature man chuckles softly.

"I wouldn't mind," he answered easily before giving me a sly wink. My heart fluttered but my brain stepped one giant step away. My brain also realized something else.

"Uh… Did Lion-Man just call you a 'god'?" I asked Mr. Mature while jerking a thumb towards the guy in question. All of a sudden, most of the men burst into laughter. I blushed from embarrassment. "W-what? Isn't it a bit presumptuous to call each other gods?" I stumbled through my words.

"Pretty much, if you're talking about Leon here," Ichthys piped, pointing to Lion-Man. Leon the Lion-Man shot Ichthys a glare.

"Well, considering you hardly even act like an adult-

"Just get up the fucking stairs already!" the Rude-Man yelled, causing some of us to jump. Ichthys and two other men – the bright blondie and a gentle-looking brunette – scurried up the grand staircase snickering and shouting back, "Yes sir, Vice Minister Potty-Mouth sir!" The rest of the men just grumbled or nodded before climbing the stairs. I mutely followed the three who have already run off, flanked by gorgeous strangers, unsure how to feel about the situation. Karno patted my shoulder encouragingly again and I smiled at him.

I was guided to a living room, where I found it brightly light by glittering chandeliers and framed by golden walls and pastel-colored murals. My eyes wandered about the great room as though it were one giant cake. It basically looked like one. Finally, my gaze landed towards the center of the room, where I found one more man passed out in a chintz armchair. I blinked – the sight of him was slightly underwhelming, but I suppose I can't blame anyone who is tired. Cautiously, I sat down in a high-back cushioned, velvet chair. As lovely and comfortable it was, I sat at the edge of the seat. The other men took seats as well, or stood behind them. I glanced at a few of them: Hue the Snarky, Leon, Rude-Man, and Zyglavis. I tried my best to smile, but none of them seemed impressed.

And so there we sat or stood there, one painful, shocking hour later. The longer I listened to the men explain the situation, the more anxious I became.

"You mean to tell me you're… Gods?"

"You asked that already, you stupid woman."

"Scorpio, please."

"Chiaki, you already know this to be true, deep in your heart. Right?" The gentle brunette from earlier, Dui, smiled at me patiently as I stared into my empty teacup. He was right, and that was actually comforting to me. All these years of ridicule and loneliness, I had been right all along. Someone, or rather a team, of gods had been watching over me and all of those I have prayed for. They were real. While it took some convincing, the gods were all able to prove their godliness through a series of rather embarrassing demonstrations of me having my body tossed around in the air, my mind read, my blouse undone, my acne scars healed and a lot of snapping fingers. These gods, the gods of the zodiac constellations Leo, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Libra, Scorpio, Gemini, Virgo, Aquarius, Pisces, Taurus, Aries, and Cancer, presided over the karma of individuals and all of the wishes made on Earth. I believed that they existed and wishing upon the stars was real; I knew that I always have. That was the easy part.

"But… If that's true, then what you said about me being the Goddess of Fate in my past life makes sense." I said slowly, still staring into my empty teacup.

"I would hope so, because it is true," Zyglavis of Libra answered crisply. I continued to stare into my teacup. Unfortunately, the cup began to clack with the saucer as I shook from terror. I could only imagine that some of these gods looked pitiably upon me. Karno reached out and placed a comforting hand on my knee, patting it gently. At that moment, there was only one thought on my mind.

"Am I going to die?"

The men who attacked me tonight, Zyglavis explained, were agents of the King of Hell, the parallel to the King of the Heavens. The Dark One, as he was also called, had been sealed away after a fight long, long ago by the King of the Heavens in order to keep him from destroying the Heavens and Earth and recreating both in Darkness. It was after the mentions of the King and how I was a goddess previously that I spoke about the dreams I've had. Several gods, as I was recounting them, looked at each other with furrowed brows and frowns – especially while I was talking about my most recent one.

"That," Huehaudt, Hue the Snarky, of Aquarius quietly and slowly explained, "was the moment you sacrificed yourself… In order to buy the King more time and prevent the Dark One from gaining strength by absorbing your soul."

"Huey here would know," Ichthys of Pisces chimed in, "He was your boyfriend when you were a goddess!" My eyes had widened at that and we both avoided eye contact. Meanwhile, Zyglavis delivered a swift cuff to what he called "the problem child" on the head. Karno of Cancer pursed his lips before adding,

"Huehaudt is also responsible for your reincarnation, Chiaki. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be here." He nods respectfully to Hue, who continued to look away. I tried to smile at him, but he never met my gaze.

"Um, thank you Hue," I bashfully spoke. He only nodded. I felt a bit sad then – he must have all these memories of me when I was a goddess, and yet I only have bits and pieces of mine. I don't feel anything towards him, and somehow that saddened me.

But that wasn't even the worst part. It has been almost a thousand years since the King had been sealed away, and the seal was beginning to fade. With the sightings of the Dark One's agents, the gods in the Heavens were able to see that the he was gaining power, threatening to break the seal. However, he won't be able to completely break it unless he absorbed the soul of a god or goddess, which wouldn't have been a problem because he wouldn't have been able to defeat one while the seal remained on him.

It wouldn't have been a problem if I didn't exist. Here I was, the only one on Earth that exists with the soul of a goddess but with the strength and capabilities of only a mere human because of Hue's intervention. That made me the prime target of the Dark One, and now he was on the hunt for me.

"Am I going to die?"

"Not if we can help it," Kiroff of Aries, a stern man with white, cropped hair but a kind smile, answered. The rest (even Scorpio the Potty-Mouth of Scorpio) nodded. No one wanted the Dark One back. With an emotional flourish, Teorus the bright blondie of Taurus threw his arms around me and petted my head. "Don't worry Goldie, I'll protect you!"

"Teo, please," Tauxolouve, Mr. Mature of Sagittarius (or just Lou because his actual name is way too complicated for me to say), chuckles. "You are melting her into a puddle of embarrassment."

"Am I? I'm sorry Goldie," Teo let go of me and patted my burning cheek fondly. "Do you not get hugs often? I'll give you all the hugs. And more." He winks at me suggestively and my face flushed even redder.

"I could help Teo," Dui of Gemini volunteered. Ichthys jumped up excitedly.

"Oh-oh, me too! I'll help with the hugs!"

"And guarding, Icky."

"Oh. That too."

"Glad for the enthusiasm boys," Lion-Man Leon of Leo spoke up, his tone languid yet commanding. Everyone seemed to perk up to listen. "But we still have our regular jobs. We can't have everyone guarding the goldfish."

"I agree with Leon this time," Zyglavis said, nodding sagely. His cool grey eyes flicked to me. "One god alone should be enough to keep the Dark One at bay." Leon grinned slyly.

"Well, in that case, I'll have the goldfish all to myself," he said, stretching lazily with a smirk. I glanced at Leon and rainbow-haired Partheno of Virgo burst out laughing.

"You can see the horror on her face," he managed to gasp out. Karno chuckled good-naturedly as Leon scowled.

"In truth, Leon, I can't imagine you watching over Chiaki day in, day out," Karno reasoned. "You can hardly keep on top of your work as Minister of Wishes." At this, Leon looked away, furrowing his brow but also looking slightly guilty as well. Karno smiled apologetically towards him. Hue, who had been quiet for most of the talk, spoke.

"We should leave it up to Fate." Hue then nods at me, his dark blue eyes unwavering.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, except for Aigonorus (the god of Capricorn and also apparently of bedtime), who was gently snoring. Scorpio scrunched his nose in disdain, looking at the sleeping god.

"Seriously?" He muttered, shaking his head. Ichthys took the opportunity to quietly paint a mustache on his fellow god, which I only seemed to notice.

"I suppose it's safe to assume he doesn't want to be a guardian," Lou chuckled. "But yes, Hue – Chiaki should choose. Good idea, as usual." There was a murmur of agreement before they all turned to me. Zyglavis cleared his throat before speaking on behalf of all the gods.

"So, until Dark One has been dealt with, you must stay close with the guardian of your choice every day for your and the world's safety."

My mind suddenly drew a blank. I was a deer in the headlights.

"Whom do you choose?"