"Maziodyne." Nanashi's hand glowed a bright yellow as brought it up to the air forming a sphere of pure magic, only to bring his hand down, an echoing bang of lighting electrifying the demons before him into ash.
The Valkyrie's neck snapped under the direct force of Asahi's boot connecting with it, shambling to the ground, adding to the pile of Fate sister corpses, other Valkyries and Airivatas.
Toki and Hitoshi worked in harmonious tandem, slicing through Airavata and Kurama Tengu with ease.
As Hitoshi devoured the last corpse of the battle, the halls finally grew silent.
Asahi put her hand out to her partner. "Nanashi! High five! We were hella badass!"
Nanashi returned the gesture, a confident smirk on his face. "Let's go save Flynn and kick some godly ass."
The four walked to the end of the end of the hall, a metal door stood before them. They could all feel an immense presence in the room.
Without fear Nanashi opened the door and the group moved in, positioning themselves for a fight.
Only for the room to be empty, except for Flynn crucified at the center of the room, a field of red magic with a violet border surrounding him in sphere like aura.
Asahi opened her mouth to yell, only to be stopped when she and Nanashi felt a sudden burst of air.
The assassins had leapt for their prey.
"Hey!" Asahi yelled, before refocusing herself to charge at the slender girl.
Hitoshi shifted his unwrapped arm into one that opened up and an intricate blade of sharp bone unfolded outward.
Nanashi leapt towards the doppelgänger, blades already in a clash. The sounds of quick running in the distance from the open door to the chamber.
Toki slashed her cleavers at Flynn's neck, in near superhuman speeds, a blade was unsheathed and then swung to block Toki's attack.
Isabeau pushed Toki away from her partner. "I will not let you kill Flynn!"
Asahi shoulder tackled Toki to the ground, holding her to ground with surprising ease. The practiced medic looked to her idol. "Miss Isabeau! Oh, you never fail to amaze me…!"
Toki went limp under Asahi's force, staring directly into her eye. "Flynn lives… Changing targets and continuing assault."
Toki phased into shadow, Asahi giving out a slight yelp and then a curse as the assassin escaped her hold.
Toki didn't give any time to maneuver as she went to slash both her blades for Asahi's throat.
Without even thinking, Asahi grabbed the cleavers with her hands, Toki unable to move the blades, stuck struggling to get them loose from Asahi's grip.
Blood started to drip from the fiendling's hands as she started to overpower the masked assassin clashing with her.
Nanashi and Hitoshi started to increase the intensity of their fight. Nanashi blending sword slashes and sphere of magic towards the assassin.
Hitoshi shifted his body into sword breakers as he parried Nanashi's strikes again and again. "Godslayer, you're going to need try harder than this to even have a chance of not dying to my hunger."
"I've killed mighty foes than you." Nanashi concentrated a sphere of almighty magic in his left hand as he stabbed directly into Hitoshi's chest.
Hitoshi went stiff. Nanashi felt his confidence resurging, only for it to fade as he saw the venomous smile on Hitoshi's face.
"Are you arrogant enough to truly forget what I am!? How I kill? Let me show you the rewards for your actions." Hitoshi declared with absolute judgement. His body started to absorb Nanashi's arm into it. The assassin's arm blades shifting into gelatinous tendrils that started to wrap around the Godslayer's limbs.
The Godslayer tried to escape the devourer's trap only able to slow it down by releasing his charged spell into Hitoshi's chest.
Asahi saw the struggle Nanashi was in and an idea sprung into her mind.
She hardened her grip on the cleavers, starting to actually dig pass the thick armor like skin of her hands, and then pull them towards her, letting go as Toki was sent almost flying towards her.
Within that single moment, will all her immense fiendish might, Asahi jackknifed a punch into the stomach of the masked assailant, a loud but low sound of gasping pain emanated from Toki as she crashed to the ground.
"I-Injury s-sustained… but retreating is not an option." Toki shakily pushed herself up with her arms, too exhausted to lift any part of her besides her torso, blood dripping down from the inside of her mask. "My purpose is to serve. I will prove my worth."
Toki unceremoniously fell to the ground, yet again limp.
Hitoshi's eyes went wide. "Mistress!" He unraveled himself from Nanashi and leap to Toki's aid.
Nanashi took deep breaths to calm down the rapid beating of his heart. The image of being devoured was not one he ever wanted to remember being a possibility.
After a moment of recomposing himself, he moved to Asahi's side. Who was shiningly proud about her combat prowess.
Isabeau, Asahi, and Nanashi stood before the two assassins, combat ready as Hitoshi helped Toki to her feet.
"He…Hendrik..." Toki moaned in pain as she looked to her partner. Hitoshi just gave an unnerving yet strangely comforting smile. "Mistress, I know. I'm here, it's not going to be like that, this time."
"Hendrik…No… I can still fight… "she told her partner as she got to her feet, blood now dried against her neck.
"Such tenuous bonds they form, even against a common enemy… I grow weary of this. Maitreya. "A smooth, bewitching voice echoed across the room.
"As you wish." Maitreya's voice echoed back.
A sudden wave of force impacted the two assassins, Toki slamming against the ground, her mask losing a horn and cracking down the side as it detached from her face. Hitoshi's body lost stability and collapsed into a large pile of ooze like mass.
Hitoshi quickly started to reform as Toki pushed herself up from being face first into ground.
Toki had a smooth pale face which was framed by her long black hair, her pupils had the same symbol as the one on her veil like short cloak.
"Her mask!" Navarre popped into existence, his instincts kicking in. "Hmm… you know… I like her better this way…"
Hitoshi gave out a predatory growl that seemed to echo within the ears of those nearby. Navarre's ghostly body turned sharp and spiky in fear. "Okay, never mind. I take it back, I liked it when she was masked!"
Before he could say something in return, his body went limp as he used the last of his strength to go back into his preferred humanoid form as Toki collapsed unconscious on top of him.
"Humans will never know peace in this universe. The life of man is solitary, nasty, brutish, and short." The voice echoed again.
Like a broken mirage, in front of the crucified Flynn, Krishna floated before the group, Maitreya and Odin by his sides.
"Humans are trapped in a cycle of their own misery. They need salvation."
The rest of the Corps flooded into the room, all combat ready. Nori strangely quiet.
"Krishna!" Asahi yelled in surprise. "Why do you have to be here everytime we try to make things right?!"
"Oh, I'm always in the way? Well, you've made it this far. What did you intend to do here?" The Hindu avatar pondered towards Asahi and the others.
Gaston pointed his spear at the three godly beings. "I am honor-bound to destroy you and the Polytheistic Alliance!"
Krishna adopted an annoyed look. "You bite the hand that feeds. Who else will provide you with salvation? Blind servant of the Creator God's reasonless slaver angels."
Nozomi grimaced. "Yeah, we know what your so-called 'salvation' really is. "her face went into a full scowl. "Destroying this universe and everything in it… You think we can let you get away with that?"
Krishna started to smirk. "So long as your souls are trapped in this universe, you have no hope of true salvation. Your body and all the pain it endures are merely cages for your soul. I offer you freedom so that you may grow and find salvation. True freedom from the endless war the Creator God wants of you. Isn't unbridled harmony with all your desired goal, Fairy queen?"
Asahi went into a combative stance. "I think we have two very different definitions of 'freedom'…"
"I believe we have two different definitions of 'death'. You think death is the end of your body. And by that definition, yes, all beings in the Creator's universe should die. But after the death of the body, I shall lead the soul to a new universe. Come the next full moon a new universe will hatch from the Cosmic Egg."
Hallelujah stared, curious. "Cosmic Egg?"
Krishna started to smile. "In the new universe, you will no longer be the puppets of the Creator. Shesha will break the ties that bind you here and lead you to a new universe. Now, won't you let yourselves be devoured by Shesha?"
Nori aimed Stradivari at Krishna. "Fuck… how was I so short sighted, he's a damn Hindu deity! It's not dead!"
Gaston laughed. "Nakano, what do you mean? Shesha… is dead."
Krishna briefly closed his eyes in disappointed surprise and amusement. "Dead? Hehehehahaaha… "
Nori pulled his cabbie over his eyes, his hand tightly crumbling his hat under the force of his grip. "Damnit! It's a Hindu deity. They reincarnate within days to hours of death!"
"Like the Regulator says, Shesha lives and dies like the sun in the sky. Shesha will return soon enough."
Gaston started to look surprised... "Impossible!"
"Shesha has an obligation to save humanity from this world. Death will not stop that. I will do whatever I must to hatch the Cosmic Egg and herald you to the new universe." Krishna extended his left hand and clenched it into a fist. "The full moon… I vow the Cosmic Egg will hatch by then. And nothing shall keep me from my vow."
"The next full moon…" Hallelujah muttered to himself.
"What a shame." Nanashi pointed at Krishna with HeadHunter. "With the rate I'm killing gods at, there won't be any left by the full moon."
Krishna just gave a cold stare at the boy, a smile slightly on his face before dropping into a disappointed frown.
Nozomi stood by Nanashi's side , holding her shotgun threateningly and directly at the Hindu Avatar. "Not on my watch. Why don't you just get bent?"
Krishna slight shook his head. "Quaint. Odin please show them out."
"Very well." Odin stepped in front of Krishna, lightning already collecting in his balled left fist.
The Godslayer nodded to his partner and walked in front of Odin. "It seems you'll be the first one to die, and sadly, your death will be pretty finite. Being Nordic and all that." He pointed his blade at the Norse father god, coating it in heavy force magic.
He pointed Gungnir towards the group. Centimeters away from Nanashi's body. "Let us see if you are worthy of Valhalla. The highest honor for a warrior is to be welcomed into Valhalla. I have tasked the Valkyries with judging warriors, but you, you I shall judge myself."
Nanashi scoffed. "Again, what a shame. I killed about forty of them on the way here."
Odin tightened his left fist and a crystal mist like energy created a see-through barrier between him and those behind him.
As the atmosphere exploded into battle, Nozomi and Isabeau fired Force round and magic respectively.
The spheres of force impacted the Allfather with immense force before being deflected off his now dented armor. Which slowly repaired itself.
Gaston charged in without warning and his spear impacted Odin's armor. The God not even trying to avoid the attack.
Odin swung the head of Gungnir at Gaston, sending him flying into the far wall of the chamber, a strange dent now formed into the wall.
Nanashi jumped back as Odin went to pierce him start through with Gungnir, he quickly looked to Asahi and the two charged at the God.
Asahi went low, punching straight into the chest of Odin, his golden armor billowing under the immense strength of her blow.
Nanashi went high, his cold confidence painted across his face as he slashed the magically coated blade through Odin's armor….
Nanashi landed on his back a meter away from Odin as he was slammed with the shaft of the mighty spear. Headhunter only a handle with shards of metal sprayed across the ground.
Odin went to stab Nanashi for a definite killing blow, only for Asahi to grab her partner and lift him out of range.
"Nanashi, are you okay?" Asahi worried asked as she placed her hands over his body, bathing him in healing magic.
Nanashi threw the remains of Headhunter to the ground. "I'm fine… I just feel… tired. We need to end this, or we're screwed!"
Nanashi got back to his feet with Asahi's help. Going to the back line as the others fought on.
"C'mon! He's shrugging off our attacks lie they're nothing!" Hallelujah groaned in surprise as a sphere of Arctic ice shattered upon Odin's form only scratching his armor.
Gaston got up from his dent in the wall and charged back at the Allfather. "Stop your incessant whining and keep fighting!"
"If you still have energy to fight among yourselves, surely you can do better than this." Odin stabbed Gungnir into Gaston, who used the spear of Michael to deflect the course of the mighty spear, only embedding in his side, grunts of pain slipped out of his throat as he pulled back and fell on his back.
The Crusader scuttled back and went to his feet, absolute fury radiating off him.
A loud melodious gunshot echoed in the room, Odin flinching from the power of the round. "Time to end this!" Nori yelled pointing towards Odin commandingly.
"Everyone, Group assault now. He can't protect himself from all of us at once!"
Nozomi and Isabeau continued their projectile assault, Navarre empowered the group with the magic powered by his soul, and Gaston and Asahi charged the Allfather.
Gaston's spear impacted Odin's armor, bouncing off the metal with a resounding clang, Gaston jumped back, cursing at himself.
Asahi pulled out her combat knife and laced it in her Divine Shot's power, punching with her off hand and then digging into the chest of the Norse god with her blade.
"Nanashi, end this!" she yelled as she jumped back.
Nanashi unsheathed Kamikira and stabbed it into the chest of Odin in a single motion.
The blade went completely through the god's armor. The room going briefly silent for a split moment.
Nanashi looked to see if cracks were to form upon Odin but as he looked up he only saw Odin's gauntleted fist impact his head, sending him back.
A small spray of blood filled the air as Gungnir was impaled through the teenage Godslayer, the head of the legendary polearm embedding itself into the ground. Asahi looking in absolute dread upon the sight.
Odin looked to Kamikira sitting in his chest, shaking his head in disappoint. "I wonder why Dagda choose you out of many? You lack the power to even face an old man with a spear." The Supreme Norse god pulled the reaping blade from his chest and tossed to the ground next to his opponent.
Nanashi stared at Odin, Gungnir kept him from moving from his standing position, his body twitching in pain and overwhelming numbness. His weapon out of reach of his weakening body.
"That's all you have?" Odin raised his balled left fist and with a loud battle cry, the magic within it started to expand to extraordinary levels. "There is salvation for none of you."
Odin with a cry of power gripped Gungnir's shaft with his left hand and massive waves of lightning surged across the room through Nanashi and Gungnir.
The Peace Corps fell to their knees and some collapsed to the ground. "I expected more from the children who bested Shesha. How disappointing."
"You are not worthy of Valhalla." Odin pulled Gungnir out of Nanashi's chest who fell to his knees, his breath lost to the void of death.
Gaston used the spear of Michael to push himself back to his feet. "I'm still standing. This isn't over!"
Odin just looked at the Crusader, disappointment oozed off the Allfather. "If you are so eager to die, cast yourself onto your spear. Perhaps it can at least pierce your hide."
Gaston collapsed to the ground, the spear of Michael stopping him from going anymore then his knees. "How could I lose?" He melancholically muttered to himself, his grip on his valued weapon tightening. "Damn it!" He held his head to the spear, all of his faith in himself being pushed towards the weapon that he assuredly believed would grant him the power to slay his foes…
Odin just looked away from the crestfallen samurai. "This is what hopelessness feels like. You'd do well to remember it."
The one-eyed god looked towards Nanashi, who was twitching on his knees, the jagged hole in his chest miraculously filled in as the boy slowly rose to his feet, his eyes glowing a fierce green. Kamikira in his hand.
"Lord Dagda. Show yourself. Just what do you hope to accomplish?"
In a flash of light, Dagda appeared, hovering before all in the room.
The barrier dividing Krishna, Maitreya and Flynn from the fight, faded away with a short hymn from Krishna's flute. "Dagda has betrayed us."
Odin looked to the High King of the Tuatha Dé Danann. "Can this be true?"
Dagda gave the impression he was far from smiling. "You were idiotic to assume I was ever really on your side."
Krishna gestured his left hand to Nanashi, who was slowly spitting up blood as he tried to get off his knees. "But you have chosen your own Godslayer. Surely we have the same goal?"
"Not quite. Your big picture and my big picture are two very different landscapes."
Krishna sighed. "I can see that now. You struggle to be alone, while I shall see all things brought together. And once I thought we walked the same path."
Dagda laughed. "You sound like mother if she went off the deep end. That's rich."
"Lord Dagda, our universe will be one of equals. All souls shall be divided fairly among all gods. There shall be no false gods." Odin expressed to his supposed "Superior".
Dadga tilted his head in slight annoyance. "Are you seriously trying the sales pitch on me? If you want to end that bastard ****... Yahweh's rule, you should bark up Lucifer's tree." The name Dagda initially said were somehow censored by a large cloud of audio static.
"You know as well as I do, Maitreya has said it before many a time, Lucifer will side with Yahweh. He serves as a scapegoat for the suffering of man in this branch of Yahweh's universe. Nothing more. Lord Dagda…. You belong with us."
Dagda let out an echoing laugh. "You have an understanding of the true limits of our world. I underestimated your competence. But If you truly believe I am one of you, then... I overestimated the integrity of your following. No Human with self-preservation, ones that know the rules of nature will ever willingly join you. I've tried many times before, succeeded and failed equally as much. I have found the true way to reshape this world without failure, to achieve what you desire and even more. And I will not have yo-ANYONE—stand in my way."
"And what is this 'true way' you were going on about? Your little game of puppeteer, perhaps? I have no time to waste standing against that." Krishna returned.
Dagda snapped his fingers, a barrier quietly dividing Odin, Maitreya, and Flynn from the others.
Gaston started to climb up his spear to his feet. "Puppeteer? What is the meaning of this!?"
Krishna's smirk deepened. "Are you really so blind? Or is it simply beyond the human mind? Dagda's Godslayer is a corpse. He's no longer what you'd call human. He died a few days ago, trying to protect the girl that now forever stays by his side. He's nothing more than Dagda's puppet now. It's even more amusing to know how much worse the girl is. She was forced to not accept salvation and become something that has only lead to suffering. She has become a Demi-fiend, a human with the body of a demon and a mind of a human… but oh my, it appears this girl is in a so much worse state. She's a fiendling. When Magatama, parasitic spirits of death and misfortune force themselves to decay, they turn into the flesh of a human and assimilate itself into the composition of the human, eventually causing the human to become more and more fiendish in the mind, to where what was left of their humanity, there soul and mind, become nothing but a demon's. Truly a horrible fate."
Nanashi took steps closer to Asahi during Krishna's explanation. Asahi had taken steps closer to him and was now hold his hand so tight, it almost drew blood.
Everyone was looking at the duo. Melancholic acceptance was drawn across Asahi's face. The look stirred a rage within the boy.
Confusion, guilt, and uncertainty was written across the other peacekeepers' faces. Asahi wanted to disappear as anxiety and overwhelming pain built in her chest.
"They are nothing but husks, serving the will of that demon. And Dagda's will was much in line with my own. That is why he led them to break my seal at Kanda-no-yashiro." Krishna continued.
Gaston gaped in shock. "What!? Is that true!?"
Nanashi could feel his hand being crushed and healed at the same time. "It's not like that! They tricked us!" The fiendling yelled in guilt.
Nanashi looked to his hunter partner. "Asahi, what you doing?" He whispered to her.
Krishna looked like he would start laughing. "And I thought humans had free will? Nothing will change the fact that it was you who broke the seal. But I suppose it was this free will that allowed them to hide all of this from you. "
The Hindu Avatar held his head up with his left hand as his flute hanged in his right hand. "Hmm… Will you still be able to trust them, they're not even human, so why should humans such as you care?" he started to give quiet breathy laughs under his breath.
Hallelujah looked to the duo with this aura of innocent sadness. "Leader… Asahi…I…" His eyes nervously flashed with a look of sympathy.
Gaston looked with utter venomous disgust at the two of them. "Pawns of the demons…"
Asahi looked to her partner in fear. Fear shaking in her eyes. "He's turning everyone against us… What should we do, Nanashi?"
Nanashi's grip rivaled Asahi's, his brands glowed as he shook in rage.
Nozomi looked to the duo. "This is bad… Asahi… I didn't know you were carrying such a burden… Nanashi, you and bruiser's little secret isn't going over so well…Was this Krishna's plan all along?"
Nori was going to speak but Nanashi was almost steaming in anger. "How fucking petty are all of you!? You would fucking trust the word of the Hindu deity with the messiah complex over me, where I've done nothing but tried to help everyone!"
Everyone but Asahi, Nozomi, and Nori looked wary, while themselves looked worried and full of guilt.
Krishna held his flute ready to play. "How fragile… Are these the limits of human trust?"
Nanashi walked forward and pointed Kamikira to Krishna. "I swear by the blade, Kamikira, that hungers for the death of every god, I will kill you, and when I know you'll reincarnate, I'll do it again, and again, and again, and again, until you go brain death from continuous death. I swear an oath to that to the end of my very fucking existence!"
Krishna started to slowly smile. "Well, you are truly everything I had expected you to be Kalki Bhagavan. Why not take that rage and join with me? Once this world can be reformed, the next one we shall save from the grasp of the Creator God will be fully yours to have."
Dagda looked towards the eighth Avatar of Vishnu. "You would stoop low enough to take my Vassal right from under my very feet. I've truly underestimated the levels you will go for your vision."
"All in the name of salvation. Humans have no understanding of the bigger picture unlike us gods, but I can see that Bhagavan has understanding of the picture… under all of his rage. He would know, his very 'mentor' is a regulator for the Great Will."
Dagda looked back to his vassal. "Kid, understand that you swore fealty to me, and cannot consider turning against me. I have given you everything you could want and I could give you more. Just understand you will have to kill anyone that gets in the way of doing so. Friendship is a pleasantry, Dependency is a joke, people will abandon you at the first sign of trouble if they aren't sworn to serve or share the same desire… and those with that criteria are beyond impossible to find. You and I both know we need to strive to become true individuals to think freely for ourselves. To bring Humanity to its true potential, unshackled by the chains of collective society. "
Krishna shifted his floating posture to one sitting in a throne. "My, my, Dagda. You must be fond of your servant, speaking to and determining his decisions for him. It's truly like you want him to support you in your cause… you must truly be alone to stoop so low. "
"Quiet." The Supreme Irish god retorted with bitter hatred.
Nanashi sheathed Kamikira, Dagda and Krishna bantering having calmed him down, took a few steps back, stopping when his back collided with Asahi.
Krishna and Dagda continued to banter. Losing interest in the humanoids before them.
Hendrik rose from the ground holding Toki up with his left arm. Toki tried to speak, but Hendrik whispered into her ear.
The doppelgänger pointed at Asahi's belt of flashbangs. "You, Hitoshura, use those. We need to get out of here." He pointed to himself and Toki. "Our mission has failed, but I refuse to let Mistress not get her revenge, so you will have to live."
Asahi lifted two flashbangs from her belt. "Everyone, we're leaving! Now!"
As soon as she saw the majority of the Peace Corps reacting she pulled the pins and threw them onto the ground.
"Everyone move! Now or never!" Nozomi yelled as the group ran out of the room when two bright magically empowered flashes filled the room.
"I can't believe I must abandon Flynn when we're so close…" Isabeau mourned as the group ran through the underground passages.
Nori ran at the back of the group, pulling his hat over his eyes. "Damnit, by the fucking great will, what was I supposed to do. If I said any more, I would go against orders… and I can't have that happen, I want everyone here to live, not die to the fucking Jesters! But what the hell do I do!?"
To the former protector of Tokyo, he started to wonder if he was doing a fool's errand making the Peace Corps…
Nozomi braced herself on her knees, panting for air as she stood in the open courtyard to Tsukiji Konganji." Everyone make it?"
Asahi and Nanashi turned to Nozomi, having made it ahead of the group by a solid few moments. "Yeah, I think everyone has..." Asahi replied, fighting her desire to just hold Nanashi and hide from the conversations she will be having in the near future.
Hallelujah was out of breath as he almost fell over when he reached the group on the surface. "I'm not going to lie, that was pretty intense, guys…"
Navarre floated to the center of the group. "Pity... or was it a blessing. It seems Toki and that... Monster of her's dashed off in a different direction."
When Navarre brought the fact to light, it became outright obvious to the others that two assassins were nowhere to be seen.
Isabeau reached the courtyard, partially fatigued. "It would seem you're unhurt." She said to the current group.
Everyone looked at the Godslayer duo. Gaston and Nori reached the group not even showing signs of exhaustion.
Gaston pointed the spear of Michael at the duo. "You, both of you lied to me!"
"Gaston! You getting carried away!" Hallelujah yelled as he tried to push the spear's head down towards the ground.
"Quiet!" Gaston yelled at Hallelujah, looking back to the other teenagers before him. "What do either of you have to say for yourself?"
"I... we didn't" Nanashi put his hand on Asahi's shoulder, silencing her and he shook with rage. "You want to think we lied to you!? That just because we didn't tell 'You' the supposed hero that will slay all the gods and demons in the name of the angels, the problem we caused, doesn't fucking mean we lied to you! Do you really have to justify your hollow ego so much that you will blame the only capable people you've probably met!"
"Nanashi!" Asahi yelled before Nanashi continued. "Yeah, I said it. Me and Asahi are the only ones that have actually done shit!" He pointed at Gaston with Kamikira. "You are an egotistical ass that has only shown you need to feel justified and rewarded for everything you do, just fucking open your eyes and see you're just a fucking pawn for Angels. This is why biblical religions are so extremely fucking twistable, it makes entitled people like you!"
Nanashi turned to the others of the group. "Well since I'm just telling everyone my gods damn opinion of them, you're going to fucking get it!" He pointed to Navarre. "I want you to stop possessing me and Asahi, I don't need your pompous shit!" He pointed to Hallelujah. "You've been pretty cool, but you are hiding stuff from us, why the hell do demons not target you, why the hell do you do almost nothing in a fight? You are a sorta decent person but not are definitely not human!" He pointed to Isabeau. "You have done nothing but good things for everyone here, but why do you have a thing for Flynn, he's out of commission until we kill the Krishna and his goons. He's not the hero of this story, I fucking am! Me or Nori can do his job for him. We are more than capable enough to save everyone in this country!"
"I think I've had enough." Nori started to walk off. "Hey where the fuck do you think you're going Nori?! You haven't said anything this entire time and you hardly did anything in the fight with Odin!"
Nori stopped and turned around, his face covered by the angle of his head and his cabbie. "Kid, I'm not in the mood to really stand around for this. Nozomi! I can't do this shit anymore; the Peace Corps plan is a bust. Kid I want you to get something. Yes, you are capable of great, miraculous things, but that doesn't mean you...you…. you know what. Forget it! Kid, this was simmering in my mind for the longest period. Did you or did you not make Asahi become a fiendling of her own will or not?"
"She-I…" Asahi stepped in front of Nanashi, fear in her eyes. "I choose it for myself! Nanashi didn't do anything wrong! He never… has. It's not our fault this happened! We we're tricked I wanted to help Flynn and Nanashi said to be cautious, that if the god we freed would no help us, we were going to kill it and take its power… but it turned out Dagda made Nanashi unable to not do it…. And I wanted to be seen as a hero…" Asahi was about to cry, but she pushed through it and stared at Nori dead on.
Nori just gave a cold smirk that slipped in disappointment. The King of Hunters turned around and walked away, Nozomi following him with a frown on his face. "Asahi, Nanashi. Come along we need to talk."
Nanashi ignored the fairy queen. "Nori, come back here. You have a lot of questions to answer, you fucking bastard!"
Nanashi ran off after Nori. Asahi and Nozomi running after the boy before he did something dangerous.
Leaving the others standing around. "It's all their fault. I would never lose. It had to be them, they're spies." Gaston muttered to himself.
Hallelujah and Isabeau proceeded to talk the Crusader down.
-Joto Region
Asahi easily caught up to Nanashi and physically forbid him from running away after Nori by grabbing his hand and overlapping his arm with hers.
Nozomi pulled out her phone, reading the message from Nori. "You two should go fall back to Kinshicho, I think you both really need a rest. And I need to report this to the Association."
Asahi stopped, tightening her grip on Nanashi even more and turned towards the photographer. "No! Why!? Everyone will think we tried to undermine them!"
Nozomi just shook her head. "Look, when I first met you guys, I was on a pleasure high and I didn't realize how big a mess this was. But now I see that all of Tokyo's in serious shit—all because Krishna got out. I get that you believed you could handle it, but confidence only goes so far before becoming blind arrogant stupidity, He was let loose by you two, I can't just look past that. I understand that Nori has told nothing about how this happening was going to sooner or later, but I didn't expect you two to be the ones to throw us into a three way religious war."
"Nozomi, we were tricked!" Asahi returned, the guilt building in her chest shifting into a spiky coil of pain.
Nanashi went limp for a moment and Asahi let go on impulse. Nanashi unraveled himself and placed his hands on Asahi's shoulders. "Asahi, it was our fault, we weren't tricked. I know you want to keep saying that, but we both know you don't believe it. This was our fault, we are taking responsibility for it, and so we're going to fix this. I'm the hero of this story, and you're my partner, we're a team. Together we can kill anything that gets in our way. Odin was only… a fluke…" Nanashi started to crumple down to his knees his face pressed against Asahi's front. "I can do anything. We can solve all the problems…"
Nanashi started to cry. "Asahi. I'm an idiot. I made an oath to Krishna I would kill him! How can I do that if I can't even stand up to Odin!? Asahi, would be stuck fighting Odin in a never-ending battle if it wasn't for you. Asahi, I don't know what to do anymore, but I know I have to fix this. I have to kill them, kill all of them. We have to kill them together, just the two of us! I don't know if I could it without you!"
The Godslayer laid before the Fiendling on his knees, tears dripping down his unmarked face.
Asahi tightened her hands as they balled into fists. "Nanashi. Why are you doing this to me!? You're supposed to be the one that leads, that always stays composed no matter what. Why can't you stay the same person you always were, when I'm not myself anymore!?" I'm not human anymore! I'm losing any semblance of humanity I have, because of these things!" She pointed to the brands all over her body, her rampant emotions causing them to glow under her clothes.
Nanashi stood up and wiped his tears and snot from his face. He looked Asahi directly in the eyes, his bright green to her silver grey. "Asahi. You have always been the bright, determined girl that would face every challenge with a smile to me. You have never been a demon to me. I don't care that you're not human. You just being happy is my highest goal in life. I never want to see you stop smiling, and seeing you in pain and suffering has just made me so angry at everything, so I'm sorry, sorry for dragging you into all of those. I just wanted to have you by my side no matter what."
Asahi looked conflicted, unable to form words to answer. "Nanashi, I…I…"
Asahi ran off into Ginza. Leaving Nanashi and Nozomi in the street. "Asahi, wait!... Damnit."
Nanashi stood in awe as Asahi ran outside of his vision.
"So, Slug shot. I was going to tell you and Asahi that you guys needed to grow up and take responsibility for your actions but I think you've shown you both have the will to do that. I'll go and try to get everything sorted out, okay. I'll try to get everyone to work together for a better future. It's time I fought for what I believe in instead of being the beacon for what I want others to do..." Nozomi comforted Nanashi, patting him on the back.
Nanashi was in a period of inner thought, everything outside of his mind, irreverent. "I need to find Asahi. I won't let her suffer with all of that burden. Me just tell her things won't fully help, I need to prove to her that I'm there to support and help her, not just her to be there for me." He turned to the vessel of Danu.
"Nozomi, you have any idea where she'd go? Because there's a few places she could go with the Terminal in Ginza?"
Nozomi smiled. "Nanashi, I think you of anyone would know exactly where she'd be. And remember Nori and me have your backs."
With her final words of the night, Nozomi walked off, leaving Nanashi alone.
"Know exactly where she'd be…" Asahi's closest friend stared at the sky, it slowly becoming night.
His phone rang. It was the slow melodic tune he had only for Asahi, he quickly opened the message. "Nanashi, I couldn't say it there. I'm sorry for running away. It was weak of me, but since I can't run away from telling you this. I… Thank you. For everything." Nanashi knew she had likely spent multiple times trying to write the part on the message. "I just need to lay down and relax or something, so I'm just going to the only place I know no one will bother me."
Realization slowly came across his face. "She wouldn't be… would she?"
-Kinshicho- Underground district-
Nanashi opened the door to his room to find a peculiarly organized pile of gear on his rug.
He dropped his bag and his gear on the floor, exhaustion starting to spread through his body.
A small grin inched up his face as he saw a large lump covered by his blanket on his coach.
The teenager slipped off his clothes and changed into sleeping clothes, loudly taking a spot on his couch next to the lump.
"Asahi, come on." Nanashi poked the blanket covered lump. Which shook disapprovingly of his contact.
"Nanashi, go away. I don't want to talk right now." Asahi said from under her protective layers.
Nanashi laid back on his couch. "That's fine. I'll just do the talking then. Asahi, I guess it's pretty obvious that we fucked up big time, but we both know that we're going to fix that. We'll be the heroes, I guess. But that whole thing right now isn't important. What's important is why I'm trying to talk to you right now. I get that you don't feel comfortable in your own body, and me saying I don't care about that, I care about you as the amazing, lovable person that are, won't do much long term. So I'm going to take some advice from Nori, that fucking bastard. Relationships and issues with people will almost indefinitely go in circles for conquering hardship and problems about one's own image. So I want to be there for you, even if this is something that you will be mentally stuck with for a long long time."
Asahi tightened her hold on her cover, wanting to hide the growing blush and heat on her face.
Nanashi stood up. "Asahi, could you atleast uncover your head, I need to show you something."
Asahi lifted the blanket of herself enough to where it only covered her chest down, showing the pearl colored undershirt she was wearing. She looked at her hunting partner and saw he took his undershirt off showing the various healed scars on his body which all seemed to have a thin bright green lining. A color very similar to the brand on his neck and the ones all along his left arm.
"Asahi, I know in comparison to how many you have it's not many, but... you're not alone in feeling this way. I'm not the best person to call really human to begin with, that was always your thing, but I just want you to know. I deeply care about you and I would fight to the ends of time to protect you from suffering. "Nanashi bowed to Asahi. "I'm so sorry I wasn't good enough to prevent all of this from happening to you."
Asahi could feel her chest and face grow warm. On impulse and instinct, she threw the blanket back over her.
Nanashi took his shirt back and on sat back on the couch. "Nanashi, this is hard to say. I really don't want to ruin what we have. I don't want to throw it all away by saying this. For all I really know you might just see me as a sister that you don't want to lose, or just your close friend that's always been around… but I guess I never said this. I want to fix what we started as well. Let's be heroes…." Asahi threw the blanket off herself and covered both her and Nanashi's lower halves with it.
She looked directly at her partner's face. "Nanashi, please tell me, what are your feelings for me? I don't care what they truly are. Just tell me."
Nanashi's face started to heat up. "Asahi, I really care about you, and that's… that's just hard to say. It's not something I can really say y'know. Like Nori said once, you can't reveal everything about yourself at once. It makes it too hard for someone to take it in, and he also says you shouldn't keep a lady waiting for almost anything… Well I'm a fucking hypocrite. But what do I care, I'm my own fucking person, I can deal with being a fucking hypocrite! Not like it…." Nanashi continued to awkwardly scramble over his words.
Asahi started to get a slight smile on her face. "Nanashi..."
Nanashi stopped himself. "Yeah. Asahi."
"You swear a lot…"
Nanashi started to laugh. It was a wholehearted laugh, his voice shifted to a sillily nasally tone as he continued to laugh, his laughter causing him to laugh even more, to the point of him gasping for air as he choked out more laughter.
Asahi looked in awkward confusion and worry upon her best friend. "Nanashi, are you okay?"
The teen started to calm himself down, taking slow, deep breaths to counteract his body's loop of laughing. "Yeah… I'm fine."
Nanashi repositioned himself in the couch and his left hand overlapped Asahi's right hand, his fingers slowly rubbing the thick yet smooth flesh of her brands. "Asahi. I had an idea. Give a moment and I'll tell you how I describe my feelings about you, okay?"
Asahi smiled, closing her eyes for added effect. "Okay, Nanashi. I'm not going anywhere."
The smile on her face filled his mind with this serene blur of joy.
Asahi opened her eyes as she felt Nanashi's lips gently contacted her own. "I love you, Asahi."
Nanashi leaned back from his partner, only for her to overpower him and hold him down to the couch, her tongue interlocking with his own as he could outright feel all of her held in emotions flow out of her.
The now romantically involved? teenage girl lifted the blanket over herself and her boyfriend, not giving Nanashi any time to do anything but breath and continuing their lip and tongue lock.
The night was a long and pleasant one, but time had no proper meaning to them as they had each other in their embraces.
Hello readers! This is an announcement (as it's probably very obvious to those reading it)
I'm going to be taking a brief hiatus as i need to slow down and work on some other projects. It will only be a week or two, or maybe even nothing at all. This is just a warning for those that have noticed the pseudo weekly releases. Have a good end of 2016 everyone!