Title: Creatures of Myth II: Sunlit Summons
Rating: T (Violence, Language, Themes of a citrus fruit nature but nothing graphic)
Genre: Romance, Angst, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural
Summary: After the Senka fiasco, Seireitei is still in a state of unease from the escape of Aizen Sousuke, but fortunately, this discomfort is not mirrored on the Youkai. Until now. Follow Hitsugaya Toushirou, Shimizu Ao, and Ichimaru Gin deeper into the dark and mysterious world of the Youkai, onto the Higher Spiritual Plane, Takama-ga-hara, where evils both old and new lurk to usurp the recently returned Izanagi-no-Mikoto, the God of Life. And as the battle of minds takes place in the realm of the gods, a problem of a different nature has arose on the home front.
Pairings: Hitsugaya Toushirou x OC, Aizen Sousuke x OC, Inoue Orihime x OC, Ichimaru Gin x OC, Ichigo x Tatsuki, Ulquiorra x OC, OC x OC, and (disturbingly) OC x OC x OC.
A/N: Welcome, readers. If you have not read the first Creatures of Myth, I suggest you make your way to my author page, for you will be extremely confused. :) Anyways, to those of you who are my returning readers, it's time for a large amount of mythological mayhem. I have told but ONE person about the big curveballs that will be present in this story. I believe I have kept my favorite twists very hush-hush, but I may have slipped somewhere… idk. So. I have spent a long time planning this story, and you will not be disappointed… this will be a rather entertaining sequel. This first chapter will have much background story. It deviates from actual Shinto Mythology quite a bit, as I have Izanagi ruling over Takama-ga-hara, whereas there are actually many others that are just as powerful as he, but I'm making them be advisors and such, powerful, but watching from the sidelines. It deviates the most after Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo come forth. Then it's all original.
Creatures of Myth II: Sunlit Summons
Chapter One: Prologue
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"What have you done?
Is this what you wanted?
What have you become?
His soul's not forsaken
.
Your chains have been broken
You've suffered so long
You will never change."
-A Demon's Fate, Within Temptation
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A long time ago, at the beginning of the world, many gods emerged from the void, the most powerful of these being Izanagi and his younger sister and wife, Izanami. Together, they descended from Takama-ga-hara to create islands where they could live.
Eventually, after creating many islands and giving birth to many deities, Izanami died giving birth to Kagu-Tsuchi, the Incarnation of Fire. Izanagi was so furious that he killed the child.
In a desperate attempt to find his wife, he traveled to Yomi, the underworld, where he found her. He could not see her form, for the shadows hid her from view. He wished for her to return with him, but she told him that she had eaten the food of the underworld, and belonged with the dead. Unwilling to leave his wife behind, Izanagi lit a fire while she was sleeping in order to see her, only to be greeted by a ghastly sight. Under the sudden burst of light, he saw the horrid form of the once beautiful and graceful Izanami-no-Mikoto, now a rotting corpse filled with maggots and worms.
Overwhelmed by his fear, Izanagi fled from Yomi, his angry wife chasing behind him, indignant and shrieking with rage. From the shadows came the eight wild Shikome, coming to Izanami's aid, ordered to retrieve the god of Life and bring him back.
Izanagi burst from the entrance and hastily pushed a boulder to block the path. Izanami reached the boulder and screamed through the barrier, "Don't you dare leave me, Izanagi! Don't you dare!"
"You were right, my dear, you do belong down there," he retorted.
Her frustrated sobs were heard as she shrieked, "You return to me right now or I'll kill one-thousand of the living every day!"
"And I shall give life to one-thousand five-hundred each day," he snapped back furiously before ascending back to Takama-ga-hara.
When Izanagi returned, he bathed to cleanse himself of the horrors of Yomi, thus bringing forth the gods Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu of the moon and sun, along with the god Susanoo, of storms.
The centuries passed in relative peace, punctuated only by the occasional disputes between Amaterasu and Susanoo, until one day, a horrid earthquake shook the earth, dislodging the boulder from its place, releasing Izanami from her prison, along with the haggard Shikome. Taking her opportunity, Izanami disguised herself as a beautiful woman, an illusion that only worked when one didn't look too close.
Carefully, she stepped into Takama-ga-hara, the eight Shikome dissipating into the shadows to follow silently behind her. Bitter with hatred, she snuck up on Izanagi and threw him from Takama-ga-hara into one of the realms that rested between the Higher Spiritual Plane and the World of the Living and closed the doors to Takama-ga-hara, denying him entry.
But eventually, the God of Life found his way back to his home.
He walked right passed the guards, who all bowed down as he passed by. As he passed through a pair of large, ornate doors into a grand throne room, he continued walking towards the woman that sat in the middle throne. "Izanami. I would suggest you get out of my seat."
She caught sight of him and her face took on a stern expression. "Ah… Izanagi-no-Mikoto… you have returned. It has been a few centuries."
He continued walking towards the throne, at a brisk pace. "Are you going to get out of my throne, or am I going to have to use force, my dear?"
The severe woman scoffed and slinked out of the ornate throne. "FINE! Take your high-chair back! I'll get it back in due time, Izanagi. Or rather, what was that name you've been going by these days?"
Izanagi took his place on the throne. "Tsukuyomi. Amaterasu. Please see miss Izanami-no-Mikoto to the door."
A man with long, silver hair and a woman his exact opposite with flowing golden hair appeared, each placing one hand on the deranged goddess's back. "I will have my revenge, Izanagi! I swear on the deepest pits of Yomi, I WILL SEE YOU FALL!"
Just as they were exiting the room, she screamed one last thing at him, "BE SURE TO SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN, GOD OF LIFE!"
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Three weeks.
The silver-haired man rolled over in bed, away from the sunlight pouring through his window. Eventually, he gathered the initiative to pull himself out of bed. He tugged on his Shihakusho and reached for his Haori, a sleeveless one with light-gray lining, the number three emblazoned on the back.
He continued into the other room, his usual grin painted on his face. He was about to leave, but something on the kitchen table caught his eye. There was a small package, a box wrapped neatly in generic brown paper. Gin picked up the package, and flipped it over to see the words 'To Gin from Ran. Found this while investigating the cave. Thought you'd like it.'
The cave? His smile faltered for a moment. Did he leave anything there? No… he didn't think so. They'd only been there for a day or so, and it wasn't like he had taken anything with him. Gin slipped a finger beneath the carefully folded paper and tore, sliding the neat white cardboard box out. He flipped open the flaps, to be pleasantly surprised at the contents.
It was a single aqua-green ribbon, Sakane's hair tie.
He plucked it out of the box, just staring at it for a moment before happily murmuring, "Aw, Rangiku… yer so thoughtful," and slipping it into his pocket.
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"Urahara-san!" the green-marked girl called, carrying a rather heavy box, "That new shipment of Gikongan arrived!" She plopped box down on the table and wiped her forehead. Her normally spiky black hair was held back by a blue-ish green bandana.
The shopkeeper poked his head in from the kitchen, "Oh? You mean the Chappy ones?"
She nodded and placed her hands on her hips, "Yep. We're going to have some happy customers with these ones," she said proudly.
Kisuke grinned and waved his fan. "Good job, Fujiwa-chan. Now, come on into the kitchen for some lunch. I was just entertaining a guest."
Fujiwa tilted her head curiously. "Guest?"
"Come on," he gestured invitingly.
Hesitantly, the Fujin followed the shopkeeper into the kitchen and sat down at the table, across from their 'guest'. She recognized him. He'd been at Orihime and Rentaro's wedding, and she was pretty sure he was the one that had taken on Nanami. The pale-skinned Arrancar with the tear-line, Ulquiorra, she believed his name was. She smiled. "Hello."
He nodded in acknowledgement.
Fujiwa sat patiently, waiting for Urahara to finish preparing lunch. She tried to keep her eyes drifting around the room, but since the Arrancar wouldn't take his eyes off her, she could help but have her gaze drawn to him every once and a while.
Eventually, she tried to break the silence. "So, Ulquiorra-san, was it? What brings you here?" she inquired.
The stoic Arrancar didn't move when he spoke. It was a tad unnerving, but easy to ignore. "I was sent to retrieve more supplies for the Las Noches kitchen, seeing as that the King, Queen, and young Prince say they are going to be spending more time in Hueco Mundo."
"Oh," Fujiwa said, "That's nice."
"Indeed."
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"TAKAKI SACHIKO! GET DOWN FROM THAT STATUE THIS INSTANT!"
The blue-haired Bakeneko girl leaped from the statue of golden Amaterasu to the silver statue of Tsukuyomi. "No!" she replied, perching on the head of the large statue.
"Sachiko. Please, get down before someone catches you," came the flat voice of her twin brother, Sachirou. She narrowed her eyes at him. A few years ago, and she could've pulled rank, but no, Tsukuyomi just had to start liking men, too. Both her and her twin brother wore matching silver chokers, indicating them as Consorts of Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. Out of all the different species of Youkai that belonged to harems of the various gods, Bakeneko were the majority, cat Youkai with humanoid forms, but with a tail and ears.
Yes, Kami were kinky bastards. One figured that one out real quick. She was actually surprised that Izanagi hadn't cracked and went all necrophilia on Izanami. But then again… UGH… bad mental image! BAD MENTAL IMAGE!
"Sachiko, why are you sitting on… erm, my head?" came a calm, silky voice.
The Bakeneko girl gasped and hopped down from the statue, landing steadily on her feet before falling to her knees. "Tsukuyomi-dono!"
Tsukuyomi was a grand sight, and, in Sachiko's own opinion, the most beautiful of all the gods. It was actually a standing debate of who was more lovely, Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu. The god of the Moon had long flowing silver hair, which he tied up with a blue ribbon. He wore robes of a dark blue, with silver lining, and his face… well, one would call him a 'Bishi,' let's just put it that way, youthful and flawless skin, defined muscles... Oh, and did he know how to handle a woman in bed…
"Sachiko, while I don't mind your occasional antics, please refrain from climbing on the statues. It's disrespectful, and neither I nor Sachirou should have to tell you this," he reprimanded her. His voice was always calm, even when he was angry, and that was what made Sachiko unsure if he was angry, annoyed, or just disappointed. "As punishment," oh-no… "You will not be included tonight."
When speaking to a Consort, Kami did not have to specific about such things. Sachiko bowed her head lower, trying to ignore the pang in her chest, "Yes, Tsukuyomi-dono." While this certainly wasn't the first time this had happened, that didn't change that to Consorts such as her, to upset or anger their Kami was one of the most shameful things you could do. Many had learnt to ignore the pang of sadness that comes with upsetting their Kami, realizing that all of them would get reprimanded for something eventually, but Sachiko wasn't one of them.
After Tsukuyomi had turned and left, Sachiko rose to her feet. "Ooo… harsh…" came a familiar voice.
"Whaddaya want now, Tsuneo?" Sachiko snapped, turning to the man.
Tsuneo, according to the golden choker around his neck, was a Consort of Amaterasu. He was also one of three brothers, the Sons of Raijin, the god of Thunder. That would have landed him an immediate position in the Consorts of Susanoo, but the God of Storms was not interested in men. But just to spite the Storm God, Amaterasu took the Son of Raijin into group of Consorts, a very exclusive group. The Sons of Raijin, while they had overthrown their father, did not go insane like the Daughters of Fujin had done so recently. So, Tsuneo now figured he had some kind of authority over the other Consorts. It was all very frustrating.
The Raijin just smirked. "Nothing, Sachiko-chan. Just watching some Bakeneko trash being stupid."
Okay. That pissed both of them off. Sachirou tensed. "I suggest you walk away if you value your pretty face, Raijin."
He pouted. "Aw… Kitty mad at me?"
Suddenly a feminine scream rang out through the palace. Sachiko clamped her hands over her ears, trying to block the sound. As it faded, a commotion made its way towards them. Soldiers, mostly lower deities and higher Youkai, rushed about the halls.
One of the Samurai stopped at the group. "All Consorts are currently required to return to their quarters. Stay away from the imperial section of the Palace, for your own safety."
"Why?" Sachirou asked, "What's going on?"
"The Shikome have infiltrated the Palace."
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"Izanagi-sama, what do you suggest we do?" said Amaterasu, her chime-like voice filling the room.
The god of life sat regally on his throne, the only thing out of place being the bandage now on his arm. "Amaterasu," he ordered, "Send one of your messengers to the Soul Society. I'm afraid we're going to need some outside help."
"Yes, Izanagi-sama."
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A/N: And that concludes chapter one of Sunlit Summons. Yay! I simply had a huge amount of inspiration for this story, but since I want to finish up PreludeToSadness and Emerald Teardrops before I really start anything new, this is all you're getting for now.