°•°•°•°•° VAGUE SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER - PROCESS WITH CAUTION °•°•°•°•°•°
"Where's Keru-Keru?" asked Apollon suddenly, looking around himself.
"Where's Takeru?" laughed Loki. He confidently pointed to his left with his thumb. "The runt's right- where'd he go?!" He stopped in his tracks.
"He's small. He could be anywhere," grunted Thoth. "I suggest that we just leave him. Perhaps he's like a cat and will find his own way back."
Apollon shook his head. "I'm serious here, Toto."
"I- did you just call me Toto?" Thoth scowled.
Apollon ignored him. "Let's split up. Divide and conquer." He threw his fist into his open palm, then pointed to forward. "Thor-Thor, you and Bal-Bal search this way, and Loki-Loki, you-"
"I'm in that group, too," said Loki.
"Actually, I wanted you and Toto to search together."
"What?!" yelled the god of knowledge and the god of fire at the same time.
"I refuse!" said Thoth.
"Me too," scoffed Loki. "He's intolerably arrogant."
"You're intolerably idiotic!" retorted Thoth.
"Okay, who would you rather be with, Toto?" Apollon asked patiently.
"Anubis."
"Fine. Toto and Anu-anu, search to the east. Loki-Loki, you-"
"- join Balder and Thor on their search to the north," completed Loki.
"Loki-Loki, I told you no. You can choose your partner, though. Either Uncle Hades or I-"
"Or Balder and Thor." He grinned, tossing one of his long strands of hair over his shoulder. "Oh, yeah, easy choice. I'll go with Balder and Thor."
Apollon sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Loki, please cooperate."
"Were you talking to me just then? I didn't know because you didn't call me by that nickname you always call me by," said Loki, grinning widely.
Apollon knew that Loki was just doing this to get on his nerves, but, gods, it was working. Apollon opened his eyes and looked at Loki with a sigh. "Loki-Loki, please cooperate."
"With you?...let me think..." Loki got up in Apollon's face and moved his fingers with each syllable that he said. "How...about...no?"
That was it. Apollon let out a yell of frustration and angrily jabbed a finger in the direction of Balder and Thor. "Fine! You can go with their group! Just shut your mouth!"
"Damn, Agana Belea, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?" said a voice from behind him.
Apollon turned around. "Where have you been, Takeru?!" he snapped.
Takeru chuckled and held up his hands. "No need to snap at me. I'm just a lone wolf. I like to be alone, I like to drift-"
"Cut the shi-"
"Calm down, blondie," said Thoth. "You'll accomplish nothing by being mad at the runt."
"Stop calling me a runt," Takeru hissed, but he looked thankful for Thoth's assistance in evading Apollon's chastisement.
Apollon drew in a deep, deeeep breath to calm himself, pinching the bridge of his nose again before slumping his arms to his side. He pasted on a smile again and looked at Takeru, and then around at everyone else. "Sorry for yelling. I...have a bit of a short temper sometimes."
"Couldn't tell," laughed Loki, looking accomplished.
Apollon laughed lightly. He couldn't stay mad at his friend. "Well, let's keep going on our way, shall we, everyone?"
•••
Dionysus sat at the table in the dining room, merrily drinking wine and chattering with Yui's brothers, Yuto and Sota. Neither looked much like Yui, but they held themselves in much the same way, though they were much less shy than Yui and could hold their alcohol much better.
Dionysus was telling some story of his past. "...and so I said to her, 'Aphrodite, you fool! You left the wine out too long!'"
The three burst out in loud laughter.
"That's wild!" snorted Yuto.
"If you think that that's wild, you should-" Dionysus changed the course of his sentence when he saw Yui walk into the dining room. "Oh, hey ther-" He did a double take and cleared his throat, gawking at her involuntarily. "...hello."
She was beautiful today. He swore that she was glittering like a goddess. Her purple hair billowed naturally behind her as she walked, and her kimono sailed behind her as well.
His whole demeanor changed when she walked in. He straightened up in his chair, wiping the wine from his chin and opening his eyes wider than they had been.
He saw the brothers beside him look at him. They both raised their eyebrows at once and looked at each other before looking back at him.
Yui stopped walking when she got to the table and she looked at Dionysus. She seemed to glow as she greeted him. "Good afternoon, Dionysus-san."
"G..." He cleared his throat and blinked, looking her over again. "Good afternoon, Yui-san. You...look beautiful in that kimono."
She smiled, and he noticed a little flush on her cheek. "Thank you," she said. He noticed a little dried crust on her cheeks.
His eyebrows suddenly knitted together. "Are you alright?"
She blinked, looking confused for a moment, and then wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her kimono, looking away. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."
"Don't give us that, sis," said Yuto.
"Give you what?" she mumbled.
"The 'I'm fine' thing," responded Sota.
She looked at him, sighing. "Sota..."
"What's wrong?" asked Yuto. "You know that Sota and I'll keep what you say secret, and I'm pretty sure that Dionysus is too drunk to remember what you say when he comes to his senses."
Dionysus wasn't drunk at all, as he was the god of wine and could handle an ungodly amount of wine. Yui didn't know this, though, so he'd use it to his advantage. Besides, he wouldn't tell her secret, so it didn't really matter whether she thought that he was drunk anyway. He nodded. "Definitely... You can tell us."
"...it's nothing important. I don't want to trouble you three, but it's really nothing important." She sighed softly, looking down. "I just realized how lonely I felt and so I had a bit of a cry in my room. It's no big deal."
"Lonely?" Dionysus asked. He felt a small pinch in his chest when he imagined that she felt that way. "Oh...well, you're not alone. You have us here. There's Tsukito, too. Why didn't you come and talk to us or go to talk to him?"
She shook her head and didn't respond. She looked up after a moment. "Thank you for caring about me enough to ask what was wrong, but it's no big deal. It's stupid."
He sighed at the fact that she didn't respond to his question, but he nodded. "No problem."
"Did you think that we just wouldn't care? We're your brothers," laughed Sota. "Oh, and he's your friend. Of course we care."
"Yeah, we'd do anything for you," said Yuto.
"Anything," affirmed Sota.
"Anything," agreed Dionysus, and he meant it.
•••
Yui wondered if the reason why the moon was dull tonight was that Tsukito was dreading what he had to tell her or if it was just a coincidence.
Either way, Yui sat on the deck beneath the dull smile of the moon, her feet dangling off the edge of it, the fabric of her kimono waving in the light wind.
She'd come outside before her meeting with Tsukito to clear her mind, but it'd only made her mind muddier. The moon was so dull that it almost made her sad.
She didn't want to think about Tsukito right now, but that's all that the moon made her think of. It was so dull...it was so dull...
She stood. She couldn't take it anymore.
She checked the clock on the wall in the hallway as she walked in and shut the door behind herself. It was ten-fifty-seven now.
She sighed softly and felt a small pang in her heart. She didn't mean to hurt Tsukito when she'd asked him this. She loved him to the depths of her heart, but...she wanted to know. She needed to know. She needed to know about his past before she could be a definite part of his future.
At least, this is what she told herself. In actuality, she wanted to know if he had so that she could direct her jealousy at people living in the past rather than people in her present. She didn't admit this to herself, though.
Either way, it still hurt her that it pained him this bad to remember that part of his past. She wished that he would naturally tell her things rather than make her pry. She hated to pry. She wished that he was more open.
She was thankful even to have this opportunity, which was why she didn't want to back down from her request.
Besides, she had an odd, persistent thought in her brain that told her that if she managed to get him to talk to her about this, he'd be more open to talking about everything else. Deep, deep down that was all she wanted- to learn more about him and free him from his past. She loved him, after all, though they hadn't discussed it since they both admitted their love for one another.
Besides, you love two others as well...maybe more than two others, she thought. It'd be too much for you to confess to one and force yourself to deny the feelings for the others...perhaps it's best this way...
The thoughts in her brain were hardly hers. The voice that was deep within her was speaking. It was one that she hardly allowed to surface. It was the voice that she called the Dark Voice. It was the one that always told her the cold, bitter truth or gave her the worst options and ideas. It was the voice that fed her jealousy, that fueled her rage, that stoked her pride, the prompted her lust. It was the voice of sin itself.
The Dark Voice. The Dark Void speaking within me.
She ignored the thought again and looked down at the floor as she walked towards Tsukito's room.
She felt her heart rate pick up the closer that she got. With every step, she felt it gain speed. Patter, patter, patter.
Was this a feeling of butterflies in her stomach or was it a feeling of dread?
She wouldn't know until she opened the door.
She stopped by his door and knocked gently, her heart rate reaching its peak. "Tsukito-kun?" she asked softly.
"Come in," came the muffled answer. It was so quiet that she could hardly hear it.
She slowly turned the handle and opened the door, hands shaking as she did.
•••
"Yui-chan...," Tsukito said, trying to keep his voice steady. He'd never had to work this hard to keep his voice normal. He sat on his floor mat, cross-legged. All of the lights in the room were off, the candles blown out. The only light entering the room was the dull moonlight coming through the windows. "Please, come in. Shut the door behind you," he ordered, working hard to keep his voice from shaking.
He thought that she would say something, or ask something, and he tensed up in slight fear, but he heard nothing except the sound of the shutting door and Yui's footsteps as she walked over. He watched her figure move in the lowlit room. He caught ever slight movement of the moonlit fabric of her kimono.
He only felt...what was the feeling called...dread in his stomach. Why did he say that he'd tell her anything? Why'd she choose this for him to talk about?
He was sure to keep his voice hard as he swallowed. "...what did you...ask me...earlier...?"
He could hear how strained her voice was when she spoke, and he knew from observing others that a strained voice meant that the person was either nervous or on the verge of tears. He felt a sharp sting of something within his chest when he heard it. It was some...emotion that he couldn't put his finger on. "I...I asked...you to tell me of your past lovers...," she said.
He drew in a deep breath, feeling wetness pool in his eyes at the simple thought of it. No, he wouldn't cry. He would save his tears for better things. This is a mission, just like everything else. Do not overthink it. Do not let your emotions enter the fray.
"I had women...that served me back at in the heavens, but... I wouldn't call meaningless outings moments of love, nor would I call my concubines my lovers..." He searched the darkness for a hint at where her eyes may be. He had to look for a moment before his eyes adjusted enough for him to make out two small reflections of the moon in two large, brown eyes. He stared into the eyes. "I have only had one lover...back in the first century..."
•••
Tsukito walked down the beach beside the calm ocean beneath the full moon. He smiled brightly at the waves, thankful that his brother was in a pleasant mood today- it allowed for much easier walks and a much clearer view.
Tsukito was still a young god then, only eighteen. He was still naïve and boyish; his heart was filled to the brim with wondrous emotions. He still wore his plain, off-white kimono, not fully accepting his responsibilities as god, not understanding his missions, not comprehending his tasks. He didn't even carry his staff around with him or wear his jewelry.
He had stooped to pick up a large conch shell when he caught sight of a light in the forest near the beach.
He thought it curious. No one ever came out here by the ocean at this hour besides him.
The sound of bubbly laughter played at his ears, and he laughed at the joyful sound. Mortals have such wonderful voices, he thought to himself. Their beautiful laughter is contagious.
He stood up straight and began to walk towards the sound.
"Is someone there?" he called, stepping out from behind the tree and as he walked down the path.
As he got nearer and nearer to the light and the source of the sound, he saw that the light was a small fire, and the person laughing had a thin, slender frame that was distinctly and wore no clothing.
He cried out in surprise. "Agh!"
He watched the woman scream as well, making eye contact with him as if she were a terrified, defenseless rabbit before clutching her robes to her body. She looked as if she was about to run.
"N-No, don't run!" he cried. "I won't hurt you!"
"Y-You won't?" came a wavering response.
"No, of course not," he said, taking a step nearer to the fire. "I was just walking the beach when I heard such beautiful laughter coming from here that I had to investigate."
He saw the fear in her eyes wane a bit. "Beautiful laughter? Then it must not have been mine that you heard."
He laughed. "There is no one else that it could have come from." He took another step towards the fire.
He heard her let out a little giggle and then saw her slowly walk over to sit on a log beside where he was. "I...who are you?"
"I am Totsuka Tsukito." He grinned. "You may know me better as Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto."
He watched her eyes widen and he heard a gasp of unbelief come from her mouth.
"Do you not believe me?" he laughed. "What if I did..." He raised his hand and caused the moon to turn into a crescent moon before turning it back to a full moon. "...this?"
"How did you-?!" Her eyes turned to saucers as he watched her realize that he really was who he claimed to be.
She fell to her knees before him, kissing his feet, startling him slightly at how soft her lips were and heightening his feeling of arousal that was already present from seeing the firelight reflected off of her backside now. "Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto, please forgive me for doubtin-"
He burst out into laughter. "Oh, stand up, girl. Call me Tsukito. And tell me what I can call you."
"...Akiyama Akari." She slowly stood. She sat her robes down on the log before she sat herself down.
"Akari...lights." He smiled brightly. "It seems fitting."
"...seems...fitting?" she asked, seeming confused by what he said.
He found himself distracted by the light reflecting off of her skin. Humans had such glorious bodies. He was so distracted by her looks that he forgot to respond and instead asked, "Can I...sit down beside you?"
She nodded after a moment, and he gladly had a seat.
As the night went on, the two began to discuss their lives. Akari was from a fishing village near this coast. Her family was all composed of fishermen and fisherwomen, but She wanted more than that. She wanted to dance, not fish.
So she came here every full moon night (which just so happened to be the nights that Tsukito was rarely present on the beach), stripped herself of her clothes, and danced, feeling free and wild and feeling unconstrained by the expectations put him her by her family.
"...and now they wish for me to marry, but the man that they've chosen is...well...he's too brash and brooding. He cares too much about public appearance, but behind closed doors he's a dirty, dirty thief. He steals lovers and possessions, and he...he's just...he's not..."
"He's not right for you," completed Tsukito.
"Right," she said, breaking out into a smile. "I wish that...there were men like you that understood me. Kind, wholehearted men like you in the town."
He laughed, brushing off the compliment. "Oh, I'm nothing special."
"Nothing special?! You're a god!" she laughed.
He felt a pang of hurt in his chest. "Do you really only think I'm like this because I'm a god?" he asked.
She winced. "Oh, whoops, did I offend you?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"No," he denied.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned towards her. His arousal mounted as he watched her lips move as she said, "I don't want you to think that I'm only sitting here and listening to you and talking to you because you're a god. To be honest, I kind of forgot until I mentioned it just then. And...well...to be honest, I'm just glad to have someone to talk to..."
He swallowed hard. "Er, does no one listen?"
She shook her head, taking her hand off of his shoulder. "No. Of course not. I'm a homely, skinny, misfit girl who doesn't deserve to be loved, even by her own parents."
He felt a pang in his chest. "Homely girl who doesn't deserve to be loved, huh? Look at me, Akari," he said.
She slowly looked up at him, dark brown eyes sad.
"You are the most beautiful girl that I've ever seen."
"You're lying."
"I'm not. Your dark brown hair...your beautiful eyes...your soft skin, your gentle lips...your body that is making me feel arousal as I never have before... And you're even beautiful within...you have such a gentle, honest spirit, and you..." He met her eyes and gently touched her cheek. He brought his face so close to hers that he could feel her breath on his face. "You deserve to be loved more than the world deserves to keep spinning."
Her eyes welled with tears. "T-Tsu-"
He cut her off by connecting their lips.
This wasn't his first kiss- he had all of the women that he wanted to take his lust out on, as he was a god- but it was the one that he enjoyed the most. He could feel his soft her lips were against his, and he tasted her hot, melon-flavored breath mix with his. He was in ecstasy.
Her sweet saliva melded with his, her lips conforming to his gentle but driving motions.
He kept things going as well. He kept the gentle loving going all night and even through the morning, clothes coming off of him and their skin joining together in such glorious ways that he trembled at the very memory.
They saw each other every night that the moon was full since then. Tsukito even kept the moon full a few extra days every time, just to see her longer.
And suddenly, one night, he realized something.
He was in love with her. His wandering heart had found a resting place.
He had to tell her. Oh, he had to tell her!
He waited in the usual spot for her when the moon was full next.
But she never came.
What if she...what if she just stopped wanting to come? What if she decided to settle down with the man after all? The what-ifs plagued his mind.
He realized that the only way to have them answered was to go to town to find out what happened.
•••
Tsukito didn't realize that he was crying until now. He struggled to choke out the next sentence. "I...I went into the village to see if she was there. When I asked for Akari, they...they said that she'd...been burned at the stake in town square for...refusing to marry the man her parents demanded her to...and...gods...and...and so, from then on, I...I vowed never to...grow close to anyone like that again...I knew that they'd be destroyed inevitably, and I couldn't have...myself...be the one destroying them...so...so...I...I matured...I began to take everything seriously, made everything that I did a mission, seeing the goal as the endpoint and emotionless carrying out the mission. I let myself forget what it...felt like to...feel. I even forgot what some emotions were...and...I...distanced myself from everyone, including my family..." He looked from the window to the floor. "I...I...I never felt anything like I felt when I was with Akari. All once she was gone, I vowed to feel nothing..."
He heard Yui crying too, and he looked up at her, meeting her tear-filled eyes with his own. "Don't cry, Y-Yui-chan...it's...it's the past," he said in a wavering voice.
"T-Tsukito, I...I'm so sorry that...happened to..."
"Don't be...i-it made me who I am. It happened...for...a reason." He felt something move in him when he said that. He'd never said that before- that it was okay that it happened and that it happened for a reason- and now that he had, everything else made sense.
Words began to pour from his mouth as the tears poured from his eyes. He stared, crying, into Yui's eyes as he spoke now, scared that she may disappear like Akari if he looked away. "Yui-chan, if that had never happened, then I never would have met you. I never would have been put in that school, and I never would've met any of the other gods or you. I...I never would've been able to experience what I experience with you. I never would have been able to feel such love, and I never would have felt the joy of your presence. I would've been happy, but empty forevermore. And now..." He put his hand on her cheek and rubbed it with his thumb, feeling the wetness of tears below his finger as he rubbed. "Now I'm filled to the brim with love, and I feel whole. All because of you. I-I love you, Yui-chan." He said it like he meant it, and the uplifting feeling that he got when he said it made him want to say it again and again. "I love you, Yui-chan. I love you, Yui-chan. I love you, Yui. I love you, love. I love you so much."
With each I love you, his eyes closed a bit more and he inched their faces closer together. Now their lips were practically touching, and he noticed how Yui didn't pull away like she usually did when they were this close.
"Kusanagi Yui, I love you more than I love anything else in this world," he muttered against her lips. "I love you more than even the moon. Or green tea. Or rain. You're higher than a goddess. I. Love. You."
At that, he brought his lips to hers.
Salty tears fell onto their mouths as they kissed longer and longer, Tsukito taking the lead and Yui willingly following, the two so enraptured in love that nothing mattered but where they were touching, where they were kissing, how slow they were moving.
Clothes came off, and Tsukito ended up with his body hovering above Yui, crotch stationed between her legs.
He could tell even from her actions beforehand that she was fresh to the bedroom, so he went about the next steps gently, as he did everything. To distract her from the initial pain, his lips went to her neck and nipped and kissed and licked. She cried out in pain as he continues though the steps.
And soon they were both making sounds- not sounds of pain, but sounds of ecstasy. Tsukito's sounds were gentle, soft groans and breathy pants, all muffled by Yui's lips, and her high, whiny moans and fast gasps for air were muffled by his lips.
Their sweat mixed, falling onto the mat, which moved with their every movement.
They called out the names of one another in their own ways: Yui with her voice and Tsukito with his gentle caresses of her body and the way that his hands gently held her quaking body.
Yui's movements were desperate. She grasped the mat and thrust her hips and cried out, body quivering and trembling in pure ecstasy.
Tsukito's movements were loving, expert, and tender, even as they got faster near the end of their moment and as he planted his mark within her and collapsed beside her.
He pulled her body into his and held her with her back too his chest, being the big spoon. He whispered some ancient Japanese words in her ear- the words "I love you"- over and over again.
When they had both ceased to sweat, Tsukito stood up. He felt his body stick to hers due to the dried sweat a little when he tried to separate from her. He smiled down at her. "Yui-chan," he said, voice gruff and slightly raw from the sounds that he'd made, "can you sit up?"
Yui managed to say, "Y-Yes." She slowly say up, and he noticed her wince gently.
Tsukito stooped down and gently put his arms under her knees and under her back. He lifted her up easily, and he heard her make a small sound of surprise.
"W-What are you doing, Tsukito?" she asked.
"I'm going to give you a bath now, of course," he said, and he carried her to his bathroom.
