Disclaimer: This story uses elements from the work of Fujino Ōmori, the only thing that I can claim as mine is the OC.
The Labyrinth City Orario, the only city with a dungeon, the place where the majority of the gods decided to settle down and live amongst the mortals, but that came at a cost.
No longer could the divine bear children, no longer could they use their powers. Instead, it was devised a new form of unity, one in which a god or goddess takes mortals as children and together they form a Familia.
It is at the eastern entrance of this city that we find one such mortal, a teen of fifteen, a light-skinned boy with short spiky black hair and hazel-colored eyes. His name is Tetsuo Horie, an expelled member of a samurai clan of the Far East.
He is wearing a simple black kimono, on his waist, there are two sheathed weapons, one the size of a long sword and another the size of a dagger.
"Halt! Stated your purpose of entering Orario!" The armored guard's voice was overbearing, said guard looked at the teen and was weary upon noticing the scabbards. It didn't help that the boy had a confident air to him.
He kept his cool, gave the guard a bow, and took out a paper from within his clothing.
"I came here looking for a master to serve, these are my documents… Please let me in!" The boy was still bowing while holding the paper with both hands towards the man.
The armored man, startled with such actions, took a while to grab the papers and see what was written in them.
Alongside the documents, the guard found a letter addressed to no one in particular, in which it was stated that the boy had been of great help to a merchant's caravan that departed from Orario a few days back.
After reading the papers, he visibly relaxed and changed his expression to a smile. He gave them back to the boy and allowed him to pass.
As the boy passed the guard he heard, "Before you go in boy, be careful, this city is not as pretty as the stories tell. I can see that you came from the Far East with that attire of yours. I recommend for you to be cautious, people from Orario are not as honorable as the ones from your home."
The boy wasn't expecting that and turned to look at the guard's face, but by that point, he was already talking to the next person in line to enter the city.
Tetsuo put those warnings in the back of his head and chose to look at his new home. It was completely different from anything he had ever seen, so many houses packed together, the street was very long, but he could see what was in its end. The Babel Tower, a gigantic structure that sat in the middle of the city.
After appreciating the structure, Tetsuo looked at the places nearer to him. To his right was located another big structure, this one was an arena. To his left, he saw even more houses, but these were even closer to each other.
The teen could see within the alleyways, all those miserable-looking people, adults, and kids sitting with only a dirty robe to cover themselves. This scene brought the guard's words back to the front of his mind.
'Be careful, this city is not as pretty as the stories tell.' Now he saw it, the true face of Orario.
And so the boy decided to sightsee another time, he didn't have much, he had to find a god or a goddess to serve.
He had heard from other travelers during his journey to Orario that to find a master he should look around Babel, there was the place where the most gods stayed.
With a destination set, Tetsuo took off.
She was feeling down. Thrown out of her home, alone and with nowhere to go, she decided to try out Orario.
'Maybe I'll find someone and start a familia, one that could be a real family.' She had thought, but now that she was in the city she saw that reality wasn't that good.
It had been a few months since Tsukuyomi had crossed the gates of Orario. The moon goddess had looked for an adventurer since her very first day, but it was for naught.
"You don't even have a member, why should I join you?" "Tsukuyomi? I've never heard of you." Those were the most common response to her inquiries.
With time she got even worse, her savings were dwindling, and her motivation followed suit. Suddenly she didn't mind being a presentable goddess, she wouldn't find anyone willing to join her anyways. After that people stopped looking at her, the few that did, made it as if they were looking at a lost poor child.
She had even tried looking in Daedalus Street, but all she got there was the loss of her valis.
Now she didn't know where to go, or what to do, her home was close to Babel, so she'd see all the adventurers going in the dungeon, and that would only worsen her mood.
'All of those children were part of a familia, how lucky of those gods, they all seemed so strong, so reliable.' Those thoughts were always on her mind, there were times when she'd ooze envy.
"Haa, why don't I find anyone? Did Amaterasu curse me to be alone forever?" Her murmurs were heard by no one, even with the small echos that came from the empty house.
"I guess I'll go buy something. At least I have enough for a few more days of food."
The goddess adorned her cloak and left her house, due to her downcast mood and her small stature, she managed to weave through the crowd and get to her destination undisturbed.
Cafe Wishe was a small establishment that served pastries and hot beverages, Tsukuyomi liked to go there due to the low price and the incredibly tasty food, the way the workers treated her was also a positive point, but she'd never say that out loud.
"Welcome! What can we get for you today?" Came the cheerful voice of the catgirl that manned the counter.
Tsukuyomi instantly felt her mood brighten and her appetite grow. She'd have a hard time choosing what to get.
"Hello Mary, I'd like something sweet today, do you recommend anything?" The goddess said, now with her face exposed, while looking at the displayed food.
"Oh, hello Miss Tsukuyomi, glad to see you today!" The girl brought her fingers to her chin and after some time she continued. "I know what you'd like! We made a cake just a few hours ago, you'll love it!"
At her words, the bluenette seemed to forget what she was doing and practically teleported to the attendant.
"Freshly baked cake is the best! I'll have one of those please!"
Mary gave the enthusiastic goddess a smile and a nod and went to grab the slice of cake.
Tsukuyomi felt her day got better, it was rare for her to get such good cake, especially freshly baked, thus she decided to have another look for a familia member, perhaps it'd be a lucky day.
She was wrong, so terribly wrong.
She didn't even manage to get to her home before that day became the worst one yet. Because now, the light of her day was there, all over the ground, she didn't have time to give it a bite and it was gone.
All she could do now was look in absolute despair as her cake was stepped on by the rushing mob of adventures trying to get to the dungeon and start their day.
Tetsuo was really eager, this was it, the day that he'd be able to move on. To finally be able to leave his shame behind and atone for his mistakes by devoting to a deserving master.
He was so eager that he didn't notice the small girl holding a small bag close to her chest.
Now, after they clashed, he realized his mistake.
The girl looked as if her world ended, each step that the bag received was another blow at her. Tetsuo didn't know what to do, what to say.
He moved when the girl started crying. His first reaction was to apologize, but the girl didn't listen. His second action was to get closer, and she didn't move. His third move was to hug her, he knew that hugs were powerful, more so when someone was feeling bad.
The hug got something out of the girl, she stopped crying as soon as she felt the boy's embrace. She looked up and found a pair of hazel eyes, ones that were full of worry.
When he saw that the hug was successful he tried to move away, so the situation didn't get any more awkward, but he failed.
The girl grabbed onto his kimono and when she felt that he was going to distance himself she moved with him. That ended with the boy falling on his back and the goddess on top of him.
It also got the attention of the passing people, their surroundings stopping to see what was going on.
"I-I-I-I"m sorry!" The girls nearly screamed, the full situation downed on her and her embarrassment almost made her run away.
The boy was able to see her now, pearl white skin, with both sky-blue hair and eyes, her small nose complemented beautifully her pink adorable lips. This was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.
"No, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention and bumped into you." His cheeks were now as red as hers.
The conversation stopped for a moment, neither looking away from the other's eyes. The crowd dispersed seeing as nothing would happen.
"If you don't mind me asking, why were you in such a hurry?" The goddess was the one to break the silence.
Getting a hold of himself, the boy answered, "I was going to go look for a familia. I heard that the gods stay close to the tower, so that would be my best bet."
The girl's eyes opened wide, "You're an adventurer looking for a familia?"
"Yes, I just got to the city, I hope I can find one." He didn't understand why she seemed so surprised.
"Then look no further, for I am Tsukuyomi, goddess of the moon!"
Silence ensured, the boy didn't believe in his luck, he did it, he found a goddess that he could serve.
Tsukuyomi on the other hand didn't take the silence as a good sign, she had received it many times before, often followed by an "I don't know you." or "Who are you?"
"Are you? I thought Tsukuyomi-sama was in the Far East."
The goddess perked up at his answer. He knew her, at least a bit.
"Well, I was there, but my sister banished me, so I came to Orario to build a family for myself." She hoped that he wouldn't ask her more about it, she didn't want to remember her falling with her sister.
The boy noticed how she barely whispered out those words, so he decided to not inquire further.
"I-I'm sorry Tsukuyomi-sama, I won't bother you with it." He knew how bad it was to reminisce about bad memories.
"It's no problem, it is all in the past, they are just some bad memories." The girl said back, a forlorn look in her eyes.
Noticing that the atmosphere was bad, she decided to change the subject of the conversation.
"So… Do you want to join my familia?" She was anxious, nervous, afraid. Would this be like all the other times, where she was rejected? 'No, he knows me, so maybe he'll agree, but what if he thinks I'm a bad goddess since I've been banished. Oh no! He's going to reject me, just like all…'
"If you'll have me… It'd be an honor to serve you Tsukuyomi-sama!"
When she heard him start to talk, her train of thought stopped, when he finished she was hugging him again.
Finally, she found someone to be with, no more would she be alone, no more would she look at those adventures and think of what-ifs and 'how nice would it be'.
Once again the goddess cried, but this time it wasn't because her little happiness had ended, it was because her dream had begun.
They took their time to bask in their happiness.
When their emotions were more controlled, Tsukuyomi got up and gave a hand to her future child.
"Come on, I'll show you our house and then you can join the familia."
With a big smile, he took her hand and the both of them walked, hand-in-hand towards their home.
The house was a simple two bedroom one, similar to all others around the center of the city, it was small, but it was comfortable.
"Welcome home, er…" The goddess started happily, but stopped once she realized that he didn't introduce himself.
"Tetsuo, Tetsuo Horie." The boy was a bit embarrassed, he didn't even introduce himself to his goddess.
"Right... Tetsuo-kun, Welcome home! Let's go to the bedroom so I can give you my falna!" Her cheerfulness was back.
The boy couldn't deny his goddess. He didn't understand what she wanted to do with him, but the heavy redness of his cheeks showed that he had some idea of what might happen.
When both of them were in the room, the girl pointed to the bed and said, "Take off your shirt and lay belly down on the bed."
The boy was uncomfortable, but as he saw the confident look in his goddess, he did as he was told.
Tetsuo felt some weight on the small of his back, he was going to turn when Tsukuyomi stopped him.
"Don't worry, I heard you'll feel a bit of pain but it's really quick." That said, the girl bit the tip of her finger, and with her blood drawn, she began to claim the boy.
He didn't have time to answer. The feeling of pain spread from his back to his toes, all the way back to his head.
It was the first time he felt such pain, the feeling that his whole body was changing, however, as fast as it came, it went.
All that remained was some lines and some numbers in the language of the gods within a crescent moon background.
"And we're done… Welcome to the Tsukuyomi familia!"
"That was it? Really?" Now the boy didn't have any interruption upon his effort to sit up, however, Tsukuyomi didn't get up.
They were sitting on the bed, her on his lap, while they faced each other.
When she realized their position, the goddess avoided eye contact by looking down. That's when she realized that she had forgotten to note down her adventurer's stats.
"Umm Tetsuo… I forgot to transcribe your status. I'm sorry." The disappointment was evident in her voice.
The teen didn't want to see his goddess in that state so he tried another tactic to lift her mood, he tried the head pats.
The move had its intended result, but it also increased the awkwardness of the situation.
Not able to take it anymore, Tsukuyomi jumped off the boy's lap and said, "You can take this bedroom. I'll go get something for us to eat."
"I can help you, I made you lose your food."
A smile blossomed in the girl's face, however, she didn't give him a response. When he made to get up, she quickly said, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
That said, she left and closed the door.
The boy was left wondering what were his next steps. He had his master, now he had to provide for her.
According to his findings, adventurers were the ones who made the most valis in the city. So that was what he'd do.
'I'll go ask Tsukuyomi-sama about it when we eat. For now, I think I should rest a bit, today was a tiring day.' With those thoughts Tetsuo laid down and closed his eyes, entering the embrace of sleep.
Tsukuyomi went back a few minutes later, when she saw that her child was asleep, all she wanted to do was stay there looking at him, just to make sure that this wasn't a hallucination and he'd disappear after she blinked.
"Thank you for choosing me Tetsuo-kun," she whispered and left the room so his sleep wasn't disturbed.