A Game of Fate

Chapter 5

Goddess Kotori

Note: Well, it's been another great year with you guys and I hope that we can have many more like this. Thank you so much for your support and I hope you enjoy the update.

"You're a goddess? What? Then why are you inviting me into your shrine?"

"You are still very funny. Just come on in and I'll tell you as much as I know." The girl walked through the front doors and gestured Honoka to follow her.

When she walked inside, she saw a beautiful shrine. Natural light was seen from all sides of the room. However, the strange thing was that there was a whole bunch of birds flying around the place. None of them seemed hostile, but after a while, some of them landed on her shoulder and finger. She smiled and chuckled to herself whenever they did that. On the other hand, Honoka was so confused… More than normal. All this time, she had the preconceived idea that goddess were people unlike everyone else and yet, this one in particular was throwing that concept out of the water.

"So who are you," Honoka with a great amount of suspicion.

"My name is Minami Kotori and I'm a descendant of the goddess Muse. It's an honor to meet you."

"I'm Kousaka Honoka and I want to know why you're doing this."

"Let's take a seat and I'll get to your questions."

When Honoka heard her say the word "questions," her face lit as she ran to the little table in the middle of the shrine. Kotori sat down a few seconds after Honoka which caused the birds circling the area to finally calm down. One of the birds brought a pot of tea with two cups and the two of them got down to business.

"So, what would you like to know?"

At first, Honoka was so anxious to ask her about the things she's been wondering, but then she immediately stopped herself. She realized that this could be the same thing as her previous encounters. They'll say they'll answer anything, but eventually say enough. Honoka took a deep breath and looked at the girl in all seriousness.

"Will you answer all of my questions?"

"As many of them as I can."

"Are you sure?"

Kotori took a sip of tea and looked at Honoka with that same sense of seriousness.

"Does it look like I'm trying to hide anything? You've made it this far and that in itself is an accomplishment worth acknowledging. Go ahead and ask away."

Honoka's suspicions were subsiding slowly, but she couldn't help but wonder why this girl was the way she was.

"First question: Why are you behaving so friendly towards me? None of the other goddess were like this in the slightest of ways."

"Oh, that's a great question. As you may already know, the goddesses were bestowed special powers to watch over the world. Well, that's not precisely true. I was not given powers… Well, at least not powers that could actually make a difference. Compassion is a feeling and I can sense compassion in everyone. I've also been given the genuine heart. I can't lie, steal, or do anything of that nature. That's why I'm like this. Does that help?"

"I think so. Next question: Why is this mountain the way it is?"

"Another great question. I really like you. A long time ago, one person tried to take our powers for themselves, but the greatest amongst the descendants was able to stop them. Before her life ended, Muse was able to do one more thing. She created this mountain and placed a seal on it, stating that only worthy people can ascend the mountain and possibly claim its glory."

"Glory? What glory?"

"It is possible to acquire the powers of Muse."

"But I thought only her descendants could acquire her power."

"That's the interesting thing about it. One by one, you have to beat the goddesses in their challenges, but it's not guaranteed that ultimate victory will be achieved." Kotori looked at Honoka and could see the puzzled look on her face. "I know this is seeming unreal, but it's completely the truth. I told you that I can't lie so you must believe me."

"Yeah, I get that, but I'm wondering why you're being so nice to me."

"I have the genuine heart. How can I not be?"

"Surely though, you've spoken to other people who have tried." Honoka looked at her and saw her shaking her head.

"Nope. You are my first encounter. Because of who I am and what I can do, the seal prevents me from seeing any outsider unless they make it as far as Toujou-sama. When I saw someone walking up this far, I knew they had to special and that's why I decided to invite you here. It's been so long since I've had company so this is really refreshing."

"What? You never invite the other goddesses."

"No. They are all in their own world little world, especially the higher up ones."

Honoka's face suddenly lit up.

"Can you tell me about the ones above this place?" She looked at Kotori and could see a change in mood on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but that's not something I can do."

"Why not?"

"It's goes against the rules set by all of us. We vowed never to express the abilities of the ones who are above us in skill. That's what makes this place special. Once someone reached the top, everything can change within an instant."

"So… Not above you, but… You can tell me about Nozomi, right? I'm not quite sure what she can do, but I know she seems really strong. How is she this low on the mountain?"

"Oh, Toujou-sama is an interesting one. She is actually the only one of us who cannot be beaten through use of any of our skills."

Honoka immediately felt like a knife was stabbed through her chest.

"Then how can anyone even pass her?"

"Her abilities are special. She harnesses the power of magic which pretty much allows her to do anything she wants."

"How is that fair?"

"But she does have one weakness."

"How is that possible?"

"How is that not possible? With powers like hers, she should be at the top of the mountain, but we higher ups managed to figure out what it is."

"Could you tell me?"

…

Honoka slammed the doors and looked down the hallway to see Nozomi sitting on her throne. Honoka took a deep breath and walked to the throne where she was waiting for her.

"I'm so glad to see that you came back. Are you ready this time?"

Honoka nodded her head. Nozomi got off of her chair and headed to the arena where Honoka followed behind her. When they got there, Nozomi explained the rules once more and after that, the two of them got into position. That's when Honoka took another deep breath and tried to focus. She was only thinking about what Kotori told her. A few more seconds went by when the game finally started.

This time, Nozomi changed up her tactics. She created about a dozen of arrows above her and sent them flying towards Honoka. Honoka did her best to dodge them and make her way towards the line in the middle of the room. Once she cleared all of the arrows, another obstacle came around. Plumes of fire shot up from underneath her feet which caused her to constantly move around. She tried to keep an unpredictable pattern since Nozomi was doing all of this based on her movements. After a while, the plumes of fire stopped. That's when Honoka looked up towards Nozomi and saw her raising her hand. Honoka's eyes widened. This was what Kotori was talking about which meant that she had to use her finishing move. Honoka grabbed the bottom of her shirt and threw it above her head, exposing her breasts in open view of Nozomi.

Honoka managed to keep her eyes on Nozomi and saw something strange happen. Nozomi's hands lowered back down to her side and her jaw suddenly dropped to the floor. Her body started to act on itself as she slowly walked towards Honoka who still had her shirt raised. When she got closer to Honoka, Nozomi's hands raised in similar motions that looked as though she was about to fondle Honoka's breasts.

"This is it," she said under her breath.

She ran towards Nozomi, grabbed the back of her head and pulled it into her chest. She kept Nozomi's head there for a few seconds before letting her go. When she did, Nozomi's nose were letting out a nosebleed of unreasonable proportion. That's when Honoka lowered her shirt and kicked Nozomi's legs out from under her. Once her body hit the ground, Honoka ran to the line and dove over it to guarantee her victory.

It was over. Honoka had won once again. She looked back at Nozomi who was still a little giddy from what just happened. She walked over to her and picked her off the ground. She gently slapped her face and Nozomi managed to come back to reality.

"Oh. Haha, who would have known that you found my weakness? I'm quite impressed. You are my first challenger and I lost. I guess I need to work on my skills even more. Anyway, you are free to move along. Thank you… For allowing me access to your…"

Honoka couldn't stick around any longer. This girl was getting stranger by the second so she ran out of the shrine to avoid any more unnecessary conversation. Once she regained herself, she looked up to see

Kotori waving at her from her shrine.

"Good job and good luck!"

"Thank you so much for your help!"

"You're on your own from now on. I hope to see you at the top in no time." At that moment, the caretaker appeared behind her and whispered something in her ear.

"You are definitely going to need luck from here on out. I'm anxious to meet you at the top of this mountain."

End of Chapter 5