Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona belongs to ATLUS. Touhou Project belongs to Zun. I have no ownership of the copyrights of either series in any way.
Chapter 22: A Just Flame
"This is pretty good…" Minato said as he chomped down on the Yakitori I made for him. "Grilled just right…" he commented as he bit another chunk of chicken. "Sauce is well made too." I felt relieved to hear him compliment my cooking… not that I was looking forward to it mind, but I spent a lot of time making the recipe and it would be a shame if it wasn't any good. This sweat's also from the heat of the grill. Besides, I can manipulate fire. Even though it's already November, the cold doesn't even register for me.
"Took you long enough to come by, you know?" I told him… It's always embarrassing to hear people talk about my cooking, so I don't think he noticed that I wasn't paying the most amount of attention. "I was wondering if you'd ever stop by…"
"Well it was a bit out of the way…" He said as he looked around. It was the afternoon and like always, it felt lazy and sleepy at this time of day. My stand sat at the edge of the human village, all by its lonesome with no other stands near it, at the edge of the forest too… I… I don't really care to socialize with them… but I guess that doesn't help business… "Still though, that was really good. I should come by more often."
"I- I wouldn't mind if you came by everyday…" What am I saying!? That… that contest isn't something I'm a part of…
"Well if you don't mind, Fujiwara-san. Besides, my work for the Ministry has left me some extra pocket change." Oh right… he's… working for them now.
"What exactly do you do?" I mean… it's the Ministry… the main governing body of the afterlife… what exactly could he even do?
"Well… just paperwork for now… Apparently if there's some big case, then they'd send me to handle it personally. I've heard from Eiki-san that she's found a case for me to take, but that it's taking a while for it to go through."
"I thought you said you were an administrator last time I asked?"
"Yeah, that's why I mostly do paperwork… but if a major problem happens, apparently, I'm supposed to fix it. Most of the reapers simply ferry souls over the river. Admins, and even some above admin status, have to go out and personally take souls to the Sanzu River if the soul refuses to do so on its own. From what I hear, the case Eiki-san is trying to have me solve involves a pretty powerful reaper who went missing trying to take the soul of this girl who apparently died of … I can't remember… it sounds pretty tough… He was apparently very powerful and high ranking, so they need him back."
"Sounds like a pain…" I noted… well death really doesn't apply to me… but I guess it is a problem if they aren't doing their job… doubly so given how bureaucratic the afterlife seems to be.
"Yeah… it does…" he agreed without hesitation… Seriously…
"You're supposed to say that it's your duty or something like that. Not very tactful for someone in your position." Given how that Ghost Princess is… I think I know why they didn't hesitate to bring him in to their fold. "By the way… how's your work going at the shrine?"
"Oh… just cleaning… though Reimu is a lot nicer than before… Still makes me clean everything though… but since I keep doing it every day, the works been getting easier, so I also have time to knock out some paper work too."
"Reimu? Just Reimu? No san or kun?" When… did that happen…?
"She asked me to… I didn't really see why not since she seemed fine with it…" He said as he bit off the last bit of chicken on the wooden stick.
"I think I can see why you managed to get so many girlfriends…" He's a natural womanizer… and the kind you can't really hate either… because he's just too damn oblivious… and you know he's not doing it on purpose as well… the absolute worst…
"Did you say something?" He asked as he threw the stick into the makeshift garbage pail I had.
"Nothing…" I said back… Seriously… is he dense, or is he sharp. I can't tell at all… Probably dense since he included me in that little announcement a while ago… I mean… as nice as a relationship is… I don't think…
"So how have you been? Are you doing okay?" He asked, pulling my head out from the clouds.
"What's it to you? I mean-" whatever I was about to say was immediately cut off by the sound of the village fire bell ringing from the center of the town, its sound dominating everything within earshot. Luckily since we were at the edge of town, we avoided the worst of it… so annoying… smoke could also be seen, rising as it does towards the sky.
"Um… that sounds bad…" he said as he looked towards the center of town where the sound originated from.
"Well… it is the village fire bell…" I noticed him looking at me… that little… "I've been here the whole time you know…"
"Oh, no… I was just wondering if you were going to say more… I didn't mean to… I mean… sorry…" Dammit… of course he wouldn't think I started it… he's too nice for that… and too smart as well…
"No… I'm the one who should apologize. I'm the one who jumped to conclusions…" I said as the bell continued to ring…
"How about we just call it even and move on then… besides… that fire's pretty close. That smoke isn't more than a couple of blocks from here…" Suddenly he started walking towards the smoke that was just beginning to reach towards the clouds.
"Hey! Where are you going?" I asked as he started to walk off…
"Huh? Did I forget to pay?" He said as he began to rummage through his pockets.
"No! Not that! I mean, what are you? A moth?" I asked as he missed the point… okay he did pay.
"I just want to see if anyone is hurt. This might not be the smallest village, but people have to work together," He justified… dammit, that look in his eye… I have to at least try to convince him…
"Look, they'll be fine. They didn't need you before, they won't need you now." The humans already here can handle it.
"Doesn't change the fact that I can help now… thanks for the meal. I'll be sure to comeback soon." Just like that, he turned back around and began to walk briskly towards where the smoke was coming from… I looked around to find that this corner of the village was pretty much abandoned… I'm not going to get any more business today, that's for sure… arrrgh… dammit… I take a deep breath.
"Hold on… just let me lock the cart and I'll be right behind you…" I say a bit loudly since he'd already gained some distance. Turning back around, he gave me a small nod and then began to lean on the building next to him. I have a bad feeling about this…
Break
"Go back to the well and get some more water!"
"Take another sweep around the perimeter! Make sure none of it is spreading!"
"Does anyone have any idea what caused the fire!?"
"Apparently they were just trying to start a fire, but then it flared as soon as they got a spark!"
The scene was pretty much as I expected. These guys have become quite coordinated at making sure fires were contained. The human village in Gensokyo is isolated. Some people from the outside may be whisked away to this place. But there's no trading with other villages, no conflicts with other villages, no nothing with other villages… because it's the only one here. Out of necessity, these guys have had to pretty much either rise to the task, or die…
"Huh… you're right… they're pretty good…"
"What did I tell you… waste of time…" The two of us leaned on a building on the other side of the river bed. I didn't want to get involved… knowing him though, probably just to not get in the way.
"Any survivors!?" One of them shouted…
"Just this little one…" a woman answered, as she tended to a little girl who lay unconscious on a rolled out piece of cloth. She was covered in soot, and her breathing seemed a bit raspy, but from the looks of it, she was going to be fine… physically at least…
"The parents didn't make it…"
"Dammit!" The drama unfolded before us… however unlike most people, I just stared at it without much investment… some might think it cold of me, but it's like eating meals. I've stopped counting how many deaths I've seen… I don't know if I ever did keep count…
"Hey… isn't that…"
"She controls fire doesn't she?"
"But she helps people through the forest right?"
"Yeah, but we don't know the cause of this flame…"
"But without her, we'd never see Eirin-sensei…"
"Just keep an eye on her… who knows… maybe she-"
"Hey, let's get out of here. I think we've seen enough." His words cut through theirs, making me instinctually turn to him. "Come on, I think I want another skewer…" he said as he tapped me on the shoulder. "Besides… something smells funny, and it's beginning to ruin my appetite…"
"Uh… right… let's go…" I followed… something smells funny… what an indirect way to put it… didn't figure him to have that kind of class… "But I'm charging you extra for that skewer since you're making open up shop again…"
"Oh… um… do they come in small?" What the hell are you talking about…? I can't but chuckle just a bit…
Break
"Um… I know you said soon, but the very next day wasn't what I was expecting…" He took so long to finally show up… and now he won't leave… I'm not sure if I liked one more than the other…
"What can I say… my compliments to the chef…" he said as he took another bite. Well… he seems to be enjoying it… "And besides… I was worried about said chef as well… how are you doing… not letting what those guys said about you get to you I hope…"
"I'm used to it… besides, it was a lot worse back then; trust me on that. Compared to back then, this is nothing, and besides, they're just going to talk behind my back anyways, so being bothered by it at all is just going to be a waste of time… not that I'm lacking that…" I remember when they tried burning me to death… it was quaint…
"Well if you say so… just call it my bad habit to worry…" He said as he took one last bite before throwing it the stick into the bin. "Though… I'm not sure what to do about her though…" he said, somewhat gesturing to the side. I turn towards the direction he was hinting at and… oh… it's that girl…
"Doesn't she look familiar…?" I said, sighing as I finished the sentence. This could get ugly…
"So I wasn't the only one… isn't she the survivor from yesterday's fire?" Yup… she was… long black hair that reached her lower back… typical clothes that most villager children wore; only difference was that she had bandages wrapped over parts of her body… probably to heal and hide the burns…
"Yeah… she is… hey where are you going!?" He was walking over to where the girl was.
"It's not nice to stare like that you know… if you have something to say, say it…" he told her. The girl, surprised she was found out, quickly turned around and was about to run when- "Running and hiding isn't going to solve your problems…" he suddenly seemed to flash and in an instant, was behind the girl. Because she couldn't stop in time, she ran right into him, but being as he was, he grabbed her before she fell down. Right… he is taking sword lessons from that half-ghost… while holding on to her shoulders, he gently pushed her back to where the cart was. "Now come on, Fujiwara-san isn't going to hurt you… badly…" Hey…
"Why didn't you just let her run? It's not like talking to me is going to do anything." Hell, it might just make things worse…
"Well… sometimes talking it out helps… now come on, I'll let you go when you say what you want to say." He was gentle, but he was firm. He was determined to get this girl to talk. When they finally got back to the cart, I could see the girl fidgeting, trying to avoid my gaze… I gave an exasperated sigh…
"Why the hell are you doing this… it's obvious she isn't going to say anything…" You're more invested in this than I am…
"Because if she doesn't say anything now, it might get worse later… trust me… personal experience… Now come on… what is it that you want to say? I take a deep breath. This isn't going to work… I need to start closing shop soon anyways… as I'm about to turn around however…
"Are you the one who started the fire? Everyone keeps saying that you did it." I stop in my tracks… I was afraid that was the case…
"No, I was here the whole time, you can just ask him," I reply as clearly as I can… I have to admit, I didn't expect her to talk. The least I can do is answer her then.
"But the adults said-"
"You know what rumors are kid? Well they aren't always the most truthful things in the world." Just like a kid, so easily influenced… then again, now might be when she's most easy to influence to begin with… The kid was sort of taken aback by my response, and paused for a moment before looking up at Minato.
"Yeah, she was here, making some pretty tasty yakitori. You want one? My treat."
"Um… that's okay… I already ate… My uncle and aunt are taking care of me…"
"You're loss… but you got what you came for right? She and I were here the whole time. And if it means anything… I know what it's like to lose family so soon. I lost my parents at a young age too."
"You… you too?" She said as her eyes widened.
"Yeah… it's not easy is it… you feel so alone… and it's okay to feel that… but not forever… your uncle and aunty are taking care of you right?" She gave him a nod. "I'm sure they can tell you better, but here's some advice I think I can give… blaming people doesn't do anything. Instead, try working towards something new… with your uncle and aunty."
"Um… I don't get it… but I do feel better…" Barely… she barely felt better… but it was better… "And, um… sorry…" she said as she gave me a bow… okay I wasn't expecting that… "I have to go home now… bye…" and like that she broke out of his hands and ran. She could have broken out at any time…
"Wasn't expecting that I'm guessing?"
"Shut up… " He can get surprisingly smug sometimes… "I'm more surprised that you were able to sound so convincing…"
"Yeah… to be honest… I sort of made some of that up…" Huh?
"What, you mean you didn't lose your parents?" How sly… too sly actually…
"No… I mean… feeling those things… when I lost my parents… I didn't really feel anything… I didn't feel anything for a long time… I didn't really feel happy, sad, angry… just… it was all muted… it wasn't until I was… 15… 16 or so when I felt anything again…" Oh… so that's what he lied about… dammit… how come I can't read him… every time I try, it just leads me to the wrong conclusion…
"Well at least it helped her… you can feel proud about that…"
"Yeah…" He said as he checked the thing around his neck. "Ah… it's getting late… I'll see you again tomorrow."
"Seriously? You're going to get sick of this stuff if you eat it every day."
"Well… let's see how long it takes then…" he says as she begins to fly upwards…
"I'm not going to count…" Well… maybe for the first few days… just to pass the time.
Break
"How many does that make it?" he asks as he finishes today's stick of yakitori.
"I don't know… I stopped counting last week… and for that matter, it's been at least a month… are you sure you haven't gotten sick of this stuff?" He did exactly as he said, he came every day… does he really like it that much?
"Well… it is good… and the hot cart is nice in the winter…" Oh right… it's December now… early December… Just as I predicted, things quieted down. Business was slow, but that was the usual… at least I have a regular customer though… not even Keine comes this often. Though when she does so, she comes with the kids.
"Gee… thanks…" I said in response… though his company isn't the worst thing in the world.
"So there haven't been any more fires?" He asked suddenly. He brought up the topic every now and then.
"Nope… seems like it was a onetime thing… why do you keep asking?" I tell him the same thing each time, no. Regardless, he continues to ask.
"Just… I can't get the incident out of my mind… something about it is bothering me…" He said as he closed his eyes, probably going through it again in his head.
"Just probably our paranoia… you said it yourself, you worry too much."
"I hope you're right…" As if on cue, the fire bell rang again. Both of us quickly looked around and found that the smoke was coming from a completely different part of the village from last time.
"Again? It usually doesn't happen that often…" I say as I go back to cleaning the grill… it's gotten dirty for the first time in a while… "Maybe once every year or so since the villagers are usually careful…" I eye him for a second or two… "Not going this time?"
"Well… from what I saw last time, I think they'll be fine." He begins to lean on the side of the cart, as he's started to do recently. At least I've parked it here so it wouldn't move.
"Here…" I say as I hand him a cup of water. "You must be thirsty…" As much as I baste and flavor it, it's still grilled chicken. Considering it was getting colder, I warmed it up just a bit.
"Thanks…" he says as he takes the cup and begins to drink it… "I was getting thirsty," he says as soon as he finishes. "Thanks for warming it up a bit too."
"I'm surprised you noticed…" again I can't tell if he's sharp or not. Oh well… "So, how've you been recently? Any news on that ca-"
"THERE YOU ARE!" Both of us looked in the direction of where the voice came from. In the distance was a disheveled and exhausted looking young man, around Minato's age in fact. Without saying anything more, he began to run towards us.
"Um… you know him?" Minato asked worryingly.
"I don't… " I tell him. I give an exasperated sigh… another one of these… oh well; it will pass the time… As he closes in, he brings out a knife. How original…
"Woah, hold on there…" Minato says to the young man as he closes in.
"You stay out of this!" He says as he accidently cuts Minato's hand with a swing of his knife.
"Ow… did not see that coming…" he said as he holds the wound down… Okay… I was going to be fine if all he did was hurt me… but Minato?
"That's it… " I quickly rush the guy down, knocking him to the floor with a leg sweep and then while he was still dazed, hold his arms behind him. "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't burn you to death for the stunt you pulled…" I don't care if I'm the one who gets the blame. I'm used to it… but… but… Minato had nothing to do with this.
"Go ahead! It'll just make it harder for you to get away next time!" What the hell is he talking about? Normally, the assassins she sends aren't this chatty…
"Well… not much of an effort," I say, ignoring the nonsense coming out of his mouth. "Well, I'll try to bury you somewhere nice…"
"Wait!" More? Seriously? Huh? It's that girl again… Suddenly, the girl from the last fire incident runs up to me and begins to kneel down in seiza in front of us. "Please don't hurt my cousin. He didn't mean it. He's just being rash." Cousin? "Please forgive him. He's just trying to help!"
"Um… yeah… maybe burning to death is a bit overzealous, Fujiwara-san…" Minato says as he walks up to the scene.
"A bit? Minato, he hurt you! You're just going to let him get away with that?" His target was me, not you… why aren't you angrier… how can you be so calm?
"Well… it only hurt for a bit. I applied a healing spell, so it's all good."
"Huh?" I do a double take as he begins to wave the supposed to be hurt hand in front him, wound free and only a little bit of blood… Oh thank goodness… he's okay…
"Dammit, get off of me!" The assassin yelled. "If you aren't going to kill me then get off of me!"
"Quiet, onii-chan! You don't want to anger her…" The little girl told her cousin as she then turned back to me, returning to full seiza. "Please, I know you didn't cause the fire today either. I'll tell everyone that you're innocent, so please let him go." My gaze flits between Minato, the girl, and the boy… normally… I kill my assassins quite quickly… but this girl… dammit…
"Fine…" I say as I get off of him, and stand back up. "But if he does it again, I'm not holding back…" I keep my eye on him as he gets up off the ground. "Now beat it…"
"Thank you!" The girl says honestly. "Onii-chan, let's go!" She tells the young man, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. He grumbles a bit as he gets dragged by the young girl, and gives me one last glare before they disappear around a corner.
"Well… I have a visit to make…" I say as I go back to the cart… as I begin to lock it, I ask him, "Hey, is that hand really okay?" It looked fine, but I want to ask again.
"It's fine. See?" He holds his hand out again, and begins moving the fingers about. "Not even a scar." That's good… that's very good… huh? I feel quite relaxed… was I that tense? "Anyways, wasn't that a bit drastic? Burning him?"
"No, that's what I do to my assassins typically." In fact that's probably one of the few times I've let one live after the attempt…
"Sounds… like a regular occurrence…" There he goes… worrying again…
"Well, not recently anyways. It's been quite a few years since the last one." And that should be the last lock… "Well, normally I'd say this is where we part ways, but we should probably get that hand checked out just in case. Besides… I also have an appointment to make."
"You mean Eintei?" He asks. I've taken him there a couple of times before. Apparently my refusal to bring that Alice girl her medicine has forced her to ask him to do it. As a result I've had to guide him through the bamboo forest to where Eintei is hidden to meet the doctor there to pick it up. It's a fairly non-descript building and the only thing you can say about it that's interesting in regards to it is who it houses and where it is.
"Yeah… Come on. Just to ease my mind about that hand." Well… I don't care if he comes or not… but it would really ease me mind if he did…
Break
"There you are…" I say as I finally find her. Sitting in the middle of the room was a girl who was once thought of as the most beautiful woman in all of Japan… Kaguya Houraisan. She wore the usual, a pink kimono like shirt adorned with white bows in the middle and a dark burgundy skirt over a larger beige skirt. All over her clothes were yellow markings of bamboo and flowers… Despite her lineage, she looked to be the perfect Japanese beauty with her sleek long black hair and jewel like dark brown eyes.
"Hmm? Oh… you again… to what do I owe this… pleasure…" she said in her usually refined manner, holding the sleeve of her shirt in front of her mouth.
"You know damn well why I'm here." I say as I grab her by the scruff of her shirt. "Assassins? Really? You're getting stale," I tell her as I light my other hand with fire. In an instant, she disappeared from my grasp and was back in that sitting position as if I hadn't done anything to her. I put out the flame. I have to save my energy…
"I've done no such thing. Unlike some individuals, I have been busy as of late with a personal project. Besides that, I would have found a much more creative way to kill you if I truly wanted to see you die again," She said as she began to mess with some… thing in her hands. "And if you must know, I've found a much more interesting individual to pass the time with: A young man who has recently been visting us and-"
"Fujiwara-san, Eirin-sensei says I'm good to go." I hear Minato from beyond the door. Before I knew it, he opened the door. "Oh… Kaguya-san… you're here too…"
"You know her?" I say in surprise.
"You are acquainted?" She… follows.
"Um… yes?" Minato replies to the both of us. I shake my head a bit and look back at Kaguya.
"That doesn't change the fact that you sent an assassin after me, and got Minato hurt as a result,"
"I would not hire such poor quality assassins. However, besides that point, I have not done what you accuse me of."
"Okay, okay… that's enough… you're getting loud…" The two of us turn to Minato simultaneously.
"Stay out of this!"
"I ask that you refrain from interfering, Arisato-san," The two of us tell him over each other.
"No, because I'm going to assume the two of you will be here all day at this rate," He says back firmly, holding his ground. He then turns to me and looks me straight in the eye. "Fujiwara-san, I don't think Kaguya-san is lying… From what I can tell, that person most likely had a misunderstanding and thought you were the one responsible for the fires around town. Considering he was related to that little girl who lost her parents in the last fire, I think it's safe to assume that he just acted rashly."
"Urgh…" actually… that makes sense in hindsight… too much sense… "But you still got hurt!" I retort back.
"But that wasn't Kaguya-san's fault. That was that guys' fault. Now I know better than to ask you to apologize to someone you clearly have a history with… but can you at least drop this?" Dammit… And after I got so worked up for you…
"Fine…" I say, practically spitting the words out. I then turn to Kaguya. "I'll let you off the hook this time… but I swear if I find out you did set this up… I'm going to burn you down to nothing," I say, trying, but failing to completely swallow my emotions.
"I look forward to the latter. However I am glad you were able to see that I was not the one responsible for whatever you think to accuse me of this time. Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to my personal project. It was nice seeing you again, Arisato-san. I hope that our next meeting will be without such… disagreeable individuals. Good-bye." And like that, as if we weren't here to begin with, she returned to whatever it was she was doing, humming a little tune to herself as she messed around with something in her hands.
"Right… come on Mokou, let's go…" I barely hear as I just simply walk out of the room…
Dammit… Dammit… Dammit… Dammit… dammit… I fucking hate her…
Break
I sat down once I reached the top of the hill that overlooked the village. My legs crossed, I simply couldn't do anything but hang my head downwards as the sun set over the hill…
"I thought I told you to go away…" I said to the person too stubborn to leave. As soon as we left the forest, I ran as fast as I could to this hill so I could be alone… but he wouldn't let me.
"You did, but I didn't listen…" Always a bit of a smart ass response… "I won't say anything if you won't..." He said as he sat down next to me, the grass rustling as he set himself down.
"Well I'm not up for story time right now…" I just want to be alone… I… I embarrassed myself back there… I tried to do something to avenge him in a way… but all that did was end up with him taking her side… her of all people… and made me look like a damn fool…
"Well okay… maybe I will say something then…" As what he said caught my attention, he took a deep breath and begin to speak at length. "I don't know what your history with Kaguya-san is, but I think it clouded your judgement… Whatever history you had, you're letting it consume you."
"Letting it consume me?" I thought about it for a moment when he said that… "Peh… it already has…"
"I'm not going to disagree with that, but the result was that it seems like you'll let anything you can use as an excuse to act on that history be used... I'm going to say this… thanks for getting angry on my behalf… I have a hard time doing it for myself, so thanks…" I had to pause a moment for that… this idiot… he didn't have to thank me for that… "Unlike me you seem to have a lot of passion… passion I lack and can't draw upon as much as I'd like… in all honesty, I'm jealous of that…"
"I'm sensing a but…"
"Right… but I can also tell that you used me as an excuse to lash out at Kaguya-san…" N-No I… I… I didn't… you were hurt… but… "Fujiwara-san… I know I'm really stretching it, but you have to be honest first before you can make any judgements on the issue…"
"I AM BEING HONEST!" I yell into his unchanging face… when I realize that he hadn't budged an inch, I grab him by the collar. "Besides, what the hell do you know? You're just a brat. It's not like you can claim… the… " No… he can… he can claim the higher ground… He's… he's literally a messiah… I… compared to that… I haven't done anything right… letting him go, I feel the strength in my legs give out… dammit… I don't know what to do right now… it would have been so much easier if I could just set her on fire… but now that would probably just make me feel worse… a sudden hand on my shoulder makes me raise my head up.
"Yeah… you're right… I don't know anything… but I'm willing to listen, if that's alright?"
Break
I don't know how long it's been since I had spewed my life story out… It might genuinely be… actually no… it was only a few years ago… to Keine… but I don't think I was expecting to give it out again so soon. I told Minato the gist of my history. I was the daughter of a fairly important nobleman… at least I think that was the case. Despite having been born into such a family, I didn't live in the lap of luxury. I was… unwanted… For the most part it meant that I was locked up in the home. I was heavily monitored by people I didn't know, and ignored by those of my actual family… as such I was never made aware of just how important we were.
I don't know the details of the time, but my father attempted to court that damn moon princess… Kaguya Houraisan. Like the other men that wanted her hand in marriage, he was presented with an impossible task… and like the other men, he failed. That failure led to the humiliation of my family. I, at the time still loyal to a family who couldn't care less about my wellbeing, became obsessed with taking revenge on that woman. But before I could do anything… Kaguya left for the moon. However I still found a way to spite her.
The elixir of immortality, The Hourai elixir, was left to the emperor of Japan before her departure. The Emperor however, didn't take the elixir, and instead sent it away to be thrown into Mount Fuji's volcanic fires. I set out to take that elixir, and so followed the soldiers up the mountain… I think Minato could tell that I didn't say everything. I told him I blacked out, and had found the elixir and then drank it… actually, I did black out from exhaustion from following the soldiers. I was found out when I was at the end of my rope and was taken in by the soldiers as they made their way up the mountain. Once we reached the peak, we were beset by a goddess I can't remember now, who told them to take the elixir elsewhere, and prevented the soldiers from getting rid of it. The goddess told them us to take the elixir to her sister since she handles immortality. With their efforts to rid the elixir from the world made void, we made our way back down the mountain.
I was asleep at the time, but all I know is that I woke up to dead soldiers, except for one… Iwakasa, the leader of that group of soldiers… the man that saved my life, and whose life I took in turn to take the elixir for myself… As we were descending, I… murdered him so I could take the elixir for myself. I couldn't bring myself to tell Minato about that. It seems he could tell something was off, but him being him, he didn't pry.
"Then after that I knew I couldn't return to human society. I wandered about for about 900 years I think… in various states of violence and boredom. Then finally, I ended up in Genokyo."
"And then during sometime then you found out that Kaguya-san was here…" He guessed… he was able to guess half my story somehow when I was telling it to him.
"Yeah…" That was… enlivening… It was like a fire lit itself in my heart when I found out she was still here on earth. All I remember was rushing towards something, and then fire… lots of it. I don't remember what led to it, but I held her by the neck, her face filled with anger and hatred… just like mine most likely. I then remember feeling her ashes sift and fall between my fingers, each little piece falling one after the other in a cascade. I also keenly remember when those same ashes flew back together and reformed into flesh, bone and blood. Then it was my blood seeping onto the floor. That cycle happened over and over, each an iteration of that first time. It seemed unending at the time; eternal.
"But you haven't killed each other recently I assume?" I couldn't bring myself to give him the more visceral details of my encounters with Kaguya. He could probably handle it, but… I just couldn't.
"No… there was an incident a while back… it sort of brought those feelings back up again… but… no, never mind. That part's not important. In the end the cycles just… subsided."
"Until now I'm guessing?"
"Pretty much… " It became awkward right after that… I've run out…
"So that's the story?" He asked, trying to be sure.
"… yeah, that's it…" that I think you should know….
"Well… how are you feeling now?" He just as awkwardly asked… I guess even he's not sure how to continue… but… "Compared to before I mean…" Compared to before?
"I'm… feeling a bit… better. My head's cooled…" Though… I still did that to protect…
"Well that's good." He sighed in relief, the wind following as if in agreement. "You're already usually a light simmer, I prefer the cool Mokou myself…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I said as I mock slapped him over the head. Being a good sport, he also acted like I really hit him. I then noticed that the sun was nearly below the horizon now. The sky was now more purple than orange.
"Thanks for sharing your story with me by the way…" He said suddenly. I turned to look at him to find him looking wistfully upwards…
"Well… I mean… I pretty much know yours already so… I guess it's fair…"
"It's not fair that you guys didn't ask me… but I'll let it slide…" He got up and began to stretch. "Well I'm going home now. If I stay out any later, Youmu-sensei might throw a fit and rush out to try and find me."
"Yeah, that sounds annoying… you'll swing by the stand again… right?"
"Of course, there are still a couple of flavors I haven't tried yet," he replied without pause to his stretching…
"Seriously? You've come to my… never mind… I'll be waiting for you…" Luckily I don't think he saw my cheeks flare… oh god why did I word it like that?
"Yeah, see you tomorrow…" and like that, he flew up and away… free and lazy like his personality… unchained…
Break
"Hey Keine…" I started. I leaned on the fence of the school yard. I decided to come to the Human school. I… needed to ask her something.
"Yes, Mokou, what is it?" She said as she stood ram rod stiff, making her already prim and proper dark blue dress even more prim and proper. The white frills and sleeves added to her air of authority in a way. In contrast, she also wore a red ribbon tied to the bottom of her collar, but for some reason it seemed to fit the image of school. Also, atop of her silvery, waist length, hair was a strangely shaped hat that was box like and had a shape resembling a square building, with its sides inscribed with runes and another red ribbon tied on top. As you would expect, her eyes never left her students as they played in recess even when speaking to me.
"I wanted to… have you ever… so there's this…" I started a stopped over and over. I… don't know how to start this topic.
"Slow down Mokou, you're rushing. Just take a deep breath, and tell me. I'm not going anywhere for another thirty minutes. The children would be very upset with me if we left any earlier." As usual, her jokes were stiff, but they meant well. I released a breath and just as she instructed and took another afterwards. "There… now are you ready?" I gave a nod and she seemed to catch it out of the corner of her eye.
"Have you ever been with a guy Keine?"
"What on Earth are you talking about!?" She nearly screamed, almost blowing out my ear drums… I worded that poorly… didn't I? After a couple of heaves in and out, Keine noticed that all the children were staring at us. With a quick motion, she patted herself down and calmly returned to her prior prim and proper form. "It's nothing to worry about children. Just something that surprised me is all." The kids seemed to take it at face value and quickly returned to playing. As soon as their attention left, Keine seemed to relax, breathing out a heavy sigh. "I hope you only worded that poorly…"
"Um… yeah… I mean…"
"Because I will have you know that I am still a vir-"
"A-Any who…" I said, interrupting her before more could be said. "I meant, do you know how to deal with a guy…" She seemed displeased with how I worded that too… "I mean… there's this guy who comes to my stall and I've been at a loss with how to talk to him sometimes… it's like… he knows me better than I do half the time…"
"Mokou… does he…" she began in a worried tone.
"I spilled the beans yeah…"
"I see… and how did he react…"
"Like he always does… kind, caring, worrying…. Kind of like you actually, but as… you know… a guy."
"I'm not sure I like being likened to a male… makes me feel a bit worried as a woman…"
"Now I know you're just messing with me."
"Naturally, since I know that you have some restraint around children." She gave a small smile, but for her it was kind of cheeky. "Aside from that however, I'm not sure what to say in this instance, since I deal primarily with boys and girls… not men." Right…
"Well he's about 17-18, does that help?" I think that's about right…
"Well if he's that young… I'm surprised that you even give him the time of day. Most young men are quite… bullheaded. Not stupid necessarily, but they can act rashly to impress others… especially girls they like. However that also seems to not really apply here does it?" Yeah, because if it's anyone who acts rashly between me and him… it's definitely me. "In this case… I don't think I can really give you advice on the matter… From what I can tell there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your relationship now. If anything, it just seems like you're the only one worried about it." Maybe… no, she's probably right on that… he doesn't seem to ever worry about anything… or doesn't let it show anyway
"Maybe I am over thinking this…"
"Perhaps you are… now… pray tell who is this boy you are so smitten with you're willing to gossip about him so?" She said, giving me a sly smile. "And who threatens to take my Mokou away."
"Who said I'm yours, crazy teacher?" I slap back… still… thanks Keine… I didn't say it, but I think she can tell anyways…
Break
There was another fire… unfortunately, more of the villagers were getting ideas… It's not like I didn't see this coming… but it's still annoying.
"Step back kid. You're new here, so we'll let it slide but it's best if you just let your elders handle this." It was some brutish looking man who stood in front of the crowd. He seemed, well, not so much as the leader as just someone who was just silently agreed upon to speak for them.
"Handle what? I'm not seeing anything that needs to be handled…" Minato said as he stood between me and the rest of the villagers. It was at my stall and they stood in a crowd. I was just looking on annoyed, but Minato stood firmly in place.
"You can't be that dumb, kid. Put 2 and 2 together. She can use fire magic, there's been a string of fires all over the village, no one can account for where she's been; only makes sense that she's behind this mess we've got." After his little spiel, the others behind him began to voice their agreements in such a cacophony that it was a grating mess of sounds.
"I can account for where she's been, and she's been here the whole time, grilling yakitori for me."
"Kid that's what we call a bribe."
"No, it's business, because I paid for those yakitori."
"Urgh… Stop being stubborn kid and just let us through or we're going to let ourselves through."
"I'd like to see you try…" I hadn't been paying much mind to the scene, but… when he said that… I… I didn't know he could sound so cold… it was like someone rammed ice down my spine. There wasn't any of the usual warmth in his voice there… it was just… just… contempt…or was it indifference. I don't know but it was just so… cold…
"Hey Minato, let's just go somewhere els-" I tried to interject, but…
"Uncle, please wait!" Like déjà vu, a little girl broke through the crowd… the same one as before… "Please listen… they're not the ones causing the fires!" All the uncle did however was simply give a huff as he began to push her out of the way.
"Go back home little one. You're still healing from the fires… Let the adults handle this…" He said calmly to her. However the little girl, for what it's worth, pushed back.
"No… Listen! I… I asked around… and apparently…" she continued, forcing her voice with each push against her uncle's arm. "It's always a spark, and then it explodes!"
"An explosion caused by her I'm sure…" He was restraining himself for the girl's sake… admirable… but still this was getting tiring…
"No… it's not that… apparently they also… bought something… from the kappa. My mommy and daddy bought stuff from them too!" Kappa? Apparently I wasn't the only one surprised to hear of them as everyone else just stopped…
"Kappa?" Minato was the first to respond.
"Uhuh," the little girl said with a nod of the head. "They bought some round tall thing… a can… I think… from the kappa. We were told that it would make making fire easier… I remember because my mommy and daddy were excited to try it… and then… then… I don't remember…" That's… probably when the fire started…
"Then that means the kappa are working with her…" the Uncle began again.
"I'm telling you she didn't do it!"
"You're being deceived!"
"Hey, would just shut up for a moment? Look I've been pretty quiet up until now, but I'll tell you this once and for all. I did not start any of the fires. I don't care enough about any of this to start any fire! But if it makes you happy, fine! I'll leave…" I'm fed up with this… they can rot in hell for all I care…
"Hold it!" I heard ring through my ears. I look to the side to see Minato as the source of the interjection. "I think I might be able to figure out what's going on… and that Mokou-san is not to blame…"
"And what makes you think we'd listen to a bewitched brat like you?" It wasn't the uncle this time but someone else from the crowd, but it began to spark the others to follow suit…
"Be quiet you lot!" The uncle yelled to calm the mob down. Luckily it seemed that he had enough clout such that his command was followed quite quickly. "But what they say is true, why should we believe you…"
"I believe in him!" The little girl once again cut in. Looking her uncle straight in the eye… Giving another heave, the Uncle returned that look.
"Look this is for the sake of not just my brother and sister-in-law, your mommy and daddy, but also for the rest of the village… why should I believe you… for what reason do you believe in them?" He asked her earnestly. It seems underneath that bluster was a guy who did care just a bit… more than my family at least.
"I… I don't know… but I think the Kappa do! It just doesn't feel right if we just bully them…" She said honestly. Sweet kid… I mean that… I haven't given her as much credit as I should…
"Sir… Just give me a couple of days… and I can show you that Mokou-san isn't to blame… well that and the usual route for the Kappa…" He offered…
"Minato… just…" let it go…
"Fine… but only that… on the east side of the village there's an exit out of the forest and a path that leads to the other lake where the Kappa are. Just follow that road and you're bound to run into one of them… either on the path or at the lake itself."
"What! Come on! Don't delay, just kick her out already!" the crowd booed out.
"Silence!" He deftly commanded once more, and as before the crowed silenced themselves quite quickly. "If he's wrong then we'll continue from where we left off… We're better than youkai…" Hmph… not in the slightest… but still…
"Thank you… Mokou, let's go!" Huh… he grabbed my hand dragging me towards the east gate of the village. He walked so quickly, that by the time I could react properly we were already out of earshot of the villagers.
"Hey… what's the big idea? Why are you putting in this much effort into this?" I asked him, as he dragged me along.
"Why are you giving up so soon?" he said calmly as he continued towards the exit of the village.
"Huh?" I let out, confused. It's not like I'm giving up… it's more like… why bother…
"You didn't do it. You and I know that…" I'm not disagreeing with you there… "And sure… we might not have been able to prove it before… but maybe we can now…"
"What are you saying, how?"
"Mokou… I'm not one for false accusations… " He began as his drag began to slow before he and I simply stood in front of the gates… without looking at me he continued. "In the past… I was going to be falsely accused of something I didn't do, but a friend stood up for me… even at the cost of himself… and even after that, another friend of mine was accused of stealing money from others. Everyone blamed her, but it turned out that she was innocent as well… I couldn't face them again if I let this slide… not when there's a chance to turn it around…" He let out a breath as he turned to face me… "But I guess that's selfishness on my part… Mokou… do you believe in me to prove you innocent?" His gaze was unyielding, so much so that I wanted to turn away. But I couldn't do that… not to him… someone who believes in me that much… When was the last time that happened…?
"Fine… but you'll be taking the lead on this one then…" I'm not sure if I could do it myself…
"Of course… just follow my lead…" I hope he doesn't get us lost…
Break
Following the Uncle's instructions, we were wandering the forest for a little while… getting to the right spot for the route…
"Hey! Is there a Kappa out there?" I yelled for Minato since he didn't seem to be the yelling type. My voice echoed through the empty, leafless forest. As might be expected… we didn't get any response… We repeated this a couple more times throughout the forest as we went along the specified route… "This is getting us nowhere…" I let out after trying to listen for a response for the umpteenth time…
"Come on, we still have a bit more on the route to follow before we can call it quits… not that I will…" Stubborn bastard… but thanks…
"Here you are… the guys making so much noise…" The two of us perked up, following the sound to see a lone kappa, hiding herself behind a tree. Even so it was easy to see that she looked to be your standard kappa. She wore the standard industrial blue dress with a number of pockets with boots of the same color. Along with that was a massive backpack with tools that jutted out from the top flap. Her hair was tied up in twin pigtails red ornaments, all of which was topped by a green hat with a wisp design in front. "Um… what are you here for? Business?" She shyly asked…
"Sort of… we just wanted to know if you've been selling… cans of stuff to the humans in the village. I'm Arisato Minato by the way, and this is Fujiwara no Mokou"
"Um… Nitori Kawashiro… and… that stuff… we've made a lot of it recently… to the point where we're kind of in excess so we've been selling it to those who would buy which included the humans. It's easy to make fire with, and with it being winter and all, we thought it would be a great product…" The Kappa explained, getting a bit more confident when it came to talking about business.
"Why are you making so much?" Minato asked… yeah why are they making so much to the point of excess? A little too excited it seems…
"Well we've only just recently been told how to make it. It makes great fuel… so…"
"Sorry to interrupt but… who told you how to make it?" The Kappa jumped a bit from being interrupted but quickly composed herself to answer Minato's question.
"Um… Eintei… the Moon Princess… she asked us to make some for her… and when we told her we didn't know what it was, she gave us the knowledge on how to make it…" She answered succinctly.
"So it comes back to that bitch…" I let out…
"Thank you for your help. That's all we wanted to know…"
"Um… are you sure you don't want to buy anything? I have some things on sale…"
"Maybe next time. We're on a bit of a time crunch." And with a wave, Minato big the Kappa goodbye and she, with a nod, disappeared… "Active Camo?" He said… must be an outside world thing…
"So it looks like I have that bitch to blame for all of this after all…" I began to walk in the direction of Eintei when I felt my arm being grabbed.
"Mokou wait… you said I was going to lead this one right?"
"But if it's that bi-"
"No buts… Mokou… you trust me right…" Looking at me like he did before, he… he's making it really hard to say no…
"I… you better lead well then…" I… won't go back on my word…
"I will… I… want to show you something to… also can you lead the way to Eintei?" Okay… not a good start…
Break
After I got us through the forest, Minato led the way through Eintei proper… It wasn't long before we found the room that Kaguya was inside of. She was once again sitting in the middle of the room, this time fiddling with a weird box kind of thing on wheels with what looked to be some kind of metal wing on top…
"Kaguya-san…" He said as he greeted the little devil.
"Oh my… how surprising to see you again so soon Arisato-san… and with her in tow as well… Regardless, how can I help you…" she said with emphasis on you… Not that the feeling wasn't mutual…
"I've come to ask about the thing you've requested from the Kappa, the flammable liquid," Minato quickly got to the point.
"Oh, you mean the gasoline? I requested it so that I could see this old toy run again." Without prompt, Kaguya began to turn the metal wing, causing a kind of spark to be made as she did so. A sound like tiny creaking gears could be heard as the wheels began to spin on their own. She then placed the item on the ground and it began to move on its own… that's… a toy?
"Gasoline… yeah… that would explain the smell…" Minato began…
"Oh yes… smells must be applied as a safety measure. Otherwise it's quite a hazard from being near undetectable."
"The Kappa are using a different smell than the one I'm used to, but still one that's quite eggy…" Wait… when he said that it smelled funny…
"You smelled it the first time we saw that fire?" I asked him. He looked to me, giving me a nod.
"Though to be honest, I wasn't sure what it was at the time since it smelled different from what I expect from gasoline…"
"Excuse me, but… what fire do you speak of? Have there been fires in the Human Village?"
"Yeah… there have been a few fires that have broken out over the past few months… the kappa have been selling excess gasoline. They got a bit overzealous with the stuff apparently…"
"Oh… oh my… I wasn't aware… no wonder Reisen had been bringing over more burn medicine to the village…" Kaguya said in a deceptively guilty tone.
"How could you not be aware of what you were letting them use?" I asked, trying to restrain myself in some capacity for Minato's sake. I won't burst out like last time. I refuse to let it happen like last time.
"I only interacted with the Kappa in this case. I assumed that they would keep the gasoline for themselves, not begin selling it to the humans." With a sigh, she stood up and began to walk towards one of the tables, of which sat what was apparently called a can, and handed it to Minato. "Here, it's a can of the gasoline I was using for the toy. There is still enough in there to help demonstrate to the villagers what gasoline is. If I may impose such a favor upon you, could you please properly inform the villagers of the dangers it can pose. They simply are not yet ready to use it. Please, Arisato-san, I ask this of you as a personal favor." What are you playing at…?
"Sure… this was just what I needed actually…" What…
"Thank you… I hope not many were harmed from the gasoline being distributed so recklessly…"
"Some are already dead…" I let her know…
"Mokou… but yeah… unfortunately some have already died..." Minato followed. Good… she looks distraught… but why am I not satisfied…
"All the more that it must be stopped then. I will not delay you any further then… good luck, Arisato-san. And Fujiwara-san, try not to get in his way." Before I could say anything…
"Mokou we don't have time to waste. We got what we came for, explanation and evidence…" I looked at Kaguya, who seemed to be fumbling with her toy… "Mokou!"
"Alright, alright, no need to yell I'm following…" It just doesn't feel right today anyways… We quickly moved out of Eintei until we were making our way back to the village through the Bamboo. Normally when I look at that girl… I just want to pound her face in… but seeing her actually care for other people… This is getting annoying…
"-kou, Mokou… Mokou…"
"Huh?"
"Which way?" He said as I realized he was pointing to a fork in the road…
"Oh um… left…" I said… with that, the two of us continued down the road, to most people it looked all the same, but I'd been down this road so many times that it was second nature at this point. I could probably go through it blind faster than others could do it with full sight. Not much was said between us as we walked through the forest… but as always… this kid has something to say to me…
"Mokou… what's bothering you?" He asked as succinctly as he usually would.
"And what makes you think something's bothering me?"
"Well you didn't lash out as much as I thought you would when we were talking to Kaguya…"
"What do you think I am?" I asked him, too tired to give a more heated response.
"Someone with a past… a history… honestly, in your shoes I don't know if I'd do the same…"
"Shut up…" I quickly replied. "Of course you'd do better than me. You probably wouldn't even have a history like that to begin with…"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'm not perfect…" You sure you aren't because not everyone can be a Messiah like you are? "That's why I have to bluntly ask… what's wrong?" I'm going to hate myself for this…
"What do you think makes life worth living?" I asked him, stopping in place to look at him seriously as I did so.
"What makes life worth living?" He repeated…
"Yeah… what do you think keeps you waking up day after day?" I clarified.
"Well… I don't know…"
"You don't know?" Not the answer I was expecting…
"I mean, I have things to do, people I cherish… but in the end… hmm…" he intoned, and it was one of those that made him sound like he really was thinking things through… "I guess the best way to put it is… it's what I make of it…"
"Huh?"
"Life is what you make of it… Decisions… choices… the things you cherish… the things you do… they're all decided by you… so what makes life worth living is what you decide is worth living…"
"And what if you don't find anything like that?"
"Then… I don't know… but it's how I think I'm living my life… after all you asked me what I think makes life worth living, and that's my answer: what I make of it… you didn't hate Houraisan-san as much as you thought you would…" he stated calmly…
"What!?" I shouted in surprise. "The hell are you talking about?"
"Well… you told me that when you found her again, that it sort of enlivened you right? But I could tell that that didn't seem to be the case this time…"
"What do you mean…?" I slowly asked him, not sure where he was going with this.
"You were… calmer… less heated… no pun intended… I was wondering if you were taking to heart what we talked about before… about letting the heat get the better of you…"
"Are you going somewhere with this or what?" I said, finally sick of the runaround. Just get to the point already.
"I… When we get to the village. I'm going to show them the can of gasoline, show them just what gasoline is, and explain to them just what is going on. In the outside world we have a system of justice where objective truth is sought out. Using evidence, facts, and arguing based on those facts, we work to make proper conclusions… at least that's what I understand of it anyways… I'm not a lawyer…" And I don't even know what a lawyer is… "I… just want to show you what I think Justice is… no consumption of any kind… just the honest truth. So please watch carefully once we get to the village alright?" Like that we resumed our walk through the forest… it was quiet again, but this time… it was… resolved… I felt… assured that he would succeed… no question…
Huh… I didn't hate that as much as I thought I would…
Break
It was a bit of a display. He brought the villagers to the town square and with a can of the gasoline, demonstrated it to the villagers. Gasoline apparently was easy to set fire, not just the liquid, but the smell itself could cause massive sparks if not handled right. He showed it to them using a basic fire spell that caused a massive flame. Luckily he put it out just as quickly… Like that the people begrudgingly apologized to me… It was… interesting… I was pretty much giving up but… he didn't… and neither did the girl and because of that… I was found innocent… their beliefs proven right…
The village then returned to normal, gasoline was phased out, though explosions could still be heard from the lake, the kappas probably still experimenting with it… In the past… I solved my problems… well more like lashed out at them and they'd get resolved anyhow.
Of course he continued to come by to my stall. But we also kept meeting during the excursions through Tartarus, tonight being one of those nights… I don't remember much of the night honestly… I can remember his orders, how he tried to restrain that flower youkai, trying to keep the maid focused on anything other than maid duties, conversing with that library magician… I can sort of piece it together but I didn't care to.
Life is what you make of it… Justice that seeks truth…
What did I make of life…? It's been a few days since then… since then, the fire incident was all resolved… the kappa apologized for the mishap and offered compensation for their mistake. Gasoline was then phased out of the village almost immediately. Kaguya… well I don't know about her, but Minato isn't the only customer I have now… but that little girl can be nosy sometimes, asking about whether or not the two of us have…
"Fujiwara-san, are you listening?" I looked up to see that Patchouli and the maid were about ready to leave. "I was telling you that the next expedition into the tower will take place after the New Year and that we'll be meeting at the mansion beforehand then. We've made quite a bit of progress today, reaching the 150th floor or so, however the mistress desires to reach the top very soon." Right… we're more than halfway there according to Minato.
"Yeah… I'll see you then…" I said lazily… they returned my farewell with a nod and bow. "Wait," I said before they left the tower. "Where's Minato?" I asked… I wanted to talk to him…
"He's waiting in his usual corner of the room." I turn to see him still staring blankly into the corner… I seriously wonder why he does that. "If that is all, then farewell Fujiwara-san." And with that, the two of them left the tower, the massive doors slowly creaking to open then close. The final sound of their leaving being marked by the slam of the grand entrance. The Flower Youkai had left earlier from what I can tell and the Hell Raven was nowhere to be seen today. Sometimes that birdbrain shows up, but apparently today was not one of those days.
It… doesn't seem like he's going to move anytime soon… I go towards the stairs that lead into the maze of the tower and take a seat. Life is what you make of it… I made my life around revenge… but… that's a fairly poor life then… What did he make his life around? It seems to me that he's the kind of guy who just enjoys living… was he always like that? I don't think I'd be satisfied with just that. When we figured out that it was a mistake from the kappa that caused the fire… it was fun to see the truth revealed like that. It wasn't like when I took vengeance, where I still felt some emptiness after the fact. When true justice was done from figuring things out one at a time… it felt different… it felt…
"Mokou… you're still here?" I looked to the side to see Minato looking at me, standing in his usual gait with his hands in his pockets. I almost fell over in surprise.
"Hey, don't jump me like that!" I exclaimed. In response, he began scratching the back of his head… "Sorry… I was probably out of it…" I tried to apologize… I was expecting him, and then I got on his case…
"Not a problem, I'm told I sometimes don't have too much of a presence… or at least that was the case in the past…" I can see that… still I shouldn't have exploded like that.
"Yeah, but I still shouldn't have exploded on you like that…" I repeated out loud. "I really should more calmly think things through…" Just like he did before.
"Well… it take a bit of time changing who you are…"
"And what's that supposed to mean? That I can't change something as simple as a mindset?" I began to joke, a smirk forming on my face. Much to my delight, I could see him match it with a small smirk of his own.
"Well… how about you prove it to me then?"
"I think I'll do just that…" I said confidently.
"I'm looking forward to that…" He said as he sat next to me stretching his arms out once he was situated. It felt odd really. I wanted to keep talking, but I didn't mind it being quiet between us. Still, the desire for some conversation over took me.
"Hey… so you know how you said that you were jealous that I could get so passionate about things?" I asked, moving my glance to the side to look straight at him. He sleepily returned that gaze, blinking a couple of times before giving me a silent nod. I don't know if it took him a second either to remember or register what I said, but I'm kind of glad he remembered. "Well… I'm kind of jealous of your ability to think so calmly, to be so in control of yourself… like you just can be what you want no matter what… I'm always just letting my passion get the better of me… Honestly I don't know why you're jealous of that… " I left that passing remark a bit of a self-deprecating giggle. That control of the self, that power to handle his emotions like that…
"Well… I think I've said this before, but the reason I'm jealous was because for the longest time… I didn't really feel anything… I seemed to be in control… but it's because there was nothing to control… even when I started to feel again, it was so muted that it sometimes felt like nothing changed… " He said as he stared forward, not so much averting from my gaze, as it was pensively looking inward. "Everyone around me seemed so alive, so full of emotion and passion, especially you since you literally could flare when passionate enough. I can barely smile as is… even though I know I can feel happy…" He gave a quick sigh as if to let something go before calmly looking at me again with his smile that he was apparently so ashamed of… "But you know what they say about greener grass…"
"Well… I just want to say that… I want to thank you… again… for the past few weeks…"
"What for?" I asked, tilting his head in a bit of confusion.
"Well… for helping me… for showing me something other than my own sense of justice… I've always been a gut feeling kind of person… I've… never given much thought to thinking things out, but when you calmly showed the villagers proof and evidence, showing the truth, and getting that kind of result… I was… impressed… I was resigned to just be ousted again, but you and that little girl stood up for me like Keine would without getting carried away… I… I want to be like that too…" I said as I looked down at my knees… Maybe I should wear a skirt… show off to him… No… No way… Just… No… I couldn't stand wearing a skirt again. He took another breath before speaking.
"Well… as I've said before… It's not easy to change who we are… for anybody really… But I'll believe in you, and I'm sure that little girl does to, and whoever this Keine person is." It was really cute how he was embarrassed saying that, once again scratching the back of his head. I guess even the lady killer can get red in the face… wait a second…
"Your arm band… it's torn up…" I pointed out to him.
"Huh… Oh… it is…" He said as he took it off carefully. He held it in his hands, one holding it in the palm and the other sliding gently over it… he looked… forlorn… Seriously…
"Give me that…" I said as I snatched it from his hand, and before he could say anything. I ripped one of the charms on my pants and began to quickly patchwork it onto the band, fixing where it had torn. Luckily, ages of doing this with my own clothes on the fly had given me some skills, same thing with general housework in fact. "There, all patched up…" I said as I presented to him the fixed armband, my own charm over it. He looked over it a couple of times, before taking it himself. Like before he held it in one hand while sliding over it with the other…
"And here I thought you were trying to have fewer outbursts…" He said with a light laugh…
"Hey… would you rather I left that thing broken?" I asked… genuinely wondering if I did something wrong… I mean… he looked like he treasured that arm band…
"No… Thank you… this arm band means a lot to me… I mean it's a bit weird looking now with the charm over it, but it's fixed now…" I looked downwards upon hearing him say that.
"It's… it's nothing. I just wanted to help… you know… as… as extra thanks…"
"Right… we should probably get going before the Dark Hour is up…" With that he got up, and not one to tarry, I got up with him. Silently, the two of us walked side by side as we exited out of the main doors, the sounds of their opening and closing being exactly like that of the earlier opening and closing. Almost, as if on cue…
"Oh…" I let out as the Dark Hour Ended… and snow began to fall…
"Well… that was lucky…" Yeah… any later and we'd have been stuck there in Tartarus…
"Yeah… just in time…" I began to rub my hands together, blowing out a flame as I did so.
"Now I'm jealous of that… I don't really have any winter clothes…" He said as he began to shiver from the cold… Jeez this guy…
"You're a handful you know?" I said as I grabbed him by the arm, heating myself up a bit as I did so.
"Oh… um… thanks…" He's like a kid… no… he is a kid… I'm… not going to take part in that contest… I'll sit out of it, but that shouldn't stop me from looking out for him. I guess it should be my duty after all, given that I'm his senior in life. He's a bit hopeless honestly… letting things sweep him up, being dopey at the weirdest times… I don't hate it.
"No problem… if… if you ever need help… don't hesitate to ask okay? In return, I want you to continue to help me learn some of that… what was it? Objectivity?"
"Yeah, that's the word…" He said as the snow began to blanket the ground. He looked down at his necklace like thing. "Oh, what do you know… it's Christmas…"
"Christmas?" I asked… does it have something to do with that saint I sometimes over hear of every now and then?
"Well it's a bit complicated but where I came from Christmas was primarily a certain kind of holiday…" He said, rubbing his free arm over his head.
"What… kind of holiday?" I cautiously asked…
"A holiday for lovers to be romantic…" And Like that I began to slip, my feet failing to find purchase on the wet ground. I began to brace myself for impact with the ground, but something kept my bottom from meeting the earth. To prevent me from falling completely on my ass… Minato held me in his arms… I said I wouldn't be part of the contest… I said I wouldn't be part of that stupid contest…
"Phew… that was a close one… I thought you said I could rely on you… I didn't think the opposite would happen so soon…"
"Shut up! You're the one who blurted out something so weird!" I said as I began to cling to him, trying to use him as leverage to stand up, only to slip again… causing me to cling harder to prevent another collapse. "Woah!"
"Easy, one step at a time…" He said as I followed his instruction. Soon I was back on my feet… as soon as I had strong footing, I let out a sigh.
"Ready to let go yet?" I looked up at him to find… You know what…
"No…" I said as I began to turn up the heat… "You seem a little cold… mind if I help with that?" I could feel my eyebrows furrow with every degree.
"Sorry, Sorry… but seriously… you can let go now…" The two of us looked eye to eye… for a moment before I broke into a smile and breathed out from the breaking tension…
"Yeah, Yeah, just don't say anything weird like that to the other girls you know?"
"I don't plan on it… I already have enough trouble as is…" He said with his own sigh.
"I could burn them all if you really find it that bothersome," I jokingly offered.
"I don't need that kind of help…"
"Well I'm still offering if you want it… if you need help with anything… just say the word…" You're inept senpai will try her best to help in whatever way she can… for her cute Kouhai. And she'll also try to better embody what true Justice is, not just the feeling of it, but the objective form of it. That way, you don't have to shoulder everything so much, and can rely on me when it counts… That's what Senpais do… "Say do you want some Yakitori before going back?"
"Any discounts?" He asked pleadingly as he looked into his wallet.
"Nope!"
Author's Notes: Did not mean for this to be a semi-Christmas chapter... just happened to end that way since I had planned this out for a while... regardless. I'm going to try and get straight to the next chapter which is the last of the other POV chapters. I've been much busier than I thought I would be, but hey that's life... It sucks and we all got to bite the bullet at some point. Don't worry, I'm fine, just you know... life. I've not got much else to say here other than the usual so I think I'll just cut it to that.
As always, if you found something you want to tell me, please leave a review for me to review so that I hopefully can improve in the future.
I hope that I was in some capacity able to entertain you with this. I hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are and keep trying everyday. Not necessarily your best but some effort.
See you next time!
