Darkness took her seat at the low table, looking around the small room in wonder. This world was truly fantastic and strange. The lights did not require any spell, nor any fuel that she could see. A simple switch seemed to turn them as bright as the sun at noon. The furnishings were fine, and the floor set with a strange surface that was neither wood nor stone. Neither Kazuma or Aqua seemed bothered by their surroundings, so Darkness did not remark on them.
"Alright," Kazuma said as Aqua set down tea for all of them. Darkness carefully sipped hers. It was actually tea, not hot water. At least Aqua wasn't feeling mischievous.
"I am certain you have questions," Darkness said, setting down her cup as her old friends sat across from her.
Old friends. Darkness had buried both of them a decade ago. She thought Kazuma had been slain by the Devil King, and Aqua had vanished as well. She had assumed that Aqua returned to the heavens, and both Darkness and Megumin had been heartbroken.
But life went on.
"Yeah. Like for starters, what the hell happened to Megumin?!" Kazuma demanded.
"Is she...OK?" Aqua asked, looking worried. She looked at Kazuma and…
Darkness blinked. She had never seen Aqua look at Kazuma that way. She recognized the expression. She'd seen enough young women gaze at a man that way. She'd even looked at Kazuma as Aqua did, once. But Aqua...how much had changed?
"Megumin is...well," Darkness said carefully. "She lives."
There. She could say that much.
"But, what about... does she miss me? Did she...you know…" Kazuma lowered his head, and Darkness caught the glimmer of tears. "...we were going to wait for one another…"
Aqua put an arm around Kazuma's shoulders, looking anguished. Darkness remembered that feeling. How long had she pined for Kazuma herself? In this new world, with her old vows no longer binding her…
Darkness searched within herself, and found she no longer lusted for Kazuma as she once had. How relieving.
"She is…" Darkness tried to speak, but couldn't. That was as far it went then. "She is well. I can say nothing further."
Kazuma looked up, his eyes red burning with anger. "Can't, or won't? You were always trying to corner me yourself. You took my first kiss, and would have taken more if you could have!"
"I would have," Darkness agreed, blushing faintly. Aqua, interestingly, suddenly looked very upset. And perhaps slightly murderous. How exciting!
But no. Control.
"Cannot. There were...restrictions...placed upon my reincarnation. I can say little of what has taken place in the past 10 years, beyond general terms," Darkness explained.
"Was it Eris who sent you?" Aqua asked.
Darkness nodded. "Yes. And-" she choked, then took a hasty sip of tea. That was out of the question as well, it seemed.
"Someone put a whammy on you?" Kazuma asked.
Darkness couldn't even nod. She held her peace. She had known this would be difficult. Eris had warned her her task would be confusing.
"Someone put a whammy on you," Kazuma muttered, shaking his head. "Dammit, Eris."
"Maybe I could break it?" Aqua said, reaching out to touch Darkness.
"Do not attempt to do so. There would be...consequences. Consequences I do not understand," Darkness told her friends. She smiled, gripping Aqua's hands in hers. "It is good to see you both again. I had thought...well. You were dead."
"After ten years I can see why," Kazuma muttered. "Ok. Can you tell us how you came here? Why did Eris come to Japan?"
"To return the Goddess of Belzerg to her rightful place. And to protect...all of you," Darkness explained.
"What if...what if I don't want to go back?" Aqua asked, looking away and pulling her hands from Darkness.
"What?! Of course you want to go back! You've done nothing but pester me about defeating the Devil King and getting you back into heaven for two years!" Kazuma blustered.
"I know," Aqua admitted. Then she sniffed back tears and smiled at Darkness. "But what about you! What has happened to you, Darkness? You said you became Duchess? But what about your father?"
"He was taken by Eris five years ago," Darkness said. Good. She could speak of herself, at least. "He lived long enough to see his first grandchild."
"Grandchild? Wait, you got married? To who!?" Kazuma demanded.
"I married…" Darkness tried, but could not say the name. "...a man who understood me. As I hoped you would, Kazuma. We had...three children, together. He is still alive in Belzerg, as are they, as far as I know."
"So you at least want to go back," Kazuma muttered, drumming the fingers of one hand on the table.
"I do. That was the deal I accepted; restore the Goddess of Belzerg to her place in the heavens, and I may return home," Darkness agreed.
"I mean...I want to see Megumin and the others too," Aqua said, looking very lost. "I just...I don't want to leave my friends here too…"
"What about the Axis Cult? Don't you have any responsibilities towards them?" Kazuma demanded. He glared at Darkness. "Tell her about the Axis Cult!"
Darkness hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "The Axis Cult is still around, with many faithful adherents. They seem to know...you were a goddess...while you were in Belzerg. They have not lost faith."
Aqua's expression crumpled, and her upper lip quivered as tears filled her eyes. "My followers? They….they still love me?"
"Yes," Darkness agreed slowly. What exactly could she say? "They still worship, and receive, the blessings of the Goddess of Belzerg."
"Same bunch of wackos as always. See? You should go home to them!" Kazuma argued.
"You just...you just…" Aqua broke down in sobs and ran out of the room, then out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.
Darkness frowned after her, then turned to Kazuma. Had she really ever loved this boy? He was rude and abusive, yes, but that was not exactly the kind of abuse she desired. She supposed she had. She'd been a girl back then, even if technically an adult. "You seem to have changed very little, Kazuma."
"Well, in case you don't remember, it's not even been a month for me!" Kazuma snapped, glaring at Darkness. Then his expression softened and he cleared his throat. "It is...good to see you though. Aqua and me...I dunno."
"She loves you," Darkness said quietly. "Something about the two of you has changed."
"We've been good friends for a long time," Kazuma deflected. "Just...what about Megumin? Can't you tell me anything else? Does she talk about me? I...I think about her a lot…"
"She still mourns you," Darkness said. "More than that…" She tried, she really did, but she couldn't even make a gesture. "I cannot say. Things are different now. As I said; We thought you dead."
"Yeah, fine. I can live with that," Kazuma grumbled. He sighed again. "I suppose it's all gone to hell with a new Devil King and everything?"
"New evils have arisen. And old. Kazuma, I...I died," Darkness admitted.
"Shit. I figured. Fighting the Devil King?" When Darkness nodded, Kazuma brooded for a bit, then nodded. "Right. I'll find a way to get both of us home. I...need to go talk to Aqua. You can come if you want."
"There are things I must attend to. I will see you tomorrow," Darkness told Kazuma as they both stood. On a whim, she pulled him into a hug, giving him a tight squeeze. "I am so very happy to see both of you again. But Kazuma?"
"Yeah?" he gasped, the breath apparently driven from him. She did forget not everyone was as durable as her family.
"Be gentle with Aqua. I know she is a goddess, but…"
"But she's still an idiot," Kazuma sighed as Darkness let him go.
"No. She's still your best friend. Do not break her heart. She is my friend too."
"I'm not sleeping with her," Kazuma told Darkness, sounding exhausted. "I made a promise. People can call me whatever the hell they want, but I told Megumin she was the only girl for me. Even if it has been ten years, I need to talk to her."
"Perhaps you have changed," Darkness said, smiling and rubbing Kazuma's head affectionately. He glared at her, and she giggled. "Rest well. Give Aqua my love."
Then she left the building, pausing at the exit to turn and regard it for a moment. Such a strange edifice. This entire world was strange to her. But it still contained those she loved. Those worth fighting for.
"Hey. You done with whatever it was you were doing? Never answered your phone."
Darkness turned to find the same man who had found her last night. He had the look of an Adventurer to her eye, someone who was used to peril. He was dressed in what seemed to be fine clothing with a bit of jewelry, and walked like a man who was capable of violence. He was polite enough to her, and did not seem to be much of a threat, but he referred to himself as a "soldier" though she did not think he was a guard.
"I do not understand the device," Darkness admitted, taking it out of her pocket and holding it up. It was blinking, and had vibrated several times. She found it...interesting.
"What, you don't know how to use a phone?" he asked, taking it from her with a frown.
"We did not have such in Belzerg, Soldier Nitta."
"Don't call me a soldier in public. Members of the organization don't like to be known in public, you know?" Nitta said, flipping open the phone, glancing at it, then closing it again. "Guess you really are from another world like the boss said."
"I told you as such. I suppose I was fortunate to run into you so quickly," Darkness said, falling into step with the shorter man as they walked down the sidewalk.
"It wasn't hard. You were causing quite the disturbance. A naked woman shows up and starts asking about a goddess? Yeah, you're lucky the cops didn't pick you up."
Darkness flushed slightly at the memory, partly in embarrassment, and partly in excitement. "Those thugs did attempt to waylay me. Oh, if only they had been stronger! They could have bent me to their will, and forced me to do all sorts of wicked acts!"
"Uh-huh. You took on five men in your birthday suit, and one had a stun gun, and another had a bat. I don't think strength was really a problem," Nitta sighed. He opened a door on the odd carriage for Darkness, and she lowered herself into the compartment.
"Hey. Did you get me a snack? I'm hungry."
Darkness turned to find a young girl, staring into a box of some sort that glowed with a faint light as her thumbs tapped away at it.
"If you were hungry then you should have stayed home! I'm working here!" Nitta growled as he got in on the other side of the carriage. "Oh, this is Hina. She's...sort of my daughter. She adopted me."
"Nitta is not a very good father, but he does buy me things so he's alright I guess," Hina said, her eyes not leaving the screen.
"Hey! Look at the lady when you talk to her! She's important to the Boss," Nitta growled, turning around to glare at the girl.
Hina raised her eyes for a second and gave Darkness another, "Hey."
"Introduce yourself properly!" Nitta ordered.
"I'm Hina, this is Nitta. Do you have any snacks?" the girl asked, sounding rather bored.
"I am afraid I do not. You may call me Tina Ford," Darkness told her.
"'Kay." Hina went back to her odd glowing box, and Nitta sighed, turning around.
"Put on your seatbelt, don't want to get pulled over," Nitta ordered, putting a strap of some sort across his body. He ended up having to show Darkness how to operate the device, and then got the carriage moving. It was very exciting, as it went faster than a horse could run, and reminded Darkness of the Destroyer.
They drove across the darkened city for a while, stopping at a restaurant to purchase food at Hina's continued remarks.
"I am quite eager to try this Japanish cuisine, it is no trouble," Darkness assured Nitta as they received steaming cups of soup. "Kazuma cooked it on occasion, and it was quite good from what I recall."
"It's Japanese," Nitta sighed. "How can you speak Japanese and not know it's not called Japanish?"
"Ah, the Goddess Eris implanted your language in my mind, I never learned it."
"Of course that's what happened. Couldn't learn like a normal person," Nitta muttered.
"That's how I learned," Hina remarked around a mouthful of noodles. "They just hook you up to a machine and stick things in your mind."
"That's...really disturbing. No wonder your grades in school are awful," Nitta sighed. "Come on, boss is waiting. Don't want to be late."
They returned to the large manor house of the local baron that Darkness had visited the night before. She had been given a room in the residence, and felt slightly guilty at imposing on the hospitality of the local lord, whom she had not even met yet.
A familiar girl was waiting for them as the car pulled up, and Tsuruya waved enthusiastically as Darkness exited the carriage.
"Hey Ms. Ford! You're early! That's good, do you want to get in some sparring?! Mom said I could probably go all out against you!"
"I would be delighted to do so, Lady Tsuruya," Darkness agreed, trying to keep her enthusiasm in check. That game of dodgeball earlier had been interesting, but it hadn't really managed to hurt Darkness. If Tsuruya was really a demon, she might have the combat capability to actually challenge Darkness.
"Great, come on! Oh hey, Hina, you should come too!"
"Sparring is boring," Hina said, not even getting out of the carriage.
"Go with Miss Natsuki and Ms. Ford," Nitta ordered. "You're not sitting in the car and playing your Gameboy all night."
Hina didn't say anything, but did follow after Tsuruya, pocketing her glowing box.
Tsuruya led them to a building on the outskirts of the manor, tucked away in a luxurious garden with a wide stone path and burbling brook. It reminded Darkness of her own family manse, though the designs were far different. The experience made her slightly homesick, and she squared her shoulders. She would fulfill her duty.
The inside of the building proved to be padded, with various weapons and training dummies of unfamiliar design lined up against the wall. Tsuruya immediately began to change into a loose fitting robe, tossing off her school uniform heedless of the audience.
"You're pretty big, but one of those should fit you," Tsuruya told Darkness. "Hina, yours is over there!"
Darkness blushed slightly, but she was used to changing with the aid of servants, so it was not that strange to her. Hina wordlessly put on a loose robe of her own, then sat down and pulled out her glow box again. Darkness was beginning to wonder what was so fascinating about the odd device.
"Come on, me and you first!" Tsuruya said eagerly. She picked out a rather large morning star that looked to weigh as much as the girl herself did. "We can use real weapons, right?"
"I do not wish to injure you," Darkness said carefully, picking out a large sword of a style similar to her own. It was blunted, but a blow from her could still easily break bones or kill.
"Eh don't worry about it, I got shot the other day and it didn't even bother me! You're tough, right?"
"My defensive skill is of the highest level," Darkness confirmed, eyeing the morningstar appreciatively. It had a great many spikes, which though blunted, should still be able to grievously injure or kill anyone it hit. Well, except for her.
"Great! Let's go!" Tsuruya hurried out to the other side of the mat, bowing to Darkness.
Darkness returned the bow, drawing the sword and tossing aside the scabbard.
"Hina, you ref!" Tsuruya called.
"Ok. Go," Hina said, not looking up from her diversion.
With a cackling laugh, Tsuruya launched herself at Darkness, whirling the morning star over her head as though it weighed nothing. Darkness didn't bother blocking, opening herself to the blow with a grin. Unfortunately, Tsuruya jerked back at the last moment, her eyes wide with terror. Apparently, the girl thought she could injure Darkness, and was having second thoughts.
The heavy metal head of the morning star impacted Darkness with a satisfying thunk, though it still wasn't quite what she wanted. She did have to stifle a moan of pleasure, as the pain relieved a rather large portion of the stress and tension she'd been building up since her death.
"Ohshitohshitohshit, are you OK!?" Tsuruya gasped, wrenching her weapon back and looking at Darkness in horror.
"Do not lower your guard," Darkness snarled. She didn't bother with her sword, instead bringing her fist around and clocking her student upside her head. She had felt terribly guilty when Kazuma and Aqua had died, and had blamed her lack of offensive ability. She was no master, but she at least had basic swordsmanship and unarmed combat now, along with a few other simple skills.
Her maxed out strength stat took care of the rest.
The blow caught Tsuruya cleanly, and sent her flying through the air into the wall. It splintered, revealing a thick concrete slab under the wood paneling.
"Are you well?" Darkness called.
Tsuruya popped up, a wide grin on her face. She absently wiped away a smear of blood from a gash on her lip, and grinned a wide scarlet smile. "Oh hell yeah. That's what I'm talking about!"
"Point to Darkness," Hina said absently.
"Ha! She won't get me again!" Tsuruya hooted, and jumped back into the ring, picking up her weapon and leaning the haft on her shoulder. She looked a frightful mess, her hair matted with splinters and the dust of the concrete. "Ready for round two?"
"Always," Darkness agreed, falling into a ready stance. She couldn't simply let herself get knocked around, even if she would enjoy it. She was charged to educate Tsuruya, and the other children of Lady Suzumiya's group. To Darkness, that meant mostly combat training. She'd never been one for poetry or mathematics. She had advisors for such things. Her purpose was that of a shield and sword.
After half an hour, in which Tsuruya only managed to knock down Darkness once (she had been too enthusiastic about a particularly devastating blow from Tsuruya's morning star that had connected cleanly with her kneecap) Tsuruya talked Hina into training with them.
"Come on, Hina, you versus me and Darkness! I'll give you a bowl of salmon roe if you can beat us!" Tsuruya pleaded.
Hina sighed and stood up. "Ok. I'm out of charge anyway and I left my cable in the car. I guess I'm still pretty hungry."
"Is this wise? She seems rather small. What skills does she possess to take on two fighters?" Darkness asked Tsuruya.
"She's an esper~! We spar sometimes, Dad says it's good for me to know my limits. But with you I bet we can totally beat her!" Tsuruya said happily.
"Ee-es-pee-er?" Darkness said slowly. "I have not heard of such a thing. Is it a magic using class? I was told magic was uncommon in this world."
"She's from the future and got trained as a living weapon! She's crazy strong, and yeah ESP is kinda like magic. I don't really understand the difference. Now get ready!" Tsuruya ordered as Hina stepped onto the mat.
Grimly, Darkness raised her sword. She was familiar with fighting mages, especially young ones that looked like harmless little girls. Underestimating one was how she had been killed. It would be different this time.
"Ready?" Hina asked. Her hands were at her sides, and she was relaxed, apparently bored.
"GO!" Tsuruya shouted, dashing forward, her morning star raised high as if to smash Hina into tiny pieces.
Hina just pointed a finger at Tsuruya, and the other girl was picked up as if struck by an invisible hand, then flung off the mat with shocking speed.
Hina turned to Darkness, but Darkness shouted, "CHARGE"! And flashed across the mat. Hina jerked back, but shoved an open hand towards Darkness.
The blow that hit Darkness would have been enough to send a normal person slamming into the wall, and she grunted as she absorbed the force, her magical resistance dampening the hit.
"Anti-Magic Aura!" Darkness hissed, as she was now close enough to catch Hina in it's admittedly short range.
Hina tried to use her abilities again, but Darkness could feel them fizzle against her skill. She picked up Hina with her off hand, housting the girl by her robe up into the air.
"No fair," Hina said, sounding mournful. "I wanted the salmon roe."
"You yield too quickly," Darkness told her. "If I were a foe that sought your life, you should not give up so easily."
"Yeah but you seem nice. And Nitta likes you so you must be OK," Hina said with a shrug. "Can you put me down? This is really uncomfortable."
Darkness set Hina down carefully, the girl simply standing there as Tsuruya picked herself up from the hole in the wall she'd made and staggered forward.
"That was megas, Ms. Ford! Can you teach me how to do that stuff? It would be awesome if I could beat Hina!" Tsuruya laughed.
"Perhaps. I do not understand how skills work in this world. There are no skill points, levels, or experience," Darkness said, feeling uncertain.
"We have other ways of learning things," a new voice said, and Darkness turned to find a blue haired lady in an elegant gown at the entrance.
"Hey Mom! Here to spar with us? You have to try fighting Darkness, she's totally megas!" Tsuruya called excitedly.
"I am afraid I must take Lady Dustiness away for now," the woman said, stepping inside and bowing politely. "Hello, Lady Dustiness. Do you remember me?"
"I cannot say I recall you, Lady Natsuki," Darkness said, returning the bow as if to an equal. She was not sure of this woman's rank, but she was given to understand House Natsuki was some sort of nobility titled "Boss."
"I don't really remember you either, but we have met before, in another world. I was called by a different name then, as were you. You are known as Darkness, correct?"
"Yes, what should I call you?"
"Mrs. Natsuki is fine. I'm afraid I'm not really a noble as you would think of it. We are simply a wealthy family, and my husband and I head the Ashikawa-gumi Organization. It is, ah, not a strictly legal one."
"Oh." Darkness reclassified her hosts to "criminals" in her mind. That was not as ill a title as it once would have been, considering the profession that the Goddess Eris favored when she moved amongst mortals. Or what Kazuma had gotten up to, sometimes with Darkness's help.
"Come, our meeting is about to start. There are some you should meet."
Darkness followed the woman out into the night, along the path.
"We may speak freely with one another as long as the children are not within earshot," Mrs. Natsuki said as they went. "You will be among friends, those who have similar experiences to your own."
"You were also sent here by the Goddess Eris?" Darkness asked. She realized she was still dressed in the loose robe, now somewhat stained, with the sword strapped to her back. She'd done that automatically. It didn't feel right to go unarmed.
"Not...exactly. I, like you, am from another world," Mrs. Natsuki explained. "We met in yet another place, one we cannot remember. Those in our group, we call ourselves 'The Isekai PTA.' It is a somewhat silly name, I confess."
"Isekai. Kazuma used that term often. It simply means 'Another World' does it not?"
"Yes. My husband is from this world, or one very much like it. He was sent to my world, one that is more similar to yours than this one, I think. You will find that many of our group are similar. Were you married?"
"Yes, my husband was a nobleman of lesser status from my own world. He took my name, as his father's was disgraced," Darkness explained. "He is...Walter. Ah. I can speak to you. We have three children. Kazuma, our eldest, was named for my friend whom I thought dead. Our second son we named Ignis, after his grandfather. Our daughter is Alice; she is barely more than a babe. She just started to walk."
Darkness's throat closed up, and her eyes began to water. She missed her husband and children terribly, though it had been only two days by her reckoning since she came to this world. She would find a way back to them.
"I see. Tsuruya is my only daughter, but if I were to be parted from her, or my husband...it would be quite painful. Bad enough when I left my sister and friends behind. But it was the only way."
"The only way?" Darkness asked as they approached the main house.
Hesitating before the door, Mrs. Natsuki turned to Darkness. She brushed aside her blue hair, showing bright blue eyes that looked up to dim stars above them. "Yes. You will learn of choices, here, I think. I made a choice. My husband was rejected by a woman he had given his heart to in the other world. She picked duty over love. Myself...I chose love over duty. It was...hard...at first, knowing my husband had loved another woman. At first, I wondered. Would I have been content as his "#2" as he put it? Perhaps. I was quite foolish then. But over time things have changed. I do not regret my choice to come to Japan."
"I would not stay here, even if it is good to see Kazuma and Aqua again."
"Yes. For you, love and duty both await you in another world." Mrs. Natsuki opened the door. "But first, it is time for you to meet friends both old and new."
Darkness stepped into the room, and her breath caught in her throat.
So this is what Eris had meant about the situation being confusing.