Forbidden Love

Chapter 37: Honest Ruby Eyes

"Gakupo."

Gakupo's eyes opened wide when he heard Luka's calling his name. When he opened his eyes, he saw a dark orb flying towards him. Aware of what was going on, Gakupo rolled on the floor and dodged it, the orb hitting the creaking floor instead.

"You're still alive?" Luna roared in anger as she watched the moon god get up from the floor.

"I'm going to avenge her death! I'm going to kill you, Izanami!" Gakupo growled, his fists clenched.

"Do you really think you can kill me, Tsukuyomi?" Izanami confidently yelled.

Gakupo's fists were bathed in white fire that seemed to be harmless to him. The fire danced on his fist while his body glowed and his passion to get revenge increased.

"Somehow, I can feel Luka's heartbeat. I don't know if it's because she gave me the pieces of her heart, but I know for sure that I can feel her presence," Gakupo thought in his mind, his raging eyes looking straight at Luna.

"You can't kill me, Tsukuyomi! You maybe a moon god, but you have human feelings now! Humans are weak! All they do is betray you!" Luna yelled in anger.

Having had enough, Gakupo dashed towards Luna, almost hitting her with his burning fists. She gracefully dodged his punch, only singeing some strands of her pale-yellow tresses.

"You don't deserve to be the moon god, Tsukuyomi! It only took a mere girl for you to gain human feelings? You're pathetic!" Izanami smirked as she kept on dodging the angry Gakupo's attacks.

"Damare!" snarled Gakupo, still trying to hit Luna.

The evil deity kept on dodging the attacks, her moving around so swift, yet graceful. It was as if she was toying with the moon god's feelings. She was having fun because her eyes showed joy and malice. She was enjoying the view of Gakupo's useless attacks. Izanami was pleased to see him suffer.

"You're only saying that because you've never felt love before!" Gakupo yelled, breathing hard afterwards.

Luna paused for a brief moment, her eyes widened in horror when she heard what Gakupo said. Her focus was driven away, causing her to get punched in the stomach by Gakupo. She fell to the ground on her knees as she coughed some blood out from her mouth. The blood splattered on the floor, tainting it.

"Love?"

Gakupo held off his next attack when he heard Luna mutter from the ground. She stared at her blood, both her hands on the floor and still on her knees. Her tresses of pale-yellow hair covered her face, hiding her expressions.

"You said…I've never…felt love…before?" Luna asked.

Gakupo was surprised to see and hear Luna sound helpless and weak. He couldn't understand what she was saying because he couldn't see her face.

"I knew it," Luna said as she sat on the floor, her face still hidden behind her hair.

"All humans are the same. Judgmental, evil, and full of hate," she continued as she clenched her fists, still looking down on the ground.

Luna slowly looked up to face Gakupo, the hair that covered her face moving to the side. Gakupo saw Luna's lonely, teary eyes, but they show more hatred and misery.

"Just like Izanagi."

Gakupo's eyes widened in shock when he heard Izanagi's name. Everything sounded more complicated, Gakupo's mind lost in confusion. He didn't want to believe Luna, but her blue eyes told him that she was telling the truth.

"Dou iu…koto?" Gakupo asked, putting his fist down.

While explaining to Gakupo what happened, Izanami was lost in thoughts of the past as if she was back there again.

"Hayaku, Suseri-hime!" the cheerful Izanami waved as she ran towards the flowing stream.

"Be careful, Izanami-sama," her servant said as she slowly walked towards her.

Izanami kneeled by the side of the stream and extended her right hand to feel the cold, refreshing water while her left hand pulled the sleeve of her juunihitoe. She cupped her hand and was able to scoop some water. She drank the cold and clean stream water, quenching her thirst.

"Izanami-sama, we need to come back to the palace soon. Your duties as—"

"I know. I know. I understand. I'm the sun and moon goddess, so I have to properly perform my duties as the universal goddess at all times," Izanami said, rolling her eyes in frustration.

She got up, stretched, and took a deep breath. Then, she looked around the forest to appreciate what was around her, including the singing birds, the swaying trees, and the blowing breeze.

"Demo, kore wa ii deshou?" Izanami asked, turning to her servant with a charming smile on her face.

"I suppose so," Suseri-hime replied, powerless to the goddess' kind smile.

"I guess we can go now," Izanami declared, walking back to the path they took.

Suseri-hime and Izanami slowly walked down the path they took on the way to the stream. When suddenly, the goddess noticed a butterfly, whose wings were the same hue as her pale-yellow hair. She stretched out her arm in hopes to have it land on her fingers, but unfortunately, the goddess didn't see the sharp rock that was hidden by the bushes. Izanami tripped over the rock, causing her to fall to the ground and even getting a cut on her foot.

"Izanami-sama! Daijoubu desu ka?" Suseri-hime panicked when she saw the goddess on the ground.

"Will you get help, Suseri-hime? I can't get up," the goddess said, frowning in pain.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be right back."

Izanami's servant ran back to the palace as fast as she could, leaving the injured goddess behind. Izanami sighed at the sight of her injured foot and the blood that was spilling out from her foot. She tried to move a little, but it hurt more than she thought it would. Moments later, she heard rustles from the bushes nearby, sending terrors in her head. She tried to brush it off, thinking it might've been just an animal, but she heard it again and this time, closer and louder.

"Wh-who's there?" she bravely asked.

When she heard more rustles and saw something coming up from the bushes, she closed her eyes and cowered as she screamed in fear. After a brief realization that she didn't feel anything, Izanami opened her eyes to see a man looking down on her.

"Wh-who are you?" Izanami nervously asked.

The man looked at her foot, ignoring her question. He took a few steps and squatted down by the goddess' foot, examining it.

"Wh-what is it? Have you never seen a bleeding foot before?" Izanami asked, feeling insulted of how the man looked at her foot.

Out of the blue, the man ripped a long strip of cloth from his sleeve and wrapped Izanami's wound with it. She winced a little for it hurt, but after he wrapped it up, she surprisingly felt better. The goddess felt embarrassed because of how she acted towards him, so her face turned red.

"A-arigatou," Izanami shyly said, turning her gaze to the side to avoid eye contact with the man.

"Ikou," the man said.

"Huh? To where?"

"We have to bring you to the doctor in the village nearby or your wound will get infected."

"I-it's fine. I'm waiting for—"

"I don't care."

Suddenly, the man carried the goddess in his arms as if she was a princess. Shocked, the goddess couldn't move and just let the man carry her out of the forest. Izanami could feel her heart beat faster when she was able to get a better look of the man's face.

He was handsome and charming. His red hair was the color of blazing fire and his red eyes were the color of honesty. His chest was strong and his shoulders were beautifully sculpted. For a man, he had smooth skin and his face was free of unwanted facial hair.

"Ouji mitai," Izanami thought, looking at his eyes.

When he noticed her staring at him, the man looked at her, making the goddess feel embarrassed.

"B-by the way…what's your name?" the goddess nervously asked while she fiddled with her fingers, trying to erase the memory of her embarrassment and getting rid of the awkward atmosphere between them.

"Koko da," he replied.

"Koko…da? That's a weird name," wondered the goddess.

"No. I meant, we're here at the doctor's place," the man replied.

Embarrassed once again, the goddess laughed at her own mistake while her whole face turned tomato red. The man brought Izanami inside where her wound was cleansed and properly bandaged. The village doctor gave her a staff she could use to help her walk. After thanking the doctor, the goddess hopped out of the hut on one foot, using the staff to help her balance. When she looked around for the man that helped her, he was nowhere in sight. Disappointed, she sat down on the bench by the village doctor's hut, sighing.

"Here."

Izanami looked up to see the man that helped her, holding an onigiri. Izanami's eyes lit up not because of the man, but because of the food she saw.

"Food!"

She quickly grabbed the onigiri and gobbled it down. Shocked, the man watched her quickly finish the food he offered her. After the goddess finished the onigiri, she looked up in embarrassment when she realized that the man watched her sloppily eat the food like an animal.

Suddenly, the man burst into laughter, surprising Izanami. The man laughed so hard that he clenched onto his hurting stomach. Still embarrassed, Izanami kept her head down to hide her flushed face, fidgeting with her hands on her lap again.

The man squatted down in front of the goddess so that he was shorter than her. When Izanami looked up at him, she saw a smile that captured her heart.

"You have something on your cheeks," he said as he wiped the piece of rice off her face.

Izanami's cheeks were red as she kept on staring into his gorgeous, honest, ruby eyes. His smile was more beautiful than any smiles she had ever seen. Her eyes were widened in nervousness as she felt her heart flutter when he told her his name.

"I'm Izanagi."

Author's notes:

Izanami- deity and wife of Izanagi (Luna)

Tsukuyomi- the moon god of Japan (Gakupo)

damare- "shut up"

Izanagi- deity and ancestor of Amaterasu (Akaito)

dou iu koto- "what do you mean"

hayaku- "hurry"

Suseri-hime- Princess Suseri; servant of Izanami (Yukari)

juunihitoe- twelve-layered silk robe that were worn by royal women from the Heian Period

demo, kore wa ii deshou- "but, isn't this good"

daijoubu desu ka- "are you okay" (polite)

arigatou- "thank you"

ikou- "let's go"

ouji mitai- "he's like a prince"

koko da- "it's here"

onigiri- rice balls