Chapter 10 – The Witch

For anyone actually reading this story… I am so sorry I posted and then deleted a few chapters. I realized I was rushing to finish chapters and I was dissatisfied with the result. I also found some minor problem in earlier chapters (mostly grammar or word choices) but I'll wait to repost the corrected versions of those chapters until I fix the plot issues with what I've already written.

The story starts to contain spoilers from here on out so you decide if you want to continue. I don't own these characters. Thanks again for everyone who has read this and a big big thank you to those that left comments or favorited this.

She took an unusual level of prided in her work. She'd spent centuries perfecting her craft and she saw each of her spells as a work of art. Each was carefully thought out, well constructed and seamless. She had served so many satisfied customers over the years that she couldn't possibly remember them all. In fact, they only customers that had ever crossed her mind were those two boys.

Shifting traits between two living creatures wasn't something difficult to do. Not for her anyway. But establishing a whole new person was very tricky. She had only attempted it that once. She took the request because it was a challenge and an opportunity. To find someone that actually special enough that they could be split into two and still survive was an extraordinary find. To find someone that could be split into two two extraordinary beings was unheard of. She had to give it a try. Not to mention, the payment was pretty attractive.

Once she had accomplished her task, she'd felt pretty smug. She had impressed even herself. She felt a little like a mother. She'd created a life. As the boys got older she kept tabs on them. Both were proving to be exceptional. Then then they reached puberty and a horrible little thought crept its way into her mind. She had split the boys into two separate and complete demons, but she had no way to split the soul that was forever tied to them. She had no contract with the girl, or her guardians, so she could not interfere with her fate. The witch had left a loose end. This job… the one she had seen as her magus opus… had a flaw. This imperfection gnawed at her but she had already used a portion of the payment she received for this job. She couldn't return it now. The customer didn't see the flaw so there was no reason for her to point it out, right? She had decided that rather than point it out, she'd just fix it. Then she could rest at night, knowing that she was, in fact, perfect at her job.

Her first attempt to "fix" the situation presented itself about 500 years earlier. A client had asked some advise about killing powerful yokai. She could put two and two together. The boys were being rowdy and the Gods wanted to smooth things over. She suggested the one weapon that could mortally injure Tomoe. It broke her heart and she was consumed with guilt, but Akura-Ou was the immortal one and now that the boys were of age, she needed to fix her mistake. If Tomoe died before the soul mate was born, then really, her little error had meant nothing.

She stayed inside and cried for two weeks. She had been conflicted between her attachment to the boys and the pride she had in her work. Had she betrayed her Tomoe? She hadn't personally caused him harm. She had simply offered an idea. Nothing tangible. Surely, they would have realized the solution themselves in time. She listened for news of his fate and sure enough was told that he had been mortally wounded. Tomoe would die at the tender age of 210. She was heartbroken, but she was glad the twins were able to spend his final century together.

But then something happened. The girl, the soul mate, time traveled to save Tomoe. It made no sense. What would have caused her to travel back in time? Since Tomoe had died before she was born, she couldn't have done it for his sake. The witch racked her brain. Then decided that the girl must have been done out of her love for Akura-Ou. At long last, that girl must have met her love, and having heard his tragic story of losing a beloved brother, decided to try to fix things. The witch was impressed. But then again, the girl would need to be pretty amazing to be the soul mate of those boys.

She followed the girl carefully. The girl came back frequently to tend to the fox. The witch knew her efforts were pointless. Tomoe had suffered a fatal blow. Nothing in the human world would be able to save him. Still, it was nice that they had a chance to meet, if only briefly. Their feelings for each other were evident at their first encounter, as is the case for soul mates.

The witch had been very surprised to see the girl was a human. It's exceptionally rare that soul mates should be different species. She returned to her home and poured over the research. The small amount of literature on the topic suggested that if she was human it would be because one of those boys would transform into a human before meeting her.

The witch was shocked when Tomoe recovered. That girl, no that human girl, had done something magical. The witch was back to square one. In 500 years, there would now be twins and this single human named Nanami. The witch fretted. Her suggestion to the war had had not provided a solution to her problem after all.

Then something she had never seen coming occurred. Tomoe decided to become a human. Was Tomoe the soul meant for Nanami? If Akura-Ou was immortal how could Tomoe be the intended twin. She pondered the situation for days and then came to a realization. Tomoe would become human on the next full moon. Once he became human, he would die if he could not live with Nanami by his side. Because Nanami had not yet been born, Tomoe would die as soon as he took on his human form. Yep. It was Akura-Ou that Nanami was intended for.

What the witch hadn't known was that Tomoe had failed to name Nanami as his love. Instead he had named her friend. This little blunder would extend his life another 80 years at most. Then Yukiji would die, and per the contract, so would Tomoe. He'd be miserable, eventually figuring out that he wasn't in love with Yukiji. But still, he'd be gone long before his actual love was born. It was tragic, but at least her spotless record as a perfect witch remained unblemished.

She felt so sorry for the fox thinking about the pain he had in store for himself. If Nanami had just let him die from that wound, his life would have been so much better. The witch decided she wanted to go see him before the next full moon. One last time she would steal a glimpse of her talented, handsome, perfect creation. Then he could throw it all away and live out his remaining years in misery as a human. She happened to see him just as he came upon a scene that would change everything.

Akura-Ou was standing over the lifeless, bloodied form of Yukiji. What happened next shocked and horrified the witch. The ones that had been hunting the boys discovered them. She readied herself to watch another thrilling battle where her lovely boys wiped out dozens of Gods. It was like reading poetry watching them in action. So perfectly coordinated and efficient. A dance really, between two perfectly trained athletes. It was such a shame that their audience rarely lived to describe the event. She smiled and sat, excitedly waiting for the scene to unfold. She didn't want to blink, they were just so fast she might miss something. But then, the impossible happened. Rather than fighting together, Tomoe turned on his brother. The witch covered her mouth to keep from screaming.

It was all so so wrong. Her mind riled. Yukiji was dead. That meant Tomoe would not be able to become human when the full moon arrived. She knew the standard contract language. Surely, that would mean Tomoe would quickly die of a curse. With Tomoe dead and Akura-Ou trapped for all eternity, who would meet Nanami once she was born? The witch knew that what she had done to these boys was unprofessional but at least it was not criminal. What scared her was that she had wronged not only these two boys but also Nanami. She didn't have a contract with Nanami. If she had caused Nanami to lose her soul mate without having any sort of contract in place, she would be ruined.

To her surprise, a young God approached her not a month later asking for help. He wanted her help to remove the curse from Tomoe. With Akura-Ou out of the picture, this might be a perfect solution. Tomoe would live and Nanami would get her soul mate. The witch agreed to help. She was in a state of anxiety and stress. The stakes involved in this transaction were high. If she couldn't make sure Nanami had a soul mate waiting for her when she was born, the Gods would destroy her. Because of the pressure, the witch made another error when mixing the ingredients for Mikage. As a result, Mikage was unable to remove the curse. All he could do was put the curse on hold.

The witch kept a low profile after that. She was afraid that something would go wrong and the curse would return robbing Nanami of a soul mate. That would mean she would lose everything. She silently thanked Mikage for what he had done for Tomoe hoping that it would also mean her own salivation.

This went on for centuries. Then, six months ago, this kid Kirihito came into the picture. Kirihito gave his body to Akura-Ou who promptly went out at met Nanami. It was then that the witch realized she'd made a terrible blunder. Nanami was a human because she was meant to meet and fall in love with Akura-Ou while he was in human form.

The witch should have known! Everything had pointed to the fact Tomoe was supposed to be long dead before Nanami was born. If she'd done nothing to help Mikage, Nanami would still get her soul mate and the witch's little loose end would be all tied up. Instead, both brothers had now met Nanami. She'd cursed herself for helping Mikage. Never, never again would she assist that God. Helping him meant that the boys, and Nanami, would now needlessly suffer.

The witch took some comfort when she saw Tomoe the other day. She knew then that at least this would all be ending soon. Within weeks, the curse would return. It was fortunate that she'd made that second error. If Tomoe didn't die, this mess would never get cleared up. With Tomoe gone, Akura-Ou could discover his feelings for Nanami, and together, the couple could recover and share Akura-Ou's immortality. She felt terrible that helping Mikage would lead to additional pain for the three young people involved but once Tomoe had died, his suffering would end and the other two would have eternity to recover.