Futago Siblings Week 2021
Day 3: Bonds/Death
"You shall rule over the dead."
That had been his father's decree, the god over the skies, after going through all his trials. He had blanched and had almost balked. This wasn't what he had wanted. He had hoped to impress his father enough to let him into his kingdom of gods. He had hoped to bring his mother into his realm and finally grant her lifelong wish.
But he was the supreme god, and he had been a mere demi-god who just barely attracted his interest thanks to the fates blessing his birth with more divinity than he should have been granted. He knew he couldn't refuse, so he did as told and journeyed to the underworld, his mother accompanying him. He had initially wished for her to remain in the mortal realm, but she had insisted. She would inevitably end up in his new kingdom after all. But unlike with his father, he acquiesced not out of fear for his mother, but out of love.
Anyhow, he knew that she would his only source of that comfort and closeness.
Nobody wanted to be close to the god of the dead after all.
Goro's first self-appointed task as the new king of the dead was pest control. Monsters were all around the underworld, terrifying the spirits into hiding and preventing their rest. But with his power of the shadows and flames, his helm of darkness, and his powerful bident, it was easy to corral the beasts to the various tunnels that led into the underworld, leaving his darkness infused flames as fences for them. It would be a waste to kill them when they made good deterrents against the living, those who wished to break the cycle before it was time. He had encountered some of the denizens of the underworld as he did, full blooded gods unlike he, but he had given them a wide berth. He doubted they would take kindly to him suddenly claiming domain over the realm, so he would not bother them, especially the twin deities of the shadows, one of the oldest beings known.
After that was to sort through all the souls. His father might not care how they were treated, but he and his mother did. If justice could not be done in the land above, then it would be done in the land below. So he rewarded the virtuous and the children as best as he could, making as comfortable an area as he could for them in the underworld, threw the wicked and unrepentent into the fires of the the deepest pits where the older deities lay trapped, and left the rest, those that were in between and very human, to wander, neither a punishment nor a reward. All of this done with the help of his mother, readying rooms in the palace for his judgements, or hers should he need to deal with other business.
Though when they had decided that, he hadn't expected to put it to action so soon as he sensed not one, but two living souls cross into his realm.
Goro frowned and turned to his mother.
"Mama?"
"Yes, my son?"
"Could you judge the souls for a moment? Something strange has come to my attention."
"Of course. Hurry on now, then."
He nodded in thanks then left for the anomaly. And just as before, he had an initial plan, banishing the two from his realm and then directing monsters to the unguarded entrance, but as soon as he met them, well...
"Are you the god of the underworld?"
...he was still tempted to do just that, but his curiosity increased considerably.
Before him was a mortal woman, not too much different from any other mortal woman, except the fact that she stood before him, a god in all but origin, without fearing him. No, instead her fear seemed in correlation to the little girl who had scuttled to hide behind her as soon as he appeared, a little girl who he could sense great divinity in her, despite being a demi-god like he.
"Yes I am," he said in answer to her query.
"I beg pardon for intruding, but I wish to bargain."
Now his curiosity shot to great heights.
"You have either much bravery or audacity to think to bargain with a god."
"I have fled from yet another for years. Bargaining seems minor in comparison."
"Fled?"
"Yes. It is why I wish to bargain. My daughter and I will serve under you in exchange for residence and protection in this realm."
She truly was audacious...and partially insane.
"Why the underworld?"
"Where else would gods not wish to venture willingly?"
But as insane as she could be...Goro would admit that was genius.
"Very well. But if you had wished to reside here, there is faster way to reach it..."
He let his implication linger.
"My daughter would be unable to come with me had I done it that way."
It was then Goro understood. This was a mother doing all in her power to provide for her daughter. In that moment, sympathy sprung as he said,
"I see... Then come. You must be tired. This once, I shall allow you on my chariot...if you shall introduce yourselves and regale me of your journey."
And thus he met Wakaba and her daughter Futaba, his half-sister.
That fact was the least surprising out of everything.
It took some time until he was satisfied with how Wakaba and Futaba were settled in his palace, needing to decide the mother's job and finding appropriate necessities for both, but he eventually did, his mother pleased over their new residents, and he returned to his new duties as ruler of the underworld...at least until Wakaba, in a panic, asked him to look for her daughter.
Now, yes, he was able to detect the two when they entered the underworld, but that had been because they entered it, and thus he could go to the entrance Wakaba and Futaba used. He couldn't actually pinpoint souls within his realm and he made that quite clear to her... That didn't mean he refused to search for Futaba, for he was just as worried as his own mother, who had grown fond of the girl. So he boarded his chariot, scanning everywhere frantically, hoping that he would find Futaba before she encountered the monsters at the entrances.
With his focus narrowed, it was unsurprising but still jostling when he had crashed into a denizen of the underworld...not to mention having yet another problem to add to the pile.
He had just been rude to a god, Goro sensing his full divinity.
But instead of the rage he had come to expect of deities, the god said,
"Oh my apologies. Are you well? And your horses?"
Goro stared. He had the appearance of a young man, with a beauty that could leave a woman envious, and covered in a black, billowy substance that clothed him and stretched like a snake from his neck, allowing him to float, lifting him as if it were a cloud.
"Uh...hello? Sir?"
Goro shook himself out of his stupor and said,
"Yes, I am well, but excuse me, I must make haste."
The god frowned and said in concern, "What's wrong?"
"I'm looking for my little sister," he said, his panic making him speak with little thought.
He prepared to snap his reins when the god said,
"Oh, then I may most likely be able to help."
Goro fixed him with a dubious gaze. "How?"
"Oh because I am the god of death. I am Ryoji. I can likely sense her soul. When did she die?"
He set his jaw. "She is not dead. She is alive and resides with me."
Ryoji was surprised. "Oh... Wait, then are you...?" He shook his head. "Never mind. My apologies. But if that is the case...this will actually be very easy. I already know where she is."
Goro stared in disbelief. "You do?"
He smiled kindly but Goro grew irritated when he said, "Follow me."
And he left, expecting him to follow. After cursing the fates, Goro did so, and eventually found himself before the twin deities of the shadows, Minato, the god of the dark, and Minako, the goddess of the night, and in between them...was a rather animated Futaba.
"Futaba!"
The girl yelped and disappeared out of sight, not by hiding behind the colossal, vaguely human deities, but by placing a helmet atop her head.
His helm of darkness.
His anger fumed at the revelation but even now his worry quashed it as he disembarked his chariot as soon as he stopped before them.
"Are you all right?" he said as he took off the helm.
"I'm fine..." the girl said, mumbling in complaint yet allowing him to examine her.
He was startled as he heard the deities chuckle and he looked up towards them just as Minako said,
"Don't worry, we took care of her. We were actually just convincing her to return considering she would worry you and her mother."
"You mean I was convincing her while you distracted her with stories of the night," her brother, Minato, said unamused.
Goro stared as the goddess of the night laughed and then continued to banter with her brother and dear friend, Futaba joining in not long after and, eventually, roping him into the conversation.
To say the least he apologized profusely to his mother and Wakaba when he finally wrangled themselves away from the deities, having Futaba do the same.
With that little scare, they had collectively decided that they would keep Futaba under their eyes at all times, which was why he currently had the girl in his lap, hidden from the spirits he was judging by covering her with his chlamys. Wakaba was busy with checking on the monsters at the entrances while his mother was checking the status of the spirits that were already judged. It was also why, during a lull, the girl on his lap said,
"I'm bored... Can't I go?"
"No, Futaba."
"But it's boring..."
"It's your own fault for wandering off and outside the palace grounds."
"Then I'll stay in the palace. Promise."
"No. I won't be fooled by that."
Futaba groaned. But then he felt her startle in his lap and he worried for a moment until she said, "How about you have Ryoji watch me? Or Minato and Minako?"
"No."
"Oh come on! Why not?!"
"Because they are not family."
"But they're your friends, aren't they?"
Goro clenched his fist.
"No, they are not. What made you believe that?"
At this, he felt Futaba shift and he looked down just as she looked up at him with a confused look.
"Really? They were saying nice things about you."
He stared.
"What?"
"Yeah. They said they liked how the underworld's nicer since you got here. They would always be busy fighting those monsters all over the place to keep them away from the spirits, but now that you put them in certain places, they don't need to do anything except make sure they stay there."
"What?"
"Uh huh. And Ryoji likes that you organized the souls because he always felt sorry a lot of the souls can't rest because of the bad souls messing with the good ones."
Goro was silent. He wasn't sure what to say.
Before he had to answer or Futaba could say more, the new group of souls that were coming in had parted, allowing the god of death to come through.
"Ryoji?" he and his little sister said in confusion.
"My apologies for disturbing you, but there's a problem I feel you should be informed of."
Goro frowned in seriousness. "What is it?"
"I sense new dead souls, but many of them are still in the land of the living."
"What? Why aren't they coming here?"
He had left some of the entrances without monsters for a reason. That was why Wakaba was able to enter his realm after all.
"I believe something happened to the psychopomp, Morgana."
"You believe?"
"I'm sorry. I can only sense living souls when I am here, not in the land of the living, so I'm unsure. But Morgana is how souls find their way here. If they aren't arriving, then something must have happened to him."
"I see..."
There was only one slight problem. He wasn't sure what to do with Futaba.
And then the girl in question said, "Let me come."
"What?"
"I can find him. I can sense others. That's how Mom and I got here. We followed Morgana and the spirits he guided."
He stared.
"What?! Why didn't you or Wakaba tell me?!"
"You didn't ask."
Goro grumbled. He was tempted to continue his point about the annoyance of withheld information, but that wasn't important right now.
"Very well, you shall accompany me. But you must listen to everything I say."
"Deal."
It was good fortune that Futaba could sense others for they found Morgana quick enough...stuck in a jar.
"Get me out of here!" the psychopomp said when Goro had asked to confirm he was inside.
"No! Get me outta here first!" someone else said from within it.
"Oh no you don't! This is all your fault! You should be staying in this stupid jar!"
"What was that, you stupid cat?!"
"I am not a cat! I'm a psychopomp!"
Goro looked to his sister. "Do you know the other god?"
"Uh uh."
"I believe he's the god of war and protection, Ryuji," Ryoji, the god of death, said.
Futaba turned to him, incredulous. "Really?"
He tilted his head in curious confusion. "Really what?"
"Never mind."
"Yeah it's me! And it's all this cat's fault we're stuck here!"
"I said I'm not a cat! And it's your fault for angering Lady Ann!"
"I thought you were stalkin' her!"
"Of course I wasn't stalking her! I was working with her!"
"Wait, Lady Ann?" Ryoji said. "As in the goddess of sorcery and crossroads?"
"Yeah! Her! She's my friend and I thought this stupid cat was botherin' her!"
"Okay, that's it! Take this, you brute of a god!"
"Ow! Okay, you asked for it!"
Sounds of a scuffle from within the jar could be heard as it jumped about from the forces inside. Goro ignored them, and Futaba's snickers, in favor of asking Ryoji,
"Do you know how to release them?"
"Only Ann would be able to I feel. Her or Minato and Minako, considering their power, but if they go out before the moon rises, they will bring the night with them."
Goro sighed. "Very well. Futaba? Do you believe you can find her?"
The girl hummed in contemplation. "Hey Mona."
The odd name caused the jar to stop its constant bouncing as its captives said,
"Huh?"
He suspected she had said that for that very result.
"What do souls look like to you?"
"Oh...like whirling winds of color. Why do you ask, little one?"
"What does Ann look like?"
"Oh! That's very easy..."
The psychopomp nearly went into too much detail about how beautiful the goddess's soul appeared but thankfully Futaba only needed to hear the first few moments before she directed Goro one way, leaving Ryoji to watch over the jar to prevent further mishaps. Soon enough, he and his sister encountered a woman with a youthful appearance, flowing blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sky...which were, at the moment, wide from surprise.
"Are you Ann?" Goro said. "We found Morgana and Ryuji stuck in jar. May you let them out?"
"Oh, you saw them?" She chuckled sheepishly. "My apologies for trapping them. It was my mistake... I was about to do just that."
"Then why did you leave them?"
"I had to get some plants from Ren and Akira to undo the spell for I ran out of the necessary ingredients."
Goro frowned. "Ren and Akira?" he said, unsure as to who they were.
"Ren is the god of the harvest. Akira is his little sister who assists him in his duties. Do not worry. These won't harm them," she said. Then she grumbled, "As tempting as it is to do so...ugh... They nearly hurt the spirits in their squabble..."
Goro...hadn't expected for her, a goddess, to fix her mistake.
He was pulled from his stupor as Ann said,
"Since you are here, would you allow me on your chariot?"
"Oh, yes. Here."
He moved to accomodate her, but made sure Futaba was secure and obscured from her view, having finally noticed her nervousness rising and attempted to soothe her.
As they rode off, the goddess smiled at him and said,
"So, you're the new god of the underworld, right? Goro, was it?"
Goro hesitated for a moment. "Yes."
The goddess's smile brightened. "Phew. I was worried I forgot. I have been wanting to meet you. Everyone from the underworld has been saying nice things about you."
That stunned him.
So much so he couldn't help but say, "Why would they speak well of me?"
Ann turned confused. "Why wouldn't they?"
"But I'm..."
The god of the dead. The one none cared for, bar his own mother. The one all feared for his dominion. The one assigned to the underworld merely due to his father's whims.
"Different? Kind? Fair?" she said, now with a knowing, and saddened, look. "Well those are the very reasons why your fellow deities of our realm speak well of you, Goro. It is also why I wish to know you...and hopefully befriend you."
Goro stared agape.
What could he possibly say to that?
For once, he was grateful his sister was cheeky as she said, Goro hearing her smirk,
"See? They are your friends."
"Oh! Hello there," Ann said. "And who might you be?"
All of a sudden, her brazen demeanor left her as she shrunk into his chlamys and merely said, "U-Uh, um..."
As unexpected as Futaba's sudden change into quiet nervousness was, especially in light of how cheeky she was with him, with the constant string of surprises in the past several moments, Goro ended up easily adapting and accepting it as he said to soothe her,
"Have no fear. You are safe. I shall make sure of it."
And much like when he met the primordial deities of the shadows, Futaba opened up after his declaration, and thus easily conversed with Ann and even boldly teased the then released war god and psychopomp for the predicament they had forced upon themselves.
Ever since that incident, and with some encouragement from his mother, Goro had decided to meet with other deities, both from above and below, as well as get to know the ones he had met through Futaba. And he had found that, yes, other deities did wish to meet him. True, none of them were the ones more widely worshipped by the other half of his kin, but they were deities nonetheless...and they were outcasts like him.
Such as the goddess of the hearth, Haru, who had appreciated his palace's hearth, citing it was one of the most loved she had the pleasure of knowing; the spirits that formed the rivers of his realm such as Styx and Lethe; or the Fury Sisters, Sae and Makoto, who were glad to hear of his segregation of the souls and asked if they could oversee the punishment of the wicked, which he allowed.
They weren't the only ones to gain new roles in the underworld. Now that he knew of Futaba's power to sense others far and near, he had her oversee the souls all over. But with his realm much calmer, some of the wandering souls dared to leave, Futaba able to sense their attempts. His sister did not have any strength or power to bring them back, and with Wakaba and his mother now assigned new roles as judges to assist him, they couldn't help her either.
At first, he had asked the river spirits to position themselves to prevent their escape, then placed Futaba in charge of ferrying new souls into the land. But when that did not deter them, and he had told Ann of his problem during one of her visits, she offerred to bring someone to act as guard, someone who had been imprisoned by his father and she wished to free. That deity was a shapeshifting fox monster by the name of Yusuke, son of the great monsters Echidna and Python, and he proved to be essential, guarding the newly built gates of the underworld.
Slowly but surely, the underworld was becoming more and more a proper kingdom, their little group of outcasts growing closer.
So of course Goro was shocked when a major god visited him...
"Hey," Akira said upon him arriving to see the new guests.
...along with his minor goddess little sister.
They were quite the pair, the two of them, almost like Minato and Minako in their sibling banter, but much more mischeivous than them when they could get away with it. And so it was no surprise, but much to his chagrin, that they both took a shine to Futaba and vice versa. Unfortunately, Ren couldn't stay long due to his duties, but Akira could, having no domain of her own. Goro frowned at the revelation as the nature god left.
"You do not have your own domain?"
Akira smiled with bitterness. "The god of the skies hates my brother and I. We barely convinced him to allow Ren to keep his position as god of the harvest, only thanks to no one else having as much power as him in that domain."
Goro grimaced. "I see..."
Of course. No matter where he went, his father was always causing pain for others. But then he noticed her words and grew confused.
"But if that is the case, then what about your own powers?"
There, she grew silent, and Goro feared he offended her.
"M-My apologies. You do not need to answer if—"
"They are already taken."
He halted and instead said, "Pardon?"
"The powers that I do have...already have deities in their domains," she said, now with a wistful smile. "The eyes that can see the life of others belongs to Futaba and many, the light to shine the day belongs to Tatsuya, and the strength powerful enough to protect to Ryuji, just to name a few... Any and all powers or qualities I have, others have already been given dominion over."
"I see..."
She shared so many qualities with others that it would be redundant should she share, and thus a perfect excuse for his father to get rid of her, all the while ignoring that there were several goddesses that acted as Muses and similarly group worshipped deities, unlike her brother, who kept the life of the flaura alive and provided for the humans and fauna.
It made Goro realize he had been lucky his father thought he had a use for him...since he himself shared many powers and qualities with other deities as well.
So perhaps that was why he said,
"You will always have a place here."
And she stared at him in astonishment. He had panicked, embarrassed over his statement, and made to rectify his words...somehow. But before he could, the goddess smiled, eyes glazed over from unshed tears, and said,
"Thank you...Goro."
For a moment, he forgot to breath. And then he said,
"You are welcome."
She visited more often after that, with Ren whenever he could spare the time. She grew closer to all of them. She would guide spirits alongside Morgana on her way to the entrance. She would tell stories of the aboveworld while riding with Futaba. She brought honeycakes for Yusuke when she passed the gates. She would assist his mother and Wakaba in judging souls, leading groups of them to their destinations. And she would always insist on his rest no matter how obstinate he was, though having his mother and his half-sister back her up when he was being particularly stubborn certainly turned the odds in her favor.
It also helped she made wonderful company when he took those breaks. Her mischievous nature came in tandem with a curious mind and quick wit, leading to lively conversations on various topics, both between them and the other residents of the underworld, Akira typically traipsing them around his domain. It also led to numerous stares from the spirits wandering Erebus, not that he blamed them. Seeing him, the god of the dead, laugh at a goddess's joke wasn't something his subjects thought they would witness when they were still alive. And Akira was quite beautiful as well, as befitting of a full blooded goddess. Her dark curls rivaled the sheen black of Minato's form. Her blue eyes shone brighter than all of the skies. And her smile was more stunning then the goddess of beauty, sometimes mischievous, sometimes smug, but more often warm and comforting.
It was during one of these times that he realized the unthinkable happened: he had fallen in love.
But he didn't tell her.
Instead he confided in Futaba.
He immediately questioned why he told her instead of his mother.
"Wait, you're not going to tell her?!" she said.
"Why would I?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because you love her, of course."
"Just because I love her doesn't mean I have to confess it to her."
"Oh come on! You totally should! She could be your beloved!"
"I doubt she feels that way about me."
"And how do you know that?"
He readied his response.
But Futaba cut him off with a stern look. "Don't you dare insult yourself or I'm gonna get her right now so she'll remind you how awesome you are."
"You wouldn't."
"I would. And you know it."
Goro groaned. "Why are you so insistent I confess to her? Can I not keep the nature of my affections to myself?"
"Well, yeah, if you really want to," his sister said, to his astonishment. But then she turned earnest. "But if you're keeping it to yourself because you don't think you don't deserve to be with her, then you have another thing coming for you because I will convince you otherwise."
She had left, likely for dramatic emphasis, but just as likely to let her words stew in his thoughts as he mulled their conversation over. It didn't take long however.
She was right after all.
"Akira?"
"Yes, Goro?"
"I...have something I wish to confess."
She smiled mischievously. "Oh? Are you confessing your love for me?"
His cheeks burned but that eased things for him for all he had to say was, "Yes."
To his panic though, she was stunned.
"B-But you need not have to reciprocate my feelings as much as I wish you would, n-not that I am demanding you to! I just wish to court you! No, wait, I mean, yes I do, but if you don't wish for me to that is fine as well I just wanted to—"
But it was then he was stunned as Akira kissed him.
His mind was blissfully blank for a good moment.
Then she stopped and she had an amused smile as she said,
"I've always wanted to do that."
With his brain without its filter, he said, "To kiss me? Or to shut me up with a kiss?"
She turned smug. "Both."
His cheeks hurt even more.
Futaba smirked. "So...I take it things went well?"
"Splendidly," Akira said, equally smug as she held him tighter from her piggyback perch.
Goro groaned from a cocktail of emotions, but most prominently embarrassment, as Futaba continued to tease and Akira continued to be absolutely shameless. Of course, not long after his sister found out, everyone else did as well, and they joined in the teasing. But as exasperated he was about all of it, he was also touched, for they had also congratulated his new relationship and wished both him and Akira much happiness. Even Ren, her brother, was pleased.
There was one problem however...
...and he only realized it after a few weeks into their relationship.
His father would not approve of their relationship, especially if they were married.
True, if they wanted to, they could just go on with it. There were many other goddesses that held domain over that aspect, including his father's wife herself, but Akira would be his queen if she married him, and they both knew his father would loath the fact that the son he had likely put as puppet king of the underworld was tying himself to the sister of one of the gods he hated the most, Ren, who nearly matched him in power and importance to the mortals. And that fact might be the tipping point for him to start interfering with his affairs. Goro and Akira didn't want that, not when the underworld was flourishing in its job, Elysium now a proper paradise for the deserving thanks to both Ren and Akira's help, little to no souls escaping to break the cycle of rebirth and few that were living daring to traverse the land of the dead.
But once again, he confided in Futaba, though this time Akira was by his side, because she rarely wasn't these days.
And the instant they did, her eyes lit up in mischief.
"Futaba..." he said, uneasy.
"Hey, I didn't say anything yet."
"But you were thinking it."
"Hey! It was an idea to help you two get married, thank you very much."
"Oh? What is it?" Akira said before he could deny his sister.
Futaba grinned. "We convince him by making it a kidnapping."
"What."
He wasn't sure how that could be helpful in the slightest...until she explained herself, and when she did, he begrudgingly thought it genius. It was simple. Because his father resented Ren, if they made it seem that Goro was kidnapping her to force her into a marriage that the god of harvest had been adamant against, they could have his father allow it and not retaliate in any way, shape or form. So he agreed to it.
Akira however, to his surprise, had been hesitant. Oh no, she thought it absolutely amusing that they would be tricking his father should they do this but...she worried for Goro's reputation. Should they do this, there was a good chance others, both mortal and divine, would fear him even more. And to that, Goro held her hand and her body close and said,
"It doesn't matter. I have family and friends and you. So please, do not worry... If you would let me, I would be by your side for all of eternity, no matter what."
"Goro..."
Of course his sister interrupted the moment but he wouldn't begrudge her this once as they put together the plan in detail, how it would be done and who would participate.
In just three months, Goro made it appear he had abducted Akira from her home and Ren made it appear it caused massive grief as he stopped the growth of life. To make it both serious and binding, Ren made it long enough that all those unprepared would die and Akira ate six pomegranates from the underworld. His father was quite pleased with the result but, not wanting to lose all sacrifices given by the mortals, soon ordered to return Akira for the time she could withstand leaving the underworld.
And he wasn't any the wiser that it was exactly what they wanted.
So the underworld had its biggest celebration ever, with Ren using the whole scheme as an excuse to rest during the months his sister had to stay, Futaba and the rest preparing everything from the venue to the attire and Goro and Akira having the best day of their life yet as they made their union official and enjoyed their time with family and friends...even if he was exasperated by their teasing when he and his wife retired for the evening.
"Hey."
Goro pulled himself out of his reverie as he put a finger over his lips and said, "Shhh..."
Futaba rolled her eyes but smiled and complied nonetheless as she took a seat by his bed.
"You're the one who didn't hear me," his sister said in whisper.
"You could have come closer," he retorted.
She smiled then turned her focus away from his face and down towards his torso...or rather the ones who were using his body as a cushion. His wife, Akira, was slumbering peacefully, slotted against his shoulder, and in his arms, as secure as he could possibly hold them, were his first borns, twin brother and sister.
"Lemme guess. You didn't hear me because you were enjoying their company?"
"That is one reason, yes."
"Oh? Then what is the main reason?"
Goro quieted for a moment as everything he had remembered flashed once again, but much shorter and quicker. Then he said,
"Realizing how grateful I am for being appointed as god of the dead...and for you being in my life."
"Isn't that something you should be saying to your wife?" Futaba said in jest, but her tone didn't have the teasing energy to it.
Goro smiled. "I wouldn't have gotten the courage to ask for her heart, let alone her hand, if not for you. I wouldn't have tried to reach out to our friends if it weren't for you. So thank you, Futaba... Thank you for being my sister...and for loving me."
Futaba smiled back. "Thank you for being my brother...and for loving me too."
Author's Notes: This is gonna be a trend huh? Well I hope what I did here was enough cause I know I enjoyed it. But I'm a mythology enthusiast so that's a given. So of course the first entry I did for this week that's longer than 2,500+ words is this one.
I was actually originally going to do a fic about Futaba and Akechi talking about their dead moms and bonding over that, but then "death god" followed by "no one wants to be friends with one" also followed by "Hades is nicer than you'd think" made me go "I'MMA DO THIS". Yeah yeah Minato, Minako and maybe even Eikichi (cuz why not) would be a better fit for Hades equivalent but...eh. I really wanted to do it.
Try the spot all the mythological roleswaps and references to that and the game! I had a lot of fun with it. Only one I'll mention though is Ryuji. That bit where he's stuck in a jar? It's a reference to the one time Ares was stuck in a jar because of two giants. We don't know HOW, but he just was. I mainly know this thanks to Overly Sarcastic Productions.
